Anddd February bites the dust.

hey.

its soo hot right now.

so to answer your questions momma bear. im still in the same area, with elder apablaza. same comp. we are teaching a few families right now. they`re being a little difficult. the only reason we stick with them is because half the family is wanting to do their part, the other half of the family doesnt really care to see us. the Gozzer family made it to church yesterday. other than the oldest daughter. "im catholic." yeah well we`re in peru so is everyone else. try mormon for a change. the Venero family dad is still hard. his wife and kids are alll stoked with the church and have friends and everything. but, if the dads not there, we cant do anything with em. we have a baptism this saturday for Daniel Gonzalez, the guy we met a couple weeks back.

spiritual experiences this week.. well i dont remember what i atre for lunch yesterday so, ill get back to you on that one. ha no it was just a good week i general. many prayers answered in many different ways. i can see how everythings kinda coming together. ive had ups and downs and all arounds throughout these two years and haave seen how the lord has "cut me down" so that in time i could grow back how he wants me to. and i am seeing every day a little more how i am growing differently because of how he`s working with me. kinda reminds me of elder christoffersons talk on being willing to receive correction from the lord. look it up. talks about "elder brown".

the other day we were at the gozzer family`s house and we were talking with the dad, raul, about where i lived and he told me alll about how he had gone up to mexico and crossed the border into the states. multiple times. he said "es lo maximo!" its the  best. so i guess when illegals go across the border its just a big game for em. he was joking about boarder patrol and talking about all the people do to make it across. haha really set the mood for the lesson we had that night.

today i made one of my best purchases since living in peru. at the super market i found a can of refried beans. so i bought it. and tortillas, cheese, tomatoes, onions, and avocado. i had a boommmbbb lunch. figured id start etting my stomach prepped for filibertos.

so yeah this week was kinda a blurrrr. wicked hot outside. workin hard. tryin to keep my head in the game. doin good. this is going to be my last full week of normal work. next week we have mission council and another zone meeting, the week after that is my groups "despedida" (farewell..?) day with president. we go to a niiiiiiiice restaurant, a water park (not slides. fountains, light shows, stuff like that.), presidents house where he teaches us for houuurs on marriage, etc. then my last week ill have my final interview at some  point and yeah. im hoping that mcallister is down here from huaraz that last week so he can come stay with me. PRAY FOR IT.

welp. heres to another good week.

glad to hear everythings going well back home. have fun in texas! 

oh and happy anniversary! 

peace.

elder brown

happy president`s day. meh.

hey.

 i know you were probably freaking out this morning when i didnt write you. president changed internet time for 3:30. so by the time i get all my zone stuff done its just enough time for us to chat momma right when you get off work!

last week on monday i walked into papa johns only to find elders norton, cody, and arnett eatin pizza together. three of the mesa boys headin home. we went back to the offices and elder cody and arnetts parents arrived to pick them up. super weird to see them here. i sent home my nativity seen with sister arnett so be waitin on that. im not sure if it had a jesus in it so if not, give some playdough to hayden and tell her to get to work.

so this week was a good one! tuesday was changes! aaaand yeah im still here in Izaguirre. my area in the Palmeras stake. momma to find it on the internet just look up the intersection of Canta Callao and Carlos Izaguirre. you`ll find that its the same intersection for three wards ive been in here. literally half of my mission at this intersection. and its part of the "san martin de porres". anyways. elder beckstead, who was in my seminary class my senior year, is now elder mcallisters zone leader up in huaraz. his little brother knows maci. elder lewis, who was one of my buddies back from barranca is now a zone leader in huacho. and my old comp elder rivera is a zone leader in ventanilla with my other buddy elder hackleman.

this week i sat down at the piano at church when we were waiting for coordination meeting to start and i played "oh what do you do in the summer time",the song you would  sing to me eeevery night. dont get trunky mom.

last week we were in a lesson with the venero family and we had an experience that reminded me of one of trips to the apartments back in mesa, as there were cockaroaches EVERYWHERE. fat ones all over the walls. and some of them decided to start flying across the freakin room mid lesson. 

i doubt you`ll remember, but back when i was in puente piedra, there was an elder there named elder arimuya. he was in the 2012 100 yr anniversary for seminary video, when it interviewed students from around the world. anyways, this past week we got a reference for a "free baptism". when we got there we found  a guy named Daniel gonzalez. his wifes name is cecilia arimuya. its elder arimuya`s cousin. shes a less active lady from iquitos and her husband literally asked us when he could be baptized. 

so yes im sweating alot. this week hits the peak of summer. the good news is that it`ll start to go back down next week. slowly. but im loving it. this is the best thing to everrrrr happen to me. thaanks once again for everything! see ya in a few weeks.. four more letters to go.

elder brown

LAST CHANGE

yup.

today is the beginning of my final six weeks. its so hard to believe. this past week i requested to the assistants that when elder Norton came down here from huaraz for his final interview (hes one of my close friends here from mesa. never knew him before the mish but we are gonna be tiiight after). he came down and got to come work with us. i asked him what his last change was like and he said it was his fastest one. thats what im hearing from everyone. wish me luck!

so this week was another blur. i got to work with norton that day. that was a huge blessing. other that i cant remember too much what went down. haha.

monday we played volleyball for pday. i lost. im not a land creature. too bad we cant go swim for pday; then i wouldnt feel so awkward when i spaz out when balls get thrown at me crazy fast. i need to play some more sand volleyball with the mancave.

BAH. welp. we just got the changes. looks like im finishing my mish in the promised land of Palmeras. sweeeaty. and mcallister is going to finish in the cold rain. but i mean this change flew. time seriously is melting right now.

we are working against the heat to be able to find new people and teach. my health has been doing awesome. i was praying and still do pray that i can have the health i need to work at least one change with normal health. looks like the lord has heard my prayers. this is the longest ive gone with a solid back, no hip, stomach, or lung pain. DOIN GOOD!

so the venero family and the gozzer family werent able to make it yesterday. the gozzer family is getting baptized for sure, we just gotta give em a few more weeks. the vener family? we`ll see how they go. the mom and the two youngest kids are stoked. (they have the six kids. the youngest five live there.. son, daughter, daughter, son, daughter... sound familiar?) BUT the dad thinks working 28 hours a day is a good idea so its almost impossible to teach them. we arent allowed to teach people if the dad isnt home. so we are working patiently there.

this week we have changes tomorrow, mission council wednesday, then a multizone meeting on thursday. gonna be another busy first week. wish me luck,

thanks everyone for the love and support. i can feel the blessing from the many prayers on my behalf and i thank you for that. its working!

love you

elder brown

febrero. habla.

sawp.

so im still trying to grasp the fact that january is already gone. next week begins my last transfer as a missionary. freakin me out. haha every time a plane flies by my comp points it out for me. 

solid work week. we have a few families we are working with. the venero family, the gozzer family, luis lara, and now the ramirez family. pray they can all make it to their baptism dates!

luckily this week we had a little bit of clooud cover.. could have been pollution but ill take it. didnt get fried haha. but it is crazy humid here. i think im going to dry out when i get back there. 

last week we played quidditch. it was SICK. legit the best pday ive ever had. i was the ravenclaw captain. we had an hermana be the sorting hat and shechose our teams. gryffindor was stacked. bogus. but we still put up a good fight. 

oh, before i forget, thanks to brother griffin for the letter! cant wait to have a nice sunday afternoon chat with him.

on tuesday i woke up and started a revolution. i made pancake mix then the thought came to me. YOU HAVE REESE´S FASTBREAKS ON YOUR DRESSER. BRING ONE. CUT IT UP. PUT IT IN THE PANCAKE BATTER. so thats what i did. and it was goooooooooooooooooood.

oh and this week i was in the shower. tried to adjust the shower head. the whole think broke off the wall. so now i  shower from cold water from a hole in the wall. yes.

so this week i had a solid study in ether. so ive got another homework assignment for you. 

start out in ether 2:25. actually start at the end of 24 where it says "for the winds". i decided it was a good definition or explanation from god to elder brown of "This is why you´ve been through everything you´ve been through. this is the reason for the physical and emotional breakdowns, the trials, the pain, the stress. i need you to be prepared to cross the waters. i need you to be ready for whats ahead and for what i need you to do.

then go finish that chapter and then check out mahonri´s attitude change from chapter two to chapter three. from when he asks god for light, gets that response, then comes back to the mountain later, a very humbled man, with sixteen stones in his hand, with the firm hope that god can simply touch them with his finger and they´ll give light. he comes back with an attitude of "ok. i want to cross those waters. and im ready now to submit to your will to get me there. do what you need to do to have me be ready."

welp. keep on keepin on. only six more letters after this one. WOOAAHH.

elder brown

and a few selfies.