Week 13

Hello my wonderful family!!! Oh how i love you!

lets start by answering a few questions!

Boxing Day: Yes it is the day after Christmas...and i'm still not quite sure why the celebrate it... ha I think it's because it's when they clean up all the boxes and packages from Christmas...that's just a guess, i really have no clue!

Talking on Christmas :)!!: So you have some choices either we can talk early morning Christmas (around 6am-9am your time) or it can be around 11-1pm your time...which would be better. Either way it is probably going to be around the time church is. (curse you 7 hour time difference) And yes in both places i could call they have access to skype! So if you would like to skype i'm pretty sure we could!! :) Which would be so fun! I'll have about an hour! I would need to know your skype account and you would have to make me one...i think. So if you could do that and just let me know that would be WONDERFUL!

Transfer calls are the 26th. So i won't know whether i'm staying of going when we talk on Christmas. So it's the weird Pday thing. So the 26th you won't get anything from me but our Pday is on the Tuesday (27th) and then on the Wednesday is the transfer meeting and i'll know for sure who will be my companion and where i'll be :)

THANK YOU FOR THE PACKAGES!!!! I got them on Tuesday!!! Thank you family and Grandma and Grandpa Taylor!! I haven't opened them yet cause we're saving it for Christmas but thank you so so much! You are so good to this Sister missionary! I love you all!

(Random thing: Raymond or someone smart (ok you're all smart...but we all know who the master tutor is in the family ;) ) Could you email me the formula to convert Fahrenheit (total wrong spelling ha) to Celsius (sp???) and Celsius to Fahrenheit. I know its like 5/9 + 32 or something like that...but they use Celsius here and I'd really like to know how cold it really is haha :) Thanks

This week FLEW!!! I can't believe it's Monday again and we've only got 2 weeks left of this transfer...CRAZY! Things here in Stanley are just great!! It's amazing to me A) How this is truly Gods work. B) How people use (or not use) their agency. C) story about the most amazing family I've had the pleasure to meet while here in Stanley.

 A) This is Gods work. No doubt about that. Why? Because he uses someone as imperfect, flawed, goofy, can't take anything seriously, Sister Brown. There is NO WAY I could be involved in these "coincidences" but it just being me. God is in control!

Story Time:

Once upon a time about 3 weeks after leaving the MTC here in Stanley I came across a man while street contacting. His name was Tom and he had recently lost his wife. She died just 2 years ago and he was still grieving her loss. Very bitter towards God and all that jazz. I prayed "Heavenly Father, this man NEEDS THIS GOSPEL!" I tried to schedule some time where we could see him but he was going on holiday for 3 weeks in Germany. I thought to myself "wow...that stinks. I'm never going to see this man again". Wednesday night (Dec. 7) We were knocking an area that we felt inspired to go to. Sister Freeman was on the phone with someone so i just went to the next door. So i knocked and waited (like usual) and this older gentlemen opened the door. I thought to myself, "Self...he looks familiar...like really familiar" but as you RM may know...we see A LOT OF PEOPLE it's hard to remember who you've seen and who you haven't seen. So i did a normal approach and we both looked at each other and did the whole "I remember you!" Family...it was TOM!!!! We knocked in to Tom...he had JUST gotten back from holiday that Monday. I tell you that this is Gods work. He knows his children and he knows where they are. All we have to do is be living worthy of the spirit and then following the promptings we do get.

B) Oh agency...its a tricky thing. When used right it's SUCH A BLESSING!! We learn, we grow, we are able to do so much good. But when we use our agency in line with Satan or give way to what he wants..well it makes missionary work tough. Needless to say we had that HUGE miracle with Tom-but he's an old man set in his ways. Not interested in progressing. So. Lame.

C) BUT on a lighter note. One of the joys of being a missionary is being able to meet so many people and to learn and grow from their example. Mom you will be so happy to hear this part of the letter because it is about the Robsons. I don't know if I've written about them yet but i've been meaning to. They are my "Mission Family" OH HOW I LOVE THE ROBSONS!!! They are TRULY inspiring! Their conversion to the gospel is a story that i'll have to save for later because who they are today is amazing! I wish i had more time to go into greater detail about them (oooo maybe i can for Christmas!!) but the short story is that there is Debbi and Gordon (Sister and Bro. Robson) and their 3 kids Garreth, Dean, and Shalina. I few years back Gordon was diagnosed with cancer in his leg and over years of ke-therapy and different surgeries to try to save his leg eventually it had to be amputated. He is a walking miracle. He may only have one leg but that doesn't hold him back one bit! He is a spiritual giant and helps us in every way that he can with out work. Debbi is truly our "Mission Mom". She (and the rest of the family) take SUCH good care of us. For example: They bought us groceries a few weeks back, they have us for Tea (dinner) as much as they can, and they always make sure we have everything we need. Whether it be soup for when we're sick, or helping us with our investigators. And their daughter Shalina, OH HOW I LOVE HER! She takes such good care of us too! Like buying us new shoes because the ones we have are hammered because of all the walking we do. I am SO GRATEFUL for them and all they do for us. They inspire me to press on when things are hard, to love everyone no matter what, and to be an eternal missionary. I wish there was a way that i could repay all that they have done from me and all that their example has taught me. (if anyone has any ideas how i could do that...that would be great :) )

I have learned so much while being here in Stanley. I really would hate to leave! I love being a missionary! Even though it has been the hardest thing i've ever had to do, it's been the most rewarding.

I love you all so so so much!! Good luck with finals, Mal and your audition, and everything going on!!

I love you to the moon and back!

Love, Sister Brown