Elder Tyler Grigor : I wouldn't want to be anywhere else

Well this week we had transfers, well last night actually. We slept over at the zone leader’s house last night to find out the transfers. I’m training!! Big surprise haha, but technically I’m training for the first time. My companion isn’t technically a missionary in this mission yet so we have to go Wednesday to a meeting and I’ll get some training to become trainer and then they always bring all the missionaries together and announce the new companionships so they will announce us as if we don’t know each other and I’m meeting him for the first time. It’ll be pretty funny I think. I have one friend from my group Elder H. from Utah coming to the zone so that will be pretty fun.

My week this week was much better, I didn’t get burnt and I actually left during the afternoon which was nice. Although it was a lot more tiring it was a lot more fulfilling. There’s just something about working all day, every day that just feels so good. When we have to go to doctors’ appointments or do other things like that sometimes it just feels like we aren’t doing much and losing time. Every now and again it’s nice to have a break but it just feels so much better to get out and tract and work and get things done!

I’m going to share two pretty cool stories that happened this week that I thought were really cool. We were walking one day and decided to knock on a door, the lady that answered said she was busy and that we should come back another day (like most say) I didn’t really want to come back because I knew she would probably just say the same and that we should come another time, but something was different with her so we came back this week and she was very nice and let us in the house. Turns out she is a less active member of about 20 years or so. She said the missionaries haven’t visited them in years and they didn’t even know where the chapel was. So as were talking we found out that her husband and kids aren’t members so we started talking to them. For being less active for so long she sure had quite a strong testimony of the importance of the church and of baptism and is really encouraging her family to consider it. Which is an amazing blessing for us to have someone else encouraging them also. I’m really excited and grateful to be able to teach this family and hopefully reactivate the mom and introduce her family to the church. Who knows what would have happened if we didn’t knock on that door at the time we did, definitely inspired by the Lord for us to be in the right place and the right time. Another awesome story that happened to us is we were looking through the area book for old investigators who had attended church before and had baptismal dates and trying to find out why they fell through and really just what happened to them. We wanted to go to this one family who had attended before and had dates and everything but it didn’t really say why they stopped coming. So we decided to go find a member who lived close to them so we could go visit them and see how they are doing. We knock on the door and to our surprise the family that we were looking for was living with the member. They had been kicked out of their house and this member took them in and provided a place to stay and put their things until they can find a place of their own. The other thing we didn’t know is that they had come to church the week before and we didn’t even recognize that they weren’t members and no one told us they were investigators but when we found them this week we recognized them. So this investigator is single right now and has 5 children, 3 of which are over 8 and all want to be baptized, the problem is their mom. She is single and having lots of problems with her ex-husband and right now she is just kind of confused and frustrated. She thinks that baptism is important and told us that one day she will but right now is just a crazy time. So right now we are trying to help her in any way we can and the member that she is living with is a big help and really encouraging her to come to church and to listen to the missionaries which is awesome. I believe with a little bit of time she will be ready and willing. It’s amazing to see these little miracles that turn into huge blessings. Just having the idea to knock on a door or look through the area book. And now we have some great investigators who are progressing and it’s great!!

But the mission isn’t always like this sadly. I wish it was. Everyone before the mission said it would be the hardest thing that I’ve done so far but I didn’t really understand in what ways. At least for me the hardest and most saddening part is going to investigators houses and they aren’t home, then we go somewhere else and they are busy, they we contact someone in the street and they don’t want to listen. It’s really hard sometimes because I just want to help and share the wonderful gospel but there are many who don’t want to listen. That’s what makes me the saddest, just trying to help and being rejected and sometimes I feel like I’m unsuccessful. Especially when I see others having so much success. But, I’ve been reading Jesus the Christ lately and its really been an eye opener and as helped me understand as I’m learning more about his life and ministry. He spent all his time and energy trying to teach and help the people and they rejected him. He did not have it easy and yet he was the perfect teacher. It kind of puts things into to perspective for me. There are going to be people who reject us, who mock us, and insult us. Sadly there are going to be people who accept but then fall away. But what makes it all worth it is that there will be the elect few that will accept with all their heart and give everything they have to serve our master and that what makes it all worth it to me.

I’m really am so grateful to be in the mission growing and learning and experiencing all of this. It’s really something that I just can’t describe, its hard and frustrating but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Love you guys lots, talk to you soon!!

Elder Grigor