When it Snows, It Dumps!

So, Everyone!  How's it going?  I am now 19! (Well, not til 11:47 tonight)

But, BIG NEWS!  It's bitter sweet, but I am going to be getting transferred out of Beckley 2.  I have grown to love this place so much!  I LOVE the area, the investigators, the members, everything about this place.  I will definitely return with my family someday!

Elder Caldwell is staying in Beckley 2, and I have full confidence in him that he will do just fine!  My new area is .............. 

Floyd, Virginia!

On the map, it looks like it is in the middle of nowhere!  It is in the Blacksburg zone.  I will be serving in a branch.  President Salisbury called me Monday and asked me to be a District Leader!  WOW!  (Everyone pray for me).  He also told me my area is a branch, but has over 100 in attendance each week, and is looking to change into a ward.  My companion will be Elder Olsen.  I have never met him, but President informed me he is great, and he will train me how to be a District Leader (he's had multiple D.L. callings).  He is also going home next transfer, so I also have the responsibility to make sure he doesn't get trunky!

So, to summarize this week: it snowed and snowed and snowed!  Church was cancelled again, along with most of our appointments, Matt & Rebecca's wedding, and Steven Bolan's Baptism.  So, it was a tough week!

{the snow taking it's toll on a BP gas station}

Feb. 16, Mon:  Heller's let us email at their house and then we later found out, we aren't allowed to email in a member's home.  Whoops! 

It also snowed 12 inches today, so our appointment with the Harvey's was cancelled.

Feb. 17, Tues:  With all the snow, Matt & Rebecca's wedding was cancelled, and they don't have another date, yet.  We'll have to move the baptism back as well. :( 

Snuffer's also cancelled because they were snowed in up on their mountain.  

We spent some good time today out shoveling other people's driveways. 

We also tracted and received a referral to go visit a couple named, the Mill's.  We got a return appointment with them!  (highlight of the day)

Feb. 18, Wed:  It was -2 degrees this morning.  That's the coldest, I've ever seen! 

We had a wonderful Zone Conference all day!  

{Elder Williams (MTC comp) & I reunited at Zone Conference}

 

The conference was really stressing the importance of Family History, helping investigators have a firm testimony (Parable of the Sower), and fighting off dissenters. 

Tom Poe cancelled because of the snow.  

But, we were still able to meet with the Harvey's.  They are great!  Kevin and Shainelle and their son, Jackson.  They are a young family - just what we're after!  They aren't sure whether they want to consider joining the Church, but they love learning more and promised to read the Book of Mormon.  Quote of the week came from Kevin during our visit: "So I got a friend.  He believes in God, but doesn't believe in the Bible - he's going to Hell, right?"  Haha.  We, of course, addressed that concern and asked if we could go visit his friend.

Feb. 19, Thur:  We shoveled some more snow and spent a lot of time out in the cold. 

We had a wonderful miracle happen.  We called some former investigators, the Harold's, who have agreed to meet with the missionaries again, and they said we could come over that night!  Neither Wayne nor Katie know for sure if there is a God.  Wayne wants God to show himself to him to prove so.  We showed them the Mormon Message, "The Hope of God's Light."  It was perfect for both of them.  The Spirit was so strong!  Wayne still has some doubts, but we pointed out, you must humble yourself, in order for God to reveal himself to you.  He wouldn't commit to pray to know if there was a God.  Katie did, but I felt impressed to ask, "Wayne, will you pray to God for your family?"  He paused and said, "Yeah, I can try that!"  I'm praying he truly will!  We are definitely going to dedicate some study time to them!

Here's the Link.  Everyone go watch it!

http://www.mormonchannel.org/listen/series/mormon-channel-daily-audio/the-hope-of-gods-light-july-15-2014

Feb. 20, Fri: We taught Sister Cline today with Josef and Sister Heller.  We basically went over the history of the Book of Mormon, and she is actually consistently reading!  She said she's excited about the story of Nephi and his brothers. 

Right after, we went to shovel a less active/part-member family's driveway.  Two miracles happened!  1. Elder Caldwell got talking to the neighbors, (two 20-year old boys) and promised them that they didn't have to fear God anymore, which was their big concern.  They wanted us to swing by!  Then, 2. Brother Williams came home, and was really pleased with our work, so he said we could come by tomorrow! (They've been really hard to get in with).  WooHoo!  

Then, we visited with the Hicks' and left them with an Ensign to read.

Feb. 21, Sat:  Not much to say today.  It dumped and dumped snow!  We got 12-15 inches on top of the other accumulated snow all week.  Elder Spencer (D.L.) decided it was not safe to be driving on the roads in a whiteout.  

We stayed inside all day and cleaned the apartment, built a snowman, and got a haircut from Elder Caldwell.

Steven Bolen's Baptism for today was also cancelled. :(

Feb. 22, Sun:  Church was cancelled again! 

We spent the day shoveling out our driveway and others' as well.  We eventually shoveled our way out, and went to the Young's for dinner!

Feb. 23, Mon:  We got stuck in the snow/ice today.  Conveniently, we got stuck right next to a Power Washer Warehouse, so they sprayed us out of there! 

We got in two doors today; both with potential investigators - we didn't really have lessons, but great discussions and set up return appointments. The first was a hilarious, short, African-American man named, Buford.  And the second was the Price family, who are friends with our investigator, Victoria.

 President Stansbury called me tonight, and gave me an assignment to be a District Leader in another area.  So, at this point we know I'm leaving and Elder Caldwell was staying.  We didn't know who our new comps were going to be or where I was going! 

{A missionary's dream come true!}

 

Also, I got 6 letters in the mail today!  Most ever!  All wonderful B-Day cards!  Thanks!

Feb. 24, Tues:  I went on one last exchange today.  Elder Ence joined me in Beaver for a lesson with Elmer and Margaret Mills, who we found earlier in the week.  We got to know them and they have had a lot of exposure to the Church (living next to Mormons in D.C. and then graduating, and being related to Sister McGrady and Brother Snuffer.)  So, they have a lot of potential!  Sister McGrady was really excited to go teach them!

The Young's threw me and Brother Heller a birthday party! (His b-day is Feb. 25, as well!)

  

 The Young's gave me a tie, and Heller's gave me some office supplies. What else could a missionary ask for!!!  

We had Cafe Rio-like burritos for dinner and brownies and ice cream for dessert!  

{party props/masks}

{LOVE these two families, the Young's & the Heller's}
They are all so awesome to us!

 

After dinner and cake/ice cream, we sat down to give them a lesson on Family History.  After sharing scriptures, we went into training the families.  I used Sister Young's family tree, as example, and showed everyone how to find not just direct ancestors to do temple work, but cousins, as well!  The Spirit of Elijah is real!  As I was doing this, I actually found an ancestor who needed her work done!  They were all so amazed, and with the strong Spirit in the room, we invited them to have a family in their home for a Family History session.  Both families took the challenge, and I am so excited to hear how it goes!  I want all of Ya'll to check that out, and also relative finder!  Search that, and you can see all the famous Mormon people you are related to!

This was a very great week, even though the snow just about ruined everything!!  But, I feel I gave it my all!  

I really wish I could stay to see all the Baptisms coming up!  But, I feel like I did good work here!  And I am excited to see what Floyd will be like!  Next time you hear from me, I'll be a District Leader serving in Floyd, VA!

I Love You all!

Love Elder Brenchley

Third Time's the Charm

Hey Ya'll! 

Hello from snowy West Virginia!  Sounds like there's nothing (in the form of snow) back home!  It started snowing Saturday afternoon, and hasn't stopped!  Church was cancelled! :(

Valentines Day was a WHITEOUT!  Elder Caldwell & I had a "Bro's Night" Valentines date on Feb.13, after a friendly lady gave us $50!  Yeah!  Blessing!

Feb. 9, Mon:  The McGrady's had us over for dinner and we gave Bro. McGrady a priesthood blessing.

Then after we went over to the Pace's and helped J lift some beams for their parking they are putting in.  It was raining, so it was slippery lifting those heavy beams. 

Feb. 10, Tues:  We had district meeting today. 

We actually got in two doors today and one return appointment!! 

We also felt prompted to go to Mike Wood's home, but they weren't home, but their neighbor was, and we left her with a Book of Mormon!

Feb. 11, Wed:  We gave out two boxes of food today; one to Rob and Kim Wood and the other to Kevin and Deloris Hall.

Kevin & Deloris were able to have us in for a lesson.  We read Alma 34 with them! 

We also taught Sister Cline.  She's not ready to join the Church, but she wants to keep having us over, and keep coming to church!

Feb. 12 Thur:  We found a former investigator who's ready to have us over again! 

Then with Bro. Jones, we went to teach Victoria the Plan of Salvation.  

{Victoria's son, Brandon (and chicken wings!}

 

{Elder Caldwell & I with Victoria}

 

She wants to come to church, but she won't come by herself and her boyfriend, Larry, doesn't want to come. :(

Feb. 13, Fri:  Well, we met with a man named, Raines.  He's 88 yrs. old and we also met with him on Tuesday, when we gave him a Book of Mormon.  When we came to our appointment Friday, he had read most of 3 Nephi!  WooHoo!  Then he threw us a curve ball we weren't expecting!  He doesn't believe the Book of Mormon is necessary because he read the Sermon on the Mount in the Book of Mormon, and he says it's already in the Bible.  So, even after us trying really hard to explain to him the purpose of the Book of Mormon, he wasn't interested in having us come back to teach him. :( 

Then, while we were in Kroger parking lot, we helped Ruth Davis load her groceries.  This is like the 3rd time we've ran into her - she really wanted to have us over for dinner or give us money for dinner, but she said her husband didn't want us over, so we needed to accept her money.  We decided it was rude to deny her three times, and she gave us $50!  Holy Cow!  

So, V-Day Bro Night we went to Fujiyama Japanese Steakhouse! 

Feb. 14, Sat:  Happy V-Day!  We were able to teach Matt & Jasmine in the morning before the storm hit!  We went over the baptismal interview questions with them.  

The rest of the day we went tracting in the storm.  A lot of people said, "Well, find someplace warm!"  And I'm like, "Well, how about letting us in?" :)

Feb. 15, Sun:  Church was cancelled; the snow was heavy, and a lot of people live far away.  It was down to 4 degrees. 

We spent the day trying to get a hold of people and shoveling their walks.  We were able to schedule appointments, and got two meal appointments from two non-members to "repay" us for our shoveling!

Well, there's a lot more to say!  But, we got to get going! 

Love You All! 

-Love Elder Brenchley

Missionary Discussion FIRST, Go To the E.R. LATER

So, Ya'll....let me tell Ya!   I really LOVE this area!   I really LOVE Missionary work!   I Really LOVE Family History Work!  I really LOVE the Gospel!

This will actually be the first Valentine's Day I will actually be with someone! (My Companion Elder Caldwell) Even on V-Day I can't get away from him! JK I love him, too!

Anyway, this was a very mediocre week, with a lot of potential in the future!


Feb. 2, Mon:  Today was P-DAY, and OH! what a sad day!  My heart has been broken!  Subway no longer has any $5 footlongs! :(  The cheapest 6-INCH is $4.50 here in WV!
Anyway, we mostly stayed in today and then had dinner @ the Meador's with the Beckley elders to discuss with Bro. Meador (The EQ President) how we can help fix the Elders Quorum and the home teaching problem.

Feb. 3, Tues: We tracted for a long while and found a high school girl we'd found previously at a different house, and she was open to us coming and teaching her and her mom.
We had Bro. Snuffer coming out with us to an appointment and the potential we were going to go see fell through, so Bro. Snuffer wanted to go see Darryl.  Yes, Darryl.  Remember him?  Well, we wouldn't have gotten in the door if it hadn't have been for Bro. Snuffer.  We sat and listened as Bro. Snuffer tried to find Darryl's concerns with the Church.  Darryl said he'd try to finish reading the Book of Mormon and Bro. Snuffer wants him or Jennifer to give him a call if they want to ever come to church. So, that went better than I thought.
The Young's had us for dinner.

Feb. 4, Wed:  We spent a lot of time today trying to set up appointments (calling, texting, knocking, etc.)
Our appointment with Victoria and the Young's fell through. :(
We talked with this one former investigator named Wayne.  He asked us a very interesting question: "What was the last thing you prayed for, that was answered?"  The question was a new one I've never heard before.  I responded, "Well, we prayed for guidance where to go, and here we are on your porch!"  He doesn't believe there's a God because he says he's never had an answer to his prayer.  Well, we are definitely excited to start teaching him and his wife again.  But, we will really have to start with believing there is a God.  I can't say I have ever had to teach that lesson out here.  I'll probably get a taste of what teaching was like for mom and dad serving in Japan! 
We did end our night on a high note by teaching a lesson to the Hicks'.  Hopefully, they'll start coming back to church soon.

Feb. 5, Thur:  Today was busy, busy!  We had weekly planning, then a lesson with Tom Poe @ the church with Bishop Barnett.  We really hit on repentance and baptism.  With Tom, it's just really slow teaching him.  But, we were praying on a baptism date for him and will give it to him on Sunday.  He said he'd pray about baptism as well!
Then immediately after, we speed off to the McGrady's and they took us to Richard and Robin Snuffer's.  We saved on miles and got great fellowship there, as well!  We taught the importance of the Book of Mormon.  They haven't been reading and we committed them to read just 2-3 verses a night.
Heller's fed us for dinner.

Feb. 6, Fri:  We had zone meeting in the morning!  I got to reunite with my MTC companion Elder Williams, because he is one of our zone leaders.  The emphasis of the Zone Meeting was no weapons (so, I will have to send home my all my knives I have been receiving from Steven - more on him later) and stressing the importance of Family History!  We will definitely start using that as a finding tool more!
When we got back, we then taught Sister Cline with the Geisler's.  There was something different about this lesson.  Something clicked for Sister Cline that hasn't been there before.  We taught about Baptism and confirmation and the importance of proper Priesthood authority.  I showed her my Priesthood line of authority and she was able to understand better. 
The Geisler's were then so kind to take us out for pizza after! 
We ended the night by contacting a potential that was found all the way back in 2013, but the missionaries never taught her.  She is totally friendly and we set up an appointment!

Feb. 7, Sat:  So, both Elder Caldwell and I decided to center our Mormon.org study time on Family History to better understand how it works.  We can both testify that we are beginning to catch the Spirit of Elijah!  We both got really excited about it!  I was able to read some memories of some great grandparents.  And I even submitted a short memory of great grandpa Fowers.  I wish I had more time - family history work is really fun!  I encourage all of you back home to get into it!  It only takes a couple minutes.
We then tracted using Family History and found a great potential.
We had lunch @ the Laxton's for their 5-year old's birthday party! There were so many people I got to talk to and even handed out a Family History card.
We called up early to Matt & Jasmine's appointment because Matt hurt his shoulder while cutting down a tree and he wanted to take the discussion first, THEN go to the E.R.  He's such a stud.  So, we got up there ASAP and taught about the Plan of Salvation and praying.  Kevin, one of Sister Jackson's neighbors who works on the farm (he's about 16), actually was walking out the door when we started the lesson, but he stopped at the door, then took a seat, and stayed for the lesson and joined us for a kneeling prayer at the end!  How cool is that!  We then ate dinner and worked 'til it was dark.

Feb. 8, Sun:  Today, during Mission Correlation, the Oak Hill elders surprised us that Steven, their long time investigator, finally got First Presidency approval to be baptized.  Steven is a really cool guy; he's been coming to church since April 2014, and has been waiting on First Presidency approval.  He gives all the missionaries and the ward members pocket knives.  So, his nickname is, "The Knife Guy."  The Oak Hill elders later put him on date for Feb. 21.  I'm so happy for them; Oak Hill is a very tough Area, and we set a goal, as a district, for one Baptism this transfer.  Well, our investigators our on date after this transfer.  So, we all prayed, as a District and individually as a companionship, that we could achieve the goal of one baptism this transfer as a district.  Well, prayers are answered!
We had three investigators at church today: Matt & Jasmine (even with his hurt shoulder) and Richard & Robin Snuffer came, as well!  Sister Cline told us previously something came up, and we have no idea where Tom was. 
I taught the Lesson in Priesthood on Chapter 3 of Ezra Taft Benson.  I gave all the men a scripture or sheet of paper to read to get everyone involved!  Bro. Wallace said, "That's the most organized lesson I've ever seen in Priesthood!"  Does that mean it was a good lesson?
Since Tom Poe wasn't present, we couldn't have our lesson and offer him a baptismal date. :(
We went to Kroger's and ITL'd (Invite To Learn) after another appointment cancelled.
Then, we tracted 'til it was dark.  It was very warm yesterday!  63 degrees!  So, we made the most of it and spent some good time outside!  We used Family History as our tracting tool and found four potential investigators!
We also went to try a great potential family; they were headed out the door to go watch "Walking Dead" as a big extended family!  But, they need help with service, so we gave them a Book of Mormon and our number, and will be there Monday evening.

Woah!  That was a lot to bring up!  But, I hope You all have a great Valentine's week!  I challenge each one of you to find the thing You LOVE!

I LOVE THIS GOSPEL and LOVE ALL OF YOU!

Love, Elder Brenchley

I Sure Enjoyed Super Bowl Sunday....

Hey Everyone!

Glad to hear everything is dandy back home!   Hope Ya'll enjoyed Super Bowl Sunday?  I sure did!  And we didn't even watch the game!  We had five investigators at church!  Just when I thought four was a big number!  The Robin and Richard Snuffer family made the difference!  They will be so blessed for their sacrifice - it's like an hour trip one way to church!  That sure blows away my one-minute walk across the street back home!  

Besides that, we spent the first two days of the week without a car, had lots of bad weather, and had a member-present lesson with ALL of our progressing investigators! (The same five who came to church).

Here we go!

Jan. 26, Mon:  No car for the day - we're finally getting the broken bumper cover fixed.  It's all good though, the McGrady's fed us lunch and Daniel Shuck (one of our investigators) gave us a ride into our area.  It wasn't too bad at all; we still got our fair share of exercise in the freezing cold!

Jan. 27, Tues:  5 months a Missionary!  No car again - the Beckley elders drove us to the edge of our area and we started hoofin' it the rest of the day, like normal missionaries around the world do!

We actually found a really interested 21 year old who's looking for a church.  We had a short mini porch lesson and planned to see him Wednesday.  

After trying some people, we pleasantly got a call that our car was ready a whole day early!  What a blessing.  

We were able to go teach the twins - they will now be spending every weekend at their Grandma's, Sister Blackburn's, house, so they will be able to come to church with her!

Jan. 28, Wed:  We had a great appointment with Tom Poe at the church, with Bro. Geisler joining in.  Powerful testimony was shared of prayer in this lesson.  Tom is really coming along!  He's actually reading everything we give him in the Book of Mormon and marking his scriptures.

We met with the 21 year old fellow we met yesterday named, Mark.  He was very quiet during the lesson, but was agreeing with everything we were teaching.  He committed to read the Book of Mormon and be baptized.  

Then we taught Victoria and Larry"  Apparently, Larry was drunk during the lesson and Victoria requested we teach her alone; she's ready to progress.  Larry is just not up to speed.

Jan. 29, Thur:  Today, we had a great lesson with Sister Cline, along with the McGrady's to help.  Imagine teaching The Ten Commandments to the sweetest lady in the world.  That was easy!

We had a great experience tracting afterwards.  This one house was actually X-ed off the tracting card, but what the heaven!  We knocked, and the lady was really hesitant at first, but then we found out her husband was in surgery today.  Elder Caldwell asked if we could say a prayer with her.  She complied and we offered a prayer; she had tears in her eyes and we could feel the Spirit, too!  We asked her if there is anyone who's going through a hard time right now and could use an uplifting message.  She pointed out her neighbor down the street, whose husband just passed away.  We went immediately to that lady's house and offered an uplifting message to her and her neighbor.  She was really grateful and we left there with full hearts. 

Our night only got better.  We met up with Bro. Bowman to take us all the way up to Richard and Robin Snuffer's. 

Snuffer family

Bro. Bowman was one of Richard's Primary teachers way back when!  We were able to have a wonderful Plan of Salvation lesson, with emphasis on families and temples.  They really seemed to like it and we committed them to come to church! 
Bro. Bowman, being the very wealthy, generous man that he is, took us out to dinner and said, "Get whatever you want!  I'm rich!"
 
Jan. 30, Fri:  We had a wonderful district meeting all about the Book of Mormon.  We each bore testimony of our favorite scripture and how we came to know it is true.  Then we read Moroni 10, with everyone pausing five seconds after each verse.  What POWER!  (See my testimony of the Book of Mormon down below).

We then began our missionary exchange; I went with District Leader, Elder Spencer, to Beckley.  Something I liked a lot, and hope to implement in my own area, is Family History!  We spent a whole hour of tracting dedicated to Family History.  It was simple and easy - everyone loves their families!  We then read with some of their investigators about Baptism in Mosiah 18!

Jan. 31, Sat:  We did more tracting using Family History in the morning.  Then I lucked out and got to eat lunch with Elder Spencer's aunt and uncle, who drove all the way down from Charleston to feed him!  They used to live in the Beckley ward 20 years ago.

We exchanged back and up to Sister Jackson's we went!  There we fed animals and fixed gates. (Elder Caldwell swung on Sister Jackson's gate last week, so we spent some good time fixing that). Then Sister Heller joined us and Sister Jackson in teaching Matt & Jasmine.  We taught both "Gospel of Jesus Christ" (which we did great teaching) & "Law of Chastity."  Needless to say, we were so grateful that Sister Heller and Sister Jackson were there to teach a 10-year old girl about....well, you know......

Feb. 1, Sun:  As mentioned above, we had five investigator at church!  Matt & Jasmine, Sister Cline, Tom Poe, and the Snuffer family!

{Sister Jackson, the Sprouse family, and Matt & Jasmine}

It was also a really good turnout for Fast Sunday, or for what us missionaries have nicknamed, "Open Mic Sunday."  Sometimes it turns into that, and yes that happened today, with five investigators there. :/  But, there was still some great testimonies, especially Bro. Snuffer getting up there with Richard & Robin there.  And bless Sister Heller's heart, but she got up there and personally took time to bear testimony to all the investigators she's worked with (Tom, Matt, & Jasmine), calling each of them by name and telling them this church is true!  Wow!  I think her testimony saved the whole meeting!

The Young's had us over for a Super Bowl party (burgers and finger foods), but didn't turn on the game.  So, it was still awesome!

Another great week!  Thank you for all your prayers!  I love each and every single one of you!  How are Ya'll doing on memorizing The First Vision?  A good missionary always follows up! ;)  Below I've written my testimony of the Book of Mormon.

I, Elder Ryan Brenchley, know that the Book of Mormon is true!  I have not come to know this because I heard God's voice from heaven or because I saw a miracle immediately after I prayed about it.  But, I know the Book of Mormon is true because I continue to read it, and always get that good feeling about the stories and the doctrine.  I testify that is how YOU will get a testimony of the Book of Mormon; by always reading it!  I have done this with my family and by myself and I always pray after each time I read to know if it is true!  I testify every day to the people out here, and I'll testify to all you back home: That it IS True!

Keep reading the Book of Mormon everyday!  Pray to know if it is true, and God will always answer your prayers!

Love You All!

-Love Elder Brenchley

A Letter from the District Leader

*Editor's/Mom's Note: I received this email today from Elder Brenchley's D.L.


Hello Sister Brenchley and family,

My name is Elder Spencer.  I am serving around your son here in Beckley, WV.  I just wanted to send you an email and tell you what a great missionary he is.  He is so diligent with the work.  He takes his calling very seriously.  He is a great example to other missionaries around him.  He has a wonderful testimony and he teaches the gospel well.  He and his companion are doing wonderful things in the Beaver area.  I am very grateful to have been able to serve around him and to know him.  Thank you for raising such a great son and for helping him be prepared to serve a mission.  I have such great respect for each missionary who chooses to serve a mission.  I know that behind every great missionary there is a great family who help him become what he is.  You all have done a wonderful job.  Keep up the great work.  Again, thank you.

Sincerely,

Elder Joshua R. Spencer


p.s. I don't know if you have already received this picture, but Elder Brenchley is the one in the back left.  It was a snowy day and we all walked to the library.  It was pretty fun! :D 

Don't Forget to Pray!

Hey Ya'll! 

We had another great week here in Beckley 2!  I don't mean to sound boastful, but if I didn't tell ya'll how much we are tearing it up out here, then I would be lying. 

Don't worry though, I have a scripture about that:

Alma 26: 8-14

 8 Blessed be the name of our God; let us sing to his praise, yea, let us give thanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness forever.

 9 For if we had not come up out of the land of Zarahemla, these our dearly beloved brethren, who have so dearly beloved us, would still have been racked with hatred against us, yea, and they would also have been strangers to God.

 10 And it came to pass that when Ammon had said these words, his brother Aaron rebuked him, saying: Ammon, I fear that thy joy doth carry thee away unto boasting.

 11 But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God.

 12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

 13 Behold, how many thousands of our brethren has he loosed from the pains of hell; and they are brought to sing redeeming love, and this because of the power of his word which is in us, therefore have we not great reason to rejoice?

 14 Yea, we have reason to praise him forever, for he is the Most High God, and has loosed our brethren from the chains of hell.

We truly do sing praises to our God and our Savior, Jesus Christ.  This is Their work and it will go on, with or without me, so I am and always will be committed to be a part of this amazing work!  I'm not boasting of our success, I'm boasting of God's work and my joy is full!  I get to be a part of this marvelous work!

Jan. 19, Mon:  Martin Luther King Day.  So we couldn't email, hence email received on Tuesday.  We called up some potential investigators to try to set up an appointment.  They seemed a little hesitant and weren't sure when they wanted to meet.  We asked them if they needed anything, and they replied, "Food.  We don't have any food!"  I joyfully responded back, "We have food!  Lots of it!  We'll bring you some tomorrow!"

Jan. 20, Tues:  We had district meeting in the morning.  

We went to the potential investigator's, Kevin and Deloris, with two boxes full of food - we've received all this food from the members and we've gained quite a pantry since I've been here.  When we brought over the food, they were so grateful - they were down to their final Ramen noodle packet.  They were so grateful and their hearts had been softened; they wanted us to stay and talk with them.  We gladly taught them the Restoration; they accepted the Book of Mormon and Baptism if they receive an answer.  

The Young's were going to have us over for dinner, but something came up.  So, Alison Young made us a plate of food to hand us instead.  Now I can tell Kyle his future wife is an excellent cook, as well!  ;)

Jan. 21, Wed:  We spent some time trying to get information from potential and former investigators.  

We had two lessons tonight; one with a former investigator named, Victoria, and her boyfriend, Larry.  Victoria got in a huge car accident that injured her and her two sons and killed her daughter.  This accident occurred around 2007 and it was in Utah on I-15 down by Fillmore.  While at the Provo hospital, her Mormon friend gave her a Priesthood blessing, and she referred herself to the church missionaries shortly after.  So, we were really excited to be teaching her.  She's awesome.  She believes in everything - her only concern is that the church is too far away and she has no one to go with.  We accidentally left our phone there. 

We headed up to the Snuffer's.  We weren't in there two minutes before Richard is ready to get the lesson started!   He offered his first "public" prayer in decades, he says.  He did great!  We taught "the Gospel of Jesus Christ" and they were both really into the lesson.  Richard hasn't been to church since he was 15 (now in his 40's) and he had some interesting questions like:

"Do I need to be baptized again?"  

"Now, when I was in church, I would pass the bread and the water - what was that called again?" 

So, it's really fun teaching both of them; they both really want to learn!  We offered March 14 as a baptismal date for the wife, Robin, which she accepted!  They fed us, too!

Jan. 22, Thur:  Not much cracking, besides weekly planning.  All our appointments (3) fell through.  Just a downright tough day.

Jan. 23, Fri:  We met with Kevin & Deloris today, and Bishop & Sister Barnett joined us.  We talked about the importance of reading the Book of Mormon.  They have been reading, but just can't really understand it.  We shed some light, and Barnett's gave great insight. 

We also taught Sister Cline today with Bro. Duran.  We were trying to teach about the Ten Commandments, but somehow it got off on to serving others.  Sister Cline is a great example to us, for serving others. (She is the one who collects and makes ready hundreds of stuffed animal toys for children's charities.)

Then we were able to meet with the Hicks' and teach them about praying always. (Alma 34)

Jan. 24, Sat:  We met with Kevin Harvey (shirtless, intimidating guy from last week) and his wife, Shainelle.  We taught  the Restoration.  We were kicking ourselves after, because we just jumped into the conversation and [forgot] didn't open with prayer.  So, the Spirit wasn't as strong, if it was even there.  We asked Shainelle if she was feeling the Spirit, and she said, "NO."  So, we will definitely learn from our mistakes.  We feel the lesson would have gone so much better had we opened with prayer to invite the Spirit. 

We went up to Sister Jackson's, but the power was out, so they couldn't call to tell us Matt & Jasmine weren't even up there.  We visited with Sister Jackson and she still fed us.

Jan.  25, Sun:  We had three investigators @ church today.  We're guessing everyone else got scared off by the weather.  But, we had Matt & Jasmine and good ol' Tom Poe. 

We were suppose to teach Matt & Jasmine right after church, but they had to leave early.  So, it's going to be "a year without rain" (not teaching them for 2 weeks).

Heller's had us for dinner, then Josef joined us for an appointment with Ms. W.  Josef got a taste of how much "SOUL" she has.  She believes the Book of Mormon is true, and believes the Prophet is called of God, but only for the Mormons, not everyone.  So, we'll pray and ponder how to answer that concern.

Well, another week has come and gone.  Come tomorrow, I will have been a Missionary for five months.  I feel a little bit older, but then I see District Leader, Elder Spencer, going home in a month, then I don't feel so old.

The Gospel is true, I know it!   

My Challenge to everyone this week is to memorize the First Vision.  It is so important to have a testimony of that First Vision & the prophet, Joseph Smith.  "Call him and this church crazy or call him a Prophet and the church true.  This Gospel is ALL TRUE, or all false.  I testify that it is all TRUE!" 

Love You All!

-Love Elder Brenchley

Dead Squirrels, Baptism Dates, & Shirtless, Hairy Men, Oh My!

I do not have much time at all!

Wed. Jan. 14:  We played ball at the church for P-Day.

Thur. Jan. 15:  Today was transfer day.  We said Goodbye, Elder Carter (to Portsmith, OH).  Hello, Elder Ence, who is in the same transfer group as I am!

Fri. Jan. 16:  We had three appointments today - and they all fell through.

We had a lot of success contacting former investigators.  

We saw a dead squirrel on the side of the road and Elder Caldwell was determined to cut off it's tail.  He was unsuccessful.  ;)

Sat. Jan. 17:  The Meador's came up to fellowship/join us for our lesson with Matt.  Matt's daughter, Jasmine (age 10), also wanted to take the discussions!  She was really excited to hear she can be baptized with her dad!  So, they are both on date for baptism March 7.  Matt was testifying to her during the lesson!  The Spirit was strong!  Matt is also down to one cigarette a day!  We got Jasmine the Gospel Library app on her iPod and the Book of Mormon stories picture book.  She started reading from that!

Sun. Jan. 18:  We had four investigators at church! (Matt, Jasmine, Tom Poe, and Sister Cline!)  We had seven as a district!

We taught Tom Poe after church with the Rogusky's.  Tom just has to be taught very simply and slowly.  We also taught the Shuck's that night with Bro. Geisler and they fed us! 

Also, with 10 minutes before we were to turn in to our apartment for the night, we decided to knock three more doors with lights on.  We found someone on the last door!   The man who answered was a very muscular, hairy, intimidating-looking man.  We asked if we could share a message about our beliefs and Jesus Christ.  He said, "Come in!"  He went to put on a shirt, and when he came back we had a great 10 minute lesson.  We gave him a Book of Mormon and he asked us to come back when his wife was home!  His name is Kevin Harvery!

Mon. Jan. 19:  We had a very nice P-Day; relaxing and letter writing.

We found a great potential investigator who took a Book of Mormon and works at the Greenbrier!  We keep finding great potential investigators!

We had a great week!  We had five member-present lessons, five new investigators, and four investigators at Sacrament meeting!

The Lord is hastening His work!

Love You All!

-Elder Brenchley

A Couple of "NO-NO's" ;)

Hey Y'all! 

The first and biggest news I wanted to tell Ya'll is: 

I'M STAYING!  I really wasn't expecting it!   Beckley 2 area rocks!

What a great week!  We are really keeping the momentum rolling with the Lord's help!  Miracles happen!

Mon. Jan. 5:  We helped a Sister from the ward move in the morning.

Then we went to New River Gorge Bridge!  That's really the pride here in Southern West Virginia!
  We had dinner at Heller's and we gave The Iron Rod object lesson for Family Home Evening.

{Here is the Heller's son, Jakob, clinging to The Iron Rod!}

 

Michael Wood wasn't home for our appointment with him.

Tues. Jan. 6:  We taught three lessons today!  Mike Lilly in the morning, Dreama & Eric in the afternoon, then Margaret & Kristen early evening! 

{All us "young" people, L to R: Margaret, Kristen, Megan Young (our member sit in), Me, Elder Caldwell}

(Sad to see them return to college in Lynchburg - we'll get the missionaries down there teaching them!)

Wed. Jan. 7:  It snowed a lot! 

So, we had the great idea to walk to the library for mormon.org study. 

I didn't see the point, but now I know I can walk a mile in a blizzard! 

The rest of the day, we tried to stay out of the cold as much as we could.  We helped this one gentleman's car out of the snow - it wasn't budging.  After five minutes we found out what the problem was; this man had his car in neutral!  Ah well! 

After a long, cold day, the Young's had us over for chicken noodle soup on potatoes!  Yum!

Thur. Jan. 8:  We tracted in the same trailer park that Dreama & Eric live in.  We found four potential investigators and set up two appointments!  

Later, after two of our lessons fell through, we were doing some tracting and we got a call from Michael Wood.  It turns out he is in the hospital and that's why he missed our appointment Monday Night.  We went to the hospital to see him and he's doing a lot better.  AND since we last talked with him, he's read all the pamphlets Matt & and we have given him, 3 Nephi 11, & all the way up to 1 Nephi 16.  He's cruising through his readings in the Book of Mormon!  We taught how the Book of Mormon and the Bible work hand in hand.  He has so much faith and wants to do whatever it take to become fully converted!  We put him on date for baptism Mar. 21. (Matt will be able to baptize him when the time comes!)  He asked if we had a Bible (he didn't want the non-KJV Gideon Bible which was in his hospital room.)  We told him we had one out in the car, so he came out with us to the car without telling the front desk (even after the nurse told him he needed to!)  I think part of the reason he came out was he really wanted to take a smoke.  So, here we are taking a patient out of the hospital (That's a NO-NO!) so we can give him a Bible.....AND so he can take a smoke (Another NO-NO!)  That looked a little funny!

We also gave Matt & Rebecca a call to let them know about Michael Wood and they told us they were getting married Feb. 17!  WooHoo!

February 17th is also Rebecca's birthday.... so Matt only has to remember one date!  Smart man!  Haha.  Matt asked us to be the Best Men at his wedding, too!  That should be fun!

Fri. Jan. 9:  Today we had a wonderful district meeting.  We each gave a 5-minute presentation on a Christlike attribute.  Mine was on patience; I had a lot to say about being patient with investigators! But, also how having faith & hope will really help your patience grow. 

Then, as a district, we went to Lavash.  We've been there like three times in the last three weeks!  It's Mediterranean and they have shwarma and kefta kebob wraps.  The waiters and managers know us all by name now. 

We then began exchanges; Elder Carter and I took over Beaver.  We were thinking we were both going to be getting transferred, but we didn't let that get us down - even if two of our appointments cancelled as well!  (Everyone's sick it seems like). 

We went tracting in this back hollar that's right by the main road, but I've never seen before!  We ended up finding a man named, Carlos; he invited us right in and we delivered the message of the Restoration and gave him a Book of Mormon.  We committed him to read and he said we could come back!  We set up an appointment for next Friday.  

We visited with a former investigator named, Claude, and his daughter, Oletta (who's a professor of history).  We had a very interesting discussion; filled with Oletta actually defending our religion to her father, Claude, who has no understanding of a Prophet (especially one who did polygamy - it's always great when that card gets played against us!)  ;)  Oletta was really interested in our religion and accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon.

Sat. Jan. 10:  We noticed Claude's driveway had not been shoveled, so went there and shoveled his and the Graham's driveway.

Afterwards, we called Mike Lilly to confirm our appointment in the morning - he said he's no longer interested in the whole prophet and polygamy thing.  We tried to explain better over the phone, but it didn't change his mind much. :( 

Bro. Snuffer took us out to lunch in payment for us moving his safe.  Sitting down with Bro. Snuffer is payment enough!  Elder Carter got to hear Bro. Snuffer's stories for the first time. 

We switched companions back and knocked some doors of potential and former investigators the rest of the afternoon. 

Sister Jackson didn't have us come up for service because it was too cold (around 8 degrees), but she still had us for dinner, and Matt's lesson.  This week's lesson was the Word Of Wisdom - again, Matt ate it right up!  He's been trying to quit smoking since Thanksgiving, and has gone from two packs a day to half a pack a day.  This lesson really helped give him some extra motivation!  He's so awesome - love him!  Also, more great news!  Matt's daughter, Jasmine, wants to start taking the discussions, as well!

That night we were expecting the phone call from the zone leaders to tell us how many were leaving/transferring.  To our great surprise, they said we were both staying!  WooHoo!  I feel so blessed to be able to stay here!  Both Elder Caldwell and I have so much to be thankful for!

Sun. Jan. 11:  Today at church, only Matt came, and only one other investigator from the district came.  So, we went from eight last week to two!  Kind of a big drop, but it seems like the sick bug got all of our investigators!  Also, the Bishopric here in the Beckley ward got all switched up!  

After church, we taught some new investigators by the name of Kim & Rob Wood.  Kim was paying close attention, while Rob was in the next room watching the football game (I think Kim said Cowboys?)  We invited her to be baptized, but she wants some more time to think about it! 

Then, later that night, we met the sweetest couple in the world while tracting!  Debbie and Daniel Shuck. And ah, "Shucks!"  They are so awesome! :)  They've been married for 38 yrs.  Debbie is the talker and Daniel is the listener. Debbie dated a Mormon who's now in the MoTab, so she has a pretty good understanding of our beliefs.  We taught the Restoration and gave them a Book of Mormon.  We set up an appointment for next Sunday and they told us if we need anything to call them - they want to be our "surrogate parents."  Debbie asked us if she could give us a hug after the lesson, and we had to turn her down - we felt bad!  :(

Mon. Jan. 12:  The Beckley Elders upstairs were really sick and asked us to give them blessings. 

We had lunch at the McGrady's and taught Dreama & Eric.

Then, we had Bro. Doolittle and Sis. Heller to come with us to teach a potential investigator, but her husband wants to be there for the visits as well, so we couldn't teach right then.  So, we went and taught Tom Poe with all of them.  He felt real bad he missed church, but there was powerful testimony borne by Sister Heller and Bro. Doolittle.

We also taught Michael Wood and his wife, Sara, joined the lesson.  They are going through some tough financial times, and we'll see if the Church can do anything for them.  He's really solid!  In his own words.... "I have no doubts the Book of Mormon is true!"  He'll just need a lot of prayers and help to quit smoking! :)

Tues. Jan. 13:  We spent most of the day checking out former investigators; seeing if they are still interested. 

McGrady's joined us for a lesson with Sister Cline.  We haven't taught her in a while because she was up with her daughter for the holidays.  The lesson was long, but very good! 

Then the Shrader's fed us pizza and Sister Shrader wanted us to start teaching the girls again!  So, we helped them get the Gospel Library app on their iPads.

Well, that was a longer "week" than usual due to it being transfer week this week!  But, I am amazed time and time again how much this area has progressed!  We found four new investigators this past week!  It's been crazy awesome!  And I get to stay!

This church is true, the book is blue, (well most copies).  The Lord is truly working miracles, and I am a living witness of them!

Love You All!

-Love Elder Brenchley

It's Like I Haven't Talked to Ya'll Since Last Year!

Hey Ya'll!

Happy New Year!  See Ya, 2014!  Hello 2015!   Now I feel a little bit older, because I graduated from high school in 2014, but that was like a year ago......

Anyway, this week! Was absolutely amazing!  To summarize how our area has been the last couple of weeks: IT'S BLOWN UP!

To give ya'll the numbers: two media referrals, three accepted Baptism invites, four new investigators, four investigators @ church, and one Rock Star investigator who I can guarantee is going to make it!

Dec. 29, Monday:  So, I don't know if you all know, but West Virginia is home to the largest Boy Scout camp in the world!  It's in Oak Hill's area, called the Summit Bechtel Reserve.  So, guess who got to go on a tour because Bro. Heller, from the ward, is the Chief Engineer for them!  Yep, all us missionaries got a sweet tour of the whole place!  Five of the six elders are Eagle Scouts!  Glad I got mine!

Elder Caldwell especially liked this part of the Scout Camp...

It's the 3rd biggest Skate Park in the world!

 

Notice how all the elders with WVU gear got put on the left. :)  Yep, I feel tall: 2nd tallest of this group!

Dec. 30, Tuesday:  This was a really great day!  We were out in Grandview today early in the morning (10 or 11) and after finding out that a member on our roster doesn't want to be a member anymore, we went tracting on her street.  The first door we knocked on was a 19 yr-old college student named, Margaret.  She attends Liberty University (Baptist School) and was home for the holidays.  She wrote a paper on "Mormonism," so we had a very interesting, 20 minute talk on her porch. We set-up an appointment to come back.
During our lunch hour, Elder Caldwell and I gave each other haircuts. (Apparently he did a lot better than I did.....)  But, those must have been lucky haircuts....
....because we were able to finally sit down with our media referral named, Claude.  His son is a member of the church in New York, and referred him because he's been struggling emotionally and financially.  We immediately loved Claude.  He's been really sad since his wife passed away three years ago, and he's really emotional.  He really took the Restoration to heart.  The part about multiple churches really made sense to him.  The lesson went really well and we promised him he would be able to see his wife again and be with her forever.  He had tears in his eyes and didn't even let us finish the whole Baptismal invitation before he was nodding his head and said, "Of course." This was amazing!  We said a prayer of gratitude as soon as we got back to our car.
Then it only got better.  We received a 2nd media referral Monday.  We went to contact him right after Claude.  He invited us right in.  His name was Michael; he's got a great family, with five kids!  We asked him how he came in contact with the church.  Turns out he was talking to one of his friends, who is new to the church, and his friend gave him a couple of pamphlets.  We asked him, who his friend was, and he replied, Matt Browning!  HAHA!  Incredible!  Our top investigator is sharing the gospel with his friends before he's even a member!  Michael said he could really tell something different about Matt Browning, and he'd asked him what it was.  Michael referred himself, after seeing the website on the back of the pamphlets.  Funny thing was, midway through the lesson, Matt Browning knocked on the door to check up on Michael.  He was happy to see us, and quickly left, as to not interrupt the lesson.  Michael is really smart; he had a lot of questions, and every single question he had, we were able to answer with the doctrine about the Restoration.  Near the end of the lesson, when we brought up prayer, he got emotional and said, "I haven't prayed for a long time, but when I read these pamphlets, I prayed Sunday and Monday, just like how it instructs you to do so in the back of these pamphlets.  And I was praying for an answer.  And here you are!" God answered this man's prayers through us!  I got to see first-hand how I was an answer to someone's prayers!  The Spirit was so strong during the lesson.  He didn't let us finish the Baptismal invitation either, before he said, "Oh, Yeah, for sure!"  How awesome!  This was incredible!  We sent up another gratitude prayer soon after that.

Dec. 31, Wednesday:  New Year's Eve!  We met with a couple of former investigators today.  I can see why they are former investigators - they don't ever let the missionaries talk! :)
But, today Tom Poe cancelled our appointment at the church at 3:00, so that was too bad.
So, we took our mind off of that, and hit the pavement.  Tracting we went!  We decided to tract in a small, unincorporated town I hadn't even seen yet.  It worked out good.  We spent a couple hours there and found six potentials!   WOW!  Awesome!
Laxton's and the Heller's invited us over for New Year's Eve party finger foods!

Jan. 1, Thursday:  New Year's Day!  We had zone meeting!  What a great way to kick off the new year!
Our appointment with Robin & Richard Snuffer. cancelled, but since we were still out in Jumping Branch (great name for a town, right?) the Johnson's signed up to feed us.  Brother Johnson doesn't come to church, and jokes he doesn't have a testimony.  So, we taught them the power of testimonies.  I got really emotional!  I don't really ever do!  But, this had to be the most emotional I've ever got on my mission!

Jan. 2, Friday:  After weekly planning, we went to go teach Margaret.  Megan Young (Young's daughter) was in town, so we invited her to come to the lesson.  It went better than expected!  Margaret's friend, Kristen, was there and Margaret & Kristen both knew Megan Young from high school!  It was great - they were all the same age, they all knew each other.  Megan Young added a great testimony, as well!  We had a very great lesson/discussion.  They had a lot of questions, and have a lot of differing beliefs.  We invited them to church, and they accepted, and they invited us to theirs!  (Margaret's grandpa, sat quietly in the corner, and may have been asleep for the whole lesson.)

We also taught David Lilly tonight, with Bro. Snuffer.  He didn't show us his butt this time, but the lesson was kind of all over the place.

Jan. 3, Saturday:  Saturday has now become our day to go up to Sister Jackson's house, help her out on her farm, hang out with one of the coolest families in the world, get fed a delicious meal, and have a great member-present lesson with Matt Browning.  Done Deal!  We taught, "The Gospel of Jesus Christ" tonight and it went very well because Matt is just eating it up!  Also, good news is that Rebecca and Matt are working really hard to get a marriage license, so Bishop Geisler can marry them soon!  So, Matt has almost quite smoking, he and Rebecca are going to get married soon, and they are coming to church every week!  Everything is going great!  I can't wait one day to reunite with this family, all sealed together!

Jan. 4, Sunday:  Not one.  Not two.  Not three.  But four! Investigators at church!  Matt Browning came, of course!  Tom Poe surprised us, again, and sneaked in the chapel without Elder Caldwell or I seeing him.  And then Margaret and Kristen came, too!  Wow, four!  That's the most this area has ever had!  Also, as a district, we had EIGHT investigators at church!  I thought five last week was a lot!  It was also testimony meeting.  There were a lot of great testimonies that were borne; only one or two that had me on the edge of my seat with investigators being there, but it went great.  I got up and bore my testimony; this could possibly be my last Fast Sunday here in Beckley, so I've known for a while I needed to.  

After Church, we had a lesson with Tom Poe.  He accepted Baptism, but he didn't accept the Baptismal date we had in mind for him. 

After trying to contact all the awesome potentials we found Wednesday, we ate dinner.

Later, we went to Margaret's and Kristen's church.  It was very different; everyone was dressed casual for the Sunday night service.  And they had a great youth band who had some great Gospel Contemporary songs.  Their drummer was really good! (I was super jealous)  The pastor preached on "hating sin."  It was actually pretty good; I took some notes.  Elder Caldwell, Megan Young, and I had a hard time following along because he was preaching out of  "a modern Bible."  After the service ended, all the band members (age 18-25) swarmed to us!  We were the only ones in suits.  But, we spent like an hour talking with them and the pastor afterwards.  We couldn't exactly proselyte to them, (being in a church and all) but we told them a lot about what we do!  It was fun to get to know all of them, and they really wanted us to come back! 

Like I've said before; the people out here are just wonderful.  I just love thinking how much more wonderful their lives could be with the true, restored Gospel!

Anyway!  Hopefully, more great weeks to come!

Love Ya!

-Elder Brenchley

I Love Christmas EVEN MORE out on the Mission!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

How was everyone's Christmas?  I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and kept Christ in your hearts!

This week was absolutely different from Christmas weeks back home, but I feel like I experienced a lot more JOY this week, as I was in the service of my Savior, Jesus Christ; the true reason we celebrate the season!  I can't wait 'til next Christmas season!

So, here's this week of Christmas!

Dec. 22, Mon: We went to "Tamarack," which Beckley is famous for.  Tamarack is where all the heritage/cultural/history comes together.

We taught Tom Poe - this is the most he's ever seemed like he'd come to church; he says he doesn't like groups of people and is anti-social.  It's going to be interesting dealing with this concern.

Dec. 23, Tues: Christmas Adam!  Haha.

Today we had mormon.org study.  Almost the whole hour, I watched all the Christmas videos from the Mormon Channel website.  I might have started crying, I wasn't sure. :)  But, they were all so powerful!  (My favorite was, "O Come, Emmanuel" by the Piano Guys).

After that, we were able to meet with some former investigators by the name of Eric and Dreama; it was really great.  They had 5 of their grandsons over, and as we started talking about the Restoration, the 3 oldest (ages 10, 9 & 7) stopped playing in the next room and came in and sat down and listened.  We explained the Restoration, The Book of Mormon, and the Christmas story in the Americas. (3 Nephi 1:4-21)  They really liked the story of Samuel the Lamanite. (Helaman 13 - 14, 16).  That was a really cool experience.  They were, as Dreama said, "mesmerized!"
 

Dec. 24, Wed: Christmas Eve! 

The last couple of days, Elder Caldwell and I have been cleaning out the shelves in the kitchen to make room for all the food and treats the ward members have been giving us for Christmas.  We realized we have a lot of hot chocolate!  So, getting the idea from some other missionaries in the mission, we decided to set up a "Free hot chocolate" booth and pass out "He is the Gift" cards!  So, come Christmas Eve, in front of Kroger, we put up a booth with free hot chocolate and "He is the Gift" signage. 

We were there for a couple hours and we had such a blast, wishing everyone a "Merry Christmas," handing out hot chocolate and "He is the Gift" cards!  We gave out 90 cups of hot chocolate and probably over a 100 "He is the Gift" cards!  I will always remember how much fun we had.  Most people willingly listened as we talked with them - it helped that the hot chocolate was really good! 

Then the twins' family had us over for a wonderful meal!  

Their grandmother, Sister Blackburn (who's come to church 4 weeks in a row!) gave us each a bottle of Calvin Klein cologne!  Mine was called, "ETERNITY" Oooh!
Then we had the plan to go caroling to some former investigators.  Well, we made it one door to Vannessa's house, and she invited us right in!  Her family and friends were all over having a party! They gave us even more food and we had a wonderful time talking with all of them.  We were able to give "He is the Gift" cards to all them as well!

Dec. 25, Thurs: Christmas!
All 6 of us elders in our district came to the apartment to have a wonderful breakfast.

And then we opened presents together!  It was lots of fun!  We opened presents in order of youngest to oldest in mission experience (so I got to go first!)  I loved every single gift I got!  Thanks, everyone!  Elder Chin, both of us being Ute fans, also got the same Ute mug!
Then we went to the Laxton's for dinner and to Skype our families!

My family's view of our Christmas Skype

Dec. 26, Fri: We taught Ms. W.
Laxton's gave us a $50 gift card to Outback Steakhouse, so, after weekly planning, we went there for dinner.  That was my first steak I've had since coming on my mission.

Dec. 27, Sat: Saturday's are now our day to go up to Sister Jackson's house to serve and then have dinner and teach our rock star investigator, Matt.  Saturday's are the best!  We had lots of fun!

We caught some chickens

We stacked some wood!

We taught Matt the Plan of Salvation; it went so well, he's really a good listener.

Matt

All the information is really new to him.  I love teaching him, though - I can't say enough on how prepared he is!  We put him on date for Baptism for Feb. 28.

{Matt & Rebbeca's daughters: Jasmine age 10, Cassie age 10, & Kayla age 16, modeling Katelyn's rubberband bracelets she sent!}

Dec. 28, Sun: Our whole district blew it up today!  As a district, we had five investigators and one former investigator come to church today!  We had two come!  Matt came again (3 weeks in a row, he's so solid) and Tom Poe came!  Elder Caldwell and I were really surprised about Tom - he really enjoyed all the services and is excited and comfortable to come back!
Besides that, not really any big news...... except after we were done teaching David Lilly, he mooned us!  What the.....?  He was telling us about a motorcycle accident he had, and just had to show us the burn marks on his butt.  Thanks, David!

It was just a wonderful week!  I love the Holiday Season, I love it even more out on the mission!

Love Ya'll!

-Love, Elder Brenchley