"How do you prepare to leave a place and a people that you have loved with all your heart?  In a way, you don't - you just keep working and loving and helping in every way possible, and when the plane arrives, you get on and go.  I suppose it's a little like leaving this life.  You love and work and help as much as you can for as long as you can and then you leave." - Elder John Groberg

So first off, no, I can't believe it. It still isn't hitting home.  I had my final interview with President yesterday, and we talked for a good while.  He spoke of college of marriage and of life itself. We talked of temple attendance and the importance of it.  We talked of many things, and at the end he expressed his love for me and the desire he had to always be involved in my life. I love that man. 

I look forward to drinking milk and opening presents, but first comes dinner.  I'm going to assume that you don't want me to spoil the secret, so I won't until I get home. It's really weird to be writing my last email. I'm going to print off the talk and study it and seek for inspiration. I hope that I can give my homecoming talk well. It will be weird to talk in English. but I'll do the best I can, and hope the Lord will use me as an instrument. I love this work. 

By the way, I do still know your phone numbers. It's ingrained in my brain and it will be hard to forget, so you aren't allowed to ever change your cell phone number.  I wont miss any planes, don't worry. With 2 hour layovers you would have to try to miss your flight, so know worries about missing flights, and I'll call you asap. 

I'll be sure to leave most of my clothes here for those who need them, no worries.  I have some members running around and finding souvenirs, so yeah I hope I'll have enough to fill my bags. Yep, I hope you like what I got you.

So, here we are at the end of 2 years.  I have learned a lot. I love this work and I look forward to applying in my life all the things that I've learned. I love this work and I really am happy for all that I have been able to learn. I love this work. 

          

I love that quote from Elder Groberg, cause it really describes my feelings.  There really is no way to prepare for it.  I hope that one day Kaylee will receive this opportunity as well. I love this work and I love this church and I want to give more. I never want to stop serving the Lord. I want to be on the Lord's errand. I want the Lord to know that if he needs an errand run, Tyler Brown is there to run it. I want to be his servant forever. I hope to do it.

I know that this church is true. I know that Christ is my Savior and that the atonement, which he performed, could only be performed by Him. As it says in There is a Green Hill Far Away, "There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in." I know that Christ has given us the opportunity to accept His grace through the church that was restored by Christ through Joseph Smith. I know that he was and is a prophet of God and that Thomas S. Monson is God's prophet in these days. I know that this work, to which I have given the last 2 years of my life, is God's work and I know that He is guiding and directing it. I want to give more and I will give more. I love you and am grateful for goodly parents that God has given me. I know that God knows and loves each of us individually and that in and through Christ our Savior we can return to live with Him again. 

Love, Elder Brown (soon to be Brother Brown)

Pouring down rain in Paraguay creating a muddy waterfall.

Hey Mom,

So yay for being admitted to Snow College and we´ll have fun on our little trip there to find housing and meet with a counselor.  I would like to take a ton of credits, keep myself busy. I'm tempted to go for a triple major. 1 pre engineering 2 science (as is suggested) and 3 music. It would be the most epic 2 years anyone has ever attempted. Finish 2 years with 3 degrees, and with honors too. I plan on studying like no one has studied before. But yeah. but yeah it will be an epic start to college. 

And I did this week buy a couple of souvenirs. One for me and a gift for Brady, and this week I am going to get gifts for the whole family (and by that I mean my immediate family. You, Dad, Brady, and Kaylee) so I'll do as you commanded and try not to buy living things, but I will find stuff to buy. Don't even worry about it. 

As far as the work goes, things have been going very differently than I thought they would. We aren't finding very many new people. The ones we are finding aren't progressing and it looks like I'll end with just one more baptism,  but all is well, and all will go the way the Lord wants. All things have been done according to the wisdom of Him who knows all things.

Well, we are still working hard here. Trying to find people to teach, but yeah. Don't get too trunky Mom. The end draws nigh and there is little time. Next week will be my last letter home and it still isn't hitting home. So I love you tons and look forward to next weeks letter. Love you tons.

Love, Elder Brown

Hey Dad,

This week was pretty quick. but then again all of the weeks go by quick, but yeah. We are working hard but things just aren't falling into place, but you can never work in God's work without being successful in some way even if you can't see where your succeeding. But Deysi is going to get baptized Saturday, my last Saturday of the mission, so it will be great. 

Sorry I don't have much to say today, I'm just here working as always, but I wanted to thank you again for all the sacrifices you have made for me. I was talking with a pair of members yesterday and reviewing with them how great of a father you were to me and how much you did to help me succeed. How you came to my hockey games and even a lot of the practices, something no other parents ever did, and this you did not because you had to and not even because hockey was the sport you played before, but because of your love for me and your intrest in my life. Thanks for always being there dad. I do recognize the sacrifices you have made for me and the love you have for me. You are an amazing father. I love you tons and hope to be half as good a father as you are. Love you tons.

Love, Elder Brown

  I got the travel plans you sent me and one from Travelocity or something like that, but don't worry about my getting trunky.  It hasn't even hit me yet.  We are just working hard.  I love this work.  I want to give more, but I really feel that I have done what I can with the set of weaknesses I have and even though I want to give more, the end is coming and I guess I'll just have to give more to the church when I get home. I look forward to having a calling, and working for the church. I love this church too much to not give more, even if I'm just a home teacher,  I'll be the best home teacher there ever was. 

I'm glad that you get a break now. It's always sad to have to leave your students, I know just as well as you how that is. It's happened to me about 7 times, but always there is that excitement to meet the new ones. The only difference is that you have to wait 3 months before you can. hahaha. There really is a special bond that develops between teacher and student as a teacher of the gospel I have had to learn love for all of my investigators, and as I read this morning in Corinthians 13 (I think) it's all about charity. If you (as Paul said) give away all your goods in feeding the poor or give your body to be burned but ye have not charity it is worth nothing. So a missionary can give all that he had for 2 years and if he doesn't have charity it is worth nothing. Charity in my mind is really the most important Christ-like attribute. 

I'm glad that I'm finally applied for college. I hope they accept me. It would be sad if they didn't, but yeah. I don't think they will say no to more tuition money, and I hope I get into that apartment thing. I don't need anything super expensive. Whatever is cheapest, sign me up for it. After living in Paraguay for 2 years the crappiest apartment you can find will be chuchi (as they say) to me, but try for off campus.  We will work on the class list when I get back.  And yay for Kaylee's graduation. Tell her congrats for me.  

So miracle of the week. One of our investigators (Deysi (pronounced daisy))  and her concubine (meaning fiance, they use that word like it's normal here) Gabriel (who is the bishops son) were planning on waiting for their wedding and her baptism a few months, but then we took sister Melgarejo (the bishop's daughter who is already married and semi old) came and we had a super spiritual lesson half in Guaranii half in Spanish.) and they decided that the 16th she would get baptized and the 15th they would get married. so we are super excited for that, so I'll at least have one more baptism before I go. It will be great. We are still waiting for a few miracles.

Thanks for your prayers. I know that the Lord hears all of our prayers and he always answers them. There are so many lessons I have learned here on the mission. I love the mission so much and I am excited to apply the principles learned here to my daily life. In "Preach my Gospel" there's a quote that says, if we don't set goals we will reach the end of life and look back and realized we have only achieved a small part of what is our potential. (Don't quote me on that I had to translate into English)  

That's pretty much all that happened that was very important or miraculous this week, so I best go.

Love ya tons,

Elder Brown.