Dying Isn't That Fun - Letter 09/21/15

Buenos Dias!

Sorry that I only sent a paragraph last week, I was super busy sending in final pictures and getting my college application finished. Things are starting to settle in that I'm leaving. Tuesday night I got my "trunky packet" which included my flight itinerary, bike information, interviews, and departure items. Times has flown way TOO fast! I can't believe I'm under 20 days of coming home. To be quite honest I'm not ready for this to end, I LOVE MY MISSION! I've changed so much, and I love Arizona! I will be leaving a huge part of my heart here. But needless to say I'm so excited to see all of you! It's been a long time! Please forgive me if I'm weird when I come home, mission life is the bomb. 

 As far as my week goes Miguel got baptized Saturday, and his wife is getting baptized the 2nd of October! We are so excited! She's awesome! Also her mom and her sister are now interested in taking the discussions!! I can't wait to see the generations blessed because of their decision to be baptized! Speaking a baptisms, I get to go to Phoenix this coming Saturday to see Ingrid get baptized!! Yay! I taught her for 11 months, and she's finally getting baptized! I'm so excited! 

 "The best sound that I have ever heard, is the sound a water running in the church!"  Nashville Tribute Band "hardest thing" you should all look it up and cry with me because my mission's ending. My companion Sister Allred is awesome! She's the best trainee I could ever ask for! She's just like me, and it's so funny to see her do the same things I did, and also to help her through the difficulties of Spanish! Awe, I just love my mission, and I wish I could extend for another 1 1/2 years haha. 

Enjoy your week! 

Love,

Hermana Greenhalgh 

P.S. We found this super awesome family while tracting! They are so amazing! They cried as we talked to them and the husband with all the tattoos said wiping tears from his eyes "you knocked the right door today!"

 Always a good time!

 

 

A Paragraph About My Week! - Letter 09/14/15

Good afternoon everyone,

This week flew by so quickly! I've been making preparations to come home. I had to send in my final photos, I'll be getting my trunky packet today, and I also have an interview with President for college
today! Time is flying by! This week has been great. We went to the Visitor's Center, had exchanges, visited the Humane Society and prepared Miguel for his baptism this weekend. Thank you all so much for your support and prayers! I really appreciate it! See you all in a couple weeks!

Hermana Greenhalgh

 Embracing the Culture!

Minute to Win It Games!

Visitor's Center with Montanes

The Rains Came Down and the Floods Came Up! - Letter 09/07/15

Buenos Dias a todos!

How was everyone's week? That good huh? You all should seriously tell me how you're doing because I have no idea! Well as for my week it's been pretty good! Here in Casa Grande the work is going good. My companion and I are trying our best everyday to find and teach people about Christ! Oh speaking of me and my companion we are going to be on the mission page in the next couple of days because they have a special post about us! So look out on Facebook for that! 

Over this last week it has poured and poured and poured some more! We've had so much rain, which means we get a lot of floods! It's pretty scary to drive in, but we manage to do it. Thursday was the scariest! There was lightning all across Casa Grande, and it was literally raining cats and dogs! We got some fun pictures! Speaking of cats and dogs every Wednesday we get to go serve at the humane society and play with the dogs. It's so sad I just want to adopt all of them. There was on one dog named after "Star Wars" and she only had 3 legs.. So sad. But it's a neat experience!

As far as our investigators go, they are good! We have found two new families this week! We are so stoked! I've seen  people who were here a year ago who have changed. It's cool to see the change in people. One of our members was talking about me and how much I've changed since being here a year ago! She said "you have a different light about you, like you've learned a lot and been humbled not that you were prideful but you just seem more like Christ" it was so sweet to hear that. To be quite honest I'm not the same person I was 18 months ago. I've completely changed! 

Miracle time!! So my companion and I have been praying to know how to help a guy named Miguel and his wife prepare for baptism, and also we've been praying to know how to help in general. Well Sunday after church Miguel came up to me and Sister Allred and said "I want to be baptized next Saturday, I'm ready!" Our jaws drop... Uhh ok!! So he's getting baptized 18 of September! Whoop whoop! We are so excited for him! We are going to continue teaching his wife, and last night we extended a baptismal invite for the 3 of October and she accepted! #fastingworks #prayersanswered

Well that's all I got for now! Hope everyone enjoys their week! My mission is quickly slipping away! Ahh.. I don't know if I can handle not wearing my name tag...

Con Amor,

Hermana Greenhalgh 

Weekly Juice!

Lots of Rain!

Out With the Old, In With the New! Letter 8/31/15

Buenos Dias Familia,

Wow have I got news to tell you... So this week has been crazy! We were supposed to receive transfer calls Tuesday night, and so Sister Finau and I are waiting to receive them, and the APs call us and ask us to house two missionaries from Temple Square for the night. Well we didn't have anything for them to use for bedding. So we start making calls at 9:45 to find bedding, and had to leave our apartment in our PJs to go find it. When we found some bedding we rushed back to our apartment and quickly made the beds up, and waited. Then Sister Finau realized we didn't have any water to give them.. So here comes my ingenious companion she takes a hunk of ice out of the freezer and melts it in a pan. I was laughing so hard watching her try to melt this thing, but hey we got water right?

 

The Sisters finally showed up, and they were awesome! One was from France, and the other the Philippines. It was an interesting night!

 

So transfer calls didn't happen Tuesday night which was nerve racking.. But Wednesday morning around 10 they finally called. And guess who I got a call from? President Toone! Our mission phones all have a special ring tone for him so I immediately begin to panic when I heard it. I answered and he said "Hey Sister Greenhalgh we want to extend a call to you to be a trainer of a new missionary, and you'll be white washing, will you accept this call?" Sister Finau screamed and was so excited, I just kind of sat there like.. Uh you want me to be a trainer?? I accepted the call! A couple months back while having an interview with President I told him my biggest fears for my mission were to train and to white wash, guess what I'm doing both! Ahh! Anyways, I begin packing and after being in the same area, apartment, and city for 10 1/2 months it was hard to be leaving. Who knew I could learn to love Phoenix so much! 

 

As we went about the rest of our day, we went to the St. Mary's food bank and a guy who works there gave me a group shout out because I was leaving.. I felt awkward but it's all good. Next we went about proselyting and also said adios to a few people. After dinner the APs call again and ask us to come to Tempe for a devotional, so we run home, get ready, and head to Tempe.  When we got there we entered the mission home and got to see 20 new missionaries. As we started President Toone announced that I would be speaking, SURPRISE. So that happened, but it turned out ok!

 

Thursday morning was transfers! I had to attend a trainers meeting early, and got to meet the trainees. When's the actual meeting started I was super nervous.. One because I was training, and two because I was whitewashing. Ahh! Well they announced my name and said I would be training Sister Sarabeth Allred! She's from Colorado and I'm so lucky to call her my daughter! We've had so much fun, and I feel like I'm not training her she came pre-trained! She's awesome! She's super dedicated to the work, and has a great desire to share the Gospel with everyone! We've had a lot of success the last couple of days! 

 

Honestly, it's pretty weird to return back to an old area.. And only have 2 areas my whole mission. I returned back to the same house, same area, and same people. It's interesting, I can definitely see changes in the people some for the good, some for the bad. I would ask for all of your prayers to help me and my trainee find new and prepared people! I know this is going to be the best transfer of my mission, because I'm going to work even harder here than before! 

Here's to my last transfer of my mission! May the odds ever be in my favor!

Love you all,

Hermano Greenhalgh

Packing and Saying Goodbye

Building  Apartment Unity

With Hermana Allred

Just Do It! Letter 8/24/15

How was everyone's week? Hopefully good! Mine was pretty crazy! Something that I've learned this week is the importance of being obedient no matter what! I'm not someone who likes to intentionally break the rules, nor do I like seeing people do it either. It's so vitally important to Keep the Commandments, follow this Spirit, and do good things! Heavenly Father gives us these commandments and the influence of the Holy Ghost to bless us, not prohibit us... Sorry I'm done with my rant about obedience, but just be ready for the story about all this when I get home!

Anyways, so a little about my week is Monday after emailing and preparing for the week my district and a member named Yoani went to the church, played basketball, and ate pizza. While eating pizza Sister Finau kicked the ball up in the air and it smacked Elder Southwick in the face, knocked the pizza out of his hand and the sauce flew across his face and shirt... It was hilarious. We all laughed for a good twenty minutes! After we just played the guitar, and had a drawing contest. It was actually pretty nice to just relax for an hour, but after that we all wanted to get back to work. That night we found this awesome new guy named Francisco! He's 29 and has so much potential! He goes "it's weird you came to my house tonight, I'm having a really hard time, and I prayed for God to help me and then you two show up!" Whaaaaat! Super cool right! He's awesome, and has a lot of questions. We are super excited to see where he goes!

Tuesday we had Zone meeting, if you've liked the page for my mission on Facebook you'll find a picture of me with an egg in my mouth! We did a neat object lesson with eggs "investigators" and how we need to protect them, help them, and get them to the final goal of baptism. It was EGGciting! It was EGGSactly what our zone needed. Later that night we took a member named Cynthia out with us, she's getting ready to go on a mission. She shared her testimony with so many people that night and it was awesome! She's going to be a great missionary. My companion and I noticed her deep love the gospel, and it helped us realize ours as well and to want to share it with more people.

Wednesday was service day! In the morning we went and knocked a couple doors but weren't really getting anyone answering, but we both had a prompting to pass by Hermana Zayas house. When we passed by her mom Victoria or as I call her "abuelita" which means little grandma, was home by herself. She's in her 90s doesn't speak a lick of English, and she's the cutest old lady ever. She was so happy to see us. Everyone had left to Mexico and she was taking care of the house and needed some help, but the phones were disconnected and she was stuck by herself. So we passed by and helped her water the plants, get food and water for the dogs and just give her some company! Ok funny story, we walked outside and she asked us to put water in the bucket for the dogs, well the problem was the hose was behind this wall and couldn't be reached. Sister Finau goes "well my arms are long enough I can get it!" She tries and can't reach it, so I go ok... "Let me try" she starts laughing because I'm a lot shorter than her and there's no way I will be able to reach it. But I walk over go half way over the wall, and I'm hanging there in a hand stand position trying to grab this hose. My feet are slipping and I yell for sister Finau! She comes over grabs my feet and just hangs me there until I grabbed it! It reminded me of when I was little and my dad would hang us by our feet to tease us, didn't think I could experience that again especially as a 20 year old! But it happened! Later for lunch we  went and had lunch with Yoani and the elders. We were eating and Yoani tried to rap about his former girlfriends... It was so funny because he really can't rap. After we went and helped a lady move, and later that day we passed by Abuelita again. When we got there Eduardo was there! He was just cleaning the yard for them. We asked him what he was doing and he said "oh I just had a prompting to come clean their yard!" Ahhh he's so neat! So we helped him, and then found a scorpion! 

Thursday I woke up that morning and was super frustrated because our house was a disaster. I started picking things up as the other sisters watched me. I let this frustration sink in, and started my personal studies. When it was over I talked with my companion about it and she didn't really know what we should do, so I just let Sister Toone know. Later we left to the food bank to do service and the other sisters were being super rude. I just kept to myself and went along doing my own thing. Thankfully Sister Mello and Sister Johnson said we were going on exchanges! I got to go on exchanges with Sister Johnson, we were companions exactly a year ago! It was so nice to catch up, and serve side by side again. We had some awesome lessons, and felt the Spirit! Later that night we made chocolate chip cookies, and talked about life.

 

Friday we headed to weekly planning and when it came time for companionship inventory Sister Finau and I left and started talking about all the things going on at our house. We both cried because the disobedience of others was getting to us. Sister Mello and Johnson came in and started talking with us about everything, and then surprise Sister Toone showed up. She had the prompting to come talk with us, it was really nice to let her know what was going on. When all was finished we left, and felt so much better. Later that night we went to a members house for dinner, and she fed us so much. We had a eating contest with the elders.. I lost but it's ok, I didn't want to die...

Saturday morning Sister Finau and I were studying and all the sudden I saw Sister Toone walking up to our apartment. I waved her to come on in and she gave the signal to be quiet. She walked in to the other sisters room and told them they had 30 minutes to pack, they were being emergency transferred. It was quite the morning... Sister Finau and I had to go get their car, and we parked in front of our apartment turned the hazard lights on and walked back inside. We were inside for about 8 minutes and I had a feeling we needed to walk outside... Good thing too because a man was towing the car!! We asked and pleaded for him to stop because we were moving stuff into the car. He said nope sorry you can't park here. We then said we had our hazards on, and he just made some other excuse and said if we gave him $40 he wouldn't take our car. I ran inside grabbed all that I had in my wallet and said wait here we will run to the gas station just please don't take our car. We blasted out the parking lot and got some money and Sister Finau parked and I booked it out of the car and started running. I handed him the remaining amount and he looked all confused. "You didn't have to run he said.." I said back "um sir I can't just trust that you're not going to take the car.." He then unhooked the tow and phew we got the car back! After this mayhem we loaded everything into the car, and drove to two other zones to drop off the sisters. After Sister Finau and I now have the house to ourselves, and have to clean up and move it around before transfers. Later that night we went to the Visitors Center in Mesa with Ingrid and her mom!

All in all if there's one thing I want you to understand from this letter it would be the importance of being obedient. It doesn't matter how much you may not like the rules, or don't think they apply to you. Rules or commandments or whatever you like to call them help you, not hurt you! I hope everyone has a good week! 

Hermana Greenhalgh 

Food Bank 

Food Bank

I obviously talk about my nieces and nephews a lot!  #sorrynotsorry

Elder Southwick got kicked in the face

Zone Activity

With Elder Corbridge and President Toone

Temple with Ingrid

So the question is...Where am I going to spend my last transfer?