Another Trio! - Training Again - Positive Influence Of Brothers

 

Another transfer has already ended! That is so crazy to me. Time is flying by! President called me on Wednesday to tell me that for the next transfer Sister Hardy will be staying with me for her follow-up training here in Oakland...AND they are sending me a brand new sister from the MTC to train too! So I am going to be double training this transfer. So exciting! I am super nervous but my new companion looks super cute and nice. She will get here on Wednesday night and we are both really excited. We have a few things up our sleeve to make her first few days on the mission fun and exciting. 

Other than that nothing out of the ordinary happened this week. Lots of lessons and lots of virtual tours. We have lots of fun and laughs at the Visitors Center. I LOVE the senior missionaries here. Some of the sweetest humans on earth. Cuties. 

I'm way out of time, pday goes by SO fast every week. I don't know how! 

We had zone testimony meeting yesterday because the transfer is ending and it was SO good. One elder talked about the influence of his older brother and how much he means to him. He was emotional when he was talking about his brother. Then I started thinking about my brothers and their influence on me and I got emotional (I LOVE MY FAMILY!! WOW!!). Then I started thinking of my other older brother, my savior, my friend. Jesus Christ. The man who has done more for me than anyone ever will. He gives me divine guidance and love every day. Especially on the hard days. I know that one of the reasons I have Jake and Taylor is to show me what Jesus is like. I love them with my whole heart and I see the light of Christ in their eyes. I cant wait to hug them again!!!! 

Love you all! 

Pura Vida

Hermana Shauna

1- Ana, Jared, and Phoenix are a few wonderful people we met while walking around the temple! They were literally the coolest people. They have spent their lives travelling the world which is the coolest thing ever! 

2- Anna and Jared are engaged and this is their cute little boy! 

3,4,5- s. hardy!!

6- we got stood up for a lesson hahhh

7,8- elder manion likes to make these photos interesting...:)

9- weddings...every. time. we. go. to. the. temple. Sister Hardy saw me watching them come out the door and she took a picture cause she thought it was funny haha

10- us, getting stood up again hah

11- us making a list of all the members we called in one night. 

12- district activity today!!

13- elder Wolfe goes home on Wednesday and he is SO excited hahaha!

14- Zone Testimony meeting!!

Reassigned from Costa Rica to California - Oakland Temple!

Today is the one year mark of me getting woken up at 1:44 am in Mexico City to find out I would be going home 2 hours later...and find myself in my bedroom in Stansbury by 6 pm that night. What a WILD day and SO much has happened since then! Crazy!

This week was pretty bland as far as lessons go haha. The majority of our lessons fell through this week which was a huge bummer. But the ones that did happen were really good! We've been teaching a guy named Dennis. He's so cool. We gave him a Book of Mormon and he came to our next lesson asking us all these detailed questions. Turns out ...he's read a ton of the book already! He went to the lake, sat down, and read it. AMAZING! He is so cool!

I don't have a ton of time, but the coolest thing happened! Wednesday was a particularly hard day, emotions were high the whole day. To be completely honest, it was one of the very hardest days of my entire mission. That night was full of some of the deepest prayer I have ever offered. The next morning, we started off on some exchanges (I went with sister Burch yeehaw!). At 8:30 am we got a call from a senior missionary asking if we had time to go do a session in the TEMPLE!! I'll tell you right now I broke down in tears. The biggest tender mercy I've ever received. The morning after the hardest night of my mission I got to go to the temple and spend time in the celestial room. I am here to testify that there is not a more peaceful place on earth. To be in the celestial room is literally like being in heaven. So what did I learn this week? God answers prayers!! I've have so many prayers answered that you would think I wouldn't have to learn that lesson so many times, but I have learned it again. So anyways, God answers prayers, and the temple is la casa del Señor!

Les quiero!!!

Hermana Graves

1- this was after district council...the elders photoshopped themselves into it :) not a great photo of any of us, but I think it is so funny!

2,3- I WENT INSIDE THE OAKLAND TEMPLE 

4- me and sister Lu literally have the same wardrobe and we wore the same dress to a meeting 

5,6,7- a few favs from my exchange with my bff, burchy. #HLJ

8- dropping off our favorite books in the libraries all over Oakland! 

9- the view from our apartment!

10- me + Oakland = taking at least 2 wrong exits a day :)

1 Year Has Come & Gone! - Lost Keys/Answered Prayers & The Temple - Elder Holland, 'Live For and Believe In Miracles'!

 

1 year has come and gone! My mission started March 10, 2020 and boy has it been a CRAZY ride. I cant believe all that has happened during this year (to all of us haha). I've learned so much and grown so much. I am so grateful I made the choice to come here and be a servant of the Lord. Despite the fact that it has been one of the hardest things I've ever done (if not the hardest thing), I've loved every minute. Meeting all of these people from so many places makes me feel somehow closer to my tiny Central American country. The Latinos are some of the kindest people. They touch my heart. Honestly so humble and so kind. I love their culture and everything about them. The food is a plus too ;)

We had a few fun things happen this week! We FINALLY got permission to meet with people in person! We still can't eat with anyone and we have to stay 6 feet apart and wear masks...but we can meet in person! This is a huge deal! We obviously called up one of our favorite members and asked her if she would want to meet at the temple with us. She was so excited and said yes! A few days later we met her there and she brought her friend with her. Hermana Cifuentes asked me if we could sing a hymn. I thought it was the cutest request. So standing on temple grounds, with weddings going on all over, we sang a hymn in Spanish. Everyone was staring at us and it was so funny. But it was so special too. Music brings a special spirit. And we were already at the temple, so you can only imagine how much we felt the spirit;) a good moment for sure. 

Later that day (still walking around the temple), a man and his wife came up to us and told us that their father was a sealer and had gone into the temple with their keys to their car. They were dressed in sweats and weren't comfortable going in to ask for the keys, so they asked US to get the keys for them. This was SO exciting (keep in mind I went to the temple around 2 times a week for 3 and a half months before I left for my mission so I haven't stepped foot in a temple for a long time and I've been a lot of times). We walked into the lobby and I haven't felt so calm in my life. And it was just the lobby. We quietly asked for the keys of this brother and they handed them to us and we walked out. Life resumed. It may seem insignificant to most, but it was a huge answer to my prayers. I really needed to feel the peace of the temple this week.

Okay, so Elder Holland you ask? Yes he came to our mission on Friday!! And it was just the best thing! Another cool thing about it was that it was combined with the San Jose mission and Santa Rosa mission and I have a cousin serving in Santa Rosa (shout out to my girl Ashton <3) !! So that was really special. The mission was really trying to get us hyped for conference in a few weeks. Woohoo!! Pumped for that by the way!!

But anyways. Elder Holland. What an amazing man. He touches my heart just by saying one word. He carries the spirit so strong. One thing that he said that hit me particularly hard was "Live for and believe in miracles! The day of miracles is not over!" I feel like I can confidently say each one of us is in need of a little "miracle" of sorts. If it is God's will, miracles can and will be granted. It brings me so much hope when an apostle of the Lord, Jesus Christ, says that miracles do still occur. I know they do! I've seen miracles! 

Love you all! Have a great week! Don't forget to say your prayers ;)

Hermana Graves 

Pura Vida

1- we got 150 free makeup wipes. That was exciting :)

2- bobbi and maribel are members of the ward I was in for 4 days when I was in the quad. We got to do a tour with them and it was THE BEST!!

3- hit the big 1 year!

4- a nice rainbow :')

5- sister hardy took me to Los compadres to celebrate 1 year! What an angel!

6- there's a really fun temple quiz game at the VC and we are starting to get really good at it

7- we did a tour in PORTUGUESE...?

8- the cuties that we gave the tour to alllll the way in brazil!

9- the mission tour with elder Holland!

10- Elder Holland

11- the district!!

12- who doesn't love getting stood up 3 times in 1 night?

Are We There Yet?

 

We have been so busy this week! We have been finding a lot of new people! We have had a lot of success calling people that have been taught in a past. We've had a few funny things happen too with calling these people...like...we got asked on a date, got asked to pay someone's rent, and we got asked to pray for someone who is sneaking across the border, and also Sister Hardy said "Hola" to an Asian man (which quite honestly was one of the funniest things I've witnessed in a long time), to name a few. People be crazy. 

We have been working really hard to get to know the members and gain their trust. And we are finally seeing the fruits! We have gotten 3 member referrals in the last week!  I don't know about other missions but that is a BIG deal here! We are so excited to start talking to these people and teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ! Just wanna let allllllll of you know that members are what make missionary work WORK. Seriously, missionaries are temporary. We are only there for like 6 weeks. Members are there forever. Reach out to the missionaries that serve in  your area and ask them if they need help. Or even better, refer one of your friends or family. Those referrals mean the WORLD to us. 

For those of you wondering, still no word on Costa Rica. But all is well. This is a good place and I love the people here with my whole heart. I still have hope because people are going back every day! But it's okay if I don't ever go. 

Alright. Book of Mormon time. Or better known as El Libro de Mormón. My studies in the Book of Mormon are SO great. Honestly I know its crunch time, but if you can you should try to read it before conference. I think it's very attainable! Just set aside a little time every day! The spirit I feel when I read that book is completely undeniable. Every day I'm so thankful for its teachings. And I'm so thankful for all of the things I know through that book. As I've been studying I've just gained a stronger and stronger testimony of the truthfulness of its words and teachings. I didn't realize how important regular study is until my mission. So thankful for my mission and all the things I've learned. 

Love you all!!!

Hermana Graves 

1- just hanging out at the vc. you know the drill. 

2- Sister Hardy 

3- me with my vc bom.

4- we went on a hike with our district today...

5-got lost for a few hours...what a good time.

6-Expensive gas and for weird California gas pumps

7- us after getting stood up for a lesson for the 3rd time in one night hahhhh

Goodbye Hermana Crowley! - Hermana Hardy Stuck in TX Snow - He Knows Us

 

Alright everyone! Gonna probably be a shorter one this week! I know my emails are already pretty short but really only one thing happened this week haha! 

We had transfers on Wednesday and I said goodbye to another AMAZING companion who I will miss so much. But I was going to be receiving a new one so everything was okay :) when I got to the transfer lot I was told that my new companion wasn't going to be there until 10 PM (because she was flying in from Texas and we all know about the snow in Texas) So I was going to be in a quad with Sister  Burch, Apelu, and Whitney until later that night. Well. Later that day the assistants tell me that the other flight was canceled...and that she wasn't coming until SATURDAY NIGHT! This was sad but also exciting because I got to be companions for a few days with Sister Burch again!!! 

I got to teach in their area for 4 days, in English! I always thought that people were joking when they say it's harder to teach in English... they aren't joking. My brain could only think of some Spanish words sometimes haha! We had a lot of fun those few days. I even had to do some tours around the visitors' center with just the senior couple. Kinda wild. 

Eventually Sister Hardy arrived!! She got here late Saturday night, and when she got here our car wouldn't start or unlock...turns out she has really bad luck because the battery was bad. We had to get a new car! We got home and she got settled in fast. She's so excited to get to work and change some lives. It's going to be a good transfer :)

Today I've been thinking a lot a out the atonement. There's a verse in the Book of Mormon talking about the Savior. It says "He shall go forth suffering pain, afflictions, and temptations of every kind". I read that scripture so often when I'm giving a tour at the visitors center. He quite literally knows every. single. feeling. I have. Physical, spiritual, and emotional. He knows me. And He knows you. If there is one thing I know, it's that He sacrificed Himself for all of us and that none of us ever need to feel alone. He didn't atone for perfect people. No one is perfect. He atoned for the sinners, for us. I'm so grateful for his love.

Love you all. Have a great week.

Hermana Graves

1- I was getting ready to give a tour on Tuesday when I recognized Kelly Allen! Turns out, this was a ward activity for a ward in my home stake!!! Crazy! 100% unplanned. I felt so at home 

2- the christus <3

3- another temple pic. you already know.

4- honestly has become one of my best friends

5- any of you ever had a California burrito? Let me tell you, my life has been CHANGED.

6- a high quality pic of the quad squad. Love them and miss them.

7- practicing tours with the quad squad

8- reunited with sister burch. Literally the coolest human on earth.