September 1, 2014

Hey!

That's awesome that BYU won. And pretty convincingly too. That's a good way to start the season. I'm wearing my "Loyal, Strong, and True" shirt today for good luck. Hopefully they show up in Austin on Saturday. That's cool that Ok St hung in there with Florida State too. I bet there were a lot of Guyer Wildcats in the stands at that game.

This week was okay. All 3 of our appointments with one investigator fell out, but then he showed up to church on Sunday and said he had been in another city and that he was sorry he wasn't there for any of them (he doesn't exactly have a super functioning phone so it's just kind of an understood appointment haha) and that he'll be there this week, so that was good. Other than that, we've started teaching the daughter of a less-active member and she's pretty cool. We haven't had a super legitimate appointment yet though so hopefully that happens this week.

Oh, and next week, we have something pretty cool. Elder Bednar and Elder Ballard are in Germany right now doing a lot of meetings and conferences and stuff, and one of them is a mission conference! So that'll be sweet. It's going to be on transfer day too haha. The whole mission is coming to Frankfurt.

Thank you for everything, I love you all so much, 

Elder Brown

August 18, 2014

Hey!

The transfer went well, and I've made myself at home here in Kaiserslautern. It's a cool place, and Elder Shively and I get along well. The branch here is considerably bigger than Gera - about 50 members, so that's nice. I blessed the sacrament and am giving a talk next Sunday though so I still have stuff to do in the branch. There are four branches/wards that meet in our building - us and three American wards. So that's really weird on Sunday haha. It feels like I'm at home. 

But my last week in Gera was really good. I got to meet with a lot of people one last time and it was just a really good goodbye. I was sad to leave, but change always helps to keep things exciting. I did have time to make the guacamole for the members in Gera and it was received well. They were a little skeptical but they got over it. Thanks for the recipe!

Corn and kidney beans in chili is one thing.... on a burger is another. That's all I've got to say to that haha. 

That's so crazy that BYU football starts so soon... I'm pretty excited for that. Hopefully they start it off well. The Rangers are just taking a break until I get home. 

But yeah, things are good here. The members are way cool, we've even got a couple Americans in the German branch, so it's cool to talk to someone from home sometimes. But other than that, we've started teaching a cool guy from Sudan, so that's interesting. We're teaching him the Gospel and English at the same time so it's a party. 

That's about it from my side. Thanks for everything! I love you guys!!

Elder Brown

August 11, 2014

Hey!

The transfer went well, and I've made myself at home here in Kaiserslautern. It's a cool place, and Elder Shively and I get along well. The branch here is considerably bigger than Gera - about 50 members, so that's nice. I blessed the sacrament and am giving a talk next Sunday though so I still have stuff to do in the branch. There are four branches/wards that meet in our building - us and three American wards. So that's really weird on Sunday haha. It feels like I'm at home. 

But my last week in Gera was really good. I got to meet with a lot of people one last time and it was just a really good goodbye. I was sad to leave, but change always helps to keep things exciting. I did have time to make the guacamole for the members in Gera and it was received well. They were a little skeptical but they got over it. Thanks for the recipe!

Corn and kidney beans in chili is one thing.... on a burger is another. That's all I've got to say to that haha. 

That's so crazy that BYU football starts so soon... I'm pretty excited for that. Hopefully they start it off well. The Rangers are just taking a break until I get home. 

But yeah, things are good here. The members are way cool, we've even got a couple Americans in the German branch, so it's cool to talk to someone from home sometimes. But other than that, we've started teaching a cool guy from Sudan, so that's interesting. We're teaching him the Gospel and English at the same time so it's a party. 

That's about it from my side. Thanks for everything! I love you guys!!

Elder Brown

August 4, 2014

Hey!

The transfer went well, and I've made myself at home here in Kaiserslautern. It's a cool place, and Elder Shively and I get along well. The branch here is considerably bigger than Gera - about 50 members, so that's nice. I blessed the sacrament and am giving a talk next Sunday though so I still have stuff to do in the branch. There are four branches/wards that meet in our building - us and three American wards. So that's really weird on Sunday haha. It feels like I'm at home. 

But my last week in Gera was really good. I got to meet with a lot of people one last time and it was just a really good goodbye. I was sad to leave, but change always helps to keep things exciting. I did have time to make the guacamole for the members in Gera and it was received well. They were a little skeptical but they got over it. Thanks for the recipe!

Corn and kidney beans in chili is one thing.... on a burger is another. That's all I've got to say to that haha. 

That's so crazy that BYU football starts so soon... I'm pretty excited for that. Hopefully they start it off well. The Rangers are just taking a break until I get home. 

But yeah, things are good here. The members are way cool, we've even got a couple Americans in the German branch, so it's cool to talk to someone from home sometimes. But other than that, we've started teaching a cool guy from Sudan, so that's interesting. We're teaching him the Gospel and English at the same time so it's a party. 

That's about it from my side. Thanks for everything! I love you guys!!

Elder Brown

July 28, 2014

Hey!

I actually kinda miss the Texas summers.... I don't know, probably just good memories of wanting to puke my guts out on the football field haha. But yeah, we've definitely had no shortage of heat here in Gera, but it hasn't been anything too uncomfortable. It was kind of funny, I was on a split with Elder Christenson, who is from Utah and in his first transfer, and we were walking outside. I said, "man, it feels pretty good outside today." He didn't really reply and kind of let out a little laugh, and I said, "what?" And he replied, "I would probably say it’s a little warm." It would be funnier if you knew Elder Christenson probably... haha. He's a really quiet, calm guy, so it was just a kind of funny exchange because he said it so politely. 

But... to the news of the week. We had transfers, and I will be going to Kaiserslautern on Thursday, and I will be serving in the German branch there. There's also an American ward there and a big American military base, and the Rammstein base is not too far away. So it'll be interesting, but I'm excited for the change. Gera was fun and I learned a lot...

That's awesome that Joseph is going to New Jersey, that'll be fun I'm sure. 

But to your question Dad, there are "Mexican" restaurants in Germany, but they are horrible. Okay that might have been strong but they're super Germanized, just like the American burger places and stuff. For some reason they think we put corn and kidney beans on everything.... 

Have a great week! Love you guys!!

Elder Brown

July 21, 2014

Hey!

Thank you for the guacamole recipe! It will be enjoyed thoroughly. If not by the Germans, then by me. But they're way excited about it... they even asked about it at church on Sunday. So I will for sure let you know how it is received. 

But I'm doing well, as I think back initially I can't think of anything too crazy happening this week. We met with our investigator Raymond, who's from Zimbabwe, so that was fun. He's a super Rastafarian guy so he reminds me of a lot of the people that Griffin would talk about from his mission. I actually wanted to show him the song that Griffin did with one of his investigators... the "Keep the Commandments" one, but I didn't know where to find it. He's super into reggae though so I think he'd appreciate it. He's a way cool dude. I also wrote a pretty sick rap last night while Elder Wright did his District Leader call-ins. Haha. 

The World Cup celebrations did not last too long.... Germans get over things pretty fast. But it was fun while it lasted. 

It's been pretty hot here recently, but today is a little cooler and cloudy, so that's nice. Might head down to the park and play some soccer or something. 

I hope you all have a great week!! Love you, 

Elder Brown

July 14, 2014

Hey!!

So sehen Sieger aus!!!! Haha that was sweet.... there were fireworks going off all night and yeah... pretty awesome. Germany is the best. Literally. But the game was on Sunday night and now it's P-day.... so I don't really know if the people are willing to listen yet. They're probably all really hungover though so my guess would be no at the moment haha. Maybe tomorrow.

Sadly we were yet again not able to go to the zoo. Maybe someday. It's just been raining a ton lately so everything's kinda had a damper put on it. But it's better than brutal heat, I guess. 

But this week was good. We had a good Zone training in Jena where we talked for a bit about the history of East Germany and its dedication/building of a temple here and what not. If you haven't researched the church history here too much, I would definitely recommend it, it's pretty sweet. President Monson has a book about his experiences here called Faith Rewarded and it’s pretty awesome.

But one of the highlights of this week was helping build and take down a super sketchy rock wall as part of a marathon being run here in Gera. One of our members does a lot of organizational work for city events and he volunteered our help. So one of the things we had to do was help build this wall which was basically a 30-40 meter high scaffolding with rock wall clamped to the front. And we built it right up against a tree, and we had to saw off a bunch of branches. So we're all standing on different levels of this kinda shaky scaffolding, lifting things, using tools, sawing off branches, just like no problem. No one really even asked us who we were. It was tight.

But this week was pretty ordinary, but good. We've got interviews with President Stoddard this week, so that will be good. But yeah, that's about it. I hope you guys have an awesome week!!! Love you all,

Elder Brown

July 7, 2014

Hey!

This week was good once again. Went down to Nurnberg again, for our welcome Zoko with President and Sister Stoddard. It was really good, and they're both really cool...the mission is in good hands for sure. It all seems to have transferred over pretty smoothly though. 

Fortunately we have another chance to push the old people around the zoo again tomorrow.. so hopefully the weather cooperates. But besides that, the week is looking pretty normal. We do have a zone meeting in Jena on Thursday though so that'll be fun. 

I bet the ward party was fun. For the Fourth of July we and the other elders went and did some garden work at a member's garden, and then grilled up a couple hamburgers and brats, so that was our celebration. It was actually pretty fun. I don't know how it is back in Texas, but here, member relationships have probably been the best part of my mission. But that might just be a German mission thing. But to the sister question, we do have 4 sisters in our zone, but none in our district. Our district is kind of the warriors out in the wilderness haha. We're like a good 45 minutes away from Jena, which is kind of the center of the zone, and then Werdau is about an hour past us. So we've got each other. 

The week was good, we are just working trying to get something started back up here. It's moving, slowly. But we're gonna get it here soon. I'm having a really good time, and I'm happy.

Have a great week everybody, love you guys!!

Elder Brown

June 30, 2014

Yo!!

Nurnberg was cool, got to ride on an ICE (the nice, fast long-distance trains) for the first time in a long time so that was cool. But we didn't see a whole ton of the city, just walked from Bahnhof to the church and back. But Zone Conference was good. President Schwartz is from the Nurnberg area so his whole family was there as well, which was cool. But it was pretty sad as well. He gave a relatively short talk/farewell address thing, but not before cementing his legacy and showing us the highlights of the USA-Ghana game on the projector haha. It was sweet. But sadly we did not get to go to the zoo.... it rained and they cancelled it. But it got rescheduled so there is still a chance.

Schade that the Rangers aren't doing too well. They're just waiting for me to get back.

But yeah, that's about it for this week, things are going really well here. Gera is great, Elder Wright is great, usw. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Elder Brown

June 23, 2014

Hey!

Things are good here. We had transfers on Thursday, and the new missionaries here in Gera are awesome. We all get along really well, and I'm excited for the next few weeks here. I don't know if I said it in my last email but my new companion's name is Elder Wright and he's a way cool dude. He's from San Jose and we're pretty similar personalities so it's gonna be fun.

The soccer tournament was really fun. We took 5th out of 6 places, so not too shabby haha. I scored a few times. But yeah, no serious injuries. It was put on by Streetwork, an organization here in Gera that helps out homeless people. So a lot of the workers played, and some of them weren't very experienced at soccer. One of those girls was playing goalie and got drilled in the face by a kid who was... very experienced at soccer haha. So that was probably the worst that happened. She got over it though. And then went right back in haha.

We watched the Germany-Portugal game in a public viewing in Gera with a potential investigator of ours. It was sick! And President gave the whole mish permission to watch the USA - Germany game this week, so we're doing the same again. Gonna be awesome!

But yeah... 15 months. Pretty crazy. The 3 months since my year mark have gone by way fast.  Life is good here. The week is looking good. Get to go to Nürnberg tomorrow, and might get to push some old people around a zoo on Wednesday. Haha. Love you guys!

Elder Brown

June 17, 2014

Hey!!

I moved into the other Gera apartment when we went down to one companionship here. But don't worry, I've still gotten everything - the other apartment is like 5 minutes away. But yeah, I'm staying here in Gera and I'll be getting a new companion, Elder Wright. I know him a little bit and he's way cool. I'm excited. But yeah, having the last transfer call with President Schwartz was way weird and sad. But we're having Zone Conference with him next week so it's not quite done yet. 

But the festival thing was way good. We had some crafts and stuff for kids and that was where we saw the most action, but that was still good because it was just exposure for the church, which is pretty important here, seeing as we have 20 members and are jammed up above a baumarkt haha. It was fun. We did give out a few Books of Mormons though. And on Saturday, the daunting "die Mormonen" team will be taking part in the soccer tournament which is the final event of the festival, so that will be fun haha. 

But Happy Father's Day, Dad! I had no idea.... sorry. But yeah it was last month here. Haha, but I did get a Snickers bar at church so that was nice. 

Things are going well here… nice weather, Germany destroyed Portugal last night, and yeah... it’s all good. Love you all and have a great week!

Elder Brown

June 12, 2014

Hey!

First off, I am sorry Mom that this email is coming on Thursday. I can only imagine the heartache that this has caused. Haha, we've just had a super busy week and haven't even had P-day yet, and probably won't have it at all. We just came over to the Seelos's for dinner and jumped on their computers for a little bit. 

But yeah, like I said, pretty busy week. Monday was Pfingst Montag, so the mission moved P-day to Tuesday, so on Monday we just did a bunch of visits to some former investigators. Not a whole lot of results, but it was nice to get out and hit the streets ... But it's also been pretty freaking hot lately, so that was fun. Then on Tuesday, which should have been P-day, we helped with a move for the whole day basically and then had our Gemeinde Abend. On Wednesday, we went to Jena for a joint district meeting with the Erfurt district, so that was way fun. Elder Hawker (aka Keaton, my EFY roommate from back in the day) and I are back together in the same zone again, so that's pretty sweet. We took a picture on top of the tallest building in Thuringen last week (29 stories!!! lol) so I'll send you guys that on Tuesday hopefully - no Monday P-day again, sorry! But then today we helped with the same move again, literally all day haha. So.... we're pretty tired. 

But things are going really well. On Saturday and Monday we have a huge opportunity at a festival called "Wir alle sind die Welt" (We are all the world) where we're going to present ourselves and the church as a part of world culture with roots in America, so that will be fun. It's a big thing with people representing their countries from all over the world, so it will be cool. We're going to get a lot of help from other missionaries in the zone so we're excited. 

Sounds like things are good with you guys! And side note, the other elder from Gera and I are comps now since there is only one companionship in Gera now, and fun fact, he was my MTC companion as well, Elder Renn. Pretty interesting to be with each other over a year later. But we've got transfers again on Saturday so we'll see what happens. 

Haha but yeah, that's about it from my side. All is well. Hope you guys have a great week, und viel Spaß beim Fußballgucken!

Elder Brown

Due to the “editors” travels these past few weeks, communication with Elder Brown has been a little spotty the last few weeks. We were able to Skype with him on Mothers  Day from his new area, Gera, and that was awesome. He looks great.  Gera is in an area that was part of the old East Germany and some research tells us that it is in one of the most unreligious areas of the world! He is serving in a very small branch, so is experiencing some new challenges.  He asks us to say hi to everyone and thanks for all the support.

May 5, 2014

Hey!

Dang, I totally forgot about May 4th being Star Wars Day. That's pretty impressive that Dad knew about it though!

But there was some big news this week - I got transferred. Again! Woooooo! Haha I don't really know what I think about it, but it's an interesting assignment for sure. I'm going out to Gera, which is in what used to be the DDR, or East Germany. So that'll be something new for sure. One of my old comps served there, and from what I can remember, the branch is really small... so that'll be different than what I've had so far. It'll be an interesting new challenge for sure. 

Sounds like Cameron's blessing was a good time, still can't believe there's another kid around. Can't wait to see him!

So crazy that Mother's Day is on Sunday! Can't believe it's already time to talk again. But I will most definitely be calling, most likely Skyping... but since I'm being transferred, I can't really tell you what the plan is. So just be ready! Haha. 

But things ended well here in Wetterau. I had a really good time here, despite the challenges. The members here were super cool and I learned a lot.  But I'm excited to see what new things I've got ahead of me. It'll be fun.

Love you guys, hope you all have a great week!!

Elder Brown

April 28, 2014

Hey!

Things are going well, and the week was good.... and no I haven't gotten the packages yet. But DON'T WORRY!!! They will find their way to me... it's all good. Haha.

That's crazy that Griffin has graduated... man. But at least he'll still be around... Or better be at least. Sounds like you had some pretty good BYU experiences, volleyball games are pretty fun. And Communal always is good. That's awesome that you guys rode in the elevator with Elder Perry.

But things are going good here. It's a challenge for sure, but I'm doing pretty well keeping my head up and just pushing forward. We had some good appointments with members though, and they're way cool. I definitely have had cool wards wherever I've gone. So that's a positive haha. 

Sorry this email isn't one of my more exciting ones... this week was kinda hard. I'm still finding ways to have fun. But just not a lot to report on. 

Thanks for all the support, I love you guys so much. I hope you have a great week!

Elder Brown

April 21, 2014

Hey hey hey!

Happy Easter everyone! I had a good one here in Germany. A lot of stuff is the same (Easter bunny, chocolate bunnies, eggs, colored eggs....) but there is some kinda different stuff. Karfreitag (Good Friday) is like the holiest of German holidays... so we weren't supposed to really proselyte on that day. But we visited a member and her husband and had grüne soße, a dish that a lot of Germans make on Grün Donnerstag. It's basically sour cream mixed with some herbs and some hard-boiled egg and served over potatoes... it's pretty good. They don't eat meat on that day, or those days, I don't really have it all figured out. But then on Easter Sunday we went to a family's house after church and ate the Easter bunny! Haha we had rabbit... it was interesting. Really good though. And then today we were at a member’s house again and had Schnitzel.

But yeah, that was all a lot of fun. There isn't a super huge load of new info to share... basically just trying to make stuff happen. It's a challenging situation here, but I'm having fun. We had a street display in Friedberg on Saturday morning and it was really fun. We had a table set up for kids to draw Easter pictures and we had a TV playing Mormon messages... it was cool. Not a whole lot of tangible success, but it was a lot of fun and it's basically good whenever we're out in public here. And we had it on the main street in Friedberg which is really nice and there were a bunch of fruit carts and other food vendors out so it was really fun.

But yeah that's honestly about it. I hope everyone had a great Easter and knows I love them!!!

But anyways, love you guys!!

Elder Brown

April 14, 2014

Hey everybody!

Why is Carlino transferring? Is that a big loss or no? That's sick that Stephen Colbert is going to do the Late Show. They might get me back on my late-night TV thing. In a year of course.

That's sweet that the missionaries came. Sounds like they're cool dudes.

But yeah, things are going swell over here in Wetterau. It was a little tough leaving Mülheim behind and adjusting to the country life, but I've adjusted to it and am enjoying myself. The members here are really really cool, and I'm looking forward to working with them. Investigator-wise, we've got some work to do. But I'm actually kind of excited about that. It will be nice to get out and do some finding. 

But yeah, that's about it really. I'm having a good time, getting adjusted to a very different area and way of working and learning lots. I really am grateful for every day out here. You see new things, meet new people, and learn new stuff every day, and that's pretty sweet.

Give my love to the ward, especially Sister Linton (awesome SS Teacher) and Sister Wawro (she's been emailing me and I didn't get around to replying to todays.) 

Love you all! Have a great week!

Bid nächstes mal

Elder Brown

April 7, 2014

I’m in the Wetterau area now. Our apartment is pretty sick. And we've got four elders living in it so that keeps things interesting. But it's an interesting area for sure. Definitely way different than anything I've had before. We live in basically a village called Dorheim, part of a city called Friedberg. And then the area is basically a bunch of really small towns that we drive in between. And we have one car... for four elders. So planning is exciting. Haha but it's way fun. The other elders are cool, and I'm excited for the transfer. My comp's name is Elder Wells, from Idaho, so my second non-Utah comp. And actually none of us here are from Utah. Kinda crazzzy.

But congratulations Mom on your VMHMBT Championship. You're a legend. Next year it's looking like I'll be fully conscious for the duration of the tourney though so you better watch out.

Before I left I baptized the older brother and Elder Rock baptized the younger one. They were confirmed by the YM Pres and one of the Primary teachers, respectively. Who are also brothers. So that was cool. It was a good way to end my time in Mülheim fa sho. One of the other elders, Elder Smith, got transferred to Friedrichsdorf, where the temple is, which is also right next to Wetterau, so we basically just followed each other.

That's awesome about Olivia's morning exploits haha. And yes, I have heard of (and heard) Frozen. That's sweet.

I've seen all of General Conference except the Sunday Afternoon session. It was really good. I liked Bishop Stevenson's talk from Sunday morning a lot... at least I think it was Sunday morning. Regardless, it was a good'n.

Cameron looks like an awesome little dude.. can't wait to influence his childhood. And that's insane that the Championship game is a 7 vs. 8... that's sweet.

But things are going well. I had a great last few days in Mülheim, and a great first few days here in Wetterau. I hope you all have an awesome week! Love you!

Elder Brown

March 31, 2014

Hey everybody!!

First off, welcome Cameron! That's sweet.

But this week was good. We did indeed have the baptism, and it was way awesome. And that morning I found out I was being transferred, so that day was kind of a roller coaster. So on Thursday I'll be moving to Wetterau, which is right outside of Friedrichsdorf, where the temple is, so that's cool. And it's near Frankfurt, which means mail will probably be less stressful, Mom! I'm way sad to be leaving Mülheim though, I loved it here. But that's what happens. I'm looking forward to the new challenge. It's a bigger area than any of mine so far, and we have a  car. And apparently there's 4 missionaries in the apartment so that will be something new. 

Sounds like March Madness has been a good one. That's cool that Kentucky has gotten so far. I'll be interested to see what happens next week.

But that's about it... not a whole lot to report on. Just the transfer news. Bittersweet to say the least. Really unexpected. But like I said, I'm excited for it. It's a part of the mish that I haven't seen so I guess that's cool.

Hope you all have a great week!

Elder Brown

March 24, 2014

Hey everybody!!

I read quite a few emails this morning about March Madness, but alas, I still have time to write you guys. And I thoroughly enjoyed the tourney updates. Looks like the fam's got a good chance of protecting our honor. Hopefully I make a respectable showing. Blackhurst and Rock chickened out, the VMHMBT was too much for them.

And idk, last week when I emailed I started a whole new email instead of just replying... so I had to fill a subject line. And what's the first thing that I think of when I'm thinking of nothing? Newt Gingrich, of course. It's kind of like when Dan Aykroyd thinks of the Stay-Puft marshmallow man in Ghostbusters. Hopefully I never am put in the situation where my thoughts will determine the method of my destruction. No one wants a giant Newt Gingrich tormenting the city. He'd probably be able to call in reinforcements from his moon colony..... dang. 

Well, anyways. What pics of me are up on the missionary board? I better not look like a goof in any of them. And that's cool that Carina sent you a pic. If there's one thing I've learned on my mission, it's that sisters are better at everything. But I sent a ton this morning so hopefully that worked. 

My year-mark was good. We went to a member's house and had a very traditional German meal of Hackbraten, Rotkohl and Knödel  <Google translation: meatloaf, red cabbage and dumpling>, so that was delicious. And then we played some basketball and had a lesson with a recent-ish convert, of a couple years who just got the Melchizedek Priesthood, so that was good. It was a good day. We actually got down to Friedrichsdorf to the temple on Saturday with some members, so that was cool.

I haven't gotten the package yet... but don't stress!!!! I should've just said I got it...

But the running goal... is a work in progress. I've done it a few times.

But the week was good. We had Zone Conference on Tuesday with Elder Dyches ("Wilt Thou be Made Clean?" from last GC) of the Area Presidency, and that was really good. Then we both were pretty sick with some cold stuff for the rest of the week, so we paced off ourselves a little bit. The baptism is still happening on Saturday so that'll be awesome. Looking forward to a good week. 

Love you all!!

Elder Brown

March 17, 2014

Hey everybody!

BYU got in!!! The pessimism has paid off again! "No expectations will always be exceeded." - Hayden Brown

I'm really excited that it's March Madness time again though. It will be fun.

That's awesome that Ashley is going to Taiwan, she'll be awesome. July though... that's a long way. I don't know if I said this already, but Sonya, one of the JAE's from Solingen that I was tight with just got her call to Poland. So that was sweet. Missionaries everywhere!

Man... that week was pretty thrilling haha. Sounds fun though. That Thai place in Southlake is good, I remember that. Man... I miss shopping trips to Central Market... samples man!!

But things are here are great. The member’s sons we’re teaching are doing super well. The older son came to church in a white shirt and sport jacket yesterday, which was cool. So yeah, the baptism will be happening next Saturday. We're excited. 

Other than that, we've had some cool stuff happen. We found a new potential investigator through one of our members, and it looks like that'll be sweet.

But yeah, we're having fun! Have a great week!

Elder Brown

March 10, 2014

Hey everybody!!

Always a good day starting out to some music…Explosions in the Sky . Spring Break... I wonder what that's like. The weather here is super super nice right now. It's awesome. We're heading out to Herne (pretty close to Bochum where we played last time) to play some soccer again. It's literally like perfect today. I hope you're sensing my excitement about this. These days come very rarely.

But anyways, your Costco adventures sound fun. I can't really even imagine what Costco looks like anymore. The grocery stores are tiny here, and the biggest thing we have is Kaufland, which everyone thinks is insane but is really just like the food section of a Wal-Mart. A small one. But it’s whatevs. One day I'll enjoy 72-oz bottles of Ranch dressing again. 

We do daylights saving time here just not for another couple weeks I'm pretty sure... hopefully. We'll see.

But things are going really well here. Elder Rock and I are doing really well, and we've started to see some things get rolling. The member’s sons that we’re working with will be getting baptized on the 29th, so that'll be awesome. We're excited about that obviously, and then we've got some sweet other people that we've met that we'll hopefully be able to start meeting with. I also had an interview with President Schwartz this week that was way good. Discussed a lot of good things and it helped me a ton. Always good to talk to him. Crazy that he's only got like 3 months left. 

But that's about it from my side. Not a super crazy week, but we're excited for this one. Hope you all have an awesome one as well. Love you all!

Elder Brown

March 3, 2014

Hey everybody!

Crazy that the weather is still like that... it's been pretty nice here the past week. Cloudy most of the time, a good amount of sun though, and the temp hasn't been bad at all. And rain shows up every now and then, but that's just a given here. Nothing too crazy though. So there you go, a weather report for you guys in return. 

That's way cool that Ashley put her mission papers in, it's always cool to hear of new people heading out and where they're going. One of the YSA's from Solingen that I was tight with, just got called to Poland. She's from Australia, and is back there now, so she's excited to head right back over here in June. So I'll be excited to hear where Ashley's heading. 

Soccer was fun last week... A slightly handicapped kid joined us and he was the coolest kid ever. So that was a good time. The Karneval party was way fun, we didn't make tacos though. Just a bunch of egg sandwiches, würst, potato salad, noodle salad, and all your favorite German tasties haha. They've got a unique taste. I like it though. And you'll never guess what I witnessed being done by 40 dressed up Germans... the Cupid Shuffle. It has taken over church dances all over the globe. I laughed so hard when it came on.... good times.

I’m still in the same apartment - I like it a lot... I'll be sad when I have to move out... but I'll just hope that day is coming later rather than sooner.

Nice that you gave the missionaries a ride down to the classic Golden-Trainer meeting... That seems like ages ago when I was posted up in the Frankfurt stake center having my own. That was actually the last time I was there... and at the same time, doesn't seem long ago at all. Crazy.

I can't believe March Madness is upon us again... that's insane. I'll do my best to do the family proud. Upper half in the standings would be good enough for me... I'll keep my expectations high though.

Things are going good here, Elder Rock and I are getting along really well. The member's son’s baptism is going to be on the 29th now, because his little brother, who also takes part in the lessons, will be turning 8 on the 24th, and we're gonna do a service for them together. It'll be sweet. And church was way cool this week. A member brought a friend and we talked to him for a while and traded numbers, and then another guy just showed up and Elder Rock talked to him. He's been reading in the Book of Mormon and stuff and wanted to see how it was. So we gave him a card and stuff and he said he'd call us up... so we'll see.

I hope everyone has a great week!! Tschüß!

Elder Brown

oh yeah cool thing I forgot... last Sunday was Stake Conference, and it was broadcast from Salt Lake with the 2nd counselor in the Relief Society Presidency, Elder Bednar, and Elder Hales. My friend Elder Barney and I were sitting together, and before Elder Bednar's talk, we were wondering if he'd say anything in German. He then proceeded to give his entire talk in German... it was pretty sweet. <note: Elder Bednar served his mission in Germany> Kinda weird to be watching an Apostle give a talk not in English. But it was way cool. Just thought I'd tell you before I forgot completely. Tschüß!

February 24, 2014

Hey everybody!

Good that Youth Conference went well...

My new companion's name really is Elder Rock haha... T.J. Rock. And we were pretty good friends at BYU. He was good friends with David's cousin Richard, and we were all a big group of friends. There's actually a picture on my Instagram of us holding up the German flag in his apartment back in the day, if you want to see a picture of us together. Then you can imagine us actually being in Germany. 

The member’s son’s baptism will hopefully happen on next Saturday, the 8th. We're gonna try pretty hard to make it happen so we'll see.

That's sweet that BYU beat Gonzaga... hopefully they can keep it going. It's just good pride points to get into the tourney. 

But things here are going really well. Elder Rock and I are already having a lot of fun, and things are looking good here. We've got a big ward party for Karneval (Carnival, like in Rio, they do it big here in Germany) on Friday so that'll be fun. We're gonna head to Bochum today and play some soccer. It's a beautiful day today. I'm pretty sure winter's come and gone here. Which is cool. 

But I love you all, have a great week!

Elder Brown

February 17, 2014

Hey everybody!!

Glad to hear that it got a little warmer for you guys this week. It was actually kind of warm (relatively) here today, and I don't think it's going to go down much before it starts moving up again. I'll probably eat those words... but just a guess haha. German winter definitely didn't live up to its reputation this year, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed. I kinda like the snow... but not one flake. Whatevs.

So... we had transfers last week like I said, and there is some news. Elder Langford is shipping out, down to the mothership haha. He's gonna be on the Uni campus in Frankfurt, so that's kinda cool. President told him he'd be moved down there, but he didn't know in what capacity. He's pretty excited though I think... And that brings us to my new companion. So, my friend T.J. and I always joked that we'd be comps out here, but never thought it would actually happen.... he is my new comp haha. So I'm kinda excited. "Elder Rock" would be his proper name I guess. So transfer news were pretty good, despite seeing Elder Langford leave.

Elder Blackhurst is satisfied that you loved his letter haha. Him and Elder Smith are staying together, which I'm excited about. We've got a good setup here right now.

Speaking of that, we pulled off our Taco Night on Saturday with great success. It was way fun. TONS of work, but way fun. The members loved it, and we got lots of compliments on our taco making skills. As well as our pinata making skills haha. It was a good time. Bruder Garz, the first counselor in the Bishopric, called us up to the stand yesterday and thanked us, and said the ward should listen to our ideas more often haha. We kinda laughed at that. It was a good experience though. Oh... and I thought Dad would like to know that I kind of love onions now.... but yeah.... mushrooms still suck.

And to Dad's question... P-days here are pretty chill. We kinda just wander around CentrO (huge mall here - by Europe standards) most days. Today we got a steak lunch and went bowling. So that was fun. I continued my reign of dominance in bowling on my mission. I'm unbeatable. At least by subpar bowlers haha.

I'm glad BYU beat St. Mary's on Mouthgaurd's big day. That guy seems like such a Pflaume.

Haha but that's about it. Things are going well. I hope you all have a great week! love you all!

Elder Brown

February 10, 2014

Hey!

Good week this week, had things go back somewhat to normal so that was nice. The companionship change was a temporary thing... So I went back with Elder Langford late Tuesday night... and then we split with our District Leader on Wednesday morning, so we were right back away from each other haha. But by Thursday we were back and things have been somewhat normal since then.

On Friday we had a big Fireside with Elder Leimar, our Area Seventy, in Essen for all new members and basically anyone that wanted to come... it was way cool. President was there and everything so it was dope. Saw a lot of the missionaries, which is always fun. Then on Saturday we had interviews with President which was great.

Pappadeaux... I could use some crawfish right about now. I bet that was good though. And I haven't heard really anything about the Olympics, but its whatevs.

Good to hear some good news about BYU sports. That's always a pleasant surprise.

I did get the package from the ward.. it was awesome!! Say thank you to all who were involved in that.

But things are going really well here. I'm having a great time. Transfers are this week, and that's always crazy, so we'll see what happens. Oh... I don't know if you guys still watch Project Runway, but Heidi Klum apparently also hosts "Germany's Next Top Model"... and a new season apparently starts soon. "Apparently" because there are ads for it EVERYWHERE and Heidi Klum is totally not distracting at all in them. Europe man... But it reminded me of you guys haha.

Anyways, have a great week everybody!!!

Tschüß!

Elder Brown

February 3, 2014

Hey everybody! 

Things are going well here in Oberhausen and I'm doing great. It's a pretty nice day outside and we're having a good P-day so far. But Sundays here are pretty nice usually. We don't have as many eating appointments on Sunday here as I had in past areas, but I think that's just kind of a difference in the ward. We have stuff to do often though. Yesterday we had our Ward Mission Correlation meeting after Church and then we ate lunch with the Single Adults in the building. Someone made some chicken curry and rice that was way good. But the single adults in the ward are pretty cool, and a couple from other wards come too so it was fun. 

The FHE is a couple in the ward with a little tiny daughter, so they just invite us and some other members and we have it together. She is from North Carolina, and he lived and studied at UNC for like 7 years, so we speak English with them and they're way cool. He's a chemist and may take a job with Exxon in Houston this summer. I told them to look at the Woodlands, and they did and said it looked pretty nice, so maybe we'll have some more friends there haha. 

But I definitely approve of the gifts for Amanda's baby... creamy jalapeno oh my word.... haha. That's so crazy that that's almost here. That'll be weird. 

I'm glad that your lesson went alright Dad. That's weird with the Super Bowl - unfortunate for the Broncos. I would have liked to see Peyton win another one. But good that BYU is doing alright. Hopefully they can pull it off.

Things are good here though. We should have a baptism happening in a couple weeks, so I'll be sure to keep you posted on that. And oh... I totally forgot something kinda big. I am now in a dritt (tripanionship) with Elder Smith and Elder Blackhurst, the other two elders here. Elder Langford still lives next door with a new companion. My two companions are both way cool and we're having a ton of fun. But yeah.. just so you know haha.

I'm doing good. Have a great week!! Tschüß!!

Elder Brown