I have been called to serve for 2 years in the Costa Rica San Jose Mission as a full time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Blessings of the Plan of Salvation

Saturday was the inaugauration of the new national stadium of Costa Rica and you have no idea how nuts this place went. It was 100% impossible to work. They played against China for the first game and all day there was coverage of the new stadium and no one would let us into their house. And these silly kids about freaked out when they saw my jersey and scarf.





Wow I didn’t even realize that I hit 8 months today. That’s already a third of the mission. That went by pretty fast. I feel pretty good about what I’ve done but there’s a lot more I want to do and a huge chunk of my mission is already done. I still feel brand new in the mission but in my 6 elder district there’s only one elder with more time than me. Its elder palmer and he only has one change more than me. So I guess I’m expected to know how to be a missionary at this point and I still feel lost most of the time.

That’s sooo sweet that Allison is all ready to go! I did the math and she has to leave before June 25 so that she only misses one Christmas! I don’t want to get home and have Christmas without her! Tell bishop to figure it out so that she can go right then!

What did Nick Hess think about church? Did the missionaries find him? That is their job and if they didn’t they’re lazy but Allison should have gotten on it too!

I’m super excited about general conference! I’ll be able to watch it in a different room with the gringos in English. It’s in the stake center in Purral. It’s super close. It’s like a kilo from our church.

We live super close to our church but our area doesn’t include the church so we have to take a bus everyday to our area and then we walk a lot. Our area is huge and includes some places super far that we have to take several buses to. But there are 2 different members who own “microbuses” and their jobs are transporting kids to school. So they help us out sometimes going to the far places.

As far as investigators it’s been super tough. We’ve had to start knocking doors. Last week we found a family and they have a 17 year old girl that just had a baby. It died when she was giving birth and she had just gotten out of the hospital earlier that day and she was really depressed about it. She had been Catholic and people told her that her baby was going to hell because it wasn’t baptized. We explained a little about the plan of salvation and showed her in the Book of Mormon when it explains in Moroni what happens to those babies. It was cool. We really came at the perfect time for that family and we will see what happens with them.

I need to go. I love you
Elder Graham

Monday, March 21, 2011

Baptism of Yanet and Her Family

Yanet's Entire Family


Baptism of Yanet and her 3 oldest children






These are the greatest silliest little twins ever. Last week, it was their 6th birthday so I gave them hacky sacks. Silliest funniest little guys ever!


P DAY. Soccer with the new district and thats ¨Napo¨ a youth next to me


Taco Bell with the Elders I live with




Well mother, the baptism was beautiful. The new kid in the house is Elder Palmer and he plays the ukulele so we sang “Teach Me to Walk in the Light” at the baptism and it was pretty beautiful.

We haven’t been doing much different or exciting since Wednesday, just doing the Lord’s work.

That’s unfortunate that everyone’s been sick. Right now in my house it’s me, Cabrera, Hernandez and Palmer. Palmer’s from Houston and the others are from el Salvador. Pretty good guys.

Today we went and played soccer as a district in my area and invited all the youth but only one showed up. We just got back from taco bell. I’ve got a few pics to send this week.

Well mother, I must depart at this moment. I love you.

pura vida
Elder Graham

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Loving Moravia!

No pics this week. I never have my camera on me anymore

Hello mother! So yes, today was changes so that is why I’m writing you today. 2 of the elders in my district and in my house got changed so it should be fantastic from here on out!

Things have been coming along slowly but surely. Elder Cabrera get along really well and he is the first comp I have had that likes to do silly stuff.

Just got done at taco bell and there was a family of gringos trying to order and freaking out at the lady and making a big scene because no one understood each other. Their problem was that it says on the sign that they accept dollars but the lady there was trying to explain that they do accept them but they don’t have dollars in the till to make change. It would need to be in colones. When I walked in there was a big scene and everyone grabbed me and told me to interpret and fix it. So I interpreted and ordered for their whole family, then the family bought me food. But the gringos here are so retarded. They think that its rude that people here don’t speak English. Could you imagine a Latino making a scene at a taco bell in the states because the workers don’t speak Spanish( that was completely hypothetical because all the workers in the states do....) But Americans are way too arrogant.

Yanet and her kids are so cool. They’re cruisinnnnn. They couldn’t come to church because it was stake conference and it was kinda far away. We’re also teaching a lady named Sandra. She is suppperrrr hardcore in her church and she is a teacher of baptism there. But we’ve been teaching her and we don’t have a baptism date but we’re progressing with her.

Last week there was a group of teenagers skateboarding trying to gap a 5 stair set and I came up and asked if I could try and they started freaking out with excitement that a gringo in a tie wanted to skateboard. I went and hit it first try and they all started screaming and jumped on me. I wish more than anything I had a picture or video of it.

I received a letter from you, the one you sent on march 2nd. And you said that nick bought a brand new car and that you would wait until he tells me about it. Don’t ever do that! I have been freaking out wondering what it is! And he still hasn’t told me anything! What is it!? And how’s my car?? Can someone send me a pic of my car????

The new Elder is a gringo and I haven’t met him yet and the other is from El Salvador. And I don’t ever have pictures because I can’t carry my camera around with me.. but Today we are gonna go kill a fatttyyy hen? I’m not sure what it is called in English but it’s like a fatty rooster like 4 feet tall. So I’ll take pics and videos of that to send to you! I’m sure you will love em!

Elder Cabrera hasn’t ever received an e mail or letter in his mission and on Christmas his family didn’t answer the phone. Only he and his mom are members and she is super inactive. He went to the mtc in
Guatemala. He got to the country the same time but I have 6 more
weeks in the mission because I had more time in the mtc.

This Saturday at 9 in the morning is Yanet’s and her kids’ baptism.

I made the greatest purchase today. And I think I may send it home. Costa Rica has a new national stadium and for their first game they’re playing against Argentina. You have NO idea how big of a deal this stadium and game is to these people. It is a super legit stadium. For the first game they have a special edition jersey and I just bought it. It’s soo legit but it will probably be a tico collector’s item for some time to come and I don’t want to worry about it so in the coming months there may be a package coming home with that and some surprises for the fam!


Ok I’m off now! I love you keep the dream alive!

pura vida

Elder Graham

Monday, March 7, 2011

Missionary Work in the Big City: Moravia

Overlooking Upper Moravia



Hey there! Things are coming along a little bit here. We came into downtown for p day.

We started out here with 0 investigators. Then on Sunday we had 10 in sacrament meeting. The best one we have is named Yanet. She is probably in her low 30s and is single with 6 kids ranging from 3-12. She recently left her abusive husband and lives alone with her kids now. She’s super awesome and we are working for her baptism the 19th of this month. But we’ve got to work with her quitting smoking.

The area is good and all the members are super cool. It is really cold though. I’m fine though. I bundle up with my blankets.

We are finding our way around much better now. Elder Cabrera is cool he is pretty laid back. He just gets really discouraged over nothing. I was just sick in the beginning getting used to the different climate.

Our lady who cooks for us: her husband is Guatemalan so between them we eat different random Costa Rican and Guatemalan food.

There are some random lizards in places but not nearly as much as out where I was.
The houses here are soo weird. They’re the oddest shapes and they just fit them into the weirdest areas. If there was a small corner around a building with nothing they build a house. I’ve seen ones that are like 8 ft wide and super long. It’s weird.

Your Sunday School class sounds pretty good. (Marital and Family Relations) I would like to come listen to what you have to say. I have to give marital advice everyday and I don’t know if you knew but I really don’t have any experience in that department.

The difference in teaching in this area is just that no one here wants to listen to us. We contact families in the streets all day and no one wants to listen. Its a lot more discouraging here than out in the boonies. And people actually work so there’s not many people that we can visit before 6 at night.


I gotta go. I love you

pura vida

Elder Graham