Brandon's Twenty Fifth Email! January 25th, 2016

Hey everyone,

So this week was cool, got to leave the house a bit more and that was nice! Elder Gehring is still kinda sick so some days we didn't leave until or later, or one day we couldn't leave. But wow, the time we were out was really cool. Either in lessons or doing contacts, and the people here seem so so receptive. We didn't get shut down once, and talking to the people is super fun. I'm really excited because I feel like I'll have more teaching time here and whatnot. So this is like an old school style kind of cowboy town, and it looks super classic in a lot of parts, I really like it! Has tons of really wide paved roads even though there are like no cars. 

So one investigator is really cool. He has been coming to church for awhile now and is getting married the 18th. Elder Gehring and I will be the witnesses for that. Then he will get baptized the 20th!  He totally gave up drinking and has been so blessed for that. He just got electricity in his house for the first time ever, and is awesome. 

Our house, is gross. It's so messy and pretty annoying, but I'm trying to constantly clean a little at a time. I bought cockroach spray and killed maybe half of them. I'll keep doing that maybe two times a week changing the brand of spray each time and see if it works. 

It has been SOOOO hot. Like dripping sweat at every moment everyday. Today actually is better, but we carry like handkerchiefs to dry our faces when we are gonna talk to somebody. Even in our house at 10pm, dripping sweat!

Tomorrow we will have exchanges with the zone leaders. Still don't know if I'm going or staying but that will be cool. 

This week passed very fast. I feel like each week passes faster and faster. I really can't believe that 6 months have passed this week. Crazy. I'm starting to feel the time in the mission is short. I'm really anxious to get out of the house each day to try and make the most of it. Hoping that this week and this change will bring good times. 

I have been loving The Book of Mormon. I finished it in english and have been reading it is spanish. I've been reading slowly and marking and looking at cross references and it's been way more useful. I love being able to read it in the two languages now. 

So I hit 6 months this week. Crazy, crazy. 

Top Ten

10. Well, thinking back to my first week here. I'm grateful it is hot instead of freezing!

9. The decreased number of roaches (When I woke up last week there was a dead one in my bed, lovely)

8. Thank you from the 7th ward and I think Kari Rich? for the package! Loved all the treats and drawings!

7. I finally have sheets and pillows, sleeping is so much easier with a pillow!!!

6. Sheridan's Christmas package for me came! Thanks so much! It was awesome, filled with treats and a nice card! 

5. We had a worldwide live missionary broadcast with the apostles on Tuesday and it was awesome! 

4. I hit 6 months this week!!

3. The contacts with the people here, and the people here in general seem really receptive.

2. The investigator that has plans to get married and baptized lives so humbly, but is so generous still.

1. Sheridan leaves tomorrow for the Sao Paulo MTC!!!!!!

Love you all,

Elder Richmond

  Comp pics... Cause we needed a companion picture. 

The hat isn't mine. It was in the house and he wanted to match haha

 Skinny Tie 

 Slept on the roof

 I've got to be honest, I'm really happy with the way my bread has been turning out lately. 

It is like normal good bread haha.

 This was my friend while I was making the bread. 

I was wearing flip flops and felt something on my foot. 

This thing was huge and it could jump SO high and so far!

Brandon's Twenty Fourth Email! January 18th, 2016

Hey guys!

So I got transferred obviously! 

Paso de los toros seems awesome! I say SEEMS because my comp was sick and so we've only been outside like 5 hours since Wednesday!!! haha, In the MTC I thought how nice it'd be to have a sick comp because you could have kinda a relax time but I was soooo wrong. It felt so long. But lucky my new comp, Elder Gehring, from Logan, Utah is cool and nice and everything!

So we got there Wednesday and the house is nice but sooo gross and messy. We couldn't bring all the bags/packages from Montevideo when we came, so I have only had one bag of mine since Wednesday, which has been very hard!! So we didn't leave the apartment Thursday, and that was a long day. I cleaned and read tonsss. Friday we left for a little like in the night, and Saturday too, so I read and cleaned a little also. Sunday was great, we had church and the members seem great here, like in El Pinar! 

Great announcement... WE HAVE BIKES!!!!!!!!! One of three areas in the whole mission that has bikes!!!! They're super janky and currently aren't working but we'll change that this week and then it'll be sweet! We have to wear helmets and these bright orange vests (everyone here does), but I'm really excited! It is way hotter here than El Pinar, the whole day is sweaty, through the night even. About the area a little:

It is super inland and it has a really cool style, much more city style than El Pinar, and paved roads!!!! It is absolutely empty from 2-6 ish for siesta and we are about 1 hr bus ride from the next town!

There were about 4 or 5 investigators at church this week. Some that we visited in the nights when we left, and one that a family invited. The people generally are different here, way more kind. Everyone greets us and like listens to us, it's great. I'm really excited because I have heard good things from everyone about the area. 

This week was slow on the lesson side of things, but I had a great time reading The Book of Mormon and the Liahonas. I feel like reading the two together made it so easy to see how our prophet and apostles really are called of God to testify of Christ, just like it has always been in Christ´s church. There is no deviation. It is so right.

This week I have a top 5 and bottom 5 (due to the house mainly, eveything is great, but it deserves it)

Bottom 5

5. Staying in house for SO many hours

4. Only having one of my bags. That means I dry after the shower with a hand towel, have not pillow or blankets, have been sleeping on top of a sheet, and have zero of my scriptures or study things.

3. The electricity in the house like shorted out the night before I arrived, so we have light in 2/5 areas of the house

2. The water in the bathroom doesn't really drain, so we can't use the toilet and the sink takes about 30 hours to drain!

1. Hundreds of cockroaches!!! Practically only in the kitchen. Have almost thrown up from rotten food in the kitchen. Practically the kitchen is depressing...

Top 5

5 ½. Having El Pinar as my great first area! And Juan Gorgoroso cooked great tacos Tuesday night

5. We have bikes!!!!

4. Thank you Grandma for the Christmas gift money! Really helped me out this week!!!! 

3. Sheridan leaves in one week, gives her farewell this week!!!

2. My comp is nice and we get along well and that's relaxing!

1. Paso seems really cool, and I'm super excited for my time here!

Love you all!

 Blurry pic of a room in our house 

 A room in our house 

 Study Room

 Kitchen

 Roach invested kitchen. 

When you open the cupboard it's like you raided their rave and they all run everywhere. 

(All of those little brown things are cockroaches!)

The room where I keep my clothes after a little reorganizing

 Our bikes!!!!!!

 My bed that I've been sleeping on like this for 5 nights now. 

 The church is right across the street, literally. It's so nice. 

Our windows in the house are awesome also.

 Thought this was funny, from The Liahona

 My comp was sick, watching mormon messages and guess who I heard... 

hahaha it was so weird, I was like that sounds like Sean... then realized.

Homemade bread with strawberry jelly.

 While I was waiting for my bread cooking

 Our moped... no just kidding but we took advantage to take dumb pictures. 

Someone in the ward had a flat and stored it in our house for the night.

Brandon's Twenty Third Email! January 12th, 2016

Hey guys! 

Well p-day last week was kinda weird! I got sick on the bus back to El Pinar and got home and got in our gate and starting throwing up and threw up that night, so we didn't leave. Then I was still throwing up Tuesday and Wednesday but only in the mornings! But someone tried to break into our house! I sent the pic, but it's sketch, but luckily they didn't get in! I sent a picture of the door jam! 

So we taught Natasha and her brother joined us and is now investigating. That was the highlight of the week missionary wise haha. It was a VERY slow week. She had a baptismal date but we were going to change it so she could do it with her bother, but we don't have another lesson with them until probably tomorrow, once I'm TRANSFERRED.

Before I talk about that. I found tons of old records from Kaysea Watkins, and we tried contacting them, and one has a return appointment for Thursday! It was fun talking to people knowing she'd talked to them too! Such a small world!

So I'm getting transferred tomorrow to Paso de los toros!!!

I think it's like inland, but I really don't know much about it, I'll let you know next week!!! My comp is Elder Gering, I know nothing about him either!! 

I don't have that much to say this week, it's super hot, I got murdered by mosquitos. Mosiah chapters 2-5 should be read by everyone. And the current liahona is President Monson now! We're so lucky to have a prophet who is here to guide us!!

Top Ten

10. Sheridan leaves for her mission in 2 weeks!!

9. Natasha and her brother now are investigating!

8. The Circuit family card!! Thanks!

7. The Wards sent me chocolates and nice cards from bunch of people in the ward! 

6. I like words in spanish that describe things, they're funny. (paraguas, sacacorchos)

5. The bread I made was dank! With Elder Balke's grandmother's recipe!

4. We got to go to the temple today and it was great! I understand almost almost everything now.

3. Going to have Elder Gering as a comp! I've heard he is nice!

2. Going to Paso do los toros! Excited for a new area

1. Had a wonderful time in El Pinar, got to meet tons of people who follow Christ in their everyday lives. You can see the happiness that they have from this.

 Someone tried to break in

 I made bread

 Tried to draw a wave

 I did one loaf cinnamon-y

Brandon's Twenty Second Email! January 4th, 2016

Hey

This week was kind of frustrating.

We had a hard time doing anything because the holidays, like the streets were empty and nobody was home and a lot of people cancelled and so that was just hard. 

One of our investigators came to church, so that was good. The ward was great about being super welcoming to her, so hopefully she appreciated it. 

We don't email until next Tuesday, because it'll be the week of transfers, and it'll be later like today because we are gonna go to the temple.

We went to Montevideo today to have a multi-zone activity, and we played capture the flag. The Wards sent me a great package with different notes from different people in the ward, and their Christmas card, and then the Circuits sent me theirs! Thank you so much!!! Really looking forward to reading them more when I get home today!

This week was a little tough, I'm not sure, just kinda long or something, but good also.

Top Ten- Not in order

10. Sheridan sent me a really cool card that I got at the beginning of the week that really pumped me up.

9. I made tacos

8. We made hamburgers and a cake for New Years

7. We gave cake to a recent convert (65 year old lady) and she was really appreciative

6. The fireworks on the 31st were cool to watch

5. I made chocolate covered cinnamon rolls

4. When we have lessons it is way better, it makes the days so much more fun

3. When we are both in good moods the days seems so much better

2. Reading in spanish is really improving. I spend more time reading now, teachings of the prophets and scriptures to widen my vocabulary

1. We get to go to the temple next week

Love you guys!