missionary update

Yesterday besides getting a fabulous email from the missionary, he sent some pictures!!

This is Brian with Elder Cuevos (the bird catcher.) I love that bird catcher story. Anyhow, Elder Cuevos is home now but here is a picture of the two of them. Love it!

Also, you'll NEVER believe this one, here is Brian & a friend Nadia from H.S. Yep, she was in Chile??? She was there with one of BYU's international dance teams doing a show that the missionarys got to go to. Brian said he couldn't believe it. He thought he would never run into anyone from home- it's truly a small world.

And most importantly... here he is baptizing an 11 year old boy in a lake last Saturday! He says it was freezing like you can't believe. This boy's parents have been baptized & going to church for quite some time but wanted to wait until they thought their son was ready before they let him make this commitment. Brian was thrilled to teach him & have the opportunity to baptize him. I have to say that I busted out in tears when the picture came up. I love it!

The missionary is well-

*says his companion is a "lazy butt who won't work very hard" - that was nice

* he was sick with a fever last week, but is okay now-

*he got my package with girl scout samoa cookies in it & nearly had a heart attack he was so happy (we love those babies)

Then added this: I was talking the other day with a member about the gifts that Heavenly Father has given. I love how ever person has been given a gift but not everyone has all the gifts. I was thinking when i was talking with this member because she told me that she didnt have a gift. I realized, because it says that we, obviously, make up the church of Jesus Christ. If we as people make up the church of Christ then each one of us has importance and part of it is because of our gift. God gives gifts to edify and to uplift or help others and to help uplift and edify the church as well. (i hope i´m making sense) What i´m trying to say is that each of you is very important. You have a gift that is important to you and is important for others. I would invite you if you dont know what you gift is to find it and to cultivate it. To make it stronger and more apparent and by doing so you will bless other with you gift. This is in Doctrine and Covenants 46. There is a list of possible gifts that people have and all that. Each of you is important. Salvacion is personal, but with your gifts you can help others to acheive their goal. Even if you don´t realize it.

Having a son as a missionary is proving to be an absolutely amazing experience. It was so hard to see him go- like one of the hardest things I have ever done- but let me tell you the paybacks, their incredible. I love this kid, love my family, love the gospel- I know it's true & that he is doing exactly what his Heavenly Father wants him to do.

Big Day #2

All you younger blogging moms - this blogs for you!

You know all those FHE lessons you've been coloring & working on? All the fighting through church, nursery & general fussiness of kids.

Well - you're pay day is a coming- and yesterday was mine.

Yesterday Brett & I took our daughter to the temple for the first time in preparation for her temple marriage next Friday.

It was a great day.

Kind of like this one.

megan & tony
April 26, 2008
I feel so overwhelmed with joy to know that my children are making good decisions in their lives. I can't wait for the day when we can all be in the temple together.

I hope & pray that day comes.
That will truly be the biggest pay day of all.
I love the temple- I love my family- I am grateful.

*today Brian's last companion elder Cuevos (the bird catcher) called all the way from Santiago, Chile. He is home now & wanted us to know that Elder messer was his last & best companion. He said, your son is a great missionary. This is the missionary who the Mission President told Brian before they met that he was struggling with being obedient to the rules. When Brian met him he walked up, shook his had & said- Hi- I'm Elder Messer. I hear you are having a hard time with the computer & following the rules. I just want you to know I know about it & I follow the rules.
He said they got along great. After the first night- they were walking home, were going to be late, so brian started running. Elder cuevos was huffing & puffing behind brian, when brians said - WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE LATE GETTING HOME.
(when I read this in his email I just about passed out)
Girls could never get away with such a thing!
Anyway a couple of weeks later Brian emailed & said that Elder Cuevos went home & the day he left- he cried.
It was so nice of him to call! Brett got off the phone & felt really bad. He heard the accent & thought someone was pranking us- He kept saying... is this my cousin Mitch? Who is this? Finally it dawned on him- this is one of Brian's companions from Chile!!!!
He said that poor guy probably thought --Americans are so rude.

day 150- the mission

My emotions change from moment to moment when it comes to my missionary. People ask me all the time how I feel about my daughter getting married... I just can't think too deeply about that- I am still thinking of my missionary. I can only wrap my mind around one "loss" or one "gain" depending on how you look at it- at a time. You see, megan left home 3 years ago. She's independent, she's a woman now & she is doing great so I am happy for her. I look at the wedding as a definite gain. But the mission... it's a gain, & a loss, in that I miss him so much sometimes.

"i remember time out with mom and dad was one of my favorite things ever. you all are so lucky, jack hailey chloe and trent, take advantage of the time you have... they´re getting pretty old hahaha. no but for real, we are so blessed to be in the family that we are in and to have the parents we have, i hope you all know that."

The emails are amazing! No kidding... a definite mom & dad pay day for sure. Every week it is so exciting for all of us to hear what he's doing. I think every one of my kids want to be a missionary now. He is having the time of his life- intermingled with very short periods of homesickness.

"so for starters i have probably the funniest story ever... i hope you agree. yesterday in sacrament meeting my comp was giving a talk and everything was all good and the people were listening. he began to give his testimony and got about half way through when the daughter of our mamita here in futrono opened a little fireplace heater thing in the back of the room... well with the luck that we have out jumped a BIRD! haha it began flying frantically the length of the chapel and freaking out. of course chao espiritu santo (bye holy ghost) everyone was busting up. my comp looked back at me with a big smile on his face, i was dying! anyways it did about 3 laps from one end to the other, and flew right past my comps head. it flew down to the other end and was making its way back up to the stand. my companion was standing there stiff as a board as the bird headed straight for his head, it made a slight left turn but my companion was just too fast, he threw his right hand up as if it was nothing and snatched the little sucker out of the air IT WAS AWESOME! he then walked calmly to the door, threw it out into freedom walked back to the pulpit and said, comparto estas cosas en el nombre de jesucristo amen (i say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen)"

Something in me has definitely changed in me these last couple of months. I don't worry about him as much anymore. I just know he is going to be okay. I am sure even more than before that he is in the right place at the right time, doing the right things. I am grateful for that.

i spoke yesterday too, about the life of Jesus Christ. i studied this week and being the same old me finished writing my talk the morning of haha. but it was really cool to study the life of our savior Jesus Christ. i read some in Jesus the Christ, i love that book and found out some different things that i hadnt ever really thought about. i love the story in ... Luke about Christ as a youth in the temple sharing with the people. when his mother finds him she says, why have you treated your father and I like this, we have searched for you sorrowing (something like that) and his response is so awesome, he said, ¨¿por qué me buscabais? ¿no sabíais que en los negocios de mi padre me es necesario estar?¨ something like why did you search, shouldnt you know that i was about my fathers business? i love that, in Jesus the Christ it says something about how it was almost as if Christ was kind of reminding mary of the reason he was there in the first place. i love the way that Christ answers the questions of the people. he was such a great missionary. people ask me questions here and i have no idea what to say sometimes but he always had the right answer to either edify them or shut them up. (i could use the latter sometimes...)heehee

He spends a good deal of time defending or teaching about the United States, about our religion & helping others who are very unfortunate in this life. I am amazed it's been 150 days. It seems like longer- lately the wedding plan are making the time go faster.
I am so grateful right now for so many things. I am blessed. It's a good life.