Tuesday, May 28, 2013

"Deepen Their Joys...Strengthen Their Muscles"

My week started off a little bit rough.  I had what I now refer to as the 4 D's of the devil pounding on me--Discouragement, Disappointment, Depression, and Doubt.  I prayed my guts out.  My mission president gave me a quote that I love, it says, "Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can.  He can deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace.  Whosoever will lose his life in the service of God will find eternal life." ~President Ezra Taft Benson
My mission president told me that I need to love the Savior more than anything else.  I need to love the lives of others more than my own.  All this hit me very hard...I felt so stupid and selfish for having such a hard time out here.  The very next day, I went out and worked hard as usual.  We had miracles happen.  I know that meeting Eddie was an answer to my prayers.  He is struggling.  He has lost everything including his family.  He told me that he feels like the "biggest loser man".  He feels like he knows that Christ can forgive him but that he can't forgive himself.  I really connected with him and read Alma Chapter 36 with him.  When we are harrowed up by our past sins, Jesus Christ will save us and make us feel joy that compares to that amount of sorrow.  I know that this mission is still going to be the hardest thing I have ever done, BUT I know that I can do this.  I have brothers and sisters here in El Paso that need me, and me personally, like Eddie.  He asked me if we can be friends forever.  I told him that the lessons that I taught him were more for me than anything.  I thanked him for the opportunity to help him with eyes full of tears he told me that he has never had anyone tell him that he is a great guy.  He's never felt like he has helped anyone.  I told him that he made my mission do a 180.  I LOVE my Savior more than anything else...He will always provide.  I have been showered all my life with blessings.  I have an amazing family.  I feel terrible to see the way people live here.  There is so much wickedness, violence, drugs, and others things that I didn't even know existed in this world.  I feel like I was really sheltered growing up in good ole Idaho.  If you thought I loved where I lived before I left, well think again because I love it 100 times more than that.  I love my Savior.  I will continue to love him more and more everyday.  The power of prayer is unreal!  We can truly have a 2-way conversation with our Heavenly Father.  Just like Mosiah 24:14-15 says, "We will be visited in our afflictions".  We are all so blessed to have been raised in a family that has the gospel.  I'm excited for Benson to be baptized because it is the very first stepping stone to becoming closer to our Heavenly Father.  It is the gate to the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life in Heavenly Father's presence.  While we are on this path, there are road blocks, rocks, bumps, jumps, and slippery slides that will get us off track.  The Holy Ghost will guide us through this path if we are in tune.  Read, Pray, Go to Church, it's simple.  I can't wait for you (Garrett, Kimball, Benson) to be able to serve a mission. No question for you, Garrett and Benson.  I GET to act in God's name 24-7.  I experience all time lows...but I experience the most spiritual highs that are completely impossible to describe--that is why you have to find out for yourselves.  Thank you, thank you for your love and support.  The letters mean the world!  Keep em coming.  Thank you for the basketball shoes.  They make me feel a little "Like Mike".  I swear they make me jump higher, run faster, and my 3-ball is cash money in the bank.  Coming after you GB!  I am eating better--the food is great, but I drink water like a camel and don't eat much protein--which isn't good for my huge ripped muscles.  I swear someone stuck a needle in my man boobies, arms, back and shoulders because they are deflating like a popped balloon...and I think they stuck the needle in my stomach and blew it up like a basketball. (Smile)  JUST KIDDING, I have like a 12 pack. (Smile) I guess I will just lean on that quote "deepen their joys...strengthen their muscles".  Ha. I want you to know that you are all missionaries!  Spread the Word!  Don't be afraid to Testify.  With enough love to go from El Paso to Rigby and Back Again 17 times....

Your Favorite Full-time Missionary,


Elder Broulim (aka Rich)


5-20-2013

Had a great p-day today! We balled hard today!  Surprisingly my jumper is money!  It's back in black.  I be posting G-Money (Garrett) up all day long.  Look out, I'm coming after ya!  Lessons went good tonight.

5-21-2013

Went on Exchanges with Elder Neilson

5-22-2013

Great day today!  Worked with Elder Neilson all day.  He is from Cali.  Even though I was still the junior comp, I took the lead in everything.  I was also in a different area where I didn't know anyone!  I have some pretty cool experiences that happened.  I  taught a lesson to two guys named Abraham and Carlos.  They are in their 20s.  They had a lot of questions about the BofM.  They started asking me questions that I had no idea how to answer. The spirit always helps you pull through.. I was able to answer every question with scripture and personal stories. The spirit was so strong that I had the whole room in tears.. except for me… I never cry……. HA.   Another cool one was a girl named April. She has a baby girl. April told me that she knew nothing about the bible and nothing about any religion..but wants to raise her daughter in a church, she just doesn’t know what one. I jumped right on that! I gave the whole restoration lesson and committed her to baptism, once she finds out for her self of course. It was such a great lesson. I'm so bummed that I won't be able to teach her anymore because it isn’t in my area. I pretty much gave the 8th ward elders a baptism. Last but not least, Manny. Manny is 11, when we knocked on his door today his mom answered and told us that they were busy. We said ok we’ll come back another day and began to walk to the car. Shortly after we heard a voice behind us yelling wait wait. It was Manny. We sat down on a park bench with him and he told us that he wants to be baptized so bad, but that his mom wont allow it. We asked him all the baptism interview questions and he passed. He told us that he wants to be baptized to be forgiven for his sins. He said he stole a toy gun from a store because his friends do it all the time, but feels so bad about it. He asked what he should do.. I gave him $5 and told him to tell the store and pay them. He walked straight over there and did it, how sweet is that!

5-23-2013

Long day.  Lessons fell through during the day, but we had a really successful night.  We taught Maria the PofS (Plan of Salvation).  And, we got a new investigator named Jack and his less active friend that he lives with.  They are both in the Army.  Excited to teach them.

5-24-2013

Today was a KILLER day!  Started off teaching Ray the commandments (Baptism date for June 16, keep your fingers crossed).  Had a district meeting.  It went great.  Elder Taylor and I are doubling and tripling the other Elders and Sisters numbers.  We are the highest in our Zone--but there is always room for improvement.  We are struggling with getting investigators to progress and get their butts to church. After district meeting, we went to Jose Montoyas house as usual on Fridays.  (Bomb Food!)  He is doing so good.  Received the priesthood and is going strong.  We taught Maria again, finished the PofS with her.  Next, we visited Chris Martin.  He is a new investigator that I really have a good feeling about.  Last but not least, we picked up a new investigator named Anna.  Anna was a cocaine-addict.  She is very open about it.  Her left hand and left foot are swollen black and blue about 3X the size of her right.  They are all scabbed and bleeding too.  This is from shooting the drugs up.  I couldn't believe it.  I felt so sick.  I knew people did drugs but this was the real deal. 

5-25-2013

Today was a slow Saturday.  I believe it was slow for one reason though.  It was slow so that when we received a call from a random number saying, "My name is Eddie and I really need to talk."  We met him at the church.  Eddie told us that he lost his wife, baby, job and his car and feels like a loser.  He said he felt like doing something very bad to himself so he called us for help.  We comforted him and counseled him, gave him a blessing and bought him a burrito for dinner.  Missionary work is truly amazing and rewarding.  I've had a great day.

5-26-2013

Another great day!  I am finally figuring this missionary thing out!  Church was great.  I really felt the spirit so strong.  We picked up two new investigators after church.  We met an RM from Provo that is out selling security systems for the summer a few days ago.  He came tracting with us.  We had a great restoration lesson with Dora.  I invited her to baptism and she said, YES!!  We had another amazing lesson with Eddie.  I love this man!  He cried his eyes out on my shoulder after I threw down a lesson on the atonement.  He feels like he will never be forgiven for all the drugs, sex, and violence that he has been a part of.  It was an amazing experience.  Tonight we visited Nora Silva (The lady that lives behind our apartment complex, we jump 2 fences every night to talk to her).  We also visited with Tim Martin and his family.  Did I mention that we had 3 investigators at church today?!!!!

5-27-2013

It was a bummer that I didn't get to e-mail today because of Memorial Day Holiday and the library was closed.  But, I get to tomorrow!  (P-day today)  We went to El Centro, It is right at the border crossing so their are Mexicans pouring in from Juarez.  There were a lot of shops and different things.  People on the street try to sell things and you bargain with them.  I bought some things and spent about $10.  After El Centro, we played ball. Better look out, little bro, I'm coming after ya.












Monday, May 20, 2013

Another week has come and gone, do you miss me yet? Ha.  All of the letters mean so much! They truly do. It has been hard as far as missionary work goes. We worked hard and contacted a lot of people, set up lots of appointments, but everyone canceled on us. Even though we had a rough week in that aspect, We are leading the zone in numbers. Hard work is paying off, we just wish we had more investigators that were actually progressing. This week alone we found 8 new investigators! We taught 38 lessons total. There is so much work to do around here. We have lost contact with Enoc, its pretty upsetting! Ray is progressing, but won't be ready this next Saturday as planned. Yesterday (Sunday) We had a very successful day. We were able to visit almost everyone we had planned and more. Earlier this week we had a hard day where every single appointment fell through, so we decided to just knock as many doors as possible. That also wasn’t very successful either, but as we were on our way back to the apartment.. I had a strong feeling that we should stop by Alecia's house. Alecia is a lady that we have been trying to get ahold of since I have been here. Every time her daughter Ruth answers smoking. She tells us very rudely that her mom isn’t home and “im not interested” then shuts the door. Because of my prompting, we did visit once again. Not surprised, Ruth answered again. Said something along the lines of “you guys again? My mom isn’t home”.  Just as she was about to shut the door I noticed that she was wearing a necklace with some haircutting scissors on it. I asked her if she cuts hair and she told me that she just got done with hair school! I said, no way my gf is in hair school right now, that is really cool. Saying this sparked up a conversation all about hair, nails, waxing… she was shocked that I knew what shellac  was haha. (Thanks bai). Her attitude towards us totally changed and she asked us if we wanted water and to come in to cool off. HECK YES! We talked more about hair school then she asked the question, "so what do you guys believe?" We threw down a sweet restoration lesson, she cut us off half way and told us to come back later that day so that her kids could hear the lesson too! We were excited and returned that night to a totally different Ruth and taught her and the kids a good lesson. We got a return appointment too!  This week we taught a lady named Dora.  Dora is in her 50s or 60s and is struggling with the loss of her father.  Elder T couldn't wait to talk to her.  Another is Maria.  She is really struggling with depression and loneliness.  She wants to know her purpose in life....THE PLAN OF SALVATION IS GOING DOWN!!

                             Other Elders in the ZONE...(Elder Magalei on right)
                             Two Cool (And Handsome) Missionaries standing at the BORDER....?

"Dreaming of my Momma"

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Jake & Mary Salgado

Jake and Mary are members in El Paso. Jake is in the army and keeps the Elders busy teaching friends about the gospel. Whenever the missionaries are at their house, I usually get a nice picture of them! Seeing Richard's smile gives me such comfort! His companion is Elder Justin Taylor. They will be "forever friends".  Richard said in his last e-mail, "Don't worry about me, things are getting better all the time.  There are amazing members like the Butterfield's, Jake and Mary, and Mat Gonzalez and his big family.  Jake and Mat are my best friends (even though they don't know it).  I love getting to know the people and the area better!"



The Gonzalez Family

I received this e-mail earlier this week: "Hi there.. my name is isabel gonzales.. from el paso tx.. elder broulim is currently serving in our ward (11th ward).. and i have to say he is an extremely awesome missionary.. he and elder taylor have been coming over to my home to do service for myself and my family.. My husband (matt) and i have 7 children (ammon, elise, timmy, aaron, anthony, emma, & abigail) we are so grateful for all he has done for us and the spirit that he brings into our home… these pictures were taken maybe 2 weeks ago in our backyard.. i thought you'd like to see them.. hope you enjoy them.."
the gonzales family



Tuesday, May 7, 2013

First week in El Paso

"Holy El Paso....it's crazy here!  I have been teaching a lot about families.  The gospel blesses families so much.  We are so blessed.  My first week went good.  There is a lot of work to do around these parts!  I haven't been outside of Idaho and Utah very much...NO ONE knows about our church!  No one knows what it is really like to be happy! Ha, I have a whole new outlook on our church...I never understood how truly blessed we are to have been raised in it!  Missionary work is so great.  I love being part of this army of God, fighting for the right cause.  I can't lie to you...This is the hardest thing I have done in my life.  It is not easy to be away from my family and friends but  it is SO rewarding.  We have been teaching a man named Jose  Jose is in protective custody because he just recently got out of a gang and out of the drug cartel.  He had to leave his wife because she is still involved.  Jose was baptized when he was young but obviously became a wangster.  We gave him a blessing last night because he is so scared.  I can't tell you the joy it brings to me to hear people pray to their loving Heavenly Father for the first time.  It brings tears to my eyes every time...it is amazing.  I have had a lot of amazing experiences lately.  My companion, Elder Justin Taylor is going to be a forever friend.  We were called of God to be companions.  He blows my mind.  I have to pinch him sometimes to see if he is real. He shares the best messages and I learn so much from him.  We are so much alike and get along great. He helps me open up when I am having a hard time.  He lost his mom unexpectedly about 6 months ago...He has only been in the field for 2 months and is already a trainer.  I couldn't imagine losing my mom!  Elder T is the strongest man I've ever met.  When I am feeling low, I think of him.  There is always something that happens in the day that makes it all worth it though.  I love seeing the spirit touch peoples lives.  We got chased by a BIG dog yesterday, I ****** my pants a little.  We also taught an institute class with no notice.  It was good.  There is a Tongon/Poly Elder that is a college football player named Elder Mongolie.  He is in our district.  He is second cousins with Manti Tao (thought Garrett might like that).  There are a lot of nice people around here but there are alot of very mean, but it's all part of it.  No one can touch me!  The violence in Mexico is crazy...they say you can pay someone 50 dollars for someone's head.  I am SO grateful for wherewe live!  So, I have met people who remember Elder Ricks!!!! (Richard's cousin who served in the Tucson Mission a few years back who also served in El Paso) It is so awesome.  So our ward consists of like 50 people.  We as missionaries pretty much run the whole thing.  I did announcements ha ha.  I LOVE MY FAMILY! Letters work better for sure but I love e-mail  It just takes forever to read the e-mail because these computers are so dang slow and ancient.  Can't wait to talk to you all on Mother's Day!  Please send me whatever you want.  I am doing great right now.  Thank you soooooo much for the package..it made my whole day.  I love it.  Please send things for Elder Taylor too...we cry together all the time talking about you.  You remind him exactly of his mom.  I love you all so much. 100 degree dry heat is really HOT!!!

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

First e-mail from New Mexico....no wait! FROM TEXAS!

Richard flew out to Albuquerque on Monday, April 29.  We did not hear anything at all after he arrived.  By Tuesday, I began to wonder where he ended up so I checked his bank account thinking that if he needed a bike, I would be able to see where he purchased a bike.  Well, no bike purchase but he did make a purchase at a burger place in Las Cruces, New Mexico.  So, we thought he ended up in Las Cruces.  Well, later that night I stocked his bank account again and noticed a purchase at Lowes in EL PASO, TEXAS.  My first thought was, "He couldn't be closer to the Mexico border than that!"  Within a minute of discovering where he was at, I got a picture text from a member in El Paso saying that Elder Broulim was at his home teaching a discussion.  This wonderful member assured us that Richard would be taken care of!  This brought us a lot of peace.  Soon after that, I received a phone call from Mike Miller (a friend of Richard's in the Rigby area) and he said that his sister-in-law's sister (who lives in El Paso) called his brother and sister-in-law (who live in California) to tell them that she ran into the grocery store to see two missionaries at the check-out.  She proceeded to talk with the missionaries asking them where they were from.  Richard said "Rigby, Idaho" and immediately connections were made back to Mike.  Richard and his companion will be eating Sunday dinner at her home this week!  Thank heavens for wonderfully kind strangers!

Today (Wednesday, May 1) we received our first e-mail from Elder Broulim.  Here is some of what he had to say, "NM is very, very hot and brown. Flying into NM, I  couldn't see any green, just brown.  Once we landed we met our mission president and his wife. They took us straight to the temple for a picture. The temple is really pretty. There is NO grass. everyone's yard is rock. Then we went to the mission home for interviews and an amazing lunch made by Sister Miller. (Nice to finally eat good food). After that, we got paired with an older Elder to go tracting... door knocking. It was crazy. I was put with a stud Elder that has been out for 2 months from Boise. We knocked on 2 doors and got completely rejected. The third let us in for a very short lesson before kicking us out. We then got kicked out of the apartment complex. It was really hard but gotta build that thick skin. We returned to the mission home for a great dinner and some lessons. Afterwards we had a testimony meeting--it was great. (This is all with my district from the MTC + about 10.) We slept on the floor that night and woke up about 5am and headed to the Albuquerque church for transfer meetings. There were tons of Elders and Sisters. President Miller  began announcing names of companionships and who was going to be our trainers. Everyone was paired up except me and another Elder. We were told that we would be heading South. Boy did I not know what I was in for.... we had a 6 hour packed full 12 passenger van ride that turned into more... once we made it to Las Cruces, we were waiting for the other van to arrive with our luggage. It didn't show up for 3 more hours because it got rear-ended. We then had another transfer meeting and everyone got paired up again EXCEPT ME . I was told I'd be headed another 2 hours to El Paso. This is where I am now. I am with Elder Taylor from Cali. He is a great trainer. It is 100 degrees today and its only the first of May. I feel like I learned the wrong language in the MTC because EVERYONE and their dog speaks Spanish. I CAN THROW A ROCK INTO MEXICO. We are right on the border where the big fence is. Border patrol is crazy. Our apartment is a little shysty. We have to flush with a bucket of water and it is very very dirty. I am having a hard time adjusting. It is like 200 degreezzzzz in our little tiny apartment and there is little nasty looking cats running everywhere. Last night, I got to meet Elder Taylor's favorite members, Jake and Mary. Elder Taylor has taught many of Jake's friends in their home. Jake is in the army. Last night we taught Jake's friend, Keith.  He knows absolute nothing about the church except bad stuff he learned on south park. The lesson went great but we don't know if we will get to talk to him again. We got to bed pretty late last night because I had to unpack. We are teaching a guy named Enoch tonight. This will be his third discussion. I'm pretty excited. I have to teach a lot of it so I'm peeing my pants a lottle.  I have met a couple of nice members but the people here aren't very accepting to the gospel. Most doors we knock on don't know English or they just look at us and shut the door. I hope it gets better in that aspect."


"Sister Miller felt like my grandma... so very nice to me.  I felt very good in their home. I am out of time to email..  I love you all so so so much. I can't tell you enough. I am so blessed."