HELLO KENTUCKY :)

Goodbye Dayton and HELLO KENTUCKY :)

So Monday I said goodbye to as many people as I could before Pday hours ended and me and Elder Foote went back at it for the rest of the night to teach a few investigators.

Tuesday we drove to transfer meeting. Just from talking to the other elders I had it pretty figured out what was going to happen, or so I thought. During transfer meeting they call out names and pair you off. They called me up and then told me that my companion hadn't arrived from the Mexico MTC yet. So they paired me off with another set of Spanish elders (Elder Carranza from Guatemala and Elder Prach). I stayed with them until Wednesday night when Elder James Gibb finally arrived. He was the only new Spanish elder this transfer. He's a young guy from SLC, Utah. He just turned 18. He doesn't hesitate to speak so he'll learn the language quickly. If we stay humble we'll have great success together.

We were doubled in to The Ohio River 1 area, which is a misnomer because we're actually in the northern side of Kentucky. "Doubled in" means that both of us are new to the area. So, outside the notes that the last elders scrambled together for us, we're kind of starting from scratch. I've study the records thoroughly these past few days so I'm already starting to feel comfortable with how things work here. 

The last Elders set a young guy up for baptism this Saturday. He's 11 years old and he's named Jonathon. They hadn't hardly taught him anything, so we are franticly trying to teach him as well as organize and put together a baptismal service for this Saturday! I hope it's all going to come together! We're going to teach him tonight and by the end of the night we'll have a better idea of what's actually going to happen this week.

Training Elder Gibb thus far has already been a learning experience. I'm working and planning so hard so that we can have successful days and he gets to be along for the ride while he makes mistakes that are common to every new missionary. I can't help but think that Heavenly Father looks at us in a similar way. He has created a plan for us and works so hard to provide us happiness and success, but we just bumble our way through life as we learn, but we make all sorts of mistakes in the process. Elder Gibb has a deep desire to work hard, so we're going to learn a lot together and reap the great success that this branch has.

The branch president here is a convert of only 2 years. The branch has an attendance of about 30 or so, similar to Dayton. There are more Hispanics down here and there really is a lot of great potential here and I'm excited to be Here!!!

Love you all, have a fantastic week. ADIOS :)

Elder Graf

Me and Elder Foote

One last visit with Penny. She exemplifies the quote that I think elder Nelson made during conference that went something like this "stellar spirits are often housed in disabled bodies". Penny has the greatest testimony.

The squadron of 4 in Dayton.

The R.... Familia and me, Elder Foote, Elder Garcia, And Elder Taylor (almost my twin, we are very similar)

President Vilches and his family the night before I left Dayton.

The wonderful Michael Bristow

This apartment was trashed because the Elders before us didn't know they were both leaving until the last second. We cleaned it up and organized ourselves a cozy study space. Our apartment really is awesome. We live in probably one of the best. 2 bathroom, gym with weights and equipment, good size. Elder Gibb is really starting off spoiled.

One picture looks like we're ridiculously tall but only because it's propped up weird on an ironing board. (No matter how nicely I tried to pack them, after stuffing my shirts into my suit case I finally had to resort to using an ironing board for the first time on my mission, haha.)

Me and Elder Gibb from SLC, Utah

I never wanted to leave Dayton!

After playing a little golf with President Vilches we received Transfer calls this morning! I'm leaving Dayton!!! :( I never wanted to leave Dayton! I love it here too much! But, all well, it'll work out. I sure am grateful for the principle of revelation. It gives me the confidence that Things happen the way they're supposed to happen out here in the mission field. 

   In my words to president...

   "If I had it my way I would never leave Dayton. I'm excited to serve in a new branch, but I'll never forget Dayton. I'm truly humbled because of what the Lord has allowed me to be a part of here. I love the people here. They have become everything to me - the branch, the members, the investigators, everyone. I'm sad to see them go, but I feel like I will have left on a good note. We had a good week. We completed exchanges with our English zone leaders and the other Dayton elders. Exchanges have always been very valuable; there's always a lot to learn from each other. We are teaching several families that are in the beginning stages of conversion and they have great potential. This last sacrament meeting had an attendance of 52 (almost double the attendance of other weeks in the past). Elder Foote is a good missionary. The Lord will show him how to really love the people and he will be a powerful tool in His hands. It was an incredible experience training him."

    So there we have it. I've learned that me and another Elder named Elder Clay are the only Spanish Elders getting moved this transfer - therefore I have a pretty good Idea of where I'm headed to next :) and it's a really good area, probably second best to Dayton :) But there are also 4 new Spanish missionaries coming in so nothing is guaranteed. President called and told me that I'm going to be district leader in the new area and that I'm going to be training one of the new guys. It's going to be an adjustment for sure. I fear that I might be put in a tri-companionship. I'll find out tomorrow!

   Sorry there isn't time to tell about this week. Just know that I loved serving in Dayton. Andrea and Dustin came to church yesterday again and we were teaching several other families that are doing well! Sorry got to go! Today is going to be ABSOLUTELY CRAZY trying to pack everything. We'll see how it goes. Love you all. Have a great time in Disneyland!

_Elder GRAF

Random picture of my desk. Lots to study, Lots to learn!!!

Senior couple that has served in Dayton the past two years! They have been like the mama and papa of Dayton and I'm so sad to see them end their missions this transfer. Both are converts from Illinois and Sister Mudd makes the greatest cookies!!

  

Hermano Vasquez - He is a convert and he was our branch mission leader. I love him and will miss him.

LIfe is good in Dayton

10 minutes, here we go...

Ohio's pancake flat terrain has one irreplaceable blessing, HUGE sky and HUGE clouds! I love it!

So Conference was so amazing. There isn't a temple available to us here but I truly felt like listening to the words of the Prophet and Apostles was a heavenly experience. The spirit was so strong and I learned more from this session than ever before. Conference is the coolest experience as a missionary. All of the talks were so inspiring. I like what Elder Hales said right from the beginning that the greatest blessings come as we apply what we have learned. And the unique thing is that regardless of the words spoken, the spirit will teach us what we need to know and do. Because of this, Heavenly Father's instruction will be different for each of us. So I hope you all weren't just passive listeners. Don't just be hearer of the words, but listen to the spirit, and don't just hear the spirit, but act on what he told you! This conference was truly awesome, study these talks over and over again! I feel like I'm rambling but President Porter asked us to think of things we learned from conference that can help us be more powerful servants. I might just share a few things that I'm going to take away.... *this is where I copy and paste from my letter to President hehehe...

In no particular order of the session's here is what I'm taking away from this conference.

1. Above all, become Christlike, especially in the attribute of Faith. Being Christlike is the very best form of missionary work. Who we are speaks louder than anything else.
2. Make God my highest priority. Not only worship Him as the Supreme Creator, but also love Him as my closest friend. This really changes my perspective and the dialogue of my prayers.
3. Act, don't wait to be acted upon. Cause a change, don't wait for others to do so. Be a leader. Have strength of character. Be the one to bring the fire, the faith, and the spirit; don't rely on others to do so.
4. Be healthy and take care of yourself. The body affects the spirit.
5.Teach with word and power. Word by using the scriptures more, power by truly making the gospel of Jesus Christ the center of my life and desires.

So that's the basics of what I felt. Study the talks and learn what Heavenly Father wants YOU to personally learn. I promise you that you'll be able to hear His voice through His servants, it's part of the power of the priesthood.

Well between my frantic typing and total loss of ability to spell due to mixed Spanish and English words in my mind, I hope you can discern something from this letter. A couple other things that happend this week is that we are teaching a guy named Sergio. We are showing him how the Book of Mormon and the gospel of Jesus Christ can help give him strength to quit smoking!

The father of the Torres family read 3 chapters since we saw him last week! And he remembers everything perfectly! The trick with them continues to be the fact that they work on Sundays.

We watched the Sunday morning session with a less active/part member family and had the coolest experience. The spirit really was working with them. They both were emotional after the session as we talked about what they felt. The messages were so inspired!!!

   

Love you! Life is good in DAYTON.

Elder Graf

Here is our zone! sadly this group might change the next Tuesday (transfers are on the 15). Everyone thinks I'm going to leave because I'm pretty ancient to Dayton. I still hope that I can stay here for forever.
I love it here.
The picture was supposed to be coordinated. The only blue tie I had was a "posterity tie" that I inherited from Elder Brown. It has a lineage of half a dozen trainers who have signed their names on the back. The silly things we do as missionaries. Elder Foote doesn't know it yet, but he's the next heir of the tie. Haha.