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