A Week to Give Thanks; Before Thanksgiving November 25, 2013

November 25, 2013

Where to start. Let's see. Well first and foremost. I will be...............STAYING! I am here in Spring Creek for my fourth transfer. It will make it six months in this area by the end of this transfer. My companion? Still Elder Anderson. Everybody was pretty shocked, but we are both really happy to be staying. More cool news, my last companion, Elder Stevens, is coming to be companions with Elder Lewis. We will be serving in the same ward, going to dinners together, having plenty more laughs. I was freaking out when I found out he was coming here. We had been emailing back and forth saying that we wanted to serve together again someday. This is really the next best thing. He has been one of my favorite companions by far :) Him and Elder Flake. So I am very thankful for that for sure.

I also got a little sick this week, but I have gotten over it pretty quickly. Thank goodness. It has just been a cold and a minor flu/fever. I am doing good though now. Just a little bit of a stuffy nose.

So. More good news. :) The best part of being a missionary is when you have investigators bear their testimony to you. When they realize that the church is really true. And they tell you that no matter what they are gonna get baptized. That happened this week. We went to have a lesson with Brenda and her kids. And she told us that she has decided to be baptized no matter what. Even though she has been having a lot of family adversity hit her ever since she told them. It won't be till January though. But I honestly could not be happier. :) She is solid. Honestly it is all because of the ward. They have been such a huge help. Especially the Relief Society. They have just welcomed her right in as part of the family. Same goes for Nancy as well. We sit with her during Sacrament, and then after that. We don't hardly see her. The ward just brings them right in. That is exactly how it is supposed to be. It helps us not stress as much. :)

Then we also had a ward Thanksgiving dinner this week and we had investigators and less actives there. They were even fellow shipping each other. We had one kid who was baptized shortly before I got here and he was able to get one of our less active members to come to church yesterday. Pretty cool, eh? The work here is so awesome. I am so excited to be here for another. The work is going so well and nobody wanted Elder Anderson to leave. They all got their wish. Needless to say. I have many things to be grateful for. :)

Dad- Well, it seems like it was pretty much all good news from your part of the world this week. I hope you guys have a good Thanksgiving. I will be spending it with Brenda and the Knudsens :) Football. All good news. Except for UA beating Oregon. Bleh. I hope D-Ridge the best. Looks like they have their work cut out for them once again. I will be excited to hear more :) Maybe the Chargers will get the Wild Card. I can dream, right? ;) I am also glad to hear that Hayden is doing pretty well. I hope you have a good week this week. :) I love and miss ya Dad. I look forward to seeing you in about a year from now and having more adventures :)

Mom- So is Keila's car totalled? That is no fun. At all. I can speak from experience ;) But I dunno who taught us how to drive... ;) I am glad to hear that Carter and Michelle are alright. That is rough. I hope they can get it all fixed up and worked out. I am grateful to live in a place where we don't have many natural disasters. It is sad about Tyler, but it is Happy about Tyler Knudsen. Sister Knudsen told me that you got that picture. We are hoping he gets his call this week. We shall see. As for the others, I definitely see them progressing. I want to thank you for your support in me and those I am helping. I love it here. I also love you and miss you Mom. Have a good week! :)

Jeri Lin- It is so good to hear that things are going well no matter how busy they may be and that you are finding those missionary opportunities. Isn't it awesome when they just come to us like that? That was like when we met Bonnie and Raina back in Sparks. It wasn't hard at all and then for some I have had to really work and test my patience. Hard work pays off though. In anything. :) Especially missionary work. Just remember that :) I am happy to hear that Hyrum is becoming a master what and why man. I love that. I drive my companions crazy with those questions. So awesome :) Sister. I am thankful for you and your example to me. Thank you for everything. I love and miss ya. Have another good week! :)

I love and miss you all. I am sorry that I don't have any pictures this week. Have an amazing Thanksgiving and remember what you are thankful for.

Love
Your Son
Your Brother
Elder Bryton Dane Shinkle

Truck Driver November 18, 2013

November 18, 2013

I will begin by explaining the title. So this past week, there was a leadership conference over in Reno. So missionaries from all over the state had to load up and head on the trek back out there. They had to carpool. So, I had the brilliant idea of asking my zone leaders if there was any possible way that I would be allowed to have one of the trucks that was not being taken for those two short days. Originally, the answer was a no. Oh well. At least I asked, right? Well Thursday morning, Elder Anderson and I were riding our bikes back from a lesson that had cancelled and we receive a call form the Zone Leaders saying that we could use the Truck that the Elders in Wells have. Woohoo. I mean, who cares if it has a huge dent in one of the doors because they swerved to miss a deer and hit a mile marker instead. I got to drive! It was so nice. Especially since it snowed Friday morning. I HATE BEING COLD. SO. It was a nice break for sure. :)

Maybe I will get a car in the near future? President Hermansen did say my time would come. Who knows. I mean...we get transfer calls this coming Saturday. As much as I would love a car though, I love it here. Even if I do freeze a little. And in PEC yesterday the Bishop made it very clear that he doesn't want Elder Anderson and I out on our bikes if he can avoid it. Especially in the dark. So the ward is gonna be helping us with rides. I will be extremely happy and warm. All in all, it won't be too bad if I do end up staying. And honestly, I feel a little bad about that whole paragraph now because I sound a little selfish. I will do everything I need to to help the people here. Cold or hot. So...don't think I am complaining or anything. But..I am. haha. Man...digging myself a hole. Anyways. I love being a missionary! I just HATE being cold. That's all :)

As for my investigators. Nancy was at church once again. We sat with her this week. AND! She decided that she would attend all three hours this week. It seemed to me that the ward did a really wonderful job at welcoming her in and fellow shipping. The technicalities for her to be baptized have all been met. Now she just needs to have that testimony grow and decide to make that commitment. Just a matter of time I believe. We have another lesson with her on Wednesday :) As for Brenda and her kids, they are having a lot of trials coming up with their baptism. They are thinking the Baptismal date will be December 7th. Their family support is now non-existent though. So...it may be delayed again. We will be meeting with them tomorrow. If you could, please keep them in your prayers. Satan is trying really hard to not let this one happen. As for Tyler, he decided that he no longer wants to meet with us. We don't know why. Just gotta keep moving forward though. Hopefully something stood out to him and that something will remind him of it at some point down the road. Hopefully we planted a seed. That door has kind of closed, but we also had another one open. The Bishop gave us a record that got sent to the ward that he wanted us to check out. So we did. It is a less active family and their 8 year old son wants to be baptized. Now it won't be a convert baptism, but they want us to teach him before that happens. We have a lesson scheduled with them this evening. Pretty sweet :) We are continuing to strive to work with the Less Active and Part member families as well. Things are progressing :)

Also, Yesterday, Tyler Knudsen asked me to be in the circle for his ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood. I was extremely honored to be a part of that. I have made some very good friends out here on my mission. I believe Sister Knudsen will be sending a picture of all of us after the ordination :) We are also hoping that Tyler gets his mission call this week. I hope so. Maybe he will get called to Arizona ;)

I think that is most of the excitement from this week though. Saturday was spent all day cutting wood and loading and unloading it for some people. That is fun stuff. I was exhausted by the end. Couldn't be happier :)

I will no longer be a teenager in a few weeks here. Sad day.

Dad- Well dang, you didn't have much of a work week, and I feel like I worked my butt off. Haha. We had a day this week that we taught 7 lessons and that was even after two fell through. Lots of biking and teaching. :) But no broken bones, thank goodness. That is a bummer that Hayden did that. My little brother is beating me in injuries I think. Poor kid. I feel bad. Especially that he will be missing the playoffs. Haha doesn't he know that trampolines are for the off season ;) Well, I can't talk too much, I split my head open. SO yeah...haha :) Other than that, It seems to me that you have had a pretty good, fun week. And good food :) Good to hear that your Seahawks are still doing well. The Chargers just really need to learn how to finish. Hopefully sooner rather than later. I love and miss ya Dad. Thank you for all your prayers. I hope you have an awesome week as well!

Mom- I am doing my best not to freeze, cuz like I mentioned before, I HATE being cold.  So my brother and I love trampolines, but they don't seem to like us a whole lot is what I am getting from this. Poor kid. I am glad he is a tough kid though. Maybe I did teach him something. ;) That is a bummer though. Hope he heals quickly. Now. What is this. Do you know when they moved there? Because I have a beanie from Juan of Spanish Springs High School and Juan thinks he knows who Cody is. That is so weird! I wish I would have known they were there if they were there when I was. Desert Fox Dr, wasn't in my area, but it sure does sound somewhat familiar. I could just be imagining things though. Haha dang...I still can't believe that. I should send the sisters over there to see them ;) I am glad you are doing good Mom. I love and miss ya. Thank you for the pictures! Have a good week!

Jeri Lin- I think I missed ya again. I do love ya though, and I hope everything is going well for ya and your kiddos! :)

Well I have uno picture to send this week. Besides the one that Sister Knudsen has sent or will be sending. Enjoy!

I love and miss ya all!

Love
Your Son
Your Brother
Elder Bryton Dane Shinkle

11 Months...What in the world? November 11, 2013

November 11, 2013

So...yeah. This week marks me being away from home for just under a year. Where has the time gone? For real. It is just flying by. Some days I feel as if there is a ton of time I still have to do this. Then there are days such as this that I think...Holy Moly...I am halfway done. It is almost 2014. I go home in 2014. I am in my 8th transfer...there are about 16 transfers-ish. Woah dood. Don't worry though. I am not trunky. Thank goodness for work. If I wasn't working and loving the people out here, I probably would be.

I really don't want to leave the Creek though. At least not yet. My hope is that I will be here at least one more. I want to be around familiar faces for Thanksgiving, my birthday, and Christmas. We shall see what happens. I really don't think Elder Anderson and I will be together for another. Another crazy thought. I have nearly been with Elder Anderson for a fourth of my mission. It has been pretty good. :)

One of the biggest reasons I also don't want to leave is because that I want to be here for Conner. I also want to be here for Nancy. I guess I just want to be here for the people I have met and taught. I want to see them continue to progress. The same reason I wanted to be in Sparks I think. Anyways, this week I was able to attend a baptism for the Rigby girls. It is technically the other elders baptism, but I have helped teach them. It is cool to have four elders in the ward for sure. At the baptism, I sat with Conner of course. And I kept asking him when it was his turn. He told me December 7th, which is his birthday. SO...we shall see. We are meeting with them at 12. Nancy was at church once again. Things are going really well. Some days are tough of course, but hard work pays off :)

Dad- As for the books, yeah. They are mine. They were given to me back in Sparks as Elder Stevens and I were sitting on a members front porch waiting for the Husband to return home from work. Some guy just walked up and asked us if we were Mormon and gave us each some books. Pretty cool :) You are welcome to read them if you would like. I just got tired of taking them around. Sounds like you have a fairly easy week though. Goin to bball games and whatnot. :) And as for football, I know the Chargers came up short. Fajardo made sure I was aware of that one :) BUT ASU won. I was happy to hear that :) Thank you for your letter. Don't worry, I have at least a couple of pictures for ya. They will come shortly. I love and miss ya Dad :)

Mom- Thank you for your email. That is dumb that your update is throwing everything off. Weird. I am glad you got the stuff. Sister Saddoris called me Saturday morning to let me know she had done it. She is from Globe :) I am glad Hayden liked the tie. I think I already told Dad, but that name tag is also for him :) I am glad he had a good birthday :) As for Juan's Scriptures. I think the ones like I got for my mission. Not a quad. The Triple and the Bible. Black and Gold. With his name, Juan Carlos Bedolla. It is good to hear that everyone is doing well though. I love and miss ya!

Jeri Lin- Thank you for your email, even if you do think I am a rebellious missionary ;) I am glad to hear that you were able to work out the house and moving into your already crazy busy schedule :) It is good to hear that your two kiddos are doing well too. Time flies. Like crazy. I am a pirate with Lindi. You will see ;) I love and miss ya Sis! :)

Thank you for everything you guys. I love and miss you all!
Have an awesome week!

Love
Your Son and Brother
Elder Bryton Dane Shinkle

 Parrot -CJ

 Pink Giraffe Tie

 Lookin' good

Rigby Family Baptism

I Am Not Alone November 4, 2013

November 4, 2013

This week I have been thinking a lot. (crazy, I know) ;) Haha

As you know I am sure, but I have a great love for the sport of football. I have spent a lot of time playing, watching, and studying it. One of the things that stuck out to me a while back was a like..."pump up" or "motivational" speech given by a player by the name of Cam Newton. He basically was telling his team mates that we cant keep going out there saying that we will get it in the "next play" Or "next time", because eventually, we are gonna look up at the score board, the game will be over, and we will have lost. Now like you said, I already feel as if I have started. Now I need to "sprint to the finish" like Brother Hagler has said. I found an excellent example of this in the scriptures. His name? Nephi. It was in Helaman Chapter 10. Verses 4-5 are the ones that stuck out to me the most. These are my thoughts. So, for the past few transfers, I have really been trying to focus on being more selfless in my service these past few transfers. I've been trying to look outward and forget myself. I guess you can say that it has been an obstacle of mine in a way. In my patriarchal blessing though, it says, "As you seek to overcome all the obstacles the Lord will bless you in a great and glorious way and you will be a powerful missionary.". I need to continually be diligent even when I am tired. I need to be more like Nephi. I have some work to do. :)

I also had some other thoughts. The thought that we can't do missionary work alone really hit me. We were teaching relief society and priesthood combined yesterday. We taught about a way to do member missionary work. I also had my mind refreshed my memory of an experience that happened at a zone conference in Sparks. It was when Elder Gavarett was here on a mission tour. He told us that we have ancestors and angels with us all the time. At that moment, I couldn't help but feel as if Heath was sitting right there next to me. It was kind of a crazy feeling. I know I am not alone in my missionary for sure. :)

As for other news, Nancy finally came to church! She seemed to enjoy it, but we will be meeting with her again on Wednesday to see for sure. She isn't on track to make her baptismal date, but hopefully she has a much more increased desire now that she has come to church. As for Tyler, he was at his Dad's house this week, so we didn't meet with him. This week should be good though. The other Elders in the ward are having a baptism this Saturday. Two girls that I have helped teach and we are gonna try and get Nancy and Tyler to come. Should be another good week. Still trying to set some things up with the other part member families an less active members.

Dad- Football is...frustrating. Haha It is good to hear that the Sun Devils are doing well though. Chargers...frustrate me. You look good! I wish I could have been there running with you and Mom. I am glad you are doing well. Thank you for all your prayers. I have more pictures for ya. So be patient!

Mom- Thank you for all the pictures! Things are going well for me though. I keep on keeping on. Dad does look a whole lot better. I definitely wish I could be there with you guys. I may have some things coming down for you guys. Sister Saddoris is going down to Globe, so she asked if I need to bring anything to you guys. So I may have some stuff and she may be in contact with you. Just FYI :) I am glad you are doing well and that Hayden is doing well too. I hope you have another good fun week.

I love you guys and miss ya!

Your Son,
Elder Shinkle

p.s. being a missionary is like being a celebrity

 Connor

 My mini me

He dressed up as me for Halloween.

A View of the Creek from Creek View Drive October 28, 2013

October 28, 2013

So...This week I found out the meaning of my street name. Arroyo means creek and vista means view. And.....I have still yet to see a single creek out here in Spring Creek.

It sounds like a nice luscious place. It is for sage brush. It is also for missionary work though. This week has been a really good one. We were able to get in contact with some less active and part member families that we have been trying to since basically day one we got here. We have some lessons set up with them this coming week. We were also able to set up a baptismal date with Tyler. December 7th. So that was cool. Our big focus this week will be finding even more investigators. I love it out here though.

In other news, I woke up to stinking snow. Bleh. Like President said...many are called, few are frozen. I am one of those frozen ones I guess. We shall see for how long. I dunno what else...Nancy and Tyler should both be at church this coming week. But...yeah. Things are going well.

Dad- I was just making silly faces for Sister Knudsen. I love them and we just had Ham and beans and yeah, I had a Pepsi. We went there because our dinner had cancelled. Sister Knudsen and I get along pretty darn well. I am actually gonna be going over there again later today to make ties. I got some pink giraffe print material. Gonna be looking good :) It is good to hear that you are doing well with the workouts and that you are continuing to improve. I heard more about the shooting throughout the week. That day Juan told me, you told me, and Sister Hagler told me. Kinda crazy. I will miss being at the Resort in Scottsdale, but I too, look forward to being able to skype with you guys again. Megatron is a monster. Football is still awesome. Thanks Dad. For everything. I actually have a handwritten letter on the way for you with a little surprise. I love ya. Have a good week! :)

Mom- As for Khakis...my pants are all still fitting. SO...like 32x34. If you can find a little longer, I dont think it would hurt, but it is fine I am pretty sure. Haha that is awesome that you are doing Monkey bars and what not. GO Mom! It is so good to hear that Hayden is doing so well. He is a stud. :) And yeah, they are a wonderful family. Sister Knudsen. They are like...my favorites out here in Spring Creek. She is the Primary President. Love em to death. It is kinda like a home away from home there. I love and miss you Mom. Have an awesome week! :)

Jeri Lin- Good deal. Haha Sounds like a fun time. So did they get stung while at the hospital..or??  That is good news on the house.  I love you! and miss ya!

I think that is all I have for now. I love and miss you all. Stay amazing. Keep up all the good work. Thank you for the prayers. You guys are always in mine.

Love your Son and Brother,
Elder Bryton Dane Shinkle

 One of my favorite missionaries!

 Shearing Goats

 Snow on the Ground

Monkey