Elder Christopher Gray: Texas San Antonio Mission

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2010-12-23T19:44:00.004-07:00

His brothers holding up his Welcome Home sign! Waiting to see Chris step off the plane.

With Bishop Allred.

And President Schmutz.

nos vemos en dos dias (C u in two days)

2010-12-13T12:32:00.002-07:00

Howdy ya'll,

Well here it is. Your last email from me. I don't have too much to say that hasn't been said already. My mission was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. So many great memories. I just thought that I would share my favorite song from the spanish hymn book. It sums up what our mission is all about as servants of God. It isn't in the english hymnbook, just fyi.

Placentero Nos Es Trabajar #88 Himnos

Placentero nos es trabajar en la viña del gran Rey Jesus, y honroso nos es predicar, a Su pueblo Su ley y su Luz.

Por Su luz, por Su luz, placentero nos es trabajar. Por Su luz, por su luz, moriremos en El sin pesar.

La palabra de Dios escuchad con ahinco, lealtad y fervor. Para siempre jamas recordad Su pureza, verdad y amor.

Con amor, con amor la palabra de Dios escuchad. Con amor, con amor, la bandera de Dios empuñad.

Oh Hermanos adios, pues adios! El momento de ir vino ya. Si guardamos la fe_en el gran Dios, nos veremos aun mas alla.

Mas Alla, mas alla, oh hermanos adios, pues, adios! Mas alla, mas alla, moraremos con Dios en amor.

Google translate:
It is enjoyable work Hymns # 88
Pleasant we are working in the vineyard of the great King Jesus, and honored us to preach to His people His law and His Light.
By His light, His light, pleasant, we are working. By His light, light, die in Him without regret.
Hear the word of God with zeal, loyalty and fervor. Never forever remember his purity, truth and love.
With love, love, hear the word of God. With love, with love, take up the banner of God.
Oh brothers goodbye, because goodbye! Came time to go now. If we keep the fe_en the great God, we will even further.
Beyond, beyond, oh brothers goodbye, then, adios! Beyond, beyond, we will dwell with God in love.

Well I don't know what else to say. I will expound on whatever you want me to on Wednesday. Love ya'll

Love,

Elder Gray

Exciting Week

2010-12-08T08:13:00.003-07:00

Hey!

Well this week is gonna be exciting. Our area is being combined with Boerne 2nd ward to make one big Boerne area. Elder Sherwood is leaving and Elder Bertoch and Elder Gardner are gonna stay and receive another district leader companion. On Thursday we will receive the other Elder. So for about five days we will still have 4 elders here and then I leave and It'll be just the three of them here. On Thursday I get to go with the departing missionaries and go to the temple and have some type of dinner thing at president's house. Then on next Tuesday I head down to San Antonio to leave early Wednesday morning. Its gonna be confusing coordinating all of that but we'll figure that out. I just thought you'd like to know my crazy schedule for this next week.

The work here is still progressing. We are going to teach Carolina and baptize her as soon as she's out of the hospital. We have had a couple more investigators drop so we are back to a tiny teaching pool again. I bought some cool goodies from the candy shop here in town. You will love them ;)

I agree with Clinton, I would like that layover in the airport so that I can be a missionary for a couple more hours.

I love you all and am excited to see you soon.

Love,

Elder Gray

PS I am so glad that the NCAA thing went through!

Dear Justin,

I remember Egypt day. That was a lot of fun. We made these cool wigs out of yarn and I looked like a girl ;) Good luck with your tonsil surgery. I guess I will be there so I will wish you good luck in person next week. One thing I want to do when I get home is watch some of our dvd's in Spanish. Like finding nemo, shrek, etc....You wanna join me?

Love ya,

Elder Gray

Dear Erik,

Darn. Now I have to learn that song. (I saw Three Ships by Jon Schmidt) Its a sweet song. Another cool music artist that I've ran across on my mission is Paul Cardall. He has some sweet piano music. I don't know if he's made any sheet music for it though. Keep working hard, especially in seminary.

Love,

Elder Gray

Hey Ash,

Its great to hear from ya. Footlocker sounds like a lot of fun. I remember all my xc friends always had such a great time. One of my mission buddies is gonna play football at Mt. Sac. I hear its a pretty good school. That's so awesome about Brandon. I remember him. No one could pronounce his name :) He is a really good kid. I'm surprised that he wasn't a member already. Great job for setting an example. Out here I have seen that a good friend's example is what usually starts it all for people getting in the church.

Keep it up. I will see you next week

Love,

Elder Gray

Pictures....

2010-12-06T11:34:00.006-07:00

I love it when I receive a memory card in the mail.... just wanted to share some of his pics!

Does this mean they have been working hard doing missionary work and playing hard on P days? Looks they like had a neat adventure exploring and caving.

Understanding Heart

2010-11-29T11:30:00.001-07:00

Hey,

This week went fairly well. Its getting colder here. The other night it got down to 31 degrees and we've had a couple of other nights just as cold. I like it. I got my "trunky papers" in the mail last Wednesday. It was my flight plans, info about baggage, stuff about sending my bike home, and a couple other things. I think the only thing I will need from you all is a bit of money in my account. I am really grateful for all that you have helped me with so far. Thanks! I will send a memory card home in the mail today. Since I forgot to bring my papers into the library I will also include anything else I need to tell you.

We had exchanges this last week with the zone leaders. I went with Elder Howell and spent a day in his area. It was actually the area that the Ellingsons live in. Didn't see them though. I enjoyed working with him. He came to the MTC the same time as me. He is really a bold but nice person so it was nice to get an honest opinion of what I needed to improve on.

We have an investigator who is in the hospital right now with pneumonia. We went with a recently ordained elder in the ward and gave her a blessing. As soon as she recovers she will be ready for baptism. She just moved from Colorado and her daughter is a member. She called the bishop a little over a week ago and asked to be taught by the missionaries. We are excited to teach her soon. Also in her neighborhood we found this Mexican guy who is pretty interested. The spirit was really there and I was able to talk a lot better, in Spanish, than I ever could have done on my own. We are gonna teach him again on Wednesday.

We had a great lesson in elders quorum yesterday. The big thing I learned is to ask our Heavenly Father for an "understanding heart"(just like king Solomon asked for). Oh and also in sacrament meeting we had some great talks on being grateful. I learned about how the most likable people are the ones that express gratitude the most often. Also a lady by the name of Sister Graham shared a story about Rulon Gardner, the greco-roman wrestler (greco roman is a style of wrestling). Because of a miss-communication he missed the weigh-in for the Olympics by about 20 seconds and was disqualified. He didn't get bitter. He worked hard for four more years and came back and beat that huge Russian guy. This Russian hadn't been beaten ever and hadn't even had a point scored against him in the last decade. Rulon beat him. I don't remember what the story had to do with gratefulness but I liked it nonetheless.

That is awesome you went to that Jazz game. The night they played the spurs we went to a dinner and the member had a jazz shirt on. I don't know if they won or not. I really enjoyed that talk by Justin. I will have to remember that story. Thanks for the HS football updates. Too bad for Hurricane. I dunno if I told you already but we have a member from Hurricane in the ward.

Well that is all I can think of. I love you all and hope for the best. Keep on being awesome and I love you all.

Con Amor,

Elder Gray

Only Scratched the Surface.....

2010-11-22T09:56:00.001-07:00

Hey!

How are you all? I'm doing great. We had to take Elder Bertoch to the doctor earlier this week. He has had the flu and it wouldn't go away. So when he went to the doctor they give him 3 different prescriptions. After that he has been kinda out of it. We are still working hard though. We were able to find a great family to teach last Monday. They live in a complex that is full of Mexicans so we were surprised when we found someone that spoke English and even more surprised when they let us in to teach them. We are going to teach them again tonight.

Also some of the recent converts that we are working with are doing awesome. Andy is awesome. She always wants to help us with stuff like Christmas shopping and other things. She has a great heart. Her kids, Bryce and Logan, are really cool too. Logan is 2 or 3 and is the cutest little kid. I'll have to take some pics of their family before I leave so I can send them to you. Speaking of pictures, I need to send another memory card home. I'm sorry I haven't for a while. I will soon.

For Thanksgiving we are going to visit a couple of members. The Johnstone family is going to give us our main meal. They are a cool family. Blake is going to turn in his mission papers in the next couple of weeks.

I read a scripture the other day at the end of Jacob or one of those other short books. He talks about how his life has passed away as if it had been a dream. I feel like my mission has been similar. Looking back, two years is a long time. Its a whole tenth of the life that I have lived so far. But then it feels like it was only yesterday that I left. It has been a great experience. I have learned so much and made friends that I will never lose. I feel like I have learned to be a better friend as well. The greatest thing by far that I have learned is the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. I have gained so much from his sacrifice. I understand him so much better and I'm sure I have only scratched the surface of what he has to offer. My mission means everything to me.

As the weeks wind down I am excited to start another chapter. But this chapter is going to end with a bang. Don't worry, I will work until the moment you see me. I'm pretty stoked to talk to all the people in the airports. It'll be fun. I love you all and hope for the best.

Love ya,

Elder Gray

P.S. D&C 10:5

( Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work.)

Honest Truth Seeker

2010-11-15T11:53:00.001-07:00

Hey,

We met an awesome investigator this week. He is an honest truth seeker. We went into a gated community and hurried to the first house before we got kicked out. The first door we knocked on he let us right in. He was on the phone but we waited until he was done. He only had about ten minutes so we did a quick restoration lesson. He was really intrigued and wanted to know more about us and was willing to pray and ask.

We also had a really awesome fireside on Sunday about member missionary work. I sent the attachments of it so I won't go too in depth in the email. But it was an awesome fireside. The members that came learned a lot. So did I, for right now and when I get home.

Our area is probably 20X40 miles. Most of it is pretty concentrated in Boerne, Fair Oaks, or the Dominion. But, rich people (like George Strait and half the spurs team) live in the Dominion so it is heavily guarded and they won't let us in the community without an appointment. We have a car. I don't think I will ride my bike the rest of my mission. With my bike, the mission will help me send it home. I just have to pay them some money. My clothes are holding up good enough. I will be fine the rest of my mission. I don't know how much I have on my debit card but if I have $100-200 that should be plenty in case there is some fee or something that unexpectedly comes up. That's cool if you look at my planners and letters. I guess you already have but go ahead and dig through whatever you want.

Sorry this isn't too long. The library is really busy today and they aren't being very patient with us. Plus, we are burning cds of the fireside for the ward members. So anyways I hope everything goes well and that you all have a great week.

Love,

Elder Gray

Team

2010-11-08T11:01:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone,

This week went great. We are continually building up the ward trust and building up our teaching pool. This week was a little hard to find new investigators. But we are re-evaluating and gearing up for another week. We had a couple service opportunities this week. We went to go help someone cut wood. I got to use a really dull log splitter to split a bunch of cedar. It was a lot of fun. It was a really good workout because I was sore all over the next day.

I bore my testimony in sacrament meeting yesterday. It had been a little while since I'd done that in sacrament meeting. It is always a nice feeling to get up and do that.

I'm sorry that I really don't have much to say. This week was full of a lot of knocking on doors without too much success. But, hopefully we got some good seeds planted.

I love you all and hope for the best. Keep on keepin' on and remember what team you're on.

Love,

Elder Gray

New Area and New Companion

2010-11-01T15:33:00.001-06:00

Hey,

So I just got transferred into a really awesome area. Its called Boerne (pronounced Burn-e). Its a lot different than my last area. There are a lot of rich people here. Its always exciting to have a little change-up. Each area has its own unique challenges and strengths. It reminds me a lot of what we had in Buda. Also, there's lots of deer here. We always see them outside our apartment. We are trying to devise a plan to catch one. No luck so far ;) But anyways this area has a lot of potential. I just hope I can make a difference the short time I'm here. We have a speaker coming on Nov. 14 for a fireside. Apparently she is really good at getting wards fired up about missionary work. I'm excited. On Saturday night we got to be taste testers for the ward trunk or treat party. We tried a bunch of different kinds of chili and a bunch of desserts. It was a lot of fun and it all tasted great. I got to meet a bunch of awesome ward members. One of them grew up in Hurricane so he updated me on all the region 9 football stuff. He told me about that safety that pulled Cedar to a win against Desert Hills and then said Cedar was gonna play Juan Diego or someone like that on Saturday. Who won?

My companion's name is Elder Bertoch. He is from Prescott, Arizona. He was in my district when he first came into the mission in Pflugerville. I'm glad I got a companion that I already know. In our district we have two elders that live with us, sisters in Kerrville and sisters in Fredricksburg. They are all great missionaries. I got to interview an investigator for baptism in Kerrville. He was a big football player type guy with a huge heart. He was very ready to be baptized and did so on Saturday.

As I was leaving my last area I realized how much I really loved that area. Honestly most of the time that I was there I was a little frustrated with what I thought was a lack of progress. But as I was saying goodbye to everyone I realized how much we had really done. The Samoan family, the Taala's, were hard to leave just because we had been with them through a lot. I really enjoyed that area, just like the others.

Yesterday on Halloween we worked like normal. The only thing we were advised to do was to not knock on doors later on. So we just visited members. Theres a great family, the Johnstones, that we had dinner at and then watched the Prophet of the Restoration movie. Their son is getting ready to go on a mission soon.

It sounds like you all had a fun Halloween. Is it cold there yet? It got down to 43 degrees the other night here. I had a great experience on Sunday. We didn't have any investigators at church so we went to the gospel doctrines class. Through a scripture, I recieved a renewed witness of the cleansing power of the atonement. I wish I could remember which one it was but its written down in my other planner. Thanks for sharing all your experiences. I know the Book of Mormon is true and so is the church. I love you all and hope for the best upcoming week.

Con Amor,

Elder Gray

New Address:
125 Cross Point Apt. #6204

Boerne, TX 78006

A full sprint these last 7 weeks

2010-10-26T10:17:00.001-06:00

Hey,
Greetings from the great country of Texas. As you might have heard, we seceded from the Union and have started the Republic of Texas. Very epic............
Well....maybe I just lied. But anyways, we have had a great week here. Teresa got confirmed. It was intense. It was my first one in spanish. She is way excited for this new step in her life. It brings me a lot of joy to watch people change their lives. I wish everyone had the fire that she does.

William Noll, a convert of about fifteen months, went through the temple with his family a couple of weeks ago. Elder Smith and I helped teach him back in my 2nd area last year. About two months ago he changed wards and started coming here. It was really awesome that he moved here. I hadn't seen him in about a year. He is the ward mission leader now. He has changed a lot in the last couple of years. I know that only the Lord could help someone that much. It strengthens my testimony even more to see him and his family happy.

So something funny happened this morning. I was trying to do leg curls on my bed with a backpack full of weights strapped to my legs. I kept slipping of the bed so I told Elder Kelepi to sit on me. When I tried it again we where both too heavy so it broke the corner of my boxspring. We all laughed pretty hard.

This area has been a great area. I will be sad to leave it. But I am going to love my next area and I'm going to sprint this last 7 weeks as hard as I can. Thanks for the rice crispy pizza. I had a slice this morning. It tasted great. Thanks for all your love and support. Stay awesome.

Love,
Elder Gray

p.s.
I am getting transferred. I don't know where but I'll let you know next monday

New and Clean

2010-10-18T19:08:00.000-06:00

Hey,

So I did receive last weeks email but I just read it today. I guess sometimes it just takes a little longer when there's pics (maybe they filter it and check it out or something, i dunno). But anyways great pics. Congratulations to everyone for callings, XC, percussion, homecoming stuff and whatever else yall are doing.

We had a baptism yesterday. It was really awesome. Teresa has changed a lot in just the past couple of weeks. There are some really neat people in our wards here. Sadly we do have a lot of inactive people but the ones that do come are just amazing. So anyways we had some great talks and Elder Alas had his first baptism. He even got to do it twice cuz her feet popped up. Teresa said that she felt new and clean and just had a feeling that she couldn't describe. It really is one of the best things in the world to see the ones that truly change their lives. We have a lot of people around that don't want to change, in the church and out. We see alcohol and immorality everywhere. But then we find a person that wants to change their life for the better, they want to get out of the crazy life they're in. Finding those people makes it all worth it.

Our trainings were really awesome this week. The first day was pretty much all about tightening up some loose bolts as far as the rules go. President defined the key indicators and how we count them in a way that will help us focus more on the people than on just getting numbers. He also defined the rule on music. That is something that I really appreciated. Its a lot easier now to know what we should and shouldn't listen to. He made the line between the black and the white a lot more definitive. Two sister missionaries gave a really good lesson about teaching people and not lessons. They really helped me bridge the gap between the mission world and the real world. We did some role plays where we were helping a real friend from back at home to come closer in the gospel. It really hit home for me as I practiced helping one of my buddies from back home. There was a lot of other great stuff we learned throughout the week.

We also had the opportunity to go to the temple on Saturday. It was a really good session. One of the temple workers told us to look for some specific symbolism in the designs of the rooms. It really opened up my eyes and helped me to understand some principles of the Plan of Salvation better.

I really enjoy hearing from you all and am also grateful for all the things you're helping me with. Keep up the good work and I love you all.

Love,

Elder Gray

Effectively

2010-10-11T13:38:00.000-06:00

Hey,

This week was a really good week. The other Elders in our ward had a baptism. His name is Carlos and he is very committed. He has really bad back problems and could barely even get to church. He woke up three and a half hours early to get ready and he still just barely made it to sacrament meeting towards the end. I got to interview him for baptism earlier this week. He has a really awesome life story. His life has been spared more than once. He even died once for 4 minutes and 22 seconds during surgery. The elders that taught him really helped him to have a very spiritual conversion.

The weather here has cooled down a lot. Its in the 60's in the mornings and the 80's during the day usually. Its so nice.

The next four days we have meetings from 9am to 4pm. They are showing us how to use PMG more effectively through the new program they have implemented. Also president is going to clarify how we count our key indicators. It should be an awesome week, full of lots of new things to learn.

We are helping a member of the ward get on a mission. It is really fun to be able to help him because he doesn't come from the strongest member family. He is the only active one. He has a real strong testimony.

I know that the church is true. I love yall. Keep on lovin' life and living it to the fullest. I will do the same.

Love,

Elder Gray

This is what truly taught me...

2010-10-04T11:40:00.005-06:00

Hey,

This week was really awesome. We have an investigator, Teresa, that is getting ready for baptism this coming Sunday. She is really awesome. She is very willing to sacrifice to do what is right. She gave up coffee with no problem and she is changing so much already. We are gonna meet with her most of the days this week to finish up teaching her. She really enjoyed conference too. She came to the Sunday morning session.

I really enjoyed conference. Down here people can get it on the internet of course, cable, or BYUTV if they have satellite. We just went to the church to watch it. During Elder McConkie's talk, the signal started going crazy and we couldn't watch it in English or Spanish. Luckily someone had it on the internet in the family history library. We crammed in there and then one of the members had a great idea. She plugged in the microphone into the gym and then brought it right next to the computer speakers. We were able to have audio in the gym. Then about 20 minutes later the regular broadcast started working again. It was a fun. My favorite talks were probably President Monson's on gratefulness and Uchtdorf's talk when he talked about Vince Lombardi. I thought it was funny that a guy from Germany mentioned an American sport. But that's not what I liked about it most. I liked how he talked about how Vince Lombardi would go down to the very basics. "Men, this is a football." I had a question going into conference about how I could achieve my bigger goals. He answered it clearly in his talk. Master the basics. Line upon line, precept on precept. There were so many other great talks. I clearly saw what I need to improve and how I can do it. I love the spirit. That is what truly taught me.

Remember, write down your goals and then go out and achieve them. Remember what you learned in conference. I love you all and hope and pray for the best.

Love,

Elder Gray
Notes of Interest:
A Postcard in last Friday's mail says:
Hey I forgot to tell you all that my release date has been set. It was supposed to be the 28th of December and I forgot to write it in my email. Then, just after emailing, we got a call saying that all of us that were going home on the 28th of December have been changed to the 15th of December. So my release date now is December 15. I love you all and I appreciate ya'll.
Love,
Elder Gray

A letter received from the TSAM mission office today (Monday) tells us his flight schedule... Departs San Antonio on 12/15 in the morning and arrives in SLC and has a 4 hour layover in the afternoon before he flies into Cedar City arriving at 5:52pm.

Sweet Referral

2010-09-27T12:31:00.001-06:00

Hey,

This week was really awesome. We had a zone council on Thursday with the assistants to the president. It was really awesome. The biggest thing I learned was how to really study and get the most out of it. It made a night and day difference in my studies right away. I applied this quote: "Knowledge carefully recorded is knowledge available at time of need." I had not been keeping a very good study journal. I learned so much more as I wrote down the really cool things I learned. I was amazed how much better my study went. I thought I was learning a lot when I just kept the things in my head and didn't write them down.

Also this week we received a sweet referral from a former TSAMer. There was a lady that he had taught. She text-ed him and told him that she wanted to be baptized. So he gave us a call and let us know. We came over to her house and taught her. She accepted to be baptized on October 10th. She has given up a bunch of things and is really willing to give up all she needs to for the Lord. She is in hair-dressing school and was planning to take a trip up to Austin for a conference yesterday. But, she decided not to go so that she could be baptized on the 10th. Sacrifice does really bring forth blessings. She had a great time at church.

I am excited for conference. I have learned so much each time. I wish I would have realized how big a blessing it is before my mission.

Jalapenos..... Awesome! I have definitely been eating a bunch of hot stuff here. I remember before my mission I didn't even like the fire sauce at Taco Bell. Now, it isn't even good because its so weak sauce (ha no pun intended). There's some really good hot sauce called Valentinas here. Do they have that back in Utah? When I first got to the mission I ate at a Spanish lady's house. I was on exchanges with a Mexican elder and he told me that the food wasn't spicy. I took a couple bites of the meat and my eyes started watering and my nose started running. It was super hot. And then I looked at everyone else and they weren't even fazed. Man, it was torture. But now I'm a little more accustomed.

Your garden looks awesome. I have really grown to love healthy food out here so I'm excited to have some vegetables next summer. That tithing story is funny. In my last area there was a lady that told us when she first joined the church and paid the first time, she paid $90ish in change for tithing. She didn't realize someone had to sit there and count it. Oh by the way, kind of off topic, this lady's husband tied the 60m sprint world record back in the day. I think he got like 6.1 seconds. And he's white! Ha so anyways for my responsibilities..... I give a nightly call to make sure the Elders are home safe and also talk about how their day went. I give trainings once a week unless we have zone conference or something else. And I just try to set the best example that I can.

Thanks for everything. I really appreciate all your help, love, support, advice....... I love you all and hope and pray for the best. Thanks for the package. The cookies are gone already and I really appreciated the quotes, bookmarks, Toy story candies and the other things.

Love,

Elder Gray

The atonement

2010-09-20T15:52:00.001-06:00

Hey,

Greetings from Texas. I am doing very well. This last week went pretty well. I went to a training meeting on Wednesday. The big thing I got from it was being an example and being 100% obedient. Now with some leadership responsibility, its a lot easier to do the right thing; because I know that if I don't, then someone else might not do the right thing. It truly is a blessing to have this opportunity.

We have a new missionary in our apartment. The zone leaders are training him. His name is Elder Kelepi and he is from Florida. He is also Tongan. He is a fun missionary. He always has something funny to say and keeps us laughing.

The work here is great. We are working with this one family and the husband finally told us some stuff that is bothering him and holding him back. We could tell there was something that he was holding back for a while. He is a member and sometimes feels down because of his weaknesses. But I know through the atonement that he can change. That's the wonderful thing that we have. Never take it for granted, because most of the world doesn't know about the awesome power of the atonement.

I love you all and am glad that you all are still thriving. I'm glad that Dad has been able to receive sufficient work in these challenging times. I see so many people out here that have been hit hard by the economy or they weren't raised in a good environment or a number of other things. Count your blessings.

Con Amor,

Elder Gray

Member Trust

2010-09-14T10:07:00.003-06:00

Hey,

So this week was a great week. I am staying in this area and so is my companion. I'm gonna be a district leader. A lot of our investigators have fallen through but that Samoan Family is still going strong. They are such a great family. You can feel their love for everyone. They always feed us when we come over. Its great :) Our English class is doing great. We have only done it once but we had a great turnout. We had about 8 people there. It should just skyrocket from there. They were all members but soon enough they will bring their non-member friends and hopefully we can teach them.

We also went to the flea market last week. I bought a full sized Texas flag (it was only $5), some Mexican sunglasses, some rope, and a Texas license plate. It was awesome because everything was cheap and you could talk em down a bit too.

Member trust in the area is going up. That is one of our big objectives right now. A couple years ago there was a lot of missionaries just trying to get baptisms. You can see it in this ward because there are a lot of in-actives. I really enjoy helping people out and bringing them back. When we work we generally try to visit less actives and then knock around them looking for new investigators. The ward members are semi-helpful. We are doing our best to strengthen the wards from the very core. The bishops are very willing to work with us. Especially Bishop Alonzo from Las Palmas ward. He is a great man. We know exactly what we need to do to help the people. So remember, sacrifice builds the Lord's kingdom. Lift where you stand y haga tu parte.

Thanks for all that yall have helped me with as far as school and stuff. I do have a couple questions about SUU. I will sign up for the classes cuz I can just do that on some pday.

We didn't do too much out of the ordinary last pday for the holiday. We played volleyball with a bunch of ward members and chilled. As far as I know, transfers are still working the same way. Every six weeks. I guess every once in a while they do an emergency transfer if a problem arises. But thats pretty rare.

Oh by the way, I lost my scriptures a week or two ago. I cannot find them anywhere. So tomorrow when we are at some training meetings up north I might go and buy some. Just fyi. Well, I love you all and I hope this scrambled letter makes sense. Keep the faith and love everyone.

Love,

Elder Gray

Someone Great

2010-09-13T13:58:00.003-06:00

September 6th, 2010

Dear Family,
We had another sweet week. We had exchanges with the Zone Leaders and then our District Leader, Elder Kellog, again. I got to go with Elder Loertcher. He is a greeny. But, he is a really good missionary already. His Spanish is really good and he is very obedient and diligent. Then on Saturday I went with Elder Bennett to his area. He is a real good missionary also. He is very good at keeping to the basics in Preach my Gospel. I learned a bunch from him.

It's crazy how time flies when you are having fun and staying busy. I really love being out here. I would have gone anywhere else and been as blessed as I have been here. I know that the Lord's hand is in it all.

I love you all and am proud of every one of you. Thanks for the support and love. Remember, if you want to become someone great, study the great ones that have come before us or are among us, and emulate them. Especially our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that His atonement is infinite and His example perfect.

Love,
Elder Gray

Labor Day Holiday

2010-09-06T14:40:00.000-06:00

Sorry we don't have too much time today. We are using the computer in the clerk's office at the church. I just wanted you all to know that I love you and that you are in my prayers. There will be my regular letter in the mail soon.

Love,

Elder Gray

Lay hold upon every good thing

2010-08-30T10:00:00.003-06:00

Hey,

So this week was pretty sweet. We had a part member family come to church. They said they were gonna start coming every week. I am so excited because this family needs the gospel so much. I guess we all do but anyways....They are struggling a bit but they want to change. Their two girls that are excited to come are awesome. Carmen and Julisa. Julisa still hasn't been baptized so we're gonna help with that. The older girls aren't too interested right now but they will follow with the example of the others.

I got a speeding ticket. I was going 10 over in a school zone so they doubled the fine. It was crazy. They were pulling over people left and right. Everyone was going about 30-35 mph. They were pulling people over an average of about two people every five minutes in their little speed trap. They printed the tickets quick too. Its been almost two and a half years so it was a record for me.

That day it seemed like everything went wrong. The work wasn't going anywhere, appointments were falling through, etc.....At the end of the day I looked back and realized that if I would have been a little more diligent and obedient, I could have avoided almost all the bad things that happened. It really fortified my testimony of obedience. Unfortunately, I had to learn it the hard way that day. But, overall our week was fantastic. We taught more people than we have in a long time.

I am so excited to hear that everything is going so well at home with everyone's' pursuits. Keep moving onward and upward and keep the faith. Stay consistent and "lay hold upon every good thing"(Moroni 7:19). Keep conquering those XC courses and Catan ;)

Con Amor,

Elder Gray

2010-08-23T13:48:00.001-06:00

Hey,

So this week has been pretty sweet. All the District leaders, zone leaders and trainers came down to San Antonio for a four day training meeting. Elder Seymour (not my MTC companion) and Elder McCurdy stayed with us. On Tuesday and Thursday they tracted with us from 5-9. It was really great to learn from both of them. They are both great missionaries. Elder Seymour is 6' 6" and his testimony is just as big as him, if not bigger. He really has a love for the people and for missionary work. We had a lesson that was just completely guided by the spirit. The people understood clearly and wanted more. Elder Seymour, Andy, and I were all amazed after the lesson. Andy said it was the most amazing lesson that he had ever seen and both I and Elder Seymour have had very few, if any, lessons like that before. It was a really great spiritual experience. I am really grateful for that experience. Oh and by the way Andy is a member in the ward that is getting ready to go on a mission. He has a super sweet testimony. He is my age but just started coming back to church about a year ago. He overcame his trials and has come to love the gospel. He's a great example to me.

I read Moroni 7 the other day. I really got a lot out of it about personal revelation. Like a lot of people, I have the trouble of trying to discern whether its personal revelation or just my own thoughts.

-The first thing you can do is look to see whether its good or bad. Will it help you or someone else come closer to Heavenly Father?

-Then if you still are in question, just go with what you think is right.

So I knew a lot of this stuff before. It was a great reminder. But the new thing I realized is that when we are doing what we are supposed to, to come closer to God, the spirit will guide our very thoughts to what we need to do, where we need to go, etc... So all the time I'm going by what I think is best. But now I know that when I'm obedient to the Lord, my thoughts are no longer my thoughts. Its hard to tell if the spirit is guiding when I'm in the act of doing something. But I can look back at the end of the day and see how the Lord has guided me. I hope that all made sense. The way I understand it cannot be explained in words. Thats the wonderful thing about the spirit.

I'm glad everyone is doing well. School, sports, reading, all that fun stuff. Sweet pics. Justin is doing percussion, right? I'm glad dad is fine from his little dumpster incident. Its funny because I was actually reading a Dr. Suess book in Spanish before I hopped on the computer. Then that's the first thing you mention. My companion's name is Elder Alas, not wings haha. And he is from Fontana. We are still getting along great and are having a great time doing missionary work. Gonzalo just kinda disappeared. He won't return phone calls or answer the door. Its sad but he will be baptized someday. Just hopefully sooner than later.

No nececito mas camisas blancas, pero gracias. Ojala que tengan buena semana y Les Amo!
(I don't need more white shirts, but thanks. Hopefully, all will have a good week and tell them I love them!)

Con Amor,

Elder Gray

Trust in the Lord

2010-08-16T12:40:00.001-06:00

Hey,

How is everyone? I am doing awesome here. Elder Alas and I are getting along great. That is always key in a companionship. When I haven't been the closest with a companion, it reflects in the work. Luckily, I haven't had hardly any problems with companions and none with Elder Alas. I don't remember how much I told you about him last time but here are some things about him: He loves cars and is a certified mechanic and welder, he is a real good people person, and he is fluent in both English and Spanish.

This week was a little disappointing at church. We had a bunch of people lined up to go and we had rides for the ones that couldn't drive. But, none of them came to church. Its sad when people know that they need to change and definitely feel the spirit, but then just throw that all away. But I trust that the Lord will give them more opportunities to accept. After we do all that we can, and then some more, we have to leave the rest up to the Lord.

Our mission president is a great man, definitely called of God. He is way different from President Cutler but just as great. While Pres. Cutler seemed to be more of the "spirit of the law" kind of person, President Jones is more "letter of the law" kind of person. But awesome nevertheless.

I know that Heavenly Father lives and loves us all. I have come to appreciate and love the simple aspects of the gospel in this last year and a half. Its cool and fun to learn all the random facts and doctrines, but the simple things that we can apply to our lives each day are truly the life-changers.

I love you all and am very grateful to be blessed with such a wonderful family and friends. Thanks for the love, support, testimonies and everything else.

Con Amor,

Elder Gray

P.S. Good luck in the deer hunt! Oh and with that book, Drawing on the Powers of Heaven, you don't need to send it to me. I can focus on the missionary library and BoM for now. But thanks for the offer.

New Companion

2010-08-09T16:00:00.004-06:00

Hola,

Es bien que tiene un traductor para traducir el correo. ¿Funciona bien? El foto del "Cat-scan" es chistoso. Esta semana fue bien. Mi nuevo compañero se llama Elder Alas. El es de Fontana, California. Sus padres son de El Salvador. Entonces, el sabe español muy bien. Tambien, conoció el Presidente Jones antes de la mision. Me ayuda mucho. El es muy amable a todo. El ha sido en la mision desde el 27 de enero. Vamos a hacer mucho bien juntos en esta área. Elder Haueter es el nuevo ZL en nuestro apartamento. Fuimos en el mismo distrito en el CCM (MTC). El es buen misionero. Esta mañana fuimos a la escuela secundaria para practicar el fútbol americana. Elder Haueter va a jugar después de la mision en Boise State (punter y kicker). Nuestro Presidente es muy amable y tambien es estricto. El es un buen presidente. Su esposa es muy amable tambien.

Tuvé la oportunidad a enseñar el quorum de los elderes ayer en el barrio Las Palmas. Escogí la lección acerca de la oración y por que debemos orar a nuestro padre celestial. La clase habló mucho y Gonzalo, nuestro investigador, se sintió el espiritu. Hay otra persona que encontramos hace unos dias. El fue mui triste y no le gusto a vivir. Pero, el fue muy feliz despues de le hablamos. Me gusta mucho la obra misional. Me encanta mucho cuando las personas se cambian.

Well I'm running out of time so heres some english. A typical sunday in this ward is english PEC at 7:30, english Sacrament at 8:30, Spanish PEC at 9:30, spanish sacrament at 10:30 and then church ends at 1:30. We study and eat till 3:00 and then we go out and work. We usually have dinner as a district that night at a member's house. Thats great about DeAnn graduating. Tell her congrats from me. I bet you all are excited for school, eh ;) Well I love you all and hope you have the best week. "Remember" ;)

Love,

Elder Gray

P.S. Brittney Polatis' college room-mate at BYU-I goes to the singles ward here in our building. She said hi yesterday.

Now for www.spanishdict.com/translation:
Hello, It is well that it has a translator to translate the mail. It works well? The photo of ' Cat-scan' he is humorous. This week was well. My new companion is called Elder Alas. He is of Fontana, California. Their parents are of El Salvador. Then, he knows Spanish very well. Also, President Jones knew before the mission. He helps me much. He is very amiable to everything. He has been in the mission from the 27 of January. We are going to make much well together in this area. Elder Haueter is the new ZL in our apartment. We were in the same district in CCM (MTC). He is good missionary. This morning we went to the secondary school to practice the American football. Elder Haueter is going to play after the mission in Boise City State (to punter and to kicker). Our President is very amiable and also he is strict. He is a good president. His wife is very amiable also. Tuvé the opportunity to teach to the quorum of elders yesterday in the district Las Palmas. I chose the lesson about the oration and so that we must pray to our celestial father. The class spoke much and Gonzalo, our investigator, felt the spirit. There is another person that we found days ago. It was mui sad and him taste not to live. But, he was very happy after we spoke to him. I like much the missionary work. It enchants to me much when the people change.

Con Amor

2010-08-03T11:54:00.002-06:00

Hola,

Buenos días. Estoy feliz porque Erik no tiene el cancer no mas. Yo se que Dios nos contestó y todavía nos contesta. Los ayunos y oraciones ayudaron, yo sé. Nuestro presidente me dijo en el celular que llamó usted a la hogar de misión. Me alegré el nuevos de Erik. Todavía estoy orando para su salud y también de toda la familia. Recibimos una llama ayer. Llamas de las transferencias. Me voy a quedar en esta area y mi compañero va a salir. El va a ser el mayor en su compañerismo (senior companion). El es un buen misionero. Hará bien. No se nada de mi nuevo compañero. El tiempo que tuvimos juntos fue muy bien. Aprendí mucho de Elder Swainston. Espero que yo lo ayude también. Tenemos unos investigadores. Gonzalo, en el barrio español, esta progresando adelante. No tiene una fecha bautismal pero el esta orando para saber cuando debe ser bautizado. Hasta el primero día de esta mes, andábamos en bicicleta mucho. Pero tenemos millas ahora y podemos manejar en el carro y conservar las millas mejor que el Julio.

Como están todo? Justin me dijo que tal vez el va a nadar en un equipo. Todavía quiere hacerlo? Erik y Ashley están corriendo por la escuela, si? Gracias por los recetas. Esta mañana yo traté de cocinar las galletas(cake mix cookies). El horno no funciona muy bien entonces fueron sobre cocinadas. Pero me gustó todavía. Gracias por el apoyo y todo. Os Amo.

Con Amor,

Elder Gray

PS Let me know if theres anything more or less that you would like me to include in my letters

Free Translation.com....
Hello, good morning. I am happy because Erik does not have the cancer. I itself that God answered us and still answers us. The fasts and prayers helped, I know. Our president told me in the cell that called you to the home of mission. I was happy the news of Erik. Still I am praying for his health and also of all the family.

We receive a flame yesterday. You call of the transfers. I am going to remain in this area and my companion is going to leave. The he is going to be the major in his friendship (senior companion). He is a good missionary. He will do well. I know nothing of my new companion. The time that had together was very well. I learned a lot of Elder Swainston. I expect that I helped also.

We have some investigators. Gonzalo, in the Spanish neighborhood, progressing ahead. Does not it have a baptismal date but he this praying to know when should be baptized. To the first day of this month, we walked and bicycle a lot. But we have miles now and we can handle in the car and to conserve the better miles than the July.

As they are all? Justin told me that perhaps the is going to swim in a team. Still it wants to do it? Erik and Ashley are running for the school? Thanks for the recipes. This morning I tried to cook the oreos (cake mix cookies). The oven does not function very well then they were over cooked. But i liked still. Thanks by the support and all.

I Love you. With Love, Elder Gray

Baptisms

2010-07-26T15:06:00.002-06:00

Hey,

So another week has passed by and I'm still lovin it. This last week we rode bikes a lot. A couple days we went 10+ miles a day. Its been fun. We have been able to talk to a lot more people than usual. One of our investigators, Gonzalo, came to church for the second time. He showed up all on his own last week. He will be set with a baptismal date most likely when we meet with him on Wednesday. The two girls got confirmed yesterday. I am so proud and happy for them.

Mom, I believe too that angels are watching over us always. Just yesterday we were riding or bikes home and we heard this wierd scraping sound. We turned around the corner and someone was just getting out of a wrecked car. The front passenger side wheel was completely torn off and that corner of the car was resting on the ground. We looked behind him and there was a ruined chain link fence and a completely demolished mailbox and some damage to the grass in front of the two houses. This mailbox was about 3X3 ft on the base and about 4ft high. It was made of cement and stones so I was a pretty solid thing. We had probably rounded that corner less than thirty seconds after he wrecked. A couple minutes earlier we had stopped for about thirty seconds to see if we saw one of our investigators across the street. I don't know if we would have been in the path of that car or not but nevertheless I am very grateful for the protection we received. He claimed that he was talking on his cell phone, but I wouldn't be surprised if he had some alcohol in his system as well. I know that the Lord watches over us all. I am sure there are many times that we never even know that we were spared from tragedy.

I really like hearing about all that's going on back at home. Thanks for the updates about family, friends, etc... That was interesting about the Cutlers' homecoming. It sounded crazy. Thanks for your testimony about forgiveness Dad. Before my mission I still carried a couple of grudges deep down. I felt justified. But now I know that I wasn't justified at all. No one is ever justified in committing even a little sin. Its been really easy to let it all go once I realized it was wrong. Its still fun living with the other missionaries. We cook a lot of stuff together and I am trying to perfect my no-bake-cookies. They are getting better (thanks Ash for the cookbook). Could you send me the recipe for cake mix cookies? I would really like to make some sometime. Thanks for everything. Good luck in sports/school/student govt/avoiding shark attacks/life in general. Remember to avoid mediocrity and rise above and beyond the rest. Y'all have a good'un cuz I'm sure fixin to, aight ;)

Con Amor,

Elder Gray

Last Quarter of my Mission

2010-07-19T13:44:00.002-06:00

Hey,

Today I am feeling great. Going into this last quarter of my mission I am trying to work the best I can. As time goes on I am learning to work smarter and put the natural man behind me. Its still tough sometimes but that's what makes it worth it. Preach my Gospel, and the spirit of course, have really helped me to understand things clearer than I have ever before.

I listened to the "Way to Be" cd by Gordon B. Hinckley this morning. I really love the way that he teaches. He is very simple but very profound. Thanks for sending it to me. Along with that book, another one I would highly recommend is Drawing on the Powers of Heaven. Its by Grant Von Harrison I believe. I haven't read it, but there are a few missionaries that have it out here and I've heard excerpts and their opinions about the book. Anyways, sounds like a must read.

We had a great baptismal service yesterday. Annabelle and Israel got baptized. They are both really awesome girls. There were a couple things that went wrong behind the scenes as far as getting ready for the baptism and stuff but it went great in the end.

As we teach people it helps me just as much as it helps them. Its really awesome when the spirit is there. We all learn things that might not necessarily have been said with words. We are trying to help this one guy with a marijuana addiction. I've noticed that we might not have the same problems as him, but the principles of the atonement are universal.

Quotes:

“The Spirit is the most important single element in this work. With the Spirit magnifying your call, you can do miracles for the Lord in the mission field. Without the Spirit, you will never succeed regardless of your talent and ability.” --Ezra Taft Benson (PMG, 176)

"Success is failing time after time and not becoming discouraged."

-Sir Winston Churchill

Thanks for the package. I am enjoying everything in it. I even got an offer to trade for that bucking bronc tie that you sent me. Lol. I loved the muddy buddies. Every time Elder Criddle eats some he says, "Mmm, I love this Christmas crunch." Its pretty funny. I like the idea of putting in carmel instead of peanut butter. A little more healthy option for me ;) (Elder Gray is allergic to nuts)

Os amo. Que tenga buen semana y estoy agradecido por el apoyo que me dan. Dios los bendiga.

(I love you. Have a good week and I'm grateful for the support they give me. God bless.)

Con Amor,

Elder Gray

Spanish

2010-07-12T13:25:00.001-06:00

Hola,

Ojala que todo esté bien. Mi vida aquí es muy divertido. Estamos buscando, predicando y enseñando muchas personas. Mi español continuamente esta mejorando, especialmente en esta área. Casi todo son hispánicos pero mucho hablan ingles también. Me gusta mucho esta área. Mi compañero es (cool). Tenemos cuatro personas con una fecha bautismal. Los dos chicas que hemos enseñado por un tiempo va a bautizarse el próximo Domingo. Teníamos un poquito de lluvia en la semana pasada. Nuestro reunión de la zona fue bien. El presidente nuevo no cambió mucho, pero la obra misional mundial cambiará algunas cosas en las meces siguientes. Hay ocho lecciones que recibiremos para mejorar nuestro habilidad de enseñar. No sé cuando lo recibiremos pero espero que llegan pronto. También, aprendimos como debemos enseñar cuando empezamos lecciones. Aprendí algunas cosas que ya me ayudo. El Jueves leí Eter capitulo 12. No tengo una parte favorita porque todo es asombroso. Se que el Señor nos ayuda con todo. Yo estudiaba mucho de la fe esta semana. Estoy tratando de mejorar mi fe. También, estoy tratando de invitar mas el espíritu en mi estudio. Yo puedo ver una diferencia grande en que aprendo en mis estudios.

Gracias por la paquete. Me gustan las corbatas mucho ;) Y tambien los otros. Tendré divertido con las cosas que recibí. Gracias mucho!

I only have a minute left :) I love you all and am so grateful for your examples. I can feel the power of your prayers. Way to be awesome!

Love,

Elder Gray

Now for "google igadget translate"!

Hello,
I hope all is well. My life here is fun. We are looking for, preaching and teaching many people. My Spanish is improving continually, especially in this area. Almost all are Hispanic but many also speak English. I love this area. My partner is (cool). We have four people with a baptismal date. The two girls who have taught for a time to be baptized next Sunday. We had a bit of rain last week. Our meeting of the area was good. The new president did not change much, but the global missionary work some things will change. There are eight lessons they receive to improve our ability to teach. I do not know when I receive but I hope they arrive soon. Also, as we learned when we started teaching lessons. I learned some things that helped me. Ether On Thursday I read chapter 12. I have no favorite part because everything is amazing. I know the Lord helps us with everything. I studied a lot of faith this week. I'm trying to improve my faith. Also, I'm trying to invite the spirit is in my study. I can see a big difference in that I learn in my studies.

Thanks for the package. I like ties much;) And also the others. I have fun with the things I received. Thanks a lot!

I Only Have a minute left:) I love you all and am so Grateful for your examples. I can feel the power of your Prayers. Way to be awesome!

Love,
Elder Gray

New Mission President

2010-07-05T11:55:00.001-06:00

Hey,

So it has been another great week down here in San Antonio. President Cutler left and President Jones has started his term (or whatever you call it). We have zone conference tomorrow so we will soon see what he is all about. The zone leaders had zone leader counsel with him last week and said that he is awesome. I'm excited for tomorrow. This new area is a little lower income on average so we get a lot of investigators coming and going. Elder Swainston is a hard worker. He knows what he's doing, he loves talking to people, and he still has that new missionary excitement. He is awesome. He played on the line in football at his high school and is about 6 foot or maybe 6' 1". By the way I'm still 5' 10.5" and I'm pretty sure that's not gonna go up. The two younger girls that I talked about last week still have a baptismal date. Their names are Anabell and Israel and they are going to be baptized on the 18th. We also have another lady that will get baptized soon. We are having a problem with boundaries though so I won't get too much into that. I'll let you know when things are worked out and we know whats going on.

I'm excited to go fishing at that lake in town when I get back. I bet there are gonna be some huge catfish soon. Those things can survive through anything. That's really good that Erik is going to EFY. That really fortified me through high school. It really helped me realize how much I needed to stay on the straight and narrow path. I am really grateful that we live in this free country. It is a blessing, like you said, to be able to have our religious freedoms. I'm sorry that this email is short. I love you all and hope for the best. Keep on keepin' on.

Love,

Elder Gray

2010-06-28T12:45:00.001-06:00

Hey!

So my new area is probably one of the ones I would have picked if I had the choice. It is in south San Antonio and we cover an English ward (10th) and a Spanish ward (Las Palmas). I am really happy to be in south zone again. Now I can talk to the other missionaries in my old area and see how everything is going there. We live with the zone leaders and they are training a new missionary. His name is Elder Dymock (pronounced dimick). His companions are Elder Criddle and Elder Bennett. I know both of them from earlier in the mission. My companion's name is Elder Swainston. He is from Bakersfield, California. He has only been out in the field for about three months. This is the first time I have lived with more than just my companion so it is a lot of fun.

This area and my last one are quite different. This one has a lot more people that are compelled to be humble. Its a little ghetto-ish I guess. There are a lot of baptisms in this area but the retention is pretty low. We are going to do all we can to keep them active. So far the work here has been really good. We have taught a lot of Spanish and English. We also set two little girls with a baptismal date yesterday. They are 11 and 9 years old. They are the only ones in their family that haven't been baptized. There are a lot of part member families in the ward. I am really excited to go out and help all these families. In Wells Branch we had an average sacrament meeting attendance of between 275 and 315 and here it is a lot lower. I would guess about 100 in each ward. But tenth ward has a huge amount of inactive members so our work is laid out for us. We have a car in this area but we will ride bikes occasionally once I get a new helmet. It has been beat up really bad and then it got lost somewhere this last transfer. Don't worry though. The reason its been beat up is because its been sitting in some other missionaries' apartment for the last eight months. I only put a couple dents and scratches on it ;)

Here's my address:

1727 Thompson Place #605

San Antonio, TX 78226

I'm happy that our family and extended family are doing well. I am doing well with my health. I think its been a while since I took my Reliv but I eat healthy. I haven't ever been sick enough to be stuck in the apartment. Just like before my mission, the only times I puke are when I run too hard. For some reason my stomach seems to be pretty weak in that regard. But anyways I am lovin it and livin the dream. I love you all and hope for the best.

Con amor,

Elder Gray

2010-06-24T14:35:00.001-06:00

Hey,

I'm getting transferred. Its crazy because I feel like I just got here. Time flies. We have knocked a good portion of this area so I won't miss that part of the area. But as I've been here longer I have grown to love everyone more and more. I will miss them. But my new area is going to be even more awesome than this one. We're just going to blow everything out of the water. I really like going into new areas and getting new companions because you can start over new and be whoever and whatever you want to be. But anyways this week was really awesome. We taught 30 total lessons and Randy got baptized. Both of those, especially the baptism, were big accomplishments for us. His kids haven't been baptized yet but Jordyn wants to be baptized. I am confident that they will all be baptized within a couple months or sooner. Randy's wife enjoyed the baptism. It was a really neat, spiritual and personal baptism. The bishop gave Randy an FHE manual and wants him to be ordained to the priesthood as soon as possible. The ward is excited for someone as solid as him to be baptized. He is a really Christlike person and he follows the spirit very well. There is a sister in the ward that has every church app on her I-phone and so she helped Randy to get a bunch on his. There is an app with all the church manuals, standard works, hymns, just everything you can think of........plus more!

So today we are going to a place called Buffalo Wild Wings and we are going to do their blazing challenge. You have to eat 12 buffalo wings in 6 minutes. They are drenched in super hot sauce. You get an awesome t-shirt if you win. All the missionaries that have tried it have succeeded, so hopefully I don't break that chain.

Yes the chickens have sharp talons. I'm not sure if it rains much in the summers here on average. It was super dry last summer and this year it has rained a bunch more but not much in the last week or two. From what I understand, we are just barely south of tornado alley. So we can get tornadoes (last spring we had one touch down and then another time we had a tornado watch), but its not too common, I haven't seen any in person. You should tell Erik to send me the ultimate blizzard. That would be tasty ;) That's awesome that you are doing that 21 day thing Mom. I love hearing about how you all are continually improving spiritually. Keep it up and I love you all.

Love,

Elder Gray

2010-06-14T11:34:00.000-06:00

Hey,

This week was a really awesome week, especially the end part. We had another good week with lots of lessons and that sort of thing. Then yesterday after church, one of the assistants to the mission president, Elder Palmer, came with us for the day. He is going home in a couple weeks so he is spending a day with half a dozen different companion ships. We were super excited for him to come with us. We only got to work with him for the afternoon and evening, but we got a lot of work done and the spirit at all the lessons was amazing. Elder Palmer is a super missionary. We started off by visiting a member. It turns out that he was about to give up on trying to convert his mom but the spirit really helped him want to keep on trying. After that we went to a lesson that we had scheduled. We could only stay for a couple of minutes but we have a return appointment tonight for a longer visit. It went really well for the short time we were there. After that we went down the street and talked to people and knocked on doors. Almost every contact was positive in one way or another. A couple people let down their guard when we thought they might not. We met a girl that has been taught by missionaries before and was super excited to see us. We have an appointment with her on Wednesday. Everything we did turned out well. We all learned a lot in the short time that we worked together. From this experience I was re-taught how the spirit can teach so much better than anything else, in our own personal problems as well as the lives of others. We set some goals to improve in the next week and I know that we will accomplish them. It was a really awesome experience.

Randy and his two kids are set to be baptized on Saturday. They are coming back from Michigan. So as soon as they are back we are going to finish up teaching them and then they'll be baptized. Its so exciting to see people accept the gospel and change their lives.

Quote: "The best antidote I know for worry is work. The best medicine for despair is service. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired."

-President Gordon B. Hinckley

Elder Palmer gave us that quote. I know its true. I know that Gordon B. Hinckley was truly the prophet of God at that time and that Thomas S. Monson is now the prophet of God on the earth.

I love you all so much and hope for the best. Keep up the good work and stay awesome.

Love,

Elder Gray

PS Good job on medaling in the Summer Games Justin. Erik, good job for keeping pushing. And dad, I'm jealous of your halibut ;) LoL

Stake Conference

2010-06-07T13:23:00.001-06:00

Hey,

So this week we had some pretty good success. We didn't do as well with finding new investigators but we had a couple people come to church. Randy and his two kids are going to be baptized on the 20th of June but they are out of town right now. They are visiting some of their family in Michigan. They won't be back for another seven or eight days. We are praying for them because that is a long time without being able to go over and talk to them. There is another family that we are teaching. They have six kids. The dad and one of the sons came to church. They are going to come next week too. Hopefully the rest of the family can come soon.

It was stake conference but they did a web cast to our building. Its amazing what they can do with technology these days. In the adult session on Saturday they talked all about missionary work. I really liked it. Someone told a really good story about James E. Talmage. Basically, he helped a family with a deathly illness when no one else would. Everyone was too scared of getting sick and dying. The house was super dirty and just crawling with infection. He helped clean up the house and take care of the family. One of the little girls he held until she passed on. She was coughing blood all over him but he wouldn't let that stand in the way of trying to comfort her in her dying breaths. He would get minimal sleep and then come and help even more. After it was all over he quarantined himself from his family. He didn't want them to get deathly sick too. He ended up getting sick but was over it in a week. Look up that story somewhere. I missed a lot of details and its really one worth reading. I really appreciated learning more about such a great man. In the general session they talked a lot about temples. It was also really good.

Dad, how was the fishing in Alaska? Did you catch anything big or have a bear steal your dinner? Haha. I really enjoyed going up there back a couple of years ago. They some memories that I'll never forget. Thanks for your testimony about tithing. My companion was excited about Justin doing percussion. Me too. Good luck in the Summer Games. Thanks for the pics. I love you all and I know that the church is true. Keep building your foundation on Christ and you can't go wrong.

Love,

Elder Gray

PS If Erik finds that Emmett Smith cassette, keep it. I would like to make a copy of it someday when I am home.

2010-05-31T19:47:00.001-06:00

Hey,
So this week was another great week. Randy was set with a baptismal date for the 20th of June. He has progressed a bunch and learned a lot in the last couple of weeks. He is going out of town soon for two weeks so that is a bummer but as soon as he's back we will continue to teach and help him to be baptized. His kids hopefully will have a baptismal date soon. Cheyenne is doing well. We are going to start the new member lessons very soon.

Yesterday the Bronsons' water heater broke. We had cold showers this morning. It wasn't very pleasant but I survived :) Then we got to help take the old one out and put a new one in. The only problem was that the water heater is in the attic. That put an exciting twist on the situation. Fortunately no one got hurt. Have you ever installed one in someone's attic, dad?

Sorry this ones a little short. I am glad you all are doing well. That is awesome about William Tyndale. I have heard a bunch about him out here but I didn't know we were related. Cool cool. Good job on all yall's accomplishments. Thanks for the card mom. It was funny. Have an awesome week and stay close to the Lord.

Love,
Elder Gray

Progressing

2010-05-24T10:41:00.002-06:00

Hey,

Well another week has passed by and I'm still here. We had a really good week with our numbers. We taught 29 total lessons. Usually we have around 20-25 I believe. We also had a bunch of new investigators. Sadly a couple have dropped off already. If they're not elect, we just have to move on and later on down the road they will be ready. We receive a couple referrals from they ward members. The other week we received eight from one lady in the ward. We have been able to contact two of them. One was interested and the other wasn't. We are also trying to visit some recent converts in the ward each week. Sadly, all the ones that were baptized this last November and December are inactive currently. But with some hard work we can bring them back.

On Saturday we did something that was a little scary, to us at least. There is a part member family in the ward that needed help vacuuming their house. The mom was in the hospital for surgery. Her mom was coming over to help around the house but is allergic to dogs. So they needed their whole house vacuumed to get rid of the dog hair. The husband wasn't doing it so she called some sisters in the ward to help. The sisters couldn't do it right then so they ended up calling us to help. So we went over there when nobody was home and vacuumed the whole downstairs. The husband wasn't home so we were afraid he was going to show up any minute. He doesn't like the missionaries because they weirded him out a while back. Apparently they would always sing him a song when they came over and he thought that was weird. So anyways we were really glad that he didn't walk in on us when we were there. He would not have liked that at all.

So anyways that was the excitement of the week. Oh also Randy, the guy that came with his two kids last week, came with them again this week. They really enjoy church. They are all progressing and learning tons. We are going to commit them for baptism when we go over on Wednesday.

Os amo.

Con Amor,

Elder Gray

P.S. Cheyenne got confirmed yesterday. She asked me to do that too so it was pretty cool

Awesome Sunday

2010-05-17T11:29:00.000-06:00

Hey,

We had an awesome Sunday. Five investigators came to church. That is more than we have had in a long time. Four of them were surprises too so that was even better :) One of them came with two of his kids and they liked it. The other one that came was one that we had basically done all we can. We decided to just put her on the back burner for a couple weeks, but then she showed up to church so now she is back in our sights. Cheyenne was baptized yesterday. I got to baptize her so it was a pretty neat experience. She had originally said that she wanted her home teacher to baptize her so when she said she wanted me to, it was a big surprise. Everything went off without a hitch. We had a really good week overall. Lots of lessons, new investigators, referrals, etc.....

That's awesome to hear about the family and all the things going on. Good job at state! Are you going to Albuquerque? I am proud of both the boys and girls teams. Hard work always pays off. It seems like teams with a good medley or 4x400m are well balanced teams and do well overall. I'm excited that Justin gets to march with his team in the opening ceremonies too. That was always fun to do.

Well I hope you all have the best week. Stay safe and stay cool ;)

Love,

Elder Gray

Visualize Success

2010-05-11T17:03:00.001-06:00

Hey,

Thanks for the pics. They are great and funny. It was really awesome talking to you all on Sunday. I really enjoyed hearing about Justin's, Erik's, Ashley's..........just everyone's accomplishments in all parts of life. Good job! You all make me proud to be part of this family.

So not to much has happened since we last talked. As you know, Cheyenne is getting baptized on Sunday. Everything seems to be pretty much in order and ready for that to happen. We have an awesome new investigator. We were knocking on some doors and we ran into a lady that we work with when we go to the thrift store to volunteer. She let us right in. She is looking for direction in her life and she is pretty awesome.

I'm sorry I don't have too much time but I hope you all have an awesome week. Good luck at state and run/cheer your hardest :) One thing that I found really helps is to visualize success. Visualize yourself running the best race of your life and passing people and so on. I guess everyone has their own things that work but that worked for me. Os amo muchisimo.

Con Amor,

Elder Gray

Perfect love casts out all fear

2010-05-03T15:35:00.003-06:00

Hey,

My week went really great. I enjoyed translating your Spanish. It was good. Did someone help you or are you just awesome at Spanish now? ;) (It's called "google translator" ha ha...I typed up a letter in English and had google translator turn it into Spanish for me to send to Chris. LOL)

That's awesome about Ash and Erik getting elected. They will do awesome. I am very happy for Erik recovering so well and being able to do more things. I know that the Lord really blessed him. He blesses all of us so much.

Speaking of blessings, someone just moved into our ward that is pretty much prepared for baptism. She just needs to get married and so most likely she will be baptized at the end of the month. Her husband is pretty awesome. He is a super good chef and he works for a video game company (W.O.W. administrator for Blizzard Entertainment). We are super excited for her but right now her fiance hasn't expressed much interest. Hopefully that will change soon. Also, Cheyenne will be getting baptized on either this Sunday or next Sunday. We are talking to her tonight to finalize that date. She had her interview last week and she passed. She is a sweet girl.

This week I was reminded of something really important. First of all that perfect love casts out all fear. I was having a hard time talking effectively to people lately. Then when I realized what it was that was holding me back, it made all the difference. Also, another thing, If you want something to get done, just do it. At times we sit there passively and wait for things to happen. But time and time again I have seen that we get so much more accomplished when we make things happen.

♪Happy Anniversary, happy anniversary, happy anniversary, haaaappy anniversary♪

I love you all and look forward to talking next week. Stay strong

Love,

Elder Gray

P.S. Hey transfers are next week. Also, I was thinking that 8 o clock (7pm your time) Sunday night would be the best time to call. Is that going to work? Let me know real quickly if that won't work.

P.S.S. Yes its starting to get hot here. Low 90's and humid

Following the Spirit

2010-04-26T11:59:00.000-06:00

Hey,

Things are going well. I haven't received my shoe package yet but it should arrive today I'm guessing. I put a bike patch on the bottom of my shoe and it worked well for a couple days :) Then the hole just got bigger and bigger. Ha so it will be nice to get some more shoes soon. We had a really good week and found a couple of really solid investigators. They were all found when we were really focusing on trying to follow the spirit too. It was awesome. One of them is stuck at home all day and loves to read. She said that she would probably finish the Book of Mormon in a day or two. We are teaching her tomorrow and are super excited. Also, we found another guy when we went looking for a former investigator. Those people weren't home and so we went across the street and started talking to a guy in his yard. He is a very humble person and so he is willing to continue to learn. We just saw a lot of blessings this last week.

Cheyenne is still waiting for her Grandpa to be healthy enough to come down. Her baptismal interview is tomorrow. We still don't know when she will be baptized......hopefully soon. All our other old investigators have stopped progressing and so we are still focusing on finding.

Our ward has about 17 ward missionaries now. Just a week ago the bishop called seven new ones. We are excited to have a bunch of active members helping out with the work. There is going to be a big focus on bringing people back into activity in the church.

How are things going at home? Is everybody excited for the summer? Any fun plans? I am excited to talk to yall in a couple weeks. Time flies. It feels like I just talked to you all the other month. I love you all and hope that you have an awesome week.

Quote: "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice The Gift"

Love,

Elder Gray

Holy Soles

2010-04-20T15:29:00.006-06:00

Or is it "holey" shoes? ha ha...Elder Gray is working hard in the Texas Heat. We are loving the idea that Missionary Mall's 2 year wear guarantee will send a replacement for free. Yeah!

Becoming...

2010-04-19T11:50:00.000-06:00

Hey,

Wow those Prom pictures look great. I recognized a couple of faces but wow you all have changed a bunch. Good job on your running Ashley. I know you are working hard and its paying off. Congrats on your arrow of light and turning 11 Justin. I hope you had an awesome birthday. Good job Erik for keeping on with normal life. I don't know how I would have handled all your struggles. You are a stud. I bet you like eating solid food again :) I sent off the shoe pictures a day or two before I received your letter. I appreciate the labels and stamps though. I will definitely use them.

At this last zone conference we talked about a lot of things. We talked about becoming Preach my Gospel by studying it constantly. I made a goal to do a couple activities from it every day. Also, President Cutler gave us a lot of good advice about future families that we will have. I don't think he meant to bring it up but that's just kind of where the discussion led to. It was a super awesome and spiritual meeting.

Our area is doing well. I am getting to know the members even better now and have developed some good friendships. Elder Hawkins and I are also getting along very well. Cheyenne is just waiting for her Grandpa to get the OK from his doctor so he can fly from Utah and baptize her. Nathaniel has just kinda disappeared so hopefully we can get in contact with him soon.

I really love being on a mission. It has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. I know that this is the Lord's work. Thanks for everything. Love you all.

Love,

Elder Gray

PS Thanks for all the pictures. I did a little bit of math and figured out that you could send me about 7000 pictures before my in box is full. So if you ever worry about sending too much, don't worry. You could send a movie and I'd still have plenty of room. Haha don't though ;) But I do enjoy every picture. Oh and I did receive my shirts in the mail. Thanks!

Baptisms

2010-04-12T10:55:00.000-06:00

Hey,

This week was a lot of fun. Elder Hawkins and I got a lot of work done. Nathaniel is set to be baptized on April 25 and Cheyenne Gamble was supposed to be baptized today but she needed to push the date back. She will be baptized this month though. We are going to talk to her today and hopefully get another baptismal date set. As a mission we have been pushing to find more new investigators. In our zone, we doubled the number of new investigators from the previous week. It is really awesome to see the changes as we all push forward. The work that we do right now is a mixture between all the categories (part-member families, referals, less active members, tracting, etc...). But I would say we do a little bit more knocking than anything else. Our district leader, Elder Eaton, has been sick for the last week so we have been exchanging a lot with them lately. They only live a mile or two away from us.

I love you all and I am super grateful for your support. Have the best week ever and thank you for that Easter package. I really am enjoying it.

Con Amor,

Elder Gray

Make every day a good one!

2010-04-05T17:07:00.000-06:00

Hey,

This week has gone by pretty quickly. We had a pretty good week. We had transfers on Thursday and my new companion is Elder Hawkins. He is an English elder. He has been out since July. He lived in Provo and went to Provo high then UVU. He played snare drum on the drum-line for Provo high. He likes electronics and even made an MP3 player out of an old NES controller. It is pretty cool. He is probably 3 inches taller than me. He is a lot of fun. I've known him for a little bit because I've served around him before.

We spent the morning with an awesome guy from the ward. He is less active because his job is always taking him out of town on Sundays. He is a salesman for Vitamix blenders. We went geo-caching. It is really fun. You all should try it out sometime.

General Conference was really awesome. I liked a lot of talks but President Uchtdorfs talks in the priesthood session and in the regular session as well as President Monson's Sunday morning talk were some of the best. I really liked learning about patience and the Lords master plan. I also liked Elder Bednar's talk. Some of the things he touched on, particularly being an agent that acts, is something that we learned from him when he came to our mission.

One thing that I would suggest for your question about the new ward missionary..... I don't think it matters too much what he is doing as long as he is able to feel like 'he' is making a difference and he is feeling the spirit as he helps others. I hope that helps. Just follow the spirit and I'm sure you will both do great.

I am happy to hear that you all are still doing great. Remember the Alamo (or at least your missionary by there). Haha but seriously if you get some time, read the story of the Alamo. That story is filled with brave men who put it all on the line. I love you all. Keep on keepin' on and make every day a good one.

Con Amor,

Elder Gray

PS If you could send 3 white church shirts that would be awesome. Wrinkle free if possible. I will send you the pics of my shoes asap.

Transfer Week

2010-03-30T18:32:00.004-06:00

Hey its transfer week

I'm staying but my comp is leaving

more soon

love ya

Dear Justin,

I have baptized millions of people. Haha just kidding no I think 12. That's how many me and my companions have helped to get baptized. I'm not exactly sure how many I have actually got in the water and did the actual baptism. Texas is great. I love the barbecue and brisket is my favorite thing to eat here(and the Mexican food is super spicy and good. The hottest temperature I have been in is about 105 degrees. It was about that hot for two months last summer. And its humid. That is so awesome that you are getting your Arrow of Light. You will be glad that you took the time to get that when you look back on your life. Good job at everything else. You and everyone else at home sound like you are working hard at the things you do. Love you.

Love,

Elder Gray

Dear Ashley,

Wow good job at all your stuff. Way to try something new. I don't think I would have made it in choir if I would have tried but I wish I would have at least tried. Way to push yourself in school. Keep it up and I know that you will do awesome. Also that is really awesome that you have that Christlike love for our brother Erik, running for him and such. Bryson is an awesome guy. Tell him I said hi and that I approve ;) lol. Is he still doing track?

Anyways things are going awesome here in Texas. I really like this area. I have loved all my areas though. The ward is highly functional and so we can get a lot accomplished. We are still trying to get more people excited about the missionary work but that will come with time. Keep it up and I love you.

Love,

Elder Gray

Dear Erik

I'm doin' hecka good. Lol. I'm a little sad that I'm losing my companion but its ok because its what the Lord wants. That is so sweet that you finished your radiation treatments. Sometimes I try and burn myself with my radioactive super-vision but it doesn't work so I don't know what its like. Sorry I can't empathize but I know that only someone tough like you could still be having this great of an attitude. Good luck in the elections. I will vote for you if I can send this email as an absentee ballot. You are an awesome example to me Erik. Keep it up and I love you and I'm praying for you. Remember to floss in between the toes :)

Love

Elder Gray

Dear Family,

I'm sorry I don't have too much time but I want you to know that I love you all and I hope that all goes well. I am doing well and I will be sending pics of my broken shoes soon. Thanks for the letters and all the extras in the letters and for your love and support.

Love,

Elder Gray

"...Make the days count"

2010-03-22T11:10:00.002-06:00

Hola,

Esta semana pasada fue divertido. Yo fui a dos areas para los cambios. Fui a los barrios Cedar Park y Lake Austin. Lake Austin es un barrio español. Los lideres de la zona sirven allí. Hablar en español por un día fue divertido. El barrio Cedar Park es ingles. Aprendiò mucho en los dos intercambios.

Aprendimos muchas acerca de la expiacion todavia. Nuestro paquet que leemos es lleno de buenas charlas. Una cosa que yo aprendí esta semana es: Porque Jesucristo fue perfecto, no necesita hacer la expiacion por su propia salvacion, porque Él ya fue salvado. Con o sin la expiacion, el todavia es salvado. Pero el hizo todo para que podemos ser salvados. Entonces, la expiacion es unicamente para nosotros. Todas las cosas que tenemos que hacer para regresar a Dios, aprendimos en la iglesia.

(Thank heavens to google translate:
Hi,
This past week was fun. I went to two areas for change. I went to Cedar Park neighborhoods and Lake Austin. Lake Austin is a Spanish neighborhood. The leaders of the area served here. Speaking in Spanish for a day was fun. The Cedar Park neighborhood is English. Learned a lot in the two exchanges.
We learned a lot about the atonement yet. Our package we read is full of good talks. One thing I learned this week is: Because Jesus Christ was perfect, no need to make atonement for his own safety, because he was already saved. With or without the atonement, he still is saved. But he did everything so that we can be saved. Then the atonement is only for us. All things that have to do to return to God, we learned in church.)

I remember that you had a couple questions in your letter to me this last week, dad. I'm sorry but I forgot it back at our house. But a little info about the area (because I think that might have been what you asked) is: We cover one ward. It is an english ward. All the spanish people that we find, we refer to the zone leaders. The spanish ward covers the whole stake boundaries. We basically cover the southern half of Pflugerville. We do live with the bishop. He was called to be bishop on the first or second Sunday that I was here. That is really awesome that everyone is doing well. I am excited that dad got that project over at the ball fields. Is it the new ones up by the middle school? Also we do have enough copies of the BOM to give out to people but thanks for the concern. But that would be cool to get a couple of them with your testimonies in it to give away to people. Great idea! Also just fyi. I bought a gps a month or so ago and we have a Ross in our area so I might buy some more pants and shirts there in the next couple of weeks. Also, strangely, my big toe on my left shoe has almost worn all the way through. I believe that my warranty at MM covers that so I was wondering if I needed to send a pic or the whole shoe.....

I love you all and hope for the best. I hope that you all succeed in your endeavors and that Erik will continue to recover. Tell Erik he is a stud and to keep pushin' all the way through his recovery and beyond. You are the best family. God bless.

Con amor,

Elder Gray

P.S. Please tell all the young women thanks for the letters. I enjoyed reading them. Also tell the track team to work hard and that I wish them luck during this next season.

"Don't count the days, make the days count."

-Muhamed Ali

p.s. oh by the way the house that we live in has 3 chihuahuas so its pretty awesome.

Hola

2010-03-15T16:34:00.003-06:00

Hola,

Lo siento pero este correo electronico es poqueno. No tengo mucho tiempo porque fuimos a jugar disc golf en el centro de Austin. Fue muy divertido. La semana pasada fue bien. Tuvimos una leccion con Julie (la mujer de Thailand) en una casa de miembros. Senti el espiritu santo durante de toda la leccion. Estudiamos charlas acerca de la expiacion hasta la *Pasqua (*creo que es la palabra por Easter). Quando leo acerca de Jesucristo y su expiacion, yo siento el espiritu.

Se que esta obra es la obra de Dios. Se que la expiacion puede ayudarnos. Se que Jose Smith fue un profeta y el evangelio fue restaurado a travez el.

Spanish to English translator says:
Hi,
Sorry, this mail is poqueno. I do not have much time because we went to play disc golf in downtown Austin. It was fun. Last week was good. We had a lesson with Julie (the woman from Thailand) in a house member. I felt the Holy Spirit during the entire lesson. We study talks about the atonement to the Pasqua * (* I think is the word for Easter). Quando read about Jesus Christ and his atonement, I feel the spirit.

I am writing in English this last part just because its faster and time is short. We met up with the Elders in Buda and things are going great there. There is this one member that I visited a bunch while I was there and they said that she is coming back to church now and her son that isn't baptized really likes YM :) Also I learned some good things about goal setting that I don't think I have shared with all of you yet. If I did already, sorry ;) When setting a goal, remember these 4 points:

1. Set your goal- Make sure it is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound(S.M.A.R.T.)

2. Make plans- Specific plans

3. Lord's Part- If it is a righteous desire, then the Lord can help. Prayerfully consider what the Lord can do to make that goal become a reality.

4. Your sacrifice- What can you sacrifice to be able to achieve this goal?

I know that this pattern really works. I challenge you all to apply these principles. I know that when you do you will see the blessings. I love you all and I hope that you have the best week.

Love,

Elder Gray

Canvasing

2010-03-08T12:17:00.000-07:00

Hey,

This week was a little unusual. First of all, we got pulled over for "soliciting." The cop told us that we needed soliciting permits from the city. Those cost $35 per person because they have to do a background check. We are looking into some of the city ordinances to see if we really need to get one. It all depends on the city's definition of solicitation. From what I understand, we are technically canvasing, not soliciting. But we'll get it all figured out soon enough. Then the next day we found a really awesome lady just right across the street from where we got pulled over. She is from Thailand but has been in the states 30+ years. She is a really sweet little old lady. She also lived in Utah for about ten years and all of her friends from there are Mormon. We invited her to be baptized on the 27th of March and she accepted!

Elder Law is doing great. He is a great missionary and together we are helping each other be the best we can.

Thanks for the news and for everything you all do. You are the best family. I am glad that even through all the bumps and bruises of life (literally and figuratively), you all are still doing great. Keep it up.

Love,

Elder Gray

Motivation

2010-03-01T11:36:00.003-07:00

Howdy from Pflugerville,

Everything is going well here. Finding through our own efforts is going a little slow but it will pick up as we keep increasing our faith every day. Something Elder Law and I have been learning lately is about blessings and waiting for the Lord's timing. We are promised blessings as we do the right things and work hard in the Lord's cause; but the blessings might not always be apparent or they might not come when we want them to come. One thing that I really like to read is the section on a "Successful Missionary" in the first chapter of Preach my Gospel. It gives me comfort when I feel like I am not making a difference.

One thing that is vital for all of us is to put on the whole armor of God first thing in the morning. The way that I do that is through obedience to our rules as missionaries (wake up, pray, exercise, study, etc...). When I am trying my best, I find that my whole day goes a lot better. I would challenge you all to do the same. Find your way to put on the armor of God and keep it on.

Quote: "Some people say motivation doesn't last long. Well neither does a shower. That's why we need to apply it daily."

I also have a random math riddle that a member told us quite a while ago. *Alright........ So you go to McDonalds and they have three sizes of chicken nuggets boxes: 6pc, 9pc, and 11 piece. You can only buy whole boxes. So, using any combination of boxes, what is the highest number that doesn't work. Every number after this given number should work. For example, 13 pieces wouldn't work because there is no combination of boxes that adds up to 13 pieces. But a number like 12, 6, or 17 pieces would work.* I hope I explained it enough. If not, tell me and maybe I can clarify. Have fun! Its simple but I only got the answer because he told me it.

Mi espanol esta mejorando cada dia. Ahora, estudio los verbos reflexivos. Son divertidos y no son muy dificiles. Elder Law habla muy bien espanol. El fue llamado ingles perro el lo estudia a espanol mucho. El es obediente entonces es muy divertido servir con el. Os Amo mucho. Seguir a Cristo. Se que el evangelio bendicira a todos los que lo seguiran

My Spanish is improving every day. Now, study reflexive verbs. They are fun and not very difficult. Elder Law speaks Spanish very well. He was called English studying Spanish. He is obedient so much fun to serve. I love a lot. Following Christ. He will bless the gospel to all who will follow. (compliments of the Spanish to English translation website)

Con amor,

Elder Gray

p.s. Good job dad for running that mile. I am trying to get back in shape too ;) oh yeah...... is Pflugerville german? gotta go.
Love you all

(Yes, "Founded by German Pflugerville was founded in 1860 when William Bohls established a general store and post office in his residence, and named the town in honor of Henry Pfluger. Pfluger first arrived in the area in 1849, leaving his German homeland to escape the Prussian War." History of Pflugerville)

Wells Branch

2010-02-22T16:31:00.006-07:00

Hey,

So the area I just got transferred to is called Wells Branch. It is in a city called Pflugerville (silent p). It is between Roundrock and Austin and so "Pflugerville is in between a rock and a weird place." At least that's what the bumper sticker about here says ;) We have a car here but my bike is still working great in case I ever need it. Its just sitting in our garage right now.

I really like the ward here. They are all friendly and there is a really good percentage of active people in the ward. We live with some members. Their last name is Bronson. Yesterday Brother Bronson was called to be bishop of the ward so it is gonna be great working with him so closely.

My companion is Elder Law. We were both serving in Walnut Creek at the same time back almost a year ago. He just was in the north and me in the south part of that ward. If you look at pics from my first area he would be the red headed missionary. We hit the ground running this transfer. I am really glad that I didn't have to get to know a new missionary. This way, we are that much more unified.

We both want to work out in the mornings too so that will be good for both of us and our health. Speaking of working out, I tried benching for the first time in a long time today. I struggled getting 205 up but I got it. So then I tried 225 and I failed. I guess I've weakened a little bit physically being out here, but the spiritual benefits are amazing. Lifting is just like the spirit. If we stop working out or don't work out the right way, we get weaker. From a spiritual perspective, If we don't do the things we are supposed to do (scriptures, church, tithing, commandments, etc...), and do them with a willing heart, then we might experience spiritual weakening. I know you all are awesome at doing those things but...... I saw the parallel and thought I would expound.

The weather here is like a big roller coaster. Its supposed to get below freezing tomorrow during the night but yesterday it hit the high 70's. I guess that's just the way it goes though.

I love you all and I pray for the best.

Love,

Elder Gray

P.S. I forgot to tell you one last thing. Elder Law and Elder Himes are from the same home ward in Brigham City. Cool eh

my new address is:

805 Cactus Bend Dr.

Pflugerville, TX 78660

Great Companions

2010-02-16T15:30:00.001-07:00

HEY, I'm getting transferred. I'm not sure where to though.........

45 minutes later....

Dear Family,

So as you saw in my prior email, I am getting transferred. I am not sure where yet but I will let you know next Monday. All I know is that it is not on the border. This area has been a lot of fun. I will miss it here. But I am sure I will love my next area too. This area has a lot of fun memories. Elder Best and Elder Himes were great companions.

So this week it was almost a normal week. Jennifer's friend came to the lesson with her and he brought some anti-mormon material that he found on the internet. He attacked and attacked and nothing good got accomplished. Luckily Jennifer isn't listening too much to him but her progress is pretty much at a standstill. We also found a pretty sweet apartment complex that has a lot of people that actually listen to us. Things are going well.

I heard a good quote this morning in a talk we were listening to. Helen Keller once said "Life is either nothing or it is a daring adventure." Another quote I liked was from Walt Disney. He said something about how a good kick in the teeth is good for us sometimes. Its all true. Most successful people had a rough start but worked through the adversity and achieved excellence.

Well I am glad to hear that everyone is doing great. Keep the faith and stay awesome.

Love,

Elder Gray

PS I got to try the bagpipes at a member's house this last week. It was fun. Its hard to keep the bag full of air. I felt dizzy after wards :)

PSS The pancakes were good (not as good as your recipe but still good) and I enjoyed the package. Thanks!

Building Character

2010-02-08T11:35:00.001-07:00

Hey,

How is everyone? You all enjoying the snow? I am doing fine here. Out of the last week we have had maybe 1.5 sunny days but that's ok because we need the moisture. We contacted a couple of former investigators and are teaching one of them right now. Also we had a super awesome lesson with a lady named Jennifer. She really came to understand the importance of baptism and why it needs to be done by the correct authority. She was going to be at church on Sunday. But then she wasn't home when her ride came to get her. We were really disappointed but so goes life. Hopefully she comes this next Sunday. Also we had splits with the ward members on Thursday. We went out looking for the ward members that were unknown people. I went with the elders quorum president, Brother Williams. We had some success finding a couple of members. They all were nice to us. Brother Williams and I also had a good conversation. He is a really smart guy and so I enjoyed talking about missionary work with him. He also worked at the MTC for three years after his mission.

This week wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst. As President Cutler would put it, it builds character. It has been interesting being a senior companion. Its a lot of responsibility. But luckily, Elder Best was really good at dividing the responsibilities so it wasn't too hard when I became the senior companion this last transfer. Lately I have been thinking its so weird that I am more than halfway done. It has definitely helped me to work harder. Its like the 400. The real winner seems to emerge in the last 200m of the race. That point is where the weak-willed are separated from the ones with the desire and strength to win. I have recently started to memorize scriptures again. I really enjoy it because I can pick a scripture and study all about it and then memorize it. I would suggest something like that if you are ever needing study ideas.

So as you might have noticed, my email address has changed. So send all mail from now on to this address christopher.gray@myldsmail.net. I can receive emails from anyone but I am only allowed to reply to ones from the family. Myldsmail teamed up with gmail and upgraded our email accounts. It is a lot nicer than the older format and it runs quicker. It is pretty much a gmail account but with a myldsmail address. Now instead of having 50MB of inbox space, we have 7.4GB (7,421MB to be exact).

Yes we are still living in our apartment. I don't know if they are planning on moving us out anymore. Transfers are a week from Thursday so I will let you know whats going on next Tuesday. I really think its a 50-50 chance that I get transferred but I guess anything could happen. That new rec center sounds fun. When is it going to be done? I had a pretty funny coincidence last night. I put in one of the John Bytheway talks and it happened to be one that he gave on Super Bowl Sunday two years ago. He also mentioned San Antonio in his talk. I had a good laugh about that.

I love you all. I hope that all is going well back at home. My prayers are with you.

Love,

Elder Gray

I do know that this church is the true church, more than ever before.

2010-02-02T11:23:00.003-07:00

Hey,
This has been a good week.  We taught a lot of lessons this last week so 
it was a really good week.  None of our investigators came to church 
though so that was kind of sad.  We had a great combined 
Priesthood/Relief Society lesson.  We showed some clips from the PMG dvd 
and talked about member work.  It seemed to go over well.  In Sunday 
school we all just went to gospel doctrine since there wasn’t anyone in 
our class.  It was a funny class.  The teacher asked a couple people to 
volunteer to draw some animals on the board.  The best artist in there 
(the one that painted those pics that I sent home) didn’t want to go up 
but he was pressured into it.  So he went up and quickly drew a really 
ugly, crazy looking dog.  As he was sitting down he said quietly that 
the dog was a democrat.  That comment then kinda had a domino effect.  A 
couple minutes later the teacher asked something about TV’s and our ward 
mission leader said that the people were stuck in the tv.  They were put 
inside there in China.  After that the class was pretty much back to 
normal.  I don’t know if that sounds very funny, the way I explained it, 
but it was a pretty humorous class.

I have started to write in my journal and exercise almost every day.  It 
has really been a blessing.  I feel so much better.  I am so glad that I 
have been blessed with the opportunity to serve a mission for the Lord.  
I do know that this church is the true church, more than ever before.  I 
love you all and am glad that Erik is doing awesome and got asked to the 
dance.  Is she cute?  That was a great idea to answer back.  (Block of 
ice with his answer frozen in the middle) I enjoyed cheating on my
creativeness by looking at the ideas in Brooke's book.  (Erik did too!)
I hope yall continue to do well in all that you do.  Stay close to the 
Lord and I love you all.

Love,
Elder Gray

Alexis and Julien

2010-01-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

Hey,
Things are going well here.  Alexis got baptized on Saturday and then 
confirmed on Sunday.  We have another potential baptism coming up.  His 
name is Julien.  He is 17 years old and needs his parents to sign the 
baptismal form and a permission slip.  He will be baptized really soon, 
hopefully in the next couple of weeks.  Sorry this letter is going to be 
short and probably boring but I spent a while making Julien’s baptism 
permission slip.  I’ll send it as an attachment so you can check it out.  
It isn't anything official.  It is mostly to make his parents more 
comfortable.

On Saturday we had our interviews with President Cutler.  It went really 
well.  We talked about a lot of different things.  He is a great man.  
His advice is always just what I need to hear.  He also told us that an 
apostle and a 70 are coming to the mission on February 20.  We don’t 
know which one yet but we all are super excited.  We get to meet with 
them for three hours.

I still have plenty of Reliv left.  I hadn’t been taking it consistently 
for a while but now for the last little while I have been doing a lot 
better.  I really have noticed a big difference in my energy level 
during the day if I take my reliv and eat a good breakfast that morning.  
Also, I’m not sure if we are moving apts or not.  We will see soon.

Thanks for everything and I love you all.  Stay close to the Lord and 
remember that consistency is what makes champions in every walk of life.

Love,
Elder Gray

Don’t stumble over this rock, leap off of it.....

2010-01-18T13:45:00.004-07:00

Hey,
Things are going great here.  Elder Himes and I are doing very well
together.  We are having a baptism on Saturday and we are super excited.
I'm not sure if I told you all about her before so I will tell you
again.  She is 12.  Her dad is the only member in her immediate family.
He is deacons quorum adviser so he is super awesome.  He is a stay at
home dad now that he has retired from the military.  The mom works for
Frito lay, I think, up in Dallas so she flies down once or twice a week
for a couple days.  She is catholic.  She will be coming to the baptism
though.  Desiree is doing very well.  She got a calling on Sunday.  She
is the YW personal progress adviser, or something like that.  She is so
happy and we are way happy for her.

This week we had ward conference.  Church was only two hours long though
since we still don't have use of all the rooms.  They found mold and so
they will be replacing some sheet rock in the section of the building
that got flooded.  It is supposed to be all done and usable by next
Sunday. The new stake center for the Kyle stake is making good progress.
It should be done and ready to move into by the end of the year,
possibly the beginning of December.  Everyone in Buda is excited since
the building will be a little closer to them.  The rumor is that the
north part of the ward will be put back into one of the Austin wards.
It’s just a rumor right now though, nothing has been said officially.
The stake president gave a good talk at ward conference.  He basically
talked about helping and finding the lost sheep.  He shared a great
story.  It went something like this:

One day there was a man walking along the beach.  He saw up ahead a
little boy bending down, throwing something, taking a couple steps, and
then repeating the same process over and over again.  He was curious to
see what the boy was doing.  He approached and saw that the little boy
was throwing starfish from the sand and back into the ocean.  He asked,
"What are you doing?"
"I’m throwing the starfish back into the ocean.  You see, the tide is
going out and they are going to dry up and die if I don’t do anything.”
The man replied, “Son, there are miles and miles of beach.  You can’t
possibly make a difference.”
The boy bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the
ocean.  “Well I made a difference for that one.”

I do know that we can make a difference.  No matter how small it is, we
are still helping and making the world a better place.

I am so glad to hear that Erik is doing well.  Erik and all of us should
remember that these trials are for our better.  They are molding us into
whatever the Lord needs us for later on in life and the eternities.
Don’t stumble over this rock, leap off of it and gain more ground than
you could have before.  And remember Erik, as far as recovery times and
such, the doctors will tell you things according to what they’ve seen in
the average person.  You are not average.  You are awesome and I know
that you will be back to normal before long.  You all are in my prayers
and I love you all more than words can express.

Love,
Elder Gray

P.S.  Speaking of rocks, we played disc golf all morning and it was
pretty muddy.  I tried to jump off a rock and over a stream but I
slipped and fell in.  Luckily it was only a couple of inches deep and I
landed on my feet :)  I didn’t get a very good score either but it was
fun.  Thanks for all your emails and letters.  I think I have gotten
at least one from all ya'll in the family pretty recently.  Good luck in
Track Ashley, good luck in YW mom, good luck in work and all that dad,
good luck in soccer Justin, good luck in recovery and everything Erik,
and good luck in life I guess to Brooke and Tim.

We want to be like the Lord

2010-01-11T11:10:00.000-07:00

Hey!
I am so glad to hear that Erik is doing well.  Thank goodness for the
power of prayer and fasting.  He will have an awesome story to tell with
that scar.  Personally I would say that I got attacked by a flock of
wild mongeese and they sliced my jugular vein with their razor sharp
claws but I just barely escaped with my life and crawled on my hands and
knees for three whole days before I was saved ;) Hehe just joking around
but seriously I am so glad that Erik will be fine and that he is
toughing it out.

So as you heard, our church building flooded and church was canceled. 
We came to help clean up at about 8 in the morning.  The pipe broke in
the nursery.  We are guessing it froze because it was really cold that
night.  It was in the ceiling so it did some damage to the insulation
and ceiling tiles in there.  There was a couple of inches of water in
the nursery at first but by the time we got there it was just wet.  That
whole side of the building had water damage.  It also got under the
stage.  There was a ton of people helping so the work went quickly.  I'm
not sure how much permanent damage was done but we will see soon enough.

Our typical morning is we get up at six thirty, exercise, personal study
at eight, companion study at nine, and language study at ten.  Right now
we are studying pretty much whatever we think we need, we don’t have a
mission study program at the moment.  I usually study out of the Book of
Mormon, PMG, occasionally some talks, then sometimes the other mission
library books(True to the Faith, Jesus the Christ, Our Heritage, and Our
Search for Happiness.  My biggest focus is on those first two though.

We have another person getting ready for baptism.  Her name is Alexis. 
She is 12 years old and her dad is a member.  He is super active but the
mom isn't a member.  The plan is for her to be baptized at the end of
the month.  She is a lot of fun and she loves yw.  She is ready.

Elder Best got transferred up to Leander and I received my new
companion, Elder Himes.  He is from Brigham City, Utah.  He is called
English speaking.  He has been out only six weeks less than me so we
actually left the MTC at the same time.  He is good and obedient, which
I am glad for.  He is a little quiet right now but I’m sure he will talk
more as we get to know each other better.  He likes outdoor stuff.  He
worked before his mission instead of going to college right away, like
me.  Like Elder Best, he wants to major in chemical engineering.

Quote:
When men say unto us, “You are not like us.”  We reply, “We know it.  We
don’t want to be.  We want to be like the Lord.  We want to secure his
favor and his approbation and to live under his smile and to acknowledge
as ancient Israel did on a certain occasion, ‘The Lord is our God, our
Judge and our King and he shall reign over us.”                 
-President Ezra Taft Benson

Gracias por el paquete y los charlas.  Me gustan muchos, especialmente
la charla de Gordon B. Hinckley.  Mire por los milagros siempre.  ¡Os
Amo!

Con Amor,
Elder Greis

20th Birthday... January 2, 2010

2010-01-05T14:06:00.007-07:00

Compliments of a family in the Buda ward, The Andersons, and friends to Desiree (new convert)

Pictures!

2010-01-05T13:02:00.006-07:00

Elder Best, Logan (Desiree's son) and Elder Gray

Desiree's baptism

"We've been good, Santa!"

Chris and his companion, Elder Best

I really love being a missionary

2010-01-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

Hey,
Everything is going great here.  We have two potential baptismal
candidates that are just waiting for parental approval.  One is from a
part member family and the other is from a non member family.  The ward
seems more excited about missionary work now and everything is rolling
along just great.  Desireé got confirmed by Lisa's husband Orson on
Sunday.  She has changed so much in (for the better of course) in these
last couple of weeks.  And it was all the Lord.  He did all the work.  I
really love being a missionary.

My birthday started out fairly un-eventful until the Andersons found out
that it was my birthday.  They insisted that we come for dinner since we
didn’t have a dinner appointment that night.  We had Mexican food (still
my favorite) cooked by Desireé.  Her family is partly Hispanic so she
knows how to cook Mexican stuff.  It was a really good birthday.  I
enjoyed everything in the package.  I really like how you had all those
people write me something.  All the friends, family, teachers, and
everyone.  I really am glad that you put in the effort to make that
package for me.  Thanks :)  Also I enjoyed the dried blue berries.  They
are one of my new favorites as of a couple of months ago.  I believe
they were from Steve.  Thanks.  I also got the stuff from Brooke and
Tim.  And sorry if I missed anyone else I’m sorry but I appreciate stuff
from everyone.

So also I found out that we are distant cousins with the Buda ward
mission leader.  We were over at his house eating on Sunday and he asked
us if we wanted to watch a movie about his great great Grandpa.  Guess
who it was…….. John Tanner.  He had the same movie that grandma and
grandpa had sent me.  So we watched it.  It was really good.  I liked
it.  Then we looked through his John Tanner family genealogy book to see
how closely related we were.  It turns out that he is from the 3rd wife
of John Tanner and we are from the 2nd, if I remember right.  That was
fun to see that family connection.

There are a lot of people that are excited for the big game on Thursday. 
All the stores are selling championship game shirts and we see quite a
few longhorn t-shirts around.

Elder Best is getting transferred.  It has been fun to serve with him. 
We got along almost all the time and we had fun working.  I will miss
him.  He is getting “doubled in” for his next area.  That means that
both he and his companion will be new to the area.  That happened to him
when he first came to Buda too.

I hope everything is going well back home.  My prayers and fasting are
with Erik and I pray that everything goes well.  I know that he is a
tough guy though so he will be fine.  I do know that everything that the
Lord throws in our path is for our good.  Also, I am proud of all of you
no matter what.  No matter if you are the best at running, chess,
badminton, or a best friend, you are awesome in my eyes.  I love you all
and wish you the best.

Love,
Elder Gray

PS  Happy Birthday on Thursday Erik

Miracles truly do happen

2009-12-28T16:42:00.001-07:00

Hey,
It was so nice to talk to all of you on Christmas.  All of you sound 
like you are growing up, especially Justin.  That’s awesome that he is 
doing Violin now.  Did he just barely start playing?  And I haven’t seen 
the new Ensign yet.  We will get those at transfer meeting (if we’re 
there) on January 7.  Is Erik excited to turn 16 and be able to drive?  
I know I was.  Also I would like to thank everyone that sent me 
something this Christmas season.  I loved everything.  Oh and also just 
FYI, I did receive my birthday package and the card from Brooke
and Tim.  Thanks for the E-card.  It was funny.

This last week was a good week.  We got lots of food and a couple gifts 
from the members of the ward.  Our fridge is stuffed with leftovers.  It 
was a fun Christmas.  The best part of Christmas day was talking to all 
of you and then the baptismal interview we had with Desireé.  She 
passed, of course.  She is an awesome person.  He son is excited to be 
baptized in November when he is eight.  We have only been teaching her 
for a few weeks.  But her friend, Sister Anderson, has been working on 
her for years.  Then the Lord helped her learn so much more in just a 
few weeks.  Miracles truly do happen.

On Tuesday we had Christmas Conference with the whole mission.  We 
started off at the temple and talked for a bit with all our mission 
buddies.  Then once they opened the temple gates we went inside
and took a mission picture in front of the temple.  After that we went
to the nearest chapel and had an hour or so of spiritual and business type 
things.  President talked about how transfers work.  He prays about 
everything that goes on with transfers.  He puts a lot of thought and 
prayer into it.  Then the week before transfers the zone leaders talk 
with all the district leaders and ask them about their districts, 
changes needed/wanted, and then the zone leaders talk to President about 
their zones.  Then president and the AP's figure out where everyone is 
going.  After that we had some testimonies from five or six 
missionaries, Sister Cutler, and then one of President's counselors.  
Then we ate.  It was fajitas and it was really good.  Then we had the 
talent show.  It was all musical talents.  Some were funny and some were 
more on the serious side.  Two sisters, Sister Kleisler and Johnson, 
sung "President Cutler is coming to town."  It was pretty funny.  Then 
San Antonio West zone sang Feliz Navidad and used spoons as their 
instruments.  It was all good.  Lots of talent.  After the talent show 
we watched Elf.  It was really funny since none of us have seen a funny 
movie since we were home.  After that we picked up our mail and 
presents.  We got a TSAM paper weight that looks like its carved out of 
a rock.  Then we went back home.

Well I hope you all have a happy new year!  Stay close to the Lord and 
keep working hard.  Remember the Alamo ;)

Con Amor,
Elder Gray

Desiree and Logan

2009-12-27T19:24:00.002-07:00

Hola,
I forgot that you guys were in California for the holidays.  That is so
fun.  That is also fun that you got to meet little Kingsley.  If you
can, send me a pic of her.  If not, no big.  It sounds pretty nice down
there.  Its nice here too, most days.  It has gotten below freezing a
couple times during the night but its usually between 50 and 70 during
the days.

This week was really productive.  We have one lady named Desiree that is
scheduled to be baptized on Sunday.  We are so excited.  She has been
coming to church off and on for the last five years.  It has been really
sporadic until now though.  She has come almost every week for the last
couple of months.  She is a lot of fun.  She has a little seven year old
boy and she is expecting twins in June or July.  Her little boy, Logan,
is really smart.  He always tells her what he learned in primary and it
helps her a lot.  That is one awesome thing that is going on.  Then
yesterday we got called into the bishop's office after church.  He was
sitting there with a guy named Julien.  Julien is the boyfriend of a
young lady in the ward.  He had approached the bishop and told him that
he wanted to be baptized.  So now we are going to start teaching him
too.  He has been coming to church for a long time and knows a lot about
it.  The only problem is that he is 17, so he needs permission from his
parents to be baptized.  We found a couple other good potentials this
week.  A lot of people are leaving for the holidays so we have our work
cut out for us when January rolls around.

Tomorrow we have Mission Conference.  I am excited to see a bunch of
faces that I haven't seen for a while.  I hear we do a lot of fun stuff
at Christmas conference.

I am in Ether 12 in the Book of Mormon.  That is a really awesome
chapter.  The whole thing is about faith.  My favorite verse is 27
because I really have seen the Lord strengthen my weaknesses all through
out my life.  One of the members we talked to this week said something
that I really agree with.  He basically said that you can be the best at
anything if you do two things: Have a love for whatever you are pursuing
and then work as hard as you can and give everything to achieve it. 
That is so true.  I know that I have touched on this subject a lot but I
truly believe it with all of my heart.

I look forward to calling you all on Christmas.  Have the best holiday
season and remember our Lord and savior during this time.

Love,
Elder Gray

We taught a really neat family the other day

2009-12-15T09:03:00.001-07:00

Hey!
How is everyone?  Excited for Christmas?  I know I am.  This last week
went well.  We had exchanges with our district leader, a ward Christmas
party, and all the other fun stuff that we usually do.  We also did
tri-zone dodge ball last p-day.  Its always fun to see all the
missionaries in the area (all the Austin zones) and talk.  Elder
Finlayson, my last companion, is now a zone leader up in Roundrock.  He
is a really good missionary.  One of the hardest workers that I have
seen out here.

On Tuesday we had exchanges.  Elder Maka came with me and Elder Best
went with his companion in Bastrop.  It seemed like all my weaknesses
were exposed that day.  We had a lot of fun though.  But in the end it
was better for me.  Elder Maka is a really straight-forward person.  He
told me the things that I need to work on and the things I did well.  I
am really grateful for him.  He really helps us out.

For the Christmas party Elder Best and I got to talk for a couple
minutes about Christmas.  It went well.  I talked about charity and the
story about the Christmas orange.  There was a good number of people
there.  There were a couple of less active members and a couple of part
member families there.

We taught a really neat family the other day.  Their names are Alex and
Lindsey.  The husband is from Columbia and the wife is from here in
Texas.  He has not been to church since he was fifteen and living down
in Columbia.  She is not a member yet but they both have really awesome
morals.  Their big focus is always helping people.  They are both really
smart too.  They are reading from the Book of Mormon and we are going to
talk to them again tonight.  I am really excited.  There is a lot of
potential in those two.

Tell Grandma and Grandpa that I did receive their dvd.  I am not sure if
we will be able to watch it but I will ask.  I really like those
Christmas cd's, especially the Spanish one.  I also love the caramels. 
Thanks!  I'm excited to open all the rest.  Have the best week and
remember the true meaning of Christmas.  Go out of your way to help
somebody and make their day better.  Even something small can make a big
difference.  I love you all.

Love,
Elder Gray

Keep the Faith

2009-12-08T12:26:00.002-07:00

Hey,
This last week has gone pretty good.  We met someone at church that
isn't a member and somehow slipped under the radar.  Anyways we are
trying to get in contact with her friend so we can teach her and see if
she wants to get baptized.  We are excited for her.

The weather here has been cold.  Last week one day it got down to 32
degrees while we were out and then into the mid 20's during the night.
It snowed for just a couple minutes earlier that day but nothing stuck
because it was just a little to warm.  Now the weather is back up to the
50's so its nice again.

We also helped a family move this week.  The husband is not a member but
the wife is.  He will be baptized some day.  He said some of his best
friends have been missionaries.  There were some really awesome
missionaries a year or two back that just really showed their love for
him.  I think just pride is what is getting in the way right now.  He
wants to stay Catholic.  The move wasn't organized very well so it took
forever.  Nevertheless they were really grateful for our help since
everyone else there was older and not able to work as hard as us.

This area has been a little hard for me and my companion.  It has been a
little harder to get people to listen to the message here.  But we keep
trying the best we can and the Lord has shown his tender mercies at the
times when we really needed them.  Our district leader is really
awesome.  His name is Elder Maka and he is from Meridian, Idaho.  He is
a big Polynesian guy with an even bigger heart.  He told me just to keep
trying as hard as I can.  The Lord doesn't expect me to be perfect, he
expects the best that I can do.

That's so crazy that Ton ton is back from his mission already.  It
reminds me of how long I've already been out.  Crazy!  Mom,
your talk sounded great and I really enjoyed it.  I'm glad to hear
that Erik is doing well.  Great attitude.  Personally I think attitude
plays a huge role in our health.  Thanks for letting me know whats
going on.  I will make sure and keep him and all yall in my prayers.
I love you all more than words can express.  I know that the work
we are doing out here is truly the most important work.
Keep the Faith.

Love,
Elder Gray

ps
Thanks for the reliv.  I got it on Saturday. Oh and one little clear-up
on missionary lingo haha.  My trainer is just the missionary that is
with me my first and second transfer.  So all Elder Best is is just my
senior companion. lol  He said he is more like my guardian just a second
ago. haha Anyways, I look forward to receiving the package from all of
you.  Oh and one random question.  What ward is our cousin in that lives
in San Antonio? love you

Five Thanksgiving Dinners

2009-11-30T19:37:00.002-07:00

Hey,
So first of all I would like to thank you for the package I received the
other week.  I forgot to thank you last week.  We have enjoyed the apple
cider and I really enjoyed that shirt and pillowcase Erik.  Thanks a
bunch.  That kind of looked like my or your profile.  Is it on of us?
(Erik's project in Graphic Design class... screen printing of a runner)
Thanks for the pictures too.  All you younger ones have changed a lot.
Justin seems taller.  Erik and Ashley have changed some too.  I’m afraid
Erik will probably be able to beat me up when I get home.  I better
start doing more push ups :) 

This Thanksgiving was a lot of fun.  We had five Thanksgiving dinners in
 three days (three of them were onThanksgiving day).  I was so stuffed. 
Our main dinner on Thanksgiving was at the Jensen apartment.  They
 both went to George Wythe in Cedar so it was kind of cool to talk to them. 
They have a couple kids and they invited friends with kids over so it was
crazy the whole time.

This week I have been reading in Alma.  The missionary stories in there
are really neat.  All the Lamanites converting to Christ, burying their
weapons; I like it all.  Everything in there shows how much zeal to keep
the commandments, they had.  Every time I read something in the BOM,
even if I’ve read it before, a new thing is brought to light.  It’s
awesome.  Gordon B. Hinckley once said that he got more out of the Book
of Mormon the second hundred times he read it.  Wow!  Remember to make
the Book of Mormon a part of every day.

Mi espanol esta mejorando.  Tambien mi testimonio en todas las cosas del
evangelio esta mas grande que antes de mi mision.  Me pongo en practica
las cosas que me ensenaron.  Gracias por sus amor y devocion y todo.
Estoy agradecido por todos mis bendiciones.  Se que esta iglesia es la
unica iglesia verdadera.  Os Amo y recordad seguir a Cristo.

Here's the Spanish to English translator:
(My Spanish is improving. Also my testimony in all the things of the
gospel is greater than before my mission. I put myself in practices
the things that they embosomed to me. Thanks for its love and devotion
and everything. I am thankful for all blessings. That this church
is the only true church. I love to you and you remember to follow
Christ.) 

Con Amor, (With love)
Elder Gray

Tell the extended family this weekend that I said hi.

2009-11-23T13:52:00.001-07:00

Hey,
So I know you were expecting an email from me tomorrow and honestly I 
thought it was going be tomorrow.  But it turns out that because of 
Thanksgiving, transfers this week are on Tuesday instead of Thursday.  
Anyways, Elder Best and I are staying here in Buda for another transfer.  
We are excited to keep the work going here.  The members are still 
awesome.  They keep giving us referrals.  Not all the referrals want to 
learn but at least the people of the ward are trying to help.

We went to a great fireside last night.  It was put on by the High 
Priests group in our ward.  The focus was on missionary work.  They had 
a couple members share their conversion stories.  They all had great 
stories but one member, Brother Ragu, had a real awesome and unique 
story.  He is from Malaysia.  He had a really hard life.  He worked on a 
plantation when he was young and didn’t have any parents to look up to 
so he had to just watch people and learn from them.  He couldn’t afford 
to eat very well so coconuts were a big staple in his diet.  Through 
some good fortune he got to go to a technical school in his later 
teenage years and ended up working for an electronics company.  He 
worked hard at that job and sometime around then was when the church 
came into his life.  His wife was a staunch catholic (her dad is a 
priest and her aunt a nun).  His background was mixed with Catholicism, 
Hinduism, and some Chinese customs.  One interesting thing he said about 
Hinduism is that a lot of the things they do correspond with the Mosaic 
Law.  Especially with the way they did sacrifices in their temples.  He 
thinks that Hindus are one of the lost tribes of Israel.  So anyways he 
was on a business trip on the island of Oahu, Hawaii and they were 
driving around and saw the Temple.  He really wanted to go in the big 
white building so he went in by himself (he was with two Muslims that 
did not want to go inside).  He signed the guest book and then two weeks 
later, back in Malaysia, some missionaries stopped by his house.  He 
usually didn’t let missionaries in past the gate but he let them in 
because he felt that he needed to hear the message.  Eventually his 
family was baptized.  Then a couple years later some extended family was 
baptized.  There was one family member that was 104 years old that got 
baptized.  Through the next couple of years his job was getting too 
dangerous because some people were out to kill him.  He got offered a 
job here and accepted.  He is one of the strongest members of the ward.  
He borrowed the PMG dvds from us and is just loving them.  He is always 
a missionary.  He is a really awesome person with an awesome testimony.

Here is a story I heard the other week in church:
There was a man getting his hair cut at the barbers.  Eventually the 
conversation turned towards God and the barber stated, “I don’t believe 
in God because there is a lot of suffering in the world.  Children 
dying.  Murders.  Horrible things.  Why would God allow such a thing to 
happen?”  The man getting his haircut pondered the comment for a moment 
and then said very simply, “I don’t believe in barbers.  See that 
homeless man over there?  He has hair halfway down his back and his 
beard isn’t trimmed.  Why would a barber allow that to happen?”  
Baffled, the barber exclaimed, “That is ridiculous!  I am a barber.  
They have to come to me if they want a haircut.”  And that is how God 
works too.  We have to come to him for help.

I love you all.  Have a great thanksgiving and break from school.  Tell 
the extended family this weekend that I said hi.  Stay close to the 
Lord.

Love,
Elder Gray

Howdy yall

2009-11-16T11:48:00.000-07:00

Hey,
How is everyone?  I am doing really great this week.   The area is 
getting more and more productive as we keep working hard.  It has been 
fairly warm lately except this morning we walked outside and it was 
about 50 degrees instead of 60-70.  I’m sure you guys would love for it 
to get up to 50 right now but for me, its cold.

Yesterday we passed a list around the ward to see when people could 
generally come out and help us teach.  We got a pretty good response.  
We have about 18 names on that list right now and it will continue to 
grow as we ask more people about their schedules.  When we passed it 
around to the YW I think they forgot that it was just for the adult 
leaders.  A couple of the girls signed up.  It was funny and great that 
they were willing to help but we can’t really bring young women with us.  
We had a good laugh about that.

In our last District Meeting we talked about doubling our faith and 
being bold.  Some of the ways we came up with to double faith are:  Read 
and Listen to God’s words, base our faith on correct doctrine, repent 
continually, have a positive attitude, pray with fervor, and a couple of 
other things.  We also practiced some door approaches.  We were supposed 
to be super overbearing in our role plays.  It was funny but it really 
helped me realize how bold I could be without being overbearing.  The 
last couple of days I have been trying harder to be bold and it has 
worked well.  One lady we talked to last night had a couple of 
misunderstandings about our church but we were bold and persistent.  
When we left she made a comment about how we really were more Christian 
than she originally thought.

 We got to help vaccinate sheep and goats again on Saturday.  It was 
just an oral vaccination so there weren’t any needles involved.  Thank 
goodness!  It was a lot of fun especially since this time I got to 
wrestle em and shove the syringe in their mouths.  There was one that I 
did that was just a little heavier than me.  Lauren, the lady that owns 
the animals, calls that one and two others “the linebackers.”  He 
struggled a bit and I ended up getting pulled to the other end of the 
pen a time or two.  But eventually I muscled his head up and gave him 
his vaccination.  The rest weren’t quite as strong as him so it wasn’t 
too bad.

That is way awesome that there some more convert baptisms going on in 
the ward.  Good job and keep up the good work and remember how great of 
a tool Preach My Gospel is.  Thanks for that scripture in DC 18:10, 
15-16.  That is a really great scripture.  Ashley you had a question 
about being busy and stuff.  Remember when things get difficult, get 
down on your knees and pray.  I have a big testimony on the power of 
prayer.  Sometimes we get so busy and it gets stressful.  I also have a 
big testimony in planning.  When I plan out all the things I need to do, 
I am a lot less worried because I know that everything will get done.  
Then in your prayers let your Heavenly Father know all the things that 
you need help with and always express gratitude.  In the end, keep doing 
the basic things that we are all taught to do (scriptures, tithing, 
prayer, etc…).  I promise that if you do these things that it will help 
a lot.  I know that our Heavenly Father loves us and wants whats best 
for us.  I hope you all have a great week.  Keep up the good work and 
keep the faith.

Love,
Elder Gray

Focusing on the task at hand

2009-11-09T11:15:00.002-07:00

Aloha,

Things are going great down here in the great state of Texas. It rained
yesterday and that was nice. Lately it has been in the 70’s when its
sunny. Elder Best and I had interviews with President Cutler this last
week. They went very well. I asked him for some pointers on working
more with the members of the ward. He said a couple things I knew
already and some other good things that I hadn’t thought about yet. I
really like talking to him. Just talking with him seems to help bring
the spirit stronger.

We had a pretty interesting guy this week. He said he was against any
religion that started in the Middle East (namely Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam). He said he is going to shoot down any angels coming from
heaven with his Winchester. That whole night we met some pretty
interesting people.

We had a really good zone meeting this week. Zone meetings and zone
conferences are two different things. Zone meeting is just a meeting
with the missionaries in the zone. Zone conference is when a couple
zones get together and are instructed by the president, ap’s, and
occasionally a 70 or someone else. Honestly I can’t remember much of
what we talked about but it really motivated me to do my best and to
increase my faith more. One of our zone leaders, Elder Santa Cruz, said
something that really hit me: “Are we doing what we are doing for
ourselves or the Lord.” If we remember who we are here to help then
doing the right things all the time becomes that much easier.

Thanks for the letters/emails/candy/gummy hands ;) It’s always nice to
hear news from home and to get advice from you all. I really liked that
story about the three cowboys. It’s like being out here in the mission
field. Focusing on the task at hand is the best way to do it. If I
feel homesick or bored it won’t help the situation at all. It would
just make it worse. And don’t worry; I am not the type to get homesick.
I am doing great :) Keep the faith and I love you all.

Love,
Elder Gray

More important is what you felt, not so much what you heard

2009-11-02T11:43:00.000-07:00

Howdy yall,
So I guess I will start with business first so I don’t forget.  I did
receive that Reliv package on Tuesday last week.  This apartment complex
is great with packages so you won't need to worry about sending anything
here.  I really appreciate it.  Thanks!  I received those 3 shirts that
you sent me a couple months ago.  Thanks for those.  I received that
package last week.  That was a great package.  I love all the candy
especially the big gummy hand   I haven’t ever seen one of those
before.  And don’t worry about sending the audio BOM stuff.  It’s more
fun to read than listen to anyways.  That’s pretty sweet about the new
bishopric.  I don’t know most of them too well but it will be fun to get
to know them later on.  I will miss having Bishop Allred though.  He is
a really nice guy that loves everyone and tries to help them the best he
can.  He is an awesome, humble guy.  The Bishop here in Buda ward is
pretty neat too.  He loves to fish and works for the Texas Wildlife
Magazine.  He is really humble too.  We have a great ward here.  They
are ready to help in any way they can.  I am excited for the future
here.

On Tuesday we had the opportunity to hear from Elder Snow of the quorum
of the 70 at our zone meeting.  We had 3½ zones there so it was pretty
big.  He started off by having his wife share her testimony.  He then
got up and told us not to take very many notes because we aren’t going
to go and read them later on.  But he did tell us to take notes on what
the spirit prompted us to write.  Then we basically had a big discussion
for the next three hours.  I felt the spirit very strong the whole time. 
We talked about the spirit and its importance.  Here are some things
that I took from it:
-More important is what you felt, not so much what you heard.
-Revelation is remembering.
-If we don’t make that connection with the Holy Ghost, we can’t help
others connect.
-We must have the spirit of revelation at all times and in all things;
if we don’t, we can’t function the way God wants us to.
-It doesn’t matter whether it’s the Holy Ghost speaking directly to us
or if it’s our own thoughts.  If we are living the way we are supposed
to, there shouldn’t be a difference.
-Am I helping someone because I’m supposed to or because I really care
about that person and their welfare?
-We are bringing people unto Christ, not into the church.  Therefore we
need to help everyone we can even if they are already a member.  The way
we can help them is to help them feel the spirit.  We can do that by
inviting them into our homes, sharing our testimonies, and many other
ways.  When they feel the spirit, it will prompt them to act.

It was really awesome.  I am so glad I was able to participate in that
conference.

We are teaching a couple people right now.  LaTosha is pretty awesome. 
She accepted the Word of Wisdom and really wants to change.  We are
working with the 14 year old teenager still.  Not much new with her. 
Other than those two we are doing a lot of finding with moderate
success.  There are a lot of potentials in the area book that we have
started to visit.  So far not too much success with that part but we'll
keep pushin along.  The work with the ward is getting better too.  There
have been some good missionaries and some bad ones in the past so right
now it’s a matter of gaining their trust.  Elder Best is like me in some
ways.  He doesn’t like to argue (for the most part) so that is nice when
we have difficult people.  I still love it here.  It has been in the
60’s and 70’s here.  I am getting too acclimatized to Texas because that
felt a little chilly to me.  I am going to die when I come home in the
dead of winter.  Maybe I’ll just stand in front of the freezer my last
month during studies ;)  That’s cool that it snowed there.  I miss snow.

Elder Best and I got permission to go to our ward trunk or treat
activity last Wednesday.  We dressed up as missionaries :)  We couldn’t
pass out candy so we passed out pass-along cards.  It was lots of fun.

Have fun and stay close to the Lord.  I love you all more than I can
express.

Love,
Elder Gray

Awesome Potentials

2009-10-26T14:31:00.006-06:00

Hey,
So not too much to report on this week. We did a lot of finding and we
have a couple of awesome potentials. One has had the missionary
lessons before so she has some great potential. She is in her early
twenties and her husband is in Afghanistan right now. She went out
of town for a week or two but we'll continue to teach her when she
is back. We are also working with a part member family. The mom
and dad are recent converts. They were baptized a couple months
ago. The daughter that is fourteen is the only one that isn't baptized
yet. She really likes going to YW classes and I know that it is just a
matter of time before she is baptized.

It is nice having an *English called* companion. Now I can't turn to
anyone when I am speaking Spanish. It has already helped my
Spanish improve. We don't run into too many Spanish speakers
though. Maybe a couple a day at the most.

Good job at state Ashley. That is awesome that the boys did so well
too. Tell them I said good job. Your testimony about priesthood
blessings is really awesome too. I know that they really do help if we
have faith that they will.

Sorry my letter is so short this week. I'm sure I will have more to
report on in the future. Thanks for all the updates about everyone and
everything. Oh and thanks for keeping my address and things updated
for other people. Os Amo. Keep the faith!

Love,
Elder Gray

If pigs could fly

2009-10-19T11:10:00.002-06:00

Hey,
So I got transfered back up to the Austin area.  I really love it up
here in Austin.  The area is called Buda and it is in the Kyle zone.
This zone basically consists of the area between Austin and San Antonio.
We cover just a small sliver of south Austin and then we have a couple
of small country towns.  Buda is where most of the members live.  It is
a small town with a couple thousand people.  The members are great.
They are very missionary minded.  The members haven't been utilized as
much as they could have been in the last couple of months so it is going
to be awesome.  My companion is Elder Best.  He is from Bountiful and
has been out for about 16 months.  I really enjoy him.  Most of my
companions before liked being in control (which isn't bad most of the
time) and he isn't like that at all.  It is very equal with him.  He is
a great missionary.  We are going to do very well together the next
couple of months.  Also he is my first companion that is shorter than
me, only by a couple inches though.

Kinda a crazy name for a street.  Also, our church is on a road called
Convict Hill.  But don't worry.  Despite the crazy road names this is
the nicest area I've been in so far.  Lots of safe people.  We live in a
really nice complex on the southern edge of Austin.  It has a little of
great things.  There are things that we can't do like the hot tubs and
pools but they have a media center (thats where I'm emailing from).
They also have two nice gyms here in the complex.  I have only been to
the smaller one but it still has almost everything I need.  This last
spring the church came out with a statement that said that we, as
missionaries, can't work out in public gyms.  So some elders were kinda
bummed out about that.  But president said that we can work out in our
complex's gyms since they are private gyms.

The work is going a little slow here right now but it will pick up very
soon.  There is a lot of potential for this area.  I love you all and
thanks for your support. Watch out for them swine ;)

Love,
Elder Gray

P.S. my area is mostly just english and my companion is called english 
speaking.  Good luck at state and good job at region!  Good luck against 
CV Erik.  Let them know their place ;) haha jk but seriously.  Oh and 
also that package is nowhere to be found.  If it isn't too much hassle 
do you think you could send some more Reliv?  I'm so sorry that last one 
came up missing.  I feel bad.  Thanks for everything.

Transfers

2009-10-13T10:07:00.002-06:00

Hey,
Wow another week gone by.  Time flies.  So as previously stated, I am
going to be transferred.  Transfers are on Thursday.  I am not sure
where I am going.  But next Monday I will give you my new address.  I
have really loved this area.  The members are great and there have been
a lot of great missionaries here in the past so the members love us. 
It’s sad to leave some of the people but it’s all good.  All the
converts that were baptized while I’ve been here are still going strong. 
They all have goals to go to the temple with their spouses.  It’s really
awesome to watch them grow; and it’s not just the recent converts that
are growing.  All their spouses are really progressing too.  The Meiers
continue to be awesome and funny.  They are both really smart.  The
Williams are doing really well too.  I believe Sister Williams is about
half way through her pregnancy.  They have a fun little daughter named
Aniya.  She is four.  Her and their little Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix
are always teasing each other.  The Noll family is also doing great. 
They have grown by leaps and bounds and continue to do so.  Brother Noll
gave a really great testimony in sacrament meeting last Sunday.  Roger
is also doing very well.  Since he lives in a different ward we don’t
talk to him much anymore but Brother Hack gives us occasional updates. 
We have been going through a lot of people.  There are some with some
great potential right now.  As I get updates from Elder Finlayson in the
future I will update you.

One thing that I love about going to a new area and getting a new
companion is that you get to start over.  You can basically be the
person that you want to be and they won’t know the difference.  Fun
stuff.

Elder Finlayson is receiving a brand new missionary this next transfer. 
This will be his second trainee.  He is a very structured missionary so
the missionaries he trains will have great habits enforced to start
their missions.  I’ m excited for him.  He is excited and nervous.

I’m glad that the missionary work in the ward is going strong.  Keep it
up.  Keep the members involved as much as possible.  I’m glad that you
have been able to take part in missionary work.  It truly is awesome to
help build up the Kingdom of God here on the earth.  Tell Ashley good
luck at region and state and tell Erik and Justin to keep working hard
and good luck in all that they do.  Tell Tim good job and to keep
working hard.  Same with Dad.  I am proud of you all no matter what. 
Keep working hard in what you love to do and what we need to do.

So my apartment……. I’ll record a little walk through on my camera and
then you can see it the next time I send a card home.  I’m not sure if
it does sound or not so let me know.  Basically it is on the second
floor; it has a bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, walk in closet and living
room.  We have a couple of couches and chairs and a table.  Our
neighbors are all very interesting.  We have a recent convert to the
church that just moved in next door a couple of weeks ago.  We have a
dysfunctional family that is always yelling at each other close by (it’s
very sad).  Sadly a lot of our neighbors struggle to make a living or
they don’t even try to make a living.  We do ride our bikes still
Thursday through Saturday.  Lately we have been biking to an area that
is about three or four miles away.  The members love to feed us for
dinner.  Last night we had tamales and this really good drink made out
of some flower.  We usually get about half and half as far as English
and Spanish members.  They always feed us so much so I usually don’t eat
a whole lot during the day.  We started that exercise program last week. 
Thanks for sending it.  It is a lot easier to work out when I know what
I am going to do.  It has been a real good workout for my legs.

Well my time is spent.  I hope I answered all your questions.  Love you
all.

Con Amor,
Elder Gray

P.S.  A little bit of missionary slang:
Boy or Hijo: Trainee or greenie
Pops or dad: Trainer
Grandpa: your trainer’s trainer
Transfer: the six week period between transfer meetings or the transfer
meeting itself.  We as missionaries usually measure time in transfers
instead of months.

75 degrees and slightly foggy

2009-10-06T10:02:00.000-06:00

Hey,
How is everyone doing?  I really enjoyed conference this weekend.  I 
heard so many things I needed to hear too.  Elder Bednar with expressing 
love and showing it, and bearing testimony and living it.  Elder 
Andersen and repentance.  Elder Ballard in the Priesthood session with 
his talk on how to be a better son/father.  Elder Uchtdorf on learning.  
One thing that I really liked that he said was “Winter will give its way 
to spring.”  President Monson, Eyering, Cook, they were all really good.  
I think picking a favorite talk would be like picking a favorite child.  
Not possible ;)  Oh I also loved Elder Holland’s powerhouse talk on the 
Book of Mormon.  He always delivers a really strong message.  One thing 
I think I’m gonna do in the next couple of days is make goals on how I 
can live and apply the things I have learned in the last couple of days.  
We watched all of the sessions at the church.  The people here in Texas 
can get conference at home as long as they have cable or satellite or 
something more than basic, free TV.

I’m glad Chandler and the missionaries in Samoa are fine.  The Lord 
really is watching out for his servants.  That’s cool that they will be 
able to help in the rebuilding process.  Once, our branch president in 
the MTC told us about when he was a mission president in California. 
There were some wildfires.  He sent some missionaries to help clean up 
and rebuild.  They ended up teaching a lot more people than usual while 
they were working.  They helped for about a month or so.

We had an investigating family come to conference.  They enjoyed it.  
Their name is the Luna family.  They haven’t been too solid lately but 
this last week they were very solid.  Keep them in your prayers.

Last night we were knocking in an apartment complex.  At one of the 
doors there was a really funny guy.  His voice sounded like the “Rex 
Kwon Doe” guy on Napoleon Dynamite except angrier and a lot older.  He 
also had some crazy eyes goin’ on.  As he ran his fingers through his 
beard he informed us that he doesn’t worship a God that doesn’t have 
whiskers.  That gave us a good laugh.  Then to make things better we 
taught a pretty good lesson to a guy we met outside his apartment.  We 
are gonna meet again with him tomorrow.

How is work going for dad?  Lots of things being built?  Relief Society 
is going well I assume…..  It sounds like Ashley and Erik and Justin are 
still having fun with their various activities.  Keep me posted.  You 
all sound just as busy as me.  Thanks for the letters and support.  I 
enjoyed those couple extra stories you sent me, mom.  I didn’t know 
Elder Reid in the MTC but that was a really neat story about his mom.

I would just like to share my testimony about the power of prayer.  I 
know that it is real.  I know that Heavenly Father answers each and 
every one.  He sure has answered mine.  One big thing I have learned 
more about is that prayer is a conversation with God.  You talk but you 
also need to listen to what he has to say.  Try pausing after a question 
and just listening for an answer.  I know that he loves us and will come 
as close as we allow.  I love you all with all of my heart.  Stay strong 
in the faith.

Con Amor,
Elder Gray

a letter from the deep reaches of south texas

2009-09-28T09:56:00.000-06:00

Hey,

Things are going great here. The weather has cooled down a bit and its
starting to feel a little bit like fall. It was in the sixties for a
couple days when it was raining but it is back up to the low nineties
now. That still isn’t bad at all though.

Roger Gonzalez got confirmed yesterday. His friend, Brother Hack, did
the confirmation.

At the base I finally saw someone in basic training that I knew, sorta.
His name is Mike Haligarda. He ran the 400 and 800 for Canyon View. He
came to our gospel principles class. At first we didn’t recognize each
other. But we started talking and he said he was from Cedar City. He
asked me if I knew Chris Gray. I replied, “Yeah that’s me.” He said he
didn’t even recognize me now. I guess 20 more pounds and a suit and tie
wasn’t what he was used to seeing me in. We talked about track for a
bit and he mentioned how their team didn’t like me because I would
always beat Braden. Ah rivalry :) It was a funny experience.

We had an interesting experience with a member the other day. We
brought her to a lesson with a blind lady. The lady that we were
teaching told us a story about how when she lived in Mexico, one of our
Bishops had given her a blessing that healed her. Then she mentioned
his name. The member then started crying and said, “Era mi padre.”
This man that had given the investigator a blessing so long ago in
Mexico was the member’s dad that had died a couple years ago. So the
member started crying and then things got weird. The investigator said
“The power of your father’s healing is in your hands. Come put your
hands on my eyes and head so that I may be healed.” Then she actually
got up and did it. She put her hands on the investigator’s head for a
couple seconds and then sat back down. The member then asked for a
priesthood blessing for both of them. So we gave them both blessings
and then left. Then the next day the member mentioned to us that she
thinks she has some healing gift. We decided to call the Bishop to
inform him of what had happened. All in all it was a very weird
experience. It really fortified my testimony about how the priesthood
really works and is from God. There was not a good feeling in the room
when this experience happened but there was a good feeling in the room
after we had given them both real blessings.

I am really looking forward to conference this next weekend. It is so
great that we get to hear from our leaders of the church. They always
have great insights on how to live a gospel filled life.

I was wondering if you all are still taking Reliv. If you are, could
you send me some? I feel like I need a little more nutrition.

Yo se que Cristo es nuestro Salvador. El es el Salvador del mundo.
Solo por medio de El, seremos feliz en las eternidades. Se que Jose
Smith fue el profeta que Dios elige para establecer su iglesia en la
tierra de nuevo. Tambien, se que nuestras problemas ayudanos crecer.
Paso a paso, podemos llegar a ser perfecto, como Jesus. Se que las
familias son eternas. Os Amo Mucho!

Con Amor,
Elder Gray

one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish

2009-09-22T08:39:00.000-06:00

Hey!
So sorry this email is coming late today.  All of us in south zone took
one of the mission vans down to Pleasanton and had our P-day at some
members' house.  It was really fun.  We fished in his pond.  There were
huge bass, and huge catfish, and then a bunch of other fish that looked
like bluegill.  I only caught a couple small ones.  They were really
easy to catch.  The big ones were a little tougher but I got a couple of
bites. We also shocked ourselves on the electric fence :)  It was just a
little shock in the beginning.  Then we tried it with our shoes off.  It
really shocked us then.  They really treated us and fed us well.

We had zone conference this last week.  And, as always, I learned a lot. 
One of the big focuses was on "Prime time."  Between 5-9pm are our best
hours to do missionary work.  This conference was more of an
instructional one from my perspective.  We got a lot of good pointers on
how to keep dinner appointments down to an hour, how to help the members
help their friends, and so on.

We baptized Roger Gonzalez yesterday.  It was really awesome.  He is an
amazing man and will do amazing things for the church.

Its crazy but it seems like every week is going by faster.  Being a
missionary is so normal to me now that its going to be weird to go back
and resume "normal life."  I love being out here.  There are a lot of
ups but there is also some downs.  But I know that the Lord needs me to
go through all that I do so that I can be molded into whatever he needs
me for later on.

I heard this quote somewhere a couple of days ago: "Success is 1% genius
and 99% hard work."  Also I heard another one that basically said that
you show true character when you keep working hard, even when its not
the funnest.

Well it is time for me to go so I hope you all have a great week.  Keep
up the awesomeness and stay close to the Lord.

Love,
Elder Christopher Gray

Mixed Success

2009-09-14T10:53:00.003-06:00









Hey!
So first of all before I forget, what do you all want me to get you, as
far as souvenirs and stuff?  I've been thinking that I need to get you
all something.  There is a mexican market here in San Antonio that we go
to every month or so.  They have little mexican trinkets or shirts or
just about anything mexican or texan that you can think of.  Its fairly
cheap too.  Do you all want matching shirts? Or different shirts? Or
something else?  Just let me know soon so I can get you all something.
If you want shirts tell me the sizes to get.

This week we have had mixed success.  We are gonna baptize Roger this
weekend.  His interview really helped him.  He is a really good man with
really strong prayers.  I am really excited to see him finally take this
next step.  I will let you know how everything goes.  We are going to
teach a family of 18 tonight.  They live by some members of the ward.
We haven't met them yet but I think it will turn out well.

We started teaching a family that left New Orleans after Katrina.  We
have met quite a few people here in Texas that were displaced by that
hurricane.  Its crazy.  The awesome thing about it though is that it
brought most of them closer to God, not further away.

It is starting to get cooler here too.  Its nice to dip below the 100's.
It has been raining off and on for the last 4 days.  That has been a
big, nice relief.  I hear the weather here is really nice when its not
summer.  I am excited.

So the strangest thing I have eaten here so far is either called pasole
or menudo.  I can't remember.  I've had both but one of them is made out
of some animal's stomach.  Its a soup.  It tastes pretty good as long as
I try to forget what actually is :)  My favorite thing so far would have
to be anytime someone feeds us authentic mexican food.  We bought a
watermelon from a truck off the side of the road last week.  It was the
best watermelon I have ever had.  With my haircuts I just have another
elder cut it.  Last time I just buzzed my head and then Elder Finlayson
touched up the back.  As far as bike riding, our area is fairly flat.
We do have a lot of gradual slopes though but nothing too horrible.
Thanks for the insights from President Bednar from the temple
dedication.  I really enjoyed reading about it.  It seems like
everything in all your letters is just what I need at the time.  I know
that our Heavenly Father loves us all.  He will always be there as long
as we are willing to do our part.  I also know that Joseph Smith was
called by God to bring back the true church.  I know that our prophet,
Thomas S. Monson, is called by God and receives revelation for us.  I
love you all.  Keep up the good work.

Con Amor (with love),

Elder Gray

PS I have been making lots of things lately out of that recipe book that
Ashley gave me.  Thanks Ash!  And thanks for that little Moroni
figurine, Justin.  Whenever I look at it I try to remember to be as good
as Moroni was.  Erik, you are a stud ;)

Busy with Teaching and Finding

2009-09-07T19:59:00.001-06:00

Hey,
Hey we are at a member's house emailing this week so I don't know how
long I have to write.  We'll see.  We were pretty busy with teaching and
finding.  We found this semi-ghetto neighborhood that we hadn't seen
before.  We have had a good amount of success there so far.  The members
here are great.  They feed us plenty and help us with lessons a lot. 
Good people.

Our zone changed around a lot this last transfer.  Elder Dennis, the
other elder from Cedar, got sent to Roundrock.  Roundrock is a city just
a little north of Austin.  Its fun to have a little mix-up and see some
new faces as well as a couple old ones.  We got shirts made for the
whole south zone.  They are awesome.  I also bought a custom made ring
that says TSAM on it.  I will take pics so you can see them next time I
send a memory card home.

That is awesome that Elder Cook is coming to Cedar.  You'll have to tell
me how it goes.  How are the wildfires?  Hopefully they have died down. 
Try not to get the black lung (cough cough).  Just kidding.  But
seriously I hope that the damage is minimal.  Thanks for telling me
about who your teachers and sports and stuff.  Your teachers are all
awesome Erik.  I don't know Bro. Chappell but all the other ones are
awesome in their own ways.  I really loved having Mrs. Coates for
Algebra 2.  She is an excellent teacher.  Thats awesome about football. 
You play right tackle right?  Keep up the good work.  The same goes for
the rest of you.  I am so proud of all of you and proud to be in the
best family ever.

At that zone conference I was a little nervous to talk.  But now that
I've done it it shouldn't be too bad next time.

I love you all.  Have a fun Labor Day!

Con Amor,
Elder Gray

P.S.  Let me know if there ever is anything that I need to add to my
letters

Phrase of the week: Que tenga buen dia=I hope you have a good day/Have a
good day.  Pronounce que like the letter k.  Tenga rhymes with jenga. 
Buen rhymes with "gwen" steffani.  And dia rhymes with the car "kia."

Las Familias Son Eternas

2009-09-01T13:26:00.001-06:00

Hey,
First of all...Yes its transfer week.  My companion and I are staying
together.  A lot of people are getting switched around.  Our district
will be a lot different here in a couple days.  And second...We got our
goal as a mission!  We helped 105 people enter into the waters of
baptism in August.  Everybody is way excited about it.  We can do even
better too just as long as we don't get complacent.  We didn't baptize
Roger yet.  Some things came up but he should be baptized in the coming
weeks.  Do you remember me talking about Elder Hunt?  He is one of our
zone leaders.  Well anyways he just got called to be an Assistant to the
President.  He is super awesome.  He will do well. 

This last month has been kinda bittersweet for our companionship.  Our
mission finally achieved our monthly baptismal goal, me and Elder
Finlayson get along super well and everything is great with our
relationship, but we had some really legit people decide not to go
through with their baptisms.  Its sad but we just have to keep truckin. 
As long as we keep working hard, the Lord will provide.

We have a sweet less-active family that we are getting to come back to
church.  There are like a dozen kids at this house and all of them that
are old enough are baptized.  They love the missionaries.  They are
super cute and fun to teach.  Their uncle lives with them and they love
to work out with him.  They all are gonna be super strong.  Charles is
Justin's age and is way strong already.  He loves to do pull-ups.  They
are so funny.

In my Book of Mormon reading I have been reading a lot in 1 Nephi. 
Nephi has such great faith and obedience.  The Lord really blessed him a
lot for his efforts.  He was privileged enough to be able to see many
visions and things of that sort.  Just think how great the world would
be if we had a couple more people like Nephi.

We have started running a little bit in the mornings.  I really have
enjoyed it and I am slowly getting into shape again.  We pushed the car
down the street again on Monday.  It is a really great workout.  I am
going to start Air-Alert next week.  If I have a program that I have to
stick to, I will exercise more and then maybe I won't get too fat :)

It sounds like you are all keeping super busy back at home.  You are all
studs.  I'm so excited for all of you succeeding in the things you are
doing.  Keep up the hard work and don't fall into the trap of this
generation.  So many people could do so much better if they were just
consistent in their efforts.  Idleness has been the downfall of many,
even whole nations.  But y'all are doing great so just keep on going.  I
love you all so much.  Stay close to the Lord.

Love,
Elder Gray

P.S.  I do have the Audio CD's in Spanish of the BOM.  The english ones
would be great.

Pictures From Elder Gray!

2009-08-29T21:25:00.003-06:00

Elder Gray!

My Comp standing in the back with me

Lives right by Lackland AFB

Attended a session in the San Antonio Temple in July.

Attended a ball game on P day for *Mormon Night* 10 of the Elders/Sisters sang the National Anthem. Chris didn't, but his comp did...Elder Smith from a transfer ago...the one from England...they gave him a hard time being a Brit and singing the Natl Anthem. LOL

Don't mess with Texas!

Winners of the TSAM shoe! Chris is in the middle row, left side next to the shoe.

Prayer

2009-08-24T16:36:00.003-06:00

Hey!
Sounds like things are going well back at home. How is school going
for everyone? I can't believe its almost fall again.

But anyways things are going really well here. On Tuesday we did
exchanges with the zone leaders. I got to go with Elder Hunt.
I really liked it. Its always fun to get to learn from someone
else for a day. Elder Hunt has been a really successful missionary
so I learned a lot of good things from him. Mario and his wife
have been pretty good but things that they can't control have
really gotten in their way. She had her baby this morning and
they are moving next week so we were a little sad. But luckily
they are moving in to our zone leaders' area. They will take good
care of them.

We have had some disappointments with investigators but that's
OK because Roger is going to be baptized this coming weekend :)
We are really excited for him.

So I just realized that I forgot to tell you all about the zone
conference we had a couple weeks ago. I got to get up in front
of everyone and talk about prayer and how it helps investigators.
I read part of the Bible Dictionary entry on prayer. It was
the part that talks about our relationship with Heavenly Father.
I think it went over pretty well. Then at the end of the conference,
President and Sister Cutler gave us all an early Christmas present.
We each received a Book of Mormon with instructions to read it
and mark certain things. Every time we see Jesus' name or any one
of his names (Lord, Lamb of God, etc...) we mark it in yellow.
His attributes-green. His words-red. Principles applying to us as
missionaries-blue. It has been really fun. I am seeing a lot of
stuff that I haven't seen before.

On Saturday and Sunday our Spanish ward had some really amazing
baptisms. The Cardenas family was baptized. Elders Solano and
Dennis had been teaching them for a while. They had been going
to church for two years (the mom was the only member in the
family before this weekend). On Saturday the dad was baptized
and then confirmed right away. His old bishop from California flew
in and performed the ordinance. He received the Aaronic priesthood
and baptized his four kids on Sunday. The spirit was so strong at
both the baptisms. Most of the ward attended the baptisms. The
Spanish ward has great unity and supports each other really well.

This morning we pushed the car down the street for our workout.
I am not in good shape so I threw up after wards.

Thanks for the updates and thanks for that thought on prayer
in your last letter Dad. And thanks Mom for sending that AirAlert
stuff so quickly. I'm gonna start that program pretty soon. And
about Elder Rowley, the name sounds familiar but I don't know
who that is. That is awesome about Ashley getting her PR.
(In X Country) That is an incredible time. I'm excited for Erik
too. He looks pretty buff in those pictures. Chick magnet ;)
Justin too! All of you look older in those pictures that you sent
the other week. Well except for Brooke and Tim. They look
the same. Thanks for everything and stay close to the Lord.
Love y'all tons.

Love,
Elder Gray

PS I am sending pics in the mail tomorrow. Thanks for offering
to send me the CD BOM in Spanish but I already bought it at
the distribution center. Do you think you could send the CDs
of it in English?

Read Alma 32...it's one of my favorites

2009-08-17T18:30:00.000-06:00

Hey,
This week was another great week. We have Roger set with a baptismal
date for the last Sunday of the month. He is still taking everything in
real well. His baptismal interview is set for this coming week. Mario
and family are still going strong. Just in these last couple weeks they
have changed so much. I am really excited for them. They are planning
on getting married and getting baptized this month before she has her
baby.

Sorry this letter is so short but I wrote one and it didn't go through.
I dunno, maybe it did, but it isn't in my outbox. If it did go through
somehow just ignore this one. But anyways I don't have enough time to
write another one. Thanks for the letters and pictures and everything.
Good luck in all your sports. It sounds like you are doing awesome
already. I will be sending a memory card with pics soon. Also do you
think you could look and see if we still have that Air Alert program
lying around somewhere. I would like to start doing that for my morning
workouts. So just let me know, please :) Also let me know if there's
anything I should include or exclude in my letters. Thanks for being my
family and I hope you all continue to be blessed. Oh and tell Grandma
and grandpa thanks for that letter in Spanish. It was awesome! I love
you all.

Love,
Elder Gray

P.S. Read Alma 32. Its one of my favorites

Time is flying

2009-08-11T19:51:00.003-06:00

Hello Family,
Its so crazy how fast time has been flying by out here. It seems like just yesterday we were driving to the MTC. This last week has especially gone by quick.

Ending this week we have 5 investigators with a baptismal date. One of the couples we have set with a date has a lot of things they need to change. However, they are willing to change each and every one of those things. They are really awesome and funny. Mario, the husband got real wide eyed when we told him about the Word of Wisdom but then he committed to fix his problems. He has quit smoking cold turkey before and he knows he can do it again. They have a baby due at the end of the month and he wants to quit for her. He did it when his last baby, Isis, was born. Isis is four now. We found an awesome family in the ward that is really getting along well with Mario's family. They have really helped Mario so far. Another one of our awesome investigators is name Roger. His friend, Brother Hack, has been slowly introducing him more and more to the church. He is super super solid. After one of our lessons he asked Heavenly Father to "open his eyes and point him to the right path." He has been taking everything in like a sponge.

The base is still really awesome. The members there are doing really good missionary work. There are a lot of returned missionaries. We have about 7 people that want to be baptized right now. Most of then will be baptized back in their hometowns but we have two or three that will be baptized here. In our gospel principles class we have had between 15 and 20 nonmembers attending each week. Of those, about half have indicated that they want to be baptized.

Elder Finlayson is a really awesome missionary. He is super motivated in everything. I just hope that soon I can be just as awesome. I learn more and more from him each day. He will not allow himself to be complacent in anything. That is the secret. He is a couple inches taller than me. One person said he kinda looks like Kramer from Seinfeld. He kinda does but at the same time not really. I'll have to get a pix to you sooner or later. At first we were tracting almost all day. Now since we have a bunch of potentials we just knock between 1-3 hours a day.

All your letters are perfect. Don't worry about changing anything in them. I really liked that story about the little boy and the valentines. Justin, my companions and I have baptized 9 people so far on my mission. I got to actually baptize 2 of them, I think. But each and everyone of these people were baptized because of the spirit converting them, not us. That's awesome that you got a facebook and an X box. We will have to play against each other when I get back. Just remember to stay active ;) I'm sure you will though. That is awesome that you get to be on a traveling soccer team. That is something that I never go to do. It is really hot here, but I am used to it now. It is about 100* on a cooler day and about 105* on the hotter days. We are going through a really bad drought down here so it has rained a little, but not much. Someone told me it was the worst drought in recent history in southern Texas.

Keep close to the Lord and remember, "Every member a missionary".

Love,
Elder Gray

Just keep doing all the little things consistently

2009-08-03T16:02:00.003-06:00

Feliz Cumpleanos Padre y hermana Ashley (Happy Birthday to both of them)
Dad,
Hey I hope its alright that my card for you this year is going to be through email. I love you so much and I am very grateful for all that you have done for me. I couldn't ask for a better dad. Also, thanks for all your quotes and support. Words can't express how much I love you.
Ashley,
Thanks for being the best younger sister ever. I look up to you in many ways. You always try to be nice even when others around you aren't the nicest. Keep up the hard work and you can achieve anything. Remember, throughout history, people have said it was impossible to do many things. Breaking the four minute mile, flying an airplane, traveling to the moon, and the list goes on. Look how much we as humans have achieved above the so called "impossible." So what I am trying to say is this: Don't let people tell you what you can and can't do. Anything is possible. Set a goal and achieve it.

As for your question about keeping the spirit with you........The ways I have found is by listening to good uplifting music, praying often and asking for the for the spirit, daily scripture study, and just keeping my thoughts focesed on good things. When you study, "liken the scriptures unto yourself", apply the stories to your life and think of good principles from them. Basically, you don't need to do anything huge and amazing. Just keep doing all the little things consistently.

Wow, that took a little more time than I thought. So I guess this will be my weekly letter too. I don't think I thanked Justin for his last picture that he sent me. Thanks so much Justin! You are really thoughtful and kind for taking the time to make that for me. I really, really appreciate it.

This last week has been awesome. We have found so many more people to teach. Elder Finlayson is an awesome missionary. Very motivated. I am learning more from him every day. We have three people with a baptismal date for August so far. Our zone has a bunch lined up too. Ten or fifteen I think.

It sounds like you guys had fun up at Yankee Meadows. Thanks for the package too. It was really creative and fun. I really like those fruit chillers. Sometimes I just need some sugar and those do fantastic. Sorry to bother you so soon for another package but do you think could you send three more short sleeved white shirts to me from missionary mall? Same size. If you have any difficulties don't worry about getting them out right away.

I need to go now but I love you all and I wish you the very best. I love you all. Stay close to the Lord and Good Luck with the Eagle Project, sports, school, jobs, and everything else.

Love,
Elder Gray

I am glad that the Lord has blessed me with a bunch of good companions

2009-07-28T09:38:00.003-06:00

Hey,
Thanks for pics. It looks like you all had a lot of fun camping. This week has been pretty fun. My new companion is named Elder Finlayson. He plays waterpolo for Stanford so he is smart and athletic. He is from a little city called Alamo just right outside of Oakland, California. His Spanish is awesome. He is a really hard worker and a very obedient missionary. Each of my companions has been awesome in different aspects. I am glad that the Lord has blessed me with a bunch of good companions.

This week we had an awesome baptism. William was the name of the person getting baptized. I have seen him come so far along the path. It's been awesome. It was my first time being in charge of a baptism. It was stressful but everything worked out in the end.

Elder Finlayson likes to do a lot of tracting/knocking, so we have been doing a lot of that lately. However, we got some updated lists from the ward and are going to do some more 'less active' work. And Elder Smith liked to do more less active work with a little bit of knocking. So each of my companions has had a little different style but it all works out in the end.

That is awesome that you are teaching some investigators in the ward right now. Keep up the good work. But remember to find some good fellow shippers. Most of the people that don't have many friends in the ward stop coming after awhile. Also as a side note, I heard somewhere that wards that focus primarily on missionary work always have more success in every aspect of the ward.

This next little bit is more for non-family people that are reading my letters. I just wanted you all to know that I am gonna stop writing letters to everyone except for the family. I know some missionaries who have done this and it really helped them to focus and have an awesome mission. It will help me to focus on what I am out here to do. In Matthew, I don't remember the exact verse, the Lord told the disciples that if they forsake things for the work of the Lord then they will be blessed many times over in the eternities.

I love each one of you and I enjoy each and every letter. I look forward to the "cool" package from you mom. Stay close to the Lord.

Love,
Elder Gray

Our success rate goes up dramatically when the members are involved

2009-07-21T16:33:00.004-06:00

Dear Everyone,
So guess what? Elder Smith is getting transferred on Thursday. I'm a little sad, but at the same time its fun to get someone new. He is going to be doubled in to his new area (that means that both him and his companion will be new to that area.) I'm sure both of us will get awesome companions. His leg is doing well. It just had a big bruise. The dog's teeth barely broke the skin.

We helped a member of the ward move this week. She was recently divorced and really needed help. We had a lot of fun moving everything. We got a free couch and chair from it. Also we committed another person for baptism. He is probably in his late 30's or early 40's. He has been investigating the church since January and he finally worked out everything that was standing in the way of him getting baptized. We gave him a blessing about 2 weeks ago and that really helped. He was going through a tough time. I believe either his dad or his father-in-law is going to perform the actual baptism. He will be baptized on Saturday morning.

Sister Meyer is doing awesome. She is staying active and wants to do temple baptisms as soon as she can. Sister Williams is also doing awesome. Her husband is funny. He reminds me a lot of a guy that I worked with at the hotel, Justin. (Town & Country last summer)

The work at the base is going well. We have about four or five people that are really serious about being baptized. However, most of them are going to wait until after BMT (Basic Military Training) and get baptized wherever they do tech school at.

We had an awesome district meeting this week about working with members. It was one of the best district meetings yet. We had a lot of good ideas thrown around. The thing is we really do need referrals from members. Our success rate goes up dramatically when the members are involved. I challenge you all to find a family that the missionaries can teach. I'm sure they would really appreciate it and you will get a bunch of blessings, too.

I received that letter about Tyler yesterday. (His cousin - on a mission in Russia) That is awesome that he is doing well. That's crazy how far he had to go to get to Zone conference. I thing the farthest I've gone is about 10 minutes.

I bought an awesome cowboy hat last week. And it was only ten bucks. I also bought this really comfortable Mexican jacket that was only about eight dollars. All I need now is a big belt buckle and some boots :)

Well, I just remembered that either mom or dad had a question about something but I can't remember what it was. so what I will do is find the letter, write it down in my planner, then answer it next week.

So just one last little thought I thought I would share with you all. Remember to stay close as a family. Out here we can tell which families do things together like FHE and scripture reading and all that fun family stuff. The whole family is just better. I know it has really helped our family stay close together. Thanks for all the letters. Stay close to the Lord. Les amo.

Con amor,
Elder Gries

The Book is Blue, and the Church is True!

2009-07-13T15:31:00.007-06:00

Dear Family,

Well another week has passed by. It was pretty awesome. We had our interviews with the President on Tuesday. I really like those because he is so understanding and he makes everyone feel awesome. We talked about things that I could improve on and also just about how life has been. His son just got home from his mission in Costa Rica.

On Wednesday we had a pretty fun experience. We were at a house with a fenced in yard and all of the sudden these three dogs come running around the corner. The first one was a big pitbull, the other looked like a pitbull/terrier mix, and the other one was just a little grey dog. The first two were angry but they were keeping their distance. The grey one was a nice dog. So we started slowly backing up to the gate. We were almost ther when the pitbull/terrie lunged at Elder Smith and bit him in the leg. He kicked it and it tried to bite himagain but it just nicked him in the other leg. I wasn't gonna wait around for the pitbull to attack so I ran and jumped the fence. Elder Smith was right behind me but was thinking more clearly so he just opened the gate. His bites weren't very bad at all. He just had some ripped pants and a big bruise on one of his calves. It had just barely broken the skin. The members that we were having dineer with were just down the street. So we finished knocking the street and then went to dinner. This family has a daughter that likes to give nicknames to all the missionaries. She hadn't given me one yet so mine is now Elder Forrest (because I ran away from the dogs) (as in Forrest Gump!). Elder Smith's is Big Ben because he's big and from England. But don't worry. Both of us are safe and sound.

We are teaching a guy right now that is almost ready for baptism. We are going to commit him with a date this week. I got to confirm Sister Meyer yesterday. She is so excited to be a member.

On Friday Elder Smith and I got to go on exchanges with the zone leaders. I slept over at their apartment on Thursday night. I got to go with Elder DeLeo. He is from Pocatello. We had a really good day on Friday. We taught a couple of lessons. We shared an article from the October General Conference in one of our lessons. The talk is called "The Way". It was very good. You should check it out. I liked going with Elder DeLeo. He is an awesome zone leader and I learned a lot.

On Saturday we got to go to the Temple. It was really nice to go. I love it there. Its so peaceful. Its a smaller temple. There is only one session going on at a time. But it is still just as awesome as all the other temples. After that we went to the distribution center, an LDS bookstore, and a Great Harvest bakery. They give out a free loaf of bread to missionaries so I got some pizza bread.

Thanks for sending me that camelback and those cookies and music and gum (I think i got it covered, but thanks for anything else I missed). That camelback is worth its weight in gold out here in this Texas heat. I'm glad to hear that you all are having fun. Congrats on your running Ash and good job with football Erik. You are both working hard. Good job on going to EFY. That is the best thing you can do this summer. Tell Brooke and Tim hi. Oh which reminds me......Brooke, do you remember a Schoney about your age. I think his first name is Kyle. He said he was in your sophomore English class or something. Well anyways he is here in the TSAM and says hi. His sister is the Schoney girl that has a bunch of the school records in track.

Remember, the book is blue and the church is true. I love you all and stay close to the Lord.

Love,
Elder Gray

P.S. Try reading The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) while using the book Jesus The Christ as kind of a study guide. I found it really helps me.

"This church is a way that Heavenly Father can put a little piece of heaven here on earth"

2009-07-06T11:38:00.003-06:00

Hey,
Everything is going awesome here. We have had another awesome week. Another Baptism! It was hot again this week but it wasn't too bad. A lot of times we will be soaked with sweat and dripping when we are on bikes but the Lord is helping a lot. Its' still way fun. We are on bikes half of the week and we have the car the other half. My companion and I get along really good. As far as personalities go, we are way different. But it still works out. The key thing is to forget about the things that just don't matter. It was real hard at first but throughout the month it has gotten a lot easier. It still is hard sometimes but all those little things are forgotten pretty quick when I don't make a big deal out of them. It has made all the difference.

We had a nice 4th of July. We went to a couple different barbecues and had a pretty relaxed day. Lots of food. They were shooting off fireworks at the base so we got to watch a little bit of fireworks on our way home. I don't know if I mentioned this in previous letters but the base is just about a stones throw away from our apartment. So we got a good view of the show.

On Sunday we baptized Sister Meyer. She has one of the strongest testimonies that I have ever seen in a recent convert. She is awesome. She will also keep her husband on track, as all women do, I'm sure;) In her baptismal interview, she said that she feels like this church is a way that Heavenly Father can put a little piece of heaven here on the earth. She has a very sweet spirit. She was beaming the whole time at her baptism. Her husband is pretty funny. When we invited the kids to come up close to the font for the baptism, he hopped right up there to watch. They are an awesome family.

I got teach The Restoration all by myself to two airmen the other day. Elder Smith was teaching the gospel principles class. I was nervous but as soon as I started talking all the nervousness went away. It went really well. The spirit was strong and they had plenty of questions. The spirit does amazing things and helps so much. I couldn't have done the lesson without it.

The Lord has really us with so much. I can fee all your prayers. I pray for you guys too. I am the happiest I have ever been when I'm out doing the Lord's work. It's hard sometimes but at the end of the day it is awesome to look back and see what we did. Have fun and stay out of trouble. Love you all.

Love,
Elder Gray

P.S. Thanks for the letters and everything. That would be nice to use that camelback so that would be great if you could send that.

P.S.S. Hey one more thing I forgot to mention in my letter. I have been thinking that I need to start writing in my journal again but I never took the time. Then I got your letter dad, and it really motivated me to start doing it again. I wrote in it yesterday. Thanks :)

Cockroaches from Outer Space

2009-06-29T13:47:00.005-06:00

Hey everyone,

So another week has gone by already.  As time goes on it goes by faster and

faster.  I can't believe I've almost been out for 6 months.  We had a fun week.  

We baptized Jette Warnick and Aaron Hoffman from the AFB on Saturday.

Both their families were there because they also wanted to watch the

graduation on Friday.  Jette is the girl that I was talking about in the last

letter and Aaron is the guy that had the answer to his prayer at the latrine.  

Elder Smith baptized and I confirmed Aaron.  Jette was baptized and

confirmed by her Grandpa.  We went to lunch at a really good Chinese buffet

after the baptisms.  Elder and Sister Reynolds (military relations missionary

couple) said they would treat us to lunch every time we baptized someone

from the base.

I forgot to mention this in my previous letter but Elder Ronan Dennis, the

other guy from Cedar that left the same time as me, is in my district.  He

and Elder Solano, who is from a little town by Tijuana called Tecate, serve

together.  I don't know if I mentioned it in previous letters but  Elder Smith and

I cover a Spanish ward, English ward, and the ward on base.  Elder Solano

and Dennis cover the northern half of the same English and Spanish ward.  

Its fun to teach in both English and Spanish.  I like practicing both. We can't

proselyte on the base so the only interaction we get from the base is when

people that live on base feed us dinner and when we teach our Sunday

school there.

We have one investigator with a baptismal date.  Her husband is a

member in the Marines and they live in a house on base.  Sister Meyer

has been going to church for a couple years and now wants to be baptized

into it.  The other day we were teaching them a lesson, Elder Smith was

talking and as I was sitting and listening. Then the cats ran into the room.  

They were chasing a big black bug.  Well, actually huge might be a better

adjective.  It was the size of a jeep!  Well maybe not quite that big, but it

was huge ;)  But I ignored it because we were having a nice, spiritual

lesson.  But the cats kept trying to get it out from behind the shelf.  Soon

enough Brother Meyer noticed and went over to investigate.  Then he

saw the big, huge cockroach and got mad.  I think he might be scared

of bugs :)  It crawled onto his PS3 so he picked up the cat and said, "I'll

just aim you at it."  He pushed the cat's face into it a couple times and it

still wouldn't budge.  It fell into a basket a couple seconds later so he

hurried and put that outside his front door.  After that little incident we

continued teaching about the plan of salvation and it ended quite nicely.  

One of the things we talked about in our lesson with them was about the

3 degrees of glory.  

The terrestrial and telestial are like a circle.  Eventually you fill up, you

can't progress anymore.  As you can see in my beautiful illustration

below, the bottom two have a limit.    But the Celestial Kingdom is like

a bowl.  There are no limits of how much you can progress, how high

you can go.  The possibilities are limitless.  So keep remembering

that and aim for eternal progression.

Celestial

Terrestrial and Telestial

We had zone conference on Wednesday.  The big focus this time was

on prayer and teaching with the spirit.  They really emphasized the fact

that we need to get our investigators to pray.  I really liked this conference,

just like all the other ones.  We were combined with one of the other 

San Antonio zones.  I got to see three elders from my old district.  It was

fun talking to them again.

Elder Solano was wondering if it would be possible for him to get one

of those mini PMG's.  From the email you sent me it sounds like we can't

get them anymore but I thought I might as well ask.

Everyone keep working hard in all that you do.  You can achieve anything

you want to through small and simple means.  One step at a time.  I love you

all and stay close to the Lord.

Love,

Elder Gray

Miracles still can happen

2009-06-22T14:44:00.002-06:00

Hey,
How is everyone doing? Everything is going good here. It is pretty hot and humid here, but I am used to it now. And with the zip code, it was the wrong one on the envelope but it still got to me on Wednesday. I guess someone at the post office was being nice and knew where to send it.

Sounds like everyone is having fun at home. The work is going well. We baptized another lady named Mary Williams on Saturday (weird coincidence huh?) It seemed like everything that could go wrong did go wrong. We finally started the services about an hour late and everything went well after that. Oh, and to answer your question mom, we only ended up baptizing one 9 year old while I was in Austin.

That is awesome that I get all that money back in taxes. Tell Brooke thanks! I guess you can just put it in my savings. That's awesome about the Longhorns making it to the college world series. Their football stadium, football practice field, and baseball stadium were all just about 100-200 yards outside of my area in Austin. I am not sure if Kerrville is in our mission or not. The map of my mission area is in my call packet. With exchanges, we go on exchanges with each companionship in the district once a transfer. Since I've been companions with district leaders my whole mission, we also go on exchanges with the zone leaders once a transfer. It is a lot of fun to see how other missionaries work and sometimes its just nice to break away from your companion for the day, even though I have loved both of them so far.

Oh and I forgot to tell you last week. Last P-day 10 missionaries got to sing the National Anthem at a baseball game. I didn't sing but my companion did. We gave him a hard time because his is originally from England :) It was Mormon night for the San Antonio Missions. They are a AA team for the San Diego Padres. It was a lot of fun. We had to leave after the 3rd inning though so we could be home on time.

Yesterday we had a couple of miracles happen. First of all, Carlos didn't show up in time to be confirmed, so we went ahead and did Mary's confirmation. Carlos showed up right in the middle of hers so we were stoked and he got confirmed.

Then we went to the Base to teach our Gospel Essentials class. One of the guys wanted to get baptized. He had an awesome story. He was reading his BOM on the latrine on Saturday night (that's what everyone does because they don't have time during basic training to do much of anything that they want). He was reading a scripture passage that he didn't understand. He prayed real hard for understand. Meanwhile, one of the Mormon airmen got a prompting to go and fill his canteen at the latrine area. He then got a prompting to go to the guy that had just prayed for help. They ended up talking for almost an hour about the gospel. That really goes to show that miracles are still happening all the time.

So while I taught the plan of salvation for Gospel Essentials, Elder Smith went and taught him and made sure he was ready for baptism. I stumbled through the lesson but I thought it went pretty good. A couple of the airmen were returned missionaries so they helped a bunch. After the lesson we were sitting there talking and one the girls in the group approached me and said she wanted to become a member of the church. She grew up in Utah and half of her family are members. She attended church sporadically through her life. Both of these people that want to get baptized are graduating from basic training on Friday. So we have the time frame of Saturday and Sunday to baptize them before they leave to Tech school. We are doing it on Saturday morning.

Well, I hope you all are having an excellent summer so far. Stay close to the Lord and keep reading your scriptures every day.

Love,
Elder Gray

Refiners Fire

2009-06-15T14:42:00.004-06:00

Hola!
How is everyone? Sorry I didn't send a letter with my new address on it. I figured it would get there today or tomorrow anyways. So I will just tell you in my email.

I am excited to be in south zone in San Antonio. It is one of the more coveted zones in the mission. We cover the Heritage B area which includes an English war, a Spanish ward, and then the Lackland Air Force Base Branch. It is a really fun area so far. My companion, Elder Smith, knows the members real well so that is always a plus. There are a couple member that always want to give us food and they are happy to do our laundry too.

So my new companion, Elder Smith, is from Birmingham, England. He is really smart and tall (probably 6'6"). When he lived in England he did Judo competitions all around Europe. His dad works for the church so he moved to Utah for his senior year of high school. He went to Bingham High School. Before this, I couldn't really imagine a Brit speaking Spanish, so its pretty awesome being with him. We have a nice big apartment.

On Sunday, we were at the church all day. I really liked the Spanish sacrament meeting because I could understand most of it. I have been studying a lot harder in my Spanish lately and it has paid off. The Lord has really blessed me. It was awesome to go to the Branch on the Air Force Base. This is one of the bases that they do basic training so its big. President Cutler and his wife spoke in Sacrament Meeting. That is a pretty rare thing so we were lucky to get to attend that. He talked about being put in the refiners fire. A silversmith will put his silver in the hottest part of the fire just long enough to burn the impurities away. He knows that the silver is done when he can see his reflection in it. That is what we need to remember. The Lord will put us through all that we can stand and then when he sees his countenance in us, we are good to go. Pres. Cutler likened that to what the airmen are going through during their basic training. We can all apply it to our lives too. I'm sure you've heard that story before because I have heard it a couple of times.

We also had a baptism on Sunday night. Carlos Arrocha was the man of the hour. He is 19 years old and has been investigating for a month or two. It was a good, fun baptism. When Elder Smith went to baptize Carlos, the water was only about 2 feet deep in the font. For some reason the plug wasn't in all the way. So Elder Smith tried to baptize him but his knee wouldn't go under. So we all stood around for about five minutes while the font got filled a little more. The second time was a success. Carlos will be joining the Navy in a couple weeks. He takes his physical test today.

I hope you all continue to do well. I hope I answered all your questions in your letters. I love you all.

Love,
Elder Gray

"TSAM shoe"

2009-06-09T17:44:00.005-06:00

Howdy,
So I am getting transferred. I don't know where to yet, but I know its not the border because I would have been leaving tomorrow morning instead of Thursday. Elder Kleinman is staying. Every companionship in our district is changing so its an exciting time.

Our zone won the "TSAM shoe" for May. It is an old shoe in a case given to the zone with the most baptisms each month. We had 13.

Today we went paintballing. Those really rich people that we went to a month or two ago have about twenty Tippman A5's and two Angels (really good guns). They also supplied us with the paintballs and air. I am real tired from that.

I don't have very much time on email today so sorry this one is short. I will send a letter with some pics and my new address on Thursday. I love you all and deeply appreciate your letters and support. Stay close to the Lord and I love you all.

Love,
Elder Gray

P.S. Tell Dave congrats on his mission call.

"This is my life and I choose to make it a success"

2009-06-01T19:12:00.001-06:00

♪♪chileeeeeeeeeeeee's baby back ribs (and barbeque sauce)♪



Hola ustedes,

This week was really good.  I went on exchanges with Elder Orme and Elder

Law this week.  We had a lot of success.  We found some new investigators.  

And it was nice to have a little change for a bit.  Also Mary got confirmed this

week.  She wanted Elder Law to do it because she loves his "strawberry

red" hair :)  She is really sweet.  She was truly converted by the spirit so she

will be staying in the church.  We talked to her about baptisms for the dead

and temple work yesterday.  She is really excited to do that.  Also we are

gonna get her in touch with the family history consultant in our ward. That is

another thing she really wants to get in to.

Bailey, our little 9 yr old, got baptized and confirmed by her grandpa on

Saturday.  Her and her little brothers are a lot of fun.

This morning we had a district breakfast at our apartment.  We had

crepes with homemade whipped cream and a bunch of fruit.  It was really

good.

So here's the deal with transfers.  They are going to be happening on

Thursday June 11.  I don't know if I'm going or staying.  More than likely,

either Elder Kleinman or I will be transferred.  I will let you know next

Tuesday what is happening.  Transfers happen every six weeks

and the p day before transfers is on a Tuesday (I think y'all already knew

that but just in case you didn't.....)

The mud from that incident came out of my tie and my pants and belt and

shoes.  But everything white is wasted pretty much.

Thanks for sending my iPod and pants and everything else.  I really

appreciate all of it.  I bet that took a while to put all those songs on the

ipod so thanks even more for all the effort :)

So for my little spiritual thought this week I am gonna share something

that is a little more motivational than spiritual.  I found it in a Sports

Illustrated article last summer and have kept it in my wallet

ever since.  It is called the Pledge of Success:

"Today is a new day, a new beginning

It has been given to me as a new gift

I can either use it or throw it away

What I do today will affect me tomorrow

I cannot blame anyone but myself if I do not succeed

I promise to use this day to the fullest by giving my best, realizing it

can never come back again.

This is my life and I choose to make it a success"

I really like this one.  I am trying the best I can to remember it.  I hope

I answered all your questions.  I forgot to bring my letters here to the

library so sorry I couldn't answer the questions in the last letter.  Stay

close to the Lord and I love you all.

Love,

Elder Gray

"We said another prayer, this one a prayer of gratitude"

2009-05-29T10:54:00.002-06:00

May 25, 2009

Hey Everyone,
This last week was pretty sweet. Mary got baptized yesterday. We were worrying that she wouldn't just because things weren't going through like we planned. But one of our great zoned leaders, Elder Lameroux, did her baptismal interview and resolved a lot of concerns she had. She wanted me to baptize her so I did. Everything went well. Her friend, who is a woman minister, came to watch. She was very nice. She took a bunch of pictures. Actually, I'm pretty sure that she took a picture of everyone in attendance at least once or twice each. We gave her a Book of Mormon because she is curious to know more about the church. It has been awesome getting people baptized and following in Jesus' footsteps. Mary has got some good friends in the ward. She is going on a Relief Society camp out with the sister in the ward pretty soon here.
On Saturday, we were driving on the highway and we saw a truck stuck on the side of the road. We decided to stop and help. Apparently they hydro-planed and they had to swerve off the road to avoid hitting the cars in front of them. They were stuck in some mud and grass. We were pushing for a long time and slowly inching towards more solid ground. After almost an hour we decided to gather around and pray. It only took another ten minutes after that. When the truck was out, we said another prayer, this one a prayer of gratitude. The dad of the two teenage sons, (the teens were driving) tried to pay us, but we didn't accept his money. He gave us his card and wants us to stay in contact with him. He is a minister, but I'm sure he'll listen when we send the missionaries in his area to him. As you've probably already seen, I included some pics from that experience. We got pretty muddy.
This week was pretty fun. Time is going by faster now that I am used to all the missionary stuff. One of the scriptures I memorized this week is Helaman 5:12. I know that by following this scripture and having Christ as our foundation, we will never fall. We might slip or stumble sometimes, but Christ will always be there to out-do the devil. But only if we allow him, Thanks for the quotes Dad. I can tell that you put a lot of consideration into picking the best ones for me. Thank you everyone for sharing your gospel experiences with me. I'm glad we can all be in this together. Stay close to the Lord.
Much Love,
Elder Christopher Gray

Baptism

2009-05-21T12:08:00.003-06:00

This is Ellen, our new convert. My first baptism.

"She said she knew we were sent by God"

2009-05-19T14:45:00.003-06:00

Hey everyone,
Good job at state and region track.  Sounds like you guys did awesome. 
That sounds like an awesome track meet.  Good job Ashley.  You too
Erik.  I'm glad you are continually improving.  You will make it to
state next year if you are willing to do what it takes.  You are both
looking nice and skinny. The members are fattening us all up so I am
definitely not gettingskinnier :)  My belly button is slowly becoming an
inny instead of an outty (or whatever it was before).  I just thought
you would like to know that ;)  Tell Shaye and Aubrey and everyone
else congratulations. 

Thanks for all the info about track and everything.  I really enjoy it.

So next week I wont be able to send an email because I think the library
will be closed.  So unless we find somewhere else to email, I will just
send a letter.

This last week we were supposed to baptize Mary.  But it turns out she
forgot about it. She wanted to invite a bunch of friends.  So she is
gonna be baptized this coming Sunday instead.  She is a funny lady.  We
love going over there and helping with her garden.

Yesterday we met an awesome woman named Sophia.  She recognized the
spirit and told us so.  She said she knew we were sent by God.  We are
gonna visit her again today.  I'll tell you more about her in the next
letter.  She is gonna be awesome.

We had Zone Conference on Friday.  Elder Richardson from the 70 came and
talked.  He answered questions and gave a real good talk.  He talked
about seeking for spiritual gifts and a bunch of other things.  It
really motivated me to do my best.  President Cutler just talked for a
couple minutes.  He shared a really good story about coping with
disappointment.

One thing I have been learning a lot lately is how important it is to
set good goals.  You can acheive so much more with goals.  They need to
be specific, measurable, atainable, and time-efficient.

Thanks for the thoughts, inspiration, and stories.  Keep strong in the
faith.  I love you all.

Love,
Elder Gray

Mother's Day

2009-05-19T14:39:00.002-06:00

Monday May 11, 2009
Hey Everyone,
Sorry this letter is gonna be kinda short because I don't have much to say. You heard it all yesterday on the phone. I just wanted to let yall know that I love you. You know, I've heard that some missionaries lose focus for a couple days after they call their parents. But for me, it's doing just the opposite. It made me want to work harder and that's what I'm gonna do. I want to look back at my mission and be proud of it. Se que nuestro Iglesia is es la verdadero iglesia. Recordad, Dios nos bendicira quando nosotros tienne fe en El. Stay close to the Lord.

Mormon 9:21

Love,
Elder Gray

Greetings and Salutations from the great country of Texas

2009-05-04T11:33:00.003-06:00

Hey Everyone,
This week has been awesome. We baptized Ellen on Saturday, and we have another lady that is committed to be baptized a week from Friday. We a had a pretty safe week. Only a couple of interesting people ;)

So on Saturday, we baptized Ellen. It was really awesome. The spirit was really strong there. She was so easy to teach too. She accepted most of the things pretty easily. The only thing that she had to change about her lifestyle was drinking an occasional cup of coffee. She was prepared by the Lord, a lot. I got to baptize her. There was a little confusion because I got nervous but once I started the prayer it all went well. When we went down in the water she panicked a little and twisted just a bit. I still got her up though:) I'm glad I didn't drop her. That would have been horrible. We had a nice simple meeting and a couple people from the ward attended. On Sunday, Elder Kleinman did the confirmation.

The other lady we have committed is named Mary. She is in her fifties or sixties but she is a very healthy person so she looks younger. She is a very soft-spoken, sweet person. She is kinda eccentric in her own way, but that's OK :) She likes to garden a lot and she gave me and my companion a big pot with some plants in it yesterday. We put it on our little porch thing by our side door. We are going to have a little problem with finding a good time to baptize her because she insists on being home in the evenings (she goes to bed at 7). We'll figure something out.

The ward here is pretty good. All the people are fun and awesome. We need to find a way to get them more missionary minded though. Any suggestions?

A bunch of the high school kids in our ward get this week off school. One of the teachers got the swine flu so they have the school on lockdown al week. But besides that I haven't heard much at all about the flu.

So how are things back home? I have a hard time not bragging about all you guys' awesome accomplishments. That is awesome about Ashley and Erik's accomplishments. I love hearing every little detail. You two are awesome (you too, Justin). Erik, you beat my freshman PR by a second. I could never get faster than a 1:03 that year. Good job! So to answer your question Erik, with the 400, I come out of the blocks as fast as I can and maintain an almost full out sprint (about 95%, I believe), then on the backstretch I maintain that speed and stride it out (don't slow down at all). Then when I hit the next curve (200 mark), I start picking it up. At this point you start realizing that you're tired but you just got to ignore it. When there's about 150 left I'm still picking it up. You want to hit it full force with about 150-120 left. You wanna come around that last turn with full speeed. Lay it all on the line from there out. A lot of times races are won and lost in that last 100. Pick and ending point a couple feet past the finish line so you don't slow down a step too early. This is about how I did it most of the time. But remember, everyone runs different so do what works for you. Hope that helped some. Also remember to work hard during the season and in the off season, too. Read 1 Corinthians 9:24 and you can apply that to anything, especially track.

And answering your other question: With scripture reading you just have to make time to do it.
I know its hard and I slacke a lot in the past. But you just have to make time for it. Maybe read them for 15 minutes when you first get home instead of when your tired at night. Also, try to make your reading more interesting. Mark scriptures, write down cool things, etc.

Congratulations with your class officer elections. You two will do great.

That is awesome about Corry Brown going on a mission. Where is he going?

Have the best darn week and stay close to the Lord.

Love,
Elder Gray

"I am excited because we finally have things rolling...I'm glad we get to stick around"

2009-04-29T09:33:00.004-06:00

Hey everyone,
This week has been pretty normal week. Thanks for the package. I received it on Saturday. I am excited to make the cookies and brownies. Thanks for the pants and ties. I definitely needed some more variety in my clothes so I was pretty excited when I saw the contents of the package. How is everyone doing? Are you all excited for school to get out in a couple weeks?

So Mother's day I get to call home. I will let you know what time I will call as soon as I know.

Last night we got the call about transfers. Elder Kleinman and I are both staying another transfer. Most of our district is staying, which is awesome because we have the best district. We have a baptism scheduled for Saturday. Her name is Ellen. She is so accepting of everything. I think the Lord really prepared her a lot before hand. When we talked about the word of wisdom she said she used to drink a bunch of coffee but not anymore, just an occasional cup. She was like, "yeah, I can give up that. Its no problem." I just wish everyone was this awesome. She keeps her commitments and everything. I'm not sure who is gonna baptize and confirm yet but we'll figure it out. All our other investigators are either pretty new or they have been dropped. I am excited because we finally have things rolling. I'm glad we get to stick around.

So in our mission, our goal is always 100 baptisms a month. It hasn't been reached for a couple years (I guess they got close a couple times). But May is looking really promising. May is gonna be the month we do it.

Tell Grandma and Grandpa thanks for the letter and that I am very safe. I enjoyed their letter and the stories in it. Yesterday the mission president's wife called informing us about the swine flu. Elder Kleinman and I had heard about it on Sunday from a member but just briefly. But anyways, the president's wife just told us a bunch of things to do to avoid it and what to do if we got it. Don't worry. We are in good hands. This will probably just pass soon enough like the west Nile virus and bird flu.

If I'm remembering right, BYU is this weekend. (track and field) Good luck Ashley and Erik and also tell the team I wish them all luck. How is soccer going for Justin? Is he still on defense?

Thanks for everything. Ienjoy your letters and packages like always. I love you all and I am so grateful for your examples. Remember what we learned in conference and stay close to the Lord.

Love,
Elder Gray