April 14th, 2014

Ladies and Gents,  
I have slacked the last two weeks, so today I shall start off with what I thought to be my last week in Republic. With transfers coming up we made a last ditch effort to see all the people and say hi and bye, I have been in Republic for 6 months now and was sure I was leaving which I was slightly okay with but in all reality I really wanted to stay.  The week went way to fast with General Conference two of our days plus a Zone Conference taking up another day, we had a mad dash to see every one.  We used the ''I could be leaving'' trick to help us get in to doors. We had great lessons and most of all of our Investigators, as we observed, have been doing well and progressing and as they say "feeling good" (Spirit ) so really no complaints!  Well minor ones but I shall not be picky as the 11th commandments says!   End of the Week started with General Conference and holy cow talk about amazing!!  There was some great talks given some of my favorites....      

Saturday Sessions 

 The Cost and Blessings of Discipleship by Jeffery R Holland. 

Spiritual Whirlwinds  by Neil L Anderson. 

Let Your Faith Show by Russell M Nelson 

What are You Thinking?  by W. Craig Zwick  

Priesthood Session
The Keys and Authorities of The Priesthood by Dallin H Oaks
Are You Sleeping Through The Restoration By Dieter F Uchtdorf
The Priesthood Man  by Henry B Eyring
BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE  by Thomas S Monson---way good :) 

Sunday Sessions
Grateful in Any Circumstances  by Dieter F Uchtdorf
Fear Not  I Am With Thee by Jean A Stevens
Your Four Minutes by Gary E Stevenson
Bear up Burdens With Ease  by David A Bednar
Obedience Through Faithfulness  by L. Tom Perry 

I know that is a lot of talks to like, but I really did enjoy them and learned tons. Most of those talks we have used in lessons and street contacts, along with a lot of talks from 2013 October session.  I also have downloaded twenty or so other talks from other sessions,  I cant get enough of the talks!  Another one of my favorites is "Back to Gospel Basics"  By L. Tom Perry 1993 April session 

I encourage each of you to go back and listen to a few of your personal favorites,  its a great thing and I know what your saying "I don't have time for that...." but in all reality you can listen to them while you drive and eat lunch and during down times of the day. Lets take the advice of the Prophets and Apostle's councils and use our technology for good! For a few of our investigators this has made the difference . It has helped them to feel the spirit in there day more abundantly. I know as we lend an ear to the words spoken during this Conference our life's will seem to be better and we will actually be happier. 

Now on to this last week...... Service, service, and more service!  Which was great nothing wrong with that but on top of that we had some way sweet lessons,  the kind of lessons that we walk out of and high five and feel good for the rest of the day no matter what! One of our investigators, who has been slow in progression, exploded and I know that it is because he watched Conference. He talked of baptism,  just not quite ready yet which is perfectly okay. Another we put on date for Baptism for May 3rd along with his wife which we expected but not quiet like we expected. So lesson wise, we had another great week.

That is the spiritual side of my last two weeks . Physically doing good grateful to be here in Republic to do real service and enjoying the beauty of this place!  Its not quite Gods Country like I am used to, but still pretty sweet views and great people and over all just a great place to serve!!

I hope you all have a great week!
Love you all, take care and have a great week!!

Love Elder Braman  

 Cascade Falls 

 Bad picture of me but you can at least see I am alive and kickin'

Rainbow at Cascade Falls 

The top part of Cascade Falls  

April 28th, 2014

Men and Women everywhere,  please stay calm, please don't be awkward and remain seated!

Okay thanks,  just wanted to vent for a second.  This week was nuts, I have had crazy weeks, great weeks and bad weeks before, but this week was insane!  Up and down, dumb and great, and all that rain and heat.  It was like the week of polar opposites.  One investigator dropped us and said some bad stuff and what not, and then showed up at church normal and invited us over on Tuesday night!  The other investigators are doing great. Our investigators who have committed to baptism are doing good and working on quitting smoking. 

We went on exchanges this week, I stayed up here and Elder Horan came up here to Republic.  It was nice to have him as a companion again and do some work together and reminisce on the good old times.  And without sounding rude, it was great to have a companion who talks during the discussions and such. We got to talk to a lot of the people who he taught when he was here a year ago that he didn't keep record of so we got a few new investigators out of that. That day we had 15 lessons which is good for anywhere but the next day everybody canceled on us so now you see the polar opposites.   

I heard a few good quotes this week and so through out the next few emails I am going to share some of them.  For today my favorite is ''When the road looks rough ahead, remember the Man Upstairs and the word Hope. Hang onto both, and tough it out ''-- John Wayne

Good advice for all of us especially in these days .

The other day we were teaching a lesson (the Restoration to be exact) to a family and as we were teaching one of the little kids came in playing with dinosaurs. We kept teaching and then boom my brain clicked and I had the little kid help me teach the lesson with dinosaurs. We taught/acted out with dinosaurs the Great Apostasy Restoration and Book of Mormon it was so sweet and actually worked and the parents and kids understood it.  At the end the little kid goes to sit down and says ''see mom that's why I brought the dinosaurs''  Hahaha, it was so cute and way funny, best lesson ever !!!!!!!! 

I hope you all got some what of a chance to look over some Conference talks. I have learned some sweet stuff and have been able to teach it and use it in a talk and a bunch of street contacts.  

Mentally doing good, spiritually great, physically good, and missionary work is going great and I am truly loving every bit of it. I hope to stay another transfer in Republic for a few reasons but most of them just because Republic is sweet. I have learned a few things about myself this week and in the past, just thought maybe some of you would want to know this but most of you I will be preaching to the choir... so here they go.  Apparently I am slightly OCD and more stubborn then I thought I was.  I hate technology, slow drivers and people who hit there breaks to slow down going UP a mountain pass.  I could go on and on but I am trying to be less selfish!  haha
  

Anywho kids, have a great week, put life in the high gear and give her the onions!!

Have fun keep using those knees of yours and don't forget to be thankful. 

Take care and enjoy the spring time and God Bless!  

Love to all of you, 

Your favorite missionary! 

 Pictures are from a hike we went on last p-day on a old rail line up north of Grand Forks, Canada.  The cave is the tunnel that the train went through. 

 Elder Nash and I in another cave.

May 5th, 2014

Dear family, friends, freaks, fellow Americans and foreigners alike.
To my sisters, my parents, ward members, creepy stalker people, and associates, and lovers, and those people I just talk to but have no real connection with. To all of them, and you other people left over, I say hello!!

This week was Fast Sunday, we had some really neat and really great testimonies.  A brother in the ward stood up and told me I was next to bear mine after him, I was surprised but hey I didn't argue. All week I had been thinking about perspective and how many people are different.  I have also been thinking about agency (the power to choose) and how we use our agency and the effects it has on others. Obviously none of us try to negatively effect others but sometimes, due to our different perspectives, we might actually damage someone.  So how does one solve this conflict to know if, what, and how they are doing things the right way?  President Thomas S Monson said,  ''When God speaks and man obeys that man will never be wrong ''.  Pretty freaking cool!   So, we never have to worry if what we are doing is right as long as we follow Gods commandments.  Our perspectives? Well we wont have to worry about them because if we keep them at an eternal perspective then it will be easier to follow Fathers commandments. 

Had a great week loving the mission, still wild and crazy this week!  We had a drunk guy smell our ties!! Haha, it was so funny!!!!

Anywho, this was kinda short, I can't think of to much more right now. 
 Take care have a great week! 
God Bless!! 

Elder Braman 

   I made some home made from scratch, not a precooked bag  chicken wild rice "stuff".

 Super good and thick as mud! 

 View of the Colombian River from a high place, the water level is low   

 I think I was dancing at this point..

 Hahahah not what ya think..

Yes, snow on top of Sherman Pass, in May!

March 31st, 2014

Well, one week until transfers! I am hoping to stay but doubt I will since I have been here for so long. We had a good week filled with a lot of appointments and a lot of service.  We did a total of 24 hours of service in one week! 

We had a district meeting at Cascade Falls and a taught an investigator lesson in a barn... literately a barn, not a shed.  It was great, manure everywhere and everything. Now one may ask why the heck was it in a barn?  We went over to teach him and he had to run out to do chores quick and so we helped him.  While we were working I asked what his hold ups were, what was slowing his progress from coming closer to Christ? He paused and said a weird thing.  He said, ''I feel like I cant be a normal person and a Mormon at the same time"  I asked how so and he said, "No Mountain Dew and no tv".  My reaction was of course a snicker and an odd look but we taught him how it actually is. He thought because we as missionaries cant watch tv and because I don't drink Mtn Dew, that he couldn't do those things either.  But it lead me to a train of thought, in all reality being a follower of Christ is normal and doing those things makes us feel normal because its what he did and that is the example he set.  When we follow his teachings and example we receive blessings which make us feel happy which in turn gives us that normal feel, HAPPY!

I have for sure only one week left in Republic for sure so next week you could get pictures of me with people saying good-bye. All in all I've had a good week this week and we have a great week planned this coming week! 

Take care! 

Miss and love you all!! 

Love Elder Braman 

 Snow pictures from my favorite road to drive .. Good old Trout Creek 

 Pretty sweet looking tundra stuff  

 Big water balloon we chucked off this bridge into the river below. 

This bridge is where we chucked it off of 

a very Minni .......Minni Cooper 

March 24th, 2014

I don't have a lot of time today but I wanted to share the love with some pictures.

I'll try to write more next week.  Thank you for all who have been writing, I enjoy the letters!

Elder Joshua Braman

 That would be me (Joshua Braman) at the head of a mine shaft pretty neat, eh ? 

 Elder Padilla got a cowboy hat and it fits him way to good, I laugh every time he wears it!!

 I thought we would take pics to look cool! Elder Padilla looks like a stud, hahaha!

Elder Rawson and I representing with the gas mask on oh ya!

 Every body needs a gas mask including the missionaries!

March 17th, 2014

Well its been two weeks since I have written so I have a lot to say but only a little time to do it so this will be more jam packed with info and not as many details. 

Last p-day we went hiking up in Canada to Cascade Falls to watch the spring run off, it was pretty sweet. On the way back we saw a herd of rams and mountain goats/sheep! We saw two of them head butt, it was really neat.

On Wednesday we had district meeting on top of a mountain!  I tied a bunch of primary chairs on my back and we all hiked up there and on the way up we had questions we had to answer, you could only take steps higher if you got them right!  And once we got up there we role played some lessons, did some training and learned some neat stuff! Best district meeting ever!!

We had some great lessons this week and found a few new investigators.  Our less active work has slowed down a bit...people and there agency, I tell ya.....  Our four solid progressing investigators are doing good . One doesn't  think he needs to be baptized and the other doesn't like this branch and wont be baptized into it but is waiting to be baptized when he moves (in two months).  The other is going slow and steady and will eventually be baptized.  The last has been ''baptized '' into another church and wants to just be a Mormon and not be baptized again, it's an odd situation but they're all doing good and coming closer and closer to there savior each day and that's all that really matters in the end right? 

Well I am out of time, take care have a good week!

Don't do anything I wouldn't do! 

Love you all Elder Braman 

 This mountain is out side of Republic and apparently that is where a lot of Indians were buried. 

 The rams we saw while we were in Cascade Falls in Canada.

Me with a chair back pack, we needed chairs for district meeting.

 The best district meeting ever on top of Morning Rock!!  

March 3rd, 2014

Happy March! 

This week was a great week,  we drove many miles in these last few days  for a few reasons.

One we both are sick and nobody wants to meet with us because of that. Instead we drove around to all the people who don't answer their phones and we knocked on their doors and tried to meet with them. Other reasons we drove a lot is because I let Padilla do all the planning since we had more miles this month and we drove to one place back to another right by the place we just were and well, Padilla is a work in progress!

On one of these excursions we were driving to contact a referral and on the way we were going around a sharp corner and there was ice and we already were slowing down, like 20 mph and then, boom!  Right there in the road was a rock the size of a watermelon and we had no choice but to hit it and then we had a flat.  I made Elder Padilla change it since he had never changed a flat tire.

All in all this week was fun we deep cleaned the apartment because we were sick we had to stay in the apartment, that only lasted for a few hours. We also did a few service projects and lets face it, since when has splitting wood not been fun?   Those are some things that made this week great 

Announcement!  As you know today's date is March Third ...  so that being said if you don't know today March 3rd  is Ms Toria Bigham's birthday, 19 whole years ago her cute little dome piece took her first breath on this earth! So shout out to her.... Happy Birthday Chief! So if you all want flood her phone or facebook. Go ahead and do such a thing ...

This week we also had a few good lessons with our investigators and less actives. A couple more good lessons and such with one of our investigators and I think he will pick a date for baptism.   It's winter time so any bit of snow is an excuse for people not to come to church so there are good Sundays and bad ones and by bad ones I mean slow where only 40 people come to church .... 

Today i have been out 9 months exactly which is crazy! Time flies when your having fun right? 

Thanks for all the emails and letters, I always enjoy hearing from all of you. 

Have a great week and stay safe. 

Love Elder Joshua Braman 

 Our Jeep with the flat tire.

 I turned the lights on at like 2 am and this is how my companion was sleeping hahaha!

We came upon this little guy. Who doesn't want to build a snow man in the middle of a lake?