Brinne's Letter 11.24.14

Hello Everyone!

This week has been quite interesting. I bet everyone who has other missionary friends are going to hear about this, so it must be important!! The “HE IS THE GIFT” initiative.

On Friday, we were asked to come to the mission office for a random special meeting... We had no idea what it was for.... (Some of us thought iPads or that the prophet was coming.... both were very wrong.) In fact, we will not be getting iPads until maybe early next year....)  So, at the conference we were introduced to an initiative put out by the church called “HE IS THE GIFT.” It's going to be HUGE!!!!!  It's a 3 minute video about how Christ truly is the first gift of Christmas, and how important the Savior was. We were able to watch the video. I just got cold chills as soon as the music played. The spirit of it is so strong. We are using it as a proselyting technique this month, and we are going to be counting how many new investigators we get from it. We have special pass along cards and er’thing... but here is the greatest part...

Well, there are a lot of greatest parts...., The church has so much faith in this initiative that on DECEMBER 7th they are doing a "YouTube Takeover," where they have bought the big advertisement on YouTube and that video is what will show on it! 220 million people will see it!!! ALL IN ONE DAY!!! BUT THAT'S NOT EVEN THE BIGGEST THING... ON NEW YEARS--- WHEN THE BALL DROPS--- GUESS WHAT AMERICA AND OTHERS WILL SEE???..... THE “HE IS THE GIFT” BEING BROADCASTED ON THE ENORMOUS SCREENS IN NEW YORK CITY!!!!!!!!!!!

Next awesome thing: In your Ensign you'll be getting a packet talking about this initiative, and there are 9 pass-along cards!!!! YOU LIVE IN UTAH… I DON'T CARE!! TALK TO SOMEONE ABOUT THIS VIDEO AND GIVE THEM A CARD! SHARE YOUR TESTIMONEY OF CHRIST AND HOW IMPORATNT HE IS FOR YOU... FIND SOMEONE FOR YOUR MISSONARIES TO TEACH!!!!! I have so much faith in this... If it is that important for our tithing money to go towards, there must be a HUGE vision being seen! Please participate! And on Friday the video will be on Christmas.mormon.org. Look it up.

Miracles:

On Thursday we were biking around trying to talk to people. We were able to find 2 new less-active families! I LOVE LESS-ACTIVES!!!!!!!!!  We will see how things go with them!!! Pray for the NEESLIN family and brother GREEN. Both are the LA's we found...

Now NEW INVESTIGATING FAMILY!!!!! HOLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!  I swear I haven't taught a family in ever!!!!!!!!! So, on Thursday, we were contacting, and we contacted into Charlotte. She was walking home with her sons from school, and we just stopped and talked. She said she had talked to Mormons before, and she asked what things she wouldn't be able to do. They said drink tea and then she made a joke. Anyway, she said she was raised a Southern Baptist and they were very rude to her... Called her “Charlotte the Harlot”..... WOW CLASSY! So she doesn't like that one. Then she went to some Baptist churches, but they don't like the fact that she has pagan beliefs... 

So, anyway, she said she wanted to come to church, and we were like okay.  (We get that a lot… we don't hold our breath.) So, on Saturday, we asked if we could come over. She said yes, so we went and SHE WAS SINCERE ABOUT CHURHC!!! WOW! So we got her and her husband and 2 kids a ride!!! We talked more about what Pagans believe. And on Sunday they really came!!!!!!Aand THEY LOVED IT!!! THEY SAID THEY DIDN'T FEEL JUDGED! (and their neighbor happens to be a member.) AND THEY MADE A FEW FRIENDS! AND THEIR NEIGHBOR FRIENDS INVITED THEM OVER TO DINNER AFTER THANKSGIVING!! ALL SORTS OF GREAT STUFF.

Last night we went over and we were going though the plan of salvation… seeing where they believe we came from. (That's all we got to talk about in the 50 min we were there.) Turns out, we believe in A LOT of the same things… we just explain things different, and we believe in one God that covers all of their Gods. So, we hope that we will be able to connect dots in their minds and be able to see the truths in what we share. It'll be awesome! Pray for Charlotte, Jason, Ronnin, and Malique :) It is so great!!

We are hoping to be able to go to the temple this week, or next, to see a family in the ward be sealed!!!!!!!!!! Yippee!! Praying that will happen!!!

Anyway, have a great week! I love y’all!!

<3 Sister Dawes

We Need Your Prayers

Hello Everyone!!!!

I heard it snowed a little while ago! Well, here is the weather report here: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday FREEZING!!!!!!!! BELOW 40'S WITH LOTS OF WIND!! Saturday, blue sky.. 70's. Sunday, SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND FREEZING!!!!!! Wow! I was not prepared for this kind of weather. We had a very mild summer so we are expecting to have an awful cold winter. I went and got 2 more pair of fleece-lined tights and a scarf and boots... Luckily, I had gloves. And I have a small rain jacket!!! So that is a lot of fun!!

We really don't have investigators right now. We are in “finding mode.” Some have requested that I give you specific names of people to pray for. However, we just don't have specific names. We do, however, need some prayers. The first month of December the Lubbock Stake does the enormous nativity where they have more than 800 nativities displayed, live choirs from all denominations, and it is a huge, huge, huge, thing! Tons of people from everywhere come and see. Here is where the prayers are needed. The ward gave us a HUGE list of people they don't know on their ward roster. They want us to go meet all of these people and get information for them and to invite them to the nativity. Will y’all pray that:

1-    We can find a less active member who wants to come back

2-    If a family that used to live there moved, pray that the new family will want to hear more?

3-    We can get some referrals from people who went to the nativity. We need people to teach and tracting just isn't cutting it. This is how we are hoping to be able to find the "low hanging fruit."

Tuesday we had zone conference! I took some questions and GOT THEM ALL ANSWERED!!! IT WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!

Sunday, I was able to speak in church and lets just say I LOVE SPEAKING IN FRONT OF PEOPLE!  It was weird because I was the last one on the program and I was left with 5 min....... it was weird!!!! I AM USED TO BEING THE YOUTH SPEAKER!! I'M THE ONE TAKING PEOPLE’S TIME THEY DON'T TAKE MINE LOL!!!! But it was great!

I don't know if I told y’all about Clay last week, but he dropped us. We are thinking because of his wife... She is wicked..... so that was heartbreaking....

Anyway! Great things are going to happen :)

Hope y’all have a great week!!!

Love ya!

Feeling a little DOWN:( But things are looking UP:)

I am so happy to be back here in Lubbock! So happy. It wasn't easy to leave Plainview. It's still not easy, but I am here.

Honestly, this is going to be an interesting transfer. The past week has been really hard. It's looking up a lot right now, and that's how I intend to make it stay. Lol.

(This e-mail is going to not be as “up beat” and chipper as most emails because it wasn't an upbeat and chipper week—However, I am fine and I am happy right now… so don't be concerned!)

Tuesday was difficult- I got to the transfer site and I got to say goodbye to a lot of my friends that went home this week. So that was great. However, I didn't get the welcoming excited welcome from my companion that I would have hoped to get. Lol! In fact, she didn't even say hello. So that was a little worry-some. We left the transfer site and went to go take my stuff home. It was dinner time, so we ate dinner. I didn't know what to eat so I was thankful for the Halloween package from Mom and Dad and Britt because that is what I have mostly been surviving on this week. (It eased up a little and I ate some other food, but really, that was a lot of my meals... munched on them a lot.) I am very happy it is Monday so I can go shopping!

Sister Hoover just has a very quiet personality. If she doesn't have anything important to say she just doesn't talk. Wo we sat in silence a lot. More than I've ever been used to. There were sometimes when I think she got frustrated with me, and I got frustrated with her. Yesterday, I was just not myself. I was frownie and sad because I was miserable.

Here's the good part:

We went to church. When we came home we had personal studies. For my personal study I took my patriarchal blessing and I looked into it deeply. I found words I wanted definitions to and I looked them up.

Like, I'm told I have a "strong personality." I'm not who I was acting like. I'm not timid or shy… that's not who God made me to be… so I looked up what “strong” meant. That helped. There were other words I looked up as well, but by the end of my studies I felt the spirit in my heart so warm and peaceful that God gave me my personality so he could use ME in missionary work. He needs my light, and my strong personality. He needs ME… not other people's personalities in me. It made me very happy to know that He made me the way he wanted to so, therefore, my loud, crazy personality is okay! So, since then, we had comp inventory. We were able to talk and get things out in the open. We are doing much better now and I am smiling again!!!!

I get to speak in sacrament meeting again Sunday, so that is great!!!

The church is true. The Lord puts us in situations to help us become stronger. He knows what we can do and I will do what he puts in front of me!!

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! I love the lessons I get to learn! I wouldn't learn these anywhere else! So I am happy to be here!

Have a great week! I know I will!!!

Love, Sister Dawes

Brinne is Moving back to Lubbock! 11.4.14

Well, er'one… I don't have much time to email today because....... MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMM… I am being transferred :(

I thought I was going to die here :( So sad......... I didn't have a feeling I was leaving. However.... I did feel like I could move to LUBBOCK!!! AND I AM!!!!! MONEREY PARK IN LUBBOCK I am "killing" Sister Hoover! It will be exciting. I have not killed anyone yet, so that is going to be strange. I am just hoping she won't be trunky… and hasn't checked out.

My story of this week:

I love Sister Brunt so much! She is wonderful! But we both felt like we wouldn't be able to do another transfer together. So I was praying to Heavenly Father that He would put me in a companionship, and that my companion wasn't any less ambitious… or any more ambitious… than me. I just wanted someone who wanted to work hard; hit the pavement and kill it! I think he answered my prayers, but I won't know until tomorrow… or a little while of being her companion.

I am not ready to move. Lol! I have free laundry here, so I have just about washed EVERY article of washable things I own… even if it was clean. Lol!!! I guess I won't be writing letters this week!

Also, last Monday a crazy man in prison, he was a "trustee," escaped and was on the loose for 3 days, so we weren't able to work after dark! It was creepy!!!!! But he was found and all is well!

On Halloween we got to have our mission tour, and 1/2 of the mission was able to come! It was so fun! My favorite times are when I get to see all my buddies!!!! I was really praying I'd get to be Sister Christensen’s companion, but we will pray for that next transfer. She is still in my zone!!!! Sister Christofferson got her wish! After 7 months she is leaving Clovis!!! And, oh yea, I forgot SISTER BRUNT IS TRAINING!!!!!!!! I AM SO HAPPY FOR HER!!!

Anyway, I don't have much to share this week. Unexpected goodbyes suck.... so that bites....

I REALIZED I LIVED IN LUBBOCK A YEAR AGO! I LOVE LUBBOCK!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK

NEW ADDRESS IS

5202 BANGOR AVE #C104

Lubbock TX 79414