Miracles Begin Again

June 11, 2012

Hey Family,

This has been one of the most powerful weeks for me as a missionary. I continue to see the Lord’s hand. My joy is full and my love for the people continues to keep me focused. I'm grateful, and get ready for an amazing email.

We'll start off with the first miracle. We received a member referral last week from the Hall family. Her name is Shani and I'd say she has been prepared by the Lord for some time. Elder White and I were super excited for the lesson because member referrals are rare and precious. We met with Shani for the first time at the Hall home last Monday. We taught her the Restoration of the gospel and invited her to be baptized, and she said yes! Her Baptismal date is for June 30th. I must say, Shani seems like a member already. She has the light of Christ with her. About a month ago, she was impressed by the spirit to quit drinking coffee. On top of that she has read half of the Book of Mormon on her iPad! She reads the pamphlets 4-5 times each, and reads far beyond her reading assignment. She has been asking Heavenly Father to guide her to truth and she has found it. Bro Hall then struck up a conversation with her at a park and invited her over to his family’s home. There was an immediate connection. She came to church the following Sunday and again this week. Shani is recently separated and has two kids ages 5 and 2.

I'll begin the second miracle. We found a man by the name of Jon. He invited us back over and he told us that his 16 year old son wants to be baptized. We met with Jon and his son Shakiem the following week with our awesome joint teacher Brother Rose (related to coach Rose -BYU basketball). We invited them to both be baptized and they said yes! We read out of the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 31. It was a powerful thing. We had Bro Rose pick both of them up for church the next day to insure their attendance. They both came and loved church. The members of the Weaver Lake ward really reached out and did a good job of making them feel comfortable. We now have baptismal dates for both wards that we love- 3 in Plymouth and 2 in Weaver Lake. The work is exploding! I'm so grateful for this experience. We'll be teaching his wife and 12 year old son this Thursday and hopefully pick them up as new investigators.

 Ann and Jamar are doing great! Ann came to church with her friend yesterday who's interested in the church! Ann always says that she's super happy and giddy after church. She's seeing the blessings of Sabbath day observance. After church we followed Ann and her friend back to her house and taught George and Ann's sister. We invited George to be baptized and he said yes. There is power in following the council of our leaders. We've been instructed to invite everyone to baptism their first lesson with us with a proper explanation of baptism. It establishes our purpose perfectly. When we follow the council of our leaders it's an outward sign of our testimony of the restoration. My life has changed as I've been able to apply Presidents council in the mission. The Lord blesses us.

Zone conference was amazing. As a mission we have struggled to get people to church. President Clements is inspired. The main thing was our investigators have been committing to us and not the Lord. We learned that we need to provide a connection of our love for God and linking the Atonement with the commitment to Sabbath day observance. The spirit told me this was true. We applied this, and had 5 investigators to church this week! Best we've had in a long time in this area. We've been seeing miracles in our district.

I received my packet for my flight plans. I was not excited to see it. I looked at it briefly and put it down-i don't think I'll look at it until i start packing. I'm not sure why they send it out so early, i still have a ways to go. 

We'll be having a birthday bash today as a district. The sisters wanted us to all meet at a park and play tennis and basketball. Four of us in the district had birthdays in the last 2 weeks, so we'll have a good time.

My testimony of this gospel continues to grow. I'm grateful for this gospel and I know we are about the Lord’s business. 

Love you all so much!

Elder B Browning