December 27, 2007

I want to start off and tell everyone how much i love my beautiful family. The best part of Christmas was that i was able to call my family. It was undiscribable. I never imagined that calling your family would bring you so much joy, but it did. After we were all finished talking to our families, the four of us just looked at each other and could see the joy in our eyes and the gigantic smiles that followed there after. I was able to talk to both of my grandparents, all of my siblings, my step sister Jania, my step mom, my dad and my mom. It was so beautiful. I also want to tell you a great miracle we have seen. We have seen many but this one was very grand in our eyes. We have a new investigator! We fasted a prayed with all energy of heart the week before to have someone to teach. Someone who was ready and elect. We had in our minds a person that we would find ourselves and probably a younger man. We actually did not find recieve our investigator like that. The Lords way is much more wise and all knowing than our own. Our new investigator was a contact made by missionaries before i came to Ostia. Anziano Scoville and i tried to call her for the weeks we were together and could not get ahold of her. A week ago I felt to call her and we were able to talk to her. This was so nerve wracking to me because i dont speak the language well and am inexperienced talking on the phone in italian, very difficult. But we talked to her and met her on saturday at a Catholic church. She came to church on Sunday and we were able to get her a ride. My companion taught her with Anziano Silva while i taught John and Jane with Anziano Funk. All 3 of our investigators want to be baptized. Rachelle is ready any time and is super strong. She has a beautiful 4 1/2 year old son named Davide. They are from Africa and are the greatest family. We are now teaching her and I will let you know what happens. John and Jane told us that they want to be baptized but need more time. I love this work. It is so worth it. It is challenging and takes a lot of thought, pondering, prayer (a lot of prayer), and faith (with action to back it up). I love you all. Be grateful for all that you have. Oh, before i go I want to say congratulations to my best friend Angie for getting a great role in Carousel! You are so awesome!Love, Anziano Brewster

December 20, 2007

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU! I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that He lived for us. He healed many, served all, and taught the most important this in life. He was gentle, loving, compassionate, understanding, and willing to sacrifice for all. He suffered for us individually. He died for us individually. He gave the greatest gift one can imagine. This Christmas we have the opportunity to give. We have the opportunity to give to our savior our whole life. When we do this he blesses us. I know that is true. We give almost nothing to Him compared to all that he has given and still gives to us. I am very grateful that i am on a mission and i can serve Him daily. It is not easy. It is tough and exhausting and so rewarding. Many think we are trying to attack them or force them when really we are here to bring them the best gift they can imagine. I have the amount of joy i do thanks to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am not just saying that. I know that is true. I see these peoples lives and they are missing something, they are missing the true love of their savior. The Savior does love us. I know it. He wants us to come unto him so He can bless us. I hope you are not disapointed this Christmas because you have been given so much. We are so blessed. I am grateful for our church leaders who give us the words of God. I know that Jesus Christ lives. I cant give you all gifts and the things i want to but i can bear you this testimony and i know that it is true and i promise that you will be happy if you listen to the word of God given by the prophets and live them. I know that is true. I love you so much. I really do. Love, Anziano Brewster.

December 12, 2007

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope you are all doing well! I am doing great. We have a new apartment (meaning people not the building itself) since Thursday. Our apartment is actually the youngest apartment in the mission. We lost Anziano Goddard (my mom) and Anziano Scoville (my dad) and gained Anziano Silva (the new District Leader) and Anziano Breen (my followup trainer--I call him my Godfather). As missionaries we have 16 transfers and we determine our age by how many transfers we have had. I am in my 2nd transfer (I am very young), Anziano Silva and Anziano Breen are both in their 6th transfer, and then Anziano Funk is in his 5th transfer. Ya..., we are very young, but so excited. We have a lot of fire and energy. I can tell that it is going to be an incredible transfer. Yes, I do miss my Dad, Anziano Scoville. I learned so much from him. But it is a good thing that i have a new companion. I notice that i talk a lot more and am more involved because i got pass the afraid, new stage. I love our investigators and inactive members we are working with. I would go into more details but there is not enough time in the day. To make very long stories short, i will summarize them all in one word: PATIENCE. This word is key. I am learning to have patience and to realize that things take time. We have one investigator who has been investigating for 3 years. So to me it may seem like a super long time, but i know that everything has a time and a season. For some people, they are ready to get baptized within a month (for example, Monollo--his baptism is on Jan 5th by the way.) and others need time. I have realized that things arent going to go as planned but that doesnt mean that we did something or that they did something wrong. Everything we do has a purpose. And as long as we follow the way of the Lord and do all He asks, all will go the way he wants it go. I hope this all makes sense. And if it doesnt make sense to you it makes sense to me. So know that i have learned a lot here and am continuing to learn. I am learning and working on taking every opportunity i have. This is important to me because i never know if i will have another opportunity to do a certain thing or talk to a certain person. So, my advice is to take every opportunity you have. You will be amazed with the results. A small example in my life is that we were on the metro coming home from Church. I sat down and waited for it to leave. Many people entered onto the metro and when all the seats were full and people were standing I got up and offered my seat to a lady. She sat down and was very grateful. Once we left and stopped many times, people got off and the seats opened again. I asked if i could sit by this same lady. She said, "Of course" and then we talked until we got off on our stop. That is just one example of how putting forth action and taking advantage of the situation. I made a good friend and was able to serve and be served by talking with her. This email is probably way to long, i apologize. But if your emails are super long to me, never apologize because i love super long emails or any emails. Before i go i want to say how much i love this opportunity to share the gospel. I know that this gospel is the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is the leader of this church. I know that the Book of Mormon is a book from Him. Its impossible to convince people of this truth. We must all know for ourselves and feel the personal revelation of its truth. I have experienced its truth and recieved an answer for myself. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God. I know that we can only gain true everlasting happiness through this gospel. I love my Savior and i know without a doubt that he loves all of us individually. Know that. I love you all. Have an incredible Christmas Season. Serve others. Love, Anziano Brewster

December 5, 2007

Buon Natale! In 20 days! Time goes very fast. I have just finished my first transfer with my incredible trainer Anziano Scoville. I have 15 transfers left and i am so excited! well, on monday we recieved our TRANSFER CALL! Dun dun dun! This is when the Mission President calls us and tells us where we will serve this next transfer and who our companion will be. Could i get a drum roll please!.... buddu buddu buddu buddu.... pretend that this is a drum roll, it was the best i could do! I am... Staying! I am very glad about that. I feel that i have much more work to do here in Ostia. But... I have a new companion. His name is Elder Breen. I have never met him before. I heard that he's from Vegas, a snowboarder, and pretty chill. I am excited to meet him and learn from him. His a youngin like me. This is his 6th transfer and my 2nd so we are a young companionship. My companion is being transfered to La Spezia to be District Leader there. He will do an incredible job. I love this Elder very much. He has taught me so much and is a great example. I love the way that he does missionary work because it's different than i pictured, and so effective. His new companion is Elder Shepheard. He will have sisters in his District which is cool. One of his sisters is Sister Kenney is one of my favorites! Then the other two elders in our appartment recieved their big news as well! Anziano Goddard, our District Leader, is... leaving and going to Napoli to be a Zone Leader. Elder Funk has been here longer than any of us (for 4 transfers, is whole mission) and he is staying for a 5th. His new companion will be Anziano Silva who is in his 6th transfer and he will be district leader. We have a very young appartment... which is good. we are very excited. It is going to be a huge challenge for me but a good challenge. I will now have to talk a lot more and use my italian. My companion now who is leaving tomorrow is fluent and is incredible with the language, so i am trying to pick his brain and obsorb all i can before tomorrow. It's crazy how fast things change. But i know that change is good, hard at times but good. We listened to talk yesterday given by a general authority in the 50s or 60s entitled: "I am the Gardner here". It is an incredible talk and touching, real, relatable story. The General Authority tells a personal story when he bought a farm previously owned and not kept up very well. He went out and started to prune a tree that was very tall and growing very large but wasnt producing any fruit. He cut down most of the branches so that it was very small, but able to grow and produce fruit over time. He looked at it and he could here it say: "How could you cut me down? I was doing so well, growing and becoming so big and you cut me down." And he replied back and said "I am the gardner here. I know what is best for you. I cut you down so you can growand produce fruit. " He then told a story of him in the army when he was cut down and he was doing so well but the Lord said to him, " I am the Gardner here. I know what is best for you. Trust me and all will be well". We need to constantly remember that we are not the Gardner. We dont know what is best for us. He does. He is the Gardner, he gives us what we need. He provides and teaches in ways we dont expect, but they are the best ways! I know that this change is hard but very needed. I will learn so much from these new missionaries. In my life i have had many challenges that i thought were too hard to handle at the time but now looking back i know that they were exactly what i needed. Remember always to trust the gardner and always know that He is playing a gigantic part in each of our lives. I cant even explain the amazing miracles i have seen and experienced here. I saw the smallest miracle last night that one might say is just a coincidence but no, i know that it was a miracle. We were running down the stairs to make it on the metro. As i went to get on a lady whom i met before on the metro hit me, because she was on the phone, gave me a smile, and waved to me. That showed me what a difference a hello can make. What a difference a little chat on the metro make in someones life. I will see her again and talk with her more. Well, i got to go. My companion is waiting for me. I love you all.-LOVE: ANZIANO BEAU RICHARD BREWSTER