First, I want to say sorry that I didn't email yesterday. It was MLK day and the library where we email was closed.  Now on to the news!

There were two earthquakes here in Cali this week. One was centered here in Fontana where I live and the other in Sierra Lakes which is in my ward boundaries so very close. I don't know the exact stats, you'll have to use all your fancy technology and look it up, but from the stories we heard one was a 4.7 or so and the other a 4.1, more or less. I however did not feel either one. They both occurred during the night and Hermana Rosales and I found out about them the next day when an investigator mentioned it. We were zonked out. But when they said what time it happened I vaguely remembered waking up, looking at the clock at that time, rolling over and going back to sleep. So maybe I felt a little something but let's just say we take advantage of the time we get to sleep!

Another surprise, I am getting transferred. Remember when I said we're 99% sure we were both staying? Well the 1% happened and here's why. Remember when I said I had an interview with the mission president? Well I don't know if I told you but at the beginning he asked me to say a prayer, and since I never pray in English anymore, out of habit I prayed in Spanish. After the prayer his words were, "Wow hermana, you have been blessed with the gift of tongues" I said thank you and shrugged it off and told him I'm still struggling with Spanish and whatnot. Well after that he figured I am good enough at Spanish that I don't need a native speaker as a companion so I am being sent to be companions with an hermana who has only been here 3 months more than me and needs help with Spanish. I am being sent to help HER. So this will be interesting. It's also hard to be getting transferred because I am only halfway through my training and have just started to learn the area and talk to the members more. Half of them have just started to remember my name and now everything is changing. Plus I have to leave the people we're teaching. I am so sad to think that I will not be here to see Veronica's sons get baptized in a couple weeks. But it is all for a reason, and I will learn a lot from this move. (I'm just kicking myself for saying that prayer in Spanish)

Speaking of which...

Last night we taught Veronica's sons and they speak English so all our lessons with them are in English. Veronica asked me to say the prayer and I was really struggling because I has to translate the words from Spanish to English in my head. It was really hard til about half way through the prayer, then I thought this isn't so bad, that was when I realized I had slipped back into Spanish.

Anyway, I am being transferred to Rialto which is right next to Fontana where I am right now. But as a missionary everything is different, I will have different missionaries in my district and zone and different boundaries to teach people and the ward will be different. Might as well be on the other side of California! My new companion's name is really long and I don't remember how to spell it. She is Polynesian I heard and I also heard she is the nicest girl ever and very outgoing and fun. I'll tell you more next week after I actually meet her. But to say I'm sad to leave Hermana Rosales is an understatement. I feel like we've just gotten into a good groove and started working really well together and now I'm leaving. But like I said, it's a learning experience. Everything for the next 18 months is going to be a learning experience! And I will learn to love no matter where I serve. But the address you have in Highland is still good, that is the address for the mission office and they forward everything to me wherever I am.

Other than that this week has been normal, good but normal. We're working hard and teaching lots. We're working with the members more and they have been coming to our lessons to help teach the investigators. That's always good because the people we teach see us in skirts with name tags and think we're not real people so it's good to have a "real" person there to help share experiences and stories.  I have grown to love so many of the people in my area and I know I won't forget them. 

We had stake conference this week, it was really good and inspirational. Even though the conference is for all the families that live in this area it was all about missionary work. How they can get involved and be missionaries in their own lives with their families and stuff. Very good messages. Plus we sang in one session of it so of course the spirit was strong :)

One thing I learned this week is that you can control your choices but you cannot control the consequences. When I heard that I just loved it. It applies to all parts of our lives. We can always choose how we act or what we do or say. But once we make our decision, we can't control what that decision will cause. It is just a reminder for me to be more conscious of what I say and do. Our decisions determine our destiny.

No fun sports stories for you this week, some of the elders played basketball yesterday while we all passed around journals for people to write in. Kind of like a makeshift yearbook of missionaries. We don't want to forget a thing!

Well, I have to get going, I love you all so much and I really do feel your support. Thank you so much for keeping in touch with me, I hope all is going well and that everyone is happy and healthy and doing well at work and in school. I love you all VERY much and I think of you daily. Talk to you all next week from Rialto :)

Love,

Hermana Granado

January 13, 2014

Hey everyone! 

How was getting back to the grind? I hope everyone survived the holidays and that school and work are going well for everyone. Hope you are all in good health! Everyone here is sick! Flu, cold, everyone has it. But we're trying very hard to steer clear of it.

This week was good. I am having to step up a lot more and take the initiative in our work as part of my training which is good but also scary. It's not easy to decide where to go, who to see, what to teach... But I'm learning and we learn the quickest by doing right? Sometimes I try to speak up and the members just stare at me then talk to Hermana Rosales. But I'm going to get them to warm up to me if it's the last thing I do!

We led our zone this week in the amount of lessons taught! So we are definitely working hard. And we are the only sisters in a group of 16 missionaries in our zone. So we had to show the elders how it's done! Now that I said that we're going to have a whopping 10 lesson this week.

I had an interview with my mission president this week, President Van Cott. We have them about every 3 months I think. It went well, it was good to get some words of wisdom. When he asked how Spanish was and how I felt I told him all about how hard it was and how I felt like I was really struggling sometimes. He heard me out and he just said "Good! I'm glad you have to work for something." So that was that and I'm still working on it! But he said he was really impressed with my Spanish, he said that I have been blessed with a great talent and ability so that was encouraging. The members say I speak well but I just have to work up my confidence to open my mouth and speak!

Today we went and played volleyball with our zone and that was really fun! I reminded me a lot of playing with the family in the park because we didn't keep score and we are definitely not pros. But it was definitely fun!

Oh! Thought of a story. So we have this couple that we're teaching. She is a less active member that has just started coming back to church and he is investigating the church. But he can't get baptized yet because they are living together and not married. He is 62 and she is 58 and even though they've been together for 20 years they don't want to get married because they think they'll change after marriage. After 20 years I don't know what would change but that's what they said. Well the other day we went over and taught them a lesson and the man said they were thinking about getting married and wanted to know what they had to do to get married, like how to plan it and what they needed. This whole time the woman had the most confused look on her face and he goes "What? Ya don't wanna get married?" (romantic right?) and she shook her head and goes "You can get married if you want, go for it!" and he says but I want to get married with you! And she just shakes her head and says maybe a little later. It was definitely the most awkward experience of the week. The man actually reminds me a lot of Papa. He is so funny and just tells it like it is! Needless to say he is my favorite to visit. 

This week is transfers. Every six weeks we have transfers- some missionaries go home, some come from the MTC, some move to a different area in the mission and some stay where they are. Hermana Rosales and I will 99% surely stay here because she is still training me. But we're also 99% sure that she's leaving next transfer because she's been in this ward for over 6 months. So we're going to crack down these next six weeks and work hard and I'm going to learn everything I can from her because who know's what will happen in six weeks! And next week we are going to the temple! I'm really excited :) Word on the street is that we get to go every 3 months but that is if all the missionaries follow the rules. I will try to take pictures to send.

We are singing in Stake conference next week so that's fun, I found out I am soprano. I'm going to learn to sing while I'm here too!

Not much else happening here in good ole Fontana, CA. Have I mentioned it's windy? I haven't been to Chicago but it's hard to imagine a place windier than this. I don't know why I bother getting ready in the morning. My hair is everywhere and my makeup literally blows off my face. There's lots of wind, guys.

Hermana Rosales is teaching me how to cook like a true Mexican! Last week I learned how to make tortillas. This week we're going to tackle huevos con chorizo. So that's part of my training too :)

Love you all so much, thank you for all the amazing support and encouragement you're all giving me. Your kind words and support are what keeps me going some days! I am a very very lucky girl to have you all. Until next week!

Love you,

Hermana Granado

Hey family, 

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

How was new years for everyone?! We had to be in by 7:00 pm the mission president didn't want us out and about new years eve because of safety reasons. So we had some extra time to study and go to bed early. I know that sounds lame but we were actually really excited about an extra hour of sleep. So I went to bed at 9:30, woke up at 12:00 to fireworks and gun shots. Said happy new year to Hermana Rosales and went back to sleep until 6:30. Normal day!

My birthday was good, everyone that knew it was my birthday tried to make it special for me. I got a couple little things from the members in the ward. The mission president and his family even called and sang happy birthday to me! It was definitely different from being home and will be one that I won't ever forget. I was able to find joy and appreciate all the little things that people did for me or said to me and it was what made all the difference. Also, we got special permission to go outside our boundaries for In-N-Out, because the member that was going to feed us dinner cancelled last minute. So took a classic 21-year old birthday picture with my cup :) We were livin' it up!

Glad to hear everyone had a good holiday and all had safe travels. I miss you all and it's weird to think I won't see you guys at all in 2014! But it will be a year that will change my life! These past two months already have. And we will make up all the hugs in 2015 don't worry.

Again, the weeks fly by so I only can think of a few things to tell about. Can you believe this is the start of week 5 here in the California?! I feel like I just got here. Then again it feels like I've been here forever. It's weird to think that this time last month I was in Mexico wondering what the mission field would be like... Crazy. Well we have been REALLY busy. Seven new investigators! The other weeks I've been here have been 1, 0 and 1. So seven in addition to who we're already teaching is kind of overwhelming for us but we're excited about all the work.

One story I want to tell you guys is with this lady we visited the other day. Now this person has been on our minds to go visit but she was NEVER home. We went probably ten times to see her and nothing. Ever. So the other night after dinner we got in the car and Hermana Rosales told me to pick who I thought we should go see. I sat there for a second trying to think who we had planned to visit that night but I just thought, let's try Veronica. I was a little hesitant not wanting to waste time and I knew we weren't close to her house but she was who came to mind so we just went. When we got there we realized we had forgotten the video we were going to show them. We didn't have a backup plan but knocked on the door anyway and some answered! Well a little boy looked through the window and yelled "it's the church girls!" and Veronica came and opened the door. She and her husband are members but haven't been to church in a few years and their three sons have not been baptized. The minute we sat down she started telling us that not 10 minutes before we knocked on the door their youngest son, who is 9 years old, was asking if he could get baptized and what he needed to do to be baptized. Then we knocked on the door. She started crying and said that it never fails, whenever they need help or they're going through something the missionaries come by. It meant a lot to her that we were there and we set a date for all three boys to be baptized and the family came to church the next day for the first time in a long, long time. So cool to know that I can be that person for someone else, to help them when they need it. And that while I was sitting in the car trying to think of where to go, and she came into my mind, her son was asking what he needed to do to get baptized and she was wondering how to help him. Heavenly Father is mindful of EVERY ONE of His children. He loves us so much.

I'm picking up on Spanish, slowly but surely. I just have to keep working and working at it but I'm lucky to have a native speaker with me 24/7! It's interesting because while I'm trying to learn Spanish she's trying to learn English so when we talk or tell stories I practice my Spanish and she practices her English and we help each other. People in stores or on the street look at us really funny! We've been working so hard that sometimes we forget words in our own language. Yesterday in church she was answering a question in class and she was talking and all of a sudden turns and whispers to me "...uh... como se dice... overcome?" and I said "superar" and she goes oh yeah! and keeps talking. The teacher looked really confused and goes "wait, wait, Hermana Rosales, aren't you supposed to be helping her with Spanish??" It was really funny.

Every day here presents new challenges and new weaknesses I didn't know I had but there is always new experiences and opportunities to learn and grow also. It's like when you work out really hard and the next morning muscles you didn't even know you had are sore... but you're getting stronger! That was a really bad analogy but it's all I got right now…

Also, remember how I said it's windy all the time? Sometimes it's downright dangerous. The other day I getting something out of the car and the wind blew the door shut on me. I have a huge bruise on my hip! But I attached a picture of us using the wind to make us look like models :) It's the most fun we get to have most days.

Love you all! Talk to you next week!!

Love,

Hermana Granado

December 30, 2013

Feliz cumpeanos a mi :) I'm 21 today how crazy is that?!

This week has been crazy and somewhat uneventful all at the same time so this may be a pretty short email but I will try to include as much as I remember. Christmas was good, it was so good to get to talk to you guys and see you all. You will all have to plan to be together on Mother's Day as well so we can all chat like that. For Christmas dinner we had tamales after tamales after tamales. With some tamales on the side. And tamales to take home. Then leftover tamales. Did I mention a few families fed us tamales? I'm going to turn into a tamale!

Also, I got all your letters the day after Christmas, so don't worry, they're getting to me! 

I am having a really hard time remembering things about this week that I can tell you about but there's not much. Most of the people we're teaching were either sick this week or out of town or busy with holiday plans so we didn't do a lot of teaching. In fact this week we did the least teaching than any other week I've been here. It was pretty discouraging but lots of people said after the new year so hopefully they keep their word! We were supposed to have Antonio's baptism yesterday but he cancelled, it is a really long story but I was really sad and he was disappointed because he still wants to get baptized. But I think he made the smart and very mature decision to cancel, I have faith that he will get baptized, we just have some more work to do.

We had a mission-wide conference today with a member from the quorum of the seventy apostles. Elder Kent F. Richards, it was really really good and I got some lessons that I really needed. Lately I've been struggling with the language, you guys know that, and I've found myself wishing that I could just serve English speaking. I kept wondering why I have to learn Spanish and why I can't learn it faster, just getting really frustrated. Then today at the conference Elder Richards was talking about something completely different but he said "Is there a limit to how much we would give the Lord?" and I thought about that... I thought about what I was willing to give the Lord. Then I thought about my decision to serve a mission. What did I think it would be like? I decided to come and share the gospel, invite others to come unto Christ. And I have been called to do that in Spanish. So who am I to say it's too hard? The Lord has given me this assignment! When I filled out my papers did I put that I'll serve for 18 months but only in a language I'm comfortable with, or yeah I'll preach the gospel but I don't want to have to learn new words to do it... no, I said I'd go unto any people, preaching the gospel in any tongue that He needs me. There should not be a limit to how much I am giving to the Lord. I will step down off my soap box now but I am just very very grateful for the insight that I gained today and the new found determination to fulfill my calling to the best of my abilities.

Not much more to report on, still working hard, looking for people to teach, studying lots. The days seem to drag on but weeks fly by! Today I ran into someone I knew in my ward in Logan, he was called to California and I didn't think much of it until I saw him at the conference today. He is already getting to go home! And Philip comes home on January 20th. It doesn't feel like 2 years that he's been gone already and I'm sure it flew by for him! That's why I gotta make the most out of these 18 months! They will be over before I know it.

I love you all so much, thank you for all the birthday wishes, it has been a good one so far! I hope you all have a good week, safe travels, and a smooth transition back to the grind.

Love you all, until 2014 :)

Hey family, Merry Christmas! 

Hope this week has been good and that you get a chance to stop and think about the real reason of Christmas instead of the gifts you need to buy or the decorations you forgot to put up. This time of the year is about so much more!

I realized after my last email that I forgot to tell you about where I'm serving! I am in Fontana, CA in the Sierra ward. Hermana Rosales and I share the ward boundaries with two elders, Gonzalez and Garcia. They've both been out for about a year and Hermana Rosales is going on her 8th month. The ward is great, tiny but powerful. And the stake is so diverse. There are two Spanish wards and a Tongan ward! The Tongans meet in the chapel right after us and it is fun to see the stuff they wear to church. It's usually ceremonial and just cool to see. Yesterday for some reason they had a huge truck full of fresh veggies and fruit and potatoes and they invited us to take what we would like, that was our grocery "shopping" for the week.

And I am the driver in our companionship. Hermana Rosales is from Mexico city and doesn't have very much experience or confidence driving so I have been assigned to be the driver. I was a little overwhelmed at first but I'm thankful because it's helping me get the hang of our area a little more.

I told you guys last week about a guy who cancelled his baptism after learning about the word of wisdom and law of chastity. Well, now let me tell you about a little Christmas miracle. Let me set the scene, he is 22, lives in the garage of some family friends, got out of jail almost a year ago and is really really willing to change. The next lesson we had with him after cancelling his baptism, we showed up and it was very clear he was under the influence of something other than the Holy Ghost. We tried to teach him but he was so fidgety and just couldn't focus or sit still so we decided we'd come back the next day. We set up a time with him when he said he'd be home and came back the next day. He wasn't there. Didn't answer his phone or anything. Then he called us back that night, set up a time for the next day. We went back, same thing, no sign of the guy. He called us later and said that he really wants to change, which we know he does because we could see the desire before, but now we were getting a little discouraged. Then the next day we called him, he said he was home, so we grabbed a member who has experience overcoming addictions and we went to his house determined to help him. We went to his house and he opened the door, he was showered, dressed nicely, had a huge smile, and his book of Mormon in his hand ready to get down to business. During that lesson I saw him do a complete 180, he was calm, he was focused, he was ready to change and already had changed! I saw a light in his eyes when the member we brought was talking to him about how they could work together to beat this and how we're all here to help. He said the closing prayer and he is progressing so much! He came to church yesterday and is getting baptized on December 29th! The day before my birthday and such a great present it will be. My first miracle :)

Also, we have another man who is planning on getting baptized in January, he has the potential to be a stake president or something big, he is so great. He comes to church and participates in class and has really great insights. I learn from him! 

The Spanish is still a struggle, even when I try to have a conversation with the members, I ask them a question and they look at my companion and answer like I'm not there. Or they ask her things like "where is she from? How long has she been on her mission?" and I answer them and they nod and keep talking to her. But I'm learning more and more. The other day I answered the phone and talked to our investigator about our lesson, which is usually my companion's job since the members speak really fast. But I did it and I didn't mess up! And I had to give a 15 minute talk in Sacrament meeting yesterday, with no time to really prepare or practice it, the members said I did well so that's good. I'm progressing! Slowly but surely.

The other day it was raining so much! We finally got invited into a house, I think she just felt sorry for us, but we sat down and were talking and for the longest time I thought their roof was leaking until I realized that my hair was dripping because we were soaked. But my rain jacket served me well! I was toasty and dry under my jacket :)

Time is going so fast, I can't believe Christmas is already here and then next week I'll be 21! Que vieja. Hermana Rosales turns 21 on January 3rd. I told her that she shares her birthday with a very cute 5 yr old :)

Also, we had a funny experience with some dogs the other day. We are pretty accustomed to dogs barking at us lately so when we heard little barks from little dogs we weren't worried. But one of them was not playing around, he was little but ferocious and he believed he could tear my leg off so we just backed up very very quickly and went to the next house. It made me think of Puerto Rico and getting chased by those dogs, it really was preparation.

The days are all full of ups and downs and getting chased by dogs or getting doors slammed in our faces but at the end of the day I wouldn't rather be doing anything else. I have the incredible privilege to teach and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and even after 100 people reject it, there will be one whose life will be changed and will be so grateful for the gospel. It is an honor and a blessing to be out here doing the Lord's work. And even though I have some hard days and some difficult experiences, I'm learning and growing and that's the whole purpose for this life and this mission!

A little Christmas thought... When Jesus Christ was on the Earth he spent his entire life serving. He established His church, taught His gospel, blessed people, preformed miracles, and was constantly in the service of others. Let's try to do the same! It doesn't have to be serving a mission for your church or even working in a soup kitchen, even though those are both awesome things to do. But it can be as simple as doing something small for someone else. Write a little note to someone to tell them why you're thankful for them. Take cookies to someone, help someone do something. Anything. If there's one thing I've learned the past two weeks in the real world mission is that we are always busy. Sometimes we're teaching, sometimes we're trying to find people to teach, sometimes we're in meeting talking about how to be better teachers, but other times we are doing the most odd end jobs that other people need help with and that is what they need at the time. And we're happy to do it! Yesterday we killed cockroaches in a member's house. The day before that we stopped by to visit a less active member and ended up helping her rearrange her garage. One family has a dad/grandpa who is very ill and can't make it to church so we went and carrolled to them and shared a short message so he could feel a little bit of the spirit of Christmas. This year, skip a trip to the store and help someone. They'll like it and remember it much more than whatever you were going to wrap for them, I promise.

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Granado

Week 1 in California! 

I'm here and happily trying to adjust. It is so so different than what they trained me for in Mexico but it's good. I'm going to try to give you lots of details but I know I'll miss a thing or two. Just know it's difficult and great and challenging and all kinds of things but I know this is where I need to be. I thought about coming home one or fifteen times this week but I'm so glad I stuck in there. It is not getting easier but I have prayed harder than I have in a long time and the Lord is helping me and strengthening me because I'm doing the right thing. I know that we're not on Earth just to return to live with Heavenly Father, yes that is the ultimate goal, but we're here to learn and grow and have experiences to strengthen us. And I'm not just on a mission so I can come home, I'm here to learn and grow and help people. Where would I be if the missionaries that taught me would have given up? I would definitely not be where I am and I am pretty dang sure I wouldn't be this happy or know what my purpose is in life. So I won't give up because I know someone here needs me. 

I'm going to start when I got assigned to my area because everything before that was just plain craziness. 

On Wednesday we had a transfer meeting where everyone meets at the mission office and trades companions and whatnot. The newbies and their trainers had a meeting about the adjustment phase and training. (The first 12 weeks I'm here is my training.) So at the end of my meeting I got assigned my companion who will be my trainer. Her name is Hermana Rosales and she is from Mexico. She actually went to high school at Benemerito before it was an MTC! She didn't know any english before the mission but she is really really good! Hopefully that's how my spanish will be.

We went to walmart and got some basics, we are going shopping after this to get some real groceries. 

There are 4 missionaries in my ward which I've never heard of before! It is us and a pair of elders, the ward boundaries is split up so we each have our area for proselyting. We have had dinner every night this week with a member or investigator and man do they feed us good! One night we had homemade tortillas with dinner! Last night we had tamales and homemade cheesecake. I'm not going without, trust me.

Leaving my district has been really hard, it's kinda like when I left you guys, I miss them a lot. But the missionaries here are great, I just don't get to see them a lot. Today we played soccer together. Me and Hermana Rosales are the only sisters in our zone. But our game was fun, I accidentally kicked a guy in the head. I apologized like 20 times... We also went to the fitness center in our apt complex this morning. My companion has gained 20 lbs in her 7 months on the mission so I'm helping her, told you I wasn't going without!

We are trying to find more people to teach but it's really hard. We had someone with a baptismal date but when we taught him the Word of Wisdom (no coffee, alcohol, tea, drugs, etc) and the law of chastity he said it was too hard so we cancelled his baptismal date but he wants to keep meeting with us so we're trying to help him.  

I don't have any pictures from California yet, but I'm going to send some from my last days at the CCM in Mexico. The one of me standing in the circle, that's an earthquake circle, if we heard the alarm we were supposed to run and stand in one of those. Me and Hermana Baird with Hermano Munoz, he was our teacher, the one that I sent a pic of him playing soccer. The one of us holding stuff, those are pens that Hermano Gilisea's wife made for us for Christmas, so cute.

Thank you all so much for my packages. Thanks to you guys I have sheets on my bed and an Ensign to read while wearing my gameday shirt, a christmas tree and a stocking filled with prizes. I am one lucky lucky girl!

Love you all so much, I'm in California so letters are welcome! We've had an air box all week, just saying. I have written you all, some of you should have gotten a letter and if not, it's coming. I've been a letter writing fool these past couple days! I am almost out of time so I gotta get cracking on the pictures. Love and miss you and I'll email next week!

Con Amor,

Hermana Granado

Also, don't be fooled thinking that I'm in a sunny paradise here. It's pretty cold at night and the wind literally blew me off the sidewalk the other day. My hair is constantly a mess and sometimes I eat dirt while I talk. But all I have to say is thank goodness I'm not in Alaska or Logan walking around in my flats and a skirt. I am definitely blessed. 

I feel like I should explain the sentence where I said my hair is always a mess and I eat dirt when I talk. It's really windy all the time. Really windy.Also, I didn't tell you about my apartment. It's tiny, just me and Hermana Rosales. It's quiet but we can keep it clean. When we moved in it was a mess because elders lived there before us and just left it disgusting. But the zone leaders helped us bring our stuff in and they took our apartment keys. We left to go teach a lesson and help with a service project and when we came back our keys were under the mat and we walked in to find it spotless. The zone leaders did a really great job of scrubbing it clean, vacuuming, the whole nine yards. They even organized our suitcases in our room and set them up nicely. It was really nice. Since we are the only sisters in our zone they take really good care of us. 

Love you!

Hola familia, Surprise! 

We get to email the day before we leave, which is really nice because I'm pretty sure I won't get another Pday until Monday.

So here's the deal, my flight got rerouted because of snow in Dallas. But I'm leaving the MTC at 2:30am tomorrow, my flight leaves Mexico at 7am then I should be in California at 11:15. I don't know what my first day will be like, I have no idea what to expect but I'll tell you all about it next week! I will get assigned to my trainer (my first companion in the field) then I start working!

Now you can all write me letters to my California address! If you don't have it, here it is:

Hermana Stephanie Granado 
California Redlands Mission 
7000 Central Ave 
Highland, CA 92346

and you can also continue to email me at this address. I love getting all the pictures from you and hearing about your lives lately! Makes me sad I'm not there but we'll just have more stories to share in 2015.

The last days here in the CCM have been awesome. Emotionally exhausting but awesome. I am still shocked at how incredibly hard it was to say bye to my district members who left this morning. The hardest part is not knowing if I'll be able to see them when we get home. But I hope I will! We got some pictures with our teachers but I will send them next week when I actually have a preparation day. 

So much has happened this last week in the MTC that I can't begin to tell you but just know I have loved it and have learned so so much. Now it's real! I'm off to save some souls in California. I'm nervous but so so excited. I can't do accents on this computer and I don't have access to Google translate so my Spanish won't look pretty but I want to tell you all what's in my heart…

Yo se que este iglesia es verdadera. Yo se que Jesucristo es mi salvador y es nuestro salvador. Y este evangelio es el mismo evangelio que Jesucristo ensño durante su vida terrenal. Dios no envio a la tierra para progresar y aprender. Dios nos conoce perfecamente y El sabe que cada persona necesita experimentar y aprender para llegar a ser la persona que Dios quiere seamos.Yo se estoy aqui por un razon y este razon es para predicad el evangelio de Jesucristo. Me encanta este trabaja y estoy amada para llegar en California. Les extraño mucho pero no quiero estar un lugar que no esta California. Me encanta que soy una misionera y un representante de Jesucristo. Yo se que ustedes van a ser bedecido porque yo estoy aqui ahora. Yo ha aprendi mucho y voy a continuar a aprender. Las seis semanas pasadas era muy dificil pero muy bueno tambien. Mi español no es perfecto y no soy una maestra perfecta pero, con el espiritu santo, puedo hacer milagros en las vidas de mis investigadores. Gracias por su apoyo y su amor. Les ama mucho! 

I love you all, pray for my safe travels and I'll talk to you when I'm in California!

Con amor,
Hermana Granado