Bodensee Obersee (lake) with fall colors - Looking out apartment window/Kreuzlingen Switzerland

 

October 20,20 - 40 weeks

Hello everyone
The most eventful thing that happened this week is that we travel to Zürich and had a devotional with all the missionaries from Switzerland and with Mission President Naatjes and his wife. There was about 50 Missionaries there and at least 16 stood up and share their memories and thoughts of Sister Nelson who was killed in a hiking accident a week ago. I didn’t know her at all but it was wonderful and special to hear testimonies of the other elders and learn about her.

I got through my organ playing on Sunday everything went OK. We have a few member appointments lined up for this week. I am sad and I’m very disappointed that Switzerland has added some additional restrictions and we cannot do street contacting. We also had to cancel our zone P day that was supposed to be today, because of restrictions on how many people can gather. I guess the numbers have gone up with Covid virus. I am very discouraged that we are moving backwards. Trying to be patient and endure. I really thought by now we would be starting to get back to normal missionary work and teaching. I will try to continue to be patient and stay positive.
Love
Elder Carson Brown

Pictures of Dornbirn Austria, Train, and Selfies ❤️

Walking home in a rain storm - got drenched, soaked all the way through to my skin. 

Looking out my apartment window - Kreuzlingen Switzerland

Dornbirn Austria - Pictures taken as we arrive on train and drive around town.  Beautiful mountains and unique houses 

Train Station- Are way of transportation most of the time. 

Looks like I am crying but just pulled some nose hairs.  Fully covered and protected from the Covid

 Screen shots of General Conference - This was a  missionary devotional held in Austria not Australia like it was announced.  Those are sister missionaries in my mission.  We had terrible internet and it was late at night so we could not be at the church.  Feel bad we missed most of this.😩😩😔

October 14, 20 39 weeks

Hello everyone
This week has been OK -the days have kind of melted together. Probably the most exciting thing we did is we went to Dornbern Austria and met up with the zone leaders for splits. It was a beautiful city with mountains all around and I had fun looking around the city and enjoyed being with Elder Coleman and Bennett. We’ve been told we can do street contact so I hope that Elder Benge I can get out and do that soon. I think that will be a motivation for me to continue to work on my German. 

We’ve been getting a lot of rain and it’s been getting colder. A couple of days ago we had a delayed  train and we missed our bus, so we had to walk home. It was raining and I got soaked. 
We tried to go see a potential investigator but he wasn’t home, we’re both afraid he is there but not answering the door. We did have a district council meeting and that was good. Elder Benge has not been feeling well again this week so we didn’t do much for PDay. This past weekend we had a member baptism, an eight-year-old girl. When we arrived at the church I looked at the baptism program and I guess my German is not very good I thought it said I had to give a talk but I was just a witness. I was relieved. It was fun being with this member family and hanging out with their kids. They have a little three-year-old that speaks German really well. 

I got a call on Sunday afternoon after going to sacrament meeting and a sister member asked if I would fill in for her as accompanist next week.  I told her I was not super comfortable doing that but my German must have not been very understandable, because she said "great, I will get you a list of the hymns." I am nervous but have been to the church building a couple of times this week and practiced on the organ.  I will be playing 4 hymns for sacrament meeting this Sunday.  Say a little prayer for me. 

We got news on Wednesday about sister Neilson passing away. We having a special fast for her family and are  headed to Zürich Friday for a special devotional with the mission president. It was two Elder companionships and  two sister Missionaries on the hike at the bladder lift in Oberried on Lake Brienz.   Apparently she fell, no one knows for sure how, but it was a fairly steep incline and then a drop off. She slid several hundred meters down the slope and was out of sight.  They contacted emergency rescue and 2 of the elders immediately followed to keep and eye on her.  When she first feel they could not see her but they made their way down the side of the hill slowly and got to her about the time the rescue  helicopter arrived. They life flighted her to the University Hospital  where she died from injuries.I think they had to air lift the Elders out as well- they could not climb out.   I did not know her I think I might have seen her at a district meeting but never met her or had any association. Very sad also worried about those that were with her and trying to help. 
Love you hope you have a good week
Elder Carson Brown 

Sister Annabelle Nielson passed away following a hiking accident

Sister missionary killed in Carsons mission

Accident early Tuesday evening at the bladder lift in Oberried on Lake Brienz.

Sister Nielson slid several hundred meters down the slope and was out of sight of the other group members.
Two companions immediately followed to keep an eye out. They were finally able to locate the accident victim and climb down to her, at the same time the rescue helicopters called up arrived on site. Died later at hospital from injures. 

https://www.ldsliving.com/Sister-missionary-passes-away-in-Switzerland-hiking-accident/s/93476

American 20 years old falls in BernHighlands - " you are much to young to die" 

October 7,20 38 weeks

Hello everyone 

I hope you are doing OK. I looked through my journal and it’s a little boring I’ve more or less written nothing on several days.  We have had a few member appointments this week. The families have been very nice to us.  I appreciate their kindness but we are more or less  doing the same old things, which is sad to say not much. Not speaking much German.  

We did spend  time at the chapel on Saturday evening and Sunday evening as we watched General conference.  We have not watched Sunday afternoon yet but hope we can do that soon.   I really liked President Dallin Oaks message. I think it was very powerful. We should remember the worth of others and remind ourselves that we are all Gods children. We should try to rise above judging or having anger towards our enemies. 

Today was a good day we had district council and met with some of the other elders in our district.  That was nice to have something else different to do. We had a strange thing happened as we were traveling today we met a lady on the side of the road. She was feeding the birds and was sad because one of the birds had died. She told us it had been poisoned. I am not sure she was all there because she was saying some wild crazy things - the bird lady.

 We saw a girl that lives by us that we see quite often on the train or at the bus stop. We tried to say hi to her.  When we talked to her, we found out she doesn’t speak very good German. She spook Spanish and a little English.    We had hoped she might be interested in the church but we think she was just interested in us not as missionaries but as young men her same age - we now try to avoid her. Ha ha

I have enjoyed reading the Saints book in my spare time and it’s been fun to learn about the church history. Well here’s to another week! 

Love Elder Carson Brown

Zone Conference/Zurich Switzerland - Pictures taken by Mission Presidents wife - Sister Naatjes

Elder Carson Brown and companion Eric Benge

See if you can spot Carson and his smiling face in the congregation of Missionaries.