Fwd: Chapel Hills Week 1

   Well this week was a whole new experience! I got transferred to Chapel Hills which means I moved about a block! Pikes Peak YSA covers Chapel Hills and I'm not gonna lie it is kind of weird to see YSAs families. Yesterday I legit counted the families I recognized and it was like half the ward. Crazy right?! This week was really just getting used to biking again. It's crazy how much you can lose in 3 months but it was a struggle to get back into it. Now it's not too bad but it still SUCKS! We stopped by a bunch of families in our area just to get to know them and build member trust. I had to start carring around a sweat rag cause it was in the high 90s last week and it was only that week. This week won't be as hot which will feel amazing. 

   That's really all I can remember from this week to be honest, just a bunch of stop bys and sweaty shirts. I hope y'all have a fantastic week and continue to grow your FAITH in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

  Elder Grandon

YSA Week 13

   This week was a little slower but not by very much. We stopped by a lot of potential gators and had a bunch of lessons, one of which was with Cameron.

   So firstly, our lesson with Cameron was the bomb.com! he's so ready to improve his life with the gospel. He practically taught us the discussion! He's a fantastic person. After Cameron we were walking out and I just felt uneasy. So we went back in and saw this woman that was obviously under some sort of distress. We sat down with her and started "defusing" the situation. We figured out some stuff she had went through recently and throughout her life. One thing she said was that despite what happened her faith will never be shaken! We were in awe when she said that. We gave her a Book of Mormon and promised her that it'd give her comfort and peace in her life. 

   That's really all I remember from this week! Sorry everyone for the extra short email. I hope yall have a fantastic week and continue to grow your FAITH in Jesus Christ! 

  Elder Grandon  

Wait... it's been a week already?

> This week was ridiculously fast. I hardly remember what we did. Only a couple things come to mind, so excuse the shortness of the email.
>
> One thing that I remember very clearly was a lesson we had with this guy named Cameron. He was a referral from the Palmer Park area. His situation is the most peculiar I've ever seen but it's pushed him into finding the truth... which ultimately led him to us. So we met with him in Wendy's across from where he works and he knows that the Book of Mormon is true and legit could've been baptized that day but he has to go to church first. He's a former Jehovah Witness and after hearing some stuff they believe and knew that's not how God should work. He's been bouncing from just about every religion and says the "Mormon" view of God and Jesus sounds the most correct. He's read a lot of the Book of Mormon and feels that it's corresponding church is correct. So that was pretty awesome!
>
> The other thing I remember happened yesterday. One of our recent converts took us on a tour of the Air Force Academy. He snuck us into the living quarters and behind the gates where only cadets and teachers are allowed. So we could've gotten in huge trouble but he assured us we were fine, so we just went with it! By far my favorite place we went into was the chapel. That place is super awesome and really big! It's split into like 4 or 5 different denominations. My favorite part of the Chapel was the Catholic part for sure! It was super beautiful. The whole base is amazing. At the end he offered to take us to their first football game on the 31st of August. Of course we wanted to go. So hopefully that happens in the future!
>
> That's really all I got for this week! Hope y'all have a fantastic week and continue to grow your FAITH in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Till next week
> Elder Grandon

YSA :)

>> Howdy! This week was full of adventures and fun times.
>>
>> Firstly, this week we got the chance to go to the Air force Academy to teach one of our recent converts, Bryan! This guy is so awesome!!! He is in the middle of training right now and still wanted to meet with us. He told us his conversion story and both of us were blown away by how prepared this young cadet was for the gospel. We taught him the first New Member Discussion and his testimony on the prophet, the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith...etc was so incredibly strong! After the lesson he told us that classes started this week on Thursday but still offered to take us on a tour of the Academy! We of course obliged so we are going on a tour next Sunday after church. I think I'm most excited to see the chapel while it's being used.
>>
>> This week we also had Zone Conference. Its incredible how much I can learn from President Stevenson! I think it's extra fascinating because everything he's ever said and will ever say I've read in the scriptures or in Preach My Gospel but always seem to be, for lack of a better term, blank minded when he brings stuff up! I caught myself saying "I don't remember reading that" or "where is that?" a number of times but now that I think about it afterwards I can remember exactly where everything is. He's definitely a man called of God. I'm sad because he goes home 3 weeks before I do but he has served very faithfully so he deserves a vacation!
>>
>> One miracle we saw this week when we were looking for someone who had been previously taught, we bumped into someone who is seriously prepared for the gospel. We knocked on his door and asked is this girl lived here. He said no but then stepped out the door. My initial thought was that we were about to defend our religion, but I could not have been any more wrong! Instead he came out and started talking very respectfully towards us. We later figured out that he had been on this lifetime search for something that could give him any sort of comfort or peace. We told him that we teach about God and how to strengthen your relationship with him to obtain the peace and comfort he was looking for. All of the sudden he opened up to us about his past experiences, times he's felt alone and some other stuff that is gonna be kept between my companion and I. We talked for like an hour and a half answering his questions and concerns then closed with this... (Let's say his name was John) "Well John you seem to be a religious guy and a firm believer in Christ. I do not believe us being here was an accident in any way. You've expressed your feelings about everything you've been through and how you were looking harder than ever at this time to find truth and ultimately peace in this life. I don't think my companion and I were just placed in this area for no reason. We help people like you to find peace in this like and in the life to come. I'm a firm believer that there are no such things as coincidences. You just happened to move in here 3 weeks ago and replace this other person on the same journey as you. We just happened to be led to this complex for the first time in a year. That is no coincidence. God has placed you here to be found by his restored church and by his missionaries. He works in funny and mysterious ways and I think this is one of them!" We then bore some, if I do say so myself, powerful testimonies on God's plan for us and families, and left him with 2nd Nephi 2(basically answers "why bad things happen to good people") and left him. He's such an open minded person and promised us he will read the chapter and text us his thoughts and feelings.
>>
>> Well that's really all I have for this week. I hope y'all have a fantastic week and continue to grow your FAITH in our Lord and Savior, even Jesus Christ.
>> Elder Grandon
>> Pics:
>> The Air Force Academy
>> Testing out some features on my camera😂
>>

Fwd: Way too fast

>
> This week went by way too fast so please excuse the shortness of my email.
> I can't really recall much but you'll get all I remember. This week we did a lot of member lessons and that might be the reason for no cool stories but it is what it is. HA HA HA! We met with a family yesterday after church that made me want to be home. They were the nicest country folk I've ever met and it reminded me of when I worked at Bro. Cane's farm(for those of you who don't know he was a member I use to work for)! We, when I say that I mean I, offered out services right off the bat. They unfortunitly didn't have anything right then so that was a bummer but they said they would save our number and if anything popped up, we would be their first call. They have like 4 horses and all of them are so beautiful. There is a Momma and a baby and their interactions were so adorable.
> Well I officially hit my year mark last week on Thursday. It is so unreal to tell members I've been out for a year. It sounds so different to me but it's a good different. We didn't really do much except work that day. So nothing special and nothing got burned so yeah! I stayed safe and unburned and that's all that matters.
> Well that's about it from me. I hope y'all have a fantastic week and continue to grow your FAITH in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
> Elder Grandon

Year Mark

Surprise dinner appointment this week in celebration of one year done!

Fwd: New Companion, Who Dis?

> Howdy everyone! This week I got a new companion. His name is Elder Whitted. He's hecka dope, and very hard working.
>
> This week was really highlighted by the service we did at the El Paso County Fair. This was the second time we worked at the fair. The first time we went we switched cars woth the Zone leaders and I forgot my sunscreen was in the other car so it was kinda a rough 5 hours. I came home looking like a lobster. This week I was smarted and wore a very light jacket. I wanted to burn my legs this time so I wore shorts and didn't put sunscreen on anything but my face and neck. I didn't get the burn I wanted except on my calves for some odd reason.
>
> This week I hit a FLIPPIN YEAR!!! LET'S GO!!! It's so crazy to think I've been out a year. *MIND EXPLOSION* and then before you know it I'll be at 18 months and that's when I'll really start to freak out a lot!
>
> Well I think that's all for this week. I hope you all have a fantastic week and continue to GROW your faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! TIll next week(maybe LOL)
> Elder Grandon

A Long Time Coming

> Howdy everyone! Sorry it's been such a long time since you've heard from me, I guess I haven't written for 6 weeks because I would just call home and that would be it.
>
> A lot has happened these past 6 weeks. I got transferred to Pikes Peak YSA and it's defiantly different than any family ward I've ever been in. We don't really get fed that often but the members are still cool. We actively teach 5 returning members and that alone is a lot to plan for and then add on investigator lessons and service and before you know it, it's the transfer. My companion is Elder Kim. He's hecka cool. He came from LA and is one transfer away from returning. Unfortunately he is getting transferred to Castle Rock so I don't get to kill him off. I've served around him when I was finishing up training so him and I were already good friends. My new companion is Elder Whitted. I've never served around him or even heard of him but I've been told that he's pretty cool. I get him tomorrow so yeah.
>
> Last month I was able to head to the Temple as a "halfway" milestone. I haven't actually hit a year yet but because the temple will be closed from July-October my group got to go early. I tell you what, going to the temple as a regular person is already like a spiritual wave but as a missionary its amplified by like 1000! The spirit was so strong I felt like Lehi. I about fell asleep driving home. That much spirit is amazing but MANNNN it sure does ware you out. It's crazy to think I went to the Temple over a month ago. I feel like I was just there. Time really does fly on a mission.
>
> Speaking of time, next week I hit a YEAR!!!! That's so crazy. I feel like I just hugged my Family and reported to the MTC, but I guess not. HA HA HA! I'm a year away from being a college Freshman, I'm a year away from seeing my family again, I'm a year away from seeing my best friend, AKA my dog Hercules, again! He probably doesn't even remember what I look like LOL!! It truely does speak for how special missions are. Sure they sound like a long time but then you realize you have 7 transfers left and you kind of question how you got here. I love this opportunity to set myself aside and serve the people here. My football coach use to say "Leave it all out on the field so much so that I have to carry you off to the locker room! I will gladly drag myself out there to carry you off!" I think that's gonna be my moto for this year. "Leave it all out in the field". Jesus will provide strength. I know that from personal experiences.
>
> Finding in any YSA ward is extremely difficult. It's not that we have problems finding people but the fact that we have to find people that fit into specifics is hard! We've found several people who are golden people but because they're married or has a child or is over 31yrs old we eventually have to pass them off to the elders or sisters in that area. We cover 9 family wards but have to find YSA people within those boundaries and if we don't then we gift those missionaries with referrals. Elder Kim and I have become pros at sending referrals. It's defiantly hard but I wouldn't want it any other way. If it was easy everyone would do it.
>
> Well that's really all I got. I hope you all CONTINUE to grow your faith and LOVE for our Savior, Jesus Christ! Have a fantastic week!
> Elder Grandon
>
> Pics:
> I've been studying the P.O.S. a lot this week
> A really cool burger place in my area that has 2 grilled cheese sandwiches as the buns for the burger, it's called Crave Burgers
> When we went to the park to contact😂

Transfers and Mission wide Conference

     This week we had a Mission wide Conference. Elder Neil L. Anderson was supposed to come but had an emergency last minute so he sent Elder Jose A. Teixeira. He is in the presidency of the 70. He helped us with ways to get more referrals from whoever we talk to whether that be members, or non-members. He also told us why it is so extremely important to be aligned with the will of God and the First Presidency. He even made joke about the First Presidency, ok maybe not a joke joke but joked about the order of their names! So he said if you take the first letter in their last name and put it in hoe they sit and take pictures(Oaks, Nelson, Eyring) It makes the word ONE! Then he said if we are one with the Lord then we will see 100x more success in our areas. 

     This Tuesday is transfers. I'm leaving Oakwood after 3 transfers(about 4 and a half months) and going to Pikes Peak YSA!!!!!! I'm super excited to be serving in the YSA area that covers both of my areas(Oakwood and Fountain) and from my understanding we play a lot of basketball so that should be super fun.

     That's really all I have for this week! I hope y'all have a fantastic week and CONTINUE to grow your faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ. Love y'all!

   Elder Grandon      

Zone Conference

> This week we had Zone Conference. One thing that president stressed is waking up at 6:30am. He quoted John 14:15, "If ye love me, keep my commandments" He then said that once we accepted our call waking up at 6:30am is a commandment. "Blessings and miracles happen at 6:30!" I realized that I need to do a better job at getting out of bed at 6:30. Sometimes I lay there for like 15-20mins and sometimes I pop right up. I need to get more consistent at that if I want to see even more miracles on my mission.
>
> That's really all I have for this week. I hope yall have a fantastic week and CONTINUE to grow your faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ!
> Elder Grandon

Still in Oakwood

     Well this week we were hecka busy for the last three days of the week! We found 2 new people to add to our teaching pool. Corbin and David! They are college kids from Utah. We made extra sure they weren't members, but they agreed to meet with us and to come to church. As they said "All of their friends are Mormon but we don't really know what they believe" so that's a miracle, and the best part is that they're in the apartment complex! No biking to meet with them! On Saturday we had a baptism after basketball so we had to zoom home and change. Unfortunately he wasn't our investigator but Elder Butterfield did get to baptize him. His name is Ron. He was one of the regulars at Monday basketball. The new saying is "The 3 B's! Basketball Brings Baptisms!" He's a really cool guy! Hopefully we see him today at basketball! 

     That's really it! I hope y'all have a fantastic week and CONTINUE to grow in your faith of our Savior, Jesus Christ!

   Elder Grandon 

Oakwood

> This week was kinda a blur so don't expect a super long email. We were given the assignment to give Come, Follow Me's to the less actives in our complex and we finally got around to that! We didn't catch anyone but we still dropped off a copy for them with a letter from our Elders Quorum Presidents contact information. Hopefully they contact him so we can get the ball rolling and get them back to church.
>
> We also had interviews this week and they went pretty well. President looked super tired. he was just in Alamosa the day before so he had to ZOOM up here for this zones interviews. That's like a 4 and a half hour drive. He said he didn't get home till around 11. He also had dinner down there so it was kinda on him, but still!!!
>
> That's all folks! I hope you have a fantastic week and continue to grow in your faith of our Lord and Savior
> Elder Grandon

Oakwood Week... I don't even remember

> This week was kinda boring but exciting at the same time. Well I finally got a bike so thanks to my parents! Love you guys! It rides really smooth but it did take a little adjustment but that's normal. We finally got in 2 new member lesson with Dyutoe so he's just that much closer to being done. We invited him to our dinner with the Bishop and met with him on Sunday at the Miles house then had lunch afterwards. This guys testimony is so strong in the gospel he almost makes me look like the recent convert! He's awesome.
>
> Last week was transfers and we got like a whole new district! Elder Butterfield and I were the only companionship that stayed together. We got a new sister and 2 new Zone Leaders, and a new district leader. A lot of change, but I've served around the new Zone Leaders when they weren't ZLs and they're both super dope!
>
> Easter was super good! We had 2 dinners(in true missionary fashion)! We probably could've had one but we told one dinner that we had an "appointment" about 2 hours later, we just didn't tell them what kind of appointment. LOL whoops ;) We had so much food and so much leftovers. It's super nice. we're set for like the rest of the week!
>
> Well that's really all I got! i hope y'all have a fantastic week and continue to grow in your faith of our Lord and Savior!
> Elder Grandon

This Week in Oakwood

> This week we were hecka busy. We finished going through the whole area and visited all the less actives. A lot weren't home but a lot of them were home! We talked to a couple families about General Conference(which defiantly feels like it was yesterday and not a week ago) and ended up talking to 3 or 4 families for the whole day. It was pretty awesome!
>
> Yesterday we had an "open" sacrament meeting. It was kinda like Fast and Testimony meeting but we were instructed to give our feelings about Conference. Kinda near the end our recently baptized convert, Uydoe(you-dough) got up and bore a super strong testimony about how General Conference was one of his converting tools, and how he had already defended this church to his Uncle and Aunt. It was very powerful and spiritual!
>
> That's really it for this week! I hope you all have a fantastic week and continue to grow in your faith of our savior!
> Elder Grandon

Conference

>
> This week went by super fast. We stopped by all the less active in our area and reminded them to watch General Conference. We got Francis to watch it but we didn't watch it with her. She said she enjoyed it so hopefully we can start to teach her.
> That's really all for this week. Have a fantastic week and continue to grow in your faith of Jesus Christ
> Elder Grandon

Oakwood Week 7

> This week was full of stop bys and basketball games! All this week we stopped by some of the previous investigators the sisters found. Almost none of them answered or weren't home. We tried those same 12 or 13 houses all week! The only one that answered was this single mother named Shareea. She is super strong in her desire to know more about the gospel. The only problem we have is that she works all the time and is exhausted by the end of the day. Along with that she has to come home and take care of 2 firecrackers. Two twin boys that are 4 years old. They're super fun to be around and they're hilarious! So hopefully we can find a time that works for her.
>
> On Tuesday we had Zone Conference. It was super spiritual and very rewarding. We talked about how to get more people to church, then we split into districts and role played that. We of course had different scenarios and we were told not to tell them why we wouldn't come to church. It was really fun to try to decipher why they wouldn't come. It's really humbling to go through these Zone Conferences because even if you feel really good at your "missionary craft" these type of role plays expose what you can work on. Really beneficial! 10/10 would recommend!
>
> That's really all I have from this past week. I hope y'all have a fantastic week and continue to grow in you faith of the SAVIOR!
> Elder Grandon

Oakwood Week 7

> This week was awesome! Firstly, we had transfers on Tuesday. Elder Butterfield is amazing. He has such a caring heart and already loves this area.
>
> Literally the day after transfers our Zone Leaders called and asked if we could help them at their service. We of course said "YES!", they came to pick us up and a super bad blizzard started. They stayed with us for a day and a half. About halfway through the day Elder Ofa(one of our ZLs) got super bored. Monopoly is only fun for so long ya know. He got restless and wanted to go out in the blizzard. I was down so we went on an adventure. Just so y'all know we legit couldn't see 5 feet in front of us. I didn't have a mask or anything like that so I took a shirt that you could see through and wrapped it around my face to keep it warm and to be able to see. It was super fun! In our complex some of the snow drifts were over 10 feet tall! It was so Ridiculous! Everything, including the freeway, was closed. People were getting stuck so easily they shut like the whole city down! Once in a life time experience(I hope HA HA HA).
>
> After the blizzard finally stopped we went and visited some less active members in our apartment complex. They were all in apartment 302 in different building of course. So that's now a joke in our companionship. Yeahhhhh missionaries are funny!
>
> On Saturday we(and about every companionship) got to go to The Lamb of God. It was way better than I expected. It was packed to the rafters with LDS members. I was sitting in the audience and all of the sudden a girl started to sing her solo and it reminded me of my little sister, Hannah, sooooooooo much. Her tone was actually a little bit worse than Hannah's! I was instantly filled with pride. Don't get me wrong, she did amazing, but the whole time she sang all I could think in my head was "My sister would rock this part soooooo hard!" *INSTANTLY FILLED WITH PRIDE* She was tasked to play the part of Mary, Jesus mother. The play was really good! 10/10 would recommend to a friend!
>
> That's really all I have this week! Hope y'all have a FANTASTIC week and continue to grow in your faith of our savior!
> Elder Grandon

Transfer Week

>
> Well this week is transfer week. We are saying goodbye to Elder Modesto and welcoming Elder Butterfield! I've served around him and been on exchanges with him so this should be a super fun transfer!
>
> This week we ruined our SIM card. So long story short, I was doing the dishes and checked my phone cause we had a dinner about to come. In doing that I dropped my phone in the sink. I shoved my hand in there and started to dry off my phone. I put it in rice. I took everything out of the phone(my SD card and the SIM card) and placed them on a towel. Unaware of the whole situation Elder Modesto picked up the towel that had everything in it and started drying of the dishes. I turned around just in time to see the SIM card fall into the sink and down the drain. My SD card fell on the floor instead of the sink so I guess this story isn't that bad. HA HA HA! He felt so bad once I told him what had just happened. It was alright though, the office got us one the next day so not all is lost in the end!
>
> Besides that nothing really exciting happened this week. All of our 3 return appointments cancelled on us but said to try again next week. So Elder Butterfield and I will have to try again next week.
>
> Other than that I really have nothing else to say. Have a great day and a fantastic week! Continue in your faith and keep on keeping on. Nothing but love for each of you!
> Elder Grandon

Oct 2018 Zone Meeting

Miracles are real

> This week was full of miracles! Our finding efforts were finally rewarding, our ward is starting to trust us, and we finally met Bettina!
>
> Firstly, our finding! We were out all week trying to find people to teach. On Thursday we started to knock a street. The first like 4 doors were super awesome! The first door was a family that literally got done praying to find a church. *ENTER MISSIONARIES* She answered the door and started exploding with joy. She told us she and her family had just moved in and was praying to know what church to go to. It was an amazing experience! She came to church yesterday and she told us she loved it! We set up an appointment for this Wednesday. The next door we found a single mother who had talked to missionaries before. She said her past feeling for our church were very negative but then the past missionaries had talked to her and now she's super friendly towards us. She said we could come back anytime and talk to her. We are defiantly going to do that! The next door was a less active member who was not on the records anymore so we had no idea she was there. She was rushing out of the house to go pick up her sons from school but was very friendly and invited us to come back anytime. A couple of houses later Elder Modesto had to use the restroom so we went back to what we thought was one of the people we had just encountered, unfortunately it wasn't but he let us in anyways. While my companion was in the bathroom, we started talking and I figured out he had been going through a hard time recently and was starting to question God and his plan for him. I told him that originally we thought this was someone elses house and that our meeting him was no coincidence. I told him that God has something in store for him, He(God) just needs to humble him before it was reveled to him. Then I told him about the gospel and how it can help him more than anything. He accepted to take the lessons. He also came to church on Sunday and said that one meeting changed his point of view on everything. A lot of people bore their testimony on faith. God certainly knew what would help him.
>
> We had another surprise on Sunday. after weeks of trying to meet her, Bettina came to church just out of the blue and we finally got to meet her! She stayed for the whole 2 hours(WOW That's weird to type out. 2hrs instead of 3!) and loved every minute of it.
>
> It's amazing how God tests you to see if you're humble enough to receive blessings from him! That's all from this week. Have a GREAT week. Continue in your faith and move mountains!
> Elder Grandon
>
>

A Whole lot of Nothing

> This week was so incredibly slow. Elder Modesto was sick from Tuesday to Thursday so we did nothing those days. On Friday I taught the lesson and I did it on faith. I used Alma 32: 28-30ish. I Drew a graph, that I wish I took a picture of, that went right along with the graph. Then I read Hebrews 11:3 and proclaimed blessing that you get from being faithful and striving to build your faith upon the Savior. I think it went pretty well!
>
> Today we finally have a lesson with our new convert. He was invited to Bishops house for dinner then afterwards we're gonna teach the new member lessons. This has taken so long to try to set up. Because he's in the ROTC program at his school, he's like always super busy. On the weekdays he has school and never get home in time for us to go over there, then on the weekends he's at ROTC for the majority of the day, but finally we caught him when he doesn't have anything after school or any assignment he has to do! I'm super excited for tonight.
>
> Other than that there's really nothing else. I hope y'all have a super good week! Stay Fresh!
> Elder Grandon
>
>

New Address

>
> So my new address for mail or packages is 5520 Woodmen Ridge View, #245.
>
> Love you,
> Benjamin

First Week in Oakwood

>
> Howdy from Oakwood! I got transferred last week from Fountain to Oakwood. I'M FINALLY IN A NEW AREA!!!!
>
> I guess my letter from last week didn't send so last week was kinda bitter sweet. I was super excited to go to a new area but at the same time Fountain is all I know. The members were super cool and I knew all of them personally. Yesterday we had church and I knew like nobody except 2 families. It comes with the struggle flushing into a new area. That's right I flushed AGAIN! My whole mission I've flushed into the area. It's defiantly fun but hard if you didn't inherit good area notes. Luckily for us the sisters left fantastic notes for us, so we're chilling!
>
> My new companion is Elder Modesto. He's from Fresno California, and has been out almost 19 months. He's a dope missionary and a very hard worker. We have become really good friends in less than a week.
>
> I don't really have much else to say. I hope y'all have a fantastic week.
> Elder Grandon
> Sorry no pictures this week. I got y'all next week

Flown by!

> This transfer has flown by! I feel like it was just the other day, I was at Aeroplaza picking up Elder Morrill and Westwood, but in reality that was 5 weeks ago! It's crazy how fast this transfer has gone. If it continues like this it won't be long before I'm back home giving my homecoming talk. And that is really weird to think about!
>
> On Tuesday we had Zone Conference. We talked a lot about the goal we set for 80 souls to Christ(80 baptisms) for the months of October to December last year. We ended with 34, which isn't a bad thing by any means but when they set that goal in MLCs the spirit was so undeniable. President talked a lot about how they set that goal knowing it was a stretch but having full confidence we could achieve it. I love that mans! He shared this experience, "After we set that goal of 80 souls to Christ, I saw no difference in the key indicators, and that's why I believe we didn't reach our goal. Not because any of you Elders or Sisters didn't contribute but because we didn't see any progress. Now just because we didn't hit it doesn't mean miracles weren't wrought in the CCSM(Colorado, Colorado Springs Mission) we had 12 people who weren't on date when we set this goal, be put on date and baptized! There were miracles." After he closed his opening remarks we split off by district and went through 5 different stations and got to break down our teaching and improve it. I really appreciated this because the more solid we can teach with the spirit the more our key indicators will increase and the more they increase, the more people we can bring unto Christ. All-in-all Zone Conference was and always will be lit!
>
> Also this week we recieved a list of people our bishopric wanted us to stop by, see if they live there, or try to get in to teach the discussions to. We really worked our tails off and got that whole list done in a day and a half. I know it doesn't sound that impressive but the sent us like 100 names, each of them with different need! I happy to announce that because we challenged the bishopric to do that we added close to 20 people to our teaching pool, which is AWESOME! Hopefully when they said come back on this day and this time, they'll actually be there. That happens a lot to us and it's kinda frustrating but we can't force anyone into heaven sooooooooooo yeah!
>
> Well transfers are in a week from tomorrow. I have a strong feeling I'm leaving my beloved Fountain because I've been here for 6 months, and that's a long time in one place for a missionary. I don't know where I'll go but it'd be nice to train. I think that'll be really fun. I'd be a dope trainer! But ultimately if I don't that's fine too. As long as I get to serve the Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and strength I'll be happy! Missions really do change you!
>
> I hope y'all have a fantastic week and grow spiritually and any other way you want to grow! HA HA! I look forward to hearing from you. Peace till next week!
> Elder Grandon
> 1&2.) A street we found while working the list
> 3.) A member gave us purple potatoes for dinner

Jan 14

>
> This week was a little weird. We had Exchanges this week with Mesa Ridge. I stayed here with Elder Ryan and Elders Morrill and Westwood went with Elder Marin in Mesa Ridge. I love that man Elder Ryan. He's so insightful and loves what he does. We were out tracting and we started talking to some construction workers. They kind of view us off because they didn't really know enough English to talk to us, so Elder Ryan just starts talking in spanish to them. He figured out they they all live in the Springs and that they get paid 1,000 per job! That mans Elder Ryan, What a guy!
>
> While on exchanges we talked a lot about how to hand this area off. I've been on Fountain for 6 months so I'm feeling like I'm gonna ship out soon. For the majority of this transfer I've been planning the days and where we're going to tract and basically everything. So we came up with the idea that each day we would take turns planning out the day and everything else so they can learn the area. We only have 2 weeks till transfers but I know, with a little help, that they'll know the area enough to take over when/if I leave. So far it's worked pretty good. They have slowly learned the area and are becoming more and more confident with approaches and talking to people. They'll do great when I'm gone.
>
> So Friday we had dinner with the Haywood's. They always come through with the bangin food and always have a lot of It! After dinner I shared a message. It was on Faith. I used the passage Alma 32: 28-30, this is where faith is compared to a seed. Then after explaining it deeper, I shared Hebrews 11:6. Then I asked how you've seen the gospel(or seed) grow and bless your lives. I really liked Bro. Haywood's response. He said something like... "The biggest blessing I've seen is peace. With the world straying further and further away from God and his plan for us, his gospel, has brought peace into my house, my children, my family and myself." After he said that I bore my testimony on Faith and the blessings it can bring us and then departed in prayer. I love this gospel. It really has changed my life and the lives of my friends and family. It will truly bring you closer to God and his son.
>
> That's really all I got this week! I look forward to hearing from you guys! I hope y'all have a fantastic week and if you don't... change your attitude and have a fantastic week! HA HA HA! Till next week!
> Elder Grandon

Dinner Appointment Tonight

Fwd: Happy New Years

> This week felt super slow. On Tuesday the APs called and told us the trio was gonna be broken up for about 4 day. Elder Morrill went up to Mountain Shadows to cover for an Elder who had to go home due to a funeral. It was kind of funny because stuff like this always happens to him so he got a little chuckle in and started packing. Elder Westwood and I stayed in Fountain and just grinded for those 4 days. Those were some of the best days for contacting in my whole mission so far. We had a total of 127 contacts within those 4 days. You certainly get blessed for tracting. We got Elder Morrill back on Saturday evening about 9.
>
> On Saturday something that has never happened before happened. We were out tracting and right before we were about to cross the street to hit the other side, a guy stopped us. He said he was a CEO of a roofing company and offered us jobs. We felt a little weird so we told him we'd think about it. He drove off and as soon as he did Elder Westwood and I looked at each other and said "no" almost in unison HAHAHA! It was definitely an interesting experience.
>
> Well this week we started 2 hour church. It was kind of weird to not have another block after Sunday school. It'll for sure take some getting use to. The lesson was good but a little weird cause It was different. I'm definitely a person stuck in routines.
>
> On Friday we had district council. I unfortunately was asked to teach and the topic was on repentance and the Atonment of Jesus Christ. I guess it went better than I expected, I don't really remember it too well cause I like blacked out and just went to town. It's a very similar feeling you get after giving a blessing. I just don't remember what was said to and from me. I'll attach a picture of the board after my lesson ended
>
> Well that's really all I got this week. I hope y'all had a great Sunday, a great week, and a happy New Year! I look forward to reading y'alls emails. Love y'all!
>
> Elder Grandon
>