Hey everyone!
Well, another great week is behind us, and one even better begins. This past week has seen a lot of personal growth for me - I felt the companionship of the Spirit very often and had several neat experiences. I'll get to those in a second - first, a few other things.
Last Tuesday around 10 AM we received a phone call in the house from President Velasco. He had the four of us gather 'round and talked to us on speakerphone, saying he had some big news. As we listened, he told us more or less the following: "After much prayer and meditation, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency have decided that the time has come to divide the Mexico Tuxtla Gutierrez Mission."
He felt silent and let it sink in for a second, then explained what exactly that meant. This coming July, they're going to split the Tuxtla Mission and create an entirely new mission, the Mexico Villahermosa Mission. This means that the Tuxtla Gutierrez Mission will continue, but will only include the state of Chiapas and a little portion of Oaxaca, to the west. The newly created Villahermosa Mission will consist of Tabasco and Ciudad del Carmen (which is in the state of Campeche, to the northeast). New mission presidents and everything will be called, the mission home will be obtained here in Villahermosa, etc. Basically, this is something huge and very awesome. It means a lot more missionaries will cover the area of this mission, meaning more blessings for members and non-members alike (though sometimes the non-members don't consider us a blessing - hah).
So, what does it mean for me? The President said that the instruction he's received is to continue assigning missionaries as the Spirit dictates; when the change takes place in July, those missionaries who are assigned to Tabasco and that area will then be reassigned to the Mexico Villahermosa Mission and continue serving there, and the missionaries in Chiapas will stay in the Tuxtla Mission. I don't know if I'll still be in Tabasco in July, but I'm leaning toward yes... we'll just have to wait and see though! Pretty exciting news, and to be in the middle of it is cool, though it still is a ways off. It would be neat to have my mission changed halfway through - something I'd always remember. But we'll just have to see when July rolls around.
On to another topic - I received packages this week! :) Two packages from Mom and one from Lisa came through. I loved the Valentine's Day candy (especially the Swedish Fish) and the cards. I really enjoyed seeing the Christmas card, too (although it would have been nice if someone mentioned that they miss me... ;) (haha sarcasm). Thank you very, very much, Mom. Always nice to get that extra boost from home. Oh, and give my thanks to Lisa, as well. She sent candy, a hymnal (hymnal? hymn book? I forgot now), a package of Article of Faith cards (which are very awesome), and a bracelet from Laura from Egypt. It's really cool too - I really appreciate everything. So, thanks! :)
As far as health goes - I'm doing good, except it turns out I have an eye infection. I've probably had it for about two months now, actually. Back in Tuxtla my eye started hurting and turning all red by nighttime a couple days in a row. I wore my glasses for a couple days and it went back to normal - but then started up again after going back to contacts. But I didn't really do anything about it. I thought, Hey, it could be the change in climate (it had recently gotten colder), dust from the street, old contacts - who knows what's causing it? (Well, for starters, an eye doctor...) When I came to Villahermosa it stopped, but two weeks ago started up again and stayed that way for a week - so I finally wised up and went to an eye doctor, who within a good twelve seconds told me it was a bacterial infection and gave me eye drops to take care of it. I'm using them and my glasses until Friday, and then I should be able to go back to contacts without any problem. I'm glad to get it finally figured out; if there's a next time, "talk to a doctor" goes at the top of the to-do list. :)
Now for the work. You'll remember (you WILL remember! hah) that I mentioned Angelica, the lady we've been teaching, and how we were going to invite her to baptism last Monday? Well, we went to the appointment, went inside, sat down, and asked her how she was doing. "Wonderful!" she told us, looking extremely happy. Wow, we thought. Why so great? "I had the chance to come to know God very personally these last few days" was the answer. Both my companion and I were taken aback. Sounds perfect, right? We asked her how that came about, and that's when our hearts sank. She told us she went to an "encuentro"- from what I understand, basically a religious retreat. I later found out from my companion that it's from one of the Christian churches and they do a bunch of rituals and "feel the Spirit" (by writhing on the ground, speaking in tongues, etc. - like the Pentecostal Church does) and various other things of a similar nature. My heart just dropped - I felt terrible. She had been progressing pretty well, praying, reading the Book of Mormon, everything, and now she told us (very politely) that she really wasn't interested in the message anymore because she had found her faith. There really wasn't much we could do at that point - we each bore a brief testimony, reminded her that the church doors are always open, and excused ourselves. I felt pretty bad the rest of the evening, though I did move on. I've been praying for her this week and asking that she eventually be led back to the Church. It's rough when things like this happen - the Adversary works really hard against the truth, and like you said a few weeks ago, Dad, people do have their agency. We just have to keep moving on and working hard. Still, it's sad.
On the other hand, I'm really hoping and praying that we'll be able to have a baptism either this Saturday or the next. Maritza - an investigator I think I mentioned, who has a strong testimony, reads the scriptures a lot, understands very well - came to church yesterday and asked to meet with us on Wednesday (for the last week or so she hasn't seemed to want to talk to us, and we thought it was something a member had said or something). We talked to the bishop's wife later, and she said that she talked with Maritza and feels like her baptism is imminent. We're really excited - after whatever it was happened and it seemed like Maritza was no longer interested, we started praying a lot for her and that she could be baptized. It seems like our prayers were answered, which is great. I'll have more news about her next week. The work continues to go fairly well. We're doing a lot of contacting and finding people that seem truly interested - prepared and chosen. We should see the fruits of our labors in the coming weeks.
On to other things. First, the anchors of my testimony. Dad, I think that's a great idea for Family Home Evening - a good way for me to participate. I want to think about it this week, but for your FHE there are two things that stand out in my mind. The first: a powerful experience with prayer. About a year and a half ago, in April-ish of my senior year (2008), I was in my room at night getting ready to go to bed. I was thinking a lot about what was going on in my life; I was feeling pretty stressed and discouraged. There were various reasons for those feelings. The end of high school was nearing and I was feeling unsure about the future. I had been feeling beset by temptation and the world for about a week before that, and felt like I was struggling to maintain the faith and do my best. Everything was really weighing down on my mind, and I had been pondering these things for quite a while when out of nowhere the thought came - Why haven't you prayed? For some reason, I hadn't really, truly prayed for help - I had been "saying my prayers," but not sincerely and diligently seeking the help of the Lord. That thought was like - Hey dingbat, why not use the best tool you have to rid yourself of this weight? (I'm sure it came to me in a more loving tone, but I felt a little embarrassed for not having thought of that sooner.) So, I knelt down by the side of my bed and began to pray with sincerity and true intent. I had no sooner said the words "Father in Heaven" when I felt a distinct warmth settle into my body and penetrate me all the way through. It felt like a very literal weight was lifted from my shoulders - like taking off a heavy backpack that I hadn't realized I'd been carrying. It was a literal sensation, and I was surprised at how quickly the needed help came. I felt at peace; though I didn't have all the answers to life's questions, I knew that God loved me and that everything would work out for the best. With that reminder, I was comforted and remembered my heaviness of heart no more. My prayer quickly changed from asking for help to expressing heartfelt gratitude for such a powerful and immediate response. The Spirit continued to bring me peace, love, and happiness; those feelings stayed with me for the next few days. That was an experience that I will always remember, and that I have looked to as a source of strength many times. I know that in that moment God answered my prayer, that He truly whispered words of peace and comfort to my soul, and that my burdens were liften. I testify as well that He does love us, each and every one, and that prayer is the surest way to know and feel of that infinite love. He really does want to listen to us and yearns to answer our prayers and give us the help we need in life. We just need to remember to ask Him, to really talk with Him and seek that loving guidance.
That experience is the first that came to mind. In my mission so far there have been many, especially in the past few weeks. The other one I wanted to mention right now was when Dad and I gave Aunt Elaine a blessing before she passed away. The blessing itself was a wonderful experience, but so was the consecration of the oil that we did right before heading up to Sandy. Remember that, Dad? You can share that experience tonight too - for me, it was a testimony of the reality and power of the Priesthood, and a very neat thing.
Okay, now I'm going to get to questions - as many as I can right now. First, Dad, I do get emails from a few people, and that is okay with the mission rules as long as we focus on writing the family. So what I try to do, is print out any emails I get, and spend my entire hour writing one all-inclusive letter. Other Elders will write several small letters to various people, which I also do once in a while. But, since you post this to the blog, I think this way works best for me. Everyone can access it, and read everything that is happening, instead of just a quick note. So far it's worked out okay, but I do really love getting normal, handwritten letters from people - seems a little bit more special - and generally prefer it that way. (but an email is better than nothing! hah). Even though it takes a few weeks to get to me, it has been no problem.
Now, for answers to questions from last week and this week.
Mom - Okay, I'm starting with your questions from last week. We walk probably between 3 and 7 miles daily. It varies, but that's my best guess. I really enjoy the walking, except when it's really hot - which is to say, always. :) I do like it though. We use public transportation pretty much every day at some point. Here in Villahermosa they have what are called pochis - they're basically upgraded bumper cars, to be honest. Little motorized bike-looking things, but enclosed inside an open shell. They seat three passengers and charge 5 pesos a person - about 40 cents. They zip around pretty quick and are useful when we're in a hurry or want to get from one side of the area to the other. I'll have to take a picture of them this week. We also use taxis every now and then, which are also very cheap and convenient. We usually use something every day at some point. I get along pretty well with my companion. No one's perfect, but he's a hard worker and pretty funny too. He's from a city just outside Mexico City and finishes his mission at the beginning of April. I've learned a lot from him and had a lot of fun with him so far. We rent a small two-floor house and live there with the zone leaders. It's a pretty awesome house and I really enjoy living there. The laundry is coming well - so far I'm doing well on the clothing front. I don't need anything for now.
You asked about the General Authority from our zone conference. I'm pretty sure Elder Johnson is from Idaho, but I'm not positive. Yes, the conference was in Spanish; he speaks really well, and his wife too. You mentioned music - the guidelines for music are that it's soft, uplifting, and brings the Spirit. This includes, hymns, pretty much all EFY music, piano instrumentals, things like that. Your idea about a cd player sounds great - or should I look at picking one up here? So far everything you've sent has arrived intact - though some of the heart cookies were a bit crumbled :) - but let me know what you think would be easier. I thought it was absolutely awesome that Reagan can sign and say those letters. That's incredible. I think you're right,
too; I think we can try to push him a little more, that maybe he too is now "ripe, ready to harvest." Haha. Maybe now is his time to learn more and progress a little more. Give it a shot, and keep letting me know how it goes! Thanks, Mom, for the packages and emails and all of the love and support and prayers. I can definitely feel them blessing my life and the work. Thank you, and I love you very much! :) Have a great week!
Gabbie - Ouch! Your bruise doesn't sound very fun. Have someone give it a kiss for me - probably Nikka. :) It's too bad the book fair didn't have too many books this time - what book are you reading now? Oh, something funny from yesterday - I found you a future husband! :) We ate with a family in the ward, and we were talking about our families; when the dad found out that I have a sister who's eleven, he said to his ten-year-old son, "Looks like we found someone for you to marry!" We were joking about it for a little while; I thought it was pretty funny. (His name is Zeniff, by the way. Haha.) Anyway, it sounds like you're doing really good and having fun. Keep working hard in school and having fun at home and with friends. (You're my favorite sister - but shhh, don't tell Miranda!) I love you Gabs! :)
Miranda - Thanks for the note. As always, no worries if you don't manage to write every so often. I know life gets busy and that you'll write the following week. Sounds like your relaxing week went well. As always, thanks for being such an awesome sister (you're also my favorite... haha) and such a good friend. Have a great week and keep up the good work! I love you! :)
Dad - Hopefully Josh gets news about his call soon. I too think he would be able to serve very well. Send him my best and let him know that I'm finally going to send him a letter this week. Thanks for letting me know about Jeanel, too - I'll be praying for her. Let me know what transpires.
What you said about answers to prayers bring up some very good questions. I think it's a mix of agency, trusting in the Lord, faith, and the fact that we don't know everything - I have a lot more thoughts on it, but not the time right now to think it through and answer, so that will come next week. I do want to say this, though - there's a reason we need to continually have spiritual experiences, that we can't survive on one or two alone. President Harold B. Lee said once, "A testimony is like a moonbeam. It needs to be recaptured every day of your life." What I've come to realize is that in day-to-day life, trials and challenges can come that make us doubt our testimonies and faith. Satan throws all sorts of things at us to make us wonder about answers to prayer. However, in the moment when we actually feel the Spirit and receive that answer, we cannot doubt - we know for a surety, because our spirit is receiving the answer from above. But after time passes, we lose that strong knowledge of the truth, and we're left with just the memory. Those memories help us immensely, but can't replace the real moment.
On that same idea ... I remember hearing a story once - I think from President Eyring, but I'm not sure - where he was hunting with his dad out in the woods, and it grew dark and was time to head back home; they were on foot, and came to a fork in the road and couldn't remember which way to turn. The first thing his dad did was have them kneel down and prayer for guidance, which was a lesson to him about the importance of prayer. But it's what happened afterward that I really like - they both felt prompted to take the left road, so they did - and it dead-ended ten minutes later. They turned around, headed back, and took the right road (no pun intended). As a boy, he asked his father - does this mean God didn't answer our prayer? His father said - maybe that was God's way of answering us in the best way possible. He explained that if they had taken the right road from the beginning, they might have doubted their decision for miles and miles before arriving home and realizing that it was the correct road. But God told them to take the dead end - when the road ended, they knew for sure which was the right road, and took it without doubting. In this instance, God answered their prayer and also removed their doubts about the answer to prayer. I think sometimes it can be like that - God gives us the answers we need, because He knows our needs far better than we do. Anyway, those are my thoughts right now - I'll need to ponder it more fully.
I think often on all our experiences, and look forward to reading your thoughts and insights every week. Thanks for all the great times, Dad. I love you very much. Have a great week! :)
Whew. That was a long one (must me some kind of record! alrighty then), and my fingers are tired. Time to send it off, and get back to work. I love you all very much and am very appreciative of all your love and support. Have a great week - I'll talk to you next Monday! :)
Con amor,
Elder Greer
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Cool weather ... Cool Conference.
¡Buenas tardes! Today it's drizzly and cool, and that's actually a great thing. I hope this email finds you all happy and doing well. This week has been a very good one - I've grown and learned a lot.
The highlight of the week was the special conference we had on Friday last with Elder Johnson, the Area President of Mexico. It was our zone, which comprises all of Villahermosa and the surrounding area, and the Cardenas zone - which is a city in Tabasco, somewhat close by, but I don't know more than that. It was a special conference primarily because because a General Authority was present, but also because there wasn't the usual... what's the word... "convivio" in Spanish. Meaning we didn't hang around afterward as a zone, talk, eat lunch, all of that. Elder Johnson wanted us to come, learn, feel the Spirit, and then head to work and apply what we had learned. And man, we learned a ton.
(Small side note: above is an example of what I think is really cool about getting better at Spanish. "Convivio" was the word that came to mind, and it's not just that I can't remember the English equivalent, it's that I don't know one; I can't think of a word that has the exact meaning I'm looking for. I think it's cool that I'm starting to view Spanish not just as a translation of English, but as its own language. There are words and phrases that don't really have an equivalent, and they're starting to sink in. Pretty cool.)
Now, back to the conference. The week before Friday we were given the "homework" to study Article of Faith 4 and D&C 29:7. At first trying to study an Article of Faith seemed a little superfluous, especially one that talks about the "basics." But like you mentioned a little while back, Dad, just because they're the basics of the gospel doesn't mean they're a cinch to understand, apply, and live; quite the opposite. I studied faith, repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost in depth as much as I could, and then waited to hear what we'd be taught. The verse in D&C talks about finding the elect, and defines the elect as those who "listen to my voice." I thought, okay, that means I need to teach the people who will listen. Case closed. But I knew there would be more, and arrived at the conference eager to learn.
Man. I wish I could have recorded those three hours. I'll try to relate what I learned as best I can. First, we talked about why Article of Faith number four is in that place, and not elsewhere. Elder Johnson taught us that one reason is because it's impossible to complete the principles and ordinances of the gospel without the preceding three articles - you can't have faith in a Being you don't understand (AoF 1), and you can't repent and move toward baptism and all the rest without first knowing that you will be responsible for the sins you commit (AoF 2) and that there is indeed a way to be saved (AoF 3). Elder Johnson emphasized the importance of these first four declarations of belief in missionary work. First, investigators must understand that God and Jesus Christ are Beings of flesh and blood, and that the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit. It's a belief that is professed by no other religion. Next, they must learn that we are born innocent and thereafter responsible for the sins we commit - this clarifies the erroneous concept of Original Sin and points us toward action. The investigators must also understand that the Atonement of Jesus Christ makes it possible for them to be saved - to really, truly be cleansed of sin and return to live with their families in a state of glory and light after this life. A key concept here as well is that "all mankind may be saved - by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel." Too many people believe that since by grace they are saved, all we have to do is "accept" Jesus Christ's sacrifice and we'll be wiped clean of sin. This runs counter to every aspect of the Gospel and of the Plan of Salvation, which is why it's very important to understand that works are required as well. Thus we arrive at the fourth Article of Faith: the key principles and ordinances of salvation, placed in the order in which they must come. I could go into a lot more detail about that and about what Elder Johnson said, but that was one thing that I really liked from what he taught us. It brought home the importance of teaching clear, correct principles - and reaffirmed the beauty and simplicity of the Restored Gospel.
Another interesting thing we talked about is what brings the remission of sins. Elder Johnson gave us an example. Say there's a nuclear engineer in Iraq who chances upon a Bible one day, reads it, and converts to Christianity. He begins to pray, read the scriptures daily, develop his faith, and repent of his sins. He has made a true repentance and wants to continue and be baptized. The problem is, in Iraq Christianity is punishable by death, and because he builds bombs the government won't let him leave the country. The question asked us was this - Can that man receive a remission of his sins in this life? Well, various missionaries raised their hands and started asking questions and putting forth their ideas. We talked about it for a little while. The majority of the people said that yes, he can receive a remission of his sins - forgiveness, in other words - because he did indeed repent completely of his sins, and that he'll have to have his work done for him after he dies so that he can enter the Celestial Kingdom and all that. The rest of us (myself included) voted no, but it kind of felt like hey, he's doing the very best he possibly can, and you're going to deny him forgiveness? Anyway, Elder Johnson had someone read Article of Faith 4.
When he got to the part about baptism, Elder Johnson stopped and said, "No, no, no. Stop reading from those false scriptures. Yours must be translated incorrectly." He had someone else read it, and did the same, and then once again. He then said, "You mean to tell me that what the scriptures really say is that baptism is the only means to receive a remission of sins? So our Iraqi friend can't be forgiven in this life?" It really hit the point home - Elder Johnson was right. We can't be completely forgiven of our sins without baptism (by the proper authority), no matter how well we live. Baptism is absolutely essential for forgiveness and salvation.
That's when he connected it to the scripture in D&C. As missionaries we are called to gather the elect. The elect are those who hear his voice and don't harden their hearts. We are here to find those people and bring them to baptism, so that they can receive that forgiveness of their sins. So, how do we know who are the elect?
Elder Johnson said that a lot of times when we talk to people, teach them, etc. and they don't accept, we say, Well, at least we just planted some good seeds that one day will bear fruit. That's true, he said, but is that your calling? Does D&C 4 say that "the field is white already to be fertilized" - or planted or watered or any of the other necessary and preparatory tasks? No - it says the field is ready to be harvested. There are people who are ready to be baptized, and those are the people we are seeking. Of course people need those seeds, those experiences to prepare them to really receive the message in their hearts.
But we are not responsible, as missionaries, to plant those seeds. He made a list of things and people that prepare God's children to hear His word - things like losing a loved one, having friends who are members, spiritual experiences, doubts, tragedies, angels, etc. Basically, Elder Johnson said, it's God's job to prepare the people, and your job to find them, teach them, and baptize them.
Wow. That hit me pretty hard - even writing about it now I feel the power of those words. Elder Johnson then taught us that the way to find these elect is by testifying so that the Spirit speaks to them. If they are the elect - those that God has already prepared - they will accept the invitation to be taught and to continue in the gospel path. If they're not ready yet, well, this was one more experience (yes, seed, in a way) to help them on the way, and we move on to the next person. It's really as simple as that. He mentioned that in one zone where he taught the same thing the week before, a sister missionary raised her hand and said, "But if the missionaries had stopped teaching me during the eight years I was investigating the church, I would never have been baptized." Elder Johnson said his response was: "I wince to think of all the time those missionaries wasted. So many companionships, teaching a lesson or two every week for eight years when there were other people who were truly ready for the message." The point isn't that spreading seeds of gospel truth is a bad thing - just that it's not the job of the missionaries. God has that part of the work under control, through the circumstances of life and whatnot. We need to have faith that those people (like the sister) will be found when they are actually ready. We need to focus on those people that He's already prepared.
As I mentioned, the way we do that is through testimony and the Spirit. Usually, when we do a door/street contact, we say something like, "We're missionaries of the Church... and we share a message about (The Book of Mormon with brief explanation, the Restored Gospel and Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ, the fact that
God speaks today to prophets... etc). Can we come inside and share this message with you?" That's about the essence of it - it's always changing and directed by the Spirit, though. It's worked pretty well for us so far, but the problem is, it doesn't help us find out if people are really interested. Sometimes you can just tell, but most of the time people are willing to give you five minutes if you ask for it, and then we end up wasting time with people who aren't ready yet. So what Elder Johnson taught us to do is to say that we're representatives of Jesus Christ and then bear testimony. Start bearing testimony of a gospel truth - say whatever the Spirit indicates should be said. "I know that Christ lives and loves you. I know that if we live his gospel and his teachings, we can receive a remission of our sins" and so on. Both companions testify, and then one asks if we can come inside (or visit them in their house) and share this message. If they say yes, then we go ahead and do so. If they say no, we invite them to church and head on our way. It's pretty simple, but extremely effective and powerful. We've been putting it in practice since the conference, and I've seen definite results. We've found a couple of people who are willing to be taught, and soon we'll see how that goes for them. We've also avoided wasting time with people who seem interested but really aren't. The key is testimony, which when given invites the Spirit into the conversation. That's probably the coolest part of these contacts - no matter what the outcome is, I feel the Spirit every single time and walk away spiritually edified. It's such a cool thing to experience.
Well, that's more than enough about the conference; I absolutely loved everything we were taught and will continue to study my notes and ponder the instruction. I hope I accurately expressed the ideas that he conveyed - and didn't bore anyone with too much detail. The application of these principles will really change the way we work as missionaries and the success we have. If we contact 30 people every two days (15 per day is about the average here), we're bound to find at least one person who has been prepared by the Lord to accept the gospel. That's 3 people every week - which means that if we put this in practice now, we'll get to the point where we can have a couple people getting baptized every single week. Pretty cool thought, huh?
Whew. That took a while but I wanted to share the things I learned. The rest of the week has been pretty good - last week was a little slow leading up to the conference, teaching-wise, but it's starting to pick up again. We're going to be teaching Angelica later on tonight and going to invite her to baptism; wish us luck! (Or, on second thought, pray for us!) We'll be spending a lot of time this week contacting and then teaching the people we contact; I'm honestly really excited for it. Not too much else happened during the week that was noteworthy... that I remember, anyway. :) Answer time!
First - yes, I received letters. (I knew there was something cool I was forgetting.) Man, did I do well this time around. Two letters from Lisa and two from Laura. Two from Brother and Sister Windley. A Christmas card from Kevin's family and one from the Stake Presidency (it's Christmas time again?? haha). A letter from Grandma and Grandpa Bown, and another from... argh. I can't remember right now. Anyway, it was really awesome to read all the letters and receive all that love and support. Please thank the Windleys for me - that was really nice of them. Also, tell Grandma and Grandpa that I really appreciate their letter a lot and that I'm going to reply to them - probably in my email next week, and with a handwritten letter if I can get it off. And, as always, thank Laura and Lisa - I always love their letters.
Gabbie - I was sad to hear about your knee injury in gymnastics. Did you wrap an Ace bandage around it? :) Haha. Mom says you're not going to take gymnastics anymore - things are sure changing while I'm gone, huh? No more going to pick you up anymore, I guess. The soccer story sounds funny - and painful, of course. It sounds like you've been having lots of fun in school and everything. Keep up the good work. I'll write more next week; I don't have a ton of time right now. But I love you very much! Thanks for always emailing me. Can't wait to hear from you next week! Love you!
Miranda - No worries about the lack of an email last week; I'm going to make up for it right now by being kind of short. Lacrosse sounds pretty fun - when do the games start? You'll have to have Mom take pictures of a game when you have one. Michael Jackson's back to being pretty popular here, too, so you're not alone with your newest obession-of-the-week... cough... I mean, perfectly normal interest. :) Haha. Just kidding, of course. Speaking of music - I thought of this Rudolf song the other day: "You'll go down in history - like Columbus, Einstein, Frankenstein, Caesar, Napoleon, King George, Titanic, Elvis, George Washington, and Joseph Smith!" Haha - remember that when we were little?! Good times, huh? Well, enjoy the fun week at school, work hard and have lots of fun, and remember that I love you a lot! :)
Mom - Whew, a bunch of questions. I promise I'll answer them - but it'll have to wait til next week. Like I said, a little short on time right now. It was cool to hear about the FHE and the Reagan stories. My hands are actually doing really well - my skin in general too. No redness, no cracking or peeling. Pretty much perfect, actually. I'll have to check the pictures to see if it looks otherwise - just your motherly protectiveness kicking in. :) Sorry for the short message. I really enjoyed reading your email, as always. Thank you very much. I love you very much! :)
Dad - Taylor's farewell sounded pretty cool. Tell him good luck from me, and that I wish him the best. Everything you said about the Sunday School lesson and Brother Barber's talk I really enjoyed, and I'm going to read the scriptures you mentioned. I like the application of Cain's actions - I'd never thought about it exactly that way before. And what you said about "the little things" and how pride can snowball is so very, very true. (How can something be truer that "true"? Haha.) It really is the little habits and actions that make or break our experience in life, and our faithfulness, our blessings and obedience, etc. I thought your advice about "Take every opportunity to bear your testimony" was especially appropriate given the conference. Thanks for all the advice you gave, and always give. It always helps me keep improving and getting better. Oh, one last thing - the other day I heard "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" playing on the radio. Haha. Pretty awesome - since the only other times I heard that song was the recording of your karaoke "performance". (for a second I thought it was you! ha). Thanks again, Dad, for everything. Answers to questions and pictures next week for sure. I love you very much!
My hour is up - back to work! :)
I hope this week is great for everyone. Thanks for all the prayers and support. Keep relying on the Spirit and doing all you can to follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ. I love you all very much!
Elder Greer
The highlight of the week was the special conference we had on Friday last with Elder Johnson, the Area President of Mexico. It was our zone, which comprises all of Villahermosa and the surrounding area, and the Cardenas zone - which is a city in Tabasco, somewhat close by, but I don't know more than that. It was a special conference primarily because because a General Authority was present, but also because there wasn't the usual... what's the word... "convivio" in Spanish. Meaning we didn't hang around afterward as a zone, talk, eat lunch, all of that. Elder Johnson wanted us to come, learn, feel the Spirit, and then head to work and apply what we had learned. And man, we learned a ton.
(Small side note: above is an example of what I think is really cool about getting better at Spanish. "Convivio" was the word that came to mind, and it's not just that I can't remember the English equivalent, it's that I don't know one; I can't think of a word that has the exact meaning I'm looking for. I think it's cool that I'm starting to view Spanish not just as a translation of English, but as its own language. There are words and phrases that don't really have an equivalent, and they're starting to sink in. Pretty cool.)
Now, back to the conference. The week before Friday we were given the "homework" to study Article of Faith 4 and D&C 29:7. At first trying to study an Article of Faith seemed a little superfluous, especially one that talks about the "basics." But like you mentioned a little while back, Dad, just because they're the basics of the gospel doesn't mean they're a cinch to understand, apply, and live; quite the opposite. I studied faith, repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost in depth as much as I could, and then waited to hear what we'd be taught. The verse in D&C talks about finding the elect, and defines the elect as those who "listen to my voice." I thought, okay, that means I need to teach the people who will listen. Case closed. But I knew there would be more, and arrived at the conference eager to learn.
Man. I wish I could have recorded those three hours. I'll try to relate what I learned as best I can. First, we talked about why Article of Faith number four is in that place, and not elsewhere. Elder Johnson taught us that one reason is because it's impossible to complete the principles and ordinances of the gospel without the preceding three articles - you can't have faith in a Being you don't understand (AoF 1), and you can't repent and move toward baptism and all the rest without first knowing that you will be responsible for the sins you commit (AoF 2) and that there is indeed a way to be saved (AoF 3). Elder Johnson emphasized the importance of these first four declarations of belief in missionary work. First, investigators must understand that God and Jesus Christ are Beings of flesh and blood, and that the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit. It's a belief that is professed by no other religion. Next, they must learn that we are born innocent and thereafter responsible for the sins we commit - this clarifies the erroneous concept of Original Sin and points us toward action. The investigators must also understand that the Atonement of Jesus Christ makes it possible for them to be saved - to really, truly be cleansed of sin and return to live with their families in a state of glory and light after this life. A key concept here as well is that "all mankind may be saved - by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel." Too many people believe that since by grace they are saved, all we have to do is "accept" Jesus Christ's sacrifice and we'll be wiped clean of sin. This runs counter to every aspect of the Gospel and of the Plan of Salvation, which is why it's very important to understand that works are required as well. Thus we arrive at the fourth Article of Faith: the key principles and ordinances of salvation, placed in the order in which they must come. I could go into a lot more detail about that and about what Elder Johnson said, but that was one thing that I really liked from what he taught us. It brought home the importance of teaching clear, correct principles - and reaffirmed the beauty and simplicity of the Restored Gospel.
Another interesting thing we talked about is what brings the remission of sins. Elder Johnson gave us an example. Say there's a nuclear engineer in Iraq who chances upon a Bible one day, reads it, and converts to Christianity. He begins to pray, read the scriptures daily, develop his faith, and repent of his sins. He has made a true repentance and wants to continue and be baptized. The problem is, in Iraq Christianity is punishable by death, and because he builds bombs the government won't let him leave the country. The question asked us was this - Can that man receive a remission of his sins in this life? Well, various missionaries raised their hands and started asking questions and putting forth their ideas. We talked about it for a little while. The majority of the people said that yes, he can receive a remission of his sins - forgiveness, in other words - because he did indeed repent completely of his sins, and that he'll have to have his work done for him after he dies so that he can enter the Celestial Kingdom and all that. The rest of us (myself included) voted no, but it kind of felt like hey, he's doing the very best he possibly can, and you're going to deny him forgiveness? Anyway, Elder Johnson had someone read Article of Faith 4.
When he got to the part about baptism, Elder Johnson stopped and said, "No, no, no. Stop reading from those false scriptures. Yours must be translated incorrectly." He had someone else read it, and did the same, and then once again. He then said, "You mean to tell me that what the scriptures really say is that baptism is the only means to receive a remission of sins? So our Iraqi friend can't be forgiven in this life?" It really hit the point home - Elder Johnson was right. We can't be completely forgiven of our sins without baptism (by the proper authority), no matter how well we live. Baptism is absolutely essential for forgiveness and salvation.
That's when he connected it to the scripture in D&C. As missionaries we are called to gather the elect. The elect are those who hear his voice and don't harden their hearts. We are here to find those people and bring them to baptism, so that they can receive that forgiveness of their sins. So, how do we know who are the elect?
Elder Johnson said that a lot of times when we talk to people, teach them, etc. and they don't accept, we say, Well, at least we just planted some good seeds that one day will bear fruit. That's true, he said, but is that your calling? Does D&C 4 say that "the field is white already to be fertilized" - or planted or watered or any of the other necessary and preparatory tasks? No - it says the field is ready to be harvested. There are people who are ready to be baptized, and those are the people we are seeking. Of course people need those seeds, those experiences to prepare them to really receive the message in their hearts.
But we are not responsible, as missionaries, to plant those seeds. He made a list of things and people that prepare God's children to hear His word - things like losing a loved one, having friends who are members, spiritual experiences, doubts, tragedies, angels, etc. Basically, Elder Johnson said, it's God's job to prepare the people, and your job to find them, teach them, and baptize them.
Wow. That hit me pretty hard - even writing about it now I feel the power of those words. Elder Johnson then taught us that the way to find these elect is by testifying so that the Spirit speaks to them. If they are the elect - those that God has already prepared - they will accept the invitation to be taught and to continue in the gospel path. If they're not ready yet, well, this was one more experience (yes, seed, in a way) to help them on the way, and we move on to the next person. It's really as simple as that. He mentioned that in one zone where he taught the same thing the week before, a sister missionary raised her hand and said, "But if the missionaries had stopped teaching me during the eight years I was investigating the church, I would never have been baptized." Elder Johnson said his response was: "I wince to think of all the time those missionaries wasted. So many companionships, teaching a lesson or two every week for eight years when there were other people who were truly ready for the message." The point isn't that spreading seeds of gospel truth is a bad thing - just that it's not the job of the missionaries. God has that part of the work under control, through the circumstances of life and whatnot. We need to have faith that those people (like the sister) will be found when they are actually ready. We need to focus on those people that He's already prepared.
As I mentioned, the way we do that is through testimony and the Spirit. Usually, when we do a door/street contact, we say something like, "We're missionaries of the Church... and we share a message about (The Book of Mormon with brief explanation, the Restored Gospel and Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ, the fact that
God speaks today to prophets... etc). Can we come inside and share this message with you?" That's about the essence of it - it's always changing and directed by the Spirit, though. It's worked pretty well for us so far, but the problem is, it doesn't help us find out if people are really interested. Sometimes you can just tell, but most of the time people are willing to give you five minutes if you ask for it, and then we end up wasting time with people who aren't ready yet. So what Elder Johnson taught us to do is to say that we're representatives of Jesus Christ and then bear testimony. Start bearing testimony of a gospel truth - say whatever the Spirit indicates should be said. "I know that Christ lives and loves you. I know that if we live his gospel and his teachings, we can receive a remission of our sins" and so on. Both companions testify, and then one asks if we can come inside (or visit them in their house) and share this message. If they say yes, then we go ahead and do so. If they say no, we invite them to church and head on our way. It's pretty simple, but extremely effective and powerful. We've been putting it in practice since the conference, and I've seen definite results. We've found a couple of people who are willing to be taught, and soon we'll see how that goes for them. We've also avoided wasting time with people who seem interested but really aren't. The key is testimony, which when given invites the Spirit into the conversation. That's probably the coolest part of these contacts - no matter what the outcome is, I feel the Spirit every single time and walk away spiritually edified. It's such a cool thing to experience.
Well, that's more than enough about the conference; I absolutely loved everything we were taught and will continue to study my notes and ponder the instruction. I hope I accurately expressed the ideas that he conveyed - and didn't bore anyone with too much detail. The application of these principles will really change the way we work as missionaries and the success we have. If we contact 30 people every two days (15 per day is about the average here), we're bound to find at least one person who has been prepared by the Lord to accept the gospel. That's 3 people every week - which means that if we put this in practice now, we'll get to the point where we can have a couple people getting baptized every single week. Pretty cool thought, huh?
Whew. That took a while but I wanted to share the things I learned. The rest of the week has been pretty good - last week was a little slow leading up to the conference, teaching-wise, but it's starting to pick up again. We're going to be teaching Angelica later on tonight and going to invite her to baptism; wish us luck! (Or, on second thought, pray for us!) We'll be spending a lot of time this week contacting and then teaching the people we contact; I'm honestly really excited for it. Not too much else happened during the week that was noteworthy... that I remember, anyway. :) Answer time!
First - yes, I received letters. (I knew there was something cool I was forgetting.) Man, did I do well this time around. Two letters from Lisa and two from Laura. Two from Brother and Sister Windley. A Christmas card from Kevin's family and one from the Stake Presidency (it's Christmas time again?? haha). A letter from Grandma and Grandpa Bown, and another from... argh. I can't remember right now. Anyway, it was really awesome to read all the letters and receive all that love and support. Please thank the Windleys for me - that was really nice of them. Also, tell Grandma and Grandpa that I really appreciate their letter a lot and that I'm going to reply to them - probably in my email next week, and with a handwritten letter if I can get it off. And, as always, thank Laura and Lisa - I always love their letters.
Gabbie - I was sad to hear about your knee injury in gymnastics. Did you wrap an Ace bandage around it? :) Haha. Mom says you're not going to take gymnastics anymore - things are sure changing while I'm gone, huh? No more going to pick you up anymore, I guess. The soccer story sounds funny - and painful, of course. It sounds like you've been having lots of fun in school and everything. Keep up the good work. I'll write more next week; I don't have a ton of time right now. But I love you very much! Thanks for always emailing me. Can't wait to hear from you next week! Love you!
Miranda - No worries about the lack of an email last week; I'm going to make up for it right now by being kind of short. Lacrosse sounds pretty fun - when do the games start? You'll have to have Mom take pictures of a game when you have one. Michael Jackson's back to being pretty popular here, too, so you're not alone with your newest obession-of-the-week... cough... I mean, perfectly normal interest. :) Haha. Just kidding, of course. Speaking of music - I thought of this Rudolf song the other day: "You'll go down in history - like Columbus, Einstein, Frankenstein, Caesar, Napoleon, King George, Titanic, Elvis, George Washington, and Joseph Smith!" Haha - remember that when we were little?! Good times, huh? Well, enjoy the fun week at school, work hard and have lots of fun, and remember that I love you a lot! :)
Mom - Whew, a bunch of questions. I promise I'll answer them - but it'll have to wait til next week. Like I said, a little short on time right now. It was cool to hear about the FHE and the Reagan stories. My hands are actually doing really well - my skin in general too. No redness, no cracking or peeling. Pretty much perfect, actually. I'll have to check the pictures to see if it looks otherwise - just your motherly protectiveness kicking in. :) Sorry for the short message. I really enjoyed reading your email, as always. Thank you very much. I love you very much! :)
Dad - Taylor's farewell sounded pretty cool. Tell him good luck from me, and that I wish him the best. Everything you said about the Sunday School lesson and Brother Barber's talk I really enjoyed, and I'm going to read the scriptures you mentioned. I like the application of Cain's actions - I'd never thought about it exactly that way before. And what you said about "the little things" and how pride can snowball is so very, very true. (How can something be truer that "true"? Haha.) It really is the little habits and actions that make or break our experience in life, and our faithfulness, our blessings and obedience, etc. I thought your advice about "Take every opportunity to bear your testimony" was especially appropriate given the conference. Thanks for all the advice you gave, and always give. It always helps me keep improving and getting better. Oh, one last thing - the other day I heard "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" playing on the radio. Haha. Pretty awesome - since the only other times I heard that song was the recording of your karaoke "performance". (for a second I thought it was you! ha). Thanks again, Dad, for everything. Answers to questions and pictures next week for sure. I love you very much!
My hour is up - back to work! :)
I hope this week is great for everyone. Thanks for all the prayers and support. Keep relying on the Spirit and doing all you can to follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ. I love you all very much!
Elder Greer
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
A great week in Villahermosa
¡Buenísimas tardes! Les escribo desde un cibercafé que se encuentra en una calle muy linda acerca del centro de la ciudad de Villahermosa, Tabasco. Espero que puedo expresarme bien y relatar lo que pasó esta semana para el beneficio de todos aquellos que me escuchen. Hemos tenido una semana muy exitosa, y quiero compartir algunos experiencias con ustedes.
I thought about writing the whole email in Spanish, but figured I'd stick with just the opening. It still suprises me sometimes how easily it comes to mind. In any case - hey everyone! :) This week has been a good one. Let's get down to it.
First, the investigator Estefania. I mentioned her last week - she was introduced to the missionaries by a friend of hers in the ward (named Noé Gabriel, which I thought was a little ironic - speaking of, I don't know if I ever mentioned this, but back in Tuxtla we once contacted a man named Julio César who had a brother named Marco Antonio - and he said that their names were pure coincidence, which I doubted - but anyway, back to the point). She's pretty much ready for baptism, but a couple things are holding her back. She has the permission of her parents, she has a solid testimony of the Book of Mormon, and she prays a lot and listens to the Spirit. The problem is, she hasn't made it to church yet. Last week she couldn't go because of an event in "her church." We realized it's a little tough for her to let go of old habits and traditions - she knows the Church is true and everything, but it's sometimes hard to make that transition. So we taught her a few times last week, helped her strengthen that testimony, and then had her friend pass by for her on Sunday morning - still nada. She had "a previous commitment" in her church. So Elder Enriquez and I prayed about what we should do - whether or not we should keep working with her, or give her some space and try again later. We decided to give it another shot this week and see what happens. We're going to watch the Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration movie with her tomorrow, which I hope will help her realize that going to another church won't help her with her salvation. That movie's great for a variety of purposes; it's helped us out a lot. I know if she goes to church this Sunday she'll want to be baptized for sure - the church is really strong and the members are great at... friendshipping? fellowshipping? (hermanar is what I'm thinking of). Anyway, they're good at that. We're praying for Estefania a lot and I know that the Lord will help us get her to church and to baptism.
We have another investigator named Maritza. She's pretty much a golden investigator on a lot of things. For example, she read the GEE in one night of her own volition. (GEE = Guía del Estudio de las Escrituras. It's found at the back of the Spanish Book of Mormon; it's like a mixture of the Topical Guide and the Bible Dictionary, in that it has definitions of key topics and an index for scripture references. It's a good 200 pages, and she read it in a night. Pretty awesome.) She has the triple combination and the Bible and reads every single day without fail. At church they gave her the Gospel Principles manual and she's been reading through that too. And her friend, who's a member, gave her James E. Talmage's "Articles of Faith," and she's been reading that too! She probably studies more than I do every day. It's incredible. And, what's more, she understands really well what she reads. She tells us all the time that she feels like she's already read and learned all of this, and that she's just remembering it right now. She has a wonderful spirit and desire to learn. The one concern for her right now is that she hasn't yet prayed about Joseph Smith or baptism or the Book of Mormon. She says she knows they're true (and that baptism is necessary) because she feels it, but still hasn't asked God directly. We're not really sure why that is, but we're confident that she'll do so in the next day or so - the last lesson we had with her was really powerful. I think she could be baptized this Saturday, but if not, the following. It's really been fun getting to know her and teach her - she pretty much teaches herself.
We have another investigator right now that's progressing really well - her name's Angelica. She's a single mom with two kids - Karen, who's 13, and Eduardo, who's 5. She was a contact from about a week and a half ago, and since then we've taught her several times and it's always gone really well. It took a couple days for her to start reading the Book of Mormon and to pray, but she finally kept those commitments, and saw immediate results. She told us that when she prayed about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, she felt so happy and peaceful that she wanted to cry, and that the feeling stayed with her for the rest of the night and the day after. She intended to come with us to church yesterday, but didn't answer the door when we stopped by before sacrament; we later found out that her son got really sick the night before and she was up all night. She felt pretty bad about it, too - she really wanted to go. We're going to work with her a lot this week. I know she and her daughter are headed for baptism - I can just feel it.
That's most of the significant news of this week. We have a few other people we're working with, some less actives and everything too. We've got lots of work to do, which I love - this is going to be a great week. Also, we have a sort of zone conference thing on Friday - Elder Daniel Johnson of the Area Presidency is coming to speak to us. I'm really excited for it. It's going to be a great experience and I know I'll learn a lot.
Speaking of learning a lot - my scripture study has gone so well this week. I've really been focusing on learning by the spirit, on personal revelation, and on coming to know the Book of Mormon really well, and I've seen the blessings in a very real way. One thing I liked that I read this morning was a talk by President Faust in the October 2004 General Conference. He talks about trials and being tested and holding firm to the gospel. There's a section where he quotes a Dr. Something-or-other and then President Kimball, and I really liked the point those two quotes make together. If you have a chance, look up the talk and give it a read - good stuff. Another thing I learned this week was how much joy the company of the Spirit brings. It's something I've learned many times before, but it's always amazing to feel the joy and peace that comes from the Spirit, from prayer and scripture study, etc. It's what gives us the courage and desire to keep going and to have many more experiences of that kind. The power of inspiration is great.
And now it's time for another Q & A session with Elder Greer. :)
Questions from this week. Memory card - if you send a memory card, I can find a way to copy my pictures to it and send it back. That would be a good idea. I'll check around here to see how much a card costs, but I think it'd be about the same as at home, so feel free to send one when you can.
Thanks for forwarding the missionary emails from everyone. It's really cool to hear from all my friends and see how they're having similar experiences to what I'm having. It's also cool to see the differences in the work in various areas of the world.
The food here is pretty much the same as in Tuxtla. They seem to eat more fish here, which makes sense because it's closer to the ocean. (Mom - we ate a good three pounds of shrimp and fried fish a few days back. Delicious!) They also have gringas (female Americans? haha), which are quesadillas (which, in America, is basically a taco - I know, kind of confusing) with pineapple, fried meat, and jalapeños. They have them in various parts of Chiapas and Tabasco, but I hadn't ever tried them before coming here. They're really really good.
The people here talk a little faster than those in Tuxtla, for the most part. They also have a tendency to drop the s at the end of a word and to slur some words together. It took some getting used to, but I like the way it sounds a lot.
Gabbie - Your trip to China sounds pretty fun! ;) Haha. Your shopping spree sounds like fun. What exactly is a sit-n-bounce? (Well, you see, you sit on it... and bounce.) I'm jealous of playing in the snow - the last few days have been quite the toasty ones, and we keep hearing from members how this is a fresh spring breeze compared to what happens around here in April and May. Oh boy. :) Let me know how FHE goes, I'm sure you'll do great teaching it. And thanks for always writing me every week! Keep doing well is school and having lots of fun! I love you very much! :)
Miranda - How's the lacrosse been going? How do you think your team will do this year? How's the new term started out - same as usual? (Haha.) (Random insert directed more at Dad - on the radio right now at this cibercafe a song by Kylie Minogue is playing - the first time I heard it was when we had dinner on the university campus in Edinburgh. Remember, we ate at that lounge thing and went outside to eat, and you had your shank of lamb? Hah. Funny how memories are tied to music like that). I've been meaning to ask you - how's the Book of Mormon coming? Did you meet your goal of finishing it by the end of the year? Any cool new insights that you've had? What about journal writing - how's that going? Well, as always, I look forward to hearing from you and hope that everything's going well in all aspects of life. Remember to rely on the Lord, and also on Mom and Dad. Despite what it may seem, they really do know a lot about life, and can help out in any type of situation, so listen to and follow their advice. I love you very much! :)
Mom - I tried thinking of a way to explain how to say "Villahermosa" after your letter last week. I came up with "bee yair mosa" and then slur it into one word. Villahermosa. Haha. I'm sure Dad has been able to teach you how to say it, though. I think it's a little funny that you have to get adjusted to me being in a new area - isn't that my job? :) haha. But don't worry - it's a wonderful area, very safe, and the members take really good care of us. Just this afternoon we ate spaghetti and pork chops, and it was prepared almost exactly like we have at home. I haven't had a chance to see the temple, but it is pretty close to where we are - hopefully I'll have a chance to assist (er, attend) while I'm here. The Cliffs of Insanity is a pretty good reference for the Cañon del Sumidero - it was definitely an amazing experience.
The water in the river here is very, very brown indeed. The mission actually gave us these water bottles that filter out and sanitize the water, and they say that you can fill them up with the dirtiest water there is and it'll still be safe to drink. I've just been filling it up with tap water, and have been using it for the past month or so without any effects, so I think I'm safe. The area's definitely pretty, though - you'll be able to see that in the pictures today. So far I've only received Dad's letter, but at the conference on Friday I think they'll be handing out mail, so we'll see if anything's arrived so far. I think the trend is that usually companionships live alone, but every so often they put a couple of them together; it really just depends. The zone leaders are the ones living with us; one is from California and the other from Monterrey, Mexico (I think). He actually speaks English really well, too, so in the house we speak a lot of both Spanish and English. It's pretty cool living with them - we get to have a lot of fun, learn from each other, help each other out. I appreciate the company. For food here it's the same as in Tuxtla; the sisters cook lunch for us every day. We've been washing laundry at the bishop's house. His family is awesome and we really have a good time with them. I laughed at the story of Reagan and the Smashed Snowball (I think every story should have a Hardy Boys title). 162 days? Really? Wow. That's a long time. I hit the 5-month mark last week - I think I forgot to mention that. Time goes by so fast. Miranda playing the piano with Reagan sounds like a lot of fun too (Reagan and the Played Piano? The Curse of the Keyboard? Haha). I was sad to hear about Mrs. Stahle. I remember Gabbie talking about her a lot. I'm glad Gabbie's taking it well. It's always sad when someone dies, but can help reinforce our testimony of the gospel because we know what lies in store for them.
Congratulations on the new calling! That's really exciting. I'm a little worried about Dad and Reagan alone though - maybe you should have them go stay with Grandma Bown while you're gone, just to be sure. haha:) That should be a lot of fun, to help with the planning and to be able to go with the girls. The theme sounds really cool too. I don't know if they do girls camp here; I should ask.
Thanks for always writing, Mom, and for all the love and concern. I'm doing great here and having a wonderful time. I love you very much! :)
Dad - "The cliffs were down in Dingle." Haha. That's a pretty cool catchphrase (and a fun time there in Ireland). Also, coo loo coo coo coo coo loo coo! right back at ya :) Always very funny to read your letters. Oh, and the reference to my Spanish video - de las manzanas! Haha. That was a pretty good one.
What you said last week about the work being endless and how we have to focus on every hour of every day and do the most possible is definitely true. Every hour is precious and can be used to further the Lord's work here. It's hard work in that it requires a lot of effort, but the blessings far outweigh the effort I give every single day. I liked what you said about how often we just pray for ourselves and our own benefit and are a little selfish in our supplications. I've worked on focusing on other people in my prayers this last week, and boy, it has made a huge difference. Not only have I received inspiration for how I can help the people I pray for, but I also receive guidance in my own life - without even asking for it! It's been something really cool to learn about.
Pretty cool that you could see the Grijalva chapel on google earth. Our area is indeed on that side of the river. The area lies between the river and a highway, and extends outward from both sides of the chapel. It ends on one side at a road called Torno Largo; I'm not sure about the boundaries on the other side. It's a pretty fair size; not huge, but big enough to do a lot of work. The weather is supposedly a lot, lot hotter here and more humid than Tuxtla. So far it hasn't been terrible, but we'll see how that goes. The bus ride here was pretty awesome too, straight through the mountains and everything. Nothing like the road to Machu Picchu, but still an adventure. The Spanish is still steadily progressing, and I made a goal this week to really study hard and do my best to learn all I can and improve my Spanish - I don't want to fall into a rut and stop learning. Ah, that's right, I forgot to mention the inactive's name - it's Carlos. He came to church again yesterday, and is even more excited about being back than before. We gave him a white shirt and tie, since he didn't have one, and he was really grateful. He's reading the Book of Mormon a lot; we stop by to visit him at least every other day, at least just to say hi, and he always has something new that he's learned and wants to share with us. It's been really cool.
I think it's neat that so many people read the blog - if any of them ever leave comments, I'd be interested to know what they say. It's cool to know that other people can benefit from hearing about the experiences that do so much for me.
What you said about President Uchtdorf's message sounded really cool. We should be getting the Liahona soon, and I'll read it as soon as we do. What you said about testimony reminded me of a quote from Harold B Lee that I heard in Seminary once and wrote in my scriptures; "A testimony is like a moonbeam. It has to be recaptured every day of your life." It's true, what you said - we're either progressing upward toward more light or falling back into the shadows. We can never just stay still in one place. The reference to 2 Nephi is very good as well - the devil slowly leads us away, little by little, until we realize, like you said, that he's been lying the whole time. One thing to remember is that he knows us extremely well, having been around us since the beginning. If something ever seems like, "Oh, it's not that bad - just a little sin" - that's when we need to be extra careful, because Satan knows what will catch us. (no, I'd never heard him referred to as Scratch before.) There's a lot more to be said on this subject, as always - I'm going to study testimony this week and learn a little more about it.
Okay, I'm winding to a close. Lots to say, but that's why I keep a journal and a study journal and take pictures and all that. As usual, I'll write more next week, and let you know about the conference and the investigators and what I've been learning. I'm still loving every day of the mission and having a great time. The Lord is so loving and will help us with whatever happens in life if we put our trust in Him and keep His commandments.
I love you all very much. Thank you for all your support and love. Until next week!
Con amor,
Elder Greer
I thought about writing the whole email in Spanish, but figured I'd stick with just the opening. It still suprises me sometimes how easily it comes to mind. In any case - hey everyone! :) This week has been a good one. Let's get down to it.
First, the investigator Estefania. I mentioned her last week - she was introduced to the missionaries by a friend of hers in the ward (named Noé Gabriel, which I thought was a little ironic - speaking of, I don't know if I ever mentioned this, but back in Tuxtla we once contacted a man named Julio César who had a brother named Marco Antonio - and he said that their names were pure coincidence, which I doubted - but anyway, back to the point). She's pretty much ready for baptism, but a couple things are holding her back. She has the permission of her parents, she has a solid testimony of the Book of Mormon, and she prays a lot and listens to the Spirit. The problem is, she hasn't made it to church yet. Last week she couldn't go because of an event in "her church." We realized it's a little tough for her to let go of old habits and traditions - she knows the Church is true and everything, but it's sometimes hard to make that transition. So we taught her a few times last week, helped her strengthen that testimony, and then had her friend pass by for her on Sunday morning - still nada. She had "a previous commitment" in her church. So Elder Enriquez and I prayed about what we should do - whether or not we should keep working with her, or give her some space and try again later. We decided to give it another shot this week and see what happens. We're going to watch the Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration movie with her tomorrow, which I hope will help her realize that going to another church won't help her with her salvation. That movie's great for a variety of purposes; it's helped us out a lot. I know if she goes to church this Sunday she'll want to be baptized for sure - the church is really strong and the members are great at... friendshipping? fellowshipping? (hermanar is what I'm thinking of). Anyway, they're good at that. We're praying for Estefania a lot and I know that the Lord will help us get her to church and to baptism.
We have another investigator named Maritza. She's pretty much a golden investigator on a lot of things. For example, she read the GEE in one night of her own volition. (GEE = Guía del Estudio de las Escrituras. It's found at the back of the Spanish Book of Mormon; it's like a mixture of the Topical Guide and the Bible Dictionary, in that it has definitions of key topics and an index for scripture references. It's a good 200 pages, and she read it in a night. Pretty awesome.) She has the triple combination and the Bible and reads every single day without fail. At church they gave her the Gospel Principles manual and she's been reading through that too. And her friend, who's a member, gave her James E. Talmage's "Articles of Faith," and she's been reading that too! She probably studies more than I do every day. It's incredible. And, what's more, she understands really well what she reads. She tells us all the time that she feels like she's already read and learned all of this, and that she's just remembering it right now. She has a wonderful spirit and desire to learn. The one concern for her right now is that she hasn't yet prayed about Joseph Smith or baptism or the Book of Mormon. She says she knows they're true (and that baptism is necessary) because she feels it, but still hasn't asked God directly. We're not really sure why that is, but we're confident that she'll do so in the next day or so - the last lesson we had with her was really powerful. I think she could be baptized this Saturday, but if not, the following. It's really been fun getting to know her and teach her - she pretty much teaches herself.
We have another investigator right now that's progressing really well - her name's Angelica. She's a single mom with two kids - Karen, who's 13, and Eduardo, who's 5. She was a contact from about a week and a half ago, and since then we've taught her several times and it's always gone really well. It took a couple days for her to start reading the Book of Mormon and to pray, but she finally kept those commitments, and saw immediate results. She told us that when she prayed about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, she felt so happy and peaceful that she wanted to cry, and that the feeling stayed with her for the rest of the night and the day after. She intended to come with us to church yesterday, but didn't answer the door when we stopped by before sacrament; we later found out that her son got really sick the night before and she was up all night. She felt pretty bad about it, too - she really wanted to go. We're going to work with her a lot this week. I know she and her daughter are headed for baptism - I can just feel it.
That's most of the significant news of this week. We have a few other people we're working with, some less actives and everything too. We've got lots of work to do, which I love - this is going to be a great week. Also, we have a sort of zone conference thing on Friday - Elder Daniel Johnson of the Area Presidency is coming to speak to us. I'm really excited for it. It's going to be a great experience and I know I'll learn a lot.
Speaking of learning a lot - my scripture study has gone so well this week. I've really been focusing on learning by the spirit, on personal revelation, and on coming to know the Book of Mormon really well, and I've seen the blessings in a very real way. One thing I liked that I read this morning was a talk by President Faust in the October 2004 General Conference. He talks about trials and being tested and holding firm to the gospel. There's a section where he quotes a Dr. Something-or-other and then President Kimball, and I really liked the point those two quotes make together. If you have a chance, look up the talk and give it a read - good stuff. Another thing I learned this week was how much joy the company of the Spirit brings. It's something I've learned many times before, but it's always amazing to feel the joy and peace that comes from the Spirit, from prayer and scripture study, etc. It's what gives us the courage and desire to keep going and to have many more experiences of that kind. The power of inspiration is great.
And now it's time for another Q & A session with Elder Greer. :)
Questions from this week. Memory card - if you send a memory card, I can find a way to copy my pictures to it and send it back. That would be a good idea. I'll check around here to see how much a card costs, but I think it'd be about the same as at home, so feel free to send one when you can.
Thanks for forwarding the missionary emails from everyone. It's really cool to hear from all my friends and see how they're having similar experiences to what I'm having. It's also cool to see the differences in the work in various areas of the world.
The food here is pretty much the same as in Tuxtla. They seem to eat more fish here, which makes sense because it's closer to the ocean. (Mom - we ate a good three pounds of shrimp and fried fish a few days back. Delicious!) They also have gringas (female Americans? haha), which are quesadillas (which, in America, is basically a taco - I know, kind of confusing) with pineapple, fried meat, and jalapeños. They have them in various parts of Chiapas and Tabasco, but I hadn't ever tried them before coming here. They're really really good.
The people here talk a little faster than those in Tuxtla, for the most part. They also have a tendency to drop the s at the end of a word and to slur some words together. It took some getting used to, but I like the way it sounds a lot.
Gabbie - Your trip to China sounds pretty fun! ;) Haha. Your shopping spree sounds like fun. What exactly is a sit-n-bounce? (Well, you see, you sit on it... and bounce.) I'm jealous of playing in the snow - the last few days have been quite the toasty ones, and we keep hearing from members how this is a fresh spring breeze compared to what happens around here in April and May. Oh boy. :) Let me know how FHE goes, I'm sure you'll do great teaching it. And thanks for always writing me every week! Keep doing well is school and having lots of fun! I love you very much! :)
Miranda - How's the lacrosse been going? How do you think your team will do this year? How's the new term started out - same as usual? (Haha.) (Random insert directed more at Dad - on the radio right now at this cibercafe a song by Kylie Minogue is playing - the first time I heard it was when we had dinner on the university campus in Edinburgh. Remember, we ate at that lounge thing and went outside to eat, and you had your shank of lamb? Hah. Funny how memories are tied to music like that). I've been meaning to ask you - how's the Book of Mormon coming? Did you meet your goal of finishing it by the end of the year? Any cool new insights that you've had? What about journal writing - how's that going? Well, as always, I look forward to hearing from you and hope that everything's going well in all aspects of life. Remember to rely on the Lord, and also on Mom and Dad. Despite what it may seem, they really do know a lot about life, and can help out in any type of situation, so listen to and follow their advice. I love you very much! :)
Mom - I tried thinking of a way to explain how to say "Villahermosa" after your letter last week. I came up with "bee yair mosa" and then slur it into one word. Villahermosa. Haha. I'm sure Dad has been able to teach you how to say it, though. I think it's a little funny that you have to get adjusted to me being in a new area - isn't that my job? :) haha. But don't worry - it's a wonderful area, very safe, and the members take really good care of us. Just this afternoon we ate spaghetti and pork chops, and it was prepared almost exactly like we have at home. I haven't had a chance to see the temple, but it is pretty close to where we are - hopefully I'll have a chance to assist (er, attend) while I'm here. The Cliffs of Insanity is a pretty good reference for the Cañon del Sumidero - it was definitely an amazing experience.
The water in the river here is very, very brown indeed. The mission actually gave us these water bottles that filter out and sanitize the water, and they say that you can fill them up with the dirtiest water there is and it'll still be safe to drink. I've just been filling it up with tap water, and have been using it for the past month or so without any effects, so I think I'm safe. The area's definitely pretty, though - you'll be able to see that in the pictures today. So far I've only received Dad's letter, but at the conference on Friday I think they'll be handing out mail, so we'll see if anything's arrived so far. I think the trend is that usually companionships live alone, but every so often they put a couple of them together; it really just depends. The zone leaders are the ones living with us; one is from California and the other from Monterrey, Mexico (I think). He actually speaks English really well, too, so in the house we speak a lot of both Spanish and English. It's pretty cool living with them - we get to have a lot of fun, learn from each other, help each other out. I appreciate the company. For food here it's the same as in Tuxtla; the sisters cook lunch for us every day. We've been washing laundry at the bishop's house. His family is awesome and we really have a good time with them. I laughed at the story of Reagan and the Smashed Snowball (I think every story should have a Hardy Boys title). 162 days? Really? Wow. That's a long time. I hit the 5-month mark last week - I think I forgot to mention that. Time goes by so fast. Miranda playing the piano with Reagan sounds like a lot of fun too (Reagan and the Played Piano? The Curse of the Keyboard? Haha). I was sad to hear about Mrs. Stahle. I remember Gabbie talking about her a lot. I'm glad Gabbie's taking it well. It's always sad when someone dies, but can help reinforce our testimony of the gospel because we know what lies in store for them.
Congratulations on the new calling! That's really exciting. I'm a little worried about Dad and Reagan alone though - maybe you should have them go stay with Grandma Bown while you're gone, just to be sure. haha:) That should be a lot of fun, to help with the planning and to be able to go with the girls. The theme sounds really cool too. I don't know if they do girls camp here; I should ask.
Thanks for always writing, Mom, and for all the love and concern. I'm doing great here and having a wonderful time. I love you very much! :)
Dad - "The cliffs were down in Dingle." Haha. That's a pretty cool catchphrase (and a fun time there in Ireland). Also, coo loo coo coo coo coo loo coo! right back at ya :) Always very funny to read your letters. Oh, and the reference to my Spanish video - de las manzanas! Haha. That was a pretty good one.
What you said last week about the work being endless and how we have to focus on every hour of every day and do the most possible is definitely true. Every hour is precious and can be used to further the Lord's work here. It's hard work in that it requires a lot of effort, but the blessings far outweigh the effort I give every single day. I liked what you said about how often we just pray for ourselves and our own benefit and are a little selfish in our supplications. I've worked on focusing on other people in my prayers this last week, and boy, it has made a huge difference. Not only have I received inspiration for how I can help the people I pray for, but I also receive guidance in my own life - without even asking for it! It's been something really cool to learn about.
Pretty cool that you could see the Grijalva chapel on google earth. Our area is indeed on that side of the river. The area lies between the river and a highway, and extends outward from both sides of the chapel. It ends on one side at a road called Torno Largo; I'm not sure about the boundaries on the other side. It's a pretty fair size; not huge, but big enough to do a lot of work. The weather is supposedly a lot, lot hotter here and more humid than Tuxtla. So far it hasn't been terrible, but we'll see how that goes. The bus ride here was pretty awesome too, straight through the mountains and everything. Nothing like the road to Machu Picchu, but still an adventure. The Spanish is still steadily progressing, and I made a goal this week to really study hard and do my best to learn all I can and improve my Spanish - I don't want to fall into a rut and stop learning. Ah, that's right, I forgot to mention the inactive's name - it's Carlos. He came to church again yesterday, and is even more excited about being back than before. We gave him a white shirt and tie, since he didn't have one, and he was really grateful. He's reading the Book of Mormon a lot; we stop by to visit him at least every other day, at least just to say hi, and he always has something new that he's learned and wants to share with us. It's been really cool.
I think it's neat that so many people read the blog - if any of them ever leave comments, I'd be interested to know what they say. It's cool to know that other people can benefit from hearing about the experiences that do so much for me.
What you said about President Uchtdorf's message sounded really cool. We should be getting the Liahona soon, and I'll read it as soon as we do. What you said about testimony reminded me of a quote from Harold B Lee that I heard in Seminary once and wrote in my scriptures; "A testimony is like a moonbeam. It has to be recaptured every day of your life." It's true, what you said - we're either progressing upward toward more light or falling back into the shadows. We can never just stay still in one place. The reference to 2 Nephi is very good as well - the devil slowly leads us away, little by little, until we realize, like you said, that he's been lying the whole time. One thing to remember is that he knows us extremely well, having been around us since the beginning. If something ever seems like, "Oh, it's not that bad - just a little sin" - that's when we need to be extra careful, because Satan knows what will catch us. (no, I'd never heard him referred to as Scratch before.) There's a lot more to be said on this subject, as always - I'm going to study testimony this week and learn a little more about it.
Okay, I'm winding to a close. Lots to say, but that's why I keep a journal and a study journal and take pictures and all that. As usual, I'll write more next week, and let you know about the conference and the investigators and what I've been learning. I'm still loving every day of the mission and having a great time. The Lord is so loving and will help us with whatever happens in life if we put our trust in Him and keep His commandments.
I love you all very much. Thank you for all your support and love. Until next week!
Con amor,
Elder Greer
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Villa Hermosa - A Beautiful City in Tabasco Mexico
AGUAAAAA Solo Diez Pesos!!!!!
That's the chant I hear every morning. Since the water has to be purified to drink it, they sell it in big jugs, and of course peddle it in the streets from dawn until dusk. But anyway...
Hey everyone! :) I hope this email finds you well. I'm doing awesome. This week has been a lot of fun - getting to know the new area and my companion, adjusting to the city, teaching and contacting and studying and all the rest. It's been a good time.
My companion, Elder Enriquez, is pretty cool. He's only a couple of months away from finishing his mission, which is both good and bad. Good, because he's a good teacher and teaching me better ways of doing things - I've learned a lot from him already. Bad, because he's a little trunky and sometimes gets a little distracted. Not very often, actually, just every once in a while. But I prod him back onto the right track and all is well. :) I think I'll learn a lot from him and will enjoy this companionship. It's helped me quite a bit with my Spanish, too. I have a pretty good grasp of the language, but sometimes I feel more fluent than at other times; having a companion who pretty much only speaks Spanish has really helped it come more naturally to mind. He actually speaks English okay, but I've really been focusing a lot on improving my Spanish. I've heard at least five times this week that I speak Spanish really really well for how long I've been in the mission from different members, which makes me feel good. :) I still have a ways to go, but I can tell I'm steadily improving, which is good.
The ward here in Grijalva (that's the area and ward name) is pretty awesome. The organizations are well set up and they have lots of ward activities with good assistance. The ward mission leader is awesome too; he's 20 years old and preparing for his own mission. He's only been a member for 9 months, but he's a great missionary already with a great understanding of the gospel. He's very eager to accompany us and really helps out in the work with the investigators and less actives. Basically, the ward is wonderful and helps us out with everything, and the people here in general seem pretty open and receptive; I think we'll be having lots of success here. We have an investigator right now with a baptismal date for next weekend (not this coming weekend, but the following). She's 17 and her name is Stefania (or Estefania, I guess. haha) and she's really excited about learning about the gospel. She has a very very powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon; it's practically become her life. We just have to work on getting her to come to church (she says she's really busy) and she'll be ready in no time for her baptism. Other than that, we have three families we're working with that are preparing for baptism; with just a little more work we should be able to set dates for them too. And then we have a couple people we contacted this week that seem pretty promising. I'm really excited about the work here. I really feel like this area is ready for lots of baptisms - now it just depends on us having the Spirit and working hard. That's what it always comes down to. This is the Lord's work, and if we work our hardest, He'll make the miracles happen. :)
Oh, and this week we were working on reactivating an inactive member that we met Wednesday or so. We taught him twice, and both times he got really emotional about the church. He kept saying he wasn't ready to go back to church, that he had a lot of repenting and preparing to do, and that it would be really hard but "someday" he'd come back. We brought Luciano (the mission leader) with us, and he pretty much laid it all out for the less active with a powerful testimony. He said, "I need to see you in church this Sunday!" It was accompanied with some chest pounding, pointing, and various gesticulations. (Sounds comical, but it was really moving, actually.) The less active still said he wasn't ready, but the following day (Sunday), there he was, sitting in church! It frankly surprised me, considering everything he said about how he wasn't ready yet. He later said that it was really easy for him to come back and that he felt really good being back in church. It was awesome. He made such a quick turnaround; I can tell that the Spirit was really working on him very strongly. We're going to keep visiting him, and so are the members, so that it's easy for him to stay active and keep going to church. It was a really cool experience this week.
It's been pretty cold lately - rained yesterday pretty good and was really windy - but today the sun came out again and it looks like the warmth is coming back. (Rats.) The city's really pretty though; I love it. We cross over the bridge every day, and it's really neat to see the river. There's a lookout tower in the middle of the bridge; we haven't had a chance to go up yet, but hopefully this week we will. I'll take some pictures and send them next week.
That's about how the week went - lots of work, lots of study, lots of fun. I'm having a really good time getting to know the area and continuing to learn new things every day. It's amazing how the Spirit will speak to us if we just take the time to listen. If we really take the time to pray, read the scriptures, and meditate, there's so much personal revelation and guidance we can receive. Elder Jackson, one of the zone leaders, shared a quote last night that I really liked: The Holy Ghost wants to help you even more than you want the help. I thought about that for a while - even when we're on our knees, really searching for an answer, the Holy Ghost wants to help us even more than we want the help. It's something to think about. We've been promised so many blessings if we are obedient and if we seek them. Heavenly Father wants to help us; we just need to let Him. When we do, we receive more than we could have imagined. I've definitely seen that throughout my life, and more so on the mission.
Okay, answer time for last week's email.
Gabbie - How goes the scripture study and the journal writing? Mom talked about having you do that every night. I think that's a really good idea. It'll help you develop good habits for when you're older. If you want, in your weekly email you could tell me about a favorite scripture you read, or what you've been reading, and we could talk about that too. Just a suggestion, though. I've glad to hear you've been reading a lot lately. I really like the Percy Jackson series. You'll have to tell me about the movie when it comes out! I remember now what a ripstick is -I tried using one once, but kept falling over. Haha. Sounds like fun though. Well, keep on having fun and reading lots! Good luck in school, too! Love you Gabs!! :)
Miranda - Sounds like you've been reading a ton this last little while. That's awesome. Keep it up! Those books sound really cool too - you say you could only find the fourth downstairs? Maybe check with Josh - I might have given them to him to read. You asked about my transfer. Being transferred is kind of like starting over - not completely, because I have more experience this time around, and I know what to do and how to get started, but with all new people and places, it is pretty different. But a cool experience, too. Congratulations on your grades! Sounds like you did really well. I'm proud of you. Keep it up and improve that math grade so you hit 4.0! :)
As you requested, I'll keep myself safe for Mom's sake. Haha. I love you very much - have a great week! :)
Mom - I'm glad you liked the pictures of the canyon. To be honest, they don't even do it justice. It was amazing. Our zone went - about 30 missionaries or so. The whole trip took around 4 hours. And yeah, everyone's P-day in the mission is Monday. Reagan taking his playdough collection into the shower sounds like lots of fun (for him). Haha - I laughed a lot reading about that. Every week there's some new story. Same old Reagan, huh? I really think it's cool that he watches the family videos and my senior video and such so much. Hearing about how he's doing makes me feel really good. It seems like things are good and that he's improved a little, which is really cool. The Lord, as I said before, really blesses us in all things.
I really like reading missionary letters from Cameron, Jason, Kevin, Matt, etc. Feel free to forward them on to me every so often - I can always print them out to read later. Tell Nikka I say hi back. In response to your question: I'm taking good care of myself, having a lot of fun, and learning a lot every day. Keep up the good work with the storage room! :) Reagan and Nikka sound like best friends, but definitely a love/hate relationship, like you said. I still think it's neat to hear about their adventures though. I'll have to take a lot of
pictures this week of the area and send them to you so you can see what it's like. I'll tell more about the members, investigators, and area next week too. Until then - remember I love you very much, and don't worry too much about me. :) Love you! :)
Dad - Last Wednesday I actually did receive your 19-page discurso letter you mailed for Christmas. I guess somehow the zone leaders got ahold of some letters and packages for our zone. (We live with the zone leaders; I'm not sure if I mentioned that before.) I've read it through a couple times now. Simply put, I love it. I learned so much from reading your talk and your experiences; in fact, I had an experience of my own with receiving direct answer to prayer after reading about the "Nikka Experience". I'll have to tell you about that sometime. Honestly, though, I loved reading that letter and will continue to do so for quite a while. Thanks for sending it and for sharing so much; I know it has and will help me a lot.
Yes - I got my copy of the Gospel Principles lesson book last Sunday. I really like how the book looks, with all the artwork and everything. I've started to study it on my own, because I like the depth and clarity it gives to a lot of important gospel subjects. I really liked what you said about the concept of who God is and deification. I've definitely seen that here - people have an innate understanding or recognition of the truth, even though that's not what their religion professes as doctrine. And really, the gospel makes perfect sense; like you said, what Father wouldn't want everything He has and more for His children?
Speaking of what other religions believe, remember that pamphlet you used in Mission Prep that explains the basic beliefs of a bunch of religions? If you could somehow find another copy (I don't want to take yours) and send it to me, I'd really appreciate it. I think that would help a lot; I realized there's a lot I don't know about the specific beliefs of other religions. I've learned more being out here - Jehovah's Witnesses, Adventists, etc. - but I remembered that pamphlet and I think it would come in handy. Like I said, if you can find another one, I could sure use it.
I also liked I liked what you said about Bishop Bell's talk - especially his quote "Be who you say you are." I mentioned that Elder Jackson shared a quote with me - well, he has this little book called "Missionary Quotes" or something like that, from Deseret Book, and it has a bunch of quotes from all sorts of people (philosophers, General Authorities, the scriptures, etc.) about a variety of topics, and he decided to give me the book a few days ago. I've been reading through it often; there's a lot of quotes that I really, really like. One of them that I wrote on a post-it and stuck in my agenda is the following: "The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. - Socrates." It relates with what you were talking about. Often we have an image that we present to the world of the person we'd like to be or want to be known as. Really, though, the best way to gain a good reputation, or to portray ourselves in the best light, is to actually have that "best light" - to just be ourselves, but have ourselves really have those qualities. (I hope that makes sense.) I think that's really good advice; it's something I've been working at this past week. Good stuff. The song on that topic from Saturday's Warrior was awesome too - I really enjoy those lyrics. And what you said about prayer, about stepping it up, praying at least 2x per day, and then slipping back to "normal" (nothing better than a "once-a-weeker." Haha. I really liked that) - In anything, it seems like you try extra hard one day, and then the day after that slip back to what you were doing before, and suddenly things go worse, you don't feel the Spirit, you have bad luck and just feel down, worse even than before you actually tried. The adversary works a lot harder the harder you try. But the key is exactly what you said - if the devil's going to work twice as hard, well, I've got to go four times as hard. And the only real way to do that is to rely completely on the Lord. When we do that, He helps us overcome the extra temptation and we come out stronger, more faithful, and with greater testimony. Overall, we've got a lot to learn, so might as well start right now and work hard every day. I know I've seen the blessings for doing so.
I liked what you said about Mom's reaction to not getting the email, haha. Just be aware that sometimes that might happen, but I'll always write the day after or so. I'm glad you liked the pictures, too. Someday you'll have to come down here and see the sights - it's really pretty. The canyon was super awesome. Just like
in a movie or a book. Yes, I think I've lost a bit of weight, like you noticed :) and I feel absolutely great. I'm eating healthy and exercising as much as I can. I have a multi-vitamin and have been taking it, so for now I'm good. Also, what you said about the Resurrections - I'll go more into it next week, but we covered that in my Book of Mormon class back in college, and it's pretty interesting stuff. I'll see what I can remember and say more next week though. Really cool that you did more of Uncle Wayne's work. That's simply awesome. It's too bad about Josh's papers, too - I'm really really excited to hear about where he's going when he finally gets the call. Hopefully they'll be off soon. I'm glad he's still coming over for dinner and stuff; I think that's cool. Adelante! (It's hard to find translations for things sometimes. "Go for it!" or something, I guess. Also, I've found that I say "pues" even when I'm talking - or thinking - in English. It's mostly just a filler word, as I'm sure you know, and I've gotten pretty accustomed to using it. Kinda cool.)
As always, there's more I want to say, especially from this week's letter, but my time is up - it'll have to wait until next Monday. As for the question of if I want anything sent - Book of Mormons (let's not get started on that conundrum again) are pretty easy to come by, so I think I'm okay on that, but CTR rings or other little things like that would be pretty cool to give out to members. Anything church-related and like that it always nice.
I'm having a blast here and, as always, learning a whole lot. Thank you very much for the support, the prayers, and the emails. I can't wait to hear from you next week. I love you all very, very much!! :)
Con mucho amor,
Elder Greer
That's the chant I hear every morning. Since the water has to be purified to drink it, they sell it in big jugs, and of course peddle it in the streets from dawn until dusk. But anyway...
Hey everyone! :) I hope this email finds you well. I'm doing awesome. This week has been a lot of fun - getting to know the new area and my companion, adjusting to the city, teaching and contacting and studying and all the rest. It's been a good time.
My companion, Elder Enriquez, is pretty cool. He's only a couple of months away from finishing his mission, which is both good and bad. Good, because he's a good teacher and teaching me better ways of doing things - I've learned a lot from him already. Bad, because he's a little trunky and sometimes gets a little distracted. Not very often, actually, just every once in a while. But I prod him back onto the right track and all is well. :) I think I'll learn a lot from him and will enjoy this companionship. It's helped me quite a bit with my Spanish, too. I have a pretty good grasp of the language, but sometimes I feel more fluent than at other times; having a companion who pretty much only speaks Spanish has really helped it come more naturally to mind. He actually speaks English okay, but I've really been focusing a lot on improving my Spanish. I've heard at least five times this week that I speak Spanish really really well for how long I've been in the mission from different members, which makes me feel good. :) I still have a ways to go, but I can tell I'm steadily improving, which is good.
The ward here in Grijalva (that's the area and ward name) is pretty awesome. The organizations are well set up and they have lots of ward activities with good assistance. The ward mission leader is awesome too; he's 20 years old and preparing for his own mission. He's only been a member for 9 months, but he's a great missionary already with a great understanding of the gospel. He's very eager to accompany us and really helps out in the work with the investigators and less actives. Basically, the ward is wonderful and helps us out with everything, and the people here in general seem pretty open and receptive; I think we'll be having lots of success here. We have an investigator right now with a baptismal date for next weekend (not this coming weekend, but the following). She's 17 and her name is Stefania (or Estefania, I guess. haha) and she's really excited about learning about the gospel. She has a very very powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon; it's practically become her life. We just have to work on getting her to come to church (she says she's really busy) and she'll be ready in no time for her baptism. Other than that, we have three families we're working with that are preparing for baptism; with just a little more work we should be able to set dates for them too. And then we have a couple people we contacted this week that seem pretty promising. I'm really excited about the work here. I really feel like this area is ready for lots of baptisms - now it just depends on us having the Spirit and working hard. That's what it always comes down to. This is the Lord's work, and if we work our hardest, He'll make the miracles happen. :)
Oh, and this week we were working on reactivating an inactive member that we met Wednesday or so. We taught him twice, and both times he got really emotional about the church. He kept saying he wasn't ready to go back to church, that he had a lot of repenting and preparing to do, and that it would be really hard but "someday" he'd come back. We brought Luciano (the mission leader) with us, and he pretty much laid it all out for the less active with a powerful testimony. He said, "I need to see you in church this Sunday!" It was accompanied with some chest pounding, pointing, and various gesticulations. (Sounds comical, but it was really moving, actually.) The less active still said he wasn't ready, but the following day (Sunday), there he was, sitting in church! It frankly surprised me, considering everything he said about how he wasn't ready yet. He later said that it was really easy for him to come back and that he felt really good being back in church. It was awesome. He made such a quick turnaround; I can tell that the Spirit was really working on him very strongly. We're going to keep visiting him, and so are the members, so that it's easy for him to stay active and keep going to church. It was a really cool experience this week.
It's been pretty cold lately - rained yesterday pretty good and was really windy - but today the sun came out again and it looks like the warmth is coming back. (Rats.) The city's really pretty though; I love it. We cross over the bridge every day, and it's really neat to see the river. There's a lookout tower in the middle of the bridge; we haven't had a chance to go up yet, but hopefully this week we will. I'll take some pictures and send them next week.
That's about how the week went - lots of work, lots of study, lots of fun. I'm having a really good time getting to know the area and continuing to learn new things every day. It's amazing how the Spirit will speak to us if we just take the time to listen. If we really take the time to pray, read the scriptures, and meditate, there's so much personal revelation and guidance we can receive. Elder Jackson, one of the zone leaders, shared a quote last night that I really liked: The Holy Ghost wants to help you even more than you want the help. I thought about that for a while - even when we're on our knees, really searching for an answer, the Holy Ghost wants to help us even more than we want the help. It's something to think about. We've been promised so many blessings if we are obedient and if we seek them. Heavenly Father wants to help us; we just need to let Him. When we do, we receive more than we could have imagined. I've definitely seen that throughout my life, and more so on the mission.
Okay, answer time for last week's email.
Gabbie - How goes the scripture study and the journal writing? Mom talked about having you do that every night. I think that's a really good idea. It'll help you develop good habits for when you're older. If you want, in your weekly email you could tell me about a favorite scripture you read, or what you've been reading, and we could talk about that too. Just a suggestion, though. I've glad to hear you've been reading a lot lately. I really like the Percy Jackson series. You'll have to tell me about the movie when it comes out! I remember now what a ripstick is -I tried using one once, but kept falling over. Haha. Sounds like fun though. Well, keep on having fun and reading lots! Good luck in school, too! Love you Gabs!! :)
Miranda - Sounds like you've been reading a ton this last little while. That's awesome. Keep it up! Those books sound really cool too - you say you could only find the fourth downstairs? Maybe check with Josh - I might have given them to him to read. You asked about my transfer. Being transferred is kind of like starting over - not completely, because I have more experience this time around, and I know what to do and how to get started, but with all new people and places, it is pretty different. But a cool experience, too. Congratulations on your grades! Sounds like you did really well. I'm proud of you. Keep it up and improve that math grade so you hit 4.0! :)
As you requested, I'll keep myself safe for Mom's sake. Haha. I love you very much - have a great week! :)
Mom - I'm glad you liked the pictures of the canyon. To be honest, they don't even do it justice. It was amazing. Our zone went - about 30 missionaries or so. The whole trip took around 4 hours. And yeah, everyone's P-day in the mission is Monday. Reagan taking his playdough collection into the shower sounds like lots of fun (for him). Haha - I laughed a lot reading about that. Every week there's some new story. Same old Reagan, huh? I really think it's cool that he watches the family videos and my senior video and such so much. Hearing about how he's doing makes me feel really good. It seems like things are good and that he's improved a little, which is really cool. The Lord, as I said before, really blesses us in all things.
I really like reading missionary letters from Cameron, Jason, Kevin, Matt, etc. Feel free to forward them on to me every so often - I can always print them out to read later. Tell Nikka I say hi back. In response to your question: I'm taking good care of myself, having a lot of fun, and learning a lot every day. Keep up the good work with the storage room! :) Reagan and Nikka sound like best friends, but definitely a love/hate relationship, like you said. I still think it's neat to hear about their adventures though. I'll have to take a lot of
pictures this week of the area and send them to you so you can see what it's like. I'll tell more about the members, investigators, and area next week too. Until then - remember I love you very much, and don't worry too much about me. :) Love you! :)
Dad - Last Wednesday I actually did receive your 19-page discurso letter you mailed for Christmas. I guess somehow the zone leaders got ahold of some letters and packages for our zone. (We live with the zone leaders; I'm not sure if I mentioned that before.) I've read it through a couple times now. Simply put, I love it. I learned so much from reading your talk and your experiences; in fact, I had an experience of my own with receiving direct answer to prayer after reading about the "Nikka Experience". I'll have to tell you about that sometime. Honestly, though, I loved reading that letter and will continue to do so for quite a while. Thanks for sending it and for sharing so much; I know it has and will help me a lot.
Yes - I got my copy of the Gospel Principles lesson book last Sunday. I really like how the book looks, with all the artwork and everything. I've started to study it on my own, because I like the depth and clarity it gives to a lot of important gospel subjects. I really liked what you said about the concept of who God is and deification. I've definitely seen that here - people have an innate understanding or recognition of the truth, even though that's not what their religion professes as doctrine. And really, the gospel makes perfect sense; like you said, what Father wouldn't want everything He has and more for His children?
Speaking of what other religions believe, remember that pamphlet you used in Mission Prep that explains the basic beliefs of a bunch of religions? If you could somehow find another copy (I don't want to take yours) and send it to me, I'd really appreciate it. I think that would help a lot; I realized there's a lot I don't know about the specific beliefs of other religions. I've learned more being out here - Jehovah's Witnesses, Adventists, etc. - but I remembered that pamphlet and I think it would come in handy. Like I said, if you can find another one, I could sure use it.
I also liked I liked what you said about Bishop Bell's talk - especially his quote "Be who you say you are." I mentioned that Elder Jackson shared a quote with me - well, he has this little book called "Missionary Quotes" or something like that, from Deseret Book, and it has a bunch of quotes from all sorts of people (philosophers, General Authorities, the scriptures, etc.) about a variety of topics, and he decided to give me the book a few days ago. I've been reading through it often; there's a lot of quotes that I really, really like. One of them that I wrote on a post-it and stuck in my agenda is the following: "The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. - Socrates." It relates with what you were talking about. Often we have an image that we present to the world of the person we'd like to be or want to be known as. Really, though, the best way to gain a good reputation, or to portray ourselves in the best light, is to actually have that "best light" - to just be ourselves, but have ourselves really have those qualities. (I hope that makes sense.) I think that's really good advice; it's something I've been working at this past week. Good stuff. The song on that topic from Saturday's Warrior was awesome too - I really enjoy those lyrics. And what you said about prayer, about stepping it up, praying at least 2x per day, and then slipping back to "normal" (nothing better than a "once-a-weeker." Haha. I really liked that) - In anything, it seems like you try extra hard one day, and then the day after that slip back to what you were doing before, and suddenly things go worse, you don't feel the Spirit, you have bad luck and just feel down, worse even than before you actually tried. The adversary works a lot harder the harder you try. But the key is exactly what you said - if the devil's going to work twice as hard, well, I've got to go four times as hard. And the only real way to do that is to rely completely on the Lord. When we do that, He helps us overcome the extra temptation and we come out stronger, more faithful, and with greater testimony. Overall, we've got a lot to learn, so might as well start right now and work hard every day. I know I've seen the blessings for doing so.
I liked what you said about Mom's reaction to not getting the email, haha. Just be aware that sometimes that might happen, but I'll always write the day after or so. I'm glad you liked the pictures, too. Someday you'll have to come down here and see the sights - it's really pretty. The canyon was super awesome. Just like
in a movie or a book. Yes, I think I've lost a bit of weight, like you noticed :) and I feel absolutely great. I'm eating healthy and exercising as much as I can. I have a multi-vitamin and have been taking it, so for now I'm good. Also, what you said about the Resurrections - I'll go more into it next week, but we covered that in my Book of Mormon class back in college, and it's pretty interesting stuff. I'll see what I can remember and say more next week though. Really cool that you did more of Uncle Wayne's work. That's simply awesome. It's too bad about Josh's papers, too - I'm really really excited to hear about where he's going when he finally gets the call. Hopefully they'll be off soon. I'm glad he's still coming over for dinner and stuff; I think that's cool. Adelante! (It's hard to find translations for things sometimes. "Go for it!" or something, I guess. Also, I've found that I say "pues" even when I'm talking - or thinking - in English. It's mostly just a filler word, as I'm sure you know, and I've gotten pretty accustomed to using it. Kinda cool.)
As always, there's more I want to say, especially from this week's letter, but my time is up - it'll have to wait until next Monday. As for the question of if I want anything sent - Book of Mormons (let's not get started on that conundrum again) are pretty easy to come by, so I think I'm okay on that, but CTR rings or other little things like that would be pretty cool to give out to members. Anything church-related and like that it always nice.
I'm having a blast here and, as always, learning a whole lot. Thank you very much for the support, the prayers, and the emails. I can't wait to hear from you next week. I love you all very, very much!! :)
Con mucho amor,
Elder Greer
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Transferred!
Hola! Hey everyone!
So, today's Tuesday. (Thought I'd get that out of the way first.) The reason I'm writing today and not yesterday - well, there were transfers! I was transferred to... (it's hard to keep up suspense when your readers can skip the big long pause, so I'll just go ahead and say it):
Villahermosa, Tabasco.
It was pretty surprising to me. We got the information on Saturday, and Monday morning I hopped on a five-hour bus up north. I thought I was going to be staying in Tuxtla for at least another change, but guess not! So right now I'm in Villahermosa, the capital (I think) of Tabasco. Yesterday, like I said, I took the bus up here; arrived around 4 pm and met my companion and got a little settled in and stuff. My comp's name is Elder Enriquez; he's from Mexico (and the city of the same name... ha, remember that from our trip to Atacama desert, Dad?) and is almost done with his mission - he leaves in April. Our area is called Grijalva, and we're sort of opening it; for the last couple years the missionaries from the Centro also had to cover our area, but now there are enough missionaries that this ward gets their own. We took a little tour of the area last night, met some members and investigators, etc., and we're going to do the same thing tonight and start working tomorrow. We haven't met them yet, but the zone leaders say that both the bishop and the mission leader are really strong members and really excited about the work, so that should be awesome.
Man, this city is beautiful. It reminds me of Santiago as far as the modernization is concerned - definitely a step up from Tuxtla. Clean streets, nicer houses, and the like. Most people have cars here. The area looks a lot more manicured or cultivated - lots of trees and gardens and fountains and things. There's a river that cuts the city in half that's just awesome. It's supposed to be pretty hot here, but right now it's nice and cool - couldn't ask for better weather. I absolutely love being here. I'll have to take and send some pictures of what the city's like, or find out our address so that you can look it up online. It's beautiful though. I'll be able to give you more details about how the area is, the ward, and the people next week, when I've actually spent some time here. For now, I'm just really excited to work hard and enjoy the surroundings. :)
Since I didn't write much last week, I have quite a bit to catch up on. I'll do what I can for right now, and then try to send a couple pictures of the canyon. Dad: First off, they didn't give us any mail at the zone activity, so I'm still waiting on that, but we'll be having our zone conference probably next week, so I'll let you know then. Also, I forgot to answer this for a couple weeks now, but the picture mom sent came through just fine. I'm able to just open it up and check it out, though for the cost I don't know that I'll print them out. New Year's Eve/Day sounds like a lot of fun, even though the tradition was a little changed. :) The story of fixing the water thing was pretty funny and the computer a bit more typical of how things usually go. I was glad to hear that you got some of Uncle Wayne's work done; that's really exciting. I can't believe it's been so long since he passed away, but at least now his work is being done. I loved your comments on repentance and feeling the remorse for sins long after you've repented; those feelings definitely help us stay away from those mistakes and continually strive to be better disciples of Christ. Yes, I did get the Ensigns you sent; thanks for them. I love reading the conference talks over and over again; each time I gain something new from them. The scriptures you quoted in Alma (7:41 and chapter 5) are really good too; I really like Alma 5 now. Lots of great examples in those verses. I like your comments about Enos, too. (And who can forget all your movie quotes?! They always make me laugh.) Pretty much I love reading your letters every week. I learn new things, am strengthened, and enjoy the memories of home. Thanks, Dad, for all of your teachings and support. I'm glad to hear that things are still going really well at home. Your experience with prayer sounds pretty meaningful too (more on that next week). Check out Villahermosa online; it's pretty neat. Life is wonderful here and I appreciate very much the love and prayers from home. Can't wait to hear from you next week. I love you very much. Chow!
Gabs!: How many days do I have in the mission now? ha :) It sounds like you've been having a lot of fun with your ripstick. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what one is haha. I think I know, but I'm not positive. It sounds fun though. Good job on your grades from school! Just the way I raised you, huh? :) I laughed when Mom told me about you and your new sweater. I bet it's a pretty awesome one. Well, Gabs, I love you very much and am always very excited to read your letters and hear about what you've been up to! Keep having fun and being awesome! Love you! :)
Miranda: Hey hey! It sounds like you've been up to a lot of fun things lately, what with movies and books and school (fun sometimes, right?) and all the rest. How goes the snowboarding? That Avatar movie sounds pretty cool - I haven't really heard anything about it. The book you talked about, The Hunger Game, sounds pretty neat too. Yes, you should definitely read Percy Jackson and the Olympians; I liked them a lot. You asked about my most favorite and least favorite parts of the mission. My most favorite... getting the chance to interact with people every day and help them find more happiness and blessings - and being in Mexico, too. :) My least favorite part? Showering in freezing cold water. This morning it gave me a headache, it was so cold. Takes my breath away every single day. Oh well. :) Well, it sounds like you're having a really good time with everything. Keep up the good work! :) I love you very much! :)
Mom: I laughed when you mentioned riding Gabbie's bike on Christmas Eve. I remember that. It was pretty funny. I, too, like Cameron's letters - he says 'em just the way he sees them. Pretty cool. For the district present exchange, I had Elder Holbrook (from California... I think), and I bought him a cake and then spelled out his name with pieces of Oreo cookies on top. I thought it was pretty cool and I think he liked it. Those bottle caps on the window sill we were saving for something called wiwichus - it's this collectible thing you can trade in for. They have a cool story behind them, but it's a little long, so I'll save it for next week. Thanks for answering me about Sadie and Will - I wanted to know how they were doing, and I try to remember them in my prayers and pray that things will get easier for them. I bet you're glad now that everyone's back in school, huh? :) Always nice to have the house to yourself again. How goes the storage room organization? Time is slowly dwindling... :) Reagan sounds like Reagan lately... I laughed to hear that he kisses my picture and likes watching family videos and stuff. That's really cool. Mom, I'm very appreciative for everything you do for me, and I love reading your letters and hearing about what's going on at home. I'm doing great and loving where I am and the work. I love you very much!
Okay, that's about all the time I have this week. I'm going to get off a few pictures, too. I'm having a wonderful time on the mission. I'm learning a lot, having fun, and making some great memories. Thank you for all of your support and love. I hope this week is a wonderful one. I love you all very much!
Con amor,
Elder Greer
So, today's Tuesday. (Thought I'd get that out of the way first.) The reason I'm writing today and not yesterday - well, there were transfers! I was transferred to... (it's hard to keep up suspense when your readers can skip the big long pause, so I'll just go ahead and say it):
Villahermosa, Tabasco.
It was pretty surprising to me. We got the information on Saturday, and Monday morning I hopped on a five-hour bus up north. I thought I was going to be staying in Tuxtla for at least another change, but guess not! So right now I'm in Villahermosa, the capital (I think) of Tabasco. Yesterday, like I said, I took the bus up here; arrived around 4 pm and met my companion and got a little settled in and stuff. My comp's name is Elder Enriquez; he's from Mexico (and the city of the same name... ha, remember that from our trip to Atacama desert, Dad?) and is almost done with his mission - he leaves in April. Our area is called Grijalva, and we're sort of opening it; for the last couple years the missionaries from the Centro also had to cover our area, but now there are enough missionaries that this ward gets their own. We took a little tour of the area last night, met some members and investigators, etc., and we're going to do the same thing tonight and start working tomorrow. We haven't met them yet, but the zone leaders say that both the bishop and the mission leader are really strong members and really excited about the work, so that should be awesome.
Man, this city is beautiful. It reminds me of Santiago as far as the modernization is concerned - definitely a step up from Tuxtla. Clean streets, nicer houses, and the like. Most people have cars here. The area looks a lot more manicured or cultivated - lots of trees and gardens and fountains and things. There's a river that cuts the city in half that's just awesome. It's supposed to be pretty hot here, but right now it's nice and cool - couldn't ask for better weather. I absolutely love being here. I'll have to take and send some pictures of what the city's like, or find out our address so that you can look it up online. It's beautiful though. I'll be able to give you more details about how the area is, the ward, and the people next week, when I've actually spent some time here. For now, I'm just really excited to work hard and enjoy the surroundings. :)
Since I didn't write much last week, I have quite a bit to catch up on. I'll do what I can for right now, and then try to send a couple pictures of the canyon. Dad: First off, they didn't give us any mail at the zone activity, so I'm still waiting on that, but we'll be having our zone conference probably next week, so I'll let you know then. Also, I forgot to answer this for a couple weeks now, but the picture mom sent came through just fine. I'm able to just open it up and check it out, though for the cost I don't know that I'll print them out. New Year's Eve/Day sounds like a lot of fun, even though the tradition was a little changed. :) The story of fixing the water thing was pretty funny and the computer a bit more typical of how things usually go. I was glad to hear that you got some of Uncle Wayne's work done; that's really exciting. I can't believe it's been so long since he passed away, but at least now his work is being done. I loved your comments on repentance and feeling the remorse for sins long after you've repented; those feelings definitely help us stay away from those mistakes and continually strive to be better disciples of Christ. Yes, I did get the Ensigns you sent; thanks for them. I love reading the conference talks over and over again; each time I gain something new from them. The scriptures you quoted in Alma (7:41 and chapter 5) are really good too; I really like Alma 5 now. Lots of great examples in those verses. I like your comments about Enos, too. (And who can forget all your movie quotes?! They always make me laugh.) Pretty much I love reading your letters every week. I learn new things, am strengthened, and enjoy the memories of home. Thanks, Dad, for all of your teachings and support. I'm glad to hear that things are still going really well at home. Your experience with prayer sounds pretty meaningful too (more on that next week). Check out Villahermosa online; it's pretty neat. Life is wonderful here and I appreciate very much the love and prayers from home. Can't wait to hear from you next week. I love you very much. Chow!
Gabs!: How many days do I have in the mission now? ha :) It sounds like you've been having a lot of fun with your ripstick. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what one is haha. I think I know, but I'm not positive. It sounds fun though. Good job on your grades from school! Just the way I raised you, huh? :) I laughed when Mom told me about you and your new sweater. I bet it's a pretty awesome one. Well, Gabs, I love you very much and am always very excited to read your letters and hear about what you've been up to! Keep having fun and being awesome! Love you! :)
Miranda: Hey hey! It sounds like you've been up to a lot of fun things lately, what with movies and books and school (fun sometimes, right?) and all the rest. How goes the snowboarding? That Avatar movie sounds pretty cool - I haven't really heard anything about it. The book you talked about, The Hunger Game, sounds pretty neat too. Yes, you should definitely read Percy Jackson and the Olympians; I liked them a lot. You asked about my most favorite and least favorite parts of the mission. My most favorite... getting the chance to interact with people every day and help them find more happiness and blessings - and being in Mexico, too. :) My least favorite part? Showering in freezing cold water. This morning it gave me a headache, it was so cold. Takes my breath away every single day. Oh well. :) Well, it sounds like you're having a really good time with everything. Keep up the good work! :) I love you very much! :)
Mom: I laughed when you mentioned riding Gabbie's bike on Christmas Eve. I remember that. It was pretty funny. I, too, like Cameron's letters - he says 'em just the way he sees them. Pretty cool. For the district present exchange, I had Elder Holbrook (from California... I think), and I bought him a cake and then spelled out his name with pieces of Oreo cookies on top. I thought it was pretty cool and I think he liked it. Those bottle caps on the window sill we were saving for something called wiwichus - it's this collectible thing you can trade in for. They have a cool story behind them, but it's a little long, so I'll save it for next week. Thanks for answering me about Sadie and Will - I wanted to know how they were doing, and I try to remember them in my prayers and pray that things will get easier for them. I bet you're glad now that everyone's back in school, huh? :) Always nice to have the house to yourself again. How goes the storage room organization? Time is slowly dwindling... :) Reagan sounds like Reagan lately... I laughed to hear that he kisses my picture and likes watching family videos and stuff. That's really cool. Mom, I'm very appreciative for everything you do for me, and I love reading your letters and hearing about what's going on at home. I'm doing great and loving where I am and the work. I love you very much!
Okay, that's about all the time I have this week. I'm going to get off a few pictures, too. I'm having a wonderful time on the mission. I'm learning a lot, having fun, and making some great memories. Thank you for all of your support and love. I hope this week is a wonderful one. I love you all very much!
Con amor,
Elder Greer
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Christmas Bells are Ringing
Hey everyone! I loved talking to everyone. Like I said, it was a really good recharge - it renewed my desires to work my very hardest and be the very best I can be. My comp feels the same about his call, which is really cool - we're going to be stepping it up this week for sure. Thanks again.
It turns out there were a few things I wanted to say in the phone call that I forgot about; plus, I want to tell you more details about my week -so here we go.
Last Wednesday we had a present exchange as a district - the typical draw names out of a hat sort of thing. Elder Reategui, one of the zone leaders, had my name, and he bought me this awesome Mayan tablet thing. I'll send a picture of it, but it's about half the size of a piece of paper and weighs maybe six or seven pounds. It has awesome carvings and stuff on it. It's exactly the kind of souvenir I'd want from Mexico - something that would fit perfectly in your office, Dad. It's pretty dang awesome. :)
I meant to ask during the phone call - I was remembering the other day about how Will and Sadie had kidney stones or something, and it was a really big deal and everything, and I realized I haven't heard anything about that in like a year. What's the deal with that? Do they still have problems or did it go away and I just forgot? let me know.
Next Monday (or sometime next week, anyway) we're going to have a zone activity - we're going to this canyon at the northeastish side of the city. I think you can see it from one of the pictures I sent last week. I have no idea what's there, but regardless (or irregardless, I should say) it will be a lot of fun. I'll take plenty of pictures.
This past week was good. We were contacting in an area we'd never been before and encountered a Japanese-Mexican named Rigoberto. His Spanish is pretty cool to listen to because even though he's a native here, he speaks with a little bit of a Japanese accent. Anyway, we contacted him and he said he'd talked with missionaries before, so we asked him what he remembered. Turns out he has a testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon - no doubts whatsoever. It was pretty awesome. We've taught him twice now. He's basically ready for baptism - the only problem is that his family and ancestors are very set in their traditions (both Catholic and some indigenous Japanese religion) and he says it's hard for him to get rid of those traditions. We're going to keep working with him, introduce him to some members and everything. It was pretty exciting though.
The investigators I mentioned last week, Miguel and Julieta, are still doing really well. They came to church yesterday and had a really good time, just like last week. We're going to try and give them a baptismal date this week. I'm pretty positive Julieta will accept; Miguel's a little more hesitant, but he should follow suit the more he gets to know the church.
We also started teaching a referral from an RM. His name is Enrique. He's Catholic and is one of those who actually attends church and everything, but he's looking for more because he feels like something's missing. He's talked a lot with his friend Fernando (the one who gave us the referral) about the church, and he says he believes everything Fernando's told him. We taught him once and it went really well - we're going to return on Wednesday when his wife is there and see how their prayers and reading went. I feel really good about them too. We have a couple other investigators too, and they're doing fairly well - we'll see what happens.
A couple other noteworthy things from this past week. We were walking through a foresty area in between two main roads - dirt path, bushes and trees, the usual. I hear a rustle in the bushes to my right, so I look over, expecting a bird or a dog or something. What do I see? A man wordlessly emerging from the shadows carrying a giant box of candy. We didn't say anything either, but speed-walked out of there as fast as we could, trying not to laugh. It was so bizarre - hilarious as well. I can't imagine he gets much business out there, but who knows. :) Also, a few nights ago we decided to pick up some burgers for dinner from a roadside stand. Boy, they were delicious, and as big as my head. I have a picture of those as well. Tasty tasty.
Anyway, those are the highlights from this week. Now for a couple things from last week's email - not too much, since we talked two days about, but a few items of interest...
Gabbie: You asked me about UP. I've sort of seen it. :) I never saw it in the States, but we ate at a member's house a few weeks ago and they had it playing for their kids, so I caught a few glimpses. :) I really do want to see it though - we'll have to watch it together when I get back. It sounds like the ward party was a blast - I'm sad I missed out. I loved talking on the phone with you!! I thought it was funny that you had to have Mom tell you what to say. Haha. But it sounds like everything's going really well and that you had a very fun Christmas. What are the plans for New Year's Eve? How's the sledding going, and the playing with Nikka? I hope everything's still going well. Love you Gabs! (PS - Happy New Year!)
Miranda: Congratulations on the ACT!! That's really good; I'm very proud of you. Keep up the good work! Let me know how your grades turn out for this term and everything too. I reminisced a little too, remembering all the things you and I did together - movies, concerts, hanging out, etc. It was all a lot of fun - we'll have to pick up where we left off when we're both in college. :) I'm glad you're still having fun reading - the book you're reading sounds really interesting. Yes, I did read Secret Journal, and really liked it. Again, it was awesome talking on the phone, and I'm glad to hear things are going well and that you're having fun. I'll answer all the questions you asked in this new email next week. Until then - I love you! :)
Mom: I laughed about the postcard arriving here earlier than at home. I guess I am closer, though. :) It sounds like you're still having fun with Activity Days, too; that's really cool. The story about Reagan putting Nikka in the shower with him still makes me laugh. That's something I'd really like to see. Thanks again for all the Christmas presents and the love and support. It was wonderful to talk on the phone and hear how you and everyone are doing. Tell Lisa and Laura that I enjoyed talking to them and that I appreciate their emails; someday soon I'll write them back. Mom, I love you! Thanks for everything. :)
Dad: I liked your comments aout Brother Hicken's talk, and especially what you said about President Eyring's message. I read that just yesterday, and really loved it, especially when combined with what you had to say. I'm looking forward to reading this week's letter, as well, since it looks like you have lots of good stuff. :) Again, the Nikka adventure story makes me laugh very much. I love hearing those (mostly because I don't have to be there for the smell). Thanks, Dad, for everything you have done and continue to do for me. I'm going to try to send some pictures right now, but no promises - computers are a little slow today. In any case, thanks for everything; the phone call was awesome and gave me an extra boost. I love you very much. Two taps! :)
With much love and appreciation,
Elder Greer
Letter from last week (I forgot to post it.. Mark)¡Feliz Navidad! (Read the letter again on Christmas for added effect) :)Hey everyone! It's been a great week here in La Salle. Lots of work, lots of fun, and some pretty good success, too. I'll tell you all about it - but first, the phone call. So here's the info....and I'm super excited to get to talk to everyone! :) Okay. With that done - this past week was really good. Friday we had a ward Christmas activity. The different organizations presented dances and skits, the bishop gave a message, and there was food afterward. We had five investigators there and a handful of less active families too. Everybody loves food, right? :) It was a lot of fun though, and it really helped people feel the spirit of the season and have a little more unity within the ward.Saturday was the 19th - my 4 month mark! I've said it a lot, but I'll say it again (and don't try to stop me!) - time flies by. One-sixth of the way done with my mission. It's kind of saddening, really - I love being out and I don't like the thought of time moving so quickly. I really am having a lot of fun every day and enjoying each day as it comes.We've made some good progress this week with the work. We have three investigators that are progressing really well. Two are husband and wife, mid-50s or so, and really open to the Spirit and the message. The wife, Julieta, started crying during the first lesson when we said the closing prayer, and Miguel, her husband, told us home much he really likes everything we teach him. They came to church on Sunday and just had a great time. I'm really happy with the progress they're making. We're going to teach them in the next couple days and set a date for their baptism - they've already accepted to be baptized. It's really wonderful to see the changes in people's lives that the gospel can bring - the happiness and peace. The gospel of Jesus Christ truly is something special. Sometimes - a lot of the time - we lose sight of that. Especially having grown up in the church, it's something I think I've taken for granted most of the time. But when we stop and really think about the blessings we have, the peace that comes from the Plan of Salvation, the joy of having an eternal family, the excitement at getting to learn and progress for the rest of forever - wow. It's too much to take in all at once. I love it! :)A piece of other exciting news - it's been raining the last few days. Reminds me a lot of our Scotland trip. Yesterday was perfect - drizzling and cloudy and slightly windy, cool but not too cold. I enjoyed it a lot, even though we got pretty muddy knocking doors. I'm trying to enjoy the cold while it lasts.Now, last week's email.Gabs: That's super exciting that you got to go to a Flash game! I went to one once, back in February or so. I really liked it. Too bad you didn't win the TV... oh well. There's always next time, right? :) I couldn't believe it when you said I only had 66 more days until the 6-month point - but then I checked and you're right! Less than that, now. I already have four months on the mission. Time goes by fast, doesn't it? It's flying by for me. Did you end up going to the space center? How was it? I loved going there when I was younger... even though it was scary sometimes. Haha. How was the week without sugar? Did you die? (Nemo - haha.) How's your tailbone doing? Mom told me you hurt it. She also said you read a book called Rules. It sounds really interesting. Did you like it? What are you reading now? Well, Gabs, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, and I'm really excited to talk to you on the 26th! Can't wait until then! I love you! :)Miranda: Man (girl?), I loved what you wrote. Not only do I really liked those lyrics, but I loved your interpretation of them and how they apply to the gospel. Very profound. I love doing that with songs - it makes them more personal and meaningful. If you haven't before, check out "O' Child" by Nevertheless. One of my favorite songs and it's all about coming unto Christ. I liked the quote you shared that you got from Sister Norman - I've heard it before, but it's always good to remember. Some things in life you have to accept, and some you can stretch for. It's important to recognize the difference, too, so that we don't wait time on the unachievable. Snowboarding sounds like a lot of fun - we'll definitely have to go when I get back. I fall down a lot, but that's okay, huh? :) I recently read the message by President Uchtdorf in the July Ensign - about achieving spiritual lift. I really liked it. Read it if you can - it talks about breaking above the clouds and seeing the light of the gospel. Kind of relates to what you were talking about with Brick By Boring Brick. I skimmed over your email today and laughed at your story about the ACT (plus the pirate/Shakespeare accent haha). I'll of course answer what you said next week, but I really liked what I had time to read. Let me know how you do in school and on the ACT when you get the results - assuming you don't get kicked out again. ha. Have a wonderfully merry Christmas! I'll talk to you on Saturday! Love you! :)Dad: Once again, a letter full of awesomeness - this week and last week's both. Your conversation with Josh about weakness was really cool to hear about. I really like that part of 2nd Nephi. I especially loved what you said both weeks about only feeling a sliver of God's love - we have to progress line upon line because there's no other way we could handle it. Plus, there's more excitement and enjoyment that way - we enjoy every little piece of new knowledge and light that we receive. Kind of like taking things one day at a time; there's so much to be enjoyed in each day, but too often we look to the future and forget about right now. Matt's farewell sounds really good - it's really exciting to think about how many of my friends are in the mission field (/MTC), doing the same thing I'm doing and having the same kinds of experiences. 2nd Nephi 31 is one of my favorite chapters - I use it all the time teaching, because there's so much good doctrine there, and just for day-to-day application it's really good. The scriptures in general are amazing - I love the opportunity to study them every morning and learn something new. And it's true that we have to change ourselves first - only then are we able to help others. (And like you said - sometimes we realize that WE'RE the bad guys. Haha. I loved those nights of watching movies in the wee hours of the morning - we'll have to resume when I get back!) I'm glad, too, to hear about good time playing in the snow with Gabs and with Miranda and Reagan too. Sounds like everything is going really well. I love you very much - I'll talk to you this weekend. Have a merry Christmas! Love you! (Two taps.)Mom: As for your questions, I'll be in my area and with my comp at least until January 10th. We have changes every 6 weeks, but the trend in this mission has been that we stay in the same place with the same companion for quite a while. I'm really hoping to stay here for at least one more transfer, but I'll take whatever comes. :) I sent some more pictures today - I'll keep trying to do so whenever possible. It's really pretty here. I'll also try to take pictures with members and send them whenever I can. I'm excited to open up my presents on Christmas Day. :) I hope Reagan's feeling better now - that's cool that he knows how to fold his arms. I laughed at the description of playing outside in the snow with him, shoveling snow on Nikka, etc. Well, I love you very much, and I can't wait for the phone call on Saturday! Have a wonderful Christmas, Mom. I love you! :) I love you, everybody. You're all in my prayers. :)Elder Greer
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