A very new transfer (June 17, 2013)

Dear family and friends,

I'm very, very nervous haha. I've got some big news, at least for me. So, I really really thought (and kind of hoped) that Elder Orellana and I would just stay here together, even though I was praying he would get his wish and stay in the Spokane mission. I shouldn't have underestimated the power of his and my prayers though! So, Elder Orellana is going to an area that neither he, nor I have heard of (it's close to Pullman WA and Moscow ID) and will most likely only be speaking english for the rest of his mission. Meanwhile I will be staying here with an Elder Huewd. Elder Huewd has been out for about 4 weeks (He was given to a missionary who's companion received his visa for Peru in the middle of the transfer), and so I will be second-training him, or in the mission lingo, I will be his step-dad. And elder Huewd is a visa waiter also. For Brazil. He is learning portuguese. So, I will be Senior Companion, Training, and a solo spanish missionary. I should have seen it coming. I felt an unnatural amount of peace being given to me by the Spirit, just before the calls. And I still feel it now. So I'm not freaking out. Too much. It will be a little tough though. It will all help me grow. I understand enough spanish, thanks to Mattawa. :)

On to the area of Oroville. It always turns my head around how you'll have five appointments in one day, and end up having 4 of those cancelled, and see other people instead. I really do feel like I'm following the fog of revelation sometimes, hehe. But, I just keep walking forward. And trust in God. We contacted one family that has been less active I believe almost since they were baptized. :\ I'd never talked to them, but when we finally found them, they let us in right away, and some of the girls were shy, but they really seemed to like having us there. Early in the week we tried contacting a potential, and when she answered she just talked about this less active family to us, and all the problems they're having. So from what the potential lady said, and the mom of the family said, they need a lot of help. And that's what us missionaries are here for! So I'm pretty excited to start getting them back to church and reading the scriptures. Even if they do live about 20 miles away from Oroville hehe. 

I have to admit, I have absolutely loved having Elder Orellana as a companion. I think I had the least arguments with him of my companions, which are admittedly sometimes good for your relationship, but I've gotten to know Elder Orellana without too much fire. :) I'm going to miss speaking spanglish with him, and having so much fun with him here in Oroville. And I think it's super sad that it might be a very, very long time before I see him again, with him being in another mission, and then returning to Guatemala. But I'll see him again. Eventually. :) He's going to help many missionaries and investigators come close to Christ.

I thought I should wish my Dad, Happy Father's day! :) I love you so much, and appreciate that you helped me make it here so I could serve the Lord, and become a man out here in the middle of nowhere. You really are great. :) Keep up the good work. Much love,

Elder Grant

the scenery here ... And a squirrel. 

 and there is also a picture of my district this transfer.

I really hope I got everyone down, that I want to send this email too.

Mis amigos y familia amada,

I just had a really hard time for a half hour trying to make a group. Between accidentally deleting all my contacts, and trying to help my companion get the internet, this past half-hour was harder than it should've been. Hopefully I'm not forgetting to send this to anyone. And I'm not sending it to anyone I didn't mean to! I can't believe another transfer is almost over, but that's the mission I suppose. And It's less than 20 days now til I'm serving in another mission! I'm so clueless as to how it will change everything exactly. I won't be going to Spokane anymore, but we'll see what happens. I did think I should apologize for appearing mad last week for lack of mail x) I wasn't truly mad, I was mostly just teasing. Mostly. I still love to hear from everyone though. :)

So, we had a decent amount of success in some parts of the work, and less in other parts. For example, we thought we were about to get a new investigator, named Liz, who is an older woman that really likes to talk to the missionaries. But, after teaching the majority of the Plan of Salvation, we learned that Liz was baptized at the age of 16, and hasn't been active for 66 years! So, we're going to work on getting her back to church. We wanted to learn more, but we had an appointment, and promised her we would come back, probably tuesday. We're still trying to get some investigators on-date for baptism, and while we don't have any today, there's a man named Kim that's a really cool guy, and knows the bishop, who we're going to try and ask tonight. We're praying he'll say yes! :) We were looking at our investigators last thursday for planning, and realized most of our investigators had been taught either one or two lessons, so we've been dropping a lot of non-progressing people, and finding some of those more ready for the Gospel. It's always hard deciding that you're not going to teach someone anymore. :\ But sometimes you just need to follow the Spirit, and give some people some time off. And trust God that He will help them get back to Him one day!

Elder Orellana decided to remodel our basement today, and I think I'm having more fun than he is doing it, but he agrees that it's necessary. For some reason I really just like changing things up, which I think is also why Elder Orellana wouldn't mind staying in the Spokane Mission, and I'm excited to start what seems like a whole new world in the Kennewick Mission. Overall though, I've noticed that I just enjoy being with Elder Orellana a lot. :) He's a really fun guy, and I'm super glad that I have him for a companion!

I've noticed how much your thoughts change your actions in your life, including on the mission of course. I was studying virtue as a Christ-like attribute, and it was saying that it's something like the thoughts that you have, when you're alone, whether they're kind, or mean. I try not to think bad of people, but I recognize I'm human, and admit I sometimes get irritated with people (Just come to church!!!). I don't generally let it get to me too much, but I've come to realize that your inner thoughts often show on the outside, with time, a lot more often than you realize. So, while I've been able to say, "I'm happy" for a long time, I'm going to start TRYING to think more happy thoughts, not quite forcing myself to, but trying to achieve a more happy appearance, for others and myself. Because if I think happy things, my face will be able to show it, and others will want to be happy too. :)

I'll let you all know what's happening next transfer next week. Til then, Sinceramente,

Elder Grant

The first picture is a tribute to a few people. The bear was given to me by Brett and Ashley, who I met in Logan during my short time there. :)  The scarf thing is actually a bracelet I got from Brianna, and the seat/orange bracelet is from Rachael Lynes. Every place I've been (all of three houses) that's been on my desk each day.

 This picture is of a strawberry I ate, about the size of my thumbnail. It was amazing! 

Wow! I just realized I'm 4 weeks into another transfer.

Dear Loved ones. That didn't write me this week.

Time just passes faster and faster. I feel so old. Only three more months and I'm 20 years old... I won't be a teenager anymore, what the heck??? At least people still think I look super young. So when I'm 40, I'll look 30. :) I keep telling myself that anyway. It might not help if I lose my hair.

Another week passes, with lots of ups and downs, as usual. Noone at church, but Don DeVon, one of our investigators has his phobia of crowds and lots of people, so we set a date to have him come to church, and have been preparing him for that. This coming thursday, we will have a church tour without a member (we couldn't get him to commit to it with a member) and then the next lesson we will have, we'll bring a fellowshipper. After that it will be his deadline. We'll see how it all works out. We also have an upcoming lesson with Candace, and have a woman from the ward that will meet at the shop for that lesson on wednesday. Steven, a boy about 10 or 11 I think seems to have been brainwashed by someone. I hate when that happens. He had been previously close to accepting another baptismal date (he had one in the past), but in the lesson we just had, his book of mormon was put away somewhere, and he claimed he didn't know where it was, he kept trying to tell us he's Catholic, and he didn't want to pray for some reason. And he told us the only reason he lets us in is to be polite. Oh, the life of a missionary. But there's a lot of investigators we're finding with some potential, so we're working on finding the elect. :)

As Elder Orellana and I work together to figure out how we can help the area better, we sort through differences and find out how we sync best. We've decided to start using bikes more so that we can save on miles and be able to visit far away people more often, and also so we can work out our leg muscles. :) Plus, it's easier to stop in the middle of the street to talk to someone on a bike, than in a car. I can't even imagine just stopping the car, getting out, and trying to hand someone on the street a pamphlet! 

Have you ever had that moment where you were truly, honestly planning on sharing your testimony, and then someone goes up and uses the last twenty minutes of testimony meeting? I have. It might have been yesterday, I don't know. I'll have other chances to share my testimony. :) Of course, I do it every day in lessons. It is a bit different on the pulpit though. More scary than anything. At least we have a small ward here. Isn't that ironic? We're trying to get more people to church, yet the more people are at church, the more afraid I am to give a talk!

I probably had quite a few miracles this week, and just forgot them. I feel like I'm having a blonde moment right now. I'll work on writing them down at the end of the night from now on, instead of waiting til these letters. :) 

I also thought I should say, my Grandma, Will Crumpacker, Rachael, and Brianna did write me this week. Thank you!:)
  

Start spoiling me again everyone! I miss hearing from all of you! Con amor,

Elder Grant

P.S. I thought I'd leave a scripture for you all. It's Alma 60:6. Love you all! <3

a peacock 

Elder Orellana

Mary, a recent convert in Mattawa (Elder Kelly baptized her)

June 3, 2013: Wow! I just realized I'm 4 weeks into another transfer.

Dear Loved ones. That didn't write me this week.

Time just passes faster and faster. I feel so old. Only three more months and I'm 20 years old... I won't be a teenager anymore, what the heck??? At least people still think I look super young. So when I'm 40, I'll look 30. :) I keep telling myself that anyway. It might not help if I lose my hair.

Another week passes, with lots of ups and downs, as usual. Noone at church, but Don DeVon, one of our investigators has his phobia of crowds and lots of people, so we set a date to have him come to church, and have been preparing him for that. This coming thursday, we will have a church tour without a member (we couldn't get him to commit to it with a member) and then the next lesson we will have, we'll bring a fellowshipper. After that it will be his deadline. We'll see how it all works out. We also have an upcoming lesson with Candace, and have a woman from the ward that will meet at the shop for that lesson on wednesday. Steven, a boy about 10 or 11 I think seems to have been brainwashed by someone. I hate when that happens. He had been previously close to accepting another baptismal date (he had one in the past), but in the lesson we just had, his book of mormon was put away somewhere, and he claimed he didn't know where it was, he kept trying to tell us he's Catholic, and he didn't want to pray for some reason. And he told us the only reason he lets us in is to be polite. Oh, the life of a missionary. But there's a lot of investigators we're finding with some potential, so we're working on finding the elect. :)

As Elder Orellana and I work together to figure out how we can help the area better, we sort through differences and find out how we sync best. We've decided to start using bikes more so that we can save on miles and be able to visit far away people more often, and also so we can work out our leg muscles. :) Plus, it's easier to stop in the middle of the street to talk to someone on a bike, than in a car. I can't even imagine just stopping the car, getting out, and trying to hand someone on the street a pamphlet! 

Have you ever had that moment where you were truly, honestly planning on sharing your testimony, and then someone goes up and uses the last twenty minutes of testimony meeting? I have. It might have been yesterday, I don't know. I'll have other chances to share my testimony. :) Of course, I do it every day in lessons. It is a bit different on the pulpit though. More scary than anything. At least we have a small ward here. Isn't that ironic? We're trying to get more people to church, yet the more people are at church, the more afraid I am to give a talk!

I probably had quite a few miracles this week, and just forgot them. I feel like I'm having a blonde moment right now. I'll work on writing them down at the end of the night from now on, instead of waiting til these letters. :) 

Start spoiling me again everyone! I miss hearing from all of you! Con amor,

Elder Grant

P.S. I thought I'd leave a scripture for you all. It's Alma 60:6. Love you all! <3

Elder Colton with President Mullen

Elder Colton with Reynaldo & Isabel

With Cruz Family

Dry Falls

Oroville