The most embarrassing thing happened this week haha! We were headed to dinner at this family's house that I had never met before. We put their address in our maps and parked in front of their house. The mom was in the driveway with her daughters and she waved at us! I noticed that the mom did look a little confused. She went inside but her daughters stayed in the driveway. We got out of the car and we started to ask the daughters how old they were and they started to walk into the house. We followed them inside and I smelled dinner in the kitchen. When the daughters saw us walk inside they ran ahead of us and yelled "Mom they are coming inside!!!" I thought they were just excited that we were there. The mom was cooking dinner and I was about to ask her where her restroom was. She looked so confused then my companion said: "Wait, are y'all the Thiels?" The mom said she had no idea who the Thiels were and my heart sank. We had totally just walked into a strangers home... we had the wrong address!! I looked back and realized that the little girls didn't even invite us in, we just followed them inside. Them yelling "Mommy they are coming inside!!" was probably out of fear, these two random girls were just walking into their home. We said that we were SO sorry and that we had the wrong house. I can't believe I was about to set my stuff down and use their restroom.

This week was hardddd. I felt so burt out and numb to everything. Brandon was definitely the highlight of my week. We invited him to come to an 8 year old in the wards baptism and confirmation. It was the best baptism I've ever been to. All the talks were so well done & put simply. It was really good for Brandon and he enjoyed it. He also invited his mom to come to church to hear us speak!! It was so good she was so sweet and she really enjoyed coming to church and all the people she met. Here are some of the text messages Brandon sent us this week:

 "I can't stop encouraging people to come hear the message of your church 

It's like a compulsion"

"Baptism is a major highlight for me too. I really look forward to it. I've told all of my friends and family haha. Some think it's awesome, some are curious, indifferent, and a couple family members are really mad at me/the idea but that's ok. I honestly feel like my mom is going to want to start talking to someone. She is the most receptive "

"I really really like everyone in the ward. The community culture is so different than everything I've ever seen before."

He also texted us and said our talks that we gave at church were so powerful and that they really touched him! So crazy he was just a random guy at the gas pump next to us and now he is praying about baptism. We have a couple in our ward who used to be mission presidents in Mexico. They can be pretty scary and intimidating. They had Brandon and us over for desert and the husband started preaching to Brandon and I got so nervous. He asked Brandon if he would say a pray for us and i told Brandon he didn't have to if he didn't feel comfortable. We left and I apologized to Brandon because that couple can be pretty intense but he said he liked them so that was good haha. I feel like I can kind of be a helicopter mom over him because I really don't want to mess it up

My comp & I have gotten in a couple fights this week... she is the designated driver so she always drives & she is the WORST driver I've ever been with. I'm terrified for my life every time we go anywhere. She does U turns at red lights and follows cars so closely and brakes SO hard. We were coming home late one night and I saw a bunch of deer on the road and I told her to slow down but she didn't then a deer ran right in front of us and we almost hit it. Then the next day we were driving and a car slowed down to turn right and put on his blinker and she didn't slow down so I screamed at her and she slammed on the brakes and we came to a skidding stop, 2 inches from almost being in an awful car accident. I told her she needed to slow wayy down way earlier when she saw the car breaking in front of us. She told me she hates when I comment on her driving but I had literally just saved our lives. She started to cry and have a panic attack. I had to calm her down to keep her from passing out. She had a full blown panic attack and even though I'm not supposed to drive I drove the rest of the day. She didn't really talk to me the rest of the day because I got upset with her but she actually almost killed us so many times that day. I forced myself to apologize and everything is ok now. I'm definitely going to talk to our mission president and see if I can be the designated driver

We had dinner with the Tolberts Sunday night and their 17 year old daughter said she was thinking about a mission! We told her we were having a lesson after dinner and we invited her. She was soooo excited and did so good in the lesson. We are trying to have all the youth come to lessons with us so they can get excited about missionary work. Unfortunately they did ask us to teach seminary this week so that means we have to wake up at 5:30...

There is a mom in the ward who has a son who is a returned missionary and goes to BYU. She calls him all the time and says she wants him to marry me haha. He came into town to visit and his mom grabbed me right away after sacrament meeting to introduce us. It was soo awkward 

On Thursday we has exchanges! I went to Walnut Grove TN and another missionary took my place for a day. She went to a lesson with one of our friends and the lady started to bash them. The new missionary got in a huge fight with her apparently and told her: "The spirit is not in your home so neither will I be" and she got up and left. The lady was SO furious and screamed at them. When I got back into town we went over to her apartment to apologize for that missionaries behavior... it was so awkward.

Hit 4 months this week! This transfer has flown by so far it feels like I just picked up Sister Tieman & we are already halfway through the transfer

My new obsession is crocheting I am making a blanket & it is sooo satisfying I can't put it down! Every night this week I was in bed by 9pm crocheting I felt like such an old lady

Tuesday we wanted to go tracting in a new area that we think missionaries haven't touched before. Most of the houses were gated but there was this one gate that was open with a long driveway. We decided to see if there was a house back there that we could knock on. We walked down the driveway for probably a mile then it opened to this huge field with a pond and there was this huge house on the other side in the trees. There was workers mowing the lawn and we were just in awe of how beautiful the land was. All of a sudden we see a car on the other side of the lake so we decided to turn around and we noticed it was following us. When we turned around to look at it the car would back behind trees so we wouldn't see it. We kept walking and I kept looking back & it was slowly following us hiding behind trees. We thought that if someone didn't want us on their property they would just come tell us we shouldn't be here but it was weird the car was just following us while trying to hide behind trees. We started to walk really fast and everytime I looked back it was still there slowly trying to hide. Anywaysss it followed us all the way out and we were pretty scared cuz if something happened to us we were out in the middle of no where haha. Anyways we told a member what happened and we pulled out a map & found out the owner of Auto Zone lives there!! He's like a billionaire and we just wandered onto his land haha.

We had a lesson with Brandon & invited a member last minute and she was able to come! Turns out that member was a mission president a couple of years ago in Mexico with her husband & was a convert to the church! Brandon asked questions and she said she had the exact same questions when she was investigating the church! It's kind of nice we have former mission presidents in our ward but they can be superrr intimidating. Brandon also invited us to his food truck event & we went! He gave us free food and it was so sweet. At the event there was free face painting so my comp & I got our faces painted. Little did we know the face painting booth was members of the Penicostal church.. they saw our name tags and tried to convert us. They were telling us that they dress like "the holy apostles" and how they "catch" the holy ghost. Soooooo interesting. 

There is this lady named Susan that we've been trying to teach for forever. The missionaries have taught her in the past & said the lessons were so good and the spirit was so strong. She came to church last Sunday & I introduced myself to her but she seemed so scared of me. I asked the member that brought her what was going on and she said she's having a really stressful time right now. Susan texted us a night this week and told us she needed us to come over to pray for her and do service. We went over and her house was a mess. We helped her put things away and organize stuff. She is a horderrrrr. Apparently her sister (who's a member and lives in Utah) flew into town and stole her mom who Susan was taking care of who has dementia. Susan and her sister are going to court against each other and absolutely hate one another. She told us she doesn't know how she could be apart of a church that the person she hates the most is apart of. We decided to hold off on lessons and just do service for her, we didn't want to be pushy at all. Sunday night she asked us if we would come over & that she really really needs a lesson from us. We rushed right over & taught her the Plan of Salvation & she loved it!! It was such a good lesson and she asked us if we could teach all the lessons to her. If we can just work out the drama with her sister I think she would love to join the church

We had a lesson with our neighbor Amy last week & we gave her our number and hoped she would call us. We waited a couple days & got pretty discouraged we didn't think she was interested. A couple days later she called us and asked if we would come over the next day! We were so excited because we felt like she was so elect & prepared. She was so sweet and gave us bags of makeup/hairproduct that she didn't use anymore & made some lunch. We had a lesson with her and taught the Gospel. Throughout the lesson I felt the energy in the room shift. As we were teaching, she was trying to find things to disagree with. We told her our missions are 18 months and she told us that we are wasting the best years of our lives. She loves the Bible & so I was teaching alot from it and she made me show her where each verse was she was very skeptical. She then pulled out a notepad full of questions she had about our church. She had looked up our church online which sucks so much Anti is such a battle. Nowadays people just research things for a quick answer and it is SO hard. She asked us why we believe we will turn into Nephi after we die. She asked us why Lorenzo Snow left the church... we ended up having a 3 hour lesson. We kept telling her that everything she was reading was false but she kept reading off her questions. She told us she was trying to have an open heart but her mind was closed off. At the end of the lesson she told us she wasn't going to call us last night but that she prayed if she should have us over and God told her to let us in. Anti is soo hard

Missionary work can be so hard but I read this quote by Elder Holland that Iove

Elder Holland:

Anyone who does any kind of missionary work will have occasion to ask, Why is this so hard? Why can’t our success be more rapid? Why aren’t there more people joining the Church? Why isn’t the only risk in missionary work that of pneumonia from being soaking wet all day and all night in the baptismal font? I have thought about this a great deal. I offer this as my personal feeling. I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? It seems to me that missionaries and mission leaders have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. Missionaries and mission leaders have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary. Now, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not talking about anything anywhere near what Christ experienced. That would be presumptuous and sacrilegious. But I believe that missionaries and investigators, to come to the truth, to come to salvation, to know something of this price that has been paid, will have to pay a token of that same price. For that reason I don’t believe missionary work has ever been easy, nor that conversion is, nor that retention is, nor that continued faithfulness is. I believe it is supposed to require some effort, something from the depths of our soul. If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, “Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass,” then little wonder that salvation is not an easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn’t an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn’t an easier way. When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out, you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions. The only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary. The only way to eternity is through Him—the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

We had such a good lesson with Beverly this week! We went over & she just can't get enough of prophets. She told us that she watches "Russells" videos at night. She lovesss him haha. Missionaries in the past have taught her the restoration multiple of times, but we decided to teach it again using an object lesson. We really emphasized priesthood authority & I think it finally clicked for her. The spirit was so overwhelmingly strong & I asked her if she would be baptized if she knew this was true. She said yes but told me she needed to pray about it. I also told her about priesthood blessings & that it would help her so much with her health. I think if we are able to get her a blessing she will feel it work in her & she'll gain a testimony of it. I just love Beverly so much haha she always calls me Caroline it's so weird to hear my first name it always throws me off

This guy named Drew used to meet with the missionaries so we decided to stop by. His wife was home and let us come inside. The wife was so bashy & rude. She wouldn't listen to anything we had to say and kept making assumptions. We actually found out that her mom is a member of the church. Drew walked in later and was genuinely interested and had read the Book of Mormon before. The wife just ruined it though and we weren't able to talk to Drew much, we ended up just leaving. It's hard when one person is on board but the other isn't 

We've been teaching this man Esau for a little bit. He believes everything we say and loves our studies we have. We showed him a picture of Jesus Christ though and he FREAKED out. He went on this long rant about the 10 commandments & how "there should be no graven images". He thinks that if we see a picture of Jesus Christ it will put a false image into our heads & if a man comes that looks like him we might worship the wrong man. My companion said she's run into this so much on her mission! She said they were teaching someone who was close to baptism then they came to church and saw all the pictures of Jesus Christ & left almost immediately. Soo weird

We've been telling the other missionaries & our mission president about Brandon & everyone says we need to put him on date for baptism right away. My companion wanted me to do it and I was so scared I couldn't sleep at night because I was so anxious about it. I really didn't want to mess it up. We texted a bunch of different members asking them if they could come to our lesson with him and none of them could. Last second a member was able to leave work early so he could come. I had never really talked to this member before so it made me even more anxious. Turns out the member joined the church when he was Brandon's age so it was so good for Brandon to hear! We taught about Baptism and at the end of the lesson I asked Brandon if he would be Baptized April 27th. I think it kind of threw him off. He told us he feels like he isn't putting in enough effort in between our visits to get an answer and that he really wants to get an answer first. I was kinda bummed we weren't able to put him on date but I think it was really good that we extended that invitation to him because now he has motivation to recieve an answer for himself. I was fasting for him on Sunday and he came to church with us! It was fast and testimony meeting and I think he really enjoyed it. He started tearing up and told us the talks really touched him. I don't think he realized it was the spirit though. All the members literally swarm him at church hahaha they all want to talk to him but I'm scared they might scare him away.

Something so so cool happened this week. We stopped teaching soo many people so we decided to pray that would would find new people who were prepared for the gospel. We put a ton of time in our schedule to knock doors & our goal was to hit 100 doors. We made lunch and ate it outside before we left. My comp and I talking about deep doctrine stuff (resurrection, sealings, temples names, etc.) and we were talking for awhile. Our eyes were closed and then all of a sudden I saw a lady standing over us and she said "What do you guys believe?" We were wearing shorts & t shirts and I wasn't even wearing my tag. She had been listening to us through her window and told us she felt prompted to come outside and talk to us. This lady had actually talked to me and my last companion before, she heard us listening to a conference talk and was curious. But this time she invited us inside!!! We hurried & got dressed and went over. She told us she's been floating around different churches and isn't 100% sure what she believes. We ended up having a 2 hour discussion with her and it was so amazing !!! The spirit was so so strong and she was like she most prepared person I've ever met. We were able to give her a Book of Mormon and she said she would have an open heart to reading it! She has had a super tough life, her husband is awful to her & she has a foot that doesn't work. During our lesson the spirit was SO strong it was actually so cool. My companion and I were both crying as she was telling us her life story. She gave us a huge hug and said "this hug is from your momma" . She asked if she could make us dinner sometime and is open to learning more! So cool how Heavenly Father was able to answer our prayer right away. She felt prompted to talk to us, she invited us back over, and she asked for our number! As a missionary you can just feel when someone is ready for the gospel and we felt it so strongly with her. So so glad I didn't have to go knock 100 doors that day. 

We got fed tacos 5 nights this week! I like tacos but I can't do it anymore. Everytime we walked into a members house and saw tacos my companion & I looked at eachother because we couldn't believe how many times in a row we had tacos. 

The Tolberts in the ward fed us Sunday night! I always loveeee going to their house because the parents are so fun. The dad is hilarious and always has the funniest stories. He told us him and his brothers grew up fighting and it was just second nature for him. He told us the first week on his mission they were biking and someone rolled down their window at a red light and cussed at them. Brother Tolbert has anger issues and went up to the persons car, opened their door, and started hitting the person over and over again hahahahhaa. He told us all the other cars were watching and getting out of their cars and he said his trainer was a really wholesome missionary and was absolutely mortified. Brother Tolbert just thought it was normal to stand up for himself that was just second nature to him. He said if he would have done it today it would have been all over the news and he would have not been able to get away with it. He also told us he punched a companion he had later in his mission,  knocked him out & broke his hand. So surprised he didn't get sent him haha

Love u all! About to hit 4 months don't know how I feel about it time goes by soo slow in the beginning hopefully it starts to pick up now that I'm out of training 

 got my new companion! Transfer day I cried when I said bye to Sister Udy because I was so scared to get a new companion. My new comp is awesome though. She last served in Alabama, in a branch with 30 members. She said she was definitely in the sticks. So being in Collierville over 2 wards is going to be a huge adjustment for her. She is so so chatty and never runs out of energy. I'm excited to be with her though I can tell she's a hard worker & we will be able to get alot done.

I've been leading our area and I've been so stressed out. There is sooo much to remember. I caught her up on everything that's happening here & she said, "Why isn't Brandon on date for baptism yet?" We had a lesson with him and she told me that he is the most prepared person she's ever talked to on her mission. We extended him an "as you come to know" which basically means as you know to know this church is true will you be baptized? He said YES!!! I'm hoping we can put him on date soon & help him prepare for baptism. We invited him to watch conference with Dave & Nicole Rees in our ward and it was really good. Brandon ate with us and we explained conference a little bit to him. I was hoping he would leave conference having a ton of his questions answered but I think it just gave him more questions... especially since they really talked about covenants & temple garments. I'm hoping it doesn't scare him away. I tell all the members about how we met Brandon and they usually tear up and tell me how amazing it is.

We met this Indian family who lives in our apartment complex and they are so sweet! They told us they've met with missionaries in the past and believed everything they said. The dad even told us he went to liberty jail and felt the spirit so strongly. He believes it and feels it but if his family is baptized into our church it will go against his Hindu sealings to his family. It's a sticky situation but we are going to try to go over once a week and hope the spirit can turn on a light switch for them. Before we left their apartment I asked if we could leave them with a prayer. The dad asked if we could kneel and say it. It was so sweet we kneeled down all together and prayed 

We got to watch the eclipse!!! It was super cool & a good chance to talk to everyone that came in from out of town.

Sorry so much happened this week and I haven't had time to write a big email. It would mean so much to me if everyone could keep Brandon in their prayers! 

Love and miss you all so much!!

This was my last week of training. My trainer said that when she got out of training she was so scared & felt like she hardly knew anything. She didn't speak up in lessons and let her trainer do all the work. I feel the complete opposite! I feel like I'm ready. Can't believe I've only been out two transfers.. it feels like I've been a missionary my whole life haha. We got transfer news! My comp is headed all the way to the other side of the mission. She's going to Arkansas. I'm staying here and I'm getting a new companion! It's always scary getting a new companion

Wednesday we went to Brandon's house! The last two times we met him at a park because he was pretty embarrassed by his house, he lives in a shack basically. He finally felt comfortable enough to invite us over though! We have become good friends with him, he's actually hilarious. We had a lesson and it was so good. The spirit was SO strong. I had finished the Book of Mormon for the first time that morning so I was on a roll haha. I promised him so many blessings and bore testimony of the Book of Mormon. I started tearing up and I know he had to of felt the spirit during the lesson. He is so genuine and kind. Last year he went through a super rough time and was searching for relief through religion. He was studying so many different things but nothing clicked for him. We invited him to church this Sunday & he seemed pretty nervous about it. We explained how kind everyone is and explained how church would go. I could see him ease up a little bit and he committed to come. He doesn't have lots of friends and is pretty shy at first. My companion is about to be transferred to a new area but I am excited to stay here to help him progress. So cool how the Lord was able to lead me to find him. Even if I'm not the missionary to baptize him someday I'm so thankful that I am able to plant that seed for him to nourish. 

Update: Brandon texted us the next day and told us that while he was sleeping his house caught on fire. He lives alone with his pets. He woke up and got out as quickly as he could but realized his dog & cat were still inside. He went back to grab them and ended up getting burned pretty bad. They all made it out okay though. He went back the next day and all of his belongings were burned in the fire. The fire started in the kicthen. He told us that that night he realized he needed to change the batteries to his smoke detectors because they were running low. He took them down and was going to change them but didnt get around to it. He woke up at 2 in the morning to thick black smoke everywhere. He got up but couldnt see anything and tripped over a chair. He fell to the floor & said he contemplating even getting up- part of him wanted to just stay laying there on the ground. He found the strength to get up and was able to crawl out his window. He told us he keeps his Bible and his Book of Mormon on the table next to the kitchen, he said that somehow the books survived but nothing else did. He told us this and I told him that we know exactly why they didn't burn. He told us his Bible was damaged a little bit but his Book of Mormon was completely untouched. He said he thinks that was a sign. We went and looked at his house and the entire thing is ash. So crazy that his Book of Mormon survived. I find it very weird that right as we start teaching him his house burns down. My companion and I were talking about it and wondered if it was Satan trying to get him to not come to church or to distract him from meeting with us. On the other hand it could also be wisdom in Heavenly Father that this trial will help him fully humble himself and turn to Christ. 

We told him he didn't have to come to church this Sunday so that he could rest. Next thing I know he was limping into sacrament meeting! I was so happy he showed up. We had 5 friends (investigators) come to sacrament meeting!! My companion and I were sitting next to them but when Brandon walked in we separated so that I could sit next to him. He looked so dirty compared to everyone else, his skin is still pretty black from the fire. Since it was Easter the two wards combined so there was so many people there. We sat next to little kids and they were SO loud. I'm sure Brandon couldn't hear anything. Once church ended I swear 10 different people rushed over the Brandon to say hi. The first thing they said was: "I heard your house burned down." I have nooo idea how the word spread so fast. I was nervous because I didn't want him to get overwhelmed with all of the members talking to him. He seemed like he liked it though! I am just sooooo excited for him. He said he felt awful this morning (He is still coughing up ash) but he came anyways! I was so so happy. Beverly came to church too! She brought her grandson. She showed up super late but I'm so happy she made it. She never leaves her house because she's always so sick but she made the sacrifice to come because she loves us. She always tears up & tells us we are angles that God sent to her. She always tells us she can see the Light of Christ in us and it makes me tear up so much. It's funny there is an African American member in the ward and when we bring a black friend he goes so overboard trying to talk to them. When we bring a white friend he doesn't even acknowledge them or introduce himself. But he's good for our African American friends in making sure they feel welcomed

This week we went to a members house for a phone lesson with our friend Matthew. I always get so intimated teaching with members because I feel like there is so much pressure to do perfect. The beginning of the lesson was good! Then towards the end it started to take a turn and he started bashing us. The member tried to give evidence to his accusations, but at that point I felt the Spirit leave. I can see how some missionaries would want to stand up for what they believe but I just realized that this lesson wouldn't get anywhere. The spirit is what confirms truth and since it left the lesson was pointless. I apologized to the member but he told us that he thinks we are so awesome haha.

There is this pastor at a church here in Collierville who puts requests in to meet with missionaries to bash them. He asked if he could call us or meet us in person. He tries to act sincere and genuine but we knew his real intentions. We told him we weren't going to talk with him but that we would answer his questions over text message by sending him church links. I think we made him mad by not giving in. I can't believe this guy has nothing better to do than to bash young 18-20 year old kids who believe in the same Jesus he does.

After church on Sunday one of our friends that we've been teaching invited us to his Easter Barbecue! It was us and like 20 black people haha. They were all sooo nice though and so funny. He was telling all his friends that we teach him about Jesus and they told us to start teaching him how to be kind haha

Yesterday we went to a retirement home to see if there was any service we could do.  The workers seemed sooo confused but grateful. It sounded like no one comes by to do service. The owner told us we can call her with what crafts we want to do and she'll order it for us. She wants us to come by every week. Yesterday Sister Udy had her mini guitar in the car so she decided to sing to them. It was a retirement home just of older ladies who have dementia or lost their memory. It was so cool, these women can't really remember their own children but they remember Jesus Christ. They knew every word to the songs my companion was singing and we were all singing along. I watched as they all sang and they all had tears in their eyes. It was so sweet and the spirit was SO strong. There was one lady who started sobbing and she started praying and looking up to heaven. They all thanked us so much and told us they miss going to church. It was so sweet and there was definitely angles in the room as we all sang

We had transfers & I am still here in Tennessee! I really do love it here

I guess the highlight of the past couple weeks is our friend Brandon. My companion & I were getting gas one day and as we were leaving I noticed a man walking to his car at the gas pump next to us. He stood out to me for some reason and my heart started to beat really fast. We had already pulled out onto the highway but I told my companion to do a U-turn, and that we needed to go talk to that man. She turned the car around and we went back. He looked like he was about to leave and I felt so awkward I had no idea how to talk to him he definitely saw us circle back around haha. I pretended to throw trash away at his pump so I could talk to him. I went up to him & told him that I felt inspired to talk to him and that I was a missionary for my church. He told me it was interesting that I felt like I should talk to him because he said he felt the same way about us. He said he noticed something different about us & that we stood out. He was done filling up his car but decided to wipe of his windshield instead of leaving to see if we would talk to him.

Brandon told us this past year has been the hardest year of his life. Hes been struggling and has been trying to figure out what he believes and if God even exists. The first lesson we had with him we taught him about The Book of Mormon and the restoration of the church through Joseph Smith. The next morning we woke up to a text he sent us at 2 in the morning. He apologized for texting so late but that he couldn't wait till the morning. He had been reading the Book of Mormon and told us that it has been able to answer all of his questions about life. He also told us he knows Joseph Smith translated this book by the power of God. I think this was the best text message I've ever gotten haha

We had a couple more lessons with him and invited him to church! The Friday before church we found out that while he was sleeping his house caught on fire. His fire alarms didn't go off because he had just taken them down to change the batteries that day. He woke up surrounded by black smoke. He got up but couldn't see anything & tripped over a chair. He told us he laid on the ground contemplating if he should even try to get out. He eventually found his strength & was able to crawl out the window but realized his dog was still in the house. He went back in and was burned really bad while trying to get his dog out. The second we found out we went over to see if we could help him with anything. His entire house was ash and all his belongings guitars, books, were melted. He told us there was one thing that didn't burn though. The Book of Mormon we gave him was completely untouched by the fire. He told us that it was definitely a sign to him. 

He's been in a ton of pain, a lot of his skin has turned black and he has huge holes on the bottoms of his feet. It's been a couple days & he's still coughing up ash. We had invited him to church before the fire but were not expecting him to come at all. We were sitting in church with a couple of our friends we are teaching on Sunday & I noticed Brandon limping into sacrament meeting. It was his first time coming to church, I was so happy !! All the members in the ward introduced themselves and all offered to help him out. Brandon kept telling everyone that his Book of Mormon was undamaged haha. He was so overwhelmed by the kindness of everyone, he's not used to so many people wanting to help a stranger. I love this church! I love & miss you all too!