Thursday, August 30, 2012

Missionary Time!!

August 29, 2012

Hey fam!!! Thank you all so so much for all of the letters you guys wrote me!!! I loved hearing from all of you!! You have no idea how amazing it is to hear from your family when you're a missionary!!! Sissy and Bryce sound good!! Sounds like you're both just as awesome as when I left a couple weeks ago!! Trey, you sound good for the most part, just keep hanging in there during those tough times!! Thank you all so so so much for all the prayers you guys say in my behalf!! You have no Idea the effects a prayer can have on a missionary!! This schedule is so ridiculously exhausting, but I can always tell when I have a prayer being said for me, because I suddenly am overwhelmed with the spirit of God and my energy returns almost instantly!! I am so so happy to hear that things with work are going well!! I pray for that every night and I try my best to work hard so that my family will also benefit from the blessings of missionary work!! But be not confused, you aren't the only ones who are receiving blessings!! My testimony is growing at an impossible rate, along with my strength, my knowledge of the gospel, my love for the people I teach, and even my love for my family!!! This truly is a righteous cause. I feel the strength and power of the Almighty in my life every day!! My heart hurts because I miss you all, but the blessings we are both receiving are far worth it!! To answer your question about the food, haha, none of it is that good, but i'm grateful for it anyways haha. They have to make food in bulk to feed like 2500 men three times a day, so you can't expect it to be that good haha. It's mostly just like chicken sandwiches or burgers and fries, but i'm trying to not eat very much so i can get into good shape!! Thank you so much for including Tiffani in all the family activities!! So thanks!! Yes Dad, you were right, it hurts like a mother fetcher to be away from her, but it hurts to be away from you guys too, but that doesn't mean it wasn't worth it haha!! Well I love you all so so much!! You all sound so amazing!! The ponds should be fun!! Shoot my limit for me will you guys?? That'd be great to know that doves weren't wasted just cause i'm not there! I'm pretty much dominating in basketball every day haha! No but really I kicked a kids butt a couple days ago in 3 on 3 who played for BYU before his mission haha! Crazy eh?? Well I gotta go finish up my laundry and then get a haircut so I'll write ya'll next week!! Please stay close to the Lord while I'm gone, he really can bring about miracles if you have faith in him and work hard for him!! Oh before I go I wanna tell you a story. So we do a role play in our classes where we actually teach an investigator, k? Well Elder Henrie and I have an investigator named christina. For the first two lessons we really wanted to succeed and help her out, but she didn't seem to be all that into it, and we had one last lesson with her. In the first two lessons we had gotten her to pray and read a little bit of scripture, but she only Kinda liked it. On our last lesson with christina we had really come to love her and see her side. We prepared as hard as we could and we studied and just trusted in the Lord with all we had. We went in with christina and a half hour later she had committed to the Lord to be baptized and repent of any sins she had made!! I'm not even sure of half the words I said because it wasn't me saying them!! It was all the spirit moving words through our mouths, because our love and preparation!! The spirit was so thick in that room you could practically see him standing there, moving within her heart!! That is one of the very most sacred experiences I have ever had in my life by far. I love our Savior so much, He can, and does, truly work miracles!! Stay close to him. I love you guys all so much!! Thank you for those pictures!! Love you guys!!

Oh yeah, by the way, I'm Leaving on tuesday, september 4th!! I'm leaving the MTC at 5 a.m. My flight leaves here at 8:30, so expect a call mom between like 6:30 and 8. I'll only have a few minutes to talk but it'll be awesome!! I'll get on again on like saturday or monday so write me before then k?? Love you so much!!

       Love, Elder Bailey Brimhall :) :)

He then proceeds to take us on a tour of his room. . .
there's my handsome boy!!







 
Boys will be boys :)
 





 
Glad to see my son is staying true to his sense of humor :)













 

Happy Birthday Sissy!

August 24, 2012

Hey sister!!!! I know that your birthday isn't until tomorrow, but tomorrow i won't be able to get on a computer, so i'm just sending your birthday letter right now instead!! Guess what sis?? I love you so much!! I really really hope that you can have a beautiful wonderful birthday!!! I can't even believe you're going to be 8 years old already!!! Are you ready for baptism?? I sure hope so!! I bet you are because you're so awesome!! I'm sorry i can't really send you birthday present right now because there isn't anything here that you would want haha it's all just doctrinal studying books and tools and stuff like that, not really any good toys :/ But you have just grown up way too fast you know that?? You were a baby just a few months ago i swear!! Haha well anyways, Happy birthday Sheridan!!! Love you sissy!! Have a great day tomorrow!!!
Love your big brother, Bailey :)
(A.K.A. William Doe)

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

First Letter from MTC!

Aug. 22, 2012

Hey Family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I Got my email thing all worked out the other day!! What's up?? How are things going back at home?? I feel like i haven't been home in like a month already haha!! It's weird actually because up until your first sunday, every day feels like a week to all the new missionaries, but once you get past sunday every day flies!! How's home?? I just want to know about everything that's gone on since i've been gone!! How's work going Mom and Dad?? How's Trey's hand doing?? How are Grant and Allie doing with life and work and stuff? What about Bryce and Sissy? Anything new going on in their lives?? Oh well I'll know when you guys write to me! I have missed you guys all so so somuch!!! Thank you soooooooooooooooooooooooo much for that awesome package you sent me!! I was having a rough day kind of just with some of the things i was studying and the switch in pace, but when I got that package it made my day sooooo much better!!! Thank you for the dear elder letters you wrote to me!!! Haha the zoo sounded like it was fun!! Hey also thank you for including tiff in the family activities you've been doing!! It definitely helps to calm my nerves to know that she is spending time with you guys! You have no idea how much you can learn with this level of the spirit and a constant study and service for like fourteen hours a day!! It is sooo amazing here, I am really having a great time!! So yesterday Elder Neil L. Anderson from the Quorum of the twelve came last night for an awesome devotional!! Great spirit there!! But before that a few days ago, I watched a previously recorded video of Elder Bednar giving a devotional at the MTC and that was the best talk I have ever heard in my life by far!!! Look it up seriously. Its called "recognizing the spirit." It's like 45 minutes long and i know thats a lot of your time to ask for, but I promise you that if you can find it and watch it with an attitude of learning, that you will know without a doubt the reason why i'm here, and the power by which i'm training to teach. My purpose as a missionary is to invite other's to come unto Christ by helping them recieve the restored gospel through: Faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, recieving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. You wouldn't believe how much I've learned in just a week about bringing the Spirit into others lives and helping them to use Him to their advantage!!! It's incredible how much power and effect that Holy spirit can have. My conversion to this gospel has increased exponentially due to the healing power and the learning power of the Spirit!! I love this gospel and I am so excited to share that love with the people in seattle. I know you all have amazing testimonies too!! Keep it up!! I pray for you all individually every night!! I love you guys soooooo much you are such an amazing family and I'm excited to come back to you guys when my time as a full time missionary has ended!!! So I'm just sitting here doing my Laundry right now. Today is P-day and after this I think I'll go play some ball. I have and awesome companion and such an amazing district!! They're one of my favorite groups of guys i have ever been around. I don't have time to write Grant on email cause my computer time has a set time and it's almost up, but have him read this!! Tell him i love him too!! I love you all so so much!!! Stay with the Lord, never put yourself in situations where the spirit can't reside, because he will be one of your biggest allies in this life!!! You are all so amazing!! I love you all so much and I can't wait to hear from you when i get on next week!! I love you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!!!!
Love your missionary who misses you so much, Elder Bailey Bryce Brimhall :) :)

A short time later, we got this. . .

Hey!! So apparently i had more time than i thought i did!! Which is really great because i feel like I wasn't able to type that much in the last letter!! But anyways, I just wanted to tell you all that I'm thinking about you all the time! not in a distracting negative sort of way, but just in the type of way that means I miss being around you all. So my schedule is super duper crazy!! I am always always doing something unless it's on p-day. I have three hour classes usually twice a day, sometimes just once if there's something big going on that day like a devotional or something. I have several personal and companionship doctrinal study times per day that are usually like a half hour to and hour long. 45 minutes each for breakfast, which is at 7, lunch which is at 11:45, and dinner which is at 4:45! Plus there's practice people who used to be non-members and now are members, but they pretend to be themselves and I have a teaching appointment with each of them twice per week. I have and hour and twenty minutes for gym and showering, so like usually i use like 50 minutes working out, or playing basketball ar something like that and then i have a half hour to get showered and ready and be back to class!! So... yeah it's definitely a change in pace for anybody. Super hectic!! Haha it's amazing how much you pray as a missionary, I love it!!! Before my mission all together with family prayer and personal prayers and stuff I was used to saying probably around 4, maybe 5, prayers per day. Now I'm proudly used to saying between 14 and 19 prayers per day!!! Crazy eh? It's so awesome though i love it!!! I have been able to learn at an incredibly fast rate this last week. I know I've said that already, but it is still just blowing my mind! I spent a few hours in the temple this morning doing an endowment session with my district, so that was fun! I think the two most important things that I've learned about keeping a close relationship with the Lord, is first of all, Loving the people around you. And I don't mean the ones who play a role in your life, i'm talking about those people who you don't know, the ones ho might need pelp in their life and nobody even know it!! Loving others, and having kind thoughts towards them plays a tremendous role in being able to see the world from the Lord's point of view. Secondly, like i said earlier, the spirit being with is so rediculously crucial!! I love the Spirit so so soooooo much!!! He has already help me when i'm in a tight spot so many times!!!! He is an amazing friend to have whenever you need. I have never actually known the magnitude that the have the gift of the Holy Ghost really has when a part of you is in spiritual jeopardy. Well I just want to say that i love you all so so much!! Thank you for all the prayers on my behalf!! I feel them every day when I am so exhausted that i can't go on one minute, and then the next minute I'm working like i have all the energy in the world!! It's a huge blessing in my life!!! I love you all so much!! Have an awesome week!! See you next week!! Love you!!
Love, Elder BBB

Saturday, August 18, 2012

going to the mtc!

Wednesday 15, 2012. . .heading to the MTC baby!

Ahhhh!!
Here we are. . .breathe. . .keep it together mom. . .breathe. . .



Now that the rules have changed about dropping off, we took
our pics and said our good-bye's across the street :)




Here Grant was giving his little brother a word of advice. . .
 
 
"Whatever you do, ALWAYS get up in the morning on time,
say your prayers, have your scripture study, and exercise. . .
do that EVERY morning no matter how bad you may want to sleep in.
You will be greatly blessed for your
diligence and obedience. . .
and the rest of your day will be great."


Uh-oh. . .here come the tears again :(
Little sis loves her brother soooo much. . .two years is
like E-TER-NI-TY to her!


Curb side drop off. . .one more quick hug from dad


Time to embark on your new journey son!


You are going to be an amazing missionary!


"Behold, I say unto you these things that you may
learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in
the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the
service of your God. Behold, ye have called me your
king; and if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to
serve you, then ought not ye to labor to
serve one another?" -Mosiah 2:17-18
 
 
(missionary plaque)


the setting apart

Tues. Aug 14, 2012 was the "setting apart" where Bailey was officially
set apart as a full time missionary. . .



. . .with the siblings


. . .with Grandma and Grandpa


. . .with Nana and Papa


. . .with Big Rick and Robby K


. . .with sweet little tinkerbell tiff


. . .with Grant and Allie girl


The setting apart was an amazing and spiritual experience. . .hence the
teary-eyed little girl. . .
Pres. Castleton gave Elder B an incredible blessing,
and we are truly grateful for such an inspired and wonderful
Stake President and Bishop!


Brimhall fam with the new Elder B!
Look at that beau-ti-ful SMILE :)


No more hugs makes my boy a little sad :(



They're actually a-okay with it. . .it's all good!


This was our last night with our precious boy. . .very bitter sweet.
Lots of tears shed. . .a little sadness, a little happiness-but we know
he is in very loving and capable hands with the Lord as his guide.

sidewalk chalk and card games

Allie and Sis decided to decorate the driveway with goodbye wishes
and the infamous Washington pine trees :)



Tiff, Bailey, Sheridan, Allie, Grant, Daisey & Bryce. . .


(inside joke heehee. . .papa's the best :)


?? This one's from Grant. . .


This one's from sis. . .

We LOVE to play cards, and wanted to get one more night in
before Elder B left! Sigh. . .



Grant and Bailey came up with a handshake for Trey haha. . .
you'll notice his hand in the picture above was in a splint. . .don't ask.


Apparently this was a long exhausting day for Bay and Tiff :)

temple & the photo shoot

Heading to the Draper Temple to take our his endowments :)


 A quick hug from tinkerbell, and off he goes. . .





We are so proud of our sweet sons and the good choices they
are making in their lives, and feel so blessed to be the
parents of such amazing kids!





Time for the photo shoot. . .
We decided to head over to Heritage Gardens on a Sunday afternoon
while they were closed to snap a few photos. . .


Bailey really hated this pic, because he says his eyes were buggin' out. . .
but I happen to think it's pretty cute :)




Gotta love Photobucket. . .super quick and easy way to make
announcements! And cheap too :)


I just had to throw in this one because it's so typical of my son. . .
he climbed way up in the rafters to preach the word haha :)
Oh, I sure do love this boy!!