Feeling Famous, Thanksgiving, and Strong Leaders!

Hello.


This week I drove Al Fox Carraway and her husband Ben in a golf cart. So I feel a little bit closer to famous. Famous people know famous people right?! They are super nice. I enjoyed the five minute jaunt.


It's been interesting to work at the casting office again. I feel like I get to talk with more people about things that are important to them instead of the passing "How are you's?" in the street. The church is incredible. And I so greatly admire those who seek direction from the Lord in the small and great things.


There are like 12 Youth Mormon messages that are supposed to be filmed by the end of this year. So it will be a payday next year when they are all released.


In other news.... I was just called to teach the 17-18 year olds. Woot! I'm SOOOO excited! I love the youth!-- And it's my sister's class so that's a bonus as well. I sat in the class for the first time yesterday, and felt so much love for each of them. I don't remember all the ways that you can struggle as a teenager, but I know that I was so grateful for strong willed Young Women's leaders who came to my house to bring me to activities, and didn't give me an easy way out. It shaped the foundation for my life, and activity in the church. I am so grateful for them.


It may not be the same, but I am praying that the Lord will teach me and guide me to know how I can relate with these young people. They need a strong foundation. They need exactly what the "Come Follow Me" program and "Preach My Gospel" teach-- they need to be taught according to their needs; not just cookie-cutter lessons.


It's a journey to learn how to strengthen foundations.
My dad was re-building the footing and foundation of his house, and I remember some of the process. It took a really long time. He had to mount half of the house on stilts, stabilize it, cut out the old foundation, create a mold for the new foundation, pour concrete, wait for it to dry, then go through the whole process again on the other half.


I think that we spend most of our lives just working on the foundation. Or maybe that's just me, but either way therein lies an important principle. The foundation must be built thoroughly, with patience, and an eye for detail, just as our lives must be shaped, built and endures on principles of exact obedience, patience, faith, and "eye single to the glory of God", and trust in the Lord. It can't be built all at once, but a step at a time, a day at a time.


During this week of Thanksgiving not only am I grateful for the leaders in the church who helped me shape a strong foundation, but I am grateful for the tools to build that foundation. And I'm grateful that the Lord has all the specific instructions to building a sure, stable foundation I don't have to re-create a less perfect plan, but I can follow His!


I hope that this Thanksgiving you have the opportunity to be leaders in your own sphere of responsibility (within your ward, area, etc...). That you find joy in service, and can lend a helping hand in the work of strengthening, shaping, or re-pouring the foundations of others. :)


I'm grateful for each of you, and send you my love!


-Sister Amber Garvin

Monday, November 18, Rocky Mount, North Carolina, LDS Sister Missionaries

Dear Family,

I was going to start of my letter by saying something funny about how I hadn't received a letter in a week, and then call you all to repentance, but then I found out about how your computer crashed, and other things that are happening in your lives, so I think I will just start out by being grateful. :)

(Also, Thanksgiving is nigh upon us, so twill be fitting!)

I'm so grateful.  I'm grateful for miracles, I'm grateful for love, and I'm grateful for you.

I know I have said it before, but I often wonder if anything I have done has been for the bettering of anyone besides myself.  It's so easy to see all the things that I'm not doing well, or not doing right, and wonder-- what on earth drove me to make a decision that would cause as much of an emotional roller-coaster as serving a mission.

I woke up thinking this exact thing this morning.

Why on earth did I decide to serve a mission? 

Well it's a miracle! And I remember why a little bit more since emailing you today.

As a part of one of the miracles which I have seen as of late:

I just received news that an investigator that we were working with in Jamestown has decided to be baptized!  Yay!  (I don't really know how to describe it any better. :)

I didn't come out here for worldly gratification, but it does make a difference to know that something I have done mattered. 

So in a summation of all the things that I could continue to say today I just want to end with this.  Thank you for making it possible for me to matter.

I know that you each are dealing with things in your own lives that are challenging to you specifically, but you have made a difference for me, and you matter to me.  So remember that!  Remember that to at least one other person in the universe (besides Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father) you have made a lasting impression on the person that I am and the person that I will continue to become.

My invitation to all that read this letter this week is this:  Tell everyone that you run into this week that had made a positive impression or influence in your life that they matter.  It's not awkward. 

To Andrew:  (everytime I type your name I miss the w and type an s so your name is almost always Andres. ;)

I love you!  You matter to me!  And you are a miracle in my life!  I'm so grateful to have the best brother in the whole world!  You are amazing!  And I know that you make a BIG HUGE difference to so many people! (ya done good kid!)

To Ashley:  (haha!  Just typed you as Ashlet.)

I love you!  You matter to me!  Way to go on the GED!  I know that you leave an imprint of joy, and delight on every life you touch!  

Every time I see the photo of Winnie-the-Pooh that you drew me, I remember that joy, and delight!  Thank you for being my delightful best sister, and for making me happier! :)

To Mom: 

You hear from me more than anyone else.  I wish that I could tell you all the things that have made you matter to me.  But I think that unconditional love and support would be the best that I can type up short. Thank you for always making me important. :)  And I love you!

To Steve:

I have lots of nice things to say about you, and to you!  But in short: Thank you for being willing to help, and for sharing as much love as you do, and for making a difference in my life! You are thoughtful, and reach for the kindness within yourself to serve others who may be in need.  You matter!

To Brock:

You matter to me because you always sacrifice for my benefit.  You always do everything within your power to make things for me better, and easier.  You also are probably the most honest and hard working person that I have ever met, and I look up to you for that.  I hope it is an attribute(s) that I have inherited. :)  

I love you all so much, and I don't know if you'll all read this, but now you can know that you matter, and that I'm grateful for each of you, and the impression that you have made on my life.

P.S.

I would go through all the people that I know, but I only have 15 minutes left and I know that if I forget someone in my extended family and friends that would defeat the purpose of this being an uplifting email. Sooooooo......

One big I LOVE EVERYBODY!

Thank you very much, that's the nicest thing anyone's ever dun for me.....

Love forever,

Sister Garvin

Week 5:

Dear Mom (And everyone else),

(some personal things then,)

Also, I take missionary work very seriously.  So I hope that my letters home don't make it seem otherwise.  Please correct me if that is something that I need to improve on immediately rather then gradually.

This week has really been a tough one on me.  I am calling it a "Missionary Meltdown" and have likened it unto a candle.  I started out really strong, and slowly melted into a puddle at the bottom of the candle holder, and struggled to keep the light strong and steady.  

I am saying that I really was burned out, and I probably cried for reals for the first time since we sold the puppy in March (you know mom).  It was a huge blessing, and actually an amazingly spiritual experience to kneel down and pray feeling so completely discouraged and ask Heavenly Father if he really cared about me, and if he was still there.

I needed to be reassured that he was aware of me, and the feeling of comfort that I received was something that I can't ever really express adequately.

I know that if Heavenly Father is that aware of me, then he must be that aware of all of his other struggling children.  From this understanding, my love for the people that we are working with, searching for, my companion, and myself has grown even greater.

Ending on a slightly more adventurous note, this is what happened this week..........

We were helping to unload a storage unit full of really big trash, such as broken box springs, desks, and shelves.  We have a dumpster. There is only one way to get big things in that dumpster, and I am happy to say that missionaries such as Sister J. and myself, were that way.  We climbed into a dumpster.  Don't worry, we were wearing service clothes, we were being supervised, and we took showers very promptly afterward.

Thus is the life of a missionary.  Surprise!

You are my best friends, and I am glad that we are an eternal family.

Love,

Your Sister Garvin