Strength & Confidence

Heya fam

So. Wrightwood. Haha. My new comp's name is Elder Bagley. He's a hard worker. I think we've done more work in the several days we've been together than all of last transfer combined. haha. Not really, but we've been working hard. We have some return appointment this week with some former investigators that were taught a few years ago. We're hoping they end up really amounting to something. We met with the Bishop and went over the ward list and compiled a lot of names of less active families and families neither us nor he knew. So we've got like 16 or so families to try this week. Lots of lost members in Wrightwood I guess. haha.

I finally made pancakes from your pancake mix. They were bomb :) especially with my caramel bombsauce! haha. I made caramel syrup and it actually turned out pretty well. Not as good as Jana's, but I liked it. I made enough for my companion and for the member we live with and they were both impressed. I don't know if I told you this, but before Wadsworth left, he said "I've enjoyed every thing you've ever cooked, elder browning." So. Maybe I do have some skill in cooking. haha.

I'm finding out more and more that I'm a lot like dad. I'm starting to wear large size shirts. I hate not being the driver whenever we drive somewhere. My 32 inch waist jeans are tight, meaning I'll probably buy 33x32 or 33x34 after my mission. I weigh about 165 pounds. I open up and become a bit of a goofball and source of humor in comfortable situations. haha. Weird huh? Just something I was thinking about.

I've had a few instances lately where either someone says something about my physical strength or it's just made apparent. We were helping an older woman clear some weeds the other day, half of which was sagebrush. She wanted the area cleared so that her husband could sit outside in the shade there (the area was under a very big tree). Her husband had a stroke several years ago and is stuck in bed or in a wheel chair. She was hoping that we could yank up the weeds and take the roots with them so that they wouldn't grow back again. Elder Bagley couldn't, so he told me good luck and worked on the smaller weeds and on raking the area. So, I worked on the larger plants and got most of them out of the ground with their root in tow. haha. We were filling an old garbage can that she had wanted to throw away afterwards with our weeds and such but when we went to throw it into the dumpster, we realized the thing weighed like 300 pounds. We tried to lift it up together but the balance wasn't working and such, so I had Bagley just steer it and keep it steady while I got underneath it and threw it up and into the dumpster. Twas... fun. haha.

Another odd experience happened last night actually. We were just talking to Jeff in our room (the member we live with) when we heard some footsteps and saw a shadow go by outside our window. We spent the next while cautiously looking around. Jeff used to do MMA fighting. We didn't find anyone, but our adrenaline took a while to die down so we didn't get to bed until midnight. Anyways. While that was going on I was talking with Jeff about his fighting days and stuff and we sparred just a little bit for fun to kinda shake out the willies. haha. He told me something kind of cool. At least I think so. haha. He said "There are a lot of good fighters out there that are built like you. Long and lean, but able to take some and dish it out too. Plus, you have the heart for it." I'm never going to get into fighting, but it was still cool to hear from him.

Anyways. I do like the cardboard cutout idea. haha. Think of things you might like me to record that you could play back. I told Jeren that maybe you could even have several responses. Like a Q&A thing. (This is an idea we've had to display a life-size poster of Nelson at Jeren's wedding reception.)

As far as dear elder goes, I really enjoyed getting that mass letter. If you could add mitchell willmore's and james rose's letters, that'd be awesome. Tanner emails me the email he sends home every week, so you don't need to include his.

I like that scripture. I'd forgotten it. I'll go mark it later today.

Well. That's my update for today! :) Pray for me and my companion and the people of Wrightwood that their hearts may be softened and prepared to hear the word of God.

Love ya!

Elder Browning

Father's Day

July 19, 2012


Hey fam.
So, I was basically done writing a really long email to you all; it
was quite lengthy. I've been working on it for almost 45 minutes. And
what happens? The internet browser quits and my draft wasn't saved.
This... this has just not been my day. Sigh. I'll try and quickly send
off a condensed version. 


So this morning, I was laying on the floor of
the bathroom from 6 to 9 wishing I could flush myself down the toilet.
haha. Didn't ever throw up, but I sure wanted to. I was dizzy all day
too. I don't know why. I finally went and played basketball with the
Phelan missionaries and the member we live with and just sweated it
out. So I'm feeling better now. Not 100%, but good enough.

Transfer calls came, and I'm staying in Wrightwood. 6 months, here I
come! Crandall is getting transferred though. Hopefully he'll be in an
area that is easier so that he'll be more motivated to work hard.
We had a decent week. Not a lot more success, but the best numbers
I've had this transfer. Saturday was pretty busy. We spent all morning
and some of the afternoon helping a less active young couple move.
They're way cool. They need to come back to church. haha. The husband
is a semi-professional musician. It was fun to move some of his
guitars and equipment and talk about music with him. He'd be okay with
us coming by and visiting with them but his wife doesn't want us to.
Maybe if we just visit and don't teach. Eh. I'll take what I can get.
haha. So many less actives are like that. Somewhere inside them, they
know the church is true and that they need it in their lives, but they
don't want to make the necessary changes for it to become the blessing
they need. Dumb. 


Later that day, a part-member family, the Brooks,
asked for some help moving sod. So, we got back into service clothes
and helped them carry a bunch of heavy, wet, muddy sod up their steep
hill to their back yard. Fun stuff! Needless to say, I was pooped by
the end of the day. haha.

There are a couple potentials that we're working with, some of which I
may have mentioned before. One is Jim, a man who agreed to read the
Book of Mormon but didn't want to be taught. He's in Ether now, and
said he'd like to talk about it once he's done. So that should happen
here in a week or two. Another is a woman named Andrea. She's a member
referral that we contacted and invited us back when she's not as busy
(which is this week). Hopefully we'll get some good lessons there this
week. A third one is the husband of another part member family, the
Coronados. He's... rough. Swears like it's all he knows how to do.
haha. But, he's never been open to being taught EVER, and said we
could maybe come back and "tell him some of our stuff." So, Bishop
really wants us to try and teach him. I don't know how the spirit can
be present with that man's vulgarity. I don't know. I'll try and pray
about it and counsel with the ward leaders about what to do for
that... situation.

(A member in Nelson's ward owns a cabin here in Island Park, so he 
stopped by to get a package for Nelson.  He talked highly of "Elder 
Browning", his good attitude, smile, and hard work).
I'm glad I have a good reputation. haha. Smiling and being friendly is
important, especially for working with the members and helping them
get involved. And there's really no reason not to smile and work hard.
I read a story from Henry B Eyring about his dad. His dad was like 80
and had bone cancer, so he couldn't kneel or squat to weed their
crops, but he was able to if he laid on the ground and pulled himself
along with his elbows. So he did that, and when he was done, he and
others realized that the weeds he pulled had been sprayed. All Henry
Eyring did was laugh. When Henry B Eyring asked how he could laugh and
make a joke of it after having wasted the whole day weeding weeds that
were going to die anyways, he said "Hal, I wasn't there for the weeds."
I think there is a lot to be learned from that. Especially for
missionaries in an area like Wrightwood. For example, perhaps a
conversation like this could occur: "Elder Browning, why are you
working hard in an area that's practically dead of work?" My response?
"I'm not there for the numbers." I hope I can really take that to
heart and apply it throughout my mission.

Wow. Still got a good amount written! :) Hope everyone has a great
week! I'd send pictures, but the computer I'm using doesn't work with
my usb drive. So. Next week. Mom, I continue to play piano whenever I
can. I got a couple songs from members and what not that I can sing
along to as I play that I'll try and send. Songs like Chasing Cars by
Snow Patrol. I actually enjoy playing piano now. Gasp! Haha :)

Happy father's day again dad! :)
Love,
Elder Browning

It's Official

July 12, 2012

Hey family! 

Wow I can't believe Jeren is getting married!! Aaahh! I'm really disappointed that I won't get to be there for any of it but... c'est la vie. Congratulations to both of them :) um... does Tanner know? And if so, how's he feel about it? Jeren, you know he won't be happy! Haha

So my companion and I talked last night and decided we really want to make this last week of the transfer different than the last... 5. We just haven't been getting out and doing as much as we can. Or even much at all. haha. I thought of this analogy. It's like working and getting paid 10 cents an hour. You could not work all day and get... nothing, or you could work all day and achieve hardly anything. But, it's something, and if you do that all week, it starts to add up and we'll see results. So. We have some good goals set for this last week. We might still be together or we might not; you never know. He's a pretty chill guy and we get along. He's odd and has his quirks, but they're not bad. haha.

 

This last week we had a cool service project where the chamber of commerce needed some volunteers for this garden festival that they had going on. We just sat in one of the gardens, reading our scriptures and what not and checking the tickets of guests as they came and went. Quite enjoyable. I didn't get pictures like I wanted, but I got one of a water fall/fountain there that I'll send along.

 

I got pretty sick on Wednesday and slept most of that day. I had a bad sore throat and a sore neck along with it and was worried it might be strep. It went away Thursday though, but I've had a cold that has hung on ever since. Not bad enough to keep me in bed, but enough of an annoyance that it makes things pretty "blah." It could just be the pollen from all the pine trees. They let off a ton of pollen in june and everyone calls it the "yellow plague" because it just coats everything. It'll go away by the end of the month though.

 

So I talked to sister Quinn, and they really would like to stop by and visit and bring a package for me back with them. haha. She said that they would be coming up Monday the 18th in the early afternoon and could stop by then or if that didn't work for you then they'd be heading home Saturday the 23rd at about noon if that works better. She said to give her a call and let her know what you would prefer. :)

 

We lost the mail lady in the mission office, so mail forwarding has been slower since the other secretaries are trying to keep up. I just got some letters today that were originally sent on the 1st of June. haha

 

Last week, I said something about Ryan's birthday. And I bought a card later that day. As I was walking out of the grocery store, I just stopped and looked at the letter and at my watch and realized... isn't his birthday July 7th? Not June? Yeah, I'm losing my mind. haha.

 

So on Pday last week... this is just kind of a funny story. One of the missionaries in Phelan, Elder Clark, really likes Bacon. And it's just kind of a funny thing we joke about now and then. Anyways, we were in the drive-thru for mcdonalds because he and his companion were hungry. Elder Clark was the one doing the ordering and had made his order and was waiting for his companion. His companion said "just get me the number 10." So elder Clark said that to the drive thru box and the question that came back was "would you like crispy or grilled?" and elder Clark just said ".....bacon." And there was a pause after he said that where we all bust up laughing. It was great. haha. Speaking of quotes, in a talk by John Bytheway he quotes Barney Fife in saying "a sledner, high-spirited person needs a sugar pick-me-up at the end of the day!" I thought that was quite funny and that Megan would enjoy it. Baha.

 

Well. Congrats again Jeren! I'll expect to see an announcement here in a month or two!

I love you guys! :)

Elder Browning

 

p.s. when I typed "Elder Browning," it first came out as "Edler Browning" and I almost sent it that way. ...Medler Browning... or something. haha. :)

Another Week

Hiya family

 

Well, it's been more of the same. haha. I feel like the work here is at a dead stop. Like I'm on a bike on a hill in 7th gear. Somehow, although it might be painful and clunky and include a fall or two, I gotta get back to 1st gear.

Wow. I kinda like that analogy. It's good. haha

 

I'm very sad to hear about Michelle. Obviously, her purpose in this life has been served and like grandma Snow, she's needed more in the Spirit world now. It seems like there's been a death just about every month since I came out.

 

Unconditional love huh? Maybe. It's not hard to love the people here. They're genuine people and most of them are cordial even though they don't want to talk to us. There are a few members that I feel sort of "exploit" us as full time service laborers. One specifically has had us over several times recently. We basically landscaped her whole front yard. Ugh. That's where unconditional love gets hard. Like. When you've done 3 days of service for a few hours each day and then get a text Monday morning from them that says "can you come move my trash cans to the road?" haha. Good grief. Or asking for us to come over just to move a large flower pot. It's not like we don't have time. I don't know. Just bugs me I guess.

 

Anyways. I think I need to leave my soap box somewhere else when I write home. Haha.

 

That's absolutely crazy to hear about Jeren and Lauren. Who'd of thought? Goodness. Why do yall have to go get married while I'm gone? Amber, Jeren, pretty soon Brooks... probably even Nathan and Sam will be married by the time I'm home. And maybe Heather too. haha. Wow, I'm missing a lot of stuff. Megan's graduation too! Ah, well, consecrated sacrifice right? Haha.

 

We had 2 different exchanges last week, one with the missionaries in Phelan and one with the Zone Leaders. The Zls usually only exchange with District Leaders but wanted to do an exchange with us. I went to Phelan with Elder Smith and we did some tracting and ran into a young family that invited us in. They ended up being very knowledgeable about the Bible and about the aspects of Mormonism that aren't explicitly in the Bible. Yikes. It was neat to talk to them and that they were open to talk and wanted us to come back, but honestly, I'm kind of glad I was just on an exchange. haha. I got together some scriptures that refuted several of their points and gave that list to those missionaries. They were quite happy to have them.

 

The Zone Leaders came over on Thursday for a short 2-3 hour exchange, mostly just to check up on us and our area a little. Well. Sort of. While on exchanges the Zl with me just talked with me for a while. It ended up being more of an interview and discussion session than anything else. I hope that doesn't mean anything beyond that they just wanted to know where and how I was struggling and how they could maybe help. haha.

While we were discussing the missionary efforts in Wrightwood, we ended up talking a lot about the suggestions you gave me Dad. We decided that the best thing for us to be doing is work with the members, to motivate and help them with missionary work. A lot of members don't know a lot of people in Wrightwood outside of the church, so we want to help them reach out to become friends with more nonmembers. We'll still tract occasionally and try to work with less actives as much as possible (and do service of course), but we do want to focus on the members. We were thinking of doing a sign-up sheet in church where members could sign up to have the missionary lessons.

 

Honestly, even though I love Wrightwood and the people here, I think I'm ready for a change. I realized that the main reason I want to stay is because it's not as hot as most of the rest of the mission. haha. It's been up in the 90s and over 100 in most areas but has only gotten up to 90 once in Wrightwood so far, and shouldn't get any hotter than that throughout the summer. If I stay another transfer here, I probably didn't do or learn what I was supposed to. haha. I still feel like that's the case, so we'll see what ends up happening.

 

Well. That's about all I can think of. haha. Ryan's birthday is this week! :) so is the Solar transit of Venus, which will be pretty cool. There's a member in our ward that's a big astronomy buff and will have equipment that we can view it with tomorrow.

 

Hey so, I'm still getting mail forwarded from the old mission office address with "please tell your family and friends of the new address" stickers on them. haha. Well. At least, the one and only letter I've gotten in the last 3 weeks was like that. haha. Anyways, I guess just make sure that everywhere my address is posted that it is the correct one. :)

 

Until next time, this is Elder Browning peacing out.

Love ya!