Tune in Next Week!
Friday, April 27, 2012
Sorry, no blog for this week. This is Elder Brown's mom and I am on my way to Cancun. I told Josh that he gets a week off. Tune in next week! Hope to have lots of pictures also....
Busy, Busy, Busy
Monday, April 23, 2012
Family and Friends,
Well this week was really busy like always now. I am enjoying being so busy and doing the Lord's work. We were able to find a lot of new investigators this week and also teach a lot of lessons. We are striving to help the same people we talked about last week to enter into the waters of baptism. Nothing has really changed. Elder Herron, my new companion is very knowledgeable in the gospel and knows his scriptures inside and out. He gives me a stronger desire to know my scriptures more and dive into them. We teach in unity and it is great. We are still trying to enhance our teaching ability but it is going well. I got a bad head cold earlier this week. That is probably the worse sickness I am going to get serving in the states. haha. It didn't stop me from working. The ward is doing great! They are so good at missionary work. They fellowship non-members wonderfully. I am still learning how to activate into faith into power. All you have to do is excercise a particle of faith and miracles will happen. I am seeing it. The Lord is blessing us so much much right now, with a willing heart and a peaceful mind. California Anaheim mission is where its at!
Elder Brown
Busy, Busy, Busy
Family and Friends,
Well this week was really busy like always now. I am enjoying being so busy and doing the Lord's work. We were able to find a lot of new investigators this week and also teach a lot of lessons. We are striving to help the same people we talked about last week to enter into the waters of baptism. Nothing has really changed. Elder Herron, my new companion is very knowledgeable in the gospel and knows his scriptures inside and out. He gives me a stronger desire to know my scriptures more and dive into them. We teach in unity and it is great. We are still trying to enhance our teaching ability but it is going well. I got a bad head cold earlier this week. That is probably the worse sickness I am going to get serving in the states. haha. It didn't stop me from working. The ward is doing great! They are so good at missionary work. They fellowship non-members wonderfully. I am still learning how to activate into faith into power. All you have to do is excercise a particle of faith and miracles will happen. I am seeing it. The Lord is blessing us so much much right now, with a willing heart and a peaceful mind. California Anaheim mission is where its at!
Elder Brown
Spiritual Experiences!
Family & Friends,
This week has been crazy! I taught the most lessons this week ever on my mission! Elder Child and I taught 16 lessons this week and I absolutely loved it. Weeks go by so fast when all you do is teach. We were able to have a lot of miracles this week!
I want to talk about my boy Jeremy! He has had a tough life. He has been fighting the addiction to drugs his whole entire life. He is a good man at heart and just needs some direction in his life. That is why it is great that we as missionaries act as guides. We help set up an environment that the Holy Ghost can teach our investigators what truth is. Help them recognize what the Holy Ghost is. We were able to teach Jeremy 7 times this week along with other functions. He has exercised his faith so much. We are helping him to be off all substances that go against the Word of Wisdom by April 28th. When he endures he will be baptized on May 26th. He came to the temple tour with us then to Bradley's baptism right after. He also came to church and we were able to give him a blessing to reach his goal of baptism on the 26th of May. He has tremendous faith!
We were able to witness a baptism of Bradley. His story was quite amazing. When I first came into the area I was asking about our investigators. Elder Child went through them then told me about Bradley. Bradley has been investigating for over two years and has been dying to be baptized. His mother would not give permission for him to be baptized. Elder Child and I decided to fast & pray for Bradley and for his mom to soften her heart and allow him to get baptized. We came to Bradley and told him that we feel prompted to set up a baptismal date for April 14th. He accepted and a miracle happened! She said that Bradley is old enough to make his own decisions. I know that fasting & prayer really does work. I have seen it happen so many times! I have a very strong testimony in that. So Bradley got baptized and it was a very great spiritual experience.
We have a couple more people with baptismal dates and excited to continue to serve here in South Coast! Transfer calls came and Elder Child left to Euclid Fullerton. I am so sad! I love Elder Child. He is a great missionary and friend. I am so grateful that I was able to serve with him. My new companion is Elder Herron from Virginia Beach, Virginia. He is an interesting Elder but has a strong testimony in the Gospel. I am so grateful to be serving in the California Anaheim Mission! I am enjoying every minute of it. Take Care! Have a great week!
Elder Brown
This week has been crazy! I taught the most lessons this week ever on my mission! Elder Child and I taught 16 lessons this week and I absolutely loved it. Weeks go by so fast when all you do is teach. We were able to have a lot of miracles this week!
I want to talk about my boy Jeremy! He has had a tough life. He has been fighting the addiction to drugs his whole entire life. He is a good man at heart and just needs some direction in his life. That is why it is great that we as missionaries act as guides. We help set up an environment that the Holy Ghost can teach our investigators what truth is. Help them recognize what the Holy Ghost is. We were able to teach Jeremy 7 times this week along with other functions. He has exercised his faith so much. We are helping him to be off all substances that go against the Word of Wisdom by April 28th. When he endures he will be baptized on May 26th. He came to the temple tour with us then to Bradley's baptism right after. He also came to church and we were able to give him a blessing to reach his goal of baptism on the 26th of May. He has tremendous faith!
We were able to witness a baptism of Bradley. His story was quite amazing. When I first came into the area I was asking about our investigators. Elder Child went through them then told me about Bradley. Bradley has been investigating for over two years and has been dying to be baptized. His mother would not give permission for him to be baptized. Elder Child and I decided to fast & pray for Bradley and for his mom to soften her heart and allow him to get baptized. We came to Bradley and told him that we feel prompted to set up a baptismal date for April 14th. He accepted and a miracle happened! She said that Bradley is old enough to make his own decisions. I know that fasting & prayer really does work. I have seen it happen so many times! I have a very strong testimony in that. So Bradley got baptized and it was a very great spiritual experience.
We have a couple more people with baptismal dates and excited to continue to serve here in South Coast! Transfer calls came and Elder Child left to Euclid Fullerton. I am so sad! I love Elder Child. He is a great missionary and friend. I am so grateful that I was able to serve with him. My new companion is Elder Herron from Virginia Beach, Virginia. He is an interesting Elder but has a strong testimony in the Gospel. I am so grateful to be serving in the California Anaheim Mission! I am enjoying every minute of it. Take Care! Have a great week!
Elder Brown
The Easter Bunny came!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Bobi is my mom's errand angel. She is always bringing me surprises. Love my Easter Basket!
Spiritual Feasting!
Family and Friends,
This week has been action packed and it was AWESOME! First I want to talk about a cool preparation activity we did as a zone. We played Scatter ball. It is kind of like dodge ball but you can't run with a ball and you have to throw it off the walls in order to move. You have to hit everyone to win, but if you get hit all the people you hit are back in. It was crazy with 14 missionaries haha. To make things even crazier we played with racquetballs! haha. It was crazy as every one gangs up on you and throws as hard as they can just leaving huge welts. People getting hit in the face getting blind-sided. It was nuts. One game took 45 minutes to end. I really like that game as you use a lot energy. I just wanted to let you see what the Newport Zone does for fun.
Elder Child and I taught so much this week. By far one of the best on my mission. We had a couple miracles. First we were able to recieve a media refferal from Salt Lake. We were to go see Steven. He is 21 and a great kid. He has not been brought up with a religion and considers himself Agnostic (believes in a higher power). He found the church through Mormon.org and was talking to missionaries on-line and asked for the missionaries to come and teach him. So we were there the next day. He wants to get baptized. So we gave him a baptismal date for April 15th right before the transfer ends. We taught him all the lessons and gave him a tour of the church. We showed him the baptismal font and he was stoked for his baptism. Well, the next day he text us and said that he was up all night scared to death to get baptized and for the interview. He said that he doesn't want to meet with us anymore thn stopped texting us. We were like, "dang, how does that happen". We had one of the fellowshippers text him to see what the problem was and he was really nervous about the interview questions. So we told him what they were and he was fine with it. We were able to go to "What think Ye of Christ", a community event that the Stake President organized. It was absolutly amazing! The choir and the narration was so good. I felt the spirit so strong. On top of that Steven asked for a blessing of comfort to be able to overcome his fears. It was a really cool experience.
I don't know how much I have told you about one of our new investigators Jeremy but he is the man. He has been struggling with drugs his whole life since he was seven and has had a tough life. A very humble spiritual guy who loves the Savior. We have been teaching him and helping him overcome his bad habits. In the last week he has been able to cut out his tobacco and alcohol intake and has been staying away from the drugs. He is such a good guy! He came to church and loved it. It is amazing how much the Gospel and the spirit changes peoople.
(sorry my email time got all used up because a born again guy was asking me some questions on why we worship Joseph Smith. He realized we only worship Jesus Christ as I showed him my tag and explained to him we don't.)
We had a mission conference this Friday and we had a surprise visit with Elder Bednar and his wife. I have learned not to judge. I always thought that Elder Bednar was the most up tight straight lace guy with no sense of humor. But man, he is one of the funniest guys ever but yet very strict, straight lace guy who has the best sense of humor. I learned so much and had a huge spiritual feast. Like the words of Nephi, the spirit consumed my flesh and I was enlightened. We were able to have an hour to ask him some questions and it was so amazing. I prayed before he started that I would gain a stronger witness and testimony that Elder Bednar is Prophet, Seer, Revelator , an Apostle of the Lord. I can testify to you that he is! When he bears his testimony it it so powerful. Especially in person. I had such a spiritual day.
I was able to have easter at the Naia's a polynesian family! They fed me so much and we had such a good time.
Elder Brown
Easter Miracles
Family and Friends,
This week has been action packed and it was AWESOME! First I want to talk about a cool preparation activity we did as a zone. We played Scatter ball. It is kind of like dodge ball but you can't run with a ball and you have to throw it off the walls in order to move. You have to hit everyone to win, but if you get hit all the people you hit are back in. It was crazy with 14 missionaries haha. To make things even crazier we played with racquetballs! haha. It was crazy as every one gangs up on you and throws as hard as they can just leaving huge welts. People getting hit in the face getting blind-sided. It was nuts. One game took 45 minutes to end. I really like that game as you use a lot energy. I just wanted to let you see what the Newport Zone does for fun.
Elder Child and I taught so much this week. By far one of the best on my mission. We had a couple miracles. First we were able to recieve a media refferal from Salt Lake. We were to go see Steven. He is 21 and a great kid. He has not been brought up with a religion and considers himself Agnostic (believes in a higher power). He found the church through Mormon.org and was talking to missionaries on-line and asked for the missionaries to come and teach him. So we were there the next day. He wants to get baptized. So we gave him a baptismal date for April 15th right before the transfer ends. We taught him all the lessons and gave him a tour of the church. We showed him the baptismal font and he was stoked for his baptism. Well, the next day he text us and said that he was up all night scared to death to get baptized and for the interview. He said that he doesn't want to meet with us anymore thn stopped texting us. We were like, "dang, how does that happen". We had one of the fellowshippers text him to see what the problem was and he was really nervous about the interview questions. So we told him what they were and he was fine with it. We were able to go to "What think Ye of Christ", a community event that the Stake President organized. It was absolutly amazing! The choir and the narration was so good. I felt the spirit so strong. On top of that Steven asked for a blessing of comfort to be able to overcome his fears. It was a really cool experience.
I don't know how much I have told you about one of our new investigators Jeremy but he is the man. He has been struggling with drugs his whole life since he was seven and has had a tough life. A very humble spiritual guy who loves the Savior. We have been teaching him and helping him overcome his bad habits. In the last week he has been able to cut out his tobacco and alcohol intake and has been staying away from the drugs. He is such a good guy! He came to church and loved it. It is amazing how much the Gospel and the spirit changes peoople.
(sorry my email time got all used up because a born again guy was asking me some questions on why we worship Joseph Smith. He realized we only worship Jesus Christ as I showed him my tag and explained to him we don't.)
We had a mission conference this Friday and we had a surprise visit with Elder Bednar and his wife. I have learned not to judge. I always thought that Elder Bednar was the most up tight straight lace guy with no sense of humor. But man, he is one of the funniest guys ever but yet very strict, straight lace guy who has the best sense of humor. I learned so much and had a huge spiritual feast. Like the words of Nephi, the spirit consumed my flesh and I was enlightened. We were able to have an hour to ask him some questions and it was so amazing. I prayed before he started that I would gain a stronger witness and testimony that Elder Bednar is Prophet, Seer, Revelator , an Apostle of the Lord. I can testify to you that he is! When he bears his testimony it it so powerful. Especially in person. I had such a spiritual day.
I was able to have easter at the Naia's a polynesian family! They fed me so much and we had such a good time.
Elder Brown
Cool Miracles~
Monday, April 2, 2012
Family and Friends,
This week was good as we were able to see some cool miracles!
We went to this apartment complex where we are teaching two investigators and we were in a hurry walking and I felt a prompting to knock on this door. So I turn and knock on it and a man named Jose answered the door. I asked him some questions about Jesus Christ and his religeous background and he said that he was raised Catholic but he is not really into the religious things at all. He was about to close our converstation but I was able to ask the question if he has felt God's love in his life. This enabled us to keep the conversation going and found out that he has felt the light of Christ in his life. We talked to him about prophets and he didn't know what prophets were. So were able to get into his home and teach the Restoration. The Holy Ghost was so strong as we were teaching him and helping him recognize God's love for him through out his life. In District Meeting earlier that morning I taught about "Teaching for Understanding" from Preach My Gospel. I know that helped me out so much as we were teaching Jose. Here is a man that was not interested, but because of our ability to teach for understanding which allowed the Holy Ghost to testify the things that what we were saying are true. He got so excited! We gave him a Book of Mormon and we asked him if he would read it. He said of course. He went on to say that nobody has given him a book in his life. I asked him if he would give the closing prayer and ask if the Book of Mormon was true. He did and the spirit was so strong. I then asked him how he felt. With a big grin on his face he said, " I feel tingley". I smiled and said that is the Holy Ghost testifying to you that the Book of Mormon is the word God. It was just the most amazing experience ever. I love missionary work, I live for those experiences. It is what brings you the ultimate hapiness. When I feel the Holy Ghost working through me and I can feel its presence, I know that I am doing my job as a representative of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for that experience and all the other experiences I have had on my mission.
On top of that I really enjoyed General Conference and the love I feel from the General Authorities. I love bearing my testimony to those out on the streets that the Prophet is going to address us this weekend. Even though nobody came, my testimony was strengthened as I bear testimony and heard the words of Thomas S. Monson. I was filled to the brim! It was great. It is like Christmas for a missionary when General Conference comes on.
I love my mission!!! I am so grateful that I have more time to show the Lord my love for him as I strive diligently and faithfully as I serve him and all his children. I know that this work is the most important work with eternal consequences. All we have to do as Saints is to remember and not forget the importance of our purpose of why we are here on this earth. Right now I am on spiritual high. It is my prayer that I can keep this spiritual fire through out my life and not forget the amazing experiences I have had. I miss you all but I am having a blast out here. MISSIONARY LIFE IS THE LIFE FOR ME! BOW CHICKA WOW WOW! Love you all.
Josh
This week was good as we were able to see some cool miracles!
We went to this apartment complex where we are teaching two investigators and we were in a hurry walking and I felt a prompting to knock on this door. So I turn and knock on it and a man named Jose answered the door. I asked him some questions about Jesus Christ and his religeous background and he said that he was raised Catholic but he is not really into the religious things at all. He was about to close our converstation but I was able to ask the question if he has felt God's love in his life. This enabled us to keep the conversation going and found out that he has felt the light of Christ in his life. We talked to him about prophets and he didn't know what prophets were. So were able to get into his home and teach the Restoration. The Holy Ghost was so strong as we were teaching him and helping him recognize God's love for him through out his life. In District Meeting earlier that morning I taught about "Teaching for Understanding" from Preach My Gospel. I know that helped me out so much as we were teaching Jose. Here is a man that was not interested, but because of our ability to teach for understanding which allowed the Holy Ghost to testify the things that what we were saying are true. He got so excited! We gave him a Book of Mormon and we asked him if he would read it. He said of course. He went on to say that nobody has given him a book in his life. I asked him if he would give the closing prayer and ask if the Book of Mormon was true. He did and the spirit was so strong. I then asked him how he felt. With a big grin on his face he said, " I feel tingley". I smiled and said that is the Holy Ghost testifying to you that the Book of Mormon is the word God. It was just the most amazing experience ever. I love missionary work, I live for those experiences. It is what brings you the ultimate hapiness. When I feel the Holy Ghost working through me and I can feel its presence, I know that I am doing my job as a representative of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for that experience and all the other experiences I have had on my mission.
On top of that I really enjoyed General Conference and the love I feel from the General Authorities. I love bearing my testimony to those out on the streets that the Prophet is going to address us this weekend. Even though nobody came, my testimony was strengthened as I bear testimony and heard the words of Thomas S. Monson. I was filled to the brim! It was great. It is like Christmas for a missionary when General Conference comes on.
I love my mission!!! I am so grateful that I have more time to show the Lord my love for him as I strive diligently and faithfully as I serve him and all his children. I know that this work is the most important work with eternal consequences. All we have to do as Saints is to remember and not forget the importance of our purpose of why we are here on this earth. Right now I am on spiritual high. It is my prayer that I can keep this spiritual fire through out my life and not forget the amazing experiences I have had. I miss you all but I am having a blast out here. MISSIONARY LIFE IS THE LIFE FOR ME! BOW CHICKA WOW WOW! Love you all.
Josh
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