Kitten, Puppies, and Gators

Hello everyone! This week has been jam packed and I hope I can remember everything that has happened!

      So last Monday, we went to Rexburg and did the normal p-day stuff you know went shopping, got a car wash, went to the DI (where I got some shorts and a t shirt) and then we got haircuts for free! Later that night, we went to a members home and we taught a potential investigator who's husband just passed away a couple weeks ago. It has been very hard on her but finally she was willing to hear a lesson from us! We taught her the plan of Salvation and even though it was my first time teaching it, I think I did a pretty good job! She enjoyed the lesson and I know that she definitely felt the spirit! The lesson was at the Hanson's home (hes a member in the bishopric in the Perry ward) and after the lesson, they made us omelets. They were made with eggs that their chickens laid like that day. She gave me some homemade salsa and it was i think made with ghost peppers because my tongue was on fire!  Oh and while we were at Walmart earlier that day, I saw Zachary's "girlfriend" Megan standing behind us! What a small world!

     On Tuesday, we had to help sister Cole's again with cleaning her box car. A box car is like a giant train car thing that had a ton of crap it it, so the elders came to the rescue and helped her organize, throw out and it was spotless! I wish I had taken a picture of it, but I forgot my camera at the house. When we were done, she bought us subway and was very thankful for the service we helped her with. It was also very hot that day and got up to 100 degrees and its almost September! We had visits with the second ward but we just drove around and only got to talk to one less active member. We shared with him D&C 84:88 and he enjoyed it. When we were done, he showed us that his cat had 9 baby kittens! They were all so small and so cute but unfortunately, we couldn't take any home. We again went to the Cole's house and talked with them until we had to go home!

     Wednesday's we usually go to Palisades in the morning, but we found a new investigator and we taught him at the elders quorum presidents house in the Shelton ward. His name is Sy Versage and we taught him the restoration of the gospel. We both killed it and at the end we invited him to be baptized and he said YES! We didn't set a date for him to be baptized but we have another appt on this upcoming Wednesday! We then after the lesson went to Palisades and when we got there, we stopped for some famous square ice ream! Its rather odd that ice cream can be square but it was good choice for me. I got Rocky road and and starting to become like Johnny Visser and love ice cream! Again we just drove around looking for new people to teach but had nothing. We went to the Fleming's house and she made like a 5 course fajita meal and was so good! She is known for her cooking and for dessert she made straight up homemade peach pie! it was so fattening but good at the same time! I think I gained about 10 pounds just after that meal! The Palisades Ward Mission Leader and his wife also joined us for dinner and we had a great time there visiting with them.

     On Thursday we had our first Zone Conference! It went from 9 am to 3 pm but it seemed way shorter than that. The mission president and his wife spoke and gave 2 wonderful talks, we were trained by the AP's and then we had lunch! They fed us baked potatoes( of course) with chili, cheese, and salad. It was really good actually and we had cookies for dessert. We then took a big group picture with everyone in my zone. After lunch we did a little bit more training on miles, baptismal records, health and keeping our houses clean. We have another conference tomorrow with Elder Martino form the 70. For dinner later that night, we went to the Tikens and has bacon wrapped pork chops, potatoes, and corn. The wife's maiden names is Browning! I think that we are related some where down the good ole family tree! Later that night we went to the YSA ward mission leaders house and said goodbye to him. He is going back to Utah State for college and he was super cool. His name is Logan Hamilton and his family is awesome. They fed us little creases pizza!

     On to Friday where we helped out at the Ririe Senior Center again. At lunch time, we went to the Maybes house and helped them split wood. it was a lot of wood and got it done in about 3 hours or so. When we were done, sis maybe made us ice cream shakes for our hard work and indeed it was! For dinner, we went to the Rudy Ward Mission Leaders house, Brother Howard. They fixed us Nachos. Sister Howard is an Athletic Trainer and BYU-I and gave my companion some tips because he like to weight lift and work out. We tried to go visit people not no luck once again.

     Saturday was a very busy day and it also was my one month mark! Time flies. We did weekly planning and that took about half of our day. We then had to go all the way to Thane, Wyoming! Its almost 2 hours from Ririe, but we had to go there because my companion is the district leader and he had to do a baptism interview fir someone who was getting baptized. Thane is so beautiful and you can see the mountains from everywhere you are! We had a picnic dinner with the Snarr's family in the Rudy ward. We had pulled pork, corn, potato salad and for dessert we had peach pie with ice cream!

    Yesterday was Sunday and it was great! In the Shelton ward, Sister Cole's gave a talk on the atonement and she did an awesome job. We were asked to give talked in the Perry ward in 3 Sundays! I'm way excited and its a way for us to gain the members trust! we had dinner at the Boone's home and had ham, corn, and a loaded baked potatoes. Their dog had 6 baby retriever dogs and they were so small and were 2 weeks old. Brother Boone, had a 2 year old alligator in his house and I even got to hold it! Don't worry, it was very small and it was super slimy.

   Well that's all for this exciting past week! Until next time! I love you all and i'm thankful for your prayers!   

                                                                                                        

Elder Browning

Idaho Pocatello Mission * 135 South 7th Avenue * Pocatello, ID 83201

 

A note from Sister Mabey

I am Sister Mabey in the Ririe Stake.  We are happy to have your son, Elder Browning, serving in our ward/stake.  He and Elder Franks were willing to do some intense service for our family this week.  They helped to split a lot of wood. A lot!!!!  I am sending some pictures of the action and also of the cool relaxing at the end.

Elder Browning really helped our family a lot.  Thanks for being willing to share him with us in Idaho!

Enjoy the pictures.

Fires, Fires, Everywhere

    Hello everyone! This week has flew by! It just felt like yesterday I was writing you all. So lets get down to the good stuff! Last Monday after we did emails, we went to Idaho Falls, shopped at Sams Club to get a little bit of groceries. I got some toaster strudels and some chips. My companion got some eggs, milk and yogurt. We then emailed a little longer at the Rigby stake center and then we played some basketball with some of the other elders in my zone. For dinner we went to Wendy's and for all  missionaries it was half off! Being a missionary is awesome, haha. Later that night, we went to a guys house and he had a book of Mormon and a Jesus the Christ on his coffee table, so we assumed that he was already a member but as we kept talking to him, he was not a member and we asked him to read the Book of Mormon and asked him to be baptized and he said YES if he prays and comes to know if these things were true! It was so awesome and we will be working with him this week! We had an appt. this past Friday and he wasn't home which was a bummer and me and my companion were so excited to start teaching him! We'll see how it goes. 

    It's so smokey here and you cant even see the mountains. From what I have been told, there have been many fires here in Idaho causing the smoke to cover the beautiful mountains. It has been like this fir the past week and now its starting to clear up, which is a good thing! On Wednesday we went to Palisades/Swan Valley and had our first district meeting with the new district. It was a good meeting and my companion is the District Leader so we had to go there early and set up. We stayed there the rest of the day until we left at  9 pm and then went home. On Thursday, my companion and I did weekly planning and that took basically the whole day. Between weekly planning, we went to the Bowers house and grilled some pork chops, random right! Since we have to cover 9 wards, each ward has a week assigned to them to feed us dinner. On Thursday night, we went to a place called 'The Great Feeder" which was a pizza place and it was just alright. On to Friday where we again helped at the Ririe Senior Center helping the homeless and giving them food that they needed. They gave us free lunch like always which I didn't eat because I felt sick to my stomach. When we got home, I about lost it because being a missionary is hard, and not having any new people to teach is even harder. The zone leaders came over and talked with me and what they said made me feel so much better. I can feel the prayers that everyone has given me and I am very blessed to have all of you in my life! Saturday was probably the best day on the mission so far. We went to the Coles house and cut down tree branches, moved a fallen down tree, and pulled a bug(car) across the lawn and moved it to where she wanted it. We ended up staying there the whole day and we had a bonfire later that night and cooked tin foil dinners. It was so fun because that family is super cool and it made me feel right back at home, which is good! 

    Yesterday was Sunday and we went to our correlation meeting early in the morning and then went to the Bowers for lunch. They fed us 'poor man burritos' and was actually really good! All it had in it was I think beans and maybe some noodles and spaghetti sauce. We then went to our last church meeting and the YSA building and it was empty. I guess we didn't get the memo that they were having stake conference in Rexburg! Haha! We had breakfast for dinner which included hash browns, eggs and bacon and then chocolate crepes with ice cream for dinner! It was delicious! That's all I think for this week! Until next time! I thank you for your prayers and feel overwhelmed with all the support you all have showed me! I love you all and will write you all next Monday! I have a new address by the way! Please start sending them here until I tell you not too! With this new address i'm hoping that the letters or packages will get here a little quicker and so i'm not behind on some of your letters! God is Good! 

                                                                                                                     

Elder Browning

Idaho Pocatello Mission * 135 South 7th Avenue * Pocatello, ID 83201

 

Idaho is Beautiful!!

So i'm here in the wonderful land of Idaho or as Lynda Clark would call it, "God's Country". Idaho is absolutely amazing. So when we got to the mission home, the mission president and his wife fed us super well. They had ham, salad green been casserole, rolls and of course baked potatoes. Three people in my district stayed at an old members home which was really nice of them. The next morning they fed us breakfast too and it was really good. Many of you are probably wondering what area I'm serving in at I'm in a small town named Ririe. (its pronounced Rye-Ree). It has a population of about 660 people but we cover a whole lot of area. My companion and I cover 9 wards and its a lot of farm land but the people are good to us. Members feed us every single night of the week except Mondays of course and when I say they feed us, they really do. They make sure that their missionaries are stuffed and ready to explode!  So when I got here, my companion and I (Elder Franks and 27 years old) went to Walmart to get some groceries for myself and when we were in the check-out, a guy that was waiting behind us starting taking to us and he was a member. He then out the blue said that he would pay for the both of our groceries. It was such a blessing for the both of us and nice people do exist. Later that night we went to a members home and they fed us pork chops with corn on the cob, potato salad, and apple sauce. They lived out in the country and their view in the front yard was the mountains. I could get used to see those everyday. On our way home we stopped for ice cream and i got me some huckleberry! It was so good! Me and my companion live in our own house and its a little run down place but we make it work. Our house is across the street from one of our church buildings. In the Ririe, it only has 2 gas stations and a Mexican restaurant, which is actually super good and cheap. We haven't had anyone to teach or asked anyone to be baptized yet because we are in a rut. But I hope this week goes by much better and we can find those people that are willing to hear our message.

        Every Friday we help out in town at a food drive for the people who are in need. It was so much fun seeing the smile on peoples faces as we talked with them about whatever. And then on Saturday, we had to go to Menan and help with peaches. So we had like 100 crates of fresh peaches in the parking lot of the church and we had to put them in this 5 gallon crate, weigh them, and then put them in boxes for people who ordered them. One crate of peaches was half a bushel which made 2 crates one full bushel. We got there at 8 in the morning and got done around 1 in the afternoon. I was so itchy by the end of the day from all the peach fuzz and as soon as we got home, we both showered and it felt so good to be clean!

        Well I think that is all I have for this week. I have some pictures for everyone to see and what I've been up too! Until next time! I love you all and i'm grateful for your support and for all who keeps me in their prayers. I can see the blessings pour in from those who pray for me! 

Elder Browning

Idaho Pocatello Mission * 135 South 7th Avenue * Pocatello, ID 83201

My MTC teacher; Brother Mills( he reminds me of Nick Onyszczak)

 Carlo Banez's brother

 The beautiful mountains of Idaho. This was the front yard of a members house we ate at.

There are cats everywhere here and this picture is for Travon Visser.

My First P-day and First e-mail home.

The mission field is full of firsts and I am glad to share these two first with you all.  Hello everyone! I'm here at the MTC and its awesome! The food here is great and its nice to get fed 3 times a day. Our district had to wait until this Thursday for our p-day so here I am writing all of you! My district is awesome and my companion is alright and his name is Elder Cooper and is from Arizona. My teacher for our classroom is Brother Mills and he reminds me of Nick Onyszczak but a little less awkward. So our district (44-D) is the bomb. We get along so well for only knowing each other for a week. One of the sisters in our district had to go home because she was really depressed and so now we only have one solo sister who is doing really well without a companion. I sleep on the top bunk which is super nice because nobody can try to mess with me. On Tuesday night we had a devotional later that night and the speaker was..... Russell M. Nelson (the new president of the quorum of the 12 apostles!) He and his wife both spoke and they both did an awesome job. We sat really close to the front which was super nice because I could really feel the spirit. This morning we had the opportunity to go the the temple and do an endowment session! It was way cool and the Provo temple is actually really nice and super big. I know there's a whole lot more to talk about but I'm running short on time!

I love you all and cannot begin to thank you for keeping me in your prayers and for all the love and support you have given me. Ill send pictures next week because I don't have a converter for my SD card!

 

 Elder Browning