November 21, 2011

Good rainy monday-

It rained here most of the day yesterday and is supposed to continue through Wednesday. Perfect for the week when we don't have the car. However, I am excited to walk a more so in turn I can eat more at dinners and such. I could feel myself getting soft sitting down all week.

Happy Thanksgiving a few days early. Tomorrow our ward is having an annual Pie Night. I am sure there will be plenty of sweets available kind of like my memories of Grandma Barnes' house during Thanksgiving time when there would be at least a half dozen different kinds of pie available. On Thursday morning we get to play in the ward's Turkey Bowl - that should be a lot of fun. Everybody keeps thinking I really want to play quarterback but I would be just as happy blocking or receiver. My mindset now is certainly different than a couple years ago in full competition mode. We are going to the house of Br. and Sis. Carroll in our ward for Thanksgiving meal. He is the Ward Mission Leader and is really great. The members of our ward are so nice to missionaries and are also really happy to have a set of missionaries solely dedicated to their ward. It has been a while since that has happened so there seems to be a fresh energy and excitement developing.

We had another investigator at church on Sunday, Sierra. She was supposed to get picked up by one of the girls her age, but at 5 minutes til start time, we found out that girl got in a roll over accident the night before. So we drove with Br. Carroll and picked her up. It was a bummer to have to be late on her first time at church, but she met a bunch of the other young men and women her age and ended up enjoying herself. The youth of this ward are also really strong and very helpful at welcoming in new faces. That is something I got to experience first hand in Arkansas - the universal feeling of love throughout the church. It is so comforting that no matter where we go in the world, we will also have the Lord's church to enter and feel the same Spirit when doing so.

This week, especially Friday and Saturday, were two of the days that a lot of missionaries talk about I guess when no plans really seem to work right. We had a lot of set plans and also people we wanted to visit, but for one reason or another, they canceled or people simply weren't home. I have been praying that God will help my Spirits during times like these, and in fact came across a great thought that I clearly felt was an answer to those prayers. "Plant with love in the vineyard of the Lord. Perhaps you will never see the tree grow and produce fruit, but the Lord will. Many missionaries will never be aware of all the results of their labors. But if you spend your lives doing all the good you can, without wondering and worrying about the consequences, you will find the true joy of the Gospel." Like I said, that fit right into the situation, and gave me some extra strength to go about my work without worrying about the immediate outcome. One of the things I have been doing, and I may have mentioned this in a past email, is to write down 3 things every night that I am grateful for in my journal. This was a challenge we received in the MTC. Regardless of how a day goes, I know that God is still watching over me and blessing my life.

Speaking of which, I am so grateful for the nice birthday cards and packages that came. Grandma Bunny sent some incredible homemade goodies. There was some chocolate coated caramels and some toffee brittle and both were outstanding. The only bad thing was the timing of them arriving during a week where we had the car... Jennifer Whitaker sent a great package too with a couple ties and some other things... Incredibly awesome and appreciated. Also, the thoughts she includes in her letters have answered my prayers many a time. I am so grateful to have her support.

One of things that is fun to do have been service. This past week we raked leaves a couple different times, helped organize Christmas lights for an older couple, played basketball at a retirement home, and helped some strangers who were moving and we were walking on their street. The retirement home basketball was fun and funny. They would try and shoot a nerf basketball into a 5 gallon bucket. One of the ladies kept saying "Give me a real basketball and see what I can do" when she would miss. She also got so mad at others on her "team" when they would miss. That feeling of serving others is so great and I am grateful for the chances we have to do it.

One of the scriptures that really touched me this week was John 16:33. It was a great reminder to me that Jesus already overcame the world. If we but remember this always, and be of good cheer, we will not let the everyday frustrations and difficulties of life get to us. Granted there are times that are meant to push our limits and in these times we can really experience growth. However, the blessing of the Atonement is so infinite, and as we humble ourselves to reap the benefits of that great sacrifice, we can truly can overcome some of those feelings of the world too.

I almost forgot, I completed my electronic visa on Thursday. This was the last step I was waiting for. Now I just wait until the real visa come through and I will going to Brasil. That was real exciting. Elder Stephens also got to do his electronic visa on the same day. Elder Werner, my MTC companion received his visa and he is leaving today for Brasil. I got to see them on Friday. One of the General Authorities came to talk to the mission and it was great.

Well thank you all for the love and support and prayers. I am so happy and blessed and pray to be the instrument the Lord needs out of me.

With love and charity,

Elder GrazianoL

November 14, 2011

Hello!

So far so great here in Nashville. It has been a busy, yet fulfilling time here. We got here on Wednesday afternoon and I was hungry so I paid for some food at a Popeye's chicken in the airport. But they were slow and right after we saw the mission president waving us towards the exit, so I had to leave without the food. I was thrilled to be able to donate $5 to their franchise... We went to the mission home after that though and had meatball sandwiches and were interviewed and it turned out great. Then I got assigned to be companions with Elder Clark. He is from the Seattle, WA area (Maple Valley) and has been out about 4 months. We have been assigned to labor in the Mt. Juliet area. This area has not had a designated set of missionaries for a while, but President McKee felt it would be good for us to start up again. Elder Clark is new to this area as well, and the old missionaries only had a couple of names to give us to start working with. That being said, we have spent much time trying to talk to members and develop relationships with them and we have also done a numbers of hours worth of tracting. Bike riding has been entertaining as well. Except the engineers here forgot to put sidewalks or even shoulders on many of the roads, so we had to ride in grass ditches and make dashes across the road to cross bridges and stuff. Too bad there are no videos available for you. It is amazing to see how many people in this area are church goers. Their faith in Christ is strong. Many are friendly, but pretty set in their established family traditions of religion.

Last night, we taught a 17 yr old girl named Sierra about the Restoration. It was my first time teaching this message and the Spirit was was strong. I am excited to hear how her prayers went when we visit her again this week. There is another girl that was taught by the old Elders, Jill, who is 16 that has a desire to be baptized already. She attends seminary and is doing "personal progress" with the young women at church. Right now we are planning on attending a talent show that she is in with her parents, so hopefully that will help. Both of these girls have parents that aren't supportive right now, but I have been praying for the Holy Ghost to touch their heart about the truth of the message as well.

When we left the mission office, we went straight to our apartment and had enough time to use the bathroom before a member came and picked us up to make some visits. No one answered, so he took us to his house and fed us because our stomachs were growling again. At the apartment, I slept on the floor the first night, since the old missionaries never bothered getting an apartment in their area. They are leaving next week, and have since given us the beds and they use the couches now. It has been fun getting to know two more missionaries who have been out for a while and gaining knowledge from them. Apparently word traveled quicker than me that I was a football player and other things... The first thing the missionaries and president asked about at the airport was about football. Same with my companion and the Elders in our apartment. I also am seeing how this is an easy way to break the ice with some of the members and other people in the area. Now I just have to learn how to bring it up in an easy way, because so many people down here love football and when they find out I had the opportunity to play in college, etc. they light up a bit.

I haven't received any mail since I have been here, so I don't have much to respond too. I feel the best way to do it is to simply have you send things to the address I sent last time, and then the mission home forwards it out when received. My companion gave his last apartment address to people and now has to wait for his mail to get there, then either to the mission office or wait for the Elders for forward it.

One of the things I marvel at is the Spirit of joy which I feel as we walk or ride places. Mainly we have walked, and sometimes about 45 minutes to get to the area we want. There is a car assigned to this area, but we have to share it with two other Elders. We will switch every week. I feel better about this coming week because we will obviously be able to cover more ground in less time with the car. The weather has been just about perfect the last few days. The trees have already lost most of their leaves, but the landscape is still beautiful. There are many small farms around. One lady we talked to last Thursday invited us to come fishin in her pond some time on a preparation day.

Apparently there is a member of the Quorom of the Seventy coming to our mission this week on Friday, so we will have to miss most of our labor that day. I'm sure it will be great to have the opportunity to be taught by him. I love the time we have alotted for personal and companion study. I feel I am learning great insights daily. I usually have an hour a day to study Portuguese while my companion simply does more personal study. I try to do all my personal prayers in Portuguese and this seems to help. Also, at times I will watch church films with portuguese audio and try to make sure I understand everything.

This email seems so much longer than the previous ones. We have an hour to write here in the field. We start off by writing our mission president. I think the four of us in our apartment are going to play some basketball this afternoon and do some grocery shopping and cleaning. The cupboards are a little bare and we have slim pickings for breakfast. Dry cereal is only so gratifying.

Well I love you all and look forward to hearing from your whenever that is. Know that I think and pray for you every single day and I am loving life down here. Thank you for your continued prayers, love and support.

With love and charity,

Elder Graziano

Pictures from the MTC

Friends from the Reno Single's Ward: Elder Graziano, Elder Calinog, and Sister Forman

Cousins: Elder Higbee, Sister Harries, and Elder Graziano

Elder Graziano and his cousin, Sister Harries who is going to Vina Del Mar, Chile

Elder Calinog (Reno, NV), Sister Viland (Reno, NV), Elder Graziano

Elder Harmon (Mountain View, WY) and Elder Graziano

Elder Graziano and Elder Wadsworth (Oakley, ID)

Elder Graziano and Elder Butler (Florida)

Elder Graziano and Elder Collins (Arizona)

Back Row: Nuttall, Broach, Graziano, Werner, Bradshaw, La Banc

Middle Row: Sampson, Empey, Nielson, Wadsworth, Holteclaw

Front Row: Harmon and Sillitoe

Elder Graziano and Elder Black (Palo Alto, CA)

Elder Stephens and Elder Graziano

They are from the same stake in CA

Elder Nielson (Parma, ID) and Elder Graziano

"Awesome Elder! Very humble yet confident in the Lord"

Sister Taylor (Durango, CO), Sister Hansen (Joseph City, AZ), Sister Welling (Bountiful, UT), Elder Werner (Hershey, PA), Elder Graziano

Elder Smith (Provo, UT), Elder Graziano, and Elder Mahoni (New Zealand)

Sister Houston (Coordinating Sister, from Roosevelt UT), Elder Werner, and Elder Graziano

New Tennessee Address!

105 Westpark Drive Suite 190

Brentwood, TN 37027-5010

11/7/11

Good morning family-

Before I do anything else, I must say how appreciative I was to receive the big package from the Moraga Ward!. There were so many thoughtful and kind notes written in there. Along with the food... I don't think I will be able to eat it all before I have to leave, so I will make some lucky Elders happy as well. I know I haven't lived and spent considerable time there in the ward over the past 6 years, but it is so comforting to know that I am not forgotten. Likewise, the many that have had such a grand impact on me are not forgotten either... Please tell the ward thank you for this fine action.

So on Thursday we found out where we are going temporarily. Mom, I get to talk how you love the most again! I am heading to Nashville, Tennessee! I am way excited. I leave Wednesday morning. I will be able to call from the airport and will most likely do this from Denver. Our first flight leaves Salt Lake at 7:00, so I could call then if you and Dad want. But we get to Denver at 8:30 and have a bit of time before the next one I have 1.5 hr layover. Tell me in a DearElder if you can today what would be preferred. Just a short message is fine. But it has to be today so I can get it either tonight or tomorrow. We have to be ready to go to the airport at 4 in the morning.

My address in Tennessee will be

105 Westpark Drive Suite 190

Brentwood, TN 37027-5010

I am incredibly excited to go to Tennessee. Elder Werner received the same reassignment, so we will probably enjoy more of our company. Our companionship has still been doing great. One more Elder received a Visa from my district this last week, making 9 who did get them while at the MTC. The other Elder got reassigned to Milwaukee, WI. The parents of one of the Sister's that moved into our zone are from Sao Paulo, so it has been fun talking with a native speaker who has a different accent than most American when they speak portuguese.

I got another nice email from Pres Criddle and Sally Healy. Dad, thank you for the impact you have had on so many lives for the good. Maybe some more stories from your mission would be nice to hear from time to time, especially with Vince. She shared a small one about you, and I am grateful she did.

Grandma wrote about Sister Harries's companion who is from Bolivia. I think about her often and the impact she had on me. Won't be forgotten. I hope the Campo football team still has the round number in the loss column. What a remarkable year it sounds like. Also, my heart goes out to Brett. Hopefully that shoulder heals up quick so he can get a bit more out of this season.

One of the great blessings of this time as a missionary is certainly the encouragement we get to keep journals. Yesterday, during one of the talks, we were encouraged to write down at least 3 things every day of what we were thankful for. What a simple yet meaningful idea. I get this saying from Dan Martin: "If you plant corn, you get corn". Obviously if it is our goal to focus on the positive side of life, we will not only find it, but even more importantly, we will exude the light that naturally comes from doing so. I will certainly implement this in going forward in my journal writing, as I have too much gratitude for the blessings from the Lord not to. We had such a great testimony meeting here yesterday. They emphasize to us the fact that we should not get us and tell stories, but stick to the truths we know. The missionaries from our zone took this to heart and we not only heard from more missionaries than usual, but the Spirit was that much stronger. The love of our Savior Jesus Christ was very palpable.

Another occurrence this week was during a classtime. Our district is down to only 3 Elders, from originally 12. So sometimes the teachers allow us to mix it up a bit and do different things. Our teacher left the room on Saturday morning and told us to pray for a half hour with a notebook by our side. What a treat this was. Not so much the time factor, but the reverence and the Spirit in the room allowed for strong feelings and thoughts to enter the mind and heart - clearly communication from Heavenly Father. It was a good practice, and something I also hope to implement with some consistency.

Well it was another great week, with much learning and growth. I hope one and all knows how much I love you. This work and joy which accompanies it beats the other opportunities which were at my feet in years past. I am grateful for the testimony which the Lord has allowed to blossom within me and look forward to carrying the sword of the Spirit to Tennessee.

With love and charity,

Elder Graziano

October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween-

We had another good week here of growth and progression in the language. We will get our reassignments this week, on Thursday from what usually happens. There are only a few missions in America that use Portugues so if I don't go to one of those, I think I will have a little time every day to review the language, but more than likely, I will have to work a little harder when I do get my visa to get it all back. It is hard to believe that we only have one more week here as a district and then we are off. We get so busy throughout the week that it feels like I just emailed home two days ago. I continue to develop more and more relationships with Elders whose testimonies and faith are so strong, especially for being teenagers!

Elder Werner and I continue to get along great. We have definitely benefited from the combination of our two personalities. Also, as we practice teaching, we have begun to flow very smoothly through the lessons, which is a great feeling. Hopefully this can happen quickly with my next companion since we will be leaving next week. He has got a very humble and strong testimony and I enjoy hearing him bear it. We were told that we might have the opportunity to teach this week in front a bigger crowd of incoming missionaries, so pray for us that we can have the Spirit if they end up wanting us to do it.

I enjoyed a quote I heard from Pres Utchdorf this week. He said "The more we are filled with the Spirit of God, the more we extend ourselves to others". I am learning just how powerful, selfless, and Christ-like it is when we choose to give our service to others. I hope to be able to develop this trait not only over the next couple years, but over my life.

Apparently some of the Sister missionaries in my zone caught wind of me playing the piano in priesthood last week and asked me to play a song for them in sacrament. So I practiced everyday during meal time and prayed hard. Yesterday it all came together and they sang Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing to me thumping on the piano. No one said they heard any messups which was pretty nice of them. Evidently my stubborness paid off and I was able to remember how to play it with people singing behind me.

That is awesome that Campo football is doing so well - 8-0 last I heard. Vince- CONGRATS on the big touchdown against Miramonte and getting play of the week.

I got a letter from Buck with contained pictures of Adam Johnson's baby boy. That was way awesome. Congratulations Adam and Molly. Also, I got a letter from MaryJo. It is always a treat to hear from the Graziano's in Oregon. Especially Grandma Bunny. Her letters are so simple and sweet. And I love feeling the passion that she writes with.

I love the work, and love being able to learn so constantly. I am pleased with the relationship I am developing with the scriptures. I hope this will continue to grow, however, and my study habits will continue with me forever. Sorry if this email wasn't quite as long or detail as others, there were some distractions and it really does feel like I just emailed two days ago. Love you all!

With love and charity-

Elder Graziano

October 24, 2011

Hello family-

My companion and I have had another good week here. We continue to progress in the language as well as our teaching ability. It is such a blessing being able to feel the Spirit so often. We heard from Elder Richard G. Scott last Tuesday. One of the main points that I took with me was to pray as if time did not matter. At times I have felt tired and was worried about having to get up early again the next morning, but after he spoke about this subject. I have recomitted myself to making sure God knows how grateful I am every day for all of my blessings.

It is hard to imagine that it has already been one week since my last email. It feels as though it was just a few hours ago I pressed "send" last week. It is also interesting to think that in two weeks my time here in Utah will be up. 3 more Elders in our district received Visa's last week. They leave tomorrow. There will only be 5 of us left after they leave. We started with 12. It feels a lot different in class and doing things together with Elders continually getting "picked off" to go down to Brasil. I still haven't done my electronic visa, so I am sure I will have the opportunity to visit another part of the US before I end up making it to South America. This makes me even more excited to develop more relationships and learn from different Elders and mission president. I may find out this week what my reassignment will be, or next week, not sure yet. One of the Sisters I met that was supposed to go to Brasil just got reassigned to Billings, MT... I was jealous. Also, a counselor in our Branch Presidency served in the same mission as Uncle Steve - the Navajo Reservation - although about ten years prior. His last name is Gale. I asked him to pull some strings for me too. However, whatever happens, the work of the Lord is GREAT.

Neat to hear that Campo and Miramonte would be playing each other as undefeated teams. Hopefully that turned out great for the Cougars. I played bocce ball the other day with an Elder Black from Palo Alto. He is going to Porto Alegre North as well. He hopes to play football when he returns at either BYU or Stanford. He has a good frame for a tight end and if he puts on 20 lbs he would be great. Too bad here at the MTC they won't let us get any football games started, even flag, because there are some very athletic Elders. I feel so privileged to know so many young 19 and 20 year olds whose faith is so fortified already. This gives me more fire and motivation to dedicate myself deeper to my service.

I also enjoyed reading Elder Harries email home. It is so awesome thinking how happy Grandpa Barnes is. Sister Harries and I comment often on how we can feel his love and support around all the time.

Here is something that you may or may not believe. I played the piano in our priesthood meeting. Before I left I practiced a few songs on Jennifer's keyboard in Reno and memorized two of them. All of the Elders that could play left, so I was the last resort. They somehow played themselves without a hitch - prayer works... Anyway, if I have to play again, we are going to get real good at singing We Thank Thee, O God, For A Prophet and Let The Holy Spirit Guide.

Grandma - Thank you so much for the caramel popcorn. It is so good. As much as I've tried to share with others, I still have more to get through. Thanks so much for thinking of me.

Mom - That was a neat story about the snake at the tennis courts. Thanks for thinking of me through your letters this past week. I am doing great and really don't need anything more. I feel spoiled enough as it is from your prayers and love and letters from not only you, but everyone else too.

Dad - Thanks for Dan's address. If I could ask another favor: to call him back and get the address of his parents. His # again is 918-899-4084.

Aunt Diane - Thank you for telling Sister Harries to lend me a few Halloween cookies. They were nice and crumbled by the time I got them so I didn't have to waste any of the Lord's time chewing! They were very tasty though. It has been an enormous blessing in my life and a boost to my faith to get to know her better while she has been here at the MTC. I am excited for her to get to experience the Peru MTC as well.

Aunt Kathy - Thank you for thinking of me and filling me in a bit Brett. That is a big bummer. Having seen so many talented athletes, I also saw many of them never truly get to show their full potential due to injuries. You know this too I am sure due to your extended activity in and around sports. I will make sure to remember him in my prayers. How is Kyle doing in San Diego? I am sure his legs are stronger than mine now if he is working the pedals hard everyday up and down those hills.

I love all and am ever mindful of the immense love and support and prayers that are offered on my behalf. Until next week,

With love and charity,

Elder Graziano