HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!...GOBBLE UP THAT TURKEY!

HOLA Hermanos y Hermanas,

yes, the Hermanas are teaching me some great Espanol! By the time i get home I will be fluent in Bearing testimony in Spanish! oh yeah! haha!

Let me tell about this wonderful week because I know you are all waiting in anticipation..haha! Probably not! 

- It was another week in the Cold GKLM!! 

- We were at the recycle center this week and it was literally so cold! We were layered, but by the end my hands and feet were completely numb. I couldn't feel my feet for a good hour after that! Hello winter!!

- BRODY- He is soooooooooo FANTASTIC! He has the strongest spirit ever! Seriously, I could picture him as an apostle! He is simply amazing! So humble, gentle, loving, kind, etc. He has so many Christ-like attributes! It was his Birthday this week and he turned 16! We celebrated with him on his Birthday and brought him a treat! 

-We were with a member last week, and found out that her anniversary was this week and her Husband passed away 6 years ago. I felt prompted to get her flowers and a card and deliver it to her on their anniversary. So, us and the Hermanas did and we doorbell ditched it. She loved it! She was so appreciative! It was so touching! 

Sister Andrade is now a ward missionary! So stoked! She has been a member for 3 years and is such a great member missionary! She is on top of everything missionary it is awesome! She got back from her vacation in Thailand this week and she got us all gifts! She is so cute!

We went to visit a less-active on Wednesday and while we were there she was really stressed out with everything she had to do. We offered to help, so we helped her order Christmas gifts over the phone. It was great! 

We had a lesson with the part member family, the Martins, in Fort Branch. Sister Martin showed us all her gem/rock collection! It was so cool! She gave us earrings that she made from rocks she has polished and made. We taught them a lesson and they took us out to a place called the Log inn for dinner. It was a restaurant built in 1825, and Abraham Lincoln ate there! So cool! It was so good too! 

We went to a members home for dinner with the Hermana's. During dinner the mom told us that sometimes in life we meet people that we feel like we knew  before this life. She then said, " I feel that with you four. I truly love you in my heart and feel that bond and trust." It was such a huge compliment! I just love Sister Rathfon! She is an amazing member and inspires me to be better! 

Friday we had zone conference with President Brough! It was amazing! We had such an amazing conference on Planning, Setting Goals, and seeking Revelation! It was amazing! 

That night we had a lesson with Our investigator Ty Wilson! She is amazing! She is so open with her concerns and questions! It is so great! the lessons with her are always so spiritual! It was cool too because her daughter who is 9 brought out her Bible and asked us questions. She was fully involved in the Gospel Discussion! It was cool! Ty told us that her daughter had been asking for a week when we were coming back. It is so cool because children just know that we have the truth! It is so cool! 

We had a Birthday celebration for a spanish member in the ward Esteban. It was awesome because during the lesson even though I couldn't understand anything i could feel the spirit! It was awesome!

We had a lesson with our amazing investigator JO! She is so adorable! She is in her 50's and just loves us! She is such a devoted Christian! We are going to do service for her this week and help her make pies for thanksgiving! 

It was a great week! I love the work of the Lord so much! It is such a blessing to be able to share the Gospel everyday!!!

Prayer: Please pray that the Libbs will have a desire to continue to learn. 

Challenge: Remember that the Heavenly Father loves you! 

Have a fabulous week! 

Love,

Sister Bradley

Love makes the world go round!!

It has been a cold week here in Indiana! It was in the 20's and 30's all week and we got a few inches of snow last night! CRAZY! Wasn't expecting that this soon here. It is marvelous though because It feels like winter and snow is so pretty!!

Let me tell you about the exciting adventures of Sister Bradley and Sister Hinton from this week!

Monday:

    We had dinner with a member Dana Mills! She is wonderful and just became active again! She is a convert like most people in our ward, and is just so straight forward and hilarious! Then we had a wonderful first lesson with Jeremy and Erica! They are so adorable!!! They have a little boy named Dillon who is 2. They are seriously  a perfect little family! We had a great lesson with them, and they are going to read and pray, but unfortunately we can't meet with them again for a few weeks because they are super busy. Figure that one out..haha! Sometimes as a missionary I forget that people have a life besides meeting with us and just  engrossing themselves in the Gospel!  We then had a great lesson with the Cathro's. They are a family in the ward. They have a great sense of humor and I am pretty sure I die laughing every time we go over there! They have over 300 board games it is ridiculous and super awesome! So we had a discussion on Christ-like attributes, and started off with a question of what are the Christ-like attributes? Brother Cathro being a the way he is replies, " well, his beard, long hair, nail prints in the hands and feet, robe." It was so funny! We obviously were looking for the answers of faith, hope, charity, etc. It was pretty great! 

Tuesday: 

We had zone meeting and talked a lot about the Atonement and the importance of the Sacrament! It was super great and I think there is a lot of times in our lives where we take the sacrament for granted. It is the most important ordinance we do in the church! We should be crawling on our hands and knees to want to partake of it. it is a time to think about the atonement, our baptismal covenants, repentance, and gratitude. We went to see Brody after at the library and he was at home, so we ended up teaching Noah Raleigh who was the member that came out with us to teach him.  Noah is super cool and is getting ready to start his papers for his mission! We saw the Meyers again and let me tell you how much I love them! They are so amazing!!! We are only teaching the mom and daughter right now, but they are beyond prepared! We taught her a lesson on the Book of Mormon and it was funny because before we even started the lesson she was asking us for "assignments."  What person asks us for reading assignments and for things to do. SHE DOES! She is beyond prepared for the Gospel! Every question she has screams, " THE GOSPEL IS TRUE THE GOSPEL IS TRUE." It is great!  She and her daughter have baptismal dates for January 31st. They are amazing! We then had dinner with the best older member in the ward! She is a lady in her 70's and her name is Sister Coomes! She fed us salmon.... Ya'll know that I hate seafood! Yea, I tried it and it was okay, but I would prefer not to eat it. She is a super spunky and loving lady!  We then tried a few less-actives and got a call from the elders to come help someone in the ward move. We went and just helped the member move things to the downstairs, to prepare for the move the next day. 

Wednesday: 

We did pretty much a day of service! We went to the usual recycle center! It was good as always! We had lunch with a whole bunch of old men again and it was hilarious! Before the meal they had a little 2 minute dedication for a new waterfall that they put in. Then we ate and halfway through the meal of pizza and chili...yea random... they pass around a bottle of Apple pie moonshine! It was really funny! Then we did service at the adult day care center. We had a good time playing bean bag toss with all the old folks and lifting them up. We saw the great Sister Holmgren and taught her the Word of Wisdom. It stinks because she has such a strong testimony, but she justifies everything to make things sound okay and right. She committed to live it though!  We then were super cold and went to eat at Jason's deli for a nice bowl of soup, fruit, and a half sandwich! It was really good! We had to go help Sister Aubenque in the ward move and it was funny because it was us, the elders, and a few of the men in the ward. They men in the ward kept making fun of the elders because I kept carrying more than both of the elders! It was pretty great! Well, we were about done with the move and we were waiting for a few things when Elder Adams asked if I could do a gymnastics trick since I was in jeans and could. I said yeah sure I could do a back tuck or something. I had done one the other morning during workout, so I thought I would be fine. Well, I didn't take into consideration my circumstances. 

1. I had leggings and jeans on which equals restriction of movement

2. I had boots on=heavy and slippery

3. I had like 5 layers on top

4. It was dark with a small light on and I was in the grass

5. It was freezing!

Well, I go and do it and I landed sort of on my neck and sort of just did a forward roll out of it.  I WAS FINE DON'T WORRY. I just laughed and got up and everyone literally thought I died or something.... Sister Hinton thought I would have to go to the hospital. It was honestly just super embarrassing because that is something I can do in my sleep! haha! I won't do something like that again as a missionary, so yeah... Dumb Sister Bradley. 

Thursday: 

We had weekly planning, where for those who don't know, we plan every hour of everyday for the next week. We saw Brody and we taught him the Word of Wisdom! It went well, and then I helped him with his Chemistry!  We had coordination meeting with our ward mission leader, and did an hour of Family History! I love family History! 

Friday: 

We went and helped set up for the Relief Society Fantastic Friday and were there from 9:30-1:30, and then we had to be back at 4:00 to help again! They were very very appreciative though and the members are really starting to use us as a resource! It is a amazing!! Fantastic Friday went well, and we made cute crafts! There were 4 non-members there and they all live in our area! So stoked!

Saturday: 

We went and tried a lot of members on the roster that we have never met that are father out in our area. We met one of them and he is awesome! He grew up in the church and has a lot of talents and skills!  He is sweet and we are going to meet with him hopefully again this next week! We met with a few other people and then saw the Martins! We love seeing them! They are so sweet! Brother Martin is really funny and Sister Martin makes jewelry that is super pretty! They are funny because we always have a lesson with them and then they take us out to eat. I don't know why, they just love too! He is not a member and she is by the way.  We saw Sandy that night and she is a less-active! She is so adorable and hilarious! She has migraines and so it is hard for her to come. 

Sunday: 

So cool! The Bishop thanked us personally over the pulpit in sacrament for the service and work that we do! We have been focusing on the members lately and working with them more and serving them. Bishop saw our service at Fantastic Friday and said he was overwhelmed with gratitude for us because we sat and helped! That was huge and such a miracle!!!  So every week we as missionaries in our ward coordinate and where the same color! UNIFIED! The members love it and this week was Pink. Because on Sundays we wear Pink! We saw Keirsten Taylor and she is wonderful! She has such a strong testimony of the Gospel for only Being 17! 

 POSITIVITY is amazing!! People listen and love positivity! I already knew that, but there was a less-active that we met with this week and her heart totally changed just because we sat there and told her all of the things that she was doing right and that were good! She said it made her feel like she was worth something and that normally missionaries are telling her all the things she is doing wrong and she already knows what she is doing wrong. It was wonderful!

I love the work of the Lord so much!! I love just getting to go out, follow the spirit, and work hard! It is the best thing ever!!! 

I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Pray: FOR THE LIBBS and that they can continue forward in the Gospel! 

Challenge: Really prepare for and be engaged in the Sacrament this coming week!! 

I LOVE YOU ALL!!! 

Love,

Sister Bradley
 

Children of the Popcorn!

HELLO HELLO!!!


Well, I can't believe another week has gone by! Time flies when you are doing the work of the Lord. I absolutely love being a missionary! It is just so nice to wake up every morning and think I am a missionary. I am representing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!

 At Sandy's Pizza

 

I know that this week we saw a lot of small and simple miracles. We had more of our progressing investigators drop sadly. I know that the Lord has other people in store for us that are ready right now to hear this great message!

 We were able to do a lot of unplanned opportunities of service this week. I love love love service! It is great because when you're helping you're happy! We were walking around a neighborhood one afternoon tracting and contacting because our appointment fell through. We were able to help a few people rake their leaves and bag them. It was great too because it was a blessing in their lives. One was an older couple and they were tired, so we came at the perfect time to help. They were so grateful! I loved it. The other was a man that let us help and we had a 30 minute conversation with him about God after because he is atheist and he committed to read the Book of Mormon!  We were also able to do service for a few members this week as well! It was great! We broke down boxes for a family that just moved in! They are the Hallings! They are awesome! It is a mother and father with their daughter and son in law and grandson that all moved in together. They are so so wonderful and are going to be a great asset to this ward!!  We helped clean out boxes that hadn't been touched for 15 years for another...lets just say I couldn't breathe after that. Then we raked leaves for another family! It is so cool to see the Lord's hand in our everyday lives! We went out to rake leaves for non-members, but the members were the ones who needed us that day, and were so grateful for it. After we raked for them they asked if we were good at taping for painting. I told them that I had done a lot of it in my life because that is what my dad always made me do. I taped a whole room for them in like 10 minutes and they just said," thank you, that would have taken us an hour." It was funny! Thanks dad for making me tape and paint all growing up!  We are building great relationships with the members of this ward! It is amazing because we are starting to see them use us more as a resource which is exactly what we want them to see us as!!!

Stokes Grandkids

We are starting to work with some new amazing people! I know that we are going to find many new investigators this week and see more miracles!

Brody is doing well and he is now reading a chapter every night. He is doing all the things he needs too. We love Brody and totally see him as a future apostle or something!

Us and Brody at the Library

 

We went out tracting one night and it was pouring down rain and super dark. Almost every person we tried was home and let us in! We taught a couple lessons on porches since we can't go in if there isn't a female present, but it was great! We met this awesome lady named Peggy. She was sitting in her garage and we contacted her. We talked to her for a while and she doesn't have a set religion. She said she wanted to find a church for her family and doesn't feel like she knows her purpose in life. Every question she asked and every concern she brought up pointed directly to the Gospel! It was amazing! She has 6 children form the ages of 5-16! She also told us that she would have never talked with missionaries before. We asked her what changed and she said she just felt like she needed to! MIRACLE! She is very prepared! We will trey her again this week and see what happens!

We went up to Fort Branch on Wednesday and had dinner with the Martins! We don't go to Fort Branch very often because it is 45 minutes from our house. It is a less-active woman and her non-member husband. They are hilarious! I love teaching and meeting with them! We also so our investigator Matt. Boy oh Boy does he have some interesting stories that I do not want to hear! haha! He tells us all about his life in detail. He would progress so much faster if he was out of his living situation,but hopefully that will change soon.

On Thursday we saw Brody! We met with him and a member at the library. His dad walked in during the lesson and told him he needed to work on his homework. We then dropped the lesson and helped Brody with his homework because he needs to obey his father. It was a miracle that we finally got to meet his dad though!

We went to the Ruperts that night for dinner! They are an amazing family! They had a good friend over Brother Dave Armstrong. He was a mission president in Uruguay and came home after a year because his wife got injured badly. He was awesome! We talked with him about all the things of a mission. He gave us great idea's and tips! It was wonderful! 

We saw an older widow lady in the ward on Saturday night and she is amazing! We taught her and then she asked us if we could play dominoes with her, so we did!! She is so cute and we built a great relationship with her because we were able to do that with her!

Also, last Monday we got our haircut and I became best friends with two of the girls. They both said that they would come to church and friended me on facebook because they want to be friends after my mission! haha

What we do when are bored!

Mission life is the best life!! I hope you all have a great week!

talk of the week: Read Elder Oaks talk from conference! It is amazing about how we need to just love everyone!

Challenge: Pray to know what your weaknesses are.... humbling experience.

Prayer: Pray for Brody and that Brody's dad's heart will be softened. Pray that we can find new investigators this week!

I love you all!!

Love,
 

Sister Bradley

Happy Halloween!!!

Well, I can't believe another Halloween has passed and that the Holiday Season has started!  CRAZY!

Hello Hello! I hope you are having a marvelous day! This week has been interesting to say the least.... It was one of those missionary weeks where almost all investigators are ignoring us, dropped us, or aren't keeping any commitments. It was a very humbling week, but we all need those or have those. I know that we definitely saw miracles still! 

One miracle. We got a referral from Headquarters, and it is a family who was taught by the missionaries in Alaska. They have lived here for a year now, but we just got the referrral for them because some members in Alaska got it and sent it in. It is a husband, wife, and 13 year old daughter. They know so much! They were taught all the lessons and have been to church, and a baptism. They had many friends who were members in Alaska. They also know all the missionary lingo, such as dying and being born. It was hilarious. We are going to start from square one with them since it has been over a year. We are super excited, and they are even feeding us in the next couple of weeks! 

Another Miracle: We were eating at a members home last Monday for dinner. We shared a message with them and talked to them about how we are and want to be a resource to them. They loved that and then gave us a referral without even asking. I know it was because they trusted us, and knew we were here to help. We tried the referral which was their next door neighbors. They are a new family in our investigator pool! So exciting! It is a husband, wife, and a 2 year old baby. We will be meeting with them tonight to teach the Restoration. They are awesome!

We had a ward trunk or treat and it was super fun! Brody came with us and the ward had booths set up. It was great. The Hermanas and us did the donut on a string game! It was hilarious. I wish I could send videos because we recorded it. 

We saw an investigator Ty, and she had so many questions. She is reading a book that has some anti about the church, so we told her to just read the Book of Mormon. She is so awesome! She is so lost and confused in life. She broke down crying and is trying to find out what to do with her life. 

We ate at this members house the Rathfons. She is like wonder woman! She makes everything from scratch and studies the science behind nutrition and everything. It was super cool! We learned a ton from her and a lot of tips and hints about eating healthy.  She is pretty amazing!! 

We went to a members house on Halloween and ate dinner with them! It was great! 

It was another great week! We did a lot of finding and saw miracles! 

I hope that you all have a fabulous week! 

Prayer: Pray that Brody's dad's heart will be softened and let Brody get Baptized!

I love you and all!

Love,

Sister Bradley