Week 22 E-mail Home. Braken Loves His Mission! Yay!

Dear Mom and Dad,

First off thanks for the Calender and the note! I hung the calender right next to my study desk and use it for planning important events now! So thanks so much for that. This week has been an absolutely fantastic week. We got another new Investigator, who we actually brought to the church for a basketball tournament on saturday, and then came to church the next day! The best part was that we called president to ask if we could play with them, and he said it was totally fine! So saturday we played some ball with an investigator. So awesome! Also Aro our investigator that came last week, he came as well and seemed a little off, so I talked with him and asked if he was alright, and he said he'd had a headache all day, but didn't want to miss church because he knew that's what the devil would want him to do! I'm super excited that we get to teach someone who really gets it like him. We are planning on having a member host a family home evening and we will bring him over and teach him and start building some ward friendships. I am excited to see him progress towards his baptism! (Which we have scheduled for March 8th). So Dad, your email today answered a prayer I have been having for a little bit. I have been trying to figure out how to balance time more effectively, between finding teaching and being with members. They are all good things, but we have limited time, so it's hard to fit them all in. Your analogy of the rocks works perfectly with that, so I'm very grateful that you sent that, and I'm sure you were inspired to. I'm glad to hear it's going well with Garret, I do really worry about him. Haha Coach Boban tends to do that to you! That's awesome Mason wants to learn to play the guitar! I'm excited to see how far he can get in 18 months! I love you guys and hope that you have a great week and that all goes well for you!  I am loving it out here! dont get me wrong i do miss you guys, but its ok because its great out here!

Thanks for your support in this marvelous work I am a part of!\

Love, Elder Braken Park

P.S. we are allowed to have Ipods out here I found out, so maybe you could put some music on there for me? only a couple requests for music. lead thou me on by vocal point (the album) and some version of if you could hie to kolob. if you could do that I'd really appreciate that, then send it out.  Thanks for being willing to do that for me!

Week 21 E-mail Home. Feeling a little under the weather :(

Dear Mom and Dad,

First off let me apologize, I spent a lot of money this week and I should explain why. Me and Elder Dodd have been under the weather and we realized we had no medical supplies so we had to make a few trips to Walmart and get supplies and I had to use personal because my MSF was dry so I'm really sorry about that. We were in for a couple days because of it and I can testify to you that being sick as a missionary is far and away the worst thing ever. You know that you need to be out working but you can't because you feel like garbage. But we are feeling better so it should all be good now. That's really cool that you're getting into family history! I have been told it's a great missionary tool, but have yet to have the opportunity to use it. I have actually been thinking about that recently and how in my own patriarchal blessing it says that I will get into that in due time. So I'm thinking maybe it will happen when it needs to. Make sure you stay up on it so you can teach me how to when I get home! I'm glad to hear Mason is into scouts I know I really wasn't too much but I wish I would have been. Oh well the past is in the past.  The investigator who I told you we knocked on his door and he let us in, well he came to church, and the members immediately swarmed him with fellowship! Afterwards I was talking to him and he said he likes this church because we teach the word of God and that he can feel it is the word of God. He has truly been prepared and is very in tune with the spirit which makes him a lot of fun to teach. He agreed to be baptized on March 8th so that shows his commitment level! I am super excited to meet with him again and to hear from you guys! I love you and hope you have a great week!

Love, Elder Braken Park

P.S. I have a package with my socks a present for mason's birthday and some stuff that I just don't have room for but I haven't got a chance to send yet so be looking for that!

L - R: Elder Hackney, Elder Cuevas, and Braken at an event called, "Why I Believe", put on by the missionaries.

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Braken Making Headlines!

Braken sent this newspaper from Martinsville to us for Christmas.  It was a great present to get from him, next to our awesome time talking to him on Skype!  

Braken's companion, Elder Davis, is to the right of him.

Week 20 E-mail Home

Dear Mom and Dad,

Things have been going great this week! We go 2 new investigators both through tracting! This was awesome to me because normally tracting doesn't bring a whole lot of success, but it did this week! One of them is from Nigeria and invited us in right off the doorstep! He is super spiritual and really gets it and teaching him is super fun! I'm sending a bunch of stuff to you from my move from martinsville along with masons birthday presents and my socks. I may not get it out this week so if I don't for sure next week.

I love you and have a fantastic week!

Love, Elder Braken Park

Week 19 - New Companion and Extreme Cold Weather - Braken wasn't able to e-mail us on Monday, his regular P-Day because the city on Indianapolis had completely shut down due to the extreme weather and cold temperatures. He was able to e-mail us today, Wednesday, January 8th for Mason's Birthday :)

This is his e-mail to Friends and Family:

Hey Everyone! 

Sorry I haven't written anyone back it's been so cold here that the Entire city of Indianapolis was shut down for tuesday and monday so now is the earliest we've been able to email. It hit -42 with the wind chill and we had to stay in for 2 days.... ugh! But anyway, my new Companion's name is Elder Dodd and I am in Eagle Creek, which is a ward on the outskirts of Indianapolis. My new address is 6434 Whitehaven Rd. Apt B. Indianapolis, IN 46254. Thanks for all your support and love!

-Elder Braken Park

This is his e-mail to us:

Dear Mom and Dad,

Everything is going well now, it was really hard to leave Martinsville though. It was kind of like leaving home all over again. But my new companion and I are getting along really well. It's a big change to go from a small town like martinsville to Indy but a change I am enjoying as now there are tons of people to talk to and we don't have to worry about the small town mindset. Hopefully I'll be able to go back for luke's baptism. But anyway, as far as clothing goes I'm pretty good my shoes are actually really warm, and I got a pair of gloves for christmas from Jamie. I picked up a facemask type thing from Dick's which was a lifesaver with all the wind. We were outside for maybe 5 minutes on monday because we went to the church for preparation day, and they hadn't plowed the parkinglot, so we had to run through 4 feet deep snow. I have never experienced a cold like that before.... brrrr! I had a mishap at the laundromat yesterday though..... the ctr socks didn't like the dryer and now 5 of them are completely trashed. I'm sending them to you so could you take them to ctr and see if they'll replace them? Also I got a check form Grandma and Grandpa Draper that no banks will cash so I'll send that as well. just throw it on my personal and I'll get me a nice tie or something hahaha. Anyway I love you guys!

Love, Elder Braken Park