September 30, 2017

Got this text this afternoon. Does he look riveted? Hopefully he's taking some serious notes. Haha.

"Enjoyed having these Elders over for the second session of conference. Elder DeGraw is such a sweetie and always appreciative. Got a strong grip too."

September 16, 2017

We got a couple pictures texted to us today... 

This one is from Brother Felix, the ward mission leader working with Cameron and his companion. 

These were sent by Sister Richardson (from Elder DeGraws ward).  She said, "The Elders stopped by to ask something before heading to their dinner appointment. Elder DeGraw played with the kids-- my daughter and our nonmember neighbor from across the street."

Week 7... The Glow Spot!

Hey everyone!

It's time for my weekly update! It was a long week, but still a good one. This next week is suppose to be crazy busy too. I have to keep this email short because my p day ends at 2:30 today. The reason is because on Thursday, I get to go through the Mesa Temple! They take the hours we'll spend there at the temple away from p day. How's Rexburg been this month? I've heard it's been getting chillier and chillier. 

The best part of my week was last Monday. Elder Kuewa and I saved one hour on our p day for that night, so we could go on an adventure with my Zone Leaders. We followed them to a bike trail and the adventure began. It was around 8:30, about 70 degrees. Paradise! We biked for about 10 minutes until we arrived at the Glow Spot. We took a lot of pictures that I'll attach with this email. The Glow Spot was sweet. There were these random benches that would slowly change color. We also found this random toad. It was one of my favorite days so far. 

Tuesday we planned on teaching five lessons, but most of them fell through. 

Wednesday we met two new investigators. They had a lot of questions and kept asking how we "catch the Holy Ghost." Also, the Bishop's daughter in the Westwood Ward got her call to San Jose, California. She's torn between accepting it though, because there's a boy in the picture. Her Grandpa said the funniest thing: "She was hoping to go Russian, Russian to get married!" Haha! 

We got to go with the Pima Reservation Elders on Thursday because a native family needed help cleaning out their house. They promised us breakfast, so we couldn't really say no. There were two rooms that were so bad. I should have expected it, because before they passed out surgeon gloves and masks. We opened the doors and there was a dark cloud that came out. Stinky. Elder Tevaseu (a big polynesian) sprinted to the canal and threw up. Eventually we cleaned out the rooms and they fed us breakfast burritos. 

Saturday, our district went to the Stake Presidents house for breakfast and correlation. President Robinson (mission president) surprised us and told us he wanted to see how we were all doing. He is a great example. 

One more thing. My Zone Leaders wanted me to come up with a design for our zone t-shirts. I thought I would share it. Here's a picture of what I've come up with so far-- it's pretty simple, the M in Maricopa is the symbol we use for baptisms. If anyone has any other ideas, I would love to hear them. 

I hope you all had a wonderful week and that this week goes even better! I've got the feeling that this General Conference coming up is gonna be so good. It's one of my favorite holidays. We've all heard the saying that General Conference naps are the best naps, but these are true servants of the Lord that have prepared special messages for each of us. I am so grateful for the blessing of Prophets and Apostles. They inspire me to be better, to be more like Christ. I know this church is true and that our Father In Heaven loves each of us. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Love,

Elder DeGraw

"Me making a three"

The Glow Spot

My T-shirt design

View of the valley

Special Delivery

Elder DeGraws Grandpa and Great-Grandma happened to be passing by the Scottsdale mission home yesterday. They were willing to deliver a package for Cameron. Do they look like stalkers? I love these pictures of them in front of the mission home. 

Then, later that night, I got a quick email from Elder DeGraw-- letting me know he got the package and "it couldn't have come at a better time."

Week 6! Service, Spiritually Fed, and More Service!

Hey Everyone!

It's Elder DeGraw again, I hope you all had an awesome week! It's crazy to think that tomorrow is already my two months mark. It's been quite and adventure down here. This week was busy and there were tears shed, friends made, and yes-- missionary work.

Monday night we started a Zone Fast for the investigators who are on date for baptism. We fasted for them to open their hearts and stay strong until their date. From what I've heard and seen this week, it worked.

Last Tuesday, we woke up early in the morning to go help a gentleman named Brother Gaytan. He is a very kind Hispanic who drives buses for the city.He asked us to help him with a few projects he's been working on (installing a garage door, pouring concrete, fixing up the pool, scorpion hunting, and more). I. Am. So. Excited. On Tuesday we only had a little bit of time so I helped him clean out his pool. He gave me a bucket with a rope tied to it. At the bottom of the pool was the thickest, slimiest, greenish water I've ever seen. I would lower the bucket down, scoop up the water, and then throw it over his fence. I loved every second of it... my back didn't however. I'm sorry but i forgot to take pictures. 

Wednesday, I don't really remember what happened. We probably taught some lessons. It was a successful missionary day. 

Thursday we had a mission tour where one of the seventy, Elder Wilson, came and gave us an amazing training on the Book of Mormon. It is the biggest conversion tool that we use to help people make changes in their life, repent, and come unto Christ. I'm so grateful for the sacrifices Joseph Smith made so I can have it to read, study, and ponder. 

Friday was Elder Kuewa's last day at physical therapy, and my last day of driving the minivan. Dang. Also that night, I found a video on the LDS Media app called "The Last Testimonies." I really felt the Spirit when I watched this video, because it talked about a few apostles who have passed away and their final testimonies. You could hear the conviction in their voices. They knew with all their hearts that this is the true church, and that Christ lives, and that Heavenly Father loves each of us so much. If you have time, I would try to watch it. 

Saturday was another normal missionary day. 

Sunday I had my first stake conference. I enjoyed it very much. It helps me out a lot seeing how strong the members and their testimonies are down here. One talk was on patriarchal blessings. I learned a lot of stuff that I didn't even know before. It's a great feeling when the Holy Ghost reveals to you new truths that you'd maybe skipped over before. I've set a goal to study and ponder my blessing once a week. 

Also on Sunday, I went on exchanges with one of the Spanish Elders to teach a few lessons. I enjoyed teaching with him, even though I didn't understand anything that was said. That night, Elder Kuewa and I had the greatest experience. We got to interview a sweet 18-year old named Jordyn for baptism. She is so ready to join the church and is actually planning on marrying an RM. Her date is on October 7th. Since I'm not getting transferred anytime soon, I get to be there and hear her testimony. 

So that was my week. I've enjoyed serving a mission so far. There's so much to be done here and I'm ready to be a tool in the Lords hands. To end, I'll share a quick testimony. I know that obeying the Law of Tithing is a wonderful blessing. God has given us everything, He gives us 100% of His time, He gives us 100% of His love, and all He asks us for is 10%. I know Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us and He wants us to become our best selves. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Love,

Elder DeGraw

In front of Andy and Raygon Hymas' (great friends from Rexburg)  first home. 

Mission socks sent from Karen

"My view everyday"

Sister Richardson, a gal in the ward Elder DeGraw is serving in, heard that he was missing pancakes. She bought Cameron syrup and mix (what a sweet gesture!!!). Cameron was pretty proud of his perfect pancakes he made.

Week 5! Panda Express & PT

Heyo everyone!

I hope last week was one of your best weeks yet! I had another crazy week filled with lightning storms, eating, teaching, eating some more, and sleeping. Arizona is still in the 100's, but on Friday I got a quick taste of what winters will be like. It was cloudy and almost paradise. Okay, so not very much happened this week, but I've got a few stories to share. Here's what happened...

Tuesday I had my first interviews with President and Sister Robinson. My President is such a great example. He shared with me a few scriptures about being brave and sharing the gospel with everyone you see. After that, he shared some funny stories and I went to see Sister Robinson. She gave me a basket-full of fruit snacks to enjoy while we talked. It was good getting to know her better, where her five sons served, and hearing her testimony. 

Wednesday, I got to drive Elder Kuewa to see a physical therapist because his back's been hurting. We had to leave the mission boundaries and go into East Mesa, which was awesome. I could drive the ZL's minivan for hours. After, we went and grabbed some Panda Express. This was my first time eating there and I didn't know what to do. When they asked me what I wanted, I'm sure I made the face Elder Calhoun makes in the movie, The Best Two Years when the bakery lady's talking to him in dutch. Luckily, Elder Kuewa saved my bacon. I ended up with double orange chicken and a lot of rice. 

The Best Two Years/ My Panda Express Face

Thursday we had district meeting. When we'd finished, all the other Elders decided we were gonna go out for a district lunch. We had a few choices close by, and voted on those. The restaurant that won the vote was of course-- Panda Express. I didn't complain though, keep the orange chicken coming! That day, we had five lessons, and only one fell through. The other's were very special and you could feel the Spirit so strongly. My favorite moment in lessons is when the investigator is feeling the Spirit and realizes that following Jesus Christ can change their life. It's happened only a few times, but those are the moments that make missionary work rewarding. 

Friday I drove out to East Mesa again for Elder Kuewa's PT. We didn't get Panda Express after though...dang. While we were at the PT, they used acupuncture on my comps back. Haha, watching that happen to him made my back hurt. It was only one need too. 

Saturday we had a few lessons and saw a few people, you know, the normal stuff. 

Sunday was pretty normal too. I finally found Bishop Arnett's candy stash. One of our investigators on date for baptism told us he was moving to Tempe, so that was pretty sad since the Tempe missionaries adopt him now. One sweet Sister gave a talk in Sacrament that made me tear up. She told everyone that due to cancer, she had only a week left to live. She then spoke about our Savior and how she plans to use every last minute on earth doing as He would do, serving others. 

So that was my busy week. A few upcoming events. Transfers are next week the 19th, I probably won't be moving anywhere (i'll know on the 17th), but you never know. This Wednesday we have a Mission Tour. Elder Wilson of the Seventy is coming to meet us. Everyone's pretty excited! I'll let you know how it goes. 

One final thought. This week I read a talk by President Monson from the April 1999 General Conference session entitled "For I Was Blind, but Now I See." President Monson begins his talk with a story: 

"One not so blessed with the gift of sight was the blind man who, in an effort to sustain himself, sat day in and day out at his usual place on the edge of a busy sidewalk in one of our large cities. In one hand he held an old felt hat filled with pencils. With his other hand he held out a tin cup. His simple appeal to the passerby was brief and to the point. It had a certain finality to it, almost a tone of despair. The message was contained on the small placard held about his neck by a string. It read, “I am blind.” Most did not stop to buy his pencils or to place a coin in the tin cup. They were too busy, too occupied by their own problems. That tin cup had never been filled or even half-filled. Then one beautiful spring day a man paused and, with a marking pen, added several new words to the shabby sign. No longer did it read, “I am blind.” Now the message read, “It is springtime and I am blind.” The cup was soon filled to overflowing."

There is so much beauty in the world, and all you have to do is look for it. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can all have peace in our lives. We can now have our joy be "filled to overflowing" because He loved each of us enough to the point where He gave His own life. Now all we have to do is show our gratitude and our love for Him. I know He is always there for us and that this church is His kingdom on the earth today. I know President Monson is a true prophet. I know Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us to become our best selves. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Love,

Elder DeGraw

Elder DeGraw's area

This is a picture of Elder DeGraw with our family dog, Ivy, photoshopped into it. Looks like someones missing his dog. His caption read, "Just my dog and me in Arizona"

This is a package we sent Elder DeGraw weeks ago. It got lost and has been all over his mission. We're glad it finally make it to him.

With Elder Kuewa at the Physical Therapist

September 4, 2017

Text said... "My name is Shauna Arnett and I'm the bishops wife in the Westwood ward. Just wanted to let you know how much we love having your son in our ward. He is the best. He is so kind and genuine."

Week 4! My Crazy Week...

Hey everybody!

I hope you've all stayed safe this wonderful Labor Day weekend! How's Idaho been? Is it starting to cool down? As the end of the year's coming, I start getting excited for snow, that's always been normal to me, but I keep having to remind myself that now I'm in Mesa, Arizona. It will be strange for me. Okay, I'm going to try to list off everything that happened this week. Let me know if there's anything else you want me to include in my emails.

Last Monday was so nice. I remember it was cloudy outside, but still hot. I played so much basketball to the point that I got sick and almost passed out. I guess every zone in our mission has it's own different P-day activities (Nerf, basketball, volleyball) and my zone's favorite thing to do is play Pokemon. It's fun to watch them, because they are all so serious about it. 

On Tuesday, the entire zone woke up early and went to play kickball at Westwood High School. We we're all pretty excited and then we got stopped by a locked gate. After checking all the other possible entrances and getting the same result, our zone leaders gave in and told us to hop the fence. After that, we had a normal missionary day. The coolest part for me this week was when we ate at a members house and he showed me his Lehi Stone. I took a picture of it to show you all. This is a legit thing that's down in a Mayan Temple. The real one is about 6-feet tall. The way he explained it to me is in the middle sits the Tree of Life. In the bottom right corner is Nephi and Sam. Sam is holding an umbrella for Nephi to represent him as the assistant. Nephi has a corn hat because of the native american god Nefi-- who is the god of the harvest. To the left of Nephi, you can see Laman and Lemuel. They're smaller because it represents depth (or they're moving away from the tree). Then there's the dirty river at the bottom. That's all that I remember, but still pretty cool! 

Wednesday. We got to work at the Mesa thrift store again. We moved boxes around and helped vacuum. We also had to clean out a ton of cobwebs in the attic for them. That's when I found some pretty sweet ninja swords. Nothing else really happened except for a few lessons that went well. 

Thursday was moving day for the Papago Reservation Elders. We helped them move into some apartments called Deluxe. We then went and got Jack in the Box. I talked to a few people and got a few referrals for other Elders (because they lived out of my area). We had our district meeting after that. I gave a lesson on charity and love. It went really good and the other Elders told me they got a lot out of it. 

Friday was an awesome day. Elder Kuewa pushed another overheated car, no big deal. He's pretty much superman. We then had two lessons that went really well. We showed an investigator named Whitney the first vision video and at the end she said: "Yeah, I can believe that happened." I'm hoping to commit her to baptism this week.  The teaching aspect of my mission has been great. I really love it and I don't stress about the lessons as much anymore. Our area's starting to speed up. We're planning on committing two people to baptism this week and getting two people into the waters of baptism this month. 

Saturday was a normal missionary day. Sunday was really special though. We taught a mission prep class. It was really good to hear the prospective missionaries testimonies. They were tender and it reminded me why I'm out here. The most spiritual part of the day was testimony meeting in the Stewart Ward. I started to tear up when recent converts and less-actives that I've been working with bore their testimonies.  I thought those good feelings would end there, but then our Ward Mission Leader stood up. His name is Brother Felix. He is a great example to me and I want to be life him. He bore his testimony on families. Then at the end, he talked about Elder Kuewa and I. He said that he could see the purity in our hearts. Then he paused and started to cry as he said: "These are good boys." Of course, I started to cry too. I gave him a big hug. 

So that was my week. It was a long week and my body is tired all the time. I really love the one scripture in doctrine covenants where it says if I open my mouth and share the gospel, then I'll receive strength not known among men. I'm still working on opening my mouth and getting that strength. 

I love being out here on a mission and I wouldn't trade these experiences for the world. I love seeing the change I can bring into others lives. I love that I get to represent our Savior. I love the people of Arizona. I love that I get two whole years here. When I bore my testimony on Sunday, I talked about the importance of testimonies. I told the ward about a man in my home ward named Brother Snow. I sure love Brother Snow. I remember that the day of my farewell, Brother Snow gave me some of the best advice ever. He told me that I'm gonna meet a lot of hard-hearted people in Arizona, but the way to slowly chisel away at the stone around their hearts is to smile and bear my testimony. I've seen the effect testimonies can have. Bear your testimonies whenever you can. 

I know this church is true. I know the Book of Mormon is true and is meant for each of us. I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know He died for us and has given us everything. We can have peace and joy now. I love my Savior. I say these things in his name, Jesus Christ, amen.

I hope you all have a super awesome week. Stay safe and be brave. Sorry for the long email.

Love,

Elder DeGraw

Lehi Stone

AZ Sunset

Elder DeGraw with his bike

Transfers are on the 17th. If Elder DeGraw stays in Mesa, he gets to move into these nice apartments next to the church.

September 3, 2017

Text from Sister Richardson (loving this lady by the way)... "Hope you had a great Sabbath. Took this yesterday when they stopped by to say hi. Couldn't come inside so we tried to cool off outside."

September 1, 2017

Text sent from a Sister Richardson..."Had this visitor stop by just now. We visited for a few minutes outside while he held Brennen's bearded dragon."

Earlier today she sent this... "I saw your son on bike today a couple times. It's so hot here (extreme heat warning in effect) and it's hard to not feel sorry for those sweet elders. They have the best attitudes. We love missionaries!"