Week 43

  July 28, 2014

Friends & Family,

What a beautiful week of miracles.

We are teaching a family and they have 4 boys! They are such an amazing family! WE LOVE THEM and LOVE teaching them! Watching them grow and learn is so much fun! We had an amazing dinner and a lesson with them the other night. It was the MOST powerful lesson I have ever taught! The spirit was amazing. It's so crazy to think that the spirit is working through us to get to these people we are teaching. I didn't come up with anything good to say.. it was the spirit. This family is so prepared!! I find so much joy in missionary work. What better thing to share what you love so much! I love this work and this gospel!! SO MUCH!!

So funny story, as some of you don't know, as a missionary we have certain rules. I (or whoever is not the driver) of the car has to back up the driver every time you back up. So I am used to it because I have been doing it for 10 months now. haha. So I was backing my companion up and our neighbor is a members sister who is not a member. She texted the member and asked if it was a religion ritual? Why does one girl have to back the other one up? Is it part of your religion? HAHAHA I died laughing. It is so funny! I am so used to it by now. People stare and laugh at us. It's so funny!

Anyways. My life is great! This gospel makes me the happiest girl. I love being a missionary and representing Jesus Christ.

I love and miss you all!!

Hermana Brugman

Week 42

  July 21, 2014

Friends & Family,

Hahaha this week was great. Let me just start off with a funny, dumb, Jaymee moment... SO I wake up and get ready.. I flipped my hair.. like a head bang I guess, to dry my hair a little faster..... then I look at my companion and start BAWLING like a baby.. she is like what is going on, Hermana are you okay. I say no, I think I broke my back... for real. We need to go to the urgent care... she was like WHAT? okay... but then we sat there thinking.. I probably just threw it out and there is nothing really you can do except heat, ice, Advil, etc.. SO I WAS LIKE GREAT... okay I'm not even old yet and I'm throwing my back out. Thanks dad.. just kidding. hahaha but anyways so I literally couldn't move. My companion fed me, dressed me..... isn't she great? I'll keep her! haha But I decided to call the Elders and they came and gave me a blessing... It was an amazing blessing. So that day we were supposed to have a meeting with 2 other sets of missionaries and it was 1 hour away... 25 minutes after the Elders left I texted them and said I am so sorry I really don't think I can sit in a car for 1 hour, just go without us. He texted me back and said.. it has only been 25 minutes.. do what the blessing said and HAVE FAITH.. then let us know how you feel. So I picked up my Book of Mormon and started to read it. I was reading in Mormon chapter 9. It was talking about miracles and how we know there is a God and how he works miracles.. It related to me perfectly. So I just got up and started SLOWLY feeling better. I didn't heal right away but slowly I felt better. I called the Elders 10 minutes after and said okay come pick us up. We are ready!! :) It was such an amazing example that blessings are real and the Book of Mormon is SO TRUE!!!!! It's CRAZY! It strengthened my testimony so deeply! I am so blessed to have worthy men all around me so whenever I need them they are there to help!! I feel so blessed and I love this church so much! I love the doctrine and all His teachings! They all make sense! :)

Nothing besides that happened this week so I am going to talk about one of my favorite things on my mission!! well two things.. I started eating really healthy.. and my favorite thing to make for lunch is a veggie sandwich. ITS DELICIOUS.. it's just wheat bread with hummus, salt, pepper, onions, lettuce, green, red and yellow peppers.... IT IS THE BEST!!! haha I love being on my mission cause I can cook for myself and learn how to eat healthier.. haha :) Okay second thing.. I love meeting new people and seeing them progress and come closer to the Lord. I love seeing the spirit worketh within them! This is the most amazing opportunity to see the change in people! I Love being a missionary, yeah things are really hard but it is SO worth it! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!!

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS!!!!!!

Hermana Brugman <3

Week 41

  July 14, 2014

 

Friends & Family,

So this week was really crazy...

This week was the hardest week on my mission. All of our lessons and backups fell through.. and we had nothing to do. As those who know when all of those fall through its SO stressful! So we just tried everything that we could do! We did have one really good lesson with Elisa! She is the cutest, she is 20 years old and she wants to learn more and be baptized! So that was 1 good thing this week! :)

So Sunday rolled around and I got a call from my last area... before church and the missionaries there told me that someone in the bishopric died... I broke down in tears, bawled like a baby. I was there for 7 months and loved this man so much!! He always took care of me and EVERYONE else in the world. He was by far the NICEST, most kind, selfless person I know.. NO JOKE. His wife is not a member and she would not listen to any of the missionaries until me and Hermana Bennett went over there! She is an amazing women! I love her so much! My heart hurts for her and his family! He always asked me how Jaycob (my brother was doing) he followed all his games and printed out stats for me!!! I love him so much!!!!! I miss you so much!!! That is just a testimony that The Plan of Salvation is real! I read alma 40, where it talks ALL about the spirit World. It gave me so much comfort! I hope that his wife will one day soften her heart so that she can live with him again!!!! I love this church and this plan that He has for all of us!!! I love that families can be together forever because that is the only thing that would give me comfort!!

I FINISHED THE BOOK OF MORMON IN SPANISH!!!!! :) I JUST STARTED THE DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS :) WAHOOOO

There are these scriptures that Ii love so much!! I just wanted to share them with y'all!! It's in Helaman 5:12, it reads, "O remember, remember, my sons, the words which king Benjamin spake unto his people; yea, remember that there is NO OTHER WAY nor means whereby man can be saved, ONLY through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the world." I love this scripture so much because it's so true. This is the only way that we can be saved. Through Christ and being a part of His church!!! I love the Book of Mormon! My testimony has grown so much about this book! It is the greatest book of all!! Whenever Ii am sad or homesick or mad, I pick this book up and read it!! It makes me feel so much better! This book is true and its real and I invite all of you guys to read it because IT WILL BLESS YOUR LIFE. I PROMISE!!!!

I hope you guys have a great week!!

Hermana Brugman

Week 40: Miracles!

  July 7, 2014

Friends & Family,

Happy Late Fourth of July, I hope that you all had a wonderful, fun day!

So my recent convert in my last areas kids just got baptized last Saturday! I was not able to attend which I was very sad!!! But I am so PROUD of them!! They make me so happy! They are such a great example to me! :)

We still have this amazing investigator! He is finding a new job because he wants to come to church but he works every Sunday. He called us and told us that he already found a new job!! that DOESN'T WORK on a Sunday!! :) He has so much faith!

We were just driving one day and we found this house full of Hispanics, and there were more women in that house! So that was amazing. We taught them and are going back to teach them!! :)

This mission experience has taught me so much. One thing that I LOVE so much is how I learned that being exactly obedient is the key to  EVERYTHING. Before my mission I didn't understand why it was so important. When people say why can't you do this, or why can't you do that? As missionaries we have certain rules, you could chose to be disobedient or be obedient. BUT when you chose to be obedient you see so many miracles! I love being obedient, obviously I'm not perfect, but I try my hardest every day to be obedient and I know he will bless me!

One of my favorite things to teach is... The Plan of Salvation!!! I love talking about how we lived with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ before and we have the opportunity to go back and live with Him!!!! AND to live with our families forever. I miss my family so much. I love them so much. I really can't wait to hug them all again. Sometimes it's really hard to be away from them for this long... but then I think.. It's okay.. I have ETERNITY with them. What a wonderful blessing that we have this choice! I am so grateful for this in my life!

I love this gospel! I love all the blessing we receive from our Father in heaven! :)

Hermana Brugman!

Week 39: HALF WAY THERE! :)

  June 30, 2014

Friends & Family,

This week was great, we had a Zone Conference. It was a very uplifting and spiritual meeting! I seriously LOVE being a missionary. This is such an amazing experience and I am so grateful to be a part of the Lords work! :)

So prayers are seriously answered. My testimony of this has strengthened so much on my mission! He really, TRULY is there for us. How lucky are we? That we have a loving heavenly father that loves us so much! We have this investigator that works every day of the week. He has a baptismal date and he is amazing. There is no way for him to go to church cause he is always working. We asked him to talk to his boss and see if he can get Sundays off. She said NO. I was so upset and my heart dropped. Then he told us that he is going to try to look for a new job so he can come to church! Remember he is Hispanic and does not speak English. That makes it hard to find a job. He has so much faith it's incredible. He has been such an example to me in showing me that we all need to have more faith. Sometimes we think we have faith but we always can use a little more faith. 

From my last area 2 kids that I taught are getting baptized this weekend. I AM SO EXCITED FOR THEM! I am so sad that I will not be there, but I know it will be so amazing! I love them and miss them so much! 

This week has truly been a testimony builder for me! That I know that Heavenly Father listens to us. I know the we are His children!!! 

I hope y'all have a great week!!

Hermana Brugman LOVE US!!!!! <3