Gracias que El vive!

Hola mi familia y amigas!!

I hope you all are well and having a great week!!  Thanks again for all your emails and support! I love hearing your stories and updates on your life.

Entonces, I am writing a bit late today and don't have a bunch of time but I will give the highlights of this week!

Overall, this was another great week in Vicente Noble.  I love this small amazing pueblo more and more each day that I'm here.  The people and lifestyle are awesome, and we really do have a great rama and members.  I am feel so blessed all the time to be able to be here and know these people and represent Christ here as well.  

This week had a lot of ups and downs, which was actually really hard but we learned a lot.  The biggest hardship was concerning one of our investigators, Wilkin.  He is a Haitain teenager who we have been teaching for a while now.  He is awesome! Super funny and has such a sincere desire to learn.  He has been consistently coming to church the whole time I've been here and has been learning a lot.  He is the one who I invited to be baptized during my first weeks here.  We had originally invited him to be baptized on the 28 of March, but as the date approached a few weeks ago, Hermana Johnson felt that he still needed some time to be better prepared for baptism.  We explained that we wanted to move his date a few weeks later in order to give him more time to understand some of the things we were teaching.  While all seemed fine at first, we later found out that he became sad and discouraged from this change in his baptism date.  When we met with him earlier this week, he was unsure if he still wanted to be baptized and was unsure why he wanted it as well. It was probably the hardest moment of my mission so far.  He really has changed so much and really come to know and appreciate the blessing of this Gospel.  Hermana Johnson and I felt pretty lost at the thought that he was about to stop his progression toward baptism and eternal life.  We explained to him our reasons for changing the date more fully and testified of how we know this baptism and Gospel will continue to change and bless his life.  It was a week of praying and pondering and hoping that he would be able to find some answers and feel some comfort. Later in the week, we passed by his house again and asked to meet with him.  We asked him if he had prayed and recieved some answers about his concerns.  He proceeded to tell us that he still wants to be baptized and also that he knows the church is true!!  He explained the ways in which his life has changed and his desire to continue on toward baptism.  I have never felt such joy in my life!!  While we had been worried throughout the week, we also hoped he would be able to find some resolution.  I know that the Lord has helped him to remember and recognize the importance of this step.  Baptism is such a crucial and awesome thing.  Its the beginning of an even better life with even greater blessings from our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ.  Even though moments were difficult, we too were blessed and supported this week as well.  Its so amazing to be a part of this work and to be able to support others and they choose and progress toward this step to Heaven.

Many other things happened, but this was defintely the highlight of the week!!

Oh a few more things! So we have been preparing and feeling SOOOO excited for this upcoming weekend.  Its Easter (Pascua) AND General Conference.  For those who don't know, General Conference is when we have the opportunity to listen to the prophet and his apostles and other leaders.  They will instruct us and share revelation that can help each and every one of us!!  It can be seen on LDS.org.  Also, even more awesome is Pascua. This is an awesome time of year when we get to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ.  We have special pass along cards for this time of year, saying Gracias que El vive. There is a link to a video that the church has made.  There is a truly amazing video about Christ and I can honestly say its super super powerful!!  I believe the link is Helives.mormon.org.  It should be something like that.  En Espanol its elvive.mormon.org .  Anyway I encourage you all to go and take a look!  It's amazing and really helps to remind the importance of Christ the the magnitude of the things He has done for us.  I know with all my heart that Christ lives.  He lives today and can help us through any moment, any struggle, anything at all!! I know that He suffered and died to take upon himself our sins and give us the chance of eternal life.  I know that because of Him, we will all live again after this life.  What an awesome message and knowledge we can have!

Anywayyy, please watch it I'm serious!! haha Thank you all for everything.  I will try hard to have more time next week so I can share more stories.

I love you all and THANK YOU FOR TODO!

Con Amor,

Hermana Graham

TEMPLO!!!!!

Hola familia y amigos!!

I hope you've all had a great week so far and that all is well!

So I'll just get right to it :)  This past week has been really good, though a bit of a struggle as well because I've got a bit of a cold.  I will explain.

Anywayyyy, so this week we had the amazing opportunity to go to Santo Domingo yet again in order to go to the temple there.  We went on Tuesday and it was a real great experience, and has definitely impacted our week for several reasons!  Our journey to Santo Domingo was a bit of an adventure yet again.  We woke up at 3am again in order to prepare.  The gwagwa we were taking with all the missionaries from our zone was meeting us out near the main road to Barahona, which is like 20 minutes out of Vicente Noble.  The gwagwa was going to be there at 4:30, and so we had the fun opportunity of figuring out how to get a ride there at like 4 in the morning.  The Elders from our district had organized a member to drive us there, but there had been some communication issues and the member wasn't home!! So basically we were all ready, waiting out near the park at 4 am trying to figure out how to get to the gwagwa in time.  It was kind of a funny situation but also stressful because it would take about an hour to walk and it was so early in the morning that no one was awake to take us!!  There were a definitely a couple of moments where I thought it wasn't going to work out and we would miss our temple trip.  Luckily however, another gwagwa came right around 5 and took us out to meet with our zone.  Once in the correct gwagwa we just got to relax for the 2.5 hour ride into Santo Domingo and to the temple.

It was so amazing to be at the temple yet again.  I am so lucky to have been able to go so close to coming out into the field.  We only get to go twice a year so I was super fortunate to return to quickly.  It was kind of surreal to be back near the CCM and at the temple.  It dawned on my that I've only been out of the CCM for about 7 weeks, but everything has changed so much and dramatically.  SO much has changed and I have learned so much in this short period of time.  It was definitely surreal but I was just so happy for the opportunity to go to the temple and feel the Spirit there.  Temples are just so beautiful and special, and I am so lucky that we have one here in the Dominican Republic.  We had the awesome opportunity to hear some talks from President and Hermana Nuckols and also the Temple President, President Flake.  Its so great to be reminded of the importance of temples and also to remember that the temple is the ultimate goal for our members here.  The temple is the most special and sacred place we can go here on Earth, and I'm just so excited to help new members and menos activos alike learn and become prepared to one day enter into this sacred house of God.

After the temple we came back here to Vicente Noble happy but a bit sleep deprived as well.  After going for Elder Holland and the temple, we had two VERY early mornings in a short period of time and we've all just been exhausted.  I've gotten a bit sick as a result as well which hasn't been the funnest but we persevere!!  My voice is just quiet and singing hymns during lessons is comical because I cant really do it. haha but people don't judge here which I appreciate!! Its been humbling to continue working and striving to serve even while being a bit sick.  Even if we're tired, we leave the house and just keep on working and serving.  Its amazing because even though some days were hard, we've still been able to have successful lessons and continue helping the people here to build their faith and follow Christ.

The Book of Mormon challenge as been great so far! I am a little bit behind on 6.5 pages a day but its so great to be focusing on this book.  I've chosen for my topic The Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I have a color for each of the 5 steps of the Gospel- Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Endure to the End.  I have already learned so much about what the Gospel really means and how each part relates to the others.  Really, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the way by which we can be cleansed from sin and really receive the blessings of Christ's Atonement.  Only through the Gospel and can be ready to return and live which our Heavenly Father again.  Its so great to be able to teach about this gospel and how living it can bless and change lives!!

Anyway this is a really short email this week, but everything is great here in the DR.  I love my companion and the opportunities we are given to serve the Lord and serve the people here.  Its so humbling to be able to represent my Savior Jesus Christ and testify of him and the Book of Mormon as well. 

CON AMOR,

Hermana Graham 

Elder Holland in the DR!

Hola mi familia y amigas!!!

I hope you're all doing well and that you had a great week.  Thank you all so much for your emails. I promise I read every single one and love them!!! But I usually run out of time to respond.  So sorry!  I will respond as soon as possible I PROMISE. I love you all and you're the best!

So this past week, we had one of the most amazing opportunities of my life.  Okay well this mission is the most amazing opportunity of my life, but we had an especially spiritual and powerful experience here.  On Thursday, we had the opporunity to go to the capital and attend a conference with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.  He is an Apostle from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and he is an amazing amazing man.  He testifies of Jesus Christ with such power and conviction, and he has a special love for missionary work.  We woke up at 3am, got ready and took a gwagwa from Vicente Noble to Santo Domingo. It was an historic thing for the mission because all 200+ missionaries were all there in the same capilla.  That NEVER happens.  Missionaries got to reunite with old companions and it was just super special.  We had the opportunity to hear from Elder Zivic from the Seventy and his wife, and also from Elder Holland himself.  Even more amazingly, we all (all 200+ of us) got to meet him personally.  This was not planned at all but when he walked in, our President announced that he wanted to meet us all.  My companion Hermana Johnson led the music so we got to sit in the very first row and were the first missionaries to go up and meet him.  Hermana Johnson went and I followed, saying my name and where I was from and shaking his hand.  Even more special, was to sit back down and then watch up close as he greeted every other missionary of the Santo Domingo West Mission.  He looked each and every one of us in the eye and I truly cant describe the spirit that was felt. He had such love with every single person, a true disciple of Christ.

Elder Holland had a powerful and direct message of the importance of missionary work and the impact it can have on not only our lives but the lives of those we teach as well.  He explained the impact that his own mission has had on his life and the importance of treasuring and utilizing every moment.  I can't believe I have already been here for almost 3 months and time has seriously flown by.  This 18 months is such a short concentrated time to serve the Lord with my whole heart.  Its such a sacred calling and responsibility and I am just super grateful to be able to have these experiences and represent Jesus Christ.  This is no small thing and I was just overwhelmed by the blessing that this mission is.  Elder Holland was so personal as he taught and asked questions.  I could see just how important missionary work is to him and his desire to ensure that we all make the most of this time.  He then spoke on the power and divinity of the Book of Mormon.  It is the evidence of the Restoration through Joseph Smith, but more importantly it testifies of Christ.  He said ¨It is a book endowed with the power of the Spirit.¨  The Book of Mormon is such an important and powerful book. Elder Holland explained that he has read it close to 100 times and has a more profound experience each time.  There are very few book he has read more than once or twice, but the Book of Mormon he has read over and over.  It was so great to be reminded of the power of this book.  I can honestly say that the Book of Mormon has had such a profound impact on my life.  Its really the foundation of my testimony and the reason I am here now.  Each time I read it, I can feel closer to Heavenly Father and I can feel the Spirit testifying that these things are true.  

It was amazing because when we got back from the conference, we had a lesson with a menos activo.  He used to be President of the Rama here but is now inactive.  We had a different lesson planned, but decided to just talk about our experience with Elder Holland and share some of what he said.  We spoke of the importance of this book and how he can recover some of what he has lost by really reading it every day.  Hermana Johnson shared a really strong testimony and then I had the opportunity to testify and share why this book is so important to me.  I explained that I had been less active for several years just like him.  I really clearly just said ¨Porque esto libo, estoy aqui ahora con usted.¨  This book is the reason why I'm here.  It has gotten me to where I am today and its fundamental to the things I know and the relationship I have with my Father in Heaven and my Savior Jesus Christ.  What other book has the power to have such a significant impact on one's life.

Our mission president has given us the assignment to read through the whole Book of Mormon in 100 days.  To read a fresh unmarked copy from the beginning another time and mark it for a specific purpose.  I invite you all as well to join me for this challenge.  Its about 6.5 pages a day and we're starting today!  I know it will bless your life!

Okay more things happened this week but these things were especially noteworthy.  It was an amazing week and Im so blessed to be here with these people and to be in the service of Jesus Christ.

I hope you all have a great week.  You continue in my prayers.

Thanks for everything!

CON AMOR,

Hermana Graham

The First 6 Weeks

Hola mi familia y mis amigas!!!

¿Como estan? Espero que ustedes esten bien y que tuvieron una semana fantastica! Estoy muy agradecida por su ayuda y oraciones y amor.  GRACIAS.

Entonces, I will now switch back to English :) I promise I can say more than that in Spanish but writing is harder and I´m sure part of that is wrong. haha 

ANYWAY, I really do hope that you all are well and had a fantastic week!  I had a great week here in Vicente Noble, full of a lot of hard work and learning and trying to be the best missionary I can be for the Lord.  So, what happened this week.  Well it was a pretty normal week.  The only special thing is that this is the last week of the transfer so we've been anxiously waiting to see who would stay and who would go.  Hermana Johnson and I already knew we would be staying here because I'm not done with my training yet.  We got the calls Saturday and Hermana Walter is leaving our house and going to the capital.  I'm really sad to have her go but we all pretty much knew she would leave because she's been here in Vicente Noble for a while.  Another Elder from our district is also leaving so we will have some new missionaries here starting tomorrow.  It's amazing how close we've all gotten in just 6 weeks.  It really does make a difference to be unified in this purpose and to be working alongside these amazing missionaries.  While change is hard, its also a great blessing.  I'm sure the new missionaries coming will be amazing and exactly what we all need!  The Lord always puts people in our paths exactly when we need them. Nonetheless, I will miss Hermana Walter a lot.  She is a great friend and even better representative of Christ.

This week we've been focusing a lot on planning and setting goals and in general being prepared.  It's amazing how goals can help to focus and motivate to be working for the benefit of the specific people here.  When we plan and are prepared, we become more effective instruments in the Lords hands. We can share exactly what the people need to here as guided by the Holy Ghost.   Its been amazing to see how this preparation and attitude has helped to have some great teaching experiences that were both spiritual and successful.  On Friday we went to teach a family that lives next to one of our menos activas.  The family wasn't there so we went to check on our menos activa, who's cousin just passed away.  We ended up getting to share with her grandma who is having a really hard time.  Even though we don't know this sweet older woman very well, she allowed us to share some things to help console and comfort her. We spoke about the eternal plan that Heavenly Father has prepared for us, that allows us to see our loved ones again and allows us to know that they have entered into His rest.  We also spoke about Christ and the fact that He is always here to comfort and help us through hard times.  With Christ, we can find the strength to continue on.  While she was very emotional throughout, I think she was able to feel a greater sense of peace and acceptance.  It was such a humbling and tender moment to be able to represent Jesus Christ and offer words of comfort during this time of sadness.  It's so important to be prepared and ready in these moments so we can share things by the Spirit, so we can share the scriptures and testimony that can really make a difference in the lives of these wonderful people.  

We had the opportunity to teach our Haitian investigator again.  We brought with us our translator member for Creole and taught about the restoration of the Gospel through Joseph Smith.  It's hard to teach him super effectively because the translation takes time and he has many questions so there are often tangents from questions.  But we were still able to share with him about Joseph Smith and the restoration of Christ's Gospel and church through this modern day prophet.  This was an important lesson because we spoke a lot about how he can know for himself.  Understandably, he has a hard time accepting this account of Joseph Smith.  He wanted evidence in the Bible that spoke specifically about Joseph Smith.  Finally, we just taught him the role of prayer in coming to know that these things are true.  We can teach and answer questions and look up scriptures all we want, but it really comes down to sincerely asking our Father in Heaven in prayer if these things are true.  I had the opportunity to testify of these things and the importance of prayer.  I asked him to have patience with us, that we had a lot more to share than just this.  I explained that this message is not our's, its not the message of Joseph Smith, its really a message from God.  I know that through prayer, we can accept and receive the blessings of this message and of Christ in our lives. 

Its such a wonderful opportunity to be able to represent my Savior here in Vicente Noble, to be able to testify of Him and the blessings of this gospel and message. I know I have been sent here specifically for these people at this time to help them and remind them of the importance of Christ.  Through hard work and diligence, we can see miracle here in the Dominican Republic.

I love you all so much.  Thanks for everything!

Con mucho mucho amor,

Hermana Graham

Almost 1 Transfer Done

Hola mi familia y amigas!!!

I hope you all are doing well and had a great week.  Thank you for your emails and prayers.  I appreciate them so much!!

This past week was another amazing week in Vicente Noble.  The more I am here, the more I realize just how blessed I am to be serving here.  While Vicente Noble is small, its humble and sweet and really just amazing.  The people are so warm and happy and our rama is small but powerful.  We've really been focusing on how to strengthen to rama and be more effective with helping members here.  

This past week went by really quickly but it's amazing how many opportunities we had to learn and continue working.  It's crazy to think that I am already almost done with my first transfer here.  On Thursday, we had a training with all the new missionaries and their trainers and it was completely eye opening.  It was a wake up call to realize that I am almost half way through my training.  There is so much that I still need to learn and our leaders at the meeting did a fantastic job of helping me regain perspective on this work and my purpose.  Hermana Johnson and I left the meeting with a renewed sense of animo and a desire to be more diligent and effective in the work.  It's so important to remember that this is the Lord's work and to remember the great responsibility I've been given to serve in this area and know these people.  I'm really working on serving with all my heart and mind, really focusing on how the things we do help the members and our investigators here.  I'm really excited to see how this new attitude will change our success here in Vicente Noble.  I know that as we seek to diligently do everything we can and really allow the Spirit to guide us, we will be more effective instruments in the Lord's hands.  It's so important to remember that the Lord will help us in whatever trial or responsibilities we have, as long as we turn to Him in faith.  

We've had a lot of amazing teaching experiences and opportunities this week.  On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to share the message in our District Meeting.  It was nerve wracking to teach by myself in Spanish but my district was all very supportive as I tried to piece my thoughts together in Spanish.  I had the opportunity to teach about the Spirit and its role in helping people be truly converted.  This is honestly one of my favorite topics because the Spirit is so key in missionary work.  With the Spirit, we as missionaries can be guided in how to serve and understand the needs of the people here.  Also, unless someone can feel the Spirit, they wont truly come unto Christ.  It was great to teach about our role and purpose-to help people recognize the Spirit in their lives and feel of the Lord's love for them.  We've also been teaching this Haitian man who doesn´t speak much Spanish or English. He mostly speaks Creole or French.  His lessons are so interesting and such a unique experience.  We bring a member with us who can also speak Creole and he acts as a translator for us.  Its so strange to be sitting there as they go back and forth in this ADDITIONAL foreign language.  I can understand Spanish fairly well now, but with Creole I'm blank.  Its so cool to be able to teach him with the help of this member.  He has such a sincere desire to learn and has many great questions.  Hermana Johnson and I just explain simply and our member translates into Creole to help him have a better understanding.  We're still looking for ways to help him more, like finding a Book of Mormon in French, but I´m very hopeful for him.  He came to church this Sunday and while he might not have been able to understand perfectly, I'm sure he was able to feel something.  One of the greatest things I've learned here is that even if I can't perfectly understand the language, I can still feel the Spirit and it helps me understand better.  

It's so amazing to be here in the Dominican Republic, surrounded by Spanish and Creole, Dominicans and Haitians alike.  The culture is amazing and its so great to be able to serve the people here.  I know that this is where I'm supposed to be and that the Lord is helping us in this work.

I love you all! Have a great week

Con MUCHO MUCHO AMOR,

Hermana Graham