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
Monday, March 28, 2011
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
