Hi Mom!
  Merry Christmas!!!! Thank you so much for the package!! I love the
basketball hoop!! Don't worry I didn't open the wrapped packages.
Thank you for the caramels, fudge, and coconut bread!! They are so
good!!! My companion says thank you too! 
 . I'm glad you got that video from Sibel.
She was so excited to send it to you. I can't wait to see you on
Wednesday and for you to meet my companion and the Bursells. They are
awesome!!!
  It sounds like you had a busy week. It sounds like your weather has
been worse than ours. We have had a little rain but it hasn't been
freezing rain yet. We got snow this week but it has been melting
because of the rain. I would send you a picture of all the snow but it
doesn't look very pretty. I'll send a picture after the next storm we
get.
  This week has been good. We started teaching a man that the sisters
have met with on and off. He is going through a lot right now and is
trying to find his place in life. He told us that he feel like he is
just treading water and not getting anywhere. We taught him how the
Atonement can help him feel peace. It was a powerful lesson. He likes
reading the Book of Mormon by topic and so we invited him to read
about hope from the index. He is searching for something to help him
and I know that the gospel will help him find the peace that he is
searching for.
  The ward Christmas party was awesome!! Each of the auxiliaries put
on a little skit or song. We also sang some songs together. It was a
lot of fun! We did have church on Sunday and it was great! Sacrament
was full of great music. There were a few speaking parts too. I love
that we can celebrate Christ's birth and his life. His whole life is a
gift to us. The Primary asked us to come in and help them do some
things during Primary. My companion ended up telling them that my
birthday is on Christmas so they wanted to sing to me. I told her not
to tell people but she didn't listen. It was funny! The ward has
gotten us so many gifts and candy. They love the missionaries here and
they take great care of us.
  This week I have been studying in 3 Nephi about Christ's birth and
the signs that were given here in the Americas. The signs were so
apparent and they came right at the perfect time. I love what the Lord
says to Nephi in 3 Nephi 1:12-14. Prophecies are always fulfilled!
Over and over again the prophecies have been fulfilled. It is our
responsibility to follow and trust the prophecies. I was thinking
about the star and how God had it placed in the heavens at the perfect
time for it to shine bright when the Savior was born. It made me think
if a quote by Elder Maxwell. “The same God that placed that star in a
precise orbit millennia before it appeared over Bethlehem in
celebration of the birth of the Babe has given at least equal
attention to placement of each of us in precise human orbits so that
we may, if we will, illuminate the landscape of our individual lives,
so that our light may not only lead others but warm them as well." God
places us in certain places at certain times for specific reasons. I
know that just like that star that was placed in the Heavens we too
are placed in specific places. We are so blessed to know about our
Savior and to be able to use the Atonement daily. I know that He is
the only way to true happiness and that He is the only way to peace
and comfort! I love you!!! Talk to you on Wednesday!
  Love,
    Sister Griffin

Hi Mom!!
  How are you doing? It sounds like your week was great! Did you get a
big snow storm this last week? That's awesome that you are ready for
Christmas. I'm going to try and send a package home today. There isn't
going to be anything big in it but I'll have some Christmas presents
in there. As for the details on skype. We are going to do it at the
ward mission leaders home. We are going to use his username because I
don't remember the one I created before I left. Can you give me the
one you are going to use and I'll try to find yours. I'll give you the
one I am going to use next week. I think I'll be skyping home around
9AM your time. My companion is going to do it around 8AM so I'll just
do it after her. Plan on skyping at 9AM and I'll let you know if it
changes next week!!
  We did get lots of snow! It is beautiful!!! Church was canceled
yesterday so my companion and I went shoveling all day! It was much
more productive than tracting. People were so happy for the help. They
were really curious about who we were and what we were doing shoveling
for free. We shoveled out about 10 cars and we shoveled 3 driveways.
It was great! My companion is really sore today. I'm not as sore as I
thought I would be. There was one man that we helped that just got out
of the hospital and he seems really interested in learning about the
gospel. He said that he is Catholic but that he is kind of searching
for something else. He was very grateful for the help. He tried to
give me a hug and I stepped back and told him that I can't get hugs.
He said he understood. It was really funny! My companion doesn't like
the snow so I told her that I would like it enough for her and me
both. I was so grateful for the service that we were able to provide
for people. Everyone that we talked to wondered why we would go around
helping people. It was awesome to tell them about our missions and the
gospel!
  We contacted a man named Roger this week. We met with him, his wife
Kasey, and her brother Tommy. They had so many questions for us. It
was awesome!! Roger knew some members back in California. He had some
friends that grew up in the church and they invited him to church a
lot. They all had so many good questions. I was amazed at how many of
the Articles of Faith my companion and I used to answer their
questions. We used more than half of them. My companion was amazed at
the questions they were asking. She said she her mind would go
completely blank and then I would start answering it. I know that it
was not me that was answering their questions. The Spirit was guiding
my words and saying what needed to be said. I love it when the Spirit
answers their questions because the answers come in such a way that
they understand it. The Lord knows what people need and how to address
those needs. I know that I am just an instrument in the hands of the
Lord and I love it!!!
  I had a meeting up in Manchester this week and President Stoker was
talking to us about Christ and his birth. He also talked about Mary.
He read Luke 2:15-19. He focused a lot on verse 19. He mentioned that
Mary knew all that the Savior would do in this life. She knew that she
would watch Him die for all mankind. She knew that He would be
rejected by men. She also knew all the good that would come from Him.
I can't even imagine the strength she had to have to go through all
that. Mary was an amazing woman!!! I have been thinking about how
Christ is the only way that we can be cleansed from our sins and so I
was studying grace and mercy this week. What is grace? What is mercy?
Why are grace and mercy important? In "True to the Faith" it says that
every blessing we receive is an act of mercy. Blessings are things
that we can not bring about ourselves so that is an act of mercy from
God. In 2 Nephi 25:23 it says that we will be saved by grace, "after
all we can do." What does that mean? One of the biggest things that I
thought of is being reconciled to God. That includes repenting, doing
His will, turning and trusting Him. The gospel is really simple, we
just have to give up what we want and do what he wants. I was thinking
about how grace helps me as a missionary. It is God's grace that leads
me to people who are prepared to hear the gospel. I don't know who or
where people are that ready for the gospel but the Lord does. He will
guide me where I need to go because He knows who is ready to change
their hearts. I have to do all that I can to allow myself to be worthy
of His guidance. It is essential for me to pray for that guidance
every day. I love the gospel and I know that Christ is the ONLY way to
eternal happiness with our family and our Heavenly Father!! I love you
so much!!! Have a great week!!!
  Love,
   Sister Griffin

Hello Mom!!!
  How are you? It sounds like your week was really busy. That's
awesome that you had such a good turnout for the Christmas Party. We
were able to watch the Christmas Devotional. It was very different
because we only heard from President Monson. The other members of the
First Presidency didn't speak. I loved all of the music though. I
can't believe that it is already December 9...time just keeps flying
by. How did your lesson go? I'm sure it was great! How did Family Home
Evening go?
  I got transferred to Methuen, Massachusetts. My companion and I live
in New Hampshire but the chapel and some of the towns we are over are
in Massachusetts. I'm definitely going to have to be a more aggressive
driver here. My companion is Sister Miller. She is from Clinton, Utah.
She knows Chelsie's (the Chelsie from Utah State) sister. They went to
high school together. She has been out 4 1/2 months and she has only
served in Methuen. She loves it here. The sister that just got
transferred from here was here 9 months...I can't even imagine what it
would be like to be in an area for 9 months! Sister Miller is excited
to be out serving a mission. She reminds me of Sister Beus in a lot of
ways. We enjoy laughing and having fun! We do still have a car.
  We were stopping by the members homes this week so I could get to
know them and one member had a picture of my already on her fridge. It
was the Easter Card that Sister Johnson and I sent out in March.
Sister Johnson served in Methuen and so she sent some of the ward
members down here our Easter Card. It was weird to see a picture of my
on her fridge. There are two sets of Elders and us serving in the
Methuen ward. Methuen is different than Portland. Massachusetts is
very different from Maine. There are things that I'm going to miss
about Maine but there are things that I already love about
Massachusetts. We won't need to teach English in my new area.
  We were tracting this week and we asked a lady if she would like to
hear a Christmas message and she invited us in. Her name was Joleen.
She was awesome!! She is having a baby next week so she didn't set up
a time for us to come back. She was very interested in the message of
the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. She sounded like she was very
religious and so we are hoping to go back and talk to her some more
about the gospel. She was really nice. I know that God is preparing
people for the message of the gospel. It is amazing to see how He is
touching their hearts!
  This week I have been studying Christ's names and what they mean. I
have been thinking about how He has so many names and how they all
define that He was the Anointed One. I love how it says in the Bible
Dictionary that He is the anointed one of the Father to be His
personal representative in all things pertaining to the salvation of
mankind. That is so true! He represents our Father and right now I
have the blessing and responsibility to represent Him! Christ is our
Redeemer!! He has made it possible for us to receive the promises of
eternal inheritance (Hebrews 9:15). He has made it possible for us to
seek forgiveness and one day return to Him and our Heavenly Father! I
was also thinking about the gifts that I could give Christ this season
since He gave the ultimate gift to me. What are some things that you
can give Christ to show that we are grateful for His gift to you? I
love that Christmas is so much more than focusing on Christ's birth
but also His whole life. He has showed us how we should live. It is
our choice to follow Him. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and
Redeemer. I know that He loves each and everyone of us and that is why
He willingly went through the Atonement! I love you so much!!! Have a
great week!! Drive safely in the snow! We finally have snow here!!! I
love it!!
  Love,
    Sister Griffin

Here is my new address:

103 Cluff Crossing Road V4
Salem, NH 03079
 I love you!!!
  Love,
   Sister Griffin

Hello Mom!

  How are you?? I just wanted to let you know that I WILL be able to skype for Christmas for an hour. I just found out this week and I thought you would be very happy about that. I did get the recipes. Thank you for sending them! We have two places to go for Thanksgiving. It should be great! It sounds like you had fun at the Ewings. What are you doing for Thanksgiving? I hope someone is going to help you make all the goodies. If you make caramels for Thanksgiving or Christmas I would love to get some! I've only told all my companions about how wonderful your caramels are! 

  This week has been good! We had planned to teach a less active and she ended up being really sick. She had a treatment for her cancer and she wasn't feeling the greatest. She forgot to call us and we showed up. She was glad to have us there. We were able to help her by doing her dishes. She is preparing to go back to the temple so we showed her the video "Between Heaven and Earth." She loved it! She really wants to go back to the temple to feel the peace there. I love being able to teach people about the wonderful blessings of the temple. When people find out that we can't go to the temple while we are on our missions they talk about how sad it is. I miss the temple a little but I have the wonderful opportunity to help people know how they can make it to the temple. It is such a blessing to be a missionary. I love it!!!!!! 

  Our English class went well. We gave them sentences that were written in French so they could translate them into English. They loved it! We are also working one-on-one with one of the recent converts, Aziza. We are helping her learn English. We labeled everything in her house this week so she can practice saying things in English. Her husband liked that we were doing that. Her English is getting better. I love being able to help people. 

  It snowed this week!! It wasn't a lot but it snowed! I was so excited. My companion wasn't as excited! It has been really cold here. It was in the 20s yesterday and the wind has been blowing like crazy! We had a meal with a family this week that is awesome! They both went to Utah State and they are so excited to help us in anyway they can. They are trying so hard to help us with one of the less actives we are working with. We could not do this work without the members of our ward they are wonderful!! 

  Thanksgiving is this week...what are you grateful for??? I am grateful for being able to serve a mission, the Atonement, a wonderful family and friends, a great companion, happiness, the Plan of Salvation, The Restoration, Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ! We are so blessed to be part of the true gospel. I have been studying gratitude and I was thinking one of the ways we can show Heavenly Father that we are grateful is to use our talents and abilities to build His Kingdom. We are to live with an attitude of gratitude. It is something that I am striving to do everyday. I have been thinking of things that I am grateful for and I am trying to tell Heavenly Father that I am grateful for them. I am also trying to show Him that I am grateful! I have so much to be grateful for. Thanks Mom for teaching me how important it is to be selfless and for being an example of what a woman of God is. I love you Mom!!! I'm so grateful for you! Have a great Thanksgiving!! 

    Love,

      Sister Griffin

Hi Mom!

  How are you?? Did you get my letter about the recipes?? Can you send them to me this week? If you didn't get my letter, I asked for you to send the Rocky Road Brownie recipe and your Banana Cream Pie recipe. There is a girl in the ward that wants to make all of our favorite things for Thanksgiving. I'm glad your cough is getting better. My cough is getting better too. I didn't really have a cold with it. I got Marilyn's package...and no I haven't opened it. I want to but I will try and wait until Christmas.

  Yesterday was the primary program. That is one of my favorite Sundays!! The Primary kids are so cute!! We have just over 20 kids in the primary. They did such a great job. The Relief Society President, Sister Earnshaw, invited one of her friends that is not a member. We had tracted into her friend a couple of months ago. When I saw her I greeted her by her name and she was so surprised I remembered who she was. Sister Earnshaw talked to us after Sacrament and said that her friend, Pat, asked if she had told us she was coming and Sister Earnshaw told her no. Pat was so amazed that we remembered her name. I had a huge confirmation that remembering names is so important. People feel so much more valued when people remember their names. It was awesome! The music was wonderful!! I was thinking as they were singing "A Child's Prayer" how wonderful it is that we can go to our Heavenly Father in prayer. I love how it says. "Father, in prayer I'm coming now to thee." Our prayers should be a conversation with our Heavenly Father. I am really trying on making my prayers more meaningful and more of a conversation. 

  We also had a little cottage meeting with President Hawkes last night. President Hawkes is in the mission presidency. The senior couple set it up with him and he asked all of the missionaries to be there. The meeting was for all of the African converts and investigators. He talked about the Book of Mormon and how it is another testament of Jesus Christ and that it answers the questions of the soul. He asked them if they had any questions of the soul. He had me, Elder Pruett, and Elder Campbell(senior missionary) answer one of the questions that someone in the group had asked. I answered Where are we going? with Alma 40:11-12. I love the Book of Mormon!! It definitely answers the questions of the soul. President Hawkes taught mostly in French. I kind of got the jist of what he was teaching when he was speaking French. I'm surprised how many words I recognize...it would definitely help if I remembered a lot more. The Spirit was so strong!! 

  This week we got to help a sister in the ward clean out her apartment. She is a little bit of a hoarder. She needed it cleaned out very fast. Sister Campbell, Sister Beus, and I worked for just a couple of hours the one day. We got it cleaned out. Then the next day we went back to organize some of the things that Sister Campbell let her keep. Sister Campbell is good at getting rid of junk. It was a lot of fun! The sister that we helped in the ward announced to all of the Gospel Principles class that we cleaned her apartment and she invited everyone to come over to her place now. I think she is happy to have it cleaned out. English class went well this week. Our numbers keep increasing. I worked a lot with the beginners. They are all so eager to learn English. It is exciting to be able to help them. 

  I started studying voices. I was thinking about one of the talks that was given at zone conference and so I decided to study voices. I was reading in Deuteronomy 5:23-24 and 1 Kings 19:12. It talks about the voice of the Lord being heard after the fire and after the storms. I was thinking that the fire could symbolize our trials or the cleansing events in our lives. We don't always know why something is happening until after the trial or the purification process is over. After a trial is usually when we can hear the voice of the Lord more easily. We can be more spiritually in tune so we will be more apt to hear it. I hope that makes sense. There are so many voices in the world that are competing for us to listen to. I am working on recognizing and acting on the one true voice that can bring me the most happiness. God has given us a wonderful gift that if we are worthy of it we can have it with us constantly! We are so blessed!! I love you so much!!!! Have a great week!! You are in my thoughts and prayers!

   Love,

     Sister Griffin

Hi Mom!!!

  How are you?? It sounds like things are going well. I'm sorry your cough came back. I came down with a cough this week too! That's awesome about Amy giving the lesson for Family Home Evening. I'm still having a hard time remembering that she is married. Zone Conference is just a meeting so no one got transferred. I don't know if I can wait until Christmas to open up that package. I'll try my best. I didn't find out if I can skype at Christmas, sorry. Do you want me to send the wax pumpkin back to you?

  This week was awesome!! I wasn't able to go to English class this week because I was on exchange but my companion said that it went great! We have been having new people coming. It is great! Zone Conference was awesome! Elder S. Gifford Nielsen of the Seventy was there. His wife spoke to us too. We were also able to go to a special stake council on Sunday night. It was a meeting for all of the stake, ward, and branch leaders. Elder Nielsen invited all of the full-time missionaries to attend. It was awesome! He shared a part of Elder Perry's closing remarks at the Mission President's seminar. Elder Perry compared the hastening of the work to important events like the First Vision. I hadn't really thought about it being that big. 

  There were so many good things that we talked about at Zone Conference. Sister Stoker mentioned to us how we need to be like Ammon and just show love for people. President Stoker talked about prayer and the importance of it. He told us to disconnect our tongues from our minds and connect it to our hearts. Our prayers should be a conversation with the Lord not just a routine thing. It was wonderful and it was something that I needed to hear. Sister Nielsen gave a wonderful talk. She talked about how other people can see and know our potential and we have to do all we can to reach our full potential. She mentioned how we always have the choice to be happy even in hard times because we have the gospel. Elder Nielsen talked about how important it is to connect with people we come in contact with. I have seen how important it is for us to do that. I need to work harder at connecting with the ward members especially. When people feel like we care and want to get to know them then they will be more likely to listen to the gospel. He used Ammon as an example of one that connected with the people he taught. Ammon did so much more than just teach people he connected with them and he made sure they were firm in their testimonies of the gospel. We talked about Alma 27 and he asked us to study it and apply some of the things that Ammon did. Elder Nielsen also talked about how we, as missionaries, are a prophetic priority. He told us that the Prophet thinks about us and prays for us constantly. He said most of the meetings they have are focus on the missionaries and the youth. President Hawkes, a member of the mission presidency spoke and he talked about all of the different voices that we hear in today's world. He said something that I have been thinking about ever since. He said, "The voice of the Spirit always comes with hope." Isn't that amazing??!! It is so true! The voice of the Spirit doesn't tear us down but it always builds us up. Elder Nielsen said many times, "The Lord did not put you here to fail." I know that is so true. God wouldn't have us do anything if He was sure that we could be successful! He mentioned to us that this is our time with the Savior and we cannot waste a minute of it. I hope I am using every minute in the way the Lord needs me to. This is definitely my time to grow closer to my Savior and a time where I can be here to do what He would do if He were here. I hope I am living up to my potential. We are all here to progress and not to flat line. 

  I wish I could tell you everything that I learned at Zone Conference. It was definitely an answer to prayers. The Lord knows what we need and when we need it. Everything is best in the Lord's timing. He knows us best...He even knows us better than we know ourselves. I love you! You are in my thoughts and prayers!! Have a great week!

     Love,

       Sister Griffin

Here is a picture of me with President and Sister Nielsen.

The second picture is me with Sister Waite--my second companion, Sister Sowards(Sister Waite trained her), and Sister Tait(Sister Sowards trained her). Sister Sowards was calling it our generation picture. She is so funny!

Here is a picture of my pumpkin and also Sister Beus and her pumpkin.

On Mon, Nov 4, 2013 at 3:36 PM, Callee Griffin <callee.griffin@myldsmail.net> wrote:

Hi Mom!!

 How are you? The spiders in my package made me laugh. Your week sounds busy. That's a good thing. That's so funny about Bishop Olpin coming dressed up as a pirate. That's awesome about Sister Stephens coming to speak. She is such a wonderful person!! She is so inspired. I love hearing her speak! Mary told me that you weren't feeling well. Are you feeling better? Did you have a cold? NEXT MONDAY WE HAVE ZONE CONFERENCE SO I WON'T BE E-MAILING UNTIL TUESDAY. 

  Last Monday we carved pumpkins at Sister Lane's house. It was so much fun. I'll send you a picture of the pumpkin I carved. Halloween was good. We had to be in at 5:00. We deep cleaned our apartment and then I tried to catch up on my journal. I'm just a few days behind...ha ha! It was so weird to go inside so early. We didn't have any trick-or-treaters come by. We had candy to give them but no one came by. There aren't very many young families out by where we are living. This week has been great! We did our English class again this week. They all love coming. We have started giving them homework. Hopefully it helps them use their English more. Our ward started doing a French Gospel Principles class yesterday. We have so many people that are new to the gospel that need it in French so the stake called people to rotate teaching it. President Hawkes is in the mission presidency and he speaks French so he is going to teach the class once a month. It will be so nice to see him once a month. 

  There is a lady in our ward that has an article in the October Ensign. It is called "How can I be a successful missionary?" Sister Wilde, the lady who wrote it, is amazing!!! She is a wonderful member. She always goes above and beyond. She is a great missionary!!!! We do service at a care center and one of the resident's daughter made Sister Beus and I scarves. She wanted to make us something because she appreciated us volunteering there. I'll have to send you a picture of it. She is such a sweet lady. 

   I was down in Saco this week with two sisters. We taught one of their investigators, Eliza. One of the new sisters in Saco connects with her so well. Eliza opened up with us more than she ever has. I know that God puts us in certain areas for certain reasons. I know that each area I have been in and am in there is someone there that God needs me to specifically help. God knows the needs of each of His children. I pray that I can be an instrument in His hands. Alma 17:11. 

  This week I have been studying the attributes of Christ. I was studying each of the accounts of the Atonement in the Gospels. I love how Christ says, "Not my will, but thine be done." Christ did the Father's will with exactness! He always wanted to do the Father's will. It made me think of the things that I need to work on to give my will more fully to the Lord...and there's a lot. How can we all more fully give ourselves to the Lord? It is so important for me to give my will to the Lord. This is His work and He knows how it needs to get done. It is only through the Atonement that we can become like Christ and that is what we are all striving for. I know that Christ is the only way to eternal life! 

  Sorry this e-mail is kind of short. I can think of a ton of things to write during the week and then when I get to the computer I can't think of things to say. Have a great week!! I love you!

    Love,

      Sister Griffin

Hello Mom!!

   How are you?? I did get the package on Thursday. Thank you so much!!! The cookies weren't broken at all. I love the shirt you sent me. It is a beautiful color! My companion liked the sugar cookies too. Thanks for the candy too. I love the CD! The songs are wonderful! Thank you for the pictures of Amy's wedding! She looked so beautiful! I keep forgetting to tell you that I did hear from Dolly. I got it at the beginning of October. She is so sweet! One of the African members is moving out to Utah. She is going to be living in Salt Lake and she wants to come visit you. I gave her your phone number--home and cell numbers. Her number is 207-420-7923. She is flying out today but I'm not sure when she will call you. She wanted me to tell you that crazy Liliane is coming! She speaks English really well. She got baptized last January. She is amazing!! You are going to love her!! I'll send you a picture of her. I've sent pictures to you with her in them. It is starting to get cool here. It has been in the 50s during the day. That's so exciting about Amy and Heather. I had no idea!! Thanks for telling me that.

  This week has been great!! We met with a less active that wants to come back to church. She has been really busy because her dad isn't doing well and she is the one that helps him out. I think I've told you about her before. We were finally able to meet with her. She is so sweet! She knows that the Gospel back in her life is exactly what she needs. We talked with her about the Atonement and how Christ is always there to succor us because He has been through everything we could ever feel. I love being able to testify of how the Savior is always there. I know that He is always there. He is the only one that completely understands what we are feeling. We taught another less active this week. We showed her the Restoration DVD and we read 2 Nephi 3 with her. She didn't realize that it was revelation about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. We then shared Ezekiel 37:15-17 and told her that it was talking about the Book of Mormon. She didn't realize that the Bible had scriptures in it about the Book of Mormon. She told us that we answered her questions that she had been thinking about for a while. She never asked us the questions out loud. It was a huge reminder that the Holy Ghost is the true teacher. I don't know all of the needs of those I am teaching but Heavenly Father does and He is going to use the Spirit to guide my words so their needs are met. It was amazing!!  I know that this is the Lord's work and He is going to make sure that it gets done. 

  We now have a French speaking Elder in our ward. The Africans are so excited!! He really helped out in our English class too. We have a few people that are coming to English class that don't speak any English at all and he helped them a lot. Our ward is going to start doing a French Gospel Principles class next week. It is going to be so helpful for all of the recent converts and investigators that speak English. Our ward had a Halloween activity on Saturday. They did a costume parade and they had all of us, missionaries, judge it. Each child got an award. It was kind of hard to come up with awards for all of them. There were some cute costumes. They also went trick-or-treating in the church. Is the ward back home doing a trunk-or-treat? 

  This week I have been thinking about more fully doing the Lord's will. A sister that spoke in the ward kind of made me start thinking about it. She mentioned that we must KNOW the Savior in order to emulate Him. We can't just know about Him but we must know Him on a personal level in order to become like Him. I love that!! How can you become like someone if you don't know them? I think of the scripture Luke 22:32- "When thou art converted strengthen thy brethren." I have to be converted before I can help others become converted. I need to more willingly give my will to the Lord. I have also been thinking about light and I was studying President Uchtdorf's talk from the April General Conference. I love how he said, "But even though we may feel lost in the midst of our current circumstances, God promises the hope of His light--He promises to illuminate the way before us and show us the way out of darkness." God will always be there for us no matter what. We are never alone. Life isn't always easy but I know that the Lord gives us these moments in our lives to make us grow. Again in President Uchtdorf's talk he says, "He does not wish to break your spirit. On the contrary, He desires that you rise up and become the person you were designed to be." The Lord will help me make things that could be stumbling blocks into stepping stones. He loves us so much!! Have a great week!! I love you!!! Have a great Halloween! 

   Love,

     Sister Griffin

 

 Picture 1-Liliane and me. She just barely did her hair like this. It is crazy!!

 Picture 2-Liliane and me again. That is what her hair normally looks like. Enjoy the pictures!!

Hi Mom!!

   How are you doing? You said you were a ball of nerves...how come? It sounds like you had fun with the Barnes down in Salt Lake. Is Tricia back to work now?? Or is she still laid off? Which temple are you going to this week? I can't believe Megan will be 12 tomorrow. I'm sure she is so excited for Young Womens. How is the family doing? 

   I am not being transferred!! I'm staying in my area!!!!! Yay!!! I'm so excited! Sister Beus is also staying with me. I forgot to tell you that the Raineys got sealed. They were the family that was in my first area that always asked about you. They were sealed at the end of September. She sent me some pictures of them after. I am so happy for them. This week at English Class, we had one more person ask us about the church and what we believe. Her name is Yvette. She was wondering about us being called Sister. She thought we were nuns. I hope I can talk to her more about the church this week. She said that she would go on mormon.org. She was also asking about what scriptures we study. Hopefully we can meet with her some time and answer all of her questions. 

   Yesterday Sister Beus and I were able to teach sharing time in Primary. We talked to the primary kids about how they can be missionaries now. All of them are so excited to share the gospel with their friends. Some of them want to invite their friends to the Halloween Activity and also to the Primary program. The Primary here has about 20 kids in it. They are all so cute. I loved being able to help with Primary. 

   I was in Yarmouth on Tuesday for an exchange and we had an amazing lesson with one of their investigators. We talked with him about the doctrine of Christ and what it is. He voiced some concerns before we read 2 Nephi 31. By the time the chapter was done we were able to address his concerns. It was amazing!! The Spirit was definitely there and touching his heart!! I love seeing people change. The Spirit is the real teacher! I love it! 

  This week I have been studying about the Stripling Warriors and the qualities they had. What made them so courageous? What made them so sure they didn't doubt? Alma 57:26-27 sums up their amazing faith. They fed their faith and their doubts starved to death! We must continually feed our faith. The Lord will take care of us! I was also thinking how they had been taught by their mothers and that's one reason they knew they could rely on the Lord with unshaken faith. I'm grateful for the things that you have taught me Mom!!! You have helped me be the missionary that the Lord needs me to be. Thank you for teaching me so much!! I wish I could name everything you have taught me. Thanks for helping me feed my faith! As we obey with exactness as these young warriors did we will see those miracles that God is placing in our paths!! The Lord loves us much!! What a wonderful blessing the Gospel is!!! I love you!!! Have a great week!!!

   Love, 

     Sister Griffin

Picture 1- Our District decided to take pictures at the Portland Headlight! It is a beautiful lighthouse!!! From left to right: Me, Sister Beus, Elder O'Connor, Elder Chisholm, Elder Davis, and Elder Stephenson.

Picture 2-They let us go up into the lighthouse. This is Sister Beus and I standing outside of the light! It was a wonderful view to be at the top of the Lighthouse!!

Picture 3-This is a window that is about half way up the lighthouse. I just love the view. I hope you enjoy the pictures! 

Hi Mom!!

  How are you doing? I'm so glad Amy's wedding dinner and wedding went well. I can't believe that she is married. Mary sent me some pictures of it. Amy looked beautiful!!! The cake looked really nice too! Thanks for giving me Amy's new address. I would love to see more pictures! That's awesome about Mary letting that elder use her phone. I'm sure him and his family appreciated that. 

  So to start off I have to tell you that I met someone from Paul and Nadia's ward. This couple said they were visiting from the Macon Georgia ward and so I decided to ask them if they knew Paul Griffin and they said absolutely. Their names are the Hawthorns. Brother Hawthorn serves with Paul in the Elder's quorum presidency. He had a lot of nice things to say about Paul and his family. Sister Hawthorn wrote my name down so she would remember to tell Paul that they met one of his cousins. It was awesome!! The world is such a small place! English class is going great! We have about 15 people that come every week. We did more conversation stuff with them this week. They loved it! Joseph comes every week and this week he started asking us questions about the church. He started talking to me and he asked, "What makes your church different from other churches?" I started to tell him about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. I told him that the Elders could come teach him more and he immediately said, "I want to come to your church." I was so excited. I wanted to teach him more but I couldn't. The place where we are teaching English is a non-profit organization and if we preach the gospel there then they could lose their non-profit status. They are letting us use this space for free so we are doing all that we can to respect their rules. Joseph did come to church! I think he really enjoyed it. He even made a comment in Gospel Principles. I hope he decides to keep meeting with the Elders. 

  We did some service for a less active this week. It was great! She really wants to come back to church. She had some friends that told her the church wasn't true so she has a lot of questions and doubts. As we have been meeting with her she seems to realize more and more that the church really is true. She came to church this week too! She is progressing really well. She really wants to jump right back into the church. As for transfers, I have no idea. I will know by next Monday if I am getting transferred or not. I was on exchange this week with two sisters in Saco. They are in a trio there so one of the sisters came to be with Sister Beus. We taught a man that has left the church but he really wants to come back. He knows how the gospel can help his family. He also wants to be a worthy priesthood holder. His fiance has lupus and he wants to be able to help her by giving her blessings. It was a great lesson! We also taught a girl that is wanting to join the church. She has a friend that is active in the gospel. Her friend has answered a lot of her questions of the soul because of the gospel. The two sisters that I was with are amazing!! They know how to follow the Spirit and they know how to bear strong testimonies. One of them is a visa waiter and she feels like she is going to be leaving soon. She has been here for about 5 months. We are going to teach one of the members about the temple to help her get there. She is a wonderful member and she would just love the temple. She joined the church about six years ago and she had to completely turn her life around. She is wonderful! 

  This week I have been studying knowledge. Why do we need knowledge and how do we obtain knowledge? I love what it says in the Bible Dictionary, "Knowledge of divine and spiritual things is absolutely essential for one's salvation." We can only progress as fast as we are gaining knowledge. According to John 17:3, we must have a knowledge of Jesus Christ to gain eternal life. In Romans 1:28 it talks about retaining God in our knowledge. Why should we do that? We need to do that because our purpose on earth is to prepare to meet Him. If we aren't thinking about God and gaining all the knowledge we need to prepare to meet God then we really don't have a purpose in life. Knowledge is what allows us to enter the kingdom of God. Have a great week!! I love you!! Thanks for your prayers and your support!

  Love,

    Sister Griffin

Hey Mom!!!
  How are you??? I hope you enjoy San Francisco! What were some of your favorite talks from Conference? I'm so excited for Amy to get married this week. I got her invitation and it is really cute! I love it!! What temple does your presidency go to?
 Conference was amazing!!! I loved every bit of it! I had so many questions that were answered. It was wonderful! I wish I had time to talk about all of my favorite talks but I don't so I'll talk about a couple of my favorites. President Uchtdorf's was so good.I loved how he said, "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." I know that if we feed our faith our doubts will starve to death. There will be no room for doubts. We have an investigator that this talk was perfect for. She won't come to church yet but this talk will help her I think realize just how amazing the Gospel and the church is. Elder Holland's talk was perfect for one of our other investigators. She struggles with major depression and she heard this talk. She loved it!!! I know that it will help her. I loved President Eyring's talk. I loved the part where he quoted George Q. Cannon about there not being one of us that God has not tried to save. That is so true. God wants all of His children to come back to Him. I need to work harder to find more of God's children and help bring them back to Him. 
  Some of the themes of Conference that I noticed were being equally yoked with the members, living the first two greatest commandments (Matthew 22:35-40), and families. I loved President Monson's talk!!!! We all face challenges and life isn't always easy. I loved the poem that he shared about good timber not growing strong without storms. That is so true!!! I know that I have grown the most during hard times. We are given trials to make us be the people that God needs us to be. During his talk I was thinking, "Who do I know that has gone through many problems and has stayed strong during those problems?" There were a lot of wonderful people that went through my mind. I want to be more like Job. He stayed very strong through all of his trials. I know that I can say with boldness, "I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." Job 19:25. I know it is because of my challenges that I have grown closer to my Savior. There is always room for me to grow closer. I know that I have never felt my Savior closer than on my mission. It has definitely been a huge growth period for me! I have loved every minute of being able to forget myself and just go to work. 

  This week has been great!  I had one of the sisters from Yarmouth with me. My companion was in Yarmouth on exchange. Sister Brown was here on exchange. Sister Brown and I were in the same ward up in Logan. We didn't know each other very well in Logan but we are getting to know each other now. She is so excited to be here doing missionary work. I love going on exchanges because I feel like I learn so much from the sisters that I am serving with.  We taught English for the second time this week. It went well. The people that are coming want to practice more conversational things. We are going to do that. The people that come are so eager to learn and it is so exciting to be able to teach them how to communicate in English. I saw President Stoker this week. He counseled us on how the Shepherd knows His sheep. It is so true!! Christ knows each one of us. Do we recognize when He calls us?? It really made me think about how much I really know my Savior.

  I have studied the heart some more. I realized how important it is for us to give the Lord our whole heart. In D&C 64:22 it says, "And after that day, I, the Lord, will not hold any guilty that shall go with an open heart up to the land of Zion; for I, the Lord, require the hearts of the children of men." We cannot give Him part of our hearts. We must give him all of our desires. He will guide us in the direction that is best because He knows exactly what we need. How can we more fully give our hearts to the Lord? Have a great week!! Give Amy a hug for me this week!! I'm so happy for her!! I love you!

  Love,

    Sister Griffin

Hello Mom!!!!

  How are you? You sounded busy this week. Were you able to get the lady all moved? I'm so excited that Amy went through the temple! I can't believe that she gets married in less than two weeks. Time has just flown by! I am still anxiously awaiting her wedding invitation! When are you going to San Francisco with Mary? Are you excited to go?

  This week has been great! We did teach English. It was awesome! We had about 15 people there. Two people that just got baptized were there and the rest weren't members. It was great to see them use the words that we had taught them. The people that came to learn English are all from Africa! Some have been in America for months and some just a few weeks. They are such awesome people! They love learning! The Elders also helped us teach the class. I can't wait to teach English again. We are going to be doing it every week for about 6 weeks and then we might start over again. The place where we are teaching it is a non-profit organization and so we can't teach the gospel at all but we had a few people ask us questions after the class. English is needed so much in Portland.

  We met a lady this week that wants to come back to church. Her name is Stacy and she has noticed a huge difference in her life since she stopped going. Her daughter is 8 years old and hasn't been baptized. Her dad is really sick and is on his death bed. It is so amazing that I am here at this time. The Lord has placed me in certain areas for certain people. The Lord has placed me in areas where there are people that have lost loved ones or are losing loved ones. I know Dad's death was a sad time for us but I know that it has helped me help these people that God has placed in my path. I love being able to testify of eternal families! We are going to teach Stacy and her daughter this week. It should be great!

  I did get to see the Relief Society meeting. I missed Sister Burton's talk though. We were helping a lady in the ward move and so we missed her talk but we saw everything else. I loved Sister Stephen's talk. I received so many answers from her talk and from all the other ones. I had been praying to know what to do for one of the sisters that I am helping and the Spirit, through Sister Stephens, told me exactly what I needed to do to help her. It was amazing!!  I love being able to learn at the foot of our living Prophet. He is definitely called of God. The choir was amazing! My companion was saying that she wished she was still in the MTC so she could have been in the choir. It made me laugh. I can't wait for conference this next week. There were two more people that got baptized this last Saturday. It was two people from Africa that the Elders are teaching. It was wonderful!!

  This week I have really been thinking about what it means to always have a prayer in our heart. I was thinking of how we physically need our heart to live. It pumps our blood through the rest of our body. Our spiritual heart is what keeps our testimonies or spirits alive and strong.The Gospel must be a part of us. It can't just be surface deep. I was reading Romans 2:15 and I was thinking about how if the law is written on my heart then my thoughts and desires will be directed toward Jesus Christ. When we have a prayer in our heart always we are showing that we want God to be a part of us. It is our choice to open our hearts to the Spirit. My study of always having a prayer in my heart became more of a study on the heart. What does it mean to always have a prayer in your heart? 

  I know the Lord loves us. I know that as we watch conference this week that we will see just how much God is aware of us and loves us. I love being a missionary and helping others see just how much God loves them. Have a great week! I love you so much!!!

    Love,

       Sister Griffin

Here are some pictures of the beautiful fall leaves! And also a picture of the beach that is right by our place! Enjoy the beautiful colors!

Hello Mom!

  How are you?? Tell me a little more about your talk. You could have just sent your letter to my apartment. Our interviews were up here in Portland. I haven't gotten your letter yet. It always takes a few more days for the mail to get forwarded up here from Manchester. I'm glad Amy's showers went well. I'm so excited she is going through the temple this week. That is awesome!! She is going to love it! I can't wait to see her wedding invitation. As for things I need...I'm not sure! Sorry I'm not much help!

  The leaves are starting to change and it is gorgeous! I'm waiting for more of them to change before I send you pictures. The Fall is beautiful here! I love it! My interview was great! President Stoker is wonderful! He is so inspired! He told me how he decided I needed to be serving in the Portland ward and that is was very clear to him that I needed to be with Sister Beus. It was great to hear how the Lord works. I know that President Stoker is called of God. He told me some things that I needed to hear and he gave me great counsel to use, especially when I'm on exchanges with the other sisters in my zone. The Sisters in my zone are wonderful! I got to see all of them at interviews. I love getting to know them all. The Zone Leaders taught us about extending commitments and why it is so important. Extending commitments is definitely a loving way to call someone to repentance. It was a wonderful day! We are starting our English class this week. I hope it all goes well! 

  This week we met with Lisa. She came to church this week. She is really connecting with Sister Campbell (the Seinor missionary). Relief Society was all about starting with a belief and going forward on the faith that we already have. She was taking notes in Relief Society so I hope she enjoyed it. We are hoping to meet with her this week again. A lot of people came and said hi to her. It was great! We taught her this week about the Atonement and how it can help us get through anything in life. We shared Alma 7:11-13 with her. We are trying to help her understand that God loves her and will help her. She doesn't really feel God's love for her right now. I know that if she listens to what we teach and acts on the invitation we extend to her that she will start to see God's love for her. 

  The ward had a "Meet the Mormons" activity on Saturday. There were a lot of members that came. It was an open house for people to come and see who and what we do at our church. We didn't have very many non-members come but we did have a woman who hasn't come to church in 40 years come to it with her husband that is not a member. She is from Utah and she has been feeling like she needs to come back to church. When she saw the sign for the activity she decided to come to it. For all the planning that went into it, it was all worth it just for this lady. She is now really thinking about coming back to church. God works in wondrous ways!  

  This week I have been thinking of all the little miracles in my life that I don't notice. God blesses us with miracles everyday. I was reading in Mark 6 and I noticed that Christ's Apostles didn't understand all of the miracles that He performed. In Mark 6:35-52, Christ made the loaves and fishes be enough and He also walked on water. These are two very apparent miracles but then I started wondering about all of the miracles that happen around me that I don't see or recognize. There are so many miracles! There isn't a day that goes by that I don't try to notice at least one miracle. I am going to try a lot harder to notice all of the little miracles! What miracles do you see everyday? I love our Heavenly Father! I know that He loves us so much! I love you so much! You are in my thoughts and prayers!

  Love,

    Sister Griffin

Hi Mom! 

  How are you doing?? It sounds like you were busy this week. Are you still going to do the monthly cooking activities or are you going to switch up the activities? I can't wait to see Amy's invitations! I bet they are adorable. We had stake conference this week. I'll talk more about it later. It was wonderful! 

  This week has been a great one! We got two new investigators. We were teaching Oy, she is African. She wants the gospel in her life so bad. We were teaching her about prayer and she asked us how do we receive peace that we have been praying for. She got really emotional. She has been praying for peace and comfort for a while. We testified to her that peace will come. We also told her that we go through hard times to learn things. It was a wonderful lesson! She came to Stake Conference yesterday and she loved it. The talks were all about finding joy in the journey and being of good cheer. She was amazed that there were so many members of the church there. One of our other new investigators is Lisa. She was a referral from someone in the Augusta. She suffers from depression. She wants to be better so she can help people and be the mom that she wants to be. We are trying to help her get out of this slump. We shared a lot of scriptures with her on faith because she said that she is full of fear. I know the gospel can help her get rid of that fear. The Gospel can help anyone! We are going to invite her to keep a gratitude journal so she can see a few positive things every day. 

  Stake Conference was amazing!!! The Boston Temple President and his wife spoke about the sealing power and family history. We are so blessed to have the sealing power here on the earth! President and Sister Stoker spoke too. They both spoke about things the members can do to share the gospel with others. They are so sweet! President Thomas (the stake president) spoke and related a backpacking trip to the gospel. It was wonderful! He talked about how important it is for us to stay on the gospel path. There were also two people from the Topsham ward. I also saw a lot of the families that I got to know from Brunswick and Topsham. The Raineys were there. They are going to be sealed at the end of this month. She asked about how you are doing, Mom. She said that she thinks about you often. I hope one day you can meet the Raineys! They are both wonderful people! 

  You asked how often I meet with my District, we meet weekly. We usually see a lot more of each other though because all of the missionaries serving in the Portland ward is our district. We have zone interviews with President Stoker this Friday. I love interviews! I always learn so much at them. I have been studying a lot about virtue this week. I was reading in Proverbs 31:10-31. There are so many qualities listed there of a virtuous person. What is a virtuous person? How can we always be striving to be virtuous? Virtue starts with our thoughts. Our thoughts will lead to actions. We must be clean and pure. I was also thinking about prayer. How can we always have a prayer in our heart? I would love to hear your ideas! This church is true! We can definitely draw closer to Christ if we are trying to be pure and clean. One of the ways that we can be purified is by partaking of the Sacrament! What a blessing it is to take that every week! I love you! 

   Love,

     Sister Griffin

Hi Mom!

  How are you doing? It sounds like you had a busy week with your new calling. I'm sure your presidency is going to be amazing! I love that you are going to go to the temple once a month together. That's a great way to show the Lord that you want to be guided by the Spirit. The Lord will bless you for it! How is Bindi doing? 

  We got all moved in this morning and I'm going to include some pictures of the beach that is right near our place and also the view outside our bedroom window. It is beautiful! This week has been good. I spent two days in Yarmouth this week. It was great! On Tuesday we were there in a trio because Sister Caffall had to be in Manchester for a leadership meeting and then on Thursday I was there on exchanges with Sister Brown. We did a lot of service both days. I love being able to do service! On Tuesday we helped one of their investigators in their garden. It was awesome! This week was full of service. We also did service on Thursday. One of their investigators needed help in her yard. It is amazing how much more open people are to the Gospel when we have served them. Service opens hearts to the gospel. It is wonderful! On Saturday we also did service for some ladies in our ward. Sister Good-Simpson needed help getting her flowers ready for winter and so we helped her early in the morning and then she took us to breakfast. We also helped a lady in the ward pack up some things because her family is moving. Then we help Sister Rowell clean out her apartment. She has a hard time throwing things away and so she needs someone to do it for her. We helped Sister Campbell (the senior missionary) clean it. We didn't get done but we got a lot done. I love being able to serve the people here!! 

  On Sunday I saw Sister Smith who is from Topsham. She is the stake Relief Society President and she visits the wards in the stake. She freaked out a little when she saw me. It is was a joyous moment when we saw each other. Sister Smith used to go out teaching with us on Wednesdays. She told me that Brother Eldridge, who was a less active that we started working with, is now a fully active member and is getting ready to go to the temple!! I was so happy to hear that he is going to church!! It was great to see her! Sister Beus and Sister Caffall were able to teach Etem this week. He is starting to understand the role that Christ plays in his life.

  This week I have been studying charity and love. What is charity? Jesus Christ definitely performed the greatest act of charity by going through the Atonement. How can we show charity to all those around us? To me charity is loving people the way Christ loves them. We must be concerned for the eternal welfare and happiness of others. How do we see others has Christ sees them? Moroni talks about charity and defines it really well in Moroni 7:45-48.  I have noticed that I am more happy when I am focusing on others and not myself. I am going to work on focusing on others this week. Will you do the same? How can we be more charitable? This is something that I have been thinking about a lot this week, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." That is so true! I love the gospel! The Atonement is real and it happened for all of us, as individuals! The Lord loves us! Have a great week! I love you!

   Love,

     Sister Griffin

The first picture is the view outside of our bedroom window

The second is the beautiful ocean that is right down the street from our place

The third picture is our District with a few of the Africans! I have the best District in the world!

Hi Mom!!!

   I'm doing great!! It sounds like you have had a busy week! I can't wait to hear about the Stake Fall Festival. Is homecoming going to be Elizabeth's first date?? Who is she going with? I'm so sorry Matt. I remembered it was your birthday last week but I forgot to tell you Happy birthday last week so Happy late birthday. Happy birthday to Brayden this week! I can't believe he will be 7. I'm so glad Mary Broadbent came to visit you. What did you talk about? Congratulations on your new calling Mom!! You are going to do a wonderful job! Isn't it amazing how the Priesthood works. God knew exactly what you needed to hear in your setting apart!! God loves us so much!!

  This week has been good! We taught Joanna this week and she told us that she has a lot of things to pray to God about. That made Sister Beus and I so happy because we don't want her to take our word for it. She told us this week that this is the best study she has done. She feels like it is the most true! She has met with a lot of people of other religions to do Bible studies. She didn't come to church but she is still wanting to meet with us. She is hesitant to come to church because she is afraid that she won't feel anything. We are just going to keep testifying of church and keep inviting her to come. On Saturday, 5 of the Africans that the Elders are teaching, got baptized. It was amazing!! They were so happy! I'll send you a picture of them. I talked to Norbert, one of them that got baptized, on Sunday after he was confirmed and he said that he has felt so much joy since he went down in the water and he wants to feel that joy forever!! Maisha and Aziza are married and the rest of them are just friends. President Hawkes, from the mission presidency was here for it. We had about 50 people come to the baptism! The ward has been a huge support when it comes to missionary work!

  We were able to help a few people move this week. Our ward mission leader is moving out to one of the winter rentals on the beach in Scarborough so he'll still be in our ward...thank goodness!! We also helped a lady clean out her apartment this week. It was so nice to be able to do service. The people here love to be able to help people but they don't like getting help from other people. Our leaves haven't changed yet. I'll send you pictures when they do. It will be gorgeous. We don't move into our apartment until next Monday so you can send your letter to the address that you have for me right now.

Our new apartment address is 15 A Pearl Street

                                                  Scarborough, ME 04074

This week I have been studying hope. What is hope?? When I think of hope I think of trust. In True to the Faith it says that in the gospel sense, hope is sure, unwavering, and active. I love that!! Our hope isn't just wishing something will happen but that we are sure it will happen. I love 1 Peter 3:15! It says, "But ^asanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give ^ban answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the ^chope that is in you with^dmeekness and ^efear:"  In that scripture we could substitute unwavering for hope. We must be ready to answer to people why we are unwavering in the things we do! Hope is unshaken!! How can we develop hope? What are some things we can hope for? In Moroni 7:41 we are told we can hope for the Atonement, the resurrection, and eternal life. That is why we live, right?? To one day gain eternal life! We are so blessed!! I love the Gospel!! We can do all things with Christ! I love you! Have a great week!

  Love,

    Sister Griffin

Hi Mom!

  How are you doing? I'm glad Aunt Diane's surgery went well. Give my love to the Gealta family. Tell Aunt Ann thanks for me.  It sounds like Stake Conference was great! I can't believe they made Mary speak in the adult session of Stake Conference. That's funny about what the mission president said about Dave. He really is loved by all! Thank you for the package! I love the black cardigan! It's really cute! Thank you so much for the pictures! Everyone is getting so big! How did leading the music go?

  This week has been great! We went down to Manchester for the new missionary and trainers meeting. It was wonderful! It was President Stoker's first one. He is such an inspired man. He shared with all of us some of his first journal entries when he first was out on is mission years ago. He seemed just as nervous as any new missionary is. He told us that he wanted to share it so the new missionaries didn't feel like they were the only ones that were feeling overwhelmed. Every missionary feels overwhelmed for the first little while. I feel like I learn so much when I go to meetings with President Stoker. Sister Stoker also showed us some ideas for object lessons. She is wonderful too! It was a wonderful meeting!

  We taught Etem, who is from Sudan, this week. He is starting to understand the wonderful message the gospel is. He told us that he is telling his friends about meeting with us. He is already being a missionary and it's awesome! Every time we invite him to church he always says no. We asked him if he wanted to tour the church building on Thursday and he said yes. The church building is about  4 miles from our apartment. He doesn't have a car so he rides his bike every where. We asked if we could find him a ride to the church building and he said that he doesn't like going places with people he doesn't know. We told him we would walk with him to the church building. We met him at the park that is about a mile from our place and then we walked to the church. It was a great walk. Sister Beus didn't have very good walking shoes on so her heels were bleeding by the time we got to the church. I felt so bad for her. Etem loved the church tour though. He said that he wants to come to church next week. It was wonderful! Joanna, our other investigator, is loving the gospel. She is telling her friend about what we are teaching her. She feels like what we are teaching her is true because she said it seems so familiar to what she has thought all along. She is awesome!! Joanna has a great desire to know the truth! We taught her about the Kingdoms of Glory and the Spirit World and she loved it! 

  I spoke yesterday is Sacrament. I was asked to speak on missionary work...are you surprised? The Portland ward is focusing so much on missionary work right now. I love it! When I move I won't be too far from where we are living now. I'll be about 8 miles away from where we are now. We will be living in a town called Scarborough. This week has been great! I love the members here! They are so great! 

  This week I have continued studying faith in Jesus Christ. It is the foundation of everything. If we have faith in Jesus Christ then we are trusting in what He has in store for us. When I think of someone with great faith I often think of Abinadi in Mosiah 13:3-4. He knew that God would allow him to deliver the message of the Gospel. I love how bold he was with them! He showed so much faith that it showed in his face. Do we all have that much faith? I hope I do! What a blessing our faith is. Alma tells us that we just have to exercise a particle of faith. That's not much at all. It will grow if we nurture it. Our faith can carry through anything. Moroni 7:33. God loves us so much! He is aware of everything we need! I know that Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer and that He knows us perfectly! We are so blessed!! I love you! Have a great week!

    Love,

      Sister Griffin

P.S. I gave you the zip code wrong. Our zip code is 04102 

Hi Mom!!!

  How are you?? Your week sounded busy...that's good. Amy's pictures are cute!!! I love her wedding dress! I still can't believe she is getting married. What temple are they getting married in? Who are Amy's bride's maids? Tell Aunt Diane that she is in my thoughts and prayers. I hope the surgery will help her feel better. Tell Happy Late Birthday to Sam for me. I remembered last week but I forgot to put it in my e-mail. Sorry Sam! If you could send me my black and white flowered skirt in the package that would be great! Can you also send me my Eclipse CD in my CD case? Thank you!!! I got a letter from someone in the village but they didn't sign it. I think it is from Ron Clarke but I'm not sure. The apartment number is 44. Is that where he lives? 

  Zone Conference was amazing!!! President Stoker is a wonderful! We talked about our new mission vision and how we want the mission to be in the next 12 months. We are trying to focus on getting to know that members more and building relationships with them. We want to help the members have significant missionary experiences. The best way to find people to teach is through the members. I love Zone Conference!! President Stoker also mentioned some of the mission policies that changed a little bit. The music one stayed the same. Sister Stoker showed us some object lessons that we can use in our lessons. She had a lot of great ideas! They are both very inspired people. President Hawkes (a counselor in the mission presidency) spoke too. He talked about the power of bearing strong testimony of the Book of Mormon. He talked about a missionary that bore testimony in their house one time. That testimony made his son want to go on a mission. He talked about how we have no idea how our testimony will affect other people. I need to try and bear stronger testimony of the Book of Mormon because it is the convincing evidence that God calls prophets again on the the earth. It can help us draw closer to our Heavenly Father. I know that it is the Word of God. 

  We got two investigators this week. Etem is from Sudan and he has been in America for about 13 years. We taught him the Plan of Salvation. He didn't really know very much about Jesus Christ but he loved learning about it. He believed in reincarnation. We had a member, Sister Good-Simpson, at the lesson with him and she told him just what she was thinking. It was kind of like he was talking to his mother. He listened to her as if she was his mom. It was perfect. She committed him to read the Book of Mormon and he said he would do it if he had time. She said, "No, that is not a commitment. You expect things from Jesus so you need to be willing to give something to Him." He said, "You're right. I'll read the Book of Mormon." It was awesome!!!  He called us today and said that he read the Book of Mormon and it made him feel really good. I love being a missionary. The other investigator we taught this week was Joanna. She has gone to a lot of churches. She feels like God is leading her to a certain path but she hasn't found the path yet. Her kids really want to pick a church and go to it. They are tired of switching. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation because the Elders taught her the Restoration. We talked for quite a while about the pre-earth life. She said that she felt like there was always something before we came to earth but she never wanted to talk to anyone about it. She thought everyone would think she was crazy for thinking about that. She loved learning about it. We are meeting with her this week. I can't wait to teach her more. 

  I got a letter from Kyong this week. She wishes that I could be there for her baptism. She said that a missionary couple that taught her 5 or 6 years ago is coming to her baptism. I'm so excited for her!!! We do have a car. It is a brand new Ford Fusion. We don't have to share it with the Elders. The two sets of Elders share a car and we get our own car. Sometimes I wished we didn't have a car because it is hard to find people in a car. We will move into our new apartment September 9. It is a really nice place and we can see the ocean from our bedroom window. It is beautiful! This week has been wonderful!!! I've been studying about faith in Jesus Christ and how important it is. What is faith? How do we obtain faith?? Faith is the foundation on which we can build upon. Faith is trusting in Jesus Christ with our whole heart. Faith can grow into a tree of knowledge (Alma 32:41-42). I love how if we continue to nourish our faith that it will continue to grow. We are so blessed to have the Gospel. I know that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ because of a humble prayer. Jesus Christ has made it possible for us to become clean and one day dwell with our Father in Heaven. I love you!!! Have a great week!! You are in my thoughts and prayers!! Enjoy Stake Conference!

  Love,

    Sister Griffin

Hi Mom!

  How are you? It sounds like you had a busy week. I'm sure you will enjoy your conference party. What other games have you played at your game nights? Do you play yahtzee? I didn't know Briana Barfuss was getting married. That's crazy!! That is so cool about Michaela Wilson greeting Ashley at the curb at the MTC. How did family home evening go? Did you send that package that you were talking about sending? I'm going to get a new blazer because the one I have is too big. I can't believe that Mary Broadbent gets home in about a week. That is crazy!!

  This week has been great!!! We don't have any investigators yet but we might have a couple by the end of this week. We talked to a guy yesterday that is from Sudan. We talked to him about the Plan of Salvation for a little while. He called us this morning and we are going to meet with him on Wednesday. There are so many refugees here from Africa. They all speak French and so we are hoping to start teaching an English Class for them. They are such amazing people. They are all so happy!!! We met with a less active woman this week and the lesson we taught her was amazing!!! The Spirit was definitely the one that was guiding the lesson. We had planned in the morning to share some scriptures with her about hope and the Atonement. Everything she talked about led us to the next part of the lesson. It was wonderful!! She said that it was the comfort that she needed. I love being a missionary!!! I am here to help people come to Christ and I am seeing this more and more every day. I love it!! We went on exchanges this week. Sister Caffall came to Portland to spend the day with me. It was great!! She is a great missionary. I always feel like I learn so much when we go in exchanges. It was wonderful to be with a missionary that had been out for over a year. I'm glad to have my companion back though.

  I ate salmon this week. Can you believe it??!! It wasn't horrible but I wouldn't ask for it again. I really haven't eaten fish very much, which I'm totally ok with. We have zone conference this week. This will be our first Zone Conference with President Stoker. It should be great! Sorry my thoughts are kind of scattered today. I found out this week that Kyong wants to get baptized August 28. I'm so excited for her. I won't be able to go to it but I am so happy that she is making the decision to "become a Mormon" as she says it. I am just happy that she is taking the steps to help her get closer to going to the temple. She wants to be sealed to her husband so bad. I have been studying a lot about prophets this week. Why do we have prophets? It is so important for us to heed the prophet because what he says will make our faith in Christ become unshaken. Jacob 4:4,6. I have had a lot of people ask me how we know when a man is a prophet. We can only know by asking God if he is a prophet and also by living his counsel. We are so blessed to have a prophet on the earth. God loves us so much!! Have a great week!! I love you!!

   Love,

     Sister Griffin

Hi Mom!!!

   How are you??? That's awesome about Glen Olpin being the Bishop. He will do a wonderful job!!! Did you get anything at the antique store that you went to? When is Aunt Diane going to have her surgery? I can't believe that they changed the temple video. I'm sure it will take some getting used to but I'm sure it is wonderful nonetheless. What did Sister Wilcox e-mail you? I'm sure I'll find someone in this ward just like Sister Wilcox. The members of all the wards are amazing!!! They all love having sister missionaries in the wards, especially the sisters in the ward. 

  I'm now serving in Portland, Maine. It is about 20 miles south of Brunswick/Topsham. We are right on the coast. This ward has 4 sets of missionaries in it....WOW!!! There are 2 sets of Elders, one Senior couple(The Campbells)...love them, and my companion and I. It's amazing!!! My companion is brand new from the MTC. Her name is Sister Beus and she is from Highland, Utah. She turned 20 in the MTC. She is awesome!! She is very excited to be out on a mission. Right now our living situation is temporary. The ward didn't find a place for us to live so they moved the Elders into one apartment and we are staying in one of the apartments the Elders had. They are hoping to have us in our own place by September.

                                                                                                                   Portland, Maine 04101. 

 . Just have people send stuff through the mission home address. They will forward my mail to me. They are trying to get us a place to stay right on the beach. It is so pretty here. Portland is a bigger city than my other areas. We are going to be in the suburbs of Portland. 

  We haven't found anyone to teach yet. We are trying to get to know the ward members more and also trying to contact some less actives. We are working hard trying to find investigators. One of the members from my first area has moved down here to Portland so when we got to church I knew there would be a familiar face. It was great to see the Ashton family again. We have a lot of refugees from Africa in our ward and that are investigating the church. They don't speak very much English. My companion and I are wanting to start an English class for them. They speak French and Swahili. They have been through a lot. They love hearing the gospel and they know right away that it is true. Sister Campbell(the senior missionary) said they can't baptize them soon enough. They all want to be baptized right away. They are such special people!! Lilian is one of them and she has been baptized for 7 or 8 months. She is so funny! She told us that it doesn't matter what people think of her because she knows that God loves her. She has a great attitude about life. She asked us about who we were going to visit this week and we told her that we were going to visit some less active people. She couldn't grasp the concept why people would ever stop going to church after being baptized. She is a wonderful example to everyone!! The ward is so focused on missionary work. They had a combined meeting yesterday to brainstorm ideas for the Ward Mission Plan. It was wonderful!! 

  This week has been great!! Coming to a new area is always an adventure. I'm sure I will love this area just as I have my other ones. This week I have been thinking about how much Heavenly Father loves us. We are His children. He wants us to be happy so He has given us every opportunity to be happy in this life. He has given us His Son so we can become like Him. 3 Nephi 27:13-15. God wants to bless us and wants to help us. We can't make it through life without Heavenly Father's help. He has provided a way for us to inherit everything He has. 2 Nephi 9:18. What do you think of when you hear the word inherit? We are children of God and because of that we have limitless potential to become just as He is. Life will have challenges but we have them so we can become the people that Heavenly Father needs us to be. Have a great week!!! I love you and miss you!!!

   Love,

     Sister Griffin