Armando's Baptism - Interview w/Mission President - Only in their area 12 of 30 days - McDonalds with Zone Leader - Taylor's companion = Enoc Joseph Smith Silva

So we finally had our Baptism that we have been preparing for for a LONG time! Due to MANY delays, it was postponed and postponed, but finally it happened. I had the awesome opportunity to confirm Armando a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints and give him a blessing! It was a really special experience for both of us. My companion got to baptize him and I have some pretty sweet pictures... but this computer I am at is sooooo slowwwww. So I am just going to send one :)

This picture is of Armando and I liked the way he seemed to be pondering about the importance of baptism and the covenant he was about to make! So so proud of him!!!!

Okay so I don't have my notebook of all the things I planned on sharing so this week might not be as long as normal, because I cant really remember everything with out my notebook.

So I really only have time to write about one thing today, I plan on writing more next week, but we are again very limited on time because we are not in our area (again...). I had an interview with the President of the mission. I told him about our struggles, and how it was very hard to help people progress when we had only been in our area 12 out of the 30 days in the month (normal would be about 24-25). I told him it almost felt like it wasn't worth traveling 6 hours out to Lopez only to return to the Encarnacion 2 days later. He told me he had carefully prayed about this exact problem, and he said that for some reason he was still prompted that it will always be worth it to have missionaries in Lopez. I am glad to have such a powerful and wise leader as the president of our mission who is willing to listen to the promptings of the spirit.

Love you guys. I know its lame how short this was, but like always there is literally no time. I will dedicate more time to the general email next week! 

Love you all!!!

ELDER GRAVES

Oh yeah... my zone leader Elder Sanchez and I were twins at BURGER KING!

P.S. My companion is so awesome that his full name is Enoc Joseph Smith Silva" True story by the way...

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

Mom Sang in Conference - In Argentina (@McDonalds :-) with MTC District - Serving & Running with A.P.s - Buses called "Proud to Be a Missionary" - Picture of Name tags in Spanish VS Guarani - Holding Bunny - Great turnout for Conference! - Please pray for dry weather/baptism

DID YOU GUYS SEE MY MOM!?

Everyone in the chapel knew that I was looking for her, and when she came on (multiple times) everyone in the chapel was so happy for me!!! I have to admit the last song she sang made me tear up. It was like saying goodbye again. But honestly seeing her really felt like the reward after the trial. I am so grateful she was blessed with that opportunity to sing and  remind me of my motivation here on my mission, my family.

Okay so I am way behind on pictures and my mom said she wants to see more pictures, so I am just going to share some for the next little bit!

Okay this is last week looking out towards Argentina! (We were in Paraguay!) I was super excited to finally go back to Argentina!

All of "The Original District" is reunited! We were so excited to get to spend some time together! (And have the opurtunity to speak some English) Aaaaaaaaannnd we had Mcdonalds! I know I never liked McDonalds back in the day, but eating there made me feel soooo at home for some reason!

 

​Here are the AP´s of my Mission! They are so fun and I got to be with them for a couple of days and learn from their awesome example! This is us right before going on a run. A real run. Not me running back and forth on 50 meters of street, but a real run. Through the city, on the beach, across bridges, dodging crazy drivers of Argentina. It was awesome! And they are actually fast! This day was the best day of my worst week :)

Okay you have to excuse how dead and goofy I look, it was 1:30 in the morning and had about 40 minutes of sleep that night and was borrowing clothes of an Elder who weighs about 250 pounds...but this bus is super funny! Because in English it says "Proud to be a Missionary"! When I first saw this bus I was super confused,. But then I realized that we are in the Province/State of Misiones. So every one who lives in that province is technically un misionero.  HAHA

 

​Okay I took this picture because I dont think you guys understand how truly insane guarani is. I know I have explained before that it is nothing like Spanish, but it also is not like any other language known to man...

 

 Here is a random picture of me holding a bunny...

 This is a picture of us and the Lopez Group who traveled to Natalio (3 hour drive) to watch conference. On a good week we have 3 or 4 investigators attend the church, but this week we were praying all week that we would have a good turn out to Conference. Even though it is so far, we had 10 investigators make the trip to watch conference!!!!!!! We were so happy!

The man on the far right is Named "Apolonio". He is near impossible to understand and is 83 years old. We found him and could not understand a word we were saying. (Not just me, my companion from Peru neither). I was under the impression that he was just uneducated and this was going to be very difficult to continue to teach him. But my companion had more faith than I did at that time. He decided that we should bring a member to our next lesson with him. We did, and it was amazing. They talked in Guarani the whole time (I understood about 8 words in 35 minutes) and he clearly was touched by what the member had said. Now that we know that he truly is a very smart man, just speaks a different language, we are going to continue to bring members with us to visit him.

The boy in the red shirt with white sleeves is who is going to be baptized soon. His name is Armando. The Brother of Fernando. His Baptismal date was moved to Octubre 11 to allow us to teach him a little more (because we haven't been in Lopez). Unfortunately, we again have been rained out of Lopez. We had such a bad storm today I don't know if the roads will EVER dry! Because we have a mission conference on Thursday we wont be able to get back to Lopez until the day of the baptism or the day before if we are lucky. If you all could please pray for us so that it wont rain and that the baptism can go smoothly. 

Okay a couple more things.

Again, going back to seeing my mom, as I watched her sing from 6000 miles away, I realized something. I had the thought, the impression, that if the only thing I learned on my mission, was that I love my family, the way I now realize that I love them, it would make it ALL worth it.

I love the prophets, and was so grateful to hear there inspired words. It was very interesting to here the talks in Japanese, Portuguese and especially Spanish. I hope you all were able to learn from this conference.

I love you all!

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

Legal paperwork troubles - Travels to Argentina - Trials are blessings for our benefit

Sep 29, 2014

This is Taylor's Dad.  Taylor was unable to send any pictures in his letter this week (for reasons which he will explain in his letter below), so I have attached this picture of him that was taken from just before he started his mission.

I really don't know where to begin this week. I guess as a quick summary, it would be appropriate to say that this week by far has been the hardest week of my mission thus far. Don't worry I am still super happy! But a lot of difficult things have happened.

This week I dont have a whole lot of time to write because of difficult situations so I am just going to ramble and tell the story of this week. Sorry if its not super interesting! ;)

Okay so Elder Silva and i were told by the office of the mission that we were going to have to go to Argentina for Tramites (paper work I think is how you would say it in English?) for my ability to stay in these two countries. Apparently it was urgent so they told us we needed to get out of Lopez and get to Argentina ASAP. Well the problem is it was raining at the time, so it literally is impossible to leave our little town because the roads literally become mud. So there were no buses leaving anywhere. So we spent a morning searching for someone who would be willing to take a shot at trying to drive although it was raining. Finally after 3 and a half hours of searching we found someone who was willing to do it but we had to pay them a TON of money for it. Finally about 7 hours later we arrived in a bus terminal half an hour from Posadas Argentina. We waited for 4 hours in the terminal for the taxi that was supposed o come get us. Finally it picked us up. My companion stayed in that city with other Elders and I went to Posadas. 

To my surprise my entire M.T.C. district was there waiting to greet me! It was so awesome! We NEVER get to see each other because we all live so far away! But I was blessed to remember the amazing spiritual bond that I have with them. Anyway, we got there and went to bed at 10:30 and had to wake up 3 hours later to catch a bus to go somewhere called Corrientes further into Argentina (that is about 5 hours away from Posadas). So I literally didn't sleep that night!!! WOOhoo! 

We got there and had to wait 7 hours just sitting in an office for them to print something for us to sign. Finally mine printed out and they told me that there was an error in my paperwork and that we had to do it again. I told him that it was fine and I would just wait. He then told me that I legally had to wait 4 days before reprinting. I was devastated!!!!

So we made the decision that I would stay myself in Argentina rather than go back to my town. 

There are two really big problems with that. We, the missionaries, have the keys to the chapel. The members were not able to get into the church and it was raining that day. Also they didn't even know that we weren't going to show up, because we were in Argentina and I couldn't contact them (although I tried a million times) because our phone can't work across the border. So I really have no idea what happened with church,and I have been praying like crazy that all went well.

The other problem I have is that I packed for 2 days for this trip. It is going to turn out to be either 7 or 8 days long... you could call me Elder Skunk if you want ;) 

Luckily I had the opportunity to be with the assistants to the president for the past couple of days and they both gave me some clothes.

This past day I have been staying in the pension of my old companion elder Peterson as I wait for day 4 so I can return to redo my paper work. We have been working hard here, but it makes me very sad, that no work is being done in my area right now.

Tomorrow morning at 1:30 a.m. I will wake up to go do paper work again and go to Corrientes.

Now something that happened just before I got to the computer. I got out of the truck of the APs thinking they were coming with us, but as I stepped out they drove off. They had my camera in their truck so I can't send any pictures. I am really sorry for that, cause I had some really awesome things to show you all, but I will be sure to share them next week.

Throughout this week I kept feeling really bad, and like I had the worst luck in the world. But then I remembered a lesson we had recently taught about trials. I had testified with all my heart that trials and hard times in our lives were literally blessings to us and were given to us for our benefit. I know this is true and I am really grateful I was able to learn this truly for myself this week.

I love you all and thank you for sending me so much support through letters and prayers. 

EGraves

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

3 yr old & a machete! - Service - Taylor's Running - Financial struggles/Tithing - Relationship with Dad

Okay I am going to start with a picture. At first glance, all seems well. But then if you look a little closer, a little girl age 3 is handing me a MACHETE. Yeah. We were digging a well for a service project on Saturday and to clean the shovel you have to use a machete to scrape the mud off.

The mom, the older kids, and everybody around, thought this was normal... If you can tell by my face, I did not feel the same. They just don't have the same amount of caution that we have in the states! It is super funny (and scary sometimes!)

Quick shout out to my mom for 3 things...

1. She is super awesome.

2. She has such a beautiful singing voice that she has the opportunity to sing in GENERAL CONFERENCE! I tell everybody I know about it because I am SO excited to see her on TV! (I know she is going to be wearing yellow and where she will be sitting!) But everybody I tell just tells me, "well, yeah you live in Utah, so doesn't everybody get to do that?" The members and native missionaries here think that if you live in Utah you know everybody from Utah. They are always very surprised when I tell them that I have never had a conversation with the Prophet or one of the Apostles. In reality Utah is pretty big!

3. I was showing pictures of my family to a menos activo family and they all guessed the ages of each member of my family. They were all relatively close (within 5 years) with everyone except my mom. Each one of them guessed under 25. I am not exaggerating. I could tell that is actually what they thought, and they weren't just trying to be nice!

So yeah my mom is awesome!

I have had the awesome opportunity to run most days lately! It has been awesome! I run up and down the hill we live on (its pretty big) and my comp sits and watches for 20 minutes! Haha its a pretty funny sight! My companion literally thinks I am insane and has tried to convince me that running is not good for you. Ha! It makes me laugh everytime! He says, in all sincerity, "if it is so good for you, why does it hurt so much? You are crazy!"  But I am really grateful for the opportunity to run. It reminds me that the body we all have truly is an incredible blessing. It really is the most incredible machine in the world.

Quick story about a recent convert. Her name is Grasiella Benitez (everybody's last name out here is Benitez I'm not even kidding). She is very poor and has 7 kids and doesn't have a husband do help support the family. Obviously one of the harder commandments for her is to pay tithing. She told us that a couple days ago she found money in the road, and she knew it was a blessing from paying tithing. We thought it was going to be a big sum of money, but it was actually only 5000 guanies (equivalent to $1.25). At first I thought, okay that isn't that much of a blessing for her, but then she told us that that was exactly the amount she had paid in tithing that week. 

If there is one thing I learn from this story, it is pure faith. Although, she probably wont find 5000gnis in the street everytime she pays her tithing, she is still willing to do it. I now have a stronger testimony of the importance of tithing.

Here is a random picture of my companion and I taking a break from our service project!

So the last thought I want to share today is about my Dad. I really am growing closer to him every day while I am so far away from him. I know it doesn't make sense to me either, but it is so true. Every time I do anything, I remember in the back of my mind that my dad has gone through the same thing before. In a way I can always feel like he is here walking these streets with me always motivating me like a super awesome senior companion. I miss my dad, but am so grateful for his example that he set for me.

I am so grateful for my family and for all of the support back home. I wish I could write all of you a 10 page letter, because I really could if I had the time, but I don't. Just know that I love each of you and pray for you.

Love you all,

EGraves

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

Awesome New Companion - Spanish only! - Fernando's Brother to be baptized! - Huge Kiddy Swimming Pool :-) - Reassurance to New Missionaries

September 15, 2014

Woohoo! This week has been awesome! I got my new companion and his name is Elder Silva! He is super nice, and knows no English at all, but I can already tell how much he is helping my language improve! I NEVER get to speak English now (except right now)! I can feel myself being able to understand more and more every day. I remember my first couple weeks when I couldnt tell the difference between Guarani and Spanish, it all just sounded like gibberish to me. Its pretty funny because Guarani is sooo different. They make weird sounds with their throat and things like that, but I still couldn't tell the difference between the two!

The Brother of Fernando (the boy I was able to baptize) is going to be baptized on the 27th!!! We are so excited for him! There are still two members of that family, (one more brother and the father) who have not been baptized and we are working with them! I really feel that my new companion is a big answer to this area. Exactly what this area needs.

 

 This is a recent convert family. We were having lunch with them and we decided to make the kids a mini swimming pool because it was soooo hot! 

 

This is my new companion. He has 20 months already and is super awesome! It is so hot in this picture and it is technically still Winter!

I have very limited time today, less than normal, but I want you to know that I am loving it here. I love every week and am proud to be a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!

Love you all, and I plan to write a lot more next week! 

Elder Graves

I have lots of friends leaving on missions soon, and who have left recently. Elder Hunter Hoffman recently asked me for some advice. I responded, and I feel like it could help any of you who are leaving so here it is!

hey man, hardly any time, but I just want you to know that I fasted for you this week. You WILL do good, and you don't have anything to worry about. The language will come! I tried studying, but I still didn't know anything when I got there. But now I am here and I know thousands of words, and understand every conjugation and don't even have to think about it. I can read almost fluently and understand almost everything (especially about the gospel)

It will come! Just have fun with it! Just so you know you might have a day where you will question your decision to serve. Actually I can almost guarantee that day will come. Just let that day happen, but then remember what your answer is going to be to that doubt. Your answer will be YES I WAS CALLED TO SERVE BY A PROPHET OF GOD AND I WILL SERVE WITH ALL MY HEART. Remember what your answer will be to your doubt bud.

Love you and you will always be like a brother to me. 

EGraves

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

Great food = 10 lbs - New Companion from Peru - No more English - Ran out of his shoes - Have Faith - English Class - Trip to the Beach! - Testimony

Well you are going to have to squint and tilt your head a little to recognize me, but I have officially gained a good 10 pounds already! Wholly smokes...(pretty sure thats not right)...but yeah it is so hard not to gain weight here! The food is just sooooo amazing! Haha but I have officially put myself on a diet (after eating a lot today at a huge buffet!) Also I am going to be running everyday now!!! It is amazing how much you can miss a crazy thing like running.

Well I just found out that I will be staying in my area, but I am going to be getting a new companion. He is from Peru, and knows zero english!! Also, I will be the only one in my whole district who isnt new to the area, and also I am the only one in the whole district who is not from south america! So I literally will not be speaking English at all NO MATTER WHAT for at least 6 weeks!!! I am super excited for this challenge. A little nervous, but excited. One thing that is sad, is that my old companion, Elder Collins and I, have done a lot of work in Lopez, and he is really sad to be leaving. We have lots of baptisms that are in the process of happining and he is sad not to get to be a part of them. However, he did help me so much, helped me learn to work, helped me a TON with the language, and helped me learn how to have fun. Here is a picture of my awesome trainer/companion/friend.

We worked SO HARD that his shoes just fell right off his feet!

This week we had something really sad happen. A woman named Lidia, was doing really well listening to the lessons and understanding. One day, we arrived to a lesson and she told us with tears in her eyes that she understood our message, but couldn't continue listening too us. My heart broke. She had felt the spirit several times and I know it. It is heartbreaking to have this happen, but I am NOT giving up on her. Like I said in my last letter, I think I was the 6th out of the 7 missionaries.

This is us teaching the English class in the chapel, we didnt have a big turn out this time, but they LOVE posing for pictures!

WE WENT TO THE PLAAAAAYAAA!
It was so fun! We had a zone meeting and they decided to take us to the beach for volleyball! It was soooo fun! I even got to run on the beach with one of the other elders. (I´m not as graceful as those people in the movies)
PS I´m wearing a MESSI jersey! (yeah I know they lost :,(  )

This mission experience has already changed me in so many ways. My testimony truly has grown. My reliance on the lord has grown exponentially. My ability to be positive during difficult times has been increased.

It is amazing what happens to you when you say something over and over again. I say the words, I know Joseph Smith was a prophet, I know Jesus Christ lives, and I know that that this church has the full truth, every day with out fail. You start to realize how true the words you are saying are. Whether you want to believe it or not, you begin to realize, that this gospel is 100 percent true. My testimony to you today is, that everything in the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true.
I love this gospel and thank God daily for allowing me to have a knowledge of the truthfulness of it.

Love you all.

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

​

Talking to Everyone - New House - Eating at a Local Restaurant

I was  just thinking about my time in the MTC recently. That place is amazing and I really do miss it. It has been more than a month now since I left the MTC, but for a while I called that place my home. However it is interesting to think, while they do try to make the MTC experience similar to the field, there really is no way they could even come close! Just thinking about that, I remember on a day when we were studying I accidentally marked my shirt with a pen. I instantly decided that I NEEDED to go to the dorm and change! Haha now our shirts are permanently stained a pinkish orange, and you just have to live with it.

So we had a lot of travels ths week, and I am going to try and explain them a little bit! Its been crazy! We had to go to Natalio which is 3 hours away for Pday so that we can be more effective, because we don’t have anything in our tiny little town to do on Pday. Then we found out we would have a Mission Conference in Encarnacion which is another 3 hours away. I am now realizing this is going to take super long to describe every travel we had, so I will just stop there and let you all know that I have been riding in a bus for a total of 42 hours in the past 8 days…  Everyday we have had some sort of travels. (Remember, being in a bus here is NOT VERY RELAXING! ;)  All these travels have definitely had some good impact on me though. I have been able to talk with people on the buses and people in terminals and in the streets and all over the place, and letting them know about the gospel. Many missionaries are afraid to talk to people just in passing, or to the people they sit with because they feel like it is awkward. Hate to say it, but I agree with them, it is awkward. But that’s okay! If it gets awkward, I have the excuse that I cant speak the language and I get to keep trying to understand them.

 

I kinda want to explain where I got this idea of talking to people. A lot of missionaries feel like it isn’t as effective to talk to people when you are not in your own area, because you will probably never see the person you talked to in a bus/terminal/street again. This unfortunately is probably true. However, a quote I heard in the MTC by President Thomas S. Monson has stopped me from ever thinking that way. I don’t have it word for word but he said something to the effect of, --every convert to the church, on average, will have run into 7 different sets of missionaries at 7 completely different times, before accepting the gospel –

I have decided that it didn’t matter if I was number 1,2,3 or 7. I will always talk to them if I can. I do not say this to you all, to make myself sound like a hard worker. I do this so you can all have a confirmation that all your love and support is not being wasted. This week as I have said, I have traveled a lot, and have gotten to know some other missionaries, and it saddens me to see that there are those who don’t work as hard as they could. Again, I want you to know, that the support you all give me so frequently, is going to a missionary who is trying his hardest to not let you down.

With the help of the Savior, I will NOT let you down.

This is a picture of our house that we just bought! So much nicer!!! Woohoo!

This was the first time the members haven't fed us for lunch! Since I am more than a month in here, I'd say the members are treating us pretty well! (Also since we never have to feed ourselves, we don't know how to cook so we went to the only restaurant in town!)

So It turns out the computer we used had a virus and gave it to my camera memory stick. Because of this I almost wasn’t able to show any pictures this week.  I was actually pretty sad about this for a while, because I had some good pics to show this week… However, thanks to my awesome mom I have an extra memory card! So we took some random pictures that don’t really relate to anything! But at least you can have an update on what I look like and know that I still am not fat… (I think)

 

Thanks again for reading. I really do hope these  letters can touch someone’s life out there. I write these letters trying to listen to the Spirit allowing it to guide me so that those of you who read can be affected. Hopefully my letters can somehow inspire, help you, or at least make you happy!

I really do love you all with all my heart.

Les quiero con todo de me corazón

Rau hai hu!

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