Called to serve: Indianapolis Indiana : March 2015

Monday, March 30, 2015

March 23, 2015

This week didn't have much excitement. Elder Wright was sick the entire time. Legitimately. But I do have some pics.

Canal was green for St. Patricks Day

tracting.

The Marriot downtown is A HUGE BRACKET. I lost it.

birthday. duh.

true mexican.

March 16, 2015

Another week dooooooown. Birthday on Wednesday. 21. Woot woot. #oldman
March Madness brackets were released yesterday which means that my favorite sports time of the year will once again be going on without me. Worst Part? THE FINALS ARE HERE IN INDIANAPOLIS. Like .8 miles from where I am sitting AT THIS VERY MOMENT. Props to BYU for making the tournament. Claps.

I kept notes of highlights of the week, so I will be sharing those.

I would like to start with the highly intellectual LIFE ALTERING question I was asked this by an investigator. I hope you are ready.
"If Adam and Eve were Chinese, would they have eaten the snake instead of the forbidden fruit." This was posed by our investigator named JESUS. What a coincidence. Now THIS man is what we call an intellectually SAGE. My answer? "Probably, you bring up a good point. I guess they would have." He was satisfied.

We went to Arby's and the cashier legit was so bad and just like forgot everything and took forever to get us our food and kept making the wrong orders and I felt bad so I prayed for and after my prayer I look up and tell Elder Wright and tell him I prayed for the cashier and he was like "No way! Me too!" Hahaha. Poor lady. I did get 8 strips instead of 6 though. AND I used a coupon. So it was a rockin' chicken experience.

Played siiiiiiiiiiiick Volleyball last PDay. I missed it.

So one of our zone leaders told me he had something to tell me when were at Chinese Buffet after zone meeting and proceeds to say;

"So.... Elder Groseclose, I have known you since BYU." I am all confused and he continues, "So the first time I saw you in the mission in like August 2013 I noticed you but I didn't know from where... Then I realized like 4 months later, but I never have served around you until now...." I am so confused and then he says "You beat me in the Intramural Volleyball Semifinals. I HATED YOU. You were the only good person on your team and I HATED YOU." HAHAHAHAHAHA IT WAS SO FUNNY. I LOST IT. So that was a great story.

Met a guy named Adrian. He was SO hammered. He opens the door and I am like "Hey we are sharing a message about God..." and he LOSES it and starts cracking up and shaking my hand and says "YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT GOD." So I am annoyed and try to leave BUT HE INVITES US IN. I am sassy as crap with him and he won't stop shaking my hand or showing us weird things in his house. He asks me "Do you believe in the Virgin Mary?" "Of course, we just don't pray to her like you." He responds "UP DOWN LEFT RIGHT BLACK WHITE IN OUT HAPPY SAD, GOD AND THE VIRGIN!!!!" We then proceed to pray and as we leave he shows us his rum and Virgin Mary shirt and we leave. So....... yeah. Adrian.

Patricia got baptized. She looks so un-excited in the picture but trust me SHE WAS STOKED. It was so cute. She's super super cool.

Appparently ALASKAN BUSH PEOPLE is a TV show?

Met another crazy person. In the form of an old white lady. She was cracked out and couldn't stop laughing. The funniest thing that she said we said? "We can't come in without a man in your house." SHE DIED LAUGHING. Why? No clue. BUT SHE LOVES GOD.

SWEETEST MOMENT OF THE WEEK:

A lady in the branch tells me "Elder, I can't feed you this Friday, and I am going to let you know why. My husband doesn't get paid until Saturday so we can't afford to feed you on the budget of this week because it's your birthday and I want to wait so I can make you something special."

My heart melted. These people DON'T HAVE MONEY and they struggle just for us. It was so humbling.

CHANGE HEARTS, NOT MINDS.

Stick to your task till it sticks to you;
Beginners are many, but enders are few.
Honour, power, place, and praise
Will come, in time, to the one who stays.

Stick to your task till it stick to you;
Bend at it, sweat at it, smile at it too;
For out of the bend and the sweat and the smile
Will come life's victories, after awhile.

Good week. Love you all. :)

Elder Jeffrey Aaron Groseclose

Judith's kids.

Judith and Salvador. Members.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

March 9, 2015

Weeeeeeeeeeeellllllllllll, let's see.... Nothing really exciting this week. I took like one picture, making me not want to make to go through the effort to upload it. Funny thing is that the closer you get to going home, you don't even need to keep track of how much time you have left, because EVERY OTHER MISSIONARY DOES IT FOR YOU. Hahaha. Also, I am like realllllllllly done with writing weekly emails..... So I will give you a brief run-through because, honestly, I will just let you know all the details if you want in 10 weeks :) #whoopthereitis Unless you will still be on a mission at the time if you are a missionary friend.....

My first announcement has nothing to do with White River or my time here, it has to do with my time in Elkhart. My boy Luis, that less active I found drunk one day while tracting? Well, he got the priesthood yesterday. :) To think that if I was not diligent nor obedient I would have never found him makes me feel so happy I was. To think that if I didn't work, he would still be lost in the world makes me so grateful. Love that guy.

I absolutely S L A U G H T E R E D a Dominican man in a bible bash on Wednesday. His jaw dropped, he realized he was DEAD wrong and proceeded to not want to accept it and changed the subject. It was beautiful. I have never got to experience that before, seeing someone understand 100% that they were wrong their whole life.

Had a lot of dinner appointments this week. Eating off the hook. Carne asada tacos, tacos dorados, milanesa, pozole, tortas. Like I don't know what I will do when I am not with hispanics for dinner every night back home.........

Nothing exciting to be honest. Just chugging along and enjoying life. Making the time left count.

Stay chill, stay real.

Elder Jeff Groseclose

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

March 2, 2015

NEW ADDRESS.

6465 N Lynnfield Ct. #621

Indianapolis, IN 46254

I am now back in White River, but it's like when I came here, my heart left and now it's in Elkhart.......Sooooo....

Anyways, I am in the area that I was in for that weird 2 week stint I did back in July. It's Northwest Indianapolis. I am with Elder Wright. He has been out 9 months. I am reluctantly still District Leader lol. I was hoping to be released and just be a normal missionary. Whatever, NI MODO.

Weeeeeeelllllll, this was a really really long week.

Hard to believe that a week ago I was in Elkhart.

Monday night, Weese and I went to Texas Roadhouse with Luis and paid for him because we love him so dang much!!!!

So last Tuesday was my last day in Elkhart so Belen bought us McDonald's and she was sooooooo sad!!! Then I had to say bye to my beloved English Class!!! Then we went to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings with Hna Romero and Abi because honestly who else would I want to spend my last night with? Afterwards, as we said bye in the parking lot, Abi and Hna Romero were bawling and texted us all night saying they were crying and couldn't stop. HEARTBREAKING. Then to top it all off, KARINA from Columbus calls me up crying because she was remembering when I got transferred 14 MONTHS AGO. SO, it was just a mess of goodbyes.

In this area there is a 15 year old girl, Patricia. She is on a baptism date for March 14.Pretty cool. She's rad. Yeah, who says rad? But it's the best way to describe her. She was at church. :)

Not much else is happening here. My mom always asks for details but I just don't have any....

We have a full time car though. Yee!

Church was almost cancelled yesterday entonces hubo poca genta. BUT, we still had testimony meeting and I loved what one sister said:

Si una persona no te cae bien, sirvela y asi la vas a amar.

I was going to be lazy and put that through a translator, but this came out.....

"If a person does not like him, Serve and thus the 'll love ."

Hahahaha. It meant to say, If you don't like someone, serve them and then through that you will love them.

Good thought huh? :)

Other than that, nothing. SORRY.

Love youuuuuuuuuuu!

Elder Jeffrey Aaron Groseclose

bye bye belen!

english class

hna romero and abi. last night.

yes i make good salsa.

February 23, 2015

Not much I really want to write about because I am being transferred and will be somewhere new with completely new people on Wednesday.

Transfers have gotten weird but I still will be going to Indianapolis. I will know everything else on Wednesday.

When I was told I was coming to Elkhart, I didn't want to come. It is known as the unsuccessful area where you don't teach.

I sit here 4 and a half months later and I can say that Elkhart was my favorite area. I THOROUGHLY enjoyed it. My love for the people here is so deep. It's on a different level. We taught like crazy. By far the most I have ever taught in a 3 transfer span. We never had a week where we didn't hit our teaching goals. We excelled. We were obedient and, therefore, BLESSED.

I have seen in my time here how LOVE comes as you truly serve others and worry more about them than yourself.

I am filled with happiness and JOY as I think about my service here. I don't regret anything. I am not leaving wondering if I could have done more and thinking that I didn't do enough. I put my whole heart into this area and I am so so happy to have had the opportunity to turn Elkhart from the "pit" of the spanish areas, to now the area that is thriving the most.

God wanted me here even though I didn't want it. Now, I would never ever give up my time here.

I'll miss it. I'll miss it a bunch. But I gotta write the last chapter now. 85 days to go. One last area. 3 months. I am excited.

Elder Jeffrey Aaron Groseclose