Transfers - Always Something You Can Count On

Sister Vaisa is all finished with training! She's going to be great! But guess what? I'm transferring again! I don't have much to report on before leaving my old area, but yesterday was awesome! We got to teach gospel principles. There was a girl named Kimberly, and she feels like Heavenly Father is trying to teach her something. She feels really good about this church. I have high hopes for her. Then we got to go to Young Women class. We shared how the scriptures have helped us. I shared my favorite scriptures: 

My "birthday scripture": D&C 6:10 - "Behold thou has a gift, and blessed art thou because of thy gift. Remember it is sacred and cometh from above --"  I love my birthday scripture!

1 Nephi 2:18-19- when Nephi became my favorite!  "But, behold, Laman and Lemuel would not hearken unto my words; and being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts I cried unto the Lord for them.  And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart."

And one that my Daddy gave me Moroni 10:3-5. Thanks Daddy!

"Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.  And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

So as for my transfer - Welcome to missionary life! You never know when you're going, or where you're gonna go next. I am now in the Saratoga Zone. I'm with another YSA Ward and a family Ward. Monday, we were able to get our chores done, and Sister Palmer, my former STL, went home. She completed her mission. In our mission, when someone starts their mission, they are "born" in their first area and when they're finished they "die" in their last area. So we "killed" Sister Palmer on Monday. Her companion, Sister Harvey cut her scarf. Elders usually cut their ties. It's an interesting tradition.

Tuesday was just as crazy. I got my new companion - Sister Smith and she is awesome. Her former companion, Sister Pattison has also completed her mission. Sister Smith had a hard time saying goodbye to her. I don't blame her. I've been there with companions. However, Sister Pattison forgot to give us the phone, so we had to drive to the mission home to get it, haha.

This week was amazing. We have an investigator named Yuna, who is getting baptized. She is from Japan and she is darling! Some of the YSA have been helping us teach her. We went to the visitor's center at the temple on Saturday and she got to come with us. We listened to the Jesus Christ Narration in Japanese. It sounded beautiful, and Yuna felt the Spirit. We watched a video about God's plan for the Family, and even though it was in Japanese, we all felt the Spirit and it was so strong that day. It really was. Yuna is golden! She's the best! Now I want to learn Japanese!

It was a good uplifting week.

- Always, Sister Brown!

He'll Be Your Best Friend Too!

There's actually not much to report on. It's been a rough week. But we've been doing our best and meeting with members. I realize that our church is unique. I mean, we have the Book of Mormon, and we have a living Prophet. And sometimes when we talk to people, they have a hard time understanding that. They don't understand that the Book of Mormon does not replace the Bible, but is a companionship to the Bible, another Testament of Jesus Christ.

Some people have concerns about Joseph Smith, and that he made mistakes. We all make mistakes because we are human. But I know that he was a prophet. And although prophets are servants of God, they aren't perfect either because they are only human.

Even though it's been a rough week, I know I have many people I can count on to cheer me on. Most importantly is my family, and they are always there for me, helping me to grow and encouraging me to be the best Sister Brown - and the best Tricia Brown - that I can be. This is me talking with my family on Mother's Day. And there they were, cheering me on!  I love them so much!!!

There is only one person who lived on this Earth and was perfect, and that is Jesus Christ. And it was Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father who called Joseph to be a prophet, the same way Moses and Noah and all the rest were called to be prophets.

I know that my testimony of Jesus Christ is the most important thing I can share with others. He is my Best Friend, and if people would turn to Him, He would be their best friend too! He loves all of us. And He will cheer you on to be the best person you can be.

-Always, Sister Brown 

Experiencing Trials

I've been going through a rough time. However, I can't complain much, because I have seen some blessings this week.

So...on Monday we got haircuts. I needed to trim my hair. On Tuesday, we visited a lady named Gina. She seems very lost. She lost her son in a car accident. She feels that her faith has been shaken. We've been trying to comfort her in the best way we can.  Wednesday was slow, but on Thursday we got to see a young girl who's turning 8 soon. On Friday, we had a good weekly planning session, and we did service for the cutest little old lady I've ever met! She makes wonderful cookies I've been told. It's sad that I can't try them. But she makes us lunch every time we go over to help her. On Saturday, we had exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders. Sister Harvey and I did service at a house and we talked for a while. It felt good to talk about how I was feeling about being in a slower area. It's been a hard adjustment going from having lessons every day to having almost none. We've been driving around Livermore trying to meet people, and get investigators.

Sister Harvey told me that I have a great desire, and that I should just do my best and not be hard on myself. She told me her story, and that she used to be too hard on herself too. President Mella had an interview with her and told her not to be too hard on herself and not to apologize so much. She decided not to set her expectations for herself so high, and think about what Heavenly Father expected of her.

It was nice to bring that back to my memory. On Sunday, we were able to go on splits with a member. I went with Sister Bohn to contact a referral we received from the Elders. The referral wasn't home, but on the way to her home, we ran into a young girl named Kristi who immediately recognized my name tag. She knew I was a Sister Missionary. She had been investigating the church. I left her to read Alma 32. The chapter about Faith.  So that was a miracle.

It's been up and down, and this transfer has been rough. I know I said that last week, but seriously... I think I've hit that weird mission block of trials. The part where it's really hard and it kind of sucks. But I've heard missionary stories about that, and after those blocks, the mission gets better. So I know I just need to be patient. From trials come blessings. It sucks, but it's worth it. Just trust in Heavenly Father and it's worth it. I've also been learning some Spanish. Heavenly Father is Padre Celestial and Jesus Christ is Jesucristo. I love learning new languages.

Well, that was my week. Not much to report on.

- Always, Sister Brown