E-mail #5 of 2012 1/29/2012 Week 93

This is a letter that Barry wrote to be read at the funeral of his grandpa who died on 1/26/2012.

Divine Intervention

Hola familia,

It was a bit hard at first to hear about grandpa. President I. told me that he told dad that he couldn't really see a way for me to make it there for a funeral service. He said that dad told him that grandpa would want me to stay out and finish. I know that is true.

As missionaries we are encouraged to receive a blessing from our Bishop's shortly after arriving to a new area. Yesterday Elder S. (his father recently passed away and I know that it's no coincidence that we were put together shortly before grandpa's death) and I received ours from Bishop S. In both of our blessings Bishop S. told us that we would receive help from beyond the veil. I know that grandpa's spirit still lives on and that this time with out him is only temporary. I know that he's a great missionary in the spirit world and that he's helping many there. Bishop S. said, "Our tests become our testimonies." I know that this is true. Grandpa's death has only strengthened my testimony of the Great Plan of Salvation. I'm so grateful that it did happen at a time when my testimony has been stronger than any other time in my life. I know that because of Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice that this is not the end. We will all see grandpa again and we will live with him as an eternal family. I'm so grateful to have the fulness of the Gospel and the Plan of Salvation in my life. I know that these blessings can be found in all of our lives as we follow and live Christ's Gospel. I testify that Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father live and love us. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

I love y'all!!!

Love,

Elder Barry Kreyling

Mom’s questions

Q. what hymns would you like to suggest for the service?

A. Be Still my Soul for sure

Q. what scripture would you like to suggest for the program?

A. Alma 40 : 11, 12 and 23

E-mail #4 of 2012 1/22/2012 Week 92

Carta #4 de enero 23 del 2012

He called us prophets!

Hola familia!

Well, about your last question. I can't remember if I've asked you to
send me The Infinite Atonement by Tad R. Callister. But, I would
really appreciate that. Elder N. has a sample of the first two
chapters on his kindle. So, I can start reading, but I'd like an
actual copy of my own. It's supposed to be an amazing book!
Thanks!

Well, this past week has been quite good! I. attended church
yesterday! We had another lesson at his great grandmother’s house last
night. We went on splits with Bro. J. and Bro. A. (ward mission
leader). Bro. A. and I went over to teach I. On the way there I
was telling Bro. A. the lesson plan we had made for I. I told him
that we could just alternate teaching the principles. He just looked
over at me and said that he doesn't know the PMG lessons! I was
surprised haha! He told me that he didn't us PMG on his mission and
that he hasn't studied the lessons from PMG yet. So, I had to teach
almost the whole lesson (the Restoration) on my own! I cued Bro. A.
to teach certain principles. We used a cup activity where we built
the church of Christ. The 12 apostles are on the bottom as the
foundation. Then, the cups on top of them include the principles and
ordinances of the Gospel, the priesthood and of course Jesus Christ.
Then, we have a "wicked people" ball which when thrown at the
foundation of the 12 apostles represents the wicked people rejecting
Christ and his apostles. So, the foundation is taken out and the cups
(the church) literally fall(s) It all went well! Oh, and I gave
I. some of those candies, CTR rings and a CD. He said "Thank you!"
He's a really sweet kid an he's doing well.

This past week was our bike week. On the way to an appointment, we
were riding down a hill on the left side of the road, and about
halfway down the hill were about four young boys who were maybe about
ten or so. As we started down the hill we saw one of them throw a
punch at one of the other ones. We hurried down the hill and E.
N. was ahead of me and he told them to knock it off. They
stopped. I think the one kid would have been beaten up had if we have not
been there. The kid that threw the punch was taking off his jacket
getting ready for some more. It was pretty crazy! Oh, they probably
thought that we were bicycle cops at first. A lot of people think
that, when they first see us on our bikes haha:)

We taught a guy named J. He owns a tienda (store) called Don Jorge. He's
catholic, but loves to study things about God and such. His ex-
girlfriend is a member! They actually just became friends on
face book! He was telling her that we have seen him a few times, but
she couldn't believe it haha! So, we taught him the Restoration
and at the end he asked us for a Book of Mormon! We gave him one
and he committed to read and pray! Then, we asked him to say the
closing prayer. In his prayer he called us prophets haha! BTW we
were teaching him in his tienda during the slow hours. So, after the
lesson we were about to buy some gelatina. We grabbed four different
flavors to try. They are about a dollar each. When we went to pay he
just gave them to us free of charge! He needs to be a Mormon haha!

Well, I think that's all for this week. Please don't forget about the
Infinite Atonement! I really want to read it. But, thanks for all
that y'all do. Tell everyone I say hi and I love them. Have a great
week. I love y'all!!!

Love,
Elder Kreyling

Mom’s questions

Q. ¿Cómo están los investigadores?
A. I. está bien y los demás están mas o menos.
Q. ¿Cómo está la temperatura, tienes suficiente ropa caliente o necesitas
termos?
A. Todo está bien. Sí, tengo suficiente.
Q. ¿Tienen microondas (micro wave) en el apartamento?
A. Si.
Q. ¿Qué quieres que te mande en el próximo paquete?
A. THE INFINITE ATONEMENT
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E-mail #3 of 2012 1/15/2012 Week 91

Carta #3 de enero 15 del 2012

He whispered it in my ears.

Hola Familia!!!

Well, I've got some good news. So, are y'all ready? L. was
confirmed! We found out where he was living. The name he had
given us was the trailer park name, not the street name. But, with the
spirit's help, we were able to find him! We taught him a few times
during the week. Then, on Sunday we went with Presidente C. to
pick him up. We got him to church. Then, Presidente C. asked him
if he had a preference as to who did the confirmation. He said no.
So, Presidente C. asked me to do it! I said something like sure
thing, but I've never done it in Spanish, so I'm not 100% sure on the
wording. He whispered it in my ears then he, my comp, one other
missionary (Elder H.) and I placed our hands upon his head to confirm
him and bestow the Gift of the Holy Ghost. He is now a member!!!
So so so happy!

Another highlight is that we met with I.! He attended church on
Sunday. His great grandmother works in the library, and he
stays with her and helps out there. We talked with him for a few
minutes there. He didn't want to talk about his mother there. We
respected that and set an appointment up for yesterday evening. We
went over with Bro. N. (it's interesting because he's the Spanish
branch clerk, and he also goes to the Pleasant Ridge ward which we
cover. But, he's not even in the Pleasant Ridge boundaries haha)
But, he helps us out a lot with Spanish and English work because he's
fluent in both. Anyway, we went over there and I. answered the door.
We walk inside and they have us go to the kitchen. There on the
table laid some KFC! Apparently Ian had requested that they get KFC
for the missionaries :) He's a sweet kid. Well, we taught him the
Plan of Salvation. There were a few moments where he was tearing up.
But, he seems strong about it. Throughout the lessons we mentioned
the Doctrine of Christ. At one point he told us that they've been
trying to get him baptized for a while now. We invited him right
there and he committed! His baptismal date is for Jan 28th! :) That
is right after transfers so hopefully we will both be here for it.
He's a really good kid and we are super excited for him :)

I got Michelle's letter. She's already in London. Wow!!! She didn't
write her new address first so I'm not sure if she's planning on
writing another letter from there or if she wants me to respond
first...
Why don't y'all send the catalog and I'll pick some classes from
there? Will I be starting in the summer semester still or in the
fall?

Well, my beloved family I'm running out of time. Thanks for
everything! I hope y'all enjoy the pictures :) God be with you till
we meet again. Love y'all!!

Love,
Elder Kreyling

100 Days Left Until Barry is Home!!!

E-mail #2 of 2012 1/9/2012 Week 90

Hola familia!

L. moved to London

I can't remember if I told y'all this last week, but I got the dear elder. That was really nice what sis. H. said. J. is a stud.

We had a pretty good week. We lost the car on Wednesday. We were supposed to lose it on Tuesday, but it was super cold that day, so they let us keep it one more day. It has been pretty exciting on the bikes. I still need to get a picture of me on the bike.

I already told y'all about P. Well, yesterday he and another member brought a non member to church! His name is P. We are going to see if we can start teaching him soon in addition to P's daughter.

While we were at church yesterday, the first counselor in the branch and another member were telling us that L. moved to London, TN. I was confused and kind of stressing out because we had talked with him not too long before that, and he said he moved to somewhere in Knoxville. During sacrament L. called, and we got more info on where he's living. The name he gave us before really was the name of the mobile park that he's living in. So, with the info he gave us we were finally able to find it on the map. So, we will be seeing him asap (we have the car this week).

Yesterday we taught the gospel principles class for the Spanish branch. I hope that it got P.'s attention and that he will have us over often, so we can teach and baptized their daughter (still not sure about name or age, but apparently she's at least eight).

We had quite a good lesson with S. and K. L, the part member family that we recently found. First they fed us a pretty legit dinner. Then, we had a lesson on the restoration. It went well and S. accepted a soft commitment! The thing is that they're in the National Guard I believe it is. They are doing some training thing or something, so the next time we will be able to see them (well at least S.) will be after Jan. 26th. But, he soft committed for baptism and he committed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon.

Just this past week, we started something where some districts are having district meeting on Thursday and others on Friday. This week ours was on Thursday, and next week it'll be on Friday. They are doing this, so that the Zone leaders can attend more of the district meetings in their zones, so they can get to know the missionaries that they preside over a bit better.

We saw a couple of investigators named T. and M. We found them just last week. They are really cool. They committed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. We are trying to get them to attend church, but T. plays the drums for the church that he currently attends, so, he's working on finding someone to replace him, so they can check the church out.

I think that those are all of the main highlights for the week. Oh, President I. talked with me once more about my extension. It seems pretty final that it won't be happening though. I wish it could. He said that he wish he could keep me here, but it just wouldn't work out, so it I'll be going home in April still.

I'm so excited to check out your profiles on mormon.org! So cool! Well, that's everything for this week. Thanks for everything y'all do for the Lord and I. The church is true and I love being a missionary! I love y'all!!! (He has been asking us to add our profile to this site and we’re finally getting around to it)

Love,

Elder Kreyling

Las preguntas de mamá

Q. ¿Qué tal, tienes algo nuevo eh importante que informarnos? How are things going, do you have something new and exciting to inform us?

A. Ya perdimos el carro. Y estamos compartiendo con los otros elderes ahora. We lost the car and now we are sharing it with the other elders .

Q, ¿Cómo va todo en tu parte del mundo? How are thing going in your part of the world?

A. Bien. Todo bien. Everything is good.

Q. ¿Recibiste la tarjeta de Navidad firmada por el barrio? Did you get the Christmas card signed up from some people in the ward?

A. Si. La recibí. Pensé que yo dije gracias. También Pensé que dije gracias por la tarjeta del obispo S. y el quórum de los presbíteros. También recibí una tarjeta de los E.

Yes I did, and I thought I said thank you. I also thought I said thank for the card from bishop S. and the priests. I also received a card from the E, family.

Q. ¿Qué hay de nuevo con L? Ya lo confirmaron? What has happened with L. has he been confirmed yet?

A. Todavía no. Pero encontramos su nueva casa. Not yet, but we found his new house.

Q. ¿Tienen nuevos investigadores esta semana? Do you have new investigators this week?

A. Algunos. Some.

Q. ¿Ya conociste a I.? Have you met I. yet?

A. Todavía no. Not yet.

Q. ¿Manejaron por 2 hrs & 45 min para ver los R. y P. y su esposa? Y como se llama la hija de P.? You drove for 2 hrs & 45 min to see the R. family and P. and his wife and daughter?

A. No, manejamos como una hora y media por todo el viaje. Todavía no sabemos cómo se llama. No, we drove about one and half hr. for the whole trip and we still don’t know the name.

E-mail #1 of 2012 1/2/2012 Week 89

Carta # 1 de enero 1 del 2011

Hola familia!

Well, L. just moved from his apartment/motel deal to a trailer with some friends. But he isn't quite sure what the address for it, so the members couldn't pick him up for church and we haven't been able to see him since he moved. But we aren't losing hope. It is plain to see that the adversary doesn't want him to be confirmed and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Thankfully the Lord is on our side, and we know he will provide a way for this to happen.

I can't remember if I told y'all or not about the ward directory that Bishop R. gave us. He highlighted a bunch of members for us to see, and he dotted members that he doesn't know much about. As we've seen the dotted ones, we find out that some have moved; sometimes like ten years ago! We've found some that really aren't to receptive to us. But there have been those few that have let us in, and we've had the chance to help some less actives come back. It's really exciting to see. There was one of those "dots" as we call them. It turns out that she lives in the same house as an active member. This member’s daughter was a member, but she just recently passed away. But her grandson is nine and apparently, he really wants to be baptized. His dad has agreed to bring him to her home for lessons. We haven't met him yet. His name is I. btw. But it seems that he has a lot of potential to be baptized in the next little bit

Last night we went on a team up with hermano A. of the Spanish branch. He's the first counselor. There are some Spanish members down in Maryville and we went all the way down there to see them! Take a look on a map to see how far it is. But we saw two families down there. The R. are pretty active. We saw a member named P. and his wife. Apparently they have a young daughter who isn't baptized. I'm not sure how old she is exactly this is just what hermano A. told me. P. just started reactivating himself. Hopefully the whole family starts attending church and all that. I'll let you know more about the daughter when I find out more.

Last night and part of today it snowed a bit! As we were driving last night it was a bit slick in some parts, but we didn't have any problems. It's crazy though because so many people here don't know how to drive in the snow. Thankfully, it's gone now. There may still be some ice in some places because it's pretty cold. Thanks for the blue jacket thing. I'm going to be using the hand warmers and a lot of layers during the winter. Oh btw we are losing our car, so we will be in a car share with the other pleasant ridge elders. So it's going to be like Dalton! It's going to be a challenge that will stretch us, but we are up for it.

Well, I don't have my camera with me this week, but hopefully I'll remember next week, so I can send some pictures. Things here are going well. Tell J. that I say thanks for the Christmas card and I love her. My prayers are with you all. Take care and have a great week! Love y'all and tell everyone else I love them!

Love,

Elder Kreyling

Las preguntas de mamá

Q. ¿Como estas hijito? How are you doing son?
A. Bien! Good!

Q. ¿Cómo va la obra del Señor en tu área? How is the lord’s work going?
A. Bien. Good.

Q. ¿Qué a pasado con L.? What has happened with L. ?
A. Todavía no ha sido confirmado. Se mudo a otra casa pero no sabe la dirección entonces no podemos visitarle por ahora. He still has not been confirmed. He moved to another house, but doesn’t know the address, so we can’t visit him for now.

Q. ¿Te llego el dear elder? Did you get the dear elder?
A. Si. Muchas gracias! Me gusto el mensaje de la hna. H. Yes. Thank you very much! I liked sis. H. message.

Q. ¿Que a pasado con la familia de M, S. Y C. y los R’s? What has happened with the M.S. & C. family and the R’s?
A. Nada. Nothing.

Q. ¿Cómo estás de tu estomago, has usado los aceites doTerra? How are you doing with your stomach, have you used the doTerra oils?
A. No todo. Pero si los he usado. Not all of them. But yes I have used them.