A little lost (in the airport) and a lot of work


Hello and happy Mothers' Day!!!!


I only have half an hour so I will try and do this as best as I can! Thank you for all of your emails and letters!!! They mean so much and I will try my best to respond!!


GUYS. NAUVOO IS INCREDIBLE. The streets are so quiet but somehow it feels like a busy city. I can't believe I get to be here in this beautiful place for such a wonderful purpose.


I have experienced more trials in the past week and three days that I have been here than I typically do in an entire semester at school. It's insane. But perhaps the Lord is trying to show me my weaknesses so he can strengthen me. But fortunately the incredible moments throughout our rehearsal process thus far have made up for the incredibly difficult times.


I arrived at the very small Quincy, Illinois airport on the night of May 4th, after riding from St. Louis in a very small plane with three other passengers and the pilots. When we got to the airport everything was closing/already closed as the others grabbed their bags and left. I borrowed someone's cell to call my mission coordinators and let them know I had arrived safely (but I left a message because it went straight to voicemail).


I waited in the completely empty, dark airport (a security officer left a door open for me in case I needed to leave and come back) for an hour and fifteen minutes before my mission coordinators arrived. Those of you that know me well know that I am terrified of being alone, so I was afraid for a moment that I had been forgotten. However, I said a prayer and remembered that I was there on the Lord's errand and had the Holy Ghost with me. I felt comforted that I had left a message for the coordinators and knew that someone would EVENTUALLY come even if I had to wait a few hours. I felt like Fred Randall on Rocketman all alone in the airport and yes I even sang the "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt......" song and shouted at the end BAHAHAHA


BUT everything worked out fine and I arrived in Nauvoo safely to the most loving welcome I've probably ever received anywhere.


The temple is MAJESTIC. There is simply so other way to describe this place. Majestic.


When I got my companion, Sister Zamora, it was difficult for me at first. Sometimes I am shy and reserved and no matter how hard I try to think of things to talk about, I can't make conversation. It was difficult for me to feel a connection with my companion until just a few days ago actually. I felt like she didn't want to spend time with me because she was always with other girls, but I followed a prompting that the Holy Ghost gave to me to simply ask her what her favorite ride is at a Disney park (she is a huge Disney fan) and it fed into a conversation that lasted a couple hours and got pretty deep. We bonded a lot that night and have been great friends since!


I had a difficult time bonding with the stage sisters at first. But last Sunday I fasted and I have prayed a lot and I realized that I needed to serve my sisters and go out of my way to get to know them and love them first. I was expecting them to come to me and love me first but it doesn't always work that way. I started changing the way that I interacted with them and my attitude toward them changed. I watched out for opportunities that I could uplift and serve my sisters, and now we have bonded and become so close as a team!!


It has been so hard to remember that I am a missionary when we aren't seeing people and are in 12 hours of rehearsal every day. In fact, we became a little too casual with the elders and had to have a pretty serious chat with our general directors, the Schultzes about it. But the stage sisters and I sat together and made new goals to change our interactions and things have been much better now.


I have a huge problem because I never feel confident or have self-esteem unless I feel like I am competitive in everything, so I have had to really keep in mind that I am not here to bring glory to myself but to the Lord. I am still learning about humility as I have often had to accept my weaknesses and turn to the others for help as we've gone through rehearsals.


PRAYER WORKS. It's incredible how much we have all grown just 24 hours after learning something that we were struggling with! Guys I am clogging and it is SO FUN.


I need to remember to trust my Savior because he called me to be here. I need to trust the elders and know that they will catch me when we do lifts. I am trying to have faith in all that I do so that we can bring the spirit to many this summer.


That's all I have time for but wow i am loving this so much! I have cried many times but everything is looking up and I have faith that I can do this!!


PS if you want to visit you might want to stay for a couple days because there is so much! I might not be able to spend much time with my friends/family but I can at least chat for a second after a show! I was cast as a lead in The Promise and can't believe that I get to experience this incredible blessing!!


gahhh! I love all of you!
D&C 4

-Sister Greenwood

Learning a dance (Sister Greenwood is the redhead on the far right!) 


Happy Mothers Day from the Nauvoo YPM's


ALSO... if you have never seen the Disney movie, "Rocketman" that Sister Greenwood references in her letter, first, WATCH IT. Second, here's a youtube clip of the part Casey talks about: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h06Fh7M7vOI

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