Training Meeting Pictures

President Mullen teaching

Elder Keppner's mom here:

I love the Washington Spokane mission's Facebook page. They post lots of wonderful pictures of all their trainings and meetings, so i scan them for any sign of Elder Keppner. it makes me so happy! :-)


So while I don't have captions for these photos, I love seeing our Elder and some of his former companions there learning and growing!

Sister Mullen, mission mom

Find Elder Keppner!

His trainer is on the far left

I see Elder M--, his last District Leader, in the bottom left.

Former companion, Elder W--, is second from the left.

On the bottom right sits E.K.'s friend from the MTC, Elder H--.

There's his last companion, Elder S--, on the left back row.

Our Elder Keppner at Zone Conference

Brave New Year

Yeah, I'm skinny again. (Awkward selfie #296)
{He was sick all last week, so he lost a little weight.}

Hello hello!

Happy New Year, ya'll!

Things here in the good ol' Hayden 2nd are just cruisin' along. We got two feet of snow last night, but it's been raining since this morning, so, we'll see how long it lasts. If it drops below freezing, we're all in for a CRAPPY time on the roads. But, me and Elder S-- walk everywhere, so I guess we aren't affected by it much.

Let's see, what else interesting happened... Errrr. Uh, well, NEW FETCHING YEARS!

In our mission, we are allowed to watch one movie a year, on New Years Eve, from a list provided by President Mullen. This year, me and my peeps chose to watch How To Train Your Dragon with the M-- family, and we ate a TON of Papa Murphy's pizza to go with it. It was awesome! I love that family a bunch, and I'm so glad we got to chill with them.

Prepped for adventure! (Awkward selfie #297)

Also this last week, THE J-- FAMILY CAME TO SEE ME!!! Oh my heck, it was awesome to see them again! We all met up at Burger King, had a good chat, and played a bit O' geetar. AND, I may or may not have gotten a new and AWESOME guitar! Ah! So much awesome!

Now, I'm gonna take a chill, and finish off by saying: This day last year, I was in the MTC. At this moment last year.... I was probably on the toilet due to the MTC food that caused most of us to live on that ivory throne for two weeks.

Sorry, I'm hyper, tired, and kinda crude right now. I love you all though, and I'm thinkin' of you! 

Keep your cool, and know that this Church is true, the Book is Blue, and Jesus is a Mormon.

Love you all!
-Elder 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!

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

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

Arriving in Washington

President and Sister Mullen greeting Elder Keppner

13 January 2014

Dear Brother and Sister Keppner,

I was pleased to welcome your son, Elder Keppner to the Washington Spokane Mission this week. I’m happy to report that he arrived safely. I had the privilege of meeting and associating with him the day of his arrival and note that it is evident that he comes with a great desire to serve Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Elder Keppner understands the role of the Holy Ghost in accomplishing the work here in the Washington Spokane Mission and has committed to live worthy of that power.

Some of the newly-arrived missionaries!
(Elder K. is standing there with his MTC comp, Elder F___.)

Group Greenie shot

Elder Keppner with his trainer, Elder M___

After prayerful consideration, I have called Elder M___ to serve as Elder Keppner’s companion in the Coeur d’ Alene area. It is our objective to call only the best missionaries to serve as trainers and I believe that your son is in excellent training hands. We expect that your missionary will serve in this area for the next 6 to 12 weeks as he begins his mission.

I have enclosed photographs of your missionary and assure you that Sister Mullen and I will love Elder Keppner. Our great desire is that his time here will further establish him on the path of righteousness, as well as bless the many people he will serve.

The mission has a website where you can see what is happening in the mission. Go to: washingtonspokanemission.wordpress.com

Thank you so much for sharing Elder Keppner with us.

Sincerely,
Donald E. Mullen, President
WASHINGTON SPOKANE MISSION

The mom here: If anyone wishes to write letters or send packages to Elder Keppner, I know he would LOVE it!!! Please send me an email at libermama at gmail dot com, and I will send you his direct address. 

We are so excited to hear that he is in the Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho area! My sister was married there, and my brother-in-law's family still live in the area, I believe.