SO....it has been a while but all is ok. There is some good news but i will
save it till the end. This week i spent 4 days in Cuiabá because of a
mission tour, a hospital trip, and traveling! First, about the hospital. I am ok, I have a fungus on my neck from sweating ALL THE TIME and I had to get a cream to applyon my neck twice a day for a month and all should be good! The last
night in Cuiabá was awesome, we went to a members house for a
farewell party. They live in the middle of the city, on the top floor,
a penthouse suite! Yeah it was pretty awesome. We did return home to Cáceres and got
back to work. Now to the News......Yesterday was one of the hardest days because i had to
say goodbye to my families here in Cáceres! I am getting transferred and
so we visited all the families that i love and it was really
hard. They love me so much and we have really grown together in these 3
transfers. They are great people and i will always remember them.Thank you for everything Ramo Cáceres! (Cáceres Branch) I am getting transferred to an area called Ponta Purã in Monte Grosso do Sul. It is
about 20+ hours from Cuiabà by bus so i will have a lot of time to sleep
and catch up on things. I am super excited to move on but also super
nervous. But i know i have a purpose there and all will be ok. So that's
about it for me here in Cáceres for my last time. I know for sure that i
will have a lot to write about next week! Keep me in your prayers during this time and i will let you know how my week goes! Love you all
and remember that Jesus Christ lives! I know that and there is no doubt
about it.
Love,
Elder Browning
Estimated Distance from
Cuiabá to Ponta Purã
= 1,031.2 km/640 miles
Interesting Facts about Ponta Purã:
Cuiabá has a tropical wet and dry/ savanna climate with dry winters whereas Ponta Purã has a humid subtropical climate.
Cuiabá is in or near the tropical dry forest biome whereas Ponta Purã is in or near the subtropical moist forest biome.
The past week for us was busy getting ready for an area authority to come an visit and tour our mission. We helped clean the building and then had ice cream. I am in the heart of Cuiaba today and I am heading to the hospital tomorrow to get my neck looked at. I have a fungus from all the sweating I do. I know gross. That is about it. Thank you for all your prayers and support. I will know next Monday if I am going to be transferred or not.
Love, Elder Browning
SO i know for the past weeks i have not had a lot to say and this should
be the last last week of that. This week was not very eventful but we
got some work done he in Cáceres! We have 3 people with Baptism dates
and that is really exciting! One was a referral from a member and the
others were from tracting. SO we will be busy this week teaching and
getting them ready for the next step in there life. This week also
we had a surprise B-day party for Tica´s Daughter and it was a good
surprise too. she thought that they were just going to get ice cream but
they ``forgot`` something at home. when they came to pick up what they
forgot, the whole Branch was there to suprise her for her birthday.
What else this week...oh, i am starting to look like a Brazilian with
my Dark skin and sometime people believe me when i tel them i live in
São Paulo.haha. i am sorry for the short letter but that is all that has
happened in the last couple days. Pray for my investigators and my area.
I love you all and glad that i can share my experiences with you each
week. Àte mais todas!!!
Elder Browning
Shout out to MICAH!!! I found you a puppy snake!!
We made "American" pancakes with Tica
We helped make pastries for 4 hours. Call me Chef Browning
1. Had zone conference in Cuiaba.
2. Saw a pile of blood on the street from a murder, pretty cool huh?
3. Celebrated Carnaval with the Branch because it was someone's birthday.
4. I am getting darker and darker everyday from the SUN!
NO not General Conference but Branch Conference! SO this was not such an
eventful week only Saturday and Sunday so i will tell you what
happened. Saturday night President and Sister Oliveira came to Cáceres
to have the annual Branch Conference. Since this Branch is not part of a
stake it is part of the mission. President Oliveira oversees the Branches in the mission boundaries and deals with Cáceres and one other Branch. Saturday night we had a fireside and it was Amazing!! Sister
Oliveira talked about how the missionaries cant do everything and how
that members need to help. so wasn't sweet about it either, she got in
there faces and said that its time to get to work! Then Pres. Oliveira
did a Q&A session with all that was there! he answered there questions, doubts and talked about things that they needed to hear. It
was really good and I yes I learned a lot. then Sunday Came around and
they spoke again! WOW it was just as good! sister Oliveira talked about
how Cáceres has 4 fantastic missionaries that are doing the right thing
so stop calling them fubekas and
talking bad about them( the members have had problem with missionaries
in the past so they have really low confidence in the missionaries). She
said that we are doing as much as we can do but the members have to do
more because they live here!! it was a great talk.
Then President
Oliveira talked and open there eyes to somethings that need to change.
He called new members to new callings and hopefully this will make a
change! He also said that when he served his mission here this area his
mission president opened up this area 25 years ago! the Branch is the
same as it was when it opened. Sad right. He talked about a lot more
stuff but and it was great!! He is truly called of God. So that is my tid-bit for the week and hope you enjoy it!! I am doing great down here rand
keep pushing along! I love the members and the members love me!! i am grateful to be here and bring souls unto Christ. May the Lord bless you
with whatever you stand in need of! Stay warm and until next week!!
I am sorry that this week i have nothing to write about but i did
nothing!! i was sick this whole week and sat in the house watching the
church videos we have. it was painful because its not like being sick at
home. i couldn't just flip on the T.V and call for my mom. i sat in my
bed for 4 days straight. i am better now and ready to get back to work. i
am sorry that i don't have to much to say but i will have more to write
next week. i hope the pictures do better. I love the support and
prayers that i receive in my life. i am glad for the opportunity to be
better and not having to go home, like home home. i know that the Lord
has blessed me with health and strength!! Once again i love each and everyone and will fill you in next week with more stories and
adventures!!
Love,
Elder Browning
Merry Christmas to me
The Sunset of Glory
I made a cookie cake at Tica's house. It was soooo good
SO this week was the last of our transfer and I will be staying here in
Cáceres for 6 more weeks and the Branch is excited about that so that is
good. We did a lot of walking this week so i was pretty tired.
On Friday we helped Elder Pavon move into our house and that was a long
day for everyone. We had to do a lot of carrying of heavy items and boy
was i sore the next day. Our house is full with 4 missionaries we are getting a brand new missionary on Wednesday. I don't know if he is Brazilian or American. We talked to President and he told us to take
it easy on Saturday so we cleaned the house and got it organized. We had a surprise party for a couple in our branch that got married/sealed in the São Paulo Temple and the party brought them to tears. It was a humbling
experience.
Now lets get to the big news. Yesterday (Sunday) I spent
the day in the Hospital. I am OK and all is fine now. I have Zika, a
sickness from mosquitos. It drains your whole body and you can't do
anything. So i will be chilling out for the next couple days. The
amazing thing was that the Branch members did all they could do to help
me out. Tica invited us over to her house and bought me medicine also
let me sleep in there guest room until I went to the hospital. Another
member picked us up from Ticas house and drove us to the hospital and
even waited with me. Today I am chilling at Elton's house getting the
royal treatment. The members here are so AWESOME!! I am forever in their debt.
So
that is about it with this email. My language is better and i can understand for the most
part. Sorry its so short but i don't have a
ton of energy to write. I love you all and hopefully I will get better in
no time!! Stay warm and keep on doing the right things in life!!!
Elder Browning
Well this has been a week of a whole lot of RAIN and walking, and a BAPTISM!!!! This was a week that will go down in the record books for the mission. But I will get to that later in this email. So i made cookies this week and my companions loved it. They were so easy to make and i will probably make more this week when we have some time. We ate at Subway again because we had no food in the house and didn't want to go shopping and then make lunch after. I got a Star Wars poster with my combo meal so that was a bonus. it is now hanging up on our fridge for all the missionaries who pass through to sign. SO lets get to the Rain!! it rained everyday this week and when it rains it RAINS the streets flood and it shuts down the city. But we continued to work in the rain and it was kinda fun crossing the streets in ankle high water and remembering what it was like for the pioneers back in the day. And there is more rain in the forecast for the next 2 months!! yeah :( . I did a lot of teaching this week and it was a good way to practice my language. First i taught our training at our District meeting about Faith and Works (Thanks for the idea, Jorge Arevalo) and i taught our Gospel Principles class this past Sunday! it was a great learning experience for me!! Now lets get to the meat and potatoes!! The Baptism of João Lucas. it was a great Baptism. The first in 1 year, can you believe that!!! The members were excited and so were we!! He is a great young man and has plans to serve a mission in a year. He was truly prepared by the Lord for this moment in his life and for us to teach him!! We are going to the Zoo with him and Elton today so that we can keep him strong and be friends with Elton because we (missionaries) will leave. it as a great day and the branch has more respect for us as missionaries now because of this baptism. I have a story to tell to finish this email up. so we were tracting one day, knocking on door after door in the rain. we finally knocked on this one door and the family let us in to get out of the rain. we talked with the family and shared our lives as missionaries. How we are here for 2 years with out our families. anyways it stopped raining and we left. well that night she called us and said that her family wanted us to come over for lunch on Sunday and they would make us a BBQ!! We went over on Sunday and had a really amazing time. she let us know that to her we are her sons and even though she has here own religion she can still share her love with. it was such a humbling experience to see that there are people in this world like this family. Will they get baptized in the future, probably not, but the love that they have for us, we will forever be grateful. the lord bless us with tender mercies like this for being his disciples for 2 years. I know He lives, He is real and HE is my Savior. May this week be filled with love towards all mankind. my heart is full with love and appreciation for all of you. until next time.
Merry (late) Christmas to everyone back home. This week was a week filled
with parties, food and my family!! I have a lot to say but i will some
it up because i don't have a lot of time. Tuesday was CONFERENCIA DE NATAL
in Cuiabá and it was great. It consisted of watching the First Presidency devotional, eating until you couldn't eat no more, secret Santa exchange, a talent show and a a spiritual thoughts about the Savior to end the day. It was a great conference and saw all my friends
that i haven't seen in a long time. I also meet other missionaries that i
have never seen but thay knew who i was a were thrilled to meet me!
Weird right? But its better than people trying to avoid me. So that
night we took the bus home and went back to our regular schedule. But on Thursday it was Christmas Eve and we had P-Day after 6pm. We got our
work in during the after noon and then played at night. We got ice cream
then headed over to a members house for Christmas Eve dinner. It was
amazing and the spirit of CHRIST was there and filled our hearts. We got little boxes of chocolates from them as we left and then headed home. We
had no bed time so we made some random music videos until two in the
morning!! Then it was finally CHRISTMAS!!!!! WE went to a Resort with a
family in our Branch for lunch and it was awesome!! It had a big patio
for cooking, a huge pool( we didn't go swimming ) and area with Foosball, ping-pong and pool, and much more. It was a great time to mess
around and hang out with the members on Christmas! After that we went
to Elton's and talked with our families on Skype!! It was a great
experience to see my family and yes, I cried when I said goodbye. I was
good to see them in person and we talked about all that has happened
in these 4 months of my mission!! Saturday we were back at work and
then had an activity at the church for the members. Sunday we spent the day at church and after went to Tica's to eat cake, homemade ice cream
and helped make homemade bread. It was all SO good. Then that night we
planed and made some more videos that have no point to them but we had
time. Well that about it for me in Brazil. There is more detail to each
story but i don't have the time to write. i love all the support, prayers,
and love that each one of you have for me and Hunter out here in the
field. The Lord does truly blesses me and my family for the work that
we are doing. He answers prayer and is always there for us. Have a Happy
New Year and think of what you can better in your life for next year.
God is GOOD and will always be Good!!
Bom dia todo mundo!! Hello and happy holidays! Let me just say that this
week as full of excitement and i will try to fill everyone in on what
has happened.
First of all we went to Cuiaba last Monday for zone conference. After a 4 hour bus ride we made it to Cuiaba and spent the
night at the Zone Leader's house.
Tuesday morning we had a little time before zone conference, so me and my comp walk around the city. It was like walking
through the streets of Chicago and made me feel at home! We had zone conference and it was super good!! I had really great training and role
playing!! Everyone was impressed with my Portuguese and how much i have
improved in these last 6-7 weeks. After Zone Conference we had lunch at the Zone Leader's house
and went to catch the 2 o'clock bus back to Caceres. Well is turns out
that the bus was full so we bought tickets for the next day at 7 am. So
we had the whole day to do nothing. But since we are missionaries we
decided to call around and see if anyone needed help. And actually
someone did!! The project that need to be completed was making little
toy care packages for Christmas. We had a great time helping out and completed a bunch of care packages!! To reward ourselves we went to a pizzeria and it was amazing!! It was an all you can eat buffet. The
chefs come to your table every minutes or so and offer you different pizza
to choose. So you just sit there and eat and eat and eat!! Then I was
informed that there was an all you can eat ice cream buffet too!!! So i
had a good amount of ice cream too!!! It was a really good night and had a
really good time with the other missionaries in Cuiaba!!
Wednesday
morning we hopped on the bus at 7 to head home! That day was really
long, just in general.
Thursday we helped out Elton's wife make
decorations and presents for Jantar de Natal (branch Christmas party).
It was a super fun time and the members get to see
me and who I actually am. Elton and Jussara love the missionaries and
love hanging out with us.
Friday was the day of the Jantar de Natal and
it WAS SO AMAZING! We helped the branch set up before hand and then the
party was great. I got to listen to some Christmas music which reminded
me of home. The food was amazing and made by a professional chef in our Branch. I had a great time hanging out with the members that night, it was a great party and a memory that I will cherish for a while.
Saturday was just a normal day and did a lot of finding people in our
area book. We had a great day with teaching and what not!
Sunday was Sunday and love to improve my listing skills at church. We had a great
lunch afterwards at a less actives house and spent the rest of the day
at Elton's. We helped him with a big presentation that he has this week
and he really enjoyed our help and comments.
Today we are taking another
bus to Cuaiaba for Conferencia de Natal tomorrow.
This upcoming week will be filled with more missionary craziness. I
hope everyone is enjoying the spirit of Christmas and home everyone has a
great christmas!! But remember the real reason for Christmas, CHRIST!
Love you all and will fill you in on all that happens this week next
week. FELIZ NATAL!!!
Hello first of all to everyone at home wherever you are!! So this week was busy but not really. There are alot of activities and changes but not a whole lot of stories. So anyways... Monday through Wednesday was the same except for me finishing my first transfer in the field. We celebrated with a BBQ and it was SO GOOD. The other days were just long and did the same old things. Thursday we had the activity at the church which was a good time and had an okay turn out. But i always love the Thursday night because we get to hang out with the members and get to know them better! Friday we finally had the BATISMO of Arthur and i had the privilege of baptizing him! It was a way cool experience and I actually had to do the ordinance twice because I didn't pronounce one part correctly but it was ok. We had dinner and cake afterward and it was also way good. The shocking thing about that day was i got a new companion. The lord truly answers prayer. There was mess up with the transfers in São Paulo and we got an odd number of missionaries. So for some reason i got a new one, and i am happy. His name is Elder MElO and we are ready to get some work done here in Cáceres. I am super excited and hope I have a better experience with him. Saturday we were suppose to have a volleyball tournament but not a lot of people showed up so we just played soccer, volleyball and FOOTBALL, like american football. It was so fun and funny because no one knows how to throw a football and they were amazed at me and my ability to throw. It was a good time and i woke up Sunday with a sore shoulder, haha. Sunday was super cute because it was the primary program and they tore down the roof. It was great and we had 70 people at church . We haven't had that many in a long time. After church we ate lunch and took Elder Barros to the Bus station to get transferred. It was a bitter sweet moment but I am glad he is gone!! But I wish the best of luck to him on the rest of his mission! We went home after and had a 4 HOUR planning session of the week. It was awesome and we did a lot of cleaning out the Area Book. I am excited for the plans that we have made for this transfer. around 6ish last night we had choir practice for Christmas at the church and it was a good time. i am singing tenor and really happy to sing for Christmas. SO that was my week this week. I am going to Cuiabá today for a Zone Conference tomorrow so that's a 4 hour bus ride for me today. Time to catch up on some sleep! This week will be filled with parties and trips so there will be a lot to write about next week. I love you all, tem uma boa semana e preperar por NATAL!!! (It's a good week and prepare for Christmas!!!)
Happy December to all and hope you are all ready for the Christmas
season!!!!
So this week was a quick one with bumps here and there. As
of right now I am staying in the area for another 6 weeks, hooray! (not
really) but it's not about me it's about the work and the people I need
to help.
So going back all the way to Monday. We went to subway,
shopping and then ended the night at Elton's. We had Family Home Evening there and had hot dogs for dinner. And no, they were not American hot dogs, but they were still good.
Tuesday was the 1st day of December which meant the start
of festivities and it also meant that there is 24 days left until I get to
talk to my family.
Tuesday was not really exciting just a meeting at the
church with the Branch President about the less actives we need to
work with.
Wednesday we went to the other Elders area because Elder
Rueda went to Cuiaba again for the doctor. It was a long day of walking
but we found a Brazilian COSTCO. It was awesome and reminded me of home.
Thursday we went on splits and Elder Rueda came to my area. It was so
good first of all to not be with my companion and, second to see how another Elder teaches. This was a good experience and I learned a lot. We had an activity at the church that night and it was a poor turnout but we still
continue to have it.
Friday we switched back comps and it down poured
most of the day but we still went out and visited those who needed a
visit. We ended the night at Tica's and she, like always, fed us and it was
good, like always.
Saturday was an exciting day. We had a reference
from somebody but only had the house color and the general location. We
looked and asked around if anyone knew who this person was. No luck.
when we were walking down the street we asked a guy on a bike if he knew this person. He did because it was him! He asked me if I was American because I don't have a Portuguese accent. I said yes and he responded to me in English. He was
an American and moved here with his family 3 years ago. We had a good
discussion and have a date to return and talk to him. i have a good feeling about this. This experience reminds me of the movie The Best Two Years. haha.
Sunday we watched the Christmas reruns of the devotionals. It was a good week and hope for a good one this wee. Love you all and I
love your support and prayers. Sorry for the short letter but I am
running low on time.
Until next time,
SO.......
this week was the hardest week I have ever had. it was so long and the
difficulties that I have had with my companion never seemed to end. I
won't bore you with all that has happened but let's just say that there
were a few times that I was ready to pack up my things and head home. There
were a lot of tears this week but through prayer I was able to get
through each day. So, now let's talk business.
Monday was peaceful. After
email we went to the beach and played soccer and volleyball. The sand
was too hot so we left. We went Christmas shopping and then headed over
to Elton's to hang out. We ended up watching Ephriam´s Rescue and it was
SO GOOD!! If you have not seen it, you should find time to watch it.
Tuesday was a slow day and
the highlight was blessing a home because she thought that Satan lived
in here house. It seems like Hunter and I are casting out devils left
and right! Haha.
Wednesday was slow again and we had a 4 hour bible bash
with a friend of a less-active. It was long and wanted to leave but my
companion wanted to stay and talk. After that we went to Elton's and made
home made bread then had a meeting with the Branch President about how
we can strengthen the ward. It was a good meeting and gave us some
ideas.
Thursday, Thanksgiving we did nothing for it, they don't celebrate
it. Shocking! The day was slow but the night was so much fun. There
was an activity at the church for anyone who wanted to come. There was
soccer, ping pong, volleyball and other stuff here and there. It as so
much fun and a big hit. It is a way for us to invite people to come see
the church in a fun way. Lets just say that I destroyed at ping pong
and pulled a hammy playing soccer but i am all good.
Friday we went to the
airport area to teach a lesson that went okay. We headed back into town
and went tracting around the Church. It was a a huge success and hope we
can do it again this coming week. It was also Black Friday here and they
actually celebrate here, kind of. Its is a weekend sale
(Friday
through Monday). The stores close at 6pm every night so its not really
black Friday.
Saturday we had lunch then went to Elton's to hang and help
him out. We watched 2-3 different soccer games beacause we had to wait to
here about where an open casket was going to be. There is a guy in our branch
that his sister passed away that day. He wanted us to come give him
support so we did later that night. We went to a little service and it
was sad and a little weird. It was the first time that I saw a dead
person and it was a little frighting, but the service was nice and given
by our Branch President.
Sunday it rained that morning but we still walked
to church. It was raining so hard that even with an umbrella I still got
soaked. By the time we got to the church my pants we soaked. Because of the rain no one came to church. We had like 3 families there
and it was weird. It makes for a slow church day, but I liked it anyways. After
church we did our weekly planning and then went to talk with Arthur about a date
for his baptism. It is going to be on December 11 and i am so excited!!A fter that we went to Tica's and she fed us so much food that I was
about to explode. Her brother in law was over and he is not a member
but loves the missionaries. We chatted with him and he is a good man.
Now today is Monday, and we went to the bank to get some CASH. After email we are going to Subway, shopping and then over to Elton's.
That's is it
for this LONG week. I love being a missionary but it is the hardest
thing that I have ever done. I am grateful for all of the love and
support. Happy late Thanksgiving and lets get ready for the Christmas
season!
With love from here in Brazil
Elder Browning
This true story is as remarkable today as it was 2,000 years ago: God sent Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer.
so this week
had its ups and downs and have alot of little things to talk about. SO
after email last
Monday we went to subway and sent shopping. we found
this store called``Loga Americana`` and it was the closest thing to an American store. it had American food,toys, candy and a lot of other
random stuff. after our shopping experience we headed to Elton's for
PIZZA, Brazilian Style. and the only people who know what the pizza here
is, are the ones who served in Brazil.
Tuesday we went to Ticas for
lunch and Igor, a friend, was there. he is super funny and we just
chilled with him in the afternoon. at night we caught a glimpse of the
Peru vs. Brazil game for like ten minutes. the whole city shut down
because of it.
Wednesday we went to a members house that lives 45
minutes away walking but luckily we got a ride from out investigator so
that saved us some energy. and that afternoon we had a bible bash with
someone on the street and it was so stupid. it just made me
laugh.
Thursday Elder Rueda went to Cuiabá so we were a Trio again. We
spent the day in the other elders area and it was a great experience. we
had a meeting with the Branch mission leader but he never showed up. so
we went home and had an early night.
Friday was a fun day filled with
excitement. First of all we went to the Bus station at 3am to pick up
Elder Rueda. it was a long morning tha'ts all i am going to say. for
lunch we had BBQ and then went to the River walk to try something out. We went contacting around that area. in 3 hours we gave out 20+ Book of Mormon's and
20+ Finding Faith in Christ videos. In all we made 70+ contacts in 3
hours. it was a great experience. so after we treated ourselves to ice
cream.
Saturday was LONG. we had a 2 hour walk to a reference house and
it was hot and up hill. and it turned out they weren't home. but as we
were walking back, someone stopped us and wanted to talk to us. He was
baptized 3 or 4 years ago and and the missionaries never visited him
after that. So we visited with him and i think that's the reason we
walked 2 hours in the heat. we got a ride back into town and visited
with Arthur. that day was a long one.
Sunday was a relaxing day here and
ARTHUR came to church. He is scheduled to get baptized in the next week
or so!! we had lunch at his house and played UNO. Then we wen to Elton's
house to finish up the night.
Today after emails we are going to subway
and going to try to play volleyball. then we are going to Elton's for
dinner. well that's about it for this week.
I love you all and fell the
prayers in my life. i am having a hard time right now with but i know
through the Lord and all of your support, i can push through this. I
love you all once again and try to stay warm where ever you are at!!
The title has no meaning, but the theme song has been stuck in my head all day. Anyways, as most of you in the US are freezing from the change in temperature, I am sweating like a pig out here getting work some work done. This week has been REALLY hot and I think it will just continue to get hot :( This past week was so quick and had a few exciting things here and there! Monday was boring because it rained, but gave us an excuse to go to SUBWAY. I know that Me and Hunter talk about Subway, but when you are hungry its the place to go. Tuesday we went to the zoo( which really isn't a zoo). It's a military base that has a zoo of all the animals that they rescue from the jungle. They had snakes, leopards, turtles, birds and other random animals. Wednesday was a long day because we had a 1 hour walk to a lunch appointment that was uphill and HOT!! But the walking paid off and we got 30+ contacts and 20 new investigators. Out of the 20, 2 will probably take the second discussion. That night we had dinner at a gas station and it was good!! Thursday was lunch at Elton's and we had something new, PASTA. It was a good change from the meat but I still love the meat that they got here. Friday we had family home evening at a less actives house and watched meet the Mormons or in Portuguese, Conhecer os Mormons. It was a terrible night because after that they wanted to watch the Minion movie, and my companion was fine with that, We didn't get back to our house until 11 pm. It was a terrible night but i have to move on. Saturday we had lunch at an investigators house and the spirit was so great just eating. I hope that they will continue to progress. Sunday was a great, hot and relaxing day. None of our investigators showed up which is disappointing but we can only do so much. I helped bless the sacrament again and had to repeat it twice because, my pronunciation was wrong but its ok. After church we went to Tica's for a BBQ and then watched F-1 racing. WOW, Brazilians sure do love tv. I got a little nap in during it which was nice. after Tica's we went to talk to a reference, Rose, and it was a really great time and lesson. We spent 2-3 hours over there answering her questions and talking about the gospel. She made us cake and i swear it tasted just like Portillios cake but who knows. After that visit we went to Elton's to hang and mess around. He is super chill and loves us. People from the ward came over to his house to talk with his wife so we were his excuse to leave that conversation and hang with us. Today, Monday we are just going to walk around the city, buy some things and go to Subway again. Thank you for all the love and support. I am doing of here and the language is coming one day at a time. The time here is so short and i need to get to work. I want to challenge everyone at home with something. if you went on a mission or not, a member of the church or not, missionary work is for everyone. The Lord needs his work to be done in all types of things. So if you go to bed each night and think that i could have done more, than fix that. Be kind to one another. Serve others. Be a good example. As a great LDS Hymn says, We are ALL ENLISTED!! The time we have is short in this life and i have realized that my time here in Brazil is shorter than I ever imagine. Its time to get to work and prepare the way for the Second Coming. I love you all and hope that you take my words to heart. thanks for all and i will talk to you next week.
Well this has been a quick week as a matter of fact. we did a lot of
walking and a lot of teaching. but no one seems to want to go to church
and that is a requirement for baptism. we have two potential investigators of baptism. one is Artur(8) and one is Olson(28ish) the
one thing holding them back is going to church. so this week i suggested
that we work with the members to help us with lessons. so we will see
how that goes. we went to Subway this week for a snack and its was
strange. when i walked through the doors it was like i walked into America. everything was the same and they were even playing American
music. so it was nice being in a home away from home. we actually got
the address of the workers there to visit because they were interested in
the church. we went to Tica´s house this week like 3 times in a row and
she always feeds us. we actually had cake one nigh and it was super
GOOD. we got a new elder in our area. it was an emergency exchange because the new one we got was bad in the other area. yesterday was Sunday and we
had church in out small branch but i love it. i was asked to bless the sacrament and it was a good opportunity to practice the language. after
church we went to Luzia´s house for a Sunday BBQ. it was so good. then we
went to visit less actives. We watched a soccer game at one of the
less actives house and that was a little weird but its the culture. i
know it sounds bad but that the culture of Brazil. we did some shopping
this week and also visited some different places around town. anyways. that's about it. I love you all and the support you give me. it truly
does help me in the time of need. i know the lord loves us and love all
of his children. As hunter always says , God is GOOD!! That's it for me
down here in Brazil and wish me luck with the work that needs to get
done. Até Proximo Tempo!!!
Hello everyone in the North American Continent. I hope you are all enjoying the nice cold weather while i am here working in the heat. I
am finally in the field and it is such a different experience. Yesterday was a holiday so p-day was moved to today.
So first
of all, last Tuesday I took a 2 hour plane ride form São Paulo to
Cuiabá. It was very relaxing and I enjoyed the sleep that I was able to
get. Upon our arrival at the airport, we were greeted by our Mission President, President
Olivera running down the terminal to meet us. He is a small little Brazilian and is super awesome. His wife is just as cool as he is. We
hopped in a van a headed toward the mission office. We all chilled in the
mission office for the day talking, eating and interviewing. I meet an
Elder that works in the mission office that is really good friends with
the Milius family. His name is Elder Samuel Allen. Small Mormon world. We spent the night with the APs and just chilled.
The next day we had
training and traveled to our area. I met my companion and he is super
humble, patient and loving. His name is Elder Barros and he is from North
Brazil. We hopped on a bus to our area and it took 4 hours. but once again I didn't complain because I got to sleep again. We arrived in our area,
called Cáceres, around 10ish that night. The next few days we did the typical missionary work. It is a tough area here because no one wants to
join the church and there is a TON of less active members. The members that
are active, are awesome and super cool. They feed us all the time and
never let the missionaries go hungry. The
members here are seriously the coolest people!!
Sunday was great because it was
fast Sunday and I had the chance to share my testimony. The branch has
around 30 members and I wanted to let them know that even though that
there is a language barrier there is not a love barrier that I have for
them. The church building is small but it does have air conditioning.
Yesterday
we had dinner at Eltons house (super cool member) and we had a Brazilian
BBQ. The thing here in Brazil is that you eat until you can't eat no more
and then you are forced to eat more. anyways..... Elton is super cool and
plans on taking a trip to the US with his family to go to the different
temples.
Well I am sure there is more that I could write but I cant remember. I love
the emails each week from everyone and I feel the prayers in my life. I am so grateful to be apart of this culture and even though it will
be hard I always know that there are people supporting me at home. The
Church is true no matter where you are at in the world and the gospel is
for everyone. I always look at a person that we contact in White temple
clothes and it reminds me that we are all children of God.
Until next
week with more stories to tell.
With so much love from here in the
south, Elder Browning
Some other things about where I am.....
Our area is huge and all we do is walk. It is
super hot and humid. Alot of stray dogs and the streets are crazy with
cars, motorcycles and people. Its rains almost everyday at some point. The people here are way cool and are doing the best they can to
help me understand and feel loved. The hardest part is that I want to
talk with them but I cant. I want to listen to them but I cant. I
have a great Brazilian trainer and he is so patience and loving. He knows about 2 or 3 words in english. I live a house and it is big for the area
that we live in. The only American restaurant is subway. The area is
huge and we share it with 2 other elders. We do ALOT of walking. The
streets are dirt and sometimea paved. Its also really crazy that one one
house is super super nice with a yard and a fence then the one right
next to its is a little shack. its very odd.
