Ice storm!

HELLER!

Yes I survived the Ice storm! If you didn't hear there was an ice storm then you have now! I even have pictures to prove it!

On Monday our Ward mission leader took us to this place called POPS. They have a bunch of different flavors of soda. They had things like cola, root beer, ranch dressing, sweet corn, grape, kitty piddle, etc. It was really fun!

Elisa Valdez is a 9 year old that we have been teaching and we have taught her all the lessons! She is going to be baptized on the 12th of December most likely and I'm so excited because I have taught Elisa from the get go! She was suppose to get baptized in October but we weren't able to teach her for a while because they had a lot on their plate.

We are also teaching another kid who is 10 and his name is Perry but he likes to be called PJ. He is on track to be baptized for the 12th of December as well! He really likes reading the little Book of Mormon story book we gave him. It is a lot easier for kids to read that instead of the real Book of Mormon. Plus the story book has pictures! So as of right now we have 2 baptisms for December

We taught our eternigator Terry Stephens. An eternigator is an investigator who has been studying with the missionaries for a long time and hasn't gotten baptized even though they have had all the lessons and what not. We read a chapter of the Book of Mormon with him and had a really good discussion about it. Then we asked him if he believed Joseph Smith was a prophet and he said he thinks he is. I read one of my favorite quotes from President Ezra Taft Benson. it says, "If the Book of Mormon is true, then Jesus is the Christ, Joseph Smith was his prophet, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true, and it is being led today by a prophet receiving revelation." I love that quote so much. So then I started going over the baptismal interview questions with him because I know he is ready to make that commitment and when I asked him if he believes that Joseph Smith was a prophet he said YES! He changed from "I think so" to "YES!" in 1 minute. The spirit is so powerful! He is going to be baptized soon!! I just know it!

We were able to see Ray and Yesika Cordier, The family we had at church last week, and we read the Book of Mormon with them. They came to church again Sunday and they loved it just like the first time! They are golden. I can't believe how prepared they were for us. Sometimes we just have to be diligent in our finding efforts.

The Church has released a new Christmas Initiative video for this year. It is titled "A Savior is Born" You can find it by going to: Also watch last years video titled "He is the Gift"

www.christmas.mormon.org

I want everyone who reads this letter to watch that video! There is no denying that you can feel the spirit when you watch that video. After you watch the video I want you to email me the thoughts and feelings you had while you watched that video! I love that video so much and I know that you guys will as well! 

I am so thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ. He atoned for ALL the sins of mankind so that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father. Remember Jesus Christ and what He has done for you during this Christmas Season.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! Stay warm!

Sincerely, Elder Brisk

That is all.

 

 

 

"Will you accept this rose?" Bachelor/Bachelorette

 

 

 ICE STORMS ARE SO COOL!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a crazy fun Thanksgiving!

 

 

We had so much fun at Pops!

 

 That is us trying to take a picture that looks like we are drinking

out of the giant soda sculpture!

 

 

 

 

4 months!

Heller!

I HAVE OFFICIALLY BEEN OUT FOR 4 MONTHS! The time has flown by! I am having so much fun.

I also finished the BOOK OF MORMON for my first time! I guess you can say I am officially Mormon now ;)

It's almost Thanksgiving!! I am pretty excited for that considering we already have 4 dinner appointments lined up for Thanksgiving. I have a feeling I am going to get really fat and really sick!

This week was an alright week. It was just one of those weeks where people like to cancel on us and we aren't able to get a whole lot of members out with us. It wasn't terrible though.

On Monday we had a Zone P-Day. The whole zone got together and we had district volleyball tournaments. My District did pretty dang good. We made cool district shirts. Everyone was jealous of our shirts. Elder Karr was at Zone P-Day and was a little mad that we never made cool shirts when he was still in our district.

We had a Meeting where the Zone leaders talked to us Monday night after we played games. That ended at about 8:30 and then we had calls saying that there was going to be severe weather and possible tornado's so Elder Karr and Elder Jensen got to sleep over at our place! Fortunately there weren't any tornado's.

Elder Neves is starting to get on my nerves. I guess that is life when you are a missionary. Being within sight and sound of someone 24/7 is hard work. Sometimes I just want my space! I think I will be able to make him stop annoying some way some how!

We had a miracle this week! On Saturday we went with the Spanish sisters to have a hand off lesson. They found someone they started teaching but they are more English than Spanish speaking so we get to teach them. They are so awesome! There names are Ray and Yesika Cordier. They have a 2 year old named me-la. I don't know how to spell it. They also have a little baby named Cora. We invited them to read, pray and come to church and they said they would.

Lord behold they were at church! I was so proud of our ward because they fellowshipped them so well. There little 2 year old girl had the time of her life in Nursery and the baby was well taken care of in Relief Society. They kept telling everyone that they would see them next week and they told us they loved church! I am so excited! They are definitely getting baptized because they have been prepared for us! My prayers have been answered!

Unfortunteatlye that is all I have to report on today. Hopefully more next time!

Remember to read, pray, and go to church!

Sincerely, Elder Brisk

That is all.

Our awesome District shirts!

I love Zone P-Day's! Everyone is always so happy!

 We also got to go to the Temple with Sister Walker. She got her endowments!

 We also got to feed Brother Ruick's snakes. I decided that snakes freak me out.

I love being a missionary!

HELLER!

I am excited that I am now under my second Tornado warning. Monday (Today) at 8:30 pm there will be large severe hail and thunderstorm with possible tornado's. As I look outside I can see the trees flying to the north and it is all cloudy and stormy and all that fun stuff!

This week was another awesome week! Our numbers were excellent! This week we taught 8 lessons to our investigators with members present. That is a key indicator that always does well for us because we have the best ward ever. People like to say that we are the one and only true ward. Only in Oklahoma though because the Hurricane 3rd ward is awesome! I suggest you move into it's boundaries ASAP!

We were able to teach our investigator Barbara this week! We are going to be starting the stop smoking workshop. It is designed to help you stop smoking PERMANENTLY! We taught her the Word of wisdom and told her that it is a commandment and if she wants to be baptized she has to quit smoking and she said OK! She is probably our most solid investigator!

So our area is not as nice as the sisters area. Elder Neves and I were trying to find a house one day and we stumbled upon this really nice neighborhood IN OUR AREA! The lawns were all cut and green and the best part is that there was sidewalk on BOTH sides of the road! Having sidewalks is like a miracle in Oklahoma. For some reason Oklahoma didn't think that sidewalks or left hand turn lanes were needed....They are.

Anyway! I picked a house to knock on and a lady answered and we asked if we could say a prayer. She told us as long as that was all we wanted because she was busy and we told her yes. I said a prayer and after she said thank you and we asked if we could give her a Book of Mormon and she said YES! We asked if we could come back sometime and talk about it and she said YES! I hate to say this but we lied to her. We wanted more than just to say a prayer with her and we got it!!

There is a chiropractor who is a member and so we get to see him once a month because he helps missionaries for free. I thought he broke my neck but he said he was loosening me up so I won't get headaches as often. So far it has worked! He also used a little shocky pen on me and I was pretty much having a seizure on his bed chair thing. Elder Neves and I were laughing so hard! It was the weirdest feeling!

WE GOT TO TEACH MARCUS! We taught Marcus the plan of salvation and he loved it! He payed attention and was asking questions. He has changed so much from when I first started teaching him. He is the only investigator we have who is making the effort to come to church. I am so proud of Marcus! He has definitely been prepared by the lord for us!

I got the opportunity to go on exchanges on Friday. I went to Mustang Oklahoma with Elder Keller and Elder Van Halder came to my area to be with Elder Neves. Elder Keller and Elder Van Halder are our zone leaders and since Elder Neves is the district leader we have to do exchanges. The zone leaders area isn't doing to good. There are problems with the ward not being unified. After an unsuccessful day with Elder Keller he started to talk to me about his area and the problems it faces. I got to play zone leader and give him counsel. I really helped him out because he was struggling. He was lacking the faith to find. So we went outside and talked to everyone we saw. I helped him build up faith and he said that the 5th person we find will listen to our message and guess what...It happened!! Elder Keller also helped me find ways to improve my area.

After that I have a feeling I am going to get called as a district leader soon....what have I done!!?

Our area is on fire right now! Elder Van Halder keeps asking why our area isn't the Zone leader area because our area is "The perfect model area" I guess that means we are doing something right!

We help out at the Food Bank every Wednesday. About a month ago I helped a lady named Cindy shop and she showed so much interest in the church. After a month we were finally able to meet with her and we had an awesome lesson! She told us that just talking with us made her feel better and she is excited to learn more and wants to start coming to church!

I love being a missionary! I am having so much fun! Teaching lessons is really exciting especially when you have awesome investigators!

This week I have studied faith a little bit. In Alma 14:26 Alma and Amulek are imprisoned. They ask God for strength according to their faith. Because of the amount of faith they had there cords were broken and they were set free.

The lord gives us trials all the time. We have to exercise our faith to overcome these trials and as we do so our faith will grow stronger. I have had times on my mission where my faith has been tested. I have overcome those trials and my faith has grown so much along side with my testimony. This week I want all of you to find ways to exercise your faith. You will see the lord bless you and see your strength increase!

I love you all and I am so thankful for your support!

Sincerely, Elder Brisk

That is all.

Lance and Marie are married!!!!!!!

My first time being outside the City!! I even saw a cow!

We always have to deal with these crazy sisters!!

I am doing Fantastic!

HELLER!

How y'all doin? I am doing fantastic! This week was really good! The highlight of the week was that we got 6 new investigators! How did you do that you ask? Let me tell you!

We got a referral from the Zone leaders in Stillwater. Their Bishop found this lady sitting at a bus stop crying. He brought her into the church and the Elders talked to her a little bit. Apparently she is a refugee from Romania! They had a meeting here in the city on Tuesday so after the meeting we went over to see them and taught them the Restoration. Her name is Alina Ciuciu and her family was with her. She is so open to learning more and coming to church. She called us Sunday and was asking if it was alright to stay home with her sick husband and child and she could come next week and we told her that was just fine! We got 4 new investigators out of that family.

We ran into our neighbor one day. Her name is Elisa Rodriguez. She is super nice! She told us if we ever need anything to just knock on her door. I decided that we need baptisms and so we knocked on her door and she let us teach her! She understood it so well and said she would get baptized after she knows what we are teaching her is true! Yay! She has a  6 month old boy who was helping me with the cups. We have an object for the Restoration which makes it easier for some people to understand. That made for a total of 5 new investigators.

We went to see a less active family and found out that the wife isn't a member. We taught her about the Book of Mormon and talked to them about church. They said we could come back and it might be time for them to really investigate again. That made for our grand total of 6 new investigators!

​

Saturday was a little disappointing. We had the whole day full of appointments and members to come out to each of those appointments with us. Everyone canceled including all but 2 of the members. Apparently the members thought the OU football game was more important than missionary work...WRONG! Oklahoma must not have DVR'S or something. I was just a little mad but I got over it.

Elisa Valdez might be getting baptized this week! If not this week then it will be the 21st. It all depends on if we can teach her the last couple of lessons this week and her uncles condition. Her uncle went to the hospital for bad health and they released him because there is nothing more the hospital can do for him. His blood pressure has dropped and they said he can go at any day now. Please pray for the Valdez family.

We met with our eternagator Terry. He has been studying with the missionaries for so long and he knows so much! Elder Neves and I decided to start the lessons over with him to make sure there isn't anything missing or he doesn't misunderstand something. He told us that he needs to know more about the Priesthood, the Sabbath Day, and the Holy Ghost before he gets baptized. THAT IS ALL THAT IS HOLDING HIM BACK! We made an appointment for Fridayand we are taking Brother Gaglione, a member who was just in the bishopric before it changed and also one of Terry's fellow shippers, and he is going to throw down. He knows so much it's crazy!

This week we got 2 more baptismal dates! We have:

Elisa Valdez for November 14th

Pj Secatero for December 12th

Shelly Slusser for December 12th.

This week has just been awesome! We had a Regional Stake Conference on Sunday and it was so cool! I have a confession to make. I haven't had a lot of faith in helping the inactive members. They have been stubborn lately. I learned 4 things that we need to do to reactivate members.

Those 4 things are:

1. Be there friend

2. Listen to them

3. Help them feel God's love

4. Help them feel confident that they can change

I am going to make a goal to have more faith in not only investigators but inactive members.

Another thing that was said at the conference is that there is a difference between being active in the church and being active in the gospel. Which one are you? As a missionary I am both. Probably because I have to live the gospel every day. Before I came out I don't think I was very active in the gospel. My challenge for y'all this week is to evaluate where you are at in being active in the church and the gospel. Take that evaluation and make a goal to help you be active in both!

The lord is always WILLING to bless us. We just have to do our part to receive those blessings. This is Jesus Christ's church, I know that with all of my heart. God is our loving Heavenly Father. The gospel will bring so much joy to your life! One of my favorite people sent me a quote that says "Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket" Take that key and use it for yourself. You will be able to help others once you feel and KNOW that this gospel brings happiness.

I love y'all so much! Have an excellent week!

Sincerely Elder Brisk

That is all.

LOOK!! Elder Neves has taught me how to solve a rubik's cube!

 One of my greatest accomplishments while on the mission!

We were riding bikes and a bug flew into Elder Neves' eye. It got all irritated and nasty! 

Don't worry he is doing great and got the bug out of his eye!

So precious. Yes he knows I have this picture!

New companion and Halloween fun!

HELLER!

Transfers were on Wednesday and Elder Karr has been shipped off to Tuttle Oklahoma. It is still in the same zone so I will see him quite a bit!! He finally got a phone and I was able to talk to him a little. He is struggling right now so please pray for him! 

With Elder Karr leaving I got a new companion. His name is Elder Neves and he is from Peru. July 3rd 1995, it was a Peruvian morning. It was a cold Peruvian morning about 4 am. Then he was born. That is how he likes to tell his life story. He moved to Washington State when he was 13 years old and was converted to the church. He has one sister who is older by about 2.5 years. Elder Neves and I are already best friends! We have taught a few lessons together already and we definitely brought the spirit. I can tell we are going to be another great companionship just like Elder Karr and I were!

We haven't been able to see a whole lot of people this week unfortunately. Our Investigator, Elisa Valdez, was suppose to get baptized on Halloween. She wasn't able to get baptized because we still haven't taught her all of the lessons and her family is having some medical issues at the moment. We are going to work for November 14th as her baptism date. Please pray for her and her family. Their uncle was released from the hospital because there is nothing the doctors can do for him.

We had a lesson with our Investigator Barbara. We taught her the Doctrine of Christ or Gospel of Jesus Christ which consists of 5 things. Faith, Repentance, Baptism, The Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. She understood the lesson well and her kids were even home! We got 2 new investigators. We asked Barbara if she would come to church on Sunday and she was thinking about it and then her son said No I don't want to go and she got mad at him for having a bad attitude and grounded him from his Xbox. She told him now he had time to read the Book of Mormon all night! It was funny and awkward at the same time. Unfortunately she wasn't at church. Not sure why. GO TO CHURCH PEOPLE!

Elder Neves and I were knocking doors and we decided to knock on one more door before going home for dinner. A lady named Diesha answered the door. We told her we were missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and she asked if we were from the church that was just down the road from her house. We told her yes but that church is a Spanish branch so if you don't speak Spanish you probably don't want to go to that one. She asked us if we had a English speaking church and with smiles on our face we said YES! We told her about church and we even invited her to come. She said they just moved in not to long ago and are looking for a church. She said they would come to church! She also told us that we could come over right after church.

So Diesha never came to church. What the heck Diesha!? She sent us a text that said her husband didn't like the service so no thank you. We were so confused because she wasn't at our church so we figured they lost their way at ended up at one of the other many churches around ours. We went over after church and they were definitely home but didn't answer. We are not giving up on her!

We taught our investigator Shelly half of the Plan of Salvation. She got confused and was wondering how she can know if this is true because she knows there will be false prophets. We had to deviate from the lesson and help her understand. She understood what we said and sent us a text later saying thank you for coming over and we gave her a lot to think about. She wants to be baptized and she has read the entire Book of Mormon. Please pray that she will come to know that this gospel is true!

Halloween was really fun! We went to our ward mission leaders house and he had a bunch of costumes for us. Elder Neves and I sat out on the porch behind a pillar and scared kids when they came up to the door. They couldn't see us or thought we were fake for some reason. The best scare we got was this little Asian family that walked up with really little kids. We decided not to scare them because we don't want little kids to hate us. So they came up to the porch and I said "Hello" THE MOM FREAKED OUT! She made her little girl jump! It was so funny. They sat there laughing and kept telling us Happy Halloween. I was trying not to laugh and my eyes were full of tears. I couldn't even tell if I was putting the candy in their buckets. It was a fun night!

Thanksgiving is coming up fast! I want everyone to read Alma 34:38. Think of the top 3 things that you are thankful for and tell your Heavenly Father thank you! We are so blessed to have the gospel in our lives! I am so thankful for my family and the support and love they show me. I am thankful for this gospel and the joy it can bring to our lives. I am thankful for my calling as a missionary. I know I am doing what I am suppose to do and I find so much peace and joy from sharing the gospel to those I come in contact with.

Sincerely, Elder Brisk :)

That is all.

Transfers are so fun!!!

Elder Karr and his 2 sons. Yours truly and Elder Jensen

Elder Duffin went home. One of my favorite AP's so far!

I got to meet an old acquaintance (Halee) from Spring City, Utah!

I got to see my MTC companion Elder Ricks and Sister Garner from my MTC district!

This is Elder Neves!

This shows you how tall I am compared to Elder Neves

Elder Thomas, Neves, and I 

Sister Judy made us a fun Halloween lunch! We had mummies, Swamp water, blood soup, fingers, pumpkin vomit and for dessert we had a graveyard! It was delicious!

Brother Lusk, our ward mission leader

Elder Neves

Sister Boulter

Our fun Halloween group!