Hello y'all! It was another incredible week in the mission
field here in Austin, Texas.
Here are some highlights:
We have found incredible people! The Lord knew where they
were all along, and he brings them into our lives at just the right moments!
One day, our relief society president realized a new record
in our directory for someone she didn't know. She gave the name to us, and we went to go
visit them. We knocked on the door and heard a gruff...intimidating man's
voice. "Who is it??" "The Sister Missionaries!" We heard
the person walk away...and the next moment, the door opened wide and we saw a
young man standing there smiling, saying "Welcome!" Haha! Drastic
change! ...turns out, his wife is a less active member. She has been inactive
for years, but had been thinking and talking about the church a lot lately,
especially in the last 3 weeks! She was so excited to see us there! ...the
interesting thing is that they have been in that house for quite some time, I
think. And yet, the records for them just showed up in our ward, so we could
have their contact information!
Milagres!! Her name is Ti and she is the sweetest girl!! Her boyfriend's
name is Tr, and they have two daughters. The two girls were asleep, and we got
to teach Ti and Tr the Plan of Salvation! Tiffany was beaming the whole lesson.
She keeps telling us what a miracle it was that we came. Travis was very open
and agreed to read the Book of Mormon. The next time we went and met their
daughters as well! Their older daughter wants to go to church and be baptized!
This family is incredible! They invited us to stop by on Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving!
I've never been so full! We were fed 2 Thanksgiving meals
and 3 Thanksgiving desserts!! And there would have been more if we hadn't
turned down a couple of offers when we dropped by to visit people. Sa and Ch fed
us Thanksgiving lunch ...Wow! Sa cooks
like ...I don't know how to explain it! She
is one of the most creative people I've met and everything she does, she does
beautifully! She exudes creative energy and excitement! Haha!
Then we went to E and S's! (Mom and daughter) They invited us over for dinner. They live in a cute little apartment, just the
two of them, their cat and guinea pig. It was so neat to experience different
families’ Thanksgivings with them. Each place we went, we could feel of the
family's love for each other and us. E
and S had decorated with paper chains and candles, and had made special
placemats with the things they are grateful for written on little leaves. Some
of those included "the Church", "Jesus Christ",
"Sister Missionaries" and even "Sister Greenall" and
"Sister Salisbury"! We love
them so much!!! They have made us a part
of their family!
We also stopped by Ti and Tr's again on Thanksgiving night.
Tr had insisted we try sweet potato pie. "It's like pumpkin but way
better!!" ..He was right! We met
Tr's dad and brother there. His dad is a
member of the church!!
This week we had a lesson with E and S at Sa's house. Just
as we expected, E and S loved Sa and her house and backyard. (Her art and decorations are incredible!) After the lesson, we made invitations together
for E and S's baptism.
Ja!
This has been a hard time for he and his family. We had a
wonderful lesson with Ja at a member’s home this last week. He testified of the
Book of Mormon! He said that when he
reads it, he feels God's presence. He knows it is true! He reads it in his
spare time nowadays! Ja later told us
when we went back for another lesson that when he had gotten home from that
lesson, Fe (his cousin- the mother of the family) did not even recognize him
and would often say words and phrases that didn't make any sense. This was hard to hear. Fe has had cancer for 5
years now. She is in her thirties and
has 4 children. Her husband, Fo, is
smiling and welcoming every single time we stop by. And yet inside he is struggling so much. That
became apparent even more as we talked with Ja. Fe has been talking about
wanting to back to Africa to be there in her home because she knows her time is
short. Fo wants to take her, but they don't have the money for the trip. They might be able to go in a few weeks. Fe's
condition has been worsening. We were
worried about Ja also, because he had a date set for his baptism already and normally
a person has to come to church at least 3 times before being baptized. He had only been twice, and had missed one
week because he had to stay home with Fe and Mu (her son who is very autistic).
Yesterday, we prayed and fasted for Fe and her family and
for Ja, that he could be baptized. At
church, Ja wasn't there. Ja had to
stay home to care for Fe in her worsening condition and to care for Mu. But we
did have a few other miracle people come! I still felt like Ja should be baptized
though. I know he needs this step in his life and is ready! He wants to receive
the Holy Ghost so much! And I want him to have that gift and to be able to go
to church and be a part and receive those blessings even if he has to go back
to Africa very soon.
After church, I called our Mission President. He gave us
special permission for Ja to be baptized! .....Sister S asked me to talk to him
because she could tell how much I wanted Ja to be baptized this Saturday and
thought I could talk to President Sl with conviction because Sister S could see
the pros and cons of both doing it now or postponing it.
When we visited Ja that night, we wanted to talk to him and
just be sure that he wants to be baptized on Saturday, because it really is a
very difficult time for them all. We assured him that he could be baptized at a
later date if he felt it was better for him. But he answered as he always does
- he is ready to be baptized and wants to make those covenants! I am so happy and excited that he is being
baptized this Saturday with E and S! It's going to be the greatest day ever!!!!
A hard part... While we were there, Fe came out of her room.
She was walking around and seemed disoriented. Mu had broken a window right
before we came, so Fo had taken him to get medicine and something to wrap his
arm as well as new blinds for the door/window, because those ones had gotten
destroyed.
They are such a humble family in a hard situation. That
first night, on Saturday, when Ja told us about Fe's condition, it hit us very
hard that she may not last much longer. It was a sad night. We felt joy from
sharing the gospel, but also realized what it means to take Christ's yoke upon
ourselves. To go from home to home,
experiencing the people's joys and sorrows with them.
I love being a missionary. I feel so blessed to be here.
There are a trillion other miracles I could write about! But all that really matters is that the Lord
loves these people! He is in charge of
his work, and his hand is in this work every single day! And this is the Lord's
true church, restored to the earth through Joseph Smith!
This is going to be an incredible week! The Zone leaders
called us last night after we turned in our records and congratulated us on our
work and success so far. That was humbling. The Lord is blessing us so much!
Love,
Sister Greenall
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