July 29, 2013 Only 78 days left!

Well hello family! 

So this week went by kind of slow we walked a ton! Holy crap! Everyday I was just hammered and would wake up just in pain! Buts it’s all good it is just part of being a missionary! Well this week we found some people that we marked dates with them so that is something good! I came here in Paranagua and gave a talk this Sunday it went very well I talked about Pres. Monson talk in Conference in the priesthood part!  Wow this ward has more women than men, the elders quorum here is super weak so my goal is to find more men and baptize them because this ward is a little weak. Members here are good I really like them! Today I am here in Samambaia with a family that I loved here just kickin it with them its super good to see people again I will have to pass by the people that I baptized later on or maybe another p day I love it here the weather is great we have the sun, the cold left and its back to normal.! Funny things this week is that we have an island in our area and one night we were walking across the bridge to go to the island and my comp was like dude those people are speaking English and I was like dude there is no way why would an American want to come to this island that is super ugly and he is like dude listen so I listened and what do you know they were speaking English there was whole bunch of them I was shocked so we talked up to them in front of a catholic church and we were like are you guys Americans and they were like yah we are from Texas and you guys, I was like I am from Utah and he is from Washington and they were like what are you guys doing here so we explained that we were missionaries etc. they were in brazil to see the POPE, fricken pope I don’t like him! But it was cool talking to them! and then this dude walks out and tells these kids hey they don’t believe in the virgin Mary in Portuguese and they asked what he said I told them and they were like you guys don’t believe in the virgin Mary and I was like no! And they looked at us really funny I started laughing hahaha and then they had to go and they went smoking in to the Catholic Church! It was super funny because if you look at it Catholics they don’t have to do anything really for them everything is cool! I am super glad to be a member of the true church where we have standards that help us become better people! hahhaa! But that is it for the week I will talk to you guys later! Love you guys have a good week!

Love, Elder Gray

July 15, 2013 92 days left!!

Hello family!!

 Well where do I start??? well I want to start off saying that I am very proud of Jarrett and Jennica to go and serve missions and I know that they did a great job on their talks I will miss them but like that hymn says God be with you tell we meet again! Well there are going to do awesome and there are going to see a lot of miracles happen in this time! I am very grateful for this time that I have had on the mission it has taught me a lot of things it has made me different has opened my eyes on other things! I know the mission is the place to be at for everyone that wants to serve!

  Well are week was good we had a dude that came to church saying that he wanted to be baptized then after his interview he was like no I won’t be baptized I will stay in my church! Hahahhaa but this guy had problems so that is ok! NO those 2 kids didn’t come to church to get the holy ghost that is annoying! But we will get them there this week! Why did they not go I don’t know my comp that went to get them with a brother in the branch just said to me that they just can’t come today! But our week was interesting I made a division with Elder Vojtek he is from Argentina he is cool but he doesn’t speak at all! Like it was 24 isolation it almost killed me I went and asked questions and he was like yah its cool! I almost died! It was super nice to get back with elder Gomes, talking about transfers well this next Monday will be transfers I think that my comp will go he has had 6 months here. We found some people to teach this week none of them are those ones that are firm that they are like oh yah I totally want to receive an answer about these things! But that is ok we will just have to find them this week! Well this next Sunday we are going to have another baptism with this lady named Legislaine she is part of a family that everyone is members but her! Her mom recycles trash and her house is so so nasty like mom you would puke if you went in it! Also we have a family night there tonight and we are going to make some food there with them I am not excited at all to eat in that house!!!! But this lady she has turned her life around which is so cool she use to drink coffee and drink beer and had a huge problem with the law of chastity but she stopped it all and wants to be baptized so that is super cool! I love how the Lord works in people’s lives and how he can change them. But that is about it I really don’t have anything else to say but I love you guys take care!

Love, Elder Grayzão

July 8, 2013 Only 99 days left

Hello family,

 Well where do I start off?? This week was a good week we did a lot of work this week and this week was super busy I was worn out at the end! Well so we saw President Fernandes and Sister Fernandes this last Thursday! So we got up at 5:30 went to the church to catch a private bus and then we went around picking the rest of the zone up in this bus we didn’t get to Curitiba until 1:30 in the afternoon! We ate lunch and then we had the meeting just with our zone! Well I don’t like them that much to tell you the truth! They just aren’t President and Sister Cordon. I really didn’t feel any love from them for us! They just got up there and started burning people about things and it was not cool  because I was just looking at my zone and they were just not satisfied it’s alright though I thought to myself well I only have 2 1/2 transfers left with them then I will be going home! After their meeting we had interviews with president, well it was my turn I went in there and he was like where are you from elder? I told him Highland, Utah. He said oh the factory then laughed; ( there is a joke that missionaries from Utah are from the factory because there are so many from Utah). Then he asked how much time do you have on the mission and I told him that I have 1 year and 9 months and he was like so you’re basically going home and I was like well I guess you could say it that way, then that was it for the interview! Not cool! Well we left Curitiba at like 6 at night and we didn’t get home until 12:40 at night! Yah I was super tired because I didn’t sleep at all in the bus ride so I was pooped! Then the next day you’re up at 6:30 again! Me and my companion found some really good people on Saturday to tell you how good we found this family that is super, super, super, super poor like they make the homeless people in the United States look rich! And they had two kids that wanted to be baptized so we baptized them this last Sunday! Hahaha it was super cool! it was a bummer because the parents couldn’t be there because they were going to go to work to get money to support their family but they promised that they would go this Sunday and watch them receive the holy ghost so that will be cool! The baptism was awesome! Really things are going very well for us here and this it for the letter this week I hope that everything is going good with you guys there! Love you guys take care!

Love, Grayzão

July 1, 2013

Hello Family

Well were do I start well this week was really good to tell you the truth! I loved it! We had zone conference last Thursday and I was leading it. At first I was super nervous but after the first prayer it all came to me and I felt calm and it went good, we gave training about the missionary manual and how we need to have more interviews for baptisms! It was really good and it was the last Conference of Pres. Cordon and Sis. Cordon I gave them our house number and told them to call it and talk to you guys to have them over for dinner mom if they do call you I want you to go all out on them because they deserve it and I really am going to miss them a ton. After the conference I had to make a division with an assistant I thought it was going to be really annoying but it wasn’t I went with elder Barkdull it was cool because what happened we didn’t have a plan for them because they told us that they weren’t going to stay with us then out of nowhere there were like we are staying. So we started going me and him and I was like elder because we don’t have a plan let’s pray so that we can be guided by the spirit to the people. so we went and we found new people that we marked dates with them and it looks like it they are going to be baptized so that will be super good. it was really good the division with Elder Barkdull, and mom yes I did get your package it was so good the beef jerky was gone in like three days hahaha that brand is a ton better than that other one that I don’t remember the name of it! I am not sick I just have this tickle cough that is super annoying. I noticed that when I chew gum I don’t cough as much so that was great that you sent me gum! haha after that the Branch here had a party it was funny it is their hill billy party it was good because they brought a ton of people that are not members and we were there teaching and it was going great. Sunday that dude that we baptized the first week that I got here brought his brother and we taught the brother and marked a date with him for this Sunday hahaha you just got to love baptisms! Hahahahah then today so we all woke up and went and played soccer at the church and then me and elder Crook went to a Mui Thai class which was super cool! I was surprised that I can kick so high! Then after that we had the zone over for a barbeque and we played volley ball it was good I can just see me tomorrow I am going to be so sore. Hahaha it was a super good day! Hahaha well can you believe Colton Ferre will be home in a little bit that is so cool! My day will come hahaha actually I am not worried about that, things are going good here. I have kinda gotten use to the Branch and how they are all closed off that is their problem and I will let them fix that! But I am good. The new president is Pres. Fernandes and Sister Fernandes, we will get to know them this Thursday that will be fun hahaha! That is it for the week take care love you guys!

Love, Elder Gray