First Letter!

I couldn't wait to get to the mail today to see if there was a letter from Sara.  YAY! The only thing in the box was a little letter, but there was so much energy in that little letter.  I'll share a few paragraphs from it:

"First day was AMAZING!  My host was very nice, she showed me where I needed to go and made me feel right at home.  I saw Sister Quinlan Hess (a friend of Sara's from Oregon) and gave her a hug-a girl from her district was on the BYUH soccer team.  I saw Elder Bryce Sorenson (an elder from here), one of the twins from South Sevier, Ashley, I think, and I saw Justin Park who was on the basketball team at BYUH."

"My companion is Hermana Hansen.  She is from ... wait for it... Enterprise, UT!  I played softball again her, don't remember each other but it was kind of funny.  I love her!  We get along great!  I know the Lord was looking out for me."

"I'm sorry this is so short.  NO TIME!  But things are fantastic here!  I don't know how to work the alarm clock, so last night was a super fun experience!  I love you!  I love how easy it is to LOVE people here!  Love, Hermana Brown"

MTC Address

Here is Sara's address at the MTC in Provo.  

Sister Sara A. Brown

SEP04 SPA-MAL

2011 N. 900 E. Unit 293

Provo, UT 84602

A Special 24th of July!!

We had a few sad moments as Sara was leaving home for the Mission Field.  It began when she started to leave the house and Rylee, our little dog who LOVES Sara, started crying.  She whined and did little sad cries for a long time.  It made us all shed a tear or two.

We have a big poster to put stickers on each day while she is gone.  She placed the sticker on #1 and when she gets home, she will place the sticker on #548!

We met some of our family members and went to breakfast before Sara reported to the MTC.  We had a good time, but as soon as Sara handed out letters she had written to each person, the tears began.  We all know Sara is doing what she should be, but it's still hard to say good-bye!

Bart and I drove Sara up to the MTC (she was originally supposed to report to the Madrid MTC, but she hasn't received her Visa yet, so she is in Provo).  We took a few pictures by the temple before she reported.

It was so awesome seeing the 'Army of Missionaries' lined up along the sidewalk at the MTC.  They were all waving and smiling.  I felt the spirit very strong there.  Sara got out of the car and gave us each a hug and was off with her 'host' (whose name was also Sara).  I'm so excited for her!

A Spiritual Evening

Sara was set apart as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on Tuesday, July 23, 2013, by President Rosenvall.  She received some very good council and had a beautiful blessing.  As her parents, we know she carries a special spirit with her and will be a great missionary.

Final Countdown!

This is it... I'm into the final hours before becoming a missionary. I'm getting set apart tonight at 8:00. People keep asking me if I'm nervous, and my answer is still the same. I'm really not. I am so EXCITED to be a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am ready to lose myself in the work of the Lord and give it my everything for the next 18 months.  I love this gospel more than anything in the world! I have a testimony that this is the true church of God. I testify that our Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to be happy and be able to be in His presence again! I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for me, and at this time in my life, that plan is to serve a full-time mission. I have a testimony that surrounding yourselves with the good and righteous examples will help you become closer to Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I love you all so much and I want to thank you all for being such great "examples of the believers". I'll see ya in 18 months!

July 14, 2013, was a special day for our family.  Sara spoke in church before leaving for her mission, and sweet little Nora Mae Brown was blessed by her daddy, Brett Brown.  This is a picture of our family members who were able to attend the meeting.  We missed Robyn, Steve, Ava and Myla, and Ben, Braegan and Lily.

It was fun singing this while Sara signed!  Had a hard time keeping it together!

-Katie

When Sara received her mission call, she was in Hawaii going to school.  Since we couldn't all be together, we met via webcams.  The Boyer family was in Logan,  Ben and Kayla in Orem, Brett and Stef in Orem,  Sara (and many friends) were in Hawaii, the Dambrinks in Vernal, and Bart, Sunnie, Jeslie, Abby, Nathan and Ian in Fayette.  It was AWESOME!!