July 30, 2018 – Week 96, I think

Wow, right now I'm very tired. We finally had a zone P-Day after a transfer, and playing soccer and sports after 2 months really tired me out! Also, the sun decided to come out randomly in the middle of winter, and it got kinda hot, and I got a sunburn... So I'm just worn out everywhere! It'll be nice to finish P-Day sitting down for a bit haha.

this week has had its ups and downs. Downs because we weren't able to find a ton of people to teach, and not many people accepted the invitation to be baptized or come to church. BUT it's been a really busy week of meetings and working with other elders as Well, so The downs aren't as big as the ups!

This week was the week of multizone conferences! They were awesome experiences as always! I don't think in all my time in the mission I'Ve had a bad experience in a multizone conference! We also Were able to eat strawberries and cream for dessert, and for lunch we had sandwiches with turkey and ham and LETTUCE! I think here on the mission, we all go through a change. How many times will you see a young man rejoice for seeing lettuce on the table? Change is possible. for all those who think that kids will nevEr grow up to like vegetables, you never know, the mission can change anyone! Haha. The multizone conference also helped me to know what a successful missionary really is. Sometimes we overfocus ourselves on "we haVe to baptize or we are failures" and that's not true! We have to keep progressing and trying our best and feeling the spirit to be a successful missionary! Surely the invitation to be baptized is vital in missionary work, and we must invite EVERYONE to come unto Christ, but if we don't see the results as much as others, we don't have to frustrate ourselves! To God, our direction is more important than the speed we are going. As we continually progress, we will be doing what's right!

Also, I learned a valuable lesson from my zone leadErs this week. I still felt like I wasn't doing al I could, or that I was lacking something this week, and when I was talking with the zone leaders, they let me know something along these lines. "We all aren't perfect. We all have things to improve. Stop focusing on all the things you do wrong and just focus on others." This was some of the best advice I've received on the mission! I've always heard that we should jsut work and work and it'll be the best remedy, but I've never thought about it in this light before! Sometimes we focus a ton on what we aren't doing right, and we forget to focus on what we ARE doing right! I know that as we focus on what we are doing right, and still acknowledge that we have things to improve, we will progress and not feel terrible about it! It's something that's helped me feel good since Thursday night calls with the zone leaders! I've been able to change my view on ministering to others, and I know that this week will be incredible because of it!

We also had some more divisions with the other elders in my district this week, and it was cool to see how they contact and look for new investigators! I always learn from them too!

FELIZ FIESTAS PATRIAS___

Fiestas Patrias was cool because we decided to do a small contacting activity in our sector. We did a second run of the table idea, and we got a table from the church and mved it to the market and set out our Liahonas and copies of the Book of Mormon, and contacting cards, and pamphlets, and tried to greet everyone! We didn't have as many people stop by like when we did it in the Cerro San Cristobal, but we at least were able to reach out to a few people who were interested! Some were part member families, and others were contacts, and others were less-active members who saw the table and decided to come talk to us! Even if we were able to re-activate a few members from the activity, it will have been worth it! We have a couple contacts that we'll be visiting this week who can progress, so we'll see how it goes!

The overall theme of this letter would be: Focus on Others. I know that as wE focus on others, we will be doing what the Lord would have us do. We must always think "What would the Savior do if He were in my place?" I know that as we keep this thought in our mind, we will become perfected in Christ.

The time here is short, and fast, and precious. I wouldn't trade anything else for the time I've spent here. I can't wait to keep working and bringing others unto Christ! Working until we are just completely tired is what the Savior would do, knowing that each moment is an opportunity to bring souls unto God! As we minister, we may smile a little more, give thanks a little more, hug a little more, visit the needy a little more, give of what we have to those who dont, and eVen more. I leaRned this from a talk given on Sunday. I love this principle. As we minister, we will be focusing on the needs of others.

I hope you all have a great week this week!

Elder Bruner

playing piano at church last pday

with the More Montalban family. Our pensionista and her family

using the little flag lindsay gave to me

a little parade for fiestas patrias

funny pics from the multizone conferences during lunch

a cool set up pic

Table contacting pt 2!

With the Garay family for lunch on saturday!

in front of the church's flag for Fiestas Patrias!

With the Erazo family and Jonathan for lunch on Sunday!

zone pday today! we did little game competitions like free throws, and soccer juggling, and some other fun games!

cool action shot! It's crazy that this church has a court behind it,. seeing it from the street, youd never realize it had a court, let alone a second floor! it takes up a whole city block from front to back here including the court like you see in the pics