Nov. 7, 2016 in Exeter, New Hampshire

I realized last week after my emailing time was out that I hadn't sent you a copy of my letter to President like I said i would. I felt like a goof ;P   Here it is.

Hey President!
1-9 are all yes's again.

We have had a great week here in Exeter! It was an interesting week though. We only got to teach 5 people this week!! :P   We did however still have an awesome week!

This week our car was in the shop so we were on foot. We got a few rides, but mostly we tried to find people to teach in Exeter. We were planning to teach 15 people this week, but then we had tons of cancellations because our investigators we were working with are going through lots right now. So anyway, found 12 new people to teach this week! It was pretty sweet! There were times where we wished we had done better, it rained 5 of the 7 days this week and because of that we weren't as diligent as we should have on been on Friday and Saturday with getting out there with umbrellas. We did still go out, but it took us around half an hour longer to get out than it should have. We talked about it as a comp and repented and promised to be more diligent everyday.

In the Old Testament for seminary last year we learned about how to repent is translated as to change. Repentance really means change, so each time we try to align our will with Gods and try to do better we are repenting! It is cool how we can always be "repenting", always changing and trying to be more like Christ.

S.'s baptism was so great!! He was really excited, we had a good amount of people show up from the ward to support him, and the spirit was there! The next day in Sacrament meeting, after S. had been confirmed and was walking back to his seat, he stopped at the front of the chapel, raised his arms, and said really loudly "Awesome sauce!" It was pretty great, the New England accent really makes it! :)

Happy Halloween!!
Elder Branch

This weeks letter...
Ohloh?
It's hello sir.
Oh, hello?

Haha, how are you all doing?? :)

How was your week?
My week has been pretty great!! We didn't get our car back until Wednesday because parts didn't come in, so that was rough! Then yesterday our battery died so we ended up having to get a jump, then it died again, so our plans got killed for the day which was sad, but we did get a ride to go contact people in a neighborhood by the people we were having dinner with and we found a new person to teach which was nice! We didn't teach as much as we wanted because of that dead battery, but we still taught 9 people and found lots of other people to teach. We had exchanges this week on Tuesday, and so I stayed here in Exeter without a car with the two newer Elders in the Derry trio (Elder C. and Elder D. [He came out with me]), while Elder B. and our District Leader, Elder E., worked in Derry with their car. Elder E. said he wanted me to take the lead even though Elder C. has been out for 6 months, and that this would be like a "test". So that was exciting and scary, but we ended up killing it! We only had set up to teach one person for the next day, but after setting some solid plans, being diligent with calls and with working hard during the day, we were able to teach 5 more people, meet a new person to teach, get 2 referrals, give out 2 copies of the Book of Mormon, and talk to TONS of people!! It was so cool, probably one of if not the most successful day of my mission! And that was all done without a car! So that was really sweet!
We will be able to teach S. this week, we hope to help him get to the temple this month! :)

Are you finding ways to stay warm?
Haha, ya I am, I bought 2 sweaters this week so I'm surviving.

I have a great story!! So there is a thing celebrated in England called Guy Fawkes day, and we have some people from England in our ward who have a party for it! :) We also have these 2 super awesome brothers with downs syndrome in our ward named T. and M. who are like 26 and 24. They are so nice and hilarious! They can't go more than like 3 minutes without talking about football! Anyways, for Guy Fawkes day people here burn a fake Guy Fawkes for what he did trying to help assassinate King James I, and after the fire was going and "Guy Fawkes" was burning, M. just yelled out "Guy Fawkes sucks!!!" It was the funniest thing ever, everyone was just dying   :)  :)  :)

Coach Dooley will like this story!

Every Saturday morning we play basketball with some ward members and investigators, and I've been practicing a bunch every p-day too. Elder B. played for Mesa high school in Arizona, which has one of the best basketball programs in the nation, and he is pretty good. So for one game this Saturday it was Elder B., C. G. (a recently RM who is also pretty good at basketball, he played for the Junior Nuggets team back when he lived in Colorado), and Brother S., against Brother G., Brother B., and myself. We had been playing youth and skill VS old age and treachery as my dad calls it, but us young guys won 4 in a row so Brother S. and I switched. In that game though, my team won in a game to 15, and I scored 13 of my teams points!! It was crazy, hit 3 3's and had some sweet drives! It was a good day but especially that game was crazy!

I hope you're all doing great and thanks for all the birthday wishes! :)

Elder Branch

Car repairs...

Oct. 31, 2016 in Exeter, New Hampshire

Hey family and friends!!! :)
How was S.'s baptism?
S.'s baptism was soooo good!!! It was so fun to set up for it all and have support from the ward!

So how did you do without the car this week?
We're doing well, we walked this week and it rained 5 of the 7 days so that was kinda rough, but it was fun! ;) Our lessons got killed!! :( We were planning to teach 15, and we had 14 set up thru the week, but we had a lot of them cancel so we only got to teach like 5! :( We did pick up 2 investigators, a man who lives in our apartments who took the lessons before, and a dad whose whole family are members. We also found 10 new potentials this week thru tracking in Exeter, so it was good! :)
Did you get your Halloween package?
I did get that, thanks so much!!!!!! :) Haha, I broke the green nun chuck!!   :( 

We had a cherry tomato and decided to use the nun chuck as a bat, and when I hit it, the nun chuck broke in the middle, so now it is 2 green sticks! I still practice my ninja skills with the black one though! ;)
What went wrong with your car? 
The car had been rear ended the week before I got here, so it had to go get fixed. We should get it back tomorrow.

I hope you all have a great week and that life is great! Happy Halloween!  :)

The Exeter area with all the towns that we cover. 

Oct. 24, 2016 in Exeter, New Hampshire

Hey Pals!!

Brother Barnes asked what scripture you'd like on you missionary plaque.
Lets go with the Alma 53:20-21, I love that one! :)
"And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity;  but behold, this was not all - they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted.  Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him."

How was your week?
It was a good week!! :) We had zone interviews which were really good! President Blair is a great guy!

This week our car is in the shop, which is hard because most of our investigators are a 4 hour walk from our house, so we're gonna rely on members a lot, and also do lots of finding around in Exeter.

We had a ton of appointments cancel this week, we only ended up teaching like 6 to 8 lessons, so that was a bummer. The good thing was that with every cancellation, they went out of their way to set up another time, so we know they are really interested and want the gospel, they just have crazy lives. We still have 12 investigators, but soon that'll be 11 cause S. gets baptized!!!! :) He will be the first person baptized in this ward!! We're so excited for him and so is the ward! :)

We had transfer calls and Elder B. and I are both staying so that is nice!!!! :)

Did you get the recipes and song names?
Yes I did get recipes and song names, thanks so much for all the
family and friends that sent them!!! :) I would love any more people
have to send! :)

What would you like for your birthday?
I'm almost 19!! That sounds old! That is like as old as Zac, minus a year! 😮😜 Honestly, I would love sweaters! It is cold here!! ;) Also ties are cool, and money, and snickers, and sour stuff, and ya, that is about it I guess! ;)

Ok, to understand this, a VGPAA is a goal setting tool my mission uses. It stands for:
Vision (Our overall goal)
Goal (Ways we'll work towards our vision this transfer)
Plan (The thing we'll do this week to accomplish our goal)
Action (Specific actions we'll take this week)
Accountable (Who we are accountable to)

My letter to President Blair this week.
1-9 are all yes for this week.

Hey President Blair! First of all can I just say thanks for all you guys do for us, and thanks for the interviews! You guys are great.

I am doing well, after our Zone Interviews meeting I finalized my personal VGPAA and have been working on that. It is...

V: Become more consecrated as a missionary.
G: Gain the characteristics given by President Blair
- Valiant in Christ
- No fear of man
- Conform to the rule and won't have to be commanded
- Work with zeal and to limits of strength, be really tired
- Forget yourself, not casual or careless
- Humble
- Helaman 3:35 (Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and thesanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.)
P: Valiant in Christ
A: Study Christlike attributes, read in Book of Mormon where Jesus comes, Read
Jesus the Christ by the end of this transfer.
A: My companion and President Blair.

I plan to work on a different characteristic/attribute each week of this next transfer, and read all of Jesus the Christ by the end of it too. I asked Elder B. to keep me accountable, but I would also like to report to you on it as well each week. I know I'll be able to improve as a missionary thru this VGPAA so I'm excited to keep working on it!

Elder B. is doing great, he felt sick yesterday, but he got up and we went out to work. Before a dinner appointment yesterday we were knocking doors about 15 minutes away from the members. We had knocked several and were starting to head back to the car, because we had 25 minutes until the dinner and we wanted to contact a old old referral by the members, when I felt we should knock this other house that was the opposite way as our car. We did it, and no one answered. Elder B. felt we should knock the next house, also away from our car, and the guy there wasn't to friendly as he shut the door in the middle of one of our questions. We didn't feel like we needed to knock any other houses there so we headed back to the car. There were 3 more houses by our car, and as we were walking Elder B. was telling a story, but I felt like we should knock them, so I politely interrupted and asked if we had time to knock the last few, then contact the guy another day. He agreed and we went up to the first house. A younger guy answered, probably in his late 20's, wearing a Patriots hat. I asked him about the hat and we talked football for just a minute, then Elder B. just went right in and asked if we could share a message with him about Jesus Christ. The guy said yes, and we got to share an awesome shortened version of the restoration with him, introduce the Book of Mormon and give him a copy, which he was interested in, and leave him with a restoration pamphlet! We asked if we could meet with him again and he was interested in that! He is around on weekends usually so we're excited to go back and meet with him. Oh, and his name is S. (we liked how he spelled it). Hopefully we can pick him up as an investigator this next week or two! It was cool to be lead by the spirit and get a potential investigator from tracking.

I hope you're having a great week, we wanted to invite you to the Exeter Halloween Trunk or Treat this Wednesday at and to S.'s baptism this Saturday. We hope to see you here! By the way the members here loved you and Sister Blair, they have mentioned it to us a bunch!

We love you guys too, thanks again,
Elder Branch

This week we came to primary as the super missionaries 

and sang and marched around! 

It was like being at Camp Kiesel again 

or teaching my rad primary kids!! :)

From our apartment

At the church

Oct. 17, 2016 in Exeter New Hampshire

Hey Pals,

The little portable speaker you sent is sooooooooo great, thanks so much!!! :) 

You'd asked about the mission music rules. 

Our music policy had been  that we could only listen to LDS artists, but now we can listen to anyone who has good, uplifting music that brings the spirit! :) Can you guys (my family, but anyone else who wants to totally can too) send me a list of good songs like we had on our Spotify and Pandora!? :). Also can you send me a list of our Christmas playlist?? :) Thanks!

How are the people doing that you're teaching and serving?

Ok, so we had to drop our investigator named P. who we've been seeing a lot. He is a really nice guy, but he doesn't keep commitments  and he will not come to church, so that was too bad. 

We also have a 14 year-old named E. who is interested, we set a baptismal date with him this week! :)  He has to do a lot more learning and feeling the spirit to know that it is true  so he can be totally converted, but he is a really good kid!  

We also have his grandma who I haven't gotten to have a lesson with yet.  We aren't sure if she is super interested, but apparently she is nice.

There is D. who is around 30, he has traveled around a lot and loves God  a ton. He isn't sure about the Book of Mormon but he has started reading it. 

Then we have a bunch of others, actually most of the main people I haven't gotten to mention, but this week was hard for lots of them. Like really hard. I'll talk more about them in the future but for now I will leave them out because the trials they are facing are just heartbreaking. We are trying to do everything we can to help them, but there is only so much we can do.  

It is a blessing that we have the Gospel!!!  I hope we can help these people and get them the Gospel  stronger in their lives because it would bless them so much. 

You got to meet Brother M. - he sent us a picture! How did that happen?

We just had Stake Conference and he came up to me and said he was friends with you on Facebook!! :) We talked for a while and then he asked if we could get a picture to send to you guys! :) He is a way nice guy! ;)

So this week was super fun!! :) We went camping and went to the ocean! haha

We had new trainers meeting this week on Tuesday and Wednesday,  so we went to the Joseph Smith's birthplace in Vermont  and did service, putting up lights, raking leaves, painting cabins, and lots more! We also got to go on a hike and have a fireside... Like literally! :) 

We got all 50-60 of us around a big fire and had a great meeting,  then had marshmallows and hot chocolate! :) 

That night the Elders stayed in freezing cabins that had 2 bunk beds each and were open at the corners with nets to keep bugs out, and the sisters went to apartments, but it was fun!  

The next day we had more training and it was great!  Then we had district meeting the next day, then weekly planning the next day, so we didn't get to teach as much as we'd have liked,  but we still got to teach 8 lessons so not bad.  We would have been able to teach more but because of those investigators challenges we weren't able to. 

So this morning for P-day we went to a lighthouse in our zone, in Maine, and studied out there! It was so pretty, I loved it!  Then we hung out as a zone at the Zone Leader's chapel in Portsmouth, 

it's been a party!! :) 

I hope you all had a great week and I love you all a ton!!!!!! :) 

Please send recipes if you can! 

Love,

Elder Branch :)

Pictures from the new trainer's meeting and service project in Vermont 

at the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial - mostly taken by the super great senior missionaries.

P-day pictures at the Nubble Lighthouse in Maine.

Oct. 10, 2016 in Exeter, New Hampshire

Hey everyone!! :)

I hope life's good!!!! I don't have a lot of time to Email, but I sent lots of pics this week, so I hope that will appease everyone! :)

Did you get totally poured on yesterday?

It has been pretty rainy here, but it isn't horrid. The rain hasn't ever been really heavy, so that is nice!

How's the work of teaching the gospel going?
For the work, sadly our new baptismal investigator from last week had to move to a special school in Vermont for the next 2-3 months to work some stuff out.

 :(   He won't have any contact other than mail, so we'll try to write him. We didn't get to help the people we're teaching set any more baptismal dates this week, but we did meet 3 new investigators! :) We have 15 people we're teaching right now. We plan to start teaching 2 more this week though so it is still going good. People are really busy going into the cold/Christmas season so getting appointments to teach lessons has been harder, we only got to teach 10 this week. We did however have a day in another area for exchanges this week, and Elder B. and I were both sick for a day. We still worked that day, but were both pretty ineffective. We have some solid appointments this week, and although we are have 2 days of training, we hope to be able to teach 15 lessons! :)  

How is budgeting and meal planning prep going?

Haha, for budgeting, I have been doing well!! :) We get $150 a month for laundry, food, and whatever else we might need. I spent a third of that on medicine this week... But it think I can budget well and make it without using my card. ;) We do usually eat together, I make stuff when I get time. Elder B. doesn't cook, but I have made some mean chocolate chip panacakes ;) a few times. This week I got stuff to make shell pasta salad! :)

On that note, can I please get recipes that are quick and good!? :) Can I get the Coffey's Green Chili Enchilada soup recipe, the Nash's sesame chicken recipe, crepes and any others you have? :) I would love a recipe book! Family and friends can sent recipes too! :)

I bore my testimony this week and introduced myself to the ward. It was really cool, the spirit was way strong and I might have started crying... ;) A bunch of people thanked me for it, talked about Layton with me, and a few people said they thought I was older than 18 and that I was really mature. So that was really nice! :)

One funny story, we volunteer at a senior center every Thursday morning, and this last week some people were talking about us missionaries. They thought we couldn't hear so it was way funny! They were talking about how nice we were and that we looked so good all the time, and then this one older man was like, "Yup, these Mormons come out here and serve for 2 years then go home and run for President." That basically sums it up! ;)

Love you all!!!!! :)

Elder Branch

A typical road for around here

Basketball with our District

The Elder who was here before me loved meat 

and now we have lots of leftovers and we both aren't crazy about meat.

 So far we haven't eaten any of it.

Oct. 3, 2016 in Exeter, New Hampshire

Hey Pals!

How are you both and how is the work going?

I am doing really well, this has been the best week so far and I've had so much fun as we've worked! The work is hard and it is discouraging at times, but you can have so much fun! I have been setting personal goals and have really had a super week!!!!!

Elder B. is great too, he was feeling sick for a day, but we still went and worked so it was good.

The work is going great!!!! One of the people we're teaching set a baptismal date this week! So now our area that hasn't had an investigator baptism in 3 years has 2 people's baptisms scheduled in the next 3 months!! :) We have had a lot of miracles and been blessed so much!! We plan to invite at least one more person to set a baptismal date this week, but if things went perfect we could potentially have 4 people set dates! Great things are happening here as we work hard!!! :)

We saw a bank charge from Seabrook which looks to be about 3 miles from the coast. Did you get to see the ocean?
And yes, I have seen the ocean!! :) We actually have to stay away from it unless it's cold outside cause there is a little college or something I think in the area. But I have seen it twice, we actually did our coordination last week on the roof lounging area of the assistant ward mission leaders really pretty apartment, in view of the ocean! It was so pretty and awesome!! It is a great area, and although I like big cities and this mission is mostly small towns, I love it! There are lots of pretty trees everywhere and the ocean is sweet!

It has been raining a fair bit here, like the last 2-3 days it's been a constant rain/mist! The mist out here is weird, it's like the sky is on the mist setting of a hose!!

So, I bought beer for the first time this week! Before priesthood session me and Elder B. went to a way good pizza place and got calzones. Elder B. got a Mountain Dew Code Red, and I usually just get water or lemonade, but I decided I wanted to be unhealthy and get a Mountain Dew Voltage. So I went and asked for a Voltage and the lady charged me $3! I thought that was expensive, but I had over $200 on my card cause I've been saving. So I sign the receipt and she walks over to the beer behind the counter and says,"Sorry, which one is Voltage again?" Haha, so some other ladies who worked there saw and told her that voltage is soda, so they gave me $2 cash back. So I bought a beer, on my missionary support card, under aged!! And they even had a sign behind the counter that says "We ID everyone". So ya, killing it as a missionary!! ;)

Sure love you all!! One last thought for all my missionary friends! I read these verses and it made me think of all of you.
Alma 17:13-14 "...they separated themselves and departed one from another, trusting in the Lord that they should meet again at the close of their harvest; for they supposed that great was the work which they had undertaken.
14 And assuredly it was great..."

Sure love ya all!!! :)
Elder Branch

Sept. 26, 2016 in Exeter, New Hampshire

Hey Pals!!

This week was really good!! It was a busy week with Zone Conference, a Tuesday P-day, and we had exchanges with the zone leaders in their area, so we didn't get to work in ours as much as we would have liked. It was still a good week though! We picked up an investigator named L. who teaches Latin! Her and her husband are retired now and they have a super nice dog. She has taught LDS kids before and even went to one of their temple marriages and stood outside! She had questions about why that was, because she thought it was just a church. We explained temples and churches and how anyone can come to church. We talked a while longer and she said we could come back, and we even prayed with her so that was rad!! :)

Our investigator with a baptismal date is named S. and he is the real deal! He just got married to a member this week, and is going on a two week at the end of this week and then he will be baptized on October 29th! He has a sweet accent and is so grateful for what we do as missionaries. He is a high up businessman and played football in college. He is such a fun guy and he loves how the gospel not only has the spirit, but that it just makes common sense!! :)

Do you have good conference talks or pretty music to listen to when you want?
For music, our standards are only LDS artists, but can be any spiritual and good song by them. And if it is a group, they just have to have at least 1 LDS member. I have nothing to play music on, so we never have listened to mine, but we listen to Elder B.'s on his USB and iPad.

Do you meet as a district on Mondays?
We actually do our district meetings on Wednesday mornings them eat lunch together. 

Thanks for finding some pants for me mom. I'm 7 pounds fewer than when I left home, 12 fewer than when I left the MTC so those pants make it feel like I just got off the biggest loser!!

Sure love you all and can't wait to talk next week!
Elder Branch

Hey President B.!

I am good on questions 1-9, I do want to start my prayers earlier so I am in bed by 10:30, but everything else is going great!
I forgot that darn paper that gives us the format again, but I found it this week, read thru it multiple times, set it on my desk where I'd be sure to remember it, and then I forgot it... But I will put I reminder in my iPad to bring it for next week, and I'll try putting the paper in my case behind the iPad.

This week has been really good! We had meetings and exchanges which took time out of the week in our area which was to bad, but we were blessed too. We picked up a new investigator who is a school teacher who has taught some LDS kids and even stood outside one of their temple weddings! She was cool with having us back so I'm excited to teach her! 

I've been doing a lot better this week, this finally feels like "home" or life, not just like another camp or something, so that has helped. This area has so much potential! We feel it, as do the members. It sounds like this ward has had some internal struggles the past few months/years, and people feel like the ward needs to keep improving to be blessed with new members, so I hope we can help them. Elder B. is a great missionary and likes to go out working till 9:30 like every night, so I'm grateful for him.

Thanks for all you do for all of us!
Elder Branch