Elder Zachary Brandon Brown
England Leeds Mission
Lister House, Lister Hill
Horsforth
Leeds
England LS18 5AZ

Monday, June 8, 2015

Change is a Miracle

Hi mom and dad :).  

I'm guessing at this point you've got my travel itinerary as well.  It's funny because those are the same airports I hit on the way here.  I'm going out the way I came back in, just with different people and being a bit different myself.  Getting people ready for my departure is going really well.  I'm actually in Rotherham now on an extended exchange with Elder Pohorelicky while Elder Rogers works with E. Frahm in Darnall and E. Fielding works with E. Bowen in Firth Park.  It started Sunday after church and will last until Thursday, and we'll do another one next Sunday.  There are lots of facets to it, but it's all going well and I'm happy with it.  Lots of work, but it keeps us busy and that's always a good thing.

This week went pretty well, and involved some interesting things like MLC.  I enjoyed that a lot, and it's my last one since this is my last full transfer, and next transfer I'm only in for a few weeks before going home.  I can't really be in leadership if I'm leaving right in the middle of things that transfer.  Highlights of my week...we finally are going to the Registrar's office this week to get a wedding set up for P and T from Doncaster.  For real this time!  We're super excited for this; I've been going to their home for a very long time.

Our branch has a lot of people that are related to each other, and this week the brother of four of them was hit by a lorry in Slovakia while he was riding his bike to work.  This resulted in about 15 people jumping on a plane to Slovakia to go be with him in the hospital because he's in a coma and a very bad state.  Please keep these people in your prayers, because it's a very difficult time for them.

A funny quote from E. Rogers this week (this is what he comes up with while we're trying to plan one night) :  "It's like I'm double concentrate and you're water."  It's in reference to how we balance each other.  It made me laugh. :) 

I'm glad of what I've come to learn over the course of my mission, and there's still plenty more left to go.  I've had some good moments of reflection on it a couple times last week, and I'm really pleased with what I've been able to add to myself and to others.  Change is such a miracle.  Testimony meeting was impressive this week as well.  A couple people recently baptized bore great testimony that shows a lot of spiritual development.  A was one of them, and she talked about how when she was 40 she had a blood vessel burst in her head and begin dripping on her brain.  It's a life-threatening event, but she has a firm testimony that God was the one who preserved her at that time.  I don't think it was just chance either, as she was able to eventually find her way to England, discover the church, and join it.  God's patterns are spectacular.  O talked about how because of some difficulties he and his family had been having, they'd been very close to stopping coming to church.  He bore testimony, however, of how the Savior always goes after the one who leaves the other 99 sheep of the fold to lead it back to safety.  He knows that this is true.  D's been involving her friends in lessons, and has helped the other young women in the branch be firmer in their own activity.  The youth group has been pretty weak for a while, but she's proven to be a very positive influence, and things are looking up there.  If the young women are there, I'm sure the young men will shortly follow.

There are many miraculous things happening, and I know that as we continue to strive to reach higher, God will be with us and guide us.  I hope you can strive for that guidance in your own lives as well.  Love you lots, and I look forward to hearing from you next week!  You're the best :) .

Love,
Elder Brown

Me at MLC with E. Boyer.  It turns out, my tie is approved.  And it's been sitting in my closet all this time!

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