Oi Family and Friends!
We were supposed to be back in our apartments by 6 on Halloween,
unless we had an appointment or dinner with a ward member. So the day before 6
was a normal day. We have weekly planning on Thursdays also, and that takes up
to 3 hours! ...Sometimes more. So that was our Halloween! Lots of planning and
then appointments! And at 6 we had a
dinner with an investigator at a member’s house! We ate curry and rice. YUM! With fruit smoothies afterwards. The members
name is D and the investigator is dear ol M. He’s an “oldie” since he's been
investigating for almost a year! Or maybe 6 or 7 months since there was a break
in between there. It was a lot of fun! And later when we were home we
celebrated by drinking eggnog. We also wore our Halloween costumes that day...
meaning I wore a purple shirt, Sister M wore a green shirt, and Sister C wore an
orange shirt... to try to be halloweeny with our colors. We also listened to Handel’s
Messiah early that day during our lunch break... So our Halloween was kind of Christmassy!
Handel...egg nog... Haha! We got it all
mixed up! ...But we did buy a bag of reeses cups just in case we had some
kiddos come. But we didn't! And then the elders (who live in our same apartment
complex) ended up door bell ditching and delivering a ton of candy and chips
over the next couple of days!!! Ay!!!
Haha! The elders are so funny! They are a trio and are the district leaders.
They are literally just a side walk down from us. So we door bell ditch them a
lot. Or deliver random things to them, like a packet of powder crystal light
mix. Sister C likes to blast her recorder playing at their door and then run
for her life. (All of these visits take place after we all are all home for the
night of course. during our personal/free time).
One funny event that happened this last week was that we got
a call from the Elders when we were in for the night and they asked if we
wanted some chips. I said "Sure!..."
Elder B: "What kind?"
..."What kinds are there???"
"We'll just come over and let you choose..."
"Ok!" A couple minutes later,
I hear a knock at the door. I open it up
and there are the elders...with a HUGE box!!! It probably went up to my belly
button and I'm not a short person! And
it was half way filled up with little bags of chips!! Hahaha! Earlier in the week, Elder B had given
us some twizzlers and a box of chocolate covered peanuts (from Canada he said!)
and so it turns out that his grandma/relatives in Canada has sent him that
whole box of like 30 lbs of food!!! Hahahaha!
Actually, when he gave us those chocolate covered peanuts (the packaging
was in French) he had said they were chocolate covered raisins. Later in the
car we were eating them and we realized "...these are peanuts..."
then we get a text from the Elders that says "Oh! Those are chocolate
covered peanuts, not raisins!! Sorry!" we reply "Sister M is allergic
to peanuts. We've already eaten some."
"...I am so sorry. You can throw them away!! Is she
ok???" "Were you trying to
kill us?" Sister C is such a trouble maker. Finally I get the phone!
"Sister C is naughty! Sister M isn't allergic! These are delicious!"
Poor Elder B almost had a heart attack!
Things here have been so great! I love the missionary work! Guess
what?? We got a call from President Slaughter last night! I was so surprised
when he said "Is Sister Greenall there?" "..Yes!" "Are you on speaker phone?" "...Yes!" "Firstly, you aren't going to Brazil
yet." Hahaha! I let out a huge
breath. "This isn't about your
visa, but you are being emergency transferred to the Merrilltown ward tomorrow
to be companions with Sister S."
Wow! None of us expected that! So today I am being transferred! Actually, I was just there in Merrilltown on
Tuesday on an exchange!! It is a family ward area within our singles ward area
(since singles ward areas are huge). It was a really great day and I loved the
area and people I met!
Stories from last Tuesday exchanges...
I was companions for the day with Sister L and Sister S. They
are awesome! Sister L has been out for about 9 months, but has struggled with
her health for a long time and is going home. That's why I am going to be
companions with Sister S. I learned so much from both of them while there! And
interestingly, ever since Tuesday I've been thinking I'd love to be companions
with Sister S and be trained by her sometime. And today I will be! I'm excited because
Sister S is a super hard worker! She schedules a ton in with backups and
everything, sets high goals, focuses on exact obedience, and works so hard to
reach those goals! She has a lot of qualities I want to set for a foundation
for the rest of my mission, so I know I will learn a lot from her! Also she is
a Spanish speaking missionary so we can speak in Spanish and Portuguese
together and do language study together which will be great!
We visited a family that night when I got to Merrilltown on
Monday night. Their names are S and C. They are the neatest couple! S is a
recent convert and C is investigating the church. They are an older couple,
with grandkids. They fed us an amazing dinner! And she made a giant pizzookie
for dessert. She's quite a cook. I've been doing good with eating no gluten…. until
that pizzookie! She served me up a piece and I hadn't given any forewarning
that I was gluten free since I just got to the area that night, and I ate the
piece and it was incredible! Hahaha! But
I haven't been eating gluten, so that one piece didn't cause any problems. But oh boy!
*****************
I got your package!!! Mom, that was so sweet!!!! All those
gluten free goodies! I am so excited!!!! Pancakes, cornbread, and brownies!
Some of my favorite things!! Along with my other favorite things!! Trail mix,
mangos, and craisins are lovely too!!!!!! Thanks so much! And the face washes are
greatly appreciated! *****************
Anywho, S used to be a drama ...what's the name… she was a
teacher for the classes in high school that build the drama sets...the set for the
plays. Does that make sense? So her
house and backyard are incredible!!!! Her house is decorated so uniquely
inside! She just creates all sorts of
amazing things! But the backyard is the
really unique part. On either side of the backyard is a pirate ship!!! It's
hard to explain...I'll be sending pictures when I can!! The next day we
actually went back to her house to do service. We helped fix up the boats because
she was going to have a Halloween party for all the kiddos on Halloween! How
fun!
That day in Merrilltown I also knocked lots of doors! Which
was great because we never do that in the singles ward and I need to learn! We
also ate dinner with the relief society president's family that night. They were
such a cute nice family! They feed us
very well in the Merrilltown ward!
Oh, but also, in the apartment where I am moving to tonight
(where I was on Tuesday) there are four sisters per apartment. So their apartment
is a bit different and bigger than ours here. Theirs has two bedrooms, two
bathrooms, and a big living room and big kitchen. All the sisters there are Spanish
speaking. So it was really cool to be able to practice Portuguese and have them
understand! I'm looking forward to that
part of moving there with them! Also, we went running for our gym time while I
was there, which was so nice! We usually go to the gym here with my companions
which is good, but it was nice to go outside and run.
A lot has been happening this week! It's been so great! We
see miracles each day, little ones and bigger ones! There was another baptism
on Saturday! Her name is T! She was one of our investigators but decided to get
baptized into the family ward, the Shoal Creek ward (because her mom and aunt-
recent converts- are in that ward). The Elders that live by us work in the
Shoal Creek ward.
On Monday night, we went to the Sq’s for fhe! They are the
sweetest little missionary couple! They work with the African refugees here. T’s
mom is actually from Africa I believe. They invite us and the Shoal Creek
elders on Monday nights. Last Monday they served us waffles with ice cream and
strawberries! (I ate ice cream and strawberries! haha! And then I went and had
dinner in the Merrilltown ward with S and C and Sisters S and L! And dessert! Oh
boy! So much food!! Hahahaha!
This week we have met some really awesome people, including J
and K who are prepared and I think we will continue to meet with a lot! (Except
I'm leaving the area!)
I'm running out of time!
I love you so much! Hopefully I'll have more time to write
later today in email or letter...my companions aren't big letter writers, so I
haven't been finding much time to write letters! Hopefully I’ll have more in my
next area!
I'm kind of combining your email with the everybody email I
guess!:) But I love you so much Mom and Dad!!! And my sister, D! I love you
dearly!!!!! I hope BYU has been awesome!!!
Love all y'all!
Oh! On Sunday I bore my testimony, and I said y'all without
even meaning too! I didn't even realize I said it! I still don't remember
saying it! But when I sat down, my companions looked at me and smiled and said
"you said y'all"!! ...The gift
of tongues, Texan style. :)
I love this work! I love being in Texas! I love the gospel of
Jesus Christ!! This church is true!!!! God leads the missionaries to those who
are prepared and He leads them to us! We've had several of those people this
last week!! Including another really incredible gal named R, who I sadly don't
have time to write about.
LOVE Y'ALL!!!
Com amor,Sister Greenall
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