Priesthood Power

On Saturday we had 4 amazing lessons planned and everyone we went to dropped us! We were questioned whether everyone let the adversary got a hold of them and they decided to not listen to us anymore, but we were trying to not let it get us down so we were going trying our hardest to find out where we needed to be and where we were lacking the spirit. We could feel the adversary fighting us very hard preventing us from working and being successful, but we did our best and we were so confused as to why the adversary was fighting so hard well we found out why. On Sunday evening we went to see a part member family the husband was baptized a couple weeks ago and his wife has been in and out of learning well we found out Vern, the wife, is having surgery the next day and we offered to ask some men to come and give her a blessing and so we had our bishop and a less active member, and a patriarch come and give her a blessing. We were talking and the three just brought the spirit into the room and when they gave her the blessing it was so powerful and she was so peaceful and happy so after the blessing we talked about baptism and she said because of the way she felt she wants to be baptized after she recovers! The spirit was so thick. The face of the husband was so priceless he was so happy and after we all left we just felt happier, everyone did.  When we got to the car we just cried it was so intense after all the felling of darkness we found the light again and we knew right there and then that the adversary was preventing us from going there to help Vern but I learned the priesthood is so much more powerful and it is real it is the light and chases darkness away I know it is true I know Satan is real and he is seeking every day to destroy happiness but he will not win.  I am so grateful for this past week for the struggle and  I am grateful for the priesthood and the power to overcome the darkness and bring light and peace in light we find peace and happiness in darkness we find loneliness and fear.  I love being a missionary and refuse to admit any other way or think any other way.  This past year and some months have been worth every tear, smile, heartache and pain I never want it to ever end it is just too good.  I love you all and hope you have a great and safe week and till next week.

Love Sister Browning

Boy is it Rainy!

 Hello from Rainy South Carolina Hopkins man I have never seen so much rain in my life but I love it can’t help but love it. This week has been oh so great and we will start with Wed we had an awesome sisters Conference in which I saw all my friends and companions.  Then Thursday was the fourth and you will read that day later.  Than on Saturday we went to visit Nima lee who came to church last week and yesterday and we were talking and she was talking about a program she watches on TV about Joseph smith worried it was anti I asked what station it was on and she showed us and it was the byu tv station apparently she watches it all the time. then she brought out all the information she found about us from the internet all lies and anti we sat there and went through it all and I was so grateful for the spirit because I know I would never to have been able to explain those questions for her to understand but she gave us the anti and we gave her Mormon.org to visit and we taught about Joseph Smith and she came to the conclusion that he was a missionary and not a prophet and so she decided to come to church which was testimony meeting and all the people who bore their testimonies bore testimony of Joseph smith as a prophet it was a prayer answered after Church Nima lee had to leave so we did not get to talk to her about it but we look forward to do so this week. Pray for her she needs this so bad and she does not realize it all the way yet. than yesterday after church we went to Eastover  to visit an investigator and when we got there she was in the field picking corn and we offered to help her and she gratefully accepted and she had a cousin there named Prophetess and she is a prophetess and we shook her hands and then she starts speaking in tongues and blessing us and telling us to wait seven days and we will be greatly blessed and right after that I was attacked by ants that bit my feet all over and that was a sign to leave but  I ignored it. So we are in this field picking corn ants everywhere on us biting us and mosquitos attacking us and  the corn cutting us Finally  I have had enough so  I tell sister Eames we are leaving and we are going to tell them we have an emergency and have to leave and as we are heading back prophetess yells we need to quit God says we need to stop so we gather all the corn and find out it is not her field even and we helped her steal the corn I should have listened to the first sign but anyway we talked and finally the prophetess left and that was good because we were able to have a great lesson with Janice our investigator who wants to read the book of Mormon and has not but we told her to read and pray Sister Eames was great with her lovingly bold.  I learned to never work on the Sabbath again not worth it and I have the bug bites to prove it.

          So the best thing ever happened to me this past week so on 4th of July we went to contact a referral and they were not home and so we decided to go and knock and find some new people and we met Adam and we were talking and teaching him when he came out and said he was Jesus Christ and he did not die on the Christ but he was reborn into a new body.  I tried not to laugh in his face and was worried for sister Eames and looked over and she seemed fine so we went on and he kept going on and on and on and as he was talking I kept saying to myself he is not Christ he is not Christ I know he is not Christ. so eventually we left and went home and we were on lockdown from six to the rest of the evening and I had some extra time so I read the book of Mormon and I read Moroni seven all about the pure love of Christ and as I read I felt so happy and knew that it was true and that Adam was not Christ I knew the book of Mormon was true it was reconfirmed to me that it was true and that night I felt really great and just happy and at peace because I knew the truth. I am so grateful to have had this week and all that I have learned and felt I love being a missionary and don't want to be anywhere else right now I love ya’ll and thank you for all you do and all your prayers have a great week and hope your 4th was fabulous.

Love sister Browning

Hopkins is Great!

Hey ya’ll it has been a warm and rainy week here in Hopkins but it is oh so great I love it everyday rumor has it is a little toasty there know I am praying for rain and for ya’ll every day.  This past week was great we worked hard and had a lot of success.  So a few weeks ago we met Nima lee who is 80 and she was outside and we went and talked with her and she wanted nothing to do with us but we talked about her mini chickens that she has and then we offered to help her weed her garden and she accepted and it took a few weeks but we finally got back to her and she had nothing for us to do so she offered to take us on a tour of her mini farm on her golf cart so we got on and went on a tour and then she gave us mini eggs from her chickens it was so great but the best part was that she was looking for another church and wanted to come on Sunday to church with us our jaws opened and then she did come but it was funny because everyone she talked to she told I am a Baptist and I am not changing  I am just visiting so we think it will take some time but she felt the spirit and became very interested in family history so we are going to try that approach.

We would be walking and finding and we would meet so many people who really needed us or we would find people who were searching and we would find them we definitely felt the lord leading us to find those who are prepared for us to teach and find so we have a pretty busy week planned with sifting and more finding.

The ward is so great they love us and see our hard work and love for us to come and they treated Nima lee so well she felt loved by them whether she wants to admit it or not.

I love being a missionary I am so grateful every day for this work and for a companion who is willing to work hard and to do the hard things we are learning every day I love seeing her eyes open and experience this great work and think of how much more she will gain in this t time.  I feel very humbled to be a part of this great work and gospel and everything that I have my family my friends and the church my heart is full.

Thanks for the love and support and prayers I love and feel them. Till next week.

Sister Erica Browning