Palpable Presence of Priesthood Power and a Story From My Mom

The last week went pretty well. We found new investigators. a family of five actually changed from our old area to this one. :) Thus, we still get to teach them. Their names are S*, A*, D*, F*, and E* G*. S* and A* are the parents. They've been reading the Book of Mormon. We knocked their door one day and the mom told us she wanted her kids to have a religion, and so we started teaching them. They seem to be progressing.

We met another investigator named X*. She's the grandma of a 15 year old young man. She's seeing problems in her family. She likes the church, but isn't gonna break the "Family Rule". She's not going to get baptized after her catholic baptism. We taught her about the blessings of the new and everlasting covenant and promised her that like Abraham, her seed would be a blessing to the earth if she lived the same covenant. We told her that in order to live that covenant, she needed to get baptized. Then she was more okay with breaking "The Rule".

Not sure if I mentioned em, but J*, D*, and E* are progressing. They're reading the Book of Mormon. We taught them the word of wisdom and they told us they would live it. D*, who was an addict to coca cola, even commited to leave that addiction behind. That was pretty exciting. I'm not saying that coca cola is bad, but I am saying that any addiction is harmful. :)

Then what happened? E* R*is a single mom of 4 kids (at least) who is helping us a ton with the missionary work. She's been taking three of our investigators (J*, O*, and S*) to church and its activities. They have been progressing. Unforunately, they're rather rude to their mom, who is a drug addict, and so she tells us that they can't get baptized until they're less rude to her. We'll have to see how that works out. :)

What else is there? I've been able to give priesthood blessings and see how much they really can help. Every time the priesthood is used, the spirit enters very powerfully. It's presence is palpable. I know that the priesthood is the power of God. I love being a witness of its power. For that, I know that this church is the true Church of Jesus Christ. We just happen to be striving for saint-hood in the latter days. I know that God wants us to serve a mission, and has given us a TON of blessings to compensate it. I LOVE the mission. :)

--Elder Brock Brown

Last Saturday, I received a phone call from a dear sister in Elder Brown's ward. She was calling to let me know that Elder Brown would be at her home the next day and would be using her Skype account for his Mother's Day call home. During my Skype call with Sister B*, she congratulated me on what a wonderful, compassionate, and humble young man Elder Brown is. She told me that her and her husband had met some missionaries in another part of Mexico and joined the church about three years ago. They have recently moved to E* where Elder Brown is serving. This dear sister is married and has three adorable children (I met them via our Skype call).

A few months ago, her family was met with a difficult trial. Her oldest boy ended up in the hospital with a ruptured appendix and the family was told he had 48 hours to live. This young child has made a full recovery. Howerver, at the time of the hospitalization, this woman felt alone and abandoned by her current an somewhat new ward (she recently moved into this area).

Not one person checked up on her family, no one brought her meals, no one asked how they were doing, no one extended a hand of service and love. She told me that her ward is very cold and that people don't serve each other very much. The ward that she had moved from was very loving and gave service to each other often. She said, "We didn't need any friends outside the church because all our needs were always met by the members, but it isn't like that in this new ward." This feeling of abandonment and loneliness led to hurt feelings and her family quit attending church.

One day (within the last couple weeks, because Elder Brown has only been in the area a short time), she was at a local grocery store. Each week this grocery store has a contest of sorts, and one family is chosen to race through the grocery store filling their carts with anything they want. They are given a time limit. The whole thing is recorded and the family recieves whatever they can get in their cart during that time frame for free. This recording is then posted on social media. Anyway, a few weeks ago, Elder Brown and his companion Elder V* happened to be at the grocery store during the filming of a family racing through the store filling their carts. The Elders were pretty much just standing there watching. (I'd love to find that video somehow). During the filming Elder Brown suddently hears someone calling in English, "ELDERS.....ELDERS" Of course, Elder Brown turned to see who was calling them in English. His companion was probably abit annoyed that Elder Brown even paid attention because generally the only people who speak to the missioanries in English are those that want to argue about the Bible.

Much to the surpise of both Elder Brown and his companion, this sweet lady had called them. She has excellent english as she has spent many years in both Canada and the United States. After speaking with the missionaries for a bit, they set up a time for to meet with her family. Sister B* told me that as she was telling Elder Brown why her family hasn't been to church and has become less active, that Elder Brown was filled with a great deal of love and compassion for her and her situation. She said that he started to get emotional with her as she was crying and telling him how difficult it was to feel forgotten by her ward members. Elder Brown then said something that has changed her life. He said, 'Sister B* you can be the person that changes everything for this ward. You can be an example of how ward members should love and serve others.'

Elder Brown during our Mother's Day Skype Call

Since that day, her family has come back to church and is finding great joy in serving others and being an example to those around her. She is grateful that Elder Brown has helped her see where she can make a difference to others.

I have been in contact a little with this sister the past couple of days. She truly is a wonderful daughter of God, and is so loving and kind. It was wonderful to hear directly from her how my son has touched her heart and is helping the people in his ward and new area. As a challenge to myself and others, let's strive to have more compassion for those around us and the struggles they are facing.

Elder Brown did call via Sister B's Skype account on Mother's Day. It was wonderful for me to hear his version of how he met Sister B. It was wonderful to see his smiling face, hear his testimony and love of his mission, the Savior, and the Book fo Mormon. This is definatley the greatest experience I could ever wish my children to have. A mission is hard and rewarding. It helps shape them into incredible adults. We love hearing the growth of Elder Brown. Hope you all have a wonderful week!

-Sarah, Elder Brock Brown's Mom