Sigan el Espíritu (Follow the Spirit)

Hello all of you people!

Hope that your week was fantastic!

If not, this week is a new week! Make it fantastic!

To Eternity....and Beyond!

This week was a bit more of getting used to my new calling as Executive Secretary. It's been going pretty well. I have a lot to learn still, but I am starting to get the hang of things.This week we had the pleasure to welcome another injured missionary. Hahaha! Elder Wright got to join us for a couple days because, long story short, he stepped on a sharp metal wire thing. He was going to use my cane... but he broke it :'( hahaha! But now, as tradition goes, he will become the new secretary. I guess I'm done here. Hahaha! JKJKJK.

A special experience that I was able to have this week was when Elder Wright and I were headed out of the offices to go eat. We were going to go in an Uber (like Taxis, but they are nicer cars-- more safe, more quality, AND cheaper). I've been trying to work on acting on spiritual promptings in the moment that I receive them, even if they are inconvenient.

Elder Wright and I left. Elder Wright headed to the car while I closed the security gate. I closed it and felt that I should grab a Book of Mormon. I did not have one in my bag at the time. And I thought, "No, Elder Wright is already in the car, I don't want to have to unlock the security gate and then the office door. No.." Then, I decided to go in and get one. It was inconvenient, but I figured that I would see what would happen.

Well, I got it, put it in my bag, and got in the Uber Car. We started going, and the first thing the driver did was say, "Hey, I have a friend who's an Elder right now too!" I would have kicked myself had I not gone to go get that Book of Mormon. In the end we gave it to him, and ending up giving more books away to other cool Uber drivers. It was really a lot of fun giving those away. Finding people who are willing to take that Book, not for obligation, but for a strange desire inside to read it, is very special.

I would imagine that one day they will pass through some challenge and life will feel hard, and then they will see the old book that two white guys dressed in white shirts gave them long ago. And then they'll read it, and find joy -- Find Christ.

I invite you all to start before life feels hard, to read and to find Christ. That will make your challenges much easier to go through.

I love you all!

Have a Great week!

and GIVE 'EM HEAVEN!

Elder Greenwood :)

Surprise!!!

(Sent 10-17-16)

Delivery of 44 Air conditioners!

Well, I don't remember if I already told all of you guys, but, I guess that President likes me here in the offices because he just put me in as his Executive Secretary. So now, I have a ton of different responsibilities that I deal with to make sure that the entire mission functions, such as stuff about Migration, Immigration, buy plane tickets for the missionaries leaving, buy materials for the mission, take care of President's calendar, make sure that all the missionaries have phones and sim cards and that we have registered correctly where they live, make sure that all the missionaries that are going home make it to security and stuff all-right, and basically whatever President asks. I do many things.

Office Missionaries

It is a lot different from normal missionary work. Of course, I still have an area, and I get to work there, and I have a district of sisters to take care of as well. It's very different, but I know that I am here for a reason, and that God has many things in store for me to both teach to others and learn for myself.

Setting up for Street Contacting

I have already started to see one of the why's behind why I am here in the offices. We all went to a zone activity in Chuviscar (My old zone from when I was in Chihuahua, Chih). We went to centro (a big plaza type place with a bunch of little stores where lots of people go to shop) and we set up a table and a projector and lots of signs talking about the self-sufficiency classes that they are going to start giving in the chapel nearest to there.

All set!

We contacted people, inviting them to come and sign up for the class so that they can become self-sufficient physically and spiritually. The studies show that 90% of the non-members who take that class end up getting baptized. :)

Elders Bustos (companion) & Greenwood

So yeah, we were contacting people, playing videos, answering questions, when, out of the blue, walks up a person that I believe I have mentioned in past emails. His name is Mauricio. I started to teach him in Chuviscar with Elder Vivanco. He was an INcredible contact, who started to progress very quickly, he then completely disappeared one day without a trace. Then re-appeared for like a week, and we taught him, and then he disappeared again! But there he was, now about 5-6 months later. He walked up to me and was like, "Hey, you remember me?" I was like "uh (nodding my head a bunch) yeah" and we just started to talk like old friends with him and his friend. Then, I gave him some lesson 1 and 2 booklets and his friend was like, "Hey, can I get some of those too?" It was crazy awesome to see them again and see that they are still interested in the gospel. They just didn't know where to find it.

Zone Activity - Pool and...

Now, I will surely be keeping in touch with the missionaries in that area now to watch his progress. He also gave me his cell number, so we will be talking, and I will be inviting him to church. It was a true surprise (and really a miracle) to see him again.

...Ping Pong

So that is my story for you all this week. I love being a missionary! I've never been happier. I find true peace and joy as I go out and serve others and share the gospel with them --the gospel that has changed my life and the lives of countless others -- the true gospel of Jesus Christ restored to the Earth by God's prophet, Joseph Smith!

Love you all!

Have a Fantastic Week!

Elder Greenwood :)

Buenas Tardes Todos! Como les van? Que bueno.

Office Missionaries

Hello all of you people out in the world today! Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I hope that it is a quality experience and that you can learn something new from it that will bring you to learn more of and come closer to Christ.

Family Home Evening at the Mission President's Home

This week was a pretty awesome week! We gathered all the Zone Leaders in Chihuahua together and had dinner at President's house and had a little family home evening type thing there. That was tons of fun. Then, the next day we gathered up and talked about what President wants to do to help the mission more and further the work. I learned a lot of new things and will be applying them to my work here in the offices and when I can get back to the normal normal grind of missionary work.

Zone Leaders and Office Missionaries studying at a conference

A miracle that happened this week, that was super cool, actually happened while I was writing my family a little bit ago. I was just sitting here writing when the doorbell of the offices rang. I went to push the security button to let the random dude outside in. (For some reason the thought that I had that maybe he could be dangerous or something just became a stupor of thought in my mind.) He came in and asked us: "Hey, uh, when do you guys have your services in the church next door?" I was like, "Well, they're on Sundays at 9... What's your name? Where do you live? You've talked with missionaries?" hahaha! So, in the end, he talked with missionaries a while back (like 6 months ago) and went to church once. And he'll be joining us tomorrow at 9am with his brand new Book of Mormon in hand! :)Cr azy miracle. I love being a missionary. :)

Those types of things just strengthen my testimony so much about how this is the only true Church of God on the Earth. People literally just feel drawn to it. Those who are humble and prepared will find the truth, or the truth will show up on their doorstep.

These types of miracles don't just happen as missionaries either. They can happen in each and every one of your lives. My challenge for you all this week is to ask God for a "missionary" experience. And then, when you follow the spiritual promptings that you will receive, you will have one. :)

Field Trip

Also! I learned something cool yesterday. I was pondering the steps to repentance, thinking about feeling Godlike sadness. An Elder was feeling it yesterday, but he was like SUPER down, like he REALLY wanted to feel bad. Then, because I've experienced the same sadness that he's felt where you just want to be sad and feel bad, I thought, "but true repentance is more than just feeling bad and changing your actions with a shameful look on your face." 

The last step of repentance, Following Christ and his Commandments, is more than just doing what Christ says. It's doing it with a heart full of joy. Like in Elder Nelson's talk, God put us here on Earth so that we could experience joy. And some of the greatest joy that we can experience is the joy of being forgiven of our sins. Being happy that, now, after making a mistake, we are going to work harder and become better people after all is said and done. It's pretty cool.

I love you all!

Have a Fantastic Week!

Elder Greenwood :)

Mi Tercera Conferencia General

(Sent 10-2-16)

Wow, Another Conference has come and gone.

Delicias Zone - Top Baptizing Zone for June and August

Special Egg with a Surprise!

It's crazy to think that just one year ago I was on my first week in the field as a full-time missionary of Jesus Christ. Now, so much has happened. I've come to understand the gospel much more fully and I've learned better how to more actively apply it to my life.

I love General Conference. :)  Every message given was inspired of God. I made sure to have a couple of questions ready to be answered for the event. All of them were answered, and also some concerns that I had that I had forgotten that I had. It was amazing and a real testimony again to me about how Personal Revelation is here on the Earth, That God talks to his children, and that He knows us and loves us in ways that we cannot fully understand.

Toy inside Plastic Shell

I sure hope that Conference was a delight for you. But! It's not just supposed to be a delight for the 10 hours that we had it this weekend. The talks are going to come out on the internet, on your smartphone, and in the November Ensign. PLEASE read them again. Ask more questions, (or, if you didn't have questions for this weekend, MAKE some now!) and read the talks, listen to the talks again. Those talks literally, if applied, will provide you with the personal guidance that you need in your life to become a stronger disciple of Christ in these next 6 months and to come closer unto God, and know Him more.

I know that we have a living prophet on the earth today who leads and directs the restored Church of Christ through it's head, Jesus. I know that the Book of Mormon is the keystone to our arch of testimony. With it and its applied teachings, we are everything in Christ, Without it, we are just a pile of rocks. And I know that Joseph Smith was the Chosen prophet to restore Christ's Church and ALL of its teachings and in ALL it's glory on the earth once again.

What is it?

Elder Greenwood's New, Approved Cane

I love you all and invite you to apply what you have learned in Conference and what you are going to learn in your lives in the way that God would have you do it. How do you know how God wants you to do it? Ask, and ye shall receive.

Elder Greenwood :)

I cannot do everything, but I can do something

(Sent 9-25-16)

Well hello there my dearly beloved Brothers and Sisters,

Breakfast with Elder Gardner (CCM Companion)

I would like to wish you all a happy 25th of September. I don't know why but it feels like a good day to celebrate something.

This week was pretty sweet. I went to the Doctor on Tuesday to check out how my toe is doing, The doctor actually told me that I'm good to walk on it now -- obviously not as much as a normal missionary, but now I can start to work on walking normally again and working out my toe.

Two weeks after the injury. (Lost my appetite.)

So, now I'm walking, I have a normal shoe on, My foot is still swollen but it fits in my shoe :D 🤗 In about 20 days (around the time of our next changes) I should be able to be a normal missionary again and bring people to the truth.

While here, I have not been able to do everything. Like the subject line says however, I can do something. My goal here is to continue not letting the fact that I can't do everything get in the way of me doing the things that I can do. I will do everything that is in my power to do.

Last week (looks even better this week). Hurray for improvement!

Just as is promised, the Challenges that we have in this life always help us progress and become stronger in some way. I have learned so much here -- much more than I even thought that I would learn. I learned how to love people more. I learned HOW to better look for the good in people and focus on that. I learned more how to stay more Christ-like and many, many more things.

Being a missionary of the True Church of Christ on the Earth is the greatest. I love doing it and I'm eternally grateful that I am able. Being a member of this church and having the gift of the Holy Ghost as our constant companion (according to our worthiness) is a blessing so great and wonderful that we will not fully understand it in this life. My invitation to you all is to try to understand just how great and wonderful it is this week.  HOW? - Go help someone in need.  And you will feel the joy that comes from God, through his Spirit.

Love you all!

Have a Great Week!

Elder Greenwood :)

P.S. I just learned of the baptism of a guy that I was teaching named David Gallegos.

He just showed up to the church one Sunday in Meoqui with his girlfriend and said, "We feel like we should be here." He lived in my area. I taught him a bit. I put his date for baptism. I feel very happy to hear that he was baptized :)

Here is a pic of him and his girlfriend getting baptized :)

Hello Americans

Hello Americans.

This week was pretty intense.

We had the chance to meet the General Authority, Paul B. Pieper, Area President of MEXICO MEXIco MExico mexico.  (That was supposed to be an echo.)

(#Mision Mexico Chihuahua)

Landon's Graffiti

I learned SO much. It was an incredible experience. He made a list of all the questions that we had for him, and then he taught us how we can figure it out for ourselves. He focused a lot on our own personal Self-sufficiency. Then he taught us how we can help our investigators better learn for themselves, because that is where true conversion comes from -- when we take the time to look for ourselves by searching through the scriptures, studying talks, and praying with all of our hearts.

Nobody can give you your personal conversion or testimony. YOU have to look for it. You have to take the time and put in the effort. Like building a muscle, you can't ask someone to do push-ups for you to gain more muscle. You can ask them how they did it, and they can give you tips. But, until you put in the effort, you will not progress and get stronger, physically or spiritually.

I have studied a lot this week and have found out a lot more about who I am, the talents that I have, and the challenges that I have. I have found weaknesses I have and sins that I commit often. And I have found how to overcome them. I am now applying things that General Authorities and Prophets have counseled, and I am seeing results. 

My kind of restaurant! Write on walls and eat GIANT TORTILLAS!

I know that as we ask specific questions about how we can become better, or find our own testimony, or how you can help someone else come unto Christ, you will find a way, you will become happier, and Your life will have much more meaning. Your vision will be opened more to the love that God has for you and for each one of his Children.

X-ray of Broken Toe (2nd toe from right)

Please, ask yourself a question: "How can I overcome this challenge?..."    "How can I help my friend feel happier?"   "How can I overcome my personal pride and love others more?"   

Then, look for your answer.

It's there.

Love,

Elder Greenwood :)

God has a Plan for Each of You

Hello everybody! Hope that all is well and stuff is going right in your lives.

Elder Greenwood at the Mission Office

Why is Landon playing on a rolly chair at the mission office?

And why is he playing "Peek-a-boo?"

I am emailing you all today to tell you all that God has a plan for each of you. Now, sometimes you may not know why something is happening. Or maybe you don't know why it's happening at the time that it is happening. But, you know who does know?  God knows

Isaiah 55:8-9

As we trust in him we will find that everything will work out in a way that turns out even better than what you had hoped. Trust in God and you will NEVER be disappointed. If you feel that you are trusting in him and that things are not working out, it's because he wants you to trust just a little bit more. There is a saying that goes, "Everything will turn out great in the end. If things are not great, it's still not the end."

And why is he not showing his right foot in the photos?

(No, this is not the change he means.)

I had some special changes this week because of a special thing that happened that is according to God's plan. While I do not know why it happened, I know that God knew that it would happen and that his perfect plan is prepared to create an ending that is better than I can even imagine :)

You will see in the pics that I send my special thing. hahaha! CHIHUAHUA!!!

(And here they are!)

BROKEN TOE!!!

COOL BOOT!

P-Day Pizza Party to Placate the Pain!

Excerpt from Landon's family email:

I wrote you guys Monday morning last week. And then... Stuff happened Monday night. Lol. All is well here. I love Chihuahua. It is the best place in the world. I love being a missionary, and I know that this is where I need to be. And that everything that happens, happens for an eternal reason that sometimes only God knows. 

I was playing volleyball and I broke my toe. BUT EVERYTHING IS OK! DO NOT WORRY! ALL IS WELL!!!!!!! ALL IS WELL!!!! DON'T FREAK OUT!!!!!!!!! I AM OK!!! I just had special changes to the offices with the secretaries and the assistants. I chill with them all day and we do stuff.....

BUT ALL IS WELL!!!!

Landon has always been willing to share. =)

I am happy. I will heal according to the blessing that Elder Arnold gave me. It wasn't a bad break. I jumped to block Elder Meyer who went to spike. Our feet hit in the air, and it broke my toe right by my big toe on my right foot. I am not allowed to walk for a bit, obviously, but I am still doing the work of salvation. And that is what will bring the greatest joy, no matter what the ailment that is in your way.

Love you all!

Elder Greenwood :)