A World of Change (October 4, 2013)

Hello Family and Friends,

This week has been a very interesting and crazy week. The weather has changed and we have been having rain, wind, and cold almost everyday. It truly does feel like Fall, and I can tell that Winter is not too far away. The leaves here in Ohio are amazing! There are so many wonderful Fall colors and I truly enjoy being able to look out my window everyday at the trees and to enjoy their colors. I have attached a picture of the trees outside my bedroom window, so that all of you too can enjoy how beautiful they are.

We had Zone Conference this week and I always enjoy learning from President and Sister Vellinga. They teach us so much and they both  help us to grow and to become better missionaries. During Zone Conference President Vellinga made a big announcement that got all of us excited! He announced that by 2014 we will all EACH have iPad mini's. These will replace our planners, area books, and using the library computers. At night when it is dark we will proselyte online and will be teaching people over Facetime. I am very excited and am looking forward to this very big and exciting change in my mission. The Lord truly is hastening his work and is helping us find the elect.

Our investigators, Jill, Linda, Cindy and Gabe are all doing amazing! Jill and Gabe both came to the Chili cook off and both really enjoyed it. We also saw them both a church. Gabe is ten years old and is great! His older sister is twelve and is named Julie Moreda. Dominic taught her and I am now very happy to be able to teach her little brother. Both are doing great and are truly loving the church. Jill is doing really well and is starting to really feel comfortable in church settings. She loves it there and says that she just wants to stay and learn more. The rest are doing good as well. They are loving the lessons, but are still new and aren't progressing too much yet. Hopefully they will be soon though.

Sadly, Belinda and Rodger have now both moved to Indiana. It was hard to see them go because I have been working with both of them for such a long time now. They have both been referred to the missionaries over there and we hope that they continue to progress. I have included a picture of me with them after our last lesson at church. They are great people and I know that they will continue to learn and to grow.

We have had lots of Halloween things going on this week. We went to the ward chili cook off and we really enjoyed that. It was such a great party and tons of non-members were there! I was so happy to be able to help them and to laugh with all of the members as well. On Halloween, Elder Montgomery and I ate dinner at Corey and Jill's.   They served us some chili!  We had a nice time there and shared a really good lesson. Sunday night we all had to stay inside because trick or treating was moved to then. It was a little frustrating to have to stay in, but we ended up getting some much needed rest and down time.

My missionary tip of the week is to learn to see others as God does, and not as the world does. Sometimes it is hard to see people for who they can become, or who they really are. I find that it helps to look at them as if in white. See their potential and treat them as Christ would. You will find that they are great, amazing and are loved. Never cut someone short. Be accepting. Be caring. Be a true brother, sister, and friend.

Love you all!

Elder Brown

 Elder Brown with Belinda and Roger 

The Fall leaves outside the window

The Power of a Child's Voice (October 28, 2013)

Dear family and friends,

This week has been one of great joy, but struggle as well. It seems that missionary work, or life for that matter, always has its ups and downs. But despite the ups and downs of life, I have always found that the positives far outweigh the negatives. There is so much more joy to be found in the world than there is sorrow. God has placed so many glorious things around us, we just need to learn to see them and be filled with gratitude for all that we have truly been given.

This week we ended up losing our investigator Ariel. Her mom told her that she is no longer allowed to meet with us, and that she doesn't want her to have any part in our church. It was really hard to have to see someone deprived from the gospel because of another's decision. I hope and pray that when she turns eighteen that she will find the church again and will then wish to again accept the teachings.

Belinda has been progressing really well and has a great desire to come unto the Lord. She loves our Father in Heaven and she has told us that she knows that the church is true.  She has asked us when she can become a member of the church. She also prayed with us this week. It was great to hear her pray and to ask the Lord for peace and guidance in her life. Sadly she is moving to Indiana and will be gone by the first of the month. Elder Montgomery and I were able to help her move.  It was hard to see someone you have come to care so much about leave. We have already referred her to her new missionaries and she has already met with them and she still plans of investigating the church. We hope and pray that all goes well for her as she is moves to a new state and starts a new chapter in her life.

Jill is doing great as well! She love the church and hasn't missed a Sunday in a long time. She has said that she loves the spirit that is felt and that she knows that the church is true. She is very excited for her baptism is April. Sadly, it will be hard to move her date up because she won't be married until then.  She and her fiancé are both living together right now. It seems that this happens a lot out here. She was also really touched by the spirit at church and started to cry, telling us that she knows that this is the truth that she has been looking for all of her life. Cindy hasn't progressed too much but she still shows interest so we will continue to teach her and help her with coming unto Christ.

This Sunday the ward put on their primary program. That was truly amazing and the children all bore such sweet and powerful testimonies of our Heavenly Father's love. I was very touched by the program and loved it so much. The sprit was very strong and up lifting. After the great program we had the opportunity to teach the primary how they can all be missionaries. I loved being able to be back with the kids and to teach them. Their kindness and innocence reminded me of why I have chosen to be a teacher. It truly is amazing the lessons that we can learn from children.

My missionary tip of the week is to remember that we are all children of God. We are very loved and are dear to Him. We all have such great potential to become like Him. Learn to love your brothers and sisters and remember how important they are to God. Learn to love yourself as well and to see yourself as God sees you. We are truly all children, and are never alone, for we are loved and watched over by our Heavenly Father.

Love,

Elder Brown

Service and Progression (October 21, 2013)

Dear family and friends,

This week again has been very good and enjoyable! I have truly loved being able to teach, find and serve! There are so many opportunities to reach out and to help others and I am always so grateful for every chance that I get to do so. It really is true that as we serve others we find greater peace and joy in our lives and are able to truly be happy.

This week has posed many opportunities for Elder Montgomery and me to serve those around us. Early in the week we helped some nonmembers move (the same ones I talked about last week). We helped them get everything done and I really enjoyed providing that help for them. We have been told by the zone leaders that they are now investigating the church, and that they are finding it very interesting and enjoyable. We were then helped Roger and Belinda (our investigator) paint their house. I loved being able to paint again and I enjoyed my time helping them. Their home is now looking really good and we hope that they will be able to sell it. We then went and helped them with their other house. We emptied it all out and got it ready to sell as well. That home was one of the nastiest homes I have ever been in! There was mold on everything. We all had to wear masks and ended up throwing everything away. We hope that that home will sell, but we have our doubts due to all of the problems it has. It truly is crazy all the weird things that we end up seeing on our missions. This week we also helped Liz at her farm again. We were able to harvest beets and squashes! That really ended up getting me into the fall mood! I loved helping out and seeing all of the great things there. At the end of the week we were asked to help clean the church, because there was so much to do since they just finished remodeling it. That too was very great! The church looks really good and we enjoyed getting everything ready for Sunday and church the next day.

Belinda is doing great. She has come to love the church so much and has said that she has never been happier in her entire life. She has really loved attending church and appreciates all of the great love and support that she is able to feel and to have while there. This week she said that she wants to be baptized and we are now preparing her for that. She and Rodger are currently not married so we have to resolve that issue, before we can move forward to her baptism. She said she is ready to be a member and will do all that she has to to become one.

Jill is doing great as well. Our lesson with her was amazing! She loved what we taught and the spirit was really strong and touched her heart. We invited her to be baptized and she accepted, but she and Corey have to be married first. It seems that we will be seeing a lot of weddings soon. She really loves the church and has said that she has never felt more accepted. I am so happy that she has recognizes the spirit in her life, and has been able to follow and abide by it.

Ariel and Cindy are both doing great as well. They aren't progressing too much, but they are still showing interest. Some people take a while and we just need to learn to be patient and allow them to recognize the spirit in their lives. Sadly we had to drop Mike due to a loss of interest. His wife was rather mean to us and told us to never come back again. Some people just aren't ready to hear the message of the restored gospel.

During Sunday School this week I ended up getting pulled out by one of the members in the ward. One of the recent converts, Judy Anderson, was feeling very scared and overwhelmed and wanted me to give her a blessing. It was really cool to be able to use the priesthood to bless and comfort her. I was also very honored that she requested me of all the people in the building. I have truly come to love this ward, and I have begun to feel right at home while here.

My missionary tip of the week is to never give up. Some days can and will feel long and difficult. You may be mistreated, disrespected and unwanted but you must never give up. Push forward, remain faithful and remember that the Lord is always by your side. He loves you and He is helping you along your way. Have the faith to find, and remember that someone is out there ready and willing to hear our message. Belinda, Jill, Ariel, and Cindy were ready and I know that there are many more people waiting for us all to share with them the message of the restored gospel.

I love you all so very much and I thank you each for your love and support!

Love,

Elder Brown

Fall is in the Air (October 14, 2013)

Dear family and friends,

This week has been really good, busy, and enjoyable. We have had a lot of cold weather and the leaves are already starting to drop and to change. Fall is upon us all and Ohio is quickly getting ready for winter as well. We are told that it is supposed to be a very snowy (good thing I'm from Utah)! I do, however, enjoy the colder weather. No more miserably hot humidity!

Elder Montgomery and I are getting along really well. We have lots of fun while valiantly serving the Lord. I am very happy that we are such good friends, and that we are both able to work together. It always takes awhile to adjust to living with new people, but I think we are all happily settled in and are comfortable with one another.

This week we have been very busy with service opportunities. At the beginning of the week we were able to go help a non-member move. We ended up packing up everything for them and loading all of the trucks up as well. It was a little bit of a joke that they weren't prepared at all, but we were still more than happy to help. Their interest in the church was perked while we were helping them, and they are now investigating (they did, however, move out of our area so the other elders will be teaching them). After helping them move we were able to go and help a less active lady named Sister O'Shaughnessy split and stack all of her fire wood. While doing that we saw a mushroom that was bigger than my head! We could hardly believe how big it was! Later in the week we were able to go and work with Liz at her farm again. I love that so much! We always enjoy harvesting the fruit and vegetables.  It's great to provide her with help and service. She has started to ask many questions and we look forward to teaching her as well. Before the week ended we did one more service project. We went Belinda's house (one of our investigators) and put up new siding. That was something that I had never done before, but I found it to be quite enjoyable!

This week we have seen the miracle of finding three new investigators! We met Mike who is about 60 years old, Ariel who is 15 years old, and Cindy who is 62 years old. They are all very amazing and I love being able to help them all. We also have our two other investigators named Belinda and Jill.

Mike was found while tracting. We were about to go home when we felt prompted to stop at his home. We caught him right when he got home, and he let us in. We ended up being able to teach him the restoration and we will be meeting with him again on Thursday. He is a great man, and truly has been prepared for the gospel. He loved what we had to say, but more importantly he felt the spirit and recognized how amazing and true our message is.

Ariel was also found while tracting. She was outside playing catch with her little brother when we walked by. We ended up talking to her for awhile and asked her if she had any interest in religion. She said she did, but didn't really know which church to join. We were then able to teach her the restoration and talk to her about Joseph Smith's experience and how he felt the same way. She really loved what was taught and was very excited, and asked us when we could come back. We both are looking forward to being able to help her on her journey to find Christ and His restored gospel.

Cindy was referred to us by our ward mission leader, Brother Kebker. I believe that I talked about her last week and how her priesthood blessing was able to heal her from cancer! That truly was a miracle. She then invited us back because she wanted to know how that power worked and where it came from. We went back and talked about the priesthood, faith, and the restoration of the gospel. She loved all that we had to say and teach. She accepted the invitation to come to church, but wont be able to come until next week due to complications.

Belinda is doing really well and is continuing to progress, slowly. She has a learning disorder so that makes it a little harder to teach her, but working with my elementary students has really taught me patience and I am applying the same principle to her. She has been having some major health problems lately so we gave her a blessing last week and are hoping that all gets better for her.

Jill is really progressing! Her fiancé is a less-active member who referred her to us. She has learned almost all of the lessons and she watched general conference last week! This week we were able to give her a church tour, which ended up going really well! She went to church with her fiancé Corey. They both loved it so much, and we were really happy to see both of them there. She really wants to be baptized and to become a member. She has said that this church just feels good and right, and that she wants to be able to live with her family forever. We are very excited for her!

We have a member in our ward that lives in a rest/recovery home and we go and visit him regularly. We enjoy going there and teaching him, pushing him around in his wheel chair, and reading the scriptures to him. The workers there were very impressed with what we were doing and started talking to us. We were able to volunteer to help there, and starting tomorrow we will be helping there every Tuesday and Thursday from ten to noon. We have already been able to find so many people from service, and we look forward to finding more while doing this service. I am also really excited that I can help the elderly, read the scriptures to them, and give them my help, love and support.

Church this week was great!  Fast and testimony meeting was fantastic! The Perrysburg Ward has a downs-syndrome boy who is one of the nicest kids you will ever meet. During our meeting he went up and bore his testimony, and it was one of the most powerful I have ever heard. I was very touched by his amazing testimony, despite all of his mental and physical challenges. I realized that despite our mental disabilities the spirit is able to teach and to testify to everyone. I loved hearing his testimony and it really touched and strengthened mine as well.

This weeks missionary tip is to remember that the Lord loves us all. Despite all of our differences, challenges and concerns we are all equally loved and cared for. Remember that with the Lord you are never alone. He is near, by your side, and is watching over you. Do not doubt, do not fear, for the Lord our God is always there. I know this to be true, and I have felt His loving influence in my life.

I love you all, and wish each of you a fantastic week!

Elder Brown

Conference and Changes (October 7, 2013)

Dear Family and Friends,

This week truly has been such a great and busy one! So much has been going on and we have all been running our heads off trying to accomplish everything in time. There is always lots to do around transfer time, and even more to do with general conference happening along with it!

On Tuesday I helped Elder Steele pack up all of his things and get ready to leave the apartment. It is always hard to have to say goodbye, but it is part of being a missionary, and a part of life. We were all able to go golfing together one last time, which was great. We had a great time out on the course, and I am actually starting to become a decent golfer. That night we had an appointment with Jill, our investigator. That was good and the spirit was again felt very strongly. We then all had a pie together before going to bed. We got the pie free from the local bakery (Sister Mudgett, a member, gives us a 200 dollar tab to it each month) and sadly it tasted awful. Elder Schmidt said that it was the worst pie that he has ever tasted! So we were able to have a good laugh about our horrible pie.

Wednesday was the big day of change. Elder Steele and Elder Peterson loaded up and left early in the morning to go to transfer meeting. Because they were gone Elder Schmidt and I were able to work together during the day, until our new companions arrived. We had a great time riding our bikes in the ghetto of Toledo and being able to work around there. It is always fun to be able to be in another elders area and to meet more people, and to see more of the surrounding city. That night our new companion finally arrived. My companions name in Elder Nathan Montgomery from West Jordan. He is a really cool guy, and we already get along really well. He is near the end of his mission, and this is his last area, so he is super motivated to work, which I love! I know that we are going to have a great transfer(s) together!

The next couple of days Elder Montgomery and I worked on finding more people, and then helping him to get to know the area. While tracting we ran into a really nice man, who was really interested in that fact that we leave our families for two years to serve. He had heard that we aren't allowed to call our families, and he was amazed by our diligence and our sacrifice (from the missionaries and their family). He was so impressed that he asked if he could call our families. We told him yes and gave him our parents numbers. What a great man!  Even though he wasn't interested, and even though he was just a stranger, he was still willing to help and show charity. It really does show that there are many good people around us, and they are all willing to help and to serve. So let them help and serve you! Side note from the Brown Family: Karen received a phone call from this nice man.  He said that Jory looks great and is doing a good job.  How cool!

Saturday was such a fantastic day! In the morning we were able to study before heading down to the church to watch general conference. All of the other elders in the ward (Elders Langlois, Mo'unga, Cross, and Boothe) were all there as well and we enjoyed watching it all together. After the first session we were able to all go out to eat together to an amazing burger shop called Perrysburger (Dad would love this place, and I plan on taking him to it when my parents get a tour of my mission). After such a great lunch, and laughter we headed back to the church to watch the second session. That session too was amazing! We were again treated with great food after that session. Brother Perry came over and fed all us ribs, rolls, corn, beans, and jello. That was a great meal and we really appreciated his time and his charity. After a great dinner we were able to watch the priesthood session, which is always really good as well.

On Sunday we were again able to watch conference. Elder Montgomery and I watched the first session at the Richmond's house. They fed us a great breakfast of casserole, muffins, and biscuits. We really enjoyed their hospitality and their willingness to feed us, and to watch conference in their home. We then watched the second session at the church. That too was enjoyable and great. My favorite talk was Elder Holland's. It truly uplifted and touched me. I was so thankful for his words, and the encouragement that he gave. I also love President Monson's testimony, and all of their testimonies for that matter. They were all so powerful and really testified to me that this church is true. The spirit was also very strong when they prayed for the missionaries. I felt of that power and was truly touched by the Lord's love for me, and for all of His children. I am so happy to be able to be a part of his 80,333 missionary force! We truly are bringing the gospel to all of the world!

My missionary tip of the week is allow yourself to be served, and be willing to serve others as well. As we strive to serve and help others our lives will truly be filled with joy, and we will be touched and uplifted with the spirit. While serving we are able to draw closer to Lord, and to those that we are helping around us. As we let others serve us, we allow them those same blessings and opportunities. We give them the chance to help the Lord and to come nearer to Him. So Serve, love, and be willing to help all of your brothers and sisters.

I love you all and hope that you all continue to press forward in faith! This gospel is true and I love it so very much.

Elder Brown

 Saying goodbye!

Elder Brown and his new companion, Elder Montgomery!

Moving Ahead (October 1, 2013)

Hello Everyone!

First off this week is transfer week, and things will be all changing up tomorrow so I thought I would let you know all that is going on. I have been told that I will not be leaving, but that I will receiving a new companion here in the Perrysburg ward. Elder Steele is being transferred, and I am really going to miss him. I can hardly believe that our time together is finally up. I have learned so much from him, and we have really enjoyed and have had a good time with one another. Just as the song, For Good, from Wicked says: "I've heard it said that people come into our lives, for a reason, bringing something we must learn and we are lead to those who help us most to grow if we let them and if we help them in return." I truly have learned so much from Elder Steele and everyone else that I have met here on my mission, and I look forward to be able to learn so much more from all of those that I continue to run into and meet.

Sadly this week all of our investigators cancelled on us, so we weren't able to see or to meet with any of them. That can always be disappointing, but we just have to continue to look up, remain diligent, and to work hard.  We were, however, able to have a dinner at a members house every night this week. We really enjoyed being able to be with the members and to be able to help and laugh with them. They are all truly amazing and I thank them all so much for what they do for each of us. The Arens family is one in particular that is rather enjoyable. Brother Arens always manages to get us to laugh and really lifts our spirits. He is a rather odd, but also great person! We also were able to spend time with the Kebker family. Brother Kebker is our ward mission leader and he is always out helping us, and stopping by making sure that we are okay. We always feel at home at their house, and they ask us to just come in whenever we need food or water. They truly are great and we truly do love all of them so much!

Because all of our appointments fell through Elder Steele and I ended up having to do lots of tracting! That is always interesting for us. We ended up running into tons of Catholics, some Jews, a Buddhist, and even a super anti-Mormon. Luckily we scared the anti so much that he just ran back into his house because he didn't want to be cursed. It is very interesting the things that people think of us... We were also tracting one road and ended up running into some Jehovah Witnesses who were tracting the other end of the same street. Needless to say that was a little awkward. Sadly we didn't find anyone during our efforts, but we know that they are out there somewhere, we just have to continue to have faith and to look for them.

We were able to have a really cool service opportunity this week. There is an old Catholic church in our area that needs lots of repairs and such. Brother Kebker is close friends with one of the members of the church and he was told that they were wanting and needing to fix it up, but they weren't able to really afford the labor for people to do it. So he called all of us missionaries and asked if we would be willing to help them out, and of course we said yes. So all of us missionaries went to the Catholic church and helped lay tile in their gym area. It was really cool to be able to be there and help them. They were really touched that we would be willing to help another church, and that we took our time to serve them. I loved being able to help and to also be able to lay the tile. We had a great time serving them and being able to help them with their needs, and in worshiping. Once we finished they offered all of us coffee as a thank you. We had to reject it, and we were able to explain some of those standards and beliefs to them as well. Overall it was a great experience and I loved every moment of it.

My missionary tip of the week is allow yourself to learn. We truly can and will learn so much from everyone we meet and come in contact with. We need to allow ourselves to be taught by all of them and to be able to open our hearts and our minds to all that they have to say and do for us. As we do we will come to learn so much more, come to love all we come in contact with, and will come to really enjoy getting to know people, and to meet many more along our journey in life.

I love you all, and I hope that all is going well. Prepare for general conference this weekend, and prepare yourself for the wonderful and amazing blessing of hearing from the Lord's Prophet. Open your minds and your hearts and go listening with faith and with a desire to learn and to grow.

 Elder Brown and Elder Steele

"People come into our lives for a reason"

Learn to Laugh (September 23, 2013)

Hello everyone!

First off, Happy birthday to my amazing and wonderful mother! I love you Mom and I hope that you are having a fantastic birthday!

This week has been a rather interesting one, and a lot is starting to change in Ohio. Fall is upon us here and the leaves are starting to change. We are getting many colors around us from dark reds to bright and brilliant yellows. I am loving it! The temperatures are also starting to drop, as well as the humidity! That is also making me a very happy camper. My favorite time of the year is finally here, and I am enjoying every minute of it that I possibly can.

Sadly, the weather has not been Elder Steele's best friend because he became very sick this week. We ended up having to stay inside for four days of the week so he could rest and start feeling better. It was not the best and most enjoyable thing, but we do what we have to do. After about his second day of being sick I managed to catch it as well so we spent the last two days sick together. That was not the best, but after much sleep and recovery we are all feeling much better, and are now doing very well. While we were sick I was able to listen to Christmas music, which always lifts my spirits. So that made things feel a little better.

Earlier this week I found a little friend in our cupboard under the sink. He is a little black mouse and Elder Steele has named him Montrose. Yes, we have mice! Lucky us. We went out and got traps to get rid of Montrose and we set them up all around the kitchen, but our little mouse friend will not be fooled. He managed to eat off of the traps many times without setting them off. He is one talented mouse, I will give him that. We spent a lot of time trying to catch Montrose. Finally one night we heard a slap sound and then the sound of a mouse squeaking. We all ran over to the kitchen and sure enough, our trap had gone off! Upon grabbing the trap we heard another one go off, and found a mouse on it as well. Turns out Montrose has friends, and we managed to kill them both.  However,  neither of these mice were him. We haven't caught Montrose yet, but we are determined to get that little black mouse!

This week we were able to have an amazing lesson with one of our investigators named Jill. We taught her the plan of salvation, and she loved it! She said, "This just makes sense, this is how God would have it". It was so cool to be able to see the spirit teach and confirm these things in her mind and to be able to tell her in her heart that our words are true! It is amazing how strong and powerful the spirit is and how it truly blesses all of our lives, and helps us come nearer to our Father in Heaven. Jill and her fiancé, Cory, also invited us over for dinner with them. We were able to have a great time eating with them, and to be able to get to know and to help them even more. Jill is really progressing and she is getting excited about reading the Book of Mormon and everything that we are teaching her.

This week we were all able to go to a famous diner called Tony Packo's. They have amazing chili and hotdogs, and some other really good stuff. They also have signed hotdog buns all over the walls by famous people that have been there. They even had Mitt Romney's signature up there! We had a good time there and enjoyed that little break and to be able to enjoy some of the cool and good things that come from the city of Toledo. I think Dad would love eating at that place. The whole time I just thought of him and how much he would love it there.

This week Elder Steele and I were also able to help our investigator, Belinda, with moving some boxes and selling her old house. She is doing well and is progressing as well. We had a great time providing service and being able to help all of those around us. I will continue to keep all of you posted on how our investigators are doing as more continues to happen.

My missionary tip of the week is to find ways to laugh. Many things happen to missionaries, and normal people as well, that can be frustrating, upsetting and just annoying. Instead of being annoyed and bothered by them, laugh at them instead. You will find joy in it and you will come to be much happier. We could have chosen to be mad about our mice problem, instead we laughed, named the mouse, and turned it into a game. So learn to laugh, to smile, and to enjoy every moment that comes your way. I encourage you all to watch the Mormon message called "Come what may, and love it." It is a great message and teaches of the same things that I am now, that we should love and enjoy every moment of our life, and learn to find happiness and laughter in it.

I love you all and wish you all the very best! Till next week,

Elder Brown

The Elders and their mouse friend.  (Still no sign of Monstrose).