July 21st, 2014

Hello! Everything is going well. Not really. I'll tell you a couple stories.

We made friends with some of the local "gangsters" in town. (Elder Frost's family are Crips and he knows wannabe gangsters when he see's them) They think we're cool and they wave at us all the time so that's good. One drunk native kid said he was going to shoot us and we told him we were helping his friend so he decided to be friends with us haha. Then he asked my companion ," Who's this guy?" ('cause I'm white) and he told him I was in the army. After that he said,"That's what's up!" And then we were cool. Told you the tags worked. I actually got a lot of respect from most of the natives because I served in the Army before ha.

Elder Frost and I were kinda disappointed we haven't had any violent encounters with the drunks ha. We thought they were going to jump us and then it would give us the opportunity to break some knee caps and elbows hehehe. Elder Frost said that if anyone jumps us, Everyone gets a broken knee cap! The way you do that is with a Heel Hook (hook the foot in the pit of your elbow and twist. It doesn't take much.) But everyone seems to like me so there hasn't been any problems. And don't worry, I know a thing or two from training. Elder Frost says I can hold my own in a street fight. If you see a newspaper article about a bunch of dudes trying to jump the missionaries with broken kneecaps and broken elbows, it's probably us haha.

But, I am no longer going to be in WolfPoint, which I am sad about. I've only been her 11 days and they are sending me to Billings in West Parks ward. I am very sad because I love the people here, and I love Elder Frost. He's a great guy. We were gonna get some boxing gloves and box every morning! Kind of a bummer. I don't think I'll have another companion that will want to box with me again. Or wrestle for that matter.

I am going to Billings because I haven't had my wisdom teeth taken out yet. So I am being sent where I can get the surgery and recover properly. I'll be having the operation on Friday morning at 0700. It's not all bad, because I know who my new companion is and he's a nice guy. Everyone is jealous of me because I get to be Elder Organ's companion. So I'm kind of stoked to be getting him. I just wish I could get another sparring partner. I really hope I can come back to WolfPoint.

The other day I made some ginger beer. It's the best brew I've ever made! It has the right amount of sweetness with the right kick to it. I'm pretty sure it's just perfect and it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling in my tummy mmmmmmmm. I have once again claimed another victim to ginger beer when I shared a bottle of Bundaberg with Elder Frost. haha

Also made some biscuits that Emily gave me the recipe for. Thanks! They were wonderful! I'm going to double it next time and make some bigger ones that will last me longer.

Hope everything is going well! Have a great and blessed day!

-Elder Garceau

(I love you mom!)

July 7th, 2014

So the pictures... The first one is a poem that was written by a return Missionary in my area. he's been home for about 20 years now, but anyway, he served in the North Carolina Deaf mission. He also served in California. The poem is called Highs and Lows. The author is Jack Lindsay Brinkerhoff. It's a very popular poem among missions around the world and people don't give him credit for it but it's been in circulation for about 20 years.

The second picture I thought was cool because it's a soda with my name on it!

The guy on the ground is Kirk. He has autism and he doesn't communicate very well, but he has a brilliant mind! He is doing three puzzles at the same time. The amazing part about that is how fast he does it! As soon as he picks up a piece he knows exactly where it goes on the puzzle, and sometimes he starts in the middle. He is never wrong. Coolest thing ever! And he can school anyone at jeopardy. 

We had some members drop off two 12 packs of California dreamin'. They were thanking us for helping them do some roofing on Saturday. We tore apart the whole roof on the garage and started putting shingles on the roof of the house. It took us about 6 hours of labor and it was very hot! We've been having 100 degree days lately. 

And the last picture is how my face looked when I found out I'm getting transferred.....................................................................................................................................................

Wolf Point is part of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. The same blend of tribal and non-tribal residents (about 50%) exists today as did in the early 1900s. The Fort Peck reservation is home to the Dakota-Lokota-Nakota (Sioux) and Dakota (Assiniboine) nations.

I asked my companion,"It's because I'm brown isn't it?" he said yeah. The natives don't like white people and since I have a dark tan, I can go there. Just to give you an idea of how much they don't like white people, if members want to give something to the Elders, they will give it to the dark skinned companion instead of the white one. And another Elder I knew got death threats so they shipped him out of there. We are right next door to Poplar which has more stabbings per ca-pita than any other city in the US! So I'm probably also getting sent there because of my combat training. We are not allowed out at dark because of the drunk Indians with knives. The good thing is though, that none of them have guns. They are too poor because they spend all their money on booze. So I guess I can deal with knives. lol 

Mom, what can you tell me about these tribes?

The cool thing though is that I get to go to a rodeo next weekend which is called the "wild horse stampede". it happens every second weekend in July. It's the grand daddy of all Montana rodeos. It should be pretty good.

I'm leaving right at a time when we are going up in baptisms and reactivations, but I am also going into the largest baptizing area in the Glendive zone believe it or not. They have four people on date for baptism. Some people have said that I am being sent there because I can be trusted. I'm still going to be Junior companion, but that works just fine for me because I like doing grunt work. This sheep dog is ready for some wolves!

If anyone is sending mail soon, please send it to the mission address or just wait until next Monday when I can tell you where I am.

1848 Rimrock Rd

Billings MT 59102

have a great day! talk to you next week and I'll tell you how it is!

Love, Elder Garceau

(I love you mom!)

June 25, 2014

Sorry everyone, this is going to be fast. Today I went to the temple and so that is why I didn't email on Monday.  

I took an ancestor, Julius Kundert, to do just about everything. Elder Decker and I got to baptize each other for our ancestors and then we got to confirm as well. It was a neat experience that I am sure will help us to keep close as companions and as friends. The only ordinance I didn't get to do was his sealing because I wasn't sure if everything was together for that. It was a very powerful experience.  

It is getting warmer here, but nowhere near St.George Utah heats. Thank goodness. I love the heat, but not when I'm in dress clothes. If I could wear regular street clothes I wouldn't mind at all. It's a lot worse when you have to wear a suit.  

I'm hangin' in here, just two weeks before transfers. I have a feeling I might actually go somewhere! But I would be completely satisfied to stay here in Byron and Lovell. A lot of people around here have visited St.George recently. It still feels like home here with the sagebrush, red rocks, and borderline Extremist Mormon culture (just kidding).  

I'm going to the DMV to get an application for a driver's license to give to my mission president maybe to see if he gets the joke ha ha. I don't think that I could live here because of the fact that I know so many things that I shouldn't about people and their families. I just couldn't handle it. If I knew as much about the people back home as I know here, I would move away from Ivins Utah. It definitely isn't healthy for my brain to know so many things about everyone around me. 

I'm even becoming "small town" in the way I give directions,"oh yeah, the Jones'. They live in that one house down the street where that Dog used to roll in the dirt before the Harris' ran it over. Go to the first one on your left, it's not that one, but it's two houses to the left, and across the street, kiddie corner to the broken down tractor in the old football field." 

But I am having a great time! Hope everything is going well!

Love you all!

Elder Garceau

(I love you mom!)

June 16th, 2014

Hello everyone! We have had a wonderful week here! Everyone here is so nice!

yesterday at church when I walked in a little girl came and gave me a flower. I was pretty surprised. Fathers day was so wonderful because we talked about the priesthood and how great it is to have fathers! I am glad that I have had a father most of my life to have learned so many things from! The wonderful thing about the priesthood is that there are many fathers ready to take care of kids like me who didn't have one. That's the great thing about young mens.

Elder Decker and I were walking to our dinner appointment Tuesday, and it started to drizzle a little bit. So we started to jog a little bit. It started raining harder than we expected it would. We started running. It started to hail, and then we booked it as fast as we could! After a while of being drenched I stopped running and walked the rest of the way. The storm lasted about 5 minutes. It was beautiful. It didn't rain the rest of the day. Welcome to summer showers in Montana!

We had an abnormal amount of lessons with less active members this week and not so many with non members. But I have definitely seen a difference last week.

I hope everyone is having a great day!

Not much to say

-Elder garceau

(I love you mom!)

June 9th, 2014

First off, is anyone interested in adopting a baby raccoon? 

Arthur found a nest of these things in a trailer he was demolishing. There were three of them there. They make small chirping noises and they really like it when you scratch their ears and neck.

He used to have one as a pet when he was younger. It used to do dishes for him when his sister did the dishes. It would also play tag and hide and go seek. They make great pets, unless you have chickens, and they may turn into a nuisance when they get older but hey, they only live 6 years and they're pretty cute!

Elder Decker has this poem that his sister sent to him. Someone in her singles ward at the U wrote it but we don't have their name. It's a great poem that is almost guaranteed to make you cry. We don't know what the name is, so I just made up my own name. Read it, and share it, put it on your wall. We want it to become just as famous as the footprints poem!\

Well we will start picking up here soon I think. There is a lot of work to do in the towns of Lovell and Byron. I am excited for this summer because that means that people have more free time to talk to us! But that also means that people will be doing things all the time. There is an excuse attached to every season...

 We taught about the signs of the second coming in gospel principles because our teacher wasn't there. It helps to strengthen my testimony of the gospel to know that many of the signs are in relation to the restoration of Christ's true church.

I can bear my testimony to you that the gospel IS true and that Christ can get you through anything. Miracles do happen on a daily basis if you will just look for them.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Elder Garceau

(I love you Mom!)

June 2nd, 2014

We have had a very good week. The new guy is pretty cool. His name is Elder Pearce and he is from Mesa Arizona. He is going to make video games after his mission. 

As you can see from the pictures I sent, we made cupcakes. Elder Decker made a house on a hill, and I made an amoebae slug. It was wonderful. I'm not very artistic, so I went with something scientific. and it turns out fondant doesn't do so well when you work it too much with your sweaty fingers (who knew?).

We are still working hard to find people who want to be baptized.

Tomorrow we will meet in Billings to listen to Elder Godoy of the first quorum of the seventy. He's from Brasil so we are going to sing called to serve to him in Portuguese. 

I'm going to take my Uncle Steven's advice and go down to the DMV for an application to get a Wyoming drivers license. 

Here's the plan

1. Fill out the form

2. take it to Billings tomorrow

3. give it to my mission president.

I've been here a while. Maybe he'll send me somewhere else next transfer. haha 

Hope everything is going well with y'all.

Elder Garceau

(I love you mom!) 

May 27th 2014

​We had a great week. If anyone is freaking out that I didn't email yesterday, that's because it was memorial day. And in honor of memorial day, I wore my Ranger-up sheep dog shirt that says,"I hunt the things that go bump in the night."

There was a very nice memorial service by the American legion at the cemetery. It's nice to pay tribute to the fallen warriors of our nation.

These pictures were taken at the bighorn canyon not far from Lovell. there is a wild horse reserve close by as well. They aren't really wild, they were tame horses set loose about 100 years ago. they're domestic horses that have gone rampant. 

This is our whole district. We have a new elder showing up tomorrow to be Elder Vaughn's companion. We are having transfers this week and everyone is staying in Lovell besides an elder who went home.

If you look at the top picture we have (left to right) Elder Vaughn (North Carolina), Sister Turley (Arizona), Sister Finnell (California), Sister Memmott (Arizona), Sister Bonn (Las Vegas), me, and my companion Elder Decker (Iowa).

We had a fun day at the canyon, ran into another rattler. It didn't bother us, so we didn't bother it. 

The horses the McArthur's own got out and ran down the street so we went to save them. 

And all of this only in the last two days. We are definitely being kept busy here. we started teaching a lot of new people here. I know that so long as we keep working at it, we will be successful. 

I don't know how I am going to top these pictures, they each say a thousand words, but as you can see I am still alive and ticking.

Thank you all for your support!

Love, Elder Garceau

(I love you mom!)