April 12, 2010

Hey everyone!
Its good to hear that not too much is new at home. That’s better than bad news. I would say I’m jealous of the weather there but that would be a lie. The weather here has been gorgeous. Short sleeve shirts in the 60's-70's. It’s a nice change, and I never thought it would come. Transfers are tomorrow and Elder Teixiera and I are staying together another one. I'm pretty excited, he's awesome. He has been here all together a year now and would like to go to another area but we're having success, so its perfectly fine with him that he stays. We struggle a little with the zone cuz most of the guys in our house are doing stupid things lately and we're trying to lead by example and its just not enough. Its hard to help missionaries when they don’t have a desire to work. I don’t know why people come on missions if they aren't going to work, it doesn’t make sense to me but whatever.We had an incredible week. My companion was sick all week but I pulled him out of bed each night so we could work. He's a trooper and pushed through it until we would get back to the pad at night and he would hit the bed immediately. He’s got some virus and is taking antibiotics. The week started off great so we decided to try and hit the mission standards of excellence. (The new mission goals). Only 1 companionship in the whole mission had hit all the goals since they came out but I am proud to say, we hit them this week! It definitely wasn’t because of us; we just received so much help from the Lord. We were able to get 2 baptismal commits for the upcoming weeks as well.We went over to teach Gabrielle and Sharma with a member this week. We went over some homework we left with Gabrielle about the atonement, and then taught a little more about it. We then asked Gabrielle if she wants to know if all of this is true. She said she didn’t really want to know right now, she doesn’t want to change her life at this moment. She is 19 and it is hard to change, but after all the lessons we've taught her and all the times the spirit was so strong, it was hard to hear that. We talk about baptism with her a lot and she always says she isn’t ready but we just tell her to pray. The member we were with was baptized a year ago and is so strong in the church. She told Gabrielle that she first met the missionaries when she was 17. She knew it was true but also didn’t want to change at that moment in her life. She then said she met the missionaries for the second time at age 22 and was quickly baptized. During the years of 17-22 were the most heart aching, sinful, painful years of her life. She said she would give up anything to go back and join the church at age 17 when she first met the missionaries. Because she didn’t, she went through so many trials and she told Gabrielle, don’t make the same mistake I did. Gabrielle then put her face in a pillow and started crying. I then committed Sharma to pray about the 18 of April for baptism. She said she would and we left. We went back last night, and Sharma said she is good to go for the 18th which is this week and Gabrielle will be coming to watch. Its sad to see her not commit to join the church at this time but its a great feeling knowing I did all I could. I fulfilled my purpose as a missionary and now it is between her and the Lord. Our frenchie Michelle was not baptized yesterday like we hoped. She didn’t get her answer yet but we're hoping she gets it this week so she can be baptized within the next coming weeks. She lives with all members and has a great support system; she’s just waiting for an answer.I had a cool experience with a recent convert named Ricardo. He’s 19 and is from the Caribbean. His mom was talking with us about how disrespectful he is to her. We could tell that she loved him very much and does a lot for him, but he has a false idea of what love is. We sat down with Ricardo and tried to teach him what true love is. We tried to tell him that his mom really loves him, and has done everything for him. I swear I saw a little bit of myself in him when I was a few years younger. It was weird teaching him everything that I have been taught by my parents for example. Dads quote," you get more with sugar than you do with salt." Oh and how true that statement is. That kid is the most thick headed person, but I think we helped him understand a little bit of why his mom does the things she does. Its all out of love. I cant tell you how grateful I am to have the greatest mom in the world. Even though I was a punk, she never stopped caring and has made every difference in my life.The work is going great and I’m looking forward to another miraculous transfer. We have 3 baptisms this transfer that are for sure, so it’ll be a blessing to help those people get on the path to true happiness.
Thanks for all you love and support.
I love you all,
Elder Breinholt