Week 4 - August 31, 2018 (MTC, Provo, Utah)

Kumusta po, dearest family and friends!

Another week down, and they are flying by. I can count my days at the MTC on two hands now. Only one Pday left after this, and I am so excited to go out and start teaching the gospel to God's children on the other side of the world. I've had some incredible experiences this week, as I have had every week, that I would like to share with all of you in this entry. 

The Beautiful MTC grounds

First off, I'll start with Sunday. I love Sundays here, even though they are super busy, because they are just a day to study the gospel and have joy in the opportunities we have to be going out and sharing it, and just feeling the Spirit through so many good messages. Anyway, a few great things happened. First of all, I was actually thinking as I was studying the Book of Mormon about how I want to work on my mission. And I was thinking of back when I used to race in the 1600 meter, and my mentality during that. I race that for the first three laps really hard, pushing myself to the extent of my efforts, but making sure that I have enough energy to go a little faster for the next. Then, in the last lap, the strategy is to "kick", shift your mental and physical efforts into overdrive and just give it every single ounce of energy that you have. And as I thought that, I thought, that's exactly how I want to live my mission. Hard work, all day every day, pushing myself a little bit more with every new day, and then especially that last six months just give this mission everything I have, so that I can come home with full faith that I have served my Savior with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. So I would feel that I had done my best, that wonderful feeling I experienced after running a good mile but x1000 that. Anyway, so that got me thinking throughout the week upon how rewarding and satisfying trials and hard work are. The growth and improvement you receive from going through something difficult and succeeding through it is among the most satisfying feeling one can receive in this life. And then imagine just how wonderful it would be if that growth is in Christ, that development is headed by He who knows how to best mold and shape us. We have the potential, as sons and daughters of God, to become as He is, and every day we go through trials with Christ we get a step closer to perfection. That is a wonderful message I have received over the past week. 

My district

Other activities on Sunday include choir practice, which is like the best thing here at the MTC. This past week we sang 'Testimony', an adaptation of 'I Know That My Redeemer Lives' that was so powerful to sing, even in the practice it was spectacular. Then in the Tuesday devotional, it was absolutely breathtaking, if you can imagine 1000 missionaries all bearing their testimonies of their Savior in song, together yet individually, there are no words to describe it. What a faith building experience that was! And in the devotional, Elder Nielson of the Seventy spoke of being a part of an incredible work here on Earth, choosing to be a part of the gathering of Israel, as well as choosing to be the one to do what God would have us to. There were so many good points made. Anyway, that really motivated me and then in the district review afterwards we all were so so so excited to go out to the Philippines and start on the most important work any of us could ever be doing in life right now. 

One more awesome experience this week, on Wednesday I had the opportunity with my District to Host the new incoming missionaries, and I knew that my cousin Hannah was coming in that day, but there were like 500 new missionaries coming in so I didn't really expect to see them. But at the perfect time, I was at the front of the fence line and saw grandma and grandpa and cousins Lindsey and Garrett and Ethan pull up with her, and I was able to wave to all of them and see them and it was such a fun experience to just wave to them and see my family for just a brief moment. I know it was such a tender mercy given to me from the Lord, and I am so grateful for that experience. That being said, I still haven't seen Sister Bills yet here, but hopefully I will before I leave. It's pretty cool to know that I have family here, also a little weird that I still haven't seen her though haha. But that as well as all these other experiences have just given me such an appreciation for the abundance of blessings that my Heavenly Father has given me during my stay here. Tomorrow is the one month mark for being out here, and I cannot begin to describe the amount of faith I've gained, truths I've learned, skills I've developed, and blessings I've been given. I thank you all so much for your prayers and thoughts and love, I love you all and am so grateful to have people like you in my life. What a wonderful life this is, everyone, I hope we all remember to be grateful for the blessings we are showered with daily. I love you all, talk to you soon!

Love,

My top bunk - I love all the pictures my siblings make me!

Elder Griffitts

Elders, studying in what little shade they can find!

Week 3 - August 24, 2018 (MTC, Provo, Utah)

Kumusta po, dear friends and family!

My district

It's so good to be able to write to you all again, this week has been a rollercoaster as the MTC seems to be but has gone my very quickly. I have been blessed with so many miracles here in the short time I've been, I am so grateful for it all and for all of your prayers, I will try to write them all, and I hope you all are doing well back home.

So, first things first, we got our departure date on Sunday, we are leaving on September 10th, which is kind of cool because it means we skip a day to get there, so September 11th, 2018 won't actually exist for me. That is, if my visa goes through I guess. It was a very exciting announcement, however, and our whole district is so eager to go out and spread the gospel to those kind and humble people. I still have much to learn in both the language and the wonderful message I will be bringing, but I am very excited and know that I will be ready as I work my hardest and trust in the Lord to make up the rest. The first couple days after that were kind of hard for me, however, I was feeling kind of inadequate and discouraged, but on Tuesday I decided I was going to approach the day with faith and trust in the Spirit, and then as soon as I made that commitment, we had a workshop about preaching repentance and baptism, and I just got so much hope and spirit from that. Then, that wasn't even close to the best part. I got to do choir on Sunday and Tuesday, which has become one of my favorite activities here, the director turns every practice into almost a devotional, he is so smart, and I just love to sing too. We sang "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" and were practicing to sing it on Tuesday night for the devotional. And in that devotional, Elder Christofferson came to speak to us, the first time I've ever been in the same room with an Apostle of Jesus Christ, and he brought the Spirit so strong with him. He spoke on the new movement to calling the Church by its true name, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and his talk was so informative and inspiring, it is so amazing to witness modern-day revelation through President Nelson and to be able to play a part in all of that, I know that he is a prophet of God and has the authority to lead Christ's restored church here on the Earth today. And it

Philippines Flag at the MTC

really strengthened my testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith that day as well, between the song and another incredible experience where I just felt the Spirit so strong confirm it to me after the devotional as I looked at a picture of him just in the hall. And after the devotional, our district had a review and really enjoyed that, I am getting closer to my district every day and I'm so grateful for that.

On that note, Elder Powell and I have been getting closer daily, and I keep praying for charity and love for my district while I am here as well as the people of the Philippines. They are all such wonderful spirits, and I learn something new from each one of them almost every day. On Wednesday, during one of our lessons to our "interested person" (our teacher), Elder Powell and I were teaching about the Savior's earthly ministry and His Atonement, in Tagalog, and I don't really know how to explain it but we were just able to explain it all and find the words and use the Book of Mormon and work together to teach each part of the lesson, and at the end I felt like I should invite her to get baptized, because we talked about it a bit, and I did and she accepted, the Spirit was so strong even though it was a mock lesson, especially as we read the Book of Mormon. I have a renewed testimony of the power of the Holy Ghost in teaching, as well as through the Book of Mormon, and also how much easier the language comes when I am testifying of truth and teaching with the Spirit, it is truly a modern-day miracle. Every day here I have been blessed to grow in my faith, in my testimony, and just in general becoming more like Christ, even when it gets really hard, which I am going to be honest I'm talking about the positive experiences here, but there are so many times here where I feel hopeless, or discouraged, or just lacking in faith, but I have found when I turn outward to helping others, or just get to work and strive to be exactly obedient, I find my doubts being swept away, and I love that every night I go to bed happy, after thanking my Father in Heaven for all the events of each day. I know that through gratitude and service we will find the most joy, through both trials and happy times, because when we trust in Christ and follow His example in serving others we in turn feel peace. 

I need to better emphasize to myself the importance of diligence in my studies, as well as trusting that after all I have done the rest will be made up by my Savior. It's been really tough trying to balance my perfectionist mindset of just wanting to study constantly with having fun with my companion and district, because I know I'm on the Lord's time and represent Him and all I want is to be the most effective missionary I can be, to repay Him for all that He has done for me and all He continues to do, so the struggle comes in staying diligent in studying and focused in my purpose, but remembering that I have to be joyful and kind to my district and those around me as well, so that has been a huge revelation to me this week, that in addition to being exactly obedient and diligent in my studies, I also have to enjoy my time with others and serve them as well, because ultimately that is why I'm here. It's been a real shock feeling the truth of that, and I continue to strive to better understand what it all entails, but I will work through it with hope and faith that if I am just working all I can and focused on serving, and make sure all my actions reflect the actions of Jesus Christ, then can I find comfort in just striving to be a better missionary every day, and setting goals and learning and growing in order to do so. This MTC stay is coming to a close quickly, and I need to make the most of it, but I also need to be joyful and happy through it all, because I am in the service of my fellow beings, so that I can be in the service of my God. I'm so grateful for the miracles He provides to me through faith, and the trials that help me grow. I'm so thankful to all of you who give me so much, who have prepared me over the years to be a better missionary. I love you all so much, I'll see you soon!

Birds eye view of Provo from the MTC!

Cougar Tail—a 16-inch-long maple-topped pastry, the equivalent of four maple bars.
On average, 2,300 Cougar Tails are consumed at a BYU game!

Paalam,

Elder Griffitts

Week 2, August 17, 2018, (MTC, Provo, Utah)

Kumusta po, dear family and friends!

This week has been one of so much growth and miracles and hardships and gratitude! It has just rushed by, and every week seems to get faster, which just reminds me that I have to keep working as hard as I can and developing a love for this people and for my Savior more than anything else. Let me tell you all about everything. Sunday went very well, I enjoyed all the meetings and discussions and was able to be alert the whole day, because it wasn't fast Sunday haha. The highlight for that was probably choir practice, where we all sang "More Holiness Give Me", and it made me regret not doing choir in High School. The director is so good too, he made it almost a devotional and gave us all some very spectacular advice about being better missionaries. The Devotional was by President and Sister Watson of the MTC District Presidency, who spoke about the changes we need to go through to become better missionaries, and having faith, and becoming like the sons of Mosiah, who have been huge examples to me over the past week. Then on Tuesday, we had another choir practice which was just as wonderful, and we all got to sing in the Devotional, where Elder Patrick Kearon of the Presidency of the Seventy came and spoke to us, his talk was by far the highlight of the week. Actually, Sister Kearon's talk gave me a direction to go in, and that message was to work until I had no motivation to serve other than love for God, for my Savior, and for the people of the Philippines. So I have been striving with all my heart to develop that love, that charity, so that I can be the best servant of the Lord that I can be. Elder Kearon spoke about how to thrive on opposition, the importance of baptism through the proper authority and as a central purpose of missionaries, of the importance of being humble and joyful in all of our deeds, and in knowing that we are children of God and we all have so much potential. He covered many topics, but each was so so good and have all pushed me to becoming better while I am here.

I've really enjoyed the classes for the most part, except for a few around the middle of the week where the schedule was a mess because we are in between teachers. I feel the Gift of Tongues so powerfully in my life, as I know that I could never have gotten this far in the language in two weeks without the divine revelation that I have been given as long as I work diligently, remain humble, and remember why I am learning this language- that is, to invite the people of the Philippines to come unto Christ and find the most joy in this life and the life to come. I know that this gospel is true, and that Christ has restored His Church here in the Latter Days, and I am so grateful to be a part of the gathering of Israel as a servant of the Lord. One more thing I have been frequently impressed by and seen miracles from this week is the Book of Mormon. That book has brought me so much peace, so many answers, and such a strong Spirit of joy and hope throughout every challenge and victory I have had this roller coaster of a week. I love and look forward to reading from it every day, and I need to get more knowledgeable about it because it is written for our time and will be the means with which this gospel and truth will come to all the earth, I'm so excited to teach with it. The language is going great, I'm enjoying all the progress I have seen but also recognize the importance of being humble. One thing which has given me direction as well is the necessity of working constantly on those Christlike attributes which allow us to become more like Him. 

Umm, I'm almost out of time, but overall I have seen a lot of great things this week, The temple today was a miracle, I felt the Spirit so strong. I am so grateful for temples, on Sunday we watched the movie "Mountain of the Lord" about the Salt Lake Temple, and that was really good, I highly recommend. I am so grateful for the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and what a blessing it has been to have that as a constant companion in my life over this past week as long as I remain worthy and strive to improve daily. I know this gospel is true, and it is the means with which all of God's children can return and live with Him, and it is all through Jesus Christ's Atonement. I am so grateful for the impact that has had and continues to have in my life. I love you all, I am praying for all of you back home and hope your next week is amazing! I'll see ya later!

Much Love,

Elder Griffitts

Can you see the "Y"

My district - at the Provo Temple

Week 1, August 10, 2018 (MTC, Provo, Utah)

I guess this is my first entry to what hopefully will grow into a weekly forum of updates. This is technically week 1.5, but I'm going to just say week 1 because I didn't have much time or much to say on my third day here. First off, this week has gone by pretty quick, well let me rephrase that. The days themselves seem to go by pretty fast, but it seems like I've been here forever already. The schedule is very busy, which is good because I know I need to work as hard as I can to be the best servant I can be to the Lord in this short time I have to serve Him. I already regret the early days I wasted feeling hopeless and discouraged, but I have grown much in just a period of a week, and I know there is still so so much growth to be done. I'll briefly cover the events of the week:

I'm starting with Sunday because the days before this were not helpful to me and I don't feel that I accomplished much or had anything of consequence. It was Fast Sunday that really started off my journey towards becoming like Christ on this mission, I think, and I felt His presence in my life as small miracles every day. Sunday was very busy, we had like 5-6 meetings back to back which left me very tired, but at the end of the day we watched a Christmas Devotional by Elder Bednar, called "Character of Christ", which just made me rethink my whole attitude about what I was doing here. There was so much in the talk, I can't hope to cover all that was said to me by the Spirit, but the biggest impression I received was the importance of being like Christ in "turning outward" when the natural man would turn in. In other words, this mission is NOT for me. This mission is for the Lord, and for the people who need His message and doctrine and gospel in their lives. I am merely a tool with which the Lord can accomplish His grand plan of salvation set up by our Father in Heaven. And what an incredible opportunity that is for me, and I only have two years to do it so I can't waste a minute in preparing myself to help others receive the restored gospel. That has been the prime source of motivation for me to learn this language, and these lessons, and live this gospel, because I want to be ready to teach as soon as I get out there. 

On Tuesday night, we had a devotional by Jean J. Bingham, the Relief Society General President, which was very inspiring. She spoke of patterns of the Spirit, namely "Ask, Seek, Knock", "Search, Ponder, Pray", and "Look to God and Live". All incredible opportunities for us to pattern our lives around in continually improving and seeking how we can become closer to Christ.

Language wise, it has been somewhat frustrating. We are all supposed to have basic core memorized by tomorrow, and despite what I feel like have been my best efforts I don't think I'll be able to accomplish that goal. I need to get better at setting goals, that is one weakness I have observed of myself recently. However, in that same category, this week I witnessed a miracle in the form of the Gift of Tongues. Several, actually. First, Elder Powell and I one day earlier in the week decided that for personal and companion study, rather than study the language, we instead would focus on gospel truths and ways for us to draw closer to Christ as missionaries. And after that, despite actually losing practice time for the language, we found that we learned it faster and more effectively for the rest of the day in comparison to days prior, which was such a cool experience. Then, there was another huge miracle on Wednesday. We had to teach a lesson on faith in Jesus Christ to our teacher in Tagalog, no notes allowed, for like 10 minutes. And before it happened, during the practice, I was praying so so hard to be able to have the Gift of Tongues, that revelation to be able to listen and respond to the "investigator". So we got in the appointment, and I was talking just using words I knew with like zero correct grammar but that was fine because she wasn't expecting that, but we asked her a question. And she responded in Tagalog, and I had zero idea what she had said. So I just started talking again about something, I can't even remember what, and afterwards she asked us if we could understand what she had said. We told her no, and she said we had answered her question perfectly and completely. I was blown away, and now can personally witness the truth of the Gift of Tongues, as long as I am willing to put in the work and humble myself before God and trust that He will put the words in my mouth as long as I have the courage and faith to open it. Opening it, haha, is sometimes the hardest part though. Anyway, that was a wonderful experience I had this week.

Today we got to go to the temple, which brought me so much peace in the midst of feeling somewhat homesick, which has been a recurring thought for the past week. And I know that this is where I'm supposed to be, where the Lord needs me to be, I just have to be willing to work hard and put all my trust in Him. I love my district, we have a lot of fun together, but I sometimes have trouble remembering to work as hard as I can when I'm with them, and being strictly obedient and striving to do everything I am asked to do. Nevertheless, they are wonderful examples of Christlike people and I love their insights and support. And on the topic of fun, we have some great traditions already. Every night, Elder Stoddard (possibly my favorite elder in the district) comes into our residence and does a "Magandang Taffy" (beautiful taffy) in which he reads the jokes on the back of a Laffy Taffy and we have to guess the answers and the winner gets the taffy. We've decorated the room pretty good as well, and I think are managing great to stick to the lights out rule. One thing that's taken some getting used to is being within sight and sound of my companion at all times of the day. That gets challenging sometimes. But it is all worth it, and Elder Powell is an amazing example to me. Also, we locked ourselves out of our room the other night and some Ukrainian elder came over with a vacuum cleaner, floss, and piece of cardboard, and unlocked it. I'll let you all think about how he did that, I'll just leave you knowing it was amazing. 

Other than all of that, it's been a very progressive week, and I know it will only get better as I work as hard as I can and trust in the Lord. Sorry I don't have many more spiritual messages, there are so many I've had here I can't write them all or decide which ones to write. I'm just excited to be able to learn this language so I can get out into the field and love the people and invite them to come unto Christ. You are all my favorite people ever, thank you for your kindness and love and prayers and thoughts, I would not be here today without everyone in my life this far. I love you all so much.      Love,  Elder Griffitts