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