Fourth trip to the ER

Couple interesting and eventful things have transpired in the past few days. First, the zone leaders' car accident. They were on their way to do an exchange with me and Elder Garcia when a car blasted through a red light and flipped their car. Hanging upside down by their seat belts they looked out the smashed window and there, lying perfectly together, was one of the elder's nametags, the phone, and a picture of Jesus :) Car was totaled but the missionaries left the incident with hardly a scratch and a couple minor headaches.

 Well, they must have passed some sort of accident germ on to us because at the end of that day Elder Garcia wrecked his bike and broke his wrist. Naturally it all happened when we found ourselves in yet another hot pursuit of the bus, as this is how all stories in Norwood begin... It was Saturday night and the buses don't pass that often and we didn't want to be late. So we were flying downhill at top speed and just as I reached the bus a guy in a truck behind me says, "hey your buddy is trying to flag you down." I turn around and see that Elder Garcia wrecked his bike. All his stuff was a yard sale, just completely scattered everywhere. When I got to him it was easy to see that his wrist didn't feel good and his back had a giant stain that at first glance looked like a mixture of mud and blood and grass. As he was going downhill and making a transition from the road to the sidewalk the lip of the curb of a driveway threw him out of balance and all the way into and then over a 4-foot cement pillar. Fortunately, after colliding with this very solid cement obstacle, he managed to fly over his handlebars and land squarely on the only nearby patch of grass. And in the grass I discovered an innocently smeared bowl of UDF chocolate ice cream with cherries. So the stain on his back wasn't him bleeding profusely, rather it was just someone's left over ice cream. He has pretty good about the whole situation. We made some calls and with the help of a member we made it to a nearby ER where they confirmed the break. So now he can't ride a bike and we walk everywhere but it really could have been worse. But regardless, his back is still sore and his wrist still broken.

  With all of these ER trips with many of my companions I sometimes wonder if God is trying to tell me something. But until I figure that out I will be content with the fact that the worst thing that happened to me this last week was the bird that pooped on my head while running this morning, that's at least an easy fix.

Anyways, on a more important note, we had some really good things happen within the ward and with investigators. The Ward bishopric was changed and it made for a very emotional sacrament meeting. Your ward really is your family and people are so close knit. There was lots of love to be felt from the Bishop who was released and from the newly called Bishop and their wives. Unfortunately no investigators were there this week to experience that, but good things are still in progress. The G… family invited us to play soccer with them one night and it was the most fun I've ever had with investigators. We invited some members and J… and V… also know the G…'s so they came to. We just played for an hour in light rain but it was a blast. I just thought to myself "I love where I am right now. I love these people." I don't care much for soccer but the fact that they thought to invite us to a family outing was a real mark to us that they trust and love us. We just have to help them get to church!!! Kind of frustrating but I have complete confidence that it's going to happen soon.

Random side note is that this guy in the library has his phone to his ear but he doesn't realize that it's on speaker and we can all hear it.... awkward....

Friday night we had a sweet lesson with J… and V…. We met at the church and taught them the apostasy and restoration from the scriptures. They've already been taught these principles various times before but the cool thing is that the spirit will testify of it every time. What better way to invite the spirit than to teach the restoration of the gospel using the Lord's words in the Lord's house? Well sure enough the spirit came and we testified that God and Jesus Christ really have restored their true church to the earth and that they have called living prophets to guide it. We extended baptism and J… said "Absolutamente. Yo se que tienen la autoridad y por eso les permiti que me dieran una bendicion," which means "Absolutely. I know that you have the authority and that's why I let you give me a blessing." (The visit before we gave him a blessing for his cancer). He still is waiting for his hospital visits to end before he can come to church but it was neat to see and feel and experience the spirit of that moment. It's neat to see the conviction that this good humble man has to follow Jesus Christ by being baptized as soon as the opportunity presents itself. I love this gospel and I love the light that it brings to people's lives. The Atonement is so real and it's amazing to me how much our Father in Heaven will always be there to love us, protect us, comfort and guide us. I know we have a prophet today and that the keys of apostleship are active and on the earth. There is nothing sweeter than this work and I just love it. It's not easy going all the time but I trust in my Savior that He'll help me, as he always has in the past. Love you guys!

Enjoy the trip to Wyoming! Tell Grandma and Grandpa I love them tons! 

Elder Graf

It Doesn't Cost Anything to Dream Big

So transfer calls came in again and me and Elder Garcia are staying put, just as I expected, but Elder Foote is finally leaving Dayton after ONE YEAR there. Wow.

I think we are the only Spanish area that doesn't have a car, but that's alright. We get around on buses and bikes just fine. And it's summer, so why not enjoy a nice bike ride every day? So life goes on here in the mission. Really I'm doing just fine and lots of good things are happening. We really enjoy where we are. C… came to Sacrament again yesterday. The G… family and J… and V… still need to change their work schedules so that they can come, so pray for them that they will have that desire and that we can help them get there, because they are all really great people.

Btw I'm totally developing good habits - my newest trend is that I buy and eat carrots :) For a time I used to just buy them but I never would actually get around to eating them. But now I actually consume them and I feel invincible for doing it, it's a small victory in every bite. Maybe there's a gospel analogy that you could pull out of that. Maybe the difference in joy that can be experienced between mere belief and acting on faith. Maybe there's something in there about the difference between knowing the gospel and living it. Be creative. Sorry for the tangent. I really only just wanted to tell you about carrots, promise.

I enjoyed watching part of the Brasil vs Mexico and USA vs. Portugal games. The world cup helps us get into people's homes and become their friends. I don't remember if I already told you but we get to watch up to 30 minutes of every game. It's a bummer that both of those games ended in a tie, but it was still a good time ;)

A common theme in church yesterday was Gratitude. Many people quoted Elder Uchtdorf's talk from the 2014 October Session. Gratitude isn't just something we say after the fact, rather it's a spirit that we have in all circumstances. I like that he says that the spirit of Gratitude is the parent of all virtues. If we want to become Christlike, we must have the attitude of Gratitude!

Just know that I'm grateful for all of you. Time is flying. I'm grateful for all the experiences I'm having and for all that I'm learning.

Here are some random quotes that I heard throughout the day yesterday that I liked:

"Remember: Enjoy the journey" - Bro. Johnson

and... "It doesn't cost anything to dream big." (Spanish investigator who believes that Mexico is going to win the world cup haha)  But I like what he said anyways. It doesn't hurt to aim high. In fact, we need to have goals in our lives, both temporal and spiritual. Have goals and work for them and let nothing stop you. It's the attitude of "work hard, pray hard, play hard!"

Anyways, Goodbye now. Until next week!

Elder Graf

Pictures from last week.

Here is me, Elder Benavides (the assistant that went into Spanish work for his last transfer and now he goes home tomorrow!), Elder Carranza wearing my "I love Mexico" hat, and the one and only B... . After teaching M... and C... they gave us corn on a stick covered with chili and cheese (just like the corn you see on the movie "Nacho Libre" haha)

Elder Benavides snapped a picture of me waiting under a tree by the church in Kentucky while we were getting our bags to head back to Norwood. We kind of looked like bums hauling our bags around on the buses.

I am a Child of God

Last week we did two exchanges. I did one with my district on Wednesday and then on Saturday both me and Elder Garcia did exchanges with the zone leaders back In Ohio River! I got to see everyone again and it was so cool!!! It was so much fun!

Happy story: M… and C… got married and early the next morning C… got baptized!!!

Sad Story: I didn't get to be there. The elders were confused about the scheduling of these two awesome events and there was some miscommunication about which weekend it was planned to happen. So I thought it was this past weekend but it really was two weekends ago. Yeah, I'm pretty bummed I didn't get to be there. M… and C… also asked why I wasn't there and I had to explain it to them. Quite frustrating but it was still awesome to see them again. C… has such a new light in her face, the spirit is so cool! 

Happy story: E… got those scriptures you sent her and they're awesome! The Elders took them and engraved her name on them and she loves them! It was so neat to see her with her kids at church, which was actually stake conference. She continues to be as solid as ever.

So yes, the World cup is huge right now. President Porter is letting Spanish missionaries watch 30 minutes of any game that we can get into an investigators house to see! It actually worked because it helped us get into a house and meet a family that we had never really met before. Soccer works magic! We got to see Mexico score their goal to beat Camerun. It was pretty fun. Also I don't know if I already told you but President lets me get on ESPN, the Latino version, for a few minutes every week. And all the members know that Me and Elder Garcia like sports so they give us updates every once in a while. And the updates from home always complete the picture. So, even though I was willing to give up sports for these two years it looks like that's not going to be much of a sacrifice haha.

There was a part of Stake conference that was really neat. A member of the Stake presidency was speaking about families and covenants and our relationship with God, when he asked all of the primary kids to stand up. That got all of their attention and it was an effective way of quieting all the background noise that exists in a family centric church such as ours. He then told them he was going to begin humming a song and invited them to join in singing with him when they recognized the tune. He hummed the first few notes of "I am a child of God" and then paused... It was pure silence for a second but then recognition of that familiar hymn began to manifest itself, little by little, as each primary child joined in and began singing. Their soft crystal clear voices distilled everyone and the spirit that filled the stake center was amazing. It was like they had made a call and Heaven answered. The impromptu choir only sang the first verse but I wish that that brief moment had lasted much longer. It really was quite a spectacular testimony of the simple fact that God is Our Father, that He lives, and that we are His children and He loves us.

I love this work and I love all the people I meet. I'm grateful for all the relationships that I'm forging. All with members, companions, and investigators, and most importantly, with my Savior and my Father in Heaven. I know they live and I know that the Gospel has been restored and that we are guided by men who are chosen by God and given authority to act in His name. And I'm grateful for what the spirit teaches me. It teaches me about the atonement a little bit each day. Have a fantastic week!!!

Elder Graf

Prayer and Personal Revelation

We are getting to know the ward a lot better and we are really gaining their trust. One evening we ate at the S…'s home and it felt like I was eating dinner at grandma's and grandpa's. Another night we ate at the M…'s, and it felt like I was eating with the Lampings (you know, like Josh's parents). It was really weird haha. A ward takes more time to get to know everyone but we feel like we've got good relationships with just about everybody. Apparently a few transfers ago there were some missionaries that had kind of lost the trust of the ward council... But now they are giving us names to contact and we're seeing little miracles come from each contact. Even a grandmother told us that we were right on time to help her 8 year old granddaughter get baptized. Now we don't have jurisdiction over nonconvert baptisms, so we won't be teaching her, but it was cool to be able to help the process get going for her.

Saturday the English elders had a Baptism for two really cool young guys that are brothers. They are just in their mid 20's but their baptism so such a neat experience. The G… family, one of our biggest focuses right now, was able to come to part of the baptism. The father of the family was late coming from work so they missed the actual ordinance but it was so cool that they came! They couldn't come to church though because he got called into work last minute. It was disappointing but we will try to get them to stake conference this weekend! We haven't hardly taught them anything but they have been keeping every commitment we've given them. We have been developing a good friendship with them the past few weeks and now we feel that we are to a point where we can really begin to teach them. For whatever reason they have taken a while to open up to us but we finally have a pretty good friendship with them. That is something different about Spanish work here, at least in this mission. We really try to develop friendships before we teach them a lot, and when we do teach them, it's broken up into smaller pieces. The Spanish people focus more on how much you love them and less on how much you know.

We were quite a site for a bus full of people the other day. We saw the bus approaching from a distance and we engaged a frantic pursuit on our bikes to get to the next bus stop in time to catch it. We got ahead of the bus just when Elder Garcia’s bike chain fell off. Still determined, he grabbed his bike and started running with it but the bus passed us. I quickly get off and put his chain back on and we start riding after the bus again. We get ahead of the bus just in time for everything in Elder Garcia’s shirt pocket to spill out and all over the street: pass-along cards, planner, pen, everything. The bus ran over his planner, we save it from the street, and we were laughing so hard that we were too winded to chase the bus again so we just admitted defeat and waited for the next one haha.

Oh, I gave a talk yesterday. It was quite nice to be able to give a talk in my native tongue. Quite comfortable. They asked me to speak on prayer and personal revelation. I learned a lot from preparing for it, even though they asked me to do it kind of last minute. I talked about how revelation is "communication from God to His children." and I talked about how revelation comes through the spirit. I shared the story of when I saw Grandma Ruth praying. I was only 7 or 8 when she came to visit us for the Christmas holiday. I ran up to my room to grab my pajamas when I accidently interrupted Grandma praying. I quickly closed the door again but that memory of seeing grandma, who was nearly 90 at the time, kneeling in prayer has always stayed with me and has always taught me the importance and power of prayer. I then talked about Enos and Joseph Smith’s experiences. I can't type it all up but here are some good scripture references on the topic. John 14:26, John 15:26, D&C 19:38,28 , Matthew 7:7 , Enos 1: 2-12, 1 Nephi 10:19,  JSH 1:10-20, Moroni 10:3-5, and Alma 5:45-46. Read these if you like and study them and write down the patterns and impressions you get. For me it was pretty sweet! I know heavenly Father loves us and answers our sincere prayers!

LOVE YALL :D

Elder Graf

One last scripture reference! D&C 6;22-23 enjoy :)

I realized that i hadn't taken any pictures the past two weeks so this morning we entertained ourselves with the camera while waiting at our bus stop.