Week 65- 15 Months Down!

Hey Mom and Dad.   How's it going?  Training Elder Beck is so fun! Our mission is a hard mission! It's really hard to find people and then teach them and help them progress! We are meeting with this guy named Steven! We have been helping him move a lot of stuff from his storage unit because he is being evicted from his home. He really is a good guy.  He had some history way back in the day but has been turning his life around and trying to quit some addictions. He is attending addiction recovery with someone from the first ward and he is doing really well. He doesn't have a place to stay and so he will be sleeping in his truck! I wish I could find him a place to live. Its hard to find affordable homes here in Arvada! He said he wants to start learning about the Gospel of Jesus Christ but we haven't been able to teach him yet because he has been so busy! But he did come to church this week so that was great! It's been a struggle to find people! We have been doing a lot of tracting but we haven't been able to find anyone super solid yet! Keep praying for our area! We have been working a lot with members and teaching them this awesome lesson inspired by President Savage! Its a super dope lesson that is really simple for a lot of people to do! The whole mission has been doing it with members and we have been seeing a lot of success! I hope it starts helping us find people to teach! Ryan is doing great! He took a trip to Provo with Nathan Crowley and loved it so much! He said he didn't have something crazy happen but he feels that he wants to take the leap of faith and be baptized! Keep praying for him! I hope he decides to get baptized! I think they are going to set another date with him! Its a really hard decision for him! pray pray pray!

The members love having me back and the new ward mission leaders is a former stake president and counselor and he is on fire! Hopefully we can get the work moving here in Aravada! I love it here and its super cold on bike but we will just have to suffer through it! I'm excited to facetime coming up here soon! After that one more facetime and I'm outta here! The time is flying! 15 months this week!

LOve you all!

Elder Brown

Week 64 I'm a Trainer!

Hey Mom crazy week this week! A lot happening! 

Lets start with Friday, transfer day! A stressful morning of packing since I was living and fully unpacked in Sister Simmon's home for the last 6 months.  I got packed said goodbye to sister S and scooter-booped on out of there. Me and Elder Field the trainers from my old zone left to the mission office way up in Broomfield! Had a wonderful jam secession  to vocal point as we got hyped to see who we are training! 

 

We got up to the mission home a tad late but they weren't going to introduce us to our trainers until quarter till. So how it works is President Sav will bring up one of the new missionaries to the front of the room and he will then announce our name and come out of the curtain and greet them. So I had an idea when they announced my name they would open the curtain on the other side and I'd play the beginning of piano man and then go up and greet my new greenie! That's what I did and it was pretty stinkin funny! 

 

Elder Beck is my new greenie companion. He has now been out in the field for 3 days and he is loving life! I tell him stories every night before I go to bed!  We get along really well! It's going to be a fun two transfers! He is from Vegas and he just graduated high school! Me and Elder Beck are serving in Aravada 3rd ward! ring a bell? THAT IS MY GREENIE AREA WHERE I WAS TRAINED! Now I'm back in it training! I am also living with the Ulrichs which were the members I lived with my second transfer! We went to church on Sunday and I got to see all of my favorite families and they thought I already went home hahaha! I'm really excited to be back there and my mission brother Elder Candland the 2nd person Elder Merkely trained recently left there and they have some work going on! It's weird being back but apparently there are certain people I have been called to help out! Hopefully I can see some fruits this transfer! 

 

Ryan Tupper is on date for Nov 3rd so he is really close to being  baptized. He recently took a trip out to Salt Lake were he met up with our best friend Nathan Crowley! Nathan is touring him around the temple as we speak! Keep praying for him! Things are alive and well I'm coming up here on 15 months crazzzyyyy!!! I love it here and am excited to tell you the exciting news that will come later in this transfer and next! 

 I need a GPS bad!  Elder Beck doesn't have one and I need one because in our area every street has the same name twice! It is super confusing!

I played again for another musical fireside.  It was amazing and so spiritual.  President thanked me for planning and preparing the music.  

No I can't go back for Ryan's bap.  President wants us to stay and work which I'm completely on board. I already have pics with him and email him weekly

 

Love you Mom!!!!!!!!!!!

 Ryan!!!

 Elder Merkley my trainer!

 My new companion Elder Beck!

I'm now the trainer!

Week 63 I am bleesed!!

Hey I here the Eagles are doing well. I think since I left on my mission I have been becoming a Eagles fan! Have to rep my home state right! Are they are 4-1 and I here Carson Wentz is throwing some cheddar. He's good! BYU sucks and won't win a game hahaha! They are always a disappointment in every sport except volley ball ha!

I washed my whites with a pen!!!! MY shirts are fine! I got all the blue out of them except for one.   Thankfully with the help of Sister Simmons! ughh heaven help me!  I burned the one shirt in the fire pit. 

Ryan is on date for November 4th! He is so close dad so stinking close.  We have been doing everything we can. Last night was our convert fireside for half the mission. Oh my gosh dad some of the most amazing convert testimonies I have ever heard. Ryan came and loved the first speaker and says he wants to take a trip to the Salt Lake temple. He has no support and we have been trying to find more fellowship for him but the YSA ward sucks at helping out! They don't have a full grasp on how important this is and he needs a good friend. We are going to contact one of the speakers and have her meet with Ryan because he really liked what she said and it resonated with him. Pray for Ryan!

Also at the convert fireside I played 5 musical numbers. I played the piano for 4 of them and sang in a barbershop octet.  "I need thee every hour" A Capella! It was brilliant and sounded so good! I had a little solo in there and I had a lot of compliments! I'm nicknamed the piano man around the mission because I literally play the piano for everything haahah!  I helped most of the Elders learn their parts.  It was fun to work with music. 

More miracles this week.   We had 2 potential investigators/former contact us back and ask to meet up again so our teaching pool is now up to 3! And then a day later another texted us and said he wants to meet up again this week! It's awesome! 

Things are going well. I don't find out transfers  until Wednesday and I don't know who is going where. President says he wants me to train a new missionary but I haven't gotten a call yet! 

Anyway hope that answers Your questions.  I love you dad! Thanks for believing in me! I truly am blessed! Love you dad and mom!

Elder Brown

PS.  So the new approved missionary haircuts came out. Luckily I have been preparing for the day so now I can fit in with all the other elders. Hope you know I'm trying to rock the grandpa Ben. I just need to put my hair in a ponytail and braid it I will be Gucci.  Know the Lord doesn't care what you look like as long as you live the gospel.

Week 62 Heros

I love you dad!!! Thanks for the email! I will keep working hard! We had an amazing lesson with Ryan this week! also an amazing lesson with this kid trying to prepare for a mission. The spirit gave me a lot of incredible things to say and I also promised him as a representative that if he does these things that he will be able to pull through.  I felt the spirit tell me I needed to share my experiences about the atonement and the grace of Jesus Christ. It was such an amazing lesson.

I know! super sad that I might be leaving Sister Simmons.   I love you so much mom hope all is well! Mom President savage is one of my heroes.  That man is amazing. He makes me cry when he speaks because he speaks with great power and with the spirit! The experiences I have been having out here are molding me and shaping me just like my patriarchal blessing says. It's because I'm striving for obedience and being diligent and patient in all that I  do! I love it here I never want to leave! I love you MOm and I will send a bigger email next week!

Week 61 CONFERENCE!!!!!

Holy cow what a week! Its so hard to begin emails because I never know where to begin. Being ADD doesn't help either lol!

Well first lets start with conference!

I never have had a more impactful conference in my life. I was touched in so many ways! so many wonderful talks I could go off on all of them! I came into conference with a couple of questions

1.) Can the church just speak on our certain views and views on the family

2.) How can we increase the work of salvation more effectively in our time

3.) Can somebody lift and inspire members to play a more prominent and active role in regards to missionary work.

4.) Inspire me concerning the Book of Mormon and reiterate President Monson's talk. How can I gain a stronger testimony of the book of Mormon?

Literally in the first session almost all my questions were answered! I wrote these down 4 days before conference! How inspired are our apostles and Prophets! They speak from the voice of the Lord! I couldn't believe it could answer all my questions and it did! I loved conference! So many things highlighted my patriarchal blessing. Especially when it says I will be called on my testimony in moments where I need to proclaim the truth and stand boldly before organizations and criticizing groups! I know its going to be important for me and my future to have an unshaken testimony of the book of Mormon and its prominent role in my life! Just know this the book of Mormon you could say is literally my best friend! I never appreciated or thought that a little book could give me so much power and inspiration in my life especially in regards to my missionary service and ministry! Why was I so blind to not see this before! I wish I made the book of Mormon study apart of my life more before I served a mission. but it doesn't matter now because I do have a strong testimony of the Book! I have been reading it everyday and seeing

how much it contributes to my life! 

Last night president gave us a call and says to meet him at the church building to unlock it for him. Turns out he was interviewing some troubled sisters in my zone. we got there and he said just come in I want to talk to both of you after! We were there until 11:24 HAHAHAHA never have been out that late but it was for a good purpose. I have been so glad that I have been called to be a zone leader not for a title or for praise I literally don't care about any of that never have and never will. But the opportunity to truly minister and serve the missionaries around me is so awesome. I have had so many inspired moments and so many times where I have been able to sit down one on one with missionaries and help them through whatever trials they are going through. Last transfer I have prevented a missionary from going home and just lifted that kid up! He is now training and I'm sure blessing the lives of those God has intended him to see and teach! I have been able to help struggling sisters and council with president on ways we can help them. I have been in the lives of everyone around me and I have truly have forgotten about my cares worries and fears.  "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it." -Mark 8:35 I have come to understand this scripture a lot as being a zone leader. President interviewed me last night late and talked to me about the interviews he had with the sisters. He told me everything and it is some pretty private and personal stuff so I can be aware and offer myself to the struggling sister. President is literally my best friend! We laugh we cry and we share and grow together and is such a blessing in my life that I can count on him and more importantly that he can count on me to really assist with things that cause him less worry and stress. Me and him are very close. I have two heroes now and they are dad and him. I'm grateful for the powerful priesthood leaders in my life and their examples to me! 

 Love you guys so much I miss you like crazy! I wish you could be out here and see the things that I have been accomplishing.   I have grown so much it is amazing! The Lord is so real and Ether 12:27 is true haha,

"27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

  Because I was so shy when I came out and now I'm pretty outgoing. good stuff!

Alright well that was shorter than I thought. Love each of you!  Have an awesome week. 

Week 60

Ryan had some great questions and  we did a really good job answering his questions. We pulled him off bap date because he doesn't feel ready. so he will probably get baptized later in October. he is praying for a another date to set and praying that got answers his prayers about his concerns! Ryan is still having an awesome conversion. I told him sometimes little bumps get in the road and we have to fast and pray and act in faith and God will tell us what we need to do. He agrees so we will be watching conference with him! hopefully some of his questions will be answered! Keep praying for Ryan! I can't wait for conference though! I listened to President Uchdorfs talk in the women's broadcast and it was spot on! I love how the brethren keep things simple. I heard in a recent meeting President Monson tells the brethren to simplify everything they do in the church! The gospel is plain, Nephi's soul delights in plainness and guess what so does mine! I love what President Uchdorf said about the three sad mad and glad girls and breaking down what attitude we have going into our everyday afflictions. I love how he talked about loving your enemies! If this was the case then our two party system wouldn't be so polar opposite lol! The world needs more love! not even love but considerably! There is no considerably in the world today! Everyone just looks at it like....whats in it for me! If we had more selfless people I'm telling you the world would be a way better place. Too bad it takes a couple earthquakes and hurricanes for people to wake up and realize that there are people with way worse problems then the problems he or she might face! One of the things that goes through my mind is Jehovah talking to Moses saying how long will it be Moses till the children believe me! The world has forgotten God and its pretty evident! The world would honestly be less chaotic if this was the case. I wish people would have the attitude at looking at the mote in their own eye before they go pointing out the mote in their brother or sisters eyes! It's a crazy world we live in and we need God more than ever. I know my children are going to have it difficult! There is so much evil in the world today and people need to band together. okay my sermons over hahaha!
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> Those are just some thoughts for ya I'm sure you can here a little frustration in my voice but I think its more excitement!  Things here have been slow. Summers out everyone's gone and people are back to their normal routines! So its hard to catch people and even harder to find and teach young adults. I'm reminded of my childhood and the game of where's waldo that I would play at grandma's house.  I feel like sometimes I'm playing a game of where's waldo? Where are those that are being prepared? Do I not have the spirit in my finding? but I have been patient and trying to be more and more diligent. there is a saying..... diligence doesn't kick in until you do something after you say you are tired and can't go any farther.
> So I have been exhausted and dead physically but I still keep pushing forward. Its a really good life lesson for me and I'm growing a ton for it.
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> I figured out today that this is a 5 week transfer and so it ends on the 20th! crazy huh!  so this will be a really short transfer with Elder Otterstrom so hopefully I can make the most of it. I just created a new accounting system for the whole mission so that will be kicking off soon. President liked my idea and ran with it! He likes my ideas hehe!
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> Well I don't have that many pictures but I will send you what I have! I love you all and hope to hear how conference went for each of you!


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