El 9 de Marzo

i have figured out how i am going to countdown my mission, something that i really didn't want to do, but everyone here does it. i will be counting transfers, because months is too long, and there are waay too many weeks between me and home. transfers are six week periods in an area, and i will be with hermana gomez for two of them. i will spend another transfer here in loma linda after, so in total, i will spend about 4 months here in loma linda 1. this week marks one and a half transfers of the 12 i will have in my mission. woo hooo!

i have decided that missionary work is hard, but that i can do this. its very interesting to plan for 28 investigators on thursday morning and then have 13 fall through on their baptismal dates on sunday. but we did it, and we will be passing by every single house to let them know what happened. it's really hard to keep track of that many lessons, and what pamphlet you left for homework with which investigator, so god made planners. and thank goodness for that.

we will be holding three baptisms as a companionship on Saturday: Angel, Frank, and Emily. Emily is the most likely for this goal to actually happen, because Angel and Frank have kind of lost the flame for it all. we have appointments with both of them tonight to hopefully get them back over the flame, and to help them in their struggles and doubts. Emily is very excited to go, though. her original goal was the 21st, but we felt that she was ready, and friday afternoon talked with her and came to a decision to hold the baptism this week. she is really excited, very receptive of the doctrine, and totally on board for Saturday!!

a new word for the week: the spanish word for "burnt offerings" is holocaustos and i found this very depressing/interesting/disturbing because it looks likeHolocaust.

helado means "ice cream" in spanish, but in loma linda, helado is really just frozen juice. and it's amazing on a hot day!

i found out yesterday that the universitaria stake will be taking a temple excursion the end of june, and it will cost USD $37. to do the math for you, thats about 1,100 cords. a lot of money, but the stake will do fundraisers and such to help those who would like to attend, do so. i really would like asucena, frank, angel, and some of the other recent converts attend. because the temple is amazing. no questions asked.

it rained here on friday, and i thought i was going to die and go to heaven. it was probably around 70 degrees, light breeze, and very little humidity, and i was soo happy. hermana gomez was freezing, but i was in heaven!! and then it was hot the next morning, and i was dying of heat again. one day i'll get used to the heat

but that's all for this week, folks! 

thanks for your prayers. love you all!

hermana graves

El 2 de Marzo- First Baptism

the exchange rate here is about 27 cordobas to US$1. We don't go prosetlying with more than about 50 cords in our pockets, and you don't carry US dollars with you, unless you really want to get mugged. 

traffic here in Loma Linda gets a little crazy. there are hardly ever wrecks, but there sure are the fair share of close calls. they don't obey the two way street ideal, and if you aren't going fast enough, move over cause here we come, oncoming traffic or not. everyone, bus drivers included, shoots the gap and prays that it stays open. 

sidewalks and streets: lots of street vendors, with warm fruit, and always bananas. little shops have everyday things, and there is quite a big division between Coke and Pepsi. the two are not sold in the same shop, and people shun you when they found out you don't like the same brand as they. Elder Weyand, my district leader, has it right when he said the people here are kind of stuck in the 70's. for the most part, there is quite a lot of trash in the street, but the kids don't play with it. they play with a few toys, but for the most part make due with little knick knacks and makeshift balls. most of the streets are dirt, but the people water the street like we would grass in the US each afternoon. they sweep it, water it, and make sure that it looks nice. the inner streets are hilly, and if i don't leave Loma Linda with killer calves, I am seriously doing something wrong. some days, i think Hna Gomez is a mountain goat, because one minute she's at the bottom of the hill, and the next she's at the top waiting for little gordita me to struggle up the mountain path.

some nights it's rather hard to sleep because there the lovely neighbors' roosters and dogs. most mornings, around five am, the rooster next door decides that the whole world needs to be up with him, and he goes for about two hours straight. slowly, i have been able to tune him out, but ever so slowly.

the people here love to sing, and sing they do. one of the things that I have taken for granted is a piano in the main classrooms in the church meetinghouses. here there is one digital piano in the chapel, and it is programmed to play the hymns. i know how to play the piano, and the people get really excited when they figure this out. like really excited, and everyone asks you to sing the songs. for the most part, i can remember the tune and sing it, but sometimes the beat is changed to help with the number of syllables in the Spanish translation, so it's a little difficult. the people here love to sing, but they all make Hannah, my little sister, look like a rockstar, because they can't carry a tune in a bucket. love them, but it's a little rough. but, i love to sing while we walk from appointment to appointment, especially when Hermana Gomez let's me sing in English :)

the women here, seriously have no problem showing everyone their goods. they nurse their 18 month olds wherever they want, and just kind of whip it in and out. the first couple of times it completely took me by surprise, and unfortunately, i've kind of gotten used to it. you just look them in the eyes, and don't look down for anything.

hermana gomez! time for a more proper introduction. she is from Guatemala and has been out on a mission for almost eight months. she has been working in Loma Linda for about three transfers now (which translates to about four months) she has a twin as well, but they look exactly like, and she doesn't believe me when I tell her I have a blonde haired, blue eyed twin. she doesn't think it's possible! she doesn't like english, and gets frustrated with the word upon in the scriptures when we read them out loud together. she is about five years my senior, yet I have about a foot on her. she's a great trainer, and i feel honored to be her first daughter. she pushes me just enough to the edge to help me grow, and is very patient with my very tiny vocabulary. 

Asucena has got us on a manhunt. Literally. she was married to a man about thirty years ago, and they lived together for about six months before he moved out, to go who knows where. now she lives here in Loma Linda with another man, and their son. She is getting ready for baptism in a couple of weeks, and has to get a divorce, before she can be civilally married to her current spouse. it's a little hairy because we don't have a lot of details on him, whether he is dead or alive, and whether she is still married or if he filed for a divorce a long time ago. we don't know! but that's what we get to help her do before her baptism on the 21st!

Emily got permission to take the lessons, so we are going to continue preparing her for the 21st as well! Friday we were trying to decide which less active member to visit, when I got the prompting to visit Emily. Her mom was home, so we were able to talk with her about church and such. they committed to attend church and after some dodge attempts, Emily commited to baptism and mom gave consent for the lessons {because Emily is a minor, we need parental permission for lessons and her baptism}. we have some progress charts to help investigators see what things they have learned and what we have talked about and she got really excited when we gave her that. we told her when she has all the litle boxes marked off, she can be baptized and the fire inside her grew. 

Frank is another new investigator this week, and is progressing well. he is very receptive during our lessons, and understands and then asks great questions to help us guide our lessons to his needs. he likes his little bit of coffee in the morning, so we are trying to help him stop that. one thing I can say, is thank goodness that I started studying the Book of Mormon before I came out and knew where to find the account of Moroni's vision to Joseph Smith, or we would have been in some deep doo doo with one of his questions.... 

ANDY: my first baptism! we had the opportunity to teach him the law of chastity, and can I just say, it's very difficult to teach a nine year old about chastity, when he doesn't want to say the only word for procreating in spansih?! needless to say, we commited him to never have any sort of relations with a woman until after marriage. well done, andy! Saturday was a little hectic, getting everything set aside, and ready for Andy, but that night was special. A lot of his family came, and his less active father was able to be there. His father doesn't have the proper authority, much to Andy's suregrin, so his Uncle was able to perform the ordinance. Sunday morning, he was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and given the gift of the Holy Ghost. he really couldn't stop giving Hermana Gomez and I hugs after that.

  
​

me and the baptismal boy!      and then the whole family!

people here don't know how to give a firm handshake, and give you a dead fish always. if you are really lucky, you might get a little squeeze. maybe.... i've been in Nicaragua two weeks, and a native has given me a firm handshake twice.

hermana gladiz feeds me well, so rest assure, I will be gaining my mission 20 here in Loma Linda. at zone meeting on Friday, we were asked what our favorite NICA food is, and I would have to say fried plantains. I don't like grilled or plain plantains, but give me one sprinkled in salt and fried in corn oil, and I could eat them for days... yumm!!

hermana gomez found my first tan line yesterday, and my feet are slowly finding the sun as well. with as much sun as there as been, thankfully I haven't gotten a sunburn. knock on wood! i am still very white compared to

everyone else, so I still get cat calls, but it doesn't bug me quite as much!

hermana gomez and i at the transfer meeting!
​

i took my first bucket shower this week because some nights, and we don't know why, but there is no water to be found in the pipes. and it's just too hot now to use shower. waayy to hot for that. 

 

but i know that this gospel is true. the reason i feel comfort here in nicaragua is because i know that it all is about the Lord. I am on the Lord's errand, and my wants and needs are futile. thank goodness for a Savior who lives and died for me. thank goodness for a God that allows me to grow and invites us to the edge: 

"Come to the edge," He said. 

"No, we'll fall."

"Come to the edge," He said.

"No, we'll fall."

"Come to the edge."

So we came to the edge.

He pushed us. 

And we flew.

What has been your biggest challenge this week? keeping up with our daily goals for numbers, and finding the balance between quantity and quality

What has been your greatest concern this week? our non-progressing investigators

What has been your greatest success? my first baptism!

Who has been your favorite person this week and why? andy, and his great decision to follow the Lord Jesus Christ into the waters of baptism

What has been your most significant tender mercy? the hymns and the simple messages they hold

What is your favorite scripture this week? phillipans 4:13

What are you looking forward to this coming week? teaching lessons, and knowing where the heck i am headed in all the winding streets!

Do you have any goals set for this coming week? memorize a scripture to use in each lesson, and use it!

thanks for listening to this week's ramblings. love you all!

until next week friends!

the tennessee hermana

Safe Arrival

February 24, 2015

Dear Brother and Sister Graves:

Hermana Janelle Sara Graves arrived safely in the Nicaragua Managua South Mission and was assigned to serve with Hermana Gomez, in the Universitaria area of our mission.  We are attaching a photograph of your missionary with us taken on arrival morning. 

 Hermana Graves and Hermana Gomez

Hermana Graves with President & Sister Russell

(Mission President & Wife)

Leaving the MTC & Entering Nicaragua

no way is it february. and why do i say that? because it's literally 95 degrees here, every single day. all that has passed in a week and a half?                    

let's start with leaving the MTC:

leaving everyone behind was one of the hardest things I have ever done.

 

  saying good bye to the teachers. hermano ostler and hermano chambers. the best teachers they have at the MTC, if i had any say. they told me up front: the spanish you speak here is different from that spanish you will speak in your mission and i didn't understand how. but now I do. the nicaraguese use their tongues to speak, and drop the final s. no matter what they tell you in the US, it happens. sorry to burst that bubble.

these would be the one of the other hard things: saying good bye on sunday. elder muirbrook and elder jungers are my favorite companionship at the MTC. they just got it: your companion is your best friend, you have to love them and you get to love them and that's final. you might as well enjoy it. 

then of course, my favorite sister outside of my district: hermana nistler. she also just gets that we are here to do the Lord's work and this is His time. not ours anymore.

and then a picture of the district, where we all are acting ourselves for the most part...

ermana millett and hermana garcia, the other two sisters in the district c. got to show them some love.

an awful picture with the best branch presidency wife a sister could ask for. like really. hermana price is the best person for this calling. I LOVE her! she was such an amazing shoulder to cry on when i needed someone to talk to and my parents were too far away. love her to pieces.

this is where it all gets good: heading to nicaragua! four thirty in the morning report to the travel office. five fifteen, roll out of the parking lot to get to the airport. while unloading the truck of luggage, i heard "hermana graves" and there in a church van was Elder Graves. i screamed and waved, and said i was doing great. the lord knew i needed one last hug before i left for two years, so he let me hug my grandpa. he whipped around the circle again, i cried, he started crying, and then we took the world's worst selfie. then while checking in at the desk, i heard "there she is!" grandma was checking Sister Whitfield and her travel companions into the United terminal so that they could go home! the lord knew that i needed to talk to at least some family before i parted ways for the next 17 months. thank goodness!

getting to atlanta was the easy part, but it was all down hill from there. first, the atlanta airport doesn't have payphones any more so i wasn't able to call home. huge bummer. major bummer. the plane ended up changing terminals, and being delayed twice all before we loaded the plane. we were supposed to leave the ground at 5:59pm, and it was almost 7:30 by the time it was all said and done. needless to say, it was 12:30am Tuesday before i get to crawl into the bed at the mission home that night. 

the next morning was training, and it was given in spanish for the other sisters and elders that had come in that morning from the Guatemala mtc. they gave the english speakers headphones and had some elders translate for us. it was very interesting to say the very least... i got sick with an upset stomach that day, so i didn't really get to enjoy my first nicaraguan meal or the pizza that president bought. major bummer. 

transfers and the first day in the field. lots of missionaries, talks in spanish, and meeting my companion. i don't have a picture, but she does and i love her the mostest. hermana gomez is a God send and she doesn't speak a lot of english. 

this is the last picture i have with elder jungers before he went off to serve with two of the zone leaders, the others sisters were off with their companions, and i got to stay here, close to managua with hermana gomez.

the lord knew that i needed to stay close to the city, and gradually descend into third world territory. the people are still poor here in Loma Linda, but it could be worse. you can tell how weathly a family is by how much tin their home is made of, whether or not they have a car/motorcycle, and how well fed their dog is. dogs are everywhere here, and they always look underfed. 

i get whistled at here, for three reasons: i am above five four, have white skin, and if i do say so myself, am smokin' hot. lol, it's kind of degrading and has given a whole new meaning to the supposedly endearing term gordita. also when people find out that i am from the states, they guess two places: texas and utah, and they have no idea where Tennessee is. always, always great. 

the food here is hard to eat some days, because there is only so many times in a week you can have beans and rice. hermana gladis does an amazing job though, and even made spaghetti one night! 

our apartment here in loma linda is nice, by their standards. actual doors that lock, a toilet, running water, and a shower that usually gives out cold water. 

the hardest trial this week though is the blisters that have made their home on the bottom of my feet. right under the big toe on the pads, have developed the greatest blisters ever from wearing closed shoes for 10 hours every day in the humidity. ibuprofen and some gold bond will hopefully help the pain.

one quick goal: as a mission, we have been invited to have 2000 baptisms by the end of 2015. the zone with the most baptisms gets to spend the night in the mission home (which is like staying in a mansion by US standards). we as a zone want to have 70 baptisms, which is about 5 per set of missionaries for the month of march. with fuego in our hearts, we can do it!

i love you all, and this work is hard, but worth it. this is salvation after all!

el 13 de febrero-Last Prep Day in the MTC

i have been extremely blessed here at the MTC. let me explain why: for every week I have been set apart as a missionary, I have found a friend. the first week, it was Sister Kah and Elder Hamby in the Ogden Mission Home. The next week, it was Sister Ray and Elder Irvine headed to Boise Idaho. The following week was Moe, a friend's fiance, at the temple. Skip a week. I found Motra Henderson on my way to dinner last P-day, but I think my favorite run happened this week at the temple.

We were attempting to take a Zone selfie, which was successfully done (i will have to send the proof next week...) and I was trying to find Motra Henderson; all of sudden I hear my name. And I couldn't tell you if he called me Janelle, Hermana Graves, or Sister Graves. But he called my name, I responded "yes," looked up, and say Elder Evan Nelson standing in front of me. I have never wanted to break the missionary rules so much in my entire life. My Branch President was standing across the way, and I'm pretty sure he thought I was crazy as I screamed and got really excited and just was being me.... Elder Nelson got into the MTC last Wednesday, and leaves on Tuesday for a mission in Colorado. The Lord knew I needed a friend this week, and so he sent me Elder Nelson. 

Hna. Garfield, I, Elder Nelson and his companion.

Motra Henderson and I outside of the Provo Temple.

in other news:

-district a left, and so we spent quite a solid hour posing for pictures. 

elder muirbrook (our district leader), his companion elder jungers, and our district leaders elder wiscomb and elder ipson.

by the time we had gotten to this picture, elder ipson had posed for quite a few pictures, so we had to do a funny one and try and imitate elder ipson's glorious smile!

(elder ipson, elder wiscomb, hermana smith, hermana cornell, hermana garfield, and me)​

district c had to be cool, so they got a picture

The Zone selfie!

this picture is a little out-dated, but this is my district:

from back to front, elder jagneaux, elder muirbrook, elder jungers, elder rankin; hermana smith, me, hermana cornell, and hermana garfield.

tuesday: each week you have two service assignments, and usually on tuesdays we sisters help clean the main building on campus, one m. also, there are 33 flags that fly outside of the MTC each day, the American flag and the England flag (because the pulley system is broken) always fly. But we got to pick 31 flags to fly over the MTC! It was fantastic!! so much fun to have races to see who can crack the flag up the fastest... :) we also got the news that hermana garfield and i would be participating in "people and our purpose: part 1." the next evening.

wednesday: when you come into the MTC, after dinner your first night, they have a seminar called "people and your purpose" where you have the opportunity to have the first lesson with an investigator basically. you meet three investigators and the "old" missionaries help you get to a point where you could kind of start talking doctrine. then the moderator pauses the scene, and then the new missionaries (there are like 40 of you in a room) take over. guess which part we got to do? in english!! yeah, it was not my favorite thing to think about doing, but we got it figured out.. and we really were able to ask some great questions that I will be writing down to use in later lessons. 

before I came to the MTC, uncle curtis gave me some advice. "don't translate, just speak." and I had no idea how to do it. the first couple of weeks I was here, there was just no way I was going to understand myself. and then this past week, i figured out what he meant. if i tried to just simply speak spanish, but sentences were much more fluid and i could actually speak the language, but if i tried to translate from english to spanish, my head was a mess... needless to say, i have been trying to just speak and not translate this week.

as i prepare to leave the mtc, i thought i would share some thoughts with you:

-love your companion, you are supposed to be with her/him every waking moment. if you don't, you will be miserable.

-love your district. they maybe juvenile at times, and you don' t have to love the decisions that they are making, but that's it. those decisions are theirs to make.

-have a sit down and really get to know the district.

-go to the temple as a zone, at least once.

-there is no tree that smells like cream soda.

-the vending machines get stocked on tuesdays. (i think...)

-yes, your MTC card works at the vending machines.

-print off your emails in the morning, write responses, and then go and do emails in the afternoon.

-sack meals are great for pdays, and the mornings you have service.

and then something for mom:

Who can we pray for on your end of the world? Is there an investigator that you are leaving that could use some extra prayers? pray for the gifts of tongues and discernment, heaven knows i will need it

 

What has been your biggest challenge this week? in field orientation. a 9 hour seminar, all done with a pounding headache

 

What has been your biggest concern? i will be in a foreign country, with no ingles, in four days.

 

What has been your biggest success? i feel comfortable speaking the language. if i don't translate (like uncle curtis said) and just try and speak simply, my spanish is understandable and for the most part grammatically correct.

 

Who has been your favorite person this week & why? the Lord. we taught a lesson on Sunday to the district about having faith through trials, and the blessings that can come through enduring through those trials. 

 

What has been your most significant tender mercy? teachers who are willing to sit down with you and help you understand hard topics. we are focusing on the subjunctive form in spanish this week, and it just wasn't making sense. thankfully, hermano ostler took the time to kneel beside me and help me understand it a little bit better....

 

What are you looking forward to this coming week? this week? an exciting new adventure in Nicaragua!

 

Do you have a goal set for this coming week? Tell me about it? love my companion, don't drown in the spanish. memorize a new scripture

  

Which scripture has had the biggest impact on you this week? 3 Nephi 5:13 -- He aquí, soy discípulo de Jesucristo, el Hijo de Dios. He llamado por él para declarar su palabra entre los de su pueblo a fin de que alcansen la vida eterna. 

this gospel is true, the book is blue, and i love you!

the tennessee Hermana

​

el 6 de febrero- almost Nicaragua bound!

​ten days more.... what even!

one of the sisters in my district, {who will go unnamed}, needed to go on adventure for some underclothing that they don't sell here at the MTC, so Tuesday, instead of gym time, we got ADVENTURE TIME! We went to JCPenney's and almost all of us ended up taking something home... I got a new pair of black shoes to wear on Sunday, because I realized that all of my skirts are black, and I have one pair of black shoes.... the math didn't add up.

the first couple of weeks that we were here, the sun never showed its face, so I got in the habit that when I DID see the sun, I would run up and shout to the heavens "EL SOL!" {which is Spanish for "the sun!"}.

we have the fire, for those of you who don't read spanish. and we do! our district is -almost- ready for the real world, and we have been asked to share it with all. the p.s. note is "abran sus bocas" which translates to the command to "open your mouth!" it's a running joke with our teacher, hermano ostler. 

i found one of my friends from Jackson in the MTC this week, and I was so excited I screamed! Motra Shayla Henderson is here for 9 weeks, learning Albania to go and teach the people in the Adriactic North Mission. I didn't get a chance this week for a picture, and I only have one week left, so we best get our act together. :)

We sang "Sweet Hour of Prayer" this week in the devotional and one of the things that Brother Egget said really stuck out to me. He said something to the effect of "We need to make sure that our prayers are like an ATM transaction. 'Hey it's me (insert card); I want these blessings (tell the ATM how much you want), okay thanks! (remove card, take cash) and that's it.' And that really struck me. We need to make sure that we are making our prayers meaningful. 

Fast Sundays here at the MTC are like riding a spiritual wave. Between Mission Conference, District Meeting, and the Evening Devotional, you pretty much don't stand for every long, but it's amazing. You just learn soo much! 

We are drawing near to the end with our investigators, and with one, we almost had a "Come to Jesus!" moment. We have been teaching her for four weeks, two meetings each week, and I don't feel like she progressed as much as I think she could have. After our last lesson with her, I was feeling okay, a little downtrodden, but I finally realized what was missing. "Ella no tiene fuego!" I burst out. She doesn't have the fire! I have the fire of the Gospel inside me and I can't enfore those beliefs on others. I have to let them figure it out for themselves.

I know that this gospel is true. I know that with all my heart. The people here are amazing and are only here to help you learn and grow.

i love you all more than words, and thank you so much for your words of support.

nos vamos! hermana graves

el 30 de enero

Note: The Mom is a few weeks behind for posting.


this week was a rough one. the lord works in mysterious ways and i needed a humbling week.

sunday's devotional was awesome. stephen b. allen, the managing director of the missionary department, the man literally oversaw the writing of preach my gospel and the district (some of the training material that missionaries use). he is so awesome. i have so many great notes that i just wish i could share with all of you. but, these are the best ones:

-do not be your judge and jury

-polishing is sometimes painful, but He's turning you into someone He needs you to be.

-ask yourself: was the spirit the senior companion today? or the junior companion? or was he even in the companionship today?

elder irvine left the mtc on tuesday, and monday night he caught me outside of my dorm. after some well wishes, he looked me square in the eye and asked me: do you need anything from me? and it hit me, this elder has it figured out; what this mission is all about. it's not about us going out and sharing the gospel. it's about being the lord's hands. being in tune with the spirit and knowing what others need.

tuesday, larry kacher, from the second quorum of the seventy, came and it was another great devotional.

-what do you do to give yourself to the Lord?

-are you trusted of the Lord?

-make sure you represent the Lord to the missionaries, not the missionaries to the Lord.

-everything is done according to your faith.

-if the spirit is not present, i have the authority to invite the Spirit into the room.

 

hermana nistler loves this face, so we of course they had to do their best impressions...

the cutest sisters in the mtc: hermana cornell, hermana nistler, hermana garcia, hermana millett, himself, hermana garfield, and hermana smith

​

some of the elders in our zone. this is just so totally them.

elder coltrin, elder muirbrook, elder rue, elder jungers, elder ipson, elder poulson, and elder rankin

i love this gospel and i love the learning experiences that i am having here. it's going to be a great week. this church is true!