Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Dec. 26, 2017 in Manchester, New Hampshire

Merry Christmas everyone!

This week was great, we had some great experiences finding which was really cool. Early in the week we had to have some get-real lessons with R., G., and D., as well as with L. We talked about how if they really want to know they have to put in the work (come to church, read scriptures, pray) for at least a month and then look back and see how their life has changed. R., G., and L. weren't willing to put the work in yet. D. got pretty real, and really wanted to keep learning, but since then she missed church and hasn't responded on Facebook. 


A less active recent convert we work with never will come to church, and this week early on they told us her younger sister, who has been interested and loves to have us over, wasn't allowed to go because her dad said no. They have a brother who was way cool and when we stopped by Sunday morning it was just him and the sister. We asked if she could come and then they had a big argument in Nepali, and then B. told us that she had been lying about not being allowed to go and she didn't want to come to church. She just liked having us come as company. It was really nice of him to tell us and he felt bad, but it was good to know the truth.

So, a few bummers this week, but the Lord blessed us by adding 8 new people to our teaching pool!! We found some really awesome people who have a ton of potential. One named T. came to church this week and is excited to come again. Also, t
here was a three apartment house that we felt like knocking, and the people behind all three doors became new investigators!!! Sometimes you just have to have the faith to let go of people who aren't prepared quite yet and know the Lord will help you find more. :)

Christmas was really fun! It was a late Sunday night in the office putting in the mission numbers, so when we got back to the apartment it was Christmas Morning! We decided we couldn't wait, so we opened some very early morning Christmas presents. ;) Thanks to all those who sent things, it's nice to know there are people thinking about you!

We watched Mr. Kreuger's Christmas last night with James Stewart, and I love the part at the end where it says something like: "'I love you', Clarissa said it to Mr. Kreuger, Mr. Kreuger said to Jesus, and Jesus has said it to all of us in so many ways." That is very true, and I'm so grateful for that. :)

Love you all,
Elder Branch :)








(Picture from some awesome people in New Hampshire that was texted to us.)

(Pictures from the mission facebook page)

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Dec. 18, 2017 in Manchester, New Hampshire Merry Christmas!!

Hey everyone!

So sorry, probably shortest weekly yet, but highlights of the week:
- D. and G. set baptismal dates for January 27th.
- I gave a talk in sacrament meeting about patience. :)
- I lost my wallet and someone returned it! I had had $65 cash in it, because they encourage us to carry cash, which was stolen. :( That was a pretty big bummer, but I guess I'll just try to save up again! And hey, at least they left the change! ;)
- Transfers have come and I'm staying in Manchester again, which will be my second 7.5 month area!!
- We put up Christmas lights and our apartment looks great!

Hope you all have a great week!!! Merry Christmas! I'm grateful for this time and for Jesus Christ's example. :)

Love, Elder Branch

(Pictures put on the mission facebook page 
by the awesome Mission President's wife and the Senior Missionaries.)

They got new missionaries today!



Mission Leadership Conference




Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Nov. 11, 2017 in Manchester, New Hampshire, Christmas in the mission

Hello everyone!

This week was CHRISTMAS!!! We had the two half mission Christmas conferences, so it was a blast! Elder Petersen and i had to get there early each night before to set up half a bazillion trees and lights to make it a "Blair-y" Christmas, which was a party! The program had tons of music, lots of Christmas stories and testimonies, but my favorite part was when Luke 2 was read with someone playing Christmas songs in the background. It is so powerful to hear the story of the Saviors birth. Sometimes life can be crazy and we can get caught in the rush, but scriptures and music have a way of pulling us back down to reality.

We're beginning planning for 2018 for the missions goals which is a party in and of itself!! One thing I've learned these last few months is that there is a TON more that goes on behind the scenes than we realize in organizations!

This week we were finally able to get R. to church!!!!!! He texted us the morning of and said he couldn't come, but Elder Petersen went and stopped by while I stayed for Ward Counsel with one of the other Manchester Elders, and Elder Petersen was able to encourage him to come, and he stayed for all three hours! I'm speaking next week so we made him promise to come again then, with G., D., and A. We also had a really awesome and brilliant 10 year old kid named D. come, along with his mom and two younger brothers. The Ward did a great job of saying hi and making then feel welcome, and they had a great time! They want to keep coming as well! We also ran into one of our past investigators who had been close to getting baptized before, and he wants to start learning again! We aren't sure how far that'll go because of really rough family pressure, but who knows!?

Over all, it was a great week! I love to see people come to church and progress! :) 


Love you all and Merryyyyyyyy Christmas!
Elder Hunter Branch















Monday, December 4, 2017

Nov. 4, 2017 in Manchester, New Hampshire

Merry Christmas!

This week was pretty good, Mission Leadership Conference on Tuesday was good as usual. We were in a parade this week and it was pretty funny. In a two hour long Christmas parade, we were the ONLY float themed on Jesus Christ! Our float was a nativity and we handed out #LightTheWorld advent calendars. If you haven't heard of that yet, check it out! It's a worldwide initiative to do service each day leading up to Christmas! Elder Petersen and I were talking to people on the sides of the road and handing stuff out, and ended up getting left by the float!! 😂 We just walked along after that and asked people if they had seen our float and talked about how it was the only one about the real meaning of Christmas.

One really sad experience was as we were walking back to our car we encountered a man, his young son, and the boys friends. We talked to them and got a lukewarm from the dad who said they were another Christian faith. As we talked to the kids about Christmas we asked them if they knew what Christmas is all about and the first things they said surprised me. People always talk about how Christmas is really commercialized, but people and kids I've met have always known it is all about Jesus Christ. These kids however all shouted out things like: toys, gifts, money, Santa, and food! We told them about how it is because we're celebrating Jesus's birthday and they were clueless. Thanks mom and dad for teaching me the true meaning of Christmas! :)

I hope we all remember to love and serve others this season to honor Christ and His example to us as our Savior.

So, R. and G. played football with us on Thanksgiving. They couldn't make it to church this week, but D., G.'s younger sister who is a junior, came and she brought a friend! They both had a great time and D. wants to keep working towards baptism. It is great to see them all slowly making changes! :)


Love you all!
Elder Hunter Branch