Elder Ethan Brown: July 14, 2014 Weekly Letter

Hey everyone, how are things back home?

Things are good here, it's getting warmer, that's for sure, but I think I'm getting used to the new climate here. A lot has been happening here, don't know if you would consider it exciting, but I thought it was fun.

So to start off we did a chalk talk of the plan of salvation. You would not believe how many people tried to avoid us, who needs traffic signs and cones just put six missionaries on the street corner and everyone finds a alternate route, but we did find some cool people during the activity and we picked up a few new potentials, so far only one really stuck. We got a referral, a family from Texas who just barely moved here and apparently they received all the lessons from the missionaries and have been trying to find the church and want to be baptized, however we got the apartment building, but we don't have an apartment number, so we will see if we can still find them, but if they lied (heaven forbid) I would say they are the smartest Hispanics yet in getting away from us. But I think we'll find them even if we have to knock every door in the apartment.

We have had huge rain storms lately this week and one of them cause a huge rainbow actually two huge complete rainbows, it was super cool, don't worry I got pictures and video feed of the whole thing from our apartment balcony, quite the picture though.

Then on July 11th we went to 7 eleven and because it was 7/11 they gave away free slurpies from 11-7, just as a future reference if you didn't know. Anyway we went and got some and we tried to be nice and get some from another 7 eleven for the other elders, but by the time we got back the slurpies were pretty much half ice and half sugary carbonated soup, which we tried (not that good, I won't lie). But that was the highlight for that day.

Then on Saturday my companion had a family that he baptized a little over a year ago and they got sealed, and so for the first time I was able to attend my first live sealing session and I understood very little because it was all in Spanish, but a great experience nonetheless. Such a great family, man I wish I could be in that ward because the members that attended the sealing were super cool, maybe one day.

Then yesterday nothing super amazing with church and all and the regular confusion, but I can pick off some words and I don't fall asleep anymore, well almost fall asleep anymore, maybe my mind is catching a hold of Spanish without me noticing and I don't get as bored or day dream as much. This is all hypothetical I may or may not have done any of this LOL. I think the best part about yesterday was the night of music, which was also all in Spanish, it was a good spiritual experience, but really made the night was that me and Elder Little translated the Spanish into English for all the English people in the audience/congregation, ya Elder Little did it all, he's been out for a year now and is one of my best friends on the mission with Elder Jamius and of course Elder Stubbs my mission father. Anyway so translating is super hard because even if you understand what is being said Spanish is phrased differently (backwards), then some phrases in Spanish don't exist in English and via versa, and the words in Spanish don't exactly translate into English and if you don't know the exact meaning and translate word for word you have a funny sentence for example when you say "me encanta" in Spanish it means "I love" (something like food or a place,etc, but not used with people) anyway but the direct translation actually means it enchants me or me enchants if we want to be correct. And that makes no sense at all, so there are those little things and a lot if different rule you get confused with going back from Spanish to English and having to translate fast doesn't make it very easy either, so you basically give a general summary of what was said in actuality. But anyway me an Elder Little had a lot of fun together in the little Translating booth together making jokes that we should give a weather update or give a recap of Germany's win over Argentina if we didn't understand what was going on, ahh good times.

Then as far as investigators go we are still working with them as usual, not a ton of progress, but we finally got Delmira on date for August 3rd, she has been a investigator for over a year now and it has been super hard to get her to baptism, she comes to church, feeds us, and we always teach her and it's a wonder why she isn't baptized, but we consider this a step I the right direction. Also we have her daughter and granddaughter as investigators so we will see what will happen there, hopefully only good things to see, but who knows.

Well that's a week, time is starting to get fast, these weeks don't come in weeks, but in blurs as I look back on my time I am almost five months in and I remember leaving like it was yesterday, a year an a half sounds like a long time and it is, but if time keeps going at this pace I'll be home in no time.

Well I'll catch you guys later, love you all, enjoy your week.

Love,

Ethan