Week of Hope/Waiting - Patience/Endure Well - 6 missionaries in one branch! - Protected/There is a brightness about you/I can't touch you

So this title of my email (La Semana de Esperanza) could either be translated to mean, "The Week of Hope" or "The Week of Waiting". Well, while there is always hope... lets just say there was a lot of waiting this week.

We had plans to travel to an area really far away in our area, called the palms, and we had to wait for a bus to get there. We were told that the bus would come at 10 o'clock. So we waited there and waited and waited and waited. Then finally, after lots of contacting in the bus stop, (which isn't the MOST effective way to contact) we got on the bus at 12. That same day, we had an appointment with our prime investigator. His name is Martin and I was suuuuper pumped to teach him because he has a real desire to learn. We waited in the chapel for 2 more hours with a member that night, because he kept telling us that he was on his way... but finally just told us that he didn't think it would be possible for him to make it :( We ended up just teaching him the next day at the Branch Presidents house, but we still waited a lot that day! I will tell you, there was more waiting than just that this week, but I wont go into details because there really were so many experiences this week with waiting. 

 

As I was waiting for something this week, I would think about one of the things my mission president first told me when I had my first interview with him. He said "Elder Graves, if there is one thing you are going to learn here on your mission, it will be PATIENCE. It is so true. And I love that I can see myself improving in this aspect. It really is incredible how many blessings the mission brings.

"Patience is not simply enduring, it is enduring well."

Dieter F Uchtdorf

This too means, that even if we have to wait, we can always be doing something productive, and if we are doing that little productive thing, it really wont seem like we are waiting at all. This brings me to a point that kinda makes me a little sad. There are too many elders that I know that are only "enduring" there missions. To all those who will be leaving soon, or one day hope to serve, I hope you know a mission is much more fun, enjoyable and rewarding if you "endure it well."

This is my district leader Elder Nascimiento and I waiting for a bus to pass by so that we could do an activity with the district. We had to wait a lot, but it turned out to be an AWESOME P-day.

Here is a foto capa (cool picture)! We have been focusing on this little area of the city a lot lately and I thought this was a pretty interesting view with the run down appartments and trees also. It really shows the diversity of Obera.



  This is Taylor's Dad - I can't get this picture to work for some reason.  I'll see if I can get it from Taylor again next week.

 

This is my district! We are quite the team working out here in obera! The branch is really getting stronger having 6 missionaries in one branch. There really is a lot of work to do here. (Even if it is slow work). Today we went to a waterfall (don't worry it wasn't Iguazu Falls I will send much cooler pictures when I get the opportunity to do that! We were going to take a picture by the water fall... but it was full with lots and lots and lots of people (it almost seemed like they were flocking like zombies... I mean the waterfall was cool and all.. but not THAT cool,... ;) Anyway, for that we just took a picture here... I really enjoy this district and hope we get to stay together for awhile!

Well, one last experience. While Elder Smith and I were walking in the street, a man who seemed to be really drunk came up to us. My companion said we needed to just keep going, but  the guy was really insistent about talking to us. He stopped us and told us all about the Book of Mormon (sounds a little backwards right?) and was telling us that it wasn't true and all those things. We bore our testimonies, calmly saying what we KNEW it to be true. He wouldn't let it go. He kept talking to us and wouldn't allow us to keep going to our next appointment (don't worry, it never got dangerous or anything). He then went to touch me, on the shoulder, but said in Spanish "I cant touch you, there is a brightness about you and I cant touch you."

Although, I don't believe that he had plans of doing anything, I know that we are protected as missionaries. I love this gospel and could never express the amount of thanks I have for what it has given me.

Elder Graves

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Write to Elder Graves in 1 of 4 ways:

1. E-mail -  tgraves@myldsmail.net

 

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3. Send letters through the Church Pouch Mail Only postcards or one-page correspondences (no envelopes).

Fold the letter in thirds, secure the long side with tape about one inch in from each end. Do not seal the ends. Stamp and address the blank side as you would an envelope. Use the following mailing address:
Elder Taylor Graves
Argentina Posadas Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City, UT
84130-0150

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4. Physical Mailing Address.
Due to exorbitant costs incurred in the country of Argentina by the church, He can not receive packages :-( - not even a bubble envelope. Please refrain from sending anything other than an envelope/letter - anything else will likely be returned to sender.

Elder Taylor Graves
Córdoba 1243
Posadas, Misiones 3300
Casilla 12
Argentina

Big House - Birthday Ice Cream Cake! - Splits with Elder Murrillo (A.P.) - Answered Prayers

Okay, so I just realized that I never showed you guys where we live right now... okay not really, but that would be pretty cool! I just had to show everyone that some of the houses we teach are soooo big. A lot of the time, we have to ring a bell, and they put a camera on our faces and they ask us through a speaker phone "¿que hacen?" which is like what are you guys doing? And then we talk for a bit, and if we are lucky they will come out! SUUUUPER "chuchi" or rich looking. Sometimes it is actually pretty hard to get lessons here, and when we do get them, it is hard to get return lessons. I have really learned a lot of things in this area already. One of them is DEFINITELY patience. Haha.

​Well I should have put this first,... but oh well. My whole district surprised me with an Ice Cream cake at the very end of my birthday! It was awesome! We went in to an office in the church to work on some paper work or so they told me, and then the Hermanas came and started singing happy birthday! So that was awesome!

Well, Elder Murrillo (an assistant to the President) and I got to have divisions this week and it was so fun! He really knows how to teach people! I loved it! He will be leaving soon (2 weeks) and it is actually pretty sad for every body, because he really does inspire our mission. I was really happy to have the opportunity to be part of his last part of his mission. 

Well I dont have much more time, but I just want to tell you all one last story. Our branch decided that we needed to start praying for investigators to find the missionaries and not only for the missionaries to find investigators. The whole branch has been praying for this to happen, and yesterday we were walking in the road and a man ran us down saying "Mormons! Mormons! I want you to teach me about the man Joseph Smith!!!" 

If that wasnt a direct answer to our prayers, I dont know what would be. I know the power of prayer is powerful, and the prayer united by a ward or even by just a family can be even stronger. We taught him, and he loved the message. We were saddened to find out that he is traveling to Buenos Aires, the next day, but I pray that he will find more missionaries to continue teaching him.

I love you all and I love this gospel

Elder Graves

PS. If I talk weird in these letters I am sorry. I dont think my English has been that badly effected yet, but I really do have to struggle for some phrases that I cant remember perfectly! Weird right??

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Write to Elder Graves in 1 of 4 ways:

1. E-mail -  tgraves@myldsmail.net

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Send mail through www.DearElder.com
They will print and mail it for you at no cost (without a stamp).  This is a free service.

www.DearElder.com Instructions:
Select the "Argentina Posadas Mission"

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3. Send letters through the Church Pouch Mail Only postcards or one-page correspondences (no envelopes).

Fold the letter in thirds, secure the long side with tape about one inch in from each end. Do not seal the ends. Stamp and address the blank side as you would an envelope. Use the following mailing address:
Elder Taylor Graves
Argentina Posadas Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City, UT
84130-0150

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Physical Mailing Address.
Due to exorbitant costs incurred in the country of Argentina by the church, He can not receive packages :-( - not even a bubble envelope. Please refrain from sending anything other than an envelope/letter - anything else will likely be returned to sender.

Elder Taylor Graves
Córdoba 1243
Posadas, Misiones 3300
Casilla 12
Argentina

19th Birthday! - Basketball! - Fat mannequins - Stuck in Apartment with sick companion - Testimony

Well I really have to start by saying thank you for the ridiculously awesome amount of birthday wishes from all of you! When I open up my email and see that I have more than 80 emails to read, I know I am loved :) So THANK YOU! You all have made my day soooo awesome! Also today we had the opportunity to have a multi zone meeting and we played BASKETBALL! There were more than 40 missionaries there and they all gathered around me and sang/scrame (not sure if that is a word I am almost 100% sure its not screamed) "Happy Birthday" to me. It was pretty funny because it was in English and most of them don't speak English! But I really got lucky to have such a big meeting on my birthday! Usually a birthday will pass unnoticed in the mission, but I got super lucky!

Also, my family is ridiculously awesome. About a month or so ago, I was looking into the deep pits of my suitcase and found that I had a b-day present! Also I found that I have a Christmas present that I will get to open later! (In my mission we can only recieve 2 packages a year so my mom got creative!).  Also, today my zone leader delivered another package from my family for my birthday! So tonight we are going to have a mini, party and open up my gifts!!!!

Sorry for the crazy face, but we had just woken up at 4:30 to go to the zone meeting (we have a lot of early mornings, and our nights are super late now, because our president changed our schedule to adjust to the ridiculous heat)!

​This is me with Elder Winston again, and my other package that the zone leaders had just given me. 

Well, we found these fat mannequins in the mall and could not stop laughing because... I don't know that is just super funny! But I decided it would be appropriate to take a photo with them because I literally just CAN NOT STOP GAINING WEIGHT! My body is used to having 3 or 4 runs everyday and much more physical activity than that, and my body is wondering what happened!!!!? But if I come home looking like the Pillsbury Dough Boy, you all still have to love me, or at least acknowledge me... ;)

My companion got sick recently and we had to stay in our pension all day. I was actually pretty concerned, because I figured I would be bored out of my mind! He literally slept and stayed in his bed for 36 hours straight! I felt pretty bad for him (I think he got up to use the restroom...) But I have a picture of me studying that day, because that day, truly was a day of loooots of studying.

11 hours straight to be exact. Yeah it was crazy. I literally couldn't put down the books. I can honestly say, that I now LOVE the scriptures. They continually amaze me. A dear friend of my family Brother Bob Christensen used to always say to me as well as say during his testimonies in testimony meeting, that every time he reads the Book of Mormon he has a strong feeling that the Book of Mormon really is scripture and the word of God.

*here in this picture I am comparing the sermon on the mount to the coming of Christ in 3 Nefi in English and Spanish, so lots of books!*

Well I just want all of you to know that I am doing well and am loving the life of a missionary. It is amazing how much I have grown (spiritually and physically...) I think of the boy that left for the MTC just short of 5 months ago and look at what I have already become and learned, and am truly amazed. The mission field really is the place to learn and to grow. 

Les quiero mucho y espero que todos tengan una semana marivillosa

Elder Graves

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Write to Elder Graves in 1 of 4 ways:

1. E-mail -  tgraves@myldsmail.net

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Send mail through www.DearElder.com
They will print and mail it for you at no cost (without a stamp).  This is a free service.

www.DearElder.com Instructions:
Select the "Argentina Posadas Mission"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Send letters through the Church Pouch Mail Only postcards or one-page correspondences (no envelopes).

Fold the letter in thirds, secure the long side with tape about one inch in from each end. Do not seal the ends. Stamp and address the blank side as you would an envelope. Use the following mailing address:
Elder Taylor Graves
Argentina Posadas Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City, UT
84130-0150

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Physical Mailing Address.
Due to exorbitant costs incurred in the country of Argentina by the church, He can not receive packages :-( - not even a bubble envelope. Please refrain from sending anything other than an envelope/letter - anything else will likely be returned to sender.

Elder Taylor Graves
Córdoba 1243
Posadas, Misiones 3300
Casilla 12
Argentina 

Trick or Treating Missionary Style - Clapping Doors in the Rain - New Area/Prospecting - Study With Faith and the Intent of Learning Truth

Although we are thousands of miles away, I wasn't about to miss out on Trick or Treating this year! Haha.  To be honest, I totally forgot that it was Halloween until the end of the day. Haha but we did get to go door to door, but we were the ones handing stuff out (Books of Mormon/Book of Mormons/Copies of the Book of Mormon).

So I really thought this was a funny picture. This is my new companion Elder Smith and it was POURING and his hands were full when he was trying to clap a house, so he balanced his umbrella (that took me like 15 seconds to remember what that word is in English....) on his head so that he could clap the house. Haha. Just thought you guys would think that was funny.

Right now we are searching, searching, searching and searching for new investigators. We just opened this area and that means there were 0 people who were already being prepared to be baptized. So we are always searching. While we were "Fishing for Men" we ran into a woman who told us that she had left the church more than 10 years ago, but wanted to be visited by the missionaries again. She introduced us to her husband who was smoking and was not a member. We talked with them and they told us that they want to get to the point where they can serve a mission together. Obviously they both have a long way to go, but I am very excited for there desire to progress. That is something that I have learned here recently. It is all about the desire. Countless times in the scriptures it tells us that we will earn what we truly desire in our hearts. It is undoubtedly true. If you have the desire, you WILL put in the work to accomplish that thing that you desire.

 

 

Random picture... didn't take that many this week - sorry. But this is Elder Winston and he is in the same pension as me! We get to spend a lot of time together and will even be doing a 3 day division (I think they call it "splits" in the states) while the other Elders are doing paper work in another part of Argentina. We were recently talking (we almost never talk in English now - even though in our Pension we have 3 gringos and 1 Brazilero. It is just more fun to speak in Spanish sometimes) and he told me that he felt like our life literally is like a movie. There are SO MANY funny moments, SO MANY hard moments, SO MANY lessons that we are able to learn here. It is really true. The life of a missionary really is like a movie. I wish I could record every moment of it so I could remember every detail.

I am realizing recently how far I have come in my testimony. I used to feel like I had a strong testimony, now I am realizing that I truly had a LONG  way to go (and still do). But my confidence in God is sure (as is my testimony of the Book of Mormon). Before my mission, I will be honest, I read it like a critic. Trying to find errors. I never found any, but I never progressed in my testimony either. Now I read with faith that it is the word of God, and every moment spent reading it is another step of progression. My challenge to you all this week is to read the Book of Mormon, not to prove it wrong (remember I tried and learned it's impossible) but with the intent of learning of the truth.

Love you all and am grateful for your prayers.

Elder Graves

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Write to Elder Graves in 1 of 4 ways:

1. E-mail -  tgraves@myldsmail.net

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Send mail through www.DearElder.com
They will print and mail it for you at no cost (without a stamp).  This is a free service.

www.DearElder.com Instructions:
Select the "Argentina Posadas Mission"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Send letters through the Church Pouch Mail Only postcards or one-page correspondences (no envelopes).

Fold the letter in thirds, secure the long side with tape about one inch in from each end. Do not seal the ends. Stamp and address the blank side as you would an envelope. Use the following mailing address:
Elder Taylor Graves
Argentina Posadas Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City, UT
84130-0150

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Physical Mailing Address.
Due to exorbitant costs incurred in the country of Argentina by the church, He can not receive packages :-( - not even a bubble envelope. Please refrain from sending anything other than an envelope/letter - anything else will likely be returned to sender.

Elder Taylor Graves
Córdoba 1243
Posadas, Misiones 3300
Casilla 12
Argentina