CINCO!!!

Hola Familia y Amigas!!!!

 

I hope you are all doing well and had a great week!! Thanks again for your emails! I love hearing about whats going on in your lives!

 

Brother & Sister Hart, CCM missionaries

So I have 4 more days in the CCM.  ITS INSANE!  I am conflicted between being super super excited to finally be out in the field, but I'm also so sad at the thought of leaving this place and these people.  Its getting more and more real that my time here is quickly coming to an end.  My experience here in the CCM is already so dear to my heart and I know it will help me through all the real difficulties that come up out in the field.  The teachers and leaders here are so special and have such a powerful Spirit.  I have felt the Spirit more strongly here than any other time before in my life.  My teachers especially are so in tune with what we need and have helped me more times than I can count.  The CCM is truly a divine place and an atmosphere where I have been able to learn so much about the gospel, so much from the scriptures, so much about myself and the Spanish language as well.  Its hard to sum it all up.  I will never forget any of these people, especially my district and Hermana Larson. 

 

Hermana Larson, Hermana Alcantara, & Hermana Graham

SOOO, last week was full of a bunch of amazing experiences, starting first and foremost with last Friday.  Last Friday we all got to go out into the field and do real missionary work!  It was amazing and so eye opening as to what real missionary life is like.  We all met with the missionaries at a church building close by and then split up.  I got sent out with Hermana Alcantara.  She is a native here from the DR and only has 2 weeks left! She ends her mission on the day that we leave the CCM! She was so sweet and funny, though it was challenging because her Spanish was so perfect and fast and I only sometimes understood her very well.  Going out into the field was a huge humbling experience because the people on this island speak Spanish so fast and I realized how amateur my Spanish is.  While I can string sentences together and speak decently, listening is such an important skill.  Also the teachers in the MTC speak super slowly in order to help us understand and its so different with actual people.  Hermana Alcantara was very patient and knew a little English so she would help me when the language barrier was too much.  We started off the day by taking the Metro back toward the area near the CCM and temple.  Our lessons were a few blocks away from the CCM so I didn't feel totally lost.  Our first appointment was with this sweet elderly woman named Milagro (which means Miracle in Spanish).  She lives alone and has a lot of health issues so we cleaned up her apartment and performed some service there.  Even though I could barely understand what she was saying, it was so nice to be able to perform service and I knew she was appreciative of our help.  During our short message with her afterward, I tried so hard to understand her but I still only gleaned bits and pieces.  I followed along with the topics and the things she said, but I couldn't understand well enough to really know details.  

The Hermanas with Elder Nunez, a teacher at the CCM

This experience was hugely motivating and the teachers here the CCM have been intentionally speaking faster now so we can have more practice with listening.  In missionary work, listening to the answers and needs of the people is so crucial.  I know it will take time, but hopefully I'll eventually be able to understand well enough to be a more effective teacher.

After this, Hermana Alcantara and I went to some more apartments but the people weren't available.  Our last stop was to a woman named Silva who is a brand new investigator.  When we came in, she was working in a English workbook because she's trying to learn English.  We spent the first 10 minutes or so helping her with some activities in the workbook and it was so funny that my English could be helpful.  Afterward we spoke about the Restoration and importance of prophets.  It was a great learning experience to hear her questions and the ways in which Hermana Alcantara responded and answered her concerns.  I learned so much from this experience and we get to go again tomorrow!!  Besides the lessons, it was also so amazing just to be out amongst the people.  The streets are so full of life and people.  The taxi rides are so fun and borderline dangerous! None of the cars follow many traffic laws so its kind of like every lane just converging on each other.  Somehow it works but its definitely different.  On our way to the church building, a car randomly decided to evade the street and drive along the curb instead!  We also took a taxi with 5 other people in it.  We were all sharing seats and barely fit in.  It was so different than anything I've experienced before and so fun! Life is just so different here and the people are so friendly and open.  I can't wait to be able to spend entire days walking amongst the people and really experiencing life in the Dominican Republic.

 

Elders from the District

This past week was amazing because we got to spend so much time with the 2 new districts of missionaries.  There is one Latina District who are all serving in Santo Domingo East or West and another North American District going to Puerto Rico.  They have all only been here a week but we are already such great friends and they bring such a sweet spirit into the MTC.  All the Latin Elders love soccer and so we've finally been able to start some soccer games during P.E.  I'll just sit there and juggle or pass with a few of them until we're all ready to set up a game.  It's so much fun and they are all SOO good.  I look like an amateur but its so fun and nice to be able to enjoy playing soccer again.  

Hermanas from the Latina District

All the Latina Hermanas are so sweet.  We were all kind of quiet and awkward in the beginning, but we go over to their room each night to say goodnight and check on their days.  One of them, Hermana Varela knows some English so she'll help translate the things we don't know how to say.  They are so sweet and the Spirit is so strong with them.  They've shown us pictures of their family and one companionship even came over to show us some native dances from Guatemala.  It is so fun and I'm so glad to have them here!  Hermana Ahlander, who is the solo Hermana in the North American District is sooooooo sweet!  We have a trio companionship with her whenever she's not in class with her district.  She is so funny and fits right in with me and Hermana Larson.  I respect her a lot because she has to learn so much on her own and I don't think I could survive in a District with 6 Elders. Haha Also she's great at Spanish and is patient when Hermana Larson and I try to only speak Spanish even when she is around.  I know we are all placed here together for a reason and that these experiences and people will help us become the missionaries that Heavenly Father knows we can be. 

 

On Tuesday, we have the amazing opportunity to have another live devotional from Elder Hugo E. Martinez from the Seventy.  He and his wife came on Christmas as well and this devotional was even more special.  The night before, all the Hermanas decided last minute to prepare a musical number for the Devotional. We sang " I Stand All Amazed" and it was so enjoyable to be able to sing with the Hermanas again.  Afterward, we got to hear from both Elder Martinez and his wife.  They have such great testimonies and their conversion story was wonderful to hear!  They became members of the church because missionaries just happened to knock on their door one day.  They went through and told us the whole story and it was so inspiring to see what amazing members and leaders resulted from a pair of diligent missionaries.  With missionary work, you often don't see the greater results of something as small and simple as sharing a short message.  Elder Martinez shared a wonderful talk about the importance of seeking those people who will be prepared and open to our message.  He explained that as a missionaries, "you will invite everyone, but teach only those who are willing to listen." I know that through being humble and obedient as a missionary, I can be lead to those who are willing and ready to recieve this gospel. As I put my faith and trust in the Lord, he will be able to help me to know what to say and do. 

 

Hermana Graham & her District during scripture study

I really cannot believe how quickly my time here in the CCM has gone.  This place has become my home for this short period of time and these people are my family.  This place is so filled with love and I know the field will be much harder but worth it.  Challenging experiences are our opportunities to learn, grow, and draw closer to Christ.  While the field is going to be so much different, I also know that the blessings will be that much greater.

 

Thanks again for your love and support!!

 

Have a great week!!

 

CON MUCHO MUCHO AMOR,

 

Hermana Graham

WEEK CUARTO

Hola mis amigas y mi familia!!!

Yo espero que ustedes están bueno y tienen salud! Gracias por su amor y sus oraciónes! Me gusta a leer sus emails y saber las cosas en sus vidas! Gracias, gracias, GRACIAS!

I hope you're all doing well!!! Thanks again for all the emails and all the love and support!  I couldn't ask for a better support system and I'm so grateful for you all!

This past week in the CCM was amazing and I can't believe that I'm already done with 4 weeks! The time is truly flying here and its kind of nerve-wracking to realize that we only have LESS THAN 2 WEEKS LEFT! I am super sad to have my CCM experience end but I know that the true joy and happiness from this work comes out in the field.  Its amazing to be here in this setting and with such amazing missionaries and teachers, but being out with the people of this country is so special.  Whenever we go out somewhere, I'm reminded of my purpose here and how wonderful all the people are.  They are so kind and warm and loving.  I can't wait to be out serving with them!

This past week was interesting because it was all one big transition.  The two districts of missionaries that were here when we first arrived left.

It was a sad few days as their departure came closer and closer.  Even with this short period of time, we were all so close and there was just so much love and fun here in the CCM with these missionaries.  They were great friends and examples.  Just as with the Haitians leaving, their last night was very emotional.  I was already crying by the second verse of "God Be with You til We Meet Again."  It was so hard to say goodbye to these Elders and Hermanas who had an even larger impact on me than I had originally realized.  We all ended up with secret handshakes and funny little things we would do after prayer meeting each night.  They invited such a sweet and special spirit here into the CCM.  We could feel their deep love for the Savior and genuine desire and dedication to this work.

With their departure, my district has been given more responsibilities.  As the only district left, we've had to help the new missionaries transition in.  We had one day in between the old districts leaving and the new districts coming that was sooooo weird.  My district, our small group of 8, were the only missionaries in the whole CCM.  Most of the teachers took off that day and all went on a road trip to the beach! Hermano Rodriguez stayed behind and taught us all day.  It was so funny but sad at the same time.  Now the new missionaries are here and so the transition continues. Hermana Larson and I were assigned to be the Senior Training Sisters.  We were basically asked to help the new Hermanas transition and to make sure they are welcomed and comfortable.  We got to make cute signs for their doors and we've taken it upon ourselves to reach out to the new Hermanas.  This is kind of hard because  5 of the 6 new Hermanas are from Latina countries.  We have one from Guatemala, Peru, Costa Rica and 2 from Honduras. They are all so sweet and I can't wait to get to know them better., but its definitely a challenge to communicate with our Spanish. The last new Hermana is Hermana Ahlander and she's from Utah! She is so sweet and got in late last night.  She is rooming with Hermana Larson and I so she is kind of our companion sometimes.  She is the only Hermana in her district! She's with 6 Elders!  When she's not with her District Hermana Larson and I get to be her companions.  Its super fun, though she might just think Hermana Larson and I are insane with our craziness and silliness.  The more time I've been here, I get more and more appreciative I am to have Hermana Larson as my companion.  She is so funny and sweet and has one of the strongest testimonies I've ever heard.  She helps me so much with teaching and feeling the Spirit.  Its amazing how the people who we need are placed in our paths. 

This last week was also a transition because we're trying to speak only in Spanish now!! When we were talking about our new responsibilities in the CCM, President Freestone also talked about the importance of really utilizing our last two weeks.  Its crazy how much we've been able to learn already and he encouraged us that we could learn TWICE as much in these last 2 weeks if we really dedicate ourselves.  Hermana Larson and I have been trying to speak only Spanish with each other 24/7.  Its super super super hard!! We wake up early in the morning to go run outside and instinctively start speaking in English.  We have to catch ourselves and say "no solo español!" or something like that.  Our teachers have higher expectations with our Spanish and are really trying to push us to learn more and apply it more.  Its amazing how successful we can be when we're trying though!  Hermana Diaz, our morning teacher, specifically challenged Hermana Larson and I to ONLY speak spanish for our last 2 weeks.  Its been kind of impossible with the new North American missionaries who only speak English, but its definitely given us a challenge and a goal. We will go hours without speaking in English and have conversations that I would never have imagined I could carry almost entirely in Spanish.  Its seriously a miracle how much we have learned.  Trying to speak Spanish all the time definitely hurts my brain but its exciting to really use what we learn and put it into practice.  We surprise ourselves all the time with how much we can say and understand each other even with broken Spanish.  I feel so blessed to be here and to be given this opportunity.  I know I wouldn't have been able to learn all this so well if it wasn't for the Spirit and the Lord's help.  We have had many circumstances when we're trying to teach and can't think of what to say in Spanish.  I'll be sitting there saying a quiet prayer in my head that Hermana Larson can find the words she is looking for.  Its amazing when these small prayers are answered and we're able to express ourselves in Spanish.  I know that our prayers and answered and that we're recieving help from all around us with Spanish.

Okay a couple more cool stories. So last Friday, our district had the opportunity to go out and actually street contact with people.  We went to the university a couple blocks away and brought pamphlets and copies of The Book of Mormon to give to people.  I was definitely nervous about putting our Spanish into real use.  There weren't classes that day so the university was more empty than normal but we were still able to have a lot of conversations and share our message!  Everyone here is so nice and they all have such faith in Christ!  We explain that we want to share a message about Christ and so many people are willing to listen.  Even with our broken Spanish, we are able to share our knowledge and testimonies with people.  We ended up passing out 3 copies of the Book of Mormon and several pamphlets on the Restoration.  We just walked around the university looking for those who were willing to listen.  There was one guy named Elias that was especially nice and open. When we asked him if he had faith in Christ, he replied "Claro!".  We asked him what he knew about Christ and he replied "Todo!".  He was so open and willing to learn more.  It was so encouraging to find someone who loved Christ and wanted to learn more about him.  A little bit later, we were walking by 2 men who were washing their car.  Naturally, Hermana Larson walks over and asks if they wanted help with washing it.  She grabbed a towel from one of them and proceeded to start wiping down the front tire. We ended up talking about Christ and the Restoration as we helped them dry their car off.  The experience at the university was really amazing and up lifting.  Even though I was still a little uncomfortable with my Spanish and with talking to so many people, we were able to share our message.  Tomorrow, we get to go on out with missionaries in the area! We will split up with a pair of  missionaries and become their companions for the day.  Its going to be a mixture of excitement and apprehension I think but it will be a great learning experience for sure!!

Okay LASTLY, this past Sunday was absolutely amazing.  Its cool how all the lessons seem to build on each other and have related topics.  Hermana Larson and I got to teach our district.  We chose to talk about diligence and related it back to being dedicated these last 2 weeks.  I know that my time here in the CCM is super special and that once I'm out in the field, we won't be able to devote as much time to learning the language or as many personal things.  I'm really trying to make it my goal to treasure up these last 2 weeks and learn as much as I can.  With really trying to accomplish the small things now and being diligent, I know I'll be a better missionary out in the field.  Sunday was also amazing because our Relief Society lesson was on enduring to the end and being steadfast.  We read scriptures on being steadfast in our faith and it was amazing for me to realize that so many of my favorite scriptures relate to this topic.  One of my absolute favorite scriptures is 2 Nephi 31:20 which reads " Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.  Wherefore, if we shall press forward feasting upon the word of Christ and endure to the end, behold, this saith the Faither: Ye shall have eternal life."  I absolutely love this scripture.  It was the first one I've memorized in Spanish.  I love this scripture and I absolutely know that its true.  Its so important to press forward and strive.  I know that this mission will have lots of challenges and that growing and change can be painful, but I know that if I press forward with faith, I will be able to endure these challenges.  This gospel fills me with such hope and love.  It brightens my life and changes the way I view every situation.  It is such a blessing and I am so grateful to be able to share this "perfect brightness of hope" with my brothers and sisters here in the DR.

Sorry this week's email was especially long.  Thank you all again for your emails and support!

I hope you all have a great week and I'll talk to you all next week!

CON MUCHO MUCHO AMOR,

Hermana Graham

P.S. Check out the picture section to see Hermanas Graham and Larson goofing off in the rain!

Week TRES!

Hola mis amigos y familia!!!!

I hope you all are having a great week and are enjoying the start of 2015 so far!!

This past week went by in a blur and so I'm having a really hard time even thinking of anything to say right now! But I will try for you all. haha So much happens on any given day and within the week that my mind is always blank of specifics by this time. 

 I think I've become so used to the schedule that time is all blurring together.  Our days all start with an hour of personal study and an hour of companion study.  We read scriptures and talk about what we are going to teach that day.  Then we have about 3 hours of language or learning about how to teach the gospel!  Then all of a sudden its lunch time ( which is by far the best meal of the day here!). The afternoon passes quickly with more language, an hour of language activities on the computer, then P.E. then dinner then more language and teaching at night.  I learn so much each day that I feel like I never have time to think or organize all that we learned together.  You just have to do it as you go! Having said that, I absolutely love it.  We learn so much and its truly amazing how much Spanish we are able to speak.  Its hard when we get into topics or lessons that we haven't practiced as much yet because our vocabulary is more limited.  We still make grammatical mistakes all over the place, but people are nice and can somewhat follow along which is encouraging!

This past week we had a lot of amazing devotionals that we all thought was amazing and helped me a lot!  No matter what the topic, its always so helpful to hear the advice and instruction from church leaders.  I always walk away feeling the Spirit so strongly and somewhat mind blown as well... I especially liked a devotional from Elder David A Bednar from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles! He spent the whole time just answering questions.  The missionaries at the Provo MTC had submitted questions and he went through and answered/testified about several different topics.  My favorite was when he spoke about the Book of Mormon! He said to imagine a board of truth with one nail in it.  That nail is the Bible.  It holds the truth down but the board can still be spun around.  The Book of Mormon is the second nail, which holds the truths in place.  With the Book of Mormon, God's truths are solidified and clarified! I absolutely loved this explanation of the importance and relevance of the Book of Mormon! It was amazing :)

Also on my birthday, we had the great privilege to have a live devotional here in the CCM from Elder Claudio D. Zivic of the First Quorum of the Seventy.  I remember hearing him speak during General Conference during one of the more recent conferences.  He and his wife spoke Spanish and I chose not to use the headsets for translation.  It was amazing how much I was able to understand and that I could still learn from his talk and feel the Spirit!  We all got to greet him afterward and it was fantastic!  The Hermanas from my district and one of the districts prepared a musical number of "Come thou Fount of Every Blessing." We sang it in English and it was such a privilege to be able to sing for the devotional. My compañera and I had a small solo/duet in it which was nerve-wracking but still fun!  

Hermana Graham & Hermana Larson

So speaking of my birthday, THANK YOU for all the birthday wishes!  I really appreciate it!  Also, my birthday here in the CCM was absolutely amazing! As i got ready for bed the night before, the Hermanas in my district locked me in the room so they could go about secret plans for the next day.  Hermana Larson and I woke up to run and when we got back to the room to get ready, they had decorated my side of the room with hearts and posters.  

They through confetti all over the room, which then got tract all over all the rooms! I wore an orange crown for most of the day and they decorated the kitchen with orange balloons.  All their efforts were super sweet and they kept trying to do stuff for me all day like washing my plates.  I was stubborn and didn't really let them (HA!) but it was so thoughtful and nice.  

Hermana Ah Quin, Fielding and Brown (left to right)

Missionaries and teachers that I don't know very well all wished me a happy birthday and sang Happy Birthday several times throughout the day.  The CCM is such a warm and loving atmosphere and it was only amplified!  I feel so fortunate to be here with these people who are so full of love.  It was a great day!!

I absolutely love the missionaries here.  We actually just got a bunch of new missionaries!  There's a district here going to the West Indies who are going to be teaching in English.  I have jokingly started calling them the Gringos because they aren't learning Spanish.  They're all really good sports though, as the rest of us are trying to use Spanish all the time. We also have a bunch of native Spanish speakers.  There are 3 new Hermanas who only speak Spanish.  They are so sweet and even though our conversations are limited, they are so nice and amazing!  They help us with Spanish a lot!

Hermana Apelu (in my district)

 Also, some of the districts who were here before us are about to leave!  Its absolutely insane to think of this place without them.  We have all grown a lot closer, especially through meal times and Sunday nights when we get to use our cameras and go take pictures/walk around the temple.  They are all so silly and genuine as well.  They are great examples to me and I love hearing about their experiences and they go out and practice in the city with real missionaries! I am so excited to have the opportunity tomorrow to go to the university and speak with actual people.  Last Friday, our teacher had us go over to the park next to the CCM (the one with all the Christmas lights).  We went and had some short conversations with people and employees in the park.  It was hard because our Spanish is still pretty poor.  Even with that, Hermana Larson and I spoke with a woman and her daughter.  This woman seemed really interested and so we gave her a pamphlet and Book of Mormon!  It was so encouraging to be able to find some success in our efforts, even if most of our other conversations that day resulted in nothing.  

Its crazy to think that I've already been here almost a month!  It will be a crazy adjustment once I leave the CCM but I can't wait to be able to put what I'm learning into practice and be out in the real city with actual people!  For now, I'm trying really hard to treasure my time here and learn as much as I can about the language and teaching the gospel.  The harder I work here, the more I'll be able to help members and investigators once I'm out in the field!!

I hope you all have an amazing week!!

Con MUCHO AMOR!

Hermana Graham

Week 2 in el CCM!

Hola!!

A Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!!

I hope you're all having a great week and enjoying this festive time of year with family and friends.  Thank you all so much for the emails and support that I received last week.  Its really nice to hear how everyone is doing and to know you enjoyed some of the things I wrote.  Hopefully writing good emails can become a habit for me here!

This week was another amazing week.  Its crazy how comfortable and at ease I feel here already.  I feel like I've known all of these people for several years at this point.  We've had a lot more time to bond with the whole group of missionaries, not just the ones in our district.  We all laugh and goof around during lunch and P.E. time, when we usually have some semi competitive games of volleyball or ultimate Frisbee.  Its a very fun environment!

It's amazing how quickly we have been able to learn Spanish here in el CCM.  Even though our vocabulary is still pretty limited and our grammar is usually always incorrect, we can still have full on conversations in Spanish.  They are simple but its still awesome to realize that I'll spend a solid 20 minutes just speaking Spanish.  Our teachers are really trying to enforce us only speaking Spanish in the classroom.  We're used to doing our lessons in Spanish and participating in class in Spanish, but all the other time we go back to English.  Our evening teacher, Hermano Rodriguez has started a system where he tallies on the board when he catches us speaking English.  For each tally, we have to give him Oreos.  (Everyone here is obsessed with oreos for some reason! They are everywhere!).  Our other teachers, Hermana Diaz and Hermano Perez also address us almost completely in Spanish.  We just sit there and do our best to understand, though they usually have to repeat themselves.  They are extremely patient and supportive and loving.  It's a wonderful learning environment.  Hermana Diaz is like our mom and she calls us her Hijos!  When she teaches new missionaries, she introduces them as our younger brothers and sisters.  It's amazing and she is such a great teacher and brings the Spirit with such power when she talks about missionary work and the struggles of learning a new language.  We can now testify and pray in Spanish with relative ease which is super cool.  My prayers are often Spanglish and I am not as nervous when asked to pray in Spanish in front of the group.  It's so nice to be receiving so much help from everyone around me here.

This week, we've had so much experience teaching and it's truly amazing experiences.  The first time we taught someone (one of our teachers pretending to be a stranger), it was super nerve-wracking and terrifying.  Now, even though we still make tons of mistakes, its amazing!  We've had the opportunity to teach several people (in class) and I'm getting much more comfortable with how to do it.  My compañera, Hermana Larson, and I are able to better express ourselves and help one another with the language when the other is blanking on the words.  It's crazy how strongly I can feel the Spirit in the lessons, even though it is all just for practice.  I remember this being one of my greatest fears about learning how to be a missionary in the CCM.  I thought it would be super awkward with pretending to teach people I know as teachers.  But when we go to practice, it all feels so real and genuine.  I love having these opportunities to learn and gain experience so I can be better prepared when I go out to talk to real people!  A few days ago, our teacher sent us out onto the temple grounds to practice getting to know people.  Most of the people were members of the church who had come to go to the temple, but it was still amazing practice.  My companion and I actually talked to someone who was a non-member and were able to answer some of the questions he had.  It was such a spiritual and uplifting experience.  Even though we are still new and always start with "lo siento, nuestro Espanol es muy mal" we are still able to communicate and share what we know to be true.  It was a super cool experience!

I love when we get to go outside and enjoy the scenery and this awesome climate.  P.E. time is always enjoyable.  Its hot but not too bad yet at this time of year.  There's always beautiful skies and there has been a great breeze the last few days.  Yesterday, we had the opportunity to go to the Tienda (store) and get some things that we needed.  I absolutely loved walking the few blocks it took to get to the store.  I'm sure we looked funny walking through the streets, with all the Elders in their white shirts and all the Hermanas in our skirts.  Its amazing to be able to interact with some of these people and to be able to see firsthand some of the light and energy in these people.  They are truly beautiful and warm people.  I cannot wait to be able to go out amongst them and speak with them everyday!

Okay just a couple more cool stories! So 2 days ago, the Haitian missionaries that were here left the CCM!  It was kind of surreal.  We have only been here for 2 weeks and they weren't here for very long before we got here.  I didn't think much of it until we got to our nightly prayer meeting.  We had just finished up with a very inspiring and empowering lesson with our teacher.  Half of us were already crying from the absolute strength of the Spirit that we were feeling.  Then we all gather together in the capilla and started the prayer meeting, which just consists of singing a song, saying a prayer and then saying goodnight to everyone and going back to our rooms.  All of a sudden, I realized that we were singing "God be with you til we meet again."  This song almost always brings me to tears with its sweet message.  I could hear the Haitians singing along in French, but they also kept dropping out because they were holding back tears.  Afterward, we all said goodbye to them for the last time.  Even though I only knew them for a short time and could never really communicate with them as I wanted, they had a huge impact on me.  The strength of their testimonies and their strong desire to serve the Lord was so inspiring to me.  I gave each Sister a long hug and shook the Elders' hands and said goodbye.  I have absolutely no doubt that they will be amazing missionaries in Haiti.

Each day here in the CCM is full of great learning experiences. I am learning so much about this Gospel, about the true purpose of missionary work and the importance of Christ in my life.  I am so grateful to be here and I know that these experiences are already changing my life and increasing my faith.  Its so great to be uplifted and reminded of the love that the Savior has for me.  I know that even when I make mistakes or one of our lessons don't go as planned, I can still walk away feeling motivated and appreciative.  I have such love for my companion and all the missionaries in my district.  We work together to support one another, to help lift each other up when the work and stress piles on.  They teach me so much every day about how to be a disciple of Christ and make the most of my time here in the DR.

I love each and everyone one of you! Thank you so much for your prayers and love. I hope you have a great New Year's day and that 2015 will be as special for you and I know its going to be for me!

Con MUCHO MUCHO MUCHO amor,

Hermana Graham

P.S. I just wanted to share this scripture which was helpful for me this week.  Its from the Book of Mormon- Helaman 3:35.  It says "Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in their faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God"