Green Trees and Hills

Hey y'all! I hope that everyone has had a great week! Can you believe it is Monday again! Where does the time go?

Well my friends I have officially made down here to Eastland Texas and can I say it is so beautiful here! It is so green and there are even "mountains"! I love Eastland but man do I miss my Lubbock family! Monday night and Tuesday morning were spent saying goodbye to some very very close friends, who will forever hold a special place in my heart! I said goodbye to my bestest bud Larry! It was heartbreaking but he is in such good hands! I also said to goodbye to our friends who we had helped move and it was so sad! But the people in Lubbock touched my heart and I will never be forget them!

Tuesday I said goodbye to a few other people and then finished packing... because I didn't get much of that done Monday! Then I said goodbye to all the rest of my homies and headed off to Abilene! It was such a pretty car ride especially since I haven't seen trees in so long! When I got to Abilene we were greeted by tons of missionaries and some of my very bestest friends who I had served with previously! So I was stoked to see them all and my District Leader is a fellow Paul Idaho citizen! It's cool to see him a lot! My companion though was actually in a car wreck before I had arrived so she was a little late getting to the transfer site. She was all safe though which was good. We just didn't have a car so our District leaders area became a bike area for a week until we could get another car from Lubbock! My companion is Sister Howlett and she is from Ohio and has been out for 3 1/2 ish months she is so kind and I am going to learn lots from her this transfer!

Wednesday we started our day bright and early at 4:50 so we could drive the Abilene to play morning sports! Needless to say I was exhausted by the end of the day! On our way back from district Council we actually went and visited a bunch of people and didn't get home until after dark! By this point I had spent more time in other town than Eastland its self! I actually didn't see Eastland in the day light until Thursday! Crazy I know! Its a cute small town and we cover a lot of other little towns! We went to a little town called Gorman on Saturday for the peanut festival! It was so fun! When I imagined TEXAS I imagined lots of small towns with random festivals like that! They have a peanut queen and little miss Gorman and they even have Melon queens from the melon festival that happens in August! Also here in Eastland they have a mascot of a horny toad his name is old rip! I guess he got stuck in a rock or something for 20 years and when they found him he was still alive! But unfortunately he has since died from pneumonia! But he is place in a nice casket at city hall! I will take a picture of it when I see it! I am so excited for that festival I will let you all know what that festival is like when it happens! I am stoked though! 

Sunday was a wonderful day! We actually had stake conference so we were up in Abilene again! It was a wonderful stake conference and leaving I know that we have a Savior who loves us and is aware of what we are going through! My testimony was salidified again! I have yet to meet many of our branch members but the ones I have met are super awesome! I love them with my whole heart! The stake president actually came up to us and said are we having a baptism Saturday! My companion and I were both very confused! He said our friend Corey was ready to be baptized! My companion got real excited but I had no clue who Corey even was! They said he was a preacher from another church who has taken the lessons a few times and he is ready to be baptized! We immediately set up a meeting with Corey. We went and talked to him and he shared with us his testimony of the Plan of Salvation and how he knows that God is a merciful God who wants all his children to return to live with Him once again! The spirit was so strong. He has a few hang ups like quitting his preaching job and his wife is not on board. We talked to him about fasting to receive an answer and he said that is something that I need to do! So is along with many others including our mission president President Hales are fasting with him to have peace and comfort and to receive an answer! I have so much hope he will get his answer and his wife will have the peace she needs! The Gospel of Jesus is Christ is real and it is true! God is so good my friends and remember he loves y'all too! I am grateful to be a missionary and for the wonderful people I have met!  Love you all! 

-Sister Browning 

1. Tootsie the talking bird

2. The Gorman festival 

3. The Queens 

4. Max

5. Dereck and Kassie 

6.Larry

7. One last Soda Shack Stop! 🛑

Professional Movers

Hey y'all! What a great week it has been! I love my life and I love Lubbock with my whole entire heart! Being a missionary is seriously the best.

This past week we have been helping our friends Kassie and Dereck move! You guys I can't even express how much I love this family and I have only known them for a week! We helped them everyday as they moved to a new area to have a fresh start! They are so prepared to hear the Gospel! All I can say after helping them all week is that God really is aware of every single one of us and knows when we are truly seeking for help! God is Good my friends!

We also had a lesson with our friend Jose! He is learning how to receive answers to the questions that we have! We have hopes that he will apply what was taught and see that our Heavenly Father is really giving him answers! 

Then Dennis! He is so cool and was on date for the 14th of September, but it is being moved back to October 19th! He is super excited to go be baptized he said he is letting God be the driver and he will be along for the ride.

This past week was our last district council! It made my heart so sad! At the beginning of the transfer I was a little bit nervous because I loved the one before it a lot! But it ended up being the greatest transfer and I will miss this district with my whole heart! In case y'all didn't know it was the last week of the transfer! Crazy how fast time flies! 

For those of you who would like to know, I am leaving Lubbock after 6 months! I have really enjoyed being here and my ward family here in Lubbock was seriously the best! I will miss them too! Everywhere you go in the mission you always get so attached to the people and it becomes home away from home! I know that the Lord needs me in Eastland Texas though! Which is about an hour away from Abilene! I will have now officially served in every zone in my mission! My companion is Sister Howlett and she seems super awesome! I am excited to put in some work over in Abilene!

I love you all with my whole heart and I know for a fact that God has a plan for each and everyone of us! We are His children and He knows exactly what we need in this life. We just need to trust Him! Thank y'all for the love and support you guys are the best!

-Sister Browning

Miss Idaho!

Hey Y'all! Sorry it has been a couple of weeks! I have been having a blast being a missionary this past couple weeks! So let me tell y'all about it!

To start out a couple of weeks ago our friend Reyna was baptized! Whoot Whoot!! It was such a special baptism and I am so grateful I got to be apart of it. Reyna the little girl was so so excited she was honestly the happiest I had ever seen her! I know that is because the Gospel of Jesus Christ can bring happiness and joy! I can't even put into words how happy the Gospel of Jesus Christ makes me and I know makes others! For the closing song we sang I'm Trying to be like Jesus! The spirit that was there was undeniable! I know that the decision Reyna made to be baptized was correct! I know that she made promises with God! Not only was I happy for her, but our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ were as well! God is so good my friends!

Then this past week all of our lessons fell through but.... hey God is so good and we survived and it makes you super grateful for the weeks where everything goes smoothly. This past week wasn't even bad even though we didn't get to meet with our people! Actually it was an awesome week and we saw so many tender mercies! For one I just want to say Costa Vida has made its way to Lubbock! Its not as good and Café Rio but it was still satisfying! Also when we went a member payed for our food! Another thing was we went to the temple! And one of the things I had asked our Heavenly Father was to just showed that he loved me. As I was there a sweet lady who's husband was in the branch presidency in Midland, was there! Her name is Sister Thacker! This was a family I grew very close to in my time in Midland! They were my family away from home! When I saw her I knew God loved me so much and knew exactly what I needed! The temple is also just the best place to go and to feel closer to Him and our Savior! We also went and visited one of our members who is an assisted living! Now if you ever want to feel amazing go there! A guy kept calling me miss Idaho and they kept saying how we were the sweetest things here in Texas! It made my heart happy!

This next story is a great miracle! We had gotten a referral one night and all we knew was that she lived on a specific street which was so long and has a million houses. So we decided to trust the Lord to help us find her. Her name is Brandy! We were driving around and after about 15 min. Of looking we found a house that had a for sale sign (she had just recently moved into a new house) so we decided to knock! We did and no one answered so we left. We got to the end of the street and my companion just stops the car and is just sitting there. I was so confused and had no clue what was going on! Finally she said we need to go back so we did! We knocked on the actual door not just the screen door. And a lady answered! We asked if her name was Brandy she said no. We asked if she knew a Brandy she said no we are fix'n to move and she could be moving into our house. So I said we'll can we help you move. With tears in her eyes she said really! We said of course we would love to help you. She said I had been so stressed figuring out how I was going to get this all done by myself! She was so grateful! It was an amazing experience! We went back yesterday and helped her and her husband pack up and we are going back today with an army of missionaries to help them move their stuff! They are the sweetest people who know that God is watching out for them! God is Good!

Finally this past weekend there was a shooting in the Midland/Odessa area. This saddened me as I served some of my mission in the Midland/Odessa area! It is an amazing place with wonderful people! This world is a wicked place, but when we have a firm foundation on Jesus Christ we can make it through the craziness! We pray for the people that were affected in this shooting and we know that God is pouring out his love to them! I invite you all to pray for them as well!

We are all children of God! I have seen that throughout this week! I know that God loves all of his children! I am grateful to be able to share that love with others! I know that our Heavenly Father has a perfect plan for each of us! That plan is perfect! I love y'all so much and I am beyond grateful for each of you! Don't forget each of you individually is a son and daughter of God! And HE LOVES YOU!

-Love Sister Browning

1.Costa Vida!

2. Temple 

3. Tractor causing traffic just like home

4. Texas

5. Zone party

6.Reynas Baptism.