No glasses. Dental work. Zone Conference.

Another long letter from Eldrew. Whooohooo! In his own words...

Glasses NOT needed.

"So, here is the what's what.  First things first.  I didn't end up getting glasses.  We were driving and I said to my companion, "That's a funny bumper sticker..." and he, wearing glasses said, "what?  you can read that?"...So, I figured, I may not NEED glasses. Ha Ha..."

Dental emergency.

"But, I bit of information I was planning on not telling you, Last week I and a root canal on my right top molar. I thought it would be funny for me not to tell ya'll til I got home but that would be kind of rude. I was having some major tooth aches and finally I just couldn't take it anymore so I asked Sister Saylin for a dentist. We went to a Bishop who's a dentist and he told me my tooth was abscess. He sent me to his High Priest group leader, the endodontist. I tell you, that operation was fantastic! Didn't hurt, he gave me a mouth prop so I didn't even have to strain my mouth open. It was great. I just got the permanent filling put in yesterday. It took 15 minutes to put in, he didn't even numb me...apparently, no roots, no pain. Best of all, the doctors didn't charge me a cent! Great men."



Elder Eduardo Gavarret














Zone Conference.

"Today was a pretty intense day...A member of the Seventy is touring our mission so we had zone conference. I conducted and messed up on his name...ha ha...I said, "Elder Eduardo of the Seventy who presides at this meeting." Instead of Elder Eduardo Gavarret of the Seventy who presides at this meeting"...Good thing President quickly corrected me...I'm glad I've gotten passed embarrassment on my mission. The meeting got started and EVERYTHING was changed last minute per Elder Gavarret's request. It was nerve racking! ha ha But it went smoothly and was an enjoyable experience."

All is well!

"Everything here is going great! I love ya'll and hopefully will get you some pictures soon!"

 

Newsy letter from Edrew.

January 17th and a long, newsy email from Elder Bellomy. In fact it is one of the longest letter of his mission.

For starters, he promises to write longer letters home...that will be great.

After two very busy weeks without the chance to do a lot of missionary work.

He and his companion are teaching two sisters (Lucia and Sandra) who originally took missionary lessons in Mexico City. They have testimonies and are getting ready to be baptised. Sandra loves the Gospel Principles lesson book. She said that "If the whole world would live the teachings of this book, it would be a great place."

The companionship also had this experience this week:

"Meanwhile in our area we are still teaching the Grants (the couple that got married a few months back).  Elder Peterson and I weren't sure if she was prepared for baptism but we went through the baptismal questions with her and took a member.  We all felt she and her son were ready.  So we prepared a baptismal service for Sunday (16 Jan.).   It was the best baptism I have ever had.  The Sugar Land 1st ward is amazing!  Powerful talks on baptism and confirmation.  The room was full.  The Bishop who married them did the baptism.  After she got baptized she yelled, "Yay!" ha ha it was really funny.  While she and Cullen were getting changed Elder Peterson and I taught the Restoration of the Gospel (Lesson 1).  It flowed really well and was really spiritual.   And as exciting and great the baptism was, the fantastic things just kept on going.   There is a family in the ward that is just awesome.  They are way strong, the mother is a convert from Orthodox Judiasm, the kids are all really intelligent and musically gifted and really spiritually inclined.  But the riddle the ward has been trying to crack for 10 years since the mother's baptism is why the father hasn't been baptized yet...even though he has come faithfully to church with his family for the last 3 years.  HE EVEN COMES WHEN SHE DOESN'T!!   Well, the oldest son was playing the piano for the baptism so the mother and father were there...after the baptism as everyone was mingling I walked over to the father and started a conversation.  He started asking questions about the "discussions"...and asked if we could teach him the discussions.  I was floored!" 

It was a good week for missionary work in Texas!

Christmas photos.

Christmas time photos from the Saylin family. (Elder Bellomy's mission president.)



Elder Bellomy helping to load Christmas packages.





Christmas box photo. (I don't know who the kids are, so I obscured their faces.)




Garage full of Christmas packages from home for the missionaries.



 


Happy New Year from Houston, Texas.

Here is Eldrew's New Year's message...reproduced in all of its fontastic glory.

2011!! Wow....It feels weird. I was talking to my companion about the year I got my tonsils taken out. Is that crazy how that was 2 whole years ago! I was thinking about that again today when I woke up and shaved my stubble! My stubble. If I didn't shave I'd have a legitimate beard! It's awesome. ha ha Well, I haven't gotten my glasses yet. I still need a check up. I don't know if my vision is that much worse from when I left home but the difference is the fact that at night it is harder to see. So maybe I'll just get some glasses to wear when I feel like it...at $38 who can complain! I'll send a picture when the time comes...I love ya'll!



And happy new year to you Elder.

The day after Christmas.

The regular Monday email came the day after Christmas. I guess Eldrew didn't see the need for a long email. But this email had some news...

So, we had like 2 or so minutes to email this week so I was just going to say a few informational things. I'm thinking I need glasses. There is a member in the mission who gives free eye exams which will save me like 80 dollars on that. He'll give me a prescription and then at Walmart they have these $12 frames I liked and they said it'll cost like $38 dollars total. So I'll pay out of my tax return money. I love ya'll!

That, by the way, is the entire letter this wek.

Given all the years of Eldrew wearing fake, goofy glasses...we tremble to think what he will choose...or what he can choose for $38.

Merry Christmas Elder Bellomy

We heard his voice, enjoyed his spirit, and laughed at his jokes.

It was a great Christmas present.

Funny story...

During the Christmas season, the Texas Houston South Mission has a Christmas party for the missionaries.

We were asked to send a package for Elder Bellomy. (Like we need prompting.) Well, actually...they asked to have it arrive by a certain date to be passed out at the party.

We were also asked to contribute a gift for a game in which the missionaries somehow trade gifts and attempt to upgrade to a gift that they like. (I don't know how that works.)

While shopping, we saw this cool, small, blender. Perfect for protien shakes, etc. We knew that would be a winner. So we got it.

Knowing our Eldrew...we knew that he'd love that gift. (He was a Magic Bullet) frequent flyer before his mission. Guessing that he would have a very small chance of winning the the mixer in the game, we bought him one for his gift package.

On the call, we asked him if he got his Christmas Package...he proceeded to tell us the story of how he and his companion really tried to win this "cool" blender in the Gift Game...and failed. But in an amazing coincidence, his Christmas package had the exact same mixer as he'd tried to win. We all laughed and told him the secret of where both gifts came from.

Almost a year and a half away from home...and we can still read his mind!

It was a great Christmas call. We have three of our four calls down...one to go.

December 20: Not much news.

Very little news from Eldrew this week. Almost the shortest letter yet.

We think he is buy with all of the things described last week.

Elder Bellomy made arrangements for us to have our annual Christmas phone call. The entire family is excited. We will all gather around the phone on Christmas Day and hear his voice.

His investigator, Brother Hale, is progressing but struggling with his smoking habit.

Looking forward to hearing his voice!

December 13. Touching his heart.

First the news...Eldrew didn't get transferred.

After a week where we didn't hear from Eldrew, he sent a long letter.

He shared a story of how his mission, under the direction of his Mission President are trying to apply hard work and faith to find and to bring people to the Gospel before the end of the year.

As Assistants to the President, Elderw and his companion don't get as much missionary time as other missionaries. In fact, Elder Bellomy reports that he and his companion are very busy with Zone Conferences, Mission-wide meetings, Christmas activity planning for the Mission, and TWO transfers this month. It seems that missionaries going home this month were given the choice of early December (be home for Christmas) or after Christmas (spend one last Christmas on their mission).

Anyways, Elder Bellomy and his companion have been striving to contribute to their mission's efforts to find, teach, and bring people to the gospel. Elder Bellomy shared this experience:

Elder Peterson and I were praying to find someone. We had gotten a referral from the spanish missionaries a week before that we couldn't find. It was a bad address. But...while walking through another complex in the area we saw a familiar apt number. We knocked on it and ask for Ashley Hale. It was he. He said he was busy that day but said he would come to church (a day he would HAVE to come to for baptism on the weekend in white). He came. and he loved it. We went that night and taught him, extended a date for baptism for December 19th, the evening of his third time at church. He jumped up and wrote "baptism" on his calendar. As we left his very humble and run down apartment, smelling of cigarettes, Elder Peterson and I were full of faith that the Lord had provided a miracle. Though we knew this would be no easy task, it was well within the realm of reality for a work so guided by God..


Brother Hale has lived a hard life. He was born into wealth, being the son of a father whom inherited a great fortune. His father didn't work and spent his time drinking and doing drugs. Ashley was often beaten by his father and ran away frequently. As he grew older, he turn his life into one of drinking and partying. Realizing the hollowness of the party life he changed his life around leaving only one vestige of his past life-- his heavy addiction to tobacco.

Brother Hale smoked 40 self rolled cigarettes a day. We taught him the word of wisdom 2 days after we met him...knowing he had one week to be through with it. That night he gave us half of his tobacco and coffee. The next day he made a plan of how he would quit by the 12th, the next day he made a numerical goal, the next day he called and told us of how his desire to smoke had curbed dramatically. Friday came around and he smoked 26 cigarettes. That night we talked about miracles, about baptism, and about priesthood blessings. He counted out 13 cigarette papers, grabbed just enough tobacco for 13 cigarettes and then put his ash tray and remaining papers and tobacco in a bag for us to through away. The last 13 cigarettes of his life--Saturday's ration. We gave him a Priesthood blessing. The single most spiritually powerful blessing I have ever been a part of. There was such a feeling of God's love and power. When I annointed I felt as if an agent for God as I stated the authority I acted under. Brother Hale told of the immediate change he felt in his clarity and physical strength. He said he felt the spirit. Tears welled up in my eyes as we made our way to the dumpster to through away Brother Hale's sacrifice to the Lord. Given with a willing heart and a contrite spirit.

Brother Hale came to church yesterday. He loved it again. Brother Hale is going to be baptized on the 19th. I know the Lord loves His children, for if He didn't, I wouldn't have been so blessed to be out here in this work. Words can't express how these months have changed me. This work is a work of miracles

As a former missionary, I (Eldrew's Dad) can relate to the faith-building experience of seeing someone turn their life around. If all goes as planned, this will be a wonderful Christmas for Brother Hale!

Holy Cow! Time to catch up.

It has been a very busy time for the Bellomy family. Sorry that we've not been posting on the ElderBellomy.com blog.

Our intent is that this blog is sort of our family journal of Eldrew's mission.

In that spirit, we will be adding blog entries over the next couple of weeks to get 'caught up.' We'll be  blogging as if in real time.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the mission!

PS: Item of business. Elder Bellomy's address has changed. He likes to get his mail at the Mission Office which has moved. The new address is:

Elder Andrew Bellomy
Texas Houston South Mission
602 Eldridge Road
Sugar Land, TX 77478