1/7/2015

This week was great! We definitely saw some miracles happen. I want to first off thank my family and anyone else who fasted and prayed for my investigators. Definitely payed off! Empenitriz, one of my investigators, was pregnant but had a miscarriage and was way sad so we taught her the plan of salvation and she loved it! It was a great, spiritual lesson and it was so awesome to testify to her that there is a place for us all after this life and that she will see her family and kids again and can live with them for eternity. She was so receptive and loved it. She also told us on Sunday that her boyfriend moved out! So we set a date for baptism on the 21st of next month! We also just started teaching her 11 year old daughter who is really smart and wants to get baptized too so we will have 2 baptisms for sure next month! It's so awesome to see how the gospelm applies to peoples lives and how it brings such happiness. We are also teaching her sister Yokida who is just as amazing of an investiagor. She has such excitement for the church and for learning more every visit. She and her sister are both amazing and have so many questions and really understand. They are so ready and definitely have been prepared for this gospel. However, Yokida lives with her boyfriend so she can't get baptized even though she wants to so bad. She said she will come to church every Sunday and loved church both times she came. This past Sunday I bore my testimony and she told me she loved it and loved that we have an opportunity every month to share our testimonies. She told us yesterday that she talked to her boyfriend about church and he said he might come with her this Sunday! I was fasting and praying for that! I have really come to see how important it is to fast and pray with real intent. It really is a blessing and brings so many blessings into our lives, and the lives of others.

Not that I want to deliver bad news, but one of our other best progressing investigators told us she doesn't want to continue with us. The first time she came to church she loved it and said she wanted to come back every week and keep learning. Our lessons with her were always so great and exciting. But Recently I could see that she was loosing her excitement and not following commitments like she used to. When we passed by her house on Sunday to see if she was coming to church, she told us she didn't want us to keep teaching her. I was devastated and confused why. So we said we wold come back when we had time and talk things out. When we came back on Monday, she didn't really have a reason, she just said she didn't want to continue. So I bore my testimony and it was incredibly strong. The spirit was so strong and I know she could see it in my teary eyes. But I don't think she was willing to hear or listen to the spirit. We told her we wouldn't pass by anymore but if she needed anything, we are always here to help. I walked away heart broken because she literally had salvation in her hands and knew the truthfulness of this gospel and church, yet chose to drop it. As a missionary, I now see how important and special this gospel is. So the fact that she came so close to partaking of the blessings and now is missing out on all the blessings she could/would have had is super upsetting. Just goes to show how much more Satan works on you when you try to do the right things or come close to accepting the gospel. But I wont give up. I will continue to fast and pray for her. I know I did all I can and that it is up to her to accept. So I will do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen with Empenitriz or her sister.

I want to leave you all with a quote from an email I got this week from Bri Jackson;

"Matthew 25:40 "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." President Monson had a really good talk called "The Real Joy of Christmas" And it talks about celebrating the Savior by celebrating his life. He said that rather than receiving we should give ourselves through service. Serving others and living the way he did, we can find true happiness and joy. Even though Christmas is over, this is still a good principle to live by all year round. We should always want to strive to be like him and serve others always so we can have true happiness all the time rather than just around the holiday season."

I loved what she said. It's so true, we should always, always, always be on the look out to serve and help others. Not just in seasons of holidays where that's the norm, or when we are having a good day and feel like doing something cool for someone, but always. Everyday. Christ did not serve sometimes, or help people when it was convenient, but 24/7.

Love you all, thanks for the prayers, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 2014 was a great year full of unforgettable memories for me, and I can't wait to see how this next year plays out! Hopefully with much success!

Also, if you scroll down far enough, one of my stories is on this blog. It is the blog of my mission president's wife. It is a super fun and cool and informational blog with awesome stories and experiences of this crazy mission! My story is dated October 16th, 2014. If you scroll down to this date, you will find my story and picture and it is called "Led By the Spirit of God" Also, one of Elder Rodriguez's stories/experiences is on there that is also super cool dated December 7th, 2014. Here is the blog website: http://beckydouglasparadise.blogspot.com/

Elder Greer