For the hundredth time - I'm happy! So, so happy.4-21-14

Hello!  Had a great week! Happy Easter by the way! (no bunnies in the Philippines)

…Where to start?  …VERN CAME TO CHURCH!!!  If only I could just send home a video of me shouting/ jumping up and down in circles because of how happy I am!  Don’t you see how happy missionary work makes us?  I love it.

The week as a whole was great.  The weekdays were busy with random things coming up, but Saturday we got to teach all day and Sunday was of course amazing to have Vern there.  It was Holy Week last week!  This is a huge deal here, lots of processions and other celebrations.  Saw some pretty intense things, definitely stories for a different day.  We had a 6pm curfew on Friday and Sunday because of it.

Saturday was awesome!  I got to go on exchanges with Elder Gunnell.  We went on exchanges together early last year, so it was great to be together again!  Weird to think that was so long ago, at yet, it seems like only a few months ago.  The great part about missionary work is that it’s based on our efforts.  Our first two hours together, we taught 4 lessons tracting (door to door kinda thing) and met all these great people, even invited some of them to be baptized!  Then, the next 4 hours we did the same thing, but didn't get to teach a single person!  No one let us in.  The great part is that we tried our best, and I felt equally as good about the four hours with no lessons as the two hours with four.

…So Sunday with Vern.  So amazing that he was able to come to church!  He gave awesome insights in class, he sang every song, he asked lots of good questions, he did everything you'd expect a golden investigator to do.  By a miracle, his bible study was cancelled, and someone gave him an extra dollar (literally, that’s it) for the holiday which was enough for him to be able to come to church!  He usually has a bible study that he has to go to, otherwise the people he lives with won’t give him any food.  It’s a rough life for him.  But really, ever since we’ve been meeting with him, his life is totally turning around.  (it’s not fast at any rate, but of course, since we’ll live forever, direction is much more important than speed).  It’s really cool.  Hah, I’m so out of words that I said “it’s really cool” to describe one of the most precious miracles I’ve seen on my entire mission.  You get the point though (: 

Family, friends, I love you.  Thanks for everything!

Elder Shane Brown

Pictures - 

1-2.  We play volleyball on Pday mornings.  One of those random Filipino styles is the normal t-shirt with a hood on it.  America needs this.

3.  Played Monopoly when we had the 6pm curfew.  

4.  Such a Filipino thing.  Mostly because it's illegal in the States

5.  Exchanges

6.  They have these random sings everywhere like this.  The grammar is usually [not] spot-on.

Absolutely Perfect! 4-14-14

Family!

I usually try and keep these emails short and sweet, but this week was just too good to me!  The seemingly impossible is quite possible pala.  This week was even better than last!  Somehow life just continues to get better.  I’m trying to throw as much joy and enthusiasm into this as I can without going overboard on the smiley faces and explanation points, but wow….. This week was the best!!  :)

Vern.  Today I will tell you of the miracle of Vern, from New Zealand.  Buckle up (figuratively), this is a good one:  We met Vern a few months ago at a car wash.  We thought he was another rich guy getting his car washed, but it turns out he was just staying there because they were the only people that would give him a place to stay.  In short, he had nothing.  We referred him to the Nelsons (our favorite self-reliance couple missionaries) who gave him ten dollars (in pesos) which was enough for a month of housing.  Out of the blue two weeks ago, he shows up wanting to know more about our church.  He gives the Nelsons his story.  He used to be a Catholic Bishop – that’s a big deal!  Was kicked out of the church for refusing to work with men he knew to be pedophiles, moved to the Philippines and found a wife who later cheated him of all his money until a few years later he ends up at that car wash with absolutely nothing.  When he wanted to learn more, the Nelsons made an appointment for us to teach him with them there…

We started to teach and he had many questions, I mean, he was a Catholic Bishop!  But he very easily agreed with everything we shared with him.  It clicked so easily in his head.  We had a good lesson and we asked if he could come back on Friday but he said he wasn't sure about his schedule and didn't seem too sure he’d come soon.  Well we gave him a Book of Mormon and he left…. THE VERY NEXT DAY, he goes to the church and tells the Nelsons he wants to meet on Friday.  Yes! 

Friday… We meet and he basically talks to us for half hour about him reading the Book of Mormon, questions, etc.  He said he needs to finish the Book of Mormon because in three days he’s “only read half of it”!  Wow!  Haha he said it’d only be two thirds as long if they found a different way of saying “And it came to pass.”  He says that we’re his friends and that he really does pray for us, that we will be continually sustained by God.  We talked about a lot, ending with authority and us boldly, but lovingly affirming that a person must be baptized in our church, etc.  He said that “when” he joins the Church, it’ll be hard to leave it all behind.  Ah, it was great!

Saturday it got better.  We were expecting Vern to come to Priesthood session and me, Elder Madsen and Elder Nelson are all waiting for him and we got so excited when he walked up!  Priesthood session starts and what’s the very first talk?  Elder Oaks gets up there and basically says, “I’m going to talk about Priesthood keys and authority.”   What did Vern have questions about?  Keys and authority.  Every other talk after that mentioned something we had talked about the day before.  It was absolutely perfect!  We were in awe as we listened to Elder Oaks speak directly to Vern.  At the end of the session, he gets up and says, “I've missed hearing a good sermon like that” So great.  Us three (Me, E. Madsen + E. Nelson) were like three kids on Christmas morning when Vern left – dancing around, wacking each other on the arm as we were shouting out every single thing that went absolutely perfect.  Ah, so happy!  Elder Nelson’s comment made it all the better when he said, “Isn't it great? We’re not even doing anything!  Just watching it all happen.”  The Lord is so merciful and rewarding to His servants.

I love you, hope you will make the effort to have the same joy I do - through missionary work!

Elder Shane Brown

By the way, conference was amazing.  I'm sure it always has been, it's just taken me 20 years to appreciate it.

Pictures

1.  Us so excited about Vern!

2.  Eating lunch with the Nelsons

3.  Went to Masbate this week (one of the bigger islands).  It's Rodeo there right now.  Every one was dressed in their finest cowboy get-up.  Loved it.  This is me waving my non-existent hat in the air. 

Other Side of Heaven 4-7-14

Remember in "The Other Side of Heaven" when the islander companion gets transferred and they stand there on the dock shouting "HOOORAAAHHHH FOR ISREAL!!!!"    ...I think we did a good job of representing this?

-also, remember, we don't watch general conference until next week because of time differences

Hello Family!  

While you were watching general conference, I was on a tiny fishing skiff skimming across the ocean  going to paradise.  GREAT WEEK.  Love you!

Guess I should further explain:

What an adventurous week (still don’t have my land legs back)!  Interesting, intense, filled, stressed, and demanding are other appropriate words to describe it.  This is for a host of reasons, related to missionary work, missionaries, members, and so on.  I feel like the writers of the Book of Mormon when they say that they couldn’t even write a hundredth of what they saw or heard.

First I should describe the adventure.  On Sunday, President took us with him to Batan Island!  It’s an island just out of the Legazpi Bay (2hrs one-way).  This is unlike the other islands we've been too.  It’s small, rural (very rural), and rather than taking a big ferry out, we took a tiny little fishing boat (see pictures).  We went for their branch conference.  It was such a humble place.  They only have power from 4pm-midnight so it was beautifully peaceful.  There is no bigger vehicle than motorcycles.  There are no real stores.  There is no clean water.  There is no internet, cell phone signal, or television.  There is almost nothing really.  But somehow there is a branch there and they’re about 40 every week.  Two weeks ago they got full-time missionaries for the first time (before the missionaries just went on the weekends).  The missionaries live in the small little meeting house simply because there is nothing else.  Still can’t forget the serenity of it all.  It was me, Elder Madsen, President Guanzon, the stake presidency and the supply couple.

We loved the journey so much.  We’re always so close to the ocean, but being just inches above the water and getting the spray flung into my face as we cruised along, it really made me miss the beach.  President told me I could jump in for a swim… he was joking.  Darn.  I imagined the glee I felt on there is what Dad must be talking about when we talks about having the catamaran before.  Ahm.  I love the Philippines.  I love the warm water.  I love the low clouds.  I love the green jungles lining everything in sight.  I love the food.  I love the culture.  I love the people.  I love their attitude for life.  I love their focus.  I love being here with them.  I love immersing myself as much as possible.  I love who I do it with.  I love my companion.  I love the other missionaries.  I love my mission president.  President is the best.  I love the Lord.  I love what he’s allowed me to see and experience.  I love it all.  I love you.

Elder Shane Brown

Got a little carried away there.  I’ll give more updates next week.  Here’s a few pictures though!

1.  This is our boat!

2.  President found this big hermit crab on the dock.  I decided I had to pick it up for the picture.  Moments after this I starting swirling around screaming like a girl because I thought it was going to pinch me and I didn't want to just throw it into the ocean... President got a good laugh there.

3.  Us, walking down the dock.

Flexibility 3 31-14

Hello Family!

Right so the subject heading, “Flexibility”.  I’ll have you know that I’ve been stretching ever night trying to touch my toes.  The news is that I can’t quite do it, but I’m close!  This near-feat however is not the purpose of my subject.  The point is, flexibility in planning is great!

This week was transfer week.  Missionaries meet up in various places of the mission to be transferred to a different area or get a new companion.  The old ones go home, and now ones arrive.  Those training new missionaries have a day of workshops in preparation.  Plans for the transfer are set and there’s sense of busyness to it all.  To cut the long story short, because of bad weather, we almost got to drive to Naga (remember I used to be in that mission before it split) and then had to have the new missionaries take a 12-hour van ride from Manila because there were no flights.  Threw off the schedule quite a bit, but it’s okay, we’re flexible.  It was nice having a little extra time in the middle of the week.  So many unanticipated things came up though.  I’ll say that starting Monday evening when we realized we had so much more to do before the next morning until we finished everything Saturday morning, the whole week really was quite a blur.

Aaaaand that’s the week!  A blur!  I wish all the missionaries had the same vision.  I really do.  I love you all!  Thanks for all the support.  It means a lot.  It breaks your heart to hear about how much some of these new missionaries have sacrificed just to serve.

Pictures - 

1.  Rainbow - Lots this week.  It's been really rainy lately

2.  Some calves cuddling

11.  A parade (AKA the worst traffic jam ever)

12.  Trainers standing behind the new missionaries

The best ever ever ever ever ever.3-24-14

Mom, Dad and everyone else, can I be the one to say that life is good?  By the way, happy 26th anniversary to my parents on March 26th!

I can't do more than fall to my knees and cry because of how amazing this week has been.  It's too good to be true.  And I love it!  Can I let this paragraph be an introduction to the next four months of my mission emails?  Mid-way through the week, we were sitting in President's office discussing.  This led President to say, "Elders, let's go!"  We left to meet with a group of missionaries and President talked about time management.  Towards the end of the meeting, he called on Elder Madsen and I, "Look at these two elders, they're almost done.  Elder Madsen, when do you go home?"  "3 months."  "Elder Brown, when do you go home?" "About 4 months." "See, they are at the end.  In a blink of an eye, they will be on a plane going home, and they will have the rest of their lives and all of eternity to think about the two years they spent on their missions.  And in my opinion, they will get on that plane and have no regrets."  ...Okay, so what President said is true!  We really will be going home soon, and I agree, I'll be going home with no regrets.  It only gets better from here on out.

Remember the Paglinawan family?  This is the lady who has been inactive for almost 10 years then one day was praying for some one to show her the way and we knocked on her door.  So she and her daughter came to church last week.  Then on Tuesday, the sisters in the ward (bless these sisters!) went to visit her.  And we visited on a different day.  And by Sunday night, the whole family had come to church, the 18 year old daughter who wasn't baptized before wants to be baptized in just a few weeks, and the 19 year old son is best friends with Glen who has already started inviting him to everything! (Glen is the kid who had the dream about me.  He's know so so active now in the Church AND in the Gospel.  He's now the 1st counselor in the Young Mens' Presidency and is preparing to serve a mission).  And so, with something like that, and several others which I couldn't even begin to explain, I am over come with a renewed joy and love for missionary work and all those it affects.  I feel like the Paglinawan family is a tender mercy from the Lord to me for all the hard work we have been doing.  And I expect they'll be a motivation for me to continue working hard so we can get ourselves of the way and let the Lord do His work.

I love it all.  It's the best ever.  I'm as happy as ever.  Thanks for you love and support.  Happy anniversary again Mom and Dad!

Elder Shane Brown

Pictures - 

1.  Paglinawan son and daughter

2.  Our district

3.  The office for Elder Quinto's birthday

4.  Another picture from last week's zone activity.  Elder Madsen, Elder Nelson (couple missionary), and I.

Discernment. 3-17-14

Hello, good morning family!

This week was awesome!  This morning, we got to go to a zone activity (with a little over 30 missionaries).  We went to Kawa Kawa which is actually a place that we used to go back when I was still in the Naga Mission.  This is close to the border of the Naga mission so I used to go there before and got to go back today!  Anyways, we had a good week.  Went by really fast.  Can hardly remember what we did.  But then I think real hard about it, remember everything and how great it is to me but might not be so exciting for you.  But the sister who was praying for people to come show her the truth then we knocked on her door came to church yesterday with one of her kids!  Well, yesterday, we had a very special experience.

Two things to remember.  1) Glen, the 21 year old who had a dream about me before he even met me then started coming back to church and 2) the gift of Discernment.  Two good things, here's how they connect:  Okay so Glen and his siblings are all super active now, but their mother isn't a member.  She had a stroke a few years ago and because of that, cannot speak and also struggles to do daily chores and things.  She can still walk well, but she can't write or lift heavy things or use her right side of her body well.  She used to be shy to us probably because she was embarrassed or was wasn't sure how we would react to her, but over the last few weeks, she has really been opening up to us (in the form of laughing with us and smiling when we come and wanting to be involved, etc.).  Last night, we were reviewing the first lesson with the recently baptized daughter.  We got talking about families. We asked all the kids what they liked about their families.  Every one had good answers but Glen was last, he said he really wanted to be sealed.  We talked about this and Sister became so interested.  Leaning in and listening, trying to take it all in.  When they were going around saying what they liked about the family, the turn came to Sister but of course she couldn't speak.  Here comes the discernment.  We knew she had something she wanted to say.  As we talked about the families being sealed, I had the most distinct impression that she wants this.  And that she had questions.  That she felt the Spirit, and wanted to pray about these things.  As I looked into her eyes, these thoughts came to me in the strongest impressions and I knew what she was thinking, even though she wasn't speaking.  And I said those things, and she starred right back into my eyes and it was so obvious and true that the Spirit really had told me her thoughts.  This was one of the most precious and tender moments on my mission.  I love this Sister so so much and know it'll be possible for this family to be sealed.  Certainly being able to speak never was a requirement to enter into heaven.  We will find a way.  I love the Spirit.  God is so great to people as undeserving as I!

Love you!  Elder Shane Brown

Pictures - 

1.  Giant Crab!

2-3.  Cool Pictures.  

4. Elder Moncur and I!