BOOK OF MORMON!!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY to all the wonderful FATHERS out there!!! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY CUTE NEPHEW JACE WINWARD THIS WEEK!!!

ROXY GOT BAPTIZED this week!!!!!! It was an amazing experience as always! She had such a glow when she came up out of the water. She couldn't stop smiling the rest of the day! She felt the spirit so strongly and knew that she had truly made the right decision! We went to a fireside last night and she bore her testimony! It was so precious!  I hope her husband Sam will come around now and be Baptized. He is slowly but surely progressing. I love to see this family continue to progress in the Gospel! It is truly changing them! 

Kelly is doing fantastic! She is reading everyday and praying to know the truth. She asks us questions and she is right on track! She had a slight concern about Nephi killing Laban, but we were able to hopefully resolve that. We are praying that she will be able to come to church. It is hard for her because she works almost every Sunday. She is seriously so prepared though! She found the missionaries and she wants so badly to know the truth of the Book of Mormon! 

We are doing  an 8 week program with our ward called the M&MTC. It is the Member missionary training center. We teach the members how they can be missionaries. We help them answer questions that they have been asked. We do roleplays with them. It is great!!  The members are loving it, and we are starting to see a change in there confidence. We are excited to see them progress in missionary work! 

We started working with a couple of former investigators this week. We are working with a couple Brenda and Jason.They are a young couple who need direction in their life. They are also wanting to start a family, so it is the perfect time for them to have the Gospel!  We are also working with Heather

. She was recently dating a less-active member, but is no longer doing so. We are hoping that she will gain a testimony now that He is not holding her back. She has been to church many times, and has even spoken in church. She is amazing! I know she is going to receive that witness that the Book of Mormon is true!

We were meeting with one investigator named Chastity. She is simply amazing!  She has many friends that are members and that is how we found her. Well, she told us last week that after we came the first time her kids have been playing " Mormon Bible School." They take the Book of Mormons and pretend like they are reading them and her daughter teaches her son. They call themselves Sister Maddie and Sister Jack. I thought that was hilarious! She told us she had to confiscate the Book of Mormon's from them! haha. 

We got permission to go to Relay for life this week! We went with some members and contacted people all evening. They did the awesome lighting ceremony and lit the lanterns like tangled! It was really cool! It was amazing as well because all the stories they told of people that had cancer all involved God and Jesus Christ in their story. They all said that they wouldn't have made it through without God and Jesus Christ! 

I found out at zone conference that an investigator in Somerset that I found who was supposed to get Baptized soon died. That was very sad. I know that he will be able to get his temple work done though! 

 

We had zone conference this week with President and Sister Woodbury! It was their last one. They leave next week:( so sad! The theme of zone conference was the Book of Mormon! All the training's were on the Book of Mormon! It was amazing and spiritually exhausting! I learned so much! The Book of Mormon truly is the most powerful and correct Book on the earth! It can bring you closer to God and Jesus  Christ more than any other Book!  It powerfully testifies of Christ and his suffering and sacrifice for us! I invite you all to read the Book of Mormon again. Pray to know the truth of it if you haven't already. If you have pray to know the truth again and re-confirm that testimony of it. Go through and highlight all of your favorite scriptures of Christ! Also, read 1 Nephi 1-4 and compare that to the Restoration of the Gospel! It is amazing how the correlate in every way! Christ, Nephi, Abinadi, Moroni, Joseph Smith etc. all suffered SO much so that we could have the Book of Mormon today! Are you using it to it's fullest? What will you tell them when you see them again? Will you be able to tell them that you used the Book of Mormon to your fullest ability! I hope I do and I hope you do as well! 

I hope you all have a marvelous week! Enjoy the sunshine and remember Smile, Be happy! 

I am going to do a new thing at the end of my e-mail and that is ask for all of you to pray for someone specific that we are working with! 

Prayer: Sam. Please pray that he may gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon! He is amazing! 

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Bradley

His Grace is Sufficient!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my cute nephew KAYLEB Winward on Wednesday! I love you!

For all of you that know what key indicators are we got 22 Member presents this week! That is a lot for our mission! It was crazy! All of our leaders keep asking how did you do that?? It was funny!  We had members with us almost every hour of the day. It was amazing. We were able to teach many great lessons with members. We also had many times when members were with us but appointments fell through. Luckily, we have backups for that reason. I am so grateful for all of the members and how willing they are to come out and teach with us. They are simply amazing. We now call ourselves Richmond Sisters who don't bike, because members are with us all the time! 

Roxy gets baptized this week! That is exciting! She really is prepared for this. She is trying her best to stay strong and continue to grow in the Gospel while being a mother and being pregnant. We are excited for her!

a funny sign we saw.

We are working with this fantastic person named Kelly! She saw the Elders at the library and waited for the Elders to come out of the Library one day, so she could talk to them. She told them she wanted to learn more. We met with her a couple times this week! She is more than prepared! She has been through a lot in life, but knows this is what she needs. She is reading the Book of Mormon, and wants to know if it is true. She has such a strong desire. She has a baptismal date for July 12th!

dulcimers- an instrument here

Tom is continuing to progress. He is the one that is Jehovah's witness. We had a great lesson with him the other night on the Plan of Salvation and were able to address and answer many of his questions and concerns. 

I went on an exchange this week with Sister Durfee!! That is right...my old companion! It was so much fun!! It was an easy exchange because we already taught well together. We contacted these people and literally for three straight sentences we said the same exact thing. After the contact we walked away and started laughing so hard because we are still unified! haha. It was hilarious! It was a great day and we were able to teach some amazing lessons! 

Third art hands- they are all over town.

We are meeting with this amazing couple as well! There names are Alexxis and Dario. We taught them for the first time this last week and they are so prepared! They have a baptismal date for July 19th! 

Crystal is a less-active that lives across the lawn from us! She is amazing! She is quitting smoking and it is great because she is doing everything she can! She got a blessing, fasted, and had us fast. She comes to us whenever she needs a little boost. She is reading, praying, and doing everything in her power to do what is right! I am so excited for her! Her goal is the temple!!

We went to Berea last Monday with an investigator! It was super fun! Berea is a town 15 minutes away that is super crafty and cute! I will send pictures from that day! 

Huge rocking chair

 

I watched a talk this week called His Grace is Sufficient by Brad Wilcox. I invite you all to go and watch it! Just search it on lds.org. I loved it and I know you will too! It is all about Grace and the enabling power of the Atonement! 

I love working with Sister Vikari. She is so much fun! We have a great relationship, and work well together. She is an amazing missionary, and I have learned so much in the short amount of time that we have been together. I am so grateful every single day that I get to be with such an amazing sister! 

Everything is great in good ole Kentucky! I am working on my accent everyday! 

Love,

Sister Bradley

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!

Hello my dear Family and friends whom I love so much!

Today is the one and only Shari Bradley's BIRTHDAY EVERYONE!!!! Tell my mother Happy Birthday! She is only 29! Give her a big hug for me! I love you mom!!

This week was full of fantastic investigators, lessons, miracles, and members. I am so grateful for all of the things the Lord is continuing to bless Sister Vikari and I with.  A few of the recent converts are struggling right now, but we are trying to help them the best way that we can. We are trying to help them understand the atonement and how it can help them. We just have to keep loving them and helping them with their needs and concerns. 

 The Newby's from Firth!

The Lyon family is doing well. Roxy and the kids came with us to stake conference. Sam did not, and we don't know why. They are continuing to grow and learn. Roxy is now getting Baptized on June 14th. She is ready to be Baptized. We would have moved it up sooner, but she needed to obey the word of wisdom a little bit longer. Sam was able to get a priesthood blessing to help him quit smoking. Brother Schlesser, the Elders quorum president, has really taken Sam under his wing it is great!!

Fun with the Bryner Boys!

 

We were able to meet with another family this week. It is the Lee family. It was the first time that we were able to meet with the whole family. We were only able to share the first vision, and the Book of Mormon with them but that is okay. It was powerful when we shared the first vision. The spirit was so strong. They were rambunctious and loud, but the minute we shared the first vision their eyes were glued. It was amazing! They all committed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. 

We are meeting with Tom Jackson again. He was a former from back in November. We are trying to help resolve his concerns and needs. He knows a lot of the Church history. He also has read some skewed ideas from church history. We are trying to teach simply and clearly to help him understand everything. He has great knowledge though!!

EKU!!!

We met with another new wonderful family. Their names are Chastity and Gregg.They have a 9 year old girl and a 4 year old boy. They asked great questions while we were there. We had a great first lesson with them. We brought members with us and they were able to teach and testify. It was the Greff's that came with us. Before we started the lesson the Greff's did how to begin teaching from preach my Gospel. It was amazing! They don't even know what that is, but  yet they were able to do it. They are great member missionaries! Their 9 year old girl, Maddie, is so adorable! She loves Gymnastics, so I am going to give her a few tips and things next time we go. 

So, Sister Vikari and I are pretty creative and come up with awesome lessons for members that have kids. We did one with a couple families this last week called "father may I." Sound familiar? Well we played "Mother May I" and changed it so we could compare it to prayer. We had them ask something that they would ask Heavenly Father for. Then they would move forward and eventually they would get to live with God! We showed how sometimes we pray for things, but they are sometimes answered in ways that we don't expect. It was a fun little lesson! 

We had stake conference this week and I got to see all these people from SOMERSET!!!! It was awesome! I was so excited to see all of them! I saw the Cooks, the Calls, the Bartletts, The Golemans! They are all still the same and great! It was nice to catch up with them though! 

The members in our ward are simply AMAZING! I think I have rode my bike a few times in the last 3 weeks. Members come to lessons with us everyday! They are so great and so willing!  

We were able to do quite a bit of service this week. We helped one investigator move. We helped a family in the

ward paint their house. We also went to the food Bank. I love doing service!!!! Like the primary song goes...." When were helping were happy and we sing as we go, for we love to help Richmond and we all love Richmond so" I added my own little twist to it! 

It was a fantastic week! I love, love, love, being able to share the Gospel every single day! I love being able to study, learn, and grow. I love listening and following the promptings of the spirit. I love accounting to my Father in Heaven at night about what has happened that day and thanking him for all the people that he has blessed us with to teach. I love seeing the Book of Mormon, and the doctrines of the Gospel change lives! I love seeing members get excited about sharing the Gospel! I love this Gospel with all my heart! 

I love you all! Thank you for all of your support and love! 

Love,

Sister Bradley

9 Months....SAY WHATTTT!!!!!

Shout out to TYSON BRADLEY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON SATURDAY!!!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!! 

FUNNY STORY: Well, one day we were eating lunch and we saw that a wasp was flying around our apartment. We didn't know how we could kill it so we had our neighbor Crystal come do it. Yes, I was a wussy. That was exciting! That night we were teaching a lesson outside with a member and the tornado sirens started going off. We continued teaching because it wasn't even stormy and everything was fine. We finished the lesson and got in the car. The minute we shut the car doors it started POURING with super crazy winds. It was insane! Then halfway home it started hailing good quarter sized hail. We ran into our apartment form the car and were soaked by the time we got inside. Then we planned for the next day and went to go to our room. Well, little did we know that while walking to our room we would walk through a huge puddle 4 inches deep. Our apartment was slightly flooded! We got it all cleaned up and taken care of though. It was an adventurous day to say the least.

 

All of the sisters in our zone.

 

This week was such a marvelous week. Sister Vikari and I are seeing many great miracles! We are being blessed with so many wonderful people to teach. The members are so involved in missionary work here. They are always so willing to come out with us, and let us into their homes.

We had a very spiritual lesson with Tom this week at the Bishops home. We did a spirit sandwich with the Book of Mormon. We had everyone testify of the Book of Mormon, and how it has blessed their life. It was a powerful lesson. At the end we all knelt and said a prayer to ask if the Book of Mormon was true. It was amazing to see how every single person felt the spirit strongly! Tom has a strong testimony of the Gospel. Now we need to help him recognize it.

Brother and Sister Greff are amazing member missionaries in our ward. They come out with us frequently, and are always trying to share the Gospel and find people for us to teach. One day they came with us to contact a referral that they gave to us. While we were contacting them Brother Greff went and talked to their neighbors who were outside. We finished and Brother Greff walks up to us and says, " You have an appointment with this family Sunday at 3:00." Yes, He got us a family to teach! They came with us on Sunday to teach this family, and it was an amazing lesson! It is the Henry family. There is a husband, wife, 8 year old daughter, 16 year old son, and the mom of the wife. They are so prepared for the Gospel! They have a baptismal date for July 12. I am so excited to continue teaching them! They asked great questions that neither Sister Vikari or I have ever been asked. 

The whole Lyon family came to church this week! Sam, the husband, finally came! We took the Elders Quorum President with us to teach them a lesson. He befriended Sam and made Sam feel more comfortable. They are continuing to progress! 

 

One night Sister Vikari and I were with a member and the appointment fell through. We had many back ups, but decided to pray about where we should go. We did and the Lee family came to my mind. We go there and they weren't home. Sister Vikari and I knew one other person that lived in this same apartment complex. We felt like we needed to go there. Her name is Lexi, and she is 11. We have been trying for weeks to meet with her because she came to church with Hank about a month ago. Well, she was home and so we taught her the first lesson. She has read the whole Book of Mormon already! We brought her with us the next day to dinner at a members home who has a daughter Lexi's age. They bonded and became friends quickly. Lexi also came to church as well! She is ready for Baptism! 

 

On Saturday one of the members had a BBQ at their home. There were many people from the ward there. They invited the Lyon family and they came as well. They also invited some of their nonmember friends who came. We talked with this one couple, and were able to set up an appointment with them for this week! The members are simply amazing here in Richmond. 

 

We are meeting with a part member family in our area as well. It is the Samuel family. The wife and 10 year old son are Baptized. The husband and 8 year old son are not. We are going to teach the 8 year old with the whole family involved. We think that will help the Dad as well. They come as a family to church every week. Everyone in the ward thinks he should be a member. He told us if all he had to do was sign a paper he would be a member. We are going to try and help resolve his concerns. 

 

Crystal is a less-active that we have been working with for a while. A few weeks ago we made goals with her, and her main goal is to go to the temple. We were able to teach her the 15 step program last night! She is excited but nervous to quit smoking! We know that she can do it though!

We also has zone meeting! It was fun to see everyone, and be spiritually uplifted! 

There is a family in our ward who is moving to Rexburg next month because he got a job at BYU Idaho. They are excited! I told them all these places to go to, and things to do! 

It was an amazing week!!!!! I am so blessed! We have so many people progressing towards baptism! I have only told you about a few of the people that we are teaching! We have 12 people right now with Baptism dates and quite a few people who will have them by the end of this week! The Lord is truly Hastening His work! I am blessed that I get to be an instrument in his hands! 

don't laugh but I fell asleep in a lesson.... We were watching the restoration movie. The investigator was sitting next to me and was super into the movie. It was a long hot day and I tried so hard to stay awake but apparently it didn't work. A member tool this picture because she thought it was so funny!

Sleeping Beauty!! HAHA!

Have a fantastic week!

Love,

Sister Bradley

living Vikariously!

Why hello my dear family and friends! ( say in British accent)

I know you are all excited to see who the new companion is! Drum roll please.... Sister Vikari, hence living Vikariously. It is spelled wrong on purpose. She is one amazing sister! She is from North Bend Washington which is close to Seattle. She is super fun and it is going to be another great transfer! She is actually 25 and has graduated from BYU Idaho in Vocal Performance. She is an amazing Opera Singer, and I make her sing to me all the time. She is going to teach me to sing better as well! I love to live Vikariously because it is the way to go! haha:) 

This week was another amazing week! I am so grateful that I have this opportunity to be companions with Sister Vikari! This is going to be a great transfer working with her. I know that miracles are going to continue to happen here in Richmond! 

Last night we went to a fireside in Lexington with Nikki and Destiny. It is a fireside for investigators and recent converts. Well, after the speakers they allow anyone to bear their testimony. I told Destiny that she should bear hers, and she did! It was a powerful testimony! She said that she wanted to go on a mission one day. She said how she loves coming out with us, and how grateful she is for the Gospel in her life and us. It was so precious! She has such a strong testimony for only being 13. I got to see some former companions too! I saw Sister Durfee and Sister Peterson there! I also got to see the Cook family from Somerset! It was awesome to see all of them. 

This last week a member from our ward passe away. It was Brother Adams who I wrote about a few weeks ago that we went and saw. It was a beautiful funeral service. I talked to Sister Adams on Sunday when I saw her. She cried and  told me how grateful Brother Adams and her were for when we came. She said it was a blessing for them and especially him because we brightened up his day. She said that we brought the spirit into their home and really helped them forget about the hard time they were going through. It was so touching. I told her how grateful we were for their strong testimonies. It was a very tender moment. 

We are still working with the Lyon family. Sam still has not come to church. We were only able to meet with them once last week, and it was only with Roxy. They aren't finding the Gospel very important in their lives, so they don't meet with us very frequently. We have been doing a lot of praying and studying on their behalf, and are going to try many things this coming week. They are still interested and know that this is what they need to do, but it is not urgent for them.

We were able to have a powerful lesson with Charlie this last week, and set a baptismal date with him! It was truly a spirit guided lesson! He realized that he can do all things through Christ, and with our Heavenly Fathers help. 

We are also meeting with Tom again. He is striving to really know the truth and gain a testimony. He also has a baptismal date. He is really studying everything out in his mind, so he can know that this is the right decision in his life. I am excited to see him continue to change! 

We are also meeting with two older sisters named Gladdis and Emma. They are wonderful! Emma is spunky and asks a lot of great questions. Gladdis is more calm and really ponders everything we say. They both have a baptismal date for June 21. 

We are also continuing to work with the Lee family.They are so prepared! We are trying to meet with the whole family. It is really hard because they are all so busy. I know that the Lord will help us to work with them more and be able to teach all of them. 

I am grateful for another amazing companion! I am so blessed, and have learned so many things from Sister Vikari already. She is a fantastic, diligent, obedient, fun sister! 

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

Love, 

Sister Bradley

Bitter Sweet...

Well hello friends and family!

It was nice talking to the fam bam yesterday on Skype! All the grand kids are getting so big! Well, lately Sister Durfee and I like to relate everything to the Gospel. We were compared riding our bikes to the Gospel, or playing chess to the Gospel, or how eating can relate to the Gospel. It is quite entertaining and hilarious! 

  Our District

Sister Durfee is leaving me tomorrow! Sad day. She is an awesome companion! She is becoming a sister training leader, and staying in my zone. Luckily I will still get to see her quite often! It is a mystery as to who my new companion is. In order to find out tune into to my Blog next week where the new sister will be revealed! haha

A creepy picture

There was many miracles this last week that happened. They continue to happen every single week! We are now teaching a couple families. We were able to gain very promising new investigators. We were also able to contact many wonderful people. The Lord continues to bless this area and help more and more people accept the Gospel. 

Destiny came with us last Saturday. She walked around with us from appointment to appointment. It was amazing. She bore powerful testimony of what she knew to be true. It brought the spirit into the lessons! That was a miracle to see her willingly come with us and to hear her beautiful testimony. 

We are now teaching the Lee Family. It is a husband, wife, and three kids. The kids are 18, 15, and 12. They have a strong foundation in Jesus Christ. They are very open to the Gospel and to learning. We taught the mom last week, but tonight we are teaching the whole family. I am super excited to see them progress in the Gospel as a family! 

We taught the Lyon family a family home evening lesson. It was a lesson on how to grow your faith. We taught towards the kids, so it was simple and direct. The kids are being a strong example to their parents. They pray during the lessons. They love to talk about Jesus, and they pray for their parents to quit smoking. Roxy is doing well and continues to progress. 

This member in the ward had surgery and her daughter doesn't know how to cook. We went over there one day and made dinner for them and taught her how to make breakfast for dinner! It was great and they were so appreciative! 

Let me tell you all about the Christensen's. It is a couple that lives two blocks away from us. They helped us so much! They fed us dinner frequently, gave us rides places, let us teach people in their home, and many other wonderful things. We were able to get to know them very well! They sadly left this week to Bear Lake for the Summer. They told Sister Durfee and I that we could come and stay with them next summer! I am super stoked! 

The work continues to be amazing here! I love it more and more every single day! I have never been so happy in my entire life! Who wouldn't want to serve a mission. It brings happiness, spiritual and temporal knowledge, peace, joy, friends, spiritual strength, and many other wonderful things!  Who wouldn't want to experience all those things??

I am so grateful for my Father in Heaven who truly knows each and every one of us perfectly. He is very aware of our circumstances, and the desires of our hearts. He knows how to best help us, and can do anything as long as we put our trust in him! Thi Gospel is simply...AMAZING!

Have a great week! Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful women in my life!

Love,

Sister Bradley 

Derby Day!

Shout out to my cute niece Macie Barnum! Happy 8th Birthday Macie!! Love you! Love, Nana!  

This last Saturday was Derby Day! Sister Durfee and I are so awesome that we made hats and had great dresses to go with it! They were total derby style! I hope you enjoy the lovely pictures of it. To go with the Derby the ward had an Ultimate derby race. It was a derby car race with no rules and for all ages. It was fun! We made a car, and it got 5th place. Not bad... haha.

The Lyon family is doing well. Destiny Sawin, a recent convert, came with us to their lesson yesterday. It was amazing to see Destiny teach and testify of what she knew to be true. I think  she is the best fellowship for them! She hasn't been coming to church, so we think this will help motivate her. She brought toys for the kids, and was able to really relate to them. We will definitely be teaching a family home evening lesson when we meet with them tomorrow. We are excited to see them continue to progress.

We were able to meet with a girl named Jessica this last week. She is very open minded and said that her and her husband were looking for a church. We will be meeting with her again this week  with a member to teach the Plan of Salvation. We are excited to teach this because she has two young children. It will help her understand that her family can be together forever. We are trying to get the Husband involved as well, but he works quite a bit. She has the cutest little girl named Addison who is 2. While we were there last week they showed us a cool thing that Addison and Jessica's husband do. Well, he throws Addison up in the air and stunts her. So she stands on one leg while he is holding her with one hand. She was solid too! It was amazing to see a 2 year old do that! CRAZY! She also could almost do a straddle press handstand, and she is 2!!! I told Jessica that she better get her in classes quick because that little Addison has talent!

We were also able to see Charlie Walling. We taught him a very loving but bold lesson last night. He is ready to make all the steps to Baptism, but he is struggling with procrastination. He keeps thinking that he will when the time is right. When he is settled. We are truly focusing on his needs as we meet with him tonight. The Gospel is truly what he needs in his life right now.

I love seeing the tender mercies of the Lord. It is humbling to know how aware the Lord is of every detail. Saturday was a rough day with many things that happened. I saw so many tender mercies throughout the day that I was just happy and hopeful. I knew that God was still helping us and blessing us, but it was just in other ways than what I thought it would be. We met with two amazing members on Saturday evening. The husband is suffering from cancer, and we were asked to go and visit them. They had a strong spirit in their home. It was amazing to teach and talk about the Restoration of the Gospel with them. It was a very touching experience for Sister Durfee and I.

We had our last interviews with President Woodbury, and Sister Woodbury. It was sad... They were really great interviews though! They have one more transfer left until the new ones come. We had a great training about how we can focus on Church and getting investigators to Church! We need to be fully converted in the Gospel before we can expect to truly help others come unto Christ!

Everything is going great! I love the Gospel! It is amazing to see people change as we are lead by the spirit! God knows us personally and perfectly!  We have been sharing what we call a faith ladder with a lot of people lately. It is a great thing that can apply to anything in the Gospel!

One example could be Charity.

step 1: Desire- It has to start with a Desire to have Charity.

step 2: Belief- As we study the scriptures we can gain a belief of Charity by reading Moroni 7.

step 3: Action- As we gain a belief we want to act on it by Praying for Charity and being more Charitable.

Step 4: Trial- as we act we go through trials.

Step 5: Witness- We receive a witness that what we are doing is real and true!

I just wanted to share that because I love how the Faith ladder really applies to everything!  I invite you all to apply the faith ladder in your own lives!

I hope you all Have a great week! Love you all!

Love,

Sister Bradley