MTC - March 23, 2011

Oh, MTC life is just about the same, we have the same schedule for 9 weeks, haha. It is way hard, I will admit, and without the help of the Lord and your support, I couldn't do it. But I know God is helping me! We heard from Claudio R. Costa from the 70 last night, and it was very good! The spirit you feel here is unreal! You and dad need to come here in a couple years so you all can serve a mission! The senior missionaries are all so awesome! We eat lunch with them a lot, haha. It is good to hear life at home is going good, I know that the Lord is watching out for you and protecting you. I want all of you to know of my love for you! Every single one of you mean so much to me. It is cool to hear about all the mission calls coming. I actually found out about Stetler's from Nache, I mean Elder Nielson. He flew out Monday, he bore his testimony in Mandrin, and it was awesome, he will be great. By the way, I want a recorder like he has. He said it feels kind of weird talking to yourself, but he said it was really helpful for him and his family, so yeah that would be nice. A little info on my companion cause the aunts wanted to know, I guess. He is from Seward, Alaska, it is right on the coast, about two hours south of Anchorage. He has been a member for almost 2 years. He did that trek in Alaska, and his host family was the Carlsons, not Bill and Christine, but maybe a relative. I have no idea where our aunts live, so it's hard to explain about them to him. So, if you have info on that, please share, haha. He is way awesome, I am very blessed to have him as a companion. He said I don't snore anymore; I snored the first couple nights, but haven't since. Yes, it is hard to sleep a full night on these beds, they are not mine for sure!

We study Spanish and the gospel every day. We have been focusing a lot on teaching lately. Every Friday we go and teach volunteers in what is called the TRC, and they speak Spanish. We also teach "progressive investigators" who are our teachers. It is so very hard to teach, and I couldn't do it without the Lord's help. We have 1 hour for personal companionship and language study a day. The food is still good, but it doesn't really agree with anyone's stomach, haha.

Sorry about the spelling, I get so rushed with this clock counting down on me, haha. We get a new district in our zone today, so we won't be the newbees any more, haha. Our zone is awesome! They are all great, oh yeah! Me and Elder DiPiero want matching ties, so if you could look for some for us, that would be awesome. Wish Amber a Happy Birthday, I have a gift, but need an address.

Love forever, and always your son, a servant of God
Elder Jesse Grover

MTC - March 16, 2011

Hello family, how are you all at home? I got the package, thanks a ton, I loved it! I was so pumped to get it! I love you all so much and miss you a ton. I am in the middle of doing laundry. It is so weird that I have already been here two weeks - it really doesn't seem that long! An address book would be nice because it is hard to write to people when I don't have their addresses. My companion and I are doing fantastic. All the classes are rough, but we get like 50 min of gym time a day, which is a relief when we are in the class room like 10 hours a day - no joke, haha. Definitely lots of sitting down. My Spanish is coming along with God's help, I know without His help I would not know any of it! The kid in the room next to me that I played in the AllState game against from Wasatch is a wrestler, and I had no idea! Two time state champion actually, crazy the people we meet huh? Haha. My teacher, Hermano Johnson, went to Fountain Valley High School . . . does that sound familiar? Haha. Like the coolest missionary in our zone flies out on Monday to Paraguay, Elder Bowers from Star Valley, Wyoming, a place called Grover or something - crazy again, huh? Thanks again for the package, I love you all a ton! If people write, I will try my best to write back, but we don't have a huge amount of time to do much.
Love,
Elder Grover

MTC - March 9, 2011

Hey, how is everything at home? The MTC is crazy! I have a little clock at the top of my computer with a count down - I feel so rushed! Haha. So, if this makes no sense, then you know why. My P Day is Wednesday, and we got to go to the temple today - it was awesome! My companion is the best! He is the better part of the companionship, haha. He is a convert to the church with a very strong testimony. He is from Alaska, and has a girlfriend. If she waits for him, I am invited to the wedding - most likely in Alaska. It would be cool just to be able to go to Alaska! It is just us two in the room, which is sweet! Elder Tripp went home; sad, but kind of a relief as he was becoming a burden on his companions and on the district. There are two other missionaries in our district, Elder Probst and Elder Fadely (our district leader). Elder DiPiero and I have three hermanas (Hermana Mason, Hermana Nicholas, Hermana Shradale) which are all very amazing sister missionaries, they all have the strongest testimonies. I know the Lord knew what He was doing when he put me with these wonderful servants of the Lord. This place is so spiritual, it is unreal! My teachers are amazingly spiritual, but also very knowledgeable with the Spanish Language. Hermano DeLa Cruz and Hermano Johnson have both been a huge help! Spanish is so hard, but I have learned more in a week than I did the three years of high school, so I can't complain. The food is way good; all the stories you hear about the food are true, it IS good, and the chocolate milk is even better! Haha. But guess what? I have actually lost weight so far, cool huh? Almost 8 pounds, I am kind of excited. We had missionaries leave our zone today; they were way cool! Everyone here is so nice. There is a kid from our zone who played football for Wasatch, and it turns out he played the AllState game against us. He wants me to come play at Snow with him when we get home, that would be cool, right? Haha. Everyone here is like, "oh, you played football, huh?" Is it that obvious? Well, I was glad to get your letters, you have no idea how much it means to get those - it is a huge lift - so keep sending them. You have no idea how much a letter brightens up a day, especially when you get so stressed out over learning Spanish, which I do a lot. It is so hard, and I wish it would just come, but I know through God I will learn it and be able to teach in it. We have to be able to pray, share our testimony, give talks and lessons, and contact people in Spanish - there is no slow-mo here, it is get it done, and get ready! So, I hope that when my 9 weeks are up, I will be ready. I love you guys so much, and am very thankful for your support and prayers, I can feel them and am very thankful for them. Read and pray and remember every member a missionary, there are lots of people in Blanding that can know the fullness of the truth. Tell everyone I love them. I miss the nieces and nephews so much! I can't wait for a letter from them. I brag about my family to everyone cuz you guys are all the greatest!
Love,
Elder Grover

P.S. Ask Jordan if he knew a Brandon Turner in his mission. He is a cleaner here, and we did service with him. He told me he served in Tulsa, and I was like, 'cool, my brother did too'. He said, ' you must be from Blanding, and your brother must be Jordan'. I was like, 'yup, sure was him'. He said that Jordan was a great missionary. I saw Elder Bradford and Elder Snow, so I saw everyone I planned on seeing - so it has been good.

Saying Goodbye for two years

Elder Jesse Grover entered the missionary training center in Provo, UT on March 2, 2011. He will be there for nine weeks, learning spanish and how to be a missionary. We will miss him, but are confident the Lord will take care of him, and that he is right where he needs to be right now. Godd Luck Elder Grover! We love you!