September 23rd, 2013

No letter today, just a picture.  Elder Braman said he would be spending his time catching up on writing some personal emails so maybe you'll be lucky enough to receive one which is likely if you have written him! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELDER BRAMAN! 

Josh celebrates his 20th birthday tomorrow (9-24)!  

Hopefully he has a wonderful day & we get to hear more about it next week. 

September 16th, 2013

Elder Wallis & Elder Braman

Josh was just made a District Leader, he is over several other groups of missionaries in his area.  

His companion is a new to the mission and Josh is training him which he has never done before. 

They are also in a new area, new to both of them.  They don't know anyone or the area at all. 

All in all, Josh has a lot of new things to learn & a lot more responsibilities! 

Well first whole week in the anew area!  Overwhelming.   Kinda not really.   Busy? TOTALLY!!

 I have never filled my planner with so many address's and names.  We have learned much and by much I mean a lot like where people live how to get around the ward boundaries  but there's still lots we need to learn spiritually and mentally.

Okay spiritual time now. 

This week I have had to rely on the lord more than ever . More times than I would like to admit I have found my self feeling overwhelmed and you could put in better terms as "stress" but the beauty of the Atonement is that the Lord can strengthen us and lift us up if we rely on him and have faith that he will. I find myself having to take a deep breath and just pause and ask for strength. It's been great though, we had more street contacts and we've met more people ready for the gospel as we rely on the Lord and not on our own wits. we are nothing mere tools in the Lords hands so we need to stop trying to control this ride and let him take over and run the show.  I think that Carry Underwood says it best when she says "Jesus Take The Wheel".  I tell ya what that's no joke ya see, because I've noticed the more I use that theory the better the work goes.   Well kids that's the lesson I have learned this week hope you got something out of it,  if not then at least you got to listen to me ramble on .......... 

I only had two crashes this week the first was totally me being me .. stupid ..... any how my last word were "dude watch I'm gonna take this corner with out hands" (btw i did it like 9 times successfully) the next thing that happened was my noggin eating pavement and my back tire was sky high but all is fine and no major injury's.  

Second crash.  Well a miss placed telephone pole on the edge of the side walk jumped out and bit the edge of my handle bar and I was then laid out in some nicely manicured lawn. Still some how I walked away injury free.  Yay! 

Well, I am an old man now .. almost 20... jeepers!!   I feel so old just thinking about it. 

I had a good week and hopefully I will have another one!

Thanks for all the letters and emails, love them! 

 

Have a good week!

 Miss ya'll, love ya!

God Bless!

 Elder Braman  

 

September 9th, 2013

Hi Family and People! 

Transfers came and went, DUN DUN DUN!   I am sweep training and I am going to be a district leader, that means I am being white washed in to the Pines Ward and I am getting a brand new Missionary!  I get him on Tuesday so I have no idea who he is yet but he is just a baby (brand new missionary) so that will be neat ... my first son. (mission lingo )  

Between a new missionary and a new area and new responsibility's the next six weeks will either be hard and go by slow or by my predictions, super fast.  I am sad how ever to leave Sullivan Ward, they are awesome and have been super cool and I'll miss them.  I have family in the Pines Ward so that trumps everything!    

So there ya have it, that's my new cool super rad news, and to go with all this news and my nervous feelings sorta I have a quote to go along with it. "There's No Growth in the Comfort Zone and There's No Comfort in the Growth Zone."  So I venture to say that that means that if your comfortable then your not growing.  I am going to be out of my comfort zone so hopefully I will do some growing, too!

Well this last week has been good not much cool happened, I got to pet a real life cow that was sweet and I had some good times with my companion.  Sorry this was short but you got some cool news so be happy!

 Gotta run home and pack all my belongings!!  Keep me posted on everything! 

Love you all!

God Bless,

   Elder Braman

Pictures from Joshua 9-9-13

 Spokane Valley District hanging out on their preparation day. 

Josh's companion is the bottom left from Delta, Utah. 

 Frozen Jello.

Another one of Josh's creations.. 

 Some of his new ties.

They got two fish.  The brown one's name is cow.  

What else would Josh name it!?

September 3, 2013

To my fellow beings, 

This week was good and went by way to fast!  I met some Minnesotans the other day, I had said about three words and the lady asked where I was from and I had her guess and boy you guessed it, she said Minnesota!   Oddly enough she was from Grand Rapids  and she didn't even know where Milaca was so I still haven't met any one who knows exactly where I am from.

I learned a valuable lesson this week , when you have shaving cream on your ear DO NOT TRY to shave it off with the razor!  Your ear will be cut and blood will be spilled ..... so just use your finger

Another lesson I learned this week. When we as people pray we ask for many things like for the Lord to do this, or to bless us with this, or the Lord to do this's and that's.   The lesson I learned was that through faith  and asking the Lord to give you strength to over come challenges or weakness, He will strengthen you to do whatever it is you need to do ( as long as its a righteous desire).  Jesus died on the cross for each and everyone of us, Mormon and not Mormon, each of us he loves and cares for and he preformed the atonement so that each of us could repent and be clean so that we could again enter the presence of our Heavenly Father and live with him 

That is why we do missionary work , to help people access the Atonement, not to grow our churches number of members,  not for glory or for money, to help others come closer to Christ and access his atonement. 

I am doing great & loving the work.  I have a great companion and a great area unfortunately transfers are September 8th so I figure I am leaving but we will see how that works out ya see, as soon as ya get comfortable ya get transferred ... and well I am now finally comfortable so I venture to say I am leaving !

Miss you all!!
Take it easy & God Bless, 

 Elder Braman 

August 26th, 2013

 HELLO TO MY FELLOW AMERICANS

Hope fully you all had  good weeks, but I wouldn't know because only one of my loving sisters emailed me .... actually shes the only person who emailed me. 

Email me I have time because I print them out and then mail ya a reply in the mail.  Somehow someone told everyone that I don't have enough time to read them all and now I don't even worry about time because I don't get any.  I would love to hear from ya'll and about your crazy life's! 

I had a crazy good week the time flew by and we did tons of work we had lunch and dinner at members houses every day and most of them we had non members their as well.

AND JUST TO LET EVERY ONE KNOW NEXT WEEK TUESDAY IS MY P- DAY BECAUSE WE ARE GOING TO THE TEMPLE so I wont be email on Monday. 

I had another sweet experience on my bike this week .  We were flying down a hill and my back bearing blew out so that was a great time, I just held on for dear life and survived.  I also got a new rim and hub and that will be done tomorrow so that will be great. 

I made more spaghetti ramen this week still just as tasty and good as the first time! 

We did a lot of street contacting this week we found three more people to teach all three are super legit  so it will be great to see them progress.  Yesterday I ate elk and bear.  Not the first time I ate them but this time they tasted way better than the first time. 

The mission has changed me in some aspects like my legs are ripped and my slight belly disappeared thanks to the biking and running every morning. 

I have decided the mission has made me a quieter person but all the changes it's done are all for the good .... don't worry I am still Josh Braman and still the same person 

I have formed a motto that I am a person before I am a missionary and I wont be one of those fake missionaries and being your self is important because the Lord sent me here not to be someone I am not so I have to be myself.

 Ya lot of great things this week we talked to a lot of new people and all in all just a good week to be a missionary.  Time is flying by and I am safe and sound and healthy..... I think!

 Miss You ALL!

 Love ya & God Bless 

Elder Braman

August 19th, 2013

Hello friends and family!

Had a great week short and good.  

Not a super great or cool story this week I crashed pretty dog gone good, tore some pant and wrecked my hand but not really to bad, it was pretty sweet. 

(Emma this ones for you)  I tried another habanero pepper ...uffta those things are toasty now. 

We made some fairly legit spaghetti.   Chicken Ramen, meat Ragu and two cans of chicken and spaghetti noodles. Sounds gross but it was so good tasted like heaven... I dare you all to cook it, trust me you will like it!

I met this lady who seriously, if i told you all the things that have happened to her you would freak out.

Through all her trails and all the bad things and all the mean and terrible things people have said to her, she still has a strong testimony and continues to keep her faith and is positive about everything.  What an example to us all she always says, "worse things could happen!"  It strengthened me to sit and compare my life to hers and I thought how blessed I am and how I thought I was positive but she whoops my butt.  She said she has always  had to been able to rely on the Lord, it lifted me so much! the general sense of the story, we can always rely on the Lord no matter how bad, big or small of trails we are going through.

Take it easy,  miss ya all!

Love Elder Braman 

Both of these pictures  below were posted on the mission's website (www.washingtonspokanemission.wordpress.com) of Elder Braman at Zone Conference.  Thought it would be fun to share! 

Not much to say about this one but thought it would be a good laugh for everyone!  His companion took this of him.  Word is, he got the rainbow pillow pet from a girl in the last ward that he was serving in.  She had a crush on him & this was his parting gift when he left that area.  So funny!