This weekend of General Conference was awesome! Momma, you and I had the same favorite talks!
I was really touched by all the talks at this conference, though. Being a missionary you have so many more people to think about than just yourself. The first day we went to J and C's. It was nice being able to sit for 4 hours and just be taught and edified. While sitting there it was wonderful being able to hear the words that I knew they needed to hear as well. So hopefully they heard them! If not, we will be having some nice GenCon recap in the next week.
On Sunday we were at the L's home. They taught me how to make empanadas from scratch. I thought Taylor would be proud.
I am excited to get the Ensign next month so I can reread and really study all the words that were spoken. I will share some of my favorite quotes with you next week, I forgot my notebook at home :( !
I felt really impressed by the messages about making sure we are living up to our potential and are on the path that Heavenly Father has for us individually.
OK to answer your questions:
My license is good until whenever I get back to California. It says I can use it until my 25th birthday haha, so I am set for now. Hopefully I can fly with it. The elders are not allowed in our apartment so we had to just do it for them. I don't know why they just didn't go to the laundry mat, but we figured it was a good way to serve them. I will talk about J a bit later.
This week we got to watch "Meet the Mormons" at Zone meeting. IT IS AMAZING. I have never felt the Spirit stronger on my mission than watching that movie. Go and see it. Get everyone to see it. If enough people see it they will get a slot on Netflix after it is done in theaters. The story of those members throughout the world will touch anyone's heart. I think I cried the entire time. I am crying right now just thinking about it. I can't wait until I can come home and see it again! I don't want to give too much away so I will just say again--go and see it! It proves that our situation and culture do not limit our ability to live the Gospel we so deeply love and stand by.
We also went and did service at a members house this week. We helped paint and do yard work. They are an older couple that are trying to get through many illnesses, so they don't have the energy to do all the things they want to. It was nice to sit and chat with them as we painted. Getting to know people is one of my favorite parts of a mission. If we get to just sit down and talk with people, I am happy. I am even happier if we are able to share with them a message of the gospel that will bless them and bring them comfort.
We met a man named D this week. He lives down the street from J and C. He is a Golden investigator, but we went to extend a baptismal date and he told us he is moving to Mississippi until December. I guess we are just planting seeds. But, once again, we only saw him twice and he is now a good friend. He has been texting us almost everyday to see how we are and to talk about the Savior. He is so prepared so I know that the missionaries in Mississippi will find him. If not, we will contact him again when he returns to Texas City...if we are still here then. Transfer calls came today. We are both staying here :) No one in our district is leaving.
OK, funny part of my week. We went to check on a guy named J and we pull up and his entire family is drunk. He is not, thank goodness. Immediately a woman pulls me into a hug and starts crying. She is a very emotional drunk. The best part--they only speak Spanish. So I put my 2 years of Spanish to use and start a very simple conversation. Soon it turned into a very loud conversation. They all started talking and yelling and carrying on. It was chaos. J was trying his best to translate and calm everyone down. The woman was yelling at me in Spanish because I was riding a bike in a skirt. Oh my lanta, it was a blast! Eventually we had to move on but even when they were drunk they kept calling us angels from God. We never even said anything about being missionaries. They wanted to "la palabra de Dios!" (the word of God), so we sent the Spanish elders over to their house. My first experience with a drunk--I cannot believe it took 4 months.
J! We had a wonderful lesson with him last night. We taught him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He wants the truth so badly and is working for it. He wants a conversion before he is baptized. While discussing baptism with him, the Spirit was so strong. He said since we have been meeting he has found more peace and strength in his life. He was praying on his way home last night that the Lord would guide him to the truth and we were standing on his porch when he drove up. He may not recognize it fully yet, but I know that he will come to an understanding soon. He has a wonderful desire and I am grateful for this opportunity to be working with him.
I will try to write more about our experience with him in a letter home. Never enough time on the computer. One last funny moment with him... We carry our bikes on his porch and we have flashing white and red lights. As we are walking up we hear yelling from inside. He thought we were the cops! Oh it was so funny! The look on his face was priceless.
Next week Elder Schwitzer is coming to visit so we will be having P-day on Wednesday the 15th. I will email you then.
I love this work and I am thankful to be a member of Jesus Christ's true and living church.
I love you!
Sister Greaves
I was really touched by all the talks at this conference, though. Being a missionary you have so many more people to think about than just yourself. The first day we went to J and C's. It was nice being able to sit for 4 hours and just be taught and edified. While sitting there it was wonderful being able to hear the words that I knew they needed to hear as well. So hopefully they heard them! If not, we will be having some nice GenCon recap in the next week.
On Sunday we were at the L's home. They taught me how to make empanadas from scratch. I thought Taylor would be proud.
I am excited to get the Ensign next month so I can reread and really study all the words that were spoken. I will share some of my favorite quotes with you next week, I forgot my notebook at home :( !
I felt really impressed by the messages about making sure we are living up to our potential and are on the path that Heavenly Father has for us individually.
OK to answer your questions:
My license is good until whenever I get back to California. It says I can use it until my 25th birthday haha, so I am set for now. Hopefully I can fly with it. The elders are not allowed in our apartment so we had to just do it for them. I don't know why they just didn't go to the laundry mat, but we figured it was a good way to serve them. I will talk about J a bit later.
This week we got to watch "Meet the Mormons" at Zone meeting. IT IS AMAZING. I have never felt the Spirit stronger on my mission than watching that movie. Go and see it. Get everyone to see it. If enough people see it they will get a slot on Netflix after it is done in theaters. The story of those members throughout the world will touch anyone's heart. I think I cried the entire time. I am crying right now just thinking about it. I can't wait until I can come home and see it again! I don't want to give too much away so I will just say again--go and see it! It proves that our situation and culture do not limit our ability to live the Gospel we so deeply love and stand by.
We also went and did service at a members house this week. We helped paint and do yard work. They are an older couple that are trying to get through many illnesses, so they don't have the energy to do all the things they want to. It was nice to sit and chat with them as we painted. Getting to know people is one of my favorite parts of a mission. If we get to just sit down and talk with people, I am happy. I am even happier if we are able to share with them a message of the gospel that will bless them and bring them comfort.
We met a man named D this week. He lives down the street from J and C. He is a Golden investigator, but we went to extend a baptismal date and he told us he is moving to Mississippi until December. I guess we are just planting seeds. But, once again, we only saw him twice and he is now a good friend. He has been texting us almost everyday to see how we are and to talk about the Savior. He is so prepared so I know that the missionaries in Mississippi will find him. If not, we will contact him again when he returns to Texas City...if we are still here then. Transfer calls came today. We are both staying here :) No one in our district is leaving.
OK, funny part of my week. We went to check on a guy named J and we pull up and his entire family is drunk. He is not, thank goodness. Immediately a woman pulls me into a hug and starts crying. She is a very emotional drunk. The best part--they only speak Spanish. So I put my 2 years of Spanish to use and start a very simple conversation. Soon it turned into a very loud conversation. They all started talking and yelling and carrying on. It was chaos. J was trying his best to translate and calm everyone down. The woman was yelling at me in Spanish because I was riding a bike in a skirt. Oh my lanta, it was a blast! Eventually we had to move on but even when they were drunk they kept calling us angels from God. We never even said anything about being missionaries. They wanted to "la palabra de Dios!" (the word of God), so we sent the Spanish elders over to their house. My first experience with a drunk--I cannot believe it took 4 months.
J! We had a wonderful lesson with him last night. We taught him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He wants the truth so badly and is working for it. He wants a conversion before he is baptized. While discussing baptism with him, the Spirit was so strong. He said since we have been meeting he has found more peace and strength in his life. He was praying on his way home last night that the Lord would guide him to the truth and we were standing on his porch when he drove up. He may not recognize it fully yet, but I know that he will come to an understanding soon. He has a wonderful desire and I am grateful for this opportunity to be working with him.
I will try to write more about our experience with him in a letter home. Never enough time on the computer. One last funny moment with him... We carry our bikes on his porch and we have flashing white and red lights. As we are walking up we hear yelling from inside. He thought we were the cops! Oh it was so funny! The look on his face was priceless.
Next week Elder Schwitzer is coming to visit so we will be having P-day on Wednesday the 15th. I will email you then.
I love this work and I am thankful to be a member of Jesus Christ's true and living church.
I love you!
Sister Greaves