Welcome Home Elder Grover!!! It's wonderful to have him home!!!!!! It was the BEST 2 years for sure!  Although we love having him home, there are lots of mixed emotions....noone ever told me that his coming home would be as emotional as his leaving and that I would feel so much of what he's feeling...He misses his mission desperately and would go back in a heart-beat, if he could. But, I wouldn't have it any other way! To me that just means he was a wonderful missionary! Welcome Home Elder Grover!!!

June 7, 2012

So, we are busy ripping out floors, painting etc getting ready for our son to come home, but had to stop and post this letter we got this morning since It's one of the last and may be the last one I'll post. We have only posted a small portion of the letters he has written.  I'm so proud of this kid. He is just awesome! I can't wait to see him!  1 week, 5 days and 10 hours!

Hey Family
Sorry I haven't written lately...Don't worry, you will get 1 more after this...I will make sure! So, how are y'all doing? How is Aunt Linda? I hope news is good.

Well, this week has been really good to us! We found 6 new investigators! 2 while on exchanges...2 are from service a week or two ago. We helped them move into their new home in our area. They are both in wheelchairs...The guy, Gary was in the navy back in the day and is a huge guy. We taught them about the Book of Mormon and started on the restoration. It was awesome!

So, a couple of weeks ago there was a solar eclipse and we went out tracking and ran into a lady that had been baptized 15 years ago and has not been to church in about 13 or so...but she was totally awesome and cool. We've been back twice to teach her and the last time she told us that she had mentioned before the eclipse to her boyfriend how she missed church and all. She said when she saw us she was like, "really, God?"  She said after we left, she went inside her house and cried. I was glad the Lord led us to her. one of those tender mercies.

I love my mission and it is honestly kind of hard coming home. It will be awesome seeing ya'll and everyone. But, I am going to miss this. I have grown alot. I suppose I have come out of my shell while on my mission. atleast some. I've made alot of friends on my mission. I want to come back by the mission soon! It will be fun.

Anyway, how is the family? How's Browser doing? Some lady I was talking to said mutts live longer than normal. .....He probably needs a bath. lol

Anyway, Love y'all. I will see y'all soon! The church is True!!!!
Elder Grover

Letter received May 17, 2012 written May 14, 2012

Hey Family!
Good talking to y'all yesterday! It was tons of fun seeing all the little guys! I have to get used to saying all their names....Alayna, Ellie, Jonah & Noah and Kohen, right?
Thanks for being awesome! Oh, I just got a haircut today! So glad! The lady cutting my hair was pretty cool...She had some interesting pink hair. lol But she was cool. Her mom & sister are members though. I'm not sure if she is, she just may not think she is...lol
So, like I said, I have a goal of writing every week til I go home. So 4 more letters after this week. I'm going to start sorting through my stuff and figure out what I want to take home and I will send that stuff home. Also, I may be sending a bike home cause I may buy this trek this guy is selling. It's a Trek 3600 21" for $100.  Did y'all say that Hattiesburg is more bike friendly? I hope so cause I want to use my bike...
Oh, so let me tell you about a cool experience. We had Zone Leader Council and President showed us a new teaching approach. It's pretty simple really. Basically we ask if we can have a prayer with the family and then if we get in, we kneel and ask what we should pray for. Actually, we did that Saturday to that black lady I told you about. We asked and she let us in and we had the prayer. She thanked us and started talking about how she used to live in Utah and how she enjoyed it. We talked about the church and set up a return appointment. She started talking about her grandson and how he looks like me.!!!! lol !!!!! But, it was pretty cool. Such a simple thing..praying!
Anyway, thanks for everything you do Y'all are awesome! Love the gospel, Go do missionary work!!!!
Love y'all!
Elder Reo Grover

 Hey Family,

It was fun skyping yesterday! I really enjoyed it... It was fun seeing everyone... So many kids there! I think it will be fun... I'm gonna do some cleaning up and decluttering in my room/closet! lol, thanks for cleaning it up though... I left it quite a mess... didn't I? lol. So, you apparently got my flight itenerary then... It's crazy I don't get home till 8:30! it will be more like 6:30 to me but still! It's gonna be the kids bed time and just about mine! So am I getting released that night? that will be so weird! I'm gonna feel naked with out my tag... Anyway thanks for the fun yesterday...

 

Well we had a good week! We had 20 lessons this week... the highest I've had in a while... We set a date with this guy named Mark... He's a good guy but we are pretty sure he wants to be baptized because of his wife... So we are going to try and take it slow and make sure he gets a testimony... We had a good lesson with Marez in which he committed to quit coffee and tea... he is so addicted! lol but it will be good. He will give it up... Mary went to a baptism and loved it! once she quits smoking I think we can baptize her... She understands alot better than before... She's starting to get it... 

Well anyway, thanks for everything and we will talk later! Thanks for being awesome! love yall BYE!!

Elder Grover

Hey yall!

So, last transfer and I am staying in Antelope with Elder Ellsworth! We had a bunch of changes though in the zone... Every companionship has changed except us... Sister Totau who broke her ankle was supposed to go home today but instead she is staying out for a few more weeks till she is able to go to Hawaii and finish her mission there... I am definitely the oldest in the zone how ever... weird! I don't really feel it... lol, but apparently so. So Mother's Day is this Sunday! We are going to be skyping at a member's house. They have a laptop so we will use that... maybe someone has an iPhone... lol, face-time... Anyway, so I would heavily encourage yall to get someone's laptop with a camera built in... It will be alot better that way. You could show me around and everything... it will be fun!

So we had a good week... as far as things go. I've been on exchanges ALL last week just about.  It was fun though.  I was on bike 3 of those 4 days... It was fun! I miss the bike... I think I'm going to buy one when I get home. And I know exactly which one I'm gonna get... 

We have some good goals for this transfer. We are going to find 2 new investigators every week... We about did that last transfer but we want to keep it constant. We are going to try and make every moment count. We are going to have alot of fun and success this transfer. 

So, we also had all the "dying" missionaries at our home last night. It was fun. I am surprised at how not trunky I am for doing that for 4 or so transfers. But anyway, before this transfer I've only had 1 companion go home. Now I have 3... But thats it! Its crazy! I've served with alot of young missionaries man! I'm glad, my name can live on for a while. Elder Woodward and Curfew just got on the plane this morning! 

But anyway, thanks for the letter... You spent 20 bucks though! But that is amazing news about Justin! I can only imagine how his family is feeling right now!  Is he taking the lessons? That is soo cool! Tell him I said Congrats! 

I got the planner! It's sweet! thanks... and the other stuff is cool too... I don't know what I would do with out a planner.

So Sunday... we will probably call some time between 5 and 7 my time... it will be for about 45 minutes... So get every thing set up... I wanna see my room..  Love yall BYE!

Elder Grover

Elder Grover's Flight Itinerary

So we just got Elder Grover's flight itinerary...He arrives home June 19 at 8:30pm...I Can't believe it's already been almost 2 years! They really shouldn't send this information 2 months early, because it's probably going to be the longest 2 months since he's been gone! I'm so excited and I can't wait to be the first to hug that guy when he gets off the plane...

Letter dated 3.12.12 received 3.17.12

Hey Family!
Hey! How's it going back home? I heard about Grandma Trussell. I'm sorry to hear about that. Wish she could have waited a few more months.  I hope the funeral goes well. I bet it will be a packed house! Everyone in the Stake knows her. Could y'all send me some of the talks & such like you did with Grandma Bowman's funeral? It will be sad not hearing her on Fast Sunday "Isn't it Great to be a Latter-Day Saint!" But I bet she is enjoying herself with her family! This must be hard for Grandma Grover, Aunt Teresa, Janey, Linda and Aunt Judy. And Dad...How are y'all doing? I imagine it's been long expected, but going to be sad not having her though. I wonder how it is going to change our reunions. Not having Grandma there is hard. She's what ties us all to the Trussell's. Well, I hope everyone else is doing ok.

Well, on a happy note, we had our meeting with Elder Perry....and guess who I saw??? That's right! Elder Hinton! It was pretty cool! He filled me in on what's going on back home. Elder Perry's meeting was GREAT! Sorry, no picture there! But he shared some things on how the church has never been in the spotlight like they are now. And it's going to do wonders for the work...even the bad stuff is good because truth seekers (the elect) are going to search. And the fact that we have prepared with mormon.org and all the amazing church media is awesome!And that was a year before all of this got going! Elder Perry is the public affairs Rep and he said that if Romney becomes President, then he quits! lol He's joking, of course! But still funny!

So, how is the family? How's Browser? I really don't wanna get anymore calls from President....How are the kids? I still don't really grasp the fact that there are a ton of little kids running around! Crazy! Anyone else pregnant? 'Bout time for Jen, huh????

So, I just got done emailing y'all! Thanks! It was fun! We had a good p-day activity! We played baseball. It was fun! I got a few good hits. ...Our team won! Yeah, last week we played golf. It was fun! At first I couldn't even hit the  ball, but then it started flying! Hit a few 150+ I wanna play again!

The zone is great! Tons of new missionaries and all hard working...transfers are coming up soon though...it's getting weird cause I've only got 2 left after this one! NOT Cool! Wright's probably gone after this one.   So yeah, hopefully he doesn't leave and then I leave the next and spend my last 6 weeks in a new area! I'd rather leave now than do that.  But, hopefully I will 'die' here. That would be nice!  (die in missionary terms means finish the mission--go home)

So how is home? Is it getting hot now? I bet it's gonna be burning soon! How's everyone? How's Grandma Grover handling things? Has the Ward changed alot? Well, anyway, I've got to get going. But I hope y'all have a great week! Hope the funeral runs smoothly! Love y'all! Bye!
Elder Reo Grover

 (One of the last photos made with his Great-Grandma Trussell-- before his mission)

Elder Grover found out yesterday (we called his mission president) that his Great-Grandma Trussell passed away Saturday night (March 10) He said,  "Thats really sad about Grandma Trussell,  but I bet she's enjoying the other side! I'm glad y'all were able to see her before. It's gonna be sad now and with the reunions... and wasn't I gonna get home just before the Trussell reunion? Gonna miss her!!!!!"

Well on a happy note I did see Elder Hinton! he's a big kid! I can still beat him up, but... I'll attach a pic for yah...

Elder Perry's a pretty funny guy... after they came in (we were standing up) he was like "you look great but you would look just as great sitting down..." then we just sat there with the music playing and like 2 minutes in he's like "well, are we gonna get started or what?" lol  Then he talked about  how we are in the best time to be on a mission because the church has more attention than ever! He talked about how things are going to boom... the work will go great! He talked about how he was going to have a meeting with the stake leaders and such and how things are going to grow... It was good...   Super Good!  Elder Perry mentioned Romney quite a bit... said if Romney becomes pres. he will quit! lol, he's kidding of course... Perry's the public affairs rep for the church..

Elder Grover and his Cousin Elder Hinton meet up for a Missionary Conference with L. Tom Perry!

Those two look like about the happiest two missionaries EVER!

What I've learned from Serving a Mission

Serving a mission has done wonders for me! I’ve learned a lot about life and who I want to be. What kind of friend, member & father I want to be.

When I first came out I was on fire! I didn’t have a clue what I was doing, but I loved it and tried to work hard. The MTC did wonders for me! It taught me a lot on how to teach, how to bring in the spirit and how to be obedient. I loved every minute of it!

Then to the field! From Lincoln, to Gridley, to Auburn & to Antelope! I’ve learned so much! I’ve learned that obedience brings blessings, not just that, but it brings happiness! An obedient missionary is a happy missionary!...I’ve learned that talking to everyone is fun! You can’t judge people by how they look! You just gotta talk to people, be polite & respectful, bear testimony frequently! I know the mission has helped me a lot! Serving the Lord has strengthened my faith and conviction and has helped me lead people to the waters of baptism and eternal life!

I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that this is His Church. I know President Monson is his servant and prophet. I know the Book of Mormon is another Testament of Jesus Christ and that the words will bring you closer to Christ than any other book! I know this is Christ’s church. I know that families can be together forever through the plan of Salvation and Christ’s atonement! I know He lives and loves all of his Children and that we can pray to God to feel and know that!

Today my husband, Reo received this message from someone he baptized 30 years ago! Awesome letter! We shared with our son today and thought I would share here on Elder Grover's blog.

Elder Grover,
Thirty years ago today you baptized me and confirmed me a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I think my mother still has a picture of you and me in our baptismal whites standing in the hallway of the Stockton stake center. All of the good things in my life have resulted from you and Elder Barber knocking on our door and my decision to be baptized all those years ago when I was only twelve years old. A "thank you" is just not adequate for expressing the love and gratitude that I feel and for what your missionary service has meant to me and my family. Heavenly Father truly is mindful of all of us. I hope that this message finds you and your family well. It warms my heart to know that there is another Elder Grover out in the mission field today.
Love,
Chin-Yo

Feb 20 Email

 Hey Family,

Ok... So just RIGHT NOW we got some exciting news! lol, you ready for this?

Elder L. Tom Perry and a 70 are going to be having a missionary meeting here in Antelope on March 8th! It's going to be awesome! Plus, The Sacramento Mission is invited to attend... So, Elder Hinton will be there too! lol, its sooo crazy!

Ok... So this week was really good... Me and Wright are getting along and things are running smoothly... I went to the temple this last week to witness a sealing. It was great, really peaceful... though we weren't in the temple as long as I would have liked to be... I like 2-3 hours you know? lol... Anyway, So while on exchanges in North Highlands 2 ward, we (Elder Comstock and I) had just barely biked out of the complex when we stopped to talk to this lady on the side of the street... She was middle age and had a basket on wheels that looked like she was collecting bottles/etc out of dumpsters... Anyway we asked her if she had talked to missionaries before. She said her daughter is a member and she really admires her. Anyway, we talked to her about the book of Mormon and she started crying and told us about her father who was  in the hospital... We set up a time to stop by her house and picked her up as an investigator... It was WAY cool! She is soo prepared... That day we just worked our tails off talking to people... had 4 unplanned lessons, with one new investigator and 3 other potentials (one being a family)... It was great! and Elder Comstock  he's a convert of about 20 months now... He's been on the mission about 2 months... way cool!

 How are yall doing? How's home? Hey I've got to get going...busy pday...  anyway thanks for everything y'all.

Love yall BYE

Elder Grover

We need S'more Missionaries Like y'all!

So, this is one of the things we sent Elder Grover for Valentine's Day--Inside is 2 GIANT Hershey Bars, a Box of Graham Crackers and a large bag of Heart Marshmellows!
(His companion is from Mississippi too)

He loves the people! He got to go back to his old area for this man's baptism!

 Bill's Baptism in Gridley

Skyler's Baptism

Letter Dated Feb 6, 2012

 Hey Family! 

Hey Sorry I haven't written in a while. It's been a lot of busy p-days! Busy weeks really! It's good in Antelope! 

So today we went to Walmart and bought some colored labels for my next project! So I've decided to  buy a new set of scriptures and do a special way of highlighting it. It's going to be awesome! You cut the labels into little slits and you put them on a particular spot on the outside of the scriptures. ...It's organized according to topic (...ie...holy ghost, atonement, faith) It will make it super easy to find scriptures after I'm done.  I've also been working on my PMG (Preach My Gospel).  I cut all the spiral holes out and put it all in a binder with page protectors. So I can highlight and put back in and and also put in extra stuff like pamphlets, talks, the Living Christ, etc.
The work is going Great! Our investigator, Sherry came to church and loved it! Testimony meeting was great! We also taught the lesson in Gospel Principles on the Lord's Covenant People....GOOD Stuff!  Our YSA Ward was great too! I feel like I'm just getting to know these people.The members are AWESOME!  SOOOO missionary minded! They are all young and not so set-in-their ways as others might be. In fact, we currently have 10 ward missionaries and they ALL went out with splits with us to visit less actives...SOOO Good! The Bishop is planning on calling 2 or 3 more! So Dang! 

So how is home? Grandparents? Cuz's, members of the Ward? The Shield's? How's Browser? Uncle Mike?

I'm enjoying a chicken salad sandwich right now, so I will end this and see you later! Love y'all and Have a GREAT week!

Bye!

Elder Reo Grover

 

 

 Email from 2/13/12

HEY FAMILY!

Hows everything? so we just figured out what is happening for transfers! sooooo, me and Wright are staying! That means i will be with him for 3 transfers... crazy! lol, 3 isn't normal, but we get along... soo its gonna work out... I just realized that he is probably my second  to last companion... not cool... but they are doing major changes in the zone! We have 2 wards that are combining... 1 missionary from each ward is becoming companions and the others are leaving... We have 2 training and 1 followup training! its crazy!

 

anyway, we had stake conference this week... the overwhelming discussion was temple service! lol, makes me really want to go now... i will probably go in a couple of weeks. can't wait! lol, do yall go often? you should go as often as possible... and just stay there... like i love it when you can get done with the session and just stay and think.. in the celestial room.

 

anyway, we have been having a decent week... we picked up a new investigator in the singles ward! his name is Marez and he is an interesting dude... He's been through ALOT, lives in a foster home... very talkative! lol, fun guy... anyway we got a call from some other missionaries that he was at the church... so we ran on down and started talking to him... and our investigator Sherry is doing good... She didn't come to church because she had a migrain... but she has been reading and praying alot... she really wants that answer! lol, which is good...