Six Months of Missionary Things

Good morning all. Three days ahead of this letter's publication -- February the 26th -- marks my first six months of being a missionary: though the first (nearly) two months were spent in online MTC, this is a monumental landmark as an entire quarter of this period, whereby I am called to be separate from the world to advance the Lord's work on a full-time basis, has already elapsed. When did all of this time pass, and where did it go, I am unsure. But, regardless, somehow I have been advancing the mission purpose, doing things that a missionary does, for six months now.

Other than the fact that six months have slipped by me unawares, things are going quite well here in the Valencia Ward (local congregation) of Tucson, Arizona. I do wish, in response to a question (from a member of the local ward, actually), to make you aware that my dear mother does send me comments made on my blog posts, at least within a few days. Further, if you wish to send me something more directly, there is a contact form on my website that will send me an email. It's been gratifying and a source of comfort to see my family take advantage of this marvelous wonder of technology over the past few months, and with some readjustments to my schedule the past few weeks, I am starting to have time for correspondence again. We will see, of course, how this matter progresses over the next few months, but suffice it to say that I greatly appreciate your messages, as they remind me of the love that remains back home and the fellowship present with my fellow missionaries in the field. Thank you.

To return to another item briefly mentioned: I am still speaking English in the Valencia Ward, which (funnily enough) may trace its namesake back to Valencia, Spain, which is part of my originally assigned mission! I may serve in Valencia someday, which would be an interesting line-up of events to be sure. The current transfer -- a transfer is a period of six weeks where we missionaries serve in one assigned area with one or two assigned companions -- the current transfer is about four weeks in of its six week duration, so I may be moved in two weeks, or I may stay. Whatever happens, I know that it is the Lord's will, and it has been an absolute pleasure working alongside the Bishop and auxiliary organizations here in the Valencia Ward.

There is a great deal to do here, as I've previously described; this week ended up being rather slow, however, between lesson cancellations and a general difficulty getting in contact with people. Despite the slow-down, we've had some wonderful lessons, and the opportunities to fellowship -- whether it be members or non-members -- are abundant and always a source of fun and joy! Just the night before the writing of this letter, we had the opportunity to spend an evening working with a family in our ward. Our planned lesson ended up being postponed in favor of a family history activity that engaged the kids and invited the Holy Spirit! (For those of you who may not be aware, family history research is an important activity for our church and we actually have an online platform, FamilySearch, that assists with building your family tree and connecting it to others. Helping families preserve stories and memories of their ancestors is a valuable way to invite the Spirit while building family ties and unity! FamilySearch is also available to non-members as well as members of our church.) That was a fun nugget from my week I wanted to share.

I may now officially claim that I have read the entirety of the New Testament from front-to-back without abridgement or exclusion. Last week I finished the book of Revelation, and have subsequently moved forth to the Old Testament of the Bible and Doctrine and Covenants, which I am reading concurrently. There are a number of incredible verses to be found and treasured in the New Testament (alongside othee works of scripture), but one in particular comes to my mind at this time to share, 1 Corinthians 10:13 in the epistles of Paul. It reads:

"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (KJV)

Now I'll break this down slightly; God has not set us up to fail. He does suffer (allow) that we be tempted during this our mortal life, that we be given the choice between good and evil, that we have the free will to make decisions for good or bad. However, even though He suffers that we may be tempted, what this verse says is that the good Lord has also prepared a way that we may escape our temptation. This may not be an easy way, or a clear way, but there is a way. I have found this verse to be particularly comforting as of late as I recognize that, even in the times of our darkest travail, the Lord is there and we may overcome our hardships, stronger than ever before. This may take time: Life is a struggle, and we need to build our patience and our tenacity to succeed, because it almost certainly won't be on the first try. But we can grow stronger and do better, and that's an amazing thing. Don't allow your first time being kicked down to be your last time standing up. Take the faith to stand and overcome through tenacity and patience.

In other news, I'm back on Duolingo and ready to crush the competition (not following me? search @man_on_a_mission) -- if you are connected to me on Duolingo, you should be either A) quivering in your boots or B) banking on me forgetting to do anything for a few days and then dropping the app for another two months. (It doesn't help when your account is inaccessible for that duration.) But I am hoping that a little but of friendly competition will help me re-energize my Spanish for the next while. Beyond that, however, I don't have much more to add: the work continues splendidly here in south Arizona and I am doing just peachy!

God bless you all. Be safe out there.

Elder Brannon

Arizona Tucson Mission