Life in Belen

(Paraphased by Mom)

Hey. Soo...
Missionary work has been struggling in this ward. We have a very dedicated mission leader, Gerardo. We pray daily for guidance, and strive to work constructively with the bishopric and the ward to accomplish the goals we have for the area.

I was really happy to see Jeffery and Jeannette at the temple last week.

I love that talk by Elder Holland, too. (The Laborers in the Vineyard) It's the one that I have on my ipod that I always listen to.

Hey Mom, real quick, if you're online, can you send a picture of me before the mission? One with the longest hair you can find. I need to send it in today for a slideshow.

welp love you. 

Elder Graham

Weekly Update

MOM you need to get on Amazon this very second!  And you need to order the movie called “Courageous.”  It’s your new favorite movie.  You need to watch it with as much of the family as you can and make sure that everyone in the world sees it.  I watched it last night because they said that it was a church movie.  Afterward i realized that it wasn’t made by the church but it’s the best movie.  You will cry the whole time.  It’s the best family movie ever made

If there are problems with getting signed up for classes for fall term because you’re not me missionaries have gotten permission to call and organize stuff like that.  Let me know if we need to organize that..  

The activity didn’t go too hot.  The person that was supposed to organize the video couldn’t get it figured out.  So i had to give an improve talk/devotional.  

In church we got to 110 in attendance but they changed the stake conference date back to give everyone more time so it can all get split...  So i won’t see it.  

That’s so cute that Gwen will be traveling alone.  She’s probably so big now.

I gotta go.  love you.

Elder Graham

View of Moroni

The view from my house

Hey.  So last week Randal, the father from a family that we will complete hopefully this week, had an accident in his work where his boss threw a brick through his window while he was working and glass shattered in his eyes. He has been alone with his 5 little boys ages 5 to 13 and all last week he had bandages over his eyes and was blind.  We took him around to a bunch of appointments all around Heredia and to San Jose. We had to take a lot of taxis so i took out money for that.  His girlfriend, who is a member, is in Nicaragua right now taking care of her papers so that they can get married and he can get baptized.

I met President Wilkenson and had an interview with him on Friday.  He’s way sweet.  He’s just like a regular guy. 

I’m out…love you!

Elder Graham

Surprise Changes and Waterfall Hike

 

Waterfall hike

Hey mom, Yeah, we got transferred to Belen, same zone, different area.  Very very wierd the changes.  I was pretty wierded out and confused.  I called and talked to president about and he explained a little.  Basically he gave me a mission.  This stake has been trying to get split to make another stake for a while and they’ve been really close.  And on the final Sunday in July (stake conference and my last Sunday in the country...) if every ward has an attendance of 120 then the stake will split.  Every ward hits that fairly easily but one...  Belen struggles with attendance.  So president said that it was on my shoulders to see if Costa Rica gets its first new stake in 9 years.  So the cool thing is that it’s the area with the temple.  I walk out my front door and i am right across the street from the temple.  So that’s pretty cool. So I have 4 more weeks to try and change things.. 

That’s lame about your birthday..  I’m sorry that went bad..  But you guys can still go to the temple today!  A cool thing about the area we are in is it’s the ward where all the temple missionaries live and yesterday we ate dinner with the temple president.  Pretty silly guy. 

Oh and i lost my mission debit card and i have to wait a few days to get the mission money so i have to take a little bit of money out...

But i gotta go.  Love you.

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