Hermana Brown -- Arizona Mesa Mission: WEEK 25: Adventure is Out There!

Oh my goodness it's been such a crazy week but definitely a good one! I can't wait to tell you all about it.

So Monday we had a great noche de hogar with Socorro at the Familia Orona. They are a great family and a bit older but so sweet. We talked about the Holy Ghost and stuff like that. We ended up not even doing most of the talking but it's good Socorro is making lots of friends! But we were talking about how one Hermano Orona is going to get his other leg amputated (yeah he already lost one of his legs) and then Socorro brought up how she is having circulation problems in one of her legs, and if the treatment she's doing right now doesn't work she's going to have get it amputated:(. So hopefully that won't need to happen. We've been going walking with her a few mornings this week to give her full support and know that we're here for her.

On Tuesday we went over to Socorro's with the elders to give her a priesthood blessing for her leg and it was so good. Also she is sooo smart! The elders asked her a few questions about the priesthood and she answered very logically. Sis Judy and I were very proud of her. We also had a lesson with the Andujo boys and we taught them the restoration. It went really well! Julian (the 16 year old) had a lot of good questions for us and seems really interested and curious as to what the church is all about. Chris is a little harder to connect with because he doesn't talk much, but eventually he will open up.

On Wednesday we went walking with Socorro and she gave us breakfast afterward and we talked about the BofM! She is soooo great! We also had a lesson with Andrea and Gabby. They live in a trailer park so they're pretty close with all the kids that live there. So as their friends were walking by they invited them to come join the group. So we taught a group of about eight kids that night and it was so fun! We talked about prophets and why they're important, the. We played "the prophet says" like Simon says and it was so fun! It's so much fun to teach kids because they are so loving and always want to be our friends.

On Thursday we got to help out with something they were doing at the seminary! So basically they're trying to better prepare the kids who want to go in a mission but also for those experiences we have when a non member asks a question about our religion and they want them to feel comfortable asking those questions. So what we did is, as they studied for scriptures and ways they could answer these questions we would go around and help guide them and find scriptures or quotes they could use. Then they would go around to different rooms and role play with other missionaries! It was so great to see these high school kids preparing to share the gospel. A lot of them are already very prepared and did really well answering the questions. A lot of very prepared missionaries are coming our Way! And at the end we got to share our testimonies about the restoration and give them a boost. So that was a really cool thing to help with and I think all seminaries should do it! We also met with Hermana Ledezma that day and she's doing really well. She told us her son in the marines wants to get baptized and that she fully supports him, and she still wants to keep learning more. We read President Monson's talk about choices with her and she LOVED it. I hope she can gain a stronger testimony of prophets that way. That talk is so great because it's short but very powerful, so we read it with people all the time.

On Friday we had seminary again and also weekly planning! So good. We also met with some members for the night because we were supposed to teach English classes but no one showed up so we left.

On Saturday we went to the VC with Socorro to watch Meet the Mormons! She absolutely loved it and it was a great one to see. Her favorite story was the guy without the leg (the missionary dad) and we know she was thinking about her leg, but she is so strong and will get through everything. Then we went to go help he familia Novak move from their apartment to this cute house! They have the cutest two little kids that wanted to help clean. And by the end Abby and I were best friends. She wanted to play hide and go seek with me but unfortunately we have to stay within sight and sound of our companion and we can't be alone with kids. So it was hard to tell her no, but we played with blocks instead.

On Sunday we had six investigators at church: Socorro, Osman, Brent, Andrea, Gabby, and Alma! And also Andrea and Gabby went to primary! That's going to help there progression. It was so good to see them all there and also the familia Cervantes came again for sacrament meeting!!! It's so great to see them, coming back and renewing their covenants. There were also amazing talks given by this young couple and they both talked a lot about faith. One of the best sacrament meetings I have ever attended. Then we had a lesson with Andrea and Gabby that night about the sabbath day. It was so fun and they a such great girls. We also officially set Andrea's date for the 12th of May, so we will be having a busy month of May! But then later the elders showed up to do an inspired visit with the whole family, part of the Idaho initiative. And it was so powerful! The two girls got priesthood blessings and the parents did as well, and then they did a blessing on the home. The Spirit was so strong and I think that's just what the family has been needing. Hermano Estrada is going to prepare to receive the priesthood and they're also going to prepare to go to the temple one day! It's going to be so good for them. We also got our transfer news that night and.......... I'm staying, but unfortunately Sister Judy went to Pueblo :( we transferred today and it was hard to say goodbye but I'm oficially greenie broke! I was sooooo lucky to get Sis Judy as a companion. But the really interesting thing is, is that I'm going to be in a trio again! They combined our area with the other sisters area and now we are a trio! So it's me, Hermana Gutierrez, and Hermana Hershey. It's gonna be fun!

So yesterday we had a family night at the familia Pozos and so many people came and it was a huge success! Socorro came with the familia Perez, the elders and their investigator came, and Valeria Pozos friend Jesus! Jesus is so prepared, before the noche de hogar we met with him. He is Valeria Pozos friend and she invited him to seminary and he really really liked it! He loved what he learned and told us he wants to become Mormon and he got permission from his parents, so there's another baptism that will probably happen this month because the Pozos are leaving at the end of this month to Washington. But the family night was great. Socorro shared a scripture, Keyla Perez taught the lesson, and we did a fun activity at the end. Then we all ate cookies and socialized and Sister Judy said bye to everyone. We also went to visit Osman last night and had another lesson just kind of about decisions and did a little bit of a test. It was so good and we are so lucky to teach him. He always expects us to come over when we set appointments and then he said he prepares himself for the visit. He also told us he wants to prepare to serve a mission one day! He's not even baptized but we know he wants it so bad.

So this morning we did all the switching and now I'm with my new companions. Trio round 2! Haha. It's going to be a good transfer and Socorro's baptism is coming up as well as Andreas!!!! Love you all so much I really do appreciate all the love and support that you send out to the missionaries, it makes a big difference!

Hermana Brown

Bad quality picture, but this is from Andrea and gabby lesson and we
taught all of their friends too!

Sister Judy taking selfies on my ipad while I'm praying :)

The brunch Sis Judy and I made :)

At the Novaks new house!

A family we ate dinner with! The kids kept wanting to play hide and go seek with us so we finally did outside and this is our ninja picture! The little boy is getting baptized on Saturday!