Lovely Jamaica :)

Date: September 12, 2011

Area: Jamiaca, Queens
Companions - Sister Lambert, Sister Hughes

Dear Family,

I hope that you had a wonderful week :) I know that I sure did. The mission is seriously amazing! Honestly there is NOTHING like it! There is NO greater joy than that of bringing others unto christ, really there isnt. I have love love LOVED personal study time on the scriptures. I have learned more than I ever thought I could. Especially out of the Book of Mormon it is incredible!! I love being able to study for more than just to study, as we know that on a mission you are always doing things for others. You plan for your investigators, you pray for your investigators, you study for your investigators. We are always in the service of others, and I love it! Dad I always remember you telling us kids that when we feel bad for ourselves to go and serve someone else and that it would make us happier! Well that is 100% true! Whenever I get down about an investigator or whatever I just do as President Hinckleys father said , " Forget yourself and go to work" It is really when we loose ourselves in the work when we find ourselves and I have seen that so many times on the mission! It is so neat that we have the opportunity to sit and talk with and teach people everyday.

I love being able to contact people especially on the bus. I am in like EVERY country all at the same time. One person gets on the train and I talk to them and they are from the Trinidad, then another France, and then another Russia,Spain, Italy, Mexico, Iran, Iraq...and the list goes on and on. I feel so privilaged to be able to bring this gospel to the whole world really :)

Ok so during this week we had the opportunity to go and visit Hermana Munoz - She is an 84 year old who is not doing too well health wise. So we go and visit her a lot. She has a home care attendant that is always there so we were able to teach her the first lesson and teach her about Joseph Smiths experience. When we told her that Joseph Smiths prayer was answered - which was him wanting to know out of ALL of the churches which church was true. She began frantically searching the bible and the Book of Mormon for the answer. Ha then we were able to tell her that his answer was that NONE of the churches were true, and that he needed to restore the same church back onto the earth that was here while Jesus was on the earth. She loved it! And she said " I am going to read the Book of Mormon, even before we asked her! She is excited to meet with the missionarys in Brooklyn.

We were able to teach this family of 6 kids the Gutierez family. They are the funniest kids and have the attention span of.....well ZERO! haha so you can imagine how this lesson went... it was so funny and all of the kids had soooo many questions. We were in the middle of the lesson when all of a sudden the little boy Bryan got up and got the door and said that
there were two Elders here....we were super confused--haha and the Elders from Little neck showed up.. Turns out that we had our areas confused and it was actually their area. It actually worked out perfectly because we had to run to another lesson and so they were able to finish it :) I love that family!

We had a really good lesson with Armando about the Word of Wisdom, we took away his cigarettes and coffee. He is doing good and continuing to come to church on Sunday so that is a wonderful sign.

On Saturday they had a little Carnival/booth fair thing for September 11th memorial in Richmond Hill. So we were able to set up a booth with Book of Mormons and the "I am a Mormon" Sign and able to give away cards. Dad I found a Family from CHILE!! They were SO nice and they said that they actually had a Book of Mormon and that they once had missionarys over at their house. So I got their information and am going to give it to the Elders in Richmond hill!

We also were able to have a lesson with Ana Rivas about Sacrifice, we read from our heritage and talked about all of the sacrifices that they had to make. The spirit was SO strong in that room and I know that everyone felt it.

Sunday was lovely! Church was wonderful! We had a high council man come and talk and we had two baptisms. They were both from the primary...One of them was this little boy named Alex who Hermana Alvarado and I had taught all of the lessons to. It was such a spiritual experience. I love seeing little children entering into the waters of baptism. I love being able to feel how much their father in Heaven really does love and care for each and every one of his Children.

Okay well I do not have much time. but I want each of you to know how much I LOVE YOU!

This is his work and his glory! This church is God's Kingdom on the Earth, I feel so blessed that the lords trust me to teach the people of NY!

Keep being amazing!!

I love you
Hermana Gray

“Faith precedes the miracle. It has ever been so and shall ever be. It was not raining when Noah was commanded to build an ark. There was no visible ram in the thicket when Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac. Two heavenly personages were not yet seen when Joseph knelt and prayed. First came the test of faith–and then the miracle. Remember that faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other. Cast out doubt. Cultivate faith.”
( “The Call to Serve,” Ensign, Nov. 2000, 48–49.)