Birthday Week!

Hey Everyone!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!! I hope you have a wonderful birthday! I love you
so much and I want you to know that because of your example, I am
doing the best I can here on a mission. You paved the way for me. You
have taught me how to do everything I do. Laundry, Ironing, Dishes,
Cooking, and especially, love others even when I don't want to haha.
You're such a boss, Mom. I love you to Kolob and back! You're the
greatest mom! Oh which reminds me. This week, a lady in our ward has
been helping us do family history work. It's so cool! I found out that
your dad's (Melvin Spooner) sisters name was Bertha and she only lived
for two years. Are you named after her?! That would be so cool! I had
no idea! Also, on dad's side of the family, I think Gramee's mom or
one her siblings name is Bertha. So that's cool. I am loving this
family history work. It's so neat!

So, I'm not sure if I told you but our ward here is fasting all month
for missionary work. The way it's split up is each week is assigned to
a specific branch of the ward. So the first week of the month is the
youth, second week of the month is the Relief Society, the third week
of the month is the High Priests, and the fourth week is Elders
Quorum. So, say you're in Relief Society. They would have brought you
a list and asked you to sign up for 1 day in that week to fast for
missionary work. That way it's decided up among the whole ward. What's
cool, is they decided that whoever is fasting should fast for their
age group. So youth would obviously be fasting for other youth for us
to teach, and high priests would be super old dudes! Haha. Okay, so
since I have explained it I hope it makes sense. So...The ward has
been fasting for missionary work this month of March. Man, we have
seen so much success from it! We have gotten in so many homes lately.
Like, there is this guy who has been inactive for 20 years and doesn't
want anything to do with the church. Last week we knocked on his door
and he didn't answer. So this week we tried again and he opened the
door and before we could explain ourselves he said: "ah...come in!"
That doesn't happen often lol. What's also cool, is the high priests
are fasting this week...and we got into an older mans house! So
awesome. Then, one day we had one of the 17 year old boys with us and
we were just doing look ups and that's when you look up less actives
or investigators in a specific area. So, we were about to head back
and my companion asks TJ, the 17 year old, where he thinks we should
go. He thought about it and gave him an answer. "Let's go to Doug's"
so we were in our way to Doug's house and I was like: "dude...let's go
see Deborah Quirk ( She was reffered to the missionaries by a member.
So she is a Potential investigator) So, they agreed and we decided to
go to Deborah's house. Keep in mind, we have knocked on her door 3
times before and never got a reply from her. So this was a hit or
miss. We knocked on her door and she finally answered! We weren't
expecting that! After we introduced ourselves she was like: "oh! Come
in come in! It's cold out there!" So we got to visit with her and her
grandchildren (who were playing Minecraft :D) and we just told her who
we were and that we would like to visit with her and share a message
with her. She is so nice and willing to accept the gospel. I feel like
if she is willing to accept, she will be baptized. She is awesome!
But, she is super busy so it's tough to visit with her. Another cool
thing, is when we found Deborah, the relief society was fasting that
week! Man fasting is cool! Haha. We also have been meeting with this
lady who is less active. She is only less active because she has
health problems. But she is ridiculously nice! We set up an
appointment with her the day prior to when we met with her and when we
got there, she was like: "did you guys eat lunch?" We told her that we
had a few cookies and some lemonade, so she laughed and said: "oh
that's not lunch. I'm glad I made you guys some Ziti!" She made us a
huge pan of ziti pasta! Oh, and when we met with her before, she asked
what our favorite food and drink is and I told her Mountain Dew and
cheesecake. Typicall Branndin right? Lol. So, after she dished us
pasta she come out of the kitchen saying: "well, I don't have to ask
one of you guys what your favorite drink is" and she walks out with a
2 liter of Mountain Dew! I was so happy! I probably thanked her like
758 times! She is so awesome and she LOVES the missionaries!

The work is going really well right now. Elder Cloward and myself know
the area really well now and we have mapped out all of the less
actives homes so that when we go to a certain town for the day, we
have all of the less actives mapped out. So, things are moving right
along! I'm pretty happy. He still agitates me a little, haha. But it's
something that I need to get over. I really need to get over myself
but I just get so angry so fast! I don't know why, but I do. The
littlest things make so upset. It's all good though. Thank you guys
for all of your support. You guys rock!

Your missionary,

Elder Branndin Brian Long

Elder Cloward and Elder Long at a Relief Society Dinner

The award his zone gave him :)

March 12th - A GOOD week!

Gutentag Meine Fruende! (Good Day My Friend!)...I think...

WE GOT TO GO TO THE TEMPLE TODAY!!

Sorry the email came so late. We spent the day in Manhattan :)

This week has been wonderful! I'm not sure if I ever brought it up, but our ward is fasting for the whole month of March for missionary work. The youth had the first week, the relief society had the second, the high priests have the third, and the elders have the last week. We have noticed a huge improvement in our missionary work. It's way awesome! We have about 3 new investigators because of it. So, fasting is awesome! 

Elder Alivio and I gave talks in sacrament this past Sunday. I talked about "Relying on The Lord to learn" and Elder Alivio talked about "Fasting". Both of our talk were 10 minutes! My sacrament talks are improving! In my talk, I told the story of when I gave Alex a blessing. I don't know if I ever told you guys but one day Alex was really really depressed and because his dad had takin sleeping pills, I had to give him a blessing. So in that case, I had to rely on The Lord for guidance and courage. It was awesome. I had a couple of people in the ward tell me that I looked really comfortable at the pulpit. So yeah. I guess I'm gonna be a general authority some day haha, just kidding.

It has warmed up significantly! It was 60 degrees yesterday! We were driving around with the windows down. Man it was nice. I'm so tired of the cold. We are suppose to get rain tonight and have snow tomorrow. 

We went to the temple today. Finally we got permission! The city was awesome! We went to a store called Century 21 and they sell tons of awesome cheap ties. I got 2 sweet ties for $20! It's been a year next week since Jeremy and I went to NYC. Such a beast city!

That's so sad that Brenn and Nate left. Although, it's so good for them. This is a new chapter in their life and they are handling it responsibly. I'm proud of them :) that's awesome that you were able to road trip around Idaho and see the family! If I was there, I probably would have driven with you so you had company. Also, that was a little mean bringing up the enchilada thing. We just worked out this morning, and I'm so hungry! Haha, it's okay though. 

I'm still having a rough time getting along with the other elders. We don't fight, but they really know how to push my buttons. But, I'm learning how to make my life sucky for their benefit lol. 

So, we have a bunch of youth in our neighborhood. One of them is a teenager who shares the same complex with us. He is the child of the fighting parents. Anyway, a bunch of the teenagers got a basketball hoop right outside our house. And the past few days, the impression to play ball with them has come to me but every time I asked the other elders they made up some dumb excuse. So, finally I convinced my companion yesterday to play with them. Man it was awesome. I was being my weird self and said: "I'm super good...so look out!" Little did I know that I would be pretty good haha. I'm usually suck. All the black dude were like: "ooh! Man! He's got the step and everything!" It was awesome. Then wait for it...I gave them a challenge after we beat em. I said: "how bout another game later this week? Let's raise the stakes a little higher. If WE win, we get to teach you a lesson. If you win, we will buy you a soda." They were like: "Yeah, I'm down!". I felt like a beast. Especially being jr companion haha. The kid that lives next to us. His name is Ryan. He is such a good kid, but he is heavily influenced by bad people and also has crummy parents. The gospel can totally bless his life. But my companion doesn't think so. He just thinks he's a crappy teenager. This is the kinda thing that makes me not like the other missionaries. Because I'm new I "don't know" so I don't get to decide. I feel like the reason they didn't want to play basketball in the first place is because they thought it was a waste of time. Gah! It's so frustrating! Anyway. Hopefully we beat them so we can teach Ryan. I also came up with the idea to go tracting yesterday. We didint have any luck, but I finally felt productive. I told my companion that I feel like we could be doing more and he was like: "what? We never have any down time. What are you talking about?" So, there goes one of the "your new" examples. Any idea that I have to hasten the work just gets shut down completely. They treat me like an infant sometimes. The things that we are doing now obviously aren't working so why not try something new, ya know? Jeez Louise...some people. 

If you're reading this, that means you love mean cause you dealt with my little rant. So thank you :) I'm just a little frustrated, that's all. 

I love you guys! Thank you for all your support and love. I'm beginning to love being a missionary. I'm trying to do my best. So your support is very appreciated! 

Love,

         Elder Branndin Brian Long

More pictures!

They made this temple out of all the snow they got! Pretty sweet!

Making faces with all of his companions!

March 5th - A Sick Elder Long :(

Hey guys!

So, I have had the flu for the past few days. Doesn't that sound fun!
Haha, well it's not. Elder Witbeck also has the flu. I have been
throwing up and he has had a lot comin out the other end. We think
it's something that someone is our ward fed us, but I think we are
just jumping to conclusions. Needless to say, the past few days have
been awful because of that reason.

We are doing so much more now! We taught 16 lessons last week! It's
not a whole lot, but it's way more than usual. We have been doing a
lot of less active work, like you were saying, the whole country is
doing that. I knew that from the elders before I left so I kinda
expected it. But, Elder Cloward and I have been teaching a lot of
people in nursing homes and in hospitals. Not my top choices of places
to be (that's probably why I'm sick) but the people we teach are
great! It's so fun to teach someone who doesn't like to come to church
because they were either offended, had doctrinal issues, didn't like
the people, etc...And then we come in and just put the puzzle back
together! The other day, we taught this older guy in a VA hospital.
His name is Richard Fink. He had some issues with drinking coffee and
tea. A couple of weeks ago we taught him the Word of Wisdom. He
committed to not drinking either of those which is awesome! This past
week, we felt inspired to teach him the Law of Chastity. Now if you
think about it, he is a old man in a VA hospital with like no women.
He doesn't really need to be taught the Law of Chastity, right? Wrong!
When we taught him about the blessings that come from being chaste, he
jumped and went: "duh! That all makes sense now!" It was so cool. The
spirit works wonders in the oddest ways. It was really funny when we
got there. We sat down and got settled and Brother Fink asked us how
we were. Elder Cloward wanted to pull a little joke on him and replied
with: " I'm getting married next week." Brother Fink's eyes popped out
of his head and he said: "You're getting married? Man, you're taking
this companion thing too seriously." Haha, then later on, after we
asked how our weeks went, Elder Cloward gave Brother Fink a Chastity
pamphlet. Brother Fink adjusted his glasses to look at what it was and
then he looked at Elder Cloward and said: "Whoa, you need this more
than be buddy!" Hahahaha! It was pretty hilarious.

So, Elder Johnson from you ward emailed me....It was nice of him to do
so, but I don't know who he is D: haha. He was like: "So, your parents
said you were having a rough time and I just wanted you to know that
it's okay." I was a little surprised when I got that. Who are the new
Elders? Are they weird? Where are they from? Let me guess. Elder
Johnson is from Utah? Lol I hope they're teaching you guys lessons and
not just eating your food! That's so important. Now when I look back,
we have had elders that didin't teach us, they just ate. Missionaries
are suppose to go over to members homes, not just to eat but to get to
know them and to teach them and help them in their own lives. It's a
sacrifice for some people to feed 4 missionaries! I would feel
horrible if I arrived, ate, then left. So I hope they're good
missionaries.

Elder Cloward and I taught this Italian man the other day. He is so
Italian! Man I'll tell ya. I swear his house was imported from Italy.
I'm glad I've been there so I can actually say that, haha. But, he is
a hardcore Catholic. He isn't interested in the church at all, but his
wife is.  Every time we asked him if we could teach or share him a
lesson, he would be like: "no no no, I don't want to be taught from
you guys." So, no luck on him. Hopefully his heart will be softened.
He thinks every church is wrong. Including his own, haha. He said he
wanted to make his own church. I was like: "No! That's how the
apostasy started and you're just fulfilling it!" Haha.

So, we used to talk about me coming back with an accent, right? Yeah,
I wouldn't be too surprised. Most of the people in our ward are the
epitome of a New Yorker. They seriously say: "Forget about it, pizza
pie, get outta here" and way more. It's so funny to hear them talk
sometimes. It reminds me of Mobsters and Mormons. If you watch that
movie, that's how the people up here talk.

So, there is this town called "Beacon" about 20 minutes south of
Wappingers a Falls. Dad might get a kick outta this, but Pete Seager
lived there until he died just recently! I wanted to go teach him but
then I found out he just died. Pretty cool though.

We have about 3 State Trooper stations within 5 miles of our house.
It's awesome. They basically run Wappingers Falls. I see them
everywhere. Although, there is a massive correctional facility here
too. So that's probably why. Our neighbor, the ones who actually share
the house with us, so on the other side if the wall. They have
domestic calls all the time. Probably once a week. So, we have state
troopers in front of our house all the time! I took a picture with my
camera. I was thinking if sending my SD card every transfer. I think
that'll work out.

I signed up for a Planet Fitness pass. It's 15 a month and it's billed
every 17th of the month. But it's so worth it. Exercising is required
on the mission, so it way worth it. Why not lose weight and get buff?
Haha.

I don't think any of us will be transferred this cycle. Maybe Elder
Witbeck cause he goes home in May. President Morgan sometimes gives
missionaries "a dying wish" and that means that they can pick where
there last area is. Of course everyone picks Harlem. That's like, the
place to be, haha.

Dude, mom. You should most definitely study preach my gospel!! Elder
Bednar said: "Preach my gospel is not just a book you read. It's a way
of life." The things that preach my gospel teaches are ways that we
can improve our life in coming unto Christ. It also will help you and
give you the confidence to open your mouth. Speaking of opening your
mouth. Us 4 missionaries taught relief society last week and we talked
about how we all need to trust in The Lord and just open our mouth. If
we do so, he will put the words in our mouth of what we should say. I
can testify of that as a missionary. It's pretty dope.

I'm so excited for Brenn and Nate. This is a whole new chapter in
their lives and it sounds like they want the best for Aria. Moving to
Reno would do them a whole lotta good. Staying here and working at
Walmart probably wouldn't be the best. So, good for them :)

Man, this is a long email. I'm sure you don't mind haha. I have time
since I'm sick. I'm just lying in bed typing on my awesome iPad. I'm
spoiled. Oh! So, that picture you sent me of Elder Kelly. It looks
like he has an iPad on his lap. Does his mission have them too! I'm
gonna have to email him. I don't know why I never thought of emailing
him yet. Filipe too! I'm also sorry I haven't sent pictures. I'll be
better at that. I took one for you just like you wanted, but the way
elder Witbeck took the picture is stupid. So, I'll send it to you, but
you can make the call on if it's worthy to be in the plaque. I still
think you should use that one with the black shirt. But, I also just
got a haircut, so maybe I'll take another. I send it, it just may be
another week or so.

Oh! I also never told you about one of our investigators dog. His name
is Kingston and he is an exact replica of Toby. Like identical. Same
color of hair in ever part of his body. White, brown and black. He is
so adorable. It makes me miss my tobes. You should send me a picture
of him :)

I have a couple more things to just randomly say. So bare with me.

Our organ in our chapel is awesome! You would love it mom. It plays
hymns by itself! But a human can still play it as well! It's really
neat.

And, 3 out of the 4 elders here in our apartment have their first name
start with BR. Branndin, Brett, and Bradley. Also, Bradley aka, Elder
a Witbeck. His name is Bradley Taylor Witbeck. I just find it funny
cause Nates middle name is Bradley. So Bradley Taylor is like Nate.
Anyway. That's enough randomness for me.

I miss and love you all and hope that your week goes well! Stay in
tune with the spirit as much as possible, it will make you happy and
joyful!

Love,
         Elder Branndin Brian Long