Dear Family,
Well, I will see you Friday. I hope you aren't disappointed. haha.
Instead of a weekly update on my life, I would like to simple offer you my testimony:
I know the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. It has changed me forever. I am not the same person I used to be. The Savior has changed me slowly, bit by bit, to become more of what He wants me to be. He will do that for all of us, we must simply strive to Humble. I am so much happier now that I have committed myself to following Him. I don't always know what lies ahead. I almost never do, actually. But I'm okay with that. I know He is in control. I'd rather not know what's going to happen, with him in control, than know what's going to happen while I'm in control. I know that God, our Father, lives. He is LITERALLY our Father. He does everything in His Almighty Power to bless us and teach us. We are truly in training for greater things than any of us have ever imagined. This life is so short. So temporary. Let us not waste it. Let us not squander it. Let us press forward, feasting upon the words of Christ. Let us always remember that Eternity is not far away. We are here for such a small moment. We must do our very best to learn of and follow our Savior. If we do this, we will find ourselves soon embraced in the Savior's loving arms of mercy, surrounded with friends, family, loved ones, light, truth, and glory. It is so close. So close. I love you all very much. I can never repay you for your support and thought and prayers and sacrifice. May the Lord bless you and keep you, is my hope and prayer in the holy name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Love,
Elder Bracken
Monday, May 2, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Dear Family,
Well, I am glad to hear that things are going so well. I am a bit concerned, though. You are both putting way too much on your plate, at least from where I can see. Why are you doing that? Have you never seen What About Bob? Baby steps. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Do things a little here, and a little there. The house wasn't built in a day, and it surely won't be remodeled in a day. Your first grandbaby is en route, and your last child is about to return home from his mission. You just bought a brand new vehicle. You've landscaped the backyard and planted bulbs(GASP!). You've finished the basement, and now you're redoing the whole upstairs. This is a tad concerning. Why don't you wait for me to come home so I can help you with some of these things? Rome wasn't built in a day you know. When we read the accounts of the Creation of the World, God Himself took a great deal of time to make this wonderful Earth. He did things systematically, in wisdom and in order. He even took time to rest. There are principles here which we can and must follow, for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength.
So, we heckled a preacher this last week. It was great fun. We had our District Meeting(my last District Meeting. Weird.) at the Institute as we usually do. Afterwards, a member from the Singles Ward showed up and told us that there was a Preacher preaching at MSU campus. So we walked over there with him. It was only like a block and a half away. He was at the Public Speech podium thingy. He was yelling at everyone and telling them they were going to Hell. I had some fun asking him questions, but we left because it was cold. It didn't stop him, but it did entertain us. The young man from the Singles Ward tried to give him a Book of Mormon, but he wouldn't accept one. The Zone Leaders talked for a good while with a young man there who was fairly interested. Hopefully he will come to church sometime soon and check it out.
We had an entertaining prank the other day. I was on exchanges with Elder Argyle(one of the Zone Leaders). We got back in at about 8:45 p.m. Elder Bell and Elder Fellows weren't back yet. Somehow, I still don't know how, we came up with a brilliant idea. We tore apart the front room, knocked a bunch of stuff over, turned off all the lights, and left the front door a little open. We went into Elder Bell and I's bedroom. After a few minutes we heard them pulling in. They were talking as they walked up the steps, but as soon as they got to where they could see the front door, they went silent. They slowly pushed the door open and turned on the light. After a few moments of silence, we hear Elder Bell shout, "WHO'S IN THIS HOUSE???" and we hear a loud "CRACK!"(which turned out to be Elder Fellows kicking in the bathroom door) and we see Elder Fellows run into his bedroom with a Baseball Bat. It was hilarious. We burst out laughing. They weren't very pleased with us, haha. Later, Elder Fellows took a Sharpie and labeled the Baseball Bat "THE LORD'S JUSTICE."
Well, I had better get going. Have a good one!
Love,
Elder Bracken
Well, I am glad to hear that things are going so well. I am a bit concerned, though. You are both putting way too much on your plate, at least from where I can see. Why are you doing that? Have you never seen What About Bob? Baby steps. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Do things a little here, and a little there. The house wasn't built in a day, and it surely won't be remodeled in a day. Your first grandbaby is en route, and your last child is about to return home from his mission. You just bought a brand new vehicle. You've landscaped the backyard and planted bulbs(GASP!). You've finished the basement, and now you're redoing the whole upstairs. This is a tad concerning. Why don't you wait for me to come home so I can help you with some of these things? Rome wasn't built in a day you know. When we read the accounts of the Creation of the World, God Himself took a great deal of time to make this wonderful Earth. He did things systematically, in wisdom and in order. He even took time to rest. There are principles here which we can and must follow, for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength.
So, we heckled a preacher this last week. It was great fun. We had our District Meeting(my last District Meeting. Weird.) at the Institute as we usually do. Afterwards, a member from the Singles Ward showed up and told us that there was a Preacher preaching at MSU campus. So we walked over there with him. It was only like a block and a half away. He was at the Public Speech podium thingy. He was yelling at everyone and telling them they were going to Hell. I had some fun asking him questions, but we left because it was cold. It didn't stop him, but it did entertain us. The young man from the Singles Ward tried to give him a Book of Mormon, but he wouldn't accept one. The Zone Leaders talked for a good while with a young man there who was fairly interested. Hopefully he will come to church sometime soon and check it out.
We had an entertaining prank the other day. I was on exchanges with Elder Argyle(one of the Zone Leaders). We got back in at about 8:45 p.m. Elder Bell and Elder Fellows weren't back yet. Somehow, I still don't know how, we came up with a brilliant idea. We tore apart the front room, knocked a bunch of stuff over, turned off all the lights, and left the front door a little open. We went into Elder Bell and I's bedroom. After a few minutes we heard them pulling in. They were talking as they walked up the steps, but as soon as they got to where they could see the front door, they went silent. They slowly pushed the door open and turned on the light. After a few moments of silence, we hear Elder Bell shout, "WHO'S IN THIS HOUSE???" and we hear a loud "CRACK!"(which turned out to be Elder Fellows kicking in the bathroom door) and we see Elder Fellows run into his bedroom with a Baseball Bat. It was hilarious. We burst out laughing. They weren't very pleased with us, haha. Later, Elder Fellows took a Sharpie and labeled the Baseball Bat "THE LORD'S JUSTICE."
Well, I had better get going. Have a good one!
Love,
Elder Bracken
Monday, April 18, 2011
We had a lot of fun tracting yesterday. We did a lot of tracting, but we had a lot of success. Many people wanted us to come back. It was weird how we ended up in this one neighborhood with nothing to do except tract for a couple of hours, but the Lord's hand is truly in all things. We were meant to be there at that exact time and place. I love little miracles like that I am very grateful to be a missionary.
I do not want to go home. Early on in my mission, Missionaries would always say how they never want to leave their mission, that it's the best time of their life, that they have little desire to go home, really. I always thought they were nuts. But I understand how they feel. Well, have a good week.
Love,
Elder Bracken
I do not want to go home. Early on in my mission, Missionaries would always say how they never want to leave their mission, that it's the best time of their life, that they have little desire to go home, really. I always thought they were nuts. But I understand how they feel. Well, have a good week.
Love,
Elder Bracken
Monday, April 11, 2011
Dear Family,
It's good to hear from you!(as always, of course). I'll be very excited for that package. The only question that remains is, will I share with the other Elders in the Apartment? :) haha And you are correct, Mom. Meat is indeed, better than chocolate.
Wow. Sounds like I have a busy schedule ahead of me when I get home. I've told you my plan right? We can bag the restaurant idea I suppose. But I do still want to go straight to the temple and do a session when I get out of the airport.
As far as speaking in church, I don't think it would be appropriate for me to be the only speaker. I can take as much time as is needed, but there should at LEAST be a Youth Speaker. No one should have to listen to me yack for 30-40 minutes. And has he assigned me a topic yet?
Well, I don't know that there's too much to report this week. Our area is pretty slow right now, but we're working hard to find people to teach.
As far as food goes, I did try my first Beer Bratwurst. It was good. I still prefer Cheese Brats though. And I still prefer traditional "weiners" over that. Speaking of this, I'm reminded. Still thinking of getting a Smoker?
Oh, haha. Our Assistants have created a "Contraband" list.(I don't think they know they definition of that word). If we have pocketknives, novels, magazines, D&D material, Pokemon Cards, or anything like unto it, they are supposed to confiscate it. I'm going to have some fun with this when the Assistants come on exchanges with the Zone Leaders. haha. :)
We had a District Leader Training meeting with President Merkley. It was fun. Mostly just talking about how to perform baptismal interviews and such. But afterwards he and Sister Merkley took us to Steak N' Shake, a nice burger joint they have out here. I enjoyed it. I wish I would've discovered how good(and reasonably priced) this place was earlier.
I'm sending home a couple of packages of stuff so I will have more space and less weight in my luggage. I also bought some things from Church Distribution. I felt I should get it now while these things are important to me. I greatly fear losing my perspective when I go home. But I will do my very best not too.
Have a great week family!
Love,
Elder Bracken
It's good to hear from you!(as always, of course). I'll be very excited for that package. The only question that remains is, will I share with the other Elders in the Apartment? :) haha And you are correct, Mom. Meat is indeed, better than chocolate.
Wow. Sounds like I have a busy schedule ahead of me when I get home. I've told you my plan right? We can bag the restaurant idea I suppose. But I do still want to go straight to the temple and do a session when I get out of the airport.
As far as speaking in church, I don't think it would be appropriate for me to be the only speaker. I can take as much time as is needed, but there should at LEAST be a Youth Speaker. No one should have to listen to me yack for 30-40 minutes. And has he assigned me a topic yet?
Well, I don't know that there's too much to report this week. Our area is pretty slow right now, but we're working hard to find people to teach.
As far as food goes, I did try my first Beer Bratwurst. It was good. I still prefer Cheese Brats though. And I still prefer traditional "weiners" over that. Speaking of this, I'm reminded. Still thinking of getting a Smoker?
Oh, haha. Our Assistants have created a "Contraband" list.(I don't think they know they definition of that word). If we have pocketknives, novels, magazines, D&D material, Pokemon Cards, or anything like unto it, they are supposed to confiscate it. I'm going to have some fun with this when the Assistants come on exchanges with the Zone Leaders. haha. :)
We had a District Leader Training meeting with President Merkley. It was fun. Mostly just talking about how to perform baptismal interviews and such. But afterwards he and Sister Merkley took us to Steak N' Shake, a nice burger joint they have out here. I enjoyed it. I wish I would've discovered how good(and reasonably priced) this place was earlier.
I'm sending home a couple of packages of stuff so I will have more space and less weight in my luggage. I also bought some things from Church Distribution. I felt I should get it now while these things are important to me. I greatly fear losing my perspective when I go home. But I will do my very best not too.
Have a great week family!
Love,
Elder Bracken
Monday, April 4, 2011
Dear Family,
It's been a good weekend! I LOVE General Conference! And no, Mom, we haven't had bad weather. It's been really, really warm actually.
Saturday we spent the morning and afternoon at a members house. There were tons of members there having a barbecue. The food was great, but I hardly got anything out of Conference that day. I really want to watch Conference at the Church from now on. I can feel the Spirit so much more that way.
Priesthood Session was fantastic. I loved it. Pres. Monson's talk was my favorite. It was a smackdown. And oh boy were there a lot of talks about marriage. I get the hint, haha.
I enjoyed all of conference. It was great.
Well, I had better get going. Have a wonderful week, family!
Love,
Elder Bracken
It's been a good weekend! I LOVE General Conference! And no, Mom, we haven't had bad weather. It's been really, really warm actually.
Saturday we spent the morning and afternoon at a members house. There were tons of members there having a barbecue. The food was great, but I hardly got anything out of Conference that day. I really want to watch Conference at the Church from now on. I can feel the Spirit so much more that way.
Priesthood Session was fantastic. I loved it. Pres. Monson's talk was my favorite. It was a smackdown. And oh boy were there a lot of talks about marriage. I get the hint, haha.
I enjoyed all of conference. It was great.
Well, I had better get going. Have a wonderful week, family!
Love,
Elder Bracken
Monday, March 28, 2011
Dear Family,
My companion's name is Elder Cory Bell. He is from West Valley City, Utah. Weird, eh? He went to Granger, not Hunter. We didn't know each other. He's a good kid though. I love serving with him. So far he doesn't know how long I have left. We'll see how long it lasts. On that note, as far as when or how I ship my bike home, I have NO idea how that works. All I know is that I have to do it haha.
Nothing too exciting has happened this week. Been just a regular old week, besides transfers. And I'm okay with that.
Well, have a great week, everyone! Go to the temple often!
Love,
Elder Bracken
My companion's name is Elder Cory Bell. He is from West Valley City, Utah. Weird, eh? He went to Granger, not Hunter. We didn't know each other. He's a good kid though. I love serving with him. So far he doesn't know how long I have left. We'll see how long it lasts. On that note, as far as when or how I ship my bike home, I have NO idea how that works. All I know is that I have to do it haha.
Nothing too exciting has happened this week. Been just a regular old week, besides transfers. And I'm okay with that.
Well, have a great week, everyone! Go to the temple often!
Love,
Elder Bracken
Monday, March 21, 2011
Dear Family,
So, here's the big news. I'm training again! yay! I get a brand new greenie on Thursday! The trick is, I was expressly commanded by President Merkley that I am not to let this new missionary know that I am about to go home. So it's going to be interesting trying to explain everything.... Like when I ship my bike home. That'll be fun trying to explain haha.
Elder Gardner is going to the Springfield South Stake as a Senior Companion. Just a hop, skip, and a jump away. I am very excited for him and proud of him.
Yesterday our Ward Mission Leader Barbecued for us. Ribs and Chicken. It was SO good! Mashed Potatoes. Peas(the world's most frustrating food to eat). Fruit(I skipped that). Pumpkin Pie for dessert. It was AWESOME. At the end of May the Ward here is having a BBQ contest..... Maybe I'll have to come back and tour the mission then..... I can't wait to go home, get a smoker, and get serious about BBQ! Yum!
Last night we went to a Member's house so Elder Gardner could say goodbye to them. They had rented a Dodge Challenger because the Mom and Dad went on a little mini-vacation this weekend. The Dad gave Elder Gardner and I a quick spin around the block in it. Boy that thing was awesome! And he only had a 6 cylinder!(which gets 27 MPG on the highway, by the way) I can't imagine how much giddy-up the the V8 has. You should go test-drive one, Mom. :) You'd like it.
Saturday we went to a Baptism for the University Ward. The guy who was conducting the meeting wasn't able to make it, so they had me do it. So that was kind of fun. I always a love a Baptism.
That's all the exciting news, I suppose. Other than that it's been a normal week as a missionary. Nothing too mind-blowing has happened.
I hope that y'all have a good week! Go to the temple if you can!(and we all know that we can if we just make time)
Love,
Elder Bracken
So, here's the big news. I'm training again! yay! I get a brand new greenie on Thursday! The trick is, I was expressly commanded by President Merkley that I am not to let this new missionary know that I am about to go home. So it's going to be interesting trying to explain everything.... Like when I ship my bike home. That'll be fun trying to explain haha.
Elder Gardner is going to the Springfield South Stake as a Senior Companion. Just a hop, skip, and a jump away. I am very excited for him and proud of him.
Yesterday our Ward Mission Leader Barbecued for us. Ribs and Chicken. It was SO good! Mashed Potatoes. Peas(the world's most frustrating food to eat). Fruit(I skipped that). Pumpkin Pie for dessert. It was AWESOME. At the end of May the Ward here is having a BBQ contest..... Maybe I'll have to come back and tour the mission then..... I can't wait to go home, get a smoker, and get serious about BBQ! Yum!
Last night we went to a Member's house so Elder Gardner could say goodbye to them. They had rented a Dodge Challenger because the Mom and Dad went on a little mini-vacation this weekend. The Dad gave Elder Gardner and I a quick spin around the block in it. Boy that thing was awesome! And he only had a 6 cylinder!(which gets 27 MPG on the highway, by the way) I can't imagine how much giddy-up the the V8 has. You should go test-drive one, Mom. :) You'd like it.
Saturday we went to a Baptism for the University Ward. The guy who was conducting the meeting wasn't able to make it, so they had me do it. So that was kind of fun. I always a love a Baptism.
That's all the exciting news, I suppose. Other than that it's been a normal week as a missionary. Nothing too mind-blowing has happened.
I hope that y'all have a good week! Go to the temple if you can!(and we all know that we can if we just make time)
Love,
Elder Bracken
Monday, March 14, 2011
Dear Family,
We had a baptism this week! That was AWESOME! I loved it.Christina got baptized. It was a wonderful thing to be a part of. Very rewarding as a missionary to see someone you teach progress so far. I was the Chorister for the Baptism, by the way.
So, today we went to Branson! It was AWESOME!!! We had the Springfield and Springfield South Zones all combined together. First we had a meeting for about an hour being instructed by the Zone Leaders. Then we went and saw the Hughes Brothers. It was a great show. I thoroughly enjoyed it. They let us in for free, gave us free candy, gave us a free CD(and I bought some CD's of another LDS group called Six, who are fantastic). Very fun experience.
We then(about 12 of us) headed to Lambert's Cafe. It was very good. Throwed Rolls. Fried Okra. Black-eyed Peas. By the fistfull. I had Grilled Pork Steaks. I ate 1 1/2, and Elder Gardner ate 1 1/2 as well. I am VERY full. I LOVE Pork Steaks, by the way. I'm not sure if I've told you that or not. I don't think I had ever had any before my mission, but it's one of my favorite meat products now.
The other good news is that a member is giving me a Box Spring. I gave mine to one of the Sister Missionaries who apparently did not have one. I haven't slept very good since. But I'm getting a new one soon! yay! I should be sleeping good now!
I'm finally getting over my cold that I've had the last week or two. It's been annoying. Mostly it has made me really tired(and not having a Box Spring to sleep on hasn't helped).
I am very glad that you went to the temple! I am quite jealous! I hope you continue to take advantage of it! I recently spoke with a member of the Aurora Ward here who is a Temple Sealer. He spoke with me a little about the temple. He told us about how much faster we learn in the temple than anywhere else. For example, he and his wife did a Temple Mission once and they don't speak Spanish. But they learned basically the whole Endowment Ceremony in Spanish. He also spoke of a prophecy in Ezekiel Chapter 37. Ezekiel sees the temple that will one day be built in Jerusalem. Waters flow out from underneath it and heal the Dead Sea. Just as the Water of Life from the Temple pours out into the rest of our life and heals the Spritually Dead part. As Ezekiel follows the stream down, it gets deeper and deeper. First it's ankle deep, then knee, then waist, and soon it's so deep that you must swim. Our temple experience is the same way. The more we go, the deeper it becomes. Our first time we go through it is very shallow. Ankle deep. But as we continue to go as much as possible we will have Spiritual Waters that are deep enough to swim in. Beautiful concept.
Well, have a great week, family!
Love,
Elder, Bracken
We had a baptism this week! That was AWESOME! I loved it.Christina got baptized. It was a wonderful thing to be a part of. Very rewarding as a missionary to see someone you teach progress so far. I was the Chorister for the Baptism, by the way.
So, today we went to Branson! It was AWESOME!!! We had the Springfield and Springfield South Zones all combined together. First we had a meeting for about an hour being instructed by the Zone Leaders. Then we went and saw the Hughes Brothers. It was a great show. I thoroughly enjoyed it. They let us in for free, gave us free candy, gave us a free CD(and I bought some CD's of another LDS group called Six, who are fantastic). Very fun experience.
We then(about 12 of us) headed to Lambert's Cafe. It was very good. Throwed Rolls. Fried Okra. Black-eyed Peas. By the fistfull. I had Grilled Pork Steaks. I ate 1 1/2, and Elder Gardner ate 1 1/2 as well. I am VERY full. I LOVE Pork Steaks, by the way. I'm not sure if I've told you that or not. I don't think I had ever had any before my mission, but it's one of my favorite meat products now.
The other good news is that a member is giving me a Box Spring. I gave mine to one of the Sister Missionaries who apparently did not have one. I haven't slept very good since. But I'm getting a new one soon! yay! I should be sleeping good now!
I'm finally getting over my cold that I've had the last week or two. It's been annoying. Mostly it has made me really tired(and not having a Box Spring to sleep on hasn't helped).
I am very glad that you went to the temple! I am quite jealous! I hope you continue to take advantage of it! I recently spoke with a member of the Aurora Ward here who is a Temple Sealer. He spoke with me a little about the temple. He told us about how much faster we learn in the temple than anywhere else. For example, he and his wife did a Temple Mission once and they don't speak Spanish. But they learned basically the whole Endowment Ceremony in Spanish. He also spoke of a prophecy in Ezekiel Chapter 37. Ezekiel sees the temple that will one day be built in Jerusalem. Waters flow out from underneath it and heal the Dead Sea. Just as the Water of Life from the Temple pours out into the rest of our life and heals the Spritually Dead part. As Ezekiel follows the stream down, it gets deeper and deeper. First it's ankle deep, then knee, then waist, and soon it's so deep that you must swim. Our temple experience is the same way. The more we go, the deeper it becomes. Our first time we go through it is very shallow. Ankle deep. But as we continue to go as much as possible we will have Spiritual Waters that are deep enough to swim in. Beautiful concept.
Well, have a great week, family!
Love,
Elder, Bracken
Monday, March 7, 2011
Dear Family,
It's pretty chilly up here today. Temperature has been dropping. Winter may rear its ugly head once more(I would LOVE to see snow again). I doubt it though. I think it'll just be cold for a little while. And then on to Spring! Beautiful glorious spring! Suit-coat season is over and I'm not wearing one right now. :)
Yesterday we had Stake Conference. It was a broadcast one again. Elder Quentin L. Cook talked about how he is not married to Sister Mary N. Cook. News to me!
The other night we had Hot Wings in Celebration of Elder Fellows' 18 month mark. It was very tasty.
Next week, we are going to Branson for a Zone Outing! I'm extremely excited! Expect a report on that in 2 weeks.
We'll be having a Baptism for Christina on Saturday! We are extremely excited for that!
I also have my last interview with President Merkley while still proselyting. That's this week. I get one more in the Mission Home before I go home. Crazy.
Well, I had better get going. I hope you all have a great week!
Love,
Elder Bracken
It's pretty chilly up here today. Temperature has been dropping. Winter may rear its ugly head once more(I would LOVE to see snow again). I doubt it though. I think it'll just be cold for a little while. And then on to Spring! Beautiful glorious spring! Suit-coat season is over and I'm not wearing one right now. :)
Yesterday we had Stake Conference. It was a broadcast one again. Elder Quentin L. Cook talked about how he is not married to Sister Mary N. Cook. News to me!
The other night we had Hot Wings in Celebration of Elder Fellows' 18 month mark. It was very tasty.
Next week, we are going to Branson for a Zone Outing! I'm extremely excited! Expect a report on that in 2 weeks.
We'll be having a Baptism for Christina on Saturday! We are extremely excited for that!
I also have my last interview with President Merkley while still proselyting. That's this week. I get one more in the Mission Home before I go home. Crazy.
Well, I had better get going. I hope you all have a great week!
Love,
Elder Bracken
Monday, February 28, 2011
Dear Family,
Congratulations to Amanda! I am so excited for you! :D Things are going well up here in Springfield. I love it here. Still. We had Zone Conference this past week. It was very enjoyable. Mostly it was just reviewing things we've talked about in our Zone Conferences and District Meetings lately. So, nothing too mind- blowing. I had the opportunity to give my "departing testimony," as it was my last Zone Conference. It was a sad experience. Difficult for me to deal with, quite frankly. The end draweth nigh, and I freaketh out.
But fortunately I do still have time left, and I am going to use it as effectively as I can. I love being a missionary and serving the Lord. I know that I am doing what our Father want me to do. He loves us all so much. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to share this love he has with others. I hope that you have a good week and that all goes well.
Love, Elder Bracken
Congratulations to Amanda! I am so excited for you! :D Things are going well up here in Springfield. I love it here. Still. We had Zone Conference this past week. It was very enjoyable. Mostly it was just reviewing things we've talked about in our Zone Conferences and District Meetings lately. So, nothing too mind- blowing. I had the opportunity to give my "departing testimony," as it was my last Zone Conference. It was a sad experience. Difficult for me to deal with, quite frankly. The end draweth nigh, and I freaketh out.
But fortunately I do still have time left, and I am going to use it as effectively as I can. I love being a missionary and serving the Lord. I know that I am doing what our Father want me to do. He loves us all so much. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to share this love he has with others. I hope that you have a good week and that all goes well.
Love, Elder Bracken
Monday, February 21, 2011
Dear Family,
Life is going well for me. I'm loving Springfield. (yes, I did get the cake, by the way. And I ate it too!) I have also ate at Andy's. It was SO GOOD! :D
It's been a fun week. Lot's of biking. Talking with tons of people. There's some interesting folk out here. Missouri is a strange place, as I've said before(and will surely say again).
Stairs out in Missouri are crazy. Every step is a different height than the one before it and the one after it. It's totally random and inpredictable. I have a theory as to why this is. We went to Disneyland and saw ASIMO, the Accursed Robot made by Honda(who I hate). He can walk up stairs. Robots have the ability to walk up stairs! Creepy! However, I'm not sure that the Robot can handle stairs with inpredictable heights every step. So, Missouri is preparing for a Robot Apocalypse. When that day comes, we must all flee to Missouri. It will undoubtedly be the safest place.
My companion is Elder Nicholas Gardner from St. George, UT. He is an excellent missionary. Very smart. I am very happy to be serving with him.
I like the ward here. It's a good one. Decently sized. Good Bishopric. Excellent Ward Mission Leader. We have good things going on here.
Not much else to report. Things are going well. Have a good week! Go to the temple!
I don't know how I forgot to mention this. We have a Golden Investigator being baptized on the 12th of March. She's awesome. Her name is Christina. She's in High School. She is investigating despite major opposition from friends and family. She will be baptized on her scheduled day, no problem.
Love,
Elder Bracken
Life is going well for me. I'm loving Springfield. (yes, I did get the cake, by the way. And I ate it too!) I have also ate at Andy's. It was SO GOOD! :D
It's been a fun week. Lot's of biking. Talking with tons of people. There's some interesting folk out here. Missouri is a strange place, as I've said before(and will surely say again).
Stairs out in Missouri are crazy. Every step is a different height than the one before it and the one after it. It's totally random and inpredictable. I have a theory as to why this is. We went to Disneyland and saw ASIMO, the Accursed Robot made by Honda(who I hate). He can walk up stairs. Robots have the ability to walk up stairs! Creepy! However, I'm not sure that the Robot can handle stairs with inpredictable heights every step. So, Missouri is preparing for a Robot Apocalypse. When that day comes, we must all flee to Missouri. It will undoubtedly be the safest place.
My companion is Elder Nicholas Gardner from St. George, UT. He is an excellent missionary. Very smart. I am very happy to be serving with him.
I like the ward here. It's a good one. Decently sized. Good Bishopric. Excellent Ward Mission Leader. We have good things going on here.
Not much else to report. Things are going well. Have a good week! Go to the temple!
I don't know how I forgot to mention this. We have a Golden Investigator being baptized on the 12th of March. She's awesome. Her name is Christina. She's in High School. She is investigating despite major opposition from friends and family. She will be baptized on her scheduled day, no problem.
Love,
Elder Bracken
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Dear Family,
So, here's how it went down. Transfers are usually Thursday. Because of the weather it was moved to Friday. So, I got everything packed up Thursday morning and was good to go when, suddenly, we were told that Transfers would be moved back to Monday. So, it was kinda frustrating to live out of my suitcase for 3 days. It was good though because I was able to say good-bye to more people.
In consequence of transfers being on Monday, we took Preparation Day on Tuesday. That is why I am emailing you now.
Also, I did not get the cake.
I'm enjoying my new area so far. The work is going well here, from what I can tell. We have good people that we are working with. We always want/need more, of course, but it's nice to have a good teaching pool going.
Springfield seems nice. It's fairly decent sized. It doesn't feel much bigger than my Second area. It probably is though. It's a college town. MSU is here. There's Bible College's everywhere, which is crazy.
I got my bike fixed/upraded. I am very happy. It's nice for your mode of transportation to function properly.
I had a terrible night of sleep last night, so the first thing I got at Wal-Mart today was a Mattress Pad and brand new pillow. Worth it!
My companion, Elder Gardner, is great. I love him. Very good missionary. He's a good person who cares a lot about people. He's been through a lot in his life and so he has a lot of empathy for others.
As far as the Big Stamp goes, I don't know what the deal is. I just decided to try it one day. I realized that the Big Stamp has everything on it that the little ones have. So, why wouldn't it work? So I tried it, and it worked. I was happy. I think it's a big secret of the Federal Government. Everyone is throwing away a stamp that they rightfully own and can use. I thought it was so funny that it worked.
Last night for dinner we had a thing called Chipotle Mexican Grill. It's basically a crappy rip-off of Cafe Rio. But still good.
Well, I'll get going now. Have a good week family!
Love,
Elder Bracken
So, here's how it went down. Transfers are usually Thursday. Because of the weather it was moved to Friday. So, I got everything packed up Thursday morning and was good to go when, suddenly, we were told that Transfers would be moved back to Monday. So, it was kinda frustrating to live out of my suitcase for 3 days. It was good though because I was able to say good-bye to more people.
In consequence of transfers being on Monday, we took Preparation Day on Tuesday. That is why I am emailing you now.
Also, I did not get the cake.
I'm enjoying my new area so far. The work is going well here, from what I can tell. We have good people that we are working with. We always want/need more, of course, but it's nice to have a good teaching pool going.
Springfield seems nice. It's fairly decent sized. It doesn't feel much bigger than my Second area. It probably is though. It's a college town. MSU is here. There's Bible College's everywhere, which is crazy.
I got my bike fixed/upraded. I am very happy. It's nice for your mode of transportation to function properly.
I had a terrible night of sleep last night, so the first thing I got at Wal-Mart today was a Mattress Pad and brand new pillow. Worth it!
My companion, Elder Gardner, is great. I love him. Very good missionary. He's a good person who cares a lot about people. He's been through a lot in his life and so he has a lot of empathy for others.
As far as the Big Stamp goes, I don't know what the deal is. I just decided to try it one day. I realized that the Big Stamp has everything on it that the little ones have. So, why wouldn't it work? So I tried it, and it worked. I was happy. I think it's a big secret of the Federal Government. Everyone is throwing away a stamp that they rightfully own and can use. I thought it was so funny that it worked.
Last night for dinner we had a thing called Chipotle Mexican Grill. It's basically a crappy rip-off of Cafe Rio. But still good.
Well, I'll get going now. Have a good week family!
Love,
Elder Bracken
Monday, February 7, 2011
Dear Family,
You're probably anxious to know the news. So here it is. Elder Rowley is staying and becoming a District Leader/Senior Companion.
Oh wait. That wasn't all you wanted to know? Well, Elder Bartholomew(one of the spanish Elders) is going to Tulsa to be a District Leader.
What? More? Hmm.... Well.... One of our Ft. Smith Elders(the Zone Leaders) is being made the new Assistant to the President.
Let's see..... wasn't there something else? Oh yeah! and the District is being changed. The Sister missionaries are moving to a different ward, and the ward that they are currently in is being moved to a different District.
I think that's all the news.
Oh wait! I ate at Waffle House today! It was sooooooo good! I had a huge breakfast. Waffle House is a chain of Restaurants out here. They're open 24/7. They cook the food right in front of you. That was fun to watch. Kind of like a crappy American version of Benihana's. :)
We were snowed in most of the week. We were at the other elder's apartment most of the time. Ruining their lives and eating all their steaks, haha. It was so fun. Not the most productive as far as missionary work goes. But we had one sweet miracle. The non-member fiance of one of our Less-Actives wants us to teach him. We've "officially" taught him once now. It went pretty well. The Spirit was very strong. I thoroughly believe he will be baptized.
Well, I suppose that's all the news. Unless there was something else..... Oh yeah! I'm being transferred! That's what the news is! I totally forgot! ;) haha :P
So, I am headed to Springfield 2nd Ward(the Ward Dominique lived in) to serve with Elder Gardner. He's a missionary who was trained here in Van Buren and everyone here LOVES him. I am so excited. It's going to be so much fun. What's even more awesome, is that my area has Andy's Frozen Custard in it! Oh boy, I'm gonna make this "Andy" person a rich man! It's the best Custard on Earth. I truly believe it qualifies as a Celestial Food. Anyways, tangent. So, I'll be in a bike area. I have to go get my bike fixed. It's in big need of repair. But hey, maybe I'll lose some weight before I get home! :)
Here is my new address:
1005 E. Division Apt. A
Springfield, MO 65803
It sure would be great if there was a letter waiting for me when I got there......
Anyways. I'll talk to you next week!
Love,
Elder Bracken
You're probably anxious to know the news. So here it is. Elder Rowley is staying and becoming a District Leader/Senior Companion.
Oh wait. That wasn't all you wanted to know? Well, Elder Bartholomew(one of the spanish Elders) is going to Tulsa to be a District Leader.
What? More? Hmm.... Well.... One of our Ft. Smith Elders(the Zone Leaders) is being made the new Assistant to the President.
Let's see..... wasn't there something else? Oh yeah! and the District is being changed. The Sister missionaries are moving to a different ward, and the ward that they are currently in is being moved to a different District.
I think that's all the news.
Oh wait! I ate at Waffle House today! It was sooooooo good! I had a huge breakfast. Waffle House is a chain of Restaurants out here. They're open 24/7. They cook the food right in front of you. That was fun to watch. Kind of like a crappy American version of Benihana's. :)
We were snowed in most of the week. We were at the other elder's apartment most of the time. Ruining their lives and eating all their steaks, haha. It was so fun. Not the most productive as far as missionary work goes. But we had one sweet miracle. The non-member fiance of one of our Less-Actives wants us to teach him. We've "officially" taught him once now. It went pretty well. The Spirit was very strong. I thoroughly believe he will be baptized.
Well, I suppose that's all the news. Unless there was something else..... Oh yeah! I'm being transferred! That's what the news is! I totally forgot! ;) haha :P
So, I am headed to Springfield 2nd Ward(the Ward Dominique lived in) to serve with Elder Gardner. He's a missionary who was trained here in Van Buren and everyone here LOVES him. I am so excited. It's going to be so much fun. What's even more awesome, is that my area has Andy's Frozen Custard in it! Oh boy, I'm gonna make this "Andy" person a rich man! It's the best Custard on Earth. I truly believe it qualifies as a Celestial Food. Anyways, tangent. So, I'll be in a bike area. I have to go get my bike fixed. It's in big need of repair. But hey, maybe I'll lose some weight before I get home! :)
Here is my new address:
1005 E. Division Apt. A
Springfield, MO 65803
It sure would be great if there was a letter waiting for me when I got there......
Anyways. I'll talk to you next week!
Love,
Elder Bracken
Monday, January 31, 2011
Dear Family,
So, there's an ice storm headed for the mission. Don't know precisely when or where it will hit, but we are prepared. We're stocked up on food and other supplies. We'll be perfectly safe if anything happens where we live.
Our Investigator had some family issues come up so he won't get baptized this week. It will probably be in the next two or three weeks. I would guess the 19th of February. We are very excited and he is very eager to be baptized as soon as possible.
This morning we had Biscuits and Gravy. Chocolate Gravy. It's a Southern food. An amazing one, at that. We got a recipe for it last night and tried it out this morning. I mailed a copy of it home for you to enjoy. The person who gave it to us said that it's best with homemade biscuits, but if you don't make homemade biscuits, get the Pillsbury Layers biscuits(which is precisely what we happened to have on hand. It was gooooooooooooooooood). It was so delicious. Not for the faint of stomach. It is incredibly rich. Easy to make though.
Elder Rowley and I have had colds the last week or so. We're starting to get over it now. His was worse than mine. Theraflu is a wonderful thing. :)
Not too much else exciting to report. I hope y'all have a good week! I hope you go to the temple!
Love,
Elder Bracken
So, there's an ice storm headed for the mission. Don't know precisely when or where it will hit, but we are prepared. We're stocked up on food and other supplies. We'll be perfectly safe if anything happens where we live.
Our Investigator had some family issues come up so he won't get baptized this week. It will probably be in the next two or three weeks. I would guess the 19th of February. We are very excited and he is very eager to be baptized as soon as possible.
This morning we had Biscuits and Gravy. Chocolate Gravy. It's a Southern food. An amazing one, at that. We got a recipe for it last night and tried it out this morning. I mailed a copy of it home for you to enjoy. The person who gave it to us said that it's best with homemade biscuits, but if you don't make homemade biscuits, get the Pillsbury Layers biscuits(which is precisely what we happened to have on hand. It was gooooooooooooooooood). It was so delicious. Not for the faint of stomach. It is incredibly rich. Easy to make though.
Elder Rowley and I have had colds the last week or so. We're starting to get over it now. His was worse than mine. Theraflu is a wonderful thing. :)
Not too much else exciting to report. I hope y'all have a good week! I hope you go to the temple!
Love,
Elder Bracken
Monday, January 24, 2011
Dear Family,
It has been an awesome week. :)
I don't remember if this happened last week or the week before, so I'll just tell you. Maybe it's not news. Our "Eternigator" decided to get baptized. He will get baptized on the 5th of February. He just got interviewed yesterday and he is good to go. We are very excited for him. :)
We also got a new Ward Mission Leader yesterday, which we are very excited for. He's pretty gung-ho about missionary work. He just moved here from Sallisaw, Oklahoma where he was a Branch Mission Leader. No break for him! haha.
We also had a less-active Sister come who we've been working with for a very long time. She hasn't been to church the whole time I've been here. It was a huge blessing to see that.
We also got a lot of people to sign up on our Dinner Calendar for once, which we accomplished by taking a picture. We emptied out the fridge, set the camera inside of it on a shelf toward the back, and had it take a picture of us looking inside at the empty fride while looking very sad. It worked wonders. We have so many people feeding us dinner now. :)
Other than that, it's business as usual back at the Ranch. Not much else to talk about, I don't guess.
Sounds like the Super-bowl will be lame. I don't like either of those teams. :) haha
Well, I hope y'all have a good week!
Love,
Elder Bracken
It has been an awesome week. :)
I don't remember if this happened last week or the week before, so I'll just tell you. Maybe it's not news. Our "Eternigator" decided to get baptized. He will get baptized on the 5th of February. He just got interviewed yesterday and he is good to go. We are very excited for him. :)
We also got a new Ward Mission Leader yesterday, which we are very excited for. He's pretty gung-ho about missionary work. He just moved here from Sallisaw, Oklahoma where he was a Branch Mission Leader. No break for him! haha.
We also had a less-active Sister come who we've been working with for a very long time. She hasn't been to church the whole time I've been here. It was a huge blessing to see that.
We also got a lot of people to sign up on our Dinner Calendar for once, which we accomplished by taking a picture. We emptied out the fridge, set the camera inside of it on a shelf toward the back, and had it take a picture of us looking inside at the empty fride while looking very sad. It worked wonders. We have so many people feeding us dinner now. :)
Other than that, it's business as usual back at the Ranch. Not much else to talk about, I don't guess.
Sounds like the Super-bowl will be lame. I don't like either of those teams. :) haha
Well, I hope y'all have a good week!
Love,
Elder Bracken
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Things are going really well. Last week I was on exchanges with a Spanish Elder and we found an awesome family to teach. We taught them the second lesson last night. It went well. We are very excited for them.
It's been cold here, but not too bad. The temperatures have been fluctuating up and down quite rapidly. Arkansas is a strange place.
Transfers are the Thursday BEFORE my Birthday(which is a Monday). I'm anticipating that I'll be moved out, but no guarantees. So perhaps you should send it early?
Not much else too exciting has happened, I suppose. Oh, I ran over a cat(it wasn't my fault nor my intention), did I tell you that? NAILED it. The sound of bones crunching and blood splattering. Then as soon as we turned around and came back to see it, it was gone! Vanished without a trace! No blood, no remains. Not on the road or our car. Nothing. I think that cat was resurrected. :)
Life is good for me. I was frustrated to see that the Library and Post Office were closed yesterday due to the federal "holiday." So I am emailing today, and look forward with an eye of faith to the near future moment when I shall open the mailbox and taste of the fruit there-in. I hope.
Well, I will get going. I love you. Go to the temple. Especially if there are things going on in your life that you must pray for, go to the Temple and do it there.
Love,
Elder Bracken
It's been cold here, but not too bad. The temperatures have been fluctuating up and down quite rapidly. Arkansas is a strange place.
Transfers are the Thursday BEFORE my Birthday(which is a Monday). I'm anticipating that I'll be moved out, but no guarantees. So perhaps you should send it early?
Not much else too exciting has happened, I suppose. Oh, I ran over a cat(it wasn't my fault nor my intention), did I tell you that? NAILED it. The sound of bones crunching and blood splattering. Then as soon as we turned around and came back to see it, it was gone! Vanished without a trace! No blood, no remains. Not on the road or our car. Nothing. I think that cat was resurrected. :)
Life is good for me. I was frustrated to see that the Library and Post Office were closed yesterday due to the federal "holiday." So I am emailing today, and look forward with an eye of faith to the near future moment when I shall open the mailbox and taste of the fruit there-in. I hope.
Well, I will get going. I love you. Go to the temple. Especially if there are things going on in your life that you must pray for, go to the Temple and do it there.
Love,
Elder Bracken
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
It's been snowing! Crazy! It started Sunday night. It continued a little yesterday, but not much. Really, it's not a lot of snow. Just a couple of inches. But for the people here it's like the sky is falling. School's closed. The library closed(hence my emailing on Tuesday). The whole place just shuts down. It's so funny.
We were glad that we bought some De-Icer windshield wiper fluid. It's good stuff.
We just had Stake Conference. It was a broadcast from Salt Lake to all the stakes in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. It was very good. First to speak was Bishop Keith B. McMullin of the Presiding Bishopric. Then Sister Elaine S. Dalton. Then Elder L. Tom Perry. Then finally President Thomas S. Monson. It was very good. my favorite talk was by Bishop McMullin. He spoke about being "stuffocated." We have so much stuff in our lives taking up our space and time that we leave no room for Heavenly Father and His Gospel. He talked about removing the things that distract us so that we can communicate clearly with our beloved Father. It was very good. President Monson talked about Rescuing those who are lost. The widows, the fatherless, the less-active, the lonely, etc.
Well, I had better get going. Have a good week, and go to the temple!
Love,
Elder Bracken
We were glad that we bought some De-Icer windshield wiper fluid. It's good stuff.
We just had Stake Conference. It was a broadcast from Salt Lake to all the stakes in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. It was very good. First to speak was Bishop Keith B. McMullin of the Presiding Bishopric. Then Sister Elaine S. Dalton. Then Elder L. Tom Perry. Then finally President Thomas S. Monson. It was very good. my favorite talk was by Bishop McMullin. He spoke about being "stuffocated." We have so much stuff in our lives taking up our space and time that we leave no room for Heavenly Father and His Gospel. He talked about removing the things that distract us so that we can communicate clearly with our beloved Father. It was very good. President Monson talked about Rescuing those who are lost. The widows, the fatherless, the less-active, the lonely, etc.
Well, I had better get going. Have a good week, and go to the temple!
Love,
Elder Bracken
Monday, January 3, 2011
Dear Family,
Weather has been fine. A little rainy. Other than that, no problem. Van Buren is not prone for tornadoes. And you don't need to worry, Mom. If the Mission President doesn't call you, then I'm okay. :)
New Year's was basically just a normal day for us. We went to the Ward Party that was super lame. Hardly anybody showed up. Kinda sad. Oh well. That's what happens when everyone's out of town.
Work has been slow here, because of the holidays. And there's all kinds of sicknesses going around. Colds and stuff. And also a stomach virus a lot of people seem to be getting.
We had an interesting experience this past week. One of our investigators was having weird things happen in her house at night. Things falling off the walls. Toys thrown across the house. All at night. Only her and her son were in the house. No one else. She kept having nightmares. So anyways, we went over and blessed her home. There wasn't anything evil or weird there when we were there. And there hasn't been since, apparently. So that was kind of interesting, I guess.
We also had an "Eternigator" at church yesterday. During a baby blessing he said he felt a "presence." Kind of disturbed him a little I guess. Well, a baby blessing is an ordinance where angels are likely to be present, so I'm sure that's what it was.
Odd stuff.
We haven't been fed hardly at all lately, with the holidays and everything. A member family gave us a crock-pot for Christmas and we've been using that quite a bit. We had the Spanish Elders over for dinner and made some stuff in the crock-pot. It turned out basically like a Mexican flavored Chili. It wasn't quite what we intended, but it was really good.
Nothing else too exciting has happened. As I said, it's been slow with the holidays. But with those being over, everyone will get back into the swing of things and things will pick up, I'm sure.
Well, I hope you have a good week and that you all make a New Year's Resolution(one that you'll actually keep) to go to the temple frequently!
Love,
Elder Bracken
Weather has been fine. A little rainy. Other than that, no problem. Van Buren is not prone for tornadoes. And you don't need to worry, Mom. If the Mission President doesn't call you, then I'm okay. :)
New Year's was basically just a normal day for us. We went to the Ward Party that was super lame. Hardly anybody showed up. Kinda sad. Oh well. That's what happens when everyone's out of town.
Work has been slow here, because of the holidays. And there's all kinds of sicknesses going around. Colds and stuff. And also a stomach virus a lot of people seem to be getting.
We had an interesting experience this past week. One of our investigators was having weird things happen in her house at night. Things falling off the walls. Toys thrown across the house. All at night. Only her and her son were in the house. No one else. She kept having nightmares. So anyways, we went over and blessed her home. There wasn't anything evil or weird there when we were there. And there hasn't been since, apparently. So that was kind of interesting, I guess.
We also had an "Eternigator" at church yesterday. During a baby blessing he said he felt a "presence." Kind of disturbed him a little I guess. Well, a baby blessing is an ordinance where angels are likely to be present, so I'm sure that's what it was.
Odd stuff.
We haven't been fed hardly at all lately, with the holidays and everything. A member family gave us a crock-pot for Christmas and we've been using that quite a bit. We had the Spanish Elders over for dinner and made some stuff in the crock-pot. It turned out basically like a Mexican flavored Chili. It wasn't quite what we intended, but it was really good.
Nothing else too exciting has happened. As I said, it's been slow with the holidays. But with those being over, everyone will get back into the swing of things and things will pick up, I'm sure.
Well, I hope you have a good week and that you all make a New Year's Resolution(one that you'll actually keep) to go to the temple frequently!
Love,
Elder Bracken
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