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Sunday, December 15, 2013

The Lord knows what these people need...dated 11/11/13

Last week went by way fast but it was kind of hard because it felt like we didn't do any "real" missionary work... and this is why:
Tuesday was a Temple P-day. I love Temple days, I really do but sometimes we get up at 4:30 in the morning and by the time we get out of the temple we are all tired, hungry, ornery and we still had 13 more hours until we could sleep.... but even still, it was a good day! Every one should go to the temple. If you want to know for assuredly that your Heavenly Father loves you.... go to the temple, He is literally there. 
Wednesday was Mission Leadership Council (MLC) so we were in meetings from 11-4:30. MLC was supposed to end at 2:30 but we play hard ball in this mission and we couldn't leave until goals were set and everyone agreed. It was soooo much fun! We had to decide on what the baptismal goal would be from now until the end of the year. At first it was proposed 60 and then 80 was brought up and before anyone realized we were in a battle with each other and it was 80 against 60 and things were getting hostile... but we all knelt down and prayed about it and then president asked we all felt about 70. Oh, you mean there is another option that isn't 60 or 80? ha! We all agreed so we now have a goal for 70 baptisms which means we need to average 10 baptisms every week until then. It stretches us but it was possible and we are all pumped about it!!! 
Thursday was district meeting and that is always a good time. We learned how to have more effective companionship studies. And then we were stuck inside for the rest of the afternoon while we weekly planned... We had dinner with the Bishop that night and we asked him if he would be willing to come with us to teach Adrian on Friday and he agreed so we were happy.
Friday came and we had exchanges! I love exchanges especially when Sister Perry comes! We have a difficult area and it is really hard to tract. The only time we really have the opportunity to is on weekday mornings around Cerritos College and that is not as effective as being at the institutes so we hardly ever do it. BUT it was a Friday morning with no meetings and the institutes are closed so we had the chance to go contact and it was so fun! we got one new investigator named Edgar and we got a lot of potentials and it really felt good to be out walking talking to everyone instead of in the car all day... 
Later that day we taught Adrian with Bishop and it was so good! We were able to answer a lot of his questions and Bishop really did a great job with explaining the priesthood! He committed to come to church.... but then flaked. It's okay though... he just needs a little time. He loves his church and I think he is honestly scared that our church is true and that if he comes to know it's true... that he will have to act on that knowledge... I don't know though.. I could be way off. 
Saturday was Zone Conference the day I had been stressing about for weeks. I was able to teach the Schroeder family in front of two zones... it was really cool. The spirit was really strong. The Schroeder's are in the Atherton ward and have been investigator for a little over a year. They love the church but they just have never been able to feel ready for baptism. We were able to give a really power lesson about what baptisms means and how it brings us closer to Christ. I was going to record it and then totally forgot.... I am sorry. I wish I could explain to you and give you all the details because I didn't know them hardly at all but somehow Sister Wasden and I were able to address their concerns and teach to their needs. It really was a huge testimony strengthener on how the Lord knows what these people need.... 
I love the gospel. I feel the best when I am teaching people about the power of the atonement and how this Gospel changes lives. 
I invite you all to heed Elder Ballard's invitation and bring one soul unto Christ.
I love you all! Have a wonderful week! 
Until next time... Luke 12:32

It was the most bizarre thing...dated 11/5/13

So we had to give Gabby away to Elder Walker... That was depressing for two reasons. #1 I love her and we really connected and I really felt like I was her missionary and she helped me feel the spirit. #2 I had to give her to Elder Walker.
She really wants to go to the El Dorado ward so Austin and she are going to try and get permission for that to happen... I kind of hope it does but I don't know if it will.
We picked up a new investigator this week at the institute named Andrew. He takes a class so that he can park there for free and he is super awesome. A month ago he walked into the institute with a thing of chewing tobacco and a lack of respect. Brother Given had to pull him aside and tell him that his behavior wasn't acceptable and that if he wanted to park in the parking lot he would need to sign up for a class. He signed up for the Teachings of the Living Prophets class and when we were there on Wednesday we sat in and listened and he had some awesome comments about the talk that was given in general conference by Christofferson "The Moral Force of Women". It turned out he was the one that requested that talk. So after the class we called him over and I just said to him "Andrew, we want to teach you." and he paused and then said. "okay". We set up a time later that day to come back and we had a really good lesson with him. We have another appointment for this Wednesday again but we have to make sure he lives in our boundaries so we can know if we are able to teach him. Wouldn't want to end up with another Gabby situation.
Adrian is probably in Jacob by now in the Book of Mormon at the rate he is going. We still haven't gotten him to church but he is doing awesome with the lessons. He is really eager to learn and understand and he always has really good questions!
Christian is literally my favorite person but he is lacking the desire... and desire is what drives us to do something, so we asked him to read Alma 32 and the next time we meet with him we are going to talk to him about desire and then see where he is. If he doesn't start progressing we have to stop going by, and that would be really sad :( But we are positive thinkers over in these parts!! 
Funniest thing happened at church yesterday. We were sitting in the chapel and in walks the Elders with a non member. we start to kick ourselves because once again the Elders out-do the sisters and we were really just annoyed <---- we all had a bad attitude. obvi. Anyways, after church ended we were meeting in the gym for break the fast and their "investigator" was sitting all by herself so we decided to be the nice missionaries we are and go sit by her. We got talking and it came to be that she had looked up the Elders number on Google that morning and called them up because she was thinking about becoming Mormon. Sounds solid, right? yeah! until she starts asking really weird questions about polygamists and it turns out SHE WANTS TO BE ONE... she was soooo disappointed when she found out we don't do that anymore and then she started asking which states polygamy exists in and I become really awkward and Sister Mickelson said "I'm pretty sure it's illegal in every state..." hahaha
It was the most bizarre thing. She was so dead serious and she just said I know it sounds weird but I think it would be more fun. When the Elders found out Elder Dixon just awkwardly said "It's hard enough to handle one person of the opposite sex..." ha! I'm still laughing about the whole thing. Obvi.
Ups and downs this week. The downs were down but I made it through and now I am expecting a victory every day! :)
I am so thankful for the part the Lord plays in my life everyday. I love Him so much. 
I really want to do good on this mission. Through everything I really want to change my live as well as others. I am really trying. I know the Lord and I want others to know Him too. I want them to see a light at the end of their tunnels, and that light is Jesus Christ.
I love you all and I need you to know that! I am so thankful for all of you. You are in my prayers.

Monday, November 18, 2013

An invitation from President Tew...dated 10/21/13

I forgot to tell you last Monday but I've been asked to teach at zone conference...
Okay, so a week ago Saturday (10/12/13) President Tew called during companionship study. I answered it, "Hello, this is Sister Brown." He asked me how I was doing and then if he could ask me a favor. I thought he was going to ask me if I could come into the office to help him with something... NOPE. He says "The assistants and I have come up with an idea for Zone Conference and we wonder if you could help us out with it...." Alarm bells! He goes on to tell me how they want to have a demonstration featuring the best teachers in the mission but it's not the typical two missionaries practice teach on an "investigator". We are going to do a live teaching experience. We are going to have real investigators that have been investigating the church for a while come in. They have agreed to let you teach them in front of 70 other missionaries".
Elder Tewksbury told me that someone brought my name up and they all paused... and then agreed at the same time.
I am really nervous. I am still not used to the fact I can't recognize the spirit so I don't know if I can be as good as they think I am.
I am not teaching with my companions either... They said they picked who they wanted and then paired them up. The sister I will be teaching with is Sister Wasden. We have been given permission to go on exchanges together so that we can learn each others teaching styles.
She is in Los Alamitos which is only like 20 minutes away and zone conference is on November 9. Elder Pollard and I are the only ones that were asked to do it that haven't been out longer than 9 months.
I got a blessing yesterday where Heavenly Father told me he was proud of me so that was nice of Him!
We are going to sports today for P-day activity and I don't think I am going to play so I'll write ya a letter then. 
We got six member referrals this week and we get to hang out at the institute all the time! I really love this area! I am trying to think of what else happened this week... we have to spend a lot of time in the car because we can't do a lot of tracting because we cover an entire stake. I am not complaining because my ankle is getting a break, but sometimes it feels like we are getting nothing done. But as long as the ward continues to refer people, we won't feel like that for long.
I think I felt the spirit last night so that was really good! Yesterday day was really rough and I'm not sure why.... sometimes I just want to curl up in a ball. But the conferences were good. I went to two, I went and watched Sister Luft and Sister Andelin teach Sherry, and Elder Walker and Elder Blodsoe teach a guy named Moose. They both did an awesome job! I learned that we are allowed to go meet and talk to the people we are teaching before the conference so I think Sister Wasden and I will go do that, and it will be better then I have been thinking.
The temple was so good...
Love, Sister Brown

Meeting the new missionaries at the airport...dated 10/14/13

How are you family?
I hope you are all doing well. As for me, I have been busy...
So last Monday night we went over to pick Sister Luft up from the mission home (we had her companion while she was at her funeral dinner) and while we were there Sister Tew started making comments about how she wished that there could be sisters at the airport along with the assistants to welcome the new missionaries... we all got talking about who could possibly go and Sister Tew turned and said to me, “You’ll already be at the office and you are such a great greeter... will you come with us?" I said "okay" And secretly inside I was jumping for joy because I love seeing the poor new missionaries walk off the plane like the walking dead. Ha!
So I went with them to the airport and everything was so disorganized. The APs got there first and Sister Tew and I got there seconds after them. We were all late because of traffic so when we got to the place where we were to meet the new arriving missionaries,  the plane had already landed. The elders were waiting for us (President was still not there lol). The elders went with the APs to get the luggage and Sister Tew and I waited for the sisters to come out. The Elders were arguing with me trying to convince me that the sisters had already come. I kept trying to assure them that they just got off of a 2 hour plane ride and they all needed to go to the bathroom, and girls take longer than guys... they didn't believe me. But guess who was right?
I loved seeing Sister Tew's reaction when we saw them coming. She was SOOOO excited! We welcomed them to the Great California Long Beach Mission and gave them big hugs! They looked a lot better then I imagine myself looking in that moment 4 1/2 months ago... 
So we get their luggage and walk down to the loading dock, and while we are waiting Sister Oler (one of the new missionaries straight from the MTC) starts talking to a lady named Christine. She is doing an awesome job by herself but I could tell that she didn't really know how to bring the Gospel up so I went and helped her out. I told her how we were missionaries and she told us how she has relatives that are Mormon (let me remind you that I had the Presidents wife and the President observing my contacting skills... stress!) We talked a little bit more but then our van pulled up and we had to start loading luggage, so we ended the contact and went on loading. After our luggage was loaded and on its way back to the mission office we started walking to the parking garage and I mention to Sister Tew that I wish I had a Pass-a-Long Card to give to that lady (I left my bag in the car) and Sister Tew stops in her tracks searches through her purse and immediately starts to run in the direction of this lady. She is so awesome!
So we get to the parking garage and all the new sisters, Sister and President Tew, and I file into the elevator and just when the door is about the close a little old couple named John and Maria ask us to hold the door... We hold it for them and welcome them in with big smiles and happy hellos. We start talking and it turns into another contact but now I was in the spotlight (not the same spotlight I like to be in....) and I have all these new baby missionaries watching me along with President and Sister Tew... Even more stress! I made the little couple laugh though and I invited them to stop by the church building in Fountain Valley. I walked away feeling good! 
So then we get back to the church and feed the new missionaries breakfast while President Tew is figuring out their temporary companions, then off they go!
While we were waiting for the vista waiters and Spanish speakers to get in (they all came in at different times which never happens and is super annoying) my new companions and I loaded all of my stuff into the car. We then went and chopped up fruit and got lunch ready. Sister Fulgham and Mickelson would have rather been out doing missionary work but we are white washing (which means none of us have been in the area before) and the elders we share the ward with are the APs, so they were busy and couldn't give us any information about anything until 6:30 pm..., so my companions helped me get lunch ready and then we went to our apartment and cleaned (It was the most disgusting thing ever. I swear to you the elders that lived there before never cleaned ever, not once.) I had to clean the bathroom and I wanted to shoot myself in the face. Later that night we went to meet the APs at the office but they were an hour late so we just sat outside and got to know each other. When the elders finally showed up we were able to learn about our area and that was fun. They gave us a bunch of potentials and tips on how to work the area.
So the thing about the El Dorado ward is that it covers two stakes the LBE and the Cerritos Stakes. We are over the entire Cerritos Stake boundaries which to every other mission is small, but to this mission... its super huge! The elders have always just focused on the LBE side so Cerritos has really been neglected.
The area is awesome though! I love the ward. I would be okay serving here for the rest of my mission!
XOXOXOX, Sister Brown

The day before transfers....dated 10/7/13

Hello family,
How are you? Well this is what has been going on in my world...
After we moved from Betty's home we were living in an apartment with 5 girls and one shower. That was not easy!! Then we moved into our apartment on Thursday but the gas and hot water weren't turned on until this morning. We had to take cold showers. Thank Heavens that's over.  On Friday a bunch of Elders told us that Sister missionaries are basically worthless, so that was really hard. Most of our appointments fell through this week...it has been rough. I have been proud of myself though, I have tried hard not to let it all get me down.
I'm being transferred and Sister Bauer is staying in the Woodruff ward for her 5th transfer. I will be in a trio... with two sister training leaders. I am a little nervous about being in a trio and about transfers in general, but transfers are life.  The only up side is that we are the first sisters to be in the El Dorado singles ward :) I'm super excited about that!! I am excited to be in a singles ward. Sister Bauer is happy to be staying in the ward. 
So, transfers are tomorrow morning, and then I am working in the office. Sister Tew needs my help. I am basically the SAPW - Sister Assistant to the Presidents Wife. I made it up :) 
This is how tomorrow will go...Sister Bauer will take me to the office where I will stay with her new companion’s old companion while we wait for our new companions to come. Then I will go with Sister Fulgum to get Sister Mickleson and we will go drop off our stuff at our new apartment (Elder Walker, one of the APs, was being a butt and wouldn't tell us where we were living and they left it off of transfer facts so we thought we were homeless until about 2 hours ago), and then they will take me back to the office where I will greet the new missionaries! 

Okay so that is Elder Cox he is one of my Zone Leaders... he is Uncle Brendon's doppelganger. I mean seriously they are the same person. 


Sometimes we take side walk chalk and draw things pertaining to the Gospel. While we do this, we talk to people about what we are drawing! It's pretty fun. We drew the Plan of Salvation while biking through Hartwell Park! - Yeah! It's a way to take the stress out of walking up to someone because, most the time, they will walk up to you and ask you what you are doing.




Bahahaha...aren't the pictures of the public restroom funny! I am not embarrassed that I use the facilities with no privacy. There was a nice breeze blowing...hahaha. The stalls are short with no doors to prevent rape and other crimes.

I gotta go. I'm gunna go provide some humor mom misses to everyone at sports while I try to play some basketball.
 I love you mucho grande! 

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Delci, Sister Bauer, and a drunk guy at the laundromat...

Family <3
Long time - no write- I know, I am the worst!
Right now I am at a laundromat. I have four loads going and Sister Bauer only has two. It's funny how people do things different. I learned to separate everything out --she puts all her lights in with her whites and then does colors together with darks. It's less expensive her way but I have to stick with the way I learned or something bad might happen to my clothes. Ha! There is a man here sweating alcohol from his pores and I don't know exactly what is happening, but I think he is dancing...ope, I think he fell...maybe he stubbed his toe? I'm not sure. I heard a crash, things are getting weird!
Now he is drumming on the machines. He has no rhythm. No, this needs to stop!

Yesterday I spoke in church. I was only given 5 minutes so I didn't even write my talk until I was on the stand. I had an idea of what I wanted to say but it wasn't until I was sitting on the stand looking out at the congregation that I decided I should probably write something down as an outline. I figured it would be embarrassing if I stood up and forgot everything and had nothing to remind me...Pat didn't come and I was so sad. I watched the door the entire meeting. We tried to go by after church but I don't think she was home. I feel bad because Sister Bauer is going to get transferred and Sunday was Pat's last chance to come to a regular sacrament meeting while Sister Bauer is still here. Maybe we can convince her to come watch General Conference with us. I don't know...I guess we'll see.
So I went to the office on Friday to help Sister Tew prepare lunch for MLC, Mission Leadership Council. This is where all of the ZLs amd STLs come for training. Then I helped Sister Barlow. She and her husband are office missionaries. She is in charge of ordering supplies and distributing them out to all of the zones, as well as directing referrals, and a bunch of other stuff. She has a big job. Anyway, I was there and my ride back to my area was in a meeting, so I went and asked Sister Barlow if she needed help with her supply orders. Usually she does it the Friday before transfers because all of the zone leaders are at the office for meetings. While they are there they can grab the supplies and distribute them to the district leaders. It is a really big job for one person so she asked if I could help her get a head start on it. Well, I told her we would get it done that day. She was skeptical but optimistic. We got half of the boxes done and then Elder Jesperson came to help. The three of us were able to get it all done in 2 hours, which I hear is record time. Sister Barlow was super thankful and I was happy I could help. It was nice to work in the office and get my mind off stuff. Sister Bauer went with Sister Youngberg and Sister Okanoue but ended up doing nothing because Sister Youngberg didn't feel well.
While I was at the office President Tew called me into his office to help him with a project. When I walked in I accidentally looked at the transfer board. I think he knew I was peeking though because he said, "Sister Brown, why don't you come sit down?"...Ha, fine. Well, when I looked I didn't see anything except my picture was in the same place but I'm pretty sure Sister Bauer's picture was moved :( I know it was unrealistic to think we would spend our whole missions together, but I am sad. My companion is leaving and Sister Luft is leaving. I am trying to deal with it but this is really new to me, so I don't know how to deal with it...sorry, Negative Nelly for a minute...I'm over it now.
Sister Bauer and I are going to make this the best week ever! I love her a lot. We are always going to be friends.
We didn't play basketball at Zone Sports today because we met Sister Luft and Sister Andeline for lunch at a Lebanese restaurant. It was cool. We made it to sports in time to play but we didn't have clothes :( Oh well, there is always next week.
Well P-day is coming to a close.
I LOVE YOU!!! --Sister CA

P.S. Sister Bauer and I contacted into an African American community and they welcomed us into their fold. I loved it. I love them...I felt like I was home :)

Elder Frost...he was our district leader. He is an amazing missionary and he is going home this transfer.




A letter from Delci's companion...

Brown Family,
I wanted to write you a letter concerning your daughter. There are some things you should probably know about her...maybe you already know. Sister Brown is the funniest person I have ever met. She is hilarious! I have never laughed so hard on my mission! She is the sweetest and kindest person. When I need her she is always there. When she loves, she loves with her whole heart.She truly cares about the people we teach and talk to. She teaches like a pro! Sister Brown teaches with such clarity, conviction, and power. When she testifies not even the powers of hell could testify against her. She wants to be a good missionary. She wants the Lord to be proud of her. She wants to return with honor. She is honest with everyone, and she is not afraid to be who she is. She is Delci Brown and if anyone has a problem with her..."sorry not sorry" :). She's a remarkable missionary and she will deny it every time, but she is so good! Everyone we meet loves her! She steals all the members' hearts (which I am sure doesn't surprise you!) I am so blessed and grateful that I got to be her companion for 12 weeks. She's taught me a lot. She's got a really good soul and I am lucky to have met her and to be her companion. You've got one pretty amazing daughter, but I'm sure you already knew that! Thanks for raising such a great girl! Ya done good!

Love, Sister Bauer

P.S. I can't wait to meet you in real life someday...


Friday, August 23, 2013

Things have been pretty busy...


Temple Day!!

Family Ties <3
Hello! Sorry it's been a week since I've written. Things have been pretty busy.
Right now I am waiting for Sister Bauer to get ready so I thought I would tell you how my week is going so far. I'll have a longer letter in the mail by the end of the week!
Today is Wednesday morning (8/14/13) and I am sick...my stomach is upset so I think I have a virus and the last few nights I have been the worst. I toss and turn all night.
Yesterday (8/13/13) was my 4 month anniversary since going through the Temple for the first time! It was also a hard day because I was so sick. We woke up and walked a mile and then I crashed on the couch while Sister Bauer was getting ready. When she came out, she checked my head and said I had a fever. She called Sister Luft who told me to go back to bed. I felt bad doing that but they both insisted, so I did. I slept on and off until 10:00 am and then I got in the shower and got ready because we had a lesson at 11:00 am with Susan. Susan is really cool and she would make an awesome Relief Society President, but I don't know if right now is the right time for her to accept the Gospel. We are not giving up though. We talked to her about Joseph Smith and she said she believes that he did see God, the Father and Jesus Christ, but she doesn't believe that he was the only one who was told to "create" a church. She thinks that Martin Luther and others were also called by God. She is almost too open minded...
After Susan, we came back to eat lunch and study Preach My Gospel. I hadn't eaten anything yet so I decided to try some chicken noodle soup, which I still can't decide if it helped or not...
At 3:00 pm we taught Sherry the Plan of Salvation, and Pearl was there! It was a good lesson. The first time we taught it we weren't able to cover the whole thing so we needed to go over it again. Sister Bauer has a Plan of Salvation packet with visual aids, so we used that and it was fun. 
Dinner was with Sister Taylor. She makes interesting food which I like and I think I would have really enjoyed what she made if I wasn't feeling ill. I forced it down though because I didn't want to make her feel bad. 

The Relief Society pool party was last night and we got to stop by for a couple minutes because Sherry was there. We got there a little late and when we arrived one of the ladies we are teaching was really upset, so she left. We walked out to the car with her and found out that she was upset because she was sitting at a table with a bunch of women and not one person talked to her. She said she tried to get in on the conversation but no one would talk to her. I felt for her because Heaven knows I have been in many situations like that and it makes you feel like crap. Although I am sure none of them realized what they were doing, it made me realize that we need to be aware of people around us who are in need. This lady swore up and down that she would never go to one of the ward activities again...which makes me sad :(  The Church is perfect, the people are not.

We stayed at the party for about a half hour and had fun. Then we went to the Mission Home to get some music for Sister Bauer. She was asked to sing in church on Sunday. We spent about a half hour there. We talked to President Tew and Sister Tew. Sister Bauer sang for them. Their son and his family were there so we knelt down and had family prayer with them. It was a nice visit.

We needed to stop by Sister Luft's apartment to get some notes that the "mini-missionary" left for us so since we where in the area, we did that real fast and then Sister Bauer let me drive home :)

On our way home we made a pit stop at the Goodies to say hello and shared Moroni 10:32.

I really tried to be a good missionary even though I was sick.
In and Out

Delci at Seal Beach
Monday after emailing we went to In and Out and then to the beach --Seal Beach, which I think is the beach the Goodman's took Dad to...I'm not sure. We aren't allowed to go on the beach or the pier but we were able to sit on the bench and look at the water. I was fine with that. The ocean is my peace and it was really relaxing. That is what we did for most of our P-day. During emailing we had a picnic with the mini-missionary, Sister Pito, before she went home (a mini-missionary is someone who lives the mission for 1-2 weeks to decide whether or not they want to go on a mission). After the beach we went back to the house to switch out our laundry and get back to work.
Monday was a good day.

I don't know how to cast my burdens on the Savior. I am really trying to figure that out. I am working on not running faster than I have strength. 

Thank you so much for the book. I love it.

AJ, Emma, Sam, Luke...good luck on your first day of school! I want to know how it goes :) I'll be thinking about and praying for you.

Mom and Dad, How are you? How is work? Has anything fun been going on?
How is Jansen? I miss him!

I've been really thanking Heavenly Father for all of the blessings He has given me --the biggest being my family. So many people don't have what I have and I realize it more and more everyday. Thank you for being my family <3  I love you all.

--California

The church is true!!




Monday, August 12, 2013

Signal Hill...I could see the ocean!

Sister Puttapong, Sister Brown, and Sister Bauer
on Signal Hill
Family <3,
I promise I will be better at writing. I just put the recorder and letter in the mail and now I am starting this one...see, we are already seeing improvements ;).
Today was a good day. Sister Puttapong's companions had a training meeting so she got to spend the day with us. She is the kindest, most Christ-like person. I haven't known her very long...probably about a week but even still... I'm sad to see her go. She is serving here temporarily as part of her assignment as a Salt Lake Temple Square Missionary.
View of mission area from Signal Hill
There is a place in Long Beach called Signal Hill. When you stand at the top you can see the entire mission. Sister Puttapong went there the first day with President Bubert, but she wasn't able to take pictures, so we went with her today. It was a lot of fun. It was the first time I have seen the ocean since we flew in, and I was so happy. Even though it was far away, it was fun to see.
We went to Mormon.org after we got done at Signal Hill and spent about a 1/2 hour there. We usually spend about an hour but we had a lunch appointment with Kaye and Jan at 1:00 pm so we had to cut it short.
Lunch was a lot of fun. I told you a little about Jan and Kaye on the recorder...they are such nice people and they love Heavenly Father and Jesus so much. I hope Jan decides to be baptized someday...
She is an amazing cook. She made us just a simple chicken salad --who knew a salad could be that good! (except Chuck-Your-Grandma, of course...hahahaha! :))
After we  left Kaye and Jan's, we came home to have Preach My Gospel study (language study for Sister Puttapong), I, however, was the only one that studied. Sisters Bauer and Puttapong chatted (okay, i'll admit...I chatted too) and said that technically chatting could be considered "language study" because anything involving English counts...I think that's a bit of a stretch...don't ya think? Oh well...talking is fun :)
The rest of the view of the mission area from
Signal Hill
Talking is fun, but I think everyone that knows me would be surprised to hear that besides Sister Bauer and maybe the Goodman's...no one would say I talk a lot. In fact, our investigator Sherry said that she likes it when I talk because I don't talk very often, but when I do...I talk with conviction. I don't know about the last part but it even surprises me when people put my name in the same sentence with "doesn't talk a lot", or "quiet" hahahaha!!!
We took Sister Puttapong to the Mission Office at 4:00 pm so she could have her departing interview with President Tew. We said goodbye and took pictures. I promised her that you guys would go see her at Temple Square...SO PLEASE GO! :)
In fact, tell everyone that reads the blog to go see her --she is awesome!
We met with Garden Lady today and we picked up a new investigator named Christopher. Christopher is 29 and we met him contacting last week. He is a super nice guy...I think I told you about him...he doubled majored in Bible studies and history. Ringing any bells? Well I was afraid it was going to turn into a Bible bash but it didn't. He honestly just wants to learn. He came with his Book of Mormon, a pad of paper, and a ton of questions. It was cool...we have another lesson with him on...well it was suppose to be on Wednesday but we have a Sister's Training Meeting on Wednesday so we'll have to reschedule, but we are optimistic.
Pat is great. She is Lauren Fagnant in 40 years --so tender hearted. She called us her "daughters". I love her. She loves her faith but she says she feels like there is a void in her life and she thinks maybe God put us in her path to help fill that void...I think she is right. We also have a meeting with her on Wednesday that we need to change but she is a rare person and at the very least, I'm thankful God allowed me to meet her...
7/25/13 - At District Meeting we learned about goals and how important they are, and how they help us reach our vision --Great stuff! I've never been good at the whole goal thing...
7/26/13 - Sister Bauer and I had interviews with President Tew. I had recently had an interview so mine was short. While we were at the office, the APs asked us to help them with the transfer board. We spent from 2:30 pm  to 5:00 pm helping them with that. They thanked us because they said it would have taken them hours to finish if we hadn't been there...it seems to happen a lot that we are at the right place at the right time.I really enjoyed getting to know the APs. They are pretty cool. Elder Walker thinks I am funny, so mission accomplished there. Elder Dixon still thinks I'm trouble, which I don't understand because I don't think I've ever done anything that would have given him that impression...Ha!
We ate at the Goodman's. They always give us the emotional support that we need. Sister Goodman really is taking care of me, Mom. You owe her big ;) Brother Goodman is equally as great, obviously. He'd do anything for us...kind of already has.
We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Sherry earlier that day (7/26/13) with Sister Tew. It went pretty good except she said she doesn't feel comfortable setting a date to be baptized because she feels pressured...we need to find a way to help her see that she doesn't need to know everything before baptism...I was baptized at 8 for Heaven's sake. How much could I have possibly known?! I knew enough...How do we help her? We bought her a cake on Thursday (the day before our lesson) and brought it to her. The next day in our lesson, Sister Bauer asked her if she had to eat the whole cake before she knew it was good, or if she knew it was good after the first couple bites? She responded with, "Yeah...actually I had the first bite and I liked it but I didn't know what I liked about it until the last bite. I realized it was because there wasn't a lot of frosting." Well, that wasn't really the answer we were looking for but I guess that'll have to do. We realized as we were leaving that that is exactly what she is feeling about the Gospel. She knows it is good, but she doesn't know why.
Yesterday (7/27/13) was kind of hard.
Today (7/28/13) was much better. I kept looking at the time, thinking "they are getting ready for church, they are probably taking the Sacrament, Jansen is probably speaking right now". I can't wait to hear how it went.
Jansen, I know I have already told you but I am so proud of you and I bet you did amazing. I already miss you so much but I can't help feeling like I'm going to miss you lots more when Wednesday rolls around and you are gone. You are going to be an incredible missionary...
I realize that by the time this letter gets to you, he will most likely be gone already...but just in case...I just want him to know how much I love him. Will you relay this message?
Church was good. The talks in Sacrament Meeting and lesson in Relief Society were on being member missionaries. Gospel Principles was about our Heavenly Father. Church is a place of comfort for me. I always look forward to Sundays.
We did our week planning right after church. I am excited for this week.
Dinner with the Goodies again :) I always know I will leave their house feeling loved. It's nice knowing that someone is looking after and taking care of your little girl, I bet...;)
After dinner we went to Pearl's house. She's having a really hard time so we go over and lift her spirits. She couldn't come to church today because she was in so much pain. Sister Bauer was able to play some hymns on the piano which always makes everyone feel better. I really love Pearl.
Well family, I miss you dearly. I really love handwritten letters :) but anything is good! Thank you for making sure I get multiple somethings a week.
I love you all so much. Go around in a circle and give everyone hugs and kisses for me. Squeeze Wy's face for me when you see it.
I want to know everything that's happening in each of your lives...Jansen's farewell/MTC drop off.
I'm rambling because I don't want to say goodbye. I know...it's time.
I LOVE YOU!
<3 Love, your missionary #1 XOXOXO


Sunday, August 4, 2013

Let's see...where did I leave off?

Family <3,

I am currently sitting at zone sports. So, naturally anything with the word "sports" in the title, I refuse to be apart of, so I am sitting on the stage in comfy basketball shorts, sporting a Utah State University t-shirt, and writing to you fine people...

Let's see...where did I leave off? I told you about Sherry right? Well Sherry is doing awesome. We taught her on Tuesday (7/2/13) about the restoration. She pretty much understood everything and accepted it, except for modern day prophets. She grew up baptist so she's been taught her whole life that once Jesus came to the earth that was it...what he says goes and prophets were on longer needed. When we started teaching her about prophets, Sherry's comments were, "Why did they get prophets back then and we don't? That just doesn't seem fair..." Well Sherry, you are right. That wouldn't be fair. As we taught her about prophets she said it made sense but it was just hard for her to grasp. We left the lesson feeling pretty good. We made a return appointment for the following Wednesday (7/10/13). We invited her to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it is true. She promised we would see her at church on Sunday. Come Sunday (7/7/13), sure enough, she was there. We were so happy (I would compare it to...I don't know...just a really good day)! During Sacrament meeting she had her Book of Mormon open and we saw that she was in 1 Nephi 10 and she was marking up different verses. This made us even happier :) Wednesday came along and we taught her a little bit of the Plan of Salvation and reviewed the Restoration. She told us that when we had taught her about Joseph Smith and the First Vision that it gave her chills. Wednesday night our ward had Enrichment (they still call it that here...) night. It was a potluck. Sherry came and brought the most delicious chili. There is a less active member that Sherry met the first time she came to church. He name is Pearl. Pearl has not had the easiest life and a lot of that is because of things that have happened in the church. Anyway, Pearl has a  hard time going to things but Sherry always makes sure to call Pearl and see how she is doing. I swear, that woman is more of a member of the church than some of the actual members of the church. She just needs to be baptized :) I love her. We invited her to be baptized on July 27th but she said that seemed soon and she wants to know everything before committing to be baptized. We told her that as she continues to pray, read, and go to church that through her faith Heavenly Father will give her the answers she is looking for. We have another lesson with her on Wednesday (7/17/13). We are going to teach her the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Sister Tew might come along with us, so that should be fun.

We spent the 4th of July with the Goodman's.
They are like our family away from family. They really do take care of us. Anyway, there was a pancake breakfast to start off the day. We were kind of frustrated because earlier in the week a member of the ward came over to visit Betty, the sister we live with. We told this member that Betty wanted to go to the 4th of July breakfast but that we weren't allowed to give her a ride in our car so we asked him if he could find a ride for her. He said, "Sure, happy to do it." Well come July 4th, Sister Bauer and I go Betty up and told her to wait outside because her ride would be coming any minute. We hopped on our bikes and rode to the church. We got there and this member was helping make the pancakes, so we went up and asked who he'd gotten to pick up Betty. He said, "I didn't ask anyone. My wife usually does that but she is out of town..." Wait...What?!?! We were fuming mad. We hopped back on our bikes and rode back to the house to find Betty still waiting outside for someone to pick her up. The thing about Betty is that she has dementia, so she knows that she is waiting for something but she can't remember what. She would have waited there all day. We broke the rules and took her to the church. It wasn't fair to her that she miss out because a member forgot all about her ride.

After the breakfast we had District Meeting. Sister Bauer and I went and got 4th of July cookies to share with our zone. They love us...we are the only sisters in our zone...so that is cool. I don't really know any different, hahaha! Every Thursday is District Meeting and weekly planning, so it was nice that we stayed in for most of the day on the 4th because it would have been hard to contact people: 1. because it is a family day. 2. people get intoxicated pretty early in the day. We had dinner with the Goodman's. We wanted to spend the whole evening with them but we had strict instructions not to "plop", so we couldn't. We ended up going back to their house, and here is why... We planned to go see Pearl but while we were on our way to her house a dog darted out in front of our car (I know you are all thinking we hit it. You can rest easy, we didn't). Sister Bauer said, "That dog is going to get hi--(gasp)--(covers mouth)". I look in the rear view mirror in time to see the dog doing a stiff somersault. We thought for sure it was dead but we decided to flip around so we could at least move the body. The dang car that hit it didn't even stop! As we approached the "scene of the accident" we saw the little dog was still breathing as well as twitching. No one was even stopping so we stopped traffic and rescued the poor pup. I was nerve racking picking it up. Questions, such as "am I hurting it more? What if it decides to die in my arms? Am I emotionally stable enough to handle that?" ran through my mind as I bent down to pick it up (Sister Bauer couldn't help because she has this thing about touching hurt/dead things). Anyway, long story short...The dog didn't die, but it was emotionally traumatized. The owner came riding up on a bike and said, "The first time in seven years this dog gets out and she get hit by a #$!* car..." He picked the dog up in a very rough manner and rode away. uuhhhh...yeah, "YOU ARE WELCOME FOR SAVING YOUR DOG!!!"
We got in the car and suffering from some serious emotional shock, we decided we weren't stable enough to visit anyone so we went back to the Goodman's...sorry not sorry.

The next big event was the departure fireside.The Sunday before transfers they have a fireside where all the missionaries that are leaving have the opportunity to bear their testimonies, and the people that they taught/got close to are invited. The only way other missionaries are able to attend is if they have an investigator with them, or if they are a part of the program. They hold tryouts for the missionaries with musical talents who want to perform a musical number at the fireside. Sister Bauer tried out with her song "Go and Do". She was accepted as part of the program. She really is so talented, plus the APs are obsessed with that song. So technically, because Sister Bauer was on the program, we could have shown up without anyone and no one would have said anything, but we not only had an investigator (Sherry) there, we also had a nonmember (Margaret), a less active (Betty S.), and an active family (the Goodman's). We went above and beyond the call of duty.There was a point in the program where all of the full time missionaries got up and sang, "Bring the World His Truth". That was very cool --chills...almost more so than "Called to Serve" in the MTC. Mama Goodman cried her little eyes out. Ah, I love her.

Transfers were Tuesday. Obviously I stayed. Thank Heavens! Heavenly Father knew I needed to finish my 12 weeks with Sister Bauer.Elder Komoneck is our new District Leader. He is in our ward. He is training Elder Thorup, who came out with me, and now he is training a visa waiter, so he has his hands full, Ha!

Other than the stuff I told you about on email, this week has been kind of slow. We did meet a guy named Christopher while tracting, and he agreed to meet with us on Wednesday. He got his degree in Bible studies and says he knows the Bible is true because it matches up with things found in the history books, and that the Book of Mormon does not. I am nervous that it might turn into a Bible bashing or something, but you never know...I'll let you know how that goes.

We had a Pioneer Day celebration on Saturday and it wasn't even like Utah...Oh well, I got over it.
Sister Brown and Sister Bauer at the Pioneer Day Celebration
We talked to this guy named Gary who grew up Jewish and then converted to Christianity. He had a lot of questions about what Mormon's believe. It was a really great experience and I definitely feel like his faith in Christ increased...at least I hope it did. He is awesome. He created this database where you can get daily readings  from the Bible sent to your email. He said he wanted to put the Book of Mormon on it as well, but his wife would not be okay with that. She doesn't believe we are Christians, in fact his wife had no idea he was at the Pioneer Day Activities. He said she would not be okay if she found out. Anyway, he is awesome and I know we were instruments in the Lords hand by being there to water the seed that has already been planted.

Yesterday was Sunday (7/21/13) and it was a normal day. Sherry came to Church but couldn't stay for Relief Society. She was there for "Our Heavenly Father" lesson in Gospel Principles. She participated. She's elect.

We watched The Testiments with the Janzen's and it was good...until it ended and the spirit left. It is a long story --actually that was Saturday..the days blur together. Sunday evening we ate dinner with the Gallup's...the peeps who called you on Father's Day. They made us enchiladas. Then we went to John and Margaret's and made an appointment to come back and talk to John about Ecclesiastes, which he asked us to read...and 3 Nephi 11, which we asked him to read. I'm excited for this appointment because I really think he will except this Gospel as long as he gets an answer from God that it's true..which he will...cause it is :)

I figure it's time to mail this baby because I have been working on it for a week.

I love you family!!!

I love you, everyone in "cyber world"!

Please give a shout out to Trenidy Thomas!!! :)

The Church is true --Love your missionary, Sister Brown










Thursday, July 25, 2013

Delci's letter to her brother Jansen, just before he leaves on his mission...


Delci's brother Jansen will enter the
Provo MTC on Wednesday 7/31.
He will be serving in
Melbourne Australia.
Jansen, 
I love you. Mom loves you. Dad loves you. Gabby, AJ, Emma, Sam, Luke, and Wyatt love you too.But most importantly your Heavenly Father and older brother, Jesus Christ love you. They are aware of how hard this mission is going to be. They also know that YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS. 
Heavenly Father will put people in your path that only you, Elder Jansen Brown, can help. But, it's not going to happen right away. You need to be willing to put forth the effort and find these people. Heavenly Father is also going to put people in your path to give you a taste of home, some comfort that you will so desperately need. 
Kneel down every night and pour your heart out to your Heavenly Father. He is listening and wants to give you the things that you need. Thank him for the tender mercies and mini miracles that you will witness everyday. 
Jansen, I love this gospel. I know how happy it can make people. I am thankful that we have the opportunity to be serving at the same time. It is really hard and I want to quit every single day but how can I quit when Jesus didn't quit? Jesus didn't quit. Jesus saved me. Jansen, Jesus saved YOU. He didn't quit, so you can't quit. No matter how hard it may be for you, it was harder for him. 
I tell you these things not because I think you will quit but because no one told me that I would want to. You need to know that someone feels the same way you do. You need to know that it will be hard but YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS. We both can. 
Jansen, this is truly Jesus Christ's church. The same church that he established 2000 years ago. Joseph Smith truly did see God the Father and Jesus. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. Jesus did die for us. He knows what we are going through, happy or sad. I love my Savior so much. I know these things are true 100%, no doubt in my mind. 
I love you so much and I am so proud to call you my brother.
You will do great things. 
When we are doing the lord's work, we are entitled to the Lord's help. 
Smile often. Be happy. Make every moment count. 
Be exactly obedient. 
I love you. - Your sister, your best friend, your missionary. Sister Delci Brown

Delci and Jansen on the day she entered the MTC.
"Everyone of us has times when we to know things will get better... my declaration is that this is precisely what the Gospel of Jesus Christ offers us, especially in times of need. There is help. There is happiness... Don't you quit! You keep trying. It will be alright in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come... Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some blessings don't come until Heaven; but for those who embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ, They come." - Jeffery R. Holland 

Monday, July 22, 2013

Two months today! - 7/22/13

 Excerpts from emails and new pics....

Delci with two other sisters from her mssion.
I hope she was done with that chop stick!


Before I arrived into this GREAT CALIFORNIA LONG BEACH MISSION, Sister B (my companion) had a companion named Sister H and they contacted into a lady they named "Garden Lady" ( I think I have already told you about her). They called her this because they didn't get her name. We have gone by to see her a couple of times and it is always spiritually uplifting. A couple of Saturday's ago we were riding our bikes past her house and she was outside. We stopped to talk to her for a few minutes and she ended up asking us about what we believe the "After Life" will be like. She said that her religion teaches Purgatory and that scares her. We talked to her about the Spirit World and part of The Plan of Salvation. She thanked us and we went on our way. So this past Wednesday, Sister T (the mission president's wife) came out with us for a few hours and we decided we would introduce her to Pat (aka Garden Lady). She was outside again and she thanked us again for telling her about the Spirit World. She said, "it brought peace to my soul". We talked to her a little bit more and and asked if we could come back and teach her a little bit more about what we believe. We were expecting her to tell us that she loves us and that if she wasn't Catholic she would be Mormon, but she said, "Sure, I think I would really like that..." The Lord has prepared her, one of his precious daughters, to come into the waters of baptism and to be one step closer to living with Him again.

Delci and her Trainer

We knock on a lady's door yesterday and she said that she didn't believe in Jesus Christ. She believes in God, but not Jesus Christ. She said He brought more hell to this earth than anything else. It broke my heart.



The Zone...
...having fun


Last night we went and asked a member for the address of someone we met and he told us he wouldn't give the address to us, "because he is no good for the gospel..." WHO SAYS THAT???? Ughhh, it is so frustrating sometimes. Yeah, I was so mad! In preach my gospel it says, "True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior." That is the truth. If Brother M will just have faith, the atonement will help him.








Sherry is our progressing investigator that just walked into church. She is doing awesome. She just thinks she needs to know everything, and read the whole Book of Mormon before she can get baptized...WrongO BongO!

Delci's district

Sister B and I have been really been working on specific prayers. The morning of July 10th, Sister B prayed that we would meet one person that was willing to meet with us. As we started out on our bikes that morning, we were headed south when Sister B felt like we should turn around and go through the park. I didn't know at the time that it was a spiritual prompting. As we got to the park we saw a kid playing soccer by himself. He was the only on in the park and Sister B said, "I want to talk to him", so we awkwardly walked out with our bikes and said, "Hi..." He smiled but was not too interested in starting up a conversation. We walked on and Sister B kept looking back at him (I know he must have felt creeped out, Ha). We sat and watched as he packed up his bag and went into the bathroom. Sister B couldn't shake the feeling that we needed to talk to him. He came out of the bathroom and we were still there (at this point he HAD to feel creeped out!). He started walking to his car and Sister B said, "Well it's just a lost cause..." and I said, "Sister B, do you feel like this is the spirit telling you to talk to him?" she said yes, so we continued stalking him. We pulled up to his car. Long story semi short, he had moved from Utah when he was six and he knew "Mormons". He is Catholic. Sister B asked if we could set up a time to meet with him, and he agreed! People! Heavenly Father will answer your prayers if you faithfully ask and put forth the work.




Saturday, July 20, 2013

Advice from Delci to AJ, for her birthday - dated 7/11/13

Ada Janey,
I know this is getting to you late and I am sorry for that, but it is currently 8:09 am on July 11, 2013 so the fact I am writing this on your actual birthday should mean something...yeah? :)

In case you forgot...IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!!! yay! I love birthdays (especially mine! Unfortunately for me, it's still 7 months and 11 days away) but today is one of my favorite days. Wanna know why? FREE SLURPEES!!! jk, but really. (Go get one...)

AJ, today is one of my favorite days because it was the day one of my best friends entered this world. How lucky am I that one of my best friends is also my sister? So lucky...
AJ is to the left of Delci


I am so thankful for the example you've been to me for the past 14 years. It never ceases to amaze me how GOOD you are. Never stop being GOOD.

High School is hard, but it is also fun.

Be the type of person who, if anyone were to say anything bad about you...no one would believe them.

Listen to mom and dad. They know a lot. I wish I would have listened to them way more.

Never forget your Big Brother, Jesus Christ, knows what you are going through. Big or small, happy or sad. I always wanted a "big brother" --never realized I had one all along...I love him so much.

I wish I could be there for your first year. I am always thinking about you.

Stay out of the drama. Be friends with K... unless he is the drama!?!? Ha!

This is just some advice...GO TO SEMINARY!
Study hard-get good grades.
Say your prayers. Tell your Father in Heaven how you are doing.
Read your scriptures. That is how He answers you.
Be a good girl.
Laugh a lot, cry too...it helps.
Don't kiss boys...or do. It's whatev

I love you...
Oh yeah, & HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Thanks for being my sister.

Love,
Delci


Pictures from the 4th of July...

Delci and Sister B spent time with this member family on the 4th of July. Delci really loves them. They take good care of the missionaries. These pictures were sent to our email by Brother G (third from the left).

Delci and Sister B, her companion.
Delci has a brace on her ankle because it hurts a lot from walking. Last year her ankle was ran over by a car and she now has nerve damage. The doctor said it is healed but it will probably always hurt her.

This picture was captioned, "The Girls".

Sunday, July 14, 2013

FINALLY!!! A letter...dated 6/25 to 6/30

Family <3,
I know, I'm the worst. I have always been bad at writing letters...you know that.

Since I said goodbye to the recorder there has been a lot going on. On Tuesday (6/25) we had a sister's training meeting. It was a lot like that tune-up training we had about 2 weeks ago but it was just sisters...(what does that tell ya? Do we need that much extra help? Do we struggle that much? Ha ha). It was the same set up; meet @ 11:45 and had lunch (turkey wraps...such a sister lunch. The few elders that were there had to get take-out. That's how women-like it was), then my companion Sister B performed a special musical number. We had a training on "contacting" from the APs. I was happy that it was on contacting because I am super un-confident when it comes to this particular part of missionary work.
The APs are amazing at contacting...it's kind of disgusting...If I was contacted by them I would probably accept an invitation to be baptized right then on the spot...okay maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration BUT they are so good, it kills me.
Every time we have any sort of meeting with multiple missionaries, we always practice teach. Zone meeting, district meeting, specialized training...always. I always feel super silly doing it, but it works. So we practiced contacting and I went with Sister H and Sister L. I think I told you this already, but Sister L is BOMB at contacting. She is almost as good as the assistants. Anyway, I practiced with her and she told me I am not as bad as I think I am. She said I'm pretty good at it. That  made me feel good, but then I try to go contact a real person and I don't feel like I'm that great...maybe that is Heavenly Father keeping me humble!?!? After the training, President B talked with us. It was great. He is such an amazing guy. I know I say this all the time but honestly. I just wish he would have been my mission president the whole 18 months. His training was a little more casual. He asked us what kind of things we were dealing with in our areas and gave us ideas and advice on what to do. It was what I would imagine the Savior would do.
After the meeting was over, President came and pulled Sister B and me aside and asked us if we would come over to the Mission Home to clean. Of we said yes! We were excited to be invited to the "party".
On Wednesday we went over to see "Garden Lady". Garden Lady is a woman Sister B and Sister H contacted but they never got her name, so she had been on our board as "Garden Lady" which means every time it's my turn to pray, I have to pray for "Garden Lady" and I end up laughing. I think Heavenly Father giggles about it too. He has to, it's funny. Anyway, we stopped by her house and talked to her a little bit. We found out her name is Pat, so that was good. We shared a scripture and asked if she would be interested in learning more. She said, "No, but if I wasn't so into my church I would definitely be a Mormon". Uh...Ha. She went off on how wonderful Mormons are and how she would look into Mormonism if she didn't work for her church. We forgot to pray with her and ask if we could ever do any service for her, so we are going back to see what we can do.
Thursdays are district meeting. Sister B loves district meeting. She says they get her pumped and excited about the work. However, meetings like that make me feel a little discouraged. Sometimes being in the ward we are feels impossible. Later that day we were contacting and we ran into a lady named Jennifer. She told us that she was looking for a church to raise her children in and she believes a little bit of everything. She was very concerned about what a lot of churches believe as far as same sex marriage. She thinks that there is no way God would have made them gay if he wanted them to be straight. That would mean he made a mistake and God doesn't make mistakes. It was a very hard contact. What do you say? How do you answer these questions? Sister B is awesome. She just said something like, "We believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, however we don't pass judgement, or anything like that. We love them, just like God loves them." I thought that was a perfect answer. It was just hard because she threw out the argument that the world was over populated and all that fun stuff. We gave her a Book of Mormon and told her it was about Christ and when he visited the Americas. She said, "Huh? I've never heard about that. Did that happen?" We told her it did happen...cool huh! She took our number and said she would call if she had an questions. I doubt she will call but I do think she will read it. She was interested in the book. It was a pretty hard contact.
Friday was the day we went to the mission home. It was both Sister B and my first time in the home. It is beautiful! We'll probably never go there again. Everything we do is at the different stake centers and mission office, because there are so many missionaries. Sister B, myself, and Sister L were inside in charge of cleaning the silk plants...I could have died. Do you know how many leaves are on one silk plant? Do you realize how dusty they get? Well imagine that plus add in a couple silk trees and 100 plants times however many leaves, and whala...the 5 hours we were there, silk plants is all we did. If the cleanliness of those plants doesn't impress the new president, I don't know what would. While I was scrubbing a fern, I was talking to President B about my call and how after I knew he knew me I said, "Well crap, now I have to go...my mission president knows me..." After we finished the conversation (which I thought was going pretty good. I mean, we were all laughing...) he stood up and said, "Well Sister Brown, I think that is the first time anyone has ever said crap in the mission home. He then walked out. Uhhh...whoops. Of course that made me feel super stupid and like an awful missionary. Oh well, what are ya gonna do? Well I accidentally dropped the crap bomb a couple more time (I don't think the president heard those...) When we were getting ready to leave I accidentally said "freakin" and President said, "So now you've said crap and freakin, what are we going to do with you." He was laughing. I apologized, and he shook his head and he told me he just thought it was funny...it was embarrassing.
Friday evening we were contacting and we contacted a lady and I was dead set on getting an appointment with her (which I did). Then Sister B said, "I don't think she speaks English that well." I then realized she wasn't the best contact because she probably didn't even understand what I was saying...Ha ha! Sometimes I just think I shouldn't speak, but who knows, maybe she will feel the spirit and we can send the Spanish elders over to her. Live and learn, right? I laugh about it.
Saturday was SO hot! It was 98 degrees and I was feeling sorry for myself until I remembered that Kathy is in 108 degree weather and ya'll are suffering in 105 degrees...everyone here is miserable. They say that 98 degrees is about as hot as it gets, can rarely get hotter. The good thing is that it's hot for a few days and then the heat breaks and goes back down to the 80s or so...so I'm pretty happy! Remember how I didn't want to go hot or cold? :) The new mission president got here on Saturday but we won't meet him until Friday...I'm looking forward to that! We went over to the Anderson's on Saturday and got a referral! Yea!!! We are going to do a "Plan of Salvation" FHE with them at the Anderson's home on Sunday. I guess it's one of the Anderson's closest friends and they have 3 little kids. We asked them if they felt like they would ever be baptized and they said, "Oh yes, we can absolutely see that happening." We are really excited and I think the Anderson's are too.
After we left the Anderson's, we went to the Van Gundy's for dinner. The Van Gundy's are an older couple in the ward. They are both converts and they are super nice people. They made us taco salads with a rasberry drink that was to die for. It was kind of weird because we ate outside with our feet in a little plastic kiddie pool full of water...we weren't sure if it was allowed or not but I mean, YOLO!  We asked our district leader about it and he said, "If you knew nothing about the church and saw missionaries in that setting, would you think it was weird?" Hahahah...well yeah!
After we left the Van Gundy's, we had to race home and jump in the car (we were on bikes) so that we could make it to the Elder's baptism. Well...#1 I can't ride a bike very well, #2 My itty bitty legs can't peddle as fast as Sister B so I am always struggling to catch up, and #3 my chain fell off, so we didn't think we were going to make it but it was none of those things that made us miss it. We got there in time except we got lost in the dang building...so we missed the dunking by like 2 minutes, ugh!! Oh well, we only missed the most important part...
Sundays are always good, except this Sunday something awesome happened. The sister missionaries are in charge of greeting at the front door along with a Brother Ward and the elders man the back doors. Anyway, we were greeting people and this woman I didn't recognize (which is not unusual because I know < half the ward) walked through the doors but Bro. Ward didn't know her either, so he asked her who she was (in a very nice way...I was eavesdropping, sorry not sorry) and she said, "I've been going to an LDS church in Utah for the last month with friends. So when I got back to LB I wanted to find the ward I should go to, so I got on online and found this ward." Wait...what?!?! A golden investigator just walked into 9:00 am church by herself. You know that they are prepared when they up and come to church by themselves at 9:00 in the morning on a Sunday. No one does that, unless they are a member. It was awesome! She sat by us in Sacrament meeting and came to Gospel Principles. She loved it. She was commenting and participating. I just couldn't believe it was happening. There is no other way to put it except God has been preparing her. I know this church is true and I am so excite to start teaching her so she can know for herself the truthfulness of the Gospel. I can't wait to see the blessings that await her as she comes to accept this AMAZING message! Ahhh, I can't hardly stand it. We have an appointment with her on Wednesday. We are trying to find a member to come with us, so hopefully it works out!
Sunday we had an awesome dinner with the Jansen's --steak, salad, rice, steamed zucchini, and strawberries and whipped cream. I left the house so full I felt like Violet off of Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The Jansen's used to be less active but they are active now. They are cool, I like them. Sunday was a good day!

I just LOVE YOU SO MUCH! I'll say goodbye now...until next time!
XOXO - Sister Brown

THE CHURCH IS TRUE!

The End