6 More Months of Winter

Hey fam :)

Well the gopher saw his shadow, and I'm staying in Wrightwood for 6 more weeks. I'll be here until mid September, which will mean I'll have spent almost a third of my mission in this area. Crazy huh? At least it's cooler up here in the mountains than out in the desert or down in the valley. It's pretty much staying in the 80s and low 90s here whereas it's in the upper 90s and over 100 everywhere else. So I don't mind staying here through August, that's for sure. haha

 

This week... it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the best of weeks, it was the worst of weeks. It was the best of commitments, it was the worst of commitments. Haha. We had a lot of good and a lot of blah stuff happen this week, hence why I'm half quoting a Tale of Two Cities.

The Bad: every single day this week, most of our appointments fell through. By the end of the week, we'd even started planning back up plans for our back up plans, and still we ran out of things to do. Everyone is gone and busy with vacation because school starts up in another week or two. Gotta get all the partying in while you still can, right? haha. Also, we met with Shannell (that's how you actually spell her name) and committed her to come to church but she didn't show up and wasn't home yesterday afternoon. It's disappointing to see investigators not take all the steps necessary to continue becoming happier and closer to our father in heaven. Also, our two week missionary left, and we were sure sad to see him go. He really didn't want to leave. We're sure glad he had a good experience though.

The Good: We committed Shannell to baptism! We set a date for August 25th. Hopefully she doesn't miss church again, or we'll have to push back that date another week or two. She has a hectic life, so I bet something unexpected came up yesterday that impaired her ability to attend church for whatever reason. We'll meet with her tomorrow and probably emphasize the importance of attending church. Another good thing... Daniel Parisi's (our two weeker) mom was so happy with us for "taking care of her boy and helping him to have an amazing experience" that she sent us home with gift baskets. Not just a gift, not just a card, but like a whole big bag full of stuff. Junk food (oatmeal cream pies, oreos and pringles), dress socks, a new tie, cereal, toothpaste, even body wash and deodorant. haha. It's one of those things thats almost awkward and you're not really sure how to thank them. I hope I serve in or near his ward sometime throughout my mission. At this rate though, I'll only serve in 3 or 4 areas. haha. Daniel is planning on coming back up sometime soon to hang out with us and do some more missionary work.

 

One of the things we did to pass the extra time in the afternoon but still try and feel constructive about it was to help the members we live with. I might of mentioned that we'd cleared some bushes and chopped down some trees last week. We continued working in the same section, moving the wood that we'd chopped down and cutting out the stumps. The stumps were so wildly knotted and the grain was so wild and the wood so wet that chainsaws weren't really getting anywhere. So, we just took an ax to it. Apparently, I'm really good at swinging an ax. haha. We rotated taking turns chipping away at the stump, and every time it was my turn brother Zorad would just make remarks like "wow. look at that! Look at him go!" haha. It was funny. He told me "I'm never going to make fun of you looking like some CPA smart kid again." haha. So that was kind of fun.

 

My glasses are under warranty? sweet! Guess that solves that problem :) haha. So I got some new contact saline solution and I've worn my contacts twice without having a problem. I've always been bothered by them the 2nd or 3rd etc. day I put them in, so maybe the 2 week contacts will still work. I just don't wear contacts more than once or twice a week at most, so I only wear the 2 week contacts like 3 or 4 times before it's been about a month and they have a nick or something in them. I dunno. haha. I'll see how long this pair I'm on lasts with the new saline solution.

 

I'm not really sure what to do with the referral from grandma and grandpa. Upland and Fontana are both in my mission, but they're several zones away from where I'm at. If I had a general address or phone number, I could forward the info to our office which could then find the missionaries for that area and send them to the couple. But. There's nothing I can do besides pray that the missionaries there run into them. haha

 

I made a list of every song in the hymnbook that I can play and might be able to play by the end of my mission, and there are several hymns that I can play well enough to accompany. We thank thee o god for a phophet, nearer my god to thee, god speed the right, come follow me, come unto jesus, be still my soul, sweet hour of prayer, I stand all amazed, and choose the right. Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head anyways. So I've become the official district meeting pianist. haha. And... I kind of enjoy it. Wait. What? Who said that? :) haha

 

Elder Bagley and I are hoping to continue to work hard in this area and get the work moving even a little more. We're going to have an area planned every day to tract if everything else we try falls through. By small and simple means are great things brought to pass.

 

I love you guys! :)

Elder Browning

6 Months

Hey family!

 

So this past week has been pretty slow. Besides the Wednesday temple trip of course. Almost all of our appointments on Thursday, Friday and Saturday fell through. At least besides dinner. haha. So that was kind of a bummer, but we found some service to do to fill the time. The members we live with have been doing a lot of yard work. We helped clear some land, pulling out weeds and bushes and helping them cut down some cottonwood trees. We then raked and cleaned up the ground and placed topsoil all over that area; they want to plant grass there. So that ended up taking up several hours this past weekend.

We did meet with our old Jewish investigator though, and he came to our Thursday night class. We've been debating about what to do with him, because he's been an investigator for so long (5+ years) and just doesn't seem to progress very well. He likes the church and all the members, but he has a hard time believing that choosing and becoming part of a religion is important. He will often tell a story about some Jewish rabbis that got together to discuss the idea and belief of God. After a few days of discussion, they decided that they really didn't know and couldn't prove one way or the other; but, if God did exist, they should live in a way that would be pleasing to him. That is the concept that he's been stuck on for a long while. We're planning on reading alma 22 with him, which talks about King Lamoni's father's conversion, where he prays to know if there is a God. Vic (our investigator) wants to believe that there is a god but seems to struggle getting answers to prayers. Anyways. Amongst all this I was debating whether to keep focusing on him or not when he said something interesting. He said that he doesn't know if he will become a Mormon in this life; that it might take a second life to get that point. But, he asked us to keep helping him and to keep coming back. He said "out of all the missionaries I've ever become acquainted with over the years, you two are my favorite so far." haha. I really don't have a hard time loving him and continuing to slowly encourage him, and that's what we'll continue doing.

 

You can probably already tell by the subject of my email that I turn 6 months this week! Part of me feels like "wait, what? Already?" And another part of me is thinking... FINALLY! haha. I've still got a long way to go, but I feel like I'm hitting mile markers now. haha

Transfers are next week, so I'll find out whether or not I'm leaving on Saturday. I actually wouldn't mind staying one more transfer so that I'm still in the mountains for August. It's been near or over 100 down in the valley, and 90 is hot enough for me. I'm really not someone who likes it hot. I like weather in the 80s. But when it's consistently in the 90s, that's too hot for me. haha. I'm an Idaho/Seattle boy! I like mild weather I've decided. It's alright visiting hot places, but I wouldn't ever want to live here.

 

I'm sure you've heard about the massacre in Colorado. That's terrible. The flag at the post office here was at half mast today. It's just a sign that times are getting closer and closer. Have any of you seen the new batman yet?

 

I'm not going to spend a ton of time emailing right now because we'll be on later. And because I haven't heard from mom yet. haha :) We're helping a member with his computers today and hanging out with his family. My companion is certified in web design and I'm good with just general computer usage so we'll be helping him out with those things, fixing a few issues and getting a website for the scouts up and running.

I did have a question though. Is there a way for me to get daily contacts? My contacts are fine the first day I wear them but they get all funky after that and I can't stand wearing the 2 week ones very often. I just noticed that my solution is out of date, so I'll try changing that but I don't think it will make a huge difference. Either way, I'm almost out of contacts. haha.

Thanks guys, for all your love and support!

Love,
Elder Browning

 

Special Day at the Temple

Grandma Browning, serving in the Riverside, CA Mission, wrote:


Look at these missionaries.  We got to meet Elder Browning at the Redlands Temple.  Then we went to the Gourmet Pizza shop and had lunch with him and his regular companion and another young man who is serving a mini mission with Elder Browning and Elder Bagley.  More pictures follow.  Nelson looks wonderful and is doing a great job in Wright Wood. (Or however you spell it.)  We met many of the youth from that ward who were at the temple doing baptisms and they all said Elder Browning was great.

Now from Nelson...

Hello family!

 

Well it's been a roller coaster ride of a week. Lots of good things and lots of disappointments. haha. When something good happens and our spirits are up, something bad or disappointing happens. Then when I'm starting to feel overwhelmed, something good happens. It's been hectic and I seem to have a permanent confused/concerned look on my face. haha

We continued to work hard all last week, and we taught 4 lessons all in one day on Friday. Most of our investigators or could be/should be/would be investigators aren't really progressing or showing much interest in doing so, but there was one woman that we visited Friday afternoon that we had a neat experience with. I was kind of dragging my feet about the situation since the people that had seemed more promising weren't promising after all and this woman seemed even less promising. But we went anyways. Her house situation is kind of awkward. Not like inappropriate awkward, but like... a stressful household type awkward. BUT. We taught her the restoration and it was way cool. She kept smiling and writing down notes from what we were telling her and saying "this is so cool!" We committed her to read and pray, and she said "I already know it's true. But I'll definitely pray too." It was way cool :) we're excited to visit her again tomorrow.

 

It's interesting how it's little things that can seem to be such a bother. I have some really cool experiences and then one or two little silly dumb things and that can ruin my whole mood. Our weekly district meetings have changed from a time to study and be taught about how we can be better missionaries to a 2 hour role play session. Role playing is probably my least favorite thing I've encountered as a missionary. I don't think there's anything that I would rather not do that I've ever been asked to do. It's one thing to learn new techniques and then do a role play applying that technique, but you can't just... play pretend trying to fake being all your investigators. I think, logically, there could be a good, more productive compromise. Like. Maybe 30 minutes worth of role playing. I dunno. We're just not sure how to fill all that time with it. haha. Oh well. Even if it's a less productive use of time, at least we're being obedient.

 

So today was pretty sweet. Got to go to the temple and sit by my buddy Elder Smith (from the Phelan ward) during the session and then when I was leaving the temple I ran into grandma and grandpa! I really wasn't expecting them since it was kind of last minute trying to get the info to them. That was quite fun :) we went out to lunch together as well. I'm sure you're oh so jealous mom :) haha. Grandpa commented that I "looked good." Not quite the bean pole I was before my mission. Someone just the other day looked up my facebook and said "Wow. You were way skinny." I don't think I've changed much. Maybe. I'm not complaining though. haha. Grandpa and grandma said that they'd probably see me again in October when I go to the temple next time. So that will be fun to see them a few more times throughout their missionary service.

 

We have a 2 week missionary with us right now. Have you heard of 2 weekers before? I don't remember ever hearing about it before I came on a mission. He's a pretty cool guy. Daniel Parisi. Elder Bagley actually served in his ward before Daniel got transferred here. He's only a day older than Megan, but he fits in like he's 18 or 19. It's been fun having a 3rd guy with us. I think it's actually easier to teach with 3 people. I definitely like not just being stuck with one person all the time. haha

 

Well congrats to dad for successfully completing your first triathlon! That's way cool. I really don't think I'll ever do one. Even if I learn how to swim decently, I've never been able to run far or for a long time even when I was in shape and training for it. Whenever conversations about running come up, I always say something like "I prefer races that can be done in under a minute." haha. Like the 200 meter or 400 meter.

 

Primary was pretty fun! Bagley is so quiet and stiff I wanted to stop playing piano and get up and lead myself. haha. I really think I would enjoy a calling in primary. I love the kids. There's a man in the ward that crushed 2 of his fingers in a dump truck door and is thus laid up for a good month or more. So, we helped him and his wife out with some things around the house that were too strenuous for her to do. They have 3 girls ages like 9, 6 and 4. They're so funny. I always make faces at them when I see them and they laugh. "You're crazy! You're the funniest person I know!" It's great. I get called weird fairly often, but I don't really care since usually the person is genuinely laughing when they say it. And if I pretend to be offended they'll usually say something like "no it's a good kind of weird!" Whatever. haha

 

That picture of dad in the Vader helmet is hilarous. baha. Looks like he's all fit and in shape too!

So last email I sent I had confused July with August, thinking Jeren's wedding was this next week. I still don't have a good picture of me or any recordings though. Should have taken one at the temple. Oh well. I'll try any get one today and send it Monday. And what do you want my recording to say? I can just try and come up with something, but I'm sure your (especially Jeren and even Lauren's) input would be helpful. Let me know.

 

Well that's the wrap. I sure miss you guys! Don't do anything I wouldn't do. But, if you do, name it after me. haha :)

Love,

Elder Browning

Hot and Sunny

July 9, 2012

Hey family,

So ya'll think that squash and mushrooms story is great huh? well I'm glad you got a laugh out of it at least. haha. Honestly, I wouldn't have made it through all of it. Maybe with several glasses of water... but I doubt it. Jerks... haha :) just kidding.

Well it's been freaking HOT today! I keep expecting it to break 100 but it's just sitting around about 97. Dumb. I really don't mind upper 80s at all, but upper 90s is uncomfortable for me. We went on a neat hike this morning as a zone nearby here in Wrightwood. It wasn't a very long hike, about 4 miles round trip. It was pleasant and a nice break from the routine of missionary life. My companion and I are going to go on at least one other hike this transfer as well. I led the pack of missionaries; they complained about my quick pace and blamed the lack of oxygen at 7500 feet for their struggle to keep up. haha. 

I can't believe Brooks is home now! I meant to write him one more time before he got home... I'm really bad about writing letters. I just take too long for the little time I have. Oh well. Now that he's home maybe I'll try and write both him as well as Josh. He's overdue for a letter from me.

Ryan had a star wars themed birthday huh? I guess my card will fit right in then. haha. I sent it Thursday, so you should definitely get it by today.

Well we had a decent week I suppose. Still workin hard. We taught that new young couple and they were at church yesterday. The ward was very friendly to them. The young woman, Brittany, wants to get baptized and recognizes that she needs to be married first. That's really all she needs to do to be baptized. We have another appointment with them tomorrow and we'll bring up their marriage plans and what not. 

We got a new investigator rather randomly this week. His name is Dale, and he's an older gentleman that is a friend of some of the members here. He's good friends with the people we had dinner with on the 4th and we talked about the Book of Mormon with him afterwards. He was mildly curious and said he'd read it. He also attended our scripture class held every Thursday night and seems positive about everything he has heard. He goes to bed early, so we're going to try and meet with him Wednesday morning since we have a meeting Tuesday morning.

Things are slowly changing and improving as we continue to be faithful and work hard. I feel like like the exact opposite of the scripture that says "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." More like "by much effort, trial, and tribulation, are simple and small things brought to pass by the hand of man." Or something. haha. 

Mark is home now too huh? It doesn't seem like forever ago that he left; I remember him being at school and playing basketball with him. Maybe I'll survive 2 years after all. haha :)
We have a temple trip on the 18th! Wooo! :) I wish there was a way I could coordinate with grandma and grandpa to maybe see them, but I don't know what restaurant we'll go to afterwards. I guess they could just come to the temple. haha. I believe we're doing the 8:15 AM session. They just barely got out in the field though. Maybe we'll wait until the next temple trip in... October I think. Or, if there's a way you could pass along that info, maybe they'll be available even to just stop by the temple around 10:30 or so. And if I didn't already tell you... I did get permission from Pres to see them since they're missionaries right now. haha. I don't get their emails. I'd like to though!
The Molinaris are swinging down for a Disneyland trip huh? Cool cool :) if they "happenstance" across me, I'll definitely say hi. haha :) visits from family and friends are hard to get approved though. So unless it was accidental... probably not. :/

I'm happy to hear about Binh. I don't remember playing much of a role as a missionary... but if you say so... maybe I did. haha. I'm wishing you the best of luck on your triathlon dad! Maybe someday, I'll be able to do one too. Maybe not. I'm not much of a swimmer or a long distance runner, but I bet at least the running one will change as I get older.

It's good to hear that everyone is doing well :) give Eric and Jana's family hugs from me. And that can also be like... me hugging you back. right? right. haha

Well. Onward Christian soldiers! I've almost gone a mile in my 4 mile race as a missionary. I'll hit 6 months in two weeks. Oh since the temple trip is next week, I'll be emailing on Wednesday again instead of Monday.

I love you! Thanks for all your support and patience with my lack of cool missionary stories. haha :)
Love,
Elder Browning

P.S.  Another thing that I told Megan is that I'm the primary pianist next week! Aahh! I've never struggled trying to learn songs out of the children's song book so much. haha. There isn't a single male member of the ward that plays piano, and the women of the ward have a women's conference thing. I wonder what they would do if I wasn't there. Sing acapella I guess. haha

Anyways. That's that! Love you mom! :)

Hard Work & Perspiration

Hiya fam!

We had a pretty decent week I suppose. We worked hard all week, and are starting to see a little growth. We actually have a few investigators! Haha. There's a part-member/less-active family that moved into the ward a week ago that is pretty solid. The less-active has been returning to church and the non-member is serious about baptism. It is a very similar situation to Mariah and Cody Lucas if you remember them. We have an appointment with them on Wednesday.

 

So. I see my secret about certain foods is out! The Quinns sat a nice big plate of giant cooked mushrooms and stringy orange squash in front of me. I didn't realize the joke at first and was honestly worried about having to finish all of that... stuff. I didn't show it though, and just started off eating when they burst out laughing. It was just... great. Thanks ma. haha. luckily they didn't make me eat it; I don't think I would have made it. Yuck. I got my big brother hug from brother Quinn (haha) and thoroughly enjoyed the package you sent. I've actually been like borderline sick off and on for a while. Just not 100%. Not bad enough to not work, but just enough to make it a little more miserable sometimes. haha. Time to buy more vegetables...

 

More people are hearing about and telling others about my (lack of) piano skills. haha. I play for district meetings and will probably be playing for priesthood each sunday here soon. I enjoy it though. Not so much accompanying, but I do enjoy playing.

I broke a barrier this past weekend with push ups that I never have before. I finally broke 60! Meaning being able to do that many consecutively. I've always plateaued somewhere in the upper 50s. But I did 60 on Saturday and 65 this morning. Yeah! I hope to eventually get up to 100.

I don't mean to talk about strength stuff and have that be my weekly highlight. haha. But I thought this story was kind of cool and funny at the same time. We were helping an older guy move the other day and most of the ward members that showed up were older also. Most of us were outside loading stuff into the trailer when one guy came outside and said "I need someone with muscles to come help move a big mattress." No one volunteered, so I did. haha. It was a good sized mattress, but not like bigger than any other king sized mattress. The guys working on it were getting straps out and a bunch of other stuff and I just said "hey. I got this." So i had the biggest guy there get on one end and I took the other and we hauled it out. When we got it into the trailer the other guy was sweating and breathing hard and I was just smiling at him. haha. He chuckled, squeezed my arm and said "you're pretty strong after all!" It made me laugh.

 

So you're officially into the Fin Fun business huh? There's a good, manly product for ya :) haha. It's crazy how much that has grown and expanded and is continuing to progress. What are your plans about outsourcing or whatnot?

 

I got a cool compliment the other day. I was on exchanges with one of the zone leaders all day on Saturday. It was a pretty good experience and he and I get along well. We were talking about the exchange and what we learned before exchanging back with our companions and he said there was one thing he learned from me that he's going to try to be better at. He said "you honestly care about people, don't you elder Browning?" I was like... what? He said "like with that woman sister LaFond. When you asked if there was anything we could do for her, you meant it." So I said... well, yeah. So he said that he wants to do better at that. Wow huh? Good to know something is going for me. haha :)

 

I keep feeling like we're going to run out of stuff to try and do in Wrightwood, but we always seem to fill each day with missionary work. We might try to do more tracting even, since there hasn't been a ton of that done for a several months. Who knows what may come of it. There is a less active family that we met with this last week and the week before, and they were at church yesterday. Sweet! Hopefully we continue to see them at church.

 

I forgot to mention our other investigator. There's an older jewish man named Vic Leiber who has met with and been taught be missionaries off and on for a long time. He got dropped a while ago I guess because he just wasn't progressing and wasn't showing signs of wanting to. But last week, we were trying to visit some people but just no one was home. We pulled over in the shade and were trying to decide what to do when I realized that we were in front of Vic's house. He ended up being home and we met with him and talked with him for awhile. He expressed that he really wants to know if there's a God. He expressed his love for the Mormons and for the Mormon church. He said "I guess... I don't know what's holding me back from being a member!" We asked him if he would continue reading and praying about the Book of Mormon and he said he would. He brought up something interesting after that. He said "...how does one have faith to get a response from god?" We read a little of Alma 32 with him and he said he'd read over it again and really work on growing his faith. He expressed a strong desire to really know. He'll probably continue to be slow in progressing since that's how he's always been, but we'll continue to pray for and work with him.

 

Well family, I love ya. Thanks for praying for me :) it's hard and discouraging to keep working so hard only to see a tiny bit of change, but there's no sense in quitting now is there? haha

Love,

Elder Browning