Week 100 (04/22/2013) - Baptism of Jose Manuel and Braden's Birthday

Pictures of the Familia Parada Ortiz and the missionaries on my birthday

My birthday dinner with Hermano Juan and Hermana Rogelia

Baptism of Jose Manuel

Hello family!

How is eveyrone today? I love you all! I hope that everyone is happy and well up there in Utah! We have had a good week this week! We were working hard to get a lot of baptisms for this weekend but we only had one! The rest will be next weekend! It was really special! Hno. Jose Manuel (the guy that can't talk because he had surgery) was baptized! He is so excited and he loves the church! I got to baptize him and it was a cool experience! As you know, he has a hole in his throat and something I didn't know before I met him, is that people that have those holes breath through them! Well, I am telling you this to let you know of a unique challenge that we had when he was baptized! Normal people can close their mouth and plug there nose to not let water in when they are baptized but he cant do it the same way! He knew that he had a bit of a risk of choking by letting water go into the hole but he didnt care and still wanted to take the risk! He covered the hole the best he could but he still choked a little bit but he is alright! He just coughed a little bit! But it was good...He is so amazing! He is always, always smiling and is really happy to be a part of the church!

I attached a couple pictures of me, of the baptism and of a surprise birthday cake that the Familia Parada Ortiz gave me! They are so nice! I had a good birthday this last week! Like I mentioned, I got to do service in the morning and help a lady mix cement to build a house! And then we worked normally all day! We also went to dinner with Hno Juan and Hna Rogelia (The lady that will be coming this week to visit! They are so nice!) They bought us steak and it was really good! But the Familia Parada Ortiz was the best! They totally surprised me! I didn't even know they knew it was my birthday and when we got there they came out with this huge cake with candles! I loved it! They are a lot nicer than the missionaries that smashed cake in my face on Monday! haha (That was funny they weren't really mean, I enjoyed it all!) But all in all, it was a good birthday! Thanks for thinking of me! I love you all!

So this week that is coming, we should have several more baptisms - pray for us! We have a family also that is getting papers from Nicaragua to be able to get married at the beginning of May! Pray for them as well! I love them all and I am so glad that we are able to do so much amazing work here in El Salvador! I love the gospel and the church and just everything!

Well, that's about all I have to say today! I was just joking about the "secrets" that I said last week! I really don't have any secrets! Maybe things that are better told in person that I want to wait to tell, but no secrets! It's kind of fun to be away from loved ones for so long! (I would never be away this long for any other reason apart from church service though! haha) but I am excited to be back! I love you all and I miss you all! Pray to help me have lots of energy to keep finishing strong! Thanks for all your prayers and love!!!

Love,
Braden

P.S. Grandma, I would love to do some of your male ancestor's names! I can start the Friday after I get home! Love you Grandma!

Week 99 (04/15/2013) - Baptisms, stories, and home

Hola!

How is everyone doing today?! I love you all! We have had a great week here! We have been working hard with a lot of our investigators and we are working towards baptism for several of them! But I decided, like some of you are doing, to keep all the stories secret until I am home hehe :) Isn't it funny that all my mission we tell stories and stuff but there are some stories or letters that just can't contain what we want them to contain, so instead of writing them, we just plan on waiting until I get home?? haha It will be good! We will have to be telling stories all night long! (thats if I can stay up past 10:30 haha we'll see!) But it will be good! Time is flying and I am working more than I ever have to take advantage of every minute! I love it!

So I was going to tell you guys that I wanted to go to the temple on the Friday morning after I get home if that is ok? Maybe we could go like at 7 am ish? And then afterward, like at 10 we could go and do baptisms with Lizzie and whoever else wants to come? I can't think of a better way to spend my first morning home than to be in the temple! I am excited to go to the temple! I love it there and I haven't had many opportunities to go while I have been here on my mission! So let's go Friday!

I am excited for this weekend! It should be a good weekend for baptisms but keep praying for us!

Also, as for the Saint George trip, we can just set the date when I am home! I don't really know what or where I need to be for school and stuff? But I really want to go to Saint George!

Can we go camping like the weekend after I get home too???

I love you all!!!

Stay close!

Love,

Braden

Week 98 (04/08/13) - Conference, rewards, and Familia Parada Ortiz

Hola Familia!

Como están todos?!

I love you all! How has your week been this week?! I hope that everyone is doing well up there in Good old Utah! I am doing well here in El Salvador! This last week we had changes (other missionaries had changes, but I didn't) and I realized more than ever....wow! These are my last 6 weeks! As you all already know, it is bittersweet! But I am excited to finish strong!

We have had a lot of success this last week and there are a lot of investigators that are progressing! We have some baptismal interviews scheduled this week for some baptisms that will happen on the 21st of April! (like in 2 Sundays) We are excited and keep praying for us to have more and more success!

Guess what everyone?! So you all remember the Familia Parada Ortiz? Well, the whole family has been going to church for several months now! Lennyz was baptized in February but the rest of the family isn't baptized yet! But we had 2 changes this last week! The first, the son (Juan Hector Junior), acceped a baptismal date for the 21st of April! And also the dad (also Juan Hector but he is Juan Hector Senior) went to church for the first time ever on Saturday Night! He went to the Priesthood Session of the conference! I am still so so happy! We have been working so hard for him to go to church! I am so excited for him! We hope that he progresses and is able to be baptized before I go home! Pray for him!

Also today, we had a P-day activity with the President and Hna Glazier! We played games like mafia and the famous "Glazier name game" (I will teach it to you all when I'm home) and then we had a little water fight! It was fun! We all ate pizza and just had some fun! We had the P-day because we were the "most succesful zone" was last month! Woo hoo! It was fun!

Conference was awesome! I loved all the talks! Especially the talks about repentance and obedience! I learned a lot, but most of all I felt something really special as I was listening to each of the general authorities speak. I felt as if burden, pain, and confusion were lifted from me! I have learned a lot about the gospel on my mission but I still have so much to learn! And just hearing the talks gave me so much hope. I was reading in Ether 12 the other day and it talked about how we need to have faith for a better world. It is so true! Moroni also talked about that! Moroni being the last of his people, being the only one that still believed in and was firm towards Christ, said that "with faith we can look forward to have a better world." We can find peace in this life and in life after this. I loved that! I am grateful for profets today! I love them and I am grateful for their inspiring words!

I love you all! Stay close! Remember that I am here to help all of you in anything you need! I love you all!

Love.
Braden

Week 97 - La Semana Santa

From another Elder in his zone, Elder Dinino, "I think he might win the "clean house contest" that is going on in the mission. haha...and he had 12 investigators at church yesterday which was super great!"

Hey Family!! Como están?

Hey! I love you guys! How are you are doing? Thanks so much for your emails today! I am so excited to hear that Scott got baptized! That makes me so happy! I love to see the process of change! So many people lose hope that others can change, but we all know that the Atonement changes others! It is so important that we never lose hope in others! I love the news! Also, Cameron is going to Finland! That sounds fun! I bet it is going to be cold up there, though! I love the cold but it would definitely be interesting to be a missionary in the cold! haha but he is going to absolutely love it up there! When does he leave? I am so glad that I get to see Hannah before she leaves! That is exciting too! Soo many people are going on missions - it's awesome! I am excited to see the way everyone has changed in the last 2 years!

This week has been a great week! We have been working with just about the same investigators and a lot of them came to church! The Familia Antón (Henry, Cristina, and Evelyn (7 years old)) is progressing well! Henry is from Nicaragua, so this week he is going there to get all his papers so they can be married! Also, the Familia Mendoza (José, Francisca, Kenia (8 years old), and Antonio (6 years old) are doing well and they are happy! They are all going to church and are enjoying it! The Family Parada Ortiz is progressing still too! The mom and the son have been going to church and the dad promised to go to conference this weekend! He has to stop smoking, so pray for him (his name is Hector)!  And also, José Manuel (the guy that can't talk) has been progressing so fast! He loves the church and is getting ready for baptism, too!

I love my mission!

We had an interesting week this last week! It was La Semana Santa - that's what they call Easter here but here, the traditions are absolutely different! They don't know anything about the Easter Bunny haha what they do are old Catholic traditions. They have huge groups of people that follow a group of people that are dressed in costumes to represent Jesus and the roman soldiers and everything. They act out His last 2 days of life! They show him walking with the cross and they carry a statue of dead Jesus to the catholic church and everything! It was interesting to see all of this from our house (our house is pretty much in the center of the city, so all that went on over the few days, we saw all of it) but its interesting and a bit disrespectful of the holiness of the event, but it's their tradition! haha anyway, it was a good week! Everyone in the country has the whole week off work, out of school, and everyone goes to the beach! haha so there weren't many people in their houses but we made the best of it!

I got the package you all sent me this week! I love it so much! IT'S AMAZING! I loved the candies and the food! It might just be the best package yet! Thank you all for the recording and the love that you sent! I loved hearing Anslee's voice! it's the first time I've heard her voice! She sounds so cute! I was smiling for like 10 minutes after I heard her! I love you guys! Thanks for my last Easter/Birthday package!

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you all, thanks for all you do! I love you all! I love that in this time of the year, we celebrate Christ's life and death. I am so grateful for what he did for each of us. I have been changed by his Atonement and I am so grateful that I have the oportunity to return to live with Him after this life! I just imagine myself passing through to see him and looking in His eyes and telling Him "Thank you so much..." and then hugging Him! I love my Savior, I am nothing without Him and I am so so glad that I can come close to Him. I love that He loved us so much that He provided the way to come back to Him.

I love you all! Stay close and keep the emails coming! (Letters maybe not anymore because they might not get here on time! haha) but anyway, I love you all!

Love,
Braden