Jan 29 Update - Amazingly busy week, Temple Tomorrow!

Hi Everyone,

Holy cow people!  This area is a gold mine!  There are so many amazingly prepared people here in Brandermill!  We found 7 new investigators this week, and we have a baptism coming up this Saturday!  There is so much to do and keep track of here, I feel like we are always rushing to everything!  We probably look like a couple of chickens with our heads cut off!  I like nothing better though.  We are "anxiously engaged in a good cause" (D&C 58:27), always working hard to make everything go well for our ward, area, and investigators!  

We had an exchange on Tuesday which went well.  I took Elder Stradling in my area.  He's a great guy, we clicked pretty quick.  Then we had a zone workshop on Wednesday and interviews with President, which was awesome!  The workshop was awesome!  We had a lot of great training's and Role plays.  I felt very enriched after, and I am definitely a better missionary now as a result of that.  I also LOVE interviews with President!  I always leave with a burden lifted and a better idea of the missionary the Lord wants me to be! 

I am getting very comfortable with the Lord's plans for me and in my calling as His servant!  I have developed some great skills and now begins the process of refinement where I can continue to hone those skills and learn to rely on the Lord more than myself and let him use me in any way he sees fit. 

I am so excited for the temple trip tomorrow!  We will be getting up early tomorrow to go to the DC Temple before it closes. This will be the only time I'll get to go for the rest of my mission, so I have been studying and preparing myself for the past week to make it the best experience it can possibly be! 

I love you all, and hope you continue to find joy in discovering and fulfilling your purpose as I have!

Elder Brown

 

The best District in the mission plus the Zone leaders

 

AP Pennington messing around (as usual)

Brandermill has so much potential!

Hi everyone!

This week was crazy, but also really good!  I shotgunned into Brandermill on Tuesday! Which means that both me and my new companion were transferred into the area, so neither of us know any one. It is a small area on the west side of Richmond in the middle of Midlothian with tons of housing! 

Transfers were moved up a day because of a snowstorm warning.  And snow it did!  We probably got about 6 inches from early Wednesday morning until about 5 o clock that evening and we were not allowed to go out until 2, so we got some information about our investigators from the Manchester elders and did some online proselyting.  

We didn't have access to our area book for a couple days, so that was fun.  We have done a lot of work already this week, and Seen tons of success!  Also, the ward is awesome and have already started working out a schedule for going out with us, so that should be great!  They were so excited to have missionaries again, you would think they hadn't had them for a year!  They were only without missionaries for like 2 months, and even then, the Manchester elders have been covering this area.

Basically everything is factoring together to make this an amazing area, and an amazing transfer!  My new companion is Elder White, and he has been out for about 6 months, just a little less than me.  We have gotten so many comments about White and Brown that it's not even funny anymore.  

We will also get a baptism either this week or next, so that should be cool!  Today was Zone preparation day, so that was cool, I'm actually surprised I was able to email so much amidst all the sports!  I hope you are all finding as much success in what you do as I have!  I love being a missionary!

Elder Brown

Elder Brown and Elder White my new companion

My Last picture with Elder Newton

The Snow we got from a winter storm.

Super pretty trees at a house we knocked (here in Virginia it is green even in the winter!)

Last Preparation Day in Buckingham!

Hi Everyone!

As you may have guessed from the title, I am being transferred!  We had transfer calls on Saturday and I was informed that I will no longer be serving in Buckingham.  I wasn't terribly surprised, considering I have been here for 3 transfers already, but I will miss it.  Buckingham certainly has a special charm to it, and is very unique.  I will definitely enjoy the change of scenery though, and the many good things that come from (likely) going to a more populated area.

So this my last preparation day here, best use it wisely.  This week, we did a lot of good, but our numbers were terrible.  After last week's amazing successes, this week we found 0 new investigators and didn't teach the many lessons.  But, despite the low numbers, this area progressed quite a bit this week.  

We split a lot of wood for various people (my favorite form of service) and many of our investigators have made big improvements!  We had a lot of finding efforts and I feel we planted the seed of faith within many, we just didn't get many return appointments.  

We had an exchange with Farmville this week, and I went down there with Elder Wight, and it was great!  We did some good finding, and had some success down there, he cut my hair, and then we did some awesome service at the food bank down there.  It was super good!  I also got a lot of compliments on my haircut from super old ladies, ranging from really nice to mildly creepy, so that was interesting!  (One of them said "If I was 50 years younger, you would be running, cuz I'd be going after you in a heartbeat!"  Ummm, thanks I guess?)

We also got to watch President Monson's funeral.  It was a great service, and I am excited for this next stage of the Church's progression!  It is a big comfort to know that, despite a change in mortal leadership, the church moves on.  Because it is not led by men or influenced by the philosophies of men, but rather it is led by God, and we know that His work will continue the same way it always has, unfettered by the troubles of this world.  I will definitely  miss this area and this district, but I look forward to new adventures!  #templetripin2weeks!

Elder Brown

District jumping!

I got a hair cut!

Best Exchange picture!

Double Exchange, 5 New investigators!

Hi Everyone!

Apparently this week was the coldest week in recorded history here in Virginia.  It got pretty chilly.  Although it wasn't that bad compared to some of the winters I had back home.  Of course, we pushed onward despite the weather, and saw some great success!  

We had dinner with the Autens after zone preperation day, which was nice.  Then on Tuesday we went down to Farmville for an exchange with our district leader, which was great!  We had lunch at buffalo wild wings which is always a plus.  I chopped wood most of the day with Elder Reitz, doing service, but we also did some proselyting.  We ended that exchange with a great district meeting on Wednesday morning, which the zone leaders attended.  

We also had an exchange with the zone leaders on Friday, which was awesome!  We mostly just cleaned up the area book a bunch with trying potentials.  

However, the best part of the week is yet to come.  We had a great day on Thursday, when we went out to Cumberland!  We had a lesson with a referral out there, and it went great!  She and her 3 sons joined us for a lesson, and they all accepted a book of Mormon and set a return appointment!  They asked a ton of awesome questions, and are pretty open to it.  

We also had a super spiritual lesson after church with our newest investigator.  She is from the Philippines, and has been coming to church with a member who she recently married.  We taught her the restoration, and the spirit just filled the room, we were all crying by the end of it!  It is lessons like that that really highlight the reason we serve missions!  We are here to invite others to come unto Christ, to see how the restored gospel can help them, and feel the spirit testify of the truths that we teach!  There is no better feeling than the spirit testifying of truth.  I love being a missionary! 

Elder Brown

 

In Farmville at Buffalo Wild Wings  on exchange

District Meeting

Jan 1 Update - Miracle Week, New Year!

Holy Cow guys, this week was awesome!

We found 3 new investigators this week, and 2 of them were straight miracles!  One is a girl who is turning 18 soon and wants to branch out, be more independent and really figure out what she believes and who she is.  We had had a little bit of previous contact with her, but nothing substantial, when out of the blue, she asked if she could call us Monday night!  So we talked for a bit and then taught her the restoration, and she is interested in learning more!  

The second lesson was even better!  We read the introduction with her, and she asked a question of the soul!  So we gave her 3 chapters to read.  I know she will find her answer! 

The other big miracle was Mike!  We had visited his house several times, and only once did we have any contact.  He was busy at the time, but invited us to come back another day.  That was a while ago.  Then on Friday, we had an impression to stop by again, and he let us in!  He has had a lot of previous contact with the church, and has had several experiences in his life that have really prepared him for the gospel!  He shows so much promise.  Angels truly are preparing the hearts of men!  (Alma 13:24)  Always follow spiritual promptings!

I have been studying the infinite atonement by Tad R Callister this week (it is one of the mission goals before our temple trip) and it is so sooooooo good!  I have learned so much, and there is still so much to learn!  I would highly encourage you to read it, if possible.  It gives us such a good perspective on the atonement of Jesus Christ!  

We also had a lesson with a super nice older couple.  They are just the nicest people you will ever meet, and they love missionaries!  But, unfortunately they did not want to pray about the Book of Mormon or investigate seriously.  It is so sad to see people see the good that the gospel brings, yet still be unwilling to change.

Me and all my Christmas gifts!

Panoramic picture of the Resort Ranch

District

Christmas conference, I'm on the second row from the front on the left side.

District 

Zone preparation day

Dec 25 Update - 500+ miles of Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

This week was great!  We kicked it off with Zone P-day on Monday, where we had a zone breakfast and a white elephant gift exchange and played sports.  I was able to burn some of my cold symptoms out of my system, and then we stayed the night with the APs to save miles and helped them set up for the Christmas conference on Tuesday, which was awesome!  We had Sheri Dew come and speak to us!  We also heard from all the Stake presidents and the mission presidency and had a bunch of musical numbers, along with a great lunch.  It was AMAZING!  We all headed home with some Christmas gifts from the mission and special letters from home.  Reading those brought back some really deep feelings.  I love my family so much!  

We also had some great lessons this week and we had interviews and a work day with President Smith and the APs.  It was great!  I always love talking with President and getting wise counsel from him.  Also, the APs are hilarious! 

We started the new member lessons for Joseph with President Knight, and also found out that the Spanish referrals we found earlier are really digging into the book of Mormon and loving it!  That book has such great power, and will continue to change lives as long as people will prayerfully read it!  

We also had the opportunity to sing at the miracle of Christmas event at the Richmond zoo!  It was great!  Finally, we had a great Christmas program at church yesterday and had Christmas eve dinner with sister Henshaw and the Autens and we did a nativity play afterward and played a pioneer board game with them.  It was great, and was a really sweet reminder of all the years we did that at home.  It's Christmas!  Enjoy it, and spend some time remembering the savior!  He is the reason for the season, and the best example you can ever follow!  I love being a missionary!

Elder Brown

Ps sorry this is late, for some reason it didn't send last week