Happy, Healthy, and Hopeful

This week boy oh boy was once again AMAZING!!

SHOUT OUT TO KAINOA PARK!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I LOVE YOU!

 

Jeremiah got Baptized! WOO HOO! It went really well!  Samantha in my last area also got Baptized! 

COOL story: We were eating dinner at the Stokes on Thursday and guess what they told me? Well, Brother Stokes Dad and my Dad both teach Seminary and know each other. Well, Brother Stokes has a twin brother named Bradley. he told me that his twin brother Bradley was named after my Grandpa James Bradley. He said that his parents has my grandpa as their institute choir director! That is awesome and crazy! Small world! Tell grandpa that there is someone named after him! 

We went and saw a less-active couple yesterday. They are only less-active because they are deaf. They have no one to interpret for them at church. It is really sad. I met them for the first time, and had to use my sign language that I learned in High school. It was cool! I wish I could remember more! I hope we can find an interpreter for them soon! 

We  are teaching this mom and daughter April and Makayla. April is  Crystal's ( a member) sister. They now have a baptismal date for April 29th. They are so great! We have such a fun time with them! April decided to move back in with her husband, so she lives 30 minutes away. She told us she didn't want anyone else to teach her, so we have to get special permission to teach her. I am excited to continue teaching her and her 11 year old daughter. 

We met this Girl Danielle last week. We were looking for an unknown member and Danielle lives where the member used to live. Miracle! She is getting Baptized on April 26th! It is amazing the way the Lord works! I am way excited to teach her more because she is 21 and super cool!

Marie was an investigator that we taught for only a little while. Most prepared person ever! Well, she had to move this last week, so we helped her and her mom pack. They are amazing people! We had a lot of fun with them! Her mom actually lives in Texas close to Becky! A cool thing about Marie is she was a Jockey! She went to Jockey school, but had to quit because she had serious knee problems. She showed us all her stuff! It was sweet!

Jada gets baptized this Saturday! I am stoked for her baptism! She is ready for baptism! She is so excited, and the Gospel has truly changed her! It will be great!

Jeff is well on his way to being Baptized! He is golden! He challenged himself to read the whole Book of Mormon before he gets Baptized! Yes, he is awesome! He tells Sister Durfee and I that we are gangstas! haha

funny story.... So we meet with our investigator Michelle this week with a member. The one who says my name a million times and is obsessed with me as Sister Durfee puts it. Well, she asked us about the Gist of tongues and if we believed in it. She asked a lot of interesting questions. Well, in the middle of the lesson while we were discussing things she starts saying all this Gibberish. She was " speaking in tongues" according to her. It was so funny, but I couldn't laugh because they take it seriously. Then she stood up and was yelling praise the Lord, Glory be to God, Hallelujiah!  I just came to a conclusion that my life on a mission should be a movie! It would be a great one because there is never a dull moment. 

We had interviews with our misison president this week. Sister Durfee and I came up with this genius idea that we should co-train. There is only one sister coming in this next transfer, and we told President Woodbury about our idea. He liked the idea too, but we will see. haha! It would be super fun though! 

I just found out this crazy news! Somerset, my last area, is getting closed down with Sisters. They are taking sisters out, closing the bike area, and just having elders again. CRAZY! 

 

Nicki officially quit smoking on Saturday! Sister Durfee and I are giving up sweets, candy, and dessert until she gets Baptized. It is our sacrifice since she is sacrificing. It is hard, but it is healthier anyways! 

It was another crazy, eventful, amazing, miracle week! 

I love you all! 

Love,

Sister Bradley

hola Como esta????

 I cannot even put into words this past week, or the last four weeks. Heavenly Father just keeps blessing Sister Durfee and I. I am so grateful for all that he is doing with the people here in Richmond. I am filled with gratitude for all that he is continually doing for us. I sometimes wonder how all of this great work keeps happening. It seems so unreal, but then I remember that I have a Father in Heaven who has all power. I know with 100 percent surety that this is his work, and that I am simply a servant in his hands. I was reading one day in the Book of Mormon where the Sons of Mosiah are "made" instruments in His Hands. I feel as if we have to be made instruments in his hands. We can't just simply be instruments. We have to work for it. They were made instruments in his hands as they converted many souls to the Gospel. I want to continually strive to be "made" in instrument in Heavenly Fathers hands. I want to do anything I possibly can to help him with His work. I expect miracles and Baptisms. Miracles are happening everyday! I need to continually work with all my heart, might, mind, and strength so those miracles and Baptisms can continue to happen! I love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ!

 So...we  are meeting with a man named Carlos. He speaks Spanish, and has a wife and two kids. We are having members who speak Spanish teach for us, but it is a little difficult. It is weird because we have a great investigator, but we can't communicate with him. He said he wants to be Baptized, and he is reading the Book of Mormon too. He is going to drive to Lexington to the Spanish Branch for church. He is amazing, and I am excited for him and his family as well! It is my dream! He is going to get Baptized, then he is going to Baptize his family, then they will get sealed next year as a family! WOOP WOOP! That is what I am talking about! It will happen don't you worry!

THE PEOPLE THAT I LOVE: aka investigators. 

 Jeremiah is a 15 year old boy. He gets Baptized this Saturday!!! WOO HOO!! He was the Berea North Elders investigator, but he moved into our area. He has a great spirit about him, and he is so humble and loving. He is so ready for Baptism even though we have a few lessons to teach him. I am so excited for him! 

Jada is doing great still! She gets baptized next Saturday March 29th. We are super excited for her. She is such a strong person. I am amazed by here everyday, and how the Gospel is changing her. She is almost done with Mosiah already too! She is so willing to do anything that has to do with the Gospel. She came to the fireside last night in Lexington. She has come to four Baptisms. She came to a relief Society activity as well. I love her so much, and am so excited to see her enter the waters of Baptism! 

Nickie  is still doing good. She now has a Baptismal date for April 12th. We are excited for her because she is finally quitting smoking! It is the last hurdle she has to jump, and she is ready for Baptism. She is super involved in the ward already, and loves this Gospel. 

Jeff is doing great as well! He is still on track to get Baptized April 12th. He came to all of church yesterday, and he is reading 6 chapters or more a day in the Book of Mormon! He loves the Book of Mormon! He is so prepared for this Gospel, and is doing fantastic! 

Charlie's baptismal date we had to move to April 12th. He relapsed on a couple things because of the environment that he is living in. He is going to try and change his living conditions this week, so he can really progress. He has such a kind loving heart though. He has such a strong testimony of this Gospel!

Those are all of are most progressing investigators! 

We had an exchange this last week, and I got to be with Sister Bayles again! It was awesome!  We were going to knock on this guys door who was a referral. I saw this lady standing outside her door out of the corner of my eye across the street. I was prompted that we needed to talk to her after we contacted the referral. Well, the referral wasn't home, and she yelled over to us to tell us that. We then ran over to talk to her. Well, Her name is MIchelle. She has been through a lot! She is so wonderful. We taught her and she just has this great spirit about her. You can just tell that she is looking for the truth! I loved it! As we talked with her in her home, she said my name probably a million times. I felt bad because she didn't mention Sister Bayles once or really look at her. I felt really bad! She just kept saying " sister Bradley.. well...  sister Bradley... oh and what do you think about this Sister Bradley." It was funny! She is so sweet though! We get to teach her again tonight! I am stoked! 

Last Monday this less-active and his wife (who isn't a member) took us to play softball. It was way fun! When I was out on the field I just tumbled haha! Then we made tie dyed shirts with them, and a steak dinner. It was so much fun! I loved it!

I hope you all have had a great week! I love you all!

Love,

Sister Bradley

Give me Mountains to Climb!

first of all... SHOUT OUT too....  Team Revolution and Justen Millerbernd! Good luck this weekend at the KLI! I love you all! Happy Birthday Kalon Ludvigson! 

hmmmm.....This week..... equals.... amazing, great, weird, crazy, every emotion you can feel.

DESTINY GOT BAPTIZED!!! WOO HOO!!! That girl has been on a long road to Baptism. She is your typical 13 year old. She is super funny though and blunt! I love it.  It was an amazing experience to see her enter the waters of Baptism and get confirmed a member. Her Baptism  gave Nicki, her mom, a big push to quit smoking. I think that by watching her daughter get baptized, and receiving a priesthood blessing she will really quit this time around. There are quite a few people praying for her as well.  We were able to have three investigators at the Baptism. They all were able to feel the spirit, and recognize what they will be doing soon. 

   Jada is right on track to get baptized March 29th. We could move her date up a week because she is so on track. She finished the 15 step program successfully, and has come to two baptisms. She is also coming to church every week, and staying for all three meetings. The Gospel is changing her. Everyday I am so grateful for her desire to grow more and more in this Gospel. She is already in Mosiah, and has only been reading for about two weeks. I am amazed at her testimony, and how much it grows from day to day. I love her and being able to watch her grow and learn. 

 Charlie is also right on track for his Baptism on March 29th. He came to Church for the first time yesterday, and loved it. He was able to feel the spirit really strongly. The members were able to really befriend him and love him. He will be finished with the 15 step program today! We taught him the program in a members home last Monday. It was the most spiritual lesson with the 15 step program ever. The members were so supportive, and it really helped him build the confidence to quit. He is so great, and his testimony is already so strong in this Gospel! 

Jeff is a newer investigator. He has a Baptism date for April 12th. We have taught him a couple times now. He is so willing to do anything we ask or commit him to do. He came to the Baptism on Saturday, and to church yesterday. We taught a lesson to him last night with a member. It was amazing to see him feel the spirit strongly during the lesson. I love being able to point out the spirit to people, and help them recognize it. He is progressing really well. 

We also made this thing called snow cream. BEST THING EVER! All you do is add some vanilla flavoring or any extract or flavoring of your choice, sugar, and milk. You mix it with some fresh snow and it is ice cream! It is so good! 

We are continuing to work hard, and I know that the Lord is blessing us. The Richmond ward is fantastic, and so willing to help. I love this work! I don't think I will be able to ever say that enough.

I hope ya'll have a fantastic week! 

Love,

Sister Bradley

Layers Anyone??

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DEAR SISTER AMBER!!!!!! Have a super duper day hip hip hooray!!!

Well, this week was fantastic!! I am e-mailing today because we had a snowstorm and the Library was closed yesterday. We got 6-7 inches of snow plus ice. It has been really fun walking/sliding. We wish we could just sled down the streets, but unfortunately that is against the rules. haha.

We wore our Pajama's under our clothes to stay warm...haha

 

I am sad to say that in exactly one year from today March 4th, I will be flying home... That is sad. I know you won't like this mom, but I wish they made Sister Missions for two years. Time just flies by so fast.

I am now an professional at helping people quit smoking. We have taught the 15 step program to quit smoking three times in the last week. That is a lot! It is great though to help them make such a huge step in their lives.

investigator time:

Destiny: She is a 13 year old girl. We are teaching her Mother as well. She is awesome, and she gets Baptized this Saturday!!! OH YEAH!! SO exciting!! Her mom will get Baptized in a few weeks when she finally quits smoking.

Charlie: Is this awesome guy who has super strong Faith! He is doing really well! We contacted him on the street, and have already taught him a few lessons, the word of wisdom, and the 15 step program. He is so strong! He bore his testimony to us the other day, and it was so powerful. He couldn't thank us enough for bringing the Gospel into his life. It made me so happy inside! Man, this Gospel is true! He is getting Baptized on March 29th

Jada: Is one of the strongest people I have met! she is so strong willed it is great! She has read 1st and 2nd Nephi already. She is on her 5th day out of 7 of quitting smoking! She is doing so great! She also came to a Baptism last Saturday, and has been to church twice! She will be Baptized on March 29th, but at the rate she is going it will be March 22nd.

Those are just a few of the many wonderful people we are teaching! I can never thank Heavenly Father enough for all the people he is blessing me with to teach! It is so amazing to see the Gospel change their lives more and more everyday!!

Sister Durfee and I are really crazy! We are both just balls of energy... I feel like we overwhelm people sometimes, but oh well! They will just have to get used to us! haha.

That is some of the happenings from this week! I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Sister Bradley

VISION TO BAPTIZE!!!!!

First and foremost.... I LOVE RICHMOND KENTUCKY!!!!

It is fabulous! This week has been amazing!

I got here Tuesday morning, and Sister Durfee and I talked and set goals for the transfer. I love it because Sister Durfee and I have the same work ethic. We both just go go go until we drop. It is great!

Let me tell you about the week....

First off the weather was pretty nice this week compared to how it has been. There was a huge storm on Thursday night with a high chance of Tornado's. Well, Sister Durfee and I slept through the storm, the sirens, and everything. We woke up the next morning to all these texts from our District leader, and members asking if we were okay. We just laughed!

Since it was warmer there were a lot more people outside! So, normally we are supposed to talk to 20 people a day who aren't investigators. Most of the time we don't get twenty a day because there aren't twenty people to talk to outside. We should usually get 140 a week, which I have only gotten a couple times on my mission. Well, Sister Durfee and I talked to 219 people this week. It was crazy! We decided at the beginning of the week that we were going to talk to everyone no matter what. Yes, at I did run across streets to talk to people, I got strange looks all the time, and it was all totally worth it!

Out of those 219 people the Lord blessed us with 19 new investigators! I have never gotten that many investigators in one week! CRAZY!! MIRACLES!

We also had lessons with most of our already investigators.  Almost all day every day this week we had an appointment every hour. It was crazy! It was way cool! At the end of the week we have to total all the lessons of investigators, less-actives, recent converts, and with members. Well normally it is in the 20's. This week Sister Durfee and I got a total of 46 lessons!!! HOW COOL IS THAT!!!! AMAZING!!!!!

We met some awesome people too! Some of the people are sooooooo prepared for this gospel! It is crazy! I am excited to teach them more! We also met a guy who wanted to teach us how to be thugs. It was awesome, except he was really drunk when he told us that! Another awesome guy made us yell his name in the middle of the street goin " BROTHER MILLER BROTHER MILLER" he was an evangelist for his church. It was hiarious. The best quote of the week form an investigator was, " I have had more stitches than a quilt has." hahah. It was full of a whole lot of other funny and great things, but I don't have time to write them all!

Sister Durfee and I were so blessed this week. I know that I was only an instrument in the Lords hand! He provides miracles when we not only do our part, but we go above and beyond!

All I can be is grateful this week for Heavenly Father! I know that as I have the vision to baptize, work  hard, and trust in the Lord that miracles will happen. I love this work with all my Heart!

I hope you all have a great week!

I love you!!!

Love,

Sister Bradley 

TRANSFERS!!!!!!

Hello there family and friends!

I have left the great area of Somerset Kentucky! My homeland for the last 6 months! CRAZY! I will miss the people there so much, but I am so excited for this new adventure in Richmond. It was hard to say goodbye to some people, but I will see them again when I come back to visit. I have a lot of pictures. I don't know if I will have time to send them this week. I wasn't that excited at first to come to Richmond, but I am so stoked now! It was my time to leave Somerset, and I know I have been sent to Richmond for a reason. 

My new companion is Sister Durfee. She is from Grantsville Utah.  She is amazing! I am sooooooo excited to be with her! We have a lot of the same views on things as missionaries! We are going to work hard and make this area prosper. 

Richmond is an hour north of Somerset. It is 30 minutes from Lexington. There is a University here called Eastern Kentucky University. I am now in a ward. I am also on a bike again! WOO HOO! I am excited to be on a bike again! 

Everyone told me that this area is one of the hardest areas in the mission. They have hardly any Baptisms ever. Well, Sister Durfee and I are going to change that! We are going to work super duper hard, and change everybody's  perspective on the area. 

I now live in a house. It is two floors, two full bathrooms, and three bedrooms. So super nice! A member owns it, so that is why it is nice. 

It is funny because Richmond is where Sister Heywood (my last companion) was before Somerset for 6 months. She trained my MTC companion Sister Hall here, and that is who I replaced. Funny stuff! What is even more hilarious is that I worked in Richmond for a day when I became companions with Sister Heywood. It is really funny!

We are the downtown area, and the elders are in the car on the outside. The elders in Richmond are the zone leaders as well. 

Well, that is about it for the week. I hope you all had a good valentines day! I hope you all have an amazing week!

Shout out to my BROTHER BEAU BEAU!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! LOVE YOU!!!

I love you all!

Love the one and only,

Sister Bradley

"I do not boast in myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things."

Dear Family and of course friends,

 Why the title of my letter this week? Well, the reference is Alma 26:12. The scripture and that chapter seems to sum up the week pretty well! This week was probably one of the best weeks of my mission so far! I mean every week is amazing, but this one was definitely better. Heavenly Father works is so merciful and blesses us in SO many ways!

First off this transfer has been pretty rough with investigators and such. Week after week people dropped us or we dropped them. Most people just kept cancelling on us and so on. Well, this last week makes up for all of the previous weeks this transfer.

Alright I will tell you all the amazing things that happened! Let me take you through the week...

Monday: We had great lessons with two Less-actives. The Georges came with us to one of them (ward mission leader).

Tuesday: All of our morning plans fell through so we had to quickly change the schedule because we weren't going to a certain area anymore. It ended up working out because we randomly stopped by our investigator April and we had a great lesson with her!  We saw a less-active woman and her husband, who isn't a member. we had a great time with them and they want to learn again! woo hoo!

We got to do service for the cooks, and then she fed us breakfast for dinner! YUM! We also got to see sister Cahill and we had a super great lesson with her!

Wednesday: We had a fantastic district meeting, and then ate out for the last time as a district before transfers end. They end this week, but we aren't having district meeting. We have a zone meeting this week! We then saw our investigator Maureen. We had one of the best lessons with her. She really understood things! She has read the Book of Mormon twice by the way, Joseph Smith History, Our Heritage, and who knows what else. Isn't that awesome! Then we had a great lesson with the less-active Sister Peirson. We went to New Beginnings because Samantha came!! YEAH!

Thursday: We had a member come with us to a lesson with Jason. He is so great! He loved the plan of salvation. We had an appointment scheduled with April, but she had to cancel. It was alright though because we rescheduled and she told us she was bringing a friend to our next appointment. We then saw the best older couple, Jim and Vivian. We taught them, and Vivian has read a lot of the Book of Mormon. A member came with us to an appointment with a family, but they weren't home. We went to a recent converts instead, and were able to have a good lesson with her. We also were able to help her out a lot!

Friday: The Cahill's took us out to eat, which was really nice! We set up an  appointment with a family, who are now investigators. We got to see the wonderful Brother Alexander! We also got to do more service, and then we saw the Jones. We had a super spiritual lesson with them, and I have never been so bold in my life. Brother Jones while we were reading asks, " Why do we even study the scriptures. A couple years ago or so  I studied John chapter 3 and now I don't remember anything I studied." I looked at him and said, "well... do you want me to tell you." He replies, "yes." I go," well, it is because you aren't reading or praying or going to church. Why do you expect Heavenly Father to help you remember if you aren't doing your part." After that came out of my mouth I was a little shocked. the spirit was totally there and he wasn't offended at all. He just looked at me, and was thinking about it. It was awesome!

Saturday: Saturday we went contacting at the mall. There was a pageant thing at the mall, so there were quite a few people to talk with. A daughter of one of the families we are teaching was in it. We also met some members from Cincinatti. They saw us and were like "Sister missionaries sister missionaries!" It was funny! Then we went to the Georges home, and we went out with them. We went and saw four or five less-actives. It was great! Then the Georges fed us dinner. We went through the whole roster and talked about every person! They are seriously the best Ward mission leaders! They go out with either us or the elders every single day! They are awesome!  We then had a super amazing lesson with Samantha! We really got to know her needs and desires. We sadly had to drop an investigator, because of language barrier, and she just wanted to stick to her catholic religion. It was sad.

Sunday: We finally got to see some of the fruits of our labors! The JONES came to church. Mark Ping, a less-active we have been working with, came to church with his two little boys. Sister Cahill came to church again. Rosa, another less-active, came with her two boys. Last but not least Samantha came to church! It was so nice because the chapel was almost full. Our chapel is a lot smaller by the way. There were over 70 people! WOO HOO! We also taught relief society, and boy oh boy it was a great lesson. The spirit was so strong in that lesson! Half the woman were in tears, it was great!  We had lunch at the Bartletts which was great! One of the Young Woman named Heidi brought a friend to church. Well, her friend wants to learn more and wants to join. We are teaching her today in a couple hours during our p-day because she wants to learn so badly! How cool is that? AWESOME! We are so excited! Her name is Brittany and she is a senior in high school. She works with a few of the young men and women in the branch.

Heavenly Father is so great! This week was so awesome! I am so grateful This next week is the last week of this transfer... I have been here for almost 6 months. I have a high chance of leaving, but I honestly do not want to leave. I will do whatever the Lord wants me to do though.

I hope you all have a HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

LOVE,

Sister Bradley