March 26 2012

My wonderful family,

So let’s talk about this past week well we worked pretty hard and we found a lot of new pretty solid investigators and all that! Well yes I did buy two things on my debit card one was some food I didn’t mean to I forgot my mission card in the house so I just used my debit card and yes I bought shoes and they are sick I am going to play ball in them today so I am pretty pumped! They are purple and neon green Nikes they are pretty sick! So let’s talk about some of the investigators! Well so we have this one dude named Emerson he is tight we found him in the street with his two little girls and we have visited them and all that and his mom is cool too, they are Catholics you got to love Catholics right! I think they are brained washed! Emerson came to church with his two little girls yesterday and he really, really likes the church! We visited him later that day and the first thing that he asked is what do I need to do to be baptized so that is good! So we taught the word of wisdom and this family they have a huge problem with coffee! He was like serious coffee and we were like ya coffee he said that he drinks about like 2 litters of it a day! That is a ton of coffee! And his little 8 year old daughter says so you’re telling me that I can’t drink coffee and we were like if you want to receive all these blessings then you can’t drink coffee and we asked her do you want to receive theses blessings??? And she said yes ok then what do you need to do and she said not drink coffee! And we were like yep and he was like my little 3 year old drinks coffee too, I at this point I was thinking in my mind great we got a little  kids that are like being nursed on coffee in my mind! hahaha but they said that they were going to stop we don’t have a baptism date for the kids because the parents are separated and all that so it will be a little hard to get them baptized but we will see what we can do about that! So we had 12 investigators in church yesterday! Something really funny about yesterday was that we walked in to church and there were these to like rock and roll couple there and they were dressed in all black and I told my companion you take care of them and I will go get the other investigators and bring them this way! Well as I showed all the investigators where to go a ton of members came up to me and was like Elder we have a problem and I was like what, someone needs a blessing or something or what! They said that your investigator (the rock and roll couple) brought beer in to the church! AND I was like serious who and the rockers and I was like 1 minute first we have never talked to them we didn’t invite them here and 2 it is kind of not our problem because they were already here before we came here! Hahahahahah they said to me that I had to go take care of it hahahahaha well they sat all through sacrement with their beer next to them! They were drunk too! (oh and I had to bless the sacrament in Portuguese today that was really hard I almost died doing it) and after sacrament they got up and left and left their beer there so my companion took it and gave it to a member and was like run and put this in your car and so the member did and well even though they were drunk they remembered that they forgot their beer! So they started looking for it! They were on the ground looking they were asking members where is our beer and all that! Hahahahha well my companion said to the member that had it in his car to get it and he was going to give it back to them! Well my companion gave it back to them and they were like thank you so much for finding our beer god bless you! Hahahahaha and after they left they are awesome not! Hahira! Well that is about it for the good experiences this week! I am excited and like nervous at the same time for the transfer ya I picked up my stuff and made sure my stuff was separate from his! We will see if I will stay here or go somewhere else we will know tonight what will happen! And whets up with like everyone getting married right now I want to know who everyone is getting married to! Hahahaha well that is about it mom we will see if I will like the package you never gave me the name of the back pack to look up! So we will have to see! Um no my hair is ok but I am defiantly scared that I am going to lose my hair! So ya you could send me some of that if I start loosing it I expect you to send me stuff so that it can like regrow my hair I really don’t want to be bald! Well that is great that Gentry has finished everything! OH before I send this, so this elder is coming home on the 28th he lives in Provo he is bringing stuff home for me to give to you guys His name Is ELDER JACKSON so he will probably get in touch with you! But that is about it for this week sorry if you don’t like this letter maybe next week will be better! Love you guys a ton can’t wait to mother days!

Love, Elder Gray

March 19 2012

Hey love my family!

So this week it was really interesting! Well we start off with that after the temple we really had a coming to Jesus meeting and got down to work! My companion is still a little girl at times and all, but hey I am trying hard to stick it out a week! I really hope I get transferred to a different area that would be awesome! Ok we found this totally wicked family this week it was totally awesome! So the story goes we meet this dad in the street he gave us his address we have been trying to pass there all this week but he has not been home and we made a division this week and I was with a young man in the ward and we passed by and he was there and he lives with his mom and his 2 little girls! I gave the first lesson! Then we left we visited them again and his mom tell us I am really catholic but I believe this book is true and I received my answer about Joseph Smith! Opa! That was awesome they are awesome! We didn’t have any investigators attend church this week so we will be calling people to repentances hahahaha! Oh so we made a lot of divisions this week and I went with the elder’s quorum president and we had to teach the 2nd lesson! Ya me that is my weak point because there is specific words you have to use in Portuguese that I really can not say! After we taught it the elders quorum president like gets after me and I told him look I am sorry that I don’t speak Portuguese and the investigators understand what I am trying to say, plus it is not all the big fancy words that you tell people to convert them its the spirit! Well he just kept going on and on and on and on and I was like alright I will sit here listen to you repeat the same thing! Then he tells me in his mission he hated two things making contacts and going on splits with members because they would do the exact same thing that I am doing to you! After he tells my companion that I was mad at him! hahahahahahah I told him that was nothing I have had football coaches in my face yelling at me about stuff so no I am not mad at you, all the things here are calm! Hahahahah well I did get the second package and yes I loved it I love pop tarts! Thank you so much Nan I loved the pillow case! And thank you for the letter I will try to get you a hand written letter some time! Ya I got Jarrett’s letter but it’s like trying to decipher like ancient Greek or something he said that he started to write in cursive and I hate cursive! Haha but I get the most part off what he says I think!!! K is the camel back pack big or small because I don’t want a huge one like the one that I took to trek and campouts is a good size! Like I like that mesh pocket on the outside that I can stick my umbrella in! And before you send it would be a good idea to water proof it! Cuz it rains! Another thing that is funny people is starting to wear winter clothes! Hahahah it feels so nice outside I love it my companion at like 8 at night is like elder its cold and I am like this is awesome I love it! Hahahaha we played a lot of soccer today with are zone and we cooked up some barbeque it was really good! I still haven’t bought shoes because I cant find any I like we will see when I buy them! Love you guys so much!


Love, Elder Gray

Baptizing Emerson

March 14 2012

Hello my beautiful family!

Let’s start off, I almost did not get the chance to write this week! Because my companion decided Monday that he was not going to do anything! So I am just grateful that I got to read and respond to your emails! Yes I went to the temple today it was awesome we had to watch the movie in Portuguese it gave me a headache which was not cool! The temple here is small but it is really,  really pretty inside! I liked it was a really good to visit a temple it has seemed like it has been forever since I visited the temple so it was good! Let’s start with the week well Tuesday and the whole week was really,  really hot I really didn’t like how hot it was! But oh well wife points! hahaha! Ah nothing really happened besides making contacts and teaching lessons! Friday we made a division and I was with this other Elder Ferria I don’t know how to spell his name! But we got to visit the dentist because he needs a root canal and I will say I was not impressed with there work that they do here the Dr. like worked on him for 5 to like 20 minutes and said alright com back Monday and give me 80 brazilin dollars! So they are like cheap here! So this week I flossed twice a day hahahahaha ya made me a little scared! We had 2 baptisms Sunday with two youth! Their uncle baptized them the boy that is 15 he is really smart I was impressed we ask some question about things about the gospel and usually people don’t know the answer but he knew everyone! And that was Sunday! SO what happened Monday well we go to eat lunch at this house that is our favorite people in this ward and we end up staying there all day because my companion does not want to leave and I was like let’s go and he was like no! So he watched movies because he would not leave. While he was doing this I was reading the book of Mormon in Portuguese and reading my dictionary and playing with the kids here! So I told the zone leaders about this and they sat down with us and my companion blames it all on me! Hahaha I was like hold on there this is not true I was reading I was studying I was not watching the films with him I told him to go and lets go! Well they said that we don’t get pday today and I was like serious well that is what you get because you guys didn’t do anything and it is a companionship punishment I was like do we at least get to write home? They said we will think about it, so I asked after we got done with the temple if we could so this what I am doing now ya me! That is about it I am excited for the transfer that is coming up the next one will only be 5 weeks long so just the month of April! So that would be good and after that one I will probably leave this area that I am in! :( I like this area I love the members here! Sorry but they shorten our time on computers to 45 mins for the total mission so I am typing as fast as I can so that is what happened this week I hope that next week goes better!

Love, Elder Jay Colton Gray!!!!!

March 5 2012

Hello my big wonderful family!!

What to say about this week not a ton happened it was kind of a really boring week! So I did talk to the Mission President about my companion and he talked to him! So Tuesday we had a zones conference in the mission office! It was really good we left our house at 7 in the morning and we didn’t even get back till like 6 at night so it was really long but it was really good! That is where I received Colton’s mom’s package and some letters from grandpa! Her package came at a perfect time! I ate pop tarts for breakfast every day this week with beef jerky! Hahahah stuff you eat as a missionary! After president talked to him he was a little bit of a girl and I felt a little bad because I narked on him! So Wednesday as we were working out (the first time he has worked out) I told him hey bro sorry that the President talked to you it just really bugged me that we wasted a whole day watching movies! He was like it is alright don’t worry about it I needed that! So we really worked hard this week! Wednesday through Friday was just alright not a lot of things happened just made contacts, taught lessons! Saturday was pretty good because we have a family in a ward that has kids that invited there friends over for family night that night and had us teach them and they will probably be baptized next week! I love it when members are like hey I got a buddy that is not a member do you want to talk to him? Our answer is always yes! Sunday was pretty funny we had to go to the ward council meeting it was a joke they are so unorganized here like everyone talks at one time they talked about one thing for a half hour it was ridiculous and it was about how to make the hall ways more clear after sacrament meeting! Ya it was funny I almost started laughing because they could not decide on what to do! then we found this lady named Diva last week and we visited her Sunday and she received her answer about the book of Mormon but when we were talking to her and her son she unleashed on us she is like I don’t believe in your church because I am catholic and I teach kids at a catholic school and I am a catholic minster but you guys have made me confused on what is correct! Ya score one for the missionaries making a minster confused if their religion is true hahahaha! That was so funny because like the whole lesson she kept telling us that we made her confused and at the end I invited for baptism and she said yes! hahahahaha so funny! Ok so that is about it for this week! Not a ton of stuff happened! K stuff I need you to keep a look out for mom! So my Nike running shoes are getting hammered there about to have holes in them because we play soccer down here and we play on cement because they don’t have nice grass fields like what we do in the United States! So I need some like indoor soccer shoes! I can buy them here but they are like 95 to 100 reais and that is a little bit expensive! So I don’t know what to do about that let me know what you think! Oh I will get my package ah probably this Friday or next Monday! My zone leaders have it but we will see when I will get it from them! I love and I miss you guys I am sorry that you guys were sick this week that is not fun! I hope next week goes better for you guys! Love you guys take care!

Love

Elder Gray

February 27 2012

Hello my family!!!

Nossa eu amo voces muito! Hahahah, this week was really really long! I will start with Tuesday! Tuesday we had a zone meeting and I got my package I loved it! I still haven’t made cookies because my companion does not deserve cookies! hahahah plus I would eat all them anyways! Ah we had lunch with the sister that has the really bad feet and I told her that I when I get my package I will give the stuff to her to help her out and she was really happy! And after we ate lunch there we stayed there all day long till 10:00 at night! It was a joke like we really, really wasted our whole day there we watched movies because my companion was being lazy like I am about to pick him up and throw him out on to the streets when he gets in these moods like I really want to kick his butt he is a fricken joke! I really hate wasting time at member’s houses when we need to teach. Like he will tell people that we will visit him at this time this day and we don’t even pass by because he gets lazy! Wednesday was alright we taught one dude like all day it was awesome and he was gay which is even better like yuck, but my companion liked talking to him! So that is one lesson and no contacts or address nothing! Thursday was a joke too we didn’t do much at all because of the rain its funny when it rains down here people get in a really bad mood and are not friendly at all! Friday I had a division with Elder Jackson, was easily my favorite day! Elder Jackson is companions with Elder Hawkes right now the one from the CTM! Elder Jackson is from Provo! Ah he has one month left on his mission! He is a total stud! We worked hard and got a lot of stuff done he is an awesome dude I wish he was my companion and he told me to do this with my companion at nights before we go to bed ask him if Jesus accepted our sacrifice today! So I did with my companion and he hates it, he won’t talk to me when I ask him this! He is such a little girl! Yesterday I asked him Elder do you think that Jesus accepted our sacrifice for this week and he flipped! He is like don’t talk to me about this stuff I worked hard I am going to destroy you next week in all the numbers and said a lot of other crap to me! He was just lucky that this week for personal study I read all the scriptures on patience and humility I think that helped from me not standing up and getting back in his face and giving him a piece of my mind! :) so that is about it I will probably only have to put up with him for about another 4 weeks I am going to tell President everything about this week because it was ridiculous! Oh and another I forgot to mention about this week, is when he would pass to me to start teaching he would start falling asleep it is was so embarrassing when the investigator looks over and he is just asleep I almost punched him then to! If it is anyone who should be sleeping it should be me because I don’t know half the time what they are even saying to me! Those letters I sent to the family were a little out of date that was like my 2 pday or something like that! Really that is cool about Tim’s mom that is awesome next time I see Mr. Tim I will have to give him a big old hug!  Hahaha that is so awesome about Gentry I am so excited she is almost done! Hey since she got a tattoo does that mean I get to get a tattoo hahahaha I am totally joking about the tattoo! K someone donated 1,000 dollars to my mission account? Really? When I read that I almost started crying that means a lot to me! Who ever donated that money thank you very much! :) I love you! So Elder Een loves his new companion and is doing really well with him! And ya Elder Morris has a fricken cool companion I always talk to his companion! hahaha well that is about it for this week I hope that next week goes better for me and for you guys! Oh ya money, money always gets a little tough at the end of the month because thats when all the big meetings happen that you have to travel for! Well my family I love you guys and I hope everything goes well for you!

Love, Elder Gray

February 20 2012

Ah my lovely family!

How are things going this week with you guys? Things in Brazil well they are alright the transfer is over and I am with my companion still, I am just kicking it! What to say about this week???? Not a whole bunch has happened so not much to write about well we will start with Tuesday! It was an alright day it was super hot which is alright its funny I got a fat tan line from my watch hahaha! Wednesday we taught this married couple that I found on the street it was really funny! Because the dude doesn’t believe in God and his wife has attended every church in Brazil they are super cool they really like us! They have tons of questions like  I don’t even know where to begin with their questions! But they are super nice they were wondering if we would eat lunch with them one day and we were like ya totally so we will see if it works out!  Thursday ya I don’t remember what we did this day!  Friday was an alright day! Saturday was alright nothing really happening there Sunday was alright it really rained hard it broke my big umbrella! Hahaha funny story, about that so we were walking in this rain and I was trying to write something in my planner and talk on the phone to the zone leaders and this huge gust of wind just rips my umbrella out from underneath my arm and it of course it had to hit a tree and bend the frame and rip holes in it so we paid for a bus and went home! So my companion told me last week that we need to destroy in numbers this week and I was alright lets do it and so we are going and through the week and its Wednesday and I need like 20 contacts and 10 address and he asks me where I am at and I told him I need a lot and he is like me to and I was like really and he was like and I was like we are so pouched but really I was almost done with my side of the numbers! So we ended the week out and I had 100 contacts and 45 address hahaha he barely put up his contacts for him self and fell 13 short on address so I destroyed him! So ya that is about this week! Um one thing I keep forgetting to tell you! So when people see my pictures they say this is your dad and I am like yep and they think McCall is my mom hahahahhahah! And I am like no that is my sister and this is my mom and they are like wow she is really young! Mom they think you are so young because dad has no hair hahahahahahah! It makes me laugh all the time!  Well that is about it for the week! I hope you guys have a wonderful week take care love you guys!

Love, Elder Gray

February 13 2012

February 13 2012

Dear minha familia!!!

That is too funny that you took the letter to Abby and she doesn’t speak Portuguese good thing there is a thing called Google translator!  Ok my week, it was alright it rained a lot this week which was super not cool! But we have a saying when things get bad in the mission field and when it rains or its really hot or other things you get wife points so I am basically making bank in wife points right now and I can’t imagine how many I will make after 2 years! So we had a newbie missionary meeting in Portao this week it was my whole district from the CTM we had to all teach something out of preach my gospel about weekly planning! So Elder Morris started he did his in English then Elder Allen he did his in English then Elder Knowles he came from Provo so he knows Portuguese well the missionaries in Provo that learn the language actually learn unlike the missionaries in the Brazil CTM then me hahah I did it all in Portuguese ya me! Hahah but it kept going down the line and I was surprised that a lot of my group was doing it in English like a lot of them so that made me a little sad to hear about that! I talked with President after for a quick second he asked how I am doing and that, and said that he was impressed with my Portuguese so that is a good thing I guess.  Nothing really new we might have like 3 or 4 baptisms next week so if that happens that would be really cool I still have not received my package I really want it!  Oh and I realized that McCall didn’t spray her letter with her perfume that I love! :( um nothing really new about this week kind of boring! My first transfer is over as far as I know I am not going to get transferred and my companion probably won’t either! So I will have to put up with him for another 5 weeks ya me not! He has gotten a little bit better not much so we will see how things go there!  I did get the letter that grandpa put the dollar in the only problem that I might not be able to exchange the money! I don’t know we will see what can happen there! So ya that is about it for this week! I love you guys I pray for you guys always you mean the world to me! Oh hey I got thinking that Jen X might not be there when I get back so I want some stuff  I want a gray hoodie black and white long sleeve shirts some short sleeve shirts,  and a black hoodie with gray on the back with the number 3 below it I think I will be wearing this stuff a lot when I get back because I will probably be frozen hahah! Thanks! Love you guys happy valentines, hey did you guys get my letters yet? Take care and God be with you till we meet again!

Com AMO, Elder Gray