Life is Really Good - Kasih Amal

HEy hey hey everybody (shout out to Mr. Mack and his usual class greeting :)

How are you doing?? Life is really good here in Malang! We saw a part member couple get married in our church on Saturday and then they came to church on Sunday! IT was so cool!! I'm just kind of hyped about life and the gospel! Wahoo!! haha

LIFE IS SO GOOD!!!

GOOO ALICE!!! (to his cousin who ran the 5000 meters for BYU in the Conference Championships)

So this week we did splits with the other Elders in our house - it was SO good! I learned so much!! Especially a lot about kasih amal or in other words charity!! IT was awesome! Had a great split with Elder Wijaya! And then my split with Elder Hansen involved some service and then becoming a threesome with Elder Wijaya! 

Elder Ostermiller went to Jakarta so he could go to the Hospital with Sister Rowley! HE just got back Sunday and he's okay - they found the problem, which involves some sinus stuff and etc... So it's good!

We had a great time as a threesome! I've been stressed recently and I feeel like I was a lot more back to my usual self or at least the self I like to be :)

We had great experiences teaching and meeting new people and I'm exctied for theis week!!!

Elder Ostermiller and I are going to go and testify to EVERYONE that God loves them and he gaves His Son Jesus Christ so that we can all go back to HIM!!!

I've been thinking a lot about this and I just want to Testify to you all that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world in a very very literal sense. I believe that there is a God and He IS our Father! He loves us, and wants us to come back! The Way to do that is through Jesus Christ and His Atonement! Sometimes it is hard to explain or even understand, but I know it is true! I know that Christ makes it possible for life to be joyful - through the eternities!!!

I love you so much!!!!

So no really crazy stories - excpet for our house partially flooded and we found a mouse in our washing machine haha!! But life is just so good!!!

Love you!

Elder Trevor Brown

Swimming - But not with the Spider

Hello Everyone

How many monkeys?

WOW - that is awesome (response to news of Brielle Crump’s mission call)! Tell her hi and congrats for me!

I love Madeleine! I didn't even know she was in Sweden - so cool!! (response to news that a friend is serving in Sweden – and her brother is headed to Indonesia)

Thaank you for everything Mommy!! No rush on the package - I am doing fine with the poncho I have now! Life is good! But no rush!!!

It's good that you got to talk to Steph’s companion's Mom - I hope they just click!! When I saw the picture - I almost said "Oh good - she's not a solo" but I guess she is! Make sure to send all her emails to me every time - promise??

I don’t know who assigns companions - but it probably is the Branch President!! Wow that means Drew can communicate through his teacher (Drew’s Arabic professor at BYU is Stephanie’s MTC Branch President)- that's so cool! I can't believe it Mommy!

Oh yes that awful Spider - that was so funny! so we find and we're all freaking out a little cause this thing looks Nasty! but we know that if we take our Mosquito Spray and  lighter we can make a legit flame thrower (sorry Mommy) so we're all standing there watching it - I've got the flame thrower, Hansen has a book, Ostermiller has something - I think the broom and Elder Wijaya has a bucket. So the Spider literally jumps from the door and runs toward the three Americans and Elder Wijaya is opposite us in the door way, so he chucks his bucket at the Spider in an attempt to trap but which only serves the purpose of hiding the spider from our vision for a second so we're all freaking out and jumping and screaming like little girls until we see it again go under Hansen's closet. Then we ROASTED that thing! Woo! That was intense haha - mission adventures!!!

Mommy  it's been a week of ups and downs - but the highlight was - I got to baptize the Sister's investigator - Brother Jacky!! That was fun!!! And Sister Nina - the other Elders' investigator was baptized too!!! Large turnout - it was awesome! AND when I unplugged the font, it was so deep, I literally had to go completely under to unplug it - so I got to go swimming haha!! SO fun :)

That was great! The waterfall last week was great! Elder Ostermiller has been sick this week so we've been inside a lot! We're going to the doctor today to see if we can figure out what it actually is!

Being a district leader has been very hard and stressful but I am learning! I am learning that I have to love those I lead no matter what and I can't just expect and demand from them, but I have to give, support and inspire!!!! I am really working on that... it can be way frustrating, but I need to be more humble and rely more on the lord to help me! Still working hard!

I know that Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth and I know that God has called Prophets again to lead us in our lives. I share this every day, because I believe it is true and I believe it WILL bless every single person's life who comes to know this truth for themselves., God loves us. He is our literal Heavenly Father!!

LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Elder Brown

Pistachios are not really here - that sounds great Mommy!

No one made it to church :( It's hard but we keep trying!!

GOOD to hear Mommy - I've been so worried about her and praying hard!

Crazy  Zumba party in the mall with a famous Zumbaist from Sweden.

Elder Brown is the Lion's Den

MOMMY!!!!

Sorry I email so early now .... I LOVE you all!!!! Someone give me Steph's address and can someone find Jacob Dunn's email for me? and Spencer's address?

Elder Ostermiller, Elder Elephant, and Elder Brown

That all sounds so awesome!!!! I know Stephy Did an incredible job!!!! Of course!!! Thank you for telling me about that with Sister Terry - sometimes I need to hear that! Sometimes I need to be reminded of who I am haha :) I can't believe Steph is going!!

I need her MTC address!!!

SO good that most of the family got to come though!! I wish I could have been there!

Praying for Uncle Kirt and Aunt Sabrina!! How is Tyler??

LIfe here was so good this week!!!! I love life - it's just so amazing! I mean  - it's just amazing that we even live on this beautiful earth!! So a blessing for me to know about the wonderful plan of salvation from our Heavenly Father! To know that we are his children and He loves us and has purposes for us in this life!! It's wonderful!!!

Elder Brown in the Lion's Den

This week was awesome! We went to Taman Safari!!! Which was so great! YOu can see the pictures! (Did you get those Mom?) and toady we're going to a waterfall!!!

We also had PLD this week ( big meeting with President and the Assistants!) So no district meeting Mom!! That was in Surabaya on Thursday and Friday -  I loved it!! We learned a lot about the Spirit and how important the Spirit is on our mission( and in our lives!!) and we also finally watched the Worldwide Missionary Broadcast, which the rest of the world watched weeks ago haha! SO we have a new schedule which is that different - but every morning we leave at ten o'clock!!! which is just so great because we have so much time to help and bless other people! Wahoooo!!! Life rocks!

The best district in Malang

We also this week found an awesome new family! Or they found us! We were taking a break at Indomaret which is like a little grocery store! ANd this very hyper woman comes up speaking a mix of English and Indonesian. Her name is F and she lived in Philadelphia for 9 years! Her family is great - husband and three sons and we've taught them, but the mother in law is super strong in the Catholic faith and she doesn't like us haha! But they rock and we have faith that the lord will lead us to know what to do!!

ALso I got to interview two baptismal candidates from the Sisters and the other Elders in my district! That was so cool!!! Beautiful Spiritual experiences!!! Love it!!!

LIfe is great love you alll!!!!!!!!

Elder Trevor

LOVE YOu!!!! GO STEPHY STEPH!! HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!

Middle School Celebrities

 Mommy!!! 

That's so cool you saw Eden!!! I'm so glad she made it in! I'm proud of her!! Wait did Living Legends come to Spokane???

Always good to hear the news from home! I have heard some of this stuff from Trump! What exactly was this order? In the MTC, we always talked about how Trump wouldn't let us back into the country... but don't worry! That would never happen haha!

Glad our cousins in Hungary got that puzzle - I want a puzzle haha!! Yes the packages have always come in just fine - I haven't had to pay yet... Elder O and me enjoyed mashed potatoes yesterday.

The district is good. We have us four Elders and two Sisters - Sister Xiao born in Indonesia but raised in New Zealand and Sister Angelie born in Bogor(same as Elder Wijaya). They are alll awesome! But being a district leader is hard! Most of the time I have no idea what to do... advice from my Bros would be awesome!

I was feeling a little sick this morning but hopefully it will go away! HAha I did wake up to use the bathroom feeling kind of sick and as I woke up - I heard noise - so I looked in the kitchen finding two rats in there who promptly ran past me and down the shower drain - I'll have to work on that haha. Also this morning our faucet totally broke off and started spraying everywhere - so I have to figure that out haha.

We saw some miracles! We feel like the Spirit led us directly to this family.  We also had fun - we got invited to speak at an English camp . So when we walked in the big gym area there were 200-300 middle school kids in there and when we walked in they went crazy!! I felt 100% like a celebrity! Being white in Indonesia is pretty much like being a celebrity!!! HAHA.

Yeah so about this week!! It was a little rough - but really good!! I have become much better friends with Elder Ostermiller - we are SO different - but I love him! So that was a highlight of this week!! But it's been a little rough because we realized at the beginning of the week that we really have like zero investigators and so we basically spent all week trying to find new investigators - doing RT contacting the entire time (which is like the Indonesian version of tracting from door to door) and we taught a good amount of lessons including the Restoration (which is the first thing we usually teach about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith in this day and time.). But at the end - we basically feel the exact same. We found some people who seem interested and were really awesome and they dropped us like we're hot (which I mean - we are ;) or in other words told us they don't want to meet again. One guy said he wants to read the whole Book of Mormon but made it quite clear he doesn't want to see us until after that... haha but it was still GOOD!! Because God is GOOD! 

And that's why we're out here working so hard because we love God enough and love his children enough to keep trying because we know that this gospel WILL bless their lives - no exceptions! That's why we do this! And I LOVE it!!! Even if it can be really hard sometimes!

I love you ALL!!!!!!

Elder Trevor Brown

PS how was Dad's birthday???????