Staying in Wisconsin

Jun 20, 2011

Hey Family,

Transfer calls were last night-President Howells last transfer call- and Elder Bowen and I will be staying another transfer together as zone leaders. We're looking forward to the transfer together. Since our area has been growing, we're excited to see things change for the better. It's been cool to be more a part of the transfers for I have truly learned a lot. I have enjoyed the relationships I've developed with missionaries in our zone, i'll miss the ones that are leaving. This week has been filled with excitement and I hope yours was too!

We went on a exchange with the Eagen Elders- Baker and Peterson.- this last Tuesday. We blitz their area and did some tracting for them. I have also enjoyed working with other missionaries. Elder Bowen and i paid the price when a rain storm hit us. Yep, and of course we weren't prepared. We didn't have jackets or any kind of rain protection. In desperation i tried using my necktie for shelter. On top of the weather, we were rejected hardcore! We talked to 40 people and only 1 potential investigator. One person called the cops on us, another said "I'd rather eat vomit than learn about your message". One family was nice enough to let us in from the rain, and thankfully i didn't bring my scriptures or anything valuable with me.

The next day we went to the St Paul Temple with the Cottage Grove district (8 elders 2 sisters). It was a glorious day for i truly felt peace while i was there. The temple itself is a small temple, just enough to function really. It shares land with the Oakdale Stake center. I just love how we have temples all over the world all doing the same work. I came to the temple with a couple things in mind. 1- Date set names. We've been working hard to have 60 baptisms in June and we want all of our date sets to go through. 2- Personal/mission goals- I received revelation on my mission goals. I opened up to the Book of Mormon and it led me on what i needed to hear, which brings me to the 3- Doctrine of Christ to be a part of me. More and more I've been able to understand why this gospel is so necessary. It was neat to see my fellow brothers/Elders in white at the temple. Nothing beats the dress of pure white. Revelation is real in the temple and i can testify to that. It helped me regain mental strength.

Now as far as the work in Hudson, we had 3 investigators come to church, the most i've seen here. John and Josh are both young adults and then we have Michelle who is a mom that's in her 40's. Michelle is actually our number 1 progressing investigator and it was her first time to church. We found her through a member referral the Hunt family. Michelle has been looking for something that answers her religious questions. We were able to meet her husband last Thursday which was huge for us! We taught Michelle in her garage. She loves the plan of salvation! She's always wondered why other beliefs can't portray the plan of salvation so simply. We also read Alma 32 with her. Our joint teacher was a counselor in the stake presidency - President Squire- and he helped us a ton.

The next Saturday was a eventful as well. We began our day by locking ourselves out of our house. Yep no cellphone either. The members we live with were on vacation where there is no cellphone coverage. Our neighbor Dan -internagator who we teach at times- helped us get inside. Finally after checking all the windows, doors, and thinking about breaking a window, we used a credit card on our front door. It worked! I guess it's an old criminal trick. We rushed inside and took a quick shower and then off we were to our appointment.

My scripture of the week is Mosiah 4:3, and the scripture i found in the temple is Moroni 7:37-38. I hope Martins Cove was awesome! Tanner is an Elder! Crazy! Progressing is so awesome.

Love you all,
Elder Browning