October 5th

DEAR HOME!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARLIE BEAN!!

SUCH a grand week this past week has been! We had Mission Conference on Tuesday, my BiRtHdAy on Wednesday, and General Conference on Saturday and Sunday! It WAS a wonderful week. Last P-Day, for my birthday, our District went out to Dinosaur Barbeque and celebrated by sightseeing and shopping around in Manhattan. I still can't get over this city- it's amazing. I've attached some pictures- the one of the big buildings and the congested traffic below is taken from our balcony where we live- on the 19th floor overlooking Lexington Avenue! That kind of traffic is normal for 8:30 in the morning. The other picture of the tall buildings is straight out my window!

SO much is happening right now! Elder Huerta Luna and Elder Mattei and I are busy and loving it. We just had 4 baptisms last week- so this past week we've been focusing on helping those recent converts and finding new people to help and teach. One of my favorite things we get to do as Missionaries is help with service opportunities. We were helping a couple move all of their things from one shelter to another nearly 45 blocks away and then up 5 flights of stairs without elevators. As we hauled and hauled things into their apartment, the wife began to cry and told us how grateful she was for our help, and that nobody else would have done that for them. It's truly a miracle to see the Gospel in action! G.I.A! We also get to go to a food pantry every Friday morning and transport and pack and bag fresh fruits and vegetables and canned goods and distribute them to the many people who depend on the pantries for food for them and their families.

I just LOVED General Conference! Ahhh! It was so great! We watched it on little televisions in the gym on the 4th floor of the Harlem Chapel! It's such a strange feeling to sit there and watch Conference about to start as Motab sings and the camera pans around Temple Square and the beautiful Utah mountains... talk about nostalgic! I always feel very close to home and sensitive to the Spirit during conference time. I have tried to explain it to people... to a Missionary (at least for me), Conference brings the same anticipation and giddy excitement that Christmas brings when you are not a missionary. To hear all the familiar voices of the Prophet and the Apostles and hear the beautiful music is so energizing. Because NY doesn't block out their news stations to broadcast it to every household in the State (hahah good old UT), many members go to the Chapel to see Conference. Spanish, English, French, Chinese, ASL- we're all here watchin! There is such a power and reverence that comes upon the Chapel at Conference- the messages shared by the leaders of the church span all cultures, languages, backgrounds and lifestyles- and we band together as a Faith to listen and learn. It's a powerful experience.

I feel so blessed to be finishing my Mission here in Harlem. WHAT an adventure I am having. I am seeing and learning and experiencing SO much- and I pray that I am able to make a difference in somebody's life here in these final months of my Mission. Onward and upward, then! :)

All is well! The Church is True!

Always and Forever,

B

Sept 28

DEAR HOME!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! hahaha! I am officially TWENTY-ONE!

We threw me (haha that sounds funny) a little birthday party this morning in our apartment. It was great- a few Elders got up and decorated the apartment and made me a cake! :) It's hard to believe that I am 21 now!

I CANNOT believe that yesterday was my LAST ZONE CONFERENCE EVER. SO WEIRD. Per tradition, all the Missionaries that will be going home within the next 12 weeks bear there Testimonies at the Conference- and I was LAST of 6. By my turn, I was a mushy ball of emotions... but I think I held it together pretty well! It was such a powerful and Spiritual meeting. Also, Sister Fuimaono and I sang a Special Musical number- "When All Is Said and Done"- it's from EFY 2001... But I wrote our own verses that applied to US as Missionaries and in NYC!

I didn't quite realize how much I missed the City while I was upstate. There is such an ENERGY that just makes this city seem so... alive! I LOVE it. Just the other day, we transferred from one train to another in the Union Square subway station... and out of nowhere, HUGE subwoofers start makin the place SHAKE- and 7 guys run up and start Krumpin' like KINGS! I can't even explain how COOL it was. There was probably 100 or more people standing there with there smartphones out recording and watchin these guys dance! I SO was about to jump in there and dance battle wit them, but then I remembered that my white shirt might get pretty dirty on the ground in the subway, AND I was wearing one of my favorite ties... Bahaha! I LOVE Manhattan.

Another MAIN reason why I LOVE Manhattan is because of the Members who live there. SO diverse, SO strong, SO amazing. And there are a LOT of them! (Given that there are over 8 million people in NYC...) Still! We see members almost everywhere we go- and they are all so encouraging and loving. I love the Harlem 2nd Ward- where I am serving now. I've only been here in this Ward for 2 weeks and I was the closing speaker on Sunday already! The Ward is so charged and excited about Missionary Work. Last week we set up a display table at the MEXICAN PARADE with tons of free material about the Church to hand out to people- we invited many Members of the Ward to come, too. It was SO cool- it was like we had 25 or 30 full time Missionaries running around talking to people and sharing what they believe.

I am so happy with and love where I am serving right now and who I am serving with, the incredible families and investigators and everything- it's all just awesome. What a BLESSING to be here at this time!

Happy Birthday to ME! :) Thanks so much all for everything you do. Keep bein amazing.

My Heart is SO full of gratitude. I know the Church is True.

All my Love,
Elder B

Sept 14

DEAR HOME!

HELLOO!!!!! THis morning was transfers... and after a tearful goodbye I got transferred to.... HARLEM!!! My new companions (Muahahah TRIPLE the TROUBLE!!) are ELder Mattei from Missouri and Elder Huerta Luna from Puebla, Mexico! I am SO excited! We live near 125th and Lexington in the middle of Manhattan- and we are in the Harlem 2nd Spanish Ward!! I am already tired- going from driving a car everywhere to walking all over the city is a pretty big change. I already LOVE it. I look forward to sending home all my adventurous stories!!

The Church is TRUE!

All my LOVE,

Elder Hellberg

Sept 7

DEAR HOME!
It's my BIRTHDAY month! Happy almost birthday to ME!! I LOVE September- I think it's the BEST month to have a birthday. It adds an extra CHARGE to the end of the year- Sep- BIRTHDAY, Oct- HALLOWEEN, Nov- THANKSGIVING, Dec- CHRISTMAS!!! It's 4 nonstop months of Celebration. :)

Yesterday we went up to Newburgh for an exchange with the Zone Leaders up there. Newburgh is one of the regions of our Mission that got hit HARD by flooding during the Hurricane. There are entire towns that had several feet of water- and a few with more than that. We went to a trailer park to help the Bishop check on some families and assess damage- in that area the river rose so much that these mobile homes had 4-5 feet of water INSIDE them. There had to be people recued by BOATS out of their homes! We helped a few families with things, we tore out destroyed carpet and bleached basements so mold wouldn't build up. There were hundreds volunteers on Monday with the yellow Mormon Helping Hands vests on helping out smaller towns all over the east coast. It feels good to be part of something that can help and bless the lives of many people who have lost so much due to the storm.

Last week Elder McMullin and I went on a split down in south Manhattan. I went with Elders Pearson and Lima- it was such a good day. We walked around Union Square and just talked to people- it was such an interesting experience. The enrgy down in lower Manhattan is so very different from anything I have experienced before! It's very, well, BUSY! Everyone is walking very deliberately and in a rush to get wherever they are going. Out of the hundreds we try and talk to, only a handful stop and talk to us- but the ones that DO talk to us usually accept a Book of Mormon and seem fairly interested! We taught a man named Alberto in the park. He was just recently baptized in May of this year and already knows SO much. He asked us very deep questions about the Pearl of Great Price and the Doctrine and Convanent- equally interesting were his own thoughts and ideas about the things he studied. He is a very smart guy! We walked down to Wall St and Battery Park, walked right by Ground Zero and saw the ever-climbing Freedom Tower and the memorials from 9/11. As we were talking to people down in that area, a family ran up to us yelling "ELDERS!!"- they were members from Salt Lake City! I always love talking to members that we meet in the city- they are always so excited to talk to us and ask us where we are from and how long we have been on our Missions. They usually are just shining and encourage us and it always feels like a little pep talk! haha!

We are teaching so many wonderful people! One of our investigators, Rich, officially has a baptismal date for the 25th of September! We are also working with Carol right now and we think she will be baptized very soon! I love being a Missionary- it's the greatest thing in the world. :)

The Church is TRUE!
B celebrating!
All my Love!
Elder Hellberg

Aug 31

DEAR HOME!

WHAT an exciting and eventful week this last week has been!!

Elder McMullin and I just got back from the Manhattan Temple! I LOVE going to the Temple- it's always such a good experience.

WELL! 3 days after Hurricane Irene and everything's looking pretty much back to normal. It was quite the adventure- I've never experienced a hurricane before- so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The Friday before, Elder McMullin and I were in the office making hundreds of phone calls (literally hundreds) to all the missionaries and members up in Westchester County- we arranged the evacuation of all the missionaries in Manhattan, and brought them all up here! Normally we have 18 Missionaries in Westchester County- but over the weekend we had over 50! It was quite a bit job to coordinate where everyone would be staying! Many families in the Westchester 1st Ward JUMPED at the opportunity to house some missionaries during the storm, so all of Friday evening we were picking up missionaries and taking them to their 'host homes,' were they would stay until after the imminent disaster!! All in all, we were all very prepared. All the companionships had their brand-new nifty 72 hr kits, large water supplies, food... all that jazz- we were ready! The most dramatic thing that happened all day actually happened several hours before the hurricane hit. Elder McMullin and I had 3 extra Missionaries from CHINATOWN stay with us for the weekend, and we were all in our room starting to fall asleep. It was loud and raining HARD outside, but the actual hurricane wasn't predicted to reach us until the next morning. We were all watching the trees get pummeled by the wind when suddenly, a brilliant white light illuminated EVERYTHING and simultaneously the LOUDEST "KABOOM" I have ever heard shook the whole apartment. All the power went out for about 1 second- then came back on and all the lights got SUPER bright and the alarm clocks got all jumbled- then everything went back to normal. I felt like I was in the middle of Poltergeist! We figure our complex or the gas station next to us got hit by lightning! It was so huge! We are all so grateful that the storm weakened before hitting us farther north- it didn't pack much of punch once it got to Manhattan. The rest of those who were in the path of the Hurricane and who felt it's effects are in our prayers!

On Sunday after all the drama was over, we got the clear to take the big vans and get all the Missionaries back to the city. I drove a van full down to Chinatown and Avenue D and 6th St to drop them off- and the city was so eerie- ALL the stores and shops were closed and it was basically empty!! It was so weird! Manhattan is always ALIVE and there's people everywhere... but there was nobody! It was so strange! All the Missionaries are safely back to their areas, and as of Monday morning, all missionary apartments have electricity and water (we did have a couple without for a few days!)

WELL this week will be very exciting- we have some wonderful things planned and look forward to them!

The Church is TRUE!

I love you all!

Elder Hellberg

August 24

DEAR HOME!

What an exciting week we have had over here in NY!

First off, we had several investigators at church this past weekend- and one of them has a baptismal date for September 25th! He's great! The others are all are progressing wonderfully and are being so loved and welcomed by the ward. The whole ward is getting so excited for missionary work- traditionally, the area has been relatively rough- but lately with all the miracles that have been happening we've seen nothing but excitement and support from the whole ward! Carol came again to church this past week and loved it again. Elder McMullin and I taught the Gospel Doctrine class on Baptism. It went really really well. The whole class participated and shared their personal experiences about their own baptisms to the investigators that were there. I truly love and respect the members of the ward up here. They are all so solid.

On top of having a great Sunday and teaching week, we had an EARTHQUAKE!! haha! I'm sure you all know by now, but the earthquake was actually in Virginia (Look at the stars... look how they shine) but it shook up the whole East coast a little! haha! Funny story... WE actually didn't feel anything- we stayed the previous night up in Connecticut and were still in Stamford eating lunch when I got a text message from the Chinatown Zone Leader that said "FYI, we just had a big earthquake in Manhattan, and cell coverage is down, but texting still works." Of course my imagination went WILD- I pictured the catastrophe of the century as Manhattan just collapsed in on itself into all the hundreds of tunnels below... I quickly texted back "no way! r u serious? lots of damage?" We raced back to the Mission Office in Scarsdale and everything was perfectly fine- apparently the East coast isn't used to the ground shaking. Elder McMullin laughs- he's from California, so this was nothing new to him. We're having all sorts of exciting things happen- the quake, and now we are preparing for Hurricane Irene that's heading our way. We're all ready- we've all got our 72 hr kits and 3 gallons of water per Missionary. The hurricane will probably veer off into the ocean before reaching us clear up here in NY- and if it does get up to us it'll have lost most of it's strength anyway. Either way, we're probably going to get pretty WET!

These last few weeks have been great- Elder McMullin and i have been around every Monday and Tuesday to visit a bunch of District Meetings all over the Mission. We truly have AMAZING young men and women serving here in our Mission. It's so cool too see them change- even the new ones we brought in from the airport just 3 weeks ago have all settled in and are already doing awesome. I am SO grateful to be a Missionary in these exciting and wonderful times. It's such a BLESSING it has been to serve here in NY- I have truly come to love it here- the people, the culture- everything. Every once in a while I can't help but smile; I'll catch myself casually talking about things "in Manhattan" or "the city", or see the sunset on the Hudson, or give someone directions- just little things- and think "Yeah, I'm a Missionary in NEW YORK." I feel so blessed to be Called to Serve in such a great place and represent the Lord in whatever way I can- to try and help the people here to come closer to the Savior. I love every moment of it.

The Church is TRUE!

B safe! B prepared!

All my love!

-Elder Hellberg-

August 17

DEAR HOME!

Good afternoon from a beautiful sunny day here in Scarsdale NY! I cannot believe another week has zipped by- Summer is coming to a close and it seems like the crazy heat is too- here comes the COLD!

This past week we have had some CRAZY thunderstorms- we've been getting DRENCHED here in NY! We were in the office late Sunday night doing some reports... and suddenly this NOISE started that sounded like a monster-truck rally was happening on the roof of the office!! We turned the lights off and looked out the window- and the parking lot was FLOODING! SO MUCH RAIN just coming in these huge sheet of water!!! And the LIGHTNING looked SO cool- it touched down a few times in the distance and illuminated the whole sky. I am a fan of thunderstorms- Just not when we have to drive in them!

So... We had an interesting experience with one of our investigators at church this past week... She is 44 and lives in White Plains and we have been teaching her for a few weeks- and last Sunday was her first time at church. We had one of the good sisters in our ward go pick her up in the morning and bring her to church. We'll call her Ann. SO Ann was pretty nervous to come to church, as she hadn't been to any churches in MANY years. Ann suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, but is being treated for it. She is SUCH a sweetheart and loves meeting with us- she already has a testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet. Anyway- she walked into the church with us to attend the 9:30 English Ward and immediately started greeting people- everyone was excited to see a new face and she was so happy to be there. We sat down in the middle of the Chapel and the meeting began- we opened with a Hymn and the prayer... and as the Bishop got up to make announcements- suddenly Ann snapped her head towards me and looked at me- she looked terrified- she said quietly, but firmly "Oh no." I said "Oh what?" She replied "I'm... dizzy." She went DOWN- and just collapsed RIGHT into my lap. She was slightly shaking- and I tried to pick her up out of my lap but she resisted and made a little hissing noise and said "no, no, no, I'mdizzy!" I'm sure my face was BRIGHT RED. I looked around desperately and half the congregation was looking at me, looking confused... One of the sisters in the Ward sitting on the other side of Ann leaned over at mouthed at me "is she okay?" I mouthed back... "Uhh.. she's... dizzy!" Seeing my panic at the present situation, she reached over and pulled Ann over onto her shoulder- I could breathe again- and Ann just laid there and cried on her shoulder for a solid 10 minutes. Afterwards, she sat up and listened to the talks and loved them- and everything seemed to go back to normal! It was such an... odd experience!! Afterwards, Ann told us that she thinks she is also diabetic- and that she didn't eat breakfast and that's why she thinks she got so dizzy. She laughed about it afterwards and said next Sunday she'd eat- and I chuckled and said "yeah... and we'll sit in the BACK just in case!!"

We had SUCH a great experience with Carol this last week. She came to CHURCH- and LOVED it. She loved Gospel Doctrine class and Relief Society- and from what we can tell everyone loved her too! She agreed to be baptized yesterday when we met with her- she is so excited! Seeing Carol is awesome- we can visually SEE changes that the Gospel is making in her life. She tells us she has more patience and love and looks for the good in things.

This past week has definitely been a week of MEETINGS! We had a meeting on Thurdsday for all new trainers and their new greenies! We had 9 brand new greenies come in 2 weeks ago- and they are all AWESOME. It's so cool to see each new batch of Missionaries come in. It seems like each new one is better and better.

I love you all so much. Thank you for all you do- you all are such examples to me and I am so grateful for you.

The Church is TRUE!

B doing rain dances! B checking your blood sugars!

All My Love!

Elder Brandon Hellberg