New Companion - Elder Anderson from Logan Utah

Hello everybody!

Another exciting week from here in Gainesville, Florida! I'm training another "greenie" from Logan Utah. His name is Elder Anderson and he is a total stud. For some reason God always assigns me with the biggest missionaries, maybe to try and keep me humble I don't know but he's 6'4 250 planning on playing football for Utah State. Sounds almost the same as Elder Jenkins my first companion huh! Once again I have to put up with the Utah State banners, hats, t-shirts, and such.. I guess you could say that I'm warming up to them a bit. Still a die hard BYU fan though  don't worry. We get along great and he's definitely excited and worthy to be out here. I told him that my goal for him after these next three months is for him to train just like I did. Of course he rolls his eyes but I already know he's going to. 

The work for this week is slowly starting to pick up! We still don't have anybody in our teaching pool, but we have a lot of new solid potentials. Recently I've been trying to recognize the miracles that go on around us, and they are everywhere! The Lord is definitely apart of this work, and we couldn't do anything without his help. I'm feeling really confident for this week and the people we are going to see. Please pray for the people here in Gainesville and for their hearts to be softened as we search for the elect! The MTC focuses so much on teaching people, but I believe that they need to focus more time on finding people. Missionary work sucks when there is nobody to teach! 

This last Saturday our steak had a Youth Conference focusing on missionary work. All the kids came together and had an MTC experience, got assigned to a companion, got separated into Districts and then we took them out to go tracking! What an experience this was! Elder Anderson and I had a District of about 15 kids that we taught, and did role plays on street contacting with them. Some of the role plays they did were absolutely hysterical! I then got split up with 4 boys about 15 years old. We went to the nearby Publix or in Utah terms, (Albertsons or Harmons) and I forced them to go talk to strangers. About an hour later I got tracked down by the managers and they told me that they had been getting a lot of customer complaints and we needed to leave ha ha. So then I took them to a really rich neighborhood where they soon got doors slammed into their faces ha ha. The Stake President told me to give them an experience they would always remember and so I did! I think they all enjoyed it. 

We also had a miracle where we ran into a former Investigator, Lawrence Juett, and older black man who had a baptism date, been to church 8 times in a row and had all of the lessons taught to him. Mind you that he basically fell off the face of the earth and nobody knew what had happened to him. He was about to get baptized when his wife got involved, who is a 7th Day Adventist, and created much contention when she found out. We ran into him for the first time in 5 months and now we have an appointment set for this Wednesday.  When I told my bishop this, he could not believe it!

Here in the Bible Belt, it is so sad to see how people say they already have Jesus in their lives but at the same time completely reject what we have to say to them. In 2 Nephi 28-29 it prophesies of people saying once they have been saved by Jesus Christ then they need no more gospel. For they have a Bible and need no more! It's like God trying to hand them dessert after a meal, but they reject.... We have experienced this each and everyday and I feel Godly sorrow for these people when I could show them how the fullness of the gospel brings so much MORE joy and love into their lives. Often, I run into people that say it doesn't matter what I do during the week, I have the church to make me clean again and they don't have to do anything other than show up! It breaks my heart to see such ignorance, pride, and hard headed people. But it all is made up for it when we are blessed with someone in our path who is thirsting for the gospel they just know not where to find it. What joy it brings me when I find these people. 

I love the Lord, and I love this work. Til next time!

Elder Greenlaw

Elder Anderson and Elder Greenlaw in Gainesville, Florida

Hello everyone!

Things are going very well here in the 2nd and 3rd wards in Gainesville! Yes, it's exactly what you are thinking, my work load just doubled. I have been in a trio with Elder Forsyth and Elder Gao. Is this even work?? I'm having so much fun with them! Elder Welsh went home last week and tomorrow, I drive to Jacksonville once again to pick up my new Greenie! Yes I got the call to be a trainer again so that means I'll be serving here in Gainesville for a total of 7 1/2 months! I know this ward inside and out! Everyone calls me family ha ha. This ward is the best! We have previous Quorum of the Seventy members, and previous Stake Presidents, so the ward are really the best.  

This week has been exciting! Elder Gao is from China and so he has a sick sense for Chinese people here in Florida. We will be knocking doors and then he takes a deep breath and says, "MMMMMM, I smell Chinese people". The next door we knock at ends up being a family from Taiwan! Crazy!! Just like my dad, I'm learning to speak Mandarin. Sometimes the people cant even speak a lick of English and so Elder Forsyth and I will just be sitting there looking at each other while the whole lesson is being taught in Mandarin. Gotta love it! I did have a really cool experience where I was listening and I could understand words here and there. Almost as if I could see the letters forming right out of Elder Gao's mouth. I understand this insane language through the spirit! What an amazing gift! It only works if we are talking about gospel topics of course. I never would have guessed I would have the chance to experience this on my mission! A mission is always full of surprises.

We have a few new investigators. Nobody that we are constantly teaching, but we are working with less actives and recent converts a lot! "Every new member we have a goal to retain".

The weather has been typical Florida weather. Rain coming down in buckets each and everyday! I still don't find the need for a rain jacket though, I love knocking on doors soaking wet. Anyway, I'm kind of limited on time and thoughts aren't really coming to me right now so I love you all and I will tell you if I like my new "greenie" next week or not! I am sure he will be great

Love,

Elder Greenlaw

Elder Forsyth, me, and Elder Gao in a trio! 

Hello everyone!

I look back at my last letter I wrote and I feel bad because I probably made it sound like the mission is the worst thing ever. Well don't worry, even though you will definitely have your hard weeks and companions, the lessons and teaching learned in those experiences bring the most joy and the most gratitude. Gratitude for the Lord and his mercy! His willingness to forgive and to bless you! For the rules and knowing that they are only there for your benefit. For the knowledge, strength, patience, love, the list goes on and on. This last week has yet again been really hard. But my whole mind set has changed and I realized that I was dwelling too much on the bad times and the problems that were going on such as: We still have no investigators to teach, the weather is HOT, appointments fell through, and investigators are being dropped. 

I am now trying to focus on the good, and the miracles that are happening around us that we don't always pick up! Even in my journal, everyday I write three positive things that I learned or experiences that happened and I find myself noticing all the good that I am still doing!

For example: A woman in our ward that has been a member about 2 years. We love her dearly! Recently we found out that she has been having a really hard time. Her understanding of the gospel and all of the principles missionaries had taught her had been forgotten. She hasn't taken the sacrament for over 2 months now because she's always "LATE", and she doesn't read her scriptures very often. This is definitely a problem so we decided to re-teach her the lessons, and set her up with a Book of Mormon mentor. (Member who reads and discusses the BOM with them often to help them understand better) I was pondering and praying on who would be right for the job! After a few people came to mind, one specific name stuck. I was shocked and wondered if this was right because I'll be honest, we don't really have the best past. She almost got me emergency transferred for telling the bishop I was flirting with the young woman. BUT I WASNT DON'T WORRY! Anyway, I called her up that night and told her another member was coming to my mind for some reason. A week later she told me that she used to be her home teaching companion so they were really close. She went over to her house that night I called to receive a key and ended up discussing the BOM mentor. Finds out that this other member has been really struggling lately and this is exactly what she needed. What a miracle! The lord is merciful and blesses us with miracles each and everyday! we must only open our spiritual eyes and see them! 

Elder Welsh and I get along fantastic. We have never gotten into a fight or even had an argument since being companions. We have an identical pasts, which is quite freaky, and so we understand life and each other in ways others don't. We have become really close in our experiences and are planning on going hunting when we get home ha ha. We both are now self conscious about our weight and so we are working out hard now with our bench and squat rack that we stole from some other Elders. Soon most likely we are going to steal a Bow flex from the YSA sisters ha ha I will send you picks. We are drinking protein again and eating a lot better. Planning on dropping 20 lbs in 2 weeks!

On the 4th of July I went to a members home that I have grown close with and had a mini firework show ha ha. Its nothing like home but I still had a great time. Monday night I also had my amazing uncle Brian and kids set me up for dinner! You should have seen my face as I though I was opening "Brother Jones" car door when I saw that it was Brian ha ha. I could not believe it!! He gave me good incites and a boost to keep pressing on in finding the people I promised to meet in the pre-existence! My family never fails to surprise me!

 Love you all! Talk to you next week.

Being Blunt and Honest This Week

Hello everyone!

I'm sure you were pretty upset that I didn't write a letter last week. I could list off many excuses of why I didn't, but, lets be very blunt and honest this week. These last few weeks have been the hardest weeks of my life. I have never gone through so much stress, disappointment, sorrow, and regret than ever before. I'm sitting here at a library on campus with ten other Elders around me all writing to their families telling them of all the fabulous experiences they have had and how much they have grown. They sugar coat all of their experiences to make it sound like they are just having the best time... But me... For some reason I don't feel like doing that this week. I have done it at times in the past, because let's be honest, nobody wants to write people over and over again and tell them they are having a really hard time out here. My first "Son" or greenie that I trained, Elder Tubbs, told me he wanted to go home after 3 days. That pretty much stinted the work for the rest of the week. Then I get a new companion who is my "Step Son". He has been out two and a half months. I am finishing training him. Elder Welsh is a fantastic missionary. Better than me. He is a fabulous teacher and really loves the people. He became so close to people in his first area, that he was absolutely pissed that he had to get transferred here to Gainesville. He is now starting to like it, but a few days ago he told me he was thinking of going home also. He is naturally one of the most disobedient missionaries I know that listens to the nearby radio station, walks around in his G's and does not want to follow the rules. As for me, not being a good companion, I stoop to his level, and now we have been really disobedient. Nothing bad enough to get us sent home or anything. Don't worry. I hope every missionary has to go through something like this because it sucks, and it makes you feel like your waisting your time out here when your disobedient.  The AP's called only 15 missionaries in the whole mission to participate in a 40 day purification fast. Coincidentally, they called me right at this time? Yeah I don't think so... So I have promised the Lord to repent and strive to overcome the sins, temptations, and other things that poke at my spiritual sensitivity. Since yesterday I have been striving for exactly obedience and I have experienced the Atonement in a new way. There is a huge difference in our success as we are obedient, faithful, and confident in the Lord's promises. I have already seen the Lord being merciful to me, and we had a miracle investigator come into our life yesterday. We met a man that has been prepared by the Lord for several weeks now. I'm pretty sure he will get baptized in three weeks. WE have NO teaching pool right now, and we are fighting against the natural man, but still striving to stand above the world and to declare repentance until these my brethren. God is love and mercy. He knows each of us better than we know ourselves, and we is waiting to bless our lives we just have to be willing to accept these gifts. We can, and we should experience the Atonement each and everyday. Yes, even missionaries make mistakes ha ha. 

Love you all! Happy 4th

Elder Tubbs and Elder Greenlaw