Thursday, December 3, 2015

Dec 18th!

11.30.15
This first week went pretty well, and elder Pulver and I hit the ground running. It was definitely hard to see elder Smith go, but elder Pulver is also a great missionary and we are getting along great. At the start of this week we were able to have another good lesson with Pete. The previous week he had a small concern regarding coffee, but he told us that after he had pray about it that he had not drunken it for 4 days! Way to go Pete! Whenever he has a question that he doesn't understand he always goes to God in prayer and has so far always received an answer. He has a tone of faith. We also set a baptismal date with him for December 18th. We are very excited for him! 
 This week we have also been really trying to find more service opportunities, because our mission president gives us 10 hours a week to serve. Right now we only have one place that we regularly serve at, and it's only about 2.5 hours a week. It was quite the adventure trying to find places to serve at. We tried to serve at the library and this animal shelter, but they made you fill out this form that was super ridiculous. They were going to do background checks, and were going to make us pay 25 dollars to go to a finger printing agency! We decided that is wasn't worth it:) We did possibly find this big retail store we might be able to work at, so hopefully it works out. 
We have also been trying to clean up our potential investigator lists. They contain people that have been contacted by the missionaries over the past 3 to 4 years. It has kept us plenty busy, and we have been able to meet some really nice people and hand out some Book of Mormons as well. We have also been trying to do a lot more less-active work lately. We have had some really good success. I have learned that reactivation is just as important as baptizing. Helping members get to the temple and keep the covenants they have already made is so important. There is this one family we have been working with called the Brazals. We are helping them get to the temple to be sealed. We always have good lessons with them and have had some awesome discussions. Brother Brazal also has a very strong testimony of God and Jesus Christ, but has a hard time keeping commitments. Hopeful his heart will be softened and he will see the importance of getting his family sealed in the temple. Brother Brazal is also really into working out, he is a pretty big dude! He always makes us do push ups, bicep curls or the ab carver after every lesson:)
 This week we also got to go to the temple!!! It was the first time I had been in over a year, and boy did it feel good. There is nothing like the spirit that is felt in temple. We went with this really cool member named Cameron. He had a really rough past, but turned his life around and is now one of the most Christ like people I know. I was so grateful that he was able to take us. What a blessing it is to be able to do work for the dead and to be able to provide them with all of the blessings that come from taking part in the ordinances of the temple. What a perfect and beautiful plan Heavenly Father has create!
Well I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and that you all stay safe this wintry season. 

Love,


Elder Griffin          

Goodbye Elder Smith...Hello Elder Pulver

11.23.15
Today is the start of yet another transfer. It feels like just
yesterday I got to Arlington with elder Smith, and now he will be
leaving. I am pretty bummed, because we got along really well. It has
been an awesome transfer, I have learned a lot and we have been able
to accomplish a lot. My new companions name is elder Pulver. I don't
know much about him, but the things that I have heard about him are
all positive. I am a little nervous to have to lead the area again,
but excited to be able to work with elder Pulver.
   This week we were again able to meet with Pete. We had an awesome
lesson on Faith, repentance, baptism and receiving the gift of the
Holy Ghost. It was really cool, because at the end of our lesson he
asked what he needed to do to be baptized. We are having him pray
about a date! He is such a humble man, and is ready to turn his life
over to God. We are shooting for the 18th of December for his baptism.
He also prayed for the first time out loud during our lesson. It was a
powerful prayer, and I know that Heavenly Father was glad to here one
of his sons express the desires of his heart. We are meeting with him
again tomorrow night:)
   This week we also had a member of the 70 come, elder Falabella. The
first day we had a big meeting with half of the mission, and he
trained us on the importance of member missionary work as well as the
importance of baptizing families, so that they can all support each
other and have a goal to get sealed in the temple. The next day we had
a leadership meeting where we created an action plan with all of the
things we had learned. It was really good and we were taught from on
high.
    We also had a chance to do some sweet service this week. We went
to this tiny little church and helped them sort all of this food that
they had to feed people for thanksgiving. We also helped them put
together these Thanksgiving bags. It was a lot of fun, service is one
of my favorite parts about serving a mission. I also love talking to
all of the nice people we get to meet while serving. All of them are
good, faithful followers of Christ. There are all great examples to
me.
    Well I hope you all have a good Thanksgiving! We truly have many
things to be great full this year! Love y'all!


Elder Griffin

Pete

11.16.15
We have had a great week. We started it out with an awesome lesson
with Pete. We started out by following up with his scripture meeting.
He told us that he has read 19 chapters already and that he is loving
it! He also said that he prayed and asked if this was the church he
should join, and in the middle of the night he woke up and got his
answer. He now knows that Joseph Smith is a prophet:) Right after that
we committed him to baptism! He has such a humble heart and an open
mind. We are going to be talking to him about a date soon. This week I
also had the opportunity to go on exchange with a newer missionary,
elder Stakkland. He is an awesome missionary and knows how to work
hard! We were able to have a good visit with a lady and her daughter
who just got baptized in Saturday. Her parents were in town and so
they joined us for the lesson. During the dad bore a strong testimony
to her, it was awesome! It was cool, because the dad said that his
patriarchal blessing says that all of his children will join the
church. Robin, the daughter that is getting baptized, is there first
child to get baptized. I was a really neat experience.
 This Saturday night we also had a pretty cool experience. We didn't
have any appointments, so we were just visiting a bunch of potential
investigators and less active members. We weren't having very much
success and on top of that I got the hiccups and they wouldn't go
away. Well we knocked on this less active ladies house and she
answered finally! We started talking to her on her porch. I still had
the hiccups and she said we could come in and she would get me some
water. My hiccups got us inside, at least that's what I think:) Once
we were inside she told me to try this weird Louisiana trick, where
you hold your breath and think of seven bald men. As weird as it
sounds it actually worked! Well we started asking her about why she
stopped coming to church and she told us that she was converted when
she was 19. When she joined her mom pretty much disowned her. She
still continued to go to church and even decided to serve a mission!
Her ward was super awesome and one of the members let her live with
them. They also,  along with other members in her ward, payed for all
of her mission as well as her clothing. She said when she got back
from her mission her parents wouldn't even pick her up, her stake
president had to. She said that she finally decided that she wanted
her relationship back with her parents, so she stopped going to
church. I was a pretty sad story! It was really cool though, because
elder Smith had served in the ward she was baptized in, she got super
was an amazing lady, and I pray that her mothers heart will be
softened.Well I am out of time, but I love you all! Have a great week!

Love,Elder Griffin

A little piece of heaven!

11.9.15
I got to go to Katy O'briens baptism this week! We were at a service
project and we got this call from an unknown number, we picked it up
and it was my old ward mission leader brother Madsen. He said that he
had emailed back and forth with President Ames and had gotten special
permission for me to go:) I was super pumped and very grateful that
President let me go! Brother Madsen drove all the way from Alliance to
pick us up and drive us to the baptism. Brother Madsen told me that
Katy did not know that I was coming, and that it was a surprise:) Also
on the drive down to the baptism he was telling us all of the things
that were happening to Katy before her baptism. Her mom told her that
she was never talking to her again and that she didn't support her,
and the day before her dog ran away, her kid got sick and while she
was cleaning a book shelf a book fell off (that was anti-mormon
literature) and fell open to a page that made her question her
testimony. Also as we were driving to the baptism there was a tornado
warning and this crazy storm with super intense dark clouds. We found
out later that a tornado actually did touch down in Richland Hills!
All of these things that Satan was throwing at her was such a
testimony builder to me that this really is the true church and that
the ordinance of baptism really is essential to our salvation. She is
such a strong and determined person and I know that God watched over
her and gave her strength during all of these things she had to go
through. The baptismal service went smoothly and the spirit was so
strong! I even had the special privilege of confirming her. It was one
of the most amazing experiences on my mission! They were both so
happy, and ready to start making there way towards the temple. Scott
told me that I better be at their sealing in 1 year, and I told him he
didn't have to worry about that:) It will be so incredible to be able
to see that family get sealed for all time and eternity. I can't wait!
There are such an amazing family, and I can't wait to see what
Heavenly Father has in store for them.
 This week we were also able to participate in a zone service
project. Once a month this church has this truck load of food and they
give it out to homeless people and other people in need. There were a
bunch of tables set up with boxes of fruits, bread, juice and fruits.
The homeless people would walk by the tables and we would fill there
bags and boxes full of food. Me and another elder got to help people
carry food to their cars. It was a great service project and we had a
lot of fun.
We were also able to teach some really cool people this week. The
first one was a less-active lady named Haley. We had dinner with her
and also had some really go discussions about the atonement and
repentance. She told us that she has a friend on a mission that has
really helped her want to come back to church. She really does have a
desire to come back to church and we can already see that she has
started to repent. Also her husband is not a member, and even though
right now he is not interested, it could be a good teaching
opportunity in the future. We are excited to work with her. She also
had this cool little parrot that would fly on to her husband's head
and just chill there. He also would take drinks from their cups! He
would perch on the lip of the cup and then dip his little beck into
the drink. It was super funny to watch. We were also able to have a
really good lesson with another less-active guy named brother Pine. He
hasn't been to church since he was a kid, but has really felt like he
needs to come back. After are lesson with him we committed him to come
to church and he actually came on Sunday! We are trying to get the
ward council on board with us, so we can get him some solid home
teachers. His wife is also not a member, but is a really sweet lady. I
think as she sees his example it will open her up to want to take the
missionary lessons. We truly have been blessed this week.
   Y'all are amazing, and I pray that each of you are safe and happy.
Have a great week!

Love,