SNOW!!!! (what is that white stuff on the ground?) haha

Date: January 23, 2012

Area: Long Island

Companion - Sister Lewis

Querida Familia!

Guess what!?!!? It SNOWED like for reals :) There was white stuff on the ground and everything!!! haha It's coooooold but I Love it! Alrighty so this week....was wonderful! Full of miracles, laughter, lessons, love, testimony bearing and so much more! Man a lot has happened this week and I wish I could just share it all but lets see what I can remember :)

So Monday we had a Family Home evening with the Familia Mendoza's along with Justo ( a recent Convert) la Familia Majano and Obispo Duran and his family. We were able to read 1st Nephi 8 and we all acted out Lehi's Dream! It was actually really funny! Everyone got into it and it was a lot of fun! It really puts life into perspective. There are people who partake of the fruit (The gospel) and love it and want to share it with others. And then on the other hand there are those who partake of this fruit/ the gospel and then they just depart or fall away from it. And then there are those who never want to partake ( or accept) this gospel. And that part as a missionary is the part that breaks my heart the most. Is to see people that have this chance, this opportunity to partake of the greatest gift that they can receive is this gospel, where by through it they can gain the greatest gift of all gifts of God = Eternal Life! Doctrine and Covenants 14:7. I invite all of you to try, to taste this fruit or the gospel- the teachings of our Savior Jesus Christ! To read the Book of Mormon, no matter how many times you have read it! I promise you that you will feel an increase of love that our Savior and our Father in Heaven has for us! I know that when you read the Book of Mormon daily you will also have an increased strength to resist temptation. Just like my dad always taught me....If you are praying daily, and reading out of the Book of Mormon Daily and going to Church EVERY Sunday you will never fall :) Its part of Heavenly Fathers plan to help us, he has given us all of the tools necessary to make it back to him. We just have to choose whether or not we are going to grab firmly to the Iron Rod! It's our choice!

So what else.....Ok we had zone conference on Tuesday! Again I can not believe that it was already time for another zone conference...these days are flying! Anyways we talked mostly about our Purpose for 2012! Which includes 3rd Nephi 5:13 along with a bunch of other things. Mostly we focused on the healing power of the atonement! We talked about how we can and should apply the atonement daily in our lives, so that we can therefore help and teach others about the atonement. I know that you all are probably getting tired of me saying this, but its all about CHANGE! We need to constantly be making changes, focusing on how we can become a better disciple of our Savior Jesus Christ. A better mother, a better father, a better brother, sister, teacher, missionary....etc! The list can go on and on. I just love my Savior more than anything and am SO thankful that he gives us chance after chance to repent and become better. It is never too late, our savior is just waiting with open arms all we have to do is reach up there and grab his hand.

Welp....So we were also able to contact some peeps that we have been trying to this week. One of them was Eder. He is a humble guy in his 20's who just recently moved here to Brentwood. We took the Majanos over there to a lesson and were able to teach him the restoration and he loved it. He is preparing for baptism and is happy and very surprised that we care enough to teach him. Lets see....Oh ok another cool story.... So my companion and I were walking out of the backyard of an investigators house that we had just talked to. When a car pulled up to their drive way next door. ( you have to know this is the third time that this same car has driven up at the same time)

I felt an impression...I had to go and talk to these people. So my companion and I went to go and talk to this family getting out of their car. So I walked over there and the lady sneakily went into her house. I was left with the dad and his two sons. So I talked to him and he said that he did not really have time to talk, because he was getting ready to go to work. He then told us that we could go and talk to his wife. So we went in their back yard to go and knock on her door. We did, then no answer. We tried again, still no answer. So then a little disappointed we went and knocked the other two doors in the back to the other house. Nada! So about to give up I walked around the corner and numbed into the dad again. We explained to him that we knocked and she didn't answer. So then he told us to go back with him and apparently she was in the back room and couldn't hear us. So she invited us to sit down and we did. We talked to her and explained to her who we were and what we did. We taught her a short lesson. She paused and then said," Did Martha send you?" We then asked her who Martha was. Apparently one of her friends goes to a church and told her that she would send two people to come and teach her. We then replied no but told her that Heavenly Father has a big plan for her and that it's not casualidad ( I don't know how to say that in english anymore) anyways it was not by chance that we came) She then told us that she was waiting for us, and she recognized that we were the Lords Servants. She was more than grateful for our visit.

Remember that AWESOME referral the Carpio Family?!! Well we were able to meet with them again with Hermano Lee. Alfredo is the dad and he is seriously the COOLEST guy ever! We were able to have a wonderful lesson with them, we taught the restoration and they loved it! We invited them to be baptized and they all accepted. They are so ready and have been prepared by other missionary's in the past. I am so thankful for faithful, diligent missionary's who have planted seeds in the past so that now their hearts can be prepared and are ready to accept the gospel now. Just like Hermana Creason said, sometimes as missionarys when we do not see the results that WE as humans, natural man want to see, we feel as if we have failed. But that is NOT true. Just like in Preach my gospel it says, "No effort is wasted". We are always planting seeds, and even though we do not see results immediately. All of you that are not full time missionary's I invite you to talk to your friends about the gospel, invite a non member over for a family home evening! Member work is the BEST!

Its that time, I hope that something that I said has inspired someone, somewhere out there to be a little bit better than you were yesterday. To be more diligent in whatever it might be. Maybe in your prayers, maybe in scripture study, whatever it may be, we all have room to change and improve. I am thankful for my opportunity that I have on the mission to look at my weaknesses and see how I can make them stronger. I am thankful for a loving savior, who wants nothing more than to help us return to live with him. May we treat everyone as a child of God, because that is what we are. May we speak kindly of one another. May we always stand up for what we believe, and help spread this message of hope, of peace, of joy and love! We have a great work to do!

I love you Family! Thank you for all of your love and support! You are the BEST!!!

Con Mucho Amor,
Hermana Gray

“May we ever be courageous and prepared to stand for what we believe, and if we must stand alone in the process, may we do so courageously, strengthened by the knowledge that in reality we are never alone when we stand with our Father in Heaven,” President Thomas S. Monson said during the priesthood session of the October 2011 general conference.