1 WEEK LEFT! - Memory Lane (Saying Goodbye) - Visit To Iguazu Falls! - - Dad Is Like My Companion :-)

I have gone through some difficult sicknesses throughout my mission, especially these last few months, but I want all to know, I am doing great, and there are no lingering symptoms left, except that my immune system is weak, so I have to be careful about washing my hands and things like that.

I honestly have so much to share this week, I almost am overwhelmed thinking about how I am going to share everything! I love telling you my stories about the mission. They are all so special to me and I will never forget these experiences.

To make things easier this week I am just going to go by picture.

1. Elder Preece and I spent a week together as companions, as he is also ending the mission. He has been a great friend to me. We were able to go to several areas where we were blessed to serve. He also served in Garupa so we were able to visit several friends of ours that we share

2. You might remember Juliana? We baptized her May 29th 2015. Exactly a year ago. We had heard that she was doing great and being faithful in the church, and we planned to see her and mention the temple. When we got to church (we went to church in her ward) she invited us to lunch and said to me, "Elder Graves! Did you hear? I am going to be endowed in June!" I am so happy for her and am grateful that God let me part of her conversion to the true gospel.

3. I was so privileged to go visit an awesome young man who is considering going on a mission who Elder Hawk, (who now is married, I don't know if I told you that yet) and I baptized a year and a half ago. He was in doubt whether he should go or not, but we could help him rekindle his desires to preach the gospel. With tears in his eyes, he went inside and grabbed and gave me his tie so that I might remember him. I quickly reacted by giving him mine. I will miss him.

4. This family is the Duarte family. They are amazing! Elder Hawk, if you are reading this, you will be interested to know, that Sister Duarte's husband who we tried so many times to teach, but so insistently did not want to be baptized, has again accepted the lessons, and will be baptized in a few months( he is not in the picture). Rondi (the one who I have my arm around) will be leaving on the same plane as I - to start his mission as I finish mine. After going to the MTC in Buenos Aires Argentina he will go to Columbia for the next two years. I am so proud of the progress he has made.

5. This family was such a blessing to me. They always helped us, and we had many spiritual experiences together. I will never forget their powerful testimony of the gospel. They will always hold a special place in my heart.

6. Do you remember Enrique? We taught him and he was instantly a "golden investigator". His problem was that he was not able to get married to his "wife" because of problems with his ex-wife and the divorce. He has been earnestly trying to work on this divorce, and it has slowly but surely started to move forward. He will be baptized within a few months. In the year and a half that I have been away from him, he has been fasting weekly, paying his tithing and his fast offering, going to church each week, has read the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, the story of the church (this book is huge. If you haven't seen it... just think of... a really huge book... :-) )

7 y 8. We had the awesome blessing of having a Noche de Hogar (Family Home Evening) with Angelica. If you remember, while I was in Garupa, Elder Gardner and I were able to baptize her. Being with her again was so special, and she told me how happy it makes her to be able to talk to my dad, through Facebook, about the gospel. My dad is like my companion! He has helped me so much in little things like that. Just like the last time I saw her, she was overjoyed to see me, and while last time she went straight for the hug, this time she kissed me on the cheek! I couldn't believe it and didn't know how to react! Anyway... she is amazing, but I think someone will soon need to show her the missionary manual with all of our rules!

9. Cynthia Arrigada has wanted to be baptized and has been listening to the missionaries ever since I started to teach her with Elder Gardner. Her testimony is strong. Her problem is that her husband does not agree with her being baptized. Her time will come, and I will continue to pray that his heart will be softened.

10. During this week, Elder Preece and I were talking about the converts that we had had in our missions and how we feel such a love for each of them. He mentioned a woman that he baptized with Elder Gardner in Garupa, named Maria. She sounded familiar, and he told me that he thought that I had been the missionary to find her. I told him that I wasn't sure. As we went to her house, I saw her, and I instantly recognized her! I only taught her one time, but because of that lesson, the future Elders were able to continue teaching her and baptize her. This helps me realize that all of our efforts are worth it.

11. Some of my greatest friends. We are in the house of the mission getting ready to "sleep" to go to Iguazu falls. (We had to wake up at 1:30 in the morning) I have grown to love each of the people in this picture. They each will be ending the mission with me.


I am going to just send some pictures of Iguazu. All I can say is that this place was amazing.

I know this is the true church. I have been guided by the Spirit in so many circumstances that I can say that I know that He lives. It is too plainly obvious to ever deny. It all starts with prayer, and little by little, our faith begins to grow.


I will be able to go to Ciudad Del Este one last time on Saturday to say goodbye to Sonia Carolina and Fernando, and hopefully a few other dear friends.


I cant believe it is all coming to an end. It is so bitter sweet. I gave my goodbye talk this week, and the tears in the eyes of the humble people of Katuete made me realize the love that I have for them, and the love they have for me. I will not forget them.

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Write to Elder Graves via e-mail by May 29 to reach him before he comes home!!!
  E-mail -  tgraves@myldsmail.net

2 Weeks Left! - Saying Goodbye In Barrio Garupa - Recovering From Dengue Through Priesthood Blessings

As the time passes by, it seems like the time we have to write gets shorter and shorter. However the need to write seems less and less important as we are closer and closer to the coming back home.

This week I will not be able to send pictures, but their are lots the should be coming your way this coming week.

I have had a very interesting experience this week and am very grateful for it. As some might know I was sick some time ago and was not able to work. The illness was called Dengue. Well because of that illness, I have a really weak immune system right now, and was having some problems fighting off an annoying bug. Long story short, I was, again, forced to stay in and rest instead of working. This is the opposite of what I wanted to do at the end of my mission. I was given a blessing that the Lord had some special plans for me in the coming weekend (which would be this past Saturday and Sunday) and that I would be ready to work again on Saturday. I prayed every day that it would turn out that way, and today I can testify that priesthood blessings and unfailing faith are real and powerful.

A good friend from the MTC who will also be going home in 2 weeks, E. Preece and I served a good while in Barrio Garupa, and President Lapierre allowed us to go and say goodbye for the last time to our converts and good friends who we will be leaving here shortly. Their are many stories that I wish I could share with you now, but there is not time today. What I shared with many of them, through tears in my eyes, while they also had tears in theirs, was that it is very difficult to leave home going on a mission, because we know that we won't see our family for two years. But in the back of our mind we know that we will see them in two years. What makes saying goodbye to these people here in Argentina and Paraguay so difficult is that we don't have that assurance that we will be able to come back and be with them again. I will miss these people deeply. They are a new part of my family.

Just so my parents know... Iguazu Falls trip got moved to tomorrow! So I will be sending pictures about the trip next week!

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Write to Elder Graves via e-mail by May 29 to reach him before he comes home!!!

  E-mail -  tgraves@myldsmail.net

3 Weeks Left!!! - Grateful For A Faithful Family

Elder Sampaio made Lasagna!

I feel very blessed to have been able to talk to my family yesterday. For my blog today, I will only be writing a short experience, that I tried to explain to my family last night, but really was unable to (mostly because I don't speak English very well under pressure anymore!! ;) 

We decided to end our conversation with a prayer, and they asked me to chose who I wanted to pray. I felt that it would be nice to hear my sister Amber say the prayer. She prayed, and the Spirit touched my heart and testified to me how so truly blessed I am.

I spend hour after hour day after day, looking for those who really seek Jesus Christ. They want to find him. They want their families to be happy. They just don't know where to find this long searched for happiness. As I heard my sister pray, I realized how incredible it is that she, along with my whole family, knows how to turn to the Lord in time of need. They know what a temple is and how incredible it is to have one near. They understand the power of fasting. They know the importance of daily scripture study.

My family is not perfect, but talking to them yesterday made me realize something. I am not the only one developing spiritually during this time that I am here on the mission. They too are becoming closer to the Savior. I think that I mentally have it in my head that when I return home, everything will be exactly the same as I left it, but I now realize, that is not the case, but that the Lord has been working in the hearts of each of my family members, whether they realize the incredible spiritual growths that have happened or not. If they cant see it, at least I can.

Sorry for not giving much of an update on the area this week, but I just want all to know about the love I have for my family.

Have a great week everyone!

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Write to Elder Graves in 1 of 3 ways  :

1. E-mail -  tgraves@myldsmail.net

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2. 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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3. Physical Mailing Address:

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

Cold Weather - An Unexpected Ride Home - Tithing...An Investment

What happened to the heat?? Seriously, last Sunday (8 days ago) my companion and I decided for the first time that we would not bring our suit coats to church because it was just unbearably hot, but all of the sudden the temperature dropped without warning! It is crazy! Working in the cold, is very different from working in the heat, but I like it just as much :)

This is us right before a lesson. The family was so nice to allow us to wait for the investigators to arrive, and we sat around the fire to warm up.

Just so you all know, my area is called Katuete... but I think almost all of the stories that I come I tell come from my miraculous experiences of Agua Blanca. The other city that we are blessed to visit twice a week. I think we see so many miracles there because we really have to have faith in the Lord for everything to work out. 

It was getting late at night on Friday as my companion and I were walking in Agua Blanca.  We were already exhausted. We could barely keep moving! We had one more lesson to do before going home, but in all honesty we had a sense of dread for what was to come after our lesson, the reason being that our ride home had canceled on us, meaning that we would be forced to walk somewhere around 10 miles in the cold, late at night, to be able to arrive home after our lesson. I kept telling my companion that we just needed to focus on the lesson and the Lord would provide the way. (Realizing very well that "the way" might be our legs).

As we finished our long walk towards our last investigator's home, there was a man standing in the middle of the road. He called to us, and because it was dark, we thought it was a bit strange, but we kept walking towards him and asked him what he needed. He asked us where we were headed, we explained our situation, and he offered us a ride home once we had finished our last lesson of the night.

It is incredible how often miracles like this happen to us when we are in Agua Blanca, mostly because we go out not really knowing exactly how everything will turn out, but that the Lord will surely provide the way. My hope is to continue relying on Him in this way for the rest of my life.

Another great testimony that I have received recently is about tithing. I know it is a true principle. If we pay it we are blessed. Not only this, but it should be our highest priority of "investments". A sister from Agua Blanca explained to us, how they try so hard to earn just a little bit of money, just so they can pay their tithing. You see, they live on a farm, and literally do not use money (occasionally it is necessary of course but  they use very little money). However, their desires to receive the blessings that are promised to us in the scriptures are so great, that they work, just so that they can have the opportunity to pay their tithing. I hope that we can all look at tithing in such a way.

I love the mission, and have spent much time wondering how life will be when I am no longer a missionary. It scares me. It excites me.  Even though I don't really know how everything is going to turn out, I do know that the Lord will again provide the way.

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Write to Elder Graves in 1 of 3 ways  :

1. E-mail -  tgraves@myldsmail.net

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. 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

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Physical Mailing Address:

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

Finishing With A Runner's "Kick" That Started With 3 Days Of Rest :-) - It Is Not About How Much Time We Spend Working, But More What We Do With The Little Time That We Have

This is Taylor's Dad.  Since Taylor wasn't able to send us any pictures this week, I have attached a couple that we received a few months ago from some of the people that Taylor and his companions had visited.  The pictures are not related to this letter and are not the people that he spoke about in this letter, but I wanted to include some pictures (applicable to this letter or not :-)  )

Here is Taylor's letter:

Last week I had lots of pictures, this week, 0... sorry!

It is interesting the way that the Lord humbles us sometimes. This past week, as I was starting my first week of my last transfer, I set some of the highest, and craziest goals with my companion to try and finish my mission with a "kick", as any runner would say. I was so excited to give it my all in these last few weeks that I have left! When, all of a sudden, my companion became very sick, and we have been stuck indoors for the past 3 days :( At first, I felt kinda like my last transfer in the mission had already become a failure. I felt sad about it, but then I realized how many of you constantly are praying for me, and how many of you are there supporting me. I realized that their must be a reason for this pause that we had to take. I tried to take advantage of my time, and get to know the Lord better through prayer, the scriptures, know my companion better as well, and write a few letters to my family. I learned that it is not so much how much time we work, but more, what we do with the little time we have.

To give a quick update on our investigators...

Corina is still amazing as ever. She has almost read the whole Book of Mormon, but is not able to be baptized because her husband has not been married with her yet. He says that he will do it to let her be baptized, but he is not wanting to pay the fee that the state requires to be married. I must be honest, I was tempted to just pay the fee, because it is very small, but they need to learn from the beginning of their membership to be self sufficient. I know she will be baptized, but I just pray that I will be here to witness it.

Luisa and Julian are doing great, but Julian must be divorced before he can get married to his "wife" to later be baptized. Here in Paraguay, divorce is something that will take at least 6 months, and probably a bit more. However, they always do their nightly prayers, come to church and have family home evening. They are what we called "Dry Mormons" ;)

Francisca. We just found her and she is coming to church and in the very first lesson we had with her, we asked her "Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized?" She almost yelled in her response, "YES I WANT TO!" 

There are many more, but there is not enough time to write about each of them.

As the weeks go by, my mind cant decide to be happy or sad about the fact that my mission is coming to a close. All I know is that I have done my best, and I am going to finish with everything I have.

I love you all.

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Write to Elder Graves in 1 of 3 ways  :

1. E-mail -  tgraves@myldsmail.net

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. 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

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Physical Mailing Address:

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

Amazing Physical Transformation - Protecting Skin With Hats & Looking More Like The Texan That He IS :-) - I Think I See A House!!! - Walking, Walking, Walking & Sometimes A Ride :-) - Working Together Towards Physical Fitness Goals - Mom's Birthday Gift

A picture is worth a thousand words. This week will be all about pictures :)

 

Just off to work in a normal day in Agua Blanca...I love the wide variety of nature that we see out here. 

I love it when we are walking out in the nothingness like you see in this picture, we will see a house off in the distance, and my companion will yell, "ELDER ELDER! I SEE A HOUSE!!! LETS GO TALK TO THEM!"

As you saw in the last picture, it is very common that we have to walk great distances to get to our lessons in Agua Blanca, however, sometimes the good people out there see us and tell us to get in the back of their trucks and give us a ride!

 As you can see here we decided to buy hats... don't worry, it is allowed in our mission, but I have avoided hats like the plague, because... they are just goofy! But my companion convinced me that I look like a "real Texan now" so I guess I thought it would be alright to protect our skin from the sun now with some good old straw cowboy hats.

This is my companion! He got here to Agua Blanca, and asked if I could help him lose weight so he could more effectively serve the lord.

Through lots of hard work and dedication, he has lost 25 pounds in 6 weeks! He is a very hard worker and I am so proud of his dedication (even when the workouts I give him...he thinks are crazy!)

As I am able to serve him in just a small way by helping him with his exercises, he asked if there was anything that he could do for me. I told him that my Mom's birthday was coming up, and I wasn't sure what do do yet. He said he had a good idea. He is a very good artist, and drew my family in front of the salt lake temple! (As we don't have hardly any extra time, he sacrificed a few minutes of sleep here and there to finish this for me. He is a great friend to me.)

So mom, even though you don't get to see the original yet... here is a picture of your Birthday present. You are lucky you get to "open" it early.

If you cannot tell, it goes, Shauna, me, Mom, Dad, Jake and then Amber.

I love being a missionary, and hope to "sprint to the finish!"  I love this gospel and will keep doing my best to the end... and then keep working in this work once I get home.

Love you all. 

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Write to Elder Graves in 1 of 3 ways  :

1. E-mail -  tgraves@myldsmail.net

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. 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

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Physical Mailing Address:

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

 

Sabbath Day For A Missionary = Anything But A Day Of Rest, But Worth Every Moment

As a missionary, we frequently struggle to take advantage of the Sabbath day. There are various reasons that this is the case. One is simply the fact that we are constantly working and teaching the gospel, so when Sunday comes, we continue doing what we were doing during the week. Sometimes, we don't experience that "change in feeling" that I so often felt while I was at home able to rest from my labors (as well as, experience a change of focus to the things of the Gospel of Jesus Christ). Another reason that sometimes we are not able to feel the power of the Sabbath Day is because often times we allow ourselves to get stressed about if our investigators are going to come to church, and when they do come, if they are enjoying the experience there. At times we forget about ourselves (which normally is a good thing, but perhaps in this case not so much) and we don't focus on the true reason we are there - to come closer to our Maker and take part in the bread and water that represents the flesh and blood of the Savior.

This week, I had the great blessing to truly be uplifted in every sense of the word during this fast and testimony meeting. We woke up to a call of an investigator who had gotten up early to go to church (for the first time). His name is Hugo, and he knew that church starts at 830, but he wanted to get there early with his family, so we quickly got ready and headed over to the chapel, to open it early so that they could wait an hour and a half for the meetings to start. That was the best way to start the day! As church started, more and more investigators piled in, and many members were there as well. In the second hour of church, I gave a class on the importance of the Mission Labor. I gave my testimony on how important it truly is and how much I love it. I also mentioned that I loved the fact that I am able to serve in the same region of the World as my dad, because I have always wanted to be like him. The people here of Katuete truly know how much I love my Dad, (as well as the rest of my family ;)).

This Sunday we were also blessed to be able to fast for several different purposes. One of them, was something very unusual. There is a very faithful man named Virgilio. He has never missed church even once in the 4 months that I have been here. He is completely blind. He blesses the sacrament each week by memory. It is truly a humbling experience to be next to him as he does so, and then afterward I kneel down with a piece of paper in my hand, so that I can read the prayer. My companion and I had talked to him about giving him a blessing, and he really liked the idea. We told him that we were going to fast first. In the final hours of our fast we were able to give him a blessing. The group leader anointed his head with oil, and my companion gave the blessing. I don't know if I have ever felt the Spirit so strongly. He was not healed in the moment, but he was promised that before his spirit left his mortal body during this life, he would see once again. As my companion said these words, I truly felt something within me that what he had said was true. (I just spent a minute trying to describe the feeling that I felt, realizing that it is not possible. Just know that I truly felt the spirit of God).

This was only part of my Sunday. It seemed like each moment of the day was making it more and more of a delight.

We had testimony meeting, and a very active sister Miguela, got up and started crying. She said "We see the missionaries, time and time again, come all the way to Agua Blanca walking, or biking. They arrive in our homes with sweat on their brows, skin burned from the sun, yet they have a smile on their faces. The sacrifices that they make for us, and for this work make, me want to sacrifice more for the Savior." Her saying this moved me so much. I had often wondered if the difficulties associated with working in Agua Blanca was really worth the effort (because it truly is difficult physically to get there).  Now I see that even had we not baptized a soul there, we have put a good example for the members, that for the Lord, every sacrifice is worth it. She sat down, and her sister Benita (we baptized her a few months ago) got up and bore her testimony for the first time. With tears in her eyes, she also thanked us for our sacrifices. She bore a sincere testimony of the reality of what we teach all the people out here. When she went to sit down, Miguela stood up again and almost ran to her and they hugged and hugged, and cried with tears of joy, because they knew that they were together in the truth.

This was perhaps the most delightful Sabbath day of my life. I hope that I can remember this feeling always, and strive to have it weekly.

Also, as a reminder, I hope that if you have not yet done so, that each of you can try to be a part of the mission work, and help the missionaries in some small way.

With love, Elder Graves

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Write to Elder Graves in 1 of 3 ways  :

1. E-mail -  tgraves@myldsmail.net

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. 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

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Physical Mailing Address:

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