Sorry It's Been Awhile

Hey ya'll!!

Sorry it's been a while! My companion and I have been super busy, we're super excited because we just found out that I'll be staying in this area so I can finish training him.

We said goodbye to our favorite senior couple which was really sad :/ but we also met a red head who is from Honduras! He looks like he's Irish but he doesn't speak a lick of English haha. He loves the book of Mormon and is excited to keep learning from us! He asked us to give him homework!

We also took a picture with our neighbor Debbie and a bunch of kids when we went to eat dinner at a park, they said a prayer with us and loved it!

That's all I've got time for so have a great week! Keep praying!

Elder Brunsdale

Participating in a Miracle

Wow! Well, I'm very sorry it's been so long since I have written an email. It's been a little bit crazy. Things have really been great though. Training is a real blast and my trainee is hilarious and a great missionary.

This last week the sister missionaries gave us a call and asked if we could come to the house of their investigator to give a blessing to an old man named Santos. He had been really sick for a long time and couldn't hardly move or speak. He just sat in a chair for weeks while they helped him to live. The only thing that he was able to communicate to them was "I'm so scared, God is going to take me." So when we arrived there to give the blessing much of his extended family was there. Probably 15 people. Not one member. So, the sister missionaries taught a little bit about the priesthood and then Elder Kemp anointed in perfect Spanish and I had the chance to give the blessing, it was a very spiritual experience for me. At the end we were able to shake his hand and he just looked up into my eyes, tears streaming down his face. Although he was unable to speak I could feel his gratitude and know that he had felt the spirit. His family kept saying "thank you, thank you, God is with him now."
   
The next day we found out that later that day Santos stood up from his chair and started walking, and then dancing! By the end of the night he was telling the family stories and laughing. He says he knows that God healed him. It was incredible to witness someone with so much faith, as well as a blessing to be able to administer to him and to see the Lord's hand in his life. The Lord's priesthood is restored!
   
I hope you all have a wonderful week! Pray always :)
Elder Brunsdale

New companion... like NEW!

 Arguably the greatest gospel writer of our time, President Joseph F. Smith, once said, "The grateful man sees so much in the world to be thankful for, and with him the good outweighs the evil. Love overpowers jealousy, and light drives darkness out of his life." 

   

I've recently started a gratitude journal.The impact that this has had on me has been profound. Every morning after doing some stretches I sit down and start thinking about something I'm grateful for. I take about a page or so and then through writing I express to my God as best I can the feelings of my heart concerning that one thing. Yesterday I wrote about shoes, but today I wrote about Elder Kemp.

Elder Kemp just flew from Germany to join me here in Mt. Vernon! He's in a military family so he was born in Arizona and speaks perfect English, but he's teaching me some basic Korean and German while I teach him Spanish! It's a lot of fun, he's an extremely prepared Elder and is ready to serve the Lord Jesus Christ with all his heart. I'm excited to have the opportunity to be his companion. I've learned a lot and know that the next 11 weeks are going to be incredible. 

We're doing some great work and have quite a few investigators with baptismal dates. On Elder Kemp's first full day we visited a referral and put them on date on the first lesson! They're incredible and they're been praying for God to lead them to the church that they should be in. It's such a humbling privilege to be able to witness the Lord's hand in the lives of these people. 

This week we also had an activity in our church!! It was called the noche de hispanidad and we set up a bunch of tables with food from every country. There was músic and dancing and a show! 

It was an incredible turn out and I think that the table that I set up with my companion is just beautiful don't you? The picture of the stage is a bit too early. We eventually filled every single seat! Crazy right? It was a lot of fun and we got to meet a lot of non-members :) 

Well, have a fantastic week! Love you all. Pray hard will ya? 

Elder Brunsdale

Come and Claim Your Blessings

This morning I went to the Temple. I haven't been in a while and wow, it's been too long. 

I'd like to share with you just a little bit of the experience I had this morning. I've recently been more stressed than usual because of some recent events in the mission placing a lot more weight on my shoulders. I've been having some personal challenges weighing heavenly on my mind as well. 

I echo the words of Boyd K. Packer when I say that I don't know a lot in this world. In fact, the more I learn the more I've come to see how little I actually do know. But there are some things that I do know of... I know that God lives and that Jesus Christ is his son who came to the earth to die for us. 

This is a spiritual knowledge that cannot be taken from me by any power on this earth. I'd like you all to know that I have a similar knowledge, in other words, a similar testimony of the holiness of the Lord's temples. In the Temple I feel closer to my Savior and farther from the world, farther from the weakness of the natural man that I fight with every day closer than anywhere else on this earth. 

Elder Packer himself said, "Sometimes our minds are so beset with problems and there are so many things clamoring for  attention at once that we just cannot think clearly and see clearly. At the temple the dust of distraction seems to settle out, the fog and the haze seem to lift and we can “see”  things that we were not able  to see before and find a way through our troubles that we had not previously known. The Lord will bless us as we attend to the sacred ordinance work of the temples. Blessings there will not be limited to  our temple service. We will be  blessed in all of our affairs ." 

Our Temples are specially set apart and dedicated for the Lords holy work. His power is there, his peace is there. I feel it every time that I go. Whether I need specific guidance or comfort or I'm unsure of what I need, the house of the lord has always been a place of refuge for me in the few years that I've had the privilege to attend. I love the temple and everything that it stands for. It is a shining light in an ever darker world. 

"Our labors in the temple cover us with a shield and a protection, both individually and as a people. So come to the temple—come and claim your blessings. It is a sacred work."

Elder Brunsdale

No Note!! Car Gone!!

Well, this week has been pretty interesting!

On Wednesday morning we awoke to our wallets missing and our keys and car stolen. It turns out that someone actually broke into the apartment in the middle of the night and came into our bedroom while we were sleeping. He stole a backpack and a towel and all of our candy.

For some reason he left the tablets behind though, that was definitely a blessing. Also the fact that we weren't harmed in any way. Anyways, the police came over and dusted for prints and the whole shebang. We're hoping that they find our car soon.
   
The other crazy thing that happened this week was that the other Elders in my district got emergency transferred out of the area. So we got a car, but I lost my two best friends which stunk. It has also left us alone in the ward and we have all of the investigators not only from the Sisters who got emergency transferred but now the elders as well. So we're alone in the stake and covering a giant area which means that we're really, really busy. Which is good!
   
As far as highlights go I had the chance to conduct a Baptismal interview this week, it was incredible to see how much desire a new convert has to do the will of the Lord. I learned more from her than I thought I was going to from the interview. It was very humbling.

Also, Elder Smith visited us from Utah! It was definitely cool to see him. Love you all and I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Elder Brunsdale

The Diligence of Abinadi

 I decided recently that I would like to learn a little bit more about the Christlike attribute of diligence. So I thought "hmm, who can teach me about diligence?"... And the first person that came to my mind was Abinadi. 

So, I went to Mosiah and started reading, I read of how they tried to kill him but he fled and later returned to preach in disguise. Later being caught again and at the threat of death, never denying his testimony. Now that's diligence. 

For some reason or another Mosiah 13:9 especially sticks out to me. Abinadi had a message to deliver, he had a work to do. And when the people of Noah "durst not lay their hands on him, for the spirit of the Lord was upon him." He says: (Mosiah 13: 9) But I finish my message; and then it matters not whither I go, if it so be that I am saved. 

This brought to my mind a quote from Elder Eyring- "You will become more diligent as you feel the magnitude of the trust that God has placed in you." 

   

I know that Abinadi knew perfectly what God had trusted him with. He understood his calling, and because of that he was diligent in fulfilling it. He even sacrificed his life.  

Mosiah 17: 10 Yea, and I will suffer even until death, and I will not recall my words, and they shall stand as a testimony against you. And if ye slay me ye will shed innocent blood, and this shall also stand as a testimony against you at the last day

   

I would invite you to evaluate yourself and choose something that you would like to be more diligent in, whether it be home teaching or magnifying your calling or simply just church attendance. 

Go to the scriptures and conference talks and learn about it. I know that as your testimony of that particular principal strengthens that you will become more diligent in fulfilling it. God has put a lot of trust in all of us. Let's never take that lightly. 

This week's pictures are basically just a wedding that we went to. A quick piece of advice, don't invite the missionaries to your wedding reception. It's just cruel haha. But the food was great and we loved being serenaded by the mariachi band. 

I also said goodbye to a good friend, Elder Evans, and that's about all. The work is going great! I love you all and hope you have an incredible prayer filled week! :) 

Elder Brunsdale

So Little Time

This week is going to basically just be pictures. I've been a bit pressed for time but I'm still doing great! I'm just loving the Lord's work! Have an incredible week and go read a scripture and pray or go to the temple or something else to help you escape the world this week. Love you all! :) 

Elder Brunsdale

Hello Friends

Hey, did ya'll know that President David O. McKay once said, "Prayer is the pulsation of a yearning, loving heart in tune with the Infinite. It is a message of the soul sent directly to a loving Father. The language is not mere words.… The first and most fundamental virtue in effective prayer is faith. A belief in God brings peace to the soul. An assurance that God is our Father, into whose presence we can go for comfort and guidance, is a never-failing source of comfort." 

    

What a beautiful statement. Our prayers are more than mere words. I feel as though I cannot express through an email my burning and living testimony of prayer. I'll just say that God is a real, physical, actual Father who loves you. Because of the unity between the Father, the Son, and the Spirit you can literally communicate with him through the power of the Holy Ghost. It's as though we are in his presence. I've received personal guidance countless times, and I know of the never failing source of comfort. Keep praying, have faith, God answers our prayers! 

This week was pretty fun, a super rich English member took us out to eat some lamb at a Greek restaurant and then showed us around Old Town Alexandria as well as his million dollar home with all of his art and Rolex watches. haha 

We also found out about transfers and my entire district is staying the same which is crazy! I'm super excited to have another transfer with all these guys. That's about all! Have a wonderful week everyone! 

Elder Brunsdale

Walking in Little Ghana

Just last night before bed I was studying in the old testament and came to one of the very last verses of Job. It reads... 

Job 42:13 He had also seven sons and three daughters.

This has surpassed Job 19:25 as my favorite verse in this beautiful book of scripture. It seems insignificant so let me explain how it has touched me so profoundly. In chapter 1 we learn of the kind of man that Job was, as well as the many possessions that he had. 

Verses 2 and 3 say 2. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.

3. His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

We all know that Job lost everything. In fact in the case of Job that phrase is used too frequently to quite communicate the exquisite and profound pain that he experienced. We then read something like 40 chapters of his 'friends' telling him to curse God and that he's a worthless pile of trash who has had the wrath of God brought upon him because of his iniquity. There's plenty to be said about that. But in the end Job stays faithful and repents, he is then visited by the Lord and blessed abundantly. We read:

Job 42:10 ...the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. 12. So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. 13. He had also seven sons and three daughters. 

So, the Lord blesses Job with double of everything that he had before. So why wasn't he blessed with fourteen sons and six daughters? Simply because he never really lost those first children that he loved so deeply. They lived on, and I'm sure he knew that if he stayed faithful he would be reunited with them. I love this scripture so much because it testifies simply of the reality of eternal families. As well as the restoration of the Gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith. 

This week we were super guided by the Lord and found some really cool people. I got a picture when we were walking in little Ghana and someone had a bag of rice on their head so I said "Woah!! That's amazing! Can you teach me??" So she just grabs the bag of rice and throws it on my head and we walk it to their apartment for them. haha, 

Sorry, no more stories because I don't have much more time and I didn't take pictures of anything else but I love you all! 

Keep praying and reading those scriptures!  

Elder Brunsdale

July 4th

D&C 101:36 "Wherefore, fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full."

This week has been very, very fun. So, before I share all the things that we did this week I want to say something really quick about joy. I learned a lot about it this week because we had such a fun time. But while we did all these fun activities the joy I felt didn't come even close to the joy that I've found in Jesus Christ.

In learning about him and his Gospel and serving our brothers and sisters in the mission field I've experienced a joy that the "world" cannot give. I was surprised to see that I was left feeling relatively unsatisfied after activities that used to fill my "joy tank" you could say. I know it's because now I've experienced a fuller joy. One that is found in reading and following the word of God written in the scriptures. One found in loving your fellow man. And most of all one that is found in my personal relationship with my savior, Jesus Christ.
       
So anyway, here's what happened.

The first day of the week was a P-day, it was a real special one too because the whole zone went to the Mission Presidents home to play foosball and basketball and ping pong and volleyball and all that good party stuff.

The next day for the 4th of July we had a ward party in a big park right next to Mt. Vernon Manor right on the Potomac river. We just ate food and chilled and played soccer for literally 5 hours. It made for a great 4th of July, we didn't watch a fire work show but we saw them on our drive home.
       
On Thursday we had a lesson with our most progressing investigator in a members home. It was my companions birthday so they brought a cake up and started telling me to throw it in my companions face! They did it in a really sneaky way and so my companion couldn't understand what they were saying but I didn't know what he'd do if I did it. And I will not sacrifice comp unity for ANYTHING. So I made probably the most impulsive and immature decision of my mission and pretended to go for my companion and turned and just plastered the member right in the face with this cake. Thus commenced a cake war between this member and us and our investigator. Not gonna lie it felt good to throw some cake at some people and just be a child again for a moment haha, I'm still in the process of getting the stains out of my shirt though.
       
Now on Saturday we had a baptism in our church. We got there about 45 minutes before it started and realized that the other Elders (whose baptism it was) hadn't started filling up the font yet, and this particular font takes 4 hours to fill. So we got it going and decided we'd better grab some buckets! So we ran to the kitchen and found this huge pot and just started running buckets and pots and empty trash cans full of water from the kitchen and bathrooms to the font. The sisters helped us out and to make a long story short we filled up the font in 38 minutes. We were absolutely drenched in sweat and our suits (as well as the floor of the church) were soaking wet but it was worth it.
       
After the baptism our ward hosted this awesome activity about the Plan of Salvation and basically the whole ward came. We got some investigators there and just had a ton of fun running our mini games and then later teaching our assigned kingdoms and Gospel topics. My companion was in another area at another baptism so I had to do everything solo but it was actually really fun. It was a super spiritual, cool experience and it was awesome to have some investigators go and to also strengthen member relationships.
       
Today was just as great, after playing basketball we went and got some Philly cheese steaks and then went to the Pentagon City Mall. It's a pretty crazy big mall. It also has a sweet view of the Pentagon and the Washington monument. My boy Elder Cottle and I tried to take a selfie with it. So we had some fun there and then came back to chill and play some pool. And thus ends one of the craziest weeks of my mission.

Believe it or not I actually left a whole lot out but I just don't have time to type it all up and it would very likely bore you. So I got the big stuff ;)

I didn't get too many pictures but here's what I have.
       
I love you all :) Keep praying, keep reading, and start writing me ;D LOVE YOU.
Elder Brunsdale

Another Car Fast Story

Well this last Saturday was the mission wide car fast so my companion and I jumped on the bikes ready to do some work. 

About 10 minutes after leaving the apartment it went from 102 degrees and sunny to FLOOD. We took a good swim back to the apartments and changed. Thankfully, we remembered to throw our white handbooks in our bags and save them from the rain and ourselves from condemnation. 

We changed real fast and also made a change of plans, the rest of the night was sunny and hot not a cloud in the sky. It seemed as if every single person that we talked to that night needed our help. Even if it was just to tell them that God loved them and that we loved them. The Lords timing truly is perfect. 

        

I also just wanted to share a little spiritual thought with y'all. I've recently been reading in the Old Testament book of Job. As you probably know, Job was a perfect and upright man. He feared God and eschewed evil. The Lord had blessed him with much, wisdom, a loving family, thousands of livestock, and a "very great household." 

As the story goes this was all taken from him as a trial of his faith. Not only was he afflicted physically with boils, crushed by the loss of his possessions, and shattered by the loss of his dearest loved ones. But he was told to "Curse God, and die." His best friends turned against him, telling him that he brought it upon himself because of his wickedness. But Job was confident in his righteousness, and knew in whom he had trusted. In this whirlwind of pain, false accusation, and loneliness we find the beautiful, profound and simple proclamation of Job. 

Job 19:25 "For I know that my redeemer liveth..." 

        

I too know that my redeemer liveth. I know that Jesus of Nazareth walked among us, that he healed the sick and afflicted and cast out devils and lived a perfect life. I also know that he then sacrificed that life for us that we might be able to repent of our sins and come unto him, be baptized, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, all this as a testimony that we believe in him and desire to do his will and be better. 

I am not as job. I have not suffered such great pain or trial. But just as the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ brought comfort and strength to job, my knowledge of Christ has carried me through every challenge I've had in this mortal existence. He has always been there for me, I know He always will. Just as He promised "I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you." 

I love you all so much. Please, never stop saying your prayers :) Have a wonderful week! 

Elder Brunsdale

The Horror (Chinches aka bed bugs)!

For the record, I have endured 7 weeks without a single murmur!! 

Okay here it goes. 

Tenemos chinches (Cheenchays)... We have bed bugs... and it's a nightmare. Their bites are itchier than mosquito bites and bigger and always in groups, and I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to them. 

Try waking up every morning and finding chinches on the wall right by your head! Sooo gross! 

Here's a cute little detail, they stick to the wall pretty good and if you aren't careful they'll just fall to the floor and disappear. So, you have to kill them first, you do this by crushing them against the wall until they "pop." They pop because they're filled with our blood. Lovely, isn't it? 

We have giant spots and smears of our own blood all over the walls and ceiling where we've popped chinches.

        

Now for the good part :) We told our housing director about it and he gave us bags to wrap our mattress and bed frame in as well as a pretty mild spray. So the first day of our companionship we take the beds apart and OH MY DAYS! It was the most disgusting, repugnant thing I've ever experienced. 

Our mattresses and especially our bed frames were infested with chinches. Many of them filled with our own blood. I can't describe to you how nasty it was. Especially knowing that it's your bloody bed for heavens sake! Good grief! If I had known there was an entire colony of bed bugs living under my mattress I never would have slept there! 

There were big ones and small ones all on top of each other as well as many of their old skins that they had shed...

        

It's hard when you can't sleep in peace because you know what your sleeping in. Despite our precautions, all of which have not even been mentioned, they are absolutely impossible to get rid of... like I said, a nightmare. 

Not to mention that fact that we have a ton of spiders, earwigs, and the worst of all, cricket spiders. They're terrifying. Oh, we've also seen a few cockroaches. So two of the greatest pleasures of life -eating and sleeping- have been greatly diminished. hahaha.
Love, Elder Brunsdale

Ouch!

I did a really bad job at taking pictures this week so I'm sorry. It's been an amazing week though. I've been working a lot with the other Elders in our district about getting members more involved in the missionary work. It's going incredibly well. We set a goal to take every single member to at least one lesson before the end of the transfer in a month and we're well on our way. Our area is seeing more success than it has in a really long time. We're very excited. 

      

The highlight of the week was probably last night. We had just had an amazing lesson with our investigator who's on date. 

And I just had a very distinct feeling to try a potential on completely the other side of our area, absolutely destroying our plans for the night. We got in the car and when we arrived we had probably one of the most powerful restoration lessons I've had on my mission. 

We found a family of 12 brothers, 7 of which are named Jose. Hispanics man... Anyway one Jose and his wife and sister were interested in the message and asked all of the right questions. It was truly a blessing from the Lord and exactly what we needed at the time. 

      

The only picture I have is one of my hand after burning it. We were about to leave for the day so I threw down my pre-pross pop tart. They came out of the Toaster on fire and in my panic I accidentally flipped one over and the boiling pop tart jelly destroyed my hand. A great reminder of what a dope I am. 

Well, I love you all! Pray always and don't forget to look for the answers! 

Elder Hyrum Brunsdale

New Companion

Hey friends! This week has been a blast. My good friend Gabby Royle arrived to the mission and it was the craziest thing! I felt like I was breaking a rule or something, it was super fun to see and talk to her though. 

I feel surrounded by people from home because Elder Furguson is my new companion and it's so fun to talk with him about people that we both know. 

We're doing a lot of great work and met so many people this week. There's a ton of stories but basically we've been in the right place at the right time. God truly puts us where we need to be to bless those around us. All of us, not just missionaries. haha. 

We met someone named Dara who has been talking to missionaries for years and even goes to Utah to visit some sisters that were teaching her. She's a concert pianist and so Elder Ferguson and I told her that we were in an orchestra together and had some fun talking music for a minute. She was super cool and let us take a picture with her. 

We also had the chance to give quite a few priesthood blessings to people in need. We saw some miracles which I might expound on in a later email, we went to an antique store and.. yup! It's all just going so well, I love you all and hope that you're praying fervently and patiently. Have a wonderful week :)

Elder Brunsdale

Bye bye, Elder Smith

Wow! What a week! We just found out on Saturday that Elder Smith is going to be leaving this area tomorrow and I'll be receiving.... Drumroll please.... Elder Mark Ferguson! If you don't know him we went to high school together and played in the orchestra together for 5 years! He just got trained so I'll be breaking him in and showing him how I do things ;) I couldn't be more excited, it's going to be a very, very good transfer. 

        

Other than that this week was very good, we found 17 new investigators and we're teaching a lesson every day, it was a good week to end our companionship on. I did go on one exchange with Elder Lawson, he's also new to the mission so it was fun to get to know him and do some good work. 

We met a man named Hermano Chavez on our exchange and had a great conversation with him. He pulled out his Bible as we went up to him and bore testimony several times to us that Christ lives. He wasn't interested in the message but I felt impressed to give him 3 of our cards (which are basically just a mini portrait of Christ) and ask him to help us with our missionary work by giving our number to people. The way his face lit up was incredible and he was so excited to help spread the Gospel with us.

I'm also throwing in a picture of one of our investigators, her name is Monica and she's just incredible! 

As a brief spiritual brownie I'm going to include a link to a new video that the church has recently put out. I'd love to invite all of you to watch that video and perhaps if you feel impressed to share an experience about "hearing the music of the Gospel" I would absolutely love to hear from you. :) 

I love you all, the Church is most definitely true, and God loves you. Pray to him. :)

Elder Brunsdale

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2017-01-005-the-music-of-the-gospel?lang=eng