Week 47

Hey dad and mom.   I'm glad you liked the gift! I dumped all of my MSF on the t-shirts hahahabut it was worth it! I'm happy you liked the card! I love you so much and am so glad we have such a good relationship! I wouldn't trade it for anything!!

Okay get ready for the killer week we had!  Elder Heiner and I used to average getting 4 investigators a week and have never being able to get people to come to church! Elder Bird came in and we found 8 investigators in 4 days! It was awesome! We have been having some stellar contacts with people. We came up with this pattern that has given us the chance to testify of what we know with out being awkwardly confrontational! And because of it,  we have had 4 people tell us they aren't interested and then towards the end express how they would love to meet and learn more. It's been crazy but we have been very kind and friendly but persistent at the same time! I love working with Elder  Bird! He is so organized and it helps out so much! He is a great analytical missionary and me and him make a pretty killer combo! He's a really good elder and wouldn't be surprised if he becomes the next AP! Him and I teach really well together! Have you ever had a companion where you just cliche so well together and your unity just flows naturally! I feel me and Elder Bird have that natural connection and it really works in our teaching because no one talks over the other! Anyway things are of to a hot start! We found a new investigator and he is very interested in what we have to teach! We also had another investigator come to church and that hasn't happened in the area in a while! This last week has just been amazing and I'm excited to work with Elder Bird this transfer and probably a lot more! 

Zone leader responsibilities have been a blessing, I feel like God has been helping me analyze certain situations and giving me the council that I need to give to the members of the zone! It's been pretty awesome. I have been better in situational circumstances and it has helped tremendously! Plus I get to go to meetings and see all my friends in the other zone leader offices!

The basketball activity hasn't been the best. We weren't able to make the video and post it yet but this Tuesday we are shooting it! We will send it to you when its all done. So hope isn't lost hopefully this can spark some interest in the community!  

Anyway I wish you a good week! Enjoy your breaks I know you're sick and tired of dealing with complaining clients hang in there and enjoy the service and let me know when your called to the Stake Presidency because its bound to happen hahaha. You're in for the long hall dad.  I  hope you know every stake young men's president gets called into the stake! You and mom are going to be mission presidents and mom is going to die hahahaha! oh man I'm joking! okay dad I Love ya and will talk to you later.

Elder Brown 

Elder Bird my new companion and Sister Simmons whom we live with

 Elder Grey going home

Week 46- Transfers Again

Looks like I'm getting a new companion next transfer because mine is the new AP and is only a transfer ahead of me!!!!!!!! Since Thursday morning I have been in a trio because the AP's drove down to pick up Elder Heiner! So I have been in charge for the last couple of days! Help me haha! I can't believe Elder Heiner is the AP! That transfer was so fast it felt like only 2 weeks! But now he is over the whole mission. When he got the call he had a panic attack and I had to calm him down. Mom he is more ADD then me! I'm a little nervous for him! I pray he will do well.   I definitely think that this assignment is for him. He will grow a lot....he has too or it will be a long ride! My new companion is Elder Bird! he is only a transfer ahead of elder Heiner! He is a cool guy.  I don't know a ton about him but I hear he is a good Elder so we should get some work done!

I sent dad a father's day and birthday gift today and put a little gift for you also! you'll like it! okay so catch this! Elder Heiner and I started this activity for the YSA called Basketball with the elders! we go to downtown parker @ o'brien park and challenge people to play us in basketball! It's a beat to teach style and we have had more and more people come! This week a professional photographer and videographer is coming to get me dunking and introducing what we do as missionaries and why we serve missions. Its going to be posted all over social media and we are going to post flyers as well! Our goal is to get a ton of people to come out to the park packed and beat everyone that challenges us so we can teach them! Its so exciting! He even has a little drone that has a video camera on it and is going to have it fly over head! I'll send it to you when its finished! 

As for the work we found a super solid investigator named Alex and she said she believes the Book of Mormon is true!  She is leaving to go back to Indiana this week for 3 weeks so the date is going to be far off. Hopefully she gets in contact with the missionaries back home and has them teach her! Hopefully this transfer I can help someone get baptized! We are also teaching people who will be a long process! Mckennzie who is a girlfriend to this guy in the ward! Hong, who is also dating a girl in the ward! and Bryce a student from Atlanta here for the summer! We are also going to be teaching another girlfriend of this member in the ward! she received a BOM recently and is excited to eat with us this Wednesday! So things are poppin in the YSA ward! 

 

 That's all I got for ya! I Love ya.   I will email you some pics.   I got a bunch!

Week 45- The Elder Brown Show

Sounds like you have had a loaded week! Dad gave me the scoop on everything! Oh my gosh Lauren sent me the video of dad laughing and I haven't ever laughed so hard! I'm in the library too so a lot of missionaries are staring at me,  like what the heck is going on with him! I miss dad's funny laugh so that made me so happy!  I did perform 3 musical numbers at the fireside and everybody nicknamed it the Elder Brown show! I wish you could of heard it.  I wasn't able to record it but I save all the music and when I get home I will put on a spiritual recital performance for you!;)  My duet with Elder Olson sounded awesome! My voice is way better than when I left!  Plus I got my higher range back too so I can sing songs a lot higher than usual! So wish you could have been there! The convert fireside was so awesome! My heart was full the entire fireside and with the music I felt like I was just glowing! At the end President and Sister Mendenhall(Mission President) gave a farewell talk and asked us to stand up and sing Called To Serve and the spirit was so strong! He and Sister Mendenhall were in tears because we also gave them a package of all the letter written from all the missionaries they have ever had! I cried a little! If I can tell you how amazing President and Sister Mendenhall are holy cow! I love them so much I really do! The spirit that they carry is amazing! I will miss them so much!

At the end of the conference a lot of people left and I walked up to President and gave him a hug, he looked me in the eyes and said you are a special missionary and you will have a very big impact on the mission.  Continue to be a light to the other missionaries! A lot of weight to carry but it was such a great compliment and there was a lot of power in the words he spoke to me! 53 Missionaries are going home with this transfer and next and only 18 are coming in! Most of those 53 are all the leaders so there won"t be hardly any left.  Only Elder Keith, Elder Fenske, Elder Sharptenteer, Elder Merkly and Elder Christianson, Elder Heiner and Elder Bird! Only leaders in the mission when everyone is gone! So we will be the seniors of the mission for the rest of our time! Elder Lytle might be going home. He might have bladder cancer! I feel for that guy! He hasn't had a good mission so far its been tough for him!  I hope he sticks it out!

As far as the work goes, we are starting to build a teaching pool.  We are now teaching 3 people consistently but they will each be a long road! They are all either boyfriends or girlfriends of members and they have agreed to meet with missionaries. They each three have different concerns some are more interested than others but it has helped me teach to their needs rather than teaching things in a specific order! But we have received another referral from other elders in the zone who says that she is super interested and wants to be baptized! We are meeting with her at on 5:00 Tuesday so hopefully we can start getting something going! The YSA had a ward barbecue and we had 5 nonmembers there and will be teaching one of them next week,  so I''m pumped for that! Good things are happening! We recently have been thinking out of the box. We set up an activity for Tuesdays, called basketball with the elders. Its two fold, one, we get nonmembers to come and invite nonmembers who are at the park to play with us! Its been working and I get to play a little bball too! We play in our white shirts and ties but I still ball everyone up! :) Elder Reynolds is going home in a transfer! Elder Gray is going home in 10 days! he's coming up to hike with us today! We are hiking castle wood canyon! and yes McKenzie is in boulder! I'm trying to see if she can come down.  She is only 1 hour away. 

Anyway that's been my week! I love you mom!  Happy me! Love you mom bye!

Week 44- 10 Months Down 14 More To Go

 I had a good week! We keep finding new investigators but nobody super solid! We do have 2 solid people that we are starting to work with! They are both referrals from the ward and hopefully we can get things going with them! Like  I have said before we have been receiving tons of referrals from ward members and from other elders and with being so busy we haven't been able to visit them! This week we are trying to visit old investigators to see if they want to meet or not! Then we are focusing on our referrals! I have been doing a lot of administrative stuff and it has kept me very busy! Sometimes I doubt I'm doing a good job as a leader but recently I have been studying teaching in the Saviors way manual and it has helped a ton! I love the opportunity to effectively lead and do it as the Savior would! Studying the manual has helped me reach out to my district more and lift them up and by doing so it has lifted me! The work continues to move forward! This week we had a mission leadership council with all the zone leaders and sister training leaders at the mission home! There, President and sister Mendenhall the Ap's and a set of zone leaders trained on things that they want us to train on in district meetings! Also for an hour we discussed new changes that will be taking place, such as the new mission president and his wife coming in! And an accounting matter concerning the Goal Barrier and Action plan the district leader comes up with every week! It is now moving from a group setting to an individual companionship setting so that the comp. can set goals and make plans to help the work in their own area! I like it way better than the previous one. Reasons why.....because now instead of the district leader analyzing problems from 3 companionship's and trying to make a plan that combines all 3 problems together, he gets to let the companionship decide what action plans will work for their individual area! It will be more effective than trying to please all companionships. Sorry if that seems confusing but that was the best way I could condense it which I'm not so good at! 

Other than that, that is the work going on in the CDNM! This Friday is the convert fireside and I'm in 3 musical numbers either playing or singing! I feel like I'm stealing all the attention and I don't like it! They need to get more musically capable people to join! I'm singing a beautiful duet with someone and we have practiced it already and it sounds amazing! You would be impressed! Sorry trying to be as humble as I can! But I wish you could hear it! I'm going to have Elder Heiner record it on my camera but the audio will be stinky! 

Next week I along with the zone and the AP's will be hiking castlewood canyon in our area! its a beautiful hike and I'm excited to hike it! On a side note I know this is out of the blue but the mission is now accepting buzz cuts for hair cuts and the elders are trying to convince me to get a buzz! I keep saying I never will but I might to make you guys go crazy! I'd look good right hahahahaha! Anyway that's been my week! very busy all the time but keeping me on my toes and teaching me to organize myself and be more responsible which I need desperately! 

I love you Mom and Dad and I hope to hear from you soon! 

Elder Brown