Glad We Didn't Walk Home!

Dear Family,

You know how everyone says that missionaries are protected on their missions? It is very true. I have had a few cases that have really stood out, one of which was this week. On Friday night, the ward had our monthly potluck at the stake center. We had a great time there, some investigators came, and Elder Smith got to meet a lot of the members whom we haven't had a chance to see, yet.

After the potluck ended, we had a choice. We could walk back to our apartment right now (about a 20 minute walk) or we could go and visit some members we didn't see at the potluck and hope that they give us a ride back. We decided to go visit the Willmore family. I didn't think anything of that decision. It turns out that they just forgot the potluck was tonight and they were excited to see us. After we met with them, they gave us a ride back.

A couple days later, we were at Ward Council before church started and they were talking about how there was someone who got shot by the limousine place after the ward potluck on Friday. It had all been taken care of before we got a ride home so we didn't see it. But if we had decided to walk instead of visiting the Willmore's, we would have been walking right in front of that spot when it happened. Yes. We are definitely protected.

I don't think that blessings of protection are reserved only for missionaries, though. Just think about it: How many times have you prayed to be safe while traveling or something, and you were safe? Sometimes, we don't even realize that He is watching over us. I think we all could be a little more grateful for each moment of every day. I keep hearing that Washington is getting more and more dangerous, but I haven't seen it. I know that as I do the Lord's will, He will protect me. I hope that you all have a great week! I love you all!

Love,
Elder Bretton Steiner.

​I have got to enjoy the snow while I can! It doesn't last long around here!

20th Month Mark

Dear Family,

This week is "Mid-Winter Break". School is out and many people are on vacation! So, it was a little slower this week. I love my new companion, Elder Smith! He really likes puns, just like me! We have been having a great time everywhere we go!

I had to look twice at the clock on Friday. The 24th of February? Wow, I am old. 20th month mark. It really does fly! Well, I'd better make the best out of the last 4 I've got!

Saturday was another Festival of Finding! The whole mission took 10 am to 5 pm to do finding! I got to go on blitz with a couple of other Elders in the Zone. It is great to be able to go with others during this festival to learn from them and how they share the Gospel. I didn't find any new investigators during the event, but I know that others did! When our whole mission unifies our faith, miracles happen! I can't wait to hear some of the stories that other missionaries had during the event!

Well, I don't have much to write about this week, but I can update you on John and Sister Kis! John is still at Truck Driving school and he is doing good! We haven't been able to meet with Sister Kis this week, she is kind of hard to contact. :) We will keep trying!

I hope you all have a great week! I love you all!

Love,
Elder Bretton Steiner.

Elder Smith and I going to service!

This is what the inside of a fire hydrant looks like.

Elder Smith is holding the water back, I think.

Wow! He is flexible!

Working With What You Got!

Dear Family,

First off, Happy Birthday Braden! And congratulations Colton and Alex! (They are getting married!)

Second off, today is transfers. I am staying here and Elder Ward is being transferred. My new companion is Elder Smith! I will get to meet him later today!

Okay, now for the topic of this email... I hope you all read the monthly Ensign magazines because they are great! I've gotten into reading this month's and have found something that I really like.

I don't remember what the articles are called (I didn't come that prepared), but they talked about working with what you have been given. When you play a card game, you can almost guarantee that you will eventually get a bad hand. Sometimes it may feel like we have been given a bad hand in our lives. I have learned that it never helps to dwell on the fact that you have a bad hand. If you do, you will lose interest in the game and not have any fun.

I know that Heavenly Father has put us each in a specific situation that is intended for us to grow closer to Him. Sometimes we may not see it or feel like the opposite is true, but I know that in the end we will be thanking Him for everything He has done. His wisdom surpasses all of ours and His love for us is certain.

Another article in the same Ensign talked about a similar subject of one who is in a sailboat. He cannot change the direction that the wind is blowing, but he can adjust the sail. We need to accept the situations that we are in and do what we can with what we have. Heavenly Father does not intend for us to fail. We will all at some point fall short of what He asks, but He will help us get back up and keep going.

I have found a lot of happiness in applying this advice. Sometimes mission life is hard and full of challenges, but I know that I am being supported as a missionary in everything I do. When I forget the hardships and just go out and serve with all I've got, that is when I find the greatest success.

I hope you all have a great week! I love you all!

Love,
Elder Bretton Steiner.

P.S. We taught John and Celine this week and they seem to be doing great! They even came to see a baptism! We haven't seen Sister Kis this week, but we will keep trying!

Last District Meeting of the transfer! The other district leaders couldn't make it today, so really the whole zone came to this meeting!

Elder Ward has reached his 6 month mark. He burned a tie to celebrate!

Brother Christensen showed us his off-roading jeep!

Following the Spirit!

Dear Family,

A lot of crazy things happened this week including the application of the new missionary schedule and extreme weather. The new missionary schedule is amazing! It feels like the main stress of time is gone. Both morning and night I have time to mentally prepare and overall missionary work has been going a lot better!

On Saturday, Elder Ward and I had a cool experience. It was in the evening, after dark.We went to go visit David Orange, who is a potential investigator. He told us in the past that he had met with missionaries for over 5 years and since he has moved to Renton. We have been trying to meet with him for the last 4 weeks, but he has always had something going on.

This time, when we went over, he was there. He just put his kids into bed and so we talked on his front porch. He showed us a lot of cool things he had and we talked a little, then I asked, "We know that you have met with missionaries before, so we want to know: which of the lessons would you like to learn?"

He said that he didn't know any of the lessons. I had a Restoration pamphlet ready in the pocket of my jacket and I felt prompted to pull it out. I didn't know what to say so I started by asking him, "Have you seen this one before?" He said he did, but he had lost his copy. I pointed to the front picture of Christ holding a lamb. I said "We believe in Jesus Christ. He is the one that makes this all possible. Without Him, there would be no point in having our religion."

He made a comment saying, "We are the lamb in that picture." I said "Yes, and He suffered and died for us. He called apostles and prophets to declare his word and His Gospel, but a short time after he left the earth, his Gospel got corrupted and changed. And now, it has been restored by a prophet called by God who had been given the Priesthood authority the same way Jesus had given it to his apostles."

Then I asked, "Do you believe that there could be prophets today?" He said, "There could be." I asked, "Do you think they are necessary?" He said, "Yes, to some people." I said, "Some people would say that we need prophets now more than ever! We live in the times the Bible calls the Last Days and we have found this to be true. As missionaries we have been called to bring this word to you."

Then I asked him, "What difference would it make if you knew this was true?" He answered by saying, "It is my mission to find the best way to heaven." Our conversation was cut short because his wife called him into the house. I gave him the Restoration pamphlet to read and we set up for next week.

We have never gotten David Orange to allow us to teach anything. I didn't expect to go into full teaching mode, but I went with what I was given. I know that it is important to follow the Spirit because there is power in it. I know that my testimony can make a difference in other peoples' lives! I know that when we are doing everything we can to follow the Spirit, we will be given what to say in the very moment!

Oh yeah, Happy Valentines Day! I hope you all have a great week! I love you all!

Love,
Elder Bretton Steiner

The drains in our apartment complex couldn't drain the cloud burst fast enough!

The heavy snow from last week has caused lots of trees to split and break.

Yep, this is flooding conditions. This is the highest we have ever seen this pond.

It's Snowing!

Dear Family,

This week has been a little on the slower side because many people have been getting sick, but it all ended up being a great adventure when the snow came! I wanted to email you all yesterday, but the libraries and schools were closed due to the snow fall. We got 10 inches of snow here. That is the most snow Seattle has had for the last 5 years! It has been great!

I can now tell you about the new changes regarding the missionary schedule! The new schedule is supposed to allow missionaries to have more freedom on how we plan the day. If you want to watch the video and how it was announced, click this: https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/watch/worldwide-missionary-broadcast/2017/01?lang=eng&vid=5308414566001

This mission is not currently using the new schedule. We will be applying the new schedule later this week after President Rasmussen announces it at Zone Conference. My zone has our Zone Conference this Friday.

Elder Ward and I have a new investigator named Sister Kis. She has 3 kids, one of which is already a member and the other two are not baptism age. She has been taught by missionaries before, all of whom wrote on her record saying that she is golden, but work and smoking is keeping her from attending church and being baptized. Three weeks ago, she become unemployed. Somehow, at the same time, a member requested that we go over to see her. She has been taking the lessons ever since and she is very receptive to the Spirit. She is currently on date to be baptized, but first, we need to help her stop smoking.

As for John and his daughter, Celine, we haven't met with them for the last two weeks. They haven't come to church either (but that might be because the Super Bowl was one of those Sundays). We are working on setting up another lesson, but we are having trouble keeping in contact with them. We will keep trying with them.

I know that this church is true. Heavenly Father is preparing people to receive the Gospel everywhere around the world. I know that I can be an instrument in helping them to do that. I am grateful for the guidance of the Spirit that has helped us to know what to plan for and what to say for each of our investigators.

I love you all!

Love,

Elder Bretton Steiner.

It's a snow-Elder!

I love snow! Too bad it doesn't stay very long around here.

This is what we saw leaving our apartment yesterday morning.

Mission Temple Day!

Dear Family,

As you can tell by the title, our mission went to the Seattle temple this week! The south half went last Tuesday and the north half went today! It was amazing! We all had a great time and the Spirit was so strong! I hope you all get to attend the temple regularly. It is truly a blessing that we can participate in God's work!

This week has been a great week! We had a world wide missionary broadcast as well that included some really important changes. First off, we only have 4 Key Indicators to report instead of the 10 or so we used to have. There is also going to be a change in the missionary schedule that will give us 2 extra hours on P-Days and shorter lunches every other day. And a few other schedule mix-ups.

This mission will start living by the new schedule starting February 10th where President Rasmussen will introduce it to the mission. President Rasmussen has the ability to change the schedule to fit the place of the mission. We don't know what he is going to do, but he will probably keep it close to the regular schedule.

I have had a great week! I want you all to know that I know this church is true. The temple is a blessing in both our lives and the lives of those who have passed on. I know that this is God's work! He will bless you as you keep his commandments and stay true to your covenants. I hope you all have a great week! I love you all!

Love,
Elder Bretton Steiner.

What a great day to attend the temple!

Buddhist Meeting

Dear Family,

This week has been a busy one! The work has been taking off and Elder Ward and I are scarcely finding the time to get everything done! We had a lot of lessons this week and some cool experiences! One of which had to do with Buddhists!

There is a part-member family in this ward where the husband is a Buddhist. He is respectful to us and we are too and he comes to church every once in a while to support his wife. He invited us to one of his Buddhist meetings that was on Friday. We got permission from our district leader and we went!

It was definitely a new experience. It was held in someone's house and there were about 5 people there. They started the meeting by chanting some words for about 20 minutes. Elder Ward and I didn't know what to do, so we sat waiting for it all to get done. One thing I noticed is that they could all be great singers!

After the chanting, they pulled out a magazine. It looked like an Ensign, but for their religion. They opened it up. It had a monthly message, things for youth, and discussion topics. Pretty cool. We spent most of the time there discussing and finding common ground between our beliefs. Both sides were respectful and willing to hear each other out.

I learned that Buddhists has a lot of the same values that LDS members do. One main difference is that they don't believe in God, but in reincarnation for eternity. If they do good in this life, they will get a better life next time and vice versa. It was cool to testify to them that God lives and what resurrection is. I hope that our testimonies helped them!

Anyway, it was a cool experience to realize that this church really is the truth. Satan will take truths and he will put a twist on them so they aren't full truths and will deceive as many as he can. Heavenly Father knows what is truth, it is His truth. And He will tell us what that is if we ask Him. I know that this church is true and that there is a God and that He loves us, not just those in this church, but every child of God.

I hope you all have a great week! I love you all!

Love,
Elder Bretton Steiner.

P.S. Today is my Birthday! Hooray!

It is the gumdrop tree!

Teaching the Plan of Salvation!

Dear Family,

This week has been one of those slow weeks. It is probably because both Elder Ward and I got sick, so we didn't get to do very much. On one of the days, we did get to teach John K! He is doing very well and is progressing! He has just about quit smoking and he is enjoying our lessons.

This week, we taught the Plan of Salvation. Brother Graham came with us and he brought his little picture set that he made when he was on his mission. They were very simple and they worked great! John understood a lot of what we taught and he agreed to help us teach this to his daughter a week from now.

I know that as Elder Ward and I do our best to teach to our investigator's needs that we will be given what to say and what to do. I know that Heavenly Father loves all of His children!

I know this letter is short, sorry! I hope you all have a great week! I love you all!

Love,
Elder Bretton Steiner.

The Spirit Will Help You Remember!

Dear Family,

First off, Happy Birthday Logan!!

Second off, Elder Ward and I are both staying this transfer!

Okay, now I can move on... This week has been a slower one. A lot of our lessons fell through, but we still had 2 of them! I had a pretty great experience during one of them, but I will have to explain a little.

Our lesson was set for Friday and we planned for the lesson on Thursday during our Weekly Planning. Since it happens to be the end of a transfer, we wrote our plan notes in the new planners for next week. We planned to show a Mormon Message video and 2 scriptures to Brother Buckley. He used to be a member and now he wants to come back. We teach him almost every Friday.

At the lesson, I realized that I didn't bring the new planner that had all of my notes in it. I couldn't remember what scripture I was going to share! I quickly said a silent prayer and while my companion was discussing the video, I pulled out the Bible and started searching.

It didn't come all at once, but little by little. I remembered Corinthians, which one? 2 Corinthians. I was flipping through it trying to remember where it was. Chapter 7. I read the chapter heading and skimmed through until I found it! Versus 9 and 10.

I shared the scripture and we had a good discussion on repentance. I don't think Brother Buckley or even Elder Ward knew that I had this experience, but I know that the Spirit helped me out when I needed help. I know that Heavenly Father is watching out for us. I know that He loves us and will guide our every step in His work!

I love you all and I hope you have a great week!

Love,
Elder Bretton Steiner

This was my district last transfer! From left to right: Elder Leavitt, Elder Kim, Elder Bollwinkel, Elder Richards, Elder Steiner, Elder Ward.

​We have a pretty cool view from the hill of all of the businesses.

Happy New Year!

Dear Family,

This week has been a slower week, but you can expect that. Many people have gone out of town for the holidays, so it has been a challenge! John and Saleena are doing good, but we didn't get to meet with them this week. We hope to see them again next week!

I went on an exchange this week to the Skyway B area this week. That is the most northern area in our mission and it covers a lot of Seattle homes (but not the city itself). It is totally different there than any other place I have seen in the mission. It is also one of the more dangerous areas. I found a few things that I thought were funny or different and I have some pictures of them! :)

Have you made any New Years Resolutions? If you haven't, you should probably stop and think about it. Heavenly Father wants us to return to Him. What do I want to become? How am I going to do that? How am I going to become more like the Savior this year? Asking questions like that combined with the power of prayer and scriptures, the Holy Ghost will tell you what to aim for. God always has blessings in store for those who strive to serve Him.

Knowing that New Years marks the fact that I have less than 6 months left in my mission. I want to give it my all for the rest of the time that He has given me in this mission. I know that there are people that He has been preparing to receive the restored Gospel. I will do my best to be an instrument in His hands for His work.

"I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy." Alma 29:9

That is still my favorite scripture when I think about missionary work. I hope you all have a great week and start of 2017! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Bretton Steiner.

Houses in Seattle are so packed together that they are running out of house numbers!

This is as far north as the mission goes. Pretty good view of Seattle!

If it doesn't say no parking, then people will park there! And yes, this is somehow a 2-way street. You just hope that someone isn't coming from the opposite direction!