April 22, 2009 (Earth Day)

The mission is so incredible! I have been learning so much about myself, how i react with people, especially with my companion and district. I am learning how to overcome my weaknesses and faults and how to support others in their weaknesses and faults. I am learning how to love people unconditionally. I love trials and hards times because right after there is a beautiful calm. THere is a peace and imense joy that i would never have felt if i didnt first experience the raping waves, tormentous winds and the shards of painful hail and worked so hard to overcome them so that my heart is open and i am willing to do the will of the Lord. At the end there is a beautiful rainbow of joy that just fills the soul. This is what i feel after every companion. There were a lot of rough periods with each one of them not because it was their fault but because it was our faults because no one is perfect and we are both learning together. In the end it is great to see the change and the growth in each of us. Today i am saying good bye to my dear companion and friend Elder Julian Francesco Kenneth Soro. He is going to Livorno as Zone Leader. My new companion will be Elder Sponseller who was also in the MTC with me. He is already on the island in Sassari. I am excited. I have a lot more to learn and grow. I have had many spiritual experiences in this last transfers. Elder Soro and I have seen a lot of miracles and we have had a memorable time together. We had an incredible apointment with Giovanni last night and President Sanna. The spirit was profoundly strong. I was more converted thanks to this lesson. Giovanni wants to be baptized and he told us this yesterday but before he is baptized he wants to know without a doubt that Joseph Smith was a prophet. President sanna felt to share Moroni 10:3-5 and he poured his heart out! He went over every single word and expounded with great simplicity what it meant to him. We felt to bring President Sanna for a reason because Giovanni needed that. Giovanni wants to know and is looking for the truth and he will find it! I am so excited for both him and Carlos Gordillo. Love Elder Brewster

Earthquake in L'Aquila Italy

Beau is on the island and was not near the damage in L'Aquilla. L'Aquilla was Beau's second area. News from the Mission home is that all the missionaries and members are safe. There was one house of a member that was demolished and many houses with giant cracks in the walls. the Quake was felt at the mission home in Rome.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7984951.stm Video of the Aftermath

April 1, 2009

Missionary work is so great! I had the great opportunity to do 2 exchanges (scambis) at the beginning of this week. We went to Olbia and then to Sassari. It was great to be with these missionaries and to help them with their work. I am loving being a zone leader. I am not overwelmed anymore. I am getting the hang of things. I love my companion. I am learning a lot from him. We have been having a fun time joking around and telling stories from the mtc and from our missions. I love our zone members. They are such good elders and sisters. When i was at sassari they had me listen to a beautiful musical called the garden about the garden of gethsemane. It is beautiful. You have to get the cd and try to find the sheet music because it is wonderful. I wish i could tell you the whole story but i will tell you a little bit. It is about 4 elements: a seedling (that cant grow), a ram (that is stuck in the bush), a tree (that is barren) and a millstone (that doesnt feel like his of importance). They are in their misery and blaming themselves for the things that they lack. A gardner comes (a prophet) to help them grow, become better, but then there is the landlord (satan) who says that they are his and that the gardner cant save them so a man of many names (jesus christ) has to come and save them. It is wonderful. I want to do it so badly. Let's do it together ok? OF course when umpiring is over and you are set with work. Another neat thing is that on sunday i was talking with the old zone leader here in cagliari, anziano bruno (from Catania). He finished his mission in october i believe. He is dating the Sardegna district president's daughter. He is going to work here in a month and move here. Last year when we was here they did the musical My turn on Earth (il mio turno sulla terra) and this year they want to do a musical that was written in the north of italy about the prophet Joseph Smith. I am excited. We are going to help and be in it. Last year it helped the branch out a lot. It brought unity among the members, inactives came back, they had a baptism from it, and they recieved many contacts and new investigators from it. We had a good lesson with Marilena (anziano Soro's cousin). we watched the restoration. she said the closing prayer which went well. She is going to read the book of mormon and pray to know if it is true. She is a great lady. I would love to have her as a relative. I think i am going to adopt her as my italian aunt :). We are also teaching a man from Nigeria (destiny) a woman from the philipines (celina) and our new investigator is Giovanni who is great. He is a really short, stauky sardanian who is so kind and Buono! proprio buono. We taught him for the first time saturday night and it was incredible. The spirit was so strong. He has read to the death of ishmael in the book of mormon. I am excited for him. I love our members. We have a lot of them and they are so quiet and humble. It is very different from Battipaglia. They were so loud, funny, prideful and contentious (at times) where these members are afraid of their own shadows. Not all of them just the single men. We have about 5 of them. They help us a lot with missionary work. Elder Brewster

March 25, 2009

Being a zone leader is going well. We gave a training monday for all of the missionaries in sardegna. We prayed, fasted and pondered about it for a while and we did it on UNITY and TRUST. it went so well. We both realized, preparing the training that it was exactly what we both needed. We had many companionship inventories during this little time of preparing the training. I cant believe that i am at this point in my mission as a zone leader. I never thought this time would come. I love it. There are many sacrifices and it's time consuming but so rewarding! I love our zone and our district. Tonight we are going to Oristano for exchanges. This transfer i am focusing on Charity as my Christ like attribute. And i can say that i have grown to love each and every missionary, my leaders and my companion. Elder Brewster