Best Exchange Ever!

We did awesome, as a district, in finding new investigators this week; we found nine all together!  We were able to find four down here in Floyd, and there's a cool story behind every single one of them,  including us teaching a Spanish man who didn't know a whole lot of English! (Let's just say my measly two yrs. of Spanish came back to bite me.) 

Mon. Apr. 20: We had another zone P-day filled with excitement! (driving mostly) 

Tue. Apr. 21:  We had District Meeting this morning.  My portion was on Teach, Testify, Invite, Promise, Follow Up.  We need to do every single one of those if we want to be the most effective teachers we can be! 

Then, afterwards, we went on exchanges.  Elder Degooyer came down to Floyd with me, and boy, did we have fun!

Elder Degooyer & I

It was probably the best exchange I've ever been on.  We found April and taught her the Restoration.

Then we taught Sister Briggs in the Swortzel's home.  She feels like she doesn't have a testimony of the Book of Mormon, so she's bought herself a student manual to better understand it! 

We had dinner, then tried a potential investigator named, Juan.  He spoke a lot less English than we thought, so I would be able to say a few things in Spanish, but what we ended up doing is I would say, "Juan, Leer" and then point to a box in the Spanish Restoration pamphlet.  He'd read it then we'd move on to the next one.  I bore my testimony of the Book of Mormon in English, then Elder Degooyer's prayer was priceless, "Dear Heavenly Father, Please bless Juan.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Wed. Apr. 22:  I learned a lot from Elder Degooyer (like he was a little grossed out to be in a trailer with mice)...

{2nd mouse we got!  Thanks to mousetraps provided by my mom}

 ...and surprisingly, he learned a lot from me on our exchange. 

We had three appointments set up (member-present lessons at that). April wasn't there when we went back today with Bro. Banks. 

We went to go do service and a lesson with a potential. (that fell through because she wanted us to mow her lawn, but she didn't have a lawn mower. Hmmm.)  Our backup plan was going to try to see Nara, a potential.  Turns out the Lord wanted us there - we had a great lesson.  

Our appointment with Taylor w/ Bro. Brown also fell through. 

Thur. Apr. 23: We had interviews with President Salisbury - always a pleasure. 

We performed service for the Steen's and they fed us lunch. 

We also played basketball tonight, I played some good ball. 

Fri. Apr. 24:  We got three referrals today!  Two from the Fizer'sy, who we decided to meet with.  They pointed us to their unbaptized son, his fiance, and their 9 month-old baby girl.  She was adorable and they were such nice people.  We have a return appointment with them on Monday (April 27).

Sat. Apr. 25: We worked in town today - it was kinda raining all day, so not so many people out and about to talk to. :( 

We had a Bible study with Sam, Ricky, & Dustin.

Later that evening, we got in with Keith, a man we met while serving at Angels in the Attic.  We taught him the Restoration and he accepted to read the Book of Mormon.  We're going back Tuesday!  4th new investigator!

Sun. Apr. 26:  Today was Regional Conference/Stake Conference.  All the talks were great.  The Stake President addressed us over satellite, then it switched to the regional feed where Larry S. Kacher (I met him), Linda S. Reeves, Neil L. Andersen, and Robert D. Hales addressed us.  I found each one of these talks very appropriate for the people out here.  The Region involved in this conference was the North East Missions.  Elder Hales grew up in New York and he told us that since 80 yrs. ago, the North East Region has grown from 34 congregations to 1,300!  Incredible!  

Also, Jodie came with Katie and the girls! (Alec was working) :(

Well, got to go!  Love You All!

Love, Elder Brenchley

Is This Your First Baptismal Interview?

Hey Ya'll!

How's it going? 

To make a brief summary of this week; this was a great week!

ALSO: We finally got over the hump of just ONE investigator attending Sacrament Meeting and ONE investigator with a Baptismal date (Alec).   Jodie" came to Sacrament Meeting, and we found a new investigator and he is on date for Baptism! 

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE: As District Leader, I have the blessed opportunity to interview all investigators in our district for Baptism (excluding my own investigators).  I had the blessed opportunity to conduct my first Baptismal interview with the Dublin Sisters’ investigator, Zayne.  Let me tell you a little about Zayne; he's just 14 yrs. old.  The sister missionaries first met him at church, and he told the missionaries, "I Want to be Baptized!"  He had done a lot of research and understands all of the Gospel principles!  I loved the opportunity to interview him: 

I asked Zayne before the interview, "Is this your first Baptismal Interview?"
"Yes," he responded.  (Really puzzled at the question.) 

"Mine too," I replied, we both chuckled, "but Zayne, I expect this to be one of the most spiritual moments of both of our lives!"

 

I can testify that it was!  Here is an elect child of God, only 14 yrs. of age, who was fully ready to make covenants with God.  He is so knowledgeable of the Gospel with such a great testimony.  I'm so grateful  for being called as District Leader - I feel one of the reasons I’m grateful is so I could have the blessed opportunity to interview this young man!  This interview truly blessed both of our lives!

Zayne Linkous was baptized Saturday, April 18, and then confirmed a member of the Church on Sunday, April 19.

As for the rest of the blessed week:

April 13, Mon: 

P-Day.  Elder Boyd, being the super clean guy that he is, had us clean some more!  And we threw away even more trash! 

I spent some time catching up on writing letters.  If I haven't written you back, please tell me!  I've been behind.  :(

Then, while trying to contact some potential investigators, we heard the Eulogy from this one man - in the end, he at least took a card.

April 14, Tues:  We had a good District meeting; I spent my portion on the importance of change/repentance (both for missionaries and investigators).

We went out contacting in the down-pouring rain! 

We had a lesson with Jodie on the importance of reading the Book of Mormon and coming to church.  He committed to do both! 

April 15, Wed:  We did our weekly service at Angels in the Attic and met some fine people.

We had three appointments set today, and two fell through.  We did have a great lesson with Johnny Brown and Sister Horne on Missionary Work.

We drove up to the Radford chapel to interview Zayne for Baptism (see above comments).

We had dinner at Applebee's in Radford because A) We don't have any restaurants like it in Floyd, and B) All you can eat wings and fries on Wednesday!  WooHOO!  

April 16, Thur: We had weekly planning, and we spent time actually planning what part of the county we will be in each day (that saves BIG on miles).

We met with Taylor today.  He's Bro. Banks' cousin and a former investigator.  He came to church and met with missionaries when he was 16 yrs. old.  He's now 21. We taught him the Restoration lesson, so now he’s a new investigator!

His next door neighbor, Stephen, is the hippie we ran into last week.  We stopped by and talked to him – luckily this time he'd showered and had a shirt on.  He was amazed with the Pearl of Great Price; I showed him the pictures/hieroglyphics in them, and he was like, "NO WAY!  That is so legit, Man!"  We’re meeting with him again soon! 

We played basketball tonight and Elder Boyd's height (6’2”) proved him to be a valuable rebounder. 

  

April 17, Fri:  We had a good lesson with Alec on obedience and tithing,

Me, Alec, Elder Boyd

and then we helped him build a chicken coop!

We had dinner and a lesson with the Lafon's.  We committed them to read the whole Book of Mormon, as a family, before they get sealed as a family in August.  AND memorize The First Vision (any of you back home take that challenge I gave ya'll?)

April 18, Sat:  We walked into busy downtown Floyd and talked with a lot of people! 

We contacted a referral, an 98 yr. old WWII vet, (he wasn't too interested in learning though :( ).  He gave me the best quote/advice for finding my wife, "Find someone who you can't live without." - Lawrence Wood

Brother and Sister Steen saw us in town, and bought us lunch.

We tried several potential investigators, and got one return appointment! 

We went to have a lesson with Amos, and it wasn't a good teaching environment; there was a crowd, the T.V. was blasting, and Amos spent a good chunk of our visit trying to convince us drinking beer is OK and that Jesus drank and smoked. Uh, What? Anyway, he still wants to come to church, so big PLUS.  We'll just to have all future visits/lessons in a member’s home or at the church.

April 19, Sun:

We had two investigators come to church; Alec and Jodie!

We went contacting out in a rain storm – and broke two crappy umbrellas. 

We had a great lesson with Taylor - Brother Brown came with us!  The lesson was on the Plan of Salvation, and he committed to June. 7th as a Baptismal date! 

We ate dinner at the Banks' house.  

{LOVE THIS FAMILY!  They love sports, so they keep me updated!  Bro. Banks and I are BFF's}

 

We taught a lesson to the Banks on the April 2015 Ensign article, “Four Tools that Bring Promised Blessings” (prayer, scripture study, family home evening, and temple worship).

This was such a great week!  I was very blessed to experience this week!  President Salisbury has challenged each companionship to get 20 lessons in a week!  So, we will be working towards that!  The key to that is effective planning and goal setting.  I love the big emphasis on each.  I will definitely take these skills from my mission back home! 

I know this Gospel is true!  I know that Jesus Christ was the ultimate sacrifice, and through his Atonement and Gospel, we will be all right! 

Helaman 5:12 (a favorite scripture of a lot of you, I'm sure - it's my Mom's.)

But when we build our foundation on Jesus Christ and his Gospel, even if we stray away, go through trials, or make bad decisions....when we fall ROCK-bottom, guess who that Rock is?...........that's right; Jesus Christ, our Savior.

I Love You All! 

Love, Elder Brenchley

A Trailer Makeover

Hey Ya'll!

How's it going?  I really do want to hear what everyone's favorite Conference talk was, and I haven't heard any response, yet........ tsk tsk.

It's probably just because Ya'll couldn't decide which one to pick!  Haha.

Last visits with Elder Olsen:

{Me, Caleb Lafon, Elder Olsen}

{Fraizer Family, pretty cool fam - he is the Branch Mission Leader and they have us over for dinner often}

Well, Elder Boyd has arrived here in Floyd! (that rhymes) 

My new companion, Elder Boyd

He's from Blackfoot, Idaho.  He's the 2nd oldest of 6 kids (the only boy, Yikes!)  He's 24 yrs. old, so just a bit older than I am!  He has been a missionary for 13 months.  He has previously served in Welch, WV (6 months), Daleville, VA (6 months), and Blacksburg, VA YSA (1 1/2 mo.)

{Mouse we finally got with a mouse trap my mother sent me. (Elder Olsen had a crazy fear of mice) So, I was cleaning everything up.}

 

 

Elder Boyd was not impressed at all with the trailer we live in.  He is an absolute clean freak. (So, just what the doctor ordered for the Floyd trailer).

{All the trash we threw away after Elder Boyd's deep cleaning}

It's going good so far.  We had a short week, and still were able to see some good things happen.

April 8, Wed:  Happy Birthday, Haylee!  

The library email didn't start working 'til noon.  We ended up having a wonderful zone P-day.

{Our Blacksburg Zone, finally got a picture of all of us together}

 

Our zone played volleyball.  Me and Sister Erickson were quite the force to be reckoned with! (with my volleyball skills, and her height [5'10"] & college experience!) 

April 9, Thur:  We woke up early to send Elder Olsen home!

Me & Elder Olsen

He was pretty busy packing the last couple of days.  Elder Olsen had a whole lot of mixed feelings, but he was happy to see his family.

Good thing was Elder Boyd and I didn't lose any proselyting time to transfers today since he came from my same zone.  Bad thing is all three of our appointments cancelled on us today. (a potential, Sister Briggs, & Jodie)  Ugh.  

We were invited to Branch Council and they put us very last.  Great thinking there - we're the only ones with a curfew, so we didn't have much time at all to talk! 

April 10, Fri:  I filled in Elder Boyd on the area. 

We didn't have to worry about our English/Spanish language gap because the potential investigator  wasn't home.  Darn, I was ready to vamamos!  Right? 

Also,  downtown Floyd is rocking on Friday nights, as well!  Everyone comes out to the Country Store's Friday Nite Jamboree!  So, we found a lot of success talking with people.

{London Broil Steak - probably the best thing I've made on my mission, thus far}

 

April 11, Sat:  We drove pretty far out to Willis to meet with a former investigator.  He was asleep; his roommate said to come back in an hour. 

We tried a few neighbors, and found Stephen.  Long story short: He's 20 yr. old hippie, no shirt on, long hair, smelled really bad, was totally open, and gave us really awkward hugs as we left.  WEIRD!  But, hey!  He's interested in the "Eternal perspective of things!" 

So, I finally met Bro. Crawford today.  I've heard so many great things about him.  He's 74 yrs. old, served a mission, and comes from St. George, Utah.  He's less active, and I have no idea why?  He took us out to lunch, then he came with us to an appointment today with Sister Briggs. (A less active coming with us to see a less active) Sure! Why Not!?

We finally got a hold of Amos, and he said he didn't have any minutes for the last couple of weeks, and that's why he hasn't been able to talk to us.  He said he'd be at church in the morning and he had his own ride! 

We also ran into a 15 yr-old kid who is the boyfriend of Sister Young's granddaughter, Rylee, and he said she's the only Mormon he knew and that he'd come with her to church next week!  Sweet!  The thing is; Rylee's not a member yet, and hasn't been to church since January.  So, hopefully, miraculously, they'll be at church next week! 

April 12, Sun: Well, Sister Briggs came to church.  Alec came to church!  No Amos again. (Man, whoever's giving him a ride, should be fired!) 

We were able to have a great lesson with Alec after church. 

Then, we also got teach Sister Huff about going to the temple.  We need to get the Branch to start a Temple Prep. class; we've got a lot of people needing to prepare! (Sister Huff, Bro. Brown, Sis. Guthrie, Banks', Lafon's).

We had lunch at the Light's which was pretty much like family get-togethers back home, for me!  You've got extended family all there, kids screaming, everyone talking...hmmmh, it's the best! 

Then after that, we had to rush home because we had a dinner appointment with the Lafon's.  Yeah, one meal a day for us missionaries wasn't enough, so the Branch has started signing up for lunch & dinner.  We taught the Lafon family on the importance of Enduring to the End. 

Elder Boyd shared his remarkable story of his re-conversion.  He used to be big time against the Church.   But then figured it out!  And, now he's here in Floyd!  

We went next door to visit Sherwood and Monica Wright.  Monica wasn't home, but Sherwood's neighbor, John, was really interested in who we were.  Ten minutes later, we set up an appointment with him to have a lesson/dinner at the Lafon's house Friday night!  WOW! 

Well, I say it was a good week!  Please keep praying for all us missionaries! 

But, Ya'll back home: A) Find people for your local missionaries to teach.  B) Preparing yer youngsters to serve a mission AND stay active in the Church!   Proverbs 22:6 

Love Ya All!

-Love Elder Brenchley

Did You Know I Was Called on a Spanish Speaking Mission?!?

Hey Ya'll 

Wasn't Easter and Conference just the best?  What a great combination! 

What was ya'lls favorite talks?  I really want to know!  I haven't picked a favorite talk, yet.  But I have a favorite Ssssion!  Saturday afternoon by far! All 6 talks were so great! It may also have to do with the fact, that I've personally met & shook hands with 2 of the speakers (Elder D. Todd Christofferson, and Elder Dale. G Renlund, (both came to the Mission)

I really loved each of the talks!  And It helped me feel a lot better because I was really uneasy after some people opposed The First Presidency and The Twelve Apostles!  How sad was that?  They sound like they need our prayers

As for my weekly report, I've got a lot to say, in a short amount of time.  

Elder Olsen

Elder Olsen has to get packing, so I'll bullet point my days:

Monday March 30:

• Radford Elders came down for P-Day for fishing and basketball. (No fish caught)
• Had FHE with Jodie and Katie and their family; it was a little bit of a struggle with all the kids going crazy.  Now I know how my parents felt. :)

Tuesday March 31: 

• We spent 4 1/2 hours today on Huckleberry Ridge Rd. (Shows you how long and spread out the roads are here) looking for a former investigator and a referral.  We found the referral, but couldn't find that former investigator.  We did find two solid potential investigators, and taught the 8 minute Restoration to one, and got a return appt. with the other!

Wednesday April 1:

• April Fools Day!  No fooling around though!  I went on an exchange with Elder Higgins up in Radford.  He expressed he's kind of done with the area because not a whole lot is happening. (he's certain he's getting transferred next week)  But, we were still able to work real hard today! We had 7 great ITL's (6 on Campus @ Radford University) 
• Also taught their only investigator, Kenny, who is preparing for Baptism. 

Thursday April 2: 

• Taught a Less-Active named, Sister Briggs.  She's showing sincere desire to go the temple.  She got really emotional.  Lesson in Swortzel's home
• Tire went completely flat, Bro. Swortzel helped us (actually did it all for us) with that. 
• Dinner @ Katie and Jodie's, lesson on 3 Degrees of Glory went good.  Jodie's starting to get everything!

Friday April 3: 

• Zone Conference in the morning
• Received a referral, which we contacted and got info
• Taught Ricky, Sam, & Dustin.  They are just being stubborn and won't open and read the Book of Mormon. :(

{Dustin, Ricky, Sam, me, Elder Olsen}

 

Saturday April 4: 

• Conference was great!  Great turnout to Priesthood Session! (the free pizza helped a lot!)
• Knocked one door I felt we should knock!  It was the right door; a young, single mother, said she would read the Restoration pamphlet, and we could come back.

Sunday April 5: 

• Easter! 
• Conference great!
• Easter dinner @ the Sunberg's!  What a Meal! 

Monday April 6:

• Met an old lady with Alzheimer's today.  She talked our ear off for a half hour, and wanted to give us a hug.  She was so sweet!
• Bro. Brown came with us to an appointment, which fell through, met a former investigator, and set-up appt.
• Service and dinner @ Miller's.

Tuesday April 7:

• District Meeting - our last as this current District 
• While knocking some trailer park, the three people who answered were all Hispanic.  Searching my brain for my 2 years of High School Spanish, I was able to ask them their name, and what time is it?  Then just started saying words like, Casa! Perro! deniro! Jesu Christo! Miraculously enough, we had an El Libro De Mormon in the car and got a return appt. with a man named, Juan!  The other man, Lupe, took a Spanish Restoration pamphlet.
• Had dinner @ Lafon's.
• After Lafon's, went over to Sherwood's and we were able to teach his daughter, Monica and her friend, Rylee (both 16.)  And picked them up as new investigators.  They said they hadn't found the right church, yet.
  
• 3 members of the District are leaving: Elder Olsen, Sister Zschoke, & Elder Higgins
• 3 new members are coming: Elder Boyd (my companion, who was just serving in Blacksburg YSA, short move) Sister Banks, & Elder Degooyer.  I was so excited, especially for Elder Degooyer coming - he was my last zone leader in Charleston, and I think he's just what the doctor ordered to turn Radford area around!  Such a great missionary! 

Well, that's all foks!  I'm expecting to hear what everyone's favorite Conference talk is! 

Love, Elder Brenchley!

Random Questions #20

Note:  Mom makes a list of questions in her letters and Elder Brenchley answers them.

1.  How many districts/missionaries are in the Blacksburg zone?  There are two districts in Blacksburg Zone; so three sets of missionaries in each district (4 Elders, 2 Sisters a piece).

2.  When you said you went to the Virginia Tech campus, I was reminded that was where there was a big campus shooting back in 2007.  Did you see the Memorial for the 32 victims when you went there?  I have not seen the memorial, yet - next time I'll look for it!

3. [A question from Brookelle] How is your next door neighbor, the horse, doing?  She (the horse) gets excited a lot!  She runs around and bucks and always comes over when we get her carrots or apples!

4.  Do you need a fishing license to fish in Floyd?  Did you get one?  No fishing license - it's on the Church's property.

5.  How far is it from Floyd to Radford (the other part of your district where you go for meetings sometimes)?  About 33 miles.

6.  Is there a Subway restaurant in Floyd?  Yes!

7.  Where do you go to play basketball?  The church or a Rec. Center?  WE play basketball Thursday nights @ a Rec. court.  Who's in your group?  Just a random group of guys show up to play.  Who invited your new investigators to play with you?  The 1st time we saw Ricky and Dustin was last Thursday; they just happened to be at the Rec. Center that night.

8.  When you have a member Sister go with you to teach a lesson, can she ride with you to the appt. or does she have to drive herself in her own car?  The Sisters drive in separate cars, unless another male is in the car, then we can all drive together.

9.  You mentioned you blessed the Sacrament; do you have very many Priests in your Branch?  The Branch only has one active ordained Priest; there are some more Priest-age Young Men, they just haven't been ordained.

10.  Who is going to be your new companion now that Elder Olsen is returning home?   Elder Boyd!