July 25, 2011

That`s great that you`ll finally be able to run another race. You sure recovered quickly.


Before I forget again. Mom, I need your special prayers that helped me find my memory card, again. During the transfers it seems as though I lost one of my suitcases somewhere between the taxi pull in of La CAPU (the central bus station where we all meet) and my new area. In that suitcase were all my books, except for my spanish scriptures, all the shaving stuff you sent me, and both my memory card and the backup CD I made of it (that was smart of me to put them in the same bag). I kept forgeting to tell you in my emails. I have no idea where it is. I asked several missionaries that were there after I left, but nobody seems to know anything about it. Maybe you can work another miracle for me.


This week went a little better. We`ve been finding some new investigators. We found these golden investigators, a middle-aged couple that was about to separate when we found them and there two children. I fell in love with them from the very first time we taught them, but it turns out that they`re not in our area. They truly saw us as angels sent from God to help save their marriage it was amazing. I don`t know why the Lord let us find them. It makes me sad to not be able to continue teaching them. But, the other elders will sure be happy.


Well, sorry for the short email. We`re supposedly going to play baseball with the zone today.


Love,


Brett

July 18, 2011

Well, this new assignment isn`t quite like I hoped it would be. I`ve been getting lost a lot, I already spent all the money the mission gave me for the month on things we needed for our new house (and we still don`t have very much), and we aren`t having the success I would like to have. We only found one non member who would listen to us last week and she didn`t show to church on sunday like she said she would. I haven`t seen the assistants since last Tuesday; they didn`t even show up to church yesterday, and I still don`t have a cell phone. So I`ve basically been wondering around the whole week starting from scratch. The members are great though. They seem a little more willing to share the gospel than the members in my last ward. A lot them live in the same housing development as us. The bishop is brand new (called like 3 or 4 weeks ago) and he seems excited to help us out. The ward is huge. It was weird seeing so many people in sacrament meeting. Another problem is that several non-members went to church yesterday from the part of the ward that the assistants are in, but I have no way of knowing if they are already visiting them or if we should visit them or what. Besides all that, my companion, Elder Scoville, is extremely shy and struggling a lot with spanish even though he has 8 months in the mission. Actually, I met him when he first got to mexico because he started in the ward that attended church at the same building where my ward attended. So, I already knew him before they put us together. Actually, we stayed together the entire time when we hiked up the Malintzi as a zone. He lacks a lot of self confidence. It`s been like training a new missionary all over again. He`s a really cool guy though. We`ve always gotten along well ever since we first met in Tlaxcala. That`s why I thought it was kind of funny that they would put us together. Interesting as well is that Elder Hurtado didn`t have anything to do with my new assignment. He says he recommended someone else to open this area, but President Reeves decided to put me here. Either way, it`s been a difficult assignment. I feel like I`ve kind of had to do everything myself.


I always think that one day, once I get the hang of things better, the mission will get easier, but it never happens. I think life is the same way, Mom. It really is never going to get any easier. It`s not supposed to be easy. But, like you I`m grateful for these difficult experiences that have molded my character and strengthened my faith. I will never be same as I was before I came on a mission, and you will never be the same as you were before these trials. And with the gospel of Jesus Christ these tests and trials that all of us face can make us more like Our Heavenly Father. I love you mom, and I`m grateful for your faith and conviction, for your encouragement and support, and for teaching me so much.


Give Dad, Marc, Austin, and Sean a big hug for me


Brett

July 11,2011

The new mission president is Pres. Reeves. I`m not sure what his first name is. He seems amazing just like every mission president. He`s from Arizona. He served his mission in Spain as a young man. He was struggling a little bit at the conference with his spanish. He doesn`t speak with much of an accent; he just needs the missionaries to help him remember some words that he`s forgotten. But the conference was good. Pres. Reeves told us about the process by which he was called to serve as a mission president. I enjoyed it.

YES, I finally got transferred after nine months in Tlaxcala. I was expecting to get transferred, what I wasn`t expecting was where they transferred me too. They took both me and my trainee, Elder Rainford, out of Totolac and they put the zone leaders there in our place. (That was relief. I always worry about them replacing me with a good, dedicated missionary.) As for me, my new companion, Elder Scoville, and I are opening a new area. Or rather, they`re dividing the area of the asistants in two and giving us half. So, right now we`re staying at the asistants` house while we look for another one in our part of the ward. So, I`m going to be in the same ward as my old companion, Elder Hurtado. Haha! Hmm? I wonder if he might have had something to do with that? It should be fun. Right now I have no clue what we`re going to do. I`ve never been in a ward with another pair of missionaries. Apparently it`s a huge ward with a regular attendance of like 300. I have no idea where anything is because I still haven`t seen Elder Hurtado today. Another missionary just dropped us off at the house and left us our own. So, I`m back in the big city with my old comp. I`m excited, but at the same time sad for having had to leave Totolac. The bishop was actually crying a little last night when I said bye to him. I`m definitely coming back one day. I wonder who`s going to play the piano now.

I`m glad Marc appreciated my email. I wish I could just talk to that kid for hours. I love him just as much as he loves me. Be sure to give him a big hug for me.

Talk to you later,

Brett

P.S. I got your package with the beek jerky and the work out band finally. Unfortunately, the beef jerky you made was covered in mold. Grandpa`s, however, was fine. I think it`s because he dried it longer and put more salt on it. But thanks for the shaving stuff.

July 4, 2011

Marc! How are you doing? I haven`t heard from you in a while. How is your summer vacation going? I heard you`re gettin really good at tennis. That`s good because I`ll need someone to play with when I get back in just a few more months. Time flys on a mission. It`s seems like just yesterday I was getting off the plane in Mexico to greet my mission president. It`s been raining a whole bunch here lately, which kind of stinks when you`re a missionary because you`re always outside walking around all the time, but at least all the plants are growing again and there`s lots of green everywhere. I`ve been having some dificulties in the area I`m in right now. I really love this ward and, therefore, it really hurts me when there`s problems, but sometimes things happen in this life that are totally outside of our control. I suspect you might be in a similar situation. Some things are happening in the family that you wish weren`t happening or that make you sad, but you should know that none of those things are your fault and you should also know that your brother, and more importantly, your Heavenly Father love you and are very proud of the person you have become and the influence for good you have had in your family. Sometimes people we love do things that make us sad. All the heroes in the Book of Mormon had their sad moments, usually when people they cared about disobeyed the commandments of God and as a result brought upon themselves or upon others they cared about spiritual and/or physical destruction. But, afterwards, they were always able to find peace and joy through Christ. Even in the worst of circumstances they were comforted by a knowledge of the plan of salvation and the hope of eternal life through the redemption of Christ. Sometimes we just have to keep on doing what we know is right even when it`s seems useless and we seem powerless to change anything or anyone. We all excerise a much bigger influence in this world for good or for bad every day than we sometimes realize. My whole mission I`ve been trying to get better at listening to the still small voice of the Holy Ghost and sometimes it still seems almost impossible to discern, and I get sad and frustrated because I don`t know what to do and God doesn`t seem to answer my prayers very quickly or clearly. But there is one thing that the Holy Ghost has distilled upon my soul very clearly. That is that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ and that the Book of Mormon is true. That certainty has been given to me as a reward for obedience to God`s commandments, excersising the little bit of faith I have, and patience. That wonderful gift of a personal testimony has motivated when I wanted to give up and given me hope admist despair, but it took a long time to find it. So, whatever life throws at you just be patient and God will give you what you need when you most need it.

Love always,

Brett

P.S. I`m not sure why I wrote all that. I hope you can understand what I`m trying to tell you.