WEEK 15 TULSA (WEEK 35 OF MISSION)

GRINGO VALLEY

Fam and Friends!!!!!! Hi!!! hope all is well with all ya’ll back home.

Young Women's Personal Progress Project Dinner

Getting spoiled taking home a ton of leftovers!!!

Your usual week full of miracles... I will start with the highlight and main event. Soooo, Freddy was scheduled to be baptized on this Saturday and we had a meeting set up for Friday night.  I was on an exchange Friday night so me and Elder Ashby pulled up to the Freddy's home planning on having an awesome lesson and getting everybody super excited about the baptism.  When we got there though, Freddy was called in to work and grandma Joanne sat down with us and told us that Mikey (Freddy’s dad) was not doing very well. Mikey and Freddy were both shot outside of a gym a couple months ago and Mikey was shot 4 times in the waist and he is still feeling the affects. I was afraid that Mikey would not be able to make it to the baptism because he couldn’t walk on Friday night. So we knelt in the their home and gave a prayer and asked for a blessing on Mikey. Saturday came around and here comes Mikey walking with Freddy into the church. I was so grateful for my Father in Heaven and I know miracles have not stopped. The heavens are still open to us today. Mikey baptized Freddy and it was so awesome! I was so happy for them. The next day on Sunday Mikey was in the hospital and couldn’t be there for Freddy's confirmation. I just thought it was super cool that the Lord blessed Mikey with the strength to baptize his son. So awesome!!!

Earlier that same day me and Elder Ashby were walking away from an appointment that cancelled on us. We got to the car and Elder Ashby said, hey that lady back there smiled at me when we walked by lets go talk to her. So we went back with a Book of Mormon. When we got there the lady smiled and I started my spiel. A confused look came over her face and I thought to myself oh no she hates us, hahaha. Then she said it, "No habla English.” hahahaha I had no idea how to reply... then it happened. Somehow me and Elder Ashby both only having minor Spanish classes in high school started communicating with her. And For no reason at all I remembered a Spanish Book of Mormon wedged in the back window of the car. I ran and grabbed it thinking I better run or else this random Spanish I can remember right now will escape my mind haha.  So I came running back and we read the introduction with her and she really loved it and we set up an appointment for the Spanish elders to come back. Me and Elder Ashby both walked away laughing and chest bumping, it was sooo cool haha Elder Ashby especially. He did a lot of the talking and it was amazing. I was thinking about the scripture in D&C and the promise from the Lord to give us in the very hour what we should say. I know that is true especially after my spiritual witness I had this past week.

Lately I have been studying the Bible and Christ-like attributes. My favorite is Charity. I plead for charity every morning before I start my day. I do not have this characteristic yet but I really want to. I have noticed all of my favorite people in this world are people that care about others more than themselves. There was a quote I think Elder Nau told me this week and it was something like, "If you’re only looking for yourself you will most likely never find you. You have to lose yourself before you can truly find yourself."  I love that so much! I was extremely worried about changing on my mission into a different person and tried to fight it. How dumb was I haha. I needed to just realize that if I can lose myself in the people out here and learn charity, I will end up finding the person the Lord truly wants me to be somewhere down the line. I pray we can all lose ourselves helping others. The Savior always looked outward when the natural man looks inward. I love the examples I have in my parents of charity and also my grandparents, siblings, friends, etc... I love you all. Thank you for always helping me. I have gained such a larger appreciation for the people I had in my life now that I don’t have them hahaha!  I love you all.

ps thank you Grandma and Grandpa Green!!! I loved your letter this week.  I love and miss you guys!  And mama I loved the picture of Grandpa Reynolds on the planner covers!!! I have two sets of awesome grandparents. I am blessed to have two on earth to look out for me and two in spirit paradise to walk with me on my mission <3 love you all!

The Planner Cover he is talking about ;)

Elder Green

(Meek)^2

WEEK 14 TULSA (WEEK 34 OF MISSION)

Mingo Valley Monstarz

friends and families back home what is goinnnggg on??? 

 

The District

Another beautiful week out here in the city of Tulsa!!!! This week was super good and awesome. The highlight would have to be getting to see Brian be baptized on Friday night! I don’t know if I have ever met a better guy than Brian. haha  When one of your investigators can quote several general conference talks after investigating the church for a month you know you are blessed haha. It is extremely humbling to see people change there lives and see how quickly the spirit works. haha on Sunday during sacrament Brian wasn’t there to receive the Holy Ghost and we were sooo worried and then like 20 minutes into sacrament he walked in and the Bishop stood right up and we gave him the Holy Ghost haha it was kind of funny. Church Humor (so not actually funny but funny because I am a missionary and so I thought it was funny) Annnnnnnyyywayyys Brian is awesome he is already looking towards the temple. We just need him to marry his girlfriend Jordyn already, haha she is awesome too I got to meet her at his baptism!!!

 

Elder Nau, Brian, and Mikey

"Action Shot"

Out here in what some might call "the bible belt" we have to deal with a whole lot of hatred and people that really want to tear us down. This past week we had several rather bad experiences with these people. Dealing with this has really led me to appreciate my savior Jesus Christ. Whenever my heart feels burdened with the weight of these hateful peoples’ words I often think of the Savior with the Pharisees or all the events leading to the atonement and crucifixion. I hope to be able to bear my burdens with somewhat of a resemblance of how are Savior bore his and all of ours. My thoughts quickly turn to what the lord told the young prophet Joseph in liberty jail when he asked how long his afflictions would last. The lord replies, the son of man hath descended lower than all, art thou greater than he? The previous verse is the one that brings comfort D&C 122:7, I know that all the things I go through are for my experience and the lord will consecrate them for my benefit and gain. The words of Elder Holland have been stuck in my head all week long, when talking about missionary work in comparison to the atonement, "why should it be easy for you, when it was never easy for him?" I love that. I have seen so many of you, my best example being my mom, as she was bearing the burden and grief of losing her parents and the Christlike way in which she handled that. Or the strength of my older brother and dad in their missionary service as examples to me that with the Lord we can get through all hard things. So before we turn our backs on the Lord in our trials remember that he had it rougher than all of us, so look to him and he will heal you. 

Thank you all for your examples to me throughout my life. I want to be more like my Savior! If you are having a hard time right now with feeling not good enough for the standards God has set go listen to Elder Holland’s concluding talk of this past April General Conference Sunday evening session. He will word it a lot better than me. I know that we are all good enough for God's grace. It is sufficient for us all. My prayer is we all strive to help ourselves and others all use the atonement more in our lives! Sorry for this sermon haha "brevity is the soul of wit", so I guess I have some work to do still haha love you all

Elder greeeennnnnn 

WEEK 13 TULSA (WEEK 33 OF MISSION)

MEEK AND NAU STILL IN MINGO???

Hello everybody!!!

Well transfer calls have been made and I will be doing another 6 weeks out here with Elder Nau in Mingo Valley!!! Pretty crazy I have never heard of somebody being with the same companion for 3 transfers!!! So it is pretty awesome. I am super excited because with the upcoming baptisms that we both have worked so hard for it would have stunk to have seen one of us not get to see them through.

 

We got to take Sam to dinner this week.
He enters the MTC Wednesday.
He's been serving a two-week Mini Mission
with Mikey and Elder Nau before heading out to
his mission in Tuscon, AZ.

Elder Nau's dusty shoes.
Hey good to see they have a vacuum!

Mikey's dusty shoes from the dusty streets of Oklahoma!

This week was a little bit of a longer one for me. I was battling through a little bit of strep throat throughout the week and I hate strep throat more than anything else. I was praying and praying to get over it and I was going to go to the doctor until Saturday morning their was a baptism going on for the New Haven ward and all the missionaries were going to be there so I decided to just ask for a blessing from basically the whole zone. I felt like I was in pretty good hands getting a blessing from 7 missionaries. It was so awesome. I did not stand up to a miraculously healed throat but rather to healed spirits and could go about the day being happy and joke around again. I am almost completely healed at this point!

Fred and his dad, Mikey, both were interviewed this week and Mikey is now ready to baptize Freddy. I am so honored to get to see this happen. Just like a month earlier both of these people were robbed and shot and now they will enter the waters of baptism to make these sacred covenants! Just so awesome I am so happy!!! Also Brian and Willow are ready for baptism just working out scheduling problems! I am so excited for them all!!!

Thank you for all of your prayers and love!! I have been blessed with such awesome people in my life. I have realized like how big of an impact family and parents play in our lives. It has made me soo much more grateful for my parents and also grown my desire to want to be the best dad I can be some day for my future family. It can be sad to see a whole bunch of awesome kids whose parents aren't involved in their lives out here. You almost can’t even blame the kids for the things they do. I appreciate so much the emphasis the church has on families and I know they are eternal through the blessing of the priesthood in holy temples. I love you all have a great week

Elder Green

WEEK 12 TULSA (WEEK 32 0F MISSION)

"When your grandparents ask you to take a selfie of them!"

hahaha who else loved when Dieter F. Uchtdorf was just up there cracking jokes this weekend haha ohhh man what an awesome, awesome week we have had!!!

He called this, "Easter Swag."  I sent him this tie in  his package.

 

He called this picture, "Bunnies!"  haha
These were in his package too.  We knew his feet would look hilarious in these!

This week our dear friend, Sam Edmondson, left to Utah to go to conference and then the MTC for his mission. He has been out here on a mini mission with us and is an awesome kid. He went over to my house actually haha.  He called me after he left and he was like, "Your dog is sooooo flufffy!!!!" haha Ted always trying to steal the show. Nothing new there. 

 

Mikey's last cut on Ole Sammy Boi!
When Sam came to our house I was thinking how nice is
hair looked and had no idea Mikey had cut it!

hmmm on other news let’s see haha yes I did experience my first tornado and yes I did disobey all council from everybody and go take pictures and look at it hahaha. When the tornado was hitting and the sirens were going off me, Elder Nau, and Sam were picking up some food at this bomb mexican taco van thing. We were in an area of Tulsa that is coined "little Mexico" because it is just that haha.  Nobody speaks English.  But anyways yes a pretty big tornado hit and we were sitting outside eating our tortas haha  We had to go back to the house though because everybody was clearing the streets so we figured we better do the same. No missionaries were hurt thankfully and it hit northern Tulsa pretty crazy!!!

 

Looking at the gathering clouds of the tornado while eating their tortas.

This is what I (Emily) saw on Twitter!

Man another awesome week full of miracles.  We have some upcoming baptisms of a man named Brian, who is just an awesome dude and he basically teaches us when we go to see him haha and an awesome girl from a part-member family named Willow! Super excited for both of them.

How could I not talk about conference!!! As a missionary I feel like I love every session of conference so much I can barely even distinguish something that sticks out haha. I loved the overall theme and message that was displayed which to me was a lot about love. I wish I could teach as simply and powerfully as our awesome leaders. I love Elder Holland so much! A lot of my testimony comes from listening to him and his closing talk was so awesome. I would like to say that I am beginning to feel a sliver of what the Savior felt I think. I love the people of Tulsa so much and more than anything I can feel how much the Savior loves them.  I know that God loves all of you reading this as well!! I hope you all have a great week! 

Elder Green