Week Fifty Five!

Hola! 

Well this week was pretty eventful! AKA IPADS!! Yeah they're pretty cool I guess. It has an Area Book app on it that has our Area Book, our planner, the ward list, the callings of the ward, maps. It has FB. Gospel Library with all its stuff so we can download videos or stream them if we have wifi to show investigators. We have the pamphlets on there. Pictures. EVERYTHING A MISSIONARY NEEDS! It's way cool! I'm not using it right now to email because it would kind of take a while. I'm not used to it quite yet to do things really fast. I hadn't touched something that technology-ish for like a year! But it'll come fast. Woohoo!

We also have taught Juan a lot this last week! He's accepting everything we're teaching like crazy! It's so cool. Like every lesson with him is a miracle. And he's like our only investigator right now. He talked with his friends that he couldn't keep doing some of the bad things they do  because he's going to be baptized and be a Mormon, and he said when he said that he was completely filled with the Spirit and power! And his friends like totally respected it and said, 'yeah that's awesome that you're standing up for what you believe. It's better to stand for something than to stand for absolutely nothing. This kid's got some amazing stuff ahead of him in the Church, at least that's what me and Rod feel.

But besides that....not much going on! We walk a lot, do a lot of finding, but nothing's come up yet. But something will eventually! We take one miracle at a time. 

Our district's getting along so good! I love the Elders in our district. Me and Rod and Elders Langi and Schenk, and Stanger and Scullin. Great Elders!

Hope all goes well this next week in everyone's lives! Keep on keepin on!

Live Hard,
Love Hard,

Laugh Hard,

Elder Bryson Davies

P.S. Mellow Mushroom!

Week Fifty Four!

Hola!

Yep it's that V-Day again! I remember like it was yesterday....sitting in the MTC with a bunch of other Elders....Feb. 14....looks like it's gonna be a repeat this year!

The Olympics look crazy! We've been to a few restaurants that they had them playing, we may or may not have watched some figure skating. We went to a place called Lee Roy Selmons. I got the classic chicken and waffles! Only in Florida. And the rest of the southeast. So good! It came on a plate with a belgian waffle with cinnamon butter on it, mashed potatoes with the fried chicken and corn on top, then you pour the syrup all over it all! So tasty! Nice place. We also went to a place called the Mellow Mushroom, a pizza place, but like....shroomy hippie style! We got a pizza called the Philosopher's Pie. It had like mozzarella, olive oil, garlic, steak, artichoke hearts, a special olive, and mushrooms and was on whole wheat crust! So good again! We're going to all the good restaurants that are only here. 

Juan is progressing! Came to church yesterday and loved it! He's getting baptized the 22nd of February! He's already reading from the BoM way fast and loving it. He's beginning to feel the Spirit more and he realizes it and is excited to have it always with him and he's way excited to even get the Priesthood one day! This is so awesome.

Oh yeah.............WE GET IPADS TOMORROW!

Hope all goes well this week! Enjoy your trip!

Live Hard,
Love Hard,

Laugh Hard,

Elder Bryson Davies

Week Fifty Three!

Hola!

Well well well. Those Broncos got DESTROYED. There's no way that any missionary in this country didn't hear about that game. And also have everything fall through because who wants the missionaries in their house when the Superbowl's on!? Nobody apparently. Still pretty fun night, spent some time with the English Elders because they too had everything fall through! 

So I'm not moving till March 1st. We went to check out the new place and it's pretty nice. It's called the Grand Oasis or something. We'll be living with two of the English Elders here which'll be way fun! We see all the English guys, there's four of them, like everyday because we're the only ones with full car so we give them rides to places a lot of the time. 

So this last week was pretty good. Lots of things going on. We had a Zone Conference on Wednesday where we got trained on how to find better. We're starting to do a lot of street contacting. And using the pamphlets as visual references with the pictures, also to prepare us to use Ipads (which started coming in and they're gonna start a "roll out process" next week!). Because turns out people remember pics better than our words! Which makes sense. I am a visual learner too. I'll remember a movie a ton more than a book I read. So that's what is going on with new programs and such. And there was a regional training for Ward Councils by Elder Perry that got transmitted everywhere around here from Orlando on how Ward Councils are going to function now and how they're going to focus a ton more on Missionary work to better Hasten the Work and work in unity with the missionaries. So that'll be cool to see how that changes!

Being out over a year is crazy! I feel old in the mission. And experienced, which is nice. I actually know what I'm doing and I can handle a lot of different situations. I'm pretty skilled I guess you could say. :)

So miracle time! Hard work and patience pays off! We received a call from a member on Saturday about a referral of his nephew that wanted to know about Jesus Christ. His name is Juan and he's 17. So we had nothing really better going on so we straight went and contacted him right then. We got there and he's like holy cow you guys are fast! Ha ha but we set up a time to see him yesterday. So we go and we sit down in his garage to talk to him. He lives with his Grandparents because he was having some issues with his mom and step dad. So he wanted to learn more about Christ, he felt it was time he needed religion in his life and he wanted to fill the empty part of his heart....HOLY COW! We were like speechless! So we do some How to Begin Teaching (if you read PMG you should know what that is!) and taught him L.1 (the restoration). And he loved it! And he was like so excited to start the BoM! I've never met anyone more prepared or mature than this 17 year old kid! It was insane! We even mentioned that after baptism (which he agreed to!!!) we receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost as our constant guide and he's like 'yeah that's my goal is to have Him guiding me and telling me what I should do with my life'....!!! Jeepers creepers!! It was so cool! And he's down to come to church and to come to Mutual and everything! The church is true. 

So yeah that's my miracle for the week.

OH! We straight up did a pizza eating challenge here in Tampa! And we.........FAILED MISERABLY. It was a very depressing day. 28 inch cheese pizza. Under 1 hour. Me and Rod tried our hardest and Elders Schenk and Langi were cheering us on, but we couldn't do it. It was bad. We got close though! A few Elders have done it in the past. I'll send pics. It was crazy.

Hope all is well! Enjoy the week to the best that you can! Notice the miracles!

Live Hard,
Love Hard,
Laugh Hard,

Elder Bryson Davies

Week Fifty Two!

Hola!

 

Well this week has been pretty good! Two weeks ago was rough, but this last week has been a lot better! We did a lot of things, had fun, had my YEAR MARK and worked hard!

 

A lot of stuff happened this week! We had a Regional Stake Conference Saturday and Sunday with like 46 stakes here in the south east USA. It was held in Orlando and broadcasted to all the buildings in Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida I think. Elder Gay (of 70), Sis McConkie (first counselor in general YW pres), Elder Kopischke (70) and Elder Russell M. Nelson spoke at it! It was way cool! The entire conference was on obedience and how Hastening the Work is a prophecy and fulfillment of a prophecy from God given through His prophet. So pretty important. They said that the most important missionary work that you can do is within the walls of your own home. (Elder Hales quote) It was way cool! It was basically a mini GenCon. And the day before, Sat, Elder Kopischke and Elder Thompson (our area 70) were in Brandon so we had a last minute mission conference with like almost all the mission. It wasn't mandatory because it was kinda last minute and it was a 4 hour drive for the Naples people. So we got a little training from them at the Stake Center in Brandon! (like 45 minutes away from Tampa) That was way cool too! Big discussion on obedience. That's like all that we are getting with and Pres. Cusick. OBEDIENCE OBEDIENCE OBEDIENCE. Sis. McConkie quoted Pres. Monson when she said, "The laws and commandments of God are not negotiable." (mostly speaking about Law of Chastity) So it's either we follow ALL the commandments to the best of our ability (the only way to happiness) or we openly rebel (the simple way to spiritual destruction)....that's the message we're getting everyday out here! The Lord is dividing the strong from the weak, the worthy from the unworthy, obedient from rebelious. As long as we're living the ways we know we should, we got nothing to worry about! :)

 

So it's been FREEZING HERE! It's been in the 20's and 30's. That's insane for Florida! But today the sun came out, we got some rain and it's humid. Reminds me of a place I went to last year! Oh wait....that was Bradenton. It's finally to the point where I can say "oh last year when I was...still here in Florida" Everyone's always been saying that. Like New year's everyone's like "oh we did this with our district and zone" I was like "I was at a party!" But not anymore. I was on a mission a year ago!

 

We met a Colombian family this week. We found 6 new investigators! But we show up at this house and this guy we just met tells us to help him put some stuff in a truck and trailer so we do, haven't even told him our names mind you. And then we introduce ourselves (he'd been taught in the past) and he's like alright come with me. So we get in his suburban thingy and drive to a hardware store while he's talking a million miles per hour and sweating and driving crazy and talking on the phone. We get some stuff at the store and go back to his house. He tells us to get in a different truck and we go to a mechanic shop and drop off some tires, walk across the street and get bread, go back to his house and go inside, meet his family, leave blessing, eat the bread, he gives us coffee spread without showing us the container (repented of), and we leave. It was pretty insane! I momentarily got kidnapped by a Colombian. Good times.

 

Hope all stays well! I feel your cold!

 

Live Hard,
Love Hard,

Laugh Hard,

 

Elder Bryson Davies

Oh and i'm probs going to move again before the end of the month! Just fyi...

Oh and Elder Rodriguez is from Springville! He also went to UVU! He's way cool and we get along freaking great!

Week Fifty One!

Hola! 

So yesterday was MLK day so all the libraries were closed, hence the email this day of today. Double P-Day! 

So the work here is going very slow...but that happens. We're trying to stay positive and motivated! It's way hard sometimes, especially when everything falls through. But we're working on it! Like I've been saying, there's a ton of potential, but we just are trying to figure out what to do until that potential gets rolling to stay busy! 

It's my year mark in two days! 

 

The water at the baptism was so nice! I was tempted to "slip" and have to swim back to shore. Didn't happen though...

 

Today's transfers and nothing happened!

Well that's about all I got! Hope Bryan's B-day was fun! Glad that everyone's still alive and kickin! Keep it up! Keep up the awesome missionary work too! 

Live Hard,
Love Hard,

Laugh Hard,

Elder Bryson Davies

Week Fifty!

Hola!

So...we moved! Most time consuming thing ever and we still aren't done. We still have to clean and scrub the other old apartment now. 

New Address:

11500 N. Dale Mabry #1308

Tampa, FL 33618

So there ya go! We should be here for a while. Oh! So we were packing up everything on Tuesday when Elder Casey (AP) gives us a call asking for Elder Fitzner. There was an Elder down south in Imokalee that was a "visa waiter" who was...waiting for his visa to go to Colombia or something, and he got it early! So Elder Fitzner was called to go and take his spot there in three days (last Friday). So it is now only me and Elder Rodriguez! I'm straight up "killing" this guy by myself! He goes home after the next transfer, which starts next week. Transfer calls are on Saturday, but I'm staying here.

So last Saturday was a baptism!! For the Hermanas in our ward, but it's still a baptism! And it was on the beach! And guess who baptized him?? A guy in the ward.....but guess who witnessed and had to enter the water waist high??? Me and Rod! Woohoo!  Got to go in the water and witness a baptism of a solid guy. He's straight up future leader. Way cool guy. It was a way foggy day and right after it poured rain! Blessing? Uh yes.

For us basically the whole last transfer has been laying a foundation, getting to know our area and all the members and establishing relationships and gaining trust and everything. Now in this transfer it's the big push to try to get the giant snowball rolling! But once it gets rolling it's gonna go straight up a million miles per hour! So there's a lot of good stuff ahead, we just have to push very hard to get it started. No baptisms coming up soon, but potential for sure. I get to talk a lot more during lessons since there's only two! So that's way nice. I have a lot more confidence, even though my Spanish is kinda decent right now. 

Elder Rod is trying to eat healthy and make himself look good in the next six weeks before he goes home, so I'm on the ride with him and I'm gonna try to eat a lot more healthier and buy better things, and exercise seriously. We'll start two a days ha ha I don't know! It'll be fun and interesting! 

We had a couple of Facebook lessons this week! A lady straight up told us she only wants to receive the word through Facebook and text...we're like Great! That's what we do! So we share certain things with her whenever we're on and leave commitments for her. She comes to English class on Tuesdays so we can check up and maybe teach in person there. 

Oh and those pics of me on the beach?? I'm a fatty in them! The jeans were way too tight. Fun story! We were prepping for the baptism and I tried to put on my white temple/baptism pants......oops! Turns out...I'M FAT! I couldn't fit in my pants! So we had to wear normal pants....which was totally fine. But yeah! So I'm just gonna starve myself! JK but that's why I'm gonna eat healthier and such this next transfer. Fun stuff missions!

Live Hard,

Love Hard,

Laugh Hard,

Elder Bryson Davies

Week Forty Nine!

Hola!

This week was kind of whatevs. Not too many exciting things going on here. We just are still trying to get to know the area since it's so big! But this last week I've eaten Cuban, Venezuelan, and Colombian food! So that's a difference! Way good. One night we didn't think we were going to eat so I bought a Lil Caesar's pizza and ate the whole thing! We go to a house and they randomly bring out food! And a lot of it! And then we were beyond stuffed. Went to next appointment and THEY fed us too!! Triple dipped! I used Milk of Magnesia (or something like that) later that night. It made the process a lot....smoother.

We're moving tomorrow! Just to let you know! No idea what the new address is! But I'll let you know next week. It's just like 5 miles north so it's more in our area.

Oh yeah we drove around the Buc Stadium on Jan. 1 when the bowl game was going on! We saw the big screen and the score a couple of times. There was so much traffic! They like shut down that whole area around there! Pretty rainy that day. Not too bad. It hasn't rained hard here yet. It was sick! Sports fans for days.

The 17 year old kid, who was working towards baptism, we had to push back his date. Not quite ready. But it's all good! There's so much potential here just ready to explode! We just have to figure out how to uncap it and let it pour out. That's the hard part. And all the people we can only see like once a week. Slowly but surely!

We came to a new library trying it out. So crowded and hardly any time! Last time we come here that's for sure! And the computers are all reserved right after the hour so I gotta hurry scurry!

Have an awesome week! Today we are going to the International Mall to look at all the stuff we can't buy! Woohoo!

Live Hard,

Love Hard,

Laugh Hard,

Elder Bryson Davies