Monday, December 1, 2014

Two weeks worth of emails

Happy December!

This week was neat. Even though every one of our lessons canceled, it gave me a new challenge- What do you do when nothing goes as planned? I feel stronger having put more faith in the Lord and the Holy Ghost. After all, the Holy Ghost is the real teacher so I shouldn't stand in the way of the work. 

Several things. The first is if I became a house builder or something similar, I would make it a law to have the house number visible and readable. What's the point of having a light on it if you have a tree leaning against it, or it's so unreadable, you think it's a paint mistake. We need to have a national reform! But it actually helps missionaries have an excuse to knock on doors. I guess you give and take. The second is teach people that if you come to the door, open the shall thing covering the glass, turn on the light and stare at us for a minute; that you open the door instead of walking away and leaving the smiling Elders feel like idiots standing there. It was really funny though. Elder Anderson and I looked at each other and just laughed. I'm so glad I'm being trained by a guy who can laugh it off. I felt like I knew how to but he's got the gift. Every other missionary I've talked to has said nothing but praise about my comp. I'm wondering what I did to get it so good.

Thanksgiving we sat inside for most of the day until our dinner appointment. It warmed up to 80 which was absolutely insane. We had a wonderful dinner with the Dials who had their son and his family over. It's always interesting to see how different other's missionary experiences can be. The members here are super kind to us, so when we get an opportunity to serve them, I get pumped. I hate not being able to pay it back/forward. 

We had a progressing investigator move into our area this week. Her name is Janette and she's been taking the lessons while attending ASU. She lives with her family on the weekend and since they now live here, we'll teach her on the weekends. It's a different experience since she'll be taught during the week by different elders. Hopefully we decide how things will go in the future because she really really wants to get baptized. It's weird to go from english to spanish but when we talk with her its even more so. It's like flipping a switch back and forth. 
Looking back to the month of November I realize that we've been really blessed. We set a goal to get at least one new investigator each week and we did that and 2. I feel like God cares about me and all the small things I can worry about. Some days I have to be reminded that all this is His doing and that I'm merely an instrument. How great it is though, to be that. I love being a missionary! 
Good luck this week family!

love, 
Elder Bryan





Happy Thanksgiving Week!!

It's so bizarre that Thanksgiving is already here. Seems just like
yesterday I was getting on a plane for Mexico.
Elder Anderson and Elder Brown were sick for a couple of days so Elder
Perkes and I did some work in his area. It's weird how empty it feels
to not be in your area for a while.
Saturday, we had a pre-Thanksgiving dinner at the Randalls and some
non-member friends that they invited. After the food we went around
and said what we were thankful for. It made me wonder, "What are
people thankful for who believe in different things?" It was really
sad. People said the usual stuff but one guy wished he could see his
deceased family members again. How depressing to not know if you'd see
a loved one ever again. I am so glad I have this gospel. With these
three months apart from family, I know now how much they mean to me.
It's so sweet to know that we are an eternal family. I wish I had
spent more time with you guys.
After the Randalls, we went to the church to visit the Rio Vista
Thanksgiving party. E. Anderson passed on food and I made the mistake
of saying yes. I don't know if it was just regular Mexican portions or
they were mad at us for Anderson not eating but If you saw the picture
Hermana Mendoza posted on fb, both Elder Anderson's plate and mine is
mine. I felt like I gained 20 pounds.
I don't have many stories this week and most of all of our lessons
dropped. Just average missionary work. Hard, but enjoyable.
I love King Benjamin's address to his people, especially when he talks
about how much we should be grateful to God. It's amazing how much we
take for granted. I have gained a greater appreciation for my
blessings.

Love
Elder Bryan

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