Monday, May 9, 2016

Happy Mother’s day!!!!!!!!!!

Moms are the best thing in the entire world.  Especially Momma Brunson!  Mom I know with a doubt in my mind that you are the hardest working person that I have ever met.  I'm so thankful for the way that you have raised us as kids, and I owe everything I have to you.  Thank you for teaching me how to work (even if I didn't ever work back home haha).  I would say that I have definitely learned how to work now haha.  Elder Brunson can finally say he knows how to work hard.  Thanks for keeping our house so clean and tidy; I'm not sure how you do it!  I don’t know how many times I will say this, but nobody makes better cookies than Momma Brunson.  I could really go for a Worlds Famous Momma Brunson cookie.  I miss them heaps.  But more important than your clean house and your wonderful baking I'm so thankful for your Christ like example.  I truly know that you strive to love each of your children the way Christ would.  The amount of patience and love that you have with us crazy kids is truly amazing.  Thanks mom for always striving to help me to strive to be more Christ like.  You were always trying to help us develop ourselves and to make better choices.  We are all here and earth to prepare to return to live with Heavenly Father and become like him.  Thank you so much mom for doing your best to help us grow closer to Heavenly Father.  Thank you for your testimony of the gospel and for teaching the gospel to your children.  I love you heaps mom!  

It has been another great week here in Aoteroa though!  I love being a missionary here in New Zealand.  There is no better place to serve a mission.  I'm probably a little bias though because this is the only place that I have ever served a mission haha.  I really love serving here in Taranaki as well, the missionaries are awesome and so are the people.  This transfer has been a little strange though, so this past week we had our zone meeting instead, when we usually have it the first week of every transfer.  However, the entire mission was having a conference, but Gisborne and Taranaki zones didn't get invited because we are too far away haha.  Pretty lame haha, but it makes sense.  This is not the first big event that I have missed either.  At the beginning of my mission when I was in Gisborne I missed David Archuleta when he came to the mission.  I really was bummed when I found out that I missed that haha.  Pretty much President Rudd told me I'm banished to outer darkness for my mission haha.  No I really don't mind, I have loved serving in Gisborne and Taranaki, I reckon that they are the best two zones in the mission.  Anyway, we had our Zone meeting this week and that was way good.  We had lots of fun, and learned lots as well.  I gave a short training on following up!  I told a good story about Emma and her great missionary work.  I use Emma as an example of a great missionary all the time.  If my little sister who is 9 can do missionary work anybody can!  Thanks Emma for your great example!!  I definitely look up to you!  I have mixed feelings about skyping home today haha.  I don't want the skype to come because I know how quick it’s going to end.  The Skype pretty much teases you as a missionary haha.  With that being said, I'm still really excited to see the whanau!!!

This week has been a good week and the highlight has been working with one of our investigators named Vance.  Vance is married to a less active member of the branch Juliana.  Vance is a really busy fella, but we were finally able to catch up with him this week.  We had an amazing lesson with him and his wife and the spirit was so strong.  Vance has meet with missionaries for ages and there really isn't a reason that he hasn't got baptized.  He is really busy though, and sometimes he works on Sundays.  Vance and Juliana are 22 years old and an awesome couple.  Vance knows the church is true, and so Elder Suriben and I just need to help him overcome some speed bumps and he will be an awesome member.  We are really excited to try and work with him more though.  Sorry that my email doesn't have heaps of information haha.  I could tell you a funny story though.  So last night we were at Elder and Sister Sterzer’s house because Elder Suriben was doing his skype. Elder Suriben was talking to his bishop and his family.  They asked me to come over so they could see who I was.  As I was leaving, Elder Suriben’s bishop (who speaks really good English) said, "Your companion is very handsome haha."  Then he said there was heaps of YSA that would be interested in me haha.  He then tried to convince me to come to the Philippines after my mission.  So who knows, maybe I will go to the Philippines after my mission haha.  Just kidding.  I love you all heaps though and hope you have a great week and a great Mother’s Day!

Love,

Elder Brunson