My companion cant ride a bike...

HELLER,

This week has been so crazy! In the annual missionary broadcast they adjusted the missionary schedule. Basically we plan in the morning instead of at night when we get home. I think it's a great change!!

So my companion, Elder Adams, can't ride a bike. I know its sad. The traveling AP, Elder Maughan (Mon) came to our area on Tuesday and on our way to our first thing with him Elder Adams ate it and luckily landed on some guys yard but he destroyed his shirt and popped his tube. So we had to walk home and go to Al's bicycle to get a new tube. Later on that evening his front tire washed out on some gravel and landed on his face in a parking lot. He started to go into shock and was going crazy. Anywho he had to get 3 stitches above his eye and broke his pinky finger so he has a hardening cast on right now and might have to get a real cast on. We will find out tomorrow. For the time being we are using the UCO sisters car.

While we were with Elder Maughan we visited a less active family and they were so cool. They have been to the temple and still have testimonies of this gosepl. At the end of our visit we found out that their granddaughter Desiree had been taught by missionaries before and we asked her if she wanted to learn the lessons again and she said yes! So we are teaching Desiree now and she is so going to get baptized! Also she goes by Dede. While we had our first lesson with her this week they got a call that a family member was on life support and so the family has been struggling trying to decide what to do. Please keep the Parker family in your prayers!

WE ARE HAVING A BAPTISM ON SATURDAY!

Yep Saturday at 11am Shawn Taylor is getting baptized. He came to church and met all the leaders. He has been attending a different ward for several months but now is going to become a member of the Edmond 4th ward!! He has been having so many struggles. Satan literally attacks people the week of their baptism. Shawn went and got insurance and right after that he rear ended someone. His lights have been falling from the ceiling randomly almost hitting him. He just laughs at all of it! We are so excited for Shawn!! Please pray for him also!

We taught this super awesome young couple named Andy and Sam this week. They loved everything about the restoration and are so open to learning different beliefs. Before we even asked them to read and pray about what we taught Sam was already committing herself to find out the truth. They are so cool and will most definitely be baptized. They also attend life church which is a giant rock concert. We are doing a church swap sometime soon so I will return and report hopefully next week of my experience. 

We are still working with Brother and Sister Matheny and they are making such great progress! Every time we are their the spirit is so strong. Sister Matheny shared with us that her 9 year old son Ben is interested in learning more and wants to be baptized so we will begin teaching him this week when he gets back from his dads.

Literally we have Shawn, Andy, Sam, Dede, and Ben who will most likely be baptized and they are falling into our laps! If I have to hurt Elder Adams again for all this success I will probably do it.

I also bought a shirt that says "Y'all Need Jesus"

it's basically my favorite

That's Brisk Baby!!

The gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families.

HELLER

Monday we went to escape room with a bunch of missionaries and our mission presidents family. It was definitely one of my favorite P-Days. If you haven't done an escape room than I highly recommend it...if you have...do it again!!

Tuesday we were able to go to the Temple. Sister Burr gave us a bunch of family names that she had. The spirit in the temple was so strong. I have never seen a more jam packed session. I guess that is what happens when missionaries take over the temple!

I went on an exchange to Edmond 2 with Elder Shira. Probably the best exchange of my life! We met a less active who was really down to meet with missionaries. We also met some spanish folk in his neighborhood so we were able to send them to Sister McFadden and Sister Strieff! We also were able to figure out the bus schedule so on Wednesday morning we rode the bus down to the City! It was so fun! Except for the bus driver totally passed our stop because he was to busy talking and had a fit that we needed out before he drove all the way back to Edmond. We spent the whole day walking and talked to people! A baptist preacher from Texas even bought our lunch for us!

So I found out that Ray and Yesika Cordier (couple I baptized before I left OKC 2) moved into the Edmond 2 ward so that is basically why we went all the way down to the city but we got to see them!!! I cannot explain the amount of joy that I have felt this week. The kids are so big! Their living situation is a lot better and they are so happy! The gospel has blessed their life and I can now testify with every fiber of my body that the gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families. They can go to the Temple to be sealed for all time and eternity now and I hope that happens while I'm here in Edmond so I can be there. AHHHHHH I love them!!! 

Also while on exchanges we had dinner at a members house who had invited a young man they met to come eat dinner and learn more about the gospel. Elder Shira was super nervous and we practiced teaching the restoration all day! Well when the time to teach came the spirit told us to teach the Plan of Salvation and I can honestly say it was the most spiritual lesson I have ever taught. Kendrick is the coolest kid ever and he was eating up the gospel! If you have a friend that needs the gospel and you want to feel the spirit stronger than you ever have, invite the missionaries over for dinner and a lesson!! or just invite them over to teach you and your family :)

We tried to see a less active sister in the ward. We were able to visit with her and her husband and her husband totally wouldn't watch a Mormon message because he is stonch Catholic. Then a miracle happened and he started going off about how he thinks his wife needs to come back to her church and she is more comfortable there and just can't get comfortable with Catholics and her countenance changed so much! She was content and smiling on the outside but on the inside she was bouncing off the walls excited!! She is going to come to church this week and we are having dinner with them on Saturday :)

We ended the week with Stake Conference and it was so great! There is so much work here in the OKC stake and they are getting a new building!! So much growth going on right now and I'm so blessed to be apart of it! I love the gospel! :)

Love Brisket 

That is all.

​​​​​​​​​​Escape room!!​​​​

Exchange with Elder Shira in OKC

 Ray and Yesika!!! 

 Oklahoma christians in 1 picture

 HAPPY 18 MONTHS ELDER BRISK!!

Don't worry these pants were ripped anyway :)

​​​​​​​​​​​​Temple Trip with my favorite people! :)​

Being a missionary is so fun!!!

HELLER!!

Ok so for all of you wondering about the ice storm let me just tell ya that it didn't happen. You can be a weatherman in Oklahoma and give the most bizarre forecast and everyone will listen to you and it is impossible to lose your job. Everyone was calling it the Ice apocalypse and we literally just got rain and icicles. So that is cool!

This week I had a sinus infection so I wasn't able to work as hard as I would have liked too. Luckily EVERYONE in this ward has a career in the medical field so Brother Johnston was able to call in some antibiotics for me and Brother McCullough is a pharmacist so he took us to Walmart and hooked me up with all I needed. Besides the sickness we had a great week!

We met with a lady named Diana and her son David. David is a member as of 6 months ago and has his sights set on going to the temple. Diana was about to be baptized in the 90's but because she felt like whoever did he baptismal interview got to personal and so she canceled it. She obviously wasn't fully converted so that is where we come in! Diana is really cool and she made me a hat to welcome me to Edmond!

We met with Ron and Janessa again this week! We had dinner with them on Tuesday and it was so fun! Janessa is getting really comfortable with us know and she is getting ready to accept the gospel! We committed them to read the Bible together every night starting in Matthew and going to the end of Luke. They were so excited to do it! We promised them that it would help Janessa because she doesn't have a religious background and promised it would make their marriage stronger!

We also met this super cool girl named Amelia! She wanted to read the Book of Mormon and was just so down to talk with us. Unfortunately she is going to UCO which means we had to hand her over to the sisters. BOO!!!!

We got a referral from Sister Wilkinson to try a new family that had moved in to the ward. Because this is Edmond of course they had to live in the gated community that has the biggest gate I have ever seen! As we drove to it with Brother Smith I said a prayer that we would get in somehow and we pulled up and it was unlocked. I saw a car coming to turn down so we flipped around and followed the car through the gate and met the Adams family. They were so nice! The husband is not a member but she is and she is pretty active. Except for the last few weeks because they have been traveling. Her husband builds street cars all over the US and he actually built the front runner in SLC! She gave us the code so we can legally get inside next time!

MIRACLE!!

So I finally met our investigator Shawn that Elder Adams has been talking so highly about. Here is how our first few minutes went with him..

Shawn: So I have been thinking about being baptized and I think I want to do it.

Us: Uh......Yeah when were you thinking about doing this?

Shawn: I don't know like SOON! Haha

Us: Cool...how about February 4th?

Shawn: Yeah!!

Shawn has been attending one of the Guthrie wards for about 3 months now. He is literally so prepared! I am pretty sure my jaw was hanging to the floor when he said that! Lets keep Shawn in our prayers please! :)

Being a missionary is so fun!!! 

Love Elder Brisk 

That is all.

Pdays in the city are so fun!! #bowling

Shoutout to Krista for hookin' us up while I was sick this week!

 ​​Brother Howell did a ventriloquist act at dinner for us!!! Best thing ever!!!

Check him out on YouTube.com

Ventriloquist Gary Ray Howell​

Holy cow there is so much work here in Edmond!

HELLER!!

Holy cow there is so much work here in Edmond! Last week we taught 11 lessons to investigators alone! Not counting recent convert and less actives. Teaching is the best part of missionary work and we actually get to do that here!

We met a lady named Mercedes. We told her about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and she was so eager to accept a Book of Mormon. Later in the week we were on exchanges and Elder Adams and Elder Ricks went to see her. She has already read a bunch of the Book of Mormon and loves how it goes so well with the bible!

We went on exchanges with our zone leaders Elder Ricks (My MTC companion) and Elder Yamane. Well it decided to get cold and it snowed like crazy! So the zone leaders were stuck at our apartment and we spent almost all of Fridayshoveling drive ways and cleaning snow off of peoples cars. We met Micah and Blake when we were knocking doors asking if we could do service for them. They readily accepted our service and invited us inside for hot chocolate after we were done. We had a good conversation with them and they are more than willing to meet with us again! It was so fun playing in the snow all Friday. Especially being with Elder Ricks again. Probably the funnest exchange ever! We also pushed cars up hills because their cars couldn't make it. It was so fun!

We met with Ron and Janessa again this week! We mainly talked to Ron this time and answered their questions. At the end of the lesson we committed them to read the Book of Mormon so that they could show Heavenly Father that they want the influence of the Holy Ghost in their lives. The problem with Ron and Janessa is that they were pushed about baptism so much when they weren't even ready! There were attending church weekly for a year but never got into the Book of Mormon so we are helping them receive a testimony so that they will want to be baptized!

We have been teaching the Spencer family a lot this week! The Spencer family is made up of Krista, her mom who we call nana, and Krista's 3 kids Jaycen, Emilee, and Addie. Jaycen and Emilee were baptized in December and we have been going over the recent convert lessons with them. Addie has developed an attachment to me and wants me to baptize her when she turns 8 in March! She is such a funny kid! Every time we ask her how she can help her mom her answer is always the same...CLEAN! Krista is basically our mother in the Edmond 4th ward.

We had dinner with the Matheny family this week. Brother Matheny just got back from a rehab center in Colorado due to his addictions and we are going to be taking him to the Addiction Recovery class that his held at the church every Sunday night at 7. Sister Matheny has 4 kids from a previous marriage. She has triplets and all 3 of them are autistic. They are so devoted to this gospel and they came to church with all the kids on Sunday.

It was so great to see them and the ward embraced them with open arms! I miss being in a branch because I would have everyone's names down at this point! Wards are just to big!!

There is this lady we are teaching and her name is Sarah. She has been taught for a little bit and isn't progressing at all. She lives with her boyfriend and they have 3 kids. She has been struggling so much with her relationship. I feel so bad for her but it makes me grateful for my family! I love and miss them so much. The gospel truly blesses our families. My mission has helped me see that!

Have a great week!!

Love Elder Brisk 

Pictures from my last dayz in Vernon!

#Packing

#Goodbyes

Being in the City is so fun! You get to see missionaries all the time!

Exchanges and Snow!!

Note from Richard that was mentioned in last weeks email

Goodbye Vernon TX...Hello Edmond OK

HELLER!

I made it to Edmond and I am serving in the Edmond 4th ward. We are a bike area but it is totally alright because we are so busy and the area is kind of small! I have met a lot of the members now and they are great!! Besides the fact that our Bishop has our number blocked on his phone but don't worry we can fix that :)

My companion is Elder Adams from Eagle, ID. Once again I don't have a companion that is from Utah which is crazy! Elder Adams has been out for 5 months so he is pretty new still. We are having so much fun here in Edmond though! This place is pretty cool!

Packing up the Vernon apartments took so long but we finally got it done. It was sad to say goodbye to the Johnson's because they took such great care of us! That's the hard thing about transfers, leaving people you grow to love!

We saw this former investigator on his phone so after he was done we went to his door and he let us right in! His name is Ron and his wife's name is Jenessa. We were talking to Ron and Jenessa was just sitting in the kitchen so I went and talked to her and taught her a little bit about everything! I read scriptures to her and helped her understand the gospel a lot more. She had a lot of misunderstandings so I was able to clear those right up for her. She is so awesome and she felt the spirit so strong! Ron on the other hand isn't sure about much because the missionaries that taught him a while back were constantly pushing baptism on him. Jenessa is going to be the key to helping this family come to Christ!

We have so many people who actually enjoy talking to us here! I love Edmond so much! We are always busy and always finding and talking to people. Since Friday we have found 5 new investigators and we are beyond excited! Elder Adams and I are definitely going to baptize some people this transfer!

So we met his guy Richard and he was sorta not down to talk to us but then he changed and was really cool and nice to us. He said we could come back and when we went back his car was gone and there was a sign on the door that said "Do not bother unless you're the mailman or girl scouts. That means you to missionaries! Stay out of me swamp!". We were laughing so hard and left a card on his door that said OK sorry to bother you have a good New Year!

It is so weird being in the City again! I have been Isolated for 8 transfers. Not that that is a bad thing because I loved the boonies but the city is so fun! We get to hang out with other missionaries on P-day and get to talk to so many people!

Hope you have a great week! I will send pictures next week because my camera broke and Elder Davis has a lot of the ones from this last week!

Love Elder Brisk