Dad Im super excited to talk to tou guys this next week.  So this is the schedule for this next week, Saturday I will write to you guys again, on monday the 25th I will Skype you guys.  In the Saturday email I will tell you the time I will skype you guys. So yeah dude im super excited to talk to you guys and hear all about the new Star Wars movie and everything.  Sounds like everyone is safe and well please tell the rest of the fam how much I love them and pray for you all everyday.  Not gonna lie dude sometimes its hard to think that this is my first Christmas with no Family.  But I know that Im here in Guatemala in this moment for a reason.  I truly believe that God has a plan for each and everyone of us on this Earth.  I just feel truly blessed to be serving a mission especally in this month of December.  Everyday I wake up and I just sit and think  about all things im greatful for especially during this Christmas season.  One thin...

Hey guys its the Christmas Season PEEPPS!!! Hows everything going in Cali.  I think about you guys everyday and pray for you all everyday.  Hows Liberty doing right now? Keep me posted on all that info por favor.  Dad I love those pics and sounds like sites and work is going really good right now.  Happy to see Blake and Andrew reciving there Eagle Awards thats awesome.  I miss the snow campouts dude, so much fun.  Im sure you guys will find a place with snow somewhere. Love you dad so much I pray that you all feel my love and that I can feel your guys love.  Have a great week dude.  Keep being an awesome father dad, you've helped me become the man I am today.  Im sorry for sometimes being a pain in the butt, but im truly blessed for you example to me and to the fam.  Love you dad. Olivia How are my babies in Disco?  (Trevaskis girls)  Hows the new baby that they have?  Hope you doing well with school...

The post office does not deliver to where derick is serving so we use a company called MayanXpress They don't charge for letters so just the post to get it to Utah.  If you want to send him a letter just address it like this: Elder Derick Gray Guatemala City South Mission 114 W 400 N #13 Provo, UT  84601 If you want to send him a package find them on facebook for more info. It is the same address but you send it with a form.  Just message or call them with questions. It's pretty cool they fly to Guatemala every other month and pack suitcases with care packages and take them right to the mission home where they are distributed. This month they leave December 8th so you would have to mail anything right away.  If not their next trip will be in February. Derick loves all the support you all are giving him and it means soooo much!!! thanks, Trisha

He guys its awesome to here form all of you guys.  Im so blessed to have a family like you guys, and being able to tell and teach people that families can be together forever through the death of our savior and The Plan of Salvation.  These past couple weeks have been hard for me and my comp because we lost a super Pilas family, family Reyes.  It was Enrique, Maria, Alison, Fatimu, and Joshua, but basically the wife Maria was married to her first huband but was seperated for about 9 years ago, and my comp an didnt know she was married to Enrique but we found out that they are boyfriend and girlfriend. Anyways she has problems with the divorce of her first husband and cant be baptized at this time whish is really sad because she wanted to be baptized.  But all we can do is countinue to keep working with faith and diligance and to remeber that these people are our brother and sisters, and out purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ.  We've been trying to t...

hey guys hows everything going.  Im sure you guys are busy with stuff. Hope you all have a great week and be safe.  Love you guys.  Today is my first change in the mish which is cool but kinda sad because people are leaving this area to go teach else where in guatemala south.  gotta run. Elder Gray

Hey guys its awesome to hear from you guys and i know you guys are doing well.  Sounds like the boys are having fun with you and even if they dont want to do merit badges atleast your trying to be the best scout master ever!!!!!   And that stinks you guys have to turn down sites, just to busy man to busy.  Atleat you you know you got a bunch of work lined up for you company though.  I love you dud and I pray and think if you guys everyday, except when im working haha.  Love you dad and have a great week.  ❤ Alright TAY TAY  sounds like you have had a pretty awesome week with a bunch of fun activities.  Keep doing good in basketball and go Steph on those fools OK TAYTAY haha. LOve you so much Taylor TOT  ❤ KAITLYN BUG hows things going with reading El Libro de Mormon?  Keep reading and trying to understand it its hard trust me haha but the more you read the more you will understand the words and the meanings.  ...

Hey guys hows it going?  Anyways Sounds like everything back at home is good.  Iw ish I could have seen Brett be baptized, buts its ok sounded like an awesome experince, same with the Primary program.  Kaitlyn Won the SHIP!!!!!  thats crazy  Congrats to her and her team.  Sounds like she really was getting better each game.  Taylor tot sounds like she liked volleyball and is gonna kill it in basketball.  Its ok Olivia ive been on some pretty bad teams to so i feel you homie, keep playing hard and be tough girl.  All the girls are tough beacuse they were raised by great parents.  Brett on the other hand not so much haha jl lol :)  Brett keep being awesome and I love you guys with all my heart.  Sounds like work is doing good staying busy, same with mom.  Sounds like everything is awesome back at home, birthday parties and what not.  I'm so happy to be here in Guatemala and share my love and appreciation to these humble...

Hey James, hope all is well with you and your family.  As I was studying this morning I felt impressed to share the story of Derick in priest quorum that fateful Sunday many months ago with you.  I only teach the priest quorum once a month on the 3rd Sunday. I typically look over the topic for the month on fast Sunday and and seek insperation on what specific lesson I want to teach that month. As I was following this pattern on this particular month I was not getting a specific lesson or topic. After looking over the different subjects several times I decided on one and read through it. Usually as I read through the lesson the outline for the lesson comes to me but as I read through it I got nothing. I went back to the monthly topics page and immediately another subject caught  my eye so I read through that one. As I read through that lesson the outline came to me easily and freely.  Come the 3rd Sunday I was ready and  eager to give the lesson. A...

Its awesome dude.  Im in Juaitos, a little town in the south.  No mountains or water but a lot of streets that have hills and stuff so I get my exercise there.  In the morning to we workout for less than an hour but its better thaan nothing. Yeah my companion and I sleep in an apartment, its just us in this area but an area next to us two other missionaries are there. We have beds which is cool so no hammocks or sleeping on the ground.  Yes dude like yesterday we were in a meeting with the presidents and i understood a little but not mush lol.  All I can do is smile and laugh and still have a good time even though idk most of the conversation.  Ok good, i hope they can turn it around in the end.  The chargers wow we do stink this year lol.  Nice tell Kaitlyn Buenas suerte(good luck) and to kill it.Awesome tell tay tay tot to kick some bootie in basketball and go steph on them fools.  Tell happy Birthday from Elder Gray.  I wish I coul...

Dear Gray Family,  W e are thrilled to welcome your wonderful son to the Guatemala City South Mission. It lifts our spirits when we greet the new missionaries and see their combination of faith, wonder, and youthful exuberance. We love each one of them already and rejoice in seeing them learn to communicate, to love one another, and to work together in the service of the Lord. My quiet interview with your son filled me with gratitude for the faith, righteous desires, and testimony he has developed over months and years of preparation. Elder Gray´s first companion is Elder Juarez, one of our trainer missionaries, who has been very successful in missionary work and exemplifies many of the attributes of Christ found in the sixth chapter of Preach My Gospel, including attributes of charity, patience, diligence, and obedience. I have witnessed the Lord’s guiding hand in both the selection of the trainers, and the assignment to serve alongside your son. Elder...

Another week flys by when your having fun serving the lord.  Next Tuesday I leave for el campo and im so ready to start teaching the people of Guatemala.  The lessons have been getting better and better each day. The language is getting better and better each day.  I feel confident in myself and I know that through the lord and by putting him first in all things I can all things through Christ.  I thought i knew the gospel back at home but nothing compares to the knowledge I have now.  Having the temple so close by is such a blessing in my life.  Ive been every week since ive been here and i can feel my relationship growing with my Heavenly Father.  This last week we fasted for 24 hours and it was awesome because i didnt get hungry all day which is such a blessing.  But at the end of the day when we broke our fasts I just knew that everything will be ok.  I know if we put the lord first and have faith in him we will be ok.  Through his ...

Sounds like everything is going great back home.  Yes the hijos do speak spanish which makes me even more motivated to learn lol.  I do wanna learn on the street spanish but i feel like thatw ill come with time in el campo.  Im glad your and moms job is doing good.  I wanne see pics of back home and all the kids and stuff.  So the Broncos arent doing bad it sounds like.  How is Trevor Seimien doing?  And the defense? Keep me posted on scores and stuff ok dude.  The kids sound like they are having fun with sports even though Olivia and Bretts soccer teams arent very good.  Tell them to keep working hard.  Two more weeks dude in the MTC then its in El campo. Love you dude tell the kids I love them and cant wait to see you guys. Friends and Family, The days are staring to blend together but each day I grow and learn as much as I can.  Guatemala is awesome I love the people and the food.  I enjoy going to the temple each ...

friends and family, The days are staring to blend together but each day I grow and learn as much as I can.  Guatemala is awesome I love the people and the food.  I enjoy going to the temple each Wednesday and walking around and seeing the beautiful landscape.  I love walking around and thinking about my family and friends.  Especially at the temple because it bring me so much peace in my heart and mind.  I know im suppose to be here in Guatemala at the time.  I pray for my family and friends each day and I hope you all feel the love I have for you.  This week was the first week for the new missionaries and they are doing great, I know without a doubt they will do amazing things here and in there missions.  The food is still the flippin bomb.  Man i just remembered something pretty funny this week.. actually a lot of funny stuff with my district.  But me and my companion had problems with going to the bano this week, Ive never had p...

Alright everybody back home you guys are awesome I can feel the support and love everyday which motivates me to work even harder.  This week me and my companion taught with no notes or anything, we decided if we wanted to learn this language we needed to try teaching by the spirit instead of thinking so much about how to say it in spanish.  And the lord came through, with our hard work and planning for lessons we were able to give every lesson with no notes and taught through the spirit.  Even though its sometimes hard to talk in spanish I know that through the lord I can receive the gift of tongues if I continue to work hard.  I've already seen so many blessings especially with the language.  When I first got here I could'nt speak any spanish but day by day I get better and better.  Yesterday my companion and I asked our investigator to be baptized and even though there our teachers it's still so cool how what we teach is so important to the people and the...

This week in the MTC has been very spiritual for me and I have been really thinking about one thing and that is the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  I really feel like sometimes we take this life that he created for us for granted.  Or the people that are in our lives are just people.  As I thought about this I realized that he died for ALL OF US so that one day we can return and live with our heavenly father again.  He died so that we can see our families and friends and all of our loved ones again.  That is a blessing a huge blessing that we can't take for granted.  He suffered for all of us so that we can repent and and become more like him.  The language is slowly coming along.  I trust the lord will help me with the language if i do my part.  My teacher talked about that yesterday and its so true, if i want to receive the gift of tounges I have to put forth my own individual effort.   The Guatemala temple is aw...

Wow a week has already gone by, defiantly flying by fast and I don't want it to, cry cry. This week had a lot of funny moments for sure.  I guess all of my district has watched The Office and so we gave each of us a character from the show lol.  Starting with The District Leader we obviously gave him Micheal Scott lol.  His companion is pretty much a spittin image of Mr. Schrut.  We call him Elder Schrut.  And for some reason they said I'm Roy and I was not sure why until they told me, "because I'm BIG." I mean they aren't wrong lol jkjk.  The language is coming slow but its getting better everyday.  I really have to study at night and memorize a lot because if I don't then I'm lost the next day.  So that being said the language keeps me on my toes and not falling asleep in classes.  The food is amazing of course.  A lot of tacos, chicken, pork, rice, beans, and some bomb ice cream.  Yesterday we had Elder Ortega come and he preside...

Whats up guys.  Just wanna say I made it safely to the MTC.  The flights were good.  Met elder Housser in sacramento, glad I wasen't the only one on the plan.  Both arrived to LAX and ran into a group of about 15 missionaries.  We quickly got to know each other and where we were all going.  Four from the group are going to Guatemala  city south which is pretty cool.  Plan ride to Guatemala was chill, slept most of the time.  We landed and got to see all of the cool buildings that surrounded the city.  Took two buses to take all of our stuff to the MTC.  Its been fun so far in the MTC.  A lot of nice people that want to help us gringos out lol.  Hope everything is good back home.   Love you guys, Elder Gray