Angels in Colorado

Hello World!

Um did this week even happen? It went so fast. Missionary time is so weird and so unlike anything else in the world. I feel like I know nothing and just started my mission but at the same time I feel like I've been away forever.

 It's strange to think that exactly 2 months ago from this very moment I was stepping into the MTC wondering what in the world I had gotten myself into. My life 2 months ago feels like another life- I feel like a new person. Bleh. I can't even explain it. It's wonderful. In summary- Happy 2 months.

 

Yesterday was Sunday, obviously. We've been doing okay about getting investigators to church in the past but for some reason yesterday we only had one- Mr.Tim who comes every week with his wife already. We were a little bummed.

Then the meeting started.

The last speaker was this funny older man who just....is umm funny. He was assigned to talk about obedience and somehow started talking about his daughter who had been in prison.. He then decided to tell us about one very special night about 30 years ago his wife came home from a Relief Society activity and told him they needed to have another baby.

Prepare yourself

Then he talked about how that very night she was conceived.

Over the pulpit.

Oh my word

Then we were suddenly a little bit less sad that our investigators didn't show up.

This was also the same day in church that I sat down and during the sacrament I realized that I forgot to put on my nametag. What kind of a missionary forgets their nametag?? It's like a parent forgetting their child in the grocery store...but worse.

I thankfully had my hair down and proceeded to spend the next 3 hours pulling my hair in front of where my tag should be and awkwardly holding my scriptures and binder up on my chest.

 

Ok, I have one more ridiculous story and then we can be spiritual and stuff.

 

**Reader Discretion Advised**

 

Sister Hunter and I have really been pushing service. We called a lady in the ward who had gotten injured and had to  beg her to let us come clean her house. I told her we would do anything from scrubbing her toilet to washing her dog. She agreed to let us come over and clean her bathroom.

I wish I had taken a before picture. It was beyond filthy. There was clumpy dog hair EVERYWHERE, mucus splattered on the sink, and hair dye smeared on the counter. We had fun cleaning and left it sparkly. Right before we left I remembered I hadn't done the toilet. I opened it to find that it hadn't been cleaned like...well ever. It was more brown than white. I had told her I would clean her toilet and so I asked if she had a toilet scrubber.

She didn't.

So then I did the most Christian thing I could. I took a huge breath, stuck my naked hand in and with a crummy rag scrubbed the human waste off the side of the toilet.

Sister Hunter was speechless and disgusted. I am happy to report that we left ALL of that bathroom sparkly- even the under rim of the toilet.

 

This week I really feel like I hit my stride (or at least started to). It feels so good. I went on exchanges to the most ghetto and richest ward in Colorado- probably the church. I stayed the night in a members 3 million dollar home (only one of their 3) and then proselyted the day away in government housing. It gave me such a new perspective and a new vision. Also my sister training leader is a missionary with a missionary boyfriend so that was way adorable and wonderful. Yay for hitting my stride.

 Are you dying to hear about my investigators? Of course you are. We have another new, black investigator named Cynthia and she is as great and as black as they come! I'm surrounded by black people. God loves me!!

 In other exciting news, one of our investigators is trying to decide between being a witch and a baptism date. Hmmm they sure never taught me how to deal with that in the MTC.

 Our musical fireside took  a cool turn this week. We decided that we're going to do something similar to the LDV missionary fireside since we're both LDV-ers. It's going to be a night of music about Christ. Sister Hunter and I are both going to sing solos and we have about 5 other numbers lined up from the stake. We're even having harp prelude so that's just way cool. We're also having 4 different converts share their stories and testimonies and we have a goal to have half of the audience be nonmembers. The members are all so excited about it! It's a great nonthreatening way to get people into our building. The word has spread so fast and it's turned into such a big deal that we might have to broadcast it to other rooms in the building and have interpreters. Exciting!!

 

Ok, I know this is already a long email but I have one more story to share.

Last Monday was a super rough day! I was feeling mono creeping in, we got dropped by one of our favorite investigators, I just felt overwhelmed and the world was just not a happy place.

We were moping around pretending we were fine and then realized our finances were messed up moments before we were going into the store to get groceries. There's a long explanation to why but we went into the store with no funds to pay for what we knew we needed to buy.

As we were checking out, a tough, Polynesian man in a wife beater and his scantily clad girlfriend came over to me- not the stereotypical Mormon looking couple. We had never seen them before. He thrust something into my hand, smiled and told me to have a nice day before quickly rounding the corner.

 I looked down to see a folded $20 bill in my hand .

After paying for our groceries with his money, we went out to the car, cried and prayed.

That man had NO idea that I was having one of the hardest days of my mission. He had NO idea that we had no money to pay for our groceries. He had NO idea that I had prayed moments before to just feel taken care of and loved.

God is so real. This world is so full of angels.

I am so grateful that I get to be a missionary. I'm not going to lie and say that everything is butterflies and rainbows because it's not. This is the hardest thing I have ever done. Even still, I love being a missionary. I love this gospel. I love the Book of Mormon. I love Jesus Christ. I am learning to love the people of Colorado, I know this is not my work but truly the work of the Lord. I know He is always with me and that I truly am surrounded by angels- those I see and those I can't.

I love you all!

 

loves from Colorado,

 

 

Sister Brown