Come what MAY and LOVE it!!!

Date: May 21, 2012

Area: Flushing, Queens

Companion - Sister Allen

Dearest Familia,

Where oh where has the time gone!?! I have now been out an entire year.... :( the time keeps going faster and faster and my window is closing....I need to make the BEST of the time that I have here! Enjoy your mission...It goes by faster than you think! So let us begin...
Monday Monday - Was a wonderful day! I love being able to show families out here how to do Family Home Evenings. I am so thankful that growing up Mother and Father you always made sure that we had family home Evening. That was truly a time that I cherished growing up. So anyways we were able to have a family home evening with Guadalupe, Guillermo and Michelle. We read 1 Nephi 8 and acted out Lehi's Dream. It is really nice to sit and think about this chapter in the Book of Mormon and put it into perspective as well as the gospel. There are those that make it to the tree and partake of the fruit (being the gospel), however they are ashamed. There are others who do not make it because they are made fun of along the way. Lastly there are those who make it all the way to the end. If we endure to the end and live the gospel of Jesus Christ- that is when we can make it to the celestial Kingdom. Its Worth it! (Vale la Pena). One of my favorite quotes is, " I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it." This is my favorite verse:

"But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the arod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree." (1 Nephi 8:30)

Sorry my thoughts are scattered, I was talking with my father, and I am So thankful that we have commandments. The commandments are to help us and guide us, so that we can make it back to live with him. They are guidelines to make us Happy! Here is a secret- If you want to be happy OBEY and LIVE the commandments of the gospel of Jesus Christ. :) Don't tell anyone I told you that :) haha No but really its true. The people that are miserable in life and the ones that are not obeying the commandments. So its our choice....Do we want to be happy or miserable? Its all up to us!

Funny Note- So on Monday we were running back and forth to appointment and we had not eaten dinner...so we decided to run quickly to this chinese restaurant. We went inside and began franktically searching the menu. I then asked this nice old looking guy next to me what his favorite thing on the menu was. He then proceeded to tell me a lot of things to try. He then asked what we were doing here and we told him that we were missionarys. He then told us that he was From Israel and a Jew. We then said, "Oh the Covenant People." With that being said he grinned. He asked us if we got paid for what we do. We replied no and actually on the contrary. That we paid to be here. He then was more interested and asked what we did. So went on to explain a little bit about what we do as missionarys. He then said,"You girls are so dedicated to what you do, and I know that it is for a good cause, for that I am going to buy your dinner." So this Jewish Man bought us our dinner. It was very nice of him.

We were able to have a breakfast with the Elders as we talked to a member who recently got married and so she wants us to start teaching her now Husband named Tito :) so we are excited to be able to teach him! Friday we were able to teach the Ayala Girls. We talked about missionary work. We even did a practice about sharing the gospel with their friends. They loved it and were laughing pretending to be someone on the bus After that we went to the church to go to an activity that the Young womens and relief society were having. We all ended up going to Taco Bell- which I thought was SO funny and Ironic :) A bunch of hispanics at Taco bell lol We really enjoyed being there and talking about what activity we are going to be doing for Fathers Day.

Saturday was great! We did a lot of look ups and contacting people in the street. Sunday was wonderful! It always is. It was really nice to be able to go to church. I really enjoy playing the piano for the ward! (Yes I did just say that! Thank you Mother and Father for being so dilligent in making sure that I practiced as a little kid :) ) Anyways the girls came and it was good! There were some really good talks that I thoroughly enjoyed. We were in charge of little Julian making sure that his father could go to priesthoood. After church Hermana Allen and I went straight to work! We went and hit the pavement! We went and knocked doors! It was great! Long story short we REALLY had to use the bathroom ha and we were knocking this door when the next door neighbors (these 2 white guys) told us that the family that we were looking for had just moved. We then asked them if we could use their restroom to which they said yes. So we ended up going to use their restroom and then we were able to teach them the first half of the Restoration. It was really weird teaching it all in english :) ha but I loved it! It is really humbling being able to see someone ikneel down and pray for the first time. Afterwards we asked him how he felt and he shouted, " I FEEL GOOD". He actually worked on the set "The Book of Mormon" play on Broadway. We then told him that he could have his OWN copy of the Book of Mormon and find out what it isreally about :) He liked that idea and thanked us for the visit.

Missionary work is great! I love it! There is NOTHING like it! If you are thinking about a mission DO IT! If you haven't thought about it...-THINK ABOUT It! And then GO! ITs the best thing that I have EVER done in my life. I have come closer to my Savior Jesus Christ by doing his work and serving his children. I love my family so much! So Family if you are reading this- LES QUIERO MUCHISISISISIMO! :) I love you lots! I have the best parents and I am so so thankful that you have raised me the way that you did. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It is another Testamant of Jesus Christ and I promise you that if you read from it everyday you will feel of his love and come to know more about your Savior Jesus Christ than by reading any other book. I love you all!

Thank you everyone for your love and support! It means everything to me :)

Love.
Hermana Gray

"Our lives of service and sacrifice are the most appropriate expressions of our commitment to serve the Master and our fellowmen."~ Dallin H.Oaks

I hope you had a Happy Mothers Day!!!

Date: May 14, 2012
Area: Flushing, Queens
Companion - Sister Allen


Dear Family!

Mother I hope that you had the BEST Mothers Day ever! It felt so good to be able to talk to you! I hate to Brag...but I have THE BEST MOTHER IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD :) Mom I love you so much and I am ever so grateful for you and all that you do! I don't know how you always put up with me, but thank you so much for everything that you do for me. I hope someday to be half the mother that you are and Ill be good :) You are ALWAYS putting others needs in front of you own and always seeing the way that you can help. You mean the World to me and I am so thankful that you are my best friend and that I can come to you for anything. I love you so much and am so grateful for the relationship that I have with you! Te quiero mucho! I could go on and on but I might be here all day!

So this week was Great! So on Tuesday night we went to go and teach the girls (Alexandra and Juliana). We were not sure what we were going to teach them. Hermana Allen and I were a little bit stumped because we were a little unsure what to teach. We then got down on our knees and prayed asking Heavenly Father what we should teach before we went over there. We both had the feeling that we should teach the Restoration of the gospel. Which was weird because we had already taught that to the girls but we went ahead with it. We had planned to watch the Prophet of the Restoration. However half way through the Movie Hermana Ayala and Giovanna came home. So we put the movie on Pause and then began talking with them. When we went back to play the movie for some reason it was not working. (Now we know why we were supposed to teach the restoration.) So we were able to teach Giovanna the Restoration :) It was a wonderful lesson and the entire family was involved! Sister Ayala was bearing a beautiful testimony about how she found out for herself that these things were true. She talked about how when she read the Book of Mormon, Prayed and how she recieved her answer that these things were true. The spirit was so strong and it was also really neat to see the girls so excited to share their testimonys and help their sister out. At the end of the lesson we all knelt down and Giovanna said one of the most powerful heartfelt prayer, truly desiring to know if these things that we had taught her were true. I know that anyone who reads from the Book of Mormon and has a real desire and real intent, to know if these things are true, they WILL recieve an answer. I love this gospel so much and know that it changes lives.

We were able to have a really powerful lesson with Guadalupe about mothers and the Strippling warriors. We shared the story about how the 2000 strippling warriors were afraid to fight because of the trust that they had in their Savior. Here are some of my favorite verses.

47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the aliberty of their bfathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their cmothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.

48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their amothers, saying: We bdo not doubt our mothers knew it. ( Alma 56:47-48)

I am so thankful that you mom KNOW it :) I feel so blessed to have grown up in a Home where both my parents KNEW it! I am ever so grateful that at 6:00am every morning mom and dad you woke all 7 of us kids up to read from the Book of Mormon. I know that my life has been blessed because of it. Also the fact that every night as a family we kneeled to have family prayer. I know that this is something that has carried on much longer than just that moment. It has carried be through college, times away from home and here as a missionary. I want you mom and dad to know that everything that you are doing and have done with us children is WORTH it :) So I just wanted to say Thank you!

So I dont know if you remember but a couple of weeks ago we taught this lady named Pamela whose mom is a member here, Pamela lives in Florida. So anyways Teresa Gutierez her mom called us the other day and wanted to know where the closest chuch was to her daughter in Florida, because Pamela had called and told her mom that she wanted to go to church and she wanted to listen to the missionarys. Seeds are being planted everywhere :)

On Saturday we were able to go to the mothers day church activity. It was so cute to see all of the young men serving their mothers and everyone there. The Branch President Perez asked Hermana Allen and I to talk about mothers. So mom I got up there and talked about you, and yes I got teary eyed. But anyways I talked about my own mother and how much of an influence you have been in my life. I talked about how much it meant to me throughout the years all the support you gave me. Whether it be piano lessons and concerts, Gymnastics meets, dance, L.I.G.H.T, BYU Hawaii, Provo.etc. However the thing that has meant the MOST to me in my life, is that you supported my decision to come on a mission and that you have been a continual support to me throughout my entire mission. So thank you mom :) I love you! I also talked about your testimony and how it means the world to me. I love you mother !

Sunday was another amazing day! It was mothers day! Also Alexandra and Juliana were confirmed members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They recieved the gift of the Holy Ghost. They were so happy and excited because they know that the Gift of the Holy Ghost is going to be a guide for them for the rest of their lives, to help them make better choices. They know that it will be a source of comfort when times get hard. They know that the role of the Holy Ghost is to bear testimony of the truthfullness of the gospel and they have felt it. Giovanna came to church and stayed for the entire time. You could tell that she really enjoyed it and looks forward to coming back next week.

I know that this Church is true and that Jesus is the Head of this Church. I know that the Book of Mormon and the Bible are the words of God. I know that if we do our part we can one day enter into our Heavenly Fathers Presence. I am so thankful for Temples and I know that it is through temples that we can be with our familys for ETERNITY! I love my Savior and I know that it is through him that we can live with our Father.

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

Loves- Hermana Gray
A Foundation of Faith - President Erying

A foundation of faith … takes time to build. … If the foundation of faith is not embedded in our hearts, the power to endure will crumble.

… That solid basis for a foundation of faith is personal integrity. …

It is never too late to strengthen the foundation of faith. … You can do it wherever you are and however alone and deserted you may feel.

Families can be Together FOREVER through Heavenly Fathers Plan!

Date: May 7, 2012
Area: Flushing, Queens
Companion - Sister Allen


Dear Family!

These are truly days NEVER to be forgotten! My Heart is Full! I feel truly blessed to be here serving the Lord 24/7 as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the New York New York South Mission. I feel so blessed! Truly Blessed. Ok So where to I start off.....This week was INCREDIBLE!! We have truly seen the hand of the Lord bless us in EVERY aspect of our work. This truly is the lords work and he is 100% apart of it. For we know that we could not accomplish ANYTHING with out the help of our Loving Heavenly Father. I honestly feel spoiled to be here serving a mission at this time in my life. There is NO place I would rather be. This is just the BEST!

Well where oh where. Highlight...Sister Nelson ( President Nelsons wife) came out teaching with us. She came to teach the girls and another lesson, which both of course went wonderful! We were also able to teach Manuel on Tuesday, he is a recent Convert and just loves learning more about the gospel. We also had the privilage of going to a members home her name is Eva, we were able to meet her vecinos ( aka neighbors that live with her) and we made Papusas! mmmmmm Oh p.s. I ate papusas like a Real Salvadorean! I ate them with my hands :) ANyways we got to know some people that she lived with and we hope to be able to start teaching them soon.

Fun Surprize- So we were at the Ayalas house reviewing for their interview when all of a sudden we heard a knock on the door. To My Surprize it was the famous SISTER LAMBERT herself!! I love her so much and it was truly the BEST surprize ever! IT was so good to be able to teach with her again. Sister Lambert if you are reading this I LOVE YOU!!! It was also fun to be able to catch up on her after life and also to go and eat at our favorite sushi place :) ROLL ZIP!

This week has been a lot of running around doing little errons and getting everything ready for the girls baptism. The girls had their interview this on Thursday and the ENTIRE Ayala family came to the church for the interview. It was such a neat experience to see the entire family there supporting their two girls. They passed their interviews with FLYING colors! I have never met girls so prepared to hear and accept the message of the gospel in my life. It is so true when they say that Heavenly Father is preparing the hearts of his children to recieve this message. Everything went smoothly and Sister Ayala is so excited to be able to become active again in the church.

The Sunday of the girls baptism was much more than a Baptism. It was about Families! This Sunday May 6th was their baptism. Little Julian their son was able to be blessed in Sacrament Meeting by his Father Alexander. Juliana bore one of the most powerful testimonys, the spirit was strong. The day proceeded and both Juliana and Alexandra Ayala were able to be baptized by their dear father. The girls were able to bear their testimonys at the baptism! They more than anyone know why they were baptized. They know how that all of their sins were washed away. They know that they are one step closer to being with their familes for the eternitys.

It all started with a simple desire a earning to learn more about our Heavenly Father. They are a walking testimony of the Spirit of Elijah," The hearts of their children will turn to their fathers." Now their family can be an eternal family. They are committed, to living the gospel for the rest of their lives. As Juliana and Alexandra said so beautifully," We want to endure to the end, because we know that is what our Heavenly Father wants us to do, and we will endure to the end so that we can live with our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and Our Families. We know that Heavenly Father is so proud of us.

A Family Changed Forever. They can now be a Family Forever. I know that this gospel is real. I know that through baptism we CAN be with our Familes forever if we follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon is the Word of God, and that if ANYONE wants to know the truth of it, if they read and pray and ask Heavenly Father if it is true. He WILL answer them! I know this church is True. Jesus is the Head of this church. I love my family so much!

I know that I was supposed to leave my family for this short time, so that I could come here and help other families be together with their familes for the Eternitys!

I love you all!

Love,
Hermana Gray

P.s. Chelsea what are you doing breaking your foot?!?! haha I love you and hope that you feel better!

"The ultimate end of all activity in the Church is to see a husband and his wife and their children happy at home, protected by the principles and laws of the gospel, sealed safely in the covenants of the everlasting priesthood. Husbands and wives should understand that their first calling—from which they will never be released—is to one another and then to their children."

—President Boyd K. Packer, "And a Little Child Shall Lead Them", General Conference, Apr. 2012
Topics: Parenthood, Children, Marriage, Family

 

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, "