Stay Happy April 28, 2014

April 28, 2014

The title of this email came from some good advice given on Friday night. I have no idea who gave the advice, but it was perfect. It was exactly what I needed, and I have been reflecting on it all weekend :)

This week has been a crazy one to say the least. Not terrible, but not altogether amazing either. The weather here could have been a perfect representation. It just couldn`t decide what it wanted to be. There were some good things. Such as interviews with President, Stake conference with Bishop Causse from the Presiding Bishopric, and I even finished The Book of Mormon. We also have Kimberly wanting to move her baptismal date up to the middle of May. Then we had Calvin telling us he wanted to have a blessing...what he meant was that he wanted to be baptized. Which is a miracle in and of itself, because he is a very stubborn old man and he has come a very long way. He told us, "you two morons have done more for me than you know". Haha I took that as a compliment. He could call me a lot worse things...I will stick with the pumpkin, hot shot, and moron :) Another neat experience came on Friday night before I received the advice. President texted us asking if we could go give a blessing to a non-member in one of the downtown area hospitals. Of course we agreed, and I am glad we were able to do it. The spirit was so strong in that room. And not only did we give him a blessing, but we talked to him about The Book of Mormon and we were able to share a copy. I really hope that he looks into it further after he is released from the hospital like he said he would. So yeah, lots of good things. We also encountered a lot of different and not so good things. We had the normal stuff. Like appointments falling through, people not coming to church, etc. There were some different things that happened though. The shoulder strap on my bag broke as we were walking down the street, we had someone we were working with have an emotional breakdown and disappear off the face of the earth, investigators drop us. Just crazy stuff. I guess that is what I get for focusing on patience this week. The thing that carried me through was the advice. Stay Happy. In everything we do, we have the choice as to what our attitude will be The ward mission leader here tells us to enjoy the sucky moments. They are bound to come. We just got to stay happy. I am thankful for that for sure. That is the lesson I learned this week. Keep your head up. :)

Other than that...I am not quite sure what else to tell you. Like you all have mentioned, time continues to fly by. I am still in shock that this is week 5 of this transfer and that May will begin this week. Woah.

Dad- Well you are already talking garbage to me about the NFL season. I am glad nothing has changed ;) I will admit the Seahawks-Chargers game will be a tough one for my team, but I will back them up all day long :) I think it would be cool to go to the Arizona-Seattle game for your birthday though. :) That is cool that Hayden did well in his race. We never had like...winners. We just had participation awards. Lame sauce. I hope that all goes well with your interview and that you have a fun weekend up in Spokane. I appreciate all the updates. Maybe one day I will be the NFL Commissioner... Yeah right :P I love and miss ya Dad! Have a good week :)

Mom- Well it sounds to me like you had a fairly similar week to me. Stay Happy! :) I think it is funny that we kind of set up our emails in a similar way. I thank you for all that you shared with me. Everything happens for a reason! I love you and miss you Mom! I hope that you can have a better week with not as much opposition :)

Jeri Lin- You sure do have a funny kid. Talking garbage to his uncle...haha I love it. I am looking forward to seeing that kid and going to Disneyland with him, I hope he knows that :) It is good to hear that Tony is doing well. I hope and pray that Lindy starts doing better. :) I am also glad that you are doing well and that you are enjoying being a Mom. I love and miss ya Sis. Have a good week!

Keila- I hope you are feeling better from last week! I love and miss you. Have a good week :)

Sydney- Thanks for the quick little email. Thanks for the Harry Potter stamps as well by the way. Love and miss ya! Have a good week :)

Leslie- Happy Birthday! I am sorry I am one day behind, I was thinking of you yesterday though. I hope it was a good one. I also hope that you have a good first week of being 14 years old! I love and miss ya :)

I love and miss all of you! Have a great week!

Love,
Your Son
Your Brother

Elder Bryton Dane Shinkle :)

 Group FHE 4/14/14

Starting April 21, 2014

April 21, 2014

Starting. It is the hardest part. Life is full of starts, but there aren't any real finishes. Sure, there are check points we hit along the way. We never really stop progressing though. I have been reflecting back to when I started my mission over a year ago. I was a nervous wreck. Even before it even started. Now, I wouldn't want to be doing anything else. The work is still tough, but my ability to cope and just do it has increased.

While I have been away, I have started some good habits I have also started to stop some bad ones. Yeah, I am not perfect. I am striving to improve and reach those checkpoints. I am happy with where I am and where I am headed.

Ok, so now I will explain why I am talking about starting. Each and every day I wake up and start a new day. Some days are tougher than others. However, it always gets easier as I get up and get moving. Every day, my companion and I have to get out and start working. As we get out and start talking to people. Start teaching. It gets easier. Then I start to notice the miracles. One of which happened this week...it kind of happened multiple times actually. Every time we went and met with Kimberly this week, we showed up exactly when we needed to. In the very moment she needed an answer to her prayers. None of that would have happened if we wouldn't have started and went out when we were supposed to. We also wouldn't have found new people to teach such as Michelle. We wouldn't have met with Glen and Breck who were just in need of someone to listen to them.

Now has Easter has come and gone. Just think, the Atonement never would have happened if Jesus kind of just lolly gagged around. He knew he had to do it, but it had to be started. In this case though, it was tough all the way through it. From start to the ending checkpoint. He did have the perfect hope that everything would work out. The great thing is that it did. The Atonement worked and does work each and every day. We need to start to take advantage of that gift! We need to strive to have that perfect hope that everything is going to work out. Hope is powerful. So start to have hope. Start to change. This Gospel makes it all possible :)

Dad- Well I am sorry that you are busier than you expected, but I would love to be there alongside you working with the athletes. That doesn't seem all that bad. Much more exciting in my eyes. And hey, don't get discouraged about working out, just keep searching and making due with what you have right now. I will be home before you know it and then we can come up with some workouts together. Trust me...I need it as well. You never did tell me that Christian and Megan were engaged though. That is crazy. The world keeps moving, that is for sure. I am glad your class is going well. I did get the Easter package. Thank you all for that :) I am looking forward to being able to talk to you in a few weeks as well. I love and miss ya Dad. Have a good week!

Mom- Well it is good to hear that Hayden is getting his boot off. I also liked his nice view of the palm trees. I miss palm trees. :) That is a bummer that Keila has been sick. No fun :/ I often reflect on the blessing I received when I was set apart when he told me that basically I wouldn't get sick as long as I was doing what I was supposed to. That has sure been an awesome blessing. :) Thanks for all the updates and pictures as always. Also, for the package. I really appreciate it. I love and miss ya Mom. Have a good week!

Jeri Lin- Hey Sis! Well it sounds like all is going fairly smoothly so far with the move and all. I hope that the whole work situation plays itself out nicely as well. Have I ever told you what an awesome older sister you are? Seriously, thank you for helping the rest of the family out as you always have, especially while I have been away. I never really have to worry about home, because I know I have been blessed with such an awesome family. You are a part of that. Thanks for all that you do for me as well. Keep your head up and have a good week! I love and miss ya :)

Well I think that is gonna have to do it for this week. I love you all and miss you all like crazy. Have a good week!

Love,
Your Son
Your Brother
Elder Bryton Dane Shinkle :)

As a Matter of Fact, I Am April 14, 2014

Oh boy...what is there to report on this week? I am having the hardest time thinking of things to share. Not that it was a slow week or anything. We were pretty busy all week and it was a pretty successful one. Elder Reynolds and I were able to start teaching a couple former investigators who stopped taking the lessons for one reason or another. Mostly because they lost contact or just were super busy at the time and now their schedule has loosened up and they aren't quite as stressed. That was nice. We also were able to find a few new investigators just by talking with people on the street. It is so nice to be able to do that. One of the people we found is Kimberly. We found her on Friday. Taught her on Saturday. Then she was at sacrament meeting on Sunday. She is looking pretty promising, but she also could use some prayers in her behalf. That goes for all the people we are currently teaching. The struggle is real. We also have the opportunity now to teach and work with a recent convert who was baptized back in December in Utah, but recently moved here. She is pretty awesome and is just super excited to do missionary work. We were just walking out of her apartment complex and she called out to us and was like, "are you guys missionaries?!". As a matter of fact, we are :) So we have started working with her. Working to get her to the temple.

Along with all the good people we have to teach, we also run into some crazies occasionally. People looking into our souls, are prophets, and all that jazz. It keeps life interesting and gives Elder Reynolds and I some good laughs from time to time. :)

Other than that...I am not quite sure what to tell you. I have received permission from President to attend the temple with Juan when the time comes that he goes through for the first time. I am hoping that is in the fairly near future, because I will need to still need to be in the Reno/Sparks area for that permission to be valid. There are still 

about 4 weeks left in this transfer, but time is going quickly and there is no telling where this next transfer may leave or take me.

I love life, and as a matter of fact, I am a missionary. It is an exhaustingly wonderful job. I have come to just love getting to know people and just listening to what they have to say. There are many people I wish I could just sit down and listen to the experiences they have had in their lifetime. I have also come to really see that the Gospel can change anyone. Even the ones we may least expect. It is a miracle and a blessing! So continue to keep an eye out for those people that may be prepared. You may never know :)

I think that is all I have for today though. I know it is nothing very exciting, but just know that things are going well :)

Dad- Well  am glad that I don't have to teach anything like that. I would take teaching the law of chastity over that any day. I am not talking about your temple prep class ;) I hope you can find a good place to work out though. That sounds like fun. I am grateful that it is once again great football weather here in Nevada. That is once again how my pdays will be spent. Are you gonna play with me when I get home? :) That's all I got. Have a great week Dad! I love and miss ya!

Mom-  That is a bummer  that your email did that. Hate it when that happens. You are not a rotten Mom though. You are the best Mom I could ask for and I am grateful that you have taken the time to at least write me a little something :) I love you too Mom. I hope you have a great week. :)

Jeri Lin- I missed you today, but I hope today is a good one and that you have a good week moving again. I love and miss you! Have a good week!

Well, I love and miss you all! Have a great week!

Love,

Your Son

Your Brother

Elder Bryton Dane Shinkle :)

Mas Growth April 7, 2014

April 7, 2014

Week 1 of yet another transfer here in the good ol` downtown has come and gone. It has been a fairly busy week with transfers, getting a new companion, working, and watching 10 hours of general conference :)

I suppose you would probably like a little bit of info on my new companion. His name is Elder Reynolds from Colorado. That is where he grew up anyways. His family now lives in Texas. He has been out on his mission about 10 months. He is a good missionary. Funny thing...sometimes I still wish I was with Elder Anderson. Crazy right? Just for the fact of that we had a system down. It was nice. Now Elder Reynolds and I are just seeing what works for us. So far so good :)

As far as the working goes. It is also is so far so good. I really have no reason to complain. I have the opportunity and privilege to be able to work with some of the coolest people in downtown Reno. :) We have Dan and also Mike set with baptismal dates in May. They are doing well in achieving those goals. We are continuing to try and find even more people and we are blessed to be able to share our testimonies on a daily basis. When I received my mission call to Reno, this is exactly well...pretty much exactly what I imagined it would be like. It is a whole lot of fun. :)

The past two days we had the opportunity to watch and listen to General Conference. Priesthood Session was my favorite. (Like usual). The talks in that session always seem to be the ones that speak to me the most. I will share some of my favorite quotes from the past few days.

"there is no up or down; just backward or forward" -Dallin H. Oaks

"who we are is not who we can become" -Donald L. Hallstrom

"You became a lighted candle when you accepted the priesthood" -Henry B. Eyring

"Gratitude is the catalyst to all Christlike attributes" -Dieter F. Uchdorf

I went in to this conference with some questions like I normally try to do. Once again, they were answered without fail. These answers brought hope to me. Which is actually what I had been focusing on in my Preach My Gospel studies this week. Funny how it works like that :) I know that I am a different person today than I was when I started my mission nearly a year and a half ago. I feel like I have continued to move forward as Elder Oaks mentioned. I may have taken a step back or two, but all together, I have moved in a positive direction. Our Heavenly Father has helped me in this endeavor, because he knows as well as I do that I am not perfect. I am so grateful for where I am at. I do feel as if I am on the verge on making that next big step forward. I know that I have the tools and capability to do so. Now it comes down to just doing it. I have to take this time, once again, to thank all of you though. My family, friends...everyone that has and still does support me. For those who are my examples. My priesthood heroes. I am truly blessed :)

There was a lot that stuck out to me and got me thinking. I wouldn't say I had just one favorite talk this time. I seemed to take a lot of different things from multiple talks and piece them together into exactly what I needed to hear. As you could see :)

So yeah. Good week all in all. Looking forward to another good one yet again. It has started off well with this pday. Get to go play some football this afternoon. I really cannot complain :)

Dad- It is good to hear that you enjoyed conference and that you were able to take a few things from it. I always think of just going out to eat with you after priesthood session. That is a tradition that we will for sure need to carry out once I get home for as long as we can. :) I am also glad you were able to get some of the stress of work out of the way and that you were able to run a little bit as well. Both are good things. I am doing well though. I appreciate all your prayers. Keep up your hard work and remember to smile as well. I love you Dad and miss you! Have an awesome week!

Mom- I too enjoyed listening about the cultural celebration. Thinking of my sisters in it. It was way cool, and it also brought me the chills. I cannot wait till I am able to experience that temple for myself :) I am glad that everyone is doing well though. Thanks for sharing that experience about Casey. That is way cool. :) I love and miss ya Mom! Have an awesome week! :)

Jeri Lin- So you are moving for sure. Dang. That is crazy. I am excited for you guys, but kinda bummed at the same time. It will be weird not having you right close by when I return home. It is for the best though, and I know that everything happens for a reason. Not everyone is privileged enough to live their whole life in the AZ ;) I sure do love and miss ya. You and your little familia is always in my prayers. Have an awesome week!

I believe that is all I have for now. I don't really have a whole lot of pictures. Just a couple of older ones to forward your way. Hopefully I will have mas next week. I love and miss you all!

Love,
Your Son
Your Brother
Elder Bryton Dane Shinkle :)