March 18, 2013: Elder Camacho's last P-day.

 Elder Camacho, the Peruvian who has been my zone leader since I was born (in the mission), is leaving Spokane and going home to Peru next week. It makes me super sad. He's the best. He would always give me funny looks. He just told me its super impressive that I can type without looking, because he can't. He's great. :) I'm gonna miss him. The crazy thing is that he's got his girlfriend back home, who's got a really good job in the medical field, she has a car (which is really hard in Peru) and she already has their apartment for when they get married. He's so dead. That's what missionaries say about someone who's about to end their mission. :) But that one picture was of Elder Camacho, and the rest are of Sister Collins, Elder Aguilar, Elder Bennet, Elder Hoefelman (he's a visa waiter going to Peru. He's with the zone leaders), and Sister Worlton. We're all doing emails. :)

I'm pretty sure there was a bunch of stuff I was planning on writing, but I'll just say the stuff about my area. Good ol' Mattawa. 

Well, this was a pretty tough week! Dalia, who was our most promising investigator, isn't attending the english classes anymore, her kids aren't going to mutual, she's sleeping in instead of going to church, and she's not very excited to see us. Crispin has told us the reason he doesn't read the Book of Mormon is because he doesn't understand it, and he told us about a lot of problems in his family that have been going on, that have kept him from church. And seemingly none of our less-active members are going to church. And Reynaldo, who seemed to be progressing, forgot about church and didn't go. 

The mission is hard.

I'm growing so much. It's the refiner's fire. I remember one day this week thinking, "Wow. I haven't had a lot of days as tough as this one." And then I read in D&C 122. It's kind of funny. It's a scripture that isn't really all that comforting, but it's kind of saying, "You're going through this for a reason. I never said getting a body, learning about life, and becoming like me would be easy. But remember, the Savior suffered and died for you, so that you would be able to overcome this. You can do it. And I promise that I will never leave you if you do." I don't know. Maybe I'm just crazy. In fact, I know I am. But I know my Savior, and my Father, are with me. I might feel like I've been knocked to the ground sometimes, but Christ always has his hand outstretched to help me up again.

I'm so glad that I'm on this mission. I can't believe how happy I am about myself. About who I am. I know I'm not perfect, but when I think about my faults, I just don't see the point of it. Why think of what's wrong in life, when I can think of what's right, and be happy?

Oh, and you people need to E-mail me. I got nuthin' this week! Much love :)

Elder Grant

March 13, 2013: Temple week!

So, the reason that I am sending this E-mail on Wednesday, is because we went to the temple today, and it changes our Pday. Sorry. I kind of failed to tell you guys that last week. :) The other big thing that we found out rather recently is that there is a big change in the way the E-mails work now.... I can now E-mail ANYONE! :D Crazy huh? If anyone, anyone at all, wants to send an email to me, its not against the rules. The only setback is that I only get another half-hour on emails, so I might have to print out some and hand-write the letters. But It will still make contact MUCH quicker now with people. :) Oh. And if you've been waiting for a letter from me, I got all caught up on letters today! Yay for two two-and-a-half-hour trips to Spokane and back!

So, the work goes on, and once again, it's kind of a more or less week. We had only one investigator at church, but he's progressing so much!! His name is Reynaldo, and I'm pretty sure I've talked about him before, but he's just so interested, and he really cares, and really wants to change his life. It means a lot to see someone repent. It reminds us as missionaries that we're not doing EVERYTHING wrong. :) It was kind of hard Saturday night when our other investigators told us, that they were definitely not going to church the next day. I can usually take it pretty well when they don't show up. When they have good intentions, and fail to go, at least they told us they wanted to. But when they were planning on failing us... that was a tough day. It wasn't an experience I had really had before. I don't think it helped that they could have gone, but it was just their favorite time to go grocery shopping. Ah well. I believe that they will find the light one day. In the mean time, I've done my best to bring them happiness.

Elder Wait and I are doing good. Sometimes I think he worries about things, that he can't change, a little bit too much, but hey, I do too. :) We went to the temple today together, and it was pretty nice. It will be one of his last trips, since he only has two transfers left. Poor guy. He hates when others ask him how much time he has left, but he doesn't really show any signs of trunkiness. ;) It's interesting how much he knows some of the members here. But I guess when you've been here for seven and a half months in the past, you're going to know a lot of people.

At the temple, I felt like... I was back home. A home I don't really remember that well. But even though I've never been to the Spokane Temple before, there was the same spirit, the same sense that you were in God's house. I was back at home with God. I really needed it, I realized. I didn't realize it til I got there though. I just looked at it, and even though it was a small temple, you could feel the grandness of it. Within the session room, as we waited for it to start, I just felt so incredibly happy and at peace. I feel a sense of longing for it now. I can't wait to go back. :) 

Hm... Oh yeah, pictures! One is of Elder Wait, and the other is of me at the temple. Enjoy!

Con amor,

Elder Grant

March 4, 2013: Week 2 in the 5 week transfer.

I came to the startling realization that I am now closer to the age of 20 than I am to 19. I'm so filthy old. Ew. I can't relate with High School students anymore. This is really weird. Lets move on to my main letter.

Well, we have an on-date. The first one I've had in three months. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find him again, and he has to get married. Hm. I can't lie, this was another hard week. Although, we did get Gabriel to go to church again. He needs to have his baby, and get married to his girlfriend (or move out) but he's shown so much faith, that I know he'll get baptized one day. He reads every time, has noticed how different our church is, how much he feels the spirit, and how right the Book of Mormon feels. He's just very conservative, and needs his time. We have many new investigators this week, although, I'm not sure how many will end up progressing. Although, one investigator, named Reynaldo, asked US if he could take the lessons. He's the "partner" of the sister of a recently returned missionary, and he's really excited to take the discussions. He's asked to have lessons with us twice a week, and when we've come back, he's read everything we asked an more. He's eager to learn, and it's nice because Jorge, the RM, is able to be a third missionary with us and help make sure he understands and knows everything he needs. He needs to get married, but I think he'll be baptized in the future too.

Elder Wait is pretty diligent. He tries to get everything done, and is focused on keeping everything in order. He has the blessing of a strong desire to keep our house clean, which at times other missionaries don't have. The only thing I worry about him is that sometimes I think he forgets to slow down and enjoy life. But other than that, he's a pretty good companion, and I'm lucky to have him.

This week I had our investigator for our ward (our only english investigator) ask me rather fiercely, how I could know. How I know all of this is true. How could I possibly declare such a thing, when millions profess the same thing about other churches, and other religions? I thought about it, and answered him, that I would be lying if I said that I have never doubted. That my testimony is perfect. That I had seen God the Father, and Jesus Christ, as Joseph Smith had. 
But I knew that God has made himself known to me. I've felt it. I know I've felt it, and whether I like it or not, it's true. Luckily, I do like it. :) Because it has brought me hope. So much hope. No matter what happens in life, I know I have a purpose, I know why I'm here, and I know I can overcome anything. I know, I will be happy.

I've been pretty slow on writing letters, so sorry to those waiting for me! I'm trying to write more after emails. I promise to get back to you in less than a month! Man... I'm terrible. Oh well.

Love,

Elder Grant

First week gone by without Elder Kelly (AKA Dad) and first week gone by in a five week transfer.

Yeah, so, my mission got cut by one week. We're being put on to a different track, transfer-wise, and so this transfer is five weeks instead of six. Kinda crazy! Also, two new missions will be made in Washington, and we have been assured that the boundaries for the western part of the mission (the spanish side) WILL change. Kinda crazy.... We'll see what will happen. We will receive news of the exact changes in about 7 weeks I believe. On to talk about the area.

 

We weren't able to see Dalia much this week, and we never taught her. Many cancelled member lessons, unfortunately. But we're going to work on that with the Bishop and the Branch President. We had one investigator, Crispin, go to the adult session of Stake Conference... and the leader's session.... But not Stake Conference itself. I'm not quite sure why. Silly investigators. Yeah, Stake Conference made it so we didn't really have anyone at church... Except less-actives! We did help less-active members get to it. Other than that, it was a pretty slow week I guess.

Elder Wait is very different from Elder Kelly. He's a good guy though. He's got a lot of experience, and he's also rather quiet. It's kind of crazy that he came back here to Mattawa, when he was here for 7 and a half months before! I don't really need to show him around much. That's pretty handy. Plus he already knows a lot of the people here. We're trying some formers that he knew about. Hopefully we will be able to find some people that are prepared!

I went out with a member, the bishop's son, who is going on his mission in one week. He got his call, for the Nevada Las Vegas Mission, (we're switching places!) and his report time was a month later! Super soon. I was teaching with him for several hours, when Elder Wait was at a meeting for leaders in Ephrata. We taught a couple of people, and saw many others. I think it gave him a taste of what the mission is like. He's twenty two years old, and has worked very hard to go on a mission, and he's really excited to go. I think one of the best things members and missionaries can do, is get a taste of each other's lives by teaching together. It lets each of us understand more about what the other's experiences are, and know who they are. It's odd. As a missionary, it gets harder and harder to remember what it's like to be on the other side. But it's one of the most important things to remember I think. When we know how other's feel, we can make better decisions on pretty much everything!

 

So, the pictures. One is of Brother and Sister Ruiz, who are super cool members, both are practicing their english, and have given us some of our best investigators. The second is of Dalia, our most ready investigator, and her two kids Manny and Jacky. or Emmanuel and Jaqueline. They're the best!

 

That's all this week. Con amor,

 

Elder Grant

 

The end of training, and the beginning of my third transfer.

We finally got Dalia and her kids to come to church again! That made Elder Kelly super happy (on the inside. He doesn't always show his outside happiness. heehee) and I made sure to let them know it was good they were there. We weren't able to get Crispin and his family, or Gabriel to church, but I guess you can't have everything. We found a lot of new investigators in the past week, which makes Elder Kelly happy that he's leaving with a bigger number of people to teach. The days are getting warmer, and we've started to wear just our suits, no coats. It's kind of nice that Mattawa is warmer than most of the mission. Overall, we had one of our best weeks this past one, and we've got a good few hours scheduled after P-day today, with two family home evenings with non-members scheduled. We're excited for that. So, another week in the Royal City District goes by.

Elder Kelly is sad to go leave Mattawa, but he's pretty good at dealing with it. He's also very scared to become Zone Leader. :) Okay, not very scared. Just the usual feelings of apprehension that someone would feel when they're about to become a Zone Leader. I'm glad he was my trainer; he's a good missionary. I would try and claim that he's perfect, but we all have a lot to learn! So much to learn. Anyway, I'm interested to see what Elder Wait is going to be like. I've heard he's actually been in Mattawa for a long time in the past, so I won't have to worry as much about teaching him about the area. We're going to have to see what happens. :)

I was reading in the Joseph Smith History yesterday, and I got to a part that has, I think, my favorite quote by Joseph Smith in it. It is in the twenty-fifith verse, and it says, "I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it," I think it's my favorite, because I can relate to it so much. I know that I have received countless answers from God, and I know that the signs of His presence are all around me. I know, and I know that He knows it, and I cannot deny it. And that is another thing that builds my testimony. Just remembering, "I know".

 

That's all I got this week. Hope you all have a good week!

 

Con amor, Elder Grant

Last week of training.

We didn't get everyone to go to church that we wanted this week, but we did get Crispin this week. Many people feel like we're wasting our time with him and his family, but he's showing he's changing, bit by bit, because he's gone to church I believe 4 times in the past 8 weeks. He says he's still not ready for baptism, but its baby steps. In the mean time, we're inviting him to take big steps, for when he's ready to do that. :) Other than that, it was a pretty hard week. I don't usually think that, but I'll admit it. It's okay. I didn't come on the mission to have an easy time, I came to learn and grow! Well, I've said too much for this paragraph. 

I love how you can notice when the Lord is comforting you. When you have a hard day, and yet for some ridiculous reason, you still have peace. I think that's one of the best witnesses I receive, when there's no reason for you to be happy, and you are anyway. Someone else is giving it to you.

We helped someone take in their groceries just randomly this week. I've been wanting to do that for a while! She made us take some tiny oranges as thanks. We felt bad, since we didn't want her to give us something for what we wanted to be service, but in the Latino culture, it's generally better to accept what's offered, then to deny it. Even if you have had ten tacos already.

Just a little thing I love to notice, is when Elder Kelly and I are planning, and he says some random idea, that came into my head about the same time. The spirit really does help us. :) We need quite a bit of it. 

We still haven't moved out of our old place. The owner is coming home in about five days. We're freaking out! We don't want to live with an old lady! But we might have to. Our Bishop said on his mission he always lived with old widows, and that one time, one of them would make him and his companion light her cigarette for her. Awkward. Luckily, ours is a member.

Okay, I'll hopefully have more time for a better letter next week!

Elder Grant

I'm done being trained in two weeks!

So, this week we got someone at church that is actually progressing! Gabriel is super awesome, he has said he notices the difference between our church and other churches (our church doesn't bash on others) and he wants to get baptized, except after his baby is born. That's the hard part. He's not married to the girl. And they would probably get married in the Catholic church if they did get married. We'll work things out though. His partner/girlfriend/thing says she's really seen him change in his time that he's been talking to us. And we have finally gotten him started on reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning, so we're super excited for that. He's such a cool guy. We're excited for him.

 

We gave a blessing to a father of a less active family yesterday. The mom and dad were arguing for a long time, and we had to go, so we kind of found our way into sharing a short message, and prepared to leave, but they wanted a blessing. So we first tried to give it to their like one-year-old baby, but he kept moving his head, so I'm not sure it worked. Then we gave one to the dad, and that brought the spirit back, right before we left. It's interesting, how lost people can be, yet when you show them a touch of the spirit again, they calm down. It's like a small miracle. Miracles are awesome. :)

 

 Did I mention the sisters in out district came into their area, and had a baptism in three weeks? Sister missionaries are either the best, or the... not best in the mission. Darn them sister missionaries. Helping so many people.

 

We had specialized training this week, and we learned how to teach the lessons, which usually take at least twenty minutes, in about 5-8 minutes, so that an 8 year old could understand it. Which, spiritually, is the level most of the people we teach are at. It's the first time that I've felt like I've taught REALLY well in my life. It's amazing how much better teaching simply is! You don't need to go into details! I love it so much.

 

Oh, let me give you guys my favorite scriptures.

 

D&C 18:10, Matthew 14:31, Jacob 6:12, D&C 121:7, Romans 13:12, Moses 1:39, Proverbs 3:5, D&C 50:26, D&C 63:47, Ether 12:4, Alma 37:6, and the best one, D&C 122:7-9.

 

That's all this week. :) Con amor,

 

Elder Grant

 

Oh, yeah, the pictures. The first one is the second dog to try and bite me. The first one was a foot high and had three legs. The second picture is me in Mattawa!

I think I have two weeks left in the transfer?

I'm so glad I don't keep too much track of time in the mission. It's so much nicer than thinking about what day it is, or when you last had a home-cooked meal. :) The work was kinda hard this week. Only one investigator attended church (he isn't progressing much) and the people that are closest to baptism love when we visit them, but aren't acting enough. And we were 115 miles over at one point this much, so we've been walking a lot this week. And we didn't go to Othello, so I have one box of pasta roni, a couple pop tarts, two half-full boxes of cereal, chips, fruit roll ups, and granola bars to survive on for the week. I love the mission so much. :) I mean, if I have to go through something hard like this, what better time to be doing it then when I have the blessings of the comfort of the Lord? When I have the joy of knowing I'm doing what's right? I'm not crazy, really. Well, maybe a little. But I'm happy I'm able to overcome all this. I'm glad that God is helping me be like him.

Anyway, this morning we woke up at 4:30 to go play basketball with some members and non-members alike at the school for an hour or so. I'm not any good, but it was pretty fun. Plus the non-members got to see us as human beings for once. :) Elder Kelly says he's not very good, but he know's he's better than he says, hehe. This week we also found Berto Hernandez, who has known about the church for ten years, had a book of mormon for that same amount of time, and says he's been visited by the missionaries something like once every year. I think he said it was right about time for us to show up again. We tracted into him. :) He sees how good the people of the church are, and understands a lot already. I think he's just afraid to change, afraid to make his wife mad (He said she's "hard-core" Catholic) and isn't sure he can accept that the Catholic church, which he's gone to all his life, doesn't have Christ's authority. We answered some questions he had, but also made it clear, that if he wants to know the truth, he needs to read the Book of Mormon, and ask God for his answer, not us. We plan on visiting him again to help him have the motivation to do that. We also met this week Alvina, who when she answered the door, asked US for El Libro de Mormon, because her son had it in english which she can't read, and she wanted to read it. She also said she liked reading, which I haven't heard yet on my mission til now. She then continued to ask what the book was about, and how she could learn more. We gave her a Restoration pamphlet and a return appointment (we would have done more, but it was cold outside, and there wasn't a man in the house). When we came back, her nephew claimed she was in Yakima. Alvina then came to the door. The kid must have been embarrassed. Anyway, we were able to come inside this time, and she asked us before we could even say much when we had church, what it was like, etc. I've said a lot about her, but suffice it to say, we're very excited about her. :)

 I also just finished Jesus the Christ today, and Wow! its a really good book. It helps you understand so much more about who Jesus Christ was, what he did, and why he did it. It makes you realize that he had a purpose for every little action, no matter how great or small. It helps you love your Savior more, when you realize how great the Atonement really was. And it makes you look forward to when he'll come again in all his glory. I was discouraged by some to not read it, at least not yet, because most of it isn't doctrine that you teach to investigators. I made sure to not spend too much time reading it, but I'm glad I have completed it, because it's strengthened my testimony incredibly, and made me appreciate the Christ, the Son of God, so much more.

Hmm. Hopefully that does it this week. The pictures are of the kind of food I eat (that was at the beginning of the week) and of my many beautiful ties. :) I'm super proud of them, and going to explain them all. The red one is the tie I got from Elder Christensen, and the black and gold is one I traded my white tie for. I need a new white tie.... but it was worth it. I got the blue/teal one from Elder Barr, and the red and black is one I bought back home for a dance with Caroline Thorley. The blue and black stripe tie is one I stole from my dad. The black paisley is one I got from Elder Pinegar, and the purple and silver is one I might trade. The gold tie is from Elder Louth, and the black striped tie is one I bought with a friend, but I kind of want to trade it, so I need to see if I can get permission. The blue and black paisley tie is my favorite, and is from Hermano Ballard, my teacher from the MTC. I also spilled tomato sauce on it one time. Its not as shiny as it used to be on the bottom, but other than that, the damage isn't bad. 

I talk too much.

Love you all!

-Elder Grant

Sometime in the second transfer

So, this transfer the area of Royal City was split in two, and Elder Decker stayed there and got Elder Aguilar as a companion. They now have about 1,000 people to proselyte to, half of which they can't reach. Their area probably won't exist for long. The sisters, Sister Collins (who was in Othello) and Sister Worlton came in, invited everyone to be baptized, and are having a baptism three weeks after they got into the area. This is when I truly learned, that most baptisms you receive, are actually the work of other missionaries. And the people you work on most, will be baptized by other missionaries. It's the circle of life. As for Mattawa....

Sometimes it seems like you're not making any progress in the area! You know you are, inside, but sometimes it's hard to see the progress. Dalia and her kids, who are our most promising investigators, haven't been to church in a couple weeks, even though we visit them every saturday night.  But Gabriel, who progresses very slowly, made it to church again, and so did the part of the Cruz family. Crispin (Cruz) said he didn't want to leave when Sacrament meeting was over, and he felt a lot of peace. Miguel, who is very intelligent, didn't go to church and didn't want a date for Baptism yet, but he keeps inviting us over. I think he's impatient though with my slow spanish. :) Good thing Elder Kelly can speak so well! We are getting some more new investigators, (even if some of them are half-hateful, half-afraid of us. We'll warm up to them :) and we're getting more referrals also. We've just been given the task of bringing an older man, who just lost his wife, back to church. His time in the church stopped when he was about 13, but he's very nice and the man that gave us the referral believes we can do it. So, Mattawa has it's good and bad. :)

Elder Kelly and I are working on having shorter lessons, and it's working pretty well! We don't take up all of the investigator's/member's time, and we are able to visit more people also. Hopefully those we teach can notice the difference when we leave too! Plus, me and Elder Kelly managed to spend only 15 dollars each at the grocery store this week! We are so good!

This week, I've felt a lot of comfort from the Lord. I tried out a suggestion of praying to know if the Book of Mormon is true again. It was interesting. I went and knelt to pray, and confidently prayed as to the truth of this sacred scripture... and nothing happened. I had a general sense of the spirit, but nothing special. I was puzzled, and wondered if I was missing something. I finished my prayer, and thought about it. I still knew the Book was true, but where was that promised response from the Spirit? I decided that for right then, I would just depend on previous answers from the Holy Ghost. Throughout the day, I would think of when I felt the spirit especially strong. The first moment I remember feeling Him in an incredible way was on my seventeenth birthday, when I received my patriarchal blessing. I also thought of when I left my interview with my Bishop to become a missionary, and during my time at the MTC. Why couldn't I receive that sensation of the fire within my soul at will? I was a little frustrated. As Elder Kelly and I continued working, for some reason I got this strange sensation of awe. And happiness. And strength. I realized this was my answer of whether the Book of Mormon was true or not immediately. And I thought of a line from a hymn, "God moves in mysterious ways". I'm not sure why my answer took a little bit. I'm still figuring that one out. But I've applied it into my life, by reminding myself that sometimes it takes time for investigators to get answers! Well, I've said too much. This was a good letter! Hope you like the guard dog picture. Lots of love.

Elder Grant

PICTURES FROM MATTAWA

Wahluke Slope 

Here is my mission area!

Welcome to Fabulous downtown Mattawa

 More Mattawa

 1st (in field) district

 My apartment and wierd companion

 Elder  Kelly- asserting his authority as district Lord

1st week of the new transfer!

Yeah, me and Elder Kelly are staying in Mattawa. I don't really have much time. But I thought I should let everyone know that they should just mail my address at the Spokane mission office. I don't want letters getting stuck in Mattawa when I leave. So mail to

Elder Colton Grant

WA-SPO Mission

820 S Pines Rd Ste 101

Spokane Valley, WA, 99343

For a reminder. :) Lots of love. Write me if you want to know more haha. I always write back as soon as I can!

Elder Grant

Week 5 in field (Or is it 6?)

Yeah, I have no idea what to say. I'll start out with how we watched Other Side of Heaven yesterday! We watched a Disney movie, isn't that crazy?!? I'm not supposed to do that usually! We were told to be home by 6pm on new years eve, and we were allowed to watch one of something like 5 movies. Neither Elder Kelly nor I had seen Other Side of Heaven before. So good! It was weird watching another missionary! Other than that, the week was kind of slow. We had dinner given to us quite a few times for the holidays, so that was nice. But most people were too lazy this week to do anything... Including meet with the missionaries. But our two most promising investigators were at church again, so that's super exciting. Watching others continue on the path to discipleship is the most amazing thing to watch. So, hopefully, I will have more exciting things to talk about next week.... Well, I did have my first white Christmas this week, it snowed that morning and made the ground all white and stuff. That was a nice experience. I met two massive German Sheperds. That was scary. I went to the ghetto. That was fun. We dropped an investigator with a baptismal date. That was sad. She moved to Tri-Cities. Dang tricities. Didn't even leave an address for a referral. Oh well. Till next week everyone. :)

Con amor,

Elder Grant

Christmas Week!

So, I will make this E-mail short. But I just went to a baptism in Royal City, the only other area in our district. It was a family called the Delay's, and I guess the parents had been going to church for a year, and the kids for two years. They randomly called Elder Villa and Elder Decker, our district-mates, saying they wanted to be baptized. Super cool for them. So that's the first baptism I've seen in the mission field. It was really well done, and everyone that attended barely fit in the baptismal room place. I guess a lot of people have been waiting for them to be baptized. Tonight, me and Elder Kelly are going to be eating at the Bishop's house eating ribs. Just a little excited for that. :) Well, it's been really nice having the Christmas season coming up. Shared Christmas messages with investigators and members alike, sung lots of Christmas hymns in spanish, and came to a greater understanding of what Christmas is really about. It's about that guy on my name tag!

 

Too bad my package didn't show up on time. :) Kind of funny actually. It's all good stuff!

 

Well, I love you all! Thank you for the support everyone! I pray for blessings on all my friends and family every night! Especially the ones who write me! ;)

 

Merry Christmas. And Peace on Earth.

 

Elder Grant

Week 3? I think. Hopefully.

Already losing track of time here! That's a good thing. I think. I'm just getting lost in the work. So, I've gotten the question whether all of my investigators are spanish speaking. No, but about 4/5 of them are. Of course, some speak spanish and english, such as with Dalia. Dalia only speaks spanish, but her children speak both, but they tend to prefer english, so some of our lessons are bilingual. Other times, someone can speak both, but the member we have speaks spanish, so me and Elder Kelly speak english, and our member speaks spanish, and our investigator does both. A little confusing at times. :)

Something about sundays is interesting. We greet people for the English ward, but don't attend it because PEC for the branch is during sacrament for the ward. Then, because the kids all speak english, and the branch's adults can all fit in one larger classroom, the ward and the branch share class time. Then we go to the Spanish sacrament meeting. Sometimes there are english speakers from the stake though at the branch, so we have these headsets that the spanish speakers put on, and then my companion Elder Kelly had the headset that all the other headsets hear, so that he can translate. Pretty cool stuff.

I got asked if I have dinner every night, and I can't remember if I answered this already, but basically what happens is we are always allowed to have dinner appointments on Saturday on Sunday. Monday through Friday however, you need to have a non-member present to be allowed dinner appointments. It's a motivator to help missionaries try and get members more involved with investigators. I think we're allowed to get lunch from a member any day, but most people work. So that's never happened. :) Maybe one day!

Today, me and Elder Kelly don't have miles, so we're not going to Othello. We will be watching doctrinal movies in the seminary building and writing letters! And getting the car an oil change! Fun stuff. :) On Christmas, I will get to skype of course. Ma, Pa, be ready around 4-7 most likely? Actually I really have no idea. We're are going over to the Christensens to skype, but they told us just come over whenever for it. And we're not sure what our schedule will be. So um.... Be ready all christmas day! :D On a side note, sister christensen is actually the sister of brother fritzler, who used to be in Peccole Ranch Ward. Small world! Well, not sure what else to say this week. Love you all, and thanks for the support!

Elder Grant

Week 2 in the field

First of all, I would like to thank my brother Cameron for giving me things to talk about in this email. I was kind of clueless as to what to say, til he gave me tons of questions. :D

My trainer, Elder Kelly, kind of reminds me of Dad. He's kinda quiet, but he just has moments of quietness I realized. He's actually a lot more talkative in spanish. :) He's from North Salt Lake, and he's been out for about 9 months. He's teaching me the day to day stuff obviously (I've mostly got a hang of that now), he also has a guide to teach me stuff called the first 12 weeks, and he's making me lead sometimes, even though I hate it. :) It's scary taking the lead! He is my Dad, and my second companion is my Mom apparently. I am his first trainee, so I got the birthright. :) A really ugly pink, ugly tie. One day, I will hand that down to the first person I train.

The branch is really small. I guess it used to be quite a bit bigger, but its been having some problems. They have maybe 30 people each sacrament meeting? And I would say 15 of those only attend because they're trying to support the branch, but would go to the ward if the branch wasn't so small. We did have 5 investigators at church this sunday though. :) Dalia is a woman in her early 30's (at first I thought she was in her late 30's, but then I remembered most people don't look as young as my mom did when she was 38!). She has three kids, I think one is 14ish one is 12ish and the other is 7? She's not sure if she wants to commit to baptism though.  And then a man named Erasto came, and he has been attending church. But he needs to get a divorce, which we're working on, so he doesn't have a baptism date. 

Monday is my P-day, hopefully you can figure that out. :P  We go to Walmart in Othello (tell President Teshima I'm in the Othello stake!) and then play sports with the other members in the zone. All twelve of us haha. Small zone. :) There's four Elder comps, two sister comps. We played soccer last week, not sure what we're gonna do after emails today. :) So, we meet at the Stake center, and then leave at like 5 back for Mattawa. Except today I'm going to Royal City (which is really a bunch of farms, not a city) on exchanges after this with Elder Villa today. I will return to Mattawa tomorrow. I also spent a day with Elder Mitchell in Othello on Zone exchanges Friday, and received a super delicious breakfast. :) Not sure what I was gonna say next... Oh, but for the record, in the MTC, my zone once reached the size of 35 people. Just to compare.

Not sure what else to say this week. Give me more stuff to talk about. :)

With love,

-Elder Grant

First week, First transfer!

Hey, so time to start talking. I've got a bit to say. Let me start off though with saying, I love the mission. :) And if it seems like I'm complaining anything, I'm definitely not. You'll see why I say that in a sec though.

 

So, to start off. My first area. It's a little town called Mattawa, (aka Wahluke) Washington. There are farms everywhere, and there's an English ward, and a Spanish branch here. There's a lot more spanish speakers than english speakers in town though (excluding children. All the children learn english at school). The church building is in the middle of a bunch of fields. Not sure why. It's like a ten minute drive from town, with nothing in between. It's about a ten minute drive from town in one direction, and a ten minute drive the other direction to where me and Elder Kelley live. I think there's probably 3,000 people here. I think that might be less people than Peccole Ranch. :) Me and my trainer, Elder Kelley, live in the Bishop's Mom's basement, who's on a mission herself. We receive letters once a week from the Bishop, but I'm able to write in any personal time I have. Luckily, with so many spanish speakers most of our lessons are in spanish. They talk funny, and I don't understand a word they say. :) I'm starting to catch on though. I'm able to talk pretty well if I actually understand what's going on. We have lots of investigators on our list, something like 16? But it can be difficult because most of the latinos aren't good at making commitments. At all. Cough. But yeah. I'm learning so much, and I'm loving it here. As missionaries, you get the best and the worst, because you're involved in the most important work of all. Saving souls! I love it. :) So, that's all this week. I'll try and write more next week! Love you all! Keep writing me!

 

Elder Grant

Washington Spokane Mission Welcomes Your New Missionary

27 November 2012

 

Dear Brother and Sister Grant,

 

I was pleased to welcome your son, Elder Grant, to the Washington Spokane Mission this week.  I’m happy to report that he arrived safely.  I had the privilege of meeting and associating with him the day of his arrival and note that it is evident that he comes with a great desire to serve Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Elder Grant understands the role of the Holy Ghost in accomplishing the work here in the Washington Spokane Mission and has committed to live worthy of that power.

After prayerful consideration, I have called Elder Kelly to serve as Elder Grant’s companion in the Mattawa, Washington area.  It is our objective to call only the best missionaries to serve as trainers and I believe that your son is in excellent training hands.  We expect that your missionary will serve in this area for the next 6 to 12 weeks as he begins his mission.

  

I have enclosed photographs of your missionary and assure you that Sister Mullen and I will love Elder Grant. Our great desire is that his time here will further establish him on the path of righteousness, as well as bless the many people he will serve.

 

Attached are the new updated recommended guidelines we have for parents.  These guidelines are based on many years of accumulated missionary experience, especially those guidelines concerning personal contact with your missionary. Elder Grant needs your good example.  I sincerely request that you consider them for the benefit of your son and his fellow missionaries.

 

The mission has a website where you can see what is happening in the mission.  Go to:  washingtonspokanemission.wordpress.com

You can send mail to your son at:

Elder Colton Curtis Grant
10498 Rd 24 SW
Mattawa, WA
99349

 

Thank you so much for sharing Elder Grant with us. 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Donald E. Mullen, President

WASHINGTON SPOKANE MISSION

Colton Arrives in Washington

Hi Everyone… my wife and I were fortunate to meet your missionaries last night, and host them for the night after their arrival in Spokane. I picked them up from the mission home about 9pm last night, and they were a pretty tired bunch after having been awake since 4am that morning. We gave them soft beds to sleep in and a hot breakfast this morning before taking them to the Spokane East stake center at 8:45 to meet their new companions and begin their service.

Attached are some pictures of them at breakfast (we had green egg breakfast burritos in commemoration of their first day as “greenies”!)

Your young men are delightful. We greatly enjoyed the little bit of time we spent with them, and we found them to be eager and prepared for the journey that lies ahead. Thank you for sending such terrific ambassadors to our little neck of the woods. We’re certain the Lord will bless them (an you) in their service.

Steve Uptain

Builder Services Representative

Last week in the MTC 11/22/12

Hey everyone! So I saw and heard Elder Holland literally less than half an hour ago, as of right now, and it was incredible. He emphasized to us, that he really was human. But that he had a knowledge of Jesus Christ, and it was incredibly powerful and deep. He testified to us the most important completely mortal man to live on this Earth was Joseph Smith. Because through him, the Lord began the LAST dispensation. Think about that. Every other prophet, including the Apostles of old, knew that their dispensation would not last, and yet they did the work anyway. And now, the church will NEVER fall again. We are at the beginning of the End.

 

I want to let everyone know, that yes, I am nervous for this last week. I'm looking forward to what's to come, and know that I will be alright. Nothing can go permenantly wrong, with faith in Christ. But it's still kind of scary! I found out that marijuana was voted as legal in Washington by popular vote, and same sex marriage was almost voted in by popular vote. Luckily I will be teaching the more down to earth side of Washington, but I think I will still have some challenges. But I know I will overcome them.

 

I want to end this short email with my testimony. It feels incredibly right. My hands are literally shaking with how excited they are! I know that my Redeemer lives. He lives, and because of him, I will live again, there is NO doubt in my mind. I know that the spirit has born his testimony to me on thousands of occasions of the truth of this matter. I know that all are able to receive Eternal Life, the life of endless happiness. I know that no matter what in this life, God sent us to succeed and NOT to fail. We are able to overcome all that the devil, the world, and even the Lord's refining fire has for us. I know that the gospel, and Jesus Christ, have given me a perfect brightness of hope in this life. I know that he loves me, and knows I can be great. I will be forever thankful for his strength and kindness. I absolutely know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. He would not have died for a false book, and a false church. He sufferred agonies, and was martyred for the Book of Mormon. All he had to do was deny its truth, and he could have lived, likely for at least another twenty years. But rather he died for what he knew was true and right, and just. He could not deny that it was the word of God, just as I can't. I want to let all who read this know, that I will never give up the faith. The gospel is one of happiness, and my life is so incredible because of it. I will endure. And I know I will because of my faith and hope in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of all. I say all of this, in His name, Jesus the Christ, amen.

Travel Plans! 11-15-12

I got my travel plans for going to Spokane! I am to report at the travel office at five a.m. on Monday the twenty sixth. I hope I can fit all my stuff in my bags again. :) Man I'm SO excited. I'm not even sure what to write about! I loved the temple again today. I've got lots of new ties that I traded, that I want to take a picture of and send home. Um.... What else? I don't know. Oh, gosh darn it, I don't get to see my favorite teacher ever, Hermano Ballard, for a couple days. That's a bummer :\ But I'll see him before I leave the CCM/MTC. Darn that angel.

 

Oh, I hosted this week. Meaning, I helped new missionaries into the MTC and find everything, get their new class stuff, etc, and lead them to their class to finally get spoken to in a foreign language, (no english at all) for four days straight. Good times. :) One guy I hosted had six bags, three of which were massive, and one of which cut my thumb, and got blood on my white shirt. That crazy kid. My companion hosted someone that looked so sad, that he gave away the "Pinegar Treasure", a treasure of mostly candy and some cute little toys, and notes from a bunch of missionaries of support. There was probably about 150 dollars of candy given away, in six rather large boxes. And it was good candy too. That missionary is staying on his mission whether he likes it or not.

 

Me and Elder Pinegar also got to go out in the snow this week I think? Might have been last week. But basically, he was kind of sick, went to the doctor here, and got approval to leave the MTC for the health clinic down the street! I put on my super coat, he got out his umbrella, and we walked in the snow incredibly happily, singing a funny little tune over and over again for probably twenty minutes. SO much fun. There's something exciting about leaving the MTC.

 

Well, I hope this was a good letter! Keep writing me people! <3 Love you all, and thank you so much for the support!

 

Con amor,

 

Elder Grant