Calfornia - December 5, 2011

Hey family, how are you? Here we are doing well. The weather has been alright, the other day it was raining cats and dogs - only in California, right, haha, jk! We have gotten a little bit of rain, but not to much, the worst day was Thanksgiving, and it was really nice weather for football! But we have been told it will start raining a lot, like for three days at a time, so we are excited for the blessings that will come from these times. We are excited for this month and for our investigators, we had three come to church yesterday - it was awesome! They are all great and could get baptized very soon we are hoping for a "WHITE CHRISTMAS"! They are working for the 24th of December, the perfect gift for our savior Jesus Christ on his birthday, huh? we are super excited for them (by the way, I had you pray for Maria Rivera - it is actually Maria Montoya - sorry, Spanish peoples names can be a little confusing at times, haha). Maria is working on quiting smoking and doing really well she had only smoked one cigarette in like 3 days, so so is doing very well. It is amazing the miracles that happen through the gospel, and i get to witness them first hand, it is so exciting! We are super excited for the holiday season and the closeness we can feel to our savior. The first presidency devotional last night was awesome! I don't know if you all were able to watch it, but the new video was really good too.

It's good to hear that all is well at home. I hope you get feeling better, this time of year is really stressful, but the important part is the birth of our savior Jesus Christ! President Monson talked on that last night; it was really good cause people do get lost in the commercial-ness of Christmas and lose focus of what is really important. That's the joy of being a missionary, we can't really pay attention to worldly things and we get to focus more and more on the importance of the gospel. Remember the reason for the season, and remember who you are and what Jesus would do, always be an example of the believers, never lose an opurtunity to share your testimony with those around you, even if they are members you can help strengthen them. The joy of the gospel is that it is for everyone, and Jesus Christ paid for all of us so we are all equal we all just need to live a life that he would be proud of. I love you all so much, and thank you for all you do, please keep me in your prayers along with our investigators, they are truly awesome people, and I know prayers work. I thank you for all the prayers that have been done for us, they are truly blessings.

Les Quiero Bastante!!!!

Elder Jesse Grover

P.S. I will ask President Lewis about skyping home for Christmas, a lot of missionaries are asking and wanting to do it too, so it is a possibility. I don't think they were able to last year, but we do have a different mission president now, so who knows :)