More pictures-yeah & a baptism

April 27 '14
Hey, how are things going, Braden?

If I had seen that you were still on last time, I would have chafed with you. :( Sorry I missed it.  But I am looking forward to mother's day.

Do you still have 2 companions or back to normal now? Tell us about your investigator's.

These last week was busy.  Paige got asked to Senior Prom on Monday and the Prom was Saturday.  We went dress shopping for her on Tuesday and she really didn't like anything at the first place.  We talked about renting a dress but since it was so close to prom ( 4 High School's in the area had prom the same night) we didn't find much.  We ended up buying her a dress and the place hemmed it for her.  She went with a group of 18 and had a blast.

Monday for family night we planted the veggy garden and Dad and Zach staked the new tramp into the ground. They also dug the dead tree out. It came out very easy-no rots left.

Tuesday evening there was a big wind storm(60+) miles an hour.  It was kicking up all kinds of dirt and was a black out because of it. Tramps went flying-not ours thank goodness. Windows were broken out of peoples cars.  Tress fell over and it was crazy. It has rained everyday since and been on the chili side.  

Parker starts track and field this week.  Neither he or Ethan wanted to play baseball this summer.  Parker also has a piano recital on Friday. He is playing Star Wars. He has it memorized.

Josh Coomes is home from his mission. He invited us to his Home Coming on Mother's Day. I think we're gonna go. It is the same time as our church but that's alright.

  

I don't need to take any money from your wow toons.  I am now a level 83 and have almost 2,000 gold from quests and selling items and putting stuff in the A.H.. Funny thing, the guild I am in only has 18 people in it. The last player besides me, played 18 months ago.  I have full access to the guile bank.  Except the 7,000 gold. But that's okay.  I can use guild money to repair my armor-so I do.  Hope now has a toon. I made her a Mage. It is a level 5 now and she is made because she wants to ride a horse. She dies all the time and complains that she can't move-it is funny.  We have her playing mine craft because it is easier.

I know that you are being blessed because of your work. God knows you and loves you.  So do we-HUGS.

Love ya, MOM

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We are finally back to normal but the bad thing is now we have no investigators because of have to balance both areas, we didnt have much time to tracked :( So things are Hard once again, but thats alright guess i have to bring the same area back out of the dust again for the 2nd time. So, if your looking for information about our investigators you wont find any because we are starting from scratch again. However we did get a Baptism last sunday!!! we have been working with this guy for a long time his name is Alan, he has come to church for more than 10 weeks now. We also got to watch General Conference last saturday and sunday!! it was great! i enjoyed the talk about Following up.

So Paige went to prom huh? Sounds like she had a good time. q`1

Sorry about that Computer sent the email randomly. anyways paige is almost done with high school!!! thats crazy.

Sounds like a bad storm, the weather here is still normal that is nice.

Parker is playing Star Wars on the Piano?? i dont think so! Oh that reminds me at the church the piano is always out so i go and sit down and start playing songs i can still remember and some hymns but i started to figure out star wars all by my self just from having the toon memorized in my head i can slowly pick out the song. So i guess hes not the only one! haha.

Josh is back huh thats cool! im sure he is excited and i bet zakk is to.

Thats cool Sounds like your Playing WoW a lot! but its true you just have to go questing and you will get a lot of gold! and then when you hit 85 or is it 90 now??? i think its 90 you go back to the area's you didnt finish quests and you get more gold!!! You only have 18 people in your guild haha!!! atleast you are getting free repairs. You have HOPE PLAYING WOW!!! thats got to be funny!!! She is playing minecraft to haha thats awesome!!!

How are things going? What is your new comp's name? You mentioned that a few strange things happened last week, what were they?

Things are going well with everyone at home.  Spring break starts tomorrow.  We are headed to S.L.C. for a few days, just for a break and some fun.  Paige heads out Tuesday to California with choir.  They get to have dinner on a cruise ship like you did when you went.

This was conference weekend and all of the talks were good.  When I told Hope that we were watching church on t.v. she said" Did you buy candy"? Of course I did. How can you play conference bingo without it. I'll send you an Ensign when they come out.

It will be interesting going to church next week, to see who gets released from callings and who gets put in.  It will be the first time meeting as a new ward.

Love you lots, Mom

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Easter was just a normal day here, besides the fact that the senior couples came and gave us some chocolate which was gone in 2 seconds haha.

So sounds like the younger ones had a fun time and got a lot of candy!

Hope is excited when ever it involves candy haha, ok i lied she is excited about everything almost haha. I think that it would be parkers fault for leaving his candy in a place were tanner could get his candy, im sure parker was not happy and tanner after it made him sick haha.

we are still working as 3 maybe in the middle of this week some late missionaries will arrive and we will be back in 2's but we will find out soon. although i hope that we do go back in 2's its easier and less work. its hard trying to balance both sides of the area. So we went to a bigger store today and i found Doritos!! so i bought 3 bags haha hopefully i can pace myself.

I enjoy teasing both of my companions now though i guess you can say there is not a time we are not laughing haha. We did have a Baptism on sunday which makes me happy, it took him some time to get prepared because he is a little slow at learning.

Tanner Todd is going to joberg huh thats cool i have heard lots of stories about it both good and bad. i guess the best advise i could give him for there is only be in lighted areas unless he wants to get mugged.

HAHA Pibz is feeling Senioridous haha 6 weeks is not to long its only 1 transfer here on mission.

Wait did you say Zach passed range??? your lying right??? well i guess if he wont be driving till summer thats good. it means i might come back and have a car to drive haha.

We dont really have many investigators because of having to balance the area we have been trying to find a lot of people though, the area is hard when it comes to finding.

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Hey Elder,

I keep meaning to tell you this, but I always forget.  I hope that is not the Spirit telling me that I shouldn't tell you this,but we'll see.  You know I play a little bit of Star Trek Online (a little -- haha). Well a while back I got a new ship (a cool one) and the random name the game gave the ship when I first got it was...."Kampala"!  So, of course I had to keep it.  I thought that was pretty funny.  

Things are pretty normal around here.  Hope misses you a lot.  She came up to Mom and me and asked if we could print up some pictures of you so she could put them in a tiny little photo album and carry it around with her.  She keeps saying how fun it was to have you tease her, and that you are a funny brother.  I hope she can keep it together until your work is done.  

Speaking of which, how are things going?  Are you back to a single companion yet?  If so, which one?  The native African or the one from the US?  Sorry I don't remember their names.  Any more investigators.  

Paige went to Senior Prom on Saturday.  She (we) bought a beautiful dress, a formal.  I'll let her tell you how it went, but she seemed to have a good time (even though she did get home a little late).  I've attached a picture.  

Paige is graduating High School on my birthday (sound familiar?).   She is continuing to do very well in school and assuming she doesn't have a meltdown between now and then she should graduate with honors.  We are getting here a nice laptop for college (also sound familiar?).  NO TELLING!  It's not as big as yours, but we figured she wouldn't want to haul around some huge laptop.  

Ethan had to be reminded of his email address again.  So I hope that he remembers to write you sometime soon.  If he does, be sure to tell him as much as you can about what it's like to be a missionary.  

Mom is still suffering through this allergy treatment she is on.  She has to take drops under her tongue that are saturated with the stuff that she is allergic to.  I know, sounds crazy.  But the idea is that it's supposed to help her body develop a resistance to the allergens.  She is pretty miserable, so please keep her in your prayers.  

I love you and pray for you every day.  Grandma Erickson has already sent something for your birthday.  I hope you like it.  It sounded like it was something you could use.  Take care, be obedient, work hard and you will be blessed.

Love, Dad.

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Sounds like you are having a fun time with Star trek, That is a cool name for the ship though. You should try to send a picture of the ship if possible.

 Sounds like Hope is having a hard time. I will try to send more pictures next week of me. but i havnt taken pictures for a long time i dont carry my camera with me in this area i think it is to risky.

So i am back to a Single companion but now the area is dead again so i have to bring it back up from the dust a 2nd time.  We did have a Baptism last sunday that was great though!!! I was with 2 South Africans but i am back to my normal companion. Elder Mamani

Im sure paige had a fun time

Thoughs things do sounds familiar. haha

I will wait for a email from ethan

Hope all is going well

Elder Erickson.

3 is a good number

                                                                                                                                                              April 13'14

Braden, 

How are things going? Any baptisms this week?  Any thing exciting happening?  So Easter is next week- do they do anything special or crazy for the holiday? In the Philippines, it is common for them to actually crucify a female virgin, so we had to stay inside for 3 days until it was all over. Ya know, missionaries are easy targets.

So this last week was fun fun fun.  We went to Salt Lake and spent a few night in a hotel.  We visited Temple square, the Planetarium, and the the Aquarium that is right by dad's work.  They kids enjoyed all of it. I didn't think Hope would be to interested at the planetarium because it is for older kids.  But she loved it and asked questions and tried things out.  Of course the hotel had a swimming pool and the kids swam at least once every day.

Paige had a great time in California with choir.  They went to Medieval Times and guess who got a rose-again. Yup, Paige. She said, " He looked right at me and throw it right to me".  She got home today at about noon and had lots to talk about and then she had a long nap and did homework.  Yes, back to normal daily routines again in the morning.  It will be hard to get up early for all of us. Exclude Ethan in that, cause he wakes up around 6 a.m. every morning, silly kid.

Zach starts range this week. That should be interesting.  He has driven the excursion a few times- he is braver then you and Paige.  Dad took him driving on the freeway this week.  Dad is braver than I am, it scares me to just have Zach drive me around the neighborhoods. I'm sure he will get better in time.

We had a lot of releases and new people put in callings today.  We knew it would happen because of the ward being split.  Dad still has his same calling.  And of course I do. When you have a stake calling your pretty safe to stay there until the Stake President decides to release you.  I could have this calling for a few years.  It is good though, I''m really learning a lot and getting to know quite a few people because of it.

We love you and know that you are being blessed in your work.

Love, MOM

Things are going good here for the most part. The area just keeps getting started over from nothing but I guess it keeps me on my toes. We didn't have any baptisms this week but next week we will for sure. I can't wait,we have spent a lot of time with him and you can see the change in his life. He even attends Choir practice at the branch and  everyone thinks he is a member haha. 

The most exciting part was one of the elders had to go home because of some things so now we are working in a 3 some and have to cover both areas…I have no idea how that will work, our area is already behind. From what i hear they don't do much for easter but attend church and a lot of people come so that will be interesting. So ,Paige sounds like she had a fun time, same with Hope, Hope is interesting, you can never expect what  she will do haha.  I don't think Zach's braver than us but maybe more Crazy than us. I still don't like the freeway and probably never will haha. We played some Soccer today against other missionaries and guess who won, we did. 

catching up

3/24/2014
Braden, What's up? How are things going?  How are your investigator's?

It is sounds crazy to not have defined area's to work in. Hope the mission Pres gets it all worked out. Did you have any baptism's? You mentioned earlier that the Branch President said you had to wait and that your mission President wasn't happy about it. What happened?

Yes, good meals are hard to come by for hard working tired missionaries. So, enjoy everyone you get.

We celebrated Paige's birthday this week. It is hard to believe that she is 18. How time flies.  She got new clothes and jewelry and the new Disney movie "Frozen" It is a great movie. We've watched it at least 12 times in one week. Maybe more.  All of the kids have most of the songs memorized and both Zach and Paige have the sound track, so  the music is on constantly. Good thing it's good music.  One of the song writer's is from Africa and so the songs have an African sound to them.  

We found out today that the Stake is creating a new ward.  Our ward is involved with the new split up of some other wards to make the new one. It should be interesting. We find pout next Sunday night.

So, the young men and women's song that dad has been working on went great and they get to sing it again next week at the special meeting of the creation of the new ward.  Both Paige and Zach sang solo's and did an awesome job.  Their were other solo's also and everyone did a great job.  They are probably happy about no more practices though.

Keep on smiling and spreading the good news.

Love ya lots, Mom

things are going good, here we are about to find out transfer news again next monday!!! it feels like this transfer just started a few days ago time has gone by very fast!!! The next transfer will be very interesting because lots of us have stayed here longer than normal in this area most missionaries get transfered with in 2 or 3 transfers now almost all of us here are at that point. our investigators have been moving a little slow but they are keeping there commitments we might have 3 or more baptism's next month! tell Paige Happy Birthday for me! Its good to hear that they did well on there solo's. So the Branch Pres. cancelled the Baptism because of a meeting, the branch pres. wasnt even there so thats why Mission Pres. was mad.

Keep on smiling and spreading the good news.

Love ya lots, Mom

3/29/14
Dear Braden,

How are you, your area, companion and things?  Any baptisms this week?  Are you being transferred?  

No, Paige hasn't started her mission papers yet?  Maybe in a few months.  She has been excepted to BYU Idaho for Winter and Spring semesters so she won't be abe to leave on her mission until July or August of next year. That means you'll get to see her before she leaves.  She had a job interview with Lehi City to work at the out door pool this summer.  She finds out if she got it or not on Tuesday.  She has friends that have already been hired there so she is hoping to work with them.  The have been redoing the building to the pool and adding on to it. It is supposed to be a lot nicer when it is finished.

Zach got to do the pre range this last week.  He got to sit in the back seat for 2 hours and be bored.  Now he gets to sign up for range-this should be interesting.

Ethan tested for his yellow belt in tae kwon do and got it.  Dad held a real board and Ethan had to hit it and break it.  He actually broke it into 3 pieces.  Dad had a piece in each hand and a big piece fell to the floor.  Ethan came home with his broken boards and a trophy. They presented him with his yellow belt in class so everyone could see.

Parker had to turn in a book report and forgot about it until the last day. He read for 4 hours the last night and then got up early and wrote the report. But at least he got it done.

Hope is just as silly as ever and asked a ton of questions.

Allen and Kristi blessed their baby today, so we attended their meeting. They named the baby Tyrell- poor boy he isn't black.  And that name is a very popular black name.

We went to the special meeting for the split of our ward.  Our ward now goes from the houses in in field behind us to the houses on 9th west. So the houses past the grassy dip are now part of the other ward.  A few of those streets with the neighborhood by the New Stake center is another ward.  And then Zach's friend Jacob's neighbor hood past the elementary school is another ward.  Kind of strange boundaries but I'm sure we will get use to it.  Our Bishop stayed the same.

The General Women's Broadcast went well.  We( the Stake R.S. Presidency) were in charge of organizing everything and the dessert.  We had a great turn out.  We filled the chapel and the gym. Plus the stage.  The R.S. room was set up for the spanish speaking people and had about 20 ladies or more in there.  If you haven't heard, they changed the meeting to now include all of the young women and primary girls ages 8 an up.  It is now a semi-annual meeting like the Priesthood meeting for the boys and men.

We are excited for conference and all of the great speakers and advice.  I'll get a copy for you when it come out and send it to you.

Take care we love you, Mom

I am doing good i have had a lot of strange things happen these past few days. for transfers i will be staying in the same area that means i will hit my year mark only have been in 2 areas haha so maybe i will finish my mission in 4 areas haha. My companion changed and now i will be having my 2nd foreign companion. i dont know his name but from what i hear he is a great guy and really short.

Parker sounds like he is being himself haha.

sounds like the families there are having a lot of changes.

Zach is doing Range oh no!!!!!!! that doesn't sound good at all!! hopefully i will be safe on this side of the world but who knows that kid can be crazy sometimes!!!

We didnt have any baptism this week but hopefully we will next week if not for sure in April we will.

Hi Elder,

Mom has probably already told you that they had announced that they were going to create a new ward that impacted our ward.  We had a special meeting tonight where our ward and the Pheasant Point 1st ward were invited.  They basically made three wards out of two.  The impact on our ward was that we lost the streets to the west of our original ward boundary (the streets that were put with us the last time we got realigned).  So, easy come, easy go, I guess.  It seemed like we were just getting to know them.  So our ward got a little smaller but we still have a lot of empty lots in the field to the east of our house.  No changes to our bishopric (even though you didn't get to know Bishop Gooch I think).  He's a nice guy and I hope he is our bishop for a while.  We lost a high priest group leader and some counselors in other presidencies. but all the presidents and most of the counselors are still in place.  

The weird thing was how they drew the boundary for the new 1st ward.  It now contains a narrow strip of homes running north and south, basically the same homes that we lost, and all the homes in the field to the south of our neighborhood.  Imagine the outline of a shovel and you get the idea.  The new ward that was created is the Pheasant Point 7th ward, which contains all the homes to the west of the "handle" of the shovel and all the apartments and condos over by the elementary school. I don't know if this is making any sense, or if you remember anything about the geography back home, but there you go.  After conference, it should be interesting to see how much shuffling is required to fill all the newly vacated callings.  I figure I am pretty safe as ward music chairman.  

So I think I told you that the youth were going to do the Come Unto Christ number that is their theme song in 2014 last Sunday.  They did a great job and Zach and Paige did not sabotage the performance with any wild antics like they threatened to do.  Well President Spencer found out about it and invited the youth to do it again in this special meeting about the ward split.  I figured it would be nice to involve the youth from the 1st ward, so we scrambled to put together a couple of practices with them.  They got up in front of a stake conference sized crowd and just banged it out.  I was so proud.  It sounded awesome from where I stood (right in front of them).  Mom has a recording of it on her phone that I think she is going to try to send.  Hopefully you will be able listen to it.  

Ethan went to another BYU merit badge powwow last week and earned three more merit badges.  He is really into scouting, but he had to choose between a camp out and finishing his merit badges at BYU.  It was a tough choice.  He is Star rank now and is pretty much ready Life rank after the waiting period is over.  I wish our scouting program had been more on the ball when you were going through it.  I regret my part in discouraging you from participating in that program more. Ethan also earned his yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do.  He had to break a board during the test and he was really worried about it.  I got to hold the board for him and he hit it so hard it split into three pieces.  He was pretty surprised and had the biggest smile on his face!  Here are some pictures.  Not sure if you can do anything with them (print them or something).  BTW, I got the pictures you sent and they're going to work out just fine.  Thanks.

Other than all that, things are pretty normal around here.  We are headed to a hotel after General Conference for a couple of days to get away for spring break.  Hope has been dying to go to a hotel for months.  When we actually start packing I think she's going to have a fit.  

You said something about possible transfers for those who have been in your area for a while.  You'll have to tell us how that goes.  How is your companion doing?  How is it being in the big city after being out in the boondocks for a while?  I've also wondered if you have investigators who have trouble with the the fact that blacks didn't get the priesthood until later.  Has that been much of a stumbling block?  How are your investigators doing?  Any baptisms recently?  Do you find it harder to find/teach/convert/baptize in the city versus the country?  

I hope you are doing well, loving the people and your companion, working hard, being obedient, and having fun.  We love seeing pictures, so keep them coming.  I want you to know that we have been richly blessed for your decision to serve the Lord.  When you were first called, I was very worried about being able to make the monthly donations, but so far it hasn't been a problem.  I got a statement of our contributions to your missionary fund since you started and I was astounded at how much it has added up to.  Things are very tight for us right now, but we are trying to find new ways to save money.  We will do everything necessary to support you and make sure you have the things you need.  Just let us know.  

I love you and pray for you daily.  

Love,

Dad

So there is a new ward huh? That sounds like the ward is just going through some crazy stuff right now! so i think i understood what you where saying after a few minutes of thinking of how home was laid out haha it took maybe 5 minutes to figure it all out. Sounds like your having fun with the ward choir.

If i was Ethan i would have gone on the camp out haha. i had my experiences with the merit badges haha. Sounds like he is getting hit hard haha.

Things are going well here in Uganda i will be reaching my year mark this transfer! Crazy!!! i am getting old on mission haha. So transfer news came and i will be staying here in Ntinda and i am getting a new companion i dont really know his name but he will be my 2nd foreign companion. i hear he is a funny guy though and short haha.  So this mean my son is going to be leaving me haha.

New Companion

Dear Braden,

Good to know that you are doing better with your new companion. Sorry that your stomach is having troubles. How did your meeting go with the mission President and what did he have to say?

Dad has been brave and letting Zach drive him places. He almost ran into Paige's car while Ethan was in the car. Ethan says he is a scary driver. I have to admit-he scares me a little.

Paige was accepted to attend BYU Idaho.  She got her track to attend Winter and Spring semesters. She is trying to get a job so she can pay for housing and we are praying that she gets a scholarship there.  She didn't even think of going there until her friends brought it up. Yes all 3 of them were accepted but one gets to start fall semester.  Don't how ho it will be to have 2 kids away from home at the same time.

Not much more has happened the is week-of course there were meetings. Isn't that the 14 article of faith? We believe in meetings and more meeting?

Oh, I bought a new trampoline off of ebay. We decided it would be for Easter. It only took one week to get here and so I put it together by myself one afternoon. The next day dad helped me put the safety net up.  We bought a rectangle one this time and put it down by the swing set , in the hope that it won't blow away.  I think we will tie it down anyways just to be safe.  They older kids say it is small because the jumping area is only 6' by 8'. But it is better than nothing. Hope loves it. We still need to take the old one down and take it to the dump. It only has about half of its springs left on it.  Every time someone jumps on it springs go flying. So it is now off limits.

How are things going with you, your comp and investigators?

Love ya, MOM

Things are going well here in Uganda my companion and i are getting along very well and we have  done tons of finding lately. This next sunday i hope that we have lots of people come to church! if they come i will give you a bigger background about the people we have been these past few days. My stomach is feeling better my bowels just didnt want to work or move things through and so i had to eat things high in fiber and take some medication. as long as i take the medication i should be fine until they decide to start working again by themselves haha.

I am glad that i am not home with that crazy driver!!! Who's car is he driving around?? I remember the time i parked super close to the truck once haha that was fun.

So meeting with Mission Pres. was not bad at all, he just wanted to see how things were doing and to thank me for he hard work and for finishing training my new companion.

I know what you mean when you meet you have a lot of meeting last week was almost full of meeting and we are having more this week as well.....cant wait...Not!

So funny story i was thinking of the months and came to relize that its now March sortly after i also realized that my birthday is in 3 MONTHS! if feels like i just had a birthday not to along ago. oh and i am sure i will never forget my 19 birthday haha oh that was interesting.

Oh i am the oldest misisonary in the zone that i am in. Everyone else is 5 months and younger im almost at 10 and 1/2 guess mission pres. really trusts me to keep these ones in line. there are 3 of them

I am sending Pictures on my other email.

Feb. 24 2014

Braden,

How are things going? Who is your new companion? Did you get your package?

It is too bad about your investigator not getting in the building? Do they always keep the doors locked?

This week went by fast. My good friend Pam Bone (Sanders) that I gee up with came with her three kids and spent the night with us. Her son is having health problems and his specialist is in American Fork. (they live in Manti now, so it is quite a drive).  It was good to see them and get caught up on things.  I went to the temple with Pam and her oldest daughter.  I saw the new movie for the first time.  It is about 10 minutes shorter than the other one and not as wordy.  They reason being that when it is done in many other languages, they didn't have enough time to get it all in unless they spoke quickly. Pam found out that her son has to have surgery, so they will be staying with us again for a few days in March while he is in the hospital.  

Today I went to the Timp. 3rd ward conference. It was good as usual.  President Spencer is teaching a combined lesson the 3rd hour.  It is going to be basically the same in every ward. He gets the class involved with answering questions and giving ideas. So they won't go exactly the same.  I might have it down by the 9th ward conference.

The church has changed the women's meeting before conference to a conference that now includes the young women and girls 8 and older.  So for this next conference we have the Young Women's and Primary Presidencies helping out.  The bad thing is nothing has been planned yet and our {president is out of town for the next week. So needless to say, when she gets back we will be having a big meeting to get everything organized.

The Spencer's new baby is severely deaf and has to have hearing aids already-poor baby. They will have fun learning more sign language, I am sure.

Stay happy and work hard.

Love ya, MOM

Things are going much better, my new companions name is Elder Wyatt he is only 3 months on mission but he knows a lot, i guess you can say its my job to finish helping him adjust to the missionary kind of life haha. He is from mississippi

I did get the package THANKS!!! cant wait to eat it all :) haha dont worry i cant eat it all to fast my stomach is having a hard time with American food now....OH boy...This will be interesting coming back home.

The branch locks the doors for Sacrement meeting but unlock them after and yes they always do that so, we told them they need to have someone stand at the door to tell people to wait 5mins or to have a note on the door.

Sounds like you are having a interesting time at home having more people stay with you. I hope that the Surgery goes well. i heard zach is playing World of Warcraft again.

Yu must be busy haha

So we had Stake Conference as well this sunday it was really good. However i just found out today that Mission President was looking for me...That cant never be good!!! I dont know why either, i hope he dosnt want to make me a DL or ZL i am fine being a normal missionary. maybe it will be about my last companion but i dont know guess i will found out tomorrow! because thats when wants to meet me. that will make the day a little shorting working which is not good because we have a lot of people to meet I will tell you what happens.

                                                                          New Companion, Elder Wyatt

Oe ugly spider!

Braden doesn't send many pic's home, so it is always nice to get a few.  And then it is iffy if we should post them or not. Africa has very strict rules about pictures. The pictures belong to the person that takes them, even if they are on your camera and you ask them to take them. So if we know they were taken by an U.S. citizen we can post them.

a know it all companion

Wow, so close…I was putting Hope to bed when I realized that I hadn't emailed you yet.

This week was filled with lots of good things for us.

Zach passed his driving test ( he took it in his drivers ed class-not the dmv) and I took him to get his learners permit. Dad took him to the church parking lot and practiced with him. He has driven to Jacobs house and back a few times. He also drove the car to church today. He is kind of scary but I'm sure he will improve.

Paige asked another guy to the dance only to be told he had been asked earlier that day. So, she asks Mathew Todd in our ward and he said yes. She will need to send you pictures of how she asked and how she was answered. It was really funny.

Paige also received an Honors Scholarship to Weber State University. It is for two semesters- it probably won't cover everything but it is better than nothing. She is waiting to see if she gets some others. The funny thing is-she didn't even apply for a scholarship to Weber.  If she ends up going there, we are going to see if she can stay with Uncle Mike and Aunt Teri cause they live a lot closer then we do.

Ethan is loving tae kwon do.  They don't do the forms that you had to learn. They teach them the moves and then the teacher practices with each student how to use it. At the end of each class they get to spar.  The part I like, is the teacher is very big on grades and reading. Ethan has to read 3 books before he can get his next belt and write reports on them and turn them in.  He also has a chore chart for every month with daily chores on it he has to do. Easy ones-like make his bed and clean his room. Also, there is a part about showing respect to parents and others that I have to fill out.  They are very focused on their student being well educated and respectful which is great.

Parker is doing well in school except he forgets to turn in his homework-sound like someone you know? His teacher also says she has to re focus him quit often because he day dreams often. But he is at the top of the class in every subject.

Hope is having fun being a big tease lately-ecpecially with Zach. It is really funny to watch. She even teases Jacob now when he come over. Watch out, she will have it down to a science by the time you get home.

I sent the package 1 week ago Wednesday. You should get it sometime the end of this week. 

Hope things are going well with you. If you have time tell us about some of your investigators and what you are up too.

Love, Mom

Well, i am glad i am not on that side of the world right now, zach would probably run all of us over. haha im just kidding, i thought he would pass the permit test in class its 4 times easier is what i hear. now i wound how he will do when he is doing range and road. atleast i know that he will only be driving alone for 4 months when i get home if he gets his licence in a year.

I will have to ask paige, i havent had a reply from her for a long time.

Thats good that ethan is being told to do those things by someone else. its also good new not sitting in front of the tv all day anymore.

I dont know what to think about Parker, he is the biggest air head i know!!! hey in 8th grade i didnt forget to turn in my homework, The teacher hated me!!! I did some of the same homework 4 times i know thats why i stopped turning it in. but i did get into a bad habit because of that.

Hope is just a tease, but its really cool. I dont know if she will be as good as i am, i tease all the elders and sisters here all the time. I guess we will see who is a better tease when i get back.

Things are going Alright, my companion dosnt think i know the area.....oh boy this is going to be interesting last week if he keeps this up. This morning he told me that all i am going to do now is study the area book, and map for study.... dont know if thats gonig to happen.

I think i ate something that upset my stomach and so i have been having to take the work easier, but we will see how long it lasts, yesterday it felt fine but today its hurting a little again, i wonder if its some of the food i have in the fridge.

We have a really nice progressing her name is Agnes, she is about 26 years old and owns a hunny company and own a really nice place. she has been taking the lessons slow but has been coming to church every sunday, and befor he didnt go to church for 5 years. every time we visit her she is blown away.

emails from Loren

Hey Elder,

How are you?  You sounded more upbeat in your last message. I was glad to see that.  A mission is one of the hardest things you'll do in life, but it's also one of the most rewarding.  The only things that really compares for me was my marriage day, and holding each of you kids in the hospital after you were born.  I'm so proud of you and rejoice in the service you are offering to the people of Africa.

I got a call from a member of the stake high council (never a good sign right before stake conference).  They want me to setup and run the audio and video for the broadcast from the stake center to one of the other buildings.  We had a dry run tonight and it seemed to be working okay.  Now if we can just keep the members off the WiFi....

After much deliberation I decided to stop taking my blood thinners, and told the doctors as much.  I have been off the meds for about a week now, and feel fine.  I'll probably have to watch for symptoms of clotting pretty closely for a while though.

Zach has his learners permit (finally).  He's been out driving a couple of times with me and once with mom.  It hasn't been too bad.  He hasn't wrapped the car around a telephone pole yet.  :)  He has driven around the church parking lot (remember that?) and to Anna's house and back a couple of times.  

Hope was asking (again) about when you were coming home and we had to reminder that she has to turn five before that happens.  I think she is under the impression that once she turns five that POP! you'll magically appear.  We're going to have to start managing her expectations that it's still going to be a while.  

I had an impromptu choir sing Families Can be Together Forever today in church.  I had the bishopric make a point of inviting any primary children who wanted to sing.  We probably had 50 people in the choir.  It sounded pretty good ("really" good, according to the bishopric).  We're starting ward choir practice again.  First practice was last Saturday. Had two people show up besides me and the accompanist.  Hopefully we'll get more participation soon.  

I've arranged another hymn.  This time strictly instrumental, with flutes, violins and the piano.  It's In Humility Our Savior.  I've attached an MP3, so let me know what you think when you get a chance to listen to it.  

Love,

Dad

I am doing alright, my companion doesnt think that i know the area......... hes been yelling at me for the past few days its a good think that transfers are happening next tuesday!! I dont know what to think about that kid anymore. Need less to say if he keeps it up he has a lot to learn hahaha. its a good thing that the ap's are just next door if he gets to out of line. i can tell what you mean when you say you will go though some of the hardest things on mission.

A Zach finally got his licence huh thats good and bad, At least i know he will only be driving alone for 4 months before i get home. maybe my car will be in one peace still when i get home. Yeah, i remember driving in the church parking lot execept i was in Manuel car not automatic haha and i also remember trying to get it started in 3rd gear. that went well.  that was like the only trouble i had with getting the car moving for the most part. i had it harder than he did.

so you get to go and work the technical stuff at church for stake conference huh that sounds like fun. you should tell me how that goes.

Hope must really miss me that poor girl. there is only a little more than a year left. so its not to far away.

I did end up getting a stomach ache on saturday it has been coming and going as it pleases so i went to the mission doctor and he gave me some medication to take for a little to see if it helps. it still does the same thing so far so i am going to go see him again later tonight after work ad see what he says this time. hopefully he goes away soon.

So after trying to get into my email a few tries last week i was finally able to get into it. so i will be able to send picture again i only had to reset my password 5 times......that was fun i almost ran out of ideas.

Finding

Hey Braden,

How are things going? Was was your big meeting with Elder Bednar? 

So I'm sending your package tomorrow, I know I said I'd send it last week but never got to it.  Also, I keep forgetting to get your sunglasses out of your car. and when I think of it, the car is at dad's work. 

Things that happened last week. Ethan went to the ortho and had to have part of his gum cut off so his tooth will come in. His mouth was sore for a few days. But his teeth are looking so much better. He is loving Karate and of course school. The new semester started and he comes home and tells us what happened in each of his classes. At least he isn't bored.

Zach took the driving test on Thursday in school and finds out tomorrow if he passed. If he did-off to the DMV for his drivers permit. I'm a little (a lot)scared! And it just hit me that he will be old enough to date in a few months-wow-now i'm scared and nervous.

Paige asked a boy to the sweet hearts dance- I'm sure she'll tell you all about it. If not ask her too. She is still looking for a job.  She applied to BYU and BYU Idaho. We'll see if she gets accepted.

Parker got roller skates for Christmas and uses them all of the time-to go to school, to friends, even friends just across the street. uses we need to go to Classic skating again so he can show off.

Hope is full of ideas and planning camp outs and vacations. Her new favorite game is murder in the dark. Even though she says it scares her a little. She gets all of us playing sand it is so hard not to laugh cause she says the funniest things when she is the murderer and we know exactly where she is. She told the boys after she killed me, "boys, run for your lives"! She is getting better at playing though.

I am actually feeling a lot better. Still not recovered fully though. I started taking the allergy drops instead of the shots-trying to get over all of these sinus infections.  They didn't tell me until I got to my first appointment that for now on, I get to carry EPI pens with me at all times incase I have a severe reaction at home.  I even got a trainer pen to practice with. I made all of the kids (minus Hope) learn how to give them to me just incase. What joys! NOT!!

Anyways, I have rambled for a while, so I better let you go---

Oh, but first I have to tell you. President Spencer got a new baby girl this week.  The birth mother decided just three weeks ago that she wanted them to be the adoptive parents. They are real excited and tired because of no sleep. Hope now thinks that she needs a baby. Not gonna happen.

Take care and pray often.

Love you so so much, MOM

Sounds like a lot of stuff is happening! I dont understand Ethan and i dont think i ever will WHO LIKES SCHOOL SERIOUSLY!!!! sure its fun for the first few days but after you realize that you really dont like it at all. Sounds like he went through a lot of pain, The dentist of the mission came and cleaned a lots of our teeth. lucky for me i didnt have to :) :)  Wait Zach took the test again!! OH NO!! RUN!!! Lucky for me im on the other side of the world! i dont he can get me now HAHAHA! He will never be old enough to Date are you kidding me haha jk! that is scary though. Paige never emailed me shame on that girl i will have to yell at her. at least parker is putting use into his christmas gift. Hope is so funny haha. she makes me laugh that one does. So i found out that Star Wars 7, 8, and 9 are coming out CANT WAIT!!! i wonder how they are going to continue the story though. (it comes out 2015, the year i get home) Sounds like you get to carry needles around not fun!! i think i had enough of those just to come here to africa....im not kidding.  how many kids do the spencers have now? 3?  Elder Bednar was a BLAST!! he made the meeting into a conversation which was awesome unfortunately we didnt get to meet him up close. besides that it was awesome! Thngs are going slow here and we have a lot of finding to do.

How was your week?  How was the meeting with Elder Bednar? Any interesting stories?

The week went by pretty fast. I had to go to my allergy specialist to see if he could do anything for my sinus infection. Now I get to do a sinus rinse 3 times a day with guess what in it---baby shampoo. Sounds strange but hopefully it works. Oh and also a steroid.  My allergist is by grandparent R's house and so Granda watched Hope while I went and then we visited for a while. Now Hope wants to go back. She also wants to go to Grandparent E's. The kids have Monday off of school for Martin Luther King day and so Hope got the idea that we should go to Arizona on Monday. She was sad when we told her that we needed more than 1 day to visit  Hope also has the idea that we need to go to a hotel with the big letter H on it. Remember we stayed at the Holiday inn on the way back from Arizona? I don't know how she remembers but she does. We told her that we might stay at a hotel for spring break. Now she is counting the months and already packing a suit case.

The other kids are doing well. Busy with school work and friends.

My talk went well today. I had to kind of expand my talk because the youth speaker didn't show up. Of course I was nervous, I always am, but to make things worse, President Spencer showed up for the meeting at the last minute. Glad that it is over.

Paige had an appointment with President Bunnel today. He asked her to speak at the youth fireside that they have for Stake Conference. So now she is the next one to speak in the family. When she got home she was saying "really? out of all of the Young Women the choose Me?. She'll do a great job though. She always does.

Hope things are going well for you.

Love ya lots, MOM

When you don't feel like praying, pray until you do.

MOM,

so now your breaking the word of wisdom SHAME ON YOU!! Just Kidding!!!  Hope is a funny one indeed!!! and has a very good memory when it comes to that kind of stuff. paige will do well with her talk

Transfer to Ntinda

 Hey, what is your new area called? It is neat that you get to be with
someone you knew at the MTC. I never did. Do you have to walk as much in
 your new area?I am looking for a good priced quad to send to you. I bought
 you some new socks since you sent the picture of what yours look like. Hope went to her first dance lesson this week and enjoyed it. She wants to go more than once a week :( guess she'll just have to practice at home. Ethan started Ti kwon do this week also. He loves it and picks up on things pretty fast. They speak Korean when they do it, so he has to learn a little of it. In order to get his next belt he has to do chores at home, get good grades or improve them and do 3 book reports besides the things he has to learn in class. I don't think it will be very hard for him. He loves to read and is getting good grades. Parker is still taking piano lesson's but doesn't practice very much. Somehow he passes of the songs each week and gets new ones. Paige is applying for BYU but is kind of thinking of going to UVU until her mission. She and a friend went out and applied for a few different jobs on Saturday. I guess she is running out of spending money. Zach is having a rough time in school right now, or maybe he just needs to work harder so he can get better grades. Dad has made a deal with him that if he gets good grades that he will buy him a better computer-since we aren't buying him a car for his 16th birthday.(cause he can drive which ever one is available) Dad is still driving yours most of the time.We got some more snow and Parker and Hope tried to build a snowman, well Parker would roll them and Hope would smash them-so no snowman.I had Stake Relief Society training for all of the wards in the stake. It went pretty well, I think. And thankfully we only have to do one a year.Hope all is we'll with you? Prayers and Hugs!!Love Mom

I got Transferred to Ntinda Its more a city that where i was. in fact
if you wanted to compare the 2 places i have been you could say my
first area was a Jungle and the place i am now is a HUGE CITY!! How
are things going? I get to see Elder Bednar that is cool I cant
wait!!!


---My email didn't go through last night, however, it all turned out good. I got on to check Braden's reply and he was still on. So we chatted back and forth and I resent the email and he got it that time.  He is excited because President Bednar is coming this week.  The have a few investigators but are working on mostly the inactive this week.  

this is what he said when I told him I loved him and to take care.
"You getting off? i still have 1 hour"
Uhm, I need to go-I'm supposed to be teaching preschool right now. (Kids in other room playing) Wish I could have stayed on longer. Hope I catch him next time.