August 10th - LAST EMAIL/BAPTISM OF CHRISTIAN

Good morning family! (:

Bitter sweet moment for me today.  This will be the last time I will ever sit at a timed computer where I wont be shut off after an hour and a half.  haha. As much as I hate to say it, I am trunky. Last night I had a dream I was at the airport giving everyone hugs and kisses and we were all so happy.  I woke up that night and couldn't go back to sleep.  

1. Tomorrow will be my last day. I leave to Barbados Wednesday morning.  I will have my departing interview with President Herrington then spend the rest of the day liming around the beautiful island with the other departing missionaries. 

2. Island 

3. 2

4. yesi

5. I gave away all my clothes and a lot of my ties to members and a few missionaries. 

6. Tuesday night.

7. 200 lbs I lost a total 25 lbs on my mission. 

8. I am sad to leave.  The Caribbean will always have a special place in my heart.  I have been stretched physically, mentally, and spiritually these past two years.  I will definitely miss the people here.  It will be weird for me to come home and see white people.  I almost feel like I am a Caribbean myself. haha

The baptism of Christian went well!  He chose me to baptize and confirm him.  He was so brave on his baptism day.  When we approached the font, he stopped and looked at me and took a deep breath , he was shaking a little and I calmly told him everything would be ok.  The euphonious sound of the water when someone is immersed I will never forget.  

Well family this is it.  My last official email to you all as a set apart full time missionary.  I just want to thank you all for always emailing me and keeping me up to date.  I know some missionaries who's family cant email them because they have no computer, family is of another faith, and don't find the time to write to them.  So I thank you.  I love you all and cant wait to get a good squeeze from all of you Thursday night! See you on the flip side! (: 

With love & appreciation,

Elder Brown  

 This is Christian!

August 3rd - Baptism of Christian

Good Afternoon Family! 

This past week went by sooo fast!  I have been so focused on finishing off strong.  Its a poignant feeling to know that this week is my last week of actual "hard work" on the field.  The other three days next week will consist of flying to Barbados and liming with the other missionaries in my group. So I am determined to leave this place better than when I got here, I think that has been one of the goals I have always set when entering into a new area.  

This Saturday we will be having the baptism of my little friend Christian!  We are planning to baptize him in the nicest beach in St. Vincent its called Buccument Bay.  We spent our morning bathing in the hot sun playing volleyball, dipping our toes in the teal blue waters and sipping on virgin pina coladas! (:

This past week I have been working on my homecoming talk, and don't worry I have plenty of mission experiences I would like to share, its just hard to fit two years of missionary experiences into what 15-20 minutes? So I have been very conscientious with my talk.

Questions

1. Where we going to eat when I arrive? (:

2. Can I choose what I want to speak on? 

Well family I can't believe I am going to see you all (except Lawrence) NEXT WEEK! That is coming up so fast! Anyway I love you all, have a great week! 

With love,

Elder Brown

Well mom i am gone. i cant believe i have one more pday on my mission! see you next week! (: 

 the other pic is me teaching one of my favorite members here. 

 Walking to church.

 Cooked one of my favorite caribbean dishes called Palou (PAY-LOW) for my comp and I. 

July 27th - Next baptism Aug 8th, Christian

Good Afternoon! 

What a joy to hear about Sister Alapa's MTC experiences, definitely brings a burst of memories when I was there 2 years ago (: 

This past week has been really great!  The members here are really nice.  I really miss the people in St. Lucia, definitely a place I want to go back and visit. 

Not too much happened this week though.  President Harrington flew in this past Friday to visit the missionaries here.  It was really nice to meet and talk with him.  Something he said concerning missionary work:  "The fruits of your mission will be shown through your grandchildren".  I have no doubt about that.  

These last few days on my mission has been straight dedication to the Lord.  In retrospect, the Lord truly has been so merciful to me despite of my many weaknesses and flaws.  I am eternally grateful for his loving-kindness.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ has truly tailored my desires, that is one of the joys I have found through LIVING the Gospel and not TALKING about it. 

Elder Hendry and I should be having a baptism on August 8th! With young boy name Christian!  He is a sweet 11 year old! 

Looking forward to another week to #WORK

With love,

Elder Brown

I love you Mom!

July 20th - Barbados

Good Afternoon! 

Well where do I start? It has been such a busy week for me here in the Caribbean!  This past Wednesday we received a call from President Harrington that he will no longer have missionaries in our area.  So Elder Page and I flew out to Barbados the very next day and worked there with the Zone Leaders til Monday.  Throughout my mission I have always wanted to serve in an area that was "hard".  I have heard so much talk about how Barbados is the hardest place to contact people and so on.  Ha sure the work is much different than any other island but that doesn't change the mindset of a missionary.  Just like the Savior and his Disciples.  They traveled to many DIFFERENT places, taught many DIFFERENT people, but still have the SAME mindset when they left their abode.  I know that is still applicable today and how we view missionary work.   

Elder Page and I have been reassigned companions and areas.  President Harrington had an inspired thought to have Elder Page open a new area with a new companion and I will be finishing up these last 24 days in Saint Vincent with Elder Hendry!  He is sweet! He is from Canada and I have served around him while we were both Zone Leaders in Trinidad. 

Sister Kime soon to be Sister FERRIN!! haha remember my second companion I had? Elder Ferrin? They met each other on the mission.  We were all leaders at the time and had a few moments to gaff (chat) with each other at meetings.  Sister Kime is awesome!  One of the hardest working sister missionaries I know! I also remember her at Woods Cross!  I have plans to go to their wedding! 

I have received the nail in the coffin from Dad.  I am set to finish off strong!  I am excited to work with new people here in Saint Vincent! As the days are ticking by I have been pondering about how my mission will affect in the long run and I want to share this quote with you from Preach My Gospel:

For you to grow in the gospel and stay on the path that leads to eternal life, you need to develop a habit of gospel study (seeD&C 131:6). The study habits you develop as a missionary will bless you personally and help those you teach grow in their faith in the Savior.

I have a testimony that as we continue to hang on to the iron rod through and after our mission, we will be "on the path that leads to eternal life".  I am excited to apply the things I have learned on mission to bless and serve the people around me! 

With love,

Elder Brown

P.s...Sis Kime is getting married to Elder Ferrin, my 2nd companion.  I'm planning to attend their wedding when I get home.

July 14th - "On her shoulder lol"

Good Afternoon! 

I hope I get to see Tana before she leaves Utah! I will have to bring my headphones next time so I can hear her talk.  

This past week I came down with a little cold.  (dont worry mom I'm ok now) and one day it got to the point where I had to run into the store before our appointment and grab some cough medicine. I was desperate to take this medicine, when I came to my senses I read that it was comparable to Nyquil. Well our appointment was about an hour bus ride away and I knew I was in for a good afternoon nap.  Haha I remember getting on the bus I was beginning to  feel drowsy.  And what do you know, this attractive girl boarded the bus and sat right next to me.  About 10 minutes on  the road I was knocked out.  When it was time to get off, I remember seeing the biggest smile from the girl and couple of other smiles from the people sitting around me.  I asked Elder Page "why are people smiling at me so weird?" he laughed and said "your head was on her shoulder the whole time, and you snored a little bit" haha. 

On a spiritual note, the man we have come to see his name is Petrice.  His girlfriend from Newyork referred us to him.  It was a very spiritual lesson, he soaked in the message of the restoration very well.  At the end of the lesson we invited him to say the closing prayer and he paused for a moment and said "this is great".After the prayer we looked at him and with tears in his eyes he said "I feel really good" here is a man who at first I had the impression he was some x-gang member and now looking through the lens of the gospel I now see him as our loving Father in Heaven see's us all.   These are the salient moments we need to see in others if we are going to do missionary work! 

On the 11 of August Elder Horne (Sr. Couple) is taking me including the 2 Elders leaving with me to eat at Big Chef.  This is the most expensive and most popular restaurant in St. Lucia.  President Mehr has said that they have the best steak in the Caribbean!  knowing it is pricey we made a deal with Elder Horne that we will pay half and he will cover the rest! :) 

I am so excited to come home! (: 

With love,

 Elder Brown

Haile Salassie - My friend Ras-Island gave us a tour in the Rastafarian Tabernacle.  We are invited to come watch them worship on July 22!

Mom, you'll be surprised how good I am at cooking! The food I cook for Elder Page and I. Fish, chicken, ground provisions, etc. #ChefBrown #Brown'sKitchen 

My son and I lol

This past Sunday and Monday St. Lucia had Carnival so we were locked in our apartment with the other Elders. We watched 4 movies, played dominos, uno, and ate a bunch of junk food..

July 6th - New Mission President, Pres & Sis. Harrington

Good Morning!

I am so happy to hear about all the news with you guys!  Especially your little business mom!  Did you come up with a name yet? 

I just received my "Return with Honor" packet. On the packet outlines different questions about my mission.  This packet will soon be recorded in the book of remembrance on the West Indies Mission!  I am excited to come home and see the changes in everyone.  Thank you mom for always pushing me to do good and to be a good example to others when I return home.  I have really seen the change of attitudes in return missionaries when they return home.  In my last interview with President Mehr, he shared a poignant thought that is nailed in my head, to paraphrase he said "Elder there are a few missionaries in this mission who will be terrestrial beings, the way they treat their mission is a good reflection of their life after their mission" or in the words of the Savior "by their fruits ye shall know them". 

It has been such a great week for my son (Elder Page) and I!  We have been really diligent in finding the elect.  In our companionship studies we have been role playing teaching the message of the Restoration.  Elder Page is really improving and kind of weird to see myself in him, meaning he is starting to teach just like me. (: 

This past Wednesday President and Sister Mehr went home ): President left a tie behind for me and I received it on Friday when we met the new mission President.  President and Sister Harrington will be my new favorite people for these few weeks on my mission.  President Harrington is so much different from President Mehr, he is super funny, goofy and enthusiastic.  He shared a few scriptures from Doctrine and Covenants 112.  and tied it in with the quote by Elder Bednar on the topic of serving a mission, he said "you're not here because of who you are but because of who you can become" so true.  You can really see who a person has become after their mission. 

Well that's about it from me. We should be having a baptism on the 25th of this month!  and a few on August 8th.  

I love this work! Its true and I love Him. 

With love,

Elder Brown 

June 30th - Last transfer; Elder Page/Prank

Good Afternoon! 

First off happy 23 years of marriage Mom & Dad!! It is a great feeling to know that I am sealed to the best parents on planet earth! (: 

We need a lot of vaccines here in the Caribbean for sure! That is probably the biggest virus here in the Caribbean, you see it everywhere.  

Its kind of hard to do missionary work when you have members counting the days when you go home.  haha member work here is pretty good and we find a lot of success from it.  I sure will miss the church here in St. Lucia, they treat me like their own.  I am pretty good at speaking their language, cooking and eating their food.  Mom you will be surprised with how much my cooking skills have improved.  I really enjoy cooking a lot of ground provisions, fish and chicken! (I will show you some pics) .  

I am so happy I have to serve with Elder Page!! He is from Berley Idaho!  He just graduated high school and just turned 18.  I have to tell you a funny but kinda mean trick I played with Elder Page. haha Before Elder Page arrived I spoke to one of the members and told them that I will bring Elder Page to their home to have his first lesson on his mission.  I have asked that she act as a really crazy investigator.  While Elder Page and I were approaching her house she was outside waiting for us, she immediately yelled at us and told us not to come back ever again or else she will get her cutless (machete) and chase after us. I looked at Elder Page and told him "we gotta get outa here quick!" so we turned back and started running for our lives! We soon got out of sight of her house and I told Elder Page it was a joke.  haha he said I got him good and that he will always remember his first lesson on his mission, we both laughed and walked back to her house and ate some homemade pizza she prepared for Elder Page. (: 

Elder Page and I are really determined to baptize this transfer.  We have been doing a lot of finding and trying to build our teaching pool with new people and not just seeing the same people to add to the numbers.  Last District Meeting I taught was about "keeping our lines in the water"  only the fisherman who keeps his line in the water the longest will have success compared to the fisherman who keeps him line in for 2 hours and returns home with nothing.  

President and Sister Mehr go home this Wednesday! ): I am going to miss him, but it wont be for long, he said he would like to see me after the mission.  He lives in Highland! 

That is all from me family, It hard not to think of you everyday when I have missionaries asking me "what are you going to do when I get home" I immediately tell them I will be giving my family the biggest hugs and kisses! (: 

With love,

Elder Brown

P.s....Sorry computer not letting me download pictures, next week for sure Mom!