Hailey’s Homecoming Talk............January 18, 2015

1-18-2015

Hailey’s Homecoming Talk

Hello everyone. I am Hailey Brown. I just got back from serving in the Arizona Scottsdale mission. And it was really hot, but I loved it. My mission was an amazing experience. I am really nervous about being up here, but I am really happy that I get the chance to share some of the things I have learned with you. Every day on the mission, all the missionaries put on a name tag and even right now I feel weird not having my name tag on. I am so used to flipping my hair so that everyone can see it.We would wear that name tag and it would help us remember what our purpose was, what we were doing. It had our name on it, but more importantly it had the name the of the Savior on it, Jesus Christ. It was so important that we remember that we bore the name of our Savior and that we were an example of Jesus Christ. Everywhere we went, to the grocery store, if we were clothes shopping, if were just walking down the street, people knew who we were and they expected us to act in a certain way. That was really important to remember and there were a lot of missionaries that had to learn over time what was expected of us. I think this something that can apply to everyone, whether or not we are wearing a name tag, or whether other people know we are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or not. We are always an example in everything that we do. 

In the New Testament, we all know that Jesus Christ said, “Come follow me”. So many people left what they were doing and followed Him. We live in a great time when don’t necessarily have to stop what we are doing to follow Jesus Christ, but we put following Jesus Christ first in our lives. In the last General Conference, President Thomas S. Monson gave a talk called “Ponder the Path of Thy Feet”. A quote from that talk that I would like to share is “Of paramount importance we have been provided with a perfect example to follow, even the example of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and we have been instructed to follow that example. Said the Savior Himself, ‘Come, follow me. The works that ye have seen me do, that shall ye also do.’ He posed the question, ‘What manner of men ought ye to be?’ Then He answered, ‘Verily I say unto you, even as I am’”. Part of following Jesus Christ, a big part of following Jesus Christ, is following His example. One of the biggest examples is that of being baptized. In 2 Nephi Chapter 31 we see a path that Jesus Christ laid for us. In verses 17-18 it says, “For the gate by which ye should enter is by baptism by water and then cometh the remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. And then are ye on the strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life.”

On of the lessons that we would teach on the mission was the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Teaching that begins with teaching that we need to have faith in Jesus Christ and then we repent of our sins and as we repent we prepare ourselves to be baptized and follow that example of Jesus Christ. Once we are baptized we are able to be baptized by fire, to be given the gift of the Holy Ghost to lead us and guide us always. As we strive to follow Jesus Christ always we tell our Savior we are willing to follow him and endure to the end. To keep coming to church all of our lives, to keep repenting, to keep building our faith, to do the things that we know that we need to do. Someone that I taught on my mission, her name was Anne Marie, she was an older woman, probably in her sixties, and when I came into the area the missionaries had just started teaching her. She had a daughter who had just been baptized and a granddaughter who had just been baptized in the valley, the Phoenix Valley. I was three hours away in the mountains at this point, but her granddaughter had such an effect on her. I wasn’t there, but I heard the story that the granddaughter told her grandmother, Anne Marie, that next time it would be her that was getting baptized and Anne Marie laughed and laughed because she had a lifestyle that was in no way leading her in a way toward being baptized. As she saw her daughter and as she saw her granddaughter and as she met with the missionaries she saw the ways that people can change. She began to put forth the effort to build her faith in Jesus Christ. I was able to be there when Anne Marie was baptized. She was so excited. We talked to her about the main reasons she wanted to be baptized and she said that she had gone 60-65 years living a life that was hard. Each life has its good points, but a life without the Gospel of Jesus Christ is only so bright. With the light of Christ in our lives we can see so much more. She wanted to be clean. She wanted to feel the lightness that the Spirit brings. She was so excited. She was baptized and given the gift of the Holy Ghost and she just ready to keep on going forward. She was so excited! We taught her about the law of tithing and she said, “Oh good, now I have a place where I can put my money.”  Now that was not something that we usually heard! She was excited to follow the commandments of God, to follow a living prophet. We watched General Conference with her last October. She called in sick to work on Sunday so that she could stay and watch the next session, she loved it so much. She was such a good example of someone who had a desire to follow Jesus Christ, to keep the commandments. 

I know that we are strengthened when we choose the right and do what we are supposed to do. It’s not always easy to make the right decisions, you know, often times it’s not. It can be really, really hard. We are all somewhere on that path. We are always building our faith. Maybe we haven’t been baptized, maybe we have, maybe we haven’t been to the temple yet, but we are working on it. Maybe we’ve done all those ordinance, we’ve been baptized, we’ve been to the temple, but we are still working, to keep building our faith. We are always repenting. Every Sunday we come and we renew our covenants with God and we strive to be clean. Its hard work. Thomas S. Monson, in another quote from the same talk talks about agency. He says, “When we came to earth we brought with us that great gift from God, even our agency. In thousands of ways we are privileged to choose for ourselves. Here we learn from the hard task master of experience. We discern between good and evil. We differentiate as to the bitter and the sweet. We learn that decisions determine destiny.” I know that that’s true. I know that we each have trials that are hard. They come at us physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally and they make us falter and we need somewhere to turn. I know that we can turn to our Heavenly Father and we can turn to our Savior Jesus Christ because He’s there for us. What is amazing is that He has been through these things. Something else that Thomas S. Monson talks about is that Jesus Christ walked this path before us. He gives examples: “Jesus Christ walked the path of disappointment.” Jesus had disappointment. People didn’t live up to what they said they were going to do. He had hard times. Jesus Christ walked the path of temptation. We know that after fasting for forty days, Satan came to Him and tempted Him. That can’t have been easy. But he withstood that temptation. He was strong. He walked the path of pain. We know how much pain…well we don’t know how much pain, but we know that it was a lot of pain that Jesus Christ had to suffer, we know that it was a lot. We know that we also have to walk these paths to help us grow. Like the prophet says, it is a “hard taskmaster” of experience, but that we learn from it. We are blessed when we power through our trials, when we turn to our Savior and learn. He gives us more examples of how we are blessed. He says “while we will find our path bitter sorrow, we can also find great happiness.” Some of the ways we find happiness is following the path of obedience, following the example of Jesus Christ. We can walk the path of service. Helping those around us, showing love to those around us, looking for a way to give of yourself. We can walk the path of prayer. Jesus taught us how to pray. It is though prayer that we can talk to Heavenly Father. We receive knowledge from Him through the Holy Ghost in answer to our prayers. When I was in Scottsdale, I went on exchanges with a sister a few times and taught the someone that they had been teaching. He often talked about his walk with Jesus. He would tell us that since he found Jesus Christ he was walking the path with Jesus. We sought to teach him about the Book of Mormon and more about Jesus Christ to add to his study. It really made me think about it. I had never really heard anyone say, “Hey, I’m walking with Jesus.” That is not something we usually say, but it is a great thing to think about. We walk side by side with Jesus. He will help us. He will hold us. He will carry us. But sometimes we think we can do it on our own or we want to take a different way and we can walk away from Him. But I know that we are blessed when we walk with Jesus, when we try to stay on His path when we follow His example. I had a really great experience when I was serving in Mesa to work with a 17 year old boy named Brandon. None of his family were members. He had talked some of the Elders in his area before and he wasn’t really interested, but then sisters came into the area and they kept meeting with him. He had been through a lot of hard things. He was at a point in his life where he wanted to know what was right. His mom was really gung-ho. She said, “Yeah, get him to do what’s right.” She didn’t want to deal with hard teenager things. She had been through that. She was ready for him to grow up and find Jesus and all that. Brandon was a great experience of someone searching for the truth. It was a long search, it was hard for him. He had a testimony and he grew. We were able to help him to be baptized even when the adversary threw every thing at us, when all these crazy things at him. His mom was in the ER and couldn’t be there, it was bad, but it still happened. He was baptized and he was strengthened. Soon after I left the area I found out that he was having a hard time. He hadn’t been to church in months. The new elders in the area were having a hard time. I was able to stay in contact with him to help him, to be an example, to keep encouraging him. I can see that he is waking the path and it is hard. It is hard when it is not something that you are used to. It is hard when you don’t have any support around you. What is great is that he is always trying. He remembers to read his scriptures. He remembers that when he can he goes to church. He trys to do what is right. He is an example to me to keep on trying even when the devil gets us down, even hard things happen. It's not too late to turn around, to come back to Jesus and to keep on trying.There are so many scriptures saying that His arms are always open all the day long. They will never be shut. He is not going to hold them open until midnight and then at midnight say no you're done. He is going to keep them open all through out the night, all though out the day for years on end waiting for you to come back. Waiting for anyone to come back. Thomas S. Monson, one sentence that he shares about the example of Jesus Christ, he said, “With the parable of the lost sheep He instructs us to go to the rescue of those who have left the path and have lost their way.” That is a huge part both of missionary work and of just being a member of the church. At baptism we covenant to follow the example of Jesus Christ and do what he does. One of things that Jesus Christ did was he focused on the individual and if someone was struggling, He reached out to them. That is something that all of us can do.

In another talk by Elder Neil L. Anderson he talks about the videos they show in the airplane where they talk about the safety features. Here are the exits, here’s where the lifejackets are, and here’s where the breathing things are. If you have ever flown in a plane, you know that they always share with you how to be safe. Elder Anderson reminds us of this. He says, “Part of the movie says ‘it is unlikely but if cabin pressure changes, panels above your seat will open revealing oxygen masks. If this happens, reach up and pull a mask toward you.Place the mask over your nose and mouth, lift the elastic strap over your head and adjust the mask as necessary. Then this caution: Be sure to adjust your own mask before helping others.’ Now is the time to adjust your own personal spiritual mask so that you are prepared to help others who are seeking the truth.” I love that, and not just because I love flying in planes a lot but because it such a great example. We are told we need to strengthen ourselves. Just like Jesus Christ says to remove the beam that is thine own eye before trying to help someone else with the mote that is in his eye. As we strengthen ourselves we are preparing ourselves to help those around us which is so important. I know and I saw so many examples of member missionary work in my mission. One amazing one I want to share with you is about the Kasson family. I was in an area in the mountains where we covered three wards that were huge. We traveled probably an hour back and forth. We would be in a pickup truck and we would be in the dirt in this little rural community where everyone was related and had been there for, you know, a hundred years. You had to go 45 minutes into town to buy milk or whatever. This family moved into a trailer. It was a mom and a dad and six children. It was a blended family. Right off the bat, people from the school, people who saw then around were friendly to them. They introduced themselves. They asked what they were about and why they were there. Just speaking to them, being friends with them, they invited them to come to church. The Kasson family was so excited. I have never seen little children so excited to sit down and listen to the missionaries. They would raise their hands and try to have the right answer. They were adorable. The mother, Sister Kasson, the first time we met with her, she was so touched by the spirit that she was emotional. She was telling us about her work experiences. She was telling us that she something like 3 pHD’s. We said,”Wow, how old are you?” because she looks really young. She told us how it all made so much sense to her even though she was so learned. She had had so many hard things in her life and she had learned so much secularly that she felt the spirit testify to her that these things were true. She hadn’t read the Book of Mormon. She barely knew what it was. She said she knew this was true just from the way that I feel I know that this is right. The whole family was able to enter the waters of baptism. The youngest was only seven and she will be baptized later this year when she turns eight. They are such a great example to me and they are such an example to the community that being friendly and reaching out to others…you know not everyone is going to shoot you down when you try to invite someone. There are those who have been prepared. There are those who are waiting. If I think if they had been seeking spiritual enlightenment in their lives and if no one had offered it to them, where would they be? They would be in a two room trailer in the mountains in the dead of winter probably without friends because everyone in their community is LDS. But people reached out them. They invited them and because of that they were encircled into the fold of God and have been strengthened and lifted. They are on the path toward eternal life. 

I know that this church is true. I know that we strengthen our testimonies by coming to church and by reading from the Book of Mormon and the other standard works. I especially know that we can talk to our Heavenly Father as we pray. I especially know that since coming home from mission that it is not always easy to remember to do these things. Heavenly Father doesn’t expect us to be perfect, He expects us just to try. As we strive toward perfection we are blessed. I encourage everyone here to do as Thomas S. Monson says and to “Ponder the Path of Thy Feet.” Where are you at right now? If you are standing on the path, I always think about board games. If you are on your little path, you're on your little square, what’s ahead of you? Look around, see where other people are. This isn’t the game to see who can get there first. Who can you help to get where you are? Who is ahead of you that you might reach out to for help? Maybe you nee help, too. It’s OK, we all need help, we all need to be strengthened. I know that serving my mission was the absolute best thing I ever did even though it was absolutely the hardest thing I ever did. It was amazing. To everyone here, I encourage you to consider a mission, whether you are 12 or 62 just think about it. You will have so many great experiences. In a way I feel that my mission was selfish because I learned so much. I feel like it did so much for me. I remember that I tried to put myself if God’s hands to do His work. I know that through me He has done great work even though I didn’t see very much of it at all. I have faith that everything happens for a reason. I am thankful for the chance to speak to you today.  I say this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Pictures from Hailey's return to the airport on 12-31-2014

Welcome Home Hailey!!! A job well done!!!

I don't know what to say here.... I love you! December 29, 2014

12-29-2014

In my head I keep hearing this old song... "So This Is It..."

So that's how I feel right now! An amazing adventure is coming to a close.

But, let's talk about Christmas!

Our zone went out caroling to different families on Christmas Eve, it was chilly but so much fun! We were able to give gifts to families who may have been in need, and we all loved it! We had a white elephant exchange real fast in the church, then the zone leaders sprung a big surprise- time for Sister Brown to bear her testimony! That's what we do when we leave, and because I was out with sick Sister Roberts at our last zone meeting I didn't do it then. But, I am thankful for the chance I had to bear my testimony.

We had a sleepover with the sisters in our zone that night, and Christmas morning we went over to meet the sisters in the next zone over for Christmas breakfast- our first of many! Our Christmas day was filled with lots of treats and fun members.

We were also able to go to the Christmas lights with the adorable Martinez family on Saturday, it was Sister Roberts' first time seeing them! And, the missionaries get free fry bread across the street. I love being a missionary! :)

Serving a mission is the best decision I ever made. I met have thousands of people who I have loved at first sight, and others I have grown to love over time. Each had made an impact in my life! I have grown in my understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in Our Father's view of missionary work and our missionary efforts.

Well, don't know what else to say. I love you all! Thank you so much for all of your support and love and emails and prayers! I know that Heavenly Father loves each one of us so much, and He never forgets us!

I love you all! Keep being awesome!

Love, Sister Hailey Brown

The Christmas Countdown....... December 22, 2014

12-22-2014

Merry Christmas everyone!

The weather here in Arizona is a bit chilly, but nowhere near the white Christmas I'm used to! But being on bike, it's plenty cold for me!! It's finally beginning to feel like Christmas- it's on everyone's minds now! I love being a missionary around the holiday season- but it is so hard to be white-washing an area right before Christmas, knowing that I'm leaving before the holidays are even over.

Many people don't have time for the missionaries in all the hustle and bustle, but we have found a few people who we may be able to meet with. We were able to contact some referrals who we will  be meeting with, and we found a woman named Heidi on accident, trying to find someone else who had moved. She has talked to missionaries before about what happens to us after we die, and has agreed to meet with us, after the holidays. :) But we are working hard to keep meeting people and getting to know this ward, and especially trying to meet the less active members in this ward. There is always work to be done, no matter where you go or what circumstance you are in.

I don't really know what else to say. I'll be home next week! I think I'll be emailing on Monday (it is still a P-day after all). But, I love serving my mission so much. In a way, I never want it to end. And I especially don't want school to start! I don't remember how to do school!

My mission has been such a blessing in my life. I feel like it has been really selfish of me, to serve a mission, and to do the Lord's work and meet so many wonderful people and have amazing experiences. I have to remember that I'm helping other people too! I truly am so thankful to have been blessed to be able to be a part of these people's lives, even just for a short time. I've learned so much on my mission, and I am so thankful for all my great times and my hard times, because I have become so much stronger, and I know more hard things are ahead of me. I am thankful the Lord has prepared me in this way. I ALWAYS want to live worthy to be His representative, and to follow His example.

I love you all! If you have a chance to serve a mission in your life, I hope you take it, because going on a mission is absolutely the BEST thing I have ever done. It's awesome :)

Love you! Have a safe and happy and wonderful Christmas! Talk to you soon!!

Love, Sister Hailey Brown

Pictures: 

Our Ward Mission Leader's cat likes to play! Especially in things she can get into.....

Poor sicky Sister Roberts, with Carmel, the dog that belongs to the member we live with.

The Christmas Lights are Shining Bright!..........December 15, 2014

12-15-2014

Hi again!

So this week, we did a lot of biking around, getting to know some people, and trying to stay warm. It gets chilly at night here in December! We also had a rainy day, and boy it is difficult to keep out of the puddles! Luckily no drivers splashed us :)

We got a new ward mission leader yesterday! The work in this ward has been... slow, to say the least. I am hoping that with new missionaries and a new mission leader we can breathe some life into this area! There is a lot of potential here, but many of the potentials live in low-income temporary housing, and don't stay for long. We are having a great time tracting though- something this stake is having all the missionaries do in all the apartment complexes. We are inviting people to come see the Mesa Temple Christmas Lights, and telling them about the He is the Gift video. It's been going pretty well! This is the perfect season to talk to everyone about Christ :)

So, my companions! Sister Tippery is from Portland, Oregon, and has been serving for six months. Sister Roberts is from Tallahassee, Florida, and came out the transfer after me, so she'll go home in March. Sister Roberts served in this ward before, a few months ago, but only for one transfer. So she is familiar with the area, but we are all getting a fresh start! When we are biking down the road and need to stop at the busy street, the three of us line up, and I feel like I'm in a biker gang :) I'll have to try to get a picture somehow!

Anyways, we're staying warm (mostly) and staying safe (besides the dog bite Sister Roberts got.... just startled an old dog at a member's home. got checked out at urgent care and everything, it's all good) and working hard (we're trying!) I LOVE missionary work! Sometimes I have no idea why I do, but then I remember- this is the most rewarding work any person can ever do! I have been so blessed to have been able to serve the Lord here in Arizona, and I am so thankful for all the experiences I've been blessed with!

I know that Christ has restored His church to the earth, and that we are blessed to be led by a prophet of God on the earth today!

I love this Christmas Season, I hope you are all taking the time to remember Christ!

I love you!

Love, Sister Hailey Brown

Photos- the sun beginning to set behind the rain clouds :)

so here are my new companions! I just took this picture and we all look terrible, 

they would probably kill me if you put this on the blog!

​Sister Tippery, Sister Roberts, and me!

yep. here ya go.

And Here Comes Zone Number 7... Hello Maricopa!!..... December 10, 2014

12-10-2014

Hello Everyone,  and welcome to my journey into Maricopa Zone! I am now serving in Maricopa Stake, in the Westwood ward with Sister Roberts and Sister Tippery. We haven't taken a picture together yet... that will come next week!

It has been hard to leave another area that I've barely begun to know the people, and yet love them so much! I want so badly to be able to come back and visit all my friends and all my wards..... but at this point I've served in 13 wards and 1 branch. But on the up side, I know basically all the mission and I get just about anywhere!

Don't have a lot to report on this week. A great miracle that happened is, Sharon and Mike, our investigators in Granite Reef ward, came to church! Mostly because we were leaving and giving testimonies in sacrament meeting. They came to all three hours of church! I am so thankful they came, it's been four years since they have come to church.

I am thankful that we are leaving our wards in good hands! The two sets of elders who cover each ward full time are great, and I am so thankful to have had the chance to work with them. Even if your sister missionaries leave, don't despair! Elders can be pretty cool, too, I guess :)

Whelp, emailing time is short. I love you all! Are you sharing He is the Gift? Let's share the Spirit of Christmas!!!!!!!

Christmas.mormon.org

#ShareTheGift

also go check out this adorable Christmas video at

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-11-018-the-reason-behind-christmas?lang=eng

I love you! Enjoy the snow and preparing for Christmas.... and I'll see you soon!!!

Love, Sister Hailey Brown

Photos-

1 our awesome district! I hate me in this photo but this is the only one where someone's arm wasn't covering up someone else's face :)

2 Us with our Ward Mission Leader and his family from Granite Reef ward, the Gedris family. I love them! We had crepes at all our missionary correlation meetings Sunday night :)

love you!

A Week Full of Gratitude and Sniffles............ December 1, 2014

12-1-2014

Happy December Everybody!

Can you believe that this is that last month? I'll say Hi in person come January!

So, we had a pretty good week this week! Getting ready for Thanksgiving, cooking on Thanksgiving, eating Thanksgiving food, recovering from Thanksgiving.... really exciting week :)

We had a great Thanksgiving breakfast in Shadow Mountain Ward, then headed over to Sharon's to cook and cook and cook for our big meal! Unfortunately, almost all the people we invited had to cancel last minute, so we had a whole lot of extra food! But it all turned out great and delicious!

We had a few mini meals after that, and took a nap- my poor companion has been fighting the sicks this week! That evening we watched "Ephraim's Rescue" with a family- I love that movie! So good.

On Saturday we made Christmas cookies with Sharon, and helped her put up her tree and hang Christmas lights. We had a lot of fun! 

Reflecting on the gratitude of the season and the blessings we have received through the Gospel of Jesus Christ has brought me so much joy this holiday season, even as we are just beginning! I am so thankful for the joy I have here, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the love from Our Father in Heaven. Always remember how much He loves you!

Okay, I really can't think of anything else to say. Besides... my mom sent me a great Christmas package! yay Christmas tree!

​

I love you all so much! As you prepare for the Christmas season, please remember, the true reason for Christmas!!!!

http://www.mormon.org/christmas

#ShareTheGift

I love you! Stay warm :)

Love, Sister Hailey Brown

A Chill in the Valley Springs Forth......... November 24, 2014

11-24-2014

Well, in comparison, it is very warm here in the Valley of the Sun. But the mornings have been around 45 degrees! Yes, it is brisk! The days are still super nice, though. I like it. The really weird thing that happens here, is that it doesn't really feel like the holiday season. Some houses have started stringing their Christmas lights along the porch, and the cactus and the palm trees, and a lot have the huge blow up snowmen or reindeer and crazy things. We have to make up for the lack of snow down here! After Thanksgiving the Christmas season will really explode! I remember last year.... But it's fun, to see all the silly and cute things people use to decorate :)

And we can't forget the missionary work here! The lights around are especially great, because it helps us as we invite people to the Mesa Temple Christmas Lights! Everyone, Christmas lights are amazing and beautiful, so you can bet there is nothing more spectacular than a beautiful majestic temple of the Lord surrounded by the spirit of Christmas- the REAL Spirit of Christmas! There's a new video coming out from the church, called, He is the Gift. It launches on November 28th, the day after Thanksgiving. WATCH IT!! In the December Ensign, nine pass along cards about the movie, featuring the real Gift of the Christmas Season (Christ!!!). What we are being asked to do (we being EVERYONE) is SHARE the Spirit of Christmas! Share a card with a friend, and you are simply sharing a video that is only a few minutes long, that will uplift anyone this Christmas Season! Please, do your part to share the message of Christ! As missionaries, we're supposed to give out 10 cards a day. Wow. We're working on it. Do you think you can give away a few cards to your friends? That is my challenge to you this week!!!! It's a lot like the video I shared with you last Easter, called Because of Him. It's so good! Here, you can watch it again:

https://www.lds.org/youth/video/because-of-him?lang=eng

Whoot. I'm so excited.

So hopefully I didn't sound like a salesperson or anything, that would be annoying. That's just what's up in missionary work right now!

Besides that....

We read from the Book of Mormon with Sharon, which was great! She asked us what the next lesson is, and she asked us to teach it to her, along with reading the Book of Mormon with her. So, soon we'll be teaching her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Hopefully we can continue to teach her, and help her to begin progressing.

We also met with the Bentley's in Shadow Mountain ward, a less active family. Their 13 year old daughter was baptized, but her records were lost, so technically she is not a member. The mom, dad and daughter all came to church on Sunday! The daughter is accepting to us teaching her, but she is still hesitant about it. The father is a convert, who seems to be very confused about many things. Hopefully we can get the ward members involved, as well as the Elders, and we can all work together to help them to learn! We plan on teaching the daughter, Julie, in Young Women's on Sundays, since she is the only Young Woman her age, and her home is not a place that is good to teach the lessons (her father gets too involved and won't let anyone talk). So, hopefully that will go well!

We are working (or trying to work) with quite a few less actives. A whole bunch of people were supposed to be at church, but then didn't come. It's always so disappointing when that happens. But we will continue to keep working with them and loving them!

I think as missionaries (and especially as sister missionaries), what we do best is love people! As a missionary, I can truly feel a Christlike love for the people around me, and especially the people we work with. I so badly want all of them to come unto Christ and find lasting happiness! That's why I'm still here, working. I love this work, and I pray that we can all do our best to help others who may be wandering away, or who are striving to find the path. We can help them!

I love you all! Happy Thanksgiving! (on Thanksgiving we have breakfast at 8, cooking at 10 and then eating at 12, another dinner at 2, and polynesian party at 4, and one more dinner planned for sometime after that. That will be a crazy, fun, and possibly sickening day. so excited!!)

LOVE YOU!!!

Sister Hailey Brown

Hm, no pictures this week. Next week will be better!

Another Temple to Dot the Earth..........November 17, 2014

11-17-2014

Hello Everyone! Well, it's starting to chill down in the valley of Arizona. It was cold enough this morning I grabbed my jacket before leaving the house to go to the gym. The native Arizonians are pulling out the coats- I'm contemplating pulling out the long sleeves. But it still feels so nice in the day! We'll see how the weather pans out :)

Yesterday was the dedication of the Phoenix Arizona Temple, the 144th Temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the earth today! I haven't had the opportunity to see it in person yet, but I will soon. I am so thankful that my mission is just a few hours away from my home! I'm probably be down here all the time :) The dedication was beautiful and amazing, and the Spirit there in the Stake Center where we watched the broadcast was peaceful and fulfilling, but not all-consuming huge. It was warm and comfortable and beautiful, so much like the temple itself. I love our prophets and apostles on the earth! And I love our temples!

This week was crazy. We had Elder Lawrence of the Seventy come visit our mission for a mission tour. The mission leadership also decided to implement a higher bar for us to reach so we can be better and do better. One of these rules is: the only music we are allowed to listen to is hymns and primary songs sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. That's it. This hurts very much, but I can just so thankful I don't have to make that three hour drive up the mountains with that rule, I would definitely fall asleep and die. So our mission is having an adjustment! We are also reading the Book of Mormon as a mission, marking all the references to Jesus Christ, before the end of the year. So we are busy busy busy! All the missionaries are working hard, and we love this work!

On Saturday we had a crazy service project for our investigator Sharon- almost all the Elders we had collected to come cancelled last minute or didn't know. Those of us who came worked hard to clean out her garage of boxes, organize it (somewhat) and have a yard sale - at the same time. Basically it was contained chaos. We even had members of the yard come and help! But we had hundreds of boxes collected over dozens of years full of all sorts of things. We threw a lot of things away (secretly) , and we wanted to take the items that didn't sell in the yard sale to charity- but she wouldn't. So after all day of work, we packed her garage full of boxes again. That was a really rough day, let me tell you!

We will continue to try to teach her the lessons, but we can't continue to help her with her boxes if we are unable to make progress. So, we'll see what happens this week!

We are still striving to find more people to visit, more people to teach. This week was rough, but this next week is going to be awesome! I can already tell :)

I love you all! My hope is that you will all live worthy to enter a temple of the Lord and make promises to Him there that will bless you and your family for all of this life, and for eternity! Always point yourself towards the temple!

Love you!

Love, Sister Hailey Brown

(photo from lds.org of the Phoenix temple)   :)

photos of mission tour

Miracles Happen When We PRAY!!!!!.........November 11, 2014

11-11-2014

So, no email yesterday due to a poorly timed medical appointment in the middle of Phoenix Mission, but here it is now! And the news you've all been waiting for... The Kasson Family did get Baptized!!! It was SO AMAZING and SO worth the looooong drive up to the mountains and back!

What else this week... we are still doing a ton of service! We are helping a family of investigators have a yard sale and clean out their house and garage and storage unit. It's scary. But satisfying as we throw things away! Yay! We also read the Book of Mormon with the Mother, Sharon, who is disabled and basically the only one we see. She is so sweet and recognizes how important the family is, and wants all of her family to be one religion together, which is amazing! So it's slow going, but that is what we are working towards!!

We are also working with some less actives, encouraging them and reading the Book of Mormon with them. We are helping a family from Brazil return to activity and make it to the temple! Sonia is Mari's mother, and Mari's husband is in the service. Mari's little baby Thomas was just blessed on Sunday! I have been helping Sonia with her family history, which is so cool! She has a bunch of documents already from Brazil, so we are entering information and getting ready to search for more! The invited us over for Brazilian food on Christmas Day, which makes me so happy! I miss my sweet Pradera's :)

I did go on exchange to the Biltmore Zone this Week! We helped out the French Sisters (from France and Tahiti), here from the Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission for a few months, on their adventure deep into the West Side to meet their investigator from the Congo. We sat in on their short lesson, and the man learning asked me to say the closing prayer. He knew I didn't speak French, but he decided to not have what I said in English translated, because he can understand simple English. I prayed simply and sincerely to our Father in Heaven, and the Spirit blessed us with His presence. I love knowing that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, no matter where you go or what language you speak! This week I felt the Spirit in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and even Hawaiian. Our Father's love transcends our mortal bodies and what we can comprehend- He will always love us, no matter what.

I love you all! And I even love the valley, even when it's still hitting 90 degrees on a warm day. I love this mission and I love my Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ- and I love Their love for us!

Love the Love, People! :)

Love, Sister Hailey Brown 

Baptism of the Kasson Family in Clay Springs, AZ, November 8 2014

Missionaries left to right: Sisters Hogensen, Brown, Carroll, Lords, and Krutsch

Dressed in White, left to right: Akira, Breeanna, Casey, Elizabeth

Three Boys, left to right: Lee, Thomas, Alex

Little Jeanie in front, only 7 years old- baptism next July!

another photo of this adorable family, after baptism! All but the youngest were baptized :)

In PV Stake, but not PV................ November 3, 2014

11-3-2014

So Hi again!

Did I mention that I'm living in the same apartment that I first moved into a year ago when I came to the valley? On the corner of Union Hills and Tatum in Phoenix. I'm even in the same bedroom! Only now we have a bunk bed- I'm on top. We don't need to talk about that. :)

We live in this apartment because the Paradise Valley stake includes Paradise Valley (I'm guessing, haven't seen it) but on this northern end we're all north Phoenix. My area here is similar to the north part of Chaparral Ward in North Scottsdale. The funny part is, that ward actually had Paradise Valley in it!

So I'm getting the know my area here, not too far from where I used to be. Shadow Mountain Ward had a trunk or treat, so Sister Entin and I switched name tags for our costumes. Nobody knew who I was and kept looking at my name tag... boy were they confused!

On Halloween the Temple invited all the missionaries to come do temple work, because they would be rather empty and they don't want us out on Halloween night anyway! So we braved our way through traffic and made it to the Mesa Temple- it was wonderful :)

We are working with several women who left the church in their youth but are working on coming back to activity, and we are doing a lot of service for Sharon, an investigator who moved here within the last few years and never unpacked a million boxes packed to the ceiling in her garage. Good times! 

I'm still getting to know my way around. We had a great stake conference this weekend, so I'll know more of our ward members next week! It's still warm down here, but I'm happy that I'm serving the Lord exactly where He wants me to be. :)

I love you all so much! You are amazing! 

Don't forget to pray! :)

Love, Sister Hailey Brown

the sisters we live with, Hermana Brandley and Hermana MacKillop. Love them!

A Great Week for the Font!!................... October 29, 2014

10-29-2014

HELLLOOOOO OUT THEREEEEEE!!!!

So, I had a GREAT week here in Arizona!! Michael and Anne Marie both got baptized on Saturday!! They actually both went off without too many problems! We even drove the 20 miles out to the Clay Springs building to see an 8 year old baptism from Pinedale Ward at 1pm, then drove back to make our 2pm baptism. We had a CRAZY BUSY DAY!! but we loved it!

Anne Marie

Michael and his sweet family

Did I mention the awesome family in Clay Springs that wants to be baptized?? The Kasson family just moved there and were instantly fellowshipped by members and invited to church- they love it! They have been 100% prepared by the Lord. They came to Anne Marie's baptism as well! All 6 kids sat quietly and were AWESOME!!

Kasson family

​

I love them all so much! they are all like sponges, taking in as much as they can- and retaining it! The kids are so smart! They were going to be baptized nov 22, then they wanted it sooner so it was the 15th, but now it's the 8th because they don't want to wait anymore! Unfortunately, I have been transferred and am no longer in the mountains- but Sister Carroll and I are going to ask President if we can go back for their baptism! All but the youngest girl are 8 and older and will be baptized. 7 baptisms!! Such an amazing miracle.

So, Yes! Now I am serving in the Paradise Valley Zone ( and Stake) covering the Shadow Mountain and Granite Reef Wards. Something really interesting will be, we share both wards with a set of elders- only different elders for each ward! We are assigned to less active work in granite reef, but help out where we are needed! It's so strange, I don't really know anyone in this zone, so it feels like I'm brand new! Only, I'm one of the oldest ones on the mission now!

Man, so much has happened this week, but I don't even know what to say! I think Sister Carroll and I said a lot of goodbyes and took lots of pictures to remember. She was there for 6 months and I was there for 6 weeks, but it broke both of our hearts to leave. There is so much I still want to do, and so many people and want to be friends with forever! I am so thankful for the opportunity the Lord gave me to serve among His people in the mountains, even for this short period of time.

Don't have time for lots of details, but that's the scoop! This is me and my new companion, Sister Entin, from Virginia. We were in the MTC together!

Sister Entin

Ps- this is us, right now, emailing. haha.

I love you all! be safe and feel the Spirit of God! God is there and LOVES YOU!!

Until next time!!

Love,

Sister Hailey Brown

A Beautiful Miracle.............. October 20, 2014

10-20-2014

So hello again everyone! We had a great week down here in the White Mountains of Arizona, with a bit of rain and a bit of sun. We love it!

So, the biggest news- two baptisms! this Saturday! Man, I will be running around like a crazy person that day, trying to make sure it all goes right! Michael, who is married to a member, has been trying to meet with the mission president back since this area was in the Tempe Mission, because he has been on parole and had some other questions. We were FINALLY able to work out that visit, with a little help from our awesome mission president and his wife, President and Sister Sweeney. We met at the Linden chapel, and smushed together in the truck (because we weren't sure if their car would make it) and went out to Michael's house for our appointment. And it was great! President set up Michael's baptism date. This baptism has been four years in the making. The entire ward is so excited, and we are so blessed to be able to see this miracle take place!

Anne Marie has officially been taught all the lessons and is good to go! We are so excited for her as well! She is so ready for her baptism, to be clean from the sins of her past and begin a new fresh life.

I have been so blessed to be here in this beautiful, spacious, and spread-out area. It's probably good I'm going to leave here next week because I might accidentally pick up the country accent and loose my English grammar skills! I love the people up here, and I am so thankful for the friends and acquaintances I have made, and for those that I have been given the chance to help. I love serving the Lord on a mission, and I wouldn't be anywhere else!

I love you all! Go check out "A Word for the Hesitant Missionary" if you want some good words from President Uchtdorf!

https://www.lds.org/liahona/2013/02/a-word-for-the-hesitant-missionary?lang=eng

Be happy and stay true! Love you!

Sister Hailey Brown