Week Three in the MTC

Grady and his MTC companion, Elder Wiser

We received Grady's third email from the MTC today. I love opening my email and seeing "Konichiwa" in the subject line. He sounds like he's doing so well and with each letter, he tells us a little more. I especially love reading his testimony. I can tell that it's growing and maturing. Here's an excerpt from today:

May 26, 2009 Hey family! I got your email and I can't believe Adam didn't win. That’s pretty crazy. (He's referring to American Idol!) My days are pretty busy and packed with learning. I have between 7-9 hours a day of class time, (excluding Sundays and Tuesdays). I have 3-4 hours of MDT time during the week which is just my time for studying with my companion and personal study. During those 7-9 hours the teachers split us up between gospel and language study. I really enjoy class and my teachers, they are awesome. One of my teachers was in the air force so he is pretty strict, but I like it. My other teacher is more laid back and likes to involve us more with stories and stuff like that. Yesterday was his birthday and all of us got him a present out of the cafeteria. It was pretty funny. Ya, the language is going pretty well. I can kind of form my own sentences, but it takes me a while to think in my head. Japanese is completely opposite of English. In English I would say, The cat ran home. In Japanese it would be cat home ran, and this is an extremely simple sentence. It has taken me a while to get use to this but I feel that I am almost at a breakthrough point. I can say my prayers, bear testimony, and converse very simply. It is pretty fun to learn. I watched the Testaments for the first time this Sunday. It was great. It made me realize how little I know about the Book of Mormon. It actually scared me so I have been studying the BOM more diligently. Since coming here I have heard two devotionals. At one Elder Ballard came! He gave a really short talk but it was pretty good. Last weeks was a seventy, Neunswander. I totally butchered his name but he was pretty awesome. He was the first mission President over the Russian missions. This included, Egypt, Russia, Turkey, and like 5 or six other countries. There were under a hundred missionaries in all. These missionaries would go for months without even communicating with Brother Neunswander! It was a trial of their faith. The other day we watched an Elder Holland talk that he gave at the MTC a while ago. It was amazing. You should try to look it up. It was called The Miracle of Serving I think. It pretty much told all of us missionaries that we should stop thinking of ourselves and realize that our missions will mean so much to us. He said multiple times " My mission meant everything to me" This really touched me and it gave me a little boost. I know that this message that I am learning about will change millions of peoples lives around the world. I love my savior and am very thankful for the atonement. Well I’ve gotta go but thanks for everything and tell everyone hi.

Off to the MTC

Well, I'm not very good at keeping up Grady's mission blog!! He's been in the MTC for two weeks today. Wow! It was really difficult to leave him, knowing we won't see him for two years. The whole "not seeing or touching" him for two years part didn't really sink in until right before we had to say good-bye in the MTC. It was such a strange feeling as I sat next to him, knowing that in a few minutes I would hug him and then he'd be gone. We all held it together pretty well. We only shed a few tears in front of him and he held up really well, too. The ride home was difficult and Gus and I kept looking at each other, tears running down our faces, wondering what on earth we had just done!!

We've had two emails and one letter from him. He had a really difficult first day, but he said that things are going well now. Here's an excerpt from his first email:

May 12, 2009--Konichiwa family! I really appreciated

the letters, they were great. Since being here I

have had an amazing experience. The first day
was a little rocky, but I figured everything

out and have been doing well since then.
Everyday is the same pretty much and I haven't

minded it. I have class everyday for about 6
or 7 hours and then meetings, gym, and meals in

between. I have really enjoyed learning by
the spirit, because there is no way I would know

the language as good as I do now. The
language has been hard but the spirit helps me learn at

a rapid pace. My companion is great and we
get along well. His name is Wiser Charo, or Elder

Wiser for you English speakers. Just letting
you all know that I am ok and I have a testimony

that God loves us, and he sent his son, Jesus
Christ to atone for our sins.

Grady's second letter talks about how well the language is coming. He says "The language is coming very fast. I can make my own sentences, but extremely slow, but it is coming along. " He also talks about going to the Temple each Tuesday and he said "Last week it was awesome and I'm excited to go today."
We're so proud of Grady and happy for his decision to serve a mission. We know he'll have some wonderful opportunities and experiences, and some challenging ones, too.

The Mission Call

March 24, 2009

I've been wanting to learn new things lately, so I guess it's time I entered the world of technology and learn how to blog! With Grady going on a mission I figured now is as good a time as ever! So, here goes!!

At the end of February, Grady got his mission call to Kobe, Japan. It was quite the experience, something you think about from time to time over the years, but it just was so much more amazing than I ever dreamed. We received the call on Thursday, February 12. He is in school in Rexburg, Lenzi is in school in Provo and the Mission Call came to Twin Falls--so it was a little bit of an ordeal trying to figure out where to open it. Lenzi wanted to be there, but had school on Friday, so she couldn't come to Twin. Grady was the gracious young man he always is and he agreed to wait until Friday afternoon and meet in the middle. I think it almost killed him, but I know Lenzi was so grateful that he waited for her! We drove to Pocatello and picked Grady up there, then we drove to Brigham City and met Lenzi at Maddox. I hadn't thought much about where we would open his call, and he didn't want to make a big fuss about it, so we thought we'd all just cram into the car. When we got to Maddox I went in and asked if they might have a private room we could use for a minute, just to open the call. They put us in this totally private room and let us eat there and everything!! It was really perfect. Before we opened the envelope I read an excerpt from a devotional address given by Henry B. Eyring entitled "Called of God". Here is that excerpt:

All my life, from the time I have been a young boy and as far back as I can remember, I have had experiences feeling of the Holy Ghost. … But I’ve never felt what I have felt as I have … participated in the assigning of missionaries. …
“We go into a room, and … it will be a two-or three-hour session and sometimes longer. Because of technology, it is possible for us to have your picture and the information about you displayed. And then quickly, on that same screen, all the missions of the Church with all of their needs are displayed. Within minutes, and sometimes less than a minute, the impression comes so powerfully that it would be, if it were a single instance, something that you would never forget. Can you imagine sitting there for hours at a time, having that happen time after time without interruption? I testify to you that it is real. …
“… In a world so large, the Creator … somehow not only knows you but loves you enough to ensure that your call is where He needs you to go to teach the children of our Heavenly Father.” Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Called of God” (devotional address delivered at the Provo Missionary Training Center, Aug. 26, 1997).

After we read this, Grady opened the envelope. When he read Japan Kobe Mission", we were all rather stunned. We had all guessed different places, even marked them on a world map, but no one had guessed Japan. He goes into the MTC on May 6 and will be there until July 22--Almost three months!

Last Friday, March 20th, we took him to the temple. What a special experience that was. There I was, sitting next to Lenzi, with Grady across the room. Having two of my children in the temple with us was such a treat. The past couple of years have had some difficult stretches, but the sweetness of life always seems to break through the clouds. This is one of those moments I will never forget!