NEW PHOTOS!

January 18, 2010

Hey!I’m so jealous you guys are up in the snow and went boarding. That's the hardest part of the winter is being in the cold and not doing the things I normally do but its been more fun here, a different kind of fun ha. I want to see some pictures though; it’s been some time since I got some. I want to see the new cabin, Sounds pretty cool.I survived this week. We had interviews on Tuesday with president, which went very well. He didn’t tell me if I was leaving or anything because he didn’t know yet. He called me Thursday night and told me I would be leaving and I would be going to Brentwood! It’s in Long Island. I’m so stoked. I finally get a car, and it’s the perfect time for that because January-march are the coldest months and I won’t have to suffer anymore ha-ha.I’m also pretty bummed though because I love this ward and the people sooo much. It was so hard saying bye to all them yesterday. They’re all like a family. It’s interesting how different English and Spanish wards are. English wards back home function so well and almost everyone fulfills their callings. The Spanish wards don’t function as well but they have their own positive side. The Spanish wards and branches are always one big family and they love missionaries. I told these 2 old ladies who are sisters that I was leaving and they both started crying and hugging me. Ha-ha it was so cute.My patience has been tested a lot this transfer with my companion. I’m proud to say we never argued or fought. I’ve learned more than ever when to bite my tongue and let stupid things go. It’s been hard but every companion teaches you something important. I also realized that as my companion thinks he’s always right, so do I. Everyone always thinks they’re right all the time so I’ve learned a lot of humility and love. We had an amazing combined district meeting on Friday. The district leaders were in charge of everything and we did workshops and put ideas together. We shared the importance of member work and how to do it. Often times we get taught things and missionaries are expected to know how to do them. We don’t, that’s why we don’t do a lot of things. We did a bunch of practices that brought the spirit really strong. We just sat down with someone we don’t know so well in the zone and talked. One person would try to get to know the other by asking questions and just listening. When the time was right and when they felt they could help the person they would share a scripture or a message that they felt the person needed. Preach my gospel says that if we talk to someone wanting to know who they are and listen, something they say will ALWAYS highlight a principle of the gospel of which you can share more. Often times we go into members homes share a scripture and ask for referrals and it doesn’t work. However, if we go in and talk to them, show love for them and interest in their lives, then share something that will meet their needs, they’ll feel trust in us and will feel the spirit and want to help out missionary work. We are still working with most of the same investigators. Someone I’ve been working with for a while named Jonathon, is from Peru and finally came to church. He loved it! He isn’t married to his girlfriend and they have a kid, but he said next week he's gonna bring her. I told him the next time I come back to the ward I want him to be a member and he said he wants to get baptized real soon. We also have the Dominican Melvin who is still the man. He will get baptized this transfer, when he quits his job cuz he doesn’t need the one where he works on Sundays. He'll get baptized for sure. He’s been living the word of wisdom since we taught him and takes the B.O.M on the train to work with him. He’s the coolest guy I’ve met on my mission and I’m bummed I’m leaving and can’t see his baptism but its all good. As long as he goes down, that’s what matters.Well I know who my new comp. is too. His name is Elder Kerby and his family lives in Tyson’s ward. They moved in like 6 months ago. He’s a good guy; we're pretty close already so it’ll be a fun transfer. I've learned a lot from Elder Lee and ready to take what I’ve learned and help out the ward where I’m going. They have about 70 people at church a week and should have almost double that. I’ve been in the good and bad wards now and will do what I can and put to practice what I’ve learned. I’m gonna have more sisters in my district and I’m not too happy about that ha-ha, but it’s all a learning experience. Being in leadership has made me have different thoughts about a lot of sister missionaries, they cause a lot of drama.I’m bummed to leave the house I’m in and all the guys. It’s been sooo much fun I can’t even tells you. I’ve become best friends with a lot of the guys here. I was able to teach the wife and kids of Angel who I baptized a couple transfers ago. We haven’t been able to teach his wife for the whole transfer but we did last week. The lesson was Amazing! We brought a member and the spirit was so strong it was an awesome lesson. We taught the plan of salvation and I know she will get baptized. She will take some time but I don’t think it’ll be too long. I’m praying that she does get baptized because Angel is one of the most humble loving guys I’ve ever met in my life. He'd give me the only shirt of his back if I asked him for it. Every time we go there he feeds us terrible Puerto Rican food and I want to puke but he is so proud to give it to us and it’s all he has. I always just tell him he should open up a restaurant cuz he’s an awesome chef. It’s not true but he loves it ha-ha. Time is flying, and I’m loving every minute of it here. I’m learning so many things that I never thought I would. The mission has really helped me to become a better person and has changed my views and outlook on a lot of things. The gospel really is true and does bring happiness. Happiness that I didn’t think I could have before the mission. This life is so short and we need to better ourselves while we're here and do all we can to continually learn and progress. Thanks for all you do I love you. Elder Breinholt

January 11, 2010

Hey everyone!Man, this week flew right by. I don’t even remember what I did, it’s all a blur. The week went really well though, cold of course but got to deal with it. Complaining about the cold wont change a thing, it’s all mental anyways ha-ha. We spent a lot of time looking for new investigators and have dropped a few old ones because they have blockers that they can’t overcome. The mission is hard when it comes to dropping people. You know they need the gospel so bad and it will help them with all their problems but they just can’t see it from the point of view that we have as members. I get so frustrated because I just want people to be happy living the gospel and they will never find that happiness anywhere else.I was able to go to the temple for my year mark. I went with 16 missionaries. It was the most incredible experience. I forgot over the last 10 month the feeling in the temple. There is a spirit that is felt in the temple that is not felt ANYWHERE ELSE on earth. I have felt the spirit everyday since the MTC but it isn’t the same. I’ve had many spiritual experiences and seen miracles, but it isn’t the same. There’s just that feeling in the temple that can be felt in every temple and it’s the spirit of the lord’s house. My testimony of the gospel was strengthened even more just going and helping other people makes such great covenants with the lord. I think that we should be able to go every couple months. I think it’s weird that we are held back from doing service in the temple but twice in 2 years. It just doesn’t seem right to me. It was an awesome experience though, I enjoyed it a lot, and Manhattan was cool too ha. We are still trying to get our good investigators to church.It has been so difficult this transfer for some reason. I’m just trying to work hard and I have a companion that is negative about everything but doesn’t have ideas to change things. He’s frustrating but we have never fought. I’ve kinda learned to deal with things and people better. Its awesome being able to learn from each companion and build up who I am and who I want to become. It’s stressful not having a baptism this transfer. It kills me, but I know that I’m doing my best. This is the last week of the transfer, which I can’t believe. I just want to find some new investigators that are prepared so if incase I leave I left the place with a pool. I think I might be going to long island but I guess we will see. I hope everyone is doing well.My message to the world is just CHILL. Everyone gets so caught up in the little things and so caught up in the world and loses sight of what’s really important. Why are we here in the first place? We are here to have JOY. It’s so simple. Adam fell that men might be and men are that they might have (JOY). We forget about that all the time. So the world needs to just CHILL and just live life and be happy. Don’t lose sight of what’s important. That’s all I have to say though. I love you all have an awesome week, Elder Breinholt P.S.We also had a Holland TV crew in our pad filming all of us this morning. They are following the zone leaders around today for some TV show on what 20 year olds are doing around the world and they decided to come here and film missionaries. One of the ZL’s is from Europe so that’s why they’re following them but it was weird this morning but cool.

January 4, 2009

Well hey everyone!Sounds like the trip was a lot of fun. Everything except the car ride. Mom’s email explained the whole week and made me wish I was there but it’s ok. One more year right? I miss snowmobiling a lot; it’ll be cool to do it next winter. It’s freezing here, Oh man, this week was rough. It snowed a little bit but it’s been dropping in temperature. It was 18 degrees over the weekend and tons of wind which was terrible. It was a little hard walking around for a few hours with these conditions. I don’t have a binni so my ears were about to fall off. I guess ill invest in one of those. I was sick for the first part of the week. So much for the flu shot I got a couple months ago. They don’t work, it’s a fluke. I got really bad body aches, migraines, and chills for a few days but, I’m a lot better now. I tried to go out and work Monday night but was gonna pass out so I came home and got a blessing. I rested Tuesday morning but worked from then on. I feel lazy if I stay home, even if I’m sick. Our best investigator Melvin, the Dominican, can’t get baptized. He started working for Bishop and we thought he only had to work one Sunday, but he has to work every Sunday. Pretty lame to me. I have always heard church and family before everything else. Our bishop has work first and as much as I wanted to tell him how I thought, I can’t. Bishop said he will have to work for a while on Sunday and will have to get baptized in the future. I was pretty upset but got to deal with it. The Puerto Rican, Gomez, says he’s moving to Boston this week cuz his brother in law has work for him and a place to stay for free. He isn’t working here so says he’s going. We have a couple good investigators, but the problem like always is getting people to church. We try, and they say they'll come, but church now starts at 9 which made it worse. Spanish people are sometimes lazy so it’s a little more difficult to get them there now, but the prepared will make their way there. Not too much is new. We're just working and not trying to freeze out here ha-ha. I’m having a lot of fun though and trying to become more like Christ. It’s hard to change but it happens little by little. I get to go to the temple this Friday! I’m so stoked. I haven’t been since last March so I’m ready to go. I’ve been waiting for the year mark temple trip, its gonna be so awesome. Everything is great though and now I have full energy and health again we're gonna kill it this week. I love you all and hope you have a great week. Elder Breinholt

December 28, 2009

Hey everyone,I don’t have much to say ha-ha I just spoke with you all. I just want to thank everyone for the Christmas cards and for the presents. I thought Christmas on the mission would be a depressing experience but it was the opposite. It was so good. We got fed 3 times on Christmas day, watched a cool missionary DVD and talked to the family. It was nice living with 10 missionaries. It made things exciting. We met with one of our investigators on Saturday. His name is Melvin, this is a funny story. We were gonna baptize a guy named Gomez a week ago but due to some things he can’t get baptized right now. The baptism was announced in the ward and everyone knew. Melvin’s last name is Gomez also and he’s a 22 yr old Dominican, coolest guy ever too! His wife is a member but she can’t come to church due to work. He has been coming by himself to church and loves it. Two weeks ago at church everyone thought it was him that was getting baptized and going up to him at church saying congrats. He just thought to himself, isn’t this my decision? However he just went along with it. We called him last Sunday to tell him church was cancelled and he said he was so relieved cuz he thought he was getting baptized that day. He told us the story on Saturday and we were dying laughing. He totally thought he was gonna get baptized. We told him that it was another guy and everything was clear. He has been looking for a job for a while and our bishop gave him a job last week. He had to work on Sunday and couldn’t come to work. Yeah kinda weird, bishop giving a job and has to work on Sunday? Oh well. We don’t know if he has to work all Sundays, hopefully not, if so ill talk to bishop. Melvin is ready for baptism and wants to get baptized. When he doesn’t have to work he will go down. Church was really good yesterday. It’s been 2 weeks since we've been so it was nice to see everyone. We have a really cool ward. The sister had been teaching this guy named Gerardo. Every week at church I would sit with him and talk to him. I taught him a couple times me because he lives with a member in our area. We became pretty good friends. He asked me to baptize him but I told him no. I wanted his cousin to do it who is a convert of 1 year and is a 40 year old guy. Gerardo didn’t want him to do it and told me he wanted me to baptize him. I ended up baptizing him yesterday. It was a really great experience. The feeling of helping that person reach salvation is incredible. Its awesome being able to perform such a sacred ordinance; the spirit is always so strong.Not too much new is going on. We have been playing soccer in the basement of the church every morning at 6:30 for morning exercise. My comp stays in bed till late though so I go with a couple other Elders. It gets me up and ready for the day. I hope everyone had a great Christmas. It is a better experience being able to focus more on Christ. Being able to enter into the houses of members and investigators and sharing a message of our savior. Focusing on Christ helped me to feel of his love more on Christmas. I was able to try and share that love with others. All you at home are pretty fortunate getting to spend time with the family together. People here don’t have that privilege. Most had to work or members of their families. It’s not as big of a deal over here to people because they can’t afford to take off work, it’s just another day. Be grateful for all you have and give thanks everyday. I love you all and hope you have a great week. Love,Elder Breinholt