Monday 4 November 2013

I couldn't think of any place I would rather be!


HOLA FAMILIA,

Thanks for all the letters and pictures, I really enjoyed them. I always love seeing you guys and what you’re up to. Also thanks in advance for the package that you’ll be sending. And I am going to be sending a package today for you guys. I’m sending some letters too that kind of explain some things, but tell me when you get it so I can give more instructions. Also, I don’t know if you’ve heard of the book “the highly effective missionary" but I’ve been hearing a little about it here on the mission and it seems really great. I don’t know if it would be possible to send that also, if not its ok but if you see it around and there is room in the package that would be great. 

Well this week was awesome, we had a lot more help from the members in our ward going out teaching. It really helped so much that is the thing that we struggle with the most here. Finding members to come with us to visit, and I’m sure it’s the same at home. So I encourage you guys to give the missionaries your number and when you normally have time so that if they need one they know who to call. I also think it would be awesome for Justin to go out and do some visits with the elders no Sundays when he has some time. It would help him prepare so much!!! Work with the missionaries, it will make their life so much easier. Anyways, we are finally getting the wards help in coming to do visits and it was amazing the difference that it made, even though they didn’t share a ton, even a small testimony is really powerful. I hope we can continue to move forward in the (obra de salvacion) I think that would translate in English to work of salvation?? Maybe there is another name but I’m not sure haha. 

This week we had so many great experiences and I will share a couple. We were walking on the street and I remembered the house of a less active member. I had never gone to her house but my first companion told me that a less active lived there. I had the feeling that we should go talk to them. She was busy but we made an appointment for another day. When we came back she was super welcoming and invited us in and was excited to see us. As we walked in her friend was there also who was an old investigator of ours. So we taught them both and we had a great lesson, at the end she asked us how we found her house, or who is it that sent us. My companion responded God. And it was so true, he put that thought in my mind to go knock on the door, he knew that she needed the missionaries at that precise moment. At the end of the lesson she even said “you couldn’t have come at a better moment." I know that the lord works through the Holy Ghost, by feelings and impressions, and if we are humble and striving to do his will, we will be guided. I was talking with my zone leader the other day about the mission and we both agreed one of the greatest things we learn here on the mission is to recognize god in our lives. We learn how to follow his spirit and just to recognize all the little things that maybe before we took for granted. I am so grateful for this time that I have to understand and learn. I couldn’t think of any other place I would rather be! 

We also had an interesting experience at church, the other thing we struggle with a lot is having investigators come to church. We have so many great investigators that always say they will come but they never do. I was really hoping that we would just have one week where our investigators show up, but like usual no one showed. I was quite disappointed actually, until a couple came up on their motor cycle asking us about the church and the hours and days we meet. After talking to them for a couple minutes, they said they wouldn’t be able to come that Sunday but this Sunday coming up they will be there. That made be a little bit happier and gave me some hope for next week. What made me even happier though was that after that 8 less active members that we had visited that week showed up to church again. One of them who had been inactive for 25 years. God always answers prayers in different ways, although we didn’t have any investigators show up we were able to help 8 others come back to the church. Who knows, maybe if we wouldn’t have visited them they wouldn’t have come back. Everyone just needs a little hand sometimes. 

I really had a great week and I am so excited to be here in the mission, I love it so much and everything that I am learning. I love you guys so much and I can’t wait to be able to see you guys fairly soon. Have a great week!!

Elder Grigor


"this is my first district class I taught"

"Me, standing on a wall. Cool, I know!"
"Just a little sign we made preparing for an activity we are going to do"
Knocking on a door

"What the dogs do when we knocked on a door. I thought it was funny"