The Blueprint for Happiness

Florinda's Baptism

I love being a missionary.

This past week Florinda got baptized!! Ah she is incredible. When we contacted her on the street, she originally said that she didn't want anything but that we could come over for her grandson and teach him. In our first lesson the grandson said he didn't want anything, but Flor was hungry for more. She went from smoking 7 cigarettes a day to only half of one in one week. She went from almost never leaving her house to calling members and begging them to give her rides to the church activities. What an amazing experience to watch the Spirit work in and with people. She is one of my favorite people on this planet, and such a great example of how white and ready to harvest the field is.

Carousel Ride

A couple of weeks ago we had the INCREDIBLE opportunity to hear from Elder Cook and his wife, and a few other general authorities. Needless to say, the Spirit was abounding. One of my biggest takeaways was how the work of the Lord is a work of love.

I have found that to be so true in my mission. People respond when we treat them with love, when we treat them the way that Christ would, and the way that Heavenly Father wants.

Hermanas with a Darling Little Friend

As Elder Uchtdorf once said, "The blueprint for happiness is to believe, love, and do."

BELIEVE in God. (Mosiah 4:9)

LOVE Him. (John 4:7)

And DO what He has asked of us. (Mosiah 2:41)

This week, don't forget to BELIEVE, to LOVE, and to DO. I promise that happiness will follow. :)

Hermana Greenwood:)

Revelation, Building, Grateful

 "Living After the Manner of Happiness" Moments:

Conference with Elder Cook

-Hna Tukuafu: "Sometimes I'm really sassy, sometimes I´m really aggressive, and sometimes I am like a dove." Me: haha what does that mean?" Hna T: "Ya know, because doves are humble."

-Our cute new investigator went and bought us flowers.

-WE CAN TALK TO OUR FAMILIES EVERY WEEK.

How grateful I am for a living prophet. How grateful I am for the modern-day revelation that he receives and that we can also receive personal revelation.

Hermanas Greenwood, Soto, Tukuafu

I have been thinking a lot as a missionary about establishing the church, and how I can better do that. And as pondering upon that this past week I was reminded of a sign that I once saw hanging in my Dad's office at work. It says something like, "If you want to build a company, you need to build the people." And that is exactly what it is to establish the church.

In order to build the Church of Jesus Christ here on the earth, we need to build the people.

Orson F. Whitney: "No pain that we suffer, no trial we experience, is wasted."

Hermanas Tukuafu, Greenwood, Rice, Carter

Kent F. Richards: "Opposition is part of Heavenly Father's plan of happiness. We all encounter enough to bring us to an awareness of our Father's love and of our need for the Savior's help."

Richard G. Scott: "When the Lord speaks of rebellion, He speaks of punishment. When the Lord speaks of weakness, it is always with mercy."

Dale G. Renlund: "Everyone has the right to express his or her opinion, but no one has a license to be hateful toward others."

David O. McKay: "True Christianity is love in action."

Let us always remember to act upon the beautiful revelation received and build those around us.

 How grateful I am to have the knowledge of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

How grateful I am to be a missionary.

I love you all!!!

Hermana Greenwood:)

Beautiful Mess

"Living After the Manner of Happiness" Moments:

Kim's camera is having trouble again.

-Hna Tukuafu: "I know how to text a boy... but it scares me to text an investigator!"

-We aren't allowed to leave the house after 8:30 unless we are with members... but we really wanted cookies. So we asked the members we live with to accompany us to the store and we all bought some cookies. :) (And my shoe and sock combination is a new trend I am starting in Mexico. Hopefully the photo will come next week.)

Life is a mess. We mess up on the daily (at least I do) and sometimes that's all that I can focus on. After I fall down I sit and stare at the ground and focus on how much it hurt to fall, and how hard it would be to get back up.

Life is beautiful. There are miracles to see every day. When we look at the wonderful people that surround us and the beautiful world God has created for us, we remember how truly blessed we are.

These are photos from the day Kim opened her mission call (over a year ago).

Life is a beautiful mess. We live in a fallen world, but oh how beautiful it is. We don't have to take the world on our shoulders, because Christ overcame the world, and it is in Him we can trust.

As my brother Landon says, "Attitude is taking the circumstances around us and choosing what emotion to have through it all."

It's fun to look back. This week she hits her halfway mark!

We don't have to be perfect. President Nelson reminds us of that as he said, "Be patient with yourself. Perfection comes not in this life, but in the next life. Don't demand things that are unreasonable, but demand of yourself improvement. As you let the Lord help you through that, He will make the difference."

Remember to have patience (D&C 123:17), rely on Christ (John 16:33), and focus on the good (Moroni 7:16). We may not be perfect, but we can surely change our attitude to enjoy this beautiful mess in which we live.

Have a wonderful week!!

Hermana Greenwood:)

Dandelions

I don't have much time today but I just wanted to share this little story with you to remind you all that God is real, and that He is aware of us and loves us very much.

There was one particular day this week where absolutely nothing was going right. We were running late to an appointment, finally made it and found out they weren't there, and then ran into a couple of people who definitely could have been a lot nicer, and it was really hot, and there was so much to be done still, and I remember feeling extremely frustrated.

I remember thinking about how I can't do the Lord's work without His Spirit, so I was praying in my head and heart that I would be able to find the joy through all of this, and better enjoy the moment.

The next corner we turned, I found a dandelion. (For those who don't know, I absolutely love dandelions, because blowing the little seeds always makes me smile.) I almost teared up looking at the little thing in the ground.

One of my best friends who is also serving a mission told me, "The best way to prepare for the future is to enjoy the now." Maybe for you, you need to look for the roses, maybe it is finding a penny on the ground, but there is always a way to enjoy the now.

Remembering Christ, His love and friendship, is the best way that we can find joy in whatever life throws at us.

I love you all!

Hermana Greenwood:)