My wonderful family and friends, how grateful I am for each and every one of you. Thanks for being in my life!
One spiritual experience, and probably the highlight of my week was dinner last night. So, last Monday, Hermana Cazares and I were at Wal-Mart grocery shopping, and we are always being waved at or hearing, "Hi Sisters." While looking through one of the aisles, we met a really nice woman named Karen Wilbert. We got into talking and she asked us if we covered her Stake and we said, yes! She's in an English speaking ward. She happily asked us if we wanted to have dinner at her house the following Sunday and we happily replied, yes! Well Sunday comes and we go over and we have dinner at their house with Brother and Sister Wilbert and their 18 year old daughter Meredith, and their nephew Alec, a return missionary of about 6 months. They cooked a DELICIOUS meal of salad, chili, home-made biscuits with honey butter and home made apple pie, it was amazing! I was so full, haha. But they are just such an incredible family, and we had a really meaningful, gospel discussion just about life, our families, our missions and why we wanted to go, what it was like in Puerto Rico with the Hurricane's, etc. We all shares stories and had MANY laughs. In the midst of all this laughter and pure happiness, I just knew that this family was another reason why I was (reassigned) called to serve in Orem. I felt like I had known this family for years. They felt like family already, and we all agreed that evryone felt the same way. We teared up at one point just thinking about it and I was just so grateful for Heavenly Father and His plan for me, and for the many details he brings to my life. I'm not sure if any of this makes sense, but it was a very special feeling and Spiritual experience. When we come back and visit my mission here, you'll HAVE to meet them. They're wonderful. Mom, you should be expecting a text or email from Sister Wilbert with pictures from last night. :)
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| Dinner at the Wilbert's. |
Jesus: He came to church again yesterday! He had to leave after Sunday school, but he seemed to enjoy it. He still has some doubts about the restoration, so we are really focusing on how to meet his needs.
Virgina: She came to church yesterday too! We had a really cool lesson with her on Saturday reading Alma 32 about faith and being humble, and the mustard seed. She really applied it to her own life and she has told us she knows the church is true.
Kaiya: I forgot to mention last week, we are teaching this family that is in one of the English Wards, the Hood Family. There are four daughters, only 2 are old enough to be baptized, so we are focusing on them, Kaiya and Morgan. They have been through a lot of trials in the last year, and we have this huge love for them. Their Mom, Misty, reminds me a lot of Amy, and that makes me happy. Kaiya is 11 and Morgan is 10. Over the last 4 weeks we have seen Kaiya grow so much, and we invited her to be baptized. With tears in her eyes, she told us how she knows that our message is true, and that she really would like to be baptized. It was a happy day for that family and she's going to be baptized on November 11th. :)
Leslie: we haven't been able to meet with her for a couple weeks now. Were hoping to be able to this week!
My current companion, Hermana Cazares is just the best. She was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, moved to the states when she was 11, and lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Her and I are twins. We work super hard and we are just constantly laughing. She is very special to me. She has 8 weeks in the mission, so I am finishing up her last transfer in her training as her trainer. The other day, she shared with me how her first transfer was SUPER hard for her and how she had thought about going home. She then said how all of that changed when I came, and that if it weren't for me, she probably would've gone home already. Hearing that was very humbling and really touched me. I love her. She's a tough cookie.
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| Hermana Green & Cazares |
Reading your experiences of the Meet and Greet with the Wildes (Senior Couple from Puerto Rico), the San Juan Puerto Rico Return Missionaries and Parents this last week up here in Utah made me so happy. I teared up reading the story of the pancakes and spam, (The sisters had completely ran out of food at the Mission Home for dinner, and although the Mission Office was running out as well, they had pancakes and spam prepared for dinner. So, President Smart asked if the Wilde's could share their meal with the Sisters. So Sister Wilde ask the Elders how many pancakes they had, and the answer was 102. There was 100 Elders and 55 Sisters + 4 with the Wilde's and Smart's. So the Elders counted out 57 pancakes and pieces of Spam and gave it to the Sisters. Leaving 45 pancakes for the Elders and Wilde's. When they went to serve the food, everyone got pancakes and spam and there were leftovers. The same thing happened with the Sisters, everyone ate and there were leftovers. We all had chills as they told of this modern day miracle like how the Savior feed the five thousand with 4 loafs and 2 fishes). I had NO idea about the severity of that situation, or how the outcome actually was such a miracle. I remember, one morning, we just were in the kitchen and someone said, "The elders and Sister Wilde made us pancakes and spam." I thought, "how nice of them" and ate one. I had NO idea we were running out of food and President asked for food. I cried tears of joy and gratitude seeing that modern day miracle
Mom, you look SO HAPPY in all the pictures from that night. You look so beautiful and happy. I haven't seen a smile that big in a long time! That makes my heart happy. I bet it was special. That's so cool that you're meeting all these parents of all my mission friends and Elder and Sister Wilde. They are two very special people in my life. They have done SO much for our mission and were just super human in their efforts and successes during Hurricane Maria. I bet Elder Bloxam' s testimony that night was incredibly powerful. We were praying every single moment for him and Elder Mancilla while they were stranded on Dominica. I can't wait to reunite with everyone one day.
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| Meet & Greet with the San Juan Puerto Rico Senior Missionaries, Return Evacuated Missionaries and Parents of those Missionaries still out serving and re-assigned |
So everything here is really great. I wake up and look forward to another day of hard work, adventures, and experiences. We are working with the Spanish Ward, trying to focus on part member families and less active families. I love the members of my Spanish Ward. I love the different cultures of the people and how they all have such amazing stories of how they got here and their conversion stories. One of my favorite people I've met this week is a recent convert named Sylvania. She is from Brazil and she is just the sweetest thing on earth. We are also super excited because one of my other favorite members I've gotten to know is Claudia. We are going to go over 3 times a week and read the Book of Mormon with her and her family because they want to start reading it. I just love it here.
At dinner last night, Alec said something that really resonated with me. He talked about his trials and the different experiences he's had in his life, and he said, "I feel really lucky, because I knew that whatever happened, whatever decision I made, my parents loved me unconditionally." It took me back to many different trials and times in my life, and I can say with all confidence that I have been so blessed with that same blessing of my parents in my life. I also was talking with Claudia and her daughter, about seminary, and how my Mom never made me miss a day of seminary unless I was dying (which was never, so I went). I reflected on how going to seminary was the best way to start my day, and how there was a difference in my day, because of seminary. So Mom, I'm not actually sure if I've thanked you for all those mornings all throughout high school you woke me up, faithfully, every morning, because you knew the importance of it. Thank you for your example, and your diligence. I love you.
We got to sacrament meeting late yesterday, so we didn't take the sacrament in our Spanish Ward, so we took it in an English Ward. I haven't been in an English Sacrament Meeting during my mission so that was very weird. Singing the Hymns in English and hearing the Sacrament Prayers in English was a different experience, but I am grateful I was able to take it.
We had a district activity today! We ate sushi, played uno, and had a good time. We have a super small district, just 6 people, but it's great, I love them all.
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| Elder Ruiz, Hermana Green, Hermana Cazares, Elder Quezada, Hermana McGuire and Hermana Zayas. |
I'm super excited for the rest of this transfer! Next Monday we have a zone activity, then the next day we get to have dinner and go to the temple as a Mission on Halloween, I've got an exchange, baptism coming up in the first couple weeks of November, MLC, and to top it off the Mission Musical Fireside with Sheri Dew and Vocal Point! Life is good.
Speaking of life, I have 14 months on my mission tomorrow, man does time FLY. I love my mission, and I can't picture my life without it. It has been quite the adventure, and I wouldn't take back any part of it. The trials have made me stronger. I have come closer to my Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ. I have grown in my knowledge of the gospel, and I have all around changed for the better. Life is great! Weird to think that Avalon will be home so soon, and then just around the corner, Alisa and I. Also, a quick shout out to all of my cousins who have served and are currently serving (aka Neno's Army). How grateful I am for our family bond we have now and I love that through our missions we've gotten closer and been able to support one another.
To end, I really enjoyed Dad's spiritual thought of Helaman 5:12: “And now, my sons & daughters, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat down upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of endless misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”
That perfectly explains the growth I have felt in this last transfer. When we take the time to build our foundation on Christ, we will be able to overcome and withstand ANY storm. Whether they are personal storms, or literal Hurricanes, we will find the safety we need in Him. I testify of the truthfulness of that, and promise that the peace we need in "a sin-sick world" will be found.
All my love,
-Hermana Kali Rae Green
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