I am being transferred!

Feb 18, 2013

Dear Dad, 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO GRAMMS! 

It is so cool that you and your mom have the same birthday. 

STORY TIME!

We have lived next to a family in our complex since I have been here. We have tried to teach them, but they have always been super busy. This last couple of times, though, something has clicked. We had a wonderful lesson with them last night, during which we talked about the Book of Mormon and the Holy Ghost and answered their questions. The Spirit was there, and during the course of the discussion, we asked if they had any experiences recognizing the Spirit. The Wife then told us a story about their decision to move into that complex. She told of how they had not really wanted to move there, but they were losing their house, and were looking for a place. The availability date in our complex was too soon, so they were not going to do anything about it. This woman prayed, and she told us that she felt very strongly that she should move her family here. This impression was so strong that she signed the lease without consulting her husband, which is out of character for her. When they moved in, they met the Senior Missionaries who lived next door. (They have since gone home, and we stay in their apartment.) This family recognized that the reason that they moved to this complex is so that they could meet us. We are going to teach them tonight and Invite them to Baptism. 

I love you! You are wonderful. 

I know that Christ Lives! He loves us and wants us to do the best we can. 

Elder Coles

Feb 25, 2013

Dear Family,

Thank you so much for writing me. This has been a wonderful week. 

 I did get my Valentines Package. It was wonderful. I will use the things that you sent me. I really appreciate the letters. 

I am being transferred. To Fresno. It will be a different experience for me. It is going to be interesting. 

The family that lives in our complex is doing well. They are really wonderful, I am going to miss teaching them. 

I had a wonderful experience last night. We were guided by the Spirit 100%. It was a great experience. I really loved it. I realized as I was explaining how to get a testimony, just how strong my own testimony is. We were completely guided. It was a wonderful lesson. 

WEEK AT A GLANCE:

MONDAY- Preparation Day- we played Rugby. I really love it. I don't know how I would feel about it if we didn't play touch.... We also saw a brother in our ward who recently had surgery. He was very appreciative.

TUESDAY- We had District Meeting. It was good. We also found out that we are getting a car. I made an object lesson that I learned from another missionary. It is the Apostasy Cups. It is fun, but I need to work the kinks out to make it the most effective. Later in the day, We taught it to the family in our  complex, and it didn't work super well. 

WEDNESDAY- We had some wonderful lessons, and went out on teamup with brother H.  He is from ID! It was really cool to see a 1A license plate. I really like him. He is a great man. 

THURSDAY- We taught the M  Family. They have Idaho Roots as well. Twin Falls.

FRIDAY- We had weekly planning. We also saw the Reeces. Then, we went out on a teamup with Brother M.

SATURDAY- We saw the Family in our complex, as well as the Marshalls. (He is a WWII Vet from the BHS Class of 1943. You should go to the Library and see the Book case that is there as a memorial) We also ate dinner with the WML

SUNDAY-  We had a wonderful evening. We had several wonderful appointments. It was great. 

Our workouts are great. We run for 20 minutes 4x a day. 

Be sure to thank Colby for me. 

I know that Christ Lives! I know that this is His church and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I know that the Book of Mormon is true!

Love you! 

Elder Coles

January 22, 2013

Dear Family,

This week has been pretty good. We have been working hard and helping others come unto Christ. We are finding a lot of new people, and the Lord used us to find a new family. They fed us dinner. It was really good, they are such a wonderful family. 

WEEK AT A GLANCE:

MONDAY- We had preparation day, then went to dinner at this family's home. (There is a mom and dad and 2 daughters.) The problem is that they are so busy that we can only visit them sporadically. We will pray that they will be able to meet with us more often. After that, we saw a less-active family. They have some health problems, but they are wonderful. She was born in ID! (I took a picture with a cross stitched pillow that they have that has an ID map on it. It was cool). We were able to follow the promptings of the Spirit in helping them. 

 Last, we saw a single brother who is in his 50's he has had a stroke and is very lonely. (From what I understand, his wife left him when he had the stroke. So much for, "In sickness and in health...") He is a very wonderful man. I love him to death. Then, we went to bed.

TUESDAY- We had our final district meeting of the transfer. I Finally got to use the "Hymns Made Easy," That you got me. (I have started carrying it around in my backpack because I never have it when I am around a piano.) It felt so good to actually play a musical instrument at my skill level. (Just above, but it makes me stretch.) It was a really good district meeting. 

  We saw S, she is doing well, and her mom is warming up to the church a little bit. They are working on getting her a home teacher. We are really encouraged. 

 We also saw the Reeces. They are great.

WEDNESDAY- I don't remember. Most of our plans fell through. We had dinner with a wonderful member family. I really feel like I am getting to know the people here. 

THURSDAY- I don't remember either. We were with one of the Zone Leaders because his companion had bronchitis and went to the doctor. We followed up with people we talked to on the street to see if we could teach them. That is hard work, because it never ends. Everytime we talk to someone else it adds another person to the list.... We saw the Marshalls, he lived in Blackfoot, before our house was built. They are wonderful. We also saw some recent converts, and showed them scripturestories.lds.org. Which reminds me, could you send me the Book of Mormon Stories, NT, OT, and DC, stories books? Just ship them to the Mission office. We teach a lot of kids,and it can be difficult to read straight out of the Book of Mormon and have them understand. The Pictures keep them engaged as well. 

FRIDAY- Weekly Planning. We also saw a recent convert and her mom, who is returning to activity. They are awesome! We had a Lightsaber duel with the children of the member we ate with, and saw a recently reactivated member who has served 4 combat tours overseas. 

SATURDAY- We went out to Keyes, and shared a blessing with a family the Lord directed us to. In the Evening we saw the recent converts we saw on Thursday. We got Transfer Calls, and Elder Pace is leaving. He will be going to Visalia. I am sad to see him go, but it will be good for him. He is ready to go. He will be with a missionary who has only been out 3 months, so they will get to rely on the Spirit a lot. I am staying. I am glad, because I finally feel like I have a good relationship with the members. I will be with Elder DeMarco, Elder Fisi'ihoi's first trainee. That will be cool. I am excited.

SUNDAY- Church was amazing! I love church! It is the most wonderful thing ever. (Even when we sing  "If you could Hie to Kolob," and we have investigators there.) We ate dinner with the McDade family. They are wonderful! Their children have such wonderful testimonies. He actually played football for BYU in 1984. He was a linebacker. So, that is pretty cool. It was great when he met Elder Black. 

MONDAY- We were super busy, and the Library was closed. Hence, no email. We get to do it today, though. We also went to an Exotic Pet Store, which was kind of like going to the Zoo. It was cool. They had some really cool fish, and coral and anemones We saw an absolutly wonderful family! They have 5.6 daughters, 4 of whom are baptizable! And they love us! (They are 12-5) It was so awesome to teach them! I am so excited to teach them more. We are truly blessed. 

I did not get my package yet. I am sure it will come soon. 

Snowmobiling sounds super fun. Do you still have oodles of snow up there? It is 65 F today. I didn't wear my jacket. There isn't a cloud in the sky. It is strange, but nice as a missionary. I am glad I didn't go to Siberia. 

I know that Christ Lives! He loves us and wants us to do the best we can. He has given us a prophet to guide us to Him. He has given us the Book of Mormon to convince us of the Restoration and I know that that book is true. I know that we have a prophet on the earth today, just as in times of old.

I love all of you so much. 

Elder Coles

"You aren't those Mormons from Utah that marry like 12 wives are you?"

Oct 1, 2012

Dear Family,

First off, could you take a picture of Oscar so that I can show him to people? (I know that is kind of strange, but people have asked me what my dog looks like, and he is kind of hard to explain...)

This week has been crazy. I have gotten behind on my journal, and I am frantically trying to catch up. It hasn't been going the greatest... but I will get there eventually.

We have an investigator, whom I will call S1. She is 14 and has been preparing to be baptized. Her mom isn't super interested. So, we were at District meeting on Tuesday and they counseled us to get the paperwork signed ASAP so that there would be no hang ups. Her mom told us no. That she did not feel her daughter was ready, but that she wanted the daughter to be baptized. We taught her the first half of the Gospel, then, we left for the day. We prayed that the Lord would help us.

  The next day, we got a text saying that S1's mom was going to let her get baptized. We were ecstatic! The Lord had given us the Miracle we had hoped for! So we went over and taught her the remainder of the Gospel, and the Commandments. (I should probably mention that we had been teaching her for about a week and a half and that she had already read from Alma to 3rd Nephi.... She was praying about the Book of Mormon, and when she came to church she said that she felt at home....) Her mom signed the paperwork and we kept thanking the Lord for this gift. We thought everything was just peachy.....

   We went by the next day to teach her the Restoration. While we were in the beginning of the Lesson, the mom gets home from work. (We were teaching her in their front yard)

The mom then says, "I have a question for you." (She didn't seem too happy, either... RED FLAG)

"OK," We answered.

"You aren't those Mormons from Utah that marry like 12 wives are you?" She demanded.

"No." (We thought she was talking about the FLDS people who got busted in TX a couple of years ago, so we started to explain the difference, but she was not in a very good mood, and didn't want to listen.)

She then said, "We are going to have to put a hold on the Baptism for now. I want to find out more." (Apparently, when she mentioned that her daughter was being baptized, her co-workers went nuts. I can understand her concern, and we were really nervous that she would Google, "The Mormon Church," as the first two or three things that would pop up will be official church sites, followed by "The Truth About Mormons.com". We made every attempt to direct her to mormon.org, where her question could be answered properly. Then,we taught about plural marriage, Kind of. (We just pointed out Jacob 2...) We left.

  The next morning (It is now Saturday, and her date is on the 30th, Sunday), I called the District Leader to tell him he did not have to come to her interview. It rang to their Voicemail, and I proceeded to leave a message. Just as I was about to say, "We are not having the interview," S1 sent us a text that read, "My mom is going to let me be baptized!" I was really thankful. To top it off, the District Leader's Voicemail went haywire and did not record our message. We then felt like we should go over to S1's house to talk to her mom, which we did. (S1 lives with her mom, her twin sister, her older sister, and her older sister's girlfriend. Mom is a heavy smoker who has terminal lung cancer and is a heavy drinker, S1's twin also does not have the same father (I didn't know that was possible... but who knows.)  Point being, the home situation isn't the greatest.) We got there and the Lesbian Sister and the Twin Sister started verbally attacking S1 and telling the mom that S1 was not ready to be baptized. S1's mom defended her, kind of. (To make a long story short, we stood there for about thirty minutes watching, (We didn't know how to leave, it was kind of like when you are at a friend's house and their parents start arguing....) S1 had left and the Sisters and the Mom were sitting there arguing. The Spirit told me to offer to say a prayer, which we did. I ended the prayer.

   Dead Silence.

The Spirit Came back, and we had a pretty good remainder of the day. There were no more flip-flops and S1 was baptized yesterday, on her original date. The Lord was definitely at work here. It was great.

 Elder Pace is doing a great job. He has a very strong Testimony and a strong desire to be obedient. We work really well together, and thus far we are great friends, as well as missonary companions.

We were able to teach the 5th Sunday Lesson on Missionary work. It was pretty good.

I cherish all the memories I have from my mission thus far. The hard times have helped me grow. I want to use this next year the best I can.

Elder Burt already sent me a letter. He is doing great!

I love you!

I Know Christ Lives! He loves each one of us. He wants us to succeed at this life! He Atoned for our sins and pains. I love Him, and I want others to come to the same knowledge that I have.

Elder Coles

Dear Colby,

Thank you for writing me an amazing email! I am so excited to hear from you. Are you still making Lego games?

A day for me consists of:

6:30 AM- Wake up and Exercise (Sorry, I put that in reverse order) (Exercise = Run for 20 Minutes, warm up, cool down, Stretch and Plank (2 Minutes)) for 30 Minutes 7:00 AM-8:00 AM- Shower, Shave, Brush Teeth, Part Hair, Put in Contacts, Get Dressed, Eat Breakfast.

8:00AM-9:00AM- Personal Study

9:00AM-10:00AM- Companionship Study

10:00AM-11:00AM- Additional Hour of Companionship Study for Training

11:00AM-9:00PM- Proselyte (Talk to people, Teach People, Baptize People!) We take an hour for Lunch and an Hour for Dinner.

9:00 PM- 9:30PM- Daily Planning

9:30 PM- 10:30PM- Personal Time

10:30 PM- Lights out

Repeat

I hope I could be of some help. You are awesome!

Tell me some stories about how school is going! What Lego sets have you gotten? What have you built recently? Do you like 5th grade? Most important, How do you feel about Jesus Christ? Have you been reading the Book of Mormon?

I love you Colby. Thank you so much for emailing me. You are an awesome Brother!

I know that CHRIST LIVES! He loves you so much.

Elder Brett Coles

This week was a little crazy.

Dear Family,

 

This week was a little crazy. Trainers drive to Fresno to pick up the new missionaries, and that happens on Thursday. Elder Hardy Left on Tuesday so he could fly out on Wednesday, so I was without a companion for Two whole Days. I got bounced around a little bit. On Tuesday I was with the Zone Leaders and on Wednesday I was with another Elder who is training. His name is Elder Wright, and he is serving in the same city as Elder Fisi'ihoi. (*This was his MTC comp*)  It was cool to see him again and to ask him for advice about training. Which he has done twice.

 

Thank you for those thoughts from Elder Moller. I had been thinking about him a lot... (Only two more!) It really isn't bad to send missionaries home. One simply has to insulate himself from thinking about home too much.

 

On Thursday, we woke up early and made the trip to Fresno. It was a little nerve- wracking. The Assisstants told us that we would be getting our companions in an hour. Then, they made us wait for another hour and a half beyond that. Eventually, I was assigned to Elder Pace. He is from Bountiful, UT, and he is an amazing missionary. He is great. It was interesting, when I was assigned to him, and before, I felt a love for him that I had not felt before. I have a strong desire to help him become the best he can be. I am working on it.

 

I love you.

 

I know that the Gospel of Christ has been restored, and that He Atoned for the Sins of all men. I am thankful for that, and will be for eternity.

 

Elder Coles

 

PS- Thank you for the Birthday wishes from the ward. That was great!

Sept 17, 2012

Sept 17, 2012

Dear Family,

Thank you for all the Birthday wishes! It is really strange that I am in my 20's now! First off, just a few announcements:

President Gelwix recently changed the music policy, we are now only able to listen to LDS artists.

Also, I am pretty sure I am now only allowed to email my immediate family. I appreciate the emails from everyone else, but Letters are great, too! (If you are out of country, (Elder Bennett) You can email my parents somehow and they will print it and Mail it to me.)

I think that is it. 

We had a Zone conference on 9/11 with Elder Golden of the Seventy. It was really great, some of the things that stood out to me were: 

1) When you are following the Spirit, go with the FIRST THOUGHT you recieve. (That Helped me a lot, usually I dismiss the first thought, not realizing that I am dismissing the Spirit!)
2) You do not need to be ashamed of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
3) God Knows your Thoughts, and Satan doesn't (DC 6), but he can make a pretty good guess.
4) Start with common ground, then move to restored truth and testify.
5) The single most difficult word to say in the Gospel is "Nevertheless." (See Luke 22ish. Think Gethsemane)
6) These people mean EVERYTHING to Christ.
7) "Confident Humility" is probably the best definition of Humility I have ever heard.
8) Use "Sweet Boldness"
9) Getting Investigators to Church is Crossing the Rubicon
10) You do not need to become an expert on "Anti" Material. It is inspired by Satan, and it will only destroy you.

 We were able to sing "Homeward Bound," For Zone Conference. It was wonderful! Sister Gelwix invited us to perform it for a mission reunion in 15 years. (I will be 35! Hopefully with kids by that time)  It will be nice when I don't have a "Smog Frog" in my throat anymore...

This week has been pretty crazy since Elder Hardy leaves on Wednesday for Maryland. It is weird to be sending another one home. I hope I don't have to do it again, but if I do, I will do it joyfully, and Work as hard as ever.

We got transfer calls on Saturday and I am not sure who my companion is yet, but he is still in the MTC. I hope I don't ruin him and that I can be humble enough to accept correction from him. ( It is pretty funny, our entire district, with the exception of the missionaries who are being doubled in and the Zone Leaders, is training.) This experience is going to be great, I was able to study this morning with him in mind. It is great to focus on someone other than myself.

Mom, you will be pleased to learn that on Saturday, I practiced the organ. (I was on exchange with the Zone Leaders and he did not feel well. We were at the church anyway because he was interviewing one of our investigators for baptism.) I did not have the "Hymns made easy" that you gave me, but I wish I had. I was talking to a Sister at the baptism who has a Masters in Music, and she said that Adults learn faster anyway. I am putting that on my list when I get home. (You did not fail.) I was excited about that.

For some reason, I am able to type much faster today. That is why you are getting a novel.

I am going to make my cake today. I really appreciate the recipes; I have been running out of ideas. Everything I am thinking of takes too much time.  I marinated some chicken this week, though. It turned out pretty good. Those talks should be great, and I am sure I will be able to listen to most of the music. What I have listened to so far is fine. I really appreciate it. 

 Funny thing is, I was going to try and make overnight pull aparts, but I couldn't find any Rhodes Rolls.

You did send me the recipe for taco filled pasta shells. I appreciate it.

Members are going to feed us my birthday dinner. That should be great. It is kind of funny, though, I don't think any of the members know it is my birthday. (Elder Hardy has been here for 7.5 Months, so they are all concerned about him leaving.) It is OK, though. It is still going to be an awesome day!

I need to work on setting some goals for myself. I never seem to have the time, but I know that is Satan not wanting me to progress. There is a quote about goals in PMG and our potential that is pretty haunting.

Elder Golden used the same example concerning the Law of Gravity.

Thank you for your testimony.

I know that the Jesus is the Christ! He atoned for our sins, and our sorrows. He is the reason I am here today, both spiritually, and, I believe, physically as well. The circumstances of my birth are nothing short of Miraculous. He is mindful of me, and He wants us to succeed.

I love you!

Elder Brett J. Coles