Tuesday, 29 August 2017 ~ Updated CCM Photos

Tuesday, 29 August 2017 ~ Week #5

Hey everyone!!!

Within this past week, I celebrated the day of being in Guatemala for one month! (August 25) That celebration consisted of... well, studying, working, practicing, and praying. You don't do much more than that at the CCM.

As a general report of last week, the influenza hit us really badly. I was out for most of the day this past Friday trying to sleep because of this. I had chills on my back with sweat on my forehead, lots of physical weakness, and a bad headache. I didn't end up sleeping though because so much was on my mind. But this is yet another opportunity for my body to adapt to the conditions of the country, so it's only another reason to be grateful.

Later that evening when I was sick, I had the utmost honor of listening to the conversion story and testimony of an Elder who came from Provo, Elder Solomon. This Elder is a funny guy, and super sarcastic but super friendly. It was his "Bachelor's night" because it was the day that he would have gotten married to a girl who was not a member of the church. Everything down to the napkins was planned in this ceremony, and he had had an apartment picked out and signed for lease. But his father invited him to go to a prison outside of the States, and they visited a man who lost literally everything in his life, and had to leave to seek political asylum. And the one thing that he had that helped him be happy in this life was the knowledge that he has an eternal family. He bore his testimony. Elder Solomon was touched by this. He truly wanted an eternal family, even after years of not seeing any importance of the such. He received revelation upon revelation after that point, many things happening within just a matter of four months, dating back to prom. Without this experience, he would not be here.

I was personally touched by this testimony that Elder Solomon shared. And the one thing he asked all of us to do was to share our own testimony to everyone, because we don't know who it will touch, and how much it will effect them. So this will I do.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is restored to the Earth today. The Priesthood, along with this, is restored as well. Had neither been brought back to these latter days, I would not have the family I have now. I was adopted through LDS Family Services, a service which is run by the power and inspiration of the Priesthood which we have today. And the Atonement of Jesus Christ, along with the Priesthood power and authority to seal families together, makes it possible for me to return to my Heavenly Father, and not alone, but with my family alongside. I am truly blessed to know that I will be able to keep my family forever. Because of this, I would not dare close my mouth and keep from speaking on the topic of eternal families. Families can be eternal, and this is promised to everyone who comes unto Christ and follows His counsel, up to the point at which their family can go to the temple. There is work being done at temples every week for those who have not had the chance in this life to be sealed to the families for eternity. It is the message of the restored Church, therefore, that everyone who wants an eternal family, and an eternal family now, can receive it in this life, if they follow the teachings of our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ and keep the commandments of our Heavenly Father. "And by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye shall know the truthfulness of all things," as Moroni says at the end of the Book of Mormon. These things are true, and they bless my life every day. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

This past week, me and two Elders had the opportunity to sing "Creo en Cristo" for Sacrament meeting. One of the Hermanos thanked us for the number, because of the Spirit that it brought to him. As he listened, he saw the life of the Savior right before his eyes. It was a beautiful reminder to this Hermano that Jesucristo es Nuestro Salvador y Redentor. As of now, it takes me a moment to really ponder and think about the words in Spanish, but I know, sin embargo, that it is true.

One more thing. 2 more minutes, but I just have to share the impact that Ether 12:27 has had on me. I know that if we have faith in the saving and strengthening power of the Atonement, our weaknesses will become our strengths. I have already seen some of my weaknesses becoming stronger through prayer and application of scriptures. I encourage everyone to take the counsel of this scripture and come unto God in prayer about your weaknesses. I know these things are true.

Until next week in the field!!!!

Elder Braden K. Dredge

Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission

Wednesday, 23 August 2017 ~ Week #4

Greetings Family & Friends:

Here is the report for this week.

jueves 17 agosto 2017 CCM dia 23

So this week we got a new DL and new ZL. Our former district leader was E. Newbold and now he's zone leader. We were all cool with him in the beginning but he's been taking his role to extremes. Hopefully he simmers down a bit. But his companion is the coolest, E. Marino, and he became the new DL. That was a good change. Also we got a cool new companionship from Provo into our district, E. Teerlink and E. Wengreen.

I got a new red Guatemalan shirt at the tienda, and I must say it looks pretty stinking lit. Along with that, I got a new scripture case, all engraved on leather. I get emotional when I look at it because on the front above my name and mission is an engraving of Jesus walking alongside a small child, and on the back is the Parable of the Prodigal Son, with the son being embraced by his father. I just love the story, it's very dear to my heart. We are all prodigal sons while our Lord waits for us to come back home to Him.

By the way, some things to expect every day at the CCM.

- Me singing "NOW IS THE TIME TO SEIZE THE DAY" in the morning.

The Provo elders yelling "DAD" everywhere at random times.

E. Blotter singing Hallelujah like an angel.

E. Clark and E. Blotter farting in class.

Elders complaining about how uneventful CCM is, then doing a stunt like passing out voluntarily (E. Christensen did it 5 times and still couldn't fully pass out).

E. Christensen thinning ties and selling them back thinned for other Elders.

[I have only 5 minutes left so I don't think I can say all I want to but it's okay, this wasn't too eventful of a week hahaha.]

viernes 18 agosto 2017

A substitute teacher came in today and taught us how to proselyte and it was super funny. We had slips of paper for the situation we're in and we'd literally run into them and go shake their hand. It was so fun. I might do it a slightly different way with my comp in the field but I will still enjoy it a lot.

And this teacher also role played as an investigator for that night and he was a stereotypical slash typical cholo from Mexico. It was so funny, we all taught him one companionship at a time. For some he said he had ocho novias, for some he said he smoked doob and watched Netflix. It was super realistic too, which was the crazy thing. I can't wait to run into people like that, that's going to be a party. (Not literally!!)

domingo 20 agosto 2017

ONE SECOND LEFT BUT AN ELDER GOT BOILED OKAY BYE

LOVE

ELDER DREDGE

Elder Braden K. Dredge

Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission

Wednesday, August 16, 2017 ~ Week #3

Family and Friends!

Alright, here's my next report. There is much more in my journal but lots is personal. I can share many gems nonetheless! Here are the gems!

viernes 11 agosto 2017 CCM dia 17

Today I taught my companero some piano. He'll be playing hymns like Marvin Goldstein soon enough. It's super hard to find time to teach tho.

Not having too much of a problem with engaging an investigator with questions, which is I think a miracle. My communication skills are improving step by step, line by line.... the real struggle for me though is finishing a lesson under a time constraint. I want to make sure the investigator connects with the lesson and has a testimony of it, but these visits should only last 45 minutes, 25 to 30 ideally. Nevertheless E. Clark and I are doing awesome trading time with our practice investigators, we have a really good trade off.

domingo 13 agosto 2017 CCM dia 19

Today was an overall very spiritual day.

This morning was a wonderful tender mercy from the Lord. E. Clark and I took it upon ourselves to teach a lesson on humility and diligence. I had taken a few moments in the morning to look in PMG Ch 6 and look thru the scriptures. Alma 26:11-12 and Ether 12:27 really stuck out. (If I had a missionary plaque scripture, it would be Ether 12:27.) We prepped for like 10 minutes with a prayer. And then we got up to teach. Clark began with a question asked to each district member their thoughts on humility. And then the Spirit took over for the rest. We shared experiences, asked questions, bore testimony, while the rest of us were super engaged and sharing not just thoughts, but feelings really close to the heart. Something tells me that the Lord wanted all of us to learn something about humility from each other. We were all very vulnerable sharing our thoughts about serving and providence from God. Surely we all cannot do this without the hand of God pushing it along.

martes 15 agosto 2017 CCM dia 21

Today was a very relaxed and swell day. It was P day so we were able to go out. We had the opportunity to go to the zoo, which was awesome! I found out I cannot send pictures in the CCM but I will share them once I am able to.

We were also at a market. I didn't buy anything at this market because I wanted to wait until I was in mission boundaries before buying souvenirs. But in the marketplace there was a little kid playing with a soccer ball... er, fútbol. Elder Blotter came around and said "Aqui! Aqui!" and so he began to kick it around. I was with E. Clark and he was wanting to juggle it too so we formed a circle. Pretty soon there were like 15 or so elders juggling it and kicking it back to this awesome kid. E. Clark was a legendary juggler since he had played soccer for most of his life. There were some latino elders too that were simply amazing. And we were all cheering on this kid. It just made everyone's day. And I could only imagine how happy the kid was.

Well that's all for this week! But if there was any recurring theme for it, it would definitely be humility. I've found lots of opportunities to be humble and many instances that made me realize what I can work on more. I need to push myself to talk to latinos more and talk in Spanish more. But other than that, I will update in days to come!

Adios amigos!

Elder Dredge

Elder Braden K. Dredge

Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission

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Tuesday, August 8, 2017 ~ Week #2 -- Journal Entries

Hey fam!

Here's some stuff from my journal from this past week. The last experiences are the last pages of my journal so I will start using another journal! Woo! These are for all to see!

viernes 4 agosto 2017 CCM dia 10

Today it was my companion Elder Clark's birthday! He got a fidget spinner and some notes and some chocolate from his family. He also got a letter from his girlfriend back at home in Dallas. We got together with some other elders at our bunk bed and he read it and we were all aching for the guy. I was tearing up; these two were definitely in love.

sabado 5 agosto 2017 CCM dia 11

Today I didn't get as sleepy as usual thankfully. There was plenty of funny stuff too. This morning the next door study room got noisy so one of the elders in our district Elder Cederlof (from Utah) just said "Hey how's it goin" and we were chill. And the elders on the other side shared Deut. 23:12-13 and so I looked it up. Never have I seen such a funny verse. I was busting a gut, you should have seen.

Elder Cederlof was getting sick so as a district we gave him a blessing. Most of us had never done it before so it was really cool... really powerful. Elder Christensen, his companion, gave a short and sweet but sincere blessing. He eventually got better later in the evening, but during the day he took a 3 hour nap so he was able to catch up on sleep.

Almost forgot to mention, just the other day, these two gave a legendary lesson with Gabriel (a roleplayed investigator). They were talking about commandments with him.

A little background, our favorite teacher Hno Castillo was acting as this investigator, and he's been dating this girl Gabriella. He's such a boss; he made a cake and wrote a poem to propose for her to be his girlfriend. Anyway, these elders gave him a Law of Chastity pamphlet to look through. Right on one of the pages is a picture of a young man and woman together, and these elders... they put the names CASTILLO and GABRIELLA by these two people in the picture in pen. I am giggling just writing (typing now) about it.

After a session of TALL (Technology Assisted Language Learning) one of the elders asked Hno Vasquez (another MTC worker and teacher) where the mission office is. He pointed in the direction where it is, but unintentionall brought his other forearm and his forehead together and let out a "psh." Everyone who saw this thought it was funny because well... It just looked like a... yeah and I did NOT think I would see that outside of the United States. It took Vasquez a moment to actually realize what he did. I laughed a little too much after that.

domingo 6 agosto 2017

Well today was a very interesting, very spiritual day.

Today all of the Guatemala East missionaries got together in a room and we talked and waited to speak with our beloved mission president President Christensen and his wife. It was District Mateo (all of us are going City East) and like 4 others from Rama B in the MTC. It was so cool. We all clicked so well.

Ever cooler was talking with the mission president and his wife in the flesh. They answered our questions about food, housing, GANGS, lots of things. But the thing that got us most pumped was this: our mission president received an apostolic blessing on behalf of us, and we are needed. We have the gift of discernment. And as far as we keep the mission rules, we will always have it. We will need it desperately because of how many gangs there are, how dangerous it is in the "Triangle" (El Salvador, Honduras, y Guatemala).

We are all now well aware of how necessary it is to obey the rules, how important it is to have the gift of discernment, how important it is to NOT eat from the street vendors, how impoverished the area is, &c. I am a little afraid because I don't even have a lot of street sense, let alone in the EEUU, and I'm going to need the Spirit to protect me from potential shootings and robberies. But I'm moreso excited because of how much it will grow my testimony and my personal relationship with Heavenly Father. He has already put so much trust in me just sending me to this area, so I just hope I won't let Him down. I am so excited.

The following evening was a horribly traumatic event for everyone in the main devotional room. We were watching an MTC Devotional given by Elder Holland a few years back. Amazing devotional, and I took lots of notes, but we were not able to finish it.

At one point, Elder Holland said, "We need missionaries who can teach with power and authority." In response, some elder in the back yelled, "I have power and authority!" I'm going to have to condense this narrative a lot because I'm running out of time to type, but basically this poor elder kept repeating that phrase. At first, no one minded. Then we were like, this Elder is being a bit over the top. Then we were thinking, we really need to listen to the words of an apostle, this Elder needs to sit down. Then he kept going. He was yelling, with voice cracks and everything.

"I HAVE POWER AND AUTHORITY, ELDER HOLLAND." He literally begins to address Elder Holland as if he were there. This was starting to look really weird. I was getting a headache. People were starting to feel bad in the stomach around me.

"ELDER HOLLAND! ELDER HOLLAND! I HAVE POWER AND AUTHORITY!"

I look over to my companion Elder Clark. "I'm starting to feel real bad for this guy."

"I know. I can't focus. And I'm having the worst feeling right now."

This shifted from uncomfortable down to distrurbing down to haunting real fast. The Spirit was being shoved out of the room. This was horrible. This was suffering.

Eventually we were all evacuated. This Elder got sent home. (He had started to cry out on his knees after being talked down to by President Morris). We talked in our districts. District Mateo was thankful for the gift of discernment, to know when the Spirit is present and when it isn't, and I recognized that feeling with my fellow Elders; the Spirit was not present in that room.

I have to end now but all is well now!! This was a great learning experience, gotta get off now because it's 2 o clock.

Yours truly,

Elder Dredge

Elder Braden K. Dredge

Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission

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Tuesday, August 8, 2017 ~ Week #2

 Guatemala MTC August 2017

(1/2 of Elders and the Sisters below)

Good afternoon, Mom!

That's a lot hotter than it's been feeling over here, with exception of a couple days where I woke up drenched in sweat haha. I'm so excited to hear about those baptisms. Tell the Stock family that I said hi to all of them and the kids!

I always loved playing that song (Baptism) on the piano, it's very calming. It's as if a dove perches on you when you listen to it and the words. 

I remember when I had shared thoughts (with friends and on Facebook) that often! I guess I can keep that up! We'll have to see. But thank you for sharing that with me! If you have any experiences of your own, you can share those with me too! That has always helped with my testimony.

That's a really cool quote,  ("To consecrate is to set apart or dedicate something as sacred, devoted to holy purposes. True success in this life comes in consecrating our lives that is, our time and choices-- to the Lord's purposes." ~ Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) I will keep that in mind. I think that will help a lot with scripture study and really with everything that I do. I'll pray before playing the piano, even. Or pray before writing in my journal. And pray after. It could only help! And it would be for the Lord!

Alright, here we go!

1. Yes, or at least almost every day, but I have been more conscious of it lately so it has been everyday! (Are you taking your vitamins)

2. There have been bad days but other than those my stomach has been good and healed with haste.

   (How is the food and are you adjusting to it okay)

3. The weather's super nice! Eternal spring! And when it rains, it rains HARD. And it actually feels super good at night, it's perfectly cool. (How is the weather)

4. I have gotten emails from Jaden and just got one from Julianna! Besides them I haven't received any others! Could you give my email to Sara Stewart and Matt Zambrana too? Carsen Wright as well? I would absolutely love that. Other than that, I want to start updating everyone on experiences that I want to share with the public in a "mass email" except perhaps not an email. If I send you something like that, could you share it in a Facebook post and see if you can get it on a blog too? I know you've been working on a blog and I would absolutely love it if you did that! The next email can be a first (or second) entry, haha. (Are you getting emails)

Oh man, things are already changing at home, boy oh man! Thank you so much, Mom, I love you!

Hey Dad!

El Español es muy bueno! I'm feeling great! I had just got back from the temple, and it is so beautiful! And Dad you're going to rock it on the field (high school football officiating) as usual! Run fast and judge with prudence! I'll probably have days when I'm doing exactly the same thing. ;)

I'm surprised to hear about wildfires in an area of your work! I hope you stay safe, Dad! I'll be praying for you to have the energy to do your work. And I hope that darn computer will stop, haha. Thank you for always checking on the house.

I will make sure to follow the rules 100%. I've learned from President Christensen that the elders in "The Triangle" are blessed with the gift of discernment due to the imminent dangers with gangs and robbers. I want to keep myself safe, so I will cherish that white bible!

Thank you so much Dad. If you have experiences of your own too, do share! I always love to hear, and I've always benefited from them in my own testimony.

Hey Olive, it's so fun here. I'm so excited to hear about you getting your permit, you're getting it earlier than I did, haha. Have fun at girls camp. Be a fireball. Tell me how it went!

Love,

Elder Dredge

Tuessay, 1 August 2017 ~ Week #1

For Y'all,

My Spanish is improving a lot. The Spirit has at times really panged into my chest. We watched The Testament this past week and the last line of the movie really got me: "Helam." The guy had a son who joined a secret combination but then was abandoned by it when he tried to escape, and then he was rescued by his dad at the time of the Crucifixion when the earth was shattering. The father became blind, but his family got to see Christ when he came. The family saw Christ, and then He walked up to the father, Helam, called him by name, and healed his blindness, and he was able to see Christ. I was incredibly touched by this.

I didn't get a picture of my companion but he's super cool. His name's Elder Clark. He's from Dallas, TX and played soccer. He's an athletic kinda guy, very strong. We're both occasionally quiet but he's quite the party when you get to know him. He's been awesome to get to know. Other than him, the rest of my district (District Mateo) is super cool. We all get along well, and the brotherhood is strong. I think I'm the odd one out a lot of the time because I'm from Oregon and kinda the more musical type, while most of the rest of the guys are from Utah, and they're into sports and whatnot. But it's been fun to kinda compare our lives, and I've certainly had a lot of fun talking about Portland and the weed dispensaries. We don't have anyone who is too strict about rules, no one too awkward or anything. If anyone's too awkward, it would be me, but it wouldn't matter because everyone is accepted in this group of 10.

One of the most touching scriptures that I looked at over this week was in Alma 26:31 (27-31). I've seen it before but it's gonna have more meaning for me. In the scripture, Ammon shares his attitude about his missionary work. He shares about how he's been mocked, scoffed at, stoned, spit upon, but that didn't stop him. He came for the purpose of bringing a few into the Church, and he did so. The people who accepted the Gospel became a friend of his and have become changed people. They have gone out and served people, and they are always of smiling countenances, always happy to help. I'm looking forward to the friends that I'll make through the work, I'm going to love to talk with the families and just love them. I know that there are many who are waiting just for me. Before we came here, we knew who we were going to be in families with, and we knew who we would meet. I know that there are entire families out there who are dying to come to Christ. I can't wait to find them. And in the process, I can't wait to just share this amazing message. God is our Heavenly Father. He loves us, and we can communicate with Him through prayer. There was a plan set before we came here, which would ensure that we could return to His presence if we follow Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ took upon our sins and experienced spiritual death for us so that we would not have to. He experienced all of our suffering so that He could help us throughout life. In our life, we have experienced many trials already, and we will experience many more. But this is what we agreed to before we came here. We are here to gain experience and prepare to meet God. And God gave us a Savior so that we would not have to do this alone, and so that we would have a chance. Jesus Christ truly is our Savior, and he is here to help us through everything. I know that my Redeemer lives. And I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and is written by inspired prophets who wanted the best for their posterity. When we read it, we can gain a witness that Joseph was a prophet, that the Church was restored, that the Priesthood is back on the earth, and that we can gain modern and personal revelation. We can gain a testimony that Jesus is our Savior and that He lives and continues to bless us and perform miracles and heal our own blindness. And we can strive to be like Him through faith unto repentance. And when we are baptized, we can have the companionship of the Holy Ghost, which will tell us all things which we should do. And through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we can have not just any happiness, but eternal, everlasting happiness. What a message this is. The Church is true.

 

I'm just super thankful right now. I cannot even remember all the things to be thankful for but I know that a lot of why I've been able to strengthen my testimony is because of y'all's support. I wish I could come back to give one more hug, but I know that there are so many things that I'm going to learn here that I need to learn before I come back. For now, I am going to concert my efforts to be less worried about the things that I can't control; the things that I can control and I need to control is already quite the demand. I want to share my happiness because of the Gospel with the folks I meet. I hope to be filled with the joy I need in my heart and the experience in my head to share. I know that Heavenly Father will provide these things. I will try extra hard to be humble. I will be obedient. I know that there are blessings in store if I do what I am supposed to (thinking about what you've told me, Dad).

I will keep you all updated in weeks to come! I love you guys so much!

Elder Dredge

Elder Braden K. Dredge

Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission