> Peanut butter wow that sounds fun. I filled the boxes last year. Mom it is lots of fun to ride in a wheel chair you should try it, or you could be a mature example, and that works too. Yes it is cold here and what with daylight savings time it is now 5:00 and dark outside. (however so far today it hasn't been too cold, but I bought a scarf anyway.)
> This week has been really fun. The family home evening was lots of fun, even if it was in three languages swedish, english, and spanish. Elba is a really cool person. Then on Wednsday we made a mistake. We double booked our teach, so we had to teach at 18:00 (6:00) at the church and at the university. Very hard to do. So, we called around and got it all set up so we could go on splits with the members. I went to the University and taught Rikard, and it went really well. he has lots of good questions, mostly he struggles with faith, but he remembers the lessons we have taught (even the Plan of Salvation which we taught two months ago). Älste Cleere had an awesome experience to. He taught a spanish girl from El Salvador (I think) while Anne-len translated for him. He said it was awesome because they really liked eachother and she said she has always wondered which church was the true church. Then Thursday we taught Rikard again and showed him the Church web site and he wants to listen to President Monson's talks. On the way home I started talking to two college students (they were speaking english, so I had to) They were really positive, and we missed our stop and the bus didn't go back. So, we walked home. The people in Älghult are also doing really well. Nadia and her family will find out if they can stay this week.
> Sunday we got to go to stake conference at the scandic star hotel. the seats are probably the most comfortable I will ever have for stake conference. (they were theater seats, very nice) The talks were all good and a couple were on seminary and the blessings of it. Keep going to seminary. Also put on the Armor of God and keep going. The Temple president gave a really powerfull talk on temple work. Isn't it wonderful to be able to go to the house of the Lord? Then the Stake president closed by telling us we need to give of our hearts to others and serve others. It was really awesome.
> Time is running out, so Ha det så Bra and thank you for the letters and everything you do for me
>
> The soon to be almost frozen
> Äldste Grindstaff
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Hermana Sandra Grindstaff, October 26 2009
> Hola familia,
> The peanut butter factory sounds like it was a lot of fun. I know what it`s like to "sort" the peanuts mom. When I did it last year all I did was move the warm peanuts around a bit on the conveyer belt. :)
> Aaron and Anita helping clean the church sounds like really productive work. (I understand that the temptation to ride around in the wheelchairs is great though... especially if you have a younger sibling with the same idea of what`s fun)
> Well, yesterday Uruguay had their elections for president. This has been a huge deal for a long time now and I`m just now getting around to talking about it. Aparently from what the other elders in our city told us today (during our district meeting that we had before our zone activity that we`re having today in Durazno... run on sentence.) the two main candadites have to have a revote. I`m not a fan of all the politics going on around here, especially because yesterday we couldn`t have church due to the elections. ah well. I`ll send you a few photos of some of the election propaganda maybe next week.
> This week me and my companion have been working on getting more help from the members. Missionary work without the members is not easy. We`ve been sharing messages with a few of the families (during lunch or for a few minutes before we have to be home) and it has been great. We had one member help us in one of our areas that`s pretty far (because this member has an old car) and we had a great lesson. The woman we taught has been having a really hard time with everything lately and is having a hard time making sure her family has food to eat. The lesson with this member was great because he has had many hard experiences in his life and was able to testify with a lot of power and love. I love it when we have help from members... (the man that helped us reminds me a lot of dad, he`s great)
> I had an experience that made me realize even more that I am being watched over very carefully. Yesterday the family we were suppose to have lunch with weren`t there, due to elections, and we didn`t have much food in the house. We borrowed two eggs from some members so we could make a cake in the microwave, but my attempts at making it failed miserably. It was the worst tasting cake ever, so we had to throw out my poor attempt at making food. So, I didn`t eat much for lunch (which I am not accustamed to) and as we were out working I felt a little sick, drained of energy and a little shaky. It was an awful feeling. As we were visiting with some recent converts, the wife said in a matter of factly tone "I have pizza and arroz con leche for you". I know this isn`t the healthiest of foods, but it is my favorite thing here to eat and I almost cried because I felt so grateful. I know that Heavenly Father knows us and our needs. He knows when one of his missionaries is hungry and in my case sent an angel to feed me. I felt much better after. I know that without doubt that God lives and loves us. I know this is his work and I`m so grateful I have this time to preach His gospel to His children. We have been rejected many times, but I love the work and I know it`s all true.
> We have been shown a little anti mormon booklet that has a prayer written in the back of what people should pray for. It`s just like the prayer of the zoramites. It say`s something like " We thank thee that we have shown that mormonism is.... etc." it was quite a shock to see that the world has not changed too much from the times of Alma.
> I love you all and I love the work. We are moving forward and seeing many blessings.
> love you,
> hna Grindstaff
> p.s. changes are next Wed. so that is when I will write my next e-mail
> p.s.s Isaac, while you are freezing, I am burning up. My hair is really blonde and my skin has a tan for the first time in years. :)
> The peanut butter factory sounds like it was a lot of fun. I know what it`s like to "sort" the peanuts mom. When I did it last year all I did was move the warm peanuts around a bit on the conveyer belt. :)
> Aaron and Anita helping clean the church sounds like really productive work. (I understand that the temptation to ride around in the wheelchairs is great though... especially if you have a younger sibling with the same idea of what`s fun)
> Well, yesterday Uruguay had their elections for president. This has been a huge deal for a long time now and I`m just now getting around to talking about it. Aparently from what the other elders in our city told us today (during our district meeting that we had before our zone activity that we`re having today in Durazno... run on sentence.) the two main candadites have to have a revote. I`m not a fan of all the politics going on around here, especially because yesterday we couldn`t have church due to the elections. ah well. I`ll send you a few photos of some of the election propaganda maybe next week.
> This week me and my companion have been working on getting more help from the members. Missionary work without the members is not easy. We`ve been sharing messages with a few of the families (during lunch or for a few minutes before we have to be home) and it has been great. We had one member help us in one of our areas that`s pretty far (because this member has an old car) and we had a great lesson. The woman we taught has been having a really hard time with everything lately and is having a hard time making sure her family has food to eat. The lesson with this member was great because he has had many hard experiences in his life and was able to testify with a lot of power and love. I love it when we have help from members... (the man that helped us reminds me a lot of dad, he`s great)
> I had an experience that made me realize even more that I am being watched over very carefully. Yesterday the family we were suppose to have lunch with weren`t there, due to elections, and we didn`t have much food in the house. We borrowed two eggs from some members so we could make a cake in the microwave, but my attempts at making it failed miserably. It was the worst tasting cake ever, so we had to throw out my poor attempt at making food. So, I didn`t eat much for lunch (which I am not accustamed to) and as we were out working I felt a little sick, drained of energy and a little shaky. It was an awful feeling. As we were visiting with some recent converts, the wife said in a matter of factly tone "I have pizza and arroz con leche for you". I know this isn`t the healthiest of foods, but it is my favorite thing here to eat and I almost cried because I felt so grateful. I know that Heavenly Father knows us and our needs. He knows when one of his missionaries is hungry and in my case sent an angel to feed me. I felt much better after. I know that without doubt that God lives and loves us. I know this is his work and I`m so grateful I have this time to preach His gospel to His children. We have been rejected many times, but I love the work and I know it`s all true.
> We have been shown a little anti mormon booklet that has a prayer written in the back of what people should pray for. It`s just like the prayer of the zoramites. It say`s something like " We thank thee that we have shown that mormonism is.... etc." it was quite a shock to see that the world has not changed too much from the times of Alma.
> I love you all and I love the work. We are moving forward and seeing many blessings.
> love you,
> hna Grindstaff
> p.s. changes are next Wed. so that is when I will write my next e-mail
> p.s.s Isaac, while you are freezing, I am burning up. My hair is really blonde and my skin has a tan for the first time in years. :)
Hermana Sandra Grindstaff, October 19 2009
> Hola Familia,
> Well, I have some good news. The woman that me and hna. Rogers found in Progreso (who when we found her was very distressed and talking about suicide) was baptized along with her family. (hna Rogers sent me the message). Not only them, but the daughter of a less active woman we found was or is baptized now. What miracles! It`s amazing to see how we are led to those who are ready to hear the gospel and to see the changes in their lives.
> This has been a busy week. Most of our investigators are not progressing too well, so we are working on finding those who we have been promised are ready to hear this message and accept it.(We have one investigator, who we found through a misunderstanding with some teenagers, who told us she wants to be baptized... but she has never come to church, so we`ll see). President Da Silva talked to us about completing all of our contacts and more, so that is what my companion are doing. We try not to let 5 minutes go by without talking to someone. Needless to say that by the end of a full day of talking and teaching we are pretty tired. We had one contact that was pretty funny. We were standing on the doorstep looking at the curtain in the windo that had enlish words on it. One of the words was wrong and I was busy pointing it out to my companion (we were both staring pretty intently at this writing) when all of the sudden a man came and yanked back the curtain really fast from the inside. We both jumped back and had a hard time talking after this. The man thought it was pretty amusing I think. We had a good laugh about it later.
> Our recent converts Yeila and Eduardo are doing great. We stopped by to talk to them this morning (and return their plate) and it brightened my day. We learned that the poor little kitten that me and my companion found and gave them two days ago died. :( We found this little shivering kitten by the side of the road and my companion just couldn`t stand to see it like that, so she insisted on giving it a home. Ahh, her heart is too soft. ha ha)
> I love you all, thank you for the Halloween stickers mom. They are really cute.
> I`m so grateful to have the family that I do and such amazing parents. Thank you so much for you examples, your prayers, and your faith. I know the gospel blesses families because it has blessed mine.
> I know this is the true church of our Savior Jesus Christ.
> I love you all,
> hna Grindstaff
> p.s. Elder (it`s way easier to just call you elder) Grindstaff, hooooola! :) make sure you wear those gloves!!!!
> Well, I have some good news. The woman that me and hna. Rogers found in Progreso (who when we found her was very distressed and talking about suicide) was baptized along with her family. (hna Rogers sent me the message). Not only them, but the daughter of a less active woman we found was or is baptized now. What miracles! It`s amazing to see how we are led to those who are ready to hear the gospel and to see the changes in their lives.
> This has been a busy week. Most of our investigators are not progressing too well, so we are working on finding those who we have been promised are ready to hear this message and accept it.(We have one investigator, who we found through a misunderstanding with some teenagers, who told us she wants to be baptized... but she has never come to church, so we`ll see). President Da Silva talked to us about completing all of our contacts and more, so that is what my companion are doing. We try not to let 5 minutes go by without talking to someone. Needless to say that by the end of a full day of talking and teaching we are pretty tired. We had one contact that was pretty funny. We were standing on the doorstep looking at the curtain in the windo that had enlish words on it. One of the words was wrong and I was busy pointing it out to my companion (we were both staring pretty intently at this writing) when all of the sudden a man came and yanked back the curtain really fast from the inside. We both jumped back and had a hard time talking after this. The man thought it was pretty amusing I think. We had a good laugh about it later.
> Our recent converts Yeila and Eduardo are doing great. We stopped by to talk to them this morning (and return their plate) and it brightened my day. We learned that the poor little kitten that me and my companion found and gave them two days ago died. :( We found this little shivering kitten by the side of the road and my companion just couldn`t stand to see it like that, so she insisted on giving it a home. Ahh, her heart is too soft. ha ha)
> I love you all, thank you for the Halloween stickers mom. They are really cute.
> I`m so grateful to have the family that I do and such amazing parents. Thank you so much for you examples, your prayers, and your faith. I know the gospel blesses families because it has blessed mine.
> I know this is the true church of our Savior Jesus Christ.
> I love you all,
> hna Grindstaff
> p.s. Elder (it`s way easier to just call you elder) Grindstaff, hooooola! :) make sure you wear those gloves!!!!
Aldste Isaac Grindstaff, October 19 2009
>
> so, I forgot to say, but I had to get a new watch because on saturday by the university it fell off somewhere. I think I know where, but we had to hurry to the next teach and didn't get to look for it. Just so you know, I took out 100 kronor or 14 dollars.
>
> Thank you.
> and thank the three girls that sent me a letter, I don't remember who they were, sorry.
>
> Äldste Grindstaff
>
> ps. we ran into some english people the other day on the bus. they live here and he is an electrical engineer in england. Quite the commute.
> so, I forgot to say, but I had to get a new watch because on saturday by the university it fell off somewhere. I think I know where, but we had to hurry to the next teach and didn't get to look for it. Just so you know, I took out 100 kronor or 14 dollars.
>
> Thank you.
> and thank the three girls that sent me a letter, I don't remember who they were, sorry.
>
> Äldste Grindstaff
>
> ps. we ran into some english people the other day on the bus. they live here and he is an electrical engineer in england. Quite the commute.
Aldste Isaac Grindstaff, October 19 2009
>
> Well, I'm sorry I missed the fun.
> This week has been interesting. Bilal had a friend that said we are not christians and he shouldn't listen to us. Bilal told him that we definately are Christians and that we even have a prophet today. He then taught his friend all that we had taught him, and now his friend is interested. Ricard is willing to be taught 3 times a week for three weeks, plus comming to Church. (this is what is called the experiment, it was told the missionaries by a 70 in January. He said you can promis everyone you teach that they will know if the church is true by teaching them 3 times a week for 15 minutes (two times if they can't do three) and having them read, pray, and come to church) Magid is also willing to do the experiment. We also got to help Ricard put together a couch (it was pretty difficult, and we moved some furniture for a lady in the Branch. So, I guess I didn't have to be home to move furniture, of course you do have more. We taught Elba with Marina and it went really well. Elba is scared of coming to church because her son is so rowdy, and she feels like she gets nothing out of it. Mom how did you deal with that? How does Chelle? We will be having FHE with her this evening.
> The most fun experience we have had this week is that Äldste Cleere's bike's peddle fell off. (it rusted off). So, we take turns riding the good bike and towing the other person. It is really good excercise if your looking for a good work out plan. I am glad there are busses here, even if they do take longer. Thank you for all the letters,
>
> MVH
>
> Äldste Grindstaff
>
> ps. Sandra, Elba told me to write this spanish I learned yesterday Sandrita. Ha det så Bra.
>
> Well, I'm sorry I missed the fun.
> This week has been interesting. Bilal had a friend that said we are not christians and he shouldn't listen to us. Bilal told him that we definately are Christians and that we even have a prophet today. He then taught his friend all that we had taught him, and now his friend is interested. Ricard is willing to be taught 3 times a week for three weeks, plus comming to Church. (this is what is called the experiment, it was told the missionaries by a 70 in January. He said you can promis everyone you teach that they will know if the church is true by teaching them 3 times a week for 15 minutes (two times if they can't do three) and having them read, pray, and come to church) Magid is also willing to do the experiment. We also got to help Ricard put together a couch (it was pretty difficult, and we moved some furniture for a lady in the Branch. So, I guess I didn't have to be home to move furniture, of course you do have more. We taught Elba with Marina and it went really well. Elba is scared of coming to church because her son is so rowdy, and she feels like she gets nothing out of it. Mom how did you deal with that? How does Chelle? We will be having FHE with her this evening.
> The most fun experience we have had this week is that Äldste Cleere's bike's peddle fell off. (it rusted off). So, we take turns riding the good bike and towing the other person. It is really good excercise if your looking for a good work out plan. I am glad there are busses here, even if they do take longer. Thank you for all the letters,
>
> MVH
>
> Äldste Grindstaff
>
> ps. Sandra, Elba told me to write this spanish I learned yesterday Sandrita. Ha det så Bra.
>
Aldste Isaac Grindstaff, October 12 2009
> Hur är det med ni? (how is it for ya'll) Thank you for the e-mails.
>
> Sweden is ok. It is cold and I wear my jacket, and coat almost all the time. It is actually kind of nice to be able to wear a jacket and not burn up inside of it. Lots of fun stuff happened this week. First, we got to go to Zone conference in Göteborg (Gothenberg), and we had a member of the 3rd quorum of the seventy speak to us. He is from France and was really awesome. He taught us all about how the church is set up and gave us an equation for success. It was S+L=U which leads to Zion. (so Spirituality (Spiritually minded, or coming closer to the Lord) + Love = Unity which of course leads to Zion ("and they were of one heart and one mind"... Scripture mastery somewhere in Moses) Sorry mom I forgot the reference. Then we had President Anderson give us a lesson on Working hard, Working Smart, and Working with the spirit, pretty much WORK. After zone conference we came home and got to work.
> We talked to a lot of people one rememered talking to us before, and actually lives in the building accross from us.
> The men from Pakistan Bilal and Imran came to the branch paj (pie) Höst (fall) party. Afterwords we took them on a tour of our church. Bilal has a lot of questions, and can't understand why other christian churches don't believe in Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon. He also told us when we gave the Book of Mormon in urdu to him that he has read only one religious book in his life, (the koran) but the Book of Mormon will be his second. I am so excited for the missionaries that will get to go to the Middle east. Those are some of the nicest people I know, and a lot of them are prepared.
> But there are prepared Swedes too. We got a call a few days ago from a man who wants to know more. He heard about us from his friend and wants us to send en stycke Mormons Bok to him so he can read it. His friend also told him that he will be able to feel the Holy Ghost better if he stops drinking, so he stopped. We will send the book out today, he wants to read it before meeting us.
>
> Thank you all again for the letters.
> Mvh (I just know it is what swedes use for sincerely)
> Äldste (just like this hermana Grindstaff, but I don't think you have the letter "Ä" oh well, just use an E and it will be Norwegian) Grindstaff
> Ps. Thank you for the word "verde" now what is the chair is green (la silla är verde) I don't know anymore. Sandra, your spanish exceeds mine by a lot. Ha det så jätte bra!!!!!
>
> Sweden is ok. It is cold and I wear my jacket, and coat almost all the time. It is actually kind of nice to be able to wear a jacket and not burn up inside of it. Lots of fun stuff happened this week. First, we got to go to Zone conference in Göteborg (Gothenberg), and we had a member of the 3rd quorum of the seventy speak to us. He is from France and was really awesome. He taught us all about how the church is set up and gave us an equation for success. It was S+L=U which leads to Zion. (so Spirituality (Spiritually minded, or coming closer to the Lord) + Love = Unity which of course leads to Zion ("and they were of one heart and one mind"... Scripture mastery somewhere in Moses) Sorry mom I forgot the reference. Then we had President Anderson give us a lesson on Working hard, Working Smart, and Working with the spirit, pretty much WORK. After zone conference we came home and got to work.
> We talked to a lot of people one rememered talking to us before, and actually lives in the building accross from us.
> The men from Pakistan Bilal and Imran came to the branch paj (pie) Höst (fall) party. Afterwords we took them on a tour of our church. Bilal has a lot of questions, and can't understand why other christian churches don't believe in Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon. He also told us when we gave the Book of Mormon in urdu to him that he has read only one religious book in his life, (the koran) but the Book of Mormon will be his second. I am so excited for the missionaries that will get to go to the Middle east. Those are some of the nicest people I know, and a lot of them are prepared.
> But there are prepared Swedes too. We got a call a few days ago from a man who wants to know more. He heard about us from his friend and wants us to send en stycke Mormons Bok to him so he can read it. His friend also told him that he will be able to feel the Holy Ghost better if he stops drinking, so he stopped. We will send the book out today, he wants to read it before meeting us.
>
> Thank you all again for the letters.
> Mvh (I just know it is what swedes use for sincerely)
> Äldste (just like this hermana Grindstaff, but I don't think you have the letter "Ä" oh well, just use an E and it will be Norwegian) Grindstaff
> Ps. Thank you for the word "verde" now what is the chair is green (la silla är verde) I don't know anymore. Sandra, your spanish exceeds mine by a lot. Ha det så jätte bra!!!!!
Hermana Sandra Grindstaff, October 5 2009
> Hola familia,
> Conference was so great! Since my companion is latina we watched it in spanish with the rest of the ward (and a few investigators:). There was only one talk that I didn`t like hearing the vioce of the translater for and that was elder Hollands talk. He speaks with a lot of power and authority and the translater had a hard time capturing that... (I`m not talking bad about the translaters. They do a good job)
>
> This has been another week full of a lot of work. We had a few memorable lessons and I`ll tell you about a few of them.
> One of them was with a family of six kids that we found. We went back to teach them the plan and there were a few little cousins there. So, we taught about 10 little girls all under the age of 13, two adults (the mom and her sister) and we had a member that we brought with us. It was quite a crowded lesson full of little giggles that reminded me of my neices and nephews. It was pretty fun, but I wondered to myself if the mom understood any of it, so at the end of the lesson we asked her and she said she understood it perfectly (which is a miracle with how many happy little girls we had in this lesson). At the end of the lesson the little girls all wanted to hear me speak english and I must say, I`ve never felt so awkward speaking in my native tongue in my entire life.
> Another memorable lesson was with the young couple that found my second day here (that are planning on being baptized this Saturday). We taught them the word of wisdom and learned that they were already living it... minus the husband who has smoked for 20 years but two weeks ago decided he wanted to quit and had really cut back. The husband committed to quit smoking and that was that. It`s amazing to see just how prepared these two have been. They enjoyed conference a lot and are looking forward to their baptism.
> Thank you for the e-mails. I could hardly believe that you found a 10 pound sweet potato in the garden. That`s like a 2 week old baby!
>
> I`m so grateful that we had the opportunity to hear the prophet this weekend. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a living prophet on the earth today. I know that Christ lives and that He is the head of this church and speaks to us through our prophet. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and was written by ancient prophets and that Joseph Smith translated it by the power of God.
> I love you all and I hope you always remember that the God loves you and is mindful of you.
> love,
> hna Grindstaff
> p.s. Isaaaaac, I mean elder (I don`t know how you spell it in swedish) Grindstaff, Good luck this week. and as dad always say`s, Smile!
> Oh, and "verde" is green.
> Conference was so great! Since my companion is latina we watched it in spanish with the rest of the ward (and a few investigators:). There was only one talk that I didn`t like hearing the vioce of the translater for and that was elder Hollands talk. He speaks with a lot of power and authority and the translater had a hard time capturing that... (I`m not talking bad about the translaters. They do a good job)
>
> This has been another week full of a lot of work. We had a few memorable lessons and I`ll tell you about a few of them.
> One of them was with a family of six kids that we found. We went back to teach them the plan and there were a few little cousins there. So, we taught about 10 little girls all under the age of 13, two adults (the mom and her sister) and we had a member that we brought with us. It was quite a crowded lesson full of little giggles that reminded me of my neices and nephews. It was pretty fun, but I wondered to myself if the mom understood any of it, so at the end of the lesson we asked her and she said she understood it perfectly (which is a miracle with how many happy little girls we had in this lesson). At the end of the lesson the little girls all wanted to hear me speak english and I must say, I`ve never felt so awkward speaking in my native tongue in my entire life.
> Another memorable lesson was with the young couple that found my second day here (that are planning on being baptized this Saturday). We taught them the word of wisdom and learned that they were already living it... minus the husband who has smoked for 20 years but two weeks ago decided he wanted to quit and had really cut back. The husband committed to quit smoking and that was that. It`s amazing to see just how prepared these two have been. They enjoyed conference a lot and are looking forward to their baptism.
> Thank you for the e-mails. I could hardly believe that you found a 10 pound sweet potato in the garden. That`s like a 2 week old baby!
>
> I`m so grateful that we had the opportunity to hear the prophet this weekend. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a living prophet on the earth today. I know that Christ lives and that He is the head of this church and speaks to us through our prophet. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and was written by ancient prophets and that Joseph Smith translated it by the power of God.
> I love you all and I hope you always remember that the God loves you and is mindful of you.
> love,
> hna Grindstaff
> p.s. Isaaaaac, I mean elder (I don`t know how you spell it in swedish) Grindstaff, Good luck this week. and as dad always say`s, Smile!
> Oh, and "verde" is green.
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