Feb. 1, 2016 in Catawba, South Carolina A week of many funerals.

Hello!

So this was a very interesting week. We were able to see some good blessings this week and found a couple people who seem pretty interested! We decided to go and tract a couple streets that I hadn't been on before and on one of them we had like 0 success, besides a conversation with a elderly fella who talked about how birds are racist because they segregate between the different species. 

Then as we were walking along a big main road knocking a couple doors along there. We knocked on this one house and right after knocking we looked up and there was this wild looking devil head above the door with 666 on its forehead. We looked around the yard and there were a bunch of other demon-angel things, and the house was all black and stuff. It was super creepy! Fortunately no one opened the door.

The very next house was a family who had tons of scriptures and things all over their porch and the father came out of the house, told us his whole experience of being saved, and then tried to save us, despite our assurances that we had already accepted Jesus as our personal lord and savior. So he talked with us for about 20 minutes and then we were late to dinner.

The next day though, just one road down from all those interesting experiences, we found like the best road. Everyone was just homies with us, and 2 different families said we could come back this next week! Even the people who weren't interested were super chill, and would offer us water or refer us to everyone else on the street. So that was a plus.

I guess the other main focus of the week was funerals. The members say that in this area, people always pass away in waves. Well, the next wave just happened, and we have had 3 funerals in the past 4 days (and possibly 2 more coming up).

The first was for the Assistant Chief in the Catawba Tribe, and while he wasn't a member, they did the funeral at the church because he was buried in the graveyard behind it. The current chief offered the prayer and in the prayer he said something like "We come before thee with much sorrow and rejoicing, which we know is a contradiction, but it is because of the sorrow of loosing W. and the rejoicing that we were able to know him." After he spoke, they played a Blake Shelton song called God Gave Me You over a CD player. Then a member in the Rock Hill Ward talked about Jesus and the Plan of Salvation which brought the spirit. A lady sang Amazing Grace for the closing song then everyone headed outside and they had some Indian drumming as well as a 21 gun salute for him.

The second funeral came the next day and was much more spiritual. I think they had her cremated because there was no burial. Brother B. sang Amazing Grace at this one and it was nice.

The third was today, and it was for Brother B. He was the only one of the 3 that I knew, he had been super healthy just a month ago and gave us tons of rides to Charlotte and all over. His service was probably my favorite. There were lots of good stories shared, as well as strong testimonies born of the Plan of Salvation. Once again, a lady sang Amazing Grace. 

At the funerals, we had several people come up and tell us to come by, and lots of other people were in the church feeling the spirit, so we are hopeful some good will come.

We are seeing blessings as we continue to work forward through trials.

Thanks for your prayers, love y'all!

Love, Elder Branch

Oct. 26, 2015 Transferred to Catawba, South Carolina with Elder B___

Hello all!

So transfers have come and I am back down to South Carolina! And for the first time ever I have a companion who has been out less time than I have. That doesn't discredit him, he is a superb missionary! His name is Elder B___, he is from Arizona, and he has been out 3 transfers. This is still his first area and I am only his second companion, so I am 'greenie breaking' him I guess. He is lots of fun, and is a super good teacher. He also plays the piano way better than me, so this District Meeting was the first time I didn't play the piano. We were comparing piano songs and he plays more classical/intense music than me, and I play more pop than him. We are having lots of fun, and it's pretty great. We get a car 2 out of 3 weeks.

So as far as the area, I am in Catawba, which includes the Catawba Indian Reservation, and it is pretty interesting. It is my most "country" area so far, which is fun! We cover 3-4 small towns, including the east side of Rock Hill, Catawba, Van Wyck, and everything in between. Our teaching pool is actually fairly large right now, which is probably the first time that has happened on my mission! (Hooray!) We are actually right next to the Rock Hill Ward where I served for 3 months, but in a different stake. It's funny though because there are tons of members who are related to members in Rock Hill, so it's like I know everyone's family already. The ward is super interesting, pretty much 90% of the people on the actual reservation are members. We have about 80-100 attending church, and there are 400+ members. It sounds like most of them are less active because they have been offended/hurt over different family issues, and this last week in Sacrament Meeting, the Bishop gave a talk on being humble, kind, and not getting offended. He likened it to the rameumptom. It was pretty intense.

So as far as bright spots for the week go, we were able to teach a lady named M___. She is super solid, and wants to be baptized eventually. On Saturday we had a powerful Gospel of Jesus Christ lesson and she committed to come to church. Then on Sunday she called and cancelled :( Apparently she had laid out all her clothes and everything the night before, but when she woke up on Sunday she couldn't get out of bed because of pain. She told us that later, when she was feeling some better, she got up and read the Book of Mormon for a couple hours and it gave her peace. So we are hoping to have her come to the church during the week for a church tour to help her get accustomed.  :D

We taught a man named M___ on Wednesday. He was a pastor for a non denominational church back in the day, and he has been pretty curious to learn about our beliefs, even though he is apparently pretty sure that everything is a "wind of doctrine". We shared the second half of the Plan of Salvation where we teach about the spirit world and the multiple kingdoms, and then they either flip out and drop us or get baptized. Well we told him about it, and to our surprise he actually liked it and said he agreed! Wildcard!! So we are going to get him a large print Book of Mormon, and pray that he reads it, becomes converted, and gets baptized. (Please pray for him.) :)

Anyways, that was our week pretty much. Well, that and having district meeting down in Lancaster. Lancaster is a branch, so their building actually used to be a Chinese restaurant that they converted into a church by putting a steeple on the top. It's pretty interesting. Their mini piano is cute looking.

This last week I was able to ponderize Mosiah 2:41 (And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell, with God in a state of never ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true.) 

I think my favorite part is just how true it seems to be. We taught a guy named B___ last night and shared this verse with him. He talked about how he agrees, and that every time he is with us he gets a "buzz" from the spirit. A common farewell here is "be blessed", or "have a blessed day", and it reminds me of this scripture. When we say "be blessed," what we are really saying is "remember who you are! Be good!" I think for this next week I am going to ponderize your one mom, Psalms 119: 165 and 167 (Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly.) It could definitely help out!

Congrats for Joe!! That is so fun for them. Haha, met in the outdoor equipment area, that is perfect!!

Thanks for all you do! You guys are the greatest! I love you!

Have a blessed week!
Elder Branch

Eldertooblessedtobestressed

 

July 20, 2015 in Greensboro, NC

Hey!

Thanks so much for the fun pictures!! I love them!

Our week was pretty good. We were able to teach a lot more than we did last week, which was really good. We didn't find any new friends, so our teaching pool is still pretty small. We are going to work on that this week. We are excited for interviews with President A. this week!

We got to go see the S. Family this week and had a great visit and committed them to read the Book of Mormon all the way through by the time Elder G. and I go home. Their daughter left for youth conference the next day, and then on Friday we got a call from Sister S. telling us that her father had passed away. It was rough. We went over on Saturday night and had a plan of Salvation lesson and it was so good. It really strengthened my testimony even more of the Savior.

Another wild story was on Saturday. We had a friend named P. we had been praying for, and when we dropped by she invited us in. We didn't have another male though so we couldn't go in, so she came and stood outside for a bit. She all of a sudden told us that she was a member and had always loved the gospel, but had just been away from it for a while. She doesn't want us to tell the ward yet, but she is working her way back, so we are super excited!! So pray for P.!

Final story. Yesterday we went and visited some former friends and they were way funny. They showed us a bunch of swords he had, and they were great! So those pictures will be coming your way as well. Thanks for the letters! I love the family blog posts! Hope all is well!

Love, Elder Branch

Elder TooBlessedToBeStressed Branch

We made ties!

Apr. 13, 2015 in Rock Hill, SC, Last interview with Pres. C.

Hello!

B. and T. are doing super great!! Both of them have a desire to learn and learn and learn, and they are super good friends. They have been reading the Book of Mormon, and understanding things even we haven't noticed before in it. On Saturday night, we had one of the most spiritual lessons on my mission. It started off super rocky, due to a super drunk man named wild B., who was talking and slurring words and kept forgetting he had already introduced himself. B. and T. told us to leave and meet them down the street at a field while they got wild B. inside and came to meet us. We tried that, but wild B. followed them. They told us to ignore him, and after a little bit he left (not until he held up his fists and threatened to fight me though) ;) but after that, we were able to talk to B. and T.

They are both facing some deaths in their families currently, and while the lesson started with talking about priesthood authority, it ended up with us watching Because of Him, Because He Lives, and talking about the hope of the Plan of Salvation. It was a wonderful lesson, and we were all emotional and feeling the Spirit. Downside is they still didn't come to church!! That is something we are definitely working on and need members to help, so keep praying for them!!

You asked if we ride bikes or drive a car in this area. So we switch off every week with the other Rock Hill Elders. One week we're on bikes, next on car. We have 650 miles for the month for our companionship, and we have already used tons, so were in trouble! Haha :)

We had interviews with President C. this week, and its wild because it could have been our last interview with him! It was a very good one, and in part he asked how y'all were doing, and I told him about how fantastic you all were, especially when Hunter and Dad helped the lady who ran out of gas and then prayed for their blessings for the service to come to me. President C. loved that story. Also in the interview, he told me what my "role" in the mission has been. He said "You have the gift of optimism, of temperance. You're the steady-Eddie. We speak of Shiblons and Sams in the mission, missionaries who are diligent and obedient without looking for recognition." At the end of the interview, he thanked me for the good things in Huntersville that Elder S. and I helped to bring. He brought me in for a hug, and it was just a really good moment with him, easily my favorite interaction with him :) So thanks for raising me to work hard and be happy! It reminded me of the talk "Truly Good and Without Guile" from conference.  :)

I'm loving the mission more and more each day!! For example this week has probably been the craziest week in the entire planet, with our apartment situation, meetings, and a sickness that took out all the other Elders but miraculously passed me (allergies still got me though, but I just bought local honey, so I'll be good). Elder A. was sick Tuesday night, and is still sick today. Elder S. has poison Ivy on his leg, and got food poisoning one night. Elder D. got sick the day after Elder S., and just got better today. In the past when my companions have been sick, I've been content with the "day off," but not anymore! I was begging to go on splits with the other healthy Elder (whoever it was ) all week, and it was a blast! On top of that, despite 2 elders being out all week, we were able to triple the amount of lessons we taught this week! Elder A. and I started the week with a bunch, then Elder D. and I taught 10 times in one day! Elder S. and I had great quality lessons the next couple days, and we ended with like 21 lessons per companionship!

The next wild part of this wild week, was that Elder D. and Elder S. were assigned talks in conference, but then Elder D. got sick, so I had to give his. But because we were at M.'s house in the morning, we didn't even get to church in time for the Sacrament, and barely made it in time for the talks! The primary sang, and then next thing you know, I'm up at the pulpit with no time to prepare! We received a promise from President C., a counselor to President C., that if we were living worthy of the Spirit, our mouths would be filled. Well mine fortunately was, and I was able to speak for the 5 minutes I had been assigned minimum on charity and I don't even know what else. After church we were able to go back home and perform the Sacrament, after asking the Bishop, and the Spirit as we performed that ordinance was powerful and real, in a way I had never felt as strongly before. I love love love the Sacrament!!!!  :D so yeah, all in all, we lived through this week, but just barely.

Haha, well I sure love ya!

Elder Branch :)

(An older picture of Fountain Park and Elder Branch)