Hello Family!

Well, just to update on the video last week… [See last week's email Fun Stuff about having their computer editing program crash while creating a training video. ] …It was lost and we tried until the night to recover it, however no luck. Oh well, we did all we could!

Yesterday was nice because of Margarita’s baptism she is a sweet, dear hearted lady who reminds me of mom! It was Elder Fernandez’s first baptism and he preformed the ordinance perfect. I also had him confirm Luis who we baptized a few weeks ago… so now he is getting more confidence and experience. I have been trying hard to teach him how to be a leader, accepting responsibility and participating in every aspect of the work.

I spoke in Sacrament meeting about Missionary work, of course, with an emphasis on the importance of members. It went alright; I was about 12 min. into my talk and about 2/3 of the way finished when the bishop said I’d gone over time. So… I guess I’ll be able to use the 20 min. Bishop Abbot is giving me to talk on ‘Obedience to God’s commandments’ just fine. I really can’t believe its coming to an end. I’ve just been working hard to keep finding investigators and trying to help them to overcome their fears, etc. to come to church and prepare them for baptism and teaching my kid how to do the same. We got some good investigators, and with lots of help from the Lord, they’ll soon be converted. Please keep praying for me, my companion and our investigators these next few weeks!

Dad, I’m super excited that they changed the date for the father and sons campout! About a party, you can invite whomever you want, and either Saturday or Sunday would be fine for me. If you want to put some photos on a slide show, that great, but I don’t want to stand and narrate anything.

Emily, you are just looking huge… and just to let you know I’ve gotten real fat the past few months! I’ve been suckin’ my gut in to the pictures J.

Have a great week! I love you!

Elder Packer

…by the way, just kidding, I’m not fat!

Mom, about the money, that should be great. Thank you so much!

¡Hola mi querida familia! [Hello my dear family!]

It has been a nutty week. My new companion is Elder Miguel David Fernandez Perez, He’s from Chetumal, Quintana Roo. It’s super far from here! [in the Yucatán Peninsula] This week was a bit of a trial at first since my companion is a greeny, but he is really humble and not afraid of working + he has learned really fast. The Lord couldn’t have blessed me with a greater companion! Funny story: I talked him into waxing his unibrow today… tell you all about it later. Oh, yea another funny story last week with Elder Padget: we were sharing the [story of the] first vision, when all four of the legs of the chair our investigator was sitting on flew out from under her. It’s been said that all sorts of distractions will always come up in the first vision, but this was a funny first.

I was reviewing my notes on General Conference again and noticing how a big part of the theme was doing our duty to God.

This week we had a family of 9, 6 in baptismal age who were going to get baptized, however the father decided that he doesn’t want to get married so that was a hard blow! However we had an interesting fast and testimony meeting… because we share the ward with the assistants and it was General Conference last week we had 12 confirmations, then 2 baby blessings, one of which was the child of one of the families that was confirmed. So in the end there were only 4 or 5 very brief testimonies shared before the service ended. Plus there are a few other pending confirmations and if they would have come like planned, I’m sure that it would have only been a confirmations and baby blessings meeting. I hope our investigators who came for the first time don’t get weirded out by their first experience!

Well, I’ve got to run!

I love you all so much! Take care and make the best decisions this week!

-Elder Packer

P.S. ¡¡¡¡Attached is the new mission photo!!!!

Bryce’s parents maintain this website for him while he is on his mission in Mexico City.

When Bryce sends digital photos home, we add a page to his online photo albums. His photos are in albums—one for each of the areas where he has served. There is also an album of the movies he has made. We have just added more photo albums. The current albums are:

• Mission Prep
• MTC (Mission Training Center)
• Pachuca (first area)
• Chimalhuacán (Ciudad Alegre)
• Mission Office (as financial secretary)
• Movies (last 3 areas)

Bryce will soon be transferred to his final area in Feb. 2010. When that happens, we will add an album for it.

Click here to see Bryce’s latest mission photos albums. You can always get to his photos by clicking on “Mission Photo Albums” on the right sidebar.

When Bryce writes letters or emails, we add a blog post. [Our editorial comments are enclosed in square brackets.]

- Shayne Packer (Bryce’s father)

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

It’s been a crazy week. Where to start? They had a three day multi-stake youth activity here and me and my companion went to help one of the days. The coolest thing is I saw two of my converts from Pachuca and three of my converts here went, too!

Okay this will probably be short, SORRY. However I have to finish packing and visit all of our converts today.

Wahoo! I have changes [transfers]. My zone leaders told me at about 4:30 pm yesterday, however I thought they were joking and still didn’t know who had changes yet, then right as I hung up with them the Mission President called me (which isn’t too often) telling me that the zone leaders were going to call me and tell me had changes, then my heart almost stopped as I prepared myself to hear that I wasn’t going to have changes, however he hold my that he was calling me to tell me that I was going to have changes and to tell me what I would be doing (which he normally doesn’t do). He said that the Lord wants me to be the Financial Secretary for the mission and that it is one of the most trusted positions in the mission, that I will be handling the funds of the mission, and that it is by far the person who works closest to the Mission President (even more that the assistants). He said it is something that will help to prepare me for a life time of church service and that he wanted me to keep this confidential until he announces it tomorrow (but that I could tell my family.

I have to say that wasn’t a call I was expecting. :/ However, I am super excited. I don’t know all I will be doing, but I think my area is in Mexico City which is cool because that’s where I wanted to go. Before, when I was in Pachuca, I told everyone when they asked me that I wanted to come to Chimalhuacán… and that’s where I am and have been for the past half year… so I guess I need to be really thoughtful of what I want, because it seams to become reality. Amazing how these things work out, huh? Well, I’ve got lots to do! I love you all very much, you are all in my thoughts and prayers, and I thank you for you prayers and support!

Les Amor! [love]
- Elder Packer

The two photos are of the leadership training about a month ago. (I am standing next to my cousin Elder Reed, on my right, in the brown suit).

Photo of The Mexico City East Mission – May 19, 2009

Bryce is on the 3rd (middle) row, 6th to the right of center.

Countries and number of missionaries

• Argentina:  2
• Bolivia:  1
• Canada:  1
• Ecuador:  2
• Guatemala:  2   
• Honduras:  1
• Mexico:  100
• Panama:  1
• Peru:  4
• Puerto Rico:  1
• Uruguay:  1
• USA:  67

Row 1 (front row)

1 E Perez E
2 E Galindo A
3 E Nucamendi
4 H Garza L
5 H Mendoza V
6 H Rojas B
7 H Lagunes R
8 H Suaste Z
9 H Zavala H
10 H Paredes C
11 H Ramirez C
12 H Meza R
13 H Saldivar L
14 E Foley
15 H Foley
16 E Stewart
17 H Stewart
18 H Morgan
19 H Bulloch
20 P Bulloch
21 Ryan Bulloch
22 P Parra
23 H Garvin
24 E Garvin
25 H Brunt
26 E Brunt
27 H Rivera C
28 H Salcido P
29 H Rivera R
30 H Baca M
31 H Obeso G
32 H Fong A
33 H Ribeiro A
34 H Meza V
35 H Guevara C
36 H Torres O
37 E Lechuga V

Row 2

38 E Ramirez R
39 E Hernandez P
40 E Coyotl C
41 E Reyes F
42 E Crisostomo A
43 E Juarez R
44 E Tzab C
45 E Matta
46 E Segura H
47 E Lara R
48 E Peña T
49 E Guzman P
50 E Garcia S
51 E Guzman C
52 E Gomez V
53 E Guttierez G
54 E Lopez V
55 E Aleman Q
56 E Guzman R
57 E Torres G
58 E Lauterio P
59 E Pastrana F
60 E Hernandez O
61 E Cortazar B
62 E Panoaya R
63 E Juarez L
64 E Cab G
65 E Carrillo O
66 E Puch T
67 E Alcala G
68 E Tadeo C
69 E Stogsdill
70 E Draper
71 E Peterson B
72 E Celaya E
73 E  C Alpuche
74 E Galeana G
75 E Jaramillo G
76 E Monroy H
77 E Reyna S
78 E Ruiz G
79 E Chan C

Row 3

80 E Gomez O
81 E Renteria S
82 E Moreno A
83 E Demke
84 E Dunn C
85 E DePlacito
86 E Sanchez E
87 E Hernandez D
88 E Low
89 E Wray
90 E Nicholas
91 E Nuñez DA
92 E Cardenas G
93 E Ramos H
94 E Perez M
95 E Rojas G
95 E Vasquez C
96 E Valdez H
97 E Salazar B
98 E Vargas G
99 E Camacho O
100 E B Olalde
101 E Mays
102 E Haro C
103 E Herrera G
104 E Lopez R
105 E Alcantar U
106 E Vasquez M
107 E Packer
108 E Alfaro B
109 E Spencer
110 E Israelsen
111 E Perez Albela
112 E Medina P
113 E Tanner
114 E Howard
115 E Salazar O
116 E Castro V
117 E Arguelles D
118 E Cottier G
119 E Valderrabano
120 E Mendoza G
121 E Fuentes T
122 E Gregorio V

Row 4

123 E Rodriguez I
124 E Bryan
125 E Alvizo C
126 E Muñoz A
127 E Olson
128 E Dunn N
129 E Welch
130 E Armendáriz F
131 E  King S
132 E Snook
133 E Rhoten
134 E Pluim
135 E Wilson
136 E Acuña A
137 E Hunter
138 E Hurst
139 E Kartchner
140 E Anderson
141 E Archibald
142 E Lopez H
143 E Lee
144 E Reed
145 E King K
146 E Duce
147 E Sandoval R
148 E Reyes A
149 E Salazar A
150 E Lopez C
151 E Hilario A
152 E Zapata M
153 E Puga B
154 E Inalef A
155 E Livingston
156 E Delahunty
157 E Lauritzen
158 E Farmer
159 E Wright
160 E R Carretero

Row 5 (top row)

161 E Moake
162 E Petersen A
163 E Pickup
164 E Fillerup
165 E Pickard
166 E Hunt T
167 E Berry
168 E Rodriguez G
169 E Heward
170 E Winters
171 E Magdaleno P
172 E Flores N
173 E Miller
174 E Butler
175 E Magdaleno M
176 E Heredia R
177 E Sander T
178 E Mora F
179 E Chavez C
180 E Covington
181 E Knox
182 E Hunt W
183 E Larsen
184 E Boone
185 E Scott
186 E Cambria
187 E Rasmussen
188 E Bertin
189 E Fulton
190 E Ellars
191 E McArthur
192 E Peterson C
193 E Lembke
194 E Given
195 E Christensen
196 E Kowallis

Not in photo

E Morgan
E Bailey
H Bailey