The Journey Continues

Jun 25, 2012

Hey Family,

Whoa i'll make this email short, too much has happened this last week. Therefore, i will write but a small amount. However the journey continues in saving souls!

It has been an honor working with members. I'm so grateful for them and their willingness to help us missionaries to move the work forward.  I have a strong bond with a lot of them. One of my favorite parts of my mission is working with the members. I had no idea how powerful a family can be who applies the gospel in their own home.

Right now i'm at the Levefre home. Their son just got home from his mission last week. They are an amazing family! They have 7 kids, and they're very similar to our family. It was a tender moment when we met their son Logan (return missionary) at church. The Weaver Lake ward asked me to open up for Logan (return missionary). Before i gave my remarks the whole entire priesthood sung, "I hope they call me on a mission". It was a cool experience singing that song as a missionary, reflecting back when i was a boy thinking about a mission, then thinking about my mission experiences and how it's coming to an end. It was a big tender mercy to experience that. After the song I gave a quick 6min testimony/talk.

We're gearing up for Shani's baptism this week! We have enjoyed meeting with her and teaching her the truthfulness of the gospel. It will be a great way to go out!

We set two more baptismal dates. Jonathon and Sheim, a father and son. We're really excited about this because we've involved a recent convert -Brother Hendrickson. What a kingdom builder! He's probably the most mature man and has the most life experience in both the professional world and every day life. Missionaries tracked into him a year ago! It was actually my trainer -Elder Payne that taught him.

We've started to teach Jonathon’s Mom as well. She’s a lot more open in conversation and seems to be very interested. We're having dinner at the Hendrickson’s home Wed with Jonathon and Sheim's family. Should be good!

We have some great appointments coming up. This will be a great time for me to really finish strong and put my shoulder to the plow. We'll be meeting with a lady named Pat, and Tony and Cary will be there tonight as well. Both are super close in feeling comfortable to coming to church.

Love you all so much!

Elder Brooks Browning

Baptisms in Plymouth

Jun 18, 2012

Hey Family

Another great week in Plymouth! The work continues to go forward. I'm so grateful for the experiences i've been able to witness thus far.

Ann and Jarom were baptized last Saturday. It was a glorious day. As the baptismal service was going on i was pondering about their journey to the gospel. It was just amazing to think how far they've come from our first contact on the street to their baptism. Ann and Jarom were prepared by the Lord and i'm so grateful they were put in our path. We involved a lot of wonderful people in the Plymouth Ward and this made all of the difference. We had a good turn out with all of her fellow shippers attending the service. There was a great spirit. I was in tears as i witnessed Ann in tears after she came out of the water. These moments are precious and i will never forget them. I love this work!

Shani continues to progress. It has been a great experience working with her. She came to church for the 3rd time and loved it. We're still on track with her baptism for the 30th. She's just so prepared, and as we teach her, she understands everything. She read the entire General Conference ensign and loved it! Shani has told us countless times how the church has brought her more peace and joy. Tonight we'll be having Family Home Evening at a members home with Shani. We're excited.

We had big success with teaching this week. We went above and beyond our goals, and picked up 5 new investigators. The work continues here and i'm thrilled to see the Lords hand in our everyday work. I love the people here, and will be very sad to leave them. There isn't enough time.

Our district continues to see miracles. My testimony of the Restoration has increased greatly with following our leaders council. The Lord has to bless us as we respect his servants. We've had 4 miracle baptisms come out of thin air as we strive to follow and apply president's latest council. I'm excited to share more of these things with you later!

Have a great week! I love you all,

Elder Brooks Browning

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

Success in Plymouth

June 4, 2012

Hey Family,

It has been a great week. I must say i love the work so much. My passion for the work continues to increase, and my testimony continues to grow, I love this work!

Highlight would have to be our baptisms! Kaylee and Jeff were baptized Saturday. I'm grateful i was able to assist in the teaching process. President and Sister Clements were able to attend, and they were very impressed with the fellowship that Kaylee and Jeff had. It's always an honor to have your mission President attend a baptism. We were also able to teach the restoration at the half time show (changing period during baptism). There were some nonmembers at the baptism, so we had to deliver the spirit in a way for seeds to be planted. It's always a fun experience to teach in that setting. Kaylee and Jeff have a glow about them. Their Mom has been so pleased with the whole process, and she's happy that she's been activated into full activity.

We had leadership this last week in Bloomington. It's always intense and the spirit is always full there! I think it might be because the room is full of powerful missionaries who diligently move the work forward. We learned how to be more effective in our new accountability calls which district leaders implement.  President Clements is so inspired-- he has changed my outlook on the mission. I try to model everything after him for I look up to him so much. We have Zone Conference tomorrow so we're all looking forward to that.

Monday we went to the Twins game! It was a really good experience, and I couldn't have asked for a better ball game--great seats! The weather was perfect, and it was a pretty entertaining game. It came down to the 9th inning and the Twins pulled off a rare win! It was strange wearing normal clothes in public. =)

Elder White and I are really working hard, and we're having a lot of success. Ann and her son are doing well and are still on track to be baptized June 16th. We talked to Ann after church last Sunday and she told us she had a question answered! She's been dealing with some things and in Relief society her question was answered by the teacher who shared the lesson. I have a strong testimony that questions of the soul are answered for our investigators.

We got a solid member referral from the Hall Family. They brought their friend to church this last Sunday and she is ready to receive the gospel. We'll be teaching her for the first time in the Hall home later tonight. Super excited!!

I was thinking about Amber and JT on Friday, and i wish them the best in life.

Sorry i have to make this short, we taught a lesson today and we're helping some less-actives move.

Love you all and have a great week!

Elder B Browning