Great Missionary Friends

 

Elder Montoya

 The 3 that started together in the zone Atlantica

 Hermana Lozano.  Best missionary I've ever met

 The MTC roomates

And Elder Whittaker

Temple Sealing of Jeffery and Jeannette

Hello.  Wednesday was the sealing.  It was pretty amazing.  They had planned to go to the endowment session at 7 then get sealed right after.  But when they got there the people that took them decided that they would prefer the 5:30 session.  Jeffery and Jeannette were both freaking out and said no because the 3 missionaries and the members from Moravia were all coming for the 7 o clock session.  But the people that brought them said that they were driving and didn’t want to get back home too late so they made them do the 5: 30 session.  I got there at like 5: 20. Luckily i got there early and they said that they were gonna do the 5:30 session so i ran in and got changed and was all worried.  Elder Gonzalez and Cabrera didn’t get there in time but we got in and i hadn’t seen Jeffery and Jeannette yet. I was sitting in the room waiting for the session to start and i look over and i saw Jeannette walk in and i felt the spirit so strong. We both immediately started to cry.  Then Jeffery walked in and i got up to hug him and we were both crying. 

Afterward i was just waiting in the celestial room and i saw them both come in last and together and it was the most amazing feeling.  I got to sit there with them in the celestial room.  It’s amazing to be able to have taught them the most basic things a year ago and be able to sit with both of them together answering their questions in the temple. 

Then at that point everyone else had arrived just in time for the sealing.  Me and Elder Cabrera were witnesses.  The whole sealing we were all crying and then they opened the door and all 6 of the little kids walked in dressed in white.  The little girls with tiny little dresses and the little boys with tiny white shirts and white ties.  And I just about lost it.  Then they had them stand all together as a family in the mirrors looking on forever together. They were both crying and took my hand and thanked me for everything i had done.  It made me understand a lot more why I’m really here and the potential i have to help people make changes.  They had a lot of things they had to change when we first began teaching them and thinking back to the first night i met Jeannette, and then to the temple i don’t think for the rest of my life i will be able to think about it without crying.

But i gotta dip.  Love you....
Elder Graham

Awesome Open House and Sad Goodbyes

Hey.  We had kind of a weird day.  It was changes and it was president’s big goodbye.  This was the hardest one for me.  Elder Miller, Elder Palmer, Elder Bertrand, Elder Montoya, Elder Whittaker and President Galvez all are gone now.  Pretty weird.  I’m officially in the final change.  It was pretty sad to say goodbye to all them.  But I had a temple recommend interview with president right after so I got some one on one time to say goodbye.  

I’m going to the temple on Wednesday for the sealing of Jeffery and Jeannette.  It’s all figured out now.  

This weekend was the open house and the dedication of the new chapel.  It was awesome.  260 people were there in sacrament meeting which is as far as anyone knows the highest attendance this country’s ever seen.  They had some of the first members of the church speak and talk a little bit about the history and how far the church has come along and how fast.  It was a pretty amazing experience to be there in such a landmark time.  Seeing how missionary work has come along in this time period and how i get to be a part of it.  Like seeing my first week in the country having 19 in attendance to having 260 people in attendance.  Even though it was obviously in very different places, I could see how just 40 years ago in that building there were only 19 and now there are stakes and wards that can hit 260.

i gotta go love you.

Elder Graham

Very Busy Week

Hey there Mom.  The meeting with the Vice President of Costa Rica last week was kind of disappointing.  We were expecting something really exciting like actually meeting the vice president but we were there as an entire mission and   the vice president just came and gave a speech to us.  It lasted an hour.  But i guess it was a ¨historical event¨ and some people from the church news were there taking pictures and stuff.  So we might be in the Liahona.  

Congrats on graduating!  

I got to call Jeffery and Jeannette to find out the details about when the sealing is but it was pretty great talking to them.  They asked me to be a witness in their sealing and Jeffery asked me to be his escort in the endowment session but I’m not sure if they’ll let me.  But they were super worried that the biological dad of the kids wouldn’t let the kids get sealed to Jeffery but a miracle happened and he signed the paper.  So everything is read for their sealing.  

Last week we had 2 families at church and another single mom with her kids.  So that was some success. The moms name is Ana.  One of the missionary families that we’re working with invited her.  We were with them on Saturday night and we helped explain to her what she needed to say to her to invite her and she called her right then and then came.   We’re working with her and her oldest daughter for the 30th.  

This week we’ve been working really hard planning an open house for our new church.  The new church is beautiful!   We’ve got the whole ward inviting a lot of people to the open house where were gonna do tours and explain all the organizations.  It should be pretty great.  We’re hoping to find a lot of people that way.

Although I have always been able to feel your prayers i realized this week something that really shows how much i know you have been praying for me..  Throughout my whole mission in every area I’ve had people who have been like my mom that always worry about me and are willing to do anything to help me and lose themselves to make sure i have what i need. You have always been that in my life and if i didn’t have these sisters here I probably wouldn’t have been able to get though.  Pasita in Cariari, the whole bishops family in Moravia, Sister Mena in Paso Ancho,  ¨la Abuela¨ In Neily, And here i have a wonderful Mayra who cooks for us and is always worrying about us and willing to do anything for us.  I’ve been to visit a lot of areas in the mission and the only areas I’ve found with people like that are the areas that I’ve been in.  I’ve been very blessed to have all of them and i know that it’s because of your prayers and worries.

But i gotta go. Love you.

Elder Graham

Lesson From The Lord

Hello.  Today we have pday because we have a special conference with Elder Amado of the 1st quorum of the seventy and the Central America area presidency.  And next week Elder Maynes is coming so p day isn’t until Thursday next week.  

We’ve been doing a lot with the members.  We made a list of all the members then prayed about which members could help us.  Then we picked 2 families and we went to these families and shared a message about callings and how we were chosen before we were born to fulfill certain things. We explained that we didn’t know who but we knew that they know people who are ready to accept the gospel and then explained that the lord chose them and he knows that they have a great work to do. They felt really special because the lord chose them from all the members and we extended the ¨calling¨ to accept or reject to find those people.  And since then they got so excited they’ve given us 2 references and we have a family home evening with them tonight to meet another.  It is pretty amazing how much quicker things go when we decide to slow down and ask the lord where to go and what to do.  

 Yesterday we had the 1 month checkup lunch thing with President Galvez.  It was his last one.  It was pretty special.  He only has 3 weeks left.

Today we are all meeting with the Vice President of Costa Rica. We have to get there early to learn the tico national anthem.

But i gotta dip.  I love you.

Elder Graham