Heart, Might, Mind, & Strength : Long Time No See...

Hey everyone!

So sorry it's been a while since I've put out a formal weekly letter. So much has happened and I don't habe a whole ton of time. I'll try my best to give you the really really good stuff...

I got transferred! I am loving my new area here in North Scottsdale. We have done so much stuff this week. I'm no longer on bike too. I'm driving a Chevy Malibu; it's so nice. I can keep the keys in my pocket all day long and I can lock/unlock the car and start it. There are some crazy drivers up here too, and most of them are driving super nice cars. I hope you all enjoy my pictures. I feel like Tom Cruise sometimes because of all close calls. I'm blessed with lightning fast reflexes.

I cover three wards and they are huge! I took a screenshot for you to see. The members here are so awesome, there's a millionaire family in one of the wards. There are a lot of great investigators I get to work with too. They all love Elder Agbuya. He's from the Philippines. I sure love him too. He is a really good example to me-- patient, kind, and a great teacher. He's gonna be going home pretty soon here. He is a funny guy. He's fed me a lot of food; adobo with rice and really spicy noodles. "He called it the spicy noodle challenge." My lips were sore after. I'll let you know more about the investigators. We did put a younger kid named Jack on date and he should be Elder Agbuyas first baptism on the mission. We get to go with him and his family to the Mesa Visitor Center this Friday! The winter down here has been so nice.

That should be everything that's important. The last thing that happened this week was today! We went to the biggest golfing event here in Arizona... maybe even the US. It was only the practices and warm ups though. Saturday and Sunday are the days the real tournament starts. This golf course was huge! I tried to take some good pics so y'all could see. There was an entire stadium fit into the course. I got a sweet hat. All in all, it was a great pday.

To end I'll close with a quick thought. Recently I've been asking myself: "Why can't I be more in tune with the Spirit each day. Since I'm trying my best and I'm trying to listen, shouldn't I be entitled to those promtings." Then I read the story of Nephi and Laban, and I noticed something I've never caught before. When Nephi enters the city of Jerusalem and soon finds Laban fallen from drunkenness, the first thing he decided to do was pick up Laban' s sword. Hm, interesting? Was it normal for Nephi to pick up random things off the ground? I believe that Nephi was promoted by the Spirit (without him knowing it was the Spirit) to pick up the sword. Then when it was already in his hand, he then recognized the Spirit as it constrained him to kill Laban. I know that God is in every aspect of our daily lives. Why wouldn't He be? He loves us and wants us to succeed. If we let Him-- and if we love Him, then we will be able to see Him working his miracles around us and through us.

I love you all and hope you have the best week ever!

Love Elder DeGraw
6265 N 82nd St
Scottsdale, AZ 85250