Workin' Hard

What's up everybody! Hope that you all are doing well. This week was a pretty great week! We, once again, gave it our all and worked super hard so as to help others come unto Christ.

New District (and zone leaders)

Elders Greenwood and Calizaya in house

I don't remember if I mentioned this last week, but, our Zone Leader, Elder Cruz mentioned some scriptures in D&C 6 to us regarding missionary work. As we looked them over, we found that they said that if we are rejected for Christ's name, or if we suffer for his name, we will be blessed. And also, there is a scripture that says that if we are accepted and have fruits, we are also blessed.

Elders Greenwood & Rendon - happy with sauce!

Obviously, the one where we are accepted is the coolest, but, it reminded me that it doesn't matter if we are rejected. As long as we give it our all, we will be blessed to find other people who are ready to hear the gospel. My challenge to all of you is to try it. It you are rejected or not, it doesn't matter, you will be blessed for trying. And you will progress and be more prepared for challenges ahead.

Zone Activity

We had a great week of Fruits in the church this week! We had an incredibly spiritual lesson with the family of Angel and Silvia and they and all their family made it to church! And another lady named Ramona joined us as well! It was great to see. And I hope and pray that they choose to continue on this path that will guide them to true and everlasting joy.

I love you all!

Have a great week!

Elder Greenwood

First Week Back in the Field!

What a week!

Mexican Mystery Machine

Elders Greenwood?

Being my first week out of the offices and being in the field again has been a truly wonderful experience. This week, I don't know what happened, but I have never felt more desire to do good to others. I have never wanted to help people more.

There have been days in my mission where I have said: "Ok, 3 more hours of hard work, and then you can rest in the house, you can make it." But this week has been: "No! We only have 3 more hours to do what we need to do!" It has been really different. But I really loved this week. 

Elders in Training...just need to grow a foot or two

We didn't find the most success, but I know that there is not a good effort that will not be accounted for. All the things that we did this week, all the contacts that we had, the lessons that we taught, will all come together and become an incredible blessing. That blessing I believe will be finding more Chosen people who are ready for the Gospel now, who will go to church, learn, study, and gain a testimony that will last them an eternity.

Looks a little dangerous

We had a very special lesson with a recent convert whose daughter is our investigator. She has been worried about the life that her daughter is leading and how it will affect her for eternity.

While we talked, a spiritual impression came that we should talk about Alma the Younger and his story, and how the prayers and faith of his parents were factors in helping him come to change. We talked about it, we watched the Animated Book of Mormon story of it, and the Spirit just grew and grew in intensity. In the end, we testified to a worried mother with tears in her eyes and her wonderful son (who also had begun to cry for his sister) about how it doesn't matter who you are, or what you've done. With Christ's Atonement, ANYONE can change. Anyone can come unto Him and feel what it is to have true Joy.

Elder Greenwood's future

It was a lesson to remember. I'm so grateful that I can be a missionary and have these experiences. I'm so happy to be doing what I'm doing. I know that it's the work and glory of God. And I know that, through Christ, people change, and can become His true disciples.

I love you all!

Have a great week!

Elder Greenwood :)

Last Week in the Offices

Elders Sanchez, Ochsenhirt, and Greenwood

This was it.

My last week here in the offices.

I've learned a lot, and now it's time to go out to Cuauhtémoc and apply it all.

I am super excited to go back to Cuauhtémoc again. I think that it will be a lot of fun. That place is like a promised land within this promised land. It's just filled with people who are ready to learn more about the gospel!

This week was really intense. There was a lot of stuff that had to get done in terms of migration. And, on top of it all, I had to teach Elder Ochsenhirt how to do it. But, he's going to be a great secretary. I'm so proud.(sniff, sniff). He's like my child now. I trained him how to be a good secretary.

Overlooking the city

Amazing Cave

I'm excited to get into my new area and do new things, but I'm also sad to have to say good-bye to many faithful saints who are here in the Granjas Ward, and saying good-bye to my dear sisters in my district as well. But, I was reading a talk by Elder Holland yesterday that Sister Montoya told us that we ought to read. It's called "Remember Lot's Wife, Faith is for the Future."

It was really good. It talked about how, in the time of Sodom and Gomorrah, the action of looking back wasn't really the whole of the sin that Lot's Wife committed. It was looking back with desires and really a longing in her heart to be there. In the end, she did not have the faith that where she and her family were going would be as good for her as she had it back in Sodom and Gomorrah. She didn't believe that God had something better in mind for her. She just wanted to stay in the past and try to remember and be a part of what already was.

Elder Holland taught me that we should look forward with faith, knowing that where we are going is going to help us in the best way possible to improve and progress in a way that, in the end, we can be the person that God needs us to be. He taught that if we look back, we should only look back to remember things that we have learned so that we can apply them to the future.

Old Mexican Casa

So, with my new assignment, that is exactly what I am going to work towards --looking to the future with faith, and remembering not to make the mistake that Lot's Wife made. And I invite you all to do the same with me. 

I love you all! Have a great week! And look to the Future! Lo mejor esta por venir!!!

 Elder Greenwood :)

Fast Sunday

Happy Fast Sunday, Everybody!

Elders Sanchez (Financial Sec in training), Bustos (Financial Sec), and Greenwood

This week was a particularly great Fast Sunday. The Spirit was super strong. I got to break the bread during the Sacrament and say the prayer on the bread (just like the old days). :') But, I was thinking about the new year, and new beginnings, and this new chance that we have in 2017 to leave behind bad habits that we may have had in the past.

Elders Greenwood and Ochsenhirt

And then I thought about how the Sacrament, for us, is literally a new chance that we have every week. We can leave behind the sins of the week and commit to do better. So, I bore my testimony a bit about that and then of the Atonement of Christ.

And then, the other 4 missionaries in our ward also got up in the course of the meeting. And, combined with the testimonies of the members in the ward, it was really a great experience.

New Executive Secretary in Training

The Spirit is the best. I received a whole lot of revelation that day that I was not expecting to receive. Without the Spirit in my life, I would be totally lost. Listening to its promptings ALWAYS is worth it. I have never followed a spiritual prompting and regretted it. Ever.

A bit of friendly competition with President Montoya

I have, however, ignored a prompting from the Spirit and regretted it. Our lives become what God wants our lives to be when we follow the promptings of His Spirit. And we will be happier with the life that God wants for us than any other life.

That's just a bit of what I learned this week.

Sisters, Members, Office Elders

I love you all!

Keep on Keepin' on!

Elder Greenwood :)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Everybody!

Hope that you look back on last year as a good one. And hope that this year is better!!!!

I have now oficially finished my complete year dedicated to the Lord. It was a lot of work. I was not perfect. But I sure tried. I am looking forward to this year with lots of excitement. Another year of joys and surprises. I now have some new goals planned out and ready to be applied.

I just wanted to share a little statistic with you all that I heard:

Of the people who made resolutions this year in Mexico, 98% of them did NOT complete them. I don't know how the statistic is in the U.S. But, my challenge for you all is to make the difference where you are and be that 2%.

I love you all!!!

Elder Greenwood :)

The elders got permission to drink soda. Of course, Landon chose to celebrate with yogurt. =)