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.

Hi MOMMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well not much has happened this week.  My comp has been sick so we have stayed inside a lot of the time.  I did get to teach a lot and we had exchanges with the zone leaders.  That was way fun!  They are so funny and the night before they left we were all just talking about the words in Thai that are swear words in English and how funny it will be when we all bear our testimonies when we get home,  They taught me a lot but this next transfer I wont work with them at all.  My comp is going to be a Zone Leader somewhere else.  He got the call today from President Smith so he will be moving and I will be staying in Buriram.  I’m excited and not for a new companion.  I have learned so much from my companion.

Sounds like school is going fairly well.  I laughed when you told me how Ciara is now just doing what I did whenever I was in your classes.  I know she is using my laptop and for the English class she can just use my old papers and for history I still had all of the study guides on there.  I really left everything on the computer so she can use it all.  She can even use my Macbeth analysis if she wants hahahahahaha.  That was really funny about Professor Fish.  I can really see him doing that and it made me laugh a little bit hahaha.  Adam is also giving me updates on football and I really do love it.  Like I said before all we have is soccer here and  I don’t even understand what is going on because we can’t watch it.  Although we might go and pass out English pamphlets at the soccer stadium during a game to see what it is like.  Apparently we have one of the best soccer stadiums in the country.  It is pretty cool.

I have not heard anything about Spencer for a long time.  Tell him that I said hi when you get the chance and ask how he is doing.  Sorry this one is going to be kind of short today just because nothing really happened this week.  I love you Mom so much!  Thank you for being my best friend.  You were always there when I needed you and even when I was tired doing the paper route I missed it a little bit because of them time that we had.  I love you and Dad so much and I told dad but I want to tell you thank you for the sacrifices that you have made for me to be here.  I love you so much and next email will be longer.  I love you!

Elder Bryce Revelli

Hey Dad!

That is way awesome about Elder Scott!  He spoke to us in the MTC and he gave a very powerful talk.  My comp and I were just discussing though that I have never had a person from the 12 come to anything in our stake and now that I’m away from home he comes.  The same thing happened to him.  Right after he left his stake got a general authority.  Hahaha. Sounds like you had a good little camp out with Keith and Gerard and his dad.  I don’t know where that is but what is it like?  I can actually see the stars here because I am higher up than most areas in the east.  We don’t get floods which is nice and we can actually see he stars.  It is way cool to just look up them.  I almost ran into a pole once just because I was looking up in the stars.  School sounds like it is going well.  Mom said that it is nice to have CC as a helper so she just replaced my job hahaha.  I can’t complain though because I had really good breakfast whenever I wanted hahaha.  Tell President that I said hi and that I am doing well and to thank him for his love and his prayers for me and also the Bishop and his counselors.  Well not a lot has happened this week.  We weren’t out of the house very much because my comp has been really sick and really is not feeling well at all.  I gave him a blessing two days ago and that helped but he has still been feeling bad.  It was pretty cool though.  This week we gave the Priesthood to one of the converts that was just baptized.  He is such an awesome member and he helps us out all the time.  He goes to all of the appointments that he can and the mission president really wants to meet with him and really wants to get him to be a missionary asap.  We have a huge meeting this month in Ubon so he gets to meet him there.  His faith is so amazing it is crazy!  He loves sharing with his family but most of his family just wants to stay Buddist.  Other than that not much has happened this week.  This next week I get a new companion.  It is really going to be weird to get someone new.  My trainer has helped me so much and I am really hoping that I get someone who works as hard as he does.  Something cool almost happened here.  I just thought of Bracken when I heard this but after English one day a member came up to us and asked about casting out spirits.  She knew someone that had an aunt that was possessed because she was messing around with ghosts and black magic and stuff like that.  We really had no idea so we called the leaders and they said that if it is still a problem that we would need to do it on a p day haha I don’t know why but it never was brought up again.  Just a little interesting.  That is really all that I have for this week besides to tell you that I love you and thank you for everything that you have done for me and the sacrifices that you have made for me to be here and for everything that you have given me.  I love you so much dad and I know that you and Mom pray for me everyday together.  I love you

Elder Revelli