October 31, 2011

Maadwo! Hope all is well in Tejas, things are pretty cool in Sunyani. We have had a pretty quiet P-Day today. I am really happy for quiet P-Days because those were non-existent in Kumasi! It’s nice to just have a day to rest and not worry about anything, just get ready for the week ahead. We were going to go to Kumasi today, we get to go for P-Day once every three months to have an activity with everybody there, but me and Elder Mapanje just wanted to stay back, rest, and get ready for the week ahead. As always it was a crazy week so we needed a rest! And going to Kumasi is the opposite of rest. That place... it is something! So today was spent cleaning, washing, and sleeping a little bit. It’s weird how relaxing cleaning can be now.... and to see everything looking nice and organized makes me really happy... guess I am growing up. As for last week, it was cool. A few moments where I wished that my calling to help the church grow was to just pull a handcart a few hundred miles into the desert and then have lots of kids, but as always, by Sunday night, everything was A-OK. Still not a lot of people to teach, so days are a wee bit long, but we are trying our best. We are getting better at teaching together, and members are really excited about the work, so things are sure to pick up quick. Plus, we do have a few solid people like Femi, who came to church on Sunday and is getting really involved. Whenever I feel a little down about not having tons of people to teach, I think back to my first few months in Kwamo, when we had no one! Not one!! Haha, so my faith is definitely strong in the aspect of that when you do everything you can do, the Lord helps you find people like Andrew and Cosmos and Eric and Anarfi and Mensah and the rest. So, we shall continue pressing forward! Tuesday night we had a good lesson with Femi. We are into the Plan of Salvation now, he started loving it from the start. Started with the Pre-Mortal existence and he was asking really good questions and was understanding really well. We had another good lesson with him Friday, he had really good questions about life after death, so we spent a while talking about that. I am definitely enjoying myself here, all of the new opportunities and experiences are teaching me so much. The places and people I have been around on my mission have been exactly what I need to become what I need to become, and Sunyani definitely isn't any different. Moree was hard, but you could find people to teach and there was a lot of members. Kwamo was a whole new ball game, really hard to find people to teach. Now Sunyani is a whole new thing. I thought it would be a lot like Kwamo, but it is proving to be a whole nother animal. Our branch president has been a member for 8 months! And our first counselor for 3! We get asked questions every day about how to run the branch... and um... I am 20 years old and have had callings such as Deacon's quorum president and Sacrament pianist. But… luckily I have seen a lot of things growing up, so I can offer a little bit of help. Elder Mapanje was the ward clerk in his branch in Zimbabwe before coming, so he gives a lot better input than me. I just try my best! We taught the 3rd hour of church yesterday. Trying to help our little branch understand a branch mission plan. We tried to help them see how we could get the number goal into names so we can find people to accomplish the goal. We explained a little bit about the auxilliaries working to find referrals from specific members. Hopefully understanding how prayer will help them, will let them think of future leaders and families that will help the church to continue the strong foundation that is being built here! Prayer is definitely the key in anything! Well guys, life is great here. Never easy, but it is great. You guys help me so much, when it’s been a tough week, everything is fine after emailing, thanks so much for everything. I got an email from Elder Nathan's parents, pretty sweet to hear from them. Elder Nathan seems to be doing really well in Kwamo. So... keep doing the great things you are doing and I will do my best too! As I always say, my testimony is growing every day and I am learning so much day by day, little by little. Having to figure things out for myself is letting me become a lot better in solving problems and becoming more effective in general. I am very very thankful for the experiences I have been given, since I was just a small small boy, that have made me who I am today and allowing me to become a little better. Even when the experience seem absolutely terrible when you are growing through them! It’s always hard to keep the eternal perspective, but I think I am getting better at that too :) I love you guys!!! Love, Elder Brown