12-29-08

We won't be going private for now. If we do, we will let you know a week in advance and tell you what will be needed if you want to keep reading.

Mommy Dearest-I have not gotten my bike fixed yet. I am hoping that I can just monitor the problem without fixing it. Than again I might just breakdown and do it so I am not sure yet. The Christmas party did have a BIG turnout. We just did our best to make sure that everyone got some food. The activities chair said to not go get more food because it would teach people that they need to sign up to bring things instead of just showing up. It was a lot of members and their families but there were a couple of investigators that did show up. Well for Christmas I got a couple ties, a Aggies shirt from Scott and Kayce, M&M's, a hoodie, a blanket, and a lot of other goodies. So it was quite a Christmas still. I cannot really think of what I need for my Birthday. Like I said maybe gift cards to like Wal-Mart or Big 5 those would work. Or else I think of things like oysters which I know you do not like. I did get to see Elder Lowe before he headed home, and I actually heard from him on Christmas Eve. It is weird to think that he is already home, than again Brad gets home in April and that is really weird too. The other two Elders we live with are Elder Kou Vang and Elder Adam Murray and it is Elder Murray that is A LOT like me. The Christmas dinners went well though I did make sure that I kept myself in check and did not overindulge. I am over what I wish to weigh so I am going to try and work it off either before I get home or else when I get home I am going to do a lot of things to work it off. Wow Grandma and Grandpa done on the 2nd and then Brad gets home on the 14th that is awesome! For the Birthday stuff you can do whatever, send it early, send it to the mission office, or wait. Well for New Years day we get ALL day off so that is fun and on New Years eve we have to be in by 6 so that is not bad. Well things are going well, just trying to recover from the holidays. We have been having a rough time trying to meet with our different investigators because of the holidays but I am sure things will settle down after New Years. Well I love you and hope all is going well for you. Have a Happy New Years and I will talk to you later.Your son,Elder Brickey

Curley Family-I will not lie when I say that I am excited to be able to be apart of Christmas with the family next year. Though at the same time I am a little sad and nervous. California and the people here have grown on me so much. I will miss it here for sure but I am anxious to see the family again. It is weird to think that in 5 months I call home again for the last time and then 5 months later I am home. It actually freaks me out a little to think that there is only that much time left. Last year went by fast during this time so I can imagine how fast this one is going to go. I still cannot believe that it was Saedy that was talking to me. She is all grown up and that is weird to think about. Than again to look at the pictures of your kids and Cassie's makes it seem true cause they all look bigger and all grown up. Christmas was good. We had a busy day and went from appointment to appointment so it was nice. The rest of the week has been a little long though. It has been difficult to get a hold of anyone for lessons which sucks, though we did find an awesome guy tracting the other day so that is cool. Transfers are on the 4 or 5 of January I think so a week away. You did hear kind of right about me going back to Shasta. I would be going back for a sealing in the Medford Temple of my first investigators/converts Jim and Wanda Linsley. But I am not sure yet so fingers crossed! I am taking a lot of pictures and a jump drive might be actually really helpful. Though it would have to be pretty big since my card is like 4gg though I have not used more than a half or third yet. For the blogg thing. It is weird who all read it I know. There are people that I am curious as to who they are and who all does. I do not know if it should go private or whatever I guess it can be left open I would just appreciate it if some things would get sensored I guess if we do that. Than again whatever I do not know if I really care. There is one thing that I would recommend that could help you with your study of the BoM, get the seminary manual for it and go along with what it does. There are a few members and converts that I have had do it that way and have really appreciated it and love it because it helps them a lot. I was going to say the missionary thing of "think about what the needs of your investigators are while you read/study and while you do things will pop out to you" but I do not think you have any investigators. Though you could think about what are some of the thing that you are dealing with or could use guidence with while you read. Oh and make sure that you pray before and then after usually helps me. Well I hope all is going well for you I love you and hope you have a Happy New Year. Thanks for all you do.Love your Brother,Elder Brickey

Just so you know.......

Elder Brickey has asked us to go private ASAP so if you want to continue to read please leave a "spiritual thought" and let me know ASAP.

THANKS

Emails for 12-22-2008

The Mommy-I wrecked my bike about a month ago. We were getting onto the bikes and I noticed that my pedal was falling off again so I tried to stop that from happening and I fell off my bike. I got some pretty cool bruises but was and am ok, so no worries. Thanks for sending that gift to me I got it on Saturday so that was quick thank you VERY much! The Christmas Party was really good. The activities department is still really young in this ward so we were not sure how many people would show up. Bishop told the Chairman only like 90 people usually show up so that is what was prepared for, than about 140 people showed up so that was a suprise and a little stressful but good. Biking has been fun because it has been rainy and our area is to big to walk around. We actually got a ride home from President after Trainer Trainee on Friday. I made sure to show where our area started and to show just how big it was in hopes to get a car, but than again it does not really matter because we probably do not have a car available to send here though it would be nice. Well for the call I was hoping to do it in the morning if possible. Maybe around like 8-9 your time. We are still getting rain here, it is suposedly going to turn to snow this week but I think that it is to warm to do that. I LOVED last winter and wish that I was further North. I miss the snow I love the snow but I will work with what I have so that is ok too. Well I am doing well and the work is going well too. I am excited to talk to you in a couple days and I hope all is well until then. Love you mom.Love your son,Elder Brickey

Curley Family-Well I am excited that I get to talk to you all in a couple days. The weather here is rainy. We are suppose to get snow this week but I do not know if it will happen because it is to warm still. I am sorry that the kids are sick though I hope that they are feeling up to talking to their fravorite uncle Kade! or I mean uncle Elder Brickey! Well with the Hmong missionaries one of them is Hmong but the other is a whitey just like me, he is actually me just from another mother it is weird but funny. There are two Hmong Hmong missionaries in the CRM(Cali Roseville Mission). Well my bike pedal keeps working loose and about a month ago it was coming off and I notice it and tried to not let it happen and I wrecked and fell off my bike. I got some sweet bruises and such but I am not wanting to do that again anytime soon, I love my bike to much. That is cool that you got your blue card Ryan. I did get mine when I was 14 or whenever was the soonest that I could. Than again I am apart of a hunting family and needed it. I am doing well and surviving. Hope all is good with you. I am excited for the 25th and to get to talk to you. Love you all. Take care.-Elder Brickey

Emails 12-15-2008

The Mommy-It was awesome to get a package from Mr. Mac, especially since I was not expecting it. I got candy canes and a whole bunch of fun size candy bars. The tree was maybe 8 inches tall and is metal wire or something like that, though it looks as though the edges have been ran through frosting to give it the look of snow so that is cool. There was not a letter inside but that is ok I need to get a letter back to him soon. Being DL is a lot of phone calls, and I do not like being on the phone though I am getting more and more use to it. I report to the Zone Leaders who in turn report to the Assistants to the President so I am just a pea on the ladder. I am glad that you like the picture that I sent, I do have ones with Maryellen I only had that one photo developed though. I am trying to get a CD made so I can send it home. Elder Nash is still out he goes home in February actually so only a transfer and a half left for him. I try to keep in contact with my old companions. Elder Nash and Elder Gardner (the first two) both go home in Feb so I will loose out on seeing them but I do have their info so I could write them. Then there is Elder Remington who is home now, I am not in communication with him. Elder Pancheri is still out here though he is up North in Anderson area right now so I do not hear from him much. Elder Lowe goes home on the 23 of this month but I will try my best to stay in communication with him, that way I have the hook up for Hawaii!! Then Elder Glenn and I stay in really good communication with him, that might be due to the fact that we are with each other 24/7. I am still on a bike which is no fun. It has started raining and it often is foggy so it is no fun, but keeps the body running pretty good. The bike is doing ok other than the left side crank arm keeps getting loose and wanting to fall off. I am holding up really good. I have only wrecked once so far, knock on wood, and that was only a week or two ago. I would not mind a car for the winter and rain but I do not know if it will happen. Oh well it will be fun and interesting for sure. The list that we have and are working with is just the ward list. We have people marked as active, less-active, part member family and so on. We just visit whoever is on the list. It is really interesting when you find out that someone is dead but it also makes for a good opportunity to talk about the Plan of Salvation. Wow I did not know that President wrote letters telling about what we were up too, that is interesting to know. With the Christmas call home I just want to know when Mickell is calling so that I do not make problems. The rules have not really changed so that is nice. I still have a Sprint cell phone so whenever works for me! I will find out from the members that are feeding us when we are going to go over there but that should be in the evening or something. Well things are going well here and I am doing well. We have been doing some Christmas Caroling to help with investigators and less active members so that has been fun. Other than that though the work is progressing just not at the rate that I wish it was. Well I love you and cannot wait to talk to you. Love you mom.Your son,Elder Brickey

HELLO LOVED ONES!!We were out checking on less actives or inactives and a couple of the doors told us that the person was dead, which was really exciting. Yeah I get to call and check up on people, how exciting! No it is not bad there are only three sets of missionaries in my district (Oroville 1, Table Mountain Hmong that live with us, and then Us) so that is not bad. We have not had any issues yet that I know of. Well other than some misunderstandings that is. That is cool that you are taking hunter safety now. Though one Elder did tell me that the C&C is better to have because you do not have to have a permit for people but you do for animals. I hope that made sense to you if not I will explain it when I TALK to you on the 25th. I am curious about what car you are talking about, I am forgetful and out of the loop. Well I am game for treats though I do have to admit that you do not need to try and fatten me up, I did that already by myself. I am a little more rotund than I use to be, but maybe some of it is muscle I am not sure. I am supposedly 14% body fat so whatever that means. Anyways. Well it sounds like you have quite the Christmas things to do and I hope that they go well for you. I am thankful that I do not really have to deal with the hassles of Christmas for now. I do have to tell you that it is really fun to be a missionary and go by EVERYONE on the ward list, even the Do Not Contacts, ignorance is bliss baby! I am not sure what time we are going to do this Christmas call thing. I just want it to not interfere with the call from Mickell so Grandparents and such can be at both. Other than that I am game for whenever and whatever. I am just getting more and more excited to talk to you all. Well things are going well here and I am doing well too. We are still working on our investigators and we have picked up some formers so that is cool. Other than that not much has been happening. Well I better get going. I love you and wish you the best. Take care.-Elder Brickey

Emails for 12-8-08

The Mommy-I would have gotten the package the day before Thanksgiving but the mailman did not want to leave it at our door so I had to pick it up at the post office the day after, but that was okay. I will not lie it is really difficult to teach someone to shoot without demonstrating. Though I did handle the gun which was fun but made me super trunky and want to go shooting something fierce. I never thought that there were people that had no idea of how to shoot a shotgun, than again they only had a .22 and I do not know how long they have had that. Well I am thankful that I did get the package from Grandma and Grandpa it made me all excited cause I got it the day after thanksgiving so I felt really loved with two packages! Though I did just get a package today from a McAfee. Yeah Mr. Mac sent me A LOT of goodies and a little Christmas tree that is really cool. I got it today so that was really cool. I saw the last name and was confused for a minute and then realized who it was and was all excited! The new rules with being DL is that I have to call my district every night and when I get their numbers every Sunday I have to get D-E-T-A-I-L-S on everything, which takes a lot of time. I told Elder Glenn that he reminded me of me. I got into Cali and had Thanksgiving shortly after and then Christmas and I told him that it is a good way to start off the mission because everyone takes AWESOME care of you during the holiday season. Well Elder Glenn is the youngest of two kids. He has an older sister that is actually my age, which feels weird to say. He graduated 2008 WOW I felt old when he said that. He is actually kinda jealous that we are from AF because he was in band and everyone knows the AF band it seems like. Other than that he is a very fast learner. He is actually better prepared than I was when I entered the mission. So far it has been really good. I am doing fine with my journal I won't lie I have not been the best at writing in it as much as I should. Well our weather here has been cold and FOGGY which makes it feel colder or wetter whatever. I guess that we are in a kind of bowl or something and that the fog just settles in Oroville not really anywhere else, so fun stuff. All my stuff is holding up really well actually. I have tried my best to keep them in the best of shape that I could. We do have a Ward Christmas party on the 20th that we are invited too. The activities coordinator is an AWESOME member and she made sure that we knew we were invited! Tithing settlements we do not do out here that I know of. I think that I am a full tithe payer, well to the best of my knowledge anyways. For Christmas we meet as a couple of Zones together, nothing big though it is fun to see more missionaries than the ones in your zone. There will be two I think at our Santa Run. I bought stamps, but if you were to send more I would use them I am sure. Think of Birthday presents already, WOW that sounds weird. Than again Christmas is almost here and my birthday is shortly after that. I will think of what I want. Well things have been good here. We are working a lot with the less actives of our ward. It is funny because the lists say some people are Do Not Contacts and they are usually super nice. Other than that we are trying to get more investigators and the investigators that we have we are trying to get ready for baptism. Well I love you mom. Take care and I will talk to you later.Love your son,Elder Brickey

Yello!Well it is good to hear that you are all doing well. It sounds like your kids are getting to be quite the handful which could be fun when I get home because I will be something new for them. I think it is funny how when one kid does something the younger one wants to do it NOW too! Well I cannot believe it Nicole is 23 Ryan is turning the big 3-0 and I will soon be hitting that 2-1 mark that I use to look forward to so much. Now I wish I was a kid again. Well at least one of your kids has the potential than to be tall, though I am sure that Dallin will be very jealous if Aleana is taller than he is. Well that is nice that the semester is almost over, no school! YEAH! Well things are going well here. We have been working with our 300+ less actives which is fun. We have meet some crazies and then found out that some people were DEAD not sure how those things were missed but oh wells I guess. Well I hope you are doing well and that you get feeling well, your kids and such. I love you and cannot wait to talk to you. Take care and I will talk to you soon.Your little brother,Elder Brickey

Dec 1 2008 emails

The Mommy-We went hiking up to Feather Falls it is just in the foothills/mountains of Oroville. We had almost the entire Zone go with us so it was really fun. I will try to get pictures on CD and sent to you soon. The reason the Elder Lowe is going home mid transfer is because of school. It is actually very common for missionaries to go home a half transfer early. Well Elder Lowe got transferred to Red Bluff and my new companion is Elder Glenn from Stansbury Park, Utah and he is FRESH from the MTC so another trainee for me! Well for thanksgiving we went with the Newton family, they are awesome, up to their parents house and had a really fun time. I taught them all how to shoot a shotgun at a clay pigeon, though they still were not that good. I SO wanted to just show them but you know the rules no firearms on the mission! It was a good day though and we had a lot of fun, though I did miss the family and the family cooking! They did change Pday but I was not able to get to a computer so I was unable to email you all! I did get your package and THANK YOU I really LOVE the popcorn it is really yummy! I also got a package from Grandma and Grandpa Walker with what looks to be Christmas presents! I am exercising my self control and patients in not opening them, so no worries! We only had one thanksgiving dinner and that was definitely enough! I am already overweight and do not need to be even more, so I am good with the one meal. Well I am not overweight but weigh more than I wish I did. Our next Zone Conference is on the 11th and then we have Santa Run again on the 17th. The Christmas call will be a lot like last years probably. We will find out the week or so before and let you know so that we can be organized and everything. Who to invite, well the Family, whoever wants to talk to me, Kyle, and other than that I do not really know at the moment. Things are going really well actually. We had a baptism this last Saturday. Andrea McCarthey she is 9 and the most prepared and smart little girl ever. I kinda saw a bit of Desiree in her so that made me really excited and made me feel almost like I was watching Des get baptized! Other than that things are going well. I am training again and the District Leader again. I am not that excited about being either because there have been a lot more rules and things added since last time. Oh well I will try my best. I got the pictures from Shan. I do have to admit that the house looks weird, than again I am use to how it use to look. I do have to tell you though that the chair in the front room is, uh, interesting! Yeah! Well I love you mom and hope you are doing well. Take care and I will talk to you later.Love your son,Elder Brickey

Curley Family-Well I am training again. My new companion is Elder Glenn and he is from Stansbury Park, Utah. I am also the DL again so that is exciting! I am trying to get a box put together to send home and it will have pictures for you. I just need to get to a computer that has a burner to put them onto CD. It sounds like you had quite the thanksgiving. Ours was not bad though I do wish in someways that it was at home. That is cool though that things are going well for the remodel. It looks really good actually. Well a little strange to be honest. That is funny though that Grizz finally took and showed Oreo who was boss. Than again Shadow did that a couple of times as well. I am sorry that I was not able to get to a computer to email this last week. Than I was going to write letters and realized that I did not have anymore stamps so I just decided to wait and email you all Monday. Other than that though things are good. We had a 9 year old girl get baptized Saturday and the family was funny because they signed up to feed us once a week because they said they needed their Elder fix or they would go crazy. Things are going well and I cannot believe that Christmas is around the corner I am excited to get to talk to you all though. Well I am running out of time so I love you and wish you the best. Take care.Love your Brother,Elder Brickey