Beautiful Changes!

October 9, 2013

The beautiful changes in the leaves!

Fall is here

The leaves changing remind me of home. It is amazing how something that is so beautiful green can be even prettier when they are changing with the weather. With all the changes with my surroundings I guess it is about time for me to move houses again. Did anyone see this coming? I am getting transferred to Merrimack New Hampshire. It is kind of fun for me to be able to experience life here in the New England area. When I was little we used to play a game with the states, so I know a few facts about the states. I am really excited to go to New Hampshire because the state bird is a Chickadee. Now, that is really not the only reason I am excited to go. When I found out, I thought that I was going to be speaking English. That is not going to be the case to my great surprise. I will be with an English speaking companion (Sister States), but there are 20 Spanish families in that area already attending church. I am actually going to be translating!?!?! I am not sure how that is actually going to work out... but I know that in the end it isn't me that is going to be doing the work, it will be the Spirit.

This week has been pretty long, then again it has been a little longer than a week. We had a really fun time at family home evening with Hailey and the Balmforths. We went on exchanges on Tuesday. Wednesday we had a really good lesson with Hailey and Alicia ( I am going to miss having Alicia around to help with lessons, she is so good!)

Alicia and Karee

 Hailey is so ready to be baptized, but is really wanting to finish reading the Book of Mormon first. We also had a few lessons with members encouraging them to have some questions in mind for conference. Thursday morning we went to the Bishop's storehouse to serve. It was pretty busy! I teamed up with Sister Ripley.

(There are many opportunities for missionaries to serve. One of these  was at the Bishops' Storehouse. The purpose of the Bishops' Storehouse is to
distribute commodities to the poor and needy as requested by bishops. Bishops’ storehouses also provide meaningful service opportunities for those receiving
assistance and for those desiring to serve missions or to volunteer.)

Elder and Sister Anderson and Karee at the Bishop's Storehouse

Karee's companion, Sis Godoy, Sis Ripley, and Karee at the storehouse

These missionaries all had the opportunity to help at the bishops' storehouse

She would push the cart and call out what we needed and how many and I would grab cans and boxes of food like crazy. Sister Ripley is such a fun lady. She and her husband actually have their own Hawaiian show (she is a hula dancer). I am going to have to come back to watch them! We had dinner with Hailey on Thursday and we got to know her a little more.

Hailey, Sis Godoy, and Karee

funny pics

 It was a lot of fun! We also have been having to help the elders get to know the people that we have been teaching so that they can take over when we leave (yes we are both leaving, currently there is not enough people to work with for two sets of Spanish missionaries). Conference of course was really good. Sister Godoy and I watched it in Spanish... which was good and bad. Luckily I will have the chance to go back and listen to it again... in English. Gerbert and Nilsa were able to come and so was Adeliris! It was so good to see them! And It is amazing how so many questions were answered. Adeliris found that one of the talks spoke just to her and it was about what we had talked to her about the night before.

Last night we did the Life of Christ activity again for the Young women of the Worcester first ward. It was really amazing! As I was helping pass out the objects I was thinking about what Christ has done for me. At one point it hit me that I am here, because of Him. In more ways than one. Yes, because He is my Savior, but also because of my faith in Him that I want to share with others.

Jen and Karee (one of the young women in Worcester)

As a missionary, I literally walk by faith. I have never seen Jesus, but I know that it is because of Him that I am here. I am serving the Lord because I know He lives. I may not be here to convince or to convert. Many times I feel inadequate to have been called to serve, but I know that I am here because I believe in Him. I do not doubt the things that my parents have taught me. I know that the Gospel has brought me so much joy and so many blessings. When something is so true that you cannot deny it, you have to share it. I know that God has blessed me with a love for the people here; and because I love them, I cannot keep from them all that I know. I have to share it. That is why I am here. I believe in Christ and I know that He came to the earth to live a perfect life and establish His Gospel. And then He took upon Him the sins, pains, and weaknesses of all who have lived, who live now and who will live. He was crucified but I know that He was resurrected on the third day. I know that He lives! And because He lives all of us can live and can return to live with our Heavenly Father. It is so wonderful.

I love you all!

Love always,

Sister K. Brown

Bye Bye Worcester!

Sis Godoy,  Sis Layton, Sis Hobbs, and Karee(Karee's roommates-all missionaries)

Sis Godoy and Karee

Sis Hobbs and Karee

Sis Layton and Karee

Sis Mendez and Karee making yummy papusas

Karee, Jan, and son, Jose

Golder and Karee

Ana and Karee

Lisa and granddaughter and Karee

The district in Worcester(a district is a group of 4-8 missionaries)

Sis Godoy, Nilsa, and Karee

Maria, Karee, and Ivi

Karee and Sis Williams and Aucua

The Rodriguez Family, Karee and Sis Godoy

Ethan and Karee

Sis Ferrin, Karee, and Sis Ence(Sis Ferrin's mom) two extraordinary women!

 Karee and Bro and Sis Lachmann(amazing RS President)

The Sanchez Family(lots of fun!)

 Mom's note: Karee grew to love the people of Worcester and had to get as many pictures as she could.

Be Christlike Not Just do Christian Things

September 30, 2013

As a missionary I have been seeking revelation on how I can become better and how I can best help those around me. It is interesting how you get answers sometimes. We were in district meeting Friday and someone was asking how they could help someone they were teaching. The words that came out of my mouth weren't my own but they worked and then I was able to apply them to the question that I had in mind. "Some people can't see the progress that they have made, but when others see them they can see a really big change." (or something like that).

The answer that I have received isn't that I don't have anything to improve on because I have made big changes in my life (changes that I couldn't see) but it was more that I have grown and I have learned that I have to do something more to receive more guidance. I do know what I need to do to receive this guidance. I started  to read from Preach my Gospel. (mom note: this is a missionary training book)

I read, "Just as vital as what you do, however, is who you are." (pmg 115). It then hit me that I have been worried too much about how I was spending my time and making sure we had enough to do. I was focused on getting things done (even though I didn't get down when we didn't have much to show at the end of the day as far as lessons). So how do I change? How do I become better? Well, it is like anything else. It starts with a desire, then I have to do my part, I have to act through study, and setting goals. One of the best examples was Christ Himself.

Christ asked us to follow Him (Matt. 4:19 and Mark 1:17). His disciples set an example for us on how we should respond, "and they straightway left their nets and followed him," (Matt 4:20). He set the example, He led the way, and then He told us who we should be, "Therefore, what ^cmanner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even ^das I am." (3 Nephi 27:27)

My question then becomes, How do I become more like Christ?

      1. Learn 

              2. Do

For this next week, I have to do my part to learn what Christ did and how He did it. I am going to be studying some Christlike attributes such as: Faith, hope, charity, virtue, knowledge, patience, humility.... (He made a really long list of to do's). Then make one goal at a time. Take it slow because I want to make sure to learn and that I am able to apply this to my life (not just here on the mission). 

 Preach my Gospel counsels us:

   Learning to be Christlike is a life long pursuit

    You follow Christ and develop attributes--- one action and one decision at a time (remember to be patient with yourself)

   Becoming like Christ requires exercising faith, repentance, keeping covenants, and receiving increased measure of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end.

Also, we cannot become perfect like Him by ourselves, we must try our best and then use the Atonement to make up the difference. Even when we are trying to be like Him, we need Him.

Karee and Isabel at church

Karee, Isabel, and Sis Hobbs at Isabel's confirmation

Conversion Story of Isabel

September 30, 2013

(Mom's note: Karee had the opportunity to teach Isabel about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Isabel wrote a letter to Karee's mission president to share of her experience. I have included this letter to let those of you following Karee's blog have an insight as to the purpose of her serving this mission. Hearts are touched and lives are changed through Jesus Christ)

Dear President Packard,

I would love to share my conversion story with you and Sister Packard, please feel free to share it with others who are seeking the truth and need encouragement. I feel that I have been truly blessed joining the church and am looking forward for my spiritual journey.

I believe that there are two parts to my conversion story: Worcester First Ward and my personal journey. 

Bishop Andros had announced to the Worcester First Ward that together they were going to fast to strengthen the ward and to help the missionaries back in May. From what I heard, after joining the church, the missionaries were having a hard time finding investigators, many of the members were fasting and then I showed up that first week of August. 

I had moved to Rutland back in January for a temporary job. After graduating college, it was really tough trying to find a job. I had this very strong urge to move to Boston but unfortunately every interview here never worked out.  I then moved to Colorado hoping that something would come up and that I would eventually live in Boston. I didn't grow up in any church, my mom had tried to raise me as a muslim but I could never follow it, I didn't feel like it was for me. I had been exposed to different churches especially in college but nothing ever made me like it was right. I agreed with most of them but not enough to pursue it. Regardless, I always prayed to God especially when I was feeling discouraged. I was at my very low in Denver, I felt like I had been abandoned. I had applied at Heifer International as my last hope, I had been contacting them for the past two years and thought that I would be able to get in. They called me back to tell me that they unfortunately had no more positions available. Receiving that phone call was the worst, I cried because I didn't know what I was going to do, I had no more options. At that moment, I told God that I didn't blame him and then thats when my phone rang. I answered it and it was my current supervisor now, he said that I was perfect for the job position they had in Rutland, that he could interview me right then and that I would get in. He also mentioned it was right by Boston but I couldn't believe my luck. I moved to Rutland in January. 

The experience I have gained at this job was exactly what I needed and it gave me direction, I became who I wanted to be someone confident, generally happy and secure in what I wanted. Theres a piece of this story, I haven't shared yet. I grew up living around the world and because of that I value friendship greatly because I know how easily it can be cut short. My best friend was serving a mission in Paraguay for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint. I had met him when I was fifteen and since then we had been writing to each other. When I had met him, he wasn't as involved in the Church but returned when he decided to serve a mission. He asked me to come see him before he left and invited me to Church. I remember having a great time. During his mission we continued to write, he begun writing to me about joining the Church and then sent missionaries to my parents home in Texas. This was about a year and a half ago. I was really upset because back then I didn't want to affiliate myself with one belief. I believed in God but I hadn't made a decision for myself. I told him that if he wanted to continue being my friend he had to understand that If I wanted to join the Church it would be my choice and because of this he couldn't talk to me about it. The reason why I bring this up is because of what my father said when the missionaries showed up at our house. I was very upset and my dad was even more upset with me, my father does not get disappointed with me often but there was definitely a sense of disappointment from him. He mentioned that he had been to the church before and had been friends with Elders that served in Chile when he was younger, that I should have invited them in and gave them a chance. At the end of June of this year, my friend returned from his mission trip and as he had promised me, we didn't talk about the church but I could see that something had changed. What my dad had said the me, was continuously repeating in my head so I went on the LDS website, typed in my address and left a message to Bishop Andros that I wanted to go to Church, and what time the service was at. I went to Church on fast sunday, coincidence because I had fasted to make sure I was making the right decision. I was going to give it a chance. I arrived to church early and saw the sisters walk in, I ran in behind them but when I came inside they were nowhere in sight, I walked around the church and sat down at a bench. Brother Velez popped his head out of one of the rooms and looked at me and asked if I was lost. I told him I wanted to be here but I wasn't very sure where I was suppose to go first and I felt like I had been walking in circles. Brother Velez then sat down and told me about the church, within those fifteen minutes of conversation was exactly what I had to hear to know that the church was true.

The first day I showed up at church was also the day I had the pleasure of meeting both of you. The Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints felt very familiar to me and still does. I wish I could write down how much joining the church has blessed me and all the tiny miracles I have witnessed that keep affirming my belief daily. I will forever be grateful for Worcester First Ward for being so great to me, they have really strengthened their ward and I could feel it. I will forever be grateful for the missionaries, they helped me feel the Holy Spirit when I needed it most and they were so patient with me during the lessons. I will forever be grateful to my best friend for introducing me to the Church, without him I would have had to wait for another opportunity to hear about the church. 

Thank you President Packard and Sister Packard, if you have any questions please feel free to write me back.

Sincerely,

Isabel

Heavenly Father's timing is not always my timing

September 23, 2013

Hola todos!

It's getting colder. Maybe we will get lucky and have another snowy Halloween. Last night we were at the Anderson's house and they were telling us all about the blizzard of '78. Apparently the whole town (maybe the state) was shut down for two weeks. How crazy would that be? 

This week seems to have flown by. We were given a list of sisters who do not currently have visiting teachers assigned to them by the visiting teaching coordinator. Our job has been to go through that list to find out why. Many of them have moved from the listed address. We have been quite busy with not only this list, but also trying to get in contact with all the Spanish members in the area. 

Wednesday we are going to have our first taste of "Split Night." The sister missionaries will go out with a few sisters in the ward to do their visiting teaching or visit a few less-actives while the elders will be going out with some of the brothers in the ward. With us as their temporary companions, we are able to reach and get to know more people, while the members are doing their duty as visiting or home teachers. The purpose of the Visiting and home teaching programs are to make sure that physical and spiritual needs of families and individuals are looked out for on a more personal basis. Two sisters are assigned as companions to visit with and leave a message with each of their assigned sister each month. The message can be and should be adapted to the individual needs of the sisters (or in the case of home teaching the families).

Conference is coming up! Just like how God spoke to the people through prophets in the Bible, He speaks to us today. He is our loving Heavenly Father and He gives guidance to us through His prophets. Here are a few ways that you can prepare yourself to hear the words of a modern day prophet called of God.  http://www.lds.org/general-conference/prepare-for?cid=HPTH091913094&lang=eng

We had a really good lesson with Hailey talking about how Heavenly Father loves us so much that He created a perfect plan for us. That He knows us so well to have sent us to the families that He sent us to. He knew the experiences we would need to have as children (especially the things that our parents taught us) to get us to where we are now. He knew exactly when and where to send us so that we could have the best chance to make the right decisions to get back to Him because that is truly what He wants. It is amazing how when we teach, I feel like we are teaching me. I felt like everything that was said during that lesson was something I needed to hear and be reminded of. We are all children of Heavenly Father and He really does love us. He really does want us to have the best that He can give us, but it is up to us to choose to receive the blessings that He is willing to give us.

The Baez family were sealed in the Boston temple this Saturday for time and all eternity. I was not able to attend myself, but I was told that it was a very beautiful and joyous experience. I was able to talk to Sister Baez last night and she told me all about how the boys were good the whole time, how peaceful she felt after and how she feels like a different person now. There are no words to tell how much this family means to me and how happy I am that they have been sealed. They have made covenants that will bring their family so much happiness and so many blessings. 

The Baez  family and Karee

Talking about covenants, Ashley from Boston, was baptized yesterday. Once again, I wish with all my heart that I could have been there to support her. If there is one thing I learned this week it is that Heavenly Father's timing is not always my timing, but that His timing is always perfect. While I don't know exactly what came of my presence here in Worcester those two days, I do know that Heavenly Father does need me here for a reason and that by small and simple things, great things come to pass. Heavenly Father knew exactly what would happen those two days and He knew how to best help His children. The time right now is not mine, I have chosen to give it to the Lord. It might be a little weird to some people, but to me it means that I have a few sacrifices to make now, so that later the joy can be so much greater! I know that those friendships will be stronger and the time that we share together will be sweeter!

The pictures:

Remember how SIster Godoy called me Barbie in Malibu? Well we found my house! We just had to get a picture. Too bad I wasn't wearing anything more flashy.

 

 

Karee's companion called Karee Barbie and her Malibu car and then they found Barbie's house

The Young Women had a cooking activity where they prepared meals for a family in the ward. They were there without a camera and I decided to step up. I am not the best photographer in the world... far from it, but they did have a fun time.

Young Womens activity

Karee and a youth from the ward

making a dinner for a family in the ward

I love you all!

Love always,

Sister K. Brown

A Short One this Week!

September 9, 2013

Sister Miller and Karee baking at Sis Lachmann's house(MOM note: this picture was sent to me by Sis Lachmann.  A special lady watching out for Karee. )

 

 

 

 

Dearest family and friends,

I am learning so much! I hope that all is well at home and that you are not in a dust blown library like I am. (something wrong with the air system, no worries they just fixed it).

Tuesday, Sister Godoy really wanted to have some Dunkin' Donuts so because we didn't have a dinner, I typed it into the GPS and we found the nearest one. Luckily it was right next to a little convenient shop and I was able to have something...less greasy.  It is funny for me to see how she reacts to some of the culture conveniences that we have here. Whipped cream from a can was funny to see. But she sure does know her Spanish. That is really helping me.

We have been doing a lot of less-active finding here in Worcester especially with the Spanish population. This week we got back in contact with a sister, Iris. She is the mother of five and has led a really hard life. She is pretty loud and a little crazy, but a lot of fun! We are going to be working with her for sure. She has a daughter who is just a year or two older than me and she reminds me so much of Natalie P. I can't wait to start working with her more. 

We also started teaching Hailey. She is currently a student at one of the many colleges/universities here in Worcester. She is golden like Isabel. She was introduced to the church by her boyfriend and his family, but she is here on her own. No one made her come to church and meet us. We met on Thursday and she has such a strong desire to learn. We taught her about the Restoration and she said it makes sense. She loves to serve and loves that the church gives so many opportunities to do so. 

I think the thing that I realized most this week is that there are so many people here to look after me. I guess sometimes I get pretty busy. But no matter where we are or what we are doing, there is constantly some one there to feed us or check up on us. There are families here that would be willing to feed us every night if we would let them. Women who take me under their wing like I am their own daughter. Making sure I am taking care of myself physically and emotionally. Many of them don't know how much it really means to me. How to me they are answers to my own mother's prayers. They don't know that I will be forever grateful for them and all that they do. Heavenly Father is so aware of His missionaries and has and will continue to put people in their way to take care of them. We protected from harm and then some. A lot more "some!"

 

So I ate something totally disgusting to think about... really it was just chewy and I swallowed it down. Sister Godoy thought that they weren't too bad and ended up eating 7 or so. Oysters right? Or are they clams? I don't actually know because she said the name in Spanish and I don't really know which is which. Thank you Sister Sanchez for this dinner adventure.

Sis Sanchez and Sis Godoy

I love you all!

Always,

Sister K. Brown

(Sorry this letter is not quite what last weeks was

Sweetest Experience Yet!

September 2, 2013

Sister Hobbs, Isabel, and Karee  at Isabel's baptism.

Yesterday at 4:13 pm, one of my best friends made a covenant with Heavenly Father when she was baptized by someone who holds the Priesthood authority. And it was one of the Sweetest experiences of my life!

I am not sure if it was exactly at 4:13, but I do know that it was one of the sweetest experiences! 

The anticipation for this day has been unbelievable, and it started way before Sunday morning. I don't know who was more anxious, Isabel or me. We had originally set a date for the 15th so that her friend could come and preform the baptism, but when she found out that he would not be able to get leave from his duties on the reserve she said, "Why wait?" Preparations were made and the date was officially moved up to the 1st. This week has been great! It was a lot of work but totally worth every minute! 

Monday we went to visit a ward member who broke her ankle at girls camp... some of the things that leaders will do to help the young women have fun.... I love it! Then we went to Niobe's house. We had a wonderful meeting with a few less actives and we picked up a few things for Isabel's baptism. Then we met with Isabel at the church to review the Plan of Salvation and the commandments. 

Tuesday we met her briefly at a library to talk about her life plans, mostly because we are all friends and because she needed someone to talk to. We also met Nilsa and Ana, had lunch with a wonderful family from Ghana. Helped a sister move. A dinner and a meeting... full day.

Wednesday we went to the farm (p-day) where she works for a tour. It is amazing the things that I learned. I wouldn't mind living on a farm for the summer. She showed us their huge garden. 

The farm that Karee  and Sis Hobbs visited. Isabel works there.(Picture perfect. The American flag hanging down from the barn)

The leaves that we could eat  that are sweet like sugar because it is used as a sweetener and why they plant beans and corn together. She taught us that they use their pigs to till the garden because they are really good at digging. We went around to the different houses that represent different houses and cultures around the world. I might have jumped at the chickens....

Sister Hobbs and Karee with a llama and an alpaca at the farm

 

After the fun in the country we visited with a few families and said goodbye to a sister who will be moving away after she gets married.

Thursday we had transfer meeting.

Sister Wagner and  Karee

Sister Wagner, Sis Jordan, and Karee

Sis Gomez and Karee.

 I got a car! It is a gold Chevy Malibu... not sure if I like it, but it is a car. Sister Godoy said, "You are like Barbie in her Malibu!" We let Sister Godoy and Sister Layton (Sister Hobbs' new companion) get settled into the apartment. Sister Godoy is so cute.

Hermana Godoy and Hermana Brown (new companions)

 She doesn't really speak any English but knows more that she thinks. It has definitely been fun to get back into the Spanish speaking mode. I am actually surprised by how much I have been able to communicate with her. We talk all the time. She is definitely an answer to my prayers and my efforts to do my best to learn the language. Now I have the chance to really pick it up and run with it. I will also be teaching her English. She is actually a Spanish teacher back in Argentina where she is from, so we both have a lot to learn form each other. But I definitely get the better deal. She is the sixth of eight. She likes to have fun. Her favorite English words are "oh my goodness".  We also met the elders and Isabel at the church for her interview. Elder Broadhead said that she passed with a triple A+ (not that it was graded). She seemed so happy and giddy. Then we had to pick out a jumpsuit for her. It was a lot of fun!

Friday we had district meeting and lunch together. Then we went to Irini and the sanchez sisters both. Sister Godoy had so much fun with the Sanchez sisters. Finally able to talk to people who knew what she was saying probably. 

Saturday we went to a bunch of peoples houses We went to dinner at Sister Aragon's house. The elders were there too, a little bit of bad planning on my part. Elder Gonzalez, who was in Boston while I was there made sure I got more than enough food... guess some things never change. 

Sunday was the BIG day! Sister Hobbs and I stood in the doorway so that we could give her her towel when she came out. She was so happy! We gave exchanged some wet hugs and then she got changed... Yes Sister Hobbs and I cried. It was such a joyous experience. 

I love you All!

Love always,

Sister K. Brown

Get Excited!

August 28, 2013

Biggest news in the world! Isabel is getting baptized this Sunday! Isabel has told us to "Get excited!" a couple times. She is so excited! She was originally planning on getting baptized on the 15th so that her friend could come and baptize her but he couldn't get leave from the reserves so she said, "why wait?" So we got things together and it looks like things are going to be great!

Also some more news, I am getting yet another companion. Sister Godoy. She is from Argentina, so she is a native Spanish speaker, so I think I might become a better speaker this transfer. My goal is to speak to her as much as I can in Spanish. It would seem as though we have a lot of work to do with finding some less active members. I think we will be doing more of the tracting style of missionary work. Nothing to complain about, I am actually really excited and ready to get out and find some of the lost sheep.

Also, Elder Gonzalez who was my district leader in Boston is going to be coming out. He is really going to help the Spanish group out here he is so awesome and motivating for the members.

Things ended up going really well with Sister Hansen our mini missionary. She probably thought we were crazy on Monday, but the rest of the week went very well. We were able to go on a few splits and see a bunch of people. We started teaching another lady named Niobe. She is from the Dominican Republic and has two little boys. She speaks Spanish and so does Heidi so we will start out with a few Spanish speaking people to teach. 

Sorry this email is short, but we ended up going to the farm where Isabel works. It is an international non-profit organization that helps other people become more self-reliant. Sounds like what you would work on dad! It was really neat. Have a great week.

LOve you all!

Hna. K. Brown

Sis Hobbs, Isabel, and Karee on the farm

Blessed!

August 19, 2013

Sis Hobbs(Karee's companion) going on splits(this is where the companions split up and go with a member to visit less active members or investigators)with one of the young women from church

Karee on splits with one of the young women.

One thing I really like is that when ever you try to take the time to be grateful for what you have been given by Heavenly Father, He always finds ways to bless you more.

This week has been one of those weeks where I have been blessed more and more each day. Honestly it started out as one of those weeks that I was feeling like I wasn't doing my best. Like I wasn't as good as what the people here actually need. One morning in particular as we were planning to have a first visit with a Spanish lady and I was feeling like I haven't been good enough at keeping up my Spanish, we got a phone call from the Assistants to the presidents. They wanted to know if we would like to take a mini missionary (a young woman 16-18 who was thinking about serving a mission and wanted to see what the life of a missionary is like). We, thinking it was going to be for the week end agree. "Great so she will come Saturday night and we will pic her up Friday night." Wait, what? Yep that's right, we have her for a whole week. It was during that time when I was feeling so unqualified that they called to tell us that they had been praying and felt that we would be able to set good example and give her a great experience. Heavenly Father's way of saying, not only have I trusted you with the people in two wards, not only have I trusted you with the people to teach (Golder, Isabel, Nilsa, Jim, and a few others), not only have I trusted you to help Sister Hobbs by being an example of an "older missionary," but now I am going to trust you to take care and make sure that this future missionary has a good time and learns about what the life of a missionary really is. 

Isabel is really perfect. She has such a desire to study and to learn. All we really have to do is answer an occasional question and give her some reading assignments. She has a friend who recently got off his mission in Paraguay, who has been helping her out a lot as well. She has really been prepared to receive the Gospel. This week we saw her Sunday after church, then Monday with the Hererra family for dinner and family home evening, then Tuesday night where we talked about modern day prophets and reviewed the Plan of Salvation pamphlet. Thursday we brought her some left over dinner (spicy, yummy! Ghanaian food) and some papusas (also very delicious!) She brought us some fresh veggies from the garden/farm where she lives. We talked about the baptismal covenant and what that really means. We talked about repentance and a little about the word of wisdom. Which went along well with the fact that we ate healthy food (that was not planned). She went to Montreal for the weekend and is going to have a really busy week, but she said she would read Our Search for Happiness along with Mosiah 3 and 4. She loves to read. Her friend, Cody, got a hold of our number and called us to see if we could set up things for the baptism. He wants to baptize her. We were so grateful that he had thought of that because we had no way of getting a hold of him to ask. 

It looks like I will be getting a new companion in about a week and a half. A spanish sister so that we can start focusing on the Spanish group here. It will be different. And that means I won't really be able to teach Isabel anymore. Which is really quite sad. I have really enjoyed her real intent and her desire to do what Heavenly Father wants her to do.

She had prayed about coming to church. Then she called the number that was listed online. When the Bishop's wife called her back she knew she had to go. She went and she really felt the Spirit. She is very aware of the Spirit and says that she feels it every time she is around us. A little when she prays and at certain points when she is at church. But always when she is with us. Her prayers are sincere and heartfelt and she always give thanks for us. I don't feel adequate in teaching her because I know she deserves that best, as does everyone. It is an honor that Heavenly Father would trust us with her. 

The lesson with Heidi, a young lady starting a family (friend of the Rodriguez family) was hard. I am not up to par, with my Spanish. But she said that she wanted to learn more and she was at church on Sunday! There were a couple other non-members at church. It is becoming really obvious that Heavenly Father has something big and something great planned for the people here and He is going to make sure it gets done. I am excited!

Golder called and told us she misses us. Sometimes I feel like we go and just sit while she watches TV or cooks or we talk to her. Sometimes I wonder if she really even likes us coming over, but I guess she does. 

Sundays are now really long. I started my day at 4:45 and was able to get some studies in. We had a meeting at 8 and then Spanish group started at 9. Then it was time for round two. First ward seemed a little bit longer. But we made it. We stayed at church for a total of 8 hours in total. Time well spent I would say.Then we went on splits once again (yes I lucked out and went with Alicia.) We had a great dinner appointment and we able to have two lessons, talking about the Atonement and the importance of faith in Christ. But the best part was that we got to stop by Sister William's house and see her new baby. Not even a week old. She is tiny! And adorable. There is always a special spirit in the homes where there are new born babies. 

We had a visit with Jim and his wife. We had prayed about what we should talk to them about and we both agreed that the Plan of Salvation was what he needed. We talked about how he was a lot like my father. How he is constantly looking for ways to serve others and how he has a sincere love for people. We watched Earthly Father Heavenly Father Mormon message. I love that one because it reminds me how I really am a daughter of Heavenly Father and how much He really does love me.

I want all of you to know, that no matter how you feel, no matter how inadequate or unqualified you feel, you are a child of God. He has a plan for you. He wants you to be happy. And He is willing to help you find greater happiness and purpose in life if you just ask Him. He loves you and He wants to bless you. He sent His Son to atone for our sins so that He would know exactly how to help lift us in our lowest points. Take some time to be thankful for the things that you have and you will realize that He has given you so much!

I love you and hope all is well.

Love always,

Sister K. Brown