Would love Letters!

Braxton would love hearing from you, so drop him a line or two. :)

Braxton was able to spend some time with his zone leader this week and had a good time. They cooked good food (hamburgers and pasta), played games, got some sweet deals (Brax got a sweater for $7) and taught some people.

Braxton lost his knife that he got a year ago and wasn't happy with that at all. It kind of ticked him off. But, oh well "life goes on."

They were teaching a lady this week and saying everything very clearly to her. They constantly were explaining things over for her to make sure that she was understanding. Right before they started explaining the Restoration they asked her "so how does God put an end to the apostasy?....by calling what?" (correct answer being: a prophet, or someone to guide us) Her answer was "little birds". (that cracks me up! ha, ha) Braxton was wondering where in the crap did she get that idea. His zone leader had to put a pamphlet in front of his face because he was laughing. (I thought Braxton and the other missionary would just look at each other and bust up) Brax said she was a good lady though. (I'll be the one to say it then....she's a little off her rocker)

Brax found a family last week. A mom and two daughters. The dad usually doesn't allow anyone in their house to talk with them. It made Braxton a little nervous but the mother told him it was okay. The lesson went really well and they scheduled another one. That went great too and on the third lesson the father walked in. Braxton was sure they were in for it, but the dad just sat and listened. The father was fine with everything and even told the missionaries they could come back any time they wanted. (whew, Braxton was relieved)

Braxton gets a lot of girls yelling out "hey, boyfriend" and whistling at him but this week things went to far. Him and his zone leader where riding on a bus and a few girls got on and one dropped a bag of chips right by Braxton and slowly bent down to pick them up. (Brax looked away) The girls were sitting a few rows behind them and then moved up so they were sitting by them. The girl dropped her phone across the aisle, not once but twice. (crazy girl) Then Brax and his comp decided to go to sleep for awhile (it was a long bus ride). When they woke up the girls were taking pictures of them. You'd think that was enough. But an hour later just before the girls were going to get off the bus they moved forward and then turned around so they were facing the missionaries and just stared at them. Braxton thought that was about the weirdest experience. Not one word was ever spoken. (I'm just glad our prayers are being heard and answered and that Brax is being protected. Yes, even from girls)

It was a good week though. They taught quite a bit and had good experiences while they did. Brax has a leadership meeting this week and even though he looses a day in the mission he likes hearing from his Mission President.

Braxton still loves being a missionary! He loves his family too! We love him too!

pics

A lot of things happened this week even though Braxton was only in his area from Thursday to Sunday. (they had changes and meetings) They took advantage of the time they had. A lady in the branch passed away and even though it was sad there were some neat things about it too. She had cancer and so she never made it to church, but she was so happy that her family could and that they can keep on going. She was glad to see that there was a church finally in Valle de Bravo. She was a great example to everyone and a wonderful lady.

The English classes are picking up and more people are starting to come. The missionaries always share a 15 minute message about the restoration after and Brax likes that everyone gets to hear at least that much.

For Family Home Evening this week they went for a walk with a family. (the parents weren't home so they couldn't have it at the house) They got really wet but on their walk they saw a bunch of deer and some zebra. They were fenced in but Braxton thought it was still cool. The family home evening went really well and the family invited a sister that isn't a member. It was neat.

At Church on Sunday there really are just a few members. A member that was suppose to give a talk didn't show up and so the Branch President said that Braxton would give the talk. Brax had about 5 minutes to prepare for it. Everything went really well. The spirit directed Braxton in what to say and he listened. He spoke for all but 5 minutes of the meeting. Braxton said it went by so fast and it was easy. (umm, maybe we should listen to the spirit more ourselves) It was a great experience for Braxton and it strengthened his testimony.

While riding on a bus with the window open, Braxton had fell asleep. Brax was awakened when the bus hit a branch making it break. (which caused a loud sound) It had been raining and so there was a lot of water on the branch and when it broke it landed on Braxton. All that really scared Braxton from his sleep and it made him jump. Everyone around him just starred at him like he was a weirdo. He didn't care though. He was just glad that they noticed the missionaries and will hopefully ask about them later.

All is good and things are going well. Braxton is enjoying his mission a ton and is still learning a lot. His prayers are with us every day. He signed this e-mail as the FAVORITE son, brother, brother in law, friend, uncle, and grandson. Oh, don't we love Elder Ropelato? (heck ya)

Pasta

Another Camera Broke :(

This week a sister missionary dropped Braxtons camera and broke it. His last camera was missing after an activity and the ward he was in got him another one. (I think the sister should do the same). This week Braxton tripped and fell on his face! (runs in the family(:)

The work is really going great. In this area the missionaries are focusing on the members. The members help them so much and love to refer them to others. It is kind of hard though because everyone lives so far apart and it takes a lot of time to meet with them. Braxton is enjoying the work though. They had a few more baptisms this week. (I think the 10 year old girls) They were baptized in the river and it was really cold. When they got in the water they started screaming. (that kind of drove the spirit away) One of the girls foot came up the first time and so they had to baptize her again. She really didn't want to do it again and so Braxton talked to her and then she let him baptize her again. He said she was fine right after he lifted her out of the river and that is was neat.

The branch is doing so good and the members just love the missionaries. They refer to them as their "angels" and that makes Braxton's heart happy! Braxton said if you want an easy spiritual experience go get the cd "Fishers of Men" and listen to it. It is of the Prophets talking and music is playing in the back ground. Braxton said it is just amazing!

Braxton says "HI TO EVERYONE!"

A Few Pictures

Braxton e-mailed me a few pictures. So, of course I have to share them. :) I love how you can see what the country is like. (at least in the mountain area-beats the heck out of the city) Braxton has a bunch of trout in that net.This is a hammock in Braxtons bedroom. It looks high up there to me. :)Braxton with Norman. (have you seen City Slickers?) Braxton is so glad to be in this area. He loves the feel of the country. Brax really is a country boy! (and a dang cute one at that!)

Fun and Spiritual!

Braxton and his comp found a scorpion in their house. They are little ugly things and poisonous. They took the stinger out of it so they could hold it. The package with the shoes is in the office so Brax will get that at the next meeting. The people in Mexico really care about the missionaries and many have offered to buy Brax new shoes. (at least four) Braxton just never expected them to be like that and it makes Braxton happy to know that he is loved and watched out for. (ya, me too!)

Braxton guaranteed me he is really focused on the work and is working hard, but he is human and did notice the most beautiful girl he's ever seen in his life. He said it wasn't a distraction, but he did notice. :)

The stake came on Sunday and called a new Branch President and they made Braxton his first counselor. Braxton was really glad because trying to do it all was really stressful.

The missionaries found three new families of the church this week. Braxton was really excited about that and said the way they are found are just plain miracles.

Braxton got to pull a van out of the mud with a John Deere Tractor on Sunday. Of course he was excited to do that. The family with the van was taking the missionaries to their meeting, but because the van got stuck they didn't make it to the meeting on time. The family invited Braxton and his comp to eat with them. When they were pulling in to the parking lot the cars were really close. Tania, the lady driving, asked Braxton to stick his head out of the window to make sure they could make it without hitting any cars. Braxton thought the window was down and threw his head quickly into it. He hit the window pretty hard but did think it was funny. (me too :D)

Jennifer is getting baptised on Saturday and Braxton is excited for that.
(getting ready for English Classes)