Ha llegado el fin.

Dear Family and friends,

Well, this is it! This is Kendall's last email before returning home!! We would like to thank you for all of your prayers, love and support and for Kendall, a.k.a. Bears, these past two years. It has truly been a blessing during his service to the Lord. His email made his momma cry, as he tenderly shares his love of the Savior and his love of Peru. To read about the tender mercy of having his buddy Corbin serving down there and embarking on this journey together has been a blessing for both of them! It always lit them up when they were able to see each other. And now they will return home together on the same flight. I will send out info. to you all regarding flight schedule and Homecoming date and time.

We are thrilled and beyond excitement to wrap him in our arms again!

Love to all!

Mark and Suzie

Welp. this is it. my lastttt email.

last week was a solidddd one. on wednesday i woke up at 4:30 to go to the offices. met up with all the missionaries from my group: mcallister, hackleman, schagel, etc. and we all hopped on a bus and went to the temple. i hadnt been since the mtc and woaaaaahhhhhh. solid stuff.after the session, we went into the celestial room and i just stood there with elder mcallister and thought about where i was and how i got there. i felt the spirit burning inside of me. then we stepped inside a sealing room where president answered any questions we had. i was able to understand things ive never been able to. it was interesting to see the difference in my understanding of the gospel after two years of studying and serving the lord. as we were leaving the celestial room mcallister put his arm around me and said "im grateful we got called to the same mission". me too. its been a huge blessing and it will be good to fly home and walk off the plane together. 

after the temple we went to La Bisteca. its a niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice buffet style restaurant in a part of lima that looks like a nice part of california. i had ceviche for the first time. overrated. i also had a couple plates of sushi, a burger with real meat, and some other stuff. finished with a fatty piece of chocolate oreo cake. 

then we went to Presidents house in San Isidro. the elevator reached the 20th floor and it opened up to a single door. opened it and we were inside the Archibalds apartment., i asked sister archibald if she wanted us to take off our shoes. she said she didnt care. do what you want its your home. so i took off my shoes and fell immediately on the ground and laid face down on their carpet. yes. real life carpet. once we got all situated on their couches, they sat down and taught us allll about life. marriage, studies, work, callings, etc. it was awesome. oh. and they have a fridge. that dispenses ice. crushed ice. and water. i was shocked. honestly forgot what that was like. 

we then went to "el parque de las aguas". its a huuuuuuuuuuge park with fountains and light shows. i got wet. when we got there someone said my name. i looked up and saw the chicken restaurant on the corner was called "Kendall Pollos y Parrilladas". same place i drove by with elder laiche over a year ago. 

we then went back to their apartment and ate ice cream and cake and then had a testimony meeting. i didnt cry. my eyes were sweating. 

they told us they wouldnt be able to be in our weddings so they got us all ties(elders) and veils(hermanas) so they could be there. 

went back to the offices at like 1 in the morning.good day.

the rest of the week was good. i went and did a change with elder castillo, my comp from barranca.

today was my final pday. the first pday i think ever when all my health has been good enough to play real soccer. i was running towards the goal and elder feller, the assistant thought it would be a good idea to slide in from behind to "get the ball". he took out my legs while i was running and i landed flat on my back. necks a little stiff. hahaha almost got away with a normal pday. meh. oh well. im goin to the lake in a couple weeks anyways. 

so.

last week was a good opportunity to look at myself and my friends and who we were and wo we are now, and evvverrryyythingggg we´ve been through to make us who we are. its been the gnarliest ride in my life.

i started my mission honestly not expecting much from myself. i got to this country scared and confused and before my first week was up i wanted out. i hated the culture, the language wasnt coming fast enough and i didnt know how the heck i was going to do this. i hoped for survival haha. but in stead of trying to stand tall, i learned, sometimes the hard way, that in stead of standing, God needed me on my knees. so thats where i went. and through trials and challenges throughout these two years, i have come to know my Heavenly father. i know now more than ever of his reality and divinity. people thinking that you need to see god to know he is real. ive seen Obama on the tv screen. i dont know him. he doesnt know me. seeing isnt ever the answer.  know christ did what he says he did. he chose to come to the earth he created to be killed by his own brothers and sisters, the ones for whom he had shed his own blood. he suffered, died, and resurrected. i may not have been perfect in my mission, even when i tried my hardest; but the One i represented is perfect. he made up for the difference. i know Jesus Christ and i testify that he lives. i often think of my mission, as im sure ive shared with you before, as the experience peter had. he saw christ out there on the water and he wanted to go walk with him. He was called to leave the ship. as soon as he took his first steps, he became afraid. the wind and the wafes looked more frightening and powerful than the One who controls them. he began to sink. Christ was close enough to be able to simply put out his hand and catch peter. He was the one that made the call. Peter wasnt ever going to sink. i am eternally grateful for this time christ has alllowed me to come out and walk with him. and when i have deserved a gentle "oh ye of little faith". he has pulled me up and helped me keep going.  these have been the hardest, most trying, craziest, best two years of my life. i dont think its going to really hit me till i wake up the day after i get home and realize im back. 

thanks for your love and support and sacrifice over these last two years. i think some of the peace youve had in the home since ive been gone is due to the fact that im not there making noise like i always did. but aside from that i know the promise in doctrine and covenants is true. my family has been in His hands. see you next week.

elder brown

2 semanas.

wooaaahhh.

i have two weeks left of my mission. still hard to believe. even more wild officially seeing my flight plans. i get in just in time for lunch! sounds good to me.

so before i continue in this email i just thought id warn you that im using a sketchy keyboard with a "l" and "c" that decide when they want to type. so if you see word that dony make sense, just fill in one of those letters and it wiill make more sense.

so.

i got Grandpas letter this last week. THANKS. he talks about the priniple of how the way we serve our missions reflects how we will perform in life. i thought about that when he first told me that when i was about 17 and then again when he wrote it to me here at the end of my mission. ive worked veryyy hard. not anything ose to perfection. in fact if the atonement wasnt such a good eraser, id probaby walk around depressed thinking about all of my trias and faiures and weaknesses. but as i look back i feel peace. despite my weaknesses. my performance hasnt been perfect, but christ has made up for what i havent been able to do. thanks grandpa.

ahhh. on top of the messed up keys, the wire connected to the screen doesnt want to stay plugged in so i have to wiggle it ariound every time it shuts off.

so last week the end became more rea as i said goodbye to eder lewis, one of my best friends from barranca. im not a good goodbye person. i aso had to say bye to elder beckstead, one of my friends from my seminary class my senior year. 

this past week we had another mission council. president brought the hammer. it was rough but it was good. we then had a district meeting onwednesday which we taught. missed my time as a district leader. then on friday we had my final zone meeting. good stuff.

last week was probably the hardest ive worked in my mission. jeff told me that this is when i need to work the hardest. so i applied it. more obedience. more diigence. the works. and it was exhauuusting. but i feel good. its a bummer that most people get to this point and literally just give up because its "the end". or. you an take advantage of being more prepared than any other time in the mission and give satan heaven. 

this week is our despedida so i hope to be able to put in the same effort afterwards. everyone has told me that one president gives the going home talk its lights out. welp! we´l see how it goes haha.

thanks for everything. love you all. dont get trunky mom. and remember. in the airport, if you cross the security line, that dude standing at the entrance will take you down. 

chaufa.

elder brown

MARCCCCHHHHHHHH.

SUP.

march is a good month. pie day. st patricks day. kendall comes home. yep thats it.

so it was another good week. we had a baptism on saturday. Daniel Gonzalez is one of them mormons now. i got to baptize him. and i think it was my last time in the faunt here in peru. but it was a good experience. i love hearing people talk afterwards aboutt he cleansing power of the spirit as the enter and leave the water. they all describe a warm feeling rush over them (as they get immersed in cooold water) and come out feeling like a new person. 

so yeah tomorrow we have mission council. then wenesday district meeting. then zone meeting on friday. gonna be a fun week.

oh and last friday was my last time dealing with zone mission money. DONE. 

we went to one of the areas here in palmeras last week to sign a room contract with the owners. we were sitting in their living room chatting (yes, im a fuly trained businessman now) and i looked over and saw a picture frame with names engraved on it with a picture of a family with a couple dogs. one of the names was "zoe". i asked who zoe was. she told me it was her dog. Zoey lives on in Peru!!!!!

yes momma dearest. mixed emotions about finishing my mission. im still tryin to work as hard as my mind lets me. haha its slowllyy going home wthout me. this week was actually better. the week before was crazy hard to focus. but yep im still going strong. as fonzi told me, its the last ten meters of the swim race! 

sooo the gozzer family couldnt make it to church but the asistants caled me last night saying they ran into them at the city buiding by the offices, telling me how awesome the family was. oh and i dont know if i told you. elder feller, my zone leader from back in el olivar, is the new asistant with elder larsen. he finishes with m in a couple weeks.

speaking of which, my comp reminded me this week so i thought id ask ya. do you know if they already have my topic for my talk? do they still do that? here its weird. they come back, they have them go give their testimony, and everyone acts as if the  missionary had been there the whole time. meh. welp. love you all. stay healthy and safe. and for my flight info, the church doesnt buy it till like this week or the next. but every gringo goes home tuesday at like two in the morning so ill be there tuesday the 24 at like noon to afternoon ish.

peace.

elder brown

 oh and here´s my desk-top furby and my burritos from last week. get at me.

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.