Brad's Mission

November 26th letter

MY FAMILY!!!

 

How I enjoyed your letters this week! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

 

You are all still very trunky! haha I might even venture to say that you are trunkyer this week than last week! haha Don't worry, I'm still focused 100% on what I am doing here. You've pretty much been trunky since I left so I think the only reason your trunkiness is gratified now is the fact that there really is such a short time left. So your trunky comments are justified! haha

 

Your thanksgiving sounds like it was pretty rad!!

 

WHAT A WEEK IS HAS BEEN

 

I will give you a small preface of what has happened in the past 7 days and then I will expound on my comments.

 

-Elder Hartt and I both baptized and confirmed my favorite little twin girls!! (Max and Beck are my favorite twins. Tessa is my favorite little girl. Jaqueline and Jerissa are my favorite little twin girls)!

-I got to confirm Marisella!

-Thanksgiving was incredible!

-The Spirit is one of the most powerful resources Heavenly Father has given to us

 

Here it goes.

 

We met with Jaqueline and Jerissa on tuesday and got their baptismal interview taken care of. Elder Short, our district leader, gave the interview and commented that he was very impressed at how smart they were and said they were more ready than most the people he has ever interviewed. I would have to agree. So their baptism was set for saturday and we were excited for them! Their family came into town for thanksgiving, their dad, sister Jenny, and Anais. from Arizona. Just as with anyone getting ready for a major step to follow the Lord, there is always opposition. Satan for some reason thinks he's got more power than God and can dissuade the children of men. What a fool. We got a call saturday at 12 in the afternoon from the twins "mom". 4 hours before their baptism. She said to me,"The twins sisters have been asking them questions and they can't answer! That makes us think that they are not ready to be baptized! They are too young! Come over and help them cuz they can't answer these questions!" I knew instantly that something was wrong with this situations because the twins are incredibly smart for their age and can answer anything. We went over as soon as possible. When we got there, there was such a weird feeling about it. Noone was happy. Everyone was very serious and not smiling. The spirit was not there. The twins were scared to death. They looked terrified. Their sister Jenny (19 yrs old. Tattoos. Nose rings. Peace of work) was sitting with them on each side of her with her arm around both of them. We got in and sat down and just asked what was going on. They explained that at breakfast that morning they were all sitting around the table and they asked the twins,"Why are you getting baptized?" The twins didn't want to offend any of their family cuz they are all from different religion, so they didn't answer. The family then began to attack them with questions, raising their voice and arguing. Of course the twins were shocked, they couldn't answer anything. that's when they called us.

We asked if we could say an opening prayer. We did so. The Spirit was right there with Elder Hartt and I. He whispered immideately to us what we needed to do. We just started talking to the twins as if we came over for a normal lesson. We asked,"So what have you guys been reading this week!?" They explained that they had been reading about Nephi building a boat. They recited word for word some of the scripture they had read, and explained the whole story in vivid detail. We asked them questions like,"So what did you like about this story?" They talked about how they loved how Nephi was obedient no matter how hard the trials got. yea...they are wonderful. When then asked them to do the 10 commandments in sign language cuz we always have a lot of fun doing that with them. They did all 10 perfectly. We then told the family,"In just 5 minutes they've done what most of our investigators can't do over a period of months. They interpret scriptures and understand how to apply them and they even remember the 10 commandements. Why aren't they ready for baptism?" They were so caught up that they couldn't answer questions this morning so they brought that up again, to which we said,"Yeah! We probably wouldn't have been able to answer those questions at 8 years old while we're being attacked like that either!" Their "mom" got baptized 3 years ago so we asked,"Sister Zavala, 3 years ago when you were baptized, did you have a perfect knowledge of everything about the gospel?" Ofcourse she didn't. We then read in Moroni about how they "witnessed unto the church that they had truly repented" and explained how the baptism interview is what is being talked about in this scripture. We busted out the 6 baptismal interview questions and asked the twins all of the questions. In a nut shell.

Do you believe in God and Jesus Christ?

Do you believe Joseph Smith restored the church and we have a prophet on the earth today?
What does it mean to repent and do you feel you have repented of your sins?
Have you ever committed a serious crime?

What is the law of chastity, the word of wisdom, the law of tithing, and what does it mean to keep the sabbath day holy?
and

Are you ready to make the covenant of baptism with God and strive to be faithful throughout your life?

They answered every question spot on and perfectly. They made me so proud.

Their antagonist sister asked them after those questions,"So why do you want  to be baptized?" They answered,"Because we want to follow Jesus Christ and make God happy." The sister said,"Are you sure you're ready now? You can wait a couple years?" Then with confidence and with heartfelt expression from just two little 8 year old girls, they told their sister,"We want to be baptized today!"

It was Elder Hartt and I's pleasure to baptize both of them just 3 hours later.

What an example to us. It's just like the scripture that says that even young children will say things that will cause wise men to wonder.

Their sister then actually softened her heart and told them she will support them and that she was happy for them. She also went on to tell us,"Before you guys came here, I was really worried about them getting baptized today because that's such a big commitment, but after you guys being here for even just a little bit I can feel the vibes that you guys bring and it's really nice. I think you guys are great for my sisters." We took that opportunity to bare testify. We said,"Those vibes you feel are not from us. WE don't bring those vibes. It is the Spirit sent from God to testify to your hearts that what we are sharing is true, and that it comes from Him."

It was a bit of an intense experience, but by the time we left everyone was smiling and laughing and we left with the Spirit there in their home.

I testify that the Spirit is real. It is not a scientific effect that we create. It is a member of the Godhead sent to testify of Heavenly Father and the Savior. Noone but God could have changed the mood of that home in just under an hour like we saw that day. All it took was inviting Him to be there, and He was.

The next day they were confirmed! We switched it up for the confirmations. I baptized Jerissa and confirmed Jaqueline. Elder Hartt baptized Jaqueline and confirmed Jerissa.

They were so happy. Their smiles really do light up the world. One day you guys will meet them!

 

I also got to confirm Marisella right after the twins got confirmed! 3 confirmations in one sacrament meeting! haha

Confirming Marisella was very special. There are some investigators that you just have kind of a connection with, and Marisella is one of those. She's an incredible example. She said that she really felt the Spirit strong as she was being confirmed. And her mom Silvia, who speaks no english, said that,"she felt the beauty of the words I said in her confirmation." I told them that they weren't my words. As I've been able to exercise the Priesthood in giving blessings and conferring the priesthood and such, I've come to realize that more and more. The words given in those ordinances are sacred. Anyone who's given a blessing and really just cleared their mind and let the words come out knows that it is not you, it's the Holy Ghost. They are a sweet family. Don't worry you'll meet them as well!

 

We also found 5 new solid investigators this week! 3 of them are getting baptized the 16th of December! haha just 2 days before....well you know!

First 2. Desi and Jorge. Awesome! Both 14, both cousins, both of their parents are either in jail or are rediculous and in gangs. They live with their grandparents in a super rough part of town. They were taught by the spanish sisters, but neither of them speak fluent spanish and they preferred Elders, so they got passed to us! We instantly hit it off with them! We brought a way cool member of the ward and they like him a lot as well! Jorge came to church yesterday for all 3 hours and loved it! They both are really smart when it comes to the gospel! It is incredible to see how the Lord is preparing the youth! It is a testimony builder to me of how the Lord is sending in the "elect" for the last days and is preparing them. They both are excited to be baptized! From the background they come from I'm so stinking impressed with how good of kids they are. They really are soo good. It breaks my heart to see their family situation, but nevertheless, they handle it surprisingly well.

 

The next 2 is Joe and Cellie! We contaced Cellie on the street a couple weeks ago. Joe is in the Army Reserves, and Cellie is Hispanic. They are a little awkward, but very nice and really  intelligent. Elder Hartt and I have been praying since the beginning of October to find a mom and dad with a child. Joe and Cellie are an answer to those prayers. They have a 2 year old named Dellen. We've taught them twice. They are very solid! They're looking for a church, they're Christian, but they think that all the other Christian churches they've gone to are irreverant and crazy. They LOVE everything we've taught them about our church and they told us from the get go,"Mormons are the only religion with no blood on their hands." and they are huge skeptics so for them to say that is big. Joe told us yesterday that he had a cool experience when he was in Utah. This is a testimony of the importance of always being Christ-like. Joe was in Salt Lake, about to walk accross the side-walk, when a truck pulled around the corner and almost hit him, the driver yelled out the window,"I'm Sorry!" as he drove off. Joe told us that that struck him. He said,"What kind of person yells sorry out the window? That never happens! And it just so happened that I was in Salt Lake? I don't think that's much of a coincidence." Such a little thing, yet really impacted him and now look. He has missionaries in his home teaching him the restored gospel! I'm grateful for examples of the church that have planted these seeds for years! He said he was just 17 when that happened! Now look! It's just a testimony builder to "always stand as a witness of God". The Lord knows what he's doing.

 

This is a very long e-mail! haha Are you guys tired of looking at a computer yet?

 

Thanksgiving was awesome!!! We went to this VERY nice, and delicious, restaurant by Angels Stadium called The Catch. They had a special Thanksgiving buffet that wassss theeee boooommmmbbb. SO good. President and Sister Bowen's son and daughter and law came with, Corey and Becca! They are way awesome too! It was such an awesome Thanksgiving! We had such a good time!! We talked and talked and talked and laughed and just really enjoyed each other's company! Something cool happened too. At the end when we were all done, our hostess came up and told us,"Just so you folks know, Mr and Mrs. Hartt have prepaid for your meal today, so everything is taken care of and you can leave when you like!" We were all shocked. Elder Hartt's parents had called in that morning and done like a prepay for the meal without any of use knowing! President and Sister Bowen had no clue and they started crying. Elder Hartt started crying. He told his parents in his e-mail monday we were having dinner with the Bowens but he didn't tell them where. We still have no clue how they found out, but they did! So that was pretty cool! ha we're going to have to go there when we come visit cuz it's awesome!

 

What I'm going to try and do today is get a box for all my crap I've aquired on my mission and send it home so I have room in my suitcases for everything. I have all your Christmas presented ready to go, so there will be a box sent off probably next week or the week after that says,"DO NOT OPEN UNTIL CHRISTMAS" So don't open that one. But all the other ones you can tear into, I don't care, just as long as they make it home I'll be fine. Speaking of which. Chad have you got my stuff from Elder Shaw yet?? My Box and Ukulele? If not I want both of those items for Christmas please! haha just let me know if you have got them yet.

 

Dad. I know this is a trying week for you. Please know that you are still prayed for by missionaries in this mission, all day everyday you are in my prayers. This is your last cliff to climb on this mountain of a trial you've had to bare. I'm so sorry that you have to go through this, but I think you put it best in your e-mail when you talked about how you will be relying heavily upon the Atonement. He's felt every pain, every sickness. Remember how Alma 7 puts it. He suffered all. I love you! And wether or not you are at the airport, it does not matter to me. Honestly. What matters is that I get to see you that day. If you want a miracle to be able to be there, then if it's God's will, so be it. But if not, I will still be coming home the same day to the same family in my same suit with my same little "I'm so holy" missionary glow haha. So don't stress about that. Whatever happens happens, and that will be the way Heavenly Father intends for it to be. So we should be happy with whatever we get! Everything will be fine. It will all be ok. Hang in there Dad!

 

As we begin December this week, let's all really zone in on what this month/season is about. It's not about me coming home, it's not about making sure everything looks good, not about presents. We all know the true meaning. It's nothing new. We celebrate the Saviors birth this month. Let's make it a celebration for Him.

 

I love you guys so much!

I miss you! I'm so excited to see you!

I pray for each of you everyday!

Thanks for everything you do!

HARRAH FOR ISRAEL!!

Love

Elder Keyes