First Baptism

Hello familia!!!!

 

I hope you all are doing well and are getting ready for summer break! it will be here before you know it! what are your plans for summer? have any fun trips planned? apricot festival right? Mom you're almost done with you long term sub job?

 

 

This last Saturday we had a baptism! It was an eventful day! So when we got to the chapel to make the preparations the font was overflowing! We had asked someone to turn on the water earlier because we heard it took 2 hours to fill.....guess not! and we didnt have the key to turn off the water so we ran to the kitchen to get buckets to move the water into the drain while we were waiting for the elders to come turn it off. besides that it, everything worked out! haha a memory to remember.

 

 

So here's an entry from my journal (Friday April 20, 2012) about a member we've been teaching who is less active:

 

"We had a lesson with Romeyo (he hasn't been coming to church) and he told us that he wants to go to the Catholic church now because he had a spiritual time there. And whoa we really had to rely on the Spirit during that lesson and I didn't know what to say... but the Spirit did. Wow now isn't that a testimony that this church is true? How could 2 young girls testify with such power with out the Lord's help? I was prompted to ask if he asked the Lord's permission to change churches...."

 

 

So basically he's torn between churches and confused. I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost and I know that we can be instruments in the Lord's hands if we just listen to our promptings. The Holy Ghost will bring to our rememberance what we have studied and so we need to study the scriptures every day! 

 

 

Oh and I have an assignment for all of you!! ;) read this article by Elder Bednar when you get a moment: "The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality" 

 

It's about the enabling power of the Atonement. very powerful.

 

Well I love you all!!

 

Have a great day :)

 

Hermana Brown

 

ps. Dad- my companion's dad served in the Spokane Washington mission in 1981...do you know him? his name is Douglas Christensen, from Cedar City, but lives in Blanding utah now. Hermana and I were just talking about how you might know eachother!

 

Apostacy

Hola familia!!! :)

 

Wow I'm so glad the open house turned out nicely and you had lots of help! And you were able to save the cake! haha that's something you won't ever forget! lol you will have to send me pics! How long were Grandma and Aunt Dot there? 

 

I love this work. And I have the best trainer ever! Hermana Christensen is really patient and loving. We have a baptism this Saturday! His name is Luis and he is a referral from a member (member referrals are the best!!!). And teaching him has made me so grateful for my experiences in the mtc because we had a fake investigator in the mtc with his same exact concerns. 

 

Something that I've learned as I've been applying the gospel to my own life is about apostacies. Throughout time there has always been apostacies, but God calls prophets once again to restore the complete truth. In our lives we can have mini apostacies too when we turn away from the gospel and God. Or maybe we're not reading our scriptures and praying every day. These times in our life are kind of like mini apostacies. But because God loves us, He sends people in our lives and gives us experiences to get us back on the path of happiness. And the great part is we have the Atonement to get back on the path. 

 

I know that reading our scriptures and praying everyday is what will help us avoid these mini apostacies in our lives. When we put God first, everything works out. And as a missionary, when people tell us about trials they are going through, we always ask if they are reading and praying. I know that the Book of Mormon was written for our day and restores those plain and precious truths taken from the Bible. 

 

I love you! Thanks for your prayers :)

 

Hermana Brown

tornado warning

Hello family!

 

I hope that the wedding went well and everyone had a good time in Oregon! Thanks for the update, Mitch! It sounded like everything went as planned and it was a happy day :) Are you ready for the reception in Scottsdale on Saturday? Are you doing pies like you did for Mitch's reception? 

 

Thanks for the message from Ralph Zobell, Mom! Sister Hale was the lady I stayed with my first night- she said something about my cousin but I didn't really know what she was talking about. 

 

Yesterday was my first time in the Spanish branch in Plano, where I'm serving. I love these hispanic people! they're hilarious. There is almost no one there in the beginning of the meeting because everyone arrives tardy. And so the missionaries play the piano, lead the music, teach the lessons, say the prayers... haha its great. And then after the meeting it was way hectic because everyone was coming up to me and giving me kisses on the cheek and candy for Easter. We had 4 investigators at church- one of which we had just invited on the street to come and he did! 

 

So this last week Hermana Christensen were driving to one of our appointments in stormy weather when all of a sudden we hear this announcement from outside, 'Tornado Warning'. and the sirens were going off and flashing lights....it was awesome! we had to spend the day inside that day where it was safer. And wowzers Texas has some good ground shaking thunder storms! We didn't have any tornados in our area, I think they were right in Dallas.

 

This week I've been studying faith, hope and charity. Simply put, faith is the action. Hope is the attitude. Charity is the motivation. And a lot of the times, especially as missionaries, we don't see the result when we act on the promptings we receive. And maybe we won't ever see the fruits of our promptings. But we still need to have hope and I know that it is this hope that helps us overcome discouragement. I know that this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ and He wants us to be happy. This is a life of progression. We are either improving or degressing and we need to be the ones to make the decision as to which one. 

 

Thanks for your prayers! I love you!

Hermana Brown :)

Texas! :))))

Hello familia!

 

I made it to Texas! it is soooo great to finally be here. i love it. this is where i'm supposed to be. On the first night they fed us Blue Bell icecream 2x...it is definitely icecream of the Texans! :) President Durrant and his wife picked us up from the airport and he is a lot taller in person. no wonder why he why he played ball- he's like 6'7! Then the next day we met our trainers and went right to work. My companion is Hermana Christensen and she is such a great teacher. She really knows how to teach with the Spirit and teach the gospel. It's been kind of hard understanding the lessons this first week but I definitely know that I am improving a lot. The gift of tongues is real and I pray for it every day. It was really cool because I was prompted to ask someone to be baptized on our second day eventhough I really didn't know how much the missionaries had been teaching her. She was really unsure so we'll have to ask her again.

My favorite area to proselyte in is this trailer park full of hispanics. Though they live in these very small, run down homes (with dwarf doors haha) they are so very loving and receptive to our message. It surprises me how quickly they invite us in and want to hear our message. They have so very little but are so giving.

Right now we are teaching two progressing families in this trailer park who went to general conference with us. They are so loving and anxious to learn more. It is truly amazing how much the gospel can bless our families. It was so cool that general conference was a lot about families and I definitely received answers to my prayers about how I can help our investigators. I hope y'all enjoyed conference, we should all review our notes from conference frequently and remember the promptings we received during conference.

I think the worst part of being a Spanish missionary is finding a golden English investigator and having to turn them over to the English missionaries! Just this last week we've turned over 2 people. But I am definitely grateful to be a Spanish missionary because I've had to think about my word choice more carefully and explain things more clearly and slowly. It's been a great blessing.

Hermana Christensen and I are living with a member and her granddaughter so you should send letters to her home instead of the mission home. (and do you think you could send me something soon, i need verification that i live there, thx!) The address is:

Hermana Carolyn Brown

3928 Mesa Dr.

Plano, TX 75074

 

 

Life in the real world is a lot different than in the MTC. We're constantly talking to everyone we meet and spreading this great message. The gospel is true and I know that Heavenly Father wants us to spread it because it truly brings us happiness. One idea that we like to share with members on how to spread the gospel is simply through a thank you note and a Finding faith in Christ dvd or book of Mormon. I think we all know someone in our life how we can thank by writing them a quick note and giving them a little appreciation gift like a dvd or book of Mormon. That's just a simple and easy was we can share the gospel.

 

 

Thank you so much for your prayers and support! Sorry i missed talking to you on the phone, that day was way crazy. But i look forward to hearing from you in a month for mother's day! and sheesh the next time i talk to the fam on the phone, i'll have another brother! wahoooo im so excited for janelle and ben!!! you have to let me know how everything goes. im so excited for them!

I love all of you lots and you are all in my prayers! :D

 

Muah,

Hermana Brown