Area: Ironwood Ward in Moreno Valley
Companion: Elder Smith
Excerpts from Mom's email:
Another great week over here in Cali. So this week we had a lot of success. We reached the standard of excellence this week, which means we are hitting the higher numbers in the mission. We have 3 on date, 5 new investigators, 12 lessons, and a ton of new investigators. It really was a great week in every way. The missionary work is definitely being done and we are having a lot of fun while we are at it. Through the week I have had a lot of experiences and it was all crammed in into one week. It is really weird how much time we really have in the week.
So first off at the beginning of the week, we took pictures with our lava lavas that we got from the Samoan ward. You can see a lot of Merino Valley from where we took the pictures. Later on in the week the Samoans held a fundraiser that was like nothing I have ever seen before. They would dance and sing and people would just throw money at them and stick it on the dancers. They raised a total of 17 thousand dollars in one night. It was so crazy how much fun everyone was having and we even had a chance to dance ourselves. The Samoan ward really is awesome. They feed us the best food every night for dinner. For breakfast and lunch we most of the time eat at our apartment but we also will go out to eat sometimes. I get about $170 a month here so it's not bad especially because I never have to pay for dinner.
I think on Wednesday I went on exchanges with Elder Madeiras. He is in the biking part of the mission, so now I have seen what it is like to be a biking missionary. It really isn't as bad as I thought, but you definitely get a workout haha. Elder Madeiras is definitely one of my favorite people now. We had so much fun all day even though we didn't have any lessons that day. They don't have any investigators, so I tried my best to help them find some and we got three new ones that day while I was with him. Since my comp is the DL, I will be going on a couple of exchanges so that will be fun.
One of the best lessons I had this week was with a man named C..... He is 75 years old and he is getting dementia. He is sooo ready to be baptized, but something is holding him back. His testimony is as strong as a full member and he wants to be baptized but when we asked him if he will on the next date he said he just isn't sure if he can. My companion then testified to him how much his father in heaven loves him and how much he wants him to be baptized. This is his next step in life and we know that his time is short. I can really tell by the spirit in the room that he is a special spirit I can't really explain it. We even told him what it is exactly holding him back. We told him since he is so close, the adversary is doing everything he possible can to throw him off course. When we told him how important he is he began to cry and tell us how hard of a time he was having before we showed up at his door. Ever since we began teaching him, he said he has been a better person, more loving, and a feeling of hope now that he knows he has a place to go after he dies. These experiences with him has grown my testimony so so much. I love him and he said he just needs a little more time, but he will be baptized. I really hope the time comes soon.
Excerpts from Dad's email:
Hey Dad! So how are things over at home? Well things here are doing awesome. We have been teaching J.... and K.. a lot lately. They both are so close to being baptized and we just want to make sure we do everything we can to help them grow there testimony. K.. in particular is a little bit tougher to do, but he is getting there. He told us he would pray, but then on Sunday at church he said he still hasn't yet. God wants to answer his questions, but he need to ask first. The hardest part of being a missionary is when you get close to an investigator and they just won't do what they need to and when they are just so close, but won't take the steps they need to. Ah it's so frustrating haha.
J.... it really awesome though. I'm really close with his uncle. He is the one who gave us the some Lava Lavas. Him and Patriarch are teaching us some Samoan so I might be able to speak some when I get home, but we will see if I remember it all. I am learning a lot of random talents as well. I now know how to do a rubix cube, play a couple cords on the guitar, and even how to write a song. Haha we are working on a song right now, so maybe next week you will see our "music video" lol.
I have got to know pretty much everyone in my zone now. We are going to be doing exchanges throughout this week as well so I will have a chance to get to know all the elders since my comp is the DL. I have too many experiences through the week and it kind of sucks that I don't have time to tell you about all of them.
Love you Dad so much!
Elder Bryner
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| Video of their apartment |
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