Oct. 30, 2017 in Manchester, New Hampshire

Hello everyone!!

This week we had MLC on Tuesday and then exchanges the rest the week!

One crazy experience this week was on exchange with a new missionary. One of the people we're teaching called and told us about how he had talked to his Pastor about us and his Pastor had told him the classic few things that people use to talk bad about the Church that are all lies or misunderstandings (us believing that we have to work our way to heaven is one example [Answer: Mosiah 3:12 "...For salvation cometh to none such except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ." That's all we have to say about that!]) So we talked to this man and answered his questions, and then he told us his Pastor would like to meet with us to talk. It was interesting because the natural response could have been yes, which would have led into a big Bible Bash that wouldn't have done either of us any good. Instead the spirit guided me to say very sternly that we would love to meet with his Pastor, but not until he had done his research. We have read the Bible, the same one his Pastor reads, and we believe in it, but the Pastor was making fictitious claims that would easily be resolved if he were to do what he should have and read the Book of Mormon before trying to attack it. We talked more about that and I was able to very lovingly but boldly testify to our investigator that I know the Book of Mormon is true and that he needed to read it and ask God if he wants to know if it is true as well. 

After the conversation the new missionary was pretty surprised because he had never seen any missionary be so bold to their investigator, but it was pretty cool because we stood for the truth firmly but respectfully, and the Spirit was there with us to testify.

Elder Petersen had a lesson with that man later that day, and when they arrived, he was listening to the Book of Mormon on his computer!

We have an awesome lady named C. who has a baptismal date for Dec 2nd! She called us, and has been to church a few times over the past 10 years and has almost gotten baptized but things came in the way, and now she is ready to finally get baptized! :) It is awesome to see how happy she is with everything! She came to the Halloween party and had the best time, and she thought church was great and was just so happy! The gospel is a happy thing! :)

Love you all, have a great week!!!!
Love,
Elder Branch :)

Exchanges and p-day activities from the last little while...

Our activity for the Ward Halloween Party

Oct. 25, 2017 in Manchester, New Hampshire

Hello everyone and happy Monday!!

This week we had the meeting with the new missionaries which you saw since we had to email late last week. The coolest part of that was the fireside at the end that we really had around a campfire! Last year there were a few more new missionaries so the Assistants to the President did most of the talking, but since we had a couple less, we decided to give everyone a part! They all either taught, prayed, shared a story, sang, or bore testimony. It was so cool and President Blair loved it! It will hopefully stay a memorable experience! :)

This week we got to work! Sad news is that N. who was progressing really well blocked us on Facebook randomly one day and we haven't hear from him since. That's how it goes sometimes though. We started teaching 11 new people this week, had a few new people come to church, and probably the best thing, we had A. at church! She was baptized a little before I got here and hasn't been able to come except for once. This week we celebrated Brother and Sister D. (they are from Nepal) with her and the family, and then she came to church on Sunday! :) It was the coolest feeling sitting in Church, M. who just got baptized sat in front of me, one of the awesome people we are teaching was to my left, A. was on my right, another Recent Convert (D.) who we visit a lot was next to A., and P. (a returned member) was next to her! Missionary work is so powerful and changes people! :) We had a special service about missionary work on Sunday. Elder Petersen spoke, as well as our Ward Mission Leader and Assistant WML. Elder Ricks and I got to sing "Called to Serve" and added a special third verse that we sing in our mission that goes:
"Called to Serve the people of New England,
With the Gospel of our loving God,
Teaching, preaching unto true repentance,
Holding to the Iron rod"

I sure love being a missionary and am so grateful for the missionaries a long time ago who taught my family! There is power in the Book of Mormon! A man we are teaching really wants to find historical proof that the Book of Mormon existed. We shared the talk from this last Conference by Tad R. Callister, and I love the story he shares. He tells of a friend who left the Church, and years later decided to investigate again. He can't get past trying to see if there is historical evidence of the Book of Mormon for a while to build his testimony. It is only after he begins reading the Book of Mormon that he learned that it's true. At last his 3.5 year investigation of the Church ended and he was baptized, all because he finally took a step of faith and read! How powerful that is!

Love you all, go read the Book of Mormon! :)
Elder Branch

Sunday late night dance party on parking garage 

after putting in mission numbers and updating all info

Oct. 18, 2017 in Manchester, New Hampshire

Happy Wednesday!

Hello everyone! This week we had a meeting with all the new missionary and their trainers up where Joseph Smith was born on Monday and Tuesday, hence the Wednesday email!

Last week was busy! We had 2 Zone Conferences which went well. We finally were pro's at training people on Smartphones and their set-up by the third one (which was the last one) so I guess we learned how just in time!!.. ;)

This week one of our investigators named N. accepted a baptismal date for my favorite day, November 11th! :) He is doing really well, but his wife had bronchitis this last week so he wasn't able to make it to church. That was too bad she was sick. They both want to come this next week!

Last week along with M., up in Newport where I was before Manchester, S. and D. were baptized!!!!!! They got married a few weeks back and now they are members of Jesus Christ's church! :) It is so exciting to see people who have changed their lives, I remember the night Elder Carlson and I knocked on S. and D.'s door and their cat ran away so we had to help them catch it!! :) Haha, it's pretty cool how that eventually lead to them getting baptized to bless their new family for generations to come!!!!!

We have a pretty open week this week, so we're excited to get to do more missionary work!!!!! It is so exciting to get to teach and talk to people all day rather than be doing things in the office! I remember at the beginning of my mission I though it would be nice to get to be inside doing office stuff haha. I love the saying that "a ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not what it's made for." It is fun to realize how my attitudes have changed where I am looking forward to my chance at the "ocean" when stuff keeps us stuck in the "harbor" for a while! :) We have MLC next Tuesday, but other than that these next few weeks are beginning to look a lot more open, and I'm excited! :)

We found several new people to teach last week, even though we only had a bit of time, and one of them named J. is especially cool. It was about 8:50 at night and we had just taught some other people and we're heading back to our truck. We walked out on the street and J. walked out just before us. We tried to talk to him as we walked down the street, but he just answered all our questions about sports (since he had some cool sports stuff on) without even turning around to look at us. Eventually we got next to our truck and he still hasn't stopped, so I just said something about how it was good to meet him, but we hadn't even gotten his name, and we'd love to shake his hand! He stopped finally and shook our hands, then started talking! He told us all about him and his background, and how he's been praying for answers and help, and he thinks we were who God sent, he just hadn't recognized it till he got to talk to us. He has a rough past and is excited to get to meet, learn more, and try out church. It is cool how people are always being prepared, and we can't give up and have to do everything we can to help them chose the right and listen.

Love you all, hope you have a great week and go get out of the harbor!
Elder Branch

The Elders all slept in here because it was 27 outside. 

(These pictures are from the fantastic Senior Missionaries 

and Mission President's Wife)

Oct. 9, 2017 in Manchester, New Hampshire

Heyyyyy everyone!!

M. got baptized!!!!!!!!! It was so great, she is the best! She invited several people but a friend of theirs had actually passed away so they had to go to the funeral, but it was sure cool M. was inviting people! She bore her testimony and told her whole conversion story after she was baptized, which was incredible!

It started with an apology because she doesn't feel like she speaks very good English. (We all love her accent though!) She told about how she has 7 kids and a few grandchildren and her husband still lives in Sudan. She first met with the Church when she visited her daughter in Utah who joined. She felt like it was good and true and different and she wanted to join the Church in NH, but didn't know where to go. Her daughter got her the number, but M. was always too tired from working two jobs to call.

M.'s daughter came to visit her later on and was only going to be there for 4 days. On the second day M. made lots of food and had all the family and friends over to celebrate her daughter's visit. During the party the daughter came up to her all excited and told her the people she needed to talk to were there! That's when we met M. Her daughter saw us walking by on the street after an appointment heading back to the car and she called us over.

M. said that we started teaching her and she felt good. We got her an English copy of the Book of Mormon but she couldn't read it very well, and then we brought an Arabic copy. She has read all of 1st Nephi and knows that it is a book from God.

The first time at church with us she didn't feel anything. The second time though she felt so calm and happy and knew it was God talking to her. She loves the Church and this week her boss promised her she will never be put on the schedule for Sunday again!

She talked a lot more about the things she's felt and experienced, and the spirit was so powerful as she testified. It was so cool, I'm so glad we got to meet M. that day!

The rest of the week has been good too, we've been training a LOT on technology and have two more Zone Conference this week. We are excited to get back out to work more again! :)

Love you all!
Elder Branch :)

Pictures from the mission facebook page....

Oct. 2, 2017 in Manchester, New Hampshire

Happy October everyone!!

This week has been absolutely wild, probably one of the busiest of my mission. We had visa waiting missionaries fly out Monday as well as new missionaries fly in! They are all awesome and we got to take them all out on the streets for a bit. I went with Elder Walker and Elder Taylor (who is now being trained in Exeter where I was!)

Tuesday we had transfers and Elder Bester left to go reopen an area and train for his last 2 transfers! We'll miss him here!

My new companion is Elder Petersen! If that name sounds familiar, that is because it is, Elder Petersen and I were MTC companions over a year ago! It is crazy to be back together again! We have both changed and learned so much on our missions, and so it is awesome to see how we've improved. :)
We ended up having a lot of planning and moving missionaries those next few days and got very little sleep, but we survived!

Thursday we had Mission Leadership Conference with all the mission leaders which went really well! We were able to set a bunch of other missionaries up with facebook and smartphones!

We got to work a little more on Friday and ended up getting 6 people we're teaching to come to church and watch General Conference! B. and T. (A.'s, a recent convert, siblings) came and watched it. A lady named A. whose brother is a member, E., a lady who we found on the street who was really interested in Prophets on the earth today, as well as R. (who has come to church twice) all watched it as well! The coolest though was M.!

M. had her baptismal interview this week and she passed! She will be getting baptized this Saturday! We're so excited for her! At the end of the Sunday morning session of conference, she leaned over to me and said, "You know the second man who talked about miracles, well he said if we have faith miracles still happen. I believe it was a miracle when you and Elder Bester found me." Can I just say, that was the coolest thing!? Missionary work changes lives and is such a joy. :) 

Hope you all have a great week!!!
Love,
Elder Branch :)

Sept. 25, 2017 in Manchester, New Hampshire

We didn't get a letter from Elder Branch this week. 

Thank Heaven, the dear Senior Missionaries and Sister Blair 

posted pictures on the mission facebook page 

so we were able to see our dear Elder Branch. 

It appeared his companion was transferred 

and would be training a new missionary. 

We didn't know who his new companion was

 but just a few days ago we received a facebook message 

from a dear Sister Peterson 

who said her son was his new companion. 

They were companions a year ago in the MTC! 

Here are the pictures. =D

Their mission is receiving smartphones. 

This is the initial training on the devices.