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