Hi All,
Bannon had an interesting week this week but he is having a blast and is in good spirits! He keeps telling us that he is struggling with his Spanish so if you all could keep him in your prayers as he learns to communicate with the people of the Dominican Republic, he would appreciate it! Thanks for reading! Have a great week!
Wow, do I have a story to tell...
So yesterday was transfer meetings
where all the missionaries have a zone meeting with their zones and find out if
they are staying in their areas or leaving and getting a new companion or
possibly having a leadership calling. This transfer a lot happened. The sisters
in my district and ward got whited out (which means both left to another area
instead of just one) and replaced with elders. We got a new zone leader because
one of ours is done serving and going home. And we have a new Assistant to the
President. And a bunch of other things happened that were non exciting for me
because I'm new and don't know anyone yet. But that's not my story, it's just
the start. After the meeting, we all go out to eat somewhere but the zone
leader that is leaving and my comp didn't want to go, so we went on splits and
I went with the other zone leader, Elder Quesenberry. After lunch Elder
Quesenberry and his comp were supposed to go to the mission house to receive
two Greenies (new missionaries who just arrived to the mission) and take them
out to go contacting and talk with people and hand out Books of Mormon. Since
Elder Quesenberry's comp was with my comp, I just went with Elder Qesenberry.
When we arrived to the house, we walked in and I started looking at all the new
missionaries. All of the sudden, I make eye contact with a very, very familiar
face... As my jaw dropped and my eyes got as big as basketballs, I realized who
it was... Ivette, my investigator from the MTC!! She smiled at me knowing how
surprised I was to see her and simply nodded her head. I ran over to her to ask
what the heck she was doing here. As I shook her hand and asked, I saw that she
was wearing a missionary badge! "Oh my gosh!!! YOU'RE A MISSIONARY!?"
"Yup!" "What the heck!? Wait so you were a fake
investigator!?" "Yeah, I wanted to tell you so bad the whole time,
but I couldn't because it was my job." Apparently she has been working at
the Provo MTC for a year and has had her call to this mission for 6 months!
"Are you mad?" she asked. "No, not at all. You're a missionary
so that's great! But I am way disappointed. You had me so 100% sure you were a
real investigator!" But apparently her whole story and everything she told
us was real, just it all happened 4 years ago. So you could say I pretty much
feel like my whole MTC life was a lie. Haha. I was so sure I was being this
great missionary doing literally everything I could for this girl and help her
after her baptism when she moved to Carlsbad and all that. That's what really
convinced me she was real. Like she had such good details that were so convincing!
I even fasted for her on a P Day! Wow... I'm still in shock. All I can say is
she is one dang good actress! But even though that really sucks and I am way
sad she wasn't real, it was still a great experience with her and those lessons
we taught definitely helped me as a missionary. So I guess it is a blessing
still after all :) And it'll be way cool/fun to tell this story to everyone throughout
our missions and when we see each other!
In other less dramatic news, our
English class is doing great and we are having a lot of success with that. Last
week we had over 30 people show up! Most were kids, but it still went great and
has helped us get acquainted with more people. The kids we teach recognize us
when they see us and say hi or take us to their houses to teach their families.
I think they actually think I am a real English teacher haha. So next week we
are going to teach them our purpose as missionaries and establish who exactly
we are. But hey, now maybe I can say I was an English teacher in the Dominican
Republic for job apps and stuff ;) You don't need a real degree to be a teacher
here anyway. Or a doctor for that matter...
Elder Rodriguez and I decided to
follow the river and find the waterfalls in the mountains. There wasn't much of
a trail but Elder Rod had been to them before, but didn't know the exact way,
so we got lost a couple times and once or twice had to rock climb, climb over
cliffs, and cross the river. (Don't worry mom, it wasn't that dangerous ;)) We
thought it would be a simple 2 hour hike/jog to the waterfalls there and back.
Nope. Not the case. Took us 4 and a half hours actually... But it was way worth
it and really cool. On our way, pretty deep in the mountains, we found a couple
villages! How these people live out that far I have no idea! As we were
walking, school there apparently just got out, so when I turned the corner all
these kids just stopped and it got way silent and they all just stared at me
like I was the only white boy to ever walk through their village... Oh wait...
I probably was. :D So me and Elder Rodriguez started saying how cool it would
be to be the first Elders in that area and be the first to bring the gospel in
their lives! I even asked President about it and he said that it was fine, but
probably not worth it and to focus on our area. He is right, we are way busy
with our area as it is anyway.
It's not even November yet and
people here are already celebrating Christmas! Our neighbors decked out their
house with lights and even have a fake Christmas tree. I don't quite
understand, but they seem to love Christmas a lot so why not celebrate it 3
months early?
I can't wait for November! We have 4
baptisms next month so that is way exciting!
Well, that’s all for this week.
Love you all.
Con Amor,
Elder Greer
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| Our adventure into the mountains to the waterfalls |
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| Hike to the waterfalls |
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| Hike to the waterfalls |
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| Our adventure into the mountains to the waterfalls |
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| Got stuck in sinking sand/mud and my shoes are now filthy |
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| Us being weird on Pday |
