Hey guys! This week was easily way harder than my first week in the CCM. As all of you may know, I have been struggling with homesickness. But I strive every day to overcome it. So if you guys could keep me in your prayers this week that would be great! Anyways this week was super cool. My first day, we went to our first investigators house and they were really receptive. They accepted our invitation to read the introduction of the Book of Mormon and to prepare to be baptized. On our way back, I saw a guy pooping in the park. It was really odd and that is when it hit me that I was not in good old Utah anymore. This week we received 5 people with dates to be baptized, 4 new inv. and 1 person who attended church. So for my first week, I guess you could say I did all right. Last night, we got a lady and her son to commit to baptism. I extended the invitation and I also recited the First Vision and I did not mess up! The Spirit was very strong. My dad shared a scripture with me before I left and it has helped comfort me when I feel alone. Doctrine and Covenants, 121: 7 & 8. Everyone should read when they are having hard times. I would like to give my boys Elder Lott and Elder Schneiter a shout out. Elder Lott is entering the Field and Elder Schneiter is entering the MTC.  I testify to all of you that our Savior LIVES! He loves and knows each and every one of you. And I will talk to you next week.

Greetings all, It was so exciting to hear from Garrett this week. As each week goes by, Meg and I have these constant mixed feelings of excitement and worry as we anticipate the arrival of his letters.
Knowing he would be entering the field this week our emotions were all over the place. As you will read, his first assignment is an area within the city of Bogota called Villa Javier. He thinks it is about 1 hour or so southeast of the CCM. He says that he loves his new companion, Elder Rivero, and that they wasted no time getting to work. They met and taught a lady his first morning out in the field and were able to get a return appointment with her. I think we will rest a little easier this week knowing he is working and happy.
Enjoy

That last week in the CCM went by so fast! On the last day we had our last devotional with Presidente Hansen and the Spirit was strong. That man has taught me so much about life and the Gospel, I will forever be in debt to him. When we all returned to our rooms, we did our Family Home Evening with the Latino elders in our room for the last time. I was able to give Elder Garcia de Venezuela a blessing and he gave me one. I woke up the next day and left for the field. I was so excited to be starting the next step in the field. I met my new Presidente and he is one of the coolest guys ever. His wife is sooooo nice and they fed us pizza from Papa Johns. I got my area and my new comp at the mission home. His name is Elder Rivero from Argentina. He has been in the field for 6 months and I am his first kid. (kid meaning I am his first trainee.) My area is called Villa Javier, in the Ciudad Jardin zone. In my zone I have all the important people, secretaries and AP´s. I am still in Bogotá which is kinda annoying at night time because it is so noisy. My friend got to go to Leticia for his first area which supposedly is unheard of. He is super lucky. In our mission there are 10 zones. 5 in the frio, 5 in the caliente. Mine is in the frio which is nice becuase it is straight hills and if it was hot I would pass out and die. My pdays are Mondays now and we write around 4 30. I got to write today since my Presidente thinks writing home is the most important thing ever. Hopefully my spanish gets better. I will have some cool stories and experiences for you next week. Ciao. 

Hello all, 
Garrett is counting down his last days in the CCM. By Tuesday or Wednesday of next week he will be assigned and in his first area in the Bogota South Mission. He has had some highs as well as lows this last week as he continues learning to be the best missionary he can be. He is concerned that he continues to lose weight, which he tells us is almost 15 lbs now. He is experiencing some other health issues that have been taxing on his spirit, yet he continues in faith that everything will be fine. He and his companion went out on splits with Elder Leon (a Peruvian) into Bogota last Saturday. Garrett shared his excitement of teaching a women and committing her to be baptized. Later that day they encountered a blind man, who asked Garrett for a blessing. He tells us that it was a pretty awesome experience. His recent temple trip was a powerful reminder to him that he is where he is supposed to be. In his own words, "the spirit was super fuerte." Above all, in his letters to the family, he has repeatedly shared his love for Elder Nick Moss. He told us that Elder Moss has been his rock through this entire CCM experience. In D&C 121 the Lord tells the Prophet Joseph Smith, "thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment...if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high...Thy friends do stand by thee...''. The most important thing we can do when adversity or afflictions come our way is to endure it the best we can. It sure helps when you have the support of family, friends, and earthly/heavenly angels. We are grateful that Garrett and Elder Moss have had this experience together. We are grateful for the comfort that Elder Moss has given our son. We thank you and love you Elder Moss. Good luck in Ecuador and Godspeed. 
Here is this weeks letter. Enjoy

Amigos!
>
> > This last week went by super-fast and if I am being completely honest I do not remember any of it. All I know right now is I have one more week until I am out into the field and I am super scared. My Spanish is not that good, however, I know that as I continue to work hard, the Lord will help me. I have been super homesick this week and I received a blessing from Elder Moss last night. He and I were meant to be in this CCM together. His words were powerful and comforted me a lot.
> > We watched Elder Hales funeral on Friday and it was really sad. What is comforting to know is that families can be together forever. And I am so grateful for my family. Yes, I miss them a lot. Yes I would like to see them right now. But because of what I am doing, I am blessing the lives of others, my family, and me for eternity. The closing hymn that they played was "God be with you ‘til we meet again" which was the closing hymn at my farewell. That got me a little emotional.
> > Today might of been my last time attending the Temple for 22 more months! So today during the session, I tried to make it as spiritual as possible. Oh yeah, I got kicked in the face while playing soccer and I thought for sure I had broken my nose. Sorry my emails are so short and no pictures this week. It will not let them load for some reason. If they end up working I will have my mom send them out. Also, I don't think you will be getting an email from me this next week because I have training all day next Tuesday in the mission home.
>
> Hasta luego

No profound intro this week, except that you keep Elder Graybill in your prayers. Thanks, and Enjoy.

 

Hey friends, just another week here in the CCM. This General Conference weekend was truly amazing. I would love to say I was able to stay awake for the whole time but I did fall asleep sitting in class a couple of times. My favorite talk had to be by Elder Cook in the Saturday afternoon session. The three points that stood out to me the most were, Don't sleep through this life (oops), not where you serve but how you serve, and church service takes humility. Those three things really stuck out to me. My mission here in Colombia is going to fly by. I have been out just under one month, so I need to make the most out of it as I can. Yes, Colombia is a cool place to be serving, but that does not matter. I could be in Montana, Brazil, California, Denmark, but the work is still the same. I am here to teach repentance and baptize converts. I need to give it my full effort all the time. And to tie the last point into my thought, HUMILITY. I need to humble myself before the Lord, and through him all things are possible. I will be able to learn the language, connect with the people and fulfill my call as a representative of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Presidente Hansen shared an interesting thought this past week. Me + Christ = More. I would like to challenge everybody this next week to try and come closer to our Savior. You can do this through prayer or even trying to be like Him. I promise that as you do this, your life will seem a little better than it did before.

Last Tuesday, we went to a Cathedral up on the mountain called Monseratte. It was built in the early 1600 and it is absolutely beautiful. The view of the city was astonishing, and the inside of it was pretty. Sadly I have been sick so I had to make a couple trips to the bathroom while I was up there which ended up costing me 1500 pesos. I bought a sweet Colombia national jersey and a cool Real Madrid jersey that is black and teal. I have two more weeks in the CCM and then I will be out in the real world. Which is scary because my Spanish is still trash. I can bear testimony, pray, and teach parts of lessons which will get me by for my first transfer or two. Anyways, I love all you guys keep up whatever you are doing in life because I bet it is something good. ​