Elder Jaren Bryner A LDS Missionary Down Under in Adelaide Australia: Baptism & Received release date

Email #92
Area: Alice Springs
Companion: Elder Olsen

Excerpts from Mom's email:

Hey Mom!

This week has been really great! First off, I love Alice Springs! It reminds me a lot of Katherine in very many ways. When I arrived here off the plane I could tell it would be different to anywhere I have served. The aboriginal culture that I've missed so much is here strongly. I have missed the kind people of the Northern Territory as well! For some reason, people are a lot nicer up here! The weather is getting pretty hot, but I don't mind it! I love it here!

My companion, Elder Olsen is great! We get along super well and are just loving it together! He comes from Highland, Utah and has been on his mission a whole 2 months! I look forward to spending this transfer with him honestly! We seem to laugh a lot more then I have and training him will be a lot of funny moments for sure.

The people of Alice Springs is one to see! They are honestly some of the most interesting people I have ever met! For example, we have our friend Mack. Now Mack is a friend that has been looking into the Church for a while now. Here is the thing about Mack... He has lived one heck of a life!!! Since he was young, we served in the military for years! He served with he likes of navy seals in all of these crazy secret missions. During a battle with forces in Iraq, he was hit by an RPG. One of the most amazing, powerful stories I have ever heard in my life was this. As he laid there on the ground dying rapidly while those around him already where dead, he could hear on the radio that Iraq forces were closing in. He prepared to put up a fight to make it harder for them. The heat from the ground was over 50°C and he could see the heat coming off the ground, knowing it will kill him faster. As laid there, for the first time, he prayed to God saying, "If you are really there, you better show me now." The a cool breeze swept over him.

Well, his life long friend, Kylie, stepped in and saved him, intercepting him with her team before the Iraq forces could get to him. As she checked him and did what she could, she noticed that his body temperature was cool. She wondered how in the world she was sweating like crazy while he is on the ground, cold. It saved his life. From that experience, he lost his leg and one of his fingers, along with some other fingers in other instances. That as well was the first time he considered there being a God. His life has been saved three huge times like the one I just told you about. He is a walking miracle. When the missionaries, one of my close friends actually, knocked on his door a while back, he was going to say no. He asked what they wanted and they said "we want to tell you how you can be happy". Now a days down the line, he has one of the greatest testimonies I have ever heard! We are continuing teaching him and pray soon the doctors may find a way for him to be baptized.

We went to this little aboriginal community and I got to see my favorite thing about bush country, the kids! Man I missed the kids out here!! One of them was just carrying around a lizard she caught and somehow she tamed it or something haha. Then they showed us their hiding places in the community haha.

We got to do a lot of unique finding this week as well! One of them is that sometimes the branch President, President Ford, holds these basketball rallies with the best basketball players in Alice Springs. Literally they are like the top players around and they do this thing to try to gold a court as long as possible. Pretty much if you win a game, your team stays on the winning court and if you lose, you go to the other court and so on. Well Pres Ford invited us to go play with these guys to try to get to know and possibly find one of them. Dang they are really good! It was a lot of fun and actually got to know a lot of them really well. Hope it pans out more.

Thanksgiving here was a blast! Many of the members here in the branch are actually from America and all work on this military base. They held a "Turkey Bowl" activity that we were able to go to! It was a really good time and lots of really good food! We played a bunch of games and helped them do some of the activities. Then we had a true Thanksgiving dinner at the Clark's, or missionary senior couple here in Alice. It honestly was a really great Thanksgiving this year!!

Saturday continued to be a really great day because of the baptism of Kazia! Here is the cool thing! This is the wife of a friend of James's from his mission. He might remember Jordan McQueen? He said he would Facebook him. Anyway, the baptism was really great! Many non members showed up that we were able to talk to and work with. Then afterward, they had a dinner that was really good as well! They are a great little family! Jordan is really cool and I look forward to getting to know them more over time.

To answer your question, it is super hot here all the time! Well not all the time, but pretty much haha. It's supposed to get hotter to 👍😂. All good though, I just carry a water bottle that keeps it all cold and put on that blue cloth that you sent ages ago to help me stay cool. It works pretty well! The worst part is biking because the bikes currently suck... Good news is we are getting new bikes up here, brand new! Really nice ones! Hopefully today or tomorrow we will receive them.

That's basically my week!

Love you and hope you have a great week as well!

Excerpts from Dad's email:

Hey Dad!

Well what a change of pace! I went from a hard time being stuck in a rut last transfer to having a bomb companion in a sweet area! I love it here! I really do! I really hope I finish here honestly!! The branch is super awesome. Here, full of Americans and Samoans! It is big enough I feel like to be a ward, but idk how that works.

My companion told me to tell you about my forgetfulness this week haha. So the other day we road our bikes up to this part of town that is a decent bike ride away in the morning and once we got there I realized that I had forgot my badge... Haha can't go without that so had to ride back and get it 😂. Funny thing once my companion dropped something on the way there to while going up this hill and didn't realize it either. We had to go back and get that to... Then yesterday the Clark's asked me to bring this envelope thing that they need from me and I told my companion to remind me when we stop by the flat. Well he reminded me to grab it but after getting ready, I still forgot it. We drive to the Clark's house and I realize I forgot it but luckily we still had some time to go get it. Honestly we were busting up laughing at all of this! That's why I really love it here, we laugh even when some would get upset or frustrated. I just feel happy here and hope to learn to laugh even in times like that. It makes life a whole lot better! I also hope I'm not so forgetful this week hahaha!

So for Christmas, we are trying to get permission to go to Uluru! They did it last year here so that would be amazing! President said we probably can he just need permission from the area presidency to let us. As well, the senior couple mention that we might be watching Antman and the Wasp for Christmas to!! Man I miss senior couples BTW!! They are the best!!! Anyway, Christmas is going to be awesome here!

Time is flying! It will be crazy to get home as soon as it is coming. Here is the big news... Are you ready?! My release date is February 12, 2019 officially. I don't know if you knew that, but now you know:) I will let you know more details as they come probably next transfer!

Love you heaps and have a great week!