I LOVE Missionary LIFE!!!

Date: April 30, 2012

Area: Flushing, Queens

Companion - Sister Allen

Dearest Familia,

The Lord is SO aware of each and every one of us. He loves us and he wants nothing more than for us to to return to live with him again. He wants nothing more than for us to return to live with him. This week has been nothing short of AMAZING! I seriously LOVE LOVE missionary work, missionary life! This is the work of the Savior, for we all know that when the savior was here on the earth that he taught the gospel, he invited souls to come unto him. That is what I have the privilage to do as a missionary. Nothing greater!

So Tuesday....We were able to teach Manuel who is a recent convert. He wanted to know more about the story of Joseph Smith, so we were able to watch the movie "The prophet of the Restoration." He was paying so closely attention to the movie and just so amazed and soaking up everything that he learned. It was so humbling to be able to give someone this knowledge he was more than happy to be able to now know the story. Afterwards he told us that the movie made him want to become a better person, and that he is going to make sure that he reads from the Book of Mormon everyday and that he was going to take everything more serious. He was able to talk to President Perez, we are working so that he can get the priesthood. I love Manuel so much, I hope to find someone like him to teach, he just gets so excited about everything that we teach!

We were able to review the Plan of Salvation with the girls. We wanted to see how much they remembered. It was such a neat experience to see what they have learned and to have them review the Plan of Salvation and to see that these girls KNOW why we are here on this earth and what we have to do to make it back to live with our Heavenly Father. I LOVE this gospel and its teachings. It MAKES SENSE :) Our Heavenly Father loves us so he created a plan, a plan by which if we live by it and obey we can make it back to live with our Heavenly Father. He does not ask much of us, but what he does ask is that we Obey his Commandments. When we obey his commandments we are blessed! So WHY not?! haha sounds like a good deal to me :)

So about a week ago we were able to meet this lady named Iris who is a less active. Anyways if you remember we invited her friend Debrena who is from REAL Jamaica to come and pray with us. Long story short we brought the English Elders over so that we could teach Debrena. Lets just say that she is one of the MOST PREPARED people that I have ever met. She was like well....shouldn't the Book of Mormon just be like a continuation of the Bible?? She loved everything that we taught. Not to mention that she said and I quote, " My favorite prophet is Isaiah?!?!" haha who says that?! Well we told her that she would LOVE 2 Nephi! :) She said that she would read it and she understood the need for modern day prophets. The elders are excited to teach her and oh p.s did I tell you that she asked US if she could come to church! Of course!!!

This week has been INCREDIBLE! I just wanted to say thank you so much everyone for all of your prayers I can feel them. So our Zone decided to do a fast for the zone and all of the baptism commits. So church this Sunday we were all praying really hard so that Hermana Patricia Ayala could come to church. Our church starts 9:00am, I was sitting at the piano because I am the ward pianist, and as I sat there I said a little prayer to myself that the entire family would show up. It was past 9 oclock... I then began to play the first verse of the first hymn. As I began to play the second verse I looked over and I saw the ENTIRE Ayala Family Walk in. You have NO idea how happy I felt. I had an overwhelming feeling of Joy! I really can not tell you how I felt. It was so good to know that I have been able to work in THIS part of the Lord's Vineyard to help bring souls back to Christ. Everyone was so nice and very welcoming. This gospel is about FAMILIES! Families can be together forever, through Heavenly Fathers Plan.

Fun note- So on Sunday when I showed up at the Sanchez family for Dinner they threw me a surprize birthday party!!! The Martinez and Gonzales family were also there! ( 2 of my favorite families from Jamaica Branch) I feel so loved and so spoiled! The people of New York are my Family here! I love NY, I love the Members and I am so thankful for the wonderful people that I have met on my mission!

He loves us! He sent his son to die for us, so that we through him might live! I know that the Book of Mormon is the Word of God. If we read it everyday we can prepare to live and have eternal lives. God has given us families for many reasons; one to be happy, to provide a place where we can learn correct principles and to prepare us to one day be able to live in God's presence and to enjoy the blessings of Exhaltation. I love this gospel! I am SO thankful that I have to opportunity to serve the lord for this short time period of a year and a half.

I love this work! This is His Work.

I love you all!

Con MUCHISIMO Amor,
Hermana Gray



"Communication with our Father in Heaven is not a trivial matter. It is a sacred privilege. It is based upon eternal, unchanging principles. We receive help from our Father in Heaven in response to our faith, obedience, and the proper use of agency."

—Elder Richard G. Scott, "How to Obtain Revelation and Inspiration for Your Personal Life", General Conference, Apr. 2012
Topics: Prayer, Revelation

Birthdays on the Mission are the best!

Date: April 23, 2012

Area: Flushing, Queens

Companion - Sister Allen

Dear Family!

I am a year older :) ahhhh! Well I am now 22! It's Weird...but life goes on :) This week was wonderful! Full of Miracles, Finding and teaching! I hope that you all had a wonderful week! Father Dearest I hope that you have the BEST Birthday Ever this Saturday! Go and eat at Mattas or something for me :) I love you! Thanks for being the best dad any girl could ever ask for and always teaching us kiddos to live the gospel and to always read our scriptures and pray.

Monday we were going to an appointment and the appointment fell threw. So we went to go and look up some other people. We were able to knock on this one apartment and they let us right in. We talked to Ober and his family about the Book of Mormon ( we only had 5 minutes). Ober then responded " Well are you going to give me a book so I can read it?!" ha Of course! So we gave him a Book and he said that he was going to try his hardest to make it to church on Sunday!

So Tuesday was a great day! There is this less active who had her daughter visiting for 2 weeks. Anyways we were able to visit her the week before and taught her the restoration of the gospel. Her daughters name was Pamela and we were able to teach her right before she flew back to florida. We were able to teach her the Plan of Salvation. I know that I have mentioned before,but the Plan of Salvation is by far my favorite lesson to teach. It just makes sense! She loved everything and it was really neat to be able to see the light light up in her eyes, you could see that everything made sense in her eyes. One thing that I love about being a missionary is the fact that we are not teaching really anything new to these people. We are all sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father and he loves us. We accepted this plan even before we came to this earth. We just have to walk by faith rather than by sight. We invited her to be baptized and she gladly accepted. It was really sad to see her go back to Florida, however we were able to give the missionarys in Florida her information and I know that she will soon enter into the covenant of baptism :)

Tuesday night we were able to go the Ayala girls house and we were able to go over the baptisimal questions with them. The knew everything and passed it with flying colors. These girls are so ready to be baptized. It has been really neat to see the hand of the lord throughout this whole process. Really we can no NOTHING without the help of the lord, however with him we can do ANYTHING! I have been often thinking of the lyrics from the song that I sang at my own baptism when I was 8 years old. "Nothing's too hard for the lord for the lord, nothing's too hard for the lord, if he has a job that he wants me to do, its not hard for me and the Lord." It has been really humbling to see how the faith of these girls has grown and seen them put their faith and trust in the lord and seen their testimonys grow. I LOVE being a missionary!!

Wilmer- So Wilmer is an english class student. Last week I mentioned that he showed up at Stake Conference and he loved it! We then asked him if we could meet with him on Wednesday. He happily agreed. Hermano Sanchez came with us and we were all able to teach Wilmer the Restoration of the gospel. It was a really smooth lesson and he really liked everything that we were able to invite him to be baptized. He accepted! He is really excited! He also came to church on Sunday and really enjoyed himself. I am excited to be able to work with him and see him progress.
P.s. On Wednesday we had 9 students at english Class which was really neat to be able to teach them and also talk to them about the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is really neat when they remember what we teach. Wilmer brought up that he loved what we had talked about the last week in English Class about Repentance. I am so grateful for repentance and for the opportunity that we have daily to Repent and CHANGE :)

Thursday we were able to meet a lot of people and set up future appointments. We were also able to teach the girls. We watched the movie the "Testamants". It is seriously one of my FAVORITE! It is so wonderful to know that we have a savior and Redeemer who loves us. I know that My Savior Jesus Christ died for each and every one of us. I also know that He lives! I know that it is ONLY throught our Savior Jesus Christ that we can make it back to him. We need to have faith in him. I am so thankful for my own testimony in my Savior Jesus Christ. To know that he did in fact visit the people of the Americas and that he once again extended his arms of love towards us and restored his gospel on the earth through a Prophet Joseph Smith. He also loves us so much that he gave us Another Testament of Jesus Christ- the Book of Mormon. I am so thankful that we each day are able to read from the Book of Mormon and come closer to our Savior Jesus Christ. I am so thankful that I have this blessed opportunity to serve my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and teach the people of New York about the Gospel. I love this gospel! I am thankful that I have this knowledge and I am eager to share it with those around me :) Mission life is the BEST!

Saturday! - Saturday was the best! Not only was it my birthday- but it was full of teaching and miracles. We were able to go out with the Brownells ( an older couple missionary) They mean so much to me. It was great being able to spend time with them. Also we were able to go and teach Guillermo :) They threw me a surprize lunch and a cake. I love them so much! We also were able to teach Marianna and her daughter Juana and then we were able to have a kneeling prayer with their whole family. Marianna made me a birthday dinner to share with all of the Elders. Then we went to go and teach a man that I contacted on the street. His name was Luis Salazar! I was So Excited because he was mexican and so we had a member with us who was mexican:) Ok so..

funny note- So we went to go and look him up. We knocked on his door and this chinese man answered the door. With his broken english I understood that we were to follow him upstairs to be able to see this "Luis Salazar" whom we were looking for. So we followed this chinese man upstairs and he led us to a room that he unlocked. We then were standing here in this empty room- oddly confused. Not being able to understand him, I called the Chinese Elders and had them talk to this chinese man on the phone. Next thing I knew Elder Long told us to wait there and that they were going to be there in five minutes. So we waited for the elders and they came. We quickly left to go and find luis salazar. About 2 minutes later all of the elders came downstairs. I asked them what happened....Elder Long then proceeded to tell me that this chinese man thought that we wanted to rent a room :) haha oh the life of a missionary!

Well I was continually surprized by members all day! I love being a missionary! We were able to teach many lessons. Also we were able to give a Book of Mormon to this lady that I talked to in the Elevator the other day named Yvonne

Miracles Happen! Hearts Change :)

Date: April 16, 2012

Area: Flushing, Queens

Companion - Sister Allen

Querida Family!

My heart is Full!! If you want to know what brings TRUE happiness! THIS IS IT :) The gospel of Jesus Christ. Many people especially here in NY Try to find happiness in shopping, drugs, alcohol, expensive clothing....Material or "Worldly Things".ETC That my friends is NOT true happiness! True happiness is in LIVING the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In obeying the commandments and doing what our Heavenly Father has asked us to do. Reading our Scriptures DAILY, praying Daily, and going to church EVERY Sunday and worthily partaking of the Sacrament. That is what brings True happiness! I am Happy! Are you? I sure hope so :)

So where do these weeks keep going? I am not sure! ha anywho...So Monday we had a Family Home Evening with a bunch of Youth from our ward. We were able to talk about the importance of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the importance of the Book of Mormon. It was really neat and got them excited about sharing the gospel with their friends. After that we were able to run over the Ayala Family's house and have a Family Home Evening with the Entire Family! We were able to have Sandra a return missionary come to the lesson with us. We first started out by doing something that my family once did for a Family night, we had cut out hearts and on each heart we had them each write something nice about every member in the family. This was really nice to see them get excited about complimenting each other. Sister Ayala really like this activity and it as neat to see her heart changing little by little. After that we talked about the importance of familys. Then Sister Ayala brought up the baptism of her girls. She told us that Juliana was ready but that Alexandra was not. We then were able to talk to ask Alexandra why she did not feel ready and she did not really know why. So we went ahead and read what the Lord requires of his children to be baptized. We read Doctrine and Covenants 20:37. Then we asked Alexandra which one of those requirements did she need help with. She then replied none of them. Then we asked her what she thought that meant, to which she replied, "I am ready." After that we were able to watch the video on Mormon.org about the inactive family from El Salvador that are trying to make it to the temple. The spirit was really strong during this movie and hearts were softened. They all agreed that they are going to work their hardest to be able to make it back to church as a family. At the end of the Movie Alexandra was like, "I am ready!" They both accepted the date and are working for May 6th! My heart was full! I know that when the spirit is there, both the investigator and missionary can learn. It is amazing to me to see how the atonement can and will change lives is we allow it to work on us. The atonement is a gift to all of us. We just need to make use of it. It is REAL :)

Wednesday we were able to have a Zone Conference! Can I just tell you how much I LOVE Zone conferences!?!?! Well I do LOVE them! President Nelson is just so inspired! We had the privilage of hearing form 3 old missionarys who have gone home. They are like mission legends. Elder Rudoz, Elder Doyle and Elder Anan. It was really nice to hear from them and the advice that they had for each of us. It is neat to be able to learn from other missionarys. The main topic of the Zone Conference was lOVE. We need to Love our Companions, Love the people that we serve, Love our investigators and Love the Members. Love should be our motive for everything that we do. For we all know that the greatest act of Love was that of the Atonement- or the sacrifice of our savior for each and every one of us. I had the opportunity to participate in a musical number that was all about our Savior Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice. I am so thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ and for all that he has done for us. Without him Nothing would be possible.

We were able to meet with a Less Active named Anna Pena and she had friend named Manuel who not knowing I had actually talked to the other day in the street. We were able to have a lesson with both him and her. We are excited to meet with him again and to keep teaching him. We also were able to finally meet with Glady's. She is someone that Hermana Lambert and I were teaching. Anyways were able to teach her the first half of the plan of Salvation. She loved it and has been reading from the Book of Mormon ever since we gave it to her. Also her cousin who lives with her also took the Book of Mormon to work and began reading it. We invited Gladys to be baptized and set a date. She is so excited and willing to meet with us.

We were able to have another really good lesson with the Ayalas family. We read Alma 24 with the whole entire family and we were able talk about burying our weapons of war. CLARE VATERLAUS if you are reading this- you know what happens next :) haha We then talked about "Burying our OWN weapons of war". So we had everyone write down on a piece of toilet paper somethings that they wanted to give up or be better at, in order to be living more intune with what our Heavenly Father wants us to do. Then after that we flushed them down the toilet and promised to never do those things again. It was really neat to see them all get excited about the activity and making changes in their own lives.

Sunday was GREAT! We had stake conference! It was AMAZING! I just love the QUEENS stake! It is so diverse and there are people that come literally from ALL OVER THE WORLD :) Unfortunately the family Ayala were all SUPER sick and were not able to come to church. However the lord had another miracle in mind. When we got to stake conference thinking that there was no one with us. Sister Allen suddenly nugged me as we both spoted one of our English Class students named Wilmer came to Stake Conference. He stayed the entire time and loved it! He said that he is planning on coming to church next week! It made me SO happy! Just another testimony that the Lord is really preparing these people all over the place to hear the gospel. We just need to go and find them!

I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is True! We have a living prophet today who leads and guides us named President Thomas S. Monson. Jesus Christ Lives and loves us! The Book of Mormon is the key! If we read it and pray every day we will never fall!

I love you all!

Love Hermana Gray

P.s. Happy Birthday Aunt Connie Gray! I love you!

"For most of us, however, what is required is not to die for the Church but to live for it. The price of discipleship may mean leaving behind many things. Some have learned how dear a price it is to leave loved ones in order to be baptized. Yet Jesus taught, “Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life” (Matt. 19:29 ~ President James E. Faust

May we always remember the Resurrection :)

Date: April 9, 2012

Area: Flushing, Queens

Companion - Sister Allen

Dear Family,

I hope that you all had a Happy Easter! I sure know that I did :) My week was wonderful! I hope that you all were able to remember our savior Jesus Christ and his suffering and that he was resurrected. I am so thankful for the resurrection,for we know that because he was resurrected we all are going to have the opportunity to be resurrected. It is a free gift to everyone. I am so incredibly thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ and all that he has done for me. I feel very humbled to have this short opportunity to be able to serve him as a full time missionary. I love this gospel so much and am so thankful that I can be an instrument in the lord's hands to help bring his children to him.

We were able to go and teach David Calle- he is an 11year old recent convert. He is such an incredible kid and so intune to the spirit. It was really neat when we were able to go over there, because when we got there to his house, he told us, " I felt that you sisters were coming today." I am so thankful for the spirit, for it is vital in missionary work. We were able to talk to David about his conversion story. He told us that he always had questions and that his mom could not answer. One day the missionarys were able to get in contact with him and were able to answer all of his questions. He was able to read from the Book of Mormon and he found peace. He is ELEVEN!!! I just love how the Book of Mormon is written so simply that even a child can read and understand it. ANYone that has a real desire to know if the Book of Mormon is true, reads from it and prays to ask God if it is true WILL gain a testimony of its truthfullness.

Speaking of which..We had a really incredible lesson with the girls on prayer. I have been able to learn so much on prayer being on my mission. We talked about how our Father in Heaven wants nothing more than to bless us. He wants to give us all the joy that he has, however a lot of the blessings that Heavenly Father has prepared for us and he is just waiting for us to ask him. So we also talked about the importance of listening in our prayers. I asked the girls if they had prayed about whether or not the Book of Mormon was true, and if Joesph Smith was a true prophet. They said that they had not. They said that they wanted to know more. So then I asked them, " Do you think that Heavenly Father knows if this book if true RIGHT Now?? They responded YES! They also asked the same about Joseph Smith! They both resonded YES! And so then we all kneeled down and both Alexandra and Juliana offered a prayer and asked if The Book of Mormon was True and If Joseph Smith was a true Prophet. Then we sat there and waited....After a while Alexandra all of a sudden says, " ITS TRUE ITS TRUE, I Felt it"! It just goes to show, like I was saying earlier anyone who takes moronis promise WILL find out that these things are true :) There is power in the Book of Mormon....You just have to READ it! :)

It was so cute the other day we were knocking doors looking up people and this cute little girl answered the door. We talked to her about what she remembered about the missionarys so she talked a little bit about the restoration. We asked her if they gave her a Book of Mormon, she replied "no" and so then we asked her if she wanted one she replied "Yes". As we were talking to her about what the Book of Mormon was about her little friend (an 11 year old) came outside. She then told us that she had read the Book of Mormon before. She said that her neighbor Marianna ( who is a member) let her borrow one. We asked her if she wanted her own copy and she said yes! These two girls are adorable, and have that light about them and are just so anxious to learn more.

Easter was wonderful! The Ayala girls came to church with their Dad :) Sacrament meeting was wonderful as well as all of the other meetings. It was really neat to be on the mission during easter time. To really be able to focus on what is really important. We are so blessed to know that Jesus Christ has been resurrected. There is a really cool video on LDS.ORG that ALL of you should watch. It talks about Jesus Christ and his life and that he has resurrected.

I know that HE Lives! Jesus is the Christ! He loves us! In fact he loves us so much that he died for each and every one of us, so that we might live, so that we might have a way back to our Heavenly Father. I know that the Book of Mormon is True, and that anyone that reads it and prays can know to that It is TRUE! It is the Word of God. I LOVE this gospel!

I love all of you

May we always remember what we really celebrate on Easter :)

Loves,
Hermana Gray

Resurrection

“In all the history of the world there have been many great and wise souls, many of whom claimed special knowledge of God. But when the Savior rose from the tomb, He did something no one had ever done. He did something no one else could do. He broke the bonds of death, not only for Himself but for all who have ever lived—the just and the unjust (see John 5:28–29).”

Joseph B. Wirthlin, "

A new Transfer! New Experiences! New Miracles!

Date: April 2, 2012

Area: Flushing, Queens

Companion - Sister Allen

Querido Familia,

I can not begin to tell you or express to you how much I LOVE you! I hope that each of you know that I love you! You mean the world to me. I am filled with love. I feel so much Love from my Father in Heaven and know that he has a plan for me specifically and for all of his children. Mom and Dad I just wanted to thank you for always making sure that we had Family Home Evenings, Daily Family Scripture Study and Prayer. It has made all the difference in my life and I have learned to appreciate it a lot more from being on my mission. So THANK YOU :)

I enjoyed my last day with Hermana Lambert last Monday. We were able to teach the girls one last lesson about always staying strong in the gospel no MATTER what circumstances come up. They are incredible and have really been an example for me. Tuesday was TRANSFERS! I was really sad to see Hermana Lambert Leave, but once again I know that whatever she does in her life I know that she will be successful at it. Sister Lambert Shout out! - Thank you for everything that you have taught me this past transfer I love you! Okay...So My new companion straight from the MTC is Hermana Allen- She is From Los Angeles California and she is a stellar missionary. I feel so excited to train- and very humbled. I just also want to say thank you for all of the prayers on behalf of missionarys, we feel it and are extremely grateful. Transfers meeting was excellent as always. I just love President and Sister Nelson, they are incredible and always so inspired.

Hermana Allen and I "hit the pavment". I took her home by the trains and had her experience her first "Fearlessing" ( aka talking to everyone and anyone and giving them cards and etc...) She did excellent! She fearlessed these 3 Hispanics from Mexico on the subway! She is awesome! We were able to teach the girls about tithing. They loved the lesson. Even before we asked them if they would commit to living the Law of Tithing after they are baptized....and before we could even finish the question little Juliana says, "OF COURSE I will obey....Its a commandment duh?!" haha I just love how much faith these little girls have. I know that I have said this before but Ill say it again. It is NO wonder that our Heavenly Father tells us that we need to become as little children. They just GET it. Sometimes as adults we try to complicate things- However The Gospel is Simple!

God is our Loving Heavenly Father. We are his Children. He loves us and so he has created a plan for each and every one of us to follow. If we do so, we will be HAPPY! Its as simple as that. When we Obey we are HAPPY! We have as a mission been studying a lot about obedience. Can I just tell you how grateful I am that we have commandments?! Well I am :) It is just like they t old us in Conference- that they are guidelines for us to be happy! Heavenly Father does not give us commandments to make us miserable...in fact it is just the opposite. If we obey we WILL be happy! Especially in terms of Missionary Work. When we are obedient we are blessed. As we were discussing obedience one of the missionarys said. " I have never met a disobedient Elder who is happy! " It is not possible! If we want to be happy we must obey.

Well Lets see what else. Ok the other day we decided to go and look up some members. One of the members was not there and so we knocked the apartments around her. So we met this lady Edia and we asked her if we could come in for 5 minutes. She then let us in and we were able to teach her the restoration. It was a great lesson. We asked her why she let us in. She then responded by saying "You Mentioned Jesus Christ, so I had to let you in." Well that is our Message. We have a Savior Jesus Christ who died and atoned for all of our sins. He did this so that we might come unto him through baptism being the first step. It is a way that we show him that we want to follow him. Who doesn't want to follow Jesus Christ?! Well I do :) We also found out that she happened to have a brother who was a member....small world.

Well Conference was this weekend! Wasn't it INCREDIBLE??! I loved loved conference! Juliana and Alexandra were able to come with us to conference. Little Juliana the champ that she is came with us to 3 out of the 4 sessions of conference. I loved conference! I don't know how anyone can watch General Conference and not know that this is true! I loved the talk where he told a story of his friend who sat down on the plane and asked the man next to him if he was a Mormon? No "Well you should be! Its a Great religion" He continues. " Have you read the Book of Mormon?" The man responded No," Well you should! Its a great Book!"To all of you reading this I might ask the same question, Have you read the Book of Mormon? If the answer is No- Well you Should! Its a great book! However it is MUCH more than a GREAT book! It is the BEST book! One can grow closer to our Heavenly Father and know more about our Savior Jesus Christ than ANY other book! So WHY Not? What do you have to loose? haha Nothing! In fact you have so much to gain! Read it! Pray about it! and I can Promise you that God will answer your prayer, because he loves you! He wants nothing more than for you to be happy!

Here are some Highlights that I liked from Conference -

President Uchdorf said
“Let us, as disciples of Jesus Christ, return good for evil. Let us not seek revenge or allow our wrath to overcome us. … As member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, wherever we may be, let us be known as a people who have love one to another” (see John 13:35). and STOP IT! ( hehe that was my favorite)

Elder Russel M. Nelson said
“Spiritual progress is attained through steps of faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end, including the endowment and sealing ordinances of the holy temple.”

Elder Ronald A. Rasband said
Though many people face trials, adversities, disabilities, heartaches, and all manner of afflictions, a loving Savior will always be there, said Elder Rasband. “He has promised: ‘I will not leave you comfortless: I will come unto you’ (John 14:18) ‘… My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid’” (John 14:27).

Elder Perry asked, “What was the difference between the people of Alma and the people of Limhi? ... The people of Alma were peaceful and more righteous; they had already been baptized and entered into a covenant with the Lord; they humbled themselves before the Lord even before their tribulations started.”

Elder M. Russel Ballard said,
“Everyone loses their way at some point, to some degree,” he said Sunday afternoon. “It is through the promptings of the Holy Ghost that we can be brought safely back onto the right path; and it is the atoning sacrifice of the Savior that can return us home.”

Elder Neil. L. Anderson
“And so we each ask, ‘What thinks Christ of me?’”

Presdient Thomas S. Monson
We live in troubled times. I assure you that our Heavenly Father is mindful of the challenges we face. He loves each of us and desires to bless us and to help us. May we call upon Him in prayer, as He admonished when He said: “Pray always, and I will pour out my spirit upon you, and great shall be your blessing—yea, even more than if you should obtain treasures of earth.”

There are many things that we can learn from Conference. May we all apply the things that we learned and just like President Monson says. May we all be better than we were yesterday!

I know that we have a living prophet President Thomas S. Monson who leads and guides us today. Christ is the Head of this Church. The Book of Mormon is the Word of God! READ it :) I konw that my redeemer lives and that he died for us so that we might come unto him. The atonement is real! We can all change and become more and more like our Heavenly Father.

I love you all!
Thank you for your love and support!

May we all ask ourselves the Question "What thinks Christ of Me?"

Love
Hermana Gray

Happy Early Easter!!

A Transfer of Miracles!

Date: March 26, 2012

Area: Flushing, Queens

Companion - Sister Lambert

Dearest Familia,

This week has been Amazing! Really there are no words to describe it! It has been full of teaching and finding! Missionary Work is the BEST! I looove it! We have seen many miracles here in Flushing. I know that the Lord is watching and aware of each and every one of his children and only wants the best for them. This week has been amazing! This has by far been the fastest transfer of my life!! They keep getting faster and faster. I am sad to see Hermana Lambert finish her mission, however I know that there are great things awaiting her and I know that she is going to be able to accomplish her goals.

We have been able to see the girls Juliana and Alexandra almost everyday this week! They are just soaking up everything that we are teaching them. They are reading and praying, I have really seen them change and have that desire to follow Jesus Christ. Hermana Lambert and I have been praying really hard to be able to go and teach the entire Ayala Family. Usually when we go it is just the girls, and the dad occasionally comes and sits down and the mom usually gets home half way through the lesson. Thursday we had the wonderful opportunity to have Sister Nelson come out teaching with us. I absolutely LOVE Sister Nelson- she is one of the most selfless, kind, thoughtful people I know. She served her mission in Chile and we just all love her. So she came with us to teach the girls. When we got there little Alexandra was worried because she had to draw something for a project on the holocost for school. Sister Nelson then started drawing something for her and explaining to her things from when she was in Jerusalem and then she quickly related it to the Book of Mormon. We then were able to direct that message into the lesson that we had to share. Patricia the mother then walked in and Sister Nelson was quickly able to connect with her and we invited her in. Patricia then shared with us some of her feelings and how she really wanted to come back to church and bore a simple testimony of the truthfullness of this gospel. Then before we knew it Alex walked in and the entire family was listening. It is amazing how the lord works and how he really answers our prayers, often in ways that we were not expecting.

We taught Guillermo again the restoration, as we watched the movie the restoration. No matter how many times I watch that movie- (and believe me I have seen that movie at least a million times on my mission.) I cant help but be filled with the spirit every time. It is just so powerful, because it is TRUE! Anyways Guadalupe the mom who has been less active for more than 6 years was able to watch it with us. During the movie I know that she felt something. Afterwards she said the prayer. It was one of the most powerful prayers I have ever heard in my mission. She was really feeling the love of her savior and she knew that she needed to go back to church. She was experiencing the atonement. She said that she was going to come back to church. The spirit did all the teaching, we did not do anything! I have learned that on my mission, that we really do not do anything. The lord does all the Work! We are just able to be an instrument in the hand of the lord, if we are worthy and obedient. Really it is the Lord who does all of the work. We are so blessed to be apart of this great work! There is nothing greater!

The atonement is REAL! Heavenly Father is just WAITING for us with open arms. Jesus Christ suffered for us that through him we can REPENT. We can make CHANGES in our lives, so that we can live in accordance to God's will. We can repent daily so that our lives can be in harmony of that with our Heavenly Father. I love the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-19 that talks about how our Savior Jesus Christ suffered for us, so that we will not have to suffer if we repent. I am so thankful that we have that opportunity to repent daily and make changes. We can always do better than we did yesterday. I love this gospel!

Saturday we had the opportunity to take the Ayala girls Juliana and Alexandra to the Young Womens Broadcast. It reminded me of when I would go with you mom and Chelsea and Alyssa. I am always in AWE about the things that we can learn from the leaders of our church. I am so thankful that we have modern day living prophets and apostles to lead and guide this church. I absolutely LOVE the messages that they had to share.

President Monson is such an incredible man and I am more than excited to hear from him this weekend! The leaders of the church are truly inspired and know what we need to hear. I love how President Monson talked about the Lighthouse of the lord and how we should always be looking towards him and his light. For the Savior is the light and life of the world. If we look to the Savior in every thought,action and deed, we can never go wrong. Jesus Christ set the perfect example, and we can strive every day to live and do as he would do. I love the theme for this year," Arise and Shine Forth". We really do as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, as disciples of Jesus Christ do need to "Arise" and Shine Forth! We need to be different and set apart from the world. Sister Dalton said,"The call to “arise and shine forth” is a call to each of you to lead the world in a mighty cause." I love how the leaders of the church are always reminding us about our divine potential as sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. That is the first thing that Satan trys to get us with, he trys to de-grade or downplay our identity! However we need to always remember that we truly are Sons and Daughters of Heavenly Father and that we have a great work to do. As we concecrate our hearts and give everything to the lord, we can become disciples of Jesus Christ. That is my goal.

Sunday was amazing! We went and got the girls and we all went to church. We had an amazing fast and testimony meeting! The spirit was so strong! Guadalupe showed up!! That was probably one of the biggest miracles of this transfer. It was incredible! We were able to go and visit her after church, and she just looked different. There was this light/glow in her eyes and countence. She felt good! It really is amazing how the gospel can change our lives if we let it. If we are reading from the Book of Mormon everyday, praying and going to church, we can make it!
LIVING THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST MAKES US HAPPY!!!
SO DO IT :)
I know that this gospel is true. I know that the Book of Mormon is the Word of God. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God and that he leads and guides us today. I love my Heavenly Father more than anything else in this world, and I feel privilaged to be able to serve him for this short time period in NY!

Go and watch General Conference and invite a friend! We are so blessed to hear from the leaders of the church this weekend! I CANT WAIT!!

I love you all Thank you for all your love and support! It means the world to me!

Cuidese!
Hermana Gray

"If the standard is to be raised, it is raised for all of us. We must be more faithful. We must be more spiritually in tune. We must prepare ourselves to assist the missionaries in finding those of our Heavenly Father’s children who will embrace the message of the Restoration." M Russel Ballard

Temple Loving!

Date: March 19, 2012

Area: Flushing, Queens

Companion - Sister Lambert

Dearest Family!!

This week was the week of the temple!! I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the temple twice! Once because our zone won the Preach My Gospel Bowl and another because it is my half way mark......that I do not like to think about! Time sure does go by WAY too fast! Anywho! It was really neat to be able to go with the entire zone. The temple is such a special place and I know that through the sacred ordinances of the temple we can be sealed together as a family. The temple should be all of our ultimate goal- to be able to go there with the ones that we love and to be sealed for time and all eternity. I am so excited for the temple to be built there in Gilbert, right next to my house! We are so blessed to have these temples so close and accesible.

So this week we were able to teach our ninas aka Juliana and Alexandra a lot. On monday we went over there and gave them each a phrame with a picture of Jesus Christ and getting baptized. We told them to keep this in their rooms as a constant reminder as to what they are working for. We were able to talk to them about the importance of baptism. It is really neat when someone really understands the reason why we are baptized. We are baptized because Heavenly Father asked us to be, he asked us to follow the example of his son Jesus Christ. It is 1. a matter of obedience, and 2. We are being cleansed from sin. How blessed are we to know that Heavenly Father has a plan for each and every one os his children. He wants NOTHING more than for us to be able to return to live with him, and to be together with our families for the eternitys!

Tuesday after I returned we were able to go and teach the girls again. We were able to sit and read together verse by verse 1 Nephi 1 ( the most commonly read scripture) haha I never realized how many packed principles are in this chapter. We all know that famous Scripture 1st Nephi 3:7 " I will go and do what the lord has commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandment unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way that they might accomplish that which the lord hath commanded." I just love that scripture!!! The lord is never going to give us ANYTHING to do that we are not going to be able to accomplish. It was really humbling to be able to be able to talk about each and every verse. It is no wonder that chapter is placed where it is. There are so many key principles that we are able to learn from this chapter. We asked the girls what was one thing that they learned and how they could apply it. Juliana the 11 year old said, " I love how Lehi was able to pray and recieve an answer, and I think that I can do the same. We challenged them to read and pray everyday and to write down in their study journal what they learn. It is really humbling to see these two girls get so excited about reading the Book of Mormon, and slowly seeing them make the changes to have their lives in harmony with what our Heavenly Father wants for them.

We were able to teach the girls the Plan of Salvation the other day. Teaching the Plan of Salvation or Happiness is probably one of my favorite things to teach!! The reason being - 1. Because our church is THE ONLY church that teaches this and has this knowledge of what really happens after death. 2. Because it gives everyone a sense of hope! Knowing that there is life after death, and knowing the Heavenly Father is a Just God and that he gives everyone a chance. Another reason- because it talks about Eternal Life- which means living with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and making it to the Celestial Kingdom. We can do that through Jesus Christ, by following him, repenting, being baptized, recieving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End. Making it to the temple, which is and should be everyone's ultimate goal. This gospel is a gospel of order and our Heavenly Father loves us so much, that is why he has given us this plan. His beloved Son Jesus Christ is Central to this plan. I am So thankful for the plan of happiness, to have that knowledge that we will make it if we do what is right, and follow the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Sunday was wonderful! Juliana, Alexandra and their father came. Church was wonderful! I am so thankful that we have the opportunity to go to Church EVERY Sunday and to renew our baptisimal covenants. To remember the Savior and try to be better this week than we were the last. To be spiritually recharged.Alex- the Dad has not been to church in a long time, however he said that he felt good, and that he was going to try to get his entire family to church next week! I love Sister Lambert and have really enjoyed teaching with her. It is going to be sad to have her leave next week, to go into the "Real World" ha but I am so thankful that I have had this time to work with her. Also Sunday night we had a really good lesson with the Sanchez Family. We talked about baptism- and the reason why we get baptized. They had a lot of really good questions and wanted to know how they were going to recieve their answer. I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and the chance that we have to read it!

I know that this is the TRUE church! God Lives, Jesus Is the Christ and that he loves us! He loves us so much that he sent his son to die for us, that through him if we repent and follow him, we can make it back to live with our Father in Heaven!

I love you all!

~ Hermana Gray

"Regular reading of and talking about the Book of Mormon invite the power to resist temptation and to produce feelings of love within our families. And discussions about the doctrines and principles in the Book of Mormon provide opportunities for parents to observe their children, to listen to them, to learn from them, and to teach them."


David A. Bednar, "Watching with All Perserverance," Ensign, May 2010, 41

Topics: Parenthood, Book of Mormon