Pictures from Chandler Area Ward Members

Week 14/104

June 13, 2016

Hello Everyone!

This week was crazy! We had someone call us three weeks after we
tracted into them, meet with us three times, then drop us this
morning. We had a final devotional with president Toone. And I found a
broken guitar in our attic, and fixed it using only baking soda and
super glue. I don't have a whole bunch of time, but I'll share a
thought from Preach My Gospel:
“Preach the first principles of the Gospel--preach them over again:
you will find that day after day new ideas and additional light
concerning them will be revealed to you. You can enlarge upon them so
as to comprehend them clearly. You will then be able to make them more
plainly understood by those [you] teach.” -Hyrum Smith (PMG, pg. 6)
This is true for all of us. The more we share the gospel, the better
we will be at it, and the more effective we will be as a tool in the
Lord's hands.

Thank you all for your prayers and support! I can feel them every day.

Love,
Elder Grover

Week 18/104

Hello Eberyone!

It's really interesting how missionary work is not the same each week
you do it. Sometimes there seems to be nothing going on in the area.
Then the next time you look, you're running from appointment to
appointment, not knowing where all the time went. I've really begun to
realize that every time I contact someone on the street, it's an
opportunity to teach. The Lord has said: "it is not needful for this
whole company of mine elders to be moving swiftly upon the waters,
whilst the inhabitants on either side are perishing in unbelief." (D&C
61:3) I took that to heart this week, and we found two new
investigators through street contacting! It's some of the most
nerve-wracking work I've done as a missionary, but I know that
exercising my faith has brought about miracles!

An update on the family we found: The father is out of a job right
now, but is currently waiting to hear back from a job that could
potentially be hiring him. He's really hoping for it to work out,
because it's a really good fit for them. But currently, because he
doesn't have a job, he's lacking a lot of funds that are necessary to
provide for the family; they can take care of house payments and basic
living needs, but that 's about it. They want to come to church, but
they said that they're working on getting clothes for the family to
wear to church. We brought up their need to the ward council, and
right away the elder's quorum president and the bishop set up a D. I.
order to get them clothes and a bishop's storehouse order to get them
food. The members also have been visiting them and introducing
themselves. This ward has got it where it counts!

The house we live in has also gotten a facelift. The housing
coordinators for the mission, Elder and Sister Peterson, are good
friends with some people who own an apartment complex, and they just
cleared out a model apartment. They gave the Petersons all the
leftover furniture, and they gave it to us. There's a picture below of
the front room. It looks pretty fantastic. :)

Thank you all for your prayers and support! I can feel them every day.

Love,
Elder Grover

1-3: Our house, and our shenanigans.
4: An Oreo that I stacked 5 thick. So much sugar!
5-7: District Bowling today!

Week 17/104

July, 4 2016

Heylo Eberyone!

Happy Independence Day! What a wonderful reminder of our freedom to
choose how we worship, and the great country that we have the
opportunity to live in. In the words of a Biblical prophet, "Choose ye
this day whom ye will serve; but as for me and my house, we will serve
the Lord." (Joshua 24:15)

We met our new mission president this week. President and Sister
Christensen are so awesome! We met them as a zone, and we each had
about 5 minutes to individually sit down with them. I'm gonna miss the
Toones, and I'll admit that I was worried I wasn't going to connect
with them as well as did the Toones. But that is not the case! I know
for a fact that they have been assigned here to administer and to
connect with each missionary who is in this mission. I am so excited
to work with them for the next 20 months!

We had such an amazing miracle this week! For the past month or so, we
as a mission have been praying every night for the opportunity to put
families on date. We have had multiple opportunities to extend the
commitment, but none said yes. Last Sunday, however, was the beginning
to a different story. We were waved down by a man driving past us as
we were biking. He told us he, his wife, and his family of seven
children just moved in to our area, and wanted us to teach them. A few
days later, we visited their house, and found out that he is a member,
but the rest of his family was not, and two of his kids were old
enough to be baptized. We taught them the Restoration, then asked them
if they would be baptized. They said yes, unable to hold back their
smiles. They are preparing to be baptized on the 27th of August! Like
I said last week, God is a God of miracles.

There's nothing like being put in a humbling situation like training a
new missionary, then being able to see the blessings that come from
the work we are putting in. I have felt so lifted and guided by the
Spirit of the Lord. I know it's because of my faithfulness, and
because of your prayers on my behalf. For that, I will be forever
grateful.

Love,
Elder Grover

1. Elder Pavlakos and I
2. An incoming dust storm. Prettiest thing I've seen yet!
3. The alert on our phone that warned us of the dust storm. It's
pretty melodramatic. :)

Week 16/104 - Transfer 2/17

June 27, 2016

Heylo Eberyone!

This week we said goodbye to Elder Hemsley. He was such a fantastic
missionary, and I couldn't have asked for a better trainer. The Toones
are also leaving in a couple days. They're coming to our zone tomorrow
to say goodbye to us, and of all the things I knew were coming, I
think this is what I'm dreading the most. Saying goodbye to my trainer
was hard enough, but also saying goodbye to my mission president and
his wife only a week later's going to be hard. I have grown to love
them so much. I'm really excited to meet President and Sister
Christensen, though. I know they will be fantastic leaders of this
mission.

With the send off of one companion, I obviously get to welcome a new
one. And in this case, he's brand new. Elder Pavlakos just got here
from the MTC this transfer. I'M TRAINING A NEW MISSIONARY!!!
When President Toone called me to be a trainer, I couldn't speak for a
few seconds. I was sure that I would have someone who's been out for a
while, so I could continue learning for a bit, but the Lord feels that
I'm ready to train. I feel so humbled, and my desire to work hard has
grown more than I ever thought it could. I have already seen that this
companionship is going to thrive. We're still in my first area, and
we've already found three new people to teach in our first week, where
we haven't been able to find anyone new in over a month.

Elder Pavlakos is from Detroit, Michigan. He's turning 19 in a few
days, and he's so ready to go! He's got the "greenie fire" (don't tell
President I said that). Because we've been working hard this week,
we've been blessed with so many miracles. One of the new people we are
going to teach literally pulled up right next to us while we were
biking and asked us to take down his address so we could come by to
teach him, his wife, and his family of seven kids! The other two
people were people we just contacted on the street. They were really
interested in what we had to say; one had even been to our church a
couple times! God is a God of miracles. This is truly going to be a
blessed transfer. Expect to hear more miracles that Elder Pavlakos and
I experience; I know there'll be so many.

We also moved into a new house this week. I'm no longer living in a
barn with cows as next door neighbors, but an actual house! It's truly
a blessing to not have to stress about getting four elders showered in
the morning when you all have to use the same shower. I don't have any
pictures of the new house, but when we're settled in, I'll send some.
There's actually a really funny story behind that house. Carrie, one
of the members of our ward, was looking to move into a new place a few
weeks ago. She said that she had found a house nearby, there was one
other offer for it, and the renter went with the other offer. So until
she finds a new house for herself, she and her son (who I've written
about before) will be living with a friend of hers. When we told her
that we were moving in just down the street, she realized she knew
which house we moved into, and she was not happy for a few minutes.
Then we laughed about it after she was able to explain the entire
floor plan to us.

Thank you all for your prayers and support! I can feel them every day.

Love,
Elder Grover

1-3: Pictures of my old house. Mine was the third desk and the bottom bunk.







4: Elder Ward, one of my former roommates, with a tie that I skinny'd
for him. Looks good, huh?

Pictures from Week 14

Week 15/104

June 20, 2016

Heylo Eberyone!

This is the last week of my second transfer, and I've learned one
thing: The thing that makes a missionary's last transfer the hardest
is the nonstop reminders that he's going to be home from his family
and friends, and the members in the ward in which he serves. Elder
Hemsley and I have been serving really well together for the past
three months, but that aspect of this past transfer has been hard for
him. For all of you that have missionaries coming home soon, help them
stay focused by not reminding them every day that they're almost done.
They'll be so happy.

Because this is President Toone's final week, we've been spending
quite a bit of time with him as missionaries. He came to our zone and
did another round of interviews. And with this being my last week of
training, all of the new missionaries had a meeting in Tempe with him.
I absolutely love him and his wife. They have left this mission better
than it was three years ago, and I know that because of how they are
leaving this mission. They have been working so hard these past few
months to pass the baton on to President and Sister Christensen. I
know the Toones were called to this mission because of the people they
are. I love them so much!

Even though my training period is over, I know that there is still so
much to learn. Even though I don't feel that I know everything to lead
out the area, I have learned how to put my trust in Heavenly Father,
and how to let him guide me. I'm continuing to improve my ability to
follow His council, but I know that my God will lift me through the
struggles I may encounter. In the words of Ammon, who was a great
missionary in his own rite, "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my
strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will
boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold,
many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will
praise his name forever." (Alma 26:12) It's only been three months,
but I know that this scripture is true. It has become my testimony.

Thank you all for your prayers and support! I can feel them every day.

Love,
Elder Grover

1. What happens to a scorpion when you shine a black light on it.



2. The Mendoza's, an awesome family that Elder Hemsley taught last
time he was here in this area.



3. Bro. Crow, the Grove 3rd ward mission leader.

Week 13/104

June 6, 2016

Hello Everyone!

It's starting to get into the hotter times of the season. I got a
picture of our car's  thermometer reading at the hottest time this
week; I don't think I've ever experienced something so hot. It makes
it feel more like a missionary working in that temperature, even
though we really do less work in the heat. It makes you feel so
sluggish! It's okay though, because this week was awesome!

One of our investigators that we have been teaching for a while just
met with us again for the first time after a two week long trip to the
east coast. He is very well-versed in the Bible, and is a devout
Christian, and when he's in town, we visit with him every week and
talk about the Book of Mormon. For the past few lessons, it's felt
more like debating than teaching; we'll read something from the Book
of Mormon, or we'll say something that the Church teaches, and he'll
get caught up in all the specifics of it and try to refute the point
with something from the Bible; in the end, we wouldn't really come out
feeling that we accomplished anything. This week, however, was a bit
different. We ended up talking about the Holy Ghost, and how we must
be baptized in order to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. He, of
course, brought up something from the Bible; specifically, Acts 10
that talks about the baptism of the first Gentile. It mentions that
"while Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them
which heard the word." (v. 44) We then explained that the role of the
Holy Ghost is to bear witness of Christ and his teachings, and that he
does that to all who are seeking His truth, before they are baptized.
Then, once they are baptized, they receive the gift of the Holy Ghost,
which allows them to have the Spirit with them at all times. He
rebutted, saying that they had already believed, and that's why they
called for Peter; they didn't need this confirming witness. We then
asked him a pivotal question: "the first time we met you, why did you
let us in so eagerly? Did you already believe the words we would say
to you?" He thought about it, and began to realize that the Holy Ghost
had been prompting him to meet with us- we could see it in his eyes.
This was such a powerful lesson, and we started to see things click
together in his mind. Guys, the church is true!

We also had the chance to have one-on-one interviews with President
Toone. He goes to each zone in the mission for an afternoon and meets
with each missionary for about 10 or so minutes. I loved that
opportunity! Even though we will have only served for three months
together, I feel that part of the reason I was sent to Arizona was to
have him as my mission president. I'm sure I will feel the same way
about our new mission president when he arrives at the end of the
month, but I am certain that President Toone and I will be friends for
a very long time.

To give you an update on the scorpion sting: there are virtually no
remaining side effects; the only thing I've noticed is that the skin
under my big toenail is a shade darker than my other toe, but that's
it. I still think it's funny how my first encounter with a scorpion
was with the stinger. I didn't even see him until he'd been caught.

Apologies for the lack of pictures, most of the ones I was in this
week were taken by other missionaries, which means they have them. I
will get them next time!

Thank you all for your prayers and support! I can feel them every day.

Love,
Elder Grover

Week 12/104

May 30, 2016

Hello Everyone!

If any of you had the opportunity to ask me what I was most worried about my mission, I would've told you that I was most worried about the scorpions. I was most worried about dealing with the poison. Well, I know how to deal with it now.

Last night, I was taking some things out of the garage where we live. As I opened the door and started to step outside, before I even put my foot down, I felt pain shoot up my foot from my big toe. I looked down, saw something scurry away from the door, then dropped to the floor as the pain went from uncomfortable to severe. The other elders in my house were asking me what's wrong, and I just kept asking for ice. Once I got some on my toe, I told them there was a scorpion outside. They hunted it down and caught it. Once it was secure in a Tupperware, we put him in the freezer and left him there overnight. All the while, the pain was slowly subsiding. It's now 17 hours later, and the side of my toe is numb, my foot and lower leg are tingling, but other than that, I'm in ship shape! Things all worked out.

This week has been awesome, actually. I went on exchanges with one of the zone leaders this week, and they cover the Gila River Indian Reservation. We only got to teach one family, but it was such an amazing experience. We sat down with two less active guys, Uriah and Dennis, and we read 2 Nephi 31 with them, explaining the importance of the Doctrine of Jesus Christ in our lives. They loved it, and they understood everything we talked with them about. After we left, Elder McMichael, the missionary I was with for the day, explained to me that they had been working on getting Dennis to join them in the lessons for months; this was the first time anyone had seen him involved in a lesson in years! Small things like that make it all worth it. Even when you're struggling through tough times, you can rest assured that things will get better, as long as you put your trust in God, and start acting on that trust. 

In fact, our hard work has been paying off. We've been struggling with finding new people to teach, and struggling with our investigators meeting on a regular basis. We haven't been able to really meet with someone in about two weeks. In Alma 8:9-10, we read about how Alma dealt with a similar problem:

"Now Satan had gotten great hold upon the hearts of the people of the city of Ammonihah; therefore they would not hearken unto the words of Alma.

Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance."

That is the key to this work. When we put in our honest effort and offer up diligent, mighty prayer to God, asking for specific help and guidance, God will grant unto us blessings in accordance to that which we have asked for. I know that is how we have been blessed here in the field. This week, we met two new people through the members in our ward, and they both are wonderful! One has come to church twice, and wants to come back as much as possible, and the other is reading the Book of Mormon. I love this work!

Thank you all for your prayers and support! I can feel them every day.

Love,

Elder Grover

1-3: Scorpion Pics

4-5: Rez Pics

Week 11/104

May 23, 2016

Hello Everyone!

I have no idea what to write, so I'm just gonna spurt until I come up
with something good.

This week has been one of spiritual testing. The work moves on, but it
is very similar to treading through a pool of molasses. Elder Hemsley
and I started tracting this week, because we haven't taught anyone new
for a while. We've spent a total of about four hours going door to
door, doing what everyone thinks missionaries do. We've met a few
people, and a few of them seem interested, but they are incredibly
difficult to contact and establish a solid meeting with. Even those we
have been teaching have been really hard to get a hold of. We didn't
get to teach any of our investigators. But, even so, I have had some
of the most spiritual experiences of my mission this week. We have
seen so many sudden promptings come to fruition. We gave two
incredible blessings. I have felt the Spirit communing with my soul as
I read the Book of Mormon in German. I cannot say that I know the
reason for all of these occurring difficulties, but it has been
teaching me where to turn, and in whom to confide, through those
difficulties. Even now, as I write this letter, allowing my thoughts
to fall upon the blessed moments of the past seven days, my mind is
filled with words to say, and my heavy heart is lifted. I am convinced
that when we follow the divine counsel given in Matthew 6:33 to "seek
ye first the kingdom of God, and its righteousness," the promise that
"all things shall be added unto you" will be fulfilled. I cannot
imagine attempting this work without the guidance of my Heavenly
Father, for it is truly His work. As such, he has promised that he
will "go before [my] face." He continues, "I will be on your right
hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine
angels round about you, to bear you up." (D&C 84:88) Though I will be
disappointed, I need not ever be discouraged because if that promise.
I have seen it in my mission, and I know that He has been carrying me
through it all.

On a happier note: For Sunday, we were asked to teach the nine year
old Sunday school class, as their usual teachers were out of town. We
talked about chapters 20 and 22 of Alma in the Book of Mormon, which
relates the conversion story of the king of all the Lamanite people.
It is part of one of my favorite stories in the Book of Mormon.
Because the vocabulary in the scriptures is often difficult for
children to understand, we explained it to them as we read, then had
them take turns drawing different scenes from the story on the
chalkboard. Below is the resulting masterpiece. The coolest part about
this story is embodied in the words on the top of the board. When
threatened with the loss of his life, the Lamanite king was willing to
offer up half of his kingdom to be spared. However, when he was taught
the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation, he was willing
to give up much more. He knelt before God in prayer, willing to give
up all his sins, all the things that he had ever or ever would do
wrong, just to know God and His Son. I am working to have the faith of
this man, but I am doing all that I can to become a better person, and
forsake my sins, just as he did. It is because of the sacrifice Christ
made for us that we are able to do that. Because he suffered for all
our sins, you and I can be forgiven of all the things we have ever
done wrong. That is the message of the Gospel, and that is what we as
missionaries share.

Thank you for all your prayers on my behalf. You all mean so much to me!

Love,
Elder Grover

P. S. It rained! It was wonderful!

Week 10/104

May 16, 2016

Hello Everyone!

There have been no shortage of interesting things said to me while
I've been on my mission. I've yet to have someone start spewing
anti-LDS information at me yet, though we almost had someone do that
to us while we were shopping last Monday. His wife stopped him before
he got too into it. My favorite thing that has been said so far was
from a nine year old boy. One of our less active members is a single
mother with one son. We visit with her every week, but her son is
pretty antisocial, and doesn't really like being around people he's
doesn't know very well. This past time we met, we were just at their
door, and as we were talking with Carrie (the member), Trey (her son)
came up to tell his mom he was going to bed. As he was walking down
the hall to his room, he yelled, "Goodnight, Mom! Goodnight, Mom's
friend! Goodnight, Mormons!" We all bust up laughing.

It's moments like these that really make missionary work fun. Even
though Trey's not interested at all in learning about the gospel, he
knows who we are. He knows there's something different about us. And
when he is looking for something more in his life, he will remember
that difference we carried with us, and he'll search it out.

Another story pertaining to members: Elder Hemsley and I went to
dinner with a wonderful family named the Burnes. When we got there,
Brother Burnes showed us this clown doll he had gotten from a friend
on the Indian reservation. We were laughing and joking about it all
during dinner. A few days later, we're biking home from proselyting,
and we see something leaning against our door. It's the clown! It's
been sitting in various places in our house ever since.