First Letter From Sanford, Maine!!

MOM!!!!,

So much to say after only one week and yet it feels like I have been out here for over a year and it should be about time to go home!

So having only really been with the mission president for maybe five hours before being shipped to Sanford Maine, I can tell you I love him. He is an amazing man, his spirit and testimony of the gospel is so incredible. Sadly he leaves in four months.

It’s been ok here in the mission; it’s hard, but ok. We don’t teach people that often, it feels like we spend more time planning then teaching. Often people don’t answer the doors or say they don’t want to hear anything and just shut the door. OR they say that they are Roman Catholic and are fine as long as they follow god or something along those lines. The people are nice just very hard to reach. In one week I only met with two investigators. This is extremely low. We hardly ever make our key indicators for the days and aren’t even close to the weekly ones. It’s been frustrating.

I feel like I am an awful teacher I am scared when we knock on doors, I feel stupid when I start to talk and I’m afraid I’ll say something that I shouldn't, or whatever.

I miss home I am really trying hard not to think about it… the days here are so long and cold, yesterday it snowed over a foot, so we needed to shovel snow for most of the day. Even Church was cut short because of the snow.

My trainer is good and I like him. He’s from Utah (one good thing about being from Georgia is everyone loves that it’s not just another person from Utah) and has been out here six months he is very good at teaching. He knows the area and the all of the members; he has been in Sanford for all six months he has been on his mission.

We start our day at 6:30 am we study and plan till about 11. After that we go out and do whatever we have planned. One of the challenges about the days here is that the sun will set between 5:00 to 5:30pm and the people seem to live their lives around that. It seems like they all go to bed around 7:00pm and we knock on doors and try and teach way past that.

The ward it’s very good. The members are super nice people and they are all very warm and friendly, I loved church. There were forty or fifty people there so that was awesome. I was called on to give a talk because the person who was supposed to talk wasn’t able to make it. So could you send me those other talks I wrote? I forgot them at home and now I think I will need them. It was all good though! Luckily I had my talk on trials with me; I just had to stretch it out since there was only me and one other guy talking.

I’ve had good food from the members who have fed us , which has happened twice so far, we were lucky they gave us the left over’s to take home.

I have been taking as much pictures as I can. I won’t be able to use shutterfly since it is not an approved site I will buy a flash drives from Wal-Mart upload all my pictures on it and send it to you.

I love this place and I love the people and everything. The spirit that I feel tells me I am doing the right thing but it doesn’t make the days go any faster or make serving a mission any easier.

I love you and I miss you tell everyone I love them. Tell Joel hi and that I miss him. I hope Christine goes to BYU - tell her how awesome it is that she got accepted and that I love her, and tell Lochlan and Alexander that I love them and I miss them. I really miss everyone, hope you are all safe and doing well.

I love you.

Love, Elder Dean

Sanford, Maine

Fun Facts About Sanford, Maine:

• Sanford, Maine is a city in York County, Maine, US 
• Sanford was purchased by Major William Phillips in 1661 from Fluellin, an Abenaki chief. 
• It was first known as Phillipstown. 
• The area was permanently settled in 1739. 
• The town was officially incorporated in 1768. It was named in the honor of Peleg Sanford, the then governor of Rhode Island. 
• It became a major textile manufacturing center after the Civil War. 

Things to do in Sanford, Maine: 

• There are several parks and playgrounds at Sanford. 
• The town also offers easy access to the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, the Wentworth State Park and the Vaughan Woods State Park. 
• One can enjoy shopping at the Mid-Town Mall Shopping Center.

Facts found HERE:

What a beautiful and great place for Bryson to start his mission out in!! 

A few old images of Sanford, Maine

(To see some great current pictures of Sanford, Maine go HERE)

First Area!

The mission president emailed today! 

He was letting us know where Bryson's first area will be. 

His mission covers a large area so we were taking guesses as to where he would end up! 

3 States, with a bit of both Massachusetts and New York and a TINY bit of New Brunswick, Canada

He will be serving in Sanford Maine. If you would like to write him his apartment address is:

Elder Bryson Scott Dean
833 Main St Apt C

Sanford ME 04073-3761

Elder Dean's first apartment

The city of Sanford (it became a city in 2013) is only 15 miles from the coast

The ward building he will be going to is 2 miles away. Right across from a Walmart.
SWEET! 

The area covered by the Sanford,  ME Ward 

The Sanford, ME ward building

What Elder Dean Did Today!

Bryson left the MTC!
He flew from Salt Lake City to Denver CO, from Denver CO to Chicago IL and from Chicago IL to Manchester NH

The Manchester NH Mission Office building!
This is where Bryson will be this evening!

2nd Letter!

Mom,
Gosh this is one of my favorite days just because I get to reply to your letters. I am going to try respond to all your questions and write as much as possible but I still have to write to dad and I have only a little time to write an email.

This week was much better, I like the MTC now, this place is amazing you can almost always feel the spirit in here. My teachers are the best; they are all so amazing at teaching us. As far as my companion goes though it hasn’t gotten much better, he is just so rude and sarcastic. I have to pray all the time for patience, I pray to have a Christ like love for him (hard to do) because my teacher taught us that if you don’t your companionship will never work. I do love him it is just hard not to snap at him when he is being so rude. He seems to be the rudest to women in general which really irritates me. Anyway, my district is the BEST! My two other roommates, Elder Harper and Elder Uhl are so awesome! I really love them. We have four sisters in our district and they are all so awesome, they bring a different spirit to the room.

Teaching our "investigators" is going ok… it is extremely hard. I am learning a ton though. Do you want to know the best thing ever? It is that Spencer Farley is in my building and in my gym time so I see him a ton. I get to work out with him almost every day , it helps so much to see him. The food here still suck just as much this week as it did last week though - it makes everyone who eats it so gassy its unreal! My companion pooped three times in one day after each meal!!! CRAZY!

One of the sisters is having problems with her gallbladder because she is not really use to this much grease and processed foods. They are probably going to have to take it out. I feel really bad for her, even though that sucks for her - it was still really cool because she asked me to give her a blessing! Which was awesome, it was only the second one that I have done (Lochlan being the first)

Sadly I had to get my haircut here in the MTC. I felt like screaming when I saw it. I will send you pictures in a couples weeks when I can. Seriously the woman used the clippers on a 1 on the sides and back, it is so short, shorter then I have ever had it.... except that one time when you messed up cutting my hair. Tell Christine that I have to shave every day, so when I get back home I am growing out my beard again and it is going to be ever MORE AWESOME!!!!!

I get to call you when I am in the airport I leave at 640 AM so I might call around 5ish I don’t know and I am really sorry for how early it will be. I am excited to get out into the mission field.

I am sorry I don’t have a lot of time to write you - I wish I had more but I love you mom and miss you so much I will send pictures soon. Tell everyone hi for me and that I love hearing from them and that I miss home!

LOVE YOUUUUUUUU!!!!! Love Elder Dean

PS. Mom, sorry but there were a few more things that I wanted to say…. mostly the food here sucks! Also can you send me a photo book with some pictures of friends, family and other stuff when I get to the mission field? I would really love that. Mom I love you so much you have no idea.

Love Elder Dean

MTC Letters!

If you are interested in sending Bryson a (free) letter that will be printed off and delivered to him the SAME DAY you send it go here:

MTCdelivery.com

You will need this information:

Missionary Name:
Elder Bryson Scott Dean

Room Number:
226

Departure Date:
02/18/2013

Even if you only have a couple of minutes to write a short note, I know he would love to hear from you!

Where is Elder Dean?

Bryson's home until 02/18/2013

First Letter

Mom,

I hope this is your email i don’t really remember either. Thank you so much for your first couple letters they have been what has been helping me a lot these past couple days. Every day is so stressful we don’t really have that much free time it is such a strict schedule that it is hard to be able to do much.

They have us in class for six hours every day and we also have already started to teach "investigators", people who act the part but sometimes they can be real investigators or members who are less active, and me and my companion got someone for one of ours that is very difficult, he is a born again Christian and just starts throwing bible verse at us. The other people we are teaching are a little bit better. my companions name is (  ), he can be a really great guy but there are just times when it is really difficult to deal with him. He is joking all the time and it can sometimes chase away the spirit. I have been praying constantly for help to be patient and humble because I want the spirit to be with us always because that is the only way that we can teach really.

I am so worried here that i am going to gain weight. It is really hard not to be a little bit scared, they feed us food that is in no way healthy - yet they tell us that we must be healthy and work out every day, so I do try, I run a mile and lift some of the weights every day.

My district is awesome and I love all of them but I honestly just want to get out the MTC already I don’t like it here, despite being able to feel the spirit all the time, for the most part, it’s hard.

The days had been getting a lot better but then today came with it being my birthday it just hit me how much i miss home and how I have only been here for less than a week and just how much longer it will be till i get to see you again. I miss you soooooo much mom, you have no idea.

As much as I love being here serving it is still incredibly hard and i miss home. Thank you so much for all of the letters and the packages.

Thank you for mailing me my temple recommend but i had to meet with the MTC president because i go to the temple today and that caused some problems because my companion started getting all mad because he didn’t want to do that on his pday and how this is stupid. It made me feel really bad, so he had to go get the zone leader because he didn’t want to go with me that much and I just feel awful combined with the homesickness, today sucks to be honest.

Mom if you could while I am here in the MTC keep using the mtcdelivery.com or dearelder.com please because I only get to check email once a week and you have no idea how reading your letters the past week have helped me so much. I did send you a paper letter the first day I was here, I don’t know if you got it or not but i sent one.

I leave here on the 18th of February which is awesome. I am writing things in my journal everyday and i am taking a ton of pictures, as much as I can but there are so many rules here that I can’t have my camera with me often, but don’t worry I am trying to get all the pictures you want me to take. I won’t be able to send any home until I leave here though because 1. I don’t know if I could upload my pictures onto this computer and 2. I don’t have the card reader yet. I would write more and I want to but I don’t know what else to say, mom I love you so much and I miss you so much more please write more - I love reading them.

Love, Elder Dean

PS. I am sorry for the grammar and spelling errors

Say hello to Elder Bryson Scott Dean

The Missionary Training Center... AKA the MTC

Saying goodbye...

Wednesday, January 30 2013

11:48 pm 

Great Grandpa Wadley

Bryson wanted to stop on the way to the MTC to say goodbye to Great-Grandpa Wadley.

 He is only 101 years old.

This is it

Everything is packed and ready to go.

A nice day for a drive to the MTC...?

Ahhh Utah, how we love thee! 

Cuz who doesn't love curry?

The night before Bryson entered the MTC we had one of his favorite meals. 

 Gazing lovingly into each other's eyes? 

CURRY!

Up up and away....

Here we go...

One last walk

Two best friends on one last walk!

Getting ready to fly to UTAH!

Just about to leave for the airport! 

LOOK! He's a Missionary! 

I wonder who will be the tallest in 2 years??

Last Sunday for 2 years!

Only an hour left until Bryson is a Missionary!

SOUP.... the best way to say "Goodbye"

We celebrated Bryson with Soup!
Sunday 27, 2013 we had a few people (54) over for a lunch of yummy soup so we could all be together to let Bryson know how much WE LOVE HIM!

 It was a good day.