Hey family!!!
I love you all!!
how is everyone doing this week?? It has been a really good week! We have been working really hard here! This week we had a lot of new investigators! We found a family that has about 15 people in it!! WOO and then we have also been working with a lot of new people! We had a lot of those new people go to church this Sunday as well! We had 9 people come to church yesterday! :) There have been a lot of miracles in our area! Thank you so much for all your prayers and love! So this week we had a few cool experiences! We were talking to Familia Canas and they had some doubts! They didn't quite understand why we they had to be baptized and the restauration so we prepared a bunch of scriptures and helped them to understand it all!! At the end of all the scriptures we testified to them that we knew it was all true! The spirit was so strong! It was so cool! Then we challenged them for their baptismal date and they were crying when they said yes! The gospel is so cool! Also we have been teaching Javier and Familia Lino some more and they are still going along! Javier came to church again but Familia Lino is still struggling a bit keep praying for them! His job is stealing his life! haha he works filing papers and working in town halls all over the country and he has to work way too much!!! Other than them, we have found many new people and are still looking for more!! I don't know if I told you all about our baptismal goal for next month - 24 baptisms in the zone! We are well on our way to the goal!! The whole zone is super excited and ready to go!! I love it here!!!
My companion is so cool! We work well together and just get along really well! I think that we will be hanging out a lot after we get home! It is really cool to be with someone that wants to work so much! We are always happy and ready to serve! I have learned a lot from him and I have changed a lot of my old habits! I understand so much better how you can have fun while not like "offending the spirit" :) Really, mission life is so good! I love it here! I miss you all a lot, but I would never change this experience! It is like the traning center for the rest of my life!!
I love you all!!! Stay well, keep writing! Stay close!!!
Love,
Braden
Monday, August 20, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
Week 64 (08/13/2012) - Favorite Companion and lots of contacts
Hello Familia!
Como estan todos?! I love you all!! So, this week has been a great week here in San Marcos! We have worked really hard and had a lot of success! This last week we had a meeting with all of our zone! There were 16 missionaries there and President and Hermana Glazier came as well! It was really good! We talked a lot about miracles! I know I mentioned a bit about miracles in last week's email but I want to mention them again! Many times people think that miracles are just the small every day things that happen to us in life, but it's so not true! Those things are also miracles, but God has even greater miracles in store for us today! People can change, we can receive things that we need and are praying for! It is so cool!
Anyway, keep studying about miracles and stuff! It's great! So, this week we had a good week with all of our investigators! The Familia Lino couldn't come to church yesterday because he had to work! But we hope that we can get to teach him tonight! We still have to contact him though! Sometimes he works like 3 days straight! haha jobs stink here! But la Familia Canas is cool! We have been teaching them both! Candalaria came to church yesterday! Rafael couldn't because he was with one of their neighbors at the hospital all night so he didn't sleep but we went and taught them again! They are both so close to baptism but they are scared to accept a firm date! Pray for them, for us! Also, we have been working hard to find new people this week! We found a new guy named Javier (yes, like the restaurant) haha but he is cool! He is the type of person that analyzes every word you say and takes it very literally! haha like one time he asked, "Does your church let you get married outside of the members?" and I said "Yes, it does but it sometimes causes problems in the marriage because one person is like, 'Go to my church' and the other is saying the same." Javier told me, "So.... you are saying that religion is bad? I was like "No! I didn't say that at all!" haha But he is still a really cool guy! We are just starting to teach him but he's doing good!
So other than that, it's going really well here! Elder Tilley (from Bountiful) went home this last weekend! So now it is just me and Elder Mehr! We get along really, really well! We have a lot of fun together and we work really hard! We fly from place to place and my companion loves to talk to people! It's kind of funny when he gets all excited to knock doors - he like runs from house to house! If someone rejects him, he just says "Thanks! Adios!" and then runs to the next door! We do a lot of contacts and he makes it really fun to do! We have a lot of fun together! He is probably the only companion that I really want to hang out with after my mission! I have loved being with a lot of other companions but we are just so similar! We have the same desires, we have shared a lot of the same experiences in life, and it is just awesome!! I love it here! Wouldn't change a thing! Keep being happy! Never stop studying the scriptures and never forget that church things are always first! I love you so much!!!!!!
Stay happy everyone! Work hard and never forget that if there is anything you all need, I am here to help!
Love,
Como estan todos?! I love you all!! So, this week has been a great week here in San Marcos! We have worked really hard and had a lot of success! This last week we had a meeting with all of our zone! There were 16 missionaries there and President and Hermana Glazier came as well! It was really good! We talked a lot about miracles! I know I mentioned a bit about miracles in last week's email but I want to mention them again! Many times people think that miracles are just the small every day things that happen to us in life, but it's so not true! Those things are also miracles, but God has even greater miracles in store for us today! People can change, we can receive things that we need and are praying for! It is so cool!
Anyway, keep studying about miracles and stuff! It's great! So, this week we had a good week with all of our investigators! The Familia Lino couldn't come to church yesterday because he had to work! But we hope that we can get to teach him tonight! We still have to contact him though! Sometimes he works like 3 days straight! haha jobs stink here! But la Familia Canas is cool! We have been teaching them both! Candalaria came to church yesterday! Rafael couldn't because he was with one of their neighbors at the hospital all night so he didn't sleep but we went and taught them again! They are both so close to baptism but they are scared to accept a firm date! Pray for them, for us! Also, we have been working hard to find new people this week! We found a new guy named Javier (yes, like the restaurant) haha but he is cool! He is the type of person that analyzes every word you say and takes it very literally! haha like one time he asked, "Does your church let you get married outside of the members?" and I said "Yes, it does but it sometimes causes problems in the marriage because one person is like, 'Go to my church' and the other is saying the same." Javier told me, "So.... you are saying that religion is bad? I was like "No! I didn't say that at all!" haha But he is still a really cool guy! We are just starting to teach him but he's doing good!
So other than that, it's going really well here! Elder Tilley (from Bountiful) went home this last weekend! So now it is just me and Elder Mehr! We get along really, really well! We have a lot of fun together and we work really hard! We fly from place to place and my companion loves to talk to people! It's kind of funny when he gets all excited to knock doors - he like runs from house to house! If someone rejects him, he just says "Thanks! Adios!" and then runs to the next door! We do a lot of contacts and he makes it really fun to do! We have a lot of fun together! He is probably the only companion that I really want to hang out with after my mission! I have loved being with a lot of other companions but we are just so similar! We have the same desires, we have shared a lot of the same experiences in life, and it is just awesome!! I love it here! Wouldn't change a thing! Keep being happy! Never stop studying the scriptures and never forget that church things are always first! I love you so much!!!!!!
Stay happy everyone! Work hard and never forget that if there is anything you all need, I am here to help!
Love,
Braden
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Week 63 (08/06/2012) - New companions!
Elder Tilley, Elder Mehr, and Elder Woodfield
Hey family!
So, it's been a great week! This week we had changes and I am still in San Marcos! The same area, but I did change companions this last week! Elder Rogers went home and finished, and then I got 2 new companions! I am still in a trio right now! I am with an Elder named Elder Mehr (Scott Mehr from Wisconsin) and Elder Tilley (Jordan Tilley from Bountiful, Utah) and they are great! Elder Tilley is just with us for this week and then he goes home to study! He is also finishing his mission, but he will be studying at the U! Woo!! haha but cool they are both great! Elder Mehr is super energetic and runs everywhere to work! It is great to be with someone that is actually excited to work!!! WOOOOO!!!! They are both awesome missionaries and it is really fun to be in a trio! Too bad it won't be for very long! haha but it's great!
But yeah, so Elder Mehr played hockey for the BYU Hockey team, he also has a girlfriend that lives in Provo! It's funny because our stories seem to been so similair! They have been together about the same time as me and lizzie and they are really happy too! Lizzie, look her up! It would be cool if you could be friends with her! We'll totally go on double dates with Elder Mehr when we get back! haha
And then Elder Tilley, he is cool too! He worked in the mission office as a Secretary for a while (there are secretaries there to do financial work and forms and that stuff and there are normal missionaries that work there for a few months) so I already knew him before! He is really, really funny and a really good teacher! I love working with them both! Elder Tilley likes to play golf and is a goofball (if you can call him that) haha I will attach a picture of us all with this email!
So this week we have been doing a lot of contacting (looking for new people). We've found a few good families but we still haven't gone back to teach them (not until this week) so I will let you all know next week how it goes! Other than that, all is pretty calm around here! Weather is good! It rains about every other day! So a couple cool things happened this week! Familia Lino went to church again!!! WOOOO haha and then also Rafael (Candalaria's brother) also went to church! Sweet! They are coming along I guess you could say! But also this week, I have been learning a lot about faith! When I first got my new companions, we studied and talked about faith and miracles. We read the scripture that says "have miracles ceased to exist?" in Moroni 7 and thinking about it, it's so true! Many times we go through life struggling and struggling but many times it is because we've forgotten that miracles still exist! With faith and a lot of prayer and hard work, God can give us many, many blessings! We are his children and he wants to bless us! We must come unto him and trust in him! I know that this works in missionary work and also in real life! Like the hymn "I am a child of God" says "I am a child of God and so my needs are great," we need many things here in this life and God is ready to give them to us, we just need to become worthy, be ready to work for it, and have a lot of faith and God can give it to us! Whether it be a job, good grades, comfort, direction. God can give it to us! I loved talking with my companions about this because I really learned so much!
Life is great here! I love being here and wouldn't choose to do anything else! I love my Savior and want to serve him with all my heart! Keep working hard up there in Utah! I love you all so much! Love you all!!!!
Love,
Braden
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Week 62 (07/30/2012) - Hola Familia!
Hey Family!!!
Well, I just had my whole email get erased! haha I will write it like I wrote it just barely! AH haha I hate that!
Hola! como esta?! How are you all liking the hot weather up there?? Do you all like how I always talk about the weather at the first of my emails?? haha it's like if I go strait into talking about my investigators or how I'm doing, it is a little too fast haha so I talk a bit about the weather to prepare you all a bit! haha anyway, weather here is the same always! haha so it's all good!
So I keep getting emails that say things like "hey, write more stories!" So I decided that maybe i'll do just that! haha but bear with me!
So this week we had a good week! A lot of people came to church this week! The Familia Lino (Byron and Abigail and their kids, Byron Jr. and Wendi) came! Uay! We have been teaching them often and they are progressing really well in the Church! They are great! This week they gave us both a little keychain that has our name burned into it! It is so cool! They are really great! I love how they treat us! They are so awesome! They are fun to teach! We taught them the Plan of Salvation this week and they loved it! We taught about the Celestial Kingdom and how there, they can be together forever as a family and they really want it! It's great!
As for the Familia Cañas (Candalaria and Rafael), they are doing good as well! Candalaria came to church this week! Yay! Rafael couldn't come because of work but he said that soon he won't have to work Sundays and he can come to church! Yay! But also something funny that happened to us this week was that yesterday we were teaching them the Word of Wisdom and we were reading the commandment and everything talking about how it was really important! We knew that they had a problem with coffee so we were focusing on that! Then we finished teaching and challenged them to stop drinking coffee and they said yes! But then Rafael said, "Wow, I didn't know that Soy coffee was that bad to drink, I thought it was good!" haha I felt dumb because soy coffee is what we give them to help them stop drinking real coffee and it's not against the word of wisdom! haha so we taught for a solid 45 minutes and they weren't even breaking the word of wisdom! haha gotta love it! I wish people would just not even get near "coffee" named products it would make everything so much easier! haha
So this week, we also got a new companion! The Elders in an area close to ours had a bit of a change! One of the elders was a MINI missionary and he is from El Salvador, serving a mini mission of like 5 weeks! So he was here working well and doing lots and then all of a sudden, he got a hang nail, and they said that he had to go home to get it taken care of! Well, all of a sudden, Elder Alemeda (the other missionary) was companionless! So he is with us until the changes that are this week! Speaking of changes, I have no clue who will be my companion! And to answer your questions, I won't necesarilly be a zone leader my whole mission, they could change me to train again to do other things but it all depends on what the Lord wants! This change, I won't be changing areas - I have only had two areas and that is a little different. Normally missionaries have 6 or 7 areas in their missions and I only have 2 and I'm more then halfway done! haha but I love it! I get a chance to know everyone and to help more people! Also, you asked if I speak often in meetings? Well, I personally never speak alone if I speak, it's always with my companion but like yesterday, we taught the fifth Sunday lesson! Our theme was "what have I done to help move forward the purpose of the Lord?" It went well! But it's probably like once a month that we have to talk in front of a large crowd! Not too often!
Well, I think thats about it for today! I love you all! Stay happy! Stay close!
Love,
Braden
Well, I just had my whole email get erased! haha I will write it like I wrote it just barely! AH haha I hate that!
Hola! como esta?! How are you all liking the hot weather up there?? Do you all like how I always talk about the weather at the first of my emails?? haha it's like if I go strait into talking about my investigators or how I'm doing, it is a little too fast haha so I talk a bit about the weather to prepare you all a bit! haha anyway, weather here is the same always! haha so it's all good!
So I keep getting emails that say things like "hey, write more stories!" So I decided that maybe i'll do just that! haha but bear with me!
So this week we had a good week! A lot of people came to church this week! The Familia Lino (Byron and Abigail and their kids, Byron Jr. and Wendi) came! Uay! We have been teaching them often and they are progressing really well in the Church! They are great! This week they gave us both a little keychain that has our name burned into it! It is so cool! They are really great! I love how they treat us! They are so awesome! They are fun to teach! We taught them the Plan of Salvation this week and they loved it! We taught about the Celestial Kingdom and how there, they can be together forever as a family and they really want it! It's great!
As for the Familia Cañas (Candalaria and Rafael), they are doing good as well! Candalaria came to church this week! Yay! Rafael couldn't come because of work but he said that soon he won't have to work Sundays and he can come to church! Yay! But also something funny that happened to us this week was that yesterday we were teaching them the Word of Wisdom and we were reading the commandment and everything talking about how it was really important! We knew that they had a problem with coffee so we were focusing on that! Then we finished teaching and challenged them to stop drinking coffee and they said yes! But then Rafael said, "Wow, I didn't know that Soy coffee was that bad to drink, I thought it was good!" haha I felt dumb because soy coffee is what we give them to help them stop drinking real coffee and it's not against the word of wisdom! haha so we taught for a solid 45 minutes and they weren't even breaking the word of wisdom! haha gotta love it! I wish people would just not even get near "coffee" named products it would make everything so much easier! haha
So this week, we also got a new companion! The Elders in an area close to ours had a bit of a change! One of the elders was a MINI missionary and he is from El Salvador, serving a mini mission of like 5 weeks! So he was here working well and doing lots and then all of a sudden, he got a hang nail, and they said that he had to go home to get it taken care of! Well, all of a sudden, Elder Alemeda (the other missionary) was companionless! So he is with us until the changes that are this week! Speaking of changes, I have no clue who will be my companion! And to answer your questions, I won't necesarilly be a zone leader my whole mission, they could change me to train again to do other things but it all depends on what the Lord wants! This change, I won't be changing areas - I have only had two areas and that is a little different. Normally missionaries have 6 or 7 areas in their missions and I only have 2 and I'm more then halfway done! haha but I love it! I get a chance to know everyone and to help more people! Also, you asked if I speak often in meetings? Well, I personally never speak alone if I speak, it's always with my companion but like yesterday, we taught the fifth Sunday lesson! Our theme was "what have I done to help move forward the purpose of the Lord?" It went well! But it's probably like once a month that we have to talk in front of a large crowd! Not too often!
Well, I think thats about it for today! I love you all! Stay happy! Stay close!
Love,
Braden
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