Email 44 - "Big Ole Change of Plans!‏" Surprise Transfer! Chrissy's in the Canary Islands!

Chrissy and the new missionary she's training, 

Hermana Irigoyen, who's from Argentina!

Saying goodbye in Madrid

Hey family!

'Couple big surprises this week - here's the biggest... ready for this?

Right now I'm sitting in the apartment of two senior missionaries on an island 80 kilometers off the coast of Africa!! Ha, weird, huh?

Allow me to explain:

On Tuesday afternoon, Hna P and I were heading to the chapel to pick up our greenies, and I got a call from President Jackson that started like this: "Hermana Grover! I've got an assignment change for you. Are you sitting down?"  He told me that I'd still be training, but he needed me to fly to the Canary Islands... tomorrow.

I won't lie, what followed was probably the most stressful evening of my life, haha. I only had time to make four "goodbye" stops of about 45 seconds each, and then I had less than an hour to pack up my stuff and head to the mission home to spend the night. The next morning, I chose which suitcase to take to the island with me, and my greenie and I took the 3-hr flight to Las Palmas, where we met up with our other companion, Hna Caballero (we're in a trio!)

So here we are!

Hna Irigoyen (ear-ee-go-shen) is my adorable greenie :) She's from Argentina, and I LOVE her accent. She's just about fluent in English, and she wants to work HARD. I love it, She's doing great with contacting, asks questions about everything, and has been quite a trooper through all of the craziness in getting to her first area. I love seeing missionary work from her perspective, because everything's a miracle- which I guess we tend to overlook sometimes. 

Hna Caballero is from Elche, Alicante (same home ward as Hna P) and she's a machine. She ends her mission this transfer, but she's the most undead dying missionary I've ever met. She never talks about going home, how much time she has left, or anything. She has a really chill sense of humor, and I hear "Chacho!" (Dude!) from her about every thirty seconds, haha. ...No really. Allll the time.

I'm officially Hna I's trainer, but I'm really grateful that we've got Hna C, she's a really solid example and is full of great advice.

Of course, I really miss 8th ward over there in Madrid, but the ward here is awesome. We showed up to a baptism, and it wasn't a stressful experience! Haha, normally, we need to worry about filling the font, providing refreshments, making sure there were white clothes, towels, programs, piano players, etc. Here, we just show up to the service! Super cool. Our ward mission leader is super great, too. His name's Willy, he's from Ghana, and he has his own dance studio where he teaches his take on Zumba... "Wimba". From what I hear, it's pretty fantastic.

There's an old, homeless black man that's always hanging out just outside of the temple. Everytime we pass by, he yells to us in English, "Hello my sisters! Don't worry, be happy! God will bless you!" Hahaha. Is it bad that he reminds me a little of Rafiki, from The Lion King? ;)

Anyhoo, I'm still getting to know all of the investigators, but we've got one guy progressing named F----o. He's also from Ghana, and he's awesome. After every commitment, he just shrugs and says, "Si, si, Hermanas, lo hare. Por que no?" (Yeah, yeah, sisters, I'll do it. Why not?) Haha. He's got a milder version of the personality of the football player from Jerry McQuire ;) 

We're also teaching a guy named K----n, from Hungary. He's homeless, and lives on the beach. Hermana Irigoyen teaches him with me in English :) He's always extremely grateful for our visits.

As I was looking back on the week, I was going over my studies, and I discovered that, this whole week, the Lord's been preparing me for this sudden change. He knew it was coming, and he was guiding my studies to be prepared.

For example, I was reading in Doctrine and Covenants 101, about the parable of protecting the vineyard, and I loved it. In verses 44-55, it basically explains how we need to just obey. Don't talk about it, wonder about it, put it off, etc. Just obey the command you receive. (Hermana Grover- I need you to head to the Islands tomorrow!)

I was also reading in Matthew 14:28-31, about the part where Peter tries walking on water and begins to sink. I realized something I hadn't noticed before; when Peter called out to the Lord to have him invite him out to the water (sending in the mission papers). He had already seen the storms, he had already seen how crazy the waves and strong the wind was! He knew, more or less, what he was getting himself into (the mission's hard, man). It wasn't until he was in the water, and began to experience the hardships himself that he began to doubt a little (I need you to leave your area... tomorrow). 

I'm super happy here. I love seeing the beach. I love my companions. I love being a missionary :)

You guys are the best. Keep the faith!

Love you guys tons!!!!

-Hna Grover