"I mean this in the most kind of ways, I hope you get the runs tonight"

Good morning friends and family!


This week was full of beautiful experiences. I had a personal
re-connect with my Heavenly Father. What I mean by that is that
sometimes as a missionary you struggle (go figure) you find yourself
going through the motions instead of being a Christlike servant of the
Lord.  This stems from doing the same things, and yielding no new
results. (That's also the definition of insanity BTW) I had excepted
the invitation from my mission President to fast that Sunday for a
testimony and greater understanding of how to draw upon the powers of
God for help. The next day (Monday) I sent a short little note to my
YSA bishop. I hadn't heard from him for a while so I wondered if I
somehow had the wrong email. The note reads "Hey Bishop, have you been
getting my emails?" I didn't think much of it. Monday night was a dark
night for me, we had no-body to go visit, alot of our members were not
home or we had to schedule a family home-evening in advanced. In other
words Elder Greenburg for the first time on his mission said "now what
do I do?" I felt extremely insecure. In a lot of ways I felt alone.

The next morning (Tuesday) I received a letter that honestly changed
my out-look on a lot of things. It may not be significant to any of
you. But to me it meant the world. It reads "Elder Greenburg, yes I've
been receiving your e-mail. I'm like the proud parents of a very
gifted Son. You're so awesome! I read your email each week in our
Bishopric meeting. I even have a file on my computer with everything
you've sent. I use your messages in talks. I guess what I'm trying to
say, is that I love you! You're a chosen Son of our Father In Heaven!
Sorry for being so laxidasical in my writing! Keep the faith!"

I literally felt the love of my Heavenly Father touch my heart through
one of his servants. My fast came through, and I then received the
revelation to know what to do. I hit my knees and offered a prayer of
thanks to my God. I made course corrections, and promised Heavenly
Father that I will work hard every day of my mission and not slack off
anymore. I committed my companion to follow me in that process.
Sometimes the Lord asks you to reach out in humility. He gives you
opportunities to think about your life, and ask "what has happened" He
then blesses you will people that can help you feel his love again.
That day I knew the Lord was there. He always has and always will be.
Sometimes in our search for Him we lose our way. In my case, I just
needed to stop and ask for help.

Because of this experience the next few days were full of wonderful
people, places, and things. I had more conversations about the gospel
than I ever had before. The power of God came down and with his mighty
hand he showed me that miracles have not ceased. On Thursday we had a
Zone Conference with the Warrensburg, and half of Independence zones.
I was invited to conduct the meeting under the direction of President
Vest. As I sat there I looked at an Elder that seemed to be in a lot
of pain. He sat sideways in the pew, his fingers clinching his head,
and tears were flowing down his cheeks. I was sitting right across
from one of the Assistants, and the next thing I knew I was mouthing
quietly "He needs a blessing". The Assistant quietly stepped down from
the stand took the Elder out and administered a blessing to him. They
came back and he sat calmly on the bench. A sister missionary was
giving a training on miracles at the time, and she asked the
congregation if they had seen any miracles this week, and if they
would share them with. The Elder raised his hand and said "I testify
that the priesthood of God has been restored back to the earth through
the prophet Joseph Smith. I stepped out because I was extremely sick,
and as I received a priesthood blessing I could literally feel the
sickness leaving my body, and I sit here before you with a healthy
mind ready to learn." I could hear a pin drop, and there were no dry
eyes at that point. The spirit of the Lord was there.

After a meeting like that coupled with the experience I had at the
beginning of the week, I was ready to "teach all nations". We set our
sights on finding someone to put on baptismal date. We worked as if it
all depended on us, and prayed as if it all depended on the Lord. We
were tracting down a street (that we were guided to) and came across a
family that was loading a trailer. We asked them if we could help them
move. They said "naw, we are almost done" I felt an impression to be
persistent on this one. Normally I don't do this but I said "sir, I
would much rather help you move, than be in the blazin hot sun all day
and have nothing to show for my efforts. Please, let me help you" He
looked up and said "mah! Find something for these men to do" As we
helped them, the old one of the bunch would make small remarks like
"we loaded that trailer as if it were a solid foundation" or he would
say "I can't believe you boys are doing this in dress clothes" Finally
he said "let me get your pastors email, I want to send him a letter
about the help you have rendered" I asked him "now why would you want
to do that?" He said "well boys I'm a pastor myself, and I would love
it if my youth knew that they could do hard things, I want to tell
your pastor that you can do hard things" I didn't even think anything
of it, I pulled out a Book of Mormon, wrote down our Presidents email
address, and then said "here's is information, have you ever read the
Book of Mormon before" He said he had and that he loved it. He started
to talk a lot about God, and how we can get to heaven. He started to
talk a about the straight and narrow path. I said, "have you read the
story about Lehi's dream?" he replied "no sir I haven't" I said "well
dear land sir I have a reading assignment that I think you will like 1
Nephi 11, you will read about a straight path, an iron rod, and the
tree of life which represents the love of God. Read it, pray about it,
and find out what those things mean to you. I testify that it will
testify to what you have just said to me"

We took off down the road and came across man who had just pulled into
his drive way. He said "I just got back from a funeral, my sister died
and I don't want to talk to you guys" I said "Well, that's fine. But I
am here to teach you the Plan that God has for your sister, and you,
and if you don't mind, I would like to talk to you anyway." He
actually stayed and listened! He even cried! We definitely have an
appointment with him this week!

Later that Saturday, we had nobody to teach. So we prayed about a
neighborhood to go finding in. Usually I would suggest that we go find
a member to go see. But this was a persistent feeling, and I don't
turn those down. We knocked doors for 2 hours. we got soft
appointments, a lot of deliberate NO's, no answers, a guy that let us
in who was half drunk but gave us water (we might try him sober. his
wife and mom seemed receptive). Finally we go for the last door on the
block. It's 8:30 and the sun is about to go down. We meet this nice
lady, she was super receptive! We asked her if she knew about the Book
of Mormon. SHE HAD NO IDEA! Then we asked "do you know where you came
from, why you are here, and where you are going next?" Holy MOSES SHE
DIDN'T KNOW THAT EITHER! However, she said that she asked her church
about it and they couldn't give her a solid answer. I testified that
the Book of Mormon answers those questions, along with all the other
deep questions of the soul like "Why do bad things happen to good
people?" Or "what does Christ expect of me?" Then she said "My kids
are big into reading, do you have any more Books?" I cleared out my
bag!!!! I had one copy left to give to the guy across the street, but
I will tell you more about that guy later. We got a return
appointment! And to our amazement the Lord blessed us with a beautiful
family to teach.


After we finished our conversation with the Women, we saw a man that
had just finished mowing lawns. He was leaned against his tail gate.
We approached him and he was polite. We introduced ourselves as
missionaries from the church of Jesus Christ. He said "You're who?"
And after three rounds of that question I finally said "We are ELDERS,
ya know? Missionaries?!" He wasn't a deaf man, he was a rather
arrogant man!  He said "NO NO NO!!!! You guys aren't from the church
of Jesus Christ! I belong to the church of Christ! You guys are a
cult!!!!" Well, from the very beginning me and my companion knew
exactly what was happening. We said "OOOOHHHHHH I see!!!! Well then, I
think you are sadly mistaken!" He said "you have the wrong gospel!!!!
Who is Jesus? Is he God?" We replied "well, under the direction of His
Father he created the earth" he said "really? You guys don't believe
that, I know you don't" I replied said "well now you're just trying to
tell me what I believe, and I find that highly ignorant, and quite
offensive" he said "well you should be, you're going to hell for
following Jo smith!" I replied "I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of
God, and I can assure you that anyone who follows that prophet will
not be going to hell" he said "NO NO NO! You need to be saved!!!!!!" I
said "oh really? You think so?" He said "when did you accept Jesus
into your life?" I said "8 years old was when I was baptized and made
a covenant with him to always keep his commandments" he cut me off and
said "NO NO NO!!!! You got the wrong gospel!!! You guys are adding way
too many things!!!! You don't need to be baptized!!!" I said "but what
about John 3:5 Accept a man be born of water and of the spirit he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God? That was a very clear statement
given, I don't think you can waver from that" he said "before your
mother gave birth to you, what happened?" I said "are you about to ask
me if my mom had to conceive? I don't mean to be rude, but that is
just not right" he said "No! Your moms water broke, indicating that
you were born of WATER! Now you need to be born of the spirit by
accepting Christ into your life!!!" I literally face palmed..."so you
are saying that Christ being fully submersed in water was all just a
big joke? That when the Fathers voice came down from heaven and said
'this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased' did you think he
was kidding when he charged his apostles to 'go forth unto all
nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, of
the Holy Ghost' do you really think it was fake?" He said "what about
the thief on the cross? When Christ said that he would rest in the
kingdom of heaven?" I said "well, there's some doctrine behind that
statement that you don't really understand, nor will you accept" he
was floored. Then he started to talk about how Joseph Smith was a
fraud he tried to tell me that Joseph Smith himself said he was crazy.
So I asked him where he got that source he said "well it's, hm. No, it
might be, hm. I can't remember" I said "well, I don't think you can
back that one up, so please settle that in you mind"  He jumped
through a few other topics like the book of Revelation "disproving"
scripture, how God doesn't need our works, and that we need to just
accept him into our lives and we will be fine.

This all went on for a good solid 15 minutes. I was told that I was
going to hell, and that I was worth nothing. after a minute, I put my
hand up to stop him from speaking anymore. I looked him in the eye and
said "Do you believe in prayer?" He said "yes! Pray every morning!" I
said "that is good. Do you believe in the Holy Ghost?" He said "You
mean the Holy Spirit? Yes! I believe in it!" I said "do you believe
the Holy Ghost reveals all truth?" He said "of course!!!!" I said "so
if you prayed to know if you should be baptized, and God revealed to
you that you need to be, would you follow the example of Jesus Christ
and be baptized?" He said "NO!" I said well, "I will see you at the
judgment bar of God. And Oh, by the way. What you are feeling right
now, is the spirit." Me and my companion walked away as he yelled at
us about how we are going to hell, and that we are never going to see
him at the judgement bar because we will be in hell." I turned around
and said "hey, don't get too carried away" he said "I'm not carried
away! I'm just fine! Fine fine fine! Yes, I'm fine..." I heard an
uneasiness come into his voice as he said that. He slammed his truck
door and sped off!

It felt like a similar encounter with Lucifer. Weeping and wailing,
and gnashing of teeth. I imagine that's what it was like when lucifer
was cast out of Fathers presence.. We learned that day whom that man
served. He was immature, deliberately condemning us, and honestly I
feel bad for the man. I wish he would have been in a state of humility
when I found him, so I could give him the chance to actually try out
our message. But he was passed feeling, and unwilling to submit to the
will of God. He was puffed up, and I honestly understand the whore of
all the earth, the church that was founded of the devil. It is real,
and it deceives many. Stay on the old ship Zion! It will guide you
safely home.


Love you all!

Heyyyyyoooooo ! August 8, 2016

Hey Everyone!

This one might be kinda short due to the fact that I suck at keeping

my notes updated.

I learned quite a bit this week from the training's that we gave to our

zone. I trained on "calling upon the powers of heaven" and "Developing

Christlike attributes." both of those things go hand in hand of

course. You cannot effectively obtain Christlike attributes without

calling upon the powers of heaven to help you. That is something I

learned really quick out here.

I also had some time to reflect on my mission. There are key events

that stick out. Some of those events are more trying than others. Some

are more miraculous than others. But bit by bit, I have seen the Lords

hand come down and shape my mission. Those experiences have changed me

for the rest of my life.

I have then been able to build a solid foundation.

King Benjamin states "Remember, remember that it is upon the rock of

our redeemer" and to further add his testimony he says "who is Christ,

the Son of God." Who is Christ, the Son of God? What kind of testimony

do we have of him? In verse 11 he speaks of the power that Christ has

been given of the Father to redeem us from our sins because of

repentance. Repentance "brings power to the Redeemer, unto the

salvation of our souls"

The underlying root word is Faith. Build your foundation on faith.

That the Son of God can redeem us. The reason Faith leads us to repent

is because we know that he has power to redeem us, that he has power

unto the salvation of our souls. So, in essence, repentance is the

only intelligent thing to do. No other thing can redeem us. There is

nothing. Only Christ has power to redeem us. We give him power when we

repent. We submit to him when we repent. We begin to build our

foundation when we have faith in him.

With this in mind, we have built our foundations on the power of

Christ's atonement. When the devil sends forth his mighty winds, yea,

his shafts in the whirlwind Yea, when all his hail and his mighty

storm shall beat upon you.

Shafts (A Remark that is intended to be witty, wounding, or provoking.)

Whirlwind (Used metaphorically in this context to describe a energetic

and tumultuous person, or process. In this case, it is the Temptation

process that we are subjected to as mortal men and women.)

Hail ( in this context it is used for "calling out, in attempt to stop someone")

Shall (Expressing a strong assertion, or intention.)

The Devil shall send forth his mighty winds. It is given with

assertion, and intention. With this intention he sends his shafts in

the whirlwinds. He isn't just mildly tempting us, he is energetic, and

tumultuously doing so, with witty, wounding, and provoking thoughts,

feelings, and counterfeit ideas. He isn't just tempting us to stop

walking down the straight and narrow. He is Hailing us. He is boldly

implying that we should give up, on ourselves and all those who want

to succeed. These are the things which beat on us daily.

When our foundations are build on the rock of our redeemer the devil

SHALL have no power over us to drag us down. That is a strong

assertion. One that cannot be wavered. To avoid temptation, we need to

focus our attention on building our foundation on Christ. We need to

give Him power over us, and not allow Satan's shafts, whirlwinds, and

hail to phase us. With this kind of resistance, we know that we are

being built for far greater things after this life. Resistance is key

to building faith. With this opposition, relying on Jesus Christ will

ultimately help us become just like our father in heaven. It is the

only way. Building our foundations on Jesus Christ, is having faith in

his divine power to deliver us from the depths of despair, and then to

continue to help us in the future.

Love ya!

 Sunday Morning Selfie!

He Got a hair cut from the guy that cuts hair for the KC Royals.. How cool is that?

August 1,2016 We Love it when Ward Members from Grantsville come to visit!

Hello! Guess who came showed up to church this Sunday? The Levit
family from Grantsville! That was a shock! They were visiting the
historic sites in the area and came to a random building for the
sacrament.

Here's a little bit of my learnings from this week.

Sometimes good men, perhaps even great men can't quite bring
themselves to put everything on the alter of sacrifice, and in the
course lose their eternal lives. So it was with the rich young ruler.
He had kept the commandments from his youth up. Then the Savior
declared. "Yet lackest thou one thing. Sell all thou hast and
distribute unto the poor...and come follow me." But it was too much to
ask, and he went away sorrowful, unwilling to put his all on the
sacrificial alter.

Throughout my entire life I have sought for things that would make me
happy. I sought for foolish things that I thought were worth my time,
but they weren't. I failed to recognize that only when I give all
things for the cause of Christ will I ultimately be happy. The key to
happiness was defined by King Benjamin. "Submissive, meek, humble,
patient, full of love; willing to submit to all things which the seeth
fit to inflict upon them, even as a child doth submit to his father"
The key is submitting my will, to the Lords will.

When I have thought about submission and sacrifice I thought it to be
only my unrighteous desires. I was wrong. Not only should I sacrifice
my unrighteous desires, I should sacrifice all of my desires. Good and
bad. The rich young ruler kept all of the Lords commandments, that
caused him to sacrifice is unrighteous desire. But then the Lord asked
him to sell off the good things in his life and give them to the poor.
So it is with my goals, dreams, wishes, visions, everything and
anything. It is like turning in a million dollars to the bank, and
getting 50 billion in return. The Lord has far greater things in
store. In this realm of thinking we are obtaining an actual knowledge
that the course we are pursuing is acceptable to the Lord. In due time
we will understand that it was the best decision we made. I want to do
what he wants me to do, I want to actually do what he wants me to do.
My heart pulls for it. Each of our hearts pull for it. When it is
recognized, we then understand that our course could be corrected
slightly to what his course is. Eternal life sounds much greater to me
than half mass. Celestial Glory sounds much greater than Telestial or
Terrestrial.

My week has been full of pondering. I honestly have no experiences to
share with you that are immaculate. I cannot say that I have seen
someone change. The Lord worked on me this week. Sometimes our tools
need to be sharpened. The Lords instrument needed to be sharpened this
week, so I allowed him to sharpen it. The Lords instruments (us) are
sharpened through repentance. Repentance is the gift given to us to
access the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Repentance is
turning from the things we are looking at, to God. Refined by the
sacrament through honoring our covenants, we are changed to become
sharp sickles, which reap the harvest of the white field. To keep that
instrument sharp, it takes continual thrusting in the sickle. When I
stop working, I allow myself to get rusty and dull. I need to
experience the miracles that come from this work. I live to allow
those miracles to shape my life.

In that very moment I had time to reflect on the changes I have made
as a result of seeing drug dealers become priesthood holders, broken
families become eternal families, wayward children becoming endowed
with power and fighting for truth and right. As I reflected upon those
moments, I hungered for more of those experiences. In obtaining
change, I have found the equation to yield the result of helping
others change first. I have thought that changing my soul would
require me to focus on my soul. But the requirement for a changed soul
is turning outward.

My favorite part of being a missionary is witnessing 3rd hand the
change that happens to others. Only a missionary can witness such an
amazing thing. I am literally watching someone be effected by the
greatest thing that happened on earth-The Atonement of Jesus Christ. I
watch the faces of these brothers and sisters, and over the course of
time they turn from dark and distressed, to lightened and full. I
watch them make the decision to say "I don't need that anymore to be
happy" they never go back to those things again. It is wonderful to
me. It is humbling.

I love my Savior. I know He lives. I know He cleanses us from sin. I
have seen His Atonement effect so many. I know that by applying His
doctrine into our lives will allow us to change. This, I so testify
with the most tender of feelings I can muster.

Apostles are Sweet! July 25, 2016

Hello!

This week was so great! We had our Niel L Andersen conference on
Monday! I'm pretty sure I watched the entire congregation of
missionaries lift up when he bore his special witness of Jesus Christ.
He knows him, he knows He loves us. He told us that there were dozens
of people in that very moment that were on their knees asking God for
answers. Those questions can be answered with our message.

After an experience like that my companion And i worked really hard.
We wanted to find those people and baptize them. We wanted to pray for
them, and help them understand Gods love for them, and that greater
peace and happiness comes as you live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Boy
I'll tell ya-we could've ran through these streets butt naked with a
Book of Mormon wedged between our butt cheeks and not get a lick of
persecution. We had a heck of a time.

If I could give any advice about a mission it would be this: "You
never want to serve a mission JUST out of hard work. You want miracles
out of your mission! You want to watch the hand of the Lord come down
and lift your mission." Elder Andersen explained that we should work
as if salvation all depended on us, and pray as if it all depended on
the Lord. Ultimately it is the Lords work. But if you don't show that
you want to do his work, the miracles you seek will never come.
Because the course of action you are pursuing is not acceptable to the
Lord. Faith unto miracles comes when we are willing to do all we can,
when we do our part for the cause of Christ. Miracles are not magic.
They do not come when we sit and wait. They come when we begin to act.
As members of His restored church we can expect miracles according to
our faithfulness. The falsehood of today's world is sign seeking. Sign
seeking is not a principle of the gospel, it is actually condemned in
the scriptures. Those who receive miracles are not shocked that the
miracle happened, they were expecting it to happen because they were
doing all they could to reach their goal.

Conversion to the gospel comes by faith unto miracles. Conversion is a
miracle. It comes as you live the principles and commandments of the
gospel. It comes by the Holy Ghost, who's purpose is to cleanse us
spiritually. Those who are converted to the gospel wanted to be
converted. They were not dragged into this. We call those
Less-Actives. But those who are converted wanted the sweet taste of
being reborn, only through the Holy Ghost can that happen. It also
isn't a destination, it is a journey. Conversion doesn't happen over
night, and it does not happen in a day. It happens "line upon line;
precept upon precept; here a little and there a little"

If it's anything I've learned this week it is this: I am not yet
finished on my path of conversion. I can say that I am more converted
than I was, but I cannot say that I am finished. As soon as I say that
I'm finished I will stop progressing. Just because my ordinances at
baptism, and In the temple have been done, does not mean that I will
automatically be accepted into the kingdom. It is a continual effort
of endurance that ultimately leads people to the CK. It drives me
absolutely insane when people from other church's say "all you gotta
do is accept Jesus in your heart and you are saved" Really? How will I
change from that? How will I progress if I don't do anything? They
have clearly missed the mark on this one. Accepting Christ and then
going and doing whatever I want after, is not going to get me
anywhere. Sin is still sin, and Repentance is still Repentance. Now
the reason I bring this up, is because in the Mormon church we have
people with this same mentality. "I've been baptized, received the
priesthood, got my patriarchal blessing, received my endowment, went
on a mission, got sealed in the temple and now I'm done" I have a ward
roster of 500, and 300 of those names have this mentality. I probably
see there faces once a quarter. They demand the most time out of their
bishop and leaders. Yet, benefit the least from it. They wonder why
blessings have ceased, and why life is hard. They wonder why they are
depressed, even though they did everything they were supposed to do.

The blessings that come from making covenants don't come when we say
"I have accept Jesus in my heart, and now I'm saved" or in the
perspective of Latter-day Saints "I've done my covenants, now I'm
saved. I don't have to do home teaching, pay tithing, live the word of
wisdom, keep the sabbath day holy, serve in my calling or do
missionary work. Those things will be wrapped up in the grace of
Christ, and many others are doing those things and will pick up the
slack" This thought process is what I call coasting through the
restoration. Sitting and waiting for people to come to you. Being
acted upon, rather than acting.

In this realm of thinking i have identified a sin that is not quite
thought about enough. That is the sins of omission. The sins of
omission are things that are left undone. For example The missionary
who Serves honorably and seeks to build the kingdom returns home and
no longer seeks to build the kingdom, but only seeks to build himself.
He starts school, gets into his career, starts thinking about himself.
With a course correction turning outward, he will ultimately be
honoring his covenants more fully, and receive the blessings that come
from faithful service. Serving God with all of his heart, might, mind,
and strength was only something he thought applied to the mission
field. But, with that call to serve, came the responsibility to serve
for eternity. Yes. Those who are called as missionaries in this life,
are also missionaries in the spirit world. They are also missionaries
in the millennium. So, instead of seeing this in a temporal matter. It
is ultimately a spiritual matter. Not only did we tell the Father that
we would come to this life; we told him, that we would bring his
gospel to those who had forgotten the plan. We are defined in the
scriptures as the "Noble and great ones" "The righteous and
organized...clothed with power and authority (commissioned) to go
forth and carry the light to them that were in darkness" (D&C 130:30)

At the close of this rant. I want to leave my testimony that God is
our loving Heavenly Father. He has a body of flesh and bone that is
glorified and perfected. He weeps with us when we struggle, and
rejoices when we do what is right. He sent His only begotten son Jesus
Christ to show us the perfect example, to suffer in agony in
Gethsemane, to be slain on the cross at Calvary, and to rise from the
tomb 3 days later. I know He lives. I know He loves us. I know that He
is long-suffering. He is my Savior and your Savior. We can become new
creatures in Christ as we keep the commandments, and seek diligently
to serve him to the end. I have seen drug dealers become priesthood
holders, widowed women be relieved with peace, and even my own soul be
changed, even my very nature. No matter how hard our days may seem, He
is there. He will help us improve. He has sent messengers time and
time again, and he has again done that in these latter-days.

Love you.

Elder Greenburg

STUDS!

July 18, 2016 B-Baptism! President!

Hello family and friends!

I had a good week. Holy Moses it has been so crazy! We had transfers.
I didn't get transferred but a new area was opened up in our zone.
They didn't have a place to stay or a car to drive. So they are living
with us for a while until we can get that settled. It has been
interesting to set up. Honestly, a pain in my butt. But I am so happy
we have Elders in Kansas City.

The baptism went really well! He invited the youth from Kansas City,
and Independence stakes. We had 80 people attend! That's insane! What
a stud! This kid has shown me how the gospel can change a life in 3
months.

We have 5 out of the 9 companionships that are training new
missionaries. I love new missionaries. Their zeal for the work is just
fascinating. What I tell new missionaries is that they need to lock
into their minds that the 18 or 24 months they are on their missions
are not theirs. That time is the Lord’s. They are going to devote
their skills and talents full-time to help build His kingdom. When
missionaries think that way, they don’t have trouble following the
mission rules. They don’t resist the counsel of the mission president,
the guidelines in Preach My Gospel, and the counsel of the General
Authorities. They embrace that counsel because they don’t want to
waste one minute of the Lord’s time.



We are meeting with  Elder Neal L. Andersen today, I love the
opportunities we have as missionaries to meet these brethren. I am
anxiously waiting!


Love you guys!

July 11,2016

We have a baptism coming up this week! Super excited about that! He is
so ready!


I have begun a new study. A study of faith that I had not yet
considered before. There are many different examples of faith. But the
ones I find most intriguing are as follows:
1.) Faith, moving its possessor to some kind of Mental or Physical action.
2.) Faith, being kindled by the testimony of others who have faith.
3.) Faith, an actual knowledge that the course of life one is pursuing
is acceptable to the Lord.
4.) Faith, that is developed by obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
5.).Blessings received because of faithful actions.

This manner of dissecting faith has caused me much reflection. It has
changed my outlook about life, Who God is, who I am, and others around
me.

I have spent a large portion of my life relying on the Faith of
others. The testimony of others only kindles faith, it is not a means
whereby endurance is persistent. Somewhere, somehow, I will be looking
for another person to rekindle my faith. That is not what the Lord
intended faith to be. Hence Alma 32. Rekindling faith is caused by
another's testimony, that is the seed. But it is then the
responsibility of the possessor to continue to nourish. The possessor
must acknowledge that the course of life he is pursuing is acceptable
to the Lord. If his course of action is not acceptable to the Lord he
must exercise faith unto repentance. Faith unto repentance, is
understanding that where you are looking is not in line with the Lord,
and humbly turning away from the things you are looking at, to the
Lord.

Elder Neil L. Andersen is visiting the mission next week, so P-day
will be moved to Tuesday. I am not sad about that!

Well, I love you!

Peace!


Elder Jared M. Greenburg
Missouri Independence Mission
Kansas City Stake

July 4, 2016

Hello! Happy Independence Day! There are no regulations out here
concerning fire works. We are going to watch a member blow stuff up
later. I guess last year he blew a microwave 50 feet in the air. This
should be interesting. I guess a lot of non members come, and
proselyting is allowed. This guy uses sticks of dynamite. I'm excited
for this.

We have seen so many miracles this week! We have been ripping up the
Ward roster lately. We get in with the member, invite the spirit with
a brief 5 minute message, and then we talk about people. When you talk
about people, a special spirit hits their hearts. I've seen it. It
works. We ask about people that we don't know, they tell us, while
telling us they are making their own invitation to act. Near the end
of the discussion, we find that people say "I will" and we say "we
will follow" we ask about people that nobody knows about, we find that
people who are listed as DNC are actually still friends with members,
and we are able to use the members as proxy. With this method of
finding we have obtained 5 focus families from the Elders quorum, the
relief society president (who doesn't normally work with elders) gave
us a list of 30 names that needed contact, and the high priest group
has names that they want to discuss this Saturday, and they have
already assigned their TeamUps. All from asking people, about people.

I've seen quite a few miracles happen recently. About 9 months ago I
was called out to a hospital to give a blessing to a women. As I gave
the blessing, I sealed her up to death. I had his overwhelming
impression to tell her to let go, and that things here are going to be
alright.. She passed away with my hands on her head. Her husband was a
non member, but asked for a blessing shortly after. I gave him one,
and admonished him to join the church. I left. I had thought about
that man for 9 months, not knowing where he was. Every day I would see
his face somewhere, whether it be in a street contact, or at a members
home. I even saw his face in the temple.. Finally I got some closure.
I was on exchanges with one of the assistants yesterday, and we
knocked on  recent converts door. All I knew about this recent convert
was that his wife passed 9 months ago, and he has fallen less active.
It was the man from the hospital. He was baptized shortly after the
incident, but still not doing well since his wife passed. He looked
sick, lost a lot of weight, and stopped attending church. He
remembered my face. I could never forget his. He then asked for a
blessing. In which I remember teaching him the plan of salvation, and
blessing him with the promises that are in store when you are sealed
to your wife.

The opportunity given to me to magnify the priesthood, has been the
most fulfilling part of my mission.


I also found a new gift this week that I didn't know existed. I can
love people. It's weird how that works out. I use to hate people! But
I just felt this great deal of compassion come over me, that I didn't
quite know about. Here is my thinking. One of the fruits of the spirit
is Love.  So maybe I don't have the ability to love people through
Jared's point of view. But as the spirit is with me, I can sure love
them from the Lords point of view, and that is much easier. Cause I
have a short fuse sometimes. Lol But there are times that I myself
can't possibly love someone, but the Lord can, and as I radiate that
love, I will see them as He sees them.




Elder Jared M. Greenburg
Missouri Independence Mission
Kansas City Stake