Argentina - August 31, 2015

Hey mom!!!
I just want to tell you how much that I love you!:) Wow, I am turning 20 this week, is that not crazy? I am so old, I am still kind of shocked by it.... I am no longer a teenager... what the heck, that is crazy! I can't believe that, it is so weird to think about. I am feeling it, yes, I kind of am.  Walking all day every day kind of takes a toll on a person.  But yeah, it is crazy, I've got one year down in the mission and 20 years down in life. I still can't believe one year has already came and gone. I hope it is all down hill  from here, ha, jk. No, I still have many mountains to climb, but we've just got to remember that the climb is the best part, where we will learn the most and do the best we can!! Tell Jade to stick with it, he will start to enjoy it and he will be the best that he can.  Before he know it, he will really just take off, just like a race in cross country, once you get into the rhythm, everything will just be fine.  That is too bad that Jordan didn't get anything, maybe he was just having a down week.  Tell him that he is a stud and that I love him, tell him to put a smile on because no one likes a frowny face :) JJ had knee surgery?? That is crazy, why did he need it?  Glad he is doing good!! Well, I think that Jesse will make the right choice and he be very successful.  That is crazy that everyone will be starting school, and will be going full swing, crazy that everyone is in college. They are there getting smart and I am 8,000 miles away, it still just blows my mind! To have faith every day is a really great thing!! Just keep the optimism up just remember me standing there smiling!!! Because life is worth smiling about, and have a good time, because when we have a good time, we are happy, I hope.  But I do know that we do go through hard times, but they will make us better and turn us into the people that we want to become! So have faith and read the scriptures and pray and go to church, and from there things should be better. We just need to give a little to the Lord and He will give us more than we can ever imagine. 

So this last week was good, well, we went to a multi-zone conference and it was really good.  They talked a lot about keeping going, and told us not to throw in the towel. But it was cool, we also learned about things we all can do to have an eye single to the glory of God, because He will help us in all things that we do! The next few days were kind of interesting because I was so tired because we didn't get any sleep, so we felt like the walking zombie Elders. Ha, but we made it through. We got to have a lesson with Claudia, and that was really good because she is really great! But none of our investigators came to church, and that kind of made me super frustrated! But love is the best thing you can have, that and patience. 

So this week is good and my birthday should be good, we have a good lunch planned with the family Soveron, so I am excited. And then later we are going to visit the guy who lived in the states for awhile, the family Carlson. So it should be great, we will probably have cake there.  But it should be a great week and I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for us and me, because I will only do His will at all times.  I have found that keeping the commandments brings happiness into our lives, and so we need to keep them!!! Mom, I don't have too much time this week, but next week I will send some photos and everything.  But I want you to know that I love you and think that you are the best in the world.  Remember to always smile! Thanks for the birthday wishes, you guys can have a cake for me if you want, I wouldn't be mad at all!! But hey, Happy Anniversary also! Just know that I love you guys more than anything in the world and that I know this is a true church! Have a great week, tell everyone that I love them and to have a great week.  Mom, I love you more than anything in the world!:)

Love Elder Grover

Argentina - August 24, 2015

Hey mom!

How did you like the subject of the e-mail? Pretty good, huh? But in my corner here in Argentina, it was pretty good this week!!!:) Good to hear that everyone is still alive in Blanding, I love Blanding! It's the best place in the whole entire world! Well, that is good that Jade is up going to school, to get some knowledge in some college, ha! I am a poet and I didn't even know it... ha, great times. But that is great that they will be able to live together, that would be cool at least for me.  And does Jordan still have that big TV? That would be super awesome, do you think they will still be there next year? We will have to have a bro night! Wow, that is weird that I will hit a year this Thursday, can you believe that? Crazy!!! I know, right. So Jordan is down doing some hunting? If he gets anything, I would like a picture, oh is he using my bow? Well, if he is, tell him your welcome from Elder Grover! :) Well, all I know is that the church is coming out with a lot of things on marriage, well, the only news I hear is about the church. But don't worry too much mom, I think he is going to do the right thing and he is going to get it all done! And shoot a deer, well, he is going to see a big deer, then he is going to miss, jk, I hope not. Tell McKady that she is a Stud! That's what is important is the Gospel of Jesus Christ! And that her best friend that is out on a mission right now is loving every second of life because it is so much more worth it to be happy, and smile, and to look at everything with a smile.  I am not saying that life is easy, because it is not, sometime we are going to have problems thrown into our way.  We are walking and the devil really is throwing his darts and the wind and everything else at us.  Sometimes we do feel like the very gates of hell are open and trying to drag us down.  But the Lord suffered all that, and it is only through Him that can we be made clean, and only through Him that things can be made right. Everything we go through is going to help us to become better people. Tell her that I love her very much and that God, our father and Jesus love her as well. And mom, the same goes for you too! I love you both so much! Just look at this as a time to become strengthened as a mother and daughter, maybe you guys can start and read the Book of mormon together or read the church magazins together, but just have fun! What, football season already............... that is so crazy! I can't beleive it, missing football makes me a little sad, but that would be good for them to get better, I hope that they do good this season, you will have to keep me updated on how they do and everything!  Thanks, I am glad you like my letters because I really enjoy yours also. 

Bueano this last week we had a noche de hogar with the family Drago, they are recent converts that haven't come to church in a long time, like 3 weeks. But we are trying to help them, and there is a friend of one of the daughters, Araceli, she is 11 and she really liked the lessons and everything. Oh we made bombas de papa and they are really good, so there is another thing that I learned how to make that I will have to make for you when I get back because they are really good! But it went well and we watched the restoration, that is always a really good movie to watch also! Oh yeah, and it didn't rain this week, so we are all good there! We are teaching a lady named Celine! She said she doesn't come to church because her husband doesn't want her to go, but we will see how that goes. So we walked to church with some little kids that are members, and they are kind of crazy, Emi and Wia are their names. Oh, and we are helping a returned missionary that went inactive, so this should be interesting, he got home like 4 months ago! 

Tomorrow we will be going to Resistencia for a multi zone conference.  It should be good, all the guys that came out with me to the mission will be there but one. So we will go get some ice cream for the big one year thing. But it will be fun, my companion is excited because it is his first big get-together as a mission, so he is looking forward to seeing other missionaries.  The bad news is that we have to wake up at 1 in the morning, and then we will get back like super late on Wendesday.....

 but got to go. Oh, there are some pictures of me at the bus station in Goya with some members that went to see me off, and then the other is with me and my companion:) Mom, I love you, I think you are the best in the world!  Have a wonderful week and know that you are the best ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love Elder Grover

 

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Argentina - August 18, 2015

Hola mama,:)

How is the best mother in the world doing this week?:) Things are going good con lluvia no mas....  that is rain.. and well, let's just say I left my umbrella in my last area, so my other comapnion has it...I will get it like in a week though. The coat works, but it rains a lot and just runs off into my boots.... and my shoes have holes, but it is great:) That is so awesome that you guys were able to go to the family reunion because we know that families are the most important things in the world!!!!! I love my family! and that is great that they are serving missions there! It makes me super happy to hear that! Levi Savage, and Ephraim Hanks? That is so awesome! Thanks for telling me that, because they are like awesome studs!! How are we related? That is super awesome, and those movies are so amazing, I love them so much, the church makes so many great movies, and we are related to them, that is so great, I am so happy that we are related to them! Thanks for sharing that with me mom!:) With Thomas Grover I am always like, "yeah, my great grandpa's name is in the Doctrine & Covenants, what an amazing thing family history is!! Isn't it great! I want to do so much when I get home, or even just read the stories of those in our past! I am glad that you and Dad were able to go and do that! That is awesome!

So everyone is in school? Wow, that is weird, next week you are going have to tell me how everthing is going. And Jordan is going down to hunt? Is he still with Ericka, or what is the deal? Sorry, I just don't ever hear anything that is going on, well anything about him. But I hope that everyone is doing great and that everyone is happy and just loving life:)

Well, as I said, it has been raining a lot!  In fact, I am wet right now as I am typing this email. It's kind of cold, but this is Argentina Rain, so it's not too bad.  I heard that it rains the most in August. We had a great week, we have lots of potential in our area! Monday we had a grat noche day hogar, and we also had a really good one Wednesday too. From the one on Wednesday we started teaching a friend of the family! She has already accepted to be baptized, so we will see how that goes:) Then we talked to this super great lady, but it was super late so we set a time to come back, we even called the night before to remind her, and then when we went to the house no one was there, typical.  But we will be passing by this, week so hopfully we can find them.  We also talked to this menos activo family, the Dad was a District President, but he is always on a truck.  So I talked to him about that because my awesome Dad does that also.  Anyway, we are working with them too, because they have 3 kids that are not baptized. We have lots of menos activos, some make me very frustrated. We passed by one that now goes to another church, and he was just, well, I refrained from getting very upset with him....... just frustrating. But we did have an interesting story, last night we were clapping houses, and at one house the man there was actually a member, but stopped going like 20 years ago, he has a family of 7, so we will see how that goes, I hope it goes well! Oh, on the same note, yesterday we found another menos activo family, they live very far away, let's just say we walked 2 hours in the rain to get to their house, but they were super cool and nice. Plus, they have animals and all that is all I need to start telling people I like to ride horses because, then they always ask if I want ride theirs. 

Elder Howes, my little kid, is doing great, and is having a great time, and he is great to train.  He is a very good missionary also, that knows why he is here, so he is just doing great! I feel like I am learning more being his trainer than he is learning from me! Oh, little funny story that is, well, we all make mistakes. So it was Sunday, and when we got back to the pension I put on a different shirt because I like to use other shirts for Sunday because they are nicer and whiter. But I didn't put on a tie because I was cooking. Then it got cold so I put on my sweater, and when we left I just put on my other coat, without a tie... yeah, I didn't notice it until like 8 when we were teaching, I went to adjust my tie and it wasn't there!  So I look at Elder Howes and point at my chest with a shocked facial expression, so he was trying the rest of the lesson not to laugh!  Yeah, I was kind of embarrassed, but I just zipped up my coat real good, ha, good times!

In church we were learning about service, and it is service that we need to do. I wish I would have done more, but we can always do more. I don't know if you remember the family Carlson, they guy went to live states, anyway he told me why he left the US, it was because the famiy he was in only cared about money, nothing else was important. He got so sick of it that he finally left, he says he feels more happy here because here we have nothing, but we have what we need to be happy and that is all we need, and we are happy. Things of this world are not happniess, people and the world is trying to tell us otherwise but it is not true, true happines come from the gospel and our families. I have the best family, and that is all I could ever ask for! It is pretty simple, the little things that we need to do that will bring more happness in our lives, pray and read and go to church; simple, but hard at the same time. I know I can even do better put more effort in it and enjoy it more!! But I want you guys to know that I love you mom, you are the best ! I love you with all my heart, have a wonderful week! Enjoy every second!:)

Love Elder Grover

I love you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Argentina - August 10, 2015

Hey Mom!!!!!!!!!!

How is it going in the grand land of America? Wow, I am in Argentina? Crazy, right! I missed the fair, I'm a little sad, and tell McKady that I missed hanging out with her too.  That is too bad that her pig didn't make weight, but hey, you guys can have some pork in the freezer now! That will be super awesome, bacon.... something that they really don't have here much, we have it sometimes, but it costs lots of pesos, and I don't have lots of pesos. That is so cool that McKady got 2 buckles, sounds like it was a great fair for the Grover family:) Great to hear that, and 2 of the prettiest girls in San Juan County getting the showmanship, awesome, and they won too!!!!! That is great and to hear that the lambs did good too! And that they sold well, I just hope everyone just takes the things and the time, and the experiences and cherishes them! What? Mary Kaye came to the concert......... and I wasn't there.......... what the heck. I bet it was awesome though, because she has great songs!!!!!!! Like super great songs!! Dang....... oh well, I guess the work of the Lord is better!!!! Too bad that JJ couldn't go, but that is great that Tamra was there! She really is amazing, a great girl, JJ was blessed there;) I hope dad is doing great out there in Texas with work and all! Tell him that I love him and to be safe out there on the road! So Braddock got introduced to the family tradition, the San Juan County Fair!!!!!!!!!! got to love it!:) it is the best! It sounds like everyone is leaving on missions, that is great! I hope that they are doing great and excited to come out.  Maybe Sierra will get married, tell McKady I was sorry not to be there....... but there are years to come, so not to worry! But wow, crazy that the fair has come and gone... even crazier to think that I was there last year..... time is flying! And school is starting too, wow just crazy! Just think, you don't have to send off a missionary in the middle of it like yast year!! Tell everyone good job in the fair:)

So, to start on this week, so last Monday night I went to the pension of the zone leaders because at 1 in the morning we were going to go to Resistencia, for the meeting for all the zone leaders but I got to go because the family of the family of Hermana Scaddlock was going to be there, so all the people from our group got to go also. But anyways, so that night really didn't sleep at all..... but then the meeting was really great, and all the family bore their testimonies. Her two little sisters are super excited to serve missions, what a great example to serve the Lord!  It ws great to hear them and to see that their testimonies were strengthened by what happened instead of  making them bitter. So here is the thing, our bus didn't leave until 11 that night, and it was late, so we didn't actually leave until 12. Then, get this, so the zone leaders were all sitting together and I was by this guy, and since I am a missionary, I try to talk to everyone. Anyways he was asking me if I drank alcohol, so I tried to explain a little about the word of wisdom, but he just took out his bottle of wine and offered me some!  I believe that was the first time that I have ever been offered a drink, ha! Then he showed me how you need to drink it out of a bottle, but don't worry, my zone leaders moved so I didnt have to sit by this drunk guy, ha, great little story! So after that we got to Paso at 6 and had to wake up at 6:30, and then our reunion started at 9. It was kind of long, ha, but it was good, not to worry.

Then this week there have been lots of people not keeping appointments or lying and saying they are busy or any other excuse they can think of.  So we went up to this one guy to ask a question, and I was like, "how is it going?" And he said, "bad", so I said "why", then he said it was because he can only talk to Catholics.  I was already mad because this guy had given us a number that didn't work, so I was kind of like, "well sorry man", in a sassy attitude. Then I was like, "I just want to ask where this one place is", so frustrating, but it is all good, life is great:) We have some great noche de hogars planned for this week and so all of it should turn out good! I hope:) That was pretty much our week, oh something sad happened, one of the less active families in our area had a son die... like a month ago he was in a crash. But we have not been able to talk to them because they always say that there are busy.

It has been really good to study in 3 Nephi when jesus is teaching the people, lots of great things that we can take and apply.  He is a great teacher and oh, this morning I read about the Santa Cena, great things! The Lord loves us, that is one thing I have learned, that he loves us and wants the best for us:)

Guess what?  I bought some peanut butter today:) Peanut butter  and jelly time!!! It is really hard to find here!!! Por eso, estoy muy animado!!!!!!!!!!  Wow, everyone will be starting school, that is crazy! Tell everyone good luck! I want to leave you with my testimony, that I know that this church is true, the things it teaches us will make us better people, and lead us and guid us to the path that we need to follow!! God is our Heavanly Father, His son Jesus Christ, is our savior, and only through Him can we be saved! Life is hard.... but the climb is building us to the people we need to become! The Book of Mormon is the Word of God, and we will be blessed if we read it every day! Mom, I love you, more than you will ever know! Thanks for all the things you have done for me! Tell everyone that I love them and their love and support tambien!:) Have a wonderful week, love you all!:)

Love Elder Grover

P.S. Family home evenings are awesome! Just a little reminder:) love you:)

Argentina - August 3, 2015

Hey mom! :)

How are things on the home front? I can't believe that it is already fair time.......... that is so crazy! I just can't believe it! The fair, that is the first fair I have ever missed. 

So yeah, this week went super well! It has been great, and interesting. We have a big area, and well, let's just say that my area used to be a branch by itself......... and right now only like 5 people from my area are active..... that is alot, so it is going to be good, but I am excited!!! But yeah, I am training, crazy right! No, it has been super fun to see, but he is a great kid. Elder Howes from West Heaven, Utah, just a little skinny kid, but he is great. He speaks really well Spanish, well a lot better than I did, that is for sure, he just struggles understanding Argentines but that can be hard sometimes. But he wants to learn and so it has been easy to train so far.  I have kind of put him on the spot a couple of times to do some things, like finding people or contacting, but it has been good. He kind of got a little frustrated last night but he is doing better today that we have P-day. It made me remember that the mission is really stressful, but it does get easier with time. So it is great to help because I have already been there and can help him through the hard times, so that has been good, and fun, and interesting, and a learning process for the both of us. Oh, and it has made me remember how different it is here, just seeing how shocked he was. He kind of looks like the new missionary on "The Best 2 Years", to me at least, ha. I will send a picture.

I am sorry you are struggling over there, but I know that you guys will be able to do it because we have done it every year for the past super long time, so there is no need to worry there; some way and some how it always goes pretty good! That is so weird that next week it will already be over! You are going to have to send pictures because I want to see how it goes! i just want you to enjoy every moment of it, because it is great, just to let you know:) Love every miniute of everything. That is sad that dad and JJ can't be there. Don't worry mom, I am doing good, staying healthy and staying away from the big bad dogs, they dont want anything to do with me anyway! The food, well I love it so it is good, but we don't have very many members to cook for us in this area, so now it is my own cooking you have to worry about;)

A little about this week, oh got a quick story about my companion, it is kind of funny. Anyway, so I was telling him to stay away from girls when you shake their hands because here they do the kissing thing on the cheek.  So I was warning him about that and then yesterday we were teaching this person, which I will tell about here in a little bit, but anyway she got him, it was so funny, ha, great times ha:) So last Wednesday I had to wake up and travel to Resistencia by myself at 1 in the morning....... but it was good, I got there and got my compaion and we are ready to work now! Anyways, so the next days where good, just got lost a few times trying to get to know the area.  But we did have this guy come up to talk to us because he thought we knew people that could get him a treadmill. So we taught him, and he came to church, so we will see how that goes.  We got to know some members, oh and that reminds me of this member we have in my area.  He lived in the states for 10 years, so he speaks English and he was in a branch presidency over there.  Something happened, don't know exactly, but him and his wife seperated and he left his kid and went back to Argentina. He loves to hunt so he showed us all of his photos from hunting in the states, and from hunting here in Argentina, so if I ever want to come back and hunt here I have some connections.  Oh, he also has this big cimitor lamanite knife sword thing that is super awesome, and he said he would give it to me if I am nice, so we will see how that goes:) But he is staring to come back to church and is a good guy! Sunday was a good time to get to know the members.  What is weird is that here we have a branch of like 40 to 60 people that come every week, and just across the river in the city Brisil, they have a whole stake....... but church was good:) Now I'll tell you more about the story with my companion getting the greeting kiss thing.  So we go and visit a family of recent converts and they have a friend there because she wants a blessing because she has really bad depression. She has a really rough life, beat by her ex-husband and lots of other things, to the point of depression, bad. So anyway, we taught her about the atonement and then gave her blessing and we are going to start teaching her, because I know that the gospel is what she needs in her life because it can really help anyone in any situation, but after she kissed my companion in his first week...so funny, but it is all learning. Tomorrow I will be going to Resistencia with the zone leaders because they are having their meeting that they have every month with president and all the other zone leaders, but I get to go because the parents of Hermana Scadlock are going to be there, so we are going to meet them, everyone that was in my group got invited, so that will be good and a little sad too, I think.

That is me this week:) But my studies have been super good! And long, well, I have read chapter 12 and half of 13 of 3 Nephi this last week, but it is so good, lots to learn and lots to underdstand, but it has been really good:) I have really enjoyed it, then lots of the basics, or well the 12 week training program for new missionaries. But it has been so good, I have learned a lot probably because last time I didn't know anything in Spanish, but now I am just a little bit better, ha! But the studies are great, and something that really interested me this morning is in 3 Nephi 13:7 or 8, like Moroni 7:9 ,48, it is talking about praying and not doing vain repetitions,  Instead we really need to remember that we are really really talking to God, because really we are talking to God, and he will help us and that I do testify. I do need to get better at offering prayers with more, better, true intention, but I know He is listening and wants to help us.  I have a strong testamony of this, it is something we all can do better.  Something else I learned with my new companion is to rely on God more, sometimes we get caught up on our own strength, but we do need God in everything that we do!

Mom, I love you and I want you to know that! Tell everyone else that I love them so much, and to have a wonderful week! Enjoy every second that we have, life really is beautiful, and God loves us more than we can ever imagine. Love you mom, have a good week.

Forever and always, your son, Elder Grover

P.S. Sorry I can't send pictures, I don't know why, but something is wrong with the computers here, anyway, love you :)