The Latest from Brett - Aug. 12, 2008

We received an email from Brett this morning. He says,

"...the Mission has been going well. We have a baptism this weekend and that is going to be great! There is also going to be a "Feast" afterwards, or at least that's what the person we are baptizing said! The whole family is Irish and they couldn't be a more happy and loving group of people! The Irish are just funny, merry people all the time....although with their red hair they are famous for an awful temper....so that has been rewarding. We have had an awesome referral come to us for a man who is Jamaican and has met with the missionaries before and was really close to being baptized ... but moved and had lost contact with the church for 7 years. He wants badly to get addicted to the Book of Mormon again and wants to go back to church! So all in all, so far we are working with some really great people!"

We also learned that Brett bought some hair clippers to save money on haircuts. We're not sure who is doing the clipping, but it could be interesting.

Also as a reward for achieving the "standard of excellence" for the month, their whole zone got to go to a Nando's for lunch. Apparently they serve some very spicy chicken there.

Two new scriptures Brett likes are 2 Nephi 29:6-10 and Mosiah 2:22-24.

As always, it was great to hear from him and see how he is growing. As he said: "A mission ... will bless you more that you could ever want!"

Well that's England for ya!

Brett e-mailed yesterday and said that the missionary work in Sheldon is “wonderfully tiresome!” He also said that it's been 78-86 degrees and very humid there. He also said something that Michelle discovered on her mission to Costa Rica – why they tell you to bring handkerchiefs. Brett said “it's not for blowing your nose...but rather for wiping off the almost continual sweat that spouts from the top of your forehead, then drips down your face, into your eyes and mouth, then down your front.” Brett said that he's sure he's lost a few pounds in bike riding and sweat! Brett also had his first Zone Conference. They went to Bimbos Farm, Gadfield Elm Chapel, and Herefordshire Beacon. I googled those places and it was fun to see what they looked like. He also got to play dodge ball and table tennis while at Zone Conference.

Happy Tuesday

We got a snail mail letter from Brett on Monday, and an e-mail on Tuesday. What fun! He was able to baptize an eighteen year old girl on July 18th. He was very excited about that. He said that he is in the Sheldon area. He told us that he thinks his companion is Lance Armstrong because he bikes so fast. However, he did say that he managed to keep up with him for about 20 minutes recently so he must be getting stronger. He said that he's sleeping really well at night and that morning comes too quickly. Some "chaps" have already tried to steal his new bike. We're hoping that his lock is as substantial as he thinks it is. He said that he's had proper Shephard's Pie and Yorkshire Pudding and that they're feeding him well. He said " I'm still being good, working hard, and having fun along with that!"

Brett's Mission Plaque

I took pictures of Brett's plaque in the case at church. Unfortunately I didn't do it before they'd taken Eric's down. Oh well!

Missionary Life is The Life!

We got an e-mail from Brett today. He mentions how busy he is, and how hard it is to find time to write letters. He's also discovered that Sundays are not really days of rest. He said that in addition to the 15-20 miles that they usually ride they also add some referrals to stop by on. That means they sometimes hit 25 miles of bike riding on a Sunday.

He also said that he bought bicycle lights because they are required and spray paint so that no one would “nick” his bike. He said “Now I know that you're thinking 'what the heck does nick mean'? Well it means the same thing as pinch, both mean to steal. Theft is a huge problem here and because you live in the city bicycles are prime objects to steal and then sell for drugs or just to use because they are easy to get around on. So we are sanding off the nice stickers on my bike (his brand new bike) and painting it a nasty pastel light green color with random stripes on it. It will be really disgusting and easy to spot if someone steals it.”

He said that missionary work is going well. They have a baptism planned for this Friday. He said that they've been blessed with people to teach for which he's grateful because when they're busy teaching the time flies by.

Brett also said that he was sending us a CD with pictures. When we get it we'll put some of them on the blog as well.

He ends by saying: “I'm being good, I'm working hard, and because of that I'm having fun!”

July 8, 2008

We got a short e-mail from Brett. He said that he didn't have much time and that the e-mail was extremely slow. He and his companion have a baptism, which Brett was excited about and the work seems to be going along well. He did get a new bike. We hope it makes it easier to do his 10-20 miles a day.

Brett's Getting a New Bike

We got an e-mail from Brett on Tuesday, July 1st. He says that he is going to get a new bike. He'd been given one by a member but it was too small for him. He said when he peddled his knees hit his chest. He was going to a large mall in the center of Birmingham called the Bull Ring. He said that we here would be considered posh with our washer and dryer, two cars, and a two car garage. He said that people think he's from NYC when he says he's from New York. He says the missionary work is going well and he's learning to love the people. He also said he appreciates all a good bishop does to help with missionary work. Brett said it was LDS Helping Hands day last Saturday and he dug up stones and all sorts of weeds then large bushes and then he planted new plants for a total of four hours of work!!!! He said it was crazy but not very hot so it was okay!