Exchanges!

This week was awesome!

So one morning I said a prayer and decided to pray that we would find someone to teach. I decided that I would try to have complete faith that it would happen. As the morning went on, I completely forgot about it. During the day we had to go fill the car up with gas. When we were there, a lady walked up to us and told us she wanted to feed us dinner sometime. She said she wasn't a member, so we don't really know her story, but it was a really cool miracle.

I got to go on exchanges twice this week. I got to go with Elder Dorius to the YSA ward. We had a lesson with an investigator. During the lesson, I felt prompted to share a story. It was kind of off topic with what we were talking about, but I decided to share it anyways. I told it, and the Spirit was super strong. It was super awesome!

This week, my challenge to you is to focus on listening to the Spirit. Pray for opportunities to get and recognize promptings. Along with that pray for the courage to follow the promptings. As you follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost, you will never be misguided. It will always work out! As I've listened to these promptings, my testimony and faith has really grown. It's hard, but it's worth it.

Have an awesome week and a happy Halloween ,

Love, Elder Bronson

For P-Day last week we went on a nature walk at Oso Flaco Lake. It was really cool. There were tons of birds everywhere.

There is the beach in the background.

As the Sands of the Sea

This was another awesome week.

So they do some weird things here. They fumigate the church on a regular basis and here it is being fumigated. They wrap it up like a giant circus tent. Just don't walk inside...

So we were at someone's apartment at a place called Rancho Gardens. If you ever go to Santa Maria for any reason at all, avoid Rancho Gardens. So we were moving a refrigerator out of a previous member's house who was getting evicted. First of all, she is a hoarder. Second, it is Rancho Gardens. So we opened the fridge to find that it hadn't been closed all the way. All of the food in it was completely bad. Not only that but there were billions of cockroaches. As many as the sands of the sea. We took the fridge, while no cars were coming, to the car wash across the street.

We're pretty sure we still didn't get them all out...

This is before we washed it out.

So this week I want to challenge everyone to improve their prayers. When you pray remember that you are talking to your Heavenly Father. Remember how much he loves you. Thank Him for everything He has given you. As you have better prayers, you relationship with your Heavenly Father will be strengthened. It will be awesome!

Have an awesome week,

Love Elder Bronson

New Comp

This week has been great. Our whole mission has been doing something interesting this week. We are doing a member meal fast. So basically, we haven't eaten dinner at members houses or fast food or anything. We have been making all of our own food. We haven't killed ourselves yet, so I would say we have done a pretty good job. I've definitely been learning how to cook more stuff.

Crazy Person Alert! So we were walking down Broadway last night. A guy came up and started to talk to us. I'm pretty sure he was drunk or something. He was trying to put a toy shoe into a pool noodle. He talked to us for a little bit. He told us how the book of revelations is happening now. It was interesting. Then when he walked away, he  threw his pool noodle on the ground and started kicking it and yelling. Crazy people are great.

This week I want to challenge everyone to exercise their faith. We learned in General Conference that faith is like a muscle and we need to exercise it to keep it strong. So this week practice having faith. Read Alma 32:21,26-27. So as you go through the week remember to have faith and remember to pray in faith. Have faith that your Heavenly Father does love you enough to answer your prayers. He does love you that much. You are literally one of his children. You are His "work and glory."

Have a good week,

Love, Elder Bronson

This is my new companion Elder Slaugh. It is kind of cool because he started his mission in this exact area. All of the ward remembers him and everything. Now he is ending his mission here in Santa Maria. Born and died in SM 1st ward.

                                                                                 Elder Slaugh

My District

Elder Bronson and his new companion Elder Slaugh

Transfer Call

Transfer calls came! Elder Mulford is training in Thousand Oaks and I am staying. I'm glad I get to stay for a little bit longer. This area is awesome. My new comp is going to be E. Slaugh. He was in this area about a year ago. It's crazy that he gets to come back. That almost never happens.

So how did all of you like General Conference? I though it was awesome! My favorite talks were the ones about listening to the Spirit and how the Gospel is simple. It's so true that the Gospel is simple. It is all based on the love our Heavenly Father has for us and reaching our divine destiny and potential. The Atonement makes all of that possible! It allows us to change and become better every single day. It's amazing!

Since we are in a car share, we trade the car every two days. One of the days we got to our apartment late. We unlocked the door and walked in. Then, all of a sudden, Elders DeGraw and Corbrige jumped out and surprised us. Elder DeGraw had climbed up into our apartment and waited for us to come in. Then as soon as the door opened, he blew his air horn at us.

We helped an old lady do some yard work this week and we found two snails. What do you do with two snail? Well, we decided to pit them against each other in a life and death struggle. We thought they would just sit there, but to our amazement, they started fighting. It was crazy! One snail actually broke the other one's shell.

This week's challenge has to do with the Sacrament. While taking the Sacrament, think of something that Heavenly Father wants you to work on for the week. Set a goal of how you are going to work on it. Write it down and put it somewhere that you will see it multiple times a day. Remember it throughout the week and work on it. Ask for God's help for you to complete your goal. Then during Sacrament the next week, think about how you did and think of something else you can improve on.

Remember that your Heavenly Father loves you, that he will always listen to your prayers, and that he wants to you to be happy.
Have a great week,
Love, Elder Bronson

My address didn't end up changing since I'm staying,
in case you forgot, it's

Elder Michael Bronson
330 E Enos Dr #56
Santa Maria, CA 93454

We decided to make homemade french fries.

E. Mulford's excitement when he got a letter.

This is our district. Elder Harvey thinks I have super red hair, so he drew me as fire lord Bronson