RED LETTER DAY

February 28, 2016

Toward the end of his mission, Dad used the phrase: 'Red Letter Day' twice in his journal. He wrote it first to express his great joy and happiness when Sister Marion Clapp announced that she had decided to be baptized and then wrote it again on the day of her baptism.  She was baptized and confirmed just one week before Dad finished his mission and returned home.  That phrase is no longer used very much today, but it had great meaning back then.

Sunday 5/23/48 – This turned out to be a “Red Letter Day” in my life!  We held a short Sacrament meeting at the Woods, and “Sis.” Clapp said, “Elder Brown, I want to be baptized now!”  I was filled with unspeakable joy!  I couldn’t think of anything to say…What a busy day – but it’s been truly wonderful and thrilling.  What a glorious work!

Sunday 6/27/48 – Well, I feel that I shall remember this day always!  This is truly a red letter day for me.  I gave the sermon and spoke for a half hour on enduring to the end…  and I had the privilege of performing the baptism of Sister Clapp.  What a glorious experience to welcome a new member into the Kingdom of God!  I truly felt humble indeed, and the Lord blessed me in my efforts to do his will.  What a lovely day!  My how My Father above has blessed me!

Dad served two and a half years in the New England States mission shortly after WWII. Sister Clapp was the only person he had the privilege of baptizing during his entire mission. I can only imagine how happy he must have been knowing that he was able to bring Sister Clapp into the waters of baptism and why he used that phrase. 

Saturday was also a red letter day for Robyn and I. Sofia Almaraz was baptized by her father, Gabriel. We have been working with Sofia and her family for about 2 months. When we first met them, they were less active, but within a short period of time, with a little encouragement, the family returned to activity.  We hope and pray that we have many more 'red letter days' here in Independence.
As we prepared the baptismal program, we asked Noah to play the piano and Kelehua to lead the music. And since the twins had written to and visited with Sofia, they also attended the baptism. I know that Sofia really enjoyed all the attention.

Attendees

TEMPLE BAPTISMS

We have made it our goal to try and get every new convert to the temple as soon as possible to do temple baptisms.  The mission president in Los Angels said that for every 20 investigators who accept the baptismal challenge, only one makes it to the temple to get endowed.  He also said that the Church made a study and found that if a new member makes it to the temple to do baptisms for the dead shortly after baptism, 90% become endowed.  Elder Bednar apparently was so amazed at the stats, that he asked that the study be repeated.  This time, they found that 92% of the new converts who go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead become endowed. 

This week we took Sister Adela Hernandez to do temple baptisms. She joined the church last year along with her teenage son. Her husband has not yet been baptized. She was so thrilled to be able to go. She told us on the way home that she is normally deathly afraid of water and was quite anxious at the thought of being immersed.  But as she entered the font, a special peaceful feeling came over her and she was completely at peace. It was a great testimony to her of the power of the comforting influence of the Holy Ghost. We had brought some family file names with us so Robyn and Adela each did about 6 names. I was privileged to perform the baptisms. It was a wonderful start to the day.

NATIONAL ARCHIVES

On our P-Day we visited with another senior couple, Elder and Sister McCuiston, who are Records Preservation missionaries. They spend every day at the National Archives and Records Administration building here in Kansas City filming U.S. homestead records. Elder McCuiston said that it is a pretty tedious job, but very rewarding, as the are able to help make these records available for temple research. All the equipment you see in the photos belongs to the church. The National Archives gets one copy and the church gets a copy. It's a win win for everyone. A lot of these records are falling apart and would soon turn to dust and be lost if it was not for the church offering to help. Most of the records they film are original court documents, detailing evidence of someone's right to a certain piece of property. Following the Civil War, every veteran was given almost 150 acres to homestead. As you can imagine, there is a wealth of information that when indexed will help in family history work. It is amazing what is stored across the country in the National Archives. The NARA told the church that the missionaries can not wear their regular missionary name tags. I guess they are worried someone might be proselyted. Give me a break. They do have name tags, but they are FamilySearch name tags, which apparently are less alarming to the public, I guess. They also wear regular street clothes which appeals to me, but I am grateful for our mission assignment. I think I think I would go bonkers working in a dark corner under hot lights, eight hours a day for 18 months.

On the way out of the building Robyn noticed a couple of neat paintings that had been commissioned during the depression to prevent starving artists from really starving. She loves this kind of stuff and so had to take some pictures.

INDIANS AND STAGE COACH

Details of  stage coach 

PONY EXPRESS RIDER with an arrow in hot pursuit

ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL HAVE TO BE FED

MISSIONARY PREPARATION CLASS

One of our favorite 'assignments' here in Independence is training future missionaries. This week we had two young men who joined us for some intense training on our P-Day. We felt that they needed some real life missionary experiences and so we also scheduled a discussion with Sofia regarding the Plan of Salvation. Remembering the wonderful flannel board that I used in Argentina, we decided to create some visual aids that these two young missionaries in training could use. Robyn put together a great lesson plan for them and then they practiced and practiced until their presentation was flawless. Sofia was quite impressed with their knowledge and mastery of the subject matter. To ensure that she understood the material well, first Luke, then Josh gave the same lesson to Sofia. After hearing the lesson twice, Sofia was brave enough to try it herself. We were not disappointed. The boys promised her that they would be attending her baptism next week.

Ready for the flannel board

         
                                  Role playing

     Practice makes perfect

Lesson learned.

We also wanted the future missionaries to experience some real P-day fun. So we took them to a nearby wildlife sanctuary that had a number of huge buffaloes and elk that you could feed by hand. It seemed that carrots were the hot ticket. The boys had fun along with the training missionaries.

Helping the ZL make their favorite Monkey bread

WARD CALLINGS

We already feel a great attachment and connection to the ward. The members have been so wonderful to extend their love and fellowship to us. We have been blessed to receive two callings in the ward so far. Robyn and I were asked recently to teach the Marriage and Family Relations class during Sunday School. There are a dozen so far in the class with maybe more to come. Robyn is always good to point out to the class members all the boneheaded things I have done over the years. She said that she felt it would help the class not feel so self conscious about their own marriages and also be more willing to open up in class with questions and comments. What ever works, I guess.

And then the second counselor in the bishopric called me in for an interview today. He extended the call to serve as the assistant scout master. It took me all of a nano second to say yes. I am really looking forward to this. The fact that I told the bishop last week that I had brought my scout shirt with me from California probably had a little to do with it. 

I spoke to the scout master after the meeting.  He is a young man in his early twenties who has a great desire to serve, but little scouting experience. Hopefully I can help him figure out what he needs to do and help him get trained. He said that one of his biggest needs is help with campouts since he has to work a lot of weekends. This is going to be fun. 

Orrin is in a Spanish immersion class back home in California. It is amazing how fast these young brains soak up a new language. We also asked him to write a letter to Sofia, but this time in Spanish. He dictated the letter to his mom and mailed it off with his picture attached. Sofia was very excited to receive another letter from a pen pal, especially one that she could read without translation.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG ( fingers crossed)

CONFLUENCE OF THE MISSOURI AND KANSAS RIVERS BY DOWNTOWN KANSAS CITY ONE MONTH AGO
JANUARY 2016

I feel that I need to thank any and all who have been praying that the winter here in Missouri would be short and mild and that I would not freeze to death. The weather has truly been wonderful. Everyone that we talk to here says that can't believe how nice it has been. Yesterday, the thermometer got all the way up to 72 degrees. It was amazing. We were out without coats on. People were driving with the tops down on their convertibles. The parks were full of people. I know that I am probably going to regret saying this because the weather here can turn in an instant.  But it appears that we are 'coming out of the ice' alive and well. There has been a few cold days, but not like in years past we are told. Right before our son James left to go to the Russia, Yekaterinburg mission, my father was 'kind' enough to give him the book, Coming out of the Ice. Yekaterinburg is pretty close to Siberia and as you can imagine, more than quite chilly in the winter. The book is the autobiography of Victor Herman, an American who was falsely imprisoned in Siberia for over 40 years. James' Grandpa Brown wanted him to be prepared for life in subzero permafrost weather, so he thought that this would be a good read before he left. The author talks about birds freezing solid in mid flight and falling like rocks to the ground. It also talks about trees exploding like they were packed with dynamite without any warning, due to the sap suddenly freezing. Needless to say, it got James' attention. I think Grandpa had a sick sense of humor. 

I have to admit that I also thought about the book when we received our call to the Midwest. Fortunately we have not seen any birds falling out of the sky or witnessed any trees exploding... so far.

Valentine gift from 3 special people

Robyn's sewing skills have also helped us become closer with some of the people we are working with. This dress needed some repair work and she volunteered to fix it. I believe that the young lady, whose dress was torn, will always remember the kind service that she received from a missionary. She and her mother did not know how to mend it and they did not have the money to take it to a tailor. 

THE GREAT PLAN OF HAPPINESS

February 14, 2016

JACOB KAWAA FREEBAIRN
1977 - 2016

We are so blessed to have a clear understanding of the plan of salvation, or as Alma calls it, the Great Plan of Happiness. On Wednesday, as we were traveling to visit the Angeles family and teach them about this wonderful plan, Robyn's cell phone rang.  It was her sister Becky with the tragic news that their son, Jacob, had been struck by a drunk driver and killed on the Big Island of Hawaii. The lesson that we were about to teach suddenly took on more meaning as we mourned the loss of our wonderful nephew. But at the same time, we were comforted by the knowledge that we will see Jacob again and that through the atonement of the Savior, families can be together forever. Robyn was overcome with emotion as her sister shared the news. I wondered if she would be able to go through with her part of the lesson we were to give.  As we sat down with the Angeles family, Robyn shared the sad news of Jacob's passing. But then bore her strong witness that she knew that Jacob was with his Father in Heaven and that through the Plan of Happiness, we can all be with our loved ones again. It made a very powerful impact on the Angeles family, and I know that the Holy Ghost conveyed the truthfulness of Robyn's testimony to them.

JACOB & MATTHEW

Jacob was close in age to our son, Matthew. Although Jacob grew up in Hawaii with his family, Matthew and Jacob were very close. We got to see Jacob a little more as he was called to serve in the California Los Angeles Mission. He even served in our stake for a few months and we were able to have Jake and his companion over for a Thanksgiving dinner. He will be missed.

 SOFIA

Sofia's baptism is scheduled for the 27th. We have found that often the key to success with an investigator is to find the right member to be their friend. Someone with whom they can relate to, and that will fellowship and encourage them. Since Sofia is 9, we felt that our grandsons, Luke and Josh, who were baptized just last year, would be a good match. We asked the twins to write a letter to Sofia, encouraging her to be baptized.  They did their very missionary best as you can see. They will be great missionaries someday just like their folks. Sofia was so happy to receive the notes. She was smiling from ear to ear as her dad translated the notes into Spanish.  Hopefully Luke and Josh will be able to attend her baptism in a couple of weeks.

Kelehua did not want to be left out.

Sofia's response to the kids

Dear Kelehua, Josh and Luke

Thank you so much for your letters and sharing with me how you felt when you were baptized. I also know that I will feel very happy when I am baptized.

I know that Heavenly Father will be happy with my decision to be baptized because I will be a little bit closer to be able to return to His presence.

With love, Sofia

Dinner Appointment

We had our first official dinner appointment with a member family this week. We as senior missionaries are not on the official ward 'dinner calendar', so the invite was unexpected but very much appreciated. Sister Balza is from Venezuela and cooked a very delicious traditional meal. She even taught Robyn how to make and prepare arepas. What a treat! Our son, Matthew, served his mission in Venezuela. When he heard about what was on the menu, he asked if we could send him some of the arepas and the traditional drink, Malta. We told him that he is just going to have to come visit us so we can take him over to visit the Balzas.

Healthy food and exercise

Robyn is determined to keep us healthy. Every morning she drags me over to the weight room here at the apartment to exercise. On top of that, our refrigerator is beginning to look like the produce department at the local organic market. Her juicer is really getting a work out - almost as much as I am. I am feeling soooooo much better already. At least that is what I tell her every day.

After only 2 hours on the treadmill  :)

 District meeting surprise

Sister Vest, the wife of our mission president made a surprise visit to our district meeting. I think her husband had an interview with another missionary in the building and so she decided to drop in on us. All the elders and sisters just love her. She really brightens up the room when she comes in.