Abrid Vuestras Bocas

Hello everybody! I don't have a lot of time to write (we're at a multizone Christmas party in North Manhattan and so I haven't been able to concentrate very well as I've read and replied to emails and stuff. I also take a good chunk of time to write to President Morgan, so that doesn't help either...), but I guess I can't think of a lot to say, so that works. Things have been going well! Elder Topham and I have been going forward under the direction of the Bishop, so we haven't been finding and teaching in the typical missionary sense. Most of our focus has been on stopping by less active members and trying to get them to come back to church and we've seen some miracles already! President Morgan really wants us working with the Bishop because he's the one who is best able to direct the work in our area. We're also just trying to build up member support, and it's going well so far! We're getting to know our ward and getting their backing, and we're getting little tastes of the fruits of our labors already. We can already see a bunch of potentially really solid investigators, so we're excited about that! One of the problems I've been having is that I hesitate and get scared and don't talk try to talk to people. I guess I fear rejection. And when you're crammed in trains, buses, elevators and walking on the streets with tons of people everyday, having such a fear leads to a lot of missed opportunities. So yeah I'm getting better at just starting to talk to people and inviting them to action. I'm not very good right now, but whenever I do just forget myself and go for it, I feel good afterwards for at least trying to spread the word of the Lord. A good saying that I've tried to use to motivate myself is "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." That's so true for everybody, though. I feel like at times we all have a friend that we love with whom we could share the gospel, but we don't because of our fear of rejection. If we just invite them to hear our message, testify that it's something that has changed our lives and testify that it could change their lives for the better, then the worst that they can do is say no. Looking for little opportunities to testify about simple or grand things can be good too. And one of the most important things to do is to invite out of love and a sincere desire to better their lives. It's something I'm working on and something I'd invite everybody else to work on too! So yep, things are going well. Transfers are in a week. I felt pretty sure that things were going to remain the same with us, but no I'm not so sure, but I guess I'll let you know next week! Thanks for the emails and the support from home- hope all continues to be well! -Elder Griffiths