So yeah birthday was awesomeish, I still havent officially had it, so I'm still not 20. Besides I'm still 18 how could I possibly be turning 20. What heresy! Yeah it was good. Package was awesome. And now I have plenty of socks.

So report on investigators. We have the family Rivarola. I always smile a little bit when I say there name because it sounds like river roller. They are great. They are a family of 6, but they are slow to understand Spanish. They already know the church is true. They had a baptismal date for the 2nd of April but didn't come to church this week so it will be the 9th at the earliest. Next we have Christian (the nephew of some members) and Hermalinda (the mom of the same members.) They both know the church is true. Christian is excited to be baptized, but Hermalinda is just incredibly indecisive. She already knows its true, but for some reason she doesn't want to do it. But we will keep working with her. That's all of our investigators with baptismal dates, and really it would take too much time to list the others. I love ya tons and look forward to talking to you next week and actually talking to you in 6ish weeks (ish is my favorite number) for Mother's Day.

Love, Elder Brown

More than just this week went by fast for me. It's more like the past transfer (month and a half). I really feel like I just got here but changes are next week. Oh yeah by the way, email on Thursday next week. I figured out why as a missionary you feel bad when the people choose sin over righteousness. It came from a talk by Elder Eyring. He said that as priesthood holders our happiness is inextricably linked with that of those we serve. Much of the time we feel the pain that comes of their sin as much as they do. So I guess you just kind of feel that pain before they realize they will feel it. We did lose a lot of investigators but we had 2 people appear out of no where who want to get baptized so all is well. Really following the spirit is getting easier and easier. It's all a matter of learning to understand how it speaks. Really I look toward being able to be directed a hundred percent by the spirit. It all just takes obedience patience and time.

When I get back from my mission and when I give my homecoming talk I will be sure to let everyone of the youth know that it is quite literally the best experience of your life. No it isn't easy but anything worth doing isn't easy. I dont want anyone, ever to make that stupid mistake of deciding not to go on a mission because of any reason. They throw the term around "best 2 years". I cringe now when I hear that thrown around so lightly. IT IS quite literally the best 2 years. No other thing I have ever done has been as hard or as rewarding as this, and I've JUST started. I'm sorry I'm talking really strongly now but that's because this really is how I feel. Nothing I have ever done has meant as much to me as this 9 months I've been on my mission. I don't want anyone to miss it. 2 years is NOTHING, but what you get is sooooo much. I haven't done everything there is to do in this life but I don't think I'll be too far off if I say that nothing you can do in your life will be worth as much as a mission. I don't want anyone to lose that. That's why when I hear someone say "it's too hard," or "it's not what its supposed to be" I might just go ballistic. This mission means everything to me, and I know it will only mean more to me with each day that passes.

Well now that that's said and done (by the way I think this is actually the first week my email has been longer than yours.) I am well passed out of time. I love you, got to go!

Love, Elder Brown

Questions:
1. Give us a quick update on your investigators.
Bueno, we have 1 really promising investigator. We were passing by looking for another investigator and ran into him. He talked with the missionaries a long time ago and already knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet, so like any good missionaries we put a baptismal date with him for the 9th.

2. Now that you've been in your area for a while...
A. What do most people do for work?
Most people work either in construction or in Centro in that big market.

B. What is there to do for p-day that's fun?
Play ping pong and soccer in the chapel. Well soccer we play in the field behind the chapel but yeah.

C. Do the people there have different customs, habits, foods from where you were before?
It seems like every area has something they're crazy about. In Caa Guazuu there were a ton of motorcycles with underglow, in Obligado, well they were German, and in San Antonio there really wasn't anything, but here they all have huge theater speakers in their cars and blast music going down the road.

D. Are people there more educated?
I guess. Not much better than San Antonio but a lot more than Caa Guazu

E. Are there different nationalities? languages?
You´ll occasionally find a Brazilian who doesn't speak Spanish.

Hey Mamita!
I love mondays, but they come too quick sometimes. It feels like 2 days ago I was sitting in this exact same seat writing emails. But yeah Monday's awesome. This morning we played soccer and ping pong. It was fun. I'm not very good at soccer but I did well at ping pong. I guess a lot of that is fencing. Wrist control and all that, but yeah. a basic knowledge of physics doesn't hurt. Yeah it was great. I'm excited to hear if you liked your present. I feel like it was a really cool present, but well see.

I do have one experience this week. It was the wierdest thing. My companion and I were walking down the street and he decided to make a phone call, so we stopped moving and stood there for a second. I was completely calm and everything, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, when all of a sudden I felt that we should get moving now!!! I turned to my companion who was talking on the phone and I said "Elder I've got a bad feeling lets keep moving." He was too occupied by his phone call to understand or respond but the feeling just kept getting worse till it was utter panic I said to my companion "Elder we've got to get moving now, lets go." He heard me and we started moving. It was the strangest thing. There was nothing in the environment around me to trigger such a response from me but the emotion was there. I don't know what would have happened had we not gone, nor do I want to know, but really it was a testimony to me that the spirit really is there to guide us and protect us. As I said I don't know what would have happened but I do know it wouldn't have been good. Really one of the apostles said, "The spirit will never let you make a wrong choice without warning." I've come to know this as a real promise.

This week was however a little difficult. All but 3 of our people with baptismal dates lost them. It was a hard week but we just need to keep working hard. The people I talked about in the questions are the people that we are working with that are progressing really well. I have to go, I still need to write dad and president and I only have 15 minutes so I got to go sure do love ya Mom. And happy birthday. You will soon be one year younger and wiser too happy birthday to you.

Love ya,
Elder Brown

questions this week:

1. Tell us a bit about the people you are teaching. Are they individuals or families?
We are teaching a heck-a-lot o´ people. We found a guy named Dani last week. He already got his answer so he's practically in the water. After that we've got Richard and his family. Richard's dad is a tough cookie to crack, but we'll work on it. His mom just does what her husband says and the kids love the church. That's really the major investigators.

2. Is it easy to get entire families to teach?
To teach no. Ro get to progress sometimes.

3. How is fall in Paraguay? Do the colors change? Is it getting cooler?
About the same. No and a little bit.

4. Do you have the clothes you need for winter? Is it easy to find coats, etc that will be appropriate?
I have no such clothes but I should be able to find it.