Week 68- Arvada is hopping

This week we found 2 new investigators not potentials but those now actually investigating. They both came to church.  Caleb  is 13 and a foster kid. They are both solid referrals we got from missionaries in the same and different missions. Super stoked. Its funny because I have only baptized off of member referrals or referrals in general. I think I told you last week that someone me and Elder Bird found a long time ago got baptized so that's awesome. But it was super exciting for all this to happen this week. Also we have a part member family that has 6 kids and the husband who is the non member wants us to go over and teach him. Elder beck and I are also going to start teaching this guy named Tom he has 3 kids and wants to meet. And now we found another part member family and they just talked to the bishop and want us to come by so we have so much work now it is such a blessing from the Lord.

Me and elder Beck have been having so much fun! His mom sent us Chicago Bulls gear so now I have more clothes and another hat! The pictures I sent are of us doing service for the city of Aravada.  We collected leaves ripped them open and dumped them in huge piles so it was pretty fun. We did it with the whole zone. We did it 3 weeks in a row and now its over so we can't do it anymore.

I really don't need much and don't want you to spend a ton. My Christmas gift is honestly seeing you and dad and the girls. Oh maybe a UVU sweatshirt I don't have a sweatshirt. The BYU one got small and shrunk and got super dirty so I had to chuck it. So I don't have a sweatshirt. 

I watched the face to face with Elder Oaks and Ballard. It was so good, you should watch it sometime. Really good questions but really good answers! 

I don't have much else just the work is moving forward! Thanksgiving we are eating at 2 locations. the Ellis's and the Reynolds. we are bowling in the morning and football later and then having a meeting from 7-9:30. But that's my week!

Love you so much.   Have a great Thanksgiving. I'm so grateful for you and dad and all the money and support and love that you show me. I'm grateful to have two caring parents. I'm grateful that I have been raised in the Gospel Of Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for this chance to serve the lord for 2 years. Probably the best decision I have ever made! I can't wait for the exciting things to come! Love you Izzy and Avery thanks for being the sweetest and kindest sisters in the world.   I love you both so so much and I can't wait to see you!

Love Elder Brown

Week 67_ Zone Conference

It's Elder Brown here.  Good week this week and last! I will number off all the things I have done in the past 7 days.

1.) Zone conference with W. Anderson of the 70 was Thursday and Friday! I went to both because I had to play the piano for 3 musical numbers. We played our two choir numbers and I Accompanied a piece for a trio of sisters! It was great! Brother Anderson called me up while he was speaking and did a little piano analogy it was great! Super spiritual conference and a lot learned! Great teachings and great things I can apply. Friday I played the two musical numbers and I played A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief and it was beautiful,  maybe the best I have ever played it. He said the same things he did at the  south conference but the floor was opened for questions and a lot of elders and sisters talked about how they can be safe in the gospel when their families back home aren't. I find it amazing some elders and sisters come out here and serve for 18 months to 2 years without any or hardly any support from home. Bless them and all they do their reward will be great!

2.) One of our investigators dropped us this week which was pretty disheartening. Her name is carol.  She was totally being prepared but her anxiety kicked in  and she left us a note on her door with our marked up Book of Mormon we gave her inside of 2 Christmas Stockings. At least she said she would meet back up in the summer. So I guessed we planted the summer harvest?

3.) We have been racking up referrals in the last 3 weeks! We got three so far. One of them we are meeting this week so that should be exciting! The other was a referral from elders in 1st ward. There is this foster child named Cj and he showed up to church by himself and expressed interest in learning more. We are meeting with him this Tuesday.  Elder Beck and I found 3 solid potentials this week by tracting and we found another one after going on splits with the ward high priest group leader. He is a stud!

4.) Let me tell you we have the best ward mission leader. We had a ward council and even before that our ward mission leader met with President Pingry of the mission presidency. He got some ideas and presented them in our ward council. I think it was enough of a spark to change our wards shift on missionary work and now we got the ball moving. We have been doing our missionary program with members and its working. We are actually getting two more referrals soon that seem pretty promising. I think the ward is finally catching the drift, and our ward mission leader talked us up a lot to the ward.  It was awesome and he was giving us such nice compliments my spirits were raised and I may or may not have shed a couple of tears hehe! Anyway I'm pretty excited!

5.) We have been taking a priest on splits with us on Wednesdays and he is a super cool guy. We will try to prepare him for a mission.

6.) I got a little lazy last week and was a tad disobedient but I have learned to repent quickly and not to panic and move forward. I think in the past I get used to beating my self up kinda like Elder Hollands talk in conference. I'm staggering sometimes ya know. but my bed has been made I have got up on time and I'm making sure I set the best example for my brand new companion.  Its hard to kinda step up when you have someone who is slowly trying to get into the swing of missionary work, He is doing well though. He is a great teacher but struggle talking to people on the street! He will get there! 

7.) Got your packages the gps is so helpful thank you thank you that will be put to good use. And I will give it back to you when we go on long trips so you don't have to burn your phone battery or I might take it to school. 

8.) I want to drive my car out to utah. I would like it out there.   I want to be able to visit family and drive to grandmas and grandpa Ben's. 

9.) As for school, I'm still considering UVU! Sister Savage highly recommended it since she taught public speaking there!  The Lord as been telling me to go out there as well so I'm thinking that is my school. I may or may not major. I may just go undeclared and see what the Lord speaks to me next. One thing I learn I have to take it a step at a time. The Lord isn't just going to make everything known at once that is not how revelation works either. but yeah.....

10.) I love you so much! I'm going to finish this mission strong.  Love you guys to the moon and back 

Love,

Elder Brown

 

  

Week 66- Go Birds!

We went to the temple and I have officially memorized everything haha!  I saw sister Simmons.   I miss her, but I'm not allowed to email her! You may have to forward my emails to her. Tell her she was the most sweetest lady I have ever met and she did all she could to take care of me and my companion. I love her and she is invited to my wedding along with my grandmas! 

Today is zone pday! Today the whole zone is wearing joggers haha! We are baking cookies and playing volleyball! I love the missionaries in the zone! oh Elder Anderson is coming to zone conference!!!!!!!!!!!! He is doing a mission tour and I'm playing for two musical numbers and also singing in an elders quartet! We are singing I need thee every hour! I"m living in the same house I was living in a year ago yes! I wore my gray suit to church and meetings! Its my nice meeting suit! I wear all of my clothes!  I didn't get the package yet but he Ap's said it is in the car! I don't know what I want for Christmas. I have no more room in my suitcases. For christmas I want to send some stuff home because I really am running out of room. I have to think about what I want for Christmas tho lol! 

I don't see the mission president very much but I called him the other day because he put me in charge of figuring out the logistics of zone conference and he told me as well as Sister Savage that MLC with all the zone leaders was dead and felt empty because I wasn't there to give new ideas. They miss seeing me but they trust me with Elder Beck! They love us so much that they made time to train our ward mission leader so we can have more assistance in the work! Our ward mission leader is awesome though! Super energetic and thinks that me coming back to the ward was the greatest thing since Armstrong landed on the moon.  I love it! I'm trying to be humble but honest at the same time. Someone told me at church yesterday that I'm like a celebrity in the ward lol! I bore my testimony in church the other day about relationships with significant others to a relationship with Christ! It was good! Then Elder Beck went up and shared his it was awesome! This week as far as the work goes was awesome our hard work payed off! Our teaching pool went from 0-2 in two weeks and the goal is to have a little more progressing investigators! With the lords help we can do it! Elder Beck is awesome! He struggles to talk to people because he doesn't know what to say but I have been trying to help him! I need to do a little better job as well and actually make him take over the contact so he can get the practice in! Anyway I love you guys and I hope you have a good week! The Eagles keep playing well they smacked the donkeys! Go Birds!

Love,
Elder Brown