5/27/2013 Memorial Day

 I have had a good relaxing P-day which was really needed because this week we did not get the car once and we were riding everywhere... slacks and a tie don't go well with bikes.

 

We juast had an amazing talk with Glenn yesterday he has been too busy and he decided that he is taking two weeks off of work so he can meet with us more and focus his time on reading and studying the Book of Mormon. I am very glad I got to be part of his conversion he is going to be a great leader of the Church here in the ABC islands. He is willing to sacrifice so much. We are really busy preparing three four people for baptisms which is more baptisms than there has been here for three years.

 

 I got a taste of what it would be like to teach in Kansas City last week as we met with a Pastor from "The Church of Christ" and when we came he was sure prepared to attack Two things. The Book of Mormon and the Revelacions to prophets. He really tries to think way too much and didn't have any faith in the power of prayer. He had more anti mormon information than I have ever seen in my life haha. I am so grateful for the testimony I have gained in the Book of Mormon and that he was not able to shake my faith or get us to contend with him...the old me would have argued with him so much . But that does not help to help someone feel that something is true. Oftentimes we have to recognize God really wants us to build faith and not trust so much in our own knowledge and when we do that we become more like him and understand how he works within us when we give our hearts to him.

 

 I am very grateful for Mormon chapters 8 through nine today they were a direct answer to my prayers this week and I needed to read them. An investigator named Fernando has a wife that is reactivating and she has been very stubborn lately she is really supportive of the church and her husbands desire to get baptize but it seems Satan is working harder on her than him. Especially through distracting her through stupid TV programs and the other night we only got to teach Fernando because he turned off her Tv show and she stormed off angry at what he said when he told her," you watch this show for two hours every night right after work and when you are finally done it is time to sleep" she then said she needs to watch it to rest and left us to teach him. Satan is pretty clever to be able to make us think we can find rest in idle things.

 

I hope I never return to being like that because I know in many ways I was before. Well I hope you have a wonderful week I love you all very much have a blast in Park City and say Hello to the Excell Family for me!

 

 Love,Elder Brennan Bell

5/20/2013

Do not buy another dog.... please... you can try as hard as you want to replace me but it won't work! ;) This week have been very good lots more people coming to church and the branch is being more productive. It is weird that I only have four more weeks here that is going to be gone so fast! THis is easily my favorite area and I will miss the heck out of it hope I can come back to these Islands some day. Today we went back to that cave from last transfer... wow there are soo many bats in there they kept running into us and everything I never thought I would get I cool experience like that in the missionfield haha. We get to eat so much here. We had two dinners yesterday with lots of food. It was all really good though peruvian food and colombian food. How is your job? Do you still like it? I think it is so weird that I finished of my eight month mark yesterday that feels like such a short time to me that has passed have you been able to get on and accept friend requests from people here on my facebook? There is a memeber here that is awesome that sent a request and really wants a confirmation haha. Papiamentu is getting pretty easy for me now.. but I can't decide if I want to work on Dutch or not.... honestly nowt a very appealing language but I want to learn more languages when I get home I really like it alot now :) I don't have a lot to fill you all in on this week... I need to check my journal. Wait something really cool happpened with Fernando we were worried he wasn't really trying to prepare for baptsim but this whole week him and his wife have been listening to hymns and reading scriptures together and out of nowhere he told us. I am ready to be baptised how soon can I do it? It was so awesome and when his wife and him get married in the temple in a year I hope I can be there! I love you mom tell my brother and sisters hi :) Have a wonderful week!

Mother's Day 2013

I am such a dork... Mom happy day after Mothers day. I love you and think of you often. I understand the meaning of "Becoming No Matter What" more and more every day and it is amazing how life and what we hear and see and think of it becomes more beautiful and full as we learn and apply this gospel happy Day after Mother's Day!

05-13-2013

I am really happy to hear that about grandma Allen it makes me smile. Also, I am happy that Cassidy liked the video thank you for doing that for me :) It is weird, I feel like I have still been close to you all this whole time but you realize how different life is when you see your little brother and sisters all grown up right in front of your face.Just wish I could hug ya all but I am really happy here and days go by way too fast! I ate some KFC today that was good it is the only fast food place on the entire island. I don't have quite as much to say today...why did clay put the fire out with pop? that is really weird ha sounds like a blast .

 

I feel so blessed that all of my friends are doing such amazing missionary work! or getting married!That is weird to think about they are old.. Today I saw the weirdest thing they process saltwater to produce salt here and where they do it the water turns really really bright pink it looks so cool. I need to get pictures and then on the other side of the road in the ocean there are kite surfers everywhere I want to come back here and do that for sure!

 

Our house is very clean now and I took my first shower without sandals on for about eight months it was nice :)I hope I can get more pictures of you all to show people they really love that I am going to send a lot more pictures next week. I am excited to start this week off. Elder Thornock is the hardest working comp I have had here so I think we should be able to get a lot done should be an amazing transfer full of great memories! I Love you all a bunch have a wonderful week

05/06/2013 GLENN

MOm! I have some really cool stuff to share with you! Firstly, I love your little personal revelation you had, secondly I love the Macbeth's very much please tell them that. Baylin is very beautiful and Brittan is getting pretty big! I want to see more pictures of you all!

 

 The baptism was amazing. Going in the ocean is so weird as a missionary. haha We have had some very hard times but also a lot of success.The branch is blooming and many investigators are coming to church.We are now working alot with a part member less active family. The daughters are fromPeru and are married but want to be married in the temple just got to work with their husbands and get their lives in order. 

 

 We hunted iguanas with one of the husbands named fernando and ate them last night. It was delicious way better than chicken! Also, the other day they made us their country's dish sevichi.It is fish that isn't cooked but the proteins change as if they were cooked because of the lime they soak it in that catalyzes a reaction in the proteins by using enzymes...I am kind of still a nerd.. although I may not have even written that right don't remember the vocab well all I know was that it is now my most favorite food and I will learn to make it :).

 

Yesterday the coolest thing happened. Haven't really seen anything like it happen this way in church before.It was fast Sunday and an investigator that we have only met with  stood up to bear his testimony. Now let me give some background on him. His name is Glenn he has three daughters and a wife that only speaks spanish.He is from Curacao and she is from the DR. Also he is a translator and speaks the four languages here on the island perfectly. Well at first he didn't really want to meet with us he told us to come back next weekend so we did and he said I have ten minutes do you still want to come in? of course we said yes because contacts hardly every let us in here. He started talking alot about how hard life is here for the natives on the island that he doesn't understand how they live of of what they make and that families suffer because parents can't provide and this island has a very dark side that is corrupt with lots of drugs that kids start resorting to here because all there is to do is swim dive or sit at home. As he was talking I felt like I should give him the Family Proclamation to the World to him and show him the pictures of my family that I always keep with it in my scripture case. So I did that and he really started to get interested that a prophet that is actually called of God revealed it with twelve apostles. We were able to share the entire restoration because he wouldn't let us leave until we did and when we finished he said" you are coming back I am reading this proclamation with my family to prepare them and we need to hear this message together when can I go to your church and its activities?" most perfect first lesson ever... then we dropped out of contact with him because of all his work and the queen's birthday party festival going on.. we started to feel like he lost interest and was avoiding us. However, yesterday he walks in right as Railey is being confirmed with the Holy Ghost and sits down. He listented to all the testimonies stood up and said ( I was translating so I remember a lot of it.. even though he did start translating for himself after awhile since he speaks perfectly) " I never have felt as strange of a feeling as I felt right when I walked this little building, but I know this is all right every since I talked to those two young men I knew I had to come here but it was hard because I have been so disappointed by every church. I gave up a little I just want a place where I could go with my family. I don't want to go to church alone so I got so frustrated. I stopped going to churches it has been eight months that I stopped trying to go and when I read this paper that that missionary gave me I studied over it for two days( as he holds it up with his notes taken all over it) and I read it with my wife and she agrees with it and I feel it is right and inspired of God. Thank you for this paper, but I need all of you help because I want to be part of this church and I need my family to be here. I am tired of feeling so alone I can't take it anymore. I have no one here that cares for me except my family and I only stay here because they like it here and I don't want to take them from home. Please help me thank you for your help so far, but please help my family come be here together I know we need to be here when I got up and ready for church this morning my wife said where are you going I said to church and she asked me which one I told her you already know she smiled at me and I walked out the door. And something else just like these other people shared we need to help other people come here they need to feel this. This building isn't big enough to hold the spirit that there is here we need a chapel a big one and we are going to fill it with people because this is God's church." Yeah so that was probably one of my favorite moments in my mission the spirit was very strong. Besides that this week was kind of a blur went really fast and really busy I am just really excited to see this whole branch continue to grow ,

 

 Please send me more pics I love you! Elder Bell