LAST Message from Elder Keppner

And it came to pass, in the twenty and fourth month of my mission, nigh two years since the time that I did depart from the land of my fathers, I did wax old, and I began to ponder continually on the course of my days.

I here make an end of my record, and do offer it up unto all who will hear me:

Folks, it's been real.

This mission has changed me. I'm not the same kid that shuffled awkwardly into the MTC.
The mission is the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I'm really not looking forward to leaving it. I've had more joy, pain, and awesomeness in two years than I have the eighteen years prior to that.

I LOVE THIS WORK!

There really is a God, this really is His church, and I really am His missionary. :)

To one and all, I wish I could let you know that you don't have to worry about it. THERE IS A GOD. You don't have to fake it, you don't have to deny it. You can know. I did.

No matter how were raised, inside or outside the church, we all reach a point in our lives where we have to make a choice. 

Will we:

1-Deny that there is a God

2-Pretend that we believe, and spend the rest of our lives faking it

3-Really find out that God exists

To those who deny it, may I suggest that it's because you haven't asked the right questions. If you want to know if there is a God, you've got to be ready to put it all on the table. You'll need to fully accept that there might be a God, and there might not be. When you have fully opened yourself up, ask God if He exists. Then, observe the world around you for some time (possibly days). I swear, you will start to see things just "work out" all around you. It will BLOW YOUR MIND. Things will arrange in perfect order, to bring you your answer. It could be the words of someone you talk to, a few words you read, a growing internal clarity, or perhaps (in a few rare cases) a divine revelation directly from heaven. Whatever form the answer comes, I promise that it will come, and it will come every time you ask.

I've discovered that there are so many poor folks who have been faking it for years. Trying to cover up the fact that they do not know by saying all of the right things, at all of the right times. They continue to try and not worry about it, while continuing to attend church, read scriptures, and do everything that a "good Christian" should. They stay active on the grounds that "the church has a great family program", "it makes me a better person", or perhaps "the doctrine makes a lot of sense". There are so many who are plagued with this hellish life, and I wish that I could just tell everyone: "It doesn't have to be like this!"

There IS a God. He really does exist. DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK. He will answer. I promise. It works. And it works every time. :)

I know that God lives, I know that this church is God's Church, I know that we can get answers to prayer, and I know that this life is not the end.

God bless all of you.
Love ya bye, love ya bye!
-Keppy

Transfer Calls and Miracles

Hey ya'll!

This week was, well, amazing.

We went about and taught tons of good peeps of course, and we had a blast while we did it as per usual. But God blessed us with a real miracle this week.

We were teaching a young woman named K--. She is a single mom, and her son is just turning 3. Her Grandma, Mom, and sister are all recent converts, but there was a lot keeping her from getting baptized. She has had such a hard life, and it's amazing that she has made it through so much.
She had some big Word of Wisdom things she was dealing with, and a LOT of it. Her friends did it too, and it was just a nasty trap for her. We had mentioned baptism in the past, and she said that when she wants to head in that direction, she'll let us know. But until then, back off.

So we did.

We taught, and shared Spiritual messages, and bore testimony, but we never pressured her. (I'm not a fan of the whole "pressure people into baptism" crap. :-p)

Then, this week, we showed up there for the last lesson of the day, taught a message, and bore our testimonies. She listened, and then she started crying softly. She told us that she wanted desperately wanted to be free, and come closer to God. It was beautiful.

When we got home that night, she texted us, and said that she wanted to be baptized. She went on to tell us that she had quit EVERYTHING. She was clean of everything. After years of craziness, she told us that she wanted to have a better life for her and her son. She said that she knew that the church was true, and that she wanted to be part of it. 

Elder E-- and I just kinda stared at each other in shock. It was so surprising, but folks, I can't tell you how good it felt.

The next morning, she texted us and gave us the date: June 13th.

We are SO PUMPED!!!

She has been through so much, and now, she is coming to the light, and fighting hard to get there.
The war is still on, and withdrawals are fetching BAD, but she worked a system worked out with us. Whenever things are getting crazy hard, she calls us, and we talk things out. It's been good. She is six days and counting sober now, from EVERYTHING! We're so proud of her!

Now, for transfer calls........................................................................................

WE'RE BOTH STAYING!!!

Elder E-- feeling under the weather

Elder M-- is staying too which is sick, but Elder K-- is leaving, which SUCKS! Oh, and my old companion Elder F-- finished his mission today, which also SUCKS! I'm gonna miss him so bad! 

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CHANGE! WHY?!?

I guess it could be worse, but still, transfers are NOT my favorite.

Anyway, I love you guys! Keep the faith, stay true to who you are, and come to Christ.

Love you all!
-Keppy

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