Feb. 26, 2018 in Ellsworth, Maine Once again, thank you awesome Scout Leaders!!

Hello everyone!!

We had Zone p-day today and so I'll have to be quick. Last p-day after emailing we went out to Acadia and had an awesome time!!!

So this week we have worked really hard and found some more really great people. We worked on getting people to church but many had to cancel last minute. The two steadies, E. and K. came to church, which was really good! Kelley had been coming to church, but was closed to missionaries. We have started using FB messages to talk more and have gained a much better connection! :)

We got some members to come teach with us which was awesome! We also have built a lot more Ward trust and I got to give a talk in church. It was about how Scouting prepares young men to serve missions. I love scouts so it was a great topic. I got kind of emotional a few times as I told scouting stories, mission stories, and shared scriptures. :) It was great to see their excitement for missionary work and scouting. We've been considering how to get closer to the ward and have some great ideas that seem to be helping. :)

For district meeting we have become pretty creative, and this weeks update on our district goal even included nerf guns, balloons, and sharp objects, everything you need for a successful goal update. ;)

We are doing well and are optimistic that things are continually on their way up. :)

One fun story this week was Sunday night we knocked on a apartment door. Their neighbor thought we were knocking on theirs, and opened their door, felt silly when they saw we were at the neighbors, and closed their door. Of course, we went right over and knocked their door next!! We got to meet the young couple that lived there and are going back this week to teach them more. We have a goal to find 40 new people to teach in Feb. and are looking like we'll make it! :)

Love you all!!
Elder Branch :)

Brother R. took us to breakfast - the nicest guy!

I've been growing that plant for over a year, 

but he's been dropped and smashed a few times, 

so I've had to cut off like 7 of his arms. 

We met some people with a barn and animals.

Zone p-day activity

Acadia National Park

Jumping over the wheelchair for kicks.

Feb. 19, 2018 in Ellsworth, ME

Things are looking up here! 

We have had a great week finding, we started teaching 16 new people! It's always a struggle to stay in contact with people when you find a lot, but we're excited with the potential it brings! None of them came to church, but we did have two others come. I really am looking forward to having some new faces come with us! Wards get excited when they see missionaries bring new people to church - they're supportive and great!  :) 

Life is continuing to settle. It feels like things are going a million miles an hour with how many ways our attention is pulled, between finding more people so our area is productive, teaching, planning, studying and practicing lessons, helping other struggling missionaries, and keeping life together. It is all starting to improve, but there is still a lot to be done. :) The trickiest but most interesting part of life is that lots of things depend on other people and their choices. And, to other people, we are their "other people"! 

We had an amazing experience this week teaching a man named G. who we found last week. He is from Jamaica and we met him at an indoor soccer field. We taught him on the sidelines about the restoration which really excited him. He desired to learn more and even said he would probably read in the Book of Mormon that night so he could see if it was true! :) We have a had a hard time getting back in contact with him, but we'll stop by this week and see him. 

We met some amazing people this week, one with an autistic son, one family who were going to head to the hospital in an hour so the mom could get induced to have a baby, and others in different stages of life. We met two 19 year-olds who could really benefit from the message we share, a young couple who were disillusioned with religions proselytizing but realized we're regular people and could benefit their family, and even an older lady who has kids who are members of the church and had heard some false information. I have come to know that God really has a plan for us, and no matter what is going on in life, if we do what he asks, we can help others change their lives. This week wasn't all easy though. Yesterday Elder Powell and I invited 12 people to learn who said no, and tried to invite others who slammed doors or turned and walked away. One thing was in common with all those people. They had never heard the true message of the restored gospel and tried to find out for themselves if it was real. 

I know for myself it is. I love to tell people we meet that as missionaries we are here to invite and to help. We don't force things on people. If you just listen to what we say, you'll never know if it's true. Rather, we invite you to find out for yourself, from God, if what we share is true. Listening to Him is a lot more reliable than two 20 year-olds you met on the street. 

Hope you all have an great week! 

Love, Elder Branch :)

Feb. 12, 2018 in Ellsworth, Maine

Hello hello hello!!

Well this has been a good week. It was good to meet more members and find some people. It is pretty intimidating to do something so new with so many unknowns, but things are calming down now.

We had Zone Conference this week and it was nice to be back on the learning side. :) We went on exchange in Skowhegan, because the coast was going to get blasted with snow. We went out in the storm in Skowhegan and had a great time! Missionary work in the snow is the best, people think we're crazy, but then it's really fun to say something dumb about us going out in the snow and get them to laugh. We found 10 new people to teach that day in Skowhegan between the two companionships!

Our area is getting moving too. We had one person come to church and we found a few new ones to teach. My favorite person we found this week was a man named G. We went out to Bar Harbor and went to contact someone the old missionaries had talked too. The first house we knocked on (cause we were lost) had a woman inside who looked at us then walked away. ☹️ The second one was a nice Jamaica lady who said the guy we were looking for went back to Jamaica, and no, she wasn't interested. We felt like we should go to an apartment on a a side street and knocked a door. A young Jamaica guy (G.) answered the door and we talked for a while. Eventually he asked what we door and Elder Powell said we teach people about Jesus. G. opened the door wide then, invited us in, and apologized for keeping us waiting. We taught him about the Book of Mormon and gave him a copy to read. We're going to go visit tomorrow night, and then go play soccer with him and meet some of his friends. :)

Love you all and hope you have a great week.
Love,
Elder Branch :)

Feb. 6, 2018 Last few days in Manchester, New Hampshire and first few days in Ellsworth, Maine

Hello all!

I'm super out of time, so I'll have to send a long one next week. I'm up in Ellsworth now and am doing well. The ward received us well and there are some great people. We found our apartment looking not great and our area not much better. We've had a crazy schedule with driving all around and crazy weather, so not much time to work. It's a rough start, but once we get life put together again things will get moving.

The area is super super pretty and we have been able to meet a couple new people so we're excited for this next week. Thanks for all the love and prayers!

Love,
Elder Branch

Manchester, New Hampshire

I hurt my toe on p-day last week. Better now. :)

The Gyro Spot in Manchester, super good!!

The ap bat

Elder Larsen is the new assistant

The Adams, awesome office staff couple from Ogden

The place where Joseph Smith had his leg surgery 

is now a KFC/Taco Bell. 

Mission tradition is to get a chicken leg there...

Last time on top of our parking garage

My new Companion, Elder Powell

Ellsworth, Maine

Our District

Look at that! Even in Ellsworth!