May 19, 2014

Dear Fam.

This week was alright. we worked a ton and taught alot. it was really cool, we are really trying to work with the members here.  Idk what it is but missionarios that serve in florianapolis are beasts! i know three four that have served there or will serve there and they are animals!!! One is in our ward, he just moved here a bit ago from belo horizonte and was the stake mission leader and their stake had the most baptisms in the mission, he is the young mens leader here but he really wants to help with the work and he sacrificed his afternoon yesterday to have a meeting to see how he could help us because we dont have a ward mission leader right now.  Hes awesome! we are planning a sweet activity here and we will present it to the members this sunday in a "motivational" meeting. 

Thank you for the spiritual thought, thats very true.

Thats awesome levi and gerritt!!! you guys look like pros in those fotos!!!  Keep at it!

Dang, Brysons already tearing it up! thats awesome!  he told me he wasnt gonna tryout for football until next year.  That made me a bit more happy that i will be back in time to watch him play! its probably good to that he can get used to school first.

Im sure lex will have a blast!  thats good she has something to keep her busy.

thanks for everything!  hope you guys have a great week!

love you!

-Elder Grondel 

May 12, 2014

Saying goodbye to my comp...after only a week and a half:(

Dear Family!

Its weird, i feel like i didnt even do skype yesterday. it passed super quick.  But it was really good to see you guys, everyone happy. I wish i couldve talked to each one of you guys a bit more.  I hope mothers day went well!

Ya i was very fragile during christmas...

Ya its always good to have a planner full. its tough sometimes to fill it up.  Ya we had pauliana last week but she has moved to her moms in an other area. we have another date but she didnt go to church becasue she went to her familys for lunch. but she is really firm on her date.

My comp ended up giving the talk because he just got here this past week and he wanted to speak so the ward could see him. his names is Elder Ferreira and he is my senior.  my other comp left. we had a mini transfer thing only after two weeks because a ton of americans got here. but they went to other areas. and this transfer will end here in a bit because its only 5 weeks.

Thank you! i need the prayers!!! 

It was great to talk to Bryson. seems like all is good with him!  He gave me some good advice.

Well i will write Landon now.  Love you guys! thanks for the support! hope yáll have a great week!

-Elder Grondel

May 4, 2014

April 27, 2014

Dear Family,

This week was nuts, i said bye to all my recent converts in Anapolis and some of the members that were cool there.  It was kinda sad leaving them, but its all good.  I was transferred to a city called Uberlandia! My comp from the Mtc(Elder Carter)  and i traded companions and areas. That was kinda cool. My comp is Elder T. Marques.  And he is super tight! hes really funny but has a strong desire to serve and he teaches really well.  Im super pumped to work with him.  These past two transfers my zone leaders have talked to me and told me i was for sure going to be senior and to prepare, i was kinda stressed/excited and i was thinkiing about how i would do things. ha. But i stayed as Junior again, ha.Idk if i did something or what ha. but Its super chill as junior. But im learning a ton, my comp is from the same stake as my last comp, fun fact.  But he works really sufficiently and likes to hear my ideas and actuallly likes to talk to me! ha.  its sweet we can actually talk about plans and how to get stuff done!  im really excited to work with him.  Im trying to learn all i can from him right now and improve my teaching and everything.

My new area here is really cool, a little bit more money in this area.  There is a sweet park in our area! its called parque do sabia i will take some pics there some day. the second counsler of the mission was just called and he lives here and is super pumped to help us.  This city is quite a bit bigger than anapolis and has had the church here forever but is still only one stake. its really strange.  but our new second counselor has some sweet plans for this area and we are excited to accomplish these new plans.

Meu Pai (Elder Blake) is my zone leader!!! Hes awesome.

We have monkeys in the trees nex to our house, i fed them the other day, ha. i took a picture but it wasnt super good.

We have been working a ton, a lot of people are receptive here and like our messages, its just gonna require a bit of work to get them to church, but i know its possible.

 my comp has been asking for lexis email like crazy,he says he "needs to practice his english" haha.

Well i love you guys and miss you tons!  Have a great week! enjoy utah....

-Elder Grondel III

April 20, 2014

Dear Family,

This past week was my last week in Anapolis.  I cant beleive my time in this ward/area is already up.  I will be transferred this wednesday, idk where until the meeting, should be exciing.  My zl´s and dl were saying that i was staying the whole week, and my comp was leaving, ha. but turns out im leaving.  I really liked this ward and this area! i made a ton of friendships here! I would love to return here to see everyone again, especially my recent converts. Shirley didnt go to church, and that broke my heart, but Nelson was there and he is doing great! he is loving the gospel and loves to answer the questions in gospel principles! ha. its so cool to see him and his daughter and her kids at church every sunday.  He will help alot in the ward! 

The bishop in this ward is literally the hardest working bishop i have ever seen, im so grateful for the oportunity i had to work with him and learn from him.

We have recieved alot of references from the members this week and they are really good! they should get baptized here in a bit.  It was so cool to work in this area and watch it grow!

Thats so cool you guys have the oportunity to go to the temple and receive revalation.  I pray for you guys.  My president talked about a missionary he was talking to whose family was having problems and he said to the missionary "well its good you are out here on the mission, can you imagine how bad it would be if you werent? someone would probably have died already!"  I trust that although this seems terrible, the Lord is blessing you guys tremendously!  Maybe not by removing the problem, but by giving you guys the forces to continue. I will continue to do my best to send blessings your way!

Well im gonna email bryson real quick! 

Hope everything gets better for you guys!

Love you a ton!

-Elder Grondel III

April 14, 2014

Hey Fam!

Thank you for your prayers and everything.  i can feel it for sure!  This week was pretty good.  We are teaching a bunch of different people, we are looking for those eleitos! We are teaching one oldlady that is awesome. she has some kids that are members of the other ward and they gave us a reference for her.  She has alrady been to church a ton in nthe past. Her husband died 8 months ago and she is still so heart broken they were married for more than 60 years! Its so amazing to see that there are still people that love in this world. One of her kids that is suppeerr catholic is living with her and is putting crap in her head. which is super annoying. we had taught her before, we taught trhe plan of salvation the first time....we have to like yell for her to hear and even then its hard for her to understand because my accent fricken sucks still. ha. bryson how did you improve yours?ha  but  when we passed this week she said she talked to her kids and they said she cant change churches because shes always been catholic and blah blah blah.  so when my comp was talkig to her i prayed my brains out so that we could teach theright thing.  I followed what i hope was the spirit and started teaching and by the end we marked a date of baptism,that was pretty sweet. but she was sick and didnt go to church. we will keep working with her this week and hope all turns out well.

We started teachig two other young women...they are references from a young man in the ward, i promise you im not looking for youg women to teach... 

but they seem pretty good, one i taught yesterday at church during the second hour with a retured missionary in our ward because mycomp had to teach gospel principles, and it went good, she had a ton of questions and is reading the BOM she is already way into 1nephi! 

My comp and i are getting along alot better, i have been being blessed so much with patiece and just letting things go. but thatsenough bout me. oh, im gettin fat. 

Jake thats soo cool you can bless the sacrament! im so proud of you for being worthy to take part in this sacred ordenance! 

Shirley went to church!!! but they had to leave a little early cause dafine is sick. she is so cute and always reminds me of bella.  We got to give Nelson the priesthood yeesterday!!! it was soo cool! our bishop it literally the hardest working bishop i know he has helped all of these things happen. 

Well we will fid out this week if either of us was transferred, and next week is the transfer meetting.

Love you guys!  i´ll work extra hard so you guys get the blessings you need!

-Elder Grondel III

April 7, 2014

Dear family,

This week was alright, we walked a freakin ton! i have never been so tired, we found some new people that we are gonna be teaching. Should be sweet.  i have been eating so much. i love food. 

Well conference was alright, to be honest it kinda sucked in portugeuse.  i could understand basically all of it  but i had to think about some of the words and its just not the same ina nother language, cause its not their voice, nopt the same spirit!!!  and we missed the first hour of the two  morning sessions becausew we were running from lunch to the chapel. it started at 1 here. I heard Elder holland gave a sweet talk, but i missed it, i will watch it next week or something during copmputer time.   But i really liked Elder Bednars talk about his "load".  he really loves the enabling power of the atonement. its awesome! hes lookin kinda of old too..ha.   We had some investigaotrs there but we had so many that said they were coming and didnt show up, i spent almost an hour waiting out front for them i was so frsutrated. so that too made it hard to enjoy conference.   but only two more conferences in portugeause! ha. one american went around asking for a key to the office to watch it in english because he hated it SO much in potugeuise, ha.But their were some great talks as well, i like the one about 4 minutes and our life.

 i have been dying to enter a nice house with carpet...its been so long. ha

Families that help with the work are soooo awesome! we have one that has helped us but their daughter who usually gives us reffereals and talks to her friends will leave for the mish in florianopolis this week.

Hey question for bryson:  whats something good and quick to make here?  what did you buy and eat on the mish, ive had some good things but im gettting tired of the same things. ha. and im resulting to those cookie packeages...thier so good! ha. 

I heard President will come here tomorrow and we will have a zone meeting with him.  i hope its good.

Well enjoy your spring break...wish that existed for us! ha. 

Love you guys and miss ya a ton! 

-Elder Grondel III