Food for Thought

Hey!

This past week was way good! W first found out that it was so cold in the mornings because our heater was broken so now We got that fixed. Now it's so warm in the mornings. I don't really know what to say next because I don't really remember the last week. It went by way to fast.

I have not been sick yet on my mission and I am trying to keep it that way but if I get sick it won't be that big of a deal. I got my flu shot a while back. Today was way fun at the Plex playing Ultimate with a football. I would rather play soccer always, but these people just don't want to. :( 

I got my third spine injury today on my mission. about a month and a half ago I got my neck popped by having an elbow come down on my head. Two weeks ago I was slammed in the upper spine by a really big guy. He was a returned missionary. :) And today I was running and and I caught the ball but I ran into the guy with my body but my head kinda got whip lashed to the side. Now I have a sore neck again. Maybe I just go too hard during games but I don't ever regret it.

So we put a 17 year old on date for baptism this week but then last night he told us that he wasn't ready and mature enough to be baptized. It was kinda sad but I think that we got him to understand more about the Word of Wisdom, which was a concern for him.

We have a ton of investigators right now and this next week we will be trying to put them all on date for baptism. I hope that everything will turn out great. 

It doesn't feel like the Holidays at all. I honestly really just want to go shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. I feel like that time here is going by so fast but at the same time it is going by so slow. Another one of my friends just sent in his papers for a mission. I am really excited for him.

Well I am praying for you family and friends. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving this week. I am grateful for the prayers all give me. I miss you and love you all!!!

~Elder Bryson Steiner

Marvelous Wonderment!!!

Hey Family!

So this week was cool. I mean really cool as in cold cool! It is going to be a very cold winter here with no snow. I hope it is warmer up there but I want you to know that I just bought a hat. :) I will be warm for now. To be honest I feel like I am just about to run a track race in the cold rain when it is raining down here which it is right now.

I think that the work is going well for us cause he have run into a few people that have expressed they want to be baptized. We didn't even ask them the question when they said that, so I hope everything works out. I do have to say that I miss home a lot but I don't want to go home. You need to come out here! I think I have decided that I don't want you to come pick me up from my mission. I want to fly back home. :)

So my companion is a little out there but I am dealing with it. I think he was a gangster before he got converted. We're just not seeing eye to eye on some of the rules I think he should keep.

So I need to tell you to send the Christmas stuff before December 1st. Ties, Letters, and the mini BOM, NT, OT, POGP, & D&C. <-- (Basicaly the scriptures) I will be trying to send home a box before Christmas so you can have some things and look through it all and ya. :)

I feel really lazy right now. We will be going to Downtown Columbia today. My companion wanted to go even though the other three of us have already gone, but all well.

So something really cool is that I have learned to fold my clothes the way the military do. I think it is so cool that I want to show you when I get home so that we can do our 72 hour kits. I want you to know that these next two weeks I will be having 2 dinners some nights :) hehe I love the members here and I honestly want to stay here for the rest of my mission but I know that I won't and that is sad. I think that the members here have made me feel more like I am at home. 

Oh something funny that happened was yesterday with bro Barton. We were going to come up and knock on his house to see him and when we got there we heard screaming like crazy and we could tell that he was under stress just by being outside. I thought he was going to cuss but he didn't. We rang the doorbell and he yelled at us to come in and to come into the tv room. Carolina Gamecocks were down 7 points with 12 seconds left against the Florida Gators. Score: 10:17 There was 3 yards left and it was 3rd down, well lets just say it was really intense and they went into overtime and ended up winning the game. 

Brother Barton calmed down once we got there but I will always remember him and how he loves his Carolina Gamecocks, football games. 

So I want all of you to know that I love you and that I can't wait to embrace you all in my arms. I am praying for you every night and I hope that you have a wonderful Holiday without me. I will be over at T's for Thanksgiving. Don't worry, the first year is always the worst when it comes to missing someone during the Holidays. I really miss Black Friday. I really want to go but we can't. 

Something I really like is on lds.org and it is the daily quotes. I love looking through those and understanding a little more in short paragraphs of knowledge. 

So this week we had a guy that said he didn't believe that Mary was a virgin and it got into a really awkward situation. We basically just asked him if he believed that God had all power. I can't remember what his reply was but he tried to side step the question. It's really interesting why people believe what they believe. I feel like I have all the answers it's just they won't listen. This church makes the most sense and I know that you can come to know it to be true by the fruits of it's gospel. 

I believe you have many questions for me and I will try to share what I am experiencing with you. So much happens in one week that it is impossible to write all the blessings, spiritual moments, personal revelations and relationships I am going through right now. Wow, this letter seems long. 

So i forgot to tell you that I have a full flash drive of music and will be sending it home so that you can put some talks and music onto Bretton's iPod before he leaves on him mission. I still need to sort through most of it. 

I want you to know that I am doing well and that I am excited to hear from you. I love you all so much and I can't wait to facetime you. I hope that I can at least. Maybe you should go and visit Amelia for christmas so that I can see Colton. ;) hehe just maybe though. He might facetime at a different time than me.

I can't wait to hug all of you and I hope that you all are reading the Book of Mormon every day. I love you all again!

I love you Mom. I love you Dad.

Love, 

~Elder Bryson Steiner

Families are Forever!

Hi!

So this week has been a cool week. We went to a less-actives house yesterday and it just so happened that we talked to the whole family. 3 generations of the family were there and we asked who had been baptized and there were about 3 and so this got the children's interest and then they expressed that they wanted to get baptized. So we have maybe 3 people that will get baptized. I just hope that everything will just work out well.

The thing with the hair. I can give myself a haircut to myself now. My hair does need to be cut again but I have already had 2 haircuts on my mission.

Today for P-day we went to the Plex and we played ultimate, and football. So during football there was a Samoan from another ward there and he was really huge. Like he was built for football. So the play started and I was in the middle. I ran a few yards up and then turned right around and the ball was thrown to me. I caught the ball and before I landed on the ground the Samoan accidentally hit me from behind. I kept the ball in my hands and landed on my feet cause he basically set my down. He hit me on my upper back and the force popped all of my upper spine. I got the air knocked out of me from behind for the first time in my life and it was really weird. I'm pretty sure I will sleep well tonight but tomorrow morning will be a sore one.

I can play it back in my mind and I'm pretty sure I looked funny. I don't think I broke anything and it doesn't really hurt right now.

So I just got some gloves and I now have 37 ties cause I can get really good ties at goodwill for 50 cents each. I think I have an addiction. I am also trying to find really light weight work out stuff.

I think for Christmas I really want a full set of small scriptures. There will be 4 books. The Book of Mormon, Old Testament, New Testament, and the Doctrine & Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. You should find them on the Lds store. They are, I think priced for about 14-15 dollars. I think that I would like my own haircut kit. I would need the one that has the inch long and then goes shorter. I have found them all over here and I am thinking about getting one. Here they are about $20.

I can't really think of anything else right now. I believe I am doing good and I really don't want to move out of this area yet. I love it too much and I hope to stay at least another transfer for Christmas.

So the things that I have missed the most out here are. Watching baby David grow up. Having my family around all the time. And my friends.

I am still homesick but I am trying not to be still. I hope you are having a wonderful time. .

I love you! I am praying for you.

Love,

~Elder Steiner

P.S. I want to be a Photographer when I get back home. Even if it is only for a hobby.

All I want for Christmas...

On Mon, Nov 3, 2014 at 4:03 PM, Elise wrote:

What do you want or need for Christmas?

On Mon, Nov 3, 2014 at 4:13 PM, Bryson wrote:

A lot of letters because those are treasure,

Maybe some ties to wear under the skies,

And your love for perfect love casteth out all fear.

~Elder Steiner

Oh, and pictures!!!!!!!

First Transfer

Hey!

Saturday was the coldest day on record at that time of the year. I think this year will be really cold but that is a good thing that you will not have to worry about. My new companion Elder Webb can't ride bikes because he is legally blind in one eye. Now you just need to worry about the driving. He is the driver. :D 

I was really stressed about a new companion, but I think I am past that now. I just hope that I can be who the Lord wants me to be. 

When Elder Wright left, he left a lot of ties so now I have 35 ties and I want more. ;) hehe I am going to collect as many as I can and bring them home. I have to admit that I was scared to get a new companion because I was staying in the area and I had to basically tell Elder Webb all about the area. T was really sad to see Elder Wright go, I realized after he left, how much he meant to me.

Today I went and played 4 games of bowling and that's what we did for P-day. It was fun my scores were 125, 87, 99, and I forgot the last games score. So I hope that everything is going well back at home. I hope everyone was safe on Halloween. Halloween is really scary down here. People just like to scare you by looking suspicious or something like that. 

Well the days are now night when we go out to work and no one really wants us when It's dark outside. Would someone really want two 20 year old's in their house at dark? So it is going to get a lot harder to work. 

This transfer we get trained on the iPad's but we don't get them until after this transfer. I hope that I get a Christmas Present. :)

There still hasn't been any new baptism's but we are working and I just hope that we can find someone that really wants to be baptized and eventually get to the temple. The temple is where we want to be and that is where we want to stay. I have to say I love the temple so much and I can't wait till that day I get to be sealed to my wife for Eternity. I hope that day will come because that is what I want. 

I realized how little I know about the Gospel. I am finishing reading the Book of Mormon for the 5th time but I have only read D&C once. I haven't read the Old or New Testaments, and i haven't read the Pearl of Great Price except JS-H. I hope that I can read them fast and learn more. 

I did get the Halloween package and I did give away the mummies and they loved them and well we didn't really get any one trick or treating. I also got Brianne and Matt's letter and I want them to know that I love them for the cute pictures of baby David. I really miss him and  hope that they have another child the age of 6 months when I get back. ;) hehe 

I am still praying for all of you and I can't wait to see you all again. I really hope that Bretton will heal. Don't let him eat any ice cream. Only healthy stuff cause then he will heal faster. I love you all and I miss you a lot. 

Love,

Elder Steiner