12/18/11

 

Hey Momma!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I think that this will throw you off a little today but today they are turning off the power to our apartment so we needed to get out of there early today but we will come back and read emails later today after we play soccer.

Not much happened this week.  We just were doing more missionary work but my testimony has grown a lot in the past couple of days.  Things are really awesome right now.  Being comps with Elder Olive has been really awesome! He has had a lot of really cool experiences in his life that he shared with me and it was really cool.  Honestly there is not much going on but I will tell you a couple of things that I have listened to and have read that have probably changed my life.  But a few things that are going on and that have happened right now.

Elder Appleyard had to go home this last week.  He was having some really bad foot problems so he is going home and getting it taken care of and then he will be back in a couple of months.  It is a bummer that he had to go home.  I miss him already but he will be back in no time.  They just asked us to pray for him and his family so if you guys could pray for him that would be really good too.

I think that I told you about one of our investigators that was really awesome.  The one where we were starting to teach her daughters and everything.  It turns out that she is not in our area so we have to hand her over to the Elders in the area next to us call Bang Kapi.  It is gonna really be sad but really good too.  She is really ready to be baptized and so are her children.  They really have a desire to know if it is all true.  They all love Jesus Christ and they all have a desire to follow him but they will just have to be baptized in another area and I really dont have a problem with it.  They are a really good family and I really don't care where they are baptized as long as they are baptized and endure to the end I am just happy with that.  Its not like it is my baptism hahaha.  Sorry that is a joke with our district right now so sorry if you don't think that it is very funny.

I did just hear that we are going to be getting a missionary coming back into the mission.  He went hom about a year ago and he just came back today to take the place of Elder Appleyard in Bang Kapi.

Ok just a couple of things that i need to tell you about my facebook.  There is a member here who has been taking a lot of pictures of us and she requested me as a friend on facebook.  If you could accept her request that would be great and then you cna have a lot of pictures of me and some of the members.  There is one picture on there that is me eating a really gross Thai fruit called turien.  It is the worst thing that I have ever eaten in my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  They all said that it was going to be really good but it smells really bad and when I ate just a bite of it I wanted to vomit.  They took a picture right when I ate some and my face is really funny but it was really gross.  It really tasted like poop.  Other than that I haven't eaten anything else weird.

This last week I got to go on switch offs with the greenie.  He is way good!  He has a really good spirit and he is just willing to get out there and serve.  I learned a lot from him but that day was the weirdest day of my mission.  The lessons were not very good and we didn't get into a single house but we still had a lot of fun and talked a lot about really cool things in the gospel.  It is really cool to see how he is growing.  I haven't really seen the difference in me but seeing him and being around him really helps me see how much I grew.

Ok so yesterday was really awesome at church.  All of the talks were on forgiveness.  One of the members that spoke has had a lot of problems in his life and he has had to repent a lot for the things that he has done.  He gave a really awesome talk and then after church he was given the preisthood.  He is now getting ready to serve a mission.  After church we just had a really good corolation meeting where we finally got to sit down with our mission leader and ask him what he needs us to do and to ask him for help in the work.  Ever since the flood his life has been pretty crazy so he hasn't been able to meet with us at all but now things are all good.  The Branch President here is really awesome and so is his wife.  Their son is on a mission now in California and his son loves it there but they only have 3 people that they are teaching.  They let us read his emails all of the time and it is really fun to do that and hear about what a state side mission is like.  I am pretty sure that those are some of the hardest missions in the World.  Everyone knows the church and just put up walls.  I have noticed it here.  When ever we meet a foreigner they always know who we are and what we do.  Now Thai people are starting to know who we are. haha

Well I want to tell you about my experience that I had yesterday while we listened to some talks.  A talk that really helped me was one from John Bytheway.  His talk was all about building people up and becoming a builder and not a reckor.  It was a really good talk!  It was just about building up the Lords kingdom by building up the people in it.  Just never saying bad things about other people and jsut always looking for the positives in others and just being like Christ.

Another talk was about the Book of Mormon that I heard.  The guy proved that everything in the Book of Mormon was true.  That some of the early settlers of New York found a lot of lime substance on the surface of the ground at Cumorah which only comes from thousands of bones that used to be on the surface.  They also found millions of arrowheads and tons of stone tools around the hills and surrounding areas.  The French found trenches where they found the bones of thousand of Men women and children were burried.  They found forts and other things there and more stuff that points to an advanced civilisation that was there a very long time ago.  Then he talked about the translation process and everything was just way cool and it really opened up my eyes.  At the end of his talk he said that all of that stuff did not matter.  But the only way that we wil ever know that the Book of Mormon is true is to read and pray about it.  That is the only way that we all will ever know of the truth of the Book of Mormon and after that we will know who Christ is and that He is our savoir.  Joseph Smith is a prophet and that this Church is the only true church on the whole earth. It was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love you all so much and thank you Mom and Dad and Ciara and Cassie, Matt,  Adam, Steph, Rachel, Maija, Micah, and even little Savannah.  I want you all to have a Merry Christmas and one thing that Sister Smith said is to keep in mind the really meaning of Christ-mas.  I love you all so much and thank you for everything that you have done for me.

Mom I will be skyping you guys about 6:00 pm your time on your Christmas.  It is going to be a the 26th at 8:00am here in Thailand.  I love you Momma and Dad.

Elder Bryce

MERRY CHRISTMAS

12/12/11

Sorry, I have been really bad about updating Bryce's blog.  Here are his latest emails and look at the picture tabs to see pictures that he or others have emailed as well as through facebook.

Hey Dad!

Well it sounds like that was a really good trip.  How are things going out there?  How is everything working and has that project that we looked at still going well?

It sounds loke that you have a lot to do this holiday.  Well we are going to be planning on usuing skype this year for christmas.  I will have to figure out the time difference but  we will try to do it when it is chrtistmas eve for you guys.  We planned on talking to you at 8:00am here according to Thailand time.  I dont know when that is for you but I think that should put you at 5:00 pm back at your place.  If you could figure that out that would be great because I would use the internet but I can't do that hahaha.

Well I think that you would like my new comp.  He works for NASA.  He worked and when he goes home is going to continue to work on a moon rover.  He is only 22 years old and ends his mission close to the time that I hit my year mark.  Well he is realy cool and we joke around all of the time.  Also dad I found really cool laser pens here.  I would like for you to find out what is illeagal for those.  There is one that they have that is 5000 wats.  It started burning the case that the guy pointed it at.  I would guess that it is illegal but I just want to know before in case that I want to buy one hahaha.  My last comp gave me one that is only 500 wats and it goes way far.  We chase dogs with is on the 9th floor of our building at night.  You can also really easily point to stars very nicely and it is green.  The other powerful one is blue and it was so cool but super dangerous.

Well that is about all that I have right now.  Things are just going really well right now and I am probably the happiest have been on my mission.  I am working super hard everyday and am tired more than I ever have been but I feel so good every night.  Some days I feel like I get up and 10 min later I am going to bed again haha.  This time is flying by so fast.  Way to fast for me.  I feel the spirit so strong and answers come to me so fast and it is just awesome. I love you so much Dad.  Thank you for keeping me in your prayers and all that you do for me.  I love you so much.

Elder Bryce

Hey Momma!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well this week is really awesome!  I was a little scared to get a new companion but he is way awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Him and I have so much fun!!!!  We joke around all of the time and he is really out going!  hahaha He is way fun and teaches really powerful.  The best thing is that he talks to peopole the same as he teaches lessons.  He is so outgoing in lessons just like he is normally.  Well just to tell you a little bit about him.  His name is Elder Olive and it is the first one that doesn't have a long name that I cannot spell haha.  He is 22 and he is from Hawaii.  Before he was a missionary he got a job at NASA as a computer engineer because he help design and build a dust sheild for a moon rover that they are going to be using soonish.  He wasnt going to serve at first and then he had a sudden desire to serve.  It was really cool.  He is a really good missionary and we have just been having a blast.  Things have been getting back to normal slowly.  We go and help people as much as we can but most people are getting finished or their house is still flooded.  We have started teaching some new investigators and those lessons have been really awesome!.

When you guys come here I will have to take you to a members place and he make the coolest fried ice cream that I have ever seen and it is soo good.  It is like french toast and ice cream!  I have been running about 2 kilos everyday so i make sure that i am burning it off after i eat it.  Not going to lie i have lost almost all of the weight that i gained in the MTC and am almost back to normal.  I feel great!  The spirit is so strong with us and I feel it everyday.  I also love christmas time here hahaha.  Our recent convert is in charge of our apartment building and she made them put up a bunch of Christmas decorations and she gives us refferals everyday.  It is way fun!  She even brought one of her friends to the service project that we had today.

This week has felt so good!  I feel like it is a fresh start but i did realize that I am starting to get old in the mission.  I have only 3 more transfers until I hit my year mark.  This time is going by way fast!  I always thought that 2 years was such a long time but I feel like I have no time at all to do anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wanted to tell you how much I love you Mom.   I make sure that everyone that I meet I tell them about you and Dad.  I love talking about you guys so much.  I have seen how much to gospel has blessed our family and it is so amazing how much it has.  I have been blessed so much out here.  I have not been able to see my progression but my old trainer Elder Gudmundsen says that I speak Thai really well and that I have changed a lot since I first got into country.  I have felt a little bit of a change but it is just a little weird because it is the first time that someone has been a ble to compare my growth.  I feel so good right now Mom and I just feel the love of Christ in me all of the time!!!!!!!  I love you so much and for the whole skype thing we planned on talking to you at 8:00 am our time but we dont know what time that is for you haha.  I love you all so much thank you for all that you have done for me and I thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!  I dont think that  I could ever pay you back for what you have done for me except build those stairs that Adam said he would hahaha.  I love you so much Momma!

Elder Bryce

12/7/11

Hey Momma!

Thank you for the Christmas package.  Sorry I cheated a little bit and I looked in my stocking and I took all of the pictures detached the candy and put all of the candy back into the stocking but kept the pictures out hahaha.  It was weird to see all of those people hahaha!  Now I feel like they are all right here with me.  I think that is one reason why I dont get home sick is if I have a picture with you guys with me I feel like you are here with me the entire time haha.

I have a few pictures from p day and the baptism that we had this last week.  This week is going to be interesting.  My comp is moving and I will be getting a new comp and I really dont know the area so I just have to really use my faith and pray really hard hahaha.

We have basically been serving this week and will be for a while.  Some of the area is still under water so we can't help a whole lot right now but we help as much as we can.  Sorry for this email I am really tired.  We have basically just not stopped moving since we got here.  We have had to go all over Bangkok to get things taken care of and haven't had a moment to really rest for a second.  I love it so much though.  So much is getting done and it has just been nice to work all of the time.  So for Christmas I will be able to skype.  So that will be really cool.  I love you so much Momma!  Thank you for the Christmas tree and the fake snow haha we have been having fun with it.  I took some pictures too so I think that you will like it haha.  I love you so much mom.  Thank you for your prays for me and I have felt them help me in the work.  I love you and everyone so much.  I pray for you everyday.  Sorry just a side not before I stop but could you give Matt my email.  I want to hear from him.

-Elder Bryce

Hey Dad,

Well this week has been a little different hahaha.  We have been cleaning most of the time here.  We have been walking around in the area that is still flooded in rubber boots and just asking people what we can do for them.  We cleaned and built a wall for our branch president and then we cleaned some of his house.  It was pretty fun because we caught a lot of fish too hahaha it was great!.  It sounds like the ward is doing well.  I know that is one thing that we are focusing on is serving the less active members now and getting them back to church and getting them involved as much as we can in the teaching process.  Many of them have just gotten lazy or they just forget what happened to them during their conversion but people are starting to come back to church.

One thing that all of the senior missionaries told us to tell our parents is to tell us to tell you that you all need to serve a mission as a couple and that the world doesn't have enough of you right now to help the church.  We eat lunch with them every once in a while and they always ask about our parents and when they are going to serve their missions.

Not much has happened this week but I do have some cool pictures that I will send in moms email to everyone.  We got to see some cool stuff.

I love you so much dad and I will talk to you next week.

-Elder Brycee

11/27/11

 

Hey Dad!

Well it is really weird because in your emails you always say that it is not getting very cold and the girls always say that  it is freezing and they really don’t know what to do hahaha so what is it really like over there hahaha.

I can't believe that the elk haven’t come down yet.  This late in the season too.  Sounds like you all had a good time duck hunting.  I was talking with my comp and he told me that when I get home he wants me to help him get into hunting hahaha.  I told him to just look you up and that you would help him out so that he wouldn’t have to wait for a year before I get home. Christmas is big here.  I wouldn’t think that it was but everyone loves it.  Not a lot of people put up lights except for bad places.  But most foreigners do and they are in very big neighborhoods.  Thanksgiving was way fun and really weird.  I have not been in a room with that many people who could speak English in a very long time.  We had everything that you would have in a regular thanksgiving dinner though.  They even were watching snoopy in English!  It was way weird.  It felt good when the Thai missionaries that were there came up to us and started talking with us in Thai.  It was funny because they sat at a different table with all people who could not speak Thai.  it was a good time for them to practice their English skills hahaha.

I love you dad and thank you for that story it really helped me out a lot because I was concerned with that same thing.

I love you so much dad and thank you for everything that you have taught me.

Elder Brycee

Well today I have to hurry.  I got one package and I guess that the other one is at the office.  Not much happened this week but we are doing a lot of service for our area and with a lot of missionaries.  The water is going down there so we might get in there this week.  We just need to buy boots and then we are able to go.  Other than that not much has happened this week.

We did have a really cool experience this last week.  One of our investigators got an answer to her prayer.  She said that she prayed about the book of Mormon and that she heard a still small voice from above her tell her that it was true and that she needed to read it everyday and to apply what it says to do in the book.  She is so ready for baptism but all we are waiting for is for the flood to be over so that we can have church again in our branch.  She is so excited about the gospel and everything that we teach her.  She loves us so much and she loves all of the members too and she just loves everything about the church.  We also are helping another area teach this one guy that is way awesome! He is the security guard at their apartment and one day Elder Stott and Elder Alstom just bought him a cake and sang happy birthday to him on a random day and they are just really nice to him and so one day they asked him if he would like to learn about Christ and he said that he really wanted to learn because they were his friends.  Just being a really good example to people really helps them see that we are messangers of Christ and that we have something very important.  Sorry this one is short but I still have to email my president.  I love you so much mom.  I am grateful to have you as my mom and raising me into the gospel.  thank you for being the best mom in the world.  I love you so much and thank you for your example and your support and your testimony to help me grow and learn.  I love you so so so much mom and i am grateful for everything that you have given to me.

elder brycee

ps this year i will see you guys on skype.

11/21/11

 

Hey Momma!!!!!!!!!!!  Ok since I never answer your questions I will answer them now so I don’t forget hahahaha. I have not gotten my package yet.  It is at the office but I went there to get it and the office elders put it into their car and they left because they were going to give it to me and they never met me hahahahaaha so I should get it within the next week or two weeks.  Probably the same time that I get my Christmas package hahahahaha.  No I have not gotten a chance to go to my area.  It is still flooded but this week we are going to try to rent a boat and get some supplies to our investigators and members there.  The Church in our area might be dry by Christmas but they are still not sure because people are saying that there is a lot of water still in the North that really needs to come down so who really knows haha.  We have been able to teach our investigators which is nice.  Some of them are coming to the church here and we just teach them after.  One of them is a lady who is really rich but she has a very soft heart.  She loves Christ!  She is willing to obey every commandment and she really loves the church.  We taught her the law of chastity and she said that she loved this church and knows that the restoration is true because no other church really teaches this law.

She gained a testimony right in front of us that it was all true!  She loves the Book of Mormon and she really wants to be baptized asap.  We gave her a date for Christmas day but she is ready so we are going to be baptizing her asap.  She really is ready.

The only thing that I can think of is to send razor blades and starbursts.  and also my camera is not working anymore.  I heard it is expensive to get repaired here and I was worried about that.  It just won’t take any pictures so I was wondering what I should do about that?  We are not allowed to eat food off of the street anymore or anything with rice because of the water.  So we have had to eat foreign food and that is really expensive. That is really awesome about football!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It was really odd.  Before I left Buriram I actually saw a Thai newspaper with American football results hahaha I loved it haha.

That is really wierd about Ciara and tanner I will tell you why in a different email why.

This week was really cool.  We have done a couple of service projects and one of them I had something really cool happen.  We just started working and I started to talk with a guy who was working security for the water plant that we were working at that day.  We just talked and I shared my testimony and he taught me some stuff about Thai and I taught him English.  Later that day he had to go do something else but right before I left he came up to me and gave me some Oreos.  When Thai people give a gift to a foreigner it is a pretty big deal.  It’s not huge but it really means something special.  It means that they respect you and thank you for something that you may have done for them.  We bowed to each other and then I had to go.  He was a really awesome guy.

Yesterday was really good too.  We went to a members house to teach a referral that they gave us.  This family is so funny and they joke all of the time hahaha.  They love us and were sad that we might be going to our area this week.  It was a really good lesson and we felt the spirit really strong in that lesson.  This family is so cool here.  It really reminded me of you guys hahaha they were very sarcastic.

Ok about my new comp.  His name is Elder LeSueur.  He is from Arizona and he is the last member of his family.  He is way funny and I have learned a lot from him.  We are setting goals and really wanting to improve.  He actually goes home in April.  Him and I joke around all of the time and have not really had any problems.  He is way different than I am but he is so much fun to be around hahaha.

I love you so much Mom and everyone at home.  I miss you but I know that the Lord is taking care of all of you for me.  I love you.

Elder Bryce

Dad make sure you send pictures.  I have one person here who wants to see them even more than I do haha I forgot to tell you some stuff haha.  Right now we have 10 elders in the house.  It is a little packed but way fun hahaha.

This week we get to eat thanksgiving dinner 2 times.  One is with a Thai family who just likes to celebrate it and the other is with foreigners in Bangkok.  I am way excited hahaha.

One other thing is last week I thought about grandma. I pulled out her picture and I started to cry a little.  Then I opened my PMG to a random page and it was on the Plan of Salvation and that made me stop.  I don’t have time right now but I love you so much and I wanted to thank you for all that you have done for me.

Elder Bryce

An interesting week

 

Hey Mom and Dad!

  

That is one thing that I have been working on now is just being bold but also not being overbearing.  President Smith and Elder Gong said something really cool today in Zone Conference.  They said that the difference between the two is that being bold is having the spirit with you and being over bearing is leaning to our own understanding and not really focusing on the spirit so if it feels right refer him the Missionaries.  Tell Tyler and Creed that I said hi and that i am doing well and tell the members of the ward the same thing that ask about me.  Well this moves has been interesting.  I thought I would be leaving Buriram on that Wednesday or Thursday and it turns out I got a call from the Ap’s Monday night saying that I needed to get out of Buriram by 8:00 the next morning hahah I didn’t start packing until that night because we had stuff to do and then we had to go and teach.  It was a very interesting two days after that.  I had no idea how crazy it was until I got here.  Over half of my zone are not in their areas.  I have not even seen my area.  It is a place called Saphan Mai.  The water  is up to peoples chests and it is dangerous to go in the water.   After I got here I learned that my comp wasn’t even in Bangkok yet hahaha that was actually really funny when I learned that so I was staying with 2 other elders for 2 days and they were not able to work because we had to buy food storage and the traffic is terrible now because a lot of the roads are closed.  After that I got a call from the Ap’s that said that I was going to be meeting my comp at the bus station that next morning.  I finally got to meet him and now we only have about 4 weeks in the transfer and we can’t work in our area.  It sounds stressful and it is a little bit but it has actually been a really fun adventure hahaha.  I might move back out of Bangkok again until the flood waters are gone and people said that it could be 2 weeks to a month before the waters are gone.  This has not happened for over 60 years.  And that one was not as bad as this.  I had no idea how bad it was until I got here.  In the Esan we had no idea what was going on until this all happened and now I know.  The good news is that the Lord is preparing the hearts and the minds of the people to receive the Gospel.

We actually had a person really come up to us and very meanly say "thank the Lord" .  She I’m sure was Buddhist and I judged her for a small moment.  I thought for a second and then I felt a feeling of guilt.  I don’t know what she has experienced or what the flood has done to her house and then I saw her as a daughter of God.  It was a really small but a very cool experience.  So I will tell you a little bit about the house that I am in right now.  Well there are 8 elders in the house right now.  The other companionships are able to go back to their areas but we are the only ones that are not able to go back.  So we work in a place called Bangnaa.  It is hard because we don’t know where to go to invite because that house is actually in the sisters area and same with the area around the church.  But we do the best that we can and we plan for our investigators.

Sorry I am almost out of time now but I just wanted to share a really cool experience before I stopped.  So Elder Gong is a member of the 70.  He has a mission tour and the question was asked how can we have to the same desire as the 3 Nephites.  He answered and  said that we need love for the people that we serve and that desire will come over time.  As we read the scriptures and study about Christ and really be like Him.  It was amazing to hear that for me.  I just felt the spirit tell me what I need to start doing more.  It felt really reassuring when he said that and I felt very strong after that.

I love you all so much Thank you Mom and Dad for everything that you do for me.  Thank you everyone for your prayers.  I love you so much and I know that everything is true.

Elder Bryce

PS I have been having some leg problems and I will keep you updated on that.  And I will keep you updated on everything else.  I love you so much and please pray for the Thai people right now.  They need it.

Bryce is moving to Bangkok

Hey Momma!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well it sounds like everything is going very well back at home. But here we started singing Christmas songs when October started. People kind of acknowledge Halloween here but it really isn’t that big or anything so for me it was just a kind of normal day for us hahaha and very boring.  Although we did dress up in our house that day and took some pictures because we had 4 elders there.  But here people really don’t go out and trick-or-treat.  They might do it more in Bangkok but they really don’t do it here.  Really the only thing that is really exciting is the rice harvest right now.  I will actually be helping on Wednesday with one of our investigators.  I have heard that they have Christmas here but its not very big.  It is big with the members but that is about it.  I am going to be serving in Bangkok so I actually might get Thanksgiving dinner because most of the Missionaries there go to the international branch and they eat with families there.  By the way I am going to be moving to Bangkok.  I am going to miss Buriram a lot!  There are so many people here that I love and that I want to still help and see them baptized but I know that the Lord has work for me to do somewhere else.  These last couple of weeks were just really awesome!  Having 4 elders here was really awesome and really helped with the work here.  We have so many investigators that are really willing to follow Jesus Christ.  I love them all.  Some of them are more different than others but they all mean so much to me.  They are really my best friends.  I am really going to miss my comp after this transfer too.  It has been so much being with a Thai elder.  I have learned so much from him and him and I are now just best friends.  I actually did show a picture of Ciara to him and he wants to marry her.  hahahaha He said that he would go to America to marry her if he has too.  hahaha we just laughed after that.  My new comps name is Elder Lesuir or something like that.

Ok experiences for the week.  We had a really good lesson with the Filipino family that we have been teaching.  They have so much faith and really want to be baptized and they understand everything and how important it all is.  Yesterday was probably the coolest lesson I have had since I have been here.  Yesterday we just asked a couple of questions to see if there was anything that they still didn’t understand or didn’t know.  While we were asking we started teaching about baptism and the mom asked who can baptize.  We explained the Priesthood to them and then we started talking just about parts of the  church and how it works.  Her daughter usually never talks in lessons and we were really concerned with her for a while because we would ask her questions but she would never respond and she would never participate in lesson.  We found out how she was feeling the other day.  She is so excited about it all.  She was asking about how soon she can be baptized and then she asked about being a missionary.  She actually added Ciara as a friend on facebook so tell cc to accept her and to start talking to her because she wants to practice English.  Teaching this family has been a very special experience in my life.  This family has been willing to give up things just to follow Christ and his true church.  In another lesson with them they had a friend who is catholic and the lesson before he had some problems with the 10 commandments and that we should only pray to God and not to saints.  The next lesson he said that he prayed about it and that it felt right that he needed to stop praying to saints.  We invited him to go to church but he said that he would be fired from his teaching job if he didn’t go to the catholic mass.  He then said that he is going to pray to heavenly Father to find another job so that he can join this church.  These people are so amazing mom.  I cannot thank my Heavenly Father enough for the opportunity to share his message with them and also to learn from them.  I want to see them in white so badly.

I think these last couple of weeks I have really started to uncover things that I would have never thought of before and I don’t want this to ever end.  Noticing the changes that this gospel brings in the lives of others is something that cannot ever be fully comprehended.  There is nothing else in the world that can do the same thing.  I love you all so much.  Thank you for all that you are doing and all that you have done for me in this life to help me grow and be the person that I am today.  I love you all for everything that you do.

-Elder Bryce

10/30/11

Hey Dad!

That is a really good looking deer.  I am pretty sure that we don’t have those here.  I have something that is kind of like it in the north but it is really weird looking and thee tai people just don’t think it is that cool.  I think that there might be some in the Bangkok zoo but I haven’t been so I really don’t know.  I hear that they have a lot of American animals at this zoo hahaha.  I am going to be really excited for this next story.  Tell Ryan Jess and Troy and the Moeller clan that I said hi and that I am doing well.  That sounds like just the perfect hunt for you.  The animal wasn’t big so it was easy to carry and you didn’t have to do a whole lot to get it done hahaha.  I would say that it is the dream hunt for me hahahah.  This week was a really fun week.  We have had 4 elders in my area and they are just the coolest people in the world hahaha.  We have fun all of the time and it is really cool to see how much work we are able to get done with 4 people.  Not a lot has happened this last week.  Just everyone is trying to get back up on their feet from the flooding that has been going on.  There are a lot of camps that are outside of Bangkok for everyone.  All Missionaries are safe and are able to work in other areas of the mission.  My comp loves the pictures that you sent.  He said that he kind of wants to do the same thing one day but killing animals is really weird for people here because they value some of them just like a human soul.  I think that is way cool about those people getting baptized.  Now the ward just needs to make sure that they stay active in the church and do all that they can to also start talking to their families.  I really think that is the coolest thing in the world.  I love you so much Dad and i love seeing these pictures of you and just hunting hahaha my comp loves them just because he never sees them.

I love you so much Dad!  You really prepared me for this work.  I love you and I will talk to you next week.

Elder Bryce

Hey Momma!!!!

Ok so to answer your questions.  I wont get my Halloween package for the next couple of weeks because of everything that is going on.  The Mission right now is just really disorganized because of the flooding.  We can’t even get new planners or Book of Mormons or anything from Bangkok right now. I don’t know what is going to happen with transfers meeting until everything gets back to normal.  I wish I did know but no one really knows.  We have asked all of our leaders but they really all don’t know either.  Elder Osbourne and Elder Grover came here.  I knew Elder Osbourne in the MTC.  He is way funny and Elder Grover is just awesome!!!!!!  We have all had a blast here in Buriram and with 4 elders here we have been getting a lot of work done.  I have been doing a lot of walking lately hahaha.  I wish I could tell you more but that is basically all that I know about transfers.  We might find out more this next week but everything is just really up to the flooding and how much water is going to be let out of Chaing Mai.

I really hope that he is really ready too!  I told him that in the letter that i sent him but i still haven’t gotten his letter.  We haven’t gotten mail for 2 weeks so it is probably waiting.  Well This week was really really fun.  We started inviting by a Baptist church and have found a lot of people that are really interested.  They are all familiar with Christ but really don’t know what he did for all of us because most churches don’t ever teach that very well or they just don’t know themselves.  Most of the other churches here really do not like us because of how bold we are in telling everyone that we are the only true church on the earth.  They really don’t like to hear that.  They also just don’t take the time to study about it and some of our converts are unsure about there testimonies because of some of these churches.  It is really sad because they say that they follow Christ but they try to destroy the faith of other people.  This week all of our investigators are doing really well.  Sorry not a lot has happened this week so this might be a short email.  We did have a really good experience with a guy named John.  He is from England and he came here because he had no more family or friends that were alive in England.  He is just a lonely man that doesn’t have a purpose now.  We talked to him for a while and then asked him to pray.  He prayed and asked God what he should do in this life because he has no one to talk to and he just doesn’t know what to do with his life.  He told us that hi goal is to just make everyone smile a lot more.  He builds awesome vehicles that really just make people smile.  He loves us and after his prayer he was crying.  We told him that God has a plan for all of us and that we were going to teach what his purpose is next lesson.  Then the next day he couldn’t meet with us.  I have never seen a man like that cry and be so lonely.  The Gospel is what he really needs in his life.

I love that story too btw in Mosiah. (The King Benjamin speech story). We just talked about it the other day and had the same thought hahaha. I love you Mom so much!  I really wish I would have done a better job telling you and expressing it to you and Dad whenIi was still home.  I love you so much and I know that the Lord is watching over you for me.

Elder Bryce

p.s.  I cant believe that you almost didnt get the machine hahaha

Hey sorry I forgot something. So the other day we met this family that was exactly like ours!  The mother was so nice and really liked foreigners.  Her sister married man from Germany and he was really awesome to this family and even did all of the ceremonies that they do for Buddist weddings and even wore all of the clothing.  This family fed us dinner although it was not the best but they were so nice.  We ate fish, rice , crickets and veggies.  That was about it hahaha it was ok but the fish was weird.  You would basically eat the entire fish.  Sorry that was a little extra story for the week

10/24/11
Hey Dad!
hahaha that sounds like the adventure for a while for you.  I remember doing the roof for the shed and that was enough for me hahahaha.  Im glad that my kids will be doing it next time instead of me.  Then i will also have to worry about the roof on my house hahaha.  If you see gary again tell him that i said hi.  I remember how bad those shingles looked.  They looked like paper was the only thing that was really left on the whole roof.  It will take some time getting used to having a dog when i get home.  I hate them now.  They are just not fun here.  Even the little ones i dont like just because they bark all of the time.  They are controlled by satan.  Every time that we try to talk to someone they just start barking.  The other day one came up and stole an investigators shoe haha that was pretty funny but it stopped the lesson.  When you get your deer send some pictures.  They dont really have deer here. They have something that is kind of like an elk but it is really small.  I met one guy the other day that said he wants to go to utah to go hunting.  He said that he wanted to shoot something big there because this country doesnt have anything hahaha.  It sounds like you cross country team is starting to get better.  Just keep drilling them and i think they will get it haha.  I think that when i get back hunting will just be awesome.  I wont ever care about how hot it is i know that.  I am pretty sure that i have neve felt this hot in my life and its not even hot season hahaha.  I will die in the cold though haha.  I love you Dad and i know that the L:ord is watching over you and the family.  I pray for it every night.  I love you so much.
Elder Bryce

 

Hey Momma!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well I'm pretty sure that i learned that same lesson when i first got into country and as i have been working in Buriram.  Elder Barret also sent me an email about the same thing hahaha  When I read your email I laughed a little just because I think that has been a common theme of this week for me.  This week has been really good.  At first it was hard.  I was struggling with just being happy and I learned that my comp was struggling with the same thing.  It actually really made me doubt myself about everything.  Then me and my comp talked about it and how he felt the same way.  It was really cool to see that we had companionship unity like that hahaha.  We talked about it and knew that it was all from Satan.  He really worked hard on us this week for some reason.  We have no idea why he was but he was.  Later on in the week it got much better and yesterday was just the best Sunday that I have had in Thailand.  I think that I told you about the family that I have been teaching that is from the Philippines.  A couple of days ago she confessed something to us that was pretty serious.  She really trusts us and this was something that we needed to know.  She hasn’t been to church in a very long time and hasn’t even had a Bible for about 2 years.  She said that she has been searching for a very long time to find the truth and just the right religion.  She said that she didn’t feel good about any other sect but when she started talking to sister Rose, she felt that she needed to meet with us.  We talked about the Word of Wisdom the other day and she said that she drinks coffee everyday but she said that if it was a commandments of God that she would stop drinking it to be better.  Those lessons are always so powerful.  She really wants to come closer to our Heavenly Father.  She really does try hard to read in the Book of Mormon but she works a lot.  She has 2 jobs and at one point she was only getting 2 hours of sleep every 2 or 3 days.  She is way awesome and we are trying to teach her boyfriend but he is Thai so we decided that it would e easier to teach them separately.  This family is so awesome!  Although I’m pretty sure one of her friends wanted to date me.  She asked how old I was and when i said that i was only 19 she seemed pretty disappointed.  Hahaha But her friend is learning now also so I don’t have a problem.

I remember at the MTC we all loved music and the spoken word.  It was the only time that we were able to listen to music hahaha.  They have some cool numbers with combined choirs sometimes and they are really really cool.  I loved seeing Sally Larsen whenever they showed her hahaha i just like being able to say that I am familiar with someone in the choir.

So about the flooding I will send pictures but it has been interesting.  It only flooded one place in Buriram but they cleaned it up really quickly.  Everyone else other than in the mountains has been flooding.  In Surin for a seminary activity they were fishing in the street hahaha.  It was pretty funny.  Some of the Missionaries in Bangkok are actually going to be coming into our zone so they can work.  So our district is going to have 8 people instead of just 4.  We are all way excited because there has not been 4 elders in Buriram for a very long time.  The transfer was extended for another 3 weeks so I probably won’t get my package for another 3 weeks.  But it means that I get to stay with elder Piyanut for a longer time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  He is way awesome!  He really wants to learn English because his dad promised him that if he was able to pass a test that his dad would pay for him  to go to BYU Hawaii.

So I did talk to Roger that day and I told him that I would be ringing friends and family to help.  He got really excited after I said that.  He loves Mormons but he doesn’t want to be one haha I don’t understand that one.  He really doesn’t like any other sect than ours but he wont join haha.  His web site is treeoflifeorphanage.com.  He said that he would really be willing to help.  It is about 300 baht a day and he also will set up things if we want to go and tour some places.  He is a way cool guy but for now we had to set him aside as an investigator.  That 300 baht a day he will feed us and he provides rooms.  He is really a good guy and I would love to see him again after I come back and I want all of you to meet him to.  He said that it has been a long time since he has seen a good American Morman family hahaha.

That is about it for this week.  I am going to be here for another 3 weeks and i am way excited for it!  I love you so much Mom and i pray for all of you everyday.

I know that the Lord is watching over you for me.

Elder Bryce

10/17/11

Look at the picture page, Bryce sent several this time; and he sent descriptions!!!


It sounds like you had a pretty good week this week.  Send me a picture of the back yard.  I actually miss seeing American grass.  I have only seen it once because i went to one foreigners house haha but I have not seen it since.  Same thing goes with carpet.  We only have tile floors here.  The only carpet that I have seen is in the Church and that is just like the school carpet.  Tell Matt that I said hi and that I actually do want an email from him and his family.  Hahaha that is awesome about the worm!  (Steve pretended to eat a worm for his grandson, but it dropped into his mouth). I loved that part and I can only picture what Micah did after hahaha.  Here we eat bugs all of the time.  They are usually just in our rice.  It bothered me at first but then I got over it really quickly.  I learned that it really is just extra protein.  haha well this week was really good.  I will include all of the stuff in the other email but i thought I would tell you this one thing.  I was reading in the Liahona all about the Book of Mormon and there was a talk by Neil L. Anderson.  It was a really really good talk about the parents and children in the Book of Mormon.  How they would counsel their sons.  I also read about the 2,000 warriors of Helamen and how they remember the example of their fathers and they were taught by their mothers.  I really thought about you and Mom and how you have really taught me the ways of the Lord.  I love you So much Dad and I know how much you have sacrificed for me to be here.  I love you so much.

-Elder Bryce

This week was a pretty awesome week!  At the begining it was pretty rough.  Me and my comp did not get along at first but now everything is fine and we are working really well now.  We have been having a blast actually.  He is a really funny guy.  I haven’t really told much about him so this email I will.  He is about 22 and has been a member for about 13 years.  His family is a part member family.  He loves America and everything about it and said that he is going to go to BYU Provo after his mission.  I can’t encourage that but I told him a little bit about it anyway.  This week we just have been really teaching awesome and through the Holy Ghost.  I know that it would be impossible to teach with out Him there.  We have noticed that the message has really been understood by our investigators.  It was just a really good week.  We also had a training meeting in Ubon this last week.  President and Sister Smith were there.  I really don’t know why but I always end up sitting by Sister Smith.  This time I got to translate for her.  I was a little scared but I know that the spirit helped me out a lot.  I really don’t even mean to sit by them.  I sit down and then they came in and sat right next to me.  I don’t brown nose because you taught me better than that but i have a feeling a few missionaries think that i have hahaha.  Well it is pretty sure that i am going to be moving this transfer and i might be going to Bangkok and serve there with my last comp as my Zone leader but i wont know until Monday next week.  And it is really all up to the Lord and where He think that i need to go to serve.

This week we had a really cool experience with a family from the Philippines.  She started crying in the middle of the lesson and said that she has felt alone and has felt guilt most of her life because of the sins that she has done.  We were trying to get to the point of repentance but the members were just going off about random stuff and we lost control of the lesson.  She was really excited about us coming over more often and said that we could come over everyday if we really wanted to.  She is so amazing.  She has such strong faith in Christ and our Heavenly Father. She was catholic so she has never really been taught how to repent.  That was about all for this week.  No we don’t eat those fish they are just for show but my comp wanted to play with it.  That house was not near ours but we pass by it a lot and I loved the green and the red so i took the picture.  So I don’t have a lot of time today but i do want to say how much i love you.  I told Dad already but I was reading in the Book of Mormon Liahona and it had a talk about parents in the Book of Mormon and you and Dad have done the same thing with all of us.  I know that you have taught me to love Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father.  I have felt your words to be true through the Holy Ghost.  I have never fully appreciated what I have been taught until i have seen it change people lives.  I love you and I thank you and Dad for everything that you have taught me.  I love you so much.

-Elder Bryce

10/10/11 Emails

Hey DAD!

Well it sounds like you are pretty busy at home with school and stuff.  It does sound like you have a really good team but they just need to be committed more.  Buriram is basically just that.  We do have a mountain with a giant Budda but that is about the only landscape that we really have here.  It is actually kind of nice that we really don’t have any hills or anything.  It makes riding bikes a lot more pleasant hahaha.  Up in the North there are a lot of mountains but we don’t have a lot of missionaries up there.  I really don’t know why because I have heard that it is really good up there.  Our areas that are in the north are call Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.  We only have about 10 missionaries there.  From what I heard it is a really cool place but I might not ever go there.  Hhaha it all depends on where the Lord will call me.  Actually a lot of Thailand is not really open.  Most of the east is some of the north and then we have Bangkok.  The south is apparently dangerous because of the Islamic influence there and the center and the west is Babylon.  hahaha I have no idea but that is what my last comp said.

Most of the water I guess comes from rain fall but I really don’t know.  I will take some pictures of the rice fields this week and send it.  We actually just started teaching someone way out side of the city and it is beautiful out there.  The air is so fresh and it is all just green!  That was actually a really fun adventure.  We left our house at 9:00 and got there at 10:00.  After the main road we had dirt roads for about 3 kilos.  Then we learned that we had passed her house 2 kilos back haha it was really fun!  When we got there she saw that we had come a long way so she broke open coconuts for us so we could have something to drink.  I always thought about doing that and now i actually did! It is actually really good!  We actually have coconut trees in our yard so im going to start doing that haha.

This week was really good.  I learned a lot about myself and the Gospel this week.  Conference was really good even though it was all in Thai.  I said a prayer and asked for help to understand and it worked!  I really liked president Monson’s talk in Priesthood session.  It was a pretty good week.

I love you so much dad and tell the bishop that i said hi.  and everyone else.  Thank you for all that you have done for me.

-Elder Bryce

Hey Mom!!!

This week was really good!  I learned a lot from my comp and a lot of other things.  I also got to talk to my old comp so that was really fun!  We talked for a good 20 min just about how everything was going.  Right now we are teaching a really cool family.  They are from the Philippines!  I think I told you about them already, but we finally were able to give them a Book of Mormon.  It was one of my personal copies but I really didn’t care because it is more important that they have it right now.  We will get them personal copies this week but I really wanted them to start reading now.  They are doing well and they are already friends with a bunch of members already so I think that it will all be really good.  I told Dad but this week we had a really fun adventure.  On Tuesday we had to go and visit a referral.  She was outside of the city but my comp didn’t tell me that she was about 6 kilos out sided of the city haha.  We rode our bikes there and it was really cool.  We left the house at 9:00 and got there at 10:00.  She was alone so we couldn’t teach her but we shared a very quick message and she said that she would start to pray.  When we got there she saw that we were really tired and so she broke open a couple of coconuts for us so we would have something to drink.  It was so good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Where she lives is so beautiful too.  It is all just rice fields but it is all so green and the air is really fresh.  I loved it out there.  It really made me think about how this was all created.  I thought about how much God really loves us and how beautiful the earth really is.

We also got to watch conference this week.  It was all in Thai but I said a prayer before the meetings started and I was able to understand a  lot of it.  I took notes so that I could follow a long but I really knew that I wouldn’t have been able to do any of it if the spirit didn’t help me.  Actually that is true with most cases.  I know that I am not the smartest person and so if I didn’t have the spirit helping me understand I would have never been able to survive.  I have really felt the spirit help this week.  I know I would have never been able to do any of this on my own.  Other than conference not much else has happened this week.  Tell Smith that I said hi and Becky also.

I love you so much Momma!  I know that your prayers are helping me out here.  I love you so much and miss you but like I have said time is flying so fast!

Next week I promise that I will write more but not much happened this week hahaha.

-Elder Bryce

Email this week

Check out the picture tab, Bryce sent two pictures!!!!

Hey Mom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week sounds like a great week for you.  I’m proud of my old High school and that they are kicking butt again.  I remember in the MTC one Elder didn’t really like me because I wore my lone peak shorts to gym and he went to PG.  He tried to beat me in four square all the time and I would beat him every time.  hahaha its pretty bad when you have a grudge against someone in 4 square hahaha.  Well I really will miss your salsa not going to lie.  I’m pretty sure that there is only one Mexican restaurant in Thailand and it is in Bangkok haha.  I actually do miss Mexican food but Esan food is better haha.  Esan food is really spicy and really easy to make so we eat it all the time. Send me a picture when everything is up for Halloween.  They actually celebrate it here but not big like we do it haha.  They even do Christmas here but they just don’t really know what it means.

Well I actually know all of those names hahaha.  Everyone but Stott were our little brothers in the MTC.  I am friends with Elder Todd and I got to actually go on splits with him and he is really good!

This week we will be watching conference.  I will be reading scriptures the whole time because I wont have a chance to watch it in English.  I will read the Liahona when it comes out but until then it will all be a surprise hahaha.

That is way cool about the New Temples that are being built and the new one in Provo will be interesting.  It should be done by the time that I get maybe?  But I will really want to go to it for sure when I get back.  Actually the first thing that I want to do when I get back is to go to the Salt Lake Temple.  And I mean right when I get off the plane.  I will be away from a temple for the next two years and it will be the first thing that I will really want to do haha. besides spending time with my family.

I really don’t even want to think about Brittanie getting married!  It is still really weird to me that she is and then you put in the part where she will have kids by then! hahaha I turned to my comp and he was even surprised haha but when you go to her reception tell her congrats for me.

Well here we get rain everyday but because we are higher up we don’t ever get flooded.  I really don’t know about the other Elders.  We are kind of in our own world in Buri Ram.  We only talk with the Elders in Surin and our zone leaders and they don’t talk about stuff very often.  Actually when my comp was on the phone with them they told me that Sister Jolley missed me hahaha She told me that I was like a little brother to her haha.  She actually leaves this transfer.  I will be able to see her leave because I am going to be moving.  I haven’t been told that I will be but it is pretty sure because we have a bunch of Thai Missionaries that need to be trained and so my comp will need to train someone so by October I will be out of Buri cRam.  It is actually really weird to think about because I have been here since June.  I really feel like I haven’t been here for very long but I have been here for over 3 months and when the transfer is over it will be 4 months.  It is so weird to think about time here because I just don’t feel like there is enough time to get the work done.  I wake up and then an hour later it seems like I am getting ready for bed.

This week was just awesome for investigators.  We couldn’t meet with the family that was golden because the dad had to go and work for the whole week but they said that we can meet them this week for sure.  We did get to meet a Phillipino family that is way awesome.  The mother knows Sister Rose and said that she wanted her kids to go to our church.  She is catholic and really wants her kids to be familiar with Christ.  She likes our church a lot but she feels bad because of something going on with her family so she says that we won’t accept her because of what she did.  We finally met them yesterday and they even brought a bunch of friends over.  Her boyfriend is Buddist and doesn’t know English at all.  So I would talk in English and then say what I said in Thai and then my comp would speak in Thai and I would translate for him.  The spirit was really strong and all of them want a copy of the Book of Mormon in English and Tagolog.  They were all really excited.  That was really the highlight of the week.  It was a pretty good week.  We did have a member come that was the seminary teacher of my comp so he bought us Swensen’s that day.  It was really fun haha because he was comps with my MTC Teacher hahaha.

Ok I have gotten the hint about pictures hahaha I notice that one line in every email that you send hahahaha.  I will send a package soon but I just have to go to Surin and get some stuff first.  Sorry!  but I will send you a picture of my comps seminary teacher with us today.

I love you so much Mom!  I really feel your prayers helping me and I am working as hard as I can for the Lord.  I love you and I know the Lord is watching over you for me.

-Elder Bryce

Hey Dad!

I haven’t gotten a chance to see conference yet.  We will get the DVD's this weekend and watch them but I think that I will be reading scriptures for most of the time.  I won’t have a chance to watch them in English.  If I was in Bangkok or a big city then I would but I will just have to read in the Liahona about them.  That is way funny about what Micah said to Bill.  By the way tell them that I said hi and that I am doing just great. That sounds great about cross country.  Does AF have a really good team this year or have they always been like that?  I have never really known.  Not going to lie I do miss working on cars.  I work on my bike every once in a while but it is just not the same hahaha but it is easier hahaha.  Well this week was a pretty good week.  I got to touch a water buffalo for the first time in my life hahaha.  It was pretty fun I had to move very slowly in order to do it though.  We also might fish this week haha that sounds weird but my comp wants to cook fish for me because I made spaghetti for him haha.  When I come home for Priesthood session we will go to a Thai place if that is ok?  haha but I will probably wonder why it is so expensive.  Here it is about a $1 to eat an entire meal.  And it is really good food hahaha.

This week was pretty interesting.  We had a couple of investigators really start to show their faith but also a couple of them that started to shrink a little.  They either get bored or things get too hard for them and they do what is "easier".  We did do something that I have never done before.  We went inside of another church and talked with the leader of that church.  We didn’t get to talk with him for very long but he didn’t like us at all hahaha.  They gave us a copy of the Bible and we told them that because they gave us a book we wanted to give them one and we handed them a Book of Mormon explained a little and left.  It was very interesting so see another Christian church.

I love you so much Dad! You have really taught me how to be the person I need to be.  You and Mom both taught me how to work and sweat haha.  I do that a lot here.  I love you and I don’t think that I could have been blessed with a better Father and Mother.

-Elder Bryce

Hi Mom!!!!!

This week has definitely been an interesting one.  It sounds like a lot is going on back at home right now.  Give my condolences to sister Webb and tell her that I love her and I am going to miss Brother Webb a lot.  It was so weird because I feel like I just saw him yesterday.  He was always really nice to me even when I hit his window with a golf ball.  I really like the book of grandmas.  It is like I am carrying a little piece of her with me while I am out here.  There were some cards with some scriptures written on them so I look at them every once in a while.  Zone conference was awesome!  We had so much fun and a member made really good food for us after.  Well this week we had a few things happen but I will start with my new comp.

He is from a city called Udon.  He was serving in Bankok until he came out to Buriram.  He was actually companions with Elder Patterson one of the people that was in the MTC with me.  If you thought that I was weird hahaha my comp is even better than I am.  He is just happy all of the time no matter what and he is always singing and just doing odd stuff hahaha it is a blast.  I will talk a picture and send it next week of the house.  Today we don't have a lot of time because we need to get on a bus at 4:00 but I will write it down so that I will remember.  I took a couple of really cool pictures this last week and I will send them next week also.  This week we had a chance to teach two really golden investigators.  One was a family.  I'm not sure if you remember the magician that I told you about but his family is so cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  They really want to be baptized but they have to be interviewed by one of President Smith's counselors before they can.  We taught them restoration and the plan of happiness this week and they loved it.  We asked them if they believed in it and he said yes but she was a little hesitant.  We asked why and she was like in head and my heart it feels right but i do not know for sure.  We told her that that was the holy ghost telling her that it was true and she felt much better after we told her that.  When we taught the plan of happiness the father was teaching it all by the end of the lesson.  I don't know how he knew it all but he was talking about the 3 kingdoms like he had grown up with knowing it.  They were all way excited to learn this week and they love going to church and it feels like one of those mission stories that is too good to be true.  It is way cool to be in one of those stories!!!  Before we leave their house he always shows us magic tricks and he is really really good!  Some stuff I just don't understand! haha but it is really awesome just to see them changed their lives around just to follow Christ!  After that we taught another person named Mai.  She at first just wanted to learn English so a member invited her to English class and then we always share a spiritual thought after and she said that she was interested in the church.  After that she has been golden!  She is willing to change her life but she is always unsure at first.  She is scared to make some changes but we ask her to pray about it and then she just does it.  She had a piercing in her tongue and when we asked her to take it out she was really unsure and then we called her the next day and asked her about it and she said that she prayed and knew that she had to take it out.  She is way awesome and has a ton of faith in Christ.  It is so cool to see people just break away from traditions and willing to follow Christ and his only true church.  It is amazing to see these changes in real life.  I had always heard about them but had never seen them for myself.  It really is just like in Alma 32 when he talks about faith how people just start with an experiment on his words.  After that they give it room to grow and they change their lives.  I love it here so much.  I love the people even when I cant understand what they are saying to me at all.  I know through the Holy Ghost what they are trying to say to me.  It feels good to see the Lords hand in other peoples lives.  I never really noticed it before in mine but now I notice it everyday.  I love it so much!

Tell everyone that I said hi and tell JJ that I will see him at his Homecoming.  I will be sending everyone Christmas presents soon so don't open them when they come because I have to send them in October.  I have to send them then because after October they won't let people send anything out of the country over 500 grams haha so I will send it soon.  You can open one when I send it but nothing else.

I love you so much Mom! I of course miss you but 2 years is nothing hahaha i feel like I just got here yesterday but I have been out 6 months now.  I feel like time doesn't exist haha.  I love you so much and I know the Lord is watching over you for me.  I love you.

-Elder Bryce

Hey Dad,

Well that sounds like a really good hike and adventure.  I have always wanted to go up there but I just never took the time before.  I never realized how alike Bracken and I are to you and Keith.  We say that we are only going to do a little bit and then we end up going much farther than we expected hahaha.  I thought about our attempt at hiking up Timp and how that turned out hahaha it made me laugh a lot hahaha i loved it.  So is it very huntable up there?  I sure that it would be interesting trying to get an elk out of there.  A deer would be ok but an elk would be pretty hard.  Haha you and mom are lucky because i haven't even seen a picture of zone conference hahaha.  It was way fun though and the member that made for us after was the best ever!!!!!!!!!!! There is one dish that is so good.  In Thai it is call waterfall pork.  It sounds weird but all it is is spicy pork with sticky rice.  It is probably one of my favorite foods ever and it is really easy to make.  It would be really cool on a camp out.  Actually most Thai food is really good for camping.  Lots of rice though haha.  The work here is really awesome Dad.  I love it and I love seeing people's lives being blessed by the hand of the Lord and I know that it is not me who is doing the work but it is the Lord through me.  I thought about it the other day that he really doesn't need us here.  He could just do it some other way but he gave me a chance to grow and to see growth in our brothers and sisters.  Seeing the Lords hand actually reach out to people is amazing.  I had always heard of stories like it but I had never expericened it for myself and now I have.  I love you so much Dad!

-Elder Bryce

Mission blog

The mission blog for this mission is smithhere.com  There are currently four pictures from zone conferences on the site.  If you go to the fourth picture down and look at the Elder at the left side of the picture, that is Bryce.

Looks and sounds like you had a good trip!  That is way awesome that Kirk missed all day and then he killed two with one shot!  I read that and I thought it was  awesome!  What gun are you using because I really don’t recognize it at all.  Of course Brennan got his on the first shot!  He usually always does.  And how did the Barrett boys do?  Tell Ryan that I said hi and I want to know where he goes.  Were you at that same ranch that we were at last year too?  Or were you somewhere else.  The car part sounds awesome!!!! I don’t think that something like that has ever happened when I have gone.  I know that I have never had to get someone un-stuck before haha it sounds like it was a pretty good day and you got to drive the Jeep so that makes it even better.  Well not much has happened here this week.  It has been interesting with a new companion.  My new comp is actually a Thai elder.  He is way fun and it has been interesting speaking Thai all day everyday.  I only ever speak English with the Philipino in the branch or to myself.  He is a really good Missionary and he has a lot of energy all the time!  I saw the picture of you and the antelope and I got excited and he just wasn’t sure what to think because most times hunting is looked down upon here.  Because of the whole reincarnation thing they believe that it is like killing a person but there are some people who hunt.  They have these elk looking things that it looks like a mix between an elk and a deer.  They look kind of weird.  So do all of the other animals in Thailand.  Thank you for your note in the package and for the package.  I got it and I was just so excited to open it that I didn’t wait.  Thank you for the words of encouragement and all that you have sacrificed for me to be here.  I love you so much Dad and just make sure that you put me in for antelope before I come home so I can go hahaha.  I love you and thank you for being the person and example to me.

-Elder Bryce

Hey Momma!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well it sounds like a lot is going on in the Family right now.  Sorry this one is going to be short but a few things have happened that I want to tell you about.  I got a new comp and guess what?  He is Thai!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I speak Thai with him all of the time and it is very interesting but he is helping me with Thai and I help him with his English.  He is way cool and I cant wait to get to know him for another 6 weeks!.  He is way cool and was companions with one of the missionaries that I knew in the MTC.  We laugh all the time and I am understanding Thai better.  I will miss Elder Gudmundsen though.  He was an awesome comp but we talked already and we are going on a road trip after I come home and I am going to spend some time in San Diego at his house haha. By the way the ride to Bangkok was long of course but I slept for most of it.  It was way fun though and when I got my package I got really excited and opened it right away.  I loved all of it.  I can’t  read that book but I’m going to carry it with me all the time.  It had note cards that she had written on and I loved them a lot.  It was like a little piece of her is out here with me.  The scriptures that she put on them are awesome! And I read one a day.  Not going to lie I did want to cry a little. Not a lot happened this week though.  We all just are getting settled in.  We did teach one family who is way awesome! They are so golden and were so prepared!  Like I said I need to keep this one short but I wanted you to know how much I love you!  I don’t think there is a better Mom in the world!  I love you so much and thank you for everything that you have done for me and for me to be out here.  I love you so much and I know that the Lord is with you.

Elder Bryce

ps say hi to sister Curtis for me.