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
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