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
