This Week was a Week

Hey Peoples!

Elders Radichel & Greenwood - Sweet Tunes

Life is going well here in Mexico. Just finished up 19 months on March 19th! The time passes too fast. This last month FLEW by. It's crazy. I love the mission :)

Zone Meeting

This week we put in some good work. I got to do some divisions with Elder Radichel and we went to see a family of his who is getting ready for baptism. It was great to see them and talk to them. They are such a great family. They haven't even been baptized yet and they write their names down on the missionary calendar to give us lunch every once in a while! They are super awesome. We even ate with them. They gave us Agua Chile. It's basically seafood with Mexican spice. :) First time trying octopus! Whaaaat?!

Lookin' good, Elders!

Cool pic!

Lately I have been working on following the Spirit in every moment. And it is amazing how everything works out when we turn our life over to the Spirit. I have seen many miracles by doing so. I love the mission!

I love you guys! Thanks for all that you do!

Elder Greenwood :)

Special Miracle

Hey people! This week was a pretty great week! We had lots of good things happen.

A special miracle that happened to us this week happened on Saturday.

Normally, my comp and I, when we plan for our day, call up the people that we have lessons planned with so that we can be sure that they will be there and see the desire that they really have to hear the message that can change their lives.

So, that means that we have lots of unknown numbers in our phone that we call sometimes. Not everyone answers the phone either, and sometimes they call us back to see who it was and we look through our agendas super fast to find their name and talk to them when that happens.

So, we did all that, and started heading to our area. And, on the way there, we got a call from an unknown number! We started looking through our agendas to see who it was, and nothing! We did not have that number in our phone. Elder Calizaya answered and said stuff like, "We're the missionaries, do you remember us?"

And the person said, "Yes."

And Elder Calizaya ended up asking at what time we could go and visit that person.

The person said 11:30.

Elder Calizaya then asked where the person lived.

And the person didn't hear and hung up.

We tried calling back several, and I mean several times. No one picked up.

So... there was nothing to do. And we went on with our day...

And, around 11:20 - we went to visit a certain contact that we had a lesson planned with. But we didn't find her. We found her husband who, as it turns out, was baptized years ago and stopped going to church not too long ago. We talked to him a bit, invited him and his family to church again, and, when we were leaving, we asked for his number. AND IT WAS THE SAME NUMBER THAT CALLED US BEFORE! Our minds were blown! It was super cool. And, it helped us see the hand of the Lord in our lives more. It was special!

Have a great week everyone!

Find those Miracles!

Elder Greenwood :)

#LoveIt

(Sent 3-6-17)

What is up, Peoples!

District Bonding - Fancy, Matching Sunglasses 

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:13)

Life is going strong here in the mission field. We saw many many miracles this week. #Loveit

New Ring

We saw the return of 2 investigators who had previously left us, Silvia and Eleonor, from the family that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. The father still doesn't want anything to do with us. But, we teach his wife and daughter the true gospel because they want it in their lives. Silvia told us so. She told her husband that she was planning on changing religions. That brought the tears to my eyes :)

This week, I learned a lot about challenges, and perspective. I learned a little bit more about the vision that God has for us and how every challenge that we have in our lives is preparing us in the best way possible (depending on how we act during that particular challenge) to reach the Godlike potential that God wants us to reach. 

Some scriptures that really helped me this week, if you would like to read them, were:

• "Finding Joy in Life" by Elder Scott

• Alma 36:3 - And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.

• D&C 58:2-4 - For verily I say unto you, blessed is he that keepeth my commandments, whether in life or in death; and he that is faithful in tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven. Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation. For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand.

• “Adversity” in the book True to the Faith.

I love you all and hope that all is well. :D

Elder Greenwood :)

Hello Folks!

This week was pretty stellar!

Writing Home

As a district, we did a competition as to who could get the most contacts in one week! It was crazy fun! It really showed everybody what they are really capable of. And, thanks to all of that fun, we were able to get lots of new contacts that will be turning into new investigators! And those new investigators will go to church, accept a baptismal date, and Boom! Converts in the church. Everything starts with the initial contact of a person.

Writing Home in Style

My comp and I went crazy, talking to people in the streets, knocking on doors, finding any way possible to do what we could to find people. One way that we were able to find new people was thanks to a member who we ate with. We shared them a spiritual thought and asked them for references of their friends or someone who could be ready to hear the message of the restored gospel. 

And, together, members and missionaries were able to think of people and how we can help those people. And THAT is how we get the work moving in the best way possible. The likelihood of a normal contact in the street being baptized versus a reference from a member is much, much lower. Members are invaluable, and the best way to help in missionary work.

I want to invite you all to to take the time to think of someone who could be ready for the gospel, and pass the name to the missionaries, and visit them with the missionaries. and you will see the results and feel the joy that comes from helping others come unto Christ. :)

Thank you for everything!

Elder Greenwood :)

Hello World!

This week was pretty sweet! My comp and I found a family that looks to be really cool. They have lots of questions and desires to know more about us.They are awesome!

We also found a person named Mario Ochoa last week. And he seemed pretty cool. But when we went to visit him the day that we had told him that we would, he wasn't there. He lives with his mom, and she told us that he had just started working that week. She then told us the times that he's normally in the house. So, we passed by when we could at those times, and we never found him.

Then... Saturday... we were headed to visit a person and we passed by Mario's house. And we both thought, "Hey, we should visit Mario." Just then, we saw him in the window! Whoa! And we were like "What's up Mario!!!" And we started to talk to him.

But it was weird. He was talking like he was just super angry at us or who knows. And we were super worried. And then, out of nowhere, he just started to cry. A 21 year old person, strong and lean, just burst into tears and told us how much he wanted to change his life. 

We had a great lesson with a strong spirit, giving him hope. He had just come from a park where he was with his friend, and they got into a fight. But, a real fight. Going hard with the punches. From there, he went to his house, couldn't find his house key, popped out his front window to climb through, and fell on his head. He had just gotten up when we found him. It was incredible how the Lord just put us in his path.

It was a real testimony builder for me about how the Lord puts us where the chosen people, who are ready to hear the gospel are, and the chosen people where we are.

It also built my testimony as we testified to him about how we are really here to help people. But literally, we, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, have the only full truth and the light that can help people climb out of the darkness that they live in. And the missionaries just teach them how.

I love being out here. It's crazy that I now have 18 months in the mission. I feel old. Hahaha. But I have loved it and I can't wait to serve for these last few months in Mexico!

Love to All!

Elder Greenwood :)

Hello! Hello!!

(Sent Monday, February 13, 2017)

Hope life is going well!

School Building

We just had changes here in the south, and my comp and I will be here together for another cycle to save the people in Cuauhtemoc!

This week we had a little bit of a troublesome experience. The family that we had that was progressing the most and was the closest to baptism decided to tell us that they didn't want to come to our church anymore, and that they were done. It was a really sad night...

Always the Adventurer

However, earlier in that very night, we had taught an investigator about the scripture in Alma 26:27 -

"Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the  Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you  success."

Elders Beeson, Radichel, and Greenwood

That scripture became very real for us that night. My comp and I learned a lot and have greater faith in the fact that, as we suffer with patience (patience, not meaning that we sit around and do nothing, but that, instead, we continue working hard even while we may not see the miracles in that moment), God will give us success. And that is what we came here to do. Have success.

Spicy Hot Wings

I also learned, on Sunday, about Attitude and Faith, and how they are inseparably connected. If we have faith that everything will turn out ok, our attitude will be a positive one. And, if we have a positive attitude, despite any circumstances that there may be, that means that we have the faith, or at least the hope that things will turn out alright.

I love you all!

Have a great week!

Elder Greenwood :)

Miracles

Hello Everybody! Hope your week was great!

Zone Pizza Party

Zone Service Project

This week was crazy awesome!

We have been working on putting all of our faith into our work. And it was awesome! This week God was really trying to try our faith.

We have been working on finding new investigators to bring to church with us. And God blessed us in many ways.

One of them would be a man named Jaime. This guy lived in the U.S. and just moved here to Mexico. He was living with his family. His wife was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and he went to church with her for years. Then, they got divorced 10 years ago, and he stopped going to church. But, he told us about how much he misses miracles and the good feelings that he had from back when he went to church. And he wants to turn his life around. :)

P-Day Play Time

We gave him a Book of Mormon later on in our first lesson. and he asked us in that lesson if there was a chapter that he could read that would help him out before the next lesson! And, he's already read it now. :)

Next miracle-- we were blessed to have 3 less active families make it to church. But investigators were few, One to be exact. And I was kind of bummed about it. I wasn't sure what we had done wrong, or maybe, if there was something that we could improve to bring more.

More Pizza (and fries)!

And, at the end of sacrament meeting, my comp noticed a family that he didn't recognize. He went and talked to them. And it turns out that the mother had come to church many times with her grandma more than 28 years ago. And she just now decided to come back with her 3 kids in order to help her children have a church as well -- to have a solid foundation. And they live in our area! It was a crazy miracle. God has blessed us too much here in the mission. I love to be a missionary and know that, through Christ, all things are possible. :)

I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Greenwood :)