April 11, 2011

Hey everyone.

So this week our P-Day is on Tuesday because of the Mission Presidents seminar thing. I dont know. So don't feel bad if you weren't able to get an email out to me before Wednesday. I totally understand.

First bit of news, I'm transferring. After 6 months, 8 great baptisms, a lot of growing and 3 great companions, I am on my way to the Camotes Islands! Camotes is a small island system just off the coast of Cebu. The Gospel is relatively new there. It has been open for less than 2 years. They have only four missionaries out there: 2 Zone Leaders, and District Leader and 1 Junior Companion. I'm really excited. My new companion is Elder Hikila. He's one of my buddies in the mission already so I'm happy. He's a huge, strong Tongan elder that could seriously rip anyone that he wants in half! But me and him get along great. We have since the MTC. He's my 5th Polynesian companion. I think President likes to put me with Polys. haha. I understand them really well. So I'm excited. And I get a car. Sooooo boss. But the island isn't very modernized. Its one of those paradise islands. No bank. No grocery store. No laundromat. So its going to be washing by hand again. That's okay tho. I've been doing that to save on money for the past month anyway.

But part of me doesn't want to leave! I have grown closer to the members here than I have in any of my other areas. I have a real connection with seriously just about EVERY active member in the ward. I really love them all alot. I bore my testimony on fast Sunday and told them that I wanted them to always remember that I stood in front of them and told them that I knew that all of this is true--especially the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. I told them that if there was any advice I could leave with them it was: live worthy to be sealed as a family and then stay close as a family through 1) Daily Family Scripture Study, 2) Daily Family Prayer, 3) Weekly Family Home Evening and 4) Regular Temple Attendance. The members were really sad to see me go. They told me that they were going to talk to the bishop to send in a request to have me stay in Lilo-An until I go home so that they can keep having baptisms. I'm glad that this is the impression that I left with the members here. I wasn't a joker, I wasn't a strict guy, I was a missionary that loved doing the work and took it seriously and cared about everyone that I came into contact with. That's my legacy here. A good one if you ask me...

So General Conference. Holy cow. I totally left all my notes at home but I think someone wants us guys to get married! We couldn't believe it! There were like 5 talks on marriage! And I was dead set on just kinda taking things easy when I get home. The funny thing was that seriously the day before conference I was thinking to myself about how long I was going to wait to get married when I get home. I decided to wait a couple years. Get my footing on life again, see Transformers 3 and then maybe get back in the dating scene. Well, someone upstairs didn't like that plan! hahahaha. So that was great.

Oaks gave an amazing talk. He's gone 4 for 4 for me in the last four conferences with amazing talks. Desires and such. Great talk. And then Ribbons had a good talk...I assume. We were trying sooooo hard to focus but it was so in depth English that the people in the chapel just gave up and started chatting so that made it hard for us to focus on an already somewhat confusing talk. I liked the concept tho. He said something I liked, that we shouldn't compliment people on their achievements but rather what they DID in order achieve that achievement. Great advice for leaders. Uchtdorf owned super hard with his talk on getting all the benefits out of Priesthood service. It was well needed here. And for me, the dark horse apostle is Elder Christofferson. I think he gets the least amount of attention for his AMAZING talks! He just talks like an apostle of Jesus Christ. His talk blew my mind--about chastisment and correction. I recently had a moment in my mission where I used the scriptures to try and point a lady in the ward in the right direction and she got super offended because of it. So it gave me some comfort in what I had said to her. Things are all patched up tho. Its good. Good conference. No. Amazing conference.

Last night we had a Family Home Evening with Josh and Lore (the lady we just baptized). I really wanted to spend my last moments in the area with them. I think that they are going to benefit the most from the work I have done here. Josh doesn't have the strongest testimony and it needs nurturing and I received LOTS of revelation and guidance from the Holy Ghost on how to help Lore so I really have an attachment to the two of them. They have two little boys that are going to grow up to be Priesthood holders someday and Lore knows that her purpose is to raise them up to understand the importance of the Priesthood.

She had asked me to teach a lesson on Strengthening Families. So as I was washing my clothes I was pondering what to talk about. I thought of two scriptures. One is Enos 1:3--about how Enos remembered the words which his father had spoken to him. And then Alma 56:26-27(?) about how the Stipling Warriors remembered the words that their mothers taught them. I told them that children notice and remember everything that their parents say and do. So the secret to a strong family really starts with the parents strengthening themselves. I pulled out my Walk with Christ card and read the things off to them and told them that these are the ways to strengthen ourselves.

It was funny because when it came to Daily Scripture Study, Lore got kind of irritated because she does it herself for a half hour at least every day but Josh doesn't do it at all. So she kind of grilled him pretty good on not reading his scriptures. It was so funny and rewarding for me. Here is this lady that had a -600% testimony of modern prophets and the Book of Mormon and here she is putting her husband on roast for neglecting them. I think Josh got a wake up call with that. So I committed them to do all those things on the Walk with Christ card. You know if you could send me some of those Dad, I could really use them in Family Home Evenings and stuff. They are great. As for Josh and Lore, I have so much hope for them. And they gave me a referral by the way. They referred Josh's cousin who is a freshman at BYU to me. They showed me some pictures. Potential investigator for sure. haha. You know.

Thanks, love you all.

I'll be home for Christmas.

Brandon

March 22, 2011

Hey everyone.

So things are going in a really good direction still.

We have our baptism for Sister Lore next Saturday. I'm really excited. She is nervous but excited at the same time. She gets it all really easy. SHe's way smart. She's going to be my 8th baptism in this area. haha. Thats almost a baptism every 2.5 weeks. haha. I think thats the right math???  I think President Hansen likes the work that we've been doing here. We have 14 investigators committed to baptism and as for my converts in the area, we have 100% retention, full-tithe paying, home/visiting teaching, Priesthood holding/exercising, nightly Book of Mormon reading CONVERTS. Not just people who got baptized. I know you know the difference. I'm so happy with the way its been going. I hope it keeps up. My companion made a comment to me that things in our area are different because its very smooth. He said that every lesson, every tracting opportunity, everything just seems to run smooth. I'm glad he feels that way.

So as a zone, we are targeting some of the things that need to be better. One is the effectiveness of our tracting and contacting. Its good but it could be way better. So we have had our District Leaders focus their workshops on quality over quantity. Well, this last week it kind of backfired. We had a whole bunch of quality but not much quantity. haha. So they kind of stoked the fire of diligence and we are looking at a better week this week.

One of the things that we also do as missionaries here is teach members how to hold family home evenings. But on of the things that has really bugged me in the mission is how these Family Home Evenings are done. It seems to be a 5 minute lesson and then 2 hours of playing games and goofing off with the family. For me, that isn't what Family Home Evening is. So I really expressed to the District Leaders that they need to teach their missionaries to do REAL family home evenings. And they need to be spiritual. Not a time to hang out and be used as an excuse not to work. We are really banging on all cylinders in this zone and we have turned it inside out. So now we just need to fine tune some things to get this engine purring so nicely that we can just PUMP baptisms out like crazy! We are almost there. I can almost taste it!  I really love what I have been able to do with Lilo An Zone with my companions' help. Some of my buddies are joking that its good enough to get me Assistant. haha. I dont want that. I would much rather go fix another broken zone. That is way more rewarding to me than sitting in an air conditioned office and getting fat......ter. haha

Thanks for everything everyone. Love you!

PS. I got Opa and Oma's package. I'm sending them a letter too. But just let them know

March 15, 2011

Hey mom and dad.

Sorry that you get a nice little short and sweet email with two stories.

So we had Evelyn's baptism on Saturday. Holy cow. Satan was working HARD to stop that thing from happening. He tried really hard to get her to not get baptized in the first place as you may realize from all the times she said she didn't want to be baptized and such. But when we got to the church, we had to drain all the water in the font and then we found out that the water pressure in the font SUCKS! After 2 hours we probably had a foot and a half of water and we were freaking out. We had used buckets to fill it and everything but nothing was working. So I just said a prayer in my heart that I would get an idea. Then I thought, "Hey! Lets just baptize her sitting down!" So we started the baptism and when we got to the actual ordinance, she sat in the water and Elder Sureta (the story of why he baptized is too long to recount) kneeled in the water and baptized her. It was just high enough to where she could be immersed.

The crazy thing is that after that, she spent the next HOUR telling her conversion story instead of her testimony. haha. We where at the church until 9:30. haha. She's great though. She's planning on a mission next year.

The second story is about the Pana family. So about three weeks ago, we got a referral for this guy Don Don Pana and his wife. They live in Dap Dap Catarman and they have a little store. He is a guard at the temple. And that's all we knew. We also had a crudely drawn map on a receipt. haha. For the last three weeks I would say we have spent at least 12 hours searching for this family. The map made it look like their house was in this one spot that had a house and store but every time we went there, the lady that ran the store said that she was not Ellen Pana but Terese something. I thought she was lying to us because she didn't know her husband had asked to be visited.

Well, yesterday, I was near giving up. I was about to just throw my hands up and just say that I had done all I can and go home. But I decided to go back to the Terese lady and give it one last shot to see if she was lying about who she was. So we go there and buy some drinks and started to talking to her a little bit about the temple and asked her about her family and she still said that she was not Ellen. She siad maybe we want to check up the road. The map sure didnt make it look like that was the way but we tried it. There was a little path that went off and we followed it. There we saw a little store and a lady sitting outside. We introduced ourselves and she said that she was Ellen that and that her and her husband had been waiting for us for three weeks. We just laughed and I said, "That's funny. We've been looking for you for three weeks." I know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers and guides us and others.

Love you all. Thanks for the package! Its not here yet....?? I'll text and find out.

I'll be home for CHRISTMAS!!!!

Brandon

March 8, 2011

Hey dad.

So I gotta tell you. I laughed out loud when you told me that you met this Tongan lady that learned Visayan and Cebuano. hahaha. I don't think I've explained this well enough. Cebuano is Visayan but Visayan is not Cebuano. Visayan consists of all the dialects in the Visayan region of the Philippines. Its confusing. In fact, I'm not even sure if I understand how that works. But just suffice it to say that they are one in the same. But yeah. I love the Philippines. There are some things that really bug me about it but they come with the package and I try not to dwell on those a lot. Even though they are all up in my face alll the time.

The work is going pretty good. You know that girl Evelyn that had read all the Standard Works but refused to get baptized? Well we really urged her before we left that we wanted her to pray about it remember? Well Thursday we get a text from her that she got an answer that she needs to get baptized. YES!!!! So we finished up the lesson and went over there that night and taught her a great lesson. Then Friday I realized that she could get baptized on the 19th of March instead of the 26th! So she ended up texting us ask when her baptism could be and I said the 26th. Then she complained and said that that was too far away so then I told her that the 19th was also available and she accepted. Then we taught her on Friday and I felt impressed to commit her to the 12th instead. She accepted and then I told her that she would have an interview the next day to prepare. Then she freaked out. She started crying and telling us that she wasn't ready and that she wasn't sure if the church was true and all this weird stuff. So then once she settled down a bit I told her that she knew this was the truth and she just needed to act. So we go ahead and close and she says the prayer and just starts balling in her prayer. At this point I'm really starting to doubt if that was the Spirit telling me to commit her to the 12th or my own hunger for another baptism. You know what I mean? Of course you do. You were in my place before.

So we leave and call to cancel the interview. I felt so weighed down! I was like, "WHAT THE HECK!!! I did exactly what the Spirit told me and it failed." I was so confused Dad. I felt let down. So we planned and I went upstairs, showered, got ready for bed and then just kneeled down and let Heavenly Father hear it. I'm sure I sounded like a baby. "What am I doing wrong? Why did I fail? What do I need to do? Then I just poured out to him that I wanted to gain a witness tonight that it is true. Just give her that if its thy will." Then I prayed for her and for her to be sensitive to the answer when it comes. The next morning we are teaching a lesson and I get a text from Evelyn. It said, "Elders, sorry for last night. I prayed. I'm going to get baptized last week. Lets do the interview at four. This is the will of Heavenly Father." Yeah. Prayers are answered!!! So she got interviewed, blew away the interviewer and she is getting baptized this Saturday. She's lucky number 7 in Lilo-An.

Thanks for everything dad. Especially your example. It's always helped a lot.

I'll be home for Christmas.

Brandon

March 01, 2011

Hey dad.

So this week was great. We had a baptism for this kid Arnel Sayon. He was not a very easy investigator but when I finally just told him that all the answers where in the Book of Mormon and that he just needed to figure it out himself through prayer, it was all cake from there. We had the baptism and you can tell the kid is CONVERTED!!!! At this point I'm six for six in this area with active, spiritually-converted converts. So happy.

Then a week or two ago I got a text from this kid that we had contacted out of frustration because he had called me Joe. So we just went up to him and his buddies and contacted them to show them that I wasn't just "some American guy", I was one who could speak his language. That usually shuts up the hecklers pretty quick. We left them a pamphlet with our phone number and left. SIX WEEKS LATER I get a text from this kid saying that he and his buddies have read the pamphlet and want to get baptized and turn their lives around. Whaaaaaaaat???? hahaha. So we taught them on Sunday and committed all four of them to baptism on April 9. I hope it works out because I AM STILL IN THIS AREA AND I AM NOT TRANSFERRING ON FRIDAY!!!!! Oh my gosh. They stepped my companion down with one transfer left before he goes home. Thats the second time in a row that's happened. I feel kind of jipped because I was going to be transferring to an area with a car but the Lord wants me here. And wherever the Captain wants me, that's where I'll stay.

We also committed that sister Lore on Thursday to a March 26 baptismal date. She's terrified but she accepted because she knows that she needs to do it. We told her that we will be there for her every step of the way. Her husband is going to be a good help too...I hope. He didn't give her the reaction we were expecting when she told him she was getting baptized.

We also have another investigator that came to our ward for the first time on Sunday. We taught her yesterday and come to find out that she has read the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, Gospel Principles Manual and watched all the Church History DVDs. haha. Then she basically proved to US that the church is true before we could even teach her anything. But when I asked her to get baptized she turned it down because she wants to check out the Muslims and Protestant religions before she commits to anything. That is seriously the worst logic ever. I told her that if I am looking for a shoe that I lost or can't find, I don't keep searching for it AFTER I HAVE IT!!! haha. She's confusing herself a little bit I think. She just needs to get back to basics.  We just need a little more time. And now I have that. haha. Dangit.

Love you dad. Thanks.

Hey mom.

yeah. So first about the study thing. Yeah. Freaking love the scriptures. I'm reading the Old Testament right now. Holy cow. SHOOT ME while I was reading the Pentateuch! It was so drawn out already. Not to mention the fact that Deuteronomy is basically a re-cap of all the pain of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. But I finished the Pentateuch a while ago and I'm cruisin!!! I'm in the middle of 1 Samuel. There is some crazy stuff that happens in there! Like in Judges chapter 4 or 6, one of the kings that the Israelites were trying to own snuck into the tent of some Israelite lady. She promised him safety and then in the middle of the night drove a nail straight through the guys head! Daaaaang. There's some crazy stuff. I highlight all the insane stuff so that I can stay more interested. The Old Testament isn't exactly the doctrinal rock that the Book of Mormon is. Thats why I read both. I dont know if I told you what my favorite chapter in the Book of Mormon is yet. Its Alma 42. I read it every time I'm in the Celestial room. Its just so good and its all about why we're here and why life seems so hard with all these rules and stuff. Love it! I know we're not supposed to aspire but my dream calling would be Gospel Doctrine teacher. I think I could help make that class awesome....erest.

That's great about Emma. I've been praying for her every day and I put her name on the prayer roll in the temple today along with Joey, Steph and Ben...and me. haha. Sometimes I feel like I could use a couple of temple-energized prayers in addition to the millions that you guys are putting out there for me. Thanks for that by the way. That would be super awesome if they moved closer to us. I think that it would help them accept the gospel better if we could have them over for Family Home Evenings and be around a place where the Holy Ghost is all the time.

Thanks for everything mom. Keep it up!