Welcome Home Elder Brey!

Welcome Home Elder Brey!!  We finally have Justin back home with us!

 The kids were all very excited to pick Justin up from the airport on October 3, 2012!  

 And when his plane finally arrived we were all so very excited to see Justin for the first time in two years!!

 We also made a welcome home banner for Justin to run through before we left the airport to represent the finish line...he did a great job running through it and broke it into pieces :)

We are all so excited to have Justin home!  We missed him so much and it was wonderful to see him again after two honorable years, serving in South Africa.  Welcome home Elder Brey!  Job well done!  We are so proud of you!

A few goodbye pictures...

Everything in the car was burned except for the Book Of Mormon...

And Justin is on his way home!

Justin's final letter home...

This is Justin's last email. He leaves South Africa this Tuesday morning and arrives home Wednesday afternoon.

FYI:  Sister Masters is Justin's adopted Grandmother in South Africa and is planning to visit Utah for a few weeks. She will be on the same flight as Justin and will be spending a couple of weeks with Ron and Carole Stutz. Sister Masters is originally from England.

October 1 2012

Hey mom and dad

Ha-ha man I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I’m like almost in tears. I had my final interview with the President yesterday and it went really well he basically said everything you guys were saying. I’m going to miss Africa so much. I’m going to miss the people and being a full time missionary more than I thought I would. Over the past few days it’s been a strange test of emotions. I talked to president about it yesterday and he told me it was pretty normal, just the feelings of being excited yet all of sudden coming to realize that this is it. I will probably never see a lot of these people ever again. It’s coming to me quite strong now. I’m so excited to see all of you but hopefully I’m not too big of wreck. I love all of you very much and I hope I’ll be able to make something out of myself when I get back home. If I start being lazy please just beat me. Thanks for both of your supports threw out my whole mission. I’m really spoiled I think, but I’m also grateful. 

I was actually with sister masters yesterday for dinner and she said she is sending emails to her but there is no response. She is using the right email as well and has not gotten any emails from Carole. Sister Masters is a great lady but she lacks a lot of confidence. She was telling me last night she really does not want to be a burden on anyone. I tried to comfort her. Something else you should know is that she got her temple recommend on Sunday and her patriarchal blessing the Sunday before that. She has come very far. When I met her she was very less active and far from god. It’s a miracle at where she is now. She has never been threw the temple so this will be an amazing experience for her. So I don’t know I just thought I would let you know all that. But love you all again I will see you in a little bit. Take care. 

Love, Elder Justin Brey 

Sept. 24 2012

Hello mom and dad,

So I talked to sister masters and she said that she emailed her right after I gave her the email. So maybe she typed it in wrong or I gave it to her wrong, maybe since you know have her email you can resend it to her. So hopefully that can all get worked out.

The couple we were trying to get baptized is sadly not looking promising. They still are having troubles so that's kinda a bummer. But it’s fine, I know that they will be baptized I’m just not sure when. Apparently they have been trying to get that worked out for over 2 years! Man Africa is kind of stupid in some things. They asked us last night if it’s fine to give them a bribe?? Sadly that's the only way things get done in this country. I told them to pray about it. ha-ha but I secretly wanted to say YES! So we shall see aye. 

The week was good, were just super busy, this whole week is already full. Since were going on exchanges on wed in a town called Carletonville and Thursday in a place called Ikaheng. That’s 2 days not even in our area. So it looks like my last week will be a nice busy week. It should go fast, but its good talking to you guys love you both a lot. Talk to you soon. 

Justin  

A crazy thief got fried today...

Sept 18, 2012

Hello mom and dad,

Sorry I was not able to email yesterday, the power was off in all of Rode port because some stupid thief was trying to cut the main cord that was supplying the city with power. While in the process he got completely fried....o the things people do for money,  so sorry about that. To be honest I was in a big hurry last week and I just skimmed both emails. That’s crazy that you can only eat gluten free things, there was a missionary here that had that same thing. Man it’s hard. But I guess you just have to look on the bright side aye? I’ve been eating a lot healthier I think then I was back home. I’m eating lots of fiber things now. I’ve found that it helps me a lot. Like buying whole wheat and stuff like that. I also eat like bran flakes every morning, it’s kind of weird but I think it’s worth it. So sorry to hear about that but maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. You never know I think all things happen for a reason. 

So I talked to sister masters and she would like sisters Stutz’s email. But to answer those questions, she will be staying in Utah for 4 weeks she has decided. The missionary she is seeing stays in West Jordan. I told her about the 2-3 week thing. I’m not sure she knows where to go yet after Carole’s house. She has been looking at some guests homes in salt lake next to the temple and she also said she would like to rent a car. She likes to be independent. Or she might be staying with that missionary. But I think if we can get Carole’s number they can also talk about it. So I hope that answered all those questions. 

Yes I bought a nice suit, I like it. President even said he liked it when we were at our zone leader reports…so I guess the suit is not too crazy. Thank you very much; I also realized some of the blessings of going home. We were on exchanges and I was with a missionary named Elder Scanlan. And yo… he like cleaned me out. He bought my old suit some shoes I have a shirt some shorts a book...all my CD’s...I’m sure there is more but that’s all I can think of. Anyway he now owes me 700 rand, so that will be some nice extra cash. Plus his companion wants to buy one of my back packs and a few white shirts and a jacket I have for 250 rand. So that will leave me with 950 rand. So I think I’ll be able to get some cool things before I come home. 

Also with that family we want to get married we are having a fast for them on Friday starting at 7:30 pm our time. I don’t know if you guys would like to join. We are just fasting that they will be able to get married by the end of the month and be able to be baptized on Sept. 30th, the Sunday before I go home. So hopefully a miracle can take place. If not I guess it’s just not time for them. But you’re welcome to join us. 

Sounds like things at home are a bit crazy; it’s fine though I’m excited to help when I get back. I miss helping with those things. I’m a bit nervous for when I come home just because of the weather. I think I’m going to be a huge baby this winter. I think Africa has killed me. I’m so excited to see snow though. That will be sweet. Thanks for the email I hope I responded to everything this time. I’ll try and give nelson a call. Hopefully it will work this time. Take care though and talk to you both soon. 

Love, Justin  

Departure Letter

6 September 2012

Dear Brother & Sister Brey,

I am pleased to inform you that your son, Elder Justin Ronald Brey, will soon complete

his honorable mission in the South Africa Johannesburg Mission. A copy of his itinerary is

enclosed.

Elder Brey has served diligently in each of the areas and responsibilities to which he has been

assigned. He has brought the gospel of Jesus Christ into the lives of many people. Those he

taught will be blessed both in this life and throughout eternity. He has done much to build up the

Kingdom of God in this part of the world.

In addition to spreading the gospel through his own efforts, your son has conducted himself

as a trusted missionary leader and has helped numerous missionaries fulfill and magnify their

callings through his roles as district leader and zone leader. His humility and trustworthiness has

been invaluable in helping me in leading the mission.

Sister Omer and I have truly enjoyed our association with Elder Brey, and we are thankful

for the support which you have provided him during the past two years. We know you are

looking forward to a wonderful reunion with your son. Please know of our love for him and our

profound appreciation for the service he has rendered.

Most Sincerely,

S. Craig Omer, President

South Africa Johannesburg Mission

Dear Brother & Sister Brey

This letter with itinerary will be coming hard copy, but in case the mail does not get to you then you will have this emailed copy.

Thank you for a wonderful missionary

Sister Leavitt

CHECKED BAGGAGE COST MAY APPLY PLEASE BE PREPARED TO PAY

CHURCH TRAVEL CWT                          DATE 31AUGUST12

50 EAST NORTH TEMPLE ST                    AGENT VH/SL BOOKING REF 3KN85V

SALT LAKE CITY UT 84150

TELEPHONE: 801 240-5111                    BREY/JUSTIN RONALD  207350-R

FAX      : 801-240-5115                    MCKNIGHT/CALEB JAME 206188-R

  MISSIONARY TRAVEL

  SOUTH AFRICA JOHANNESBURG

SERVICE               DATE  FROM           TO             DEPART  ARRIVE

_____________________ _____ ______________ ______________ _______ ______

BRITISH AIRWAYS       02OCT JOHANNESBURG   LONDON         720P    515A

BA 56               TUESDAY O.R. TAMBO INT HEATHROW               03OCT

Q ECONOMY                   TERMINAL A     TERMINAL 5

           NON SMOKING      MEAL                          NON STOP

                            RESERVATION CONFIRMED         10:55 DURATION

                  AIRCRAFT: BOEING 747-400

BRITISH AIRWAYS       03OCT LONDON         CHICAGO IL     745A    1015A

BA 1540           WEDNESDAY HEATHROW       O'HARE INTL

N ECONOMY                   TERMINAL 3     TERMINAL 5    

           NON SMOKING      BREAKFAST/SNACK               NON STOP

                            RESERVATION CONFIRMED         8:30 DURATION

AA 0099                    FLIGHT OPERATED BY AA AMERICAN AIRLINES

            AIRCRAFT OWNER: AA  AMERICAN AIRLINES

                  AIRCRAFT: BOEING 777-200/300

                            SEATS 40A/40B NO SMOKING CONFIRMED

BRITISH AIRWAYS       03OCT CHICAGO IL     SALT LAKE C UT 1225P   245P

BA 1919           WEDNESDAY O'HARE INTL    SALT LAKE CITY

N ECONOMY                   TERMINAL 3     TERMINAL 1

           NON SMOKING                                    NON STOP

                            RESERVATION CONFIRMED         3:20 DURATION

AA 3756                    FLIGHT OPERATED BY AMERICAN EAGLE FOR AME

            AIRCRAFT OWNER: AA  AMERICAN AIRLINES

                  AIRCRAFT: CANADAIR REGIONAL JET 700

                            SEATS 12C/12D NO SMOKING CONFIRMED

Thrashed shoes and a yellow name tag!

Sept 10, 2012

Hey mom and dad,

 So first off I sent an email to sister masters saying everything you told me and asking her those questions. So I should be able to let you guys know all that info next week. 2nd, I tried calling that number you gave me and it did not work. I’ll write it down again and try it.

If he does call again, give him our number. Let him know that’s a South African number so he will need to dial the required digits before. I’m sure he already knows that. Just do your best to tell him even if you can’t understand him. That’s strange though that he is calling from Zimbabwe...

 The week went great though, I don’t have too much time to talk because I was emailing sister masters and I still need to email president because I have not written him for a long time and I’m starting to feel bad. But that couple we are trying to get married set a date for the 22nd of this month so they can hopefully get bap on the 30th of Sep.

(The Sunday before I go home) I’m not sure it will happen but that would be awesome if it did. Father led family bap my last week. I’m not really getting my hopes up though. I know they will be bap it would just be nice to see it happen. They are an awesome family.

 I guess I’ll start looking for a suit. By the way I take pride in my shoes. There are two things that stick out on a missionary if they are working. That is the shoes and their name tag (how yellow the name is) and so far both of those things are pretty thrashed on me. So thank you. I will try and find new shoes but I’m not sure I will be able to.

Shoes are expensive here. I don’t know why. And they are not great quality. It’s a bit strange. But I’ll try to find some. But thanks for the emails sorry I’m probably not responding to everything but love you guys a lot and see you...I mean talk to you soon...

Justin

September 3, 2012

Hey mom and dad,

Thanks for the pictures, it’s always nice getting a few. I’m not sure I understand your question about Sister Masters wither you’re asking, how long is she staying with us or how long she is staying in Utah. With us she was only planning like 2-3 nights I think. Then she said she is going to find a place to stay in salt lake somewhere for the rest of her time. I think she is planning on staying in Utah for about a month or two. So not sure if that helps. 

Whatever works with you guys about a new suit? But I think it would be a lot cheaper if I bought one here. I went and looked at some prices last week and for a pretty nice one it was about 2,300 rand which I think is like 270 dollars.....I think and that was quite a nice suit. I’m not actually sure what the price ranges are back home.  Then there were others that were okay for about 100-200 dollars as well. Then there is like dirt cheap ones that you can buy at the china malls for like 100-200 rand. When you convert the dollar to the rand you can end up buying really nice things that would be much more expensive in the states. Like lots of missionaries even buy diamonds here and go back home and sell them for like double from what they bought them as. (Don’t worry though; I’m not planning on buying diamonds) So I don’t know it’s up to you guys. It might be cheaper to buy something here then when I come home. But it does not really matter to me I could also just keep the suit I have. Just let me know. 

I’m sorry to hear mom that you were released. That's a surprise I know how much you loved the young women's. I guess our ways are not always the Lords ways. I think the young women are going to miss you a lot. Actually I’m positive they will miss you. Thanks for the advice you gave dad. To be honest it is becoming a bit harder to concentrate. I’m still working and still being obedient but I catch my mind sometimes thinking about home. It’s hard, especially when missionaries and members keep reminding me that I am almost finished. That’s actually something that’s been on my mind a lot. It’s weird it still feels like I’m never really coming home but I know it’s going to happen. I feel a lot like I did before I came on my mission. I’m just a little confused and unsure of what’s ahead of me. So thanks I needed that. I will hopefully get a few more bap before I leave. We have been teaching this father led family errrr almost a father led family. The problem is that they are not married so they cannot be bap until we get them married because they are living together. Besides that they are awesome. Their names are Sam and Clara, Sam is from Zimbabwe and Clara is from Lesotho, I think I spelled that wrong. But their great, they have been coming to church for months now and are so ready to be bap. So we are hoping to plan a wedding for them at church so they can finally be bap. But love you guy’s a lot thanks for the emails talk to you soon!

Love, Justin  

I have another new companion...

August 27, 2012

Hey mom and dad,

Glad you guys liked the pictures. I’ll try and take some more, I honestly just always forget. I forgot to tell you guys last week though that we had transfers. My companion got transferred, he actually got called to be the new assistant to president. So that was pretty cool. I got my new companion (and last) on Tuesday, his name is Elder Marowa from Zimbabwe. I don’t know if you all remember but we were in the same flat when I was in Nelspruit, and we were also in the same zone in Francistown. So I know him really well he is a cool dude. I guess next transfer meeting now is the one that I go home. It’s a bit weird, it still does not feel real yet. 

About the mining riot that we were talking about last week. We actually got to go to a memorial service for them (or more like an awkward prayer circle) at the town hall in Johannesburg. The area office decided they wanted all the close Zone Leaders to attend to represent our church there. It was quite weird to be honest. There were churches there from all over Africa, like the Church of Africa, ZCC, Sangmas who are like traditional healers, Muslims, just lots of random churches and they gave each church a turn to pray for the miners that died. We each had to like pray in the manner that they were praying to show respect. So we had to take off our shoes and kneel on the floor. It was very interesting and made me so grateful for our church, and really made me realize how true it is. Man some churches were like screaming and yelling and some were like throwing bones on the floor, really creepy stuff. Anyway it was a good experience…I guess. 

Sister Masters is actually English. She is from England so she is not Afrikaans or African. She is like as English as any English woman could ever get. I love her a lot though, she is my grandma in Africa. It will be nice having her for a few days. She took care of me for a long time, and yes she did get on the same flight as me. I wish I could tell you which one was baptized but it’s difficult because I can’t see the picture right now. She is probably the small one ?? sorry not very helpful. 

As of schooling and everything, I don’t think you guys need to worry. My first priority is doing well in school. I’m really excited to start school and I really want to do a lot better than I did in High School. I really regret not trying in school. My mission has helped me on that front. I know I’m a lot better than the grades I was getting in school.

I’m excited to see the new roads, that will be a nice blessing. Maybe I’ll try to drive home from the airport when I get back...it’s going to be super weird driving on the right side of the road. Whenever I picture myself driving back home I’m on the left side, not the right so I hope that will not be too big of a problem. But love you guys a lot talk to you soon. 

Justin

We have had some crazy riots here...

August 20, 2012

Hello,

Hey mom and dad, Ya riots are crazy in Joburg, that's not the only one in the mines, there is a recent convert we see on weekends and there is a really bad riot going on at his school. he was in class last week and some guy walked in the glass room while the teacher was talking and just yelled at everyone, "don’t you know today is independence day!" then he told them that he was going to give them 5 minutes to get out of the school before the riot came. Students went on strike I guess for some stupid reason and they just came in like hundreds with clubs and bats and everything just destroying everything in their way including people. The kid broke his hand trying to get away from the riots and had to jump out of the 2nd story window. The riot is still going on. It’s so crazy. You mainly just hear about that stuff going on around Joburg though. People are just riot crazy. The reason why they do it is because eventually the government gives in and just gives the people what they want. This country has some issues. Hopefully things get a bit better in the coming years. 

With sister masters I talked to her on sat and she said she would be so grateful to stay just for 2-3 nights. Not too long until she can find a guest house or something in salt lake. Everything is worked out well the missionary she is seeing; he has known that she is going to be coming for a long time. So everything should be good. She told me to say thank you very much to you guys for offering. And it’s fine that she stays in my room. I don’t mind. She is scheduling her flight today. I printed out the info you gave me and gave it to her. So hopefully we can get on the same flight. We should be able too. So there is the scoop on that. 

I try and call nelson. I think I should be able to understand him pretty well. Hope everything is okay with him. Last I heard from the branch president in Nelspruit he said that he was not doing too well and moved back that side. Not sure why he would do that. But I’ll give him a call. Hope it will work and not suck our airtime. But love you guys a lot, that’s sweet about Nicki. Hear from you guys soon.

Justin