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

Another Drizzly Week- We Love The Rain!!...October 13, 2014

10-13-2014

Hello! I'm writing a bit later today because we had a sisters conference in St. John's for the sisters in the mountains this morning, which was really good! We'll take some time tomorrow to get the rest of our P-day things done, we just need to do everything that's in town today so we don't have to use the miles tomorrow!

Best news: Anne Marie passed her baptism interview! I was a little worried, wondering if she was ready to make this commitment and really understanding it all,  but she seems to be doing great. I'm excited to be here for her baptism on the 25th! She has really let the Gospel of Jesus Christ influence and change her life for the better. I love seeing the result of the Lord's work!

We met some other people in our wards, less actives and such, who I am excited to work with! But, we got a leak of transfer news- Sister Krutsch is the only one who is going to stay in this area come October 28th. I was pretty bummed about the news- I really thought this would be my last area! But I guess the Lord has one more place in mind for me. I asked President today what my chances are of staying the mountains (after all, Mom, you just send me all my cold weather clothes!!) and he said it's a 50-50 chance right now. So, I know I'll be leaving, but I don't know where I'm going. But I am so thankful for the chance I have had to serve in this area and meet so many new people! My companions have helped me so much, and I am so thankful for them as well :)

Wait, I just thought of the other Best News: A woman named Colleen saw the elders in walmart last monday, went up to them and said, "I want to be a member of your church!" So, these great elders got her information and sent it in, and we got the referral the same day. We contacted Colleen on Tuesday, and she is really lonely and want's to belong to a church that will love her and that she can get involved in. She has a long way to go, along with a slew of medical problems (and other problems too, of course), but she seems genuine and we already have such a love for her! We visited her last night, and just testifying of God's love for us brought the Spirit into her home. I'm thankful for everyone who has helped her in little ways to be led to some people who can help her find some direction in life.

I am so thankful for this gospel and this church! I love my Savior, and know that I am able to do everything I do because of Him. But, here's a shout out to you as well! I love you all!!

Love, Sister Hailey Brown

pictures- we finally found a tarantula. intriguing and terrifying. don't look if you don't want to see! 

A Great Week with General Conference!!...... October 6, 2014

10-6-2014

So hello again!

Yesterday I watched my very last session of General Conference that I will watch on the mission. I can't believe how fast this time has flown by! I am so thankful every day that I chose to serve a mission, and I receive so many blessings and good times because of it.

So, I think we ALL LOVED General Conference! We watched the Sunday Morning session with our investigator Anne Marie, and she loved it! She even called in sick to work so she could watch the last session too :) Each member of the First Presidency especially impressed her: President Uchtdorf (whom she refers to as Deiter), President Eyring (she doesn't remember his name) and our prophet, President Thomas S Monson- she remarked after his talk about how humble he is! I love all of them so much, and I think she does too :) And, she likes Deiter F. Uchtdorf's hair :)

Anne Marie is still planning on being baptized on the 25th, so we are getting the ball rolling! We are so excited for her, and I think she is excited too :)

We were well taken care of for conference, so no worries! I ate so much food everywhere we went!

We had a lesson with our investigator Dan on Friday, which went really well. He asked us what makes our church different from other Christian churches. So, we again taught him about the Restoration of the Priesthood and Gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth. We also read to him the baptism interview questions, which will help him see what we plan to teach him so he will be able to understand the standards and commandments we keep. We think the questions kind of threw him for a loop... He had stated earlier that he just wanted to be baptized into a Christian church. We hope we will be able to keep meeting with him, and that he may be able to understand and to feel the Spirit of God touch his heart. He didn't come to any of the sessions of conference, except the Priesthood session- which is great! We will try to set up a time to meet with him this week to see how he is feeling about it all.

I love you people oh so very much! I am so thankful for your influences in my life and for your love and support. Thanks for everything you do!!!!

Love, Sister Hailey Brown

pictures-

we saw a big ole herd of deer! I love the wildlife up here!

Sitgreaves National Forest, I believe. We headed in there to go visit some members!