February 21, 2012

Mai!!! Eu amo voce mas do que palvras pode expressar! :)

I'm so sorry your week has been crazy!!!! I’m so sad that
Becki passed away! That is so sad for everyone she left here, but I’m SO
grateful her pain is gone and she gets to feel the peace and calm and complete
alegria (joy) of being home. I always like to use alegria because it seems so
much fuller and true in Portuguese. What a blessing for her. Don't feel bad
mom. You've been an incredible friend to her and I am 100% sure that she knows
that you love her and miss her. I know that. I also know that she would want
you to not stress about it. Because that's who she is. She loves you mom, and
she knows you love her. Don’t stress it.
Oh my word I’m SO glad to hear about Sister Andersen! She's
been in my prayers, and the Lord is answering our prayers! Just like he always
does....sometimes we just need to be patient because our Heavenly Father knows
what is best for us, even if we can't see it. I'm learning that more and more every
day, but it only makes my love for Him grow, because He loves us enough, to not
give us everything we ask for when we ask for it because he knows what we need
and when we need it. What a blessing to have someone watching over us with only
the best in mind. What a comfort eh?

Super sad for the girls ball team!! :/ but they got there!
and that's something that hasn't happened for a long time! were they pretty
bummed out? They shoudn't be. I'm sad for Steph. She has such a passion it's
unreal! haha :) Man the boys play in the district championship 2 years in a row
eh? Hopefully they do a little bit better than we did last year! hahaha. Wish
them luck from me will you?

You got a kindle fire???? that's so cool!!! how is that??
what books do you have on there? tell me all about them cuz that is totally
amazing!! how's dad handling the advanced technology? heehee :) oh
dear....technology is not only advancing missionary work, but it's advancing
the spread of addiction of that utterly ridiculous game. hahah just kidding
mom....i really do like that game. I just have to give you a hard time cuz otherwise,
your head would get too big eh? :) ( I LOVE the game “Ticket to Ride”, and I
told Jordan there’s an ipod app for it! Yahoo! He’s mocking me J)

I hope your 15 month program goes well! That would be super
sweet! Keep me updated will ya? that sounds sweet!

Wedding stress already huh? I'm sorry mom. Always know
you're in my prayers. The Lord is very much aware of the fact that you're
stressing, and He loves you and He'll help you every step of the way! He
doesn't care at all about what the wedding is like, or where the breakfast is,
or who's invited, but He cares about you and Steph, and you guys care, so the
Lord will help you. I know it. I'm glad meeting with the Wood's went well.
They're great people! I love them a lot! I didn't know Shauna and Kim wanted to
get sealed!! That would be fantastic!!! What an amazing thing for them to have
the blessings of the temple in their lives. I love the temple so much it's
ridiculous! I get to go in a few minutes so that will be great! Highlight of my
week.

YAY for dress shopping suave-ness!! I'm SO glad she found
one she loves! that's so great! I do expect photos...don't forget me!! :)
(ps....how's Matthew handling this wedding stress? I know Steph’s probably
freaking, but how's the groom to be? and is this official? are they engaged
officially?) Natalie Nichols will do it for free???? What a blessing!! I told
you the Lord is watching over you!! That’s so incredible!

I love Book of Mormon stories! that's crazy they put in new
verses. They can't be messing with my childhood songs!!! haha just kidding! at
least they’re good ones :)

So I've talked a ton about how the Lord loves us and has a
plan and answers us the way He wants to right? yeah well the reason for that is
that my testimony has grown so much about this. I've been having some really weird
crazy thoughts and I’ve been struggling in certain areas, and I haven’t been
able to figure out why. It's been like some hardcore intense battle inside of
me. I can testify that the power of Satan is real. He works on us all the time
and he works hard. When Joseph Smith talks about the unreal darkness that he
felt during his prayer, that feeling is so real. It scared me. It really scared
me. But I can also testify with Joseph Smith, that the power of the Lord is
stronger. The light will ALWAYS conquer the darkness. The Lord will never give
us anything that we can't handle. He allows us to go through these things to
prove ourselves. We prove to ourselves that we can do it, and we show the Lord
our devotion and trust in Him. My teacher, Irmao O'Brien shared a scripture
with us that told us to thank the Lord in all things, even our trials. That was
interesting to me at first, but I’ve come to know that that principle is true.
I'm SO grateful for this hard time that I honestly cannot express in words,
because it means that the Lord knows I can make it through this, and He needs
me to go through this because I will become stronger because of it. Elder
Tonga, an elder in my zone, reminded me that Satan knows our potential, and
doesn't want us to meet that. So he will do EVERYTING in his power to stop us,
and the Lord allows him to try us, so that we can learn and grow and come
closer to Him and be stronger. I've realized that the Lord is answering my
prayers. I've been praying to become the best possible tool in the Lords hands
that I can. I've been praying to have Him help me grow and develop. And He's
answered me. He answered me with this trial. This is the refiner’s fire.
Through this, I can become the person and the missionary the Lord needs. I'm so
so grateful.

I love you all so much. More than you know. I thank the Lord
everyday for you and I pray he'll bless you, and He will. Please keep praying
for me, and i love letters! and pictures!!! :) love you all! Until next week!!

Love,

Elder Brady (Jordan)