Feb 24: A Obra e boa!

Oi, familia/amigos!

Tudo esta bem aqui.

On Thursday I said goodbye to my dear companion Sister S! She went to serve Spanish speaking in South Austin! She will do so great!

My new companion's name is Sister T! A brand new missionary from Ogden! She just recently turned 19, and she has such a great attitude and excitement to be here! I'm so excited to keep serving here in the  Merrilltown Ward with her!

Yesterday our recent convert  J passed the sacrament for the first time!

Brother M came to Sacrament meeting yesterday also! His first time being in any church for 30 years! He is so close to being baptized. He has told us!  Wow, a mighty change has happened in him over the past couple of months. Sister T and I taught him on Friday night and we taught him a super lesson with the Restoration and Plan of Salvation (to fit his questions/concerns). The Spirit was powerful! I'm so grateful for the Spirit that testifies of this restored gospel!

I have a testimony that church is a place where we can receive revelation, and that when we invite friends to church we don't need to worry about what will be said or whether the lessons will be just right, because when we bring friends to church, they are in the Lord's hands! Over and over again I have sat in a Sacrament meeting and been awestruck at how perfect every talk and musical number and lesson is for the investigators who are there! Heavenly Father is so aware of us and our friends and family and will bless us with the things we need if we will just enter into His church and be where He wants us to be on Sunday morning! Yesterday was so incredible. I'm so grateful for a ward that we can trust and who trusts us! We know that when we bring new friends to church that the ward members will help them to feel welcome and show them around. The bishopric also explains carefully the Sacrament and sustaining and other things we do throughout the meeting.

We met an incredible family of 9 last week! Sister S and I knocked on a door and a lady named Me answered with two of her kids (Jt and Jn) and she asked who we were and what church we were from. When we asked if we could share a message with her, she welcomed us in! She even looked surprised that she was letting us in. We sat down and got to know her a little. She and her husband have 7 children! The first child’s name starts with an A and the second child's starts with a Z...and then they have 5 who start with J's! haha! She was so funny! She said, we covered A-Z with the first two kids... and then the other 5 came!  We prayed and shared the first lesson with her and she was soaking it in! She really understood and asked great questions! By the end she told us she felt God had sent us to her and it was no coincidence we were there. They had just had a few deaths in their family. (Plus, we had also been praying to find a family!) As I was thinking the words "when can we come back?" she asked "When are you coming back??" It was incredible! We set a return appointment. Sister T and I went back, but she had run out to the grocery store, but we met her husband and saw Jn and Jt again! And the kids were so excited to see us! We have an appointment to meet with the whole family tomorrow!

Thanks for your emails and letters! I'm so glad you are each doing well!

Christ lives and this is his church! Joseph Smith truly was a prophet of God!

Love you!

   -Sister Greenall

Feb 17: Oi Familia!

Oi familia, tudo bem? 

What an incredible week!

Transfers are on Thursday and last night we got our phone calls... Sister S is leaving! I am staying and training! Big changes are coming! Sister S is incredible and she is going to do great work in her new area. She will probably be Spanish speaking. 

On Wednesday we had Zone training. It was an incredible meeting and I learned a lot! At the end we talked about finding prepared people...

So afterwards Sister S and I went out to find some prepared people. We tried to visit the H Family. Not home, so we went around the complex. We met a lady named D on her porch, watching her three grandkids. We talked to her, she was very nice, we found out she was looking but hadn't found a church in a while where she felt comfortable. I told her we would love to share more of our message with her and Sister S said the words I was thinking! "Could we share more with you right now?" I'm so grateful for a companion who acts on the spirit! D said yes and got some chairs for us! So we sat on the porch, opened with a prayer, shared the first lesson, and recited the first vision to her. After the first vision -the Spirit was very strong- there was a slight pause, and then D said "Wow. ...Wow! That is.. incredible!"  Sister S invited her to be baptized. D said "Yes...but I’ve already been baptized." We continued to teach her about the restoration of the priesthood through Joseph Smith. We got another incredible reaction from her. "Wow! ...Wow. That's amazing. This is just amazing." She then continued to explain to us that her own baptism wasn't done by proper authority.  "So that means that I haven't actually been baptized! That's so silly... all this time I'm walking around thinking I'm baptized, but actually I'm not! And that means that every other church that thinks it is baptizing people actually isn't because they don't have the authority."   Wow, D is incredible! The first vision is truly powerful! She and others, like Ni that we are teaching, have recognized the truth of that experience as soon as they heard it!  

Also on Wednesday, we met with Brother M again! He has been so sick with multiple serious health problems... and he is trying to deal with his father's recent death and handling his will all at the same time! Every time I am around Brother M I feel Heavenly Father's love for him so strongly! I feel like he is one of the reasons I am here in Texas! We have only taught him maybe 3 times, but every time, I feel the Spirit so strongly that I can't keep my legs from shaking!  And we haven't even taught him any of the basic lessons yet. We've tried teaching the plan of salvation, but he just has so many questions that we always end up back in the Book of Mormon, reading and helping him find faith in Christ. They have been powerful lessons and have helped me learn what it means to teach to a person's need. We are excited to teach him the restoration next time we are able to meet! Last lesson he described how he felt like he was at a gate or doorway and that he had to step through it or not... Sister S and I were both thinking "baptism!! It's the gate!" we invited him to be baptized...he said he is getting very close. 

An and Ni are both progressing and excited about their baptism. They are incredible people!  

On Saturday, Mi and her children, Ch and Little Ja were baptized into the kingdom of God on earth! On Sunday they received the gift of the Holy Ghost! They are making an incredible journey and have overcome many challenges in becoming part of His true church, becoming part of a loving ward family, and knowing that God loves them! 

I feel so BLESSED!  

I hope you are each doing well! I love you! 

Chau!

-Sister Greenall

 

 

I'm going to miss this Sister!!!

 

 

 

Mi, Ch, and Little Ja after their baptism

 

 

Ab, Mu, Ja (baptized a few weeks ago), Me, and He (future missionary)

 

 

Only in Texas can you find multiple foods in the shape of the state!

 

 

 

Feb 10: Uma Semana Legal!

Hello family and friends!

Well it seems I will be in Texas a while longer! Probably at least another transfer or two! I look forward to it! (6-12 weeks)

Thanks for all the birthday wishes and treats! I enjoyed more gluten free cookies from my Sis! Orange glazed sugar cookies! I've never had those before! They were delicious.

I also appreciated the card and note from Grandma and Grandpa G and Grandpa S!  I am hoping to have time to write them some thank you notes today.

Our new convert J received the priesthood on Sunday!! And that same day he was home taught, and went out to home teach, and went to a priesthood meeting that evening! It's incredible to see him enjoying these blessings and progressing in the gospel!

Today during companion study, Sister S and I talked about raising our vision and the vision of members and investigators. It was recently that we were talking with some people at church, and someone mentioned how in the past -super past, way back in scripture days!- there were lots of prophecies made. The person mentioned that it seems like there aren't really many prophecies today, but we see more of the fulfillment and looking back on those of the past. But today Sister S and I realized otherwise. As we discussed the big emphasis on "every member a missionary" and member missionary work, we started to realize the potential for that kind of missionary work in the future. It is happening now! But we thought about how the number of young full time missionaries has increased...then we started to think about all of those people's children! We thought about how our own desire to be member missionaries after our missions has drastically increased! (It was there before, but we hadn't realized before how much we could do as non-full time missionary members!) So then we began to think about all the future families of all the current missionaries and we imagined our kids being raised with a missionary mind-set, then serving full time missions, then raising children that way! Someday, members will be doing the finding! And the missionaries will be so busy teaching, that we will need more and more missionaries! Sister S said "We will need 6 pairs of missionaries in one ward!" It hit me that prophets prophecy today just as they did in the old and new testaments, and in the Book of Mormon, and as Joseph Smith has! I like to think of the Proclamation to the World. At the time when it was released in 1995, we thought the situation of families around the world was pretty bad. So it was easy to look at the proclamation and think it was just for the immediate situation. But today, we look at the proclamation of the family and realize how much more it is needed! And I'm sure it will only become more and more needed in the future! To me, that is a prophecy. And I look forward to seeing this emphasis on member missionary work continue to unfold! 

Mom and Dad, I love reading about your missionary work so much! It is incredible to see the way you are so dedicated to making sure the B family can attend church and be involved in the activities, even if it isn't a convenient sacrifice at all. Knowing that my parents are hard at work as member missionaries, and knowing that soon my sister will also be a full time missionary, makes me the happiest missionary in the world! I look forward to continuing missionary work after my mission, and becoming a life-long missionary for the Lord! :D 

Something I learned at church on Sunday is that to sacrifice doesn't mean to give something up, but it means to make something sacred. I thought about all the sacrifices we make each day. Sacrificing could be doing anything you don't necessarily want to do, but do for someone else! ...Waking up early, giving a ride, making a child a lunch, doing the dishes for your parents/spouse, attending church. It could be almost anything! I realized that there are many things I do each day, ultimately for the Lord, but often I forget the purpose. I do things out of habit or routine, but I hope to be more focused on the person for whom I am sacrificing. I hope that by thinking of the Lord more often that the little things (waking up, making phone calls, writing in a journal, teaching a lesson) can become meaningful sacrifices that I make for him.

But I also think that as we do these things for the Lord, they don't feel like sacrifices at all! We come to love the things we do, because we know who we are doing them for. I think this enables us to sacrifice more! As the little things become blessings to give rather than sacrifices, we are able to find new things that we can give, to stretch a little further and give a little bit more of ourselves to him. 

I am so grateful to be a full-time missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! I love being here, and I love it because I know who my sacrifices are going to! I know that the little things I do each day are for the Lord, for the people here who I love so much, and for my family at home (as you have assured me that you are being blessed as I am away)!

Com muito amor,

Sister Greenall

Feb 3: Milagres en Texas!

Oi, tudo bem?

This was an incredible week! Mi and her children Ch and Little Ja will be baptized on the 15th of this month! Ni also committed to baptism on the 15th! Talk about prepared people!

We are also teaching a girl named An, can't remember if I mentioned her before. She basically referred herself to be taught by the missionaries. She is from LA and wants to be around people who don't smoke or drink, and she had seen Mormon ads before, and she remembers that Mormon people have always been very friendly to her. In the people we are currently teaching, there is so much evidence of the importance of member missionary work!  Whether someone simply sees you and your life style and associates it with the LDS church, or whether members are at lessons with them and friendshipping them! Missionary work is the greatest!

The experience I wanted to share today happened on Friday.

We were knocking on potential investigators' doors...but nobody seemed to be home! Even though it was beautiful outside! It was rather strange.  As we drove to a different area, we passed a huge park where there were several people. We pulled over and decided to get out and make some phone calls, and enjoy the weather, and be somewhere where people could see and approach us.  After finishing that, we decided to walk into the more concentrated park area, where the playground was. There were so many people! We were terrified. As we got out of the car, I laughed a little as I remembered the verse we had shared with a family the night before. 1 Nephi 4:6 "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do." So we went! We talked to a man with a nice white dog and his daughter. He was friendly and catholic. Some of the first people we saw who we kept passing while at the park were a man in a wheel chair and a woman beside him with dark curly hair. We also kept seeing a blonde woman with her dark haired teenage son. We talked to a man sitting on a bench. He was very friendly, and served at a nondenominational Christian church in our area.  He kindly told us that we had different beliefs.  Sister S then talked in Spanish with a mother pushing her son on a swing. They were really friendly! We talked to a couple people as we made our way around the park. After making the rounds and heading to leave, we noticed we were behind the woman with dark curly hair and the man in the wheel chair again. He was rolling himself up a steeper little area, and Sister S commented that he was very strong!  He (Jo) and the woman (Di) smiled but didn't seem to hear/understand. As we got closer to the parking lot and were near them again, I said something like "It's a beautiful day! Have a nice one!" They just smiled, very friendly. Finally Sister S asked "Habla espanol?" Do you speak Spanish? Di smiled and said "Brazil." I spun around and said "Brazil??!!" I asked "Fala Portuguese?" Do you speak Portuguese? She got excited and started speaking to us in Portuguese!  It was my first time hearing Portuguese from a native speaker! It was so beautiful! And a little bit more difficult to understand! It was so wonderful! She was so excited to hear I was going to Belem. She said "ha muito quente" (it's really warm/hot) and when I told her my mission was the whole state of Para, she said the whole thing is “super quente!” Soon, the blonde woman (Si) and the dark haired son (Lu) joined us too! Turns out they were all from Brazil. It was the neatest thing! They were the kindest people!

After we had gotten in our car and were sitting there, the woman with the curly hair came to the window with another woman, Ma (who spoke more English). Ma said that Di wanted to invite us over some time. So she gave us their address and phone number.

We called them the next day, and went over that night. They told us about Brazil. Di and Jo are from Rio de Janeiro (Sister A is going there!), and Si and her son Lu are from Sao Paulo. Ma and her husband live here in Texas, and the others were just visiting. They are returning to Brazil on the 5th. They asked us about missionaries and told us all about Belem and the giant mosquitos and the rain and humidity, and the fish and the people!  Before we left, we shared the message of the first vision. It felt incredible to be able to teach them in Portuguese and to share the first vision in Joseph Smith's words. We showed them the Portuguese Book of Mormon online. Di said her dad has one in Brazil! Di and Jo especially were very receptive it seemed. Di and Si are both in the navy.  After the first time Sister S and I had met Di, we had asked each other, "Did you SEE the light in her eyes?? She is ready!!" They really did have an incredible light in their eyes. We sang "Grandioso es Tu" for them (How Great Thou Art).

I feel so blessed to have met them! As I first met, and then got to teach them, I felt a huge love for these people! The Spirit testified to me that God has work for me to do in Brazil! I love these people so much! And the feeling of meeting Brazilians for the first time and hearing their Portuguese is hard to describe! It was a tender mercy of the Lord that taught me that I am in the right place right now, and someday will also serve in Brazil!

I love being a missionary! I love the people here! And I love the people of Brazil!

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true!

Hope all is well!

Com amor,
     Sister Greenall

Jan 27: Que dia!

Oi, family and friends!

It was another incredible week in the mission field!

Here in Austin, one day it is 75 degrees and Sister S (from the Midwest) is saying "I can't believe this! It's January!" and then two days later it is snowing and Sister Greenall (from CA) is saying "I can't believe this! It is too cold!" The weather is always a surprise, so that is fun!

It's true that a mission is like a roller-coaster! The time goes by so fast and you go from low to high to low to high several times in a day!

We meet many people that are struggling and something I have learned is that as people, we are ALL struggling!  Elder Bednar taught that the character of Christ is turning outward even in times of personal struggle (times that we naturally turn inward).  I hope to remember the things I have seen and learned here on my mission, and to be a person who will turn outward regardless of personal peace or struggle.  It definitely is not an easy thing to do. But being a missionary has offered new perspective in my life. We get to visit so many people!  And people trust us. They see us not as ourselves, but as the missionaries, and so they tell us things they might not tell us otherwise.  We have received calls for help with family issues and calls for help with needing food.  And the truth is that we are called as teachers!  We are here to teach Christ's restored gospel, and so there isn't a lot we can do for a lot of people to meet physical or other needs, except to refer them elsewhere, to pray with them, and share a message.  But my testimony of the need for visiting and home teachers has been solidified.  Everybody truly does need something! After my mission, I want to do all I can to reach out to others, to be a friend, and to bring comfort.

Dad, I remember you asked me during our Christmas phone call what has surprised me most about the mission, or what is different than I expected.  I've thought about that a lot ever since, and have realized that what surprises me most is how people see us as missionaries!  Have I already said that? I probably have.  But I have experiences over and over again that humble me and remind me that I am not representing Erica Greenall at this time of my life.

Yesterday Sister S and I were striving to decide what would be the best thing to do with our time.  We had worked hard all week, and had made plans for Sunday which had turned out not to be the best for that day.  As we got in the car and went forward with faith, the miracles started happening!  We received a call from a ward member, saying that their husband, had been running late for church that morning, when he saw a man riding to a different church on his bicycle.  Her husband, Brother K, offered him a ride, and drove him to the church where he was going.  In the car, the man had asked about their church. Brother K had told him he was always welcome and gave the man his phone number.  Later the man called Brother K and said he wanted to learn more. He has a family of 6. Miracle!

Then we decide we should visit a member we had been trying to meet for quite a long time. We stopped by, they let us in, and we got to know them. The mother, kids, and grandparents were there, but not the husband.  We soon found out they were going through a divorce. We were able to share a message (Mormon message: "The will of God" about the current bush)  that was able to meet their spiritual needs in a small way.  It became a visit full of tears and testimonies.  The most humbling part, that reminded me that I do not represent myself, was the grandfather's prayer before we left.  He humbly addressed his Heavenly Father, then began to pray, and sincerely thanked Him for sending the missionaries to their family.  As he said this, he paused and began to cry. His prayer was so filled with sincere gratitude. The Spirit testified to me of the power and authority of a missionary's calling.  I know that as missionaries we have been called by a prophet of God, and that we have been given the authority and power (conditional upon obedience) to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

After that visit, we had another hour of working time. Sister S and I had gotten in the car and were both thinking "what can we do now...” when we got a phone call. Kind of like this...

 

"Hello this is Sister Greenall and Sister S!"

"Hello! This is Br! And you don't know me yet! I am new in the area and I want to meet you.  I was baptized about 6 years ago, and my mom a few weeks after. We just moved here, and well, honestly we haven't been going to church for a while, but we want to come back! And so we want to meet you so when we come we can know somebody there!"
"Ok, can we come now?"
"Yeah, come on over!"

So we went to meet Br, her brother Ch and their mother Lo.  They have to be some of the warmest people I've ever met! They, along with others we have met here, are my definition of southern hospitality.  They had the funniest and most incredible conversion story! They were raised in a strict Christian religion where the number one rule was to never let a Mormon in your door, or else you would surely go to hell.  Well, they ended up with 20 or so members in their house, helping them move and they had no idea they were all Mormons! ...when they found out that they were Mormons...poor Lo, the mother, was scared to death!  Well, I guess that didn’t last too long because she is a member of the church now.  Anyways, great people! We love them so much already!

We saw Brother M while teaching Fr in their house. Brother M came down the stairs, with a sore leg, and let us know he needed to go to the doctor because of a complication with his leg.  Fr offered him a ride, and we tried to stop him too, but that stubborn guy got in his truck and drove himself!  We found out his health problems are very serious.  We wrote him a letter with another conference talk to listen to with our testimony and left that and a pamphlet with Fr to give to him.

I love these people! I love the people here in Austin and Pflugerville, I love being a missionary, and most of all I love the Lord!

Have a great week!

    -Sister Greenall

The awesome Ma family fed us African food - YUM!

 

 

Funny story:  This letter is from a Baptist church to a Sister Jeanie so and so.  The sender did not put an apartment number, they only used the address of the apartment complex. So because the mailman always puts all the letters to "Sister so and so" in our box, he put this letter in our box.  So we brought it to the office and told them it wasn't for us.  The next day we got it back!.  We tried again and got it back again!  Finally the other sister missionaries brought it back to the office and asked them to return to sender and told them it wasn't for us....later that afternoon when we checked the mail, we had gotten it again!  Haha!

 

 

Mentally preparing for the weekly car vacuum challenge

Weekly: Entire car. rinse. scrub. rinse. spot free. tires. 5 min Flat!

 

 

Jan 20: Hello!

Hi Family and Friends!

This week has been wonderful!

Thanks for your emails and letters! I love hearing from you!!

We had lots of lessons last week, with members present!  One of the one that stands out in my mind is the lesson with Mi and her children, Ch and Little Ja in the D Family's home. We taught the restoration again, emphasizing priesthood. Mi and Little Ja had been going through a rough time. Ch and Little Ja go to their dad's a few weekends in the month, Mi worries about their dad's influence on them. Anyways, it had been a really rough day for them.  During the lesson, the Spirit was so powerful, my companion, Sister S asked Mi if she would like a priesthood blessing and asked Brother D if he would be willing to give a priesthood blessing. So right there in the lesson, Brother D gave Mi and then Little Ja also a priesthood blessing. The spirit was incredible!!  I know that it is true that the place most sacred after the temple, is the gospel centered home!  We really see that as missionaries.  We go into all different situations and see people struggling, but when we enter a gospel centered home, we can feel the Spirit there, and the peace is so comforting.  I know that the power of the Holy Ghost is real, and that the Holy Ghost is one of the two Comforters, along with our Savior Himself!

We've had some good lessons with Mi, she is super open and progressing, the hard part is just hearing what she has been through.  Wow, she has had a lot of challenges in her life and sometimes it is even weighs on us hearing about them. But Sister S and I have found strength through the Spirit and I've learned that those burdens - even the ones that are not our own -  can be lifted through the Atonement.

We have met some incredible people this week!  One is Ni!  She was on our records and had met missionaries briefly a year ago.  When we knocked on her door and met her, she was so happy we came! She was STILL looking for a church! (Because she hadn't found the true church until now! Hooray!!) We taught the first lesson, and she could feel the truth! After sharing the first vision, she said something like "Wow, that is amazing."  She could feel the significance of Joseph Smith, this young boy, seeing God the Father and Christ, His Son!

Another miracle: on that day, we had three member present lessons. And at the end of the day, it occurred to me how perfectly the members and investigators were matched up for the lessons- and it wasn't Sister S and I! We had no idea!

Here is what we realized as we taught each lesson...

1st lesson:

Both investigator and member have dealt with depression and feelings of loneliness

2nd lesson:

Both investigator and member had dealt with bad marriage, had gone through a Women's shelter, and are now single parents

3rd lesson:

Both investigator and member were going through a struggle with their sister and were not on speaking terms with their sister

It hit me how well Heavenly Father knows His children and who needs to meet who, and who can succor who!

I know that Christ is directing this work. It becomes clear over and over again, on a daily basis, how involved He is in every aspect of His missionary work.

Thanks for your support and prayers!  This church is Christ's true church on the earth, and I know that Joseph Smith DID see our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as a 14 year old boy!

Tudo bem!

Love,
Sister Greenall

 

 

Oi Familia!

Wow, what an incredible week!

On Wednesday Sister S, Sister Lu, Sister Har and I drove up to San Antonio, where we dropped off Sister Har (she went to the Border zone) and where Sister Lu went to a training meeting to become a trainer. Thursday Sister S and I drove up with Sister Lu to the Austin stake center for transfer meeting, where Sister Lu received her new companion, Sister Ro! On Friday we drove back to San Antonio where we met with the whole mission to hear from Elder Bednar, an Apostle of the Lord!

It was really an incredible experience!  We all gathered in the chapel (everyone at least half hour early), where we sang hymns as we prepared to hear from Elder Bednar.  When President Slaughter, Sister Slaughter, Elder and Sister Bednar, and Elder Southward came in, we stopped singing (they surprised us by coming in a bit early) and all stood.  As it was silent and as they entered the room, the Spirit became even stronger. I know that Elder Bednar truly is a living apostle of the Lord!

Elder Bednar had asked the mission to study three of his talks before he came. "Seek Learning by Faith",  "Ask in Faith", and "Converted Unto the Lord”. For weeks we each individually, as companions, and districts, studied and pondered these talks.  It turned out to be a very powerful learning experience. Elder Bednar taught us these principles through doing them and inviting us to do them!

He began by asking us a question:  What did we learn from the talks? One by one he would point to a missionary with their hand raised, they would state what they learned, and often he would inquire "May I ask you a question?" and would ask more about what they learned and how it applies to them.  After time he would stop the question asking and ask a new question: "What have you observed about the pattern we are using right now to learn?" he would again listen to missionaries express what they were learning one by one. Half way through he said we were going to change and that now it was our turn to ask him questions.  It was truly an incredible experience as there in the little chapel, elders and sisters stood and asked inspired questions to an apostle of the Lord. (By the way, he told us to scrap any questions we had written out before hand and to listen to the Spirit! Elder Bednar is really funny!!)  I asked this question: "I know that we teach about eternal happiness, and that to be exalted is to be like Heavenly Father. But I also know that Heavenly Father feels and understands all of our pain and sorrow. What do you think it means to Heavenly Father to be happy?  Or what is happiness to Him?" Something like that.  I was humbled as Elder Bednar turned to his wife and asked her if she would like to answer, and then as she stood at the pulpit, looked directly at me, and spoke to me!  She answered and spoke about a parents love for a child. I asked her if there was a way to find joy in times while one's children are going through hard struggles and pain. Elder Bednar stood up again and joined her at the pulpit.  And together they shared a personal and sacred experience of theirs about one of their children and her husband who has a child who is really struggling with health. They bore testimony of the joy found in seeing their children exercising faith and growing closer together and to the Lord. It was an incredible experience for me to see them both standing there, Elder Bednar's arm around Sister Bednar, both looking directly at me and speaking to me.

I know that our Savior knows us individually and cares for us. If He were in front of us, He would have time to look at each of us directly and speak with us, regardless of how many people were around.

By the end of the three short hours we had with Elder and Sister Bednar, Elder Bednar asked how many people had a question that they didn't ask, and almost everyone, if not everyone, raised their hands (including me).  He then asked how many had received an answer to that question. The hands stayed up. He asked one Elder if he got the answer to his question through what we were speaking about.  He said no.  Elder Bednar asked how many people had received an answer to a question which had not been spoken about by us.  And the hands went up again. In the beginning Elder Bednar had testified that we still have miracles today, but often do not have the eyes to see them.  As we raised our hands, he said "Was the parting of the Red Sea a greater miracle than this?" He testified that being taught by the Spirit is a miracle. The Spirit was so powerful throughout that visit. I know that the fact that we can be taught individually by a member of the Godhead IS a miracle!  Maybe even a greater miracle than the waters parting for the children of Israel because the miracle of the Holy Ghost deals with people!  -- Individuals and their hearts and deepest questions, hopes, and concerns.

It's such an incredible blessing to have these true servants of the Lord on the earth today, who hold the keys of the priesthood necessary to lead Christ's church.  I know that Elder Bednar is one of those apostles and holds those keys. Something I noticed was how he distinguished between he himself- David Bednar- and the mantel of the apostleship which has been placed upon him.  He knows he is a servant of the Lord, but he knows all of that comes from the Lord and is not his own efforts or strengths.

M's family (C and little Ja) are progressing wonderfully!  We have had two lessons with them in members home this past weekend and one included dinner at the F Family's house. I love the people here!!

Some people are really struggling. I'm going to tell you about them and ask for special prayers for them.

E and S are still firm in their testimonies and love for the gospel, but have gone through some really hard trials...financially and also E just found out she may have a serious health condition.

We just found out Brother M has cancer. He always appreciates our texts, he told us he wouldn't be able to meet last week because of a medical condition, and just recently when we texted him to see how he was doing, he informed us he was trying to decide which cancer surgery to undergo.

Sister H had leg surgery a long time ago for a torn acl and since then it has become infected and gotten increasingly worse to the point that she has a very rare condition where she experiences severe pain.  We met with their family last night. Her husband seemed really humbled this last appointment. The one before that he was very casual and smoking an electronic cigarette.  But this time you could tell they were in a humbler position and appreciated our visit even more.

If you would like to pray for some specific people we are teaching, these are some people who could use those prayers!

I love you all! Thanks for all you do and for your love and support!!

-Sister Greenall

 

I guess when you've lived in Hawaii for 2 years, Texas is COLD!