Little Miracles

Hey everyone

We had a fairly decent week, although it feels like we didn't accomplish a whole lot with all the just "stuff" going on. We had service planned for Tuesday morning but it canceled, so we went to the Bishops storehouse and helped out there. They're always super grateful for the help. I love service. The more the merrier! Especially for people that really need it.

The trip to the temple on Wednesday was super awesome. Really enjoyed it. And I really enjoyed the changes. Some subtle changes open up a whole new meaning and understanding. 

Thursday we had Zone Conference which always takes forever. I have a hard time with super long meetings since it's like drinking out of a fire hose. As much as I sometimes dislike President Van Cott, I can never keep that opinion for long. He always takes time to talk to me directly and he's always real. I really love that about him. He reads my emails and remembers what I say in them. He cares about individuals and takes time to show it. I think it earns him a lot of respect.

We were able to meet with Moli and Omar Thursday night. Elder Judd and I were planning earlier what to teach her and he brought up the doctrine of Christ. I said no since we'd taught her that so many times already and we decided to discuss her concerns and maybe read a chapter of the Book of Mormon with her. During the lesson, we asked where she was at in the scriptures and she said 2 Nephi 31. Elder Judd and I both looked at each other and smiled super big. That chapter lays out the doctrine of Christ better than anywhere else in the scriptures. While we read it with her she kept saying "this is speaking straight at me!" haha. Super cool. So, with an added testimony from her daughter and a few tears, she agreed to be baptized again. We're planning for the 21st of September. So that was super exciting.

The only disappointing thing is that Alex doesn't really want to keep taking lessons or come to church anymore. He should come around eventually though. Maybe not while I'm here but probably down the road some day. 

Friday and Saturday we spent a lot of the day planning and trying to organize the ward list. We've been spending a lot of time on that this whole week actually. The area book is terrible as past missionaries have been lazy in record keeping. So we've been trying to get more on our feet and make the records clean enough so that new missionaries would be able to start from the get go. 

Brother Hawkins accepted the word of wisdom and now all thats left is the interview. I dont know why so many "eternal investigators" (investigators of 3+ years) always get baptized when I'm in the ward. Barbara, Lisa, James, Moli, etc. All of them have or were taking lessons for several years. I guess I'm just lucky? haha.

I really love having roommates. We usually only see each other in the morning and in the evening but it makes a big difference. Our DL got emergency transferred so I got emergency elected. I guess. haha. I'm hoping someone else gets called but it looks like I'll be taking the spot for the rest of the transfer. We'll see if anything changes this week.

Anywho. That's the news for this week. I'll send some pics too.

Love you guys!

Elder Nelson Browning

p.s. I've been reading the New Testament some more. I love the parables. With the parable of the sower, or in some terms, the parable of the different types of soil, think about the fact that we all, at some point, have weeds grow in our lives that try to tempt us and choke out our spiritual growth. We all have to find those weeds and pluck them out. And like any other weed, if you dont uproot it at the source but only pull it off at the base, it will grow right back.

Countdown Begins

Malo soifua!

 

Well I think things have been getting better. Slowly. We're busy all the time, but I still see that elder Judd isn't always happy. He wants to do more but theres just not much more we can do. Especially with everyone back in school. The only people home during the day are a few moms. But he laughs at my jokes a lot and says he hasn't laughed this much in a long time. I got him laughing after a huge dinner this last week and almost made him puke. Ha! :)

 

We weren't able to me with Moli or Alex during the week. One of Moli's daughters was visiting because she was leaving to be stationed in the Bahamas (she's in the Navy). I was talking to Moli on Sunday and she told me she feels like joining the church wouldn't really make a difference. She says she already feels the influence of the Holy spirit all the time in her life and feels like she's living a good life. She's living a Mormon lifestyle. So I asked Sabrinna if she has seen a difference in her life since being baptized and she bore an awesome testimony of the difference she's seen and felt. And Moli was just like "oh. Okay!" I'm hoping that means she's inclined to be baptized again. haha. If they weren't on their way out the door I would have talked to them longer but I'll find out this week.

Brother Hawkins had a cool spiritual experience this week. He said he'd been pondering everything we'd talked about and members had talked to him about and he realized that joning the church is an act of faith. He doesn't need to completely know and understand everything as long as he believes and feels like it's true. I was so happy to hear him say that. The time when the missionaries aren't with their investigators is like 10 times more important than the times that they're present. We teach people how to come unto Christ, and it's up to them to then take those steps and keep the commitments we leave them.

 

Dad... elder Judd sounds a lot like you. haha. He really does. President Godwin gave us permission to be out as late as 10 if we need to since we travel so far and some Samoan gatherings (like voleyball) may not start until as late as 9. But Judd wants plenty of time to plan and write in his journal. We were at dinner down in Norco and they were bringing out dessert around 8:30 but Judd was like "actually we gotta go." Luckily it didn't offend them but I told him not to ever do that again. It's better to be a little late getting to bed than to offend the members.

There are other stories and incidents that I could share but I seem to be unable to talk about him without sounding negative. He will be a great hardworking missionary and there are plenty of other missionaries like him in the field that he will get along with great. He keeps trying to tell me that the two of us are super similar. And I always refute his point. haha

 

I start my Pokemon sticker poster coutdown this week. 150 pokemon, 150 stickers, 150 days left on the mish (as of Friday the 23rd).

We're going to the temple this Wednesday. President didn't change pday though which is super nice.

I've had super bad headaches lately. Pretty sure it's "stress related." Ha. Ibuprofen and tylenol don't touch it though so I try to just muscle through it. 2 weeks down, 4 left in the transfer. God's making sure I don't just cruise for the end of my mission I guess. haha

 

I've been reading Jesus the Christ again. Love it. Tons of insights into the New Testament. It has made my love for the New Testament increase greatly. Love it!

 

Well fam, have fun in Seattle. Say hi to everyone for me.

Love,

Elder N B

160 days

So guess what? Pretty much all my fears came true! haha. I'm training a missionary! Elder Judd. He got to meet grandma and grandpa. He's not brand new, but I'm finishing the 12-week training program with him. He's only been out for one transfer. He and I cannot seem to get along. His personality is cool, but he is such a stiff missionary... He wants to work at like 110%, but it just isn't possible in a Samoan ward. I've been trying to do EVERYthing I can for this kid and I'm still falling short. I've repented more in the past week than I think I have my whole mission. But it's still not enough. I'm a relaxed individual, and straight up, I'm not changing that. That doesn't mean I'm idle, slothful, lazy, or disobedient. I just like to go with the flow. And I follow the spirit of the law. It took me a while to find a balance between obedience/hardwork and having fun. If you're not working, life as a missionary sucks. And if you can't let yourself have fun, life as a missionary also sucks. The worst times in my mission were when I was living in the extremes: doing nothing but work work work or doing almost no work at all. Theres a balance to it, although that balance may differ for each individual. He likes being in a Samoan ward but I'm really worried he's going to burn out and lose his motivation to work. I've never known or heard of a missionary being trained in a polynesian ward. The work is hard. Harder than probably all the white and spanish wards in the mission. You have to be okay with just doing as much as you can. If doing all you can doesn't fill the whole day, you have to be okay with that. I burned out in my first area because the work got so slow. I just really don't want to see that happen to Judd.

 

Anywho! On a plus side, the tender mercies of the Lord are always there. I have ROOMATES. And not only that, but one of them is elder Langi. I LOVE elder Langi. He's one of my best friends still out in the field. He and his companion who's super cool too have kept me sane this past week. haha.

Also, Sabrinna's baptism went really well. I really think that the rest of her family will follow her soon. It's so cool to see, physically, the impact that having the gift of the holy ghost has on someone. Not only in their actions but also in their countenance. It's like someone turned on another faint light that only shines on their face. Pretty cool.

 

Elder Judd is working like 500 times harder than I have towards learning the language. I didn't really try to learn it since elder Pauga knew it and didn't seem to want to take the time to try and teach me. I have a feeling elder judd is going to know more than me fairly soon if he keeps learning at this rate.

 

I met a lot of missionaries at transfers that were like "Oh so you're elder browning! I knew your grandparents! They make great food!" I haven't been that jealous of that many different individuals my whole mission. haha.

 

Well we're focusing on all that we can focus on: the members. Since they already know most of the non member samoans in the region, we focus on strengthening them and their family. Our call is to invite all to come unto Christ, and the active members need strengthening just as much as anyone else.

 

Well that's all for now. And Aubree, you should be getting a card tomorrow :) hopefully. haha.

Love,

Faife'autala'i Nelesoni Palauni

Transfers...

Hey, I really really do not feel like writing today. Probably should have typed up my email before reading transfer news. We get transfer info via email on Mondays now. President needs a lot of help when it comes to a lot of the norms of missionary life. Usually, new presidents rely on their APs for a while but pres van cott took the throttle himself. Transfers look like someone took a nuclear bomb to the missionary assignments. Literally scrambled. All the stuff he said he was and wasn't going to do, the opposite happened.

 

Anyways! That's not important. Elder Pauga is leaving and I'm getting another white elder. It's going to be a lot harder not having someone that knows Samoan since all the adults prefer samoan. Some can hardly speak english. They've had at least one native Samoan elder for a long time. Elder Pauga always uses the phone so that he can text/talk in Samoan to them. Guess they'll have to get used to English for a while.

 

Ahh! Sorry I'm ranting again. On a positive note, Sabrina is getting baptized this week. The rest of her family just isn't ready yet. Her husband has just been following her lead but doesn't have his own testimony yet. Her mom isn't quite ready yet either, but we'll keep working with them and they'll get there. Omar, the youngest, is also ready but he doesn't want to leave his mom behind. haha.

 

I really don't have much else to talk about. I'll probably spend multiple hours every day studying Samoan. As long as I can show I'm learning the language, I won't get flak for not knowing it very well.

 

Well don't worry too much about me. There's nothing that can be done. Just gotta keep your head down and keep trudging through it. Interesting thing about a mission... it never gets easy. Just when you think you got it figured out, you're hit with another curveball. But anyways. I'll make it. Just 4 transfers left.

 

Peace

 

Elder Browning