Finally

This week has been so good!  Have I mentioned that time is way warped out here?  Seriously, I always feel tired.  And sometimes the days go slow, but without a doubt the weeks go by quickly.  I've already been a missionary for a little over a month!  Can you believe it?!  Crazy stuff 'round here.

Nothing too exciting this week...We have had more appointments this week at least.  So it's been nice to actually have somewhere to have planned to go, rather than trying to fit a lot of people in that you don't know if they'll answer the door or not. haha

We went on exchanges last week.  That's where you and another companionship basically switch companions for 24 hours.  It was interesting...but it was a good learning experience.  I stayed and Sister D came and stayed with me.  It was not terrible, but it was quite the experience I can say that.  haha  Maybe next time I'll get to go somewhere else neat.  : )

Lessons with Christi continue to be fantastic!  That girl amazes me.  Seriously her testimony in SO strong.  She asked her mom for permission to get baptized...and was told no.  (It's a super big step that she even was able to ask her mom though!)  We're still praying and hoping though.  She said that her sister might even be a little interested.  I meet with her again today, and we're leaving the date of the 26th for her to get baptized. It's going to be so awesome!

Kelly is doing well.  He is a former member that we love working with.  He is so neat and is working hard to come back to the church.  We also found a new investigator on Sunday!  Her name is Bobbie, and she is so sweet.  Her daughter got baptized awhile ago and is working towards the temple.  Bobbie is hesitant to join because she is Catholic, and her husband doesn't want to sit in on the lessons or anything (yet).  But she already has seen the goodness of the gospel, and has a testimony of The Book of Mormon before even reading it.  Can't wait to be teaching her more!

So sorry that I didn't get an email out yesterday.  They open up the temple twice a year on a Monday just for missionaries!  I got to see a lot of people in my MTC district, and it was so nice to go to the temple.  I loved it!!  And after, we all go to lunch with the members that gave us rides, and Deseret Book is swarmed with missionaries   I felt like a little kid in a candy store!  I was so excited to go shopping for things to put in m apt, and use in my teaching...it's a little ridiculous haha.  (I bought Mormon messages on DVD.  They are perfect for dinner messages, and even lessons sometimes!  So  neat!)  But because of that, we get a little bit of and extra p-day today to finish emailing and shopping and such, so that's nice.

Let's see, the weather is great.  There were a few days where it was super cold.  (Meaning...like 45*)  But now it's back up into the 70's pretty consistently.  It's way nice...except the wind blows all the time!!  That should end in a couple months though.  (Guess I'm wearing straight skirts and my hair up for the next 2 months... : /  )

Heads up, transfers are on the 30th.  Normally I would plan on staying, but I really have no idea.  President asked me in an interview how I would feel if I had to train next transfer.  Really it terrifies me, but I told him that I would be scared, and I feel inadequate, but the Lord won't hand me anything that I can't handle.  Here goes nothing!

Hope all is well!  Thanks for the prayers!!!  Keep working hard, and choose to be happy!  Love y'all!

"Burger Face"

Things Picking Up

Well this week has been a lot better than the last.  My companion and I are getting along well...despite a little  bit of a rocky beginning.  Our numbers are still low...but I think we just have to deal with them being low for a couple more weeks, and things will pick up again   We're doing a lot of getting to know the members and those we teach, that we aren't teaching a lot, just setting appointments for the coming weeks.  It's a little bit of a mess still, but I can almost see the horizon!
This week we did a whole lot of walking around.  I've realized that a lot of people have a misconception about missionary work.  We only go tracting, like knocking on random doors, as an absolute last result.  It works, but there are a lot of better finding options out there.  So, I've only gone knocking probably twice.  But the members are fantastic!!  Very nice and hospitable, and give awesome referrals.  Member work is really where all the work comes from.  : )

As far as interesting things...I've had pizza 5 times in the last week and a half.  Never thought I could get tired of it haha. Oh, have I told y'all about the chili here?  Green chili is kind of the "thing"here.  NM is the only state that has a state question: Red or green  (referring to they type of chili).  I've found green to be more common and more liked, but I think it's kind of the area I'm in.  And if you mix them, it's called Christmas   It's way fun!  But green chili goes on EVERYTHING.  So far I have eaten it in breakfast burritos, pizza  and on a hamburger.  It sounds weird, but it's actually way good.  I'll try and send a jar home sooner or later.

On Thursday we fasted with Christi, and investigator (feel like our only investigator), to help her be able to talk to her mom, and get permission to be baptized.  Her mom hasn't been to keen on the idea.  Anyways, it went well, and we met with Christi on Friday.  Hopefully we'll see some progress with her mom soon, but Christi is doing so well!!  She has some really wonderful questions that we answered, and then we shared a Mormon Message with her on forgiveness (the one where the guy lost his family in a car accident.)  It was way good, and we had an awesome discussion on forgiveness and repentance   The spirit was SOOO strong. and we began to talk about her mom, and baptism.  I ended up committing her to baptism!!  It was the most amazing moment.  She said that she kind of wanted to wait for Mason to leave on his mission first, so she could know it was for her and not him, but she knows, and we can see it.  She said she would get baptized once she got permission...and finally she said that she had actually been thinking about April 26th!!  Funny thing...I hadn't looked at a calendar, and didn't want to say a specific date because I didn't want to rush or scare her, but I had been thinking about that exact day!!  The moment was incredible   Ben, another member friend, said that it felt like we had just won a soccer game.  It was exhausting, and absolutely incredible.  We teach her again on Tuesday, and I can't wait!  She is so awesome!

Another neat experience...that night we had gone through our entire schedule.  It was 8:00 and we had finished our plan all the way through 8:30 and back-ups.  We weren't done working, but we didn't know what to do.  Anyways, we decided to pray.  We sat in silence for a minute, and I felt like I should just put away the GPS and as we just drove, we would be guided to where we needed to go.  Soon, we turned onto a road and I caught the name.  It was one we had been searching for earlier, but the GPS couldn't find!!  We found the house, she answered, and we set a return appointment.  I couldn't believe it.

I know that this work is incredible   Prayer works, and when you are obeying exactly the spirit truly can be with you always to guide you.

Conference was amazing!! I really enjoyed the talks by President Monson, Sister Dalton, and the one about the tomatoes.  I hope y'all enjoyed it!  It goes a lot faster as a missionary for some reason.  I can't wait to get the Ensign and look back through all my notes.  : )

Anyways, have a fantastic week y'all!! I love you so much, and miss you tons!! You're the best, and keep working hard!

Love,
Sister Brown

P.S. if anyone is ever at a lack of something to send, pictures would be awesome!  I would love to have some candid pictures of friends and family to show the other member and missionaries how cool y'all are, and just for me to enjoy!  Kay thanks.  : )

Missionary WORK

Let me just begin by saying that when they call it missionary WORK, they mean it. The MTC was stressful because every minute of your day is scheduled, and you're sitting all day, yadda yadda. but seriously, it is hard stuff out here. Exact obedience is stressed big time. And for sure I want to obey everything, but it's incredible the amount of rules. The rigor that it takes to make it through a day is incredible.

Anyways, this week was HECTIC and overwhelming. Good nonetheless, but..... you'll see.

P-day last week was super fun. Tuesday we had special zone training. a lot of role plays.... that was fairly boring. But I liked getting to see everyone. and getting mail. (If you have sent me mail, you're my HERO. seriously, I can't tell you how much better a little mail, from anyone, makes my life). we met with a guy named josh, someone that my companion had taught before. that was super neat to listen to them talk. I liked hearing them talk about his experiences. one day i'm going to have my own 'josh'. !! :)

We had a few lessons, and did a lot of planning. Wed and Thursday were fairly boring. I mean, we did a lot of planning. Wed we had a RS party we went to and that was fun. And Thursday  we actually did a lot of just sitting we went to 'burger-face' with the elders, and that was actually a lot of fun. (put chili on your burger. don't question, just do). My companion had a migraine, and, as you will see in a moment, life was stressful beyond belief. so, we just sat a home a lot. i know that's bad, and it won't happen again, and we got really behind, but it's okay. i think things are getting better now.

Well, the big shock is that I have a new companion! My first companion was needed at home and is now back in Ohio. That was a huge stress this week as I was there as she struggled with the decision, and leaders were involved, etc. Finally, the choice was made, and she flew out on Friday  My new companion is super cool. Way organized, very spiritual. We get a long well. (She stresses me out a little bit with how organized and strict she is.... but I think i'd prefer that quality over a lot of others!). And the best part?... she's only been in the field for 8 weeks. So, she's not even totally done with her training, and now she's training me. I didn't learn nearly as much as i had thought i had in the last couple weeks, because turns out, we weren't really dong that much. And our area book wasn't kept up very well, so it feels like we're a couple of greenies opening a new area. it's. a. mess.

BUT, good news, we are surrounded by a lot of good people. Everyone is very supportive, the wards are awesome. And as much as I would hate to see one of the wards go, i'm hoping that next transfer (April 30), that they will split our area and we can cover just one ward. that would be really awesome. There are supposed to be a TON of new missionaries coming in again. So exciting!!

Kay well, despite the stressful new development, things are looking up. I love the packages and notes I have received. I can feel the prayers from y'all, and I appreciate them so much. They are needed, and I am so grateful for them. Especially during these next couple weeks.

We are teaching a girl named Christi. She is 17 and super awesome. Her mom won't let her get baptized right now, so we're just teaching her and hoping for the best.

OH! I also had my first baptism on Saturday! His name is Steven Gallegos. He is way cool, and I am SO proud of him. I didn't teach him at all... i met him for the first time on Tuesday  but I get to follow up with him now that he's a member. Such a cool guy, from such a rough past. I can't wait to ge to know him better. It was also neat, because now I know what the end goal is. I can't wait until I can teach someone and see them all the way until their baptism. Elder Brown from my district was there... he taught Steven, and then was able to speak at his baptism, and confirm him on Sunday. It was way neat.

Well, I hope that everything is going great for y'all!! I hope you had a great Easter and that you enjoy conference this weekend. It's going to be super awesome :)

Love from New Mexico,

Sister Brown

P.S OH! and look for me between sessions of conference!! I was filmed in the MTC... by KSL i believe. I don't know how much you'll see.... i'm in a yellow dress with curly hair. My teacher, sister frost, was spotlighted.... so it won't be a very long segment. and you might not even see my face... but i'm there. haha

kay thanks :)

First FULL week in Albuquerque

Well, this last week has been a blur.  We cover two wards, and replaced elders.  So, there was just a lot of planning and going through the area books this last week.  We had a few people that we met with.  In fact, there's a baptism this Saturday!  He has been taught everything, but we get to snag him.  Also, we're working with a former member who will be getting baptized hopefully within the next month.  We have a few other people that we'e hoping to get baptized soon as well but there are a LOT of names for us to go visit.  I'm hoping to see a lot of progress.  : )
The people here are SO awesome.  The families in both wards are jut incredible, and love having us over.  Everyone is so sweet and considerate.
We have district meeting every Friday.  My district is four other elders, and then me and my companion.  The are SO funny, and a blast to be around.  We're going to do lots of district-building activities in the future. : )  Today is sports I think, and Thursday is "burger fact."  I'm a little nervous for that one.  They are all younger than me.  I'll go home just one transfer before two of them.  Except for Elder Brown.  He and I are gonna switch tags one day or something.  Every time some call him "Brown" I turn. They are way fun.
We have special zone training tomorrow Which means role playing for five hours. yay.

--Kylie had provided an incomplete address to her apartment.  It has now been corrected and the address you see------------> will find her.  When in doubt, always mail things to the mission home address.

First e-mail "in the field"

Things are crazy around here!  We got up SUPER early on Monday to check out (of the MTC).  We got on a bus by 6:00 a.m. and headed to the airport.  There were 28 missionaries coming to Albuquerque, and 18 of them were sisters!  How awesome is that?!  The work is growing rapidly! (In fact, they told us that by next transfer, (6 weeks) we could possibly be training already...even though I'm supposed to be on a 12 week training period.  Can I say daunting?)  It was a crazy busy day.  We went to the temple for a spiritual thought and some pictures, and then went to a church building for all day training, and meals.  We got a binder full of information, learned lots from more experienced missionaries, took more pictures and I even had to go knock doors...it was terrifying.  But once we got through the first few doors, I stopped shaking so much.  Most people weren't home, but we ended up giving away three pass-along cards, and got cookies from a member.
Today we had to be to the church by 6:30 am.  We had breakfast and got mail, then did transfers.  It was so hard to say goodbye to my lovely sisters from my MTC district.  I got put in Albuquerque!  I'm on the West side, working with the Vantana and Volcano Ranch Wards.  It is so brown here.  And flat...I'm going to have to get used to that.  But it's pretty in its own way.  We unloaded our things at the apartment...which is on the third floor. It was lived in by Elders before us.  They wished us luck, left a lot of notes and already almost three trash bags worth of things we've had to throw away. And a lot of other stuff.  We're going to do some cleaning soon.  Silly Elders. We have random errands to run, and then we have an appointment tonight at 7:00.  My first lesson!  (I'm trying trying to put on a brave face but really I'm super nervous.)
Keep working hard in all you do!  Love, Sister Brown

MTC Life

Living at the Missionary Training Center is an incredible experience.  Everyone is amazing and so fun.  The first day they waste no time.  An Elder picked me up at the curb, took my suitcases and dropped me off.  I grabbed paperwork and my tags and then met with a sister that showed me to my residence.

 I live in a room with six other sisters, who are all absolutely wonderful!  I am grateful that I don't have to learn a language.  Generally, we get up around 6:15.  Breakfast is at 7:20, lunch around noon and dinner around 5:00. In between is just a lot of class.  Literally, eat, sit, eat, sit, eat, sit.  We get gym for about an hour a day and sometimes a service project or something.  The boys are really good, and I never carry a tray after a meal, or open a door.  I tried to be sneaky once and take my own tray with my companion.  My district leader wasn't very happy with me.  Ha Ha.  So I'll be nice and let him take my tray from now on.

The spirit here is like none that I have felt anywhere else.  We are learning so much and it is so neat to be completely immersed in the gospel and surrounded by people that have the same goal as you.  My missionary purpose: To invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.

When we're not learning, (and sometimes when we are,) we laugh a lot, and we enjoy singing together.  It's stressful, I'll admit, but it's seriously a ton of fun.  I think that everyone should have a chance to go through the MTC.  : )

Writing for Kylie

As we begin to document Kylies "adventures" on her mission, we struggle with knowing how to approach this.  Do we write as if we were her, although it's really not.  Do we just include portions of her letters.  Do we let you know that it's her mom and dad writing and just give updates every now and again of how she is doing. It might take us a few posts to get it right.  We do want you to know that Kylie is happy and LOVING her experiences so far.  Please be patient with us...we are new to the blogging world.  And keep checking for updates.  Above all else please continue sending her those cards and letters.  She loves and appreciates them so much!