March 31, 2015

Queridos padres:

La gran Misión de Rosario Argentina ha recibido excelentes misioneros este mes. El Presidente Zanni y yo nos sentimos muy felices de recibirles. Les agradecemos por el gran apoyo que dan a sus hijos en esta gran obra del señor.

El Elder Salinas llegó muy bien. Ahora podrán comunicarse con él los días lunes (Día de Preparación) a través del correo electrónico. (La misión cuanta con un Blog, en el cual van a poder encontrar fotos de los misioneros “lagranmisionrosario.blogspot.com.ar”)

Agradecemos muchos por su colaboración. Sabemos que su hijo es un excelente representante de la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días. Le agradecemos por el apoyo que brinda su hijo.

También adjuntamos unas fotos del Elder con su Presidente y yo. Y otra con su grupo. Espero que las disfruten.

Gracias por su amor y ayuda.

(Google Translate)

Dear Parents:

The Great Mission Rosario Argentina has received excellent missionaries this month. The President Zanni and I are very happy to welcome you. We thank you for the great support they give to their children in this great work of the Lord.

The Elder Salinas went very well. Now may contact him on Monday (Day of Preparation) via email. (The how much mission with a blog in which they will be able to find pictures of missionaries "lagranmisionrosario.blogspot.com.ar")

Thank a lot for your help. We know your son is an excellent representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Thank you for the support provided by his son.

Also attached some pictures of the Elder with its President and myself. And another with your group. I hope you enjoy.

Thank you for your love and support.

New Group 

President and Sister Zanni 

Elder Carter - - Grant's Trainer

March 30, 2015

This week was really tough to be honest! The whole culture change was a pretty big shock and I finally realized just how much Spanish I actually don´t know. The people here speak so fast and it is hard to understand them. But I know that if I just keep pressin forward then I can get through the challenge.

My trainer: Elder Carter,
He is from Canada...I won´t hold that against him, He is a really good trainer. He has been here for 7 months and knows the language pretty well. Something that I learned from him is how important it is to work with the members. He doesn´t contact that much but he really likes working with the less actives and with members and gets a ton of referrals.

My Area: San Lorenzo. There is one branch here which is a huge shock because of the past. There are more than 700 members but only like 60 people come to church every week. So we have a huge list of less actives to go through.

Best thing I have eaten: We had lunch at a members house the other day and we had Pasta with Chicken. Doesn´t sound like much cause it isn´t but that was the best thing so far. We don´t really eat dinner cause everyone here just does a big lunch and then no dinner. So that is really the only time that I eat.

Worst thing I have eaten: There was this "pizza" we had....no I can sympathize for Taylor on his Birthday with that pizza he had. They made like 3 different kinds of pizza for us and the one that tasted the best was the Tuna pizza...that´s saying something.

Spanish: Very difficult to understand the kids and older people. They all speak really fast and they mumble a lot. I can get the message across when I want to but it takes a little bit longer than normal. However for my first week, it is going pretty well.

I don´t know the names of the people that we have taught but I know that they are all doing really well. They had 3 baptisms last Saturday and they are all doing really good. We have 3 programs or baptisms scheduled for later on this coming month so I am excited for that.

I have been teaching parts of the lessons pretty well and doing the spiritual thought that ends up being exactly what the people need so that is pretty cool.

It sounds like Spring Break was a blast! I hope no one got sunburned! The weather here is really nice. Today is kinda hot but for the most part it is really good. We never close the door to our Pench, apartment, because it will just get really musty and gross in there. I will try and get pictures of it on here.

I have already started my list of stuff I want to eat when I get home. Very excited to share that with you...in like 18 months haha.

I hope everyone has a great week! Tell me what else you would all like to hear from me about the people down here in Argentina.

March 24, 2015

I made it here safe and sound! It is definitely going to be a work in progress but it will be great! The mission will be splitting in July to Rosario and Santa Fe. We will see where I fall into.

I would imagine that PDay is on Monday.

I love you all!

March 17, 2015

Once again, another great week here at the MTC! 

Our devotional speaker last Tuesday was Elder Quentin L. Cook, from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He spoke to us about the importance of having faith and being Bold! We got another district on Wednesday, so now we have 26 missionaries in our zone. I love seeing all of the new missionaries come into the MTC every Wednesday. They have such a big grin on their face and a huge desire to just serve the Lord. They all strengthen my testimony everyday by having that fire burning and being ready to ACT for the Lord.

Let's see, News for the week:
1. Elder Berg and I were released as Zone Leaders. (Because we have been in there for about a month)
2. We got our Travel Plans for Argentina!!
3. I finally cut my hair today!

The new Zone Leaders are Elder Jones and Elder Rammel. They are definitely the most adequate for the position! They have loads of confidence and they are ready to help others in the zone.

Our travel itinerary's came in the mail on Friday! So, Monday morning we will meet at the Travel Center at 6:00am and get ready to leave! We are expected to arrive in Buenos Aires around 7:30am on Tuesday, and then a 3-4 hour bus ride to Rosario. So, we will have another P-Day this Saturday. Please email me before then.

Spiritual Experience for the week.

One of these nights Elder Berg and I had a pretty deep conversation about the Gospel. We both talked about how we don't how strong or powerful our testimony's are. We don't have these huge Spiritual encounters that all of the other missionaries do and so we were telling each other that if you want to receive an answer, you must ask for it. We had been asking to receive a sign to know that we have a testimony. Well I went on with my scripture study the next day and was continuing in Alma chapters 30-32. Korihor was preaching against Christ and was trying to make a fool of everyone who believed in him. He and Alma were talking and Alma began to teach Korihor about Christ. He asked if he has a belief in God and Christ and Korihor replied Nay. He asked what evidence do you have and Alma told him that he has a testimony. So Korihor asked him to prove it to him that their is a God. He asked for a sign. Verse 49 of chapter 30 says: This will I give unto thee for a sign, that thou shalt be struck dumb, according to my words; and I say, that in the name of God, ye shall be struck dumb, that ye shall no more have utterance. Alma was able to make Korihor dumb through the power of God. Korihor was not able to speak. That was a sign of the power of the testimony of Alma! He has such a strong relationship with God. I continued reading and in Chapter 32, it is talking about the Zoramites. They wanted to have proof of God. So they demanded Alma to show unto them a sign from the Heavens. Verses 17 and 18 are perfect for answering mine and Elder Berg's desires. They say, 17: Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety; then we shall beleive. 18: Now I ask, is this faith? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it. We must have faith in our selves. In our own testimony. That was ironic that the sign we received was about how we shouldn't ask for signs but rather have faith. I know that I have a testimony of this Gospel. I know that it is true!
For all of you that might have the same question down inside, I recommend you read these sections in Alma. In order to increase the testimony that I have, I must act on the faith that I have. (Alma 32:26-27) Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things. "Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge.....exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you..." the res of this chapter (28-43) goes on to compare your faith as to planting a seed in the ground (just like Jacob 5). If you plant a good seed and it swelleth inside than it must be good. Let it grow, let it spring forth with leaves and branches. Let it produce fruit for you to partake of. Know that when you allow that small amount of faith in your heart grow, you are only going to see an increase in your testimony. That fruit that is produced will be there to help you feast of the words of Christ which you already know to be true because of your testimony of them.

I know that all of you are going through some sort of trial in your life, whether it be big or small, we all have trials. Read this section of Alma and pray to have a stronger testimony. Ask God to help you in all things. I know that He loves us all so much and wants us to become like him. I am so grateful for the testimony that I have and for the foundation of my testimony that my parents were able to establish for me at such a young age. I know that if we all humble ourselves and rely on the Lord for strength that we can become like him. We can become perfected unto him and I share that with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.


I love you all! Looking forward to hearing from you on Saturday!


Yo amo ustedes mucho!



Elder Salinas

March 10, 2015

Hey Mom!!

I am so excited to tell you about my week but first, I can't wait to see Bella when I skype home on Mother's Day!! It is going to be here before you know it!! We get our travel plans this week so I will know when I can call you from the airport! M'kay seems pretty happy about baseball and the whole, "wheelin and dealin" on ebay! McCall is in here final stretch for Volleyball! I shared a scripture from 2 Nephi with M'kay, have him read it with her about the rest of her season.

Alright, The week started off with an amazing devotional last Tuesday by Elder David F. Evans of the 70. He spoke about how we all must be exactly obedient throughout our missions. It brought to mind the words that President Smith shared about how obedience brings blessings and exact obedience brings Miracles! It was really good!

On Wednesday, our new district came in! So we got four new sisters and six new elders. They are going to Spain, Mexico, and New Mexico. Super cool people! They all have such a desire to learn the language and how to teach and they all look up to the missionaries in my district, just another reason we have to be on our best behavior. One of the sisters in the district, Sister Butler, came down with a stomach bug on Friday and wanted to be able to focus for her first lesson with her investigator and so she came and asked Elder Gifford and I if we could give her a blessing. That was the first blessing that I have given and it was such a neat experience. The Spirit was there and he definitely directed the blessing. But she was able to get feeling better and now is 100%

The rest of last week was pretty normal and then we had Sunday! Early meetings again with the Branch Presidency and then a great opportunity in the mid morning. The cafeteria staff has their sacrament meeting here around 10 and they need people to prepare the sacrament for them and have a spiritual experience with them. So my district was able to do that and I got to speak to them about the importance of Baptism and the Holy Ghost! For the first time since I have been here, I have taught about the Gospel in English. It was so weird, and I just naturally through in some Spanish words. But overall it was great!

We had interviews with Brother Brooks, second counselor, for our routine appointment and he told me some things that I really needed to hear. He had told me that Elder Berg and I are probably the best Zone Leaders he has ever seen in the MTC. We have been in this calling for a few weeks now and normally we have been gone but because of our circumstances, he is thrilled that we haven't left let. He said sometimes you have people in a calling and you're not too sad about having to release them, but He is so disappointed that they are going to have to let us go in a couple weeks because we have been so on top of things and we're just always ready to serve. He then went on to tell me that I am mature far beyond my age. That is something that Dad has said to me before and it is so neat to see that others believe that as well. I told him about how all of us kinda had to grow up a little faster than the usual kid due to our circumstances and he told me that I have been blessed so much because of the that. It made me think of an amazing talk by Elder Christofferson. "As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten" I recommend watching the Mormon Message with it, "Will of God". It talks about how God loves each and everyone of us so much that he cuts us down. Not to try and discourage us, but to help us grow and learn for our lives! I was starting to get a little emotional with Brother Brooks and he just wrapped his arms around me and gave me a huge hug, saying that I am going to do so many great things out in the mission field.

The excitement carried on the rest of the day into our Sunday Evening devotional with all of the missionaries at the MTC. Brother Heaton, MTC Director, came and spoke to us. He started out by asking missionaries to stand if they were in their 8th, 6th, 4th, and 2nd weeks at the MTC. I like to get to the Devos early so I can always sit right front and center and when he asked for all the 4 weekers to stand up, I was right there in front of him and he called someone up from each category, including me. So as the four of us missionaries are sitting in front of the 2,000 other missionaries, he asks us to think of something we have learned about the Holy Ghost since we entered the MTC. One by one we went up to share with everyone what we have learned. As my turn approached, I was getting so excited with what to say. I shared about the Holy Ghost brings to remembrance anything that The Lord has taught us and that He is a constant comforter in our lives. (John 14:26) I also shared some experiences with the Holy Ghost while I have been here. I talked about our lesson with our "investigator", our teacher Hma. Daly, and how we got a prompting to have her pray about Joseph Smith during our lesson. Brother Heaton was so impressed by our boldness and he shared a story about some other missionaries he knew that kept pushing off the prompting of the Spirit to have their investigator pray right there. He asked me, jokingly, if I have already served a two year mission because I was speaking and teaching like I had. That my friends is the Holy Ghost!

I got many compliments on how I spoke and a few people told me that they could see me speaking in General Conference sometime in my life! That was cool. But one sister came up to me at lunch yesterday and told me that she really needed to hear what I said. She was planning on going home this week because one of her best friends had just committed suicide last week. She told me that I said some things that made her want to press forward with her mission. I quickly realized that it was not what I had said during the devotional but that it was the Holy Ghost that was able to talk to her through me. That is why I am here serving a mission. I want to be the mouthpiece for the Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ, and God to all of the people that I come in contact with. Helping others come closer to Christ is my purpose as a missionary and I want to continue to fulfill that.

So basically this week has been totally awesome!! We get another district of missionaries tomorrow and then we leave in two weeks!! So excited for the rest of my MTC experience.

I love you so much!


Elder Grant M Salinas
Argentina Rosario


P.S. I am going to send my camera card home this week. There aren't a ton of pictures but too many to try and email. I will just need it back by the end of next week.

Love you mom!

March 3, 2015

Hola Mom!!

This week was officially the best week so far!

It started off last Tuesday night during our devotional. (We have one every Sunday and Tuesday night) Bishop Causse and his wife came and spoke. Their talks were so inspirational! They spoke about how missionaries are super heroes. Sister Causse actually compared us to Spider-Man, Superman, etc. She said we all have incredible powers and, just like the comic action heroes, need to figure out how to use them the right way. We have the ability to change lives, families, and generations to come. We just need to stay worthy and learn to exercise the Power of God. Then Bishop Causse continued by telling us that we must be bold missionaries in order to be successful. The church doesn't hire professional missionaries that know all the ins and outs of the gospel. Why? Because they don't have the most important thing in missionary work. The church uses 18 and 19 year olds because they have the most power. They can be so bold, not because they know everything, but because they know so little that they learn to rely on the Lord. "For when you are on God's errand, you are entitled to his help." It was such a great devotional. Then after it was over, Elder Berg and I got to go and talk to him and his wife. That was really cool!

The next day made my week even better. Our TRC investigator, Brian, has been super difficult to work with. We haven't been able to communicate very well and he is always so short with his answers. However on Wednesday, we taught an amazing lesson where the Spirit was so strong and he accepted our invitation to be baptized. Now we are just teaching him about the other commandments, such as tithing, keeping the sabbath day holy, Word of Wisdom, etc. 

As hard as it may be to believe, it gets even better. We have two other investigators, Encarni and Gilberto. (both of them are our teachers acting as investigators from their missions) We went from having a terrible lesson with Gilberto to now being able to have him accept baptism. So that was a huge step forward!!

When we taught Encarni on Thursday we had two lesson routes planned. We had challenged her to read The First Vision and to pray about it. Our planned lessons were to go if she had received an answer that it was true and also if she did not receive an answer. When we followed up with her she had told us that she really enjoyed the story but just didn't know if it were true or not. So right there we just got the impression to have her pray about it with us there. She went ahead with the offer and began to give an amazing prayer. At the end of it I immediately sat up ready to ask her how she felt only to see her still looking down at her lap. Pondering the moment that she was in. She eventually looked up the silent moment with red eyes and a tear stained face. She broke character and continued to speak with us as our teacher saying that she felt the spirit so strongly and was so happy that she got a reminder that Joseph Smith really did see God and Jesus Christ. She told us that we must constantly ask if all the things we believe are true because even though she knew that they were, That constant reminder in such a way that she had received was so amazing and she was so happy that we were able to provide an environment that she could have that experience in. We continued with the lesson and she also accepted our invitation to be baptized. 

So now we have three investigators that are going to be baptized on March 14th. 

As the week went on we continued to have so many spiritual experiences while teaching. We had another wonderful devotional on Sunday and got to hear from the MTC presidency and their wives. 

Our lesson last night however, with Hermana Daly, was probably my favorite class. At the end of her lesson for us she had our district study Christ and the Atonement, in the spirit of Easter coming up. So we went on for maybe 30 minutes of personal study time on Christ. I strongly encourage you to search Jesus Christ in the bible dictionary and study all of the attributes of Christ. There is never a moment when you can say you are finished because he is so amazing that you are always learning from him. Hermana Daly shared an experience from her mission in Spain about how her and her companion were having a very difficult time finding investigators to teach and getting help from the ward members. There was one person that had fallen into their lap and everything was going perfect! The day of their fourth lesson they went to this ladies house and she had told the missionaries that she didn't want to talk with them anymore. Hermana Daly was just furious because she didn't have any idea why this was happening to them. So they went home for the day and her companion told her to use the Atonement. She said that it would make her feel much better. So she enlightened us on the use of the Atonement. I have always been under the impression that it is just to use when you have committed a sin. Well that is completely wrong! When Jesus Christ suffered for us on the Cross, it was not just so that we could become clean of all our imperfections. Yes he took upon him all of our sins but he also took upon himself all of our pains as well. He cares so much for us that he didn't want us to have any pain to go through while here on the Earth. So Hermana Daly decided to use the Atonement to take away the pain of her disappointments with the investigator and woke the next day feeling absolutely amazing, knowing, that was the area for them. They went on to have success but the point is, We should use the Atonement to the fullest potential! I want to challenge each and everyone of you this, if you are going through a tough time, if you have a heavy weight on your shoulders, call upon God and Jesus Christ. I know that they will take that pain from you and lighten your load! 

MTC Life: 

Elder Berg and I are the Zone leaders so that is great. It will really be cool tomorrow when we get a new district. We get to just kinda hangout with them during the night and show them around everywhere. So I am pumped for that! Also, the Spanish is coming pretty good for me! I am doing pretty good with simple conversations now which is good. I feel more comfortable teaching about the Fall of Adam than I do just having a normal conversation in Spanish. But we have officially passed our half way mark, so if any of you want to send me a fun letter or something, this next three weeks would be the time to do it!!! I love seeing how much everyone here is so desirous to serve a mission! It is truly one of the most spiritual places on earth! 

I want to conclude with my testimony in Spanish. The conjugations are not perfect but I know the spirit is here when I say it.

Yo se que esto iglesia es verdadero. Se que nosotros tenemos uno pedentor quién nos ama. Yo se que Jesucristo morir para nosotros. Sí nosotros usamos la Expiación, podemos regresar para vivir con Dios en cielo. Yo se que José Smith fue un profeta de Dios. El translado el Libro de Mormón a través del autoridad de Dios. Tenemos un profeta hoy para recibir revelaciónes para nosotros. Creó que todos las gentiles en la tierra pueden volver a Dios, Nuestros padre. Yo se que estas cosas es verdadero porque yo oré sobre las cosas. Yo tengo un sentimiento en mi corazone comó un fuego. Eso es el Espirtitu Santo. Nosotros podemos tener el Espiritu Santo cuando nos oramos. Yo digo estas cosas en el nombre de Jesucristo. Amen.

Elder Grant M Salinas

Argentina Rosario