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