Hermana Greenhalgh

Hermana Greenhalgh

Monday, December 15, 2014

So President Called Me Last Night.... - Letter 12/15/14

Feliz Navidad!! Buenos Dias!,
 
How was everyone's week? Mine was pretty fantastic! We have been working a lot with Esteban getting him ready for him baptism next Saturday! Sister Thompson and I have also been working at the lights, and teaching lots of people! 
 
So transfer calls happened last night and... I've been called to be the Phoenix Sister Training Leader, so that means I will be going to all the big meetings and doing lots of trainings to help the sisters. They usually don't call a missionary as young as me as a Sister Training Leader, so I'm quite shocked!! President and Sister Toone said that they felt prompted to call me as a Leader!! What the what!! I'm stoked and I'm ready to learn A LOT!
 
Sister Thompson and I have been working a ton trying to get everything ready for Christmas. Missionary life during Christmas is thebomb.com.  Everything is so focused on the Savior I love it! 
 
So I have a story for all of  you today.  Thursday night we were working at the lights, and we were walking the outer edge of the temple grounds and this guy came and shoved anti-literature in my face. He was screaming in my ear and was yelling all sorts of profane things about our church. I just brushed it off and called security, there was a mob of about 40 antis who were yelling nasty things.  I wanted to say, "come on people it's just Christmas lights!".. It was ridiculous.
 
Friday night we went to the lights as a ward, it was packed. We watched some videos with our ward at the Visitors Center and I got compliments that my Spanish is starting to sound like a native... haha CHA-RIGHT!  No, but my Spanish is so much better since I've come to Phoenix.
 
Well, I don't have a ton to say this week it's been really good and I hope everyone is doing well!
 
Con Amor,
 
Hermana Greenhalgh 
 

Monday, December 8, 2014

It's beginning to look a lot like Christm... oh wait I'm in Arizona - Letter 12/08/14

Buenos Dias Todos!

Como estado? Estoy bien! This week has been great. I have been working at the Christmas lights and we had Zone Conference. It's been a pretty normal week, nothing out of the ordinary. Wednesday night we worked at the lights for the first time, and it rained cats and dogs. We got soaked but it was still really fun! We bought a Christmas tree, and some lights and decorated our little apartment. It's been fun seeing everyone's decorations. People go all out here for decorating their houses. I thought my neighborhood did pretty good, but no it's nuts here!... and to add to it fake snow.

Something spiritual that happened this week is we FINALLY put someone on date! His name is Estaban he is 9 years old. He's getting baptized the 27 of December and he's super excited. We have to start meeting with him more frequently to get prepared for the baptism, but we are super excited. Another thing was Zone Conference it was super spiritual and helped me a ton! 

So I have a really fun story this week. Sister Thompson and I went to a less active's house and we were locking up our bikes and Sister Thompson accidentally stepped in dog poop. We didn't notice until we had gotten into the house. I kept smelling something funky, and smelled my coat, but could not figure it out. Finally our LA goes, "Is everything OK?" because I kept smelling myself.. awkward. I look down and Sister Thompson is covered in poop. Literally. All of the ladies tile floor, her bag, and her shoes. Sister Thompson left the room and I ended up teaching the whole lesson while she was in the bathroom cleaning her shoes. It was so funny. She ended up having to throw her shoes away.. Long story short, WATCH YOUR STEP.

Well that's all I got for this week. I'm sending out Christmas cards this week!! If you want one email me!

Love you all,
Hermana Greenhalgh
 


 

Saturday, December 6, 2014

8 Months Already??? Letter 12/01/14

Hello Family and Friends!  This week has been great.  Thanksgiving was awesome and I'm looking forward to Christmas. We had a regular dinner with the English sisters at their ward. We also ate with a member. As a zone we watched Frozen and played ping pong and got to have Thanksgiving off.

I will also send pictures of the lights I start working this week, anyways things are good.  I crashed on my bike a few days ago and hurt my wrist and got scratches all over, but ehh it's life. My new motto haha  "Life's hard, then you die, and then they throw dirt in your face."

I've been out 8 months this week and my mission is almost half way done. Sorry,  I don't have tons to write this week but I hope everyone is doing well.

Love you all!
Hermana Greenhalgh

 Polynesian Thanksgiving
 Denny's for dinner
 Watched Frozen on Thanksgiving
 Sister Kleinlein (one of the Sister Training Leaders)

Monday, November 24, 2014

Attitude of Gratitude >> HAPPY THANKSGIVING! - Letter 11/24/14

Feliz dia de las Gracias!!

Como estas todo? :) I miss you all! This week has been really good! I have seen lots of miracles! So, on Tuesday, President Toone's secretary called us and President Toone asked us to work at the Mesa Temple light show this year! Not very many people get that opportunity in their missions so I feel very lucky!! We also received a family referral which means we have 4 or more potential baptisms and investigators! 
 
Phoenix never ceases to surprise me!  I see more and more things every day that remind me of Nacho Libre! Which, by the way, Libre is free, and his song he sings in the movie means he is now free of being a monk. Fun fact for you all! On Friday Sister Thompson and I had the opportunity to go to Mesa for a light show meeting. There were sisters from 3 different missions. After seeing the way they presented themselves and acted I'm SO GRATEFUL to be in Tempe Mission. Sister Toone and President Toone keep this mission running so smoothly and the missionaries are obedient which is key!
 
Friday Night we attended Edgar Torres' funeral which was really sad. It's crazy how other funerals are when they aren't in LDS environments. People are a lot more sad, and they don't realize that they will see their families again. After the funeral we had an amazing lesson with a Converso Reciente, or Recent Convert named Hermana Araceli. We shared a new Christmas video that the church is launching Black Friday in Times Square, on YouTube, and other sites! It was super spiritual and powerful. I encourage all of you to watch it as soon as it comes out! It's called "He is the Gift."
 
So a funny story for you this week...On Saturday we had dinner with a family outside of our area and when we got to their house we parked our car and walked inside. 20 minutes later the neighbor came over and started screaming cuss words in Spanish at us because he didn't like where our car was parked. The family just shook their heads and told us not to worry about it. I guess the guy thinks he owns the sidewalk in front of his house. Well he threatened to hit our car with his truck the next time our car was parked there. It was pretty ridiculous!!
 
I just wanted to end this email and say THANK YOU to everyone who has supported me while I've been on my mission! It truly is a blessing to be able to bring others unto Christ, and help them feel of the Savior's love. I'm so grateful for the place I get to serve in, and the people I get to rub shoulders with. I have truly learned the meaning of consecration, and how to give all that I have to help others. I'm so grateful to all of those who have helped shape and mold my life, especially my mom and dad and sisters. I'm so grateful for my Grandma Pat who taught me how to love everyone, and be grateful in any circumstance. Finally I'm grateful for the Savior and the Atonement that gives us the opportunity to change every day and become better.
 
I love you all and I hope you have a wonderful THANKSGIVING! Remember how blessed you are, and never forget Heavenly Father loves you!

Con mucho amor,
 
Hermana Greenhalgh
 
 
Puppies!
With Hermana Thompson
Flour fight
New sweater!

 

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Tests and Trials are for Polishing - Letter 11/17/14

Hola Familia,
 
This week has been great, and very sad as well. One of our investigators passed away on Tuesday, and Elder Collins (my old District leader's) Dad passed Sunday morning. I know that trials have to happen for us to grow, but sometimes I wish they didn't have to happen. I think of the Conference talk from President Uchtdorf and how he compares us to diamonds needing more polishing in this life in order to be brilliant and radiant. I would ask that you keep the Collins family in your prayers and especially Elder Seth Collins, and the Torres family with the passing of their son and my investigator Edgar.
 
On a better note we were able to watch the Phoenix Temple celebration and dedication. It was very unique, I have never experienced that before. The Phoenix Temple is very small, but very beautiful none the less. I can't wait to return from my mission and visit many more temples. I hope you all are attending the temple and feeling of the Spirit that is there. I would give anything to be able to attend whenever I wanted.
 
Sister Thompson and I have had so much success this week with finding 8 new investigators and really working hard to put people on date for baptism. It has been an adjustment working with a new companion, but once we have smoothed out the rough spots we've worked pretty well. I'm the Senior companion in the companionship so it means I have to make all the decisions. It is a lot of responsibility, but I know it will prepare me for other callings.
 
Well I don't have much to say this week besides KEEP MOVING FORWARD. I hope this next week will have less hardships than this one.
 
Love you all and be safe,
Hermana Lindsey Greenhalgh

Monday, November 10, 2014

Phoenix 101 - Letter 11/10/14

Buenos Dias!!!

I'm in Phoenix!!!! Well just to let you know it is completely different from Casa Grande.  I miss Casa Grande like crazy, and all of my investigators.  But, I'm so happy to be here in Phoenix. Well I have comprised a list of Phoenix 101 and some things you should know about it...
 
Phoenix 101
1. There are 3 dogs for every person who lives here.. especially chiuahuahs 
2. I am the only blonde person I have seen the whole1/2 week I have been here. 
3. There are ice cream trucks on every corner with creepy music, and they follow you around.
4. Fresh made churros every Saturday!
5. Yard sales though... Everyone has one everyday... I mean EVERYONE.
6. Phoenix is Mexico, It really is.
7. Cholos: Drug Dealers
8. Brinca Brincas: Jump houses at every party
9. I CAN RIDE MY BIKE WITH NO HANDLE BARS!
10. Eloteros... Men on Mexican bikes selling food. Yes they do exist.
11. Nacho Libre is REAL.
12. 99 cent Goodwill
13. No one has parents, everyone is raised by their grandparents
14. No one is legal. Border Patrol does not exist here
15. Cockroaches everywhere
16. The Sun is unusually hot, and we ride bikes every day
17. Soccer is a super big deal here. Tournaments everywhere you go
18. Dulce Mexican candy Aisle
19. Cactus is in the Produce aisle, it's actually pretty good.
20. Apartments, EVERYONE lives in them
21. City buses, dirty but convenient for all
22. Homeless people #panhandling
23. Murders and molesters. We have cops and helicopters constantly looking for someone. We get papers in the mail to warn us on the daily.
24. Strip clubs.. SICK NASTY! Keep your eyes on good things.
25. The ghetto
26. No one knows how to wear modest clothes
27. Everyone is 30 minutes late to everything. PHOENIX STANDARD TIME
28. People line up by 10s to bear their testimonies, I work in a huge Ward now not a Branch anymore!
29. Mexican Bread for the Sacrament
30. Phoenix is a real life Novela: Mexican Soap Opera
31. Everyone kisses you on the cheeks...don't like it. Get used to it.
32. Tennis shoes on every telephone pole
33. No one keeps the Sabbath Day holy, not even the members
34. Canal Catfish, yes people do feed us fish from the canal
35. Pawn shops on every corner
36. ...MY FAVORITE... Street corner churches, people who preach on the corner and catcall about God, and how much they don't like missionaries
37. Taco Busses
38. Sons push moms around in wheelchairs to get from place to place.
39. People steal shopping carts from stores and then use them back and forth to different stores and then store them in their house. 
40. Billboards, bumperstickers and signs.. Careful what you look at.

Well this is my random list of things you should know about Phoenix! I hope you enjoy!!  I will continue to add new facts and findings each week! All is well here! 

Love you all,
Hermana Greenhalgh

Monday, November 3, 2014

Another Week - Headed to a New City - Letter 11/03/14

Hello Family and Friends,

Well I'm being transferred. This week has been pretty good. I was able to learn a lot and meet more people. So my companion got called to be a trainer and I'm leaving to another city. The weather has been really cold, but it's good because more people are outside now. Halloween was fun we stayed home and watched
movies and had pizza. It felt super weird to not be doing anything, I don't know how I used to sit home and watch movies, I could never do it again. I'm excited to be moving to another place to start new adventures, I'm a little bummed that everyone in my apartment got leadership calls, except me. They have been kind of rubbing it in my face, but I'm just trying to be patient in adversity. Well, I hope all of you have a good week, and keeping doing good.

Love you all,
Hermana Greenhalgh










Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Break-ins, Service and Pooper the Kitten a.k.a. Popito - Letter 10/27/14

Buenos Tardes Todos!

Este Semana fue muy bien! Tuvimos mucho oportunidades servir este semana! Ojalá que ustedes les gusta mi email esta semana.

Well this week has been awesome, we have had many opportunities to serve, and lots of crazy happenings as well.  A little weekly run down of things:

Monday &Tuesday: were pretty normal.  I received my Halloween package! By the way THANK YOU Mom! We also had District Meeting and then pretty normal for the rest of the day.

Wednesday: We had our first lesson with a young guy named Gerardo.  We felt prompted to pass by his house so we followed it, and had an amazing first lesson with him. We invited him to be baptized and he
said he was going to pray about a date! Finally a little success. This area has been difficult for missionary work lately, we have had many people drop us and fall off date. But Sister Johnson and I continue to
look for the miracles. So I found out I more than likely leaving Casa Grande. 6 months is a long time! Transfer calls are this coming Sunday, so I will let you  know what happens.

Thursday: I went in exchanges with Sister Rawlings in my area. We went on another LARC hunt, didn't have too much success, but talked with a few former investigators. Later that night we went to the church for English Class.  It fell through and we have to cancel it! So here's where the email gets weird....

Friday: a few hours after leaving the church Thursday night from English class, the church was broken into and the people destroyed it. The other sisters and I drove to go see all the damage. 5 windows were
shattered, doors shattered, door knobs broken, and file cabinets destroyed. All they found was a 150$ phone cord and took that. It's really sad that people feel the need to destroy such a beautiful building for money. Well better news...later that night we had a lesson with the Habana Family she made Arros con leche!! I also got the recipe. :)

Saturday: SERVICE!!! So Sister Johnson and I woke up at 5:00 and headed over to a members house and helped them set up for a garage sale, we finished at 7 headed to the church and the two elders and us cleaned the building and all the broken glass. After we finished we headed to this huge "Make a Difference" service project and painted brick fences and covered graffiti. I love service, literally I wish I could do
more! Later that night we had dinner with the Montelongos, then went proselyting in our area. We found this small gray kitten and she followed us for a good 30 minutes, then we named her and parted ways. The reason behind the name popito or pooper is she had to stop every 10 steps to use the bathroom.
 
Sunday: CSI... Pretty much Sister Johnson and I figured out what happened to the church, and I want to be a CSI person when I get home!

Well that's all I got for this week!

Con Amor,
Hermana Greenhalgh



Monday, October 20, 2014

Letter 10/20/14

Hola Familia y Amigos,

Estoy muy agradecida por este semana, fue muy bien y divertido! Yo tengo mucho fotos para ustedes! Ok, I will speak in English for a little bit but I sang at another baptism, and then did a vocal recording for Presidente Sellars because he loves that song. Earlier in the week we went on exchanges, I went to the English area, and later we found two new solid investigators Gerardo y Shadey! Yesterday
Hermana Johnson and I spoke in Sacrament... Yes in all Spanish whoop whoop! Fue muy bien!




Monday, October 13, 2014

If it's not one thing, it's another... The day I almost died! - Letter 10/13/14

Hola Familia y Amigos,

You're probably wondering what's up with the title of this email... Well you will have to read and find out. I'm glad to hear that everyone had a good week, and everyone is enjoying the Fall in Idaho!  I miss Fall at home, here in Arizona it's finally cooling off to the 90s which is really nice. I never thought I would be wearing sweaters and jackets in 80 degree weather, but in fact I am! So here's my weekly round up of things:

Tuesday: Today we interviews with President Toone! They were awesome, he is so inspired and the BEST Mission President that I could ever ask for. We also got trained more on Facebook, and how to Skype
people! After the training Sister Johnson and I went to Taco Bell for the celebration of hitting 6months!! After lunch we headed back to the church and listened to President Toone's training. Sister Toone asked
my companion and I to make popcorn because they had a surprise for all of us. Sister Johnson and I made over 12 bags of popcorn and headed to the chapel. When we got there they announced we were going to watch "Meet the Mormons!" We got to have a private screening of it before it entered the theaters. It was soooo good! I encourage you all to go watch it! The last person they show will probably make you cry because it made me cry. It's about a missionary leaving home... So grab some tissues and head to the theater.

Wednesday:  Today we had Zone Meeting, and training. After Sister Johnson and I had our first Skype lesson!!! We taught Phillip, a guy in our area, and took some screenshots of it. Later that night we drove
over to an investigators house and were saying a prayer before we walked in. When we finished the prayer this little boy had this creepy grin on his face was staring right through the window!!  Scared the daylight out me!
    
Thursday:  Today we had another Skype lesson with a kid named David from Georgia, he was friends with Sister Johnson at college and isn't a member. It was a weird lesson... But it's ok! Later we headed to AZ
city and had a lesson with a less active member, and after had dinner with Hermana Bautista! She made us lasagna, spaghetti, bread, salad, cake, and ice cream... There was only two of us...

Friday:  Today we had weekly planning, and after Sister Johnson and I went to Big Wa for lunch.  After lunch we went on a finding adventure to find more people to teach! Later Tatianna Carr, a member in our ward came and practiced a song with me for her little brothers baptism the next day. The day went on and that night Sister Johnson and I decided to use whitening strips after we had finished planning... Anyways I
accidentally fell asleep with them on and woke up a couple hours later and found out I had swallowed one.. Well it was stuck in my throat.

Saturday:  Today after figuring out I had swallowed the tooth strip, my throat was really tight and I could hardly breath... Well I decided that I would be ok and just let it go. Later that day I sang at two baptisms, and my throat was getting tighter and tighter. Later that night I decided I better call Sister Toone and ask her what to do. She called the mission doctor and he told me to eat a banana, and just try to get the strip out of my esophagus. Sister Toone sent Sister Johnson and I home early that night so Sister Johnson could watch me and make sure that I didn't cough or stop breathing.. She said if it gets worse to head to the ER.

Sunday:  Woke up this morning gasping for air, and Sister Toone advised us to head to the ER.. We arrived at the ER at 7:27 am, they quickly took my vitals and did an X-Ray, next they put a camera down
my throat, and finally they gave me this IV with medicine to dissolve the strip in my airway. We spent 5 hours in the ER over a white strip... CAUTION...DO NOT swallow them!! Well I'm alright now, it's moved down and I still have some pressure in my chest when I breath, but the doctor said it would go away in a few days. Don't be alarmed! I'm doing great! Sister Toone calls me every few hours to check on me and my companion has been helping me with everything.

Skype with Phillip
We LOVE the rain!




Monday, October 6, 2014

Six Months Down, One Year To Go!! - Letter 10/06/14

Buenos Dias Todos!

Another week has come and gone, and I hit my 6 month mark! I can't believe that a year from today I return home! My mission has flown way to fast! I'm excited to see what this year brings and the experiences as well! This week has been fantastic we went on a LARC Hunt! (Less active, Recent Convert) So in the spirit of that I wrote a little song "We're going a LARC Hunt, going find a good one!" just like Going a bear hunt! Anyways it's pretty good and I will send the lyrics another day!
 
How is everyone doing? I hope everyone is doing well, and enjoyed the AMAZING General Conference! I absolutely loved it, and received so much comfort! I took 21 pages of notes... YEAH it was that good! I think my favorite talk was from Elder Jorg Klebingat about taking responsibility for ourselves, I thought that was awesome it chastised us all enough to make us want to change! It's great we can all improve! 
 
So for this week I don't have a ton to write about because everything I remember was from General Conference! One cool experience we had was our investigator Margarita was able to watch the last session when Elder Bednar spoke! It was the perfect talk for her because he addressed it to the investigators and non members. It was like a spiritual kick in the face! <<< My companion and I use that term "Spiritually kicked in the face" a lot!
 
Some things that I have accomplished this week is finishing the Book of Mormon for my 6 month mark, I start it tomorrow in Spanish and I'm going to try to finish it in 20 days! Elder Bednar promised that if we read the Book of Mormon in the language we are trying to learn we can become fluent! Yes, I accept the challenge! I need all the help I can get right now!

Well that's all I have for this week sorry it's short!  I love you all and have a good week!

Con Amor,
 
Hermana Greenhalgh
 
NEW TOILET BRUSH!!  YAY!  We finally got a new one!
In N Out for lunch with the English Sisters
This is from Selia Sanchez!  She is so cute!


 

Monday, September 29, 2014

Transfers, Blessings, and Much More! Letter 09/29/14

Buenos Dias,

How was everyone's week? My week has been good, it has been a pretty quick week again and time seems to be molding together. My companion and I are staying together for another 6 weeks! I'm super excited because we work so well together, and are seeing some miracles! How are things back in Idaho? I would love some letters, so let me know how things are back home! The weather here has been pretty overcast, and HOT as always. We have had a couple of monsoons, but its been pretty decent. 
 
So a look back on this last week:
 
Monday: We said Farewell to Sister Westfall, and did our normal P-day activities. Later that night we had FHE with Sister Schroeder's members because we had to split areas until she got a new companion. We had FHE with a Patriarch, and an old Bishop it was fun! After we had pie and brownies :)
 
Tuesday: Today we had District Meeting, and then headed to a lesson with some new investigators named Maria y Lupe. We taught the Restoration and talked about the importance of having modern-day prophets. Later that night we had dinner with the Garcia Family, and then a lesson with Sister Schroeder's new convert Norma. 
 
Wednesday: Today we headed out to Stanfield #mosquitocity and had a lesson with some of Sister Schroeder's investigators, later we did our normal Spanish study, and Facebook proselyting hour. When we finished we had a lesson with a guy named James with some members from the English ward. We talked about the Word of Wisdom, and the Stop Smoking Packet. I kind of struggled through this lesson because it reminded me a ton of Grandma Pat, but I got through it and after the members bought us Chick Fil A for dinner. We actually didn't have dinner so we headed over to Chick Fil A and they walked in and bought us dinner. I think it's so awesome that members are willing to always help out the missionaries. I'm going to be that way when I return from my mission!
 
Thursday: Today we had transfer meeting and Sister Schroeder got a new companion named Sister Rawlings she is actually a Spanish missionary but she is coming to English work for a transfer. Elder Collins who just finished training became our new District Leader, and a TRAINER!! He is training a new elder named Elder Hoyt from Chicago. Also I saw Elder Reese from high school, he is Melissa's age, He just got into the mission are Wednesday. Later that night we had dinner with Hermana Bautista and drove all they way to Eloy #tootoughtodie After we found Walter my recent convert and talked with him. After Eloy we headed back to Casa Grande, and had a lesson with Noe, who was my first baptism here. He is amazing! We are working with him right now to prepare to serve a mission. I have never seen someone so determined to serve. His testimony has sky rocketed since I met him! We read in Preach my Gospel with him, and at the end of the lesson he was praying and said "thank you for the sisters for helping me so I can be a good missionary" AHH! Yes lets get the papers ready!! 
 
Friday: Today we had weekly planning then had zone lunch at Big Wa. Later we found this little old Mexican guy named Roberto.  He is so sweet and is super interested in the Gospel. He is also afraid of the Second Coming and loves to talk about it! After our lesson with him we had dinner with Hermana Zarate and her family. Something that amazed me was I could fully understand what she was saying in Spanish! It's such an improvement because I used to not be able to understand a word she was saying let alone speak back, but I had a full on conversation with her! YES the Gift of Tongues is real!
 
Saturday: Today we had the Women's Conference! It was the best ever! I loved the talk from Sister Marriott and President Uchtdorf. It's amazing how inspired they are to speak to us on topics our world needs right now.
 
Sunday: Today was the Primary Program for our Branch and the 5th Ward. It was so cute this little girl named Nubia who has Autism came up and kissed me on the cheek. Her mom freaked because she has never liked any of the Sister Missionaries, ever! She also won't interact with anyone, but she will talk with me! It melts my heart! :) Her mom said "you must have a special heart that she understands" :')
All in all it was a great week. I hope everyone is staying safe, and enjoying Fall in Idaho! 

Con Amor,
Hermana Greenhalgh
 
Pedro reminds me of Stavie off of The Ringer
 
 

Monday, September 22, 2014

Letter - 09/22/14

Buenos Tardes Familia y Amigos,

How is everyone doing? I can't believe another week has come and gone! Time really has been flying the last couple of weeks, and I can't believe I hit my 6 month mark next Thursday. So this week has been a blast here's a little update on my mission life

Monday: We had a Zone barbecue at the church with all the missionaries and played volleyball. Sister Johnson and I brought cupcakes to share with everyone! Later that night we had our regular proselyting and were biking past this guy named Jim's house. When we passed he was sitting in his wheelchair slumped over the side. HE LOOKED DEAD. Five minutes later the ambulance pulled up, along with a fire truck and police cars. They hurry and put him in the ambulance and drove away. We called Elder Hardy and Baker and left them a message saying Jim had died... Two hours later we passed and Jim was sitting in his wheel chair again just hanging out. WHAT THE??? HE'S ALIVE! We then proceeded to call the Elders back, they hadn't listened to the message yet, but were super confused. Now my message about Jim being dead was sent to the whole Zone as a playback.. Strike #2 for Hermana Greenhalgh!

Tuesday: Today we had District Meeting with our nonexistent District since everyone got emergency transferred out! Elder Last from the other District had us come into his meeting so it wasn't too bad. Something that I learned in personal study today that I really liked was from a conference talk by President Monson it reminds me a lot of what Grandma Pat taught us as kids. Here's a little bit of it:

"A woman by the name of Mary Bartels had a home directly across the street from the entrance to a hospital clinic. Her family lived on the main floor and rented the upstairs rooms to outpatients at the clinic.
One evening a truly awful-looking old man came to the door asking if there was room for him to stay the night. He was stooped and shriveled, and his face was lopsided from swelling—red and raw. He said he’d been hunting for a room since noon but with no success. “I guess it’s my face,” he said. “I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says it could possibly improve after more treatments.” He indicated he’d be happy to sleep in the rocking chair on the porch. As she talked with him, Mary realized this little old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body. Although her rooms were filled, she told him to wait in the chair and she’d find him a place to sleep.

At bedtime Mary’s husband set up a camp cot for the man. When she checked in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded and he was out on the porch. He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus, he asked if he could return the next time he had a treatment. “I won’t put you out a bit,” he promised. “I can sleep fine in a chair.” Mary assured him he was welcome to come again.

In the several years he went for treatments and stayed in Mary’s home, the old man, who was a fisherman by trade, always had gifts of seafood or vegetables from his garden. Other times he sent packages in the mail.
When Mary received these thoughtful gifts, she often thought of a comment her next-door neighbor made after the disfigured, stooped old man had left Mary’s home that first morning. “Did you keep that awful-looking man last night? I turned him away. You can lose customers by putting up such people.” Mary knew that maybe they had lost customers once or twice, but she thought, “Oh, if only they could have known him, perhaps their illnesses would have been easier to bear.”

After the man passed away, Mary was visiting with a friend who had a greenhouse. As she looked at her friend’s flowers, she noticed a beautiful golden chrysanthemum but was puzzled that it was growing in a dented, old, rusty bucket. Her friend explained, “I ran short of pots, and knowing how beautiful this one would be, I thought it wouldn’t mind starting in this old pail. It’s just for a little while, until I can put it out in the garden.”

Mary smiled as she imagined just such a scene in heaven. “Here’s an especially beautiful one,” God might have said when He came to the soul of the little old man. “He won’t mind starting in this small, misshapen body.” But that was long ago, and in God’s garden how tall this lovely soul must stand!"

I really liked that part, because it's so vitally important to not judge and to be kind to everyone!

Wednesday and Thursday: Both of these days were pretty normal we did service for one of our members today helping them move into another house, we had lots of lessons and had English class.
 
Friday: Today we had weekly planning and then drove to Tempe for the first time.. I drove, it was crazy, I REALLY don't like the traffic! When we got to Tempe we had a Mission meeting and President Toone talked about some problems our Mission needs to fix, and what we are doing good on. Later we had dinner with La Familia Habana and then had a regular night of proselyting.
 
Saturday: JUST PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR THIS ONE!!! We drove down to Tempe again but this time we had a Mission tour. Elder D. Todd Christoffersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was there, Elder Lawrence Corbridge of the Seventy, and Dean M. Davies of the Presiding Bishopric were all there. We got to have a question and answer session with them and got to each individually meet them! It was soo neat! He gave our Mission and apostolic promise that we would have the gift of discernment! Oh and I got to shake all of their hands!!! 
 
Sunday: Today we had Church, and four investigators came!! After church we rushed over to the Crocketts' house and had dinner, then drove back to Tempe for the 3rd time in a week!! We had the Mission President's Devotional last night. It was super powerful we got to take some investigators with us! 
 
GOOD NEWS!! I'm staying in Casa Grande for the 4th Transfer! YAY! I think I might die here.. Missionary die, not for reals die...

Well hope you all have a lovely week!

Con Amor,
 
Hermana Greenhalgh

Monday, September 15, 2014

Illness Will NOT Bring Me Down! Letter - 09/15/14

Buenos Dias Familia y Mi Amigos!

How is everyone doing? Thank you for all the emails, and letters! I love receiving letters, as a missionary it's like Christmas! Anyways, this week has been really good, except for the fact that I have had Strep! My companion and I have been so sick, but it DOES NOT stop us!
Here's a run down of the week...
Monday: Record rainfall hit Arizona, there has been lots of flooding and lots of wind! Sister Johnson and I had tons of fun playing in the rain! Later that night we went and had Noche de Hogar (Family Home Evening) with the Habana Family! It was so much fun, we watched two movies about the sacrifice of the pioneers. It makes me so grateful for all the things they did for us, and the opportunities we have today to know of their history. After the movies, we had to drive home in two feet of mud, let's just say our car is supposed to be white but just looks like a big brown blob right now! 
Tuesday: Today we had District Meeting, did our regular daily proselyting, and had dinner with the Carr Family. It was a pretty regular day, but still always fun! Some sad news is two of our investigators who were on date fell off because they dropped us. BUT, we have found many more solid people to teach!
Wednesday: Today we went on exchanges with the English Sisters, I went to my area with Sister Westfall. That morning I was really sick and ended up having to go to Urgent Care, which was a nightmare... We started our proselyting around 2:00 because I slept for a couple of hours with permission from Sister Toone. Later that night we had Correlation with our Branch Presidency.
Thursday: Today Sister Johnson and I went to Eloy #tootoughtodie and also to Arizona city. That place gets scarier and scarier each time we go! People ask us all the time why they would let two blonde girls be in the scariest city in Casa Grande? Little do they know we have Heavenly Father on our side! We are safe! Later that night we had English class, and Pedro, our investigator, bless his heart, said the closing prayer in ENGLISH!! It was so good! Our students are really coming along good! After English we set up for Mexico Independence Day! When we finished we found out that two Elders from our zone were sent home for medical reasons, and our District leader had an emergency transfer to Yuma. So that throws everything out of whack for District Meetings. Transfers will be September 24, I find out this Sunday whether or not I will be transferred. There is a possibility because I have been in Casa Grande for so long, but it isn't uncommon to stay another transfer. 
Friday: Today we had weekly planning, and after went and got lunch with the whole zone. Zone lunches are the best thing ever! After lunch Sister Johnson and I went out inviting people to the Fiesta later that night. After a couple of hours proselyting we headed to the Fiesta. We got to serve, and help everyone, They had a DJ, Music, and lots of food. We had a pretty good turn out!
Saturday: We had an amazing lesson with a lady named Gloria and then later we hit up STANFIELD, or as I like to call it Mosquito town! I got eaten alive! 72 bites total! Yay for West Nile! Just kidding! But we found four new investigators out there. Later that night we had dinner with the Montelongos. During dinner I was talking to Elder Butler about Seminary, and he was saying how he didn't pass, I looked at him and said all you had to do to pass was SIT, well because I'm sick and I sound nasally, it came out as another word... feel free to interpret as you will. It was so bad! Everyone laughed for a good 10 minutes. Elder Collins said it was "journal worthy". He told all the Elders in his house and now it's a big joke they all tease me about! Illness will not bring me down! 
  
Sunday: Today we had Church, and had two investigators come! :) Later we had dinner with President Sellars, and then had two lessons after. 

Well that was a little bit about my week! I have new adventures everyday! :) I love being out here, and serving the people of Arizona! Hope everyone has a good week! 

Te quiero,
Hermana Greenhalgh
Sister Schroeder's Birthday Party
Dancing in the rain!
Fiesta at the church