A Farewell Celebration for President Fraatz........June 2010

Celebrating the work in Nicaragua Managua Mission

Hidden Treasures........week 57

This week has been very great! We have received many blessings and the spirit has been there with me to help me learn a few more lessons.

I really liked a quote and saying that I heard. "There are three types of people (missionaries) in this world: those that make things happen, those that watch things happen, and those that ask themselves when all is said and done "what happened?" It made me laugh at least. I decided that I wanted to be more like the first group, those that make things happen.

In Zone Meeting on Tuesday I felt very strongly the guide of the spirit to help share with the missionaries the message they needed. We talked about having hope. One of the lessons and attributes of Christ I have learned this week I have called 100 believer! It is to put the best outcome as the goal instead of the worst possible outcome. It is to have faith and hope in the future instead of having pessimistic planning: the "if everything goes wrong" type of way to approach things. I shared with the zone how many times we as zone leaders would report a certain number to the mission for baptism possibilities but have a higher number prepared.

Miraculously, it seemed like the number I reported almost always dropped down to the number reported beforehand. It is almost if the Lord gave us according to our faith in our reported number. Then I thought about how God´s work and glory (his goal) is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of (all) man and being as such has set a pretty high goal. What would happen if it said instead in the scriptures ´´the immortality and eternal life of a few or some man.?´ I think we would have a little less outcome if God wasn´t a 100 percent believer. That is faith and hope. I decided to be like that.

Another lesson learned was about how the hidden treasures that God gives by obeying the word of wisdom could very likely be correlated with receiving blessings of the gospel such as baptism and temple blessings. That is something I learned in the process of teaching. I felt like in the Lord had blessed me for having studied diligently the scriptures and that I received what i needed to say in exactly that moment. It is a really cool experience.

I love you all. Thanks for all the letters last week for my birthday. It was a great one and I couldn´t ask for more support from my family and friends. May the Lord always be on your right side and on your left and may He have his angels round about you to strengthen you up.

Elder Grant Russell

By their fruits you shall know them!........week 56

In times of change, we have opportunities to reflect. I was touched by your letter that talked about the change that the stake experienced and how the change will affect the wards and members in that part of Zion. About the comment that the visiting authority gave about the youth, I would just like to agree. I think about my friends back home and the examples they set for me. There couldn´t have been a more beautiful place for me to grow up. By their fruits you shall know them! It has been a humbling experience to see how my youth experiences have helped shaped me and prepared me to be an instrument here in Nicaragua. I have felt that many of my experiences in leadership and examples of worthy stake and ward leaders have a set a high goal for me of whom I want to become. Maybe that is why the people always seem to see something special in Oregon. When I say I am from Oregon to visiting general authorities, they always relax and give an awed expression like ¨´Aww Oregon, we love Oregon.´´ It has been kind of fun to say it and see the same response every time ha ha.

But now about Nicaragua. Everything is wonderful here. This week I also got sick with the changing climate. We had one super hot day followed by a cold rainy day and almost everyone in our zone of 16 missionaries got sick with fever and body cramps. But we all feel better now. There is nothing quite like a Priesthood blessing paired with ibuprofen and acetaminophen ha ha. We had a really special visit this week from four general authorities, Elder Osguthorpe (General Sunday School President), Elder Achoa (First Counselor in Young Mens General Presidency) Elder Duartes (Area Seventy) and Elder Falabella (first quorum of the seventy). It was a powerful stand in the church building. They began talking to us about several things pertaining the missionary work such as committing the investigators to do pray and also promise blessings. By the way, way to go mom with your missionary work this week. I am so proud of you. Just keep in touch with her and make sure she follows through with her promises. Where there is a necessity, there is an answer in the gospel. She is searching and can find all the blessings she desires through this message. Just don’t forget to follow through. I feel like a golf instructor all of the sudden ha ha.

Among other things, the most spiritual part of the conference was when Elder Falabella stood up to talk about how the success we had achieved here in Nicaragua in May by baptizing 105 families and 620 people was all due to the work of the missionaries and members together. He corrected us when we gave the credit to others. He made us say that we had achieved something great so that the Lord could make it known. It felt good to be in that meeting. He said that we were accomplishing things similar to the sons of Mosiah and that the Lord was very happy with us. He said we were among the best missions in the world.

This week has been a spiritual feast by which I have been able to grow. I feel like the mission is changing my way of thinking. When I had missionary experiences before the mission they were far and widespread and memorable. Now I feel like my capacity to share the gospel has increased but I give all the credit to the Lord. In the end, it is His message! I am so grateful to share it with a people that is so humble and so willing to change their lives. May we so do the same. If you only saw the faith of these people….you wouldn´t believe it.

Elder Grant Russell

Day trip to the Volcano

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY GRANT........June 2, 2010

Here are some birthday wishes sent for Grant....

YOU'RE OLD!!!-

Ha hah.... you're getting old, and I'm just getting younger. =) HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope you're having a spectacular birthday. We are thinking of you and love you very much. Keep working hard!

Quick update on us (there's a lot going on so I won't write a novel)

Josh- he's doing well in training and has 99 days left until he's done (not like I'm counting down or anything). he was able to come spend the weekend with the family this past weekend and we enjoyed having him home. He's learning a lot about guns, driving fast cars, weapon safety, and will start his IRS fraud/money laundering stuff this next week. He's pretty excited about that.

Me- I'm just trying to keep busy and pass the time until Josh gets home. I've been busy with the kids, and my two daycare kids, as well as running my baby business. Business is going well and I recently sold products to a store in Australia! Cool huh? I'm in the Relief Society presidency so between visits, and meetings that takes up a lot of time as well. Other than that I'm just house hunting and preparing for the move to Vegas. I'm going to visit this weekend so i can check it out and see where we might want to live.

Landon- he's growing leaps and bounds. he's definitely getting taller and is feisty to say the least. he loves anything cars and toy story (he's excited to see the new one that comes out in a few weeks). He is learning to read and knows all of his alphabet and the sounds that the letters make. He loves to tease Tyler and his favorite food is cheese and mustard sandwiches (weird, I know).

Tyler- she's running around crazy and likes to take toys from Landon and run as fast as she can to get away. She's always really happy and is my little cuddle bug. She is definitely a cheese ball and puts on the hugest grins. She loves to eat almost anything and is learning to feed herself with a spoon (very messy). She loves to play in her play kitchen, to clean with wipes when I'm cleaning the house, and to use her pink vacuum when I'm vacuuming.

We are doing well and hope you are too. We love you!

Love

The Bottjers

Dear Grant,

I know that you will not get this until after your BD, but just wanted you to know how proud we are of you and your service to the Lord. I love reading your letters every week. They inspire me to do better and also remind me of my many blessings. I hope you had a great BD and that you know too that we are thinking about you and that we pray for you every day. We love you and are looking forward to your stories and insights about the gospel. Stay strong and remember that you are on the Lord's side.
We love you,
Aunt Teri


Grant (Elder Russell)-

Hey bud it is your cousin Shannon. Just thought I would send you a quick note to wish you a Happy 21st Birthday! Can you believe you are that "old?" Well I sure can't. I remember visiting your family at various houses and thinking you were sooo much younger than me. I am going to be turning thirty this year and I still feel like I am 21. It is crazy how quickly time passes. Candon is 7 these days and getting ready to go into the 2nd grade. Shaylee is 4 and Cash is 2. Life is good here in Blackfoot, if we could get it to stop raining, and we think about you and other missionaries often. We are sure to pray for you daily. We are so proud of you and the work you are doing for the Lord. We are so thankful for your obedience and willingness to serve the Lord at this time in your life. I know you and your family are reaping the blessings now, but you will have innumerous blessings that will come to you and your future family for your faithful service on your mission. I know because I have seen it in my life. I know that Heavenly Father will continue to bless you as you honestly and faithfully complete your mission. Continue to stay strong, pray to our Father for guidance, and be OBEDIENT!! We love you GRANT!! Hope you have a great birthday!!

Love--
Shannon, Corey, Candon, Shaylee, and Cash Dahle


Just a quick hello to wish you a wonderful Birthday Grant! We love you and we are so proud of your willingness to serve the Lord. I love to read your stories and join in the celebration of your successes in bringing souls to Christ. I love the beans on the stove…awesome how the Lord watches over us. Aubree’s home and we have begun the preparations for her departure August 3^rd to the Sao Paulo MTC. She will be taking a red eye flight to be there August 4^th. She is going to the Bello Horizonte Mission. Exciting for her and Sean to leave and serve in the vineyard. I never thought I would send my daughter but it is the true desire of her heart and I know that she will be a wonderful missionary. Exciting times in the Turner family. Keep us the great work Grant! Hoorah for Israel…love,
Aunt Joni


Elder Russell,

Happy Birthday to you happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday dear
Missionary extraordinaire Elder Grant Russell, Happy Birthday to
you....and many more...

God bless you on your 95th birthday..:):) Elder the Gospel is true and
never "get weary of well doing."
Brother Marks


We send our love, support and Birthday Wishes to Grant. His emails overflow
with the missionary spirit of faith and service.
Fondly,
Jim and Debi Eagar

A Marvelous Work is Coming Forth among the Children of Men!........week 55

It is hard to express adequately the feelings that I have had this week. Gratitude is about the only word that fits well. I just feel very grateful.

Have you ever sat back to just think about life and how wonderful it all is?! I am having the time of my life here that I can hardly believe how many miracles I see daily. I will try to tell you about the miracles that I had this week.

We planned an activity this week for matrimony's and couples who are investigating the church. We had an activity, wedding, cake, dance and all. It was a mission activity. Even though I was way stressed out about it, it turned out well. I felt that the activity helped me in many ways. I had one brief moment of revelation in which the Lord let me know why these types of things happen in the mission. As I thought about how much our Heavenly Father has to do and plan and how wonderfully it all comes out, I appreciated His wisdom. In few words, I realized that the small things that the Lord requires of us are like on the job training.

We had two more baptisms this week. We are really excited! Marwell is 17 (almost 18) year old boy that is going to be a great missionary next year I think. We found him only 3 weeks ago and he is already progressing like crazy. He got baptized Wednesday night. He had this huge grin on his face as he came out of the water. He was just ecstatic. On Sunday we passed by his house at 8 am to wake him up and make sure he got confirmed at 10 am. But when we went by at 9:30 am to go to church with him, his family said that he had already left about an hour before. I thought, ´´are you serious?´´ but when we called the bishop he said that sure enough Marwell was at church….more than an hour before due to his enthusiasm. It felt good to see such faith.

The next story comes from the other confirmation. Yelba is 56 years old but due to her struggling health condition she appears to be almost 70. She was baptized Saturday. Sunday morning brought further blessings because I realized much more about my own progress than hers. She had to go to a clinic to get some blood work done and when they told us about the situation it seemed like she wouldn’t be arriving at church on time, or even that day. But as they told me of the situation, for the first time in my life I felt a peace and faith enter my body. I just knew it would be alright. I don’t know how to explain it. I just was sure even though it seemed impossible. We asked where she was. The daughter didn´t remember. She gave us an address and we went to look for her. 2 hours and 10 clinics later we found ourselves at the front door of her house and she still hadn´t returned. We didn´t find her. Even then I didn´t doubt. It would be alright. We looked for a few investigators and it turns out that 5 minutes before the hour, a member called us to tell us that he was on his way with her in hand and that she was going to be confirmed. It was nothing short of a miracle. I felt like because we had done our part, the Lord had done His part. For the first time in my life, I had experienced the type of faith that is described in Hebrews 11…a surety, a conviction. I just knew it the whole time even though I didn´t see it. That was really cool and very humbling.

Next comes from the meeting with the whole mission that we had. This month was the BEST month the mission has ever had since President Fraatz has been here. We baptized 621 people this month in Nicaragua and 105 families. That is a miracle! It was a month of miracles and faith! I was so happy to have been a part of it! From what the President said today in the meeting, the Quorum of the Twelve are interested about hearing of our success and have even asked for a video of the families that have been baptized. The Lord has His eyes on Nicaragua and the apostles of the Lord are very happy with what is happening. I just feel grateful.

A wonderful work is about to forth among the children of men! Let us with faith work and do what the Lord asks. So many people are waiting. Let´s thrust with all of our might and lift wherever we may stand. Then we will see miracles. I still believe the Lord works miracles, even daily!

Elder Grant Russell

Disappointments before the Blessings........week 54

How´s life in Nicaragua? Just great, thanks for asking! A little wet for sure but that happens when it rains.

This week I had several experiences that have strengthened my faith. I am now going to share with the story of the Rocha family.

About 2 or 3 years ago, Igor Castro was baptized in the church and after a few years of dedicated service to the Lord he left on his mission. In December of last year he entered the Guatemala North mission. Little did he know that for his hard work and dedication, he would bring blessings to all of his family. When a member told us about Igor about a month ago and how his family wasn´t member, it struck a chord. I knew we had to visit them. I knew that the Lord had a way of blessing missionaries´ families while they serve and so I thought, "lets start there..."

So from the start of our visits they were positive. They received us with open arms and we pried the door open convincing them that it would be worthwhile to at least know what Igor was teaching. Alba, Kenia, Ablita, and Miguel were attentive and always quick to answer the questions we threw at them. When we put a goal for baptism in the first week, all were very doubtful but they accepted reluctantly knowing that if they weren't prepared, they would back out. But we kept on teaching. We started with the Restoration and the kids were super smart. They remembered everything and they even read the scriptures with us. Kenia always listened but I knew she would be a little harder to teach from the start. She was Catholic and liked it.

We taught about the Book of Mormon and we found it to be a huge help in their conversion. Day after day in our lessons we taught from it and they all began to gain a testimony of its precepts. I felt the spirit witness of the truthfulness of the book every time we taught.

As the baptismal date approached we began to see that Kenia and Albita weren´t willing. Albita wanted to do whatever Kenia did...but Kenia wanted more time. We watched the Restoration film. We read Alma 32 together and I felt the spirit teach me in the lessons. I felt like an instrument in His hands. Thursday arrived and the interviews were done. Only Alba the mom and the young son Miguel wanted to be baptized. I got a little disanimated. But I accepted the response.

But when we went Friday, we went with the intention that Kenia and Albita were going to be baptized. We went with a very strong member in the ward and when we arrived we could see the disappointment in Kenia´s eyes. she was a little sad. As he began to teach her, it felt as if I were seeing the very Savior convince His people. I realized the importance of having faith that the people can still accept the gospel even when it seems late. I had doubted. I realized that she could still do it. She accepted. She stood up and embraced her mother. I am going to be baptized. The spirit filled the room.

The next day brought great joy to me to see that family and many others enter the holy waters of baptism with joy on their faces to make covenants with the Lord. It was one of the happiest days of the mission for me. I think Igor will be very happy to see photos. The Lord is content. I can feel it.

We had the best attendance in Las Palmas this Sunday that the members have ever seen and I just feel this new energy in the members. It is amazing. I can just testify that the Lord helps us when we have faith in Him. He even surprises us.

I testify that this is His true church. He works miracle today and when we take a little time to realize how important a family is for Him, it brings a tear to my eye. We are only preparing these people dressed in white for other occasions to be dressed in white as well: the temple and the eternities.

May the Lord always bless you for your faithfulness. Thank you for your love and prayers. I always feel them. They lighten my burden and bear me up.

Elder Grant Russell

P.S. brownies in the package. and cookies. I bought contact solution but you can send more. I think I will need it in a few more months.

The Rocha Family...they are Great!