"Peace, be still. Peace, be still."

Another week down, even closer to Christmas and I AM SO STOKED. Im pretty dure Christmas eve will be one of the most interesting days of the mission, because here, Christmas eve is when the real party goes down, there's tons of fireworks and parties and food (and most of the time lots and lots of beer) so yeah, dont know how it will be to proselyte in that mess, but I'm sure that it is going to be the best day ever! (every day is the best day ever). So yeah, lots of fun, im already out of candy so thats sad and not really a big surprise but ill last. All I know is that I am happy, even though things arent working out all the time and theres always problems and people dont make very good choices, but really all I can do is my best, and I know thats why Jesus came down to this earth to die for us, because without him even my best wouldn't be enough, and there really wouldn't be any hope for us. It would be all or nothing, and its because that the Father loves us that he sent his son to save us in the fallen state that we are in and to make it so that perfection isnt what is required of us. The spirit of Christmas really changes to something more significant when you really discover for yourself why we celebrate it, and to make things even better, I have the best "job" in the world where I get to help people understand that for themselves. My only wish this Christmas is for everyone to truly understand why Christ came, and that we all share this with others. Merry Christmas to all, and i hope that you have a wonderful Christmas day. 

-Elder Grover (enjoy pics from the Christmas conferences!)

 

Christmas Conferences

12/17/17 Never, ever, EVER have i EEEVER gone pretty much 2 weeks in the mission and achieved pretty much NOTHING in my own area. But i will have to admit, its been a super fun week. Traveling really is a blast, and if it wasnt for my own area it would have been a successful week. So yeah, heres the quick rundown of what happened.

After finishing up in Tarapoto, we pretty much had to immediately start getting ready to leave for Pucallpa, and that really isnt al that tough, but there were some minor complications that kinda messed everything up. So we spent last weekend fixing everything and getting the programs ready for the Christmas conference. We left on Monday and flew to Pucallpa, and it had not changed one bit! Pucallpa was the first city that i was in, i started my mission there, and its a hot and muddy mess, so going back was a very cool experience, not only for the memories but also for the conference. There were many missionaries that i did not know, so getting to know some of them was great, and we had alot of trainings given that were very edifying, we were able to share some words (i had a good time remembering my time with dengue) and overall it was great. 

Upon returning to Iquitos on Thursday, we jumped right back into action and helped president with transfers (always a good time) and we went to the small city of Nauta again. There have been missionaries with some seriously problems were there and theyre making it really hard for the work to get going... the trip was fun and edifying.

This Christmas season has really made everything change around here, theres a huge amount of beer consumption, families get together, and us as missionaries love teaching at this time of year because its so much easier to teach about the Savior! Almost anything will take a sec to listen to us give a quick message about what the savior did for us, and i am so grateful for the opportunity i have to be here at this time. There really is nothing else like being on the Lords errand, and i wouldn't rather be in any other place. I hope you all have a great week, especially with Christmas quickly approaching. Love you all! -Elder Grover

p.s. PICTURES: map of the mission (blue dots are where we do the conferences) ,giant santa in pucallpa, the Elders of pucallpa (most of them), Elders from my group with President Li, and finally the ties ive gotten in my packages!

• -Quick shout out to My uncles Ryan, Kenton, and Josh, Grandma and grandpa Grover, Brother Oreilly and Brother Lay. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT!!!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

12/10/17 All in all, its been a crazy week, and I've loved every minute! The mission is the best, changes lives, and even saves lives (like mine). I love the work, and I hope that we can all share the Christmas spirit and help others feel the light of Christ. Have a great week!

Finally we had the Christmas Conference, and that was a blast to listen to hymns, carols and watch the missionaries act out scripture stories (I got to take part in one!). We ate good food, cake hot chocolate and watched a slideshow of pics from the entire mission! The Christmas spirit was strong!

We also had the opportunity to travel to another part of Perú where the church hasn't gotten to yet, its called Juanjui, and there are already some members that live there, and it was one of the most incredible experiences ever. The people who live in that area have a very basic knowledge of the gospel, mostly based on catholic principles, and it was amazing to teach some families who were so interested in our message of the restoration. An area that is so untouched is honestly a gold mine, and whoever opens that area is going to be BLESSED. No idea when we are going to do it, but i hope soon! There were some other experiences that were also really special, visiting a less active who broke down because she was so grateful for our visit, Other investigators who were begging for return visits, and another member who had about 5 friends who wanted to listen. It was a very edifying visit.

I have got to say that this week has been one of the most special of my mission, what an opportunity it was to travel to Tarapoto and have the conference there with the missionaries form Tarapoto, Yurimaguas, and Moyobamba. It was also one of the most busy times of my mission haha, traveling and doing stuff with president is seriously a blast. It also really made me appreciate how much work goes into all the little things, like how all the conferences and stuff are organized (we do it all!) and it has really made me think how do big conferences work, there's so much background work that goes on and it has boggled my mind! Sop yeah, really what we do is small scale stuff but its still been pretty dang busy! 

fotos- 3 form juanjui (river and ice-cream shop) and the last from the conference.

Wow! Has this week been busy! safe to say one of the craziest of my mission, and I am so tired haha. Definitely been a fun time but at the same time its been really tiring... maybe a taste of the real world? probably haha. So everyone's probably wondering, what happened? Well now, where do I begin...

This week there were transfers, so the assistants have a huge part in doing all of that and we have to send people home and pick up the new guys (one of the attached pics) and that's always a blast, kinda interesting to see the difference in potential and interest that they all have, most of them are pretty good, but there's always a few that are kinda disinterested, we gotta help them out a bit... We always get to eat lunch with them and then we give trainings and the missionary "starter pack" (a folder full of information). 

On top of transfers, there was the Leadership council here in Iquitos, where all of the zone leaders and some sister leaders come here to give a report and to work out the problems that were having (biggest ones being laziness and discouragement) which is really dumb because those are problems that they themselves cause when they don't do what they're supposed to do. It was crazy, and there was also a problem with missionaries who don't trust President Li. We had a lot of straitening out to do, especially when you have to direct everything... Its a mess. Brings me back to conference and what elder Eyring spoke about, sustaining and respecting your leaders. The root of the problem really is just pride and the missionaries being immature and not being able to lose themselves in the work... Man we got a lot to do. 

Anyways, to top it all off, our mission trip is around the corner, and next week, we will be going to Tarapoto to visit the missionaries there... a lot to do! I'm going to be spending my P-Day getting ready for that and working! Hope you all have a great week! Chao

Mosiah 18:19-20 (my calling)

pics: new guys, leadership council, thanksgiving day (we ate turkey!!!), and what all Peruvians think about white people

 

 

11/25/17 So this week has been frantic haha, all the missionaries of Iquitos has had interviews with the President and we had to be there to help with his schedule and revising the area books of the companionship! ON top of that, my now companion got here!!! His name is Elder Jacobs, from Idaho and he's TALL, not taller than me but my first tall companion! I'm super excited to start working with him to help make the mission better, but its also sad to see Elder Culquicondor leave, he's finishing up his mission on Monday haha, so its been kinda weird seeing that happen (the whole ending process) and i am very grateful to have been able to learn a ton from him. He's been a huge help for me and in helping me develop my own abilities as a leader and as a problem solver. Its been a blast and I'm really grateful for the time that we've been able to spend together.

President Li recently traveled to Colombia for a Conference and he came back with some interesting news! The mission offices is going to be changing a lot, there will be 2 secretaries less, so my comp and I will have to learn more responsibilities to keep the mission running smoothly. But that's not all, apparently there's a lot of changes that are happening with the way we work, with technology and other means, so we should be seeing improvements in those regards... Ultimately there's a lot more that were going to do, and I cant wait to be a part of it!

All in all, the mission just keeps on getting crazier! To be a part of it is a privilege and a blessing. I know that I cant waste this time, and I need to use every minute to do something more! I Hope you all Have a great week, Scripture of the week is Mosiah 16:9-10. Christ is the light and life of the world, and only through him is our redemption possible. Love you all!

pics: Zone conference of Iquitos, The 3 Assistants, and the Offices with President Li!

 

11/18/17 Well this week has been very productive in regards to working in our area. I'm really learning a lot in the area of Castañas, and I am always grateful for the opportunities that I have to help and serve others. We did a lot of exchanges this week and so I wasn't with my companion very much but i was able to work with a lot of other elders in the mission and see how they were, how they were working and how they can improve. More than anything I always love learning from the others, its very interesting looking at the diversity there is in all of Gods children, how every one has their own strengths and weaknesses. I know that I am no different in that aspect, and I need the help of my Savior just like everyone else... Just like how Moroni explains it in Ether 12:27.

My companion and I have really been pondering what we can do in order to help the mission in a productive way that still allows for the missionaries to use their agency. from what I've heard, the mission Peru Iquitos is a very strict mission, and there's a ton of rules that people get worked up over. Even though we have these rules to protect us from the harm of sin, sometimes it makes me wonder if it really helps in the conversion of the missionaries. I like to relate it to the law of mises, where the people were really stubborn and wicked, so they had a list of strict rules set to help them remember the Lord their God always, and even then the people fell in transgression and sin. when Christ came, he taught the higher law, the Gospel, based on repentance, made possible by the Atonement. And with the higher law set in place, it made room for the miracle of repentance, mercy and forgiveness. Makes me wonder which way works, because both were a part of Gods plan, and both have their purposes...Well, I only know that we live on this world thanks to Christ and what he did for us, And that we have a debt that we cannot and will not be able to pay. I love you all, and I hope you have a great week.