Εβδομάδα 48: Greeks haven't changed since Paul's time

So Monday...start of the week, well...let's just say I coulda been smarter and ended up not being able to walk anywhere. The way things were looking/feeling I couldn't say I was totally fine because I very well coulda done a lot more damage than I did to my shin. Talking with my family I was really scared that I fractured my tibia and would have no choice but to go home. So basically the entirety of Monday night till mid Tuesday day I was thinking of ways I could beg President Anderson to stay on my mission IF I did do something to my leg and just praying really really hard I wouldn't have to. At this point, reflecting on things and thinking how much I did NOT want to go home, I realized how much I absolutely LOVE my mission and being a missionary. Yeah it's way hard here, especially spiritually, let alone the Greek language, but I do not feel like I have served my purpose here quite just yet. So the docs update: lil dent on my tibia, damage to the soft tissue with a good amount of inflammation. But most importantly NO FRACTURE WE GOOD! President Anderson called asking for an update on my doctors visit and warned me saying, "ya know I know you Sister Gale, and I know you aren't going to like it but I'm telling you you need to make sure and take it easy." Of course I'll take President's counsel, but nothing is gonna hold me back from doing the greatest work on this Earth.

With my whole leg fiasco, we've had to put a pause on using our bikes and take the bus. RIP. Those things are crowded to the MAX. I honestly don't even know how we breath it is so packed. Which makes it real hard to talk to people because you are literally 2 inches from their faces and I don't think a lot of these people have used their toothbrushes in a while haha. We had such an incredible lesson with يوسف (Youssef) Tuesday morning! We taught him about the plan of Salvation and he was just in awe of how PERFECT God's plan is for us! He was even taking notes to share with his Arabic friends when they ask him what he thinks about where we come from, why we're here, and where we're going. Throughout the lesson he kept repeating, "wow that is just amazing". In the end, the diagram I had drawn out outlined the word "LOVE" and when we pointed this out to him his eyes got really big and he said, "this is the 1st time I have ever heard or seen this, i love you so much my sisters, thank you." I'm so grateful Sister Vennerholm and I were able to help him recognize our lives on this earth are so small yet play such a significant role in our eternities. This was yet another one of those days I truly have felt the joy of helping another precious soul recognize their potential as a child of God and what that means. Youssef even joined us for another Book of Mormon finding activity and is was so great to see him sharing the joy and testimony he has developed so fearlessly with these Greek people! Oh yeah funny thing during the finding activity. So Sis V was talking to a lady and she saw the picture of Joseph Smith on the massive poster we had and goes, "ένα προφήτη από την Σουηδία;;" (A Swedish prophet huh?) Haha so random. Sis V told her nope, a prophet for the entire world! Actually a big concept for people to wrap their brain around sometimes. Another funny conversation happened with this old man who asked when our church was started and we told him from the beginning of times when Christ organized it and he walks away from the conversation shaking his head saying "Ιεχώβα...Ιεχώβα...Ιεχώβα" (Jehovah's...Jehovah's...Jehovah's). Haha, nice try there but we aren't Jehovah's! On that topic tho, a few times a week we have to politely ask Jehovah Witness members to please move themselves and their stands elsewhere that is NOT directly in front of our church apartment building because that seems to be a favorite place of theirs and we don't want others to associate them with us.

Another day we were out finding and ran into this group of African men... I had a huge flashback to Cyprus is was GREAT haha. Anyways, so sis V and I were in separate conversations and the guy I was talking to, Christian, has some pretty funny ways of thinking. I invited him to come see what our church was like this Sunday since he was all for learning about Christ but then he made the comment, "yes I come to church and you give me women". Haha yeah no, not how this works here Christian. I told him that maybe if he put God 1st then he would be blessed to find a women but he's got to have his priorities straight 1st. Then he asked if sis V and I might be his women and I was quick to tell him, "sorry we're taken and we're only here to teach about Christ and His gospel so if you want that, than we'd be more than willing but anything else you can count us out." He got bummed and it was pretty funny. Some guys have some weird ways of trying to get with girls here and Sis V and I have had our fair amount of experiences shutting men down haha. Then he tells me, " you teach me bout Jesus and then the gospel you talk about and find me a women. I need women then God, then I'll be happy." Hahaha oh man this guy was just going in circles, kinda felt bad for him but kinda not. As soon as he's got a change of heart and his priorities straight maybe we'll be able to help him realize where real happiness is found. And that is FIRST having the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ ;) In my interview with President Anderson this week he thanked me for the gift of discernment I have and for being so a level-headed and having a real and straight forward personality in general but also with the people we meet, especially the men. Since Sis V is sometimes too nice and President says that sometimes the investigators we teach can take that the wrong way. So we balance each other out perfectly. He even suggested that we do some role plays in our companionship where Sis Vennerholm learns to say no and I thought that was pretty funny. Never thought that'd be advice we'd get from President haha but it's true, I don't think I've met anyone so sweet and kind as my companion.

President Anderson actually came into town this week because he was on a 30 day Patriarchal blessing tour and brought a Patriarch here for the 1st time in nearly 10 years! So he had an interview with Youssef to make sure we could safely continue to teach him with his Muslim background and we were devastated to hear that even though we can continue to teach Youssef, he won't be allowed to be baptized and make that sacred covenant with God anytime soon because of rules and regulations we have with teaching people with Muslim backgrounds. Not the news we wanted to hear :( but we're so glad he can still continue to learn! On the other hand however, our Iranian family was also interviewed and it seems that our google translate communications with them have been a little mixed up and we actually will be able to teach them after all!! President had to check with the Area 70 presidency to check and then they were quick to give us the go with them! Update on them: we picked right back up where we last left off teaching them. The family consists of Kourosh (husband) and Nafas (wife) and their 3 beautiful kids! The oldest is 8 and the twins just turned 2. We had a wonderful lesson with them and Saturday afternoon we taught them and they have made a baptismal goal for January 25th! We are ecstatic for them progress in the gospel and will do are very best to help them achieve their goal. The husband shared with us that he has read the Book of Mormon every day since he received it in Persian and prayed to ask God if it was true and he immediately felt it was from God and its truthfulness. We are so grateful for the miracle of being able to bring the restored gospel to this elect family with so much potential!

So about that Iran situation anyways. There are so many refugees from Iran and the middle East in the areas we serve here and we are in contact with them daily. We're actually the closest missionaries to all the craziness going on in the middle east right now and I've had a handful of people from Iran asked me if America hates Iranian people and as a missionary I can't talk anything political but it gets a little scary sometimes because of everything that's been happening and me being from the States. Sis V asked President, "is Sister Gale safe here" in her interview and he said that they've been given a general warning to be extra cautious with the Americans missionaries in our areas of the mish (Greece and Cyprus) but so far we don't have any restrictions or limitations. Our safety is the top priority to our mission President so he'll definitely make sure we are all good. Never thought that'd be something I'd experience on my mission.

We were extra grateful for the opportunity to have dinner Friday night with President and Sister Anderson as well as the Patriarch that came, previous quorum or the 70 Elder Dennis B. Nevenschwader. He actually served as mission president over tons of countries 30 or so years ago, one of which included Greece! We asked him how the work was back then compared to now (hoping he'd give us some confidence and say things have improved greatly) and he tells us, "we were at a good start 30 years ago, and we're at a good start now. But ya know, I'd say that the Greek people haven't changed much since Paul's time. To have the church even more the slightest of an inch forward here we really do need the strongest missionaries and I believe we have the best of the best here." He then gave us a little bit of his personal insights. He told us that before we came on our missions there were probably a lot of people telling us "there are so many people prepared to here the restored gospel!" but then when we came here we realized that actually isn't the case and that the Lord knows that there will be a lot of people that aren't open or won't accept the gospel, but He does know that everyone has a need and as we are in tune with the Spirit we can find those whose needs can be met by us. Maybe not spiritually right now, but just in our kind selfless actions. I loved that. At all times, in all things, and in all places, we should always BE the message. President Anderson wanted to boost our spirits a bit after that and shared with us some of the numbers from previous years (even though it's not about numbers at all). He told us that in 2016, there were 3 baptisms in Thessaloniki. In 2017: zero. 2018: one. 2019: A WHOLE TWELVE. and we will decide 2020. If that doesn't look like a huge boost of hope I don't know what would. We are actually making a dent in the work here no matter how slow it is and that gives us a glimpse of hope. So yeah when people say their missions are hard, our mission is WAY hard on many levels too. Yet is is so perfect for each and every missionary here individually. Some people may just look at the pictures and think its an absolute paradise here in Greece, but then once you actually get to work, it's a whole new ball park and nothing like you would picture as the typical "mission experience". At least that's how I've seen it.

I think one of the worst lessons of my mission can be noted for Saturday January 11th. We were excited to meet with Kiki again and did but it was if we were talking to a completely different person and Kiki was no where to be found. She told us that she did not want to get baptized here because she hates the Greek people and wants to go to England or America to be baptized. The entire hour with her she barely let us say a word no matter how much we tried. And if you know me, I can be pretty stern and straightforward, but I could only get half of what I wanted to say before she would interrupt and continue. Her logic of explaining why she hated the Greek people and her logic about forgiveness and everything was all just so backwards and simply wrong in every way. You know it's bad when Sis V, remember the most kind human ever, quickly figures out the word racist in Greek and calls her out for it haha. Something happened at least 5 years ago that Kiki has said she has forgiven the people for yet she tells us she can no longer attend church in Greece or be baptized because of that person who is still in our branch. Talk about holding grudges. We tried to teach her what true repentance and forgiveness was by reading several scriptures but she wouldn't have it. Really we are just really sad that she can't see past this previous situation and because of that will be missing the blessings she could be receiving through attending church and being baptized. After having enough of her just complaining to us about everyone we finally told her we needed to leave some said a prayer and started to walk off and as she's walking with us she gets all giggling and happy and says, "I feel so wonderful, that was perfect wasn't it girls!" Sis V and I just looked at each other like "what the heck is happening we just had the worst discussion with her and she's happy?!" We were so lost at this point. After this lesson we just thought about what the Patriarch told us and thought to ourselves how correct he is. These Greek people really haven't changed and it's gonna take a lot to soften any of their hearts. 

One thing that I love doing in my personal studies is studying specific topics. One I've been on lately is the source of God's power. Where does it come from? Is is some mechanism we don't understand yet, did His Father give it to Him, what it is? I still don't quite know the "correct" answer but I found a good relating scripture to help me come to a temporary conclusion from D&C 121:36. So normally we focus on the beginning part of this verse, "that the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven..." yes it's super super awesome but then if we pay specific attention to the 2nd half it continues with "... and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness." There's the gold in this verse I particularly love. So is it God's RIGHTEOUSNESS that is the source of His power? Then I thought about Joseph Smith's 1st vision account when he testifies,"when the light rested upon me, I found myself delivered." Is that light flowing from God's righteousness? And if so, none of us will have much power ourselves if we're unrighteous. Joseph Smith restored the exact Priesthood authority that God gave to Christ himself to organize His church that we have TODAY. That we exercise TODAY! The Church of Jesus Christ cannot be without this perfect and precise Priesthood power. We are blessed immensely with this knowledge and are accountable to the Lord for using it righteously and worthily. It is by our own righteousness that Satan's influence and power is bound. We are given so many tools to combat the adversary's desires and I can testify that the Priesthood is key to this.

Have a great week everyone! Don't forget who you are and whose you are, love you all!

Love,
Sister Gale

PICS!

1 Classic cobblestone streets

2 Our FAVVV book

3 یوسف joined us for some BoM finding

4 Shopping n Thess sunsets with Sister Anderson

5-9 Hospital adventures plus elevate n ice pt 1/2

10-11 Youssef's sick Arabic notes from our lessons