October 28 Email

So a lot has happened so I'll tell you about it! I had a "fun" week. We taught and found and every teaching appt. was dogged! aka it din't go through. The members do an awesome job! mainly the Ward mission leaders, but some members too! There are people from all over the world that come here! It's really cool! so the ZL's delivered mail yesterday and I only got one letter from the whole week! IDK if anyone is writing or if they just didn't get through or what, but please write me!!! I'm finally starting to figure everything out over here! like the grid and how to use the area book and all that good stuff. Something cool that happened on Mon.- we had a zone meeting and set our goal for the month of Nov! I'm way excited for the challenge and promises laid before us as a zone! Speaking of challenges and blessings, On Mon, all four of our apts. dogged us and we did everything we (Elder Dyson and I; but mostly Elder Dyson) could think of to fill in for the time we now had that we should be teaching in the three hours left in the day! Elder D said it's one of the most frustrating times in his mission! An Elder told him that when training, you'll either get an excess of blessings or a trial of your faith! He's already trained 2 missionaries and seen the excess of blessings, so I get to be the "trial of your faith" trainee! :) "But every cloud has a silver lining"-Tiki room, Disneyland! Yesterday, we went on exchanges with the ZL's! I got to go with Elder Sanchez! He's an amazing missionary! His English isn't the best, but that doesn't stop him from talking to everyone! He won't take no for an answer until he makes sure they know what they are saying no to! We got to teach one of the investigators Elder D and I were working with! His name is Emmanuel and he's from Sudan! It's pretty cool I guess! Actually it's amazing! The Spirit taught through me about the Atonement of Christ and I did my purpose as a missionary telling him to repent of his sins and be baptized on the 14 of Nov! And he said that he would!!! Elder D was flaberghasted when we reunited after exchanges! It's almost unheard of for a missionary to ask someone to be baptized and have them accept in thier first week out in the field! Also, "Baby it's cold outside," Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow," I never eat December snowflakes; I always wait until January"-Lucy, Merry Christmas Charlie Brown, "I hate Christmas! I hate it!"-The grinch-(The one with real people!) "It's snowing!!!"-Hook! Well, it is snowing now and is very cold! YAY! I better enjoy it while I can because I'm sure I'll be sick of it by the end of the transfer(Dec. 2).We have a lot more work to be done than I ever imagined we'd have in Salt Lake!
Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Send me letters! I''d really appreciate knowing what's goin down in the hood!
I love you family! Your amazing! Mom, I miss your cooking! Oh but I got to try a head and tongue taco on Monday! It was pretty good but wierd cuz I could see the taste buds on the tongue! so ya I still get to eat wierd foods even though I'm in Salt Lake! How's L's room looking!?! I'm kinda jealous, not gonna lie! It sounds sick!!! Send me a pic when you're done! Dad! I got to see BYU get stomped on!!! :( not fun! (We tracted into a part member family and They were watching it so I saw the last 2 min.) 38-7 isn't very good! I'm glad they got home field "advantage" for this game and Florida St. K! Hope school's going well let me know what you're up to!
Anyway, I'd write more according to what People asked me but I didn't get any letters! Oh accept for Will's; and sorry Will I haven't read it yet!
Love to all my brothers and sisters!
Love,
Elder Partridge!

*In our defense, he told us last time that his P-day which=emails was Thursday, so I had a bunch of stuff to tell him Thurs. But it turns out it's really Wed.! We've repented and are making up for our mistake.

Letter From Pres. Sonne

In a letter we received from Pres. Sonne telling us B got there safely, he said, "What a pleasure it was for Sister Sonne and me to welcome your son, Elder Partridge, into the Utah Salt Lake City Mission."

"I am impressed by your son's desire to serve. He is in high spirits as he anticipates the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Please be assured that Sister Sonne and I will be watching over him while he is here."

"Thank you for raising such an outstanding son, worthy and willing to serve the Lord full time in our mission."

October 21, 2009

Dear Family!

I'm here! Holla! We ate breakfast (sausage and pancakes). I ate a lot! My personality is shining through! They had to lift the board behind us because I'm so tall! We got to go to Temple Square and see the resources we have to use on a constant basis! It's so cool! The Sisters there can set up a tour based on the investigator's needs! I'll be going to the Temple every week if I'm in Salt Lake! I'm so excited! I'm going to be extremely bold! The goal is a "Zion Mission"! Becoming like Nephi (Helaman 10:4), and not being Martin Harris (Doctrine and Covenants 3:12-13)! Pres. Sonne said he has high expectations from me! I felt really cool that Bro. and Sis. Wilson already knew me! I'm sad they're leaving today! :( Anyway, I'll write more on P-day!

Love you a ton!

Love,

Elder Partridge

Last Pics From The MTC

Samuel Smith statue

Elder B--I'm sure the perfectly made bed is his! :)

Studying in class.

His district with Sis. Stroud, one of his teachers.

District by the map

With Elder Gardner

BYU Football. Go Cougars!

Elder Jorgensen

Three-some companionship,

Elder Partridge, Elder Jorgensen, and Elder Gardner plus Elder Smith.

Elder Partridge, Elder Smith, Elder Lomax, and Elder Jorgensen

I thought this was one of the photoshop/Matrix pics, then I saw how red his face is and realized he's actually on a small table doing it himself! Goofy boy, makes me smile!
Sorry the pics are blurry. I had to take pics of the pics and it didn't work so well this time.

Dear Family...

Hey Family!
Just real quick, I love you all a ton! I miss you but not that much! If you know what I mean!
Love!
eLDER pARTRIDGE!

First Email from SLC

So I got out into the field and it's hard! yet extremely amazing! I must say, I love the Trax! Yesterday me and my new comp Elder Dyson (like the vacuum) met and ate lunch together at the mission office! I'm sad the Wilsons left yesterday! :( but it's ok! We did a lot of orientation stuff with the staff and had our interviews with Pres and Sis Sonne! I don't need my Hep A shot till I get home! yes! So baisically I learned that Pres. Monson lives right across the street from the mission home! it's kinda a big deal! Anyway, we get a car! but yesterday we only used it to get from the office to our appartment (a basement in a member's home). It's cool! Something IMPORTANT to remember!!!!! I love getting mail! I'm way too busy to write baisically at all except for P-Day! and even then the day is packed full of stuff to do! keep writing me but don't be too mad at me if it takes weeks or months to reply! I will do my best with the little free time I'm given! anyway, more about my comp! He just reached master finder, the highest of four levels in the mission; and he's only been out 3 months!!!! jk, He's been out 21-22 months! but at least I'm not killing him off! (HOLDEN). He's from Mesa too! He went to Dobson and graduated in 2005! He's old! He really knows his stuff! So last night we went out and worked There was a family really wanting to get baptized but haven't been to church enough and are moving to Sandy in a few days so we can't baptize them! Shucks! We have the ward trunk or treat coming up though and used that to contact a family of four! we're teaching them the first lesson on Friday! Pray for us and them to feel the Spirit! We also used it to contact a man named Loren and his daughter, out walking the dog! He's Catholic and isn't too interested in the church but is really excited for the trunk or treat! But I know the power of the Lord; and if the Lord has prepared him, He won't be able to deny baptism! We've been taught to build this mission into a Zion mission! Therefore we are rather bold and blunt about our purpose, but we're still respectfull of others! there is a definite result of this! Last night, we got a miracle phone call! A woman named Rene has been going to church since March and was going to be baptized in July but didn't feel ready yet! She's moving in 9 days and wants to be baptized before she has to leave! We are baptizing her on Oct. 31! Please pray for her to keep this commitment! I know that the Lord has planned all this out and we were told this would happen a lot in this mission! We will show up in church one Sunday and the Bishop will tell us somone wants to be baptized! The member help is amazing! We get a ton of referals! I'm serving in the Temple Zone and got to go to the Temple today! I've been born in the Rose Park North Area which is the north most part of the mission! It's known for being the most ghetto area! So I guess everywhere else in the mission is pretty amazing cuz it's not even ghetto! We also walked into this guy from New Guinne, Africa named Abu! He is a member and is living with some friends who aren't members in an apartment! Alas, they are just out of our area! Drat! but we are in an area where we will be able to do a lot of tracting; which Elder Dyson has had a ton of success by doing this in other areas! It's a less wealthy community with a lot of refugees from all over the world! They are an extremely humble people! I love downtown Salt Lake! It's sweet to be in! I guess I have a much better memory than Elder Dyson's other "Sons" he's trained! But I feel retarded because I get way lost and the grid is so easy in Utah! Everything just moves out from 0 N. 0E. which is baisically Temple Square! I haven't ran into any protestors hatin on the church yet! oh but we parked by this outdoor mall and took the trax at the planetarium stop! Is Clarks Planetarium the same one we've gone to a couple times!?! cuz that place is sweet! I found out we're allowed to watch basically any G rated movie on our mission! and stuff like Forever Strong! We're at the Library doing our E-mails! Elder Aguilar'a right in front of us with his comp! Anyway, I'm basically done! a lot has happened in one day between E-mails! haha! I don't know how I'll tell you everything! I'll just have to tell you about the big things that happen in the week! Please Please Please pray for our investigators to feel the Spirit and desire to change! I love you all!

Love,
Elder Partridge!

P.S. Thursday is our P-Day!

October 18

It's Sunday and Elder Gardner leaves tomorrow along with most other Elders on our floor! It's pretty hard because we don't leave til Wed so we'll be doing a lot of the same stuff without people we usually do these with! But it'll be cool! Just a little weird til we leave and change! Love you!
Love,
Elder Partridge

October 14-17

10-14
We taught a lesson to some volunteers. I did great looking up scriptures because I got some tabs. We finished going through the 2 lessons and taught. For gym I did 500 jump ropes, ran 3 laps, sprinted 1, and walked 1. Then did 3 sets of 10 on leg press at 320 lbs. I've lost a pound since coming here. I've seen Aubrie, Jackson Lane, Nathan Fogth, Schiefer, MJ Roberts, and Chase Roberts. I've gotten 6 total packages. Back at the residence hall, I went to walk out the bedroom door and Elder Jorgensen scared me to death. I screamed and jumped into a karate kid stance and kicked him.

10-15
We cleaned the bathrooms today for service and I was the hose man! At lunch we had a fun argument laugh session mostly from making fun of me! We got a chat at the RC and I'm pretty sure this girl is going to be baptized.

10-16
We "taught" Sis. Stroud the Word of Wisdom. Then we took a district pic w/her. We did arms today for gym and I've gained 3 lbs. of muscle, I'm sure. I'm now 160 lbs. For Bro. W's class we taught him as himself! It was hard but was more like a discussion than a lesson. Then we learned how to address Bible bashing. I taught Elder Jorgensen and vise versa about faith! Later we did memorization.

10-17
So, Sis. Pratt subbed for Sis. Stroud today and guess what? Sis. Pratt's little sister, Lizzie Jensen, did Musical Theatre and I totally remember her! Then I did the teaching stuff w/Jorgensen again only we taught chastity, tithing, and baptism. We had a teaching appt. w/Hailey and Kelly, 2 volunteers, and we thought we were teaching them the law of tithing and 5 seconds before we knocked on the door we found out we had to teach the Word of Wisdom! So we had to wing it! Thank goodness we know how to invite the Spirit in and let Him teach through us! Cuz it actually went way good! Except they complemented us on our example and in response I said, "Sometimes we don't realize how great we are," trying to thank them, and everyone started laughing. After that, for class, we took a district pic w/Bro Wilding! And guess who I saw? (Actually, she saw me first.) Candace Shields! We shook hands and it was just way weird to see someone I knew that wasn't in the MTC.

Just thought I'd share some key points from my days for you to read! Elder Jorgensen's first name is Ben, not Adam. Sorry. I can totally see Blake in Texas! And Josh in Switzerland for that matter. My goose egg is going way down! I have soooo much food! I've gotten 8 packages and just got a slip for another one I have to pick up on Monday. I got the one from my friends!I'm excited to hear what Dad has to say about J. Golden and wish I could see the videos! I can't wait to get my pics and I know I won't get homesick! I got one from Ashlyn of me, her, Caleb, and Kimberly after we took down the volleyball stuff when I was up w/them. I won't get sick! Bummer about Libby, though! Swine flu can't be fun. How is Carson doing w/ it?

Love,
Elder Partridge

New Address

Today B left the MTC so his new address is:
(His name)
Utah Salt Lake City Mission
3487 S. 1300 E. West Entrance
Salt Lake City, UT 84106

(It's at the top of the blog, too!)

Thanks to all of you who have written and sent packages to him. He's beyond grateful! (And so are we!)

Loves!

Leaving The MTC!

October 20, 2009

So this week went by way fast! Elder Gardner left yesterday! :( I'll miss him and I know he'll do great in Portland! Thanks to everyone for the letters! and especially the packages! I did get the package from Sirrines; and it was great! Mom, I thought the Halloween gifts were great! I started hiding stretchy skeletons and mice all over the residence hall! and they are the hit of the district!haha, if only you know what you started! we whip each other and shoot them at each other! This has probably been one of the chillest weeks! nothing outrageous really happened; except that I'm leaving tommorrow!!!!! It's kinda a big deal! ha. We taught our teacher bro. Wilding! as himself with his life! We totally taught with the spirit and he told us he definately learned something from the way we taught! Yesterday, Elder Jorgensen and I taught for the first time without Elder Gardner with us! :/ and it went amazing! :) we really had the spirit with us! If you haven't realized yet, the Spirit is a HUGE part of teaching and everything else for that matter! Without the Holy Ghost, nothing would get done right! I'm so ready to leave for SLC tomorrow! I am at the peak of my MTC learning experience and am itching to use what I've learned and influence the lives of others! so, Elder Jorgensen happens to be a 3 time state champion and has 3 state titles! so Elder Gardner taught me how to land a leg kick! so I tried it on Elder Jorgensen and got him perfect! He grabbed me in a guillotine and threw me to the ground! It was funny! but next time I'll go for Elder Kiem! I love you all and love hearing from you! Next time I write, it will be from SALT LAKE!!! (or Wyoming haha)!
Love, Elder Partridge!

Fourth Letter

Dear Family,
It takes a rather long time for these letters to arrive so you'll be confused for awhile until you get this.
Everyone in my district is going to SLC except Elders Boyce, Johnson, and Gardner, so I'm in good company, and there are even more going that I don't know/haven't met.
So yesterday, an Elder next door went home. Not sure why, but didn't ask. His 2 room mates left to go to their mission areas, so Elder Gardner and I moved to the room next door and added Elder Jorgenson to our companionship so he wouldn't be alone. (He is going to SLC). Anyway, we left Elders Boyce and Johnson as room mates and they now have some fresh newbies! One of which definitely needs to work on his humility (He talked back to me!) Can you believe that?! He doesn't know who he's dealing with! :) We always keep the AC cranked to the lowest temp. and it feels amazing, except when we wake up and it's still dark and the moon is shining bright.
Today we moved on to the 2nd lesson! I'm excited ! There's a place called the RC where we call people to see if they get what they ordered and share a message with them. Today I talked on a call with a man and he cried while I bore my testimony to him over the phone. It was really cool. Oh! and off the subject, I prayed 17 times yesterday, and I missed a couple of times! I saw Elder Scheifer! yesterday and today! We also went to the TRC where we practice-taught the first lesson to a volunteer posing as an investigator. We ended up kinda teaching backwards because we focused on only answering her questions. But then we evaluated ourselves and went back in! The first visit with her we committed her to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and we got a return appointment. Then after the 10 minuted break we went back and kept answering questions and she asked how people join our church. I explained how Jesus set the example and by immersion. Then she was really interested and I asked her if she wanted to be baptized. We also did TEC where we did tracting with a teacher and was evaluated! We did that again later and worked on a return discussion.
Anyway, I love you!
Elder Partridge!

Message For Facebook and Blog

Dear Friends and Family of all ages!
The Gospel is true!
Send me letters! :)

Third Letter

October 6, 2009

Just an update. Today's P-day! We only wear P-day clothes for about 4 hours! It doesn't seem to make up for wearing the other clothes over 12 hours every day! I'm doing my laundry with Elder Gardner right now. Yesterday we kinda slacked and didn't have The Spirit as strong and we ended up getting pretty discouraged teaching an "8 year old" (practice). We were tired and on overload from the day and this came as a huge curve ball! But this morning we got to go to the Temple and it is amazing how much the Temple can help rejuvenate us and set us back on the path we were on; to work hard and work smart. It's hardest because the influence of others played a big role on how effective we were, but being able to think about the covenants we made at the Temple will help us be stronger willed. Elder Gardner said he couldn't ever picture me annoyed or mad. :) But it's all good up here! I'm waiting for some pics to send to you so you'll get more than 1 letter in the envelope.

Love ya,

Elder Partridge

Elder Johnson and Elder Boyce--his room mates

Elder Partridge and Elder Gardner--his Companion

Second Letter

October 4, 2009

Dear Family,
I'm excited for Hudson! Conference was great! How about Elder Holland's talk!!!? Pretty great stuff! Me and my comp. are still working hard! By-the-way, his first name is Chisum, as in from the John Wayne movie; and he told me that it was either going to be that or Rooster, also from John Wayne, and his mother would not let his father do that to him. (Thank goodness!) But he's great! Still! He says I'm pushing him hard, but that's giving me too much credit, meaning we both don't have to push each other hardly at all to do what we're supposed to because we both know what we need to do to prepare and we've both been taught how to work hard. He is a lot like dad and has a ton of stories about life growing up working and also about J. Golden Kimball. Do you know who that is? And if so, what are your feelings about him? Anyway, just an update. It's raining today, but yesterday and today we're not outside enough to know if a tornado swept through. Our schedule yesterday: Breakfast, Conference, Lunch, Conference, Dinner, Conference, Comp. study (reviewing notes), planning, bed. Seriously! But ya. Love you all. I get my email on Tuesday and get to send one out. I'll talk to ya then.
Love,
Elder Partridge

*Please send pics of my friends. :)

First Letter

September 30, 2009

Hey Family!
The first day at the MTC was great! I'm gonna love it here. And they tell me it gets even better. I dropped off my bags and headed straight to class. Then left for the new missionary orientation. I saw Aubrie (his cousin) when Cali people stood up. She was the aisle next to me 2 rows in front. Then we went to dinner! After that we had a teaching simulation. Then we met our zone leaders at the classroom. They're going to Bulgaria! They gave us a tour, but I still don't know where anything is. My companion is Elder Gardner; he is going to Portland, Oregon along with my other 2 room mates, Elder Johnson and Elder Boyce. But they are the only ones out of the 6 or 7 companionships. Everyone else is going to Salt Lake. My companion is really great. He's from a town called Wallsberg by Heber City up Provo Canyon. He lived on a farm and says he's kind of a hick! He is really excited to work! work! work! We'll get a lot done these 3 weeks. After dinner we got all turned around and went out "the doors of no return" after dinner. They call it that cause the only missionaries that go through those doors are leaving. I'll have a lot of time to write and read letters when we go back to the residence at night, but won't be able to mail until Prep. Day on Tuesday! So write me!!! The Gospel's still true. Love you all! Tell everyone hi.

What A Week!

So to start the week off, I got my first "transfer." one of the Elders left and so my comp and I moved next door and have a threesome now with Elder Jorgenson! It's sweet, we have the room all to ourselves and it's always really cold! I love it! This week I've been the reason for laughs! Besides my naturally comical personality, these are some of the things that have happened. so there was a really awkward moment when our teacher leaned across me to get something off the self and was like 3 inches away from me; then she looked at me and was like; "this is kinda awkward," and then kept trying to find whatever she was looking for! Next I was eating cinnamon rolls from sister Moore! (thank you), and I had to go wash up. (this is at night after lights out!) so I washed the frosting off my hands and face and when I came out of the bathroom I decided I was thirsty! So i side stepped over to the drinking fountain and totally tripped and ate it! I had to lie there for a while to ask myself if that really just happened! and ya! It did! Next, I went to put my wal-mart watch away and it slipped out of my hands and fell on the floor and the band broke! SERIOUSLY!!!!??? I kinda threw a fit not b/c it was expenive or anything, and I wasn't mad at all; but seriously?!! (btw my roommates cracked up in all these stories and I thought they were going to die laughing! Next, actually last night and last of all/the climax! last night we were going back to the residence after a long day! We were with Elder Garcia R. who had just aqrrived from Mexico! I was tired and zoned out just blank staring thinking (you know, day dreaming or whatever). so I had my head turning left looking at the buildings going by, and btw there are poles all over the mtc grounds holding up the aunings over the sidewalk. So like I said, I'm just walking at a brisk pace and all of a sudden, you guessed it, wham! actually it was more of a ping! I had walked into a dang pole! It knocked me on my back and as concerned as my companions were, they couldn't help themselves from cracking up! Poor Elder Garcia looked like he was about to die he was laughing so hard. to make a long story short, too late, I have a great sized goose egg on my head. the end! I promise mom, I'll be more carefull this week! Love you all and thanks for the prayers! as you see I'll need them! Love Elder Partridge

First Email

Dear Everyone,
This is my first email as a missionary. It's kind of a big deal. First week has been very busy. The first two days we didn't get a lot of time to do anything besides study, study, and devotionals. The new schedule is crazy!! It's hard to imagine I'm going to sleep at only 10:30 every night and waking up at 6:30 everyday. My MTC experience has given me many mosts in my life: Most spiritual i have felt, Most reponsible I have been, Most physically active I have been, Most full meals eaten in one day, Most fun I have had...psych! haha My district is great and they have a lot of energy; except at night. My companion is Elder Gardner and he is great. He is from Wallsburg, Utah which is a small town just up Provo Canyon and he is a COWBOY! He has a great love for this gospel and knows why he is out here. He lives on the farm and has a great work ethic. He is a lot like you Dad. He has a lot of good stories to tell and always finds a way to apply them to what we are teaching. Too bad he is going to Portland...sinner. Haha I have to make sure to put "Haha" so you know when to laugh. Haha I feel so grown up but I'm not alone so it is easier. I see the people I know all the time and finally made up a hand shake with Aubrey. We are not allowed to even think about girls, which is a struggle for me. Haha I get all I can eat, but not enough sleep. My companion works me hard in gym so I don't come back fat. haha since that is a real struggle for me. Haha We like to have a good time, but know when to be serious. Tomorrow should be fun with a new shipment of elders coming into the MTC. Got to go to the temple this morning, and it was an amazing experience. It was great to be able to remember the covenants we made at the start of this new week. We get a lot of time for MDT which is basically study time. We also get Companion Study and Personal Study everyday. Needless to say we still need a lot. Yesterday at the end of the day we had a practice teaching appointment with an eight year old girl named Kaitlyn. Our teacher played as Kaitlyn and it was a big curve ball to the way we have been teaching. We were on information overload and had a hard time going down to an eight year old level. We were pretty discouraged after struggling to teach but we are continually improving. My companion always knows how to fill in the blanks when I don't know what to say and vice versus...except for last night. Haha On page 126 in Preach My Gospel there is a list of virtues that we can rate ourselves on. My companion and I have decided to work together to help each other on which virtue we need to work on the most. We have great ideas and know a lot about the gospel we just need to find away to apply it to our lessons. Tomorrow we have an appointment to teach and recieve feedback from a teacher at the MTC. Another thing we do is nightly planning to set goals and plan the day. It is essential to missionary life. I'd like to thank the academy...Hahaha and I'd like to thank everyone for the support, prayers, and letters. Recieving letters is one thing I look forward to the most everyday. It was great to be able to cross the street and get out of prison jk haha the prisoners have it better. Haha but seriously I love everyone and Love the Gospel. I'm serving the Lord with all I have because that is what the Lord expects of me. The End Love Elder Partridge.

The Call

August 6, 2009

August 8, 2009

Make a Smilebox slideshow

*Sorry, I couldn't get the video of him opening the call to download. :(

Called To Serve

This blog is going to be used to keep you all informed of B's mission experiences. He has now been in the MTC in Provo for 36 hours. I won't give any juicy details right now because I want to have pictures to go with the post and they're not available to me right now, so stay tuned for lots of updates!

Elder D. Brantley Partridge
MTC Mailbox #153
UT-SLC 1021
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, UT 84606-1793

He'll be at this address until October 21 and then the address will be the one at the heading of this blog.

Welcome and enjoy!!!