Elder Barbosa (new companion), Elder Brunson, Elder Holmes

Elder, Elder Brunson, Elder Barbosa, Elder Rios, Elder Holmes

Elder Barbosa, Elder Brunon, Elder Zesiger, Elder Holmes
I"m going to miss Elder Zesiger.  He was my ZL and he is way cool!

Our Church

Monday, October 26, 2015

Brazil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes my new companion is a Brazilian!   Also he is the only Brazilian missionary in all of New Zealand.  I feel pretty pumped that I get to say I trained a Brazilian.  I'm sure Uncle Adam is pumped that I got one of his mates.  His name is Elder Barbosa and he is from Santa Catalina (no idea how to spell that). He is Brazilian but guess what?  He doesn't like soccer haha.  He loves to surf and to ride his skateboard.  He said that he surfed every morning before he left for his mission.  It was also Elder Barbosa's first time flying on a plane.  He said he loved it and that he wants to travel the world when he grows up.  Unlike most foreign missionaries, Elder Barbosa only stayed in the MTC for 2 weeks!  So he didn't receive any language training in the MTC.  He took an English course for three years while he was in Brazil and that is where he learned all of his English.  He still struggles with the English but it is amazing how well he speaks.  I mean I took Spanish for 3 years and didn't learn anything haha.  I always say random Spanish words to Elder Barbosa to see if he knows what they are.  He knows pretty much every one I say.  Elder Barbosa lived with his mom and his dad and his 15 year old brother.  He grew up in the gospel and all of his family is members of the church.  Elder Barbosa has definitely had a culture shock.  He is so used to the way of life of Brazil so it has been pretty hard for him to adjust.  He is very enthusiastic about working hard though.  We have knocked heaps of doors over the last 3 days haha!

So I will give you a rundown of the week and try to give you as much information as I can mama ;) 

Monday- Elder Holmes’ last pday must have been pretty lame because I can't even remember what we did haha.  I think we might have gone to our church and played ping pong.  Everyone is still trying to beat me in ping pong haha. 

Tuesday- This was Elder Holmes and my last day together :( We pretty much just went around and said goodbye to all of our investigators and members of the ward.  We had some mean feeds and I probably gained 20 kg just from the day. The hardest family for him to leave was Matiu and Geraldine.  We love them so much, they are pretty much like my parents.  They really take care of us.  Tuesday night I felt like I should ask Elder Holmes to give me a priesthood blessing.  He told me he would as long as I gave him one.  It was a really good experience and the spirit really filled our home.  It was really sad to have him go.  We just sat and talked about all of our great memories together.  Elder Holmes was kind of an egg to me sometimes but I love him!  He was an awesome friend and was really fun to be around.  I'm realizing that you take for granted those things in your life until they are gone!

Wednesday- Wednesday was the long trip to Hamilton.  It was a good car ride and we had heaps of fun!  We arrived in Hamilton at about 9:00 at the Hamilton Zone Leader’s flat.  Guess who that was?  Elder Rios!!! my first district leader and probably my favorite missionary.  He is going on his last transfer and will be home for Christmas.  He would always sing, "Brunsy, I'll be home for Christmas" then he would ask me how long I had left on my mission haha.  So that night I got to chill with Elder Rios and we caught him up on all of the things he has been missing out on.

Thursday- Transfer meeting!  This was my first transfer meeting and it was way mean.  We got to the chapel at 9:30 and just chatted with all of the missionaries until 11.  A couple kids from my intake were also training so it was cool to get to catch up with them.  Elder Bowman is one of them and he was just about as scared as I was.  I told him that I wasn't even sure that I had been trained yet haha.  We had a great meeting and my son was born, and I was a happy Father.  Sister Rudd (President Rudd's wife) was so pumped that I was training Elder Barbosa.  She is probably one of the nicest people I have ever met.  Our mission President is about the funniest man I have ever met.  I wish I had time to tell you more about him, but he is so awesome.  We all think he will be a member of the 70 someday.  He golfs too, which is way mean.  When I get off my mission we are going to go golfing.  Guess what I had to do after the Transfer meeting?  Drive all the way back to Gisborne.  Not only that, I had to drive the entire way pulling a trailer filled with bikes. That was my first time ever pulling a trailer haha.  Guess what else I did?!  Backed a trailer for the first time in my life.  I actually did a pretty mean job if I do say so myself.

Friday- Friday I showed Elder Barbosa around town and we tried to teach some people, but everyone was gone because there was a professional holiday and labor weekend. I realized how small our teaching pool is when I was the one having to decide everywhere we went.

Saturday- Saturday we had a mean experience!  I have been feeling so lost this last couple of days because I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing.  I feel like the trainer is the most important calling in the mission.  I have this missionary’s salvation in my hand and I have to show him how to be a good missionary.  Well Saturday we were having no luck seeing anyone.  We were knocking on heaps of doors as well, but nobody would give us the time of day.  We had an hour before lunch, and to be honest I had no idea what to do.  I was supposed to give Elder Barbosa an opportunity to invite someone to be baptized and I had no clue who that would be or where we should go.  I decided to pull over to the side of the road and say a prayer.  It was a simple prayer but I just asked that we would be able to find someone who wanted to hear our message.  I decided to drive down the main street of town and look for someone to talk to. Oh also funny part of the story, it is raining cows and sheep, and we are literally soaked!!!  So I see these girls sitting under a building which was keeping them dry. We pulled over and decided to go walk over to them.  We ended up teaching them the Restoration and Elder Barbosa was able to invite them to be baptized.  They said that if they got an answer to their prayer that what we taught was true that they would be baptized.  Sad part of the story they didn't come to church because they slept in.  Good news we ran in to one of the girls Sunday and set up another time to teach them. Their names are Bre and Keisha and they are 16 years old.

Well to finish this letter I will say that I'm doing great!  I am super stressed about training, but I know the Lord will help us as long as we are willing to put forth the effort.  I know that I will learn heaps from training and that I will really benefit from the experience.  I'm so glad for the plan of salvation.  I'm so glad to know where I came from, why I am here, and where I am going.  It would be so sad to me if I didn't have a purpose in life.  I know that families can be together forever!  I love this gospel with all of my heart!

Love,

Elder Brunson

The beach

Exchange with Elder G

Monday, October 19, 2015

This week is..... TRANSFER WEEK!!!!!!

So this morning we did our regular studies from 8-10 AM. At 10:00 our next task was cleaning the car and the flat. During the week I am the mom of the flat.  I always clean the kitchen, but it’s okay because I kind of enjoy doing it.  On preparation days Elder Holmes usually washes the car and I vacuum it out.  I really love vacuuming for some odd reason.  This morning we were going about our normal preparation routine until we were interrupted by a phone call. We couldn’t tell who was calling us because our phone passed away this week.  So to interrupt my story I will tell you all about the phone.  A couple weeks ago Elder Holmes fell down and sat on the phone, which crushed the screen.  It was usable but it made things very difficult.  We called Elder Marsdan who is in charge of the phones and he told us to just keep trying to use it.  Well this past week I finished off the damage.  I jumped off this cement porch and the phone came out of my shirt pocket and smashed.  We have ghetto phones so it wasn't like the glass shattered, they are like plastic screens. It just did that thing where if you press on the screen a big blob of black comes up. So we are going to get a new phone at transfers. Back to the story....so we got an unknown phone call and guess who it was...President Rudd.  You know what that means!  The results of transfer week are here.  Elder Holmes went first and found out that he is going to South Auckland and is going to be a Zone leader!  I'm super excited for him.  He will do a great job up there.  Now the moment you have all been waiting for… where is Elder Brunson going??   Answer:  He is going to Wairoa!!!!!!!!! (That is where I am currently serving.)  Guess what he is doing though?!!!! Training!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe after 12 weeks I'm going to be training a new missionary.  I feel totally unprepared but I feel humbled that I have been given the call.  Training is a huge responsibility, I might not be the best teacher, or the best trainer, and have very little experience, but I know that the Lord will qualify those who he calls.  I know that we are going to work as hard as we can.  I see a lot of success coming to the Wairoa area.

This Wednesday we will head up to Hamilton for Transfers.  I'm glad that I will get to spend the last several hours with Elder Holmes in the car.  Elder Holmes is a great missionary and our relationship has come so far!  Remember the first day he drove the car into a ditch. I was thinking, who is this guy? hahaha. Then we stayed at an investigators house for like 3 hours!  When we got done I smashed him for us being there so long haha.  I didn't actually smash him, but I was like, “Elder Holmes I don't really feel like I fulfilled my missionary purpose, I haven't invited anyone to come unto Christ.” Today we talked about my first day and Elder Holmes and I just died laughing.  After the phone call Elder Holmes and I gave each other a giant hug!  Elder Holmes said that he tells all the missionaries he has been with that they were his favorite missionary.  He told me today that I was his favorite companion and that he really meant it.  I really believe him because he absolutely loved his last companion Elder Stevens.  I remember the first couple of weeks he just talked about how he missed Elder Stevens.  It made me feel like I was a boring companion and kind of sucked.  After those first few weeks Elder Holmes and I really got along.  We have had a ton of fun together and I'm really going to miss him.  I'm not sure who my next companion is going to be, or where he will be from, but I'm super excited for Thursday!

A little bit about our investigators.  So Tanika and Carol, the ladies I found with Elder Mathews the other week on our exchange.  Well we have been teaching them once a week.  They don't want to come to church but they want us to keep teaching them.  Well this last lesson was way mean.  We were teaching them the Restoration and I asked Carol an inspired question (it had to have been inspired because I can't even remember the question).  She said that for some reason she had this strong desire to come to our church over the church she is attending.  The church she is attending is a Christian Rock Church.  Tanki (Carol’s sister) was kind of shocked by what Carol had said.  Tanika is kind of holding Carol back, but I think they will both eventually get baptized, I can just feel it!  We invited them to family home evening tonight so hopefully they come!

I love the mission so much! The Church is true!!! If you are not happy, keep the commandments, it is that simple!  This Sunday I gave a mean talk.  I used an analogy using my mom’s famous cookies haha. I wish I had more time to explain it but I don't have much time!  I love you all!

Love,

Elder Brunson

Monday, October 12, 2015

Conference!

I don't have heaps of time to write since we are going to Gisborne for pday!  So this letter is going to be really lame! This is my last week of training, so crazy!  I can't believe I'm already done training.  The thought kind of scares me but I know the Lord will help me through the rest of my mission.

Conference was so good!  Guess what my favorite talk was?  Definitely Elder Holland’s talk.  I think everyone in the world should listen to this talk regardless of whether or not they are members.  It really is amazing what mothers are put through, and how much they love their children.  I know that I have been greatly affected by my mother and I can't imagine my life without her guidance.  I can't believe that this was the first conference that I watched all the way through.  It makes me sad of all the great talks I have missed out on because I didn't watch all of the sessions.  I learned heaps from conference and it was a really great weekend.

This week I went on an exchange with Elder Guitierrez up in Nuhaka.  We did heaps of service and had some really good lessons.  At one of the member’s homes while waiting for lunch to cook guess what?  Elder Guitierrez taught me how to play the piano.  He taught himself by using numbers instead of letters.  It was way mean and I can now play the right hand of Come Follow Me!  I am still working on the left hand.

I really don't know what else to say.  My companion is playing a talk and I'm not much of a multitasker so I can’t concentrate on this letter.  I'm trying to be patient haha.  Patience is definitely something that the mission teaches you! You guys would be really impressed with how well I do when my companion eats cereal during personal study in the morning.  I have pretty much learned to tune it out haha.  Back home I would go nuts on people for chomping loud haha. Many of our dinners were spent with me hollering at Kevin because he was chewing too loud.  Man I would let the boy chomp right into my ear if I could just sit down with that stud and have dinner.

I still love the mission!  It has been an amazing experience thus far and I will try and write a better letter next week!

Love, 

Elder Brunson

New District

I thought Dad would like this picture since he loves dogs in cars haha.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Well the Brunson’s week sounded fantastic!  That letter was crack up!  Some people think my dad is the clown of the family but I think sometimes my mom gets him haha.

I had the best week of the mission so far!  At the start of the week I wasn't really looking forward to the rest of the week.  The main reason was because while at the temple, the Assistants to the mission president told us they would be coming to Wairoa for an exchange.  For those of you who don't know, the Assistants to the mission President are pretty much all of the missionaries boss. They are the top dogs in the mission and really know what they are doing. Anyone who knows me would know that I wouldn't be excited because I would be scared out of my mind haha.  I was so worried that they were going to come down and smash me for being a terrible missionary.  I was worried that I wouldn't know what we should do or what I should say.  Anyone who knows me knows I worry about silly things haha.  I will finish this story up later on in my email though.  I want to keep everyone reading so I'm going to make it suspenseful haha.

Monday- Preparation day was crazy with the power being out.  We went to Nuhaka and played basketball and ping pong.  Not to be prideful but I think I have become more athletic since coming on my mission.  I am the ping pong champ.  Since being in New Zealand I have only lost one game of ping pong!  Elder Rios almost beat me several times but would always end up losing.  He would always tell me, "You are not even good!" haha.  I miss Elder Rios heaps, he was my first district leader and he was the man!  He is now finishing his mission as a zone leader!

Tuesday- Tuesday we had district meeting and then went on an exchange with the Zone leaders.  I went with Elder Zesigur to Gisborne, which is about 45 minutes away.  We had a way good talk in car and he is a way cool dude.  We had a pretty mean exchange as well and we talked to heaps of people on the street.  Gisborne is way bigger than Wairoa so it was a little different.  We didn't have a very long exchange though because we didn't get to Gisborne until like 2 in the afternoon.  Tuesday night I got a call from Elder Holmes that our Bishop’s wife’s son had committed suicide.  His name was Kelvin and he was a less active member from our ward.  I only met him once and he didn't really want to talk to us.  He seemed like a nice guy though, we know his 15 year old son Brock pretty well though.

Wednesday- Wednesday was a busy day.  We helped our Bishop get ready for the funeral service at the church.  We set up heaps of chairs and cleaned the whole church!  That night we had a service at our Bishop’s house.  It was a really good service and a great opportunity for us to do missionary work.  Our Bishop said that it was really sad that Kelvin was gone but that if it wasn't part of missionary work he didn't know what was. That definitely was a very true statement for us this week.

Thursday- Thursday was the day of the funeral.  It was a really great service and heaps of people came!  There was like 700 people our bishop said!  The speakers gave really good messages that helped to lift everyone's spirits. I'm so glad to know that families can be together forever!  It brings me peace and comfort knowing that through faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end I can live with my family forever. This week I was taught the importance of having an eternal perspective. There are things that will entice us and bring us temporary happiness, but it is happiness that won’t last for eternity.  Having our families with us will bring us eternal happiness.  We had a mean feed after the service and I pounded some food.  I'm not too sure how much weight I have gained but I'm sure its heaps.  The only thing I have going for me is morning workouts haha.  I actually have a pretty mean workout in the morning!

Thursday night, the moment you have all been waiting for....the exchange!!!! Thursday night I went out with Elder Mathews and boy was I scared. The first door we knocked on I was just shaking in my boots, however to our disappointment nobody answered the door.  We went to the next house and knocked on his door.  We ended up having a pretty good conversation and committed the man to read the introduction to The Book of Mormon.  After we got done, Elder Mathews stopped and said, "Alright let’s evaluate what could we have done better?"  I said, “Well I didn't really say much.”  He agreed and said that our companionship unity could have been better.  He asked me if I would do something for him the rest of the night.  I agreed and then he said, “I don't want you to think about what you are going to say.” He just wanted me to focus on the conversation.  He said if it came to me and I didn't know what to say that I should just bear testimony.  I was pumped haha,  I was like, “I can bear testimony, that is easy!”  From that point on each door we knocked on kept getting better and better.  Our unity was getting better and better with each door and I wasn't even thinking about what to say.  We had time to try one more person for the night and I had no clue who we should see.  Elder Mathews suggested that we pull over and say a prayer.  I said a prayer and felt like we should go see Graham.  However, on our way to Grahams I felt impressed that Grahams house wasn't the place where we should be.  I told Elder Mathews to turn around and to drive to Marine Parade.  Marine Parade is a street at the center of town where if you want to find someone to talk you you go.  However, when we drove down Marine Parade nobody was there.  At this point I was thinking what the heck, I felt prompted to go down the street but nobody is here.  I told Elder Mathews that we could just head for home unless we felt prompted to stop and knock on a house.  On our way back Elder Mathews saw some people and we pulled over, got out and started talking with them. They were sisters who are in there 30's. One was named Tanika, and the other Carol.  We ended up teaching them the entire lesson of the restoration.  It was mean!  I got to bear my testimony several times to them and it was definitely one of the coolest experiences I have had so far on my mission.  It wasn't until after we met with them that I realized if I hadn't been prompted to go down marine parade we never would have found them.  We never would have had to go down the road we were going down to get home.  It was a mean experience!  Sadly they didn't come to church but we have another appointment with them next week!  Elder Mathews taught me a lot of things and we had a great exchange! 

Weekend- The weekend was a party haha.  I will be watching general conference today so I'm a little behind haha. I can't wait though!!! I love you all and the church is true!

Love,

Elder Brunson