It has been chilly but not worse than usual. It hasn't snowed in a
while, but here the snow never really goes away. I can usually get
away with only a sweater, but every now and again I have to break out
the big coats. Gloves and toques are always a necessity, and scarves
are also useful.

Christmas was a lot of fun. We had a big party on the 23 and president
some. He had to have a translator, but it was still really good. Then
we had food and danced. It was a lot of fun. Several people showed up
that we'd invited. We helped clean up and got home late. On Christmas
we super home and had a dinner with a really cool recent convert my
last companion baptized. They wanted to go out, but the only thing
open was Dennie's, so we ate there. It was a fun time.

We recently picked up a new investigator. He is living with a member
who picked him up off the street and is giving him a place to stay. He
is trying to quit smoking, so we are trying to help. We have been
trying to meet almost everyday with him. He has been doing well, and
is a cool guy. We also have another family with a Spanish husband, a
Cambodian wife who understands very little English (and no Spanish)
and a granddaughter who helps us interpret. We are working on getting
a member who speaks her language and a Book of Mormon in her language.
That would help her a lot... we hope.

A lot of people have been busy but after the busy season we should be
able to meet with more people. In Canada, they celebrate Boxing Day,
which is more like Black Friday than any other holiday. Plus most
places expand it to be boxing week, so everyone is still busy.

I've been well. The best wishes to all.

Élder Grimmer

It has gotten down to -20 every now and again, mainly at night. When
it's humid it gets really cold, and the moisture seeps right through.
Some days are colder than others. Not too bad though, at least not
yet.

We had our Christmas conference this Thursday. It was really fun.
President talked, there were a lot of musical numbers, and food. We
all got to talk and mingle for a little while, which was fun. We have
been inviting everyone to our Christmas party. We did teach a few
people. I have been driving in the snow, and am getting more
comfortable in it. It has been slow, but that is probably because of
the holidays. I'm doing alright.

We did get the snow that was forecasted... and a whole lot more.

Sunday it snowed so hard our car had at least two inches when we left
church. It slowed down but kept coming. This morning we had a flash
snowstorm. When I got up it was not snowing, we got in the car and it
was coming down like crazy, and when we got out of the store, it had
stopped. Well, I guess that's Canada. It hasn't been too cold, only
down to -8 or so (I speak in celcius so about 17 degrees) at the
coldest. Or at least the coldest we were out in. It's the humidity the
snow clouds bring that really gets you though. That and wind. I guess
I'm adapting because I don't feel it that much anymore. Though we did
a finding idea where we all stand outside when it was -6 and gave out
free hot chocolate. I felt the cold then, but only really at my feet
and hands.
So I've been driving; I started yesterday. Our car is decent, but has
no 4wd, so the snow can suck at times. And yes, I did drive through
the snowstorm this morning. The mission's logic is that Edmonton
should shovel the snow so we could drive, and therefore we don't need
trucks or even 4wd. Yea, they SHOULD shovel... Anyways, we get by. One
of our investigators went to Colombia for Christmas, but we got his
email and we can skype him. We had a ton of less active and recent
convert work this week. Not too many investigators lessons, but that's
okay. If anyone has not had the chance, they should check out
Christmas.mormon.org. It very good.
I hope you can all have a very merry Christmas this year.

Élder Grimmer

This week we've had good weather, plus 3 and plus 5 in the day time,
not too much wind, and only -5 or so at night. A lot of the snow has
melted, but most is still there. We are expecting more snow tomorrow.
It has been really warm overall. The Canadians are loving it.
This week we did more work with less actives than investigators. We
still taught, and some were really good lessons, but I think we spent
the most time doing service. We set up two or three Christmas trees,
helped people move, and did some work for habit for humanity. We
worked at what is called the re-store, kinda like a mix of the Home
Depot and goodwill. We taught one of our less actives using the
Christmas devotional. It froze halfway through and he had a question
about the plan they talked about. We taught the entire plan of
salvation, and then watched the rest of it. It was a really good
lesson. We taught another less active using a video. It was good also,
and then we read from the bible about Christ's birth in Luke 2.
Apparently he didn't know that Christ was born in Bethlehem. That was
a bit strange. We just got supplies to make sugar cookies, and we've
been making banana bread. These are fun times.
I hope the best for you all.
Élder Grimmer

Thanksgiving in Canada

I assume that when I go out side and its -3 and I don't feel cold,
that means I'm getting used to it. I am saving most of my heavy gear
for later when it gets really cold. It have been relatively warm in
the days but nights are always cold.
In Canada they celebrate thanksgiving in October, as by November they
wouldn't have much to be thankful for. But we wanted to have an
American thanksgiving, so we bought a 20 lb turkey, others bought
potatoes, rolls, stuffing, cranberry sauce, drinks, etc. We had our
district meeting on Thursday and most the missionaries were there. We
should up at 7 to cook it. A sister who is also the housing director
from the mission lent us the pan and told us how to cook it. It turned
out awesome, and we gave them some of the leftovers. It was a great
experience, and a lot of fun!
  We've had a slow week, but we did find some people.we went on splits
with the zone leaders and found an awesome Spanish guy. It was funny
because I ended up with 3 dinners that night. Some members wanted us
to come at 3, and they fed us molé and it was awesome, then I had
dinner with some members from the other elder's ward. Then later we
contacted a former, and I asked if there were any Spanish people in
the neighbourhood. He said right across the street, so we knocked.
They let us right in and gave us authentic tacos and horchata. It was
really good. It turned out the dad was a super inactive member, and
the wife's family were jehovah's witnesses. We came back on Sunday and
taught the father. Sadly no horchata that time. It was a direct answer
to a prayer, as I had prayed to find a Spanish person.
I've been well. I love you all.

Élder Grimmer

I Hate Wind!

It hasn't been too cold for most of this week, but when you add the

windchill factor, the -2,3, and  4 become -10, -15, even -20. It

sucks. We got dumped on with snow last night. It had snowed in red

deer before I left, but we didn't get much snow until yesterday. It is

probably  around 6 or 7 inches out there, and the temperature has been

dropping. It isn't too bad, but the wind blows.

So far we have had quite a few more investigators up in this area, but

we haven't been able to meet all of them. Our biggest focus right now

is to invite everyone to a Christmas party we are having for all

Spanish speakers. Last Sunday we got to see a broadcast of the

re-dedication of the Montreal temple. It was really cool, and

president Eyring and some Seventys spoke, but the part that sucked was

no investigators could attend. We've been keeping busy here and my new

companion works hard. He had Spanish immersion as a child so his

Spanish is very good. Much better than mine at least. It is cool to be

in the city, and the other missionaries are cool, but I will have to

be here longer to get a judge of things. I finally got some food for

myself today. Transfers are on Wednesdays and p day is Tuesday. We

basically wait a full week until we can get more food. I was living

off of a giant box of ramen, a big bag of apples, and the generosity

of my companion and the members here. I did okay though, and next week

we'll eat like kings. I'm alright, how are you? I love your emails.

Élder Grimmer

I snowed again a few times. Some of it melted, some stayed, and some
turned into ice. Fun. It got well past -10 celcius with windchill, so
that was also fun. Just a little taste I guess. It has been bouncing
above and below zero, and some cold weather is in the forecast soon.
So transfer calls were yesterday. We anxiously waited for the call,
and it finally it came, annnddd..... I'm getting transferred. I will
be heading up to northern Edmonton on Wednesday. It was also my
companions birthday yesterday. I gave him a pair of stance socks. Some
cool members also gave him a present and got him a cake. They also got
him socks, which was exactly what he wanted. We had exchanges this
week and we contacted a few people, and it seemed that they all wanted
to meet on Saturday. There were some cool people we met. As we left
one house we talked to a random person who happened to be Spanish. He
was cool but he kinda talked in circles, the same thing over again a
few times. So now I'm packing my stuff getting ready to head out. I
hope you are all doing well.

Élder Grimmer

We've had some  flurries and a lot of frost, but there is still no
snow on the ground. The Canadians love it, but I want snow. This
morning was a cold one, about -6, and frost is covering everything.
Driving home from the town of olds we saw northern lights and they
were awesome! They were green with a little red in them. Surprisingly
the strongest lights happened while we were in our apartment, in the
middle of Red Deer. We have a few investigators but we haven't been
able to meet with too many of them. We did get to do some awesome
service with a member again though. Hauling, chopping, and at times
felling trees. They let me use the axe, and when the chainsaw stopped
working I took over at de-limbing a log. It was a lot of fun. I've
been well. Hope you are having a great week.

Élder Grimmer

Both Edmonton and Calgary got hit with snow, and Red Deer is right
between them, but we only got frost this morning. Apparently this has
been the first Halloween without snow in many years for the Canadians.
Halloween was an interesting event. We got some candy from a ward
event, and we basically just hung out with some other missionaries
because we couldn't go out past 6. We have had a few good lessons, but
it has been relatively stable, not gaining many but not losing anyone
either. Our main investigators right now are in a completely different
town, but we've been trying to get people to progress. We didn't have
much money until last Friday, and I was down to a few things of oats,
some pasta, and cereal with half a gallon of milk. I bought over 100$
worth of groceries, but some things like protein and the endless
amounts of ramen aught to last me basically until the end of my
mission XD. I'll do fine. We get to work with a lot of cool
missionaries here, and they get us a nice amount of referrals. The
dinners have slowed down, but a few cool members have given us extra,
so that has helped. We were trying to lose weight anyway LOL. How have
you all been doing? I wish the best for you all.

Élder Grimmer

Jasper Alberta CANADA

There was a possibility of snow last night, but it just rained. It has
been getting colder, especially at night. Scraping off frost is a
regular thing. We have a family down in a town called olds that we've
been teaching and we had a lesson with them the other night. They were
at a member's house and the members made us an amazing soup called
Posole. We taught and the member father, an RM, helped a ton
explaining things to them. The family is cool, but they have doubts.
It was my first time teaching them, but they had a few lessons prior.
There was another cool lesson where we went to a Colombian family for
breakfast. Some members introduced us to them over dinner and they
came with us to the breakfast. It was really good Colombian food. Then
we had a  good lesson with a soft baptismal commitment (they would
agree if they got a confirmation that it is the truth). That was a
sweet lesson. We still don't have a ton of people to teach, but we are
doing better. I hope you are all doing well.

Élder Grimmer

Looks like winter feels like fall
All the trees are dead, but it is still warm. The nights have been
cooling off little by little, but the real cold has not hit yet. My
companion left his iPad on the roof and now it is shattered. We will
be going to a glacier tomorrow, which is why I am sending this
tonight. Should be fun!

We have has more people to teach. We went to a town that is a ways
south of where we live, and my companion went on splits, so I was with
an English Elder. We found a Spanish family and I taught them because
I was the only Spanish Elder. I gave the first vision in Spanish for
the first time. It was cool. The family seemed interested, but they
have a crazy work schedule, so it will be hard to teach them.

How's like back home? Anything crazy or awesome? Please do tell:)

Élder Grimmer

My companion thinks this week will be one of the last warm weeks, and
we will be getting colder starting soon. It has still been decent
here.

Our car got broken into!!! They didn't break anything, but they stole
our gas card, my coat I kept in the car, and Elder Bauer's ray bands
sunglasses. He is so mad. So am I, but i didn't lose anything of much
value.

Other than that we had a few good lessons and we got a few referrals,
so we may have some new investigators soon. Apparently some people
down in a town called olds have been coming to church, so we are going
there on Friday. We had an awesome lesson with a former investigator
named Nuri and we explained the Book of Mormon to her and committed
her to read it. Other than the car we have been fine.

Élder Grimmer

It has been hovering around zero (Celsius) in the morning and at night,
 but the days have been warmer.  Had to bust out the sweaters a few 
times, but the real cold is yet to come. Our teaching pool is somewhat 
increasing, but still quite low. A family who lived way out in the country 
that fed us a few times fed us again, and they have a less active grandson. 
He was there the last time we ate and we talked with him. Since then he has
 been coming to church a few times and he went to conference with his 
family. He talked with us and said he has been overcoming smoking and
 drinking. That was an awesome experience. We did insanity on Monday 
morning and I'm still sore. Getting fat is a problem in this mission, so we're
 trying to avoid that.

Best of luck back home!

Elder Grimmer

Just rocking my new hat. Not quite cold enough to need it yet though:)

We have had some frost over night, but the temperature has stayed
fairly warm. We saw another moose, this time it was laying down in the
woods twenty feet away, chewing on something. We taught a family that
will be leaving tomorrow to go to a town called whistler for work.
They want to be baptized here though, so they want to return to be
baptized. They are really cool, and the members were very helpful in
helping them. My Spanish is still terrible, but improving.

Thank you all for your stories and I look forward to hearing more of them.

Elder Grimmer

We have had some frost over night, but the temperature has stayed
fairly warm. We saw another moose, this time it was laying down in the
woods twenty feet away, chewing on something. We taught a family that
will be leaving tomorrow to go to a town called whistler for work.
They want to be baptized here though, so they want to return to be
baptized. They are really cool, and the members were very helpful in
helping them. My Spanish is still terrible, but improving.

Thank you all for your stories and I look forward to hearing more of them.

Elder Grimmer

Rahdia finds Grant at the MTC.  Sweet girl here's her email that came first:

"Guess what!? 

MY PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED TOO. :D

my companion and I were selected out of the thousands of missionaries here to participate in an activity called People and Their Purpose for the new members on Wednesday. Only 9 sessions were set, and i prayed and prayed and hope Elder Grimmer would be in mine, and when I got in there - HE WAS!!! :D So I did get to see him, which was such a cool and amazing tender mercy, and he looked great! I did not get to talk to him because i was working, but we said hi and were both so excited. I'll be keeping an eye out at meal times! 

You're right, it IS such a sweet weird way God answers our prayers. And as missionaries, I'm so grateful and humbled that me and elder grimmer along with every other missionary here gets the chance to be the answers to prayers over, and over again for God's people! How cool is that!? You're son and i are basically walking miracles in the waiting. XD"

First day at the MTC.

Natalia, Noni, Jasmine, Carolina, Carrie, Chloe, Peter, Isabella, Grant, Sophia, James, Jace, Angela, and Jared

Road trip!

Grant and Dad left July 11 and drove from Virginia to Provo, UT.  They saw Aunt Lisa's family, Grandma and Grandpa Barnes, Uncle Kenny's family, Uncle David's family, Uncle Matt's family and finally Aunt Angela's family.  They drove the beater and it made it.

This happened today.

Grant is on his way!

Grant's Mission Call

Oh the Excitement!