Right Before the Buzzer...

Hey everyone, just a quick summary of this past week…because a lot of things happened!  And I have a lot of pictures to share, as well!  It was a very long week, but it went by so fast!  

I have come to love the Botetourt area so much!  So, it was really tough to say some goodbyes this past week!  I have loved seeing the fruits of hard work pay off! 

 

Some highlights from this week:

We started teaching Tina Booher!  She finally started sitting in on the lessons with Amber. 

Amber & Tina Booher, me, Brother Plaster

Monday night we had dinner at the Booher's (Sister Booher made this really good Sticky finger-like chicken) but I think the fun environment was really good for Tina, and allowed her to open up a little bit, and soften up towards us.  Brother Plaster came with us to that.

The Gentry's & the Cummings'

On Tuesday, Brother Gentry made us HOG BRAINS and scrambled eggs. (There it is, right before the buzzer!  Eating something really abnormal right before the end of my mission). 

 

Bob & Patty Cox

 

 

{Sister Eunice Epling}

 

We had a wonderful Zone Conference on Wednesday with wonderful teachings!  I am so glad to have one more before I head home!  I will miss the missionaries, this Mission, and, of course, the Salisbury's. 

On Thursday, I said some goodbyes, and we got in with the Waddell couple.  They are a part member family.  Sister Waddell is Sister Allred's sister, and Brother Waddell is Baptist, but the chillest guy ever!  So, it was good to start teaching them, and they committed to come to the Fireside on Sunday! 

{Brother & Sister Morse}

 

 

{Sister Karen Guffey}

On Friday, we drove up to Buchanan and worked basically the whole day up there (10a-6p).  But, then to drive from Buchanan to the Elmore's house (where we went for dinner), the GPS had us take the Blue Ridge Parkway!  If you don't know about the Blue Ridge Parkway, go Google it!

Blue Ridge Parkway

But, I felt it such a tender mercy from the Lord to be able to drive this beautiful Scenic Route with great views and so much green!  It was such a blessing, and a great recap of what I will miss out here in the East! 

 

On Saturday!  Of Course you know what happens!   

Sister Amber Booher was baptized on her birthday!

It was a wonderful service, with basically half the Branch coming out to support her at her Baptism!

Amber's Baptism program

Several other missionaries brought their investigators, as well! 

Amber's family; her mom, step-dad, and 2 kids (Lazarous & Lillieth)

Amber's family came, as well; her mom, step-dad, aunt, and 2 kids came!  It was a beautiful thing to be a part of!  Brother Plaster baptized her, and Elder Shirley & I gave the talks (I conveniently already had a Baptismal talk prepared for Brookelle's Baptism!  Thanks Brookie May!)  And we were also the Witnesses!  There was just such a special Spirit!!!  On top of that, when we went to go see the Smith's/Lillie Lawson, we were going to invite her to be baptized, but she beat us to the punch!  Before we could even start the lesson, she asked us about being Baptized!  She is on date for Baptism for Oct. 9th.

{Lillie Lawson, and the Smith's}

 

 

Jeeping with Brother Gwynn

Brother Gwynn came with us to see Sister Angie Rogers on Saturday, so he took us Jeeping along the way!

{Sister Angie Rogers}

On Sunday was Amber’s Confirmation!!!  Elder Shirley did a great job confirming her, and I was also blessed to be in the circle of her Confirmation.  In attendance were three other investigators; her mom, Tina Booher, Sister Angie Rogers, and Sister Lillie Lawson! (the Smith family also came, 3 Sundays in a row!  Lillie is definitely helping them get active again!) 

 

{The Willmott family - Botetourt Branch}

 

 

{John & Nancy Moore - Botetourt Branch}

The Fireside was also really wonderful!  Sister Booher (now a member), Sister Lillie Lawson, Smith's, and the Waddell's came!  It was a really great hour, and President Light, of the Stake Presidency, asked the congregation at the end, “Have you felt the Spirit tonight?”  I wanted to shout, “YES!”  Each set of missionaries involved (us, Roanoke Sisters, Roanoke Zone Leaders) were supposed to provide one musical number and one testimony to be given by people from their area.  Sister Tonya Elmore, from Botetourt Branch, gave her testimony.  I can't express how proud I was of her! 

Elmore Family (Jacob, Brother Danny Elmore, Brenna, Sister Tonya Elmore)

 

I love the Elmore family with all my heart, and Sister Elmore is not one to be in front of crowds, she gets very nervous -- but she has such a touching conversion story and a knowledge of her Heavenly Father, that we knew we had to ask her!  She did such a good job, and it meant a lot to her family.  We were so proud of her!  Also, I saw a lot of folks from Roanoke ward

{Brother John Turner and J Blevins - Roanoke ward}

 

 

{Brother Tony Keeton}

 

 

{Frankie Rosser - Myra & Roxanne's cousin}

 

{"The Gundlach's - Roanoke ward}

 

 

{Brother Bobby Richardson - Roanoke Ward Mission Leader}

 

{Bishop Tommy Joe Williams - Roanoke Ward}

 

{Brother Dane McBride, Roanoke ward - this guy was companions with Mitt Romney on his mission!}

 

I wasn't able to get a picture with these people while I was serving there, so I got a pic with them at the Fireside!  #tendermercy!

Love, Elder Brenchley

EXTREMES: Rude -> Loving, 100 Degrees -> Pouring Thunderstorms, Not Many Lessons -> Lots of Lessons

Hey Y'all! 

Coming from Virginia still!  The news is I will be staying in Botetourt with Elder Shirley for my last transfer as a missionary!  I'm very happy!  I had interviews this past week with President Salisbury, and he gave me the heads up early, actually! 

 

Some highlights (and lowlights) from this week:

1. Sister Susan Copeland, who I taught in Roanoke, got baptized and I was able to attend! 

2. We started teaching a gal named, Amber, who lives at our apartment complex! 

3. 7-11 Slurpee Day

4. Interviews with President Salisbury

5. Zone meeting

6. The week of July 4-10, we didn't teach too many lessons. 

7. The two days of July 11-12, we've almost matched the amount of lessons we taught the week previous.  It's going good. 

8. Went to court this morning for a speeding ticket..... :(

9. While knocking a street, we helped the same guy twice in 10 minutes time get his riding lawn mower out of a ditch - I'm not so sure he should be driving that thing. 

As for the rest of the week, we had 100 degree weather to pouring rain storms!  The weather is crazy! Haha! 

 

Tues. July 5:  We knocked Muse Road, and tracted into the owner of Famous Anthony's (a big restaurant chain here).

We also spoke with and taught a 19 year old kid named, Jacob.  He is planning on going into the Air Force, but he is definitely socially awkward, so he was interested enough to talk to us, but I think it helped we were about his age. 

Then we emailed at Fincastle Library because they were closed on the 4th.

We had dinner with the Cummings' and Brother Gentry picked us up.  We ate really good pork loin. Then President Cummings came with us and we dropped in on the Kotval's.  President Cummings was really good for them.  Josh Kotval (non-member) is a Deputy Sheriff for Botetourt County, and President Cummings is a volunteer deputy.  Sister Kotval is the member.  We shared with them, "The Family Proclamation."  Then Josh opened up with some pretty big questions regarding anti.  President Cummings bore his testimony of his conversion, and answered them really well!  They are going to be a great focus family for the Branch!

Wed. July 6:  So we went up to Buchanan today.  Then stopped by and talked to Sister Angie Rogers - she's doing fine (her dog, however, is in bad shape).  She just hasn't been answering her phone. 

We talked to Tiara, a daughter of a referral we got, and she seemed really cool and open. 

Up in Buchanan, we didn't get too much dice.  But, we saw a cool bridge!

We talked to Sister Lorton, and asked her who she'd recommend for us to go try.   A less-active family wasn't home, and as soon as the Overby's saw us pull up to their driveway, they both left the front porch and went into the house. 

We had dinner at the Scroggins'; they are going to pray for the opportunity to again get the Tribbles family over to meet with us. 

While out tracting, we met the nicest, older couple I have ever met on my mission.  Bob and Patty Cox (age 85 and 82) were so hospitable; they invited us in, kept trying to give us food and drink, and told us how a son of theirs is Mormon, and how many great Mormon grandkids and great-grandkids they have.  

Thur. July 7:  We had interviews with President Salisbury in the morning.  It was great, as always!  He told me he's never had to "worry" about me on my mission.  He says, "I just don't want to get in your way, Elder Brenchley."  It's always such an uplifting time to be with him - I know he was called by God to be my Mission President. 

We knocked off Valley Road, where we didn't really find anyone, just the guy named Mike who kept getting his riding lawn mower stuck in a ditch. 

Brother Plaster came with us for two hours today, and we taught Brother Dewie Weddle, and then saw Brother Ted Durrant (inactive member).  He wasn't interested - after inviting us in, we tried to teach a lesson and invite him back to church, then he politely asked us to close with prayer and leave. 

Kacy had to cancel.  :(  And then Amy Gregory cancelled, too. 

We ate at Subway.  Eat Fresh.

While tracting Camelia Drive, we found this funny guy named, Fred Smith.  He's Catholic, but he doesn't know why he's Catholic.  He heard our lesson, then he said, "After this many years, I don't know if I can change."

I then asked, "What if God asked you to change?" 

This certainly took him off guard, and he didn't know how to answer.  We're excited to go back and see him.

{I have acquired 36 ties on my mission!  WOW!}

Fri. July 8:  We had zone meeting.

Then we were able to meet with a new less-active Sister we started teaching named, Sister Marilyn Evans.  She actually joined the church while working for a company based in Salt Lake City.  Her co-workers shared the Gospel with her. 

While tracting, one old guy was as rude as could be (probably one of the angriest I've seen on my mission) and then a different old guy was all for us coming and loved us in just 10 minutes! 

We had dinner at the Elmore's and they identified some families they want to share the Gospel with. 

 

Sat. July 9:  Sister Susan Copeland's Baptism.

{Sister Copeland and Brother Vance}

 

 

{All the Elders who ever taught Sister Copeland}

Me, Elder Cheever, Elder Boer, Elder Jolley, Elder Larson

 

{The Vance Family}

 

{Elder Jolley and I with Susan}

 

Brother Elmore did come out with us, but Sister Angie Rogers flaked on us! 

We had a lesson with the Clark couple - they're still really nervous about coming to church. 

Then we had a follow-up lesson with Jacob Wallis, who we found Tuesday.  He didn't really remember anything we taught him. 

We contacted a referral named, Freda.  She was 97 years old and wasn't interested. 

 

Sun. July 10:  We had Branch Council in the morning, then church.  It's becoming an all day thing with Branch Council at 12:30, then church until 5:00. 

We had dinner at the Diviney's; they are awesome!  They identified one kid that Jack (age 15) and Abe (age 13) know, that they are going to invite to mutual.  They set a goal of July 27 to find someone to refer us to.

We talked to a Muslim man, who is from the Middle East, just visiting his parents.  We had a very pleasant conversation. 

 

Mon. July 11:  We had District meeting in the morning.

Our District

 

Our District Leader, Elder Hepworth, brought us a bottle of Martinelli's sparkling cider

 

 

We taught our neighbor, Sister Amber Booher, for the first time.  She's been bringing us food several nights before because she wants us to be taken care of.  She is interested in learning about religion, so she said we could come by.  Brother Janney came with us.  She is very open and searching for truth.  She has a lot of questions about what's wrong and what's right.  She has a lot of tattoos and a couple piercings.  She had a long list of questions!  She's seems so very promising; she said she'd be baptized! 

Free 7-11 slurpees on 7-11

Then we were able to hit up 7-11 for Slurpee day! 

We dropped in on Angie since we had Brother Janney with us, and she said she still wanted to be baptized, and even said she'd like to be baptized this Sunday, but we talked to her about her being more prepared, and moved her date to August. 

Then Brother Janney came with us to the Moore's for dinner.  Brother Moore committed to get us in the door with a friend he has. 

As we were coming back to our apartment (8:50ish), Amber came by and dropped us off some pasta, and reported she had already read the chapter we left her, as well as checked out the websites we left her. 

 

Tues. July 12:  We knocked this one street (in a very nice neighborhood), and it just wasn't a good street.  I repeat, It was not a good street. 

We had Brother Morse come out with us to see Amy Gregory and she wasn't there!  We did try a couple of other people, and knocked into this cool guy named, Cody. 

We then also tried a former investigator, and found this gal named, Jacelyn.  She's a former Jehovah's Witness and she thought it was so funny that she was on "the other end" of proselyting today.  She said she fell out of religion, and she usually tells religious ministers to take a hike, but she doesn't know why she let us talk to her (We know! We've got the truth to share!)  I ended up saying a closing prayer with her.  She is awesome! 

After some huge thunderstorms, we were able to safely get out of the car and go see the Hodges family. 

Virginia Thomas cancelled, and Dewie Weddle called us to tell us he was staying with the Church of the Brethren. 

We knocked this cool neighborhood and got some good potentials. 

We had a wonderful lesson with Brother Jacob Dalton.  Brother Diviney made all the difference. They really got along, and Brother Diviney was able to bear personal testimony of Prophets/Apostles and the Plan of Salvation, and how it helps him as a father/husband. 

Well, due to the time is running out of the library computer, I have to wrap up.  It was a busy week! I'll leave with this scripture:

D&C 58:26-32

26 For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

 27 Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

 28 For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.

 29 But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned.

 30 Who am I that made man, saith the Lord, that will hold him guiltless that obeys not my commandments?

 31 Who am I, saith the Lord, that have promised and have not fulfilled?

 32 I command and men obey not; I revoke and they receive not the blessing.

Let us be diligent in keeping the commandments of God!  And be agents unto ourselves!  I intend to finish my mission this way!

I Love You All! 

Love, Elder Brenchley

The Mission Life is Good! (Baptism, Branch Life, and Dragon's Tooth)

Hey Everyone!

I can't express how much news I have to share with y'all this week!  A lot of things happened over the last couple of days, and it has been so exciting.  So, I'll give a quick recap before the day by day summary!

1. We found 4 new investigators this week!  Including a family who is seeking the truth!
2. I got notified late Thursday night, that Sister Debbie French from BV was getting baptized Saturday!  I got permission from President Salisbury to go, found a ride on Friday - Brother Allred was so nice to take us, and on Saturday, we got to drive up to BV and go and watch the Baptism!  I am so happy and proud of her!  She has worked hard for this, and she and Sister Betty McGowan were so excited to see me!  I feel so blessed that I was serving in an area close enough to be able to attend the Baptism! 
3. There was a special meeting held this Sunday night, and the whole Stake was invited to attend (at the Stake Center or via broadcast).  No one knew what it was about, so there was a lot of buzz (Was it a reproving for not doing Home Teaching?  A temple in Virginia?  A boundary realignment?  New Church policy?)  It turned out to be boundary realignments....AND Botetourt County has seceded from the Roanoke 1st Ward!  That's right, the Botetourt Branch was formed, and Elder Shirley and I are the first missionaries in history for the Botetourt Branch!  We are so excited!  We can feel the members’ excitement, as well.  President Cummings was called as the new Branch President, and he said he will put us to work! 
4. For Memorial Day, our district hiked this trail called, Dragon's Tooth; it was really fun, and sometimes scary (just kidding) and it had beautiful views! 

LOOK OUT FOR PICTURES THERE ARE PLENTY OF THEM!

Mon. May 23: 

P-Day, and we played chair soccer at the church. 

Our appointment with the Harris family cancelled. :(

Tues. May 24:  Our investigator, Peyton, cancelled our appointment and said he's really busy and he'd prefer to spend any free time he has relaxing rather than meeting with us.  We were still inspired to work his neighborhood though, and we got a referral from one of the neighbors.  The referral ended up being Peyton's next door neighbor.  It was the Davis Family.  Jim, the dad, asked if we could come back later that day, which we definitely agreed we could! ;) We came back and we were able to have a good first lesson with him and his 17 yr. old son, James.  They are both really well educated in the Bible, but they currently don't attend a church because time after time, they see Men making up their own doctrine or teaching doctrine that doesn't line up with the Bible.  They are truly Truth Seekers.  They currently abide by the whatever the Bible tells them.  James is home schooled, and through that, he has met a really good friend who joined the Church last year, and is now serving a mission this September.  So, they have definitely been prepared.  We hope to teach the remainder of the family (mom & 3 kids) next time. 

Brother Turner came with us to see Angie, and she ended up not being at our appointment.  However, the Lord did want us in that area because with Brother Turner, we were able to go meet the boyfriend of a less-active, and give him a Book of Mormon.  Then we were also able to go across the street and have a short, but good, lesson with Chuck Wilde.  He was really impressed we pray to God (not Jesus) - we left him with a Book of Mormon, after sharing with him Moroni's Promise. 

Brother Turner

Then Brother Turner, him being so kind and awesome, took us out to dinner at 3 Lil' Pigs in Daleville – it’s probably one of the best places I've eaten at on my mission.  I definitely will have to take my family here when we come back next Summer. 

Wed. May 25:  We had some good success on Coaling Road today, finding some potential investigators.  We felt inspired to knock this one house, even though it looked barren with no cars in the driveway.  It turns out the kids were home, including an 18 year old son. We were able to talk to him, and he said his family had not been to church in a while, and he would really appreciate it if we came back to teach his family. 

We taught Sister Debbie Day for the first time.  She's a former investigator, and is so nice.  She has a 30 year old daughter, named Sarah, who has Cerebral Palsy.  Brother Richardson came with us, and we had a really good lesson on knowing the truth of the Restoration.  I really felt the Spirit as I was reciting The First Vision, and I could tell Debbie was, as well.  I think her response to The First Vision is what made me get emotional, just as I saw the Spirit touch her heart. 

We had dinner at the Morse's home, and then Ward Missionary Coordination meeting.

Thur. May 26:  We did our weekly planning. 

Brother Plaster came with us to see Misty, but she had to reschedule, so he still drove us around.  He talked to the Overby's for a bit; they were busy, so they couldn't sit down and have a lesson, but Brother Plaster and Glen Overby really got along, so we found a pretty good fellowshipper for them! 

I also saw a angry Snapping Turtle!  

I got notified from the Roanoke zone leaders (who got notified from the BV zone leaders) that Sister French was getting baptized on Saturday.  I texted President Salisbury and I got permission to go, since I am within an hour of BV. 

Fri. May 27:  There was a really powerful, Spirit-filled District Meeting focused on the Atonement of Jesus Christ today.  

District Photo (Sister Ward, Sister Kirkby, Elder Young, Elder Hepworth, Elder Brenchley, Elder Shirley)

The appointments we did have set up today all had to cancel..... 

We were able to drop in and have a good lesson with Brother Keeton and The Smith's.

Sat. May 28:  It was a hot and humid day! 

We tracted on Orchard Drive. 

Later, we met up with Brother Allred, who drove us to BV.  

Brother Allred acting as our chauffeur to Buena Vista

I was excited to see everyone, and everyone was excited to see me.  It was a wonderful service.  The Spirit was strong.

Debbie French with The Elders: Elder Wasden is on the far left (he replaced me back in BV in December and is currently serving in Lynchburg - still in the BV zone, so was also close enough to come).  Then there's Elder Maloy and Elder Barazoto (the current BV Elders) and me.

  

Debbie French, and her mother, Betty, and the two Brothers from the BV ward, and all the Elders

  .

Of course, it wouldn't be Debbie's Baptism, though, if there wasn't some of her sass involved. :)  Brother Butler was the one to actually baptize her, but Brother Turman also went in the water to help her go under the water.  The first time, her hand did not go all the way under. 

When she came back up, and was told they had to do it again, she yelled, "WHAT?" 

Then she said, "They're trying to kill me!"

Brother Butler jokingly said, "Well, we failed!"

Then Sister French said, "I thought my hand went under!?"

Brother Turman responded: "Well the referee said, ‘No!’"

Haha, she was still a good sport about it. 

I made sure to get plenty of pictures with everyone there.  

Walker Family

Bishop and Sister Doxey

 

Brother & Sister Butler with their adopted son, Matthew

 

Brother Turman

 

Sister Betty McGowen and our newest Baptized member, Sister Debbie French

 

Then we were able to have dinner at the Diviney's - they were throwing a Memorial Day weekend BBQ, it was plenty fun and tons of people came.

Look who I ran into at the Diviney's BBQ - The Hall's from Floyd Branch!

There was plenty of Bluegrass music and dancing and good food. 

We found a really cool potential family, the Kirby's. 

Sun. May 29:  Elder Shirley and Sister Ward spoke today in Sacrament meeting, as well as the Relief Society President, Sister Cummings.  All the talks were about Service, and reaching out to those in need, and going to the rescue!  I really enjoyed all of them! 

We attended the Special Meeting: we learned of some changes in the Stake.  Botetourt Branch is going to be exciting!  President Cummings was called as the Branch President, Brother Moore was called as 1st Counselor, and Brother Allred was called as 2nd Counselor. We were going to go razz Brother Allred, and ask why he didn't tell us yesterday while we were driving all the way to BV and back.  But, it turns out, he didn't even know until Sunday at 4:30 p.m. - an hour and a half before the meeting!  Our Botetourt Branch also took a chunk from the Vinton Ward (still in  Botetourt County, just on the other side of the Mountain Range), so we are excited to go work those areas, and we met a few members that will now be in our Branch.

Mon. May 30: Memorial Day and P-Day.

We hiked Dragon's Tooth as a district.  It was super fun! 

Also, I was able to go to the batting cages.

We met a nice guy named, Josh, who was really excited to take a Book of Mormon.

Well, Elder Shirley and I are really excited to be working hard to help the Botetourt Branch grow and flourish.  The members up in Botetourt are solid members, and I can feel their excitement with this change.  They will be driven and motivated to help the Branch grow, by bringing their friends into the Gospel, and also bringing less-actives back to church.

And again, I can't say how wonderful it was to attend Sister Debbie French's Baptism.  My joy was full, and it was incredible to see the change that has taken place in her since I last saw her almost 5 months ago.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is true; change through Him is real, and Sister Debbie French is a living example of that! 

I love you all!

Love, Elder Brenchley

P.S. By way of reminder, next week is Transfer week, so I will not being emailing until Wednesday.  With the recent opening of the Botetourt Branch, Elder Shirley and I feel pretty confident that we will both be staying. 

P.P.S.  It appears we will be in the Salem house for another couple of weeks, unless a miracle happens.  We are just not finding anything suitable for the Mission Department standards or budget.  Nothing in Botetourt County, at least.