Reassigned to Houston, Texas until visa comes!

August 9,2013

this it the area where Calvin will be serving

reassignment letter saying where Calvin will serve until his visa comes

I'm going to the Texas Houston South Mission!!!! I leave on the 13th. Elder Young is going to SLC south, Elder Carr is going to Brazil he got his Visa, Elder Anderson is going to Billings, Montana, Elder Johnson is going to Denver and Elder Rhoton is going to SLC with Young. Sister Husky, one of the sisters is going to the OTM(Oklahoma Tulsa Mission) that's our mission back home! Other sisters, Sister Brewer and Evans are going to Tuscon AZ mission Sister Clive and Van are going to Oregon. 

I am so excited to go to Texas!! I leave at 3:30 Tuesday morning. I cant believe how fast it has flown by its crazy! I got a hair cut today it doesn't look too bad lol. and now I just have to pack and get ready to leave.

Calvin's new hairdo. Time to pack now!

 we had in-field orientation and it just made me want to share the gospel. Its so easy and simple!  Our Branch president got released last Sunday. He was awesome. He had been the president of the 54th district for 4 and a half years.  He shared a quote with us that I really liked "Don't cry because its over, smile because it happened"

Love

Elder Brown
 

One of Calvin's teacher's Brother Pinho who is from Brazil and served a mission there also

Calvin and Bro Coffman, 1st counselor in branch presidency at the MTC

Calvin's other Portuguese teacher, Brother Durfee who also served a mission in Brazil

Hey From Texas!

August 19, 2013

Elder Gallegos and Calvin at the MTC(Elder Gallegos is from Texas, the mission Calvin is going to)

Hey from Texas!   This week has been awesome. I am so excited to finally be in the mission field.
I love it here! It has been a very busy week and a very productive week as well. The people here are great. We have a small branch(small church group) that has around 200 people, but only around 20 show up on Sundays. Last week there were around 48 and this week there were only 29. We are working hard to make this small branch into a ward( a geographic area). We have around 16 investigators.  Some are part member families. Yesterday we had a devotional and in our zone(missionaries serving in a geographical area) we had 7 investigators at it, 5 of which were ours. We had some of the recent converts speak and share about how they came to know the church was true, it was really great! And on the way up to Bay City (it was about a 30 min drive) I taught the ten commandments to 5 kids that are investigating the church it was awesome. We rode in a limo so all the kids were excited to be there. In our area, we have a senior couple named Brother and sister Funk they drive a limo and take us places. 

Brother and Sister Funk and Calvin at the temple

Sometimes with investigators its pretty awesome. I went on exchanges(local members help out with rides and go on visits with the missionaries). The other day  a cool thing happened. It is so neat to see the Lord's hand in His work. We had just finished a lesson and we still had 10 minutes so we started walking the the next complex we got there and the gate was locked so we started walking back and a man was walking towards us. I said hi and asked how he was doing and he said just fine and told us the missionaries use to teach him and he wanted us to start teaching him again. We set up an appointment. We didn't have a prompting to walk a certain way or anything we were just trying to go visit someone else and ran into a man that wanted to have the discussions again it was perfect. And another story happened 2 days ago, we had been going from appointment to appointment with no luck. No one was home.  So we decided to go see a lady in a different apartment complex and when we drove up we saw a lady trying to take a tv out of her car. It wasn't a big tv, but we stopped her and asked if we could help.She let us carry it in for her and she invited us in. She then started telling us her life story. She liked to talk a lot but she has lived through 6 car wrecks where she rolled her car in all of them and lived through cancer, and open heart surgery. She doesn't have any kids or any family left and is a super strong christian lady. She saw a lady about 6 months ago that didn't look too good and decided to bring her home with her. It turns out the lady that she took in has like 4 types of cancer and she has been taking care of her and taking her to chemo and taking care of this stranger out of pocket she is SO nice and wanted us to come back to teach this next week because of how nice we were. She also isn't afraid of dying because of everything she has gone through. And she was super happy and told us we didn't even know what was in store for in the next life she said it was going to be awesome she says she is alive still so she can help the lady with cancer but I think we were put into her life at just the right time I am so excited to teach her next week! We also have about 3 or 4 weddings we are trying to set up and plan before some of our investigators can get baptized. We got 5 baptismal dates from a  family which is exciting. There is plenty of work here for us to do trying to build up the branch and get more less actives to come back. I am so excited to be here and teach the people here in Texas. Even though it has been over 100 degrees and super humid everyday, it dosen't matter. The awesome people here are making up for it.  

Elder Sabando, Elder Howell, and Calvin in front of the Houston temple

July 26, 2013

The elders in Calvin's district

Family,

Hows it going? I feel like I have been here for years. This past week I jamed my thunb playing volley ball. It was a lot of fun till that happened.  I didnt want to go to the docter cause then I couldn't play the next day so I just left it.

jammed thumb from playing volleyball during gym time.

 That happened on Tuesday, then on Wednesday I played soccer and scored 3 or 4 goals. It was awesome! I usually write down stuff I want to tell you guys but I always forget it. Today Elder  Young and I got to leave the campus to go get my pants fixed. My pocket in my suit pants ripped on the side and my gray pants ripped in the crotch. It was kinda weird being in the real world for half an hour. I am in Alma 32 trying to read it all a week early now and finish a week before I leave the MTC. The language is not really going anywhere I feel like everyone else is learning still and I am not learning anything but hopefully soon I will catch up.  

Testifying of Christ can sometimes be awkward but Satan totally uses that to his advantage to make us not open our mouths so whenever you get a prompting and it feels awkward say it you will help in destroying Satan's kingdom. 

We really need to work on planning for our investigators. I have really noticed how much it helps and how the spirit only helps you when you actually plan.

 The visa thing is really only a problem for Brazil. There are so many people waiting. 

 I also stubbed my toe. It was a big blood blister though.

Tuesday we left the devotional early because my companion wasn't feeling too good. We were singing in the choir and he leaned over and said lets go! We went back to our room and then later we gave him a blessing and about ten minutes later he puked and then he felt great haha. I can't remember anything else that happened but next week I will have some of my notes from devotionals and stuff like that that I will tell you guys about.

Love,

Elder Brown

Provo, Ut temple

Awaiting your arrival in Brazil!

August 2, 2013
Happy Birthday, Calvin!

Calvin in his new birthday greenie tie that his sister, Katelyn made!

We just got back from cleaning the temple. It was Awesome! We cleaned the locker room and the sisters got to clean the chandeliers. The temple worker gave all of us a little piece of the original chandeliers from the celestial room. They are replacing them and they kept some of the pieces from the original when the temple was built.

Thanks so much for all the gifts! I got them a few days ago. Love the tie Kate lol(MOM note: Calvin's sister Katelyn made him a greenie tie. That is what a new missionary is called)

 The language is getting better. We tried to speak only Portuguese yesterday in class and it was pretty quiet. The best way to learn the language is to speak it. The devotionals are awesome.My teacher told us a few weeks ago something that was pretty cool. The scripture that says "the field is white and ready to harvest". Well when the field is yellow that means the wheat is ready to be harvested and when it turns white that means the wheat needs to be harvested soon or it will go bad and he related that to missionary work. It is pretty cool!

A sister in our district got her visa and 5 others got theirs in 2 other districts. The sister in our district will stay here and leave for Brazil the same day we are scheduled to leave. Hopefully we all get them soon!  My mission president wrote all the elders and sisters a letter which I will enclose:

 

Elders and Sisters

We look forward awaiting his arrival in the mission ....

Our fasting is beginning to bear fruit and we already have 30 baptisms in 02 weeks and now we have two more weeks to baptize 45 more!! All want to inherit the celestial kingdom, and would like you to contemplate on these words of Nephi: Oh! How big is the plan of our God! Because, on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous and the spirit and the body shall be reunited again, and all men will become incorruptible and immortal and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh, with the difference that our knowledge shall be perfect. We will therefore have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness, and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, with the robe of righteousness. And what will happen when all men shall have passed from this first death unto life, becoming immortal, they must appear before the court in the Holy One of Israel, and then cometh the judgment, and will be judged according to the holy judgment of God. (2 Nephi 9:13-15) We should take care of us and not worry about others and never be surprised when someone we know very, moves away from the gospel, or so it is unfair to us or to our next ... President J. Reuben Clark taught: "The ravening wolves are found among us, with our own members, and they, more than any other, find themselves dressed as evelhas because wear the garments of the priesthood" (Pres. J. Reuben Clark Jr.Conf. Report, Apr. 1949, p.168) The pres. John Taylor taught about the care that we have on our mind: "" ... He himself tells the story and testifies against him ... the man will not be judged and condemned by anyone saw or heard, but because the record he himself wrote on the tablets of the mind itself - record that can not lie - that day will be unveiled before God, angels, and those who will sit as judges. " (John Taylor, Journal of Discourses, 11:78-79) So, decide today to be faithful and never move away from the gospel, regardless of what will happen in the future! Never leave to decide the hour of trial, difficulty, temptation, etc ... I love you, I trust you, Pres. Fernandes

(MOM note: Calvin asked for ear plugs in one of his emails and we couldn't figure out why) The ear plugs are for getting a good nights rest. It is kinda hard to sleep with 6 elders tossing and turning all night long.Thanks so much! and thanks for the mints and pictures and everything. I didn't get pictures with my teachers this week I will definately get them next week. We will get our reassignments next week if we haven"t gotten our visas. I hope it comes!! We all made bets on who will get theirs next. I would send pic but this computer won't let me I will in a few hours.

 

 

Calvin opening his birthday package

 

 

 

 

 

Love you All,

Elder Brown

 

Yet Another Week has Past!

July 19, 2013

Realized everyone was dressed in a rainbow one day when they headed to the gym

This week has flown by. It's crazy. I am learning a lot and enjoying the MTC, not so much the food any more though. They have the same things every week lol.  The visa will get sent here if it comes. Of all the district that left last week for all their reassignments, there was only one who got his visa and went to Brazil. We aren't even allowed to mention the 4 letter word "visa". I did something to my back. I think its just a knot or something but its pretty sore. Teaching 2 investigators now. They are both my teachers that are acting like investigators which makes it hard. Its fun though, their investigator names are Jose and Lucas. The language is coming along. I can pray in Portuguese and talk to people some without notes. We also have to recite the purpose and the first vision in Portuguese 2 times a day.  I saw Jared Wilkenson, cousin Lindsay, Brady, and Alex Allphin.  

Elder Jared Wilkenson and Calvin (Jared and Calvin used to play soccer together when they were younger in Springfield)

There is a free tie box at the MTC. All the missionaries in Calvin's district picked out the ugly ties

Elder Brady Shanklin and Elder Calvin Brown showing where they will be serving. Calvin in Brazil and Brady in Norway

Sister Lindsay Williams and Elder Calvin Brown (cousins-Lindsay is going to Japan)

love you all

Elder Brown

Crazy First Week!

July 12, 2013

Elder Brady Shanklin and Calvin at the Missionary Training Center(Brady is going to Norway)(Brady and Calvin grew up together in Springfield)

Oi!! tudo bem?

This has been a crazy first week! the mtc is Awesome! I don't know if you guys got my letter but anyways my comp is Elder Young he is from Alaska. Today is p day we get an hour to e mail. I am so tired and definately needed the p day. So when I first got here they stuck me in a class with some guy that only spoke Portuguese. I was the 1st of 6 elders in my district. We also have 6 sisters. It was really hard at first to understand my teacher. His name is brother Durfee. He's pretty awesome! The temple is closed the whole time we are here so we can't go to the temple. 

Provo Utah temple. Closed for cleaning while Calvin is at the MTC(missionary Training Center)

We taught Amedeu,our investigator, on the 3rd day in Portuguese. It was super hard!  We eventually got him to commit to baptism and to come to church. Yesterday was super hard for me and my comp. It started out as the worst day ever and then we started planning and decided to say a prayer that our day would turn around and a few minutes after that Elder Young said how about we change our attitude and instantly the day got a million times better. Our lesson didn't go as planned but that was fine and we answered questions that our investigator had and taught him the importance of keeping the sabbath day holy and committed him to go to church. It was awesome!! I saw Jared Wilkenson! and I found Brady and took a pic. He is super tall lol.
The packing thing didn't really work. I was too excited and forgot to take it all out at once. lol  We have 6 elders in our small room. It's pretty crowded on the 3rd.  841 missionaries showed up I think it was close to 1000 new missionaries. on the 4th they let us stay up late and watch the fireworks that they were setting off at BYU for Stadium of Fire. That was pretty cool! There are soo many sisters here. It is crazy awesome! The elders names are Elder Carr, Anderson, Johnson, Roaton, Young and me. Our district is awesome!

Calvin's district in front of the Provo, Utah temple

Calvin and his companion, Elder Young studying

 The week has flown by. The days are long and the weeks are short. wearing a white shirt and slacks is normal and wearing regular clothes feels kinda weird lol. We also have to pray in Portuguese and Sunday. I have to have a talk ready in Portuguese on enduring to the end. Sundays are not a day of rest here. We are always doing stuff whether its studying or learning the language or whatever. We are always doing something. Its kind of weird. our life for the next 5 weeks is already planned out for us and on a paper. I don't really know of anything that I need. Mints would be nice or idk anything would be nice really.

love

Elder Brown                         chao!

Calvin in deep thought.

1st Letter Home

July 5, 2013

This is Calvin and his companion, Elder Young pointing to where they will be going after the MTC(Missionary Training Center)

The Missionary Training Center is awesome! When I first got here I was kind of nervous but then I noticed there were 840 other missionaries that were new this week....that is so MANY servant of Jesus Christ. It's so cool!

Elders, Carr, Anderson, Johnson, Roaton, Young and  Brown(MOM's Note: Calvin didn't give me the order)

The first day was so crazy! First you walk in and get a packet of stuff like your name tag. Then you go get all your books and manuals, drop off your luggage in the residence. I was the first of six missionaries in my room. My host then took me to meet my teacher, Brother Durfee. He is so cool,but he only speaks portuguese to us which makes it really hard. The language sounds so cool!! I am excited to learn the language. My companion was the last one to show up. I started to think I wasn't going to have a companion. His name is Elder Young and he is from Alaska. I love him. He is awesome. We are having so much fun learning about each other. 
 

Elder Young and Elder Brown( the Provo temple in the background)

The food isn't as good as I thought it would be, but I think I just have to find the good stuff! LOL

I made it past the first 48 hours. It's kind of weird and awesome how fast I'm getting the language and understanding different words. I am even starting to write in portuguese. It is so cool!

Tonight we had our 1st discussion. We prepared like all day long and when we started, I spaced out and forgot everything. Luckily Elder Young didn't and he kind of knew what he was talking about. It didn't go as well as I would have liked it to but it was fun! I am the senior companion. I forgot to mention that earlier. Que bom! Que bom! (all is well!) Hope all you guys are doing well back home!
    
                           Love you guys!
                                 Elder Brown

Have a good day!    tchau! (Bye)