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!