Happy Spring

Hi family :)

 

Well we had a pretty decent week. It snowed again! Crazy that you're getting nice spring weather while I'm spending half my p-day shoveling driveways. Haha :)

How was Hunger Games by the way? I'm curious if it was good like Katherine was hoping it would be.

So those new suits I mentioned... since one of them is tan, I might be sending it home or something since I can't wear it out here. Or something. Haha I'll figure it out. That navy suit that I came out with is just about dead. Poor thing. The knees are looking worn and there are several fraying sections on both the pants and the jacket. Plus, at our zone activity last week, we ended up spit roasting a pig with some tongan members instead of what my companion and I thought we would be doing so the suit now smells... very nice. I've been debating if it's worth dry cleaning it again and just wearing it for another month or two. I've febreezed it twice; hopefully that will be enough. haha

Speaking of multi-talented Nelson... it has really been a blessing to have a little bit of skill in so many different areas. The members I live with's computer was acting up and the sound quality was messed up so I fixed both those issues. Then, their dvd player wouldn't close when you put a dvd in the tray. So, I took it apart, fixed it, and put it back together. Works great now. Another member just recently got back from the hospital, and we spent several hours at his house cleaning up both the inside and outside of his house. His cabinet doors weren't put on well or had gotten loose, so I fixed all of those for him. He had a front entry chest that had a broken door on it that I also fixed for him. So, even though people sometimes poke fun at my "son of a CPA-ness" (they're just jealous of my higher intellect and computer knowledge. haha), doing carpentry work made a few people say "great. Guess I can't make fun of you being the son of a CPA anymore." Hahaha. I suppose I'm just a bit of a jack of all trades :)

 

I had a random question. Did you have the Browning 8 birthday bash thing? (that's our celebration of the day Aubree and Ryan came to our home - March 31st 2008) I don't remember what day that was and if it was in March or April. I think we got on the subject of ice cream cake once and I thought of that. haha. Random.

 

Really the reason I think I'm gaining weight is because I'm not eating super healthy. We have dessert like twice a day. Pretty much with every dinner appointment and then again late in the evening or earlier in the day. I gotta stop eating so much ice cream. I'm just going to get fat. haha. We'll start exercising harder and running when it warms up here soon.

 

So I had a pretty freakin sweet experience this week. Every wednesday night, we have splits with an Elder and High Priest from the ward. There was only one priesthood holder scheduled, so we thought all three of us would go to an appointment we had scheduled together. Now, the family we were going to visit... some background info. Mariah and Cody are their names. They're both members and both have a young kid from a previous relationship. They're engaged to be married. However, they've been living together for a while and their wedding still isn't until June. They recognize that it's not the right thing and that they're "living in sin" as they put it, but all the talking that the Bishop and others have done about it hasn't changed the situation. So, Wadsworth and I had planned to talk about receiving revelation and the law of chastity one more time with them. However, we find out in the afternoon on Wednesday that there's a high priest planning on coming to splits too. So... Wadsworth sent me and an elder from the ward to visit the Mariah and Cody. I was pretty nervous, but steve (the member) and I said a fervent prayer together that the spirit would lead and direct the lesson. It ended up being a really good lesson. I helped Cody recognize that he had received promptings and revelation through prayer. He realized that he has ignored the "warm fuzzy" feelings he's had before and that his life has become harder when he ignored them. I also talked about their situation, making sure they understood that I love them and that the Lord loves them. I read D&C 130: 21-22 with them, telling them that if they will commit to living the law of chastity, they will be blessed with the eternal family that they both have expressed desire for. I asked them to pray and fast together about it too.

I left thinking it went at least okay, and so did Steve. However, yesterday came the cool part. Cody got up and bore his testimony. It was his first time, and it was very moving for both me and elder Wadsworth. After Sacrament meeting, we were talking with him and Mariah and he said "this Thursday, we're getting married at 6:30 at the Bishop's house." Elder Wadsworth and I were stunned. Wadsworth looked at me incredulously and after a second just threw his arms around me. haha. It makes me so happy to see them making good decisions, and being happy while doing it. What a neat experience :) they have to move on Saturday to San Diego for Cody's work, but we'll help them move and get pictures with them before they go.

So that was my extra neat experience for the week. I turned 2 months old yesterday. Haha. Finally right? Hopefully the slope starts to bend downhill from here on out :)

Thank you for all your prayers and for getting that package together so quickly! Love you guys :)

Elder Browning