My dear lovely family and friends,
This week can been crazy as ever! Different things happen
each day, and the whole week, the whole month- the whole mission!!- turns into
quite the experience! Last Tuesday was P-day, and afterwards we went to a
Relief Society Night for Show Low 1st ward. We got a ride to someone's house
out in the middle of nowhere and learned about canning! Specifically about
canning tamales. It was really fun, and we ate delicious food and I rolled some
tamales! I took some handouts that I will send home- for you, Mom, and for me!
Afterwards we met a potential investigator named Chastity, who just got
pregnant... She is very Catholic but doesn't mind us coming over to visit, as
long as she's not busy. We haven't been back yet but we're planning on bring a
video we can watch together, like the testaments or something. She is really
sick and all she does is watch movies, so we thought it would be great! Hope it
works out!
That night I accidentally left my planner at the person's
house we did the canning thing at, so we called her and she brought it to us in
the morning- but I almost had a panic attack when I realized I didn't have it.
So that was crazy! But Sister Owens brought it to us the next morning. She is
also the one who brought us our phone when we lost it Thursday night- but
that's another story!
Wednesday we wondered around meeting members who live in
Country Lane Trailer Park, and we helped with mutual for 1st ward. It involved
the women wearing white temple dresses and the men white temple clothes, and we
read the part of someone waiting for someone to have their name- the youth in
the chapel that names. Some were called and some weren't. It really helped
illustrate how the people on the other side are waiting for us to do their work
here on earth! It was really reverent, and we all left afterwards without
treats to preserve the sacredness of the event. It was something alright!
Thursday we went out visit teaching with a member to get to
the boondocks of our ward- someone who lives closer to Taylor than to Show Low!
That was crazy! She fed us an impromptu dinner at her home, then dropped us off
for another girl to pick us up to take us out to the scarier boondocks- Silver
Lake Estates. I don't think I've seen a lake there though. It's all trailers
and dirt roads and people trying to get off the grid. Apparently we have a lot
of that around here. But we had an appointment so off we went! Otherwise we
wouldn't be there after dark. I had been fighting a headache/migraine the whole
afternoon and was a little off- which is where loosing the phone comes in to
play. We went to teach a Less Active woman and her three granddaughters she is
raising who are not members. Only Jasmine was there when we got there, and she
came out to listen but didn't seem interested at all- she is only 14! Then Sam,
14, and Niki, 11 or 12, climbed in a window somewhere and went around being
distracting. We had planned to the teach the Plan of Salvation, but when Sam
came over and asked why we worshiped Joseph Smith, we talked about prophets and
prayer, and eventually it all came down to a belief in God. These girls don't
know if God is there, even though they have been asking for months, if not
years! The elders say they all had a baptism date at one point. We are meeting
with them Tuesday night, and we hope to continue meeting with them so we can
gain their trust and help them to learn about God and His plan for us, a plan
He made so that we could all be happy!! Hopefully we can get them to keep
coming to mutual, and get their Grandmother to come to church- even though
she's embarrassed about her hair, I guess. But God doesn't care what your hair
looks like! Come to church and feel the Spirit!
After we left their home, I realized I didn't have the phone
and almost died. But we were late to another appointment...
So we were referred to go see a sickly woman when we were in
the trailer park on Wednesday, so we met her and set up an appointment for the
next night so we could meet her husband. Then she said that her husband was
excommunicated for apostasy. And we both started thinking... and realized this
is the home the ward mission leader said not to go to without a member of the
bishopric or himself. And the elders said there was a person "in this area
over here" (with a wide gesture) who corrupted missionaries testimonies so
we should avoid him. So we freaked out for a while and tried to call everyone,
but what do you know, they all make their ward visits on Thursday nights. We
were finally able to get the mission leader on the phone, and he was able to rearrange
so he could come with us. It turned out to be okay! We taught the the Atonement
and Faith in Jesus Christ and Repentance, and used a lot of scriptures, then he
went off on how people need to study their scriptures, and how one time in high
priests he quoted D&C 1:38, "whether by mine own voice or by the voice
of my servants it is the same," then proceeded to make up the next verse,
simply to see if any one knew their scriptures well enough to call him out on
it, and no one did. And his wife is a little crazy, just hanging on his words,
and talking about the history of New Zealand in her cool accent. Then we left.
And called people on the sister's phone who we live with to try to find our
phone, to no avail. But you know how this ends!
The next morning Jean Owens shows up with our phone. Emilie
Tuetken, the less active we taught the night before, heard it ringing outside,
and called sister owens, who called Sister Sweeney, and brought it back to us.
A lot of prayers were answered that morning!! Crazy!
Met more people on Friday... But on Saturday we set up a
booth for the city Halloween festival! We had a game and candy, and copies of
the book of mormon and pass along cards and movies and everything to give away!
I think it was quite a success! We were there the set up at 10, then started it
and were then until 3, when the elders took over. It was really fun though!
Those are the hightlights of the week... or the entire week
more like! Guess I'm feeling chatty today :) I love you all so much, and
although this is super hard and demanding and exhausting, I am happy I am doing
this. I'm here to help make other people happy, and when I can do that, I'm
happy too. Look for opportunities to share the joy of the gospel in your lives
too! Be a member missionary!!
Love you all to the moon and back!
Love, Sister Hailey Brown
ps- I forgot to say what the pictures are! the first one is me
in a brand new outfit you sent me- so cute! then Sister Knight and I at the
Halloween Carnival in front of our booth. then last night Sister Knight got a
package from her mom, and she sent both of us homemade little halloween bags
with candy inside! so cute! So this is us this morning with the bags :)
