Week 12 in Gijon, 4 month mark, & a new companion!

3/31/14

This week has been so hectic! Helping Hermana Zitting get ready to go, our baptism, and area training. It is crazy. I am a little stressed out, but I will be fine, if I use the stress to my advantage, this transfer could result in so much growth! Hermana Zitting said the transfer after you are trained is the transfer you learn the most.

The baptism was great! My FIRST baptism!!! And he’s Spanish!! Manuel was so cute! Everything went so well. I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost and we sang Our Savior’s Love. It was the best experience and the Spirit was amazing! I am definitely going to remember that day forever.

Sending Hermana Zitting home was so hard! I love her so much and am going to miss her. It was really emotional for me. She was so sweet and said so many sweet uplifting things. I was so worried about being without her, but she is so reassuring and kind. She always made me feel like a good missionary and is someone I really look up to. She has a super fuerte (strong) testimony and really teaches by example. She has a lot of love for everyone and missionary work. I am so excited to see her soon!

My new companion just got here this morning. I picked her up in Oviedo. Her name is Hermana Endicott. She is from Utah and has two younger brothers. One is the same age as Joseph and should be getting his mission call this week. She is 21 and went to college in Idaho, I think BYU Idaho. She is a literature major. She is so sweet and I already love her. She plays the piano, thank goodness!!! And she played volleyball in college. When Hermana and President Jackson talked to her about transfers, they said they had a really good feeling about us together in Gijón so I feel really good and I know we will see some great things happen. I am really excited and nervous, but we will figure it out together.

I wasn’t able to watch the women´s conference. That makes me sad, but I will be able to read the talks. I am excited and am sure they are amazing. This week was the time change for daylight savings. It was super rough because it was the night we got transfer calls and we stayed up late packing. So I haven’t really slept for two days because last night I had to sleep on Hermana John´s and Hermana Trones floor in Oviedo. But I will get good sleep tonight! General Conference is in the Capilla (chapel). I get to see all the sessions which is good. It is from 11-1 and 6-8 both Saturday and Sunday! I am so excited! Hopefully I will be able to understand most everything. If not, we get the Liahona at Zone Conference. Because of General Conference our time schedule changes those days from 7am to 11:00pm to 7:30am to 11:30 pm. It is good we get to sleep in, but I don’t really know what we are going to do in the evening. I guess street contacting! Hitting the pavement!

That is so exciting that more missionaries are going out! I email Ben a little and he is really excited to leave. I really admire Senior Missionaries. I love them so much. You have no idea how much they help full-time missionaries. They can be such a comfort. They made me and Hermana Endicott a loaf of bread. I hope I get to serve in an area with Senior Missionaries, they´re great!

It is crazy I have been out for 4 months!!! I am trying not to count, but I feel like each month again is such an accomplishment. I am so proud to say I have faithfully served for four months now. I am definitely not satisfied! I’m pretty sure they are going to have to drag me out of Spain. I don’t think I’ll be ready to leave. At least I will never stop being a missionary. Like Elder Anderson(?) said, we have a tag painted on our hearts! Member missionary dynamite!!! I am nervous, but I am excited for the many learning experiences I will have and how much I am going to grow! I love you guys! I hope everything is great! Say Hi to everyone and that I love them!! Oh, and please tell Grandma and Grandpa Brumble that I got their package and "Muchas gracias!! (thank you very much) Les quiero mucho!!!! (I love them so much) I love you!!! Having tons of fun in Spain!

¡Un Besito! (a kiss) Hermana Brumble

Week 11 in Gijion!

3/24/14

My week has been so busy! Sorry about last week’s letter, Carmelo and Vickie took us to this park and we had a barbeque, so it didn’t leave much time for emailing, but it was really good!  Our fecha (baptismal date) is Manuel. I am super excited for him. We have his baptism all planned, Hermana Zitting is going to sing and He asked be to speak on the Holy Ghost.....wish me luck! He had his interview on Saturday and his baptism is on the 29! He has been amazing and such a good influence on Malú. She has changed so much trying to be a good influence for him and she comes to all our lessons with him. She has such a strong testimony, she has just had a really hard life. It is sad when people go through certain trials, but it has been really cool watching her progress little by little. I have really grown to love her. Spencer is so right, I have learned so much to love others. It is hard sometimes when they aren’t doing what you ask them or doing what they know they are supposed to do, you get so frustrated because you love them so much and want them to accept what you’re saying because you know how it will bless them. But people still have agency to choose even though they know it is true.

I gave my FIRST talk yesterday in sacrament meeting!!! It was about following the prophet, I also talked a little bit about the importance of conference and how we can receive revelation and feel the spirit while we watch. It went so well!!! It was ten minutes and all in SPANISH! I wrote it all by myself. I feel so much more confident in Spanish now. It is funny how learning a language works. You feel like you’re not progressing and then all of a sudden you jump up a level. Then you feel like you’re not progressing again, and then you jump up a level again. It’s like a series of plateaus. It is super frustrating sometimes, but it’s good to feel like I’m doing better. Everyone said they really liked it. I told Hermana Zitting that I just need one chance to show everyone how great I am and then they’ll love me. Until now, I’ve been "the one that can’t speak Spanish." But now they know that I can and that I am so great! It is really frustrating at first when you know that people would like you if they could only understand you and you just want so bad to speak English all the time because you can understand them, you just can’t communicate back. But it is getting so much better and I can really tell a difference.

We also had intercambios (companionship exchanges) and I went to Oviedo again, but this time I was with Hermana Johns. She was in the MTC with me and is really self-conscious about her Spanish. It was terrifying being the stronger one. But I did it. We had a couple of lessons and we taught English class. It felt like I was training, I definitely am not ready to train, but I feel a lot more confident.

This Monday is transfers and Hermana Zitting is going home! I am so excited for her. I really didn’t want a companion who was going home because I felt like it would make me want to go home. But I am really excited for her and It has made me want to be the best missionary I can be so when I go home I will have the chance to feel like she feels and feel accomplished. It has been a huge blessing. I love Hermana Zitting and am going to miss her so much. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about my next companion. I had it so good with Hermana Zitting. But I know I am going to love her no matter what! I think I am mostly nervous about area training and being the one who knows more about the area. Because I dont know a lot. It will definately be interesting.

Wednesday is my 4 month mark!!! Can you believe it? 4 Months!!!!! That is so crazy! I am almost a third of the way done. Time is flying by so fast, which is sad because I love it here and I love being a missionary. It really is crazy how fast your mission flies by. I feel good though, things are going great and I’m doing a lot better with facing disappointments and rejection. You get to the point where it is sad, but you know you did your best.

Well, I am so excited to hear more about the family and Joseph’s papers! Tell everyone Hi for me and that I love them!

I love you guys! You´re in my prayers!!!¡Les amo! Hermana Brumble

Week 10 in Gijon!

3/17/14

Dad,
I didn’t have time to e mail others, so please share this e mail with everyone. It still might be pretty short. I will tell you about the important things. First, Christian, the ten year old boy is getting baptized on the 23rd. He has such a strong testimony and loves learning. This is going to be a huge blessing in his life and for his family. He is such a good example to his parents! Next, Manues is getting baptized on the 29th! He is truly a miracle. He went from not believing in God to quitting smoking, reading the WHOLE Book of Mormon and committing to be baptized in two weeks! It is all because of the Book of Mormon. He is so ready and wants to be baptized so bad! I have seen so many miracles being here, but this is so amazing. I have grown so much and have seen how important the Book of Mormon is in this work. I love you and pray for all of you! Thank you. I will send more next week!
Love Hermana Brumble

Week 9 in Gijon!

3/10/2014

This week has been pretty busy. We had our Zone Conference in Leon on Wednesday and have been trying to contact and teach more.
I have to really work hard on my Spanish now, and I´m getting tons better! you would think that learning a language would be this gradual incline, but it is more like a series of levels. You feel like you aren’t making any progress, and then you will jump up a level, and then you´ll feel like you´re not making any progress again. It is hard, but I feel like I understand the process, I just have to remind myself every once in a while that I´m just on the same level, but I am still moving forward.
Today we went to the police station to do my residency. It is so frustrating because ever since I got here we have been trying to get it done! We went to the place where I did my em-patronization and they said I had to do my residency in Oviedo. So they faxed my papers to Oviedo and told me they would call us. So we waited and waited and decided to go back to see what was going on and a different lady told us we couldn’t do it there and we had to go to a different building. So we went to a different building and they did and said the same thing. So we waited and waited and decided to go back and a man there told us that because my tax paper was from Madrid, they could not do it and to come back on Tuesday to get a tax paper from Gijón. We were so confused because every single time they told us something different. So today we decided to just go to the police station. They did it in like 30 min. We didn’t have to go to Oviedo, I did my finger printing and I just have to go back to pick up my card in about a month. And it is a good thing we went today because my visa stamp expires tomorrow! I am so mad at all those people that told us we had to go to Oviedo. Heavenly Father was watching out for us, I don’t know what I would have done. So I am relieved and thankful that that worked out. I CAN STAY IN SPAIN! HOORAY!

I have a speaking assignment on the 23rd of this month! I am speaking on Following the Prophet. I am so nervous! 10 minutes all in Spanish! But it will be good, and it will really help me practice.
I am glad you are all doing well. Tell grandma she is in my prayers. I know everything will work out. I am so excited for Joseph. I think about him all the time. I love him and am so thankful for the example he has been to me and our family. His has already been such a fantastic missionary. Hermana Zitting´s brother is in Honduras right now. She talks all the time about how great it is to have a brother serving at the same time with her. I am so excited to share these wonderful experiences with Joseph! It´s going to be great! She thinks he is going to the Philippines.
I love you and am so grateful for the sacrifices you are all making for me. Give my love to every one! I think and pray for you all!
Con Amor-Hermana Brumble

Week 8 in Gijon!

3/3/14

This week has been crazy!
I’ll start with the good things. We went to Madrid this week! It was amazing!! We left on Wednesday and had a 7 hour long train ride....not so amazing. We got to Madrid and stayed overnight in a hotel. The next morning we went to the stake center on the temple grounds. It was so weird being back in Madrid! Seeing the MTC and the Temple. It was a lot of fun meeting all the missionaries and meeting so many people I hear about all the time. There is one Hermana, Hermana Dietzi. She is from Sweden and served in Gijón. She was like, "You’re Hermana Brumble! My mom follows your blog!" Ha-ha it was so funny.
The meeting was amazing. Hermana and President Jackson spoke to us and then President Teixiera and his wife spoke to us. They are great. I learned so much from them and their messages. The first thing he said to us was " Missionary work is special, if we lose that sight, we lose our mission". Then he talked about how all missionaries have problems and concerns and the only thing he really wanted to accomplish with us was to answer all our questions and hopefully help us have more confidence in what we have been called to do. The questions that seemed to be most important to me were: How do we get members excited about missionary work. He said, "leave it to the Bishop or the Branch President". He said that it is hard, but it is their job. He also talked about patience and how we need to have patience and that patience is to have hope and peace in the Lord Jesus Christ. He also said that members will be excited when they see the success of the missionaries. If you want the members to get excited, GET EXCITED! Then we talked a lot about good finding and contacting. He was so funny, he would practice contacting with us and how to introduce the gospel the first time you meet someone and how to tell if someone is interested. It was so helpful, I think contacting is what I need to work on the most. Then he talked about faith and how faith is a principle of power and action. "The action is repentance in which we receive power." He said that repentance is the change of thoughts, actions, beliefs, and desires. He went into depth about changing our beliefs and how there is a belief system which is our priorities. If we want to change, we need to evaluate our priorities and really believe in what we are changing. It is kind of like the difference between repenting because you got caught or recognizing that you really need that change and are willing to act. I think the most important thing he talked about for me was goal setting and knowing if your goal is realistic. he drew a diagram the top line being the goal and the line underneath being our result. The space in between is the gap. he said that the gap erodes our faith and the only way to shorten the gap is to move one of the lines. Preach my gospel says " If you lower your expectations, your effectiveness will decrease, your desire will weaken, and you will have greater difficulty following the spirit." The solution is your plans. If we have a gap, don’t adjust your goals, adjust your plans. He said that a goal is only realistic if we believe that we can reach them. " Always set goals high enough to stretch your faith and help you improve." The meeting was so great, and I left feeling so uplifted and there were so many times the Spirit bore witness to me that I was called as a representative of Jesus Christ. I have the power and authority to teach and act in His name. I know I am supposed to be here. I know this is the restored Church of Jesus Christ! I love this gospel! He gave us a challenge at the end of the meeting that was really cool. He challenged us to pray for and with the people we work with. To ask our investigators if there is anyone that they know that we could pray for. He promised that if we do this, Christ will lead us to them and them to us. He told a story about a Cowboy went in search of gold. He dug in one place and found one nugget, then traveled miles to another spot. He said if we find gold, keep digging because there is more there. He said that we will double or triple our investigators in the Madrid Mission, which will double or triple our possibilities. I am so grateful for the opportunity we had to go to that meeting. It helped me so much! After, we traveled back home, it was a 5 hour train ride this time, we got home around 12:30 in the morning!

We cleaned the house of one of the members. It took all of our medio dia and a little more! But it was much needed and I know we really helped this sister. We have a lot of good members who helped so much! And then, we are having trouble with our fechas (appointments). Please pray for them. Satan is working so hard here. It seems like every time it starts progressing, something awful happens! I know it will work out.

I love you guys, please give my love to every one! Talk to you soon!Con Amor - Hermana Brumble

Week 7 in Gijon!

2/24/14

 Everything is going great! Hermana Zitting and I are so busy now that we are the only two Hermanas here. It feels so good to be so busy. It is easier to see and look at all the good you are accomplishing. It also has helped me a lot with my Spanish. This week I ate a duck liver!! not my favorite...but I ate it. We have an investigator that was the other Hermana´s who is getting baptized on March 22! I am so excited for her! Her name is Marta and she is from Argentina. She is so cute. She called one day and said that she had been reading the Book of Mormon and knows that it is true. The Book of Mormon is amazing. It holds everything together! In Preach my Gospel they call it the "keystone to our religion" I have such a strong testimony of the book of Mormon. I know it is true and that Joseph Smith was called of God to translate it. It was written specifically for us to help and guide us in these last days. I love the book of Mormon and the strength we receive from it´s teachings. When an investigator has a testimony of the Book of Mormon, everything else falls in place.

 Thanks for the pics! Let me know all the fun things you did in Hawaii! So jealous!! Carmello and Vickie are going to take the Elders and Hermana Zitting and I to these really cool caves in Gijón next week. I am way excited. In one of them, there is this really cool virgin Mary. I´ll take pictures! 

 That is so amazing! I know that we sacrifice Heavenly Father takes care of us and blesses us with so much more. Thank you for being and example of sacrifice dad. You have always been a good example of Christ like service and love. I am going to try to apply that in my work this week. Thanks! 

 I Love you guys! Thanks for your love and support! Give my love to everyone and the Stake. And tell your counselors I say hi! 

¡Les Amo! Hermana Brumble 

 

Week 6 In Gijon

2/17/14

So many things have happened this week! I have so much to tell you, it´s crazy.
So, first and probably most importantly, I have a fecha!!! ( a baptism date) Do you remember Nelson? WELL, he is from El Salvador and lived in the United States. He is the one that stopped us and asked if we spoke English. Well he hadn´t heard from him for a while and we were really worried that he lost interest. We were sitting down on a bench trying to get ahold of another investigator when this really tall man comes an sits down next to me. It was Nelson! His phone wasn’t working and he was just walking by and saw us. We had a lesson that night and he is preparing to be baptized on March 23! It is so great, I really hope everything works out. We are going to work so hard with him. I know he´s ready and he wants to find the truth so much. He is so prepared for the gospel.

Next, We had la comida at Carmelo´s and Vickie´s house on Tuesday. Carmelo is a councilor to President Florín. They feed us every other Tuesday and it is sooo good. I love them. They call me Hermana Princesa. They told us that this meal was extra special and that we probably weren´t going to have the opportunity to have it again. We asked what it was and they said we had to eat and then guess. We were all really nervous! It was really good and looked a lot like roast beef. It had a really strong after taste though. We started guessing and it turns out that.....It´s Kangaroo!!!!!! Ahhhh! I ate Kangaroo this week. Super crazy. It was really good....but I felt really bad afterward.

Another exciting thing is that Frank and Elvin Got the priesthood, and they were made Branch missionaries on Sunday. I am so excited for them and it will be so good for the Branch. I hope our missionary efforts will start to improve with more help from the Branch. It makes such a difference for investigators when the Branch or ward are really involved.

This Saturday was transfers. Hermana Zitting and I stayed the same, but our District Leader is going to Madrid and both Hermana Cansado and Griffen are going to Madrid. We are getting another Elder, but Hermana Zitting and I are going to be the ONLY sisters in Gijón!! Because the work has been super slow, there will only be 4 missionaries in Gijón now. Hermana Zitting and I gained all the hermana´s investigators and menos activos. Today has been crazy going through their area book and piso. It is going to be so hard, but I know it will be better and It is what the Lord wants. Wish us luck. I know better things are coming.

You´ll have to send me pictures from Hawaii! That’s so exciting, it will be so fun. The Weather has been crazy lately. It is getting a lot warmer, but so windy. The waves at the beach are HUGE! One day they were so big they took out fence and concrete. some people even died getting to close to take pictures! It is crazy. How is everyone? Bennett is so cute he is getting so big! I really appreciate all the e mails and support. Thank you for letting me know how everything is going. I really like still feeling like I know what is going on with everyone. It is comforting and helps we feel less far away. I can’t believe it’s been three months and I’m starting my second transfer!!! I feel like I have been here forever! I am loving every single second and cannot wait share everything with you all. I have learned so much and grown so much. I feel like a completely different person. Thank you for being so supportive and such a great example to me. I learned how to serve others through the example of you and mom. I look up to you both so much.

I love and miss you all! Besos! I needed to know Heavenly Father knows Hermana Brumble. I know he has a plan for me and is leading me to people to need my help.  I will be thinking of you!
 ¡Te Amo! Hermana Brumble