I still
can't believe that I am really in Texas! This first week has literally flown
by! When we got in Tuesday we went to this stake center where we had an
orientation with all of the new missionaries. While there we learned bike
safety, how to use our debit cards, how to teach and much more. The
entire thing lasted about 5 hours! It was really hard to stay awake, because
that morning we had to get up at 3:15 so we would make it to our plane on
time:) We also had a chance to have a short interview with the mission
president. He and his wife are amazing! During the interview he looked me in
the eyes and said "I'm not worried about you at all, you are going to be a
great missionary' I could feel how strong his love was for me, and it made me
want to be the best missionary ever! Following the orientation me and a few of
the elders went to the mission presidents first counselors house where we were
to sleep for the night. it was a really soft bed and I slept like a rock! The
next morning we went back to the stake center where we got our trainers. I got
really lucky, my trainers name is Elder Partridge. He is a great guy and has
taught me a lot! He is our district leader, so he is a really obedient solid
elder. We connect pretty well and have already had some good laughs and
discussions. Also while at the stake center we got our bikes!! I was pretty
pumped to see my sweet new ride! (thanks dad, you picked a good one:)) After that
me and my companion got a ride from a member family. There name is the Talbots.
They are a really interesting and funny family. The Talbots have a 21 year old
son living with them named Joseph. He is quite the character. He absolutely
loves the missionaries and calls us only by our last names:) The Talbots
dropped us off at our apartment. It was really fun to finally see where I am
going to be living for the next few months. Are apartment is pretty nice. I
sleep on a pretty cozy bed. We also have a washer and dryer! In addition to
that we also have a fridge stove and dishwasher, but my favorite thing of all
is the fact that we have weights and a pull up bar! It has been kind of hard
adjusting to having to workout right when I get up. After I hot unpacked we
went and taught a really nice newly converted family named the Paraltas. They
have a little girl who is 8 that we are preparing to get baptized. They also
have a two year old girl, they were super nice and we even sang frozen songs
together:) After that we went back to our apartment and I had my first nights
rest in Texas.
The next day
we headed out to go and help the Talbots move some furniture around. On are way
there we meet this lady named Tracy on the street. We taught her a quick lesson
and asked if we could teach her more. She said yes! When we got to the Talbot's
house they had us move this huge couch from there garage into their house. It
was so big that we had to remove the door from the house and push and shove
before we could get it into the house. We left very sweaty and tired, but glad
to be of service. Following that we went over to another members house to help
a family called the Jorgensons put on part of their roof. Brother Jorgenson is
the coolest guy! He is actually a member of the Texas Fort Worth police force
and has tones of cool stories. Getting the roof on the house was quite the
chore, but after some time we were able to get it on the roof. Brother
Jorgenson then bought us powerade! It was much needed!;) After that we went to
the family history center and I found some really cool stories about our
ancestors!
The
following day we went to teach Tracy. She was the nice lady we meet on the
street. We found her home and she let us in. Then we taught her the
Restoration. The whole time we were teaching her she loved it and was accepting
everything! In the end we left her with a Book of Mormon and asked if she would
be baptized is she found out for herself that the book was true. She said yes!
She also said that she would come to church with us on Sunday:) It was so fun
to have my first real lesson with a investigator! That night I was introduced
to a really nice old man named brother Davis. He was really cool! He was way
into scouting and let me pick a cup out of his huge cup collection! I chose
this cool Indian cup. I now use it as a pen holder:)
Saturday was
an interesting day. We started out by going to brother Jorgensons house to fix
elder Partridge's bike peddle. He has been serving for a year now and has worn
out his bike. Oh, by the way, we are in an all bike area! It's pretty tiring
but I love it! After we fixed his peddle we went to a less active family named
the Calvins. We talked to him for a while, and he ended up giving us rides to
all of our investigators. We tried to visit lots of investigators but no one
was home. We finally decided to go back to our apart to get ready for dinner.
For dinner this really nice member named brother Perks took us out to get
steaks! It was super yummy and I downed my steak in a matter of minutes;) After
dinner we went out and tried to proselyte some more, we did end up teaching a
quick lesson to two guys we found on the street, but other then that we weren't
having much success. Then as we were heading home for the night, we saw a
homeless man sitting on the curb. I stopped and gave him a few bucks and we got
taking to him. He told us some pretty sad stories. He also told us all of the
good he has been doing and that his feet were really sore and hurt to walk. He
also said he was looking for a job. I was prompted to give him a blessing, so
we took him over by a tree and administered to him a blessing. We then talked
with him some more and I got to give out my first Book of Mormon! It was pretty
cool. Then as we were leaving he said that his feet felt a lot better! It is
such an amazing experience to be a missionary.
This Sunday
I got to attend my new ward, the River Trails ward. There were a lot of awesome
members I got to meet. On top of that Tracy came to church! She seemed kind of
bored during the meetings, but said that she enjoyed it! She is the sweetest
lady and has a great love for our Savior. That afternoon we went and ate dinner
at a younger couples house named the Atkinsons. They feed us these amazing
tacos! They said the secret was that they mixed the tomatoes with honey. After
that we went to a fireside where this really cool family that was recently
converted told there conversion story. They have 3 little girls that are all
full of energy and love. They are so darling and I love them already. Brother
Webster actually got the Aronic Priesthood! It was pretty powerful. Following
the meeting we got to have this amazing lemon sheet cake! It was soooo good!:)
Today we got
to go shopping for my first time! It was kind of nerve racking, because I
didn't want to got over my limit, but in the end I got plenty of food and did
pretty well with what money I had:) I also bought a water bottle and a camera
case. Following the store this nice member took us to a BBQ joint and we had
lunch. It was really good and I left very satisfied. Well now I am off to play
a little basketball and do some laundry, but I love you all so much and hope
everyone is having a good first week at school!
love,
Elder
Griffin
P.S. Mom,
could you please send me some more shoe polish? The bottle I have exploded out
the back. Thanks! My camera can't send pictures at the moment, so I will send
some next week when I get a cord. My mailing address is 4273 Rufe Snow dr. #523
North Richland Hills, TX 76180
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