My camera batteries have all died so I can't send you any pictures this week, but I'll get the pictures from our baptism and send them next week after I buy batteries today!

Dear Family,

This week has been GREAT! Let me tell you all about it.

Tuesday- We had a Zone Meeting and it was really good. We learned about teaching recent converts and helping them have the desire to share the gospel. Then we had dinner at a member's house and we were able to visit one of our investigators with them, which went pretty well except he dropped his baptismal date, but it's mostly just pushed back a few weeks. Then we were able to visit Dawn, who we hadn't been able to see in a while.

Wednesday. We had a church tour with our investigator, Yolanda, and it went really, really well. She's going to pray about baptism. Then we had another church tour with Susan (the one who looks like grandma) and it helped us to stay on topic and feel the spirit, but she was still very insistent that she's already been baptized.  Then we saw Levi Lee and we told him about how since technically he's living with his fiance he can't be baptized until he's married. which they were fine with. The only thing is that his wedding date is 11-11-11...so he'll be baptized in November. That crazy rocker! Then we went and helped translate the "P" Party (personal progress party) for the Spanish mothers who were there with their daughters and that was a lot of fun.

What Padre Wells imagines that the "P" Party looked like.

Thursday- We weekly planned all morning and then had District meeting in the afternoon. We stopped by a referral that we had received.  Her name is A****, she's 13 and really wants to learn about the church and her mom is fine with that. Actually her mom was baptized man,y many moons ago, but she is now Wicken, but is fine with her daughter choosing to be Mormon if that's what she wants. It's crazy, but cool. Then we visited D*** and she had 4 referrals for us of 4 teenage girls who were really excited to come to church. We then visited a less active who is getting ready to receive the priesthood and we're so excited! Then we drove to Glendale for exchanges.

Friday- I stayed in Glendale with the Solano Sisters (yep, third time I had exchanges in Solano) and I was with Hna Uriostigui and we had tons of fun. We talked about Encanto a lot since that's were she was trained and she was trained by Hna Urias, who is my complete favorite! So we talked about that a lot and we visited people and knocked on doors and had an all around good time. Then we drove up to Circle City and re-exchanged ourselves. On the way home she told me all about the magical things that happened while I was gone. Yolanda knows she needs to be baptized. They were super bold with Susan and she's finally understanding that she can get baptized again, this time with proper authority.
And they found an investigator who had "dropped" us and found out that she didn't, but her mom doesn't like the Mormon church so it was actually her mom who dropped us. She's going to meet with us again (she's in her 30's, so it's ok) Oh also, Hna Overy's skirt zipper broke that night and she couldn't get it off. It was super funny and took a while to get it off of her. I had to go get some plyers and well...let's just say she's going to have to replace that zipper if she ever wants to wear that skirt again. She was almost to the point of just sleeping in it, she was so frustrated.

Saturday-We had some appointments in the morning and then we had a baptism. Tyeshia was baptized and it was great! She was so very ready for it. The sad part was that her husband and daughter didn't come since our Ward Mission leader's daughter had chicken pox and he might carry it. Then we helped a very new investigator (like we hadn't even met him yet) clean a house that his ex-girlfriend had been living in with his kids.  But she just left him and took the kids, so he's fighting for custody and cleaning the house so they'll have somewhere to live. It is horribly dirty and gross and so we helped them clean it, but it needs a lot of work so we're going to go over again. This time not in skirts!

Sunday- We went to church and 3 of the girls that D*** introduced us to came to church.  They really. really liked it and they want to come back again next week. Also, A**** came to church. After church we stopped by and saw Frank. He's doing better and he received a blessing, which is good and will really help him. Then we went to a birthday party for Maria Tepeyac's nephew, which was good since all of her family are potential investigators. Then we went home and did lots of studying.

Monday- So Hna. Overy had a dentist appointment this morning in Glendale, so we came down here early in the morning and are now just enjoying being in the city for a while, where there are real things. OK, I love you all lots and lots. I hope all is well and that it stays cool...or cools down over here! It's been up to 117 a few days this week. I think I'm going to fry!

I love you!

Love,

Brea

Meetings, meetings, meetings!

Hey Fam,
This week has been pretty great, but I think we had a meeting almost everyday this week which wasn't our favorite because it meant that we weren't in our area much this week.

Tuesday- We had coordination meeting in the morning and they're normally pretty long, but we had an appointment an hour after it started, so we left after 45 min. Then we were able to see a few people that we had been wanting to see, including Tyeshia! She's amazing.  Then we then we went southward towards Morristown and were able to see some investigators down there. We were also able to see a less active member who we pretty much love! He is coming back to church and he's planning on receiving the priesthood next month and he's thinking about going on a mission, so we're really excited about that.

Wednesday- We had a district meeting in Surprise and then we had lots of studying to do. Then we visited a less active family that we're trying to get involved again. Finally that day, we talked to Susan Stumps who's this feisty older lady who reminds me of grandma in her looks, and she's just so funny and has so many stories to tell us, which are interesting but not why we're there to see her. We've been trying to help her understand why the priesthood is important and that it has been restored.

Thursday- We did weekly planning and then we had to get a chip in our windshield repaired so we didnt' even leave our house until about 3:30, which was horrible but then we were able to go out and visit some people.  Then in the evening, we had a baby shower to attend for Tyeshia and Maria (the one who just got baptized) so we were there for a while to support them and to help out with that.

Friday- We had a Zone meeting all day long! We didnt' get home until about 6, but it was a really good Zone Conference. We learned a lot of new things, seeing as this was Pres. Taylor's first Zone Conference with u,s so it was different than how Pres. Beck used to do things. Then we visited Robert and talked to him about tithing and it's just been so cute to see how his faith has grown over the past few months. Then we visited with a recent convert of the Elders and talked with her and shared a message with her. Pretty much I love her to death, she's super cute and has such an awesome love for the gospel.

Saturday- Tyeshia had her baptismal interview and she is getting baptized next Saturday! Oh, plus she got married on Friday which was super exciting, even though we weren't there. Then the Elders had a baptism that day and so I translated from Spanish to English.

Sunday- We had church and we had a wonderfully awkward lesson in RS about the law of chastity, which wasn't awkward for anyone except the Laurels who were in the RS that day. Ha ha, poor girls. Then we had a Mexican birthday party to go to for a recent convert and then we had a dinner appointment after that (so only two dinners that day) and then we saw Susan S again and she had some questions and mostly stayed on topic and she said she'd pray about if the priesthood has been restored through Jose Smith. Today we had had a church tour scheduled but the person cancelled on us, so we've just been preparation daying it up all morning. I'm even wearing pants right now which is really weird. So that's all I've been up to.

I have no clue what the temperatures are or what they're going to be, but  it has been being a bit cooler in the evenings which has been nice.

I hope all is going great with y'all and I love you lots!

Love,
Brea

Breaking News Flash!!!

Padre Wells received a call from the Phoenix Arizona Mission Home.
"There's nothing wrong with your daughter, we just need to get some information
"1. What airport will Hermana Wells be flying in to when she comes home?
"2. Will Richard DeVries still be the Stake President?
"We are currently anticipating her return on January 10, 2012."

August 15, 2011- Another week of work

Good Morning (or afternoon, depending on what State you're in) Family,

Now you might be wondering why this is coming to you on a Monday instead of Tuesday, and that's because our old District Leader didn't tell us that p-day was only changed to Tuesdays on the week of transfers, and will still be on Monday every other week. The Wickenburg missionaries where the only ones not informed of that, so we and the Elders up here were having p-day on Tuesdays.  We just found out that that isn't how it's supposed to be. 

Sooo, Wednesday- We had District meeting in Wickenburg and we learned all about working with our leaders and making sure that all is getting done that needs to be done in the missionary aspect. Then all of our appointments fell through and so we used our backup plans, thank goodness for backup plans.

Thursday- We went to check in on Frank since we hadn't been able to see him in a few weeks since he'd been sick, and we found out he's in the hospital and not doing so great. We're really praying that he will be alright and that he will get better. We also went on splits and I went to all of the Spanish ones and had lots of fun since the lady that came with me doesn't know any Spanish. The Lord really does bless his missionaries with the ability to learn another language!

Friday- We got our oil changed...again and so we took our bikes with us so that we could be out and about while they were doing their thing and changing our oil. We had a great time knocking on some doors, and then we had a great evening with some investigators and recent convert lessons. Then we where walking down the street in downtown Wickenburg and, as we were walking, we walked right by a Tarantula! It didn't move or anything, but I was on one side of it and Hna. Overy was on the other side, so it was right between us. Hna. Overy freaked out! She hates spiders so very much and she was freaking out, but she had to calm down a bit very quickly since there was a man that we had to talk to. Then we had to walk by that same place in order to get to our truck and she didn't want to, but it was gone by then. So, I've seen a tarantula, a scorpion, a coyote and a road runner! Now I just have to see a rattlesnake and then I'll have had the true Arizona experience.

Saturday- We went out and visited Robert, who is preparing to be baptized, as soon as he quits smoking. Then we were able to find Dawn, who had been MIA for a while, and we didn't know where she was living, but we found her with the help of some members who had been helping her out. Then we rode our bikes for a while and knocked on some doors down in Wittman.  We found this awesome guy who, when we gave him a Book of Mormon pass along card, said that the picture on it was dope and I told him that there was an even doper story that went with it. He was so cool!  Not really interested, but funny to talk to. We also had dinner with a part-member family who we love so very much.  They're so very cute together. The husband says he wants to be tied up with his wife forever (aka sealed) and the only thing stopping them is the fact that he's not baptized, so we're trying to help them out with that.

Sunday- We had church and spoke in Spanish. Then we had a Spanish lunch and ate ceveche, which I am not a fan of, and that is how I found out, by eating it. It's like a pico de gallo with seafood in it and not my favorite Spanish dish, but we ate it and we had good company. Then we had a dinner right after that with another part-member family whose son is investigating the church, and he said he'd live the Word of Wisdom, which is fantastic. Then we were able to study a lot, like we do every day and then we took our progress record over to our Ward Mission Leader's house. While there, we found out that his wife had been called as a Seminary teacher earlier that day. Seminary started today, so she was frantically trying to get ready. I told her that Mom loves the Old testament and that she taught it twice and has some great lesson ideas. I also gave her the home phone number, so she's going to call you about getting some ideas for Seminary lessons. I kinda forgot that Dad is CURRENTLY teaching Seminary and that she could talk to the two of you...but if you get a call from an Arizona number, you'll know why. That's pretty much my life right now. How are things in other parts of the States? How is getting ready to move from Washington to the Midwest? How is moving from Michigan to Ohio? How is Seminary going? How is school (wait, when does school start, because it already started down here?) How is the job hunting going? I hope all is well for y'all! I love you all so very much.

Love,
Brea

photo 1- i like to climb rocks and what not

photo 2- a ceramic tarantula that we'd taken a picture with the day before we saw the real thing...and the real one was somewhat close to this one. I think they're friends.

August 9, 2011- A Westerner's take on humidity

Dear Family,

Well, I never knew how much humidity sucks and how much hotter it makes things. I guess that comes from living in a very humid state for most of my life. August is technically cooler than June and July (by about 5-10 degrees) but it feels like it's hotter than those months since we have about 20 - 30 % humidity. I know, I've become a sissy! But anyway, Hna. Overy and I are having fun doing missionary work and trying to learn the language together.

On Wednesday- We talked to some people and taught some lessons. Then we were able to see Susan S. again, who had been in the East for 2 months, and we taught her about the Word of Wisdom. She said she'd give up smoking but she's not ready to give up her coffee just yet. At least she's starting and that will help.

Thursday - We had weekly planning and we had district meeting, so there were lots of times spent indoors.  But it was all good since we were able to go on splits that evening.  I went to see the people who speak Spanish and Hna. Overy taught the English-speaking people.

Friday- I wasn't feeling so great in the morning since its cold / flu time here randomly and well, we talk to everyone. So I took a nap in the morning and Hna. Overy went out with someone (we live at a member's house so the member was my companion while I was home) and taught a lesson. When she came back I was feeling better so we went out and taught some people.

Saturday- Some of our plans fell through, but we had some backups.  One of our backups decided to confess some sins to us, which was kinda weird, but that happens a lot to missionaries. Then we had a great lesson with Robert and he said "yes" to being baptized in Sept! Its' pretty awesome!

Sunday- We went to church and then we did some studying and then we did some preaching.

Monday- We had coordination and we also had a lesson with Tyesha.  She's doing really well and planning to get married to her boyfriend next week.  The week after that she's going to be baptized!  A lot of great things are happening here in Wickenburg. Then we were able to do some service for a family friend of a member, and it was lots of fun. They had some little kids that wanted to help and they were so cute!  Then we had an awesome lesson with a less active who is coming back to church and he's going to get the priesthood next month! It's just awesome. So that's what I've been up to so far this week. I loved getting some pictures from you, and yes mom, I did get the package that you sent me. It got here just after I emailed y'all. Thank you so much for doing all of that sewing for me. I tried to make it as easy as possible for you by ripping out all seams that needed ripping because I know you're a busy lady. Plus  I loved the pictures that you sent me of the Art Walk. Sometimes I was confused by the artwork, but that's normal. Sorry to say, thoug,h that you've got nothing on Stephanie Rhodes--she sent me 88 pictures last week (covering her whole summer, including trips to China and Europe). So, I got lots of pictures last week and I loved it. I love you all lots and lots. I miss you and take care.

Love,
Brea

August 2, 2011- Transfer results

Dearest family,

How are you this fine week? I have been crazy busy with lots of meetings and whatnot this past week, so let me tell you about it.

Last Wednesday we had a transfer meeting and I got a new companion! Her name is Kaydee Overy, she came straight from the MTC, and she is from Wyoming. She's been learning Spanish for the past 9 weeks, so we get to learn together. After we got out of our transfer meeting we stopped by the house, ate some lunch and then had some apartments to go to which were pretty good, two of them being in Spanish. Then, after that, we came back home to explain some stuff and so that she could unpack a little and get settled in.

Hermana Wells and Hermana Overy

 

Thursday- We did some weekly planing and had some appointments and had the chance to knock some doors. We were also able to go out with a member for part of the day, which was really nice.

Friday- We had District Meeting for a while and were able to stop by and visit a less active lady who is so fun to talk to. So that was really nice. Then we had dinner at a part member's house and it was delicious.

Saturday- We went to the new Stake Center Open House and were there for quite a while because we were stationed at one of the booths in case people wanted to talk to us about what Mormons believed. We then did some studying and then a lesson with Susan Stumps who had just gotten back into town after being gone for two months! Then that evening the Elders had a baptism so we were there and I was able to translate from Spanish to English. Afterward there was a fiesta and so we went to that with all the members and investigators that had come to the baptism.

Sunday- We had church, as always, and I got to translate a few times. Then we had studying to do and some knocking and lessons and it was a really good day.

Monday- We had coordination...for 2 hours! Then we had some door knocking which is lots of fun and some lessons. It's been humid so I think I'm about to die because it just makes it feel so much hotter! But in reality it's cooled off to about 110. That's all that's been going on with me. I hope all is well with all of you.

Mom and Andra, I hope you have fun at girls camp this year!

I love you all lots.

Love,
Brea

July 26, 2011- Transfer news

Ok Family,
This is going to be short cuz we've got 20 minues to email.

Maria Tepeyac was baptized this last Sunday after church and will be getting confirmed this Sunday. Every one is freaking out since they've been working with her for awhile but Hna. J and I just thought she was golden. Today we got our hair cut and I'll send you pictures later.  Then we went to Nana's with Sara and Ilene, some of the most amazing ladies in the ward! Hna. J is going to be transferred tomorrow and I'm going to be training again, so we'll find out who tomorrow and where Hna J is going to go. That's all the news for now. I love you lots and lots! Oh, and I was wondering if you could take a pic of the whole Teeter's family together when you see them beausec I have zero pictures of them as a family. Ok, I love and miss you lots.

Love,
Brea

July 22, 2011- It's been a long time! Sorry

Hna Graves, Jeanfreau, Okesen, and Wells

Dear Family,

So last week, as we were looking through our plans for the next week, we discovered that we had pretty much a full day planned for Monday, so we called our DL's and asked if we could change our p-day to Friday this week so we'd actually be able to do some grocery shopping and prepare. They said "yes" and that's why you were uninformed about this random change.  So, I've got a lot to update you on, almost two weeks! 

Last Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday - We had a lot of appointments and we've been able to get members to them, which has been good, so we've been staying busy and our investigators have been progressing.

On Thursday night I went down to the Agua Fria area and Hna. Okesen came up to Wickenburg for exchanges. So I was down there with Hna. Graves and I havent' seen so many houses and buildings in about 4.5 months (aka since I've gotten to Wickenburg) It was a lot of fun, Hna Graves was companions with Hna. Jeanfreau in the MTC so they're the same "age" in the mission.

Saturday- We had a Windows of Heaven planned, which was fun, and then we had dinner at an old investigator's house.  She's just as interested as she's ever been, but her boyfriend is a bit more interested I think. I'm not sure if they're interested in being baptized, but he wants to learn more about the religion.

Sunday- We went to church, which was awesome, and then we had an appointment with Levi Gordon Lee (David Bowie look alike) and he now knows when they're getting married and he has a date! The only problem is that the date is before the wedding and since they live in the same house he'll need to be baptized after he's married even though they're living the law of chastity. We also got to have lunch at a member's house and one of the Elders' investigators was there.  She is just so fantastically awesome and so ready to be baptized and she's just so excited for it. Then we took our investigator, Maria Tepeyac, to a baptism service in Surprise since that's the only service before her baptism this Sunday. It's been a total whirlwind thing with her, since she called us and said she wanted to meet with missionaries again.  Then the next day after we saw her and gave her a baptism date she moved to Mesa, so we sent her as a referral to the Mesa missionaries. Then two weeks ago she moved back into our area and she still was getting ready for the 23rd of July, so we've been going with that. It's been crazy, but she's so ready for it.

Monday- We worked, worked, worked and half of our appointments fell through, but we had backup plans so it all worked out.

Tuesday- We had a Zone meeting in Surprise in the morning and then Maria T had her baptismal interview right after that.  Then we went back to Wittman and had things to do down there. It's just been busy!

Wednesday- We had lots of things, like always, and one of the girls in our Ward who's getting ready to go on a mission (she's going to Denver, CO) came with us for the afternoon to get a feel for what missionary work is like. I hope she had a good time and learned a lot, and she said that she did.

Thursday- We had Ward coordination at 8, District meeting at 10:30, a lesson with Tyeshia, which was awesome since we were going to talk to her about the law of chastity, but before we ever got to it she told us that she want to get married to her baby's daddy before she's baptized! How awesome, right!?! Then we weekly planned forever and then had more lessons and tracting to do. Pretty much we keep busy and are going to start setting up splits with the RS and YW when we can, so we have more time to find people. How has life been for y'all? Are you at YC yet or am I a week off? Dad, how are you feeling? Better, I hope!

I love you all soo much!!!
Love,
Brea

July 11, 2011- Wow

Hello Family, how are you this lovely morning?
As I got on the computer, on the home page it said that at 11 am the temperature is 97, which is pretty normal. We're actually in the "humid" months and I have no clue what that really means. But anyway, I've been having a great week so far. Last week we emailed you early (we live at a member's house and have permission to email on their computers, so holidays don't affect us) and then we had a few lessons in the middle of the day.  We had a District activity up here in Wickenburg, which was a lot of fun. The Elders here organized a scavenger hunt so the other missionaries could get to see a lot of downtown Wickenburg and it was so funny! Then we had more p-day stuff to do and were busy.
Tuesday- We had district meeting early in the week and then we did some "Windows of Heaven" where we tell the Lord where we're going to knock and how many people we are going to find and it's like an appointment with the Lord and it went really well. That night we went to Anita's for dinner, which is a really great Mexican restaurant, with some members.
Wednesday- We had lots of lessons and were really busy driving and tracting. I've started to use an umbrella as we tract and Hna. J thinks that I'm crazy, but it keeps me cool.  She likes to use it sometimes, too, but her Oregon pride won't let her have her own umbrella.
Thursday- We had weekly coordination in the morning and then we had an appointment with Tyeshia, who is doing great after she had her baby. Then we had weekly planning and then we had splits to visit lots of people down in Wittman, so it was a long and somewhat busy day.
Friday- We had to wake up really early to go to Interviews and meet President Taylor. He is really different than President Beck. I'm not sure how to explain the difference between the two but they are different, but neither one is better than the other. Pres. Taylor is like a great big teddy bear and has a little less formal style of teaching and interacting...at least to get to know us. Then the rest of the day we had a ton of appointments.
Saturday- Lots more appointments and talking to people and one of our investigators who we had talked with a month ago just moved back from Mesa and is getting ready to be baptized in two weeks! There was a lot to do, but a lot of it was really fun and exciting.
Sunday- Just like the rest of the week. Busy busy! Church, lessons, dinner at a member's house, tracting and all that fun missionary stuff. So, I've heard that The Teeters Family is going to visit the Midwest again, Yeah! I'm excited that the family gets to kidnap William for a little while and I wish I was there to spoil him. I love you all lots and have fun with Youth Conference and Girls Camp coming up and all that stuff.
LOVE YOU!
Love,
Brea

Photo 1- Part of our picture scavenger hunt

photo 2- Our whole District in a tree

photo 3- I tried to cook a cupcake in the microwave and I forgot that the measuring cup was plastic and would melt and I over estimated how long a microwave cupcake would take to cook. Needless to say, our whole kitchen was filled with smoke in 3 minutes.

July 4, 2011- Hello, hello, Hello, hello

Hey Family,

Another week has passed and p-day is here again. So, I shall start with an update of my week.

Tuesday- we had coordination which was long and then we taught a few lessons to some awesome investigators. Then we knocked some doors, and it was hot outside, but that's not new anymore. Then we went and did some sewing service.

Wednesday- We had District meeting in Surprise and that was good, but for some reason the whole day everything just kept going wrong. Actually more than just the whole day but the whole week. I guess that's what happens when you study diligence for the week. Many of our normally very solid appointments fell through, but we still had things to do and we just kept on working.

Thursday- We weekly planned in the morning and then were out and about teaching lessons, and we got new tires on the truck because the rest had low tread and had a really great lesson with one of our newer investigators.

Friday- We did splits and my lesson went pretty well, but Hna. Jeanfreau's wasn't that great. We learned that one of our investigators isn't so interested anymore, but at least now we know.

Saturday- We had waffles at a member's house whose son isn't a member and had a lesson with him. He's going to start reading the Book of Mormon. Then we had some studying to do and some more knocking and lessons and that was that. We forgot an appointment we had with the Elders but we were still able to meet with them.

Sunday- We went to church and the Spanish group up here had their very first sacrament meeting! Woo who! we were so excited, but I had to go to the English-speaking meeting with one of our investigators. Then we did lots of studying and lots of tracting so it was overall a pretty good Sunday. A guy told us that God and Jesus Christ aren't perfect and he knows because he prayed about it. He said he believes in the Bible, but couldn't understand that he was contradicting himself because the Bible says that God is perfect. Oh well. So that was my week and this week looks like it's going to be better, but I'm not sure if it'll be any cooler. We'll see, but I've got lots of water so I'll be safe. I love you!

Love,
Brea

June 27, 2011 - Did you know that Arizona is HOT?

The District at the Zoo!

Dear Family,

Well, these last few days have been very fun and hot! So, it hasn't been that long since I've written to you, but on Saturday we went to a member's house and washed her windows for her birthday and got to meet her non-member husband, so we really enjoyed that. Then we invited some of our investigators to the baptism that the Elders where having that day. For some reason we thought it would be good to try and save miles and use our bikes. We're never going to do that again!  We'd rather just go over on miles. When we got to the church building I guess I was bright red for about 20 minutes, but I was totally fine. I then translated the baptism from Spanish to English for the gringos, which wasn't as difficult as from English to Spanish. Then we had a pretty good lesson with an investigator named Robert who is really genuine and just wants to know what's true. Then we had a meeting with the Elders and then we slept.

On Sunday we went to church and Ward Council beforehand and then we had a lunch at a very recent convert's house (she'd been baptized the day before). We did some studies and then we had dinner at a member's house and they were really cool. Then we had some more studies and then it was time for Monday. Today we went to the zoo! We saw lions and tigers and the Elders touched a panther, giraffe, sting ray, shark, star fish, lobster, antelope, and had a water bottle stolen by a monkey. Elders are crazy, but really funny. So that's what I've been up to the past few days and such. We've been working really hard but the best part of it is that you can see the results. The changes that come to people's live are amazing when they just take the time to do the simple things every day, like read the scriptures and pray. And then going to church every Sunday is important because it's where we receive personal revelation for our lives. It doesn't matter if you live in a crazy Ward, the Holy Ghost is still there and can still give you answers to prayers. I love you all so much!

Love,
Brea

June 24, 2011- Happy preparation day to me! and happy birthday to everyone else!

Hermana Jeanfrau and me with President and Sister Beck

Dear Family,

Ok, So you're getting an email late in the week because we've changed our p-day to Friday for this week only so that we can go to the temple! Yeah! I'm so excited to go today. So, I've got to make this quick because we've got to be out of here in about 30 min.

So, I shall start with last Tuesday. We had quite a few appointments during the day and we were pretty busy. We had to change around our studies to be able to get everything in, but it all worked out.

Wednesday- We had a great lunch with a less active family and we're trying to figure out what to do to help them to come back to church. They really want to feel welcomed there. Then we had some more lessons and such. Thursday and Friday were pretty much the same. We're keeping really busy with lots of lessons and we're going to start to try and get splits organized so that we can get everything we need to done.

Saturday- Was really good. Lessons, dinner at a member's house.

Sunday- We did a lot of tracting and thinking about our fathers. We also tried to get our investigators to come to church and it kinda worked...for some of them.

Monday was a work day and we met a newish sister in the ward and she's really nice and served a mission in Ohio, working in the office.

Tuesday- We tried to spend most of it in Wittman, but it only sort of worked, but things worked out fine.

Wednesday was Jessica and Andra's Birthday!!  We had a zone conference almost all day, but it was wonderful! Then yesterday we had District meeting and lots of lessons. But pretty much we've been keeping busy all this week and this week we'll have gone to Phoenix, Surprise and Mesa. It's been crazy but really good. I love you all so much and will write to you again on Monday!

Love,
Brea

June 13, 2011- And another Transfer begins!

Hey Family,
We got transfer news this morning. No one in our whole district was transferred, which is funny since one set of Elders has been together for 6 months now. ha ha. They love it here in Wickenburg.  Anyway, this week:

Tuesday- We had quite a few lessons that we were able to have members come with us to and then we went to Wittman for a little bit and did some quilting. I was still cutting the fabric but I'll get to maybe start sewing tomorrow. It was a pretty chill day.

Wednesday- We had District meeting and that was pretty fun. E' Angelos (one of our ZL) was there because he wanted to say goodbye to us since it was his last DM with us because he went home today. Then we met a new investigator who was a referral from a member who is not in our Ward but still awesome. We talked to Esther and her kids in the church and we're hoping that she'll get the courage and support she needs from her family to be baptized next month. She's more than ready but she just doesnt' know it yet.

Thursday- We weekly planned all morning and part of our companion studies we went to the Family History Center in our Ward and learned about the area so we could take some of our recent converts there. I got on to do a little so that we'd be able to explain it better and guess what I found out? According to new.familysearch.org when I looked at my family pedigree it said that uncle Storm died in 1994. How crazy, right? I told the lady that he is not dead and she said that dad could call the Family History Center in SLC and let them know and that they would change it. Also, it does not have Great Grandma on there at all! So, it looks like her genealogy hasn't been done? I'm not sure but this stuff is addicting! Anyway, we went to some lessons and things like that in the afternoon and had fun working.

Friday- We had a trainer/ trainee meeting in Glendale and we were able to talk about the new training program and how it's going.  Then we split up and talked about how crazy trainees are and they talked about how crazy trainers are, so we had a good time all around. Then we went and got our oil changed and then had appointments all afternoon. We've just been busy.

Saturday- We used our bikes in the mid morning and had lots of fun and then we went out to Morristown and used our bikes out there. We've come to realize that we now think that 90 is kinda cool and nice. And that's just the beginning!

Sunday- We had church and then we went to see Frank, who is amazing. He's going to be baptized in two weeks! Then we did some studies, had a meeting with the Bishop and then had a dinner appointment. It was so good and nice to have Dawn to get to know another family in the Ward. Then we had to go home and finish up our studies. Today has been the most chill p-day in a while. No trips to Surprise or anything, but still really busy. Ok, this is a picture of where we've been tracting. I know, I have an awesome area. Ok. How's life been for all of you? I hope you're all doing good. Remember it's Father's Day this Sunday!! Shhh, don't tell Dad, but I think he's the best Dad EVER! Ok.

I love you all lots.
Love,
Brea

My tracting area.

June 6, 2011- I love the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!!

Hermana Wells learns how to be a Cowgirl!

Dear Family,
Oh how I love being on a mission! I was lying in bed a few nights ago and I realized that very soon I will be halfway through my mission, and I'm trying to figure out what type of missionary I want to become and what type of person I want to be when I get home. I've seen so many people out here that the gospel could really help, and it's amazing the change you see in people as they actually live the principles of the gospel and follow their Savior. I hadn't ever really known of the difference that it makes in my life since I've always had it, but by looking at Dawn, who just was baptized, and Frank, who is learning so much and is getting ready for baptism, I've seen how much happier it's made them and the change for the better that it has made in their lives. It's amazing how much we can take our knowledge for granted. Hna. Jeanfreau likes to say, "I'm amazed as how blinded I am by my blessings", meaning that sometimes it's hardest to turn to God when things are going so well.

So, this week, starting with last Monday- We had Frank over for dinner with the Hancock's and dinner was delicious. Then we ran over and saw Maria and Ester. Tuesday- We saw Tyeshia and she met one of the members who's her age and they really got along well. Then we had a bunch of different appointments. Wednesday- Wasn't too different except we got a nail in our tire so we had to go and get it patched. Then we found out that Frank had gotten blood poisoning from a dog bite he'd gotten and was in the hospital. Thursday- Sister Beck came out with us and we had a fantastic day. We invited three people to be baptized and they said yes! Frank was home from the hospital and we talked with him about priesthood blessings. Later that night Brother Hancock and Brother Neal went over and gave Frank a blessing. Friday- We had a District meeting and then a bunch of appointments. Saturday- We saw the Phoenix Temple ground breaking (it was broadcast to Wickenburg) and then we went out and worked all day. It was really nice. Sunday- We went to PEC in the morning and then church. Afterward we broke our fast and then we went over to the Ward Mission Leader's house.  His wife had made a 14-layer cake and she gave us a piece. Then we went over to one of our investigator's houses and they gave us pasole and then we rode our bikes up this massive hill to get home. That was the worst idea ever! We had a lesson with Frank and he's doing great! That night Frank's brother called us (he's a member) and told us that he's so excited that Frank is going to be baptized and that he's going to fly down from Alaska to be able to baptize him! We're so super excited about that!! Today we had a District activity where we went to a park, played sand volleyball (which pretty much burnt our feet), lava tag, freeze tag and then we threw a watermelon around. We got bored kinda easy. Then we went shopping and came back and are currently cooking banana bread and zucchini bread. It's been a busy day.

How have you all been? How are Michigan and Washington doing? I love you all very much!

Love,
Brea

May 30, 2011- Bautismo y muchos contactos

Dear Family,

How's your weeks been? Mine has been pretty good.

Last Monday we were planning on going to Surprise so we could go to Walmart, but then our district activity got change to next week, so we just stayed in Wickenburg and hung out and did our thing.

Our Tuesday was pretty uneventful. That evening we went to quilting and I started cutting out squares for my new quilt. I'm just getting to be such a quilter!

 

 

On Wednesday we had to switch one of our investigators,Tyesha, over to the Elders since she'd moved into their area and that was really sad for us, but then we got to see one of our favorite little 8-year-olds who we've been working with and we asked her her baptism questions to help her feel ready. She's going to be baptized this summer while she's in Idaho.

Thursday- We had a church tour with Tyesha since the Elders were already in Surprise, and she stopped by and said she doesn't want to meet with the Elders since its causing problems with her boyfriend, so she got switched back over to being our investigator after district meeting that day. That evening we were at Maria's house and somehow boyfriends came up and she asked if I had one and I said no so she said that that was ok and that I can marry her 24 year old son who currently lives in Mexico. So don't worry Mom, I have a husband all lined up for me for when I get off of my mission.

 

 

Friday- We talked with people and had lessons all day, nothing really exciting.

Saturday- We went and saw Dawn in the morning, since we weren't able to see her that night, just to see her and make sure she was ok for her baptism that day. Then we talked to a couple of differtent people and then we went over to the church building to get ready for a church tour that we had planned that day. We ended up giving one and a half since two of our "investigators" actually live in the Elders area, they just wouldn't tell us their address, but we found out that the Elders are teaching one of their sons, so we figured it out. Then we had a triple baptism and Dawn was baptized! It was great!! Then one of the Elder's investigators, who actually lives in our area but is being taught by them, and with good reason, came up to me and asked if he could take my picture because he thought I was beautiful. That was a little weird. Then there was a fiesta afterward since the other two getting baptized were Spanish.

After Dawn's baptism

Sunday- We went to church like always, and Dawn was confirmed. After church we had lunch with Levi (he looks like David Bowie/ Billy Idol) and we visited a few other people. We had a pretty chill week but got a lot of lessons in. Today we had a zone activity and we played softball. I hate having to try and have hand-eye cordination. Sister Glenn has shin splints so she couldn't run so she'd hit the ball and I'd run for her. It was perfect. That's pretty much been my week. I love you all so much and miss you lots!

Love,

Brea

PS Dad, HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY a litttle late!!!

May 23, 2011- lots of time not in wickenburg

Dear Loved ones,
This week has been kinda crazy, seeing as about 5 of the days we had very little time to proselyte. Let me tell you all about it. Tuesday- We went to see Tyesha in the morning and she is just wonderful. She read, and she had questions and she really wants to learn about who Christ is and how He can help her in her life and the life of her baby. Then we had to drive all the way down to Glendale so that Hna. J could take the defensive driving test (she passed!!) and so now she will soon be certified to drive a mission vehicle. Then we went to a less active family's house and had dinner and tried to figure out why they've stopped coming to church for the past 3 years. They're a really nice family. We were then able to meet with Dawn and talk to her about enduring to the end and continue preparing to be baptised this next weekend!

Wednesday- We had a specialized training until around 3 pm, and it was just great. We learned all about teaching the plan of salvation from just the large plates of Nephi and we also learned how the area book is super important. Also, during lunch guess who I saw?! Well, Elder Waynick of course but also, Sister Connet! The Hill Street Bishop's wife. How crazy is that?! This is a really small world!

Hermana Wells and Sister Connet

One of our zone leaders talked about sacrifice. How it's not doing something we don't want to do or just giving up something we want, but how it's giving up something good for something better. How when we sacrifice something good, the Lord will give us something better. We then had a million hours of studying (we study for 4 hours every day)  and we visited Maria and talked with her about the plan of salvation.
Thursday- We weekly planned in the morning and then we went to district meeting in the afternoon. As we were getting ready to leave DM, we were looking at our day, and everyone had left. All of a sudden at least 10 police cars and a SWAT car came into the parking lot and we had no clue what to do. We asked them if we could leave and they said we could in just a minute. Apparently they were all just regrouping, in the LDS parking lot. After they drove away we waited a few minutes and then we left. It was so random and weird. We then went tracting and talked to some people, and checked on some people. Then we studied a bit.

Friday- In the morning we studied and then we surfed mormon.org because we're supposed to every week. Then  we visited some people and taught some lessons. We cleaned a member's bathrooms since she'd had a baby a few weeks ago and her other baby had been sick and her parents in law are going to be coming to town. After that, Dawn had her baptismal interview. She's so ready to be baptised!

Saturday- We rode our bikes around town in the afternoon to visit people and then we had a Mexican fiesta with most of our investigators. We then had an appointment in Wittmann, so we drove down there to see Lydia.

Sunday- We had Stake Conference in the morning and it was GREAT! Elder Paul V. Johnson was there, and they released Pres. Hancock (we live in his basement) and called a new Stake President. Elder Johnson talked about how there is a flood of evil in the world today, but we can be safe. We are the only ones who can let the flood of evil in, but if we are true to the covenants we've made, we will be safe. It was a really good talk.  Also, Sunday was Melanie's Birthday! Happy Birthday, Mel! So I didn't plan as well as I could have and I'm going to mail your present today, so I'm super sorry that it is late. Also, I'm not 100% sure of your actual address so I'm just going to send it to the parents' house. Ok. I love you all and hope you're all doing well!
Love,
Brea

p.s. MOM, could you send me your granola recipe real quick. I'd love it! Thanks.

May 16, 2011- Yo quiero ser un misionara ya!

Yo quiero ser un misionara ya!


May 16, 2011

Hello Wells (and Teeters) Family!
How have all of you been? How is your week going so far? I know, it’s only Monday.

Last Monday we had a great lesson with one of our investigators, Levi, and we invited him to choose a marriage date so we'd have a better idea of when he'll be getting baptized.

On Tuesday we had coordination and then we went tracting and found an awesome new investigator who seems really interested in learning about baptism and how she can have peace and happiness in her life. Her name is Tyesha. We had some other cool lessons on Tues. and we met with Susan (she reminds me of great grandma) and she is going to Indiana until mid to late June so we hope she comes back with a testimony just as strong. Shucks, it stinks when your investigators leave just as they start to make some progress. Then we went and did some more sewing of quilts and I'm starting a new one! It’s going to look great.

Wednesday- We had district meeting in the morning and are working on inviting people to be baptized in our first contact with them. It’s a learning experience. Then we had a really good lesson with Maria about why she doesn't want to be baptized and she just wants more time. We then had lots of fun tracting in Wittmann for the rest of the day.

Thursday- We were able to see Tyesha again, and she'd read like we'd asked her to and she just has lots of questions, which we love. We then had to do weekly planning (somehow that seems to come around somewhat often) and then we were able to visit some more people, mostly less active members.

Friday- We did a LOT of tracting in the morning and tried to find lots of less active members. We also had to drop one of our investigators because he didn't want to change at all. He said he was too old, but no one is too old to change!

Saturday- We went and knocked some more doors and then we had a meeting with the Relief Society President. Then we had some good lessons and found a few people.

Sunday- We went to Ward Council and then we went to church where they all talked about missionary work in Priesthood and Relief Society, and so I'm hoping that more people will get excited about the work in this area. We met with the Bishop and his family and sort of got to know them, since I'd only talked to the Bishop in passing. They're a really nice family. Then we had an appointment with this older guy named Frank, who is just this funny old guy who flirts with everyone. He cracks me up, but we're going to try to get a High Priest to come with us next time.

And today, Monday, we washed the car in the morning and did studies. Then we had appointments from 11-2 and then we went with a member, Jessica, to Surprise and had some fun and Hna. J bought some more colorful shirts since she has a lot of black and white stuff. I'm doing fine on shirts and skirts. I'm getting bored with button ups and layering but what can you do? Mom, I might send you a shirt that I got that is super cute but a little too small for me, but I love the style and material. I'll see what I can do since we're super busy a lot of the time. OK. I love you all so very much and miss you all!

Love,
Brea

May 9, 2011- I love you best, Mom! Happy Mother’s Day!

I love you best, Mom! Happy Mother’s Day!


May 9, 2011

Hello again family! So I just talked to you yesterday and so I feel kinda silly writing to you since I'm not sure what else I have to say. This past week has been crazy and busy trying to take care of my new baby, Hna. Jeanfreau, but things are going really well.

Hna. Jeanfreau and Hna. Wells

Last week: Monday Hna. Ochocinski and I hiked up Vulture Peak (a nearby peak) in the morning before she had to go to the Mission Home. Then I took her to Glendale and stayed with some English speaking Sisters in El Mirage. I was with them until the transfer meeting when I met Hna. Jeanfreau. Then we packed up her things, drove home, and got to work. She was able to place her first Book of Mormon, which was an answer to my prayer on the drive home, since I had no clue how we were going to do that since I hate tracting at night and we didn't get back to Wickenburg until about 7:30pm. We spent the rest of the week tracting and going to a lot of different lessons and studying. We have an extra hour of companionship study 5 days a week.

Yesterday I got to talk to you on the phone!!! And I loved it so much. And then today we've just been preparing for the week, and we had a church tour at 9 which went really well. I'm not sure what else there is to say to you since I talked to y'all yesterday. I'll have more to talk to you about next week when I haven't just told you everything the day before. I'll leave you with some pictures of the hike and one of Hna. Jeanfreau and me. I love you!!!

Hna. Ochocinski and Hna. Wells hiked up Vulture Peak

Love,

Brea

P.S. WILLIAM, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

May 2, 2011- Transfers come again

Transfers come again


May 2, 2011

Hello Family!

Well, I have to make this email short. Here's the transfer news. Hna. Ochocinski is leaving the mission and I'm staying in Wickenburg, and I'm getting a baby! (That's mission lingo for a greenie.) So I'm going to get her tomorrow, so I'm staying with the English [speaking] sisters in El Mirage tonight until transfer meetings tomorrow. Whoo hoo, I'm so excited and super nervous.

I finished the top of my quilt on Tuesday and I'm going to continue to work on it. I'll send you a picture when things get more normal. I'm not sure about anything going on with the phone call home. I think I'll be able to call you, seeing as you don't have my number. We have church from 9-12 and don't get home until around 12:30 (or 3:30 your time) so you don't have to worry about me calling you while you're at church.
K, I have to go since the Sisters already emailed today and they made a special trip to the library for me. I love you!

Love,
Brea
P.S. I'm so excited to talk to you next week!!!

April 25, 2011- Busy Week...like most weeks are

Busy Week...like most weeks are


April 25, 2011

Hey Family!

First off let me tell you that I love you all very much! Now that I've let you know that, I shall tell you about my week, as I know you are dying to know.

Monday- It was a chill preparation day where we taught some lessons and were missionaries.

Tuesday- It was my Appreciation Day so I opened the package I got from you and I loved it! Thank you so very much for the watch necklace, I love it! Especially since my regular watch wasn't working, but I discovered that it fixed itself and works again! Yeah for two watches! Also on Tuesday we had a Sister's meeting, which was wonderful since we were able to see all of the Sisters in the Mission, but more importantly, we saw all of the Hermanas! In truth, Hermanas are way different than Sisters. It’s kinda weird, but true. We had some lessons in the afternoon and then, in the evening, we went to do some quilting. They helped fix one of my skirts that was too big for me so that I could wear it, since it's super cute. (I got it from another Sister. Don't worry, Mom, the skirts you made me fit me perfectly!) And I also continued to make a quilt. It’s looking awesome and I'll send you a picture of it once it’s done.

Wednesday- We went to Correlation and talked about missionary work. Then we went to the Relief Society luncheon and got to know some of the members of the Ward better. Then we met with the RS President since I didn't really know her, and then we visited a member who lives up in the boondocks.

Thursday- I baked some banana bread in the morning while we did our weekly planning. Then we went to District meeting which is where I took the bread since I was in charge of the refreshments, seeing as we no longer will be having District lunch after the meetings. Then we drove home and went to a surprise party that was held by some members and investigators. Then we went home and studied until the Hermanas from Agua Fria were here, because we were going on exchanges with them. Hna. Ochocinski left and Hna. Okeson stayed here with me.

Friday- Spent the whole day with Hna. Okeson tracting and teaching lessons and just learning from her. Then we drove down to the Agua Fria area and ate dinner at Waldo's Tacos, a great taco stand that feeds missionaries for free. Then Hna. Ochocinski and I drove home.

Saturday- I opened the package that I got from you and was pleasantly surprised to find a dozen chocolate eggs for Easter. Happy Easter to us! We had some plans to do a lot of tracting, but my throat had been sore for about two weeks so I called Sister Beck and she told me to go to Urgent Care (which is pretty much a doctor’s office that's always open). The closest one was in Surprise, so we drove down there and they looked at my throat and told me I did NOT have strep. That I just had some bacteria that was hanging out back there making it sore and red, so they gave me an antibiotic for it and I'm feeling much better now.After having that fun we taught some lessons and re-extended a baptismal date. It was a pretty good day, except we weren't able to get too much done.

Sunday- We went to church, and then ate lunch. Then we went out to Wittmann to find a referral we had received. He was home and he is wonderful and wants to see us again and ask us more questions. Then the program "The Savior of the World" was being broadcast in Spanish, so we went to the church building with a bunch of our investigators and we watched that. Then we came home and did our morning studies. And today we're going to go party it up in Surprise at a District P-day activity, which should be lots of fun.

How are things in Mich? Still snowy? How is Washington? My companion is going to be there in about a week! Next week I'll be able to tell you if I'm staying here in Wickenburg, and if I'm training. Crazy. We've heard that four Hermana's are going to be coming in this transfer, so almost everyone will be training. I love you all so very much!

Love,
Brea

April 18, 2011- The Hills are alive, with the sound of music! That’s the first phrase that came into my mind...

The Hills are alive, with the sound of music! That’s the first phrase that came into my mind...


April 18, 2011

Dear Wells people (and Teeters),
How have you all been doing? I shall update you on my weekly events! Last Monday I forgot that I had put my watch in my cargo pants pocket when we were painting a house and then I washed those pants. Needless to say, my watch has died. Sad, I know, but I'm living without it. It just means that I won't have a watch tan line when I get home.

Tuesday- we did a lot of contacting, which we've been doing a lot more since we're trying to find some more investigators. That evening we went to the quilting club thing and I started to make a quilt. Hna Ocho finished her first quilt ever! She was so excited and this week she gets to make the sandwich and continue with it. It’s the first thing she's ever sewn so she's super excited. That evening I started to feel sorta sick, like a cold / flu so I went to bed, and decided to just get sick instead of keeping on fighting it off.

Wednesday- We went to Zone Conference and it was wonderful! We got a ride from Brother and Sister Lyon who will be starting to work in the mission office on June 1. We talked a lot about giving church tours, or showing investigators around the church before Sunday so they'll feel comfortable later on in the week. Then I received a blessing from my District Leader since I wasn't feeling too good, and it was a great blessing.  When we got home I slept and have been working on feeling better. All things are in the Lord's time.

Thursday- I was still feeling kinda sick, so I slept for most of the afternoon and then we visited a few people and had some great lessons.

Friday- We had a fantastic District Meeting in Wickenburg and it was amazing. Elder Bell said he'd been thinking about that District meeting since he found out he was going to be our District Leader. We talked about the Anti-Nephi-Lehis and how they made covenants with the Lord, and how we need to consecrate our time here on the Mission. It was a really amazing lesson.

Saturday- We had been planning to go to the Easter Pageant, but all of our progressing Investigators couldn't make in so we were unable to go. (We found out later that since we had potential investigators and recent converts that we could have gone. Oh well.) So instead, we tracted and did our weekly planning that we'd missed due to me sleeping all that day.

Sunday- We went to church, and then checked up on some people that we hadn't seen in a while to see if they're alright and if they're still interested in learning about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then the day was done, so we came home and did numbers and planned for today. Being a missionary is so much fun. They told us some dates for meetings this week and then ended up changing most of them since they tried to have everything on the same day. Silly APs. First we had exchanges on Tuesday, but now we have a Sister's meeting on that day so exchanges are now on Friday. And then they tried to have a Zone Conference on Tuesday, but since there are quite a few Sisters in this zone they had to postpone that. Ha-ha Elders.

Mom, quick question. Do you know someone named Tammie Dorsey? She might have been in your Ward when you were about 10-14? She's a member out here and she was living in Farmington, NM at about that time in her life, and she says that there were a lot of Knudsens out there and that a Nancy Knudsen sounds very familiar to her. Her sister's name is Debbie Dorsey, if you know her. Haha, that would be so funny. Ok, I love you all so much and will write you next week!

Love,
Brea

11 April 2011

Dear Family,


I'm so very grateful to have received your emails. Ok, I'll review the week and then talk about y'alls messages. Monday- We changed things up and had our proselyting time in the middle of the day since we had had some appointments but then as both of them canceled but it worked out perfectly since the best time to knock doors in this area is between 2-5 so we were able to do that and then no have to go knock doors during creepy hour (8 pm, worst time EVER to not have an appointment and have nothing else to do) So that was great. Tuesday- We had coordination in the morning and then we had language study. I'm trying to memorize a million words before zone conference this week in order to finish the first page of our APM study guide, complete the goal that i set with President Beck and receive my APM pin. So I've been working on 177 Spanish words to memorizes (those are just the ones i don't know yet) and D&C 4 in Spanish. We visited Juana who is a recent convert and had surgery a few weeks ago, so she's just in the house all day. We explained the different priesthood things (priest, teacher, seventy...whats that called again?) and she really wants us to be able to meet with her husband and son and explain it to them since they just received the priesthood. Then we were in Wittman and were quilting. I cut fabric again but tomorrow I get to start a quilt! Wednesday- We had District meeting in the morning and then ate at Subway (its sort of a district tradition) but next week we're super excited since we're having district meeting up here in Wickenburg instead of in Surprise! We're going to take them to Filiberto's which is an awesome Mexican fast food restaurant and is so very good! After lunch we drove to the Mission Office and picked up a large print copy of the book of Mormon for Melvin, who's 83 and had trouble seeing small print. We then had some really great lessons and then ended the day with some studies. Thursday- We weekly planned< knocked doors all day and then ended the day with a fantastic lesson with Dawn and a member! The members here are great...now if only they could speak Spanish. Friday- We knocked some doors, and then had a great lesson with Susan who is just coming back to church and recently stoped smoking !!! We're so excited, shes going to go to the temple soon and do baptisms for the dead and she is so very excited and had such a respect and awe for it. I grew up knowing that when I turned 12 I would be able to do that and it wasn't that big of a deal to me but seeing her having this tremendous joy to be able to go and do that for the first time in her life (she's 53) just makes me realize how great of a blessing it is. Saturday- We went over to an investigators house and helped her paint some rooms in her someday house. They bought and old abandonment house and are fixing it up, so we helped cover up the graffiti with white primer and it was loads of fun. In the evening a member was throwing a house warming party and we were invited so we went to that and there were quite a few of our investigators there so it was a great opportunity to talk with them and get to know them more. Sunday- We went to church and then went to see our ward mission leader's wife since she just had a little baby boy this week. He's so very cute! Then we finally met with our investigator Levi who Hna. Ocho hadn't seen since Feb. He's a very hard man to get a hold of. We talked with him and he said he's wants to be baptized and has a goal of the end of July / August. Longest baptismal commitment I've ever had. But after he's baptized he'll get married to Vicky, who's a member he's been dating for a long time but isn't married to yet since she doesn't marry non-Mormon boys. They're such a cute couple. Levi looks kind of like Billy Idol and David Bowie combined. We met with Dawn in the evening and she wants to be baptized! She's preparing for the 30th of April, which would be just wonderful since Hna. Ocho leaves for home on the 2 of May. Today we had a Zone activity in the morning and we played volleyball and my team got in second place! We were undefeated until the finals and were against a team that we had beat the very first round, but they beat us twice in a row so they one. Then we bought groceries in Surprise since they're cheaper down there and on the way home I picked up a birthday present for Marie since her Birthday is coming up this weekend. Oh, So on Wednesday we have a Zone Conference which I'm really excited about and then on Saturday we're going to go to Mesa with our Mexican investigators and see the Easter Pageant in Spanish. I'm stoked! That's why this week is going to be amazing. I'll tell you more about that next week.

I'm morning the lose of our dear friend Lady Winifred, Duchess of Katz. She was the best Duchess of Katz I've ever known. She shall be missed.

I love you all so very much and miss you tons! Love, Brea

P.S. sorry, but i didn't take any pictures this week. I'll try harder for next week. But I will leave you with an awesome picture I took of the Mesa Temple.

Police and Dogs- March 28, 2011

Dearest Family of mine,


Last week was Hna. Ochocinski's birthday, so in the morning we went over and cooked pancakes for some Seminary students and then the Neal Family took us out for lunch to celebrate. They're a great family and a lot of fun. Their son is getting ready to go on a mission so we have lessons with him every week to help get him ready. He can now focus on preparing since, while riding a bull, he got his leg stepped on by a bull so he can't walk for 6 weeks. Also, on Monday we went over to a recent convert/member's house and had a surprise party for Ocho, and she was actually surprised! Yea, it worked perfectly and was lots of fun. I've got pictures to show you. Ocho misplaced her (driver’s) license for about a week and a half and so she called the vehicle coordinator and changed it so I'm the designated driver. Then the next day she found her license, but she doesn’t want to drive so I still do.

We knocked on a lot of doors this week, but we live in an area where there are a lot of snow birds who are set in their ways and are cranky and old so they don't want to talk to us. On Friday we had a member come with us to our two appointments in the evening and she was so amazing! She's so funny and has a great testimony of the gospel and was perfect for our first appointment. Then as we were on our way to our second appointmen,t which was in Whitman, we were unable to get to the house since there were a lot of police blocking the way and a black hawk was flying through the air. We think we drove into the middle of a Whitman jail break. We're not very sure, but we called our investigator and she wasn't home so we decided that we should probably leave. Earlier on Friday we were knocking doors and talking to people and we went up this really big hill and then when we were finished talking to the people who lived up there we rode down it and it was a LOT of fun. There's a picture of the hill we rode down. Then on Saturday we had an appointment with this old lady who reminds me of great grandma in her looks, not her personality, so we went over there to see her and her little dog (who is either pregnant or just had puppies) tried to attack me! It tried to bite my leg but didn't break the skin and the lady was busy so we just set up a return appointment and left. Then we came home and helped set up a surprise party for one of the members. Since almost all of our investigators were going to be there we were allowed to go. It was so much fun. Mexicans are so funny. Yesterday we tracted a lot in the afternoon and walked around this really hilly area, and I'm feeling that today. No one wanted to talk to us but it was really random and funny. You just got to make the most out of every moment.

That's pretty much all I've been up to all week. This week went by really fast, and Hna. Ocho is going through that freak out of it being her last transfer. It’s going to be great! She thinks I'll be training next transfer since we've heard that 3 new Hna.s are coming in, but we'll see. I love you all lots and lots!

Love,

Brea

Wickenburg Week One and Transfers- March 21, 2011

Hermana Wells points at a scupture of a rattlesnake.
(Really freaked Mom out.)

Hello Family,


I'll start off with what all of you want to know. We received a phone call today from our district leader and he told us that neither of us has transfers! So that means that I get to stay here in Wickenburg with Hna. Ochocinski for another 6 weeks and then she'll be done with her mission. Crazy, I'm going to kill another one of my companions. The crazy thing is that we've talked to some of the other Hermanas (there's only 10 of us) and none of us are getting transferred but at least one of them is getting a baby. We think one or two new Hna. are coming in, but we're not sure since only one set of Hnas. have said they're going to transfer meeting.

So Wickenburg is REALLY BIG! It’s crazy huge and crazy into cowboys and the West. So I've just been trying to get to know the area and get to know the people here. We live in the basement of the Stake President's house and we go to an English [speaking] Ward that has it translated into Spanish for our small number of Spanish members. We're working with the area and our goal is to someday soonish to be able to have a Spanish branch up here. So we teach both in English and in Spanish which is something new for me. I'm glad I was in Encanto first so that I got a better base for my Spanish because it’s going to not be used so much up here. We had a wedding and then a baptism this last Saturday which was a lot of fun. Nothing super exciting to report on. We drive a truck and we need it since we go on some dirt roads and it takes us an hour to get to district meeting in Surprise. But this area will grow on me and someday I'll turn into a cowgirl down here. Don't be surprised if I start wearing cowboy boots, a hat and a big belt buckle. I love you all so much!

Love,

Brea

Letter- March 16, 2011

Dear Mom, Dad, Mel & Andra,


So I’m here in Wickenburg with Hna. Ochocinski and it’s very new and was very sudden. Hna. Urias and I were getting ready to go to a zone activity when President Beck called and told me I was getting transferred a week early. I’m not really sure what happened here, but one of the Sisters had to go home a week early, so I came up here. Wickenburg is nuts! It’s in the middle of nowhere and the town want to be the Old West. I might turn into a cowboy while out here.

So, life before Wickenburg. Last Monday we went to Eduardo’s birthday party at the Diaz family’s house, which was ok since it was an FHE and there was a spiritual thought. On Tuesday we had a zone conference and interviews with President Beck. It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. Wednesday we had some fantastic lessons with investigators thanks to the help of some neighbors. I love the members in Encanto! Thursday we were inside a lot since we had weekly planning and then we had correlation meeting. After correlation we got a ride up to the Solano area because we had exchanges. I was up there again, this time with Hna. Kinz, and the baby (greenie) was down here with Hna. Urias (the baby’s name is Hna. Brown). It was lots of fun and we visited some people that I’d met the last time I was up there. Saturday was good, we went around finding referrals and talking to people. We tracted into an active member of our Ward that we didn’t know. She works with the Sunbeams so we’d never gotten to meet her before.

On Sunday we had church like always and then we found out that there was a new family that just moved into our area. So we went over to their house and helped them unpack. They’re conversion story is amazing and they’re just a wonderful family.

So this next Tuesday I’ll be getting a new companion because Hna. Ochocinski is going to be transferred, so I’ll let you know who that is when I figure that out. Enough of my crazy stories. How are ya’ll doing? Has the weather calmed down yet? It’s been in the 80’s and 90’s this week, so the heat has started. How’s Spring Break? I love you all so much!

Love,

Brea

Baptismo Numero Dos- March 7, 2011

My darling Family,


This week has been pretty exciting. Last Monday after p-day was over with We went over to a lady's house and helped her move some stuff and then we had an awesome lesson with a new investigator, Deletzty. She had a lot of questions since we stared with the Plan of salvation because we were teaching her brother before and that's the lesson he was on. Then we went and had a family home evening with a part member family and we invited a family of members. We had a short lesson and then we played a game that's like do you love your neighbor. So much fun and it helped our investigators open up. On Wednesday we had a specialized training which was all about the book of Mormon since we had just finished reading it in 60 days. It was an incredible experience reading the book of Mormon in 60 days. I was able to understand the timeline better and learned a lot about it, and i loved hearing the experiences that other people had too while reading it. We got a ride from the other sisters in our zone, so that made riding up to the Transfer chapel more fun. On Friday as we were riding home for lunch Hna. Urias fell. It’s actually a pretty funny story. The sprinklers had been on in the park so there were some puddles on the sidewalk so we were playing with them and zig zagging and she went around a puddle and went onto the grass, and at that part the ground was an inch or two lower than the sidewalk so when she turned to get back onto the sidewalk her bike tipped over and she didn’t' have time to jump off. She put her hands out to break her fall but she landed in another puddle and so she hit her head and then her mouth and got a really big bruise on her leg and a fat lip. I was worried since she fell and so i asked how she was. She said "Bad. I need a picture." So i took a picture of her right after she fell. Also on Saturday night we had some bicycle stories. We were riding home since it was about 9pm and I was going across a street and as I got there there was a guy riding his bike without lights and wearing dark clothes so i swerved so i wouldn't hit him, jumped the curb and went into the street, but no cars were coming. Hna. Urias was behind me and had no clue why i went into the street and so she was confused and worried and started yelling to me when she saw the man on the bike who was also yelling so she had to swerve to not hit him and jumped off her bike because it started to fall and it fell into the street. So funny! I love adventures. Then a little later there were some people walking on the side walk and so i slowed down and was going to say excuse me but they saw my light on the ground and were so scared. One lady jumped and screamed and Hna. Urias started laughing. Bikes are so much fun. Also on Saturday we had a baptism! Reyna Pacillas was baptized and it was great.

The hill where they were riding.

Andra- I have a favor to ask of you. In your room on my green white board there should be an address for BYU Admissions on there. Could you email that to me? I need to tell BYU when I'm planning on coming back.

Mom- I love you best! Could you possible compile some awesomely good recipes and some simple recipes and email them to me so i can print them and have them so we can have some home made good meals. I only know how to make turkey divan and lasagna and they're good but not all the time.

Dad- I love you best! What in the world is a road show? Your message was also cryptic in that aspect.

I love you all very dearly and will write to you next week.

Love,

Brea