Coming Home

​dearest family,

 

gosh I can't believe this is the last day to email!

I have a feeling I'm going to come home and be really weird so just don't make too much fun of me ok? :)

To be honest I've been in complete denial for the entire transfer and especially this past week. I'm just expecting to get transferred to a new area and continue on with my mission (I wish). It didn't really sink in until Sunday when i had to say goodbye to everyone. It's going to be hard to leave all of this.

 

Well this week has been a crazy week so I have a lot to update you on!

So we told Keith last Sunday that he had to get permission to be baptized and that it probably wasn't going to happen on the 26th like we had planned and he was absolutely devastated to the point of tears.

So as I said in my last email we weren't expecting to have his baptism last week.

Well... here's the crazy part,

So on Thursday night at 10:20 just as we were about to head to bed we get a call from the mission president who says "I got permission for Keith to be baptized, his baptism is this Saturday right?" our response was "well he hasn't even been interviewed" to which he said "well set up and interview with the District Leader and make it happen" and that's what we did.

It was too late to start making the phone calls we needed to throw this baptism together so last minute but we got right to it the next day and guess what?! Keith got baptized on Saturday night!

It was such a special experience for the entire ward I think. The spirit was so strong and I know that Keith is such a great addition to this church. He's ready to take on the world now! It was amazing how everything just fell right into place for the whole thing,. That to me was a miracle and Heavenly Fathers way us assuring us that this was right. I am so grateful to Him for letting me have the chance to end my mission in that way and have the priviledge of seeing Keith be baptized.

He got confirmed on Sunday and so now we're just working to get him to the temple to do baptisms. He's done quite a bit of family history with one of the members so he already has people to do work for.

The ward has done such and incredible job taking care of him and helping him feel like part of the family.

 

I am so grateful for the privilege I've had to serve as a missionary in the Texas Houston Mission. I have loved every minute of it and it has changed my life forever and for the better. I've said this before but I cannot adequately express how much I have loved my mission, how much it has changed me, all that I have learned, and how much I love this gospel.

I know with all my heart that this church is true and was fully restored. I'm am so glad I could have this chance to share that testimony with the wonderful people of Texas and watch them as they change their lives for the better.  

This gospel truly is the most precious thing that we could ever have in our lives.

 

I love you all and I am so grateful for all of you support, love, letters, and prayers!

See you soon... that us unless I can somehow convince President Mortinsen to let me stay a couple more transfers... :)

 

Love you!

The Kingdom of God or nothing!

 

Love, Sister Gregson

The Best 18 Months FOR My Life!

7/21/14

​Dearest family,

 

how are y'all doing?

 

Well this week has been crazy but good!

 

We've been working hard to invite 25 people everyday, some days we reach it and other days we come close but we are trying as hard as we can!

One day we were able to invite 39 people! That was a huge miracle for us! We've had more opportunities to hand out Book of Mormons and at least teach people some of the basics of what we believe. We still don't have any new investigators but I hope that many seeds were planted.

 

We had a really good lesson with Keith this week on eternal families and temple work. He has already started doing family history with one of the members so we were excited to share with him why it's so important.

He had a really neat experience this week at work. He was working in the rock yard and he got to thinking about the church and all the things we've taught him and he told us that all the sudden he just had this really powerful spiritual confirmation that everything that we were teaching him was true. He said that it was so strong that he cried for about an hour and a half straight! He attended a baptism for another set of missionaries this week with us and he is so excited to get baptized. He wanted to jump in right there and then with the person getting baptized. Unfortunately Keith probably won't be getting baptized this coming Saturday because of some of the things in his past. Our mission president has to get special permission for him to be baptized and then hopefully interview him this week. I'm sad that I won't get to be there for his baptism but I'm just grateful I got to meet him and work with him and I know he'll be taken care of.

 

Kaylee is doing great as usual! She just started Alma! We're also going to start helping her with her personal progress because she really wants to finish it.

 

I can't believe this is my last week. Where did the time go?

I'm sad to come home but I know that there are good things to come.

I have loved my mission more that I know how to express and it has changed me in ways I cannot explain. I know I have said this before but it's so true, deciding to serve a mission was the best decision I've ever made in my life up to this point and these past 18 months have been the best 18 months for my life. This gospel is so wonderful and it gives us so much hope. This church is true and we are so fortunate to have it in our lives.

I love you all so much and I'm so grateful for all of your love, prayers and support!

 

The Kingdom of God or nothing!

Love,

Sister Gregson

25 a Day!

dear family,

 

How are you?

Yes I want to stay at the airport and wait for Alex! Sounds like fun to me!

 

This week has been such a wonderful week!

 

We met with Keith multiple times this week and he is doing as amazing as usual! He loves this gospel so much and he's so ready for baptism. He not only started reading in the Book of Mormon but he's also tackling D&C, JSH, and The Pearl of Great Price. He told us he just can't seem to put them down. His love and enthusiasm for this gospel is inspiring. Not only that but he is such a great missionary too! Everytime someone asks him why he's so happy he tells them it's because of the Mormons. He always says "if you want to be happy I have two people I'd like to introduce to you." He came to church again and fits right in. Most the members don't even realize he's an investigator until we tell them over dinner. They all think he just moved into the ward. He's still planning to be baptized on the 26th!

 

We met with Rosa this week! FINALLY! It feels like it's been forever since we've seen her! We watched the "Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration" video and she really enjoyed it. She had no idea what the early church members went through. She still is hesistant to come to church but we'll just keep inviting her.

 

Kaylee is doing great! She's going to hopefully start going to seminary next year if she gets the OK from her mom. I think it will be so good for her!

 

We had two exchanges this week and they went really well! I love working with all these amazing sister missionaries! I've had so many opportunities this week to teach and share my testimony and I'm so grateful for that.

Gosh I just have so much I could share that I don't even know what to say.

 

We had interviews with President Mortensen and he's truly is amazing! I'm so excited for the short time I have to spend with him. In each of out individual interviews he committed us to invite at least 25 people every day. Sister Quist and I have had to get really creative in order to accomplish that. For us on average we are able to invite maybe 5 people a day. Now that it's hot no one is outside and when we tract typically for every 25 houses you might have 1 or 2 people that answer the door. We don't have any parks in our area or huge shopping centers so that just leaves us with the neighborhoods. Well I knew the 25 would be hard but I also know from President Pingree that nothing is too hard for the Lord. That is something he instilled in us. So we knew if that was the standard that the Lord would help us accomplish it. Like I said we've had to get really creative. We talk to Everyone we see on the streets and in the neighborhoods just like before but we've had to do more things to get that 25. For example we've started going into some of the stores like Payless and the Dollar Store and we'll just stand in an isle and when someone comes looking for something we'll strike up a conversation with them and then invite them. It's actually worked pretty well and we haven't been kicked out of any of the stores yet :) We also look for more opportunities while we're at the gas station and places like that. It's been really fun to challenge ourselves to do things a little differently.

 

I don't know if you've heard about the Stay family or not but they are an LDS family that was murdered last week here in Houston. All 6 family members were killed except their daughter Cassidy. They are not in my area but are close by. It has been a very devastating thing for those members and for the missionaries that served in their ward so I just wanted to ask you to keep Cassidy, the ward, and Sister Lambright and her companion in your prayers.

 

How grateful I am for this gospel and that we know that there is life after this and that we can be with our families forever. It is wonderful to know that even when tragedy hits we can still have hope and it's all because of our loving Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. We need to share this hope with the world. We just can't keep it to ourselves. The world is in desperate need of this hope.

 

Sorry to end on such a sad note but know that things are going well here! I'm still in denial that i'm coming home soon. In fact I think i'll just stay here if that's ok...

I love you all and I hope you have a great week!

 

The Kingdom of God or nothing!

 

Love, Sister Gregson

God Bless America and God Bless Texas!

Hello family!

How is life in SLC?

Happy fourth by the way!

We had a pretty good day here! The Howards fed us breakfast and the Crandalls fed us dinner and in between we did our regular missionary work.

When we got in for the night we grabbed ourselves some Bluebell ice cream and sat on our balcony to watch the fireworks. Still as epic as ever. God bless Texas.

The entire horizon as far as you can see fills up with illegal fireworks and they go all night long. It's pretty spectacular. The great thing about Texans too is that they do fireworks the night before and night after the fourth as well so we've still been seeing fireworks every night since.

I truly am grateful for the freedoms we enjoy in this country and I am so grateful that this country was foreordained to be the place that provided the opportunity for the gospel to be restored.

 

We got to meet the Mortinsen's this week. They are the most adorible family. They have 4 daughters and 2 sons. Their oldest child just left for her mission and their youngest is 5. They are amazing. I think we all fell in love with them instantly. He reminds me a lot of President Pingree. He is just as enthusiastic, kind, loving, humorous, and speaks powerfully just the way that president pingree did. I prayed before we met him that I would be able to recieve a spiritual confirmation that he is truly called of God to lead us at this time. I was worried that it would be hard for me to accept him right away but really I had no problem at all. About halfway through a lesson he was teaching us i had to remind myself that this was the first time we'd met him because it felt as though we'd always known him and he'd always been here. I think that was the Lord's way of confirming to me that President Mortinsen truly has been called of God to be here at this time. I am so grateful for the time I got with the Pingrees and i'm so grateful for this short time I will have to learn from President and Sister Mortinsen.

He shared some things with us that really stuck out to me. One missionary asked him "How do you define what a successful missionary is." In response he first turned us to Preach my Gospel chapter 1 and then he said "You know you are a successful missionary when you are doing all that you can to reach your individual divine potential." It has nothing to do with the amount of baptisms you have. I love that. He also said, "Anyone can serve a mission, that's the easy part, but not everyone who serves a mission becomes a missionary."

He has such a powerful spirit about him just like President Pingree and I am so excited to get to know him.

 

 

We had two lessons with Keith this week! We taught him about tithing and fast offerings. We knew beforehand that this might be difficult for Keith because he isn't finacially sound right now and we weren't sure how he would react. But as always his faith blew me away. After the lesson he was ready to go to the church, get a slip, and pay that 10 percent. We told him is was something he didn't have to do until after he was baptized so he decided he's going to start setting the 10 percent aside now so that when he's baptized he can pay it.

He told us that he had talked to his biological father and his father started bashing the church and questioning Joseph Smith, but Keith stood strong and defended the church. We told him that Satan was going to try and do everything within his power to stop Keith from being baptized and Keith understood that he needs to stay strong. He's been reading the Book of Mormon everyday and we also gave him a conference Ensign to read. He came to church on Sunday and even fasted with us. Working with him has been a good reminder to me of how blessed we are to have this gospel and how important it is to accept and gladly follow the commandments of the Lord. The commandments are a priviledge to know and follow.

 

Kaylee is doing well! Sunday was such a good day. I knew it was my last fast sunday as a missionary so I got up to bear my testimony and as I sat on the stand to wait my turn I saw Kaylee stand up and walk to the front! She bore her testimony and let me tell you it was the most beautiful testimony I have ever heard. She talked about how much this church has changed her life, how much she loved being at the temple, how she knows right now her parents don't understand but that someday she will be baptized. She also told us how grateful she was for us. She always refers to us as "my missionaries." I was so amazed. She is incredible. It was such a blessing to be able to hear her bear her testimony. I can't wait for the day when I hear that Kaylee is getting baptized! That will be a good day.

 

This gospel is the most wonderful thing in the world and it is true! It ALWAYS changes us for the better. It helps us become our best selves and helps us reach our divine potential.

 

The Kingdom of God or nothing!

Love,

Sister Gregson

Temple session with the Pingrees

 

 Do any of these people look familiar?

 

 Temple

 

Bittersweet

June 30, 2014

​

Dearest family,

 

How are you? Good I hope.

 

Well this week was a bitter sweet week here in the Texas Houston Mission.

So first I'll start with the bitter.

As you know it was President Pingree's last week as our mission president. We all had the wonderful opportunity to do a session with him and sister pingree in the Temple. And the temple president and his wife came to officiate. It was a really special day and I could feel the spirit more powerful than ever as I sat in the temple with so many missionaries and President and Sister Pingree. Being together with them really felt like heaven. After the session we met in a conference room in the temple and the temple president talked to us about the endowment. It was an incredible experience. Then we got to hear President and Sister Pingree give their last testimony to us and as we walked out of the room we each got to hug them both. It was a day that I'll never forget and I'm so grateful for them. They have changed me in so many ways and helped me to be a much better daughter of God than I was before. The have changed my life for forever.

We haven't met our new mission president yet but we will on Wednesday. I'm sure he will be great. Mom I got the details of their homecoming for you! it will be July 13th @ 9 AM and sister pingree couldn't remember the exact address but it is near 3900 south and 2250 east near Olympus.

 

Now for the sweet!

 

We had another lesson with Keith this week! Last week he had mentioned that he knew we couldn't drink coffee and that smoking was out so we decided to talk to him about the Work of Wisdom so he could understand why. Before we even started the lesson he told us that he had quit smoking. One day he reached for the pack and then he decided in that moment he was done and hasn't picked up a cigarette since! The spirit has really been helping him. He also said that since he learned we didn't drink coffee that it's started to taste different to him. At first he thought that it was just a bad batch but he said every time he drinks it now it tastes gross to him! I couldn't believe it, well actually I could believe it because the Lord has been helping him so much and he has been so prepared! Well we taught him about the Word of Wisdom and he was very accepting of it. He's already decided to stop drinking coffee. He came to church and we were able to set a baptism date with him for the 26th of July! He even called us on the 27th to make sure that we were aware that it was the anniversary of Joseph Smiths martyrdom. We were so amazed! He has been an answer to 6 months worth of prayers. Tonight we're going to watch the hour long Joseph Smith film with him. He's really excited to see it and I think he'll really enjoy it.

 

We finally were able to have a lesson with Robin today! This morning we went over and taught her the restoration!  It went really well. She has had a really hard life but she is the strongest most chirst-like woman I've ever met. She is always doing something for someone else. We're really excited to work with her.

 

The lesson with Kaylee at the temple was really good! We were able to sit with her on the grounds and talk to her about the temple. We even got to take her inside to the waiting room. She wants so badly to be baptized and be able to enter the temple. I know Heavenly Father knows the desires of her heart and that one day it will happen for her.

 

The Lord has been leading us to a lot of people lately who are willing to listen to what we have to say and there is nothing like the feeling of being able to testify to someone about the restored gospel.

I wish I had more time to tell you about all the experiences we've been having lately. We are really seeing some wonderful miracles happen. The miracles that I've been praying so hard for for so long.

It's amazing to look back and see how much I struggled when i first got to this area and all the seemingly impossible mountains we had to climb and now to be able to see these blessings come is such a blessing.

I know that if we continue to go and do as the Lord has commanded even when the blessings are far off, and even when we don't see immediate results, the Lord will bless us even more.

I am so grateful for my mission. I seriously wish I could be a missionary in the Texas Houston Mission for the rest of my life.

 

I love you all so much!

The Kingdom of God or nothing!

Love, Sister Gregson

The Greatest Blessing

Howdy y'all!

 

How are you?

I can't believe that Alex is coming home the same day! That is crazy!

Mom did you get my flight plans? cause they haven't sent them to me yet... which when i think about it i'm actually ok with that.

 Happy Birthday Dan! I would have sent you your very own personalized email but I realized I don't actually have your email so... yeah. But I hope you have the best birthday ever and I love you!

 

This week was a really great week!

Keith came to church again! He's just as enthusiastic as ever about the gospel. He called us this past week to tell us that he was at the store buying a white shirt and tie and he wanted to know if short sleeves were ok explaining to us that "this is texas and i can't find any longsleeves anywhere." We had multiple lessons with him this week. During the first one we showed him "The Restoration video" and he loved it. When it was over he was so disappointed because he wanted it to keep going. He even said "is there a series on this? cause if there isn't they need to make one." We told him we'd show him the hour version about Joseph Smiths life and he was so excited. He keeps asking us about it. He had some amazing insights after watching that video though. He was amazed because he said to us "Joseph Smith was just a man." He could relate to him in many ways. At the end he told us that he knew Joseph Smith was a prophet. As we sat with him for that lesson he just couldn't stop thanking us. It was really humbling. Sometimes we forget just how wonderful the gospel is and how blessed we are to have it. He's been reading in the Book of Mormon everyday. He even marks the verses that really stand out to him. He told us that since he started to come to church and read the Book of Mormon he's not as tempted as he was before. He just amazes me. 

Last night we taught him the Plan of Salvation and he really enjoyed that lesson as well. He accepted a baptismal committment. We haven't set a date yet but we will be soon. He's going to have to give up smoking and coffee but he already told us he's ready to quit the smoking, it's the coffee he doesn't want to give up. He's been really nervous to pray because he's never actually prayed his entire life. He's had "talks" with God but never really prayed. Well last night he said the closing prayer and it was the most simple powerful prayer. 

 

We also had a lesson with Rosa this week. We wanted to just focus on resolving her concerns. Turns out we were right about whats keeping her from coming to church. Not only is Catholicism her culture but she is very concerned about what her family and church friends and pastor would think. For her it would just be easier to learn about our church but just keep attending her church. We were bold but loving as we explained to her that if she wants to really know the truth she needs to come to church. We made sure she knew that we weren't trying to prove the catholic church wrong, we're just adding to what she already knows. She understands this but her fear is greater than her faith in what we've taught. She's still reading in the Book of Mormon and praying. We asked her how she felt when she goes to church and she even said "sometimes I feel the spirit and other times I don't." Then she turned it on us and asked how we felt when we go to church. The spirit was strong as we explained to her what church meant to us and I am so grateful to know that I can ALWAYS count on the spirit to be there when I go to church. I know that someday Rosa will realize that this is true but I'm not certain that will happen any time soon. We may be dropping her but for now we're praying really hard to know what she needs. 

 

Kaylee is doing great! She's been coming to church and is still reading in the Book of Mormon. This week the YW are doing a temple trip so while they are doing baptisms we will be there with Kaylee on the grounds teaching her about temples. I think it will be a really great experience for her. 

 

I'm just so grateful to be a missionary and to have the opportunity to share my testimony everyday. This church is the greatest blessing the world could have!

 

I love you! Thanks for all your prayers!

 

The Kingdom of God or nothing!

 

Love, Sister Gregson 

Workin' hard

Hey family!

 

Well another day of transfer calls has come and gone and it's official I'll be finishing my mission in Tomball with Sister Quist.

Tell mike and alisha I met Karen Riley and she is really awesome! and thanks for the package! You guys are the best!

Also Chelsea's friend Trevor took us to lunch!

 

We had a really good week! Things are starting to pick up and I hope it stays that way!

Kaylee is doing good. We asked her about talking to her mom about baptism and she told us that her mother said that she would like for her to wait until she's 18. I'm not really sure if that's true or if Kaylee is just really afraid to ask her mom but I don't think anything is going to progress as far as baptism until her older sister Esmerelda gets home from her mission.

Rosa is doing great, still hasn't come to church though.

 

We got 2 new investigators this week!

The first one is Lisa! She is this beautiful asian woman and when we told her who we were and that we wanted to share a message with her her immediate response was "YES! I am very interested. I'm busy now but please come back. I'm very interested."

Those kind of responses are the best! I love finding people who are already searching for truth, their hearts are always so humble and ready. She's going to be out of town on a buisness trip so we won't get to see her until the 28th but I'm really excited to share the gospel with her!

Then there's Keith. I may have told you about Keith before I'm not sure... but we met him at the beginning of the transfer so about 5 weeks ago. We knocked into him and he was really nice. He is an older, big, tall, spiritual guy who has had a really rough life. He's tried many different religions but never really felt at home in any of them. Well we have had brief short lessons with him every now and again since we met him but we never had a chance to just sit down and share with him any of the discussions because he's been so busy. Well we finally were able to meet with him on Saturday! We were able to have the lesson in a members home and we taught him the restoration. The spirit was powerful and he definitely felt it. He is so ready. At the end of the lesson he couldn't stop thanking us. He even tried to hug me which was really weird and awkward by the way... haha (don't worry I dodged him). He told us that his heart was so full. He called us later that day just to let us know that he felt so good all day and wasn't really sure what was going on but he knew it felt good (and also to apologize for trying to hug me). It was so funny!

We invited him to church and guess what?! He came! He asked to get off work early so he could come. He loved it. He asked questions in sunday school and even made some great comments. During the lesson he talked about how ever since we showed up on his door he's felt so good. He even volunteered to help the elders quorum with a service project. And after church we found him helping the teacher put away the materials he was using. It was as if he'd been here for years.

I am so excited to work with him more. I can't wait to see his testimony grow. I'm so grateful that we were able to find him.

 

Robin's family is still in town so we haven't been able to see her.

We saw travis again and he's still interested it's just a matter of actually finding a time to meet.

 

We're still working hard and hopefully we'll keep seeing miracles big and small.

It's hard to think that soon i won't be a missionary with a black name tag. I've been reflecting a lot on my mission and what i've learned and the person i've become. I am really going to miss it.

It has been one of my greatest joys in life to have the priviledge and opportuinity to serve the Lord here in the Texas Houston Mission.

This church truly is the only true and living church of that I have no doubt.

 

Love you all!

The Kindgom of God or nothing!

Love, Sister Gregson