Current Location and Address

UPDATE: Reassignment (click)

Puerto Rico, San Juan - East Mission


Puerto Rico, San Juan - Mission
E-mail: Brandon.bryan@myldsmail.net


(Remember to keep things upbeat and supportive try to not to share or say things that might distract or make him feel homesick.)


He will be happy to hear from you all.

Current Location:

P.O. box 33
Adjuntas, PR 00601

Mark 1:4 and 9

4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.


Christ was not baptized for the remission of sins because he had none. But, as Nephi recounts, he was baptized for the following reasons:
(1) As a token of humility before the Father;
(2) As a covenant that he would keep the commandments;
(3) As a prelude to receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost;
(4) To gain entrance to and be saved in the kingdom of God, for no one, not even the Son of God, can so obtain without baptism; and
(5) As a pattern and an example for all men, and so that he could say: “Follow thou me” and also, “He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do.” (See 2 Ne. 31:5–12.)

Bruce R. McConkie, “A Man Called John,” New Era, May 1984, 4

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Re: YAY for better!

Wed, Sep 29, 2010

YAY, emailing from PONCE today! :D we got a call from the Zone leaders last night about a car. turns out they want to hook us up with a much newer car than the one that we have. woot! so we drove all the way out here during Spanish study (don't worry, we had permission :P ) to pick up the car and do email, and then after that... since we're in ponce... heh heh heh, we might just be stopping by the Marshall's mega store that's just down the street as well. ;) so yes. WOO! NEW CAR! :D

but, it's been WAY too long since I've been awake enough to really string my days together. :-/ before it just really seemed like every day was completely disconnected and things just weren't really... I dunno. they just weren't connected. that's pretty much it. however, things are getting steadily better. I haven't had a week like that fantastic one two weeks ago, but things get steadily better every day. and that's what counts, right? yes. I occasionally wake up in the morning from an uncomfortable pain, but it's not unbearable hurt like it was before. so I just wake up earlier and then have get a bunch of cat naps before the alarm goes off, but I DO sleep through the whole night, which is whats making the biggest difference. :3

but yes, while we had been talking to the doctor, it appears that just more than anything it could quite possibly be just the healing pains. I mean, I DID have a big fatty stone, and it WAS really pokey... *sigh* BUT, last week we had to get Elder Lehr a little haircutsie, so we didn't have as much time as we had been hoping for. sooooo, we went and hung out in the pueblo a little bit, with Elder Gonzales and Elder Patton until we had to go get his haircut. the pueblo is basically the city Center. it's got all the governmental buildings and administrative stuff like that, and then every pueblo ALWAYS has these little shops with all kinds of crazy stuff. there's TONs of souvenir shops and stores with cheap clothing. stuff like that. so we hing out there for a little while, and we went into this one store that was a sports/gun shop 'cause Elder Gonzales wanted to see the police badges they have for sale there. I was quite tempted to buy one that said "special police" on it. xD

ha ha ha, glad you liked the pic! :D ha ha, Franklin! you're right!

WOW, Bryan got a job on fort Lewis? huh... I wonder what He'll be doing there. how did you hear? did he stop by? if so, how are things with him and Breanna? I sent her a letter like four weeks ago and I still haven' gotten anything back. >:(

aw! :3 tell dad that I say hi back. :)

sweet! I'm counting Freddy as my baptism then. now I just have to get some pictures of his baptism. :) and the date.

so the lesson with Francisco and Marcia this last week. like I explained last week, we had been planning on having president come to the lesson with us... but we had that lesson with Presidente Ortiz and his wife where we found out that they weren't married yet, and I let president know about that in my last email. so after all that, we went to our cita with them without president. we, for some reason, weren't able to get a hold of him that day, but I think that he just might not have come because they weren't married yet. *sigh* so we now have the goal of getting them married first, and THEN getting them baptized. but it sounds like they really want to come to conference, and we might even get them to com to Saturday as well! :D we don't have an appointment set up with them yet, but were going to try and teach them tomorrow or Friday night.

and for singing at the bible church. that was interesting. one thing I did note, was the prayers. everyone started out in these, "songs of Praise'' (with tambourines and loud noisy hitting percussion instruments, no less) and right after they finished there was a lot of everyone saying individual "prayers" out loud that consisted mostly of "oh Dios, nos bendigas oh señor Dios". and those seemed to go on for five or six minutes mostly repeating that same phrase. I dunno... I could totally tell the difference between the sweet quietness that accompanies the spirit and the "loud" uncomfortable feeling of his absence.

buuuuut... unfortunately, I've taken my time in emailing, and now time has come to an end... :-/ we've got to have some time at Marshall's, you know. ;)

plus, FREE LAPTOP?!?!?!? :-O heck yes I hope there's one for me! maybe two? ;) ha ha ha. but really: are they nice? :)

time to bust a move! I love you more than we have things come up on P-Day.

~Brandon (Elder Bryan)

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Wed, Sep 22, 2010

oh yeah. thats right.t

HEY! >:(

Wed, Sep 22, 2010

well that's not very nice! not sending me an email for no reason? gosh, I feel so offended. in fact, I feel so offended, I'm just gonna go home and eat cheese-its while I sit on the couch crying. yeah.
WelI... guess I won't. I thought I was going to, but that probably would take too much time, and I'm feeling lazy right now. so I'll just keep typing. :P

well, this week has gone by much better. I would probably have to say that it's one of the best that I've had in a very long time. :3 I've been sleeping, I wake up, and I'm NOT TIRED! :D YAY! that's the best ever. however, this last night I didn't sleep very well because my back hurt a little bit. probably just a bit more healing pain. Doctor Perez said that if some more pain comes up I could just take some pain meds to let it down, but things should be going upwards from now on! YAY! I've been needing this.

but yes. this last Monday we got to have a pretty interesting experience. :D currently Elder Lehr and I are teaching an older couple, and in one of the lessons that we had, we ended the lesson with a song and after we finished singing Ramón asked us if we would possibly be able to sing at a bible study that he, his wife, and a few other members from his church do every Monday. after some consideration, we figured it would be a good opportunity to share the spirit with others and to get ourselves seen. so, we called the zone leaders and everything checked out green, as long as we were reverent and proper representatives of the Lord, and of the church. so on Monday, we go. it was a very interesting experience for sure. I know I've already said that.... hmmm... lemme try and explain... gosh, I'm tired again today, I don't know if I can... lets see. I can't seem to be able to think right now... I might have to wait till next week to get everything organized in my mind, 'cause I'm quite tired today... blarg! I hate being tired! I can't think! and I start talking about the same thing over and over again! >:(

OOOO! and when we had stake conference, I introduced Francisco, the father of the family that we are teaching, to president Alvarado, and now president is coming to a lesson with them this Saturday! :D WOOT! so this next week I'll be able to tell you how that went. however... this last lesson we had, we had the president of the branch and his wife with us, and we discovered that they AREN'T MARRIED!!!!! NOOOOOO!!!!!! they HAD been married, but they got divorced for some reason and were apart for a while, but then they got back together... but they still didn't get married again... so we might be talking about setting a MARRIAGE date for them, rather than a baptismal date. but we'll have president with us. that's all we need. :3

whatever. well, I'm sorry things are so short this week... that tiredness sucks up brain power massive bad... that and I was talking to you on your phone. :D (sending emails to phone via text)

but yes, I must bust a move I think. Gots to get that email to president typed up!

I love you more than the zone leaders love to forget about getting me a new box spring (mine's currently broken right in the center. I think I might have to get a picture of it. ;) )

~Brandon (Elder Bryan)

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Re: You're both staying right???!!!!

Thu, Sep 16, 2010

hola a tí, mi madre más fantastico en el MUNDO!

well, SURPRISE!! we BOTH are staying! :D they moved P-day to Wednesday for some odd reason this transfer day, so yeah. and the best part is that we had to go to Bayamón yesterday! :D so we didn't get ANY P Day! isn't that fantastic?! :D yes. quite so. so we left at 8 thirty to get there and got there at about 10 thirty, and then, the best part was, we waited till 4 till it was our turn! gosh, that was my favorite part. thats what I live for. so yeah, and then after all that, it was just to tell me that there really ISN'T anything wrong with me! sweet. buuut, Dr. Marcos' assistant doctor told me that the pain could possibly be from healing in the ureter. either way, I hope it goes away SOON. grr, angry. but yeah, now that I've answered that question, you're gonna give me a NEW question of the week, right? :D

so Hermana Miller is in the Canepas metro district... that should be up in the city, near san Juan or Bayamon... huh. however, a shot for the Dengue... I actually don't have any clue if I got one... or if there even IS one for that... I understand that the best way to avoid getting that is to just use OFF... but I'll have to find out.

ok. so a list of baptisms would be:

Herminia - Rio grande
Fernando de hostos - Caguas
Fernando Luis de hostos (hijo) - Caguas
Lester Ojeda - caguas
Octavio - caguas
Luis Eduardo Mendoza - caguas

I just found out that a person that me and Elder Harvey found right before I left got Baptized! :D his name is Freddy Huertas! and Luis Eduardo Mendoza and Freddy both just got the Melchizedek priesthood two weeks ago! :D

ah, and as to last weeks P-day, we didn't get to go to the dry forest! >:( by the time we had everything taken care of, it was CLOSED! blarg! so we went to this little beach place that was also part of the dry forest, but in a different area. so maybe we'll get to go next week, seeing as I got to stay here. :3

oh yeah! of COURSE you didn't steal my money. especially now that I KNEW about it. :P

so for jobs... wow. so they both pay fairly well... in either area was there a chance for... whats the word... or thingie... it's like, moving up in the career. and unforunately (or furtunately, take your pick) E like designing things and how things work or do you AND I like listening to peoples problems and trying to help them... so, the question is, which one has better options and flexibility, as well as payment and uh... that moving up in the world thingie. :3 psychiatrist... so what all do THEY get to do? the whole talking and listening to people thing? and some possible ORs could be... you know. a professional rock guitarist. or something in wood working/ carpentry. I've always kinda enjoyed messing around with wood (and that would also aid in my guitar building hobby :3 ) so is there anything in those two?ha ha ha xD

oo, a dark slate grey for the new color on the house? :D that sounds tight! you gots ta get picatures of of the whole thing. I wanna see what it'll look like. :3

so, unfortunately, I've been taking way too long to get things taken care of today, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to bust a move so we can actually get stuff done today...

BUUUUT, I love you more than sergio, one of our investigators loves to cancel his appointments! :D

~Brandon

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Re: Rain, rain go away!

Wed, Sep 08, 2010

querido mamí,

well, you know, you're right, the rain here isn't going anywhere for the next little while. we keep getting these fake hurricanes, too! like... I'm not sure if I mentioned it last week or not, but we had to go in early due to the one right before "Gaston" causing some high winds and heavy rains. it's just crazy that hurricane season has just barely started and we've already had 3 headed in our direction. but we've been really lucky that things have been safe so far. however, it's been ridiculously hot. ESPECIALLY right before it rains. jeez... it's been up around a hundred this whole week just because that huricancita had been close. it's so weird how hot it gets right before it rains... but oh wells. I'm just glad I have a car now. that's a bonus. :3

so, this week from the view of Fabian. I've decided to change his name. turns out he's a boy, so... it would be kinda weird to have him named Jenny anyways. :P looks like you're safe mom. ;) but anyways, I've called the doctor and the NEXT POSSIBLE OPEN TIME, was this next Wednesday. (speaking of which, remember that this next Wednesday is the end of this transfer, so P-Day is getting moved to TUESDAY!) but yes, we're going all the way to Bayamón for this visit. hopefully he'll be able to tell me why they can't see my stone, and if I should get surgery or wait for it to pass, and give me some sweet drugs. that would be nice. :) ah, and quite ironically, while we went out to do some contacting, we met this guy that makes bonsai trees and he had this lemon tree with TONS of ripe lemons on it, so he gave us a whole bag full. :) I made some fresh lemon juice that night. however, I don't really know if its helped or not. Buuut, the lemons here taste AMAZING!

yeah, I DID get the box from the Jones, AND one from the KEYS! :D the one from the jones had some awesome letters from all the kids, and Bryan and Breanna, as well as some M y Ms, and some skittles. :3 and then the box from the Keys had a card from all of them and Cameron's Graduation foto, some freakin' sweet Spongebob EASY MAC! oh yeah! and other snackage that I can't really remember right now cause I'm so brene dehd. but yes, I thoroughly enjoyed both of their packages. :3

so, a little more about Elder Lehr: he IS the oldest... uh... well, as far as I can remember at this point. I DO know that he's got two younger sisters and two younger brothers. and that his mom has an AMAZING singing voice. oh my gosh, there was a recording that he had on one of the CD's that they put together for him of her singing for sacrament meeting and it was A-may-ZING! I wept with joy. but he's not really sure if he knows an Alex Olson... not right now anyway. but he might later on. I'll ask again. but you could ask Elder Olson if he knows a Joshua Lehr, too. :3

ok, so what are some possible things that I would be able to do with a Psychology major? do you know of anything spiffy? maybe that involves giving people drugs and telling them to do ridiculous things? xD but really. what IS there to do with a psychology major? or an electronics/electronic engineering? I just gotta know so I can start at least coming up with a plan... I feel so EMPTY without a plan! :'(

you know... I think sister miller just might be in the Hato Rey area. I do believe I have met her before, but only really in passing at the last stake conference. brown hair, taller? what are some of the things that she puts in her blog? I'm interested.

ah HA! I KNEW that I had more money than I thought I had. ha ha ha, I checked last week and I was like... wait. that's weird. I coulda sworn I had more... so now I know what happened to it. :) :P how much did you end up stealing? and that's so lame that they put a hold on your card... did you not have enough money or something? or did they just wanna mess with you for a while?

of COURSE they observe labor day here. it's a holiday, right? anything that's a holiday is good enough for them to celebrate! :D ha ha ha, but really. they celebrate all KINDS of holidays. it's almost ridiculous. almost.

so... erm... could you tell robin that I'm sorry I haven't written her yet, but I'm going to be writing her soon enough? :) really soon? like hopefully today? :D

Gah, hey, come on now. I sent two letters to Cameron because I had been writing one to him already and then he sent me an email saying that I haven't replied to him yet but he included all kinds of updates on what was going on... so instead of scrapping my last one, I just sent him that one and then a new one too! :'( but I'm trying to send Donny a letter today...

so did you end up sleeping on the couch then? :3 or did you just unplug the buzz saw? you know... taking all those power tools out of your room might be better for your sleeping. plus, I don't know if it's good to have power tools running without an operator. :-/

DAH! I just lost the game! :'( poop...

well, I've got to bust a move... I haven't written president yet... GAH! it's so much harder to remember to email him rather than write a letter. *sigh* oh wells.

I love you more than Bryan hates losing the game! :D

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Re: Dodged the storm!

Wed, Sep 01, 2010

ha ha ha, Elder Lehr actually just got an email from his mom mentioning that you sent her the email with the pickies. she said she really enjoyed them :D but I would seriously love to be Elder Lehr's comp for more time! that would be AWESOME! :D he's great. we are indulging a little bit in our love for video games. but we're just talking about them. that's all! I promise. but it's been great. except for the fact that things are difficult to get done due to me being so tired all the time and pretty far past the ability to coherently think or follow the spirit... :-/ makes things inconvenient,... especially for lessons. you know...

but He's from Orem. he actually went to BYU before hand, and he's going to go back there when he gets back... so if I get into LDS BC, we're definitely going to be hanging out after the mission. he's great. he really is. it's just so fun to be around him.

but yeah! no storm for us. we did have to go in early due to wind and heavy rain, but other than that and a little bit of wind in the morning, that was it. :-/ nothing SUPER exciting. Except that we have a second one coming that might come close to causing us a bit more wind tomorrow. and then the one after that on its way. :D YAY! what fun! I'm excited. so we might get some really fun weather for the next few weeks. We'll have to see.

oh, OK. well, last week I ended up asking for money 'cause I was two and a half hours away from where my money was... that and I had been expecting to be able to pay through the mission account... heh, so it was kind of a surprise. but it should be all good now. I'll pull the money out of my account to pay him back and then I'll get reimbursed.

NO I HAVEN'T BEEN SHOPPING TOO MUCH! ...that's ridiculous.

ok, so. we picked up me results from the 'ospital (arrr). guess what? nothin'. all it says is that I've got "early/mild" evidence of some thing called "Nephrocalcinosis" in my kidney. whatever THAT is... but other than that, that's all the technician felt I had a problem with. wonderful. plus, there's no blood in my urine, which means if there IS a stone in my ureter, its not cutting it while it moves. sooooooo... I've got a ghost stone! nobody knows what my problem is. I talked with the mission doctor yesterday, and he supposed to get back to me yesterday to let me know if I actually needed to get to Caguas sometime to do a follow up visit, but he didn't... he was gonna look up Nephrocalcinosis to find out about it... but alas, I continue waiting. so yes. however, I continue sleeping HORRIBLY and now... there's some slight pain returning in my manhood. in the same spot. "it was driving me crazy!" -Albuquerque. so... I continue falling apart. ISN'T IT WONDERFUL?! *eye twitchy*

a quarter cup of lemon juice. just straight up like that.... huh. I'm gonna have to check that out. we haven't been shopping yet today (plus we juts got our money for the month :) ) so I'll pick some of that up. that'll be nice to see if that will help.
dah... pictures... yeah... erm... well... you see... I haven't sent them yet? eh heheheheh...

*ahem* oh... eh... actually, I haven't emailed Ehren either... DAH! I'm sorry! :'( I've been failing so much recently! I'm going to try to do that today. really. I am.

aw sweet! Tacoma malls getting an H&M?! yes! fancy clothes!

wow, you and Robin are going back down to Cali again? well, tell grandma hi from me! and chase wants robin to move down there... huh... that would be interesting. maybe a problem... Plus, robins always had that draw to Cali... but she hasn't applied to any schools down there, nor does she have a job to be able to support herself... that would be interesting.

but yes, I've got to bust a move so I can go email president.

I love you more than my body likes creating invisible problems! :D

~Brandon