April 13, 2015

This week was great! It started off a lot harder than I thought it would but that`t alright. I know that with the help of the Lord, we can do anything. So I just kept pressin along. The language was still a pretty big hurdle but now, I feel really confident about it. It helps that my trainer is awesome about trusting me in the lessons.

I remember back to a letter from Spencer on his mission about how his companion wouldn`t ever let him teach in the lessons, THAT IS NOT THE WAY TO TRAIN A NEW MISSIONARY! Elder Carter lets me teach just as much as he does and I love it! Yeah it might be challenging at times and he might have to jump in to correct something I say but it has helped me grow tremendously! However there are two experiences in particular that stand out to me.

1. We were teaching a less active member named "Hermana" (don´t know her name). We are teaching her 11 year old daughter and her mom is learning more than she knows. This week we went to teach her daughter but she wasn´t there so we ended up teaching the mom. During the middle of the lesson, Elder Carter looked at me to share something and I just started speaking. I don´t know what I said, I don´t know how I said it, but I was speaking Spanish. I was saying the things that this sister needed to hear. Because right after I finished what I had to say, she stared bawling. I think of the scripture in 2 Nephi 33:1 1 And now I, Nephi, cannot write all the things whichwere taught among my people; neither am I mighty inwriting, like unto speaking; for when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.

The Holy Ghost was speaking through me for that sister. She opened up and we just started having a conversation with her. At the end of the lesson, I asked Elder Carter what we were talking about in there and he told me that she said she knows she needs to repent for the mistakes in her life. She just had such a strong impression of that and I know that at that moment, I was a instrument in the Lord`s hands.

2. We went to teach another less active member whose name is Hna. Piston. We were going to remind her about church and just share a little scripture with her. When we got there, she had a friend of another religion there whose name is Silvia. We both just saw this as a great opportunity to have a new investigator. So we were off, talking about the gospel with Silvia. Turns out, she loves history. Especially the history of other religions. She has studied the Restoration of the church, read the Book of Mormon, and she knows that it is true. She was a true answer to our prayers. We were talking about Joseph Smith and she told us that she knows of that story but doesn´t know exactly what happened. She Elder Carter was setting up to share the First Vision and then turned to me to share it. Caught me off guard but I was ready. I spoke from the heart, by the power of the Holy Ghost, and shared what Joseph Smith shared from his experience in the Grove of Trees. The only thing that I can remember from that moment is how strong I could feel the Spirit. Since that moment, I have been trying to have the Spirit that strong in every lesson. He is one teaching the investigators. We are just there to be the mouth piece for him.

We have a baptism this week for Maria-Ester Fonseca. She is the best, doesn´t remember everything super well but is so ready to be baptized. I will have pictures from that next week.

I love this work. When you lose yourself in it, you don´t even realize where the time goes, that is why it is so precious to make sure that you use every piece of the time wisely. You only get two years to completely serve the Lord in this calling. Make the most of it. I love being a missionary and I love that I get to share the Gospel in Spanish. Yes it is a trial, however with the Lord on my side, how can I fail?

I love you all so much, thank you for your support! Let me know if there is anything that I can do for you!!!

PS: Just some misc. things that I have written down throughout the week.
1. The broken bottles on top of fences is real!2. One house we went into had a bunch of like Devil Scent Sticks to cast out the devil. Weird!!3. The time to get packages is anywhere from 7-9 weeks as I have recently found out from the postage dates on packages from people in the zone. 4. Chipoltle

Chilula and peanut butter are awesome! :)



This picture is with Elder Bates. He is one of our Zone Leaders and he is from Meridian.

April 6, 2015

Mom & Dad

This week was better. I finally just realized that I am definitely not in the States any more! Things just werent the same this year for conference. No cinnamon rolls, blankets, nachos, or any of that. Instead we spent the weekend in the office of the Secretary at the church to watch it. The messages were so amazing though! I am so glad that I got to watch in English! If you could send me the May ensign when it comes out, that would be awesome!!

Best thing I ate, definitely some milinasa. It is like carne asada but it is fried! So good!
Worst thing, This member had us over and we ate this "casserole" which consisted of rice, boiled eggs, lima beans, and canned fish! Skin and all! The smell was almost worst than the tase. To top things off though, he has like 8 dogs and they are all just in the house and one of them peed on the floor in the "kitchen" and he just acted like nothing happened. It was different.

I loved all the conference talks! I told dad this but I really liked the one by Elder Holland about how we all need the Hands of our brother, Jesus Christ. Without him, we would all fall with Death and feel the sting of it. But thanks to his sacrifice, we can all overcome physical and spiritual death and be able to live with our Heavenly Father and our families for eternity.

We have 6 investigators with a baptism date so far and 2 more that are waiting on an answer from the Spirit if this is the correct path for them. Maria Ester is a 65 year old lady who has a really hard time remembering what we teach her but it so excited to get baptized and has a strong testimony. Her date is the 18th this month. Then for the 2nd of May we have, Lilliana, Juan Manual, Gabriel Hauser, Gabriela, and the wife of a less active. Then the other two are Luis and Olga. A mother and son that have gotten answers but havent realized it yet. They are preparing for a baptism on the 2nd of May as well.

I love teaching in Spanish down here. I still dont know much spanish yet but I definitley recognize the Spirit whenever we are teaching! There are so many people here that need the gospel so much in their life and I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to share it with them.

Missionary work doesnt start out here in the field. It starts in the primary classes, the Relief Society, and the preisthood. It is in the schools and on the streets back home. Each and every one of you need to either prepare to serve a full time mission or you need to do missionary work through your actions. We should be doing missionary work at all times without even realizing it. We are all disciples of Jesus Christ. Knowing that, do you still feel good about everything that you have done today? Is there something you would have done differently if Christ was standing next to you? Everyone in the world sees what us as members of the church do and they judge us whether it be for good or for bad. Make sure the example you are setting is a good one.

Alright, Something interesting, There is a sister in my district that was in the same MTC district as Lindsay Washburn, they are on their last transfer. Her name is Sister Hawkes.

I have my address for you.


Misión Argentina Rosario

Blvd. Argentino 7935

2000 Rosario, Santa Fe

Argentina

Thank you for all of your support Mom! I love you so much! I cant wait for Conference when we are all together as one big family! That is why we are here on the Earth. To learn and grow together as Families!


Let me know what I can do to help out in whatever ways I can from down here.

Elder Salinas

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!