Half Way

Hi! I hit my half way mark on Thursday. 9 months. Crazy. It has gone by super fast but super slow at the same time. I cant believe how much I have learned and how much more I have to learn and experience!! I am going to make this half of my mission even better than the first!!

We had a pretty normal week, except for this MIRACLE day I have to tell you about :) We had a lesson with Earnest and when we finished we said, "Okay Earnest, that is all the lessons we have to teach you!" He said, "Okay, when's the baptism?" He is so funny haha he asked if there was going to be chocolate cake there. We are a little worried about the word of wisdom with him, but we fasted on Sunday to show our faith (so hard & scary). We set his baptismal date for July 3 because we were going to set it as July 2 but he doesnt like the number 2 hahaha. Then we finally got in contact with Davion, the 10 year old investigator and he was quiet at first, but then he opened up and he wants to be baptized as well! June 26 for him! Then we went to contact a former investigator and she wasnt home but her mom was so we taught her the 5 minute Restoration lesson and she said she wants to learn more! She speaks Tamil, the same language as Sarada, so we are going to bring her to the lesson! After that we went to see if a former investigator was home, Magnus, and he was!! He is from West Africa, in his 30s. He opened the door and just ranted on and on about how he missed the missionaries and he asked us why we havent been calling him or coming over any more. He said he was trying to get Sundays off so he can come to church. He told us that he knows the Book of Mormon is true and he LOVES reading it. He practically explained the Priesthood to us and said he knows its the authority from God and wants to be baptized. We just stood there with our mouths WIDE open. We couldnt believe what we were hearing. MIRACLE. We have an appointment with him this week! So many miracles. This area is so precious to the Lord, and to us.

Parking is a PAIN

There are SO many fun shops and hole-in-the-wall restaurants.

I am learning the area!

It was cold this week.

I love Sister Taylor.

I had a hard week! I was frustrated and stressed and homesick. It hit me really randomly. I haven't felt like that in a very long time. I was growing and learning in San Lorenzo, but the Lord brought me to Oakland, a new place with new people and new trials so I can learn and grow MORE! We don't progress without challenges.

“Some of you may at times have cried out in your suffering, wondering why our Heavenly Father would allow you to go through whatever trials you are facing. Our mortal life, however, was never meant to be easy or consistently pleasant. Our Heavenly Father knows that we learn and grow and become refined through hard challenges, heartbreaking sorrows, and difficult choices.These trials present us with the real test of our ability to endure."

President Thomas S Monson

I am grateful that the Lord loves me enough to push me. I am grateful for PRAYER. So grateful that I can confide in my Heavenly Father. He is a perfect listener. It is in reading my scriptures and praying that I feel the peace I seek during hard times.

One of my best friends Timmie Bowie is my IDOL. She is serving a mission in Georgia and this was part of her email this week. I had to include it because I could not have said it better myself.

"I definitely recognize I am far from worthy to a servant of Jesus Christ. But I am grateful he is giving me the opportunity anyway. To become better, to learn from my mistakes, and to have humbling experiences that bring my closer with my Savior. How frustrating it must be to work with some as imperfect as I am, but he does it anyway. I hope to learn to emulate Him more fully in everything that I do and say."

I love you. Thank you for your love and support and prayers. I can feel them. They push me and help me to smile even when I'm hurting! I am so lucky to have you. I love being a missionary. I am grateful for this chance to grow.

Love,

Sister Brinton