August 27, 2011

Hi Family!

¿Està listo para regresar a casa? That would be are you ready to come home? Good job on the Spanish though mom :D

Wow family, I never thought that this time would come... The last time that I will be writing to you from Peru. This week with elder Anderson was great! I sang in the choir. I sang the base part. It was pretty hard but I loved it. We sang "Joseph Smiths first prayer" Sister Manning had us do some way cool things with it. It was awesome! That was a really good experience.

Last night I had to say goodbye to my companions Elder Hesselgesser and Elder Hola. They went to Ayacucho with President last night at about 4 in the morning. I'm going to miss them a ton! They are great elders and some of my best friends.

While I was listening to Elder Anderson I had the realization that I wouldn`t ever be with a group of missionaries that big as a missionary again. It brought tears to my eyes that this part of my life is coming to an end. I had my final interview with President last night. What a great experience it was for me. I love President Manning and Sister Manning a ton. They have helped me overcome so many difficulties in my mission. I'm so thankful for them.

I know that this is not the end of my mission it's just the next part. I won't be able to work as I am right now, but once a missionary always a missionary. There will be so many opportunities to share the Gospel. Now I will just be in a different role. I know this church is true. I wouldn't trade my mission for anything! It's the best thing that I have ever done in my life. I have lots of shortcomings and problems but I try hard and that's what the lord wants. I am coming to understand the atonement a little bit more. It was explained to me that we will never understand the atonement fully, because the atonement is infinite and we are finite beings. As finite beings we can't understand something that is infinite. We can understand a sense of peace and a sense of guilt therefore knowing when we need to repent. I have come to understand this a little better and I'm so thankful for it. It's the greatest thing that I feel that I have learned on my mission. I'm so thankful for everything that I have experienced on the mission.

It hasn`t been easy, that's for sure. But I would not trade it for anything! I have come to love so many people. I have had so many experiences that I wouldn't trade for anything. Thanks family for everything! I love you all so much! Thanks for all of your support and love through it all. I will see you all very soon! And no I haven`t been trunky mom :D! I love you thanks!

Love Elder B

August 20, 2011

Hi family

Wow have I had one great week! Well in this week we were in Chincha

and Cañete! It was great! While I was in Chincha we were walking

around a corner just trying to find some people to teach, because all

of the appointments had fallen through, and we came upon a family

moving a mountain of bricks to build their house. I offered to help

them and we got to work. In about 45 minutes we had contacted the

family and moved about a thousand bricks from the outside to the

inside. It was a really good experience. The family is great. Their

house fell down when there was an earthquake in 2007 and they are just

barely starting to rebuild. I hope that they accept the gospel.

Then the highlight of the week!!! I went to Mala la Buena again! For the

last time I was able to visit. I had a great experience! We taught

lots of new people and to end the day I was able to visit Arevalo

Villalobos! Wow! I saw him and it was just like seeing an old friend

again. I was so happy to see him. I saw him and his two daughters that

have also been baptized. I love that family. The best thing ever is

that they will be going to the temple on the 10th of September. I'm

going to miss it by a little but it doesn't matter to me. All that

matters is that they go and they´re going worthily. That family makes

my entire mission worth it. Not to mention all the other blessings

that I have received. I love this work and I'm going to miss it. But I

have a list of a lot of people to visit when I get home as well. I have

learned something... being a missionary isn't just for two years, its

for life. It doesn't start when your 19 or 20 its a whole life thing.

I want to keep this in practice for my whole life. I have to live the

example so that they recognize the importance of the gospel.

Well family, I don't have much time left to write but I love you a ton! I

think that I will be writing again on Saturday. On Wednesday we have

Elder Anderson visiting. I get to sing in the choir! Its going to be

fun. I love the mission. There are so many life changing experiences

that happen. On Friday night I will have my last interview with

President Manning. I'm sad about it, but I know that there is something else

for me to do. Thanks family for everything. I love you!

Love Elder Bearnson

August 15, 2011

Hi Family!

Wow sounds like you are all having quite the time! This has been quite the week for me and my companion! On Monday we went to Nazca. It's the most southern part of the mission and it's in the middle of the desert. It took about 8 hours on a bus to get there. That night I stayed with Elder Cook and Elder Iturralde. The next day we went to a place called Marcona. It's a small mining town about an hour from Nazca. The town looks kinda like a concentration camp... it's all housing that is built by the mine for the miners and their families. All the houses are the same and they are painted the same. It's just big block housing. I was with Elder Rojas and Elder Thompson. That was a really good experience.

Then the next day we went back to Nazca and I spent the day with Elder Martinez and Elder Inuma. They are great zone leaders and are doing wonders for Nazca. That night we went about three hours in a bus north to a place called Ica. We had a multi-zone conference with Nazca, Ica and Pisco. President met up with us there and we watched a video from Elder Holland that was great. I had seen it before with President but this was the first time that the whole mission was going to be able to see it. After the conference I went with Elder Housely and Elder Coico. That was a great day. The next day I was with the zone leaders Elder Jara and Elder Martinez (a different Martinez). Then Saturday I went with Elder Lutin and Elder Romero in Pisco. Yesterday I went with Elder Tellez and Elder Delgado.

It has been a long but very good week. I have really liked being able to be with all the missionaries. I'm really, really tired but we are going to sleep today! It's our preparation day! I have met so many people in this week that are just down right wonderful people. I love the Peruvian people, they really are great. They are quirky and funny but they are good people. I love the mission. We didn't go home like we had planned to on Saturday. We changed the plan and we got a couple of more visits in. It was good. We will be getting home on Saturday morning. I'm going to get to visit Mala this week! YES! I love Mala! Someday I'm going to bring you all here.

It has been a great blessing to extend my mission and be here for a little while longer. The visits are helping me to stay focused on what I'm here to do. I love it! On the 24th this month Elder Anderson from the twelve will be here to speak to us and two other missions. It's going to be a great experience. Family, I love you so much! Thanks for everything that you do for me and every other good thing that you do for people. Wow mom I'm pretty excited that the people from dads office will be there to hear me speak. I'm going to need to receive lots of revelation to be able to say the right words. Do you know what my topic is? or how does that work .

Family I love you! Thanks for everything. I think I'll be writing again on Saturday. Thanks Fam I love you!

Elder Bearnson

August 6, 2011

Hey Fam!

Sounds like everything is going well at home! Sounds like Zach has gotten into things. Is he doing sports this year?

I love the mission. I love working here. We just got done with change week. It was pretty crazy as always. This is how it goes more or less. We finished the changes with President on Friday night. On Saturday my companion and I made all of the plans that the elders need to travel. There were about 50 missionaries moving places this change. We have to coordinate all of their movements and make sure that they get to where they need to be. That takes a while. Then on Saturday we call everyone and we announce their changes and what they need to do. On Sunday we go to church and then all of the elders that are going to Ayacucho get here in the night. Then they leave so that they can make it to Ayacucho by the morning. They go all night on a bus. Then in the morning we go to a Capilla that's pretty central and everyone comes... then we send them off to buses or with their new companion or whatever it is that they need to do. Then when they leave we go to the office. All the elders from the south that are coming, get here later in the afternoon and then we send them off to where they need to go. Its like a big game. Then on Tuesday we go to the MTC really early in the morning to pick up the new missionaries. I love that!! It's fun to ride in the bus with them. Then we get here to the office and we do A LOT of training with them and then we get them their new companions and they`re off to work! We have a day of peace on Wednesday but we are getting ready for Thursday when we have the zone leader council. All the zone leaders from the mission come and we get together and we do lots of stuff for a few hours. Then we just get to work from Friday till the end of the week getting ready for the rest of the change. On top of this, last Sunday we had to make an emergency visit to the hospital for a sister that had a really bad panic attack and so I got home at about 2 or 230 in the morning. Its kinda crazy. I didn't get to sleep that much this week, haha!!

On top of the stuff that we were doing for the changes I had to do the stuff with the group that was going home. Like the family home evening with President and his family and our group pics. I'm going home later and alone so I did all of it with them. It was kind a bad because they talked about marriage and stuff....... I can't think about that yet ha! Oh yea we have a new companion! I don't know if I told you about an Elder Hesselgesser. He`s from Washington but went to BYU Hawaii. He is the coolest!! He has less than a year and now we are in a threesome with Elder Hola. I was his first zone leader in San Gabriel. He and I are going to visit the South this week. We are going to Nazca then Ica then Pisco this week without coming home until Saturday. It's going to be a long but very gratifying week! Next week we will visit Chincha and Cañete the next week. Sweet! The last week that I'm here Elder Anderson from the quorum of the twelve will be here to talk to three missions. That is going to be cool!

Well family I love you a ton! Thanks for all that you do!

Love elder B

July 29, 2011

Hello family!

Well thanks for writing to me fam! I know it's kind of hard because I don't write very consistently but your letters really do help me a lot. Thanks for everything that you do for me. Ok so on Monday night my companion and I got on a bus and we went to Ayacucho. We got on a bus at 9 at night and we got there at about 7 in the morning. That wasn't fun. I slept until about midnight or so then I tossed and turned until we got there. We had an awesome interchange for two days then we came home last night on the same bus with the same story. Today we have been with President for about 6 hours to do changes. It's really fun and we receive lots of inspiration that is really humbling to receive. The Lord really helps us to do what he wants when we are doing the changes. I love this job and the things that I'm learning from it. I love President Manning! He has been one of the most influential people in my life, apart from my family.

Well family I don't have much time so I´ll have to continue later. Thanks for everything! I love you family! You're the best! I love you tons!

Here we are, all the office guys. There is Elder Jones the red head, he's from Texas and the Presidents' secretary. Then my companion from Logan, Elder Hola! He's the best! Then Elder Ibarra, he's from chile! He's awesome at soccer. He could have been professional but he didn't want to play on Sundays. Awesome!
Love Elder B

--

July 22, 2011

Hey family!

Mom, I really couldn´t believe that note that you sent me about Doctor Alex. What a tragedy. Send him my sympathies as well. We are so blessed to know about the plan of salvation. We need to share that information with everyone. I don't know how people can make it through the deaths of their loved ones without the knowledge of the plan of salvation. Just knowing that we can be together forever and that this life is just a pit stop in our eternal progression is such a blessing. We need to share it with everyone.

Well this week has been pretty fun. My companion and I went to Nazca and Ica this week from Monday until yesterday. It was a lot of fun. We did some good work with the missionaries. I really like being able to help everyone out. I like getting to know all of their investigators and helping them out. We haven´t been in our area for a while because we have been traveling. That's the hardest part about being here, we have to leave our investigators for a while and we don't get the chance to visit them much.

Today we are going to work on changes with President for the upcoming week. It's kinda weird because we are sending home my group from the MTC. I'm going to be the missionary with the most time in the mission... Something pretty cool, Elder Tombs is going home a few days early because his brother is leaving for his mission on Wednesday and if he doesn't go home early he won't see his brother for a very long time. I'm really thankful for the opportunity to extend and keep working in the mission. I feel like you do mom, I'm not sure if I want it to end. In fact I don't want to talk about that...

We have an investigator named Oscar. He is awesome. He has a rough family and life but really wants to change and be happy. He is a reference from Hermana Lourdes who just got baptized a little while ago. References are the best thing that a missionary can get! It's hard to find people on your own and even harder to get them to progress when they aren't a reference. I'm so thankful for members that give references! Hermano Oscar has come to some activites at church and the members really helped him feel at home. He wants to come to church this week and we are hoping to put him with a baptismal date this week. He's a keeper!

I sent you some pics. I sent the one with the buildings trying to show those huge sand dunes in the background. This place is really a desert. And yes that is a chickens foot in my mouth! It tastes gross, like fat and skin. Also that pic is of a bunch of peoples houses up at the very back of Nazca. That's how all cities start out, with a bunch of peole making their houses out of sticks. then give them 10 or 20 years and it's a big city. Well family I love you guys a ton! Thanks for your help! I love you all a ton! Thanks for your letters. Just write me whenever, I'm sorry that my schedule is crazy and that I can't write on the same day every week. Love you family!

Love Elder B