Oh what Joy!! This is TRUE happiness!! Happy Happy HAPPY!!

Date: December 19, 2012
Area: Long Island
Companion - Sister Lewis


Dear Family!

SO much has happened I do not know where to begin! Surprize!!! We had a wedding and 3 baptisms!! YAHOO!
Where to begin....where to begin! My brain is just frazzled with happiness and joy I can hardly think! Here we go! From Baby Showers, to wedding and baptisms! It was WONDERFUL week to say the least! Alright well on Monday and Tuesday it was just busy busy busy! Trying to run around trying to get birth certificates and marriage license! Basically all week we were planning the wedding! bah! It was all worth it though! ok so after running around here and there! por aqui and alla! We had to get a translation of the birth certificates which was going to be a nightmare, because the company was going to charge us a million and half dollars (not really but they were going charge a lot) we were trying to work here on a budget....so we called a member of the ward and they said to call Hermana Chavez, because that is EXACTLY what she does :) So we went over there and she had it done the next day! Phewww we got that done :)

So Tuesday....we had the opportunity to make some papusas with Wendy! Now Wendy is from Honduras, and so she taught us the way that the people of Honduras make papusas! Man let me tell you...making papusas is not easy...lol but its SO worth it! They turned out SO yummy! We really had a fun time making these papusas! I love hispanic food :)

So Wednesday was good! We had the opportunity to go and visit a recent convert and we were able to share with her the visiting teaching message. I absolutely LOVE how organized our church is. I love that us as Women have the opportunity to build up the kingdom of the lord by visiting teaching. Seriously it makes the biggest difference! Then after that we all went to the church where we had a baby shower for Sandra, it turned out really nice and all of the sisters were really supportive. I am seriously so blessed to be in this area at this time, we have a wonderful ward.

Alright....so Thursday! We ate at the familia Mercados. They are my FAVORITE Peruvian family ever! Then that night we we were going to have a lesson with the Familia Mendoza, talking about baptism. Rey the husband was still a little unsure and thought that he needed more time. So anyways we had the lesson and talked about requirements for baptism from Doctrine and Covenants 20:37 and also about faith. Wendy and Anderson said that they wanted to be baptized however Rey was still a little unsure. We told him that this was his decision and that he was the only one that could decide. So they Elders came over to interview them and Rey went first. We stayed and watched a church film with the family until the other ones could be interviewed. When Rey came out we were about to leave when Hermana Majano said, "Hermanas come here, Rey wants to tell you something." My heart was pounding...I did not know what to think...Rey then said with a big grin on his face, " I am getting BAPTIZED"! Say what?!?! Oh man I was like in Shock! You have NO IDEA how happy this made me! The Familia Mendoza were going to take this important step in life as a family! The spirit was super strong as it was in the lesson that we had before hand. It is really neat to see that when the spirit is there, what a difference it makes. We all know that we are not the teachers, but it is the Spirit that teaches and bears testimony and witness of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Alright.....moving on! To put it short we had the wedding on Saturday along with the ward Christmas Party! It was SO much fun! I have to say that Hermana Lewis and I are pro-wedding planners! Consider it my job when I get back! haha JK but seriously thats what I felt like this week, it was perfect! We bought Wendy a Boquet and she loved it! She said to me,"Hermana Gray you were an answer to my prayer, how did you know that I wanted a boquet" haha There seriously is NO greater joy than making other people happy! Really!! When we are constantly thinking about ourselves is when we are not truly happy, but we can be happy when we loose ourselves and GO TO WORK! :) Just like President Hinckleys Dad said :)

Sunday Sunday....Sunday was the BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!! Seriously so many emotions..I can not quite explain it all, but I sure am happy! Alright so we had sacrament meeting....5 minutes before I was asked to sing a solo...hm Ok :) Gladly! lol I guess they liked the solo that I sang for the Stake fireside...Welp that was fun! It was such a neat feeling to see Wendy and her family in the congregation! Then we had the baptism....Words can not fully describe the feelings that I had. Wendy was so cute in relief society she was counting down the minutes till her baptism. Everyone gathered in the room for the baptism. The other sisters had a baptism his name was Justo- he is the sweetest most humble man that I have ever met. It was a happy day for all of us! After the baptism I asked Wendy how she felt, she said, "Happy"! I AM HAPPY!!! There is NO other way to describe it! I am HAPPY!

Being on a mission means everything to me! I have never felt so much joy in my life as I have being on a mission. Being able to see the changes that people make through the loving power of the atonement, the sacrifice of our savior Jesus Christ. I can not think of a better way to be celebrating Christmas than to be here in NY serving my mission teaching about our savior Jesus Christ. I love this gospel. I know that this is the ONLY true church on this earth that has the fullness of this gospel. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ is the ONLY way that we can receive those sacred ordinances to make it back to our father in Heaven. I love the Book of Mormon, it is the Key Stone through our religion. We can and will find so much happiness through reading it. Every page teaches us of our Savior Jesus Christ, and through reading it we can find the strength to get through everyday.

I hope that you all have the BEST Christmas! I am so happy to be spending it here in NY :)

I love you all!

Hermana Gray

P.s. Allen Ranch Young Men and Young Women - Thank you SO much for all of your cards it meant the world to me!

(2 Nephi 25:26) And we atalk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we bprophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our cchildren may know to what source they may look for a dremission of their sins.