Hudson Wisconsin

May 16, 2011


Hey Family,

My first week in Wisconsin and it has been a great experience so far! I'm glad i have the chance to grow and to develop my missionary skills. It was hard leaving Eden Prairie, but i know the Lord wants me to stretch and grow.

The Hudson area is pretty massive. Hudson itself has 11,000 and has other small farm towns that surround Hudson. It takes me back to good old Shelley,Idaho--farms as far as the eye can see! The lay of the land is totally different from Eden Prairie! We're right next to the river that's basically the border for Minnesota and Wisconsin. Oh and lots of bars, Wisconsin loves their beer!

The ward is super supportive and we have a good amount of members. The missionaries have done a great job in this area with the members. We live with members- The Groth family. They're an older couple that's retired. They love missionaries and they have been kind enough to let us live in their basement. We cover a singles branch too! So we attend 6 hours of church. I love it! The singles branch is pretty sad. We have 7 men and 4 women? Haha it will be cool working with the singles though.

Elder Bowen is an amazing missionary! He's 25 years old, super mature and really buff haha. He's a way good companion that's mellow and bold and the same time. He's showing me the ropes and helping me be a zone leader. It has been a humbling experience thus far. Of course, i knew this would happen, but I'm seeing humility at a new level. It's a totally different situation coming from an area that you're used to, and training the last 41/2 months. I have to take the back seat and learn from an older and more wise missionary. It's neat to see how perfect Elder Bowen is for me, he'll help me in my overall growth. I'm grateful for this time to serve as a leader, but the best part about leadership is helping other missionaries out. It's been a neat experience working with different teams. We get to travel a lot more and help other areas that are struggling. Our zone conference we'll be this Wednesday. President Howell has asked me to conduct. I'm excited and a little nervous at the same time. We're also going down to Redwing tomorrow to bliz their area. It's fun being a zone leader!

Alright family i miss you and hope all is well. I can't believe that story Dad shared with me about the Jones family. It's so cool that the Lord watches over all of us at the same time. I'll continue to pray for you all! I'm looking forward to this next week...we're going to be pretty busy.

My scripture of the week is 2 Nephi 9:41.

Love,

Elder Browning

Goodbye Eden Prairie, Hello Wisconsin?

May 9, 2011


Hey Family,

A week to remember on the mission-- full of change and hope! We had a baptism on Mothers Day. Jimmy Cha was baptized! It was great seeing and talking with you guys on mothers day! It was definitely a little nerve racking and the anticipation was killing me. Also transfers were crazy.

Jimmy's baptism was an amazing experience and i was able to baptize him. Jimmy knows the church is true, and his faith has carried him through the hard times. Since Jimmy doesn't have a lot, he's realized how the gospel can bless him. He's scared to go back to California where his dad lives. Since he's joined the church, he'll be chopped liver to his family but now he's starting a new life here in Minnesota with the help of the members. Brother Peden (a single man) opened up his home for Jimmy to live in. Yes it was a good thing, because Jimmy was living with his girlfriend Sai for the longest time. The ward really has adopted Jimmy, if you will, because he has no other support. The baptism was a perfect ending to my stay in Eden Prairie.

After 7 1/2 months in Eden Prairie, President Howell has shipped me off to Hudson, Wisconsin. My companion will be Elder Bowen (great elder). This area has been wonderful. I have met so many great people and i'll be able to stay in contact with them through the wonderful website Facebook when i get back. I'm ready for a change now, and i know this will be a growing transfer.

It was amazing to see you guys on the webcam! It wasn't as hard for me to recover the second time around. It felt so good that you are all doing well! I pray for you all everyday. We're going to play some basketball now. I hope you all have a great week! My scripture of the week would have to be Jacob 6:5.

Wish me luck this week! I'll need your prayers more than ever!

Love,

Elder Browning

Pick Up and Move

May 2, 2011


Hey family,

This week has been a long and tiresome week. We moved apartments last saturday. Yes we moved to our prime area Chaska. We also struggled to get investigators to church and struggled to teach. Our Investigator pool is taking a nose dive and we're trying to save it.

We woke up at our usual time,6:30. We then packed and cleaned as much as we could. The Assistants to the president came and helped us move and they brought the mission trailer and 12 passenger van. I'll admit, i was stressing a bit with the move. We had a lot of junk despite cleaning and throwing away items. We were grateful for the closed trailer because of the rain and wind. We lived on the 3rd floor which didn't make things easy, but bit by bit we moved every single piece of cheap furniture down to Chaska. Our new apartment is modest and clean. We have a work out room now! Time to lift some 35 pound dumb bells. Our car is also in a garage that's below the apartment complex, plus we have our own washer and dryer. The change feels good. After 7 months in one apartment, you need to spice things up. Oh haha then after words, we ran out of miles and ended up riding bikes the rest of the day. We went up this huge hill. I've never struggled so much in my life for breath!

Missionary work was down this week. We've been struggling to get investigators to church. Jack Anderson wants to hold off on May 7th for baptism, and he didn't come to church either. I guess he was also moving that weekend. Heid's kids are also going down. They didn't come to church! Heidi doesn't know how to control those hellions. We'll be pushing back their dates. Our teaching pool has been sliced in half. Just like that with a blink of an eye! We picked up a few investigators this week to help the cause. Elder Filby and I are having a lot of fun together. Missionary work is so much easier when you have a good companion. I know my time is coming for a challenging transfer.

I'm so glad Emma's baptism went well! I'm grateful i was a part of that! Send me pictures. What a wonderful time for the whole family. I miss those family outings.

Thank you for the Easter package! I truly felt the love. I've been reading the conference note book, and I want to collect all 4 when i'm out here.

Well family sorry this is short. We're in Waconia today emaling with our neighboring elders. We're gonna go ball it up at the church and then buy some burgers and shakes!

Skype! 6:30 mothers day. Looking forward to it! I'm writing down questions so be ready to answer fam.

Love you all!

Elder Browning