I'm grateful for a WONDERFUL FAMILY!
That's you. I really am. I love you all very much. Being a missionary is incredible and hard. And I am so grateful to have your love and support through every moment.
This week was pretty good. Still sick but not hugely so. I can't stay warm which isn't good. Mom, I have my cute grey pea coat that is probably fine. I'm debating on whether or not I want it sent to me. I'm thinking yes....hopefully it can smush into a small box and not cost too much. Right now I mostly have an icky chest cough that comes very sporadically. Boo hoo.
Yesterday we had a zone conference! It was pretty great. And Sunday Elder Clayton was at our sacrament meeting which was pretty great also. Hna Merrill was asked to sing at the last moment (that morning in ward council) and she did a great job. She sang "Bella Sion" which is one she sings well and often for me :) For the Christmas program she will sing "This is the Christ". She just used it to 'tryout' and demonstrate her ability for the directors but they liked it lots and said they'd use it. Pretty neat. Quite a few people are excited about the program. I announced it again in RS because they were talking about Hna M's incredible ability. Hurray. They are excited now too.
Elder Clayton's visit was pretty great. Hna M and I both noticed the eyes. That is what sets apart the general authorities. I noticed it in him and in Elder Zwick. A purity and brillancy is one way to describe them. Well, it's just neat. And the San Diego temple president and his wife attended and spoke as well. Pres Olson continues to say "The temple is true." And it is! He talked of how it was the crowning revelation in the Restoration. So fabulous. Mum and JJ - how was your visit to the temple? When are you going back?! Go again soon for me :)
As for Thanksgiving - we will be dining with the Atempa family. Hurray! They are pretty great. Hna M plans to make some banana chocolate chip muffins today to take as our contribution. And we've actually already had 3 turkey dinners. These past 3 days. One at the fun ward party on Sat. One with Hna Enciso (leftover turkey from Sat. party actually) and one lunch yesterday from the Stake RS presidency at zone conference. Each was a little different. And delicious. Also, we thought it would be hard to have lessons on Thurs but it is actually looking really good. Hurray!
Some of our investigators are doing quite well. Hno Montiel is planning to be interviewed this weekend so he can be baptized next weekend. Woo hoo! (He's the ice cream man). We met his son at the Sat. activity and he is pretty great. The son and granddaughter were baptized in May. The daughter-in-law and grandson are waiting until the grandson's eighth birthday next June. We've had some neat visits with Hno Montiel and Familia Enciso. I love when everyone can work together to learn and teach about the gospel. Last night the FHE was about The Book of Mormon.
In zone conference yesterday we talked about the importance of planning by the spirit. It makes a huge difference in the results we have. So now we get to work on applying these teachings. We keep talking of how this is a lifelong skill and we will be so much more productive if we learn it well now. What a blessing to serve a mission! It was great to get some hugs from Sis. Cook. I told her she reminds me of you, Mum. And it's true. Similar hairstyles, kind of, and facial features. It makes me happy :) And Pres. Cook didn't serve in JJ's same mission. Like Dad said it was a while ago and so it was a much larger mission - Mexico West. We received a little more info about how we can improve our Spanish. We speak it all the time now unless we have to use English. We are working to be even better so we can double the number of baptisms in our mission!! At zone conference I saw 2 elders with whom I served in Mission Viejo and that was pretty exciting. I still haven't heard anything about Hna Zehuancatl's baptism. I asked Pres. but he didn't attend that one. I'll keep waiting for letters. And yes Mum they forward the letters to us after they arrive at the mission office. It takes about 2 days more to receive them. I received a letter from Lacy so thanks for passing the message to her through Facebook.
What other great things happened this week? Oh! We found a less-active family that we met our very first night here and have looked for a few times and couldn't find. Hurray. They are pretty great. We sang Joseph's First Vision and the mom shared how she loves that song and it reminds her of first learning of the truth. FHE next week. (Have I mentioned that we love FHE?) We had a great FHE last night with Hno Lule and Hna Aguilar and Desteny. We taught the lesson of the Restoration again. Hna Aguilar shared her testimony and Desteny her knowledge. She is smart. It is great to be part of spiritual growth with wonderful people.
Hna Mercado invited her son to the Sat. evening activity and he attended. It was pretty great! We feel with time that he will gladly accept the gospel message as well. He and his wife are super nice and receive us well in their home (Hna Mercado lives with them). It was exciting to have him inside the church with members. Hna Mercado is still pretty fabulous. She loves us and we love her. We're still working to make the Christmas baptism but it should be fine. And what fun! A baptism on Christmas. tehe.
The green tea kitkats were interesting. I thought they were normal with different packaging. I was very surprised to have a different flavor in my mouth :) I haven't asked Hna M's opinion. Don't know if she's tried them yet. I'm pretty sure I wrote Aunt Theo last week or the week before. I'll check again today. I hope you have a great turkey dinner with her! Hehe. She is just fabulous.
It seems crazy to me that I have been in the mission for quite some time. I've already had a Thanksgiving out here. I feel like I have so much more to learn and improve before I can be done. Guess I'd better get crankin' :D
Hey guess what -- I'm grateful for my wonderful family!! I love you all very much. Keep being obedient to the gospel because that, with the Atonement, is how we will receive eternal life and live happily together as a family forever. What greater wish could we have?!
I love you. I know God is our Father and watches over and cares for us. I know Jesus Christ lives and is our advocate with the Father. I am grateful to continually study about the Atonement to better understand it and be happier. I love you all! Take care. (And be awesome member missionaries!)
Love,
Hermana Green
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