We have noticed that most of the missionaries share a sentiment similar to Elizabeth's opening line. For many of us who have experienced mission life we can understand everything that statement conveys. The Lord's hand guides and directs the work so closely that it can be truly amazing when it hasn't been experienced before. I am so grateful that our youth have an opportunity to see the Lord's hand in their lives.
Howdy!
Life is great. Life is grand. All is good in the work of the Lord.
Can I just say that missionary work is an adventure, a trial and a blessing?
Oh goodness, what has happened since last I wrote?
To finish up my day from Tuesday last, we ate calzones for dinner with the Wilcox family. I love calzones and I love pizza. I think I said that last time though. Anyways, Padres, you'd be so proud of me. I have eaten more fruit on my mission than I have in my entire life. What?!?! I know crazy. I have learned that mellons are not my favorite - they have a weird taste and texture. But berries and citrus fruit are really good. I eat oranges cada dia. I still won't touch banana though unless it's in the form of a chip.
Anyways, enough about food. (My stomach hasn't been the happiest when I eat though - maybe you should send me some probiotic to add to my daily vitamins and such non-sense.)
But yeah, beyond that. Tuesday was pretty legit. It was better than Monday for sure.
Wednesday was crazy. We were way over booked that night. But somehow we did it all. We taught an 8 year old girl named Emma O. She's cute! Her family is less active, but they want to have her baptized, so we are working on teaching her. It's really hard to teach primary age kids though when they really know nothing about the gospel. So we might get the primary lessons and teach her that way.
Sister J. Cash got a job! Woohoo!!! We were so excited for her. And it will be really good for her family because she can bring her daughter with her to work. (There is an at work day care kind of thing.)
We also visited with Sister Reynders before we went to the New Beginnings at church. She is such a cool lady. She is trying to change her life around which is awesome! We love her so much. We encouraged her to read Ether 12 and the Ensign because she is struggling with some medical and emotional trials in life currently, so we thought they would give her strength to keep pressing forward.
The Young Women's New Beginnings was neat. It's interesting to see it from a different ward's perspective. And the girls are all really cute. They struggle with unity I think, and it's also hard because there aren't any new YW coming in this year. (Well there is one but she's moving.) This wards young women's program reminds me of the Branch's when I was a high school freshman.
But it was really cool because the spirit really witnessed of the importance of Personal Progress. So, I'm thinking of starting that and seeing if I can complete it before I come home from my mission. (Hey Ona, did you hear that? you should send my PP book, or at least a fresh one, to me.)
[So I'm listening to the scriptures while I write. I don't know if I get anything out of it, but it is really nice not to be distracted as much by the other computer users or the other Elders and Sisters. I can kind of zone and get my focus a little bit. Plus, the reader's voice is really soothing, so I like listening to it.] It reminds me of a story I heard where parents recorded themselves reading the scriptures and then gave it to their kids as a Christmas present. I want to do that some day.
Anyways, (today's email is so full of tangents and odd off shoots of my brain's thought processes that I'm sure all of you reading are like, "Ok, Woah! I'm not following. Sister Bryans slow down and start at the beginning - one thing at a time.") SORRY
Ps. This is what I look like with my nerd glasses --->
Ok back to the important stuff. mmmmm Where did I leave off?
Thursday was really great! We taught a potential and a former investigator. And they said we could come back! *happy dance* Paula was our potential. She is so cool! She graduated high school ate 15. And then was a total party animal in college. Now though, her life is way more chill. She has a husband in the Air Force, and an 18 month old son named Adam. And she's a stay at home mom. (You don't see to many of those now a days.) We talked about our purpose in life and also a little bit about the military cuts going on. Holy Crow! this world is messed up. That's why the Lord is hastening the work. He needs us to do all we can to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Savior because it's coming, and it's coming faster than we are prepared for. But yeah, we are hoping to go back to meet with Paula this week so we can talk about the Plan of Salvation.
Our former investigator's name is Debbie M. She is cool. And she totally loves her scriptures, but she has some concerns with the gospel which keeps her from making the step of Baptism. So we are hoping that with the help of the Spirit, we can help her move forward.
Friday we were on exchanges, so I got to work with Sister Fillmore. I love her so much. She is so cool! She is from Iowa and has tons of siblings. Anyways, for our exchange day we tracted for like 3 or so hours. I LOVE TRACTING! Can I just admit that? I don't know why I like it so much, but I do. It definitely helps that I have such great experience with door to door sales: pies, popcorn, cookie jars, etc.
So our tracting adventure was the best! We were able to share 3 copies of the Book of Mormon. One to a lady named Maria; she's Catholic. When she said she would like one, I was shocked, and my brain froze a little. I was like, "You do?! Awesome!" We also gave one to an Asian mane named Jon. I'm pretty sure he's Vietnamese because the area we were tacting had lots of Vietnamese ladies in it. Anyways, when we were introducing the Book of Mormon as part of our churches unique message, he reached out his hand for the book, so we gave it to him. And while we were explaining what it was, he was flipping through it. And then he stopped on a page and said that he would read it. In my mind, I was like, "YEAH!" I am so excited to come back and visit with him, so that we can see if he read any of it and to talk about if he wants to learn more about the gospel. The last guy we gave a Book of Mormon to was in the middle of a work/phone conference so he asked us to leave something for him to read so we left the Book of Mormon. I hope he opens it and reads it.
Anyways, so Friday was bomb awesome! It was also Sister Zvirzdin's birthday, so we ate a special meal made by the Bishop and his wife. I love them! They made us a sweet shrimp stir fry. So I ate shrimp for the first time that day. And it was weird! I don't know if I like them or not. Little shrimpies have a weird texture and absolutely no flavor whatsoever. I think I need to try them again cooked in a different way before I make up my mind whether or not I like them or not. Then we ate cheesecake which was nummy yummy in my tummy. We also watched, "What does the Bishop say?" A parody of the "What does the Fox say?" YouTube craze. It was funny and sung very out of tune. I totally recommend trying to find it. PS. did you know that "What does the Fox say?" is based on a book? I didn't until Sister McCormick told me.
Anyways, to finish up or night, we went to the More's house and watched Ephraim's Rescue . That movie is so good. Anyways, we only went because we were told their would be a non-member there. So we met him. His name is D. McPherson. He's cool, and he knows a lot about the church. He didn't seem interested in pursuing the church at this time, but maybe soon. *crosses fingers*
Saturday was awkward, but we worked through it. Most all our appointments canceled on us and then we were struggling with comp unity. But all is good. We were able to work through it. And we had a really good planning session after dinner, so we were able to discuss what was going on.
Our dinner was with the Dobson family. They are preparing to send a sister missionary out to the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania mission. They are an awesome family. Sarcasm runs deep in the bones of the oldest boy. But he is great! Anyways, there was a reason I brought up dinner. It's because for dessert, we ate peach pie with colby cheese. I have decided that pie with cheese is one of the best desserts ever! You either eat the cheese separate from the pie or you can crumble it on top of the pie. I crumbled it on top of the pie. YUMMY YUM! It's kind of like eating pie with ice cream. I like it. Supposedly it is an English or Canadian thing. My invitation to you all is to try it. BE BRAVE AND ADVENTUROUS MY CHILDREN!!!
Sunday was pretty great too. We went to young women's because I knew that some of the girls were teaching, so we wanted to show our
support. It was awesome! They are so creative with their handouts and preparations. I love them.
While we were at church, it started to snow. Except, it was snowing sideways....SIDEWAYS! We now have like 3 or so inches of snow on the ground. Holy Crazy! And it's still coming down. Have I told you that snow here is different that snow in Wisconsin or in Virginia? It is very dry and airy. (Definitely not snowman/snowball snow.) It was such a change because Saturday, we were walking around without our coats enjoying the warmth and the sun and now we have snow and it is cold again. The weather in Wyoming is so bipolar.
But yeah, yesterday was awesome! We helped celebrate the birthday of Laurie Groesbeck - Sister Groesbeck's daughter. She is 57 and is really neat. So we helped them eat cake and ice cream. And before that, we ate dinner with one of the single sisters in the ward: Sister Parsons. I love her. She is so great! She made us pulled beef sandwiches and augue sauce. Yum! She is another of the wards really good cooks. We also had monkey bread for dessert. Tasty, tasty!!! I tried Tomato juice while I was at her house. It tastes like salty, cold tomato soup. Interesting... But like I said, yesterday was great. When I am fat and happy, life is good!
Speaking of being happy, have you ever looked up Happiness, Happy in the Topical Guide? It's totally worth the study. That's what I looked at this morning as part of my personal study. It was really cool. My favorite scripture was Job 5:17. Take a read. It will make the wheels in your brain start to turn.
Also, as part of my personal study, I have been reading from the Bible. I decided that it is my goal to read the Bible. There are so many odd and crazy things found in the Bible. I totally understand now the 8th Article of Fairth, "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God." It has been fun though - I really do like the Bible.
Anyways, I believe that is all that is of worth to report this week.
Keep your ears and eyes tuned for next weeks update on The Adventures of Sister Bryans - the Missionary .
Love,
Sister Bryans
PS. Picture to come shortly I promise. I'm just not super good at taking pictures. My bad!
PPS. <--- PP that's funny right there.
PPPS. Prairie dogs... What!?!?! They really exist, and they are so cute, and they say hello.
BYE!
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