Hey y'all! Hope you had a good week! This week was pretty eventful both physically and mentally, so let's get right into it!Monday was just a normal P-Day, but we didn't do a lot, just chilled for most of it. I also slightly stressed about me singing on Sunday but that passed. Then after we helped at Marthas as usual and made more progress in the shed. And then we drove to Friendship and started exchanges with Dyersburg and I went to Dyersburg with Elder Ramage.Tuesday we did some good old studies and then we went to Salvation Army for service. During that a member of the Church from somewhere else came in and she talked to us for a little and Dyersburg got some service out of that so that was cool. Afterwards we went out and visited a couple of people and a recent convert couple. Then we were able to teach someone the Restoration and he liked it a lot. Afterwards we switched into service clothes and helped out a less active move, and it was honestly one of the fastest moves I was ever apart of, and it was kinda nice really. Then a member got us some KFC and then we came home. Wednesday we did a little study then we drove to Humboldt and got ready for District Council. President Hansen came to our District Council and it was really cool, because we learned a lot through our people we are trying to figure out how to help through him and practicing it. Then we had Interviews with him and that was nice being with him again. Then we came home and Elder Hunter felt kinda broken physically so he took a nap and I called Gary and talked to that little girl for a while. It was nice hearing from him, and then we got ready for Gospel Essentials. Someone that Elders Hunter and Ferrell found came to the class and enjoyed it a lot. And then we came home and ended the day. Thursday had some cool service opportunities and a miracle. We first went to Sam and Laurie's and helped them move things around. And they fed us too, so that was pretty nice. Then after we went to Martha's and continued to work on the shed. After we came home and started biking around. We had a lesson with someone and that was pretty good. And then we ran into a good friend of the missionaries named Donny and we chatted with him for a little bit. Then we biked back and talked to someone on the phone for a while (the lady the Elders found during exchanges) and she's awesome. Then we parked somewhere and walked around a little more, and here is where the miracle comes in. We only knock on one door, and the door we knock is 2 sisters who had talked with missionaries in the past and loved it and wanted us to come back and to answer questions for them! It was really cool. Then we went back to the car, gave a blessing to a member, and had dinner at the Fishers and ranted about preachers getting money and how stupid it is.Friday we did some studies and some good old weekly planning, then we went out to visit a few people. During that we stopped at the Church to do a few things and we helped prepare for the Hog fest and also we cleaned up the baptismal font for Dyersburg. We decided then to drive up to Milan and walk around. We went to Labronski's house and we had a super good lesson with him and it was awesome. We showed him the Ask of God video and he was just blown away by it. He is very excited to learn more. Then after we said Hi to Samantha and then we booked it back to Humboldt and had dinner with a member. Then after we went to the Church and helped a little more preparing for the hog fest. Then we booked it home before we got drenched by the storm that came through.Saturday was really fun. We had the HAWG FEST and a lot of people attended. We played some Bocce Ball and me and Elder Hunter was the judges for the Pie Contest and it was a lot of fun doing that. And that was basically the morning and part of the afternoon. Then we helped Dyersburg prepare for their baptism they were having at the Church and we watched the Baptism as well and that was really cool. The kid was sweet and loved the Church, and his mom got baptized the weekend before as well. Then we came home and did some studies and finished up some Weekly Planning.Sunday we sadly only had 1 person at Church, but it was still pretty good. After Church we came home and ate a little bit and visited people. We visited Labronski again because he wasn't at Church and had a good discussion with him again. He's really prepared. Then we came back home and got picked up by Brother Powell and we gave blessings to 2 people and got drenched in the rain. Then we came back and drove back up to Milan and visited a less active with Brother Johnson, and then we came home and did call ins.I hope you all have a good week, and that you are enjoying life. Don't let life control you, you control your life.May God be with you all, and know that I am here. I love you all!Elder Braxton HottonAttachments:-Me and the HAWG-Pie Contest-Many baby birds(but terrible photo quality)
Hey y'all! I hope you have had an awesome week so far, here is what's been going on here in the Humboldt/Trenton area!Monday was pretty fun. We were supposed to go fishing with the district, then it got cancelled, then the cancel got cancelled so we went fishing XD. It was a lot of fun being with the district and all that. I didn't catch 8 fish this week, but I still caught around 6. One of them was a Catfish and another one was a big boy. Then after fishing we got taken home, and Dyersburg was staying the night so we went over to Martha's and helped her out some more and she really appreciated it. Then we came home and played Clue.Tuesday we had District Council and that was good as usual. Then after District Council we had lunch and visited someone we are working with at Taco Bell. Then we had a lesson with 2 guys we found last week and that was interesting. We were there for a good little bit, but then we continued to walk around talked to a few more people, played some basketball with a few kids, one of them sadly broke my watch by accident. Then we had dinner at a buffet place with a member and her son, and he was pretty cool. Then we came back and had Bible Study and ended the day.Wednesday was kind of a blur to be honest. I know we tried to fix our TiWi because it broke for some odd reason. Then after we tried visiting a few people and we drove up to Milan and tried to talk to people as well, and it was kind of a bust, but we did end up finding a person though so that's good. Then after we came back home, got prepared for Gospel Essentials, and then we had the class and it was pretty decent. Then we came home and ended the day there.Thursday we did service all day. We went to Martha's and made a lot of progress which was awesome. The shed is starting to look a lot better. Then we talked with her for a little bit and then drove up to Trenton and helped out a member move things around and talked with him for a little bit. Afterwards we went to Brother Fishers house and helped fill in holes with dirt, then they took us out to a pizza place and we ate there. And then after we came home.Friday Elder Hunter got thrown into helping one of our recent converts fix his transmission and that sadly took most of the day. But it was nice bounding with them more and building that relationship. Then afterwards we did Weekly Planning and had dinner as well. So that was the majority of the day. Saturday we biked around both Humboldt and Milan. Humboldt we did some contacts and talked to a few people as we were going around. Then we drove up to Milan and biked around there, a lesson fell through and we also contacted people and talked to people as well. We found 2 other people during that so that was good. Then after we played some good old Basketball with a couple of kids (2 of them were the same me and Elder Dawson played a few weeks prior) and we won one and they won one game. I was super drained by the end of it, we both honestly looked like we both just got out of a fight because of it haha. Then we came home and did some call Ins and some Weekly Planning.Sunday was kinda wack actually. We had a good church service, sadly only one person we are teaching came, but it was still good. Then after church we visited a member and had some lunch, then we went to the Church and called our families. That was a good conversation. Afterwards we get a call saying that Fred and Sam are in the hospital and we were like ah crap. So we help out a member who we said we'd help and we had dinner at a members house and did Bible Study as well. Then we booked it down to Jackson General and gave blessings to them both, we were lucky to able to even get into the ER section, and also another section, but they seem to be doing ok right now. So hopefully things get better.This week has been a little slow, but nonetheless good. There is one last thing that I do want to bring up. Moroni 7:33 in the Book of Mormon states, "And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.", think about that. If you have a righteous desire or a want to overcome a struggle, with faith in Jesus Christ, you will be able to overcome it and achieve that desire. Just have faith, and try everyday. And don't get upset if you don't see immediate results, they will come as you press forward through your trial. I know that to be true in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.May God be with you all, and know that I am here. I love you all!Elder Braxton HottonAttachments:-Fishing Photos(I don't have the catfish photo, I'll try to get it for next week)
Hey y'all! Hope you had an amazing week. This week was super good, and we had a Baptism! Let's get into it!Monday was a normal day, did emails, shopped, and such. Then after we went and did service for Martha as usual, and it was super good. We cleaned up more and did burn piles and it was a lot of fun. And when we were finishing up she gave us water containers and some cookies, let's just say she's pretty awesome. And a cool little thing happened, while we were leaving, one of the AP's called and wanted to get to know me a little more. I don't know why I wanted to mention it, but it just brightened my night honestly. So that was pretty cool.Tuesday was filled with service. President Stephens picked us up and we helped a member move some things to his new house. Then he took us to his house and we ate there before he took us back to our apartment. Then we loaded back into our car and we drove to a sister to someone we previously did service for and we painted a couple of rooms for them. It was super awesome doing that for them. Then we had dinner with the Byrers and that was pretty good. After we changed and did Bible Study at Angie's and ended the day after that.Wednesday we did the usual studies and whatnot. And then President Stephens picked us up again and we did some service for this one lady who was moving to another apartment in the same complex and that went really well. She was grateful for the help moving the big items over. Then after he took us home and we ordered pizza, got items for cookies, and we made cookies. Then we took some cookies to the Gospel Essentials Class and we had that class, and it was really good. We talked about the importance of having Free Agency, and the 2 definitions I like about Agency is "The state of being in action or exerting power." and "How a result is obtained or an end is achieved." And that puts on a whole new meaning to Agency, so, the real question is now... How are you going to use your agency? (During that night I got a hair cut by Elder Hunter)Thursday was pretty rainy at some points, but we got things done. We first went to Martha's and we started working on her shed. We also burned more things in the process but it was mainly the shed we were working on. During that, we found shedded snake skin in there, so that was dandy hahaha. And after we talk with her for a little bit and gave her cookies also, and she liked that a lot. We left and did a few things before going to Milan and helping that lady move some final things to her new apartment. And after that we changed into our pros gear and went to a formers house and found 2 new people out of that. It was a good, but rather interesting, conversation, but nonetheless good. Then we came home.Friday was pretty good as well. We did a little studies then we drove to Brownsville for exchanges with Millington. We ate at McDonald's and then we started exchanges. I went to Millington with Elder Lee and we had some pretty good success. We did Companionship Study first then we started visiting people. We had some small miracles as we visited people and talked with people, it was awesome! Then we had a Bible Study at a members house and we had a miracle there too with the Father actually sitting in the lesson! Then we had dinner with the Christensens (who take a lot of photos of missionaries for their moms, and my mom, she loves it XD) and that was good. Then Elder Lee had a Leadership Call and we went home.Saturday we drove back to Humboldt and we had Laurie and Sam's Baptism! It was an amazing experience to see them finally get baptized! They were supposed to be baptized on Easter Sunday, the Sunday before I showed up, but that didn't happen because of surgeries and Sam having a hole in his foot. After the baptism we came home and did a few things before Brother Gibson picked us up to have JT be interviewed by President Zobell in Dyersburg. Sadly we are going to have to wait until September 28th, 2019 till JT will be baptized DX. But it's fine, we got it, it's FINE XD. Then we came home and ended the day. It was also my youngest Sisters Birthday so she was excited during her email telling me how she was happy that I baptized on her Birthday.Sunday we confirmed Sam and Laurie members of the Church and gave them the Holy Ghost and it was a sweet experience. Then after Church we did some Weekly Planning, had dinner at the Lamprechts, watched part of Meet the (Mormons) Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Then we drove to the Church and had Call Ins with the Zone Leaders and came home.This week was a lot of blessings and Miracles and it was awesome. I'm thankful for prayers and how much God hears them and fulfills them (in his time of course). But I hope you all have an amazing week.May God be with you all, and know that I am here. I love you all!Elder Braxton HottonAttachments:-Sitting outside our house eating noodles-Baptisms
Hey y'all! How are you all doing?? Hope you've had a good week. And now we are in June! It's crazy to think how much time has gone. And the nice thing is that I'm sticking around here in Trenton with Elder Hunter, so that's good! Let's get right into the week.Monday we went through the interview questions for one of our people we were supposed to baptized the 1st, but found out he needs to get First Presidency Approval, so that's sad. It's going to be pushed off till we get the ok. After that we got picked up by a member and we went to his house and went FISHING! One of the things you need to know about me, is that I love fishing... And camping... And pasta... And Doritos dynamite... And technology... A lot. If you want to make me happy, that does it pretty well hahaha. But anyways, I caught like 8 fish (we had to throw them back in, but that's ok) and it was awesome. Then after all that they dropped us off in Dyersburg and we did a few calls and ended the day.Tuesday we had Zone Conference and that was really good. Then after we got picked up by President Stephens, our Elders Quorum President, and he took us and Dyersburg out to eat. Then he drove all of us to Dyersburg, where we loaded and started exchanges, and I was with Elder Ramage here in Humboldt. And President Stephens dropped us off at our house and we just ended the day there. Wednesday after studies and lunch we went to the Church and President Stephens picked us up and we visited a less active member in Tresvant again. We talked with him for a while about a few things and then we left. Because of time, we just drove to Dyersburg after and ended exchanges. He took us back to the Church and we did some preparation for the Gospel Principles Class that night. Then we decided to go get Taco Bell, but then in the process we found out that Wendy's opened (super fast too, it was insane) and we went to Wendy's. Then we had our class and that was the majority of the day.Thursday we did service for Martha again, and we did a lot of organizing. I actually get excited when I do service, it just brings me a lot of joy and happiness. It's a lot of fun for me. Afterwards we came back home, did a couple of things, and then we biked around and found a person in the process! Then we had dinner at the Fishers and ended the day there.Friday we got picked up by Brother Powell and we helped a few members move things around from one house to another. After that we got lunch and he took us home. Then we helped someone with their break lights and such, and that was fun. Then we biked around a had a lot of contact attempts fall through. Then we came home. Saturday we helped out the Fishers with a few things for a little while, then we came home and got ready for the day and did Weekly Planning. A lesson fell through so we went to the Church and did studies at the Church and then we had Interviews for Laurie and Sam and they passed! So they're getting baptized this Saturday so that's exciting! After interviews we drove to Dyer and had dinner at a members house. Then we drove to the Church and had a Zone Zoom call and got transfer news, and we are both staying as I said in the beginning! So that's exciting.Sunday was Fast Sunday and we had 3 people at Church so that was cool. After Church we came home and did studies and then we drove up to Milan and we biked around. We talked to a few people and had some nice conversations with them. Then after that we had dinner in Medina and had Breakfast for Dinner. Then we had Call-Ins with the Zone Leaders and talked to a few people and ended the day.Happy first week of Summer to all of you, and for those who graduated this year congrats as well! I hope you all are excited for what lies ahead of you! It's going to be a great experience!May God be with you all, and know that I am here. I love you all!Elder Braxton HottonAttachments:-Fishinggggggggggg
