Sept. 12, 2011 (aka post U of M v. ND football game...)

Mallory! Thanks so much for the update!! I wish I could have seen the game!!

So on Saturday night we stopped by a less active member before heading back to our apartment and when he let us in I saw that Michigan was playing Notre Dame and I got sooo excited! Notre Dame was up 14-6 and I was thinking "pleeeeease Brother Kinutson, don't turn off the tv! Put it on mute. Just put it on mute. puhleeassseeee!" But unfortunately (or fortunately) he went over and turned off the tv. ahhhhh. We had a wonderful lesson with him so that was great, but the entire bike ride home all I could think of was the football game! Then on Sunday I asked the Elders Quorum President because he's a big football fan and he said that Michigan ended up winning. He didn't tell me it was such an intense game though! For some reason I thought it was at ND this year. I bet Michigan stadium went absolutely crazy. ahhhh I can't wait to watch it when I get home.

Anyway...

It's been another terrific week. Tabby is getting baptized this Sunday, and she brought a friend/roommate to church this past Sunday. Turns out she's basically been giving her the lessons. Tabby is wonderful. We had a whole bunch of other great lessons too. Elder Arens and I have been getting along great and working hard.

This past week it was in the low and mid 90's and it felt like fall. I sure am looking forward to October and November. It's weird to think that the school year started already. All my friends are now upperclassmen in college now. I'll come back and be the baby still. aw man. I can't believe it's almost my birthday too. For some reason I feel like the summer just started. Elder Duke just turned 21 last week, no  it's my turn in just a couple more. We'll probably go out to a bar to celebrate...

There's actually something in particular that I really want. There's a guy in the ward, Ezra M___, who just got back from his mission in California and he showed Elder Arens and I two DVD slideshows that were amazing. One is called Reflections of Christ and it was produced/created by two Mormon photographers and it's a slideshow of the life is Christ with a hymn in the background. A year later, the same producers created another slideshow but of Jesus Christ coming to the Americas. I forget what that one is called. I would love those two DVD's. Besides that, maybe just some snacks. I am pretty good at using my money for healthy meals but it would sure be nice to have some snack-y items to help me gain some weight back. Oh and dad, I would love a Utah State basketball shirt or shorts or something.

Those are my only requests. Thanks so much for everything! I can't believe I've been in Corpus for almost a whole transfer already! This is the last week.

Ruego para ustedes cada dia. Estoy muy agradecido por todo lo que hacen.

con lots of amor,

Elder Brett

Sept. 5, 2011

Hello family,

This past week was probably the best week ever. I know I've had a lot of "Best-Week-Ever"'s on my mission but I think this week was the best of the best. If only I had enough time and strength in my fingers to write about it all!

I know I haven't shared a whole lot of stories about the people I've been teaching but I think I might have to with this young lady named Tabby. She's getting baptized on the 18th (even though she's so ready she could be baptized tomorrow) and she has been the most wonderful person to teach. We've only been teaching her for the past few weeks, yet it feels like I've known her for a whole lot longer. I'll share more about her either next week or the Monday following her baptism.

I didn't fall (or get launched) off my bike this week. Elder Duke and I went running every other morning and the sunrise on the gulf gets more beautiful every day. The temperature is going down this week! It was 106 and 104 the past two days with crazy humidity. You know that feeling when you open an oven when something is baking inside? Very similar. BUT, it is supposed to be in the low 90's all week. I can't believe that summer is already coming to an end and that we're looking towards the fall and winter months. It'll be fun to compare our seasons and see how cold it will actually get down here.

Well, things are just awesome. I'm loving every single day. I appreciate all the letters and emails from y'all (people actually say y'all up here!) and finding out how and what you all are doing. Y'all are always in my prayers.

with mucho love,

Elder Brett

Aug. 29, 1022

Hello again,

Wow it was another awesome week. There are so many great people we are teaching. Unfortunately two of the people got injured at work so it's been hard to see them this week because they have been in and out of the hospital and doctors office. It's funny because they both got their injuries shortly after meeting with us and making the decision to be baptized. Elder Arens and I concluded that it's because Satan knows how prepared and ready they are. Hopefully we'll have a chance to see them this week.

I wiped out on my bike again. This time it was on a major road and I think my pride got hurt worse than anything. BUT, this time it wasn't exactly my fault. We were in a hurry to get to an appointment on the other side of town (about a 30 minute bike ride) and about 10 or 15 minutes into it I ran over a sharp piece of metal and my tire popped and I lost control and face planted on the pavement. That's the second time a helmet has saved my life. And once again, I fell into the road. Fortunately there were no cars behind me, although there was a whole string of cars coming the opposite way so they all saw me. I hope they all got a good laugh. My goal for this week is to beat gravity. I'm not going to let it take me down. I also need to beat small pieces of metal. Rubber just doesn't stand a chance.

A couple days ago Elder Duke and I drove over to Oceandrive in the morning and went jogging on the path along the shoreline. It was so beautiful. It was pitch black when we started but the sun rose as we were running. It was cool seeing all the boats along the docks, all the nice restaurants and stores, and the small ocean waves. It's hard to believe just a few weeks ago I was in Rio Grande. I enjoy working in the rougher parts of Corpus though. Keeps me focused on the work. 

Today we're going back to the Oceandrive area to check out all the little stores. There's also an aquarium we want to go to. There are so many things to do, it's hard to decide. All we could do in Rio was play futbol so P-day was pre-decided every week. Now careful decisions have to be made in order to best utilize the precious P-day hours. But first we're going back to the bike shop. I need to fix my bike once and for all.

Anyway, things are amazing. Time is flying by beyond belief. September is looking like it's going to be a great month. Thanks y'all for everything. Love you.

Elder Brett

Aug. 22, 2011

Hey all,

I can't believe it's been another week here in Corpus Christi. Things are amazing. I absolutely love being on bike, the only issue being that bikes tend to break down. My pedal has been broken since I left Rio so I was using Elder Duke's when I got here but than a week and a half ago Elder Arens' bike blew up (almost literally) so he's been using Elder Dukes and I've been using my own, but just pedaling one footed. And then two days ago we were on exchanges and Elder Arens had to use my bike and when Elder Alarcon and I were getting out of a lesson we got a text from the other elders that said "We might need a ride home tonight. Bike broke." And of course, it was my bike. So, today we are going to the bike shop to get everything fixed. I'm not complaining am I? haha it really hasn't been that much of a problem. We're working really hard and loving the work. I wish I had time to talk about everyone we're meeting with and teaching. There are some amazing people.

After getting the bikes fixed we are going to head over to Salvation Army, Goodwill, and Ross to try and buy some cheap slacks. I can no longer reuse my clothes during the week because we come home way too sweaty. I've been doing that the past couple weeks and by the end of the week they get really crusty (gross right?) and it feels like I'm wearing cardboard. Anyway, hopefully we can find some good deals.

We're kind of in a hurry so I guess I'll just leave it at that. Thanks so much for everything, especially for the updates! Those are the best.

with mucho mucho love,

Elder Brett

PS my address is 3333 S. Alameda #4H Corpus Christi, Texas 78411

Hey family!
I've just spent the last week working in Corpus Christi and I love it to death. It's a heckuva lot different than Rio Grande though. To be honest, I feel like I'm in Detroit. I'm working in northern Corpus and it's pretty ghetto. But!... there are stores, traffic lights, city parks, and most dogs are on leashes or at least within a fenced yard. It's beautiful. I have to say though, I miss the whole 'speaking spanish' aspect of the mission but I guess that's just a sacrifice. There are some amazing people here. I'm excited to get to know them better and then share with you all some great stories.
I'm not sure if I let you know in the last email but I'm in a bike area and it's been a ton of fun. I've lost even more weight in the last week though so today I'm going to buy some grub at the store to help me pack on some fat. It's difficult because we share an apartment with the other two elders in out district (it's a four man district) but we live in their area so we have to bike a little ways just to get within our boundaries. Because of that, we just grab a quick snack after studies at 11 and then just work in our area until 9 or so. Then I just eat a little snack after nightly planning and then hit the sack. Being on bike though has been wonderful. I don't think I fully understood what it meant so sweat until this week. I feel like I took a shower with my clothes on by the time we get back to our apartment at night. People feel sympathetic when they see us so they give us water...or kool-aid. That's the best. I have a crazy cool tan line on my hand because the back of my hand is exposed to the sun all day but my fingers are wrapped around the handlebars so they are protected and are pretty white. It looks pretty funny but who cares right?
So when I was in Rio, Elder Pallo and Elder Ginez were in a bike area and Elder Pallo had a hard time staying on his bike. I think he had 5 accidents in the months I was with him. Because I was greatly inconsiderate, I tended to laugh when Elder Ginez would come busting in the door to tell us about the funny spill that Elder Pallo had that day (it was usually because he would try to ride no handed). I just never understood why it was so hard to stay up on the bike...until a couple days ago. We were riding home and it was already 9:15 or so, it was really dark and we were really close to the apartment and I'm not sure exactly what happened but next thing I know I lost control and got launched from my bike. I hit the ground with my wrist and shoulder and skidded along the pavement into the street. I looked behind me and all I saw were bright headlights heading towards me. In what seemed like a split second, I lunged towards my bike, grabbed it and fell to the sidewalk as the car sped on by. I ended up making it home and then used the first aid kit to clean me up but overall I was fine. It just made me feel bad for always laughing at Elder Pallo when he crashed. I guess it's not that hard to fall off a bike after all. It's at least easier than falling off a car.
Church was wonderful. We have an actual building instead of just a trailer! Spanish branch starts at 9 and then English ward at 11. Spanish branch is tiny, even smaller than Rio. The English ward is really small too but bigger than I'm used to here. I met a lot of great people and I'm excited to work with them more in the following weeks/months. Considering I was in Rio for 6 months, I'm nervous/excited to see how long I'll be here.
My companion is Elder Arens and he's awesome. We're getting along great, I've learned so much from him already, and I'm way excited to keep working with him here in Corpus. He's from Arizona and went to a semester at ASU before the mish. Also in the district is Elder Duke (remember him? I was with him in the trio when I first got here to texas. He was companions with my trainer Elder Anderson) and Elder Arlacon. Elder Arlacon is straight from Bolivia and didn't know a lick of english. He's learned a lot though and sure is a character. It's a great apartment. Good things are about to happen.
I feel like I have so much more to write but I don't have a lot of time. I gotta write something quick to prez and then we're off to check out the stores here in Corpus. The best thing they had in Rio was wal-mart so we're pretty excited.
Love you all. thanks for everything. My address here is 3333 S. Alameda. Corpus Christi, Texas. (I forgot the zip code...sorry)
Love,
Elder Mechanico
(Have I mentioned that spanish people have a really really difficult time pronouncing my name? Most have just used the word mechanico, which means mechanic. I'm okay with that I guess)

August 8, 2011

Hey everybody!

I found out last night that I'm being transferred way up north to Corpus Christi! I'm going to be serving in an area called Bel Air! It's crazy because before every transfer, there's a missionary tradition where all the members of the district guess where everyone is going, and guess what? I guessed Bel Air! The reason I chose it was because the name sounded cool and because I like the show Fresh Prince of Bel Air. I could hardly believe it when I found out I was being transferred there. I'm really excited though. The only downside is that I won't be using my spanish nearly as much. I'll be in an awesome english ward and possibly a spanish branch too. I guess I'll let y'all know when I get there.

Love you all,

Elder Brett

August 1, 2011

Hey everyone,

We had interviews this past week and I found out that I'm getting transferred! I'm sad to leave but really excited to go at the same time. President didn't tell me where I'm going yet. I'll find out on Friday or Saturday. I can't wait to let you all know.

We're taking the day off today and not playing soccer. It's been miserably hot and humid this week and we all need a little break from the sun. We're just going to finish all of our errands and then relax in the apartment. We might clean a little, the apartment is a mess.

I printed off some pictures today at Walmart and I'm going to send some out to everyone. Not a whole lot of pictures, but a few that I really liked.

Thanks everyone for the updates. It's great to know that everyone is doing well.
I'm doing awesome. Healthy and happy as usual.

Love you!

-Elder Brett