June 28, 2011

This week was amazing. I am writing today because our P day got changed because President Swenson had his going away conference yesterday. He is leaving tomorrow and the new President is going to arrive. It was so sad. I love our President so much, he is an awesome guy. We traded ties i gave him one of my Trumps and he gave me his favorite tie that he always wears at conferences. He is such a stud. I am so tired i havent had very much sleep the last two nights. the whole mission met up in Concepcion which never happens this was the only time. the mission is like 8 hours from the top to the bottom. so all the people coming from the bottom had to come sleep up at the north, so we had 6 other missionaries in our house Sunday night. then we had to wake up at 5 30 to get to teh conference on time. it was a lot of fun. there were a lot of skits from missionaries, and a bunch of musical numbers it was cool. then right after lunch we did the Haka, 50 missionaries it was so funny. we have a missionary from New Zealand and he taught a bunch of people and we did it for President. It was a lot of fun. President talked a lot about consistency and about how you have to be consistent in life. No one in life is a victim, we may have different experiences and struggles in life but you choose how you are going to act and develop from them. He talked about how the smart decisions we make now will bless our families until the 3 and 4rth generations. Hermana Swenson talked about the pre existence. she talked about how before this earth we choose to come during the time to be a missionary, and made a covenant with God that we would serve during this time. It was an awesome conference. then last night we sleeped in Concepcion because my companion had a lot of people to see, some converts and members up there. we went to the mall in Concepcion which was cool. THis week was great we found some amazing people that went to church, so we had the 2 families that came last week adn then 2 more this week. it was a really good meeting. they had the recent converts give talks, it was so good. one of the girls gave the best testimony. she talked aobut how before she used to fear death but now no becasue she knew waht we going to happen and knew that she could live with her family for ever. she testified that Jose Smith was a prophet of God. it was so good. So i guess i will end my letter with the same. I know that Jose Smith was a prophet of God. I know that the Book of Mormon is teh word of God, and every time i read it i feel my tesimony increase. I know that if we are faithful we can live can live together forever in the presence of our Heavenly Father in a state of never ending happiness. I am so grateful for this Gospel and dont know where i would be with out. I know that Christ loves me and feel his love every day and know that he loves each and every one of you aswell.

Love

elder Brimahll

June 20, 2011

This was a great week. We worked really hard. We have been doing a ton of door contacts and they have been working really well. My companion is great. We have both been put with a lot of harder companions and now that we are together it is awesome, we can just work hard and dont have to drag someone along. He is a really cool guy and likes to work hard. We found this one awesome family this week. We knocked on their door friday and they let us in and we taught them a little bit. we invited them to church and they accepted, so we told them we would come to their house to pick them up. when i called them on sunday morning they told me they were waiting for us. it was awesome. their little son loved primary, and the dad liked priesthood. the mom knew like 4 members so that helped out a lot. I have three goals on my mission 1. Baptize a complete family 2. Get a couple married 3. Baptize a future missionary. this family has the potential to complete all 3 goals, they have been together for 10 years and arent married. luckily the class this sunday was about eternal families, and after the lesson the husband was asking us a lot of questions about marriage. so i ll keep you updated about this family but they are awesome. The son is 10 and is such a cool kid. we also had this other mom who came to church with her 15 year old and 5 year old. she is really nice when we found her we knocked on her door and said that we had a message for her, and she let us in right away. we taught her a little bit and she liked it a lot. she had been going through some tough things but she felt a lot better after our lesson. it is so great to help people out. today i am writing a little bit later because we just got out of doing service. we had to help some one fix their roof. i am getting so fat our convert Juanita the pastor always gives us a ton of food she gives us lunch every week. she is awesome. her son the one who baptized her leaves with us all the time to go teach, he loves it so much.. i hope i will get to stay in lota another cambio after this one because it is so good here. great sector great investigators great companion. life is pretty good, not a whole lot to complain about. this is one of those times you just try to enjoy as much as you can, and just soak it in. thanks for all your prayers, and your thoughts, we have been so blessed this week, and i know that it is in part due to your prayers, so i really do thank all of you for them. if there is anything i know for a fact its that our Heavenly Fathers answers prayers. maybe not in our time table but he does answer. so thank you so much for all you do

Love,

Elder Brimhall

June 13, 2011

this week was really good. i really like my companion. we worked really hard this week. the mission had a goal to get into 25 houses this week, which when they first told us was a little hard to believe because it is usually pretty hard to get into someones house, street contacts are usually pretty easy and i can do them pretty well, but door contacts i really havent done as much in my mission. but this week was awesome we found so many great people. there were several people that just let us in right away it was awesome. we came into sunday with 17 needing 8 more, but we did it, it was such a miracle. my companion is from Minnesota but he is a really good missionary and likes to work which is always awesome. it is starting winter here so it is starting to rain, but not to bad yet. they say that usually by this time of year it is pouring rain but luckily it hasn't rained to bad yet. it was also funny this sunday we were on a bus to church and as we were getting of the bus my companion askes this drunk guy who was on the bus if he wanted to come with us, it was really funny he got off he sat through the whole first part of sacrament meeting but then left half way through. it was funny but it made me think as well. a lot of times as missionaries we only focusing on the people that are ready that are golden. but everyone needs the gospel not just the people that dont have problems, or are easy. we shouldnt judge anyone, Heavenly Father loves a homeless man just as much as me, his soul is just as valuable, he has the same potential as me. i remember in my first sector my trainer showed me this older video about this violen that is made and is brand new and is sold for a ton of money. but then this punk kid gets it and messes it up drops it and breaks some of the strings, and then sells it and it goes on like this and gets keep getting badly treated and sold to another trainer. finally there is this auction and only one person bids 5 dollars for it. then the maker of the violen comes and cleans it fixes teh strings tunes it and plays a great song with it.. after the violen is sold for thousands of dollars. the related the story to people there are some people who have had really hard lives and have faced some really real trials. so it was a good experience for me, i learned a lot. this week was awesome, and i expect to keep having a great cambio. love you all, thanks for all you do.

Elder Brimhall

June 6, 2011

this week was good. this week is cambios which is always exciting. my companion is leaving and going to Temuco, and i am staying here in lota, which I am really excited about. my new companion i guess is an awesome guy i have talked to several people who knew him and he is awesome. he came in the mission the same time as me, but went to the MTC in Santiago becasue he knew Spanish before. but i am really excited to work with him, i was so happy when i found out my cambio. President Swenson came to our branch this Sunday which was cool. He only has three weeks left. I guess in two weeks we are going to have a big mission conference where the whole mission is going to get together which never happens because the mission is so big and spread out so much. the new presdent is coming in 3 weeks, it is so crazy. Since my companion was leaving the Hermana Juanita who is the old Pastor made so many empanadas and sopaipillas it was crazy i feel so fat right now. Someone stole my camera, i dont know how or where but i definetly dont have it, i was so mad, luckily i made a cd of all my photos up to lota, and my companion is going to make a cd of the photos he has of us together, but i was so mad, but i guess there is nothing you can do about it. tomorrow i am going to concepcion to pick up my new companion tomorrow. my old companion had to go to consejo in Concepcion today so i am in a three some with two other elders still in lota. last night he had to pack so we didnt get to sleep until 12 i am so tired right now. the mission is great i really have learned so much during my time here, and still have so much more to learn and accomplish here. the best part about the mission is that you get to help others change and really become the people that our Heavenly Father wants them to become. The gospel just makes sense, i didnt really appreciate it before, but now i really do. i am so grateful for our Savior who died and suffered for every single one of us, so that we could return and live with our Father in Heaven again. This really is the Lords Church, not the church of a man. I know that Jesus is the Christ and that really he does live. I know that he really does love each one of us so much, more than we can even comprehend. Thanks everyone for your letters and everything love you all.


Love,

Elder Brimhall