Emails 5/18/09

The Mommy-Hello there! How are you doing? Both Elder Knight and I are staying for another transfer together. That is sweet that Nicole and Ben have a place. Well looks like I will have a few places to crash when I get home. Between Scott, Nicole, the cabin, home and wherever else I have a lot of places to go. I did hear that Jess was going to go and do a C-section, or was thinking about it. That is a big baby for sure. I am sure that Ryan is super excited. He is going to be a good dad. So did Chad and Camie get the adoption thing to go through then? I did not hear about that, or if I did I forgot. That is cool that you have a lot of things done or prepped for Nicole's wedding. She must be getting excited. It is crazy to think that in less than a month the second to last Brickey will be married leaving just me! That is right you are going to be going to the St. George Temple this week. That is awesome, I am so excited for Nicole and Ben. They are so doing the right thing. It is going to be cool for Nicole because she is able to have the support of pretty well everyone in the family. That will be sweet though because when I finally get married ALL my family will be able to be there! Well lets get away from that subject cause that feels weird. Well this week we did not have much besides get people settled from transfers. We did have a meeting with President Pendleton on Friday though which was cool. After the meeting we played some softball. We split into North vs South and I am North so we do not have as many ZL's so Pres was on our team. We dominated in the game. I went 6 for 6 at the plate and had three catches and two assists for outs. It was super fun! I have a sweet raspberry on my left leg from a slide to catch a ball. We are doing good in the work though. We have some new investigators that seem really promising so that is always super nice. Other than that not much else has been going on besides normal missionary work. Well I love you and hope you are doing well. Take care and I will talk to you later!Love your son,Elder Brickey

Curley's-Wow you had a eventful week. I am glad to hear that I was remembered for a little while after I called. Though I do have to admit it will be nicer to be able to see you all too. It is all good though the work is awesome and I love my mission. We are working with some awesome people. We are doing the new member lessons with Ernie, he just got baptized on the 9th, and we have other lessons with less actives as well as investigators. We actually just picked up a new investigator named Apple. She seems really interested and seems to have a sincere desire to learn so that is cool. Only time will tell though on what happens there. We were suppose to have a baptism this Friday but he got antied by his parents and friends so he backed out. We are trying to meet with him still though to see if we can resolve his concerns. We also went and had a meeting with all the ZL's and the President. After we went and played some softball which was sweet since I love baseball. I actually went 6 for 6 at the plate and had a couple really good plays in the outfield where I played. I am surprised that I did not hurt my shoulder it did not hurt or anything after so that was nice. Well I am thankful for all that you do. I love you all very much. Take care.-Elder Brickey

Emails 5/11/09 and a talk

We were able to talk to Elder Brickey for Mother's Day. With talking to him, the emails were not as long. He is doing GREAT and just had a baptism on May 9.

The Mommy-Hello! It was so good to hear from you yesterday! Thank you so much for all you do mom, you are the bestest! It was really fun to talk to Kyle we just walked down memory lane about mission stories and missionary life it was fun. That is weird to think that the next call will be Kyle and I talking to Mickell. I remember when Mickell and I went to Harper's to talk to Kyle. The world spins it around pretty quick it seems. Well we got the calls and I will be staying in Chico for at least another 6 weeks! I am pretty happy actually, I love it here a lot. Thanks again mom for all you do. I could not have gotten a better mom! LOVE YOU!Love your son,Elder Brickey

Curley's
It was awesome to get to talk with you all yesterday. I still cannot believe how big the kids are getting. Well I love you and hope your week goes well. Talk at you later!Love,Elder Brickey

We are so excited, he will be home in about 5 months. He is loving the mission and has some great investigators. He is so glad that he has been able to touch so many lives. He loves those he is teaching and has tought. Life is going well and he is loving what he is doing.

Emails 5-4-09

The Mommy-It is good to hear that you had a good week! Things are going well here in Cali! The weather has cooled down a bit and we have gotten some rain so that was good. We also have the baptism of Ernie, Jesus, this Saturday so that is really exciting! With our lessons we count them to investigators, less-active members and sometimes to active members when we help them set specific dates and names with a follow up to see how they are doing. We use to count lessons at dinners when we shared the lessons or part of one to them. So that is how we count lessons. We have always counted our lessons and we count other things as well. For Daniel he was I guess laid off for a time because it was not "fire season" but now that we are getting back into "fire season" he got the call to go back to work so he is really excited about that. I am a terrible brother. I have Nicole's letter I just have not finished it yet. I also have not finished my letter to Kayce I am not doing so good on writing letters. I am sorry to hear that Abby had difficulties with her pregnancy. I did work with her in the singles ward. She and her husband CJ are good people. CJ was actually one of my first Home Teaching comps when I reactivated. Wow you are getting a new shed. Any reason as to why you decided to get a new shed? Well I do not get out of church until about 4pm here so I am not sure when I should have you all call. We might have to break it into a couple different parts or something. I think 6pm here so 7pm there would work out. So yeah. Well I am excited to hear from you. I will talk with you later. LOVE YOU MOM!Love your son,Elder Brickey

Hola-How are you all doing? Hopefully good. It sounds like things are going wellf or you back in the big UT so that is good. Than of course your kids sound like they are doing awesome. That is fun to hear about all their different personality traits and see the few that I might have had an influence on. Anyways. That is sweet that Dallin likes some of the "old" movies I think is how you put it. Though I do not think that they are very old personally. I do however have a little of a worry about Dallin and the emotional scars that he will have due to wearing pretties. Yes I know that I use to as well and that is how I know these things. No I think that EVERY little boy has to go through that at some point in their life. That is awesome that you got accepted into the PhD program Ryan. CONGRATS! That is cool that you will be staying in Utah for a while now as well. I hope that your graduation is awesome. Well things are going well here. We have a baptism this Saturday and then we have baptism coming up later in the month as well so that is sweet! Things are going really well here in Cali. I love you and am excited to talk to you all on Sunday. Take care and I will talk to you later.Love,Elder Brickey

Emails 4-27-09

Mommy-Well how are you doing this week? I am doing wonderful. Our week was awesome. We did away with one of the ways that we count lessons so we were scared that we were not going to meet our goal of 20 lessons but the Lord provided and we actually got 22 lessons, so that was awesome! I think that it was the dryer that ate my garments because I do not think my companions are the same size as me. I am a weird build. I do like the cotton-polys best. That is so cool that DJ is endowed and getting ready to go through the Temple to be sealed. It is actually a little nuts to think that but good for him. The guy that reminds me of me is Daniel Adams. He is originally from Biggs, just a little further south of Chico, but he lives in Chico now. He is a firefighter for Calfire and he actually just got a call back to his firehouse and he is excited about that. We had a VERY awesome lesson with him this last Friday. He is doing so well. He actually said the closing prayer without us asking him too and he gave us both hugs as we left. It was such a powerful lesson and night. Jesus, or Ernie, is getting baptized May 9 at 2 pm. We are really excited for him because he is excited and his non-member family is coming to the baptism so that is really awesome. The weather here is still warm/hot depending on the day. I am getting use to the warm though so it is not as bad. It is weird though because the weather will flash from hot to cold so much and without any warning. On Mother's Day I got to church from 715 am to about 430 pm so probably sometime in the evening would be best! That is weird to think that is that last call home. Anyways I hope all is going well for you. I LOVE YOU MOMMY!Love your son,Elder Brickey

Curley Family-Well it sounds like things are going well for you all back there in the big UT. It is always interesting to hear what the kids are up to and the mischef that they get into. That is pretty sad though that Dallin took and drilled mm's car. Hopefully it was not that bad or to much damage. Than again you could always take and buff out the damage. Well anyways hopefully they do not cause to much trouble. Than again they are Brickey's so good luck with that one! It is good to hear that you are staying busy with work Ryan. It is to bad to hear that people are getting a lot of divorces but hey at least it is work. I would love to do things with driving but I have no idea of how to get into that field. Your welcome for the card, I am glad you like it. It took me all of 2 minutes to find it. The monkey kind of stood out to me so I figured hey that works for Shan. Well I hope that things go well for DJ's wedding and the cake there. I know it can be fun getting that stuff done. Well anyways things are going well here. The temperature is still warm/hot. The work is going well though and we have a lot of good people that we are working with. We have a baptism coming up on May 9 so that is really sweet. It is so weird to think that Mothers Day is just around the corner. Well thigns are going well and I hope that you are all doing well. LOVE YOU!-Elder Brickey

emails 4-20--09

The Mommy-Well Hello there my wonderful mommy! How are you doing this week? Hopefully you are doing well. Things here are going good. I am still feeling well so that is nice. I think what stressed me out so much is that I was not sure if I really knew the area or felt comfortable having the "load" dropped onto me. That was the most part, then a few other things that are going on in the Zone that we had to take care of put a little stress on me as well. Things are good though now, not so weighted down by anything. I am actually kind of in need of a couple more g-bottoms. I am not sure what happened I swear that I had a good stash of them, but for some reason I now have 4 tops and no bottoms to go along with them. The size is 32 regular so you know. Other than that though I am doing well. Things are holding up and I am doing well so that is always nice. For the baptism that is coming up one of the members that has been a REALLY good friend is going to baptize him, Jesus. I am ok with that though it will be a good experience for the both of them. The weather here has been HOT yesterday it was 90 degrees. It is suppose to be that today as well, so that is exciting! I won't lie I am not excited about the hot, you know me I am hot blooded so I do not need the heat. It is good though I will survive. That is cool that Grandpa wore the lei, Elder Talaipa will be really happy about that. I got the wedding announcement for DJ and Amy. I will not lie it was weird to see, but I am happy for him. It is just weird to think that I am the only single Brickey now. That is ok though because I have been busy in the Lord's errand and it is AWESOME! Well things here have not been to eventful this past week. I think the most memorable thing for me anyway was Friday. We took one of the less-active members of the 2nd ward with us on exchanges and we taught a couple lessons and he gave some awesome input. It was a really awesome thing to see and participate in. He is really coming along and doing well. I am sure that he will get back into the church, we just have a few things to work on. We than had dinner with a less-acitve in the 6th ward (YSA) and it was awesome. I can see so much of me in him it is crazy. I am pretty sure that if I did not get back into the church I would be right where he is now. He told me the first time that we met that he let me in cause there was something about me and as he has got to know me he said that he sees a lot of him in me. So that was pretty cool. We are teaching him the lessons and his roommate is not a member and he said that he will also get another girl that is less-active to come to church with him when he comes back. That was awesome, he is a good guy and has a lot of potencial. He is trying to also get me to come back here and go to Chico State to get my degree. I guess they have an awesome engineering program. Well I have not ate everything yet from your package though I am getting close. Thank you again mom for all you do. I really appreciate it and love you so much for all that you do for me. You are the greatest! LOVE YOU!Love your son,Elder Brickey

Curley Family-Well it sounds like you have had a good week. It sounds like Grandma and Grandpa did a very good job from everyones comments. I am not ready at all to give my own homecoming talk. I think I will go and "hide" at the cabin or go and visit Scott or something and delay it when that time comes. Though it is still a ways a way. I still do have 6 months so that is not long but it is long enough to get more work done. It is weird now though saying that I have been out for 18 months. I never thought the day would come and now that it is here I cannot believe how fast it came. Well it sounds like your kids are for sure Brickey's, little devils at one moment and then angels the next. Oh wait that is just all kids. Though I can imagine that they miss attention. With the way time seems to fly by and how much it scares me to say, but soon they will have their Uncle to give them attention. Wow scary thought, scary because the mission cannot be over that quick. I SO believe everyone now about the first year goes quick but the second year FLIES! It sounds like divorces are getting more and more common. I am pretty sad at the fact that people go through each other like they go through shoes or fads. It has been fun talking with people about the different things that the church believes. The fun one about eternal marriage was a lady told us that there was NO WAY that she would be with her husband for time and all eternity. That was interesting to say the least. It is just rediculous how often and how accepted divorce is now days. Well I hope that the cake goes well for DJ. I am sure that you will do a good job there too. I actually thought the other day that I would not mind getting into baking or something like that. Maybe I could help you out a bit if you decided to do a cake thing Shan. Than again now I am not entirely sure what I want to be when I grow up. If that will ever happen, me grow up hahaha! Anyway I really appreciate all your love and support. Thank you for all that you do. Take care and I will talk to you later.Love,Elder Brickey

Emails 4-13-09

Mommy-Well I am feeling better now. We do have a couple different stores near by so that makes it nice for getting drugs! For the most part we just keep on trucking, I have taken more naps though instead of eating it seemed like I was sleeping. I am doing good though now just a little conjested still. The funny thing is that I think my companion gave it to me! He said he was sick before he got here and still was feeling a little sick so he said it is his fault. I think it is mine as well I have stressed myself out a little to much lately. I am good though now no real heavy stress. My companion does not have a cool accent. He said that most of the people in Kentucky that have an accent are those that live out in the country and he lived in the city and they usually do not have accents in the city. He was born and raised in Kentucky but his parents are originally from Florida, so whatever that means I am not sure. For the conference party thing they were all college/young single adults. We did get a lot of lessons set up so that was really exciting. We also just set a baptismal date with one of our investigators and he is really funny. He asked us when he gets baptized if they would use his full name. We said yes and then asked why. Come to find out his name is Jesus Ernesto Martinez, so that will be cool to baptize Jesus! Our Easter was filled with church, but they were amazing! There were some very beautiful and amazing talks given. Then we also had dinner with some of the missionaries that are on the church farm that is in our area. It was fun because we were able to relate on not being able to see our families, though they were talking to one of their kids when we got there so that was a little different. I did get the package that you sent, thank you VERY much. It was cool to get a package and always fun. That is crazy that Brad is coming home. I swear he just left the other day. Than again it feels like it was forever ago that I got that wonderful sickness. I still remember that week SO well! That is good news about Chad and Cami. They are the best and will do awesome! I hope that everything works out for them. Well I am doing well and the weather here is nice and sunny. We could use rain though to help with the drought. The work is going awesome as well. We have some really awesome people that we are working with and the Lord is helping us out a TON! Thanks for all you do mom and remember that I LOVE YOU! Take care and I will talk to you later.Love your son,Elder Brickey

Hello!I think it is funny how often I to forget the things that have happened for the week. It seems like the weeks just blend together and I am not sure what all has happened in the past week. That is ok though it means that things are going well and that time is flying which is both good and bad. I love the mission and love the blessings and wonderful people that I get to meet, though there are those times where I am excited to see the family again. That is to bad about the weiner roast, I miss those different family things the most I think. I am excited to be able to participate in those in due time. Anways. It could be the Brickey that is most prevalent in Dallin, it sounds like it we like the bad guys. Plus the bad guys need their fans because they get the short end of the stick a lot so we can be their fans. I think it is funny that Dallin is a lot like Scott. When you get a camera out they both stop doing whatever. It will be so weird to talk to everyone at Mother's Day. I have mixed emotions about it. I am excited to talk to you all, but then I realize that the last time I talked to you all I had 10 months left in a month when I talk to you again I will have only 5 months left. That does not feel like that much time and I still feel like there is a lot that I can do. Looks like I will just have to work double time. Well things are going well here. Our Easter was filled with church, but it was wonderful because beautiful talks were given. It was sunny though and warm. Though I think I would have rather had rain because we really need the rain here in Cali. Well things are going well here. Thanks for all your love and support. Take care and get everyone into a big group and have a group huge, and then say that it was from me. Love you!Love your ONLY missionary so better be your favorite!,Elder Brickey ;-)

Emails 4-6-09

Mommy-Hey hey! How are you doing? Can you believe that it is already April? I cannot, it seems like time is just flying by. Well the new companion and I are doing rather well, but that can be expected since we just started serving together. Ask in about two weeks and I will be able to tell you better. No he is really cool. He goes home in August, so that is 20 months in the mission. He is from Louisville, Kentucky so my fourth of eight that is not from Utah. That is neat half in Utah half out of Utah good split. The movie about the life of Joseph Smith is actually not really available to anyone right now. Somehow someone got a copy and now it is circulating throughout the mission. I will send you a copy if you like? Wow snow again that is crazy, but hey I am sure that it is nice and helping out with the water levels and such. Sam Hansen is about 18 maybe, she is the same age as Chelsey Coombs if I remember right. The little get together went really well actually. We did not have everyone come that we were hoping but we had 12+ I think. It went really good and the investigators that we had there LOVED the movie and conference was just awesome too. We did get to see all the sessions and we actually watched the last session at the members house where we watched the movie. It was awesome! I do have a special memory of Grandpa I will get it written up and sent to you since I do not have the much time to write it in the email. Well things are going pretty well, other than I got really sick this last week and it seems like a lot went wrong quick. I have not one but two cold sores which sucks. I have not been sleeping so well cause I am all congested and coughing all the time. It is wonderful. I will pull through though of course. Well what was your favorite conference talk? I really LOVED Elder Holland's talk than again he is always really good. Anyways I love you and hope you are doing well. Take care and I will talk to you later.Love your son,Elder Brickey

Hola-Well it sounds like you had quite the eventful week! That is good that things are staying busy for you Ryan at work. I know that the unemployment rate or percentage is raising quite a bit. That is nuts though some of the things that are happening though. It is so weird to see how crazy some people are and what they do. That could be fun though at the sametime could be a little nerve racking. That is good that the cake thing went well. From all I have heard it sounds like you did a wonderful job Shan! Than again my family is just amazing anyways so I knew you would do good! ;-) I totally forgot about the Walker weenie roast, man I miss those little events. That is cool that Kirt and Nicole are going to be coming in for it as well. It sounds like the kids are quite an adventure! I do worry a little that Dallin loves all the villians even in the Book of Mormon movies but hey maybe that will help him know the Book of Mormon better. You should so record him doing it and shoe it to him when he is older, I am sure that he would LOVE that! That is funny that Saedy is the second most comprehendable of the neices and nephews. Than again Kirk has always been a very fast talker and Kenna would talk really fast too. That was all that were talking when I left so the rest is news to me. I am still thrown off from when I called at Christmas and Nicole had Saedy say HI to me. I was all "no my Saedy cannot talk" and all of a sudden bam there it was. So it sounds like the kids are all growing up and doing well so that is good. Things here are good. Elder Knight and I are doing well so far. We are actually pretty similar in personalities which is fun. Our little "Party" was awesome. One of the investigators that watched it after the movie was over and before the start of the second session (well last session whatever) came up and said that there were a couple moments in the movie that he was all "lets get me baptized right now" or "lets do this" so that was really cool. But other than that things are going well. I have been a little sick lately which sucks, but I am getting better. I have two gnarly cold sores on my bottom lip which sucks too. Well time is really flying by. I agree it felt like I had just started serving with Elder Rogers now I have Elder Knight, though I was with Elder Rogers for two transfers. I just cannot believe how fast time is going by. Well I love you and thank you for your support. Take care and I will talk to you later.Love,Elder Brickey