Week 72: A Strange Week

⚠⚠ My P-Day's are changing these 2 weeks. On the 17th(Tuesday) and then the week after on Christmas(Wednesday) So my P-Day's won't be on Monday for 2 weeks! I will remind y'all again next week for my P-Day change to Christmas. After that it will continue to reside on Monday!⚠⚠

Hello one and all! How are you doing? I hope y'all are swell! This week was literally something else. We had a lot of crazy things happen and different shenanigans to take care of so I got pretty mentally drained from it, but it was a good week overall so I can't complain. Let's get into the week!!

Monday after P-Day we went and had a lesson with Dustin and talked to one of his other friends as well. And that was pretty good. We were able to set up another time so we can talk to both of them. It was really good. Then we came back afterwards and had a call with the Zone Leaders.

Tuesday the Zone Leaders came down and we ate pancakes with them here at the apartment. Then we drove down to Starkville to have District Council and we talked about Boldness and discussed questions or concerns we had with some of the people we are working with. It was really good. Then afterwards we had District Lunch at Panda Express and then we drove back up to West Point and started exchanges. I went with Elder Gomez Perez up to Tupelo. We did a quick planning session and then we went and tried to do some service but the person already got it done so we chatted with her for a while about the Bible and how it came to be. Then afterwards we came back and changed over and left to go visit a few other people and during that we were about to leave and someone asked us to help jump start her. So 30 minutes later we still couldn't start her so someone else stepped in was able to so that was something else. Then a contact fell through so we just came back and had dinner.

Wednesday we did Daily Planning and then we went to the Church to do studies. Not even like 15 minutes into Personal Study Elder Butler calls us and tells us of an emergency policy that is taking effect immediately and that we needed all the miles members use for us to get to places, especially mission meetings. So literally 2 hours later we get that done, then we did our exchange review and then went to Taco Bell and got more information on the policy. Apparently Members are no longer allowed to take us to Mission Meetings(Like Zone Conference, District Council, Socials, LTM's, MLC's, and a few others) and we don't exactly know why, we find out a lot of things this coming Wednesday for Zone Conference. Then we drove to Okolona and ended exchanges and we came back to West Point and did a few things before we went out and did some service at someone's house and we cleaned up her yard and it was pretty good. And we come to find out she knows a member in Columbus and has a Book of Mormon. We were able to set up a time to back. And then a few things fell through and then we came back and ended the day.

Thursday we did our studies and got things prepared for the day. Then we went to the Animal Shelter for a little bit and walked a few dogs. Then we came back and got ready to go back down to Starkville for an Baptismal Interview that I had to do. So we get down there and I meet their candidate and I do my first interview and it was really good and he passed! It was awesome! Then we chatted afterwards and then we drove back up to West Point and did some contacting before we went to go visit someone. Then we stopped by someone and chatted with them with life and then we watched The Christ Child with them and they liked it a lot. Then we came back home and ended the day.

Friday we did Personal Study and then we went to the Food Pantry and did some stuff there for a little. Then afterwards we did a few other things and then we went out and did some service for someone and talked with them about things and invited them to Church. Afterwards we came home and did some Weekly Planning and that was strange. The Spirit fought me a little about the goals and he won... As usual. Then afterwards we drove down to the Starkville Branch Event and that was really good. We were able to get to know some of the people there and all that good stuff. Then we came back home and had some pretty hilarious conversations amongst each other. And then yea.

Saturday we did our studies and got ready for the day. And during that we had a pleasant surprise of getting missionaries from a baptist church. It was very interesting to say the least. The conversation wasn't going anywhere but he was super nice. Thankfully it wasn't a bash, but he was pretty firm in the beliefs. Afterwards we got everything else ready and we went down to a placed called The Mission and we helped them setup for a festival that was happening and they really appreciated it. We also talked to Dustin for a little over the phone and that was really good. Then afterwards we drove up to Aberdeen and literally everything fell through and then we drove back to West Point and did a few things before going to someone's place to do service for them. And that was really good. Then we came back and ended the day.

Sunday we had Dustin at Church which was good. Then after Church we went back to the person we did service for and talked to her for a little bit. Then afterwards we came back home and did some studies and then we made cookies for people. We went out and dropped them off to those people and then we came to the Church and watched the Christmas Devotional which we enjoyed a lot. Then we came back home and ended the day.

This week was a little everywhere, but I'm grateful for the opportunities I have to serve. It's been a blessing to see the many things happen here in this area and I'm excited for more. I hope y'all are doing well and I hope to hear from y'all soon!

May God be with you all, and know that I am here. I love you all!

Elder Braxton Hotton

Also, if y'all ever want to send me something, send it to this address:

905 Kierre Drive, North Little Rock, AR 72116

Attachments:
-Elder Judd
-Me with new haircut today

Week 71: Service and Thanksgiving!

Hello one and all! I hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you didn't explode from all the wonderful foods. This week was pretty decent, so let's get right into it!

Monday after P-Day we had a lot of things fall through so we did some contacting over the phone and came back in for the day.

Tuesday we had District Council and due to some technical difficulties we had it outside which still ended up doing pretty good. Afterwards District Council me and Elder Judd went to Wendys to have Lunch and then we had a lesson fall through. Then we came back to our apartment and had Companionship Study and a few other things before we left for some contact attempts. We left and tried contact some of the people, most of them fell through and we dropped a few people. Then we went to another contact and had a really good discussion with her about a lot of things, it was pretty spirit lead and it was definitely needed for us to be there for that time. After that we left and did some other things and came back in for the night.

Wednesday we started off the day by going to the Animal Shelter and doing some service there. Then we went back home and got picked up by the Shields and we went to lunch. After that we came back and did our studies and decided to go finding in a area we haven't been to yet, and we were able to find a person and talk to a few people there which was pretty awesome! And while we were out finding we got a call from Dustin and we talked to him for a while and it was pretty awesome! After all of that we came back to the apartment where I made some Dragon Noodles and I took some of it to a lesson we had for someone who wanted to try it out! They liked it a lot and we talked more about what the Priesthood is and why it's important. Then afterwards we ended the day and came back home.

Thursday was Thanksgiving! We did studies and some Online Proselyting and then we drove out to the Wilsons to have Thanksgiving Lunch with them! We had a really good time there and then afterwards we came back and tried visiting a few people that sadly fell through, so we came back to our apartment to do some contacting. Then we went to someone's house who invited us for Thanksgiving and it was super cool. She was really nice. Then afterwards we went to go get gas and called a few people before heading to visit another person and talked to them for a while and they fed us a little bit. I wasn't as crazy stuffed then I was last year which was a blessing. Then afterwards we came back in and ended the day.

Friday we did a few things and then went to the Food Pantry which sadly didn't have any boxes this week. Then we came back home and did some studies and a few other things before we left to go do some service! We cleaned up a lot of sticks for this place that actually lives right next to our Branch President which was pretty cool! We talked to them afterwards and we are going back later this week to serve them again and answer any questions they have. Then we came back home and switched back over and had a lesson with Vernita. Then we came in for dinner.

Saturday we did some studies and went to go have a lesson but it fell through so we got some McDonald's before I had ZLC. After we had ZLC Brother Wilson picked us up early for lunch and we went to Aberdeen and had Wendys. Then he dropped us off at some service and we helped out there and they were really appreciative about it. And there was a lady helping out that wanted to learn more about what we believed so we talked for a little bit and set up a time! It was really cool! Then we stopped by Keondrick and set up a time to go by. Then we came back home and did some Weekly Planning and slammed our heads into some math things regarding miles, and then I had Call Ins with Starkville.

Sunday we sadly didn't have anyone at Church. But we talked to a few people after church. Then we came back home and did some studies before we left to go visit people. We sadly had everything fall through and we ended up having to come in early due to Elder Judd having a possible migraine so he rested while I did a few things in the apartment and made some dinner. Then I had a personal call in about the District with the Zone Leaders and that's about it.

This week was slightly a little slow it felt like, but there was some pretty cool experiences that followed. I'm excited for what the rest of 2019 has to follow. It's definitely a treat to say the least. I love each and everyone of you and I hope y'all have a good week! I love y'all!!

May God be with you all, and know that I am here. I love you all!

Elder Braxton Hotton

Also, if y'all ever want to send me something, send it to this address:

905 Kierre Drive, North Little Rock, AR 72116

Attachments:
-Service Photo
-How I cut Pumpkin Pie
-Elder Judd and my squeaky Chicken and a Snorlax

-I forgot to post the photo of me and the car, so here ya go

Week 70: 3 Flats = 1 Car

Hello one and all! Welcome back to another email where we have a Roller-coaster of events that turned into Game Changers! Let's get right into the week shall we?

Monday after P-Day we went out and visited people for a little bit but they fell through, so we did some Daily Contacting and came back in for the night.

Tuesday was SHOT. We did studies and all that good stuff, then we biked down to the shelter and did some service and talked to a girl from MSU and gave her the Sisters in Starkville's number so that was pretty cool. Then afterwards we were about to leave and low and behold, a flat tire on Elder Judd's bike. And then LITERALLY the rest of the day was people trying to help us out and all of it was in vain in the end. We appreciated the help they gave us, but sadly it didn't work. But, we also gave a Book of Mormon to someone's friend that we are teaching. It was cool. But that was Tuesday to say the least.

Wednesday we did some studies and we walked to Vernita's and had a pretty good lesson with her which was awesome. Afterwards we walked back, grabbed our bags, and went to Wendys where we did some public studies and had lunch. Afterwards we walked to another lesson which fell through. Then we took some calls and figured a few things out. We went over to Jimmy's and chatted with him for a little bit and that was good. After that we did some contacting. We had a lesson fall through so we tried some other things but sadly they fell through so we walked back home and finished studies.

Thursday we did studies and got ready for the day. We walked around town and had a lot of things fall through, and we dropped a ton of people as well. Our landlord was nice to us and picked up some tubes we bought in Starkville over the phone and he brought it back to our apartment while we were out. And during our contacting session we were talking to someone we've been trying to teach and we were answering a question we had and we ended up putting him on date for the end of December which is exciting! Then we came back inside and put one of the tubes in and we biked down and had dinner at Taco Bell, and then afterwards we visited Scott for a little and had a good lesson with him. Then as we were leaving we get across the highway and onto the sidewalk to bike home, Elder Judd's bike got a whole and the hissing was one of the loudest I have ever heard (besides the exploding tube in Pine Bluff) and we couldn't get anyone to help us back so we had to sadly walk back to our apartment and check it out.

Friday we put tube #2 in before we left to bike to the Food Pantry. After the food pantry we were biking back and stopped at a CVS Store and ended up talking to the manager who actually watched some series by the Church and she liked a lot and was interested in a Pamphlet. So we told her we would be back and we came back home and did some Weekly Planning for a while and then afterwards we went back and gave her a Plan of Salvation Pamphlet and then we went to McDonald's and studied there for a little bit and came back home for a second. Then we started biking to Dustin's for a lesson and we luckily weren't that far from home where again another flat tire happens! Like holy cow! So we bring the bikes inside and we start walking. We get a call from President while we are walking and he tells Elder Judd that we are going to be getting a car! And about some other things and it was super exciting! We then had a pretty good lesson with Dustin about the Gospel and blessings. Then afterwards we called an AP because we missed a call from him and talked to him while we are walking back. And then we came back and ended the day.

Saturday was pretty ok. We put in the final tube we have in and we left to go visit people. Not a lot of it worked out sadly and it was just making things rough. So we also tried calling people and we found 1 person out of it which was pretty cool. And we dropped something off to someone and they appreciated it a lot. Then we came back and ended the day with Call-Ins with the Sisters!

Sunday we sadly didn't have anyone at Church. After Church we got a ride up to Tupelo and we got things ready for the Tribute and also we got our car! It's awesome. Then we had the Tribute and I sang in a Quartet of Joseph Smith's First Prayer(and quoted the First Vision) and in a Octet for He Is The Gift. It was awesome, I think I did pretty ok which was good. Then after that we had dessert and visited people and then we came home and had Call Ins with the Zone Leaders.

This week was a roller-coaster for sure, but I'm grateful for the small blessings it came from it. And I'm also grateful for each and everyone of you. Thanksgiving is coming up and it's going to be a lot of fun. Always be thankful for things in life, not just during these times. I hope y'all know that you've done a lot for me and I hope I've done a lot for you and I'm truly grateful for it and I love each and every one of you specially. I hope y'all are well and I hope y'all eat well too! Have a great week!

May God be with you all, and know that I am here. I love you all!

Elder Braxton Hotton

Also, if y'all ever want to send me something, send it to this address:

905 Kierre Drive, North Little Rock, AR 72116

Attachments:
-Me and Cat
-Seasoning
-Some of us at the Tribute