February Pictures

The Harlem Chapel

View from the balcony after the big snow a couple weeks ago.

With Eric - he goes out with as all the time and he's a "
boss"!

UN General Assembly Room

Elder Griffiths -- calling the UN General Assembly to Order from the pulpit!

UN Security Council Room view 1

UN Security Council room view 2

Flautas, Comida de Los Cielos

Buenas Tardes!

Not a lot has been going on lately... Don't know what the deal is- maybe things are just getting routine-ish.

Last week after writing you, we went to the temple and that was great!  I love the Manhattan Temple- it's beautiful all around.  And the temple is just great all in all.  Afterwards we went shopping at Century 21 (sweet clothing shop- like Marshall's but 20x better).  I got a new tie and some presents that I'll be sending home soon.  Hopefully...

Can't remember much from Thursday.

Friday was a good though- we went to a our first appointment with a guy that we knocked into and committed him to baptism!  He's ready to change his life and we're excited to continue to share our message with him to help him do such.  We also had some good experiences with an "Area Proselyte Focus"  where everybody in our zone went knocking for a set of English missionaries in the Zone.  We talked to some people and taught the ten points of "How to Begin Teaching" (in chapter 10 of Preach My Gospel) to a lady and it was good.  She almost committed to baptism too.  We're being kind of bold in inviting people right away because that's really what it's all about- baptism, and using that as a step be able to fully access the Atonement.  That night we taught English Class and it was great!  I love teaching English class and I really love our students.

Saturday was great- got to teach English Class again and then we got to go eat at one of my favorite member's houses.  We had flautas- probably my favorite food I've had.  If you ever get the opportunity to have flautas, take it because they're the best!  Nothing terribly exciting happened after that.

Sundays are pretty draining- lots of time spent at the church and that's about it.  We had a couple of appointments after and that was about it.

Monday we had interviews and those were good.  It was the first time getting to do that since coming from the mission home.  President Morgan is great and he gave some good advice.  Afterwards we had a couple good appointments.

Tuesday we had service- working at an old folks home where everybody speaks Spanish, had a couple appointments and then English Class.  That was about it.

Today we did our normal preparation day chores, then we went to the United Nations!  Kind of crazy, but yeah there's a member in our ward that works there so he gave us a good inside tour of the place.  I'll send some pictures.  It was really inspiring though seeing where the world comes together to try to make sure things aren't crazy.  I would love to have a career that allows me to interact with people from all over the world.

Random note- there's an Alex Bermudez who works with the Young Men in our ward that served in Grayson and Collins Hill- he remembers eating at the Gregerson's and a lot of the other Grayson Ward people and so he says "Hey!"  It was good reminicing over good ol' Georgia.

So that was my week!  We've got transfers in a week, so we'll see what goes down!  Things are going well (and we've got a good Mexican dinner tonight, so even better!), and I'm looking forward to the upcoming week.  Thanks for all the support back home- I hope you have a great upcoming week!

-Elder Griffiths

Busquen el Bien

Hello!

We've got only two weeks left in the cycle- crazy!  Time has been flying and soon enough we'll be in the next cycle and things will be warming up and so on.

This past week was pretty uneventful.  We started teaching a couple of people last night and we're excited to see how that goes.  Knocking doors we've been offering to give a blessing on their home and help them rather than saying we have a message or we want to talk about Jesus Christ or whatever we used to say.  We've gotten a lot better reactions from that, or at the very least, we don't get rejected too hard too often anymore- people are a little more polite.

Here's a fun little cultural tidbit from the city- riding the subway is always an adventure.  A lot of times you get people announcing to your whole car that they're in need of money for reason a, b, or c (you can sort out the people who are really in need based on whether or not they accept a granola bar).  Other times you see skinny Chinese guys walking from car to car with a handful of plastic CD protectors- bootleg DVDs.  Everybody understands what they're doing so if you want their services, you have to get their attention as they briskly walk by.  You get a lot of people selling candy, more so in the Bronx it seems.  Then you've got mini performances, from singing to playing weird plastic saxophones to drums and so on.  Those all keep things exciting.

This week I've been learning a lot about having a good attitude.  We should always strive to make the best of the circumstances we're given.  The Lord doesn't give us anything we can't handle and doesn't give us anything that's not for our benefit.  We should always be looking for the good in everything around us and always be studying out how to better ourselves.  Taking things with an attitude of gratitude is the best things that we can do.  Doctrine and Covenants 78:19 really puts things into perspective and has helped me to have better thoughts and stuff.  So yep, hope that's uplifting!

Thanks for all the support!  I hope that everything is continuing to go well at home!

-Elder Griffiths

Ya Se Fue La Nieve

Hello all!

I survived the storm- it really wasn't that bad.  I think a lot of it hit in the middle of the night (or at least after 10:30).  I mean I guess it was snowing/sleeting all day Friday, but we were definitely still able to walk around and get stuff done, but we woke up to a bunch of snow on the ground.  Snow here on the sidewalks and the streets gets nasty very quickly.  We chugged along and just did what we were supposed to do on Saturday and Sunday and then it was kind of rainy and warmer on Monday, so a lot of it melted away.  Now there's really only the piles that are banked up on the side of the roads, so it's not too bad.  It was just a pain trying to walk around and stuff.  So yep, I guess that was the gist of how the snow storm went down for me.

Not too much happened since Friday.  The one thing I can think of is that we had some more training about the stuff that we were taught last Wednesday from the Zone Leaders and it's super exciting.  We were the first mission to receive that training and so they're just going to see how it goes here and then maybe do training and have the things we do become the norm everywhere.  The general idea of the training is just a shift of how we teach.  We're going to be covering specific things that aren't necessarily a part of the lessons as given in Preach My Gospel for the first four visits.  They're short, powerful and they really set the investigator/less active up with a solid foundation of what to do as we move forward with the lessons.  It's basically just more centered on the Atonement and what we need to do to be able access the atonement.  It's pretty bold, but it sifts through the people quicker rather that making people "eternigators."  We also are starting out our contacting with saying that we're a representative of Jesus Christ and we want to bless the lives of others as Christ did.  We offer to say a prayer at their home or do something of that sort to help them, then we give the first lesson (which is basically just saying all of the points of "How to Begin Teaching" in Preach My Gospel), and then commit them to baptism.  It's pretty crazy, but so far what we've done has worked pretty well.  I know it's what we need right now and I'm excited to see the fruits of it!

Things are going along here in New York.  At the end of this week we'll be halfway through the cycle- crazy!  But yep, the church is true and the Lord is hastening His work!  Hope all is well at home!

-Elder Griffiths

El Llegar A Ser Mexicano

Buenas Noches!

I don't have a lot of time to write tonight, but I'm a little scatter brained right now, so that's probably an okay thing.  There's been a lot that's happened in the past week and a half, but nothing that I can think of in particular.  Elder Loera and I are just loading up on appointments and going to work!  And the training we had Wednseday was pretty sweet!  It was from Tracie Watson, the guy who had a large part in putting Preach My Gospel together, and he essentially taught about how the focus of the way we teach as missionaries is going to be more about talking about the repentance process and about how to go about evaluating lessons in a better manner.  We were one of three missions in the world that got that training early (just testing it out on us), and we were two of the ten zones in our mission that got to take part of that, so it was definitely a privilege.  Things are going pretty well!

Fun fact- I really am getting to be a big fan of spicy things.  I think Jalapeno peppers are great and I just bought a bottle of some hot sauce called Valentina that I absolutely love.  We've been fed a lot lately, and though we've been running in the mornings, I think I'm putting on a little weight- just like three to five pounds.  I think I'm going to work on not taking second servings from people, but when food tastes so good, it's hard to say no...  I love serving in little Mexico.

One thing that was brought to my attention again this morning during my personal study was the fact that God doesn't give us challenges that we can't first of all, overcome, and second of all, that aren't for our betterment.  As we move forward with hope in all of God's promises and with faith that God is able to do anything as we trust in Him, and as we're motivated by charity for our fellow man, things will be made better.  Problems will work out as we seek to be obedient to the scriptures, the modern day prophets and the Spirit.  I know that's true and I love testifying of that to the people we teach.

I hope all is well at home and abroad!  Hopefully I survive the blizzard to write another letter next week...  Haha have a great week!

-Elder Griffiths

Preparation Day Cancelled

So we had some special training come up, so they've moved our preparation day to Friday.  We're not sure what exactly is going on, but it sounds like it's a big deal, so I'll let you know how it goes on Friday!  Have a good next couple of days!

-Elder Griffiths

Adios Papa...

Hello all!

Transfers came, and so I'm currently writing from...  ...Harlem still.  Same ward, same area, but Elder Topham left to go upstate.  He went back to his area up in the Yorktown ward (I've seen pictures and it looks beautiful up there.  I hope I end up going upstate at some point.  That's kind of the opposite attitude a lot of people have...) for his last cycle, and I'm excited for him because it sounded like his upstate area was great and it seems like he'll have some great opportunities to get to tie up some loose ends and finish the work that the Lord wants him to do up there.  I'm glad I got to serve with him and even though things weren't always smooth sailing, I still love him and was sad to see him go.  I think we'll be lifetime friends though, so I'll be looking forward to keeping in touch with him!

So with him gone, I obviously have a new companion.  His name is Elder Loera, he was recently serving in the Bronx, but has been all over.  He came out with Elder Topham, but since he was raised speaking Spanish he only spent three weeks in the MTC and thus has only two cycles left.  He seems really humble and willing to work hard, so I'm pumped to work with him!  He's also a native speaker, so my Spanish will probably improve this cycle.  So that's that!

This past week was pretty good.  We had a "mini mission" with a  guy in our ward with a mission call.  He came over and spend the night and lived the missionary life from Wednesday night to Saturday afternoon, so sharing that experience with him was cool.  During that time, we had some pretty good lessons, including one with the family we are currently teaching.  They're making lots of progress and it's great seeing their lives being blessed as they return to gospel.  We also set a baptismal date with another one of our investigators!  She's a little iffy about baptism, so it was a great miracle that she agreed to a date.  Now we're going to do our part prepare her and let the Spirit do the rest.  Other than that, things have been kind of slow with transfers.  Elder Topham had a lot of stuff he needed to pack up, so that took awhile (and was stressing me out too, so I'm pretty emotionally exhausted right now I guess).  A lot of stuff switched around at transfers, so it was really sad to see people go.  We had Sister Aguirre (mi paisana- she's originally from Mexico but recently lived in Peachtree City) Elder Bowker, and Elder Topham leave from our district and then some other switch ups of some of my mission friends.  It felt like leaving BYU all over again to an extent, but I guess I'll probably get used to transfers after a few more.  So yep, that's about it.  I'm looking forward to good upcoming cycle!  Next cycle we have forty missionaries coming in, so I'm going to be trying to prepare to train, just in case.  I guess we'll see...

We've been eating a lot of food lately.  We had three dinners Monday, two lunches and a big dinner Saturday.  Luckily, Elder Loera is game to go running and work out at the gym, otherwise I'd be slightly concerned about gaining a little weight.  I've been doing good thus far otherwise, but doing solid exercise (as opposed to jumping jacks) should just make sure I'm good to go.

I think that's about it.  Thanks for all the support- I hope everybody is doing well!

-Elder Griffiths

El Gozo del Evangelio

Buenas Tardes!

Already done with five weeks in the cycle- crazy, crazy...  Next week is transfers, so everybody is getting a little antsy.  I feel like things are going to switch up for me- from what predictions have been made by other missionaries and what I've felt it sounds like I might stay and Elder Topham will go back to one of his old areas or something for his last cycle, and I might train.  But I'm really trying hard not to anticipate anything so that when things don't go how I think they're going to go, it doesn't throw me off or anything.  But I know that President Morgan is inspired, so whatever happens is going to be the will of the Lord.

Anywhoo, this week was pretty good.  We went on a split with a couple of ward members on Thursday night and that was different being without another missionary for a couple hours.  Friday we had a great leadership conference for the Manhattan missionaries (I think there's about fifty to sixty of us on the island) and it was super inspiring!  We've got a new set of what we call "Standards of Excellence" that give us the number of lessons and such we should be having every week.  We also talked a lot about how we really need to step things up with the new missionaries coming.  The work of the Lord is really going forward!  I really thing we're going to see some drastic things happen in the next year or two alone.  After that we had some appointments, then English class, then one of the Zone Leaders, Elder Hulme (Zone Leaders work in the North part of our ward), came to Harlem East for an overnight exchange.  We had some good appointments on Saturday and I just enjoyed being with Elder Hulme- he's funny and just a good person to talk to.  He's going to be majoring in Chemical Engineering at BYU too, so I'm looking forward to being able to keep up our friendship after the mission.  Saturday night the sisters had a baptism and then we switched back.  Sunday was good- went to church and then pretty much just came back and I split with our roommates to be with one of them that wasn't feeling so good.  We talked and enjoyed one another and I was able to make some phone calls and set up some appointments (speaking Spanish on the phone is rough, but I'm able to hold my own nowadays, thanks to God of course!), and baked some brownies for district meeting the next day.  We went into Monday with five lessons scheduled for after district meeting, but two of them didn't work out.  They were good though and we had a member at each one.  One the greatest things I've seen thus far in the mission is the progress of a less active family we've been working with.  I do believe I talked about the miracle of finding them like six or seven weeks back or something.  Anyways, they're making great progress!  The whole family came to church Sunday, we've had some great lessons with them and their thirteen year old boy said that now he wants to serve a mission!  Seeing them progress and return to the joy they once knew is super satisfying and helps me to push on through the rough times.  I also have had a chance to use math on the mission, helping one of our investigators to prepare for the GED and then helping another with some prep for her Calculus exam coming up, so it's cool to see how the Lord has utilized such specific blessings during my service.  Yesterday we had planned to travel down to 14th street to translate for a recent convert at the LDS Employment center, but that fell through, so we we're able to go put some English class fliers in some deli's and other stores and we had a good appointment with an inactive who has a nonmember husband.  They said they were both going to come to church Sunday!  Afterwards, we had English class and then came home.  Today we're planning on playing volleyball with our zone so that'll be cool.  And starting tonight, we're taking one of guys in our ward with a mission call (to New Jersey- crazy...) on a mini-mission where he'll be with us until Saturday (including sleeping over and stuff), so that's exciting.  Things are going forward!

So yep, hope all is well at home!  Thanks once again for all your support!

-Elder Griffiths

Por las Cosas Pequenas

Hello All!

I guess while everybody is talking about weather, I'll put in my little bit. It's been fairly warm here in the city (I've just been going out in my suit coat, no over coat) for three days out of the past week and that's been good. Yesterday, though, it got back to being cold and today it's cold and wet and not pleasant. The wind and moisture make it kind-of-cold to not pleasant at all.

Anyways, things are going well here! Things are definitely picking up and this last week was solid. I'm going to send you a chunk of my letter to President about how things are going...

We did very well in having lessons with members and we feel like we're making good progress! Since last week we've had some good meetings with the Young Men's President, Counselor in the Bishopric over missionary work and Bishop Gamez that have given us plenty of work to do and have started the ball rolling to really strengthen this area and make it flourish. We're going to be working on the ward mission plan, the role of ward missionaries in that plan, setting up better correspondence between all of the ward auxiliaries and many more exciting things. We've presented ourselves as happy helpers in whatever the ward wants us to do and we're planning on following through and being the help that they needed. We feel like we're getting more and more support of the members as we take them out and work with them and things are looking great! I just can see the Lord hastening His work and it's a great honor to be a part of it. I can't wait to continue to move forward in the work and see everything play out!

So like I said, things are going well! There are definitely still frustrations here and there, but over all we're seeing great progress. Last Wednesday after the temple and writing home, we had dinner at the Young Men's presidents house and we just talked about the work, particularly in regards to the Young Men. He's a solid guy going to Colombia Law school and we've been working with him a good bit lately. We ate barbecue (served his mission in North Carolina) and that was sweet! Thursday we did weekly planning, passed out some English flyers and then went and had some solid appointments with some members and less actives. We ate Sancoche at a less active's house. It's a Dominican left over stew that's pretty good but sometimes has chicken or cow feet in it and stuff like that. Friday we went and did stuff in the Sister's area (West side- we worked down pretty close to Times Square where there are a just a bunch of big, nice buildings), then went to English class. Saturday we went to a lunch appointment in the Sister's area where we ate Saviche (Ecuadorean dish that consists of sea food with onions. I hate it, and ate as little as possible), then we went to a couple of great appointments. Sunday we had one investigator at church, but we had a couple of less actives that were there. Afterwards, we went on a goose chase to get some money to a member who was going out to Ecuador for a funeral then we got to an appointment late and that was it because we have church at 1:00. Monday we had district meeting and then afterwards we finished our studies, passed out some English class flyers, went to the hospital to give a blessing, then went to one of the bishopric members house for dinner and had a great talk with him. And ate great, non-Hispanic food, not that Hispanic food is bad, but it was good going back to some home cooked gringo food. Yesterday we went and did some service at an old folks home on the west side where everybody speaks Spanish, then went and did some street contacting as a Zone in our area (I'm getting better about going up to random people in the streets and just talking to them about the church- I used to have a really hard time doing such.) After that we tried looking up a less active, then we went to an appointment and got juked, so then we just went with the young men's president (who was with us) to one of the less active families that we've been working with and just had a good visit with them. That was about it for the night. And here we are today. We were going to go downtown and just walk around but things aren't looking like they're going to work out, but that's okay because it's not nice outside and I'm enjoying just sort of chilling today and not being to pressed with time. So yeah like I said, things are going well! We're working together and getting stuff done and starting to see the fruits of our labors and things are just going to keep picking up! We haven't had any baptisms yet, but we've done a good bit to just strengthen the ward and we're looking forward to chugging a lot and keeping it up! One thing we've taught and I've seen play out is the idea that "by small and simple things are great things brought to past" (Alma 37:6-7) because it's true. The road to eternal life is made up of small steps taken one at a time. As we spend a little bit of time reading scriptures everyday, praying everyday, going to church every week, these little things add up and take us to great places. It's been really cool seeing that play out and I challenge anybody reading this to give that principle some good thought.

Thanks for all the support from back home! I hope everything is going well!

-Elder Griffiths

Es Bueno Para Ser Inspirado Por Dios

Good Evening!

Things are rolling along here in Harlem.  We're officially halfway through the cycle, and as always, time is flying.  It'll only be a matter of time before I'm getting shipped off or switch up companions or something like that.

Anyways, as far as the work goes, this last week was a lot better.  We had two investigators passed on to us from the English program- a fifteen year old guy and his mom.  He speaks English perfectly, but the mom doesn't so we've got them now.  His name is Juan and he's got a baptism date of January 26th, and we're going to issue the same date to her tonight.  They're great- they both love the church and have great faith, so we're looking forward to moving onward with them!  We also had one of our other investigators that we kind of dropped, Aura, came for the second time in the past couple of weeks and stayed for the full three hours so we're looking forward to working with her too!  And our key indicators- the numbers we set goals for and report such as lessons with members, investigators with baptismal dates, etc- changed and are more focused on working with members with other members, less active, and investigators rather than just with investigators.  We've been working a lot with members and less actives already, so the new indicators justify our work and make us realize that we've been doing what the Lord wants us to do- it's great!  We've also had just little things here and there that have come up that show that we're doing what the Lord wants us to do.  For everybody, as we just go forward relying on God- praying, reading the scriptures, going to church, doing the things to show that we're seeking for revelation, we'll be blessed with that direction.  I'm trying to learn about revelation right now because it's so essential for everything!  So yup, things are going well.

So another "famous" Mormon in our ward- the girl on the cover of the New Era of the February issue.  I think.  She's in our area and we love going over to her family's house- they're a rowdy  fun bunch!  But yeah there seems to be a lot of people in our mission that are in mormon.org videos and stuff like that, so it's always cool making those connections.

Anyways, hope all is going well with you guys!  Thanks for all your support- hope everybody has a great week!

-Elder Griffiths