Week 23: ¡ESCOGIDOS!

Holaaaaa everybody! How is it going back in the states!? Very weird to think you guys are cold and having snow and all because here I'm just dieing from the heat of the sun here!:) This week was amazing!!! Maybe the most successful week of my mission thus far. 

We found 3 amazing people this week...who all now have a date to be baptized. Alicìa, Eduardo, and Pablo!!! All three are different people from different families and all...but the Lord has placed them each in the path of Elder Brunelli and I, and now we are teaching them. It has brought me a level of happiness I don't think Ive ever known before. 

Last night I was thinking about what each of them have in common...and what brought each of them to find the missionaries in this moment of their lives. Of course the first thing is that God has prepared them for this moment in their lives...to truly have the chance to accept or reject His gospel. But, I realized what each of them have in common is that they each just have the DESIRE!  That is at the start of everything we do in this life...and each of them just have a simple, innocent desire to learn more about their Savior Jesus Christ. 

I think sometimes we think we will find our faith from some miraculous thing that happens in our life, but it hardly, if ever, is like that. The only way we ever find faith in this life, and actually improve and live the life that God has prepared for us, is if we just find the desire to grow closer to him. As a missionary I am doing all I can to "give my will to the Lord". It is a little different for me right now as a full-time missionary...but I would invite everyone, everywhere to do the same. Just do more of what He would do...in every moment, every day. You are either growing closer to, or further from, Jesus Christ. Whether you realize it or not. I know that if we just pray for the desire to grow closer to our Savior, we will find ourselves on the path to a better, happier life. 

We aren't all born with the desire to do the will of God, but it is something that is possible for each and every one of us to have. I hope we can all just DESIRE more to be more Christ-like in our lives everyday. I love you all and hope you are all doing great! 

Braxton and Elder Hamm were on splits together this week.

Amazing picture of Braxton on the bridge they cross everyday from Delta Del Tigre. 

Its mosquito season in Uruguay!! 

A nice meal with his companion, Elder Burnelli.

A beautiful rainbow over the church this week. 

Braxton only sent this picture to Schy...but it was too good not to post! ;) 

Week 22

Hola hola everybody! How is it going? Hope everybody had a great start to their New Year.  It was a great start for us down here in Uruguay. New Years Eve is quite the party here in Uruguay. I have never seen so many fireworks at one time in my life before! We hung out with la Familia Machado the 31st, had some Asado with them and then watched the fireworks at midnight from their roof! (Dont worry we had permission to be out that late;) It was a good time for sure. 

This week Elder Brunelli's back began to feel a lot better...we had to rest for a few days, but now we're back to working full time!!! Man it's a lot more fun to go out and talk to people than it is to stay inside the house all day. We are finding some good people to teach and doing some work again with the people of Delta Del Tigre. 

Something I'd like to share this week is something I learned from a book by Elder Ballard called "When Thou Art Converted". In the beginning of the book Elder Ballard talks about the time Jesus Christ told his chief Apostle, Peter, "When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethen." (Luke 22:32). WOW!...can you imagine that? It must have been sort of a smack in the face for Peter. Peter was Jesus's chief Apostle. He had been next to the Savior during many of His miracles and teachings and sermons. He had been the Saviors right hand man...and Christ just told him that he still isn't converted. I think this must have been a very humbling moment for Peter. I think it might even be the same with us often times, as members of the church.  Maybe we think that we are completely converted, but we can learn from this story that no matter how sure we think we are in this gospel, we always need to be striving more and more to ensure our foundation in this gospel of Jesus Christ. If Christ told one of the most faithful person this world has even seen, that he needs to become converted to this gospel, then I think we all need to take a look at our selves and figure out what we can do to build our foundation more on Jesus Christ. 

This was a very important lesson for me to learn, as now I am truly trying to humble myself more everyday and become more converted to the Savior. I know when we make Jesus Christ the number one focus in our lives, we will see nothing but blessings. I love you all so much and hope you have a great week! ¡Vamos arriba!

Missionary Life in Delta Del Tigre is going good for Braxton! 

Some good 'action shots' of a typical day on the mission. 

A great family in the ward that invited the missionaries over for NYE dinner and fireworks!! 

Week 21: ¡La Navidad y El Año Nuevo!

Comò andan todos! How is it going everybody?!! I hope everyone's Christmas was a great and you're all getting excited for the New Year! It is going great here right now. Christmas was really such a fun one, especially for my first one on the mission. We played some soccer, played cards and uno, talked to our families, and then went to the beach! Never would've thought I'd be going to the beach on a Christmas...but it was a great one! And with tons of fireworks too! 

This week was good.. and a little rough. We started to find some great people in our area...and then Satan always has to get in the way and now Elder Brunelli is having some big time back problems. We weren't able to work the past couple of days because he can't walk, or even stand, without being in some serious pain. So I just ask you all to please keep my companion in your prayers for us...and for the people we are teaching! :) 

I want to wish you all a Happy New Year! Im looking forward to this year! I know it's going to be great! As missionaries we have a big focus on setting goals...and now we get the time to set the Big-Time goals!!!  I think everyone can make a goal of just trying to come closer to Christ. It's not as hard as the world will tell you it is. Everyday just a little by little...and I promise you...you can find the peace, comfort, and happiness that I know we are all looking for in life. I have seen this gospel change peoples lives, and I know there isn't a person on this planet who can't benefit themselves, and their families, by following the teachings of our Savior Jesus Christ. 

Thats all I got for you guys today!! I hope you all have a great start to the New Year! Vamos Arriba che!!

Pictures from all the festivities during the week of Christmas!! 

At the beach, the evening of Christmas.

A short video clip of Braxton speaking Spanish during our call on Christmas

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!