Food, Food, More Food & an Awesome Lesson!

What’s up Brey family!!

I hope all is well and you guys are just having a blast this summer! haha Its winter here and since I am so high up its really cool!  But It’s awesome! This was the last week of the change so we were really busy with doing all the stuff to get changes ready!  But I had some great experiences this week! I will share them with you. 

 1st off we are in the process of moving while we are doing all of our office stuff and missionary stuff!  Its been legit crazy!! haha But we are just about moved so it will be so nice when we are all done and settled in.. I hate moving!

This was the last week of my comp Elder Scholes who was training me to be in the office. He was really trunky but going to all the appointments with him really helped me gain some weight! hahaha every meal this week we have had a member take us out to eat!  Pizza, Rice and Chicken, Tacos... Needless to say it was awesome! we just went hard on the food this week! haha And to top it off... On Saturday we had all day pday because we weren’t going to have a pday because of how busy we are the week of changes.. So anyway a couple Peruvians call out Elder Green (one of the assistants) and I to play some two on two in a little game of basketball... (sidenote... Elder Green played college basketball at Utah State and I have yet to see a Peruvian my size hahaha) So anyway we played them in basketball and balled them up! haha It wasnt even close! It was sick to play ball but to also play with Elder Green. After that we moved most of our house and at 7:30 pm we headed over to the local rodizio grill! haha Elder Green and I went soo hard! We sat there from 7:30 to 9:30 eating! haha I ate so much it was awesome! The coolest part was just chillin with my boy elder green and talking about life. It’s crazy how the Lord puts soo many people in my life! 

On Sunday we had a great sacrament meeting and then we went and ate a great meal at our pensions house! After that since weve had no time this week we just went and started

packing and moving the house again.  I was soo tired! But Elder Corredor ( the other assistant, and a great friend of mine) asked me to go to a lesson with him. It was such a sick lesson! It was Elder Corredor´s last lesson so it was just way cool to be there. Anyway he taught this lesson to these less active members. He taught using Matthew 14:23- 33. It’s about when Jesus gets done feeding the thousands of people with bread. Anyway Jesus goes to pray to our Heavenly Father and the apostles get ready to leave on their boat. The winds start going way crazy and they are all scared. So then they see this figure walking towards them on the water! What how is that possible? Well its Jesus Christ... He is the Son of God! Then Peter asks him.. Hey bro if it’s really you then let me walk on the water too. So Peter starts walking on the water with the Savior. Then the wind starts to pick up and Peter starts to lose his faith and he starts to sink. Now is the important part that we focused on in our lesson. Verse 31 it says... And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him. I love that part so much! Sometimes we lose our faith and we think that the Savior isn’t putting forth his hand. But the hand is always there. That is the first thing he did. He didn’t let Peter struggle but he reached out his hand! We just need to have faith and grab on to the hand. Like praying, reading our scriptures and going to church. 

I am having a lot of fun here in the office! All the missionaries I am with are wayy cool and we always just laugh! haha Its a blast! Well can’t wait to hear from you guys next week! I love you guys! I miss you guys! Know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ LIVE!! They are here to help us! 

Much love,

 
Elder Brey

 

1st week in Cusco

I’m in a city called Ambuncay! Its wayyy high up in the Andes. My sector is called Tamburco. Its really cool here. My door goes up to my waist! haha I will send pics next week cause I had no time to take some this week. My comp is Elder Aguilar from Lima. He is awesome! This is his last month in the field and he is training me. We live alone but we go everyday to a house that cooks 3 meals a day for us! They are soo awesome! Mom will you invite the missionaries over and feed them! My week was crazy.

We got to Cusco on Tuesday and got our comps and headed out to our area. 5 hour bus ride through the mountains i was puking. I can’t understand a word of Spanish. In a lesson this guy kept asking me questions and I couldn’t understand him and i just started bawling! I am praying like I never have before.

Friday- Me and my comp are new to our area so we haven’t really talked to any investigators because we are trying to get to know the members. I really like talking to the members kids because my Spanish is about the same as theirs haha. It helps a lot. Also while we were walking meeting people I stopped and played some basketball with these kids. My comp contacted them after. It was good to feel normal for a minute. I know Heavenly father put them there for me to feel normal for a minute.

Saturday- We went out again to meet some of the members. We met the very first member in Abuncay. He is 93 and walks 3 miles to church every day. Heavenly Father gave me a great experience with him. As i was sitting there while we were talking to him. I felt this love for him and like very proud. After that we had a meeting with the Branch President. He told us in our ward zone there are 324 members, ONLY 65 come to church! We have to do a lot with the less actives now rather than new investigators.

Sunday- WOW. Sunday is missionaries do everything day. We prepared and blessed the sacrament, gave talks on the spot, blessed a sick child and taught Elders Quorum.

I love you all soo much. I am running on only faith right now. Its the hardest thing ever. I just keep smiling.

Thank you to our amazing friends for recording Elder AJ Brey farewell, if you have a few minutes, you should listen...he was amazing (even if I'm bias) - And after AJ speaks at the end you can hear Shelby Brey and Micah Jones beautiful musical number!!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/agfr1ygo9el1fag/AJ%20Farewell.wma

Farewell Talk - October 28, 2012

AJ gave his farewell talk in our new ward on October 28th. It was AMAZING! What an awesome young man he is (even if I am a little bias.) :)

It was so crazy! The count in Sacrament Meeting that day was 691! It was bigger than Stake Conference.  But like I've always said, AJ can be gone for two hours and come home with two new best friends.  I'm so thankful for the example of friendship, kindness and love that he has shown to us!

AJ asked his buddy Micah and his sister Shelby to sing... it was so beautiful! What a spirit that was felt that day! One to leave a mom very proud and in awe of these amazing children.

I was so moved by the song AJ chose, I'd like to share the words...

You Can Believe In Christ

Jeff Goodrich

Searching through the shadows of your mind

As you struggle to retain what’s left behind

Of the smiles and the laughter

Though the miles and years after all are gone.

Still you’d like to have them back again

For a chance to be with family and friends

And you wish your dear ones could be near ones

Without fear forever on and on.

You can believe in Christ

You can receive the Christ.

Walk in the joy of Christ and glory in his light.

You can embrace his word;

Until you face The Word.

Come and believe, come and receive Jesus Christ.

Striving just to glimpse eternity;

You wonder where tomorrow you will be

Who will have the power, in that hour

Will you now or never understand.

You can find the answer deep within yourself

Leave man’s philosophy upon the shelf.

And the light within you will continue

Leading you to know the Master’s hand.

(repeat Chorus)

Our Very Own Army!!

As we listened to General Conference last weekend, and heard our amazing, loving Prophet, President Monson announce the new missionary ages, we spent so much time reflecting on the INCREDIBLE ARMY of young men that AJ has spent his life surrounded by.  

The returned missionaries that he hangs out with, the life long friends that he says "see you in two" to every week, the boys he's spent many hours on the baseball field or the basketball court that are either out serving, receiving calls, ready to submit papers, or wholeheartedly focusing on education, we could not be more blessed than to be surrounded by our VERY OWN ARMY! We love these boys like they are our own, we laugh with them, cry with them, worry about them, support them and are so thankful for them all!!  

So boys, there are tons of you, that we consider "ours" ~ we hope you all know how much we love you, how proud of you we are and how much we feel of your strong spirits in our lives and our son's life! Thank you for being a great example, a great friend and great SONS... We can't wait for the great reunion when you all return from missions and school to share all of your amazing stories and testimonies! 

Signed, A VERY PROUD MOMMY!!!

Called to Serve

AJ's call arrived on Wednesday, June 27, 2012... BUT...Shelby & Sydney were at girls camp with our ward and AJ didn't want to open it without them.

So to help mom and AJ with the temptations (ok, really.. just MOM); Dad took the call and hid it Wednesday night so we didn't have to stare at it until Saturday when the girls would be home.

It was so fun that week and the few weeks before gathering everyone's guesses as to where AJ would serve... to sum it up, we had over 180 guesses.

With 7 guesses for Africa, 6 for Australia, 6 for Russia, 14 for Japan and over 50 for various places in the United States.. it was finally time!

Where is our boy going to spend the next 2 years, serving, growing, learning, teaching, loving...........

 (love all these boys!)

With sisters home from camp, tons of friends and family gathered in the back yard; cousins from St. George on one i-pad and cousins from Japan on another i-pad it was time!

Elder Austin Joseph Brey, you have been called to serve a Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Peru Cusco Mission.

AJ will depart to the Provo, Utah MTC on November 7, 2012 and will stay there for three weeks.  He will then go to the Lima Peru MTC for 6 weeks and then he will head to Cusco.

We are so excited, so scared, so happy, so sad, so nervous, so overwhelmed, so humbled, so grateful, but so ready for this adventure.







So this begins the blog..... Elder AJ Brey!