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

Tearing Up Cigarettes

Hey Everyone!

What a spiritual week we had!  I was a little disappointed with the low amount of lessons we taught this past week, but we had the great privilege to be with Elder Erich W. Kopischke of the Seventy.  He came for a Mission tour!  The south of the Mission got to go the meeting on Wednesday in Roanoke.  Then all the zone leaders and Sister Training Leaders got to go to a special MLC on Friday with him.  What a special experience that was! 

Also, Sister Betty McGowen was confirmed in church this Sunday!  Yeah!  She's now a member.

Mon. Nov. 9:  We had a dinner appointment with the Siegel's - they are awesome - they actually know a potential investigator, who we hope to start teaching, so they will orchestrate that! 

We did FHE with the Hanson's!  They have five girls!  Poor Brother Hanson. haha, just kidding. 

We had an appointment with Jordan and Brittany Garrett, and Brother Blake was going to come with us.  As we texted them to confirm with them, Jordan texted us back and said he's going to go back to his own church, and doesn't need us to come by anymore.  We bore testimony he still needed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon before he never invited the missionaries back.  We will give them some time. 

Tues. Nov. 10:  We had a great lesson with Brother Adam Walker.  We talked about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  Then after the lesson, we got to rip up and throw away all of his cigarettes!  It was fun! 

We also were able to have a lesson with Nancy - she talks so much about who knows what.  It's hard to teach her sometimes but we need to be more bold with her, and simply say, "Nancy, we don't have a lot of time.  We want to share the message for today.  Please think of questions to ask during the lesson, and then we can better help you understand the lesson."

Wed. Nov. 11: 

The White Sulpher Spring Elders came down last night so they could cut their drive in half, so they rode with us to Roanoke today. 

The Mission Conference with Elder Kopischke was really awesome!  He let us set the agenda, and asked us what we wanted to learn.  He had us write down that question, and promised us that in the meeting we would receive the answer to the question we wrote down (we didn't share what we wrote down with anyone!)  I can say I received lots of answers to my question I wrote down which was: "How can I use all my resources to be a smart, effective, and powerful missionary?" 

He also reminded us about the Power of Teaching Immediately instead of spending too much time on "So, tell us about your dog." or "Would you be interested in a message about......?"  

Floyd Brothers! 

All these Elders served in Floyd!  (L to R [in order of service]: Elder Ward, Elder Price, Elder Brenchley (me), Elder Boyd, Elder Kropsheck, Elder Christensen, and Elder Perkins)

 

August 2014 Missionaries.  Not all of them, but a lot! 

(L to R: Elders Williams, Elder Poyfair, Elder Blaine, Elder Anderton, Elder Brenchley (me), Elder French, Elder Numbers, Sister Charlesworth, Sister Kelly, and Sister Applegate)

 

We drove home and had dinner with the Bonner's...and they gave us a referral! 

Then had a great less-active visit with the Ramirez',  Brother Flores, who speaks Spanish, came with us, and he's already good friends with them.  We were able to ask them how each element of the Gospel of Jesus Christ helps their lives.  They responded very graciously!  Brother Ramirez even said the closing prayer!  We think they are just shy, and feel uncomfortable about being some of the only Spanish speakers there at church, so that's why they've been inactive. 

Thur. Nov. 12:  Thursday we saw so many good things from Teaching Immediately!  We found two great guys!  With Dillon, we were looking for his Dad, then when he said he wasn't home, we just started teaching him.  We got a return appointment with him! 

We had dinner with the Himes’.  He a Professor and very sophisticated!  A lot of the stuff he was saying was going over my head, but I really enjoyed dinner with them. 

Fri. Nov. 13:  We had our special MLC with Elder Kopischke in Charleston.  It only went from 9:00-1:00, so we were able to get headed back earlier.  But, we made some stops on the way home, so we ended up getting home around 7:00. 

We had dinner with the Butler's and we were hoping to have a lesson with Betty, but she's had family over this weekend, so she's not comfortable having us meet her family yet because they are a little anti-Mormon. 

Sat. Nov. 14:  So, we were notified yesterday that we would now be “bike Elders,” and our car was needed elsewhere.  So, our car got picked up today and was driven to Charleston.  Late in the evening, the Assistants brought down some bikes for us! 

We didn't have the bikes or a car for the most part of the day, so we were able to be out and about and talk with a lot more people, so we found some potentials out of it! 

We had dinner at the Forsberg's.

George invited us over for a visit tonight, which was really surprising - sometimes it's like pulling teeth to get in with him.  Also, at his house was his neighbor named, Mikalea.  She humbly listened to our message, and she wanted the promised blessings of the Gospel.  We got a separate return appointments with her and with George! 

Sun. Nov. 15:  We put the bikes to use today! 

Sister McGowen was feeling nauseated today, but she was still determined to come for her Confirmation today.  We also set up a Temple Recommend interview for her after church with Bishop Doxey.  She was confirmed by Brother Butler, and we got to be in on the circle.  It's just a wonderful experience to be a part of something like that.  The Holy Ghost is now with her, and she is now a member of the Church.  Halfway through Sacrament Meeting, she was beginning to pass out, so she had to leave early.  But, still the determination to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost is inspiring! 

We didn't find much success the rest of the evening, but we stayed committed!  We had some member visits and prayed with a guy in need. 

Well, thanks for all the support back home! I can feel your prayers. 

We can't be constrained by any trials. I guess you could call biking through the dark and cold a trial, but as we let the light of Christ burn within us, it will warm us, and His light will lead the way! 

Remember your purpose that you've been sent here for!  HOLD FAST to the Rod! 

Love You All! 

Love, Elder Brenchley! 

P.S. I attached the talk I gave in Sacrament Meeting, "How do I get Answers to Gospel Questions?"