October 26-first day of snow in Alpine. Brrrr. My flowers are sad.
And it’s not even Halloween yet.
September updates from Elder Brian
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.
Fall Into Reading 2010
It’s time for the Fall into Reading Challenge, although I’m a few days late getting started. October is National Book Month, so I’m starting in celebration of that. The rules: make a list, write a post, and read from September 22 to December 20. Here’s the list from my TBR pile, in no apparent order:
- Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See
- The Serpent’s Children, by Laurence Yep
- Mountain Light, by Laurence Yep
- The Cross-Country Quilters, by Jennifer Chiaverini
- Summer on Blossom Street, by Debbie Macomber
- The Street of a Thousand Blossoms, by Gail Tsukiyama
- Red River, by Lalita Tademy
- Love Comes Softly, by Janette Oke
- The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, byAlan Bradley
- Prayers for Sale, by Sandra Dallas
- Buster Midnight’s Cafe, by Sandra Dallas
- Mississippi Trial, 1955, by Chris Crowe
- The Hourglass Door, by Lisa Mangum
- The Golden Spiral, by Lisa Mangum
Life Changes
Today I was released from the ward calling I have held since 2003. I was released for a few months in late 2006 and then called again in early 2007, so essentially I have been the ward choir director in the Mountainville 3rd Ward for 7 years. For most of that time I had 2, 3, or 4 other callings in addition to choir, but choir has been a constant. It’s a calling that I really love and I am sad to see it go, but with some current health issues that I am experiencing, it was felt by my Bishop that I need a break. I have worked with so many great people during those years and seen so much growth in my fellow musicians that I feel truly blessed. It’s been an emotional day, but I had visits from two families this afternoon with gifts to tell me how much I had influenced them, so I also feel loved.
August updates from Elder Brian
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.