This is a little part of the email that Tamara sent to Elder Grigor this week.
"I was driving to Costco on Saturday and I was listening to the radio and just
kept thinking about why you were sent to Bolivia. I know there are many reasons,
I guess I was just looking for some confirmation as to why you were sent to such
a poor country where living circumstances will be challenging for you some
times. I wasn’t feeling comforted by the radio so I turned on the conference CD
that is always in the car. The talk that came on was an answer to my prayers
and concerns. It was a talk given by President Eyring on the welfare program.
The opening lines seemed to be the comfort that I needed.
“My dear brothers and sisters, the purpose
of my message is to honour and celebrate what the Lord has done and is doing to
serve the poor and the needy among His children on earth. He loves His children
in need and also those who want to help. And He has created ways to bless both
those who need help and those who will give it.
Our Heavenly Father hears the prayers of His
children across the earth pleading for food to eat, for clothes to cover their
bodies, and for the dignity that would come from being able to provide for
themselves. Those pleas have reached Him since He placed men and women on the
earth.
You learn of those needs where you live and
from across the world. Your heart is often stirred with feelings of sympathy.
When you meet someone struggling to find employment, you feel that desire to
help. You feel it when you go into the home of a widow and see that she has no
food. You feel it when you see photographs of crying children sitting in the
ruins of their home destroyed by an earthquake or by fire.
Because the Lord hears their cries and feels
your deep compassion for them, He has from the beginning of time provided ways
for His disciples to help. He has invited His children to consecrate their time,
their means, and themselves to join with Him in serving others.”
Then President Eyring quotes part of a hymn that
I really love. It is so significant to the work you are doing on your mission.
Every day will bring you great purpose and fulfillment as you think about this
hymn and the impact you can have on the poor and needy. Your message will be a beacon of
light to people that are looking for something to believe in. Your acts of
service will lift them up and touch their hearts. As you serve it will not only
bless their lives , but yours as well.
“Have I done any good in the
world today?
Have I helped anyone in
need?
Have I cheered up the sad and
made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed
indeed.
Has anyone’s burden been
lighter today
Because I was willing to
share?
Have the sick and the weary
been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was
I there?
Then wake up and do something
more
Than dream of your mansion
above.
Doing good is a pleasure, a
joy beyond measure,
A blessing of duty and
love.”
Even though his
talk was on the welfare program I think it also relates to what missionaries do.
You have consecrated your time, means and yourself to join Him in serving
others. You will be such a blessing in the lives of those you serve and teach."
This is Elder Grigor's letter home this week:
So awesome to hear about all the new calls and excitement of missionary
work back home. I really enjoyed reading that conference talk. It really brings a
new perspective to why I'm here. I haven't gotten any packages yet. I'm hoping they come
this week. So now about my week since I'm running out of time. First some things
I learned.
1. If you need to pee. Then you go whenever, where ever!
2. The louder your car is the cooler you are. Lots of people try to be
cool at 3 am
3. Walls don't block out cool peoples cars very well
4. There is no right of way, if you want to go- you go!
5. Not being able to go out and teach is not very fun
6. Deep fried chicken and fried taste the same everywhere. ( I don't know if that's a
good or bad thing )
So now I will explain a bit. I was walking home the other night and we saw a guy
coming towards us and it looked like he was peeing and walking. I thought that
was crazy so I did a double take. I regret that. Sure enough, he was walking
beside a busy road and peeing. If that's not multitasking I don't know what is. 2 and 3
are pretty self explanatory. People have really loud cars and it's really hard to
sleep sometimes because of that. So we were going to my appointment for my nose
and the taxi just decides to randomly turn while other cars are coming. We got
hit. Totally t-boned the front of another car. Everyone was fine, it was more
funny than anything. It wasn't really that bad. Just the fenders got smashed up. I was busy reading and didn't even see it
really happen but Elder Valda explained everything after. Then because of this little nose operation (there is a picture of me
on the table ) I couldn't leave the apartment for 5 days during the day because
the sun isn't good for it or something like that. So this week I did a lot of
reading and studying of the gospel. All in all it was a pretty good week except
for the whole nose thing and not being able to sneeze or blow my nose. That's
basically the summary of my week. I will talk to you next week.
Love you,
Elder Grigor
