Weddings, Baptisms, and Alottttt of walking.

Mah family. whats uppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp.

so yeah this week was solid. to be honest i only kinda remember monday, tuesday,friday saturday and sunday. and only certain parts of them. this week FLEW.

sooooooo monday we ate canelones with the branch president of the zone leaders. its basically a crepe filled with meat and covered in sauce and cheese. it was like an italian frenchman tried making enchiladas. not bad. then we went over to the church building to play volleyball. my team won the first game but after that  we got wrecked twice in a row. i even made shout outs to my favorite harry potter martyrs when i served. scored up until i went for mad eye moody. we ll ended with red wrists and veryy sore the next day. oh yeah i think i mentioned this before, but that branch president was baptized by Nate Bohn`s dad. 

tuesday was a district meeting as usual. with this new system its basically programmed out for us what to teach. and we use the same lesson for two weeks in a row. sooo i just kinda guide them through a study and them had the sisters run the practice session. but after that it was back to work. we walked a ton this week and knocked a tonnnnnnnn of doors. got yelled at by an old man in spanish and quechua saying that we were liars. he wasnt too thrilled when we told him we hold the authority to perform a REAL baptism. 

speaking of which, we had a lesson with a newer family where we taught the restoration. the mom was a "born a catholic, die a catholic" type of person. and, even after showing her verse after verse from the bible to back up what we were saying, we had to leave it at "so you`re saying if god tells you this church is true, you still arent willing to do what HE says?" "nope. i have my church, i have my opinion, i know mines true". then she left. haha sometimes peoples reason for belief and devotion to religion and tradition amaze me. but hey, we believe that everyone has the privilege of worshiping god however they want. even if they`re kind of nuts. 

we did find another cool family though. we walked in, the dad was kind of serious and they were all pretty quiet. after we gave an elder brown family home evening, they were all dying laughing and we gained their trust reallll quick. the only problem is that weve gone back to teach and the dad hasnt been there. we`ll get em this week. 

on thursdays we usually do our weekly planning. but. satan decided to send construction workers to hammer and drill right by our room. so after barely making ti through comp study i said nope. we`re out. lets go find people to teach. didnt end up finding anyone. but it was nice to get away from the noise for a little.

so friday morning we planned. we devoted the majority of our time planning for converts and how to find new people. knocking doors just aint cuttin it for me anymore. not sure who reads this thing but any returned missionaries, if you have any ideas on how to find new people, SEND THEM IN. ive considered asking president to buy me a ukulele in lima and using it to get into houses. we`ll see if i can work that out.

friday night the branch went all out for the wedding. the relief society had been there in the morning setting up ballons and flowers and food. we got there to make sure everything was good to go, and i spent the rest of the time playing the piano. (the terrible migraines aside, why did you let me quit???) i plugged in my usb and played along with Come thou Fount by freddy ashby and clyde bawden. i got the intro down. sounds sick. anyways, when everyone was ready to go, i was in charge of timing when to press play on the wedding march song thing. and then i went on to filmman. imma run receptions and all that. getting good practice here. 

the next night was the baptism. i got to baptize them both. last week, silverio was hard because he`s tall. this time rosario.. well shes what you might call plump. but it all turned out good. after they gave their testimonies and both testified about the cleansing power of the ordinance they just did. she said a weight had been lfted she didnt know was there. and he said that when he was leaving the water he felt something hit him and change him. ordinances performed under correct priesthood authority and sealed by the spirit of promise. Doctrine and Covenants 132:7 coming to life.

the next day in sacrament meeting, silverio, who got baptized and ordained a priest  last week blessed the sacrament. and Emiliano passed it. aweseom day in church.

welp. its on to another week of walking, talking, using my agility and bear-like instincts to not get eaten by gas station guard dogs (that one happened this week), and just trying to be who God needs me to be.  love this gospel, i love this work, and i know its true.

paz y bendiciones.

elder brown

in the wedding picture of us with the couple, dias was closing his eyes at the time, he wasnt drinking. just throwin that out there. and heres some pics of my breakfast and dinner. microwave style.

SILVER(io) AND GOLD -The prospector

hola amada familia,

so this week has been nuuuuuuuuuuuuts. rollercoasterin it since last monday.

so last week on monday i was with elder llaguento as i had mentioned last week, until our comps got back from immigrations. after internet, we went to the church building and made pancakes. like real ones.sister archibald had given a box of betty crocker mix to sister Jones in our district so we feasted. i had her make me a Mickey mouse pancake for old time`s sake. they were amazed when i said my mom used to make pancakes shaped like everything from rocketships to ninja turtles. not everyone`s mom is as cool as mine i guess.

during the week it was business as usual. loooooooooooots of walking. loooooooots of knocking doors. and looooooots of just doin work. on friday i went to the zone leaders area and worked a day with elder larsen. dude works like an animal. it was a good day. dont know why but working with an american is soooooooooo much different. it was a nice break to speak english all day and work wih someone else who is here to WORK. that night we went to a house. dude had a harp. i tuned it up and tried playing it. then the guy tuned it up even better and started playing some weird peruvian tribal thing. it was cool though.

on saturday we had silverio`s baptism. that guy is a boss. his baptism started at 6. we went by at 4:45 to remind him to bring extra clothes and sandals and stuff, and when we knocked the door, he came out, his bag in hand and just said so are we going to go now? oh. uhhh yeah lets go! so we walked with him down to the church, left him with the members while we picked up my clothes, and came back. it was weird baptizing someone so tall. these faunts are designed for "little people big world" type of people. so it was  a struggle but on the second time we got him all the way under. exito!

during the baptismal service i looked over and saw Dimas and rosario walk by in the hallway.after the baptism of silverio, we walked outside to find that dimas and rosario had been talking to the hermano in our ward who is helping out with the marriage. dimas later came up tome to tell me that because of their situation (time, money, family, etc.) they would be putting off their wedding until after elections for somewhere around the 20 of next month. we warned him of the consequences of that decision and told him how satan works alot harder than we do and he doesnt ever rest. we left him by telling them to pray about it to see if they should go through with it this week. we walked out of the church and as i started to walk down the street, verrry ticked, i stopped. i thought about it, and felt the spirit telling me to go back and talk to them. i cant lose them right now, not after all we`ve been through and all the time we`ve waited. so, without saying a word to my companion, i turned around and headed back to the church. we walked in the gates to see them leaving the building and we asked if we could talk right now. we walked back inside with hem, found a room, and sat down inside. after starting with a prayer, we discussed their situation. they had just finished paying off some debts and had thought that with everything (rings, dress, food, family, etc.) a wedding just wouldnt be possible right now. we then read alma 34:32-34 (THANK YOU SCRIPTURE MASTERY) and explained the importance of repenting NOW and that they couldnt afford to wait any longer. we then had them kneel down and pray and see if god still wanted them to get married and baptized this week. they prayed. strong answer came. we then explained how when we set that date for their wedding and baptism. it was between us, them, and God. we have done our part, theyve done theirs, now it was time to put their trust in god. we then read 3 nephi 13:31-34 and explained the importance of just getting it done. dont worry about rings, dresses, family. just do it, and god will take care of everythingggggggg. they decided to go through with it. this week they are going to get married and baptized. afterwards i thought about how crucial that moment was when i was out standing on the sidewalk thinking about whether or not to go back. what would have happened if i kept walking? i know god is working WITH us. they are getting baptized now, and next weekend, they can go get baptized for their dead family members. along with silverio and his four dead brothers. and the other converts who are preparing to go. this work we are doing is HUGE. i used to just think of these people and their posterity, but i understand now that this work is for all of their ancestors as well and we are the instruments in god`s hands to bring that to pass. 

that was copied from my letter to president because i didnt want to have to type it twice. but yeah it was a crazy powerful moment with them and this week they will be married and baptized and its good stuff. satan is pretty mad with us and is throwing all sorts of stuff at me right now but i mean its cool.

when we were talking to silverio about temples this past wee, he told us how he has four brothers that have passed away. i then thought about how we met silverio and realized how much work we are doing for the dead and how much work they are doing for us. they started teaching dimas and rosario before i got here. when i got here we started to hold volleyball nights. they came. rosario invited carmen. she ended up getting baptized with her daughters. which led us to silverio. who is now baptized. both silverio and carmen lived in the sierra a longggg time ago. they separated. he lived in lima for a long time and she lived here and got remarried. then less than a year ago he moved here with his daughter (im guessing so they could be near their mom). a few months passed, we met them, then met him, now they and many of their dead family members are and will be baptized. pretty cool how everything works out.

so its on to another week of work and survival. pray for me. 

love elder brown.

hope you enjoy this one! a little revised version of "praise to the man" the words dont flow if you try singing it so just read it like a poem. word.

Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah,

Chosen by God to lead Israel this day.

Prophets foretold of this last dispensation,

Truth`s been restored, He has lighted the way.

Into the Grove on that early spring morning,

He went seeking answers from Father above.

A pillar of light was the end of all darkness,

Unto him appeared both the Father and Son.

Upon his head were the keys of the Priesthood

Restored by the hands of those chosen of old.

Mysteries revealed and treasures uncovered;

Never again shall these blessings withhold.

Born as a farm boy and killed as a martyr,

Armies and devils against him combine.

Houses may burn and men can be slain,

But no man can put an end to God`s designs.

Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven,

Now crowned with glory eternal by God.

A friend, a father, a prophet, a martyr;

Dear Brother Joseph never shall be forgot.

wake me up when September ends..

HOLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

september already?? time is starting to scare me. my budies are already heading home and pretty soon me and corbin are going to close it off for the mancave. 

so this week... where to start.

last week we moved us in to our new house and well its absolutely tiny. hha but the good news is that theres not stuff growing on the cieling and theres no noise. ill attatch some pics of our new humble abode.

last week on monday we ate as a zone and then went to the beach. me and elder hackleman observed sand. its crazy stuff. we got down on our knees, cupped a big pile of sand, and watched it "hourglass" out of our hands. it looked gnarley. then we were all talking about how god knows exactly how many grains of sand there are on that beach, and how he has created worlds and other creations that outnumber those grains of sand, and how he has it all present before his eyes. being a god is going to be awesome. we then all played soccer. my foot hurt a little and i figured it was from running on sand and rocks and stuff. then i looked up it and realized i had taken a nice slice into my foot. we got it cleaned up, took the sand out, and im good to go! it looked really cool though.

so we walked. alot. all week. looking for people to teach. we found quite a few, but when we went to actually teach them they said they were either busy or just werent there. eh, nothin i havent seen before.

this week we have an old dude getting bptized. his name is Silverio. he is the ex husband of Carmen, the lady that got baptized last week. they both go to church, attend the same classes and everything. kinda weird to me but i mean they`re over it haha. but this guy is awesome and he is soo stoked to get baptized. then next week there will be another marriage in barranca. Dimas and Rosario are going t get married next friday and then baptized on saturday. they have gone to church just about every day for the last five months and have  been waiting for a longgg time for this. KEEP THEM IN YOUR PRAYERS. satan`s not to stoked about what we are doing here and he reallly likes to shake things up. 

last week we were in a  lesson with Carmen, mayra, and amavilia. at the end of the lesson, mayra told us that ever since her confirmation, she had feelings of regret about the decision she had made. we helped her recognize that she hadnt been puting in her part to gain her testimony. real prayer. real studying. we testimony bombed her and left her with the assignment to read, "feast upon the words of christ" and shed have her answer. we passed by the next day and she said "oh, and i did what yu told m. i know that this is the only true church now! thanks!" SUCCESS. god hears AND answers prayers, we just need to know how to receive that answer. word.

ohh and the other day we were reviewing the word of wisdom with the tenorio family and emiliano said that at work they were offering free bottles of wine and he refused to take it. then his buddy told him to get it and give it to him and he told him he was not going to do that either. BOOM. converts goin strong.

so as for everything else, im going to be honest. its been an absolute blur. it was a looooooooooong week of fallen appointments, door knocking, and just trying to to keep on keepin on haha. but because of that, it was a good week. every once in a while the words "patience and humility" passed through my mind. god knows im here.  he knows the effort im giving, he knows it all. and he knows what i need to go through to become the person he needs me to be for the rest of my life. i was talking to elder hackleman last night about the mission and life and well the physical aspect of the mission is the easiest. the one `people usually worry about the most. but, waking up early and walking around all day really arent hard. the real test is the mental and spiritual game. thats where god takes boys and turns them into men. and i am defnitely on that track. 

the other day i was reading the book of mormon and found a verse i really liked. alma 34:38. living in thanksgiving. when i think of that, the first thing that comes to mind is american deliciousness. but aside from that, its all about living wih gratitude. even when things arent the best, we can be happy and, as mark always tells me, keep on keepin on.

love you

elder brown

oh and heres a picture of me and elder llaguento. he was my zone leader back in el olivar. our comps had to o to lima yesterday to go to immigrations so we are together today

The Adventure of Elder Brown. a new house and a new comp. 1st edition

wuddupppppppppppppppppppppp familybrothas. 

so last week on monday it was a day of saying goodbye. my comp and hermana leyva have left the district. she is home now and elder castillo is in the zone i was born in, puente piedra,and hes in sister Brown`s district (she will be delivering my hammock to you in october). we had a huge FHE in the chapel that night. some lady like fainted in her chair and everyone was trying to help her out while the guy directing just quietly kept speaking and tried to get everyone to move on to the "games" portion of the night. i stood there kinda looking around not knowing what was going on and well i felt awkward haha. but it all turned out ok.

on tuesday. CHANGES. my new comp is elder rodriquez. he is from bolivia. he is from a group of missionaries that got moved here to our mission from venezuela because things got crazy over there and they had to get them out. he will be finishing the mission in my group in march. hes a cool guy, we are just trying to get used to each other i guess.

on thursday we had a training meeting with president archibald. he came here with the zone and district leaders from here, huaral, huacho, and huaraz. i got to see Elder Beckstead, the one who just got here last week form my school. it was soooooooooooo good to see him! dont know how but mom if you can contact his mom somehow, im sure she`ll be happy to know hes got buddies in the mission. i also met the friend of one of my friends from pleasant grove utah. and i met a kid from cedar city that says he knows tysons family, elder lunt.

that day i got to go up and give a demonstration for a baptismal interview. they gave me a rough situation to figure out but i think it turned out pretty well. it helps when you have been a district leader more than half your mission. bishop prep. 

saturday was a solid day! Carmen, Amavilia and Mayra got baptized. i got to baptize the three of them and my legs kinda lost all feeling by the end of it. we had the heater going but it didnt really work. though they left shivering, it all went well. and they got confirmed the next day. baptism: COMPLETE.

so this morning we moved! we are now just down the street a little closer to the church. its way smaller inside but we dont have to hear "HUACHO HUACHO HUARME HUAYTO!!!!" all. morning. and it doesnt have stuff growing on the walls. happy new home.

so yeah i wish i remembered more from this last week. its been a huge blur. but here are my fotos of the baptism and elder beckstead.

thanks, love you,

elder brown

oh and heres a picture of the sisters bathroom door handle. they locked it shut and it wouldnt open up, so while they were in lima, we went in to open it. elder dorado kicked the door handle in. 

                                                 Elder Beckstead who was in Kendall's seminary class just go to Peru!

another week in barranca. word

bueno, ha sido una bueeeeeena semana!

last week on monday we went to the church building. the elders played soccer outside. i played a little then just kinda supervised so i wouldnt mess up my back. the sisters made lasagna and it was dangg good. i drank dr pepper. AND this past week i ate a twix. soooo good. if you send me some reese`s fastbreaks i wouldnt be upset. if the get melted? perfect. i have a fridge. 

on tuesday we had a guineau pig type district meeting. we didnt eat them. i mean it was a trial lesson. in the mission we have a new way to run the district meetings. every missionary receives a 12 week training book when he enters the field (did that come out right? i struuggled to translate that one in my mind. my english is pretty good for the most part...). the new objective is to get back to the basics and use that booklet in our meetings. there are six lessons (not teaching lessons, like training lessons for us) and we divide each lesson into two weeks. we teach, practice, evaluate, repractice, then have the whole week to apply what we learned. then the next week is a follow up lesson with more training applied. then we follow the same process and move on to the next lesson. i didnt gauge the lesson right and it went way over time, but it was still cool. 

on wednesday i had a work exchange with elder dorado, my zone leader from uruguay. dudes a goof ball. usually on the sreet i walk side by side with my companion. he made sure to stay a good 7 feet behind or in front of me at all times and just kinda chilled in his own world all day. eh, ok. we spent a good part of the day looking for a new room. we found one. this coming week we are moving in.dont worry mark, ill be sure to get you the address so you can google map it. im pretty sure its jr castilla 928. its on the corner close to the gas station. 

that night we had movie night in the church and watched mountain of the lord and taught about temples to our converts. 

thursday, weekly planning and walkingggg. 

friday was siccckkk. we had another meeting with president archibald. our zone met our goal last month so he came and taught us and weall ate pizzas together. we learned about the plan of salvation starting from death tto the kingdoms of glory. i learned ALOT. we learned about the laws that we are to live by in each kingdom, how to get there, etc. he started out by doing a basic drawing of the plan of salvation with the little circles and lines representing premortal life, birth, mortal life. he then said hmmm... elder brown. come on up and draw the rest of this for me and explain why. im someone who wants to know what happens after this life. i got up there, trying to anticipate his curve ball. i did the big circle with the line through it for "spirit world" next to the earth. then he asked ahh so we go to a different world after? i thought about it. erased it, and drew a bigger circle around the earth. to continue he asked if there was anyone i thought knew more then i did. i called on my buddy elder hackleman to see how president could mess with him. we then discussed the spirit world, the gap between paradise and prison, and went into depth about the kingdoms of glory. he made special emphasis on the fact that these are kingdoms of GLORY. all too often we make mistakes like making people think that that the spirit world is on some distant planet, or that theres one kingdom of glory and two places that are just kinda "eh". the plan of salvation is awesome. we studied DandC 131. 132. 76, amd 137. woof. cool stuff. 

on saturday we had a cool experience. here we have had heard stories of other missionaries praying for specific random things to find families and end up finding them. so, we did it. in the morning we prayed to find a family of 8 and to find them that there could be two kids outside playing soccer, and that when we walked up to that house, the dad would be home to talk to him. after a longgg morning of looking for a referral we had received, we turned the corner. a few kids were playing soccer. a daughter came out. we asked if her dad was home. yes. he came out. he has 7 kids and 12 live in the house. BOOM. the appointment didnt end up working out with them but we`ll try to pass by this week. 

sunday was awesooooooooooooooooome. that morning we went witha guy in our ward that has a car to pick up a family. a single mother with her four young kids.they had an awesome first experience. we went over after church and the kids ran out excited with their book of mormon in hand with their names marked on them and said they had been reading. 

carmen, amabilia, and mayra are in the water this saturday. they are awesome. silverio is doing great as well and we are hoping to have him baptized before his scheduled date. dimas and rosario`s papers are ready this week so they will be maried and baptized before next saturday. the work is EXPLODING. when the lord said he would hasten his work. he meant it.this is HIS work. i am so blessed to be here in this area and in this branch when things are blowing up here. its interesting to learn more each day how much he really is working WITH us. we are just little servants who are being sent around by our master. he is literally out here working alongside us. 

the dad from the tenorio family is one of the counselors in the young mens presidency. its awesome to see him sitting in there with us in branch council so he can see firsthand what we were doing not long ago to make sure he and his family could have a good experience and stay strong after baptism. i love that family so much. 

thanks for he love and prayers. they are working. the work of salvation is flying past me and im trying to keep up. the lord, now more than ever, is helping me see my weaknesses, and i am learning each day my desperate need of his help to keep me going each day. i was thinking about that the other day and made a nice little connection between ether 12:27, 2 corinthians 12:9 and the account of peter when he walked on the water, compared to who he later became, and alma 26. look it up and have fun!

oh. and my companion is getting changed. yeahhh elder brown in barranca another six weeks. 

love you alll,

elder brown

heres a cool talk i found on lds.org.

him.https://www.lds.org/liahona/2014/07/young-adults/becoming-perfect-in-christ?cid=HPMO081814354&lang=eng

here comes the... here comes the..

BOOM.

now that i got your attention, hows it goin. 

this week was nuts and full of miracles. lets break it down. 

so on monday we went to eat at a place called Norky`s. here rotissery (spell check?) chicken is a huge thing here. i mean i was satisfied with going to bashas and eating it at home. but we got full on restaurants here for it. so we ate there. we then went to the giant christ statue on the beach. the dude that took us there charged us over double and refused anything else and acted like an absolute child. it was a good thing to see how ive grown in controlling my temper. the old kendall wouldve blown up on him and said stuff in english that only elder larsen wouldve understood and it wouldnt have been nice. but. after he stole from us, i paid the dude, walked away, and did yoga poses and took deep breaths on the wall haha. we then went down to the beach where i had a verrryyy deep Lord of the Rings discussion with a kid named elder Lewis. he was in Savanah rush`s district in the mtc and we basically became best friends as we let out our inner nerd. 

tuesday, normal work day. we had to get chairs and tables set up in the chapel for..... MULTIZONE CONFERENCE.

it was nuuuuuuuuuts. the zone from Huacho came up here with us. i got to see my old companion elder rivera again. and elder schagel. me and my companion, along with the sister training leaders, had to go up and do a practice, teaching the assistants an assigned commandment. we taught tithing. i dont think i would have been so nervous if president archibald wasnt sitting right behind me. but it turned out well. i think my ears were glowing red though. after reviewing the commandments and the importance of declaring repentance as missionaries, we ate more chicken from norkys... then president brought us in for one of the gnarliest doctrinal lessons ive EVER heard in my life. i cant give details because i cant explain enough to not have confusion and questions arise, and i just cant do it the way president does it. lets just say my mind was sufficiently blown as we talked about the godhead. i learned things i never comprehended before. even though alot of the stuff he said was huge and new, the cool thing was it ALL made sense. the gospel makes sense. all of it. tall truth works together. there are no conflicts. 

in the huacho zone theres another elder brown. he is from queen creek and hes in his first change in the field. i was surprised when he told me that he graduated in 2014. didnt know that was an option haha it made me feel kind a old. 

oh. and i think the biggest news of all. I GOT A HAMMOCK THIS WEEK. 

so Amalia`s son, john, was supposed to get baptzed on saturday. but. he decided that he is moving away to go work in the mountains. he`ll be back in about a month. peace out john. 

BUT carmen, amabilia, and mayra are set for the 30. we went to see them on saturday. mayra was strssed to have us over because she was studying for her huge test the next day to get in to her university. we told her to not worry. if she listened to us and then read and prayed before studying and taking her exam, it would all be fine. we went back the next day and she informed us that she not only got in to the university, but she got the highest rank out of everyone on the test. he later told us that when she prayed she told god that if she got in, she would get baptized. she beat out EVERYONE on the test, and she`s that much closer to making it back home now. BOOM. we are also teaching carmens ex husband. marriages are weird down here. they are separated and are still just normal friends who come and go to visit their kids and everyone just gets along. kinda reminds me of Reba. anyways, he went to church when he was living in lima a while ago and he wants to be baptized. he lives with his oldest daughter snf grandson in another part of our area. they arent feelin it too much but we`ll keep working with them to get baptized with sillverio in september.

oh, and here is a part of the letter i sent to president this week because i didnt want to type it again. 

"another miracle occurred yesterday. so when i first got here back in april, we had a  couple, dimas and rosario. the first lesson i was here for was a review of the book of mormon. they both didnt believe there could be anything but the bible. we taught straightened that all out, bore testimony, then invited them to pray about it again. they came to the chapel that night where President Archibald came for a conference with the District. they heard his message and testimony about the book of mormon and left in tears. we left them a longgg time ago, but theyve gone to church almost every week since, waiting for a way to get their papers from their hometowns to get married. in fact dimas has asked multiple times since if there`s any way to be baptized without being married haha. well rosarios father is from another church, who came and shook things up a month or two ago in church. before he left we told him of the need his fdaughter had to fix her life and get married. well. he showed up yesterday. the whole time i was worried that he would defy what was being taught again so i sat realll close just in case. after surviving a stressful day of waiting for another argument, we were closing up and dimas informed me that rosarios dad had brought his daughters papers! he kept his word. we went to visit them after church to get dimas`s info because a guy in our ward is from his town. after reviewing repentance and seeing their desires to follow through, her dad piped up and asked why he hadnt given us a book of mormon yet. surprised we wreote our names in a book of mormon and gave it to him. which is weird  he then expressed how grateful he was to us. all though we arent his "brothers" he is grateful to know that his daughter, who lives far away, has a family she can refer to as brothers and sisters, and that they are happy and in good hands. he admired us for our youth and desires to know the word of god and share it with others. solid day and best encounter with someone of his church ive ever had.

so this coming transfer is going to be good! my only worry is that now that the work is rolling along so well, gods going to say welp, youve done your part, now GET OUT. haha so we`ll see what happens next week. there will be 84 new kids coming in within the next three months. i am almost more than likely going to receive another son soon here. wish me luck!

to answer your questions, my favorite part of being a missionary is that im a missionary. im not kendall. nor do i EVER have to go back to being him. illhave the same name when im done but that old dude is out of here.

favorite chapter of pmg... im going to have to say chapter 6. christlike attribultes. read it. live it. become it. everytime i go through it i realize how much i have left to change. 

no the streets are not all dirt. about a third of my area is. 

when i study the sciptures it is in ENGLISH. elder uceda, a peruvian of the 70, told us the scriptures are only 98% true in spanish. its a translation. and the bible already has too many errors and changes made in any language haha. but when inm at church or im studying spanish i read from them. other than that, all english.

ohand president sent us a talk from elder uchtdorf about missionary work. it talks about the apostle peter. he was a "rock" yet when it came down to it he was weak. he sunk when he saw the wind and waves, he dewnied knowing christ when accused of doing so. but when christ resurrected, the game changed. he was a new man. he was reborn as peter, the leader of the church. 

it talked about a missionary who feared NO ONE. his boldness bothered his companion. he exclaimed that he was a disciple of christ and he doesnt fear ANYONE. that was the main theme of the talk. christ lives. the reason we dont celebrate easter in the exrtemes like the world is because we already do every week in sacrament meeting. he lives. andbecause of that, we have no reason to fear anything. no matter what happens, we have christ on our side. he lives.

love you all, thanks for the prayers, love and support.

elder brown