Brantford, 10/22/12

Hello Family!

I hope everyone had a good week, and I hope my movie-referencing email last week wasn't too weird! I attached a picture of me with Kira, who was baptized here in Brantford about 3 months before I arrived here. He was back home in China from the time I arrived here until a few weeks ago. He's a really good guy. This picture was taken last Monday, when we went out to dinner with him as part of our Preparation Day. He just got that brand new yellow Camaro last week, and he's really proud and excited about it- so I got my picture taken with him in front of it! Just to remind all of you, this is possibly my last week in Brantford. You'll know for sure next week! There's also a good chance I'll read and write emails earlier in the day next week, around 10 a.m. (eastern).

I am anxiously awaiting the snow to arrive! It seems like it won't be snowing for a little while, but everyone says it could realistically start anytime now. But maybe they're just trying to scare me. I'm still enjoying all of the autumn leaves- we got to rake some last Monday, and it was really fun! I've never liked raking leaves... but for some reason, I liked these ones. It would've been fun to jump in a pile of them... but not in missionary clothes. This past week we spent a lot of time preparing for a stake-wide Youth Mini-Mission that took place on Saturday the 20th. We had to plan the day for 5 other companionships to go out and visit people, proselyte, and do other missionary things. I believe all the youth in Brantford had a really good experience going out and serving in their own city. We had a 16 year old with us for the day, and it seems like he had a good experience. It was a lot of work getting ready for it, but the youth and their leaders who were involved all had a good experience, and that's all that matters!

This morning I took some time to study about patience. President Uchtdorf said "Often the deep valleys of our present will be understood only by looking back on them from the mountains of our future experience. Often we can't see the Lord's hand in our lives until long after trials have passed. Often the most difficult times of our lives are essential building blocks that form the foundation of our character and pave the way to future opportunity, understanding, and happiness..." (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Continue in Patience" April 2010). Preach My Gospel says "Patience is the capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without becoming angry, frustrated, or anxious... You must be patient with all people, yourself included, as you work to overcome faults and weaknesses." (PMG, pg. 120)

Its easy to wonder why things aren't happening they way you would like them to. We wonder what it is that is stopping us from having succes, or from feeling happy, or from overcoming weaknesses. Warning: once you go down this road of thought, it becomes easy to believe that you're being punished, that you aren't worth very much, or that maybe you should just stop trying. But, as one of my favorite sayings go: "Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change." Stay positive, trust in God, do your very best, and never, ever give up. This advice continues to help me every day of my life. Hopefully you can find worth in it as well!

Thank you for your support and prayers. They're needed for all of us! Jesus tells us to "Pray always..." You are in my prayers. I love you very much.

Love,
Elder Brett Simper

Brantford, 10/15/12

Hello Family!

I'm going to use a movie reference for my email today. I know some may think its weird, because I'm a missionary and usually missionaries don't use movie references. But today I am!

As many of you know, one of my favorite movies is "Inception." Much of the movie deals with the idea of different realities. Or, at least thats what I'll call it. If you don't know, the concept of inception (in a nutshell) is living life through dreams. There are a couple of points from the movie that are important for my purposes today: 1) To end the dream by waking up, you usually have to die in the dream, or be jolted somehow in real life. And 2) Many people involved with inception have a hard time distinguishing the difference between the real world and dreaming. I won't have a chance to go into those details in my email, but they are there as hints for you to ponder on. Come to your own conclusion.

In my own life, I have lived in different realities. One "reality" appeared to be exciting, and adventurous! And easy! I realized later that it was a dream world. Actually, more like a nightmare. Because in reality, it is enslavement. It is dark. And ever so cold. Part of waking up from this nightmare was learning to see things as they really are. The real world, REALITY. And more important than merely waking up, I needed to learn to live in this real world reality always, not bounce back and forth between one "reality" to the real reality. Now, some of you may be asking: What in the world is Brett talking about? Well, stay with me and do some movie-watching studying and pondering, and hopefully you'll see!

For my purposes in connecting dots, I'm going to separate people into general groups: believers (people who want to follow God), and the world (people who mock the believers). The world is incredibly deceptive, and is so skillful at making the believers look like a bunch of morons who are blindly following a fairytale. The world will surely tell you, "Well, look at those poor souls (the believers). They are being so deceived. You know that religion is the reason for many wars in the world. And look how they belittle anyone who doesn't conform to their idea of perfection. Its all a lie! Don't buy into it... they're trying to enslave you. You are an adult, you can act like an adult! Say what you want, think what you want, do what you want, be what you want! Who are they to tell you what to do anyways?" The world is under the control of the devil. Oh, here's another lie they'll tell you: "What devil?! There is no devil, and there is no hell." I know this all may seem like a jumbled mess. "Inception," life, dreams, realities, the devil, the Gospel? What the heck?! The message I want to share with you, whoever may need it, is to "awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe..." (2nd Nephi chapter 1). "There is only one way to happiness and fulfillment. He (Jesus Christ) is the Way. Every other way, any other way, whatever other way, is foolishness..." ("The Way" by Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge).

If you feel gloomy, find the courage to take your first step into (or back into) the light of the Gospel. Because the Gospel is real life. The Gospel of Jesus Christ shows us things as they really are. It shows us the path to happiness. Every other option is a counterfeit path. It may seem like you will find happiness and fulfillment on one of these counterfeit paths... but you will not. I don't know this because I've been brainwashed by some crazy church people. I know this because I've lived both ways. And I know which way is real, and which way is a counterfeit. Its up to you to choose who you will follow. That's the test we're all enrolled in. We all chose to follow Jesus Christ before we were born. Will we remember who we really are?

Whatever your struggle is, please remember that God- our Heavenly Father- does love all of us. Jesus Christ, our older brother, does love all of us. Their commandments are for our benefit and happiness. They are not made up by man, but they are based on unchanging eternal, natural laws. None of us have gone too far away from the light of the Gospel. Don't ever give up! Just wake up. I love each of you very much. Make it a good week.

Love,
Elder Brett Simper

Brantford, 10/9/12

Hello Family!

I hope you had a great Canadian Thanksgiving! It was a good Thanksgiving for us. Its a little weird for me to celebrate it so early. But it has its pro's and con's- the main con I feel like it has is just that it seems way too early. And its weird that its before Halloween. I like the "Trilogy of Holidays" (as GB likes to call it) of Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Years, being in that order. But, I was excited to find out that its so early, because that means you can play Christmas music right after Halloween. Although, no one really does that (so I've heard). Good thing someone in the ward here burned a Christmas CD for us! Because of that, I started playing Christmas music in our car already! I'm not sure if Elder Pitre is okay with it... but he hesitantly agreed to listen to it anyways :)

It was a wonderful Conference weekend. I am so excited about the age changes. The amount of missionaries is going to skyrocket because of that! I couldn't believe President Monson was making that announcement. As soon as he started saying those words about how successful 18 year old missionaries have been, and "after giving it some consideration" (or whatever he said)- Elder Pitre and I looked at each other with total shock. But it was an awesome announcement, and definitely historical, and a sign that the Lord is "hastening His work." I think it is especially awesome that Sisters can serve when they are 19 years old. That is going to open a ton of doors.

With it being Thanksgiving time, I've been continuing on my theme of gratitude (from my email last week). But along with gratitude, I've been thinking of service. As I was watching conference, ideas and thoughts about these two principles stood out to me quite a bit. The Prophet spoke of prayers being answered, and about "seeing others not as they currently are, but what they can become." There were a few strong themes I pulled out from Conference: 1) Make your home a safe haven NOW! Because the world is NOT a healthy enviornment. "Build Zion in the midst of Babylon." 2) Serve others. Love others. NOW is the time to pull together and work in unity! and 3) Focus on the positive and uplifting. "Count your many blessings."

Every Friday afternoon at 2 PM, Elder Pitre and I visit a long-term care facility called Brierwood Gardens. At that time every Friday, about 25 people gather together, and about 10 will play bowling on a shuffleboard table. These men and women are so sweet. Many of them who don't participate usually just sleep in their wheelchairs. Their poor health and lifelessness is tragic to see. The people who do play are very positive and energetic, and happy despite their circumstances of being extremely elderly, lonely, and much of the time- very confused. I'm going to write about service and how great it is in just a minute, but I want to draw this point- sure, people could say "Oh thats great, the Elders go over and help these elderly people bowl and have fun for about an hour every Friday! That is nice of them!" But that's not the point of service, nor is it the point of any "work" we do in the Church. One quote sums up the principle pretty well: "The most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves. The happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others." (Gordon B. Hinckley) If you serve others sincerely, you will be happy. You will learn more from them, than they learn from you. You will gain more from the visit with them, than they will from you. Focus on sincerely loving and helping others, and you will find more balance to your hectic life. I'm not sure how it all works or why it works, but its a promise and a principle taught by Prophets of God, and I know it works. Serve others. Love others. Respect everyone despite the differences.

Thank you for your prayers, support, and love. Like always, all of you are in my prayers. I love you.

Love,
Elder Brett Simper

Brantford, 10/1/12

Hello Family!

I'm glad I even got an open computer today! We got to the library and they messed up my reservation, but luckily there was one open after just a few extra minuets of waiting. So, its all good. No complaints. I have been absolutely full of gratitude this past week. For my family, my friends, for all that I've learned from each of you. For being in the great Canada Toronto Mission at this time. For being able to serve in Brantford, where I have so many roots. All my life I had been looking to this time of my life. "Where will I go? Will I have to eat weird food? Will I miss my family too much? What is it going to be like wearing that name tag?" I asked myself so many questions and wondered what this experience would be like. But never in a million years did I guess that I would end up in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. A place I knew was important because its where my Mom was born. But never did I expect to serve a mission here. But it has been a very sweet surprise, and it has been so fulfilling to be here.

Random, non-spiritual highlights from this past week: the leaves are changing colors to bright yellows and reds, I ate a real poutine (fries covered with gravy, cheese, and maple-bacon) and not one from Wendy's, and its been starting to get chilly enough to wear thermals. At least, chilly enough for a guy from San Diego. But don't worry, Mom, the thermals are warm and the winter accessories will be good :)

Joseph Smith once said "Brethren [and Sisters], shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward." (D&C 128:22) I've always felt that to be a powerful thought. Be anxiously engaged in a good cause, of your own choice, and always move forward-- don't ever give up! I really, really like something that Mick sent me today in an email: "I am sure you feel small, like a pebble mixed with large boulders, but you are one strategically placed by the Lord. And once in motion will create a landslide." Many times I do feel small, and I'm constantly hoping the Lord can use me for whatever His purposes are. For the past 8 weeks, Elder Pitre and I have been working really hard to repair relationships with the Bishop, ward leaders, and with families & individuals- one at a time. We cleaned up the area book and created a system so people will not fall through the cracks. And we've been trying to work hard to find people. The past couple weeks, however, we have been needing to adjust our finding efforts to be more effective. This week, we are going to be doing a TON of tracting (knocking on doors). Its going to be awesome!! Because that is the most effective way for us in Brantford to find people to teach. Its been an interesting ride since becoming a trainer. I've had a ton of learning to do, but I think its been a great experience for Elder Pitre and for myself.

Well, I am grateful for all of you and for your goodness. One of the motivations for me to be a missionary was to try to inspire people to do good, and be good. If people will be good, then their community will be good. And so will there city, state, and country. We will never be living in a perfect world in this mortal state, but we can be good ourselves and practice for what is in store for us in the future.

Will you all PLEASE watch General Conference this weekend? "Come listen to a Prophet's voice, and hear the word of God." I love you all so very much! you are in my prayers... always.

Love,
Elder Brett Simper

Brantford, 9/24/12

Hello Family!

Emails are kind of messed up today... I'm using a different set of computers at the library that don't let me copy and paste, so I don't feel like typing in all of your email addresses. So, hopefully you guys can forward them to whoever would like them. And I will probably only type this one, and not personal ones today... but we will see. I'm on a 20 minute timer and we have to see if people are waiting... please forgive me if I don't! You are not loved less :)

Well... I hope all is well with all of you. I've been thinking a lot lately about doubts that people have. People think they don't need God, and people dismiss the idea of God altogether. They even seem to think "Who is God to tell me what to do?" Well, the truth is, God has always been there. And He is our Father in Heaven, and we accepted His plan to come to Earth, be tried and tested, and learn and grow to become more like Him. YOU accepted that plan. Even after hearing this, sometimes we still wonder why. Why is it like this? Why are we here? What is the point of all of this anyways? I've come to the conclusion, and I have a testimony from the Holy Ghost, that the framework for this Earthly existence and the plan to achieve happiness and fulfillment, is found in this Gospel. The full restored Gospel of Jesus Christ makes life make sense. It is either this Gospel and this plan, or nothing. I know that sounds a little weird to say. But hopefully you can think about that a little bit and come to your own conclusion.

One of my favorite conference talks is by Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge, from October 2008, called "The Way." Here are some of my favorite snippets that help strengthen my faith:
"Only God can bless us. Only He can sustain us. Only He can cause our hearts to beat and give us breath."
"The Lord's way is not hard. Life is hard, not the gospel. 'There is an opposition in all things,' every where, for everyone. Life is hard for all of us, but life is also simple. We have only two choices. We can either follow the Lord and be endowed with His power and have peace, light, strength, knowledge, confidence, love, and joy, or we can go some other way, any other way, whatever other way, and go it alone- without His support, without His power, without guidance, in darkness, turmoil, doubt, grief, and despair. And I ask, which way is easier?"
"Life is hard, but life is simple. Get on the path, and never ever give up. You never give up. You just keep on going. You don't quit, and you will make it."
"There is only one way to happiness and fulfillment. Jesus Christ is the Way. Every other way, any other way, whatever other way is foolishness."

Again... it is my firm testimony that this Gospel makes life make sense. To come here for a very short period of time when compared to our eternal lifespan, is like going to school for a little while. Its our most important test. We are to walk by faith, not by sight. We can waste it away, or we can use it as the time "to prepare to meet God" and prepare to live in His presence, with our families... for eternity.

I would add one thing... I know life is hard. It seems impossible at times to overcome our weaknesses, our past mistakes, or feelings of doubt or grief- whatever your struggle is. You need to change the idea of "I can't do that. I can't become strong, clean, and pure." The TRUTH is... You CAN! You must change those thoughts to "Yes, I can do these things! I can become strong, clean, and pure. I can learn and know for myself if the Gospel is true! Because, through the power of Jesus Christ, I CAN DO ALL THINGS." We are all completely dependent on our Savior. For our life, happiness, and salvation. "Get on the path, and never ever give up."

I love you all so much. I am truly grateful for each of you. You are constantly in my prayers.

I hope you will make it a great week!

Laus Deo.

-Elder Brett Simper-

Brantford, 9/17/12

Hello Family!

Oops... I sent a blank message to all of you. It was an accident.

I am still here in Brantford! Our next Transfer day is on October
29th, so I will be here at least until that day. We have a shorter
time at the library today, so I might not write too much, or my typing
might be sloppy.

Its been a good week here in Brantford. We have one new investigator
named Karen, who is about 70 years old and is a good friend of a
couple of the members in the ward here. We are meeting with her
tonight, so we are excited about that. It has started to cool down a
bit here. Not too much today, though. But Thursday and Friday were
chilly, rainy days. But its kind of nice to have a change from the hot
and humid weather. And, since I'm trying to get myself excited for
winter... I'm so excited for it to get freezing cold! Its going to be
awesome.

Well, I'm going to cut this one short. Please know that you are always
in my prayers. Make it a great week! I love you.

Elder Brett Simper

Brantford 9/10/12

September 10, 2012

Hello Family!

I hope you are all doing well. It was a good week. Seemed like a short one, since the last time I emailed was just on Wednesday- so there's not much new stuff to share, but that's alright! We have had a lot of opportunities open again- opportunities that seemed to be closed for a while. Elder Pitre and I are always on the look-out on how to improve and how to be more effective and more successful in finding those people who are searching for the truth. Like most things in life, we have to be smart, work hard, do our best, then trust God's plan and timing. So that's what we'll continue to do.

I finally attached a picture for everyone. This was taken this morning at the Six Nations Indian Reserve Tourism Center. It's me next to a pow-wow dancer! It was good to be there, we got a little tour and learned a little bit about Native heritage and beliefs. Which is something I'm extremely interested in now, since I've been here. A couple of little things I learned- Lacrosse is, in some ways, a sacred tradition. Beliefs are that the Creator gave the game of Lacrosse for medicine and for entertainment. This next thing is especially interesting for missionaries: there is a Tree of Peace, I think they call it- or maybe its the Peace Tree- whatever it is, they buried their weapons of war underneath it. The book of Alma in the book of Mormon tells of people burying their weapons of war, for peace, and they covenanted with God to not go to war with their brothers. So that's pretty cool.

Last night, we watched the CES Devotional Broadcast with Elder Holland as the speaker. If you haven't watched it... you should! It was extremely powerful. I've never seen Elder Holland be so bold! He's getting more and more bold as time goes on. But he always balances out the chastening with God's love for us. He gave a beautiful Apostolic blessing at the end. Probably the most powerful one I've ever been able to feel. It was great... I really, really suggest you watch it.

Well, I will try now to send some more personal emails. I hope all is well... I love you all very much, and you are all in my prayers.

Love,
Elder Simper