August 25, 2014
This week started out rough! We had a service project. The family Haro had called us and their son had a work project and asked us to help… it was moving rocks. Rocks the size of small piglets... No, that’s not the best comparison, they were rocks the size of..... Well on a scale of 1 to Elder Grow’s sense of humor ;) it’s a 7.9 (My sense of humor has shrunk considerably with Spanish:) We had to move some so big we had to get at them with levers and sticks. Anyway we rocked it ;) There are so many good rock jokes that just don’t translate.
We then had a work visit to Paramonga. It’s another lugar here in the district. I went with a new gingo Elder in the mission. We said a prayer before we left, that we wanted to find a family, and we wanted God to show us that family by putting their baby in a carriage. They had to be married and family de 3. So we left y poco despues I’m talking 4 doors down, we saw a baby carriage! We took off running AND…. it was a doll :P We looked like idiots but we knocked on the door and out came a kid about 12 years old. We talked to him and he called his mom who’d been married for 18 years and was living in this house as a family of 3!!!! Her best friend is a Mormon and had invited her to come play volleyball with the ward that same Friday!!! MIRACLES!!! It was like a Rocky Balboa moment if I’d ever had one.
We returned to our area and we taught Raul Estrada a lesson. To symbolize the plan of salivation we needed a string so while I was teaching, my companion slipped off his shoe lace... almost unnoticed:) anyway he has accepted a fecha for this 13 of September and CAME TO CHURCH this Sunday... wait for it... EARLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The first investigator I’ve ever seen do that... he came before the president of the rama or the members!! It was glorious.
The next day we had a capacitacion with the president and pizza, because we had reached the meta! It was great! Then I challenged everyone to a hot sauce contest... your son has grown considerably and it came to the point where no one will challenge him. It’s like the phrase, NEVER GO UP AGAINST A SICILIAN WHEN DEATH IS ON THE LINE!! Never challenge Elder Grow... but someone did... Hermana JIMENEZ, a Sister missionary who comes up to my waist, from Mexico......... 11 spoonful’s of hot sauce latter and 5 spoonful’s of red hot chili pepper... I lost........ I lost to a sister missionary.... it was extremely painful to an hermana... but well when she started crying and still wouldn’t stop I had to give up (not counting my own tears). My first lost in 1 year.
Then we had our first computer class of pativilca branch and we didn’t have any internet. I was really bummed so I played with the cables a bit... (jiggled and yanked jiggled and yanked) and said a prayer, but nothing. I walked down the hall and there was internet, in a matter of seconds God had answered my prayer. We had a great lesson with Enzo Perale but he’s too busy with elections to really have time for us. Then we went to church. Walking from church a member called our name. A Johevn who’s family had always lived in the other area, and so we never visited. Their dad is blind and their mom, a less active, but we stopped by wondering what they’re doing there. Turns out their being separated. We had a great lesson and put a meta that they’ll pray together as a family. We then had a great new lesson from the family Liz Siancas they’re both professors in a catholic church, and their familia are priests for the catholic church but they’re fabulous and promised to read the book of Mormon.
I’m doing great cambios (transfers) are here today well see where God sends me. Woke up this morning at 4 am to go to the local market to offer service to a less active but the night guard, an 80 year old man with a stick wouldn’t let us in… but yeah, I’m doing great :) God answers even the smallest prayers. We just have to be willing to accept when he doesn’t. :)
Love,
Elder Grow
(As a side note, just as Elder Grow was about to log off the computer for the day, he recieved word he is to be transfered to Lima!)
Monday, August 25, 2014
Monday, August 18, 2014
Sending love and Scooby Snacks....
August 18, 2014
This week has been a great one. We started of this week with a cumpleñons de un miembro menos activo and we had an interesting lesson. Then we tried calling the Familia Pauca but they couldn’t have us stop by. We went to the beach to visit the statue of Jesus Christ and we met some pelicans, they were eating some fish. I grabbed a fish and tried to contact the pelican... and he bit me ;) hahah! Never been bit by a pelican before :) Then we were walking by and some snot nose kids challenged us to a football game, we smoked them :) (football as in soccer ;)
Tuesday was an interesting reunion de districto, and we met a Viuda (widow) mother of 2 who wants to listen to us... but doesn’t want to pray :) We spent the rest of the day contacting. We also taught the 10 commandments.... the teenager we were teaching said that it was more interesting in the movie ;) We also visited the Familia Pauca that night, and they aren’t too sure about what they are feeling so they declined the fecha (date) and said they would come to church... fast forwarding they didn’t come. That night we got a call not to plan anything for the next day.
We spent all day in a capacitacion from the president.. the man is the lucky charms of Kellogg’s cereal company! I love him! He’s my favorite! So we got to this training and he taught us a lot of stuff it was like 4 hours of pure revelation and just what I needed. In the end he opened up the discussion to us for our questions no one raised their hand... so I gently put mine up and told him I had one question but that it’s not that important and kind of stupid but maybe he could answer, who would Mary be married too Joseph or God? Some of the latinos I guess didn’t know that the church had even practiced polygamy at one point... so it opened to quite the interesting capacitacion but he tied it in really well. He told me afterwards that my question was inspired… I just felt like a ding a ling ;) Anyway that took up the entire day.
The next day was my one year mark! ... and we spent it working. We had 0´s for two day straight! We couldn’t get anything done it seemed like. We went to a baptism of the liders of districto but it was miscommunicated and we showed up for their wedding party! Anyway, we met their family and they had slammed the door in my face 3 days earlier ;) It made for an interesting conversation. They are a little more willing to listen to us now :) We had a consejo de rama and the ward is ... progressing as fast as a pelican runs away from a gringo trying to hit him with a rock after he’s been bit.
Anyway, we spent the next day capcacitaging some people in our ward about family history and visiting members. We had a family let us in. In the tarde a man called us, we picked it up and there was nothing on the other end so we called him back and he must have butt dialed us but he asked us if we could visit him, so we stopped by. His mom had left him, he’s living alone and he wants to find God. We taught him and he accepted a baptismal date. “Butt dialed” miracle.
Sunday no one new came to church but we had 60 people attend which is more than in the past. Monday we had received a reference from Alfredo Haro, the son of the family we baptized. He is serving his mission in Puno. Anyway, he had sent us some references, some kids he went to elementary school with! …. like a long time ago :) So Sunday we stopped by one of them named Wilmer. He opened the door, let us in, and listened to every word. He accepted a fecha and said an amazing prayer. He is also a miracle and its interesting how God works with us and through us. It’s been a great week. We haven’t found any families but we are progressing. This week instead of classes of English, I’ll be teaching computer classes! I’m going to teach the older people in our ward how to use a computer so they can do family searching... One man told me he refuses to touch one ever since it bit him... this should be fun!! ;)
We are still looking for those families. Our area seems to be progressing. Elder Jimenez has said some funny stuff this week like…. “Oh my gosh Elder Grow, you’re like a puppy! Everything you do! You sit there and you are like, did ya see that did? Did ya see that? Did ya see that? …Wagging your tail asking for a Scooby snack :) (translated) I laughed so hard! Another time we got back and he didn’t want to plan. He claimed he was too tired. I told him I’d done just as much work as he had! He snapped back, “no! You haven’t had to listen to yourself talk all day!!” :)
This week I learned the 10 commandments include almost all the other commandments. Thou shalt not kill, includes yourself, even if it’s little by little one glass of beer or cigarette at a time. Thou shalt not steal, includes not robbing God in tithing. Interesting :)
Sending love and Scooby Snacks,
Elder Grow
This week has been a great one. We started of this week with a cumpleñons de un miembro menos activo and we had an interesting lesson. Then we tried calling the Familia Pauca but they couldn’t have us stop by. We went to the beach to visit the statue of Jesus Christ and we met some pelicans, they were eating some fish. I grabbed a fish and tried to contact the pelican... and he bit me ;) hahah! Never been bit by a pelican before :) Then we were walking by and some snot nose kids challenged us to a football game, we smoked them :) (football as in soccer ;)
Tuesday was an interesting reunion de districto, and we met a Viuda (widow) mother of 2 who wants to listen to us... but doesn’t want to pray :) We spent the rest of the day contacting. We also taught the 10 commandments.... the teenager we were teaching said that it was more interesting in the movie ;) We also visited the Familia Pauca that night, and they aren’t too sure about what they are feeling so they declined the fecha (date) and said they would come to church... fast forwarding they didn’t come. That night we got a call not to plan anything for the next day.
We spent all day in a capacitacion from the president.. the man is the lucky charms of Kellogg’s cereal company! I love him! He’s my favorite! So we got to this training and he taught us a lot of stuff it was like 4 hours of pure revelation and just what I needed. In the end he opened up the discussion to us for our questions no one raised their hand... so I gently put mine up and told him I had one question but that it’s not that important and kind of stupid but maybe he could answer, who would Mary be married too Joseph or God? Some of the latinos I guess didn’t know that the church had even practiced polygamy at one point... so it opened to quite the interesting capacitacion but he tied it in really well. He told me afterwards that my question was inspired… I just felt like a ding a ling ;) Anyway that took up the entire day.
The next day was my one year mark! ... and we spent it working. We had 0´s for two day straight! We couldn’t get anything done it seemed like. We went to a baptism of the liders of districto but it was miscommunicated and we showed up for their wedding party! Anyway, we met their family and they had slammed the door in my face 3 days earlier ;) It made for an interesting conversation. They are a little more willing to listen to us now :) We had a consejo de rama and the ward is ... progressing as fast as a pelican runs away from a gringo trying to hit him with a rock after he’s been bit.
Anyway, we spent the next day capcacitaging some people in our ward about family history and visiting members. We had a family let us in. In the tarde a man called us, we picked it up and there was nothing on the other end so we called him back and he must have butt dialed us but he asked us if we could visit him, so we stopped by. His mom had left him, he’s living alone and he wants to find God. We taught him and he accepted a baptismal date. “Butt dialed” miracle.
Sunday no one new came to church but we had 60 people attend which is more than in the past. Monday we had received a reference from Alfredo Haro, the son of the family we baptized. He is serving his mission in Puno. Anyway, he had sent us some references, some kids he went to elementary school with! …. like a long time ago :) So Sunday we stopped by one of them named Wilmer. He opened the door, let us in, and listened to every word. He accepted a fecha and said an amazing prayer. He is also a miracle and its interesting how God works with us and through us. It’s been a great week. We haven’t found any families but we are progressing. This week instead of classes of English, I’ll be teaching computer classes! I’m going to teach the older people in our ward how to use a computer so they can do family searching... One man told me he refuses to touch one ever since it bit him... this should be fun!! ;)
We are still looking for those families. Our area seems to be progressing. Elder Jimenez has said some funny stuff this week like…. “Oh my gosh Elder Grow, you’re like a puppy! Everything you do! You sit there and you are like, did ya see that did? Did ya see that? Did ya see that? …Wagging your tail asking for a Scooby snack :) (translated) I laughed so hard! Another time we got back and he didn’t want to plan. He claimed he was too tired. I told him I’d done just as much work as he had! He snapped back, “no! You haven’t had to listen to yourself talk all day!!” :)
This week I learned the 10 commandments include almost all the other commandments. Thou shalt not kill, includes yourself, even if it’s little by little one glass of beer or cigarette at a time. Thou shalt not steal, includes not robbing God in tithing. Interesting :)
Sending love and Scooby Snacks,
Elder Grow
Monday, August 11, 2014
Food, more food & walking....
August 11, 2014
This week started off with eating 4 lunches and covering 2 houses with mud. It just got better from there. Monday passed by good. Tuesday every house we went to people gave us food. It was painful. The rest of the day we spent walking. Wednesday we got off 2 lessons by the skin of our teeth, including a new lady but she is also scared to progress for fear of her pastor. The other days this week we’ve spent visiting menos activos (less active members). We spent the rest of the week walking and walking and knocking on doors. The work here is going a little slower. Our recent convert got a calling... gathering the hymn books :P Anyway he’s also becoming a home teacher.
The thought this week is this: on pressuring the work of God. I remember when my Uncle Steve was coming from Virginia, we cleaned the house and got everything ready. When he called in Farmington and we weren’t finished my mother hurried us along even faster. We got everything ready when they walked in the door. Well it is the same with Jesus Christ. He’s told us he’s coming and now it’s so close. We are getting the church and the work in order for his coming. Now it can be applied to our lives. If there’s a change we need to make, a friend we need to forgive, or ourselves, or something we haven’t done, we should do it. And apreciar la obra of God (Appreciate the work of God).
Love,
Elder Grow
This week started off with eating 4 lunches and covering 2 houses with mud. It just got better from there. Monday passed by good. Tuesday every house we went to people gave us food. It was painful. The rest of the day we spent walking. Wednesday we got off 2 lessons by the skin of our teeth, including a new lady but she is also scared to progress for fear of her pastor. The other days this week we’ve spent visiting menos activos (less active members). We spent the rest of the week walking and walking and knocking on doors. The work here is going a little slower. Our recent convert got a calling... gathering the hymn books :P Anyway he’s also becoming a home teacher.
The thought this week is this: on pressuring the work of God. I remember when my Uncle Steve was coming from Virginia, we cleaned the house and got everything ready. When he called in Farmington and we weren’t finished my mother hurried us along even faster. We got everything ready when they walked in the door. Well it is the same with Jesus Christ. He’s told us he’s coming and now it’s so close. We are getting the church and the work in order for his coming. Now it can be applied to our lives. If there’s a change we need to make, a friend we need to forgive, or ourselves, or something we haven’t done, we should do it. And apreciar la obra of God (Appreciate the work of God).
Love,
Elder Grow
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