March 3

9 meses. I´m sooo old.

First things first. My keyboard is broken and the exclamation point doesn´t work. That´s fine though because I´m not an excited or at all emotional person. HA (exclamation point)

This week was great but a little rough. I have some great life changing experiences that really changed me forever. I have learned so much about humility and pride. I have been able to start some weeding this week. My pride is so deeply rooted in me it´s ridiculous. After some yanking and pulling I´ve started weeding it out of me....but it´s a process, a process that has to happen everyday. I made a firm decision this week to be more humble- to accept the criticsm and help of others, to always lift, love and edify.
I LOVE this talk from President Benson "Beware of Pride".
Here´s some highlights:

"Our degree of pride determines how we treat our God and our brothers and sisters. Christ wants to lift us to where He is. Do we desire to do the same for others?"
"Let us choose to be humble.
We can choose to humble ourselves by conquering enmity toward our brothers and sisters, esteeming them as ourselves, and lifting them as high or higher than we are."

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1989/05/beware-of-pride

 I love this talk. My challenge for each of you this week is to print off this talk and highlight all the ways that you can be more humble. It´s a liberating feeling to better yourself.

This week we saw some lovely miracles. We are working with a lot of Less and Inactives. It´s so rewarding. We are working with an incredible family that hasn´t had contact with the church in years. The mom has quickly become our mom and has been to church the past 2 Sundays. (exclamation pointS) The dad who has been inactive even longer is planning to come next week and they´re planning on bringing their nonmember friends who have baptism dates in 2 weeks. Pray for them

Being a missionary is so hard. I love how Sister Hunter said a few weeks ago in her email. I love being a missionary even when sometime I don´t like it. I love these opportunities that I´m having to learn and struggle in ways that I never thought were possible. Sister Fernelius and I had a miracle the other day. We were having a ridiculously awful day. We decided to sit on a bench by the bus station and talk to Heavenly Father. We sat there and cried and prayed together and then opened Livro de Mormon randomly to a page to see what HF had to say to us. We opened to Alma 14 and burst out laughing when we read about another set of struggling missionaries.

The chapter heading reads:
"Alma and Amulek are imprisoned and smitten—The believers and their holy scriptures are burned by fire—These martyrs are received by the Lord in glory—The prison walls are rent and fall—Alma and Amulek are delivered, and their persecutors are slain."

Thanks for the reminder HF, it could be a lot worse. At least we aren´t being burned to death or stripped naked and left to die in prison.

I love being a missionary. I love this gospel. I love learning.

Thank you for your love and support and prayers (exclamation point)

Love and hugs and beijos and felicidade from Brasil,

Sister Brown

ps- I´m NOT pregnant. This was on my 9 month mark so naturally we had to take pregnant pictures. Haha