Elder DeGraw and Elder Nelson with the Ferguson Family
Marysville 5th Ward
Yup, he still doesn't know how to pose for a serious picture! lol
From Indebtedness to Joint-Heirs
2 hours ago
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Photo Proof that He Lives and Laughs
Elder DeGraw and Elder Nelson with the Ferguson Family
Marysville 5th Ward
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Belated Updates
We apologize to everyone for going so long between updates. We will try to do better in the future:
1) Elder DeGraw still is in Marysville. He has gone through four transfers now, but he still is serving there and loving it.
2) He is continuing to be exposed to different perspectives - and it is strengthening his testimony of the core principles of the Gospel. He mentioned in one letter talking with someone who told them that we were created because "God was lonely and wanted someone to love Him, so the purpose of life is to love God - so that we can love Him forever and not be sent to Hell." He also says that he hopes the "rapture" is a mis-translation of "raptor" - but that sense of humor probably is Papa's fault.
3) He shared with us the adventures of a P-Day where his companion got beaten at raquetball by their Ward Mission Leader (73 years old). The WML started each game to 15 points down 0-14, and Elder Mose didn't win any games. We are assuming our non-athletic son didn't even try to beat him.
4) In the Marysville 5th Ward, Elder DeGraw's area includes an Indian Reservation - and he loves working there. He is seeing a side of life that has not been there in his own life thus far, and it is neat to hear his love for others in very difficult situations. He is growing in ways that simply would not be possible without being on a mission.
5) He was able to go to the temple in Seattle and see the sealing of a family his companion had taught and baptized. In his own words, it "blew our minds". We are glad he had that opportunity to FEEL what it's like to be sealed eternally.
6) With such limited funds, he is learning to budget - which, for all of you who know our son, gladdens out hearts tremendously! lol
7) His letters are addressed to us (his biological family), but in each one he mentions those whom he loves and for whom he prays regularly. If you are reading this, chances are you are one of those people, but, Ashton, he asks us always to make sure you know he loves you - as we do.
1) Elder DeGraw still is in Marysville. He has gone through four transfers now, but he still is serving there and loving it.
2) He is continuing to be exposed to different perspectives - and it is strengthening his testimony of the core principles of the Gospel. He mentioned in one letter talking with someone who told them that we were created because "God was lonely and wanted someone to love Him, so the purpose of life is to love God - so that we can love Him forever and not be sent to Hell." He also says that he hopes the "rapture" is a mis-translation of "raptor" - but that sense of humor probably is Papa's fault.
3) He shared with us the adventures of a P-Day where his companion got beaten at raquetball by their Ward Mission Leader (73 years old). The WML started each game to 15 points down 0-14, and Elder Mose didn't win any games. We are assuming our non-athletic son didn't even try to beat him.
4) In the Marysville 5th Ward, Elder DeGraw's area includes an Indian Reservation - and he loves working there. He is seeing a side of life that has not been there in his own life thus far, and it is neat to hear his love for others in very difficult situations. He is growing in ways that simply would not be possible without being on a mission.
5) He was able to go to the temple in Seattle and see the sealing of a family his companion had taught and baptized. In his own words, it "blew our minds". We are glad he had that opportunity to FEEL what it's like to be sealed eternally.
6) With such limited funds, he is learning to budget - which, for all of you who know our son, gladdens out hearts tremendously! lol
7) His letters are addressed to us (his biological family), but in each one he mentions those whom he loves and for whom he prays regularly. If you are reading this, chances are you are one of those people, but, Ashton, he asks us always to make sure you know he loves you - as we do.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
I Am Part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed
He asked that we post the following quote here:
"I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed.
The die has been cast; I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
My past is redeemed; my present makes sense; my future is secure. [He loves you, Ashton!]
I am finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees and colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need pre-eminence, positions, promotions or popularity.
I don't have to be right, first, recognized, praised or rewarded.
I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience and labor with power.
I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, pander at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up or let up until I have stayed up, stored up and paid up for the cause of Christ.
I must give until I drop, preach all that I know and work until He stops me.
When He returns for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me.
My Banner Is Clear!"
(Henry B. Eyring)
The Spirit Whispered This to Me
From 8/28/09:
Again, he sends his love and thoughts to everyone - especially one person in particular.
"I love teaching (one of his investigators). Last time was so cool. He started crying and said that something I said came word-for-word from a poem he wrote in high school! Yeah, weird to know that I'm not the one speaking in moments like that."
Again, he sends his love and thoughts to everyone - especially one person in particular.
Catching Up: Info from Multiple Letters
From 7/20/09:
A question to consider - "What kind of man do you want me to be when I get home?"
From 7/27/09 - 8/10/09 (some of the difficulties of missionary work):
1) "(One of the people we have been teaching) was gonna get baptized Saturday, but she got evicted Friday morning from her place - so we have to re-find her." [Papa's commentary: Learning to deal with the consequences of others' bad choices can be painful - especially when you come to love someone and want so badly to help bless their life.]
2) He was humbled by a young man who has had an incredibly difficult life but for whom the Gospel just "clicked" as he heard it for the first time. Now Elder DeGraw just has to help convince him to marry the mother of their children.
3) Another woman who had been working toward baptism disappeared to get away from an abusive boyfriend.
On the bright side, he baptized someone for the first time as a missionary about a month ago - a really neat experience!
From 8/15/09:
He wrote of suddenly realizing how miserable it would be to live a life of trying to make others miserable. What a waste of energy and time. There are people who live FOR something and people who spend their lives living AGAINST something. He wants to live FOR goodness and joy and love.
In each letter, he asked us to make sure someone in particular knows he loves her. He really does.
A question to consider - "What kind of man do you want me to be when I get home?"
From 7/27/09 - 8/10/09 (some of the difficulties of missionary work):
1) "(One of the people we have been teaching) was gonna get baptized Saturday, but she got evicted Friday morning from her place - so we have to re-find her." [Papa's commentary: Learning to deal with the consequences of others' bad choices can be painful - especially when you come to love someone and want so badly to help bless their life.]
2) He was humbled by a young man who has had an incredibly difficult life but for whom the Gospel just "clicked" as he heard it for the first time. Now Elder DeGraw just has to help convince him to marry the mother of their children.
3) Another woman who had been working toward baptism disappeared to get away from an abusive boyfriend.
On the bright side, he baptized someone for the first time as a missionary about a month ago - a really neat experience!
From 8/15/09:
He wrote of suddenly realizing how miserable it would be to live a life of trying to make others miserable. What a waste of energy and time. There are people who live FOR something and people who spend their lives living AGAINST something. He wants to live FOR goodness and joy and love.
In each letter, he asked us to make sure someone in particular knows he loves her. He really does.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Family Ties
Ok, I'm finally getting back to this lol. Sorry for being away.
Curtis is still enjoying Washington. He says that it's beautiful and he misses everyone deeply. He has recently bravely fought a spider to write to me lol. Apparently for Lunchbox's birthday, I gave the perfect birthday message so that made me feel happy =). For Mama and Papa, thank you for getting me through the bad advice that one married mormon girl gave me at American Dance Festival because Curtis was gonna give me advice and then he said that you guys covered it lol. Also, he said that he wants us to be like you two as well (and it made his day when I said that to him in a letter). Bike riding is still a challenge for him but he can ride it, just not in a straight line just yet.
By the way, when he sends me pictures, I'll put them on Facebook and I'll try to put them on here too.
For Mama, thank you for everything! Curtis put in the letter what you said about me and I felt so overwhelmed with warm emotions when I read it. I must say that ever since day one coming into the Degraw household, I have felt like family. I know that it will continue as well (also can't wait for it to become official hehe <3).
Curtis is meeting a lot of new and nice people to help and teach. There has been a person that has asked to be baptized and she is going to get Curtis a new tie for her baptism. The next day the same girl asked for Curtis to be the one to baptize her (this made me very proud of my man).
So that's it for the most part, because I'm sure you don't want me to bog you down with all of the mushy stuff that he sends me (even though I adore it and melt in my chair everytime I read it <3).
Curtis is still enjoying Washington. He says that it's beautiful and he misses everyone deeply. He has recently bravely fought a spider to write to me lol. Apparently for Lunchbox's birthday, I gave the perfect birthday message so that made me feel happy =). For Mama and Papa, thank you for getting me through the bad advice that one married mormon girl gave me at American Dance Festival because Curtis was gonna give me advice and then he said that you guys covered it lol. Also, he said that he wants us to be like you two as well (and it made his day when I said that to him in a letter). Bike riding is still a challenge for him but he can ride it, just not in a straight line just yet.
By the way, when he sends me pictures, I'll put them on Facebook and I'll try to put them on here too.
For Mama, thank you for everything! Curtis put in the letter what you said about me and I felt so overwhelmed with warm emotions when I read it. I must say that ever since day one coming into the Degraw household, I have felt like family. I know that it will continue as well (also can't wait for it to become official hehe <3).
Curtis is meeting a lot of new and nice people to help and teach. There has been a person that has asked to be baptized and she is going to get Curtis a new tie for her baptism. The next day the same girl asked for Curtis to be the one to baptize her (this made me very proud of my man).
So that's it for the most part, because I'm sure you don't want me to bog you down with all of the mushy stuff that he sends me (even though I adore it and melt in my chair everytime I read it <3).
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you. I've called your name. You're mine. - Isiah 43:1b The Message
Before moving out to the state of Washington, Curtis wrote me one more time. Before he left, he was asking people that were going out of the country how to say 'I love you' in various languages. He got Tagalog, Spanish, Cebuano, German, Latin, Slovakian, Danish, Malay, and Hawaiian.
One thing that someone spoke in one of his meetings was this: " It will be hard, but God will walk with us every step of the way, and those you left behind will be blessed for your service too." Everyday, I'm sure that he is thinking about everyone and misses them but at the same time, we all benefit from him going on his mission. I didn't realize it until now that in a way this is almost like when I went off to church trips in the summer for a week in middle school and high school. I loved going to those because when you are surrounded by people that just want to worship God through word, song, dance, and etc., it moves you. At the end of the week of these things, I always wanted to stay there because I felt such a close connection to God. For Curtis to be doing this for two years, he's creating an everlasting bond with God. One thing I always disliked was coming back to the "real world" because I fell back into my old ways of worshiping God instead of growing and keeping what I had learned from The Great Escape and Montreat. After realizing that this past week, I'm actually jealous in a way. Then I got to thinking even more (scary I know lol), maybe there's another reason why he has been called to do this, maybe God is trying to bring me back to him more by Curtis sharing his experience with me and helping me to finish my "new years resolution" of reading the whole bible and going to church more while I'm at school. One thing that I have always remembered from both The Great Escape and Montreat is that a theme one year was "called by name." We aren't just called upon by God, but God calls us by name to do his work. He has picked us specifically, individually, and by our name. Another thing is (oops, yea there's two things instead of one that I have remembered) what this one musician at The Great Escape said to us. He said basically that we aren't just children of God, we are princes and princesses. Each and everyone of us. I am God's princess and Curtis is God's prince.
Sorry for the tangent there but here's more about what Curtis wrote to me. Curtis is so excited to go to Washington but anxious about doing well. He also said the he might actually miss MTC (I know he will). He has learned so much from just being at the MTC like how to be bold but not overbearing, how to show people you really sincerely care about them, and examples of faith and God loves everyone.
Curtis found out that he his the 7th generation to be a missionary in his family and finds it cool to be able to do for someone else what someone did for my family way back in the day. He made it to Washington safely =). First day there, he was able to go to the bishop's house to meet him and see how the ward is up there. They grilled burgers for the missionaries and he met some of the young men getting ready to go on their missions, including the bishop's youngest son. Curtis's companion is straight out of high school so he said that this will be interesting lol.
As you can read, he is very excited to be in Washington and we all can only pray for wonderful things to happen.
One thing that someone spoke in one of his meetings was this: " It will be hard, but God will walk with us every step of the way, and those you left behind will be blessed for your service too." Everyday, I'm sure that he is thinking about everyone and misses them but at the same time, we all benefit from him going on his mission. I didn't realize it until now that in a way this is almost like when I went off to church trips in the summer for a week in middle school and high school. I loved going to those because when you are surrounded by people that just want to worship God through word, song, dance, and etc., it moves you. At the end of the week of these things, I always wanted to stay there because I felt such a close connection to God. For Curtis to be doing this for two years, he's creating an everlasting bond with God. One thing I always disliked was coming back to the "real world" because I fell back into my old ways of worshiping God instead of growing and keeping what I had learned from The Great Escape and Montreat. After realizing that this past week, I'm actually jealous in a way. Then I got to thinking even more (scary I know lol), maybe there's another reason why he has been called to do this, maybe God is trying to bring me back to him more by Curtis sharing his experience with me and helping me to finish my "new years resolution" of reading the whole bible and going to church more while I'm at school. One thing that I have always remembered from both The Great Escape and Montreat is that a theme one year was "called by name." We aren't just called upon by God, but God calls us by name to do his work. He has picked us specifically, individually, and by our name. Another thing is (oops, yea there's two things instead of one that I have remembered) what this one musician at The Great Escape said to us. He said basically that we aren't just children of God, we are princes and princesses. Each and everyone of us. I am God's princess and Curtis is God's prince.
Sorry for the tangent there but here's more about what Curtis wrote to me. Curtis is so excited to go to Washington but anxious about doing well. He also said the he might actually miss MTC (I know he will). He has learned so much from just being at the MTC like how to be bold but not overbearing, how to show people you really sincerely care about them, and examples of faith and God loves everyone.
Curtis found out that he his the 7th generation to be a missionary in his family and finds it cool to be able to do for someone else what someone did for my family way back in the day. He made it to Washington safely =). First day there, he was able to go to the bishop's house to meet him and see how the ward is up there. They grilled burgers for the missionaries and he met some of the young men getting ready to go on their missions, including the bishop's youngest son. Curtis's companion is straight out of high school so he said that this will be interesting lol.
As you can read, he is very excited to be in Washington and we all can only pray for wonderful things to happen.
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