Boca Chica 7 - Feliz Navidad

Boca Chica 7 - Feliz Navidad !

Merry Christmas everybody. First off, I don´t have a ton of time because la luz (electricity) went out in the internet center we are in, so I lost like 20 minutes of time for nothing. But I´ll try and pull this off as best as I can.

 

I hope everyone is doing good and that this Christmas time is going how everyone has expected.  I hope that you are all safe and healthy. Things down here in Boca Chica are going really, really well. I had my first baptism two days ago at a big baptisimal service for the stake. Our investigator, Elisa, was baptized and I perfomed the baptism. I was super nervous because it´s not only a baptism, but it´s a baptism in Spanish and I´m a gringo - so I was a little on edge 'cause I didn´t want to mess it up. But when I was in the moment, I felt amazing! I was peaceful, and I just felt very good and was FILLED with the Spirit. The ordinance went well, and if I don´t have one more baptism my entire mission, that one moment and one baptism would be worth the entire two years of hard work and service to the Lord.

The Christmas spirit is definitely hitting the DR big time. They do start decorating and celebrating in October but during this time, people are building Christmas trees out of bottles, and decorating their homes with literally whatever they can find. It really helps me stay happy and some of the things I see makes me laugh. But I really want to make sure you guys know how blessed we are. How blessed The United States of America is and how many abundant blessings we all have. Some of the homes and families we know are in some hard times. They hardly have enough money to buy clothes and food, let alone gifts. Some kids don´t have parental support because their father plays dominoes and drinks all day and the mother just doesn`t care. Most kids here are "forgotten" by Santa and really don´t have the Christmas most people imagine and want.

 

So be grateful during this time of family and celebration.  Even though it can be hard, try and focus just a bit more on Christ and the meaning of Christmas this year. The presents and egg nog with the big dinners will almost always be there every year. But really focus on the Atonement that Christ died for. I know that this Church is true. I miss all of you and hope your Christmas is everything you wanted this year. You are all in my prayers every day.

Love,

Elder Graff

Boca Chica 6 - Dreaming of Boca Chica Christmas!

Boca Chica 6 - Dreaming of Boca Chica Christmas!

Hey everybody!! There´s been a lot of things that have happened this week and I´ll try and fit them all in here if I can.  Sorry in advance for the bad grammar and stuff cause my English is getting worse and I´m typing on a Spanish keyboard so there´s that.

 

But things down here in Boca Chica are going really, really well. We got news last night about transfers and Elder Tate and I, as well as Elder Beuhner and Elder Gee, are ALL staying here for at least another transfer so I´m really happy about that cause we´re working hard and making good changes to the ward here. 

 

With one of the elders at a conference  

First off, our investigators are all doing great. Luis, one of our investigators that is progressing a ton, is really loving the church and the gospel. He´s came to church every single Sunday since we first invited him, he came to basketball on Saturday, and he´s just really loving it. We invited him to be baptized but he said he really wants to be ready cause he knows that baptism is a life-changing thing and that he wants to be sure this is the true church before he commits. But he´s reading in the Book of Mormon, understanding a ton, and he´s going to pray about his baptism so we´re really thinking about him a lot and waiting for God to help him out. But we´re hoping the best for him.

 

His luxurious accommodations, with fan and mosquito net .... 

                        One of the unwelcome roommates          Breakfast in the DR

We have two families as well that are making the changes necessary for baptism and they´re both doing really, really well. The first family is the Sandival family. They´re all absolute studs and the mom, Nancy, has really been interested in the message recently. At first, she was just kind of there and her kids were the ones that we´re really into the Gospel. But we had some really spiritual lessons, and one lesson that happened 4 days ago made her want to get baptized. Her mom, Ni Ni, has a tumor on the side of her body and it´s really making it tough on her and her family. And we didn´t know about it until that day. But she told us all about it and about how they were going to visit the doctor in the capital and she was talking about how they didn´t know what was gonna happen. It had just been a really difficult thing lately for them. And for some reason, I felt inspired to read in the Book of Mormon in Chapter 24 of Mosiah. And so we read the chapter about Alma and his people when they were in bondage and how their burdens weren´t lifted, but LIGHTENED. We really stressed that part and they really felt the Spirit of the message. But after the lesson, Nancy told us that she´d really been thinking about our message and she´s noticed that ever since we started teaching them, her daughters and son have been more open, obedient, loving, and she´s just noticed that their lives have been really good and peaceful. So we´re going to teach them in the Church on Wednesday and if the Spirit is right, we´re going to invite them to be baptized.

We´re having a lot of "numerical" success down here in our area, but I wanna stress that baptisms are not the most important thing as a missionary. Sure, it´s what we´ve been called to do and it´s the door to a new life, but a lot of people get wrapped up in the numbers. What is more important is the lives we change, and the peace this message can bring forever in the lives of children of God. This message is more than just dunking someone in water and after that moving on. This message is hope. This message is love. This message is the only thing that can bring true happiness to a lot of families and people that are struggling and missing this Gospel. Christ lived a perfect life. He overcame every tempation in his way. He suffered every single pain, thought of inadequacy, sickness, and sin that we will EVER have the rest of our lives in the Garden of Gethsemane. And He sealed his Atonement with His own life on the cross for us. This is the message. I love this Church. I love that I get the opportunity to be here in the Dominican Republic. Everyone is a child of God. Everyone on this Earth is our brother or sister. And God loves us more than we could ever imagine. I hope everyone is doing good and that things are tranquilo back home.

Cuidense mucho todo,

Elder J. Taylor Graff 

A ball that my cousin  Jacob signed when he was living in the same house that I am right now. 

 

Boca Chica 5 - "Vale la Pena"

Boca Chica 5- Vale la Pena (It's worth the pain) 

Como le van amigos!!!

Hey everybody hope everything is going well and you're all enjoying your families during this time of the year cause Christmas time really is a time for family and celebration. Everything down here in the DR is going great. It's actually starting to cool down a lot more. It's about 81 during the day and like 78 during the night. The people down here are busting out huge jackets and pants and everything like it's gonna snow 12 inches. But yeah, everything is going really really well.
 

 

After a long day of service

       First off, something super awesome is gonna happen in 12 days if everything goes as planned!!! We have an investigator named Elisa that has a baptismal date for the 20th of December and she's doing super well!! She's coming to church every Sunday, reading in the Book of Mormon, and making the changes she needs to be baptized which is awesome. She's doing super well and her baptisimal interview is THIS saturday so needless to say I'm stoked for her. She's changed a ton. At first, when we were teaching her, she didn't talk at all. She just kind of responded to our questions with one word answers cause she's super shy. But now, she's questioning things, making lots of friends in the Church, and she's just doing so awesome. 

 

Beautiful sunrise over the bay

But we have a lot of other wonderful people we're teaching. We have a family with three kids that we're teaching right now!! The mother is a superstar and she's already read everything we've left with her.  She comes to church and she's just doing everything she needs to as well as her kids. But her husband doesn't want anything to do with the "Mormónes" but it's all good. But she's progressing fast and she wants baptism really, really bad. We just gotta make sure she's ready first and really wants this for her and her kids for the right reasons. 

Everything else is going great too. My Spanish is getting there and I can actually talk on the phone now which is pretty sweet. I can say almost everything I want to. I just gotta keep the grammar and vocab coming but I'm doing well.  I have a goal to be fluent by 4 months so we'll see how that rolls out - hahaha.

But the message I really want to share with everybody today is that this Gospel is worth the pain or -"este evangelio vale la pena". Sometimes, we have to sacrifice for God. Sometimes, we have to do things that are hard and that seem impossible or near impossible at first. But if we really put our lives in God's hands, God can do things with us that seem crazy. He can help us more than anyone. He knows us more than we know ourselves. and if we turn in our will and accept His, we'll be happy no matter what life brings us. Because He will bless us more than we could ever imagine when we're doing what He wants us to do. 

Anyways, hope all is well and that everyone is safe and happy. I'm doing good down here don't worry about me. And if you're ever having a bad day, just say to yourself "At least I'm not a dog in the Dominican Republic." ......Just trust me, there's nothing worse than being a dog down here. So there's that.

Love,

Elder J. Taylor Graff

Boca Chica 4 - "El es la Dadiva"

Boca Chica 4 - "El es la Dadiva" (He is the Gift)

 "K lo k" mi familia!!!

Hey everybody, hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving and you ate a ton of food and watched a lot of college football -  'cause I sure missed that about 4 days ago.

           Things down here in la Republica Dominicana are going good. We had a huge feast in our apartment two days ago for our "dia de povo" (which means day of turkey down here cause that's what they call it). They don't celebrate it. The people down here just think it's funny and make fun of us cause we worship turkey hahaha. But it was hands down, a meal from the heavens. We had stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, candied yams, Dominican ham, and pumpkin bread with vanilla icing. It was the best meal I have ever had in my life. It really felt like I got transported home for a day except we had no light (electricity) and I was with three other skinny missionaries instead of my family. But it was still an awesome day. But our light FINALLY came!!! We had been going on a week and two days without any light at all because some "teegs" (a dominican word for criminals basically) stole the wire that runs to our house. So we had no running water, a maggot-infested freezer and fridge, and bucket showers. But I wasn't complaining cause it could've been a lot worse - and I liked the third-world experience of it. There's just something about the sketchiness of this country that makes me love it even more hahaha. But so to get our light back, we went to the store and got a 1000 pesos worth of wire and brought it back to the house. Then, we had to cross the street and buy two large 80 pounds wooden poles and carry them back a mile to our house so we could put the wire up higher so no one can steal it anymore. But two days ago, the mission leader who is also an electrician came over and hooked it all up so we have our light back finally. 

        Our mission leader in our ward is such a stud though. Two days ago, we had a Ward Council meeting and he was talking about how he would have to miss church for the sixth time since he was converted twenty years ago. And we were all like "only for the sixth time", kind of playing lightly with it cause that's not a lot of times in 20 years. But he broke down and started crying. He then started talking about how much this Church means to him and that he hates when he misses church cause he can't take the sacrament and hear the talks. I was in shock. It really made me realize how for granted some of us take the Church. Because we've had it our entire life. But it really is such a blessing. And being out on a mission has really helped me appreciate it a LOT more. 'Cause I'm teaching people every day all day about this message. And I've already seen a lot of people make changes and have a new light about them in the short time I've been here. Which really testifies to me that this church is true. Sometimes I miss home. Sometimes I miss my friends. Sometimes I miss America and good food and chocolate milk. But like it says in 1 Corinthians 13:11 "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child and did like a child. But when I became a man, I left the things I was as a child" (Or something like that, I'm translating from my Spanish bible right now). But it really is true. I'm not a child anymore. I'm not a teenager anymore really. I'm becoming a man. And the mission isn't a place to miss home. Sure thinking of home is good and remembering family is important. But I have to do things here that are more important. This message truly can change people. And anyone reading this right now that is a member, I challenge you to share this message with one of your friends that aren't members. Because this message really is for everyone. And you'd be surprised who needs this and who God has prepared to hear this message. Some people I have been teaching here remind me a TON of people back home. The only thing different is that they're a different skin color and they speak a different language. We ALL truly are, sons and daughters of God. And EVERYONE deserves the opportunity to decide whether or not they want to accept this message. I know this Church is true. I know Jesus died for us. Because He loves us. And I hope we can all during this time of Christmas this year, think a little more like Christ; and be just a little more like Him. I love this work and I'll stay grinding hard every day until I'm done. Share what you have with others and serve. 

       Because "When ye are in the service of your fellow men, ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17)

Elder J. Taylor Graff

Boca Chica 3 - Happy Thanksgiving

Boca Chica 3 - Happy Thanksgiving 

Hola familia!!!!

         Hey guys hope everyone is having an awesome holiday season and enjoying this week before Thanksgiving. Things down here in La Republica Dominicana are awesome as ever. We have a lot of really great investigators that just need time and need to keep their commitments and we should have a lot of people ready to be baptized in December but it's all a matter of time and if they really want to change as of right now. But I'm doing really good. Losing weight fast but doing really, really good. I couldn't be happier. This week was pretty long and hard cause a lot of our appointments fell through but we did some contacting and found some other awesome individuals and families. The people here are such a loving and religious people. It's really different than the U.S., it truly is. Literally everyone wants to hear about Christ down here. 95% of the people down here believe there is a God and whether they want anything to do with our church, they ALWAYS want to hear a message about the Person who has given them everything - which isn't much. The people here really have changed my perspective on life. They've blessed me in ways I never thought they would and I'm really developing an overwhelming love for everyone I meet.

        But on a different note, it's actually starting to cool down here in the DR. And by cool down I mean it's like 85 instead of 92. Which down here people are busting out the "chaquetas" and sweaters which is crazy cause I'm still sweating like a dog. But I've really began to appreciate the blessing of cars down here cause we walk EVERYWHERE. We walk probably about 8 miles every day and I'm so glad my shoes are still holding up! But today was probably the best day that I've had on the mission. On Sunday, these white people came to church and to our sacrament meeting. And as you can guess we were dumbfounded because I haven't seen a white person in a month. But we got to know them and turns out that they were baseball players for the Cincinnati Reds, and the pitcher has a girlfriend that's LDS and he wants to know more about our church. REALLY cool guys. But anyways, they invited us out to their game which was today and we went. It was such an awesome facility. And it made me miss baseball so, so much. But Domincans are another breed when it comes to baseball. One of the guys we saw my first P-day when we played baseball was warming up with a softball and was pitching 91 MILES AN HOUR. I really haven't lost much of my baseball skills since I've been out here which is awesome. Me and my comp see kids playing in the street sometimes and we play with them for like 5 minutes. They play a game down here called "Batilla", which is with a big bottle cap and pipes and they flick the bottle cap and you try and hit it as far as you can, basically. It's so awesome hahaha. But the kids here are so creative when it comes to having fun. Which is why everyone can wheelie here. I swear, every time I see a kid riding by on a bike he's wheeling and he just rides it like it's nothing. But this P-day was sweet to say the least.

On a more spiritual note, one of our investigators, Alfredo is going through a really rough time. He's literally like Job out of the Bible. He doesn't have anything. Hardly a penny to his name. His family isn't there for him and he lives in a house the size of most bedrooms in America. But he is progressing so well. He doesn't have a lot but he is so strong in the gospel. He set aside time for work to come to church this week and we're really hopeful for him and his two daughters to get baptized this next month on the twentieth.

But anyways, the mission is awesome. My English is already going downhill, and my Spanish is getting better. We have so many awesome investigators and they're progressing well. But sometimes, it's really hard especially some days where a ton of appointments fall though and you walk everywhere for nothing. But God always has us on his mind. He's always there for us. He's always reaching for us. We just have to reach back. "Ask, and ye SHALL recieve. Knock, and it SHALL be opened unto you" All we have to do is ask. All we have to do is knock. I know this Gospel is true and hard, but it is not impossible. I love you all and miss you all so much and wish you the best for these upcoming holidays.

Signing off in the DR,

Elder J. Taylor Graff

Boca Chica - 2: Pday

Boca Chica - 2: Pday

Overlooking "Boca Chica" inlet on P-Day

Hola!!

OK, so things this week down in the DR were pretty crazy and I had a ton of amazing experiences. But the work down here is awesome. The people are so receptive to hearing about Christ and everybody when you ask them how they're doing will say "Todo esta bien, gracias a Dios" almost every time. Even if they're in the worst situation, the smallest house, the dirtiest clothes, anything: They have their family and God which is enough for them. Which really makes me sad but happy at the same time. The people down here are just amazing and strong people. Sure, there are some people that hate Americans and don't want anything to do with us. But most people, even if they have no interest in our message about the LDS church specifically, want to just talk about God. It amazes me how much faith these people have even though they have so many trials in their lives.

Lunch out with companions - P-day

         There are two experiences I want to share though. One of them is with one of our investigators Elisa. She is progressing so fast. She's came to church six weeks in a row, she's reading the Book of Mormon and she's doing everything she needs to do to be baptized. She's such a strong person in this gospel already. But she has a "tigre" for a boyfriend (which is like a thug), and they are living together which is hard because he doesn't have the money to get married and he doesn't want to live seperately. So we were having a hard time dealing with that situation. We tried everything we could talking to her boyfriend Miguel to help them but he just didn't want to listen. So, my comp and I decided we'd just try our best, keep teaching, and leave the rest to God.  So we fasted and prayed and worked as hard as we could to help them and two days ago at one of our lessons we were just talking before we were about to start the lesson and learned that Miguel decided to move out! We were in shock. He told us that he changed his mind.  He felt that if this Church and our message was that important to her, he didn't want to stop her from getting baptized. So she's getting baptized on the 20th of December along with five of our other investigators if all goes well. But that was such a strong answer to our prayers and it just goes to show if you do your part, and if you have faith, God WILL make up the rest.

Service project with machetes at the house of the Domicci family

          Another experience I had this week was with one of our other great investigators named Alfredo. He's an amazing guy but he does so much work just to provide the basics for his family that he has a hard time reading, going to church, and having lessons. But anyways, his sister Sencilla de Jesus de los Santos was in Bon Aires about 2 months ago and she got really sick. But instead of going to the hospital, she went to a witch doctor to cure her. So while she was there she picked up a bad spirit and she has been living with it ever since. But on Saturday, he called us and asked if we would go over to her house with him and give her a priesthood blessing because he told us he had faith that we could help her. So we made sure it was OK to do beforehand and everything then we went over to her house with him. When my companion and I went into the house, we could instantly feel like something was wrong. The spirit in the home just didn't feel right and it was super eerie. But we went into the room where she was staying.  Her brother and father were there with her. She was sitting on the bed with an IV in her wrist that was attached to the ceiling. She was in really bad shape. She couldn't talk. She couldn't really move at all.  We explained to her family what a priesthood blessing was and we shared a scripture in James where it explains the use of oil for the blessing of the sick. And we proceeded with the blessing. After the blessing, we looked down at her and she looked up and shook both of our hands and started talking! She said "thank you so much brothers" and we talked a little more and then we left. Alfredo, when we got back to the house was in awe. He told us that she hadn't talked in 4 weeks and she couldn't hardly function. It was amazing. But unfortunately, that night, his sister passed away. We don't know why. My comp and I didn't know what to do. Alfredo was stressed out and wanted to talk to us immediately. He also explained to us that he has to pay for everything: the funeral, the casket - everything. And he hardly makes enough to sustain himself. But he came to Church on Sunday and we came over and talked with him at his house right afterwards. It was such a hard experience. He was crying and was just super depressed. We honestly didn't know what to say. But we shared with him about the Plan of Salvation and I felt inspired to share the 122th section of the Doctrine and Covenants with him, which is about Joseph smith in Liberty Jail. It just talks about how if everything is against you, if you feel like you have nothing, just know that Christ knows how you feel. Because Christ passed through EVERYTHING we will ever pass through in the garden of Gethsemane. He told us that even though his sister passed away he knows what we are saying is true and that he still wants to learn more and have us teach him. We are now trying to organize a fundraiser for him and just help out any way we can. It was just such an amazing experience. 

 

 

Surfers in Boca Chica

I just want to let all of you know; if you ever feel like you're alone. If you ever feel like the Lord has abandoned you. If you ever feel like no one is listening; Christ and God are. They are the ones we need to turn to in our situations of stress and grief. Because they know exactly how to help us. This has helped me so much out here in the mission. Cause there are times when it's hard. But Christ knows exactly how we feel and He has a plan for us. See you all in about 22 months!!!!

Love,

Elder Graff

Boca Chica - 1: First Week out in the Field

 

Taylor with President and Sister Corbitt at mission home

HOLA!!!!!

 

So I´m actually in the field now in a place by the beach called Boca Chica. You´d think it´d be really nice cause it´s right by the beach but it´s actually a really poor undeveloped area. Our house is hard to live in cause the power goes out all the time and we only have fans and a tiny kitchen but it´s so awesome. The people in this area, and in the DR in general are so amazing. They don´t have ANYTHING. Most people don´t even work they kind of just sit around or sell kanye (aka: sugar cane) or they do something else small to pay the bills. But there´s no power companies here, just everyday people that attach power lines to a main router for power.

        My companion Elder Tate is an absolute stud. He´s from Utah and he´s the hardest worker I´ve ever met. We are really busy with lessons, service, and really just about everything. But EVERYONE here loves to hear about Christ and so it´s really easy to talk to people and teach the first lessons. But the hard things for people to do here is commit. So most people just flake after the first lesson but we still come by and say hi asking how things are cause we´re their friends - we aren't just trying to sell them something. I´m absolutely loving the mission though. We have some awesome investigators with a lot of people that truly are progressing very quickly. We have as of right now 6 baptisms scheduled for December with a lot of other investigators that are right on the edge. But all we can do is teach from the Spirit, love them, and invite. It´s up to them to act and decide for themselves, which is another thing that´s absolutely awesome about Christ´s gospel and life in general. We have agency. We have control over our own lives and that´s just the greatest gift you could possibly ask for.

 

Taylor with his new companion Elder Tate

     But anyways, here´s some stories and a little bit more about our investigators and just the news down in the DR. So one of our investigators, the Domichi family are awesome. Elisabeth is a single mother with two daughters Vanessa and Candy. Elisabeth is an awesome cook and today we went over to her house to help her clear out her backyard of some weeds with MACHETES. It was so awesome but really hard in the blistering sun. But I´m so glad I learned how to work cause the mission is NOT easy. It´s really hard but so worth it. But anyways , hat family is awesome. Another one of our investigators is a Haitian named Joel. He lives in the smallest house I´ve ever seen in my life with only a bed and a desk but guess what... HE HAS A GUITAR!  And he´s absolutely amazing at it. He humbled me so much 'cause I thought I was good at guitar. His fingers flied when he played it and he was the best person at guitar I´ve ever seen in my life. But I played a little bit for him and he was impressed.  I´m losing some of my guitar ability and I´m having "guitar withdrawals" hahahah but it´s all good. But anyways, he´s awesome and he is so motivated to read the Book of Mormon. The first lesson we taught him he asked how he can be baptized and we were just kind of like -slow down there buddy haha. But he believes the Book of Mormon is the word of God and we´re just working with him and making sure he´s ready before we commit him to baptism. Baptism isn´t just one step and dunk in water and it's all good.  It´s the first covenant we make with the Lord and we covenant with Him to live the Gospel THE REST OF OUR LIVES. It´s no laughing matter and it´s serious. 

 

I can´t describe how happy I am. This work is hard. It´s not fun and games. But I´m so happy all of the time. Because God called me to serve in the DR. To help and love the people here. To give all I have for two years so others can have the same happiness from this Gospel that I have. It´s amazing.

Spanish is coming along fine and I´m really starting to understand but it´s hard cause Dominicans talk soooo fast --the fastest out of any other country that speaks Spanish, which is awesome cause I´ll be able to understand everyone that speaks Spanish back home but I'll be able to talk so fast that most people won´t understand me if I really work hard haha. But the mission is going so great. I wouldn´t trade it for anything in the world and I´ve only been out for a month in a half. Just know that I know this church is true. I´m not out here because my parents know this church is true. I´m out here because I have a testimony of this Gospel and I want to share the happiness and joy I have with EVERYONE I can. I´m looking for my brothers and sisters out here literally and I can´t waste anytime doing it. Because I´ve been sent to help the people out down here in any way I can. And I cannot miss that one person only I can touch. Cause there´s that one person for every single missionary in every area. Hope all is good back home. I love you all. See you in 22 and a half months hahaha.

Love,

Elder J. Taylor Graff

Last Week in the MTC

 

LAST WEEK in the MTC 

 Goofing off with the Elders 

Well, Taylor sent a couple short notes to Laura and I today as well as some personal letters to a few of you who have been writing directly to him. We'll post some of those excerpts here:

 

Taylor said they get a little extra time in the MTC to write, so he's enjoyed being in touch with so many friends and family.  He also said "I don't spend more than an hour and a half cause me and my comp love to play ping pong and Frisbee etc. I love it here. I'm learning so much and trying to make God and the family proud."

He asked us to post on Twitter and Instagram for him as well, so if you're on there we'll keep it updated at his request.  "I appreciate that Mom's keeping all my friends updated. Thank you so much. You guys are awesome. I'm sure you know that packages and letters from home are the best thing out here. I love hearing from you guys and I'm sure I'm going to love getting little things here and there from you guys during my mission." 

 

He's getting ready to leave the MTC and head to the field, saying "I'm kinda living out of my suitcase - I packed up early cause I didn't want to be scrambling at the very end...." 

 

We had told him about his Grandma and Grandpa Brown who have submitted papers to serve a mission and have decided to serve a full 18 months if needed: 
  "I heard about their upcoming mission call. That's awesome that they're going out for 18 months! That's a long time but they'll love it. They're such great examples to me. I also heard about Jessyca and Summer's call.  Tell them I said "congrats".  They really will be awesome. I pray for you guys every day also."

 

His mom told him that we miss the sound of his guitar and singing in the home.  He responded: "Tell me about it! I'm having guitar withdrawls which leads me to playing the piano. I really wish I would've taken more lessons and just played the piano more often. But it's all good. Things here are awesome. I'm healthy. Tell all the boys to please email me separately! I'd love to hear from them about how things are going. If my English starts getting bad just know I'm speaking a TON of spanish hahaha. HAPPY HALLOWEEN."

 

 "Called To Serve" - Taylor and his companion going to the Temple

He also shared:   "I miss you guys a ton and I pray for you guys every night. I'm glad to hear that you guys are doing well. Halloween is an awesome time, one of my favorite holidays by far. And they don't celebrate it here. Which is an absolute bummer. But anyways, we're probably gonna do something for it here at the MTC cause we all bought candy and we're thinking about dressing up and going trick or treating around the MTC haha. But yeah, we went on splits last Friday. I thought some of the things I had done were humbling before. Going to the university, the store, etc etc. But going on splits was a whole different ball game. Poverty everywhere. Dogs dying in the streets. The homes were sometimes as little as some weak stone walls with a tin roof. It was super humbling to see. It was almost like the scene in James Bond where he looks out and sees all those shanty houses. It was almost exactly the same.

 

The driving is absolutely insane too. No rules. Basically the way you find out if you're a good driver here is if you don't get into an accident haha. We had to take these buses called "Gua wahs" and it was nuts!!  They just pile as many people as they can at a time into a bus and weave through cars, almost hitting people here and there and the whole time you're just on edge ready for anything. But anyways, I had a native comp that spoke no English 'cause I'm lucky enough to have some Spanish experience before I came here, so I'm progressing well. His name was Elder Camacho. Stellar guy. All our appointments that day ended up falling through. So we went to some less actives' homes and taught some lessons and mainly just talked with them. I can't believe how much I actually understood. It was crazy. The gift of tongues is so real. I know in my heart if it was just me out here, I wouldn't be anywhere close in Spanish to where I am now. But "Domincan Spanish" is a whole different ball game hahahah. They talk so fast it's gonna be hard to get adjusted for the first bit.

 

But anyways, things here are awesome. I'm losing some weight cause all we eat is beans, rice and some really bad meat. But it's awesome. I'm loving it."

 

Then he said to the youth who would read his letters:

"If you're hearing this or reading this; serve a mission!  It's the best choice you could ever make in your entire life. It changes you. You'll become a better man.  I mean, I've only been out here for 5 weeks in a place that could easily be Utah until you go outside the gates. But please pray for the missionaries around the world. I love you guys and can't wait to see you all again."

 

Taylor's MTC District

He closed by saying:

"I miss you all so much. I leave early Tuesday morning. I'll let you guys know. You are all in my prayers individually throughout the day every day. Please tell Aaron to email me seperately as well as the rest of the boys. I really want to talk to them personally. 

With all of my love,        Elder J. Taylor Graff"

Week 4 MTC

Well, tomorrow marks one month since I left home. It's crazy how far I've come in such a short time. I've progressed so fast in the Gospel and the language so far and I know not even 10 percent is from me. I'm working hard sure, but as I'm working and striving to be the best missionary I can be, the Lord is blessing me so much.

 Making friends in the mission

         Things here are so awesome. The older missionaries left three days ago to Santiago and Puerto Rico which was so sad ‘cause I was good friends with all of them and I'll miss them so much. But it's bittersweet because I know how good they're going to be out in the field. They were all studs in their own ways. That's another thing I've learned out here is that everyone is special in their own way. Not everyone is a great public speaker. Not everyone is a great athlete. And not everyone is blessed in the social aspect of their lives but they carry different gifts that can bless people in ways other people cannot. Like an elder here that is in my room. He's not sociable at all and really struggles making friends. But in class, whenever he bears his testimony the whole room is silent. Everyone is transfixed because of the powerful spirit he carries with himself everywhere he goes.

          But anyways, another thing that has happened since last week – my companion and I got called as the new APs of the MTC which is awesome. Being AP really keeps me in line and helps me stay in the boundaries of obedience I want to be in because I have to be an example.  Really it just gives me the opportunity to love and serve everyone and practice my Spanish ‘cause I definitely need it. The MTC is a way different place than out in the field. Here, I'm so confident in my language and I can say the things I need to say and understand everyone. But whenever we go tracting at the MTC or to the tienda, it's so hard to understand what the Dominicans are saying if you aren't absolutely zoned in. You zone out for one second and you won't catch a thing they say they talk so fast. But it's awesome.

 

Taylor and his companion in the MTC

Speaking of the University, my comp and I had an awesome experience last Friday. At first, no one wanted to hear what we had to say at the University so we were getting really discouraged. It's hard when people don't want to talk to you when you know you have a message that can bless their lives. But we prayed for strength and help in finding the people that we needed to find. Soon enough, we met these two girls named Ana and Melissa. They were sitting down on a bench talking and eating and we just came up and said hi. They kinda’ blew us off at first and were just giving one word answers to our questions but we just stayed positive and kept talking. They soon became interested in what we had to say and when we started talking about the Book of Mormon and the Gospel they were silent. We testified of the truthfulness of this church and taught them a little about the Restoration, answered their questions, etc. (This was all in Spanish, btw, which was a huge confidence boost regarding the language). But they ended up at the end of the time we were with them wanting to know more. So we got their numbers down as references and gave them to the MTC and they're calling them to set up a time with the missionaries if they want.

          Another experience at the university was at the very end. We've been using some slang we've learned here that's still appropriate to use as a missionary to connect with people and get them interested because they love when you embrace their culture and they'll be more receptive. So at the very end of our time, we saw this group of four kids our age walking and they said hi in English. So we were stoked ‘cause we hardly ever hear English out in the field. So I complimented them on their English and that started it all. They wanted to talk in English but I told them we needed all the practice we could get ‘cause we're gringos obviously and they got a kick out of that. So they started talking super-fast and my companion and I at the same time said "Bajale algo" which is slang for slow down and they died laughing. They thought we were awesome because we could speak "Dominican Spanish" but it turns out that they are studying at the university and so we asked them a lot of questions about what they were studying and really got to know them instead of just sharing the gospel right away as if we were trying to sell something to them. That's one thing I've learned also. You really got to love the people and care about them instead of just wanting to share the gospel as good as the message is. But if you get to know them and show you care first, they'll be much more receptive to the message you have to share. But soon enough, we started talking about the gospel and turns out they were Evangelists. So we asked them about their beliefs and they believed in a lot of things we believed in. Repentance, faith, baptism, the Godhead, etc. So we just built off what they already believed and they were super receptive to it and interested because we weren't bashing their beliefs, just expounding on them and adding onto their testimony of the God. So we talked about the Restoration a little bit and the Book of Mormon especially. They loved it. They were really open to our church and especially when we shared our testimony. When I bore my testimony about the Book of Mormon and the reason I was out here, the feeling I got was indescribable. My soul burned and I just knew, like I always do whenever I share my testimony about the church, especially the Book of Mormon and the Restoration, that this church is true. I know it is with all of my being. But anyways, they gave us their numbers and we called them with one of the teachers in the MTC and Samuel gave us his address. The missionaries in the East are going to give him the lessons!!!!! We were stoked!

            But yeah, that's a lot of what happened this week. A lot of the same stuff here though in the MTC. There's not a lot of change here just a lot of Spanish and gospel classes but I'm loving it. The mission has already changed my life. It really is a call ordained of God. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else and if you're thinking about serving a mission, do it. I love you guys with all my heart. Just know I'm doing good and life is going great.

Te amo,

Elder J. Taylor Graff

Week 3 - MTC

Week 3 MTC Dominican Republic:

So this week has been so awesome. I've had so many cool experiences this week and I'm gonna try and share all of them with you guys but it'll be hard because we have limited time. We're way overbooked here at the MTC. We have nine districts here when we're only supposed to have 6. A lot of natives but they are way nice and humble. I'm making tons of friends here and the older group is leaving in 6 days which will be rough cause I love them all so much. But they'll do awesome in the field.

      First off, we went contacting at a university last Friday. It was the coolest experience of the week. Walking there was such an experience. The atmosphere is absolutely nuts here. It's way different than the US. But everyone here is SO friendly. Even if they don't have a lot of time, all you have to do is say hi to some people and they spark a conversation. But anyways, at the university, Elder Hansen and I talked to as many people as we could possibly talk to. We had about 5 BOMs to handout and a couple pamphlets on the restoration. We gave out 4 of the 5 BOMs and all the pamphlets. But we weren't just looking to give out pamphlets and BOMs. We wanted life changing experiences and we wanted our experiences with people to mean something other than "Here's a book and a pamphlet". One of our coolest experiences was with a woman named Violeta. We were walking past here and I felt prompted to say hi. So that's all I did. She said hi back and we kept walking but we took no more than 5 steps when she called out to us from behind. We turned around and she came running up asking us if we were missionaries. We said yes and she went on to explain that she had ran into some missionaries over the summer on her vacation to utah, She talked with them for a while but they didn't have a BOM and she left Utah before they got her one. So we gave her a BOM and she was so joyful. We both testified of the truthfulness of the book and I said that I know it's true because I have read it and prayed about it. When I said that, the Spirit hit me like a train. I almost teared up because it was so strong. Even though there were noises all around us, they almost drowned out. It was so peaceful, the language was flowing well, and I KNOW the Spirit was there to touch her heart. We then explained and answered some questions she had and then invited her to read it over the week and gave her the number to some missionaries in her area. I know she'll read it I just know and I've been praying for her every single day this week. We had so many other cool experiences at the University but I don't have more time to write about it because I only have about 10 more minutes to write. But anyways it was sweet.

 

        On Tuesday, we had a live devotional from Elder Zivic, a member of the First Quorum of the Presidency of the Seventy. He testified so strongly of the Book of Mormon, the power of this gospel, and how you can affect anyone with the Spirit. It was the best live talk I've ever heard in my life. We also heard another devotional by Holland on Sunday. I think it happened about 3 months ago in the Utah MTC but we had the broadcast. Holland is always such a great speaker but he had so much fire when he was talking. He basically told us that "We aren't here to not work. We aren't here to go home early. We're here to work hard, love the people, and serve God."

 

         The language is going well. We went contacting at a park yesterday and handed out some Book of Mormons to people that we felt inspired to talk to. We talked to this one lady with a name I can't remember it was so long. But we talked for about 30 minutes about everything. She told us she was from the Pentacost church and that she didn't really want to hear our message. But instead of just saying ok and walking away, we asked her about her church and why she was apart of it. She said that her whole family had always been apart of it. She said it was just a family tradition basically. And so we asked a couple more questions and sparked her interest. We started really talking and she started talking so fast I was having a hard time understanding. But she slowed down and we started talking about the Book of Mormon. We read out of Moroni 10:3-5 and told her that if she wanted to know for herself, she has to read the book and pray with a sincere heart to know that it's true. Our Spanish wasn't the best but she understood and I think it was more powerful because we had the Spirit with us than it would've been if we were fluent and didn't have the spirit. But we testified and gave it to her. And about 25 minutes later, we walked past where she was sitting and she was still there reading. Just completely focused on the book. She was just taking a short break from working out at the park when we talked to her and she had just completely stopped her workout and started reading. I thought that was so cool.

          But yeah, things here are so sweet. I'm getting pretty tan. A lot of the teachers think I look like I'm from Brazil haha! But I'm still 1000% Gringo. I'm trying to stay humble and I'm working as hard as I possibly can every day. I loved hearing in Dad's email about you guys. Aaron, keep up the good work in volleyball and make the most of it. Cause when it's gone it's gone. Leave it all out on the court. And Joseph, you're gonna' do GREAT at football. I can just see you now, 7 years from now as a huge defensive end that every quarterback fears. And Ethan, keep working out hard man. I saw in the pictures Kathy sent me how big you're getting and I'm impressed. I'm a solid 185 now haha - I've already lost almost 10 pounds. So I'm trying to eat more. The pictures from the lake outing made me miss you guys a lot. But I feel bad cause I honestly haven't been missing you guys that much. I mean I have but I'm working hard so God is blessing me with my homesickness and I'm absolutely loving it here. Say hi to everyone back at home. I love and miss you all so much. I wish I could just travel to Arizona for a day spend some time with you guys and then come back out the next day but it doesn't work that way. And dad, next family scripture study, please read to the boys D&C Section 122. It's such a great section and will make you feel like any little problems you guys are having are nothing. Cause the Savior has felt it all. The Savior knows exactly how every single person in the world is feeling right now. It's hard to comprehend, but it's true. I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for this church. And I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to serve the people here. I wouldn't want to be ANYWHERE else. The month mark is coming up in 8 days which is psycho. I'll be home before you know it. Love you all.

Love you all with all my heart,

Elder J. Taylor Graff

Week 2 - MTC

Week 2 MTC Dominican Republic:

Hola mi familia!!!!

       Hey guys. So this week in the MTC was amazing. General conference last weekend was so spiritually filled with gold. I loved every single second of it. I hope you guys loved it too. You really don't appreciate General Conference until you're a missionary. I especially liked President Monson's talk about the huge warship that was undefeatable until one lucky torpedo hit its rudder and completely immobilized it. I really related that to life and how we may think that we're unstoppable and that we have life and our temptations all under control until one thing gets us and then we're immobile stuck in the grasp of sin. It's almost like that story in the scriptures where the people were so confident that their enemies wouldn't attack the heart of the city they didn't protect it and they got over ran. But anyways, General Conference was the best.

        On another note, my Spanish is going so well. Way better than I thought it would be going. I pray daily for the gift of tongues. I just noticed this but I don't know if my first email went through to you guys. I hope it did but I tried to send a bunch of pictures and I hope that didn't stall the email and not let it send. If it didn't let me know and I'll try and catch you guys up. 

       The teachers here are so awesome and they're helping me progress way fast. I can already teach lessons pretty well and hold conversations here but when we went to the store, the people there talked so fast I couldn't hardly pick up a word. I just had to keep saying "Mas despacio" which means SLOW DOWN  - haha. That's definitely a phrase I always have in my back pocket. Teaching is getting way easier though. We now have two fake investigators which is just teachers that dress up in like "hood" clothes or clothes Dominicans would wear and then they act like their investigators. But now instead of having 40 min, we only have about 30. And it's hard to fit everything we want to teach about and say into that short of time. I never would've thought I would say that but it's true.

 

       Some things that have happened to me this week are:

1. We went to the store on Tuesday. The store was absolutely nuts. It was like a Wal Mart during the apocalypse! There was no organization to anything. The liquor was by the licorice and baby products that's how disorganized it was hahahah. And getting used to this whole peso thing is difficult cause I'm not used to spending 500 dollars at the store which is only about 11 bucks back home. But walking there was crazy. The whole atmosphere of the Dominican is way different. I had a way humbling experience too when I got there. Some kid approached me that was about 7 years old. He was skin and bones with a shaved head and he was begging for 30 pesos which isn't even a dollar so he could have something to eat. The look in his eyes pierced my soul. He looked so sad and desperate. But I couldn't give him money. You can't as a missionary. So instead, I just talked with him for a bit before we went in. His name was Mishal or something like that I don't know he talked fast. But he was homeless with no parents or anything to his name. But I basically told him God loves him and that everything is going to work out. That's all I really could do.

2. I cut my companion Elder Hansen's hair with an electric shaving razor! So we all got a Dominican haircut last Pday and his was kind of bad. So he had me fix the back with his electric razor. Our whole district was there and I marked out where I was going to cut with a pen and everyone joked that it was my "first surgery" cause they know I'm thinking about being a doctor hahaha.

3. The Haiitians from the CCM left. This was probably the hardest experience for me to deal with. I got so close to the elders from Haiti when they were here. They were all my closest friends. Even though I didn't speak French, one of them spoke a little bit of Spanish. So he translated everything I had to say. But basically, the night they were leaving we all sang "God be with you till we meet again" in Spanish. Let me tell you something. That was probably the most powerful hymn I've ever sang in my whole life. The Spirit was so strong. Ridiculously strong and the emotions in the room were powerful. The Haitians were some of the most humble individuals I've ever met and they each had such a strong testimony of the Savior. I cried when we were saying goodbye to them cause I got especially close with Elder Floresteal. It's just crazy that I'm probably never gonna see any of them the rest of my life.

Taylor and the other Elders doing their best "Tim Tebow" outside the Santo Domingo Temple

I've had a lot more experiences but I just don't have enough time to write them all. I love you all so much. Joseph, I miss and love you man. Ethan, I hope school is going well and that junior high is treating you well. Aaron, love you man. Make good decisions and be an example to everyone at all times. Be a light on a hill. Mom and dad, I miss you more than anything. Thank you for raising me in a household where I was able to learn and progress and learn how to work. Cause a mission is not easy at all. But it's worth it. I'll write more next week. But one last thing. I found a scripture thanks to my companion Elder Hansen this week in Ether 12:27. It's a great one. By the way, thank you for that sweet letter dad. It got hand delivered by that one lady that knows mom I forgot her name but yeah. And Garry Flake told me to tell Grandma Graff he said hi. I went to the temple today cause I was feeling better and I met him. He apparently knew Grandpa Graff and served with him somewhere on his mission. The TEMPLE HERE IS SOO COOL though. Better than in America hahahaha even though the Gilbert temple is hard to beat. But it's awesome that wherever you go, whatever language it's in, the same ordinances are still done in that sacred house of the Lord. I love the mission. And I miss you all. But this is where I need to be.

Hasta luego, te amo mucho,

Elder Graff 

 

 

Week 1 - MTC

Week 1 - MTC Dominican Republic:

Dear family,

 

Que pasa calabasas? So I don't know how to start this letter because I have so much to tell you guys. So much. It's crazy how much has already happened in one week and how fast it has all flown by.

      The plane flights were long and boring because the people sitting next to me didn't want to talk too much. So I slept for most of my flight. But meeting all the missionaries in Florida was so comforting. I thought I was gonna be flying solo not knowing a word of REAL spanish and then possibly get in the wrong taxi and get taken out to the middle of nowhere and all my stuff ripped off so having all of the other elders and sisters with me was awesome.

        When we landed in the DR, we had to hop off the plane and go get our luggage first. At first I couldn't find mine so I thought I was gonna be surviving off two white shirts and two pairs of pants for a week but I finally found it. The atmosphere in the airport was insane. It's not like an American airport at all. We had to go through customs and everything and the lady at the front desk thought I spoke fluent spanish cause of my accent so I had to tell her to slow down like three times cause she didn't speak a word of English. I said I was a gringo and then she understood hahahaha.

          After customs and everything we walked outside and that's when it hit me that I was actually doing this. I was actually going to be serving the Lord for two years in a country I knew little about, in a language I don't know with just a ton of variables. Cars driving wherever they wanted to. People talking so fast in Spanish it sounds like another language, and just the smells were so different. Then, as we were walking outside, the guy that was supposed to drive us to the CCM (MTC) waved us down. We all loaded our luggage into like this old school hippie bus van with curtains and a little cart attached to the back and then took so many pictures before we left.  

 

         Driving to the MTC was hands down the sketchiest experience I've ever had in my entire life. The driving is absolutely nuts. There were some guys driving on dirtbikes and quads in the middle of the road weaving through all the cars and popping wheelies for like 2 minutes going 65 on the freeway. It was absolutely unimagineable. We drove through some super rough parts of town too. It was so humbling to see some of the conditions that people lived in down here. Some people just slept on cardboard on the side of the freeway. I distincly remember when we were about 5 minutes away from the MTC, seeing about 5 families all living in a space smaller than the majority of houses in America, in the open street, with four poles stuck into the ground and a camping tarp for a roof. It was so humbling. When I saw that, I realized that I'm so blessed. So blessed to have you guys as my family and for the love and care you guys showed me and for the things you all taught me.

          That night it was really, really hard to sleep. I went to bed around two and got up at 6:30 the next morning. I was just thinking all about home and how different things are going to be when I get back. Joseph is gonna be eleven years old, Ethan is going to be DRIVING, and Aaron is going to either be on a mission or in college. I miss you guys a ton. But to be honest, besides the first night, I haven't really been missing you guys. I have, but I just haven't been focusing on it. I've been working really hard, trying to be as obedient as I can, but not being a "Missionary robot". I joke around with everybody here but when it's time to work, I work. I'm so grateful for that principle that you taught me Mom and Dad. I can never thank you enough for that because some people here really dont work hard at all.

           

 

 

Taylor with Elder Bruno from Grenada (6'7")--They play basketball together during gym time

 

     The classes are amazing here. We really have in my opinion the best teachers out of any MTC in the world. I mean, that's probably what every missionary says but it's so true. They're all so funny and just great teachers. They bring the Spirit so well and I just love everything about it. I'm learning SO fast it's insane. Three years of high school Spanish taught me 1/5 of what I've learned here in one week. I can already bear my testimony and pray strongly and my companion and I teach 45 minute lessons completely in Spanish almost every single day. I'm district leader too which is an awesome experience. I get to serve everyone, love everyone, and just give of my time to help others. I'm so grateful for all my leaders that taught me lessons in leadership and how to really take others under my wing cause that's what I've had to do a little bit; please tell Brother Denham and all my other leaders thank you for that. It's awesome though, cause it makes me feel more Christ like. I mean, Christ is taking me completely under my wing right now. I wouldn't be anywhere close to where I am now without his help. The gift of tongues is real. I testify of it. If you work hard on your mission and completely devote yourself to the Lord, all things are possible. (1 Nephi 3:7).

          Classes are way challenging though. Apparently, my district has some of the hardest teachers here in the MTC. They speak pretty fast hahahah and sometimes my brain hurts and I tell myself how in the world am I gonna speaking 100x faster than this in 6 months when I'm out in el campo (the field), but a scripture I've come to love while I've been down here this week is Helaman 12:3, which is about how we need challenges in order to remember God.

    

 

Doing the "Usain Boldt" with one of the Jamaican Elders from the Jamaica district

 

Elder Zamora at the MTC

       The food down here is way good. The bread is amazing, the avocados are gigantic and so delicious and the fruit is almost like it fell from heaven. We have beans and rice EVERY single day without fail with some sort of "mystery meat" I swear some of it is probably cat and dog but it tastes just like chicken hahahahah. Elder Tibbits found out he has worms yesterday though so all of us are kind of on edge about the food. The people that work in the cafeteria though are so humble and nice though. It really makes me appreciate this country and love the people.

           Today, everyone went to the temple besides me, Elder Bruno, and Elder Millward. We are all kinda sick with a cold so President Freestone didn't want us getting the workers sick so we stayed here and just studied and watched a Provo MTC devotional. I understand where he's coming from but I wanted to go so bad. The temple here is breathtaking. It's this really cool tanish Aztec looking stone and has palm trees surrounding it with super short almost golf grass. Everything here is so beautiful. The nightly prayers here and singing in Spanish is so filled with the Spirit also.

             I don't have much more time so I'm just gonna say a couple last things before I gotta go and I'll save the rest for next week. I'm also gonna try and upload some pictures but I don't have an aux cord for my camera so hopefully they can upload. I miss you guys. I love every one of you so much and you are in my prayers multiple times every single day. I miss America but I know this is where I need to be. I'm growing spiritually, maturing, and loving it every single day. I love each and every second of it. MOM PLEASE SEND MY RETAINERS in a letter or something I think I forgot them. Send me letters all of you please. I'll have a lot more time writing. Love you all.

 

Te amo,

 

Elder Graff

 

ARRIVAL at MTC -- Dominican Republic

 

 

 

ARRIVAL MTC Dominican Republic:

Upon arrival, Taylor sent a brief message:

"Hey Mom it's Elder Graff. I'm here safely at the CCM. I'm absolutely loving it so far. It's so sweet. My Pday is Thursday so I'll email you guys next Thursday. The atmosphere here is so cool. Don't have a lot of time. Gotta go. Love you so much Mom. Say hi to the family. You guys will be in my prayers.

Te amo mucho,

Elder Graff"

Taylor with his new MTC district and the MTC Mission President: