October 29, 2012

Hola mi Familia Y Amigos.

Wow, what a week it has been. I could not be happier to be here in the mission. I love this work with all my heart and I cannot express even a small part of what I feel. We will talk more about my week and the work a little later, but first, I am glad that all is going well. I sure do love to hear those great "Blake" stories, ha, those two boys could not be cuter. I can't wait to give them both a big huge hug. I am glad to hear that all is well and mother, don't worry I got my package Tuesday and it was awesome. Thanks so much for everything. You are the greatest Mom in the whole wide world, but serious, I sure do love you mom.

Now for some of the many questions to answer: Our bishop is this little tiny guy. He has been a member for 10 years, and for 8 of those has been the bishop, haha, he is tired. I know him very well and he is a great guy. How many people at church is a little bit of a sad question. We have on average 35 people at church. We are hurtin' and we have much work to still do. Yes, Chileans celebrate Halloween, but not as much as up there. Yes, I have been hearing from returned missionaries here and there. I don't feel old at all, but Elder Jensen always likes to remind me that I am getting old in the mission ha! Today he told me I was older than half the missionaries in the mission haha. I love our new mamita, she is so awesome. She is all about helping out the missionaries. She is one awesome servant of the Lord. I also love my old mamita to pieces, she is so awesome. I don't have a clue whether I am still gaining or losing weight ha. Thank you so much for getting new insoles my mother, and yes, I still remember to let them air out.

Alright, a little bit about the work. WE HAVE A BAPTISM COMING UP!!!! por fin (finally). I have been working for this forever here. A girl named Yanara is ready to be baptized the 10th of November. We showed her the baptismal font yesterday and she got all excited. Her whole family are members, inactive, and we are working with all of them to help them get back. We taught a lot this week and we are seeing a lot of miracles here in Calle Calle. One of my favorite stories of the week though is the following: We decided to go visit an inactive man that has one leg and has had a lot of struggles as of late, so we go over there to visit him. We get to his house and there was this man, like 25 years old, standing outside his house. I asked the man if Freddy was there and he said yeah. We went in and started talking with the member, Freddy, while his friend, who turns out to be like his apprentice in work, was working on fixing a welder. The member, Freddy, is super smart and he fixes all electric things. As we talked with Freddy about his family and how life was going, his friend who was working began to ask questions. Really awesome questions. By the end we ended up teaching his friend whose name is Julio. He recently moved from Argentina and talks super cool ha. Way different than Chileans. He was really confused about why there were so many different churches and why they all used the Bible. I pulled out my little white board that I carry around everywhere and drew him an example that explains the need for the Book of Mormon and how it helps us not be confused. Julio became very intrigued and asked how he could get this Book. I said, "well, I have one right here, take it" ha. He was super happy and ready to just go at reading it. We set a cita (appointment) with him for this next week. I am super excited to see what goes down. He is super awesome. It was a small miracle that happened this week just from the impression to visit a menos activo (less active).

Man, I love the mission and I love you guys so much. I am so grateful for the chance that I have to be here and to see the Lord work his great work through me sometimes, even when I don't know it. I hope to become an instrument in the hands of the Lord that he can always use to bring about his great work. Many times our impatience and stubbornness tangle up all the Lord's plans and he can't use us to do his work and as we cry out in pain for his help. He says, "quiet man, while I untie this knot". Many times I feel like I can do things, but I forget that the Lord needs me to seek what He wants so that through me He can do much greater things than I could. I hope to always be keen and aware of the guidance of the spirit so that I can be the Lord's hands as He moves this work forward. I sure do love you family, and I hope that all is well. Thanks again for the package mother. You are great. I am so thankful for my wonderful parents and all that you have taught me and continue to teach from clear across the world.

Con mucho amor ,or, in Chilean ,con cualqiuer cantidad de cariño,

Elder Brown

photos
1. doing my puzzle you sent me. It's awesome 

2. We got christmas presents from the elderly couple in our mission awesome huh

October 22, 2012

Hola Familia y Amigos,

 

First thing's first, I would love it Dad if you could add these few emails to your forward list. They are some buds from the mission and I have meant to add them forever but I always forget. key.alexander.ak@gmail.com  rhett.nelson24@gmail.com holylimflammers@yahoo.com nathan.turner@myldsmail.net. Ok, we are all good now ha. I am glad to hear that all is going well. I sure do love to hear about what's been happening there at home. The craziest thing is that my bud Trenticans is home now. Mom, I sure hope you told him to wait for me to get home before he gets married. I can't believe that every single one of my super good buds is on the downward slope of the mission, month by month, more and more are going to be getting home. It's also good to hear that the Stewart's have a bigger kitchen now. More space for us all to do quesadillas now hahaha. It's also good to hear a little bit about the sports pops, so thanks for the update. It seems like such a short time ago that it was senior night for me, but that was 3 years ago!!!!! WOW!!

 

Ok, now for some question answering. First off mother, I don't know if I need any gifts to give to people. I have a lot still. I give them out sparingly. Unless you think of something really clever and cute, you don't need to worry about that. Ok, now for Christmas haha, the hardest question of all. Maybe some insoles for shoes. Uhhhhh what else, haha One of those picture calendars for next year maybe ha. Treats...... This is so hard ha. Stuff to help me memorize scrips haha no se.

 

Ok, a little bit about the week now. At the beginning of the week it was looking like this week was going to be our best week for teaching lessons ever. We had a ton of appointments set and with the help of members and everything. I called to make sure everything was good with everyone a day before and then the morning of and guess what happens? THEY ALL FELL THROUGH!!! I could not believe it. At the end of a few days I just sat in awe at how many appointments had fallen through after all the work we put in to get them super set. I learned a great lesson from this. We can do all that we can and try to make something work, but if we don't remember that it all depends on the Lord we will start and end the day in vain. We will not get nearly a tenth of what the Lord can get done through us. What we made into a smudge, the Lord, through us if we seek the guidance of the spirit, will make a masterpiece of us and through us. We must rely on the Lord as we strive to do all we can. Now for a funny story: It's a custom for many people here to get into watching conspiracy theories on youtube and I have always heard comments of these videos and how dumb they are, but I really didn't realize how many people really believe the things they see there on the internet. Just for one quick example, even though I have many, a slightly drunk man stopped us last night to tell us that we had pretty faces and that we were good people and then after 45 minutes of him talking to us, he told me how Joseph Smith and his restoration was a plan made with the government and the CIA to gain power over other countries, and that how I was a member of the CIA with no feelings, that through the antenna in the church we send secret info to the states haha. There is just a little taste of the many things that one hears on the mission haha. The best part about this week though was yesterday. We were able to see 5 investigators in church, more than I have ever had here in Calle Calle. We were all content, as well as the members and the Bishop. The Bishop expressed his gratitude to us after a lunch and told us that he knew we were working our hardest and encouraged us to keep doing so. I was glad to see the members of the church and the Bishop so happy and excited about the many miracles that are beginning to happen here in the little ward of Calle Calle.

 

Well, that is about all I have for this week. I know that the Lord is mindful of each one of us and as we strive to follow Him and do what He commands He blesses His children. He loves us. We can become like Him thanks to His atonement and much diligence in developing His attributes. I love you all. Oh, and mother, I have not got the package due to a holiday last week, but I believe I will get it tomorrow.

 

Love,

Elder Brown 

 

Saludos a todos los x elderes de la mision chile osorno. I hope all is well. Wait for me before you get married haha.

 

1. We take the scriptures literally when it says to thrust in your sickle with all your might.

2. My tie that I burned at one year haha creative huh?

 

October 15, 2012

Family, I am so sorry to say but I had just written almost my whole letter and then it all got deleted, and I am not going to lie - I feel terrible and frustrated, but now I don't have a lot of time. So, once again, I will real quickly give you a summary of my week. Thursday we had interviews with President, and I always look foward to those. It was great and Pres. told me that this next year will go by even faster, so that was kinda scary! I don't really like to hear that. Friday was the year mark, I can't believe it. It has gone by so fast, but I can honesty tell you, even though many have said it I will say it again, that it has been the best year of my life! I have enjoyed every single last bit of it and I am so happy to have another one to live up to the fullest in the work of the Lord.

 

In my first letter I had written a lot more about the year mark and a lot more about how I feel. Now I don't have a lot of time to do so, but I do want everyone to know that I sure am grateful for this time out here serving the Lord. I feel that I have grown so much and that I have learned a ton. There is still much to be done though, so I am very grateful for the coming year and I expect to put in everything that I've got.

 

We had a meeting as a zone Friday and learned what we could do better and we did a lot of role playing and practices. Mother, I am sorry to say that package has not gotten here yet. I am thinking that I will get it tomorrow. Friday night we were able to go to Natali and Guillermo's wedding. She is the daughter of our old Mamita and we are teaching Guillermo and we hope to be able to help him get baptized. I felt out of place as a missionary at a wedding reception. It was in the church though, so I felt a little better. I made sopapillas in the house the other day at night and they were pretty good. Friday morning Elder Jensen brought me out one with a candle on it and he sang me happy misson birthday! I just turned 1, how crazy is that! Ha, I also made a tie out of paper and wrote some stuff on it and we burned that for my year mark ha. It was pretty good. I will have to send pics next week.

 

Sorry about how bad this email is. My first one was super awesome! My favorite part about this week though was the chance that we had to visit the Patriarch and his sick wife twice this week. The first time I was able to give her a blessing and the second we were able to give them the sacrament, and in that house I felt one of the greatest Spirit of peace that I have ever felt. I could not really hold in my emotions. As I gave her the blessing it was very hard for me to control my emotions. The Spirit was very strong there. It made me want so badly to have that same Spirit in my home when I have my own home. What an amazing feeling it is. Also, I felt the Spirit strongly testify of the truthfullness of the sealing power that is found within the temple. I know for sure that that couple was sealed for all time and eternity, and even though that little old lady might pass away, that her husband and her will be an eternal unit forever. I know that is true. I felt it stronger than ever within that house. Wow, am I grateful for that. It was an amazing Spirit and experience. Well, sorry family, next week's will be better. I love you all. Thanks for all your prayers. 

Love,

Elder Brown

October 8, 2012

Hola Familia y Amigos,

WOW is all I have to say WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That conference was amazing; I can barely believe how fast it went by. I was trying to soak up every last drop of revelation that I possibly could and it just blew by. I left the church thinking to myself two things: 1. conference is the best and goes by way fast, 2. receiving revelation makes you tired, haha because I was super tired right after leaving. Trust me though I was wide awake for every single session.

Before I say anything else I want to direct my words to my broski Caiden. What an amazing chance that you have to prepare right now as hard as you possibly can to leave out on your mission as soon as you turn 18. Wow, do I wish I could have done that. It is an amazing announcement that will change the growth of the church. Caiden, get it done right now - start preparing. Read the scrips, but really study them, pray every day all throughout the day. Go to church with the desire to learn something. Caiden please prepare, there is no better choice than this. The mission is the best thing in the world. Shall we not go on in so great a cause? That was repeated several times this weekend. It is true there is no better cause than this. I promise. Love you bud go get it done.

Yeah ok, that's it for that. I sure do hope to hear of a lot of girls heading out too. How cool is that. We watched that first part in Spanish and I think the members thought I was weird because I was flippen out when I heard that, haha how cool is that!!! We watched the first two talks in Spanish because of technical difficulties and then everything was fixed and we were able to go to our gringo room and watch it in good ole English. All the gringo elders in the zone together, what a great sight, I thought. Ten 19 to 21 year olds sitting in a little room, eyes fixed firmly on a TV with a bunch of old men speaking. That's what it looks like from the outside. It's much bigger from the inside. Young men earnestly listening to inspired men called of God to direct us and correct us, so we can become like Christ, have joy in this life , and live with God again after this life. WOW. I love it.

Question time...

I have not got the package yet, but hope to get it this week. I do hear from Jenna still, it has been awhile though. Jenna you better get on that haha. The weather is getting better here, but there still are bad days. It changes a lot here. I don't really notice rain now haha. I just need insoles for one pair, my Johnson and Murphy pair. That's all the questions I can remember but before I forget I have a request. Dad, if you could please add to your list of forwards this email camilo.valderas@myldsmail.net thank you.

I cannot tell you a favorite talk because I had too many. I will real fast tell you a couple things that I loved from off the top of my head. Elder Nelson's "ask the missionaries" talk haha for obvious reasons that did put a lot of pressure on us though, I loved that. Elder Uchtdorf's talk, one quote that I remember was we can become who we want to be in the future by following Christ today. I sure hope to do that in my life because I have a lot of becoming to do ha. Elder Perry when he said something like this about his mother, I will say it in my own words, It is a great privilege and huge responsibility to be called the son of Tye Brown, because there is a greatness to live up to and represent. Love you mother. President Monson in priesthood said quoting someone else "Don't you know leopards can't change their spots? Well, it's a good thing I don't work with leopards, I work with men and they change every day". That is a great missionary lesson. He said we must look at men not as they are but as what they can become. Perfect for me to learn and apply. Of course, one of my favs was Elder Holland because he is just bomb ha. One of the greatest things I got out of conference and I feel like many said something of the sort, that it is all about knowing, doing, and becoming. I love that we must achieve true real growth, and never go back to our old ways. There is a lot of work to do. I look forward to becoming all that I can. I need those talks as fast as possible haha.

This week of work was awesome. We are seeing progress in our investigators. We hope to see baptisms in the end of this month. I know that as we keep working the way we are and look forward with faith that we will have success no matter where you are. One family that we are teaching is doing good. We just really need to help them gain a testimony.

Well, I sure do love you all. I just want you all to know that I know that this is the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. I have asked in prayer and have been told by the feelings of the Holy Ghost. I love this missionary work with all my heart. I cannot express the gratitude that I feel for the affect it has had on me so far. As well that same gratitude I feel for the many people who have shaped my life. My parents and brother and sisters, my friends, bishops, leaders, the apostles and prophet, and many many more. I hope to continue to grow as I seek to do the Lord's will. Please pray for me to be able to do so. I know that that is the only way to true growth is following the Lord and his will through all trials for he will guide us to the places, and experiences we need to become who he wants us to become. Trust in him he is perfect, he will guide us to who we can be. I LOVE YOU ALL SO SO SO MUCH.

Love,

Elder Brown

October 1, 2012

Hola Familia y amigos,

Another week has come and gone. Yesterday, at the end of the day, I turned my calender over to October to see a bunch of pics from the day I left home almost a year ago and I couldn't believe it. I began to think back on all the experiences I have had and the things I have learned and it feels like it's a dream. I got a few emails from returned buddies such as Elder Nelson,who said that he looks back on his mission and wonders if all that really happened or if it was just a dream bacause it went by so fast. That' how I feel and I haven't even got to a year yet. As I looked back though, I was very happy to feel as if I had given my all in the last year, so I felt very happy but as well a little shaken that it's almost a year.

Well, it was good to hear from the padres and Brittany, as well as to receive a birthday package from my grandparents in Kanab, a letter from Sister Norris and one from Madeline Ashcraft. Grandma and Grandpa, thanks so much for the package you all sent me. It was awesome. I am enjoying the pen and ties as well as everything else. I sure do love you two. Some of the greatest examples that I have had in my life are those two amazing people. I felt super bad to hear that Caiden will not be playing any more football. I am going to get home and whip him back into shape so that doesn't happen again. I am serious, I already have some plans of how I am going to do it. Of course, after a year more full of hard work and baptizing ha. I am glad to hear that everything is going well at home and it is so wierd to hear that Trent will be getting home, and that soon enough many of my friends will be heading home!! WHat???

Ok, Mother's questions time. The missionary that left was from Argentina. He is still here in Chile, but they took the calling of missionary away, so now he is just here because he doesn't want President to send him home. I think he wants to go home on his own work. So he is working here in Chile when he could just get sent home for free. I am not sure, although that's what I think from what I have heard from Elder Contreras and the APs. Mom, I don't need new shoes, just the thing that goes inside the shoe to make it more comfortable. My shoes are great, it's just the inside thing that you can take out. I forgot what its called in English, plantillas, ha. I cut my own hair mother, with a machine I inherited ha. My shaver is working great. Oh, and no I don't usually play goaly/ I am better at getting them in the goal than stopping them haha. That's what I am going to do to you Caiden when I get there to beat you ha.

Ok, now a little bit for the week. We made the cookies and everyone loved them. We made the banana oatmeal ones and wow, they were good. I for sure still got the touch Dad. Thanks for teaching me. They tasted pretty much exactly the same. It was great. The family night went super awesome and the spirit was for sure felt, followed by a lot of cookies and pie de limon. I went on an intercambio this week out to Futrono to see how their sector was out there. It was a 2 hour bus ride out and it's just a small little place. The church is a house and I got some good pics. I was with E. Jolley and we had a good intercambio talking about how we can help sectors really grow by doing the little things. We are starting a new cambio, our second one together.E. Jensen and I, and we are super ready to get some work done here in Calle Calle. We have some high goals for these upcoming weeks and we are really excited. I learned something pretty awesome this week that I would like to share to end. I have found that there is three ways of teaching: comforting, strengthening, and chastising. All these are methods that the Lord uses to build us up and help us develop. The one that I have really learned a lot about is the chastising. It's a powerful word and a very powerful way of teaching. The Lord loves us so he chastiseth us. Hebrews 13:6. It is by correction that we can become what the Lords wants us to become. I studied a lot from a talk given by Elder Todd Christofferson in the May 2011 Ensign of general conference, called "To those I love I rebuke and chastise. It is awesome, you will have to read it. I learned that not only must we learn to be humble and meek and accept correction, willing to mold and be coachable to the will of the Lord. I also learned that those who are in a place to correct others and does not do so, is only thinking of himself. That hit me pretty hard. I am in a place to help people repent and change and many times that means I must call people to repentance through chastisment. Sometimes I must ask people to do things that they don't want to do. I have always struggled in being bold in this sense. But if we do it because we love them and they understand that love, boldness will not come accross as overbearence but these people will realize why they must change, because of what they can receive. I really loved this talk. I was humbled with a few chastisements from the Lord through his chosen prophets and now I am ready to take it, apply it and change for the better. I love you all. Thanks for everything you do.

Love,
Elder Brown

1. High School buds Elder Rytting and I
2. The baptismal font in futrono
3. The church in Futrono
4. The cookie dough mmmmmm