Transfers again?!?

My haircut! :D (C'mon and smile, Elder!)

So everyone, it's that time again! TRANSFERS!!!

So, here's what happened: NOTHING!!! :D I get to stay in St. Maries, which, to be honest, is what I've kinda been praying would happen. If I could spend the rest of my mission here in St. Maries, I would be SO FLIPPING HAPPY. But, I'm sure that the Lord will only send me to the places he wants me to be, so, I"m really not TOO worried about it in the future. Anyway, me and Elder H--- are REALLY getting along now, and serving a mission with him, in this awesome area is, well, the best time of my life! :D 

We had an awesome time watching General Conference, and we managed to get some of our investigators to watch too! How grateful I am for the Lord's Prophet and Apostles, and I'm so glad that we get to hear their divine council at least every six months!

Fishing in St. Maries! :D

Also of note, me and Elder H--- went to the H---'s, a member's home for P-day today, and we had an AWESOME time! We went fishing, played music, got music/singing lessons from Brother H---, and got haircuts from Sister H---! We didn't catch anything, but we had a good time, and we talked about the gospel with Brother H--- ALL DAY.

Anyway, I don't have much more time, but I wanted you all to know how much I love you, and that I know this Church is true. I grow in that knowledge every day, and I will continue to do so every day of my life.

Love ya!

-Elder Keppner

BAPTISMS!!! :D

M--- was baptized! :D

This last week was AWESOME!!! :D

Our investigator M--- was baptized this past Saturday, and she had an AWESOME baptismal service! We are so happy for her, and for her choice to take those first big steps towards Christ! :D

She came to us and told us that she really does feel that gift of the Holy Ghost, and she was so happy when she came up out of the water!

Now, behind the scenes, things were going crazy. It takes our baptismal font about two and a half hours to fill, and so we went to clean our car while the font filled. When we came back about two hours later, the font was almost full, but the water was FREEZING! We decided that we had to refill it, but the problem was, the drain plug was in the drain... At the bottom of the font...

SO, we went back to our apartment, Elder H--- changed into some shorts and a T-shirt, and we went back to the church, Elder H--- got INTO the freezing water, pulled the plug, drained the font, put the plug BACK in, and REFILLED the font. The font was filled just in time for the baptism. 

Yeah, so, I included a picture of the baptism, and of Elder H---'s font diving. ;)

Elder H--- is baptized! :D

I can't believe I'm heading into my third transfer next week! Once again, I hope I can stay in St. Maries, but I'll "go where the Lord wants me to go". I'm excited for the future, and I'm so happy to be here! :D

Every day out here in the mission, I feel, well, like I'm being filled with light. I feel Christ's love, and his aid in my daily life, and I see it in those around me as well. I am beginning to be more sensitive to the still small promptings of the Spirit, and I'm finding that the little things, like prayer, and scripture study, mean so much more to me now. Things that once seemed so hard are now made easy with the help of my Savior.

I love the people in St. Maries, I love this work, I love my companion, and I love my Father in Heaven.

This Church is for real, God loves us, and peace out ya'll.

-Elder Keppner

Techie Work on my mission!!!

Guess who are now companions?!?

Hey Ya'll!

So, a lot happened this week, and I have very little time to write it all down. BUT, I wanted to start with the biggest stuff first. This past Saturday, me and Elder H-- did backstage work for a Talent Show. The show was to raise money for a family in the Ward so that they could retrieve their adopted children from Africa. It was a BLAST! And literally half the town came out to support it!

I ran curtains and props, and Elder H--- was in charge of the lights. We met and talked with A LOT of people there, and people really came to understand that we missionaries are here to help, and that we're real people too. I never thought I would be doing Techie work on MY MISSION, but hey, the Lord works in mysterious ways I guess!

We also have a new investigator! His name is C---, and he was a weapons smith and trainer for the U.S. army for about ten years. He spent that time in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has seen a lot of stuff in his life, but he told us that he had served with two Mormon boys for a couple of years, and he said he decided back then, that when he returned to the United States, he would join the Church! He came to Church this week, and told us he is here to stay! It's been so awesome to get to know him, and he truly has been prepared by the Lord!

(He also told us missionaries, that if the world goes to pot before we get home from our missions, that we are to go to his house and he would take care of us. And trust me, if anyone could survive an apocalypse, it's him!)

Temple trip!

We went to the temple today, and had a wonderful experience! The Spokane Temple is small, but it's beautiful!

Oh, and M--- is getting baptized on Saturday, and that is REALLY exciting! I was there when she and S--- first started being taught, and I'm so grateful that I get to be here for this awesome day for her!

Anyway, I gotta go. There is a member here who is feeding us tonight, and he is, well, kinda an Elderly rock star... He has a recording studio, a BUNCH of guitars, and he and I get along REALLY well. lol He wants me to come back up here after my mission and record and album in his studio, which, I really think I might do.

Godspeed! And I love you all!
-Elder Keppner

St. Maries grammar:
Rig = any motorized vehicle
Crick = Creek
A couple three = a few

St. Maries quote of the week:
"If they come for my guns, they will die in my yard."

Sorta-kinda-almost Irish Pride! :D

The snow is gone! The Rain has stopped, and Spring has begun! :D

Hey ya'll!

The world is turning green! Speaking of green... Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! :D

To celebrate, I wore a green tie, and.... That's about it. ;P (See picture below)

The flooding stopped, it washed away a few roads, and everything is incredibly muddy, BUT, everyone is okay! (As far as I know...)

Me and Elder H--- have figured things out for the most part, and St. Maries is booming once again! We've been working hard, and we will continue to do so! 

R---, our new investigator, has been really interested in our church, and she is doing an awesome job! The ward is very supportive, and they are truly missionary minded! There were some ups and downs, but we have done our best to overcome all of our challenges, and we're improving every day!

Me and Elder H--- actually have a lot of similar interests, and we have to make sure we don't stay up later than 10:30 talking at night.

Overall, it's been a great week, and I'm so glad to hear from everyone who has written me!

Thanks for everything, and talk to you all next week!


Love,
-Elder Keppner

From the mom: 

If you'd like to write Elder Keppner, I know he'd LOVE to get some mail from his friends and family! 

Elder Brennan Keppner

325 Main St.
St Maries, ID 83861

I lose a friend, and gain a new one...

Elder M---'s "Goodbye face"

Hey ya'll!

Things have been CRAZY this week!

It started with me and Elder M--- setting some lofty goals, and we were doing a good job of reaching them, when suddenly, on Tuesday at 8:30pm me and Elder M--- got a call. We were sitting in our car with our recent convert S---. We had just got back into town, and into cell phone service. We saw that we had two voicemails. As we listened to the first one, we kinda sat there in disbelief.

Elder M--- packing, and telling the families in the ward that he's leaving.

"Elder M---, this is the Assistants to the President. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, you are being transferred to Spokane Valley, and you will be serving with Elder F--- (my MTC companion). You will leave tomorrow morning at 11:00am at the Stake Center (an hour and a half away from St. Maries)."

We sat there for a minute stunned. Transfers had just happened LAST WEEK, and we had made plans for the new transfer together. We then listened to it again, and then listened to the second one.

"Hey Elder Keppner, this is Elder H---. I've been assigned to serve with you in St. Maries, and I'm looking forward to getting to know you, and our new area."

Elder H--- ! :D

It turns out, that emergency transfers erupted all over the mission, and only two zones weren't effected. So, we dropped S--- off at home, packed Elder M---'s bags, and headed out the next morning. He left on the Transfer Bus, and my new companion Elder H--- got off. It was so fast and crazy, I was in shock for a couple of days. I didn't know the area that well, and suddenly, I had to try and tell Elder H--- where everyone and everything was, and how to get there. But, Elder H--- has been really kind and patient, and we've already figured things out. Elder H--- is an awesome Elder from Orem Utah, and he actually is good friends with Elder H---! (My MTC companion!) He's quiet, and he is really rooted in the Gospel. I'm so excited to work with him!

We also have a new investigator! Her name is R---, she's eighteen, and on Saturday we invited her to Church. She said that she might come, and so we didn't think she'd show up. But low and behold, she came to Church the next day! She enjoyed Church, and after that we had a Church Tour with her. Afterwards, we taught the Restoration, and she said that she was interested in being baptized into the Church. We are being a bit cautious (we don't want her to get converted to US, so we're trying to make sure that she really is joining for the right reasons), but a lot of the Ward Members know who she is, and so she is getting a lot of support from our awesome ward.

S--- and M--- have stopped smoking, and drinking coffee this last week completely, and now M--- is working towards baptism! We are so excited for them!

Here in St. Maries, it went from 12-22 degrees to 50-59 degrees, and it's raining like crazy! St. Maries is starting to flood, and the rain isn't supposed to stop for another couple of weeks! So, things are getting pretty exciting around here, as we watch the river and lake start to overflow... :/

Anyway, I love and miss you all, and I'm so happy to be here on my mission!

-Elder Keppner

Not much time, but awesome all the same.

My new bedroom decor.

This mission is the best!

The snow is coming down in HEAPS, and there's so much of it now, that when it melts, they're predicting that it's going to flood, so, that's fun. :/


Anyway, St. Maries has had A LOT of success recently! Me and Elder M--- have worked our rear ends off, and a lot of good has come because of it! We love it here, and we work very well together!

I told you Elder M--- and I are working hard.

 We recently committed M--- to Baptism! She's working hard to overcome her Word of Wisdom issues, and we know that she can do it! Thank you so much to those who have written me! I haven't gotten any letters this week, but I had quite a few emails, so, that works out just fine!

I'm the last one awake on our roadtrip with a ward family!

Cutest kids this side of Mount Baldy!

I wanted to mention, that with transfers, there are now a lot of new Elders and Sisters here in our Zone, and it's been awesome to get to know them all!


I love serving a mission!!! :D

-Elder Keppner

Transfers!!!

S--- getting a marked Book of Mormon for his birthday from us missionaries.

So, this last week was AMAZING! We had two weddings, and two baptisms.

Me and S--- right before he got married/baptized.

S--- and A--- (the newest members of our ward. :D ) were baptized right after their wedding, and were confirmed this Sunday! It has been such a miracle to see just how far S--- and A--- have come! When we first came over, A--- wouldn't even look at us, and S--- was only slightly curious, and after more than a month of teaching, fellowshipping and testifying, they have made the decision to follow Christ, and be baptized.

As far as transfers go...

...

...

...

*Drum roll*

...

...

...

Awesome Elders!

I'm staying in St. Maries! With Elder M---!

Elder Keppner selfie: Looks like the snow has melted!

To be honest, I'd kinda been praying that it would be that way, and I'm so glad that it was! These people are the best, and I'm so glad that I get to stay for another transfer! I'm sending a bunch of pictures, because I don't have much time to write today. :(

Love you all! And I can't wait to hear from you all!

This Church is truly Christ's Church, and I am so blessed to be a part of this work.

God bless,
-Elder Keppner