Hump Day!!!!

Email #52
Area: Secunda
Companion: Elder Going

Hey Everyone,

My comp is so cool and he is so funny! Yeah my prayers were answered for sure and I did learn a lot from my last comp especially patience. No one is perfect and that I might drive people crazy too! This week has been good, we found some more people that missionaries used to teach awhile ago. We found them yesterday, so that was cool we looked through the area book and found that they were taught a lot so we went and tried to find their house and they seem really cool. I am one year today and it is just the weirdest thing and it doesn't seem real to me. We watched General conference this passed weekend and that was nice! It took our whole Saturday pretty much because they scheduled it just as they do when it is live so it took up the whole day pretty much, but Sunday was good. Next week we are going to do a ton of finding and stuff because some of these investigators are getting dodgy and they don't want to learn anymore. It is nice that Synthia feeds us and she makes freaking good food except when she made tripe or intestine that was a little nasty, but I had to do it you can't say no. I told her that it makes me sick and she got a little offended because she thought it was hers that made me sick. It is that in general and it was funny because she said that she wasn't going to cook for me anymore. She was joking it is so nice we can just be free with each other she is like an older sister/mom because she hosts us! Father led means that there is a full family like ours so if we were being taught we would be a father led family because most families we visit only is a mom and kids and/or they are not married and living together so yeah that is a struggle! Yeah the other two ladies are not doing well, they just ditch us. We went to her house and she just walked out the back door saying she was coming and she went to the house down the street. They are friends and we sat there for like 30 minutes and we went out looking for her. We saw her at the house and they just shut the door real quick, so yeah just dodgy people! Yeah sending vids is a problem, but you will see it eventually because the vids are long but super funny! I think they celebrate Halloween, but only a select few.

Love,
Elder Bryner

This is where he is going to get buff!

Looks like he got burned

New companion

Email #51
Area: Secunda
Companion: Elder Going

Hey Everyone,

What a great week we had. The best week I have had since I have been here and had a good amount of lessons and people at church. AND we went to the temple and had transfers this week so this week is going to be so good. The temple was so nice and a good renewal. My comp is the best and it is the coolest thing. So Elder Wambua trained him and he was trained in Pimville assignments well. So technically he is my brother on mission. His name is Elder Going from New Zealand and is just the coolest kid and one of my favorite comps. He loves to have fun and work so that is good with me. I have had a comp from a different country and it is just the coolest thing to just be able to know the culture that they come from and just to know so many different cultures. We are going to try and learn the Haka it is their traditional dance. He loves rugby and I have come to love the game as well. He is 6 months on mission and just to hear how all the people are doing in pimville was just so nice. We had 14 lesssons this week and hope to jump this week. But we helped synthia on saturday with her house. We laid tile haha and it actually looks good. They are building their house on their own so we thought it was a good idea to come help them. The husband usually works so we took the chance to go help. She is the best cook too let me add that. She cooks for us all the time and she taught us how to make some of their traditional food so hopefully I can make it for you guys when I get home. We found some more people 2 ladies but haven't seen them yet but we found this sweet father led that stays behind the chapel in some flats where we teach some other people. Their kids came to church and some others and the good thing is we have 3 families in the complex and all the kids know each other so they love to come to church. But the pics with the mustaches is rachel's family. she is a single mom I think and she is working and going to school so she is really busy but we manage to still see her during the week. Yeah the heritage day pics that day was so much fun we got to eat a bunch of different foods and yeah the kids are cool. It is me, elder johnson, Holmquist, and Going in the district. yeah the package still isn't here but its fine no worries just hope it comes. That father led that we found is christian and has seen us walking around before so they knew who we were.But I am doing way good now that I have a new comp and we get along perfect. I actually wanted to serve in tonga or samoa or and island somewhere because I love those people such good food and funny but this guy is just hilarious and get along great so hopefully we do some cool things here together. But I hope you are doing great and keeping well. I hope that you have a good week and it just keep running like nothing and it is so crazy I turn one year next week just not real to me.

Love,
Elder Bryner

Email #2 from Sister Berg

Email from the couple missionaries that are serving in the same branch as Elder Bryner.

Elder Bryner & Elder "M" with some of our handsome Secunda Branch young men. This was Elder M's (sorry, but I can't say his full name) last Sunday in Secunda before he transfers to his new area. We'll miss his warm personality & smile! Thank goodness we get to enjoy Elder B for at least 6 more weeks :)

...I am not baptized the way Christ was

Email #50
Area: Secunda
Companion: Elder Willombe

Hey Everyone,

It was a really good week this week. We had a few lessons, but the highlight of the week was that we put Synthia and her husband on date for the 28th of December. We are really looking forward to the baptism. She told us that night, she said Elder Bryner you know something that I was thinking about one night is that I am not baptized the way Christ was. I know now if I am not baptized that way I won't be able to see my 2 daughters and I also won't be able to go to the temple. She loves and wants to go to the temple, because we have talked about all the work that happens in the temple. She asked us last night if she had died before she got baptized and said that she won't be able to see her daughters. I told her if that were to happen that I would personally make sure that your names and your daughter were baptized and sealed to you. She knows this is the way, but she still needs some time to really understand what the church is all about. The husband wants to be baptized as well, but I asked him if he was doing it for himself or just because your wife said that you should. So that is something we left for him to think about. This is the reason for me coming to Secunda and it didn't matter how many or what the reason was. As soon as I met Synthia on the street, I knew she was the reason and told my companion that she would be baptized and she also wants her daughter to be baptized next year when she turns 8.
Other than that we are trying to find other people in Kinross. Secunda is doing well and we met with another father led and his name is Isaac. He seems to be a really sweet guy and had one of the most powerful lessons I have been in, in the top 5. Transfer is Tuesday and my comp is leaving and I am excited to get a new and am praying that he is good and I can get along with him. I feel good that I am staying here in Secunda and I am not ready to leave yet. The teaching is struggling a bit, but it will pick back up soon, it goes into slumps so its normal. The weather is changing it has rained a few times really hard. Like Friday, it rained super hard and hopefully this week I can send home some pics I will try. The stadium was too far, same with everything around here. We are very secluded, but I like it just us four out here. Yeah Elder Wilkerson had been wanting to got to a village since he was in Pimville and that is what he told me when we were together. My son left Cosmo and got ET out of there about 3 weeks ago. I called him to see how he was doing and was gone so he likes his new area. Elder Widdison went home last week too, because of his back it was giving him pain and stuff. It is too much to write a general so you can pick stuff out to put on the blog if that works.

Love,
Elder Bryner

Excerpt from Dad's email:

I have gotten really good at typing and I am pretty fast now so that is a plus. It costs about 40 rand to refill (the data on the modem), but this week we didn't have to so we will see. Yeah the monthly money we get that is what emailing goes towards, but it is fine I manage to write everyone so I can't complain.... No Futhi didn't come but hopefully he will again. Jaela is getting huge and I don't even recognize her haha she looks so old now. Yeah time is going by really fast and I don't even believe that I am a year old this month. It feels like yesterday that I was leaving home and got to the airport and headed up the escalator and through security. It just doesn't seem real at times and other times it seems like it won't ever end, but most of the time I think to myself I wish I could stay on mission forever. I want to come back here so bad and just spend some time here. So I hope that I can save and do all that. I want to come back here with previous comps or some guys that were in my district and plan to come back here and do stuff. I guess we'll see what happens. But anyways I am doing okay the teaching is in a slump, but hopefully it will pick back up soon.

Keep looking at the positive in everything

Email #49
Area: Secunda
Companion: Elder Wilombe

Hey Everyone,

Yeah it is a struggle to do anything here haha. But we are able to send a little bit more that we did last week. I sent a little email to everyone, so that made me happy. The internet here is hooked up to a line like our house and the connection is not good like what happened at our house. We have the modems in case that happens so we have to buy data and the modems are just things that you plug into the computer. We use a sim card from a phone and we can buy a certain amount and load it onto it just like I did to skype you. So Monday when we email it is not suppose to drain. When we load them, we buy data bundles and it is like 200 mb which is suppose to last awhile. Especially if we are only emailing, but it is getting pricey to do it and we have done this in the past using the modems. Just recently it has been doing this so it is normal for my luck for stuff to go this way, but it is just something that we have to endure through. I know that I am suppose to be able to email every week, but remember how many people that I email it is a lot. I was just happy that I was able to send you something, so that you know that I am okay. Yeah it is nice to have the Bergs here they are awesome. It is going okay, we are struggling finding people to teach because of the holidays kids are out of school and people are away. Transport is a problem here getting people to come to church is hard but we had a less active come to church yesterday that hasn't been in a very long time. I think that they will really help this tiny branch because Elder Berg use to be in a branch when he lived in Texas. Yeah transfers are next week and I am excited and ready for a new comp. Teaching and stuff has been a struggle the past two weeks and Lerato is having family issues so she moved to a nearby township that is not our area of course. I call her sometimes to see how she is doing, but she, Jerry and Synthia we haven't seen this week. They haven't been around so hopefully this week will be better. I have learned something here that you just have to endure through hardships and take a day at a time and soon enough the good days will come. The elders in my district keep me going and if they were not here, I am not sure if I could make it and they just make the time go faster and keep me sane! But yeah I am doing good don't worry much about me, I am having a ton of fun and that is what you have to do on mission I have found!!!! Just keep going mom don't stop moving just keep your head up and feet moving and this is all a learning experience for all of us. So this has to be short and they might be until we figure out a better way, but just keep praying and keep looking at the positive in everything. It's hard believe me, but that is the only way to keep moving forward. If you look at bad things over the good that is when all will be bad. I am so happy and grateful that I have had the privilege to come on a mission and have experience the things that I have.

Love,
Elder Bryner

Email from Sister Berg

Email from the couple missionaries that are serving in the same branch as Elder Bryner.


Look who we found serving in the little branch we're assigned to...yep, Elder Bryner! He spoke in Sacrament Meeting & has such great spiritual strength & enthusiasm. This little branch is about 1 1/2 hours east of Johannesburg & has about 20 faithful members. Your cousin & the other 3 elders serving there are working hard to "Hasten the Work". They're great young men!

Hope you're doing well. Give our love to our WC 8th family!

Elder & Sister Berg

It's great to hear from you, Sister Bryner! We will see Elder Bryner most every Sunday, unless he gets transferred. He gave a wonderful talk last week. He has such a great smile, warm personality & strong testimony.
Yes, we noticed that the internet at the Secunda chapel isn't very good. We couldn't even get a connection for our lessons. Good thing I brought my "real" scriptures to Africa instead of relying on my phone or iPad, haha!
Enjoy conference this weekend. We'll be watching it on DVD in our little branch with Elder Bryner a week later.

Sister Berg