I broke the word of wisdom... (transfer 7 week 5)

Hello friends and family,

Yes. I broke the word of wisdom. As described on Mormon.org, "The Word of Wisdom prohibits the drinking of alcohol, coffee and tea, and the use of tobacco. It also implies that we not use illegal drugs or abuse prescription drugs. The Word of Wisdom also encourages us to eat plenty of the fruits and vegetables that are in season, plenty of grains and a moderate amount of meat." I was doing so good, up until the last part. Eating moderate amount of meat... this week Sister Rangel and I went to Tucano's. A Brazilian BBQ, with endless Brazilian meat. So, we feasted. But can I say, I found my new favorite restaurant! There you have a wooden thingy on the table that is green on one side, and red on the other. So if you have it on green, they keep bringing you meat. But red means you are taking a breather. Well, lets just say I never turned it to red. It was the absolute best thing I have ever tasted! And I even fell in love with grilled chicken heart. Yes. An actual chicken heart. It's delicious, trust me. But that wasn't even the highlight of the week!

This week we had 2 fun activities. We went to the farm last P-day for our zone activity, and we milked cows and went on a wagon ride. Exciting stuff for missionaries! Then this last Thursday was Pioneer day; which apparently is a pretty big thing here in Utah. I remember last year I was here around this time at my Aunt's house, and there were a bunch of fireworks for no reason, or so I thought. Pioneer day is bigger here than the 4th of July is! So there was a 3 hour parade that we got lucky enough to watch. Somehow Sister Rangel got to a roped off area where they kept filming us. So if you watched the parade, look for us! President Monson was even in the parade and waved at us!

But one of my favorite parts of the week was just yesterday in the Beehive house. There was a sweet family that came through. The parents must not have been older than 25 years old, and they had one son named Nate who was 4. And Nate was in a wheelchair because he has muscular dystrophy, and he also has tubes in his throat for breathing and eating. But this family is one of the most adorable families I've ever seen. Nate is so gentle and loving. There are a few stairs in the house, and he asked "Sister, will you help my dad lift me up so I can see the prophet's house?" Everything he said touched my heart. I never want that tour to end! The way they interacted with each other; the love and the kindness that they showed each other. What an example to me! Throughout my life, I have always had a connection with those who were handicapped. And I had always been nervous that it was because God was preparing me for children who might be handicapped. But because of this amazing family, I don't fear it anymore. Because I know how much it would be a privilege for me and my family. My family would get to learn patience and love in a way that we wouldn't otherwise. Whatever God's plan for me is, I greet it with open arms.

I love you all and hope you have a spectacular week full of God's love.

Sister Brock

P.s. This week we will find out if I go outbound!

4th of July

Sister Hoffmann from Brasillll

ELDER SKANCHY!!! He's my absolute favorite. Before I got my surgery and found out what was wrong with my stomach, he gave me a bunch of chocolate because he thought it was really bad cramps. He's a judge and barely ever smiles, but he is such an awesome man! 

The Oregonian's at Temple Square! Sister Briggs refused to do the Oregon Duck's 'O'

Sister Toa, my favorittttteeee! She has the hardest time doing the rock sign, but she thinks it is so funny and calls me Sister B-rock

Sister Enis!!! (My sister Alli was in her EFY group back in High School!!)

President Harmon! Funniest guy you'd ever meet. He's small, but he has a way with fashion!!

Sister Yang! Who was in Elder James Kunzler's district in her outbound to NY!

Sister Armendariz

Sister Richardson

Transfer 7 week 4

Another beautiful and hot week has come and gone here at Temple Square. A week full of thousands of people visiting from all over the world! In the Beehive house this week, Sister Rangel and I took people from over 17 different countries this week! Including Germany, Switzerland, South Africa, Brasil, and good ol Australia. It's so amazing to serve in such an international place. I've always loved foreign exchange students, so this is the perfect place for me! In just 2 weeks though I am most likely going outbound, so I'll be going to another mission in the United States. I'll find out for sure on the 31st. Stay tuned!

Something very exciting thing this week was the Mormon Tabernacle Pioneer Day concert. It was starting shortly after Sister Rangel and I were heading home for our studies (some people have them in the morning, some at night). Our roommates had P-day that day, and they were able to get some tickets to go to the concert! We envied them. But then we found some sisters who said that they had some tickets but weren't going! So with a little internal fight, we decided to go get these tickets and have this concert as our 'studies'. Well the concert was starting in 5 minutes and the Sisters who had the tickets lived in the other apartment building up a huge hill. So we, in our dresses, ran up this hill and were trying to call the sisters to see what room they lived in. No luck. We go to the apartments and were looking around for them when we found out that they don't even live in this apartment! But that they live in the other one across the way. Again, we ran to the next apartment and finally found them. But, they only had one ticket left because they gave the other one away. So we couldn't go. We decided to just walk back to our apartment. But we decided to go in front of the Conference Center where the concert was. And the Ushers out there had extra tickets! YAY! We were so ecstatic. But once I had those tickets in my hands, I just got the most horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. I realized that I had fallen to the natural man inside me. That I was going back to the person I was before my mission. I wasn't being obedient and having my studies. So I happily gave those tickets back and went on my way to my apartment. Some of my investigators really struggle with falling into temptation of certain worldly things, and I didn't understand for a while why they couldn't overcome it. But it's the same with this concert. I knew deep down that I should stay home and have my studies, but nevertheless I still went seeking after these concert tickets! I realized that we all have our weaknesses that we fight against, and sometimes, just as I, fall to the natural man inside us. And I on my mission, as a representative of Jesus Christ, need to overcome my natural man to help others overcome their natural man. But I am grateful for this experience, that I may more fully comprehend how to help my investigators. I may not be perfect. I don't always make the best decisions. But I will surely try my best. I love everything about this Gospel, but most importantly seeing the change it has wrought in my life.

I love you all and hope you have a great week!!

Sister Brock

Transfer 7 week 3

Boy do I have a lot to tell you all this week! We had a lot of exciting things this week.

First of all, last week for P-day a few of the Sisters in my district went bowling at Fatcats! That's always fun. Then we had a very happy surprise from Chick-fil-a! They were having a "free meal deal" in which if you dressed up as a cow, you got a free meal! Always a big hit with missionaries.

But the big ordeal this week was on Saturday. Our whole mission actually got to go to a girls camp! Half went in the morning, and half in the afternoon. So my group went in the afternoon to none other than Brighton Girls camp. And can I just say that this is one of the best girls camp sites I've ever seen, well I've only seen 3, but I imagine this is one of the best. They had a ropes course and everything! So that's what we got to do. We went with our districts and did 3 different ropes course activities. Most of the Sisters in my District are from foreign countries, so they had no idea what a ropes course was. And me, coming from the land of trees, have been to my fair share of ropes courses. They are still fun, nonetheless. Our first one we went to was called the spider web (the one in the pictures) and we had to get through the spider web without touching it. And the catch is that you can only use each hole once. So we got pretty creative with it. But at the end, they asked us what this had to do with missionary work. And I didn't realize it at first, but it has so much to do with missionary work! I was the second one through the web, and it was my job to help everyone else through; to carry them across. That's the same thing with life. Now that I have seen what's on the other side, I need to help my brothers and sisters through. And not only help them through, but help them to be involved with missionary work too. We all get in different sticky situations, but the atonement of Jesus Christ allows us to try again, and again, and again. Until we've made it to the other side. And I am so blessed to be able to see the atonement of Jesus Christ working in my life as well as in the lives of so many. That is what is going to carry us through to the other side.

Another cool thing this week was that I got to announce after Music and the Spoken word! That means that we do a presentation in many different languages and invite people to take tours at Temple Square. It doesn't happen too often for English sisters, because we all speak English. So I'll send some pictures from that as well.

This morning we had the amazing opportunity to go to the Bountiful Temple. In our mission, we get to go to the Temple each transfer, but the Salt Lake Temple is actually closed for this whole transfer, so we got to go to Bountiful. And holy manole, this is one of the most beautiful Temples I've seen! It's probably tied with the Portland Temple. But there is nothing like the feeling of being in the Temple. I was thinking today about how many people have been to the Temple before, but haven't gone back. There are a lot of people who are really close to me that have made this decision, and it's heartbreaking. I don't know how anyone could ever deny that this is the House of the Lord. Even people who come to Temple Square with no knowledge about the church know that this is a very special and unique place. And that's because it is a place set apart from the world, where we can make covenants or promises with God that enable us to be with our families forever. Isn't that the ultimate goal? To be with those we love forever? Then why would we ever let anything come in between that? Maybe you have some doubts about the history of the church, or doctrine, or maybe you feel that you haven't felt the spirit in your life. But we will always have questions, only God knows all. We will always have times where we do things that pulls the spirit away, but we can repent. There should be nothing that holds us back from going to the Temple. Because you have a lot to lose if you don't. The Temple is too great to shut out of your life. Find out if the church is true; study, pray, ponder, go to church, ask God! Sincerely ask God. And then don't ever turn back on that answer. I know, in every inch of my body, that this is Christ's church. And that Temples are an essential part in His plan. I love going to His temple; feeling his spirit. And I invite each of you to prepare for the Temple; wherever you may be on your spiritual journey, whether you are not a member, less active or even an active member, point your course toward the Temple; always.

I love you all more than you know. Have a great week!!

Sister Brock

Transfer 7 week 1

Each week as I write the transfer date as the subject I feel older and older. I remember when I was in my first few transfers and I thought I would never be a 7th transfer, and here I am... feeling like I just got here yesterday. Time is odd, especially on a mission.

A lot has happened since I last emailed you. I've seen Nana and papa Cook, Cassey Gonzales (but I guess she just got married last week), Angela Reed and Jane Thomas! It's been awhile since I've seen anyone I know, so it was good to see all of you. Also, we spoke in a ward this last Sunday, and are now serving in the Beehive house! Pretty different this transfer. Last transfer we were just serving on the Square, but we are LOVING our time in the Beehive house.

The beehive house is definitely an interesting place in the summer. Because not only do we have tours every 6 minutes, but we also have lots of anti's and modern day polygamists come through. So it definitely keeps our tours interesting. To serve in the Beehive house you have to have a strong testimony about 3 things; modern day prophets/revelation, the role of families, and polygamy. Almost every other question has to do with Polygamy. So if you ever have any questions about it; I'm your girl. I've heard them all, and I could help you resolve that. But anyways, I love the Beehive house because it's so cool to see how Gospel principles bridge to the history of the church. That's a lot of what we do here at Temple Square, we take the history and bridge gospel principles to it.

We had a really cool experience this week in between shifts at the beehive. We were assigned to be at the Assembly hall, and so the first people who came in the door were Brasilian so Sister Rangel took them to the front and started teaching them. So I talked to pretty much every other single person that came in, with no luck. Until a guy from China came in and asked how someone joins the church. Batta bing, batta boom. This is who I was waiting for! Or so I thought. He spoke pretty good English, but for some reason could not understand a word I was saying. And then one of our Sisters from China walks by and he was beside himself. They go off and start teaching him in mandarin. Which leaves me alone again, with no one to teach! But then my companion came back to the door with the two Brasilians and asks if we can take them on a tour, of courseeee! We took them to the Temple Model and talked about sealings, and then took them to my absolute favorite place; God's plan. A short video that talks about how the Gospel blesses families. We went in with them and another couple who were members who wanted to see it. At the end, we were all in tears. The members both started testifying about eternal families and what a blessing that knowledge has been in their lives. And they said something that these two Brasilian girls needed to hear, because at that moment it went from a desire to know about the church, to a desire to do anything to have their own eternal family. And this is exactly what the Temple Square visitors center is for. To help people to have not just a good experience, but a life changing experience. And that is through living the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so blessed to be serving here, because we truly do see so many miracles. We get over 6 million visitors here a year, and I hope that each of them will return home with more than just pictures and memories. But rather return home with a change and motivation in heart and mind, determined to do whatever it takes to come closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I love this Gospel, and I love seeing the change it continues to make in my life and the life of others. There is no experience like being a missionary, and I am glad that I have the opportuinity to share these experiences with you. I love you all!!

Sister Brock

one of my favorite Asians, Sister MA! She just left for outbound to Las Vegas.

Not too happy about walking in to the doctors and seeing this...

Explore day last Tuesday at the Church History Museum! 
Side note: I was using crutches this day right after my surgery, and that was NOT a good idea. My arms turned black and blue after that. Was rolling in a wheelchair for the next few days.

Transfer 6 week 6

I'M GOING TO BE AN AUNTIE TO A LITTLE BABY BOY! Little Autzen Brock, awe!! I love him so much already.

This week has been an absolute blur, so please excuse me if this does not make any sense at all. We had a lot of miracles this week; Temple Square is a mission of miracles! To start, we found 2 new families in Brazil! One is from Brazilia, where Sister Rangel is from. And another one is related to the family I talked about last week, Eliane's family. They attended sacrament meeting last week in the brand new branch in their city, and absolutely loved it! We are so blessed to be teaching so many families right now. Because this Gospel truly is all about families, and how we can be strengthened through Jesus Christ and his Gospel. So who better to teach than families? They all are showing so much support and encouragement to each other, and I can already see the impact the Gospel has made in their lives.

Today we took a fun tour of a father and a daughter from South Korea! Thankfully they spoke good English. And you know it is going to be a great tour when they start off by saying "We don't care about the buildings, but please tell us about your church. What you believe and where your church started." I almost cry when people say that! We taught them the whole restoration and they just soaked it up, "You mean, we have a prophet on the Earth today?!" They loved the idea of having guidance from God in these days. And after reading parts of the Book of Mormon with them in Korean, they accepted the invitation to read and pray about the book of Mormon. They are just the sweetest, and I am excited to see what is ahead for this family!

This week I have been thinking a lot about anti's. We had a BIG group of them that caused some commotion this last week at Temple Square. And it makes me so sad that some people are spending so much time trying to tear other people down. I can't imagine wanting to do that. As a missionary, I am here to uplift and strengthen people! To share the good word of God. And these people just want to tear us down and frustrate the work of salvation. I am so grateful for my firm testimony that leaves me unshaken when these whirlwinds come, because I can see how it effects some of the other sisters. My patriarchal blessing tells me numerous times that there will be forces that try to persuade me against my faith, but because of my testimony, it will have no impact upon my mission and purpose on this Earth. They are unknowingly fulfilling my patriarchal blessing. And they truly strengthen my testimony! I know for certain that the devil is going to be working very hard against Christ's church, especially in these latter days. Why don't the Catholic's have anti's? Or the Lutherans? Or the Muslims? Or the other Christian denominations? Because there is always opposition from the adversary against the truth. We have over 15 million members and we're one of the fastest growing religions. And that's for a reason! Because we simply invite people to find out for themselves; we don't try to convince them these things are true, because then they wouldn't know for themselves. But as we each read, ponder, and pray about the Book of Mormon, we all can know through out own experiences. God loves each of us, and he WILL guide us to the truth. I know that this Gospel is true. I know that, despite mush opposition and persecution, that Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet of God to restore His gospel. I know these things because I have experienced them. I didn't see Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ, I didn't receive everything I prayed for, but I did receive an answer about the Book of Mormon. And that book has absolutely changed my life. Before preparing to come on my mission, I had read it, but I hadn't really read it. When we read it with real intent, meaning we are willing to act upon the promptings we receive, then we will receive our own personal witness of it's reality. By acting on those promptings, it has brought me closer to God than anything else. I'm changing slowly but surely, because of this book. I love the Book of Mormon!

I love you all, and hope you have a great week!!

Sister Brock

Transfer 6 week 5

Hello friends and family! 

I cannot believe how fast my mission and especially this transfer has flown by! It is pretty frightening.

EXPLORE DAY: Explore day is for 1st transfer sisters to see the church sites and other major sites around the city. We spent half of our day on Tuesday going to heritage park (which is where Brigham Young said "This is the Place") and because we are so smart, we went on the hottest day of the week. And by hottest day of the week, I mean I was dying of heat. I'm from Oregon, and I am very familiar with rain, not the sun. Anyway, we walked around and saw a few monuments and then headed INDOORSand went to the Utah State Capitol Building. We took a trip to the bathroom and we ran into the Governors secretary. She took us to the Governors roped off office and took pictures of us in the Governors chair, pretty cool! Then she showed us some of the most adorable pictures of her grandson serving his mission in Zimbabwe. And if you know me at all, you know that I have been dying for my parents to adopt a little boy from Africa. So pictures of little African kids kill me.

Dermatologist: Yesterday we went to the dermatologist to have them look at my keloid scars and check over my skin before summer. I've had keloid scars before that they injected to make them go down. So that's what they did with my 3 scars from my skin biopsy's last year, and my recent surgery. They haven't gone down quite yet, but supposedly they will in due time. But can I just say, that those are some of the most painful shots I've ever had! Putting needles into very hard tissue is not fun. But the fun doesn't end there! They also checked over my skin and found 5 spots that they were worried about, so I got 5 moles removed and they are doing biopsy's on them to see if they need to dig out more skin. I should have the results by next week, so stay tuned!

MIRACLES: This week was a week of miracles! We have been teaching a family in Brasil who are some of the most faithful people I know. They live 3 hours away from the nearest church, but each Sunday they invite all of their friends and family over to their house to study the Book of Mormon. We have been teaching them for about 4 weeks now and have been at a stump, trying to figure out how we can help this family. We have fasted and prayed for them countless times, but with no apparent results. That is, until Tuesday night! We called Eliane, the mother, and she was so excited that we called! She immediately told us that she had arrived back to her neighborhood and found 4 Elders searching for her! They were excited to announce that the church had bought a house and the first church service in this city was going to be held this Sunday!!!! This means, that this family, and all of their friends can now join the church and attend each week. This came as an absolute shock to Sister Rangel and I! But we know that God is so aware of His children. We know that he will provide a way for each of us to keep his commandments. He hears our prayers; I can promise that he is listening! Because this is just one example of many that I have seen and experienced. It is amazing to be on a mission, and to continue to reaffirm your faith everyday. No matter how many people try to tear down this church, I keep getting built higher and higher each day. There is no way that I could ever deny these miracles and experiences that I have had on my mission. But these experiences and miracles aren't just meant for missionaries, we are all entitled to our own witness of the reality of our Savior Jesus Christ, of His teachings and His Gospel. I am a witness and a testimony of the reality of this Gospel, it is Jesus Christ's church. I know that my Savior lives, and still performs miracles today. Partake of His goodness for yourself, come unto Him.

I wish I had more time to share more of our miracles with you. But I am grateful for each of your love and support of me! It keeps me going through the challenging times. I love you all!!

Sister Brock