Week 20: ¡Feliz Navidad!

Feliz Merry Navidad everybody!!!!!!! I hope you all have the best Christmas ever this year! Christmas on the mission is for sure a different experience, but it has been awesome! Right now iit s about 1 in the afternoon Christmas day here and so far...its been a blast! Last night we spent the night with some other elders and we watched fireworks all night! People were going crazy here and I saw some of the best fireworks ever! And to top it all off...Ill be skyping the family very soon and then will be going to the beach afterwords.

 Its a good day here in Uruguay{: My first Christmas here as a missionary I have learned a lot about what Christmas really IS. It really is just about enjoying this time, spending it with those you love, and remembering our Savior Jesus Christ. His perfect life that He lived for us so that we might have joy. Something that I have put a lot of thought into since being a missionary is the Christ-like attribute of charity. As missionaries we are told by everybody to "love the people". It is something you must do in order to be a good servant of Jesus Christ by all means...but I have definitely learned that it's so much more than just for missionaries.

 In 1st Corinthians chapter 13, Paul speaks perfectly on the concept of charity. You can be absolutely perfect in every aspect in life...but if you do not have the pure love of Christ within in your heart for every one of Gods children, "You are nothing". I pray constantly for God to open my heart to love the people of Uruguay more everyday. I would challenge you also...to pray for God to open your heart more everyday, to those people around you at home. To love your neighbors more perfectly, to love your classmates, your co workers, and even the strangers you see everyday...and to do it because it is what Christ would do. 

We all celebrate Christmas, and then in about a week we all make goals about what we want to do better in our lives. I honestly believe that having Charity in your heart for every single person should be each of our number one goal. Christ said the 2nd most important commandment is to love thy neighbor as thyself, only after the most important commandment of loving thy God with all thy heart. I think we can all trust the most perfect example this world has ever seen...on what we should focus our lives on. I truly believe that if you do not have the pure love of Chirst in your heart, then you will never come to taste the true Joy and Happiness that God is waiting to bless you with. You will find happiness for a season, but it will go away. 

I love this time of year more than any other because we have the time to truly refocus ourselves and what we need to do better to be more Chirst-like in our lives. I love you all so much. I truly hope and have prayed that you all find joy in your hearts this Christmas season and that it'll last throughout the year. I hope we can all learn better to have more love in our hearts for those around us. "Love the people." Its not just for the missionaries(: ¡Espero que ustedes tegan una feliz navidad!

Christmas breakfast with all the Missionaries!

 

Week 19: ¡Què calor!

Comò andan everybody!? Hope yall are enjoying the nice snow back home in the States! The weather here is really now starting to heat up, and sadly only going to get hotter from here...but this week was great! 

It was the first week with my new companion, Elder Brunelli. He is a great guy!  He's from Brazil, but is actually Italian. Kinda cool, I think haha!! He speaks 5 different languages! We are working great together and continuing the good work thats going on here in Delta Del Tigre.  This past week we planned our baptism for Maria Rosa for this Saturday! She is all set to go and shes so excited! She asked me to baptize her...and that was one of the greatest feelings I've ever felt in my life. Im so excited and happy to be a part of her baptism into The Church of Jesus Christ. She really has so much faith! We taught her the Word Of Wisdom and she didn't have any problems with it other than she drinks a little coffee. As soon as we taught her that coffee is against this commandment, she told us she's not going to be drinking it anymore!  It was really inspiriational for me. I wish sometimes I had that kind of faith...to never even question something and just to do it because we are suppose to! 

The work is really going great here! We are going to be doing some fun Christmas activities here this week and also we have a mission conference that Im really excited for.  It is the perfect time to invite a friend or neighbor to church this week, it is La Navidad and we only have it for one reason...to celebrate the birth of The Savior of the World! I love you all and hope you have a great week and a Merry Chirstmas! And also, shoutout to my Mom and Joe for the wedding!! Congrats!! Ciao! 

Eating & Living Well at the End of Year Asado

Braxton with his new companion Elder Brunelli from Brazil 

End of the Year Asada

Braxton is happy he was able to stay in Delta del Tigre for another transfer! 

Week 18: ¡El Templo y Cambios!

Hola todos! Comò le va?! Espero que todo bien! I hope you all had a great week! This week was awesome for us down here in Delta Del Tigre! First off like to thank everyone who sent some birthday emails to me (thanks mom for the Instagram post reminding everyone)! The birthday in the mission field was a good one! Two different families in our Branch were super kind to make a cake for me that day, so we were eating pretty good this past week to say the least! We also received news of our cambios! My companion is off to Salto as a Zone Leader, and Ill be staying here in Delta for another change with the Elder Bruneli! I dont yet know him, but he is from Brazil! Im super excited to move onto my second companion in the mission field and have more experiences! 

This past week we were able to go the the temple to do baptisms for the dead. It was such an awesome experience. We went with Sebastian and Christian (who were baptized a few weeks ago) and also our Ward Mission Leader and our Branch President. We went Thursday morning and it really was just one of the best days ever. I can honestly say I just felt pure joy as we were able to do temple work for those who have past on to give them the chance to accept this gospel. Doing the work on both sides of the veil...and for it to be Christian and Sebastians first time to the temple, it made it that much better. Afterwards we knocked on President Olsens door and he came out and he greeted us and talked and took some pictures with all of us! That was so cool for the guys who came with us to meet him. Temple work is such a cool thing, I know it may seem strange to someone who is not familiar with it...but it really is the most amazing thing you can do. To give someone who never had the chance to hear this gospel the opportunity to accept it and have their work done for them.

 I love you all and hope you each take the chance to go to the temple whenever you possibly can!!! Have a great week! 

Braxton doing a little service out in the mission field.

Brax has gained quite an appreciation for the beautiful scenery in Uruguay.

Getting a little festive with the Santa Hat we sent in his Birthday package! 

Braxton and Christian at the temple this week.

Braxton with Sebastian at the temple this week. 

Van ride on the way to the temple.  This was Christian & Sebastians first
time going thru the temple. 

Zone picture in preparation for transfers this week. 

More Zone pictures....prior to the transfer this week.

The Elders with some of the members this week.
Elder Smyers is getting transferred so these are goodbye pics! 

More pics with members

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Week 17 !¿deciembre ya?!

Hola todo! Hope ya'll are doing great back in the US with all that snow! Feliz Navidad everyone! I hope ya'll spread the good chirstmas cheer with everyone these next few weeks! 

This email might be a little shorter so Im sorry about that, but I dont have much time. I just want to share a spirtual enlightment the Holy Ghost impressed upon my mind this week. Every Pday when I go home from writing I go across this bridge right when the sun is going down. Normally Im working at this time so I never see the sunset, but every week I see it and it is so gosh dang pretty. I always look around at the people and none of them even glance at it. I always think "how the heck are these people not seeing this amazing thing right in front of them?...they must take it for granted!"...and then the Spirit did a wonder upon me. I thought the exact same thought with us members of the church and the góspel that we have in our lives. I think we often take for granted the blessings we receive from this góspel. Other people sometimes see the Light within the eyes of a member of the church and think its amazing, but as members we don't always recongize that. We have gotten too used to it. Just like these Uruguayans and these amazing sunsets over the wáter.

 I hope you all take a moment, this Christmas season and just reflect on the amazingness of the restored góspel of Jesus Christ you have in your life and if you don't have it in your life, I invite you to accept it as apart of your life. As a servant of Jesus Christ, I testify it WILL change your life for the better, if you let it. I love you all! Have a great week! 

View of the town Braxton lives in now 

~ La Barra 

Week 16: ¡Milagros milagros y màs milagros!


Hola everybody! Hope yall are doing great. It has been a great week here in Uruguay! First off,  I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving! I hope you all thought about all that you're grateful for haha!  Elder Smyers and I didnt even remember it was Thanksgiving until about 7pm that night...but then when we got home we ordered a nice pizza and a pepsi, so we celebrated real nice.

Im grateful for all of you guys and your love and support for me and all the missionaries out in the world! We need your prayers everyday. But this week I think someone must've prayed real hard for me and my comp because we had some exìto! We found a couple people who are already preparing for baptism! One of them is named Ana, and the story with her is awesome. So a few days ago we were walking past a house and a little kid ran out and yelled at us, "Hey my mom has one of your guys' books!"...obviously, as a missionary, if you hear that you are going straight to that kids house and talk to whoever is in there. So we did, but his mom wasn't there, so they told us to come back another time. On Sunday night we went and found the mom and started talking to her. She already had her Book of Mormon sitting out when we got there. She said she's had the book for a year now, and she reads it almost every night just by herself! You can imagine what our reactions to that were like.  She said the missionaries that gave it to her didn't teach her much and were really hard to understand, and then eventually they just stopped coming to her. Not sure what happened there.. but at least we have found this lady now! We asked her if the Book of Mormon is true, and she was like "Claro!" which is like saying, well yeah! Haha that was just awesome to hear and then she was so happy when we asked her to be baptized. Man was that just awesome!! It was a miracle to say the least. We're going to be teaching her more this week, and she should hopefully get baptized sometime in December...if things go well! 

I know that your prayers and love for us missionaries truly help us see miracles in the Lords work everyday! So thank you for everything! Im grateful for all of you and love and miss you! Have a great week!! ¡nos vemos!

Braxton and Elder Smyers enjoying their own Thanksgiving this past week! Pizza and Pepsi! 

Week 15:  ¡Elder Gong vino!

Holaaaa hola everybody! Hope all is going well and that christmas is coming well for everyone! Christmas is for sure different here, as it is in the summer and super hot during december.  This past week was a great one! We had another Apostle come talk to us here in Uruguay! Elder Gong, and he is amazing. He gave such a great talk. He talked to us about why we are in Uruguay right now. 

As missionaries, you are called to the place you are supposed to serve for several different reasons. All of it is designed to help you become the person you are meant to become and to help the people you are suppose to help and talk to and teach.  He also talked to us about "speaking other peoples languages" (no, not just spanish) Haha he meant to speak to people about what matters to them. You can show your love for people just the way you converse with them.  As missionaries it's very important to talk to people about what makes them happy. I think its very important for everyone to speak in that way. If you want to show someone you love them, just talk to them and show your love for them by listening to them.  I think the greatest problem with communication in the world today is that we listen to reply, we dont listen to people to understand them. Just conversations with people seems like a very simple thing that we probably don't think twice about usually....but if you really try to take the time to understand someone you could change their life without even realzing it.  

Elder Gong shared a story where that happened when he was talking to a lady just about art...and after the conversation she broke down in tears because she said she felt like the loneliest person in the world and that she could feel Elder Gongs love for her. We never know when we can change someones world, just by choosing to talk and understand them! I love you all and miss ya tons, but life is going good here in Uruguay! Have a great week and take the time to understand someone!!

Beautiful sunset near the bridge in Delta Del Tigre.  Braxton said he could stare at this sunset all day...it is so beautiful!

P-Day Activity with his Zone today! 

A little Water Balloon Volleyball for Pday today! 

Week 14: Las pruebas que tenemos


Hola hola everybody! Hope everyone is having a great week! La vida de un Uruguayo es bien.¡La oportunidad ser un misionero en la obra del señor durante esta época es buenaso! Lots of things are happening in the work right now. This week was a good one, and to cap it off, tomorrow we are having a conference with Elder Gong! Right after that we are having a multi misión conference with the Montevideo misión! Its gonna make for an awesome day! 

This past week was really good. We found some great people and are making some good progress with some. One person I would like to talk about today is Maria Rosa. She is a 70 year old lady who is just awesome. She has lived through some insanely difficult trials in her life. Just to name a few, she was abanded as a newborn and grew up living with nuns, her husband abused her, she has had one child die, and another child with cáncer. This lady has been through it all let me tell ya...but her attitude was perfect about it all. Most people say "why me?" when things like that happen to them...it's just natural human instict to do it, but Maria Rosa is the exact opposite! She has the mindset of, "why not me?!!" She said if other people have had to go through difficult things in their life, why wouldn't she have to too? She also repeatedly mentioned how she was able to survive it all only through Jesus Christ. Man she is awesome! Maria Rosa will be getting baptized on the first day of December and I cant wait for it! I thought about her a lot over the past few days and in personal study I read some awesome scriptures that pertain to trials that we face while in this life. First one is Helaman 3:34-35. The people in these verses were beginning to get persecuted for being followers of Christ. They were much like Maria Rosa. In verse 35 it says they just increased their faith and humbled themselves before the Lord even more and for that they were blessed with joy and comfort. 

This is the same for everyone when we have trials in our lives. God gives us trials to make us better and it is also a test, to see how we react to see if He can trust us to be His true disciples. We learn in 2 Nephi 26:23-24, that The Lord never does anything in the world save it be for the BENEFIT OF THE WORLD.  Because He loves the world, and each of us living in it, everything we go through in this life is only for our benefit, even if it doesn't seem like it is. Gods way is always higher than our way! I am thankful for the trials I have in my life, because they have made me stronger than before. I am trying to learn more everyday to thank God for the difficulties I have in my life. I love you all, have a great week! 

Braxton and Elder Smyers enjoying some churros filled with dulce de leche. 

The Elders playing a little soccer with some of the youth in their branch. 

Dogs are EVERYWHERE in Uruguay! Braxton said this dog is always on the roof barking at them! 

 

Week #13: ¡Halloween en Uruguay!

Hola hola everybody! Hope things are going well for everyone back home. Things are going great here in Delta Del Tigre baby! I had my first Halloween here and it was sweet! Lots of kids running around truco o dulce -ing here! Haha it was nice to see just some kids running around doing that, reminded me a little of home and brought a smile to my face! It was a great week here as far as the work goes. We have some seriously awesome people we are teaching right now. We are hoping they all progress really well in the coming weeks. So many of them are just so interested in the Book of Mormon, and its so fun and awesome to teach them about it and help them understand what the Book of Mormon really is. My testimony of this book just keeps growing by the day!

A scripture that I really love that Id like to share with ya'll this week is John 14:27 (might be wrong on the verse sorry) but it is Christ talking about the peace He gives each of us. "My peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you." Thats from memory so it might be wrong haha, but I really love what the Savior was teaching in this moment. We can all find peace in Christ. You might think you can find peace from the wordly things of society, but none of them will ever give you peace like the Savior can. Life is tough, dont make it harder by not taking what Christ is offering you! Jesus Christ performed the Atonement so that we can all rely on Him and come unto Him! He has descendth below them all, no one is out of reach of His arms. I love you all tons and miss ya. I hope you each have a great week! Ciao ciao!!!

Braxton's newest "convert" ;)

Halloween is a bit more gruesome in Uruguay...Braxton posing with a random fake 'dead body'. 

Braxton and Elder Smyers with the Hermanas heading to church on Sunday. 

The Elders with some of the "jovenes" (young men) in their ward.