18 months is pretty weird!

Brett's letter this week was great. I can't believe that he's been on his mission for 18 months!

He sent us a couple of pictures. This one is of him and his current companion. His companion is from Switzerland. He has been out one transfer (six weeks) longer than Brett has. Brett said that he's hoping that they'll stay together for another transfer. That would also mean that he will have been in Merthyr Tydfil for six months, but he said that would be OK.


He also sent this picture. It's of a fire on Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes night. You can go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes if you want to find out more about it.

One of the British Mums said that the event takes place almost everywhere. She said that some people have a bonfire and fireworks in their garden, and that there are many public firework displays to go to. She said that whatever they do, they always have bonfire night food - hot dogs, baked potatoes, soup, ginger parkin, cinder toffee and toffee apples. I had to wonder what ginger parkin and cinder toffee were. I'll have to ask Brett sometime.

Brett said this about the picture: "This is a picture of the bonfire behind our house that neighborhood youth did for bonfire night (Guy Fawkes night) on November 5th! The pile of things they were burning was like 25 feet high!"


I'm just glad that that fire wasn't in MY backyard!!!!

Brett said that he's amazed at how much he's learned in the last eighteen months. He said: "Coming out here to England has taught me a lot about bring up children and how it is vital to bring them up, not drag them up. And not to spoil your children. And to actually make them work for the things they actually want (sort of like you did with us as kids). I've learned how important an education is and that now a days you can’t get on without an education! I've learned everything in life that is worthwhile is a lot of work!"

I'd say just that knowledge alone is worth the eighteen months.

He also said that the postal strike has been postponed until after Christmas. So for any of you who'd like to send him a package, go right ahead. We were told to send Christmas packages to the Birmingham mission home because there will be transfers between now and Christmas. That address is on his blog below the address where he's currently serving in Merthyr Tydfil.

Happy Halloween!!!!!

Brett said that he's happy it's going to be Halloween because there is a ward ward "safe" Trunk or Treating activity at the church where he might meet some new friends.

He also said that a family in the ward is taking them to a place called the Great Pit. It's a coal mining museum. He said that they'll get to go down into the shaft with hard hats with the little light on top. Apparently at one time Merthyr Tydfil was the largest coal producing city in the world.

He also said that tomorrow is Zone Conference, so he thought the week would be pretty nice.

Brett said "I've been stoked to learn the piano again! I think I could really stick with it this time. I'm just so sick of singing a capella all the time in different units. If I could learn some songs I could play in church then I could keep on improving from there!"

I told him that I ordered the book Hymns Made Easy from the Birmingham distribution center. They said he should get it in about three weeks. Although I've heard that they're having a postal strike in England so he might not get it as soon as I'd hoped.

I also told him that I'd sent a package. Brett said that his companion really loves wintergreen lifesavers. Apparently they used to have them in Switzerland, but don't any more. He said if I send another package to stick some of those in there for his companion.

Brett ended his letter by saying "I really can not think of anything I need, except if you can find some kind of chav repellent, then that would be nice."

This week has been crazy!!!! But it has been crazy fun!

We got a great letter from Brett today. He said that he is loving being with Elder Burri. He's from Bern, Switzerland. They were in the same District before transfers put them together. He said that he and Elder Burri are co-senior companions. They alternate weeks being the senior companion.

He said that they just found out that their investigator is in another ward's boundaries. So they will be turning him over to other missionaries. He said that he is just glad he's still getting baptized. Brett also said that they have another baptism coming up soon.

We told Brett that we're going to send him a box and asked if there was anything in particular that he wanted or needed. He asked for some American candy. But he said "just not Hershey's waxy chocolate". He assured us that once we'd tried English or European chocolate we'd never like Hershey's again. He also mentioned that one of his recent converts loved Twinkies and that maybe we could send some of those too. He said she thought they were 'lush"!

Brett also said that he's fixed up his bike again and that with any luck "it will now last me until my dying breath as a missionary". He only has 7 months left. Wow, where does the time go?

The Latest from Wales

This week we got a very nice letter from Brett. The work is going well and not surprisingly he's had more bike repairs to make. I guess missionaries not only wear themselves and their clothes out, but also their bikes. It's a good indication that he's working hard. Here's an excerpt from his most recent letter:

"Well, not much else is new. You can always tell when you've hit the later months in your mission because alot of people give up writting to you. Even if you send them letters back I think they just get sick of trying to [write] things down like Twynyrodyn or Wolverhampton or something like that. ... Yeah pretty much my post has completely stopped! Minus Dad but even that has slowed....its okay Dad everybody is doing it!* ... I just think its funny how everyone said eventually your post will stop and people will quit writting you and then you will realize you've been on your mission a really, really long time! And thats kinda what I've realized just lately. I am a really really old missionary in the mission! But thats okay I'm still doing well and I'm not dead [yet]."

(*Dad's disclaimer: I've mailed Brett 49 letters and at least one e-mail in the last year, so it's not as bad as it may seem.)

So come on everyone, if you're reading this post, you have some interest in Brett. And I know your reading here because that hit-counter can't be all web-crawlers. Whaddaya say to sending Brett a note to let him know you're thinking of him. Columbus Day is just around the corner. You could send him a nice post card of the Niña, the Pinta or the Santa Maria! I'm sure he'd be happy just to hear from you. His address (for letters and packages) is always maintained here.

The Bare Necessities of Life

Brett is doing a lot of traveling because his companion is the district leader. They end up making all sorts of trips to other areas of the mission for exchanges, interviews of baptismal candidates, and Zone Conference. All of the travel makes it challenging to stay within his budget. He said that he's beginning to understand why he needs a good education because life is expensive.

Brett also said that he wants to renew his drivers license by mail. Before he left he said he didn't want to worry about it. But now he's reconsidering. He said: "I heard that you have to retake a driving test, and I don't want to do that. It would take me forever to get that done especially since my sense of direction has been demolished since I've been here in the UK driving on the left side of the road!"

Brett also said that they are having a baptism of a 10 year-old boy either on Sunday or next week sometime with a waterside confirmation! He said they are doing the waterside confirmation so as to not postpone it two weeks because of General Conference! He said he's SO excited for that! He also said they have two more potential baptisms coming up.

Brett said that they went to the early church historical sites for his last Zone Conference. He had been there last year, but said it was fun to be with all the other missionaries.

Here are the pictures he sent:

President Ogden and the backs of everyone else's heads :)

The Malvern Hills

Elder Forbes and I on top of a mountain

My Swiss friend Elder Burri

Hello from Wales!

We got a letter from Brett today. It's always great to hear from him.

Once again he is with a companion that will be going home in a month. But Brett is really focused on working hard and continuing to tract.

He also said that his roommate from BYU-I has received his mission call to Auckland, New Zealand and that he was very excited for him.

This p-day is only a half p-day because tomorrow is Zone Conference and they will be going to Gadfeild Elm, Bimbo farm and the place in the Brecon Beacons - the highest point in the land roundabout. It’s where they had a conference in the early days of the church and where they decided to publish the hymnal in Britain! I can tell Brett's been out awhile because this will be his second trip to those places. He went shortly after arriving in Britain in June of 2008.

Brett was glad to see the "back to school" pictures we took of Jared and Lauren the day school started. He was surprised that Lauren had so many of his former middle school teachers. He thinks they are both looking much older than he remembered.

He ended by saying: "Well that’s it for me this week. I'll close mine epistle to you. I know this work is true and I couldn't be more happy doing it! Some days are harder than others. Some days I'm way tired, but it is soooo rewarding either way you go about it!"

Transfers

Okay - well in case you couldn't already figure it out, we had transfers. And since I'm able to write you at this time of day it means I'm not on the coach going to transfers in Birmingham. Soooo I lucked out and get to stay in the blessed town of Merthyr Tydfil for another little while! I'm sending another missionary home though.....I'll be sending Elder Forbes home, so that will be good. Although the one thing I don't like about being with missionaries as they end their mission is the fact that it make you a little bit trunky as well. And then it takes me a little while to figure things out again.

Well I'm glad you are enjoying your time in Utah, that sounds like a fun trip! I had kind of forgotten that Erin was due soooo soon. It's weird how fast time flies. I'm coimming up on my 16 month mark in just a few days! And that is crazy because that means I'll only have 8 months left.

Well today after I'm done e-mailing I'm going to a member hairdresser. He gives the missionaries free haircuts, and since I'm about due for another one I'm going to take advantage of that today!

I've got some pictures for you today! Lucky you!



The first one is one of my district. From the top left across then to the bottom left across: Sister Morris, Elder Forbes (DL), Elder Davis, Elder Nimer (ZL) Sister Winn, Me, Elder Hooper, Elder Wark (ZL). Then the next picture is pretty much the same except crazy! ;)



Well not much else is new. Just remember the next transfers is 6 weeks from today!

Well I'm loving the Welsh hills and the rain. But I'm not too big on the cold, but whatever!

Well I'll leave it at that! Have a fun week!

Love, Brett