Knock...Knock...

Great week this last week!

Monday:
I was sick. they gave me an injection. THEY INJECTED MY BUTT FOR A COMMON COLD!!!! What has this world come to? Oh the Humanity!!!

Tuesday:
Turns out the medicine they gave me (amplicin) is closely related enough to peniciline and augmentin that I was allergic to it. THAT was comforting. I even told them I was allergic to anything close to peniciline. Fortunately I came out fine; I just got another three days of butt pricks. It sure was a pain in the butt though!!!

Wednesday:
You know, there are probably only a few quintessencial words or phrases in a missionary's story, But I know that "knock" and "knock" are two of em. Thus, as "once upon a time" iniciates a fairy tale, knock knock brings the missionary tale into full development.!

"Knock knock." goes my 50 peso coin on the metal door jam. Nobody answers. Instead, a middle-aged man comes down the stairs, hangs up the phone, and says,

"Good morning Elders. Come in."

He directs us into the house we knocked like it's his. We go inside and its a doctor's office... Turns out he's the owner of some magnetic medicine shop that apparently works wonders on the spine and cures cancer. Apparently magnets are the cure to all llness nowadays. Who knows, could be true. The next thing ya know, I'm makin' up medical 'n physical terms 'n tryin to figure out where all this is coming from. Then a question I never thought I'd hear fell from my lips,

"Do ya think the magnets could make a difference on blistered feet?"

Turns out, he thought they could. He did his little magnetic maneuvers, took a magnetic glance at my positively repulsive ;) feet and left for a few minutes. He came back from another room with two magnets.

On the bright side, almost a week later, I'm positively blister-free!

Thursday:
"Knock, knock" there are the two quintessencial words again.!

"Who's there?" a middle aged woman calls.

"Missionaries of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We'd like to give you a card." 

"We're not home." She calls back.

Those are my favorites. :)!

We ate a BROWNIE PIZZA TODAY!!!!!!!

Friday:
I went and served with Elder W* for the day. He's really a really good guy. We ate some fantastic doughnuts, contacted a lady in front of a white wall with the sun on it. Now, I'm gonna have to start learning brail...!

Saturday:
Elder W*: He's really just a great guy. I really look up to him (on top of the fact that he's tall). He's honest, understanding, patient, and a bunch of other really awesome words I don't feel like putting down. I wanna be like him.  Going with him was an answer to my prayers.

Sunday:
Fantastic day. I was able to partake of the sacrament, like normal, but after a couple of weeks of practice, I've been able to have more and more meaningful experiences. This week, I was able to review many ways in which my prayers had been answered, many ways that the Atonement had helped me. I reflected upon character changes I had seen over the last weeks and over the entire mission. Then, as I partook of the sacraments, my mind was taken to a couple of "pendientes" pending problems or plans that I was not satisfied with. I knew I was in the wrong, but I didn't really see much hope to change. Right then and there, I could feel my heart let go of the old ideas and accept the gospel truth. I didn't learn anything new intellectually, but I experienced what I consider to be revelation to the heart. It wasn't any real instruction, but a change in me, and I felt it happen. That was cool.

Funny awkward moment of the week: 
We were just leaving church and a family stops by us and asks us where we're going. I tell 'em were going to our house. They ask us where we live, and I say, "We live by the Cortez family" super proud of the fact that I knew where we live.!

"Oh! Were the cortez family," was their response. :) OOPS!! That's embarrassing!!

18 Months Into the Mission:
It's kinda funny what that 1.5 year mark does to ya. Something fundamental about the mission changes. Ya start to look backward. Looking back, I've truly been blessed:
1. I'm in one of few biking missions. If I hadn't been on bike, I wouldn't have been able to stay here in the mission while my feet healed.
2. So many things have changed. Many of the biggest personality problems I had before have seen much improvement. Unfortunately enough, I still make bad puns.
3. I've identified many weaknesses before unseen, and learned to improve.
4. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has become a tactile idea to me. It's more than a puffy cloud in the sky.
I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know that God has restored His Gospel through the prophet Joseph Smith. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is the prophet called of God today. following their counsel is ALWAYS the best idea. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

--Elder Brown