La Importancia de la Accion

Hello Family! Time is really flying.  We're halfway through the cycle, and it's almost not cold here.  Thinking about the fact that March is over on Sunday is a little ridiculous.  Elder Longmore and I have just been trying to work hard, so I guess that's the trick that gets time flying. This past week was the best week I've had yet as far as how many lessons we taught and stuff.  The work isn't about numbers, but it is nice being able to see the results of your hard work.  I guess there were a couple of exciting things that happened throughout the week.  Thursday we were going to get on the bus, and we were determined to talk to somebody on the bus.  Elder Longmore said that it didn't look like there were many people on the bus, and so I said, "At the very least, there's the bus driver."  So we got on and the primary president in our ward was on the bus and so when we started talking to her, the bus driver was like "Hey you speak Spanish?"  So we started talking to him and it was a really good conversation.  Sadly he lives in Connecticut and leaves home at 6:00 AM and gets back around 10:00, but he took a card so hopefully he'll look into the church.  Friday a pigeon pooped on my head (pigeons are dumb...), but luckily the daughter of our investigator that wasn't home let me in to wash it off.  We also got to watch an Ambulance catch on fire and burn, so I guess that was cool.  Saturday, among other things, we had a member baptism.  One of our most solid investigators came on his own and watched and enjoyed it.  He's great!  He's like 78, like 4'11", can't read, but he's progressing well and should be baptized on April 13th so we're stoked about him!  Sunday we had church and it was good.  Afterwards I made some cheese flautas (fried tacos pretty much) for lunch and they were good.  I took a picture and I'll try to send that soon.  It took a little while, so I probably won't do it again on the mission, but I think my cooking skills are improving so I'm excited to try some stuff out when I get home.  Monday was district meeting.  That was good, and then after we had a solid lesson with one of investigators who would be baptized, but she just can't get to church.  The lesson was very powerful and the Spirit led us to say some good stuff, and so now it's looking very likely that she'll come to church Sunday, and we set a date with her too, so we're shooting for her getting baptized on April 20th.  It was way exciting!  Tuesday Elder Longmore went on an exchange with our district leader, Elder Richards, so I was with Elder Jenson who has been in the field for three weeks.  They live with us, so we just switched their mattress and pretty much did everything else normally.  We also had zone conference that day, so that made it a little awkward, but zone conference was great and then we made the best out of the time afterwards.  I loved being with Elder Jenson- he's still just full of fire and ready to go to work, so we went to a couple lessons with the time we had left and then just tried to talk to everyone in between.  Today has been just a chill day.  We're not doing anything in particular- just did a little extra shopping than usual (went to a big shopping complex a little further south in our area), and now Elder Longmore is getting some songs on his ipod.  It's good having a day like this to just relax.  So yeah it was a good week! I think one of the things that has been brought to my attention a lot in the past week is how important action is in the mix of things.  Actions pertains to a lot of different Gospel topics.  I've been working on being more in tune and working better with the Holy Ghost, and in my studies I've noticed that you've always got to ask.  You generally can't just sit around expecting for inspiration to come to you- you've got a question in your mind and work at it.  On top of that, you've got to act on whatever revelation that you do receive when you receive it to show that you value what you've been blessed with.  Faith is another thing that requires action.  You can have passive faith and have the belief that God can do anything and really hope that He does everything for you, or you can have that belief and make sure you're doing your part.  For instance, we set goals for specific numbers of lessons that we're going to teach every night.  We can either set that goal and hope it happens, or set that goal and work hard to make and follow plans that make such happen and then be led by God to make things happen.  I've found the second option works a lot better.  You've got to work to repent.  You've got to work to stick to your covenants that you make with God.  And you've just got to work to endure to the end.  Life is full of decisions, and as we decide to act and follow the Savior rather than be passive, we'll be able to come a lot closer to him and learn and grow so much in this life. Thanks for all the love and support!  I hope everyone has a great week and a happy Easter! - Elder Griffiths

Touring Lower Manhattan

Beautiful NYC!

(Elder Griffiths didn't identify this picture)

9/11 Memorial

Buildings down by Battery Park

Elder Longmore and Me - this was actually taken by the temple president of the Guayquil Equador Temple
- they were on a break while it was being cleaned or something.

Elote!  Like in Nacho Libre!

Freedom Tower construction in the background.

Freedom Tower - it will be a
sweet building when it's done!

Little Italy
(Empire State Building in background)

Statue of Liberty

Sweet building!  (Don't know if it has a name)

With Mama Daisi and Papa Nelson -
great members in Harlem!

With Victor - another
great member in Harlem!

My zone in Harlem.

Cut my own hair - how'd I do?

Lleno del Espiritu... y Comida

Hello!

This week went by super fast.  Elder Longmore was just saying this morning how it seems like it was only yesterday that we were down in South Manhattan, and that's the truth.  We've been working hard and packing our schedule, so things have just been smooth sailing I guess.

Anyways, last preparation day was great!  We just spent a little time before and after the World Trade Center Memorial (which was great!  It was breath taking- two giant fountains the size of the two buildings- and you could tell it was hallowed ground), exploring down in South Manhattan.  We went to Battery Park where you can see the Statue of Liberty, walked up Broadway to China Town on Canal street and did some exploring there in China Town (lots of weird stuff there) and then grabbed some Canolli in Little Italy (borders China Town on the North).  I love that part of Manhattan- the architecture is amazing and everything is just breath taking.  Going back as a not-missionary will be interesting for sure.  That night we had an appointment and then a couple other that fell through, so we ended up dropping by a couple people's places to say hey.

Thursday we had weekly planning after studies.  We knocked that out, but Elder Longmore wasn't feeling too good, so we took the day off until PEC that night.  I just did some area book work, made some phone calls and did a little cleaning and organizing, so it was good to have some time to just knock that stuff out.  Friday we had some lessons and then our district APF where we all got together and went knocking in the Sister's area (we have three companionships of Elders and one of Sisters in our district and in the ward in which we work.  The sisters were a trio up until the other night, so we had nine missionaries plus a Senior couple- pretty crazy).  Saturday we had our correlation meeting and some more appointments.  I don't believe anything too crazy happened.  Same with Sunday- just had some lessons with investigators and a less active family.  We had had a lot of food by the end of the night so we came home ready to blow up.  Monday was district meeting followed by some appointments.  It started snowing in the afternoon, fairly lightly, but we came out of our dinner appointment with a lot of snow on the ground, so we had troop through that for the rest of the night.  I slipped at one point, but luckily landed in the snow that was everywhere, so it was okay.  Tuesday is our one day where there is nothing inherently planned (meetings or whatever), so it's a day that we either really have to fill up or it ends up being boring/frustrating.  Luckily we prepared well and so we taught five and half lessons (half as teaching a random guy on the street about the restoration).  It was another day where we came home stuffed- we were fed three meals (including lunch) and ended up drinking like three glasses of soda (I hate soda- I will never voluntarily drink it for the rest of my life...).  Hopefully that's just a sign of member support, but I'm grateful for all of the food that we're given.  Today we're going to play volleyball at the church for our zone activity.  Should be fun!

This week I've been really working on being able to hear and act on the promptings of the Holy Ghost.  One thing that I've come to realize is that in order to receive promptings, we often times have to ask for them through a prayer of faith.  That's something that isn't always easy to remember, but I know as we make a conscious effort to remember Jesus Christ and try to be guided through a prayer in our hearts, that the promise made in the Sacrament prayers will be fulfilled- as we remember Him we'll have His Spirit to be with Him.  Last week on one night we had time to visit one more person, but we weren't sure who.  We both were looking for guidance in that and I just felt as though we should try dropping by a less active family that we hadn't before.  I suggested that and Elder Longmore suggested a specific family, and so we followed that, went, they let us in and we had a pretty good lesson!  I know those ideas came from the Spirit as we sought from them.

Thanks for all the support!  I hope you have a good week to come!

-Elder Griffiths

Oposicion y Exito

Buenas Tardes!

 

One week in the Bronx and I'm still alive!  The first night I was there a guy rolled down his window at an intersection and said "Be careful, there's a guy back there with a machete." and I just was thinking to myself "Welcome to the Bronx..."  Haha but it's been good, I haven't felt threatened at any point.  Elder Topham survived the same area and we're pretty similar sizes, so I should be good to go.  The Bronx is definitely a lot different than Manhattan.  People are in a lot more of a rush and on the go in Manhattan, buildings are a lot tighter and closer together, the streets have a different layout and the people are a little different.  I love Manhattan for the physical layout and things you can do, but as far as the people go, I really am loving the Bronx!  I've had more success trying to talk to people on the bus and train here, people seem to be a little more friendly and I've just been able to connect with ward members here a little better.  So the Bronx is great!  But I think I said in my last email that my new area is only one train stop away from the station that we used near our apartment in Harlem, so I can still see buildings from my last area.  There's even a place where we can see the apartment building in which I stayed back in Harlem, so that's kind of crazy.

 

Today we got to go back to my old area to go to a doctor for Elder Longmore (more of the Upper East Side part of things where we did very little work) so it's been good!  We're planning on going down to the World Trade Center site for a tour and just check out some stuff in South Manhattan, so we're pretty excited!  Hopefully we don't get lost down there...

 

Like I said, things are going great!  I don't have a lot of time to write so I'm just going to include a little of what I wrote to President Morgan...

 

Things are going so well! I'm getting settled and adjusted to the new area, new companion and everything, but we're moving forward. I've been told many times since I got here that Elder Longmore and me have a hard area. That's been kind of discouraging, but I think the Lord prepared me for such comments as I've recently been looking more for the positive in everything. With that, Elder Longmore and I have determined to forget that mindset (of having a hard area), set our eyes on the Standards of Excellence and get to work. As I said there has been a lot of opposition in us trying to work, but to me it's only a testimony of what I felt coming into this cycle- as we work and try to be the best that we can be, we're going to see some great things. Yesterday was an example of that. We finished our studies and went out to work. We were guided by the Lord to share the messages that were meant to share, see the people we were meant to see and just do the things that we were meant to do. By the end of the day we had taught five lessons (half of what is usually taught in this area in a week), extended a baptismal date (during the first lesson with a new investigator), received and contacted a referral, and met all of our goals that we had set the night before. We came home very satisfied and happy, looking forward to the upcoming days rather than not being sure of what to do. We've got another eight or nine appointments scheduled for the rest of the week, and I'm sure we'll be able to make even more in the next couple of days. We're also trying to get better at talking to people on buses, trains, elevators and the like to make sure we're living to the fullest of our calling. I know that the Lord is blessing us and that without Him such great things wouldn't be happening. We're excited to continue to dedicate all of our time to the Lord, live according to His guidelines and improve ourselves everyday. This is going to be a great cycle!

Things have been tough at times and the adversary has really tried to rattle both Elder Longmore and myself, but we know who we are and what we're supposed to do, and so we press on!  Whenever anybody tries to do anything good, there is always going to be opposition to a degree.  Handling that opposition isn't always easy, but it pays off, if not soon, at the very least in the long run.  I know that God loves us and provides us with means to learn and grow and that everything that we experience is ultimately for our well being.  The Lord is great and I know He's always looking out for us, even if it is in a way that we don't understand.

 

Thanks for all the support and love from back home.  I hope everyone has a great week!

Elder Griffiths

Nacido y Crecido en Harlem...

Buenas Tardes!

Today has been pretty crazy.  We had to wake up early so that I could do laundry to be able to pack to be able to make it on time to transfer meetings.  It was kind of stressful and I was ready to get gone.  Transfers were great because there were forty new missionaries.  It took a little while to get through them all, but seeing them all and the way things are going is inspiring.  The mission is just getting better.  After the meeting, I met with my new companion and then we left for...

...The Bronx!  Concourse South is the official name of our area.  It's really only one stop away from the stop that was closest to our apartment on the green line (subway), so I'm not too far away from Harlem.  It's just across the river.  I'm really excited to be here- the people seem to be a lot more humble, or at least people seem to be more tolerant or something.  I had a good number of people tell me I was the devil because I'm white back in Harlem, so I think getting away from some of those feelings will be nice.  I'm actually serving in Elder Topham's old area (the one he was in before Harlem), so that's cool (and he went home today from upstate, so be looking for a facebook add from him).

My companion's name is Elder Longmore.  He's from Draper and he came out one cycle before me.  Technically I'm follow up training him, but I don't have too much time on him, so this cycle is just going to be a great learning experience all around!  So far he's great!  We get along pretty well and I just feel like it's going to be a really good cycle filled with lots of miracles as we try to work hard.

This past week wasn't particularly exciting.  We just had lessons as normal and English Class and so on.  On Sunday, somebody from Deseret News or some sort of church news came to our sacrament meeting and Elder Loera translated for her as she interviewed a couple of people from our ward.  She took a lot of pictures of us too, so look for those in the church news and stuff!  Another cool thing- apparently there's a video on youtube going around called the Harlem Shake.  I am proud to say that I was serving in Harlem when that got big- and there was a big graffiti painting that said "The Harlem Shake" that we were going to get a picture with, but then we didn't end up having enough time.  Maybe we can get down there sometime and get a picture with it on a preparation day or something.  Another fun fact- yesterday marked my six month mark!  A quarter of the way through- crazy!

Here's a fun New York cultural thing- the dogs here in New York are somewhat of a unique breed.  A majority of them are just sickly and malnourished looking.  They're caught up their apartment all day long and then get to go on the occasional walk.  I think it's against the law to have a dog unleashed.  It's a rough life for a dog living in the city.

This week I've been blessed to see some of my seemingly fruitless efforts pay off.  A lot of times doing what's right, doing what's best comes with a lot of opposition.  I think a lot of times, the adversary amplifies that opposition by feeding us negative thoughts and trying to create a sense of hopelessness to motivate us to not do what we really should do.  I believe that God allows this to happen to test our faith, to show Him and show ourselves that we're willing to do what He wants despite any opposition.  We just always need  to stick to our standards, and do what we know is right and true.  Doing what's right often doesn't pay off now, but it definitely does in the future and that's what it's all about.  So keep chugging along!  Even when it's hard, even though often times it doesn't seem to make sense, just do what the Lord's want and He'll bless you according to His will and pleasure.

I hope everything is going well at home and elsewhere!  Hearing about what's going on with others is always good!  I appreciate all the love and support from back home and I hope that everybody has a good week to come!

-Elder Griffiths