Once again I am posting a massive update. Busy summer kept me away from my computer. Sister Greenwood is doing great and experiencing a lot of amazing things. Thank you to all of you who encourage her, support her, email, write, send gifts, etc. She loves you all. Enjoy :)
July 21
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Sister F is amazing. We have grown so close and work so
hard. There will be a baptism this Saturday for the most elect young man we've
ever taught. I'm so excited to send you his picture and story next week. Also,
there is a trainee who will be getting baptized August 2nd after he graduates
BMT. Finding, teaching, and baptizing future fathers is so important. Worthy
priesthood holders are the most important thing for families to stay active and
go to the temple. Oh! We will find out about transfers August 3rd. Sister I
goes home that week! Crazy! Grandma sent us a party box for Sister F's birthday
on Friday. It was so cute! She loved it a lot.
Sister F and I went on exchanges this past week with the
Sister Training Leader Leaders (STLLs) from Austin, TX. They are spiritual,
amazing, Christ like examples. They teach with the power and authority of their
calling. I went with Hermana (she's Spanish speaking called) C. She goes home
the same time as Sister F in October. I learned so much from the half day
exchanges we had. I learned how to be more family focused in finding. The role
of the father is of divine design. The role of the mother is also eternally
important. The last house we went to (trying to visit a less active member) a
father answered holding one of his children. He had just moved in and had no
idea who the person was we were looking for. We explained who we were and asked
if we could share a message about how his family could be together forever
because Jesus Christ restored His church to the earth. He said yes. Right on
his door step, Hermana C and I shared the Restoration of the gospel. We
testified how important the priesthood is and how he could have that priesthood
to lead his family. We asked if we would want that for his family. "Yes,"
he said, "I need it." The spirit was so strong. Yes, he does need it.
The salvation of his family depends on it. That father will learn, teach his
family, be baptized, and receive the priesthood of God to raise his family.
AH-MAZING. The Elders that get to teach him are so blessed!
I love it here. This is where I'm supposed to be right now.
Love you so much!!!!!!!!
Sister Greenwood
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxox
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| On exchanges |
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| Sister F's birthday box Mal's grandma sent. How fun! |
July 28
Hola mi familia!
It got up to like 100 somethin' degrees. Humidity is so
weird but it doesn't bother me much. On Saturday we biked like 15 miles total.
It was CRAZY! But so fun and we have some good laughs. I'm so happy you
dedicated every Wednesday! That's going to help the Lord's work so much. We
have members that do things like that and I can't even describe how much of a
blessing it isThere's a girl in our singles branch doing a mini mission. Look
into that for Audrey and Robert if there are any because that's extremely
awesome.
Saturday July 26th, 2014. The baptism of S! At the very end
of June, Sister F and I were riding our bikes trying to visit people. Nothing.
Nobody. It was hot and we were starting up a hill. We made it a goal that day
to talk with everyone. S was one of them. Sister F felt prompted to talk to
him. Turns out, he was atheist until he was 16 years old. When he wanted to
find the love of God he started going to a Protestant church. He told us
something was always missing. We testified that this is what's missing. He
asked for a card so we have him a pass along card with our number on it. He
ended up calling the pass along card number and talked to Temple Square Sister
missionaries for an hour. The Elders in our area got the media referral. They
called him and S said he talked to two Mormon girls on bikes. They gave us his
number and we called to set up a time to meet. The first lesson with S was
amazing. And every lesson after that. It always felt like he was teaching us.
He has a strong faith in Christ and knows that this is Christ's church on the
earth again. He's so funny and a great kid. He attends the YSA branch and is
even thinking about a mission. He's got a year to think about it but he's so
faithful and strong. His parents are very supportive and very sweet people. S
was a huge blessing and answer to my prayers. The Lord can do anything. S was
taught and baptized in the course of a month. He was so ready and will be
receiving the priesthood next Sunday. I cannot write accurately how joyful I
feel. He's such a special kid and Heavenly Father loves him so much. The Lord
is preparing people. The Lord is hastening His work. The Lord hears and answers
prayers. The Lord loves each of us. I'm so grateful to be working on His time,
in His way, and by His Spirit.
I love you so much!!!!!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Sister Malary Greenwood
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| Alamo |
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| Another Baptism. Malary loves this young man and is inspired by him. |
Aug 4
Hola familia!
Transfer calls came last night. Sister F is going to be
leaving!! She's going to be a Sister Training Leader in Austin. She's going to
be a great leader and I'm so excited for her. And Sister Greenwood? Drum roll
please................Staying!! There are going to be big changes in the
mission. We are both so excited for transfer meeting Thursday. Lots of sisters
are coming in and the mini mission young men and young women will be there.
They live the missionary life for one week. My area here, Palo Alto, won't be
covering the air force base any more. Our Sundays conflict times. One of the
wards here just split because it was so big so the new missionaries that they
will be getting will probably cover base. I'm so grateful and blessed to have
served on base. I had amazing experiences and felt the Spirit so much. One of
the first things I asked one of the Assistant to the President Elders when I
got to Texas was if there was a military base in the mission. Come to find out
that's where they placed me first. The Lord's hand is in it all. The priesthood
of Jesus Christ is on the earth again. The power is real. Jesus Christ is my
Savior. God answers prayers. My testimony is growing firmer and firmer every
day. I'm so thankful for the prayers on my behalf and for all of the other hard
working missionaries in the world. I love yall so much.
Sister Greenwood
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| On exchanges with Sis B |
Aug 11
Hello Momma,
Sounds like everything is great! The summer went by fast.
Back to school, huh? That was so fast. I'm so grateful for seminary. They will
be too! I'm doing amazing. Texas is great and so is the Lord's work. Brother
and Sister E mailed me the sweetest note with $20. Tell them thank you if you
see them. I'm going to write them back today. Tell the Peterson's hi! I want to
know what stake/ward they are in. My mission president's wife is so amazing.
Every time she speaks to us you know you're going to learn something and hear
an amazing story from her life. I can't believe Sister I is home. It goes by so
fast. I miss your goat cheese. So amazing. Eat extra for me! The sisters love
the pictures I have of our family. Especially with the goats. Tell daddy hi and
I love him too. I pray for yall lots I miss all of you lots, but this is going
by so fast. I'm trying to do all that I can here. Leave it all on the field.
My new companion is Sister R. She will be 23 in a few weeks
and she's been out eight months. Sister R is an incredible teacher, and I have
so much to learn from her. The Lord really places companions at the right time
for the perfect reasons. There is more exciting news! There are two sisters
living with us now! They are the Valley Hi Sisters, Sister J and Sister E. They
are opening up the area (starting from scratch) and they cover base. Yesterday
I showed them the ropes of base. It was so fun. They are going to see so many
miracles like I did. We have all four beds in our living room. It's cozy, but
it's so fun. It's crazy to going from sharing a room with Audrey to now four of
us in an apartment. But the boys trained me for sharing a bathroom.
Another amazing thing happened on Sunday! (Ok, all the
Lord's work is amazing and I love every second but anyways) S, the recent
convert, said opening prayer in sacrament meeting. My heart swelled with joy to
hear his prayer, see his conversion, and feel his love for the restored gospel.
He was nervous but he did an awesome job. It reminds me of what I was reading
this morning in personal study.
I was reading in Alma 26 where Ammon is boasting in the Lord
reviewing his mission. Verse 27 pierced my heart: "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." I haven't been depressed
to the point of turning back. I always turn to the Lord. Sometimes we have to
turn away from a door, but we move forward turning in the direction the Lord
steers us.
They went out on their missions just hoping to be the means
of saving "some soul." Thinking maybe there's one person. But as the
Lord leads us to the one, or the one to us, we can keep moving. We can keep
finding, teaching and baptizing because the Lord knows who's ready. The Lord
knows His sheep. It's truly something that I've learned. The Lord knew where S,
led us to him, and now he's brought to sing the song of redeeming love.
That "some soul" is a child of God. My brother or
sister. S is a candidate for the celestial kingdom. How many more souls will be
led to him for the restored gospel? Led to us? God's love is real. I'm so
grateful to be in the Texas San Antonio Mission. There's nowhere else I'd
rather be right now. I'm so grateful for your prayers and love and support. The
more I'm out here, the more my love grows for y'all. It's exciting times!
Love Always,
Sister Malary Greenwood
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| Sister Missionary library selfie! |
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| Wonderful friends of Mal's that fed them a wonderful dinner. I am very grateful for people such as these. |
8-18-14
Sister R is amazing. I picked a motto for her that a general
authority said. "A true hero fights against his natural self." She
has an amazing life story. She has lots of health issues but she works as hard
as she can every day. She said something that touched me. She said that when
she's not feeling good it's not just her mission, it's her companion's mission
too. I love her. The Lord's work moves forward with or without us. It's
amazing. I'm so blessed to see miracles every single day
Texas. Is. Awesome. The summertime is great. Once you're out working in the hot and humid,
you get used to it. It doesn't bother me much. Even when it's like you are
living underwater and can drink the air. But we have had amazingly beautiful
days. In fact, Sister R and I were on exchanges Tuesday and I was with our
Sister Training Leader (STL) Sister T. She is an amazing sister missionary. We
rode bikes ALL day. We got caught in this huge rainstorm. We were soaked head
to toe. This lady saw us and called to us from her porch. She said get over
here! She brought us towels, lemonade, and water and told us to sit and wait
for the rain to let up. She was so sweet! We talked to her for a little bit
about the church before she had to go in and get ready for work. Pretty shortly
the rain let up and little and we rolled out. There were huge rivers in the
street. Some we didn't realized how deep they were...Then going down a bank of
mud my bike got stuck. Let's just say I got mud everywhere. My shoes had a nice
cleansing in the washing machine when I got home. It was awesome. I loved every
second of biking that day. We met so many people prepared to hear the message
of the restoration.
We also met an old man who is less active member and his
niece is in our ysa branch. He kept telling us he's a terrible person and has
made too many mistakes. He has read the Book of Mormon over and over. He owns a
food truck and sits at a park all day. He said all his life he's wanted to own
a store. But he said he's made stupid decisions and never had the money. He
bought a food truck and one day at the park a little boy jumped into his truck
and the mom said, "Get out of that man's store!" He was SO happy! The
Lord blesses us in ways so amazingly and sometimes we don't even recognize it.
The Lord knows are heart's desires. When we walked up he was sittin' on his
chair reading the general conference magazine. It was the greatest experience
talking to him and his niece. He feels likes he's gone too far for Heavenly
Father to forgive him. But his one goal is to see the inside of a temple. The
Spirit was so strong in that short lesson as we testified of the Savior's
Atonement and the love Heavenly Father has for him. He has a very strong
testimony. He said he was proud because his Book of Mormon was getting really
worn from reading it so much and a few days previous someone stole it from his
spot. I guess that person needed it more, but we gave him a new Book of Mormon
and he was so happy. His niece had the impression to visit him. She is so
faithful and just longs for her family to be active. Heavenly Father sees her
righteous desires too and blesses her for it. It's just all true daddy!
Sister Greenwood
xoxoOxXoXoxox
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| Sister Greenwood and Sister T heading out on bikes |
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| Sister Missionaries! |
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| Drying out after being stuck in a rain storm. I am very grateful for the sweet lady that called these sisters off the street, out of the rain , and onto her porch. This kind lady that they didn't know sheltered them, fed them, and gave them towels to dry off with. What a special lady. |
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| Pday after a volleyball game |
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| Mal said these are the sweetest people ever, and she loves them. |
Aug 25
Texas is beautiful. Even in this summer. Sometimes the skies
are just like Toy Story skies with the puffy white clouds scattered everywhere.
It's beautiful. Sunsets and sunrises are gorgeous here too. I can't believe
seminary started! School started for everyone here in San Antonio too. I got
Frank’s postcard and all the Sisters thought it was the cutest thing ever after
I read it to them. Frank's going to have to swat the Sister missionaries away! Sister
R is great. Her sister is actually getting married this weekend to a return
missionary from this mission! Sister R has an amazing story about deciding to
serve a mission. She works hard every day. What Brian said makes me so happy. (Brian said his sister was his
hero because she is serving a mission) One reason I'm serving a mission
is because I want all my brothers and sister to serve. It's the most amazing
time. This week has been full of tender mercies. Well every week always
is...But it seemed when we were reaching the last floor while tracking and when
appointment fell through, there was always someone the Lord steered us too. We
taught people we didn't plan for or even knew about. The Lord steers His
missionaries to His children at the right time and right place. I will always
love these people in Texas; those I serve or who serve with me. 1 Corinthians
2:1-5 describes it. Let go of your weakness, doubts, and feelings of
inadequacy. Fear God more than man. Faith and trust in God's promises. The
Spirit is promised to fill our mouths as we open them to declare the gospel. I
love you so much.
Sister Greenwood
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| Grandma Needham strikes again! They loved their purses with the hand sanitizers. Thanks Grandma!! |
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