Semana 27!!! Aibonito

Y'all, 

It's been a wild ride this week. There was a marathon in Coamo (the next town over) yesterday morning, so naturally on our way to a 4:00 appointment, we hit really bad traffic because everyone was camped on the side of the road drinking and partying and stuff. We made it through the traffic for Francisco, though. Then in the whole lesson he was like, "Diaaaaatche, el tapón es demasiado." Si, Francisco. But we endured to the end for HIM!  (Oh, PS. Tapón is Boricua for traffic. So that's rad.)

Francisco is the coolest, though. We found him last week, and turns out the elders from Cayey taught him last summer when they were covering Aibonito, and he was like, "Yeah, you can come over and share some messages, why don't you visit my neighbors too."On Sunday, he told us that he had read the whole beginning of the Book of Mormon and stopped at 1 Nefi 1, which was the assigned chapter, so we read it with him, and he really liked it! We kept testifying that like Lehi, we can receive revelation and answers to our questions through prayer and scripture study. The visit before, we had invited him to be baptized when he comes to know that the Book of Mormon is true. and he said yes!! I'm really excited for him. 

Wednesday we walked to Norma's house and then she said, "Vamanos!" So we got in her car and drove to her sister Olga's house in Caonillas, where we went with them and visited all their friends and family to sing for them and pray with them, so that was wild. Just gotta kinda go with it, I guess. We got into a lot of Catholic houses we never could've visited without them, so that was a blessing!!! its been a crazy week and we are seeing lots of miracles!!

Love y'all! Have a good week!

Hermana Gray

Hermana Gray and a chicken

Hermana Nelson and Hermana Gray and some Amarillos (they're SO GOOD)!!

With Juanita, she's literally 96!! lol

Semana 26!!! Aibonito

WOAHHH!! so I am now in the middle of the island in Aibonito and I love it!!!! It is freezing, and I don't exactly own a jacket... so thats been fun!!! Also my new companion is Hermana Nelson and we were meant to be!! We have been together for 5 days and I haven't laughed like this in a long time! We work really hard and have fun, The best kind of work!!! She is from Mississippi and has been our for 4 months so we are both still new and its been super awesome!! 

The church here is small, its a branch of about 17 active members but we are determined to grow the branch and re activiate all the less actives!!! I am so exciteed to be here in Aibonito and I cant wait to tell you guys all that happens!!! I love you all!

Also i took pictures this week, but we forgot the converter so i will send them next week, but this is a picture of me saying goodbye to my best friend. Eddy Delgado she's the lady that broke her wrists a few weeks back, shes healing and doing great!!!

Hermana Gray and her old Companion Hermana Docey

Hermana Gray LOVES Eddy Delgado

Hermana Nelson and Hermana Gray in their new area Aibonito

New Companion Hermana Nelson

Hermana Gray in her new city Aibonito

Semana 24!!! Fajardo last week

Good morning,

Wow this week was SO good!!!! We have been running around everyday to appointments and classes and stuff!! We didn't have a second of free time!! which was super awesome!!! And our english people had alot of people there again!! On sunday we had 2 of the people we are teaching come to church and they really liked it!!! We are hoping that they will continue to come and see the difference in their lives!!! Also last night was transfer calls and I got the news that I will be leaving Fajardo and be moving to a town called Aibonito in the middle of the island!!!! I have been saying goodbye to all the people here and I am super sad to be leaving but I am also super super excited to be going to Aibonito! so sad to leave here but I'm stoked for this new adventure!! Welp hope you all have a great week!!!  Thank you for all your support.

Love Hermana Gray

Our investigator came to church

Semana 23!!! Fajardo

Sunday January 20, 2019

Today I got a text  - Good Morning Kathy, My name is Steve and my wife and I live in Richland WA.  We have been vacationing in the Caribbean and found ourselves in Puerto Rico this sabbath day.  As is our practice to attend church wherever we are and guess who we ran into this morning at church??

Yes, your lovely daughter and her companion!  So sorry about the early hour but I was afraid that
with the four hour time difference I may forget to text a message if I were to wait.  These two Sisters are a light to these saints and to these people of Puerto Rico and you should feel a great deal of pride raising a daughter who is worthy to serve!  I feel certain this mission experience will bless her life forever!!!


What a fun way to wake up on this Sunday.  He sent pictures too and a Video :)

Courtney at Church in Fajardo

A sweet member from Kaitlin's ward in
Oklahoma visited Puerto Rico and sent this to me

Good Morning,

I dont have time!!! Like always but this week was a great one! We have been working a lot in this little beach town called las croabas and we have been teaching some really awesome people also someone gave us a fish hahah! he caught it and I jokingly said "da me lo!!!" and he came over and gave it to me... hahah!!!  

We also had zone conference this week and it really helped me get even more excited for the work!! I learned so much and I am super excited to apply it into my missionary work!!!

Also today as a zone we went to el yunque and saw some waterfalls and went on a hike!! it was super super fun!!! sorry I don't have a lot of time! but i love you all!!!! have a great week!!

Love Hermana Gray

scripture: Mosiah 24:13-14

Play hike

Courtney and Hermana Docey

Zone Hike on Pday

Love my mission

Puerto Rico is beautiful

 "da me lo!!!"

The FOOD!!

Semana 22!!! Fajardo

This week was a great one, nothing too big happened, but it honestly was just great because I am HAPPY!! I love giving the Lord my all and seeing myself grow more and more every day!! We have had a great week though, full of little miracles as always! And I really cant believe its 2019!! time really does fly by!! It has been really cool to be on a mission during the new year because I was able to set goals for this next year that are reallly meaningful to me!! If you havent set any goals yet i challenge you to do so!!! I love you all and happy new year!

Semana 21!!! Fajardo

The last email of 2018.  What a great year 2018 was, I have a feeling 2019 will be just as good!!  

Happy New Year!!!

2019?!?! how is that even possible?! I hope everyone had a Feliz navidad!!! I sure did! I was able to call home for an hour and talk to all my family!! It was an awesome expirence and I love them sooooo much! My sister alyssa also got married and I was there as a cardboard cutout!!! 

So CHRISTMAS MIRACLES!! so we had dinner with the bishop and his wife with the elders too and then us 4 (us and the elders) went caroling and we sang to a couple houses!! then felt like we should sing to this specific house and so we did and a cute young couple came out and listened! Then they invited us in and we talked and they were actually getting married the next day! They got married back in october but they really wanted to get married in december, so they invited us! We shared the Book of mormon and left a copy with them, and the next day we went to their wedding! It was a really beautiful ceremony and we were able to meet alot of new people!!! So I didnt get to see my sisters wedding but I was able to go to Jose and Abigails!! We are hoping to be able to start teaching them! 

Also Leyda, one of the girls we are teaching made us the best breakfast ever and we taught her the plan of salvation and how we know we can be with our famlies together and she really liked it! We asked her to pray about our message so she can know for herself if its true and she agreed to do so!!! We are hoping to invite her to church this week!

Also my dear edna! the lady from new york that we have been teaching and that came to church last week! We taught her this week and invited her to be baptised and she said that she wants to pray about it and get an answer, so we have a lesson with her tomorrow and we are praying that she recieves her answer and has this desire to come unto christ!! 

I could go on and on about the miracles that I have seen but we would be here all day!!! I just want to say that I love you all and that you for everything!! 2018 went by too fast and 2019 is going to be a great year and we are all going to see miracles if we keep an eye out! LOVE YOU ALL!

Skyping with Courtney

Christmas morning

Christmas presents

Food

Semana 20!!! Fajardo - Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve,

Aye BENDITO!!! FELIZ NAVIDAD A TODOS!!!

WOW!! this week was full of miracles!!! So Noelia, the lady that lives on top of a cliff out in the boonies!! We went to a lesson and asked her if she had prayed about wether she should get baptized or not in our church by someone holding authority (Priesthood) from God, and she said that YES she had been praying but she hadn't received an answer yet, which is great! she is praying!! we ended up talking alot about faith and she agreed to keep praying and working towards a date of January 19th to be baptised!!! So Noelia is on date and that was a huge blessing this week! I know that with faith and through prayer she will come to understand the importance of baptism!!! 

Also another christmas miracle! We invited EVERYONE to our christmas service for church and on saturday we had a lesson with a cute senora from new york and gave her fuzzy socks for christmas and invited her to church, and sunday at church she came!! It was a beautiful meeting remebering what this time of the year is really all about!! She loved it and we hope she continues to come!!

We had the cutest ward christmas party and it was super fun!! we also had a christmas party with all the missionaries in PR and it was super fun to remember the reason why were here and to get excited to work for the new year!!! 

Christmas time is a beautiful time of the year to be a missionary, helping people come unto Christ!! I am so grateful for the sacrifices that Christ and made so that we can all have the opprotunity to live with him, God and our famlies again after this life!! 

Thank you for all the support and for everything everyone has done for me! Have a merry christmas and happy new year!! 2019 will be a great year!!!!!!

Love you all

Hermana Gray

Study time

ward Christmas party