Finding in Nooks and Crannies of the World

Hola mi familia y amigos!!

I hope that everything is going well with you all and that you have had a great week.  As always, I am very grateful for the emails and support that I've received!   You all are the best!!

Well we have had another great week here in Santo Domingo!  I cant believe that its already been ab out  a month here in the capital.  Naturally it feels much longer but still short at the same time.  Anyway I really like the capital and all the interesting experiences that we can have here.  The ward here is huge and I´m getting to know the members more and more.  They are always so welcoming and friendly and so willing to help us as missionaries.  Its refreshing and awesome and I love hearing their testimonies and seeing how their lives truly reflect their love for Christ.

Anyway we´ve been focusing a lot lately in finding new people.  There´s so many people here in the capital, especially in the poorer neighborhoods.  Instead of making that easier to find people, it sometimes just makes it a lot harder.  There´s so many people and possibilities and so its especially important to trust in the Lord and follow the Spirit to know where we need to go and with whom we should talk to.  It has led to some cool finding experiences!

So I think I mentioned before about callejons.  Callejons are the small alleyway like streets that fill the poorer sections of the city.  These areas are where the houses are built super close together and built on top in all kinds of directions.  Without fail, down almost every callejon (pronounced kai-uh-hone)  there are secretly a bunch of other houses.  Its looks like there´s not much but then you follow and can find some really cool and humble living situations.  Anyway we spend a lot of time in these types of neighborhoods where there a so many people and the people are also more open to listening.  It leads to some really cool finding experiences.  For example, Hma Adams and I were waiting to meet up with a member to go to a lesson.  They were taking a while so we decided to go contacting.  We were just walking along when I looked over and saw a cool callejon.  I could see 3 floors of a building tucked in the back but couldn't see stairs or anything to get up.  We went in to take a look and found 2 guys that lived up there.  We started to talk to them from 3 floors down and then they came down to talk to us.  A few minutes later their neighbor came and invited us in to share.  We talked to all 3 of them and they were so nice and wanted to hear more.  It was such a cool little finding moment and a cool opportunity to meet new people in an unlikely way and in an unlikely place.   Its small little moments like that when I can feel that the Lord is guiding us to find those who are ready to listen the message of Christ´s Gospel.  Within a sea filled of people, the Lord will direct those who He has prepared.

Anyway there´s just so much work and so many possibilities.  Its a unique and special way to exercise faith.  Faith that the Lord will help us discern who to talk to, where to go and what to say.  I know that there are people here in the area specially waiting for us to walk down the callejon and find them.  People who are waiting to hear the hope and comfort that the Gospel brings.  People who love our Savior Jesus Christ and are willing to change their lives to follow Him.  Its so humbling and comforting to know that we are just instruments in the Lord´s hands to help Him with the important work.

Anyway I hope you all have a great week and are able to find what our Heavenly Father would have you do!

CON MUCHO AMOR,
Hermana Graham

Tender Sweet Moments

Hola mi familia y amigos!

I hope that you have all had a great week and that all is well!

So this past week was really special, I´m just going to share a few small things.This week we had the opportunity share with a lot of new people, especially friends and family neighbors of people we know. 

So, we have one menos activa in the ward who isn´t completely there mentally. She has an accident or something a few years ago.  She knows a lot about the gospel but can´t really continue learning more much.  Her sister, is taking care of her and also their elderly mother who is bed-ridden. When I first visited their home, I could see the weight and stress of this humble serving sister. This week. we passed for this menos activa who wasn't home and were able to share with her sister instead. She has a different church but has always said that our church is the most appealing.  It has struck her
attention the most. We were able to share about the plan that God has for us and the promise He has given each and every one of us to help carry our burdens.  We all have difficult moments but its all part of the plan and He is aware of every moment.  She felt such relief and she expresses her hardships and felt the hope and peace of the message of the Gospel. She has such faith in God and has felt the peaceful comfort of the Holy Ghost. It was a moment of tender mercy to testify and see her interest increase. This Gospel really does bring peace and light, something that can truly change lives.

In the middle of the week, it started to get cloudy and we were excited for rain. We were out contacting in the small alleyway type home section when it started to pour. It felt just like a movie as we went to hid under the ledge of some close-by stairs. Almost immediately, 2 woman across the way started to yell for us to come in. One invited us into her patio and we shared with her.  She is so nice and open.  She recognized immediately that what we had to share was a message for her from God.

Okay lastly, this Saturday was the baptism of François! It was small but SO POWERFUL.   It amazed me how quickly the baptism occurs.  It really just takes seconds but that one act changes someone´s eternity. François was so calm and peaceful. He has been waiting for this for a long time and you could just see how prepared he was.  Afterward, he came in with such confidence and bore his testimony and gratitude.  He spoke in Creole and it was translated and it was probably the most I've ever heard him say at once.  There was an immediate change in his demeanor and the fulfillment of something he has waited for for a long time.

I know that the Lord blesses us with these sweet powerful moments.  He is always waiting to bless us. At times we must wait a long time to see the fruits of our faith, but the blessings always come!

I LOVE YOU ALL!

Con amor,

Hermana Graham

Seguir Adelante- Press Forward

Hola mi querida familia y amigos!!!

     I hope that you all have had a great week and that all is well.  I am very grateful for all your emails, prayers and support.  THANK YOU!!!

     With so many people here in the capital, we really do just focus on finding all the time.  Its great because we can always find someone knew to introduce ourselves and share a bit about the church and the Gospel.  Its hard at times when we are able to have a really great conversation with some people but then when we return to visit them again, we cannot find them.  Its interesting but there is always someone we can talk to which is a blessing.  Some days people are not home so we do a lot of walking around, but there´s always some sort of small miracle we see each day.

     So since I got here, we have been teaching this awesome Haitian man named Françios.  He barely speaks Spanish but has been coming to church for several years.  He can only understand a bit of the classes and things in church but he comes consistantly anyway because he can feel that its true!!!  He has ready the whole Book of Mormon already in Creole and has such a desire, even with the communication difficulty.  Anyway the other Hermanas have been teaching him for a while and his baptism is this Saturday!!!!  I am so humbled and excited to be able to be here to prepare him in these last few weeks and see enter into the waters of baptism.  He is such a great example of faith and following through with what we know to be true.  There used to be a larger group of Haitians that came to church but stopped coming in time because they could not understand.  Françios has continued coming because he loves the church and this Gospel and feels the Spirit and the truthfulness.  Its great because while we can barely communicate without a member to help translate, you can just feel his Spirit.  These small tender mercies from the Lord are so precious!  The Holy Ghost really does testify to our hearts so we can feel the truth!  Its something undeniable.  Anyway I am so excited to be able to attend his baptism and to help him through this process as a new member of the church.  Like Françios, I truly can feel that this is where I´m supposed to be.  Our Father in Heaven has a plan for each of us and helps us to find the truth and receive the help and blessings that we need.  We just have to keep working and pressing forward with faith in Christ!!

     Anyway I hope you all have a great week and that you can keep pressing forward in whatever is passing in your lives as well!!

CON MUCHO AMOR,

Hermana Graham

La Capital!

Hola mi familia y mis amigos!!

I hope you have all had a great week and that all is well with you!!!

So, this has been my first week here in Santo Domingo!  I can admit that it was very hard to leave Vicente Noble and especially the people there.  However, I know that the Lord has called me here to work in this area now and that there are people here that I'm meant to meet and work with.  Its all just been super humbling and an opportunity to exercise trust in the Lord.  I know that He will guide us here and also guide the missionaries in Vicente Noble to take care of the people there.

On Tuesday we hopped on a bus and left for the capital.  I am here in Independencia which is a huge well-functioning ward.  There are so many members which I am so not used to after being in Vicente Noble.  The obispo (bishop) and his counselors and all the members are all so awesome and welcoming.  They have a lot of love for the missionaries and do a lot to take care of us here.  I can already see how much the work is different here in this area.  As much as I've now been a missionary for several months, there are so many things that are brand new!  In Vicente Noble, we were always able to find people who were willing to listen.  Here in the capital, everything is so much more fast paced and people are busy and in their own lives.  We have to work hard to find people who are willing to listen.  It's interesting because as much as its so hard to find people, it makes it that much sweeter when we are able to find people who are interested and prepared to listen to the gospel.  I know it will require a lot of work, but I know we will be able to find the people whom the Lord has prepared in the area.  The city is so big and fast paced.  It reminds me of San Francisco.  There are huge apartments building and large neighborhoods.  There's also awesome sections where the house and built upon one another in the most interesting way.  That is where the poorer people live and its seriously just apartments and rooms built on wherever there is space.  It's humbling circumstances, but just so different from the humble wooden and cement homes that people had in the middle of the camp in Vicente Noble.

My companion, Hermana Adams is really sweet and super nice!  She only has 1 transfer left after this one and so I will be with her up until she goes home.  She has spent a lot of her mission here in the capital which has been super nice because she has been able to tell me how serving in the capital works.  In our house, we have Hma Flint who lived in Huntington beach, and Hma Nava who is from Mexico!  They are super fun and with a lot of energy!!

Anyway everything is good here!  There's funny small things I've noticed throughout the week with living in the capital.  I'm so used to living in a small pueblo with few resources that I'm overwhelmed here in the capital.  For example, I didn't even know what to do with myself when we went shopping in the large grocery stores they have here.  People here live with so much compared to what I saw in Vicente Noble.  Anyway there's some "living in a small pueblo for 4 months" adjustments that I've seen and its quite funny actually.

Anyway I love the capitol and the people here.  It's all new but really great and I'm looking forward to my time here and getting used to how missionary work is here.  I know I will be able to be an instrument in the Lord's hands to serve here as well.

Thank you all for everything!

CON AMOR,

Hermana Graham

Me Voy Por la Capital

Hola mi querida familia y mis amigos!!

I hope that you all have had an awesome week and that everything is going well for you all.

Soo, this has officially been my last week in Vicente Noble.  I received the phone call Saturday and am being transferred to the capital!! I'm going to an area called Independencia and I will be with Hermana Adams who is from Washington.  It was a bit shocking but I'm really excited to see how the work is there and to get to know more people.  I know its going to be a HUGE change from my life here in Vicente Noble, but I also know that it's exactly where the Lord needs me to be.

Really, I don't even know where to start with this email.  This week has been another awesome and special time here in Vicente Noble.  I know I sound like a broken record, but I really do just adore the people and the lifestyle and the EVERYTHING here in Vicente Noble.  It has been the perfect area and I just feel so unbelievably grateful to have been able to work here and with these people for 4.5 months.  Every member, menos activo and investigator has been so special and I am just overcome with appreciate and love for them all.  These Dominicans are so fun and loving and humble and have such a love for God as well.  Its been such a blessing to be able to see people progress and make the decisions and changes necessary to really follow God's plan.  

There were a couple truly amazing experiences this week that I'd like to share!

First off, Monday night we had a Family Home Evening with a family in the branch.  They are all members and the daughters have been less active for a while but are coming back to church.  We had a small and simple lesson about eternal families and how we can truly have our families for eternity.  It was so sweet and awesome to hear the younger children participating.  At one point in the night, it started to rain a bit. I don't think I've mentioned this but there hasn't been rain much here lately which is really hard for all the crops that people grow.  People have been praying for rain for a long time.  Anyway, it started to rain and then a few seconds later the lights went out.  This family lives within really humble means and their home doesn't have much.  The lights went out and we sat in pure darkness for a few seconds.  Then they grabbed flashlights and we just continued or message there in the semi-darkness.  It was such a cool and fun and also spiritual experience and I loved this moment with the amazing family.

Tuesday, we had intercambios [exchanges] with a set of hermanas from Azua.  I went out with Hermana Monks who is from Idaho and we had an awesome day.  We had a truly spiritual and powerful lesson with a menos activa.  She is 20 yrs old and has been inactive for about 4 years.  When she came to church for the first time two Sundays ago, she was crying from the powerful experience of taking the Sacrament for the first time in years.  She really has such a sincere desire to come back and a strong testimony as well.  Anyway, Hermana Monks and I were sharing about the Plan of Salvation, about how we lived with God but were sent here so we can experiences trials and learn and use our agency.  We testified about the power of Christ's Atoning sacrifice so we can return to God's presence once again.  At the end, the lesson was coming to a close and so we asked if she had any questions.  This sweet young girl then asked one of the simplest and most sincere questions I've ever heard in my life.  She quietly explained that she had a young boy who died from cancer and asked if she would be able to see him again.  Simple, powerful question.  We just sat there for a second as we processed this question.  I had no idea that she had suffered such a loss as this.  However, afterward we were able to provide the words and comfort that she has been looking for.  We explained that as a young child, her son did not need to be baptized to receive salvation.  In fact, he is already in God's rest.  It was such a strong moment to let her know that if she strives to do what is right and follows God's plan, she will be able to return to live with God and her son once more.  It was such a humbling and amazing moment to have been able to serve the Lord and share what this sweet woman needed to hear.  I felt so grateful to have been able to serve as an instrument in the Lord's hands to bring peace to her mind.

Truly, the Lord has a plan for each and every one of us and has a grand infinite love for us all.  It's so amazing to be able to be a missionary and represent our Savior Jesus Christ.  I know that although my time here in Vicente Noble is over, these people will continue on in their faith and the Lord will watch after them and bless them.

I love you all so much.  Thank you so much for your support.  I pray for you each day and know the Lord is watching after you all as well.

CON MUCHO AMOR,

Hermana Graham