Letter #63

It was a great week! Not to say that we barely slept... but that can come after the mission right?

Jonathan was confirmed! Elder Davis was able to confirm Jonathan yesterday. It was great! It kinda got me thinking a little bit about Priesthood and the power that we hold as worthy young men. We had about 5 men from the branch that participated in the confirmation of Jonathan and they were all older that Elder Davis but him being the youngest was able to be the speaker and give the blessing. As worthy young men we all hold that same priesthood. We all have that power to use and to bless people's lives. Even though a member may be a lot older than me, I still hold the same power that he holds. Its really cool how Priesthood power and authority works. 

A crazy little story i cant remember if i shared this last week or not but anyway. The other Elders in our zone live in a pretty sketchy area of Laredo. In fact they live right in front of one of the top gangs in Laredo and a big chunk of South Texas. So a couple weeks ago there was a drive-by shooting and some other crazy things, so they have to move out asap. Pretty nuts huh. Not to scare any of you at all...... But Im not too worried, we've got the Big Man up top on our side. LDS missionaries are the best gang out there. ;) But i was sharing this with you because we might be switching areas asap because of the changes that they have to make. Its kinda confusing, but i will keep you guys informed!

Con amor

Elder Brian

Kind of blurry. Finn, Elder Tilton (from Laredo) as he heads out to the MTC in Provo and Elder Browning. 

Letter #62

What's up guys!

 

The weekend was awesome! Jonathan was baptized! It was sweet. Many of the members were there to support him and he feels really comfortable with his new family the 3rd branch.

 

We had zone conference last week. I love zone conference. I always leave wanting to improve and do better. Presidente Maluenda put a big stress on using Preach My Gospel and teaching people not lessons. I've seen a lot in my mission where we sit down to teach a person and the main goal is to set a baptismal date so we can hit our goals for the month and get out of there as quick as we can. But that shouldn't be the case. We should be sitting down with people with the main goal of blessing their lives and having an impact on them for the better.

 

The other day we were walking some streets and a crazy guy waved us down. He was carrying a 7 ft. tall walking stick and we talked to him for a little bit, then he decided to show us how it was that he expresses his love for God and started doing some squats and yelling "The Lords Prayer" at the top of his lungs. It was pretty entertaining :) Some people have some very interesting ways of expressing love for God.

 

Letter #61

Hey guys!

 

Not so bad of a week. Our numbers might've showed that we didn't work at all, but that's not the case!! Numbers aren't everything in missionary work.

 

Were kind of struggling with finding people to teach right now. I cant tell you how many times this week that I've heard the phrase or sentence "Im Catholic and I have my beliefs. Thanks" or Soy Catolico y estoy bien aqui. Gracias" haha. But its alright cause we had a good time working.

 

Jonathan is doing great! His baptism is this Sunday. He's pretty excited and ready for it. So that will be something to look forward to this week.

 

I've been studying about prayer a lot these last couple days because it was too often that I would catch myself waking up at 2 in the morning still in the prayer position with my ribs aching and knee caps numb from falling asleep during my prayers haha. So I thought I would put an end to that and set some goals as to how to better my prayers. There was a pretty cool quote about prayer and how a man cannot gain salvation without prayer. Prayer is important! It shows our love that we have to our Heavenly Father and shows Him that we are really looking to Him for the help that we need in our daily lives. Make sure you are saying good thoughtful prayers and not just going through the motions!

 

Love you guys!

 

Elder Brian

Letter #60

Que tal guerros!

To start off I just want to share a story of one of our investigators right now who is doing really well. Its about how he came to find the Gospel and start learning. Its really strengthened my testimony.

 His name is Jonathan. He's 21 years old. His family is kind of in a tight situation right now. His dad is suffering from cancer and the doctors have taken him off of chemotherapy and have given him limited time to live. His mom his struggling with work and sent him out to find a job to help provide for the family. He found a job, its about an 8 or so mile walk to work and back. One day, Jonathan was walking home and he couldn't take it anymore. He was sick of it and he was really starting to doubt if God even existed. So as he was walking, he said a prayer, asking God if he really existed and if he did, that he would send someone his way to help him. He finished and that moment a man pulled up next to him and asked him if he would like a ride. He hopped in, thinking about the answer he had just received. The man took him to his house and the man said, Im heading to church right now, would you like to come? Jonathan, as shocked as he may have been from the answer that he had been given said yes and came to church. That man who picked him up was Aquiles.

That story really helped strengthen my testimony of how aware God is of each and everyone of His children. He knows exactly what we are going through and exactly what situation we are in.  I know that there are children of God in each and every one of our paths that are prepared and ready to receive this Gospel, we just need to look. I know this Gospel is true. The faith that recent converts of the church have are an example to me. I know that God has a plan for each and everyone of us cause we are His children and He loves us and He really does answer our prayers.

Love

Elder Brian

My district and the sweet mini-van I get to drive.

Letter #59

Wow! What a week! It has all gone by so fast. So I will try and fill you all in on the news without being too confusing.

So Thursday night around 1045, (way passed bed time :0) I got a call from the AP's to let me know I was training! That was pretty sweet. My sons name is Elder Davis. He's awesome. He's from Sacramento, California and he's fresh out of high school. Which is sweet. I was praying I could train someone like that. We are working up here in Del Mar in Laredo still.

Last week Aquiles was baptized! It was a really cool experience because he was fasting also. He told us that he wanted his baptism day to be the most spiritual experience ever and he brought up the topic of fasting and asked us if he could fast for 24 hours and then do the baptism to finish it off. I almost thought he was going to pass out right into the font because he had never gone without food and water for that long. But it turned out great and he's looking good for the confirmation this Sunday.

In Del Mar we don't have a ton of people that we are working with at the moment, but it wont be too long before that changes!

I have some pics I wanna send you guys! But I forgot my camera and cord today but I will send some next week for sure.

Love

Elder Brian