Grayson and Mom on a Mission

Hi mommy!!! I'll be on for about 30 mins right now and then I'll be back on again after lunch! I miss you guys a lot and pray for you several times a day! Excited for the package! Dang I miss super chix. I think I might have sam bring me some texas roadhouse rolls when we meet up at the temple next week. I'm so excited for that! That's awesome that everything in the house is done. Hopefully no more huge hail storms for a while. That is so crazy about Puerto Rico. I can't believe it. That would be really hard to leave when the people need you most, but safety is obviously first priority. I'm sure there will still be plenty of clean up once he gets back in four months or so.  I love you so much mom! Did you get my pictures of my favorite scriptures? Did you see my pictures in my group email last week? Did they work? Can you find out if they worked for someone who doesn't have a google email? Yeah I went to the temple. It was awesome! Its fun getting to...

Elder G!!! It's Monday again. They seem to come pretty quickly although sometimes during the middle of the week I just want to see your face!!! I wonder each day how your week is going, if you're having a good, happy day, I wonder if the language is going well, etc. so I'm so excited that it's Monday so I get to hear all about it! We had a good week. Sam flew home Thursday night and leaves really early Monday morning. He is going to drop something off at the mtc today:) I hope you like it. I made it fresh tonight so by tomorrow it will still be totally delish. Let me know when you get it. We introduced sam to super chix. I'm not sure that he thought it was any big deal. The fries were not on par that day and kinda soggy so we'll have to try again sometime. We got a lot done on the house this week. New roof. All new gutters and a freshly stained fence. The house looks really good. However dad clogged our toilet and can't fix it so.... there's that. But I...

Hi mommy! How are you? THis week was good. It went faster for sure. I'm learning so much in the language and am loving port. Our teachers are awesome and they have a strong spirit. My new companion is a bummer for sure. We are just totally different. He's veryyyyy loud especially at 6:30 in the morning. And he just talks a lot and asks a ton of questions that are not really needed. Haha its all good tho, itll definitely be a new experience. I'm hoping I get my visa tho and get to leave a week from today!! Also I will be able to call you guys from the airport so that will be awesome! So if you could call Karen King today and get an update. And honestly call her again on like thursday even if we annoy her. I would just really like to get updates cause they arent too good at doing that at the mtc. But they said even if they got my visa on friday or saturday they would still book my flight for monday, so we may not know until late. But yeah I would love an update. I love you so...

Boy I miss you today. Some days are better than others and today is just a tough one. I'm sure you can relate:) I just want you to know that I love you so very much! As a young mom raising kids, you guys were always my focus and it could feel all consuming at times. As I remember it now, with some time and perspective, I loved every second if it. If you could go back to those years in the middle of it, I would tell you that so many days are tough and exhausting. But even then I loved it! I'm so grateful that I was able to stay home and raise you guys. You three are my greatest treasures. To see you turn out to be such an extraordinary young man brings my heart pure joy! All the struggle was worth it. I love you so much my son. I just wanted you to know that I'm thinking of you and missing you especially today. I'm praying for extra comfort, faith and happiness for you today! You are wonderful!!❤️❤️❤️ Love Mom

Oh my gosh!  I'm so incredibly proud of you Gray!  I love that you are embracing the work.  What an amazing two years you will have!  As Pres. Platt said so many times, you will witness miracles.  I can't wait to live through it with you. I left a message for Karen King today about your visa.  Haven't heard back yet but I'll email as soon as I hear.  Ill prob continue to send some Dear Elders just because it might be fun to actually receive a piece of mail:) We have missed you sooooo much! I literally got butterflies yesterday just thinking about hearing from you.  It makes my heart sooooo happy to hear you're doing so well!  Have you run into any friends there?  Did your companions get there on the same day you did?  or have they been there 3 weeks and are now switching to Brazil?  How many people are in your zone?  Girls and guys?  Do they all speak portuguese?  Does the language feel difficult or what?...

So there really is no time limit here. I can also read emails any day of the week I just can't respond. So you really dont have to send me dear elder letters cause I can see them all on my email anyway. This is probably the time I'll be on. We go to the temple in the mornings then grab lunch.  My comps are good. They are pretty cool and we enjoy talking to each other. Not like best friend material but they are good! They both leave next week. Elder abel is going to the mish in brazil and elder ranger is going to the MTC in Brazil. I will get a new companion on wednesday which is exciting.  I'm having a lot of fun. The guys in my zone are awesome and so positive they are great examples. We have story time every night which is fun. We also just mess around a little during certain parts of the day which is nice. I've been sad a few times but realized you only get sad if you allow yourself too. Its good to stay busy. You work very hard here, harder than ive ever worked ...

LETTER #3 Good morning my son!  It is Friday morning here in TX and I woke up wondering how you are doing.  I hope all is going great!  I know the language will be difficult, but it WILL come!  I want to know what the MTC is like.  What time are you in class? Do you get exercise time daily?  What do you do for that time?  How much of your class time is language study and how much is religious study?  Tell me about your companions.  What missions are they going to?  Is the spirit really strong in the MTC?  What have you learned? I'm going to call the travel office on Monday and see what is the status of your visa... so I'll send you a letter after I speak with them.  Speaking of writing, I've heard that your writing time in the MTC is pretty limited... like 30 minutes.  That may be an old rule, I'm not sure.  But assuming that might be true, our family is not going to send you emails for your pday.  We are goi...

olá, meu filho maravilhoso (hello my wonderful son!) There is my Portuguese for the day:) I bet you'll learn more than that by the time you get my letter:)  It is Wednesday and you are entering the MTC in 30 minutes.  You're on my mind constantly and I'm saying prayers for you all day.  I'm so proud of you G.  You will do great things and in the process change peoples lives... including your own.  Here are just a few thoughts I wanted to leave you with as you start your MTC journey... "My dear brothers and sisters.  There will be days and nights when you feel overwhelmed, when your hearts are heavy and your heads hand down.  Then please remember, Jesus Christ, the redeemer, is the head of this church.  It is His gospel. He wants you to succeed. He gave His life for just this purpose."  - Pres. Uchtdorf "Don't fear failure. Fear being in the exact same place next year as you are today." "Every trial and experience you have passed th...

Hey guys, I made it! I feel ok, im just ready to get to work. I love you guys and wanna thank you for all that you guys have done for me. I wouldn't be here without you guys. Mom thanks so much for getting me all packed and stuff that was a huge help! I need to add two emails to my list. One is Xani Eckel, Sally's sister, she commented it on my insta post so youll find that one there. Then I also need sam to text kade randall my roommate at BYU and get his email. Then he can text you that email. So mom could you get on my account and add both of those emails to my big list today? Thank you so much! I really do feel good. I know I'm in good hands at the MTC and its huge! I met my companions briefly (I'm in a trio) and they seem cool, especially one of them. We are the only 3 people going to Brazil which is crazy cause we all had visa problems. There are more Portuguese speakers, but we are the only ones going to Brazil. I love you guys so much! MY P DAY IS MO...