Being "in tune"

Liebe Familie und Freunde:

Meine Güte! Diese letzte Woche war echt wunderbar! Ich habe so viel erlebt; es ist wirklich unmöglich alles zu erklären und erzählen! Ich bin so dankbar für die vergangene Jahr, und ich habe viele Hoffnung in der Zukunft!

I can't believe that the year mark of my mission came and went... time just flies by! Every moment needs to be enjoyed- even the apparent "un-enjoyable" moments need to be appreciated, for they are for our good, for our benefit. I have seen that these last few weeks, especially this week. And the greatest summary of it all comes down to this: The Spirit is key, and being "in tune" is essential

I am so grateful for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and the teaching we learn about the Holy Ghost- not only is the Holy Ghost a third member of the Godhead, but also a personal counselor, guide, and comfort. He bears witness of the Father and the Son, as well as warning and directing us on the straight path toward exaltation. As a personage of Spirit, the Holy Ghost can be with us to testify of and confirm truth. But with the Gift of the Holy Ghost, that special gift given to us after the sacred ordinance of baptism, we are allowed and blessed to have this guidance and support always. Always! Our Father wants to have more- and that includes communication from Him. That's why I treasure the gift of the Holy Ghost so much. It is not just the thought of "Yeah, I can feel good all the time", but so much more "I can receive revelation now", "I can be inspired in the very moment I need it" or "I trust that when I need to be warned, I will be". I have seen and experienced this week, and I know that the gift of the Holy Ghost is one of God's greatest gifts given to us, His children.

I have come to find a difference between "Feeling the Spirit" and "Being in tune with the Spirit". As a missionary, serving people and teaching the gospel all day every day, the presence of the Spirit naturally comes with it. I am so grateful for the presence of the Spirit in my daily life. But I have found a difference between just feeling and being "in-tune". Hopefully I can explain my thoughts and feelings correctly, and for that I go to an analogy. I loved looking up at the starts and planets and galaxies with my telescope before my mission, sometimes waking up at 3am to catch Jupiter in the right spot in the sky! The deep space things were always so cool to find and look at, but the moon will always be one of my favorite night-sky wonders to look at. With my telecope, I could point it at the moon, and even without it being in focus, I knew I was looking at the moon- it's the biggest and brightest thing in the sky! But when I used the focus knobs and the fine-focusers, I could see the mountains and craters and details of the moon. It was still the moon, just in sharp focus. And even when I didn't have the telescope in focus, I knew it was the moon I was looking at. That's similar to my thoughts recently about the Holy Ghost- I can feel the Holy Ghost with me, and I know it is there- I feel good, I feel happy, I feel at peace. But when I am really in-tune to the Holy Ghost, do the work to focus in, then the details come- the revelation and inspiration flows, and the vision of this work unfolds as the physical work does. And that kind of focus takes work, but the Lord has blessed me so geatly for trying to focus in, and not being content with just feeling the spirit and benefiting from the good feelings. Revelation is key- our salvation depends on it.

We have been able to meet with so many people recently: Br. Maus, Gabriel, Katja Gerlach, Rabekka, Chigozle, Amo, Sebastian, Julian, SueEllen, and Andre. We have met some new people that want to learn about the Gospel this last week: Guang and Tia. I love these people! I wish I could explain each in detail, about their lives and how they have changed because of the Gospel, and especially because of developing a testimony that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that we are led today by a prophet. This work is going forth!

I love you all! Thank you for your prayers and love- I say that a lot, but it's because I mean it :-)
Alles Gute,

Elder Nathan D. Garlick

German Frankfurt Mission
"Shall we not go on in so great a cause?" D&C 128:22