Dear Family, 9/8/2011
Here’s a little news for you. I got my tooth fixed but it broke off again that same day and now I am waiting for another appointment and will probably have to pay around $50.00 this time! Fun right! I love you!!!!
We went to do baptisms this morning and ended up doing a session after that. So, we were in the temple from 8:30 to 12:30. It really is an amazing temple for how small it is!
Dad my second meeting with the students didn't go well because they weren’t there!! I almost cried haha,
But yah the English speakers didn’t show up so we went on contacting other people - asi es la vida!
We did get the chance to talk to two ladies who are Pentecostal and supposedly believed in what we had to say. We talked to them for about an hour, which was surprising. We explained multiple things about our beliefs and religion, and they liked it, but just told us that they believed that as well. We explained the Book of Mormon and left pamphlets with them to read,
It sounds like ya’ll are being the best you can be in the ward which is amazing! It reminds me of when I was the 1st assistant in the Priest Q. and Mom was in the Young Women’s presidency and Dad was in the Bishopric. It was fun being in meetings together - the Griner’s representing! Haha
It’s awesome to know that people in the states like me! Because here, since I can't communicate very well, I get a lot of snide looks - it’s awesome - I just love it! It’s like walking on to the opposing team’s field. Haha. We walk down the street and people just turn their backs to us until we pass them, then they will say hi. But only after you pass by them - so we never get the chance to talk to them unless we stop them in the tracks! Human nature, huh. After they stop and we talk, they find out that we aren’t so bad, even kind of nice.
I guess Elder Holland spoke at the Provo MTC this last Sunday! Wow, talk about a jealous missionary in the DR. We got to watch a rerun! Haha from a DVDs of a devotional from 4 years ago. Actually. I can't complain because we heard one of the greatest talks from Elder Bednar about how we feel the Holy Ghost testifying to us. One of his thoughts about how to feel the Spirit’s influence that I really liked was that we shouldn't worry about it and just be good people and we'll end up in the right place doing the right thing at the right time! That was really comforting and explains a lot about why I’m here and where I’m at in life.
I am so sad that I will be missing Blake’s farewell and I’m sad that I missed his 20th BIRTHDAY!, so tell him happy birthday for me, please. I know that he will be an amazing missionary because he has the desire to serve.
Please sell the cars! So that we can give our neighbors some room to park their cars on the street!
Okay, I had no idea that Labor Day had even come and gone! We didn’t do anything out of the normal. Just study, learn, eat, talk, play a little, study some more, hang out for a minute, study some more and oh yah eat again goes in there somewhere! Haha
It’s crazy how time flies here. What do you know, I only have 3 more weeks here at the CCM, then I’m “going to be a real boy” in the real world of SANTIAGO with real people and real teaching opportunities and situations!! In a way it’s scary, but inside I’m so calm about it, and in reality I’m so pumped you don't even know!
The native missionaries from the Dominican Republic and other Spanish speaking islanders came in today and they are sweet. Rookies! haha but Rookies with skills! We lost our two English speaking missionaries to Fiji and Jamaica. It’ll be fun to get to know the new missionaries. It’s really fun to meet all of these Elders and Sisters from all parts of the Caribbean. That’s an unbelievable blessing in itself that I would never get to have if I hadn’t come.
We now are doing everything in Spanish, reading, writing talking, memorizing, dreaming… and I am excited- well, I don't have the choice to speak English anymore!
In my district there is an Elder that has been at the Naval Academy for two years, So, when I heard that GOO passed hi swim test, I had to ask him questions about the swimming test and boot camp. Supposedly, it’s pretty hard and way tiring. So props to Recruit David Guanuna for manning it up!
D&C 11 21 has been a scripture that has been on my mind a lot because the last couple of days. My tongue has felt all tied up when I am trying to speak Spanish. So it helps me to focus on my studies and stick things out. We were teaching a lesson yesterday in the morning and it was my turn to share and answer questions and my mind went blank and I couldn't read or talk! It was so weird! So, right after I hit the books and haven't looked back!
We got all of the football scores from one of the area presidents on Sunday and we all were amazed to hear that BYU and USU did so well.
There are three Elders here that are really good friends with Brad Payne and Ryan Francom. So I get to talk with them about one of my best friends and my cousin, which is awesome.
Having memories from home honestly makes it easier to be here because when I go outside and can't breathe because of the heavy humid air, I think of skiing and how fresh it is up there. So thank you for the advice Dad. You’re one smart man!
I heard that Calder Bonnett is going on a mission. He will be coming home from school and wants to get out as quick as he can. How exciting is that!
The other night we had had a charla fongaera (fireside) that was just amazing. Our teacher Hermana Matoz gave the lesson. She’s a saint! She doesn't speak English very well, so she teaches in Spanish and we have to communicate by the Spirit - the amazing thing is, we all understand her, even with our limited knowledge of Spanish. She taught about the Restoration and then asked us all to bear our testimonies about the Restoration. I shared the story of the third time Elder Johnson and I taught in Spanish while we were in the Provo MTC. We taught the first vision and I believe that is when I received my testimony of the Restoration. We were able to teach it perfectly. After the lesson I gave Elder Johnson a hug. I might have told ya’ll that before. I shared that and then the rest of the Elders in my district shared their experiences and testimonies. It was just an amazing experience in class that night.
Well I better go – more letters to write.
I love ya’ll and hope the best for everyone!
ELDER GRINER
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