Week 32

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy late Armed Forces Day. :) Well to be honest I had never heard of this holiday before but it was on Hermana Mrozek's calendar for the 16th of May so we thought that was pretty cool. So I wonder did anyone else know about this holiday?

I wanted to share a cool experience my companion and I had yesterday evening. We had written in our planners that we were going to go try by these kids that we met and even though we both weren't so sure about how it would turn out, we decided to go ahead and do what we had planned in faith to do. When we got to the trailer park where the kids live, we saw one of them and started talking with him and asked if we could visit his family and he happily said yes and took us to meet his grandmother. We had a great first lesson with her and she is a really incredible woman. She is from a part in Oaxaca Mexico where they speak a different dialect called Zapoteco (not actually sure how to spell it). She learned how to read and speak spanish by studying the bible. In short she accepted our invitation to read the Book of Mormon and we are excited to go back and met with her. She has had some interesting experiences that have increased her faith and we hope that she will choose to continue learning with us and really read and pray to know that what we share- the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the authority from God to perform the saving ordinances- is true.

So it's little experiences like the above that keep me going as a missionary. We have so many disappointments and hard times that sometimes it's really hard to stay positive and hopeful. I know God gives us little miracles though so that we can remember He is leading and guiding us. Our job is simply to be willing to be lead and then open our mouths and let Him fill them.

Currently my companion and I are working with several people and trying to help them progress. We have a part member family we are working with but they are struggling but the wife wants to be baptized so we hope to help her prepare to do so. It's been tough though because many appointments we have made fall through and then they haven't come to church these past couple weeks. We are planning to keep working with them and we just need to have faith in the converting power of the Gospel.

I hope everyone has a great week! I want to invite everyone to do what they can to support the missionaries in their ward or branch. We missionaries NEED you members to help us find people who want to learn- who are ready to accept the Restored Gospel.

Love,

Hermana Brighton

week 31

Dear Friends and Family,

I just want to say Happy Mothers' Day! Thank you to all you moms who dedicate everything to help their children. I have blessed with a mom who has taught me more than I sometimes realize. She is an example to me. She is a hard worker, constantly gives to and serves others, dedicated, and SUPER talented- especially at writing poems and expressing her thoughts. :) I know that my Mom loves me and I love her. I know not everyone has been blessed with the best mothers. This is why we can also find mother figures in those around us. I'm grateful for all the just plain GOOD women. I have had the opportunity to know and associate with so many women that have changed my life. My teachers in school and church, as well us those I've worked with and around. I'm so grateful for all of you women.

I know that often times God works through others to bless His children. I hope we can all constantly look for ways that we can serve and help others. A scripture found in Mosiah 2:17 basically sums up why we are to serve others-

And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of yourfellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

So if we love God we will serve him, and how can we serve him? By serving others. It's as simple as that. As a missionary that is what I have the opportunity to do basically every day. Go out and serve God by finding people and serving them- whether that be by teaching them how to find true and lasting happiness, or lending a hand helping out in their garden. We serve however we can with the hope to bring others closer to God and Christ. Through the love we give we hope to help others recognize the love God has for them as well.

As far as events from this past week go... we have gotten to do several fun things. We serve at the animal shelter and they have a baby bunny I got to play with and hold. It had been a while since I'd held a bunny so I really enjoyed that time. We also spent a few hours shoveling rocks out of someone's garden. I always enjoy getting to work outside so although I have been sick this week, I did what I could to help out. Both my companion and I haven't been feeling super well but we've been doing what we can and I know that is what matters. Friday evening there was a Mother's Day activity that the Spanish Branch organized that was super fun. Us six missionaries in the branch did a little skit that was pretty funny but also talked about how mothers can help teach their children and prepare them to serve the Lord.

Well I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Love,

Hermana Brighton

Week 30

Dear Family and Friends,

So this week marks the beginning of my 3rd transfer in Kennewick and I will be staying with Hermana Mrozek, which came as a bit of a surprise because she's been in Kennewick for 6 months already.

This past week has been a blur but it was good. We serve in an adult day center now and so that is always enjoyable. We do a Women's group and basically sit and talk with several women about random topics like cooking, gardening, nature, etc. We aren't really supposed to talk much about religion but it's so awesome to have the opportunity to help out and give these women the chance to just talk together with us. We work with a group of all spanish speaking women so it's really interesting to try to talk about things other than the Gospel in spanish... sometimes I have to just smile and nod. Ha, but usually I do understand what is being said, or at least the main idea, so it's not really bad at all. It's really good practice.

The branch also had an activity this past week called "Juegos Olympicos- Casi" which means "Olympic games- almost." We helped set up and run the stations with all the games and we had a really good time. Not as many people came as we hoped despite the fact that we handed out A LOT of invitations to our investigators and others. There was good food and games though so we really enjoyed ourselves and got to know the members better so that was really great.

This week I've been thinking a lot about how people reject us before even listening to what we have to share as missionaries, as representatives of Christ. It's really discouraging sometimes but it's the little moments when we meet people and have a spiritual experience with them that makes all the rejection worth it. There is a part in Preach My Gospel that talks about how as missionaries we will experience a lot of discouragement but as long as we feel the Spirit with us and working through us we can know that what we are doing is what we should be doing. Because of the experiences I'm having as a missionary I know I am being prepared for my future. I'm grateful to be serving the Lord in this capacity and I hope to be able to continue being a missionary for the rest of my life by being an example not just by word but by deed.

I hope everyone has a great week, love you all!

Hermana Brighton