It's hot

Hey.

Its hot.

Summer decided to punch us in the face this week. out of nowhere. the mornings and nights are nice. but the middle of the day is nappy. it like vapors heat up from the street and the sun comes down nice and hard. so thats fun. we try to set up appointments before lunch so we can be indoors in the early afternoon for our extra training studies. 

WE GOT A WATER HEATER THIS WEEK!. no more angry ice showers. huge blessing.

and in bigger news.

WE FOUND REAL MILK. like from  a cow. soooo good, reminds me of america. haha cereal with actual milk is a whole other experience. you guys have noooooo idea how blessed you are to have glalon cartons in tyour fridge on a daily basis. 

so no i havent got my package yet. did you send it down with sister baldwin or did you send it through the mail. if it was through the mail.. welllll Serpost is on strike right now haha the mission has a tonnnnnnn of packages being held back because they decided to go on strike because it was a really conveinent thing to do for everyone. but i mean it will pass. i hope. if not, eh. i get emails. and i can eat receese fastbreaks in march (oh... wait... hahaha #eatenbymaci). so yeah hopefully that will turn out soon.

yesterday i gave a talk in chruch about the book of mormon. welcome to the ward elder brown. please give a ten minute talk. it went well though, speakin on the same day with my momma eh? dope.

my eye brow has been twiching for like a week. is that bad?

so yeah this opening-an-area thing is kinda rough. we are doing our best t just meet the members, talk to people, and stay verrrrryyy patient. the grreatest lesson of my mission. patience. which helps me see how very impatient i was before the mission. its funny to look at the biggest challenges i face, seee what i had to learn then realize god was thinking "well kendall you need to work on this, this, and this. so im going to send you to lima to learn this, that, and the other." i am sooo grateful for this experienc though. dont know what i would have done without it. my time is ticckkking away. fast.. i literally can count down the weeks now and its kinda nuts. but im trying not to. 

right now i am trying to learn more from the book of mormon. no matter how many times i read it or study from it. theres always more. solid book. its true. the church is true. my companion has said multiple times, if the gospel wasnt true, the missionaries would have messed it up a longgg time ago. its true. we are twenty year old kids trying to help people get where they need to be to become gods. this is definitely HIS work. 

this week we have a training meeting for new missionaries and trainers. and my comp will have immigrations. busy stuff. 

thanks for the love and prayers. we need em. haha just know that the lord is taking care of us and everythings good,.

next week ill have a more exciting email. we are just trying to get things rolling here. poco a poco.

HASTA LUEGO

elder brown

Kendall is trianing this new missionary!

Two Hundred 8 lb 7 oz.

hey.

so yup! im officially a dad again! 

haha im back down in lima in the Trebol zone. its the stake right next to El Olivar where i was before. andddddd im training. my new son is Elder Welburn from Riverton utah. yes, i am training a  white guy. he is awesome. haha he bought us a famiy sized pizza hutt pizza our second night here.

we are opening up a new area. its ROUGH. we spent the first week literally just walking around the area to mark the blocks on our map. and an additional few hours making a list of the members in our area from the directory, based on where they live in the area. 

but as we have walked around, its definitely felt special. the spirit is working strong here and we can feel that there are a ton of new people prepared for us. 

our room... well the following names have been applied to the room this week and more may be applied until a new room is found: Harry Potter´s Closet, the Hell Hole, and the Jail cell. its kinda something we just gotta laugh at to survive haha its realll small. and we ar eboth big. the sink is in the shower. hahaha i´ll send you pictures. but its all good. part of the experience. i just feel bad for elder welburn that he has to go through all of this his first week in the field. but the lord is breaking us down so he can build us up. i loooove the talk about Hugh b Brown, i beluieve it was given by elder christofferson, about "Why did you cut me down??" "i am the gardener here. i know what i want you to do". the lord needs to break us downso that he can build us up. the this past week´s experience mixed with president Uchtdorf´s talk have helped me in huge ways.

so i got to see conference this weekend! in spanish. but it was still tight. the talks they actually gave in spanish were solid. but yeah translations just dont do it. i was kinda freaking out thinking about how next conference ill be there to watch it with the fam. CONFERENCE CREPES. MOMMA I NEED YOU TO SEND ME THE CONFERENCE ENSIGN WHEN IT COMES OUT PLEEEEEASE.

My last night up in barranca we had a giant FHE in the chapel with the converts that could make it. ill send you a picture, it was solid. 

this week i got to see elder Cody, Arnett, and McAllister. and elder Kitchens and hackleman. good to see them. corbin is up in huaraz now. his area is the furtherst north of the whole mission. 

SO YEAH. thats about it for this week, hopefully things get picked up and rollin this week. its going to be a good one!

love you all, thanks for everything!

elder brown.

ElEcTiOnS.

Holaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa que tal. 

so yeah this past weekend we had elections. no church. no conference. no happiness. haha no it wasnt that bad. just hard because a ton of people had to leave t their home towns to vote so there werent too many people around. but we did what we could.

huge news. i learned yesterday that barranca is a real word. no just a weird name. it means ravine, gorge, gully. 

AH. mom. this is nuts. i met elder gavarett when he came to the mtc. that night we were the ushers so we sat on the front row and i got to meet him afterwards. i told him how my dad and grandpa had both served in uruguay. i believe i mentioned it was elder herron but i dont know if he remembered. an "elder brown" had baptized his wife but it wasnt dad. but still. thats awesome. grandpa walked into a little shop, played the guitar, started teaching a family. then fifty years later his grandson met the grown up, general authority version of that little kid. coincidence? NOPE. 

ah and for your talk, to help you out, go look up the talk "follow the brethren" by boyd k packer. that will help out a ton. i dont think it was a conference talk but it should be there. ( https://www.lds.org/liahona/1979/09/follow-the-brethren?lang=eng )

there it is.

so i have some huge news. tomorrow i officially become an elder. kendall where have you been the last 18 months? well thats the point. the sisters from my group are goin home today. so i begin the part of the mission that no sister ever experiences. WHERE DID THE TIME GO. oh and speaking of which, im sending a hammock home with haley brown so make sure you get a hold of that for me! its a precious precious item.

yesterday after lunch we headed to the chapel with my breathing machine. (no mother dearest im not sick, don worry!) they have special outlets there and i wanted to see if i really burned it out in my last area. so as we were leaving, i was thinking about how crappy the day was and wasnt looking forward to going out and looking for more people just to get rejected. we walked up to the gate and just as i was about to set do the lock, we saw a family walking by right outside the entrance. i swung the door opened and said Hey hows it going! have you ever seen the church building before? no. well would you like to  check it out? sure why not. so we took the family inside, showed them around, got to know them. had a moment of silence in the chapel so they could feel the spirit a little. then set a time for us to go visit them. sometimes i forget how much god really is out here WITH us., he didnt just send us out the door saying, welp good luck! 

so last night we were headed home and were in the middle of contacting one last family when our buddy john walked by. he`s the son of amalia and the brother of katia. he was the one of the family who was super stoked to get baptized and then when the time came it didnt work out. so we chased him down, set u an appointment for early this morning and we had a solid lesson. earlier in the week we were planning on visiting him and just powerhousing him with scriptures to get him to be baptized. but, the other day we were walking and i had another one of those stop walking and listen impressions. i learned that we had to go about teaching him differently. if we had done things that way, it would have probably ended it or just made it even more difficult. but i realized we had to, patiently, get him back to reading and praying, and then he himself would have the desires to get baptized. after staring blankly at the ground for a few seconds as i thought alll this through, i talked to my comp and he agreed on the new plan. so today we went into the lesson with that mentality. and, once again, the spirit stepped in and had a few more changes to make. we still focused on reading and praying, but we also felt to share 3 ne 11 where it says those who believe in me and are baptized will be saved and those who dont believe in me and arent baptized will be damned. so i used that and gently explained the WHY of baptism and related it to his repentance and preparation. then a the end the spirit said set a date. huh? alright. so we set a baptismal date for the end of the month and he accepted. im learning to recognize, listen to,and follow the spirit. its lead us to alot of good things this week. 

love you all, thanks for everything! ill let ya know if i get transferred.

elder brown

so here are the district pictures we took last week. one is our classy champion pic. the other is made to look like soccer team pictures all the pro teams do. not kidding they look exactly like this. and the final is our cheerleader pic. this is district barranca.

Wake me up when September ends..

Hey.

But really why is september done? last week me and the kids from my group hit "six months to sexy". six months to get in shape and lookin good for when we get back. my morning stretches are doin alot of work. i tried to do real exercises a few months ago but my back didnt like it very much... but i have lost some weight here anyways. cool.

sooooo im trying to remember this last week. even more of a blur than the week before. 

on friday we had a sicckk training meeting with president. to start off he doctrine pounds us for a good hour or two. this time he taught us about the millennium. the guy makes me want to become an institute teacher. after we got a training from sister archibald about the scriptures of "the field is white". this is the FINAL harvest. the last time god is sending out his missionaries. and he sees the field as white. its ready. there are people ready everywhere ready to hear the gospel. and not just in peru. president monson said theres not a mission in the entire world where the field isnt white. we just gotta accept the invitation. those who want to reap, (its our choice..) need to WORK. idle people arent going to get anything. 

President then trained us on techniques of how to find new people.this morning i went to find a ukulele to use to get into peoples houses (white guy at the door with a ukulele offering to come in a share something with the family. COME ON IN!) buttttt the only instrument store here in barranca doesnt have a single ukulele. sooo if you send me mine i wont be upset. we need to use our talents to build up Gods kingdom. i need a uke! i never took up juggling or fire breathing so my options are kinda limited. 

mom, glad to hear you`re going out with the missionaries! haha dont worry, i feel like that every time we first meet people. its a little stressful getting things going but you just start talking and the spirit takes the rest. it doesnt take long to see whether they paid attention in the pre existance or not. if they arent interested. chao! haha but yeah usually with people that are living together, (which is the grand majority) we teach them chastity right off the bat. if they want to repent, perfect we stick around with em. if not, the next missionaries will get em when they`re ready. we are here to HARVEST. but americans do also react differently than the people here so the way to go at it is definitely different.

but speaking of conference (if you want to send me some of those crepes in an envelope i wouldnt be upset) we cant watch it till the 11 and 12. peru has elections here this weekend. so its going to be seven longgg days without church to look forward to. but if they make any insane announcements, let me know!

on saturday the branch had a temple trip. sadly we arent able to go with them. BUT. we had a ton of converts go with them. SUCCESS. theres a picture they took of the converts in front of the temple that i tried sending but the guy`s card doesnt read on here.. so ill try to get that to you. since april, between us and the sisters, we`ve had 28 converts. sadly a few of them werent quite "converted" and have decided not to stick with the church. but i mean they have their agency. too bad we cant force people into the celestial kingdom. i can imagine in lehi`s vision, seeing people`s hands strapped on to the rod. haha but theres still hope for them; who knows what will happen in a month or a year. the good thing is, the majority of them made it to the temple. BOOM. 

yesterday in testimony meeting Dimas, evelinda, and elida all gave their testimonies. its a dang good feeling seeing people progress in the gospel. we still  have to kinda baby-step leaders through ward council but its good preparation for when we`ll be working as leaders in the church later on. 

welp. this could be my last week here in barranca. its been one of the gnarliest experiences in my life. President ostler wasnt kidding in my blessing when he told e i would be stretched and refined like never before. came here as a boy, leaving as a man. hahaha sounds like the title of a video we had to watch in jr high.

thanks for the prayers and support, love you all. 

elder brown

heres a little elder brown scripture study. thats how i understood the earth being rolled together as a scroll as it says in 3 nefi. in d and c it says the earth will be like it was before the lands were divided in the millennium.. i could be totally wrong. oh well.

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