September 9, 2013

Family dearest,

At times i am excited, other times i get nervous or sad... the reality hit me the other day like a ton of bricks- missions end, but even still... i don't believe it yet. i don't even remember what life is like outside of the mission. i can't even imagine it yet. I'm so glad i came and i am so glad i stayed. I didn't just survive though. I served and i will be serving until the end. Sprinting through (not to) the finish line.

I will be finishing the transfer with lidership counsel and 3 mission conferences... So we will be playing hard and working hard. We coordinated everything for the conferences and it has been cool to be on the "party planning" side of the operation. We did splits last week in a city that is almost 16 hours from here by bus... BUT we went by plane! haha. So it was a 45 minute flight. hahaha.

It was rad, but going to the airport is trunk-tastic. This week we will be doing splits in Criciúma and next week in Joinville... in total we will have done splits in 5 different areas. I have been able to learn so much and it has been really cool to talk and work with so many different people. We have missionaries from 10 countries on this mission! Think of all the influences and cultures i am able to come into contact with. even though we come from far away places we all have one thing in common and through portuguese we can speak to each other and share that. 

If i have learned anything during my time here, it is that the mission is AMOR! it's just love baby! it is love your comp, love your leaders, love your president, love those you teach and those who reject you, and above all- love the savior. 

I really liked that talk that you guys sent me- that we might not shrink- it helped me see something that i hadn't understood. I liked the phrase: "we must drink the bitter cup without becoming bitter." Life is too short to just suffer and be mad or be scared. 

i love you guys and i am so proud of all of you. The church is true. it is so FREAKING TRUE!

-Élder Grondel jr.

September 2, 2013

I have the best momma and the best poppa do mundo!

 

It's crazy isn't it? my last 6 weeks are brady's first 6. funny how this all turned out. I feel a lil sad knowing that brady and i won't be able to talk until he comes back from his mission. it is good to be able to email him, but it's not the same. I'm glad that i will be able to give him tips, hints, and i know exactly what he is going through. i know the beginning-the middle- and the end haha. He is worried, that is a very good sign. it means that he cares. if he was chill and relaxed that would be worrisome. 

I talked to president and he said he would look into this last week, but until now... he is in the hospital being treated for kidney stones. He doesn't like water at all... so it's no mystery that he ended up there. he asked us to give him a blessing and when we got to the hospital he was in a polo and sweats... i have never seen him like that and it was oddly comforting. here is a man i have seen in a suit for the past two years leading us from the front. Superman suddenly transformed into a mortal. he is human too! haha. it helped me see the confidence and trust that he has in the Lord. i know that he is being lead and guided from on high. i know that the Lord uses normal people like you guys... and me to carry out His amazing plan. 

I bore my testimony on sunday. It was my last fast sunday here in brazil. I can't believe it is all coming to a close. It passed quickly, but it feels like it has been much more than two years all at the same time.

the transfer will end in a bunch of parties haha. on the 10^th we have lidership counsel, on the 13^th, 17^th, and18th we have mission conferences and president wants us to attend all of them. After the conferences we have to prepare the transfer and pass along the new mission roster. This week we are doing a work over with the zone leaders in chapecó, an area 18 hours by bus from the island. So we are catching a flight this afternoon. Yes, I will be getting on a plane, but not for home haha.

I will talk to president again when he gets out of the hospital about the BYU application.

On the 25^th when I get back I promise I will be ready to go through the temple and on the 28^th I would really like to be there for jacob’s wedding/ sealing. I do not believe that they are getting married! This life is crazy my beloved family. 2 months since he got back? Okay I am going to beat that record! Not… haha.

 

Abraços pessoal!

 

-Élder Grondel jr.

August 26, 2013

Hey so this is my response for the week for everybody,

I had some miracles that i wanted to share with you! Last week we had some less active families at church and this week we found two more on accident! i was walking and i saw a lady walking with grocery bags, she looked nice so i smiled and said goodnight. she stopped and said "hi elders." turns out her family is less active, but we visited them and now are working for them all to come back to church: edilene, ideoberto, karen, and gabriel. The same night, our plans fell through and started knocking doors. i felt like we need to knock at a house that was kind of dark and looked like no one was home. i followed the prompting and we found another less active member- elizete. 

We also had some less than pleasing experiences with less active members... some deny the existence of god entirely, some only have "doubts" about joseph and the truthfulness of the restored gospel, and others pick and choose what they want to believe or what applies to them... i talked with president and he helped me understand how to act in a circumstance "desagradável" with these less active members. 

Also, i have some news for you guys. I started to study doctrine and covenants and i had a very powerful experience with the spirit. i read D&C 1-3. D&C 3 talks about what? martin harris and the 116 pages that were lost. what happened? joseph asked once -NO!, again- NO!, again- ... okay. And now the book of mormon is missing 116 pages of doctrine and history. I have thought about extending my mission more than a few times. the first time is asked i went to mission conference with the question in mind- NO! was the answer. when a member of the 70 came is went with the question in my head- NO! was the answer. I started to think about extending and the Lord said: okay. But recently i have been pondering and when i read D&C 3 sunday morning i thought: "this could be me" during the sacrament i talked with the Lord for a while and in the end i decided to not extend and come home the 24th of September. when i said that in my head, a peace came over me so strongly that i knew the Lord has accepted my mission. He wants me to work until the end! But He is happy with me. I asked the Lord to in some way confirm all of this and so today as i talked with president he said the area presidency has asked the mission presidents to not extend missions and a few months ago a missionary died in a service project with 25 months on his mission. imagine if he had gone home on the right date? 

I love my mission and i will serve faithfully until the end! but i will be home next month. 24th of september. i will email you my itinerary a soon as i have it.

I love you guys. The church is so freaking true!

-Élder Grondel jr.

August 12, 2013

To whom it may concern,

I wanted to start differently this week. Hey so we did the transfer and we are finishing everything for the new missionaries that are getting here tomorrow. We had a good/fun/ kinda frustrating week trapped here in the office and twice we had to leave our area and go back to the office because there were some changes made in the transfer. But it was fun. We worked had and the work isn't so much work anymore. I think i am starting to like this whole missionary thing. Brady and the rest of the bunch will get to know about that here pretty  quickly. It's crazy to think that from the graduating class- brady's and the twins- they make a part of the handful of people that are allowed to enter the temple. And now endowed... i cannot believe it. How great is it to know that God's annointed still stand in holy places? 

Ginger and max! thanks for the photo. It's great that they still get along so great. they will all be going on missions here in a little bit too! who knows, maybe brazil will be there destination as well???

And Sexy Lexy what the heck are we going to do with her? she just needs to hold tight and call elder banner or wait for elder bell to get back. if she needs a boyfriend i just need to make one or two phone calls... seriously you have no idea the quality of friends i have nowadays.

I got baxters email and i will send him an email in like 4 minutes. 

OLIVIA- way to go pretty girl! family history is awesome! did you know that our last name wasn't alway grondel??? me either! well until a few days ago lol. i am excited to be able to sing at the top of our lungs when i get back :)

LEVI + GERRITT- um guys. what the heck? when did you guys become so cool? :P hahaha. You guys are crazy bike jumpers now? and levi! have you scored any touchdowns yet? or have you layed anybody out recently? that's my dood!

DAD- HAPPY FATHERS DAY! here in brazil we celebrated father's day and i just wanted to thank you for everything. i remember until today when you guys left me at the airport and the smile you had on your face. i don't think i understood what was behind that smile until now. You saw all the revelations in personal study, comp study, etc... all the spiritual experiences, hardships, laughs. thanks for giving me a smile and preparing me so well to be the missionary i am today. i don't know how i would be if it wasn't for your example in lidership, hard work, and righteousness. Thanks daddy you are the BEST! Lookout for a letter here in a few weeks aight big D?!

I love you guys,

-Élder Grondel

Aug. 5, 2013

t's Good to hear from you,

I love you guys. Brady is leaving for the MTC in provo. that is good news for now. we have a lot of missionaries that are in other missions waiting for visas so this one month was good and he will be in provo for at least 9 more weeks. We will be in the field at the same time. how crazy is that??  

I always remember the way jake and cake prepared the fishing stuff and practiced at home. they wanted to make a boat to fish in the lake... they don't ever give up on their dreams. i believe they could have caught more than 200! 

So it turns out that our idea to reopen that branch isn't a reality. all the branches within 45 minutes of a chapel are being closed because brasil wants to adopt the same system we have in the US- 2 or 3 wards in the same chapel. we met with the stake presidency and we had a good discussion. we can still work with the less actives and prepare them for the day when the Lord provides them with a chapel. A lot of sin and gossip sunk the branch. We have to be SO careful with this. gossip is one of the many testimony attackers that exist and it can leave a deep scar.

That is rad that brady and mom went to teach. new experience for brady and old experience for momma. but he can't get used to doing splits with sisters :P

Momma! we have to kneel and pray when we don't know what else to do we have to fall to our knees. we also had a neat experience with the stake president with saying prayers on your feet too.

he said that when the area 70 came to train the stake presidents they would do the final prayer on their feet: "We pray on our feet bretheren, to show the Lord that we are willing to leave this room and do what we have discussed and what He has asked us to do." 

I love working with these leaders. as the AP i work right next to president and the other leaders of the mission and church. i learn so much from them and theirs examples. the church is true. it changes lives. it helps all come unto Christ and partake of his eternal salvation. the atonement can only be understood when we learn who He is and live how He lived.

abração,

-Élder Grondel jr.

July 29, 2013

Família amada e querida,

So the truth is i haven't taken many pictures this year. when i got transferred i lost my charger for my camera and i never needed a camera cause i always have had a companion haha. but i bought a charger last week and it's working well. i just need to remember to take pictures. we are working in a new area with some really neat members. i think i will start taking a picture a day to make these memories last a little longer. but you guys... i don't have a whole lot of free time ever.... haha. today we were studying and in the middle of our personal study president called for us to do an emergency transfer. we had a couple other transfers during the week as well and we had to make the itinerary for interviews with president. 

this week was awesome. we did splits with the ZL's of a zone close to the island and it was a lot of fun. we made tons of contacts and when we were there they marked 4 baptisms! haha. we didn't do anything, but we got to be part of that excitement! :) The two ZLs are south american. one from chile and the other from argentina. i thought it was so funny- an american and a hispanic working as companions and they don't speak the language of the other... the communicate using another language haha. it's cool how i get to meet so many people from other countries and lifestyles. experience of a lifetime.

I love and miss you guys. i thought about bella and how she is the last little kid in our house. the babies are growing up and i will miss that a lot. but i know that here in a little while their will be munchkins running around the house calling me dad... scary thought.

Like i was saying... we are working in a new area. Well our area and this other area. It is called Tapera. the stake had opened a branch there of about 30, but it closed... three times. we are going to meet with the stake president to make some goals, but for now we are working with reactivation. the members there are going to our ward. they have to take a 30 minute bus ride to church and another 30 back home every sunday. Their are a ton of less active members there. we want to reopen the branch, but it has failed 3 times already so we need to do something different.

I am really excited. I know the Lord will do miracles in this new area. The stakes of zion will be strengthened and the work will go forth. 

how cool is that? we get to be a part of this work. I can't tell you how much my mission has taught me. but it's not just the experiences, it's Jesus Christ teaching me. i really feel the spirit in my life and it is something that is changing the way i talk, the way i pray, the way i think and act... The church is true.

i love you guys a ton!

-Élder Grondel jr.

July 22, 2013

Grondels,

Another week that seemed to take forever, but passed SO quickly! You know how it is out here. days pass like weeks, but weeks pass like days. We are making a lot of contacts. We are talking with a lot of people and we are finally starting to get a teaching pool. The last transfer we did 3 work overs with zone leaders and we had to help president with 2 conferences plus the transfer = almost no time in our area. But it's all good. The Lord is preparing people to hear us. We are teaching more and we are happy. I cannot tell you guys how great it is to be companions with Élder Alison again. We get along really well and we have a lot of ideas to improve just about everything. 

Today for pday lunch i made french toast and maple syrup. for a second i thought i was seated at the island... it was crazy. But hey, i am sending you guys an envelope with a letter for the 2 gpas. i didn't know the addresses and it's cheaper if i send them this way... this week elder alison's grandma passed away. We got the call at about 9 in the morning. President let him call his family and talk with his mom and dad. His parents aren't members and i listened as he pleaded with his mom to let the missionaries visit her and teach about the plan of salvation.

I don't think we understand the importance of the gospel until the people that we love the most don't have or don't want it... it was sad, but my comp is a champ. he worked hard and didn't let his mind wander. 

Miracles are happening in our mission and in our area. we are really pumped. I loved seeing twinkies again and the slip and slide hahaha! I love my family. You guys are the best!

Amo muito vocês,

-Élder Grondel jr.

July 15,2013

Hey momma hey poppa,

So i am in the office already, but we are going home to make tacos for lunch! :D we had a great week. we set some really high goals this week and we worked to achieve them. i cannot tell you guys how tired i am. i have never been so tired. i am sleeping really well. i fall into bed and it's all over im already snoozing. i think its funny how at home i needed a pitch black room, a fan, and all my blankets... nowadays i sleep in the city with doors or windows open, no fan, and whatever blankets we have at home. sometimes i fall asleep on the bus... like city bus haha.

We are making better contacts and we are workind better with the ward. everyone is excited about missionary work. that training came at the right time. we have some people we are preparing for baptism and we found a really neat lady last week who prayed and really wants to go to church.

Last night.. this morning i had a really powerful experience. at 2 oclock in the morning the secretary (Elder Ruesch) came in and woke me up to help give his companion a blessing. his comp was shaking uncontrollably, had a fever, was feeling hot flashes. elder Ruesch has been struggling a lot with portuguese but he was determined to give the blessing in portuguese. i explained how to start the blessing in portuguese.  I did the annointing and he gave the blessing. it was simple, but powerful. He spoke sincerely and when i finished the blessing his comp stopped shaking. We felt a sweet peace and everyone went back to bed with that sweet spirit in our hearts. The priesthood was restored and now worthy priesthood holders are using this power to move forward this work. the church is true. 

i love you guys,

-élder Grondel

July 8,2013

Gente do céu,

So updates- we had a really special baptism this week of a college student. He is from Guine Bissau, Africa! Every time we teach him it makes me think of the kunovskys haha. he is doing study abroad and was pretty involved with parties and everything else his peers were doing. But he has always had faith and he knows the bible really well. He had a desire to follow christ, but lacked something that we couldn't figure out. He was found and taught in february, but it wasn't until we really challenged him that we figured out what was missing. Last month he had some doubts about the word of wisdom... so we challenged him to read and to pray, REALLY pray and ask if it was true. In the next visit we brought a cevada (like rajas cup- that weird 'not coffee' that Brent used to drink) to help him stop drinking coffee and he said he was ready to make the change and wasn't looking back. 

The Lord can change people. He loves us so much and he wants us to be happy. Fiel stopped drinking coffee and stopped going to parties and it looks like after his baptism that he has physically changed. His testimony was rad at the end of the baptismal service. i almost wanted to stand up and say what lexi always says at home: "PREACH IT BRUTHA!" haha. 

OH HEY!!!!!!!!!! So i talked to president about extending... and he said yes! He already entered into the system and changed my release date to november 5 2013. I am really excited. I love my mission you guys and the Lord has given me 6 more weeks to stay and work here in brazil. I thought and prayed a lot about this decision so don't think it was something spur of the moment. 

Amo muito vocês,

-Élder Grondel

July 1,2013

Hi,

This week was pretty stressful. we had to do the transfer and being my first time... there were some errors. so i have been receiving calls every hour since friday. i am pretty sure it's all resolved, but every time the phone rings i get this sick feeling in my stomach: "what else did i do wrong?" haha

It was a good experience and i am learning a lot of patience. also, planning and how to be more positive. Everything will work out just fine, but somebody has to do something and usually that somebody is me. the transfer is going smoothly, but my comps are leaving. elder banner and elder souza. elder banner is the best missionary i have every met. a true example of someone who has received christ in his countenance. i am sending him back to rescue lexi and reactivate her forever. I will be working with elder alison again! the elder that i trained more than a year ago... in case you forgot. we are stoked and this transfer will be awesome.

I am tired. like, SOOO tired. as i used to say: "i'm ex-HAUSTED" haha. brady will learn a littel bit about that here in a couple weeks (have fun).

I am going to talk to president today about extending one more transfer because i have been praying about it a lot and i have discussed it with my comps... i didn't want to extend because as assistant that would take away the opportunity from another missionary to serve in my position, but i could train in my extra transfer or be a junior companion. i just want to be here for one more. i will let you know what he says. 

I love you guys a lot! Thanks for your prayers. i am receiving the blessing that you ask for me.

abraço,

-Élder Grondel

June 24, 2013

I like lists. they simplify things. but they can also be incredibly overwhelming. like the list of things i wanted to do on the last 3 p-days that i didn't have time to haha. i am looking at a to do list of 5 thank you cards, 4 letters, byu application, cleanup, laundry, and everything else we have to do this week. it is transfer week... yay! that means fun for us :) we have to plan the transfer, buy all the bus tickets, double check, and then triple check the list before passing on to the zone leaders. awesome!

i really liked that quote momma! We had a miracle happen this week! we have been traveling a lot and we had to help with the conferences so we have not had a lot of time to work in our area. our teaching pool was practically empty, but sunday we witnessed a few miracles:

1- An investigator (Fiel), that will be baptized next sunday, was eating lunch with his friend when we should up for our visit and we invited him to stay. we were there to do a "practice" of the baptismal interview and run through the questions. Fiel's friend like the questions and was really impressed with the principles and standards of the church. We will begin teaching him this week.

2- Two college students that were contacted on the bus showed up at church 3-4 weeks ago. they study and work so we only taught them once. and when we went to teach them again they canceled. and the next time they just weren't there. it didn't make sense. the girl had said she prayed for god to guide her and an elder contacted her on the bus the next morning and invited her to go to church. Sunday she went with a friend and the 2 of them loved it... but then they disappeared! sunday afternoon they texted us and asked us to come by! we went and we had a wonderful visit. they read and felt the spirit. they also began saying prayers daily! 

3- the best of all! a recent convert (Maria) has a 22 year old son who has never shown any interest for the church. they live (literally) in the hood. Jonathon-22, is involved in all kinds of stuff. Sunday however... who was sitting there in elders quorum? JONATHON! he had been interrogated by the police and they roughed him up pretty bad. he was banged up, but i think it knocked some sense into him... pun... not very funny. he realized he needs to change his life so he woke up that morning, and said "momma. im going to church with you today." she was in tears. it's a miracle. 

I love the little miracles that happen. I really enjoyed the training! it was an excellent meeting that helped me see how to overcome some obstacles here in the field. It was great. Also, we ran into some people from Palhoça (my 2nd area) and it was all smiles. they still remembered me and we laughed as we reminisced on the good times we had together. The mission is hard work, but it's also a lot of fun.

Next week my comp will be going home and the best missionary i have ever known, Elder Banner, will also be going home. Elder banner has been assigned, by me, to make sure alexis stays active in the church he is studying leadership at UVU so Lexi, don't think for a second you are alone. if im not there, someone will be watching out for you. btw- he sings SUPER well. just btw's aight?

Brady! you are going to the provo MTC! YES! it is better than são paulo. trust me. have fun. don't get freaked out because you don't know the language like everyone else there. Pray for the gift of tongues, work hard, and Take Advantage of your study time. Focus on preach my gospel- chapters 3, 6, and 10 (more 3 and 10, but 6 is good too). also, make a language study plan (see chap.7) Look up irmão perry and give him a hug for me. also, if you see a sister christensen give her a hand shake and tell her i am still waiting for her letter... :P

I love you guys!

abração,

-Élder Grondel jr.

June 17, 2013

Parents,

 

Family dearest i love you guys a lot. i had a dream that i was with you today and i could feel how much i really love you all. each one of you. we heard a really neat talk on sunday from a lady in the ward about how we need to find the best in others. our lesson in gospel doctrine was about spiritual gifts and it was neat how we could see these topics linked together. We are all SO different. even in our family- we are athletic, talented, hard workers, and ridiculously good looking, but even still... we are all WAY different.

I thought that was so cool. because that is what makes this world so beautiful. our differences. the forest is beautiful because there a so many different colors, shapes, and sizes. the ocean, outer space... everything!

We had mission conference and we had some pretty neat experiences doing divisions this week. We got to the area where we would have conference about 8:15pm. We had helped President with everything and he dropped us off at the ZL's apartment. My companion went with one of the elders to contact a reference and left me with the other elder to make dinner. Dinner would take 15-20 minutes, but i didn't wanna stay there doing nothing. So we left the apartment, bought a few things at the grocery store and we started to make contacts... but there was no one on the street. I asked if there was an investigator nearby and there was a family on the next street they were teaching. we went there and they let us in AND they had a visitor. We started talking and we taught them the restoration... we invited them to go to church but I don't know what happened next in the story. all i know is that i took advantage of the time i had. It was amazing how the Lord gave us an opportunity to teach because we had a pure desire to help someone. we wanted to work and the Lord rewarded that effort. I learned a great lesson through this experience.

We did splits in a city called Lages... MUITO FRIO! it was soooo cold and they didn't have a lot of blankets in the house. we took some great pictures going to the area that i will send you guys. the couple days there were great and i am amazed with how much i learn every time we work with these elders. they are great examples and they all do something REALLY WELL. it just goes to show, we are all here to shine in a different way. where i am weak my companion is strong and on the division i could see how i picked up some of his skills and applied with the other missionary. I love my mission you guys. i love brazil so much. everything about it.

I thought about you guys a little bit this week and how much i want you guys to value the scriptures, the church, and prayer. Pay attention at church and in your classes. You don't know how much time your teacher spent preparing your lesson, or how nervous he/she might be at times. Say sincere prayers and kneel when you say them.. not underneath your covers. Don't just read the BOM, STUDY IT! You guys will find a great force therein.

 

Amo muito vocês,

 

-Élder Grondel-zão dos últimos dias jr.

June 10, 2013

Family dearest,

 

Once again i am just arriving from a long trip to a distant land. I did splits last week with another missionary. It was great to work with another missionary, but it was also kind of rough. He's american and was having a tough time so president sent me to work with him. To help him out, President asked me to speak english with him. I don't like speaking english, but that's okay. I have been mixing up my english and portuguese for the last couple days, but now i am back home in florianopolis and it's just portuguese. im sure that i'll be back to normal in a day or two. i can't believe how much a couple days messes with your ability to speak! imagine when i come home... i'll be totally tubed if i don't practice and study.

Thanks momma i needed to hear that. i have been asking myself lately- why me? I am glad to hear that. We never know the power of our influence. I am glad to hear you guys are able to see lexi and brady. i have not had any time to work on my byu ap. i corrected the essays that you guys sent me, but i have not even begun the top 5 accomplishments. can you guys suggest some ideas for me? I will send you the finalized byu essays and i will start the fab- 5 moments when i get the chance. It's just hard to find time to, dad knows how that is haha.

This week we have a mission conference and we are going to do a work over in Lages (in the westish and REALLY cold). I will be doing splits there with a kid from Vegas! cool huh?

Good luck at football camp JACOB! Work hard, smash and trash, and always- ALWAYS stay cocky! :P

I love you guys,

 

-Élder Grondel jr.

June 3rd 2013

Family,

today was crazy so i am writing to you all very late. i cannot believe that we all got so old. sister fine already got home, sister kohler, elder klumker comes home soon... and when does sister winterose get back? haha. channing is due back any day now right? the burb's are headed out soon, we already have an elder kohler, soon another elder grondel, my good friend audrey is going to the philipines, my other friend emalee is serving in australia... when did we get so old? next thing you know i will be paying bills and changing diapers... (your diapers mom and dad because you guys are getting olddddd hahaha). cassie is prego, matthew george got married. 

I want to think that i got more mature on my mission, but even though i changed a ton and got fat, i feel like i still have so much to learn and change and do better. I love you guys a lot and i really appreciate your support. There are some elders that don't have any support or are the only members of the family. i feel for 'em but i find myself motivated to be a good father. i am inspired by these sad stories because the desire to have a gospel based family becomes stronger and stronger. 

I just got a letter from zack abbott and as i thought about what he said i remembered that president would send you guys a letter and i imagine it will arrive this week. so yes, i am working in the mission office, but not just working here with the secretaries. i am working as assistant to the president. it is a HUGE responsibility- conferences, transfers, splits, training, problem solving... there are a million things and instead of praying for my comp and my 14 elders or sister i now have the responsibility of more than 150 missionaries. it's challenging and a lot of the time i feel like i am not qualified to be in this position. there are missionaries that are way more qualified, that multi-task better, and i am learning humility very quickly as i work in this position. 

i like it because we get to do splits with the zone leaders. we get to travel throughout the state and we started where??? ITAJAÍ! Elder Souza and I went to itajaí to start off our splits. it was sooo fun! we visited all the recent converts and we did a family night with the family that got baptized after i got transferred. The mom of the family, carla, made a pillow for me using my "team" from brazil corinthians haha. and she wrote me a very touching letter. In the letter she bore her testimony of the restored gospel. i remember reading carefully every word... you can't BUY words like that. I remember thanking heavenly father for allowing me to be the instrument that helped this family find the truth. they will be sealed next year and already have a goal set! i will be here for that special day!

Hey, so i have something serious to ask. I have been seriously thinking about extending my mission one more transfer. I can up to 30 days of my release date (oct. 12) and the transfer ends Nov. 5, so i could extend. I want to, and when we were updating presidents board my card doesn't have a release date written... all the other elders from my group have a date written there, but not mine... 

I love you guys. thank you for everything. pray for me. pray for the mission.

-Élder Grondel jr.

May 27th 2013

Hullo mother... hullo father,

I love you guys a lot. do you ever get tired of hearing me say that? i hope not. 

I cannot believe emily already got back. what a trip. she was having a rough time in the MTC and i don't know how many times i meant to write her from the field. but you know how it is... p-day is the day you wait for the longest and passes the fastest. we get up, work out, prepare, and study until 11. we leave and send email. buy something to eat for lunch or make at home. we get home at 2 or 3 clean up the house, write some letters and before we know it we are putting the tie back on to go back to work. 

I have some personal goals for this transfer and until the end of my mission. There are some things that i would like to do. recently i have been thinking- i waited my whole life to be on my mission and here i am... but what have i done? what did i accomplish? at times this has been gratifying but at others it has been saddening and frustrating. On the search for perfection... hahaha. i am trying to find my joy in the journey :)

Last week we had a kid from the US, who got his visa late, arrive in the airport alone. He spent four months in alabama and he was fried. Me and elder alison went to the airport to pick him up and he was not understanding anything that anyone was saying. he looks like harry potter! he was pretty frustrated and he was sitting alone so me and the financial secretary sat and talked with him for a while. he was nervous, frustrated, and REALLY tired. we did our best to help him out and president and sister fernandes complimented him like crazy on his portuguese i think he is doing better now. 

We had a really special group arrive and we got to eat dinner with all the greenies. It was a real neat experience. We had a testimony meeting and the spirit was really strong, but subtle. and sister fernandes really really knows how to cook. oh my goshness!

You have to congratulate emily for me. im sure she was a great missionary. she has such a sweet spirit and i always admired her example. Her and matt george are my heroes. studs of the latter days.

Jake- you got brady's number, my attitude, and plenty of time to do work. Set goals! make plans to work out and be prepared for the season. if you want to be the best you have to work the hardest and have the most fun haha.

Gerrit- you rock bubba! I like samuel the lamanite too. way to go dood!

Levi- He is so wise... like a miniature budda with pasqueti hair :P way to help out momma leavers!

Momma- thank you for being so amazing. you are such an inspiration to me. Thank you for the counsel. that is exactly what i needed to hear! I want to be like nephi and i want to be a great missionary.

Amo vocês,

-élder Grondel jr.

May 20th 2013

hey family dearest,

 

I am sitting in the mission office with about 10 elders that are leaving tomorrow. two were my companions and one of them was my trainer... it is unbelievable seeing these elders that i have served with for so long going home. i know that the mission ends but what about the missionaries that stay? it's not the same mission anymore ya know? these missionaries you admired for so long. missionaries you looked up to going home...? everything is changing. i guess that's just gunna be life right? growing up, moving in and out.. so many changes. i guess that's the only thing that is constant- CHANGE!

Thank you for the suggestions and the corrections. i will take a look probably next week because today is the last day with these elders that are leaving. i am really going to miss my comps and the friends that i made from this group that is going home. Elder Noel (who is going to visit you guys!) is a missionary who really influenced my mission and an elder that i really admired. he changed my mission. Aside from president, he is the person that most influenced my mission.

I hope that we can all keep in touch after the mission. so many elders! Elder Christensen, eide, noel, welling, emerson, martin, longo, etc...

never forget the power of your influence. people will remember you on the mission (and in life) as someone that made a difference  for better or worse. don't worry about pleasing people so much. sometimes we have the bring the hammer or work won't get done. even Christ took a whip to clean up His temple.

I am going to play some basketball today :D wish me luck!

 

abraço,

-Élder Grondel jr.

 

PS- Lexi, stop dating losers. make a rule for yourself- first date = no kisses. i have a couple of missionaries that could help you with a paradigm shift. ok???

aMO VOCêS!

 

May 13, 2013

It was so good to see you all yesterday!

I was so happy talking to you guys... i don't think you have any idea! :) I really am starting to feel the joy that the gospel brings to my life. I have never been happier than i am right now. I have wonderful friends that have the same standards as me. They push me to be better and when i am around them i want to be better. WE want to be better. We work hard, but i have never had a comp like i had here in itaum (my current area... i will be transferred tonight). he is a stud that has really inspired me, but i also see why i was called to be with him. I have spoken very little if hardly any english in the last year, but i had some long conversations in english with Elder Luschin that helped me a lot as a missionary and as a person. it's funny how your personality can change because of the language. Speaking in english (just a little!) helped me realize i am still a goof ball and life isn't all serious. However, bearing my testimony in english solidified the testimony i bear daily in portugues. how cool is that? for almost 2 years i have born my testimony almost every single day... what a great blessing. I love you guys! I love you all soooo much! work hard, have fun, and be true to who and what you are! 

Abraço,

-Élder Grondel jr.

May 6, 2013

We are really trying to be great missionaries here. We are running into a lot of opposition here, but the talk mom sent me gave me a lot of hope. and as élder bednar said about the work of changing ricks to BYU: "if i thought we were alone i would be terrified. but we have help from heaven." or something like that. i am speaking better than ever, studying better than ever, trying harder than ever, working smarter than ever... but for some reason we haven't hae any real results. we had some this week and i realized we need to stay more positive and trust more.

it's not just about doing... but being as well. this month i chose to focus on my patience. i will be patient with myself and others. not easy!

i loved the letters! thank you guys so much for writing me. i miss you guys a lot and your letters help me feel a lot closer to you guys. you don't know how many times as a missionary i have read and re read and re read your letters or looked at your pictures... i love you guys so much.

OH! and send a HUGE thank you to the ivanoff family! i will be sending a card this week, but i love love love reeses. i don't know how they know that, but i am grateful :) i didn't know reeses came in bars that size... how do you say 2nd best day of my life? 

no for real gang. i love you and i wanna make you all proud. but more than anything i wanna make my heavenly father and my savior proud. i think that is why this mission is rough at times. it's not always because the investigator rejected the message, but because we feel like we failed the savior... :/ I know He loves us and wants us to be happy. i will work to make Him proud this week.

i invite you guys to work and live to make Him proud as well!

abração-zão!

-Élder Grondel

April 29th 2013

Ó élderes e sísteres,

One more week went by and i didn't even see it. i sure felt it, but the time is flying by. i hit another milestone and realized that i will be going home in 5 months. I feel like i still have so much to learn! we had a special multi stake conference that was presided by Pres. Richard G. Scott and directed by Elder Stanley Ellis of the seventy ("do you want the truth? or would you like it with sugar?"). The conference was excellent, the spirit was strong and so pure. i love being gathered together with the saints. so many singing proudly- "i am a child of God" ... it was a very special moment. it was neat seeing president scott speak portuguese. he and elder ellis didn't use translators and i felt once again the sweet truth that the spirit doesn't have an accent. he speaks clearly to each and every one of us. 

The week was a little rough running after less active members, trying to schedule visits, calling tons of people, confirming plans... and a million other things.

Sorry is don't have a recording, but there isn't a TON to report from this end. We have a solid companionship and my comp is a super star. he is from germany and his dad is the architect behind the temple in rome... and preston... and kiev... and some other temples haha. he comes from a very strong family in the church and has had a pretty rad upbringing living in various countries. his dad served in england as well! haha. only the best are sent there right? ;)

i love you guys so much. i hope you feel that in my emails. i think about you guys, i pray for you, and i am really trying to work hard so that you can all be proud of me. My mission saved my life. i don't regret a single day. i don't regret a single moment. i don't regret a dime. this is the best investment that anyone could ever make. The church is true. 

I love the book of mormon. i am in 3 nephi 18. Christ is such a great teacher. He really loved those He served. i hope i can learn that:

Experience! - we were making contacts yesterday on a road and i have never been received so terribly. we started to be a little sarcastic and jaded because of the way people were talking to us. Élder luschin said- élder we need to say a prayer. we can't keep doing this because it makes us no better than them, it drives away the spirit, and without the spirit we are never going to reach them the way we want to. we said a prayer and made our last contact of the night. The girl that came to the door was horrid. she was incredibly disrespectful, but we were okay with that. we didn't make rude comments after and i realized something:  Many missionaries who slack off on the mission will go on the leave the church. but also, missionaries who become jaded and are frustrated for their entire mission will also fall away. Even missionaries that worked hard, kept every rule, and were diligent will fall away. why? because they didn't learn to LIVE the gospel and be happy living it. They never learned to LOVE like Christ OR be a true disciple. as we learn in a special hymn: "by this shall man know ye are my disciples- if ye have love one to another." 

I love you all. pray that i might have charity and patience and pray that you might have charity as well. 

Amo muito vocês, tenho saudades, mas estou perto de meu pai celestial. sei que ele nos ama. Saibam que ele está cuidando muito bem de seu filho e seu irmão. Vocês são os melhores :D

-Élder Grondel jr.

April 22, 2013

Grondels,

This week was super tiring. I don't think i have slept so well at night in my entire life. Missionary work can be incredibly exhausting. The area is great, the members are solid, but the teaching pool was very empty when i got here. We are going to work a lot with less actives in an attempt to split this ward. President's goal is the divide this stake and the itajaí stake to create another stake before the end of the year. I am excited to be here and be part of this vision! We lost a couple days because of the transfer, but we were blessed with many miracles. My companion is a stud and works really hard. I think it is interesting to see where i am at now as a missionary. I got to the house and the first thing i wanted to see was the area book and i wanted to know abou the investigators and the ward and the bishop... it's all habit. I immediately had some ideas to increase our teaching pool, my comp wanted to tract on some roads close to home, and we went to work. We had  a really great lesson with Israel and he went to church on SUNDAY! he liked it a lot and we are going to do the follow up visit today. He was studying to be a padre in the catholic church but as he studied more and more... the more he realized he was in the wrong place. He said: "i had that same question joseph had. if it isn't this one... which one is it??" I know the lord is preparing people to receive the message of the restoration.

I was missing itajai a lot this week. i actually almost cried. i realized that i really loved the people i was serving there. i love the members and itajai will always have a special place in my heart. i was asking the lord to help me figure out why i had to leave so quickly. I loved it there, the work was going super well... and the Lord helped me see why i needed to be transferred. The Bishop of our ward. I have a TON i am going to learn from him. He is intense, demanding, and incredibly righteous. He doesn't wait for anyone and has no patience with idleness. he has this laugh he does that kinda reminds me of Dad too. The Lord always has a purpose for everything He does.

l

Thanks for the updates! i am glad that you guys liked the pictures. We had a lot of fun taking them. The airplane picture is my favorite! haha.

I am so proud of all of you guys. i ove and miss you all. enjoy the recording :)

Abraço,

-Élder Grondel