Email #20
Area: Grange area of the Firle Zone
Companion: Elder Hamilton
Excerpts from Mom's email:
Hey Mom!
Well this week has been a long one! We had to stay in the flat for three days because Elder Hamilton was pretty sick with a fever at the beginning of the week. Come Friday though luckily he started to feel well enough to head back out. It was a pretty long three days because we really can't do all that much in the flat. I basically caught up on my sleep, studied heaps and heaps, and watched a couple Mormon messages that we had on DVD. I really liked being able to catch up on studies especially. I learned a lot in those three days and Elder Hamilton and I just got closer as friends as well. I got a little bit sick with the cold side of it, but I think because I rested and took medicine early on, I didn't get as sick. So that was most of our week haha. It kind of sucks because we really start to fall behind and we had to cancel heaps of appointments as well. We rescheduled them for later in the week so the last few days we have had nothing, but teaching appointments. Which is fine besides the fact that we were then unable to do very much finding/door knocking in the week.
This experience more then anything has shown me the importance of finding. If we are not finding people to teach then our teaching pool stays the same and that means that we aren't doing all we can to do the work. It really was unsatisfying. Part of me at first thought that I would enjoy staying in the flat for a day being able to sleep and everything, but it is more disappointing than anything. Plus you get pretty bored as soon as you have studied for 6 hours... But hey Elder Hamilton has asked me to give a training tomorrow to the district for the first time, so I had time to prepare for that. That will be exciting for sure! Plus we have transfer calls next Sunday, so this week is just going to be nerve racking haha.
We had the chance to follow up with some of our upcoming baptismal dates. They are progressing, but Satin is throwing a lot at us and our investigators to hold them back for sure. We got this though! I have complete faith that D... and M...... will be able to reach their dates next month! BTW C... received the Aaronic Priesthood this last week and we are taking him to the temple on Wednesday to do baptisms for the dead with the ward! That is something I am looking forward to for sure!
Love you mom!
Excerpts from Dad's email:
Hey Dad!
So this week we were able to follow up with both D... and M...... who have upcoming baptismal dates. This is make it of break it time these next couple weeks especially, because its Elder Hamilton's last few weeks. He and I have developed such great relationships with these two and obviously we want to see them to the end and just the fact that it is in reach keeps us very motivated. All we can do at this point is help them reach their goal and we recognize how hard it is going to be to do so, but we have complete faith in them and in the atonement!
As for stories there are a couple, but they aren't that exciting haha. One weird one just happened about 30 minutes ago. A members son who we haven't heard from in 3 months, sent us an interesting text. He asked us to call 000 which is the emergency number here. Apparently the girl he just recently moved in with is having issues and was trying to hit him with a metal pipe. He couldn't call himself because she would have found where he was at. Who knows why he asked us to call them, but we were glad to help. Kind of weird, but we did it and the police said they will send a patrol around to check it out. We always have weird experiences and they typically are just random. Last night one of our new investigators and his friend were acting weird when we knocked on their door. They were just all loopy and they said they thought we were the police at first, so they were super scared. They are both harmless blokes especially when they could barely stand, so it wasn't dangerous haha no worries.
Sorry that it wasn't much haha.
Love ya pops!
June 25, 2017
June 18, 2017
Our Search for Happiness; Fairy bread, an Aussie delicacy
Email #19
Area: Grange area of the Firle Zone
Companion: Elder Hamilton
Excerpts from Mom's email:
Hey Mom!
So this week Elder Hamilton has really been trying to have me lead out the whole time to prepare for the future. It has been tough, but I am learning a lot faster being thrown in the fire. I do really good with lesson, finding and everything. The only thing I really struggle with is knowing where I am going most of the time. I have been here for many weeks now so I grasp the concept of where I am going, but a lot of the time when I am trying to find my way, I get a little turned around. I really will need a GPS of some kind at some point, so I really really want to get one today. I have trade offs this week which I am a little nervous for because I will have to take over the area for a day especially since the zone leader will have no idea where we are going. Wish me luck for that lol.
Again I have had such a great experience with teaching our investigators. It is funny because we have started to find ways to change up our teaching a little bit. We love to use analogies and object lessons now. We use this one with a tea bag that is particularly good. Dad or James probably know the one I am talking about. As well we really try to build our relationship with our investigators and that has really helped us enjoy our teaching, because we really do care about them. Even with D..., we try to contact him in some form throughout the week besides the lesson itself. Last week we dropped of what is called fairy bread. Now fairy bread is an Aussie delicacy. It is basically bread, butter, and sprinkles haha. Yeah that's an actual thing hear... Anyway D... was teasing us about it and said sometime we should try it so we ended up making it for him and dropped it on his door step. He really liked it especially because we related it to the gospel as we do. We left a scripture about the bread of life, haha I can't remember the exact scripture though. Things like that helps us build that relationship and we really love reaching out to our friends whenever we can.
This week have been noticing key concepts in the gospel that I have not really noticed before. Our president talks about the miracle zone having to do with obedience. It's something that "Our Search for Happiness" talks about as well. "We must get up to the level when our heart is in our throat and if we opened our eyes, we would expect to see angels. We have to take things to the edge. We have to move into the realm of the miraculous. We must live in such a way that we cannot do it alone anymore, where we resort to the Lord where we cry, without thy help I will fall! We must go to the edge where the miracles happen." Now this is something that I have seen more and more as I have been out on a mission. The blessing we receive and the miracles we see don't happen when we are partially working hard or when we are mostly obedient. They happen when we have our "heart is in our throats" and we have that faith sufficient to know "if we opened our eyes, we would expect to see angels". This is something I wish to continue to learn about and understand. Something that I hope to live the rest of my life.
Love you mom! Have a great week!
Area: Grange area of the Firle Zone
Companion: Elder Hamilton
Excerpts from Mom's email:
Hey Mom!
So this week Elder Hamilton has really been trying to have me lead out the whole time to prepare for the future. It has been tough, but I am learning a lot faster being thrown in the fire. I do really good with lesson, finding and everything. The only thing I really struggle with is knowing where I am going most of the time. I have been here for many weeks now so I grasp the concept of where I am going, but a lot of the time when I am trying to find my way, I get a little turned around. I really will need a GPS of some kind at some point, so I really really want to get one today. I have trade offs this week which I am a little nervous for because I will have to take over the area for a day especially since the zone leader will have no idea where we are going. Wish me luck for that lol.
Again I have had such a great experience with teaching our investigators. It is funny because we have started to find ways to change up our teaching a little bit. We love to use analogies and object lessons now. We use this one with a tea bag that is particularly good. Dad or James probably know the one I am talking about. As well we really try to build our relationship with our investigators and that has really helped us enjoy our teaching, because we really do care about them. Even with D..., we try to contact him in some form throughout the week besides the lesson itself. Last week we dropped of what is called fairy bread. Now fairy bread is an Aussie delicacy. It is basically bread, butter, and sprinkles haha. Yeah that's an actual thing hear... Anyway D... was teasing us about it and said sometime we should try it so we ended up making it for him and dropped it on his door step. He really liked it especially because we related it to the gospel as we do. We left a scripture about the bread of life, haha I can't remember the exact scripture though. Things like that helps us build that relationship and we really love reaching out to our friends whenever we can.
This week have been noticing key concepts in the gospel that I have not really noticed before. Our president talks about the miracle zone having to do with obedience. It's something that "Our Search for Happiness" talks about as well. "We must get up to the level when our heart is in our throat and if we opened our eyes, we would expect to see angels. We have to take things to the edge. We have to move into the realm of the miraculous. We must live in such a way that we cannot do it alone anymore, where we resort to the Lord where we cry, without thy help I will fall! We must go to the edge where the miracles happen." Now this is something that I have seen more and more as I have been out on a mission. The blessing we receive and the miracles we see don't happen when we are partially working hard or when we are mostly obedient. They happen when we have our "heart is in our throats" and we have that faith sufficient to know "if we opened our eyes, we would expect to see angels". This is something I wish to continue to learn about and understand. Something that I hope to live the rest of my life.
Love you mom! Have a great week!
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| At the beach |
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| Singing "If You Could Hie to Kolob" to start companion study. |
June 12, 2017
My first baptism, a great man
Email #18
Area: Grange area of the Firle Zone
Companion: Elder Hamilton
Excerpts from Mom's email:
Hey Mom!
Well, this week has been an exciting one! First off, C...'s baptism was amazing! He asked me to be the one to baptize him, which surprised me a bit. It was a really cool experience. It was the first time I have ever baptized someone myself. I was a bit nervous, because he can't bend his knees all that much so it was hard to fully submerse him. It was a really amazing experience non the less. C... has been investigating for some time now. The missionaries originally found him in January, before I even left on my mission. It has been a long journey, but a honor and privilege to be the one to finally baptize him! He took his first step to achieving the end goal which is eternal life with our Father in Heaven. He has such a great testimony and I think he has since the day I met him. We just had to resolve a few of those concerns and help him realize the testimony that he has.
This has been the week that everything has been put into perspective. With many of our investigators, we build this friendship and we come to love them. There is no greater joy on our mission when we get to see our brother and sisters make the greatest choice! That is our whole purpose for coming here in the first place is to bring others unto Christ. There are a few in particular that we are teaching that we have a bond with. We have developed a very strong relationship with D..., M......, B.., and D.... in particular. We are always trying to think of ways to help them. Always trying to help them see the great potential that they have. However it is their own choice, and that is something I have truly come to appreciate. D... has expressed before that it is possible for him to one day be baptized. He can see it at this point in time. We weren't sure if we would be able to help him get to this point, but he has accepted a date for July 21! As always, this is a goal we have put in place for him to reach, something to strive for. Elder Hamilton leaves on July 27, just a few days after this goal. We both know how hard it may be for him to reach this goal, but we both have faith in him and especially in the atonement! I know the power of the atonement for myself so I know that it is possible! There may be trials ahead and he may not even reach this goal. Same with M......, B.., and D..... We don't know what is ahead of us, but that is a huge part of faith. Have each of them in your prayers! I am so grateful for each of them and am so grateful for the eternal friends I have made.
Last week, I was feeling a little bit discouraged. However, through my experiences this week, I feel as strong as ever! My faith has doubled each day. There is true power in this work, I know that now more then ever. I had the chance to bare true testimony to both D... and C... this week and both has helped me to grow. Plus Elder Hamilton and I are getting closer each day and I am very grateful for him!
Love you Mom! Have a good week!
Excerpts from Dad's email:
Hey Dad!
This week has been a good one! I think one of the strangest experiences this week was when we were door knocking at the beginning of the week. So a Chinese women answers the door and she immediately starts talking religion, but her's is a bit different from ours haha. She offered to "present me with the light of god" or something like that. So of course, Elder Hamilton said "Of course my companion would love to see that" haha. So she brought out three chairs and we sat down and she told me to close my eyes. So I did, but Elder Hamilton just sat back and watched. She told me to just sit there for ten minutes as she used the light on me. I didn't see what was going on, but Elder Hamilton told me she faced her hand toward me and just focused on me for a while. Than at the end she said something in Chinese. It was all just really random. We always have such interesting experiences door knocking.
Love ya Dad!
Area: Grange area of the Firle Zone
Companion: Elder Hamilton
Excerpts from Mom's email:
Hey Mom!
Well, this week has been an exciting one! First off, C...'s baptism was amazing! He asked me to be the one to baptize him, which surprised me a bit. It was a really cool experience. It was the first time I have ever baptized someone myself. I was a bit nervous, because he can't bend his knees all that much so it was hard to fully submerse him. It was a really amazing experience non the less. C... has been investigating for some time now. The missionaries originally found him in January, before I even left on my mission. It has been a long journey, but a honor and privilege to be the one to finally baptize him! He took his first step to achieving the end goal which is eternal life with our Father in Heaven. He has such a great testimony and I think he has since the day I met him. We just had to resolve a few of those concerns and help him realize the testimony that he has.
This has been the week that everything has been put into perspective. With many of our investigators, we build this friendship and we come to love them. There is no greater joy on our mission when we get to see our brother and sisters make the greatest choice! That is our whole purpose for coming here in the first place is to bring others unto Christ. There are a few in particular that we are teaching that we have a bond with. We have developed a very strong relationship with D..., M......, B.., and D.... in particular. We are always trying to think of ways to help them. Always trying to help them see the great potential that they have. However it is their own choice, and that is something I have truly come to appreciate. D... has expressed before that it is possible for him to one day be baptized. He can see it at this point in time. We weren't sure if we would be able to help him get to this point, but he has accepted a date for July 21! As always, this is a goal we have put in place for him to reach, something to strive for. Elder Hamilton leaves on July 27, just a few days after this goal. We both know how hard it may be for him to reach this goal, but we both have faith in him and especially in the atonement! I know the power of the atonement for myself so I know that it is possible! There may be trials ahead and he may not even reach this goal. Same with M......, B.., and D..... We don't know what is ahead of us, but that is a huge part of faith. Have each of them in your prayers! I am so grateful for each of them and am so grateful for the eternal friends I have made.
Last week, I was feeling a little bit discouraged. However, through my experiences this week, I feel as strong as ever! My faith has doubled each day. There is true power in this work, I know that now more then ever. I had the chance to bare true testimony to both D... and C... this week and both has helped me to grow. Plus Elder Hamilton and I are getting closer each day and I am very grateful for him!
Love you Mom! Have a good week!
Excerpts from Dad's email:
Hey Dad!
This week has been a good one! I think one of the strangest experiences this week was when we were door knocking at the beginning of the week. So a Chinese women answers the door and she immediately starts talking religion, but her's is a bit different from ours haha. She offered to "present me with the light of god" or something like that. So of course, Elder Hamilton said "Of course my companion would love to see that" haha. So she brought out three chairs and we sat down and she told me to close my eyes. So I did, but Elder Hamilton just sat back and watched. She told me to just sit there for ten minutes as she used the light on me. I didn't see what was going on, but Elder Hamilton told me she faced her hand toward me and just focused on me for a while. Than at the end she said something in Chinese. It was all just really random. We always have such interesting experiences door knocking.
Love ya Dad!
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| Elder Bryner, C..., Elder Hamilton |
June 4, 2017
Bike incident pans out, more training, met with a speed talker
Email #17
Area: Grange area of the Firle Zone
Companion: Elder Hamilton
Excerpts from Mom's email:
Dear Mom,
Hey Mom, thanks so much for what you wrote! It really uplifts me every week to read your emails. It's pretty weird to be writing you again so soon. It only has been a few days, but I do have a few things to tell you about. I hope the family is doing well!
So these last few days have been pretty quick, but here are a few things that have happened. First off, the other day we went by to see one of our new investigators, D..... When we stopped by she was telling us that she just had been robbed the night before. I guess she had someone staying at here place and they just took some stuff, cut a piece of her hair off, and left. Yeah it is as it sounds like. Anyway, her friend, N......, was over there to comfort her so she just so happened to be there when we stopped by. Her and D.... have known each other for a long time, so D.... invited her to stay with us as we go through the message. This was the first lesson that we had with D...., but she had missionaries about 12 years ago I think. We taught the Plan of Salvation, because N...... had just lost her husband. Both of them were so into it and we could tell that it really impacted them. They are both Christian, but seems like neither of them know very much about it, mostly just a belief in God is all. At the end of the lesson, we invited both of them for baptism and they both accepted! So we are pretty excited for that. It will take a little bit of work with D.... because she has a Word of Wisdom problem. She even brought up that concern saying she knows to be baptized she has to give us her addictions, but she really wants to at this point in her life. N...... said that she has no problem with that, not even coffee. So I'll keep you updated where it goes with them.
We have been able to see a couple more investigators in the last couple days, but on that front, everything is still going well. The only sad thing is that one of our investigators, C.........., dropped us over the phone. It was really surprising, because he really wanted to be baptized. We plan to follow up with him in person to see what we can do. Besides that, everyone is doing great. C...'s baptism is coming up this next Sunday, so hopefully I can email you about that next Monday. Just a heads up though, there are a few more public holidays coming up, so if you don't get an email from me, just wait a day. I think the next one is in two weeks time though. The holidays here are just so weird haha, the next one that I saw was the Queens birthday.
Love you Mom!
Elder Bryner
Excerpts from Dad's email:
Hey Dad!
That's really cool to hear about Vegas! Man I really miss swimming haha. Michael Jackson huh... Man I forgot about his music, it is so weird to think about things at home because it feels like another lifetime. Sometime Elder Hamilton and I will talk about home and stuff we used to do for fun, but it always just seems like ages ago. I mean it really doesn't feel like I've been out very long, but at the same time feels like forever ago. It's really hard to explain.
Another crazy story happened though that I've never experienced before. We went to go visit this referral named J.... and this was just bazaar. I kid you not, he talks a thousand words a minute. I have never met someone who talks so fast. I think that he forgets to breathe and when he does its like a huge breathe and he just keeps going. Not just that, but he invited us in and his house was just like a cyclone went through it. I mean neither of us care if a house is messy when we go in or anything like that, but I have never seen anything like this haha. I seriously could not see the floor. It was just pretty funny is all. We then tried to teach the lesson, but he would go off on random tangents. The sisters who referred him to us warned us about that, so Elder Hamilton told him we would go through the lesson real quick and for him to save questions for the end. We typically don't do that, but we just had to. Even then though we only got to a quarter of the lesson with him. We have some weird experiences here sometimes that's for sure.
A few days ago we had another 8 hour training... It is crazy sometimes how long the training meetings are here. The weird thing is that I can stay engaged during them. If it was school, there is no way I could, but for some reason it is different here.
Love you Dad!
Elder Bryner
Area: Grange area of the Firle Zone
Companion: Elder Hamilton
Excerpts from Mom's email:
Dear Mom,
Hey Mom, thanks so much for what you wrote! It really uplifts me every week to read your emails. It's pretty weird to be writing you again so soon. It only has been a few days, but I do have a few things to tell you about. I hope the family is doing well!
So these last few days have been pretty quick, but here are a few things that have happened. First off, the other day we went by to see one of our new investigators, D..... When we stopped by she was telling us that she just had been robbed the night before. I guess she had someone staying at here place and they just took some stuff, cut a piece of her hair off, and left. Yeah it is as it sounds like. Anyway, her friend, N......, was over there to comfort her so she just so happened to be there when we stopped by. Her and D.... have known each other for a long time, so D.... invited her to stay with us as we go through the message. This was the first lesson that we had with D...., but she had missionaries about 12 years ago I think. We taught the Plan of Salvation, because N...... had just lost her husband. Both of them were so into it and we could tell that it really impacted them. They are both Christian, but seems like neither of them know very much about it, mostly just a belief in God is all. At the end of the lesson, we invited both of them for baptism and they both accepted! So we are pretty excited for that. It will take a little bit of work with D.... because she has a Word of Wisdom problem. She even brought up that concern saying she knows to be baptized she has to give us her addictions, but she really wants to at this point in her life. N...... said that she has no problem with that, not even coffee. So I'll keep you updated where it goes with them.
We have been able to see a couple more investigators in the last couple days, but on that front, everything is still going well. The only sad thing is that one of our investigators, C.........., dropped us over the phone. It was really surprising, because he really wanted to be baptized. We plan to follow up with him in person to see what we can do. Besides that, everyone is doing great. C...'s baptism is coming up this next Sunday, so hopefully I can email you about that next Monday. Just a heads up though, there are a few more public holidays coming up, so if you don't get an email from me, just wait a day. I think the next one is in two weeks time though. The holidays here are just so weird haha, the next one that I saw was the Queens birthday.
Love you Mom!
Elder Bryner
Excerpts from Dad's email:
Hey Dad!
That's really cool to hear about Vegas! Man I really miss swimming haha. Michael Jackson huh... Man I forgot about his music, it is so weird to think about things at home because it feels like another lifetime. Sometime Elder Hamilton and I will talk about home and stuff we used to do for fun, but it always just seems like ages ago. I mean it really doesn't feel like I've been out very long, but at the same time feels like forever ago. It's really hard to explain.
Another crazy story happened though that I've never experienced before. We went to go visit this referral named J.... and this was just bazaar. I kid you not, he talks a thousand words a minute. I have never met someone who talks so fast. I think that he forgets to breathe and when he does its like a huge breathe and he just keeps going. Not just that, but he invited us in and his house was just like a cyclone went through it. I mean neither of us care if a house is messy when we go in or anything like that, but I have never seen anything like this haha. I seriously could not see the floor. It was just pretty funny is all. We then tried to teach the lesson, but he would go off on random tangents. The sisters who referred him to us warned us about that, so Elder Hamilton told him we would go through the lesson real quick and for him to save questions for the end. We typically don't do that, but we just had to. Even then though we only got to a quarter of the lesson with him. We have some weird experiences here sometimes that's for sure.
A few days ago we had another 8 hour training... It is crazy sometimes how long the training meetings are here. The weird thing is that I can stay engaged during them. If it was school, there is no way I could, but for some reason it is different here.
Love you Dad!
Elder Bryner
June 1, 2017
Interesting encounter on our bikes...
Email #16
Area: Grange area of the Firle Zone
Companion: Elder Hamilton
Excerpts from Mom's email:
Hey Mom!
Today was our temple day so P-day was moved to today. It has felt like forever since the last time I had the chance to email. So much has happened so I have no idea what to even write about haha. What are you all up to this week?
So C...'s baptism didn't end up happening this last week. He went through with the interview and a few concerns came up. He didn't really understand the reason behind no coffee. Then we had a really hard time meeting with him. We kept setting appointments, but he would call before and say he had to cancel. It was for good reasons though, his son had a baby. The good news is we ended up meeting with him a few days ago and we resolved the concern right away. As soon as we explained the purpose and backed it up with his testimony of the Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He is completely ready for baptism now and everything is set up for sure. So his date is going to be on June 11 now. I'm so excited for it for sure and as well we have a couple more baptisms coming up in a few weeks! We have been seeing heaps of growth in all of those that we are teaching. It is really good to see because we have been working our very hardest and the fruits are now beginning to show. We have continued to have amazing experiences with D..., B.. and D...., C..., and M..... in particular. D... has really become a friend to the both of us and we really care about him. Our last visit with him we brought our ward mission leader, Bro Smith, and it seems like they hit it off pretty well. It will be good for him to know someone in the ward. His next step I would say would be coming to church and now I think that is something we will see here soon. B.. and D.... as well are so cool, still we just are really struggling to progress with them. They have been going through a few struggles lately, so it has been a little harder. But we plan on doing the Gospel of Jesus Christ lesson with them next! That is a big one because we plan on inviting them to baptism so stay tuned. M......'s baptism and marriage is coming up fast, so we have to make sure that his word of wisdom problem is completely overcome. That's a very general overview, but the best I can do with the time I have haha.
I really can say that I am loving it here! My companion and I still get along super well! I see him like my brother and not only because he looks like James haha. We just found out that he is going home on July 27, so that's pretty crazy to know now! We are both thinking I will kill him off(ouch... send him home), so we will see.
Love ya!
Elder Bryner
Excerpts from Dad's email:
Hey Dad!
Yeah C...'s baptism is coming up and I will take plenty of pics no worries. Yeah I sent the letter, but it took me a while to do it haha sorry about that it is just very out of our way to get to the post office. No worries though Ken won't mind. Let me know when you get it.
Well I do have some stories, but I don't know which one to tell... Alright for the first one it might sound a little sketchy but no worries its all good haha. So last week we were on our bikes and we see a man coming up, so as usual we stop to talk to him. It was pretty late at night, so not much light out I will just add. Anyway, I did the initial contact, but he just kept walking. So Elder Hamilton was behind and tries again. He said no thanks, so he followed up saying "Is there anyone in the area we could help out?" He stopped in his tracks and said and I quote "Do you want me to steal your bike?!"... And so we look at each other and are like what? This guy wasn't big or nothing, so we wondered why he would threaten us. He almost got up in Elder Hamilton's face, so we just said have a nice day and continued on. We were joking saying how if we ever see him again.. he would be baptized haha. So here is the kicker of the story. A couple of days later we are knocking doors and we see a man standing outside his door working on a bike. We go and talk to him and he said "oh hey guys, really sorry about the other day I was in a bad mood." We didn't recognize him until he said that, so we were shocked. The best part is he said that his friend was just inside and she was really interested in hearing the message. She apparently used to see missionaries, but hasn't in a long time. We ended up teaching both of them and we watched the restoration video with them. New Investigators! It is crazy how the Lord works sometimes. The women seems very keen, although the guy just seems to feel bad and let us in. So that's my funny story for the week hope it makes sense.
Love you!
Elder Bryner
Area: Grange area of the Firle Zone
Companion: Elder Hamilton
Excerpts from Mom's email:
Hey Mom!
Today was our temple day so P-day was moved to today. It has felt like forever since the last time I had the chance to email. So much has happened so I have no idea what to even write about haha. What are you all up to this week?
So C...'s baptism didn't end up happening this last week. He went through with the interview and a few concerns came up. He didn't really understand the reason behind no coffee. Then we had a really hard time meeting with him. We kept setting appointments, but he would call before and say he had to cancel. It was for good reasons though, his son had a baby. The good news is we ended up meeting with him a few days ago and we resolved the concern right away. As soon as we explained the purpose and backed it up with his testimony of the Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He is completely ready for baptism now and everything is set up for sure. So his date is going to be on June 11 now. I'm so excited for it for sure and as well we have a couple more baptisms coming up in a few weeks! We have been seeing heaps of growth in all of those that we are teaching. It is really good to see because we have been working our very hardest and the fruits are now beginning to show. We have continued to have amazing experiences with D..., B.. and D...., C..., and M..... in particular. D... has really become a friend to the both of us and we really care about him. Our last visit with him we brought our ward mission leader, Bro Smith, and it seems like they hit it off pretty well. It will be good for him to know someone in the ward. His next step I would say would be coming to church and now I think that is something we will see here soon. B.. and D.... as well are so cool, still we just are really struggling to progress with them. They have been going through a few struggles lately, so it has been a little harder. But we plan on doing the Gospel of Jesus Christ lesson with them next! That is a big one because we plan on inviting them to baptism so stay tuned. M......'s baptism and marriage is coming up fast, so we have to make sure that his word of wisdom problem is completely overcome. That's a very general overview, but the best I can do with the time I have haha.
I really can say that I am loving it here! My companion and I still get along super well! I see him like my brother and not only because he looks like James haha. We just found out that he is going home on July 27, so that's pretty crazy to know now! We are both thinking I will kill him off(ouch... send him home), so we will see.
Love ya!
Elder Bryner
Excerpts from Dad's email:
Hey Dad!
Yeah C...'s baptism is coming up and I will take plenty of pics no worries. Yeah I sent the letter, but it took me a while to do it haha sorry about that it is just very out of our way to get to the post office. No worries though Ken won't mind. Let me know when you get it.
Well I do have some stories, but I don't know which one to tell... Alright for the first one it might sound a little sketchy but no worries its all good haha. So last week we were on our bikes and we see a man coming up, so as usual we stop to talk to him. It was pretty late at night, so not much light out I will just add. Anyway, I did the initial contact, but he just kept walking. So Elder Hamilton was behind and tries again. He said no thanks, so he followed up saying "Is there anyone in the area we could help out?" He stopped in his tracks and said and I quote "Do you want me to steal your bike?!"... And so we look at each other and are like what? This guy wasn't big or nothing, so we wondered why he would threaten us. He almost got up in Elder Hamilton's face, so we just said have a nice day and continued on. We were joking saying how if we ever see him again.. he would be baptized haha. So here is the kicker of the story. A couple of days later we are knocking doors and we see a man standing outside his door working on a bike. We go and talk to him and he said "oh hey guys, really sorry about the other day I was in a bad mood." We didn't recognize him until he said that, so we were shocked. The best part is he said that his friend was just inside and she was really interested in hearing the message. She apparently used to see missionaries, but hasn't in a long time. We ended up teaching both of them and we watched the restoration video with them. New Investigators! It is crazy how the Lord works sometimes. The women seems very keen, although the guy just seems to feel bad and let us in. So that's my funny story for the week hope it makes sense.
Love you!
Elder Bryner
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| Kangaroo Pelt |
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| A visit to the Temple |
| Elder Bryner & Elder Hamilton cooking kangaroo part 1 |
| Cooking kangaroo part 2 |
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