Monday, 10 September, 2018 ~ Week #59

Hey folks! How's life going on the other side? It's getting kind of hot over here, just in case you're wondering. Sweating buckets! But it's all good, I've got a rag I carry around all day.

There are some super neat stuff going on here in Gualan, Guatemala. We found this very special family, the Ramirez family. Guilfredo, the father of the family, was an active member of the church in his youth but inactivated when he was 17. He wanted to serve a mission, and prepared diligently, and worked to earn money for it, but when he turned 18 he already couldn't because his family didn't support his decision to leave and in the end he didn't go. Our first encounter with him was on a mototaxi, and he helped us get to a place far out in our area, and we fixed an appointment for a day to meet his family. Short story short, we met with the family, shared the message of the Restoration of the Gospel, and this helped spark something in him.

Now, what happened directly afterward surprised me. His two sons, Edwin (14) and Nobel (18), ran to us to talk with us as we were walking out the door. Nobel came to us with a question, and asked: ''How much time do I need, and what do I need to do, to go out and preach the Gospel like you guys do?'' Now, how special was that to hear this question from such a humble young man like Nobel! He told us that he was baptized when he was 11 and he wants to make some changes in his life to be able to serve. His little brother also wants to serve, and he isn't even a member yet! We praised them for their courage and faith, to ask us for help, and we encouraged them to go to church and go to seminary. This was such a special moment, and we are working and planning all we can to help these young men prepare.

Now, is this not a testimony that the Lord watches over His children? I can testify that He does, and He always gives a second chance. He is truly the one with the plan, and we are here to follow it. I feel particularly blessed to be an essential part of the plan of salvation for another person, as a holder of the restored priesthood authority to preach the Gospel and help others to prepare to meet God and attain peace in this life. And I know that through me, as well as through all the missionaries I know, the Lord is directing his children, and inviting them, and guiding them, step by step to come unto Him, and repent. I know that He lives. His plan is perfect. Jesus Christ is the center of the plan, and without Him we are without hope. Because of Jesus Christ, we will one day return to live with Him and with our families. We are so blessed to have the restored Gospel, and I would invite anyone to learn more about it, pray about it, and live it. I am especially grateful for the Book of Mormon and how it has blessed my life, and how it has helped me to build more faith, repent, and come closer to the Savior. I know that it is a true book, written by prophets, and translated by a prophet of God. I know that these things are true, and I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Have a wonderful week, folks! Always count your blessings!

Elder Dredge

Elder Braden K. Dredge

Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission

Monday, 3 September 2018 ~ Week #58

It looks like many of my friends are going to school again, high school and college. So, to my folks who are going to begin studying again this week, I give you this message: Prayers are sent your way. You are probably thinking about the benefits of what you are doing right now, and how it will affect your future. You are probably thinking about what you are going to do to relax when the homework gets piled all of a sudden. You are probably already expecting stress, if not distress. Just remember to live in the present, learn from the past, and prepare for the future -- but live in the present! Enjoy the relaxed moments. Enjoy the busy moments. Make plans and set deadlines and times during the day to do things, and focus on what's important. Put the 30 minutes aside that you need to do something, and put aside some break time. If you feel like you need to relax, and there is something that you like to do that helps you relax AND is productive, like exercising, reading, playing the piano (my personal favorite), do it. Enjoy the busy moments and enjoy the relaxed moments. Your life is a gift from God, so why not we make the most out of it, and in the way He desires we would?

I have learned a lot from my service as a missionary about how precious time is. I've especially been impressed by what I have been learning just the past week. We try to be in and out of a house in 30 minutes, using 15 minutes to share a message and helping our investigators to change their lives for the better, and use another 30 minutes to try to talk to more people. And the things we help our investigators do require time too. Time and effort. But we try to help others to see the blessings of 10-15 minutes of reading the Book of Mormon, saying a prayer of 1-3 minutes at least twice every day, and going to Church for 3 hours each week, and we help them get as much as they can out of those 20 or more spiritual minutes every day, and that 3 hours every week, so that they can enjoy the real purpose of all those hours, which is coming unto Christ, developing a relationship with Him and experiencing the blessings of His Atonement.

So, I would strongly encourage you to enjoy every moment. Be patient with yourself, and trust in Christ and His Atonement. Try to look at your life from a 30,000 foot building, and trust that God knows all the details that you don't. Trust that He loves you, and that He is helping you to come unto Him if you seek Him, and that He accepts you as you are and is there to guide you to perfection. He only expects your best. Be thankful for the blessings you receive from Him. Learn of Him, and follow Him, and you will experience even more joy. Living the Gospel is not an easy way of living, but it is the happiest way of living if you allow it to be. I promise these things, and I leave them with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Have a wonderful week!

Elder Dredge

Elder Braden K. Dredge

Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission

Piano lessons in Gualan

The very talented Elder Cifuentes

Beautiful!

Monday, 27 August 2018 ~ Week #57

Hey folks!

This week was very tiring, but I am still swimming! I don't have much time to write, but I just

wanted to share a scripture that has helped me a lot which we have hung up on our refrigerator.

 And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee 

that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust 

in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be 

lifted up at the last day. (Alma 36:3)

Let's remember that all things which we go through in life reflect the potential which the Lord 

sees that we have. He knows how capable we are, we just don't believe it at times. Our Lord 

Jesus Christ has all things in plan for us. He knows our suffering, and yet He knows our potential. 

He suffered the price that would we would have to pay for our own salvation, and so he knows 

what we have to go through. He goes before us and awaits us at the end of our trial; He calls for 

us, and guides us, and helps us, if we ask Him for His help. I know that He helps in this way. 

May we allow our prayers to be our first tool to come closer to Him. I know that He is our 

Savior and that it is only by Him that we might receive true and everlasting peace. I say this 

in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Have a wonderful week, and never cease to count your blessings!

Elder Dredge

Elder Braden K. Dredge

Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission

Monday, 20 August 2018 ~ Week #56

My brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, grandparents, cousins, everyone, it's a pleasure to 

be able to write to you all. How have you been? I am tired, but it has been a super good week. 

Gualan is a super cool place to be, and I would definitely return to visit after the mission. It is 

a beautiful country area, and the people are so sociable and kind and friendly and centered on 

the family. I am working hard with my companion Elder Cifuentes, who is an awesome 

missionary and companion. He is super positive and funny, and always lightens up the day 

when things don't go quite as planned.

But I do have to say, I have been tired. And there was something that I learned about the 

Gospel that I would like to share with you all--something I learned as I came to myself and 

recognized my fatigue, and prayed about it.

In the end, it is important that we are happy. I think it is so easy to lose sight of the big 

picture with so many things to do that we forget to focus on happiness. Yes, we make 

mistakes. Yes, we forget things. Yes, stuff happens. Yes, we have things to do, 

responsibilities to fulfill. We have many things which occupy our time. We might not 

enjoy all of those things. We might feel a need for vacation. But let me remind you of a 

truth which is found in the Book of Mormon. These things are the results of the Fall -- our 

need to work, to improve, and to make the best use of our time before we die, and to do 

what we can to sustain our own lives and keep it in order. But let us remember this:

Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy. (2 Nephi 2:25)

We are here to have joy. Let us remember to enjoy the moment. Enjoy the present. Take 

what you can out of what I write with the 5 minutes that you used to read it, and use another 

minute to pray to God and thank him for the blessings that you have, and ask him to bless 

you with His Spirit and His peace. If you have deadlines, keep a reminder, and do what you 

need to do to keep your word, but try to enjoy what you are obliged to do, if you are obliged 

to do it.

This life which we have is a precious gift from our Heavenly Father. Another precious gift 

we have is our agency. Our agency gives us the ability to discern between what choices and 

thoughts are good or bad, or in other words what will make us happy or miserable. Let us 

try to choose good, and choose to be happy. Happiness, after all, is not the product of a job 

well done. Happiness does not come from being the best. Happiness does not come from 

only doing what we already like to do. What I can say is that happiness does come from the 

process of doing better than we did before, and does come from striving to be more like 

Christ, the happiest man who has ever lived. Happiness comes from forgetting ourselves and 

serving others. Happiness comes from being grateful for as many blessings as we can. 

Happiness comes from living the Gospel, as individuals and more as families. Happiness 

comes from focusing on people, especially those who we cherish the most, and those with 

whom we spend the most time, and trying to make them happy too in ways we are uniquely 

able to do. Let's strive to all live a happy life, and take advantage of the wonderful gifts 

which our Father in Heaven has given us.

I might not know for sure, because I have never experienced that such, and won't until after 

this life, but I firmly believe that only by living the Gospel of Jesus Christ can we receive a 

fulness of joy. And I know that the Gospel is true. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, 

and that a prophet guides us today. I know that Christ is our Savior, and that we can be happier 

when we follow Him. I testify of these things in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, amen.

Have a wonderful week, my friends, brothers and sisters.

Your friend, brother and servant,

Elder Dredge

Elder Braden K. Dredge

Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission

Monday, 13 August 2018 ~ Week # 55

Hey folks! I don't have too much time to write because I was sending so many pictures to my family of the many different things I am seeing in my new area. I will say more the next week, but I just have to say, I am the happiest person where I am right now. I love my companion, I love Gualan, I love the zone in which I work, I love the people, and I love the Gospel. Here are photos from my goodbyes from Acatan, my ride between Acatan and Gualan, some views here in beautiful Gualan, and a trip we took as a zone to Panaluya today. It is marvelous here. It is like Oregon and Hawaii combined, and is indeed just like what I imagined Guatemala would be like when I received my mission call, and it all just makes me smile. I am sweating a lot but it feels great, haha.

I hope every one of you has a lovely week. Continue to count your blessings, and strive to maintain a positive attitude, in the good and the bad.

Your friend among the Gualantecos,

Elder Dredge

Elder Braden K. Dredge

Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission

Note from Mom:  New companion information:  Elder Cifuentes is from Huehuetenango, Guatemala.  He was originally called to the Nicaragua mission and was part of the emergency transfers that occurred recently.

Panaluya .. Zacapa Zone

Elder Cifuentes and Elder Dredge

Monday, 6 August 2018 ~ Week #54

Hey everyone! I can't believe I have been writing to you all back home ever since a year ago. I think I'm losing a little bit of English every week. It definitely feels weird writing in English.

So, it looks like I will already be leaving Acatan. It is very rich and has lots of nice restaurants, not to mention very humble people, both rich and poor, and I have enjoyed it while the experience has lasted. I made sure to take notes from the example of the members, and I must say that I have been truly blessed to be sent here. Now the following week I will be sent outside of the capital... for the first time in the mission finally!!! Wooo!!! It is an area called Gualan in the section of our mission called Zacapa. It is extremely hot over there, so my skin will probably be pink in 3 days. I'll make sure to send pictures of that. But I have been told by many that the experience is different over there and that we teach lots of different people every week. I hope to share many new experiences and observations with you all in the following weeks goes on there. 

And this week I would just like to share a thought on being honest with oneself. This is something that I have observed that my Heavenly Father is trying to teach me. I think that being honest with oneself is the key to really a lot of things about the Gospel. What I can say is that being honest with oneself can be hard to do after following a routine for a long time. It can be hard to do if you have pride. It can be hard to do if you have fear, and you act anyway. It can be hard if you are not praying about the things you feel about. It can be hard to do if you don't act like yourself.

I have observed up to this point, in my own mission experience, that I have tried to be the person who I want to be... constantly. It is good to have a goal in mind, but I have seen that constantly thinking in that perspective--thinking about the person you desire to be--can be a type of suffering. I have seen that it distracts me from enjoying the person that I already am. I wish I could explain why I had concentrated so much in being the kind of person I want to be, but I think it came from a sincere desire to improve while I offer the Lord my service as His missionary. I also think that it comes from a certain self-perspective that I am already not completely qualified to serve as the kind of missionary He wants. The two don't seem to mix well. I have seen that in my first six months as a missionary that I truly suffered because of that point of view. In other words, it is perfectionism, the enemy of happiness.

Now, I realize that the end of suffering comes when you accept yourself as you are, and then strive to become better. That is, yes, strive to become better, but don't worry about how fast -- just take it step by step every day, while already accepting yourself as you are. This is a Gospel truth that perhaps many already know by way of common sense, but it is something so important. We are all children of God. We carry His attributes and His potential; that is, we are already so much like Him, and we can become even more like Him every day. But we must remember to be humble -- to look at ourselves as we really are, with all the good things about us and the things we need to improve. We can do this as we pray to God, asking us to give us a real perspective on who we are. Not who we are potential of being, but who we already are. This is being honest with oneself to God, in the which process we come closer to Him and recognize Him as a Father who is willing to help. In other words, this is humbling oneself before God.

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humblethemselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weakthings become strong unto them. (Ether 12:27)

Brothers and sisters, I am still in the process of coming to know this truth, for I think this is a lesson that my Heavenly Father wants me to learn on my mission. Nevertheless, I can testify that this is the role of the Savior in our lives. Jesus Christ does not condemn us in our sins, but helps us to leave them behind and follow him. He calls us and He strengthens us. All of this, if we strive to do our part -- in constant prayer with our Father, as we repent, and continually recognize our strengths and our weaknesses. I know that He is my Savior, because I have seen the manner in which He has rescued me from my own weaknesses, and I continue to see Him work. It is truly a miracle what He does. I am nothing without God, but with God, I am everything that He wants me to be. I know that this Gospel is true, and that it changes lives. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Have a wonderful week, folks! "No olviden a contar las bendiciones que reciben!"

Tu amigo fiel,

Elder Dredge

Elder Braden K. Dredge

Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission

Saying Adios to Guatemala City and the people in this ward!

Monday, 30 July 2018 ~ Week #53

Hey everyone! How have you been? I hear it's been getting a bit hot over there, wherever you are. I know it's been getting quite hot in Oregon and California, I know how it is. You are not alone, because it is blazing here too.

This week we had a lovely baptismal service for our sister Blanca Hernandez. She has been investigating the Church ever since her husband Ricardo was baptized, and that was eight years! She has been receiving visits every now and then for that long, and yet it wasn't until my companion Elder Cuatetl with his companion at the time decided to be very clear that what we bring to her is the one way to achieve salvation -- or in other words, the only way to enter into the kingdom of God. When they asked, she expressed that she indeed wants to achieve salvation, and would do what she would have to to obtain it. So ever since then, the Elders have helped her to gain a testimony, and when I came, we did the same. She has mostly had the fear of answering questions about the Gospel and giving talks. And we have seen that she has gained much more confidence now. And her baptismal service, brothers and sisters, was one of the most special things I had the pleasure to experience in my mission. There was so much support from the ward, so much love. Upon announcing it that week, everyone practically jumped to help out in something, and we just had to commit and confirm throughout the week. It ended up being the best that we could have prepared it to be. The Spirit was so strong. And when she went down in the water and was brought back up, by way of the pure and restored priesthood authority of God, of which she obtained a testimony... that was a sight to cherish. She has entered into the kingdom, and is welcomed among the most blessed and humble of saints. It was an honor to be a part of the most important step in her life.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ truly did suffer and die, to pay the cost of our sins. He made it possible that we would receive complete pardon, or remission, of our sins and transgressions, as well as receive grace upon grace, up until the final moment when we would receive eternal life. His Atonement made it possible that we can receive a remission of sins, divine grace, and eternal life. And it is by way of special acts performed by authorized members of His Church, just like the Apostles in the olden times, that make it possible that we might receive these things. It is, indeed, by way of baptism that we receive a remission of sins, by way of laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost that we receive grace, and by way of covenants in the temple that we, along with our families, receive eternal life. And by way of faith and repentance, we can be happy and continually make ourselves more worthy to receive these things, with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, after all we can do. And though this authority to perform these sacred acts was lost upon the death of the apostles, after many centuries they are restored by a prophet in these latter days, whose name is Joseph Smith. And because of this, today, we can receive these wonderful blessings, and continually receive more as we learn more about His Gospel and continually strive to live it.

I have received these blessings for myself. The remission of sins, though the process by which can be hard and require tears and humiliation, is worth the cost, and is an absolutely wonderful feeling--a feeling that cannot be created, but delivered by way of the Spirit after truly repenting and baptizing in the name of Christ. And I can testify that divine grace is real, and that it has been a key factor which has played in all my life, especially after my baptism. It is something that has helped me to grow in the way that my Heavenly Father wants me to grow, and I have learned from my own obedience to His commandments and proving my desire to change nad improve according to His plan for me that it is real. And the process of following the example and teachings of Jesus Christ overall is an experience which is a pleasure beyond any kind. There is nothing like it, and I am convinced that there is nothing that brings the level of joy that the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ brings.

In many ways, we might "deny the Atonement", whether to others, or whether to ourselves. We might think: I cannot forgive what that someone just did. I cannot forgive myself for what I just did. I cannot forget. Or we might think: That person doesn't need help. He doesn't need my advice. She doesn't want to talk. I don't want to talk to anyone right now. Or we might think: I am not the kind of person that reads the Scriptures and prays. I am not the kind of person that goes to Church and worships. There is not a Christlike bone in my body. I am way off the path. I cannot mold myself to be like that kind of person. I am better off on

my own path. These are just a few ways we deny the Atonement. I would encourage you, brothers and sisters, to strive to not deny yourselves of the Atonement, and rather strive to obtain all the blessings of it. Remember the love of the Savior for you. Remember the wise and fatherly love that our Heavenly Father has for us. Remember these things, and allow these things to encourage you to be happy and grateful. I know that these things are true, and that if we strive to not deny, but rather accept, the Atonement in our lives, we will be happier, because we will be feeling more of the love and joy that we will feel in the presence of our Heavenly Father. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Have a wonderful week, my friends!

Your servant and friend among the Lamanites,

Elder Dredge

Elder Braden K. Dredge

Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission

Piano Lessons with local youth

Awesome Baptism

Happy Mini Reunion with CCM District