Heavenly Father can mold me into someone better than I could ever imagine!

Ya' te' hey!

Early on in the week we were still double working area's because Sister Stringam didn't get her new companion until Tuesday evening. 

We had several very spiritual lessons this week, one of which was with Arlo (a less active). We talked to him about temples, and he really wants to get back to the temple! He told us about his first time there and you could tell that he just loved the temple! 

We had a really spritiual lesson with Trevis (also a less active). We talked about the importance of prayer and scripture study and keeping the Sabbath day holy. A member that came with us bore her testimony on prayer and the spirit was very strong! Trevis really wants to start coming back to church but he works on Sundays so he's trying to get his work schedual switched.  

WE ALSO WERE ABLE TO PUT ANTONIO ON DATE FOR BAPTISM!!!!!! If all works out, he will be baptised on Jan 14th!

For my Thanksgiving I had two places to go! Everything was pretty normal as far a food goes except I think I like ours better. I had pinions for the first time! They are a type of pine nut that the natives LOVE! 

We ate with Malachi and Devan (both are less actives that we are working with) We also worked on organizing our ward list since that was more productive than knocking on doors. Especially considering in YSA we aren't looking for families. Even if we were, people don't want to talk to missionaries, they just want to spend time with there family on Thanksgiving.  We also did some service hours by making some Christmas decorations for Daniel (the recent convert that loves pick-up lines!) since he doesn't have any! 

Saturday we were finally able to see Precious (our recent convert who got baptized a month ago, then kinda fell of the face of the earth because work has gotten in the way of everything!) She luckily has still been reading and praying every single day! She just needs to get work off on Sundays now, or at the very least have the hours switched so that she can come to church!

Sunday, we were able to have a spirit filled lesson with Thomeson who came to church for ALL 3 HOURS!!! I testified of the savior and the spirit just filled the room! After the lesson, he was like "wow! that was a really good lesson....I feel really good!" We also knocked some doors and even though people rejected the Book of Mormon they accepted one of the #lighttheWorld advent calander things and thought that they were pretty cool. So in that regard knocking was successful! 

It has started to get pretty cold lately. It's snowing today!

I love this Gospel sooooo much! I love my Heavenly Father and That is why I choose to still be a missionary! He needs someone to stand up for him, when no one else will! I know that I had a personal relationship with him in the pre-earth life. I know that he knows me perfectly and can mold me into someone better than I could ever imagine! I love my Heavenly Father and cannot imagine how life would be without him guiding and directing me!

I love you all! Have a great week! And remember, Heavenly Father knows you personally and will never abandon you!

Hagonee!

Sister Brown

Sister Brown's Snow Angel

Snow today! Friends, Me and Sister Ford

Making decorations

Sister Ford and homemade snowflakes!

Having fun making Christmas Decorations!

#lighttheWorld

Sister Fords orange lips!

Looking for New investigators!

Ya' te' hey!

This week we had to drop tons of our investigators because they simply were not doing their part to receive the truth. There really was nothing more we could do to help them until they started doing something for themselves. So that was a little bit of a bummer...we are now looking for tons of investigators.

Tuesday a Less Active member texted us and wanted to have a lesson...I was super excited (no one ever texts us asking for lessons!) He wanted help setting some goals. We helped him set goals to get back to church but then this Sunday he never showed up! 

We also had institute and the teacher asked the question: "What are some benefits from going to the Young Single Adult branch as opposed to a family ward?" and Betsey (an incredible member who comes out with us a lot and is preparing for her own mission) pipes up and says: "All them hunnies!" I cracked up! It was soooo funny!

Wednesday we had Sister Flake with us because her companions were doing exchanges and she needed to be elsewhere so that their exchanges could be "private". 

We had a Drop lesson with Therese and she was like: "...wait, ARE YOU BREAKING UP WITH ME?!" haha, I was dying....no one has ever reacted to a drop lesson that way! 

Later that day we went to the old folks to sing and the same Navajo lady that stuck her fingers in the sacrament the week before was eating crayons this time and threw a little tantrum when one of the workers took them away from her. It's so funny but so sad at the same time! 

We got fed Chinese that night for dinner and the portion sizes were HUGE! I essentially got 3 meals out of my one simple order.

Wednesday we went out with Kammie to have some lessons and try people and what-not and the poor girl! It was just not her night! We got pulled over by a cop because he thought I wasn't wearing my seat-belt (even though I had been the whole time), luckily she didn't get a ticket! Then later that night her car was over-heating and she went to change the coolant and the second she took off the cap it all came spraying in her face like a volcano! Her eyes were stinging and her skin itchy! Poor girl! She's doing fine now!

Thursday, winter finally hit. It snowed for like 2 seconds, but the whole day was really cold! 

We also got to work with Sister Stringam and have her for the rest of the weekend because she "killed" her companion on Saturday, meaning her companion, Sister Breakall, flew home to good-old-Montana (twin bridges). 

We also had a lesson with Daniel and his pick-up line this week has to do with pondering: "The only eyes I want to ponder are yours!" I find it so funny that he loves Mormon pick-up lines so much!

Friday a member from 8th ward (since we are working with sister Stringam as well as our own branch) took us to dinner at the Olive Garden! #1sttime! yum! 

WE ALSO GOT A NEW INVESTIGATOR!!!!!! He is soooooo solid too! His name is Antonio. He grew up baptist, but he wants to find the truth and he knows that conversion is a possibility, but he doesn't want to convert for his girlfriend, he wants to do it because he knows for himself that it's true! #GOLDEN! 

Saturday we did a lot of service between the two areas (8th ward and YSA) and decided to order pizza that night. We got spinach-Alfredo pizza! #yum!

Sunday was great! We had a munch and mingle and we were boggling everyone with bunches of riddles. It was a lot of fun for everyone! 

Also did you know there is a really sweet Mormon message video based off of the talk that Vern P. Stanfill (yea...our old stake president.) gave in October 2015 General Conference? It's really cool and intense!

I love you! hope y'all have a great week!

Hagonee!

Sister Brown 

Aztec Ruins!

Monday we went to the Aztec ruins which were super cool! I felt kinda like Indiana Jones! 
We had exchanges this week and I took over the area for a day. This was super nerve-racking/stressful because I'd only been in the area for 4 weeks. It went well though! We saw some cool miracles because I really had to rely on Heavenly Father! 

We had a lesson with Riley a less active and Oh My Goodness, the spirit was so strong! We testified of the importance of the Book of Mormon and I testified of Heavenly Father's love for him and my love for him. I basically told him "you are my brother, and family is so important to me...I am not going to lose you! That's why we come here...to help you be able to live with Heavenly Father again!" I said a bunch of other things too but I don't even remember them because the spirit was just working through me! 

When I was on my exchange, I gained a greater appreciation for Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon! We had been rejected a bunch that morning as we did some knocking, and even got a Book of Mormon back at one point! Later that night we had a couple lessons...one focused on the restoration and the other focused on the Book of Mormon specifically. After those two lessons my heart was full of gratitude for Joseph Smith and all that he went through to help us receive the fullness of the gospel and the Book of Mormon! I was sad and kinda heart-broken for all those people who rejected us and the message without really realizing what it truly is that they were rejecting!

Sunday we received what seems like a really solid Potential investigator! A friend of his brought him to church and apparently he's been looking for the missionaries for a while, so I'm super excited to get to know him and to start teaching him!

I now get to take video Journals since I got permission from president to do so!

love you all!

Sister Brown

Me and Sister Ford

City of Aztec Ruins

Sister Ford

Rely on Heavenly Father for Guidance!

Ya' te' hee!

This week was really good! I honestly can't remember a whole lot, everything just kinda blurs together and before you know it its the next week again!

Monday we had to be in by 6 because of Halloween and we carved pumpkins. I have to say my pumpkin is the happiest pumpkin I have ever carved! The sisters serving in Eastland spent Halloween night with us, because one of them had Mission Leader Conference the next day, so Tuesday Sister Withers spent the day with us while her companion was at Mission Leader Conference. Sister Withers is still in training but she is a great missionary already and so adorable!

I also had an "ahha" moment as we were teaching Daniel this week. It occurred to me that quite possibly one of the reasons we aren't allowed to just call up our family or friends when we need help while on the mission (other than the obvious fact that it could be distracting) is so that we have to rely on Heavenly Father for guidance and help more than we would other-wise. In turn your relationship and trust in him grows a lot stronger than it otherwise would! 

Sorry, I don't have any cheesy jokes or pick-up lines. Daniel was slacking this week in that area!

We've been having a lot of trouble with finding recently but not from a lack of trying! We street contacted at the College grounds a lot, and this week as we were heading off to another appointment, this guy was kinda flirting with us. Sister Ford and I were like...uhhh, what do we do!? I kick myself for not TTI-ing (Teach, Testify, and Invite) him, but he kinda caught us off guard, but still that is no excuse. 

We were finally able to have a lesson with one of our investigators that we've been trying to get with for weeks! That was pretty great. She asks tons of questions too! N__ is still doing stellar, as far as keeping commitments, but in someways it doesn't seem like his testimony or faith is growing at all! He doesn't necessarily have the desire to be baptized for another year because he feels that change can't happen as fast as it sometimes does.

We had a lesson with a less active member and during his lesson, I found myself getting kinda frustrated and discouraged a little. It felt like he didn't care and that we weren't getting anywhere with him, but then to our surprise he came to church for all 3 hours this Sunday!!!

We had a wonderful lesson with Precious this week and on Sunday she got her temple recomend, and is going to the temple this upcoming Saturday!!!! To make the week even better we were knocking doors and found a golden potential! She asked us if she could have a Book of Mormon before we could even offer her one! It's too bad she's not Young Single Adult aged so we'll have to hand her off to the other missionaries!

We saw Malachi (a less-active) this week and it was kinda funny...he called me "the strict one" and Sister Ford the "lenient one" (he said it kinda jokingly, but still kinda meant it) because I am very bold with him, I don't take no for an answer with him, or let any excuses fly, because I see his potential and know that he know's better!

I love you all so very much!

Hagoonee!

Sister Brown

My happy pumpkin!

Sister Ford, Sister Withers, and me.

My missionary pumpkin. It has my badge on it.

Teaming up with the Lord!

Ya tah hee!

Since Halloween is on a preparation day we proselyted for 3 hours this morning and will be having preparation day the rest of the day since we have to be in by 6:00 tonight!

Who said Missionaries couldn't dress up!
 #SnowWhite #MinnieMouse

Wednesday we had zone conference which of course is always soooooo good! We saw our recent convert, Daniel that night and guess what...he didn't say a pick-up line this time! Darn! He did have a cheesy joke though: 

"I had some crab legs in the kitchen earlier and I thought about sharing, but instead I decided to be shellfish!" haha!

I do still have a pick-up line for you this week though (its one that Daniel said before I got here, but Sister Ford told me about it). Its...

"Hey Kammie, I think you should talk to President Frost about your Word of wisdom problem....cuz your smoking!" haha! 

Thursday was another very busy day full of appointments! Days like that are the best! Oh and Friday our ward mission leader got engaged! #onlyinYSA! So we will probably be getting a new one with-in the next few months.



Friday there was a pumpkin carving activity but we only got to be there for a little bit before we had to head off to an appointment, but one of our newer investigators, Nate showed up to it!

Saturday at 2:00 in the morning we got a text from Nate saying "Read Nephi!"....He has been a new investigator for about a week or two and he is already all the way through Nephi!...of course he said he was re-reading it because he didn't comprehend a lot of it! haha!

Saturday at 8:00 in the morning Precious was baptized! It was such a good baptism! Then the next day when she received the Holy Ghost the spirit was so strong! She fits into the branch so well!

What a Precious baptism!
Sister Brown, Precious, Sister Ford

Nate came to church on Sunday too for the first time! And Christopher (you know the atheist one) actually considered the idea of possibly going to church when we saw him on Saturday night but he didn't show up on Sunday. Even just the fact that he considered the idea is a miracle because apparently the first time that Sister Ford and her other companion mentioned the idea he just laughed and said, "not a chance!" His heart has been softening a lot and I am determined to have him converted before I leave this place! (of course that's up to the lord as well...but we make a pretty good team him and I)

I love you all

Have a great week and a happy Halloween!

Hagoonee

Sister Brown

               Some of the pumpkins from the carving activity

 Party in the car wash!

 Mon. for Family Home Evening they played human hungry hippos.

Our dryer stopped working
While in St. Michael's with sister Cardon, ans sister Ledford)

 Elder Larson's last p-day!
 (Taken while in Saint Michael's with Sister Ledford and Sister Cardon)