Getting sick, you find some, you drop some!

Hi Everyone,

This was a crazy week for us!  We worked really hard this week and managed to find 3 new investigators!  Unfortunately, we also had to drop one of our most promising investigators.  Her family has not been supportive of her meeting with us and told us (in no polite manner) not to come back.  That was rough. 

On the plus side though, Bo is still on track for his baptismal date, and he committed to live the word of wisdom!  That is usually one of the toughest ones for investigators.  He is also coming to church this week, and we might have another family at church too!  

This week I studied the Christ like attribute of diligence and my diligence was definitely tested.  I got sick near the end of the week.  It started on Thursday afternoon with a sore throat, but I continued to diligently work through it, even after the congestion came Saturday morning.  I developed a fever on Sunday, and so we finally decided it was probably best if I don't pass it on to anyone, so I rested on the Sabbath.  We still did some online proselyting, but we tried to limit my physical contact with people.  We were able to get in touch with a few less actives, which was good.

Probably the best part of the week happened on Wednesday!  We stopped by a former investigator, and found not them, but a Hispanic family who is super prepared!  With my limited Spanish and Oscar's small amount of English, we were able to have a small conversation in which we were able to get them in touch with the spanish sisters on facebook.  Apparently she was praying to know how to improve her relationship with God just before we knocked on the door!  I love being an answer to prayer!  We had dinner with President Knight after that and we discovered that they know the knights pretty well, and Oscar actually works on President knight's ranch!  #miracle  The Spanish sisters had a great lesson with them, and they might be attending church here!  If this keeps up, Buckingham might become a Spanish/English hybrid branch! (Not really)

I love being a missionary!  Best wishes, and merry Christmas!

Elder Brown

District meeting

 Random Christmas parade in Dillwyn Saturday morning!

First snow, New Companion!

Hi everyone!

This week was pretty good, although it got a bit chilly near the end.  We had transfers on Wednesday, and I am now the Senior companion!  Elder Weir is now serving in Harrisonburg and I came back with Elder Newton!  He is from Kuna Idaho, and has been out for 4-1/2 months. This is his second area.  I didn't expect to be senior companion at only 6 months, but ok!  He is a cool kid, and I think we will get along great.  I helped him move into the apartment and got him settled, and then we went to work!  We have done a lot of tracting the past few days, and it started snowing on Friday!  It snowed on Saturday as well.  It appears winter is now in full swing here in Virginia, and while the temperatures are higher than back in Montana, the humidity makes up for it!  It has been a bit chilly, and I had to pull out the thermals and my big winter coat. 

We had branch council on Wednesday night, so elder Newton got to meet some of our most solid members right away!  We are starting to really make a concentrated effort to work with the less actives here and we are working hard to find anyone and everyone who is interested in the gospel.  We had a surprising lesson with a former this week, and he is now on date to be baptized on January 6!  That gave me a nice boost amidst all the snow tracting.  Over all, it was a pretty good week. 

I wish you all the best, and don't forget to #LighttheWorld!

Elder Brown

My new companion Elder Newton

Last picture with my old companion Elder Weir on Wednesday (Transfer day)

First snow fall in Virgina on Friday Dec 8

Awesome Exchange in Canada! (Not really)

Hi Everyone!  
We had another good week here in Buckingham.  We had exchanges with the Sandy River A elders, and we went to their area. We were doing really well on miles, so we decided to go out to a part of their area they had never been to!  Alberta.  No, not Alberta Canada, Alberta Virginia.  It was great!  It is a tiny town, almost a ghost town.  Most of the businesses there are old and abandoned, but some people still live there.  Apparently that is where they have a big Brunswick stew festival every October (it's in Brunswick county).  We went there both days, and had some good lessons.  It was great, I really enjoyed it!  We also had a branch christmas breakfast on Saturday, it was great!  The food was really good.  

In other news, we had transfer calls on Saturday.  Elder Weir is out!  I will be staying here in Buckingham and picking up a new companion on Wednesday. Should be a good time!  

Until next week,

Elder Brown

My District

Exchange pictures (with a tank!)

Smallest Park I've seen

Double Baptism, Thanksgiving!

Hi everyone!

This week was awesome!  It started off with zone preparation day which included a thanksgiving lunch with President Smith and his wife after doing service at the mission home.  It was awesome!  I included pictures of it last week. 

During the week, we had a really good lesson with Marylene, a new investigator.  We taught her the plan of salvation, and she was taking notes!  She has great potential.  We also had a really good lesson with Amanda, where we read Alma 32 with her, a fantastic chapter on Faith.  She said she felt something as we read it, and of course it was the spirit.  I love that we can have a member of the Godhead with us to testify of the truths we teach.  

We had thanksgiving at the Autens new house with Sister Henshaw and some of their extended family.  They put on quite a spread, and it felt a bit like home.  And of course the best part of the week was the double baptism on Saturday!  Joseph and Flo both are now members of the Buckingham Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I baptized Joseph and Elder Weir baptized Flo.  We also did a musical number with the spanish sisters, who came to the baptism for Flo.  Then yesterday Elder Weir Confirmed Joseph and President Knight confirmed Flo in Spanish.  It was awesome! 

I hope you all have a wonderful time!  After #ThinktoThank for Thanksgiving, it is now time to #LightTheWorld before Christmas!

Elder Brown

Awesome Exchange, Service in Yogaville!

Hi Everyone!

This week was awesome!  We kicked it off with district meeting on Tuesday, followed by probably the best exchange I have had on the mission.  We had so much fun!  And we found 4 new investigators!  We had a model area exchange here in Buckingham, so we had the Sandy River A (Burkeville) Elders both come over here, and we did a lot of work.  We ended it with a bang doing service in Yogaville Wednesday morning!  We help the kitchen staff prep the community lunch, which gave us a great opportunity to answer questions, build a relationship with the community, and share the gospel.  We ended up teaching the restoration to a lady over cutting tomatoes!  We also took the other elders up to see the lotus temple briefly.  

We had baptismal interviews with both of our investigators who are on date.  They are ready, and will be baptized this Saturday!  We helped an older member move on Saturday, and we had Flo and Joseph at church on Sunday, after which we had Potluck!  Delicious!  We watched the Young Single Adult  Face 2 Face last night with Elder Oaks and Elder Ballard.  I loved it!  They had a lot of wise counsel, and they are hilarious!  Also, we had a zone thanksgiving lunch today at the mission home, it was great! 

I hope you have all seen similar success and joyful experiences, and I wish you all the best!  The gospel is true, and brings joy and peace that can be found nowhere else!  Until next week,

Elder Brown

Serving at the Community Lunch in Yogaville

A Brief trip to the Lotus Temple in Yogaville

Zone Preparation Day

Golden member referral, Zone conference!

Hi everyone!  Sorry for the long email this week, but this week was pretty solid.  We got three referrals this week!  One was from a member.  Sister Wier called us up and invited us to dinner with her childhood friend, with whom she had been discussing the gospel.  She wanted a Book of Mormon and a KJV Bible, and came with a lot of questions!  She was very prepared!  Initially she wasnt sure she wanted to take the discussions or read the book of Mormon, but we were able to resolve her concerns and assure her that the best way to answer her questions was through the discussions.  She has a lot of potential, and I am so excited!  She really seems to be searching for the truth, and I am so happy that I have the opportunity to show her the way!  

The second referral was from Facebook!  We were teaching a guy over Facebook, and about half way through the lesson he was like, "hey can you teach this to my sister?  She would really like this!" We were so excited!  He gave us her info, and she is receiving it very well!  We got the last referral from Mormon.org just the other day.  It didn't have much info with it, but we will try to contact them tonight or tomorrow.  

We also had zone conference this week, which was awesome!  We had a really good discussion about the ways that we have seen success using Facebook, we had a really good training from President Smith about the importance of having the spirit and an awesome training from Sister Smith on goal-setting.  We also got to sign a painting of the temple, signifying our commitment to the 100 day challenge to become more converted to the savior before our temple trip in January!  Also, we had a representative from Salt Lake visiting.  He gave a training on vehicle safety and replaced all the tiwis.  (A tiwi is a little box they put in the car to help us avoid accidents, speeding, reckless driving etc)

We picked up Joseph and Flo for church with Brother Krebs, and the Spanish sister missionaries came all the way out here from Chesterfield to be at church with Flo.  It was really good for her.  Needless to say, things are going pretty well out here!  I hope you all have seen similar joy and success in your efforts!  Until next week,

Elder Brown

Facebook is poppin' off!

Hi Everyone!

Can I just say, I LOVE online proselyting!  It is seriously the best!  People are (usually) so much more respectful over Facebook, and are typically more willing to talk!  We have been messaging just about everyone we can find out here, and we are seeing a lot of success!  We now have a new investigator because of this, we have set multiple appointments, and we have many more to come!  It is such a good way to not only find people but also keep consistent contact!  What an amazing tool the Lord has given us! 

We have also found a less active member over Facebook!  He lives in our area, but we don't have his records.  So this is basically the only way we could have found him!  We had dinner with him and his family.  They are all great.  He has a few concerns he is working through right now, but he wants to come back to church, and is starting to study and pray a lot more. 

Joseph and Flo are doing awesome too!  Flo is a lot more open with us now, and Joseph is so excited about it that we can't help but laugh at his enthusiasm!  He jumps from pamphlet to pamphlet and tells us his favorite points.  He also realized he didn't have all the pamphlets yet, and pretty much hounded us for the last couple pamphlets.  He is so ready for it.  They are both coming to church next week, and the Sisters who have been teaching Flo are also coming to the branch this Sunday to be with Flo.  Should be good!  I am pumped to see what happens next week, and I sincerely hope all of you are doing awesome!  Until next week,

Elder Brown

Zone Preparation Day!

Some people are so chill online!

Staying in Buckingham, Halloween!

Hi Everyone!  
We had transfer calls on Saturday, and Elder Weir and I are staying in Buckingham!  This last transfer was actually 7 weeks, because there was a mission president conference on the six week mark.  So to make up for it, this transfer will be 5 weeks.  

This week was good.  We helped out with the branch fall party and with Spooky Hollow at the Historic Village.  We also split some wood again for Sister Jones at Brother Henshaw's place.  We had some success with online proselyting this week!  We decided  to message some people on facebook whose profile said they lived in the area, and we were able to set 3 appointments!  Unfortunately, 2 are during Preparation Day, but I am still excited for it!  I would rather teach than do anything else!  Unfortunately, they both fell through.  But we will try to reschedule. 

We gave talks on Sunday Oct. 29th.  We spoke on some of our favorite conference talks from this most recent conference.  Elder Weir spoke on Elder Rasbands talk "By Divine Design" and I spoke on President Eyrings talk "The Lord Leads His Church".  I highly recommend studying both of those talks.  They are really great!  I guess the branch really enjoyed our talks, because we got a lot of compliments!

I have grown quite close to Brother Henshaw.  He is just a great guy.  He said we were probably his favorite missionaries.  That always makes you feel good!  Anyway, I hope all of you had an excellent week too.  The gospel brings so much peace and joy, and sharing it brings even more!  

Wishing you the best of luck this week,

Elder Brown

100 day Challenge!

Hi Everyone!  Today was zone p day and I didn't really feel like emailing much, so this weeks email might be a bit short.  We have gotten in contact with a few more people and are continuing to teach the Maynards. Flo is doing well.  The Spanish missionaries are coming out for a lesson with her in person Wednesday, and we will introduce them to the rest of the family.  It should be pretty sweet! 

We had exchanges with Burkeville Wednesday, which was awesome!  I went over there, and we found a new investigator!  They also have an old investigator from my last area over there, so that's pretty sweet!  We had dinner with our branch mission leader Friday, and man, they know how to cook!  It was an excellent meal, and they even sent us home with some snacks! 

Since the DC temple is closing for two years for renovations starting early next year, we all get the opportunity to go to the temple in January!  In preparation for that, we have been issued a challenge from President Smith to memorize The Living Christ and read The Infinite Atonement in the 100 days between now and then!  It will be a great time of spiritual growth and will really strengthen my testimony of the savior. I hope you all have a wonderful week, I know I will!

Elder Brown

Interviews and visiting Yogaville!

Hi Everyone! 
This week was pretty interesting!  We had member dinners nearly every night this week, which was nice.  The branch is super great out here, but our numbers are dwindling. 

Finding has been a bit tough this week, although we have gotten in touch with many of the less actives in the area.  

We had interviews Wednesday, which was great!  I always love interviews with President, they are always uplifting and inspiring, and help me to refocus my efforts and resolve problems. 

We had a crazy experience coming home Friday night.  We were coming home, and the car in front of us hit a dog!  We saw the whole thing happen!  We stopped and tried to help in any way we could.  The poor girl was in shock and in tears.  The dog dragged itself away with its front legs, and we lost track of it in the woods near the road.  We were able to give her, Brother Autens number (he's a vet) and her parents showed up a little later and were super grateful for us stopping and trying to help.  I am not sure what the end result of the whole situation was, but I am just glad that we were able to give them a good impression of missionaries, and help in whatever way we could. 

Then on Saturday, we had lunch with a less active member up in Yogaville.  That place sure is interesting.  He introduced us to a few people and showed us around a bit.  It is some kind of interfaith community that encourages tolerance and respect.  It had a bit of a hippy vibe, but everyone there was very nice. 

We had a branch potluck after church Sunday, those are always great! 

Today, we made salsa! :)  And we had a lady approach us at Food Lion today who wanted to meet with missionaries again!  #miracle So, overall, we had a very interesting week, I just hope we will have more success with finding next week.  

I love you all!

Elder Brown

A great week of finding!

Hi Everyone!

I hope you all are doing well, I know I am!  We had a really good week this week.  It all started off with some service.  We did a lot of wood splitting with a member on Tuesday and really built a lot of trust with them.  I also know that those who will use the wood are very appreciative.  

We had a miracle on Tuesday night.  We were teaching a less active members son, who wants to be baptized.  We decided to Skype in the Spanish missionaries to translate for his mom, so that she could understand.  It was truly inspired!  Her English isn't too good, and before now she didn't express a lot of interest in learning more, but we came to find that it was simply because she didn't understand it very well.  When she was able to understand it from the Spanish missionaries, she agreed with what was taught, and not only that, but she also committed to learning more and to be baptized when she comes to know of the truth for herself!  It was amazing!  I am so grateful for the technology that made that possible. 

We were also able to find 3 new investigators at an apartment complex.  We were also able to coordinate our efforts with the members at branch council on Wednesday.  We took some time to clean out and organize the area book this week, which really helped us to know who to focus our efforts on.  We also reassessed our goals and made solid plans to improve a few things during weekly planning, so it has been awesome.

I hope you are all doing well!

Elder Brown

Exchange pictures

Some of my favorite snippets from conference!

Another Beautiful Sundet!

Our air conditioner froze up!

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Book of Mormon is true!

Hi Everyone!  
This week was pretty good.  It's amazing how important having good studies is to enjoying the work!  I definitely saw a big difference between last week (when my studies had gotten a bit lax) and this week.  I had the spirit with me so much more this week, and it made all the difference!  

We had a lot of success this week with finding!  The zone leaders blitzed our area on Tuesday, which helped a lot.  We have been working with a less active member who has been trying to return to full activity, and we have started to teach his 9 year old son, who wants to be baptized.  He is on date for November 25, And he couldn't be more excited!  He would get baptized sooner, but there are a few factors that pushed it back.  I can't go into much detail about it, but nevertheless, we are so excited!  We might start teaching his wife too.  She is Hispanic, and doesn't express too much interest, but she has been reading the book of Mormon and has been watching some videos from lds.org.  We will be skyping in the Spanish missionaries to teach her while we teach her son.  Technology is such an amazing tool.  

We also found a few other people who expressed some interest, and we will visit them again this week.  We also met another less active member and her husband (who is not a member).  They are really nice and invited us back to teach them Sunday evenings!  Unfortunately they were not there yesterday, though.  But I have faith they will progress!  We also did some service this week, and chopped a ton of wood!  We felled a giant tree, and have been chopping that up for firewood for people.  Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of it, but it was pretty epic.

Finally, we had General Conference this weekend, and it was SOOOOOO GOOD!!!!  I learned a lot from it, and I hope all of you did too!  I know that these men truly are called of God and that the messages they presented were inspired by God.  I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Book of Mormon is true.  I have felt an undeniable witness of it from God through careful study and earnest prayer.  I know that this is the same church that Jesus Christ organized while he was on the earth, and that He restored His priesthood authority through the prophet Joseph Smith and that God continues to call prophets today.  I also know that the Book of Mormon was written by ancient prophets on the American continent, and contains the fullness of the Gospel.  It was translated by the prophet Joseph Smith through the power of God and has the power to change lives and bring us closer to God than any other book through careful study of the doctrines contained therein.

To those who may be reading this and have questions, please feel free to message me on Facebook or visit Mormon.org.  My Facebook is: https://www.facebook.com/jaren.brown.37  I can promise you that the Book of Mormon will change your life, and that it can bring you more joy than you have ever experienced.

I love all of you, and wish you the best!

Elder Brown 

 Exchanges!

Exchanges!

My new companion Elder Weir and I on Preparation Day.

General Conference!

Beautiful Sunset!

Zone Preparation Day!

Zone Preparation Day!

I am so grateful to be one of The Lords messengers!

Hi Everyone!

This week we were authorized to add Facebook to our list of tools in the work of salvation!  We are now online!  We have been trying to contact a lot of people who were previously taught, with little success.  Now that we have Facebook, it should be much easier to keep in contact with those we meet and follow up on commitments!  We spent some time cleaning up our old accounts, and are now fully engaged in online proselyting.  It has been a bit tough to use this tool recently though, as this is a new area, and we still have not successfully green in contact with many people, but I am confident that as we continue striving to find people to teach using all of our resources, the Lord will bless us with success.  

The branch here is really great!  They love missionary work, and have already started to reach out to their friends on our behalf.  Though there are not many people out here, their spirit is strong!  We have been meeting with a less active member who is wanting to come back, and we will start teaching his family this week!  We also have the Zone Leaders coming down for a finding blitz on Tuesday, so things should go well.  I am looking forward to the miracles that are bound to happen here, and I am so excited for general conference this next week!  I know that the Lord is hastening his work and loves all of His children!  I am so grateful to be one of His messengers, and I love seeing what the restored gospel of Jesus Christ can do for everyone!  I love you all, and wish you the very best!

Elder Brown

I can see mountains!

New Area and New Companion, Reopening Buckingham!

Hi Everyone!

This week was very interesting! We had transfers and I got transferred!  We ended our time in the Appomattox A area with a bang.  We had a lot of great lessons, and made sure to organize everything for the new elders when they came in.  Then we had transfer meeting on Wednesday, and it was announced that Elder Weir and I will be reopening Buckingham!  This area has been closed for over a year and a half, so all of the teaching records are pretty old.  

We met the Branch President our first night in the area, and discussed some things with him.  President Knight is awesome!  He is a rancher, and has a really good heart.  He was very excited to have missionaries again.  We met our Branch Mission Leader, Brother Krebs, the next day, and discussed the area over lunch at Pinos, a nice Italian restaurant.  We also met some other members before Sunday, and we already have some referrals from the members!  The people here are awesome, and very excited to work with missionaries again!  

We will likely be doing a lot of dropping and phone tracting as we try to contact all the old investigators, but here we go!  This area is pretty large geographically, and very rural, so everyone lives pretty far apart, but it has tons of potential! We are on the western edge of our mission, and we can see the Blue Ridge mountains in West Virginia.  It is so nice to see mountains again! Keep up the good work wherever you are, and enjoy it!

Elder Brown

New area, Buckingham

Elder Weir, My new companion 

A fancy clay pigeon thrower at President Knight's house
 (the young men were shooting shotguns at his house when we met him)

So nice to see Mountains again!

 Delicious Italian food from Pinos