Elder Keaton Brown

Hey guys, its Keato.

So another really good week like always. First off, it was great talking to you guys and getting to see you guys. You guys look so good and so fun and happy like always. Cant wait to get back and just spend some time with you guys. Its going to be so fun.

So this week was pretty chill, nothing to crazy. Last Monday Elder Giraldo and I went to a park and we played a little basketball and just shot around, it was pretty fun and relaxing. It was funny because I rolled my ankle while going up for a lay-up, it was pretty stupid. I just landed on bad area where the concrete ends and the dirt starts but I’m doing fine now. It really wasn’t that bad, but Elder Girlado thought it was super funny.

Then all week we were teaching and doing the same old zone leader stuff. Tuesday we had to make some changes so the whole morning we were running around Lima taking people to their new areas. Other than that there was nothing to crazy that went on.

A really cool story that happened this week happened while teaching this young lady named Melissa. After talking with you guys on Saturday, we went to teach Melissa. Melissa is awesome but has had some problems receiving an answer that the church is true. She always prays but doesn’t feel anything special. Elder Giraldo and I have been trying to help her receive an answer and to gain a testimony. We´ve been working so hard with her and she has been praying so hard to receive her answer but nothing. So after the phone call we went to teach her and she told us that she received her answer. She said that she was praying one night and she had her eyes closed and she started to see a light, as she continued to pray the light got brighter and bright until she had to open her eyes because the light was so bright. She then said that she felt good and that she knew these things are true. It was crazy. She is now preparing to get baptized on the 26 of this month.

Another really cool story happened while working on Friday. The whole day we were out working and nobody was home. We walked all day looking for people and nothing. We walked all day until 8:30 that night and we were beat. But we decided to go and see if we could find this one reference that we had received. We got to the house and when we knocked nobody was home. We sat there for a while and though of what to do. Just then, a taxi pulled up and a sister named Rosa got out with her family. It was the reference. So we sat outside of their house and taught her and her family. Then her husband showed up and we taught him. It was awesome. They have a lot of problems and definitely need the gospel. The Lord helped us find this family after we showed the dedication and faith.

Well that is about all from this week.

Just want to say that I love you guys like crazy and I’m positive that I have the greatest family ever. You guys are always there to help me and support me always. I am so blessed. Elder Giraldo thinks you guys are the coolest. He says that you guys are really cool and funny. He said that Derek spoke Spanish super well and he thought mom was the nicest, sweetest person he has ever talked to. I think he’s right.

Well that’s about all from this week. Love you guys and hope you all have an amazing week.

Love ya

Love Keato

PS – Seth, There’s this American guy who just got to my ward and he served his mission in the Dominican Republic. I didn’t get to talk to him all that much but I’ll talk to him more this week and see exactly where he served and get all the details.

Hey guys its Keato,

So another really good week like always. So I’ll start back at last Monday and make my way through the week. So, last Monday we went to Chosica and played Soccer against the other zone in Chosica, it was fun. I love playing soccer and with Elder Girlado it’s even funner because he plays really well. we had a good time and then back to Chaclacayo.

Then on Tuesday we had consejo of zone leaders with Presidente. It was awesome like always. what was fun is after consejo, president took all the zone leaders to this water park called Parque de las Aguas. It’s not like a water park where you swim but it is a park with water fountains and lights and all that jazz. It was awesome. There’s one where they mix water with lights and lasers and video and music. Kind of like fantasia and it was sweet. It looks like its 3D because of the water effects and it was awesome.

It was fun. What was fun was seeing all my companions from the mission. In consejo I saw Elders Zambrano, McGhie, Riggs , Corbridge, Farfan, Merrill, Lahtinen, and Girlado. It was cool. Then Tuesday night we went back to our area (About 45 minutes from the office). Then the rest of the week was pretty normal. We are having some trouble with some investigadores. We teach a lot of people but they don’t progress. Everyone here works non stop so there is no time. everyone works and has to have their money so even if we teach them, we can never find them or they cant go to the church or something like that. but its all good. Well figure something out and God will help us.

The coolest part of this week was the baptism we had on Sunday. It was awesome. We baptized this young lady named Joyce. She is awesome. It was crazy because when we woke up on Sunday there wasn’t any electricity. We got ready and went to the church. We got to the church and there wasn’t any electricity there either which meant that the water pump didn’t work so there was no water. We were talking about what to do and praying that Heavenly Father would help us by making the pump work. We waited more than an hour and nothing. About 9am, Joyce got to the church all ready for her baptism. We felt bad, so we took he to the baptismal font to show her what happened. We were in the process of explaining the whole situation when water came blasting out of the spigot. THERE WAS WATER!!!!! it was a miracle. The water came exactly when we needed it. So we filled the font and Joyce was baptized. It was awesome.

Well that about all from this week.

I miss you guys so much. it was good talking to you for a few minutes and I cant wait to talk to you this weekend.

Love you guys and miss you.

Love Keato

Hey guys its Keato,

So another really good week like always. It was an excellent week. So last Monday was pretty fun. Elder Giraldo and I went to the office in the morning to go get his eyes checked out and then after we came back here to Chaclacayo and just went about. It was pretty cool because we found a skate park and there was a biker there. It was funny because Elder Giraldo loves BMX and about died when he saw the guy. The guy let Giraldo ride a little and it was sweet. Don’t worry we didn’t do anything to crazy, haha. Then the whole week was work, work and more work. It has probably been one of the better weeks in the mission. Elder Girlado and I have been looking for new people to teach and the spirit has really guided us and helped us find awesome people. On Tuesday we found an awesome family. It’s a family of 5 with 3 boys and the parents. They are really cool and when we found them and taught them about the restoracion and the plan that our Heavenly Father has for us they were really acceptive. We visited them several times this week and they are amazing. Every time we taught them we really felt the spirit. In all of our lessons this week we really felt the spirit. It’s been one of those awesome weeks that just makes you feel good and assures you that the church is true. Then on Friday we did devisions with the Elders in Lomas. It went really well and we had a good time, nothing to crazy happened. Then on Sunday we had a lot of people got to church. It was cool because this one guy from Spain came to the church. His name in Antonio and it was the first time that he had gone to the church and he loved it. He’s really humble and just a good guy. it was awesome to have him there. Then Sunday night we had a training meeting for the mission ward leaders and President Ardila, it was pretty cool. Presidente was really happy, in the last couple of months the mission has improved a lot and we have been baptizing pretty well, which is cool. So he seemed really happy and content.

Fun but random things that happened here this week. There was a skateboard competition here and so there were a lot of skaters and bikers. (Girlado was really happy to see all the bikers) it was pretty cool. there are a lot of cool things going on here in Chaclacayo because it’s the anniversary of the town. This week there was a parade and competitions of all sorts of stuff. Also I talked to this guy from Texas that now lives here in Peru. Always fun to talk to an American and even better a Texan.

I sent some photos from the past couple of weeks. sorry their not much

Well I think that’s about all for now. Not much else new here. Just that I miss you guys a ton and can’t wait to talk to you on mothers day. Still no word on the call but Im sure next week ill have all the info for you guys.

Love you guys a ton

Love Keato

Hey guys its Keato,

So another really good week like always. Just a good working week. It felt good. So last pday was pretty chill. It was just Elder Girlado and me and we just went around looking at the sites. it was pretty cool. Nothing to crazy but it was a needed break from the constant go, go, go of the mission. Then Tuesday throughout Sunday was full work and appointments and visits. It was pretty cool. The only things that was out of the normal was Wednesday when we did devisions and service protects. On Wednesday we did deviones with Elder Buendia in Pariachi. It was pretty fun. Elder Buendia is a good elder and we worked so hard. Then on Thursday after finishing the devision we went to help this one lady wash her windows because she just had a baby. It was weird washing windows. We washed the windows with Windex. WEIRD!!!!!!! I forgot about Windex. Here in Peru washing windows is sweeping the dust off the window with a broom, but since we’re here in a rich part of Peru the people wash their windows with Windex. Then on Saturday we helped out one of the brothers in the ward with a project. The brother made a trampoline for a community club and needed help so we went to help him install the trampoline. It was crazy because the park was more of a country club for the really rich millionaires. This place was insane. They had pools and tennis courts and grass. It was so weird. There were a lot of people with a lot of money. It just felt weird being there. Sorry if I use the word weird a lot in this email, it’s just that there is no other word to describe being around rich people. Its just weird. HAHA. Then on Sunday we had the baptism of Cecilia. It was awesome. A really spiritual experience. when Cecilia came out after being baptized, you could see the difference in her face. She was happy and the whole time she was smiling and light on her feet. it was obvious that there was a change in her after the baptism.

Also this week we found a couple of really great people. One lady named Beti. She is awesome. A really humble and an acceptive lady. We taught her about the restoration and she was really into it. We even sang a hymn in the first lesson and she though it was really cool. Elder Giraldo can sing really well so we did a round type thing in the song and it came out really pretty. it definitely brought the spirit and set the tone of the lesson.

Then we found another couple who just got married. The both are about 24 and really cool. We spoke with them about a whole bunch of thing in the church and they had a whole bunch of questions. The spirit was strong when we taught them and we could tell that they re going to be great. It’s weird (there’s the word weird again, HAHA) because now when I teach a lesson I can see the people as members with callings and I can imagine them being great. I think that’s why the mission can be hard at times because I can see the people as members and all the blessings they can have but when they don’t want to accept the gospel it makes me sad to see them lose all their blessings. I think it is probably the same with our Heavenly Father, he sees us in the Celestial Kingdom but sometimes we don’t obey the commandments.

Well it sounds like you guys had a crazy week. Congrats Ducky for getting an awesome job. Now you can take me out to lunch all the time. HAHA. JK, no, but congrats, that’s pretty cool but weird (HAHA) to think you be teaching and working full time.

Also, that’s cool that they emailed you guys my flight plans. I just saw my plans today. We had to go to the doctor in the mission office to get Elder Giraldos eyes checked out and while we were there in the office I saw my flight plans. Pretty crazy and exciting. Can’t wait to get back and see you guys. I miss you guys a ton.

Well gotta go but just want to say that I love you guys and I know I have the best family ever.

Love ya’ll

Love Keato

Hey guys its Keato,

So another really good week like always. Really exciting and really good. Well Monday and Tuesday were pretty normal. Nothing to new or crazy. But Tuesday night came the changes and I got transferred to Lima again. I’m now in a place called Chaclacayo with Elder Giraldo. Its pretty sweet here. Chaclacayo is the best. It is a rich part of Lima and very different from La Oroya. It is like I got changed to some part of California. It is sweet. The streets are all paved and there are trees and it literally looks like a California suburb. To give you an idea of how awesome my area is, I’ll just say that I have a urinal in my room. How sweet is that. There are a lot of millionaires and Americans here in my area as well. The other day we gave a blessing to a little American girl. Her mom is Peruvian and her dad is American. lots of the people know the United States and a lot speak in English. I think the Lord is just getting me ready to go back to the United States in a couple of months. HAHa. Then in the ward there are about 130 people who assist which is amazing here in Peru. A whole lot more than the 30 members who assisted in La Oroya. And they are awesome. Its such a change from the other ward that I have had. then there is my companion, Elder Giraldo. (His name is Keith Neber Giraldo Peña he is from Cali Colombia) He is awesome but crazy. He is always doing crazy things and speaking in funny voices and has a whole bunch of energy. Its like having Jim Carry as a companion. What’s cool is that he speaks English. I guess while here in the mission he learned to speak English by reading the Liahona (or Ensign in English) he speaks really well and has an amazing accent. It funny because a lot of times he speaks to me in English and I don’t understand him because I’m listening for Spanish but he’s speaking in English. Its really weird. He’s really smart too. He speaks English and Spanish and Quechuan and a little French and Portuguese. He is amazing at soccer and BMX Biking. I could write you guys a whole letter about him alone. but he’s awesome.

So right now we are teaching this one lady named Cecilia. She is the best. We taught her about Joseph Smith and the restoration and she loved it. We watched the video about Joseph Smith’s life and she really liked. then on Sunday she came to church and everything. She is awesome and has plans to get baptized this next Saturday.

Well that’s about all that’s new from Peru. Crazy to think that this will be the last area. Its gone by so fast

Well guys, just want to say that I love you guys and that I miss you all a ton. I hope you all have a great week and that everything goes amazing. Thanks for everything. You guys are the best.

Love ya’ll

Love Keato

Hey guys so another really good week like always. Crazy again but still really good and really fun. So last Monday we went to Consejo for the Zone Leaders in Lima, so all day Monday we were traveling in a bus. Then on Tuesday we got to go to the Temple and then in the afternoon we had Consejo con Presidente. The Consejo was really cool and everyone left feeling good. Then on Wednesday morning we went to the bus station to catch the bus back to my area and when we got there they said that there was no pass through La Oroya (my area) because they were having some kind of protest and they were blocking the road so no one could pass through.

We had to go back to the office and stay the day there. In the afternoon we got to go with some elders on devisions so I went to Campoy and worked with the elders there, it was fun. That night we slept in the office and Thursday morning we caught the bus back to La Oroya. It was crazy because when we got to La Oroya there was a whole bunch of rocks and boulders in the street and a lot of things were burned and there were a whole bunch of police and everything. I felt like I was in the movie Red Dawn. HAHA, no but it was pretty cool. Then on Friday we went to San Pedro de Cajas for our zone meeting. It was really cool because this week was Semana Santa so in San Pedro there were a whole bunch of cool activities. for example, the knitting contest to see who could knit the fastest.

It was really crazy all the things they do for Easter and La Semana Santa. I sent some pictures of the processions and some of the complections. Then Saturday and Sunday were pretty chill. We got to work in our area which was nice.

Elvis and Liz are having a whole bunch of troubles right now. We still visit them and try to help but there are a lot of problems that they have to work out right now. It makes me really sad to see them like this but I know the Lord will help them and all will be alright in the end.

Joel, that guy who lived in Utah is awesome. We are just waiting for him to get married so he can get baptized. He is awesome because he has a strong testimony. We took him to a lesson with one of his cousins and he bore his testimony. It was so powerful, he said that he knew the church was true and then said that people here ( in Peru ) will never understand completely until they go to Utah to see the church and the members and all the church has to offer, it was awesome. We are now teaching his family and they are great.

Well this week we have changes and I’m likely to go to another area. It’ll be interesting to see what happens.

Well that’s about all for this week.

Sounds like you guys had a good time with Easter, that’s awesome. Also sounds like Derek had a good time in DC. You totally have to write me dude and send some pics and all that jazz. Also if Derek wants to invite evan to Havasupia that’s cool. I have about 4 guys from the mission that want to go, just so you know.

Well love you guys and hope you have an amazing week. Take care

Love ya’ll

Love Keato

Hey guys its Keato,

So another really good week like always. So I’ll start back at last Monday and make my way through the week. So last Monday went well, it was a normal day because we changed our pday to Wednesday. All Monday and Tuesday we were on devisiones. Elder Jenks came with me in my area and we got to work together. Elder Jenks entered with me in the mission and I’ve known him for a long time. He’s a good guy, really smart and funny and I had a good time with him. All Monday we worked and all Tuesday we dealt with changes and the room thing, it was crazy but still fun. Then on Wednesday we went really early to La Merced with the whole zone. It was awesome. I love La Merced. I love the heat and the green everywhere. I definitely belong on the heat. I also got to see Hermana Hely (my pensionista who you sent all the jewelry to). She showed me all the jewelry she had made with the stuff you sent and even gave a necklace to one of the sisters in the zone, pretty cool. Wednesday was fun because for pday we played a huge soccer game against the other zone in La Merced, it was way fun. It was really funny because it was raining and so there were huge puddles and everyone was sliding all over the place and in the end everyone was covered in mud and completely dirty. It was awesome. Then all Thursday we had the conference with President Ardila, it was awesome, a really good conference. Thursday night we went back to Tarma and stayed there for the night. Friday we went back to our area and worked all Friday. Then Saturday we had to go back Tarma to take money out for the month but there were some problems so we stayed until Sunday in Tarma. While in Tarma we got to see a few sessions of Conference. I didn’t get to see it all but the parts I saw were pretty sweet. Sunday night we came back here to our area. Now we in about an hour I’m leaving to Lima for the Zone Leader Conference so I’ll be in Lima until Wednesday. Lets just say that this week was traveling. In this zone we are constantly traveling. It fun because we get to see a lot of different places but at the same time its tiring. I’m definitely going with you dad to the foot massage place after the mission. haha

Well that’s about all from this week. Again the computer doesn’t read my camera so more pictures the next week. Also, I was wondering of you guys could cancel or close my facebook page. There are a lot of problems with facebook in the mission so there is a new rule that we have to close our facebook. If you could do that for me that would be great.

Also, I got the video of Shumpy playing volleyball, the kid looks awesome. First off he looks like he can run now and has a whole lot more coordination. He had some wicked sweet sets and I was impressed. It was legit and I cant wait to get back to watch him play in person. Keep it up dude.

Well just want to say that I love you guys and I’m super happy to have such an amazing family. You guys are amazing. Thanks for all you do for me. Love you guys like crazy.

Love ya

Keato

Hey guys its Keato,

So another really good week like always. So this week was a little crazy, actually really crazy, probably the craziest week in my mission. So this whole week, there were emergency changes in the mission and Elder Farfan and I are in charge of sending all the elders from Provincia to Provincia. Everyday this week we´ve been in the terminal waiting for elders and sending elders off and all that stuff. It was super crazy! I’d bet that 75 percent of my week was spent in the terminal, it was crazy. Then to top it off, this week president closed an area that was here in La Oroya, and so now Elder Farfan and I have a huge area. It was crazy because since president closed the area, we had to go get all the stuff from the old room. We went to the room and started moving the stuff out and we talk with the owner. Well lets just say that the owner flipped out and started yelling and was really upset that the elders that were there before didn’t take care of the room all that. We talked with him and told him to make a list of the things he wanted us to pay and we would pay him. The next day we went to talk to him and he showed us a bill for 500 soles which was really ridicules and on the list he had a whole bunch of things that were over priced and not needed. Then to make things even more interesting, he went to the police station and took out a Denuncio or something like that. They said we had to pay everything before the 31 of the month or I could possibly go to jail. To make it even better, I didn’t have any money because it all got spent on changes and this was 2 days before we had to leave to La Merced for conference and the office couldn’t pay me until Saturday. It was a huge hassle and we ended up going and getting our own prices and the office sent me emergency money and we spoke with the brother for a good time and we finally payed him 200 soles and all is good now, so I’m not going to jail (haha) don’t freak out mom all is well. Then we had to get things ready for the conference. This morning we brought the whole zone to La Merced (my old area ) and we had pday here and tomorrow well have conference with presidente. It should be sweet. Then the one day that I wasn’t doing the changes I went to San Pedro to do interviews for baptisms. It was fun and nice to get away. San Pedro is really calm and quiet so it was nice to get away. This week has been one of those weeks where you are doing everything for everyone else. We couldn’t work in our area this week which is horrible. Elder Farfan and I feel really bad for not working. When you don’t work in your area, it stinks.

We are in La Merced right now and when we go back everything will be better. We’ll just want to say that I love you guys and hope that all is well. Sounds like you had a crazy week too. Sorry no pictures. this computer doesn’t read the camera. Thanks for the letter to Elvis and Liz and the info about Havasupia. If you could invite Seth that would be sweet.

Thanks for everything.

Love ya

Keato

Hey guys,

So another really good week like always. Nothing to crazy exciting from this week. Lots of traveling again but still really fun. So last week we went to Tarma for Pday and Zone meeting. It was fun to have all the elders there and it is always fun. Then we came back to our area Tuesday afternoon and went back to work. Wednesday and Thursday were pretty normal. nothing new or exciting. Saturday we went to San Pedro de Cajas. It was fun and really pretty like always. Then Sunday we had to go to Tarma again to do an interview for the elders in Tarma. The funny thing was that I ended up baptizing so we had to find some clothes and I got to baptize. It was nice because the Baptismal font has heated water and it felt so good. It was amazing to be in warm water. Here in the zone we all laugh because nobody has hot water so nobody showers. Its kind of gross I know but the water is freezing and we wear sweaters all day so nobody ever knows. The average shower rate here in the zona Tarma is once every 4 days. HAHA.

So one thing that was really fun this week was pie day. Pie day was this week so we went out and bought a lemon meringue pie (Spelling). It was awesome. Not as good as Moms lemon pie but still really good. It was funny because I told Elder Farfan about pie day and he was pumped. He went crazy looking for a pie and wanted pie so bad. It was awesome because we had pie the whole week. I’m probable going to gain a whole bunch of weight now but it was so worth it. Yeah Pie day!!!!!!!!!!!

So some exciting news, today I got a letter from the office. It’s official, my return date is the 4th of July. Yeah. I don’t know exactly what time I’ll get home but I’ll be home the 4th of July probably around 12 or 1 in the afternoon. I was looking at the flight plans of another elder who is flying into Phoenix and he gets in at 12:45 so it’ll probably be something close to that. I just need to check and make sure that I’ll be flying into Tucson Internacional Airport. Is that right or would you rather have me fly in somewhere else. Let me know so I can tell the office.

Also, about the bed. If you guys are going to buy a new bed, whatever works for me. A futon would be sweet because I still want to watch a whole bunch of movies but if you guys buy a normal bed I understand with all the guests coming and all that. A futon is not the most comfortable bed for some guests but for a college kid its just fine. So whatever you do, I’m down with it. I’ll be happy with whatever.

I hope everyone is doing great. I miss you all a ton and can’t wait to see you guys again.

Also thanks everyone for all the Birthday shoutouts. I got the letter this week and it was awesome. Thanks again for being such good friends. I’m so lucky and so blessed to have you all in my life. Thanks again.

A couple quick questions. Mom and Dad I was wondering if you guys could send me some of the pictures of your wedding. I want to show some pictures to Elviz and Liz. I think it would really help them right now. If you don’t want to send pictures or don’t feel comfortable sending the pictures that’s alright too but I was thinking that some photos of your wedding could really help them. If you could send them through email this next week that would be great.

Also if you could send me some more info about Havasupai. Like who’s going and how many more spots are open, how much does it cost, from what date to what date will we be there and all that jazz. If you could do that, that would be sweet.

Well I love you guys and hope you have a great week. Take Care

Love Keato

Hey guys its Keato,

So another really good week like always. This week was a little crazy but amazing at the same time. This whole week has been traveling and teaching. Lots of traveling and teaching. So everyday this week we have had to travel to some other town for some reason or another. I’ll start back at Monday and make my way through the week. So last Monday we went to Lima. It was fun. We got to Lima at 8pm and then just chilled the whole night. Then on Tuesday we had consejo with Presidente Ardila. It went really well like always. Then after consejo we played basketball with Presidente. It was sweet but I’m super out of shape and can’t play ball to save my life. I played horrible but it was still really fun. Then Thursday we traveled back to our area. Thursday we went to Tarma (about an hours drive from my area) for a zone meeting and then came back in the afternoon. Friday we went to Yauli (a little over an hours drive from my area) to get some paperwork for Elvis and Liz and their wedding. Yauli is pretty sweet. It’s a little baby town in the middle of nowhere and really cold. Its really high in the mountains but really pretty. then after getting the papers we went back to our area. Then on Saturday we went to Tarma again for some interviews. Sunday was the only day that we didn’t have to travel which was nice because we were dead. After traveling everyday we were completely wiped out. And today I’m writing from Tarma so more traveling. YEAH!!!!!!!

The cool thing about this week was that when we were not traveling, we were teaching. We taught a lot this week which was nice. It was awesome because when we got back from lima on Wednesday, were out walking in the street and this one guy named Joel called us over. We got talking to him and he began to tell us that he lived in Utah and that he went to church with his boss and the missionaries there taught him the lessons. He said that he had to move away from Utah but wanted to get baptized. Elder Farfan and I were shocked. It was such a miracle. We went to his house later on in the week and it was amazing. He bore his testimony with us and we both knew that he was ready. He said he knew the church was true and that he had read the Book of Mormon and everything. It was amazing. He is now preparing to get baptized this Sunday.

We also had several good lessons with other investigators and things are looking better here in La Oroya Antigua.

Elvis and Liz are doing alright. They’re having some problems right now but we are helping them and they are still really excited for their baptism. Other than that not much else is new.

We’ll guys, love you and hope you have an amazing week.

Love Keato

PS. Tell Parris that in the car ride here to Tarma, the drive listened to pure 80s music. It was awesome. We Built This City On Rock and Roll !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!