Thanks Bobi for making my birthday extra special (Birthday lunch and brownies)! Also, congrats to Bobi for being called to the Anaheim, California Mission working in the mission office. You are now one of us!
Happy Birthday to me!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Thanks Bobi for making my birthday extra special (Birthday lunch and brownies)! Also, congrats to Bobi for being called to the Anaheim, California Mission working in the mission office. You are now one of us!
Week of Miracles!
Family and Friends,
I just want to THANK everyone for the Happy Birthdays! It really made me smile and have a great birthday. I am now officially 20 Years Old. Yep, I don't know what to think about that. Probably on a maturity level I think I am the closest I ever have been to my age. I give all the credit to being on a my mission and the Lord sculpting me to be the best that I can be. Ha ha. This week has been interesting. This is a really nice area and I feel like I am officially in my vacation spot. Before I came out on my mission this area is what I thought California was going to be like and I Love It!!!!!!!!! So when I got here we had 0 investigators. So that was depressing and I taught the lowest amount of lessons for a very long time. Only 3 this week. I know Elder Austin Rich, one of my best friends, averages about 3 baptisms a week in Africa. Ha ha. Hey I am trying. Some very cool things happened. So on my Birthday . . . . . . . the Youth were having this Missionary camp thing and so my companion and I went on splits. I took 2 young men out tracting with me. One was 14 and the other 16. We ran into a theologin Scholar who comes out with his Bible and had all these tricks up his sleeves. I have been in Yorba Linda for a while so I had it all in control. We were talking to him and exchanging things we believe and backing it up with scripture. Everything he would tell me I would crush it down with a scripture. So after a couple minutes of this I knew this was going no where but I saw these kids get into it. I told him that we had to go because this gentleman didn't want to listen to what we have to say. He tried to throw down all he could on these kids and it was just crazy. I told them if people are just trying to tear you down and don't want to hear what you have to say you just nod your head and leave. I thought that was a cool experience for those kids. On the bright side, we found a couple potential investigators. Well, the next day we went and taught one of those potentials and his name is Mario! OH Ya!!! We taught him the first Lesson! He was so pumped that there is a prophet today on the earth! He was even more pumped that he is going to address the world this upcoming Saturday and Sunday. This guy has some great potential. He has a wife and two little kids that we can hopefully get involved. He is going to get baptized this upcoming month because the holy ghost whispered to his heart that the things we are teaching are true. Can I say MIRACLE!!! It was a great birthday weekend. We also ran into a Palistinian Catholic guy who is a millionaire. He thought we were the FLDS Church. So we addressed his concerns and he committed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. He is retired in his mansion. He just hangs out and has plenty of time to read that amazing holy scripture. He said that he respects us and our ancestors because of the persecution we went through. He is from Ephraim (that is what we think he pronounced his city, it all crazy) a little village outside of Bethlehem. He said that village is still Christian and that they have been persecuted like we did for what we knew to be true. So we are excited to go back, he loves to talk to us! All in all it was a great week. Elder Anderson and I worked hard. We knew that this week was going to be slow and we were knocking on a lot of doors. But this upcoming week is filled with scheduled lessons and miracles. So I will catch you all on the flip side and the next time I email you I will be on the way down. I will hit My HUMP this week! Love you all have a fabulous week. Do everything possible to offend Satan every second of every day!!!! (EX. Pray, read your scriptures, go to Church, serve others) That is my goal every day!!!!! I always feel so good because I know God always has My Back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Elder Brown
I just want to THANK everyone for the Happy Birthdays! It really made me smile and have a great birthday. I am now officially 20 Years Old. Yep, I don't know what to think about that. Probably on a maturity level I think I am the closest I ever have been to my age. I give all the credit to being on a my mission and the Lord sculpting me to be the best that I can be. Ha ha. This week has been interesting. This is a really nice area and I feel like I am officially in my vacation spot. Before I came out on my mission this area is what I thought California was going to be like and I Love It!!!!!!!!! So when I got here we had 0 investigators. So that was depressing and I taught the lowest amount of lessons for a very long time. Only 3 this week. I know Elder Austin Rich, one of my best friends, averages about 3 baptisms a week in Africa. Ha ha. Hey I am trying. Some very cool things happened. So on my Birthday . . . . . . . the Youth were having this Missionary camp thing and so my companion and I went on splits. I took 2 young men out tracting with me. One was 14 and the other 16. We ran into a theologin Scholar who comes out with his Bible and had all these tricks up his sleeves. I have been in Yorba Linda for a while so I had it all in control. We were talking to him and exchanging things we believe and backing it up with scripture. Everything he would tell me I would crush it down with a scripture. So after a couple minutes of this I knew this was going no where but I saw these kids get into it. I told him that we had to go because this gentleman didn't want to listen to what we have to say. He tried to throw down all he could on these kids and it was just crazy. I told them if people are just trying to tear you down and don't want to hear what you have to say you just nod your head and leave. I thought that was a cool experience for those kids. On the bright side, we found a couple potential investigators. Well, the next day we went and taught one of those potentials and his name is Mario! OH Ya!!! We taught him the first Lesson! He was so pumped that there is a prophet today on the earth! He was even more pumped that he is going to address the world this upcoming Saturday and Sunday. This guy has some great potential. He has a wife and two little kids that we can hopefully get involved. He is going to get baptized this upcoming month because the holy ghost whispered to his heart that the things we are teaching are true. Can I say MIRACLE!!! It was a great birthday weekend. We also ran into a Palistinian Catholic guy who is a millionaire. He thought we were the FLDS Church. So we addressed his concerns and he committed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. He is retired in his mansion. He just hangs out and has plenty of time to read that amazing holy scripture. He said that he respects us and our ancestors because of the persecution we went through. He is from Ephraim (that is what we think he pronounced his city, it all crazy) a little village outside of Bethlehem. He said that village is still Christian and that they have been persecuted like we did for what we knew to be true. So we are excited to go back, he loves to talk to us! All in all it was a great week. Elder Anderson and I worked hard. We knew that this week was going to be slow and we were knocking on a lot of doors. But this upcoming week is filled with scheduled lessons and miracles. So I will catch you all on the flip side and the next time I email you I will be on the way down. I will hit My HUMP this week! Love you all have a fabulous week. Do everything possible to offend Satan every second of every day!!!! (EX. Pray, read your scriptures, go to Church, serve others) That is my goal every day!!!!! I always feel so good because I know God always has My Back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Elder Brown
New Chapter
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Well . . . . . . . . . . A lot has happened this last week! I got sick and I was out for the count for a couple days. Getting the flu was not that fun but I did recover. ha ha. I was able to get a little bit ahead with reading and so forth which is cool. We were able to teach my boy David! Taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he had a pretty good knowledge about it. A lot more then we thought. He is going to get baptized without a doubt in October. Very excited about that because he is an amazing guy with a strong heart! Also, we were able to meet with Gina twice this week. My testimony of involving members in this work has grown so much. Gina would not be an investigator and progressing like she is if it were not for the members of this ward. They have really made an impact in her life and I have seen and been a part of so many spiritual experiences with her. She has accepted baptism and she is going to get baptized in October also. I am so happy to be a part of all this and I am so grateful the Lord is blessing me and my companion and this ward! Well, transfer calls came. The most unexpected thing happened! I am getting transferred to the Anaheim 10th Ward in Anaheim Hills. Right across the 91 Freeway where my last area, Yorba Linda 4th Ward is at. I am in the same church building as them. Crazy stuff!!!! I am with Elder Anderson from Taylorsville Utah. When I got this call I was pretty upset! I thought that I was going to be able to continue to help with the progression of all those I love. But the Lord has other plans for me. I am still going to be able to come back and see the baptisms so I am pretty excited about that. But I am now again in a wealthier area. The apartment is nice. I want to thank everyone for getting me my early birthday presents! They are the Best! I could not wait to open them so I did but Mom I promise you that I will wait to open yours on Saturday! Me and my new companion are just going to have to work a little bit extra harder on Saturday to make it a good Birthday. I am excited for the new transfer, a new page, a new chapter. But I am NOT excited for packing all my stuff up again ha ha. I am learning a lot about just doing your best, getting lost in the service and let the Lord will do the rest. I Love you all and really do appreciate all the Happy Birthdays! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!
Elder J. Brown
Elder J. Brown
Humbling Experience
Monday, September 12, 2011
Family and Friends,
Well this week has been incredible! We were able to get a lot of missionary work done! We have a new investigator named David! He is Budhist and has a girlfriend that is a member of the church. He just got out of the Millitary and is going to school at Cal State Fullerton. He is a stud! We were able to teach him the first lesson, about the Restoration and invited him to be baptized! He is scheduled to be baptized October 8!!!! He also came to church yesterday so we are very excited! We have to start from scratch because he does not know the basic principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So we are going to definitely help him with that!
This last Wednesday we were able to teach 5 lessons! I was so pumped! I am feeling the blessings of the Lord each and every day. We were able to give out a lot of referrals to the singles ward Elders. It felt good teaching and testifying all day and getting to know people. People here in Fullerton are really humble and are good people, most of them anyways.
This last week we were able to have a Zone Conference with Elder Bowen of the Seventy. It is President Bowen's cousin and they both Rock! Elder Bowen talked about the Abrahamic Covenant, Baptismal Covenant, the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood, and the Gathering of Israel. It is absolutly amazing! I am so grateful and proud to be a part of this Work! The Lord's work. How much responsibility I have as his Servant and the blessings that not only I will recieve and all others that I come in contact with. Right after gaining a greater knowledge of this, a couple days later I had a pretty crazy experience. There is a little lake that is in our area and it is called Laguna Lake. There are always people there fishing and feeding the ducks. Well, we were walking up to it when we see this young lady just sittng on a picnic table. We were trying to contact this person and trying to give him a pass along card and he denied us. He was not being very cool and asked if he could give us a Devil card. We kind of laughed it off and walked away and that young lady was yelling, " Ya man the Devil" and was just yelling at us. As we were walking away the spirit told us to go back and talk to her. I was ready for this girl to put up a fight and say not very nice words to us. . As we approached her, her whole attitude changes. She told us how she use to be a Mormon and was baptized 9 years ago. She told us her name was Timothy and she was very ancy and seemed stressed out and we could smell alcohol on her breath. We asked her questions and then she starts opening up to us. She had 3-D Glasses on and took them off and she got beaten the crap out of her as her eye was black and blue swollen cuts eye barely open. Man, I felt so much compassion for this daughter of God. It was Crazy. I would not say she is of the norm but she was in distress. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time she said. Her friend say that they had to go. But Timothy wanted us to pray for her because she remembered that her family would always pray. Right as we were going to give the prayer she said wait..... "Can you give me a blessing?". In my head I am thinking, we are in a park with a ton of people around. This girl is going crazy and she is drunk. Elder Brown and I are looking at each other seeing if this setting was appropriate to give a Priesthood Blessing. She then said that her Grandpa use to give her blessings and was frantically begging us. (So just picture the scene in your head right now) So I ask her "Do you have the Faith that this Blessing will make you better?" She said, "Yes". Then I said, " we will give you a blessing". I felt like a true desciple of Jesus Christ being led by the Spirit and Blessing Heavenly fathers Children. Elder Brown and I gave a blessing of Comfort, people watching us! the spirit was so strong! As the blessing was given you could feel that Timothy was regaining her composure and she felt at peace. When it was done she was crying. We told her that drinking is not the way to solve her problems and we took it from her. She gave us a hug and left to her AA Class. I have never felt so much compassion and love for this stranger and I am so grateful that I had the Priesthood Authority to perform blessings to help others! Really humbling experience for me.
It was Elder Browns Birthday on September 11, 2011. We had a lot of fun serving the Lord. The Zone Leaders made us dinner and made Elder Brown sweet Birthday Brownies. ha ha. It was fun! The Work is going!!! I can't beleive that there is only one more week left of the transfer. Elder Brown are tearing it up and hopefully we stay together!
Elder J. Brown
Well this week has been incredible! We were able to get a lot of missionary work done! We have a new investigator named David! He is Budhist and has a girlfriend that is a member of the church. He just got out of the Millitary and is going to school at Cal State Fullerton. He is a stud! We were able to teach him the first lesson, about the Restoration and invited him to be baptized! He is scheduled to be baptized October 8!!!! He also came to church yesterday so we are very excited! We have to start from scratch because he does not know the basic principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So we are going to definitely help him with that!
This last Wednesday we were able to teach 5 lessons! I was so pumped! I am feeling the blessings of the Lord each and every day. We were able to give out a lot of referrals to the singles ward Elders. It felt good teaching and testifying all day and getting to know people. People here in Fullerton are really humble and are good people, most of them anyways.
This last week we were able to have a Zone Conference with Elder Bowen of the Seventy. It is President Bowen's cousin and they both Rock! Elder Bowen talked about the Abrahamic Covenant, Baptismal Covenant, the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood, and the Gathering of Israel. It is absolutly amazing! I am so grateful and proud to be a part of this Work! The Lord's work. How much responsibility I have as his Servant and the blessings that not only I will recieve and all others that I come in contact with. Right after gaining a greater knowledge of this, a couple days later I had a pretty crazy experience. There is a little lake that is in our area and it is called Laguna Lake. There are always people there fishing and feeding the ducks. Well, we were walking up to it when we see this young lady just sittng on a picnic table. We were trying to contact this person and trying to give him a pass along card and he denied us. He was not being very cool and asked if he could give us a Devil card. We kind of laughed it off and walked away and that young lady was yelling, " Ya man the Devil" and was just yelling at us. As we were walking away the spirit told us to go back and talk to her. I was ready for this girl to put up a fight and say not very nice words to us. . As we approached her, her whole attitude changes. She told us how she use to be a Mormon and was baptized 9 years ago. She told us her name was Timothy and she was very ancy and seemed stressed out and we could smell alcohol on her breath. We asked her questions and then she starts opening up to us. She had 3-D Glasses on and took them off and she got beaten the crap out of her as her eye was black and blue swollen cuts eye barely open. Man, I felt so much compassion for this daughter of God. It was Crazy. I would not say she is of the norm but she was in distress. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time she said. Her friend say that they had to go. But Timothy wanted us to pray for her because she remembered that her family would always pray. Right as we were going to give the prayer she said wait..... "Can you give me a blessing?". In my head I am thinking, we are in a park with a ton of people around. This girl is going crazy and she is drunk. Elder Brown and I are looking at each other seeing if this setting was appropriate to give a Priesthood Blessing. She then said that her Grandpa use to give her blessings and was frantically begging us. (So just picture the scene in your head right now) So I ask her "Do you have the Faith that this Blessing will make you better?" She said, "Yes". Then I said, " we will give you a blessing". I felt like a true desciple of Jesus Christ being led by the Spirit and Blessing Heavenly fathers Children. Elder Brown and I gave a blessing of Comfort, people watching us! the spirit was so strong! As the blessing was given you could feel that Timothy was regaining her composure and she felt at peace. When it was done she was crying. We told her that drinking is not the way to solve her problems and we took it from her. She gave us a hug and left to her AA Class. I have never felt so much compassion and love for this stranger and I am so grateful that I had the Priesthood Authority to perform blessings to help others! Really humbling experience for me.
It was Elder Browns Birthday on September 11, 2011. We had a lot of fun serving the Lord. The Zone Leaders made us dinner and made Elder Brown sweet Birthday Brownies. ha ha. It was fun! The Work is going!!! I can't beleive that there is only one more week left of the transfer. Elder Brown are tearing it up and hopefully we stay together!
Elder J. Brown
Losing myself in the work!
Monday, September 5, 2011
This week has been good! We were able to find a new Investigator! His name is Chase and he is 14. His mom has been less active at a very young age but believes that the gospel of Jesus Christ will bless him and help him get through high school and life. He just made a friend that is LDS from Utah that just moved in and has been telling Chase about the Book of Mormon. Chase says that he recognizes a difference from us missionaries and his friend to every one else in his high school. He says we are calm and know what our purpose is in life. The Holy Ghost really does radiate off the members of Christ's church and people feel that. We taught Chase the Restoration and the spirit was so strong. We invited him to read, ponder and pray about the Book of Mormon. He told us after we invited him that he already believes in it and that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God. We then Invited him to be baptized October 1st. He accepted and Elder Brown and I are so excited. One downer was that he did not come to church. But we know that he is solid and that he will make amazing covenants to bring him closer to his Savior, Jesus Christ.
We did have 3 Investigators come to church! Gina, who is our most progressing Investigator is solid. She is talking about baptism and she feels like Christmas sounds good to her. Elder Brown I are thinking about October but we will see what we can do. We found out her concerns, so we are going to address them and help her come unto the fold. We are trying to do a lot of finding. Half of my area is Spanish so we are passing out a lot of Spanish pass a long cards and using the little Spanish that I have. Hola, como estas ustedes. Ya something like that ha ha. I am learning about repentance and striving everyday to be the best missionary my Heavenly Father knows and expects me to be. I love serving the Lord. I am finding myself as I am losing myself in the Lord's work. I am so grateful for the many blessings that I have. I am blessed to have an amazing mission, with an amazing mission President, with the best Elders in the world. I love serving. It is hard but worth it! I love you all take care.
Elder J. Brown.
We did have 3 Investigators come to church! Gina, who is our most progressing Investigator is solid. She is talking about baptism and she feels like Christmas sounds good to her. Elder Brown I are thinking about October but we will see what we can do. We found out her concerns, so we are going to address them and help her come unto the fold. We are trying to do a lot of finding. Half of my area is Spanish so we are passing out a lot of Spanish pass a long cards and using the little Spanish that I have. Hola, como estas ustedes. Ya something like that ha ha. I am learning about repentance and striving everyday to be the best missionary my Heavenly Father knows and expects me to be. I love serving the Lord. I am finding myself as I am losing myself in the Lord's work. I am so grateful for the many blessings that I have. I am blessed to have an amazing mission, with an amazing mission President, with the best Elders in the world. I love serving. It is hard but worth it! I love you all take care.
Elder J. Brown.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)