Elder Brown's Missionary Site

From: Thomas Michael Brown
Date: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:09 PM
Subject: BUCEO!!

Hola Familia
Well its going great here in Buceo. Well first of all it was hard but in end Laura and Adolfo dont want any more…. but with time they will come back. Maybe with the baptism of Mabel in a few weeks.

So first of all Juan and Ana went to church with the whole family and LOVED IT! They invited us over to have a FHE in their house so of course we gonna do it this Friday. They are just doing amazing.

So on Sunday we found this 16 year old kid who is amazing named Cristian. He is really just a special kid and we had a great lesson with him but the best part was the end when we went to say the prayer. We asked to kneel to say the prayer and as we kneeled we taught him to do the prayer and invited him to do it. When we arrived he wasnt to sure if God even existed but he did the prayer and the spirit just filled the room. He said it so sincere searching an answer and after we asked how he felt and he was just so touched and felt a peace and love that was amazing. He said he felt free. We going back but we have to wait till next Sunday because of his studies which is a bummer but it really was a cool experience.

Well the last but best thing was really a miracle this week. So with Jorge… dont know if you remember him… but he works here but his family is in Melo and is an awesome guy but he smoked 2 packs a day when we found him and he put his efforts in and got down to 3 cigarrettes a day which is amazing but we couldnt get him to finish and he just couldnt do it. So we fasted and prayed a ton and well he needed to stop smoking by the 24th and his baptism is the 31st of July. Well last weekend it was the same old story of he couldnt stop but on Monday he got really sick in his throat and it would hurt if he smoked so he stopped smoking for the 3 days he was sick… but then just kept going and hasnt smoked since so he met the goal of not smoking the 24th and this Saturday will be his baptism. It truely was amazing and was a huge help because after what happened with Adolfo and Laura really hurt us but the Lord always has his reasons and his time and his way.

The work is truely going well here even with all that has happened with Elder Walbeck being sick and we have to kinda split our time with their area and ours but now hes pretty much better so it should start going alot better again.

Well thats about all for here I love you all a ton and yes i got the package and loved it. THANKS FOR THE M&Ms JEFFERY AND MARY…. everyone ate them in our 4 elder house so they all say thanks too haha. I woke up and most of them were gone…. Well I love you all a ton…. CHAU!

CON AMOR.
Elder Brown

PS Alexa dont worry havent forgotten bout you either and loved your drawings that i just got in a little card. THANKS!

From: Thomas Michael Brown
Date: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 9:51 AM

Subject: HAPPY FATHERS DAY! from Uruguay

HOLA FAMILIA!!!
Its great to hear all thats going on there in Vegas! Its been a very crazy weekend here in Buceo. One of the Assistants that we live with got some bad headaches and had to go to the hospital. My comp went with him there and Ive been with the other assistant this weekend basically. There was a big conference with the President and we had to do a few things and cancel alot of stuff in our area but its just been crazy and an experience haha. Well stuff with Laura and Adolfo isnt going too great unfortunately. With all that came up we got to visit them once on Monday last week and we had a really good charla but they started questioning the Book of Mormon and alot of stuff. We had a good charla but we didnt get to visit them again till Sunday night! It was a crazy day Sunday running around in the rain ALL DAY! We were really excited to go to the charla with them because they didnt go to church and we had a member text them and they said they didnt go cuz of a dinner they were gonna have with their dad but i knew something more was up. Wasnt sure if it was gonna be good or bad but i was excited to find out. We went with our Ward mission Leader who left on fathers day here to help us! He is soooo awesome. But we get there and only Adolfo was home and invites us in but before we could sit down told us he didnt wanna fool us and tell us before we started what was up…. He told us that him and Laura dont want any more of anything with the church and denied EVERYTHING that he had felt… unfortunately we didnt get to talk with Laura too but he says Mabel still wants to get baptized but him and Laura dont want anymore and said the Book of Mormon isnt true and just everything… Was sad. He told us he wasnt reading or praying and well i know thats why all this happened. He just stopped in the middle of the gospel path basically. We with Hermano Rizzo just bore our testimonies and thats all we could do really. Hopefully they will realize the blessings and the importance of the gospel again. They had felt something before and changed a ton…. but we really dont know what happened. Tonight we are gonna visit Mabel and hopefully we can find out a bit more. But yah thats whats going on with them. Its sad cuz their baptism was going to be this weekend but its better to know now than after the baptism.

Well thats the sad part of our week… now for the good part haha There is always good parts in the mission which i LOVE! So we been working with Ana and Juan this week. They are doing AWESOME! We had a FHE on Friday at the Rizzo Home with them and it went amazing. We watched “Together Forever” and they loved it. Was awkward at first cuz when we arrived they told us that on Sunday they wouldnt be able to go to church cuz they were going to be going to see a pastor that their friend invited them to that is really famous and they were sincere with us that they were in search for the truth and want to see everything soooo was a little weird to start… but then we watched the movie. I just dont know how to explain the charlas with them cuz i dont even remember what we say or what goes on but they just feel so good. Was interesting cuz at the end Ana was crying and i look over and so was Juan…. and after they just said that it touched them and then we talked and they just kept saying how good they felt. Ana felt something really strong in one part a lady says “I dont have all the answers… but i know where to find them” and Ana realized in her self that she had been analyzing everything so much that she wasnt getting her answer that she just needed to pray sincerely…. she put it alot better than i could haha. Then Hermano Rizzo walked out and i was like uhhh… ok and he comes back with a photo of the Temple and talked about how the temple made it possible that we could be together forever and… then invited them to the temple Saturday because the ward just happened to be going Saturday, the day after the FHE, to do baptisms for the dead and they were excited to go! At that moment the Kids all ran out of the play room yelling for food and changed the whole environment and we were like its ok we are finishing up and they went back into the playroom and we were like alright well can we end with a prayer?… right then Hermana Rizzo was like hold on… I wanna say something and Im not even kidding before she said anything the room just filled right back up soooooo strong with the spirit…. It was one of the strongest moments ive felt in the mission and she then just started crying and really just bore her testimony of the family and her love for Ana and Juan and how much she wants them to have all these blessings in their family and she was bawling and her husband and Ana and Juan and everyone was just bawling and i was just like…. whoa this is weird. But was the best end to a charla EVER! Was an amazing Night… Oh and then we went to the temple on Saturday and they went and LOVED IT!

heres some photos we took at the temple and in the FHE with them. Alot of people went and like 4 of our recent converts went to do baptisms for the dead which was amazing to see them all go. Ok to know who is Juan and Ana… in the photo where we are all sitting down at the temple… Juan and Ana and their kids are on the Right and the Hermana Rizzo is on the left with her kids and Lauras(recent convert) son. It was great.

Well Im doing good here. I dont think i need anything done at home. Maybe just look for a job haha. Ill do anything really just gonna need something for when i get back. Not too worried about it though.

About the beanies i wanted to send all the photos together so thats why you havent gotten anything about them yet but i gave them all out and got photos but one of the photos is with my old comp Elder Griffiths. Sorry. And if you want to email Freddy and Estella… thats cool im sure theyd love to hear from yall. They are hilarious and Freddy speaks English so its good. I miss that family so tell them HI

Well love you all and DAD… HAPPY URUGUAYAN FATHERS DAY!!!
CON AMOR
Elder Brown

Date: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 10:45 AM

Subject: BEANIES

Well here is what happened with these photos and all went to families in Lomas de Solymar.
Photo 1- This is the Schnickemberger Family. Yah dont know if its spelt right but i love them. Shes pregnant now with their first child that will be a girl. She is really excited and they will be awesome. Daniel, the dad, would cook american food for us and Dee, the wife, was hilarious. They both speak english and we always had a blast in their lunches haha.

Photo 2 and 3- This is the Ayala Family who just had their daughter like a week before this picture was taken. The dad wasnt there cuz he works a ton to support the family with 2 jobs but served his mission in Argentina.

Photo 4- This is one of my favorite families in Lomas de Solymar. Me and Elder Fry reactivated them and they were one of our 5 families. They hadnt gone in like 20 years and now they go like every week even in the rain haha Elsa is the grandma, Beatriz the mom and her son Agustine. They loved the beanie and really need it with the way they live. Its really hard for them and live in the “ghetto” part of Lomas de Solymar. Awesome family.

Photo 5- This is Silvias Family. Silvia is a single mom of 4 with the new little guy, Bruno. She lives a really hard life too. Her ex husband ran off with another lady and used to beat them and she has like nothing but works a ton doing little jobs to support her kids. Ive talked about them before. Her kids are MONSTERS but Bruno is cool haha and liked the Beanie.

Date: Tuesday, July 13, 2010 9:14 AM
Subject: STAYIN!

HOLA FAMILIA!!
Well me and my comp are staying together in Buceo and Im really excited bout it. I love it here. The ward is just amazing and we are seeing a ton of miracles in the work. The Lord is truely blessing us. We had an awesome first change and im stoked for this next one.

Mom about the BYU stuff i think im just gonna wait to go the next semester. The truth is i dont remember my AIM stuff for BYU and i dont remember my Facebook stuff but if you wanna put somethin up its fine with me. I thought i left the info with like Alyssa or someone haha but i dont remember.

So it really is going great here. We had a little sad moment with some baptisms we were gonna have this week. This Saturday we were gonna have 3 baptisms but they have been getting anti mormon stuff from some JW´s so its been interesting. The mom, Mabel, is gonna give it a week to see what her kids do but she wants to get baptised. She has her date now for the 24th and well see what happens with Laura and Adolfo and hopefully the 3 will get baptised together. Laura is awesome but she is having a few doubts but is going to the single adults activities and reads and everything with church she does but she says she doesnt feel ready but last night we had a really good lesson wth them and watched “together forever” and it helped them alot. Was a really spiritual lesson and Laura and Adolfo really opened up.

Gabriel is doing great also. We are having lessons with him that are just amazing and i never expected it. He is very open about his sins and is one of those guys who youd never think would get baptized. He has been going to church on his own and just loves it. He says how he is changing and is actually happy now and helps his neighbors and all. Its very similar with what happened to Adolfo. Just an amazing story. I heard Adolfo is doing good too. I heard at changes too that Josefa is doing good and its still pretty rough in Sauce but the missionaries say she feeds them well and she is awesome and always goes to church so that made me feel really good. Also I heard from Tatiana and Nelly in Treinta y Tres. They arent doing too great and Tatiana just had her baby… dont know if i told you she was pregnant but the Elders over there say they just past something rough and well see if they can come out ok now that the baby came. Their letter made me miss them a ton and i hope they can come back. They really need the gospel again in their lives.

So here are a few pics. One is at a famous yacht port in my area. Its way cool and i guess its pretty popular. Heres the photo from Cholas baptism too. I dont think i ever sent you it and also one of when Uruguay beat Ghana. We went to pick up the member for a Lesson like 5 mins after the game ended and he was freaking out and face painted and we had to leave to the lesson.. Was pretty funny. Theres a pic of our district too which is the offices… and us haha. And then a random photo of what the city of Montevideo is like… yah thats a trash picker upper… by horse in the middle of one of the busy Montevideo streets. Its what its like here haha.

Well thats about it. I love you all a ton and hope you passed you B-day well mom I liked the pics with baby trey and alexa. Tell them both hi from their long lost uncle…. LOVE YA!

CON AMOR.
Elder Brown

Date: Tuesday, July 6, 2010 12:28 PM
Subject: FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS!

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS MOM!!!

love you a ton. Sorry i dont have much time to write. Its been an awesome week and its just going great here. i love it! So sorry mom cant write much on your birthday but i love you a ton and I feel sooooo bad! But love you chau!

CON AMOR
ELDER BROWN

From: Thomas Michael Brown
Date: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 1:32 PM
Subject: HOLA

HOLA FAMILIA!
Well Trey finally got there? Thats awesome! CONGRATULATIONS KT AND WILL its gonna be fun haha. So yah people told me i was crazy too mom when i told them i was happy that the states lost. I was all for them till i saw that we would play Uruguay and it all changed. Its crazy here in Uruguay with the World Cup. Its been so long since they got this far and its such a small country that everything just shuts down on the game days. No one goes to work or school and after the games everyone goes crazy. If they win all day people are driving around yelling and honking their horns. So about the temple mom… no i wont get to go to any converts. There are a few that will be going but the mission here now doesnt go to the temple with converts. Dont know why but its a new rule with President DaSilva because he wants us more focused in our Areas now than in past converts and areas which is good but it is kinda a bummer too.

Well the work is going great here. We had Chola’s baptism on Saturday and it went great. She was just sooo happy. We had it with the other ward in our chapel and they had 2 primary kids get baptised. Elder Cuevas and I were the witnesses and i felt so bad cuz one of the kids had to get baptized like 3 times cuz the Hermano wouldnt dunk him far enough. But it all came out good in the end. So Laura and her brother Adolfo are doing great. Dont know if ive told you bout them but they have baptismal dates for the 17th of July. They are just doing amazing. Laura is trying to get in to knitt with the Relief Society on a big project they are doing and is really excited about it.

So a cool little experience… We did splits with Enzo, got baptized 2 weeks ago, and Bryan, Chola’s nephew who was inactive for years, and it went great! My comp went with Bryan to some lessons and I went with Enzo to…. well go talk with the people haha. Enzo is a recent convert and hes already ready to leave on a mission. Him and Bryan and both 15 and Enzo just blew me away. Bryan was with my comp but he told me he did great too. Enzo was so excited to just talk to people about the gospel. We started and I went and knocked a door and told Enzo we wanna share the gospel and when I turned around he had ran into the middle of the street and started talking to a lady in the middle of the street trying to get the direction to her house and he didnt really know what to say after so i ran to go help him in the middle of the road and i start talking to the lady and out of nowhere the guy from the house answers the door and Enzo runs over to him and starts sharing his testimony with him and I was just sooo amazed with the excitement he had to share the gospel. He is so awesome.

It was kinda a bummer on Sunday because Elder Baker who lives with us got sick so after church I had to stay with him all day and Elder Cuevas went out with Enzo all day. I really wanted to go out with Enzo again but…i had to stay in. It seems like it would be cool cuz its like a day off…. but its not. It was horrible and I just wanted to leave the whole time and just go work. I realized how much the work really means to me and how much Im gonna miss it. Just gotta live it to the most right now but really it was a big eye opener….

But yah its been going really well. Oh we had another lesson with Ana and Juan and they are just amazing! We shared the Book of Mormon with Juan and they both said that they feel that its true just from the little that we read from it. Ana has been reading for awhile but it was the first time for Juan and he already knows its true. They couldnt go to church cuz of sick kids but I called them and they wanted to go soooo bad and are reading and were Ana said that Juan has been talking about the lesson we had with them on the Book of Mormon since the day we left. We have another lesson with them tomorrow which im really excited about.

Well thats about it for here. There is alot going on but not enough time to write it all. I wanna send some pics but the computer isnt working and dont know why. Hope you liked the pics from last week. Love you all!

Con Amor.
Elder Brown

Date: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 10:41 AM

Subject: ANOTHER WEEK!

HOLA FAM!
Well thats weird that the computer is writing backwards…. But good to hear all is good. Its been going great here too. Well to start off we had an AMAZING week which ended with 2 baptisms. My first day here we found this lady Ana that i think i told you guys about and she was awesome but the week before last we couldnt visit her cuz her husband got home from Italy and they were doing family stuff and she just kept telling us she was busy so we got a bit sad thinking her husband probly wasnt too supportive of the “Mormons” so it was rough. On Monday though we decided to call her up and see if we could set something up and well her husband answered and well i was kinda nervous to be honest to talk to him but he was way cool. Ana was showering so i talked to him for a bit and told him we’d like to pass by and he was like of course and then we asked if he wanted to maybe do something with our Ward Mission Leader’s family, the Rizzo Family, and he was like yah we should do like a family night or something…. so thats exactly what we did. We had a Family Home Evening with Ana and Juan and the Rizzo Family and it went amazing. We watched THE RESTAURATION and they both got touched and loved it. They like deeply analyzed it and just felt so good about it and started talking about baptism and the importance of baptism and was just amazing. We invited them to an activity on Saturday that we had with all types of sports and turns out Juan used to be a Pro Basketball player here in Uruguay and in Europe… so that was cool. Better yet they went to the activity. Well Juan did… Ana was home with their daughter who was really sick but Juan came and loved it. They activity went really well! it was so fun and we played all sports but the best part was playin B-ball with Juan and the ward and us 4 missionaries that work in Buceo. It was the best game ive played in Uruguay and that includes Missionary games of all Americans. It was a good fun game that was intense. We also had the husband of a member whos not a member cook at the activity. It was really good. We ended up having like 8 investigators at the activity which was great including Chola whos getting baptized this Saturday and who is also the Mother in law of the guy who cooked at the activity…. if that all just made sense haha.

Well finally we had the 2 baptisms, Gladys and Nathaly, and the other 2 missionaries in the ward had a baptism also, Enzo, so it was 3 baptisms that went really well. It was amazing. They were so happy. I say that everytime but its true they are always sooo happy after. It was a huge success cuz we also had like 7 other investigators that went to the baptism. Was amazing. Alot of new people too that hadnt gone to church yet. Gladys brought a friend too and now we teaching her, Inès. It was just awesome.

So at church we had a few good experiences. Juan went to church and we just found him this week. Ana couldnt go because of their daughter still being sick but Juan LOVED IT! He interacted and all. Then Gabriel also went which was cool. Dont know if you remember but Gabriel is the LAZY guy and i mean really lazy. He went though and was there at 8:30. He felt really good at it and it was really good to see him there. He was taught before by other missionaries here and he went to church once with them but its because they had someone go pick him up and thats the only reason he went. Well this time he went cuz he wanted to go and felt he needed to go. It was cool. But yah its just been an amazing week. But hope all is going good there.

I LOVE YOU ALL A TON!!!
Con Amor
Elder Brown

Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 11:36 AM
Subject: BUCEO

Hola Fam!
Well its been an amazing week this week. We had the baptism of Laura on Saturday and it went awesome. It was in the morning cuz of her work so we had to go to the church at 5 in the morning to fill the font. We got there and well…. turned out we had no gas at the church so the water was freezing cold…. oops. I joked around with her all week that it would be cold and well turned out that it was and she wanted to kill me haha. But it went amazing and really was a great experience. Laura is a 30 year old widow with 2 little kids and the gospel has helped her so much. She is just so happy! So this week we have 2 more baptisms and 3 in the ward but one is of the other 2 missionaries in our ward.

The ward is just flying and its just amazing the miracles were seeing here. Me and my comp actually are leading the mission with lessons with member is what the assistants have said which has made us pretty excited but really its just the amazing members we got here. We can use them in anything and thats really what helps the work. Its so different than being in the campo. Its kinda like its easy but hard at same time. Its completely different. Its alot easier to get stuff planned out and stuff and people are really intelligent and all but man we are running around a ton… ITS AWESOME!

So interesting experience this morning that Elder Cuevas and I had….. We went out to do some contacts and talk with some people and a drunk man walked up to us with a split open head and started yelling at us in front of populated streets in our Area. I was not too happy but we just took it and i could just feel me getting angrier and then the guy took my comps plaque… this did not make me happier and i could just feel myself boiling as i talked to him and then he grabbed my plaque…. ewwww even worse…. All we said was Sir please give those back and just tried to be nice to him but he continued calling us bad things and yelling and then took our plaques to the middle of the street and with a lighter tried to burn them…. drunk people i dont think realize that plastic doesnt burn like that haha. He realized it wasnt working and started to walk off with our plaques so we started to follow him. We followed him for awhile and then i just got this feeling that we shouldnt go on and my comp i could see had the same thing hit him. We went a different way and the guy was booking it down the streets with our plaques but we just left him. Now I look back at it and am grateful for that feeling. I have no idea what would have happened if we hadnt followed the spirit and followed this guy. He went into a rough part of our area and very well coulda had friends waiting for us and i had my camera and had just taking all my money out of the atm for the month and coulda lost all that or even been hurt or maybe i woulda caught him and i dont know what i woulda done with him and might not be here now…. all for a plaque. I just wished i had not gotten angry at first and been able to listen to the spirit earlier instead of wasting time walking and following this drunk down the streets. Was interesting though haha. I learn something like that everyday here in the mission…. its incredible.

Well i dont know much to say about the schooling stuff cuz i dont remember my account info and i dont know whats going on with all of that stuff. Ive talked to a few people about rooming and stuff but nothing for sure yet. Talked with Elder Smith…. Drew… the other day. He was on an intercambio with the assistants in my house so we talked a little bit about it and i talked to others a little to but i dont know still. Heres a pic though from when Elder Smith came over and thats on our balcony. Theres also the photos from the baptism. I dont really need anything here mom in the package but thanks. Just know that all is going good here and I miss you and Love you ALL!!!
Con Amor
Elder Brown

Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2010 2:00 PM
Subject: BUCEO!

HOLA!
Well sorry i didnt let you know last week but our Pdays are Tuesdays here for the offices. Its a little different but yah ill be emailing on tuesdays now. And yes that was Elder Fry my old comp. So I´m really happy to hear about the baptism. Thats great. Thats cool you all got to participate in it too and Alexa got to sing haha. Wish I coulda been there. Alfredo also got baptized last Saturday and I saw Elder Griffiths and his comp yesterday because his comp and my comp had to go sign some papers for their visas or something. It was so good to hear about the baptism and Alfredo I guess was the first person up on Sunday to give his testimony. Ines even gave him a suit so he looks good at church. I gave a whole bunch of ties out before i left Lomas and Elder Griffiths told me that 4 of my ties were worn at the baptism haha. made me laugh.

Well Buceo is going great also. We have a baptism this weekend. Her name is Laura and she is awesome! We had a lesson with her this morning and she is just so awesome and ready for her baptism. We have a few baptisms planned out which is awesome and we are actually leading in our zone with our lessons that we have with members. Today at District meeting we had to capacitate the zone on what we do. It was interesting cuz i had no idea what to say because really its the Lord that does it all. We do our part and be obedient and the Lord really does his part. The work is just soooo awesome and the members are so cool here. Its alot different though having a real ward. Its not so much like a family like other places ive been but its like everyone is in suits and looks like an american ward. I though Lomas was like that but its nothing like here haha. My comp is cool and we are just having a blast. We are teaching a ton and just running everywhere. I get soooo confused though because we take buses everywhere and its crazy. Im really excited for the weeks coming. We got a baptism next week too with a lady Gladys who is awesome. But i dont know really more to say because it has just been awesome. We had a cool lesson with this lady Ana who we found my first day here. We get to her house again this last week and she lets us in and we go in with the Hermana Camilla, the Ward mission leaders wife. We enter and talk a little and could just see she was just running all around and she told us she had just gotten home. Well we start with a hymn…. my favorite “Divina Luz” im not sure what it is called in english. I believe its “Lead Kindly Light” ?? But we sing and it goes great and i look up and Ana is just tearing up and the spirit was just so strong. We finish and before we say anything she just says… “hold on i wanna say something…. This was the first time I felt peace all day. It was a crazy day and the only time that i have felt good and felt peace was just now.” It was amazing and then the Hermana just jumped in and explained everything with the spirit. Its true though the peace the gospel brings.

Well today we also had sports for pday after our district meeting. We played soccer with Pres. DaSilva and man he knows how to play soccer and is brutal with it haha. He can kick a ball harder that anyone of us Missionaries. It was an awesome activity and i love it cuz really get to know the other side of Pres. DaSilva. I always been pretty close to him and its just cool cuz playin sports we can just all joke around and have a good time. Hes an awesome President.

Well here i sent some photos too of us playing soccer with President and thats him chasing after me and then the other is me with my comp Elder Cuevas. ENJOY!
Love you all a ton and miss you too.
CON AMOR
ELDER BROWN

PS yah i dont know why I havent been ZL or in the offices or Asistant mom…. but really i dont care…. some people are meant to do that and im just happy doing the work. I like the comps Ive had and maybe thats why because i like having younger comps that dont know all that they doing and im happy with them and the ZLs are comps together so its all old people and people that already know what they doing. Dont think Id be happy like that but Ill do whatever Im told to.