He's ready and excited and anxious all at once. We all can't wait to see him. You'd better believe we'll all be there at the airport and for his homecoming talk in church. And for whatever other normal people stuff he wants to do!
Here are some things he's shared at the tail end of his mission.
This is my favorite quote, from the mission president:
President Heap told me,
"If you run from Satan, he will chase you, but if you stand your ground, he will back down like a coward."
Then he looked me in the eyes and said, "Stand your ground, son."
We also like this story about a lady in the Abilene ward:
So we have been helping a recent convert quit drinking coffee. Her name is Ann.
About a month ago I asked her if she had ever quit before, and she said, "yeah, when I got baptized," and I asked how she did it. She said that she drank hot chocolate instead, so I was like,
"I WILL GO BUY YOU HOT CHOCOLATE RIGHT NOW if it means that you'll stop,"
and she said that it would help a lot. So I went and bought her a BIG thing of hot chocolate, she kept drinking coffee after that, but she reduced how much she was drinking.
BUT yesterday she surprised us! She went and bore her testimony and announced to the whole ward that she quit drinking coffee! Awesome huh? She said that she has been drinking that stuff for 50 years now, and it was cute...at the end of her testimony she said, "Now I feel more like a Mormon!" Ha ha. She is such a sweet old lady. LOVE her!
Elder Garner has done a great job of writing updates for his home ward's newsletter. This month he sent his last one. I'll end this post with it; it's a keeper.
Dear Family and Friends,
Well, what an awesome two years it has been! So many ups and downs, but so many valuable lessons learned!
A little while back, when we were having interviews with our Mission President, our Mission President's wife, Sister Heap, brought us each a pack of Sour Patch Kids. There was a little note on the package that said,
"Mission life is sweet and sour...
enjoy the sweet and learn from the sour."
I love cheesy little things like that! Those are the things that stick with you.
Isn't that so true of life in general?! We have sweet times, but learning and growth often happens thru the "sour" times. We are told in Ether 12:27, that if we do our part, we can turn our weaknesses into strengths. I know that is true with all my heart.
There is so much knowledge I have gained and so much I have learned out here, but I would like to share some things that I now KNOW.
Without a doubt, I know that there is a God in Heaven. I promise you that. I talk to Him every day.
I know that He chose His Son, Jesus Christ, to come here to earth and show us the way to get back to where God is.
I know that Jesus Christ took my sins upon Himself and not only that, but He suffered every pain, every sickness, every moment of hurt, anxiety, depression, love, joy, patience, literally every emotion and experience and He knows what we go thru every day.
I know with all my soul, that when I am down on myself, or don't feel good enough, that God and Jesus Christ love me more than I can comprehend.
I know that God has given us the gift of having His Spirit to be with us here on earth, as we live worthy of it.
I know that the feelings of the Spirit are a foretaste of the happiness and peace we will feel after this life.
I know that the Spirit tells us what is true and what is right.
I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, after being lost for a long time, was restored to the earth through Joseph Smith.
I know the Book of Mormon is the Word of God and is the book that will get us closest to God here on earth.
I could go on and on about the things I know to be true, but why it is important that I know these things, is that YOU can know too.
If you don't know already, study it out. The true church is on the earth...right now...and it is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Keep trying, keep doing your best, the Lord is with you always.
"Courage doesn't always roar like a lion, sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, I'll try again tomorrow."
Thank you all so much for your love and support.
Your prayers are what got me through my mission.
I love you all so much!"
-Elder Taylor Michael Garner
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