Week 37: Im training a mexicano!

What is up everybody?! Wow! Its been a crazy week. Been a lot of traveling, and not much sleep for a couple nights, but, aquì estamos! I went down to Montevideo to pick up my ORO (translated to gold, means new missionary), and he's a beast! 

I seriously got one of the best missionaries out there! Elder Cruz is from southern Mexico, from a state called Tabasco. Pretty spicy name, I know. He really came into the mission the way you should...full of energy and ready to share what you believe. Ive honestly probably already learned more things from him, than he has from me. This guy is just ready to talk with people! He loves to tell all the people how much he loves tacos and spicy sauce, its pretty dang hilarious honestly. Although, he's a little depressed that there isn't spicy stuff here in this country whatsoever, but he´ll survive.. hopefully haha!

His attitude and tenacity to share the gospel has been what's impressed me most about him. He has plenty to learn about being a missionary and effective teaching, but that really isn't what is important at the end of the day. The Lord says, "Give me everything you have, and I will turn you into something that you could've never imagined you could be." Elder Cruz will turn into an amazing missionary, because he's just giving everything he's got!

Each of us has this same potential in our lives, whether it be in our jobs, studies, spiritual life, families, sports, whatever it may be...God will truly turn us into something we can't even imagine. I love the story found in Moses 6. It talks about Enoch. He was called to preach to the people, but in verse 31 he said to God "Why hast thou chosen me? For I am but a lad, and the people hate me for my slow speech." The Lord responded and told Enoch to go and do what He had commanded him, and nothing will be able to stop him from fulfilling his calling. In verse 47 we learn that the Enoch became so powerful in speaking that the people could not bear his words, for they were just too powerful! 

I truly can testify of the power that we can receive when we simply just trust God, and give Him our all. I hope you all had a great Easter Weekend, and were able to take a moment to think of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for you. That he truly felt everything you've felt, and that he truly understands you. He is waiting with open arms to receive us, and give us power in the things we never thought could be strong in our lives. I love you all, have a good one!

Braxton, as a new trainer, with his companion,
brand new to the mission field from Mexico, Elder Cruz!! 

Braxton ran into his first convert Sebastian when he was in Montevideo this week!
He is doing awesome and still going strong in the gospel! 

Braxton also rand into Elder Evans this week! He was his comp
in the MTC...and one of his 'best buds' in the mission so far! 

Selfie with Maicol ( a convert they baptized a few months ago)! 

Braxton's District! They are all training right now! 

Braxton and Elder Cruz before going to the temple this week. 

Group selfie of all the new TRAINERS!! 

Week 36: ¡Cambios!

Wow it was a crazy week! I am finishing off my time with my Chileano comp, Elder Seguel, and now Ill get to train a brand new missionary! I'm extremely excited to train an ORO BABY! But at the same time, I am a little nervous, as I will be this guys first impression of the mission haha! Its a good feeling though. It will be awesome to see my new comp grow into the mission and see his adjustment. I will find out who my oro is tomorrow at the Montevideo temple! Its going to be an amazing day for sure!

 Every new missionary goes through a certain phase at the beginning of their mission, Ive thought about this a lot. Some can take it better than others, but I would guess that its a rough change for just about every single missionary. One thing that will be rained down upon you is just HUMILITY. God really enjoys humbling His missionaries as much as possible, is what I've learned as a missionary. In every aspect possible, He will humble you, and especially if you are learning a new language. While its not always fun to get humbled...I really think humility is something so crucial to have, if you want to be even a decent servant of Christ. 

I have a personal belief that no "Christ-like attribute" is more necessary than humility, with exception to charity/love as number 1 on the list. When we humble ourselves, we submit ourselves entirely unto the Lord. We don't tell ourselves that what we think is gonna be the better way, we follow the Spirit in EVERY prompting that we receive. No task, no job, is too low for someone that is humble. 

Christ was the ultimate example of humility. Never once, did Christ put his own will or desire above that of the Fathers. He truly suffered the pains and sins of the world, so that Gods perfect plan could be fulfilled. I am truly coming to understand that without humility, we will never learn what Gods needs us to learn, and therefore we will never reach the potential that God has planned for us. I know that the attribute of humility is a God-like attribute that we must have, if we want to have any chance of becoming like Him. So, we might as well start today. Humbling ourselves in all things, both spiritually and temporally.

 I truly am thankful that God loves me enough, to humble me. Que podamos pedir al Padre el atributo de humildad. Les amo. Que pasen lindo!

A picture from President & Sister Olsen's Facebook page today!
Braxton with his new trainee and companion at the Montevideo Temple

Braxton and Elder Seguel taking in the sites of the Tacuarembo
one last time before the transfer.

Pday service activity! 

Week 35: LA CONFERENCIA GENERAL

Wow! What a dang good weekend! 10 hours of just awesomeness! I hope everyone found time to listen to the words of a Prophet and others from this weekend. General Conference as a missionary really is a special thing, but I know it really can be special for anyone who is listening with the Spirit and desire to learn!

 I saw lots of themes and takeaways from this weekend...probably more than anything, the focus on the family and home! I hope we all take a minute now that we've heard these talks, about how we can strengthen our families and homes. The conference serves us nothing if we don't take time to change ourselves from it and become better! 

One of the talks that I truly loved was from Tad R. Callister. He spoke concerning the Atonement, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us. His analogy was perfect...that a foolish man jumped from an airplane, and as he was in the air, he began to regret it. He began asking the law of Gravity to change for him. He said he was scared, or regretted it, or promised he would never do it again.,,but none of that mattered. The law of Gravity would stay in effect, and he was going to fall to his death. But then he realized his friend had slapped a parachute on his back...he pulled the string and safely fell to the ground unharmed, and the law of Gravity was still intact and had not been broken. It is the same with all of us. There is a law of Heaven, that no unclean thing can stand before God. All of us have erred in our lives, and because of that, we are unworthy to return to our Heavenly Father. But God, being perfectly loving, prepared a plan...a parachute...to save Us. The plan stays intact, we will not stand before God until our sins have been wiped clean from the Atonement of Jesus Christ. And thus, Christ is the mediator for us, and answers the end of the law on our behalf. 

I know the Atonement is real. I have felt it and used in my life...and I have never experienced that kind of happiness from any other source in my life. I would invite everyone to take advantage of the Gift that Christ so painfully gave to Us, so that you may come to taste of the pure joy that comes from repentance. Im so grateful to represent my Savior for two years and carry His name wherever I go and invite others to come unto Him through the power of the Atonement. Que aprovechemos el don de la Expiaciòn.

Braxton with his mission buddies Elder Weed (from Wisconsin)
and Elder Moser (from Arizona).
He captioned this picture "Starstruck thinking about our
lives after General Conference." 

Got caught in quite a rainstorm this week! :) 

   A little graffiti wall from Braxton's favorite futbol team, Penaro
 (a local soccer team in Uruguay)

Braxton and his companion, Elder Seguel. 

Cute dog that was extra friendly with Braxton this week! 

Braxton and Elder Seguel with a kid from the ward.

Axel (a kid Braxton baptized a couple months ago)
 and another kid from the ward. 

Another 'rainstorm' picture! :) 

Zone Picture! 

Week #34 ¡Sois la luz del mundo!

What is going on everybody?!! Hope everyone is doing great back home! Things out here in Tacuarembo are going good. We're coming up on General Conference weekend now and all us missionaries are pretty excited! General Conference weekend is like Christmas for missionaries, haha! 

This past week was another good one. Some good and funny stuff happened here!! Quick funny story that you might get a good laugh at.. Elder Seguel and I were just walking down the road and a house started blasting some good latino music!! I was in a pretty good mood at the moment, so I started to bust out a few little dance moves in the middle of the street in the mid-afternoon, and didn't really think twice about it. Elder Seguel started busting up laughing pretty good, and then I realized there was a family sitting in front of their house behind us that saw me dancing, and they too were busting up laughing! I turned around and just yelled, "Bueno!" and then they laughed some more, and so did I. It was a funny moment!!:) Hopefully that family thinks us missionaries are just normal people now haha! 

Well now I should probably share a spiritual thought with you all. I was talking with Elder Garcia today from Peru. He is such a great missionary, and just barely got here. He was talking to me a little about the scriptures, and brought up John the Baptist. John always said he was not the Christ that was to come, but he was simply a Light to prepare the way for the Savior. Elder Garcia made the analogy that it is the same with us as missionaries, and as members of this church. We can give off a Light to a world in darkness. Elder Garcia also referenced that its like we are the moon. Jesus Christ is the sun, and his light reflects off the moon (us), and shines into the world to give Light. I absolutely loved what he shared with me!! There is darkness all around us...this world is just getting worse, but as followers of Jesus Christ we can give a Light off to this world and be the helping hand to someone in need. 

I hope we all can be that Light in someones world. Have a great week everyone! ¡Que disfruten esta conferencia general! 

Braxton and his companion, Elder Sequel, at Mas Valle Eden on Pday today! 

Beautiful scenery from Valle Eden.

Braxton is diggin Elder Seguels hat! ;) 

A picture of Axel! Braxton baptized Axel a few months ago! 

Week #33: La Eternidad

What is up people?! Man I hope you're all doing great. Things are going pretty well out here. It's starting to get a little cooler during the day, and Im loving it. I hear its heating up over there, so I'm sure we're all happy about the weather we're having right now, haha!  

This week was a good one. One day this week I got to work with an 18 yr. old kid from a different ward for the day while my companion, Elder Seguel, went to Montevideo for a conference with district leaders. Man, that was a fun day! Richard (the youth) is awesome. He's gonna be serving a mission next year, and he reminded me so much of myself just a year ago, when I was preparing to leave for a mission. 

Richard is just that classic kid that everybody likes...we were talking about sports, and video games, and movies...and it was just a fun day. His testimony that he shared with people that we taught that day, was very strong and influencing.  Interestingly enough, after that day I found myself just kind of thinking about our progression in life. From our youth years, to going on a mission, or going to college, and then getting married, having kids, and so forth. Then I began to think about our progression over eternity. I thought about our Father in Heaven. I'm sure He looks down on us and thinks, "Man, if only they knew what they were preparing for right now."

 I started to think about the chance we have to become Gods, as our Heavenly Father is. Many people think we are crazy for believing that we can become as God is...but it wouldn't make sense to be children of God, if we didn't have the chance to become like Him. Every child today in the world, grows up and becomes like his parent...it is the same with us. This life is basically the training grounds for that. We all get tested on a daily basis, and these trials we have and experience, prepare us to become Gods and dwell with our Heavenly Father for eternity. Man, if only we could all understand this concept a little better. To be able to have our perspective on eternity is a hard thing to do when we have rough stuff going on in our lives, but if we can understand that this is just for a moment, and see life as God does, we will be able to take on the challenges of life much easier. 

I truly know that we can become as God is, if we just stick to his commandments and live as His son, Jesus Christ, lived. I love you all and hope you have a great week! Nos vemos! 

Braxton's new District~ He and Elder Seguel and the Hermanas. 

Braxton and his companion with Hermana Lula. 

Braxton and several of the Elders that came to Uruguay the same day. 

A fun ward activity! 

Braxton and his companion with Santiago, an awesome new investigator. 

Interesting sighting of the Statue of LIberty!! 

Knife souvenir 

Armadillo sighting! 

Braxton's first time in Brasil!!! 

Braxton's current diggs! ;) 

Their study area!! 

Some kids playing in the rainwater! 

Braxton and Elder Segal with Martin, a future missionary! 

Love his Star Wars blanket :) 

Week 32: Llamado por Dios

Comó andan todos!? ¡Espero que estén teniendo un buen día! This week was a great one for us here in Tacuarembo! We had a Multi zone conference up in Rivera near the border of Brazil, and I can now officially say I have entered into the country of Brazil and I couldn't be happier! We took some awesome pictures in a plaza right on the border of the two countries with the two flags of Uruguay and Brazil, but the thing that was even better than that was the conference we had with Presidente and Hermana Olsen. 

They spoke about a number of things that day, but they talked to us a little about the new mission president that will be coming to our mission this July. Presidente Dunford, and while I'm very excited to meet a new President and get to know him and his family, I found myself extremely sad, actually, that I'll have to tell President Olsen and his family goodbye soon. At first I was wishing that I'd just have one Mission President for my whole mission, but then I began to realize that President Dunford is the man called to be my mission president for the 2nd half of my mission. It grew my testimony just a little more on the topic of callings by God. 

I know every single Prophet, Apostle, stake president, mission president, bishop, and even down to the deacons quorum president, is truly called by God to serve in that position. I have come to know, without a doubt, that God has a plan for each individual person in this world. There is no such thing as coincidences in this life. Every experience we have is to help us one day reach the point of dwelling with God and Jesus Christ and becoming like them. When we have that eternal perspective in our lives, everything just makes a little more sense. 

Things are going great out here on the mission, I really am loving life and the things I'm learning right now, and the people I talk to everyday. I hope each of you are loving life as well! Have a great week everyone! 

ps. Everyone tell my brother congrats on his engagement!!!!!! 

Braxton with his Zone leader, Elder Weed.

Week #31

What is up everybody! Man I hope you all had a good week, because I sure did. This week was great for finding some new awesome people, and we are also making some great progress with some people we're working with right now.

 One of them, Santiago, is the guy I want to talk about today in my letter. This guy is awesome. We found him a few weeks ago in a rough spot. He doesn't have a job, hardly any money, friends who are a bad influence on him, and to be honest...not a very happy person. But, the one thing he does have is a desire to learn about Jesus Christ. We are working very hard with him to give up tobacco and he's doing a great job, slowly but surely, he's quitting tobacco, and I honestly couldn't be happier for him. 

At first, it was very tough for him to try to give up the tobacco, and then about a week ago, we had a nice long chat with him about the importance of giving up this addiction, so that he can be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. The thing we talked about in this chat with him was that each one of us has to give up something that we love in our lives to become closer to the Savior. For each person it is different. For Santiago, its the tobacco. For me, right now, its giving up my family and friends for 2 years. We each have things that we cling to and don't want to give up, even though we know we should. 

My favorite example of this in the scriptures is the story of Abraham and his son Isaac. Abraham, Im sure, was willing to give up absolutely anything for God. But Im also sure that the only thing in the world that he really didn't want to give up was his son, and that is exactly what God wanted from him. Because God is always going to test us to see what we are willing to give up in order to come nearer unto Him. Its a leap of faith for sure, I can tell you from first hand experience from my mission. It's scary and at times you wonder if its even possible, but God will never ask you to do something that isn't possible. He will always shape the back that He places the burden on. 

I know that if we are like Abraham and just take the leap of faith, and put complete trust in our Heavenly Father, and just give up that thing that is keeping us from a stronger connection with the Spirit, we will be blessed far beyond what we could ever imagine. The blessings typically aren't immediate, but I know without a doubt that they come with time. 

I love what I do everyday, calling people to repentance and asking them to change their lives, because these people are the greatest example to me in what I need to do to be closer to the Savior. I hope we all can give up something this week to be a little bit closer to Him. I love you all and hope this week is the best for you! 

Week #30:  ¡Las Ganas a servir!

How is it going everybody?! I hope things are going great back home! Things are going pretty well here honestly. We recieved changes this week, but I"ll still be staying here in Tacuarembo with my Chileano comp Elder Seguel! We get one more transfer together and were gonna be working like crazy! 

We have some great people who should be getting baptized this change and we are very excited for it all! Something that has repeatedly come into my mind lately as I think about the people Im teaching here, is the desire to follow Jesus Christ. I have thought a lot about the blessings we recieve when we have the desire to follow our Savior. I have come to believe that God truly blesses us for our desires, not our actions. We can grudgingly serve others and do Gods will, but at the end of the day it will profit us nothing. 

Especially as a missionary, I have learned the importance of having the true desire to serve others and serve God. You will never find true happiness if you grudgingly serve. I have  learned for myself that you find more happiness in life when you think of others before yourself. I can promise ya, Im not perfect at that, Im working everyday to think about myself less, but I can testify of the blessings and joy that comes from losing ourselves and just having the desire to help someone else. 

"For God loveth a cheerful giver". We have this life to help others progress and become better people, and I know when we do that we in turn progress ourselves. I love you all and hope you find the desires to serve God and your neighbors! Have a great week!