Elder John is in Mazatlan!

Brennan's Study Area

Brennan's Desk

Brennnan's Closet

Brennan's Bed

So I finally received an email from Elder John today. He is in Mazatlan. Actually he is in a town called Villa Union and it is about 30 minutes outside of Mazatlan. He said the town is very small and poor. He is adjusting. His companion is Elder Rosales who is a native and is on his 23 month so Brennan is his last companion. Brennan said he only understands about half of what Elder Rosales is saying. I guess his Spanish will get pretty good. He said his bathroom is outside and they have no hot water. He and Elder Rosales make up half of the priesthood in the town. They have set 6 baptisms and are working hard. I can't wait to hear from him next week! I recieved two packages from the MTC today of stuff that Brennan didn't want to take to Mexico with him. He included his memory card from his camera so I will post a few MTC pictures.

Guess Who is in Mexico!!!

March 23, 2010 10:56 p.m.

Hahaha, so what can I say!!! I love this place!! President Johnstun is awesome, we got here and he took us to get tacos at this street restaurant. Pretty much all those things that you were worried about, I dunno they aren't such a big deal Culiacan is awesome and I know I am going to love it here!! I will talk to you all soon!!!! Love you all.
Love Elder John

So that was Brennan's email that he sent us. We are way excited for him. We talked to him for about an hour this morning. He called us from the Salt Lake Airport on his way out of town. It was so good to talk to him and hear his voice and ask him tons of questions and get answers right away. Kevin, the girls and I were all home and we put him on speaker phone so we could all participate in the conversation. He is soooo excited to start the next leg of his journey. He has learned so much and grown so much. I am sure Mexico will just add to that. I think his P-day will be Monday's so we probably won't be hearing from him again until next week. Keep him in your prayers!!!

Prom!!!!

So Tayler and Rylee went to prom on Friday night. They both had a great time. It was Rylee's first date and she said that if all her dates are that great then she will sail through her dating years with no problem. Tayler went with a friend Mike Connely and Rylee's date was Nathan Brown. They did not go in the same group. It was so fun watching them get ready together and seeing them both be so excited.

Week 7 !!!!

Ok so Brennan's time in the MTC in winding down. His latest news is that he got a new companion. He is no longer in his Trio. His new companion Elder Frost has been in the MTC for 12 weeks now. He is waiting for a visa to go to Argentina. Brennan loves Elder Frost, they are very good friends. Elder Frost is actually writing to Tayler also. He is from Prescott, Arizona. As of today we received another letter from Brennan updating us telling us that they are shipping Elder Frost to Colorado Springs, Colorado Mission on Monday to wait for his visa so that was a short lived companionship. I guess Brennan will go back to his Trio companionship with Elder Barclay and Elder Lubina. Brennan told us that he got his travel plans and Elder Lubina will be his travel companion, they are both going all the way to Culiacan together. He is scheduled to leave on Monday March 15th if his visa comes through. There have been rumors that only about 50 percent of the mexican missionaries are getting their visa's but Brennan doesn't seem to think there will be a problem with his because we sent everything in so early. Let's hope so!!! He also has been working in the Referral Center and loves it!!!! He has gotten 4 or 5 referrals for missionaries to visit. He is so excited to get out there to Mexico and get to work!! Keep Praying for him!!!! Thanks for all of the support!!!

Getting Ready for Prom

Ok this is just for Tayler and Rylee's benefit because I know they think I neglect them and think only about their brother. We spent all day Saturday getting ready for Prom. It is coming up this Friday!!! We went and found dresses for the girls. They picked really pretty ones!! Pictures to come later. Then they went to the mall for shoes and earings and then to the nail salon for nails and pedicures and eyebrow waxing. We had a really fun great day spending time together!!! We even got Kevin involved!!!! Next time you see him ask him how his pedicure was =) We will also be celebrating Rylee's Sweet Sixteen this weekend!!! More updates and pictures to come on prom!!!

Weeks 5 and 6

Ok so I know I am a bit slow at updating this blog but my computer has been out of commission for a couple of weeks. Hopefully everything is fixed and ready to go now. It is
amazing at the changes one week can make. Brennan just started week 7 at the MTC. Only a couple of weeks untill he heads to Mexico. So in his email from week 5 Brennan talks about learning the Spanish language and this is how he described it..... Most of the time I feel like someone is standing over me continually dumping a bucket of water on my head and I am getting drenched and every once in a while I come up and grab a gulp full, but for the most part
I am just soaking wet. Then just one week later this is what he had to say...... I understand the Spanish language!!! I may not know all of the little intracacies yet but I understand what people are saying when they are speaking!!! I have also been teaching for the past week in Spanish!! I have a testimony of the gift of tongues because I am experiencing it!!! Wow he just keeps amazing me!!! Thanks Lindsay Bell for praying that missionaries can learn their language!!

Wed. Feb 10th Email- Brennan's Half Way Point in MTC!!

Can you believe that Brennan has been in the MTC a month already? It has gone by so fast but so slow at the same time. From what he says in his email the time is flying by for him.The following is an excerpt from his last email. He says it is a story and this is how he wants his mission to be....In Mosiah 11-17 it goes over the teachings of Abinedi to the wicked people of King Noah. In 11 it shows the people tried to kill him but Abinedi kept following the Lord, even though it looked like nobody was listening. He stayed on the path and even all the way to chapter 17 nobody listens. Then 1 person does.... Alma, had Abinedi given up(which I think many people would have) and said that the Lord wanted him to do something impossible. He had a good excuse, these people were trying to KILL him but he followed the promptings of the Lord to his Death. All for 1 soul and what did that soul do? He baptized hundreds at the Waters of Mormon, set up and became the prophet of a Church in Zarahemla, had a son who messed up at first but came to the right path and along with Amulek converted many Nephites who have fallen away. Influenced the Sons of Mosiah who served missions and converted thousands of Lamanites. This one soul who listened to the prophet Abinedi, led the way to thousands and in a sense Millions because it is in what we call The Book of Mormon and Mormons are what 13 million strong? My point in Abindedi didn't know. All that he knew was the Lord sent him and he fulfilled his mission no matter how hard or scary. He has become my Book of Mormon hero. His willingness has reminded me of another scripture in the gospels. Jesus gives the parable of the servants who were given talents and after the servants show what they did the ones who did well the master says "Well done thou good and faithful servant" I want that more than anything. I want the Lord to say to me..... Well done thou good and faithful servant on my plane ride home.
Wow!! he is learning and growing so much!! What a great missionary he is turning into. I love that boy!!!!