Week 7/104

April 25, 2016

Hey Everyone!

Thank you all so much for the loving support that you've sent my way!
I can feel your prayers sustaining me, and I love to see your emails
and letters to me.

Tomorrow's the big day! And for those who wanted me to guess which
apostle is coming, I can't, because they told us this week. I'm not
gonna tell you yet, because I want to save the reveal for when I can
send you some of his message. Call it patience, call it unfair, call
it what you want. That's how it's going. I still love you. :)

It's kinda crazy that I'm starting my second month in the field soon!
This area is fantastic, and though me and my companion were
whitewashed into this area, we're picking up the pace. We're loving
these people, and the members here are super firm and absolutely love
helping us out. I've always know that member missionary work was
important, but as a missionary and being able to observe it from the
other side, it's so incredibly effective! Most of the investigators we
are teaching are through member referrals, and every time we have a
member come with us to a lesson, they bring the spirit with them in a
way that is so unique. I am a huge fan of member missionary work.

Those of you who are members, get out with the missionaries! We need
the help, and God will bless you for serving His children. For those
of you who aren't members of the church, Take the time to ask a member
you know about what we believe. Most of them are wanting to share
their beliefs with you, but we tend to be scared to talk to you about
it. Showing your member friends that you're interested in what they
believe will help them come out of their shell, and you might learn a
thing or two. Give it a shot!

Here's what a day in the life of a new missionary looks like: (1I
can't say greenie; it's to "derogatory". Don't tell President Toone I
said that!)

06:30 - wake up and exercise.

07:00 - get ready for the day (shower, brush teeth, have breakfast, etc.)
- Fun fact: the apartment we live in houses four elders, and we have
one bathroom. Trying to get everyone showered and cleaned up in an
hour is a bit of a circus.

08:00 - Personal Study.
- This is one of my favorite parts of the day. I get to spend an hour
reading scriptures/conference talks/Preach My Gospel every day!

09:00 - Companion Study
- As a companionship, we get to read out of the missionary handbook
together and discuss the things we studied previously, and how we can
use that to help those we teach.

10:00 - Training Hour
- The first twelve weeks of a mission are dedicated to training. We
read from specific training outlines, including Preach My Gospel, to
become more familiar with the process of missionary work.

11:00-21:00 - Proselyte/Teach/Visit
Almost all of our work gets done in this time period. We usually have
two to four set lessons a day, but that number is increasing. We
usually have lunch at noon and dinner at 17:00, and there are always
people willing to feed us!

Love you all, and I hope you know that you are in my prayers.
Elder Grover

P. S. (Don't include these in the public email) Mom, I'm changing my
Facebook password so only I have access to it. There are a very few
things I can actually do on Facebook, so if people were hoping to see
pictures that way, that's not going to work. Also, it's in the
Facebook terms that you can't have two accounts, so could you please
delete my newest one? Thanks!