Oi, wonderful people of my life!

Email received

September 24, 2013

Oi, wonderful people of my life!

To answer my Mom’s questions…

Happiest moment this week:

Last night, we were home and in bed. Sister L left and I figured she was out studying in the hallway like usual or something. I laid in bed a lot...kind of thinking about myself...how lucky I am to have such awesome family and friends, about the mail I've received, the cool package from Elder R, what I would write to everyone for p-day tomorrow... after a while, I had the thought I should check on Sister L. Interesting that I didn't hear that prompting until I stopped thinking about myself -- that's a lesson for me.  I got out of bed and climbed down my ladder (I'm the top bunk above Sister Ch), and soon realized Sister Ch was also gone.  I went out to the couches in the residence hall entrance area and found them both sitting together, tears streaming down their face. Sister Ch was comforting Sister L and talking with her.  Sister Ch had received the prompting to find Sister L way before me. I admire the way Sister Ch receives and understands specific promptings from the Spirit. :) Sister L is going through some challenges concerning her home life, yet she is SO strong and so incredible. She left all that behind to serve the Lord, even though it is so hard. She inspires me.  She has such a quiet strength.  Anyway, by the time I got there, Sister Ch had already done most of the comforting, and they were both feeling better. The three of us are very different but time and time again, the Lord has blessed us with experiences that have brought us so close together and have helped us to understand each other and love each other more like the Savior does. We all talked and shared our testimonies and thoughts about the Savior and how incredible and strong each of us is and how much we love each other. The Spirit was warm and comforting in our hearts and around us. Sister Ch said "It feels like Heavenly Father is giving us a big hug. He's the only boy you can hug on your mission." :)

Saddest moment this week:

Only seeing my sweet companions having some hard times has been sad. But every time one of us comes across something challenging or doubts or fears, we lift each other and most of all, the Lord lifts us, and he makes us stronger than we were before! I really haven't had much sadness here in the MTC. Me and my companion Sister Ch actually had a similar experience -- feeling doubts about being a missionary and not feeling good enough. We were all able to talk and lift each other, and we shared some experiences.  It's so great that we can cry together, testify together, and strengthen each other.

Funniest moment this last week:

The day Sister Ch learned why Sister Greenall sings alto.
This was last Sunday, just two days ago. We were sitting together in the Sunday night devotional, singing the opening hymn. It was a hymn I was less familiar with and I couldn't seem to find the alto line...so I resorted to singing soprano...loudly.  I have this weird theory that if I sing louder I can sing higher. Anywho...we got to the chorus and I went to sing a beautiful high note - I envisioned it going well - and the weirdest sound came out of my mouth - super loud.  My voice cracked so bad!!  And Sister Ch just turned and looked at me and we both cracked up!  I had to stop myself from laughing and tried to keep singing. But we joke about it all the time now!

BY THE WAY: I'M SINGING IN THE GENERAL RELIEF SOCIETY BROADCAST! LOOK FOR ME :D ...No wonder they put me on the 2nd Alto part- lowest women part possible.  Hahahaha!

Also, an awesome moment was last p-day in the laundry room when it suddenly started hailing like crazy out of nowhere!  So awesome!

Most spiritual moment this week:

There are so many, but definitely our last lesson with Carlos. We taught the first vision. After Sister L and Sister Ch taught about some things, I was able to share the first vision in Joseph Smith's words in Portuguese.  I memorized it about a week ago...but as I talked to Carlos sharing with him about Joseph Smith, I could feel the Spirit building inside me. It was very present in the room.  And it testified to my heart so strongly of what I was about to say. As I began, the spirit filled me even more!!!  I felt so full! It was flowing through me, and the words came smoothly and naturally. I wasn't sharing a memorized script or quote, I was sharing a message that Carlos NEEDED, a message from God straight to him. It felt incredible. That was our best lesson yet.  And by "our" I mean my companions and I and the Spirit, because the Spirit definitely did all the work!  I've learned that as missionaries, we are only, only, only instruments in God's hands.  Have I said that a billion times already?  It's so true.  The best thing I can do as a missionary is to keep myself as clean and pure as possible (through constant repentance and application of the Atonement) so that the Spirit of God can flow through me freely without any obstructions.  Like a tuba. When it is clean inside and the air can flow through fully, perfectly, and smoothly, it sounds beautiful. When the tuba is full of spit and gross sticky things, it sounds awful and disrupted. The Spirit makes what I testify and teach beautiful and powerful!  Naturally, I am a saliva-filled sticky gross tuba that could never convert a single person.  But if I allow Christ to make me clean and pure, through using his Atonement, the Spirit can flow through me and make miracles happen and make something beautiful. :)

OH! Another funniest moment last week:

The day I found out I was asking people where they die, instead of where they live.
We've been practicing street contacts. We have a goal for our district, so we each need to do 4 contacts a day per person to reach the goal. I had been asking people "Onde voce morre?" instead of "Onde voce mora?" I got a lot of confused looks for like 3 days straight...until some more experienced Portuguese missionaries clarified to me that Morrer is to die and morar is to live.... Whoops!  Hahaha!

Well, our professor, Brother Porter, told us that we have to make 5,000 mistakes before we can master the language, so I'm trying to get in all the mess ups I possibly can as fast as I can.  Oh!  We found out that Brother Porter was Brother Miller's teacher in the MTC before Brother Miller went to Brazil isn’t that cool??? Brother Porter has been teaching here for 3 years, and Brother Miller just got back from his mission 3 months ago. They are both amazing. Every day they fill our hearts with the spirit and uplift us! In class we learn by the Spirit. The Spirit speaks to us and our hearts so clearly. Brother Porter is so good at being that instrument to invite the Spirit and let it work through him. He is truly inspired in the way he teaches us.

Dad, every Sunday the sisters get to watch Music and the Spoken Word before Relief Society!! The elders don't get to -- haha! But I love it so much! We all look forward to hearing music! And especially such uplifting music!! I always think of you as we watch!!  I loved your mission experiences and letters. :) Thanks so much for sharing!! It means so much! It really uplifts me and helps me focus even more!

Another funniest moment!

Elder J, our district leader, says with a straight face "You make me sick" as he hands me a huge pile of mail. "It's 10 in case you were wondering."  Hahaha! I had your letter and 10 dear elders!! From all the blog posts you sent me!!  Hahaha! It was great! If only Elder J knew that most of those were actually from myself! haha! And I was so wonderfully happy to find the messages from you and dad in there. :)  I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!

I want to send Sister K my love and tell her a big thank you! She sent me a SUPER awesome gluten free package!!! Which me and my sisters thoroughly enjoyed!!! :D

Oh, I forgot to tell you.  As part of our Portuguese learning supplies, we also got these super fancy filter water bottles. They will last our whole missions.  All water we drink we are supposed to drink through the filter. And you can drink ANY water with it! Like even out of a puddle in the middle of the rainforest!!  Super high tech.  [And super-worry-reducer for Mom!]

Oh! I bought Jesus the Christ from the book store! It was only $8 with the missionary discount and I get $8 from the MTC on my missionary card every week so I just used my missionary card! It's so good!!  

I got a sweet letter from Brother D with some money, which I was able to buy my shirt for the Relief Society Broadcast Choir. :) I'll be wearing that shirt on the broadcast! Thanks, Brother and Sister D!! You are so kind!!!!

Another awesome thing is TRC when we get to teach REAL people! They aren’t “acting” like investigators or anything; they just come as themselves.  We taught Brother H (in Portuguese of course, everything is in Portuguese).  He's a member of the church with a wonderful family and it was so special to pray for him, share a message, and talk with him.

Fun fact:  P-DAYS are the most stressful days of the mission!  hahaha!  Mostly the laundry room... but we are getting better!  [ Let's see 3500 missionaries divided by 6 possible P-Days = 583.33 missionaries trying to do laundry every day!  I wondering how many machines they have???]

Jamie sent me so much awesome mail -- package and post cards!  Aww, I love her!!

And Brianna is doing so well!!  :D

Romans 8: 24-25

(24) For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?   (25) But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

I LOVE YOU ALL! I'm totally out of time! But I want you to know that I think of you and pray for you. I am so grateful for all you do for me and your support and kind words. I love you SO much. I am so blessed to have each of you.

-Sister Greenall

 

Opa!!!!!

OI! FAMILIA E AMIGOS! Como vai? Tudo bem?

I am loving the life of a missionary so much. I am learning and learning and LEARNING so much! It's a great feeling.

We finished our lessons with our first practice investigator, Antônio! We had 5 lessons with him. The first was so hard, and then they got better and better! And our last lesson we taught him the Doctrine of Christ from 2 Nephi 31 and he accepted our invitation to be baptized! ...(Of course he is a pretend investigator and is actually a returned missionary from Brazil!) He got back 3 weeks ago! And presto chango- tah-dah! Antonio became Brother Miller! Another of our teachers! Now we have Brother Porter and Brother Miller and I'm positive we have the two best teachers in the whole MTC.  But 2 Nephi 31- What an awesome chapter.  It puts things so clearly! I'd recommend it to anyone! The Book of Mormon truly is the perfect compliment for the Bible! How amazing it is to have the stick of Judah and the stick of Jospeh together in my hands, just like it talks about in the Bible!

Ezekiel 37:19   “Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.”

Just as Christ loved and taught and visited those in the Old World, he visited and taught and performed miracles in the New World too - the Americas!  How incredible to have both of those records! The Bible and the Book of Mormon! 

John 10:16   “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”

3 Nephi 15:21   “And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”

Wow.  Òtimo!! (och-ee-moo= awesome!!!) And it's super incredible to think that soon I will be in Brazil, sharing this incredible message with people, and sharing the Book of Mormon - which is pretty much their ancestors!  In 2 Nephi 31 we learn that the Doctrine of Christ has 5 fundamentals: Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. ....This was Jesus' Christ's message! He shares the Father's purpose, in bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man! (Moses 1:39).  And now as missionaries, we share Christ's purpose. Our purpose is to bring others to Christ! Through faith in him and his Atonement, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. It is so humbling to realize over and over again that I now completely share Christ's purpose. He points us to the Father. And as missionaries, we point others to Christ! Christ is the way! It is ONLY through him that we can return to our Father in Heaven and receive those blessings that He so much wants to give us!

Heavenly Father and Christ want us to be united and one with Them.  I think often God and Jesus Christ being one is interpreted as them being actually one person or being, but Jesus Christ has invited us to be one with him!!! And he is one with his Father! Wow. That doesn't mean we will be molded into another person. It means he wants us to be completely united with them in love and purpose.  I can't imagine the love and peace and how incredible it would feel to be united as one with Christ and God the Father. In my scripture study recently I came across these verses...

D&C 50:43   “And the Father and I are one. I am in the Father and the Father in me; and inasmuch as ye have received me, ye are in me and I in you.”

John 10:16   “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”

John 10:30   “I and my Father are one.”

D&C 93:3-5   “(3) And that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one— (4) The Father because he gave me of his fulness, and the Son because I was in the world and made flesh my tabernacle, and dwelt among the sons of men. (5) I was in the world and received of my Father, and the works of him were plainly manifest.”

John 17:11   “And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.”

1 Corinthians 6:17   “But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.”

Hebrews 2:11   “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.”

I imagine that feeling I get when I am surrounded by my family and friends and people who love me, who love each other, and who I love.... Now times that love by 3 trillion times a billion, and then add the fact that you are with God the Father, Creator of the Universe, and His Son, the Savior, Jesus Christ, and ...wow. I cannot imagine how incredible it would be to be one with Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. In Their presence, after this life, filled with that sweet, indescribable love, and the desire to serve and lift others. That's how I imagine it would feel to be "one" with Jesus Christ, as he is with the Father, and to be "one" with those around me, God's precious children.

For a while before my mission, I was nervous about inviting people to be baptized, worrying that they would think I was only around to try to baptize them... You know what I mean? But I have learned so much here that has changed my perspective. The gospel changes lives. Not just a little bit...but in a way that is so profound it affects our eternity. Baptism is the gateway to entering God's Kingdom.  Just as Jesus Christ was baptized, and received the Holy Ghost in the Bible, we must follow that example.  He told us "What manner of men ought ye to be? Even as I am" and He has told us that HE is the way and the light! In everything he did he was the perfect example for us. We have watched videos, and our teachers (both returned missionaries from Brazil) have shared their experiences and I have experienced this myself in my own life!  Seeing someone be baptized, taking upon themself the name of Jesus Christ and promising to follow him.  In return, being given the Gift of the Holy Ghost to guide them.  It is a miracle. A true miracle. How selfish it would be for me to not extend this invitation to follow Christ just because I'm nervous or afraid.

The gospel changes lives!!!!  I wish I could write everything in all caps...but I realized that's just creepy and it seems like I'm yelling all the time. But in my heart, I am!! I want to share this message and these truths that have done more for my life than I could ever express! Isn't it interesting that Jesus Christ sought out John specifically to baptize him? Not only was John his cousin, but John had the authority from God to baptize! Wow! And to know that that same authority (directly from Christ himself!) is still on the earth is truly incredible.  In 3 Nephi 11: 18-26 (below) we read of Jesus Christ giving Nephi (a prophet who wrote in the Book of Mormon) the authority to baptize and teaching him how. The exact same way he himself was baptized! And the exact same way that we baptize today.

3 Nephi 11:18-26   “(18) And it came to pass that he spake unto Nephi (for Nephi was among the multitude) and he commanded him that he should come forth. (19) And Nephi arose and went forth, and bowed himself before the Lord and did kiss his feet. (20) And the Lord commanded him that he should arise. And he arose and stood before him.  (21) And the Lord said unto him: I give unto you power that ye shall baptize this people when I am again ascended into heaven.  (22) And again the Lord called others, and said unto them likewise; and he gave unto them power to baptize. And he said unto them: On this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall be no disputations among you.  (23) Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your words, and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye baptize them—Behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them.  (24) And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying:  (25) Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.  (26) And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water.

For anyone reading this who hasn't read the Book of Mormon, I would recommend times 1,000 :) that you read 3 Nephi 11, if nothing else.  Because I can testify to you, that I know Jesus Christ visited the people of the Americas. He healed them, he prayed with and for them, he taught them his true gospel. This chapter is the record of when Christ actually appears to the people. I have prayed about the Book of Mormon, many times, and every single time, I am filled with that undeniable peace that this truly is the word of God.

I know that Christ lives. I know that he is MY Savior. I know that he is aware of me! He knows every pain and sorrow and concern and joy that I have ever felt! He understands me perfectly. He gave everything for me, even his life. And I know that he did the exact same for YOU. It doesn't matter who is reading this, that statement is true: Christ knows you. He loves you. He understands you perfectly. He died for you. And as any of us turns to him, and prays to God asking for that closeness to our Savior and for strength, understanding, or help, we will FEEL that love that Christ has for us. It is more real than anything I have ever felt or learned. I know Christ lives more than I know that 2 and 2 makes 4!  Did I already share Isaiah 53:5-7? It is so powerful.

Isaiah 53:5-7   (5) But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.  (6) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.  (7) He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

Something I learned here in the MTC is that the gospel of Jesus Christ is simple. It is so incredible and all-encompassing and every little detail is worked out and it is greater than we could ever imagine, and yet it is so simple that a child could understand it because God wants desperately for us to understand His plan for us.

God is our Father. Not a mysterious being who doesn't know us and who we cannot know. He is our loving Father. I have felt that love wrapped around me and filling my soul. We are His children. And He loves us and will speak to us just the way any loving father would to their precious child.

Jesus Christ is God's Son. He is our Savior. Through his Atonement, we can become clean from our sins, enabling us to return to the presence of our Father and our brother Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ can and will heal us if we come to him. He loves us so much. He knows our Father and His Plan for us, and Jesus Christ made that whole plan possible!

Through baptism we make promises to God that we will keep his commandments, and through baptism, we take Christ's name upon ourselves, accepting the Atonement, and becoming clean from sin.

The gospel is about families. God LOVES families. We ARE a family.  Just as He is our Father and we are His children, we grow up on this earth with parents and brothers and sisters.  God's plan for us is that our families can be together forever and we can be with Him forever!

Through repentance, we can become clean over and over again through Jesus Christ, because we are not perfect, and God loves us and knows that. He loves us the way we are and asks us to do our very best.  Jesus Christ makes up for the rest.

The Godhead (or Trinity) is made up of three members: God, the Father; Jesus Christ, His Son; and the Holy Ghost, who does not have a body of flesh and bones, like the Father and Son, so that he can be here on earth with us, to help us know what is right. The Holy Ghost testifies of truth. He will ALWAYS testify of truth. Every time someone bears testimony of Jesus Christ, or the Atonement, or God's love for us, or of the scriptures, the Holy Ghost will be there to testify to our hearts that it is true. Everyone feels it differently, but when you feel it, you will know! It fills my whole body with warmth. It fills me with love and desires to serve others! It enlightens my mind and understanding and brings things I need to my remembrance. It is truly an incredible gift.

Something I learn over and over again, and that has hit me so strongly lately, is how indebted I am to my Savior, Jesus Christ. And I will be forever!! Every time I do the simplest things right, trying to give back, He blesses me more! And more and more and more! Until my heart is so full it feels like it will burst open with happiness! I feel like that so much!! So often! And the times that are harder, I can turn to Christ, and he fills me with comfort. He lifts my burdens. He helps me to have strength to endure. He helps me to learn.

God is a God of love and a God of miracles. Life is so beautiful! And yet this is nothing compared to what is to come after this life! This life is just a tiny speck of the whole incredible picture!  

D&C 50:24   “That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.”

I know that as we seek light and guidance, we can receive more and more! Heavenly Father has so much to teach us so that we can find greater and greater lasting joy and someday reach our full potential as His children.   As His children, we have unlimited potential.

Imagine us evolving from a little piece of pond scum into fish and monkeys and finally humans.  What kind of potential does that give us? I'm not really sure... But it doesn't look too promising to me.

But as children of God, the greatest, most powerful Being in the Universe, our potential is ENORMOUS! What a blessing it is in my life to know that I am a daughter of God! And to know that He loves me!  It is a simple truth that changes lives, just as it has changed mine. I can promise that anyone who prays to God to know if they are His child, will receive that answer, and the feeling you get when He answers you through His Spirit, the Holy Ghost, is indescribable.

Well, I'm about out of time. I always plan on telling more about MTC life and fun stories, but whenever I sit down at the computer to type, all I can care to write about is how incredible this gospel is! How incredible our Savior is!  Here is an amazing promise:

D&C 93:1   “Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am;”

Everyone who comes to Christ, follows Him, and keeps the commandments (including faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end) shall see His face.  I know this to be true.

Eu sei que a Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Últimos Dias é verdadeira. Esta Igreja é a igreja de Jesus Cristo, nosso Salvador! Eu amo Ele! Ele é meu Redentor, meu Amigo Melhor, meu Irmaõ, meu Salvador. Deus é nosso Pai Celestial. Ele ama nós MUITO!

I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. This church is the church of Jesus Christ, our Savior! He IS the head of this church! He leads us through a prophet just as he always has done! I love Jesus Christ.  He is my Redeemer, my Best Friend, My Brother, My Savior. God is our Heavenly Father. He loves us SO MUCH!

I love you all and hope you are well! You are LOVED!

Tchau tchau! Até na próxima semana!

Com Amor,

Sister Greenall

Sister B., my bakery buddy! Going to the Phillipines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can see Danica's dorms - New Heritage Halls - from my window!

(the two brick buildings furthest on the right)

 

Oi!!!

Email received

September 10, 2013
[This means Erica's P-Day will be on Tuesdays in the MTC so I should receive emails Tuesday and will post them by Wednesday generally.]

 

Family and Friends!

Oi, minha familia e meus amigos! I hope all is well! Things in the MTC are beyond fantastic. It's hard to explain. Everyone told me "Oh, you will love it here! You feel the Spirit so much!" And I thought "Oh yeah, I'm so excited! I'm sure I'll love it!!!" Now that I am here, it is more like "WOW. I LOVE BEING IN THE MTC."   It's one of those experiences you can't quite understand until being there. Everyday is full and busy, and full of progression. The Spirit (yes, the Spirit of GOD! How amazing is that?) is ALWAYS here with us. It helps me in everything I do- waking up every morning before 6:30 (we have the early 6:30 breakfast shift, so we get up at 5:50 or 6 each day- but 6:30 is the latest missionaries ever wake up), learning to love all those around me, learning more about the gospel of Jesus Christ, learning to teach the gospel by the Spirit, and learning Portuguese! The Lord is surely my strength!

Alma 26:12  “Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.”

Everything I do, I am enabled to do by the Lord's strength. I can FEEL it! When my alarm goes off at 6am, I get up. That's it. I just do, and if you knew me the weeks before I left for my mission....you would know that that was not an average thing for me! But I KNOW that the Lord helps me! He gives me energy to study and learn all day! It is an incredible feeling. I know that missionaries are called by a prophet of God! That is why we can do what we do! There are thousands of young missionaries just like me in this MTC, many are learning different languages (over 50 different languages, I believe) and I can promise you that every single one of them who is obedient to the mission rules and schedules given to us, WILL be fluent in that language on their mission. Because ...

1 Nephi 3:7 “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.”

God will never command us to do anything without providing a way for us to do that. He has called me to serve His children in Brazil and to bring them to Him. To do this, He has called me to learn Portuguese. Guess what! I'm learning! Faster, better, easier than I ever could on my own. We (my companions, district, and I) have been in the MTC for only ...let's see… 5 days? (it feels like a life time!) and we have already taught 3 lessons to our investigator in PORTUGUESE. But more importantly, by the language of the Spirit. Sure, our Portuguese is far from perfect! But with the Lord's help, we can all pray and bear our testimonies in Portuguese now. And we are able to teach lessons that -although full of broken Portuguese- bring the Spirit and inspire our investigator to act- to pray, to read, to change!

Our Portuguese teacher is awesome. His name is Brother Porter. He teaches us not only the language, but how to teach by the Spirit. He served in Brazil 3 years ago. My companions Sister L. and Sister Ch. are fantastic. Most missionaries are in pairs of 2, but we are lucky enough to be a 3-some. We are the only three sisters that I've seen so far who are going to Belem! But there are LOTS of missionaries here going to Brazil! Our district is made up of 5 sisters and 7 elders. Me, Sister L., Sister Ch., Sister F., Sister Th., Elder J., Elder H., Elder A., Elder T., Elder G., Elder D., and Elder B.. We spend LOTS of time together! Did I mention that you don't waste a minute in the MTC? From the time we are up at 6:00 or 6:30 we work until 9:30-10:00 and are in bed with the lights out by 10:30. We spend hours studying from the Book of Mormon and the Bible- personal study, companion study...class study or devotionals.., we spend hours studying the language in our classroom and teaching our practice lessons. We breathe occasionally. And we have gym every day! Which is great! My district sisters and I ran around the indoor track the first day, and we've also played frisbee and soccer on the outside field. I have learned that being exactly obedient is always worth it. Following the schedule and studying hard enables the Lord to work through us.

Cool experience. Yesterday was our 3rd lesson with Antonio. My companheiras and I prepared for hours. Planning what to teach, how to teach, who would teach what, and then learning the Portuguese to do that! Well, later on Saturday night we were in class with Irmõ Porter and while doing companion study and preparation, I asked him for help. I told him we just didn't feel like we were progressing with Antônio as much as we would like to. The first couple of lessons we spent talking to him about prayer, but we didnt really feel like we were meeting his needs quite yet. His background is that his wife was killed in a car crash, and she was actually baptized as a member of the church. Ever since she died, he has been looking for peace. So we talked with Brother Porter and he shared several passages from Preach My Gospel with us.  Ultimately, his advice for us was to pray.

During our break, we went into the hall, and Sister F. and Sister Th. and me and my companions were wondering what we could do for Antonio. Sister F. said, I feel like we should pray. So we stopped in an empty hall and prayed for help to know what to share with Antonio. The answers came. Like a flood!!! We scrapped our entire lesson plan and decided we needed to focus the entire lesson on Jesus Christ. The next day, Sunday, was awesome. And EVERYTHING was for Antonio! Everytime we heard something from a talk or a musical number and even the choir piece we are practicing (the choir was AMAZING. we are an army of missionaries here!!!) -"Where Can I Turn for Peace?"- we looked at each other and whispered "Antonio!". 

So yesterday the time for the lesson came. We left all our notes and preparations behind and just took our Book of Mormons and Bibles. Sister L. inspired us to do that. On our second lesson, we had prepared a lot of stuff, and then she found the scriptures…

D&C 84:85 “Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man.”

And

D&C 100:5-8  “(5) Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men;  (6) For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say. (7) But a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall declare whatsoever thing ye declare in my name, in solemnity of heart, in the spirit of meekness, in all things.  (8) And I give unto you this promise, that inasmuch as ye do this the Holy Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record unto all things whatsoever ye shall say.”

So we left all our notes behind, and discovered through that experience that the Spirit was able to work through us much better, because we weren't distracting ourselves with our "lesson plans".  We are here to teach PEOPLE, not lessons. So it is so vital to let the Spirit direct you to what each person NEEDS, not what you want to teach them. So we went in to this lesson with Antonio to teach him about Jesus Christ. It went so well! Sister L. started us with the prayer in Portuguese - simple and sincere - and the Spirit was instantly in the room. We were guided to share certain scriptures we had come across for him, and to share testimony and experiences. We were able to answer his questions.

And I know that the gift of tongues is real. God, our Father in Heaven, has not ceased to bless us with these incredible gifts. Just like in the Bible, these miracles are still happening. Seriously, how do you think 70,000 LDS missionaries around the world can become fluent in a language on a 1.5-2 year mission. :) It's incredible. But it takes a lot of work!  Trust me, I am not speaking Portuguese like a native and I am far from fluent! haha! But I know that the Lord has enabled me to learn faster and more effectively than I EVER could on my own.

D&C 58:26-28  “(26) For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.  (27) Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;  (28) For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.”

Here at the MTC we are truly anxiously engaged in a good cause. I've learned that the key to doing good missionary work and being successful in the Lord's work, is to turn your focus from inward to outward. We had the opportunity to listen to a talk by Elder Bednar (when you hear him speak, wow! I can't deny that he is an apostle of the Lord. He is so humble, and yet he speaks with such power. You can FEEL truth.) called "Character of Christ." Even when Jesus Christ was suffering the Atonement, he never once focused on himself. He was praying in the garden of Gethsemane...suffering for the sins and pains of all mankind. And his apostles, who he asked to stay awake, fell asleep. He had been let down. But was he angry? Did he say "Do you even UNDERSTAND what I'm going through???" No. Never. After that, Judah - one of his apostles - betrayed him with a kiss. Did he hate Judah? No. Did he do anything against him? No. Did he stop loving him? No. As the guards are approaching Jesus Christ to take him away, Peter uses his sword to defend Jesus and cuts off on of their ears. Instantly Christ heals the guards ear. Wow. In his most painful moments, he was concerned for the welfare of others. Even on the cross, after having nails driven through his hands and feet and side, he sought to comfort those on the crosses beside him, saying that soon they would be with him in his Father's Kingdom. And on the cross he was concerned for his mother, Mary, and made sure she would be taken care of. THAT is selflessness, and charity. THAT is what it looks like to "put off the natural man and become a saint".

Mosiah 3:19  “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.”

I KNOW that Jesus Christ LIVES! During Elder Bednar's talk he told us that often we would want things on our missions - people to teach, success, baptisms, etc, etc, etc. He said "Who cares what you want?!!" He said it in the kindest way possible. :)  Haha! But it was something all missionaries need to hear. He said "NONE of this is about you!" We are here as missionaries to SERVE THE LORD! EVERYTHING is about HIM. It is SO important that we serve him in every way we can. Whether we are tired and want to sleep in, or whether we are missing our loved ones or our favorite tv shows or are feeling bad for ourselves because we haven't had the success WE want - WHO CARES?! All that matters is that we are doing what the Lord wants us to do. Our missions - MY mission - are ALL about serving Jesus Christ and God's children! Everything we do is to prepare to teach God's children and to bring them to Christ.

Our missionary purpose - Nosso proposito e:

Convidar as pessoas a achegarem-se a Cristo, ajudando-as a receber o evangelho restaurado por meio da fe em Jesus Cristo e em sua Expiaçõ, do arrependimento, do batismo, de se receber do dom do Espirito Santo, e preserverar ate o fim.

Being able to memorize that in Portuguese (I started studying portuguese 5 days ago and I have a terrible memory!) is to me a miracle! We are so blessed here in the MTC with strength beyond our own!

In English, our purpose is:

To invite others to come unto Christ and receive the restored gospel, through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.

Eu sei que O Livro de Mormon e verdadeiro. Sei que Thomas S. Monson e um profeta verdaderio de Deus. Sei que esta igreja e a igreja verdadera e que as familias são eternas! (I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet of God. I know that this church is the true church, and I know that families are eternal.

I am SO GRATEFUL to be a part of this work. This purpose is so special - because as missionaries, we literally share the same purpose as Jesus Christ. It is so humbling to be a representative of him. I know that I am inadequate. But I KNOW that He has called me as one of His servants, and that He strengthens His servants. I love the Lord! He lives! HE is the way to find peace, happiness, joy, satisfaction, EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING you need in this life and beyond.

The Book of Mormon is true. EVERYTHING about it testifies of Jesus Christ and ANYONE who reads it and prays, WILL get an answer. I know this because I HAVE EXPERIENCED IT. And I have SEEN it change lives.

I love you all! Thank you for your love and support. God be with you!

-Sister Greenall

 

First Word via Snail Mail

We were very excited to get our first letter from Erica on September 9th via snail mail.  I will be abbreviating names of others for privacy purposes.  Any words in [brackets and/or italics] are my comments or clarifications for those who may not know all the "lingo". :)

*****************

Sept. 4, 2013

FIRST DAY!    BOM DIA!

Dear Father and Mother Greenall,

Today was the longest, most incredible, whirlwind day of my life!!!

I am so sorry I wasn’t able to notify you that I arrived at the MTC! [Minor, easily overlooked detail when you are NOT the parent!]  As soon as I got here I was swept away by my wonderful Portuguese-speaking (Mozambique Mission) host who swept me away into a flurry of excitement – like a surreal dream.

 

My companions are Sister L. (from Idaho) and Sister Ch. (from Kentucky); we are the only 3 going to Belem from our district and zone!  [Side note…this means they are the only three currently in the their group at the Provo MTC going to Belem Brazil.  They will be joining a group of about 200+ others once they arrive in Belem.]

 

Guess who I saw!  Not only Sister C. and Sister A. (BYUH bffs!).  Also Sister P.!!!  [This is an old friend from San Luis Obispo CA she hasn’t seen in years.]  She’s going to Tuscon (I think), AZ.  It was amazing to see her!  We both recognized each other right away.

Today we did so much, but the BEST part of all of it was the “Teaching Experience” where we rotated room to room (each had a different investigator) [Investigator is a buzz word for someone who has questions about the gospel or is interested in learning more] and taught Javier, Jose, and Anarold, as a giant new missionary companionship (about 50 missionaries?).  The Spirit was undeniable.  I learned sooo much.

Guess how many new missionaries came in today?  ….about 605!  I’m surrounded by a modern day Army of Helaman!!!

I love the mission already and I love you both so very very much. “Disneyland isn’t the happiest place on earth, the MTC is.”   TRUE!  I know this is Christ’s true church.

Love,

Your (official!) missionary-daughter, Sister Greenall

 

Reporting to the Provo MTC

Hi, This is Erica's Mom (Chris).  I will be keeping up Erica's blog while she is on her mission since she will not have time or access to do it herself.  For the most part I will be posting her weekly updates directly onto the blog.  I will use italics for any of my comments to distinguish them from Erica's own words.

As many of you know, Erica was originally assigned to fly straight to Brazil and attend the Centro de Treinamento Missionário (CTM) do Brasil in Sao Paulo, but her visa was not ready so she was reassigned to do her training at the Provo location.

Yesterday (Wednesday 9/4/13) we left for the Washington Dulles Airport at 3am to drop Erica off.  She was so excited.  She flew to Salt Lake City with a layover in Minneapolis, MN, and then rode the shuttle to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo.  As all missionaries do, she left her cell phone and laptop behind so luckily a friend just "happened" to be in the area and confirmed she got dropped off safe and sound at the MTC (Thanks, Debbie!) and even tried to get a few paparazzi shots for us.... but anyone who has seen Wednesdays (drop off days) at the MTC knows that with flocks of missionaries, crying moms saying goodbye, cars full of families blowing kisses, shuttles dropping off loads of missionaries from the airport, and strict traffic controls, that's tougher than getting a photo of the Kardashians.  Based on the MTC handling about 3500 missionaries who are there either for 10 days (without language training) or 6 weeks (with language training), there are probably close to 1000 arriving every week.

I expect to hear from Erica for the first time when she has her first Preparation Day (aka P-Day), one day per week that the missionaries are released from their daily classes/work and do their laundry, write their families, and take care of any other basic chores that they don't have time for any other day of the week. We won't know which day is Erica's P-Day until we get her first email - which will be ON her first P-Day.

We are very proud of her for being willing to dedicate 18 months of her life to service.  For those of you who wonder what missionaries do, I've attached a video that explains a little about that.

That is the news here until "P-Day". :)

 

 

 

Contact Info!

It's Sunday night and my paper chain countdown is looking pretty small! After just two more days, I'll be an official missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. On Tuesday night I will be set apart as a missionary, then my family will drive me to the airport on Wednesday morning, and I will fly to the Provo, Utah, Missionary Training Center. The more and more I've thought about and prepared for my mission through studying the scriptures and other missionary resources, the more and more excited I get to share the gospel of Jesus Christ full-time for the next 18 months.

For anyone who'd like to keep in touch, I'm a big fan of writing letters-it happens to be one of my favorite pass times! -and one which I will still be able to do on my mission! So if you'd like to write a letter to me, I will certainly do my best to find the time to write you back!

Also, as missionaries we write emails to our families once every week, and in those emails I will have more time and be able to write more about that week's experiences and the things I learn. My mom will be managing this blog for me, and will post those emails here for anyone who is interested.



Here's my contact information for the next 18 months!

My Missionary e-mail address: erica.greenall@myldsmail.net (we don't have very much computer time during the mission, so I will definitely have more time to write letters than to email)

My MTC address: (this is where I will be until approximately October 14th)

Sister Erica Greenall
OCT14 BRA-BELM
2009 North 900 East Unit 185
Provo, Utah 84602

After the MTC, depending on whether or not my visa has arrived, I might be in the U.S. in a different area for a little bit longer, or I might go right to Brazil. Wherever I do go, I will be able to email my address to my family, who can post it on this blog.

IN BRAZIL
The Mission Home Address: (letters can be sent here anytime throughout my mission when I'm in Brazil, but as I find out my addresses for the areas I am called to serve in I will send them to my family on email and have them posted on this blog- and it will be ideal to send letters to that current address of where I am)

For Letters:
Sister Erica Ann Greenall
Brazil Belém Mission
Av. Nazaré, 532 Sala 412 4° Andar
Nazaré Royal Trade Center
66035-170 Belem -PA
Brazil

For Packages:
Sister Erica Ann Greenall
Brazil Belém Mission
Av. Nazaré, 532 Sala 412 4° Andar
Nazaré Royal Trade Center
66040-143 Belém -PA
Brazil




*www.dearelder.com is another great missionary writing tool! You can type your letter there, and they will print it and send it to me! If you go to "write a letter" you can then select the mission, and type the letter. Writing to the Provo MTC is free! But you have to have an account to write to the Belem Brazil mission because it costs $1.10.