Dear Family,
 
Yes, I did get my Thanksgiving package. Thank you. I enjoyed it. :) I especially love the tie. On that same note, a few weeks ago, the family down in St. George sent me a package of delicious goodies and athlete's foot medicine, for which I am most grateful. I do not recall if I mentioned it in my email that week or not. And I'm not sure who specifically was responsible for it. So, at any rate, whoever sent it, Thank you!
 
On  that note of gratitude I would like to thank all of you for your prayers, packages, letters, and general support to me. It means so much to me that people back home are supporting me. It makes my burden so much easier to bear. Thank you. :)
 
I had a great Thanksgiving. First, we ate at noon at the church. They provided a meal for anyone that had nowhere to go. It was really good. That evening we went to a lady named Khouanh's house. She had tons of friends and family, many of which were non-members. So it was good interaction with them.
 
It has been raining here. Raining and raining and raining. No snow though. I doubt if we'll have any this year. But you never know. The weather  here is insane. I still want to see an ice-storm. :)
 
I have really appreciated the Sweaters you sent me last year. They have been very nice to have.
 
As far as a picture, I will try to get one off. That will give me an excuse to send home a package of excess "shtuff" that I don't need to lug around. :) So that'll be nice. Sometime in the next couple weeks I will also send a Christmas package home, which you must not open 'til Christmas. :) I hope you'll enjoy it. It should have some good stuff, if everything works out as planned. :)
 
I have been reading the New Testament as well, Dad. I'm in the middle of John. I prefer Luke and John. Not a big fan of Mark. I find it boring, haha. It has a few gems that the other Gospels do not, though.
I don't know what you could get me for Christmas. I don't need anything that I can't get. The money would more wisely be spent on others. Or saving it for when I get home and need new stuff. I just already have too much stuff. Ties would be nice, though, if you find any awesome ones by chance. Candy is always welcome, of course. :) (I have a HUGE supply of tuna now, though, so we can hold off on that for awhile).
I don't have much else to talk about right now. Missionary life is missionary life. And I love it. I hope you all have a great week and that you take the opportunity to go to the temple and worship the Lord this Holiday season!
 
Love,
Elder Bracken

Dear Family,

Yes, Mom, we're eating at someone's house on Thanksgiving! :) We'll be fine! :)

We did buy a little 3-footer tree. We already set it up, haha. It's a nice little tree. I've taken plenty of pictures of it, which you'll see sooner or later, haha.

As far as Christmas goes, I will think about that. I really don't need a whole lot. New ties are always welcome of course, if you can find any awesome ones.(my taste in ties has changed a lot on my mission as well). I could use a new watch. I stopped wearing mine. It was giving me a rash. It's starting to rust, so I think that's probably what was irritating my skin. So I'm not wearing it anymore. I think I'm fine with clothing, really. Not a problem there, really. I only need(and can only haul around) so much. One thing I've seen that I want really badly is this Book of Mormon. It's a replica of the 1830 edition. I have no idea where you'd get one. The church doesn't sell them(on their website at least). It's really cool though. If you happen across one of them, I would love that.

I would LOVE a copy of that Elder Holland talk. I don't THINK I have that one. I have a fairly large collection of Elder Holland talks. He's a missionary favorite. I'm a fan, for sure.

BTW, did you ever get to watch any of the Preach My Gospel DVD's I sent home? If so, what did you think?

Yeah, I remember Kevin Laws from High School. I didn't know him all that well, though.

I can't believe how fast time is going. It makes me sick. One of my Zone Leaders just went home at the end of his mission. He was texting a member in the ward here and, apparently, he HATES being home. I don't blame him. I wish time could just slow down a little. I love being a missionary.

We had a cool ward activity last week. This Women's choir from the local University came and put on a concert. It was pretty cool. There was also a Bell Choir and some Irish Dancers. It was interesting.

Well, I had better get going. I hope y'all have a wonderful holiday! Go to the temple!

Love,
Elder Bracken

Dear Family,
 
So, we got transfer calls on Saturday. Strange things happened. Firstly, Elder Rowley and I are staying together at least another 6 weeks(I predicted that). Also, I was assigned to be a District Leader. The Spanish area is being semi-dissolved. Elder Lloyd is leaving, and no one is replacing him! So, Elder Bartholomew is going to be in a Tri-panionship(as it is coloquially known) with the other Ft. Smith English Elders, who are the Zone Leaders. This presents a problem. The Zone Leaders are usually out attending other District Meetings. So for probably 2 out of 3 weeks this leaves Elder Rowley and I alone with 2 sister missionaries for District Meeting. So, we're going to have to do a lot of planning and scheduling to make sure that the Zone Leaders or at least Elder Bartholomew can be there at every district meeting in order to keep things appropriate.
 
So that's the news.
 
Last week I bought the Mannheim Steamroller 25th Anniversary Christmas Collection. It's AWESOME! I don't know how I survived last Christmas without this stuff. On a related note, today I'm going to get a 3 foot or so Christmas Tree for our Apartment. We don't have one, sadly. That needs to be fixed. So I'll pick one up at Wal-Mart today. We were looking at them last week, but I didn't want to pay for one until I knew 100% for sure that I wasn't going to be transferred, haha.
 
That's the big excitement, really.
 
We had the Primary Program yesterday. It was SO good! I love the Primary Program. Best Sunday of the year, I think. It's the only church meeting where you are GUARANTEED to feel the Spirit, I think. :) Unfortunately, we had no investigators present. I was upset about that. But that's how it goes sometimes. We really need to find some new investigators. Our current ones aren't going anywhere fast. We're doing our best to help them progress, but you can't force them.
 
So, suprise! I like Pumpkin Pie now. Weird, huh? I baked one of my own the other day. It was very good. It's interesting how your tastes change as you grow. You'd be surprised what I like now. Still not fruit though, haha. Though I do enjoy canteloupe on occasion, in small doses. The other day I tried Honeydew, and it was similar to canteloupe. I enjoyed that as well.
 
 
I would like to bear you my testimony briefly that I know the Church is true. I know that if we follow the counsel of the Living Prophets, we will be led to safety. I know that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and that he arose 3 days later, granting us immortality and the opportunity to have eternal life. I know that through the ordinances of the Temple, families can indeed live together in love and harmony for time and all eternity. I know that God lives and loves each of us, and I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
 
Love,
Elder Bracken

Dear Family,
 
Great to hear from you, as always!
 
Sorry I didn't email yesterday. We had Zone Conference. It was really good. It was all about Following the Spirit, setting Baptismal Dates with investigators, and How to Begin Teaching. I really enjoyed it. Excellent conference.
 
Last week we went to the local Used Book Store. We found some interesting gems there. A number of copies of the Book of Mormon(a couple of which were fairly old). Articles of Faith by James E Talmage. A Marvelous Work and a Wonder by Legrande Richards(I bought those last two). Several Teachings of the Presidents of the Church manuals. Volume 3 of Teachings of President Brigham Young(Elder Rowley got that one). It was cool. :) I love the Gospel! :) I just can't learn enough about it! Every time I learn something knew, it just makes me hunger and thirst after more knowledge. It's incredible. I want to know the Gospel better than anyone(with the possible exception of General Auhtorites because they have access to things that I don't, haha. In fact I'm fairly certain that the Church is already in possession of the records of the Lost Tribes of Israel, but that's totally beside the point :P )
 
As far as things you could tell Caitlin about my Companion: He's a little shy. He loves basketball. He's smart and has a strong testimony.
 
We had homemade Fried Chicken the other day. It was SO good! :) Fried Chicken is probably my favorite food.
 
I don't know what else to say this week. So far, I'm getting along fine without my home card, but we'll see what exactly I'll be eating at the end of the month. Probably Top Ramen. Haha.
 
Well, have a good week! Go to the Temple!
 
Love,
Elder Bracken

Dear Family,

Mom, you're not old yet! Old is 50, remember? :) (I'm so glad I'm gonna be home for Dad to turn old haha)

So yeah, the whole debit card thing, that was a surprise and a half. We went to this Restaurant called The Cuban Grill. I've never had Cuban food before(to my knowledge) and wanted to try it. It was just okay. But anyways I went to the cash register to pay for it. I whipped out my trusty debit card and.... it wasn't there. That's weird. So I looked through all the other slots really fast, a red alert going off in my mind. I handed the guy my missionary card silently praying that our November allotment had come in early. It went through, hallelujah! So, we were on foot(short on miles) and as we were walking home I called President Merkley to tell him. He said he would call you. I was afraid you'd have a heart attack when you realized who it was. I'm glad you didn't. :) It's funny. On the back of the card it has a 1-800 number to call if it is lost or stolen(that's useful....not). My entire mission I've had this feeling that I needed to write down the phone number just in case. I didn't.
And look what happened. I'm just glad no one used it. What I'm fairly certain happened is that I didn't take the card when I used the ATM on Tuesday(I was getting cash to pay an alteration shop for fixing several torn pairs of pants). I believe those machines are programmed to "eat" the card if it is left there for too long. It's probably in the machine right now. Oh well. It's cancelled now. Maybe now I'll learn how to live on a budget for reals haha. Ya know, the other thing that has always been in the back of my mind is that my card would've expired a month and 6 days before I go home, which would be awful. That's when I would need it the most to send stuff home.

Thank you for the package! I am excited to see the basement. :) I hope it's going well. Also, you need to get a couch like the Pyle's have for the basement. It's perfect.

Last Friday there was a Halloween party/Chili cookoff for the ward here. We came wearing these REALLY wide ties for our costume. The Zone Leaders one-upped us though. They came as the Book of Mormon and the Holy Bible. The got boxes, cut out holes for their faces and arms, painted them blue, and painted on the titles of the books on it. They were a big hit. It was a good idea, I gotta say. Then won the best overall costume award, I think. They also on the Spiciest Chili award. I didn't have our chili recipe and was too cheap/poor to make some, really. Plus we don't have a crock pot in this area. So, our entry was a can of Great Value Chili with Beans. We just opened it and sat it on the table next to all of the crock pots. :)

Saturday we played basketball with the other missionaries and some of their recent converts/less actives. It was VIOLENT. I'm still sore. See, I discovered something. I'm really really big. So I can just kind of.....tackle people, if I want the ball. :) And there's no fouls in Church Ball. Instead of Church Ball we should just call it smeer the queer. It was fun, at any rate.

Congratulations to Frazier! I'm not gonna have any single cousins by the time I get home haha. Oh, on that note, I'm trying to hook my companion up with Caitlin. We both wrote her a letter. She hasn't written back yet. You should tell her to. :)
I bought a copy of the Apocrypha at a Christian Book Store last week. I read a little bit of it. It was interesting. I read the First Book of the Maccabees. It mentions Jews recording events on Brass Tables. Hmmmmm..... :)

We also went to Parley P. Pratt's Gravesite last week. That was really cool. I liked it alot.

Well, I hope you all have a good week and that you take some time out of your busy schedule to go to the temple. :) Talk to you next week!

Love,
Elder Bracken

Dear Family,
 
Mom, you're not old yet! Old is 50, remember? :) (I'm so glad I'm gonna be home for Dad to turn old haha)
 
So yeah, the whole debit card thing, that was a surprise and a half. We went to this Restaurant called The Cuban Grill. I've never had Cuban food before(to my knowledge) and wanted to try it. It was just okay. But anyways I went to the cash register to pay for it. I whipped out my trusty debit card and.... it wasn't there. That's weird. So I looked through all the other slots really fast, a red alert going off in my mind. I handed the guy my missionary card silently praying that our November allotment had come in early. It went through, hallelujah! So, we were on foot(short on miles) and as we were walking home I called President Merkley to tell him. He said he would call you. I was afraid you'd have a heart attack when you realized who it was. I'm glad you didn't. :) It's funny. On the back of the card it has a 1-800 number to call if it is lost or stolen(that's useful....not). My entire mission I've had this feeling that I needed to write down the phone number just in case. I didn't.
And look what happened. I'm just glad no one used it. What I'm fairly certain happened is that I didn't take the card when I used the ATM on Tuesday(I was getting cash to pay an alteration shop for fixing several torn pairs of pants). I believe those machines are programmed to "eat" the card if it is left there for too long. It's probably in the machine right now. Oh well. It's cancelled now. Maybe now I'll learn how to live on a budget for reals haha. Ya know, the other thing that has always been in the back of my mind is that my card would've expired a month and 6 days before I go home, which would be awful. That's when I would need it the most to send stuff home. [don't blog]I have always been worried I've been such a great financial burden on you. I guess not. You've redone the backyard and finished the basement. You must not be doing to bad. I wouldn't be surprised if you picked me up from the airport in a new Camaro, haha. :) [end]
 
Thank you for the package! I am excited to see the basement. :) I hope it's going well. But, why in the world would Bro. Warner do finish carpentry and THEN painting?
 
Also, you need to get a couch like the Pyle's have for the basement. It's perfect.
 
Last Friday there was a Halloween party/Chili cookoff for the ward here. We came wearing these REALLY wide ties for our costume. The Zone Leaders one-upped us though. They came as the Book of Mormon and the Holy Bible. The got boxes, cut out holes for their faces and arms, painted them blue, and painted on the titles of the books on it. They were a big hit. It was a good idea, I gotta say. Then won the best overall costume award, I think. They also on the Spiciest Chili award. I didn't have our chili recipe and was too cheap/poor to make some, really. Plus we don't have a crock pot in this area. So, our entry was a can of Great Value Chili with Beans. We just opened it and sat it on the table next to all of the crock pots. :)
 
Saturday we played basketball with the other missionaries and some of their recent converts/less actives. It was VIOLENT. I'm still sore. See, I discovered something. I'm really really big. So I can just kind of.....tackle people, if I want the ball. :) And there's no fouls in Church Ball. Instead of Church Ball we should just call it smeer the queer. It was fun, at any rate.
 
Congratulations to Frazier! I'm not gonna have any single cousins by the time I get home haha. Oh, on that note, I'm trying to hook my companion up with Caitlin. We both wrote her a letter. She hasn't written back yet. You should tell her to. :)
I bought a copy of the Apocrypha at a Christian Book Store last week. I read a little bit of it. It was interesting. I read the First Book of the Maccabees. It mentions Jews recording events on Brass Tables. Hmmmmm..... :)
 
We also went to Parley P. Pratt's Gravesite last week. That was really cool. I liked it alot.
 
Well, I hope you all have a good week and that you take some time out of your busy schedule to go to the temple. :) Talk to you next week!
 
Love,
Elder Bracken