27/104

Sept. 12, 2016

Heylo Eberyone!

I've hit six months! I can't believe it's already here. This Wednesday
will be transfers, and I will most likely be leaving the Lindsay 1st
and Grove 3rd wards. It's been so great to be here. If I could, I
would stay in this area for another three months. We'll see what the
Lord has in store for me.

We have a tradition as missionaries to burn an article of clothing
every six months: the first time, we burn a tie, the second time a
shirt, third time a pair of slacks, then (sometimes) a full suit. As
the 9th was my six-month mark. I got to burn a tie. We took some
videos, but didn't really get a good shot of the actual burning, so I
took a few screenshots of the process. Since it was polyester, it
kinda just dripped fire at first. Then we sprayed it with body spray.
That's when it lit up.

We have an awesome opportunity coming up for this area! Recently, the
Child family moved into our ward from the Memphis, Tennessee area. We
helped them move in about a month and a half ago. Recently, however,
they reached out to us. Bro. Child informed us that he and his family
have been inactive for about ten or so years,and they moved to this
area hoping to return to activity. They have three kids (18, 16, &
13), none of whom know the Gospel very well. They want us to teach
their whole family! And even better, their youngest has not been
baptized yet, and she wants to be! Here is yet another miracle family
that we have been praying for as a mission. They're excited to meet
with us, and we're excited to as well.

We also had the opportunity to go to a meeting in Tempe for all of the
new missionaries and their trainers this week. It was an awesome
learning experience. I have been so humbled by this experience, but
coming to this meeting and seeing that other missionaries, who have
far more experience than I do, are running to similar problems as me
is really comforting. The Lord has given me this opportunity to grow,
as well as to help Elder Pavlakos become a more effective missionary.
I feel that, only through the Lord's help, I have done so. It has not
come without challenges, but those challenges have helped us learn. I
am so grateful for the doctrine of repentance! Because of it, I am
able to continually strive to turn my will over to God, and let it
fall in line with His. Even though I am not perfect, He lets me
continue to ask for forgiveness, and gives it to me. I will continue
to improve, because I will continue to trust in God.


ALL IS WELL IN ZION!!
Elder Grover

Sent from my companion's iPad

26/104

Sept. 06, 2016

Hello Eberyone!

        Apologies for not writing last week; I'm still trying to figure out
getting a new iPad. For now, Elder Pavlakos is letting me use his.

        The Miller kids got baptized and confirmed! The baptism happened on
Friday, August 26th, and because our stake had stake conference the
following Sunday, they were confirmed yesterday in sacrament meeting.
They and their family are so happy! They had so many people from the
ward at the baptism to support them, including Brother Miller's
parents and brother. His parents were so thankful to us for helping
Matt and his family make a change for the better; they are members of
the Church, and have been praying for Matt and his brother to come
back to the church. Matt's brother even went back to Phoenix and found
the missionaries in his ward right after the baptism! The Spirit was
so powerful there. Now the next goal for the Millers is getting them
married, so Lauren can be baptized. That's where the problem lies,
though. We had a lesson with them shortly thereafter, and they had
presented the date of June 10, 2017! After we recovered from the
initial shock, we asked them if they had talked with the Lord about
it. They said they hadn't, and agreed that they should. We'll be
following up with them tomorrow. There's hope for them yet!

        We also had an orientation for an incredible opportunity that's
coming up! This last Friday, we gathered as a mission to here from two
people: Eric Johnson and Kenya Jackson, who are committee chair
members for a choir called the Saints Unified Voices. Some of you may
or may not recognize Kenya Jackson's name; and if you don't recognize
her name, you may recognize the name of her mother, and the director
of the choir itself - Gladys Knight. Yes, the frontman (or front
lady?) of Gladys Knight and the Pips is a member of the Church,
directs a Grammy award-winning gospel choir, and is coming to Tempe to
host a free event, which they aren't calling a concert, but a "bold
declaration of testimony through music", available to everyone who
lives in the area! I am so excited! If you know anyone in the Tempe
Arizona area, member of the Church or not, let them know about the
event. There's a picture that I'll send that shows the information
that they'll need.

       This Friday will be my six month mark! I have been a full-time
missionary away from home for six months, which means I am 25% done! I
don't really like that thought. I can't believe how fast this
wonderful time has gone by. I've become such a different person in
this time. I've learned to rely on the Book of Mormon as a testimonial
foundation for myself and for those I teach, I've become much more
disciplined in how I use my time, and, most importantly, I have
increased my trust in my Savior, Jesus Christ. If it's only been six
months, and I've still got 18 to go, I can't wait to see how I've
changed by the end!

All is well in Zion!

Love,
Elder Grover

24/104

Aug. 22, 2016

Heylo Eberyone!

Apologies for the lack of an email last week. I was shopping, and left my cart for a few minutes, and when I came back, my iPad was gone. As you may have guessed, that threw me for a loop for a few days. I still have no iPad, but we're working on getting a replacement. All is well in Zion!

The Millers are getting baptized this week! Brother and Sister Miller are still prayerfully deciding on a date to be married, and they're almost ready to set it in stone! They are, however, moving forward with getting Brynn and Hunter baptized this Friday. This will be the first convert baptism this ward has had since January! Everyone is so excited. As an expression of that excitement, the ward is helping the Millers to plan out a beautiful wedding for absolutely no cost! There's nothing like a ward that loves missionary work. I love it!

We also found out that Hien, our other investigator that is preparing to be baptized, lives outside of our proselyting area, which means we have to refer him to the missionaries that cover his address. His wifes parents live in one of our wards, which is how we came in contact with him; they referred him to us. We thought that he lives at least in our stake, but it turns out he does not; he lives right on the other side of the mission boundaries! Not only will we have to give him up to another set of missionaries, we have to give him to missionaries in the Gilbert mission. We're a bit worried about that, since he has told us that we are the only missionaries he has met, of which there have been many, that he trusts. We're going to see if we can contact the bishop in his home ward, so he can go with the missionaries to visit him. I'll keep you updated on that. 

I've been thinking and studying a lot about faith these past two weeks. I have learned so much about what faith truly is, and how our faith in Jesus Christ is truly manifest. In Hebrews chapter 11, Paul writes about many examples of faith, and how the people of the Old Testament exercised that faith. In every example, they didn't know how things were going to work out, or what blessings would come from it. But because they put their trust and faith in the Lord, they received blessings after they accomplished that which God asked them to accomplish. This is something I am working on in myself right now. There are a whole truck load of things with which I must trust my Heavenly Father; and even though I understand the concept - I had to put my faith in Him as I prepared for my mission, too - it's still very difficult. I try my best in everything I do, and that is where I find my comfort. Knowing the Lord only expects my honest effort, no matter how perfect or imperfect I am at doing His will, I know that He will bless me for trying. According to Moroni, I should "dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." (Ether 12:6) It may not be easy, but I know that I have faith in Jesus Christ, for it is he who works the miracles that I have seen. 

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

ALL IS WELL IN ZION!

Love,

Elder Grover

22/104

August 8, 2016

Heylo Eberyone!

Here's an update on the family that we put on date for the end of this month:
Two weekends ago, the family texted us about a meeting they had with
the bishop. In our previous meeting with them, we found out that
they weren't married. When they met with the
bishop, he told them that they couldn't be baptized unless they got
married. Though this is true, the text they sent us showed signs of
them being overwhelmed with everything in their life. With the recent
move, difficulties finding a job, and many other things weighing on
their shoulders, things were worrying them. Then they went up to
Flagstaff for the whole weekend, to get school year shots for the
kids. (Side note: the school year for the public schools started on
the 25th of July! So early!) We tried texting them a couple times, but
we heard nothing from them. When they got back in town, we were able
to meet with them the next day. We decided to focus our lesson on The
Family: A Proclamation to the World. With the insight from that
document, and the combined testimonies of the two of us as well as the
member of the ward we brought with us, they were comforted by the
Spirit. They accepted a commitment to be married, and they are
currently praying to know what date to be married on. If that date
happens to be after the day we had set for their baptism, they want
their kids to be baptized on that date, regardless of whether or not
their mom will join them. Their faith never ceases to amaze me!

We had some crazy storms this week. We even got hit by a thunderstorm
so hard, we were stuck inside for three hours! After that storm, which
was on Tuesday, the parks and green areas were flooded. When I first
got to Arizona, I noticed a whole bunch of water runoff ramps and
areas, and I was really confused. Now I realize that Arizona and India
have at least one thing in common: they both have monsoon seasons.
There are still puddles and lakes scattered around the area. The
picture I have included is of me standing on a sidewalk which should
be completely over the water. The sidewalk was submerged about 2-3
feet under nothing but rain water. It was so cool! And Arizona has the
best thunderstorms, too!

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

Love,
Elder Grover

1. Pico Bread from the Hopi Native American tribe. Basically just corn
meal made as thin as possible, and colored a greenish-gray. Not the
tastiest thing in the world.
2. Us preparing to eat the bread.
3-4: Videos of us in the monsoon.
5: The aftermath of said monsoon.
6: A lizard got into the church building, and Elder Pavlakos caught it!

21/104 Transfer 3/17

August 1, 2016

Heylo Eberyone!

I can't say that the weather here is the most pleasant I've ever
experienced, but it's definitely some of the most unusual. This week,
it hit 115˚, then the next day, we were pelted with fog-like sand,
shortly followed by one of the most incredible thunderstorms I've ever
seen. It was insane! We're all safe and sound, and we had so much fun
watching it.

We had the new missionary meeting for Elder Pavlakos up in Tempe with
all the other new missionaries and trainers this week. It was good to
see the AP's and President & Sister Christensen again, and I feel that
both Elder Pavlakos and I learned a lot. I especially felt comforted
there, because I am the newest trainer in the mission, and a lot of
the more experienced trainers were having some of the same issues I
have. It was really nice to see that others were working through those
same issues, and we were all able to discuss with each other the
solutions to the problems we were facing. I have learned so much! I
hope I can continue to improve, and help Elder Pavlakos to improve as
well.

I'm glad I was able to get what I did out of that meeting, because the
whole time, in fact the whole day, I was fighting off stomach pains
and the urge to vomit. I had apparently gotten food poisoning either
the previous night or the morning of, because I couldn't keep anything
in my stomach! After the meeting, I was able to make it home fine and
get some rest, but before that time, I had thrown up five times. It
was really difficult feeling sick, and being completely incapable of
doing any of the work I knew needed to be dome. I definitely felt the
love though; a couple members came to check in on me, and one of them
is an ER physician, and was able to give me the treatment I needed. I
was able to get up and out of bed on time the next day, ready to work.
I know God's looking out for me!

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

Love,
Elder Grover

20/104

July 25, 2016

Heylo Eberyone!

        The mission continues to amaze me. There is no aspect of this work
that isn't miraculous. We had four of our investigators come to church
this week (more than we've ever had before), people who we tried to
contact forever finally came out of the woodwork, and at the end of
all these miracles, we were blessed with even more miracles!

        This past Tuesday, we were biking to the church to prepare for a
lesson we had later in the day, when I had a distinct impression to
ask Elder Pavlakos which way to go. After a little bit of thought, he
decided to go a direction we didn't usually go. I followed his
direction. Then, at another point on the route, I felt that we should
make yet another variation to the route we were expecting to go.
Unsure of why we felt we needed to go this way, we took this new
route, one we had rarely ever used. Not two minutes later, Elder
Pavlakos suddenly stops and begins to turn around.
        "What's wrong?" I asked.
        "We should go talk to that guy."
        "What guy?"
        Unbeknownst to me, we had just passed a man sitting by the sidewalk
next two his bike and two empty water bottles. We asked if he needed
some water. He gratefully accepted, and we began to talk. He told us
his name was Esteban, and he had just gotten a job at the nearby
Albertson's supermarket. We sat down next to him, and the three of us
were making conversation like we'd known each other forever. He told
us about his history, and the many struggles he's had, but how he was
able to keep God in his life, and how that's blessed him. We took the
opportunity to teach him about the nature of God as our Heavenly
Father, and he loved that concept. By the end, we were calling each
other brothers, and he asked if one of our churches was nearby. We
gave him an address and directions, as well as a start time. He told
us he would do his best to make it, and that he was eager to attend.
He then told us that he lived about 20 miles away, and he had to bike
home! We filled up his water from our packs, and he was off on his
way. He wasn't able to come to church this week, because he had to
work; he did, however, tell us that he still wants to come.

        This circumstance reminds me of a passage from the Doctrine and
Covenants. In section 61, the elders of the Church were riding along
the Missouri River, and Joseph Smith received revelation from God,
saying, "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". While Esteban had faith in God and Jesus
Christ, because we had taken the time to follow the promptings of the
Spirit on which direction to go and when to stop, we were able to
minister to him both physically and spiritually. Esteban now knows
there is someone he can turn to in his hour of need. There is no work
greater than this, I am sure of it!

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

Love,
Elder Grover

1-3: Ping-Pong Fun!
4: A McLaren!

Week 19/104

July 18, 2016

Heylo Eberyone!

This week has been a week where I have really learned to trust the
Lord for strength. I'm not sure why, but I was struggling this week
with keeping on top of things. Even though I felt that things weren't
going so well, looking back at the week, I realize that because I put
my trust and faith in God, we had more opportunities to teach than
ever before. The Miller family - all nine of them - came to church
this Sunday, and they loved all three hours of it. We've had some of
the best lessons yet, where we were absolutely guided by the Spirit of
the Lord! and we made progress in ways we thought wouldn't be possible
yet. In the end, I realize that even through my struggles, as long as
I am willing to put my feet to the pavement, buckle down, and work
hard as the Spirit directs, the hard things we go through seem
minuscule compared to the joy and the success we experience.

We had a zone conference this week, where President Christensen, his
wife, and his two assistants came and gave us wonderful training. Our
zone leaders also taught us. The zone leaders trained us on teaching
by the power of the Spirit, and the AP's gave us awesome guidance of
the principle of remembrance. I learned things from both of these
discussions that applied directly to what Elder Pavlakos and I were
working on with our investigators this week. We were also given an
interesting commitment. As a mission, we do our best to follow every
guideline and principle the Missionary Handbook contains, but
something was pointed out that we as a mission could improve on. Under
the Schedule section, this is what it says missionaries should do at
9:00 p.m.:

        "9:00 p.m. Return to living quarters (unless teaching a lesson; then
return by 9:30), and plan for the next day's activities (30 minutes).
Write in your journal, prepare for bed, pray."

The AP's then committed us as a zone, and, consequently, as a mission,
to follow this guideline, and to write in our journal every night. I
am not the best at writing in my journal, but since we committed to do
so every night, I haven't missed a day yet, and plan to continue. I
have seen the blessings that come from this counsel already. I have
been able to much more clearly see the hand of the Lord in my life
every day, and I have been able to record positive experiences, and
positive lessons I have learned from negative experiences. I love
writing in my journal!

There is no aspect of this work that our Heavenly Father doesn't guide
or oversee. No matter the individual struggle of the individual
missionary, He comforts each and every one of us, because He has
called us to this work. He has promised wonderful blessings to all
that spread His gospel; as Elder Neil L. Andersen puts it, "words to
speak will be given in the very moment you need them, opportunities
will be given unto you, faith will overcome doubt, and the Lord will
bless you with your very own miracles." ("It's A Miracle", Ensign, May
2013) I promise that these blessings are not empty, wishful thinking.
These are blessings that an apostle of God has promised, and as such,
God has promised them as well.

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

Love,
Elder Grover

1. Pres. & Sis. Christensen with our zone.
2 A flag I acquired that's being passed around to all the missionaries
from Oregon.
3. The best part of today. :)