Reflections

Hello all!

Transfers came and.... I am staying put!  But Elder Davidson went off to trio train in Olmstead, the other half of the Bronx. He will be finishing up the training and starting the training of another visa waiter for Ukraine. They might end up being Russian speakers in our mission- we will see- but Elder Davidson should have a great time there! In the meantime I got Elder Kia! He was up in Middletown for my first three cycles in Newburgh. Middletown is the other half of Orange County that we didn't cover, so we were in the same zone and saw each other from time to time. He is an awesome missionary and I am excited to be with him and he is excited to be with me, so that pumps me up! It will be a great cycle!

I am trying to think of what happened this week. Normally I use a planner to write down what we did for the day and little notes here and there about what happened (planners are outlawed here- have to put everything in the iPads, so I am putting to use the Italian planners I obtained during a visit to the mission office supply storage area), but we are at the Inwood chapel (North Manhattan) waiting for the missionaries to come down from upstate and so I do not have it. But I will try to cover a couple of highlights of this week.

Monday I used some French! There was a couple of women that sat next to me on the bus speaking French. I threw out a little bit of what I knew, but luckily one of them spoke English. It definitely humbled me and has given me more motivation to keep learning. Good ol' opportunity to be accountable. Another thing-Friday Elder Davidson went to a trainers meeting, so I was paired up with Elder B, somebody I served with in Newburgh. It was cool seeing how he had progressed and gotten over some things that he had worked with in Newburgh. He is going home just a couple weeks before I am so we had a good time reflecting on the mission. We spent the time in his area down in Olmstead, and that was cool seeing a different part of the Bronx. I got a good picture that I will include. We also picked up a couple new investigators, so pray for me! Their names are Charles, Tiana, Tyrone, and Shanti. We have a goal to baptize 100 before the end of May, so pray for them and pray for us! We need the help. We have too much going on and we need all the help we can get to make sure nothing slips through the cracks. But it will be good! A good load makes for good traction and forward progress.

Yesterday I had a moment where I saw a vision of what the mission has done for me so far. It doesn't seem fair that I come out on top, that I gain more than I could ever give. I came on a mission to give back, to help others gain hope that for a time I didn't feel. I have tried to give what I can to help others come closer to Christ, but in the process, I have come closer to Christ and the experiences I have had out here have built a foundation that will help my family, my career, those I serve and all aspects of my life. It is incredible. You give a little to God and He gives you so much more in return. I am filled with gratitude, especially with the fact that I have time left to serve. These last few weeks have been some of the most profound weeks, and I look forward to what God has in store for the next while!

Thanks for the great support and love! You has are awesome and I hope you have a good week!

-Elder Griffiths