New Companion & The Comedy Routine that Ensures an Invitation Inside

Changes were last week and my old companion left! We had a surprise this change. He left after only 6 weeks with me. He was sent to Lima. So now I have an Elder Jimenez de Chile. He is like an old Geico commercial! He is hilarious and we get along great!! :)

WE have even found a joke about my name! POR FIN! We knock on a door and I say "Hi, my name is Elder Grow, (at which point they stare blankly or try to pronounce it) I continue, "You know like "Miguel Graw" (a famous war hero who was killed by the Chilenos) and then they go "OHHH ok, Elder Graw!" Then I say, "and here is the Chileno who killed me!" Then my companion says, "Hi, I'm Elder Jimenez!"

The people they love it they go nuts and start laughing and we get into every house :) I love it because if I don't say anything they are so scared at the fact I'm white, they just stare :) I can't wait to come back and be normal... some what ;)

My companion and I are really doing great! He is fantastic!

On Tuesday they were in the process of changing everything and I was waiting for him to arrive. He came on Wednesday and we got to work! We were visiting a lot of the people on the limits of our area trying to find or go WHERE NO MISSIONARY HAS GONE BEFORE!!!! This is the 6 week journey of the Starship Huascaran (the ship of Elder Graw) this is TREKKING!!!! (lots and lots of trekking up and down and around!!!!

The people are really nice and we seem to be having success!! We set up a lot of appointments for this week so we hope to be leading as the companionship of the week!! We are teaching a Hermana Bridget, who will be baptized this next month. She has a boyfriend who's a menos activo (less active). We are also teaching a couple more people and hopefully they all get baptized this change.

We had a stake conference where all the leadership came from the area... except our Branch President. I had 17 people in my classes of English this week.

The spiritual experience of my week was yesterday. I was talking to a very learned criminal lawyer. She expressed how she believed in an All Powerful Divine Being who protects and provides for us. The thought came to me, "but why would a soul as small and rebellious, and such a sinner as me be important to such an All Powerful Being?... if He wasn't MY Father.

The testimony this week is that the Book of Mormon was prepared for our day. Our Mission President said it's amazing to see sooo many people hear running to and fro working their lives away without even knowing what they working for! The goal can't be a big house or a big car, its eternity! It says in Mormon that it will come in a day where people will say their are no miracles, where there will be churches built up one to another. He has seen us. He said so.

35 Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye arenot. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.
Moroni saw our day. The Book of Mormon was prepared for US! If we have problems with our families, work, anything! We can find comfort in the Book of Mormon because it was prepared for us to help our families go to the Holy Temple of God and prepares us for the blessings of exaltation.

Read it. Study It.

I love you all,

Elder Grow

"Semena Santa" - The Holy Week

This week was a little rough I kinda getting the same energy drag that you mentioned Kodi. Sometimes its just a longing but mostly I just getting tired of walking. Ha Ha! I walk a lot :) Anyway here is the letter. It is a little short this week but I hope that it finds all in good spirits :)

This Week started of the Semana Santa. The Holy Week. Everyone here, to some degree, respects it. For example you can not find a single piece of meat here that isn't fish.

The week passed by quickly with almost no one willing to listen but almost everyone willing to talk about Jesus. They had strange processions in the street where they whipped actors like Jesus carrying the cross. The ward rented the video the Passion of Christ with Mel Gibson were there is just a lot of blood and death. All in all this week has left a bad taste in my mouth.

We passed this week visiting families with a lot of problems but unwilling to make changes in there lives; like studying the scriptures or praying, children who disrespect there parents and parents who refuse to get married but are unhappy with life and their family. I cant help but wonder. In all of this talk of Semana Santa, they have forgotten about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I gave a talk Sunday to a group of 95 people. That is the biggest attendance we have ever had! I bore my testimony that Jesus lives. It is through the little things and the Atonement of Jesus Christ that we can be saved through truly repenting and changing our lives. After giving my talk one man who we have been teaching, a member for 10 years, was interviewed to be sealed in the temple. He passed and has a goal for this June to receive the Priesthood (if he can pay his tithing). I also taught primary, because they were short a teacher. I remembered a lesson my primary teacher had given. I drew a picture of a family and on the back of a picture of Jesus Christ. I told them if they were mad at their family they could hit them. So they all started hitting them. I then flipped it over. They all felt the Spirit for one second until one little devil cried "crucify him!" ( I suppose it is all of these movies and its just culture) Then the little devils started hitting Jesus.... 

To all of my primary teachers .. I am sorry.

Elder Grow

I am the first legal red-skinned gringo on the moon - I like my titles... My titles are cool :)

You are my hero Kodi :) Maybe the funny letter this week will give you a boost. I remember the night I needed to send that giraffe to the girl I was asking out and you were frantically crocheting it for me.  You finished it all in few hours but you were going crazy :) hahahah brings a smile to me :) I love you and guarding you in my prayers :)

I am the first legal red-skinned gringo on the moon - I like my titles... My titles are cool :)

Ok I have a lot to tell you this week! :) Lunes after writing you we went and took pictures in baranca and on the way I found out some startling news… My companion believes Americans never made it to the moon! Laughing I asked someone sitting next to me and they replied with similar results! No one here believes we ever made it to the moon! Can you believe that! I mean of course we made it to the moon!

Anyway so Tuesday I got a call in the morning, I needed to hop the bus and take a 5 hour ride to Lima to... GET MY VISA :) That’s right! Peru likes me so much; they wanted to keep me :) I’m finally legal! So we got there around 11pm. and slept in the offices of the mission where there was only me, my companion and a secretary. At 1 in the morning a knock came on the door.  The secretary got up and answered.  I rolled over not caring but he came and tapped me and indicated he needed my help. I got out of bed and went down the stairs. When I opened the door, there stood a very lovely Gringa! Hermana missionary! She had tears in her eyes from crying.  Choking back her tears she took a look at my tag and said in perfect English. "Elder Grow, please help me" throwing her arms almost around me... I jumped back and I said what?! I was shocked, dreaming maybe.  I flipped on the lights and there she was sitting down crying.

I guess what happened is the CCM got her missions mixed up and sent her to the offices.  She isn’t yet able to speak Spanish couldn’t say anything and was really confused and worried.  I was the first person she had been able to talk to all night. So we sent her up to the beds where she almost fainted at the sight of a cockroach.  She crawled into bed sobbing. My companion and I went downstairs (a safe distance :) and called the President.  You can imagine he was just as surprised as I was when I told him there was a girl sleeping in my bed.  We sent her to the Hermana’s house and a guy (I guess they realized the problem) came soon after to pick her up… and then we all went back to bed :)

So running on NO sleep, I went to immigration that morning and took my Visa out; turned around and came home on the bus.

Jueves, we talked with a family who have been members for 10 years, active in the church and have just [picked a date to be] sealed in the Temple!

Viernes, we did some service all morning.  I was busting up a wall, while my companion took pictures :) It was really aggravating to be because I was ready with the sledge and shove and l just went to work and the very nice old guy next to me just kept saying, “slowly, slowly, you’re going to kill yourself! Slower, slower. :) It’s just a slower culture here, but I’m wielding a sledge! Just let me work! :)  After we finished, they offered to cook me dinner.  They were super in love with me because while digging, I dug up a rats nest full of the rats who had been eating there guinea pigs :)

We met a family contact that is actually married! Then we met another family who both have 100 years!!! They are so cute! He will sit there and yell "Pina!!, Pina!!" (pineapple is his nickname for her) and shell yell back "WHAT!".... "Nothing" he replies and he will smile :) Then we helped another family out with their tamales! We did tamales for 3 hours!

Sabado, we finished the service project.  While we were resting the kids came over and one accidently scratched me! In his amazement he started yelling and laughing because my skin turned red... uh yeah... The kids immediately attacked me! Everyone wanting to "dibuja el gringo" (draw on the white guy). I was bleeding a little bit when I finally broke free :) God has said the kingdom of God is like little kids but sometimes I have my doubts.

Domingo, we found 2 more families! The blessings of God are abundant! 5 married families! More than I have seen in my whole mission! The day started off with Semana Santa.  The Catholics lead a procession with Jesus on a donkey and with palm leaves.  They go into the Catholic Church where the donkey refused to enter.  Ha Ha!, it was a sight :) I’m also teaching classes of English.

Spiritually we got a message from the presidency of the area. They affirmed the messages of Conference - that hard times are to come and the earth can only get more wicked. They are telling everyone to read their Book of Mormon as a family every night for 15 minutes for protection. Even if they aren’t predicting bad things, the message is a good one, I think.  Hard times are sure to come but clothed in the power of God and righteousness, nothing can stand against us!

Elder Grow :)

Birthday Central

April 7, 2014

Kodi I think there is more danger with you driving in the street than me here with the earthquakes and stuff. You have the worst luck with tires.  More than anyone I know! :) I´m really grateful and happy to be ok and that you’re all praying about me! I am safe and I want to thank you for the recipes (see enclosed) they were amazing and I loved them a lot :) I also have a super market so you can pretty much send me anything I can make in the microwave. I´m especially interested in lasagna or a muffin, or a type of cheesecake, or a small casserole and then all the breakfast pancakes or cookies yep :)

Anyway Conference was amazing and I hoped you received your answer when President Monson promised God would never leave you solo, I testify of that :) I love you. Thank you for your concern. I was filled with warm fuzzies inside just with the image of you on the internet searching Spanish Twitter worrying about me. Your card is the cutest thing ever I showed my companion and he wonders if you have a rich business yet :) I love you girl with all my heart.
I am situated here in Patevillca Peru. It’s a little town nestled between the coast and a desert and full mostly of sugar cane fields for the nearby cities. It’s famous for the Liberator San Bolivar, who came here when he was sick and went on to free South America. It’s a mild climate ranging to a hot climate, in the nights off the coast a dense fog rolls in.

The land is mostly dry dirt and there is an abundance of mosquitoes (like things that LOVE white flesh :)

I’m in a little apartment house on the edge of town, in a room with one window (its hot) and a fan :) Our area is really hard because it’s all nestled into pre-fabricated or hard dirt (called adobe) or cement houses ( I will take this time to glory in Peru, of ALL the things they have here nothing impresses me more than cement. They sell a bag of cement for a little under 6 dollars a 50 lb. plus bag! It’s amazing all the structures that are cement, it is really impressive) Anyway it’s really hard cause they are all poor and pass their time working in the fields and no one is married (due to the cost that you actually need to pay to be married here civilly (a huge pain for us)) but we find success. There is a huge Catholic Church and 2 Jehovah Witness groups, 4 Baptists and 11 Evangelists in our little town are.  We can walk from the beach to fields to desert in under an hour.  It is not very big. The rama is 67 people, mostly women and kids.

Well this week started off, with a glorious birthday! We went out to eat with my companion and I bought a hat.  Later on we invited the whole ward to come eat cake… When we couldn’t find a cake…. I bought a little slice of bread with a Dulce frosting.  The ward was shocked; we all laughed when we split it up and shared it. :) It was a pretty good birthday I loved passing out the gifts to the little kids but some people here have never had their picture taken and are a little scared. The rest of the week flew by visiting and trying to bring people to the Conference, full of spiritual experiences and searching. An old man with Alzheimer’s escaped his house, and we were unable to help much.  We knelt down and prayed, seconds later he was found. The earthquake hit Chile for the most part.  When we got the first news people here were actually more happy than scared showing their distaste and hatred for Chileans (something about a war I’m not so sure) but we are fine other than strange weather.

Preparing for the Conference, we traveled to Baranca.  Few people assisted because there was a big town bingo game going on here in Patevillca. It was one of the most spiritually uplifting Conferences I can remember. I was so happy! I was overwhelmed with joy! Oh how glorious it truly is that the heavens are open and God speaks to us! I pray that you all found what you were looking for because i did!

Today we woke up at 4 (against my companions will, who agreed to doing so only because I rarely wake up on time.  He was shocked and a little surprised when I was up and gunning to go fishing!  The pictures are included, no success but it was fun :)

I conclude my letter with my testimony that God lives, that in His plan for us, divine guidance is a necessary and eternal gift!  The honest seekers of truth and Heavenly help will always find it. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love,
Elder Jed Grow

New Area - Patavillca Peru

March 24, 2014

I´m sorry for the short message this week, my computer has been having problems. I hope that this will find you all in good spirits as it has me! I am absolutely loving Elder Sanchez!  These two weeks have gone by so lightning fast it’s been amazing!!!

We have a fecha for baptism this Saturday, and we’re working really hard to keep it. He has some doubts but has been praying really hard.  His name is Rodrio he’s dating a lady in our church; we just have to teach him more of the commandments this week. The little rama of ours is doing great.  We’ve encountered some big problems this week with the Jehovah’s Witnesses who have been leaving on a regular basis teaching lessons up to 3 hours long. They are confusing the Papa Huancayina out of our investigators and members who have recently joined the church our less firm members. Sunday our Bishop taught the combined lesson, some pretty heavy stuff about Plan of Salvation, the Bible and Book of Mormon...  Our poor investigator was a little confused, but then afterwards they all went to Sunday school.  I asked if we had a Gospel Principles class and they said no, just a manual. I grabbed it and taught the class. I love it so much when the Spirit testifies though you.  It is a wonderful experience.

Our little branch has been visiting the menos activos and has almost doubled its little numbers this week of 80 people.   We are also teaching a Mom and her girl, at the end of a lesson I asked if we could say a prayer on our knees. The mom offered it and expressed love for her daughter and the Spirit was really strong, yet she didn’t ask God about the truth of our message, so we asked here to offer a second prayer and you could’ve cut the spirit with a knife… and yet, she didn’t come to church.

The town here of patiaviclla shouldn't even exist but I guess a General named Bolivar was born here or passed through here and so there is a little museum and a statue. The town is great though. I’m a little more used to the heat but I still take a lot of cold showers, but I really solved the problem when, through inspiration of the Spirit, I got all of my clothes wet that I’d wear on a normal day and put them in our little refrigerator :) when I woke up in the morning they were ice cold and stayed like that for most the afternoon!

I also found Chupetala which in Spanish means “suck it”, but it’s the name for Popsicles here! :) So I had a few “suck its” today and we will also be visiting the beach. All is well in Patavillca and I’m loving the spirit and my companion!

Love,
Elder Grow