1 change down.

sup.

so today i finish up my first change here in trebol. i literally feel like i havent started my time here yet. time doesnt exist anymore. kinda like when we would play on the swings in the back yard when we were kids. spin it up verryyy slowly. then once its wound up you take your feet off hte ground and spin so fast that you can barely keep your head and feet with you. kinda feels like that haha. (shout out to nance circle!).

cool.

so we had a rather interesting experience on saturday. we went to a market in our area with the bishop and we set up a table with pamphlets to talk to people and get known. so as soon as we set up the table. we hear "evangelicos!" we look acrossed the street to see a very drunk cross dressing she-man coming towards us. it ended with him trying to kiss my comp and the bishop. saying alot of verrry bad words at us, then grabbing our book of mormons from the table and throwing them on the ground as he walked away to go harrass the little ladies at a ceviche stand. we felt gross alll day. it was literally spiritually damaging. but its something to laugh about now haha. 

on a good note i tried out a new plate this week. look it up. its called escaveche. dangggg good. its some yellow pepper exclusive to peru (the same stuff they use to make my beloved Tarì sauce) with onions, sweet potato, chicken, and rice. ask sister baldwin about it. it makers life good.

yesterday in church we finally got the peña family there. well hte mom had to work. but the rest came. the daughter sang in hte primary program. her first day in church. so did molly, trhe other little girl who`s getting baptized soon so she can be with the rest of her family. last night we ran into the peña family on the streets. we were leaving and we hear "HERMANO BROWN!" we turned back and saw his two little kids runing towards us with a bag. they handed it to us. we opened it to find three mini papa johns boxed. we got a few slices of pizza, some cheesy bread,and a cinammon roll pizza. i love my job. pays good. 

we had a solid lesson with them the oher day. the dad asked about "the two churches" in first nephi. well, i tod him what it meant. then, to avoid any defensiveness, we got straight to explaining prayer and the holy ghost. we had him pray right there. he got an answer. we right the checks, the spirit signs them. every time.  the same worked with some crazy old couple we are working with. they couldnt get to chruch though because he can only get around driving because of some dizziness disorder he has while hes standing. well the missionnaries showed up so the car broke. go figure. so that`ll get fixed this week.

yesterday we had a lesson in gospel principles about the law of chastity. theres a quote in there from "for the strength of youth". it got me thinking about my understanding of that booklet and what i wished the youth could understand (because its something i didnt. not necessarily about that specific commandment, but about commandments in general.) kids so often say "the church is true". alright well then lets make that connection. the church is true. the church of JESUS CHRIST. who is in perfect unity with the father. in all things. so this is HIS church. so it means he directs it. so god directs it. so that little church logo on the back of things like the "for the strength of youth" pamphlet means that the things written in there are verry important. so you believe the articles of faith. well the fifth article of faith says that men must be called of god by prophecy and revelation. and doctrine and covenants 1:38 says that wheat god has spoken, he has spoken, and he excusesd not himself. and by his own voice or the voice of his servants it is the SAME. so when the prophets tell su to do things. gods telling us to do things. when they say things like "you should" "we suggest" or "it would be best", they are not just suggestions. god didnt give the ten suggestions to moses. directions from god are called commandments. so when got, through his prophets, tells the youth of the church to not date til you´re 16, date in groups, dont do or say ANYTHING that arouses intimate feelings, to dress modestly, be honest in your schoolwork, dont dance like an animal, etc. they are commandments. too many people get comfortable in an "all mormon" seting and think that lowering your standards is ok because we`re all lowering them together. not a good idea. i sound like president ostler on a standards night haha but i am understanding now what i wish i would have ten years ago. momma. teach those young women to be strong. respect themselves and to not tolerate it if the young men dont want to respenct them. they are children of god. in other words, they are going to be like him someday. start now. 

hey, glad to hear jess and drew are in their new place. keep on keepin on. snowing in provo, slightly cold in mesa, and hot in san martin de porres. 

oh yeah, and i literally have fifty pounds of stuff i leave in my suit cases "just in case". so ill be emptying it all out when i finish up. and on one of the farewell days president takes the group going home to the inca market to buy a bunch of cool stufff. ill let ya know when the time comes to have you fill my account a little more. but it should be fine. 100 bucks is almot 300 soles. but we`ll worry aboutt that in 2015 haha its already hard enough with how fast times goin.

over and out. love you all,

elder brown