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". :)

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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.


 
 


 

God Be With You Til We Meet Again

Yesterday Dad and I dropped Mom and Danica off at the airport! Now they are in Provo, Utah. Danica's going to college at Brigham Young University! I can hardly believe my little sister is a college student. In just 8 days, I'll be leaving for my mission, and reporting to the Provo, Utah, Missionary Training Center (right next door to BYU!). While I'm gone on my mission, Danica will be going to school, and then leaving on her mission! So, I might not see her for a couple years (unless I get to see her in Provo before going into the MTC). I'm sure going to miss this girl! She's incredible! She's talented, kind, hilarious, and all around fantastic. I admire and look up to her so much. She's going to be amazing in college and on her mission and in everything else she does! One of her amazing talents is music! You can find her on youtube as DanicaMarieMusic. She writes awesome songs, like this: http://youtu.be/_mfmVWYpG8k

Our Goodbye Song on our last night together!: http://youtu.be/irIrndbi5EU

God be with you all til we meet again!

Who are Mormon missionaries? What do they do?

Hello there! You've probably seen a pair of guys in white shirts and ties riding their bikes, or walking down your street! Or maybe two gals in their skirts and nice shirts with their little name tags and back packs! If you have ever been curious about who missionaries are and what they do, I would recommend watching one or both of these 5 minute videos! Hopefully these links work!

Women: http://youtu.be/z1EsaQr0TF4
Men: http://youtu.be/QSaQxftpPck

Trust me, they really are worth your time!
16 days until my mission!!! Hooray!

Have miracles ceased?

27 "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?
28 For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will cleave unto every good thing; wherefore he advocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens.
29 And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men."
-the Book of Mormon, Moroni 7: 27-29

In the Old and New Testaments Christ performed miracles; his prophets and apostles taught the people and performed incredible miracles in Christ's name, with God's power. In the Bible we know that God sent prophets to teach His children, all of them, whom He loved so much. He sent prophet after prophet, even after people rejected and killed them. God never gave up on His children. Sometimes He had to wait for a time, until the people were ready and turned to Him- He would never, and will never, force what He has to offer on us- to call a prophet and to bless the people. In the Bible we read about the Holy Ghost which was sent to dwell with the people on earth, so that they would never have to be alone, and would always be connected to their Father. We read about incredible spiritual gifts: healing, the gift of tongues, the gift to testify and use words, gifts of strength, faith, hope, and so much more.

Have any of these things ceased to be? Has God stopped sending prophets? Has God stopped teaching His people? Has Jesus Christ stopped being our Savior? Has he forgotten about us? Has God stopped loving His children? No way! One thing that I know for sure: God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, of Noah, of Moses, of Adam, is our God. He loves us just as much now as He loved His people then! And He has not ceased to send prophets to guide us. His Son, Jesus Christ, has not ceased to live and to work miracles and to heal us! The Holy Ghost has not ceased to dwell on the face of the earth and in the hearts of the people. God has not ceased to bless His people. And He never will.

Miracles have not ceased. And they are everywhere. Open your eyes, and you will see them. For sure! :D

Life is so GOOD! God is so good.

New Blog Address

My blog has a new address! It is now belemsister.blogspot.com. Can't wait to report for my mission! September 4th is coming up!