9/26/17

Elder Graybill received his visa today. He expressed his gratitude that it came and he is able serve the people in the Bogota South Mission. As he has spoken with Elders already serving in the mission field, he is preparing himself for some of the humbling things he is told he will see and experience. I was surprised to hear from him that he knew the UTES had defeated Arizona. I asked him how? He responded that the CCM President Hansen knew he loved Utah Football and has kept him apprised of the UTES football games thus far. He tells us in our family email, and I want to share/invite all who read this, "keep to the Gospel and do all things to keep the Holy Ghost in our lives." We as his parents are so happy to see him keep a positive attitude even during times of personal struggles. He is truly being blessed and watched over. Thank you for your prayers in his behalf. 

Enjoy this weeks letter

My dear brothers and sisters, this last week was amazing. And what I mean by amazing is that I struggled a lot and actually have been sick because of food poisoning, but I have grown so much as a missionary and my Spanish is actually coming along. I was able to give a blessing to my good friend Elder Porter. He fell and cracked his head and luckily he only needed super glue. Then that night his stomach was causing a lot of discomfort, so he asked me to give him a blessing of comfort and health. I was terrified I was going to mess up but I felt the Spirit the whole time and he guided me through it. The next day, he was all better. The Power of the Priesthood is real! It was such a neat experience for myself and the district. Speaking of District, every three weeks in the CCM they change district leaders so I was released. I was sad but at the same time, Elder Stewart is going to be a great leader. 

Sunday and yesterday were the hardest days. The latinos and the older group left this morning and we have been prepping them to leave and say goodbye. We sang a Childs prayer and the Spirit was so strong. Every sister in the room was balling and the Elders that show emotion were tearing up. and yes i was one of them. Last night we gave our final goodbyes to everyone and I had to say goodbye to my good amigos, Elder Arana from Cali, Colombia and Elder Bolano from Venezuela, both those guys had me in tears. Elder Bolano has helped me so much with the spanish and I am going to miss him a lot. Also, I had to say goodbye to Elder Jamison, Elder McDougal, Elder, Tasimale, and Elder Richey. Those Elders were the ones that i looked up to so much. They all carried the Spirit with them so well and I hope I can be as cool as them when it is my turn to leave the CCM. 

New guys come in tonight around 2 so I probably won’t get that much sleep. a repeat from last night. They all left this morning at like 3 and it woke me up. 

So I keep forgetting to tell you guys but the traffic hear is crazy. People honestly do not care for their lives. Whoever has the biggest car gets what they want. Our bus just plows into traffic and I swear someone is about to die everytime. Also if you ever want to visit Colombia, go for it, just make sure you have a bullet proof vest, and a 12 gauge for protection. I have seen some scary stuff and I have been out in the city maybe like 4 times. Mom and Dad, if you decide to come get me, I will not allow it if i am in the city, other than that it should be ok. 

I can’t believe I almost have been gone for a month, feels like 30 minutes ago I was getting on the plane. Quick shout out to my bros, Zach Lott and Alex Ambrose, sad I missed your talks but i know you guys are gonna kill it in the field. Sorry my emails are so short, it’s hard to write about stuff when we have the same 16 hour schedule everyday 7 days a week. Today we get to go to some Catholic Cathedral that was built 500 years ago and I am super excited. I will tell you more about it next week and hopefully my email will be a little longer. I love each and every one of you. Linda and Amy, please keep taking care of my Mom, I appreciate it. adios mi amigos.​

1st pic Me y Elder Jamison

2nd pic Me y Elder Richey y Elder Tesimale

3rd pic Guanaria a weird fruit you suck the seeds out of

4th pic This is the Mormon District here in the CCM

9/19/17
As we anxiously awaited the  arrival of our next letter from Elder Graybill, we instead received an email from Sister Hansen of the Centro de Capacitacion Misional (CCM). She informed us that there had been an outbreak of the chicken pox and Elder Graybill had definitely been exposed. We assured her that he had received his chicken pox vaccination. We received a warm response that Elder Graybill is a giant of a missionary who is absolutely thriving. Later, Elder Graybill let us know that the outbreak was in his room and that 2 Elders were removed and confined to their own room. Problem solved. He gave us more details about his district. There are 8 Elders and 2 Sisters and all 10 missionaries are from the USA, 4 of which, including Elder Graybill, are from Utah. Here is his next letter. Enjoy! (Oh, so he had a problem loading all 3 pictures hopefully we get them next time. I am interested to see his new best friends.)

This week went  by so much better than the first week by far. To be honest I don´t remember it all too well. On Wednesday, the Presiding Bishop came and visited us and gave a little message. It was by surprise too. Thursday and Friday blended  together and were kinda boring. But Saturday came and I loved it. We went out and preached with missionaries already in the field. The best part was, it was my mission. 

Let me tell you a little bit about Bogota Sur. It is known as the armpit of Colombia. There is someone doing drugs on every corner. And since I am 6´4, blonde, and quite attractive, I was hit on every where by the women. No lie a women was walking with her Husband and said something i did not understand to me, winked at me, and made me feel very uncomfortable. 

Besides all that, I was able to be apart of my first missionary lesson. We met with a lady named, Hermana Sanchez. She has been turning down the missionaries for years now and finally let us in. We talked about the Restoration of the Gospel through José Smith. I bore my testimony and explained how the priesthood was restored in spanish. I was so scared I was going to mess up but the Spirit guided me. She said yes for another  lesson and they met last night at  6. I love my mission already and I spent one day there haha. Sunday was another Spiritual power house day. Presidente Hansen talked about the Spirit and the guidance it gives us. So I would like to challenge everyone, Mormon or not, to try and find a moment that you have felt the Spirit, this could be a time that you have done something good and felt happiness, or you have had a question in your heart and felt a warm conformation in your heart. I would love to hear about everyones experience with it next week. I am trying to see how the Spirit guides me each and every day. 

This morning we visited the temple for the second time and it was just so peaceful. I love being there and the feeling it gives me. 

I love all of you guys. You guys are all in my prayers. and !Hasta luego¡

in these pics, the first Elder Arana (colombian) Elder Bolaños(venezualan) 2nd pic my district, and 3rd my new best friends haha

Hey guys! This first week has been a complete rollercoaster.We got in at about 10 to the airport and about 12:45 to the CCM. My first day was terrible. I had no idea what was going on, I was completely homesick. But life went on haha. I was appointed district leader over the Mormón district. Everyone in my district is amazing. The spirit is so strong with everyone and I love it. For our exercise time, we play basketball when it rains, and futsál outside when it doesn´t. I dunked it on some small latino kid the first day and I felt bad. I kid you not it was 10 feet. It must be the higher elevation or something cuz I got up and threw down. 

 As the week went on, I got super down on myself. The spanish was killing me and I just wanted to see my family. But Presidente Hansen pulled me aside because he knew I was down on myself and told me to keep my head up, because he saw something special in me. That got me to Sunday which was the most spiritual day of my entire life. Presidente Hansen shared a lesson in classe. We talked about the Atonement and all that it covers. I never realized but the Atonement covers us missionaries trying to learn the language. When Jesus Atoned for us, it was not just our sins, but it was for every struggle, trial, or mishap in our lives. And that really hit me .

Hermana Hansen closed the devotional with a movie called, The Testaments. (terrible acting but great mensaje) It is about a man who was taught the ways of Christ his whole entire life. He saw the Star representing the Saviors birth and he knew, Our Redeemer was on the Earth. HIs whole life he waited for his chance to meet the Savior. But when Jesus was crucified, and Dios unleashed his wrath on the earth, the man became blind. When Jesus visited the Americas, he went to the blind man, lovingly put his hands on his face and healed him. This made me think of my Father. My father is the strongest man I know. He pushes through Leukemia everyday of his life and has managed to make it seem normal. But when we are all resurrected, he won´t have to deal with the pains anymore and that mensaje really hit me hard. I went outside to write in my journal after that devotional and cried with joy for like 30 minutes. I truly love this Gospel and all the bendices we receive from it.  

My companion is Elder Jones, he is a nice kid. He is as far opposite to me as possible. And that is hard for me. But I have grown to love him. And yes, I know you guys were all wondering, but I am cooking up the natives in soccer. They all call me Neymar. No lie.

September 5, 2017

Message from Orin Graybill
I anxiously watched the Delta flight tracker all day as Garrett's plane got farther away from Utah. I know what he is doing has a greater purpose, but it is still hard watching your oldest child traveling into the unknown. Coltons soccer game had just finished this evening when the alarm I had set on my phone indicated that his flight had arrived. I said a silent prayer to myself that his luggage had made it and that he was okay. I had a hard time sleeping that night as my thoughts returned to my own experiences of  being in a foreign place for the first time. My luggage was lost and it took three months to get to me. My first night in Brazil Manaus was full of  anxiety and fear of what awaited me in the mission field. Garrett is far more prepared for these next two years than I ever was. His preparation will take him far. As we embark on these next two years together, following his journey, please keep him in your prayers. Please feel free to write him and share with him something encouraging. Here is his first message home.

September 6, 2017

Hey mom! ¡ Buenas Dias! We made it. This won’t be the email that you send to everyone. But so far so good. Some nice man bought all the missionaries food on the flight to Atlanta. And on the way to Bogota I was in 1st class. It was super nice but everyone was watching movies next to me. One day here and I can feel my Spanish getting better. Gracias and I will talk to you next Tuesday. 😎😎