Well hello there world. I just wanted to send a quick word to all of you out there. So this week was really cool because on thursday I met and shook the hand of an apostle of the lord. It was so COOL!!! So this is the story. I found out monday night that we were not going to be having our district class the following day because we needed to go to chillan(center of my zone) on wednesday to meet up and go to the conference that would follow the next day Thursday. Yeah... weird?! I know. So I was like ok cool whatever pj party in the church. We worked those two days and had some good success and then around 8:00 we head off to chillan with our stuff to spend the night in the chapel. So we get there and we start changing( assuming it was ok because as of this moment it was half of our zone and to my understanding no one else was coming over) when elder Diaz looks back and see´s us changing in front of them and goes, whoa elders what are you doing?! Me thinking I did something wrong was like ugh crap what did I do!? The elder Diaz says just hurry because at any time the Hermanas(sisters) could show up and we dont want them seeing you in your ¨unders¨. As he says those words my heart kinda sinks and I ask.... Why would the Hermana´s be coming over!? We are staying the night. He then goes on to say how the president of the mission authorized and commanded that all of the elders and hermana´s be IN THE CHAPEL at a certain time and all STAY the night there. I was really baffled at why he would be doing that. So we hurry and get changed and then a few minutes later the hermana´s show up. We start talking all of us and just pass it really well together and then play some games, UNO! :) oh yeah! Then 11:45 o´clock comes around and I was like yeah elders and sisters, It has been great and all, but we need to be up at 4:00 tomorrow so go to bed. As I say that I look around and wonder... where are the hermana´s going to sleep!? All of the elders already had their spots picked out on the benches, so I was like ok, we are going to be sleeping on extremes of the room tonight. haha we are not even going to be close. We start making beds for them and then some other elders found another room that was perfect for them so we moved them over there. Well to speed up the whole story a little bit It is about 12:15 and I am in bed. I am just laying there on the harder than concrete benches trying to forget everything and go to bed. I laid there for a good 30 minutes or more. It was ridiculous, then I hear someone come in and feel someone looking over me. I open my eyes to see Elder Raley!!! (mtc roommate) I havent seen this guy for more than a year. I was like oh my heck! I got up and gave him a big hug!! I then call elder Page and Elder Hutchins over(we all roomed together in the mtc) We had a big roommate hug haha It was fun. Well to make things short me and elder Raley talked until about 2:00 and then I laid there for another 30 minutes trying to get to bed and when I couldnt I went out and started talking for a little longer. Well 3:00 o´clock comes around and I go in and grab my stuff just sick of not being able to sleep and start getting ready. I finish getting ready and about 3:20 the bus pulls up. Elder Raley says, I think that the bus is here. We go out side and we ask what he is doing and he says I am here to pick up the missionaries. Yeah he is an Hour early!!!! Haha so we go and wake up all of the other missionaries and they get ready in like 10-15 minutes Hermana´s included and we get on the bus and head off to concepcion. We get to concepcion at about 5:30 ish. sleeping hardly at all. We then at 6:00 have a good little bit to sleep so we all take a power nap and at 7:00 we go inside the stake center in concepcion and eat a little breakfast awaiting the arrive of the apostle. At about 8:00 we are in a room reading scriptures waiting and at about 8:30 we all stand up as the representative of the lord walks in. We all then after go up and shake his hand. It was interesting because as EVERY elder or hermana passed, he made direct eye contact and says elder/hermana.... so and so.... it is nice to meet you where are you from!? He was really nice. Oh it was Elder Cook!! So cool.! :) His talk after was so powerful. He talked about how we are called to build up the branches of the lord. I felt like a better missionary after his talk. I have kinda felt like not the most successful missionary because I havent baptised TONS of people, but he helped me realize that the lord has called us to build his church and that is not just through baptism. It is through many other ways. I loved his talk and I just wanted more of it. Well I think that, that is it for the day I hope that all of you guys have a great week this week. See ya.
Love Elder Brown