Day 12 of Quarantine!!

Wow I never thought I would make it through a whole week in the house, but I did, and I'll have to keep on doing it for a while. Not going to lie it is tough to be a missionary right now, but it could be worse. I am really learning lots and studying the scriptures and Spanish hard right now. 

We got Facebook and just so you all know I can’t talk on messenger with you, but I see y'alls stuff and can comment on it. Elder Gomez and I made a video this week and we got 1000 views. Were kinda popular ya know. It took us 12 attempts to do it because my Spanish still needs improvement, but it was fun. 

I know everyone is saying this, but I am so excited for conference this weekend. It is going to life changing probably. What a perfect time to hear the voices of our prophet and other leaders. It's much needed for is during these trials. 

It was a really sad week. 2 sisters in our district went home for medical problems and one of them came out with me. Our baptism cancelled the day before...again. A few other missionaries from other countries had to go back to their countries. It's a crazy time. 

I have studied lots of amazing things and have heard great stuff. We have mission wide devotionals every day and they are cool. The Lord is still with us and he is comforting us right now. I love you all so very much and hope you have a great week!!

This Elder in our District had masks sent to him made by his mom so we have been hitting up the streets protected!

I'm Sick of the Apartment Already!

So as you all know things are a little bit crazy right now. We cannot leave the apartment and so we just studying and calling people. We also have outside time and movie time (kinda like prison but this is a lot better)  We still get tons of food, so don't worry about us. 

Our friends Diego and Joseph are getting baptized this Saturday. We are so excited. Diego will actually get to baptize his son because of the circumstances. It will be amazing and super weird because we can not have more than 10 people. We are living in weird times. 

I am so excited for Conference. I can't wait to see the messages our leaders have and the hope that they will bring us. I know things are hard, but they are for our good. I love you all. Especially all of my friends who are returning home. Be safe and know that God loves you!

The picture of my desk is what it looks like when you are in quarantine and learning a language.

Shelter in Place - From the Mission President

Dearest Parents of the Greatest Missionaries in the World,

How grateful we are to serve with your sons and daughters in the Lord’s cause. We love
these young women and young men as our own. Please know that with the coronavirus,
or COVID-19, affecting people here and around the world, our highest priority right now
continues to be your missionary’s personal health and safety.

To help ensure the missionaries’ continued physical and spiritual well-being, we are
following the inspired and well-informed direction of the First Presidency and Quorum of
the Twelve, our Area Presidency, and the Missionary Department. We are also
instructing the missionaries in following local and national government guidelines and
precautions.

Last night we received instructions from our Area Presidency who preside over the
missions in the Southeast Area of the United States. We immediately implemented the
guidelines given, but have also been reminded “all this may change” tomorrow. It is a
very fluid situation and we can expect adjustments.

All missionaries in the Southeast Area of the United States are asked to be in a state of
“self isolation”. The term means they will confine themselves to their living quarters for
at least the next two weeks. They may leave in case of any emergency or to grocery
shop. Additional funds will be provided for them to purchase food and supplies. This
becomes our “new normal” as of this morning.They will be following a schedule that is
outlined for missionaries in this very situation.

We are asking your missionary to contact us immediately if they feel sick so that we can
involve health care professionals and our area medical advisers. If your missionary has
chronic or critical health issues that we need to be aware of, we also invite you to reply
to this email to make sure we address any concerns. We understand very well that the
current situation may be stressful and cause concerns for some of our missionaries and
their families, but we will watch over your missionary carefully and will communicate
with them often.

Their association with members will be limited. Most of their teaching and contacting
will be done electronically. The church has provided a “Suggested Activities for
Missionaries Working from their Apartments” document which has many ideas to
help them continue to focus on their purpose which is to, “ Invite others to come unto
Christ” using new and creative ideas. They will continue studying the scriptures and
Preach My Gospel, language learning, family history, online community service and
other activities as needed. This is also a significant opportunity for missionaries to work
closely with local Church leaders to reach out to new and returning members, families
where some individuals are not yet members, and members with special ministering
needs. Our missionaries will continue to go outside for exercise and fresh air while
observing wise guidelines for personal contact. All of these activities will help them continue the Lord’s work, grow spiritually, and bless those in the communities they
serve.

Going forward, we will continue to send updates to you as mission circumstances
evolve. If your missionary is working from their apartment, they may communicate with
you twice a week to share their status and experiences.

Please be assured that we are completely dedicated to keeping your missionary healthy
and safe. And we are most grateful for our loving Heavenly Father’s supporting hand in
caring for them. May He continue to abundantly bless you and your family, each and
every missionary, and the people we have been called to serve.\

With our greatest love and appreciation,
President and Sister Garns

Coronavirus Update from Mission President

Dearest Parents of the Greatest Missionaries on Earth,

We continue to appreciate your faith, prayers, and support in view of the ongoing national emergency with the coronavirus. As you know, the coronavirus has been detected within our mission boundaries. We are making special efforts to protect our missionaries with whom we serve, to support efforts to contain this infection, and to communicate with you, their dearly beloved ones at home.

This matter is being addressed each day and often multiple times a day to determine how we can keep our missionaries safe and healthy while seeking to do the work of the

Lord through our missionary service. We are regularly in touch with our world and regional church leaders. All missionaries have been given specific instructions provided by the church for comprehensive self-protection and hygiene. The missionaries are being repeatedly encouraged to follow these key safeguards. including proper hand washing, no touching or contact such as shaking hands, and avoiding situations with any persons with signs or symptoms of infections. We are also following the church guidelines to suspend church meetings and avoid the gatherings of large groups. Our missionaries are following these principles. We are continuing to receive direction and counsel from our Southeast Area Presidency and the Missionary Department in Salt Lake City. Modifications in our proselyting activities are being reviewed at this time. We know you are desirous to help with this situation. In addition to your faith and prayers, we would ask you to please encourage your missionary to be strictly adherent to the guidelines and directives which are being provided by government officials and church leaders. We are confident your prayers, support, and encouragement, will be critical in helping to keep our missionaries healthy and safe.

We continue to operate with an abundance of caution and firm faith in the Lord as we move forward in these trying times. We will continue to communicate regularly with you and send messages at least weekly. If critical information becomes available we will be in contact more frequently. We are all comforted by the words of our Prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, who directs us at this time. We hope you can feel his faith and optimism, as well as confidence in the Lord, as you support your missionary in this important work.

With our greatest love to all of you,

President and Sister Garns
Elder Grant Cannon, M.D.

Florida Ft. Lauderdale Mission

PS - As of 6:00 AM Monday, March 16, President Garns has sent the following statement to the missionaries: “IMPORTANT! NO KNOCKING: I expect another notice from our church leaders in the next day or so regarding the coronavirus. Until then, I am asking all missionaries to refrain from knocking. You can visit members and formers and do all you can to move the work forward, but should not randomly knock on doors. We want to be very respectful of people’s privacy and space, especially the elderly who are most vulnerable. And remember to wash your hands every chance you get, do not shake hands or touch anyone, do not touch your face, avoid crowded spaces and practice social distancing.”

Just Hanging in There

It's been a weird week, one of the longest of my mission so far. A lot has happened as you all know. It makes the work a little bit tough, but we are still going hard and doing pretty much the same old same old. 

Corona virus update: To be honest as missionary’s you don’t really know much what is going on in the world, so I only hear a little. We have been told to not shake hands or give besitos.  We still go out and knock doors and talk to people. We don't have church or any other meetings. That makes the work tougher. We had a conference call as a mission Friday and President Garns talked to us and also our mission doctor. They still don’t even know that much. We can still have baptisms so the 28 of march will still be a great day hopefully. 

This morning Elder Gomez and I got up at 4:30 and went shopping and the store was actually kinda busy and they had a few empty shelves. No toilet paper or water and barely any meat and canned food. Crazy stuff!!

I went on exchanges to the English area Saturday and it was a crazy day. We went to the great city of opa laka. We talked to this church that was feeding kids at this apartment complex and we asked if we could help at all. They said of course and we helped give all the little kids food. Then they gave us some of it and it was like microwave fish and a big ole thing of grits! It was so funny. 

Then we went to Brownsville and that is a fun area just like Opa Laka. We had a lesson with the people they have on date and they are a black family who has had a lot of problems with drugs. One of the ladies at the little house came halfway through the lesson high and she was crazy! We were telling her she can't keep doing this, going out and getting high on crack. Then she started crying and wants to change. She pulls out a plastic bottle of crack from her shirt and tries to hand it to us to destroy it. The other guy was like no they don’t need that. So, he took it and went outside and stepped on it with his crocks and then threw it on the roof. That guy is actually a returning member. We were there for like an hour and a half. It was the craziest lesson I have been in. 

We are just going to keep grinding here until they stop us. Keep up your prayers and enjoy come follow me every week. 

Love y’all, 

Elder Isom

Just a Bunch of Chisme

Another week, another dollar. 

We had a great week in Miami Lakes. We had Zone Conference and tons of meal appointments and cool friends. 

Wednesday, we had Zone Conference. John Denny, from the Miami Dolphins, talked to us and he was amazing. He pretty much just told us we need to workout hard, spiritually and physically. He was great. We did a ton of exercises and fun activities to build unity. We had a tug of war tournament, which is pretty big as missionaries. This mission has a culture of waking up early and lifting weights and getting huge, so the tug of war is a big deal, and my Zone won it all!

We had dinner with our friends from Colombia. They are a family of 4 and so cool. So we went there and were talking to the Dad before dinner. We were just talking about life then he is like,  "I have a question. I was reading in the Book of Mormon, and also in Come Follow Me, and it talked about baptism and I really want to get baptized. I know it's what I want to do." We were so excited!  Then he was like, "What do I need to do to prepare?"  So then then we had dinner and told him we had a baptism on the 28th.  We also asked his son if he wanted to be baptized and he said, "yes." It is super cool. The Book of Mormon is so powerful. 

Other stuff that happened was our friend's son ran away from church. Like he took the car and drove away, even though he doesn't have a license, or know how to drive. So that was sad. Also our car got booted which was unfortunate, but ya know, who needs money!

I'm so excited for General Conference. I love the scriptures and the mission. 

Y'all take care and I love all of you!!

Big Trucks, Nice Cars

Wow!!! It's March. That's crazy y'all.

 It was another great week. It was the first week of the transfer, so it was so fun to get to know some new missionary's and to keep the work up!

We had a bomb dinner/ Family Home Evening with our friends and our awesome members. She made us baleadas and they were bomb. We shared the Family a Proclamation to the World. It was a bomb night.  Then Sunday that family came to church again. Picture below.

This Friday, we had a missionary night at the church where a bunch of the Ward and our friends come. This Friday we did that and we had the Mata family come.  Also our sweet friend Albert came. We gave him a chapel tour, he asked so many questions, and loved it. Him and I are going to play basketball sometime because he balls up too. 

Today for P-day, we went to a car dealership in North Miami Beach.  It was sooooooo cool!  We saw Paganis, Bugattis, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Porches, and Lotus. It was so cool. I loved it. 

Y'all take care and I'm just gonna get big out here!