So email will be every Monday always every Monday, so Sunday night, hop on the email. I will find out the changes tonight or tomorrow, my district leader is my friend so he is gonna tell me early. I love that guy, so I'll let you know what's going on with that next week, but yeah it's been a good change. I wish I could have seen more success, but our numbers are on the way up. So next change we will see what happens.

As for Kaylee, I'm glad she had a good time at yase, the more I think about it, the more I miss music. I miss being in choirs and shows, to say the least that's what I look forward to when I get back. Kaylee and I will be chilling in the recording studio all the day long, but yeah. I don't see much opportunity to share the musical talent in Paraguay. All the songs I know are in English, and well it's hard to translate stuff, so I just don't have much opportunity to share what I know, and I'm too busy working to do it, so I don't have any music time which means I don't have fun performing, but what can you do. I'll just have to do it after.

I'm already seeing how fast the second year goes. It seems like just yesterday I was reading president's email counseling us to accept the changes. Man time goes to quick mama. I'm scared to come home. I got too much to do before I come home, but time goes as it goes. I'm excited for this change that's coming.

I love ya tons and I miss ya. Talk to ya next week.

CIAO!!!!!!!!!
Love Elder Brown

The jersey from one of the Paraguayan soccer teams

So everything is good here.

It's true, the key to the universe is sacrifice, Joseph Smith taught that, "any religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things will never have power sufficient unto salvation." Really we see that faith comes through sacrifice and sacrifice alone. We can ask how do we get faith and we see the answers of read the scriptures pray repent all of those good old primary answers, all of which require a sacrifice. A sacrifice of time energy or even the heart. I read this week that the only thing that we have that God doesn't already have is our heart and our mind. We sacrifice what he has given us to gain more faith but all in all what he wants is our heart and our mind, our will and our desires. I read also that "God does not want merely to frustrate the natural man, he wants to kill the natural man. In other words, he doesnt want us just to sacrifice our will for his, or our time. He wants us, in the end, to consecrate our selves, our time our talent, all that we are and hope to be. He wants it all, the good and the bad. It's something we covenant to do. And in return he takes all the good the bad the beautifull and the ugly and in return, he gives us all he is. We become like he is. He takes the bad and the ugly for the best and the most beautiful. He then takes the good and makes it better and the beautiful and makes it more so. In short he takes all that we are and makes us all that he is. So that's the lesson from Elder Brown this week.

About the sleep. Well I learned that when the Lord takes something from us (sleep for example) He always gives us at least what he takes if not double. So if he takes three hours of sleep from me he gives me energy as though I had slept for 6 extra hours. I love it when he takes away my sleep. It means that I have more energy after.

Well I feel that I have gone on long enough, but I really love ya, and I wish I could sit here and chat with you, but seeing as I can't I guess this will have to do. I love you, and I look forward to hearing from you next week.

Love Elder Brown

The view from the front door.
Hey,
Things are good. Yeah I guess you could call our house cozy. It's a good place, but as you said we aren't there very often. The truth is that I do have a dresser, but I find it a waste of time to unpack. I will only be here for a short amount of time so I just kind of always live out of my suitcase. That's my way of saving time.

We are still having trouble finding new investigators. We are working on that, but we have to fix the ward so that the people we baptize stay there so they can be saved in the last day. I am getting better at understanding the Lord and his ways, and all this because I don't sleep well at night anymore. God usually chooses the night time to teach me things. I usually write about a page of inspiration every night. The Lord is working very hard to prepare me.

There is a part in Doctrine and Covenants that is a mission call of someone. I don't remember who but it says in his mission call that "you will be a doctor to the church.... you will go unto the world, but the world will not receive you." I found this week that that is why my companion and I are here. My companion and I have talked a lot about it. We came to the end that we aren't only here to baptize. We analyzed the ward, the members here aren't moving in a positive direction. This ward is moving towards becoming a branch, and we have been place here to help the members of the ward. To be doctors to the church. We had come here looking for the world, but the world has not received us. We are here to heal the church. So that was this week. Francisco is still moving steadily but surely toward baptism. We just need to give him the last push.

So I'm happy for all the great things that are happening at home. I love ya tons and I'm grateful you write me every week. I look forward to your emails and by the way can you talk with Brady, I'm worried he might be dead, I haven't heard from him in like 4 weeks. Yeah that kid, probably too busy with girls or something. I love ya tons.

Love Elder Brown

¿todo bien como estas?

The first picture is me in my new winter coat with sunglasses and a nerf gun, then our stack of Books of Mormon (Book of Mormons?) the last is my companion and one half of our apartment. So there's pictures.

So I won't be coming home to the same bishop? I thought I would. Wow things are so different in Utah, here a bishop is bishop for about 8 years before they even think of changing him. Needless to say a lot of the bishops are pretty burned out by the end of their calling, but yeah so I thought (seeing the afore mentioned experience) that I would come home to the same bishop, but I guess not, and how do you know that Bishop is up for re-election(haha re-election) this fall?

The temple session felt normal. The veil was different in Spanish but really I like it in English more. In Spanish one word means a hundred different things. In Spanish for example the word malo means bad mean evil and pretty much any word that conveys a negative feeling. English is so much more descriptive. I love it. I'm so happy I was born speaking English.

That's my Sis, following the example of her brother, wearing the combat boots for trek. I love my combat boots. Mine are kinda dieing but still. Dad, I'm glad you had a great time on trek, I'm sure Kaylee had a great time, she always has been a trooper, and she knows how to have fun too, it kind of comes naturally when your a performer, our entertainment comes from the entertainment of others. Mom told me Kaylee kept her family laughing and singing show tunes all the way.

So in the area it's pretty much the same. We are starting to work in new areas, and I think we will see more success there. This area is pretty well squeezed dry, we almost can't find people who haven't talked to the missionaries before. But we will see what we can find as we begin to explore. So that's just about all I got.

The 4th of July...when you mentioned the water balloons it made me smile cause I remember one 4th party when i was holding the sling shot and Brady bee-lined one and pegged Tyson right in the chest and he fell like a sack of potatoes. It was funny. That memory made me smile. I miss fun times with the family but there are plenty of good times to come and don't worry. I have less than a year left. I'll be back before you know it. I only have like 2 major holidays more and then I'm back but yeah.

Well I got to go write president I love ya a ton, and I miss you. I look forward to (and at the same time dread) coming home. Look forward to because I can hang out with the family and I can sleep, dread because I want to do all that I can here, and going home means I can't be here anymore, but all good things must come to an end so that the better things can begin. I love ya tons and look forward to your email next week.

Love Elder Brown