June 24, 2013

WOW, another great week gone... It's going by faster every week. Ok, first things first, I would like to say a few words for my ole friend poopy... May he rest in peace. Poopy had a wonderful life full of energy and excitement. Our meeting was interesting and peculiar, but made our friendship all the better. We hit it off from the start when someone door bell ditched us and I opened the door to see a little bag with my good friend in it with a note on it that said "This is Poopy, treat him well". We sure did treat him well. I remember walking into the kitchen and turning on the lights and seeing poopy get all excited and swim all around his tank. He was a faithful and fierce friend. I will miss the little guy, but I feel great that he made it so far in his life. He had been through a lot, like the one time that he almost fell down the drain and I caught him by the tail and saved the little guy. Well, goodbye poopy. We're still a family! Hahaha

Well fam, it was good to hear from you all and it sounds that all is going well, that you are just partying away the summer haha. It sure feels like the opposite of summer down here. We had some more snow this last week, but by today everything has melted up. I will attach a pic. Sounds like everything is as busy as can be. Caiden sure has a packed summer! He is just all over the place livin' it up. I can't believe he will be heading to EFY, oh how I love it.

Well, this last week was good. We continue to search for those who will receive us and be baptized. Good thing we were able to see the transmission that they showed last night. THAT was amazing!!! I loved it and it is exactly what we need to learn and apply here in Chile. It's going to take a lot of work, but I know that if we can get the members to start helping us out more I know that the work here in Punta Arenas will explode. I loved every last part of that meeting yesterday. Elder Stanley and I were just soaking every last bit of it up. Ok mother, about my sweet Mamita, she is wonderful. She is a convert of about 4 years and is the wife of the bishop. The sad thing is that she works during the week so we don't eat with her. She gives us the keys to her house and she leaves the food prepared. We just go over there and eat it. Except for Saturdays, then we eat with almost the whole fam. The sisters are doing great in our sector and are teaching a lot.

This past week we had interviews with Pres. Rappleye and it was a great time. I got to talk a lot with Sisiter Rappleye as well, as we made sure that all the elders got to their interviews on time. Sounds like after their mission they might be heading to Saint George because they have a house there that they have never lived in. Also, as we sat there chatting with Sister Rappleye, Sister Erickson called her and she passed me the phone so I could talk to the Ericksons. It was great to hear from them. I sure loved it. They told me about everything that is happening there in Pangui, and it made me so happy to hear that a man that got active while I was there was given the higher Priesthood, as well two people we were teaching while I was there were baptized and one was given the priesthood. I was so happy after that call. Me and Pres. had a good talk about the zone and what we need to do better. I sure love that man and his wife. They have taught me so much.

Other than that I have no other news, except that a great High Priest that we have been teaching that was inactive finally came back to church with his fam. He is a great man, Hermano Burgos, and finally he came back. He is a funny guy and loves to "echar la talla" or joke around. He likes to make fun of me, haha, but I love the guy.

Other than that I have no other news. All is well in Zion here in Punta Arenas, the truth will continue to move forth and I pray to be able to be a part of it and that the Lord knows that I will always be willing to run any errand he wants me to. I sure hope that my weaknesses will never hold me back from doing so. I love you fam and I hope all continues well.
Love,
Elder Brown

1. Proselyting in the snow!

June 17, 2013

Hola Familia y Amigos,

Well, first things first: Happy Fathers Day yesterday Dad. Man, do I love you. I will always remember the amazing memories that I have with you of camping, hunting, and many other great moments. I am so thankful for the example that you have always been to me. An example of humility and love that I will always remember and that one day I hope I can obtain. I thank you for all those lessons you would teach me after arguing with my sweet Mother. I remember always being sent to my room after getting mad at my Mom because I was stubborn and every time I remember sitting in my room and after about 15 minutes I would hear my Dad's big footsteps come down the stairs and Dad would enter my room, sit down next to me and teach me things that, as I look back, have changed me forever. In those little lectures with love Dad taught me eternal principles that I will never forget. One being that you never fight with your mom because she is always right (that's an eternal truth I will never forget) and many more. One that Dad taught me many times is that other people or outside influences do not affect us. People don't make us mad, we choose to be mad. This is a principle that has changed my life and my mission for sure. Here in the mission there are outside influences that are always trying to make us get frustrated, disanimated, or lazy, but the outside influence is never in the end the thing that affects us. We choose whether we get frustrated, we choose if we get disanimated, we choose if we get lazy. Outside influences do not choose for us. We will always have our agency. So why not choose good. Why not just choose to be happy, to say come what may and love it. I know that if we choose well how we react to outside influences it will make all the difference in the amount of success we have in life. Thanks Dad for teaching me such an important principle. It has changed my life. I love you Pops.

It's so great to hear from all of you and I am sure glad that my long lost sis Lacee wrote me. It's been so long since I have seen you sis. I am so excited to just give you a big hug when I see you. It has been 3 years pretty much!! Way too long to not see you sis. Well, I am glad to hear that all the celebrations went well with Blake's B-day and Fathers day. It sounds like everything is going great up there. Sounds like an awesome super activity that they had. Missionary work is the best and preparing for it is just as good. I am so glad to hear that Lacee is loving her job and that all is going well. I sure love my FAM!!! I can't believe that everyone is getting married up!! Cousins, friends and pretty much anyone else you can think of haha. You need to tell them to wait for me so I can be there haha. That's so cool that Brady and Andie are getting married. She is way awesome!! Brady has done well haha. I am sure that Brandon has done just as well, but I don't know her so I can't say haha.

Alright now, for a little bit on what is happening down here. It is getting really cold!!! There is snow on the ground. I will have to send a pic next week of the snow. I feel like it's Christmas but there it is summer ha. So crazy huh? It is really getting cold but we stay warm because we put on a lot of clothes. We are working hard and trying our very best to find new people to teach. We have not found a whole ton yet, but we are going to continue working hard and doing our best and I know the Lord will do the rest. Everything here in the zone is settled down and we are just putting the shoulder to the wheel. The recent converts here are doing great. I sure love the fam of Gustavo, they are trying so hard to share the Gospel with others now. Gustavo told us a story about how his boss was having a hard time with her family and stuff and he started to talk to her about it and she was so suprised that he was "MORMON" that she was like interrogating him haha. He got so excited to share what has come to bless his life so much that he pretty much just spit out all that he has learned in the past 2 months in like a half hour and she was just blown away with info haha. He is so awesome, I sure do love them.

Well fam I better go. I love you all so much and I know with all my heart that this is the Lord's work. We are members of His church. He lives and guides it by prophets. We have the great privilege to know this wonderful truth and I want to help others to come to know it as well. How great a work in which we are engaged. There is no better. I love you all.

Love,
Elder Brown


PS Mom, you need to ask Jord and Rick what they are up to and tell them to write me and update me on what's going on. I love those guys.


June 10, 2013

Hola Familia y Amigos,

Happy anniversary this past week to my wonderful parents!! I sure love you guys and thank you for all that you have done and continue to do for me all the days of your life. I also want to tell little Blake man that I love him and happy birthday. He is so big now, I cannot believe it. WOW, my friends are all home now!! It's crazy, they are just the gang again, just all going to receptions together. Ha, I love those guys so much. They are all so awesome. I would not be who I am today if it wasn't for all those guys. You guys have to make sure to tell them to not forget about me and that they all need to wait for me before they start getting girlfriends haha. I will continue faithful in the work of the Lord though. There is nothing better than this time right now, and it's not much, so I need to do all I can right now. I made a goal at the beginning of my mission that I was going to go hard to the end so that when I finish I can say "I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith". I know that if I do so, the feeling will be a lot better knowing that I put everything out there. I would much rather go down swinging than go down watching, haha, good old baseball term.

This week was a crazy one with all the transfers. Sending Elders here and there, doing divisions with elders and recieving an almost all new zone of all new guys. Of 13 sectors here in the Punta Arenas zone, 9 of them are in training of new missionaries! You can say that we are a young zone. We are very excited to have all these new guys, because it brings a new and renewed feeling of faith and excitement for the work. We are going to try to feed off of those new guys' excitement to get the whole zone moving and getting great things done and seeing miracles here in Punta Arenas. I know that we as a zone can do things that we never thought that we could do. If we can just have faith in the Lord and in his promises and we show that faith with our great works, I know that the Lord with provide and bless us. We will be part in helping the Gospel roll forth until it has gone to all the stretches of the earth and sounded in every ear. There is no greater blessing than participating in this great work.

Mother, if you do end up sending another package I would not know what to tell you to put in it. I need new tennis shoes because mine are literally destroyed, but I don't use them that much any way, so I believe that they can wait. Maybe some good old sweets, haha, and I wouldn't know what else to say ha.

It sounds like Caiden's summer is already off to a great start. I was sure glad to hear from you bud. I want to let you know that my current record for juggling a soccer ball is now 38 and going up, so I would be a little scared if I were you haha. I love you bud and you better know it that when I get home we will be hitting two different kinds of gyms... the physical gym and the spiritual one where we are going to get you big musclely and spiritually haha. I love you bud.

That job that Wade got sounds pretty awesome. I would like to see what he does. It sounds like the Peterson fam is doing good and that the two little boys are as cute and as funny as always haha. I sure do love that little fam.

I haven't heard from my sis Lacee for awhile. Tell her that even with all her work she better drop me a couple lines about how she is doing and if she is finding an eternal companion yet, haha, I love you sis.

Well fam, there isn't much to tell you about except that at this moment in the work we are working hard in finding new investigators, because when we divided the sector with the Hermanas they got the part with all our investigators and we were left with little to nothing, but this is the Lord's work and I know that He provides for those that help themselves and that is exactly what we are trying to do now. I love this work with all my heart. It will continue nobly and boldly till it fills the whole earth. What a blessing to be part of such a great work. I love you all.

Love,
Elder Brown

June 3, 2013

Hola Familia y Amigos,

Here we are again sittin' down to write the fam. It has been an interesting week. I am so jealous about the Stake conference that you had with L. Tom Perry. I wish I could have been there for that haha. It's really funny that Caleb spoke with L. Tom Perry because I always used to say that Caleb smiled like Elder Perry. I would always say to him "Give us the Perry smile" haha. Sounds like Caiden's got a big summer coming up. That's pretty cool. Doesn't sound like he is going to get any work in, haha. I am always glad to hear from my wonderful family. I love you all so much. I just want to tell my two wonderful parents thanks for raising us in the Gospel. It has changed my life and without it I am sure I would be a real scrub. Thanks for teaching me what you have.

Mother, about the mission thing for Caiden. I don't think that there is any better decision than to just get out on the mission as soon as possible. Obviously he needs to be prepared, but I think he would regret it if he didn't just go right out. Plus, he is not too bad looking and so I am sure the girls are always following him around and so it's best that he just gets out there as soon as possible, haha, I'm not as handsome, so it wasn't as big of a worry. The best thing that Caiden can do right now is learn to listen and discern the Spirit. He is the teacher, He will not only teach the investigators for him, but will teach Caiden everything that a job would, or a year of college would and much much more. Help Caiden feel the Spirit and learn His importance, teach him to follow the Spirit and I promise you that he will be prepared for the mission. All else he will learn in the mission. I have thought a lot about how I would and will prepare children for missions, and I have thought about what I would say and teach and when it all comes down to it, If one can learn and understand the importance of the Spirit everything else will come into place. Obviously, that never will overcome the need to study scriptures, learn the Gospel, learn good work ethics, and obtain Christlike attributes, but if the Spirit comes first He will teach us all else that we need to know and be. That's what I would say to you mother and to my little bro Caiden. THE SPIRIT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT. Learn how He works, learn to listen for Him, learn to invite Him, learn to recognize how He speaks with you personaly and all will be well. There is my piece. I am sure my wise Mom and Dad already knew that because the things they have taught me have made me into the person I am. Because of them I am here, thanks to them I know what I know, thanks to them I am who I am.

Well, now for a little on the week. Monday we were going to watch 17 miracles as a zone but the TV didn't work, so we didn't get to. I am not sure if I told you all, but Hermana missionaries are coming to be in our ward. We are going to be splitting our area and giving them half of it. So this whole week was full of getting their apartment ready and buying ALL NEW STUFF FOR THEM. They are going to be so spoiled, the stuff we have got them is so nice. Their apartment is amazing. I don't think I have ever spent more money in a week in my whole life haha. The mission deposited money in my mission card to buy all the stuff. Gustavo came out with us to look for good prices on all the stuff like mattresses, bunk bed, oven, mircrowave, and fridge. We bought so much stuff. A lot of our week was working on that stuff, but we ended the week great with the baptism of Jose. What an amazing day. He is so awesome and I have been able to see so much progress in him. He has even learned how to read since the missionaries got to his house. It was a great weekend.

Oh yeah, it is tranfers this Wednesday and me and Elder Stanley are going for the long run, haha, another transfer. We are going to stay together, which is awesome. We have a fun time together. We are excited because almost half our zone is going to be new missionaries who are starting their missions this Wednesday, so we are really excited to start them off good.

I am blown away at the fact that my two best buds are getting home from their missions this week. I love those guys so much. Please let them know how much I love them and tell them to wait for me haha.

Love,
Elder Brown

Jenna,
I am still working on your letter haha sorry it takes me a long time to write them. I hope your grandma is doing alright. Keep updating me on how she is doing and on what is going on up there in Utah.
Love,
Elder Brown

1. Jose´s Baptism!!!