Transfers Suck

Yeah, there's not a whole lot to say this week other than: Transfers suck.

I'm still freaking out and trying to think of what I'm supposed to do now. I'm kind of a mess right now, so forgive me if the email is short.

As for details, I'm moving to be the District Leader in Moran Prairie; the ghetto of Spokane. Elder S-- will be heading to Pullman 2nd. Yup. What this means: They shut Hayden 2nd down.

I can't tell you how freaked out I am by it.

The work here has been great. We've been teaching like crazy, loving the people here, and being obedient, and yet, "in the end, it doesn't even matter".

I love this place, and the people in it. Investigators, members, and Elders in the Zone.

AGH!

Anyway, I need to go pack.

I love you Hayden 2nd, and I love all of you amazing folks in it.

For all ya'll... I've got some pictures here too.

Splits with L--

Something I ate this week.

Bye,
-Keppy

A Week of Service

Me and Elder S-- at lunch. :D

Hey ya'll!

This week was great! We busted some buns and got a lot done.

I just wanted to start off by saying that I've never been happier! This mission thing is so darn cool. To all ya'll getting ready to serve a mission get ready for the best time of your life!

This week, we taught a bunch of lessons, and got a lot done!

We were doin' some crazy awesome work with the M-- family in our ward (they ROCK by the way). We were doing a bunch of work on the house, which taught me a TON of useful skills for when I'm trying to fix up my own house.

Elder S-- workin'!

Anyway, we were tearing up carpet, foam and tackstrips, patching up holes and then putting in new carpet, painting, and cleanin' up the mess we made.

Taking a break.

It was super fun to help, and we had a blast working alongside this awesome family!

Doin' studies with L--! :D

It was hard work, but the final product looks great!

We also hauled a bunch of logs up a vertical hill for a part member less active family, which was SUPER hard, but they fed us steaks afterwards which we were A-Okay with.

Man, thinking back on it, it felt like we were in service clothes more then proc.

Ah. Here's my challenge to ya'll: Find a service project. Working to help out is the best feeling in the world!

Not a whole lot else to report... But! I love you all, and I'm so glad to be a missionary!
Love,
-Keppy

♪"Take it all down, 'cause Christmas is over."♫

Teancum and Friends 1.5: Happy

Hey ya'll!

Christmas is come and gone folks! Goodbye to Christmas cheer and hello to winter colds and fevers. BLECH! Yeah, me and everyone in the apartment is now sick.

Oh well, God spared us until AFTER Christmas which I am SO grateful for, because Christmas was amazing!

Teancum and Friends 1.5: Serious

Christmas Eve was like most every other day, but that night we had a dinner/contest at a ward member's house. The dinner was roast beast, and the contest was to see who could find the almond in the rice pudding by eating one bowl full at a time. When you do find the almond, it's tradition to let everyone keep eating until the bowl is full without telling anyone that you found it. The winner gets what is known as the Almond Gift, which this year was a Christmas ornament. I didn't win. :(

But then.... CHRISTMAS!!! :D

Christmas Eve dinner with members (Elder S-- on the right)

We started off the day by opening Christmas presents one at a time, and MAN was it a Christmas. We all had a blast, and there were actually quite a few presents to open, which is evidenced by our trashed apartment after we opened all of them... Yeah, we should probably fix that, shouldn't we Elder S--?

*Cough*

Anyway, after that, we went to a member family in our ward (the G--'s) to Skype and have breakfast. It was good to see everyone again, and the Crepes for breakfast were amazing. 

Elder Keppner with his comp., Elder S--

After we finished breakfast, we went and hung out with the M-- family. They are one of the freaking best families ever! We had a BLAST! Everything from sweets, Ping-Pong, Nerf wars, sword fighting and good talk. They rock! We LOVE those guys!

Elder S-- with the M-- family: The Creators of our feast!

After all of the festivities, we wound down at our Ward Mission Leader's home and had a calm dinner, and lesson.

Ah! Christmas is so awesome here in the mission!

And now, it's over... Ew, EEEEEEW. I might continue to listen to the Christmas CD's I got though for a while... ;P

Anyway, aside from that, my week has just been me trying to get over my sickness. :P

Love and miss you all! Keep being awesome!

-Elder Brennan 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

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

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