Week 9/104 Transfer 1/17

May 9, 2016

Hello Everybody!

Happy late Mother's Day! I hope everyone had a wonderful day, and took
good care of their mothers. :) Elder Hemsley and I had a pretty cool
opportunity this Sunday: As usual for Mother's Day, the men stood in
for the women who usually teach the kids, and allowed them to go to
their own class. Because both the wards we cover were short on people
to cover classes, we were asked to help. We were assigned the CTR 6
class, which has kids who are turning seven this year. They are all
just bundles of energy! And, of course, when they saw that the
missionaries were teaching their class, they got even more excited and
crazy. We were able to get something through to them, though. We
showed them one of the latest Mormon Messages, called "It Was Mom",
and then read Alma 56:47-48, which talks about the 2,000 stripling
warriors who had complete faith in the things they learned from their
mothers. We even got a cute video of them saying "Happy Mother's Day"
to their moms. Of course, we didn't leave without some battle scars;
one of the girls attacked us both with chalk. I only have a picture of
Elder Hemsley, but it was basically the same damage done to both of
us. He got the worse of it, though. :)

I can't believe I'm already done with my first transfer! By this time
on Wednesday, my district will be reorganized, and there will be some
new faces in the district and zone. It's crazy that we have been in
this area for six weeks. I most likely will still be with Elder
Hemsley for this transfer, since I still have six weeks of training to
go through, and this is his last transfer in the mission. It will be
sad to see him go, but I've learned a ton from him. He's the best
trainer I could have been given.

A couple days ago, we had a new missionary meeting, which gathers all
of the missionaries in the mission who have been in training for the
past two transfers, and we get to hear from President and Sister
Toone, as well as the AP's. We talked about managing stress, where to
look in Preach My Gospel for answers to specific questions, and played
Chutes and Ladders. For every card we drew, we would have to answer a
question, such as "what is the fourth point in the first lesson? Teach
it." Or "bear your testimony on the Atonement." All of these things
are important for us to be able to do in our lessons with
investigators, but no one thing we do will bring them to complete
conversion. It takes time, effort, and most likely, multiple
missionaries and members bearing witness together of the truthfulness
of the gospel. Even then, conversion will not happen unless the person
being taught takes steps for it to happen. Once they "[partake] of the
fruit thereof it [will fill their] soul with exceedingly great joy . .
. For [they will know] that it [is] desirable above all other fruit."
(1 Nephi 8:12) I know that this Gospel is desirable above all else,
and those who partake of it will come to that same knowledge for
themselves; they will receive a fullness of joy that cannot be found
anywhere else. I promise this is the case.

I love you all, and again, I thank you for all your love and support.
I can feel your prayers lifting me up!

Love,
Elder Grover

Week 8/104

May 2, 2016

Hey Everyone!

So, Elder Holland's pretty cool.

Before he showed up, all the missionaries in our mission were standing
and waiting to have a mission picture taken, talking with each other.
As soon as we saw the mission president's car roll in to the parking
lot, every missionary fell silent. This may or may not be obvious, but
he had a spiritual presence that kind of just envelops the whole room,
yet at the same time feels so individual that you cannot deny the love
he has for me, and truly every missionary. Being able to shake his
hand felt so personal, and that solitary action confirmed the feelings
of his love I felt before. We then spent the next two hours listening
to him, President Toone, and Elder Lynn G. Robbins of the Presidency
of the Seventy tell us how much they love us. They each spoke
separately, but it was all the same message. Elder Holland talked
about so much, but it all centered around his feelings toward
missionaries. "The one thing I cannot live with," he was almost
yelling, "is a return missionary who turns his or her back on the most
influential two years that I ever experienced!" He then turned it
around and said, "No missionary was affected as much by his or her
mission as I was. Every return missionary has the opportunity to say
that, but in my case, it's true." Then he smiled. He has such a talent
for "reproving betimes with sharpness . . . then showing forth
afterwards an increase of love to him [he has] reproved". (D&C 121:43)
One of my favorite things I took away from that was that God called
every missionary for who he or she is; He will take you as you are. I
love that thought!

You know, of all the things I thought I would see in my first
transfer, I did not think that Elder Holland would be one of them. Nor
did I think I would see someone slaughter a live goat. But they both
happened within the same week! We get a knock on the door in the
middle of our studies from Sister Catmull, whose barn/apartment we
live in. The first thing we here her say is, "Do you guys want to see
him kill a goat!?" After the four of us responded with a resounding
"uhhh...", she responded with "it's a guy thing, right?" We all threw
on our shoes and went outside to watch Brother MacArthur, a member in
our ward who is from Ghana, brandishing a big knife next to a goat
who's just lying on the ground, calmly contemplating life, next to a
roaring fire. The next ten minutes consisted of a screaming goat, red
grass, and charred fur. I won't get into too much detail, but it was
gnarly. No pictures, either. Just use your imagination.

Thank you all for your prayers! I can feel them bearing me up.
Love,
Elder Grover



P. S. See if you can find me!

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!

Pictures from Weeks 4-6

April 18, 2016

Week 6/104

April 18, 2016

Hello Everybody!

I absolutely love reading your emails! It always makes me so happy to
hear how you're all doing. Unfortunately, since I only have an hour to
write emails, I don't have a whole bunch of time to read your emails
when you send them on Sundays or Mondays. Luckily, mission policy
allows us to read emails any day of the week after 9 pm. So feel free
to write me throughout the week, and that way I'll be able to respond
better to your emails!

This week has been kinda crazy. I've learned that when people are well
off, they generally are not in a place to accept the gospel. Most of
the people we meet are pretty wealthy, and because of that, they're
quite comfortable with the way their life is going. Therefore, they
don't see any need to change as the Gospel suggests. They're mostly
very kind to us, and they'll let us in to their homes and teach them,
but they won't really keep the commitments they say they will. It's
been a little frustrating, but we keep plugging along!

One really interesting thing that happened to one of our
investigators: Evan was riding his bike without a helmet, and ended up
crashing pretty hard. This happened on Tuesday, and when we met with
him on Thursday, he said he remembered who we were and that he wanted
to get baptized, but he doesn't really remember anything that we
taught him. He also doesn't remember anything about Tuesday, except
being carried home by someone. We still don't know who it was (he
didn't even contact Evan's parents), but all we know is that God was
looking out for him. Because this happened, we're pushing his baptism
date back to a currently undecided date. Crazy stuff!

Here's a couple things that happened to us this week. I got a call
from the mission office saying that my grandma dropped off some
groceries for me and my companion. When I received a package at my
door, I was surprised to see that they were right, however, I thought
it would be from Grandma Grover, since she lives nearby in Apache
Junction, but it was actually from Grandma Munk, who lives in Northern
Utah! I have no idea why she was here, but she and my Aunt Valeen were
here. Also, we were informed that on the 26th of this month, we're
doing what's called a mission tour, where a general authority comes
and judges the state of our mission. We've been promised that it will
be a member of the Quorum of the Twelve! We don't know who it is yet,
but we were told we wouldn't be disappointed.

One final thought: as part of my studies, I decided to write down my
testimony of the Restoration. I thought it would be good to share with
you:

I am so thankful for Joseph Smith, and his decision to act. If he had
not acted on the prompting he had, to do as James directed, I would
not be a member of this church. I would have no church to be a member
of. This mission I am serving would be useless and nonexistent. I
would have no guidance, no direction, no purpose. The current
relationships I have with friends and family would likely be
shattered, and my own self confidence would be dissolved. My happiness
and spiritual strength would be minuscule compared to that of my
current demeanor. Without Joseph's action inspired by his studies, the
guiding light of the Savior would dwindle within me, and I would be
utterly, spiritually, completely lost. But I'm not lost. I am filled
with the light of Christ, and that has blessed me with a strong
spiritual sensitivity, and a joy that cannot be found anywhere else.
My family and friends are closer to me than I could ever do alone,
because we are unified in purpose. I know which direction I am headed,
because I am guided by the teachings of Christ. He has established his
church, and I am a faithful member of it. All of this is possible
because Joseph Smith was prompted to act, and for that, I am eternally
grateful.

I love you all, and look forward to hearing from you again!

Love,
Elder Grover

Week 5/104

April 11, 2016

Hello Everybody!

You know, I'm really grateful to be in the circumstances that I am in for my first area, because I'm learning the up's and down's of missionary work. The two investigators I mentioned last time are still on date for baptism, but they've been difficult to contact, and complacent about keeping commitments when we are able to contact them. They're still willing to be baptized (I think), but I don't think they quite understand how important it is for them to do so. I'm super grateful to be learning what it truly means to work. What's awesome is that as time has progressed, we have grown to love all of our investigators and become invested in teaching them what they specifically need to hear. It's incredible to see the hand of the Lord in everything we do.

Fun fact: The rain in Arizona smells differently than the rain in Oregon; the rain kicks tiny particles of dirt and sand into the air, making it smell more earthy. Also, because there's sand everywhere, when it does rain (which happens very rarely), the sand becomes something like mud, but much less runny. This sticky-mud isn't very obviously mud, because it's surrounded by sand. A few days ago, Elder Hemsley and I were biking from our last lesson of the day to a church building where we'd sync our iPads and plan for the next day. The road we were biking on  had no bike lane, but plenty of sandy space to ride on. It had rained the previous day, so there were still puddles of water, which we avoided, and puddles of mud which, by now you may have guessed, we were not as successful in avoiding. We got mud sprayed up the sides of our legs, and I got some in my eye. Pictures to follow.

I love that insight from the war chapters, Dad! As I have been studying what to teach our investigators, I have been reading chapters and stories that I've always known, and I've had insights and thoughts that apply the scriptures to my life in ways that I haven't seen before. For example, one of the lessons that we teach new investigators is about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which has five key focuses: Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. There are a few chapters in the Book of Mormon that really focus on these points (2 Nephi 31, 3 Nephi 11 and 27), but as I've been reading other parts of the scriptures, I've seen that everything in the scriptures (Yes, even the Pearl of Great Price) is focused around the Doctrine of Christ. 

Alma 32:15: "he that truly humbleth himself, and repenteth of his sins, andendureth to the end, the same shall be blessed."

Hebrews 6:1-2: "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment."

Moses 7:10-11: "And the Lord said unto me: Go to this people, and say unto them--Repent, lest I come out and smite them with a curse, and they die. And he gave unto me a commandment that I should baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, which is full of grace and truth, and of the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of the Father and the Son."

It's awesome!

Mom, I'm in the same boat as you. I usually end up zoning out during talks given by women, but Sister Oscarson's talk was on point! My companion and I have been sharing parts of that talk with our investigators all week. Here's one of my favorite quotes from that talk: 

"We have a knowledge of these things, but do we believe them? If these things are true, then we have the greatest message of hope and help that the world has ever known."

This really puts into perspective the importance of the message we share as missionaries every day, as well as the importance of the teachings we live by as members of Christ's church. Because we have "the greatest message of hope and help that the world has ever known", we have been commanded to share that message with those around us. Imagine how much happier their lives will be when the come to a knowledge of the Gospel! Of course, going along with the theme of the talk, they have to believe it rather than know it. Alma says: "Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety; then we shall believe. Now I ask, is this faith? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe for he knoweth it." (Alma 32:17-18)

I love you all, and thank you for the prayers on my behalf. I've felt them bearing me up every day.

Love,

Elder Grover

Week 4/104

April 4, 2016

Hello Everybody!

Before I get started, you were asking about the Isaiah verse I
included in my last letter (Isaiah 61:3). The reason I loved it was
because the Provo tabernacle was burned down, but because the walls
were still in tact, the church was literally able to make "beauty
[from the] ashes" of the tabernacle, and repurpose it to become a
house of the Lord, "that he might be glorified". I apologize for not
making that clear last time, and I hope that, now that I've explained
it, you were as touched as I was.
Now, Goodbye MTC, and hello Tempe! I've been out only a week, and I
already love it here. My mission president, President Toone, is a
giant teddy bear! And by giant, I mean 7' 2" teddy bear. When he
hugged me at the airport, my head was resting on his chest, and I was
standing straight! He and his wife are some of the greatest people
I've ever met. The saddest thing is that they're being released in
July, and being replaced by a new mission president. I'll just have to
make the most of the time I have with them.
My trainer is awesome, too. His name is elder Hemsley, and he's from
Georgia. He's been out 21 months already. He doesn't like being
reminded of that, though. He and I have been assigned to what's called
the San Tan zone in Chandler, and our area includes the Grove 3rd and
Lindsay 1st wards in the Chandler South stake. Chandler is about half
an hour away from the mission home in Tempe. There's all sorts of work
to be done down here!
We were both whitewashed in to this area, so we don't really know
everyone. Elder Hemsley served here about nine months ago, but since
then, the Chandler South stake has gone through two boundary changes,
and most of the people he knew are now in different wards. We have met
some awesome members though. There are some Grovers down here! We
haven't met all of them yet, but we have an appointment set up with an
investigator, Paige, to be taught at their house. Also, we already
have two investigators on date for baptism! Evan is getting baptized
on the 16th, and Shianna is getting baptized on the 30th.
I have mixed emotions about having general conference on the first
weekend in the mission field. On the positive side, I get to start off
my mission on a spiritual boost, and I'm starting to see how much the
brethren really care for missionaries. However, from a logistics point
of view, it makes things really tricky, because you don't get to meet
all the members until you're two weeks in. Sacrament meeting is a
really important part of getting to know the members, and using their
resources to find and teach investigators. We've already met some
solid members in both wards, though, so we've got some great help.
What was your favorite part of general conference? I absolutely loved
Elder Holland's talk (obviously), and even though I am just starting
my mission, I feel the counsel he gave will help me in the coming
months and years. I loved President Uchtdorf's talks, too. I encourage
you to reread them. I especially appreciated President Uchtdorf's
comment on the celestial language. I knew there was a reason I am so
fond of German. :) Seeing President Monson in his condition is
humbling. Even in a life full of service to God, the best of His
servants are still susceptible to the ailments of life. I have loved
studying the words of the prophet, and ask God to bless him with the
strength he needs to finish his work on earth.

I love you all, and I hope you know that you are in my prayers every
day. I have felt your prayers, and I appreciate all the support I have
received. It means the world to me.

Love,
Elder Grover