Eden Prairie!

Oct 18, 2010


Hey Family,

So as you all know, I'm in Eden Prairie. Haha I'm glad you researched this place because it's amazing! Elder Petersen is a convert to the church for 2 years! He's an amazing missionary and he's been out for 3 transfers (all in Eden Prairie). He's very organized and down to earth. He's determined about the work and has an awesome relationship with the members - I'll definitely learn a lot from him.

So Eden Prairie is a beautiful place- 50,000 is the population. We also cover Chanhassen which is about 20,000. Eden Prairie is definitely one of the nicest areas in the state of Minnesota. There is lots and lots of money here. It reminds me of Sun Valley or a Jackson WY. I'll definitely send pictures of this place. We work with members and Elder Petersen has developed that nice relationship. President Howell has told Elder Petersen "we have to treat Eden Prairie different from other areas". Tracting is not effective here so we rely on the member referrals. We work with less actives and members. And guess what? We're having a baptism this Saturday! Chelsea and Brittany ages 10 and 8. Gilbert is the father and was reactivated a couple months ago. It's a cool story how the missionaries found him. Gilbert is from west Africa, so he speaks French and English, i love his accent. There's other part member families that could be baptized in the near future. Exciting!

All of the missionaries talk about Eden Prairie and most of them are jealous of this place! So the other night, i had dinner with Fahu Tahi, starting fullback for the Minnesota Vikings (star BYU full back). Cool eh? Haha he's a way cool guy and loves feeding and having the missionaries come over. And you know me, i asked detailed behind the scenes questions about the life of a NFL player. So can you see why this is the number 1 place to live in Minnesota? Most Timber Wolves/ Viking players live in Eden Prairie. Fahu Tahi told us where Brett Farve lives and where Adrien Peterson lives. This place has serious connections! The offensive coordinator for the vikings is also in our ward (Bevett family) totally awesome! We visited their home a couple days ago. It's cool to have these connections. Speaking of awesome members, we received a counter full of food--over 200 bucks worth of food. We eat very well here.

Well family i'm loving it here. It's different from Rochester. I'm looking forward to the adventure that awaits.

I'll let you know how the baptism goes. It will be my first baptism and i was blessed to come at the right time!

I think I'll buy my big coat here. I'll make sure i take a picture of myself before i send the memory card. Thanks for the letter/package =) I love you all so much. Mom i'm glad you're feeling better! I've been praying for you and will continue to do so.

My scripture is Alma chapter 12. This chapter is amazing and explains the fall perfectly.

Love,

Elder Browning

Hello Family! Goodbye Rochester

Oct 11, 2010


Hey Family,

Thanks for the updates last week! I'm glad mom is feeling better, she's makes the top spot priority wise, all day everyday in my prayers.

So I'm getting transferred! I'm going to Eden Prairie, MN. It's actually the "heart of the mission". It's right in the center, close to the misson home. I've heard it's a car area, so I'm excited about the timing in the climate change. Don't get me wrong, i loved the bike area, but with a Minnesota winter coming around I'll take the heated seats. My companion is Elder Peterson-he's been out 4 months.

Rochester is changing for the better! We received another 8 new investigators,making a total of 15 new investigators the last 2 weeks. We also taught 21 lessons,making it the most productive week I've encountered.

Our ward mission leader said the area hasn't been able to reach the mission goal( 20 lessons) in 6 months.

Summary of Rochester 1

I'm sad to leave the area when things are picking up and the future is bright, but i know the lord needs me elsewhere. Rochester is my birth place on the mission,and I'll never forget the memories and hardships i went through. Everyday i felt i was growing in the gospel. I learned how to study the scriptures and i would say this place confirmed my testimony of scripture study--it is so important!

My patriarchal blessing says if i study diligently and feast on the scriptures, that's how I'll take my testimony to the next level. Patriarchal blessings are essential! I'm grateful i was given a great trainer to spark my mission for the better, Elder Payne is truly a wonderful Elder and he'll do great being a zone leader here. Elder Barker is great, we're very different, but I've learned to look for the positives in my companion. He's lucky to take over the area at a terrific time.

Rochester 1st ward is a wonderful ward, small in number, but big in testimony. I'll miss developing those relationships. I was also blessed to have a ward mission leader who took his calling seriously. We went joint teaching with him last week and i was impressed by the balance of love and defense for the gospel. Well time to pack my bags and begin a new chapter in Eden Prairie.

Well family, i love this gospel. It truly has changed my testimony. I thought i had a big testimony before, but i think I've tripled it in the 12 weeks i've been here. I still have a lot of things to learn, but i know with the Lords help all things are possible. My scripture for you guys this week is Jacob 4:13. It talks about the real spirit of prophecy.

Love,

Elder Browning

Conference!

Oct 4, 2010


Hey family,

So i hope you all had a wonderful week listening to conference. Our leaders are truly inspired men that have huge spiritual buckets of energy. I've seen miracles during conference weekend, I've had some hard questions and thoughts that have been bothering me, but they were answered perfectly! I would like to share some highlights of conference that i thought were helpful and straight up amazing. I have a testimony now that when we prepare to receive God's word and do all that we can to work towards our answers, he will make it known to our understanding and comprehension.

My favorite talk would have to be

Dallin H. Oaks ( Personal & Priesthood lines) (Sunday morning)

He starts out --God has given us 2 lines of communication, priesthood and personal. We need both to develop in the gospel.

The personal line is our testimony and our own witness/experiences with the gospel.

The Priesthood line is that set foundation of truth Jesus Christ, Church, Leaders ( natural laws, 10 commandments).

If our testimony isn't where we want it to be, we're failing in one of the two lines. We need a balance to bring his work.

So if we rely too much on the personal line, we let the natural mind take over our thoughts and justify commandments and lose true doctrine.

If we rely on the Priesthood line, we don't develop and grow and learn from our own experiences. I think of it as relying on your parents testimony or church leader.

We need to have both lines connect to our spiritual router for us to really progress. There are too many people in the world who rely just on the personal line. I've talked to so many people who have justified themselves so much, it seems convincing at times. That's why we have the Priesthood line, it keeps the personal line in check.

This was my favorite talk. It will help me and my foundation in missionary work for what's right and what's wrong.

October 1st we went served all day and helped some of the people with the after math flooding. We took upon ourselves white jump suits and had at it. Basically we gutted out everything from drywall to insulation. Everything was a complete mess. The flood height was 6 feet and 6 inch's of water and entire basements were underwater and some middle floors! It was a messy job to say the least. They transported us on a school bus and when we arrived it looked like a war zone. I have an idea of what Hurricane Katrina aftermath felt like. It was a small city but there was a lot of work to be done. It was cool however to see helping hands. Food and supplies were provided for the less fortunate. There was a good 300 volunteers! We helped out a lady whose basement was completely engulfed with water, we worked hard. The citizens noticed the Mormon missionaries.

We've had a great week as far as numbers. We picked up 7 new investigators and taught 13 lessons which is really good for this area. We have some promising investigators who came to the church right after the afternoon session on Saturday. Abby and Dan. Both graduated in 08, so we can relate well, and both notice how members of our church conduct themselves and really like how Mormon's live their religion everyday.

Well family i hope you're all doing well. I'm doing excellent here. Transfers are next week and i want to stay here in Rochester for another transfer. I can't believe it will be transfer number 3 for me! I've been talking to Philip Sutherin and Jeren on email! Tell Cameron and Casey to write me!

Mom i hope you're feeling better and i'm praying for you every day and night. My scripture for you guys would have to be Alma 34: 8-10 it's a beast of a scripture!

I love you guys and have a great week.

Elder Browning

Hello!

Sept 28, 2010

Dear Family,

I'm so happy to hear from you all and the happy news from you mom was great! Sounds like the Browning's have been a mad house the last day. I hope Dad had a wonderful birthday despite the chaos. I've been praying for all of you and hope you all have a happy month with conference coming up!

So the lord works in many ways, we've received a new investigator who's actually accountable! Sue,she's single and is about in her 30's. We found her while we were biking around. Yesterday we talked about how to recognize the Holy Ghost and the fruits of the Holy Ghost. John Doolittle is a recent convert to the church, and he was our joint teacher with his wife. They're our new ward missionaries.

So Minnesota has been making weather headlines. We've received a good 8 inches of rain here in Rochester. We got caught in the storm on the 22nd. Haha it came down hard! We biked for cover from the buckets of rains and wind! I felt it was a hurricane category 4! We stopped at a local K-mart and tried to save our scriptures, the rain was too much however. My scriptures have slight water damage on the top right corners--from new testament to bible dictionary. What a sad day. I bought myself a box with a lid, so that this scenario will never happen again. My slip on Ecco shoes took a pounding, after 3 days they were dry. Haha i've never been so wet from the rain! We continued to our appointment and didn't let the rain stop us from the work!

We Had a zone p-day/mini zone conference. President Howell gave some fabulous training on the core doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which was perfect for me because I've started to wonder on less important things in my studies each day. Really, all a missionary needs is the basics. I'm grateful for the lord sending me to Minnesota because i get to dig at the doctrine in my own native language--which is nice because my testimony is constantly being attacked by other faiths. The core of the gospel: Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End, are fueled on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. You can really spend all your life studying these 5 principles. So Tanner and Josh,go for the gold!

We received new phones! Wow, they're nice and we have texting! This is going to change missionary work. The church did a study with confirming appointments with a text, and they have found it to be more effective keeping appointments from falling through. These phones have a full sliding keyboard and all. I'm looking forward to the change. We also had pizza to top off the day, then played basketball!

Well Family i love you all. I've never been so excited to watch General Conference. Make sure you invite somebody to listen to the prophet of God. Listen and take notes!

Love,

Elder Browning

Re: Hello From Shelley

Sept 20, 2010

Hey Family

So i received your letter mom, and I'm very concerned about your health. That's the last thing i need on my mind! I'll fast and pray for you! I love you mom!

This week we received a bunch of potentials. Weekends are definitely for proselyting,there was actually a strip of houses we got return appointments with, cool! We'll see how this week goes as far as adding to our investigate pool. We're really trying hard to follow up with everyone we come in contact with that seems to have an interest in the gospel. Our goal this week was to receive 3 new investigators, we fell short but got a solid 1. Art is his name, really cool down to earth middle aged man that has struggled with drugs and worldly things. He's striving to change each day, and basically is willing to listen to anything we have to say. We'll be teaching him the restoration this week. As far as Stephanie, we haven't been able to make contact, so I'm afraid Satan has attacked her heart, I'll keep you updated.

Our ward activity was on the 18th. We had 9 non members attend the social out of 80 people. We were expecting double the numbers, but hey if one investigator had a good experience, we feel it was a success.Our investigator Kristina came with her friend and daughter! We had a delicious BBQ dinner with a church tour. Kristina was impressed with the church structure and I'm hoping she'll come to church next week. Kristina actually first just wanted us to come and teach her daughter about God, but we've been able to teach her as well. We'll teach her the restoration this week.

A miracle happened on the 16th. We found Quentella, a former investigator who dropped us a month ago. We've been working on the area book the last week and tracked into her new apartment. We tried her old home last sunday and nobody answered. We found out the real story why we lost contact with them. She wants the missionaries to return and visit with her. This was my first ground zero investigator, so it was a tender mercy to find them again. She actually pulled up into the driveway when we were walking back to our bikes. The Lord works in miracles.

Well family i love you all. I miss you. Let me know how the cougars are doing, I heard they lost to AF =(.

Mom i'll continue to pray for you. and i wish you the best. =)

Elder Browning

Second Week in the Transfer

Sep 13, 2010

Hey Family!

 

   So it's my second week in the transfer. Our district has changed, but we're still kicking.

 

Our new district leader is Elder Sechser, he's from grace Idaho! He's totally different from Elder Payne, but none the less a wonderful elder. He's been out 9 months and a strong cow boy attitude character. There is a new elder in the district- so I'm not the youngest anymore. It's hard being a greeny, missionaries don't give respect to the new kids on the block. Pride is the number one issue in missionary work i think. I want to make myself a promise never to be puffed up with pride when i get older and more wise.

 

We Picked up two new Investigators- Viccent is his name, way cool guy, i can totally see him as a bishop one day! We can thank the sister missionaries for the referral. It really is a team effort. Without referrals, nothing would progress. We jump on referrals like tigers on deer. President Howell  told us to treat referrals with care and be prompt to contact.  Tomorrow we're visiting a referral from temple square! 

 

Investigators are hard to retain. Stephanie hasn't answered our calls for a week. Things are not looking good. There is nothing worse in the world when your investigator makes progress then drops off the face of the earth and ignores you. Satan is real, he attacks when our investigators are almost at their peak. Luckily, the Lord is over all things, so I'm staying positive.

 

Our big ward activity is coming up this Saturday. Rochester 1st ward has been planning this for 6 months now. The dinner will be pulled pork- Bro Dali is in charge, and I've had his meat before-i'm so excited! There will also be folk band playing live music in the background. After the dinner and entertainment, there will be a simple church tour concluding with root beer floats in the gym. It's a very chill environment and us missionaries will be social butterflies. Brother Levitt is the ward misson leader, I have so much respect for this man,it will be a success.

 

I bought a jacket at JC penny, It's been getting cold. It's a 100 dollar jacket that i got for 60bucks. It was a must, i went without a jacket a couple of times in the rain/windy Minnesota climate.

 

I love you all and hope you guys have a great day/week!

 

Love, Elder Browning

Second Transfer

Sep 6, 2010

Dear Family,

 

Hey! So my second transfer is on  its way! What a crazy week its been!

 

So Sep 1 was a transfer day, we had 2 Elders leave our district. I'm grateful for my trainer -Elder Payne, he taught me so much and i do appreciate his patience with me. I met my new companion- Elder Barker. He's a way cool Elder and so far we've been getting along. It's my first experience with a new "style". I need to open my bubble for missionary work and look into different methods. Your second companion is your greeny breaker. Elder Payne warned me about the difficult stage this is for a missionary. I'm still taking pointers and ideas, but i don't want to be babied or bossed around. Elder Barker and I had a good conversation about this because i could sense a little bit of that ugly stage. I want our companionship to be awesome and i'll do everything in my power to make that happen.

 

Sep 2 was surgery day at the Mayo Clinic! Elder Payne was excited to get rid of his hernia at the world known Mayo Clinic Hospital. It really is a nice facility, and i'm a kid at a candy store walking through the spacious hallways and over looking the city on the 19th floor. Brother and Sister Moulenouxe-members of our ward- played the Dad and Mom role. I'm so happy they were able to make our day easy. They gave us rides to the hospital, bought us lunch and took care of paper work etc. I love members. They have a son who's serving a mission and well they hope someone would do the same for their son if anything happened. I hope you all do the same for missionaries in your area. It takes off the stress and makes us more efficient as missionaries. We were at the hospital from 6:30 am-3:00pm, and enjoyed our stay, relaxing in the family waiting room.

 

I'm definitely growing in the area. We met with Brother Levitt and talked mission strategy! We've been waiting to get this ward mission plan going, but we've been busy with the ward activity that's on the 18th. The ward has been putting a lot of effort into the activity and i hope its a good turn out. We'll have a really really good dinner -smoked pulled pork- with a live band playing, following a church tour for the non members. It's a non threatening activity that will help non members see our church.

 

Everyday i find myself stretching myself. It's easy to talk to everyone on the street, where as before it was a little frightening. I'll be sending some pictures that i took awhile back. We're at the church emailing today because of the holiday. I'm glad the Washington DC trip was sweet. Right now i don't have the best feelings for other religions, but i know we all worship God and need to keep him in everything we do. I started laughing when i heard about the throw up trip. I can totally see it! Just like a domino effect, once one child throws up, the next one has only a matter of time before he or she does!

 

Love,

Elder Browning