Cool Subject Line

Hi everybody!

On top of the world....er....wall!

I'm quite studly, aren't I?

Hmmm...how do I get down?

This week was a good week! My comp and I worked hard. Elder Vivanco has 19 months in the mission and is still going strong! Hahaha! He is a REALLY good teacher. I am learning a lot from him. It's pretty great :)

Guess I'll jump!

This week we played some soccer with some little Mexican kids. I didn't get as wrecked as I thought I would. Hahaha! I pulled some pretty sick moves on those 12-13 year olds hahaha! But it was tons of fun and we have their addresses now so we can visit them and talk about the gospel and how it can make you more happy than soccer. :)

This last Sunday, we had a few investigators who said that they would come to church by themselves, (so we went and brought other investigators to the church), and some of those people didn't show. My comp, when that happened said, "Why don't people want to receive blessings?"

Ate straight habenero...the pain!

It's the truth - going to church and doing the things that God wants us to do brings us more blessings than we realize. But sometimes we don't realize that. When we know the reason why we do the things we do, like go to church, it will make us want to go more, and we'll be more happy to do it.

All the "Whys" of the commandments of God are found in the Scriptures. I invite you all to read about a certain subject that you may be unsure on the "why."I promise that your testimony will be strengthened on that subject as you do so.

My scripture of the week is Alma 37:37 - It's about Prayer. Prayer is one of the most powerful tools we have in the war against Satan (D&C 10:5) And it helps us stay calm when we're in times of stormy troubles. Prayer is one of the greatest gifts that God has given us the ability to do.

  

Love you all! Have a great week and Stuff! Enjoy life to the fullest! Animo!!!

Elder Greenwood :)

Another good week

Hello all!

Chillin' (Elders Greenwood, Cruz, & Larsen)

Life has been going well here in the mission. Elder Cruz and I have taught some great lessons to some great people. And we brought a lot of our investigators to church this week, which was super cool! 

New scarf - really chillin' here!

At the church, there is a special feeling that can be felt, and when the investigators feel it, they will want to have that feeling all the time. That feeling is the Holy Ghost. We can have that feeling and the guidance of the Holy Ghost when we are baptized and confirmed. For us who are already baptized and confirmed, we can have that feeling when we are doing the things that God wants us to do, like reading the scriptures, going to church, and trying to develop Christ-like attributes.

Elder Lopez (Zone Leader) and Elder Greenwood with Kings Cake

Pastel de Reyes (Kings Cake) for Mexican Holiday (Three Kings Day) on January 6th

Star Wars Mementos

Elder Cruz and I are also no longer companions. I really enjoyed my time with him. But now, I am with a new companion named Elder Vivanco. He's from Spain. I've known him for about a good hour now. Hahaha! But he seems like a great missionary and ready to work. He has 19 months in the mission.

Love to you all! Wish you well! Follow Christ!!!

Elder Greenwood :)

Baptism!!!!!

What up people!

Not your normal Mexican fare!

Solved it!

We  baptized this week! A recent convert (who was baptized about a month ago), who LOVES to do visits with us and plans on going on a mission, AND has even visited our investigators on his own time to help them feel the goodness of the gospel, Just Baptized his own mother. It was SO cool to see a faithful son of God baptize his mother into the one true gospel. That was obviously the highlight of this week.

Esperanza baptized by her son, Jorge

Other than that, we have found a few investigators who are really progressing well and have baptismal dates set for later this month. My comp and I also found a lady in the street who has been to Sacrament Meeting about 4 times, her kids even more, has a strong testimony, and is totally ready to be baptized! Hopefully we can baptize her this week and help her family work towards finding the true joy of the Gospel.

District Meeting

 There are people prepared for baptism everywhere we go. It just takes some effort to find them. This gospel is meant for everyone. And those with open hearts and contrite spirits and humility will see that and see that there is a light in this church that is brighter than any light we can think of. It is the Light of Christ. And that light is in every one of us as we do what's right and follow the teachings of Christ and the promptings of the Spirit. Which leads me to my Scripture of the week:

3 Nephi 18:20-21 - "And Whatsoever ye shall ask the father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall recieve, behold it shall be given unto you. Pray in your families unto the father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed."


























All sorts of promises in there. And we simply need to pray to our Father in Heaven with total sincerity. We will find joy. We will find happiness. We will be blessed. Our families will be blessed.

  

God is literally our Father. It is absolutely crazy to think about that. It's almost incomprehensible. But it's true. And he listens to us, just like our fathers here on Earth do. And he loves us like our fathers here on earth do. And he has a wife who equally loves us and listens to us and wants the best for us. Remember what you're doing when you pray and you will find peace. :)

Interior of Catholic Cathedral

Visited a beautiful Catholic Cathedral

Love to all

Elder Greenwood :)

Prospero Año y Felizidad!‏

Happy new year this week everybody!

Christmas Eve Dinner 2015

Hope you all had a great Christmas! Christmas here was pretty sweet! We had a missionary sleepover, wrestled a bit, and had a piñata! Good stuff, hahaha!

Talked to the Family on Christmas! (Yea for Skype!)

Back Scratcher

Christmas morning was a great time. We all opened our presents and stuff and read our notes from our families (Thank you by the way).  :) And I received a special testimony builder that morning of the love and joy that we have as members in this church, and an even stronger testimony that we can live together forever after this life. It is a gift beyond comprehension. And it is wonderful.

My family sent HLJ (CTR) necklaces for children here

Hacky Sack

Lucky Key Chain

Sand-blasted from the wind!

The day after Christmas was one of the windiest days I 

have ever seen! It was so crazy! My companion and I were just walking along the sidewalk when this GIANT tumbleweed, the size of my car back home, charged right in front of us and into the street! A tiny little car had to swerve around it and then a big ol' city bus just rammed right through it! Hahaha! Awesome!

Massive Tumbleweed! (Even bigger than in Lehi!)

This week, my scripture is Genesis 18:14 - (just the first line) Is anything too hard for the Lord?

I just want everyone to take some time to think about that this week and ponder the meaning of it in your lives.

This week, two of our investigators will probably get married and then they will be baptized! I will fill you in on that sometime next year.

I think it's a Comet! (Must have been Santa's sleigh)

 Love to all,

Elder Greenwood :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas this week everybody!!!! Hope it's a good one! Feliz Navidad!!

Never know what kind of people you'll meet walking down the street!

This week, we had our missionary Christmas posada (feast, basically). All the missionaries in the city of Chihuahua showed up and each zone did a little program thing for the other missionaries and Presidente. Then we had lots of food, graciously provided by the Applebee's here in Chihuahua. We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, some sort of pasta, chicken, cake, and Salsa. Super good! :)

Sister Chavez, Elder Cruz (companion), President Chavez, and Elder Greenwood

Gifts from Christmas Feast - Reunion with Bros from CCM

My scripture of the week this week is Luke 2:13-14: "And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth PEACE, Good will toward men."

Classic Christmas scripture. This Christmas season, let there be peace between all people. There is a very simple way to do that. Kindness. Serve people this week. Do little things for others and you will cause big smiles in you both.

New Zone

My companion was sick basically all week. He was supposed to stay inside the house on doctor's orders, so he wouldn't experience the change in temp. So we worked right up until it starts to get colder here. >:) 

We have some investigators who are really close to baptism. They just need to get married now. :) Hopefully we get that figured out this week.

The dark side!

Using the force

Love you All!

Have a great Christmas!

Go watch Star Wars!! And don't tell me what happens!! Hahaha!

Elder Greenwood :)

EarlyTransfers!!!

What's up everyone! Happy Missionary Tuesday!!!

BURN! (That's after 12 days of healing!)

Elders Greenwood & Beeson (former companion)

This week we ended the transfer cycle a week early and we had transfers. My 3 1/2 weeks of divisions in Cuahtemuc ended because of that. :)

Anahuac District Farewell Photo

I had changes! I am now in the Villa Juarez area of Chihuahua. The big city! ;) But it really is huge here with tons of stores and stuff. Big change from teeny tiny Anahuac. Hahaha!

My new companion is Elder Cruz. He's got lots of swag, but loves to work and be obedient. We're going to baptize like crazy here!

Baptism of Elvia Rubio Flores

My final week in Cuahtemuc ended with me and Elder Fuentes baptizing the wife of Isauro, the guy we baptized last week. If they stay faithful to the church for 1 year, they can go to the temple and be sealed!!!! That is the greatest joy to see. I hope that it happens. :) Elder Fuentes baptized her and I had the opportunity to confirm her. It was an honor to be a conduit to the Spirit and give her a blessing directly from her Father in Heaven in my broken Spanish.

Also, we got to watch the dedication of the Tijuana Mexico Temple. So amazing to be able to feel the Spirit of the Temple again in the Chapel, an extention of the Temple at the time. There really is a difference and a deeper Spirit in the Temple. And I love it. :)

Tijuana Mexico Temple

My scripture of the week is  Luke 2: 16-17 - talking about the shepherds and how, after they acted and received a witness and a testimony of Jesus Christ, they couldn't help but share the glory and joy of it all with the whole world. :)

Love you all! Tenga una buena semana y feliz navidad!

Elder Greenwood :)

Happy December!!!!!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! It truly was a good one. :)

Birthday Gifts and Decor

Cake from Zone Leaders

French Toast Birthday Breakfast

On my b-day, I made myself some french toast, blew up balloons, the whole shabang. And I bought myself a crappy little Cinnamon roll thing and stuck candles in it. But my zone leaders told me to take out my datos before I celebrated with my cake. So I went to my room, and they came in a bit later with a fancy little store bought cake and sang happy birthday!! It was so nice of them!!! I love those guys!

Had to share a birthday surprise -- double yolk egg!  HAHAHA! 

Frozen fruit works! Delicious Smoothie!!!

The awesome thing about Mexico is that fruit and veggies are actually cheaper than the candy. The problem is that you have to find a store with good fruits, hard in Anahuac. These last 2 weeks have been great because, I'm basically training Elder Fuentes, so we go to a store in his area to get healthy stuff a lot :) It's been nice. :)

This week I have a special scripture of the week -- Luke 2: 10-11:

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

My whole life I have enjoyed the Christmas season more than anything else in the year. This time is a time of joy, happiness, giving, and family. I was thinking about that and this scripture about the "glad tidings of great joy" that is to be given to all people.

The most important thing about Christmas is obviously Christ. (In Span-glish Christ-más means More Christ :) But the 2nd most important thing is family. If you have the chance to be with your immediate family this year, DON'T waste it. If not, you are still with your family. We are all brothers and sisters and sons and daughters of a Father in Heaven who loves us more than anything. But the thing is, not everybody knows that. My challenge to all of you this Christmas season is to spread the love of our Heavenly Father to your brothers and sisters everywhere through your acts. Everyone deserves to be happy. We were placed on this earth that we might have joy. Love everyone. Love Christ -- "If you love me... feed my sheep."

And one more question:

What will you give to Christ for Christmas this year? :)

This week was an incredible week! I had my first True baptism!!! I've been working in a different area for about 3 weeks now with Elder Fuentes. Last week, some drunk guy approached us wanting to change and asking for our help (nothing out of the ordinary here). The drunk people usually want to change while they're drunk and then we try to help them when they're sober and they don't want to change.

Elder Fuentes, Isauro, and Elder Greenwood

But, Isauro was different. He wanted to change so bad while he was drunk that when we told him to dump out his alcohol, he did. That is truly incredible to do. And from there, he only got better. I got to see the light slowly come into his life almost every day as he did what we asked him. I had the opportunity to baptize him last Saturday. It was so cool to be an instrument in the hands of God through all of this and see Isauro's journey through pain and suffering to the Light of Christ. He has opened the door of the path to the Celestial Kingdom. :)

A quote from a video we watched applies perfectly to swimming and missions, and staying true to the gospel - "If it was easy, everyone would do it."

Love you all!

Listen to lots of Christmas Music!!!

Love every moment of this season!

And give everything of yourself to find true Christmas joy.

Elder Greenwood :)