EE 17

Hey family!

Thanks for the letter dad it is way good to hear all of the new things going around.

Wow, Calder had his farewell! Time flies by. I remember when he told me that he was leaving in January and that seemed like it was forever away.  But, now he is leaving!!!! Wow, I’m so excited for him and welcome him to this adventure called a mission. He’ll do great. I hope that everything was fun there at the farewell and it sucks that I missed it. And wow I could really use some of that pork here! haha.

BUT.... the class went bad! haha Because that day we had a meeting with the mission president and one of the area 70s was here to give a short outlook on the BOM.  It was cool and it’s always good to hear and learn.  We had asked a member to help us teach because we wanted to give him a chance to grow and because this meeting with the President was scheduled after we had scheduled our Book of Mormon class.  We thought that the class could get started and then we could get there after our meeting.  Well the best laid plans ….. We showed up to the class about an hour late and the teacher that we had asked to help us didn’t show up until after we did. Uugh!  So, the people that were there were kind of mad and frustrated (and rightly so), so they left. But it was good to see one sister still in her seat and after everyone else had left she looked at us and said.... I would like to learn! haha So we taught her and will hopefully get things under control this week to make the class better.

We had a cool experience this week that made things a lot better for us. We had just finished our last set appointment and were trying to find new people.  So, we went to the top of an apartment building and started contacting.  The first people didn’t want anything to do with us and so we knocked on the next door.   An 18 year old kid invited us in and as we sat down his sister came in the room.  She was so excited to see us and told us that she wanted us to pray for her family and husband and her work so that she can find a job. We told her that we could do that!  So we started with a prayer and later on in our conversation we found out that their Dad had just died, that’s the worst thing for them, but the best opportunity for missionaries to teach and explain the plan of salvation to them and to reassure them that they would see him again.  Right after we told them that, they told us that we could come back whenever we wanted and that she wanted us to pass by at least 2 times a week to talk to and teach her. ! ! It was so awesome to find someone that is actually ready to hear what we have to say.

I went on my first intercambio (trade-off) this week with the zone leaders and it was way fun.  It gave me a lot more energy to work and I learned a ton.  I went to their area and the “white” ZL came to our area.  So, I was with Elder Valdez, he’s the fastest speaking Dominican in the mission. Wow, he is a boss and can teach and can have fun. We went to his area and time flew by.  We were teaching a lesson almost every 20 minutes and every one of their investigators had a Book of Mormon and when they opened the door for us they had it in their hands ready to read.  Among other things I learned that I have a lot to work on during my mission, a lot to study and, a lot to apply in my teachings.

My comp and I are having a ton of fun in our area.  Working with the members is great and not so great.  haha I shouldn’t say that but I’m used to living in a ward that functioned!  It’s a good thing that I grew up where the church is established, perhaps because of the examples I saw, I can help these new members understand and carry out callings so things will work smoothly.   It’s amazing what we take for granted.  One thing that I can see with them though, is that they really have to fight for their beliefs.  That is something that we in Utah never really have to do.

Our district had a BBQ this morning in the pouring rain.  We played basketball and had a fun time getting a little exercise shooting hoops and getting to know each other.  After our game we went over to the Bishop’s house and my trainer was there!  Elder Jensen was trying to get his scripture cases. It was fun to see and talk to him. So we took a picture together! I’ll try and send it on to you.

I love you all and hope the best!!

ELDER GRINER