Elder Brown update

Well, I first want to thank you for the e-mails. I really appreciated them. I found it awesome that y'all were able to do community service for that church. It gives the Church a good name and it makes people think that Mormons are good people. People in Texas don't like Mormon's very much. They think we are weird and that we are a brainwashed people. We are trying to show people that we are normal and that we have normal lives just like other people. That is what mormon.org is all about. Which reminds me, I made a mormon.org profile and got it approved and published. The link to it is: http://mormon.org/me/56C0/ It only took about 25 minutes to complete it and about 3 days to get it published. When I come home I can show y'all how to do it. It is cool to have it up there!
Well, in missionary work we have been working with a new family named the Heaths. They are progressing nicely and hopefully the non-member husband will be baptized. Roberta Smith has been struggling. She had to go into surgery.
Well, with my apartment and transfers. I am staying here in Denton 2nd Ward with Elder Reaveley for a 2nd time and we are moving apartments on the 31st of August. We will be moving to 5001 Par DR. I Do Not Have the Apartment Number yet as we have not moved in. So, here is what is happening. We have to be out of our current apartment by the end of the day on August 31st, but we cannot move into our new apartment until the 1st of September. So we will be staying with some missionaries for 1 night. Also, all our stuff, beds, desks, etc... will be staying with a member until the 1st. It should be a fun week this week. I am so excited that I am staying here though. I really didn't want to be transferred. That would not be cool. I am staying though, which is nice. I will have my new address for y'all next week.
I have 44 days left until Transfers and 45 days until I come home. I have 6 more e-mails after this one. I do not have my travel papers yet. I guess y'all are going to get them a few days before I get them. They should be coming within the first 2 weeks of September. I hope they come earlier than that.
Anyways, I hope y'all have a good week. Take care and I will be looking forward to next week.
Love y'all so much!

-Elder Brown

Erika 1st day of BYU

Today was the 1st day of classes for Erika at BYU.  What a new experience for her and us.  She had freshman orientation last Thursday and Friday, all day, which is good for all the new freshman.  They group them in "Y" groups by certain classes.  She was grouped with all the students in her Biology class, which is nice, because she will know all of the classmates when she goes to that class.  Erika also received a phone call from one of our ward members that works at BYU and offered her a job.  It is 15 hours a week doing lose leafing at the Law Library.  This is works perfect with her schedule.  Things are working out for her.  Now she just needs to get her student loans figured out.  We are so proud of her and her accomplishments.  We can't believe that she is old enough to go to college.  Good Times!!

Elder Brown update

Well, things have been going pretty okay lately. We have had some of our investigators move/get evicted. It has been crazy. In Zone Conference this past week our mission president had us learn about Isaiah and how to learn it. We also had a lot of trainings and role playing that we did to apply the teachings that we learned. It was good. Our mission president has said that there has been a lot disobedience in the mission which he said is tearing the mission down because if one person is disobedient that means that they aren't succeeding, which means their district isn't succeeding, which means the zone isn't succeeding, which means the mission isn't succeeding. He pointed out that if we are not obedient, the lord cannot bless us. He is only bound when we do what he says, but if not, he won't bless us. I really enjoyed everything that happened at zone conference. It was great!
Some other important news. We are being moved out of our current apartment and moved into another apartment elsewhere. So, please don't send any mail to my apartment address until I can get you my new address. We are moving out by the 31st of August, which just happens to be transfer day as well. I don't know if they are planning to move us out by transfer day, or on transfer day. It is all crazy and it would just help to not send any more letters to my apartment address. Thanks. Also, next Monday, I will likely be e-mailing around 10-11 in the morning as we are going up to the Wineger Ranch to have some fun up there. Thanks for your support.
Well, I am glad that Riley is back to school as well as Erika is back to school as well. Texas schools just started today too. Missionary work should be picking up as more people are going to be home. During the summer vacation, a lot of people do vacations, so it is a bit harder to talk to people. Anyways, I hope Riley enjoys it and it should be great and fun for him. I hope Erika has fun in College.
I have been trying to survive the heat. It is still 100+ here in Texas and I hear from members in the ward that have gone to Utah, that it is a lot cooler up there. I am very excited to come home and be in cooler weather.
Well, I do believe that is all for this week. Hope y'all have a good and wonderful week!

-Elder Brown
P.S. I only have 51 days left on my mission. Crazy huh?

Riley 1st day of school @ PHS

Riley had his first day of school today as a new freshman at Provo High School.  He was excited, but a little bit nervous also, because of not knowing where things are in the building and learning new classes and teachers.  He makes friends very easily, which makes it easier for all of us.  Only the freshman went today to get their pictures taken, and then they took a tour of the school and had lunch and they were out at noon.  It is hard to believe that he is that old to be starting high school.

Elder Brown update

Well, first of all, yes we did get some rain on Saturday August 13. I heard it in the night. It was so amazing to get some rain. You have no idea how happy I was to see rain. I have never been more excited in my life to see rain. It was amazing. The sad part is that we will not be getting any more rain for the next week, at least from what I hear. That sucks cause that will give it a chance again to warm up. I don't like it. You said that you and grandma were talking about me coming back to colder Utah, well I am very excited to come back to cold Utah. It will be great to be in the cold again.
In missionary work, well Elder Reaveley and I were out tracting on Friday afternoon, and we knocked 20 doors and I said "I'm done with this street, no one is interested." Elder Reaveley persisted and said we should at least finish. I said okay. WELL, you may think that we found a GOLDEN investigator. In fact, that is the exact opposite of what happened. We talked to 2 people, not interested. Then we ran into a guy who is 100% anti against the Book of Mormon. He told us to repent and to get rid of it. Elder Reaveley and I testified to him that we would not and then Elder Reaveley said "I will be willing to put everything I have on the line right now, either the Book is true and your wrong, or it isn't and your right." The guy then proceed immediately to say "Your wrong" I was so astonished by his comment. He then wanted to say a prayer and used the word Seal in his prayer. Basically sealed everything that happened and that we would realize that the Bible is the only book we should read. I guess you just can't convince people to change. I have definitely learned that you cannot change people's hearts. Only the spirit can do that. In other news, the Barkers and really struggling right now. As well the Boydstens are gone. They never want to talk to us again. We did have Joseph and Hannah wanting to come to church still. We also found a new family to teach. The moms name is Roberta Smith. She is one of the nicest ladies I have ever met. Hopefully we can get them to come to church and read and pray. That would be awesome.
We have Zone Conference this week. I am so excited. President Sagers asked us to read all of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John) and 3 Nephi 11-30 before this Zone Conference. I have tried to read them all. It is so hard to because there are so many of them. I just started at the front and worked my way back. Hopefully we can be edified on the life of Jesus Christ. I am very excited. Also, this is my last Zone Conference ever as a missionary. I am so sad that it will be my last one, but I know that I will get to be a part of some more in the future.
Transfer day is August 31st. It is my last transfer day. If I stay here in Denton 2nd, I will be here until the end of my mission. I am so excited.  Anyways, hope everyone is doing well. Take care and have fun in.
Love y'all so much!

-Elder Brown

Sharri Heart Attacked by Young Women

 

THe Young Women decided to thank all the Camp Leaders tonight by Heart Attacking our house doors.  They are so sweet and also used my favorite color purple.

Elder Brown update

 Elder Brown & Elder Reaveley with the '54 Chevy that belongs to the Ward Mission Leader

 Elder Brown inside the '54 Chevy, but I think he is a little bit too big and tall to drive it.

LOOK AT THE GRASS!!  He is right it is dead!!

Well, all I can say is there has not been ANY rain for the past 2 months and everything is so dead. The only things that are living right now are things that are being watered by the sprinkler systems. That is all. The grass is Brown and the trees are shedding all their leaves early because they have to consume water to live. It is crazy how bad it is down here. They are also saying we have another week or 2 of this as well. It just will never stop. We need rain so bad down here.

In missionary work, things are going well. Elder Reaveley and I one day were sitting in our car and we were talking about how to find new investigators and the thought came to go through the phone. We did and we found a couple of former investigators that we didn't know anything about. We didn't have any records for them either. So, we called them. One of them answered and they said "Yes, please come on over. I don't know why the missionaries just stopped coming to teach me." It was a miracle. On top of that, we went to contact a investigator I was trying to work with a while ago and they knew Elder Reaveley and now they want to take the missionary lessons again. We saw a lot of miracles on Sunday (yesterday). It was amazing and I was so grateful that the Lord answered our prayers. We also taught the Barkers again and the lesson went alright. Andreanna wants to get her family involved in a church. Our exchange Bro. Le Fleur knew them from Baseball, so instant surprise when we showed up with him. Glen the husband thinks religion is stupid and all it is, is for people to get money. We told him about how tithes are supposed to be handled and we told him that no one is paid. He really liked that, but still thinks it is stupid. We will continue to work with them. It will be good.

YES! I despise the Texas bugs. They are massive. I have never seen such big bugs in my entire life. I have seen a cockroach that was the size of a regular size computer mouse. It was HUGE! The mosquitoes aren't that big, in fact they are small. They are so small that you cannot even feel them biting you when they do because they come and get you and then move on before you even realize that they got you. It is crazy. Also, the spiders here are massive as well. I have seen the Zipper spiders which can be the size of a cell phone. Their webs are amazing. They make a zig zag through it. It is so cool.

So, Our Ward Mission Leader has a Chevy '54 truck that he took us out in on Saturday for Lunch. It was so cool. I am attaching pictures of those for you to see.

Well, thank you for your e-mails as always. I love it. Keep me posted still on what is happening in Utah. I Love y'all so much and I thank you for all the support you have and always give me.

Until next week!

-Elder Brown

P.S. I only have 9 more Mondays left. YAY!

Feeding the Ducks!!

 Feeding the Ducks down the Provo River Trail with Sarah

Elder Brown update

 I am e-mailing early this week due to the fact that we have our P-Day Activity later in the afternoon. We are going to be playing some Basketball with the Zone. So P-Day Activity is where the whole Zone, which is all the missionaries in a specific area, which this time is the entire Stake, get together to do some sports or other fun activities. So, that is why I am e-mailing early today. So, you may need to mail dads e-mail to me this week since I probably won't get it. Thanks.

Well, we just got an e-mail from our Mission President saying that is going to be the hottest week of the year here in Texas. Possibly 110+. I am just going to die. It is so hot down here. I wish we had rain. I have been praying for rain for the past 3 weeks now and we haven't gotten any yet. It sucks, but I am so grateful that I am in a car. It will be so nice to have the Air Conditioning to help out. It will be one of the hottest weeks ever since I have ever been in Texas.

 

Well, I want to give you an update on what has been happening here in the Denton 2nd Ward. So, we have been trying to teach some less-actives and do some other work. We have been working with this family named the Johnson's and Sanders. They are less-active and have unbaptized children that need to be baptized. They are going through some rough times right now. Bro. Johnson has gotten 3 tickets that his work said they would pay for, and they didn't, so now he has a warrant out for his arrest. So, he can't get a job because he's not paid his tickets. Sis. Sanders is his mom, she is going through a lot too. They live in this beat up trailer and live in a cockroach infested house. It is pretty nasty. I definitely do not like cockroaches. They are trying to change their lives around and come back to church, but one of the daughters doesn't want to come. So, they also have that obstacle. It will take some time with them, but eventually, I hope, they will come back and get their kids baptized. It will be great. We have also been trying to teach a Part-member/Less-Active family for a while now. The husband is not a member and she is. Their name is the Heath's and Sis. Heath is a member, but got offended years ago and still holds a grudge. Well, I hope they will come back one of these days and the husband will get baptized. Other than that, we are trying to still teach the Barkers, but they are falling apart and don't really want change. They are pretty satisfied with where they are at. Maybe one day they will change, who knows. At least a seed has been planted in their hearts. The Boydstens aren't meeting with us anymore. Oh, we found a girl named Hannah who lives with one of our investigators named Joseph. Joseph is investigating right now. He is reading and wants to come to church sometime, but only on the grounds that we come to his church too. I don't think that really works that way. Hannah though used to be a member in SLC, but left because she also got offended at some youth in her ward. She wants to come back to the church, but doesn't want to be offended again. She loves the Book of Mormon and believes it, but doesn't want to commit to church again.

 

I definitely agree with Sister Harris. My mission is the Best 2 years FOR my life. It definitely was the hardest two years OF my life. I agree 100%.

 

I know that I will be coming home the day after transfer day. I have not received my "Travel Plans" yet. I think that I will probably be getting them either the end of this month, or beginning of the next month. I know that my Mission President wants us focused until the end, which is going to be very hard for me, but I am going to try.

 

With the goodies and treats, I DO NOT want any more Pistachios. I am tired of them. I do love Jerky as always and I wouldn't mind  those corn pop treats. I think you know what I am talking about. Also, no more Cup a noodle. I bought lots of those a week ago and I really don't want anymore of those. Oh, actually, could you send me the recipe to make the Hawaiian Haystacks Chicken stuff? I want to make it. I don't think I will be able to make all the vegetables, but I at least want the chicken and rice and maybe some of the vegetables to make it. I sounds really good to me.

 

Thanks for everything!  I Love y'all a lot!

 

-Elder Brown

Elder Brown update

Well, I am here again on the 5th straight week of NO rain. IT SUCKS! I really don't like it at all, but I am still here in Denton. My new companion is Elder Reaveley and he is from Hawaii. He looks Hawaiian as well. He is an awesome missionary and him and I are loving it here in Denton 2nd Ward. He lived in Hawaii for half of his life and then moved to Salt Lake City for the other half, but he still considers himself from Hawaii, since he likes that place a lot.

 

We had a slow week in teaching investigators. ALL of our investigators moved their appointments this week to later on and we didn't get to teach anyone. Oh well...we move forward. We have been doing lots of Less-Active and Part-Member work here and it seems to be yielding some success although not very much, but some.

 

Anyways, well we have Zone Conference coming up here in a couple of weeks and it should be fun. Our mission president has asked us to read all the 4 gospels and 3 Ne 11 thru 30 before then and write down some things, I can't remember right now. I have it written down in the apartment.

 

Well, I do want y'all to know how much I love you. I want to Thank you for everything you have done for me. You have been there for me in tough times and have given me letters of support and encouragement. It has been a blessing to have you do what you have done for me. I thank you so much and I want y'all to know that I love you a lot. You don't even realize how much I love you. I know I have put you through a lot of pain and worrying about me, but I want you to know that I am doing alright and I am trying my best to serve my mission and finish. It is going to be the hardest 2 months of my life, but I know with your help, I can do it. I thank you again for all you have done for me. Thanks for putting up with my comments and my negativeness and lack of caring for a long time. I know I need to do better.

 

Anyways, I do believe that is all for this week. I did receive a e-mail from Andrew and he told me that he is horrible at writing letters, so I guess I understand why he isn't writing me. He said he has lots of letters to write, just doesn't have the time right now to write them.

 

I hope all is going well up there in Provo Utah. It sounds like there has been lots of rain and the snow is melting and so there could be flooding, just keep me posted on what is going on.

That is all I have

 

-Elder Brown

 

Erika's last Young Women class

Erika decided that since she was released from Young Women Laurel President, that she needed to move on to the single's ward.  She decided that she wanted to give all the Young Women and leaders a gift of goodbye.  She worked on it all week and was so happy to have them ready and done to give to them.  She had to buy all the cans, open them from the bottom and take out the diced pears, decorate the outside and top and bottom and put bubble gum and jolly ranchers inside and seal it back up with the little saying she found to put on the front.  It was quite the project and she had to do 20 of them, but it was worth it in the end.  Below is a picture of it.

Belcher Family Reunion in Heber

All of us went to the Belcher Family reunion in Heber.  We were able to see alot of aunt and uncles as well as many of my cousins.  Riley and my cousin's boy, Dallin, found out that they have alot in common and hung out together for a couple of hours.  One of my cousins, decided to make a dam in the small creek with a tarp.  So, guess where Riley was most of time after that.  Yep, in the water, Sand, etc.  He does like to play in the water and get all dirty.  He need to work at a swimming pool or lake so he can get it all in and get paid to do it too.  He is so funny, but we love him for it.

Swimming @ Park City

 While we were staying in Park City, Riley did alot of swimming at the Marriott Mountain Side Resort.  He swam everyday while we were there, and sometime twice a day.  On Friday, we went over to Jordanelle Lake to hook up with Doug and his family, who were out boating for the day, but we could never get a hold of him on his cell phone, so Riley just played at the beach for an hour.  He just can't stand to not be in the water all the time.  We stayed in Park City from Wed night to Saturday morning and spent alot of time with Milan and family as well as Grandma Holly and Grandpa Gary.  Thanks for the fun!!!

Sharri & Riley to Park City

 We decided to head to Park City to spend time with Grandma & Grandpa and Milan and his family.  They both were using their timeshare week at the same time.  Riley and I decided to go and ride the Alpine Slide & Coaster with Milan, Ethan and Carson.  We had a great time together.  It was a nice day, not too hot or too cold, but enough to get some sun.

New Cousin and Niece - Paislee

Jennifer & TJ had another baby today.  Her name is Paislee Ann.  She was 7lbs and 21".  Jenn went in at 6 am and had her by 1:30 pm.  We went and visited the family and Erika and Riley were able to hold her for a while as well as Brian and I.  She is so little.  This make 8 cousins for Cam, Erika and Riley on the Evans side.

Elder Brown update

Well, all I can say is, IT IS WAY TOO HOT! We haven't had rain for such a long time and we have been in the Triple digits for the past 4 weeks. It is way too hot for me. That is crazy that y'all have had lots of Mosquito's and stuff. I still like to be inside, so I wouldn't mind it too much.
Well, Transfers happened. We got them this morning. I am staying here in Denton 2nd Ward and will be serving with Elder Reaveley. He is Hawaiian and I guess he likes Denton a lot. We should do fine. Elder Anthony is going to White Wash (meaning, him and his companion are transferring in together) into Azle with Elder Smith. He is very excited. I am very excited to be staying. At this point, I think I will be finishing off my mission in Denton 2nd Ward. I just know it. I am very excited though. I have also been released as a District Leader. Now I am just Senior Companion again.
Well, I received my "Trunkie Phone Call" on Friday. Sister Jensen, our office Senior Couple called me and said "Elder Brown, I am calling you to schedule your flight home in October." Then she proceeded to verify that I still lived in Provo and at the same address and that the Bishop and Stake President are still the same. I said yes. I should be getting my flight plans home within the next few weeks and they will mail it to you as well. It is crazy to think that l am coming home soon. I am so excited beyond belief.
Well, an update in missionary work. We had the English Sister's call us and said they had a referral for us. They said they had a older lady that was interested in the Gospel. They were going to bring her to church. She came! She loved it. We are going to be teaching her this week. It is amazing. We also this past week taught Glen and Andreanna Barker. Glen is a very probing person. He is wanting right now to find the loop holes in the gospel. He hasn't found any yet, so he is really searching. We committed him to read and pray about it. He and Andreanna are going to do it. Andreanna is in it for the learning experience, but I think she will eventually come to know it's true first before Glen does. It was a good lesson.
Well I know this weeks e-mail has been long, but I needed to tell you everything. I hope all goes well.
I love you!

-Elder Brown

Elder Brown update

Well, this past week hasn't been the best of weeks. All our appointments punched and we had to go outside a LOT and it just made me homesick real quick, in fact, I even broke down again on Saturday cause it is just way too hot and we are outside a lot. It is not fun, but I am trying to make the best of it, even though I really don't like it.

 

I am so glad that mom had an amazing girls camp. I loved the pictures and it looks like y'all had a lot of fun. Sorry that your camera died. I was actually just looking at mine, and I just realized the other day that mine is outdated now too. You can get 14 MP cameras for pretty cheap now. Crazy huh? You can never have the latest and greatest stuff, cause it is always outdated.

 

Yeah, the baptism was awesome, although I am getting a little to big for those pants, but then again, I probably need to lose some weight, not un-tighten the pants. That is my opinion. Yes, it is miserable, 100+ for the past forever and there is no relief in sight. I pray every night that Heavenly Father will send rain, and he hasn't yet. I guess I need more faith to have him bless us with rain.

 

The 4th of July was fun, we did some silly string and poppers and we were able to spend the evening with some members. Their name is the Gosney's and they are the Young Single Adult Reps in the ward. They are awesome.

 

Well, a little update on the missionary work, although not too much happened this past week. We were able to teach Charles and Donald this past week. They are doing great! We were able to teach the Boydstens and Scott Boydsten was very interested in what we had to say. He said that it was something he had never heard before. Robyn, I think, already knows it's true because she nodded her head in a yes motion while we were sharing the Restoration of Christ's true church. It was awesome.

 

Transfer day is July 20th. We most likely will not know if we are being transferred until after next P-Day. So you won't be able to find out until July 25th whether or not I have been transferred and who my new companion is. Sorry, but that is what President Sagers wants. Oh, and I had a great interview. He just asked me what I wanted to accomplish before I went home and I just said that I want to teach as many people as possible, even if they don't get baptized. I hope that I can accomplish that.

 

Well, I do believe that is all for this week. Sorry, it is kind of short, but there isn't really much else to say. Hope you enjoy the Utah weather.

 

Till next P-Day, hope I can make it,

 

-Elder Brown

Girls Camp - July 5 - 9, 2011

 Sister Brown & Sister Doran - watching the young women at Waterfront in the Canoe's

 ALL of us at our Ward Presentation singing "Daughter of a King"

 The first day, right before we went to Stake Flag, showing off our purple "Integrity" colors.

 One of our crafts, making Tiara's out of beads and wire, attached to headbands.

 The front of one of our cabins - castle with draw bridge and the crowns on the door with the names of who was in that cabin.  We had two cabins, and they were exactly the same.

 Our Ward Theme, based on the stake theme, Happily Ever After.

 Another craft that we did during the week.  Thank goodness for assistant leaders who helped with these.

 All 14 girls at the Stake Flag one evening, wearing all the purple beanies that my mom made.  They loved them and wore them everywhere.

 We made these goblets for the night the bishopric came.  We had a royal feast, and only used our hands for utensils.

Our Secret Sister Ward gave us this with some mints.  We were all surprised to have such a great service.  We gave them back a bag of starburst for the wonderful service they did for us.

We had a great week, with little bit of sprinkles of rain each day.  It was warm and at night it was too warm, so we had to open the windows to cool it down.  We had 14 girls and 5 leaders, for a total of 19 of us, the most we have taken to camp in the last 5 years.  The first night, one of the first year young women got me up to tell me that she needed to use the bathroom.  It was about 3 am in the morning, which I had hardly slept anyways, so I got up with her and she had the worst case of diarrhea.  I felt so bad for her, because it was everywhere on her Pajamas, and it was dark and in the middle of the night.  I had to wake up another leader to go and get our Stake Nurse, because she still was having stomach pains.  We were up with her until the sun came up, and decided that we should just get ready for the day.  Sister Doran took all the young women on a 5 mile hike up on the top of the glacier.  They were gone for 3 hours, but it was worth it.  We had a knighting ceremony at the beginning of camp on the first day, where we gave all the girls a word from the 13th article of Faith to have for the week and research and use.  That was alot of fun for them.  We also had "Queen for the hour" each day, were each girl wore the princesses crown and a banner that said "Daughter of a King."  Then all of us said something nice about them.  All the girls were able to have this spotlight done, and the girls loved it.  We had two cabins, which has been different in the past, because we only had 13 or less of all of us, but with 19, we knew that we couldn't fit in one cabin.  We used our scout trailer as the food/mess hall for all the coolers, etc.  Sister Jensen was in charge of the food, and did an awesome job.  She was so sweet and a wonderful person to get to know, even though they have been in the ward as long as we have.  Each evening we had a bedtime story and the girls loved it, to get quiet for the evening and to use as for some good thoughts and dreams for the night.  Thanks to Sister Leslie and Sister Hill from the Young Women leadership, for their help in getting all the camp stuff done and to help us at camp the whole week.  We ended with the Bishopric coming and on Friday night to have Testimony Meeting.  It was great to hear all the girls talk about how they had a great time and the spiritual experiences they have had.  We came home today at 9 am.  It is an hour and an half drive from Provo to Camp MIA Shalom in Fairview Canyon.  Just enough to get to the mountains, but not that far to go and come home.

Elder Brown update

Hey Dad, I don't think I have e-mailed you in a while. It sounds good that y'all were able to get mom off to Girls camp. I hope they have a good time. I am so happy y'all had a good 4th of July. We were able to spend some time with the members in the area. It was nice to be around them. Well... BREAKING NEWS! We had a baptism on Sunday and I had the privilege of Baptizing him. We baptized Donald. He is 60 years old and will be receiving the Aaronic Priesthood this Sunday. I have attached pictures for y'all to see. Also I have attached some photos of Elder Anthony after our 4th of July party last night.

 

Also, our Mission President interviews are this Thursday and we will be receiving our own portable DVD players. It is crazy how the mission is going right now. We will be able to watch movies such as The District and all the church produced movies for companionship study and whatnot. It is crazy! I hope the mission doesn't abuse the privilege, cause I would love to have one. I am going to be 100% obedient with it, cause it is a privilege that can be taken away.

 

Well, other than that, we had an awesome lesson with Bro. Burns (our Elders Quorum President) with a 2 investigators named Glen & Andreanna. They are Catholic, don't go to church and are very interested in the Book of Mormon. We have another appointment with them this Friday and they have agreed to feed us dinner. It will be nice.

 

Yes I did receive the package you sent. Thank you so much. I received it on Friday. It is pretty quick for some reason or another.

 

One last thing. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! Hope you have a wonderful Birthday tomorrow. I can't wait to be able to celebrate it with you next year. Have a wonderful time and thanks for all you do for me.

 

Love,

 

Elder Brown

Riley & cousins

Riley was able to hang out with his cousins today.  Milan and family came to Utah to visit and Carson, Kaden and Riley are the best buddies.  The only thing that is a little bit strange, is that Riley is the oldest of the 3 boys at age 14 yrs, Kaden is 12 ys and Carson is 11yrs, but Riley is the shortest of the 3.  We hope that he gets taller soon, especially since he will be starting High School in August.

Elder Brown update

Well, another week has gone by and I am still here. We are planning on a baptism for Donald this Saturday, but it will most likely not happen as Donald is not ready. I don't think he will ever be ready. Charles received the Aaronic Priesthood yesterday and is planning on going to the Temple to do Baptisms for the Dead. He is doing awesome!  Anyways, we found 2 new families to teach. One families name is Glen & Andreanna. Don't know their last name. Their are awesome. Hopefully they will progress. They know members and have met with missionaries in the past and have decided to take the lessons again. The other one is Scott & Andreanna Boydsten. They know members, and have never taken the lessons, but have agreed to take them. They are going to be awesome to teach.  Well, I hope that y'all are having a good summer and that you enjoy girls camp. That should be fun, I hope there isn't snow still. That won't be fun. I hope you do have fun though.  I'm not sure that is how many baptisms I have been a part of. People in Texas don't like it when you serve them, especially people not of our faith. It is very hard to find service opportunities in Texas. People just want to do it themselves, which I don't blame them.  Tell everyone I said "Hi"  That is all I have for this week, not too much other than just happy to e-mail you and hear from you. Thanks for everything!

-Elder Brown

P.S. Thanks for the pictures. Also, I got to eat at In-N-Out this past week. We convinced a member to get it for us in Frisco and he did. It was VERY GOOD FOOD!

Patriotic Service @ BYU Marriot Center

We went to the Partriotic Service tonight with the McGriff's.  It was an hour and a half long.  There was powerful musical performances, along with incredible stories of freedom, that defined the evening. Several talented artists will be singing, like Daniel Beck, Kerilyn Johnson, Elica Moore, Benjamin Hale, Kendra Lowe, The 23^rd Army Band of the Utah National Guard and The American Heritage Lyceum Philharmonic Orchestra.  We enjoyed the evening, except for Riley, he was bored and couldn't sit still.  It must be more for the adults than 14 year olds. 

Riley to Dallas, Texas with TSA

Riley flew to Dallas Texas today to compete in the National TSA Competion.  He went with Dixon Middle School class, with his Teacher, Mr. Wardle and 5 other students.  Riley competed in Bridge Building and Flight.  The bridge is built with balsa wood and super glue, and then they put weight on it, to see how much it can take before it breaks.  The flight is he makes a airplane out of balsa wood and then they fly it to see how far it can go and not break on landing.  He stayed at the Gaylord Texas Resort and Convention Center.  It is a really nice 5 star hotel.  The hotel had a water park next to it, so they spent alot of time at it.  He was also able to spend a day with Carson and Ethan at their house and swim with them.  Crazy to think that he was 30 minutes away from Cameron in Denton, but we are not allowed to visit him, and Riley really didn't have a way to get there either.  He thought that they might get to go to Six Flags over Texas, but it cost to much to get to it, and then they tried to get to the Texas Rangers Baseball game, but it was soldout.  They spent most of the time at the hotel.  It had many shops and eating places right in the hotel.  He did not get any awards or place in the top ten, but he was okay was that.  He was just glad to go and be with the TSA group.  He was gone from Tuesday morning to Saturday evening.  While he was gone, Erika and I cleaned his room and filled up one whole trash can full of trash.  We rearranged his bed, computer and dresser and it looks so much better.  Now the trick is to keep it clean.