Happy New Year

Happy New Year!!!

I had a such a wonderful Christmas! I had a BLAST at our ward parties and of course calling home was the best present ever. I loved your song mason and I taught it to one of my favorite little boys here his name is dallin but you'll know who he is when ya'll get my package. I was FREAKED out by Ashton, Brinley and Jaydas voices they are soo big I can't believe how well they can talk. They will probably be better at English than I am when I get home haha.

The Baptisms went great and it was such a sweet experience seeing all 3 of them receive the Holy Ghost on Sunday and see the members embrace them so fully into the ward. I know they will be such strong members. I visited a Less Active member on Sunday night and had such a special experience. He is 38 and contacted a rare bone disease somewhere and has been confined to his bed for the last 2 years forcing his wife to work in manila to support his 3 small children. I talked with him for a good 20 minutes but ended up receiving much more than I'm sure he did from anything I said to him. He has overcome sooo many trials and his testimony is as firm as anyone I've ever met. He has read the Book of Mormon 5 times this year and the Bible and every Liahona mag every month since he just has to stay in bed. In the short 30 min I was with him he taught me soo much. He loves music and being away from his family and in his condition he was feeling a little down during Christmas so I took my violin and played all the Christmas songs in the Hymn book, The spirit was soo strong! His mother, the ward missionary with me and his 2 home teachers (everyone in the room) were crying. I had to stop playing a few times because I couldn't see my notes! Then he bore his testimony and I was done for, when he closed, he asked me to play his favorite hymn The Spirit of God. are ya kidding me? It was incredible and I'm so grateful for the power of music and the blessing of the gospel no matter what our circumstances are.

There has been soooo many experiences here on my mission that have truly affected my whole life and desires for the future. I LOVE IT!
I love you all and miss you but I'm so glad you are all doing so well.

Always,
Sister Grant

Merry Christmas!

BUT WHAT WOULD I WEAR!!!! Haha that will be the first movie I watch when I go home I don’t care if its June! Glad to hear the Annual Jones Party went well and there were a few extras to join in on the fun (Ben and Cory and Heather) Hope you all enjoyed yourselves.

We had our baptism on Sat and it went great, I just love Richard and his little family. I’m excited for this sat for our next 3 Virgie and Angienick and Theodore, it will truly be a White Christmas and their faces after baptism is the best present ever…corny yes, but fact none the less.

We have our Christmas conference on Thursday and then all the sisters will sleep at the mission home for Christmas. I’m excited to see all the sisters here on Negros but of course will be missin my Sis Fairweather I wish she was on the same Island as me but at least Sterling is here with me so Ill get to see him. We also had our Zone Activity earlier this morning it felt so good to play basketball. It was way fun.

Thanks so much for the Christmas Tree its sooo cute I love it everyone was jealous of all my pictures and the tree, plus the count down is always fun. I also got a package from Ammie and Papa you have no idea how excited I was for the tootsie rolls and cashews! Haha I will probably gain 50 pounds when I get home just eating all the food I miss right now. More to love no?

Well glad to hear all is well sorry I don’t have much time to write right now since we had our activity earlier but next week I’ll write all about our Christmas and the baptisms. Stay safe and keep writing! Love you all and miss you sooo much can’t wait to talk to you on Christmas!
Happy Be-lated birthday to Cynthia, Chelsea and Tinkerbell!! Love you girls, your still my girls even with your husbands and babies and what not

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Always,
Sister Grant

The Elect!!!

(She said this picture was her reenacting the movie "Fern Gully" lol only Brooklyn)

Hello everyone! Man the work is going sooo great! We have a baptism every Saturday the rest of the transfer and I’m so excited for all of them. On Saturday is Richard Agbones he is a 9yr Part member and we Reactivated his family. Then on the 26th is the remarkable Sis Virgie and her daughter Angienick the other daughter is only 7. Their story is so cool, one day she just got a random text from the wrong number and they ended up talking for awhile the conversation turned to religion after a few days and come to find out the guy on the other end is an RM and in Luzon the big northern Island. He calls her bears his testimony answers her ?s and then challenges her to find a chapel in her area. The next Sunday she just randomly shows up at church with her 2 daughters! We meet her and get her address, begin teaching her and BAM! She is what you call a GOLDEN investigator, they are soo receptive and they have such a burning desire to learn more about the gospel. She includes herself in all activities, very active in the classes and has just immersed her family and herself in the Church its incredible. Then on Jan 2nd we have Marlon the nephew of the “Korihor” even though his uncle is truly scary and I can’t even stand being around him, RM and then went apostate and now is doing everything he possibly can to destroy the church…his nephew is Awesome! He is 23 and is soooo excited to serve a mission. He just kind of ignores his uncle and is so strong when we went to see him on sat he had memorized all of D&C 4! Haha I love it

Last night I got to watch the first pres Christmas devotional! I was so happy. I loved every minute of it and of course a few tears were shed when they sang 2 of my favorite Christmas songs, O Holy Night and Silent Night I thought of Uncle Lyle and singing in circle with candles at the spilsburys. I love my tree ya’ll sent me! Thanks so much and can’t wait to see pictures of the lights on the house and of the tree.
I’m sending a package tomorrow with lots of pictures and books and some cool things dad you’ll have to drill holes in the 3 shell things so mom can hang them as ornaments on her WORLD WIDE tree. It’s not a real PINE unless its got some real PINES on it. I love you all and miss you soo much can’t wait to talk to ya’ll on Christmas

Love ya,
Always,
Sister Grant

New York!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Hello!!

Well this week was really good. We were literally led to 3 very "elect" investigators and the teachings with them were sooo powerful it was awesome you can definitely feel the difference when you find those that have been prepared to listen and accept your message. Like they always say the message of the gospel has a "familiar ring" to them. I LOVE THAT. It so true and wonderful when that happens.

I also came in contact with a modern day "Korihor" this week it was an interesting experience for me. Man am I grateful for the guidance and influence of the spirit. It truly is one of the most powerful and effective tools we have. This man was a wolf in sheeps clothing for sure. I instantly felt at unease when we arrived. I had an interesting experience with him and learned a lot about the deceptions of Satan and his powerful influence in the confusion and deceiving of men here on earth. Its scary, but if you are doing what you know you should and following the will of the Lord we are promised a constant companion to help us and guide us and clear our minds of the confusions of the world. I am so grateful for that and know it is available to all of us.

Mom, I have no idea where that address is that you gave me sorry haha can I get a Barangay name? or province? something else because I have no clue. I haven't got a package yet with a tree in it but maybe tomorrow at District mtg. I DID however receive a classic Tinkerbell package from alli and jeffy and beana I almost died when I opened it haha thank you guys soooo much I sure miss and love you all!

NEW YORK!! NEW YORK!! are ya kidding me?! Mamma Mia on Broadway! SPOILED ROTTEN!! jealous party of one your table is ready?! ahah busy over here trying to save souls and ya'll are taking over the big apple?! haha Hope you guys have a blast and try not to think of me to much while your all bundled up freezing and I'm in a tropical paradise? Melakalikimaka!!! haha I was singing that song the other day and just laughin at myself as usual and my comp just thinks I'm crazy but hey what can ya do right?

So the work is going really well, I have 4 baptisms lined up for this month and i'm excited for all of them they are really strong investigators and I know they will be great additions to the ward here!
I can call anytime on Christmas day or Christmas eve so it depends on you guys you just tell me when you want me to call and I'll do it. CANT WAIT!!

Love ya!!!
Always, Sister Grant

Famous in a small town...

Hello!!!

Happy thanksgiving to all. I know I'm late but I figured I'd let the turkey digest and then say it ;) for as many turkeys they have here you'd think they would eat it more but they really don't eat turkey here. I sure missed thanksgiving, especially going up to Vegas and eating my favorite potatoes and rolls! haha Transfers went well, I got my new Jr companion shes transferred from Panay island she was in her last area for 7 months! she's your typical cute, tiny little philipina and I'm really excited for this transfer. 1. i stayed in Handumanan for the holidays!!! 2. My comp is way good and 3. Sterling transferred to my first area in Valladolid and so now we are in the same zone again!!! I couldn't be happier :)

My area is really doing well, We've been working so well with the members and we are truly finding the elect right now everyone we talk to is really interested and progressing I'm thrilled it's going to be a great next 2 months!

So when the new missionaries came on Friday and I got to the meeting the funniest thing happened. They all already knew me...I was so confused they all came up to me and surrounded me saying "Sis Grant we've been waiting so long to finally meet you" Needless to say I was thoroughly confused. I guess 2 sisters before going into the MTC over 2 months ago found my blog and started faithfully reading it haha then while in the MTC their mothers would copy and paste my blog entries and dear elder them to them THEN they would read them each week to everyone in their 2 districts...hahah like my life here was some kind of adventure novel! Sterling and I almost died laughing, but I was glad my blog could help them learn more about the mission and help them feel more comfortable about coming here. I would be terrified after reading it personally, I assured them that the things that happen to me aren't usually normal so they didn't have to expect the worse haha. FUNNY!

Glad to hear all is going well at home and that everyone had a good, safe thanksgiving. I have a few baptisms lined up this month that should be nothing short of wonderful so I'll be sure to write about that. Hope you all are missing my Christmas singing and craziness during the Christmas season I've been looking everywhere for a cool Christmas ornament from the Philippines to hang on your tree mom hopefully I'll spot one and send with the package of the long awaited pictures I'll be sending maybe next week or the next.
Well Love you all so much and all is well here. Keep being happy and go to the temple lights for me :)

Love always,
Sister Grant

Nagapasalamat ko....

I am soo thankful for all of you and for the support you give me while I'm here on my mission and I know that Landry and Brock appreciate it too. When you get out on your mission you really realize all the things you had before when suddenly they are all gone....haha temporal things like for me, running water and dependable electricity, chocolate and cold weather. But of course also family time, Sunday afternoons and family vacations. I'm so grateful for the blessings the Lord has always given me. For our family and the way we live the Gospel and cherish our special pioneer heritage. I can't tell you how many times I get asked here if I have Pioneer ancestor and how proud I am to tell them of my family history. Heber J Grant wrote a book called Gospel Principles I think and it is incredible and has been passed around to many elders here and given them much needed guidance, how cool to know he is my great great uncle! I'm so grateful for the Gospel, of course being so in wrapped in it everyday you really recognize how important and necessary it is in our everyday life. It should be the focus of all our activities all our thoughts and especially in our homes. Depending on and trusting in the Lord is definitely one lesson I'm repeatedly learning here in the Philippines and I hope that all of you are given the experiences to learn this important lesson as well. He has given us everything we have and promised us sooo much more if we continue faithful and obedient.
I love you all sooo much and I will miss ya'll this thanksgiving (and Kathys croissant rolls) haha but I hope you all know how grateful I am for our family and for the blessings we have and for the blessings we can receive through this wonderful and perfect Gospel.

Always,
Sister Grant

Zions Camp

Well they say that Zions camp was the Lords way to prepare the men he needed in the future through challenges and illness they were proven faithful and prepared for the next challenges of their lives... well I have now gone through Swine Flu, frequent lack of conciseness and seizures. I've had violent food poising, floods, fires and now....drum roll please. Rabies. If this is my Zions camp I'm pretty nervous for the next half of my life! haha Yup you guessed it of course I would get bit by a dog and need 9 (count em 9!!!!) shots which could be easily compared to a dadgum pvc pipe the needles were huge! I got bit on my ankle and one hole was pretty deep. dumb dog. It was an accident I didn't see him laying down behind me and I stepped on him then he bit my leg. When I got to the doctor it was pretty funny he just looked at me and said sis grant why are you always in here, and why can't you ever just have the regular flu or something? hahaha he said you must have the worst luck ever! I told him actually considering my comp is a nurse so she knew exactly what to do and the fact that I got bit by probably the ONLY dog in the Philippines with a full shot record I think I'm pretty darn lucky! he just laughed so everything is good now no need to worry but that was an exciting happening this week...We went back and hiked Mambukal again today and it was a blast and my leg held up real well :) The work is going really well we had our Zone Conference last Tuesday and it was Awesome! the training was sooo useful and I sang in the choir of course which is always wonderful. Glad to hear all is well at home and the holidays are coming! I'm so excited to have Christmas here I hope I stay in handumanan for the holidays we have soo many activities and baptisms lined up but we'll just have to see. Thanks for all the emails and I'll write next week about the stuff i need or want in the package your sending. Love you all! Miss ya ;)

Always,
Sister (accident-prone) Grant

Same old same old

Well Same ol same ol here, This week was good we had a lot of good referrals to follow up on from our ward and they all turned out to be really good. We had a really fun big family home evening on Monday in ward 1 and the turn out was great. We had lots of our Less Active member families that we've been visiting show up so hopefully within a few weeks they will be fully reactivated. No life or death experiences this week but every day in the mission is life changing. The people here are just so wonderful they are so kind and receptive to the spirit, its no wonder the work is progressing so much here.I heard a rumor that we will get to go to the Cebu temple on the way home because The Manila temple will be closed. I hope that is true we hear so much about Cebu all the time it would be exciting to actually go there. I haven't heard from Elder Stradling (For those reading this he is our cousin who is serving in the same mission as Brooklyn right now) He is on the other island with my dear Sister Fairweather but hopefully I'll get to see him soon I hear he's doing really well though which doesn't surprise me he tore it up in his first area! Well no time sorry but I love you all and loved all your emails thank you. I can't believe Ben is home! Man I miss that boy, I laughed so hard to hear Jeffy and Jared and Beana are all back together as long as they remember the crew ain't complete with out B! Love ya all,

Always,
Sister Grant

Todos Los Santos....

So this week was a good one as usual, I just love it here. Yesterday was such an exciting sabbath full of events and new experiences haha. Sunday morning Jeffrey Palma was baptized. His wife is the one who just had her baby while we were watching General Conference. It was wonderful of course to see him join his new family in membership in the church and they set plans and goals to be sealed in the temple one year from now, Love it. :)
Yesterday was Todos Los Santos, Spanish for All Saints Day or Araw ng Patay, Day of the dead in Tagalog. Its the big tradition here in the Philippines. On Nov 1 everyone and I mean EVERYONE sleeps in the cemetery on sat night and all Sunday they walk around the cemetery and light candles and do a bunch of activities to remember the dead. The food is incredible! There is sooo much! I was sooo full haha With the help from the ward we set up a booth and had all these really cool posters all about family history, the plan of salvation and the restoration. It was AWESOME! we got soo many referrals and met so many Less active families and new investigators.

I borrowed a violin from my Mission Pres who actually plays himself...! and Played to draw the people in and invite the spirit it was such a cool experience for me. One of our investigators Theodore, had a brother get shot last march he was only 24, it was really sad and he's really been struggling with it. He has been our investigator for a while and he's been struggling getting over his gambling problem. At church yesterday in the investigators class they talked about temple work and why its important we do the work for the dead. Perfect topic for the days celebrations so last night he showed us his brothers grave. He sat down on the dirt right in front of the grave and just stared at it for a long time as he lit the candles, he looked up at us and said.."sisters, I know he'll accept the gospel in the spirit world" I smiled at him and said " I think so too" then he looked back at the grave and said with tears in his eyes "If he's accepting it there, I need to accept it here so that I can be baptized for him in the temple right?" We just smiled back and told him that's exactly what his brother and Heavenly Father want him to do right now. It was soo cool, watching him make that personal mental commitment in his mind to change and to do whatever it takes to be baptized both for him and his brother. I love this work!! Happy to hear all was safe, fun, and well during Halloween I love you all so much!

Always,
Sis Grant

Blessings!

Wow what a week! I'll just dive right in b/c my time is limited. So this week was full of experiences and blessings. On Thursday night we needed to go visit one of our investigators but it was getting kind of late. We decided we would just drop by and set up another appointment for another day. The lighting by his house isn't very good so we usually don't go there at night but we were going to be really quick so we jumped on a trike and headed over. On the way I started to get a weird feeling, I was confused at why, but the trike driver was talking to me so I was distracted. The closer we got to the end of the cement where we have to get off and walk the rest of the way to his house the stronger the feeling got. I told my Companion that I had a weird feeling and wasn't sure if we should go to his house. She said we would be real quick and we proceeded. As we were walking I remembered in my Setting apart blessing when it said I would be protected and safe if I was always found where I was supposed to be...I stopped and told my comp I wanted to pray. We walked off the road into the dark and I said a prayer, as I was praying I heard a voice as clear as if someone was standing right next to me. "Get out now" I ended the prayer and told my comp we had to go and go fast. Usually we have to walk all the way back into the city b/c no trikes drive in unless someone is going home and the road is dark. We started walking (very fast) and as soon as we had gone a few houses up there was a trike just waiting for us. We jumped in and as soon as we sat down the electricity in the whole city went out. Luckily we were already on a trike with headlights headed safely home. I'm not sure what would have happened had we been there but I know it would have been pitch black and not a very good area. I was so thankful for the promptings of the spirit and the blessing of the trike there waiting for us. I bowed my head and offered a prayer of gratitude in my heart right there in the tricycle.

Then there was Friday night, we had our baptismal interview for Josie and Christian Durmentes, I was sooo excited she was finally getting baptized. Literally 10 years in the making since she was first introduced to the gospel. Missionaries had been teaching her consistently for over 1 year. She never accepted a baptismal date until now and I felt so blessed to have shared so many powerful experiences with her in helping her recognize the spirit and blessings of the gospel in her life and of course witnessing her baptism. She was late for her interview so we started with christian and then her husband got home but..no sister...I asked Bro where she was and he gave me some excuse that he hadn't talked to her, something was wrong, different, I could feel it. We waited for her to come and finally she arrived she went into her house and set her stuff down, there was a weird tension in the air and she didn't even look at her husband. we were all sitting outside, she stuck her head outside and said "sis Grant can I talk to you for a sec" I went inside as my new comp stood at the door confused, as was I. Then I turned to sister josie with tears in her eyes she said she didn't want to continue and that she couldn't be baptized. I didn't say a word. I just listened as she explained how her and her husband had been arguing all week and hadn't spoken in 3 days and how all these things in her life were falling apart and she just couldn't do it. I was praying so hard in my heart for guidance in what to say to her. We had a very sweet and powerful talk, I testified to her that I knew she had been prepared, and blessed up to this point and that the Lord was so pleased with her and her family and that he wanted her to be baptized at this time. We talked about some of the experiences we had shared and about the testimony she had gained. I then asked her to offer a prayer. It was such a tender mercy for me as I listened to her plea with the Lord for strength, guidance and comfort. As she closed and we both wiped the tears from our eyes she told me she wanted nothing more than to be baptized and knew that's what the Lord wanted for her and her family. Sunday morning her and her son entered into the waters and I watched Brother Alex who recently just received the priesthood again after being away from the church for so long baptize his wife and son. At that moment I realized why I had been assigned to Handumanan if for no other reason I needed to meet the Durmentes family and I will forever remember them and the sweet experiences we shared.

I love this Gospel so much and I know that it is true. I know that the Lord places people in our paths daily to bless and help us, and if we pay attention and strive to be sensitive to the spirit our lives will be rich with blessings and experiences that will teach us the things our Heavenly Father would have us know.
I love you all so much.

Always,
Sis Grant

Masskara Festival

Masskara Festival 2009! I can't even begin to explain the festivities in Bacolod city right now its the most colorful, awesome thing ever! Its like Disneyland electric light parade meets New Orleans Mardi-gras! haha The Parades and dances and costumes are incredible. No worries I got pictures and when you all come back with me to visit we will definetly come at this time of year even with the rain its worth it.
So the work is still going well, I feel so blessed to be in Handumanan it is truly a fruitful area. All the things we hear from the Prophet and Brethren about ward mission processes and working through the members is so true! When we have members working with us and giving us referals and then the auxillaries working with the Bishop, whew wee its GOLDEN! Josie and her son christian will be baptized this sunday, the one that was waiting for an answer and then her husband testified and turned everything around. I'm so excited and her Husband Bro Durmentes can barely breath he's so happy his wife and son are joining him as members of the church its truly wonderful to see. Then on Nov 1 we have another baptism of Jeffrey Palma his wife is a member and they just had a baby boy during conference weekend. He has made a complete turn around from his life before and I know his new sons life will be completely different now that both his parents are preparing to go to the temple and be sealed. Man, there is just NOTHING like this work or this gospel!
Well last wed was my hump day. Yep believe it I'm half way done! I can't believe it, every month just seems to go by faster and faster! Just like everyone says, it's starting to scare me a little bit haha We had our transfer announcment on wed and found out that they were taking Sister Fairweather away from me again...poor thing she has to jump back on a boat over to Panay. We were soo sad, but this last transfer was ablast being able to be close to one another. My new comp is Sister Baraquiel, she is great. Quiet. but we'll see how long that last as my comp haha but she works hard and even though I'm leading in the area now I can tell she's trying hard to help the area and she's only been there 3 days! She was in San Carlos for 7 months so she only speaks cebuano...yup thats a stumbling block in the relatuionship but we're workin on it :)
Well I'm glad to hear all is well and everyone is just truckin along, Let me know about Ben Ray and all that I bet he is freaking out right now. At least thats what it sounded like in his letters haha. Love you all miss you!

Always,
Sister Grant

p.s
Mom I dont know my address either haha sorry I'll get right on that for ya ;)

Water world.......

Hello! well here I am in the Pinoy version of water world livin and lovin Sis Fairweather had a cut on her toe the other day and as we waded thru our individual areas her toe got all "swolled" up and when we asked why they said because of the ihi in the water...ihi means urine...well thanks for that. you should have seen my dear sweet sister fairweathers face I thought I was gonna die I was laughing so hard haha.
Luckily my area is on the side of a mountain so i'm pretty high up so the flooding isn't to bad in my area but up north is crazy bad. the water is over 6ft deep in some places. There are more storms on the way, my district leader told us yesterday at conference at least we'll get to follow the counsel of the prophets and serve more if the storm hits here haha gotta love the comforting words of elders no?
So remember when I hit my 9 month mark in 2 days!! What?! how did that happen? My Companion goes home tom morning I'm SO SAD I love her so much we had such an amazing transfer it was a blast and we worked so hard. I will be sending home a package probably next week with some books and stuff I dont need here and some pictures too I know I know its about time sorry.
I can't believe how incredible conference was! Jeffrey R Holland once again blew me away, I was a mess. I was just crying I was so excited that everyday I'm able to share that powerful book with people!
Sorry short but I have to go all is well I'm safe and not too flooded yet...haha
Love you all soooo much, keep on keepin on!

Love always, Sister Grant
P.s I did not eat the frog legs but I did cook them...gross.

Rain, Relief Society, & Frog Legs

I cant believe conference is here again!! Can you believe it? Another 6 months come and gone! It was definitely an eventful 6 months in my life and from what I hear in all of yours as well. The work continues to go forth at a speeding rate which is both exciting, fun and exhausting I love coming home and being so tired knowing we did everything we possibly could that day, its a great feeling. The flooding in Manila is soo sad all my batch from the MTC can't work all they do is service projects everyday. With the next few storms coming our way we might be in the same boat as them...pun? haha but as of now we aren't flooded just A LOT of rain and more windy than St Johns could even think about getting. We had a baptism on Sunday morning, Jonefi Lumihoc and now we are teaching her older sister that just moved into town and she sent a Book of Mormon to her parents who don't live here in Negros. Hopefully we can contact the missionaries there to go teach them.

We had our Zone activity today it was soo fun we played a bunch of games and did skits it was hilarious. It felt like girls camp but better haha Plus it was even more fabulous because Sis Fairweather was with me! Man I love that girl. Well all is well as of now, conference comes here a week late so I'll watch it this weekend. I'm sooo excited I can hardly stand it! I was able to watch the General R.S broadcast and I just cried when we sang How Firm a Foundation witch is one of my favorite hymns of course. I just LOVE Sis Thompson and of course Elder Eyring was amazing as usual. I pray for you all everyday especially for dads business stuff to work out so I can have a job when I get home haha and Colton and his business, like father like son no? Well I love you all soo much, no worries I got the Language and my health is back in full charge! LALU

Always,
Sister Grant

Mission Milestones

You know your in a good mission and you've been out a while when they hand out worm pills at zone conference like pez and you don't think twice about doing your laundry in a bucket by candle light because you haven't had electricity in 2 days....haha we had an earthquake the other day..it happened during the night. The funniest part about that is everyone was talking about it the next day and all worried there was more coming and fixing their houses and my companion and I didn't even feel it! or wake up! haha exhausted much? we had a typhoon this week a signal 1 it lasted for almost 3 days it made work a little more difficult and I'm buying umbrellas like bread but its ok each one makes for some good stories and experiences ha.

The work is still going really good in Handumanan I really hope I stay there for awhile, we had Zone Conference on Thursday and it was sooo good! I love my new Mission President he his incredible, he is so humble and such a good teacher. He's doing great things here and making very necessary changes in the mission I'm so grateful for. The area doctor was also here from Manila with his adorable wife, it was good to see them again I had an interview/check-up with them and they were so glad to see me doing so well. The first thing he said to me when I sat down was "Well sis grant are you as happy as you look?" haha I'm so grateful for my health, and my area I really am so happy right now. We had a baptism on sat a part member family we reactivated and then baptized little 9yr old Gabriel ADORABLE I love him he's sooo funny haha we have another baptism this sat another part member family we have reactivated I love finding those families and helping them come back to the church. Well I love you all soo much and died laughing at jenny's letter! our stories are soo alike yet we are soo far apart I love it. Thanks for the letters and prayers. I sent home my camera and some other stuff earlier and I'm going to buy a new camera right now, thanks for the money in my account :)


Love you all!
Always,
Sister Grant

FHE Lesson....gotta love em!

HELLOOO!

Its good to hear that everyone is as busy as I am. I think our family has more mileage on em then anyone else I know! We are definitely a movin gang! So this week was another great one in Handumanan. Yesterday we had a break through with one of our investigators and it was great! She has been an investigator for over a year! She has met with sooo many missionaries but just never accepted baptism, so they dropped her. I came and we decided to visit her and follow up on the story because I was so confused, she comes to church every week, her husband is a member and she asked us to start teaching her 9 yr old son so he could be baptized but she doesn't want to?! Somethin aint right... so last we week we taught her and tried to resolve her concerns. She said she knows its true but its just not the right time...she's still waiting for her answer to get baptized. My comp said she was just nervous and scared to get baptized so we taught about acting on our faith and taking that first step to allow the Lord to show you his promised blessings and give him a chance to answer you. It went well and the spirit was strong, I committed her to not pray for when she should get baptized but to pray and tell the Lord she had the desire and if it was right for her to be baptized RIGHT NOW. We left but I wasn't satisfied. So we prayed a lot for her this week and met with her again yesterday. I told my companion who is the sweetest, kinda on the quiet side kinda girl that we were gonna have to be bold and direct with her, she was nervous so I told her I would start haha, I started by asking her very simple but direct ?s. What changes have you noticed in your life since investigating and living the gospel? in your family? How do you feel personally when you go to church? when you read the scriptures and pray? Of course her answers were that she's so much happier her family and relationship with her husband are stronger and better and she feels the peace the gospel brings. AY SALAMAT. We then helped her realize these WERE her answers! Then we asked her if she believed the Book of Mormon was true and she said yes so we asked her to act on that knowledge and the answers shes received and be baptized and we gave her a Specific Date. She hesitated....out of pure prompting before she could answer I asked her husband ( who is never there when we teach because he works but was off that day ) To bear his own testimony about his own conversion and baptism to his wife. It was the most beautiful testimony I've ever heard Not a dry eye in the room, He expressed gratitude for the gospel in his life, for his family and his desire for them to be sealed together forever in the temple. It was perfect. It was silent for a long time and we allowed it because the spirit was on fire. Then before we could even say anything, her husband turned to her with tears in his eyes and asked if she would act on the faith he has seen in her and be baptized. WOW! she accepted and we set a date. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. I loved every minute of it. I was so grateful for his simple but sweet testimony and he has been inactive for almost 10 years! but it was powerful and sincere and just what she needed to hear.

On a lighter note, I got word from another missionary assigned in Valladolid that one of my converts Bro Montano, works with the missionaries all the time and bears a strong testimony where ever he goes. My smile was as bright as my new hot pink jody dress Sis Fairweather so kindly passed on to me. Im so excited for these friendships here and to keep them going even in the years after my mission.
Funny note. For FHE we went to a members house with 2 investigators, and the mother starts the lesson...about Post pardom deppression....um...hahah I was dying in the corner I thought I was going to pee my pants! It was so awkward it seemed to go on forever!then she finally ended and we played games and it was a blast.
Yes I got the calender and it sits on my desk and I love it!
Thanks for everything I love you all!

La Lu
Always,
Sister Grant

Utopia

Man! sounds like you all have been having fun in Florida and everywhere else. I'm glad things are going well with the Fam and with Grandmas health I got real tickled the other day during an OYM (open your mouth) cuz the old lady sitting next to us in a chair had the "shifty eye" thing going on that Grandma Jones always does haha I was dying.

Anyways, I can't even put in words how amazing things are right now for me. Handumanan is an incredible area, we have been workin sooo hard and the Lord is definitely blessing us and our investigators. Some days we pack a sandwich with us so we don't have to go home for lunch and we just work all day and I love it! We are just so excited and on a roll it seems like there's not enough time in the week to visit everyone. We have 10 people with baptism dates right now and ALL of our investigators are progressing soo well its so cool to see the changes they are willing to make once they feel that "special feeling" and witness for themselves. We go on splits like 2 or 3 times a week so we can make it to all our appointments! Its INCREDIBLE! I feel like I'm back to my old self again and that feeling and joy that seemed so dimmed the last 6 weeks in and out of hospitals and such is ON FIRE! I'm so grateful for all your prayers and help and the love and support you all continuously send my way. The language is there. I've got it. It was like I came home from Manila and someone shot me out of a canon haha everything fell into to place and there's no stoppin it now :) I love you all so much and cant wait to bring my family here one day to meet these people that are soo wonderful. The 2 Bishops are so great they help us so much we get new referrals every week! 4 of our investigators that had smoking problems had such changes this week. We had them all down to 7 or 8 sticks a day and then when we visited this week 3 of them were at 4 and 1 only had 2! I was so happy for them. The confidence they are gaining in the Lord and in themselves is so cool. Well I love you all again and keep you in my prayers.

Love always,
Sister Grant

Danka Shane

DANKA SHANE! haha thank you everyone for all your prayers and your support. It really does make a difference and help me over here so thank you it is greatly appreciated.
Well folks ready set go! I'm in my new area with my new companion both of which are sooo great and I'm feeling better everyday. I can't even begin to tell you how I feel right now, its so wonderful I feel like I got to push a restart button from the last 6 weeks and now nothin can stop me haha I've only been in Handumanan for 4 days now but it's already been great. For the first time I have 2 wards and both bishops are really good and the wards help us alot I'm so excited I'm sure you can see me smile from 4 peaks :) Not to mention the fact that IT finally happened. On Friday at our transfer meeting I SAW SIS FAIRWEATHER!! oh man words can not describe that joyous reunion! They was laughter, most definitely tears hah and the most ridiculous exchange of stories ever! I was soooo happy She took over Sterlings area in Victorias in Bacolod North zone and I went to back to South zone but we will still see each other often if not every Monday at our zone activities because our 2 zones always do stuff together we were both so excited our whole batch is on negros now so we'll see each other which is always fun. It feels so good to be back in the work full force and to have a companion with the same desires as I do, it makes a world of a difference. I'll have more info on my area and investigators next week. Thanks again for your prayers. I love you all so much. Mom and the girls, have fun in Florida! Dad, keep workin hard on your new gig and thanks for the email ;) Colton and Jamie hope all is going well with your growing family I love and miss you all. Have fun keep smilin in whatever you do :)


Love always,
Sister Grant


P.S Yes I got your package before I went to manila thanks! and I also got a letter from Jenny , Ha! I miss that girl soo much I was crying and laughing the whole time I read her letter! That will be another incredible reunion oh man.

Mabuhay!!! (haha love it mom)

Mayong Hapon sa tanan! Kamusta kamu? ayos lang ako diri sa bata, ama mon gihapon. Nami gid ang obra namon kay dako gid bulig sa akon halin sang dios adlaw adlaw :) and boy do I need it! It was kind of a difficult week, we had some set backs with the Jaguiles family, and some problems with my companion but amat amat things are resolving themselves. Prayer's whats gettin me thru this transfer but I've learned soooo much. Its so true that once you've passed through the trials you can look back and see the specific things the Lord wanted you to learn. I had a wonderful experience/reminder this week teaching the Plan of Salvation to a family, sometimes I think we as missionaries or even members get so used to the fact that we already know the plan he has for us we've known it our whole lives and its just kinda there for us. I was reminded this week that when we teach these families the incredible plan their Heavenly Father has made specifically for THEM its the first time they've ever heard anything like that before. Can you imagine finding out the Lord knows exactly who you are not because of any other reason but that you lived with him before and he's given you a plan so you can get back to him! The feeling and the spirit that comes when we teach about the Plan of Salvation and the wonderful and priceless gift of the atonement that makes the plan possible is my favorite thing ever! Its an indescribable feeling when you see the joy on the families faces as they realize they can be together as a family forever. I love this work so much. Every time the Lord blesses me and allows me to have experiences like that I remember why its so important that we do missionary work and how grateful I am for the opportunity to do it 24/7! There's soooo many people out there that have NO IDEA, its so sad. But helping them come closer to Christ by helping them understand his plan for him is so worth the floods, the companions, the hospital trips haha whatever. "I'm doing a great work and can not come down" :) I love you all and hope all is well and you are all staying healthy and happy. Keep workin hard and prayin harder. AND I challenge all of you to find the missionaries in your ward on sunday and see if they have investigators with them and help fellowship! there is nothing more frustrating then working all week to get your investigators to church then having no one talk to them! Do Missionary work, ya'll find, we'll teach its golden I promise :)
Love Always,
Brooklynly forever.



Yup remember all your list you made, heres one for you :)
1.Loved the story about the tape of Chads FHE pinoy night thats so funny I dont remember that AT ALL. but that will be funny to watch when I get home.
2. I was hoping you hadn't sent the package yet of my pills cuz I need a few things if I can be spoiled and annoying for a bit and ask for some things....
-dryer sheets, haha to put in my pillow cases I just want to smell that again PLEEAAASSSEE.
-my down east basics undershirts I sent some home in the boxes or you can buy some more mine are so thin and worn out from washing them by hand almost every other day. (2 white, a black and a brown)
-CHOCOLATE. CANDY. CHOCOLATE.
-some peppered beef jerky...dont ask haha

I think that should suffice thank you sooo much don't worry if you can't send it all right away.
Tell the girls to youtube "wonder girls- nobody but you" thats the IT song right now here I think I hear it like over 50 times a day! and all the little girls know the dance too haha.
I email landry and brock and greg since they are family haha we can. its funny cuz our emails are always real short but its fun talking with "my boys" they are such great examples and help to me even though they are younger! I love them so much and I'm so glad and excited there is so many of us out right now! we are takin over!

well LALU lots,
B

P.S my camera is broke and I can't fix it here I should still have a year warranty on it so I'm gonna send it home this week so ya'll can fix it and send it back with my memory card. The lens is the only thing broken it wont go out when you turn it on so I can't take pictures I was afraid that might happen. They say to but the cameras that don't have the lens that goes in and out cuz it breaks easier. but I didnt drop it suprisingly it never got wet haha so It should still be under warranty it hasnt been a year yet.

Whats a girl gotta do to get a normal week ova here?‏

Man! Another crazy week in the life of Sis Grant! It started out normal and nice. The work was going good. I emailed ya'll on Mon feelin fine and then BAM! on my death bed on Tues, what kind of swine gets the flu anyways?...haha yup I got it, the famous swine flu. We expected it did we not? Its me we're talkin about here. Of course I'd get the latest and greatest illness. I went to the hospital on wed night and it was so great they went to go take my blood and I hadn't ate in like 2 days and ya'll know how I feel about havin needles right there on my arm lol so of course I PASS OUT like usual I warned the little filipino nurse but I don't think she believed me so I fell with the needle in my arm it was so gross and I got a nasty bruise still on my arm luckily the Office elders caught me before I hit the ground haha so that was a fun experience I'm over it now (not sick anymore so no worries) and THEN!! I had to go back to the doctor on Sat because I had some weird viral thing that was giving me these big itchy red sores all over my body....are ya kidding me here? 21years and not a visit to the doctors not even a blood test and I turn in my papers and BAM 6 times now I've givin blood and the hospital visits are gettin a bit ridiculous. WHEW, Anyways! thats all over and done with and I'm healthy and heavily medicated ;)

Friday we traveled to the boonies and helped build houses and plant trees that got wrecked from the storms it was sooo fun it was our whole zone so sterling was there with me. It was a blast. I was glad I was feeling so much better so I could go. Then today we had our Zone Activity. It was Awesome we went to this HUGE stadium and played all these games and did skits it was hilarious. Then we played Ultimate frisbee in the way nice stadium on real grass for like 2 hours I LOVED IT!

Sorry we had to leave that place and go to a different Internet cafe...bear with me :)
Anyways.... So today was so fun playing with everyone it reminded me of the ole days before the mish playin soccer and ultimate frisbee every week. We were sooo hot because it was really hot today but the sunshine was incredible I was so happy. I didn't care, I knew I wasn't in a hospital and I knew I felt great so I was gonna play my little heart out and it was wonderful :) So my area is going good too, the Family of 17 is still great. The mom and one of the older brothers are a little hard headed right now because they've all been baptist for a long time now but we'll just keep workin on them. We also set a baptism date last night with A man named Richmund. His wife and daughter got baptized last year but he didn't so we've been teaching him, its been going great. He has alot of concerns and questions but his family is so helpful. His date is for the 29th of August. We also have 2 little kids ages 9 they are from Part-member families, even though they are just little kids I love watching how it strengthens families as they all join together in the gospel. This month is our Mission Tour which means Elder Edwards and Elder Teh from the Area Presidency are here and touring all over the mission and then we have a big conference at the end of the month so I'm excited for that it should be REALLY good. Well All is Well as usual, besides the fact that my body just doesn't want to serve a mission with me haha my Spirits still strong as ever ;) so keep the pills comin dad cuz I'm runnin real low and I'm poppin those puppies like tic-tacs! I love you all so much Stay Happy and well keep the letters comin! Keep me updated on Grandma Jones too :)
Love Always,
Sis. Grant

Finally her Memory Card came in the mail!!

Cami Hofiens, Me, and Jenny. I met Cami at BYU Hawaii and now we're all on missions



Old MTC pictures but had to finally post one of the famous "map pointing pics"!






Jenny :)



The precious homemade jumper I found in the "giveaway" box.


Matching Jody dresses





R.I.P.- The sweet shoes from Uncle Bobby broke my last week in the MTC.



Weighing my suitcase for the Pines.



The 3 Musketeers! Man it'll be fun when we come home.



Jenny broke my free throw record in gym for the sisters.....too bad she's holding it upside down.



Airplane to Taiwan "Squid Mission".








Airport to Taipei.....yes, for your information i had mango ice cream

Taipei...we were starving









Sis. Baraquiel, Sis Manzon, (trainer) Me, first day.


Going to my first area, 10 people in that van.





Apartment, Pink study room...hahaha my desk



Our kitchen & Sis. Manzon


Our yard in our little hut apartment (Valladolid)





Bishop (yellow shirt) and some youth cleaning the church.








The church building


Some young men in the church


The Pines. My area valladolid











Basketball court right on the ocean.


My shower.......


...and my laundry area :)


A graduation party at a members house.





Sis. Advincula


Bay bay "ocean"














When I caught the mouse. (Talked about in a previous post)


When the mouse was scratching on the pot.



District community service project.


Elder Jacquez scared of the carabaw.


Dwindi's (dwarfs) in my yard, Bro. Chow used to call me dwindi, Ha


My bed and Sis. Manzons (Mine is the green one)





Zone conference, my zone bacolod south. Yes I'm the ONLY American sister. If your b-day is that month you get a crown.


Lunch, Sis. Manzon. (YUM!!) P-butter, bananas


Pres. D haha


Laundry haha


Joy the monkey


Lanka!! (one of my favorite fruits!) (Jackfruit)


Merilou and Romeo Matinga baptism


Mosquito Net!


My area again





Kids at our front gate.....ALWAYS!


My favorite little boy Jerich Alvarez. Bato,Papel,Gunting (Rock Paper Scissors) We play everytime!!


The Alvarez family


2nd Zone conference....STILL the only American in my zone.


Conference Service Project in Salay. Sis. Ruadil, Sis.Sanchez, Sis Manzon and Santillian


Sunny and Eleanor Ganancial (S. LG-LG Bro Jover)


Zone activity at Bago beach...SO FUN!!





Hilary Jover so adorable Diane and Joshuas baby.


District Conference Service Project in Pulapandan


Sis. Manzon, Sis. Rhea, Sis. Tulmo, 83 years old walks to church with her husband a mile each way.


Stooorrmm!!!


Young Women activity making ice cream.


Anjo Lorenzo hiding from the storm in a bamboo house.


It didn't work.....haha




Sis. Manzon, Sis. Delsa, Me


Sis. Manzon, Sis Rhea, Me


Sis. Ganancials mother, Prissy as can be!


Agrida Family


Sis. Wilmie, Sis. Neihope, Sis. Manzon, Sis Rhea


Natinga baptism


Rhea and Me





EEL!! So grose....definitely cooked that AND ate that!


HA!
























Mission President and his wife.








Mabukal Hike. There is 7 falls. Bats over my head zoom in on the tree 100's & 100's & like the size of Lola (My toyota carolla back home) GROSE!





















Typhoons and rain