Happy Memorial Day!

Dearest Family and Friends,

I love you all so much! I opened my email up to a BUNCH of emails and it was a little exciting to read all about your lives back home! I love you all and know that you are doing great things! Continue pressing forward in the gospel and trying to obtain Salvation!

This week was so wonderful! We have been seeing many miracles come from our hard work. . working hard and diligent does pay off! =)
I don't know what it is but Hermana Newman and I tend to attract Grandmas! They are the greatest though and seriously are so loving so I am okay with that! =)
Edilberta is doing well. She is still coming to church and slowly but surely progressing in the gospel!

I have loved teaching her so much! She is such a great example to me of doing something even if you don't understand why! She pushes through and is diligent in all things! We invited her to attend the baptism of an English lady in the YSA branch. She told us she really wanted to come but didn't know if she would be able to or not because her brother in law was in the hospital and she was helping her sister out with that, but that she would be there if she could. So we waited outside the baptism for about twenty minutes. We walked out to our car to drive to a Less Active member’s home, we had just tried calling an investigator and I look up and I just say "Edilberta is here!" And we jump out of the car and go over to her. She had also brought her mother and sister so that was so wonderful! Although they missed the actual baptism because they were late they did see her receive the gift of the Holy Ghost! (they had permission to do it font side). And it was hard because we couldn't translate for them because the translating equiptment was locked in the Branch President's Office (they had stuck it in there on Sunday for some reason and not the closet). But it was really great! They felt the spirit so strongly and now we have a lesson with all three of them on Thursday! =) President Baker was at the baptism too and he came over and introduced himself to them. (well, we translated for them. haha). It was really great though! Edilberta is just the sweetest thing in the world. And her mom, I don't even know how to describe her! She is one little whitty old lady and is HILARIOUS! Like a second Abuelita! =)

This week we also had the chance to visit Rosa, Sister Caldwell and I found her on our last exchange. It was SO wonderful! =) We had a member from a different ward call us on sunday and say she was preparing for a mission and wanted to come out with us. So we stopped in at Rosa's and just did a "How to begin Teaching" and talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the importance of baptism and covenants. Her husband has taken the lessons before! So it was really great! She is super interested, she invited us back the next day and we had the chance to share the REstoration with her. She really understood the importance of baptism with authority. And we had a really great discussion about baptism. She said she would accept baptism when she knows the things we teach are true. =) We are really excited for her, she has so much potential! She also has LOTS of family in the area so we are hoping she will let us visit with them soon too! =)

We attended a wedding of a Less Active member of the branch on Saturday. It was really beautiful and she was happy to have our support! Although it did make me reflect on the importance of covenants and temple marriage!

We also had a really great lesson on the Plan of Salvation with the Jesus, Miriam, and Natasha. We did it a little differently and each took a part and had ten minutes to prepare an "explanation/whatever you want to say" about your part. It was really fun! It was definitely different and unique to see all the different perspectives.
I really love Miriam! She has such a strong testimony of the gospel. One of my favorite things she has said is about her conversion. . that the time she realized that the church was true and that she started to progress in the gospel was when she realized that God and Christ have done EVERYTHING for her and what had she done for them? That was a really powerful moment when she talked about the importance of choosing to follow them while we are on this earth. And giving and devoting our lives in the service of God. That we must continually follow in his footsteps!

We had to drop an investigator last night which was a little rough. She (also an older lady) just wasn't progressing really. Last week she had read (which was a change!) So she was progressing but we committed her to come to church and we had been telling each other that if she backed out of church again we just couldn't keep teaching her. She believes that all the churches have truths and that any church is great. And she is really into the Television pastors and things like that. So it has been really hard to get her to come to the actual building. But we had a really great lesson with a member and she said she would come than she backed out. But we still didn't have a reason to drop her since she was progressing. . but we just didn't know what to do. Last night at the lesson though. We had to leave. the spirit left at this one point and we both weren't seeing anything. It was like talking to a brick wall. . and it was the first time that she didn't understand us (which I think is a HUGE sign!). So we decided to drop her for now and that hopefully one day she will be ready!

Yesterday we went to Colonial Williamsburg and just looked around! It was fun and it was different to spend Memorial Day in a place with so many historical things! We had lots of fun and the other Hermanas and I just enjoyed ourselves! =)

I got a great email from my brother! It had lots of questions in it so hopefully I can answer a few of those here:

A typical day as a missionary:

Well we get up and exercise, get ready, study for three hours (personal companionship, and language and if you are training you study for another hour in a little book that they give you as new missionaries). Our studies are focused on our investigators, and all those we plan to visit that day. Afterwards we normally take lunch. then we head out for the day.

If we have a lesson planned we try to visit with them. And if we don't have lessons planned/scheduled the night before we think of the people we would like to try to stop by at what time of the day, then you think of back up plans for each of them. It is a pretty intense thing to plan. Planning brings success!

Most of the time our plans change anyways according to the spirit, But if we didn't plan I know we wouldn't have as much success. We visit less actives and share messages with them.

Yes, we do tract in the mission. Lots, which isn't the most effective. It is hard to tract and you don't see much success from it. But if it comes down to it and there is no one that is home we knock doors. The most effective way to have an investigator is by asking the members for referrals. It isn't common here to receive those though. We have found success in asking out investigators if they have friends/neighbors who would like to hear the message too! And to be honest the most success is talking to EVERYONE! Knocking doesn't really have that great of an effect but if you approach someone on the street you tend to have a better outcome!

For example after we taught Rosa one day we were walking to our car and a lady calls after us and asks if we know where the leasing office is, (and of course we do because we tract at these apartments often), we tell her we are walking that way and will show her where they are. We just start talking to her about her life and ask her why she is planning on moving here, she says she is getting married in November to her boyfriend. So then we bring up about eternal marriage and explain that we are missionaries, then we asked her if she would like some missionaries like us (English sisters) so come visit her. And then we had the chance to give a referral. It seems to me that the best way to spread the gospel is to have no shame that we are representatives of Christ! That we need to be BOLD and proud that we can share the truth. And most of the time people will be nice no matter what! So it is great to see them accept the missionaries into their home! TALK TO EVERYONE!

We are promised that as we open our mouths and share the gospel that no matter what the person says we can relate it back to a gospel principle. Which is such a unique promise and truth! The gospel is ESSENTIAL for everyone! =)

I was also asked what I have been studying lately. .

as a mission we are currently reading (well we finished today) 2nd Nephi! Wow, what a wonderful experience! the scriptures are so powerful! Our mission president promised us that as we read we will find something each time that we can share with an investigator, so we have been working on that. We actually were reading 2 Nephi 31:10 about being willing to follow the commandments and we both felt we needed to share that with a less active member we are visiting today. She struggles with coming to church and reading the scriptures, but we also thought that Hales talk this last conference was wonderful for her, we will be talking about not being selectively obedient. And we are also planning to share the part from Holland's talk about the people expecting a "comfortable God". Basically we try to focus our studies on our investigators and as we do so we find things in it for ourselves. It has been helping a lot to focus on others, and in turn we have the chance to strengthen our testimony for ourselves. I also have learned a lot about how essential authority is on my mission. The authority to act in the name of god is EVERYTHING!!! That is how we make covenants and can return to God's presence. . it just amazes me.

I also am always in awe about the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. That is something I don’t think I will truly ever comprehend all of it in this life, but I am so grateful for him and his sacrifice for us. That we can choose to return to God.

Another interesting things I learned is that we have to let Satan in. . . Satan literally has NO POWER! We are the ones who let him into our lives. . . I knew this it was just more prominent during my studies!

I hope you all have a wonderful week! =)

I love you! Hope my letter didn't bore you to death. .

Oh yeah, last week we ate SO MUCH FOOD on Monday. . . we went to Abuelita's right after here, went to the Farfan's for dinner, went to the Jesus and Miriams for Natasha's birthday for "cake and ice cream", yeah it was a full dinner AND cake and ice cream. . . I was way too full. haha.

But I love you all! have a wonderful week! =)

Hermana Gray

i got a new hoodie

spent memorial day with thomas jefferson