Arizona Heat and Brithday Cake!..............June 2, 2014

6-2-2014

Hello Everyone! 

It was a birthday this week!  It was awesome :)

We had District Meeting, and one of the sisters let it slip that it was my birthday, so they all sang to me and we went out to lunch after to Macaroni Grill, where they brought me a little cake with candles and our waitress sang happy birthday in Italian. She was amazing! Turns out that is why she was hired :) 

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Then someone told our dinner that night it was my birthday too! She bought a cake and a card and a balloon- and they don't even eat cake! And they sang again and I blew out all 22 candles she put on it. :)

The next day Sister Cole and I had another mini-party with all the accessories you sent me, mom! And we ate more cake. Since the members sent us home with the whole cake! Because they don't eat anything unhealthy, like cake. :) 

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 Anyways! Great Birthday! I haven't celebrated that much since I was probably 10! Great times :)

This week I spent two days down in the Desert Ridge ward with Sister Baham, and we did a lot of knocking on doors in the heat. But we had fun :) But I did miss some exciting things in my ward! Sister Cole met with two new investigators this week! Hopefully I can meet them soon! And we were expecting about 5 nonmembers at church yesterday! But we ended up sitting alone. But it turns out Justin (investigator) and Tonya (returning less active) showed up in the middle of sunday school, so we had a lesson with them after church. So someone showed! yay!

We have a lot of good work going on here. Unfortunately it's being slowed by summer vacations. Too bad we don't get a summer vacation! But I am so thankful everyday that I live with members who keep the house at 70 degrees or cooler, and that the AC in our car works. Tender Mercies :)

I LOVE being on a mission and serving the Lord, because I know that I am doing the Lord's work and He is proud of me. I am learning to be more Christ-like everyday, and we are striving to help everyone we meet become closer to Christ! Even in the scorching heat, I love this work. :)

I love you all! Thank you for your support and your love! 

Love, Sister Hailey Brown

Exchanges and Birthdays!​..... May 27, 2014

5-27-2014

Hello again!!

(do I start my email like that every week?)

Happy Birthday Morgan! Yesterday!!

Anyways.....

So! Life is Cave Creek! It's like a mix of all my other areas combined. With a lot more cactus. And a billion more quail. But I saw a bobcat! And a coyote crossed in front of our car, then a roadrunner did the exact same thing. I love seeing the animals!

One of the best things about this week was Shelley! I actually went with her and her girls to the Gilbert Temple Open House in January when I was on exchange in this area! We went on splits with the ward Tuesday night, so I got to go see her again! And she even knew the ward missionary I was with, who is a teacher at her kids' elementary school. Shelley is SO READY for EVERYTHING!!!! The biggest holdup is her husband Frank, who grew up a strong Catholic. But we had a great visit on Tuesday, and she believes so many of the things we believe! And she even showed up to church on Sunday!!! She could only stay for sacrament meeting, but it made my day! She and her family is super busy though, and will be out of town a lot for the summer. But she makes me happy :)

We are working with a few members, trying to help them prepare for the temple. Jan is one of these, and she is a hoot! She is so funny. We are also meeting with a Bob and his ex-wife Marge- they live together because their son lives there too. It's kinda weird. I actually met them when I was on the same exchange in January as well! Isn't life crazy? They are super nice, but very hesitant about coming to church. We are working on teaching them about the Book of Mormon, and about how the Book of Mormon and the Bible support each other and work together. I think if they want to, they could make it to the temple as well!

Here's probably the craziest thing for the week... On Saturday we were on exchange, I was with Sister Baham in my area. An investigator named Angela invited us to her home for breakfast, and it was delicious. Fanciest breakfast I've ever had! (I know now that eggs Benedict are delicious.) Her good friend and house help Servie as there, as well as her daughter home from college. But this house.... I've seen really nice homes in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley, but this home is ridiculous, and the amount of security we had to go through was crazy! She lives right across from someone famous. We took lots of pictures :)

Angela and Servie will be hard to catch this summer as well, because Angela has a home in Indianapolis that they go to a lot. But I hope we can go back! I want to live there.

We're still trying to meet a lot of people, which is becoming increasingly more difficult as the heat settles in and the people peace out. Sister Cole and I are getting along great, and the couple we live with amazing! They sure keep good care of us :)

And I'm on exchange again today! Sister Baham and I will be together a lot when our companion go on exchange. But we have fun!!

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I love you guys!!! Stay cool! :)

and go to mormon.org/becauseofhim  if you haven't yet!!! :)

Love you!!

Sister Hailey Brown

 

 

 

Livin' the Wild West...............May 19, 2014

5-19-2014

Hello again! I guess it's been another week or so. We've been doing a lot!

Hermana White has been showing us around our ward in Cave Creek and Carefree, and parts of Scottsdale and Phoenix. But we had to part ways Saturday morning, so now Sister Cole, my new GPS and I are trying to figure this out!

We met a lot of people this last week, some less actives and investigators and potential investigators. The ones who stick out the most to me are Justin and Tonya. Tonya is a less active member returning to activity, and Justin is her husband- they just got married a month or so ago! Justin was progressing really well towards baptism, but fell back into some bad habits. We met with them twice last week, and they showed up to church yesterday! It will be a long and hard road for them, but I have faith that they can make it! Sister Cole and I were able to talk to Justin Friday night, and I think he feels comfortable with us. We are excited to work with them, along with the other people we have met!

Well, I've adjusted to a lot of the heat, but it sure is still HOT here. And now that it's summer again, the bugs are coming out. I haven't seem them, but I sure have found a few bites on my legs! Definitely the worst part of skirts. Time to pull out that bugspray from last summer!

This area reminds me a lot of my first area in Taylor. I took a few pictures of the area as we were driving..

​But it sure is different at the same time! A lot more people with a lot more money :) It's a really tourist town, so that is kind of fun too!

 

I'm excited to be here, and really excited to be working with the people here. The ward knows how important it is to share what we have with those around us! I am so thankful that I have grown up with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life, because I can see so clearly how it has blessed me and my family. I want everyone to have these blessings and to find the happiness and joy that comes from the Gospel!

I love you guys! Be safe and happy!

Until next week....

Love, Sister Hailey Brown

 

 

Onward and Upward! Headed North, but not what you might think.....​May 14, 2014

5-14-2014

Hello Family! and the everyone who doesn't share my genes, hi to you too!

If you didn't skype with me on Mother's day, than you haven't heard the news- I'm getting transferred! Or, rather, I've been transferred! I'm in the same stake but a different ward- Cave Creek Ward in the Scottsdale North Stake. We cover a huge area including the towns of Cave Creek, Carefree, and who knows what else! Maybe part of a National Forest too..... :) My new companion is Sister Cole, and for the next few days I'll have Hermana White as a companion too! We are taking the area from her, but it doesn't need to be white-washed, so she is showing us around and introducing us to people until Saturday. Then she will go to her new area! President and Sister Sweeney will take her up to the Fort Apache Reservation near Show Low on their way to Eager on Saturday.

Cave Creek Ward is an EXCELLENT ward, with a lot of potential and hard working members! I'm excited to be here, but nervous to be taking on such precious cargo. But I'm trusting in the Lord! He knows what He is doing with me and the ward. :) There must be something here for me to do! I'm excited to work and get to know the area and the people.

We're actually living with another set of sisters right now, because the member home we live at has company over. So we'll move in next Monday. Unfortunately, that means I get to live out of suitcases until then. this is gonna get rough! But we just had three missionaries relocated here from Ukraine, and they told us about how rough it was for them, so I am never complaining again. At least, I'll try! They had to be evacuated and had a day's notice to leave. I am so blessed to be serving in the United States, in an area where I know I have a mattress on a bed frame and buildings that are up to code. We truly are blessed with so much!

Don't know much else of what to say.. I'll know more next week! But just seeing the area and the people yesterday was amazing. I'll really going to miss Chaparral Ward, but they'll keep going! And Brenda told me she would definitely invite me to her baptism!!

I love you guys! I'm so thankful for the opportunity I have to be here serving a mission and doing the work of the Lord in Arizona. I may not be as far out of the heat as I would like, but God puts us through our challenges to make us stronger! :)

Be happy!!

Love, Sister Hailey Brown

picture: Sister White, Sister Cole, and me! and a huge cactus is the background :)

 

 

Mario and No-Shows..​.. and 102 degrees!..​..................​. May 5, 2014

5-5-2014

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELIZA!!!!!! SWEET SIXTEEN YEAHHHHH!!!!!

and Hi everyone else!! :)

This week was pretty great! A young woman in our ward brought her friend Mario to church a week ago, and then texted us letting us know he wanted to meet and learn about the church!! He grew up a Jehovah's Witness, but never felt fulfilled in his religion. We met and taught him the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and he sincerely wants to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know the truth! We are super excited to be teaching him!

We also had TWO great lessons with Summer (the inactive member) and her four sweet daughters. We taught them about Lehi's dream, and they begged us to come back the next day! They had so many questions that were answered by the Plan of Salvation so we taught them about God's plan for us. They ask the best questions! I don't think I've had anyone ask me on my mission where God came from and how he become God! And these girls are all in elementary school! I love them SO MUCH!!! We invited them to come to church and sing fun songs in primary but they didn't come :(

We went to another ward's baptism on Saturday, and Brenda was supposed to come but was running late... and never showed. But she said FOR SURE she would be at church.... but nothing. We were really disappointed. We've been meeting with her for almost 5 months now, and I feel like we're going nowhere. She is really sick a lot, or busy, which is understandable.... I just wish we could help her see how much her life could be blessed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ! She hasn't been to church in probably 6 weeks. We'll keep trying! 

The missionary work is rough sometimes. And it isn't any easier now that summer has decided to come on full force.

Saturday was hot.

 

But it was even hotter two minutes later-

Don't mind the dust- it's everywhere down here!

Anyways, almost died, no big deal. Pray for me.

 

I love you all! Mom sent me some pictures of the front yard and it is BEAUTIFUL!! I love the beauty of Arizona, but I really miss the lush green soft beauty of Logan, Utah. I kind of wish I was serving for two years and so I would be coming home in the middle of summer, not winter!! I'll see what I can work out :)

Take care of our sweet family! Every day I testify that the most important thing in the world is our families. I have seen how blessed I have been by my sweet and loving family, and I pray that all families can find that pure peace and happiness that only comes through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love you all so much! Even if we're not family and you're reading this... I love you! You must be awesome if you're reading this anyways..... :)

Love you all! Thanks for all your prayers and your support! I'll let you know next week if I'm still alive here in Scottsdale or (preferably) chilling out a bit somewhere a bit cooler!!! 

LOVE YOU!!! BYYYYEEEEEEEEE

Sister Hailey Brown



 

A pleasant surprise of cool air and rain......​.....April 28, 2014

4-28-2014

Hello again, familia! Yes, it has been another week. :)

We had a nice cool weekend that stayed mostly in the 70s! On Saturday we had a little bit of rain in the morning- how I love it! It was super windy and reminded me of my first area in Taylor. We had to make a stop back at home so Sister Carambelas could change her skirt, hoping that a longer one would stay down a little better :) The rain didn't last but it's been a bit cooler that last few days! But I heard it's supposed to go back up to 95 this Saturday and it'll only get hotter from there. I pray I'll be able to handle the summer! Maybe I won't have to sweat it out in the valley though....

This week we were able to see Brenda! It was only for a few minutes, to give her a large print copy of the Book of Mormon. She hasn't been to church in a while, and didn't come yesterday. She told us that she wants to meet with the Bishop before she has another lesson with us. Luckily our Bishop is awesome and we're trying to get her in as soon as possible! We just have to coordinate their schedules. She hasn't progressed too much in the last 5 months or so that we've been working with her, but she has definitely been worked on for years by other missionaries and member friends. Her road may just be one that we can not yet see the end to. But we know that if she softens her heart she will come unto Christ and be baptized a member of His church!

Adam came to church though! We are working on resolving his concerns one and one, and trying to get him involved in the single ward. But we were able to meet his mom! She is super nice and is open to learning about what her son has been learning. Yay!

We had a lesson with an inactive member named David who we have met before but haven't been able to sit down and talk because he is single and we needed another female. We asked a great young returning missionary who was recently married to come with us, and she was AMAZING and we had a great lesson with him! But he doesn't believe in the church and doesn't see the need for it in his life. But he says he will always welcome the missionaries! Yay for people who are nice! We're going to try to get the Elder's Quorum involved and invite him to any service projects we might have.

We were both very sad to leave. The Spirit was so strong in our lesson, especially when David read a few verses out of the Book of Mormon out loud. We want so badly for him to find the ONLY THING that will bring TRUE and LASTING HAPPINESS-- the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!!! But he doesn't even know what he is missing right now, which is sad. The good news is, his parents are active and will always make sure the church knows where he is so members and missionaries can visit him! And maybe his time isn't now- the Lord is still working on him!

It is really difficult to know with all your heart and mind that something is true, and to know that it makes people happy and you just want to share it and have everyone be happy! and then people don't want it. They don't know that it will make them happy! But we are trying to show and tell people everywhere about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Like it says in chapter one of Preach my Gospel...

President Ezra Taft Benson taught: “We are commanded by God to take this gospel to all  the world. That is the cause that must unite us today. Only the gospel will save the world from the calamity of its own self destruction. Only the gospel will unite men of all races and nationalities in peace. Only   the gospel will bring joy, happiness, and salvation to the human family” (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [1988], 167).

True words!!!

I love you all so much! You are all AMAZING and LOVED!! Be safe, be happy, and share the word of God!!!

Love, Sister Hailey Brown

Photo- more fun at the zoo!!!!

 

 

 

Loving the sun . . . and the Phoenix Zoo!! ..........​...April 21, 2014

4-21-2014

So, hi everyone!

I'm writing a little bit later that usual because our zone went to the Phoenix Zoo this morning! We had a lot of fun, but man I'm exhausted! The sun sure does take a lot out of you!

We had a pretty good week this last week. The best part was the Easter Pageant! We got to go down and help pass out programs and invite people to the temple visitor's center on Tuesday and Saturday, and we went down with some members and nonmembers on Friday night and we got to see it! It was super good. Did you know it's the largest Easter Pageant in the world?!? So there were a bajillion people there, but I didn't even get too claustrophobic :) The cast comes out before it starts to talk to people, and they bring out some of the lambs they use! I got to cuddle one too! They use all real animals, and the cast is almost 500 people! It was really cool.

On Wednesday I was on exchange with the Sister Training Leaders in my area, Sister White and Sister Garrett. Yes, I was with both of them in my area- it was a little different. Sister Carambelas went with two other sisters to another ward for the day. The Sisters are such great missionaries and are always so upbeat! they really helped me to rebuild my faith in the area and in myself as a missionary. We had a great day! We were in the park, looking for people to talk to, and we talked to this man with a dog, named Antonio. He was super nice and gave us his phone number to invite to church, but he didn't show. Still, it's a possibility! and he was super nice. So... miracle!! It was great :)
We met with Adam again, and gave him some homework chapters to read in the Book of Mormon for our next meeting that will hopefully help resolve some of his concerns. We were also able to meet with Summer and her four daughters- did I tell you about them? They just moved here from Utah, and Summer and her husband are inactive and none of their daughters are baptized. We were able to teach them the Restoration, and we're planning to meet again this week! So, potentially, her three daughters 8 and older could be baptized! so we'll have to see!

I feel super boring this week. But we had a good week and we're working hard! We had a good Easter yesterday and I hope all of you did too! I love having this time to remember and reflect on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, and especially His Atonement and the Resurrection. We are so blessed by our Father in Heaven in so many ways that we don't even recognize. I am so thankful for my life and my family here on Earth, and even more grateful for the Atoning sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! He really does love us and know us, and I know that He comforts us through the Holy Ghost when we are in desperate need of comfort. I love this gospel and I just want to whole world to open their arms and accept it so they can be happy!!!

Thanks for all of your support and love- I sure need it! I love you all so much!!!!!

Love, Sister Hailey Brown