What the....transfer?

We had a craaaazy transfer this last week!

 

To explain a little: our mission has changed and is going to change even more in the next few transfers. We have what you could call an "old" mission, meaning a lot of the leaders are going to be going home soon. This means that after a while there will be a lot of new opportunities to learn and serve, and we´ll welcome that challenge with open arms. A few of the changes: Elder Barbosa was transferred to Iratí, close to Guarapuava (in the middle of nowhere) and is very excited. He was an excellent companion and I loved serving with him. Now, the fun stuff: an area in the district closed, and another one opened. I will be with Elder Stoddard (who is also really cool; from Minnesota) for 2-3 weeks and then he will be called to be the financial secretary and then I will be a TRAINER! I cannot contain my excitement for both parts of the transfer - Elder Stoddard is the man, and then I will train an American! WOOHOO!! Let´s baptize everything that moves!

 

Presidente Cordon is changing the way our mission works - in the past, trainers were more of a time thing, but now only the top of obedience and work will do. It is a blessing to know that I will be a part of this group - an Assistent and 2 LZ´s were called to be trainers, and so it will be a great responsibility and an excellent opportunity to serve. I am excited to do things exactly how Heavenly Father would want them done - completely obedient, completely devoted, and having an absolute party in the baptismal font. My goal for the district for this month? 20 baptisms!!! Let´s do this thang!

 

So, yeah. There is a lot going through my head right now. But, basically, I can sum it all up in a few words: excitement and the Spirit create lots and lots of baptisms. Sometimes on the mission people get trunky, they get lazy, and they decide that it really doesn´t matter about certain rules, etc. I have one large goal for my mission: never to lose this fire. Nevah! We will keep every rule, stay focused, and love every minute, because each minute is precious and not ours. It is the Lord´s time! When we put that into the big picture it is impressive all the things that Heavenly Father will be able to do because of our service. We will have to do better and work harder, but we are willing and able to do exactly that.

 

We will baptize Camilla this week! Woohoo!! Something that was kind of funny/ really scary was that yesterday (Elder Barbosa´s last day), Camilla (who is a very smart but hormonal 14 year-old) wrote him a long and very fragranced note about her never-ending love for him. It was actually really hilarious to read in a girl voice - maybe I´ll send that video later.

 

Our house is so clean! I love it! Organization is sooooooo GOOD! And no, I´m not fruity and girly - it´s manly and buff to be organized. (manly grunting noises, cars, gym sweat, oh yeah) (sorry).

 

I have a lot of friends who are going home this transfer, and it is weird. I am starting to get old here! I think about certain Elders who were here, but now most people here wouldn´t know who they were because they weren´t here! It will be SO much fun to train! We will do our best and help many people to the true church.

 

I love this work. I love the way I feel when I bear my testimony and hear other people bear theirs. I know that Jesus is the Christ. He is the Son of God. He is our older, stronger, braver brother. He sacrificed His own life for us, voluntarily. This really is His church. NOTHING can change that. People will try - they will always try - to find something wrong about the church. Maybe Joseph Smith beat some kid up when he was little. Maybe the Mountain Meadows thing happened. Maybe we as a people are imperfect and sinners. But still, that does not change that fact that it´s all still true. The Church was restored BY GOD because He loves us. There is nothing wrong with bearing testimony of the truth! We don´t need to apologize to people that we´re members of the true church - we can look with confidence in their eyes and tell them that yes, this church is THE church. All churches are good - this is really the best. It is ALL true, and the feelings that I have had, continue to have and will have about the truth of it will never be taken from me, neither from any of you. NEVER compromise what you know to be true for the smaller and more menial and worldly things of the world. There is no worth there! Put your money on the source and your efforts towards the biggest goal - eternal life.

 

That was long, but that´s what I have learned here. The mission is amazing. Be missionaries!

Elder Brown

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Gym? Gym? Ohh....gym.

(From Last week 7-7-10)

 

(That one is for my mom and James.)

This week was nuts. Simply, nuts. We are So tired every day, but it´s a good tired.

 

I don´t have much time today, but I will write a few things that will be cool for everyone to know.

As you are aware, we started an activity in the ward (gincana) that counts every part of missionary work as points. It has been a huge success already and we are receiving tons of references from the members. Also, last week we had 15 investigators at Sacrament Meeting! It was so awesome! The best part is that we didn´t even have to get all these people - the members brought them! The only thing we have to do is get the ward working and then things are waaay easier and way more effective. So, to explain the big thing for this week, we started thinking about a good way to end the Gincana - It will end on the 31st of this month (yes, Mom, I didn´t forget that you´ll turn 25 on that day) and then whoever has the most points will be declared the winner. We were thinking this: we are going to plan ALL our baptisms (potentially around 20 people) to be baptized on the 31st!!!!!! 20 BAPTISMS!!! It will be an enormous act of faith and will require a LOT of organizational effort, but I believe it is possible as does my awesome comp. We are going to talk to Bishop tonight, then to our WML, then to the Ward Council. It will be a big undertaking and we will have to help lots of people progress, but it is possible and I know that the Lord will allow us to have this success when we continue doing our part. So...we will need a lot of prayers. Can we do it? Heck yes! LET´S BAPTIZE 20 PEOPLE!!!

 

Also, next week is transfers, so I´m thinking that I´ll stay and that Elder Barbosa will check out. We´ll see what happens.

We´ll meet our new President tomorrow at Zone COnference! It´ll be really cool and I´m excited to see what he wants to focus on. It will be an interesting "re-start" for several reasons. First, my relationship with Presidente Araújo was basically about choir. That´s it! So it´ll be good to start over and work hard. Also, now that we´re a little more experienced on the mission, we´ll actually work with him more, and that´ll be an exciting challenge. The only thing we need to focus on is the work, obedience, love, and having an extremely good experience - live the mission, as a wise man said.

Also, we had the best District Meeting of all time on Monday! We did exercises, creative contacts, and practiced a lot of fun things. It´s fun to be creative and try new things.

 

The Church is true. Christ is our Savior and suffered because He loves us. A LOT. We NEED to do our best, and if we´re not, repent, stop it, and let the blessings of the Gospel come into our lives. It´s really all true.

 

I talked with a guy on the street who was making crazy eyes, and when I stopped to talk with him, he started screaming and waving his arms, then stopped and got really quiet and said "Deussssssssssssssss." It was really funny.

 

Elder Brown

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Novo presidente?!?!

Well, as the subject says, as of today we have a new mission President. There are lots of things to think about and many things to do, but I guess I´d just like to "publicly" say that Presidente Araújo really changed the mission and that Presidente Cordon will do the same thing with the same effort. The work will not change, and the church is still true. That´s about it.

 

Also, I have been receiving several difficulties due to some new responsibilites. There are some Elders here that have decided that watching the World Cup (even though it´s prohibited) is more important than working and that it´s other people´s fault if anything bad happens. This is frustrating, mostly because I don´t have a whole lot that I can do about it. The things that have to be done are being done, but sometimes it gets tough. You feel like all your effort is a waste, that no one really cares, and that you´d be better off doing other things in other places. In these times - that ALL of us have every once in a while - it is most important to do the simple things that we already know how to do - pray, read the scriptures, blah blah blah. It´s almost annoying when we hear the same thing over and over again, but that´s because it really is true! These things actually work! It´s a proven formula that is almost too easy at times, and because of the simplicity of the way there are many who are lost.

 

I´d like to talk about an experience that happened this last week that was both extremely trying and inspirational:

First, there was the "lesson" with Vera and Ezakel. It was last Sunday - when Brasil was playing for the Cup - and, as usual, we were trying to find someone to teach/doing contacts, etc. We finally found an address from a contact we had done from the previous week. We stopped, knocked, and Vera answered the door. She made it very clear that they are very Evangelical, but we told her that the message is for everyone yadda yadda, we got in. As we waited for the game to end, studying flashcards, the man of the house was very quiet and watching the game. The game ended, and the floor was ours. We started to explain who we were, why we were there, etc., and then, without warning, Izakel opened his mouth and started to attack everything about our church - from the BOM to Joseph Smith to the Word of Wisdom. Obviously, we didn´t let him just ram on the church like that and tried to explain, but this type of person doesn´t even let truth in. We waited and took it all in. For basically 5 minutes he continued twisting our words and attacking everything that I have believed and loved for my entire life. In these minutes, as I was praying to keep calm and to have patience, I couldn´t help but think about all these things that he was saying. I started to wonder - is it all really a lie? Am I really wasting my time? Why am I subjecting myself to this wave of insults and lies? I thought, and thought, and thought, as he flapped and flapped his chops, and as he started to come to the supposed end of his rant, there was a silence. It seemed to last for a good hour, though it was just a few seconds. It was my turn to talk now. I could have burned the heck out of his stubborn head, showing and proving to him that the BOM is true, our church is true, etc. But, we bore our testimonies and testified that, no matter what anyone said, the message is true. He couldn´t say a word - he tried to, but it had no effect. All the doubts in my mind were answered by one sentence that I heard many, many years ago when I first "knew" the church was true - you already know it´s true. Although I wanted badly to chastise his ignorant hide for scandaling our church in such a manner, we learned a lesson in patience that was difficult to learn, but golden for experience. Simply put, the Spirit testifies to us that the church is true. If we don´t let these feelings in, that´s our own darn problem. It´s true, whether Ezakel likes it or not. Sucka!!!

 

Whatever problem encounters us, whatever trial tries to stump us, whoever tries to pull us down from our testimony, however Satan tries to mess with our lives, and whenever we feel completely and utterly alone, it is in this time that we must remember that HE LIVES.  He is the Savior of the world. All of these things are for our own good and growth. Everything will be ok in the end - all we need to do is our part, and do our best to help others do theirs.

 

I love all of you and want you to know that the mission is amazing. If you want to know how much you are loved, serve a mission.

Elder Brown

 

PS Thanks for the package, family!!! Love you all!

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Weekly email pah-tay

Hello all you trolley people,

There is some kid listening to music and playing Super Mario World. I want to kill him. With the Spirit gun.

I think Brasil has some of the best music and some of the worst garbage I have ever heard. I almost wish you could all hear it for those who aren´t here, but I would´nt wish that on you. Basically, it´s like a dying chicken trying to rap or make some sort of beat - they must all be destroyed, then peace shall be restored in the galaxy.

I have been learning even more about patience! Weee!!! For a little background, there is something going on called the World Cup. For the Americans who maybe don´t know what it is, it is soccer - a LOT of soccer. I am in Brasil, which is the kingdom consecrated and dedicated to soccer. I know, it´s sad, but it´s true. We, as missionaries, are not allowed to watch the games because there is "no missionary benefit" in watching them. There are a lot of missionaries (and members who think they know more than God) who say that it is sacred and that we should be able to watch. But as for me and my companionship, we shall serve the Lord (2 Steve 3:4). So, basically, we can try to find people to teach and do contacts or we can slack off and say that nothing´s possible. Elder Barbosa and I chose the first option and, actually, it was great for several reasons. First, there were a lot of people on the street (cars=no, people=yes) and almost all of them were stunned that we even work when Brasil has a game - rack up one more for the true church! Second, every single goal is signalled by an instantaneous and sounding explosion (literally, as in bombs and stuff. Seriously) of gunpowder, fireworks, screaming, and really annoying little horns that every little 5 year old and his mom have, so we always know the score to every game, without watching. Blessings for free!!! Third, there really are people waiting for us during these games and they will be found!

We annnounced the Gincana at church on Sunday - in short, the ward exploded with excitement. Let´s rock the heck out of this area and divide the ward!!!

The church is really super true, yáll. Go to it.

Elder Brown

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Batismo! The joy and sweet alegria!

Dear all yáll,

 

I don´t think I mentioned it to anyone, but I had an awesome dream a while ago. I was in the baptismal font, dancing (in warm water - even more crazy), and there was a huge line of people in white making a sort of Congo line from one side of the font to the other. There was also music - dadadadadaaDA! dadadadadaaDA! Every DA! I baptized someone. It was awesome. And lasted for like 5 minutes. Chalk up one more goal for my mission - doing a dance in the baptismal font after 5 minutes of baptizing.

 

This week was really good. I seriously think that me and my companion could baptize every week this transfer and the next! The ward is so excited and we´re putting in some new ideas so that the work can explode even more. If you could pray for these people I would appreciate it (these people are scheduled for baptism these next two weeks, or potentially could be baptized): Danilo, Monique, Maria, Rosane, Taína, Camilla, William, Domingos, Terezinha, Marilei, Antônio, and Célia. Our goal for this month is 8 and we´ve had 2 so far - let´s get em!

 

I realized something - it is now easier for me to speak in my mission language than in English. This is, honestly, a huge surprise, but it makes sense. I´ve only had one American companion in the field and 5 Brasilians, so, naturally, it´s easier to speak Portuguese with the Brasilians. I hope you all know that the Gift of Tongues is real - it worked for me (imagine a cheesy infomercial)!

 

We baptized Maicon this last Sunday! It was really good - he was ready to be baptized. We are working to improve the quality of our baptismal meetings so that more people have more desire to also be baptized. We are also planning/making a contest (Gincana) for the missionary work in the ward, a calendar for splits with the missionaries, little reminders for the divisons, a giant poster (by Elder Barbosa, who´s an artist - he´s the man)...it´s good. After Autódromo, this ward is a welcome change and we´re readying it for even more.

 

I think that the people in the States don´t know, but for those of us in another country the World Cup in South Africa is underway and thriving. Yesterday was the first game, and, you guessed it, we couldn´t watch. It was actually really funny. There were some people on the street and so we just did contacts for about 2 hours. It was ok, and let me just say that I hope Brasil wins it all. If not, and if the USA wins, I am going to die along with the other Americans. Every GOOOOOOOLLLL!!!!! that they had there were about 1,000 fireworks that went off at the same time. There were also people crazy drunk with the Brasilian flag used for underwear, etc. etc. etc., no more details necessary, and it was fun. Basically we know what happened in the game as if we had actually watched it ourselves because that´s all people are talking about right now. Anyway, the next game is the 20th, so we have some more time to wait.

 

A really weird realization that I had the other day - President Araújo is dying! He´s going home, in 2 weeks! It will be really interesting to have 2 mission presidents, but the only thing we can do is wish the best for Pres. Araújo and do our best to serve the new one. He´ll be awesome too, and there´ll be a lot of baptisms.

 

The church is SO true. The missionaries, even if they aren´t the best, receive blessings every day. I am keeping the rules and working my best for all of you and hope that you are all doing the same - be a missionary! It´ll bless your life and the lives of others! It´s easy! But you don´t have to take MY word for it...takes LeVar´s instead.

 

With a neckhug,

Elder Brown

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Bracatinga? BrawckaCHEENgah!!

Like I said, Bracatinga. It´s a part of our area here. Love saying that word. Say it - you´ll get happy!

 

Here´s the Portuguese study of the day:

 

Estou sendo muito abençoado pelo Senhor em recebendo áreas excellentes e companheiros bons. Elder Barbosa é um dos missionários que posso dizer que realmente quis ser companheiro dele, e agora só falamos de batismo. Esta ala está muito pronto a explodir com ainda mais batismos! Temos uma meta de 8 pessoas e estamos marcando mais datas com mais pessoas boas. Depos de minha última área, esta é uma benção muita grande, porque lá senti que o meu trabalho foi só a reanimar a ala, que fizemos, mas a não ver "sucesso". Aqui, tenho o opportunidade de ceifar e ver os resultados, que sempre ajuda o seu atitude e ânimo.
Estou agradecendo ao Senhor pelo privilégio de servir como Lider de Distrito aqui. Minhas orações têm melhorado muito e sinto que estou ficando mais sensível aos sentimentos do Espírito. Fiz minha primeira entrevista semana passada e foi uma experiência inesquecível. Também conduzi minha primeira reunião de Distrito e deu muito certo  - todo mundo marcarão mais datas e batizarão mais!

 

I am being very blessed by the Lord in areas receiving excellent and good companions. Elder Barbosa is one of the missionaries who I really wanted to be his companion, and now only speak of baptism. This ward is very ready to explode with even more baptisms! We have a goal of 8 people and we are scoring more dates with more good people. Depos my last area, this is a very great blessing, because there I felt my job was only to revive the ward, we did, but not to see "success". Here, I have the opportunity of reaping and see the results, which always helps your attitude and courage.
I am thanking the Lord for the privilege of serving as district leader here. My prayers have improved a lot and feel I'm getting more sensitive to the feelings of the Spirit. I did my first interview last week and was an unforgettable experience. Also conducted my first meeting of District and worked very well - everyone will score more dates and baptize more!

 

As the part above explains, it has been an amazing week. I have come to a conclusion that Heavenly Father always knows what will be best for us, and if/when we do our part, He´ll do His. Always.

My last area was a little tough. Good people, great place, but the ward was a little unexcited as far as missionary work. Our job was to re-excite them, and we did a better job with that. But now, all the people that I was working with will be baptized by someone else. BUT,  that is a good thing. The kingdom is growing anyway.

This ward is ridiculously excited already! This year, they´ve already had 21 baptisms. My goal is to double that by the end of my time here. Woo! Elder Barbosa is the face (o cara - the man) and we are going to baptize everything here. We´ll also start up a Gincana here to get things going more organized and let the references flow into the baptismal font. We had a baptism last week - Robson, a 11 year old boy who is the man.  It was a really fast service and the water was FREEZING cold. Good thing a member baptized :) .

I´m trying to send pictures but this LAN House is my  enemy. Dang it. I´ll probably send a letter home soon with pictures and ya´ll will enjoy them.

 

I know that Christ lives. I know that missionaries are blessed and bless others for every bit of effort that they put into the Lord´s work. NO effort is wasted and no amount of devotion is too much. He will come again.

 

Elder Brown, Pilarzinho (a parte no Norte da Cidade)(with a LOT of crazy hills. My calves are burning)

 

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Terceira Área!

As the title says, I´m writing this from Pilarzinho, my third area! I only stayed for 3 months in Autódromo, but I can honestly say that I poured my blood,sweat, tears,and faith into the baptismal font (this is just a cool analogy - don´t freak out) and though we only baptized 4 in 3 months, there are around 7 who could be this month. PLant the seeds,watch the results.

 

I think the three things I learned most in that area had to have been faith, patience, and humility. It is literally ridiculous to think about where I was 9 months ago and what I was like. I can´thelp but feeling a little retarded when I think back about how I used to be. I´m pleased to write that if to improve yourself was the only purpose of the mission, I could be coming home now. I´m even more pleased to admit that I have even more time to give to the Lord and receive/distribute those blessings to others. It is amazing and powerful to watch the effect of your work on all the people you see and love.

 

My new area looks great and smells really great - like baptisms. Delicious. My companion is Elder Barbosa, who is seriously the MAN! I always wanted to be his companion and now we are going to go nuts and bring the masses to the font. I have also been receiving more opportunities to serve and help and that has been very comforting and rewarding.

Time´s a little short, so I´d just like to share one experience:

 

It seems like every time I´m transferred, a greenie enters in my place and baptizes everyone who I taught. THis happened again, and he (Elder Groom) is soooo good! He´ll be an excellent missionary.Anyway, we were coming home on the bus and he was rapid-firing questions at me about everything under the sun- have you been robbed, will it get colder,etc. I was surprised that Iwas able to answer everything and more that he needed, and it felt good. I took a step back - wasn´t this me just a little while ago? Yes, it was. And BLINK, here I am.

 

As we were walking to our only appointment that day - with Paulo and Daiane (and thank you to all that are praying for them - I told them that and they cried), and he said that he really wanted to share an experience with them on how he can help Paulo stop smoking. I agreed, and after I started the lesson and had talked a bit, he started talking (inEnglish) with me translating (Português). It was almost spooky. I felt so smooth and relaxed with everything hewanted tosay, and when he bore his testimony to Paulo and Daiane, in English, mind you, they felt theSpirit. It was powerful! I was appreciative tohave shared in that experience and to have felt the Spirit. They accepted a challenge to be baptized thisweek!!!!

 

I love you all. In a while you will all be hearing about the wonderful world of Pilarzinho! Let´s GOOO!!!!

 

Elder Brown

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