Hello Everybody! A REAL P-DAY!

Hi!

This week was CRAZY fast, and has been a rush. Now it is over, and I have had the best, most relaxing P-day ever! I had a CarreFour Panini and some Orange Fanta for lunch. What more could I ask for? :D

Real Pday is the best :D Got a haircut too! A professional one too, though my hair is a little dolphin dewish  (but the sister that cut it is a member, and gave us cuts for free. so nice)

We ate with the Jones couple last night. GOOD FOOD, and great people.

Thanks for the emails this week!

This week we taught 10 lessons and did a whole bunch of transfer related stuff. We did the tour of the island about 3 times, went to the airport at least 6 times, and I had to say good bye to Elder White... :( That was a sad day. I will miss serving with him, and I loved the time we had as companions. He is really a gentle nice guy, and I hope that he makes Rangiroa go on fire! He will do well, and he will always be a friend. Had a Spock/Captain Kirk moment in the Airport (picture attached). 'You have been, and always shall be, my friend.'

My new companion, Elder Lee Chip Sao, is really a nice, gentle guy as well. He is from Hawaii, lived in the Philippines, and grew up mostly here. He is from my First ward (Heiri!) and I know his whole family pretty well. I dropped Elder White off at the Airport, and then picked Elder Lee Chip Sao up as I dropped all the old returning missionaries home. 

The next day, Thursday was our big Leadership council. I had just gotten over being SICK, and I was still a bit ( a lot ) groggy. It actually went very well though, and I felt the Holy Ghost help me as I taught with Elder Lee Chip Sao. I am glad that the big meetings are over this month, and now we can do some good work in our ward.

I am doing well, and I am happy to be a missionary!

So, these are my thoughts. This week. Sorry again for the lack of letter last week. I just hope that you guys know that I am doing alright, and that I am happy to be here. I miss you! (don't tell anyone) and I love you! I really am excited to one day be able to see you all, and Baby Hannah too :D Should be a fun day. Just gotta keep working for it!

Have a good week!

-Brigham

Elder Lee Chip Sao

The Mission Van

Me With Some Friends

Me With Elder White

Me With Elder Sandstrom (who finished)

He's been a good friend.

Elder LCS

A Quick Note

Hi all

 

I am sending a quick note, sorry I did not get one sent on Monday, or Tuesday, or Wednesday, or yesterday... :/

This has been a busy week,

We got several new missionaries, and I was ill on Tuesday. No fun. Still getting back to normal, non grogginess. I am POOOPED, but I will be fine :) I am happy.

Just know that I am well, and that I love you!

My new companion is elder Lee Chip Sao (I have already done splits with him when I was in Hitiaa)

He is really nice, and I will tell you more about him on Monday.

Things are going well.

-Brigham

Oh, and thanks for all the emails! I will probably print them off so I can read them later.

This Week Has Been a Good One

This e-mail has been typed on a French Keyboard, with the English input settings. Being in the office has helped my no-look typing abilities ;D  (That smiley face isn't supposed to be winking, I  just forgot which key does the colon.)

This week has been a good one. We've had a lot of things going on, with preparations for the upcoming transfer, and with the missionaries getting ready to go home. It will be weird to say goodbye, and then it gets even weirder thinking that I only have six months left on my mission. Yikes.

Thanks for the e-mails! Dad, I think it is pretty cool that you got to see Steve Young, front row and all, even though it wasn't for a football game :P 

Mom, thanks for the e-mail as well. I am doing well, and I am glad to hear about my cousins getting married. It seems so weird thinking about that, but I am happy for them, and I hope that all goes well. 

[This paragraph originally omitted] This week, we did some good lessons, and we had several meetings with President Bize. It looks like I will stay in the office for a while longer, and Elder White will be going to another sector shortly. Elder White and I were a little sad, because of how much fun we have had serving together, but I am happy for him, and I know that the new transfer will just be another chance to learn. I don't know who my next companion will be, or when exactly things will change, but things will work out. I have really enjoyed being with elder White, and I hope to make the best of the remaining time we have as companions. 

This week we also welcomed a new missionary couple to the mission, Elder and Sister Jones, from the UK. The are very gentle people, and I am happy to know them. They are very intelligent, and I think that they will be a big help to the mission. It is amazing how the Lord prepares people to come here, and at the same time, it is amazing how the Lord is preparing people to be taught. Elder and Sister Jones will be helping us in the visitors center, and will be working with President to help youth in the islands. 

This week, Elder White and I had some neat experiences, and looking back, I was happy that Heavenly Father helped us use all our time. We had some lessons fall through Wednesday, I think, and as we began calling our investigator who we'd gone to visit, we met a less active member who was just passing by. We said hi, and got to know him, and it was a good opportunity to fulfill our missionary purpose, even though the lesson had been cancelled. I was happy to meet this man, and I hope that his faith stays strong, and that he will have joy. Even if our little talk was simple, and short, I hope that we gave him an occasion to augment his faith. The sad thing about visiting less practicing members, is that they are often 'less active' because of the actions of another. Elder Bednar's talk "And nothing shall offend them" is an awesome explication of why many people leave their faith, and an encouragement for us as disciples, to go and help them. We should do our best to be good friends, and neighbors, and we should all chose for ourselves to not be offended. A cool talk.

These are my thoughts for today. Again, sorry if they are scrambled or short. I am doing well. I am learning more about myself here, and I am learning about how important it is to help others. I am happy to be a missionary, and I hope to become a more effective one. I love you all. Thanks for being such a good family. I miss you, but I am doing OK. I am a little tired today, but thank goodness that it's a P-day. I just hope that I will do my best, and that my best will be good enough this week.

Have a good week, and know that I love you all! Thanks for all your support, and love, and prayers.

-Brigham

Oh, and sorry, I didn't take many pictures this week. I'll send some next week!

I Want to be a Missionary Always

Hi Mom, and Dad!

Good to hear from you! Thanks for your emails!

This week, was a good week. It ended really well, with a baptism (picture should be attached). It was for an investigator who is like almost 80 years old. The baptism went really well, and it was a special, nice service. A brother, (his member integrator) baptized him, and Elder White confirmed him in Tahitian! It was super cool, because the confirmation prayer is pretty hard, and he got it perfectly, then gave a nice inspired blessing. Pretty cool :D

This week, President took a trip to Rurutu, and Tubuai, so Elder White and I were lucky, and got to teach a lot! A lot more than 6 lessons that is... :P We taught 19 investigator lessons, and some other lessons. It was a good week, and it felt very productive. We had some good experiences as we both felt like we needed to find new people to teach. We studied PMG chapter nine (finding people) and we both felt like Heavenly Father has got people READY and waiting for our message. Having this in mind, made contacting and other efforts easier, and it made them make more sense. I remember that last week, when we watched Meet the Mormons, I had felt the Spirit, and I felt an excitement and desire to spread the news about Christ, and to really help others go to Him. That feeling carried over throughout the week, and was a good help. I think that feeling, and the feeling of knowing that Heavenly Father is happy with your efforts, are really what makes missionary work so rewarding, and worth doing. The peace, and simple joy that the holy Ghost communicates, makes every thing else calm down, and is so worth fighting for.

Elder White is such an amazing companion. I feel really lucky to be with him. He works really hard, and as we were studying chapter nine this week, he picked up on some opportunities I would have missed. At the baptismal service, Saturday, Elder White talked to a couple who came, and found out that they were taught a long time ago, and that the husband in the couple, would love to be baptized.... :D Wow. That was amazing. We'd like to help him with that. :D

This week, we also had the chance to give some priesthood blessings. There is a member family here, who I love so much. The sister in this family asked us for a blessing once, a few months ago, because she was sick, and because her husband wasn't there. We came, and gave her a blessing with her brother in law. Now, she's doing better, and she just had a baby. We got to stand in on their baby's blessing, and it was a neat experience. This Sunday there were 4 blessings, and 1 confirmation, all before the sacrament. I was struck by the power of the ordinances, and thrilled to have been able to participate in some of them. This sacrament meeting, I got to translate all the testimonies into English, for the Warner couple (I love this couple!) Sister Warner is the mission nurse, and her husband, is such a cool man. They don't speak or understand much french or Tahitian, so we sat with them, and I got to whisper all of what happened in the meeting, in English to them. I enjoyed translating for them, and as I did, I was touched by some of the testimonies. When you have to focus on the meaning of every word, the level of understanding, and of effort put in to listening, really goes up. It was a neat experience. I have loved translating for meetings, and this was my first time with fast and testimony meeting. Sunday was just uplifting.

Speaking of PMG chapter nine, I had a strong impression this week, that I wanted to share with you. As we studied this chapter, I felt very strongly, that the family can prepare somebody for the missionary lessons. In 6 months I will be home, and I felt VERY strongly, that we can get someone ready to follow the lessons by the time I get home. I know that like all our friends are members( all is a slight exaggeration), and I know that it isn't really the easiest thing, but I really felt like the family can do it. I see the efforts of other families here, and I know that having a project, or "game plan" (as Elder Neilsen said) should consist of specific names, and specific goals (such as FHEs and sacrament meetings, leading up to missionary visits). Again, I don't know why I felt this, but as I read PMG chapter nine, I very strongly felt that we can do it, and that we could have someone in our family game plan, to get ready for the sisters in our stake to teach. I'd like to know what you all think about that. I really felt strongly, to ask you about it in my letter home this week. (its been written in my planner since Tuesday)

This week, I have thought a lot about what I'd like to be as a missionary, and what I'd like to be afterwards. I have come to the conclusion, 

(long long pause for suspense :D)

that I don't know what I'd like to be afterwards, but I know that I always want to be a missionary. I love my mission. I love the people, and I am sooo glad that I am here. I want to be a better servant for Heavenly Father, and I know that the work we are involved in is real. It feels like a game to some people, and some times, people look at it as a game, or as something secondary to 'real life'. But this has been the most rewarding, challenging, and happy period of my life. I know that Heavenly Father is real, and that His work is real. I am so happy to be a missionary. I love you. And I hope that I will always be able to be a missionary, and to work for Heavenly Father. 

These are my thoughts this week. 

 

Know that I am doing well, and that I love you so much! I am so thankful for all that you have given me, as my parents,and for all that you do for me. I miss you, but I know that I will see you when it is time.

Thank you for all your love, prayers, and help.

Have a good week!

-Brigham