ONE YEAR!!!

I can not believe that I have been out for one year! That is simply crazy!

This week was sooooooooooooooo HOT and HUMID!!! I literally could not be outside for 1 second without sweating. It was great though! I am getting used to it.

This week has been full of so many tender mercies and miracles. I am full of gratitude to my Heavenly Father who hears and answers my prayers every single day. We have been led to many people who are truly ready and prepared for the Gospel. I know that we are going to continue to be led to those that are ready.

We were tracting one evening this week and here are some experiences from it:

1. We knocked on one door and a man answered it and instantly went " pound it to my fellow Christians oh yeah." It was hilarious! He then went off about Christianity and then offered us a bottle of water. It was great! We had a nice chat with him.

2. We then knocked on another door and a mom with two young children answered. We offered to say a prayer with them and they said Yes. We then proceeded to ask them if they wanted us to pray for something specifically. The little girl ( age 6) whispered something into her moms ear. Her mom then says, " She wants you to pray that her Daddy will find Christ." It was so tender! The little boy wanted us to pray for his ninja turtles! HILARIOUS! Well, we pray with them and they thank us. We then say a few things and ask if we can come back. The little girl instantly says, "tomorrow, come tomorrow." Her mom said that they had a church and no thank you. The little girl continues to beg her mom and says," Mom I like them, please come back tomorrow." The mom told the daughter that she likes us too, but that they had their church. We said alright and told them to visit mormon.org. We are definitely going to be going back another day. It breaks my heart when children know that we are representatives of Jesus Christ, but the parents don't listen to their children because they don't realize how close to the spirit they are. They will get baptized one day though!

Here are some of our great investigators:

Myer Family- They are a wonderful family that we felt prompted to try. They were a potential in the area book. We stopped by and Sister Myer let us right in. It was amazing! We taught her and her 9 year old daughter the first lesson! It was a super powerful lesson! I love when sometimes you teach and words come out of your mouth that you personally would have never said. It is such an amazing thing to know that Heavenly Father was truly guiding that lesson. They committed to Baptism and set their own Baptismal date for January 31st. They want to read the whole Book of Mormon. We all know that they are going to find out it is true way before January though.

Cundiff family- They are so great! We were able to teach them again this last weekend. We just taught the children this time, and we are going to try and see the parents during the week. When we try and teach them all together the parents don't usually participate. The children have such a strong desire to be baptized and come to church. They are adorable! They are an example to their parents as well! It is simply amazing!

Nick- He is Golden! He met with missionaries last year before he went to Oregon for 8 months. He got back in contact with the Newburgh elders and they gave him as a referral to us. He is super duper prepared! We met with hi m the first time and he remembers a lot about the lessons he was taught. He said that he felt as if the spirit was nudging him this way. It was fantastic to hear that! He also had many questions about Baptism that we were able to answer and help him understand. He was a professional soccer play too! So legit!

Jean- She is doing well still! She is reading and praying everyday, which is amazing! We are really hoping to get her to church this week. We have had to move slow with her and church is the next step! She is soooo funny!

There are some fun things for the week! We are going to Lousiville tonight because we have a conference tomorrow with Elder Cardon of the Seventy. It will be great!

Prayer: Pray for the Myer family and Cundiff family to continue to accept the Gospel.

Scripture: Alma 27:27

Challenge: It says in Alma 27:27 that they had ZEAL! I invite you all to have ZEAL or EXCITEMENT in the things that you do! Be distinguished for your zeal!!

I love you all and hope you have a fabulous week!

Love,

Sister Bradley

awkward moments...

Hola familia!  I am learning Spanish from the Hermana's in our ward! haha.

Well, this week has just been full of awkward moments. Literally a mission is just one big awkward moment! ha!

examples...

1. We go up and knock on a door, the son answers and we ask for his parents. He shuts the door, and we wait....and wait.....and wait....awkwardly hearing them talk inside about who is at the door and who should answer it...Then the father comes and simply says not interested.

2. When we go to a members home for a dinner. We show up a few minutes early and all the kids are finished eating or are eating outside. We eat inside while the mother is still making pizza's, and the dad is still at work... oh and we were part of the birthday party after dinner... then there is chaos and they don't really talk to us the whole time we are there unless we start a conversation... AWKWARD! haha!

3. When a member wants to take us and the Hermanas out to eat for dinner after P-day. Well we show up and the member pays for us and the Hermanas and leaves. They didn't stay to eat with us...awkward...

4.When my companion trips and almost falls as we are going to contact some people and they all start laughing

There are so many more and I could go on and on! It is hilarious! I am always laughing because of how many awkward moments there are on a mission! It is great!

We are working hard and seeing many miracles and tender mercies here in Evansville!

We are doing a Book of Mormon reading club with a member in the ward. We all read the same chapters for a week and then we get together and discuss it! It is super fun! Random tidbit: that member has over 300 board games!!

We go and do service for a Recycle center where we break down boxes with a bunch of old men! It is so much fun!!

We are teaching a few new married couples! One is a miracle! We just decided to stop by and the sisters previously had said a prayer with him and he mentioned that his wife would never be interested. Well, we stopped by and he and his wife were home. They let us right in. She was very standoffish at the beginning, but by the end she wanted us to come back. It was great! We are now teaching both of them and they are excited to learn more!

We are still teaching Matt! He is doing well! He absolutely loves the Gospel ,and now we are working on his reading daily! He is great!

We had lunch with a bunch of women from the ward for Sister Andrade's birthday! It was great! Sister Andrade is a convert of about 3 years. She is amazing! We went to her house last night for dinner and she is so strong! She has been through so much in her life and is truly an inspiration that anyone can overcome trials and be apart of this Gospel!

We had one of our investigators Sister Kuhlenhoetter who is married to a member over to dinner at the Vanwormers. It was great! We had a lesson where we read a chapter in the Book of Mormon and talked about it as we read. It was super powerful and the spirit was strong!

We did an exchange on Saturday and I went over to Mt. Vernon Indiana! I was with Sister Priebe! It was way fun and I just love her! We had a great day and taught some super awesome people!

Yesterday it rained and rained and rained. It was a downpour all day! Well, I left my umbrella at the church dumb me. So, I didn't have it all day. I just had my rain jacket. Lets just say that I was completely drenched because we tracted most of the day! When we got to Sister Andrade's house for the last hour of the day she made me put on some of her clothes so she could throw mine in the dryer! haha it was great! I taught a lesson in a t-shirt and sweat pants....SUPER WEIRD!

It was a great week!!! I love Evansville!!

I hope you all have a fabulous week as the school year is starting!

Love,
Sister Bradley

EVANSVILLE!!!!!

HELLO HELLO!!! I am pleased to announce that I am now in Evansville Indiana! I am no longer in the great state of Kentucky! It is weird seeing Indiana license plates everywhere. It is on the complete opposite side of the mission.

Some facts for you all:

1. I am in a ward! It is a little ward, but it is a ward!

2. My companion is Sister Stacey!

3. Sadly I am not on a bike anymore but...We drive a Buick Verano brand new! It is NICE!

4. The area is complete opposite of my other areas.

5. It is all nice neighborhoods and families.

6. It is a bigger city than all the others!

There are a few random facts for you!!

I love this area! The members are awesome! The people are fantastic, and my companion is great!

Sister Stacey

- Is from Puyallup Washington!

-Is going into accounting at BYU Idaho

- She is awesome!

-She loves whip cream!

-gets scared really easily... example: When I jump out at her while she is walking down the hall and she literally screams, jumps in the air and falls back against the wall! Most HILARIOUS THING EVER!!!

- Loves video games and movies!

-SUPER FUNNY!!

There is a scope of my companion!

Investigators:

Well, there aren't many, but we are changing that! We have a lot of work to do in this area!

Matt- He is super cool! He has a baptismal date for September 21st! He came to church yesterday for the first time and loved it! I am excited to see him progress!

The Cundiff family- They have three children and they are awesome! I am excited to work with them more!

Sorry, I don't have more for you!

most of Sister Heywoods companions

The work is great and I love this new area! I am excited to see the work progress!! This area has so much potential!

This is one of my favorite houses in Richmond!!

 

 

Love,

Sister Bradley
 

A whole new world!

drum roll please.....................I am fixin to leave Richmond because I am being transferred! I reckon that I will be with a new companion in a new area! I will not find out who and where until tomorrow! I hope you like the Kentucky slang that I threw in those sentences!

SHOUT OUT TO MY DADDIO! HAPPY BIRTHDAY  this Friday DAD! I LOVE YOU!

The week at a glance:

Monday- We went to Bishop Sorensons home with his family, our  investigator Heather, and her son Ben! It was super fun and the spirit was strong as we taught a lesson! Lessons are always better in members homes! Then the Sister Training leaders came to do our exchange.

Tuesday- I was in Richmond with Sister Newton and it was super fun! We biked all day, and it was the best! The weather was great! We had a super duper amazing lesson with a less-active member Crystal, our neighbor. Her testimony is fantastic! She is going to make it to the temple soon! We met with another less-active and talked to many people on the street. We also met with Wei! He told us that day that his heart is in the church and he feels good when he is learning! A.K.A. He is receiving a change of heart and is feeling the spirit! Awesome! We also had a relief society/ young woman pool party activity! That was super fun! We had some investigators and recent converts come. We got to socialize and play games with everyone! It was super fun!

Wednesday- We did some service for a less-active member and helped her price things for her yard sale, then we went and helped a nonmember move. It was the most chaotic move I have ever been apart of! It was great though and fun! A member that recently returned home from her mission taught us these awesome 7 minute lessons that are super powerful! I love them! Then We had a lesson with Jeff and we also had a lesson with Roxy. We had dinner with the McIntiers! They are such a great family! Sister McIntier is so awesome! She is hilarious and so much fun! She comes out with us all the time to teach! We had a meeting and then we met with Heather! We had a great lesson with her and she set a baptismal date for October 11! So exciting! 

Thursday- We did service for the nonmember again and helped move. Sister Vikari and I were just lifting all these couches and things while some of the elders just watched us! It was funny! We don't like wasting time! haha. We had district meeting and Sister Vikari and I did the training on working with members and helping them to know hot to do missionary work! Then we had lunch all together at meeples! We had a lesson with Wei at the library and got to show him some great video's that helped him! We had dinner with one of my favorite families ever, the Russells! They are amazing! We had a meeting after with Sister Russell and it was great! We are doing a 40 day feast in our ward where there are little things for the members to do for 40 days leading up to a big ward party with a church tour. The goal is for them to invite nonmembers and it will be a fall fiesta with dinner activities and a church tour! It is going to be amazing! I am so excited for it even though I won't be here! 

Friday- We had members with all day! We tried many many people and not much went through, but oh well! We saw Nikki and Destiny! They are doing well! We helped Donna Dopson, a less-active, load her moving truck! I am going to miss her because she is so amazing! We were with Ryann Fish, a member, for a few hours and she is great! We contacted this guy with her and we helped him lay floors in a new house! It was super fun and weird at the same time, but he was really open! Then we went out to dinner with Ryann and her mom Sister Russell! It was great! We met with Heather again, and had a great lesson with her! She got a blessing from the elders. It was amazing! She felt the spirit so strong and we are pretty sure she received her answer! It was so cool! 

Saturday- We got permission from  President Brough to go to a baptism of someone that Sister Vikari taught in Louisville. We went with Sister Vikari's former companion who is married and lives 20 minutes from us now because they taught this investigator together! It was really cool and exciting! We loved it! Then we had dinner at a nonmembers home with another nonmember and the Marchants! It is Marg and Betty. They do swimming with Sister Marchant in the mornings and we have gotten to know them. They are adorable older ladies and they are all friends! It is so cute! Marg and Betty love us, so Marg invited us over for dinner. We had a great time! I also found out I was being transferred!

Sunday- Wei and Heather came to church! It was great! We got to teach Sunday school and that was fun! Then after church we saw a million people, taught a lot of lessons, and said goodbye! We had dinner at the Bradburn's with the Jasinki's who are living there temporarily, so there were 16 of us eating! We had them act out a Book of Mormon story for the lesson and it was hilarious! We also saw the Simmons, and we did the Book of Mormon story acting with them last week and they decided to do it again! It was so funny because they get so into it! We had another great lesson with Wei and he is going to get baptized soon I just know it! 

Today we got to go and tour my dream house this morning with the EKU president. President Benson who is in our ward and his family! It was amazing! It is this mansion house that is beautiful! We drove a gold cart over there and I took a million pictures! All my dreams have come true here in Richmond!

I forgot to tell you all that I ate fried green tomatoes! They were okay... I also had fried corn nuggets!

 I am so full of gratitude at this time as I leave Richmond. I love Richmond and have seen so many miracles here. I have been able to see 6 wonderful people get baptized since I have been here. Heavenly Father has truly blessed me with the opportunity to meet and teach them! The scripture that keeps coming to my mind at this time as I leave Richmond is Alma 26:11-12 which says " 11But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God.

12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."

I am so grateful that I was able to teach them all and see them grow in the gospel. I am also grateful for the members here. They amazed me every single day with their selflessness and service. This ward truly is an amazing ward! I am also grateful for all of things I have learned here in Richmond and the people I have come into contact with. I am grateful for Sister Vikari and the time that I have had to spend with her. I have learned so much from her! She is an amazing example! My heart is full of joy for the time I have had to spend here. 

I am very excited for what is coming. I am excited for a new area, people, and companion. I know that whatever area I go to is apart of Heavenly Fathers plan and is where I am meant to be. I am so excited for the growth and learning I will gain in my next area and with my next companion. I love being able to learn and grow because it helps me to become more like my Savior who is the perfect example. I am ready for all the new investigators that I will be able to teach and help come closer to Christ! 

Prayer- Pray that Wei and Heather will recognize their answers! 

Scripture- This week I was reading and I would invite you all to read Alma 32 and thing about how you can grow your faith. We are always trying to grow our faith, but how can you specifically grow your faith! 

I hope you all have an amazing week!

I love you!

Love,

Sister Bradley