Be a PIG in the Gospel

Heller!

This week was so much better than last week! We found 4 new investigators this week. We got Jesus and Elisa Hernandez who are a really young solid family! They have two little girls ages 2 and 9 months. They told us that they have their faith but they are open to learning more about Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon. We taught them the restoration and they understood it very well. We are going to go back and teach them the Plan of Salvation and tell them that they can have there family for eternity! 

Our other investigators, moved from Midwest City into our area. They are trying to get financial support from the church but apparently they have been doing this for a few years now. Our bishop told us about there situation and so Elder Karr and I are going to go to our appointment with them and teach them the restoration and see if they are really investigating or just need support. They told us that they set a baptism date for October 10 and they really want to keep that. We got them a ride to church and then they started asking for money for rent and groceries so bishop told sister walker to tell them she couldn't give them a ride. We felt really bad for getting sister Walker involved. We told the Garner's that they would have to take the responsibility of getting to church. They took the responsibility and called sister Walker begging for a ride and she brought them Sunday. Like I said we have to be very careful about teaching them.

We got to do a lot of service this week! Wednesday we went to the Food Bank. Elder Karr and I got to sort through produce in the back room. I have never hated vegetables more. There were a lot of moldy oranges and things like that. The supervisor told us to judge the produce by deciding if it is something we would eat or not. Elder Karr said "I hate all of this so do I throw it away?" It was really funny! If you remember back to my first week when I went and helped a family clean out this hoarder house well guess what? We did it again! This time the whole zone came and we went ham on the garage! This time we didn't have to eat the nasty peanut butter frosting cake. We had donuts and pizza. Great combination huh! Brother Anderson, who is cleaning the hoarder house, always calls Elder Karr "Brother Karr" and it is funny!

We had dinner with Bishop Gillespie and his family on Sunday. They are the nicest family ever! Bishop Gillespie is in the Air Force and since he has been here for 3 years he is moving. They are going to North Dakota and everybody in the ward is unhappy about it. On fast Sunday some people said they were fasting for the Gillespie's to stay. Everyone is really going to miss them!

The theme this Sunday in Sacrament was being diligent in our callings. One of the speaker started saying "We need to be pigs like the Gates family." Everyone started laughing and the speaker told us to hear him out. He went on to say that pigs just eat everything. We need to be pigs in our callings by working as hard as we can. Even though we may not like our callings we have to fulfill our responsibilities. My challenge to you this week is to be a PIG in the gospel by exercising your faith. Read the scriptures, pray, share your testimony! I know that if we are PIGS in the gospel we will be blessed and you will see those blessings as you exercise your faith. The church is true!

Sincerely, Elder Brisk

That is all.

Picture with our recent convert Conor before he went to college

My District from Zone Temple Day

My whole Zone at Zone Temple Day

Yes that is me. #CarWashPro

This weeks random church sign...something to think about

This was our pet caterpillar we had for 10 minutes

Tough days...but something is on the horizon

Heller!

I have been in the mission field for a month! It is crazy how time flies by when you're working hard.

This past week was alright. Wednesday and Thursday were probably the toughest days I have had on my mission so far. We only got to teach our investigator Terry. The previous week we invited him to pray and decide about a baptism date. He was excited and willing to do so and when we followed up with him Thursday he just said he hadn't thought about baptism at all and he just wants to finish the Book of Mormon along with some other concerns he has. I was so frustrated with him because he has been taught by the missionaries for 6 months and he already knows that the Book of Mormon is true. We just have to continue to be patient with him and teach him what he wants to know. It is really hard when we don't get to teach. We ride our bikes around in the heat and it will be the death of me. To top off my bad few days of not being able to find people to teach and riding bikes around the entire area we had Book of Mormon class. Every Thursday night we have a Book of Mormon class and I had prepared the lesson for last week. We got to Book of Mormon class and nobody showed up. Usually we have a great turn out but not a single person was there. I sat there confused, angry, discouraged, depressed, and every other emotion out there. I wanted to come home so bad. I was done with riding my bike, I was done wasting my time out here where nobody wants to hear our message. I was just done with everything. After thinking to myself and talking with my companion we were able to learn from those past few days. We no longer feel those emotions we had.

On Labor Day we had a zone P-day where the entire zone came to the church and we had a district volleyball tournament. We also had a huge Nerf gun war and that relieved my stress! I love my district so much!

We have been focusing on finding new investigators. We have potentials and we are pretty sure one of them blocked us so we can't contact them. Some peoples children. Something is on the horizon. Elder Karr and I know that something great is going to happen soon and we are determined to keep being obedient and diligent in the work.

I had the opportunity to give a blessing to one of our less active members, sister Valdez. Honestly I was terrified to give a blessing. I didn't know what to do and I didn't want to screw up. She is going through a really difficult time in her life right now but she continues to amaze me by how devoted she is to keep us coming by and keep reading the scriptures and praying. She had a bad experience at church one time and we have really been working on getting her to start coming back. Out of no where she told us she wanted her baby boy to be blessed and her daughter to be baptized. SHE CAME TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY! Her baby boy got blessed and Elder Karr and I sat in on the blessing. My first baby blessing ever! She came with her daughter and her husband who left her, hence the hard time she is having. After sacrament meeting we went to talk to her and there was a lady with her. We went to see who it was and apparently her mother drove 700 miles from new mexico to come to the blessing and didn't even tell her. She told us to keep working on getting her daughter back to church and then started walking out the door to go home. We were all confused and sister Valdez told her kids to go get her as she walked out the door.

I am learning so much from my mission already. My testimony is growing and I am building my faith so much! I know that this restored gospel is true. I know that it brings happiness and you will see that happiness if you live it. The church is true! Amen.

Sincerely, Elder Brisk

That is all.

This is my lovely district!

Left to right: Me, Sister Snyder, Sister Boulter, Sister Baldwin, Sister Garner, Elder Karr

The Temple is small but the Spirit is strong

Heller!

On Monday Elder Karr and I got haircuts at wally world. We talked to the lady that cut our hair and she knew who we are and what we do. We tried to convert her and when she told me what she thinks a church should be like and she described our church 100% I told her she would love our church and we told her where it was and gave her a pass along card with our phone number on it. She hasn't called unfortunately. 

On Tuesday my zone went through the Oklahoma City Temple! 

The temple is way small but the spirit was still there as strong as ever! I really enjoyed going through the temple. The little stress I had disappeared and I was able to be at peace. 

We found this cool spider outside the temple that was the size as my hand! OK, just kidding, it wasn't that big but it was bigger than your everyday spider. We threw a dead bug into it's web and watched it wrap it up. We left after that...

This week was better than last week but we didn't get to teach a lot unfortunately. I met one of our less active recent converts, Derrick. He had a lot of birds in his house. If you didn't guess that is his favorite animal. He had the little birds off of the Pixar commercial where the little birds beat the big white bird up, look it up if you don't know what I am talking about.

We saw our investigator Terry and he wasn't able to schedule a surgery date so we don't know when to set a baptism date with him. We told him that we would like him to set his own baptism date because he is so ready to be baptized it's just up to him to take that step. Elder Karr and I attempted to change the tire on his van but for some reason it wasn't like any other car so the apartment complex maintenance guy, that is friends with Terry, changed it and we gave moral support.

We also saw our other investigator Marcus. It is kind of hard to see him because he is always busy. We did get to go over the restoration with him and he said he prays every morning and night. We got him to start reading the Book of Mormon because he was failing in that department lately. We set a baptism date with him for September 19! He is a little behind Terry but I know he will be ready by then if he reads and prays. He is really funny. He said that Elder Karr is too white to be from Utah because I am a lot darker than him. Marcus also said I could be a slave driver because I always ask him if he reads, prays, if he is coming to church, etc. Because of that he also said people from Utah are scary! Haha he is just joking with us because he likes to push Elder Karr's buttons but he really does like us. I don't think he was kidding about the whole slave driver thing though...

We met a few people this week while we were knocking doors and we have a few potentials. They all seem really excited to let us talk with them and teach them. They seemed pretty solid so hopefully they won't bail on us!

We have been pushing the prayer for missionaries/missionary work with everyone and I can really see the prayers working. Everyone seems do be doing really good and I am excited to start teaching more people! Riding bikes around OKC and not teaching anyone is really boring!

READ YOUR SCRIPTURES! There is so much knowledge you can gain from reading them! I challenge everyone to read their scriptures and to pray to know that it is true if you don't already. Look for missionary opportunities and take them! Live your life in harmony with the teachings of the gospel so that you will always have the spirit with you and you will see the blessings it brings! I love you all so much!!

Remember who you are! Make good choices!

Sincerely, Elder Brisk

That is all.

Sister Garner and Sister Boulter of the OKC 2nd ward

aka our chauffeurs

Downtown OKC from afar

One of many church signs

Time is flying!

Heller!

It's me again and as you can read I am still alive and well.

Saturday was my one month mark! The time has flown by so fast! Everyone told me when I start to lose myself in the work the time would fly. They weren't kidding!

This week was alright! I got packages from family and I think there goal is to fatten me up. They must not have faith that all the Okie food will do that. ;) 

This week we had the Veterans meeting for all the missionaries that came out this transfer. It went from about 8-12 and then they fed us lunch but I had another meeting that went from 1-4 and so it was a really boring day. The people here are starting to frustrate me because everyone keeps canceling on us. One day we went to try different families and nobody was home. That day turned out to biking for a straight 2.5 hours. We finally went to a families house and they were home and let us in. They said we were just in time for toast? Yes they were eating a plate of toast for lunch?? Some peoples kids. They were really nice and we were able to talk to them. Hopefully we will be able to get them to start becoming more active!

I also got to go on an exchange this week. Elder Curay and I took over my area and I got to show him around and introduce him to some of our investigators. We went and saw my investigator Terry Stephens. He has been taught the lessons for about 3 months now. HE IS SO CLOSE TO BAPTISM! He has a few concerns and I think after we talked to him they kind of faded away. We extended a invitation to work towards September 26 as a baptism date but he is going to have surgery sometime soon and so when we figure out when he will be out of the hospital we can set a date. HE DIDN'T SAY NO! He understands everything so well and he even gives out Book of Mormon's and the pamphlets we give him. He is a missionary for his apartment complex! He will be baptized soon I know it!

I like to think of myself as the best companion ever! That is because while we were on exchanges, Elder Karr and Elder Bueno got into a bible bash and it made them so frustrated. Elder Karr couldn't stop thinking about it for 2 days. I helped him forget about it. I also cook and clean so there's that as well. One of the members in our ward gave us a big bag with waffles, bacon and some other stuff because she can't feed us. So this morning I cooked the waffles, bacon, and eggs. The waffles were cooked so we had to heat them up and they were crunchy. The weirdest waffles I have ever had. It was really good though!

Everyday we send out a daily scripture text. Elder Karr decided that we were going to switch off everyday with the phone and so the two scriptures I have sent out are 3 Nephi 27:19 and Alma 7:23-24. The scripture in Alma is probably one of my new favorite scriptures. I invite everyone to open up there Book of Mormon and read them!

All of the missionaries in our stake got together and decided to pray every night between 7 and 8 for missionaries/missionary work. We have been extending that invitation to the members of our ward and I would like to invite everyone to do that as well. We hope that if everyone participates we will see many miracles in our stake.

I am loving the mission and I can't wait to start teaching more people! Thank you for all of the support and prayers! It really helps.

Remember to read your scriptures, and to pray! Love you all!

Sincerely, Elder Brisk

That is all.

This is my posterity tie. Elder Karr's trainer (Dad) handed it down to him and since he is my trainer (Dad) he handed it down to me and I will hand it down to my trainee (Son)

Here are some pictures I just received from when I was in the MTC

      Left to right: Elder Brinkerhoff, Elder Futrell, Elder Ricks (my companion), Me, Sister Garner, 

Sister Franklin, Elder Hays, Elder Terry, Elder Ludlow, Elder Bohne

We were by far the best district in the MTC

Week 4

Heller!

This week was a little hard. I started to miss my friends and family but I know that they will be blessed for my decision to serve a mission. My dad told me that there will be bad days but what I need to do is look forward to the good days because there will be more good than bad. When I start thinking of home I tell myself the fastest way I will be able to see my family and friends again is to lose myself in the work and 2 years will fly by.

This past week Elder Karr and I were working with our Investigator Ronnie Bolinger. I have been able to see the smoking program work through Ronnie and his wife Debra. He got baptized on Saturday August 15th, confirmed a member and received the Holy Ghost in sacrament meeting on the 16th, was called as a ward mission leader and family history consultant, and was ordained to the office of a priest. When he bore his testimony at the baptism I was able to truly see the effect the gospel in people's lives who haven't grown up in it. I felt like my testimony sucked compared to his, but I know that mine will continue to grow stronger every day.

On Tuesday all the missionaries that have been out for a long time had a big meeting that went almost all day. While my companion, Elder Karr, was in the meeting I was in a trio with Elder Rader and Elder Quionez. We have all been out for maybe a week and had to take over my area for the day. I was freaking out because I didn't know how to get around yet but how everything worked we were able to do our studies and run a few Book of Mormon's around to people Elder Karr and I found while knocking doors one night. It also helped that we were able to use a car, but since we are all new none of us had a Tiwi card. Every mission car has a computer hooked up to it that tells the missionaries to slow down and sends reports to the mission office. President Walkenhorst let us use his Tiwi card so we were being very cautious!!

The people in Oklahoma are super nice! We get fed dinner almost every night and it has been really good so far! There is a new park in Moore that was playing a movie on a projector for the grand opening. All the missionaries in my zone went and helped direct parking for a couple hours. Elder Karr and I got the easy job, we told people they couldn't park in the drop off zone. Elder Karr and I went and helped sister Berger pack up her things because she is moving to noble. Her house had cockroaches EVERYWHERE! Elder Karr killed one with our phone....it was really gross. 

It really sucks when people cancel on us. We have had some really solid people who end up not being home when we bike all the way to the end of our area to teach them. It is really frustrating. Everyone was really busy this week so we didn't have the chance to teach a lot.

I'm loving Oklahoma so far and can't wait to see more people accept the gospel! Multiple people have told us that just coming to see them gives them confirmation that they are being watched over. I can't wait to see more people get baptized and change their lifestyle for the better. Our Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us. He wants us to talk to him. Remember that it is a COMMANDMENT to pray! Pray often. If you have nothing to ask for then thank him for what you have! 

Sincerely Elder Brisk

That is all.

Greetings from Oklahoma City!

Heller!

Greetings from Oklahoma City!! 

Yes, I have finally escaped the prison they call the MTC. I'M FREE!! There was a group of 31 missionaries all coming to the Oklahoma City Mission on Tuesday with me. We pretty much took over the flights from Salt Lake to Oklahoma. When we got to Oklahoma, we got off the plane and headed for the baggage claim where we ran into President Walkenhorst and his wife. My Mission president is 7FT TALL! everyone had huge smiles on there face when we saw how tall he was! I can honestly say I felt like I was 5 years old when he hugged me. From the airport we all loaded into the vehicles and went to the church. We had orientation and ate lunch. Everyone got to take a picture with the mission president and his wife. 

Transfers are on Wednesday's and since we came on a Tuesday, half of us slept at the mission home and the other half slept at a few different apartments. We all met at the church in the morning where we met our new companion and got assigned our first area!

My companion's name is Elder Brandon Karr. He is from Sandy, Utah and has 7 months left on his mission. We have quickly become best friends in the past 5 days I have been in the mission field. We are serving in the OKC 2nd North area. Lucky me that happens to be 1 of the 2 FULL biking areas...It's really hot and humid right now so when we arrive at investigators homes we are sweating like crazy. It is suppose to start cooling down a little bit, but we are working on getting a car to use during the middle of the day. I will be in this area for at least the next 6 weeks. Sister Garner and Sister Boulter are in the OKC 2nd South area and they have a car so they give us rides from time to time.

On the bright side we have one of the nicest apartments in the whole mission! Doesn't really matter since we won't be home all day but I guess that is how they compensate us for being biking missionaries. 

My new address:

5605 S. May Ave

Apartment F

Oklahoma City, OK 73119

Dining room

As you walk in

Ghetto kitchen that serves it's purpose

My bed is the one on the left

Bedroom bathroom and closet

Hall bathroom

Front Door

Ours is the top one on the right

Study room and my goofy companion Elder Karr

The blue outline is our ward and the green outline (top half) is our area

Elder Karr has been making appointments with some of our investigators and recent converts for me so I can start meeting everyone. We have an Investigator whose name is Ronny Bolinger and he is getting baptized on August 15th! I don't know if I can really count him as a baptism because I wasn't one of the missionaries who converted him but I am going to anyway! I have also met Terry Stephen's who is almost ready to get baptized, he just has a few concerns and wants to finish reading the Book of Mormon. Conor Johnson is one of our recent converts who comes teaching with us when we need another male to go teach a sister. He drives us so we don't have to ride our bikes. He is a really funny kid, but unfortunately he is moving to Norman to attend OU so he won't be able to come teaching with us anymore. Sunday night we taught the restoration to one of our referrals. His name is Michael and he is now an investigator! I was kinda scared to teach him but my companion said that I did really good. I'm excited to start teaching Michael and hopefully we can convert him!

When people sign up to feed us dinner, they feed the sister's as well so they give us a ride. We have ate at the Bolinger's, Judy's, and Lusk's house. The lusk's forgot we were coming over for lunch on Sunday after church. They got our confirmation text at midnight Sunday morning and Sister Lusk said she was just going to make spaghetti. We were at the Lusk's house and after about 15 minutes Sister Lusk found out that she didn't have any noddles for the spaghetti. She said that we would have to use the "Mormon macaroni" and none of us knew what that was. Apparently that is what they call the macaroni from the church for food storage. The Lusk's said they think the macaroni isn't very good. We all thought it was really good though, even sister Lusk! I told them that the blessing on the food must have really helped! 

I met a lot of the people in our ward (OKC 2nd) on Sunday. Surprisingly quit a few people knew where Hurricane is! Only a couple of them pronounced it right though. I had to tell them how to pronounce it. Some of them knew people from Hurricane, but I didn't know them.

On Friday's and Saturday's we wake up at 5:30 and go play basketball at the church with our district. I barely like waking up at 6:30. Oh well.

So far I have really enjoyed being in Oklahoma! The people are extremely nice and it's interesting to see a community without the minority having the gospel in their lives. It makes me realize that back in Hurricane we are spoiled for growing up with the gospel all around us. Don't take the gospel for granted!! Until next time.

Sincerely Elder Brisk

That is all.

Made it to Oklahoma

   He Made it to Oklahoma!  President Walkenhorst is 7' tall!