“In His plan there are no true endings, only everlasting beginnings.”—President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

This quote sums up my feelings for the last transfer pretty well!

Today marks the first day of my last transfer..... my last 6 weeks as a full time missionary!

But I love this quote; there are no true endings. If there is something that I have learned from my mission, it is how to be a member! How to be a disciple of Christ! And I can carry that with me- with or without a nametag.

 

This week was full of wonderful missionary work, as usual :) I am just so glad for every moment I get to be here!

I would looooove to share just a few highlights with ya’ll. :)

 

We had an awesome Relief Society event this week where all the sisters of the church came together and we filled out a card where we listed 2 service projects we were willing to help someone with. The two things that I listed were:

1. clean toilets

2. wash dogs

 

Sister Nelson ended up with my card and we had a blast washing her dog, Bonco!

Their son, Jake has autism and I love this family. We played a fun game with him for our lesson and they fed us dinner. Then before I changed out of my grubbies, I jumped on the tramp with Jake for a few minutes! HE LOVED it.

 

We were able to get in contact with some of our investigators again this week. Remember Tiara? The 12 year old with the best questions ever?

Wel,l we saw her again! We stopped by and she was playing outside. We asked if her mom was home and if we could teach them a lesson and she said her mom was sleeping but that we could teach HER the lesson! So we sat on her porch steps and talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

She loved the lesson and when it was over she said she had 2 questions.

Here they are, REMEMBER they are coming from a 12 year old!!!!

1. If Jesus Christ had his disciples and his apostles, why couldn't he send one of them to die on the cross for him? Why did Jesus have to do it?

------> We talked about how Jesus was chosen before we came here. He was chosen in the pre-mortal life to be the Savior. He volunteered to do it because He loved us THAT much!

2. In the Beatitudes it says "Blessed are ye that are persecuted for my names sake." Why do we have to be persecuted???

------> That question blew my mind! Sister Nash and I just talked with her about how just like with Adam and Eve, they had to know the bad to know the good.

 

I seriously can't believe the amazing questions she has! I love teaching her!

We went up to Virgina City, which is a ghetto area in Vancleave! We love going up there because there are lots of people that are willing to listen. This is where we got the cops called on us the other day.....

 

But something funny that happened was that we found this Catholic man who was SO nice. He just got divorced but his wife was a member of our church. So we talked to him for a while and I noticed through the door that he had a guitar and drums in his living room. I asked if he was a musician and he said YES! So i told him that I am too! And he said he wanted to play Sister Nash and I a song!

We agreed, and then he serenaded us with an original love song he wrote about a girl he saw running on the beach...... it was pretty awkward and I was trying to not make eye contact! haha! Oh man..... but we ended up leaving him with a Book of Mormon and I will let you know about the next encounter that we have!

 

Something Sister Nash and I are really looking forward to in a few days is our "Meet the Mormons" event! I talked up this movie a lot in some past blogs but we rented the movie from our mission office and are going to be showing it at the church to our members andanyone they want to invite! We have been inviting a lot of people and I’m excited to see who shows up!

Part of the fireside that we taught to the youth last week was that we commited them to bring a friend to the movie night we were going to set up, so hopefully we can get some more people to teach from doing this event. We are so excited!!!!

I got to hold some puppies this week! One is a pit bull puppy who is SOOOO cute! And we met the tiniest chihuahua ever! Like the size of my foot! And it's full grown! People in the south love their pits and their Chihuahuas.

I also got to hold some baby chicks at a members house; The house we went fishing at a few months back. IT IS springtime and there is baby everything. I love it. There are also lots of bees and pollen in the air floating around. I don't love that! The mosquitoes are coming out.... I am reminded of how "sweet" a missionary I am! :)

There was also an awesome moment when we saw a turtle in the middle of the road and I pulled the car over and Sister Nash and I took him to safety! I don't like to see run over turtles!!!l

And sometimes I can't help it, but while we are tracting I love to catch frogs!

 

Another highlight of this week was Shateque's birthday! I love that for the rest of my life I will always have a black southern family to call my own! We had a crawfish boil and her friends smashed cupcakes in her face! Shateque is such a good missionary and she also had us share a message with her friends! It went great and they said they want to come to the movie night on Wednesday so we hope to see them there! I felt the spirit so strong when I told them about Joseph Smith's experience and I really do know that he is a prophet of God because of the spirit that burns within the room whenever we share about his experience!

We got to go visiting teaching with a member this week and wewent to see a girl our age named Danielle who was baptized into the church, but after divorces and hard times she lost her way. The message was about how Jesus Christ was the ultimate example of patience. The sister we went with did an amazing job with the lesson, but I could tell Danielle just felt like she was getting "preached at and the spirit whispered to me that I needed to change the direction and to help her participate instead of just sitting there.

So I asked if I could say something and I talked about how although Jesus Christ is patient with us, I sometimes have a hard time being patient with myself. I asked Danielle how she does that and if she could give me some advice??

It was the right question and Danielle perked up and started talking! It was just one of those moments when I could feel the spirit working within me and knew what to say.

 

As the sun sets on my mission, I reflect on everything I have learned.

But with the sunset comes the sunrise. And missionary work doesn't just end when you go home! It is the cycle, and life goes on. And the sun will keep rising and I will still be able to declare that

"I know my Savior lives!"

What a wonderful message I get to share every day, and WILL get to share for the rest of my life! I love ya’ll!

Love, Sister Brown

xoxo

  

Find Answers To Your Questions!

Weekends aren't for resting

Want to know what my semi-average weekend is like?

Every weekend is different but here is the LaTeSt and GrEaTeSt from Sister Brown.

SATURDAY.

6 am - arise and shine. big day ahead! take a shower and get ready for the day listening to some #MOTAB (mormon tabernacle choir)

7 am - scripture study

9 am - run to the church for a "ward harvest." Including breakfast and some of the ward members, whoever wants to come, takes some letters from the bishop to deliver to members we haven't seen in a while.... inviting them to watch general conference and us checking to see if they still live there!

BREAKFAST IS SERVED. We have biscuts and gravy.... and scrambled eggs before heading out to deliever letters.

Sister Brown does not know that there are duck eggs included in this meal.

nor does she know that she is allergic to duck eggs.

10 am - ALLERGIC REACTION.

Throat closes off... Benedryll is taken. Brown paper bag is held at all times until a ride home is found.

11 am - Bishops wife drops Sister Brown and Sister Nash off at home. Brown paper bag in tow. Sister Brown commences to spend as much time in the bathroom as needed until duck eggs "comes out." Finally.... I throw up.

12 pm - Benedryll and nausea takes its toll and Sister Brown falls into bed.

2 pm - Is it morning? I'm confused. Oh... i remember. I feel better, let's get out to work.

3 pm - Bike to the library to do some research.

4 pm - Go tracting.
-Meet a nice man who says "I don't want to be mormon." I tell him that's okay but just to give the Book of Mormon a chance. Tell him how much it will strengthen his testimony of Jesus Christ.

-Meet another nice vietnamese lady who tells us she is CA-TO-LIK, and invites us to go to chinese buffet with her at the casino! We polietly say no thank you, but get a return appointment to teach her more about Jesus Christ.

5 pm - Bike back home. laundry room is flooded with water. Towels are in washing machine so we call Sister Maisch who is feeding us dinner if we could PLEASE borrow some towels...........

5:30 pm - Dinner at Red Lobster. Wasn't the best for an upset stomach but I drank lots of sprite and cracked some crab legs.

7:00 pm - All night appointments cancel. We call about 10 people in the Red Lobster parking lot. Everyone is sick. Busy. Tired.

ME TOO.

7:30 pm - Usually we are teaching. But tonight we come home... do some more studying, training, updating.... etc. Make ourselves productive.

9:00 pm - plan for the next day... hopefully it will be better!

10:00 pm - bed.

SUNDAY.

6:30 am - Arise and shine forth! Get ready for the day.

7:30 am - Start my morning study.

8:30 am - Get to church. Make copies of some papers in the library.

9:00 am - WARD CORRELATION MEETING...............

make plans for visits, report on how the missionary work is going.... plan an activity for the ward to come watch the film "Meet the Mormons" in our building for mutual next week!

11:00 am - Church starts. We have 4 investigators there! Listen to messages about the Atonement.. how much the Savior loves us and how much he wants us to accept him, and use his enabling power in our lives. Something that really stood out to me today was

"The Atonement is PERSONAL."

2:00 pm - Church is over. Find people rides home... pick up some fruit someone gave us. Say hi to people and then are invited to go out Home Teaching/Visiting Teaching with Bro Wolfe and Sister Ganschow.

2:30 pm - Swing by our apartment for a bathroom break. Grab a few things we need. Eat some snacks in the car.

Visit about 7 people. Some weren't home, some were. I pet some dogs with fleas. Can humans get fleas? I love the Home teaching and visiting teaching messages for the church this month ..... add my testimony of the saviors love. Invite people to come to activity on tuesday for Relief Society.

Ask for refferals.... don't get any.

Ask if anyone there would be willing to let us practice teaching!!!!

Getting a headache! But so grateful we aren't riding our bikes!

5:30 pm - Drive back from Ocean Springs to the church. Make some final plans for our fireside for the youth tonight, WE ARE EXCITED TO TEACH THEM!

6:00 pm - TEACH FIRESIDE. (fireside is just like a devotional.)

Talk about member missionary work. How it is not as hard as they think it is! Their role as member missionarys is to be a friend! How their friends love them for who they are. We help them practice ways to invite their friends to mutual! We give them invitations to invite their friends to watch "Meet the Mormons" for a mutual activity next week! We tell them they are amazing and watch an uplifting video about missionary work and you never know who is ready!!!!!
https://www.lds.org/training/wwlt/2013/hastening/members-and-missionaries?lang=eng#media=14106505320856168562-eng

7:00 pm - Drive to a members house in ocean springs.

We are having a celebration for Julie, who has quit smoking after we taught her the workshop last week! Lots of people are invited and we get to meet some new people! We also have 2 investigators come! Our members are amazing fellowshippers!
We have soup.... So thankful! They must have known we didn't get dinner!

We watch the movie "THE TESTAMENTS"

VERY awesome movie about the Book of Mormon story... the people that lived here in America during the time of Christ's life.

9:00 pm - Movie ends and we so gratful for the spirit that was there during it!

We run home, plan for the next day, and eventually after writing in my journal, staring at the ceiling for a while, and praying.....

around 12 am - I finally fall asleep. :)

It was one of those busy weekends. Lots of people to see and teach. Lots of good to be done. I love being a busy missionary! Sometimes I forget to breathe.... but when I do remember, I look at the sky and I am so thankful just to be alive. You know what I mean?

I hope you liked hearing about my weekend. How was yours?

I know we all have very busy lives but I hope that we are willing to make time for the savior. He is the reason we are here, and the reason that we live!

God be thanked for the wonderful gift of His son.

I have a couple animal features for the week but will talk to you next week!

Love, Sister Brown

The Lost Sheep

"What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing."

I have learned so many lessons on my mission. One of the biggest ones is that the Lord loves ALL his sheep. Those that are lost, and those who are already a part of his fold. He wants them all to come to him and he is earnestly searching for them.

I am grateful to be a helper in the field. I guess you could say at this time I am a sheep-herder.

But I will never be the shepherd...... Christ alone is the shepherd, the savior.

A tender moment of my week. One of my recent converts was really struggling. He was at the church wednesday night for scouting activites and he was crying about some personal challenges. I gave him my pack of tic tacs and told him I loved him and to cheer up! But I watched in amazement as a very special sister in our ward saw this little boy crying and filled his need. She asked him to come help her and he vaccumned the library.. and She just talked to him and told him he could come play at her house sometime.

I just love the spirit. It speaks to us differently, but so clearly... we just have to listen. I was just praying someone would give him some attention and help him to feel better. After he was given a little job to do, he got a smile on his face and felt like HE was helping someone. He felt valuable.

That's the beauty of the gospel. It's not easy, we have to be willing to contribute. But there are others to help us along the way and there are angels watching over us giving us opportunities to make a difference and to feel loved.

We never know who is ready to learn more... who needs to be loved.

https://www.lds.org/liahona/2015/03/youth/dont-judge-who-is-ready?cid=HPTH030515734&lang=eng

On thursday Sister Nash and I went out to the country part of our area.... out to Vancleave! We visited with some members that aren't active in the church, but all of them were so sweet. We talked about the Plan of Salvation a lot, and that Heavenly Father allows us to go through trials because he knows that is how we grow and prove if we are faithful.

It was raining a lot. And I missed Sister Dagupan as my shoes were getting stuck in the mud and how the mud would act like quicksand back in shreveport and her shoes would completely come off! haha!

Awkward moment of the week, I thought it was Elder Odies birthday. So I texted our district to all call and sing him happy birthday and I was going to bring a cake to district meeting.... but then somehow I had been mis-informed.... and it wasn't his birthday. he will never let me forget that! all day he was getting happy birthday texts and wishes. haha.

Here is a picture from President Mcdonough's birthday last week - I made him birthday muffins and we all sang to him!

A time I felt inspired this week was to contact a referral we got from the other ward of members that aren't active but thought they might want to visit with us. Well we have stopped by a few times the last few months.. we were heading somewhere and I just felt like we needed to try them. So we did. Well they were moving to Tennessee in about 10 mins and had everything packed up and loaded! It was perfect timing. They know some Browns who might be from my family in Signal Mountain, Tennessee. We had a great conversation about it and they said they would give us a call when they come back to visit their kids here. It was a small and simple miracle and I love being in the right place at the right time. 

We met a catholic deacon this week, he was SO nice! I asked a lot of questions about what he does and he told us... well then i wanted to tell him what we do as missionaries. That we invite people to increase their faith in Christ! And I invited him to read the book of mormon! he said he already had one. So I told him he should really give it a chance and try reading it again! It was strange that he asked me if I was going into sales.... because I was very persistent and good at what I am doing....!

I didn't like that! I am not selling anything! I am offering people complete happiness.... for 100% free :) Anyways... i just told him my only motivation is that I KNOW this message is true. I don't get paid... i am not loved any more by the savior than he is. But I have to share what I know because it has seriously just changed my life!!!! Before we left he said he might look at the book of mormon again and he blessed us! It was great.

The senior couple in our area for the military base here in Biloxi went home this week and i forgot to mention that they - The Jordans - are the parents of my drumset teacher in Cedar City! I am sad they are leaving but they told me to come visit them when I go back to school at SUU!

My miracle for the week was teaching a part member family who the mother served a mission in hong kong and she has been feeding us every now and then! Her husband and kids aren't members so we have been teaching her children the missionary lessons. Our sister in the ward told us that there wouldn't be a chance for them to be able to be baptized though, because their grandmother wouldn't allow it. But this week we taught them a really good lesson about the gospel of Jesus Christ and what he has asked us to do while we are here on the earth! Well the sister was crying, and her daughter was crying.... because we all felt the spirit very strongly. So much - that sister melton told us that if her kids wanted to get baptized - they could. It is THEIR choice. I was just so grateful for that.

We are in charge of our own salvation.

We invited one of our investigators Adrienne who comes to sacrament every few weeks to stay for ALL 3 hours of church with us! and to come on a 3 hour adventure :) church really is an adventure and we can learn so much! that's why i love going! I always learn something new!!!!

Well Adrienne DID stay the whole time. We even went to Young Womens class with her so that she wouldn't feel alone being the 'new girl'

We also watched the Joseph Smith - Prophet of the Restoration movie with 2 of our investigators Brandon (16) and Gabe (13) this week. Their mom is a member and I feel such a strong connection to her... like we were friends in the previous life! They really enjoyed the movie and I was surprised at how much information they retained from it! I am grateful the church makes such awesome resources because I know I learn a lot from movies too... I am a visual learner. :)

Last night we taught them about the Book of Mormon. What it is. Why we have it. Why we NEED it. How it testifies of Jesus Christ. How it completes and is a fulness of Jesus Christ's doctrine. How it is the keystone of our religion and how everything we believe weighs so heavily on that book!

If the book of mormon really is true, then joseph smith really was a prophet. And the gospel really was lost over time but has been restored to the earth again.

We have to gain a testimony of the book of mormon if we really want to know if everything we are learning is true! so we have to read it and pray about it!

We asked Brandon and Gabe to pray about the book of mormon, and to pray about getting baptized. If it was something that they wanted.

Gabe says: "I ALREADY KNOW I WANT TO GET BAPTIZED"

Here is me with Gabe's bird.

We also celebrated national oreo day with Ashley by deep frying some oreos. Have I mentioned they deep fry everything here in the south?????

Well yesterday was my last zone conference. I woke up feeling very anxious! It was so humid. I curled my hair but it died within about 10 minutes... haha. I got to see a lot of my friends from my mission!!!! And we also won the clean car award!

Zone Conference was great and I left feeling very motivated. "YES, I CAN be a missionary!" It is so great to gather wish all the missionareis serving here along the coast and to know that there are other people out there besides me and my compaion that are doing the same thing I am doing and going through the same things that I do everyday! Then I remember there are almost 90,000 misisonaries in the world.... and I feel a little insignificant! :)

I did a musical number of "I Stand All Amazed" about the love Jesus offers us and all that he went through for us. I played the piano and sang at the same time and I hope that people felt the spirit, because i know that I did!

I got to bear my "goodbye testimony" because it was my last zone conference. It was so surreal. I talked alot about how I have learned how to make celestial choices that will prepare me for the next life and how I have learned to help others make celestial choices as well... and to see them for the potential of what they can become.... how to see others through God's eyes of the persons of Glory and Light they have the potential of becoming. That sometimes people just need to know or be reminded that they are loved.

I did. I know that God loves his lost sheep, because I know he loves me.

Time is slipping by too fast! I love feeling like people need me... like the Lord needs me to help him with his lost sheep. But I can do that when I go home too. It will just be a little harder not having all my time dedicated to one glorious purpose! I know that soon I will be home and this will all feel just like a dream! So I am just going to try not to think or talk about it at all... and just enjoy my time here one day at a time.

Love yall.

Sister Brown xoxo

My Mission Has Changed My Life!

Don't Stop Me Now!‏

Sometimes I forget what a wide chasm our investigators have to cross. Living the gospel is very different from following the ways of the world.

I am realizing that I was really blessed to have been raised in the church and although I had to have a different type of conversion.... it was so much easier.

We have been talking in our gospel principles class each Sunday about the second coming - when the Savior comes again. And a scripture just kept reoccurring in my mind

"If we are prepared, we need not fear."

A fond memory came to my mind of when my Grandpa Mansfield was getting ready to pass into the next life. He kept saying that he wanted "his passport" and we didn't know what he meant. We finally realized he wanted his temple recommend and that he wanted to feel completely comfortable heading out of this world! The bishop came over and gave him his temple recommend, and he passed away a short while later.

The covenants we make in this life will GREATLY influence us in the next.

I never want to have the Savoir come and me not be ready. I don't want to see Him there and think of all the things I wish I could have changed, but now it's too late.

The best time to prepare for the second coming IS NOW.

The time to make changes is TODAY.

Then when He comes again.... we won't have to worry!

We can just be happy.

We don't need to worry if we are repenting every day.

It's been raining alot lately. But life is about learning to dance in the rain, right?
I woke up yesterday and realized that it was march. My eyes filled with tears! 2 short months... and I will be home! :( oh it just breaks my heart!

I would take a rainy missionary day ANYDAY because I love to put on this name tag every morning and know who I am.

That I represent Jesus Christ.

I am His hands here on earth!

I love knowing my purpose as a missionary... I know EVERY DAY what I should be doing and if I am making a wise use of my time or not.

I will miss that in the future when the line is a little more blurred and I won't have 24/7 to serve the Lord. I SO cherish my time here......

I know God expects a lot from me and I am giving him "all of me" for the sake of the Lord. I will keep pushing and going! I will not give up when times get hard.

The adversary would like NOTHING better.

I feel the southern cooking is taking its toll! I look back on the pictures of me from before I came out and I was looking great! ya'll will have to help me get back in shape when I get home but I will worry about the RM chub LATER -

right now I am just going to keep working.

one of my goals from coming home from my mission was to be fat and sassy. :)

Chocolate Tacos at Sister Cannon's house will be a favorite dessert forever, diet or not. :)

This week we had interviews with our mission president. I made muffins because it was his birthday. I told all the missionaries about the secret plan to sing to him and light one of the candles when we saw him coming. The code word was "TOWANDA" and when I yelled it, all the missionaries ran into the kitchen and we sang to President McDonough. I LOVE HIM and it was so fun. Your mission president and wife become your parents on your mission.

I had the shortest interview ever... usually this is the time we just pour out our hearts to president and he give us advice but I literally said

"I am doing great..... can we keep this short because i just want to get back to work!"

haha. He smiled and said yes so we talked for a few minutes and then left!

This week we met this totally crazy guy named Chester! He was bible bashing with us and telling me all these things about what I BELIEVE that aren't true... and I'm like.... you don't even know me; How can you tell me what I believe? He made me feel so dumb - telling me that I need to see a therapist! I shared my favorite scripture with him and he told me that God is not real and that we don't need Jesus Christ. A LOT MORE WAS SAID but thankfully Sister Nash held our ground and gave great answers. He just kinda aggravated me but when he asked for a Book of Mormon. I asked why he wanted to read it. He said that we made him really curious and I said "If you read this book with the intent of proving it wrong, you are not going to find what you are looking for."

So we gave him a Book of Mormon although for the first time in my life I DIDN'T want to because I felt like he was mocking me! But i couldn't deny giving him the book of mormon - who knows, maybe it will change his life..... haha.

Although sometimes I feel my testimony is up against a wall... I walk away from situations like that with greater assurance, and I KNOW that God is real. That we have a Father in heaven who loves us.

And He loves Chester just as much as He loves me..... so I will pray for him!

On Friday Sister Nash and I decided to shake things up and try "Family History Finding Friday." We talked to people about family history work all day and I got to tell some stories about my Italian ancestors that I know lots about thanks to my mom and Grammie doing lots of research and sharing with me.

We did have some success and I am SO grateful to know who I am and where I come from. If you are interested in learning more about your ancestors, you can for FREE at www.familysearch.org

One of the funnest parts of the week was getting to go on exchanges with Sister Borja! I got to go to Pass Christian and Bay St. Louis and it was fun to work there. I feel like we were able to see a lot of miracles! The best part of the day was giving a book of mormon to one of the members cousins. He said that he could see that we BELIEVED with all our hearts what we were telling him. And that he felt something spiritual as we were talking that he has never felt before. He wanted to know what made us so different. And I just want to tell people that YOU CAN HAVE THIS HAPPINESS TOO!

I know i'm making a difference! Thank you for all your love and support, I will do my best to make my time here count.

I love laying down at night and being satisfied... that I did my very best.

Love, Sister Brown

A Fresh Start.

Whassup!? I'm so happy.

I found out that my homecoming is May 17. They already have a date picked out? That scares me! They can't make me leave!

I had a great week. It has been a fresh start for me.... and for a lot of the people I have had contact with lately! Until i go home, I am trying to hit the standard of excellence each week. I am working on helping people get both a social and a spiritual conversion.

The other day we ran the Ocean Springs bridge that is about 3 miles long! It was fun! Also last week on p-day we played beach volleyball with all us missionaries here in the Biloxi area and then Sister Nash and I went to the store!

There is a pretty cool souvenir shop called Sharkheads and we got hoodies. I will have to take a picture of mine because it's pretty awesome.

A really funny moment from my week was when Sister Nash saw a squirrel. She was SO excited. I didn't really understand because I guess i see squirrels all the time. But I guess she never sees them in Nevada and she was so excited to see it running along a tree branch and then jumping onto someone's roof, I thought she was going to have a heart-attack!

I feel like I have been laughing a lot lately. I really love being so happy. We found an awesome new investigator this week, Mr. Holt. We taught him the Restoration lesson right there on his doorstep and he cried because the spirit testified that the things we were telling him were true!

I have seen time and time again this week where I will be holding a Book of Mormon and people want to know what it is, and as i tell them, I don't even have to ask if they want to read it.... they ask themselves. That is how you KNOW you are doing missionary work right. When the spirit of the Lord is working through you and you don't have to say much.

We also challenged Gabe Harris to read the Book of Mormon in 30 days! I am excited to see if he can pull it off! We really want him to get baptized soon but want to make sure that he knows and has a testimony of everything that we teach before he just blindly accepts.

Another funny moment is us having a district meeting and one of the Elders asks "how do you sisters make such cool planner covers? I can't figure out how to punch holes. I have to heat up a wire hanger and stab it through the holes."

I told the Elder that there is a really cool invention called a hole puncher.

OHHHH the immaturity sometimes..... but I love all the missionaries!

Tracting was a bit painful at times this week but I am committing to get my 7 hours every week until I go home. And the blessings came!

There was a very sketchy moment that happened this week......

We picked an area that I guess was a little ghetto fresh but we had a great time tracting there and spent like 2 hours meeting people!

Well we walked around the corner and i see COP LIGHTS!

i'm thinking..... "Oh no.... someone called the cops on us."

But we quickly walked over to our car as I am seeing people looking all up in the windows with flashlights and such.

I yell "SIR, CAN I HELP YOU?"

and he says, "Yes, we got a call about a mysterious car parked in the neighborhood, so I was checking things out."

"I tagged the car and realized it was a church vehicle and was just getting ready to send out a search party for you. Do you realized that you are in a very bad part of town? I get calls all the time here for gang activity and drug busts."

I replied with "THANK YOU SIR I BELIEVE WE WILL BE LEAVING NOW."

and we were off like a light!

I am grateful for nice cops that are concerned about my safety and the protection that the Lord gives me as I talk to complete strangers every single day!

I should probably carry some pepper spray around with me......

I love my mom and that she sent me this wonderful valentines day package! She also sent me some church clothes to give to one of my recent converts - Marionna Bingham! She loved them.

We finished teaching Linda Bingham all her lessons this week. The spirit was so strong as we taught about the gospel of Jesus Christ! I felt it especially as I promised her that every blessing we have promised her and righteous desire that she has would be fulfilled as long as she is faithful and keeps her covenants that she will soon be making - God will always provide a way.

The 3 kids that got baptized a few months back - Tommy, Michael, and Marionna have been helping teach their aunt Linda the lessons. She is the lady that was in the car accident (Aunt Boosie) and was healed by the Priesthood power of God. She has made an UNREAL recovery... all the doctors are astonished. And I have been astonished as she has accepted everything we have been teaching her with such sincerity and asks every time we see her when she could get baptized! She has come so far and I can't believe just a few short weeks ago she was braindead..... Miracles truly do happen still and I know that we have a loving God that cares about all our problems... big or small..

And my heart got very happy after we taught Linda a lesson and Tommy asked if we could all have a kneeling prayer together! <3 God is good.

Linda's baptism was one of the most special days of my mission!

That morning we got up and went and helped with the Bishops storehouse and feeding the hungry. I made some muffins to bring to the baptism.... And we got Linda some red and white roses signifying that her sins would be washed away like it ways in Isaiah 1:18 "Though your sins be scarlet, they shall be white as snow"

Linda took her baptism really seriously and she even took out her "weave" because she just wanted to be herself and feel perfect!

Her baptism was so special. As she came up out of the water, I saw her take a big breath.... she was reborn and it took her breath away!

Sister Nash and I were waiting outside of the font for her and she just started to sob tears of joy and relief and we gave her a hug. It was a very tender moment and I will always remember it.

I testify.... that our God is a God of miracles. And that He wants us to be happy.

That is why I am a missionary. I am not trying to convince or make people change, but i am offering them COMPLETE and everlasting peace and happiness in their life.

That's what we do as humans when we find things that we love... that make us feel better.... we share them with everyone else so they can feel that too.

Being a part of the work is so fufilling and i'm glad that God allows me to help Him. I know that if anything.... i have grown.

I love you all and i know that God loves us.

Let us come unto Him.....

Love, Sister Brown