Week 39 | Puppies!!

Transfers are tomorrow. They are sending me to Tucson! I am excited, I am going to be in like downtown Tucson, and I am staying on a bike! I guess Pres thinks I need to lose a few more pounds or something lol! But I have absolutely LOVED it her in the GILA VALLEY! The members are amazing. Honestly they didn't need me here, but I am so glad I got to be here because I needed them. I have learned so much while I have been here. These people are some of the most wonderful people I have ever met and truly make me want to try harder, be better, and love deeper. I will never forget my time here in Thatcher and I will cherish the memories I have made forever. But I know that the Lord has a work for me to do and He has more people he wants me to meet. 

This week has been crazy, but that's old news. Sister Zamora's bike is broken so we have been walking everywhere. So I have been nice and tired. Also, my arm is still numb from that scorpion bite... but I think it'll be better in a few days. I don't know, I said that last week, so I guess we will see. Everyone keeps telling me different things so I honestly don't know. I think I will wait a few more days and then if it is not better I will look more into it. But for now, I will keep hunting them down. I am getting pretty good at getting those little stingy bois! I've caught about 20 this week. It is actually really fun. Every night before bed we take our black lights and pliers and go around the outside of our apartment a couple times, then we do a sweep in our apartments, we check our beds and then we go to sleep. It makes me feel better knowing that I have them trapped in a jar instead on in my bed lol

On Tuesday I got to go on exchanges with Sister Gadd! As always, it was so much fun. We always make jokes, but she really is a great trainer and I have learned so much from her. I am really really going to miss serving around her. I feel like we always have the craziest stories together and see the most bizarre things. This time it was a cat feeding dogs.. Yes. It was so funny. But hey, the puppies were the cutest little things ever! We got to held them and play with them before dinner. We also went to an investigators house and when we realized she wasn't home we finished her weeding and it was actually so much fun. We were out playing in the dirt in our dresses in the middle of the afternoon. Good heavens I didn't know I could sweat so much. And this is what scares me about going to the city on a bike...

This week was really good. I did a lot of reflecting on my time here in Thatcher and I learned a lot. I tend to get really down on myself because it is hard to know when you have given your all and to know what "success" is. But this week really taught me a lot about what a good missionary is. And I learned that there is no good missionary, there is no perfect missionary. The best missionary you can be is yourself. And as long as you give 100%. But I think what I really learned is that 100% is not a fixed number. Your 100% is going to look a little different everyday. Which is why it is so vital that we rely on the Lord, and I think that you are successful if you rely on the Lord. 

I am so thankful to be a missionary because of all the people I meet and the lessons I learn everyday! I am going to miss Thatcher. But I know that there is so much more to learn and so many more people to meet and I can't wait! 

I wish you all the best!! I have to give a very special s/o to a few of my favorite people here in Thatcher, the Blairs and the Hollars (you can't get rid of me) Elletts, Michelle, and Kelli! You have all taught me so much and I love you all 💜

Sister Grant 

Week 38 | just a scorpion bite!!!

Not a ton happened this week, but it's totally fine. Because everything that did happen was plenty exciting. 

Thursday night/ Friday morning I had a little not so nice friend crawl into bed with me... I rolled over in bed and there was a scorpion! It got me on my arm, on the inside of my elbow. It was the middle of the night, and as soon as it got me I yelled so loud and pretty much stood straight up. I leaped over to turn the light on. Oh my word was sister Zamora mad at me!! She thought I was trying to be funny or that I was sleep walking or something. And she looked over and saw it and was just like, you have got to be kidding me! So I asked her to kill it for me. Nope. She wouldn't even get out of bed. She just said, it stung you already, no use in risking me getting stung... She is a true friend. So I got some toilet paper and went to grab it and as soon as I picked it up I totally freaked out and I threw it right back on my bed. I really had to talk to myself to get myself to kill that thing. It was so bad. But after trying a few times and screaming a lot, I was able to pick it up and flush it down the toilet. Yeah, I didn't go back to bed... and it was 1:30 in the morning. It hurt so bad. I can't even really explain how bad it hurt. It felt like someone was cutting my arm open with a knife and then burning it. And that feeling lasted close to 12 hours. Then it started to feel like when your foot falls asleep and is coming back and it feels like pins and needles. That lasted around 5-6ish hours or more and then it went numb and my arm has been numb since. I will probably get feeling back by tomorrow. It is truly the most awful thing in the world. Especially because there is really nothing you can do about it. Some people say that you can put vinegar on it, some people say oils work. But truly nothing works. Maybe some things make it a little better, but there is really nothing you can do but wait it out. Like, even ice doesn't do anything. I almost think that ice made it worse. It felt like it was on fire, but as soon as I would put ice on it, it felt like it was making it hotter. If I didn't know it was ice, I would've thought that it was a hot pad. It was so weird. 

Then last night I was getting ready for bed and we found another one!! It was in our light. I wasn't gonna go near that thing, so I called my ward mission leader and his wife and they came and rescued us. He took the light off of the ceiling and almost dropped it on his head. But then after teasing me with it for a while we flushed it down the toilet. Now I can really say that I have lived in Arizona! 

We did a lot of service again this week which was super fun. Pima hosts the largest boy scouts triathlon in the nation and we got to help with it which was a blast! On Friday night we got to do all of the body markings. A little ironic that the missionaries were doing it but it was fun! So we wrote everyone's number on their arm and leg. And then on Saturday we got to check everyone in and put on their time chip things. It was pretty long. We had to get there at like 6 in the morning and didn't leave till the afternoon. But I love doing service. Getting to wear pants and a T shirt, count me in! And we get to be there with all the other missionaries. 

Not a ton else happened. We are excited, Danyella is due this week! So hopefully I get to meet the baby before I go. Transfers are coming up one the 1st of May. And Sister Zamora will be finished training, so she will most likely take over the area and I will probably get the boot. 

Oh yeah, last week I got that massage and it was the best thing in the world! She did this thing called auriculotherapy. Its like acupuncture for just your ear but instead of needles it's these little bead things. It was supposed to help me sleep and relieve some of the tension in my neck. I think it was working, and then I got stung by a flippin scorpion. But it was pretty cool I guess. 

I also went back to the doctor this week to talk about the results of my blood work. Everything came back fine. So I guess for now I will just keep trying to drink as much water as I can and get in a couple naps whenever I get the chance and see how things go. 

I am doing really well though! I am learning so much. And there are so many wonderful people that take such good care of us! We met a member in another ward last Sunday at stake conference and she is AMAZING! She is fellow shipping one of our investigators and she is such an answer to my prayers! She fed us on Monday last week, she is so funny. I asked for Thai food just because no one around here has ever had Thai and I like to ask for crazy things to see who will actually do it. And she not only made Thai food, she decorated her house and everything. Now she drives us everywhere and I don't know what I'd do without her!

Hope you all have a wonderful week! 

Sister Grant   

Week 37 | alive and well

Hello from the Gila Valley!

I am still alive and well :) it's been a fun week.. We've had like 30-45 mph winds all week, but I survived! It was actually pretty funny because we live in the middle of dirt fields, so there have been a ton of dust storms and dust devils and stuff, there was one day we were out and I was feelin pretty good. I was thinking, man, I am getting quite the tan today! And then I took a shower that night... Yeah, I'm not tan at all. There has just been so much dust and dirt that we get so disgusting by the end of the day. We can't even ride our bikes. We thought that maybe we could one day and then we were riding down the highway and it was so windy that I kept tipping over and almost running into traffic. It was so bad, we haven't done that again.

This week was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. Our investigators who were on date to be baptized this weekend just dropped us which was really sad. But we have been working hard to stay positive and focus on the miracles and boy has there been tons!

We got a call from an investigator this week and she was in a total panic. She had just moved in to this place and was renting a room from this guy, it went south and she needed to get out of there right away. But we don't have a car and she was out of our area. So we called around and got someone to drop us off. And then we got the bishop to come and bring his truck and his brother brought another truck, so we were able to get her all moved out and she was okay. It truly was a miracle how fast we were able to get there and get her out. Then we were all happy and feelin great and then we realized, we didn't have a car, none of them could give us a ride, and we were out of our area at this really creepy guys house in a really sketchy part of town. So we started walking back and we had called a few different people to see if they could come pick us up but we didn't really know if anyone was coming. And then after we walked a couple miles down the highway, a lady from our ward came to the rescue! It was an exciting day. Oh yeah, and that same day it was sister Zamora's first time getting chased by a dog! It was so funny, we got home that night and she sits down and says, "Dang, I feel like a true missionary today".

We got to go see George again this week! He is so funny, he is one of my favorite people ever.

We also got to take the whole zone with us to the nursing home that we go visit every week. We got to go sing some hymns for them and then we all stayed and visited with the residents for a while. It is so much fun, but most of them still have no idea who I am. And we go twice a week. And I have been here since Christmas.. But its okay, most of their jokes and stories are still funny.

This week we did a lot of service which was really fun. At this point I'll do anything to have an excuse to wear pants hahaha. But really it was great, we got to clean 2 different hoarders homes this week. We cleaned up one ladies yard and the other ladies storage room. The yard was so much worse. I felt so bad, I was trying to be happy and have a good time, and of course I don't every want to offend anyone. But I truly couldn't control my gag reflexes. I don't think she saw me, I hope she didn't but lets just say it was kinda gross...

It was Thatcher Stake conference this week, and it was so good. The talks were focused on ministering and what it means and what it looks like to love your neighbor. I really liked it. This is an amazing stake! And I really am excited about all the "changes" with this new ministering program! Because hopefully there shouldn't really be any change. Stake conference was fun, Danyella and her little boy Landon came and sat with us in the front. Oh my. Landon is so loud, and normally I really don't care. But it was stake conference and it was being broadcast to 3 other buildings! The whole time we were just trying to keep him quiet so that Danyella could have a chance to listen. It was fun, I just hope that people in the other buildings couldn't hear him. But I am just glad they came!

Hope you all had a good week!

Love

Sister Grant

Week 36 | so nice to see trees

Today has been a fun P day! We went hiking this morning which is why we are emailing so late today. But it was a blast! Some members from Safford took all of the sisters up to the mountains to go hiking. It was so nice to see trees. But it made me appreciate home, it was a good drive out there and the hike was really short. But hey, I'll take what I can get right? 

I feel like this week was like a month long, so I'll try to keep this brief, but I just feel like so much happened this week.

So the beginning of the week was filled with doctors appointments which was exciting. My eyes have been getting so tired and they hurt all the time. It was getting hard to switch back and forth between near sighted and far sighted which was getting to be a problem. And to make it better, the more my eyes hurt, the more my head hurts and it was giving me migraines. Joy. So I went to the eye doctor. Turns out, I have an irregular astigmatism in my right eye. And they can't do anything for that while I am on my mission because it takes to long to take care of. So for now its just whatever. But the doctor did some other tests on my eyes and he said that he doesn't think that the astigmatism was my problem. He suggested that I go get my blood work done. So I call my nurse and she agreed with the eye doctor. So I also went to get my blood tested this week too. Fun fact about me, I really don't like giving blood, at all. But I was brave and I went anyways! It was so funny though, I was super nervous so I was getting pretty giggly and then the nurse just looks at me and says, "Oh no, are you going to pass out". I just look at her, "ummmm nooooooo?" My comp was in the back nodding her head yes. So she took me into a different room so that I could lay down while she took my blood. It was fine. I didn't even pass out! No, instead I biked to my interview with my mission president right after! That was not as fun... But we got to go out to eat to my favorite restaurant after interviews. So it was all worth it. Also good news, they got back to me about my results way sooner than I was expecting and they said everything looks normal. So I will go back for my follow up appointment next week and I guess I'll see what happens.

We also had our zone conference this week! It was really good. We talked about being SAM missionaries. There are so many Sams in the scriptures and we talked about how there is a pattern of them all being Simple And Meek. So we talked about how we can each become more Simple And Meek or a SAM missionary.

I got some news this week that has me really thinking. I got a call from a close friend in Tucson who just took over my old area and she told me that my investigator and dear friend Donna passed away. It was truly a miracle that they even found out, because after I left the sisters pretty much stopped meeting with her because they knew she was too sick to be baptized. They also lost the number I gave them to get in touch with Donna's sister. But they were able to find Donna's sister after they found out about Donna's passing and they found more information to get in touch with the family. So I got this call and now have all of the information to reach out to them. I am really excited because I know that Donna is so excited to be baptized. Before I left Tucson, Donna asked me to take her name to the temple. And her sister agreed to let me do it. So now I get to start working on getting that permission in writing so that I am able to go to the temple for Donna. I know she is just waiting on the other side and is so ready. How amazing that we have a knowledge of the plan that Heavenly Father has for us and can find peace in it.

A real highlight from this week was our service on Saturday! We started out at the dump, real exciting. But because so many of us came, there wasn't very much for us to do. So they sent us to go help out at the Special Olympics!!! It was so much fun! They had us help with handing out the medals. It was also fun because we got to watch our good friend George compete. He even got to carry the torch at the beginning of the games! He even won a gold medal for the javelin. Even though I am pretty sure he was disqualified for purposefully throwing it at another person 🙊 hahaha oh George! It's a good thing they were using foam javelins lol! It was so hot that day, sister Zamora and I got fried! But that was some of the most fun doing service I've had on my mission. And getting to go do service is probably one of my favorite things to go do as a missionary!

So this week has been pretty great! Loving life, just trying to soak it all in. Love you all, hope you have a great week!

Sister Grant    

Week 35 | Dr appointments

Happy Easter and April Fools! 

This week was pretty good. It feels like it flew by. It was super hot which makes me nervous, because I am so not ready for summer. 

We finally took sister Zamora to the doctor, she has bronchitis. She takes it like a boss though. She never complains or takes a break. I have to make her slow down hahah. Our members are awesome. They take such good care of us. So our dear friend Sister Batty took us to the doctor and then picked us back up. And because we were already in the town over she was just like, you can't stop me from taking you out to lunch. So we went out for tacos, and then she drove us around until sister Zamora's prescription was ready. 

Conference was soooo good. We got to watch with members and investigators. Last week we bought a bunch of cute journals and then we gave one to all of our investigators so they can write their questions and insights down during conference. I love being a missionary during conference!

I am so bad, I don't remember anything from this week. I woke up this morning and I thought I was going to die I was so tired! I have never been so tired! 

This week is gonna be another busy week. I have a doctors appointment to get my eyes checked. My eyes are still giving me grief and its messing with my head. So I hope everything is okay. But I guess we'll find out. 

Hope everyone has a good week! Sorry there is not much to say this week. Take care.

Love you all, 

Sister Grant