Crazy Week!

Hey y'all! Hope everyone is doing well. It has been a crazy couple of weeks. 

A lot has changed for missionary work that has kind of thrown us for a loop but we will figure it out. We found out that we are no longer knocking on doors for tracking. It is not an effective way to find people. 1 in every thousand doors we knock we get to have a lesson. Those are not very good statistics. We did find out though when people attend a baptism there is an 80% chance that they themselves will be baptized. We have had a few baptisms and have worked really hard to get the people we are working with to them. We have also created a Facebook page called Our Journey to Christ. This is uplifting quotes and videos to share around Facebook. We are also having a family history night for people to come and learn more about it. We are super excited for these things to happen and see how the work grows. 

This last week we went to the temple to do a session and then with some recent converts to do baptisms. It was such an awesome day  I love going to the temple. It is the only place here on earth where satan is not welcome. I love going there and being able to feel so close to my Heavenly Father. 

This last week was also Halloween. Which means that we were on lock down we had to be in by 6. We watched the movie Legacy a missionary chick flick and had pizza and went to bed. The weather also was raining which made me so happy. The weather here is definitely not what I am used to. It is so nice everyday and not cold, so weird. 

We had two district meeting this past week. One was regular and we learned about Christlike love. How can we love others in the ways Christ loves us. It was an awesome topic to be able to discuss and learn more about. It is important as missionaries to love others the way that Christ would love them and express that to them. We are literal representatives of Him and it is the best. Then the next day we filmed ourselves teaching and discussed the things that we did good and what we could have done better. It was a great exercise and a way to learn how we can become better missionaries. I love this Gospel with all of my heart. I am grateful each and everyday for this opportunity I have to share the Gospel with others. Thanks for all of the love and support! I love you all have an awesome week. 

-Sister Browning 

P.s. Cotton fields here are beautiful!

Crazy Missionary Life

Hey y'all! Things are good here in New Mexico. 

We started out our week on Monday. It was a very chilly day. We just hung out because transfers were on Tuesday, and our district decided to do a pepper challenge. A few ate habanero peppers. One kid ate a scorpion. It was some crazy stuff. I ate Ghost pepper hot sauce a few days before so I didn't have to do the challenge. Thank goodness I do not think my mouth could handle anymore hotness. 

Tuesday was a long day. We did not have district meeting because it was transfer day so we pretty much went finding all day. Finding is something that I struggle with wanting to do, but you have to find in order to have people to teach. We also did service at Faith, Hope, Love that was fun. I like doing service there. 

Then on Wednesday we had district meeting. We got to meet all the new people in our district. Everyone is so nice. I think we are going to have fun this transfer. Then we had 5 lessons that day. It was so crazy we had no time for breaks. We did not get dinner until 8:00 that night. As crazy as that day was I live for them. I love having to go go go all day long. It makes me feel so productive.

On Thursday we did service again at Faith, Hope, Love. Which was good just like Tuesday. We then had a lesson with a less active member of the ward. He took us to lunch and we talked about the importance of the Book of Mormon. We also talked about how if you want to have a testimony you can have one, but you have to work for it. It is not all of a sudden magically going to be there one day. This guy doesn't really want to work for a testimony and we can't help him if he is not willing to help himself. Hopefully he will find that desire someday. 

One thing about missionary work is we are here to help lead and guide people to find their way to the path of the Gospel. If they are not willing to try then there is nothing we can do for them. It can be hard because you meet these people and you love them so much because they are our brothers and sisters. I so badly wish everyone had that desire to learn about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but we are all given agency. We had a few lessons that day as well and a lot of trying people on our ward list that we do not know. It was another one of those busy days that I love so much. 

Friday we did service at the soup kitchen all morning. We help do dishes in the back with a guy named Andrew. We have so much fun. Serving others definitely can make you happy if you do it with the right attitude. We then did weekly planning a lot of the day, and tried by some more people. Saturday was so so crazy! It was also one of the best days ever. We went to do baptisms with some recent converts. We rode up with some other people and left at 6:20. The family we were meeting were coming up on their own. They were super excited all week to go to the temple. We have been helping them with family history and getting them names to take. On our way up about an hour out we got a text saying that they had been fighting all morning and the husband didn't want to go anymore. We were in shock and had no clue what to do. We tried calling him and texting him and begging him to come. We prayed and asked for help we did not know what to do. We finally decided to call our bishop and ask him to call them or go over there and figure out what was going on. Finally the husband texted and said that he was going to come. He said that Satan had been so strong against him and he just did not really know what to do. They finally made it to the temple 4hrs. later, but it was super awesome to be able to go with them. They were crying the whole time and you could just see how happy they were to finally be there. The temple is such an amazing place to be. It is the only place on earth where Satan is not welcome. It is literally a House of The Lord. I am so grateful that we had the opportunity to go with this wonderful family. The spirit is so strong in the temple and it is a place where I can feel so close to my Heavenly Father. I invite you all to attend the temple whether it is going inside or just walking around the grounds. The temple is a special place here on earth for us to enjoy and do missionary work on the other side. 

I love you all so much and hope that everyone will have an opportunity to go inside the temple someday. I know that this church is true, and I love being a missionary of the Lord's Church.

-Love Sister Browning 

Conference!!

Hey y'all! I hope everyone is doing well. It has been an awesome week. 

Monday we went to Carlsbad Caverns. They were so cool. A guy in our ward works there and he gave us a little tour which was so nice. Then on Tuesday we had our last district meeting. I can't believe that this transfer is already over. It flew by so quickly! I can only imagine how fast the rest of them will go. 

We also had a lesson with a girl named Wantusi. She went to church when she was little and then they stopped going. When we stopped by to see her she was surprised to know that there was a church here. She wants to learn more and we had a super awesome lesson with her. We set a baptism date for November 16th. We are super excited to continue working with her. Then we also had a lesson with Mark. He is doing awesome and is progressing well. We still have a lot to teach him but we are so excited for what the future holds for him. 

Wednesday we did service at Faith, Hope, Love. It was really fun we just sorted clothes. We went finding with some members the rest of the day. Then Thursday we did service and went finding and invited everyone we could think of to Conference. Saturday we watched conference all day. I loved it!! The morning session we went to a less active members house. Then the afternoon session we went to the church. Then that afternoon there was an awesome rainstorm. I have never seen rain come down like that in my life. I loved it so much. Then we had the women's conference. Which was super awesome and I am excited to do President Nelson's challenge. Our whole mission is actually doing the challenge. It is going to be sweet! Then Sunday we watched conference. I can not believe that there is two hour church. Also there are so many temples being built. Which is super exciting as well. 

I love conference weekend and it was super cool to be able to listen to the prophet. I am so grateful for this gospel and for the opportunity to share it. Thank y'all for the love and support. 

-Love Sister Browning

 Pictures:

1) Rainstorm

2 & 3) Last District Meeting! 

I Love it Here!!

Hey y'all! Hope everyone is doing well. 

This past week has been so awesome, and it has flown by so quickly. Busy weeks are the best weeks though. 

We found a new investigator for our area. Her name is Andrea. We found her while tracting, it was late one night so we only had time to knock a couple of doors and hers was one of those doors. We had a lesson with her and she told us about somethings that have happened to her in her life time. She is just not sure if she really believes in God. We will hopefully help her realize that God is there and wants to help her. I am super excited to continue teaching her. 

We also had a lesson with Mark. He is doing good. We invited him to church and he did not show up which we were sad about. He then told us that he needs to take things slow because he is trying to figure out a lot in his life at the moment. We will continue to meet with him once a week. He is so awesome though and I can see how the Gospel can help him in his life tremendously. 

We also have another investigator his name is Jim he is an older guy. He lives here by himself, his wife lives in Arizona. He says that he is LDS at heart, but his wife will not let him be baptized. He did come to church on Sunday and he loved it. Hopefully she will soften her heart and let him be baptized. 

We also had a baptism this past weekend. Her name is Meagan she has been waiting for a year and a half to be baptized. It was so special to be able to witness her take that step. She was so happy and she just glowed. The ward members were so awesome to be there and support her too. I know that she definitely felt loved. 

I am loving being here and being a missionary! I know the church is true. If you have any doubts pray and Heavenly Father will answer you I promise. Love you all!

-Sister Browning   

Pictures-

1. Meagans Baptism

Mosquitos are the Devil!

Hey y'all! 

It has been a good week here in Carlsbad New Mexico. 

We are doing a lot of finding here. Which is a lot of work. We have not had a lot of luck finding people who are ready to hear of the Gospel. The Lord is aware and we will find those who are prepared as we keep working. 

On Tuesday we were supposed to have district meeting but our district leader was sick so it was cancelled. We ended up finding for a while. We tried by a less active who wants to come back to church. He was super awesome and nice. We were not aloud to go in to teach a lesson because there were no other females in his house. That rule makes things hard sometimes. I also had to do online training for 3 hours it was awful. They had the cheesiest videos ever. I am now done with them and never have to watch them again. 

On Wednesday we had our district meeting. It was a really good one and we talked about how to seek and learn by the spirit. Sister Hunt wasn't feeling well so she rested and I read the book Saints. If you have not read that book yet you are missing out. It is so good. I encourage you to all read it. 

On Thursday we went to Faith, Hope, Love and folded clothes. Then we went finding that night and got eaten alive by mosquito's. They are so bad here. I have never been bitten so much in my entire life. We have found that family history is a good way to have people listen to us. Not many people care to hear about the Gospel but a lot are interested in knowing about where they came from. We have had a lot of success using that. 

On Friday we did service at the soup kitchen in the morning. Then it was our planning day so we planned for the next week. Weekly planning takes a lot of effort. We then had a lesson with some recent converts the Perez Family. They are so awesome and their testimonies are so strong. They have been through a lot and come along way. They seem so happy. 

Saturday we started the day off early and went and helped paint at a life house for women and children. That was a lot of fun. We saw one of our investigators there. We also went to a heritage festival to find people we found a couple with family history. That was effective. Then we finished weekly planning and went knocking. Sometimes when people have things come up that are supposed to feed us they give us money. We went to McAllisters it was so good! Then Sunday we actually talked in church. We were asked to talk about how the ward can help in missionary efforts. It went really well and hopefully we can get more help from members. Member missionary work is so important. The members know the people in their towns way better than the missionaries. We really encouraged our members to get out there able to help us find people to teach. We also went to a family dinner with members in our ward. We taught family home evening and there was a nonmember there. We taught the restoration. The spirit was so strong and hopefully we can continue to teach him. 

Thank you everyone for the love and support I receive. I am so grateful to be sharing the Gospel. I am grateful for the things I am learning and will continue to learn. I love you all! 

Hey Ya'll!

Hey y'all! 

It has been a busy week here in Carlsbad. This last week was Carlsbad High School homecoming and on Monday there was a homecoming parade. It was so much fun to watch.

Then on Tuesday we had a lesson with a lady that went really well. She is not a member and her husband is less active. We talked about Lehi's dream and holding to the Iron Rod and partaking of the Tree of Life. She understood that the Iron Rod is the pathway we need to take in order to partake of the goodness of this Gospel. It was a very spiritual lesson. 

We also had a lesson with a guy who is overcoming addictions and he is trying to find his way back to God. He is church shopping and he says he will come to our church next week. He has some amazing potential. 

One thing that I have been trying to do this week is look at others the way our Heavenly Father see's them. When I talk to people I have so much love for them. I love trying to imagine how they would look in white. Getting ready to make covenants with our Heavenly Father. It really makes me want to do everything I possibly can to help them partake of this wonderful Gospel. I love sharing the Gospel with others. Since we are new in the area we have a lot of finding to do. A couple of experiences with that are...... One lady told me I did not look Mormon. My companion does but I do not. Another lady told us we were going to hell if we keep on believing what we do. She also said we have been trained very well. Things like that make me laugh. We all have the right to believe what we want that is why we are given agency. Heavenly Father does not want to force Himself in our lives we have to be the ones to let him in. 

This week on bike day it was pouring rain and there were puddles everywhere, so we walked everywhere. Since we took the elders car when we moved in here they take the car on Thursdays because we do not use it that day. We would have probably changed bike day but since they had the car that was not an option. I am grateful though that we have a car every other day of the week. A highlight of the week! I found Idaho street! 

I am grateful to be here and to be a missionary of the Lord's church. We had stake conference this past weekend in Roswell and yes there were aliens everywhere. The missionaries had the opportunity to sing with the primary kids the song I Will Be What I Believe. The armies of Helaman is part of that song and we got to sing that part. Never in my entire life has that song been more personal to me. "We are as the armies of Helaman we have been taught in our youth and we will be the Lord's missionaries to bring the world his truth" I am a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I get to be a missionary for the Lord's church. There is no where else I would rather be then here bringing the world His truth. I love you all so much thanks for all of the love and support!

-Love Sister Browning

Pictures-

1.Idaho Street

2. Homecoming Parade

3. Rainy Bike day

4. Getting Frozen Yogurt for Sister Hunt's 15 month mark

5. Aliens in Roswell

I'm Not in Texas Anymore!

Hey y'all! I hope it is still acceptable to use the word y'all even though I am now in New Mexico. 

This week has been a crazy one. We started out by packing pretty much all day on Monday and getting ready to leave. I was super sad to leave all of the amazing people that are in Amarillo. 

Tuesday was transfer day. I was able to see my old MTC companion Sister Stevenson. I was so happy to see her. I also had to say goodbye to Sister Kitterman. She was such an amazing companion and trainer. I then left for Lubbock then to Hobbs where I met my new companion Sister Hunt. She is from Nevada and is super awesome. After we left Hobbs we drove to Carlsbad. Carlsbad is amazing there is a river here and it is the most amazing thing. We do not see things like that in Texas. There is also a hill here! which may not seem like anything to you, but when you are in Texas where everything is flat it is beautiful. 

We spent a lot of the week getting to know the area. We also spent a lot of time weeding through people and finding those who actually want to be taught. We have met some amazing people and everyone is so kind here. I never want to leave this area. We also have a baptismal date set for September 22nd. We are super excited about it. We have not met the person being baptized yet though. 

I love being here and being able to serve the Lord. I know this is where he needs me to be. I have faith in His plan for me and those that I get to serve. I never have to fear where I am going because I know that my Heavenly Father knows exactly where I need to be. I am so grateful to have a Father in Heaven who is so aware of me and my needs. I love this Gospel with all of my heart and I am grateful for this opportunity to share it with everyone. I hope you all have an amazing week. I also hope you all know how aware our Heavenly Father is of you. He knows you perfectly and wants the best for each and everyone of His children. I love you all!

-Sister Browning 

1. Sister Stevenson

2. Sister Kitterman

3.Pecos River

4. Welcome to New Mexico

5. Beautiful Carlsbad