Is This Place Paradise?

Dear Family,

This week has been awesome! After my first day in Benson Hill, I literally was asking, "Is this place paradise?" This ward is amazing! The ward mission leader is Brother Lim, he is a very energetic, short, Chinese man. (Don't tell him I told you he is short.) There are also a few ward missionaries, one of which is Brother Dilag (pronounced Dee-log), but he likes just being called Ed. He is a recent convert and he organizes a lot of activities. He put together a Pot Luck on Saturday and he goes out a lot with us to teach. He is awesome!

When I got to the Maple Valley Stake Center for transfers, I had a couple surprises. One is the fact that I am actually in a trio! The other is that I don't actually have to bike anywhere, we have a car! My new companions are Elder Samuels, and Elder Samuelsen. (I love how their names are literally 2 letters apart. It is easy for members and investigators to remember our names.) Elder Samuels has been in this ward for 1 transfer already, on bike, but he crashed when going down a hill about 25 mph and he hurt his finger. He has to go to physical therapy for it, and now we have a car because he can't grip bike handles very well. I assume that we will bike next transfer when his finger is all better. For now, I am going to enjoy the car. :)

This week has flown by! I have been slowly learning the ward and it's members. We have 2 investigators committed for baptism on March 5th and we hope that we can help them get there. We found 5 investigators this week, so now we have a total of 10 investigators! That is a lot! We are working hard to get fellowship for each investigator and also how to include them in the ward. This week has been a lot of fun and I can't wait to keep working! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Bretton Steiner.

PS: I get to be a part of the ward choir in Benson Hill! I am so excited! I didn't know that I as a missionary was allowed to be in the ward choir, but it turns out that missionaries have been in the Benson Hill ward choir for quite a while! It is really fun to sing in a group again!

Items Received:

* Letter from Grandma and Grandpa Sheffield! Thank you!

Say hello to Elder Samuelsen (On the left), me, and Elder Samuels (On the right). We are Benson Hill's Tri-panionship! We happened to be in the MTC all at the same time, but in different districts. We didn't actually meet each other until we were at the airport!

I think this is what every missionary is trying to attain when filling up on gas. I am grateful that God has called another prophet in these latter days!

Brother Lim the ward mission leader!

We just finished a new member lesson with Jennassa!

Moving North!

Dear Family,

This week has been crazy! I found out on Wednesday that our apartment is being closed and that we had to deep clean it, so I had hopes that we would be moved to another apartment, hopefully one that actually had a washer and dryer, but my hopes were dashed the next day. President Eaton called us on Thursday and told us that we are both being transferred and that there would be no Elders replacing us. That's right, the Scenic Hill Elders area is closing. The ward is being left to the Sisters. Then he called us later and told us that our apartment wasn't really being closed, but that Sisters from another ward were moving in, so we still had to deep clean it.

This week, we had to tell all of our investigators and members that we are leaving. It was hard. Many were disappointed and wanted us to stay. We had the Sisters meet as many of our investigators as possible before we left. The good thing about knowing that we are being transferred ahead of time is the fact that we have a long time to pack!

Today is transfers. At 2:00 today, I am going to the Maple Valley Stake Center to meet my new companion, Elder Samuels. He will then take me to my new area, Benson Hill in the Renton Stake. Maybe I will stay in hilly areas my whole mission! It is a bike area. No car. I am going to lose some fat! Woo Hoo! I will miss Scenic Hill and treasure my time spent serving in it. I will also miss the car... Wish me luck on getting to know my second area!

I have some facts about Kent. Kent is the 6th largest city in the state of Washington. It is very diverse. So diverse, the school district handles 139 different languages! That is a lot! I ran into a lot of people that didn't speak English! There were also a lot of Spanish speakers. Sometimes I wish I knew how to speak Spanish. Right now, all I can say is La Iglesia de Jesu Christo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I think). I really want to learn more Spanish, too! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Bretton Steiner.

P.S. I took a lot of pictures this week, but all of it is packed away. :) So, next week I can send a few more.

PS from Dad: I looked up his old chapel and his new one on google maps. They are only 5.1 miles from each other so I guess he is not moving very far.

Bretton: Oh, Elder Anderson gave me his card reader to borrow! Yay!

All packed up and ready to go! You will probably be seeing that box soon, if it manage to send it correctly.

Last visit to the Alfrey family! Yay! They hosted us for our Christmas calls! 
 

I went to Cafe Rio a total of 10 times before transfers! It was so worth it!

Our last Family Home Evening with the Ainuu family.

Bothday!

Dear Family,

This week has been pretty good! I have a few new investigators this week and one of them seems pretty promising! I had a great birthday. I ate at the Bishop's house for dinner and they made me a cake! Probably the best thing that happened on my birthday was the baptism! Yep, I baptized Devu Thapa on my birthday! Yay! I didn't actually teach Devu, but the sister missionaries did and they needed someone to baptize her! It was awesome! I forgot to bring my camera to the baptism, but some other members of the ward got pictures. I don't have them with me, I still have to get them from the ward members. :) The Ainuu's also made me a cake for the Family Home Evening with them on Monday. Both cakes were great!

Also, there was a worldwide missionary training meeting this week! It was awesome! Something that I really liked was how important repentance really is. As a missionary it is easy to gloss over repentance and go straight to teaching about baptism! Repentance is the thing that actually prepares people for baptism. Repentance helps them change their lives and helps them grow closer to Christ and our Heavenly Father. By asking them to read the scriptures and apply them, I am actually asking them to repent and change their lives. It was a great training!

Some of you may be questioning the subject line of this email. I am glad you noticed. :) I couldn't decide between Birthday and Baptism day, because it was both! Then I thought, "Bothday, that will work!" I typed it in with a smile! I love you all!

Love,
Elder Bretton Steiner.

Items Received:

* Birthday Package! Thank you!

Q and A:

What can we do here at home to be missionaries?
*** Talk with everyone. One way to help bring people unto Christ is by being a good friend and example. If a less active member chooses to not reactivate, don't abandon them. I bet something inside them always wants to return to activity. This is all I could think of. I love you!

What is your favorite dinner, breakfast, desert, color, scripture, family story, and embarrassing moment?
* The bishop asked you what my favorites were because I couldn't decide. I like a lot of things I used to not like and vise versa.
* Dinner: Teryaki Chicken; Breakfast: French Toast or Mountain Man; Desert: Blue Berry Muffins; Color: Green and Blue; Scripture: Mosiah 29:20; Family Story: The Hill Cumorah Pagent; Embarrassing Moment (really?): Forgetting that we were already scheduled to meet with members and asking them again. It actually happens a lot.

What did you learn from the Worldwide Missionary Training Meeting?
* The theme is "Teach Repentance and Baptize Converts". There were a lot of things mentioned and talked about, but something that really stood out to me is the fact that we have to teach repentance, too. As a missionary, it has been really easy for me to gloss over repentance because I get so excited to talk about baptism. They said that repentance is the only way that leads to baptism. If we don't teach about repentance, they will have a greater chance of going less active or not continuing investigating. It is important that we teach repentance with out saying the word repentance. When we invite people to read the Book of Mormon and pray asking God to help them find something in it that they can apply and change in their lives, it is telling them to repent! I will be honest, after this training, I felt excited to teach a lot more!

This is the time of year that moss is everywhere! I really enjoy stepping on it. It is really soft and usually has a little water in it, so I can splash where ever I go!

There are some more great sunsets this week! They were awesome! The hard part was finding a clearing from the trees. 

There is a funny story with this one. Last P-Day I had a craving for some Gorp (Family made trail mix). I was at the store thinking I wanted to buy it and make it. I thought maybe it could wait next week, but then I remembered it was my birthday week, so I went ahead and bought it. The next day, I receive my birthday package and what is in it? Some Gorp! Now I have a lot of it! Yay! Extra pretzels!

I made brownies for the baptism and blue berry muffins for my birthday! It was awesome! Thanks for the mixes! I plan on making my actual birthday cake after I buy cool whip later today.

Bretton's Birthday at the Bishop's Home (these two taken by the Bishop)

Blowing out the candles!

Cafe Rio!

Dear Family,

This week has been great! It was a little slow at first, but came out strong in the end! We found 5 new investigators this week! I think one of the highlights of this week was Cafe Rio! The only Cafe Rio in the mission just opened last Wednesday, and it is located in the Scenic Hill Ward!! Yay! Elder Anderson and I went to Cafe Rio 5 times the last week. We got 4 of those meals for free because (of course) all of the people from Utah (meaning mostly members) went there and paid for us! It was awesome!

Elder Anderson and I are actually pretty good at Charades! We had a family home evening with the Ainuu's yesterday and the activity was Charades. We tied 2 times with 12 in one minute and came out with the win! We were all laughing and having a great time.

I love you all! Sorry this letter is on the shorter side! I still love you!

Love,

Elder Steiner.

P.S. I haven't received any packages for this week because District Meeting was canceled due to a World Wide Missionary Training taking place tomorrow! I will probably get the pending packages while there.

God Works In Mysterious Ways!

Dear Family,

This week has been pretty great! The slow times are over and this area is alive again! I had an enjoyable exchange with my district leader and I learned a lot from Zone Training, but I think the best thing that happened was just yesterday!

This week has actually been pretty sunny! Of course, when it is sunny, the temperature plummets and it is very cold, but I have been doing well. Many members of the ward have been getting sick, but Elder Anderson and I haven't! I think it is because I wash my hands pretty often. :) I am starting to get used to standing with good posture and my back hasn't been hurting me as much this week! I guess all of those strengthening exercises Sister Eaton gave me have been doing good!

Yesterday (Sunday, January 10th), Elder Anderson and I were at a member's home doing some follow-up. We really just showed up to set up an appointment, but they let us in right then, so I we didn't come prepared with a short message to share. While we were there, I prayed and asked what scripture to share and then I flipped open the Book of Mormon to a random scritpure. I turned to Mosiah 4:27. I read over it and I waited patiently for the right time to share it. It never came. We shared a Mormon Message video called, "I'll go where you want me to go." It was about member missionary work! So perfect, but it didn't really go well with the scripture I found. I didn't end up sharing it during that lesson, but I kept it book marked.

Later that night, we visited a less-active family. I, again, was expecting just to do a door stop visit and set up another time to meet, but the father was home and they let us in. It was just the father and the mother there this time. We haven't met with them for a few weeks, so we followed up with how things were in their family. They told us how they have been going through a hard time, and how they were fighting for custody of some boys that they have been raising for 10 years, and many other stressful things. When I looked at my Book of Mormon to share a message, I saw the book mark. I opened it and shared the scripture. It talked about how we need not run faster than we have strength. I related it to how we are saved after all that we can do. I ended by bearing my testimony of how Jesus Christ knows all that we are going through and how we will never be given a trial that we can't overcome through him. The Spirit was strong. They said that message is what they needed to hear and they were grateful for us coming over. I know that Heavenly Father gave me that scripture to share with them, even though I didn't know when or who to share it with. He really does work in mysterious ways!

I love you all so much! I hope you are all having a great week, too!

Love,

Elder Bretton Steiner.

Items Received:
* Snow Package from the Harris family! Thank you! I love you, too!

Sorry, I forgot to take pictures this week! I hope I will remember for next week!

PS: Note that P-Day will be on Tuesday for the next 3 weeks, so the letters will be a little late.

Happy New Ye... Wait, is it 2016?

Dear Family,

Did you know that I have been out for over 6 months now? I just found that out. I am a little shocked. It has definitely not felt that long! I was talking with someone (I don't remember who), but they said that they don't set New Years resolutions, they set goals. No one actually accomplishes New Year resolutions (If you do, I applaud you), but everyone accomplishes goals that they really work for. I just thought that was funny. I always thought that goals and New Year resolutions were the same thing. I guess not. :)

This week has been a little slow. People are getting sick, but not the missionaries. And now people are finally returning from their vacations! Elder Anderson finally got to meet the bishop yesterday. The bishop left right as Elder Anderson got transferred here, and he got back lateSaturday night.

I recently have been studying humility. I have found that humility is closely related to submitting your will to God. In Mosiah 24:15, it says, "The burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord." In this verse is a promise. If you submit your will to the Lord with patience and cheer, you will find your burdens lightened. Alma and his brethren were humble! They did wait, and sure enough, the Lord did eventually deliver them! I know that with God, nothing is impossible.

I love you all and I hope you had a great New Years!

Love,

Elder Bretton Steiner

This is where Elder Anderson put his statue. Yep, Velcro is awesome!

It got pretty cold this week. Cold enough that the fountains in Washington Park Apartments started to make mountains of ice. All three of the fountains are in the picture, just some are farther away. It was so cool, you might even say it was cold!

Merry Christmas!!!

Dear Family,

Christmas was so great! I didn't get to go out and proselyte for very much because we moved our weekly planning to that morning. I got to have dinner at the Alfrey's home which was roast beef and potatoes and green beans! So good! Sister Alfrey has a niece that is serving a mission, too, so she had a call set up with her for later that night. I had the first call home, and Elder Anderson had the second. While I waited during his call, I played a board game with the family. They are great! I almost forgot how fun board games are!

On Christmas Adam, my Zone when to an "old folks home" to go caroling! I should have taken a picture of it... I loved the caroling! I even got a lot of compliments on my singing. The "old folks" really enjoyed our performance and we wished them a Merry Christmas before we left to go to our Christmas Devotional. It was great!

I am glad to hear that you all had a great Christmas, too! I love you all so much! Don't ever give up! Church on Sunday seemed to have a topic that was on our divine potential. Each and every one of us are sons and daughters of God. We have the potential to become like Him! How different would our lives be if we saw everyone as princes and princesses to the Kingdom of God? Would we be a little more compassionate? More kind? More serving? I know that as we remember everyone's divine potential, we can find greater happiness in our lives, and in the lives of those we serve.

I love you all!
Love,
Elder Bretton Steiner.
No Items Received this week.

I made a Birthday cake for Jesus! It was so good!

Christmas calls were fun! I love you Bryson!

Here are some of the things that I make, just for fun! :)

I made a giant map of the area out of about 17 papers, cut and pasted together! I am now highlighting the roads so we can see them better. This is still a work in progress.

This is a water-proof box that is meant to carry 1 Book of Mormon and 2 Restoration pamphlets, and to be mounted onto my bike! It took me about 2 weeks to make it. Oh, and the Velcro keeps it closed!

Christmas Is Coming! "Snow" Way!

Dear Family,

This week has been pretty great! Elder Anderson and I are seeing blessings and miracles happen in Scenic Hill. Christmas is on the way, we have presents under our tree, we are listening to Christmas Mormon Tabernacle Choir, everyone is nice at this time of year, and there is no snow, just rain. Yep, lots of rain. It would feel more like Christmas if it snowed. I am pretty excited for Christmas to come! It is also very awesome to have the car full time again!

Elder John was my District Leader last transfer, but now has been transferred to the Skyway ward in the Renton Stake. His first day there, he got shot in the leg, but he is doing good now. Anyway, my new District Leader is Elder Bakes! Oh, and my district includes the Assistants to the President! That is so cool! Since my District Leader doesn't have a car, we are their ride for everything! I will probably get a picture of us in the car sometime later today.

On Sunday, we were going around doing work, and I found this list of less active members to visit that I had forgotten about. We have had it for almost 4 weeks. So, I chose the Muauu family and decided to go visit. When we got there, Brother Muauu was actually home. We don't visit them often because he works from 9 am to 10 pm every single day, so the fact that he was home was a miracle! I shared the short Christmas message from 3 Nephi 1:19-21 (The one about the signs of Christ's birth) and talked about how important it is to remember Christ, the true meaning of Christmas. Sister Muauu said that this was exactly what she needed and was grateful that we came by. I know that Heavenly Father is mindful of all of us! He knows our situation and is willing to help. Sometimes He offers the comfort of the Spirit, sometimes it is by a loved one visiting, or even sometimes the missionaries will come over! I know that He loves all of us with a love that we cannot comprehend! Let us rejoice because He has given us this great gift, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to atone for our sins! Let us celebrate His birth this Christmas!

I can't wait for Christmas calls! I am so excited to see you! Mom will know the details of the Skype. I will get only 40 minutes, so come prepared with questions or things to say. I want to make the most of it! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Steiner.

Items Received:

* 2 Christmas Packages from home
* Package from Grandma and Grandpa Sheffield

I realized I forgot to take some pictures of my new companion, Elder Anderson, so I got a picture right here at the library!

This is our Christmas tree, missionary style!

Transfers, The New And Upcoming

Dear Family,

Today is Transfer P-Day! Everyone knows that after training, the Trainer and the Trainee don't stay together, so I knew something was coming this transfer. Elder Miner is getting transferred, and I am staying in Scenic Hill! Also, Scenic Hill has a little change, again. It is, once again, full time car! Yay! I have seen a lot of changes over the 4 transfers I have been here. This next transfer is going to be fun! It will contain: Christmas, New Years, and my Birthday! After looking on the missionary portal, I found that my new companion is named Elder Anderson. Since transfers are happening at 2:00 today, I can't really tell you anything about him, yet. Next week.

This week was the last week of the transfer, so we got to see lots of miracles! Here is just a very brief overview of some of them: We helped members move into an apartment complex that we were recently kicked out of, so now we can go there again! We finally got an investigator to church! (First one since Lili Tuiloma. About 9 weeks without any.) Lots of less-active members came to the Ward Christmas Party and we got to talk with them! And many more miracles!

The Family Home Evening with the Ainuu family last night was amazing! It was a little goofy, but a lot of fun! When they found out about transfers, they were really sad. They related to us how grateful they are that we never gave up on them and helped them return to church. It has been a testimony builder to me that the Gospel isn't just baptizing people, but it is something that changes lives for the better. The Gospel is the way and the truth, our opportunity to become something better than we currently are. Heavenly Father loves all of us. This is His plan. This is His blessing. We are so blessed to be a part of His true church and to be able to live up to our full potential.

I can't wait to speak to you on Christmas! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Steiner.

Items Received:

* Letters from Oak Hollow Primary. I loved them! I love all of you, too!

The finish of our last exchange with Elder John. Both Elder Miner and Elder John are being transferred.

This is my first time making Russian Chicken on my mission! It was awesome! Thanks for the recipe Mom!

The Ainuu family at the end of last night's Family Home Evening.

A funny picture with the Ainuu's.

It's Raining, It Must Be A Bike Day!

Dear Family,

This week has been good. I remember a few weeks ago I made a joke that it always rains when we don't have the car. It was funny at the time, but this week it actually happened that way. When we had the car, overcast and cold. When we were on bikes, raining and still cold. Don't worry, I have 2 sweaters, a raincoat, a scarf, and a beanie, so I am not cold. :)

This week we found a new investigator who is really funny. He is a pretty old African American who loves to talk and has a strong faith in Jesus Christ. We have only had 2 lessons with him so far, but I love how energetic and excited he is. It is really funny, he would talk about what he has learned in life, and then we would find a scripture in the Book of Mormon that taught the same thing! He is known to say, "Oh, help me Lord!" whenever he can't remember something. He is also known to say, "In Jesus name!" when he agrees with something. I love having a really energetic investigator!

I love you all so much!

Love,
Elder Steiner.

P.S. I have started to write down Sister Tuiloma's Conversion Story, but it is far from complete. As far as I know, she hasn't been baptized yet, but I also haven't been in contact with her new missionaries. I am debating waiting to write it to you until after she is baptized. Let me know what you think. Thank you for your patience!

Items Received:
* Package containing (what seems like) hundreds of letters! Thank you everyone! Your the best!

This is our P-Day group! We were at Jack In The Box doing the 10 Taco challenge that Elder Miner came up with. I actually only got 4 tacos. Elder Czarnecki ate 7, Elder Miner had 10, and Elder Lloyd had 13!!! That's crazy.

I don't know how well you can see this, but the road is closed off because of flooding. This picture was taken just a few hours ago.
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