April 22

Dear Family and Friends, April 22, 13

This week I must say felt longer then usually, but it had some great highlights to it. Katie and Blair I hope that baptism goes through this week and you guys are having contact with them every day so that Satan can't come. I would love to hear from all of you guys on how your missionary experiences are going. Since we are already on the subject I just want to bring up that I had the opportunity to hear a fireside this week from Clayton Christensen who wrote a book about being a member missionary. He is a very big guy at Harvard university and is a Emeritus from the quorum of the seventy. I guess the book is pretty popular right now. He really opened my mind up though about the way to share the gospel with others. I got to go up and talk with him after and he gave me his email address and said that he would send me a free book if I tell him were to send it. So I think I am going to have him send it to the house so that one of you there can read it and pass it around.

The biggest highlight of this week was the lesson we had with the Rodriguez family this week. Saturday night we had the best lesson yet with them and the spirit was soo strong! At the end of the lesson the daughter who hasn’t been baptized yet told us that she was now ready to be baptized! So I then invited her to be baptized on May 4th, and she said yes!! If this goes through it will be the first baptism that I have had in the area I am serving in the last 4 months. I did have some baptism in here when I first came into this area, but it just isn't the same since I had no idea who they really were and had never taught them. The Lord is really blessing me right now and the other family that we have been teaching actually went to church this Sunday which is a great sign too!

I just want to end and share my testimony with you all about something that hit me hard this week. Before my mission I can say that I had a strong testimony in the church, but now that I look back it didn’t really have a strong foundation. I believed in Joseph Smith and the priesthood, but I had never really questioned if it was true or false. Since I have been out on my missions I have had lots of opportunities to really question if the things in the church are true and through those questions I have really received my own personal answers about lots of the teachings in the church are true and that without a shadow of a doubt this church is true.

Also an investigator said something to me this week that he is very happy with his life right now and receives lots of blessings in his life and couldn’t ask for more. I really pondered about it and my companion and I were talking about how blessings are very, very important and helpful in our lives, but they are not the big picture. The big picture in our lives is to achieve eternal life and live in the presence of God. Knowing what we know that we must make certain covenants with God, so that we can show we want to follow him and use the power of the atonement to help us return back to him one day. There are lots of things in our lives where we get caught up in those little principles and things that don’t really mean much, and if we would only step back and look at the BIG picture of things then we would be more at ease and realize the things we really need to do and why! I know that through the ordinances that are restored in the gospel that we can obtain Eternal Life and live with God one day. I also know that everything in our lives happens for a reason and that God has his time for everything and already has everything mapped out, but we just need to be patient and steadfast. I know that we can receive personal revelation in our lives and have a personal relationship with God. If you don’t feel strong on a principle in the gospel, study it, pray about it, and I know that you will receive the answer and testimony you want and need. I love you all and hope all choose the right this week. I leave my testimony with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love,

Elder Breinholt

April 15

Que tal?

I can't believe how much is changing back home every single week. It blows my mind and I still can't get a finger around it all. I am always getting emails from people about their mission calls and then I feel like I'm not even going to recognize the house or the people that live in it when I return. The best part about it all is it's only been 9 months! I feel like since I have been out here in the mission it has changed A LOT from when I first came out as well. For example, this last Thursday we just received information on new changes that we will have.

First was about the music rule. We are now aloud to listen to any type of music that is uplifting, not just music by the church. (So that means I will be looking in the mail every day for a CD from you guys with some kind of country music and what not that is uplifting:)

The next thing was the jacket code. We no longer have to wear jackets from conference to conference all winter long. It is now whatever you and your companion decide on wearing for the day. The bad news that we received though was the new policy on gyms. We are no longer allowed to go to public gyms in the morning to work out. So right now my motivation to get up and work out is horrible, but my companion and I have been trying to just get up and go to a church nearby and shoot hoops or something in the morning.

Now it's time for the BIG news that we received. We were informed that within the next couple of months this mission will be a trail/pilot mission for the church. EVERY single missionary will received a tablet (probably a mini I pad) and those will be our new planners! We will also be able to do our area books in them and have a GPS system that we can use. Everything that has to do with paper in the mission will now be done on these tablets. I am so excited and we should receive them sometime in June or maybe sooner. Like I said in my letter last week there are just so many bonuses/blessings from serving in this mission. I still haven't used any gift cards that you guys sent me because every time I try to go to the place and use it somebody pays for us!

OK, enough with that stuff and time to talk about the work this week. I wish that I could explain the way this area was when I first got here, but the best word to use is just crap. My last companion and I did work hard to try to get it going, but we still didn't see much success. But every since Elder Isom has been here its has gotten a hundred times better. This week we put 2 people on date for May 4th, and found someone else while tracking that has a lot of potential. Even though it is a lot better, there are still times where I have no one else to teach or place to go and have ran out of ideas. It is never fun to be in that position for the day and I feel bad for my companion since he is still just so pumped up to teach and always wants to be teaching , I have been doing the best I can to keep us busy.

You might have already heard but I had to go to the MTC for my companion Wednesday and I ended up seeing pretty much everyone I knew in there. I saw Brandon Brinkerhoff, Tyler Hatch, Jason Web, and Troy Hicks! It was crazy to see all of them, and I had a great experience being able to talk with all of them especially Troy in there. That Elder is a stud like always and his Spanish is actually pretty good for just having about 7 weeks or so in the MTC.

I noticed this week especially, that now when I speak Spanish and teach in a lesson I don't even think about the words they just come out. The hardest thing with serving in the states in Spanish is trying to learn more words since I never get to order anywhere in Spanish.

Also before I forget I wanted to tell you about a game that my companion and I are playing where we are trying to always scare each other throughout the day. The other night he got me so bad after I had just finished my nightly prayer and I went to jump in bed and he had put a fake snake in it! He got it on tape and I will try to send it to you today. That is all I can remember right now about this week, but I am doing great! The only thing that could be better is baptism right now which I am trying so hard to make happen. But like always the Lord has a time for it all and I hope that time is soon.

Love you all and try not to refurbish or buy too many crazy things this week. ha-ha I hope you guys are all working on that commitment I left you with too:)

Love,

Elder Cory Breinholt

April 8

How's it going party family, April 8,13

This week has felt very long for some reason, but I think the least stressful I have ever felt my whole mission. I can picture in my head all of you guys racing around Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm all day. It sounds like the kids had a blast though and weren't ready to go back home on the car ride back. ha. I received my new companion Wednesday this week. His name is Elder Isom from Provo Utah! yes Provo, he is waiting to receive his visa so that he can head on out to Argentina. He is awesome and we are very alike and both love golf and fishing! It seems like such a long time ago since I came out of the MTC, but at the same time it seems like it was just the other day, weird right? His Spanish is ok kind of like mine was I guess, but I am trying to only speak Spanish with him to help him out (unlike my trainer). We have both been working hard this week and can see our obedience already bringing blessings in just the first week! We put someone on date this week for May 4 and found 3 new investigators to teach.

On top of it all, the Rodriguez family who we have been teaching for a long time and just needed to get married, went to the Sunday morning session of conference which was perfect for them. There were a couple of talks that were about getting married and what kind of husband or wife you should be. The only bad part was they didn't get any translators and since it is in English they didn't understand much, but I know that they still felt the spirit there. I had the opportunity to go to SLC to attend conference at the Saturday morning session and I sat about 10 rows back from the front! It was awesome! We took the light rail down there and then just walked two blocks up to temple square. Somehow everyone in our group that we went with missed the train home and me and another Elder were the only ones that made it on, ha-ha. I have some pictures of it all that I will try to put up today. I don't know if you all noticed, but there was a bold theme this conference. It was centered around missionary work! Wonderful right! One of the big things about missionary work was the importance of being a member missionary. So with that said, I have a challenge for all of you back home. I challenge all of you in the next 3 weeks to invite someone to meet with the missionary's and have them take the lessons in your house so that you can be a great fellowshiper for them. It would be best if it could be someone that lives next to you like a neighbor so that the missionaries in your area can teach them and then they could go to church with you. I know that you guys have busy lives and all, but if you want more blessings in your life and help with the trail you may be going through then fulfill this commitment I have for you.

Especially for all of you that have served missions you know the importance of it and how it can bless your life. We have a perfect example of the blessings of this work in our family as we have a wonderful sister n law Kristin who is a convert to the church. This work is powerful, real, and is now being pushed more then ever by the leaders of our church. So follow the words of the prophet and be a member missionary, not just by finding referrals for the missionaries which is great too, but be a fellowshiper. I know that you all can have these experiences in your life if you just pray for them and ask the Lord to allow you to have a missionary experience in your life. I can't wait to get these conference talks next week and help the members in the wards I cover so that they can become better member missionaries too. I would love it if you all wrote me about the experiences you have over the next couple of weeks as you try to share your testimonies to others. Maybe for Family home evening tonight you all can have Blair, Craig, and Derek teach you how to come about a conversation with your neighbors and do role plays with you. ha-ha

March 25

How's it going?

Every single letter that I have been getting lately dad is buying something new. I am not sure if business is doing that much better now or if it is the fact that there aren't very many kids in the house anymore he has all this extra money floating around. ha-ha That truck is awesome though. I want to take it down the street for a ride so bad! Also I can't believe Pampa is finally selling those cars. Is he still keeping that blue corvette thing he had in the other garage because if not I will take that one off his hands! ha-ha By the way dad the garage looks cleaner then I have ever seen it in my whole life. Now it won't be so embarrassing to when I open it up to get something out when I have a friend or someone with me. I am sorry about the pictures also, I forgot my camera at home so I can't put any up today but don’t worry I am going golfing today so I will have plenty for ya'll next week.

There were some amazing things that happened this week and I hope that I can explain what happened without destroying it with my horrible typing. I was asked to go to a leadership meeting that we had Thursday this week and in the meeting we got to hear from the guy that was the mission president in California as they filmed the district 2 (the missionary "show" that they have on the BYU channel now). He introduced to us a new way that we are now going to be teaching as missionaries. Yes, they are now changing the way we teach as missionaries... It isn't a really dramatic change, but he put it as "we are now hastening the work, and we now need to hasten the way we teach too so that we can prepare even more people for bap". We still have the normal lesson in preach my gospel, but we are now authorized to teach every single lesson with the pamphlet that they church has.

my whole mission so far I have always used the pamphlet as a homework assignment in a way where I give it to someone to read. now, we teach with the pamphlet, but we do not read it page by page with them. You are suppose to use the pictures they have and the little boxes on the page if you want to add more information. It is suppose to be a very basic and quick way to teach though and we CANNOT be in a house longer then 20-25 minutes without asking them to be baptized if they find these things to be true. I know that isn't very new and its always been said to be done, but now it is strongly being enforced. There were many other things that we learned that we need to do with the book of Mormon and when we teach someone to pray and or the atonement but I will not be able to explain it very well over text. All in all though this new way of teaching we were introduced to is remarkable and I absolutely love it! My companion and I have been doing it in every single lesson now and it is amazing how much stronger the spirit is and how much the investigators are really understanding it. I know that it is revelation from God and it is going to speed up the work in this mission tremendously.

On top of that amazing meeting I received a call later that night from a less active in my last area that I was working with and is a good friend, he told me that Saturday he was going to be sealed to his wife and kids in the temple and he wanted me to come and be one of the witnesses. That was a amazing experience for me and a one of the most sacred experiences I have ever had in the temple. With anyone we teach out here that is the end goal that we want to see them partake of, being sealed to their families for time and all eternity. On top of that (it felt like the blessings never stopped this week) I received another call from my last companion in my last area about this lady Isabel Cruz and her sister Maria De los Angeles. I have talked about them before and this family is very important to me since my companion and I found them my first week in the field and I taught them for 5 ½ months. Anyway I was told that they finally want to get baptized and are getting baptized this Wednesday at 7!! You have no idea how happy I was when I heard that news, it really made me feel like all those prayers and hard work I have put forth towards them as finally paid off... What an amazing feeling of joy that is and it is the reason why all of us are out here so that we can see the joy in other people's lives though this gospel.

I have one more week left of this transfer and then I find out this upcoming Monday if I am staying here (which I think I am) and keeping my companion. I think I am actually going to be receiving a new companion, maybe even training finally but we will find out soon. I love you guys soo much and wish me luck on my golf game today!

love,

Elder Breinholt

p.s. just a reminder for all of you out there! girls, boys, men, woman! especially to the woman my address is:

March 18, 2013

Buenos Diaz familia, March 18, 13

It sounds like mom tried too many crazy foods and ended up getting the revenge from it. I feel really bad for Avery and I hope that she is feeling better. I fell like that girl is always sick! She needs to go outside and roll around in the dirt more or something so that she can build up that immune system! Ha-ha I also feel bad for Robert because spending spring break at home isn’t always the best. I hope that little guy is doing alright and maybe I will get a little from him soon. Dad I am glad that you are really busy with work and I think we have switched places lately where I done have any work and have been doing everything I can to find some. I don’t know if you guys heard but Brooke Webster got her mission call to Atlanta, Georgia and leaves July 10th. There are soo many Hermana’s that are coming out in this mission within the next 2 transfers it's kind of scary! Just wanted to make sure that Haley Brown and Brittany Breinholt get a shout out also and that I wish them the best on their missions.

Since nothing has really changed this week I done have much to say but I do have high hopes for this next coming week. After waiting 4 weeks we finally just got a list from both of our Spanish wards yesterday with all the less actives in the ward on it. I am way excited and happy that we have more things to do because I need a break of knocking random doors. The highlight of this week for me I guess was when I we went to the Timpanogas temple Tuesday morning. I am not sure if any of you have been there but soo far that is the most beautiful temple I have ever seen in person. I was blown away at the architecture and stain glass in that temple. It is amazing to be able to go to the temple while I am on my mission as many people do not have the chance too. There are soo many bonuses to serving here and I am sold that this is and will always be the best mission ever no matter what. For the first time ever we were walking the other day and some lady pulled over and gave my companion and I both 20 bucks so that was pretty sweet. Also I we had dinner with a family this week and guess what they are big into golf. So if course I worked my magic and booyaah we are going golfing next Monday for p-day. Words can’t even explain at how excited I am and I can wait to see how bad I have gotten! ha-ha

That’s all I have for today and I hope that I have more for you all next week. Keep up the fun BBQ's and exciting trips and all the crazy things you guys do. I miss you all and hope that I can see that truck done by the time I return maybe. ha-ha

sincerely,

Elder Breinholt (aka la patron de Utah)

3/10/13–8 MONTHS DOWN

Buenos Diaz!

What a week. Can you believe that I have been out for 8 months today! It's crazy and the time is going by too fast. I still have so many things that I still want to accomplish and yeah my Spanish is fine and I can speak it, but there is always room for improvement. This week has been long but short at the same time. We still go out and tract everyday and we found 4 new people that we can start teaching but will see how it all ends up. This week I was really frustrated for some reason and I felt like my patience were defiantly being tested a little bit more. I am trying to invite the spirit in my life more and more so that instead of teaching and talking with more knowledge I can have more power behind it through the Holy Ghost. It is so true that someone can teach with simple words and have it be so powerful, just from the spirit they bring. It all starts with humbling yourself even to the dust of the earth as it says in Alma 34:38.

Sometimes I get so stressed out from not feeling like we are teaching enough people or not doing something the right way. I have come to a conclusion that as long as I just do what I am suppose to be doing and be a good boy I don't need to worry because the Lord will help me with the rest. Sometimes I do feel like we're not making a difference at all when we are walking around and knocking on doors and having zero success, but I know that if we show that we are working and have a desire too, the Lord will help us in the end. I mean were making more of a difference then just sitting on the couch in are apartment and doing nothing! ha As you can probably tell I just had a whole week of me feeling like a didn't make a difference at all and its hard of course when I really am trying all I can and am trying to help this work move forward.

Yes it wasn't the best week, BUT it did end very well and like always the Lord gave me the strength and hope that I needed at the perfect time like he always does. I had the opportunity Saturday to go to a baptism for someone that I taught in my last area for 5 and 1/2 months. I have to say that so far in my whole entire mission I have never felt the spirit so strong and had so much joy in my heart as I did at this baptism. It was for a man Francisco Valle who has been waiting and waiting for this day to come in his life as he has had to wait 3 years to be released from probation. He asked me to give the talk on the Holy Ghost and man for some reason I was more nervous than I am when I give a talk in sacrament meeting! ha As I watched him be dunked under the water and rise up again I will tell you that it was probably in the top 10 moments of the strongest I have ever felt the spirit in my life. The best part too is that I will still be on the mission when he gets sealed in the temple with his wife and will be able to go to it!

I want every single one of you back home to know how much I love this gospel and I will defend it until the day that I die. I am soo grateful for the trials that I have so that I can be more deeply converted and realize where my faults are. I know that Jesus is that Christ and he is my best friend. Never in my life have I been comforted more by the Holy Ghost then my times here in my mission. Remember that the Lord doesn't ever owe you anything. He doesn't owe me anything after serving him for two years. I always owe something to him... I love you all so much and you guys are the best support ever! Thank you for your words of encouragement.

Elder Breinholt

March 4, 2013

QUE TAL MIS AMIGOS!

I must say that my week hasn't been full of crazy and exciting events like moms has. The big question is what kind of trip is dad going to go on with out mom or is he just going to buy another toy and call it even... haha I'm just playing. Mom i am jealous but I'm sorry when it comes to seeing the Latino culture i have you beat! haha Thank you so much by the way for the big box of food. It came in a heater box so i was a little scared that for a seconded you really did send me a heater until i found all of the good food and 20 boxes of fattening cookies for me to eat. Its OK though because i go to the gym 6 days a week and am running a ton. I am feeling pretty prime right now and have the biggest pechos i have ever had.

My companion and I are doing fantastic and we have a wonderful relationship. Yeah he says a lot of bad words but i finally got him to turn off the radio! Mom if you would have called the mission home on that i would have been pretty upset. With all of my companions they always have some kind of habit but it just takes time and you having to earn there trust first before you can bring it up and discuss things. We had a zone conference Tuesday and it was just what i needed. Like always i learned things that i can improve on but also i realized how awesome it is to be living at this time. We watched a video by Elder Nelson in the quorum talking about how in the last general conference when the announced the age change for missionaries that, that meeting was the most important meeting he had been at in his whole life.. and that we are in the middle of history. We have gone from running a Marathon to sprinting with the missionary work. There was one thing that he said that stuck out to me a ton and has made a impression on me. He said " the missionaries in the world today are now paving the road for the second coming." How amazing is that to be able to help prepare the way for the savior. This helped me realized even more of how important this work is that i am doing and that it should not be taken lightly at all. i have always know that but it is always great to be reminded of things and have a different perspective.

So i want to tell if two little miracles that happened to me this week. We have been struggling to find people to teach and i have been praying harder then ever so that we can find new people. Well we received a call Wednesday from a man in the ward who is the only member in his family and he told us that is wife who has had a hard time accepting the Church, is finally OK with allowing there 12 year old son and 9 year old daughter be baptized as long as they want to. What an amazing call to receive has a missionary and has we went over there to start teaching them we did realized that is it mot going to be easy as this 12 year old boy boy Brandon and his sister Andrea want to take there own time and they aren't fully committed to wanting to be baptizes yet but that is OK with me and i am soo happy we have the opportunity to teach these kids. Also Friday we were driving around and i saw this Hispanic man outside racking his leaves and told my companion to pull over so that we could help him. So he did and we went over and started talking to the man and helping him with his yard. We were just about done when he told us, "I was just about to call you guys one of these days because i have been talking with my neighbor and i have some questions i would liked answered". So of course we were excited and made a time to come back and talk with him the next day. Well we went there the next day twice and both times no one answered and we didn't think much because Hispanics are the worst with having scheduled things. haha So Yesterday you can just say that we had the worst luck in the world and We had two investigators lie to us about some things and it was a little discouraging . It was pretty late and i was ready to give up on the day and go home when i finally turned the radio off in the car and said a prayer. After The prayer My companion and i both thought that we should go stop by Albertos house the man that we helped with his leaves. To are surprise they opened up the door and were really happy to see us! We were there for about 30 minutes and probably had the best lesson we have had with someone yet. This man and his wife are really wanting to learn more and i have a really good feeling about them. I walked out of that lesson so grateful and feeling a lot better about the day. All in all it was just what i needed and i felt even better knowing that the lord is still with us and cares about us. It was another stepping stone to streghthening my testimony.

I am loving everyday out here and it is awesome because ever day is different and you never know when your going to knock on the wrong house and have it be full of people having a meeting for the catholic Church or have someone flip you off as you are driving. There is always fun adventures and that's the best part about it all. I love you guys and mom be safe on your trip and also i was wondering the other day is that truck done yet!? i would love to see a picture of that thing. You guys have a good week and i am going to go try and see Cole in the mtc soon! haha

Sincerely,

Elder Cory Breinholt

P.S. Did i ever tell you that the only catholic church in all of Utah is right is the middle of my area. Awesome right!