Apr. 30, 2018 in Ellsworth, Maine - Transfers...

Hello!

So, I had written out my email and was almost done, when my iPad crashed and deleted it all. 😭 So, my motivation and time are lessened to write, but I’ll still give you the basic highlights.

Wednesday we had to pack because we left that night. We were able to stop by and teach some people that day too so Elder Powell could say bye.

We drove for about 9 hours Thursday because of the drive down, back up, and picking up Elders along the way to bring them to their new areas. Looooong day, but fun to see people. Elder Powell will do well in Vermont. I received Elder Dayley. He is from Idaho, is a saxophone wizard, likes the indoors, but isn’t opposed to the outdoors, and likes to joke!!

We found a track by our apartment, that made me so happy! My mile time on a treadmill got down to 5:47 in Manchester, but that was 3 months ago, but the weather is nice now so we can finally run, and I had a 6:27 mile on the real track without feeling to tired so I’m excited to get to keep running in the mornings! :)

We stopped by a guy named A. who we had stopped teaching a few months back and had a great lesson! Things in his life are clearing up a lot more now and we’re doing a church tour with him tomorrow morning!

Lots of our investigators weren’t able to get together this week, because of the craziness. N. sent us a text that sounded like he wasn’t going to meet anymore which made us super sad! We stopped by though and he actually just meant he was starting work so he’d be a lot more busy and it would be harder to meet. He also was worried about all the commitments he’d have to make. We told him to chill for a second. If we relate the gospel to math, he was trying to do calc without even learning or experiencing addition! We explained that the reason God sent us was to help him, one step at a time. First thing is he needs to read in the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it’s true. We shared Alma 32 and talked about how we had given him a seed of faith, and he said, “ya, and I need to water it, I haven’t done that.” We were really glad he made the connection, hopefully he’ll read!

P. has been busy but we have contacted him a few times and he still wants to meet.

The S. family hasn’t really been keeping their commitments or appointments. We stopped by this week after having scheduled the appointment the day before, to find no one home... we left a note asking them to call us to reschedule because they have missed a bunch recently. If they don’t call we will just wait and come back by in a month or two.

K. is good, she was out of town.

J. had a busy week but we’re excited to see him again.

A lady named A. who had been checking out the church before I got here, came to church this week! We had never met her in person, but had talked on the phone a bunch of times and she had always seemed interested still. She has been sick and busy for the last few months, but has continued to read the Book of Mormon and is noticing how it has been changing her life! We will see her again this Wednesday.

Last thing, I had been praying to receive a sure knowledge that President Nelson is a prophet. I believed he was because I know the church is true, but this week as Elder Dayley and I were praying together before we went to bed, I prayed that God would bless the prophet President Nelson. That was the first time I’ve asked God to bless him since he was called and in that instant, I felt the spirit tell my heart he is a prophet. It wasn’t overpowering or emotional, it was just a happy and sure feeling. I’m glad God answers prayers in his way and time.

Love,
Elder Branch :)

Awesome Elder Powell

A work in progress...

My new comp, Elder Dayley is the second from the right.

Elder Dayley is taking this picture

Jan. 1, 2018 in Manchester, New Hampshire

Happy New Years!!!

It is COLDDDDD out here! It's been around 3 degrees as an average the last few days, but who cares!! We still found a bunch this week and had a great time!! T., who came to church last week, accepted a baptismal date for the 27th and is praying about it because he is nervous about how his family will deal with it since they are all Hindu, pray for him! :) We had stopped visiting D. and G. as much but then D. reached out this week. We went and had a good lesson with her and G., and D. came to church! She is nervous about going to church alone, but with more friends there she could still keep learning be really solid.

Last week we met a lady named S. who speaks Spanish and this week we had a member of our ward (L.) who recently returned from her mission in Spain come teach with/for us!! :) I was able to follow along and share a few thought with my limited Spanish, but L. was the main teacher. It was so awesome! S. said that she doesn't have a peep hole, but when we knocked on her door she felt like she should open it. Her son told her not too because who knew who it was, but she opened the door anyway! She is from Honduras and as a kid met missionaries there. She felt like it was a sign that we met her here which shows God loves her and has a plan, and we agree! :) We are visiting again this week with L.

For Christmas a really nice family in our ward bought all us missionaries really warm coats. As you know, the temperatures here have been crazy crazy cold so it was perfect! Elder Petersen and I have other warm coats, but one night I was wearing the one they gave me as we were out visiting people. As we were walking down the street in 4 degree weather with a strong wind, we saw a man on the other side of the street. We crossed to talk to him and yelled out hi, and he responded, "Hey Elders!" Whenever someone who you don't know calls you Elders, you know they either are a less active member or have a history of meeting with missionaries. He told us that his name was J. and that he use to be a member. He was baptized in the early two thousands, and his life had taken some crazy turns since. I won't go into too many details, but he is just couch surfing now and doesn't have a lot going for him. He only was wearing a jacket and looked super cold. We talked all about how his life had gone and promised him it's never to late to come back. We shared Mosiah 26:30 (Yea, and as often as my people repent I will forgive them their trespasses against me.) and the Spirit came in so powerfully. He started crying as we gave him a new copy of the Book of Mormon and promised he would be at church the next day. As we were about to leave I felt like I should ask if he had a coat. He said his jacket was all he had and next thing I knew I had taken off the coat the members gave me, removed my missionary tag, and was handing it to him. He resisted for a second, then quickly took it and put it on. He started crying again and we were able to have a prayer and give him a hug. The spirit was so strong as we walked... ran back to the car. (Cause now I was the cold one! ;) ) The next day J. showed up at church in the new coat and had a great time back at church. We'll keep working to help him get back on tract again.

That was my favorite part of Christmas this year. It was awesome how those members generous service to us missionaries was able to do much more than they could have anticipated when they gave it. :)

Love you all and welcome to 2018!!
Elder Branch :)

Dec. 19, 2016 in Exeter, New Hampshire

Hey pals!!

I hope you all have had a great week!

So we had a great week this week! J. wants to be baptized and she decided on March 18th, which is actually her birthday!! It's so sweet!

C. couldn't come to the Christmas party or church this week (we think because of the snow and freezing rain), but we did get to meet with him and R. (his girlfriend) on Wednesday which was sweet! We hope to go back and see them tonight or tomorrow.

We've been contacting people in the area to confirm with them that they would like to have some donated food brought over to them for Christmas, and it was a really cool opportunity to meet people!! There was one lady named E. who was super nice and she has been wanting to get into religion! We were able to share a message with her and become pretty good friends. We will be checking back with her this week! :)

The church had a pipe break so on Sunday rather than ward council meeting, we cleaned out water! The building is all ok now though. :)

Elder C. and I are great!! Last night we had a really cool contact with a guy who we actually are going to start teaching, and Elder C. took the lead and did most of the talking, which was really awesome! He is a really good guy! Elder D. and C. seem to be getting along really well, so that is awesome! They found 10 people to begin teaching this week! ;) The Sisters also are doing well. Sister D. was really sick but she is doing better now.

I'm still working on being District Leader. Teaching this week was a lot more fun because I knew what to expect from the week before. It is actually really fun to get to teach and lead the conversation! The Zone Leaders give me good advice after each meeting, so that has been nice to have them there to help me improve and change! Elder M. and Elder W. are super great, Elder C. says that we are lucky because they are really good Zone Leaders, and I agree!

So for Christmas I'll probably be calling you from the G.'s house, so that'll be fun!

We have a half mission Christmas meeting this week that will be at the Joseph Smith Memorial, which is where the prophet was born, so that will be really cool too! :)

Sure love you all and Merry Christmas!!
Elder Hunter Branch :)

Baby it's cold outside!

During our dinner hour, 

we made magic cookie bars for our friend

 who had a loved one pass away.