Things are Improving!

Things are really improving here.

I don´t know if I´ve talked about the Fábrego family. I´ll explain a little bit:

Mercedes (55 more or less, mother & grandmother)

Cristian (35, son of Mercedes)

Gisela (33, daughter of Mercedes, looks just like Ali Taylor)

Gustavo (29, son of Mercedes)

Magalí (14, daughter of Mercedes)

Andrés (26, Gisela´s boyfriend)

Dylan (12, Gisela´s, not Andrés´, son)

Ixa (5, Gisela´s and Andrés´ daughter)

Nicol (3, Gisela´s and Andrés´ daughter)

Mercedes, Cristian, Magalí, and Dylan all got baptized between January and February. Gisela and Andrés can´t get baptized, because they live together and aren´t married, and Gustavo can´t because he still has some struggles with the Word of Wisdom. Andrés does too. Prayers for this family would be greatly appreciated.

We had a sweet lesson with all of them, except Gustavo and Andrés, last night. We were teaching the Plan of Salvation, and the power went out. So, we had a candle light discussion. At the end of our visit, we felt like there was still something more to say or talk about, and I felt like it had to do with Gisela. So, while my comp made some more remarks, I began to think what it could be that we had to say to her. Something came to mind, and, when I opened my mouth to speak, I totally forgot waht I was abot to say, and something totally different came to mind. So, I asked her "Gisela, what would you be wlling to give for your kids?" "Anything, even my life, the most precious thing I can give," was the answer, just like any mother would respond. So, I said, "If Ixa were to go to the Telestial Kingdom, if there was absolutely no way for her to go with you to the Celestial Kingdom, unless you have NIcol die. Would you let a bunch of wicked men torture her and kill her so that Ixa can live with you forever in the Celestial Kingdrom?" She didn´t respond. We saw the wheels turning in her mind, and said, "That´s what Heavenly Father already did for you. He already sent his ONLY son to suffer unimagineable pains and to die, for YOU. He already prepared the way. All you have to do, to make the most of this sacrifice the God made for you, is: have faith in his son Jesus Christ, repent, be baptized by immersion in the Church of Jesus Christ, recieve the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end." She seemed really impressed by what we said, and I am sure that she kept on thinking about that question and our response even after we left. I hope she really gets after it and makes a decision soon as to what she decides to do as far as marriage and baptism go.

Please pray for the following families:

Ledesma

Mayor

Fernández

Ortiz

Fábrego

Rodríguez

and for these kids: Oscar (21), Ruth (20), and Naim (15)

Thank you! Love you all!!

Elder Brown

Helaman 5:12

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the ^arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your ^bfoundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty ^cstorm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

Charity Never Faileth

We had zone conference. I loved it. What I most got out of it was "Grab your fears and move forward." Really good advice.

I honestly don´t have too much to say about last week, other than I love serving and feeling the spirit. There is nothing better. Helping other´s, and really forgetting about and losing yourself in the Lord´s work is just the best. I know Jesus lives. I know he loves each and every one of us, and expects us to truly love one another, in word and in deed.

45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easilyprovoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—

47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endurethforever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are truefollowers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

This week, we, as a mission, focused on doing just that. This last week was one of the best of my life. To be honest, I didn´t see much progress in my own area. I did however, see progress in the work as a whole, which is the most important thing. I also felt way better than I ever had felt before. I strongly encourage and invite everyone to try to love others in all you do and say. I testify, that if you do so, you will be happier. I testify of that in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Brown

1 Corinthians 13

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Ward Like the States

The MTC Crew 

I forgot to tell you last week, but, my camera broke. My last comp accidently dropped it while taking a pic of me with some members from Alberdi. Oh well. All future pictures, for now, will come from my new comp, Elder Bird.

I totally forgot to tell you about my new comp. He is from Westfield Massachuttes. But, his family moved to Meridian Idaho, where my comp Elder Terrell is from. He´s 21. He´s a capo. Super down to earth. He´s a really great guy.

My new ward is HUGE. I feel like I´m in the States. 140 people from my ward attend church weekly, and about 50 more from a nearby branch also go to our church building because their´s got damaged in a flood.

We started teaching a family from Misiones, the province where the Iguazu Falls are at. They have had lots of problems with churches in the past, and are gonna love the LDS church when they go this Sunday. Their names are Leo, Laura, and Héctor. All three of them said that they´d get baptized if they feel like God tells them that the LDS church is true and that the Book of Mormon is true. Please pray for them.

I just love being a missionary.

Elder Brown

Alma 37:16-17

16 But if ye keep the commandments of God, and do with these things which are sacred according to that which the Lord doth command you, (for you must appeal unto the Lord for all things whatsoever ye must do with them) behold, no power of earth or hell can take them from you, for God is powerful to the fulfilling of all his words.

17 For he will fulfil all his promises which he shall make unto you, for he has fulfilled his promises which he has made unto our fathers.

Happy Mother's Day

Well, first off, happy mother´s day to all!

Second off, I had an emergency transfer. I am now in a city called San Nicolás. My area/ ward is Barrio Oeste. I am pretty excited about this area. It is known for having success. This`ll be really sweet.

My last companion, Elder Taylor, showed up to Rosario sick. He was in bed for the first week, got better, and got me sick. I was in bed for the second week haha. But, I was able to catch up on a lot of reading. I read a lot from Jesus the Christ. For those who have not yet read it, I REALLY recommend it (not as much as the Book of Mormon, but still).

More than that, I don´t have too much to report. I am now feeling well, don´t worry. Learning a lot and excited to work!!

Elder Brown

Ether 12:41

  41 And now, I would commend you to ^aseek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth ^brecord of them, may be and abide in you forever. Amen.

This week was pretty great.

My companion was sick almost all week. So, we spent a lot of time planning and turning our pensh into what almost looks like an army general´s tent. We bought a dry erase marker and wrote on our windows what our plans are for this transfer. We hung a bunch of things up on our doors (we can´t on the walls because the paint comes off). It´s pretty sweet. Even though we´ve had to spend the majority of our time inside, the spirit has been really strong. I think it is because we both have been really giving it our all, even if we have been confined to an apartment for a week.

Sunday was sweet. I gained a testimony of what D&C 59:14 teaches, that "fasting" is really just "rejoicing." The first time I read that, I was dumbstuck. I couldn´t understand how starving yourself for 24 hours could possibly be considered "rejoicing." Well, I found out how. The way to do it, is not to "starve yourself." Of course, you shouldn´t eat, but, fasting is a lot more than just that. It is also trying to be happy and not focus on the things that you can´t have. It helped me to have a better attitude about everything and feel the spirit a little stronger.

Nothing much else happened this week. Like I said, my comp was sick and we had to spend a lot of time in the pensh. He´s feeling better though, and we´re gonna work "a full" this week!!

Elder Brown

Mosiah 18: 9-11

  9 Yea, and are ^awilling to mourn with those that ^bmourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as ^cwitnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the ^dfirst resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—

  10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being ^abaptized in the ^bname of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a ^ccovenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

  11 And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts.

 

Bautismos

An old cannon

BAPTISMS!

Me and Elder Taylor

This week was awesome.

This was the first time that I have had two baptisms in the same month, and even more, on the same day. Noelia´s parents and sister went, and they loved it, because we baptized as Jesus got baptized, by immersion. They agreed to have the missionaries visit their house. I hope they too get baptized. The following Sunday, Pablo committed himself to get baptized June 3rd. So, we will be working a lot with him.

Elder Doolin has been transferred to another city. It was a great last week together. He was a really good companion. I shall miss him a lot. I learned a lot with and from him.

My new companion is Elder Taylor. He´s from a little town close to Houston called Vidor. He´s not a steriotypical Texan that is full of himself and his state. He is a super humble missionary, and a SUPER hard worker. He´s also pretty fun. We get along really well. In his words "I haven´t gotten along so well with a companion in so little time." He looks JUST LIKE my cousin Tyton Larsen. This transfer is gonna be a blast. Lot´s of fun, and LOT´S of work!

Elder Brown

Mosiah 13:14

14 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

The Work Continues for Noellia and Ivan

Elder Adrian, a good friend from Venado Tuerto

Our district

Noelia and Ivan Mir had their baptismal interview´s Saturday, and passed with flying colors!! Noelia is one of the most prepared people that I have taught. Some prepared people accept everything we say without question, and others accept it and apply what we teach in their lives. Noelia accepts what we teach, and does it. She lives what she learns. In the words of our ward members, she is a "dry Mormon," which means she already lives a Mormon life, she just lacks baptism.

Pablo, Noelia´s husband and Ivan´s father, told us last night that he wants to get baptized too!! He has been our main concern with the Mir family. He knows he will have to stop smoking and make a bunch of changes in his life, but, he is willing to make these changes. He said he doesn´t want to do it for his wife nor for his son, but rather, because he feels that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. All his ideas of Christianity are found in the LDS church. It was amazing!

Normally, I don´t like to share that I am a leader in the mission, but, I feel like I should share an experience I had this week.

There are six missionaries in our district. Two are zone leaders. Two are sister training leaders. One is a district leader, and the other is the district leader´s junior comp. The missionary who is the district leader is the missionary with the least amount of time out of the 6 of us. He has been in the mission field for 8 or 9 months. His comp has been out for 15 months. The sister training leader´s have been out for 16 and 11 months. I´ve been out for 20, and my comp´s been out for 16. Our poor district leader feel´s, obviously, tons and tons of stress. I´m sure he feels really insecure. He, with such little experience, has to be a leader of missionaries, who are leaders, with lots of experience. His and his comp´s situation is almost exactly what I had in Venado Tuerto. My comp was pretty new and was a district leader of 5 other missionaries with more experience than he, my comp was even from the same place as our current district leader.

On Saturday, when they came to our area so that the district leader could interview Ivan and Noelia, I felt like I needed to speak with his companion, whom I will call Elder Black, and I will call his comp Elder Silva. I started by asking "How are things going with you and Elder Silva?" He told me that things were going good, but, that the stress seemed to have really gotten to Elder Silva, and that they were getting along really well. I told him about my time in Venado Tuerto, and how I was able to win the trust, confidence, and love of my companion. The spirit was really strong. At the end, he gave me a huge hug and said "This was the answer to my prayers. Thank you." I guess what I am going at with this, is that I learned that the experiences we have in this life aren´t just for us. Gods gives us these experiences for us to share with us, and wants us to record our experiences, especially our spiritual ones. I noticed after the little chat we had, that I had not recorded in my journal what I had done to win the confidence of my companion. So, I will do that today, so that in some future day, I can help someone else too with my experiences.

Love you all!!

Elder Brown

Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-9

7 And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.

8 The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?

9 Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.