Week 15: The Long Journey

Hey y'all! How are you all doing? Hope things are going well, this week was kinda slow, but a lot happened. But also a lot of things learned as well. So, let's get right into it!

Monday we had a lot of cleaning and such done, and we went to the Morrisons to clean our car and vaccum it out, hence why emails were out late last week. But after emails and all that stuff was done, we came back to the Morrisons and had Tacos which were good. Them we talked to Sister Moore and Cheryl about a few things, and that was Monday really haha.

Tuesday we had District Council about Boldness, Fear, and Love. Which is really important in the field. Because every soul matters and their progression shows their willingness to come closer to God and Jesus Christ. Then after District Council we went to Cheryl's and taught her the 1st part of Lesson 4. We may end up having to push the baptism to next week though due to some complications that are out of our hands really, it's all Faith and God's will and time. Then after we visited Sister Huckaby and read in the Book of Mormon with her as usual. Then we came home and worked on a few Branch items.

Wednesday was a looonnnggg day, mainly because I walked 8-9 miles in Bartlett haha. Reason behind that is because Elder Brinkerhoff had a Leadership Training Meeting in Bartlett so me, Elder Spear from Senatobia, and Elder Tilby from Oxford created a Trio and Blitzed Bartlett with the Bartlett Elders. We didn't have any luck with anything, but no work is ever wasted. We left cards, got ideas for the Elders to do, but overall no new people for them. And we also had Interviews with the Mission President which was good. And that was basically all of that day really, but I did learn one thing from a song, "I know that sometimes I am afraid, but that is lacking Faith" You know... We shouldn't be afraid of what happens, if we are doing the right thing, the Lord will take care of the rest. It will work out as long as you are doing the right thing and keeping his commandments.

Thursday our plans were totally destroyed. We were supposed to meet with Cheryl because she wanted to give us something but that never happened, and also we were supposed to meet with Khaliyah as well but that didn't happen either. So we weren't prepared for that. But we visited with Gary for a little, then we visited a few members for a little bit. Then we had a good visit with Georgia and read Ether 3 in the Book of Mormon, which is personally one of my favorite chapters. And thankfully she is in a better situation now which is really good.

Friday we actually didn't do the Animal Shelter that day because Brother Roswell was out of town, so we did the normal studies, got a call from Gary asking for help again that day, and got ready and left. We helped get something unstuck using a sludge hammer and a Skidsteer to pull it out. It got unlodged after a little, which was fun. Then we had Steak for lunch, and that piece of steak was pretty big. I'm sad I didn't take a picture of it. Then after we did some corn grinding and putting it in the barn which was interesting. After that we visited a less active family for a while, and had good conversations with them which was nice. Then after we tried the Rogers but they weren't home, so then we visited Sister Yeager (Lisa) and talked with her, sadly she wasn't doing very well but she's pushing through.

Saturday was a on edge day because that's when we found out who's getting transferred and who's staying. We also did a lot of studies and planning, which was really good. We also visited with Michelle for a while. Then we went to the Ground Breaking Event which was cool. It has a sweet spirit to it. This new building will definitely change the Branch. I can already tell. Then Gary took us to Wendys and bought food for us, then we stuck around at Wendys and waited for the emails to come in. Then President Faulkner called and released Elder Brinkerhoff as District Leader, then we knew something was happening. Then the emails came in, and he's hopping the river again. He's going to Stuttgart, AR and actually becoming companions with my MTC Companion, Elder Rich, shout out to him and wish him luck haha, but no it's going to be good. I'm nervous to take over this area with another companion, his name is Elder Jackson and he's coming from Mountain View. I will meet him tomorrow. This is going to be something new for me, and I'm nervous, but I think it will be ok.

Sunday was interesting. There wasn't a lot of people there at Church, nor was Cheryl because she was sick. But it was pretty good. The branch is slowly becoming more into the discussions and it's amazing. It's cool to hear what people know about the Gospel. And everyone was sad that Elder Brinkerhoff was leaving, but they all wished him luck. Then after church we felt like we needed to visit a less actives sister in Ashland, so we drove up to Ashland for my first time and visited with her, which was actually really good. She is a cool person and said to come back anytime! So that's exciting. Then after we had dinner with Brother Roswell. Here is the thing about this amazing man, if you are not a missionary or know him, you won't understand what this man is built off. He is truly one amazing, spiritual, powerful man. He's affected me so much for the few months I've been here and it's only the beginning. I'm very thankful for him.

So that was this week, and I want to leave one thing off to you all... Don't beat yourself up, and as a few of you know, I struggle with it, but I learned something about this.. God already has seen his Perfect Son, Jesus Christ, suffer through all of the pains and sins we would do... And he doesn't want you to beat yourself up because of your struggles and mistakes... He loves you so... So very much. And he wants you to understand to he has his arms open for you. All you have to do is ask.. You have friends who care, people who love you, the Lord loves you so much, don't let stuff get in your head.. I can promise that if you work your hardest to do that the Lord will bless you and I both as we do that.

I love y'all, and if you have any questions, feel free to message me. Have an amazing week. And take care.

Love, 

Elder Braxton Hotton

Attachments:

-Pic of me
(Pics of me and Elder Brinkerhoff for today and my new companion will be next week, because exchanges are tomorrow)

ALRM Week 11

ALRM Week 10

Week 14: Faith and Baptisms!

I apologize for this email being sent out late, today was busy so I apologize.

Hey all! How are you all doing? Happy Early Halloween to everyone, I hope you all get good candy this year!

Before I start, my parents figured out a way for you all to see my weekly videos. They are uploaded to my YouTube channel, and linked up to the Blog. So if you are wanting to see my videos, the link to the blog will be attached below and you'll be able to see that. Warning though, they're kinda 17-25 minutes long each... Sorry I kinda get carried away in them. But they're great. 

Also, I apologize to those who did not get my emails these last 2 week(Basically everyone). They sent, but apparently they didn't get out to you guys, you can view last 2 week's emails on the blog site.

Monday was slightly stressful, because we forgot about some paperwork that we needed to do and we didn't have any so we met up with the Zone Leaders in Byhalia to get more of the forms and get most of it in. And then when I tried sending out emails it wasn't working and yea. But we got to hangout with the Morrisons which brightened things up. After all that we came home, ate, started sending out contacts, and we both just died, so we went to bed early.

Tuesday we had District Council about the Atonement of Jesus Christ which was super good. Then we visited Cheryl and talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and all of that good stuff. And hoping everything will work out for her scheduled baptism. Then we drove to Byhalia to get some other signatures in and did some contacts, then we came home where a member brought us Pizza and talked to President Hansen on the phone and he said he was imagining me in the MLC seats (Mission Leadership Conference, basically Zone Leaders and Assistants to the President) one day. Which always put me on edge because anything can happen.

Wednesday we had our normal routine and visited the Morrisons as they were building the final touches to their costumes which was super cool to checkout, they also got me a shield spray painted for being Captain America, which was very nice for them. Then we tried visiting someone, no answer, did contacts, and then drove up to Collierville for the Baptism! It was super cool doing that for them, they loved it and I'm glad they did. It is cool to have my first 2 baptisms in. The Church is true everyone, Come and See. Then we had dinner with Brother Boggs from Collierville at a burger place called Sear Shack which was good.

Thursday was pretty good. Working on scripture memorizing and then went and helped Gary with fixing trucks and small things, then we had dinner at Mockys, and then helped put a wood stove inside a house. That was literally all that we did, but it was still nice and serviceable overall.

Friday. Oh Friday. We did the Animal Shelter as usual, and then did the studies, and shopping for our Trunk or Treat event the next day. We tried visiting a potential and got shot down by the father(he was hardcore Baptist). Then we visited the hills for a little bit. Then we had dinner with a member family at a little town restaurant which was really good, and also talked about Ministering, which is mega important. And then we visited a less active family and just had a good conversation with them.

Saturday we had a really good companionship study with President Faulkner. We talked about Ministering and the branch overall and that was super good, very spirit filled. And then we helped Brother Roswell with some measurements at the Animal Shelter. Then went made lunch, which was really good. And then we had the Wall Doxey event and that was really good! A lot of people came and supported and a lot of people had fun. I won a cake in a cake walk round! Then we came home and did 3 hours of weekly planning.

Sunday was actually really good. We had a few less actives come today which was really good and Cheryl came again! She loved all of it a lot. And we had good talks about Repentance and Faith. Then after church we celebrated a members birthday, gave the Sacrament to a less active house, and got a text about the mission needing to find more people, had dinner at Brother Roswell and talked more about the branch overall. Then we went out finding people, it was a real faith tester because we didn't have much luck until we made a call to a potential at 8:59PM and she answered and we set up a appointment for Thursday! It gets to show that things do happen if you have faith!

Anyways, I hope you all have a amazing week. God loves you, I love you, you are not alone.

James 2:26
James 5:9
Hebrews 11
Ether 12:4,6,27

I love y'all

Love, 

Elder Braxton Hotton

Attachments:
-Me in a cool coat my mom gave me
-The Baptism

ALRM Week 9

Week 13: The Combine Adventures!

Hey all! How are you all doing? Hope school is going well and that you all are doing good. This week has really been something, but a lot of cool experiences happened and will happen!

Before I start, my parents figured out a way for you all to see my weekly videos. They are uploaded to my YouTube channel, and linked up to the Blog. So if you are wanting to see my videos, the link to the blog will be attached below and you'll be able to see that. Warning though, they're kinda 17-25 minutes long each... Sorry I kinda get carried away in them. But they're great. 

Also, I apologize to those who did not get my emails last week. They sent, but apparently they didn't get out to you guys, you can view last week's email on the blog site.

Zone P-Day! It was a lot of fun! We played Volleyball and Signs, which was super fun. I don't know if I mentioned this, but in our Zone we have a deaf Sister in Southaven. She's pretty good at Volleyball and super good at signs. She has this little smirk that she makes when we play signs and when you're in the middle, you cannot tell if she has it or not, because she is MEGA fast with her hands, it's literally crazy. But it was a lot of fun. During lunch we actually got into a notes conversation and used my keyboard and we talked to each other for a while. That was a neat experience in of itself. Then after lunch we went to an Escape Room which was family owned. We were starting to pay (individually) and then he comes back and gives the money he already collected to the people who paid and said that the game was on the house. So blessings were right there. The Escape Room was super fun, though our team didn't win sadly. Then we came back home and did contacts and such.

Tuesday we had District Council about the Holy Ghost. Then after that we got a haircut which was needed, and then we visited Cheryl. We talked about the Gift's of the Spirit and then talked about the Plan of Salvation which was super cool. Then after we left and visited Sister Huckaby and then came home and ended up for the rest of the night adjusting our room to figure out our gas heater that we have in our apartment. So not much happened. But I also made Spaghetti which was nummy.

Wednesday we had our normal routine and actually got our gas heater working.. That only heats up one room. But it is still nice. Then we turned it off and visited a potential and talked about the Book of Mormon and all of that. Then later we visited the Morrisons for a little and then left to go visit Unique and Maricus and talked about finalizing the Baptism. Turns out we had to move the Baptism again to this Wednesday which is final. And I actually will be the one baptizing them which will be exciting. Then we tried to make contact with people, then drove all the way out past Lamar to have dinner with a member named Sister Charlotte Carpenter and her family which was really cool. We had fish and it was good, we also talked about Temple Sealings and how we can be together forever.

Thursday was pretty good. We did the normal stuff and left to try and see Tiffany. But she wasn't there, but there was a guy who was keeping an eye on us because you don't normally see two teenagers in white shirts and ties, walking in the middle of nowhere. So in the end we gave the card to the house and to the guy, who was named Joseph. We then visited Pat and Floyd and had a good visit with them. And then we switched into our service clothes and drove up to a farm field where Gary and Brandon were. We helped them work on the Combine, which is a big harvesting machine. It's been having a lot of problems, and they noticed they had to switch out a couple of things inside on the middle of the Combine, and it's a tight space. To sum it up, I was in the Combine getting out these parts.. Then Friday will be explained soon. Then we had dinner at Mockys, visited Lynn Rogers, and visited Georgia and read Helaman 5 which was super good. We are actually having dinner with them this week so that's surprising.

Friday. Oh Friday. We did the Animal Shelter as usual, and then did Daily Planning. Then we got a call from Gary asking us to come back and help put the new stuff in. We then switched over, drove up to Garys, we ate for a little bit and then drove to the fields again. This time we had a piece of carpet that was placed under me as I was inside the Combine. But to sum it up, I was inside that combine for over TWO HOURS. It was a crazy workout when I would have to push these huge crankshafts up in the air to get things in. It was mega heavy but it was a good workout. In the end, there is a picture of my arm and it's red marks, that's just how my arm ended out with all of the places and positions it was in. And that was basically the huge chunk of the day.

Saturday we had a long planning session again, and figuring out what needs to happen as we try to help build this branch up to the highest point. After this long planning we ate and then tried to make a lot of contacts, which failed sadly, and we couldn't figure out what to do. Then we decided to go visited our Branch President and discuss the needs of the branch and everything. It was really helpful to know what we need to do and what steps need to take place.

Sunday was actually really good. We had a few less actives come today which was really good and Cheryl came! She loved all of it a lot and the branch welcomed her and that is always good. After church we went to a members house to celebrate their sons birthday that was on Thursday. Brother Hills mother was there and we met her and talked with her, and they had me sing for them.. I sang Nearer, My God, to Thee by the BYU Vocal Point and it was really.. Really stressful because I'm not a big fan of my solo voice. Then we talked about the Plan of Salvation and it was kinda a bad teaching environment but she said I convinced her, which apparently never happens. Then we had dinner at the Roswells and talked about church and everything that's been going on.

So that's this week. I love you all so much, and I hope you all actually get this week's email haha. Hope y'all have a great week!

Love, 

Elder Braxton Hotton

Attachments:

-The Combine, me in it, and my arm
-The Escape Room team and the whole Zone!

-A decorated Deer

-My haricut

ALRM Week 8