Ya me voy (I am leaving)

Queridos amigos.
Sentí que era tiempo de escribir otra vez en español por mis amigos que lo entienden así mejor. Los quiero. Ya me puedo comunicar con ustedes poco más fácil ;)
He estado muy bien. Esta última semana, vi tantos milagros. Como siempre, no? Pero esta semana, vi que tan importante es el conocimiento del evangelio en nuestras vidas. No puedo imaginar dónde estaría sin la guía y dirrecion del Espíritu Santo. Tampoco sin las palabras inspiradas del Libro de Mormón.
Aunque tuve una semana buena, estoy un poco triste. Se me cambian esta semana a otro lugar. Voy a extrañar este área y barrio bastante. En unos pocos meses crecí unas relaciones muy especiales. Y deseo pasar más tiempo con ellos. Pero como dice Jesucristo sobre la voluntad de Nuesto Padre Celestial "pero no se haga mi voluntad, sino la tuya." Ya que esto es la obra de Dios, haré lo que Él me pida.
Nunca voy a olvidar las salidas semanales a Strathmore, andando en bikas por muchas millas y sudando todo el camino jajaja. Tampoco nuestros amigos que los he visto crecer en conocimiento de Jesucristo. La lista sigue.
Sé que este evangelio verdadero bendice a las vidas de cada uno de nosotros.
Sé que esta caridad, el amor puro de Cristo es algo especial. La oportunidad de servir una misión por mi Salvador es una oportunidad de ver los hijos de Dios como nuestro Padre Celestial nos ve.
Estoy agradecida por todo lo que tengo en mi vida.
Gracuas por su apoyo. Los quiero mucho. Se cuiden y que pasen buena semana.
Hermana Brown

Fotos:
Muchas despedidas. Bien triste.

Google translated:
Dear friends,

I felt it was time to write again in Spanish for my friends who understand it better. I love. I can communicate with you a little easier;)

I have been very good. This last week, I saw so many miracles. As always, right? But this week, I saw how important the knowledge of the gospel is in our lives. I can not imagine where I would be without the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit. Nor without the inspired words of the Book of Mormon.

Although I had a good week, I'm a little sad. They change me this week to another place. I will miss this area and neighborhood quite a lot. In a few months I grew very special relationships. And I want to spend more time with them. But as Jesus Christ says about the will of Our Heavenly Father "but not my will be done, but yours." Since this is the work of God, I will do what He asks of me.

I will never forget the weekly trips to Strathmore, riding on bikes for many miles and sweating all the way hahaha. Nor the friends who I have seen grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. The list goes on

I know that this true gospel blesses the lives of each one of us.

I know that this charity, the pure love of Christ is something special. The opportunity to serve a mission for my Savior is an opportunity to see the children of God as our Heavenly Father sees us.

I'm grateful for everything I have in my life.

Thank you for your support. I love you so much. Be careful and have a good week.

Sister Brown



Photos:

Many goodbyes. Very sad.

Japomexicana

One of my favorite memories from this week was talking about Family History with the cutest little family from Mexico. We met the dad about two weeks ago. He was really nice. When we talked with him the first time, we shared a Plan of Salvation pamphlet with him and asked if we could come back another day to talk with his whole family about how they can live together as a family forever. He said yes! So when we went back yesterday he answered the door and began to tell us how his wife goes to the Catholic Church and that she said she isn't planning on changing but maybe later on they would come visit our church. Nice try buddy, you dont even know what we have to offer!!! We started talked about how important family is and how our church has a huge Family History program. At this point his wife had walked up. I was bracing myself to get yelled at about how their family is Catholic and they appreciate what we are doing and know there is one God but that they don't want to hear what we have to say. Instead she just sat there listening to me explain how it is such a blessing to learn about our ancestors. She was finishing my sentences! And she agreed that through knowing all those stories we know where we came from. To explain a little more, I showed them my family tree on the "Family Tree" app and showed them the picture of my mom that I put in. They asked if she is Mexican haha I explained that she's not, but that she is Japanese. So I showed them pictures from the app of my great grandparents. It was so funny because they said they thought I was Mexican, but from Jalisco where there are a lot more fair skinned Mexicans. 

We kept chatting and they finally invited us in! (Boy this California heat is killer sometimes. And it's not even the heat of the summer.) The wife started downloading the app and I tried to do this thing where you can search for an ancestor to see if they are in the database. We didn't find him, but they said they are from a small small town outside of Michoacan, without technology, so that is proabbly why he wouldn't be there. They were really excited to share with us about their pueblito (little town) and we were able to connect with them in the sweetest way. 

One of the things they were telling us about us how there are a bunch of Japanese people in Mexico!! And I was really confused, and didn't really belive it. But they said that there are a bunch of fábricas (places where they make clothes) and the Japanese people are the bosses there. The dad keep saying to me "escríbelo para que vayas" hahaha he wanted me to write down the names of the cities in the state of Guanajuato where all the Japanese people are so that I could go. 

I loved that experience so much no only because the family is hilarious and super sweet. But because I was able to feel God's love for this family as I heard them talk about how precious their family is to them. 

I know that we are all sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father who has put us into families to give us a place where we can learn together, laugh together, and cry together. 

The more I feel God's love for His children the more I desire for them to have all the blessings that come from following Jesus Christ and His gospel! 

Les quiero. Cuídense. 

Fotos

1. Mexican ice cream bars are my absolute favorite. You can never go wrong with coconut and chocolate. Starting to glisten on a daily basis from the heat. 

2. Zone Conference! 

3. I made tortillas. On my own. 

4. Us four Sisters Missionaries that live together!

5. Just a cute little flower I saw the other day.

6. Sister Vollmer and I tearing up the kitchen with our preparation day tradition of cookie making. 

7. Wow. What a world we live in. So amazing. 

Halfway There

Oh dear the weeks go by so fast!! Speaking of going by fast... this week marks exactly nine months ago that I entered the Missionary Training Center to begin my mission. ¡no puedo creer que sólo me quedan nueve meses! (I can't believe that I only have nine months left!)

These past few weeks we have been working so hard! Just to get y'all up to speed. Here in Lindsay we live with two other Sister Missionaries. So last transfer we both had cars and we would just do our own thing. Then, at the start of this transfer (the beginning of April), we got informed that we were going to be sharing a car. Meaning that when we have the car the other Sisters are biking and when they have the car, we are biking. But the plot thickens because one of the other Sisters found out she has mono. So for a while they dont want her on a bike. That means they get the car everyday and we are on bikes everyday!!!! 

Now to be fair I love doing missionary work on bikes. Especially in Lindsay because not too often are two girls biking around looking goofy in helmets with sweat dripping down their faces. Haha. You become part of the town real quick. We have made so many friends just by smiling at people as we go by or stopping and talking to people walking along the sidewalk. So many people want to know more about what in the world we are doing (or they have seen missionaries on bikes before so they already know ;) ). 

We go to this one little town, Strathmore, a few times a week which is a bit outside of Lindsay. It is my favorite place ever!!! Its a super small town so you become a regular real quick. We get dinner in town once a week at this place (one of about two places to eat lol) and we became a regular our second time going hahha. 

Strathmore is a little over 6 miles from Lindsay. So one day we went to Strathmore and one of the Ranchos outside of Strathmore, back to Lindsay and all over Lindsay. I calculated it up and it was almost 20 miles haha. 

Let me tell ya. If I didnt believe that this was the restored true Church of Jesus Christ, I would not bike 20 miles in the California heat just to go tell people about it.

This week we have seen God's hand in His work so much. Yesterday was just one of many instances. We had a lesson with our new friend Rey. It was so cool because we got there and started talking and we were reading from Alma 36 in the Book of Mormon. Alma is telling his son, Helaman, his conversion story. We had just read a few verses and I was explaining what the verses meant and giving him more context to the story and he starts freaking out was saying like "Did you really just say that?" Haha I was a little nervous I had said something offensive but he went on to explain that that was exactly how he had been feeling and that is exactly what he had been praying to God about before we showed up. It was amazing to see not only how much he connected with this story from the Book of Mormon, but also the impeccable timing of it all. Tell me that's not the working of someone higher than us. 

I hope (and plan) to get just as much, and more, out of my last 9 months as I have my first 9 as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!! I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and testifies of Christ just as the Bible does. It has blessed me with knowledge, peace, joy, comfort, the list goes on. Read it and find out what it can do for you and your life :)

Love yall

Have a great week! 

Hermana Brown

2. The view from a Rancho in Strathmore. Tender mercies. 

3. Had to sport my Easter attire that I got in the mail this week. 

4-5. Shout out to random Hispanic ladies for always letting me use your bathrooms!!! Featuring the start of a sweaty summer my friends. 

6. Mmmmmm tacos. 

General Conference

Twice a year (first weekend in April and first weekend in October) we get the opportunity to hear from God's living Prophet and Apostles!! That my friends is this weekend!!!! I have such a strong testimony of Christ restored Church. We need that guidance and direction in our lives! 

I know that if each and every one of us will watch General Conference at least just one session with a question in mind and a prayer in our hearts, the words spoken will touch us and guide us to the answers we need. That is the power of the Holy Ghost!! 

It will be Saturday and Sunday. Both days there is a Morning Session (9-11am California Time. 12-2pm for my friends on the East Coast) and an Afternoon Session (1-3pm California Time. 4-6pm EST). You can watch it live on ChurchofJesusChrist.org :) 

This week has been amazing. I have seen so many miracles in the lessons we have had. It has been so fun!!! We showed up to one lesson and when we got there he mentioned something about not being too good. So we really tried to patiently let him open up to us. He hasn't really explained much in detail what he is going through, but he told us he lives everyday knowing it could be his last and it has something to do with his living situations.

Regardless, we talked about Christ's atonement, the sacrifice he made when He suffered for our sins. We talked about repentance and becoming clean, grace, forgiveness, and change. I shared some experiences from growing up and cried haha. But it was just such an emotional lesson!!!! He really is struggling right now and as we talked with him about change he basically said he is scared of change. It was so sweet though because at the end he was talking about how we as missioanries bring light into dark places. People try and hide, but we light up the darkness anyway. The way he phrased it I cant remember exactly, but the way he phrased it made me recognize that he knows the light we carry isn't ours. But that it is the light of Christ (John 8:12)! Also he said that he was one of those people being stubborn and trying to cover himself with a blanket but he said that we are poking holes in his blanket. Haha it was so funny, but so amazing that he can see how applying the Gospel into his life brings light! He totally already knows these things are true. The Spirit is already helping him to see it. 

I hope you all have a great week! 

Hermana Brown 

Oh yea we did service this week for the sweetest woman ever!!!!

And more tacos of course

Clearing up Misconceptions

This week we had some pretty amazing lessons! We taught the Plan of Salvation to one Spanish family and it was just so fun! The mom was so cute. At the start of the lesson we asked them if they had ever wondered where we came from, why we are here, or where we go after this life and she literally had been praying the night before and asked God what her purpose is. He answers our prayers! 
We were talking about the fall of Adam and Eve. And I asked the dad to give us a summary of the story of Adam and Eve. So he starts recounting the creation of man and then said "let's read about it from the Bible" haha so we read from genesis 2 and 3 and talked about the need for the fall. He loves the Bible. And it was awesome because he really loved all the scriptures we shared from the Book of Mormon. Hes so funny. He would say "I like that" in English in his super thick Mexican accent after we read each verse.Haha. Its cause the Book of Mormon is TRUE!!!! And as the lesson progressed I think it finally clicked for him that we study BOTH the Book of Mormon and the Bible hahaha. And that we rely on both for our knowledge of God's plan for us. 
When we started talked about the gospel being preached in the spirit world, Norma was very sceptical. So we pulled out 1 Peter 4:6. She read that verse about 10 times haha. Then she read it from the start of the chapter to make sure she got the context right. I pointed out the second part of the verse where it explains why. So we discussed the nature of God and how he is merciful so it makes sense that he was give everyone a chance to hear and accept His gospel. And then after a second she said "that was my question... how could God send someone who died without a knowledge of the truth to hell if it wasnt his fault that he never knew the Gospel?" She was so cute she got so excited after that and said she is going to study it more. At the end of the lesson we invited them to be baptized and talked about the proper authority. Oh my goodness Norma thought we got baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost and Joseph Smith. Hahahahahahaha I about died. No way. Of course we belive that our church holds the proper authority to baptize, the same power that Christ administered to His disciples when he was on the Earth. But it was THROUGH Jospeh Smith that that authority was RESTORED. That power still comes FROM God. That authority does not come from Joseph Smith. 

With that being said haha if any of you all have questions I would love to answer them!!!! I know there are a lot of misconceptions about our church and our beliefs. No matter how silly the question may seem, please feel free to ask!!!! 

I love you all and I am so grateful for your support. 

Cuídense y que pasen una buena semana. 

Soy Mexicana

I love Lindsay so much!!! It has been so fun getting to know the ward members here. It is funny because they are all related Haha. They are either in the Vega family or Hurtada family (which come from the same family). They love missionary work and are so ready and willing to help us with whatever we need. Its amazing because many of them are converts to the church so you can see how much the missioanries have changed their lives!!! We visited Hermana Lupe Hurtado the other day. She is so cute. She asked if we wanted to eat and we tried to say that we had already eaten (because it was like 8pm when we went over to her house) and she responded with something like "you dont want to eat?" With her face saying "you dont want my food?" Hahha Hispanic women really dont take no for an answer. But she is so sweet. We asked her if she read the chapter we left her with the last time we visited and she started to say she didn't have time to but then stopped herself and said she really just didn't make time for it. So we reinvited her to read it and I think now that she know we are following up she will do it!! Haha I've learned so many life skills on my mission. I'm a great accountability partner now. 

Now for the highlight of the week. 

So Norma this woman that we contacted last week, had met with missionaries before. And it was so cool! (Btw these people are puro Español) So we went back to visit her, and her husband answered the door and he told us that they have met with missioanries in every city they have lived it!!!!! (And they've moved 5 times! From Mexico to different parts of California!) I asked them in a joking manner but being totally serious "una señal?" Because seriously that is not a coincidence! The husband believes that Jospeh Smith really did see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ but doesnt understand what the implications of that knowledge and belief are. The wife has a problem with the Book of Mormon. She doesnt believe that there is more scripture than the Bible. All we could do was testify of how the Book of Mormon has blessed our lives and explain that it is only through study and prayer to God that we can know that it is true!!! 

But that was not the highlight (even though that was geat, don't get me wrong). During our lesson, their daughter was sitting in the room with us, not necessaryily paying attention and participating, but for sure listening. And she had to leave during the middle. So as she was leaving, she asked me if I was Mexican!!!!!! It was the greatest compliment I think I have every recieved!!! Haha I was literally shocked because I surely dont look like a Mexican. But I guess I sound like one 

I know that God exists and that He loves each and every one of us. 

Les quiero. Cuídense. 

Me voy a Lindsay

Every week in the mission field is amazing in it's own way but this week has had a little bit of everything!!! 

One night we passed by a former, Javier, and asked him about the Book of Mormon he said he remembered two guys coming over and talking to him about it but he wasn't really interested in us coming back. He said he didn't feel uplifted or strengthened when he learned more about the Book of Mormon from the other missionaries. We talked a lot about the spirit and peace that comes from the Book of Mormon and I asked him if he feels that peace everyday and he says some days but not everyday. And I asked him if he would want that peace everyday and he basically said he wasn't sure anymore. By asking a few more questions, he expressed that he isn't too sure of God right now or where his life is going. I testified that our message would bring that assurance and he still wasn't down to take it. While we ultimately just left him with a gospel of Jesus Christ pamphlet and no return appointment it was such a powerful contact. I felt the spirit so strong and I truly felt the Holy Ghost guide me to ask inspired questions. I really feel like he needed a full opportunity to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ, and although he didn't accept it. I hope that one day he will remember that experience when he is in need of the peace that comes from this gospel. 

Also l had the best adventure one day this past week. To start off the day, we had an appointment very early in the morning and we are a bit low on miles so we decided to bike!!! As we were leaving we realized it was drizzling but we didn't think much of it and told ourselves, people in biking areas deal with this all the time, no way out we cant be complaining! So we biked to the far end of Farmersville (7.4 miles) and our appointment fell through hahaha. So we turned right back around and biked to the Conyer Building from Farmersville for weekly planning (8.4 miles) and it was poouuuurrrrriiinnnnggggg rain. Seriously my bag and my shirt both turned a few shades darker.Haha. But so fun because on the Church building there is a farm with a bunch of cows!!! So we took a break to try and get them to come over to us so we could pet them!!! And one of them licked me hee hee. It made my day!!!!!

Transfers are this week! I am being transferred to Lindsay. A small little town near Porterville, Ca. I will be training again!!! It will be another wild adventure, but I'm ready for a fresh start and new challenges! 

btw my missionary email has changed to kmbrown@missionary.org

Love yall!! Thank you for all the support.