No Baptism, A Blitz, and a Prieshood Blessing

Hello everyone!

I made it to another P-day. I'll start out by saying that I did not hike Camelback Mountain today. It wasn't a very eventful week, but there were still a few neat experiences I'll tell ya about...

First off, Jordynn's baptism didn't get to happen. We've had to push it back a few weeks, but we are 100% sure it will happen. Bishop Arnett told Jordynn that even if an angel appeared to him and told him to stop the baptism, she would still get baptized. Transfers are Halloween Day, so it could be possible that I don't get to baptize her. We'll see. 

Another ward blitz did happen however. If you aren't sure what a mission blitz is, it's where all the missionaries in the zone come together to knock doors in one companionship area. Not as many members showed up this time around, so I went out on a split with one of the Zone Leaders. The invitation flier to the party was our secret weapon. Knocking on a door and talking about the gospel with someone was so much easier when we had the flier to start off with. There were two families that seemed pretty promising. We are planning on visiting them again this week. One family told us that they had just discovered an army of rats living in their home, so it'll be interesting to see what the latest update is on that. 

We've picked up a few investigators this last week. The most interesting teaching appointment I've had since I've been out happened with one of these. His name is John. We taught him the Restoration and he kept asking the strangest questions. He wanted to hang out and take us to Jack in the Box. He also wanted to take us to the Tongan Methodist church a few blocks away. We finally finished the lesson with a prayer and were getting on our bikes ready to go. He came running out to us as we were riding away and asked: "Also, I've been really looking for a religion that believes in extra-terrestrials. What's your opinion on that?" We kept riding...

Saturday night was by far the best day this week. We didn't have any lessons that night, so we were making quick stops to see our less-actives. I had the feeling that we should go visit Brother Gaytan, a great member that we've been helping install a garage. We rode up right when his sister pulled in to the driveway. She told us that she was taking him to the hospital. We knocked on the door and he was so relived to see us. He asked for a blessing and explained what had been going on. We promised him everything would be okay. The Spirit was so powerful, Elder Kuewa started to cry during the blessing. After, Brother Gaytan stood up, and with tears in his eyes, thanked us and gave us each a hug and off they raced to the ER. I had a good feeling in my heart are I rode my bike home that night, a feeling that I had done something the Savior would have. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Remember to pray always and look for ways to serve others. The Book of Mormon can bring many blessings to people's lives. Yesterday, we ate at a members house and he had invited a nonmember couple. We shared the First Vision video and offered them both a Book of Mormon. The husband Santos thanked us and was so grateful for what we had taught him. He had a light in his eyes and a desire to learn about the gospel. It reminded me of how we have been told that the Lord's work is hastening. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that he is with us wherever we may go. He know's each of us on a personal level. I'm grateful for Him, His example and His perfect love, and the chance I have to share this knowledge I have with others. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Pictures... Us at church, my fresh Great Clips haircut, and a picture I found in the family history room.

--

Love Elder DeGraw

6265 N 82nd St

Scottsdale, AZ 85250

Week 9 in Arizona... I Think?

Talofa everyone! 

I hope your week has been wonderful and full of adventures. I heard Rexburg had it's first day of snow this last week! Arizona is still pretty toasty. I can tell that it wants to be down in the 80's (where I want it to be) but we're suppose to get solid 90's this week. So here's my week...

This week was about as normal as a missionary's week can be. On Tuesday, I got to go to my second Zone Conference. I loved it and the food was so good. They had an entire table dedicated for the desserts and I'm sure they put it together just for me. I took so many pieces of cake home with me. The purpose of this Zone Conference was to train us on using Facebook to find investigators. I can be as creative as I want when using Facebook (within mission rules). I can post thoughts, quotes, use messenger, and "the sky's the limits" -President Robinson. 

Wednesday we got a new and improved version of the old area book app. It's called area book 2.0 and there are a lot of changes. I wasn't too attached to the old version of the app because I'm a new missionary anyways, but a lot of the older iPad missionaries hated the change. 

So Elder Kuewa and I have been working on putting together a "Stewart Ward Blitz" for a while now and it finally happened on Saturday. A blitz is basically where we get all the missionaries in the zone together and go out with the members to knock doors. This one was very successful because we all had a secret weapon-- an invitation to the ward Halloween party. I took a picture of it to show you. I've heard it's quite the extravagant event and there will be great opportunities for missionary work. 

I have one more story to tell before I share a quick spiritual thought. This morning at 5:00 AM, my Zone Leaders woke us up and we all drove out to Camelback Mountain, again. I promised myself last week that I wouldn't attempt that hike again and on the way up I remembered why. When I finally reached the top, I felt on top of the world! It was worth it. My favorite part was when I met Carol. She's 90-years old and she told me she had been hiking Camelback everyday for the last 20 years... phew! 

I'm very excited for the upcoming week! Our first baptism is coming up on Saturday. Her name is Jordynn and she is the brightest, kindest, and sweetest 18-year old in AZ. She has been meeting with the missionaries for a while and is ready to join the church. Today, we've been working on putting the program together and we texted her asking who she would like to perform the baptism. Her answer was "I've decided on Elder DeGraw." My heart leaped with joy! It was completely unexpected. I'm very blessed and honored to be able to say that this wonderful girl is my first baptism. I'll be sure to take pictures! 

I'll end with a thought on the importance of attending church on the Sabbath. As I prepared this last week to teach an investigator this topic, I asked myself why I go to church. I've been a member all my life and so it's always felt mandatory. I've realized that it's blessed my life in more ways then I can count. Sundays are my favorite days. It is a day I can rest from the world and recharge. As we go to church, we give our day to the Lord and to those around us. In turn, we also receive the blessings Heavenly Fathers prepared for us. 

I hope this week you all stay safe! I pray for you and hope you find success. Let me know if there's anything you need or anything else you would like for me to include in my emails. 

Stay safe and be brave. 

Burrito Express

Camelback Mountain... round 2.

Halloween party flyer

My favorite breakfast smoothie

October 7, 2017

"Had these wonderful Elders over for dinner tonight. We had breakfast pizza, grapes, and fresh pineapple-- and donuts for dessert. They gave a spiritual thought and Elder DeGraw left us with a prayer and sweet note folded up so adorable." (from Sister Richardson)

October 5, 2017

Elder DeGraw enjoying a piece of licorice... or two.

Temple Time, A Change of Scenery, and General Conference!

Hey everyone! 

I have so much to tell all of you because this was one of the busiest weeks I've had in the mission field so far, but I'm also on a tight schedule. I'll keep it simple, but sweet. Also this week, we are becoming a Facebook mission!

The first part of the week-- normal missionary life (biking, adventure, teaching, and laughing). Thursday I got to go through the Mesa Temple for the first time. My enthusiastic Mission President surprised us all by joining us for the session. He loves to wink, a lot, and I even caught him a few times winking to missionaries during the session. Haha! The Mesa Temple is such a neat temple, it has the older architecture like the SLC Temple, but is so special in its own way. I love the wonderful thoughts and feeling I received in the temple, and I got to keep those feelings with me for the rest of the week. If you didn't believe the church was true before entering the temple, you would sure know it coming out.

After the awesome experience at the temple, it was moving time. What happened was Elder Kuewa and I moved into a really nice apartment that the Beverly Ward Elders used to live in. They're now living with the Zone Leaders (who we used to live with), so we have an apartment all to ourselves. Yes! The greatest part is that there's carpet! I can now pray easier, do push-ups easier, and live easier. Once we moved into our new suite, we helped the other Elders move into theirs. The housing coordinator, Elder Schmitt, is a really hard working guy that doesn't mess around. We started moving everything into the trailer around 2:00 and finished unloading all of it (at the new house) around 6:00. It was a great feeling of accomplishment when we were done, but Elder Schmitt was just getting started. We all piled back into his truck and he took us to a restaurant called Culvers. It was actually out of the mission boundaries, so all of us felt a little rebellious and nervous. Elder Schmitt said that as long as we were with him, we'd be fine. After a much needed meal, we were each assigned a shopping list of things we needed to buy for the new apartments. We finally finished our hard days work and climbed in bed around 11:00. Oops. One of my favorite parts of serving a mission so far has been the adventure and excitement I get. 

When I thought this week couldn't get any better, I remembered we had General Conference. Members invited us to their houses for breakfast/lunch for all sessions. The members are so kind down here, and it's good to know that the church is true and strong and real wherever you go. When I'm with the members, it almost feels like I'm back in my small mountain town. I've never sat down and watched a General Conference session that went by as fast as this one did. When the last talk was given, I was begging for more because I had learned and felt the Spirit so much in the last two days. There were many talks that I loved and I don't think I am able to pick a favorite. One of the main messages I got this time was the importance and power of the Book of Mormon. I loved President Nelsons story of the tribal king and how he had come to love the Book of Mormon more then diamonds and ruby's. I asked myself; is the Book of Mormon more valuable to me then these things? One of our less-actives said he would take the diamonds and buy a mountain of Book of Mormons to give to the world. I really loved this quote from President Nelson: "The full power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is contained in the Book of Mormon. Period." 

The last great adventure this week actually happened this morning... at 5:00 AM. Elder Kuewa and I accepted the challenge to hike Camelback Mountain with the district, and I loved every second! My legs were aching, but it was the greatest feeling once I reached the top. There were two thoughts going through my head during the hike. First, the song "Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel" kept running through my head. Second, I thought about the Mormon Message "Mountains to Climb." If you haven't seen it, you should watch it ASAP. It touches my heart every time and I feel an overwhelming sense of Jesus Christ's love for each of us. 

 You are all wonderful, and there is no one else like you on the planet. You are special and magnificent. In our Heavenly Fathers eyes-- all the beauty in the world and in the universe does not even begin to compare to the beauty of who you are and who you can become. Thank you for your examples. I hope you all have a wonderful week! Stay safe and be brave. 

Love, 

Elder DeGraw

 Mesa Temple trip:

Mesa Temple

 Mission tour with Elder Wilson

"The cats I've caught, and what we've named them."

"Our new apartment has a Christmas room under the stairs. I put on my one and only sweater (given to me by Elder Gibbons) and took a picture with my bestie."

Our new apartment:

Our early morning hike of Camel-back Mountain: