Never thought I had the Skills to Kill!

When we got Brett's e-mail on Wednesday I had no idea what the title meant. He'd attached two pictures, one of which was of a plate of food and I thought perhaps there was a bug in the food.


But no, when you look at the plate of food it's obvious that there's no bug in it. I think he's probably showing us something that he cooked in the crock pot we sent him. So after reading the e-mail for awhile I realized that "kill" means you're the last companion a missionary has before going home from their mission, and that was what Brett meant. Whew!

Brett said that his mission president "trusts me enough to not waste time or end up trunky, but to be able to see Elder Hart through his last days!" He also said that the two other elders that had been in their flat had been transferred, and made it sound like none replaced them.

Brett said that they were teaching an investigator named Michelle. He said "Her name is Michelle and every time I hear that name I think of you Mom! It’s great because I think to myself each time we teach her - if this were my Mom, how much would I want her to have and understand the gospel?"

He also said they're teaching so many good people. He said "The Lord is really blessing us right now! It just goes to show that when you’re humble the Lord can work with you, but when you're stiff-necked ... and let pride run your life you don't seem to reap anything! And I guess in that respect I've learned loads!"

Brett mentioned that they were having lovely 80° weather there, and because it was so nice they could do loads of things. He said that he was going to replace his brake pads on his bike, but assured us that his bike would last for another 13 months. He said "And because its an old mans bike no one will want to steal it. But to be on the safe side I have gotten into a better habit of locking it anywhere and everywhere!"

Here's the other picture Brett sent of their last baptism.

It sounds like he's doing well!

Vacation sounds nice! But baptisms sound better!

Brett said that he's been receiving our postcards that we've sent from our vacation over Spring break. We sent him ones from Niagara Falls, the USAF Museum in Dayton, OH and from the Corning Glass Museum. Hense the title of his post!

Brett said that the past couple of weeks have been good, but hectic. He's had a couple of baptisms recently. This is a picture of Brett and his companion with Tom at his baptism.

Here is a picture of Brett's new bike. He said: "My bike is a gem, she rides real nice!" Hopefully he'll be able to keep this bike until the end of his mission without it being stolen or damaged.

This is a picture of Brett's 20th birthday cake. We sent him a food order from a grocery store in England called Tesco. We were able to pick out some food and have it delivered to Brett's flat. The cake was a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. We also had ice cream delivered.



Brett said that on April 21st they went to a mission conference with all 163 missionaries who are in the England Birmingham mission. Elder M. Russell Ballard spoke to the missionaries about missionary work and how to work more effectively with members. He also talked about convert retention.

Brett also said that he thinks either he or his companion will be transferred next week. They've both been in the area for 7-1/2 months. If he does get transferred we'll be sure to put his new address on his blog.

A New Week

Brett had his bicycle "knicked, pinched, stolen, whatever you want to call it" this past week. He said that he and his companion left their bicycles at a members home where they'd been assured they would be safe. Brett kept having feelings that they should go back and get their bikes - but he kept ignoring those feelings. He said: "I ignored it because I didn't want to be paranoid about my nice new bike, seeing as how my companion's bike was the crappiest bike in the mission." Finally he told his companion that he felt like they needed to go back. His companion suggested that they finish the last five houses and then go back. They arrived at the member's home just in time to see someone riding away with Brett's bike. Now this is the bike that he'd just gotten a new frame for and fixed up. All that work, and now it's gone. And you guessed it, his companion's bike was still there. Of course this means that he needs more money to buy a new bicycle. Ouch!

On a positive note - they have a baptism scheduled for this Saturday, which Brett is very excited about.

As usual, Brett ends saying he's out of time for writing and will answer all of his mom's questions "next week".