A Miracle With the Language

This week was pretty good, but the work seems to be slowing down a little. Everyone bails on us with our lessons we set up! It is so, so frustrating! The people here just don’t know how to keep their word. We call before the lesson, then later when its actually time, they aren’t home or just don’t have the time, or they have to leave...They just come up with all these excuses! BUT, it was still a good week!

The Agues family, the boy I baptized and the mom that was baptized too, well they are doing amazing! I LOVE going over to their house 3 times a week. It is so awesome! The mom, Eneida is just so amazing! She is still continuing to progress so well! I love going over there because she is always so excite to hear what we have to teach that night. They are an absolute amazing family. They are from Cabo Verde if I didn’t mention that earlier.

So last week we went and played Futebol. Soccer in English...and it was really fun. Even though I’m not the best at it, we had a really good time.

This week we had divisions and I went to another area with an Elder named Elder Hatch. He is kind of new also. He was in the group above me in the MTC, so I knew him before and he also doesn’t speak much of the language. We had a lesson that night and he started talking about prayer and faith and the Holy Ghost, but then started to stumble on his words then went blank. So, I took over and just started talking about how important it is for us in our lives. Then the girl that is a member asked me if it’s still possible to have the spirit with you even if you are sinning. I gave her the story that Elder Uchtdorf gave in one of his talks about the airplane going off only 2 degrees. I don’t know how I got through it cuz I don’t know nearly enough Portuguese, but I did. And I ended up talking for an hour and 10 minutes. I could not believe it. It was so amazing though. I could really feel the spirit. I told her that story and how it’s like that with the spirit. If you just go off the straight and narrow you may start going further and further off the path so its RIGHT NOW you need to get back on the right path so you don’t get way off to the point where its nearly impossible to get back on. It was really a good lesson and I really enjoyed being able to say all that in Portuguese.

Now don’t be fooled, I don’t speak very well. It is so tough! Portuguese is so hard. Not gonna lie, sometimes I feel like I’m progressing, but then others it’s like I don’t have a clue what to say or what’s going on. It’s really difficult at times and very frustrating. Learning a new language is not easy. I have gained a whole new upmost respect for all the missionaries around the world who are learning a new language. But I am keeping my head up and I am going to keep going at it until I get it! Then once I get it! I will keep going until I perfect it!

Also this last week, kind of a funny story, we had a run in with a very drunk guy that I could not understand a single word. No one could because he just slurred everything he said. But somehow we talked to him for 15 minutes and we just kept saying how we have to go but he kept talking. So I just finally said, “Can I get a picture with you?” I just totally changed the subject from who knows what he was talking about and yup, I got a picture with him. He totally looks like a dude from the circus he has a big huge mustache and crazy clothes, and....a pass along card from me! :-) In my picture he is holding up the card too. It’s awesome. It was a funny night. I just wish I could have understood anything he said. Someday.

So a little about the church here, it’s pretty awesome. The members are all awesome and they LOVE the missionaries. But...not enough cuz we can never get them to help us with lessons. Getting members to help is very good for the teaching, but it’s so tough here because everyone says they don’t have time. Ever. But I think it’s not that they don’t have time.

So, here is my little lesson to all of you today. Don’t ever say you don’t have time for something so small and something that doesn’t take long at all, especially when it has to do with the church. If you say you don’t have time, it means you don’t care enough. That’s that. So care. And make the time.

Eu sei que nossa igreja é verdadeiro. Eu sei temos um profeta este dia. Eu sei nossa igreja é unique verdadiero igreja em na terra. Sou muito grato para todos os meus amigos e por minha familia. Muito obrigado por sempre a ajudar-me. Eu amo-vos.

I love you all so much! Thank you for everything. Work Hard. Pray. And remember who you are and who you stand for.

Thank you for everything! Thank you for your support.

Elder Gray

Baptism!!

This week was great! As you all know, last week I was saying that we had a baptism scheduled for Sunday. Well, good news, we did have it, but at first they were just going to have our Bishop baptize them. But then on Friday night they had their interviews and they decided to have another elder, one of the zone leaders…and ME do the baptisms!!! I could not even believe it! So, yep I got to baptize Yuri Agues on Sunday the 22^nd of February. It was awesome! I couldn’t believe I was getting this opportunity so soon in my mission. There are many elders that have been out over a year and haven’t been in the water. So I feel very blessed and very lucky. It went well and the two people we baptized are doing great. We went over there yesterday and they are like new people! That just shows how amazing this gospel is and how important it is in our lives!

I want to apologize to all of you who have sent me emails and I haven’t responded directly to you. I got so, so, so many emails this week I could not believe it! I got 29 new emails! You love me too much! Ha ha. But that took me quite some time to read all of them. Thank you all so much! I LOVE getting the mail from all of you and hearing all of your stories!

This week we went to this Japanese restaurant. It had a big conveyor belt thing and they just put food like crazy on it and there were a few different kinds of sushi yuuummmmy! And just a ton of very, very good stuff! So we got to eat as much as we possibly could. And the very best part? It was only $6.50!! That is cheap! For as much sushi and amazing Japanese food as you can possibly eat! Oh, it was awesome! I loved it. Elder Hildebrandt and I are going to go there after our weekly planning session on Friday for lunch. I love it!

This week we did some door knocking and like usual some more street contacting. The door knocking is so annoying though unless we can get inside because they just say ‘quem em’ through the box thing and we don’t even get a chance to say anything. It’s so nice when we can follow someone in the door.

My new comp is really cool. We get along great. I’m still learning new things everyday. Well, I hope all is well back at home. Continue to work hard. I love you all so much!

Elder Gray

A baptismal challenge! How cool is that?

Well, it’s already been another week! Sometimes I feel like the time just goes pretty slow, but then I look back and I just think wow I feel like I was just sitting at this computer yesterday! The time warp on the mission is pretty crazy! Days feel like weeks, but weeks feel like days!

This week was pretty good. There were for sure a lot of ups and downs throughout the week though. The beginning of the week was really tough actually because all of our appointments and people we had scheduled to teach bailed on us! It was so frustrating! Then to make things worse, our favorite family, the Ages Familia, they got their car stolen. And when that happens here, well you are pretty much out of luck. They found it two days later completely ripped apart and totaled. I felt so bad! They are such an awesome family they did not deserve that at all! I just hate it! I wish there was something I could do to help. But there is just nothing we can do. It’s really sad.

But...on a good note, even though they have gone through this hard time, last night we marked Ineida (the wife) and their son, Yuri, for baptism!!! How cool is that? We are so happy for them. We are really hoping they keep working hard and pray with all their hearts. That and reading the Book of Mormon is so vitally important! They are scheduled for baptism on Feb 14th. So I really hope they continue to progress so we can get them baptized.

It is still really cold here. I want it to warm up soon! My fingers are numb right now. And we are inside. I find it so weird that they don’t believe in heaters. It’s crazy! My companion says you just get used to it, but we’ll have to see about that!

Have a wonderful week and do not ever forget to read and pray! Every Single Day! I have come to find so much how very important that is in our daily lives. Praying is such an unbelievable gift that we get to have to be able to communicate with our Father in Heaven. Do NOT take this for granted! Sad to say before my mission I didn’t pray nearly as much as I should have. But I have repented for that! And the blessings come much more as you pray day and night! I know this is so, so important!

I love this gospel! It’s such a comfort to me knowing that I will live with my family in eternal happiness! IF we endure to the end. So work hard! ... As will I!! I love you all. Have a wonderful week.

Love,

Elder Gray