Grateful for small miracles

Elder Grigor and Elder S.

Elder Grigor playing at the park

Just out having a little fun after their dinner appointment

 

Elder Grigor eating popcorn and reading

letters from home on a Friday night.

In his words: "Nothing Better"

Elder Hull looking a little grossed out when they were hatching baby chicks.

This is how the chocolate bar showed up from the package we sent.

Ty said it was melted and broken but DELICIOUS!!!

 



 

I sent Elder Grigor 34 Ways to be a Happy Missionary (found it on Pinterest of course!) - that is what he is referring to when he says "those points are awesome"

34 WAYS to be a HAPPY Missionary

1) Let yourself stretch. That’s what a mission does to you. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not crack under pressure.

2) 50 push-ups in the mornings feels good. Don’t just do sit-ups in bed!

3) For at least one day each week, completely refrain from thinking about home.

4) Homesickness means you are fortunate enough to have a fantastic family. Be grateful, not mournful.

5) Eventually you’ll get good at eating all the food on your plate.

6) Buy Sticky notes…they will be used.

7) Start your Mission Journal a couple of weeks before you leave the MTC. You’ll be amazed at how much you can learn looking back.

8) Bring an extra pair of glasses or contacts (if you wear glasses).

9) Get to church early. Get to everything early.

10) Practice recipes before you get into the field. Or at least bring some with you. Once you’ve left the MTC, grilled cheese and cold cereal starts to get old.

11) Memorize D&C 4, Your Purpose, and the Standard of Truth.

12) If you play piano, memorize as many hymns as possible to play at a moment’s notice. They WILL hunt you down.

13) Remember, the Lord blesses the families of missionaries.

14) Get in the habit of exercising regularly before you leave. It’s a hard switch all at once.

15) Know how to budget and don’t go out to eat a lot. The money they give you is sacred ($1 menus work occasionally)

16) Eat a good breakfast every morning. Sometimes you don’t get a good lunch.

17) Leggings under skirts if you’re biking. Watch your miles carefully if you’re blessed to have a car.

18) Learn what annoys your companion…and do it on occasion.

19) Keep a copy of an already prepared talk for when the Bishop or Branch President calls on you to speak randomly.

20) Laugh.

21) Cry.

22) Pray. A lot. He understands.

23) I have a testimony of going to bed on time at 10:30 and getting up at 6:30. Somehow your body will have just enough energy to last the day.

24) Write your family weekly, not weakly.

25) Fasting should prayerfully be considered between you and your companion and for a special reason.

26) Help with the dishes at dinner appointments.

27) You’ll have bad days. Keep ice cream in the freezer for this purpose.

28) Buy fruit!

29) Don’t “coo” at any dogs before you walk inside. They probably won’t like you.

30) Microwave popcorn saves lives.

31) If you don’t approach a stranger, the answer is already “no”.

32) Names not numbers.

33) For those tough days, remember your feelings when you first opened your Mission call.

34) Smile. It’s the only curve that sets everything straight.

 

Ya don’t worry about sending those little things you can just wait until Christmas. Its fine I don’t really need them it was just some things that you could add but its fine and I’ll wait don’t worry. Those points are awesome and very true I will have to use some of them. Yes I can buy you a bracelet and send one but I won’t be going back to the temple until October. That’s where I bought it. Oh and these pics are of me and my companion, eating popcorn and reading letters on a Friday night (nothing better) and Elder Hull when we hatched some chickens.

So this week was a pretty interesting week. My companion was sick these last few days so we stayed in the apartment all day Saturday and Sunday while he slept and then I just studied, it was pretty boring but kind of nice just to have a break.  I want to tell you about an awesome story. So Alejandro the first guy I baptized has some mental challenges. He is 16 but goes to school with 11 year olds, before we started teaching him he really couldn’t read very well and the teachers wanted to drop him another grade level but his mom said just wait and we will figure something out. So they did, and we came along and started teaching him and his family. We didn’t know this story until his mom told us this week, but as we started teaching he started doing better in school. The teachers asked why and his mom said he started going to church and that’s the only reason she could think of. Now when we visit him he’s reading from the Book of Mormon almost perfectly, and he is doing great in his class right now and participating and everything and doing much better. His mom told us that it was honestly a miracle and they can see the power of the gospel in their lives and the miracles that it brings and they are going to be baptised as well because they know that the gospel blesses families. It really is an amazing example of how the gospel affects the lives of those who live it and is am so happy for their family. Every bad day or tough moment is just taken away when I have experiences like this and it’s amazing.

Love you guys. Have a great week and I’ll try my best to have a good week too.

Talk to you soon.

Elder Grigor