This Elder never
ceases to amaze me. He is pushed outside
of his comfort zone over and over but always arises to the occasion. He is my hero and he emulates the light of Christ
each and every day. I am blessed to be
his mom and love him beyond measure.
Enjoy!!
Hello!
Sorry for such of a late reply. There were a few things
going on this month, that this is the first big moment that I have had to write
it down into a monthly report. A few things happened to me this month including
our zone temple trip for baptisms, as well as the road trip that Elder Ferrell
and I went on.
In the middle of August, Elder Ferrell and I left for
Modesto, California and I for about 5 days. He and I drove for about a total of
13 hours, the first day up to Barstow, California and then the second day, we
drove another 6 hours to stay in Modesto, California. He set me up inside of a
hotel and just had me chill there for about three days as I chilled there doing
really whatever I wanted to do, while he finished the other two-hour drive by
himself to a muscular dystrophy camp, regarding how to learn how to live independently with muscular dystrophy. I know
that he wanted to do this for around 3-5 years now but he could never find
anyone that not only knew how to take care of him but was able to do it by
themselves and go with him for another week to a different state. I guess being
his companion and having been trained to be his caregiver, there was a bit of
trust between the two of us for us to have the ability for us to drive to
another state and me being the only one to take care of him for almost a week!
He told me that he could go to these different classes to learn everything he
could and he could interact with other people that also had a disability that
was pretty close to his and that he was able to feel like e regular person,
rather than a person with a disability. He told me that that was one of the
best camps that he has ever been to and he was so grateful to be a part of it.
The second thing that happened was our zone temple trip.
Each time we go, more and more people of our zone come and participate which is
a cool experience. We each try to bring our own family names and then pool all
of them out across everyone, so that we are all doing family names. In order to
help Elder Ferrell feel more included in them, he will do all of my
confirmations for the family names that I do and I will take care of all of the
baptisms between the two of us. So this time, everyone had about 5 baptisms and
confirmations and so Elder Ferrell was one of the witnesses for the 10 baptisms
of mine and his names combined and then he takes care of all of the
confirmations for our two groups of names.
Another awesome thing that I am so blessed to be a part of
is taking Elder Hayward to the temple every Friday. It's neat, we first chose
the 2:30 session because of how small it would be, but the more outreach there
is that I do, the bigger his sessions have become just slowly being filled with
people that either Elder Hayward or I know. More people have been coming up to
us and telling me how awesome that he is. It truly is his mission and I am
there just to guide him around and take care of him. People try to give me all
the credit for taking care of him and I try to push it away because it really
is his mission and I am just there to take care of moving him around, taking
care of him, and getting him dressed for everything. I try to treat it like
Elder Haws or I am not even there and it's just him and only because of the
disabilities that he has, Elder Haws an I just try to lift him up so that he is
part of this work with everyone else. More and more people have been coming to
Elder Hayward and I and tell him that he is such a celestial spirit and that he
changes the sessions that he is a part of. I try to invite any of my friends so
that they can come and experience this. It has truly been a blessing in my life
just to be chosen to help take care of him. I hope it has been a blessing in
his life to have other people there that I have invited to come and meet him. I
know that when someone comes with us, it being one of my friends from before my
mission or Elder Ferrell or Elder Sanders or someone else, he just smiles like
crazy there and nothing can get him down. When it is just him and I, we discuss
what is going on in our lives and I try to lift his spirit and it's my goal to
make him always smiling and happy when he leaves. I don't know if it's the
temple or me, but he's happy either way!
One thing that I have been focusing on for my studies is
Jesus Christ and how He has blessed my life. It's tough because I have a
testimony of the scriptures and I know they are true and they are a blessing n
my life but I am not at all good at the history of the Book of Mormon or the
Bible I have just been focusing on what He has done for me as well as the kind
of person that He is and how He sacrificed so much for me and how if anything,
how I should repay that debt to Him even if he doesn't ask for it. I have been
focusing on how I can help lift myself up and lift other people that He
sacrificed for. It helps me help other people and it makes me think if I am
doing everything that I can be doing to push along not only mission work but
that I am doing everything that I can as a son of God. An important thing that
I gave been focusing on too is music. To and from the temple or to and from
work, I try to listen to instrumental music that is calming and peaceful,
mainly just music without words so that I can be more in tune with the Spirit
while I get ready to serve.
I have been pondering a lot on my service. I have been
thinking a ton with where my life has gone in just less than two years. I have
such amazing friends and I have come close to so many people that could have
only been accomplished because of my mission. It is crazy to me where my life
is now It is just a testament to me that God knows each one of us. He has a
plan for each one of us and even though it is most likely not the plan that we
want in the beginning, it is the best plan for us in the end. I have been
trying to be the best district leader that I can be as well as the best
missionary that I can be for other people. I know that as we serve and help
other people, we can become closer to them. Our relationship can be
strengthened with them and we can love them more and more. We grow closer to
the Savior who served every person on this Earth, who taught us that everyone
has a worth and a talent that we need to show to everyone. As we serve, we will
become perfected in our character traits as we become closer to Christ. I
absolutely love my mission. I love my district and the unity that we share. I
love my companions that I have had and how they help me become perfected. I
love Elder Haws as he trained me to help Elder Hayward and I love them both and
all the love and support that they show to everyone, no matter who they might
be before this mission and who they might be now, mission or no mission. I love
my family as they show me an unconditional love and always help me be the best
person that I can be. I love my Heavenly Father and His plan for me. I love how
He knows everything about me and He showers every blessing on me that I might
need, as long as I endure to the end with him and help others do the same along
the way. I am so grateful for the experiences I have had and I am excited for
the adventures and experiences that await for me in the future.
Love,
Elder Bryson May
