Villa Agricola 2 - 6mo / Small Miracles

Villa Agricola 2 - Six Months and Small Miracles

Hey everybody, I hope things are going well and that you´re all happy and enjoying life with family and friends.

 

Well, today marks six months since the day I left Arizona for the Domincan Republic. I´ve been a missionary of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for almost two hundred days. It´s a long time. But really, it´s passed by in the blink of an eye. So much has happened in this short time it still amazes me to think about it. 

Elder Alva and I today at Sambil (the biggest mall in the DR), waiting for the other missionaries to arrive to eat.

The fact that I´ve learned to speak Spanish sufficiently enough to talk with everyone here only 6 months out in the field, miracle. The amount my testimony of the Church has grown and how much I´ve come to love this Gospel and sharing it with others, another miracle. How much I´ve developed positively as a person and the attributes I´ve grown out here as well as how physically blessed I´ve been in a country full of disease and sickness, another small miracle. 

I´ve really come to realize how much God is involved in our lives out in the mission. Every day as a missionary, you really see little miracles from God. If you´re working hard, being obedient, and having fun, there really is no other place better than where you're called and where you serve as a missionary of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I absolutely love it.

I´ve really come to love this area these past couple of days. As I said in my last letter, adjusting to the differences here and leaving everyone I knew was hard for me. But through a lot of prayer and help from God, Elder Alva and I really are turning this area around. We´re basically blanking the area - which means that we´re starting brand new and we both don´t have too much time knowing Villa Agricola. He has a month and I have a week and a half. So we didn´t really start with much. But over these past couple of days, we´ve found some truly blessed and prepared people for this message. 

All the missionaries that came to Sambil. We had some Johnny Rockets, looked around a little bit and we were planning on going to the aquarium but it was closed. But it was still awesome. Saw a lot of things I hadn't seen for a solid 6 months - and heard a ton of new American songs (which made me miss music a ton but it´s all good cause we got MOTAB).

We´re really hoping for some great things to happen these next couple of weeks. We´re working hard with a couple that has been taking the lessons from the missionaries for 6 years. They aren´t married and the husband, Frank, has really been having some struggles with his testimony and has been less involved. But we´ve really strengthened the relationship he has with God and he told us that he finally wants to start taking the steps to marriage with his wife and soon in the future. So they´re going to get the birth certificate of their son and we´re going to be setting a date for their marriage hopefully in these next two weeks. 

We´re working hard and we have a lot of people with great potential now. We just got to keep up with it and do everything we can to bless this area.

I love you all and I´m grateful for each and every single one of you and your influence in my life.

Until next Monday,

Elder Graff

Jacob 7:26 "The time passed away with us and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream"

Villa Agricola 1 - Transfer Week

Villa Agricola 1 - Transfer Week

Hey fam -

 

I hope you all had a great week and are enjoying yourselves during Spring Break and everything that's going on right now.  I'm not going to lie and say this week was amazing and full of success because it really wasn't. It probably was the hardest week that I've had in the mission. 

One of my favorite kids in the old ward in Boca Chica, Esmerling, that came by before his school started to say goodbye.

First off, I left my first area, Boca Chica, on Tuesday. Monday night after Internet, I spent the entire night saying goodbye to members and the converts and investigators I had. It was a night when I definitely could have used a couple Kleenexes and some ice cream with a chick flick to say the least. It was probably one of the most emotionally difficult things I've done, to leave that area. To leave behind an area that my two companions and I helped build through hard work and God's help. We had so many great people we were teaching, the support and love from the ward, and everything was just really starting to settle in when I got the call that I was getting transferred. The people that I met and know now in Boca Chica will forever have a place in my heart. The humility of the members and people in that area really taught me a lot about the things that are really important in life and I have memories I will never forget.

 

 

Elder Alva, my new companion, and I. We took this picture about an hour and a half ago before we left for internet because we realized we didn't have any pictures together hahaha. He's from Peru and has 10 months in the mission. He's a character but he's really funny and loves dogs a little too much. 

Tuesday morning, I arrived here in Villa Agricola in the capital. The capital is a lot different than Boca Chica. It's the first time since the MTC where I've actually been around big buildings and nice houses. It's a lot like America but everything is in Spanish and there are stray dogs scattering the streets. The first day was rough because the people here just aren't as open and humble as the people in Boca Chica. They're well off and a lot of the people living here don't have time or don't want to hear about God. It's tough. But I know I was called here for a reason and that with hard work we can do miracles here.

But during this week when I was kind of struggling and having a little bit of pessimistic thoughts about the area, I really was praying and asking Heavenly Father for help. And the help came on Thursday night, when I found the book "As a Man Thinketh" that Papa Black (Bryant Black's dad) gave me. It's a small book about how we think is strongly correlated with success and our attitude in life. I stumbled upon this scripture in the book that changed my thinking and feelings about being transferred to this area that is Proverbs 23:7 which reads:

"Because how a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."

It's very short and doesn't really seem like much, but it really hit me: my feelings, my attitude, and everything negative that happened this week really came from how I felt in my heart. I realized that I need to forget the things I've heard about this area and just lose myself in the service and teaching of the people here. It's difficult and won't be easy but I know that I'm here for a reason and that I have something to do here.

 

A couple elders in my zone in the Chinese restaurant where we ate today. Probably the first time since I left the MTC where I ate a relatively "fancy" or normal meal. There's a lot of nice restaurants here in the capital so that's definitely a plus about living here on Pdays. The one on the left is Elder Jeffers. He's the only missionary serving from his entire country. He's from an island called St. Kits and he was baptized a year ago. He put in his papers immediately after he was baptized so he could leave because he's already 26. He's legit.

I hope this week I can have a better experience and learn what it is I need to do here and why I'm assigned to this area. I love you all and hope you have a great week.

 

And sorry for the limited pictures, I don't carry my camera on me anymore because in addition to this area being one of the richest in the mission in parts, it's also very poor and dangerous in the streets in parts so we're encouraged to leave our things of value at the house. But I'll try and get in some pictures here and there to send.

Till next time,

Elder Graff

 

"Dreams are the seedlings of realities" - "As a Man Thinketh"

Boca Chica 17 - Leaving Boca Chica

Boca Chica 17 - Leaving Boca Chica

So this week we received transfer calls and I´m getting transferred from Boca Chica. I leave tomorrow in the morning for an area in the middle of the capital called Villa Agricula. I´ve heard great things from other missionaries about the area and I´m moving into a house with all Latinos so looks like God is trying to tell me that my Spanish is still awful - and even though I´ve been out here for almost six months now - that I still have a lot of room to improve haha.

 

But this week was great for Elder Mendez and I. We had a lot of great lessons and I´m really sad I have to leave Boca Chica because the ward is really helping us out a lot with finding more families to teach and we have a ton of people we´re teaching that I´m really close to so it will be really hard to say goodbye.

 Elder Mendez and I at Martin's baptism

Martin was definitely our focus the majority of this week though, making sure he was prepared for his baptism and that everything was still ok with his situation spiritually. But he did great all week and on Saturday we had his baptismal service. A lot of the ward showed up to support him which really made us happy because his whole family lives in the United States and he lives alone here. So to have that kind of support and love from the church really meant a lot to him. It was a really spiritual experience and it was such a great time talking with him after in a lesson at his house about how he felt and what his goals for the future with the church are. He told us that he wants his family in the US to take the missionary discussions, so he´s going to call them and Elder Mendez and the other elder that is coming will work with him on that. But it´s always cool to see the change this gospel brings into the lives of those that embrace it and change and how excited they are to share it with others.

Another picture of us with Martin but with Maria also. She´s going to be getting a calling in the church I believe this next week and she´s preparing to go to the temple this next month to do baptisms for the dead. Over these past two weeks since her baptism, it´s amazed me how fast she´s progressing still and how much love she has for the church. It´s going to be hard to say goodbye to her and her family. 

Over these past couple days I´ve really been thinking a lot about the mission. About what it is exactly we do as missionaries, about all the things I´ve done and how I´ve changed over these past five months and with a lot of the experiences I´ve had and the things I´ve seen, I´ve come to realize that we really don´t do anything special. Sure, we´re missionaries that are called to preach the gospel 24 hours a day 7 days a week. But without the Spirit to guide us and without the help of God, this work and these two years wouldn´t be nearly as successful or beneficial. Just thinking about Martin and how what started his conversion to the gospel was a contact on the street. An impression of the Spirit, which really at the time was just a random thought that came to me in that moment that I needed to play guitar with him. It´s all God. God guides us. God prepares the people where we were sent to teach for us to help. Like it says it Alma Chp 24 verse 27 in the Book of Mormon that "God works through many ways for the salvation of his people". Those "many ways" may be a visit to someone that you feel is in need. It may be a smile you give to someone that´s having the roughest day. It may be being a friend to someone that doesn´t have many. 

 

We all can make a difference in people´s lives. We just have to be ready in the moment when the time comes to do it. I know this church is true and that God lives and I hope you´re all doing great.

Elder J. Taylor Graff

 

Matthew 4:19 "And he said unto them: Come unto me, and I will make you fishers of men."

 

 

Boca Chica 16B - March Madness

Boca Chica 16B - March Madness

Hey everybody happy belated Valentine´s Day and month of March Madness. Hope that you´re all having a wonderful time with your families and friends and that everything in life is going good.

Running in the rainstorm last Saturday to the chapel trying to get everything set up for the baptism of Maria. One of the only things in English my companion knows how to say is "Let´s take a selfie" so that´s what we did hahaha.

 

This week was another great week in Boca Chica. On Thursday, we had interviews with President Corbitt, the president of our mission and they were awesome. It´s really a great experience to talk with a man as talented and inspired as he is for advice, guidance, and just motivation as a missionary.

 

Picture with my "dad" Elder Tate, one of the sisters in our ward, Maria, and Elder Mendez at the baptisimal service.

 

Other than that, we had a very successful but overall normal week. On Tuesday, we did service for one of our investigators, Martin. He´s the one that we contacted when he was playing guitar. He´s doing awesome but anyways we helped him dig a hole. I know sounds really exciting and not very hard, but the thing is it´s a hole dug in concrete, not dirt. So we had these really ghetto ice picks and a wheelbarrow and we basically just helped him chip off a ton more of the rock and cement and carry it all into a huge pile down the street. It really made me realize how out of shape I am out here when I woke up the next day sore - literally everywhere in my body - but hey, he gave us some fresh fruit and smoothies after so I´m not complaining.  

 

We also went over some of the things we needed to for his baptism interview that were having tomorrow and he´s ready as can be. It´s really cool to see how he´s changed as a man and just the things he´s doing differently now since he started coming to church and accepting the gospel. He showed up yesterday to church shaved and with a tie; two things you don´t see on this man ever is a clean face or any clothes even close to fancy. But we had his announcement in church for his baptism and we´re really hoping that everything goes smoothly and that it´s a great day.

 

Martin serenading us after the service project with all the bachata and salsa he knows on guitar. Needless to say I was a little trunky considering the fact I haven´t played guitar for more than 5 minutes since I got here but you better believe I´m learning all the spanish songs when I get back.

Btw while this picture is loading I´ll leave with you guys a couple good hispanic artists if you guys are interested:  Fran Reyes, Anna Gabrielle, Mana, Paulina Ruyo, Jesse y Joy, Rey, Enrique Iglesias (and not just "bailando" - that was on the radio 24 7 before I left)

Life here is good and I´m just grateful for every day more I have to be a missionary. I already have 5 months here in the Dominican Republic which is crazy. It feels like just yesterday I got here and now I´m already pretty adjusted to seeing the things I see every day here. We´re working hard and the blessings are showing for it. I hope that everything is going well with all of you and that you all have a great week. 

Elder J. Taylor Graff

 

"And Jesus said, No one that puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God" - Lucas 9 62

Boca Chica 16 - Handwritten Letter

Boca Chica 16 - Handwritten Letter

This is a letter that Taylor wrote home last week to the family.  When we emailed back and forth, he said that we could share it on his Twitter and Blog for other friends and extended family.  We really like the interesting insights into his daily experience.  Hope you enjoy: