General Conference and Headcolds

Spring in Washington!

Hey everybody!

This week was ALL OVER THE PLACE. The week started normal enough, but then... I got a cold from Elder E--. Since then, it's been an interesting trip.

The weather was beautiful though! It has warmed up quite a bit, all the leaves are coming in, the animals are up and about, and the flowers are in bloom.

We taught a lot earlier in the week, and then when Thursday rolled around, it got slower. Thursday is weekly planning which needs to take up hours of our day, Friday was a Zone meeting which also ate up a bunch of our hours, and Saturday and Sunday were General Conference days.

Dat Conference, though! For anyone who missed it, you gotta go back and watch all of the sessions! I loved all of the talks, and it really felt like each one spoke to me personally.

Oh, and Elder E-- is a convert, so this was the first time he's seen all of the sessions of General Conference. At the suggestion of President Mullen, he went with a question he wanted answered about marriage, and holy moly did he get an answer. Almost every talk hit on his question, and he and I laughed every time it came up.

"I'm never going to come with a question again." He told me afterwards.

Saturday was super fun though! We met up at a members house, and watched the Conference, had breakfast, lunch, and played some games between sessions. It was super fun! :D

But, we got sick which made everything a LOT harder. I had a moment after conference was done that I really just wanted to stay in and do nothing because of how crappy I felt. I sat there for a minute debating which, I would do. But then, a nagging little something reminded me: "You don't have a lot of time bro."

I grabbed my stuff and hit the streets. It was crappy, but I didn't regret a second of it.

And then, we woke up this morning to help a pastor move, aaaaaand, it was snowing.
o.O

Spring in Washington?

God is so good guys. He always helps us in the way we need it most. We have some investigators with unique needs right now that are severe, and it has been weighing on me heavily recently. I don't have the right to give details, but it's been HUGE stuff that has eternal consequences. The crazy part is that everyone turns to us missionaries, and expects us to know the solution.

"You're the Elders! What should I do?" is a common phrase, and it's terrifying. What always ends up happening, is me and my companion pray, squirm a bit, and then tell them to the best of our ability what will help them. And the crazy part: if we really answer through the Spirit, it always works.

Guys, I can't stress enough that we're dumb 20 year old kids. But neither can I truthfully say anything less, than that God works through us to do what no mortal could ever hope to achieve; no matter how strong or wise they may be.

This Church is true guys. And this mission is the best thing that's ever happened to me.

Love you all!
-Keppy

Improvement and Progression!

Serious selfie...

Heck yeah!

It's a new week folks, and there is a lot going on here in the not-so-frozen-north. For one, it's not frozen. Yup. This time last year it was blizzarding, -15 degrees and cloudy. Now, it's sunny with a high of 55. It's so fetching hot! I'm out and about in rolled up sleeves and tryin' to stay cool while walking around. I don't think I'm ever going to be able to deal with Arizona heat again. :P

Aside from that, the work has been great! We're able to be up and about and people have become a little less reclusive. Now, whether that means they want to talk to us is a different deal altogether. People have been pretty responsive though, which we're A-OK with.

We've been working a lot with our investigator B--, and she's really been making some great changes in her life. She came to church for the first time yesterday, and it was super awesome!

Now, yesterday was Stake Conference, and good grief was it interesting. It started fine; Elder S-- and I were at the Honeysuckle building with B--, watching the Conference on the big screen. About 45 minutes in, BOOM: the internet died.

There was a five minute pause, and then our Bishop went up to try and fix it. Fifteen minutes later, it came back up, and we watched the next five minutes of it in peace. Then, BOOM, it crashed again. Once again, Bishop went up to fix it and called someone over at the Stake Center, but after ten more minutes of trying to fix it, he announced over the pulpit that the server at the Stake Center had crashed, and that it wouldn't be possible to fix by the end of Stake Conference. So, a new solution was presented: Bishop had a guy at the Stake Center call him, and put the phone next to a speaker at the Stake Center, and then bishop plugged his phone into his computer, which was hooked up to the church speakers.

We heard about every other word.

Super interesting stuff that. :P

Also, getting back to B--, She's quitting smoking next week! We're super pumped, and we're praying like crazy that she will be able to make it. Keep a prayer out for her!

Well, the rest is the same old same old.

Teaching, finding, tracting, praying, laughing, crying and being a missionary.

I should also mention that Elder S-- has been an amazing help at this point in my life. It's amazing all of the different things I've learned from each companion.

Guys, this mission has been the best thing that's ever happened to me. I am not the same scared little kid that stepped onto the plane in the Phoenix airport more than a year ago.

God is real, folks. He really cares about us, and no matter how many times we screw up, and no matter far we fall, He'll pick us up and save us from ourselves. He has changed my life, and I've seen Him change hundreds of lives around me.

To anyone who doesn't know if they want to serve a mission, all I want to ask is: Are you happy with where you are? The mission will change you. It will make you the best YOU you can be. You will grow so much. It will hurt. Sometimes you'll break down and just scream because of how hard it is and how much it hurts, but no matter what, if you keep on keeping on, you'll find a weird energy helping you on, and guiding you.

That energy is God.

Guess what, no matter what you believe or don't believe, God still is there, and he loves you. Deal with it.

Peace out guys,
I love you.
-Keppy

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

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

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

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

My latter days in St. Maries?

Snowy St. Maries

Hey everyone!

First, I just wanted to say how AMAZING being on a mission is. This is the best thing I've EVER done in my life, and I'm happier than I've ever been out here, serving the Lord.

This Sunday, we find out if either me or Elder M--- is getting transferred. I hope it's not a sin to pray that I get to stay here in St. Maires, because I kinda already did... ;P

Anyway, I've really fallen in love with St. Maries, and all of the people in it. It's a quiet, beautiful town, and the people are kind, understanding, and truly searching for God.

Elder M--- in the snow

This last Sunday was Stake Conference, and we missionaries had seven investigators there with us. Our newest investigator, R---, is a young mother who lives with her boyfriend. She actually came and found US because she had some questions for us. Her first question, which was totally sincere, was:

"So, I don't want to go to Hell. How do I not go to Hell?"

So, we taught her and her boyfriend about the plan of Salvation. She believed every word we said, and told us that every church she had been to, had told her that she was going to hell because she hadn't been baptized into their church. She had a bunch of questions, and we were able to answer all of them through the Spirit. She has been coming to Church ever since, and she is working towards getting baptized! Whooo! 

A Wedding for S--- and M---!

Last night, we had a wedding for S--- and M---, two of our investigators who are working towards getting baptized, got married in the Church building. As soon as they heard about the law of Chastity, they said they wanted to get married, and now that they are, it won't be long until they're baptized as well. :D

AND tonight, S--- and A---, two of our OTHER investigators, are getting married, and then baptized, all on the same night! We're filling up the font now, and all of the decorations are up! They're so excited, and they are so ready.

The Brides!

Me and Elder M---'s goal here in St. Maries has been to ensure that those we baptize are truly converted, and that they wont leave the Church later on down the road. You see, there are two hundred and fifty members in St. Maries, but only about sixty are active (ten of those are because of me and Elder M---!!! :D).

It's the worst feeling I've ever felt, as I see all of these wonderful people, who partook of the fruit of the tree, and then cast their eyes about, listened to the mocking of those in the great and spacious building. If I could do one thing on my mission, it would be to help everyone here be fully converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and help them see the importance of Enduring to the End.

I love these people, and it hurts when they lose sight of what is truly important.

Anyway, before I "Sign Off" I wanted to testify of the power of the priesthood. It is truly the power of God. I've used it to give blessings of healing, which saved a life. I've used it to cast out devils. I've seen and been a part of the miracles that can happen when we truly seek to do God's will. I'm so grateful for God's trust in me, and I'm so honored to be able to help my brothers and sisters through this incredible power. It reminds me every day that I must be worthy, and prepared to do as the Lord directs through his Holy Spirit.

The priesthood is truly God's power, given to man to do his well, and I thank God every day for this opportunity to do miracles in His name.

I love and miss you all. ;) 

-Elder Keppner

The Snow Deepens...

Cool Elder K

SNOWWWWW!!! The snow is going NUTS up here!

We now have about three feet of snow, and it's still coming down! Wedding plans and such continue, and there is A LOT of paperwork we've had to fill out, but, it's all so worth it!

We have two new investigators: L--- and R---.

L--- is a funny guy, and he is a BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN. I mean, he is NUTS about Jesus, and says "AMEN!" to everything we say that he likes, and he is constantly telling us how much Jesus means to him. He went on a Church Tour, listened to our first lesson on the Restoration, and then said he'd pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true.

R--- is a different case altogether. She told one of her Less Active LDS neighbors some questions, and he told her to talk to the missionaries. So we met her and her boyfriend, and the daughter they had together at their apartment, answered her questions, and taught the Plan of Salvation. Some of her questions were: "I'm terrified of dying. What happens when I die?" "I don't want to go to Hell. What do I have to do so I don't go to Hell?"

She also came to church this Sunday, and she really liked Sacrament meeting, so, we have another lesson with her later this week! Yup! She was so sincere with her questions, and she has always been extremely honest. After all three hours of Church, we asked her what she thought of church. She told us that the second and third blocks of Church were "Long, and kinda boring. But I liked the first meeting a lot!"

Also, I wanted to note, that Elder H---, one of my best friends from the MTC just had a family tragedy. His brother committed suicide. Please pray for him. He was crushed, but he gave an amazing testimony about how this is the true church, and that we can't be held back from our calling by ANYTHING. He told us, that no matter what, God will allow us to fulfill our mission. Because of this, and having talked with him, I can truly say, that we have NO excuse to complain or give up on our missions. If he can wade through ALL of this stuff, we can carry on through our small daily challenges.

On a happier note, I can't believe I'm getting close to the end of this transfer! I'm about one seventeenth of the way done with my mission already! It goes by so fast! I really don't want to be transferred out of St. Maries! I love it here, and I feel like I just got here! I hope it's not wrong to ask God if I can stay here for a few more transfers. :-/

I LOVE hearing anything and everything from you guys.

-Kep

(Mom's note here: I am including a picture Brennan sent that shows a REAL road he found called "Kidd Island Road." Those of you familiar with the Keppner Family Game Brennan created will understand! :-D )

Who knew that Kid Island exists in Idaho???

Now things are getting a bit crazy...

Elder Keppner in a Winter Wonderland

Hey everybody! How are you all doing?

I was so happy to get letters from Susanne, Daniel and Valarie this last week, and I'm writing back today. I LOVE letters, so, if you send me any, I'll write you back as soon as I can.

So, here in St. Maries, we now have TWO baptisms coming up, and now, TWO WEDDINGS! You see, in St. Maries, a lot of people have trouble with Word of Wisdom (Smoking, mostly), and/or Law of Chastity. So, once they learn the gospel and accept it, they have to quit smoking and/or quit breaking the law of chastity. SO, this means, that we ended up with two weddings and two baptisms!

Yeah... they call us the "hitching" Elders around here. Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, planning two weddings at a time as a missionary, SUCKS. We have so many calls to make, so many things to oversee, dresses, rings, decorations, food, punch bowls, lists of things they are allergic to, cakes, pictures, and guests... AHHHH!!!

It's all good though, and I love and miss you all! Sorry the Email is short, but I have to go get four new tires for our car. (We popped one, and all of them are balding. :-p )

Love you!

-Elder Keppner

Beautiful Narnia-- er, St. Maries

PS: I'm serving in Narnia! I don't know who put it down, but tell them that I'm serving in flipping Narnia! :-D

Leaving the MTC

Am I really leaving on Monday? Have I really been here that long? I feel like I've only been here a couple of days, and yet, I feel like I've been here my whole life. I've REALLY come to life here, and I LOVE the work. 

There are a lot of Elders with bad attitudes, and many MANY Elders who have no interest in following mission rules. We've seen Elders and Sisters sent home, and a lot of companionships fall apart. But not my district. Me, Elder F____, Elder H____, and all of our wonderful Sisters are so close, and we really do love each other. These Elders are my brothers, and we all trust, rely, and work together.

Speaking of working together, we have a two REAL investigators; Peter and Alexander. Peter is a middle aged man who grew up in New Zealand, and he came to America to find work, and to get married. He is very down to earth, but he has very little education since He became interested in the "Mormons" because of a close friend he has who is Mormon, so he decided he wanted to learn more about the Church, so he took up a job at the MTC to kill two birds with one stone. He is quite open to the Church, and he really likes what our message could mean for his future family.

Alexander on the other hand, is a older, well educated man, and he is also the Ambassador to a country in Africa (I don't remember which one :P), and he was recommended to the MTC by Church headquarters to learn more about what our Church believes. The problem is, he sees Jesus Christ as a great teacher on how to live a fulfilling life, but he doesn't believe that Christ made the atonement, and he has no interest in learning about anything not pertaining to this life.

We taught him last night, and we made some progress, but he is very familiar with how most Christian churches function, and so whenever we start talking about anything other than this life, he stops listening and tells us "I already know that you believe that stuff, and I really don't care about it".

But we had a good lesson last night, and we had a good discussion in our residence afterwards.

Today, we attended the temple endowment session at 7:00am, and we gained some spiritual insights into how we can help our investigators, as well as to encourage us.

This is our last P-day before we leave, so we're trying to take advantage of it (this involves singing, running, working out, gym time, snowman building, and taking pictures which we can't send until we leave the MTC).

Oh! It's been snowing the last couple of days! I can't believe how beautiful it is! The clouds come and sit on top of the mountains and it just snows and snows and snows. I love it!!! The Cafeteria food is great, and there is PLENTY of it. And because I've been working out with my companions, I've been putting on a lot of muscle weight. It's awesome! My spine doesn't stick out anymore, and I don't get tired... Like, EVER... We have a pull up bar right outside our residence door too, which means I get to do it every day. :)

So, as far as letters go, those "dear elder" letters that you sent me made it though! And it was awesome to get them! But you all should go ahead and send my letters to my actual mission since I'll be going to Spokane on Monday. I only get to check my Email on Pday, but I get to read any letters I get as soon as I get them, so those are awesome too!

I miss you all! and I was so glad to hear what's been going on at home!

Please give everyone my mission address! I want to hear from everyone!

{Here's his mission home address!!!}WASHINGTON SPOKANE MISSION820 S Pines Rd. #101Spokane Valley, WA 99206-5420

Love you all, and I'll write you all an Email again next week!

-Elder Keppner