“I’m Leavin’ on a Jet Plane”….

“I’m Leavin’ on a Jet Plane”…..

...Don't know when I'll be back again

2 Timothy 4:6-7
“ For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:”

-- 
--Elder Braxton C Foust--

Another winter day has come and gone away, even in Paris and Rome and I wanna go home

Haha, I'm just messin, I was just trying to think of the most trunky sounding lyrics I could remember, and that's what came to mind. I don't even know if it's right.

After 23 1/2 months of telling y'all about things from week to week, I have to admit, I don't have any idea what things are and are not fun for y'all to read. I have no idea because now it's literally just day to day life. Knocking on doors, testifying of the restoration, explaining to people what the Book of Mormon actually is, clarifying their obscure views created by the uneducated minds of ignorant, and often arrogant self-proclaimed preachers of the gospel, mingling scripture within their worldly philosophies and business ventures. Does that sound fun or exciting to you? it honestly is still fun and exciting, but I don't know what it's like to be on your end reading it.

Anyway, this week was pretty much just like any other. "shawnie" is back on an upward progression as opposed to the downward spiral she was on before. So that's awesome. She is hoping to be baptized before the end of the month, so that'll be good for Elder Parker and his new companion, who I hope will be a new missionary. I keep telling him he'll get an 18 yr old, which would be awesome.

Saturday we had the ward Chili Cook-off, which we were the judges for, that was a lot of fun. There was some dang good chili there. and great corn bread. Just so y'all know, real chili doesn't have beans. we had a separate category called "Best Frijoles" for those with beans. Texans are passionate about that. No beans in chili.

There is one thing I love about being at the end of the mission, and that is the respect you get from pretty much everyone who understands anything about Mormon Missionaries. Obviously members understand, but when you meet non-members that are like "So you do this for 2 years right?" "yeah" "And how long have you been doing it now?" "23 1/2 months" and then their eyes get wide and they can't believe that we actually do it for 24 months. I love it.

Speaking of that, yesterday at church the 1st counselor in the bishopric was conducting and the first thing he says after the sacrament is over is "Well, Brother so and so was supposed to speak first today, but he was not able to make it. But Elder Foust is going home in just under two weeks, so we'll invite him to come up and speak to us about his feelings for his mission and some things he's learned from it." and then he just smiled at me and sat down. But I was fine with that. For making it up on the spot I felt like I did a pretty good job of teaching the Doctrine of Christ. But that was the ah-hah moment for about 60% of the ward that didn't know I was at the end. It was pretty funny.

Some of you may be thinking "wow, Elder Foust is trunky," well guess what, I haven't even started packing yet, so by definition I am not trunky. So there. :)

Well, I can't think of much of anything else to say this week. Hopefully there'll be another email from me next week.

I Love y'all!

--
--Elder Braxton C Foust--

Seeking What's Good

God is like a master chess player. A good chess player can envision what they will do several moves in advance, and even better ones anticipate what their opponent will do in that time. God is the Master Chess Player, because he doesn't envision it, but he has a perfect knowledge of the moves the adversary will make. He doesn't only see 5, 10, or 15 moves ahead, but everything from seconds to centuries in advance. The same God that prepared the world for the restoration through inspiring different men and women throughout the years following the deaths of Christ and the apostles, guiding them to have the bible translated, freedom of speech and religion desired and instituted, and many other events, has also given each of us, His children, resources and events preparing us for our futures. (I don't know if that sentence would be considered a "run-on" or not. That was a lot of commas).

One example in church history is Zion's Camp, a story that many of you may not be familiar with. To be brief, the saints were being persecuted in an area, and Joseph Smith organized a group of men to march to their rescue. There were many trials and struggles, and a few men died. And in the end, there was no combat. With the return of the camp many of the men felt it was a waste of time and energy. Little did the know that 9 of the original 12 apostles of this dispensation, as well as the entire quorum of 70 and the presidents of the 70, would come from that group of men. And that through those experiences, one future apostle in particular, Brigham Young, would learn everything he needed to know in order to lead the saints to the Salt Lake Valley. (you can even watch it here)

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/doctrine-and-covenants-visual-resources?lang=eng&query=zion%27s+camp#2010-07-03-zions-camp

I have seen God's hand a lot in these past 2 months. Events that we have gone through, that our investigators have gone through, and that our recent converts have gone through, have all shown me that God is in control. (I won't go into details, because I don't feel it would be appropriate in this setting.). He knows what is going to be thrown at us, and He is providing the way for us to overcome them. He is in control and if we rely on Him, we will get through it all. That is why he provided the Atonement. That is why he provided the restoration. We just have to do our part.

It's hard to see sometimes. A lot of the time in fact. But as long as we are "doing the things we should, and seeking what's good," we will find it, and we will grow. God has provided the way.

--

 --Elder Braxton C Foust--

Para- Para- Paradise. Para- Para- Paradise

Well, this week has had some more ups and downs, but that is to be expected as this is, life. Especially missionary life. Let's start with some ups.

Tuesday we had a lesson with "Shawnie." Before we even got to the door she came out and handed us a bag of the rest of her cigarette packs and asked us to get rid of them for her. Then we had an awesome lesson on the Plan of Salvation, and the Relief Society President was able to come with us, so that was a huge help to have that support for her.

Wednesday Night we had a lesson with "Sarah", who I told you about last week. She is doing very well. We taught the Plan of Salvation, which to her was mostly a clarification and reminder lesson because she has been around members most of her life. At the end of the lesson I was preparing to give an invitation to be baptized on a specific day, and right before I said it she looked at me and said, "So when can I be baptized?" We had a member with us, and his jaw just about hit the floor. It was awesome. She has a date now for March 2nd, and she's on track to be baptized on that day. I love how the spirit works with people and helps them recognize the truth.

Thursday Night we had dinner with the "Nielsen" family and with our Ward Mission Leader and his wife, who we are also really close with. It was great. First of all, he is an incredible cook. He made probably the best brisket I have ever had, which wasn't a surprise because he has won competitions. We had a dang good meal, and then he and his wife sat down with "Sister Nielsen" in the living room and they explained callings, and patriarchal blessings, and some things about the temple, while we stayed at the table with the girls and talked some more. We set a baptismal date with the 15 yr old daughter for February 15th. I really really really hope everything works out so she will be baptized before I leave. I love this family, and getting to see the change that has happened because of the gospel has been a huge blessing for me.

Then Sunday we had a bit of a down. "Shawnie" fell and hurt something from some surgeries in the past and it put her in immense pain for a couple days, she couldn't even sleep, and finally she decided that since the pain pills weren't working she would kick it up a notch, and she bought a 6 pack of beer and a carton of cigarettes, and some coffee. She called us and was kind of freaking out, so we went over there and she was, like I said, freaking out a little. Mostly about the teachings of the church, mostly the word of wisdom. So we gave it to her very clearly and simply, focusing a lot on "No man can serve two masters" from the sermon on the mount. By the end of the lesson, she randomly stood up and walked over and dumped out the rest of her beer. But she told us she wouldn't get rid of the cigarettes or coffee again yet though. That night she called us laughing, cause she made a pot of coffee and it randomly exploded and she decided that was God telling her to quit, so she ran outside and tore up her cigarettes. It was pretty funny. And we'll see what happens there.

The weather has been interesting here this week. It's been warmer than you would expect January to feel. 2 years ago right now there were ice storms, similar to what I have been told has been going on back home lately. But the last couple days it has been between 50 and 70 degress, with just a bit of humidity. It is quite pleasant actually. today is just a little warm for my taste, it's like 79 with 54% humidity, but I know a lot of people love it right about there. It is still nice. We're supposed to be getting some thunderstorms tonight or tomorrow, so hopefully that will happen. But regardless, it has felt a little like paradise these last couple days.

Sorry the weather sucks so bad in Utah. (or as a girl here said the other day, it "inhales profusely")

Love y'all!

-- 
--Elder Braxton C Foust--

Crunch Time

This week has been awesome. Especially compared to the emotion of last week, this one has been much better.
It's not very often, especially in Texas, that you have someone tell you that they want to join the LDS church the first time they meet you. But this week it happened to us.

Twice.

The first one was almost expected. When we got to go teach the lady I told you about last week, who lost her grandson, she was on fire. I'll call her "Shawnie". She has been reading the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants a lot. And she is having very meaningful experiences with them each day. It is incredible to see someone who so sincerely wants to learn from what she's reading, and as she has that sincerity it all speaks to her. I love it. She's just working on quitting smoking, and she'll do it. She's got a lot of will power and she has the resources. She's scheduled to be baptized the last weekend I'm here.

The second one was completely and utterly a shocker. We had an appointment with another family that is close to the family that lost the 8 yr old daughter. They had some questions about the Plan of Salvation (they are less-active and a part-member family). The one with most of the questions is the 16 yr old daughter, and we were able to help her understand quite a bit of it better. The mom, who I will call "Ginny", has a sister-in-law that has moved in with them for a short time. I will call her "Sarah." Sarah proceeded to tell us that her husband is Mormon (but less-active), but she is baptist. They have been having the religion division in their house for their whole marriage, and she is sick of it. She finally told him that she is going to raise their daughter baptist, and he finally put his foot down and said she can't do that because he wants to be sealed in the temple eventually. When they had that discussion she decided it was time to sincerely investigate the church because he was finally being immovable. She asked us "what do I need to do to be baptized?" So we told her the most important thing is getting a testimony of the Book of Mormon, so she is going to read it and pray about it. We went by the next night and taught her lesson 1 so she would know what it's all about. She felt the spirit in the first vision, which is always a good indicator as to their sincerity.

One more awesome thing that happened this week. The "Nielsens" are still having a hard time, and "Sister Nielsen" has been stressed beyond anything she expected. She told us how hurt she is because she feels like this is what she is supposed to be doing, but everything is going against her. She told us that she has stopped studying and praying as much, and we pointed out that she hasn't been to church since the new year (not that it is her fault on that one, circumstances were beyond her control). But we promised that if she would come to church things would get better. Our exchange offered a blessing of comfort and counsel and she accepted. The next day at church, she was beaming. During sunday school she wrote a note to Elder Parker and I that said "THIS is what has been missing. Church is a must!" When we went over last night after church you could see and feel such a significant difference in her and in their home, I can't even describe it. It was a powerful experience for all of us. She pointed out that the three blessings she has received have been very powerful for her (two for sickness one for comfort). And she has had a powerful experience with fasting, and saturday night she had an incredible experience with prayer. I am grateful to be able to see this happen in someone's life. And while we were teaching her she stopped us and said "I just had a thought. I think we (she and her family) need to pray specifically for help understanding the scriptures before we study together." We then explained that she just received personal revelation, and an answer to her prayers. The spirit was strong. She has such a powerful conversion in such a short time, I can't put into words how I feel about it all. I love this work.

I am so grateful to be here at this time. I am grateful to Father in Heaven for putting me in Granbury for my last 2 transfers. 1 month from today, I fly to Utah. I am excited to go home, and even more excited to see my family. At the same time, I am going to miss this home. I am going to miss my family here. I am so grateful to the Lord for these experiences.

I love y'all. The Church is true! God is in charge of this work, as it is His work. I know it.

--
--Elder Braxton C Foust--

Master the Tempest is Raging... Peace, Peace, Be Still

Well, it is transfer week, and it is official, I am staying here until the end of my mission. Boo-yah.

This week was what you could consider "difficult". But it was a different kind of difficult.

Last Tuesday morning the 8 yr old daughter of a former investigator passed away to cancer. They are next door neighbors and best friends of the "Nielsens" who were just baptized, so there was a lot of emotion there with them. We had the opportunity to share again with them the Plan of Salvation and provide some comfort. We also gave them a copy of Elder Shayne M. Bowen's talk from this last conference where he shared the story of losing his 2 yr old son, and it seemed to help. Sister "Nielsen" told us that the 11 yr old daughter told her and the 15 yr old daughter that it was ok because this 8 yr old girl was in the spirit world and they would get to see her again in the Celestial Kingdom, and that was before we got to teach them about the Plan of Salvation again. It was a testimony builder to me of the gift of the Holy Ghost and its effect even on children.

So it was hard, and very emotional, but things are going to be ok. They have an understanding of the eternal truths that will bring them comfort, and that they can share with their friends.

It's incredible the power of God's Plan for our Happiness. We were contacted by a recent convert who recently moved, who said his mother that was investigating for a long time would like us to come by again. This convert lost their baby boy in December, and through it all, his mother kept thinking back on the Plan of Salvation that she had been taught and she wants to learn again and be baptized so she can be sealed to her family. Her biggest problem before was that she was an alcoholic, and couldn't quit drinking, but since the death of this baby, and the testimony she has of the restoration, she has just stopped. Without any real problems, just stopped. And she was so excited to see us yesterday. 

I am so grateful for the Plan of Salvation and the peace it brings to our lives. I am grateful to God for restoring the knowledge of this plan to us through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I kno that God lives and speaks to His prophets today. I know he has restored the fulness of the gospel. I know this is Christ's church. I know families can be together forever.

I love you all!

--
--Elder Braxton C Foust—

Press Forward Saints

It has been a good week. We taught a couple good lessons, and things are going forward. Not really any specific stories to share from the week though. Sorry.

I have been thinking a lot lately about the basics. Not only the basics of missionary work, but of the gospel, of family, of... life the universe and everything... basically...
Anyway. The basics. In any situation you talk about the basics of something, it refers to the foundational principles upon which everything else in that subject stands. For example, if you want to be a basketball player, you first have to know how to run, dribble, and shoot. If you want to play the piano, you need to learn what keys make what sounds and how to push them down in patterns that sound good. If you want to be happy, you have to do things that make you happy.

The basics.

So what are the basics of the gospel of Jesus Christ? What are the foundational principles and doctrines of the gospel? As far as information goes, the answer is simple. Faith, Repentance, Baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. But what good is information if it is not applied directly to us? What good does doctrine do if it is not implanted in our hearts and souls? Well, what good is a building's foundation if you never let it dry? What good is a building's foundation if all you do is read about building a foundation, and then skip that step in the construction process? What good is a house if the foundation starts getting damaged and we do nothing to repair it?
What we need to do is work on the basics. When the basics are exercised, everything else falls into place.

Faith - We are to believe in Christ as the Savior of the world. We are to accept and follow his teachings. We develop faith by living the commandments, starting with thebasic/fundamental commandments of personal prayer, personal scripture study, and personal participation at church.

Repentance - As we develop faith in Christ it leads us to repent. We recognize that we are not perfect, and it leads us to the desire to be more like our savior. We stop doing things that are wrong, and continue doing things that are right. We make restitution for the wrongs we have done, and we do all we can to never fall into that sin again. As we continually repent each day, we realize other things we can change and we constantly strive to do better.

Baptism - We make covenants with God through priesthood ordinances. Only through priesthood ordinances can we make saving covenants. But making them is not enough, we have to live them. We have to keep them. We covenant to take upon us the name of Christ - to emulate His life as His disciple, we covenant to always remember Him, and to keep his commandments (which in turn increases our faith and leads us to more repentance). We are promised remission of our sins, His Spirit to be with us, and being born again.

The Gift of the Holy Ghost - Through another ordinance we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. This gives us the right to the constant companionship to the Holy Ghost, which is tied directly into the covenant of baptism, thus making baptism incomplete if the gift of the Holy Ghost is not conferred. We are sanctified by Him.

Endure to the End - in the simplest terms I can manage, "Keep on Trying." We continue to exercise our faith (through obedience to commandments) we continue to repent, we renew our covenants through the sacrament, and we qualify for and listen to and act on the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

It all goes back to the basics. So if you find yourself feeling lost, confused, scared, angry, hurt, or even just complacent, start with the most basic of the basic fundamental princples, Pray. Then study the scriptures. Then go to church. do it over and over and over again. It all starts there, and they lead you to everything else. The biggest problems anyone will face in this life is caused when they stop doing those things. 

Press forward, Saints, with steadfast faith in Christ,

With hope's bright flame alight in heart and mind,

With love of God and love of all mankind.

Press forward, feasting on the word of Christ.

Receive his name, rejoicing in his might.

Come unto God; find everlasting light.

Press on, enduring in the ways of Christ.

His love proclaim thru days of mortal strife.

Thus saith our God: "Ye have eternal life!"

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

6 weeks to go. Bring it on.

-- 

--Elder Braxton C Foust--

It's a new dawn, It's a new day (and year), it's a new life for me, and I'm feeling good.

Happy New Year!!!
Here we are, 2013. It's crazy how fast time goes by. It seems like just 2 days ago it was 2012.

:)

Anyway, things have been awesome in Granbury. (it rhymes with cranberry if you've tried to figure it out).

On Saturday we had 2 baptisms! It was a good day despite the circumstances. They wanted to be baptized in the morning so they could feel clean and spiritual all day, so we scheduled if for 10:00am. We got there about 9, and the ward mission leader was there filling the font. Here's the problem, the water heater was broken, and none of us knew it until that point. Three weeks ago there was a baptism and they water was way too hot, like it hurt the guy when he got in. Then about a week ago there were two little boys in the ward that got baptized, and they got it just right. So we had no idea it was going to be cold. And in case you don't know, it is not exactly warm in this part of Texas during the winter. It was between 35-40 degrees that morning. Plus humidity, which makes cold air colder and bite harder. But again, despite the circumstances, the baptism was awesome. Elder Parker baptized "Sister Nielsen" and I baptized the 11 yr old daughter. So we were all cold together.
As they left to go get lunch we asked if we could visit that night to explain more about the confirmation. But then that night during our dinner she texted us and said she was very sick and needed to cancel. We offered a priesthood blessing and she said she would love one (we had already taught about those, so she knew what we were talking about). We went there and she told us that for lunch they went to a steak house to celebrate, but her steak tasted funny and on the way home she was feeling sick, and then she was throwing up all day. But you could see she was still so happy, and just upset that she had to get sick that day. So we gave her a blessing, and left. The next day, she came walking in for sacrament meeting at quarter to 10 perfectly healthy and ready to go. We were all so happy.

I love seeing and hearing about how the work is moving forward throughout the world. It is picking up a lot. With the age requirement change for missionary service, obviously there has been a huge increase in the number of missionaries. So many that the MTC has to use some of BYU's housing in order to hold them all (scary thought). And now they have a need to get missionaries out of there more quickly. So they are modifying a transfer in a lot of (if not all) missions. Our next transfer (starting January 16) is only going to be 5 weeks long, instead of 6. President Sagers told us that there are some missions that are having as short as a 3 week transfer, and others are going as long as a 9 week transfer at that time, because they need to move missionaries out. So, if you do the math, I am going to be home a week earlier than I have thought I would for the last 22 months.
Anyway, I will be reporting my mission in Sacrament Meeting on February 24th.

Well, back to the work here, We are loving it. Things are starting to pick up and hopefully we'll be seeing some more miracles happening. We've got one more baptism scheduled, the other daughter of "Sister Nielsen" on January 19th, and then we have a few people that we have goals and dates to set with them too. It is awesome seeing progress. One of my high school buddies sent me a Christmas Card to my Arlington address, and before he forwarded it, Elder Johnson wrote a note on the back for me telling me that the investigator who I referred to as Vanessa, was baptized as scheduled, which I was really happy to hear. And the investigator I talked about who I called John who is married to a less-active and they came to church and loved it and all that, is getting baptized this weekend. So that was really good to hear too.

Missionary work is awesome. Everything about it. Everything from baptisms, to finding the elect, to getting sick, to getting bit by a dog, is just awesome. The persecutions and painful moments just make us more appreciate the good times. I love everything about this work.

I love all y'all! (I don't actually use "all y'all" by the way)
Have a great week, and Happy New Year!

-- 
--Elder Braxton C Foust--

I'm dreamin' of a white Christmas

This week has been awesome. If there is a list of things a missionary would love to hear an investigator say, it would look something like this:
- I know the Book of Mormon is true
- We love having you come over
- I heard you don't drink tea, why? (then we teach the word of wisdom) ok, that's good enough for me
- I want to understand all the commandments so I can't break any of them 
- You can come over every day if you want
- People were giving me flak at work for being baptized in the church, but I don't care. I told them I know it's true.

We have the best investigators ever. That family I mentioned last week, who I am calling the Nielsen's (you know, that whole thing about not using people's real names) are incredible. We have taught them about 7 times over the course of a week and a half, and they have come to church both sundays, and the ward Christmas party. And this ward is awesome. The 11 yr old daughter heard them ask the primary kids to go to the primary room to get ready to put on the program they had practiced, and she asked if she could go, so they had her be a narrator, and it was awesome. Her mom was so happy to see them include her like that. It was awesome. And now the 15 yr old is loving it all too. We found out she likes to sing, so I asked her to do a musical number with me and she is learning How Great Thou Art and I'm going to figure out a cool accompaniment to go with it. It will be fun. I can't even tell y'all though how awesome this has been, working with this family. They have been so prepared and are very in tune with the spirit. I have grown to love them like family. Which is crazy cause it's only been a week and a half. I love the spirit involved in missionary work.

We also are seeing a lot of success in finding the people that the missionaries were working with in the past. There is one guy, I'll call him Steve, who really liked the Elders before, and then they combined the wards here and took the elders out and just left the sisters. Well, one of the sisters told him that his house was dark and depressing ( he listens to like metallica and megadeath and stuff like that, so he has posters up) and that he should change it and he really didn't like that. When we knocked on his door he was so excited to see us and set up an appointment for the soonest he could meet with us. I'm excited to teach him tonight, he seems like a cool guy.

We also found a couple that the elders were working with before that live in a sketchy neighborhood that the sisters don't like to go in cause there are stories of it being sketchy, but the other guys used the ride their bikes through there on a daily basis, and we're in a car, so we'll be fine. 

And there are part-member families that have been worked with that we're gonna keep on working with, they have a lot of potential and the ward really feels like they are ready, so we'll be teaching them too.

Things are picking up and we are seeing miracles. I love this work. And we're gonna have the font filled right after Christmas :)

-- --Elder Braxton C Foust--

Moses and Aaron‏

I am loving it being here in Granbury. It is so much fun to work back in the country.

My companion's name is Elder Parker, he is from South Jordan Utah. He's about half an inch taller than me, so I am once again in a very tall companionship. And he played football for SUU, so he's built pretty well too. We're a couple of big boys, and we get a lot of comments on that.
Like I said last week, we white washed the sisters out. There are a lot of people that were surprised to see us at church yesterday, some are sad o have the sisters gone, and some are excited to have elders here. And there are actually a couple of members that I already know because of my previous areas.

What I didn't tell you last week was that I was sick as a dog. I've basically gotten over it all except for one thing. On Thursday we had our weekly planning session from 10-2. Over the course of planning, my voice started to get scratchier and scratchier. By the end of it I could barely talk. For the rest of Thursday, all the way through today I have barely been able to talk, and it has been very weird. If you know me, you know I like to talk. And being in a new place with new people, especially with a new missionary, talking is a very good resource to have available. But apparently the Lord has something else in mind. It has been nice though, because Elder Parker has been given the opportunity to be pushed way outside his comfort zone to talk to people because I can't comfortably. So basically, I am Moses and he is Aaron. I have the experience and know what to say, but he has to say it. He has really stepped up too. It has been fun watching him in situations where he doesn't quite know what do to, so he figures it out. I am really impressed with him. We are going to see some miracles these two transfers. Today my voice is still very scratchy and low, but it's not tickling as much as I talk, and hopefully it will all be back by tomorrow or the next day. But we'll see what happens.

We have an awesome family we're teaching. I will call them the Nielsens. The mom and daughters are all on board and want to be baptized, the dad is cool with us being there and everything, but he's not too into it. (yet). But She is on fire. She has been reading the Book of Mormon and loves it, and she's been praying about it and has felt the spirit a lot. She loves coming to church and is just on fire. She told us we can come over every day if we want because she loves talking about it so much. Her one daughter (15) is just now being interesting in religion, and her mom told us that after we gave each of them their own copy of the Book of Mormon, that night she went in to check on her and she was under the covers with a flashlight reading it. They are such and awesome family.

I love this work. It is going to be an awesome area to finish up in.

I love y'all!

www.mormon.org/christmas

--
--Elder Braxton C Foust--

The Missionary Outside is Elder Johnson, the one inside is Elder Singleton,

Country roads, take me home To the place I belong

So Saturday morning, I got a phone call from President Sagers. He asked if I was ready to do the best thing you can do to end your mission. Train a new missionary. I am so stoked. And I get to do it back in one of my favorite zones ever, Weatherford!I'll be serving in the Granbury ward, which will be awesome.

 My new address is:

Elder B. Foust

 1005 Spring Ridge Circle #101

Granbury TX 76048

I'm so excited to get back into the country area. I have grown to love it since being in Burleson (Mix of Metroplex and country) To denton (90% of the ward boundaries were in the country) to weatherford, (all in the country). And being in the heart of the Metroplex has been weird, so it'll just be awesome to get back out there. You know those moments where someone says something and you just know for a fact it is meant for you specifically? Even if it is for other people it's still for you. I had one of those at ZLC on Friday. President told a story of when one of the prophets (I don't remember which one) was on his death bed, and the first counselor of the 1st presidency was at the foot of the bed. The President of the Quorum of the 12 came in and asked "what can I do for you?" He didn't reply, and within minutes, the prophet passed away. The 1st counselor then stood up and looked toward the President of the Quorum of the 12, who with the death of the prophet now becomes the President of the church, and asked him "what can I do for you?" This story illustrated a change in stewardship. (You may not understand it if you're not too familiar with the workings of priesthood leadership) But the point President Sagers was making was that some of the Zone Leaders were going to be reassigned to a different assignment and we need to be prepared to serve in whatever capacity it is, and to report to whoever has a stewardship over us now. For me it is especially close to home because my Zone Leaders will be Elder Border, who I just trained as a ZL, and Elder Fowers, who is just now becoming a ZL and when he was a new missionary I was a his first District Leader. I love it. I am so excited to be serving around these guys again. Several of the missionaries serving in Weatherford now are missionaries that were there when I was, so it'll be fun to see them all again. We had a good week.

 This weekend was Arlington's annual Nativity display, it was fun to work there. We didn't really get to take a lot of time looking at the different things, but we still had a good time. We had a cool experience with a less-active family these last couple weeks. The non-member husband, I will call him John, has never been interested in the church. He has never really been rude to the missionaries, but he doesn't care. The wife, who I will call Amber, has been less-active for 17 years. They have been having a hard time with a lot of different aspects of life and finally she called the bishop. She has been meeting with the missionaries for a couple months as well, and now she committed to coming to church. One of her big issues though is that she has some serious anxiety issues with people she doesn't know. But as she and John talked about it they decided they need to raise their son in a church and that it would really help them if they go back. So they came last week, and they loved it. We saw her last Sunday night and she was just happier in general. It was awesome. Then this past Thursday we saw her and she said that he doesn't read or write very well, so they downloaded the Book of Mormon mp3 files for his phone and he listens to it on the way to and from work. And he is loving it. He tells her about the things he is reading and gets excited as he does. Then they came again yesterday, and even though it was fast and testimony meeting with a bunch of people crying all the time, they still enjoyed it. And when we saw her last night, there is a total different feel in their house, in her countenance, in everything. There is actual joy there now. And that's just from 2 times at church! The difference it makes when we sincerely do spiritual things for our growth is incredible! And he wants us to answer his questions, so on Wednesday Elder Johnson and Elder Condie will go there, while I am headed to Granbury with my New Missionary, whose name will be told next week when I know what it is. It's this kind of stuff that I love about missionary work. One other cool thing happened this week. We were told that the Spanish bike area was getting a visa waiter, and I had a funny thought of "what if it is someone I know." Then we got the text that he would get here Wednesday morning during studies. Well Wednesday morning right after studies was Zone Training, so we got to meet him that first day. Lo and Behold, it's Glen Singleton from Kaysville Utah, I've known him for a few years, he's a year younger than me and hung out with Kade Butt, Jake Hunsaker, and that group of guys. It was pretty cool to see him. I walked up to him and when he saw me, and realized it was me, he said "What's up Braxton... I mean.. uh.. Elder Foust...." It was funny. That's about it for this week. Have a Good week! Love y'all!again, if you didn't last week, go to mormon.org/christmas

--
--Elder Braxton C Foust--

A newborn King to see, ba-rum-pum-pum-pum

This is Board Week again. We find out transfers next Monday, so don't send anything after Friday or it may not get to me. I have a feeling I may be leaving even though it has only been one transfer here.

This was a fast week.

On Tuesday we had district meeting with a district I hadn't been to before, it went very well. Near the end he had Elder Johnson read the account of Captain Moroni making the Title of Liberty

"And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it—aIn memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole."

But when he read "Rent his coat" Elder Fulcher, the District Leader, took of his suit coat, and then ripped his white shirt and tie off his chest. It was pretty epic. (And he had another white shirt and tie on underneath.) And then we all wrote on the back of his shirt what we're fighting for. It was pretty cool.

On Wednesday I got to go to Elder Fowers' District Meeting. The cool thing about that is that a year ago, I was Elder Fowers first district leader. And now, he is my district leader and I am his zone leader. It was a really good meeting too, but it didn't have any shirt-ripping-off action there.

On Friday we had ZLC with President Sagers, which was awesome as always. We talked about how to work with the ward and stake leadership more effectively.

On Saturday we were going to visit a former investigator and there were some teenagers from the next door complex that we stopped to talk to. One girl had a lot of questions and we talked for a little bit and she told us that she and her mom are looking for a church. Her mom got there and knew who we were, and she was happy to see us. She told us that she used to go to the church with her cousin, and she had enough of a basic knowledge we wonder if she may be a less-active member that is just not on the roster. We are going to teach them on Wednesday.

This weekend is the annual Arlington City Nativity Celebration, hosted by us at the Stake Center. It is going to be really cool, I am excited to be involved. There are going to be nativities set up from all around the world, and musical groups from all over Texas. It will be a lot of fun, and I will take pictures.

Go to www.mormon.org/christmas

I love y'all! have a great week!

--

--Elder Braxton C Foust--

Elder Bowen pt 2

So last week I told y'all about how we had a meeting with Elder Bowen earlier that morning. On Tuesday we had our zone conference with him, and it was awesome.

The zone conference was in Colleyville, where Elder Johnson was trained. The night before (Monday) he remembered a very important piece of information about Colleyville. Colleyville is home to the one and only Costa Vida in Texas, and it is owned by a member. And we were instructed to eat lunch before our meeting, so we decided to take the missionaries we were driving, Elder Ash and Elder Lilo, to Costa Vida. They are from Kentucky and Hawaii (I bet you couldn't have guessed that with a name like Lilo) so they have never heard of Costa Vida before, so we decided to educate them in its awesomeness. We got there and there were already 8 other missionaries there, 4 from Colleyville, and 4 from Arlington (who we were not expecting to see there). The thing about this Costa Vida is that because it is the only one in the mission, a lot of missionaries know about it, especially if they served in Colleyville, so they all wanted to go. Well, long story short, within 15 minutes of us arriving, over 30 more missionaries showed up. It was a mad house. And remember how I said the owner was a member? He gave every one of us 50% off. What's better than a smothered sweet pork burrito? A smothered sweet pork burrito that only costs 4.50. Plus blessings for the member, because I am confident God rewards that kind of charity.

So after our lunch we went to the church to have our meeting. Our zone was asked to do a musical number, so we practiced that before. We did Brightly Beams our Father's Mercy, acapella, and it was awesome. We had about 10 of us singing. and 4 of the elders and a sister are Polynesian, so it had that awesome poly tone to it. It was awesome. Elder Lilo performed it in the MTC a couple times, so he came up with the style and things we did to it. It rocked.

Then we had our meeting. It was so good. Elder Bowen talked about a lot of the same things he did in our Zone Leader Meeting the day before, but of course he did some different things too. He talked about our relationship with Abraham, and the application of the covenants to us. He talked about our divine potential and really what we are here sharing with people. And he talked about the oath and covenant of the priesthood.

We have an investigator I don't think I have ever told you about, I will call her Vanessa. She is literally, the most converted non-member I have ever met. She has been with her husband for about 3 years now, and he has been less active for like, 15 years. When they first met she told him that she didn't want anything to do with his cult, and he said that's fine cause he doesn't go anyway. And that's how it was for a long time. But something changed, and she was invited to church by his sister, and she came a couple times and fell in love with the gospel. Now she says things like "I'm just so much happier than I have ever been before," and "I don't know why, but I just want to tell everyone else about how great this is." She told us that when she was first taught the Word of Wisdom she thought it was dumb and there was no reason for it. But Elder Larson, one of the first to teach her, told her to quit trying to take their word for it and trying to convince herself of its truth or being false, and just ask God. So she did. and after a while she got over it. She told us that now she believes it, even though she's not really sure why. And last time she drank a sweet tea it made her sick to her stomach, so she has taken that as further testimony. She is as solid as they come. She is waiting until her sister-in-law is in town to be baptized. So as long as the world doesn't end on 12/21/12, she'll be baptized that night. :) which it won't. As President Sagers would say, "That's all hokey pokey anyway."

Here's my challenge for y'all for this week. Read Doctrine and Covenants 84:33-44 and ask yourself "Am I living up to these covenants?" They apply to both men and women.

I love y'all! have a great week!

--
--Elder Braxton C Foust--

Different ends of the spectrum

This morning was a really cool morning. We had the opportunity to have an extra zone leader meeting at Hurst, because Elder Shayne M. Bowen of the 70 is here, and he wanted to meet with the Zone Leaders before the rest of the missionaries. We had a really good meeting and he taught a lot. He started out talking about the principle of Agency.

It was cool, because most of the time when we talk about agency we are talking about the things that we do. Whether or not we do homework. Whether or not we practice piano. Whether or not we see a movie. Whether or not we go to church. But there is more to it than that. He talked about receiving the Holy Ghost for example. He asked if it is possible for someone to be baptized by the proper authority, and have hands laid on their head (again, by the authority)

"And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord" D&C 84:35

and have the blessings given and everything done correctly, but the person does not receive the Holy Ghost, even though the words spoken are "receive the Holy Ghost." Of course, the answer is yes, it is possible to not receive it. Why? Because God has given us our agency. Just because we do something doesn't mean we choose to receive the blessings. Because God loves us, he will not force the Holy Ghost on us. He will not force us to be sanctified, purified, and receive that guidance he wants to give. We have to choose to accept that. And choosing to accept that is more than just going through the motion. It has to do with changing our nature.

He later talked about how Laman and Lemuel walked just as far as Nephi. They helped build the boat. and they had to leave their things behind too. But when all was said and done, after everyone had put in a lot of work, Laman and Lemuel did not receive the blessings. Although they put forth the effort and did what was required, it was not enough. They did not believe it and they did not choose to receive those blessings. The question then is, are we going through motions and doing things without putting everything into it and choosing to receive the blessings?

Now it's my turn to elaborate a little. We can go through the motions and not really believe it and mean it. But we cannot really mean it if we do not do the act. The perfect example I can think of is this. "I have accepted Jesus as my savior, I have been saved. Even though I break the Sabbath every week, and drink, and smoke, and break the law of chastity, and support others who break the law of chastity, I know that Jesus dies for my sins and I have been forgiven." By the way, this is much more common than you may think. If someone really, truly loves Christ, and has accepted Him, their actions will show it. Not eventually, but now. Doctrine understood changes behavior. If nature is changed, behavior is as well. You see, you cannot live the "spirit of the law" without living the "letter of the law."He said it Himself. "If you love me, keep my commandments."

Ok, so back to Elder Bowen, it was awesome. We were able to learn a lot from him. I really enjoyed it. I'm excited for our next meeting with him tomorrow.

So now for the other end of the spectrum. Right after getting fired up about missionary work and everything, I got a voicemail from the mission office. So I called Sister Brown back and she starts asking me some questions. She needed to double check my parents' email addresses, my home address, and my home ward information. And then the question that deems this phone call the "trunkie call." "What airport do you want to fly to when you go home in 4 months? “And seriously, that's how it is worded too. So that is the other end of the spectrum, the fact that in 3 1/2 months I will be on a plane. Which can be potentially dangerous to a drive to do missionary work. So now I get the fun part of my mission. Where I keep it all laid out on the table and see miracles. Like I heard President Sagers say before, I'm going to be the kind of missionary that when I wake up Satan says "Oh no... He's up again."

 --Elder Braxton C Foust--

Elder Phister

 Elder Border

Elder Fa

Elder Fibke

 Elder Johnson

Elder Moore 

A different type of email

This email is going to be different. I don't feel like there were any real stories to tell or updates to give. I am doing well, my companion is awesome, and we are working our tails off. I love being a missionary. But because I don't feel like there's much to tell y'all about with things that are happening, I'm just going to talk about... I don't know what. This is being fed by the things I see around me in Texas, in the world, in people I know and care about, and in complete strangers. But I feel like it will apply to everyone in some way.

We'll see where this all goes.

In this life we face many different situations. Many situations that bring us happiness, and also that bring us sorrow. Situations that bring us stress, and some that bring relief. Some that bring us health, sickness, prosperity, poverty, pleasure, pain, and a multitude of other opposites. Why? Why do we have to face so much opposition?

Many times we have situations in life that are difficult to handle. We don't know what to do, what to say, what to think, or what to feel. We get so caught up in the moment of stress that we just want to freak out, lash out, or shut down. We draw ourselves away from those who love us most, and many times we lead ourselves into darkness, and out of light. The worst part is, we may not even realize it. We still go through our days, minute by minute, until it's been weeks, and then months, and then years have gone by and we don't even realize that we've not been walking in the light. And it is simply because we have desensitized ourselves. It starts with little things. Usually contention of some sort. It leads to anger, fear, and hurt. Communication stops. Without communication, not only can a relationship not grow and become stronger, but it shrinks, becomes weaker, and eventually switches to an opposition, as opposed to cooperation. And the problem is, we are always sure we are right. But the truth of it all, is that we are all unclean, and we all have need to repent. That is the solution to every problem in this world. Repentance. Humbling ourselves enough to submit to the Lord's will, and to stop doing things that are wrong, and start doing things that are right. We all have weaknesses, they come in a variety of ways. But we cannot overcome them alone. If we pull away from those who love us most, we will fall. We learn a lot from the Fall of Adam and Eve, because it is a type and shadow of our personal falls. We all die spiritually, (meaning removing ourselves from God's presence) and we all must repent in order to walk in the light.

This applies not only to our worldly interactions, but our relationship with God. So ask yourself, "How is my relationship with God?" And then ask yourself again, "How is my relationship with God?" and this time be even more honest with yourself. Kneel down and ask God how your relationship is. This is not meant to form some sort of guilt or shame, because that's not my job, but that is the job of the Holy Ghost, so if it happens, ask God why, not me. And be humble enough to learn.

Not apply it again to the interactions with other mortals. Ask about your relationship with your family. Mothers, Fathers, Brothers, Sisters. As we live more righteously every aspect of our lives is positively influenced. every aspect. Not a couple, not one or two. All of them.

I don't know why I wrote about this. I don't want to sound preachy, but sometimes we have to. Like Elder Holland said in Conference a year ago, "This is a life-and-death contest we are in, so I am going to get in your face a little, nose to nose, with just enough fire in my voice to singe your eyebrows a little-the way coaches do when the game is close and victory means everything."

Not that I am anything compared to Elder Holland, but I do know at least one thing. This is the Lord's work. Victory means everything. To quote him again, this time from last month, (he is giving a non-scriptural elaboration as to what the Savior may have said to Peter on the shore of the sea)"What I need, Peter, are disciples-and I need them forever. I need someone to feed my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me, and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do. Ours is not a feeble message. It is not a fleeting task. It is not hapless; it is not hopeless; it is not to be consigned to the ash heap of history. It is the work of Almighty God, and it is to change the world."

 Now how does it apply to us as Saints? Well, it has a huge impact on those around us. Not only in sharing the gospel and trying to be a member missionary, but in a more natural way than that. In April 2001 Elder Holland shared a short experience"A young returned missionary sister from Hong Kong told me recently that when she and her companion asked an investigator if she believed in God, the woman replied, "I didn't until I met a member of your church and observed how she lived." What exemplary missionary work! Asking every member to be a missionary is not nearly as crucial as asking every member to be a member! Thank you for living the gospel."

 (Can you guess which apostle's talks I listen to the most?)

We need to live the gospel. Period. That is the only way to get out of this Hell we are in now, as individuals, as communities, as families, as a nation. Some of us are in it worse than others. And some of us are deluded to think we're not at all. Living the gospel will do more to help us and those around us than anything else we can do. Keep the commandments. Have Faith. Repent. Make and Keep covenants. Always remember Christ. It really is pretty simple.

Again, sorry if this came across as preachy. But take it how you will. It's all true.

I love y'all! Have a good week!--

--Elder Braxton C Foust--