January 28, 2013

Well Hello Family!

Can you believe it another week went by! How fast did it go! I feel like it is starting to get faster and faster! Here in a little bit I will be home, home sweet home! Well let’s start off this week talking about the mission tour! OMG well it was expected to have Elder Oaks come and talk to us but because of medical problems he could not come! But President Christen I think he is the president of the 70 was there and President Costa the South America area president also part of the 70 and then had Bishop Stevenson that was there! So we had to wake up 4 in the morning to get on a bus and go to Curitiba that is 2 hours away but our bus driver needs to learn how to drive! He made the trip to be 3 hours long! But oh well! During this time I had the chance to talk with Elder Een! Well so we got to Curitiba and it was super cool! And we were the last ones to get there also which was superly not cool! But all of them gave there opening talks and it was good! and then they turned it over to us to ask them questions and I was like great, what question will I ask, so I thought about it and thought even more then I was like I got it! I am going to ask how we can get the bishops excited about missionary work because I have tried everything here to help the bishop and the ward to get excited! Well a lot of missionaries asked some stupid questions, that the 70s just ended up burning them to a pole about these things! And this whole time I am praying that he will call on me and I have my hand up in the air wanting him to call on me! But in the end he didn’t! And I was like that is such a rip off! And I wasn’t to happy because I felt like my question could of helped a lot of missionaries! But oh well! Then when they got done they told everyone that they could come up and shake their hands super quickly! That was a cool experience I really enjoyed that because they just have a super good presence about them! Then when they were leaving they said that if we didn’t answer your question here then heavenly father will! And I was like deal because an answer from God is better! Well after that we came back to our areas! And we had a division with Elder black and elder Souza I went with Elder Black to do interviews for these to young men that were baptized this Sunday! Yayayayaya baptism!! Love it! Well when we left the interviews! I was like I need to call the bishop because the young men their cousin can be baptized also! So I called bishop I told him what’s up and in the end he was like elder we need to mark a meeting with you and the ward missionary leader and he said that I looked to the heavens and I was like yes! Answer responded from God! BOOYAH! Love it so I said yes bishop as soon as possible will be better! And the meeting is marked for this week and I was like yes yes yes! About the baptism it was two brothers they are super cool! The boys bought clothes to be baptized in last week! Well they were baptized it was the first time that Elder Monteiro went into the water to baptism some one it was super cool! Now we just have to find some more people to teach and help them be baptized too! But that is super cool!

So funny story I was wearing my gray pants this week and me and my companion were doing companion study and he said to me Elder Gray do you know that you have two holes in your pants so I look down and what do you know I had two big holes in my pants on the inside part of my legs! Then I looked closer to what pants I was wearing and it was one of my suit pants and I was like crap! So they are beyond repair! I was thinking could I buy me a new suit down here?? I saw some in this store in the center of the city that is a suit shop and they priced there’s at like 270 reais being the most expensive and that comes out to be, 135 dollars! I would like to know what you like me to do! And no I still haven’t received the package that you sent me! :( I really hope that I receive that package soon! Can you track it in Brazil?? Well that is about it for this week! I love you guys take care! Have a great week!

Love, Elder Gray

January 21 2013

Hello my family!!

I will start off by saying that I love you guys so much and I am so very grateful for everything that you guys do! Well about this week we didn’t get the baptism that we wanted! But it’s alright because we have these two young men that want to be baptized this Sunday so that will be awesome! So it was super funny this week! I and my companion were at a bus stop and I start to feel sick in the stomach! He was like what’s up dude and I was like I am not feeling to well! He was like that sucks! I told him lets buy some food from across the street so we went over there and I bought a little something and coke to see if it could calm down my stomach and we walked back to the other side of the street to the bus stop and ate it! And by the way it was raining when all this was happening! So we are there eating it! And here pretty soon this dude on a motorcycle goes into the store and buys some stuff and then he walks across the street and was like you guys want this?? I was like what?? He was like do you want this? and I was like I don’t know I looked at my comp and he nodded yes to me and I was like sure thanks! After this dude left I look at my companion and I was like dude that is the poorest I have ever felt in my life! hahaha he started up laughing and it was super funny I think that dude thought that we were super poor or something like that he bought us food! Hahaha super funny! Well this week was good it was super hot! On Tuesday we had are zone conference and President really dropped the axe on some people it was super funny! Because these people were looking at him like oh crap I got to be better I really liked it super good! Oh and my friend Elder Schmitt from Germany he is the new assistant! So that was even better and I was super happy to see him and get to talk with him! He called me out to arm wrestle and I was like lets do it fool! And he was like but I am a lefty and I was like well that complicates things a little bit! And I was like whatever let’s go! and so they we were arm wrestling next thing I know was that President comes up and he was like look at that German pride and then he leans over and he was like don’t you loose Elder Gray! I was like alright I got to win  it so we went back and forth we were there for like 5 mins and President was like its time to go so we tied and I told the German next time he is going to loose! Hahaha and he told me we will have to see! It was super cool! Sister Cordon gave a training there and she comes walking out with a huge chocolate cake and was like who wants some so I threw both of my hands up and was like I want some this cake it has to be good! So she didn’t pick me she went to another elder and was like do you want cake and he was like yes she sticks her hand in and throws it at him! In that second my hands dropped and I didn’t want cake any more! Ha-ha then she compared it to this is sometimes how we teach the gospel we just throw it at them! What she said about that and other things I really liked it! I love zone conference! Well that is about it for this week I love you guys! Take care!

Love, Elder Gray

January 14, 2013

Well Hello family


Can you believe it another week has gone by!! Wow time is flying this week went fast and slow but in the end it was good!  But it’s so good to see that everyone is doing awesome and is enjoying there time!! Let’s start of by talking about today!! Well so we had an ice cream party at the stake center with the stake president! I was sitting there chillin and next thing you know Elder Larson walked in and I was dude your from AF and he was like ya your Gentry Grays older brother and I was like yep that’s me! It was super good to see him hahah we got 3 people from AF now so that is awesome! AF pride! hahah I was really impressed with him he is really speaking well in Portuguese and he is understanding very well also! I was actually blown away I wished I would of left the CTM talking how he is talking right now it is awesome to see that the people that are leaving the CTM now are really being very well trained! after that we had one Brazilian that was messing with me so I grab his arms and pull them in and I told him to stop and out of no where he head butts me right in to my forehead and was like dude your crazy so I put my head on the side of his body to see if he would do it again that he couldn’t get to my head and I was thinking to my self wow that kind of hurt so I was like that’s it I picked him up and threw him on the floor and landed on top of him! Haha super funny because I was like alright, and he was like alright you won! Well and after that we are now in the land house!
Last week! Well it was not really our week! Because something’s happened and it was an alright week! Like Tuesday we had nothing so we started to knock doors and I talked to about every church but the Jehovah witnesses, every one I had to read the bible to them and be like no this is how Jesus Christ did and all that it was super annoying but do what?? The next day we wanted to leave with the two boys and go and teach with them and help them become future missionaries but turns out that they got mad at my companion for something! So this young man named myrion he is 17 and he is a player and he is hitting on all the girls that are 14 or 15 years old that our in the stake and he has no problem with it. and he is hitting on one of our young women and we ate in her house on Sunday and we were like who are you talking to and she was like Myrion and my companion starts going off like are you serious he is such a player and he doesn’t have respect and all of that and I was like elder no don’t do that! and after her dad takes the cell phone from here and read the messages and his last message that he sent to her was (hey I will come over and climb in bed with you and warm it up!) Omg her dad was like what the crap and I looked at my companion and was like dude! Well she told him what my companion said and we went over there to leave with him and his brother and the whole family doesn’t like us now! And so elder talked to Myrion and tried to straighten things out and it came to be Sunday and they didn’t even tell us hi so that is not a good sign! But we will work it out and help them but besides that it was alright we got a lot of rain! Like right now it is raining and I don’t like it I really don’t like the rain here but oh well!! But that is about it! For this week! I love you guys take care love you!
Elder Gray

January 7, 2013

Hello Family!!

Well I love you guys so much! so we heard about the transfers this Sunday and it turned out that me and my companion are going to stay together so that is going to be a good thing! Because things are starting to happen here and it is amazing! Where do I start off???? Well so this week was interesting Tuesday there was no one in the streets at all! I was alright this will be different to do the missionary work and it was raining here super hard! Which was super not cool! But oh well and that night we had to sleep in the house of other missionaries to get on a bus to go to Curitiba to training for new missionaries which was super good! I liked it a lot and I learned a ton! Something funny about this training is that some of the elders there turned into complete robots! There were like asking everyone how many baptisms and about other things and it was ridiculous in my opinion because these missionaries completely turned into looking at people as numbers which is horrible! the day after we were passing by a members house before lunch and we saw two of our young men in their car just playing guitar and rockin out and I told my companion after we eat we are going to get them and they are going to leave with us! So that is what we did! We went and got them and they left with us and they loved it! I went with the older brother of the two and he was 19 and he doesn’t want to go on a mission so I was talking to him and helping see the blessings that come from serving a mission! And how fun it is! and when we were on division a  pastor stopped us and was like hey I want to talk with you guys and this member looks at me like crap he is going to burn us and I was like stay calm! So this pastor comes over and he wants to bible bash with me so he started I was thinking that I will just make contact with him and me and my companion would pass there another day! But then he started to talk bad about the church and the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and I was alright you asked for it! I shared my testimony how I know these things are true and how he could know and how we have the power of God and he stayed shocked and then I was like you could know for your self and asked if we could pass by there and then he started to condemn me and I was like are you condemning me and he was like no and I was like you were to! So I put my hand on his shoulder and I looked at him really seriously in the eye and I said to him good luck for you in the last day hope to see you there!!!! And it ended there and he was super shocked and walked away and the member that I was with just had a look on his face that I just crapped in his face.  and I was talking to him after and then I saw this young man and I was like I need to talk to him his name is Sander, we started talking and he was like I want you guys to pass by  my house I am in need! I was like perfect I will! so after I wrote everything down I said to the member do you know what just happened and he was like what do you mean and I was like did you see what God did for us and he was over thinking when we are walking and he was like God just blessed us with someone that needs the gospel and I was like yep you are right! and after that he was super excited and so this week was fast Sunday and so this member that I left with was the first person to bear testimony, after the bishop he gets up there and shares his testimony about the day that he left with us and you could tell that it changed his life and that he is thinking about a mission! It made me super happy hearing what he was saying and how he wants to go more with us! After the sacrament meeting his dad comes up to me and gives me a big hug and told me thank you! It was a super good day, this week was awesome I really liked it! Also I and my companion found some really good people to teach and it was super good!! I think here in a little bit we are going to have some more baptism which is going to be awesome! But that is about it for this week I hope that you guys like this letter! I love you guys have a good week take care!!
Love, GRAY

December 31, 2012

Well hello family!!

Wow so after Christmas the time passed by super slow! Like it felt like it was just crawling by! Like I didn’t like it at all! this week was super tough because it was raining and not only that I got a little sick I was having to use the bathroom a lot more then I wanted to! Like it was ridiculous! I really didn’t like that part! I also found out that my companion is bipolar! He was acting super weird this week and I was like dude what’s up and he wouldn’t say anything! So I gave him his space and on Sunday I sat him down and was like I don’t like this because we are not having the same spirit about us this week that we normally have with us! And he was like dude I got to tell you something and I was like go for it! and he was like I am bipolar and I was like alright that is good to know and I told him that I am sorry if I did anything wrong that might of offended him and all that stuff after that he told me that there is another thing that is really making him sad and depressed! And it was about his girlfriend! and how he cant stop thinking about her and how he doesn’t know what he wants to do about her and all that and I was like alright well lets see what I can say so I talked him about what he felt and all that stuff and it turned out that I was mostly asking more questions then talking and he was talking like the whole time! So basically he worked out by him self! Well it was super good to talk to you guys over Christmas it was so much fun I loved it! You guys look so good! Nick and Sharon thank you for the money.  Things here are so much more expensive and my President won’t give us any extra money so I will use it for sure. Well that is it for this week I hope that everything goes well for you guys! And that you guys have a happy new year! Love you guys!
Love, ELDER GRAY