Brian

11-2-2010

Miercoles:  Multi zone conference with Elder Zwick!!  It was held in San Clemente, so we got to go on a little roadtrip and it was so fun!  We had to leave pretty early in the morning, but it was fun.  The conference started at nine, but we had to be there at 8.  E. Zwick and his wife met every missionary personally.  While he was meeting everyone, I played piano and it was like for 50 minutes.  Long time.  The conference was so good, and in the middle I played a special musical number, “I Stand All Amazed/Nearer My God to Thee”.  It was really spiritual and it was one of my better arrangements I would have to say.  Way spiritual conference, and I learned a ton.

11-9-2010

Viernes:  Weekly planning as usual and then we went down to Samuel and taught him.  After that we went around and did some stuff in Central but a lot fell through.  Then we took the lonely bike trail back home and we think we were being prowled by a pack of coyotes.

Oh yeah to answer some questions.  Elder Carey’s mission famous “Cinnamon Roll Sunday”.  It really isn’t anything that special just every Sunday I make cinnamon rolls for my companions.  I either make Rhodes Rolls or I just get the Pillsbury, it kind of depends on what I feel like.  So the tradition is wake up and blast Mo Tab and then cook the cinnamon rolls and eat them.  I have done it my whole mission and it is pretty famous now.  In fact the other Elder’s that I live with have adopted it and we enjoy lots of cinnamon rolls.

11-16-2010

I AM GETTING TRANSFERRED!!  Craziness, I was shocked when I found out.  We found out Saturday night that both Elder Colby and I are being whitewashed out of the area.  Even bigger news….I AM GONNA BE A ZONE LEADER!!  What the heck. I feel like I just barely got here to Oceanside, and now I am leaving.  Pretty sad really, especially right before the holidays and everything.  But it is for the best.  I have learned so much here in Oceanside and from all the experiences.  I can definitely say that I have grown a lot as a missionary and I am ready for new and exciting challenges.

11-23-2010

Wow, this has been a whirlwind week.  Alright so the results are…..I am in ESCONDIDO!!!  AGAIN!!  I am in the exact same ward I was in 3 months ago, but I am in a different area.  Some new zones got created, and so my companion and I are both serving for the first time ever, as zone leaders in a spanish area.  So that is super exciting.  It was a shock when he said at transfers that I was going to the Escondido 3rd Ward again.  Wow.  Crazy.

Lunes:  So we got up early in the morning and got ready to go to Zone Conference!!  Yeah, the first week that we are zone leaders, and we have to get a zone conference together.  We gave our training on inspired lesson plans and it pretty much rocked.

10-5-2010

Viernes:  Crazy day!!  So in the morning I got food poisoning, AGAIN!  Boo.  This is the 4th time on my mission.  Sabado:  General Conference!!!  Woot!  It was at the stake center in Carlsbad. … took us over there and the first session didn’t have translation, so I had to translate it.  Whew, that was hard.  Live translation is tricky, especially conference talks because they use such big words.  But I had done a lot of practicing before, so it wasn’t too bad.  And a temple in TIJUANA!!!!!  All the members were freakin’ out!!  It was so exciting!  This is soooo good for the church down here.  We pretty much partied at the stake center all day and watched them all in Spanish.  Gotta love conference.  It was interesting because there are a TON of general authorities that record their own translations.  It was really surprising.

10-12-2010

Sabado:  Still on exchanges.  In the morning we went down to the ocean and taught … a part member family.  We are teaching … who is the husband, and he has a date for the 1st of January.  Then we taught … and then we exchanged back.  Elder Colby and I went over to … a 9 yr old son of a member and we set a date with him for the 13th as well.  We came home early because Elder Colby was really sick and then we had BUNK BEDS!!!!  Hallelujah, we finally have beds and we aren’t sleeping on the floor.  It took 7 weeks, but they came.  YAY!!

10-19-2010

Jueves:  In the morning a TON of things fell through.  And I had some bike problems, so I had to fork out another $70 on bicycle repairs.  Boo.  I got some new tires, and some other work done, and it runs a lot better now.  Then after that we went to this less active, and we gave her a blessing, and then she gave us 6 referrals!!!!  Sweetness.  Viernes:  …we went to one of our focus-15 people, …, because her husband isn’t a member.  After that I got a flat, so I had to repair it and then we did the long bike ride home from the ocean.   Sabado:  In the morning we biked down to visit …  It has been really rainy and stormy since about Thursday (still rainy and stormy today), and so we got really wet riding down.

10-26-2010

Tuesday:  RAIN!!!  Holy cow.  After I wrote ya’ll we went to Carlsbad for interviews.  Big news:  So I talked to President about school, and coming home early to get into school, and he agrees with me, and we have it planned for me to come home in the November transfer next year instead of the January.  So that means that I am only going to have one Christmas away, and only one birthday, but probably two Thanksgivings, but we will see.  So yep.  LOTS OF RAIN!

Some quotes from Brian’s letters:

September 7, 2010

Friday:  Zone Conference!!!  Wow, it was really long since we have had one, since we are only doing it every other transfer.  It was the Cook’s first one and it was amazing!  I played piano for it which was really fun.  It had a lot of emphasis on the prophet Joseph Smith which was cool.  Saturday:  We did a TON of biking.  This area is double the size of my last area with half of the people and triple the hills.  Whew, it is tough.  Monday:  Still on exchanges.  His area is ON the ocean, which was BEAUTIFUL!  Man, it doesn’t get better than that.

September 14, 2010

Thursday:  District Meeting in the morning.  I talked about the power and role of the Book of Mormon in conversion.  I thought that it went really well.  President Cook and the Zone Leaders both came to the meeting.  We are doing it in puro español so that is pretty fun too.  Saturday:  So the big news is that Elder’s….. bike broke.  And because of that we walked.  All day.  It took 2 hours to walk to one appointment and then 2 hours to walk back, and so that took up our entire night.  A lot of walking.  My bike has not had any problems in 4 weeks which is a miracle.  We are gonna keep those prayers coming.

September 21, 2010

Saturday:  Wedding of….!!!!  The service was great and I ended up playing piano for it.  This is the third wedding that I have arranged on my mission.  I am becoming a wedding planner. Sunday:  So we went to church and had 5 investigators!!  Then we went over to the California building to get things set up for the baptism.  We got the font filled (a little on the chilly side), and got everything ready.  The baptism got started late, but it was a great experience.  I baptized….. and I also played/sang.  The arrangement was one of my mine and it was very spiritual.  The whole family showed up to the baptism and it was a powerful experience for everyone.  So exciting!!

September 28, 2010

Wednesday:  Leadership training in Vista!  Great, awesome spiritual experience.  I had to get up at 5:30 to get ready and over to Vista in time for the conference.  It was ALL of the leadership in the entire mission.  We started at 8 and ended at 4:30.  I was asked to perform a musical number, so I played piano.  President was really grateful, and said some really nice things.  Thursday:  Day 2 of Leadership training.  So there are about 60 missionaries that are at this thing, and it was fun to see and hang out for a little bit with all of my friends.  Today it was in Carlsbad.  I was asked to write an arrangment of Come Thou Fount, that Elder Kim was going to perform, so I had to wake up even earlier to write it (4:00) and then we performed it at the conference.  It was really good!  Monday:  BLAZING hot today, 108.  Whew.  And Humid.

Here are some excerpts from recent letters:

8-3-2010

Jueves:  There was another baptism in our ward on Friday, and apparently they asked me to sing, so I wrote an arrangement of “Our Savior’s Love and I Feel My Savior’s Love”.  I always thought those would go good together.  So I had one day to write it, and that is what I did in my little free time.

Domingo:  Well today was a dream.  We had the baptismal service of …  They asked me to baptize all of them, so I did it.  It was pretty crazy, an amazing spiritual experience.  Wow, if ever you feel empowered by the priesthood.  The service itself was very nice.  I also sang for it, my arrangement of I am a child of God, and When I am baptized, and I sang it right before the actual ordinance…The story of [this family] was a miracle, an Ensign article in the making.  They were the stories that you hear about from missionaries and you wonder if it will ever happen to you.  P.S.  I am planning on it happening more throughout my mission :).  They were the golden investigators and now new members of the church.

8-10-2010

Viernes:  We did weekly planning and we went out to [a family] and we taught them about prayer and it was really good.  After that I went on exchanges with…my district leader and we went up to Valley Center which I have never been to before.  It is in the mountains and it is complete country.  The elders live on a chicken farm and they drive a pick-up.  It is great!  We taught some good lessons…

Sabado:  So pretty much I love Valley Center and want to serve up there.  We did service in the morning and we cut beaks off of little chickens.  It was…interesting and really fun.  We did a lot of walking on empty dirt roads and then in the evening we went back over to Escondido.  We met two new investigators…

8-17-2010

Tuesday:  I bought a new suit at the thrift store.  Brand new,  I had to hem it (Mom you would be proud), and it was $11.  Sweet!!  It is a little big around the waist, but just throw a belt on it and cinch it up and you are good.  We went and played volleyball for district activity and then we went over to [a family] and met with them for a little bit.

8-24-2010

So transfer news……I am leaving Escondido.  I was really sad when I found out, but I was kind of expecting it.  My district leader called me on Saturday evening with the news.  Then 20 minutes later, the assistants call.  Never a good thing.  They asked me to be the pianist for the transfer meeting.  Sweet!  Then I got called as Senior Companion.  What?!  Then I am going to be a district leader….WHAT?!?!?  Umm.  Yeah that was a surprise.  I am still in my greenie area!  Gah!!  I don’t know anything!!  So I was stressed out for like 10 minutes and then I got a hold of myself and now I am just excited!  So here in a few hours, I am gonna be going to a completely new area, as a senior companion, as a district leader.  Wow.

8-31-2010

Ok so for the transfer news:  I am serving in Oceanside!!!  Oceanside is beautiful, after the heat of Escondido.  The air is so fresh and the weather is unbeatable.  I am the district leader of a brand new created Oceanside Spanish District…Haha and get this…I am in a full-time bike area.  AGAIN!?!?!  Yep, pretty much I will not have driven a car for a full year after I leave this area.  My bike, is gonna last I hope, I am honestly not sure.

Wednesday:  The bike that [my companion] is using broke down, so now because I am an expert at fixing bikes, we got that fixed.

We received a CD with new pictures of Brian in Escondido, California.

(click on a photo to view them all in a gallery)