Sister Brianne Watson: WOW.

Warning: this is going to be a long email. I'm sorry in advance.. I have so many thoughts and feelings and experiences and blessings that have come out of this week but I will most likely struggle to put it all into words. I will do my best, but words do not compare to how incredible this week has been! I feel like Heavenly Father made it His mission to bless Sister Brown and I the most He ever has and I am overwhelmed with gratitude for it. Let's start with the THREE member dates we got this week!

If I haven't talked about it already, we have a "mission vision" every year that our mission president prays about and sets up for us to fulfill and accomplish throughout the year. This year the mission vision is to have every member and family invite somebody into their home to be taught by the missionaries. To get this to happen, we visit the members and set up a date with them to work towards to find someone to invite into their homes. Sister Castleton and I weren't able to set up any while we were together and it was very frustrating but Sister Brown and I made sure we went out of our way to work towards the mission vision. The Lord saw our desires and our determination to do this and he made it possible for us to get three member dates in one week!! This is such an accomplishment for us and I am so excited to see miracles in the lives of the members as they strive to find someone for us to teach.

One cool example happened in the home of the Taylor's who offered to feed us this past week. When we finished introducing the mission vision to them and inviting them to help us out with it, Brother Taylor said, "Ya know, it's weird...I just had the date June 20 pop into my head. That is the date we will have somebody in our home for you." I couldn't believe it! This work is so divine and everything...I mean EVERYTHING...is in the Lord's hands. He knows exactly who is ready and I am so humbled to be able to see it in action and to be His tool in accomplishing His work.

On Wednesday we had the privilege of attending the funeral of the sweetest lady named Treasure. She's struggled physically for years and she has been known as the "walking miracle" for a long time now. I had the opportunity of serving her a few times in her home since I've been in this area but she passed away last week. It was expected because of how her health has been lately, but it was very sad to see such a strong woman of this gospel leave so many loved ones behind. The funeral was so wonderful though...she had about 150 people come and most of them were non-members. It was such a comforting experience for me to have the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and to know for myself that Treasure is happy and free from ALL suffering. She is finally able to have her joyous reunion with the Savior and those that have gone on before her. If anybody had a testimony of God and His glory, it was Treasure. She was an amazing example to everyone around her! I am certain that her passing will change many lives in her family who aren't familiar with the church.

It is through experiences like this that reignite my testimony of the plan of salvation and remind me that this life on earth is so small compared to the eternal perspective of things. I picture it as a long string with a knot tied in the middle. The knot resembles our earth life and the long strings on either side is the pre-mortal and after-life. What happens here is so small, yet everything depends on it. The decisions we make, the people we impact, and the mistakes that are made. All of these things will determine our destiny and as long as we are worthy and righteous followers of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we will live with joy eternally with our Father in Heaven. What is greater than that?? (Nothing).

That brings me to Saturday. Oh my goodness. Where do I begin? We had a mission conference in Concord, New Hampshire and guess who was there? ELDER RASBAND, one of the newest in the quorum of the twelve apostles. I got to meet him and shake his hand and sit feet away from him as he addressed our mission. His grandson, Elder Chase, is serving in this mission which was way cool! I came out with Elder Chase...he was my district leader in the MTC and his grandpa is Elder Rasband! It was so cute to see them reunite and talk about each other at the pulpit (elder chase was called up unexpectedly to bear his testimony).

We thought at first that elder chase had something to do with his grandpa coming to our mission but the first thing he said when he got up to speak to us was that he was assigned this visit before he was even ordained an apostle!! They plan things like this very far in advance and the fact that he got to come right as his grandson was serving and in the area he was serving was such a huge miracle for them both. SO COOL. Usually general authorities are dropped into missions not really knowing anything about the mission, but Elder Rasband said he knew "10 months deep" into it since he's read all of Elder Chase's weekly emails. He told us that he had deep impressions to share with us because of that and man...everything he said was so amazing!

He brought up so many points that all of us in this mission needed to hear. The spirit was stronger than I have ever felt in the longest time and all of us were in tears by the end.

Main points:

1. He brought the love of President Thomas S Monson. "If he were here right now, he would tell you that he loves you. President Monson is all about loving people and he especially loves his missionaries. The other thing he say is thank you. None of you are forced to be here and you all made this decision on your own. Thank you for living worthy enough to have this sacred calling."

2. We are supposed to be in this mission right now, with the companion we are with, in the area we are in, RIGHT NOW, for a reason. I have always known this, but for some reason it was so different to hear it from an apostle who actually sits down and calls missionaries to their missions. He testified of the divinity of each calling and how clear the impressions are to know where each person is meant to serve. He gave a talk in conference in 2010 called "The Divine Call of a Missionary" that we were told to study in preparation for this mission conference and he relates an experience where he was sitting in with Elder Eyring as he assigned missionaries.

He did a question/answer with us about that talk and there is no doubt in my mind that my mission call was made just for me. I have been prepared my entire life for this short 18 months and there are no mistakes when it comes to my areas, my companions, and the experiences I've had. Someone asked him if it took a long time or a short amount of time to have the impression of who should go where and he said that it was different almost every time. There are some that he has an immediate prompting and there are some where he has to do a lot of studying and searching before he is impressed as to where the specific missionary should go. He also said that sometimes he has to go back a few missionaries to change their calling because he keeps getting the feeling that it isn't right. I think the whole process is so neat :)

3. The Lord's elect are in this mission. Our mission isn't a high baptizing mission which discourages a lot of us because we feel like we aren't being as successful as we'd like to be BUT he assured us that the Lord knows and has prepared those that are ready for us to teach. He knows every one of their names and He knows when their time is right. He knows the number of those that aren't actually "all set" which is something everyone says out here in New England (He learned that from elder chase haha). He said that some missionaries plant the] seeds (contact), some nourish (teach), and some get to harvest (baptize) them...ALL are the same work. So so so comforting to be reminded that it is truly all the same work. No matter what, it is preparing and inviting those that haven't yet accepted the gospel. Another cool thing he said was, "you can count the number of seeds in an apple, but you can't count the number of apples that come from a single seed."

4. We are our number one convert. Yes, our goal is to convert as many of our brothers and sisters as we can, but the most important convert we have is ourselves. I absolutely love this! I have seen myself grow and change and convert to this gospel and it is something I will be forever grateful for. It's hard to imagine the way my life would have panned out if I hadn't made this decision to serve a mission. My goals and habits and my perspective on everything wasn't completely in accordance with the gospel but now that I've been learning and teaching and experiencing the blessings of living righteously, my life will be so enhanced. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

On Sunday we had dinner with the Watts and I looooove them! Mckenzie Watts (once Fisher) grew up and went to high school with Jessica. Eventually she got married and moved out to massachussetts and here I am now in her ward! What are the odds?! They own something called a....swagway? Hahaha they're so sick! They're like Hoover boards or something and I want one so bad! They have two of them and they ride them around their house all the time. They clean, sweep, mop, and vacuum while riding them. They even go on "walks" outside on them! #goals

Okay I am going to stop before I take any more of your time, but I had such a great week and I'm so full of gratitude for this gospel :) Love you all!!!!