November 23 - The Spirit, nothing like it!

Wooow that's awesome that grandma will be heading to Hawaii! How long is her mission?? And me and Tana are of course in different missions, which means we have different mission presidents. Aww man I have the best gift for nana as she is heading into their little mini mission but I can't send it. I wanna send'em so bad! 

Haha Uncle Eric is the man. I'll take that offer mom. Mostly so I can meet up with a lot of the missionaries I've met here haha. A lot of people from those countries serve here and a lot of people from here serve there. I really like what Bishop shared in sacrament meeting. I have read that story many times but I have never thought about it that way. That's the power of the scriptures.

This past week was a lot like last week in terms of the kind of people we taught. We had a lot of people say that our message and true is true and they believe it as they say but they are born in one religion and don't see why they need to switch. Yes it gets frustrating and tests my patience but as long as we are fulfilling our purpose as missionaries and doing things by the spirit, we have succeeded in the Lord's eyes. I have thought a lot about the sons of Mosiah and there experiences and also about Alma the younger and how Korihor wouldn't believe on his words. And that's coming from Alma himself!

I also gave a talk this past sunday. I was told to speak the day before and did not have a lot of time to prepare but I came up with something for "how to prevent apostasy in our own lives", the topic I was given. I was rehearsing over and over but nothing was happening. But once I was at the pulpit my talk took a different flow. I'm grateful for the spirit in my life! There's nothing like it.

The mission is still the best time of my life. I hate to say it but I am looking forward to skyping all you fools. Hope you guys don't get uglier hehehe joke.

With Love,

Elder Brown

November 15th - The road not taken

Hello my family! Kamusta kayo?

I think I've only actually been out for 13 months mom not 14 haha. Not that close. I don't wanna go home. Life is good here! Especially after this great week we had. This week our mission was challenged to hit 50 lessons and we got 50 this week. It took everything out of us but it was fun. Our problem is still helping people understand the importance of attending church. 

Everyday I am grateful and live for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. A lot of people will tell us that they believe that the story of Joseph Smith happened but they still feel that faith alone is what is important. I can't count how many times we've been told that we are exactly the same except for the name of the church.

 We did come across a funny situation where as I told you last week we have been rejected over 15 times in our invitation to baptism. The spirit was there, it was quiet and no distractions. But the first person we got to accept was different because there were about 15-20 kids around us, 3 dogs barking here and there, and the little kids were climbing all over us, grabbing anything they could see on us, and doing everything they could to get our attention. The father we were teaching was a father of 3, he's still young but has suffered from a stroke (we have quite a few investigators with a stroke). He wasn't doing anything about the situation but after teaching about the apostasy and Joseph Smith his mind was opened and accepted our message after denying it the past two times. Crazy situation but we finally got someone to accept.

Because it's thanksgiving I thought I would express my gratitude and thanks to all of you. I'm thankful to God that I have been born of goodly parents. It's sad to see that there are very young primary kids who come to church but their parents don't. There are a lot of inactive families. I'm grateful for the gospel being the center of our family's life. I also am grateful for my great grandparents. I think back to one lesson where our investigator was afraid of joining the church because she would be Mormon and all her siblings, parents and those before her are catholics. She's afraid of being different from her family. I think of two things: Grandpa Mosese Muti and a poem by Robert Frost. I shared the story of grandpa and how he used to tease the missionaries but later became one himself after joining the church. I shared how he was the only one even though his father was a leader in another faith. I think of Robert Frost because of The Road Not Taken; "I saw two roads diverged in a yellow wood and I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference."

Mahal ko kayong lahat,

Elder Brown

November 8th - Transfer to Matnog in the Bulan zone

Hello my family!

Here is the moment you have all been anxiously awaiting. I've been assigned to the south in the land of my forefathers. Elder Lee-lo my trainer was trained here by another Samoan. I'm in Matnog, in the Bulan zone. It's right next to a beautiful beach and I can see Tacloban from here. This area has had a lot of bad history with missionaries and has a very poor conversion rate. There are many recent less-actives here and LAs in general. Nevertheless it's a cool area.

I'm glad that I had been assigned on Batan before because the water here in our apartment works only at night. It's also hot but Batan was survivor mode. No problems living here. It's super hot down south and it's about 5 hours away from the mission office. I'm still a District Leader. My new companion is from Mindanao, Elder Tutor. I won't tell you his first name cause it's Nasty. Like really it's Nasty. 

We had a great first week together! The problem is people don't see why their baptism as a child is sufficient enough. We're just the same they say. We've extended many baptismal invitations and haven't had any accept. I pray the spirit will continue to work through us and through them to see why they need the true gospel of Jesus Christ in their life. 

Life is great despite the great task we have ahead of us. I can honestly say for the first time in my mission that I don't get nervous during or before a lesson. I have no fear. I always had a fear because of the language barrier. But now I can speak and express myself very well and I understand a lot better. I'm not perfectly fluent but I feel very comfortable. God will never abandon those who continually seek His inspired counsel and help. The Atonement will help all overcome weaknesses and more importantly, sin. I know He lives and I love laboring in his vineyard.

Love,

Elder Brown

November 1st - Ezal's baptism

Hahaha! That's quite the story there. I'm glad that I have never encountered a situation like that. On a brighter side I'm very happy for nana and the success she is having in life. She is a great example to me and to the ward. Keep up the good work!

On Saturday we had Ezal's baptism and it was great! I always enjoy seeing an investigator become a member. I had the honor to confirm her on Sunday, and her teacher and former bishop in our ward baptized her. Even though she's only a 11 years old, she has a strong testimony that God can bless us through other people. She has changed so much since the first time we taught her 2 months ago. She  has a desire to serve a mission and enjoys reading The Book of Mormon. She invited her 2 friends that were visiting to join us in our 2 discussions so she'll be ready in no time. One of the best parts of being a missionary is being able to help others strengthen their faith in Christ and walk in His ways. 

I also found out on Saturday that I am being transferred :( I am sad because I only had 3 months here and because we had more baptisms coming this transfer, but I'm happy because the Lord has called me to serve in another part of His vineyard. I gained 5 lbs while I was here. I will definitely miss all the food but more importantly, the people here. It definitely feels like I'm leaving home. 

I testify that the church is true and the members are imperfect. We are led through divine revelation in order to help perfect the imperfect.

Love,

Elder Brown

We take the sacrament to her little place cause she has polio.  That's her little space she lives in.

Last seeing this area....going into my 3rd transfer!

Mom you like my candy shorts?  haha

Michael Jordan style