Hello,
A lot has happened this week. For four days out of the week about half of the missionaries were sent to San Antonio to be trained by President Jones. It was something issued by the 1st Presidency to help us as missionaries become more effective teachers. Not everyone was able to go but eventually all of us will have an opportunity to participate. There are eight new lessons outside of the ones we learned in Preach My Gospel and the MTC.
We had two Sisters stay with us for a couple of nights because it was too far for them to travel back to their apartments after the meeting. They shared some of the things they learned with Sister Mauer and I and I’m so excited to learn more.
We’ve lost some of our investigators this week but the Lord has blessed us and we’ve been able to continue to find people to teach.
Among some of the things the Sisters shared with us was how to effectively use the Book of Mormon. I've grown to love the Book of Mormon even more than I did before. We went over the introduction and we focused on the 1st paragraph, the 2nd to last paragraph, and the last paragraph.
The 1st paragraph describes "what" the Book of Mormon is. The 2nd to last paragraph tells us how all men can know if the Book is true and identifies "three" things we must do to receive a witness from the Holy Ghost. The last paragraph explains "why" it's important to know. For the past few days we've been sharing this with people and we've been able to help them understand the importance of the Book of Mormon. They love their Bible but we're helping them see that Heavenly Father does not give us everything all at once. He does it "line upon line."
2 Nephi 31 has become one of my favorite chapters. This chapter (as the introduction describes), ..."puts forth the doctrines of the gospel...and tells men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come."
Verse 21 has helped me to understand that God is a God of order and He knows that order will eliminate confusion. It shows His love for us and how He requires that we all do the same thing if we want to return to His presence.
"And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end Amen."
The truthfulness of the Book of Mormon has helped me be a more powerful missionary. I know it is the word of God along with the Bible and it is tangible evidence of the Restoration of the gospel through the prophet Joseph Smith.
Love you,
Sister Green
Friday, August 27, 2010
08/16/10
Hello all,
Another great week here in San Marcos. Sister Mauer and I are really enjoying working together and sharing the gospel. We had a Zone Meeting this past week with the eight companionship's of missionaries in the Zone. Sister Mauer and I are the only Sisters. Our Zone Leaders Elder Murphy and Elder Riley gave us all an Atonement talk last P-Day and asked us to study it throughout the week until our Meeting on Friday. The talk was titled "Atonement: All for All" and it talked about how our Savior gave "all" He had and how we need to give "all" we have if we want to return to our Heavenly Father. It's really helped me to refocus again and has given me a desire to work harder. The General Authority that gave the talk (I can't remember his name) spoke about how we can become like our Savior and achieve eternal life but only if there is nothing we want more.
Sister Mauer and I have been really excited to go our and find and we've been blessed. we received a referral from our bishop and he told us he'd gotten a call from a member in Utah (a mother) who wanted the missionaries to stop by to see her less- active son. We were given phone numbers to call and we ended up talking to this sons girlfriend who is interested in learning about the gospel. She invited us over to their house for dinner and a lesson Saturday evening.
She expressed her desires to learn more about her purpose in life was and what she needed to be doing here. We shared the restoration and watched the DVD with them. We talked to them about the BofM and left her a chapter with questions to help her as she read. She later told us that when we handed her the BofM the first thought that came to her mind was "Okay, now I can start my life". We invited them to church and they both came.
Miracles are occurring. Peter Wood is also doing great and He has gone a full 24 hours without smoking. Ginger Griggs came to church for the first time yesterday and we've been teaching her for a couple months. Sister Mauer and I were also able to teach some great people.
A few days ago we were trying to figure out how we could best use our time. We ended up having some appointments fall through and we didn't know where we needed to go We offered a prayer and felt impressed to go see some potentials we hadn't seen in awhile. I wanted to go see a man named Walter and a 17 year old named Ashton.
I was planning on seeing Walter first but on our way I felt that we should got to Ashton's. She lives in an apartment complex and we when we went to see her she wasn't there. I knew we didn't get sent there for no reason and as we were driving away we saw a woman on her porch smoking. we pulled over to talked to her and she allowed us to share more with her. She wasn't too interested at first but once we began to talk to her about how our families can be together forever and how the fullness of the gospel has been restored through a modern day prophet she opened up, and she wants to continue learning more.
I've been trying to focus on teaching more effectively and that includes following the impressions that I receive from the Spirit in every aspect of my life. It's been difficult but I feel a lot better. I'm learning the difference between teaching with authority and teaching with power. As missionaries we are given the authority but the power comes when we work for it.
The Spirit of the Lord is sensitive and he can depart from us even if we do something as simple as thinking and dwelling upon an unkind thought. It truly is the baptism of "fire" that purifies us and helps us to do away with evil things and become more like our Savior.
"...lay hold upon every good thing and condemn it not..." (Moroni 7:19)
Love you guys,
Sister Green
Another great week here in San Marcos. Sister Mauer and I are really enjoying working together and sharing the gospel. We had a Zone Meeting this past week with the eight companionship's of missionaries in the Zone. Sister Mauer and I are the only Sisters. Our Zone Leaders Elder Murphy and Elder Riley gave us all an Atonement talk last P-Day and asked us to study it throughout the week until our Meeting on Friday. The talk was titled "Atonement: All for All" and it talked about how our Savior gave "all" He had and how we need to give "all" we have if we want to return to our Heavenly Father. It's really helped me to refocus again and has given me a desire to work harder. The General Authority that gave the talk (I can't remember his name) spoke about how we can become like our Savior and achieve eternal life but only if there is nothing we want more.
Sister Mauer and I have been really excited to go our and find and we've been blessed. we received a referral from our bishop and he told us he'd gotten a call from a member in Utah (a mother) who wanted the missionaries to stop by to see her less- active son. We were given phone numbers to call and we ended up talking to this sons girlfriend who is interested in learning about the gospel. She invited us over to their house for dinner and a lesson Saturday evening.
She expressed her desires to learn more about her purpose in life was and what she needed to be doing here. We shared the restoration and watched the DVD with them. We talked to them about the BofM and left her a chapter with questions to help her as she read. She later told us that when we handed her the BofM the first thought that came to her mind was "Okay, now I can start my life". We invited them to church and they both came.
Miracles are occurring. Peter Wood is also doing great and He has gone a full 24 hours without smoking. Ginger Griggs came to church for the first time yesterday and we've been teaching her for a couple months. Sister Mauer and I were also able to teach some great people.
A few days ago we were trying to figure out how we could best use our time. We ended up having some appointments fall through and we didn't know where we needed to go We offered a prayer and felt impressed to go see some potentials we hadn't seen in awhile. I wanted to go see a man named Walter and a 17 year old named Ashton.
I was planning on seeing Walter first but on our way I felt that we should got to Ashton's. She lives in an apartment complex and we when we went to see her she wasn't there. I knew we didn't get sent there for no reason and as we were driving away we saw a woman on her porch smoking. we pulled over to talked to her and she allowed us to share more with her. She wasn't too interested at first but once we began to talk to her about how our families can be together forever and how the fullness of the gospel has been restored through a modern day prophet she opened up, and she wants to continue learning more.
I've been trying to focus on teaching more effectively and that includes following the impressions that I receive from the Spirit in every aspect of my life. It's been difficult but I feel a lot better. I'm learning the difference between teaching with authority and teaching with power. As missionaries we are given the authority but the power comes when we work for it.
The Spirit of the Lord is sensitive and he can depart from us even if we do something as simple as thinking and dwelling upon an unkind thought. It truly is the baptism of "fire" that purifies us and helps us to do away with evil things and become more like our Savior.
"...lay hold upon every good thing and condemn it not..." (Moroni 7:19)
Love you guys,
Sister Green
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
08/09/10
Hello,
Transfer week was great. My new companion is Sister Mauer. She's from Carson City Nevada and she's been out a little over six months. Things have gone well so far and we're excited for another transfer. At transfer meeting this Thursday the Assistants testified of the inspired placement of each of us in our areas. This was President Jones' first transfer cycle and he sought diligently to do the Lord's will concerning each of us. It's been comforting and reassuring to work with Sister Mauer these past few days and to have the Spirit testify to me that the Lord is guiding our leaders and will guide us in our companionship as well.
This week we've been blessed to recognize and understand moments where the power of the Atonement was in effect. We're teaching a woman named Nicole who the Elders found a couple weeks ago. She lives in the same apartment complex that they do and she told us that the night before she met the Elders, she had been praying for the Lord's help in her life. When the Elders saw her the next day, she listened, and she was willing to act.
I've been impressed with the ability some people have to forsake a lifetime of bad habits when they learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm learning the importance of fully submitting our will to Heavenly Father so that we can fully receive and take part in the blessings of the Atonement. Our Savior gave His all and He asks us to give all we can in return, promising us that He will make up the difference.
This is a lesson I struggle with but being around people who are literally thirsting for knowledge, pure love, truth, forgiveness, and many other things we can receive from our Savior; I've been inspired to work and be better.
One of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon is 2 Nephi 26:24..."He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.
I love you all,
Sister Green
Transfer week was great. My new companion is Sister Mauer. She's from Carson City Nevada and she's been out a little over six months. Things have gone well so far and we're excited for another transfer. At transfer meeting this Thursday the Assistants testified of the inspired placement of each of us in our areas. This was President Jones' first transfer cycle and he sought diligently to do the Lord's will concerning each of us. It's been comforting and reassuring to work with Sister Mauer these past few days and to have the Spirit testify to me that the Lord is guiding our leaders and will guide us in our companionship as well.
This week we've been blessed to recognize and understand moments where the power of the Atonement was in effect. We're teaching a woman named Nicole who the Elders found a couple weeks ago. She lives in the same apartment complex that they do and she told us that the night before she met the Elders, she had been praying for the Lord's help in her life. When the Elders saw her the next day, she listened, and she was willing to act.
I've been impressed with the ability some people have to forsake a lifetime of bad habits when they learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm learning the importance of fully submitting our will to Heavenly Father so that we can fully receive and take part in the blessings of the Atonement. Our Savior gave His all and He asks us to give all we can in return, promising us that He will make up the difference.
This is a lesson I struggle with but being around people who are literally thirsting for knowledge, pure love, truth, forgiveness, and many other things we can receive from our Savior; I've been inspired to work and be better.
One of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon is 2 Nephi 26:24..."He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.
I love you all,
Sister Green
08/03/10
Hello Family,
Transfer week has arrived again and we received our calls last night. Sister Christensen is leaving and I will be staying here for at least another transfer. We'll find out who our new companions are this Thursday. We ended the transfer well and this past week we've seen many miracles.
One came this Friday. We were in a neighborhood trying to contact a few people but no one answered. We saw a man on his phone and we went to go talk to him. I usually am a little apprehensive about talking to people who are on the phone because most people don't like it, but we've been desperately looking for people to teach and nothing happens in missionary work until we find someone.
When we walked up he immediately told the person he was on the phone with that he had to let them go and then he allowed us to introduce ourselves. He told us his name was Peter and that he'd been taught by the missionaries a few years ago in San Antonio but they didn't move forward, because he couldn't stop smoking. He's a truck driver and is on the road a lot. He has a lot of time to think and he told us he knows he needs to change and wants to start learning about the church again and stop smoking.
We prayed and shared a brief restoration and talked about some of the things he remembered from when the Elders were teaching him. We invited him out to church and he seemed really excited to come. We planned to give him a call Saturday night to remind him but our night was full and it slipped our minds. After our PEC Meeting on Sunday we called him and he said he was on his way out the door. He showed up about fifteen minutes before church started and he loved it! We'd planned to meet up with him again this week and later that afternoon he left Sister Christensen and I a message thanking us for finding and inviting him to come out to church. It was great.
As you all know it was fast and testimony meeting this week and I always get a little nervous to have investigators there but it was a really spiritual meeting. I felt Saturday night that I should share my testimony (which is something I'd never done) and I felt that I should talk about the Atonement. When the meeting started my heart was pounding and it went even faster when it was time to share our testimonies. One of the Elders went to share his testimony and he spoke about the Atonement. His companion who is going home this week also went and talked about the Atonement. The Spirit was so overwhelming and I knew I needed to get up and talk about the Atonement too. So I did; and it was great. Sister Christensen also bore her testimony and everyone kept telling us how good it was to hear from the missionaries. I love fast and testimony meeting. I feel that I got so much more out of this one because I shared something that's been developing. It reminds me of a quote by President Monson regarding testimonies where he basically said as we share them they grow but when we don't we could lose what we have.
Another Sister in the ward shared her testimony and some of her comments are forever embedded in my mind. She told us a few nights ago she was on the phone with one of her friends and her friend asked her why she was a member of the Mormon church. She compared her desire to live the gospel to breathing and she said "If you breathe you stay alive, so why wouldn't you want to breathe?" and then she said "If you live the principles of the gospel you will have true happiness, so why wouldn't you live it"? It's simple but it made a lot of sense to me.
Later Sunday evening we attended a wedding that was for a couple the Elders found knocking a few weeks ago, they've been taking the lessons and will be baptized next week. Miracles are happening for sure in our little Zone and Mission. My testimony of the Lord preparing people to receive His gospel has been strengthened a lot this past week.
I feel like I could write forever but I'll let you go now. Thank you for your prayers and for all of your support. Have a great week.
Love you guys,
Sister Green
P.S. I attached a few pictures. The first one is with a member in my last area (Sister Alvarado) and the other two were taken on my birthday...Don't mind the crooked candles on the cake:)
Transfer week has arrived again and we received our calls last night. Sister Christensen is leaving and I will be staying here for at least another transfer. We'll find out who our new companions are this Thursday. We ended the transfer well and this past week we've seen many miracles.
One came this Friday. We were in a neighborhood trying to contact a few people but no one answered. We saw a man on his phone and we went to go talk to him. I usually am a little apprehensive about talking to people who are on the phone because most people don't like it, but we've been desperately looking for people to teach and nothing happens in missionary work until we find someone.
When we walked up he immediately told the person he was on the phone with that he had to let them go and then he allowed us to introduce ourselves. He told us his name was Peter and that he'd been taught by the missionaries a few years ago in San Antonio but they didn't move forward, because he couldn't stop smoking. He's a truck driver and is on the road a lot. He has a lot of time to think and he told us he knows he needs to change and wants to start learning about the church again and stop smoking.
We prayed and shared a brief restoration and talked about some of the things he remembered from when the Elders were teaching him. We invited him out to church and he seemed really excited to come. We planned to give him a call Saturday night to remind him but our night was full and it slipped our minds. After our PEC Meeting on Sunday we called him and he said he was on his way out the door. He showed up about fifteen minutes before church started and he loved it! We'd planned to meet up with him again this week and later that afternoon he left Sister Christensen and I a message thanking us for finding and inviting him to come out to church. It was great.
As you all know it was fast and testimony meeting this week and I always get a little nervous to have investigators there but it was a really spiritual meeting. I felt Saturday night that I should share my testimony (which is something I'd never done) and I felt that I should talk about the Atonement. When the meeting started my heart was pounding and it went even faster when it was time to share our testimonies. One of the Elders went to share his testimony and he spoke about the Atonement. His companion who is going home this week also went and talked about the Atonement. The Spirit was so overwhelming and I knew I needed to get up and talk about the Atonement too. So I did; and it was great. Sister Christensen also bore her testimony and everyone kept telling us how good it was to hear from the missionaries. I love fast and testimony meeting. I feel that I got so much more out of this one because I shared something that's been developing. It reminds me of a quote by President Monson regarding testimonies where he basically said as we share them they grow but when we don't we could lose what we have.
Another Sister in the ward shared her testimony and some of her comments are forever embedded in my mind. She told us a few nights ago she was on the phone with one of her friends and her friend asked her why she was a member of the Mormon church. She compared her desire to live the gospel to breathing and she said "If you breathe you stay alive, so why wouldn't you want to breathe?" and then she said "If you live the principles of the gospel you will have true happiness, so why wouldn't you live it"? It's simple but it made a lot of sense to me.
Later Sunday evening we attended a wedding that was for a couple the Elders found knocking a few weeks ago, they've been taking the lessons and will be baptized next week. Miracles are happening for sure in our little Zone and Mission. My testimony of the Lord preparing people to receive His gospel has been strengthened a lot this past week.
I feel like I could write forever but I'll let you go now. Thank you for your prayers and for all of your support. Have a great week.
Love you guys,
Sister Green
P.S. I attached a few pictures. The first one is with a member in my last area (Sister Alvarado) and the other two were taken on my birthday...Don't mind the crooked candles on the cake:)
Monday, August 2, 2010
07/26/10
Wow,
Today has been a really great day so far. I feel very loved. I opened my e-mail this afternoon to tons of letters from all of you; my loved ones. Thank you for your support. It feels good.
This week has also gone well. Some of the investigators we've been teaching are slipping a little bit and it's been difficult to help them progress. Halfway during the week I got a little discouraged feeling that we were not fulfilling our purpose and I started to change my prayers. I wanted to do good and help someone so I told Heavenly Father I knew He could help us find people that would receive us, and I tried to focus more when we were out tracting.
One morning Sister Christensen and I walked to a trailer park close to our apartment complex. We'd knocked a little of it before but there were still some parts we hadn't touched. To start no one was too interested and some people who saw us coming went inside because they didn't want to talk to us....Good thing we were "knocking doors", we got to talk to them anyway:) On our way we started to pass a car that was parked next to a trailer. I glanced over as we walked by and saw a man sitting in the driver's seat. The window was partially rolled down so I went up to him and said hello. We began to talk to him and he told us he had a friend in high school who was a member and he would ask him questions all the time. He's now in his thirty's I believe and he hadn't heard anything about the church since.
We told him a little about the gospel and he opened up and asked us the famous question "If there truly is a God, then why does He allow bad things to happen"? He told us about some of the problems he was having in his family and he felt that no matter how hard he tried to keep them close it seemed like nothing worked. We told him about how God has called another prophet on the earth to help us with the different things we are going through today and also to help us know how we can strengthen our family relationships.
We gave him a pamphlet and The Family Proclamation and he told us it was comforting to hear something good. I'm grateful that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers. I love sharing the gospel. I love being an instrument in the Lord's hands in helping others experience true joy.Since that day Sister Christensen and I have had several more experiences throughout the week where we've been led to people who were willing to listen. It's been great.
Thank you all again for remembering me. Have a great week:)
I love you guys,
Sister Green
Today has been a really great day so far. I feel very loved. I opened my e-mail this afternoon to tons of letters from all of you; my loved ones. Thank you for your support. It feels good.
This week has also gone well. Some of the investigators we've been teaching are slipping a little bit and it's been difficult to help them progress. Halfway during the week I got a little discouraged feeling that we were not fulfilling our purpose and I started to change my prayers. I wanted to do good and help someone so I told Heavenly Father I knew He could help us find people that would receive us, and I tried to focus more when we were out tracting.
One morning Sister Christensen and I walked to a trailer park close to our apartment complex. We'd knocked a little of it before but there were still some parts we hadn't touched. To start no one was too interested and some people who saw us coming went inside because they didn't want to talk to us....Good thing we were "knocking doors", we got to talk to them anyway:) On our way we started to pass a car that was parked next to a trailer. I glanced over as we walked by and saw a man sitting in the driver's seat. The window was partially rolled down so I went up to him and said hello. We began to talk to him and he told us he had a friend in high school who was a member and he would ask him questions all the time. He's now in his thirty's I believe and he hadn't heard anything about the church since.
We told him a little about the gospel and he opened up and asked us the famous question "If there truly is a God, then why does He allow bad things to happen"? He told us about some of the problems he was having in his family and he felt that no matter how hard he tried to keep them close it seemed like nothing worked. We told him about how God has called another prophet on the earth to help us with the different things we are going through today and also to help us know how we can strengthen our family relationships.
We gave him a pamphlet and The Family Proclamation and he told us it was comforting to hear something good. I'm grateful that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers. I love sharing the gospel. I love being an instrument in the Lord's hands in helping others experience true joy.Since that day Sister Christensen and I have had several more experiences throughout the week where we've been led to people who were willing to listen. It's been great.
Thank you all again for remembering me. Have a great week:)
I love you guys,
Sister Green
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