The Service

Area: Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua

Wow, another week gone by in my mish. The weeks seem to just fly right on by me and off into the non-existent nica sunset. :( Jk. I love my time out here in Puerto! It is fantastic! This week is going to be tough though because we're going to [fly to] Managua because Elder Clarke from the Quorum of the 70 is coming and apparently he wants to ask us what is going on with the area. I'm kinda nervous because our Mission President is not happy with us...so this week is going to be very interesting (especially if he takes us all out of Puerto and does E-Changes).

Anyway, I continue working hard. Trying to learn Miskito--a little at a time but still progressing--as well as trying to be a good [trainer] and a good missionary. The Lord has blessed me with a lot of responsibility and I'm just now getting into the habit of everything, which means that a change might be coming... Although I do enjoy having the ability to be the main Elder speaking while we're teaching, etc. Sometimes it seems so stressful having to do a lot of the things by myself, regarding the language, but it's a work in progress.

We just finished organizing all of the important auxiliaries in the branch this week, as well as counted the real CIMI (recent convert list) and divided it from some of the other units. We've also planned some great activities for the branch over the rest of the month. We should be seeing a lot success in regards to our church membership this month.

I still cannot get over how many lessons the Lord is teaching me day by day, week by week here in the mish. I honestly wonder how many I will remember and how many I'll forget; if I should [write] them in a book or just hope not to forget them, I know not what I need to do.

Well, I love you all and hope that all is well wherever this email finds you. Stay in touch with the Lord and with me and we'll all see each other sooner than we can imagine!

Love,
-Elder Braden D. Bolton

Hugs, Toni, About Family on Facebook

Hi Myrna,
    How are you?  I'm about the same.... had a CT scan last week & basically nothing has changed, which is a good thing.
    I just wanted to tell you that I am struggling with the decision on whether or not to add some of your relatives to my facebook page as 'friends'.  Not because I don't feel friendly towards any of them, but since we are not Mormons, or religious at all...  I guess I just think maybe some of my stuff, or my friends stuff, or my kids & step-kids stuff, may be embarrassing either to them or to me.  Sometimes one of us may use what you would consider to be foul language... (I'm sorry, but the
F-word is one of our favorites & we use it frequently when speaking... not so much in writing, but you never know when it may be just the right word for the situation!)
    Anyway, that's why I have not responded to the friend requests..... your thoughts?
Gotta run, need to do some outdoor chores while it's not raining or too cold.  Hope all is well with you & yours.
Hugs, Toni

Letter from Gramps to Braden

Dear Elder Bolton:

Do not flip out when you receive a letter from me. It might be unusual, but, here it goes.

It may go something like this: “One bright day in the middle of the night two dead soldiers stood up to fight, they drew their swords and shot each other. A deaf policeman heard the noise and shot again the twice dead boys.” What does that have to do with my letter? It got your attention, right?

Well here it goes. It does not seem like you have been in the mission field for this amount of time. One more month and the first four months are gone. I would assume by now you have adjusted to the climate, food and culture--especially to the food. Food wise, which ones are the best liked and which ones are the  least liked?

When I went to Denmark, eating buttermilk soup or col sko (a buttermilk drink) raw fish and etc. were not my favorite things to eat. However, by the time I was just a few months into my mission I could sit down and eat or drink them all, and enjoy them.

People-wise how is it going? Do you do a lot of tracking or do you get a lot of referrals? Ben was telling us that you had three baptisms already. That is great!

Is it one family or a combination? What doctrines caught their eyes? What income level are the people in the area you are in? Are they rich or poor or is it a combination?

While I was in Denmark, we averaged about 130 missionaries. We averaged about 90 baptisms a year. Some missionaries would baptize a family, so when you calculate the figures there were a lot of missionaries who, after two and one half years, went home with out any baptisms. My first companion was one of them. We worked hard for six months. I believe we were one of the top tracking companionships for the number of hours spent tracking. 

I was by chance in the mission office, which was in the south end of the church building, and as I walked past the chapel door I could see a missionary in the back of the chapel with his head bowed down. I recognized his hair. When I got to him, I could see that he was crying. I sat down and asked him what was the matter. He said he was on his way home and, after two and and a half years, he had not even baptized “one snot nosed kid.” He was referring back to a story told by a general authority who happened to be the kid that a missionary had spoken of by stating that “all I did was baptize one snot nosed kid.” Today they only have sixty missionaries in all of Denmark. As far as baptisms are concerned, their average is about the same.

I noticed in your letter that you stated how the Lord puts us in various positions and we then receive challenges through that particular calling. Wait until you come home and, down the road a bit, you are called to be a bishop. Now days the stake presidency trains new bishops. Back when I was called to be a bishop they handed me the bishop’s hand book and I had to learn what was in it. There was a lot of fasting and praying on my part. The Lord blessed me in many ways. Some day I hope to share some of them with you.

Every thing here is going as usual. After next week, we will be out of the grandchild sitting, except for emergencies. Rachel will be going to kindergarten. We were up to her fifth birthday party and the going away party for Ben. However, two Sundays ago we had all the Utah familes at our home for a  combination “see you later” party for the Ohio Trauntveins and for Ben. 

Enough for now. If If I tell you everything now I won’t have any more to tell you later on. Know that we love you and admire what you are doing. 

Love grandpa T.    

Mi Gente!

So...NOTICIAS DE ELDER BOLTON e HIJO!

 

This week we had planned on baptizing two families and getting some really strong potential priesthood holders into the church, yet we had some problems Saturday night and I had to fight to get one baptized (and unfortunately in all the mess all I forgot my camera in the house!). How sad. Anyway, it was fantastic, as we got a couple married and then they got baptized together and then I bought a cake and we had a little party with the members. It was quite the event.

Last week our mission president came and spoke very frankly to all of us here in the zone, kinda macheted us (humbled us), and then left. I learned quite a bit in the two hours that we had to talk to him as a zone and individually when we were doing some practice lessons with him. He was rather impressed by my teaching (even though i was SUPER nervous to practice teaching in front of a mission president) and then old me to keep up the good work training. WHEW! Apparently even though I have so much on my little plate and I feel like I really never know what I'm doing, the Lord has been blessing me and guiding me the entire way. That sometimes seems so hard for me, especially being who I am, uptight and a perfectionist...but I have had to change and grow up a little, relax a little. I have truly learned that all we can do sometimes is trust in the Lord and give Him our all and then hope that tomorrow He will help me give even more.

I feel so strange sometimes because people tell me things that I know that the Lord intends for me to hear and intends to use to help and guide me, but sometimes they surprise me. Like, for example, I was talking to one of the ZL's the other day and I said something like all I wanted to do was train the rest of my mission and never have any other responsibilities. He just laughed and looked at me and then said, "Oh, you were serious. Bolton, just breaking the news to you, you're training on your second change. The Lord is prepping you for something big here." I was just dumbfounded. I didn't know what to say to respond! Someone else said that to me too...i was not a happy elder. But, life goes on and I keep fighting everyday to prove to the Lord that I am learning, growing and changing. Maybe, if He wants me to be a leader here I will be, but until then I'm going to enjoy my simple life. 

I cannot even explain how much stuff I am learning and how much I am growing out here. I love my Heavenly Father and thank Him for everything He gives me. I know that He not only loves me, but that he trusts in me and my abilities. With Him I can do anything and overcome everything, so right now I live as if tomorrow were my last day here in Nicaragua and give my all.

Love you all and hope that all is well.

Love, 
Elder Braden D. Bolton