It was great to be able to talk with all of you! It was an experience that has enlarged my joy and renewed my determination to do my best. I truly feel blessed to have such an amazing family!

This has been an unforgettable week! I have had several special experiences that have helped me to remember all of the great blessings that have come because the Savior and the decisions I have made to follow Him. One of them was being able to spend the evening with President Bulloch and his family; another, which I feel is the greatest, was being able to share the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ with many willing hearts that have been softened to His good word. This week we worked hard and were blessed to find and teach many who have been prepared to receive the Lord into their lives. It has helped me to remember how the Lord has snatched me from my lost and suffering state and lead me to the still waters, and how we have the power to do the same for others. Could I have received greater joy from any other gift? No! I love the Lord and being part of His glorious work!

May the Lord bless us all with more determination and success is my desire and my prayer. I love every one of you so much!

~Elder Packer

Dear Family & Friends,

It is a great pleasure and a nearly an impossible task to try and communicate what I have experienced in the past year.

As a missionary and a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ I have struggled to know Him better, and what it is He expects of me. Central in this process has been sincere personal prayer and a daily study of the Book of Mormon. Through the written word of God and personal communication with Him I have been able to understand more fully what the Savior has done for us and what it is that He expects of me and each one of us. And for that I am profoundly grateful!

“With saints of old in joyful cry
I too can testify:
This is the Christ.
This is the Christ,
The holy Son of God,
Our Savior,
Lord,
Redeemer of mankind.
This is the Christ,
The Healer of our souls,
Who ransomed us with love divine.”

We can choose to accept the great gifts He has to offer us, and obtain great hope, peace and even eternal life as we seek to follow Him, as we repent and obey His commandments and are washed clean and born again through baptism.

One of the greatest truths I have learned this year is that this really is a choice, it’s voluntary. The Lord has given us our free agency and will never obligate us. He has said, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him.”

My prayer and invitation to you, is that in a season when we tend to reflect upon that which is good, may we do more than reflect, may we answer the Lord´s call and “open the door” unto Him, that He may abide in us and us in Him.

With great love,
Elder Bryce Sterling Packer

Querida Familia y Amigos,

Es un gran placer y una tarea casi imposible de realizar el comunicarles todo lo que he experimentado en este año pasado.

Como misionero y representante del Señor Jesucristo, he luchado por conocerle mejor, y por saber que es lo que Él espera de mí. La sincera oración personal y un estudio diario del Libro de Mormón han sido centrales en este proceso. Por medio de la palabra escrita de Dios y la comunicación personal con Él he sido capaz de entender mas plenamente que es lo que el Señor ha hecho por nosotros y que es lo que Él espera de mí y de cada uno de nosotros. ¡Y estoy profundamente agradecido por eso!

“Con santos de la antigüedad en gritos de alegría
Yo también puedo testificar:
Este es el Cristo.
Este es el Cristo,
El Santo Hijo de Dios,
Nuestro Salvador,
Señor,
El Redentor de la Humanidad.
Este es el Cristo,
El sanador de nuestras almas,
Que nos rescató con amor divino.”

Podemos elegir aceptar los grandes regalos que Él tiene para ofrecernos, y obtener gran esperanza, paz, e inclusive vida eterna a medida que nos esforcemos por seguirle, que nos arrepintamos, que obedezcamos sus mandamientos, que seamos limpios y nazcamos de nuevo a través del bautismo.

Una de las verdades más grandes que he aprendido durante este año es que esa realmente es una elección, es voluntaria. El Señor nos a dado nuestro libre albedrío y nunca nos obligará. Él ha dicho “He aquí, yo estoy a la puerta y llamo; si alguno oye mi voz y abre la puerta, entraré y cenaré con él, y él conmigo.”

Mi oración e invitación a ustedes es que en esta temporada cuando tendemos a reflexionar sobre lo que es bueno, hagamos más que solo reflexionar, que podamos contestar la llamada del Señor y “abrir la puerta” a Él, para que Él pueda permanecer en nosotros y nosotros en Él.

Con gran amor,
Elder Bryce Sterling Packer

Hello Hello my family,

I really enjoyed talking on the phone to you all and look forward to the next time. I was so nice to hear the voices of my family…admittedly I wanted to impress Ceci with my “sweet Spanish skills”, however I ran out of time. It’s all good. 

Ceci, Tenemos años y años que podemos placticar acera de cual quier cosa que queremos.

So I was about as positive as I could be that I was going to be transfered this cycle and… I wasn’t. However, that’s ok because I really like my area, know it probably too well and I love the people here…and all of their problems. It’s a good thing that missionaries don’t gossip… because I know about almost every problem that every person here has, “I’ve got dirt on everyone” hehehe, nah. Christmas was good. However, the town was DEAD; we saw about six people in the street. They all have a big dinner on the night of the 24th at midnight is when dinner begins, and then they sleep on the 25th

Well thats about it for now. ¡Vamos a la obra! ¡Les amo! [Let's go to work. We love it.]

Elder Packer

[Editorial by Shayne. We got to talk to Bryce for an hour today. I called the number Bryce had sent at the planned time, and I conferenced the call to my iPhone. Then I added each of the family using the iPhone's easy-to-use conference feature.

Here are some notes from the phone call.

Bryce and his companion baptized a couple more family members of Axel Martinez Sanchez's family. His father's baptism is scheduled for 11th of January.

They baptized a man from Lima, Peru on Dec 23rd.

On Dec. 17th, the missionaries went with the Mission President to the Mexico City Temple. They had steak dinner afterwards — although it was thin and overcooked — still, it was steak.

The weather is 85 degrees in the daytime, and a cold 25 night.

The Wal-Mart store is expensive and nice; not the cheapest place in town.

Bryce expects to be transfered on 30th.]

¡Feliz Navidad! Perdón porque no puedo escribir a todos individualmente, pero ¡Les amo individualmente! [Merry Christmas! Sorry I can't write to you all individually, but I love each of you!]

This year has been a long one, however gone by very quickly because there has been so much to do. Probably the busiest year of my life! México is great, I’ve been here for a little over four months now and I love the people the culture and most of the food :b   Most of all I love what I am doing. Being a missionary has been really hard, and very rewarding. Christmas is defiantly not the same here, however the spirit is the same “good tidings to all” gratitude, peace and love. This is the message of Christ and this is what I get to share everyday. Pretty sweet, I know.

I quickly just want to let everyone know, I am thinking about you and that I want the best for you. I know that’s what our Father in Heaven wants for us and that is what the Savior has to offer us. I pray we will all have gratitude for His sacrifice, follow his example and serve others and receive the peace He has prepared for us.

I love you all

Bryce

Hello Family

English really doesn’t make sense, however I like it anyway (except when it comes to spelling, by the way I am a great speller in spanish)! So I don’t know what is going on as far as calling you all. Another missionary said we can talk for an hour and that I will call you real quick with the phone number to call (probably of a member’s house) and then you will call that number back. And it might be cheaper too for you to use a calling card? We will find out everything on the 17th when we go to Mexico City.  We are going to have a reunion with the Mission President and go through a temple session (which I am really excited for). I am afraid however that I will fall a sleep because we have to wake up at 3 am to go to Mexico City :/ because of traffic. Then we are also going to eat fillet minion in the Temple for an early Christmas dinner mmmm… real steak! Our preparation day is changed to the 24th so I will give you all the details then… and that might be the day we call too?

All is well here, it was a little tough the last week because it was the celebration of the Virgin Guadeloupe, which is a really big deal. Every day large groups on bikes, walking and in cars, trucks, tractor trailers (with framed pictures and statues of the Virgin Mary strapped to the front and sides) have been on a pilgrimage to a specific church in Mexico City.  So it was a little crazy the last week and people haven’t been too receptive to us because of the other religious events going on. Good news, however an old investigator who disappeared several months ago has returned (we were sure they had changed houses). It turns out that they were in Mexico City with their family for a while (3 months?). All of our plans fell through last night and we had nothing. We were searching everywhere and were close to this house, I had the feeling to go by and there they were, just returning that night with their suitcases and all. They were happy to see us and we had a short lesson to end the day. Pretty neat.

Well we’ve got work to do. I love you all so much and I am extremely excited to be able to talk to you all.

Bryce