I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas.

TOO BAD!

No snow. It sucks.

Oh well. Mission life is good. We just had transfers, and no one in my "group" of Elders is leaving (all of us who like to get together on P-Day and play board games, play guitar/ukulele, and swap mission stories). So I'm going another round here!

The most exciting part of this last week was the ward Christmas party. Me and my group of Elders got together and prepared a special musical number to perform, and got it set up with the Sister in charge of the whole thing. So, as the evening was winding down, we went up and performed "Let It Go" from Frozen. I played a Taylor guitar a member in the ward let me borrow for the occasion, and we all sang. We invited everyone to sing with us on the chorus, and it was a total success! Everyone still is telling us how awesome that was, and apparently it's all over youtube and Facebook now. :/

Oh well. Fun times!

Also, I should note that we worked our butts off, and now have our first real investigator in a while! His name is G--, and we've been doing a TON of service for him recently. Good times, good times. Anyway, I love and miss you all, and I couldn't find my camera, so no pictures today. Next week I'll send twice as many though.

Love ya!
-Elder Keppner

To snow, or not to snow?

Taking a five minute break from walking all day...

Dear friends, if you would like to send our Elder Keppner a card or note for Christmas, I KNOW he'd love it! All mail for him should go to the following address:

Elder Brennan Keppner

820 South Pines Road Suite 101 

Spokane Valley, WA 99206

I would love it if you would join me in helping our Elder to have a Happy Christmas this year-- his FIRST, and possibly only one out in the mission field!

Love, Mama Rachel

.......................................................................................

Ugh. SNOW, STICK AROUND!!!

Hey ya'll! Things are going well here in the good ol' WaSpo. We've been working hard as usual, and doing our best to deal with how bipolar our weather is being. One day it's snowing, the next it's raining, and the next it's bright, sunny, and 10 degrees. 

So, when there isn't snow in the ground we can bike, which makes the work go WAY faster, and when there IS snow on the ground, we have to walk. We walk on average ten miles a day, and while it's not that far, it's a HUGE time hog. Oh well. Elder S-- cheers me up by telling me that the more we walk, the hotter our wives get, so, we press on. ;P

The ward here is bending over backwards to help us find peeps to teach. But, people in the city are so gosh darn hard hearted. I miss the country. Oh well, I'll continue to see what I can do in the city.

Oh! So this week we did our first night of caroling! It went SUPER well, and it was super fun! We are also getting ready to perform in our ward Christmas party, AND I'll be playing guitar in Hayden 4th ward's Sacrament Meeting Christmas musical number (yes, guitar was approved in Church). 

That's pretty much my week. I had some pictures for you guys though!

Elder Keppner Selfie

How we prepare to bike down the hill at 50 miles an hour.
(Tryin' to make you proud dad! ;) )

Love and miss you!
-Elder Brennan Keppner

So this week we ha- CHRISTMAS!!! :D

Holy heck, Christmas is coming! Caroling, parties, gifts, Christmas lessons, I love it all!

*Pant* *Pant*

Mkay.

This week was AWESOME! My companion and I worked our BUTTS off, and we've really started to see the results! We've all been having a blast with six of us living in one apartment, but now the Dalten Gardens Elders have to go back to their old house. :( Oh well, it was super fun while it lasted.

Elder S likes it! 

Speaking of fun, we had an interesting experience with our phone this week. You see, the phone I had when I first got here had been broken for quite a while, and the mission office finally decided to send us a new phone. Problem is... Well, look at the picture if you have any questions. My new companion Elder S-- likes it a lot though.

Oh well, life goes on, even if it is with a phone pinker than even my moms phone... ;)

Elder Keppner's hand holding his new PINK phone

Life has been great here! Thanksgiving week was slow because if people are even home, they are in the middle of a family reunion, and don't want to talk to a couple of kids off the street about Jesus. Thanksgiving dinner was good though. We had a quiet short dinner at a members home, and then went back out. So, really, it was about the same as every other day.

But now, CHRISTMAS is coming! Christmas is a missionaries dream! Everyone wants to talk about Jesus! We have plans to go caroling every night in different parts of our area, and share short Christmas messages with them.

Well, not a lot left to report, but I wanted all of you to know that I love and miss ya, and I hope to hear from you soon!

Love,
-Elder Brennan Keppner

Here and GONE!!!?

My companion, Elder G--

Hey ya'll!

CRAZY stuff going on here! My companion Elder G-- has been the BEST! We work so dang hard, and the only thing he complains about is the cold (it's 19 degrees). But now, as my good friend Elder M-- says: "Plot Twist!!!" Elder G-- got his Visa to Taiwan! So, we're dropping him off tonight at a mission office couple's home to stay the night so he can catch his early morning flight. So crazy! I LOVE this kid, and I'm really gonna miss him. I hope I was able to teach him what he needs to know. :'(

Goodbye to Elder G--, my son. He will take my posterity to all the world! :D

So, I'll be getting a new companion soon, and so the work will go on.

As far as the area goes, it is DANG COLD! I LOVE it! But everyone else here doesn't seem to like it so much. Oh well. Riding a bike in it is COLD to start with, but when you ride uphill for a few minutes, you're all warmed up. So, I tend to bike without a jacket.

The members here are GREAT! We get SO many referrals, and the members are good at following up too! The ward loves us, which is AWESOME because we love them too!

My only hope now is that my new companion will be as hard working and obedient.

I'm running low on time, but I wanted you all to know that I'm doing GREAT! I love the work, and I love being here.

We've started putting bananas in the hands of anyone caught sleeping. It is a tradition never to be forgotten. ;D

Love and miss you all!
-Elder Keppner

WINTER IS FINALLY HERE!!!

My comp and one of our inmates. :D
(He still has not told us which one of these Elders is his companion!)

Holy crap, it SNOWED last night! It melted as soon as the sun came up, but it SNOWED! Winter is finally here, and I am SO ready for this!

As far as the work goes, it's AWESOME! We talk to an insane amount of people every day, and it's getting crazy! We came into the area with zero investigators and no up to date records, and that was CRAPPY. The entire first week was spent trying to find ANYONE to teach. And now, two weeks and a lot of work hours later, we are back on track! We have investigators, less active members, and active members to teach in abundance now, and it's awesome!

We have to be smart with our planning though or we get WAY behind. We literally spend all day rushing from appointment to appointment in a desperate race against time. 

...Man, that sounds a lot more epic on paper than it feels in real life.

"Baptists at Our Barbeque", anyone...?
(That movie is one of our family's favorites!)

Anyway, the work is on the move! Biking is awesome too! We actually get to talk to people as we see them on the street, and we are really trying to work on talking to everyone. And there are some real blessings coming from it!

Apartment life is good too. We plan our day, talk to each other about the miracles of the day, report our numbers, and then get down to the serious business of playing home-made board games. My games have become SUPER popular, and it's super weird when you talk to a missionary at P-Day that you've never met, and they ask you if you are THE Elder Keppner that makes the board games.
SO weird.

Also, my companion is SO FETCHING-- I don't even know where to start, AWESOME! He listens, he teaches, his testimony is strong, he loves to work, and things couldn't be better! We're rockin' the dream team here in Hayden, and the spiritual high we're getting off of it is addicting. Is it bad to be addicted to the Spirit? *Shrug*

I love and miss you all, and have an awesome fetching day! :D
-Elder Brennan Keppner

CRAZY CRAP!!!

My new area!

Hey, ya'll!

This last week has been CRAZY! So, I got emergency transferred away from Chewelah! :'(

There was a group of missionaries that made some dumb decisions down in Hayden, Idaho, and so Monday night, I got a call from President M--.

"Hello, is this Elder Keppner?" He asked. I said yes.

He then said "Elder Keppner, you are being transferred to Hayden 2nd, and you will be training. You will be leaving tomorrow morning at 9:00am."

I sat there dumbfounded for a second. "President, did we do something wrong in Chewelah?"

"No." He replied. "You've done everything right. I'm sending you there because I know that you can fix the problem. You are the solution, not the problem. Training is a privilege. I'm putting my trust in you."

After the call, I packed, made some calls to the AWESOME members here in Chewelah, and took off. I'll be honest, when I first got the call, I was TICKED. I couldn't believe that after tons of hard work, two new on-dates, and a whole ton of new investigators, I was getting transferred away, for something I DIDN'T DO. I raged well into the night, and I finally just hit my knees, prayed for strength. I'll admit, I cried a bit.

Elder W--, at the Halloween party! :D (Also from AZ and an old friend.)

The next day, I rode down to Hayden 2nd with Elder W--! Elder W-- is heading to the good ol' CDA, but we were heading the same way, so we rode together. When I got there, it turns out, I'm sharing an apartment with three other Elders! We are two separate companionships, but when we all turn in for the night and get done with planning and such, it's GAME NIGHT!!! We play board games, tell stories, and talk about our day. It's AWESOME! We all get along SUPER well, and we have a blast.

Halloween costumes for Teancum and Friends

Now, my new companion. His name is Elder G--, and he is SO FETCHING AWESOME! He is green, but he really wants to work. His last companion who got ET'd didn't like to work, and Elder G-- wanted nothing more than to hit the streets and talk to people. So that's what we did! Last week, we really worked hard. Oh! Did I mention that I'm now on a bike?!? Yup! Full time! And in the middle of our area, there is a HUGE fetching hill. And while it sucks to go up the darn thing, going down at crazy speeds is SUPER fun.

Ugh. The one downside is that I'm now in the city. To be honest, I'm having to swallow some of my pride, and go out and work. There is a real difference between the city, and the country. Personally, I really prefer the country. I've lived in the city my whole life, and now that I'm back in it, I feel trapped. Everyone has WAY more money than they need, and they all seem to be competing to appear the best looking, richest, and or most popular. I can't stand it now. To those of you at home, I'll be sure to visit all you folks in the city, but I'm heading out into the boonies.

All of that aside, I'm working hard, teaching lots, and having a BLAST while I do it!

Have an awesome day, ya'll!
-Elder Brennan Keppner


PS: So, us four guys in the apartment kinda started a band. It's stupid, but it's SO FETCHING FUN! We're called "Teancum and Friends". We only have one song done, but we're writing more. We are also making a music video to send to our families soon, so, keep an eye out for it ya'll! It'll knock your socks off!

Work, work, work!

Chillin' on Exchanges in Colville

Hey Ya'll!

Things rockin' here in the mission as usual! We have recently been going crazy trying to get our investigators to actually show up to church, and even though we talk to them every day, and even the morning of, at the last minute, they find excuses to skip church. Why people?!? Is it so hard to sit, feel the Spirit, and do nothing but listen? Is that so hard?!? Ah! Why do people have to use their agency? ;P

Oh well, as far as me and Elder F-- go, we're great! Never worked harder, and we are constantly on the move. We've been doing a TON of service recently, which actually has been helping people soften their hearts a bit. We do somewhere within the 50-100 hours a week area, and it's been great! I'm getting SUPER good at cutting wood, raking, mowing, and moving furniture.

We love it! 

The Hand-Of-God-Chair I be chillin' on.

Oh, and it's gotten RAINY here in Chewelah. It's been raining for nearly two weeks straight, and I love it! The other Elders (including Elder F--) don't like the rain at ALL, and so they get REALLY weirded out when I'm out singing and dancing in it with a Shunk ton of energy. The cold, the rain, the trees, the mountains, I love it all! God sent me to the perfect place!

Recently, I've been feeling a bit down though. Me and Elder F-- have been working our BUTTS off, and yet, our numbers are lower than we'd like them to be. I've been asking my leaders for advice, and what they keep telling me that numbers don't define success, and to keep doing what I'm doing, so, that's what I'm going with. 

Man, I can't describe how good it feels to just go out and work hard from 10:00am to 9:30pm. It's been great! I'm so fetching happy all of the time, I think Elder F-- gets bugged by it sometimes. Especially if I get to singing at the top of my lungs. He's a bro about it though! A lot of the time, we both just kinda laugh at my antics. When you're shredding "Praise to the Man" on the guitar at 6:32 in the morning, and screaming the lyrics like a 70's rock star, Elder F-- tends to poke his head into the room with a look that's just screaming "are you for real?"

This mission thing rocks! Especially considering the fact that, IT'S ALL TRUE!!! This message I'm sharing 24/7 is something I am able to personally able to apply every day. The Spirit is a real guide for us as we go out and work, and he has led us to some amazing miracles! We see 'em every day, and they always seem to come up just in the nick of time too! Every day, I'm able to rediscover what I'm doing, and realize: I'm doing the REAL GOD'S WORK!

Every once in a while, I'll get done with a lesson, walk down the street a ways, and stop. I kinda shake my head and realize: "I'm a fetching missionary!"

It's still barely starting to settle in, but I'll have those moments a lot, and when I do, I get that awkward smile of mine, and lift my hands to the sky, usually yelling something like: "I'M A MISSIONARY!" Elder F-- then usually face-palms.

Our front yard. :D

Oh man, I love this stuff! And I love all of you! How are you doing?!? Write me! I don't get any letters/emails these days. :( 

Anyway, love and miss you all, and I hope to hear from you soon!
-Elder Brennan Keppner

Another Foggy Day in Chewelah

Foggy day...

Hey ya'll!

This last week was great! We have worked our BUTTS off, and we just keep on going! We have two more people scheduled for baptism, and we are sometimes missing meals because we are so fetching busy. We've been doing a lot of service recently, like, 100+ hours a week, and some of it is truly back breaking stuff. However, I have a new found love of splitting firewood with an ax/maul. I really enjoy working hard, and I hope to do more of it when I get home. ;P Sorry mom and dad! I never realized how awesome work is until now!

MY LIFE IN A NUTSHELL! :D

We also have been working a lot with the members. The previous missionaries REALLY did a number on the work here, and even our ward council has told us that they have really appreciated the fact that they can trust us missionaries, and that they would do whatever they could to help our efforts in this area. It's so flipping awesome! The members are REALLY doing a lot to help us out, and we REALLY appreciate it!

Elder Keppner at "Uncle Daddy's" house

The highlight of the week was probably when our ward mission leader invited us to stay at his house for a couple of nights so that he could take us around to people he knew in a distant corner of our area. Our area is HUGE! And so we don't get to see most of the people that actually live in our area because of our limited miles for each month. We agreed, got permission, and worked our butts off for those two days. We were fed well by his wife in between, so, that was good. :) 

With Elder F--

Anyway, I'm out of time, but all of you have an AWESOME day, and I hope to hear from you soon!

Love you bye, Love you bye!
-Elder Brennan Keppner

It's Fall!!! :D

Fall! :D

Holy crap! It's Fall! I haven't had a real Fall season since 2009! It is BEAUTIFUL, and it is now my second favorite season. (Winter being the first)

Firstly, I just wanted to throw out there, that I am TIRED. Me and Elder F-- have been working non-stop to move this work forward, and it's really paying off. We have three people moving towards baptism, and four new people investigating the Gospel! Man alive, me and Elder F-- are up to our ears in work, and yet, we both are just, well, happy all of the time! We get home, go over our plans for the next day, report to our District Leader, and CRASH. We don't have ANY problem sleeping at night, and we really enjoy what we do.

The lessons we teach really have the Holy Spirit testifying of the truth, and the more we teach, the happier we are.

Fire.

This week, we had a couple of interesting experiences.

The first one was early this week, when we went to visit my man B--. B-- is an awesome guy who has a LOT of questions, and he likes to ask them in quick succession. But I love this dude.
Anyway, we were teaching him on his porch, when out of nowhere, his neighbor comes over, sits on his porch, and starts listening. She was about thirty, and she was dressed in a low-cut tank top and short shorts, holding a beer in one hand, and a cigarette in the other. We continued talking to B--, and answering his questions, when out of nowhere, this neighbor looks up at B-- from where she was sitting on the porch, and says: "Why are you listening to this bull sh**?"

B-- paused for a second, and then told her: "It's not bull sh**. I like these guys. They tell the truth."
She shook her head (by this time, it became pretty clear by her body language that she was SUPER drunk), and said: "This sh** isn't real. There isn't a God. All these f****** say the same thing. They just want your money."

B-- told her that he knew that God was real, and that we just wanted to help. He was a stout defender for sure.

After a pause, I felt prompted to ask: "What questions do you have? It sounds like you have a lot of questions."

She then went off for a bit about the bad experiences she's had in Christian churches, and she said that she hated how much people judged her there. We listened, and then explained that if she had been judged and mistreated, it was because people were failing to do what God had told them.

An hour, several scriptures, and a LOT of cussing later, her questions started to change. They became less accusing, and more from the heart. In the end she said to us: "I like you guys. You really believe this stuff. You can come by my house any time to argue religion. Hey, maybe I'll even be mormon someday. I'm sorry for being a b****."

We told her that we appreciated her questions, and that we would love to discuss the Gospel with her sometime. She then apologized to B--, who forgave her, and it all ended with a prayer and some high fives. This church is so fetching true! I love being here on a mission!

 Our loverly shack of spiders. (Our house)

The second one was with our neighbor, who while he was walking past our house while we were turning in for our dinner break, Elder F-- called out to him: "Hey man! Have you ever talked to missionaries before?"

He stopped, came over, and said that in all of the time he'd lived in the house next to us, he'd never been asked. We had an AWESOME conversation, and he told us that he'd love us to swing by. He added: "Hey, maybe I'll even join your church if it's real."

Before he left, he took us to some chestnut trees, took down some of the weird prickly fruit looking bulbs, and showed us that inside of those things, there were the nuts. My mind was BLOWN. Maybe I'm just uneducated, but I was amazed.

Anyway, I hope you are all doing well, and I hope that you continue to do well.

Love you all!
-Elder Brennan Keppner

General Conference AWESOMENESS!!! :D

Me, Elder F--, and some of the awesome J-- kids watching conference.

Hello all you wonderful crazy people!

So this week was a bit slower than last week. We had a LOT of meetings, and of course, General Conference. We also did a bunch of service for some folks, which was SUPER fun!

Our focus (in addition to talking to 65 new people a week), is to gain the trust and support of the members here. Missionaries in the past seem to have really dropped the ball on the members here, and we are working overtime to get it back. 

Brother and Sister J--! :D

On that note, we actually got to watch General Conference with some of our favorite members of the ward, the J--! They are an AWESOME family, and they said that they love having us over! They're super fun, and really musically talented. After dinner and before lessons, we like to jam on our guitars with them. We have so much flippin' fun!

Saturday afternoon session selfie!

Anyway, General Conference was AWESOME! Holy cow, I've never enjoyed conference back home NEARLY as much as I've come to appreciate it on my mission. I'm really able to see now that every single talk can, and should be applied to my life. We have LIVING prophets teaching us the revealed word of God, and it's all for us! I'm so grateful for it! It's really made an impact on my life, and it always seems to come just in time to help me through hard stuff that life likes to throw at me. 

Conference on the big screen!

Anyway, the work continues to hasten, and we continue to work our butts off! As my good friend Elder W-- says: "Life is good in the mormon hood!"

I love and miss you all, and I'll be seeing you before you know it! :D

-Elder Brennan Keppner

Super Awesome Great Majestic Amazing Grand FLIPPING SWEET WEEK!

"Hey! Can we give you a card from our church?!?"

So, this week ROCKED!

First off, Elder F-- is a BOSS! We get along SUPER well, and we work fetching HARD. Our district set a goal to talk to 65 new people a week, and to everyone that's not a missionary, 65 new people every week, in a town with a population of 350, is CRAZY! But we're already seeing blessings from it! Last week, we talked to 13 new people. This week, we talked to 35 new people. Not exactly 65, but we worked our hardest, and man did it make a difference! We have a TON of new investigators, and all of them we found because of our relentless efforts to help people come closer to Christ. These people have real questions about God, our purpose here on Earth, and how they can be happy. It's great to be able to really help them!

Also of note, I have a reputation around the mission now as the Bible Thumbing Missionary. The problem a lot of missionaries face, is that they ONLY read the Book of Mormon. And they should read from it, EVERY DAY, but to only read the Book of Mormon really seems to deprive a lot of missionaries of the meat and potatoes of Christ's life and ministry. Not to mention, it makes it nearly impossible for them to connect with those of other faiths.

Now even if they DO read from the Bible, literally NO ONE I've met has ever read the Old Testament, which, while reading it again, I've found is full of prophecies of Christ, the Latter Days, and many MANY stories that help us understand who God is, and how we can be more like him.

Anyway, I guess you could say that I'm becoming a regular ol' Bible thumper. :P

Oh well. I'm getting off topic.

Mission life is great! I'm happy to be here, my companion is AWESOME, may area is GREAT, and the mission goes on! :D

I love you all!
-Elder Brennan Keppner

New Area, New Companion, New Opportunities!

Elder Keppner's in the house tonight! Read it.

Hey ya'll!

I'm sorry I missed the last couple of emails. Things have been CRAZY around here! But now they've cooled down a bit, so, that's good. :)

Goodbye to Elder W--. :'(

Now, my biggest announcement is... I've been transferred! :D I was SUPER sad to leave Elder W--, and I'm gonna miss Priest River like CRAZY, but I'm glad that my new companion, Elder F-- is a stud! We get along super well, and man, are we getting stuff done! We upped the numbers like crazy, and now we have an on-date, and five new Investigators! We're working our butts off, and it really is paying off.

Me and my man Elder F--! :D

Man, I love mission life.

There are challenges for sure, but God helps out a LOT. No matter what happens, I know that it will always work out in the end. I've just gotta be patient, and it'll all be worth it. I am of course, looking forward to returning to my loved ones in about 15 months, but I'm for sure, THIS is where I need to be. Ah! I have so little time left to serve the Lord! So little time left to learn, grow, and bring others closer to our Savior Jesus Christ!

My mission is awesome! And I'm just happy to be able to be here, and I'm looking forward to more missionary awesomeness!

o.O Camels... In northern Washington...?

This church is so true. People may not be perfect, but that's why we belong to this Church, and why we turn to our Savior Jesus Christ, BECAUSE we're not perfect, we try to learn from our mistakes, grow from our experiences, and become more like the people God wants us to be.

Goodbye to the Wild Bison! (My old District. :'( )

I can't say it enough, and I won't ever be able to express it fully, but this Church is truly Christ's Church. That's why I'm here. I'm not here because of what people have told me to do, or because it sounded like fun. I'm here because I felt God touch my life through the Holy Spirit, and EVERY time I ask, I get the same answer. THIS IS THE TRUTH.

I know that, and I've bet my life on it.

I love you, and I'm excited for when I can be with you again!

Keep the faith!
-Elder Brennan Keppner

P.S.- This is the Mom. Elder Keppner did forget to let us know that he was transferred to Chewelah Washington. He would still LOVE to receive letters from family and friends, but he's in a tiny town, and would prefer that his letters be sent to the mission home. They get them to him swiftly (It only takes ONE extra day!), so just go ahead and send them to this address: 

Elder Brennan Keppner
820 S. Pines Rd. Suite #101
Spokane Valley, WA 99206

I'm on the Up and Up! :D

This week was great!

Can I just say, I love being on my mission! This week has been crazy, awesome, and well, just another week in the Washington Spokane Mission! 

Me and Elder W-- are really getting along, and WORKING OUR BUTTS OFF! We've had some really good lessons, and we have been focusing on inviting everyone to be baptized. We are kinda baptism hungry, and we are working hard to do more, and really help our investigators to progress, and come closer to Christ.

A miracle this week we had this week came in the form of an unexpected over-the-phone lesson with our investigator M--. She had a lot of questions about the church. You see, her church had said a lot of less than kind things about us members of the church, and they had made up a ton of lies about us. But we bore our testimonies, and she said that she know that what we had told her was true, and that she wanted to know what we REALLY believe. 

So, we're teaching! It opened doors that otherwise would have been closed. 

The Lord is good! I love this work!

Sorry that it's short today, but I gotta go. :(

Thank you for your emails, and I'll hear from you soon!

Love and miss you all!
-Elder Brennan Keppner

Transfers! 7.5 months, and a whole lot of awesome!

Zone picture!

Hey everyone!

I am happy to announce, that as of today, I will be transferred to PRIEST RIVER IDAHO!!! And my companion in that GREAT area will be: ELDER W--!!! 

Yeah baby! Three transfers with my man Elder W--, and in Priest River! Man, I love this area, I love my companion, and WOW am I ready to do some more work here! I have a lot to learn still, but I know that with the Lord's help, I'm going to be able to improve!

As for what has happened this week, well, lots of awesomeness! Sunday night me and Elder W-- got the call, that we would be getting a Mini-Missionary Monday afternoon. 

Hunting with Slingshots 

Now what is a Mini-Missionary you ask? Well, it's just the BEST IDEA EVERRRR! What it is, is that a Stake organizes all of the youth who wish to participate in the Stake, and gives them some missionary training. Then, they send them all over the local mission to spend an entire WEEK with the full time missionaries, and learn what missionary life is really like!

Brother AWESOME S--

The Spokane Stake did it, and so Elder W-- and I got BROTHER S--! He is 17, and he is a BOSS! Oh my gosh, he was super quiet at first, but as time went on, he started opening up and MAN was he funny. He spent the week with us, and now he is back in Spokane. Me and Elder W-- both really miss him now, but it was SUPER fun while it lasted. I really wish I could have done that before my mission. :(

Oh well. Awesome week! Crazy stuff going on at home, but I'm trying to stay focused and work hard in this awesome area!

Love and miss you all!
-Elder Brennan Keppner

Birthdays and Thunderstorms

Hey everybody!

I love you all!!!! This birthday has been, well, to be honest, my favorite! Everything about it was great! The presents, the food, the "Happy Birthday Elder Keppner!" and all of the awesome letters! Thank you everyone!!! It really meant a lot to me, and I really appreciated it!

...! I found it!

I don't have a lot of time today, but I wanted to let you all know that I made some videos, and I'm sending them home on a thumb drive soon for you guys! Also, I'm going to include a TON of pictures on here from my birthday and for the rest of the week.

The Keppner Family Adventure Card Game! :D 
They loved it, and want to play it for a mutual activity. :D

As far as the rest of the week, it was pretty uneventful. But, we had some AWESOME lessons, and I learned a lot personally. You know, this Church really is true. Every day, I see it in action, and I know without a doubt, this IS the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Beautiful Priest Lake

This week, we had a CRAZY thunderstorm. We were at a dinner appointment when the storm hit, and the power went out. The wind was INSANE and the thunder was SUPER loud. So, we ate by firelight, and didn't think much of it. We were out of cell service, and so as we left. we came into service again, and got a TON of messages on our phone all at once. Asking where we were, if we were alright, and if we needed to be rescued from under a tree. 

Right as we got all these messages, we noticed that all of the houses around us that usually were lit up, were dark. We kept driving in the black, and then noticed something glowing and red in the road. Turns out that it was a road flare put out to call our attention to a massive tree that had fallen across part of the road. We went around, and then headed into town, dodging trees all over the road. All of the lights in town were dead, but from what we could see from our headlights, the town was TRASHED. Roofs torn off, trees everywhere, and a lot of general destruction. 

We hurried into our powerless apartment, got our flashlights out, and went to bed. The next day, we got a million freaking calls from the ward members asking if we were having church with the power out. We hurried over to the church to see if there was power. At 7:30 that morning, and hour and a half before church was supposed to start, the power came on at the church. We made a bunch of quick phone calls, but not many people came to church, so me and Elder W-- ended up blessing the sacrament.

Our moving investigator (right), and a ward member (left)

Also to note this week, one of our AWESOME investigators moved this last week to attend NIC, and while we were sad to see her go, she told us that we brought her closer to God than anyone has before. So, we're going to inform the missionaries in that area, and hopefully she can continue the lessons! 

Elder W--'s "creepy face"

Ah! This transfer is almost over. This is the last week, and this Sunday we get transfer calls again. Elder W-- really wants to leave and see more of the mission, and I really want to stay here in Priest River, so, I guess we'll see who goes where. :)

I love you and miss you, and I pray for you all!

Love,
-Elder Brennan Keppner

Presents, Lessons, and Exchanges!

Hellooo family!

This week has been crazy, awesome, and exhausting! The work is moving forward, mistakes have been made, and the Spirit is on a ROLL!

We taught a lot of lessons this last week, and for our efforts, we have 3 new investigators!

Probably the highlight of this week was the exchange me and Elder Wa--- had here in Priest River.

Elder C--- (our district leader) organized the exchange, and Elder W--- ended up going to Newport with Elder C---, and Elder Wa--- came here in Priest River with me. When Elder Wa--- arrived, I told him that the one thing I wanted from this exchange was to "work our butts off". Elder Wa--- liked the motto, and so that's what we did. We ended up teaching 12 lessons that day, and finding 2 new investigators! We went up and down every street in Priest River, and we talked to EVERYONE! We worked hard, and we had amazing results!

Also this week, I had a talk with Elder F--- from the mission office. He and President Mullen both think that I should try to get my driver's license here in Idaho. I have been in Idaho for more than 6 months, so I have residency! :D So, as of right now, that is the plan!

I'll tell you all how that goes.

Oh! And I got my birthday package this week as well! I haven't opened everything yet, but even the gifts that weren't wrapped were GREAT!!! Videos from home, a new CD, an old card game I made back home a long time ago, and some delicious homemade cookies from my sisters!

AH! I'm so excited to open the rest of the gifts tomorrow!

Some of the ward members are throwing me a bit of a birthday party, and one of our investigators says that they have a present to give me too! Man, a birthday in the mission field rocks! :D

I can't believe I'm going to be 19 already! What the heck?!? I just turned 18! A year into adulthood, and I still feel/act/look like a kid. :/ Ohhh well. :(

Anyway, we're going hiking for P-day today, so, gotta go! :D

Thank you all for your letters, emails, and gifts! It means a lot to us missionaries to get stuff like that. No matter how bad our day, when we get something from home, it really brightens our day! Thank you all so much for all you do, and Godbless!

-Elder Keppner

Road Trips Are for the Elders...

Hallo peeps!

It's been great to hear from you all, and I really appreciate everybody's support back home!

To be perfectly honest, the mission ROCKS! This week wasn't super exciting, but man, God is good! The work moves forward, and MAN does it move fast! Priest River is a GOLDEN area, and I love serving here! I've met so many amazing people here, and I learn so much from them each and every day. The Spirit seems to guide every step, and helps me change, and change again, making me more and more like the man I need to be. The problem is, the more I grow, the more I realize who small I really am. I think having a companion to work with, and lots of time to pray and ponder has really helped me notice just how many flaws I have. And then I think back on who I was back home, and MAN. I was a PUNK! It's sometimes hard not to look back and be ashamed of who I used to be. So many stupid mistakes! So much wasted potential! Man, when I come back, there's a lot of stuff I need to fix.

But you know what, I'll have plenty of time to work on that when I get home. For now, I've got a lot of learning to do. 

Man! People keep telling us that we're here to teach, and I guess we are. But the more I teach, the more I learn, and the more I want to be better. I love this work more than anything I have ever done before, and I'm never happier than when I serve the Lord. This work is truly the Lord's, and I will give this mission thing everything I have in me. THIS IS MY MISSION. THIS IS THE LORD'S MISSION. And I will do my best to go on, and be better every day!

A sunset shot

Anyway, before I sign off, I just wanted to share our last P-day experience:

It started off great! We got up early, and started making our way to the Spokane Temple. The problem was, on our way there, we got lost in downtown Spokane. We finally made it in time for our Temple session, but just barely.

After an awesome session, we headed out to email, and then went and had Lunch with a member Elder Wa--- knows in Spokane. After that, the plan was to head back to Priest River and play some board games or something. What ended up happening was we ended up on the wrong highway, and were heading to Seattle. We finally figured out what was going on when I grabbed the map after driving for an hour without recognizing our surroundings, and found that we were going in the OPPOSITE direction we were supposed to be heading. I yelled something along the lines of "HOLY FETCH! We're freaking heading to SEATTLE!"

Elder W--- slammed on the breaks, all of us Elders flew forward, and we started back down the highway. After getting onto the right highway, we got stuck in road construction traffic for HOURS, and then FINALLY, made it back at about 7:00pm. An hour after P-day should have been over. Yeah, so that was our P-day roadtrip. :/

I love and miss you all, and I'm so happy to be here! Keep it up!

-Elder Keppner

Transfer 5, Week 3

District Temple Trip! :D

Hey everyone!

Man, time is speeding by! We're already half way through another transfer! We're just teaching, preaching, and praying our guts out. There is so much work to do, and I'm busy out of my mind!

We got a two new investigators this week, a mom and her 18 year old daughter, and it's been awesome to teach them! They're both strong Evangelical Christians, but they are willing to learn more about our savior Jesus Christ.

M--, the daughter, has a lot of questions, and it's been really cool to have all of the answers. MAN I love the Spirit! 

A dinner we went to with M--, her mom, and several ward members.

M-- was having a rough spot in her life, and she said: "Out of nowhere, you two came along, and helped me out. You two must have been sent by God."

It was really cool, and both me and Elder W-- agree that this is a Godsend.

Man, Priest River rocks! Our ward members are great, our investigators are great, and I LOVE working! 

A sign we came across...

Man, I hate standing still. I'm kinda the "Go go go!" guy in our district, and you know what? I'm okay with that now. Our District is really close. One of the Elders is having a really hard time right now-- he stood tall though, and we are all working together to get through life's challenges!

So, last night, we went over to a ward family's house for dinner. It's a big family, and they are AWESOME! We watched The Testaments with them, and LAUGHED all night!

We had a good laugh with the family, and then had a really cool lesson! My goal right now is to buy a good guitar with my tax returns. This family is trying to help me find one to buy, but it's kinda difficult. I will go on though! :D

Oh, and today, our district went to the Temple together. It was so awesome! :D

Anyway, I love and miss you all! Keep writing, keep emailing, and I'll keep writing you all back!

Ah! I love you guys!

-Elder Keppner

Priest RIVER!!!

Hey everybody!

This week has been a bit slow, but we are SO PUMPED for this next week. As a district, our goal is to teach 100 lessons! Me, Elder W---, Elder C---, and Elder W--- are READY FOR THIS!

We all see each other every day, and we all ride to P-Day and meetings together, so we are all aware of what everyone else is doing. 

Our firework show with a member... :D

All of that aside, this week was good too! We saw some CRAZY firework shows, some crazy wildlife sightings, and lots and lots of lessons learned. Also as general news, one of the Sisters I was in the MTC with went home this month. The announcement said Medical Release, but me and the Elders that came out with me are kinda worried about her. She was kinda the big sister of the group, and so we're all praying for her.

One of the 500+ eagles I've seen while on my mission.

Me and Elder W--- have done a lot of talking recently. Elder W--- and I are both dominant personalities, but I tend to back down rather than let it come to an argument. (Don't act so shocked mom. I really don't like to argue. ;P) President Mullen, our Zone Leader, and our District leader all gave us some advice and suggestions on how I can take the lead more, and how Elder W--- can submit more, and we are both working hard to follow their direction. Elder W--- and I are close friends, and so we talk about everything openly, and we help each other out. Man, I love this guy. :D

Priest River beauty! :D

I LOVE THIS WORK! I love being here, and seeing all of these miracles! I love the people I meet, and I'm so glad that I came out here! This is the BEST DECISION I've EVER MADE! This Church is true, and I would die defending that truth. I would also live my life to show my faith, hope and knowledge. IT'S ALL FOR REAL!!! I promise! With everything I am, I KNOW that this is true! And I'll praise God every day of my life! :D

More of this amazing area!

Nothing else big has happened, but I've got a bunch of pictures to send home now!

I love and miss you all,

-Elder Keppner