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

A Son's Plea

Hola mi familia y mis amigas!

I hope that you're all doing well and that you've had a great week!!!

First off can anyone believe that its almost June??? Where did May go and also April and this whole year? Haha time goes by so unbelievably fast and it's crazy how many things happen and how much changes in such a short period of time.  This upcoming week will be the last week of the transfer and then the question is, will I stay here in Vicente Noble or am I off to another place? Well, we shall see :)

This week I have a really special story and experience that I would like to share.  I am so grateful each and every day that I get to be here serving as a missionary and for the awesome people and families I've been able to meet and work with.  There is a family of menos activos that have been inactive for a very long time. In my first transfers here, Hermana Johnson would tell me about them but then said that weren't ready and weren't ever that receptive to listening to the missionaries.  In the first week with Hma Velasquez this transfer, we decided to pass by their house and they were willing to listening.  We've been visiting them every since.  One of the members of this family actually just came home from a mission. He is super awesome and super strong in the church.  He always comes with us to lessons and is always there to help and support in the lessons with his family.  He has such a strong desire to help his family and was so excited when we started to visit them again.  This Saturday, we had a truly amazing lesson with this family that I will never forget.  It was just us, this member and his menos activo mother.  She has always been willing but not really that receptive to act on the invitations and testimonies we've shared with her.  She has a lot of baggage with things that happened in the past and these things have held her back from returning with her family.  This Saturday, we were sharing a part of the Plan of Salvation with them, about how after this life we will wait in the Spirit World for the day when we will be judged of our actions here on Earth.  We will once again be in the presence of God with a perfect remembrance of all we've done, good or bad.  She admitted that if that moment were to happen right now, she did not think that she would be ready.  We testified of how this is the time to prepare and change.  We never know what will happen, but we can choose to exercise our faith and follow Christ and be ready to return to God's presence.  The blessings of repentance and Christ's Atonement are always extended to us no matter what.  I 100% know this to be true.  We can always return to the straight and narrow path of Christ's Gospel if were are willing to be humble and change and show our faith.  We were nearing the end of our lesson and she was listening well but still in doubt.  It was at this time that her son, this faithful member and missionary began to speak with his mother in such a direct and loving and desperate way.  He began to recount a story when he was younger and first investigating the church.  He was the last member of his family to be baptized so they were all members and going to church for some time before he joined.  He began to tell a story of one of the first times he went to church, when he wasn't really sure but then his mother encouraged him and helped him have this desire to go.  As he stated it, it was an "invitation from mother to son".  He then began to plead with her that she might accept his invitation from son to mother.  That she would soften her heart and remember the things she once knew.  He expressed his grief and hardship in that he was able to leave and serve a mission for 2 year and help other to change their lives, but he hasn't been able to help his own family.  He has such a strong desire and testimony of this Gospel, and Hma Velasquez and I were able to support and testify his words to help his sweet strong mother see the importance of these things.  It was a sincere, powerful plea from a son and the Spirit was so unbelievably strong as he spoke with all the power in his soul for the sake of his family to help them remember their faith in Christ and the desires they once had to follow Him until the end.

Family and friends, I know that this Gospel is true.  I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that through Him, we can live with our Heavenly Father again.  We can have joy in this life and be ready and joyful and light when we once again return to God's presence.  There need not be any fear, any doubt or any regret.  We can always come unto Christ, utilize his Atonement, and once again be counted among his disciples.  I am so unbelievably grateful to be able to be here, so share in these experiences and to preach this Gospel.  There are sweet tender mercies and miracles awaiting us, all we have to do is show our desire and continue on in faith.

I love you all so much.  I hope you have a great week!!!!

CON AMOR,

Hermana Graham

Working Hard for the Lord

Hola mi familia y mis amigos!

I hope that you all have had a great week and that all is well! Thank you all for you emails and support. I am eternally grateful!

So this was an absolutely amazing week here in Vicente Noble.  We just keep on working and it's amazing to look back at the week and realize how many truly special and spiritual experiences we have been able to have.  This is truly the Lord's work and we can see so many blessings as we work hard and with love for these people here.  

Hermana Velasquez and I have been able to work with some truly amazing families and individuals lately.  As we have focused more on the importance of family and the gospel, we've been able to help several families really learn and progress about this gospel.  There are two families that have been really progressing and showing real interest. We have been teaching them about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is truly a unique and powerful and divine message. It is a humbling and powerful opportunity to be able to teach about this topic.  To be able to share that our loving Heavenly Father has once again called a prophet and apostles here on the earth just like in the time of Jesus Christ.  Plus through these called servants of Christ and the Priesthood power which they hold, we have the fulness of the gospel and all its blessings. This message is something so special and each time that we teach this, I can feel the Holy Ghost testifying that this is true.  On Wednesday we were teaching one of these families about the Restoration and the Spirit was really strong.  They have such a sincere desire to know how to follow God and which church is truly His.  It was great to share about how Joseph Smith had this same question and concern and he was able to receive a very special answer.  I know that Joseph Smith really was a prophet of God!  He saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and through him, Jesus Christ was able to restore the church that He himself established when He was here on earth.  Through this, we have the opportunity to learn and know of God's plan and what we need to do to return to Him.  We invited this family to act in their faith and pray to know if these things are true.  There is so much confusion in the world today. So many who don't know how to follow Christ and so many who don't believe in Him at all.  Truly if we want to know for ourselves, we must act and exercise our faith!  It was amazing to see how excited and willing this family was to act.  I know that the Lord is trying so hard to help people find the truth.  It's humbling to be able to be a part of this work and help people find this peace and knowledge and joy in their lives.  It's even more humbling to think that I have been called to serve here by a living prophet who holds the authority of God to help direct this work.  I know that I have been sent here for a reason and that the message that we carry is so special and important of all of God's children.

On Friday we were able to travel to Azua for another Zone Conference.  All the missionaries from the south met together and we were able to hear some great messages.  We had the privilege to listen to Elder Hugo E. Martinez from the Seventy and his wife.  These are 2 truly amazing people.  They are both doctors and converts to the church with really strong testimonies in the power of missionary work.  Hermana Martinez spoke to us about having a vision and working effectively to complete it.  We need to find the vision, then make goals, and them make plans on how to fulfill them.  This is something so important of us all! I have really seen that we work so much harder and effectively and really see differences in people's lives when we follow this model.  These things help us identify the motivation behind why we do things and helps us be productive and successful.  When it comes to missionary work, the vision is to help people receive the blessings of Christ in their lives and make the changes to really follow His teachings.  We do this by teaching and working with members and following the guidance of the Spirit.  It was such a great opportunity to meet together with fellow missionaries and speak in how we can improve and be better instruments in the Lord's hands.  I felt so inspired and motivated after and I know we will really help people to change their lives and we work with diligence and love and our whole hearts.

Anyway I am just so happy to be serving the Lord.  Really the love I feel for these people and the Lord is the perfect and most powerful motivation.  I know that the Gospel has the power and potential to change and improve our lives!!  Through the true church of Christ, we can be guided and receive the fulness of blessings that God has to offer.

Thank you all so much for everything!

CON MUCHO AMOR

Hermana Graham

Blessings of Service

Hola mi familia y mis amigos!!

Hma Graham, a machete, & some plantains

I hope that you all had a great week and that all is going well!!! Also happy belated Mothers Day!!

So we had another great week here in Vicente Noble.  Its crazy how quickly the time keeps going.  I cant believe that I've already had 3 full weeks with Hermana Velasquez and that there are only 3 weeks left of this transfer!  I keep thinking about how I might leave Vicente Noble in 3 weeks and that just makes me want to appreciate every moment so much more! I feel so blessed all the time to be able to be here with these people that I love so much.  This rama here is seriously so special and the Spirit is so strong with these dedicated members of the Church here!

We had a couple of really powerful moments this week.  We continue to work with menos activos a lot as well as the new members that were baptized recently.  There is one recent convert that was baptized in December and has been having a really hard time.  She has a lot of work in her home and many things calling on her attention all the time.  She hasn't been to church in several weeks and so we've been working really hard to help her remember the blessings of being at church and why its so important for our Spiritual well-being.  There's an example we use all the time when teaching about church.  Our spirits are like the battery of a cell phone.  Eventually the energy will run out and you need to recharge it.  This is exactly how our spirits work.  Going to church is our opportunity to recharge our spiritual batteries so we can make it through our week.  When we don't go to church, we're trying to do everything in our lives but without the energy and help we need from the Lord!  We visited this recent convert and spoke about why church is so important and how its really our choice to go and receive these blessings.  Our Heavenly Father will never force us but will always bless us when we do what we should!  It was a really powerful lesson and we were so filled with joy when she came to church this Sunday!!  These small choices make such a large impact in our lives and I know the Lord was helping us to help this recent convert get back on track.  

On Tuesday we passed by an investigator's house and found that she as sitting outside on her porch crying.  One of her neighbors who she grew up with passed away and she was feeling really sad and trying to cope.  It was such a powerful moment that we were able to show up at this time and give her some peace of mind.  We just sat and listened as she expressed her sadness and were then able to offer a short message about the plan that God has for every single one of us and what happens after death.  We spoke of how we all have a finite amount of time here on Earth but that death is not the end and that she will see her friend again.  God has a beautiful and perfect plan that is filled with so much hope and peace. I felt so humble and appreciative to have been able to share this message with a fellow daughter of God.  We can all have this peace and knowledge that God has a plan and that there is so much more awaiting us after this life!

This Sunday was District Conference which is the equivalent of Stake Conference. We all had the opportunity to go to Barahona and hear many talks and testimonies that were really powerful.  President and Hermana Nuckols of the mission were also there and it was really great.  We had so many members and people make the journey with us and it was really special.  The theme was Amar a su projimo, or in other words Love your neighbor.  Loving and serving others is such a pivotal part of the example of Jesus Christ and there are really so many blessings when we work in the service of our fellow man.  Being here in Vicente Noble, I have found an even greater appreciation of service and helping others than ever before.  There are always so many opportunities to look outside yourself and help another.  I have such a strong testimony of service and truly when we are helping others there are so many things that we learn and gain for ourselves as well.  It's one of the main ways that the Lord teaches and blesses us!!

Anyway I am doing great and just loving every moment! I hope that you all have a great week and find opportunities to serve others!!

CON AMOR,

Hermana Graham