Skyping At Christmas

Hello everyone! 

It was the first Christmas away from family and friends but I still had a great time. The members took good care of us! They even trust us enough to house sit after they opened all their toys on Christmas morning. ha ha. (Home Alone Missionary Edition.) Nerf wars, pillow fights, sports and all sorts of things happened while they were gone visiting family. It was amazing to Skype my family too. I wish I was able to talk to more of ya'll though...

The work was really slow this week. I've been fighting a nasty cold for over a week now and I've been unable to smack some doors. Now that I have my strength back, this week will be very exciting! We have a lot of new potential investigators to meet with, along with our most progressing investigator Daphne! Remember her!? Apparently her and her boyfriend aren't engaged anymore. What she told us exactly was "jealousy is very unattractive." I dont know a whole lot about what happened but all that matters is that she came to church this last Sunday for the first time and she loved it! She told us she would definitely be coming back and we are planning on meeting with her (Not the sisters anymore) this Wednesday. Bro Alexander will also be there. She loves him and used to work with him at the post office. We are planning on setting a baptismal date with her as well for some time in January! Hopefully her two younger kids will accept the invitation to be baptized also! 

I'm so glad for the Christmas season and the chance to focus on our Savior Jesus Christ and his birth. Its been great to preach His holy name and invite others to come unto him this Christmas. I'm grateful for His eternal sacrifice, the suffering He did for my personal sins. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to feel of his love and forgiveness in my life and the rejuvenating feeling he gives me to push forward with faith and happiness. He will always be a great part of my life and I couldn't make it out here if it wasn't for him. Thank you also to those that have loved and supported me this Christmas season. I know I don't thank you enough! I am eternally grateful.

Love ya'll so much!

Elder Greenlaw

Elder Greenlaw got an elf hat from his companion's mom. He wore it all Christmas. 

Elder Greenlaw and Elder J. Johnson. Missionary elves! 

Merry Christmas From Florida

Merry Christmas everyone!

It's finally here! We have some great plans for Christmas, We are going over to Taylor"s house for Christmas Eve, then the Wheeler's house for Christmas morning to Skype. We then have plans to go see many awesome families throughout the day. 

Sadly not much has happened this last week. We had multiple progressing investigators drop us. We also had to pass along Daphne to the sisters. Apparently there was some jealousy coming from her fiance. I hope he's not the reason for Daphne not joining the church. She is so wonderful and would make a great addition to the ward but with this guy, I don't know if it will happen. We shall see I guess.

I had the opportunity to go on a couple trade offs with some other missionaries this week. One being Elder Jenkins. You remember him? He was my trainer back in the day. We were reunited and I got to do some work here in Fleming Island with him. It was a lot of fun! We get along so well now. It's not like we didn't get along during our training together, but now after we've had other companions we realize how much we love each other! 

The past few days I haven't been able to do much. I came down with the cold/flu. Completely out of nowhere! I've been trying to sleep a lot and take a lot of meds, hoping to be well enough for Christmas.

I'm super excited to Skype my family. I do wish that I could talk to many of you too. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas. I'm jealous of how much snow y'all have been getting. It's just not the same here with 80 degree weather and being flat as a pancake.

Til next time... Merry Christmas! 

Elder Greenlaw

Spending the Holidays in Florida

Christmas in the South!

Elder Greenlaw and Elder J. Johnson

Hey Ya'll, Merry Christmas! 

Elder Greenlaw doing the 12 Ways of Christmas his family sent him. 

Christmas Baptism

Hello friends and family!

This has been a spectacular week! Brannon was finally baptized!!!! There is a requirement for people to attend church three times in a row in order to get dunked but he was ready after his first Sunday. It was such a special day, it was such a spiritual experience being able to get into the font, all dressed in white, put my arm to the square, and baptize my good friend Brannon Mullins. He is such a special guy, what a character! There is never a dull moment with him.

For weeks he told me that he was afraid I was going to drop him, or better yet fall in the water with him, considering that he weighs 320 pounds. Don't worry, I was able to do it my first try. This was a special experience for both of us because I have never had the opportunity to baptize before. I will remember this for the rest of my life!

Brannon Mullins and Elder Greenlaw

Earlier this week we had the chance to do some trade-offs with the ward members. I went out with my good friend Dale Jr Taylor. He's preparing to go an a mission himself so they decided it would be a good opportunity to go out and practice. We taught three lessons and Dale stepped right in and bore powerful testimony, and even read some of his favorite scriptures. What a stud he is! I remember when I went on a few trade-offs with the Elders in my home ward, I was terrified! They knew it too! I'm glad to help him along the way. It is crazy how the youth are being prepared much earlier for their missions. I know it makes such a huge difference when you prepare by reading the Book of Mormon all the way through, looking at Preach my Gospel and going over the lesson layouts. For all those youth out there that haven't done so, start preparing now! 

Christmas is right around the corner! My companion and I are so excited. We are still strictly listening to Christmas music along with hanging up lights and decorations around the apartment. Thank y'all for thinking about me and sending me packages. Don't worry! I haven't peeked! The presents are still underneath our foot and a half tall tree. This time of year people always seem to be a little happier. We haven't had water thrown at us from out the window of a moving car in awhile, along with people flippin the bird and other things I probably shouldn't say in this post so that's good. I hope y'all have a Merry Christmas and I'll talk to y'all next week. 

Love,

Elder Greenlaw

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas in Florida

No post from our missionary this week, but we were excited to see a few holiday pictures pop up on his missionary Facebook page.

Putting up Christmas lights at a ward members home in shorts and a T-shirt.
80 Degree weather in Fleming Hills, Florida

Elder Greenlaw asking for a baptism for Chrismas. Guess what? His Christmas wish is coming true. He has an investigator getting baptized this Saturday. 

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays everyone! Here in Fleming Island Florida, the 1 1/2 foot tall Christmas tree is up along with strictly Christmas music being played in the apartment. It's fantastic.

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving! Yes, it was hard at times when I caught myself thinking about my family and the wonderful traditions we have for the holidays. The hardest part was when they had everyone in the house name off everything that they were thankful for. It was hard not to hide the tears I'll be honest. If it makes me look tougher I will add that my companion was the same way.  

First the day started with the annual Turkey Bowl in the morning. We had a good turnout with about thirty people there. It was about 40 degrees outside and everyone was bundled up except for my comp and I haha. We were dumb enough to go in just T-shirts and shorts. It was my one chance to push some people around, especially my comp. All in good fun though! The next day, I might add, my legs were so sore that I could barely walk. I'm just now getting over the pain.

We had multiple dinners, first starting with the Mullins family. Their son is the one we've been working with and is getting baptized soon. We enjoyed deep fried turkey, which oh my goodness is heavenly by the way, along with ham soaked in honey and apple sauce. We also had deviled eggs, stuffing, sweet potato muffins and every pie you can imagine! Then we stopped by the Bishop's house where he had loads of food and people there. It was great!

We had some great miracles happen this week. As we were biking on the side of the road, I ran over a construction staple which immediately popped my back tire. This was at the beginning of the day so we were pretty bummed out now that our whole day was shot because we still had an hour bike ride ahead of us to get to our destination. The spirit told me multiple times, after the trial of your faith, good things will come after the trial of your faith. So I tried my best to stay positive. After a nice walk a man in a white pick up truck pulls up to us and asks if we need a ride. He was an avid road biker who recently got a flat himself and had to walk 7 miles back to his home. So we got in his truck and were headed to Walmart to buy a new tube. As we got talking to Sam he tells us that he has many friends across the US that are Mormon. He has a Book of Mormon, and has read a little bit of it. He and his family "were" Baptist and were looking for a good church to go to! We found out that he lives 4 houses down from another investigator of ours and he told us to come back and visit anytime we want. How amazing is that! The Lord had a different plan in mind for us that day.

Another miracle happened on Sunday. Let me back up to Saturday evening as I had just about retired to bed. When I had kneeled down to pray that night I remember saying please help Brannon and Marcus get to church tomorrow, along with someone unexpectedly. I didn't really think much of what I said and later I had completely forgotten about it. Sunday comes around and both Brannon and Marcus show up for church along with an unexpected young man. He came up and shook my hand and said,  "Hello, my name is Lee, I am a non-member, I have driven from Middleburg (which is about 45 minutes from us) and I am here to learn more about your church." I was told by a friend to come here." He sat down next to us in our meetings and then he told us that he loved it and wanted to learn even more! Sadly we have to turn him over to other missionaries because he isn't in our boundaries, but I'm convinced he will get baptized soon. This is a total miracle.

Well, last week was great and I'm sure the Lord has more in store for us this week. I'll be sure to let you fill you in more later. Until next time!

Yours truly, 

Elder Greenlaw

Zone Conference With Elder Zwick and His Wife

Jacksonville South Zone Conference With Elder Zwick

 Front Row: Sisters Wallentine, Cline, Sister and President Craig, Elder and Sister Zwick, Elders Barley, Hernandez, Sisters Hurst, McCann
Second Row: Elder Walt, Sisters Shumway, Nielsen, Phelon, Blotter, Davidson, Williams, Beacham, Hale, Divis, Elders Tibbits, Cockrell
Back Row: Andrade, Lewis, Jones, Roberts, Ivins, Albertson, Jenkins, Greenlaw, Sullivan, Johnson, Smedley

Are y'all excited about Thanksgiving?

Hello everyone!

Aren't y'all excited about Thanksgiving? I know I am because we have multiple dinners planned and promised leftovers coming our way too!

Some of the highlights for this week: Brannon Mullins and his family came to church together for the first time EVER! Brannon fit in so well. If we hadn't announced to everyone that he was getting baptized on the 14th, everyone would have assumed he had been a member for years! Through his interest and now found love in the gospel, he is helping to reactive his Father who was converted about 5 years ago or so. He's an awesome guy! He used to live in California and is good friends with Led Zepplin and other famous rock stars! By the way, did I tell y'all that Brannon asked me to baptize him? I'm so excited! This is the first time ever having the opportunity! I can't wait!

We found a few new golden investigator this week whose name is Gary Gast. He has a beautiful river side property with multiple boats and a house built by himself! He's a devoted Baptist, but interested in comparing the Bible with the Book of Mormon. We also met a woman named Daphne awhile back. She is reading the Book of Mormon and said she has had the missionaries and going to church heavily on her mind. She is truly one prepared daughter of God. She has had many surgeries and sicknesses in her life that has brought her close to God. She has a wonderful family too. She loved the Lord. We felt prompted to go visit her after appointments falling through the past few weeks. She said we were an answer to her prayers as we caught her painting her garage all by herself feeling overwhelmed. So we ripped off our ties, pulled up our long sleeves and got painting! She could not believe how willing we were to serve her even in our white shirts and ties. She committed to read the Book of Mormon once more and to schedule another time to talk about the Restoration. She is such a wonderful woman, promising that she would give us Thanksgiving leftovers, sweatshirts to wear if ever cold outside, and drinks whenever were in the neighborhood.

The Lord truly is preparing his children to hear his gospel. I am so grateful to be a part of this work and to see hearts softened and lives changed by our heavenly Father.

Have a great Thanksgiving y'all! Til next time!

Wintertime in Florida.. 60 degrees!

Hello everyone! 

It's wintertime here in Florida at a whopping 60 degrees! It's freezing! ha ha. Just kidding, people look at us weird because were still riding our bikes with short sleeves when people are bundled up in long pants and hoodies! Okay fine, there was a few cold days of around 40 but still nothing compared to home in Utah.

Getting a flu shot!

This week has had its ups and downs. We had the wonderful opportunity of having a Zone Conference with President and Sister Craig. They are truly incredible! It was a glorious chance to see all of the other missionaries and to be spiritually enlightened. Spiritually exhausted I should say. After 8 hours of training and a near death experience with a needle and flu shot, there is so much to retain and to apply to our work. It reminds me of a story in 3 Nephi when Christ visits the people in America and tells them to retire to their homes after he has taught them many things. Ponder and pray about them and then visit him once more to learn the next day. Except for us as missionaries, we don't go back and learn again, we go apply what we learned in our own teaching! How great is that! 

We still have our progressing investigators Brannon Mullins and Marcus. Marcus was at church with his friends but sadly Brannon wasn't able to make it. He didn't sleep at all the night before and wasn't feeling good. We then received a text that night that he was in the ER because of some severe chest pains. We were able to go give him a blessing at the hospital. Brannon has now recognized the spirit more frequently in his life as he has been praying and reading to find out that the Book of Mormon is the Word of God. He said that he has felt at peace and found comfort in his reading. From someone considering himself being Pagan, these are leaps and bounds! His testimony of his Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ are growing tremendously. 

I'm grateful for the opportunity we have to be online missionaries. I've been teaching a few people that I met back in Gainesville. One happens to be James, a man who worked at Taco Bell when we use to go there almost everyday and get food! It's amazing how our ability to share the gospel has grown with modern technology. Let us all use these to our advantage in sharing the gospel with our friends and less active or non member family! Just a simple post of a quote or phrase might make somebodies day!

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to serve here in the Florida Jacksonville Mission, the best mission in the world. My companion and I are making the work fun and exciting and I wouldn't want to be doing anything different with my life at this time. 

Love y'all so much! Til next week!

Elder Greenlaw

Elder Greenlaw and Elder J Johnson

Greatings Earthlings,

This is captain H. Greenlaw from the Fleming Island Starfighter. We have been out 8 months now and no sign of life. But we did see a big gator scurry away into a black hole. It has been a rough flight, we have had engine failures and explosions in the undercarriage. We have searched a few abandoned ships but no sighting of elect investigators. Better luck next time Houston... 
Starfighter out.

God is Merciful

Hello family and friends!

This week God has been very merciful. It has truly been an answer to my prayers for awhile now. We found four new solid investigators this week! We've had a challenge by other zones to see how many new investigators we can get in 1 week. Its on!! 

The greatest thing that happened to us this last week was with a part member named Brannon Mullins. He's in his mid twenties and both of his parents are converts of about 5 years. Brannon isn't your typical kid, very outgoing and can be very intimidating at first. When I first walked into their home, we walked up to me with a foot long knife in his hand. Apparently this is what he does to try and "break in" all of the new missionaries. Some time passed and then we had the opportunity to go out to lunch with him. Out of the blue he asks, "So why are you serving a mission anyway?"  For a missionary, this is probably the most thrilling question you could ever be asked. Right there in Dairy Queen with little kids running around screaming and a biker gang sitting next to us, I told him my life story. I told him how I wasn't the typical "mormon kid" growing up. I was a handful! I was raised going to church every Sunday and all, but when I got into high school I wanted to rebel and have a good time! Straying from the principles taught in church and not ever having a personal relationship with my Heavenly Father. I can go on for days but I'll skip to the chase, I later came to a certain point in my life where I was not happy. I had disappointed my family, my friends, and I was alone. Forced to make a decision in my life whether to change what I was doing and find true lasting happiness, or live rebelliously and who knows where I would be right now. Luckily I made the right decision and found Christ! I had truly experienced the Atonement for the first time in my life. I came to know that I truly had a Father in Heaven who loves me and wants the best for me. If we call to him for help, he will listen. I then bore testimony that I know that God and Jesus Christ live, The Book of Mormon is true and Joseph Smith is a prophet. I challenged him to read and pray to know the truth for himself. Even in Dairy Queen, the spirit was very strong and we all felt it. I honestly can't remember everything I said to him that night because the Lord GAVE me the words to speak. Words that I never knew I had. It was an incredible experience. Since then we have met with him 4-5 times. He has finished the first book of Nephi, planning on going to church this next Sunday, which has only happened once in his life, and we are noticing a physical change in him. When the Spirit touches the heart, hearts are changed. It has truly been a remarkable experience and nothing short of a miracle. 

We have also been working with a 15 year old black kid who's name is Marcus. He's best friends with two kids in the ward and he's been coming to church with them every week for the past 4 months and he has said that he wants to hear the discussions from us. What a miracle! 

Yesterday Elder Johnson and I both received such powerful blessing from the Bishop and 1st Counselor. What inspired men they are for helping us press on in this work. Its not easy, but if it were, it wouldn't be as rewarding. I know that this is the Lord's work and he will be with us every step of the way. If we have faith and trust in him, he shall direct our paths! Proverbs 3:5-6 (The greatest scripture there is) 

Until next time,

Elder Greenlaw

Riding bikes in Florida. 

Fighting for the Lord. 

St. John's River, Florida

Loving my new area!

Hello everyone!

This week has been very good. The members here are incredible! So loving and kind and are willing to go out of their way each day to help the missionaries. There are a few families in this ward that we can call up and ask for their help whenever its needed. I've been here almost two weeks now and I feel more comfortable with the area. I have made a lot of new friends in the ward, and I would feel comfortable in leading out in the area without getting lost. Thanks to my new GPS. ;)  

This week we had a black man named Vernon that accepted baptism on November 24th! This is very exciting! Hopefully he progresses well and can start overcoming his smoking problem. From what I have seen out here so far is once a person has a spiritual experience while reading the Book of Mormon and comes to know it is true, all of their concerns and setbacks seem to wither away. Even addictions! The Lord strengthens us through our trials when we are consistently obedient with the small and simple things. He asks for us to do. 

There is still a lot of work to be done in this area. Many potentials to go see and a lot of neighborhoods that we haven't been to yet. This week we are striving to be a little more obedient, work a little harder, smack some doors and shake the bushes so we can expect to see many mighty miracles. Until next week! God Bless!

Elder Greenlaw

Loving the people of Florida

Hayden by the water

First week in Fleming Island

Hello everyone!

What a change it has been since last week I've talked to y'all. I'm now serving in Fleming Island 1st ward, and might I just say, its been VERY different from Gainesville. No college campus to go by, no more ghettos, and no more friends and families I love. I don't know a living soul out here. It's hard going from an area that you know everyone and everything about it. But in the end, change is good. My companion Elder J. Johnson is pretty sweet! We get along great! We are very different from each other that's for sure, but we both want to work hard and expect mighty miracles in this area. Missionaries have talked bad about this area and how hard it is here. The ward is very small and not very many baptisms. He is very new to this area and his last companion he hated. They got little to no work done so it feels like we are white washing this area. That means starting from scratch. We have already seen great miracles come by faith and hope for this area to BOOM! We have taught more lessons and received more new investigators this week, than they have in the last few months. We are only getting started! Next week I can't wait to tell you more. I'm very happy and very excited for the future here.

Love y'all! Have a fabulous week!

Fleming Island Florida

Elder J Johnson and Elder Greenlaw

Elder Johnson is from Spocan, Washington. Hes been out 6 months now, so only a transfer less than me and is wonderful! 

The backyard of a less active in the ward.... Jealous!!!  Also that's what I look like after riding sweaty bikes ha ha

Elder Greenlaw, Elder Jenkins, and Elder Moser

New Companions - Elder Johnson and Elder Greenlaw

Elder Johnson and Elder Greenlaw - Fleming Island Florida

Getting Transferred to Fleming Island

Hello everyone!

The day has finally come. Tomorrow I will be getting transferred to........ wait for it...... FLEMING ISLAND!! I hear this is one of the best areas in the mission! I hear my new companion is very chill and likes to work hard so I'm very excited for that. Hi name is elder J Johnson. It is such a bittersweet feeling leaving this place. I have loved serving here. I have made such great friends and taught the gospel to so many great people. White, Black, Indian, Chinese, you name it! ha ha. At the same time I need to go to a new area, have a new companion and meet new people. I struggle with some people here in this ward and the work that goes on so I'm very excited.

This past week we have been visiting a lot of members and saying goodbye to them. This has been a struggle. I've been filled with such gratitude lately and tears come to my eyes every time I think of these people because I love them so much. Gainesville has felt like my home and I've been a part of a great big family. You never fully realize what you have until it's gone. I will truly miss this place. Thank goodness for Facebook though. I will be able to keep in touch with them that way and continue to encourage them to do missionary work from a far.

Last night was the hardest. My favorite family, the Whites and the Valentines, threw a going away party. We had Filet Mignon, with Brother Whites famous mash potatoes. MMMM Sooo good! No wonder I can never lose weight in the South! As we were being dropped off at our apartment complex, their youngest boy, Henry White, started to cry when I told him I have to leave and that I will greatly miss him. That was very difficult to see. I told them that I will be back here in Gainesville to see them again after the mission. We have already planned a trip to go hunting, fishing, and boating on the Swanny River and having more fun with them. Brother Mott, I believe I told you the story of him a few weeks ago, offered to let me stay at his house when I come and visit ha ha. So I pretty much have everything planned out already. 

Next Monday I will give y'all my new address in Fleming Island. Until next time, farewell from Gainesville, Florida!

Elder Greenlaw

Doing Service together. Elder Greenlaw and Elder Anderson

Saying Goodbye to the White family

Transfers Coming Up... Most likely elder Greenlaw will leave Jacksonville

I heard from Elder Greenlaw this week, and he told me that he is getting transferred on October 16th. He has been serving in the Gainesville, Florida area for 7 1/2 months and is really excited to be going to a new place. He has loved the ward and area he has been in, but change is good. Thank you to the many families that have fed and cared for the missionaries. Elder Greenlaw has made good friends in the Gainesville 2nd ward, and will miss them very much.

Gainesville Florida Mission Zone

Teaching in Gainesville

Hello everyone!

 

I've been here in the Gainesville 2nd Ward  for about 7 months now. Call me an old timer! I have come to the point where I've been working with the same people, in the same neighborhoods, knocking the same doors. I have truly loved my first area and I will always have a sweet spot for Gainesville, but I really need to get out of here already ha ha. This last week was very difficult. 100% Finding. You can't do missionary work, until you have people to teach and we are searching high and low for some solid investigators. We are really focusing on building the foundation of Member Missionary Work in this area because there is none. We received 1 referral in the last 3 months. He ended up living in the 3rd ward area, so we handed him off to them.

 

Its wonderful being the District Leader because we have the opportunity of going on a few trade-offs throughout the week to get to know other missionaries and work in different areas. I love it!

 

One miracle that has happened over a span of 2 weeks, is with a man named Brother Mott.( I call him applesauce) One day Elder Andersen and I were having serious bike problems which forced us to postpone our plans for that day and go to Sports Authority to buy some parts. As we were doing so a man walks up to us and says... "Hello Elders! I'm a  Mormon!"  We were like, umm okay what can we do for ya ha ha. He says he's been in the marines and now been here in Gainesville for a few weeks looking for a job and also for the church! He had no idea where it was and he really wanted to make it there on Sunday. He has been less active for months but recently him and his wife, who seems to hate Christianity from past experiences, have been coming back to church! All because we had terrible bike problems one day. The Lord truly micromanages our lives without taking away our free agency. He places certain people into our paths that are in need of help and we get to sit back and watch miracles like these happen!

 

 Oh how I love missionary work. This is only 1 of hundreds of experiences I could share. This is truly the Lord's work and I could not be doing anything better with my life at this moment. Joseph Smith is a true prophet who was called of God to restore original truths that had been lost. We are now very blessed to have the fullness of his gospel in our lives today which is led by a living prophet. We have the amazing opportunity to listen to his voice this next weekend in General Conference. I swear its like Christmas for us out here on missions. Let us all go into it with a sincere heart and real intent having faith that we can receive answers to our prays. Talk to y'all next week!

 

Elder Greenlaw

Test of Patience

Hello Everyone!

 

This week went from very good, to very bad. Our most solid investigator, Charlie, was planning on getting baptized this Saturday, but he decided to go to a huge party at a castle in Tampa last weekend (basically a rave) and slipped up with the Word of Wisdom. He still made it to church on Sunday, but right after the meeting he told us that he doesn't want to get baptized anymore. This was very hard to hear. He has come such a long way since we met him. He bore a powerful testimony on fast and testimony meeting, he committed on living the law of chastity and word of wisdom, but then he got involved with his friends and now he doesn't want to make that covenant with God anymore. This has been a huge patience and faith tester for me this week. I have been submitting my will to Gods and understanding that it wasn't meant to be. He still needs some time. I cant walk away from this experience with my head down and tell myself I'm a failure. We have planted a SOLID seed in him and I know that the gospel has changed his life. One day, probably after he moves out and gets away from his friends he has now, he will be harvested by some other missionaries.

 

Sadly I have seen this in my own life, being dragged down by my friend group. I truly believe you are or will become just as those that you hang around with. Hopefully this week we can be obedient and work hard so the Lord can place an elect person into our path. I have a strong testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ. From this missionary experience, and I have come to have such a close relationship with him and my Father in Heaven. It breaks my heart when I see people use their free agency and turn away from him and his teachings, because I know how much it can bless their lives. Love you all!

 

Elder Greenlaw

Pictures of Elder Greenlaw

Celebrating 6 months out in the field

Elder Anderson, Elder Greenlaw and the White Family

Elder Greenlaw Serving in Gainesville Florida as a District Leader - Sept 2013

Elder Greenlaw's Zone in Gainesville Florida

Gainesville Florida Zone

Biking Adventures in Gainesville

Hello everyone!

What an adventurous week here in Gainesville. As y'all know we are on bikes now and oh my goodness does it suck. I've gotten use to the constant sweat all over me I think. People keep saying September is when is starts to cool down, but I haven't really seen that yet. ha ha We have had so many bike problems this week its unreal. First Elder Andersen's bike tire went flat on our way back home from the church. Which ended up being a 3 mile walk back home. It didn't help that our phone was dead so we had no way to contact anybody either. Then we get a member to take us to a bike shop to get a new tube. We later find out that to fill it up it requires a specific European made nossle. So we had to go to a different bike shop to get that. THEN, as we were riding I looked back to see where Elder Andersen was, which always seems to a ways back, and then the metal shaft holding my seat snapped in half and I tumbled to the ground. Only minor injury but that was not fun riding a bike for a day without a seat.... Feel the Burn!

My first ever District Meeting went very well surprisingly. Getting up and talking to people seems to come more natural to me now that I've been out here for 6 1/2 months. Elders say this is only the beginning of Leadership callings...

Charlie is very solid. He should be getting dunked here pretty soon. He has such a remarkable testimony and he has now come to know if the Book of Mormon is true. Of course there are other concerns he has, Word of Wisdom, Law of Chastity and such, but now that he has read the Book of Mormon, prayed to know if its true along with Joseph Smith being a prophet and received an answer, everything else is a piece of cake. We are planning on September 28th with him.

We had a miracle with a man named Craig. As we were riding bikes on the sidewalk we stopped and talked to him. We taught him a lesson right there on the side of the road and got a return appointment with him. We visited him and his whole family of six at their home and they all seem to be incredible nice and interested. We actually went to his North Central Baptist church Sunday morning hoping that he would come to ours afterwards.... but he had some last minute things come up. So lets just say he owes us a little favor sooner or later.

Being a District Leader over 14 people has really stretched me and given me great opportunity to love and serve others. I tend to focus on what my wants and needs are and so it has been really good for me to strive and overcome that.

Things within the ward are getting better. I have never had such a good relationship with our Bishop as I do now. He has asked us to go and visit every member and help them with their family mission plans. We do this and tend to find service and receive dinner for it so its going wonderful. The southern food they cook for us here is SOOO good, even on bikes I haven't lost weight yet..

God lives and knows each and everyone of us. How wonderful it is to know that we have a loving Father and friend who wants to hear about our day and wants to help us so that we can eventually become as he is, glorified and perfected. He has created a plan to do so only through our loving Savior Jesus Christ. We find lasting happiness as we strive to be like him and live his Gospel. The Book of Mormon testifies of Him and allows us to find answers to our daily struggles. Prayer is the resevoir for power. I can testify that God truly answers our prayers and speaks to us through scriptures and words of the modern day prophets. I love my mission and opportunity i have to share this wonderful message to other who are searching for truth but do not know where to find it.

Love,

Elder Greenlaw

The Call to be a District Leader

Hello everyone!

This past week has been very stressful. With the recent call of being the District Leader, the stress of helping missionaries and making sure things are going well. It was also transfers last week and we both thought that because of certain events that happened in the ward, we were going to be transferred. We had to stay up late to receive a call from President telling us if we were going or not. Ends up I'm still here for another six weeks with a lot of extra struggles within the ward and the relationships with all missionaries. We had to drive 2 hours to Jacksonville to drop off our car, and then hitch hike back home. Very sketchy in redneck country. Luckily some missionaries were able to later pick us up and take us back ha ha.

The famous Charlie Blankenship is progressing very well towards baptism on the 28th of September. Through him we are reactivating his best friend who happens to be a less active member. Our recent converts are all really struggling right now. None of them have been coming to church and they aren't keeping the Word of Wisdom. Our ward mission leader wanted us to get rid of the Book of Mormon class we hold every Wednesday night at the church, but instead we have changed it to the B.O.M.M.! The Book of Mormon Marathon! We have created a plan to get the recent converts and members who are struggling to read to get through the whole book in less than a year! Its very exciting and I believe it will help many of the problems these people are facing in their lives. That is how POWERFUL the Book of Mormon is! As we are praying and reading it individually and as a family, we will have the Spirit more abundantly in our lives. There will be more love and happiness within the home and less fighting, contention, and stress of everyday life. We can find answers to our prayers and learn so much from it! I can see such a big difference in my day if I sincerely ponder the scriptures. Everything seems to go so much more smooth.

I know that God lives, and he knows us individually. He knows each of our struggles and our weaknesses. He doesn't just sit back and watch us have a hard time, He weeps with us and micromanages our lives without interfering with our free agency. I see his hand in this missionary work, and I see miracles each and everyday. We learn and grow from these trials and we gain experience and great joy when we overcome them! God will never give us something we can not handle. I know that to be true.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement! Talk to y'all next week.

Love, Elder Greenlaw

Pictures from Elder Greenlaw's Mission

Here are a few pictures from last week.

THE SWAMP! This is Gator country fellas!

Rainy day once again! Time to put on the rain jackets! Elder Greenlaw says he hardly even notices the humidity anymore.He also thinks it is weird when it's not raining. "This place is so beautiful!". 

Elder Greenlaw and Elder Anderson

**Note from Jill

While I was in Florida last week, I had the chance to visit the Orlando Florida Temple. It is absolutely beautiful. I wanted to share a few pictures here on Elder Greenlaw's blog. 

Orlando Florida Temple