First Week - Mexico City MTC (CCM)

1. We have hot water. :PPPPPPP
2. There were thirteen Elders going to Tijuana that arrived the exact same day as me. All are from the US.
3. I believe there were 67 missionaries on my flight.
4. In my departure 360, I want to put in there somewhere my first name is elder now. It's kind of weird though. It's like the church has run out of first names. All the male missionaries have the same first name!
5. I met someone by the name of Elder Elder. It was pretty great.
6. Dad, I'm punning in Spanish. The Latino missionaries got it and thought it was really funny. Spanish isn't quite Korean though. :)

In one of the first meetings, the counselor to the MTC president said that language is not a barrier. It's a tool if you have it, but if you don't, it's not a barrier. Charity does its own work. I thought you might like to hear that. They also told me that my family will never be more blessed than when I'm on my mission.

Elder Brown and Elder Kelson
Mexico City MTC - Companions

Now for the relatively cohesive thought process. Elder Kelson is my companion. He was in Chance's ward. All the Elders in my district are going to serve in Tijuana Mexico. Trevor is in my District too. Tell Chance Elder Kelson and I are companions.

Elder Kelson is amazing. He has a way with people. He connects to them well. He gave me a blessing and it was an amazing blessing. I love my companion. I wish I could explain everything that he helps me with, but it's very difficult to say. He is very different from me, but when we work together, everything works very, very well. Him and I are polar opposites, but somehow we manage to complement each other. He is still homesick, and I feel bad for him. He is having a really hard time with the homesickness, the language, and the scriptures. I feel particularly bad for him because I haven't felt homesick at all, the language is coming easily, and I know the scriptures inside and out. In the time it takes anyone else to memorize Moroni 10:5, I memorize Moroni 10:5 and three other scriptures. The language is really coming.

Funny Story: The first morning here, Elder Kelson and I had our alarm clock set to Utah time. When we woke up at 6:30, we woke up just before breakfast. That was embarrassing. :)

We have taught somewhere between 4 and 7 lessons in Spanish, but I lost track after 2, so I don't know how many we've taught. They have been really fun though. Our lessons were ok, becuase I could speak Spanish very well, but Elder Kelson couldn't speak much. Then I decided to let Elder Kelson teach more EVEN THOUGH his grammar was nonexistent and his vocabulary base minimal. That lesson was amazing. He was difficult to understand, but it was a powerful example to me that the language is much less a barrier than we make it out to be.

Honestly, the CCM has been anticlimactic. It's all really easy. The only two hard parts have been 1. that it isn't hard for me and it is for everyone else, and 2. that I've only been getting 5 hours of sleep. I used to lay in bed for 2 hours before I would fall asleep and then wake up 4-5 times each night. It wasn't very hard on my physical or mental health, but my emotional and spiritual well-being suffered greatly. I got some melatonin and it has been helping me get to sleep so I can get closer to 7:30 of sleep. The food is great. I love it, and I've been totally fine. No sickness at all...ONLY sleep problems.

Food - We like it!

The Spanish, I'm loving it. Loving it. The first day I sat down next to some latino missionaries and talked to them in Spanish. They love me. I love talking to them. I help them with their English and they help me with my Spanish. I can understand Spanish well. I can speak it grammatically correct when I think about it. They said that they think my Spanish is the best in the CCM. They said that I am the only one that practices whenever I can, and that they think I can be fluent before I leave.

It's been really hard hearing everyone talk about how homesick they are or how hard this is. This CCM stay has all been easier than my life at home. I studied more at home than I do here, simply because of time. Everything about home was more demanding of me than the CCM is. They talk about how much more it is for them while I think about how much of a break it is from my pre-mission life. They talk about how the first CCM day was the longest week of their life, and I remember how fun and fast it seemed. For that reason and the fact that I don't keep track of days anyway, I don't know how long I've been here.

Dad, I want your help. I haven't had many spiritual experiences here. Other people receive a lot of revelation frequently. They say that if I have a pen clicked and ready to write then I will receive revelation. It simply doesn't come for me. Maybe it's because my well-being is low and when I am fully rested in a couple of days, I will feel the Spirit, but the CCM is less spiritual than home was. I pray for inspiration and try to think about what I can do to improve and I get nothing. Do you and Mom have any suggestions?

With much love,
Elder Brown

Departure 360

A day or so before Brock left on his mission, he and I (his mom) decide it would be fun to do a Departure 360 post. We asked every member of the family to write their feelings about him leaving on a mission. Read on and enjoy our family and the feelings we experienced September 16, 2015! First up is Elder Brown...

I hug my family goodbye. I look at their faces and realize I won't see them for two years. Surprisingly, that doesn't bother me too much. I look into my Mom's red-rimmed eyes and see the pride and joy therein. She raised me for eighteen and a half years with this end in mind: temple covenants promising my salvation, my obedience insuring it, and then my love sharing it. I fear the awkwardness of my family waving goodbye as I wait in line for security. I am grateful that they leave as I get in line. I take one last look, and upon seeing my Mom looking back, stick my tongue out and smile. :)

I start a conversation with the person in front of me, and upon realizing she's cute, it gets awkward. I'm a Missionary, set apart for the salvation of the people of Tijuana, reserved, not to flirt, but to share my testimony and love with others. After losing a tube of toothpaste and glasses solution to the volume limit on carry-ons, I walk out of security and on toward my marvelous adventure.

Upon finding an elder I recognize, I talk to him for a little, and we make our way to the airport gate. I break off from him and talk to the other Elders. It is a time of general excitement, nervousness, and homesickness. However, I don't feel much of any of that. I feel excitement, yes, but not in any extreme way. It is reality. I accept it, I do it, to the best of my ability, and I love it. That is my feeling.

Seeing all of these Elders and hearing a conversation about how many are on our one flight, I remember my Mom and decide to take a picture of all of us.

Missionaries leaving SLC airport Wednesday, Sep 16, 2015
Bound for Mexico City MTC

On the flight, the announcing people explain everything twice, once in English, and again in Spanish. I try to decipher their words and have a hard time. "Oh dear," I think. I talk a little to the flight attendant, and really like him. He makes fun of me, and asks me why all the other Elders are so solemn. I say it's because we're all about to wet our pants with fear. He makes fun of me again and I take a jab at him. We laugh and he continues with his job.

The plane lands and we jump in line for customs. The line is three hours long. I soak in all the Spanish I can as I wait. Upon exiting, I find the Elders assigned to help us to the CCM (MTC) and talk to them. They speak enough Spanglish to get their point across in a manner which I can follow. I sit down and think of the day's irony.

We sat in a car waiting to stand in a line at security so we could sit at the gate waiting to stand in another line for the plane, where we sat for a long time, wating to stand. Upon landing, we stood for three hours waiting to sit down so we could wait for the buses to leave. I would stand on the bus waiting to sit and be disoriented at the CCM "orientation" course (seriously, I didn't even know which way was north for a while, Dad).

Missionaries in my MTC District
Mexico City MTC - September 2015

After the "disorientation," we go to eat dinner. It rains as my district walks through the most beautiful campus I've ever seen (it's like BYU and Thanksgiving Point in one). I sit down and eat something tasty (all the food here is tasty), and then I look around. I take in the beauty and all the new things.

Elder Scoubes says, "What's up, Elder Brown?"

"I'm home," I say, and the Holy Ghost welcomes me.
—Elder Brown

Family Photo - September 2015

I am excited for Brock to go on his mission. I think he is going to be a great missionary. Good luck Brock! Have a wonderful time and have lots of fun! Write home often so we can hear about all the good you are doing! Love you lots!
—T.M. (age 11)

 Today we went to the airport in Salt Lake City to drop off my older brother named Brock. He is going to serve a mission. He flew to the Mexico City MTC. I am sad because Brock is going to be gone for two years.

One reason I am sad is because he is really good at math and he can help me with my math homework. I like to play hide and go seek with Brock. He is special because he plays with me and helps me a lot.

He put me in charge of his giant stuffed animal panda, for two years, to help me remember him. I am proud of him for serving a mission because he will help lots of people. He will teach them about the gospel and about the Savior.
—B.J. (age 9)

Monday night, it hit me- My role model was leaving and there’d be no one to fill the gap he left. I cried Monday and Tuesday nights, and on Tuesday realized that if my life was The Lord of the Rings, Brock would be Gandalf. On Wednesday, with those thoughts in mind, I went to the airport, determined not to cry. And I didn’t. I knew at the airport that Brock was doing the right thing, and that we would be blessed. I remembered all those years ago when I was 8, and first learning what a mission was. The missionaries came to teach my primary, and from that moment, I knew i wanted to go on a mission. If I wanted to, how could I not allow Brock? I was fine letting him go, and still haven’t cried yet. I know that this is a good thing (because I finally got a phone) and I know that a gap has not been made- Brock can still be my role model even though he is hundreds of miles away right now. He’ll still send home letters, and I can learn from them. So… Yeah. I guess that’s all I have to say.
—B.M. (age 15)

Wow! What an exciting time in our family life. This past Wednesday we took Elder Brock Brown to the airport and sent him to Mexcio for a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have been mentally preparing (really preparing) for this day for almost a year. As last Wednesday drew closer and closer, I thought we would all be crying and it would be very difficult to watch Brock walk away for such a long time. However, on Wednesday, I tried to keep a light-hearted attitude as did the rest of the family. Not many tears were shed and honestly, it was okay. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I was filled with peace.

Throughout the rest of the week I received many texts and fb messages asking how I was holding up or if I was doing okay. One text that came through was different. A friend of ours from Montana texted me and asked me if I was on cloud 9 after sending my missionary off. That was such a refreshing question and the answer was indeed a yes. A mission is something that I have always taught my children they should do but wanted the choice to be theirs. They need to gain their own testimony of the Church and be willing to sacrifice and experience their own things. As a mother, I’m excited and pleased that Brock has chosen to serve a mission and I know that he is in the Lord’s hands and will be taken care of.

In 1 Nephi 3, Nephi and his brothers are sent on a mission to retrieve the brass plates from King Laban. Things don’t go smoothly, at first. Nephi and his brothers have trials and challenges and things they need to work out on their own. Nephi’s attitude about this mission as stated in 1 Nephi 3:7 is “I will go and do the things that the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord givieth no commandment unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the things which he commandeth them.” They are also blessed with many miracles as the Lord helps them accomplish the task he has asked them to fulfill. During the next two years, Brock’s mission will be much like this mission of Nephi and his brothers. There will be times that things won’t go smoothly, there will likely be some disagreements within the companionship, there will be language barriers and struggles and challenges that my son will go through. However, if he stays humble and close to the Lord, then like Nephi, Elder Brown will be able to find solutions to his trials, answers to prayers and miracles will happen right before his very eyes.

The next two years are going to be amazing! So excited to have this journey begin! Love you lots Elder Brown! I sure hope the people of the Mexico Tijuana Mission are ready for you.
—Mom

When Brock left on his mission id didn't affect me much because he was really busy and out of the house a lot. Also, I spent the summer in Montana away from my family so I've been used to not being around him.
—T.R. (age 17)

I'll probably miss you and will definately notice you are gone!
—Dad

The Countdown...

Oh, how the time flies. I like to pretend to myself that I'm not excited, but I am. I try not to pretend I'm scared, but I'm not. I tried so hard not to count down, I really did. Once September rolled around though, I couldn't help but keep track of them. It's like Christmas, but it's eighteen years in the making, and it only happens once. And unlike the gifts we receive then, I actually work toward these ones. I will never earn any of the gifts given (Mosiah 2:21), but I will work towards them, and I will hopefully be willing to receive them.

Life has been pushing me toward the mission. I quit my job and temple work. The missionaries stopped calling me for splits, those scums. Plans that I make keep falling through, unless they're aimed towards my mission.

I've learned, once again, from my life, that I need to focus on my ultimate goals and what I'm doing to accomplish them. The following quote has developed increasing importance to me:

"I am who I am because I did what I did to get here, whether I did it on purpose or not. I will be who I will be tomorrow because of what I do today to become him. If I am intentionally, consistently acting today to become who I want to be tomorrow, then am I not him today? Thus begs the question: Am I defined by my past, or my future?"

(My hopeful mission companion, Trevor Scoubes, and I)

Yes, our past is divinely designed to assist us, but not define us. As Elder Holland said, "The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead and remember that faith is always pointing towards the future".

I can't believe it! I'm going on a mission!! I really only have 2 more days! Time goes so quickly. It is so precious; don't waste it, please.