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

Hello from Hopkins!

So I am in Hopkins home of the humidity and the Columbia temple I love it and always get awe struck every time we pass it.  My new companion is Sister Ivie Eames from good ol’ Rupert Idaho and so we often have to explain and confirm that we are from the same town and that we knew each other and people think it is funny but I don't just kidding I love it and love her and am so glad to be with her we are going to have fun.  Some days I feel like a chicken with its head cut off but amazingly she still loves me and is very patient with me.  I love this area so much already the people are just so nice and sweet and love us yesterday at our first day we were so popular never have members wanted to talk with me so much and I love them and know this is where I am supposed to be.  Every transfer I get older on my mission and it is sad my trainer left this past week and that scared me because now that makes me the example and I would rather not I wish I could just have stayed at nine months but that is not how heavenly father works I wish sometimes it was but sadly I know it does not but then I know that the next day is something better that will make me love today so much more and I learn to be grateful for every day.  I love being a missionary with all my heart I know that I am not good at it and I have weaknesses and there surely could be someone so much more qualified but because he loves me he has allowed me and he trusts me and that means the world to me.  Alma 17:29 my new favorite scripture all about becoming the instrument and being patient. I love you and Hope ya’ll have a happy Father’s day know I love you and pray for you always I know the lord is blessing you and helping you because he loves you. Till next week

Love Sister Browning

Sadly Leaving!

I can not believe it I am finally leaving Greer and I am not going to lie it is hard it is tough and it is scary especially since I will not only be training but opening a new area.  I am excited and nervous and scared and sad about every emotion that can be possible I have felt it but most of all I am more than ever grateful.  I am grateful that I could be here for so long  7 1/2 months to be exact which is long on a mission,  I am grateful for great members I love these people so much and they have changed my life by showing me how the savior would live and how he is by watching them, I am grateful for a wonderful mission President who knows me and knows what I need by revelation to the lord and he has given me everything I needed not necessarily what I always wanted but always what I needed, I am grateful especially for the savior yesterday on our way home for the night I was thinking of what I accomplished what I did not accomplish and the greatest feeling of peace came to me and a sense of gratitude came to me and I did not understand why the savior was so grateful for me being here but I know he was and apparently I did do something right and it is the sweetest feeling I could have as I prepare to leave so many great things he has given me.  Sister miller is now training too and she will do great she is going to take all the sin out of grrr one person at a time she is well prepared and well loved these people are going to attach to her and the new sister.  Well I will keep this short but I love ya'll and have a great week and thanks for the prayers and such.

Love Sister Browning

I Love Being a Missionary!

I love being a missionary! today is memorial day and because it is also p day we get permission to go to the ward party and play games I was able to go and play volley ball it was so much fun and then to be with so many friends that I have met here in Grrrr.  These people are so great and have such a great heritage and love for the freedom we have it was pretty neat to experience.  And the best part is that I did not get hurt playing sports so that was a plus.  This past week we have been in a rut so we dropped all of our investigators all of them and started off fresh and we met Ashley Owens who is so sweet and loves Jesus and the spirit that we have and she is on Date for June 15th but her only issue is she works on Sundays and can’t come to church so I am asking you all to pray for her to come to church this Sunday so she can be baptized.  We also met Deb who I did not meet but sister miller did on an exchange and she is pretty neat loves to talk but she feels her faith growing with us and when she learns but her issue is her husband is a preacher for another church but she wants to learn so we are going to teach and we know that everything will work itself out the Lord is amazing like that.  

So on Saturday we were walking to a less active and we were by this restaurant when this car drives by and then a lady gets out holding a book like a bible and she starts walking over to us like she is going to bible bash and I was like OK bring it on the lord led us here for a reason and so bring it and then I said a prayer and then right as we got to her sister miller starts to hug her and my jaw dropped in amazement and it turns out it was another less active that she met on an exchange and I was so relieved because I do not like arguing especially about the Book of Mormon or the bible I like to teach and help others but I laughed about it afterward and was grateful she was not a crazy person wanting to fight us but we had a great lunch with her and her non-member husband who is very interested in learning.

Then on Friday we were walking again and we both felt impressed to go to this road that made no sense to go to because there are no houses for a mile and it would have been a waste of time but sister miller being her awesomeness felt that we should go and so we went after dropping everything we had originally planned and we knocked every door and nothing until it was time to go and we found a girl walking her name was Tori and we talked to her and found out she was taught about a year ago but had really bad depression and stopped listening.  I then recognized where we were and I knew I had met her before right when I got here in Grrrr and found out that I did service for her she said she was ready to learn again and we of course are glad to teach her.  

I love this gospel especially the atonement yesterday at church we learned all about the atonement and I could feel the spirit so much it was so powerful and I am so grateful for the atonement and that it overcomes my weaknesses and allows me to be here.  I love you all and pray for you always be good and CTR.

Love, Sister Browning

        

This is a picture of me and sister Miller and our pet stuffed elephant Hortina praying before we go out for the day I know it is weird but yet funny... 

This is me and truffles the pig she sounds like a pig but looks like a dog

Hey Ya'll

Ok so get this.  We were knocking and met a man who thought we were Satanists for going to church on Sunday and not Saturday, and a rabid dog was throwing itself at the glass door so yeah I ran away like a thief in the night. We were committed to find out for ourselves if we truly were saved or not and then we met a lady who was in tears begging us to come to her church because of how wrong we were and then she tried to convince us of how awesome the youth program is and that we could be friends with her kids. And all this happened within a 24 hour period.  We just smile and love them that is the best thing we can do and I truly do love them can’t help but to love them.  But we just laughed and go on and continue to do this work.  This past week we had two sets of exchanges one with the sisters from Irmo who are our coordinating sisters.  I was with Sister Brand who is so funny we went to see this member and they live on this mountain that you have to drive up and it is very tricky but I did not tell her about it till we got to the foot of the mountain thankfully she just laughed and courageously continued on but the whole way up no matter how scared she was I told her to keep going because if she did than we would go backward or get stuck and I learned a valuable lesson sometimes we are driving up a steep mountain or have a trial and all we can do is keep going and never stopping because if we don’t we don’t get to the top and miss out on the view and the view was great one of the best in South Carolina on the blue ridge mountains it was awesome.  Then on Friday I went to Anderson with Sister Roundy a new missionary who is now a trainer and building up an area it was so much fun we met so many people and had so many miracles one we were eating dinner and went to the nearest restaurant and we were looking for a place to sit when an old women names Martha Walker told us to come and sit with her and we did and she was a hoot she was a comedian and making us laugh so hard we could not breathe that was a tender mercy to be able to laugh. So this week has been great and I love being a missionary never have I been so tired but yet never have I been so happy so it is all the worth it. The bad out numbers the good but the good outweighs the bad.  Be good and have a blessed week.

Love Sister Browning

Happy Belated Mothers Day! Especially to my Mom!

 Hello and Happy belated Mother’s day to all women we had a wonderful speaker yesterday who just put all women on a pedestal but it was so spiritual that it made me cry and appreciate all women in my life and the example ya’ll have set for me. I have the best elders in my district they really came through for us this past Thursday. Elder Korth From Idaho and Elder Hugh from Utah but on Thursday we received a random phone call from  Dr. Faye Heart who said that she got our number from sisters previous and that they used to come and visit and help her.  She recently was in a car accident and really struggling with back problems and asked if we could come and help with a few chores so we agreed.  We went and helped her and she mentioned how her house was broken in to and she was still recovering from it.  We mentioned that someone could come and give a blessing on her and her home to help give her peace and she agreed.  We called our Elders who dropped everything they had planned and biked right over and gave her the sweetest blessing on her and her home they explained it so beautifully and I was so impressed by them and their service.  Dr. Hart just felt the peace and it was amazing of how quickly her countenance changed all because two elder were willing to serve no matter what.  We have so many opportunities to serve and I pray constantly to recognize the opportunity to serve.  That is one thing I learned that I promised to be the lords representative and that means doing his will whether it be service or teaching  no matter who or where it is my calling and responsibility to share the saviors love with all his children.  I learn so much every day and am amazed at how fast it all flies by I love ya’ll and hope you have a great week keep safe and ASAP

till next time Love Sister Browning