Happy New Year!

HAPPY NUEVO AÑooooo:) from the land down under :) cause were down under Utah, it counts :) this week was great. spent Christmas with the mission, had a salad and ham!!!!!!!!!! so great! it wasn't chicken!! :) there is an article of our mission on lds.org called the church in Peru. :) we are the most productive mission in all of nor sur america :) mi nuevo companero es buenasos. he is really great. he funny a little rude, were working on that, and he doesn't like to follow the rules. but when we hit the pavement we get down and dirty (while remaining clean :) and we work. and that's what i love. our area really took a hit for Christmas but we managed to get a baptism :) after a 8 hr bus ride, Christmas Adam day, to baranca and the ham and all that, we came back Christmas eve and visited some Peruvian ruins, called chavin. really cool. than Christmas well was a normal day, played basketball with the zone, called my family, didn't cry ;) and that was great. than we came back and slept till 11 o clock went down ate turkey with my Peruvian family ( the insist all call him my Peruvian dad, they are the greatest people ever) and than watched the fireworks wow what a a party. the next day we couldn't enter one house cause everyone and there dog.. yes they give beer to there dogs. was drunk. :) but we managed to visit members and got a lot of paneton, enough to last me for 6 semanas. we reactivated a lately that's been away for 16 years through her home teachers. about 3 families home teach here, its really low, but for those that do, miracles. were now working to baptize her daughter the letters kinda short this week i know but ill end with this experience. my hip has been giving me problems this week, o i faithfully exercise and put my trust in god ( a prayer to increase my faith would be nice) but we visited a kid. who has problems with his leg and eventually the doctors told him, we cant do anything only god, he prayed while walking ant it popped,.. and now its healed. the miracles of god our miraculous, but i shared the same fear as him and we really connected, than i felt impressed, i looked him in the eyes and said what is your biggest fear. without hesitation he said, losing my mom. there was a long pause and i pulled out my book of mormon and look him in his tear filled eyes and with a choke in my own throat said, if you want to live with your mom forever, all you have to do is read this book and ask god. He will be baptized in 2 weeks god puts you in peoples path for a rerason, if there is one thing ive learned about the plan of god, its centered in jesus christ, and every other part of the plan is family and people. you make a difference and thi new years look and pray to make that difference have the faith to share your testimony, and look for the miracles and blessings of god. and do your home teaching


elder grow

December 9th Letter

December 9, 2013

There’s nothing in this world I like more than reading your letters! I can’t wait to get the packages just hope they get sent to the mission office, it’s a little tricky business here. so great to hear about our ward can’t wait to come back and have some fun in it. thank you for the thoughts i won’t be spending rally any money for a while my companion doesn’t want to go out, yeah so give me two weeks just in time for Christmas and I’ll get a taco :) i love an miss you guys so much, it’s so hard sometimes, and yet others i feel like your right there. but this week went great.

first off fixing my pants went good unpicked the back of the brown and fixed the waistband just got to sew it back up, I’m having heart burn or gag reflux problems not sure which ha-ha think it’s all the rice, I’m going to look for some tums. Utah sounds great i loved our Christmas tree and the one outside. Love you guys i miss you so much.

But chip chip and cheerio the letter for this week, so Monday sent you all Christmas cards! And working on the package still got to go to Lima to send it or it’s about 50 bucks here, not sure which I’m going to do yet will see.

Letter

well the week started off with a great work visit with our district leader, he’s been out for 2 years and has no idea what Facebook is ha-ha i gave him the 411 on dating using Facebook and twitter it blew his mind, and when i told him i missed my family and friends he said don’t worry 6 months and they forget about you.. Don’t ever forget about me :) k :) great! Anyway Wednesday it rained for the 9th day in a row, i fixed my ingrown toenail, it’s surprising how much we walk every day but my shoes are holding up after 5 months. We found a family cartmen, she’s a smaing and her husband a little hard but has potential. We visited them it was raining so hard on their tin roof i couldn’t hear a word they were saying she cried a lot and i shared my testimony but that was about it. We really are going to have to work with this family. we left and went up to Lomas, we were walking along and i was relating to my companion the plot line of WHITE CHRISMTAS and i just got to singing a dog came bolting out of house straight for me and jumped mouth wide, it all went so slow i panicked and then 1inch from my stomach he was yanked back by his tail, by something or someone, but when looked at by nothing, nothing was there i can’t explain only grateful for it. Then we ran into a pack of Lomas dogs, they roam in packs here and we know every territory pretty well but 2ell the started harassing us hit a couple with my umbrella, its the most amazing umbrella ever, and well we pretty much got chased out of town ha-ha. the point Spanish dogs don’t like Christmas show tunes, or Bing Crosby, anyway Thursday i taught a family in our ward how to make French toast, which they refer to as rench roast (pronunciation of American stuff is hilarious) anyway the family professed it was the best breakfast they had ever had:) Friday we clean our house and Saturday was pretty uneventful, we crossed path with one of our investigators thee exact time she lost her dog and was sad and crying, interesting how god puts us in peoples paths. Anyway Sunday we only had 1 person come to church, I got some more letters! And i gave a blessing to an alcoholic. I put my hands on his head and the spirit just poured out over him the promises uttered by the spirit through his faith and the gift of tongues was amazing. 

Then they announced the Christmas devotional we invited our investigators and when we went my companion was like well let’s leave before it started, turned out he uninvited them and made a dinner appointment with a member instead, just cause he didn’t want to go. i was mad needless to stay, and on our way we met the stake president’s wife, i showed her pictures of my family and friends and he begun, well I’ll leave the specifics out but the insults flew. i was furious,  our stake president’s wife had a cake in our hand she was taking to the trash, i asked her if i could have it, she said it was no good but sure, i picked it up and shoved my companions face in it! Ha-ha it was so funny it was a great moment. anyway transfers our in a week, if you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all, it just sufficed me to say his favorite words our feo (your ugly) and cochinoo (quechwa for sow or a girl pig) ha-ha yeah anyway. The Christmas spirit is strong with me, love you all and going to be missing you. I’ll have a white Christmas, only if it’s the fact ill bee eating rice :)

Chow with love Elder Grow

Dad,

yeah dad, I’ve learned a lot my companion well he’s a jerk and I’ve learned just to deal with him and love him, transfers are this week, and I’d be lying if i didn’t say i wasn’t looking forward to it. It’s been really tough the work this week no baptisms and little success, but were working on it. He’s kind of trunky considering he’s going to leave. what i wouldn’t give for the snow its rained here for 9 days no stopping morning and night ha-ha anyway love you dad read a lot about families here and how to help them, thank you for always honoring your priesthood and raising me right, two years can’t come fast enough, and yet at the same time it’s going by pretty fast now. Love you dad

Your son

Elder Grow

December 16th Letter

Dear mom :) first your questions, haven’t had to reapply that spray because well here there are no bugs, the mosquito spray thought stuff you got me is buenaso, it’s amazing if I have ticks fleas or problems put some of that stuff on and problems solved. But no you can’t find either here. second mom if I don’t get to talk to you today you need to be online Christmas eve at anywhere from 9-11 o’clock, cause that’s when I’m going to be on and we need to coordinate a time Christmas I can call you with, all of our Skype information etc. :)

So first off, I’m doing great it’s a little hard and yeah still miss home, but I’m really happy. This week was tough and facing a lot of problems, but got through them ok :) glad you got my package haven’t received anything yet but I might this next week. We haven’t got the call from lima yet so as of yet I might still be ... have the privilege, of being with Elder Zavala for 6 more weeks. Anyway Utah sounds great with snow and everything. Running behind… so but yeah missing home. 

The North American horse

So week started out amazing. Had a p-day with our stake president in the morning she feed us pancakes so amazing!! then I talked to them and there planning a trip in Utah in 2 years, and I said they could use my bed :) they{re stoked, and going to cook us Peruvian food :) after we went to the chapel to play baseball and my secret Santa of the zone gave me brownies and French toast, obviously it was one of the sister missionaries but it was amazing. afterwards we went proselyting and ( a common theme for this week) were met by many pastors, Catholics and priests who yelled and bashed us, told us of their  miracles and healings. when we got back home my companion wouldn’t talk something was bugging him, turns out in his other church he witnessed a lot of these (healings) and well his faith was a little down cause he hadn’t seen any in our church. I thought a lot that night and prayed and these week have really looked for miracles and the god of miracles lives, I testify of that.

First off the family mom and baby we blessed in the hospital returned to their house this week, second we found a new place to live with a new lady to cook for us, and then we found a family!!

The next day I found my companion talking to a girl in our ward on the phone in the bathroom, with the door shut. we had a companionship inventory in the night lasted for 2 hrs., and well I feel almost like this 12 weeks have been in vain, he’s still filled with the same hatred. But I definitely have grown a lot in love and understanding. After this well he didn’t talk to me the next day but a family called us up for service we went and killed 2 pigs, pictures included, skinned with a razor blade... FOREVER, and gutted it (we ate the intestines the next day: P but the meat was amazing) that night went to a members house and feed us tocush and egg whites whipped up with sugar (really good) 

tocush I’m going to devote a little extra special attention

tocush is a potato or corn they have dug a hole in the ground next to the cold river and place it in the mud and water rotting and well sitting for months, when they pull it out, they use rubber gloves cause the smell is so potent it will stick for weeks they prepare and eat it outdoors, it’s for medicinal purposes, and well she heard I had a cold and gave it to me, I hold the record as the first white missionary in Huarez to ever stomach tocush :) :) and earned the nick name el Norte Americano cabello, cause they claim I’ll eat just about anything including alfalfa :) 

Anyway then another miracle: walking in the street a door opened ELDERS; ELDERS; ANGELS OF GOD; huh? Not our usual reception, his name was Louis, abandoned as a child in the jungle he’s has cerebral palsy and has lived his life begging because people think he was deviled. He eventually made it here where a woman took compassion and more hiding than caring put him in this house. He apparently has been baptized by missionaries of Trujkllo and prays to god every second but the town shunned him. He’d been praying that day and god said, Louis open the door, I’m knocking. He stood up and struggled to the door and there we were.... sometimes gods hand can be plainly displayed in our lives

Than we gave one of our investigators a fecha, scared to death to lose her but she accepted! The next morning was spent blowing up balloons for a girl’s party, the elders help wherever they can :) than Sunday we had a family we found Thursday and invited to church come, but with not much faith. But then they came! We were stoked they really enjoyed it and were going to invite them to be baptized this week. To end my letter Merry Christmas, also dropped my alarm clock (hit it) and now it’s stuck on RED RIVER VALLEY and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, who knew it had different tones! Oh and then yesterday I was appalled to see my companion reaching into the toilet taking out my used! Toilet paper! he flipped (needless to say I did the same) and well turns out they don’t flush toilet paper here... they put it in the trash can.... merry Christmas, peace on earth and a can of air freshener ;)

Elder Grow

The Plan ( A Poem Elder Grow wrote)

Some picture it like an enclosed cage; others a hope a brand new day

Others a grand and lonely field

Others a mountain that refuses to yield

What ‘er your situation background or belief

We’re all here on this path headed for the same tree

The fruit we want the joy the love

The comfort of a father above

But darkness fear and the mocking of those

Who laugh and drink and turn up their nose

Some wander lost filled with shame

Others give up due to sickness and pain

Where ‘er we are whatever are case

God has a plan and we a place

Pray for strength truth and light

Pray to quench your fear of this night

Pray with faith someone will hear

Pray to him that you may draw near

To that savior Jesus son of god

Are friend our brother

Our iron rod.  :)