APRIL 28, 2014

Hi family, this will probably be pretty short but this week was really good! Thank you for the emails and for keeping me in the loop with all of your exciting lives back home!

 

Thursday I had a really good talk with Hermana Lauaki-Sablan. I had been feeling pretty inadequate, which is not uncommon for me out here on the mission. My responsibility to be a representative of Jesus Christ and teach others the restored gospel is a huge responsibility! And I'm definitely not perfect. So when things go wrong or we don't have people to teach or when they reject our message, I tend to blame myself. I was feeling like I just needed to be better in every single aspect. I had started comparing myself to others which is never a good idea. Because if you compare yourself all the time, you're bound to fall short. So I came to the conclusion that if I'm going to compare myself, I need to compare myself with the old Stephanie. That way I can keep improving and I can see how much I've already grown. Which is a lot! So that's my new goal.

 

We picked up a new investigator this week. We found her just knocking on doors and she's so nice! Turns out her husband's last name is Granado and we spent quite some time the other day trying to figure out if we're related. I don't think we are...

Saturday we got to do a pretty big service project. We pulled out weeds from around two baseball fields at a park. Just just any weeds either! They were taller than me! But it was so fun to get out there and do something different. I absolutely LOVE doing service and I'm so glad we've gotten the chance to do service activities almost every week.

Yesterday was a really powerful sacrament meeting for me. I noticed that while we were singing at the beginning of the meeting, lots of people started to come into the chapel. It was investigators and less active members that were coming in a little late and it was so cool to see them walking in with their families as we were singing and bringing the Spirit into the meeting. Then I turned around and saw a member who has been very very sick for over a month. Members had been taking food to her family every day for a long time because she was so ill. She had been to the hospital multiple times and every time someone asked about her we would just hear "Ella esta muy mal." but when I saw her walking into the chapel with a walker and her daughters behind her, it was so powerful to me and really testified of the power of prayer. She thanked all the sisters for everything they had done for her and her family during this time and it was so good to see the ward working together and serving each other. I feel like, as a missionary, one of my goals is to bring these wards closer together. I'm going to leave but I want them to grow together and serve each other and really be like a family. So it was really good for me to see that this week.

 

I can't believe how fast the time is flying! I hit six months this week and it still feels like I just started. But that feeling probably won't ever go away. I am still learning and growing so much and I'm determined to take full advantage of the next year I have to be here in California and learn more about the gospel and myself. I LOVE being on a mission!

Love,

Hermana Granado

HAPPY EASTER! 

Hey family, hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! Ours was great here in Rialto. We were able to get into quite a few houses and share lots of messages about the Savior and His resurrection. This week, because of Easter, I made it a goal to spend part of my personal study every morning studying about the Savior. Although all the lessons are centered on the Savior and He is the center of our message, I wanted to go beyond His Atonement and Resurrection. I wanted to learn more about His life and who He was as a person. I spent a lot of time with the scriptures that our mission president sent us last week and I read quite a bit in Jesus the Christ. I feel like I now have a better idea of who Jesus Christ really was and I know more about His nature. I have come to know and love Him more and that alone has made me love missionary work more. With this greater understanding of the Savior I am more motivated and excited to go out and share His gospel. I still have a lot to learn but I am so grateful for this start of learning of our Redeemer and I really received a greater witness of Him through the Holy Ghost this week.

 

This week was probably my most successful week of my whole mission so far! Which is good because the last week was pretty hard. I've come to notice that when things get really hard and I start doubting myself and questioning if we'll ever have any success, that's when we're about to see some miracles! This week we had the most lessons we've ever had in this area and one of our investigators committed to be baptized in a few weeks. I'm so excited and have faith that we're going to start seeing the fruits of our labors! We just have to remember that when things don't look very promising or when we feel discouraged, we have to have faith and just hang in there. Keep working for those blessings!

 

We did some service for our investigator Joseph on Saturday. We and two of the elders and some members came and helped him fix up his yard. I was blowing dirt out of my nose for two days afterwards but it was worth it- he was so happy to see us and the members there ready and willing to help. He appreciated it a lot! I'll attach the picture we took after service. Also this week we helped a family catch some mice. They got mice in their kitchen and the wife is scared to go in there, well I guess we didn't really help but we were excited with the husband when we found out his traps worked! One day this week we're going over to help her clean out all the cabinets because she doesn't want to do it by herself. So that should be interesting!

It's what we're here for - to help :)

 

Yesterday we had dinner with one of the members and they gave us pepperoni pizza. Well they told us that the way they eat it is with jalapenos on it! So they put them on the table and said we could try it if we wanted but we didn't have to. Guys, I didn't know what I was missing! I put a jalapeno on every single bite I took, so good! I'll never be able to eat pizza the same. The mission and the dinners that the members give us are really changing my tastes. I can hardly eat anything without some salsa on it anymore. I am very lucky because being here in Californina I've gotten to try a lot of different kinds of food. I have had food from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico... yum! The other day a member invited us over for breakfast and she made us a traditional breakfast from El Salvador. It was so good!

 

Love and miss you all so much!

 

Love,

Your California Girl

Hermana Granado

April 14, 2014 

Hola familia!

 

Hoy es el 14 de abril. Que rapido pasa el tiempo! Hermana Lauaki-Sablan y yo ya tenemos tres meses juntos en este barrio. A mi me encanta mi vida aqui en la mision.

 

Hermana Lauaki-Sablan and I are staying together! We're so excited!!!!! And this means you'll all get to meet her on Mother's Day when we Skype! Yay!!!!! :) One of the elders that I've known since my very first day here in California is going to be an Asistant to the mission president! We're so excited for him! The rest of us are staying so the five of us will get to continue working together for the next few weeks.

 

Other than that this week has been okay. It's had it's ups and downs just like any other week. We were dropped by one of our investigators on Thursday. Out of no where she sent us a text and said she didn't want us to come over anymore. No explaination or anything. So that was hard. Then we went to go visit another family who has been slowly backing away from us and we felt like they were closing up. They told us that they didn't want to see us anymore either because they just don't have time. When I pointed out that they were all home and we could share a very short message she made excuse after excuse and said they'd just see us at church when they can go. (They haven't been to church in over a month). So we were pretty discouraged this week. But we know there are people out there that are ready and willing to listen to our message! We just have to find them!

 

We volunteered at the Bishop's Storehouse on Saturday and it was a good experience. I ran into a couple members from my old ward in Fontana- so good to see them!

 

Yesterday I had the chance to speak in Sacrament meeting in my ward. They told us on Thursday who was speaking and it was one from each companionship. So me and two of the elders spoke. I was so nervous because I still don't feel like my Spanish is very good and I didn't have much time to prepare a talk. But when I went up there I was able to just talk and didn't read hardly any of my notes. It was so cool to feel the spirit and be able to say the things that the members needed to hear. My spanish is improving. Slowly but surely, it's getting there!

 

Hope everyone has a great week, please continue to pray for us and that we'll be lead to the people that need the gospel! I'm SOOOOOOO HAPPY that I get some more time here. I feel like my work here isn't done. I love the members and I love the missionaries that are here. I am trying to take as much advantage of this time that I possibly can!

 

The picture I'm including is with the Espindola family. Hermana Espindola is in charge of our dinner calendar and trying to get members to feed us every night. When no one signs up or when they cancel or forget, which has been happening quite a bit, Hermana Espindola will usually have us over to eat with them. So we've gotten to spend quite a few dinners with this wonderful family :) they're so good to us!

 

Love,

Hermana Granado

 

A little Easter message https://www.lds.org/topics/easter?lang=eng&query=easter

April 7, 2014 - 

General Conference Weekend! 

Hey family!

 

Can you believe it's April already?! I sure can't. Last night one of our members asked how long we've been here and we had to think about it and it's been three months! Man time flies. I feel like I'm still brand new in the mission but I'm not really. And I feel like we just got on our feet here but we've been here three months!

This week was probably one of the best ones of my mission! Well, I've been feeling like that almost every week lately. But this weekend was General Conference. 

General Conference is when we get a chance to hear the Prophet and Apostles speak to us on what they feel impressed to speak on. There are four two-hour sessions and a session for the priesthood as well. It happens every April and October. This was the best conference I've ever watched, I just loved it! A lot of people say that conference on the mission is as good as Christmas and it's so true! I think it was a mixture of reasons it was so good. I was definitely paying more attention to this one than any other time. I have gone and seen it in person in Salt Lake City once but other than that, I'm usually comfortable sitting on a couch and it's easy to doze... or I'm watching it online and can pause to go do something, come back, pause it again, and not really pay attention to the messages. But this weekend I took some time before conference to sit down and write down some questions that I was hoping to have answered. There were about four or five specific questions I had and every single one of them was answered almost word for word. It was really special for me. I told Hermana Lauaki-Sablan that I felt bad for her because all the talks were for me! She just laughed.

One cool thing the ward did that they haven't done before is they all got together to watch it at the church. Usually it is broadcast at the stake center but since we've been trying to build more unity in the ward, they decided to get together just them on Sunday. We all watched the first session together then some sisters brought some stuff for a little light lunch. There were a lot more people there than we had expected so while the missionaries were running around trying to meet and greet everyone, the food went fast. I ended up with a couple bites of pears and a dry tostada. Good thing I tucked a granola bar in my bag before leaving the apartment! Then we all visited as a ward, cleaned up, and watched the second session. It was good to see them all get together and just visit. If any of you want to see part of the General Conference, it is on lds.org. I really liked the Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon sessions!

 

We had another earthquake this week. It was on Thursday while we were in our apartment planning. It wasn't as big as the one the other week but I'm still new to this whole earth-shaking thing!

 

A cool experience we had this week was with Brenda and Estevan. When Hermana Lauaki-Sablan first got into the area, we found their record and tried to visit them about five times, nothing. We left notes with our number on it, nothing. In fact, one time when we went there, we knocked on the door, heard the TV on, saw someone look through the peep-hole and they didn't open the door. So we stopped visiting them. Well we were visiting the bishop and talking to him about how we were looking for more people to teach. Then he said he had a nephew who lived in our area. It was them! We told them what had happened and he said that he'd invite them over for a Family Home Evening at his house. So the bishop set it all up and we went and taught a good first lesson. Just got to know them and told them the basics of our purpose and the jist of our message. Well they accepted a return appointment at thier house! Estevan is a less active member and his wife is not a member. So we were excited to go teach them but a little apprehensive about how it would go. We got a member to go with us and when we got there, they let us right in and sat down and were ready to learn. We told them a little bit more about our purpose as missionaries and asked them their expectations of us. Estevan said he wants to get active again and Brenda wants to learn more about the religion because she wants to have a good foundation when they decide to have kids. They even offered to have us over for dinner one night and when we asked to end with a prayer Estevan said he wanted to say it! His prayer was so good and we could really tell he has a testimony. That was the best I have ever felt leaving a lesson. Well, last night we went to visit them and honestly I was a little doubtful of how it would go. It is very common to have an amazing lesson with someone then just have them completely change their mind the next day. Well they opened the door and we had another really good lesson! Brenda even started finishing my sentences because she understood it so well. Then Estevan offered to say the ending prayer again and it was so good! This whole story is probably pretty boring for you all because nothing crazy really happened but there is just so much potential here! It definitely strengthens my testimony that everything happens in the Lord's time. Everything. They weren't ready a couple months ago but now they just seem golden! So it is definitely a reminder to be patient and trust in the Lord's timing.

 

We also helped two families move this week! One on Thursday and one between the General Conference sessions on Saturday. I'm getting some pretty big muscles lifting all these couches and whatnot!

Transfers are coming up, we'll find out next Monday what is going to happen. Keep your fingers crossed that me and Hermana Lauaki-Sablan will stay together! We're working hard and I feel like we're about to have some success!

Hope everything at home is going well, can't wait to see you all on Mother's Day!

 

I'm attaching a picture with the Larios family and of the six of us at our last dinner together, dinners are split up now so we took a picture of our last one together. It's not quite as interesting but it's a good opportunity to talk to the members during our meal and get to build a better relationship with them. I just love it here in Rialto, I REALLY hope I can have some more time here.

 

Lots of love,

Hermana Granado

March 31, 2014

Hello family!

 

Hope all is well in the home land. Thank you all so much for keeping me updated and all. I love your emails! This week was a good one here in Rialto. Hermana Lauaki-Sablan and I are always having fun. We picked up a new investigator this week. It is the cousin of a girl we were teaching that ended up moving away so for some reason we had the idea to go back to her house, even though she doesn't live there anymore. Come to find out that her cousin has been waiting for us to come back because he wanted to come to church but he didn't know where the church was! And guess what else! The day we went, his cousin that we were teaching that moved? She had come back to visit just for the day! So she and her cousin sat down for an awesome lesson! So cool.

Then, on Wednesday we had dinner with one of our members and he has been trying to get us to sit down with his daughter. She is less active but said that she didn't want to talk to any missionaries. Well while we were having dinner at her parents house, she just happened to come by. She didn't say much to us while we were eating but Hermana Lauaki-Sablan and I pulled her aside after dinner and just talked to her for a second. Well I guess after we left she told her mom that she really liked us and that she wants to have us over to her house. So we're having dinner with her and her husband tonight! After almost three months here in Rialto we're finally getting to go to her house!

 

I was made the driver again because they don't have Hermana Lauaki-Sablan's paperwork so I am the designated driver. So much for looking at the pretty scenery on the way to our area! We've been walking a lot though! We even walk to church now. All the members see us and try to give us rides. They're the sweetest. Yesterday two people pulled over to talk to us and ask us if we needed a ride. When we said no they ended up giving us granola bars and offered us tacos. It was hilarious and I just love the members here and all their generosity. I might have already mentioned this but Hermana Lauaki-Sablan and I are the first sister missionaries this ward has gotten in over ten years! So they just love us. They really do spoil us. I'm hoping we have at least one more transfer together for three main reasons: 1. WE'RE BEST FRIENDS   2. I want you all to meet her and if we stay together for one more transfer we'll be together for Mother's Day when we Skype home. and 3. We came into the ward together as the first sisters in a loooooong time, so it just won't be the same if one of us leaves! We're getting along really well with the other four elders in our ward too. We struggled a bit last transfer, they were still getting used to having us here, but now we're working well together and having lots of fun! It's a great dynamic.

 

There was an earthquake on Friday. The other two we had while I was here I was asleep for. But this one was the first earthquake I've ever really experienced! We were in a lesson when it happened so I'm sure it made our visit memorable!

Saturday night was a broadcast for women at church. It was really great to hear the messages of the leaders of Relief Society speak to us. I got some really great insights and they shared really good messages. Sunday Hermana Lauaki-Sablan and I taught primary for our ward, we taught, or tried to teach "Jesus Christ is our Savior" to the little kidlets. It was... exhausting. But they told their parents that they had fun!

 

The six of us missionaries have been working really well together and trying our best to help our ward come together and work with more unity. We've been working on that a lot and have had a really good experience with it lately. Our members are responding well to our messages and they're doing more to help each other. On Saturday we had a big service project with one of our members cleaning up his backyard and cutting up branches and trimming trees. It was a lot of work to be done! But we got other members out to help. One even brought water and juice coolers for everyone that was there working!

Our bishop got special permission from our stake president to have General Conference shown at our chapel next weekend and is inviting all the members to come and have a little picnic together between sessions! (there are two 2 hour sessions on both Saturday and Sunday) so I think that is something that will help our ward as well.

 

The other night we were sharing a message with one of our members and when we told them we had to head home, their 3 year old daughter says "Can't you just live here so you don't have to leave?"

 

Sorry this email is so scatter-brained. I just have so many experiences and not enough memory to tell them all. I sure do cherish them though!

I'm LOVING my mission!!! And learning sooooo much. Love and miss you all.

 

Love,

Hermana Granado

Hey family,

 

So no bikes, thanks for all your prayers but it looks like our mission president thinks it isn't the right thing to do right now. So we're going to start parking and walking all day. Wish me luck! (and send me blister bandaids). But I know that the decision our mission president made was prayed about and thought about a lot this past week. And I am thankful that he is able to make decisions for this mission to bless us and the people we come into contact with.

 

Hope you all had a good week. I'm trying to think of fun things that happened... But nothing is really coming to mind. We are struggling to find more people to teach. Please pray that we will be able to find people that are ready and willing to hear the gospel- we're only effective when we have people to teach!

 

Today we played sports with our ward. We did some basketball and softball and kickball- it was a blast! I'll send a picture of the missionaries (I'm in a pink sweatshirt). The other pic is from a few weeks ago, with a family in our ward. Two of the elders were transferred so that's why there's two different ones in the recent one.

 

In two weeks we're having General Conference! I'm so excited! General Conference is when the prophet and apostles speak and it's twice a year- the first weekend in April and the first weekend in October. So I'm really looking forward to that!

 

This week is Hermana Lauaki-Sablan's 9 month mark so we're gonna do it up big! I'll probably treat her to a shake or something :) And then a couple days later is my 5 month mark! Not that big of a deal but crazy to think I've been out that long already. I still feel so new!

 

Time's running out... I'll try to write more if I can get back on. I love you all and miss you!

 

Hermana Granado

HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY! 

I wore green all day so you can put those pinchers away! I made that up just now, I even impressed myself.

 

This week was great but I spent a lot of time emailing my mission president so I don't have much more. Here's why: WE WANT BIKES! so bad. Hermana Lauaki-Sablan and I have been talking about it for a while now but we really really want to be put on bikes instead of driving around. I want to be out and be seen. A lot of people don't even know there are sister missionaries because we're always hidden in a car. I know it will be hard but that's why I want to do it so badly. I want to sacrifice more and give it my all. I only have 13 months left out here and this is a time I'm never going to get back. I want to look back on this experience and know I gave my all to the Lord, not that I was sitting in a car with AC on my way to our appointments. Our area is the furthest away in the ward and we have the most hills but - even better! There are sister missionaries on bike in different places in California. Remember Hermana Baird from the MTC? She's in San Jose and she's on bike (yes, in a skirt) and she loves it! Plus with these dinners we're having, I need to burn a few more calories during the day.

 

On Saturday we had the opportunity to hear from Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorom of the Twelve Apostles and also Elder Anthony Perkins and Elder Douglas Higham both from the Seventy. It was our entire mission and the Rancho Cucamonga mission, so probably over 500 missionaries. And Elder Andersen wanted to take the time to shake each one of our hands! So I shook hands with an Apostle for the first time and after hearing his remarks, I know he is an Apostle of the Lord. While we were sitting there waiting for them to arrive, we were sitting quietly and pondering. I remembered that I should have a question in mind. I bowed my head and said a prayer, asked a couple questions, and continued to wait patiently and ponder. One of the questions I had in mind was "How can I enjoy my mission more and learn to love every part of it" about halfway through Elder Andersen's message, he said "The key to loving your mission is learning more about and understanding the Atonement" there was my answer! Clear as day. Another insight I got was that I need to stop comparing myself to other missionaries and other people I know. I am a unique daughter of God and I was called to the California Redlands mission for a unique purpose. I need to be patient with myself but not excuse myself. It is a constant struggle to try to accept and do the will of the Lord but it is something I am slowly learning. I can see the beauty of the Master's plan when I step out of the way and let Him work. Another thing I liked was when Elder Andersen said that when we are feeling discouraged or worried, it's because we're trying to do the work ourselves. I am also learning to lean more on the Lord and not my own efforts or understanding. This work cannot be done withour the Lord's help and I am learning that more and more everyday. When I make mistakes it's because I'm trying to do it myself and when I have success it's because Heavenly Father took over and is helping me.

We heard a story this weekend from one of the general authorities about missionaries running from door to door and appointment to appointment and it really touched me. He said that anywhere they would go, they would run. At first I thought it sounded a little strange but then I thought, what do we think when we see people running? That there is something important, right? The message we're sharing is the most important message I've ever heard and it is so important that others hear it. Since then I have had a desire lately to do more and serve more and sacrifice more. That is why I would really like is to be put on a bike. I have thought about it a lot and have a lot of reasons I think it would be good for me. I know it will be very difficult but I want to do it because I want to stretch myself and push myself. I feel like I would have the ability to talk to more people and be seen. If we were able to get out on the streets we could be seen and have more street contacts. It would use less miles on mission cars and when we need a ride, we can find a sister to give us one and there is a good chance of her staying for our lesson and raise our member presents.. If safety is an issue, we can bike during the day and drive at night. I am just so excited for missionary work and have such a desire to do more. Hermana Lauaki-Sablan and I even talked to some members about our desires to be on bikes and they really respect it. The Luna family, who are very strong in our ward and very active in missionary work are completely supportive of the idea. They said that as members if they were to see us biking around, they'd instantly think of the sacrifice missionaries are making and the sacrifice of the Savior. They said that it would make them more excited about missionary work and more willing to help. I know it won't be easy but that is part of the reason I want this opportunity. I want to push myself completely out of my comfort zone and give everything I have to the Lord these next 18 months. I hope you will be willing to let us try this and at least give it a shot.

I feel like after having the privilege to hear from Elder Andersen, Elder Perkins and Elder Higham I am more excited for missionary work and just ready to give it my all. I have such a strong testimony that he is an Apostle of the Lord and was sent to the Redlands mission for a purpose. I hope we will have the opportunity to learn and grow and work more on bikes, I don't want to be a lukewarm missionary.

 

One story this week is that we taught a man yesterday for the first time and it was pretty interesting. We found his wife while we were knocking on doors and she said we could come back but when we did she didn't want to talk to us. Luckily her husband let us in. As we were talking to him we shared John 3:16 which talks about how Heavenly Father sent his son to atone for our sins. As we were talking, I bore my testimony telling him that the atonement is such a great gift to us but he cut me off and told me that the fact that Jesus Christ came to the earth and died doesn't do him much good. That it doesn't help him much. He doesn't believe God created Adam and Eve and he put his hand on my bible and looked me in the eye and said "Estas son mentiras" which means "These are lies" I just stared at his hand on my scriptures and was so hurt. We talked to him for a little bit longer, we weren't fighting or offending one another but his beliefs were something I have never heard on my mission before. Since I've been out here I haven't met someone who doesn't believe in anything. It was a learning experience for sure. It was a testimony builder to me for sure, I KNOW that Heavenly Father sent his son for me. And I KNOW that without that one act, I couldn't have eternal life and I couldn't become the person that Heavenly Father wants me to be. I work hard, I do my best, I do everything I can, and the grace of God makes up the rest. I need it. And that is our message to the world. And this man was willing to let us come back so we'll see what happens...

 

Please say a special prayer that my companion and I are able to start biking, I love you all!

Hermana Granado