Mar 25 Update - Encontrando, Fiestas de Rama, y Mucho Mas!

Hi Everyone!

This was another great week in Fall Hill (Fredericksburg)!  My Spanish is improving significantly, and I am beginning to teach more in our lessons!  Elder Muñoz and I have been reading from Predicad Mi Evangelio Ch 3 and role-playing me teaching the points of the lessons in Spanish in my own words.  I have enjoyed the increased outpouring of the gift of tongues, and have become very aware that it is a GIFT.  It is not consistent and really only kicks in when I need it.  So it is interesting and keeps me humble about it.  It is good. 

We found 2 new people who are really cool this week!  One of them, whom I will call Fido, is from Argentina!  He is cool.  We have continued to progress with the family we are working with whom I will call Hermana Marta y Su familia.  They are progressing ok, and we also have a mother and son, whom I will call Amor y Alejandro.  They are coming along nicely, and Alejandro will probably get baptized this coming month! 

The youth group in the branch held a fundraiser for their camps, and held a dinner thing, and they did very well!  There were a lot of English members there, and a good amount of nonmembers as well!  They supported a lot, and we really enjoyed the dinner!  We are also actively planning another activity that should also be very successful.  

We had zone conference as well this week, and I got my Spanish tags!  It was kind of strange not to be in charge of Zone conference anymore.  It was a good zone conference, where we focused a lot on Easter.  

Putting on my Spanish tags brought along with it the weight of expectations, the expectation of being able to speak the language.  Taking off The English tags was hard too, because that means my English mission is over.  I wonder if taking the tag off when I get home will bring similar feelings, or if it will be way worse. 

The members here are very supportive of us, and we get fed often.  I am adjusting to Spanish food, and much of it is muy rico (very good)!  Especially pupusas.  Anyway, it was another great week here, and I expect to continue to progress a lot in the language this week.  Now vemos!

Elder Brown (Or Hermano Cafe, as Alejandro calls me)

Actualizon de 18 de Marzo - Translated to Spanish!!!

Hi Everyone!  This was a crazy week!  Elder McCallson and I both packed up a bunch on Monday and had our final lessons on Tuesday.  

We said goodbye to everyone Wednesday morning, and then I headed back up to Fredericksburg with Elder Muñoz after transfer meeting!  To the Fall Hill Spanish Branch!  My Spanish tags are on the way, and it has been a wild ride!  I dusted off my High school Spanish and became conversational within a few days, and I have been expanding my vocab and have been understanding more since then.  I have been praying for and felt like I have received at times the gift of Tongues, and have also had some cool experiences with the gift of interpretation of Tongues.  It has been pretty cool.  Let me just say right now that those are both super real! 

Since I have been here, we have had dinner with the branch president and some other key members.  Church was good, it was sort of half in English so I understood most of it.  Also, Elder Muñoz and I are like the same person, except he is Mexican.  We clicked pretty quick and are already good friends.  The language learning is hard but going well, and I am enjoying the work here!  Talk to y'all later!

Elder Brown

Mar 11 Update - Its that time again! Crazy transfer call!

Hello Everyone!  It's been a great transfer here and a great week here as well!  This is the week where a man in his 70s attended a Young Single Adult ward!  That's right!  One of the people we are working with whom we will call John wanted to attend a church service, but due to other Sunday Meetings, the only service time that worked for him was the YSA ward!  So that was interesting.  We also had another guy come!  He had missed the branch time (also because of a Sunday meeting) but we called him up and he was able to come to the YSA!  So that was pretty neat. 

We got an early peek at transfer news this week on Tuesday when we had interviews with President Smith.  Let's just say a bit of a crazy storm is brewing up on the Transfer Board!  We got the confirmation on Saturday night over transfer calls, with a few changes.  I will disclose the full information of my transfer results next week, however, know that they are shotgunning our area, which means Elder McCallson and I are both leaving!  I am also being stepped down from zone leader for a special assignment for the last 3 months of my mission.  

Because we got early transfer news, we spent a good amount of time this week prepping the area for the new elders and writing up some thorough shotgun notes.  Get ready for a wild ride!  I have loved my time here, and have been super proud of the progress of the zone this transfer.  The mission is in a great spot, and I am humbled by the trust President Smith has in me.  Talk to y'all next week!

Elder Brown

Meeting with the Stake President: President Mullins

Exchanges with Elder Weaver (former companion)

Exchanges with Elder Carr

Coordination Valentine's dinner

UMPA game from More Fit For The Kingdom