Winter Winds

I don't understand why so many people move to Phoenix for the "weather." It goes from burning hot to fairly cold with a few weeks of "pleasant" in between. It's freezing today. Plus I'm all used to 110 degree weather so 50 feels like below 0 to me now. Still, it makes the Christmas music we listen to in the apartment feel more appropriate, so that's a plus.

We had a great week this week. We've been finding some cool new people. We have one guy with a baptismal date. His name is Rigo. He's probably in his 50s. He didn't make it to Church on Sunday, but he'll hopefully still make it for his date. He's one of those people where I really didn't expect much out of him, but he turned out to be more solid than I thought. That's the Lord's way of humbling me. The people where you are almost ready to dismiss them become your strongest investigators.

Last night we taught a guy named Ramon from Casas Grandes, Chihuahua. Casas Grandes is awesome because it's right next to Colonia Juarez where all the Mormon colonists live and there's a nice temple there. People from Casas Grandes either love or hate the Church, mostly because the members down there are really hard working and so they're the richest people in the area. They either think we're rich exclusive snobs or hardworking industrious people. Ramon thought we were hardworking. The general rule of thumb I've found is that if they've actually associated with the members they tend to like them but if they've just seen their big houses at a distance they think we're snobs. Either way, my ears perk up when someone tells me they're from Casas Grandes.

We're working on the Plan of Salvation this month as a mission. I've really noticed what a big role agency plays in the plan. It's there every step of the way. Elder Zeledon said that was one of the things he noticed when he joined the Church. He said other churches don't really emphasize the concept of agency and our ability to choose. This week I've been trying to help people correctly use their agency. It's felt good. It's nice to just present people with a choice and help them to choose to follow the Savior. And if they don't choose what they should, that's okay because that's how they choose to exercize their agency. It's also helping me to correctly use my own agency a lot better. Too often I don't think I realize that my choices are between God and Satan; normally, I forget and it's more like tired or not, or feeling like it or not. So I've been trying to help use my agency better and help others to do the same.

Elder Duncan of the seventy is here in the mission. We'll hear from him on Wednesday. I'm excited to hear what he has to say to us.

Love,

Elder Grasley