January 28, 2013

Como esta mis gorditos, Jan 28, 13

This week was full of teaching and crying people unto repentance. I gave a talk in church yesterday and actually didn't mess up once with my Spanish so I felt pretty good with that. I talked about the atonement because I have been trying to get this ward more involved with doing missionary work. In Preach My Gospel, it says that as you come to understand the atonement your desire to share this message will grow and you will want to share this knowledge with others more. So that was my main focus on what I talked about. I closed with a scripture in Alma 38:9, that I have really come to love. As I have reflected on the life of Jesus Christ and thought about all the amazing things he did for us; and this is crazy to think, that if you just took the atonement out of his life, his whole life would have been meaningless for us. But the suffering that he went through the day before he died in the Garden was the most important thing. I don't know why, but that just really hit me this week as I was reading through Alma.

Things are looking a lot better with our investigators, but we still have a lot of improvement to make. We have one lady that wants to get baptized, but she needs to get a new job so that she can come to church. I think we found her one this week though, we just have to make sure she wants to do it. I have been so a lot happier lately, and have had a lot more confidence with teaching as I don't worry about the language and just talk as the Spirit directs. I have really grown to love teaching and I find it kind of fun talking with others and telling them new things that they have never heard before from a scripture or just being in a lesson when the Spirit is strong. It does get frustrating sometimes when people have doubts and they just can't get over them, but at the same time that's what makes it fun, and it makes you think a lot more and want to go out and read the scriptures more so that you can expand your knowledge.

Anyway I'm great, warm and enjoying everything. Sorry I totally forgot to tell you about seeing Elder Jacksons dad! He is a really nice guy and it was fun to be able to go out to lunch with him. We shared a lot of good stories and I hope he didn't say I was looking to fat. I'm trying to work out in our house in the mornings, but it's not the same as going to the gym. It stinks that I'm stuck at home, because if I want to go to the gym I have to pay 20 bucks a month and my companion doesn't want to pay that either.

DAD! I can't believe I'm missing your big 50! Man I have to make sure I do a lot of activities with you when I get home before you have a walker or something! ha-ha I'm kidding sorry that was rude. I just ran into Parker Schwartz here at BYU today, he went to Gilbert high and I use to run with him at Greenfield Jr. back in the day. He just got home from his mission from Texas and is up here going to school.

Well, you all be strong this week and stop praying for the snow if you could. I'm sick of it. ha-ha I love you all!

Elder Breinholt

P.S tell Brittany congratulations on the call. One of my favorite Elders out here is from Atlanta, Georgia and he is awesome. They only have the accents more in the South, but they still do love fried chicken so watch out! Also tell Stephen and Cole to write me!

January 14, 2012–6 Months

Six Months! Jan 14, 13

I finally it the quarter mark in the mission and I got to burn one of my ties! It was a fun experience and I did it with an Elder I was in the MTC with. Mom I thought I told you that I enjoyed everything from Christmas. I don't really know what to do with the bowls and cups so I bet the people we live with will like them! ha-ha Also tell Susan Haviland thank you for the cereal and letter. I am definitely going to write Hayden too! I also got those ear muffs the other day and man they help a lot!

Things are changing up here in the mission with transfers this Wednesday and I have been thinking of ways I can improve some of my weaknesses and pick our area up some more. I am staying in my area again for another transfer and my new companion is Elder Ruiz, who I have met before and I am excited to work with him! I know that if we work really hard these next couple of weeks we can definitely have baptisms by the end of the transfer. This transfer is only going to be 5 weeks long though so we are going to need to work our butts off. I think this transfer is going to help me a lot though since I am the only one that knows the area and it will give me a good opportunity to step up and take the lead on some things. Elder Cerberus my companion is going to be a zone leader though so I am happy for him since he has been trying hard to be obedient and achieve that.

This week with the work we not too much has changed. We brought the bishop over to one of our investigators homes that we have been trying for forever to baptize and they go to church all the time, but just can't commit. I think that visit was good for them though and this Sunday especially because a lot of members in the ward really made them feel welcomed. We have a guy named Mario who we are hoping will get baptized within the next month but he still won't come to church so we will have to work with him more but we have a good relationship with him now. The only thing that was a little sketchy was that our investigator that gets off parole in February and wants to take his own time with the discussions, his wife told him that if he doesn't get baptized that she will divorce him...soo that wasn't good. The one thing he didn't want was to feel pressured into getting baptized so that almost killed it for him, but we had a good talk with the family and I think everything will be ok.

Last night I got the chance to hear from Dieter F. Uchtdorf at a fireside and I learned a lot from his talk. It was all about finding the truth of things out for yourself. He talked about how too many people in the church rely on the church leaders and have so much trust in them that whatever they say must be right. In the world especially on the Internet now, we can get our hands on a lot of information and some of it is true, some false, and some false with a little truth. The best way to learn for yourself is to be cautious and let the Holy Ghost dictate what is right and true. That is just another wonderful tool of the Holy Ghost, that we can feel it if worthy what is right or wrong when we don't have the evidence right there when we need it to prove it.

I learned something this week about gifts. Not real gifts but gifts from our Heavenly Father. There are so many gifts that we can have in our lives that are available to us. We already have them but we just need to seek for them and pray for them in our lives. Like the gift of patience. some people say that they just weren't born with patience, ha well you have it you just need to seek and pray for it and be worthy to receive it. I love the opportunity that I have right now in my life to learn so much and to practice and work at a lot of things. I feel like there is always one thing big that I learn every week and it usually comes from just reading the scriptures and discussing it with others.

Dad I hope that your voice gets better and I didn't know that it was so bad. I have been meaning to get letters to all you that have birthdays this month. Craig's happy late birthday and I hope it went well. Kristin, Derek and Dad happy birthday to you all and I can't believe that my dad is going to be 50 this month! man that's old! ha-ha I'm just kidding but I love you all and if you have time go online and watch the broadcast of that fireside.

Take care!

Elder Breinholt