Christmas Phone Call, Yea!!!

This week had it’s up and downs.

The baptisms have been jumping and falling also...the good we have two sisters, one that is twenty and single with a kid
and the other is her sister 12 yrs old.  There family is all non-members and they have a bad example of not getting
married.  Their parents aren’t married and haven’t been for a really long time.  We are teaching the chunk of them they
have 18 people living in the house.  If we baptize the two it could cause a chain effect.  Noelia is the 20 yr old, she has
been fighting the temptations that the investigators always have, and told us that nothing is an obstacle for her getting
baptized this Saturday. Her sister is way smart and really wants to get baptized with her.

I have been trying to think a lot about this Christmas season. It is definitely different. It has been a great time in the mission
so far.  I am trying to reflect on the New Year with new goals and new things to look forward too. I hope that we can all
reflect a little bit more on being more Christ like and really having a pure love of all mankind. I am very excited for a not
really cold Christmas, but I will miss the sledding with the cousins, all the presents, the family, the food, and the laughs
that we always share.  I am looking for the blessings in this time and there are definitely a lot. People that really want to
progress, seeing lives change, feeling closer to my father in heaven more than ever, and the list continues.

I hope that everybody is good and doesn’t have a cold. LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!

(The following is in reply to e-mails sent to Elder Griffin. We are trying to share the gospel with some neighbors and friends)

I want to share so much the gospel when I get back... that is what we need here so much is that the members do their part. Please explain to our neighbors and family that I want them to hear the same message but in English in their houses. The missionaries are all doing the same work.

People have really got to step it up a couple notches...because the fact that when you are endowed you promise to give
all of yourself to God.  They are focusing on things that are pointless for eternity.   The members in general are getting
lazier and that is when bad things start happening.

I love you and appreciate that you are trying to share the gospel. Congratulate Ali and look forward to the call on
Christmas EVE. There is a lot to do to be able to feel good about sending a package; get postcards for the family; also
to get stickers of mother Mary and Jesu Cristo, a cd of photos and everything.  It is crazy, and we don’t have a ton of time.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!!!

~Elder Griffin~

From 12 down to 3

This week was a little interesting. We had 12 baptisms set up with dates and everything for this month we ended this week with baptizing three and have only three more. Oscar had problems with word of wisdom again! We are still trying to help him out with that. 11- The wife and the son of Julio Navarro didn’t assist this week and so that’s two less 9- Two of the females that we had dates for haven’t gotten their permission from there husbands yet, kind of dissapointing-7-Harold, a 20 yr old from another church wants to get baptized in the new year. So we had a lot of the dates fall. The good was Eologia, a 73 yr old who has a son who is a member (inactivo) who has a daughter we were teaching discussions to (Jackzhetld) and her husband is a grumpy, abusive, temperamental.....anyway we taught her all lessons and she was interested. She had really wanted to move with her other family members to get away from her husband. Also, two sisters from the Catholic Church were fellowshipping her. We talked to her the day of the baptism but she straight up said, “I am not going to get baptized, I can’t do it. I just can’t do it, sorry.” Anyhow, she showed up to the interview of her grandson kind of discouraged, but a member who knows the family talked to her. Long story short, her son talked to her about the fact she needs to get baptized. All of us talked to her about the benefits, I baptized her Saturday. It was a really special experience about how it is possible to overcome everything and really change your life for the better. The Lord is trying to teach my comp and I something, we don’t really know what but I know that things will get better.
Our next changes are on the last day of the month. I haven’t sent the cd but made it, p day is kind of like every other day, hectic. I will get two new pants made for about twenty dollars to go with my suit. I didn’t know but the suit that you sent the pants had a whole in the crotch. So does the other suit. I am throwing those two pants away and having two more made. I will also buy one or two pairs of garments at the temple when we go. Thank Keaton and Tammy for the letter and the package, which was really cool to get. Also thank grandma Grace for her letters she always sends. I don’t really need anything; however more music would be nice. I would like pictures of everybody, fam, friends. Please thank Bishop GUNNEL for the letter.
It is crazy to think that Christmas is coming up so soon. I will try to send cards to the people that have sent me stuff. I also bought a few little things that I am going to send off hopefully today. I am not going to guarantee that you will get them before Christmas but I will try.

My health is good. When I get sick I always get better. It never is really THAT BAD. Our mission pres. wife really takes good care of us. My feet are good. I never have blisters or anything, and the shoes have held up really good (ECCOS). I don’t really have too much of a reason to wear the other pair. My back is alright, the beds are well, interesting but it’s holding up. I would tell you if it was bad or hurting.

There is not a part of the mission that has bicycles. We do take cars a little. The cars are like taxis.¡¡¡I will be getting kicked off the computer soon here but I love you so much and give congrats to the newly weds coming up... LOVE YOU:::CHAU!!
-Elder Griffin

More Member Referals Needed

Life is great. It is crazy to think that it is already December. It’s not cold here of course; it has actually been kind of hot.

My companion and I are having more fun and success as I have ever thought was possible. He is so great. He always has such a great attitude about how to do things.

The investigators are great. In this holiday season miracles are taking place in the hearts of people. We are making baptismal dates to people that I don’t really know how they are accepting the changes in there lives. I know that when God commands he prepares a way for the things to happen the way he wants.

Did you get a chance to watch the Christmas Devotional? We didn’t but I was just wondering if it was good.

This week has been kind of crazy, with lots of baptisms comes lots lots lots of hard work.

Try to share this amazing present with someone.

-Elder Griffin

Member Referals Needed

This week was fantastic.

We have the goal of forty baptisms in two wards. This week we are off to a good start. I will not share the
number because it’s not about numbers, but there have been miracles.

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving was a little bit different.  We didn’t have a big turkey with grandma’s mashed potatoes
and gravy, or yams or pies or anything else.  Of course you know that they don’t celebrate that holiday here.  However, I
really am grateful for everything and am glad that they do celebrate Christmas here.

The not so good; Oscar had some problems with the word of wisdom again, but we are still having the baptism he just
needs to use the atonement and truly have a change of heart to conquer this addiction.

We have been working harder than I ever thought was possible. We have some really great people in our ward and
for 40 baptisms we really need help with references of friends, family, and others. I know that the Lord will continue
to bless us.

The weather here has been pretty hot the last week or two, I don’t really know how many degrees but It has been hot. 

My companion is awesome!  He works hard, speaks English, and is really funny.  We have this thing down.  When
the kids try to talk English mainly (hello, hello, gringo) I speak Spanish and say I am from Cajamarca (a place
here with lots of gringo skinned people), then my comp speaks English.  The kids really get confused with that.

This next week we will hopefully have our room painted. That is exciting that I helped out so much downstairs at
home, now that will finally pay off.

This whole marriage thing is kind of crazy.  It is an interesting feeling having your sister get married when you
can't be there.  Life is fantastic here.  The work continues on.

Tell everybody thanks for the letters.

-Elder Griffin-

Christmas Challenge

This week was great. My companion (Elder Colquehuanca) de Tacna is absolutely different than
the ones before him. He entered into the room and said, “oh great”.  This was after cleaning
for quite a while.  We took a while and we cleaned it spotless. He really likes everything
perfect. He speaks English and has really helped me out with learning how to speak a lot
better.  He is by far my best companion yet.

This week was interesting.  We have 6 baptisms scheduled for the month of December. We
had a conference with the mission president who had personal revelation right before he
stood up. He said that we are going to have 500 baptisms in the month of December as a
mission. The goal has gone a little further to 20 baptisms in every ward.  We have two
wards so our goal is 40 baptisms in one month. This seems impossible!  However,
everything is impossible that God does...he had Moses part the red sea...had Joseph
Smith, who had the knowledge of a fifth grader translate a ancient record....
everything is possible with God. I know that the goal will be achieved and am very
excited for the opportunity to be a tool in this work.

The six baptisms that we have are, Oscar, Bruna, Carolina, Eusebia, Julio and Jairo.

Oscar was a contact that we taught the first lesson with word of wisdom. We also got
a baptismal date.  But the next time he was as drunk as drunk can be (this was about a
month and a half ago.  After that every time that we would try to contact him he was
not available.  We knew this kid that was assisting with one of the members of the
ward (he is the nephew of Oscar).  We went to the house to talk with Jairo and Oscar
was ready to talk to us. We got talking about everything and I told him...we had a
baptismal date for you and taught you about the word of wisdom...and the next time
you had alcohol problems. He said that He hadn’t had a drink for a month or more.
Long story short he has changed a lot and we have a date for his baptism this week.
He is probably the smartest investigator I have ever had. He knows almost everything
before we teach him. His nephew is really cool too. We need the permission of his mom
for the baptism...I feel that it will come in a short time.

The other investigators are progressing along and I am really excited for the next month.

The purpose of this next month is to give someone a present better than anything they
have ever had.  This present is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I challenge everybody that
reads this to try the same.  Give a great gift of eternal life, share the message of the
true gospel.

I know that God is at the head of this work and that it will just continue to keep growing.  
It is such a great experience to just be part of it!!

My companion is the golden missionary that I have been waiting for a while now.

Love you all.

Changes, but no change

Life is great. This week was really good.
 
We had a lot of lessons and really good investigators. The drunk investigator that I think I told you about 2 months ago,
well every time that we would go to his house he wouldn’t be there.  We have been trying to contact him for about a
month and a half.  The other day while looking for his nephew, who has been going to church, we ran into him.  He
invited us in and got talking.  He said that he hasn’t had anything to drink for about a month.  We thought that was great!  
We have a new baptismal date and goal on the 29 along with his nephew. Also we have 4 others investigators with
dates. The Lord has really blessed us and has been very generous with preparing our investigators.

I figured out where I am going in 2 days changes. It’s the JUNGLE....CHRISTMAS IN THE JUNGLE!!!  Just kidding I
am staying in the same zone and area.  I am really excited for everything.

I have really learned a lot about the mission this change, and am excited to learn more.  I wish that I were going
somewhere else.  Elder Rhoton is getting sent to the jungle.  He really doesn’t want to. It is interesting the way the
Lord works. 

I get to have a sweet Christmas with my Peruvian family BRAVO.  I will probably get to baptize the ones who
decide to have me baptize them.

I am kind of excited but I kind of wish that I could go to the jungle.  Maybe I will get to go there someday.  It is
nice to know that the people in the ward ask how I am.  I wish that they would write.  I am sending some letters
out.  I have got to say part of the family is good. TYLER AND KIPLIN, STEVE AND PENNY, GRANDMA
GRACE, HEIDI AND DAN, and you guys have been great to write.

My companions name is Elder Colquehuanca. I am excited. I have got to go soon, so, I want you to know that
I LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH!!!!!

-Elder Griffin

Baptism of Alison Osario

¿Hola, que tal? Esta semana fue bien cheverè.

This week was a little better than the last.  We are a little slow with investigators right now but the investigators
that we have are good.  Alison had her baptism yesterday. That was really a special and interesting experience.
We had the interview Friday for the baptism on Saturday...but at the interview Hna Osorio said that her family
wouldn’t be down for another day because there were a lot of Chinese people coming to Peru. So we postponed it
another day.  We got to church and her parents and all of the family were there. The bishop asked the parent to
share their testimonies of the church.  That was really cool...because they are both kind of inactive. Her parents,
the Osorios, bought us food the Saturday night before and invited us to eat lunch after the baptism.  The baptism
was really special,the water was really cold and I had to convince her to get in.  The whole time she was saying
¨cold,cold,cold, ¨ but we got in the water and after she was baptized I asked her how it was.  She said cold but
that that part wasn’t important.  I really enjoyed the opportunity to play the piano at the baptism and later eat
at the house.

I also received a huge package that was a really awesome thing.... full of everything that I asked for and more.
I got candy, sweets, books, and scriptures.  I thank my  awesome family for that package and the Osorio family for
delivering it.

We also set up two more baptism dates for the next two weeks. Their names are Julio Navaro and Rosa the vendor
down the street from us.) I don’t know why but every time that we have an appt. with Julio, the day is always
really full of stuff and we end up showing up really late. I always feel really bad about that because time is
really important for the investigators and us. This time we showed up and talked to him about the Book of Mormon.
He said that he has probably had 10 different sets of missionaries over in the past years. Rosa is another religion
and is really friendly but I don’t know if she really wants this in her life right now...it is kind of sad because
she really is awesome...she accepted the baptism date but hasn’t gone to church yet.

Life continues to shoot by like a bullet. Me gusta el obra de nuestro señor Jesucristo.  Yo siento el presencia de
su espiritu guia nos cada dia en nuestro trabajo.

I love you all and really appreciate your support for me and the love that you all show with the letters you send,
and the simple things that you have blessed me with in my life.
Thanks so much. LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

 - Elder Griffin

(communication with Elder Griffin through e-mails and questions)  I love the fact that my
(soon to be) new brother-in law  hasn’t even written me once since I have been out in the
mission...some brother....jk...patience is an attribute of Christ.  I really enjoyed that
package you sent and the movie was quite good.  I was surprised that half of the songs
were the ones I composed in the movie...I edited all of them that is why they put me as
the (composer)on the cover, but I was surprised at how many were my origanals.

Changes are coming up soon and I am excited to see where I am getting sent.  Three times
in the same area would be interesting.  I think that it would be a good change to go to
the jungle. I love my area but change is always good. I have heard that the jungle is
awesome and that there are cool things to buy.  It is interesting because Christmas is
coming up...We also get to go to the temple on Wednesday. I am very excited for that.
We usually go every change about in the middle of it.  It’s a really cool opportunity.
If you’re in the jungle because of the distance that is one of the things you get jipped on. 

One investigator that is catholic we were talking about how it isn’t necessary to baptize
a baby and he said something I never heard. He said that if the mom slept around and
committed sins that the sin would travel through the blood into the baby and so it was the
baby’s sin too. He said that if a baby is sick then they baptize it for it’s health. 
My companion told him that we baptize for the remission of sins. It was definitely interesting.

We are done with our one-hour on the computer and I am slowly drowning in the fact I can’t communicate in
English for any longer. I really love you and hope that you continue to have great weeks and soon enough
I will be home.  It is weird to think about right now because it seems so long but at Christmas I have 6
months in the mission exactly.... wow it is amazing that I will be a fourth of the way done with the
mission at Christmas.  Love you all lots,

Chau!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another Change

My first companion was Elder Apaza from Puno, Peru.  My new companion is Elder Cruz of Arequipa, Peru. 
He was in the jungle and got dengue.  It is a very scary disease that’s called the dengue bone break
fever).  He got changed because they don’t want the risk of him possibly catching it again.  He also
has some problems with his stomach.  We have been in and out of the hospital here for the last week.  
Our numbers are down just a little bit because of that.  I trust that everything will be good.

I had a really good week. We had to reschedule the baptism of Alison Osorio because of the change
we had.  Her dad went to church for the first time in a while. That was really cool.  Her baptism
is for the first of November.  We also found 2 really cool families.  The first has two kids that
are members but their mom, dad, and uncle are not members.  We taught the uncle about the Book of
Mormon and gave him one to read.  We also set two visits for the parents. Ireally feel that they
will all get baptized soon.  The other family we contacted a guy in the street that I thought was
gringo.... because a few people from here are a little close to the same skin color as we are and
I assumed, anyway, we talked to him and his wife and son aren’t members but he is inactive.  He
really is an awesome guy and we have taught his wife the first lesson.  I know that we are just
tools in this great work and that the only things that we have to do is have the spirit everyday,
walk around and talk to everybody.  I know that the Lord is our rock and is the only thing that
keeps us going some days.
Thanks mom for everything!  I was talking to Elder Rhoton last night about everything, and I
realized that I was really kind of a bad kid growing up.   You guys were always there to help me
out and were always there to love me.  I love you all so much and can’t wait for the day when I
see your loving faces again.   
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING IN MY LIFE, for putting up with me for 18 yrs.

Mil Gracias.

- Elder Griffin

I also forgot to tell you that we went to the zoo and had some fun. I took some really cool pictures.

Elder Christofferson visited the CCM.  He shook every single missionaries hands.  He talked about the importance
of us being on the mission and what things we can improve on as missionaries.  He told us the exact process that
they go through when they call missionaries.  Everything that he said was just way cool.  He is such a powerful
apostle of God.

The Gospel Changes Lives

This week was good. We had the baptism of Miguel Fernandez and it was really cool. He is such a strong man and really has a powerful and spiritual testimony of the gospel. I love the feeling of seeing a life change and really have the person see some light in their life. We have two more scheduled baptisms for the next two weeks. Alison Osorio and Jasmine Gonzalez. We were walking yesterday and walked close to this guy, I had a really bad feeling over me and continued walking I looked back and saw him looking at us. I asked my companion did you feel something bad. He said, “You felt that too”! The spirit talks to us in subtle small ways, but He is constantly watching over us.
Artemio received the priesthood yesterday. I wasn’t there to see him bless the sacrament but the other missionaries said that it was pretty cool. Alejandra is really good and continues to go to church. Her mom is really kind of hard hearted. She was (BORN) catholic but still claims to be catholic. She doesn’t really want too much to do with the church.

Yes, Miguel is the doctor and really is amazingly smart. The parents of Alison Osorio, an investigator, (Alison is a future member, her dad is inactive and her mom is active) has an aunt in Utah.

The soda is kind of a problem, we drink soda almost every meal. NOT REALLY MY CHOICE BUT IT IS BETTER THAN THE WATER HERE. Everything is good. We are going to the zoo today. The (pouch) mail is the slowest. Aleni sent me a letter July 24 and I just barely got it. Elder Christoferson is speaking to us all in the CCM (MTC) on Wednesday.

Pay attention in Seminary

Life is great. I received a new companion...ELDER APAZA…he is very different from my last companion. He really is what I have been praying for. He is from Puno Peru and has been out on the mission for about 11 months. He has taught me so much already and now when people ask me who my dad (of the mission) is I will say oh Elder Apaza but Elder Eguez was my first companion. He and I get along great he is energetic and really likes the work. We both love contacting and together are a machine. His testimony of tithing and of everything is amazing....he also really knows a lot of scriptures...my weakness because I didn’t memorize a lot of scriptures in seminary...a lesson to all you kids...go to seminary and memorize scriptures. It will help you a lot. This week was great. We have 1 investigator named Miguel he is 26, is a doctor here and is dating a member. We were over there to eat one day and we had talked to him a little bit but for some reason we didn’t write his information down...he called us about 3 days later wanting to be taught, because his girlfriend wants to get married in the temple. Yes! We have taught him all the lessons and have a date for Saturday. People are chosen and prepared for us and all we are is tools in the Lord's hands.

Tell the family I really enjoy hearing from them and love their uplifting words because missionary work can be very difficult at times and I really enjoy hearing about everybody.

It has been a little cold here. I really have a lot of pictures that I will hopefully copy on to a cd and send off in the next p-day.

Do you know that my six month and eighteen month mark are on Christmas day? I really think that is pretty cool. Time goes by pretty quick here. I was able to look at the blog with the zone leaders because on the p-day I was in their area. It looks pretty cool. It is one thing we aren’t really supposed to do but they did it because they have a little more privileges.

The blog is really cool. Tell dad that we do get to play soccer almost every p-day but as far as national goes PERU is not good. They played Bolivia and got their butt kicked 3 to 0....not really too proud.

It gets kind of cold here because of the humidity and other factors...It really isn’t too bad but it gets a little cold. I have heard from all the missionaries that a camera card will get stolen in the package because the mail system is screwed up here. I think it will be easy just have two cds one for me (for safety) and one for you. I really think that the comp CAMBIO-change was a good CAMBIO-change.

I really think that it is cool to be able to communicate a little bit by e-mail with my family. At least we don’t have to wait 3 weeks to send letters and get a reply.
Love ya lots and keep the letters coming.

New Companion, Same Area

This week was really a good week. We did get to watch all four sessions of conference 3 in English and the last one in Spanish. I really enjoyed all the talks and really took in a lot as a missionary. I love hearing from Elder Oaks after he visited our home stake. I was a little disappointed to hear the last one in Spanish because I had to try to translate it in English. The Elder that gave the prayer at the end of the fourth session is our area 70 Elder Nash...we have had many opportunities to talk to him and I really enjoy his presence. Monday we visited the areas that Elder Egüez had served. It was kind of sad a lot of the people weren’t home but we talked to some of them and it was really fun. I said good bye to Elder Egüez yesterday. We really had some good times and some bad times...I learned a lot about patience and controlling my temper. I also learned a lot about challenging people to different commitments. I will actually kind of miss him. Today I am receiving my new companion his name is Elder Apaza. I really don’t know a lot about him, but I heard he is energetic which will be a good thing. Artemio and another investigator Victor visited conference with us. I have a cd with all the pictures but need to make a copy. I didn’t really have any weird experiences this week...I know it’s boring. I really feel like because it was the last week of his mission it was a little unproductive but I am looking forward to the new companion.

I forgot to tell you that I about got sent to the jungle but that the president for some reason changed his mind. I am staying in my same area here in Tahuantinsuyo but I only have one ward.

Artemio's Baptism

This week has been a great one.
My interesting experience this week is that I got robbed of 3 soles about 1 dollar. Some guy with cuts on his wrist asked me how much money I had on me because he is a robber... this day I only had three soles. I felt like telling him, that was successful go buy yourself a chocolate bar and an Inca Cola. but I didn’t!! Our golden investigator with a baptism date was as drunk as anyone I have ever seen. It really kind of made me sad at first, but we are going to work with him and hopefully see if we can’t get his problems taken care of.

Artemio Alfaro Dias...my favorite investigator and my first investigator got baptized yesterday and guess who baptized him....me!!! It was the coolest experience that I have ever had and the feeling that I actually baptized the first investigator that I taught in my mission is awesome. Elder Rhoton and Elder Fidler were really good about it because it was in there area...Hermano Rhoton su hijo es un buen misionero y es mi mejor amigo (Brother Rhoton’s son is a great missionary and he is my best friend)....thanks for posting to my blog.

My companion and I have just had some hard times trying to communicate our differences. He is the leader of the district and my senior companion....he likes to do things different than I do and it is hard to be patient with him. He doesn’t try to do the same for me. He just doesn’t communicate well, he gets angry at me when I do something wrong and never shows patience and it isn’t like he is perfect....he has his weaknesses also but I really try to be patient......that is the one thing that I have learned about this exchange is patience....because you know my temper and I have really learned how to control it. I just remind myself only one more week....

Life is great and my first exchange is almost done. It is crazy to think of how time flies. I love you all and am always ready to hear from you...I love this mission!!!!

My area isn’t exactly beautiful but the view when we go up in the hills is really cool. I am thinking that if you and dad want to visit this area after the mission it might be a good thing for dad to get trained on how to fire a gun and buy one...jk.

I am Great.....I do need to continue studying the language...I love you and the family....BYE!!!!

New Elders from Bolivia and guns

(We debated whether to post this letter or not as it is a little frightening. In the end we felt like it is important to show the protection and care that the missionaries are under and that testimonies are strengthened through our trials in life.)
Life is good. This week has been interesting...We received the two new elders from Bolivia and that split our area. The ones name is Elder Fidler and the other is Elder Rhoton. ASK DAD IF HE KNOWS TOM RHOTON because he served the same mission as dad.
The new missionaries are really cool but the bad news is that we don’t get to baptize the four people we had set up. Some seeds you plant and others you reap. We also have four more baptisms set up in our area. I actually had a gun experience this week. DONT FREAK OUT I AM STILL ALIVE...but it scared the .... out of me. All 4 of us were on the bus, I was in the back and this guy sat next to me a normal looking guy. I started talking to him about the church, when he started saying stuff that I didn’t understand. I said NO entiende -I don’t understand. He pulled out a hand gun out of his jacket secretly and said entiende esto- understand this...I said ya. He put his finger over his mouth not to say anything...I thought I was going to get robbed and shot. Once more he asked me if I understood what it was but this time he did the action of death the finger and the neck thing....I honestly thought I was dead. He asked who I was with and I said the two other gringos and my companion. He said yo su amigo-I am your friend. I didn’t understand because one second he had a gun pointed at me and the next he is saying he is my friend he pulled out a badge (secret police) and smiled..

I still don’t know if he was an actual police man or what but I know that the lord protects us every single day and that every single day is a blessing because I did not know if I had another day. I pray for protection every single prayer and I am alive. That was a good testimony builder. AGAIN I AM ALIVE DONT FREAK.

Things with my companion have been interesting but we have everything worked out and I have learned patience and other great virtues.

I love you and need to tell you that I can’t accept emails from anybody else but my immediate family. TELL THE FAM TO FORWARD THE EMAILS THROUGH YOU.
Love you and hope to hear from you soon.

8-15-08

On Saturday we had the baptism of Aracely who we taught all the lessons to and her grandpa baptized her. It was really funny because the zone leaders were supposed to bring the clothes, but they didn't show up. Twenty minutes later we got the clothes from the stake president who just happened to be in the building.

We have four other baptisms scheduled for next week. Artemio is all up for getting baptized and is done with all the lessons. He continues to dig deep into the scriptures everyday and continues to amaze us by what he has learned. I am surprised because we haven't been here that long, but we are already seeing success. I play the piano sometimes. Our pentionista has one and the churches have one, but time is very limited. That is the good side...I shook a guy's hand that I didn't know was drunk. He grasped my hand and was saying some gibberish that I didn't completely understand but knew wasn't good. I loosed of his hand and continued on my way. I know that the lord watches over us and protect us us as servants of the lord.

We are in Lima North which is a really big part of the city of Lima. We do have mountain hills and climb them every day. Recently it has been kind of cold, fifties. Some days it is kind of hot around 70-80 degrees. The air here is horrible for my skin and my clothes because it is sooooo dirty. It is honestly a huge city. I would say it is very poor in some parts and middle class in others.

We have a pentionista...she cooks breakfast and dinner every day, but lunch is in the members houses (which can be interesting). She is a pretty good cook. We actually live in the other part of the house with her family. They are really cool, parents and one kid.

Picture

Taylor while in the Peru MTC

9/8/08

Family and Friends,

The mission is great...
Last week was kind of a hard one. Elder Eguez and I had some cosas (differences) we needed to work out. We had a comp switch for a day and I was with Elder Vigil from Layton Utah. He has been out for quite a while and has some good experiences that he shared. It really taught me some valuable cosas about how to make the best out of every situation. Things changed a little bit..

This week has been good. The members continue to feed us references and help us with our area, it is interesting how big of an area it is. Six investigators showed up to church and we continue to try our best. Artemio has one more lesson to go and is kind nervous about the baptism coming up. He wants it a week or two later. We talked to him about praying to know if it was right for him or not. He agreed and I really think that he will have some great experiences a head. It is awesome because when we try our hardest and continue to work through our hard times things turn out great.

The area is interesting. It is dirty and really poor and the people are humble and I think probably every day I get cat calls. The Spanish is going well and I took a few pictures but will send them in a while. It is so hard to find enough time to email so please help keep everyone updated.

Love,

Elder Griffin

9/01/08

Yo vive en el Campo ahorra. Vida es bueno..vida es muy differente aqui pero es muy bonita. (translation: I live in the Campo Ahorra. Life is good. Life is very different here but it is very pretty.) I have been here for 4 days and it has been great. we have talked to a lot of people in the area and lots of people are ready to hear the gospel. My companion's name is Elder Egüez he is great. I love to talk to everybody but he is kind of quiet. He came straight from the jungle where he baptized 11 people. He has had alot of sucess while teaching. Hopefully we will have the same sucess here. 

Our barrio y zona es (ward and zone is): Tahuantinsuyo-zona, libertad y habana-barrios

I have jumped out of my comfort level here. We go on buses for long distances that are really packed in with a lot of other people which presents a great oppurtunity to share the gospel. 3 times I have been able to stand up and share a short message and handed out folletos (pamphlets) sobre nuestro religion. So far we have had great success. We have one person who I think will get baptized named Artemio. We met him at church yesterday. He is about 26 and single and he was invited to church by a friend a while back. He has read so much about our church and he already had a Book of Mormon and a couple other church materials. He has read so much and is very interested. We gave him the first lesson with flip charts and other ancient materials because my companion has them and they work great. We commited him to continue reading the BOM and to live the law of Chastity and the word of Wisdom and he gladly agreed to both. He is really amazing and we are meeting again with him on Thursday, He is giving us breakfast because he really wants to.

We have met some great members here and they are really into telling their friends about the gospel...it is great.

8/18/08

Life is golden! I am having a great time. We went proselyting again and I had to switch companions again. The reason is because one of the jovens was having a hard time with there Spanish and because my companion is good we switched for proselyting. It was really good though, we knocked on a wrong door and talked to a lady who isn't Catholic and didn't believe in the bible. That is out of the norm here. We ended up talking to her and she was really interested in our message of the restored gospel and the atonement and she accepted a BOM and said she would pray about it to know if it was true...

I spent 4 hours today at Migraciones..I am now a citizen of Peru!! It's crazy to think in less than a week my whole MTC\CCM experience is done with. I believe we leave on Wednesday and hopefully I will write you again on our next Preperation Day...I love yall and hope to continue hearing from ya!

8/11/08

Life is great! We went tracting on Saturday and that makes three times..did I tell you that last time proselyting we finished up at one of the inactive houses and were walking in the street..I had a distinct impression that I was supposed to talk to a kid that was sitting on a porch and it was awesome. His name is Junior, he is 16 and Catholic. I ended up giving about three fourths of the lesson and we committed him to go to church and got his address.

My Comp. Elder Villegas is gone, he left on Monday. I got another companion Elder Taliercio. His parents are Argentine but hasn't spoke since he was really young, but he speaks great! We are now called Ansionos because we have been here for 3 weeks. We went proselyting on Saturday and it was great. This time we placed 5 books of Mormon. I wasn't really feeling 100% because of lack of sleep and I was a little car sick. Anyway, I prayed the night before to meet someone that was meant for me to teach. We walked outside of the chapel and to the corner to cross the street. A middle aged man wass walking across the cross walk jamming to his music with headphones on, so what do I do? I say Hi!! We ended up talking to him on the side of the street and he was really interested. We told him all about the church and the Book of Mormon. He took a book of Mormon said he would read it and that he would go to church the next day. We ended up placing 3 of the 5 books. That experience was really cool and instead of proselyting in the poor part of town we proselyted in a city right above the beach named Baronko.

Really funny story--we had a member of the ward that new the area go with us. He was like 70 years old and really funny. He would start crossing the street---busy street--without looking both ways. He got really close to getting hit by a couple of cars. To top it off we had a paper with about 12 homes we were supposed to go to. We only made it to one because he got lost soooooo much. Another funny experience was one of the times that we got lost we figured we would just proselyte and there were two older ladies in a newspaper stand just talking with food sitting next to them. We greeted them and then they start eating their food with it 5 inches away from their face. The one lady said "disculpame..comida (forgive me we are eating)". They weren´t even thinking about eating before, but when we got there it was game time.

We also got to go to a bunch of historical sites. We went to the palace that the president stays at and the beach, huge catholic chapels and everything I took pictures so I'll send them. I also bought a cool Peruvian bag to carry my PMG and scriptures in and a Peru futból jersey. They cost about 12 U.S. dollars. The jersey was about 8 and the bag was only 3 the lady kept insisting: "8 soles...pero yo tengo 7 soles y me gusta mucho pero yo muy pobre".

Well Love you all! Hope you write me back...

8/7/09

Everything is great!! They just moved my native companion and I am now an Asiano (elder of the elders). Three more weeks here! The work is crazy we have now gone proselyting two times in the streets of Ville Segrada (sacred valley). Everything was amazing, I got smacked in the back of the head by the Holy Ghost to talk to a sixteen year old kid named Junior. It was funny because I gave most of the lesson with my companion only testifying...he ended up giving us his address so we can come by again and said he would come to church. Proselyting is so fun, we get to go into dog poop ridden streets, houses with chickens running around and as more flies than you can imagine. Yet the people are so ready to hear the message. I am going to miss my native companion, because today and tomorrow we are getting new companions and I don´t know if he will be Latino, we still get to proselyte on Saturday.

Today we get to go out and shop at the mall and live like a normal person for one day...no tag and we get to eat pizza it will be fun!! I love you all and hope everything is great.

Elder Griffin

First Proselyting Experience

From Elder Griffin's email (8/29/08):

On Saturday we went proselyting for the first time! It was really interesting, originally my companion and I were supposed to go out twice that day, but my companion hurt his ankle in futbol...no bueno. We only got to go during the day and well, it was interesting. The people are so poor, they only have four walls and sometimes no roof with a dirt floor. I saw about 300 dogs in the streets. It is very hard to understand the people when they talk two hundred miles per hour. I love the people so much and can tell when I talk to them that God loves them so much and wants the best for them.... the experience was kind of scary, but I learned so much.


The first person we visited was inactive. He was very excited for us to be there and explained that he hadn’t been to church for a couple months because had a lot of work every day, including Sunday. I explained to him that before the mission I had a job where I had to work on Sunday and I quit it. I told him that I knew that If he sacrificed certain things in his life that were important to him than God will bless him so much in his life...he committed to going to church on Sunday.


Yesterday was the Independence Day for Peru. We had a feast and learned the national anthem, it was really cool. I have to go, CHAU!!

BIG SUPRISE...he loves the food

Blurbs from his most recent email:

I have had so many great experiences here. When I got off the plane...scary. The Border Patrol wasn´t that bad. I was really surprised when all the people with signs were shouting in the airport trying to taxi people. You think that the drivers in Utah are bad? Nothing in comparison to here. We drive on the road and see people packed into buses like donuts in a fat mans belly. The poverty is very sad here, you can see it by looking at the buildings/homes.

I love the CCM, I have learned so much here...a lot of it is because of my latino companion Elder Villegas. He is very helpful with the Language and very compassionate towards everybody. The food here is authentic...very good and some times picante (hot). I can tell it is going to be a great experience. Today was P-Day. We went to the Lima Temple and it was Elder Villegas´s first time...it was really a cool experience.

I will continue to keep y'all updated. Chau!!

Tender mercies

The Earls, our very close family friends took a trip to the airport on Wednesday (the day he flew out) to drop off a family member. As they were waiting in line they saw a group of missionaries, and SURPRISE, one was Elder Griffin. They said he looks very happy and seems to be doing excellent. It was especially great that the Earls got to opportunity to see him because they weren't able to be here for the farewell. 

In PERU!

I am now in Lima, Peru!! I am alive and well. The flying time was 10 hours plus layovers. Peruvian food is great, we get to eat authentic food here at the CCM! The Lima temple is beautiful...I can't wait to go through it. My CCM companion is from Bolivia and will be serving in Eastern Peru. I have heard from so many people that the Provo MTC is like jail...try having 13 foot gates and walls surrounding the place, along with some people at the entrance. Life is good. Hope to hear from ya!

Finally...

We FINALLY heard from Taylor! He sounds like he's doing fantastic! From the letter:

"So I can now say a prayer in Spanish and also bare my testimony. The gift of tounges definitely comes...but not without work. I have worked so hard in the last week that we have been here..but the rewards are great. It is amazing how many elders and sisters are here and the power is multiplied by many with the unity that we have. So....the elder that we met at first....he is my companion in the M.T.C. we get along way good and he is also into music. That's crazy huh!!"

Elder Griffin and his 1st companion Elder Layton

Taylor is gone!

Yesterday the family dropped Taylor off at the MTC. We all felt a lot of mixed emotions as we watched him for the last time in two years. We know he'll make a great missionary and can't wait to hear from him! We attached pictures from our last few minutes with Elder Griffin at the MTC.

Last family picture for a while...

The Griffin kids

Taylor and Mom

Taylor and Dad

The handsome Griffin men.

Taylor and Tyler

Elder Griffin