May 21, 2012

Man Logan’s been in the MTC almost a week now! that's ridiculous! I actually got a letter from him the other day. It's a good thing you sent me his address, cuz by the time I got his letter, he's already in the mtc, so I couldn't mail anything back. I just hope one of these days I’ll have time to write him. And damian. man I’m such a terrible friend. But I really want all of you to know, Damian, Logan, Sam, Jacob, Brandon, Chase, Patrick, Kendal, Ryan...all of you guys who have stuck with me and grown up with me, and helped me be who I am...you guys are awesome and I love you all so much. I'm praying for you and I know the Lord has been preparing you for this battle. You're all at different stages in this battle, but we really are the Soldiers of the Lord. I'm so grateful for your example and friendship and determination to serve the Lord with all of your heart mind might and strength. I want to say something to you all...stay strong. There are going to be difficulties. I know that I always thought that life on a mission is a piece of cake. once I get out there it's all smooth sailing. Guess what....that's false. You know why? Because Satan knows exactly what you are all capable of and he cannot afford to have you out there serving the Lord. He will do ANYTHING to stop you from serving because he knows the miracles you will all perform. But there’s also one thing that I've learned. and it's that Heavenly Father's plan, and power, is more powerful. It's deep, pure, and true. and Heavenly Father is watching out for His Warriors. Trust Him. It took me a little while to trust 100% in the Lord, and it was hard. But as I've learned to trust in Him, and turn to Him, and let Him guard my thoughts, and my heart, and as I've let everything go and turned it all over to Him, it's easier. and it's incredible. Trust in the Lord. Fight with all of your heart against the adversary, and you WILL conquer him. We have the power of the Priesthood of God, and that power moves mountains, but more importantly, it moves hearts and minds. let it move yours, and then you can use it to move others. keep fighting Elders of Israel! I love you guys so much! Work those Mr. Mac's right off your feet!

Mom I love your theme scripture!! that's seriously awesome! The Lord said so, so I’m gonna do it. That's part of life right? And really it's always for our benefit. Those second plates were a HUGE benefit to us right? Nephi didn't know why, but he did it. He trusted in the Lord and just did it...and look what happened. That's the same with us. Sometimes we don't really know exactly why the Lord has asked us to do something, but we just need to have faith in Him and trust that His view is a little bit better than ours. And was we try to have an eternal perspective, the perspective of our Heavenly Father, we can see a little better. And even if we can't, we just get that comfort that comes knowing that really, what we're doing, or what we're asked to do, is just a tiny miniscule part of our eternities, and so really, we can do it. And we will ALWAYS receive the blessings for it. Always.

So my week was good....a little bit interesting, but once again, full of miracles. We found this awesome family. We were waiting at a bus stop and there were 957 people there and we could barely hear, but there was this man sitting there with his 8 year old son. And we were in a hurry, and the bus was almost there. But something told me to talk to him. I was like, no whatever; let's just get on the bus. But then something was just like go talk to him. (that something just happens to be the Holy Ghost, for those of you who aren't putting 2 and 2 together ;) ) but anyways, we went and talked to him, and it was like a 20 second contact. We just said, hello we're disciples of Jesus Christ and we'd like to talk to you and your family about how we can have more peace in our lives. And he was like...ok. So we got his number super quick, set up an appointment and then he got on the bus, and we got on a different bus and off we went. We didn't really think a ton about it for the rest of the day. and then we were walking to his house, and we weren't really sure he was gonna be there....yes...this was a lack of faith. But he was there, with his whole family! 4 kids, wife, and him. And it was like a party when we showed up!! His sons (ages 8 and 2) came up and were just super excited to see us and his wife was too and it was like we were the Jonas brothers or something! but really they were super awesome. It turns out his wife Paula is a member. She was baptized about 30 years ago, and doesn0t really remember much about the church or anything like that, but Alage, the husband, actually got a Book of Mormon from one of his friends and had been reading a little bit lately. It was so cool! They couldn’t come to church cuz they had a family thing, but they set up another appointment and they are going to keep reading the Book of Mormon and the Restoration pamphlet and write down all of their questions so we can answer them!! oh man I'm so grateful for the spirit!! it was incredible! they are super cool! he's actually Muslim. We met 3 Muslim people in the same day. I learned a LOT about Muslims. It's interesting. But yeah. so if you could pray that Paula and Alage and their family will read and pray, and also that we'll be able to say the right things and keep listening to the spirit that would be awesome! thanks guys!

Me and Elder Faias are doing great! He's a little less talkative than me, and that's been a change, but it's been really good. I like him a lot! He's really straight forward and wants everyone to know that this is true and doesn't waste any time getting to the point! haha. we're just working on not getting super frustrated when they don't agree with him! hahaha :)

So fish, I've had a couple different kinds. Nothing really big or fancy, just with the members, but it's good....watch out for the sharp annoying little bones though. gosh those are a waste of time! haha ;) With the members we always eat really good Portuguese bread, but I don't like to buy that, because it's hard to make sandwiches with it! heehee :) yes I’m gonna get fat.....but I’m doing sit ups and pushups and pull ups so don't even worry...and i0m actually jump roping too so that's good.

Our branch is way good! I love them a lot. We’re still trying to get to know them a little bit, but slowly and surely we0re getting there. And our meeting house is the stake center....or district center. We're not a stake, so idk what it's called, but that's beside the point. :) yeah it's super nice. Still oober small, but it's nice. and they have Skype....so that's a bonus! :) Things are going really good. We're learning a lot every day. We're still trying to improve on a lot of things, and we have a LOT of things to improve on, but we're getting there. It's really good. I wasn't homesick too bad, until Sunday after church when I realized I couldn't talk to you guys again! haha but even then it wasn’t too bad. I'm doing 100% and madeira is awesome! it'll be nice to see some mountains again though....in 2 years! haha :) I’m still a country boy, all these buildings make me sick sometimes! but that's ok I’ll get used to it right? right? :)

So something that I’m super grateful for are the little tender mercies the Lord gives us every day. for example...the other day, In Gospel Doctrines, we were singing a hymn. It had been a bit of a rough morning for me, but we were singing this hymn right, and there's a recent convert from Spain, who doesn't speak Portuguese and can't carry a tune in a bucket right behind me. but he loves the church and loves to sing even though he has no talent whatsoever. So he was singing CRAZY loud and pronouncing everything wrong and it was all on the same note. It sounded JUST LIKE BRYDEN!!! hahahahah made me laugh SO hard!! it really was a tender mercy from the Lord. I laughed and smiled and felt the spirit and it was incredible! so be on the lookout for the little ways the Lord bless you every single day, in little things like that.

So quick question....random I know...but dad, how's BYU's football team looking? have they started spring practices and stuff like that?

Anyways, so I was talking to some of the members, they're getting ready to go the temple in Madrid, and it turns out there’s a hotel in the temple. Like same building and everything. And it's the church’s and it's super cheap so the people who go to the temple stay there for like a week and do temple work . It's amazing!! the sacrifice people make to go to the temple here is incredible. I took it for granted for sure. I will never do that again. We are so blessed to live in a place where there’s a temple an hour away. These members have been planning to go for like 3 years! and it's super expensive and there's not much work. It's incredible sacrifice, but they make it. wow. yeah it's incredible.

So this week I’ve been reading and studying a lot about the brother of Jared. His story is amazing!!! Ether 4:4 really stuck out to me today. Check it out! the Brother of Jared was awesome!! study it, and tell me what you think :)

So I’ve got to go, but I love you so much, and I miss you and pray for you every single day. The Lord's watching out for you, I have no doubt. Thanks for everything! Até proxima semana! eu amo-te mãe!

Elder Jordan Brady

PS....deodorant here is weird.....if in the next package you could send a bit of American deodorant that would be sweet! if not...I’ll get over it, but just saying :)

Love you!

Tchau

May 14, 2012

It's just a quick note today; we spent a lot of time talking yesterday. What a joy that was! We were able to Skype with Elder Brady. It was so delicious to see his handsome face and enjoy his humor and his expressions! That was so much better than a phone call!
Elder Brady has been transferred to Madeira. It's an island about 320 miles from the African coast. It is called "The Pearl of the Atlantic." You should google it, it is stunningly beautiful.  There have been 10 new missionaries sent there to whitewash the island. Elder Brady expects he will spend quite a bit of time there, as it is expensive to fly the missionaries in and out. Elder Brady is the district leader and sr. comp. He's a bit nervous as he's only been 6 weeks in the country, but he'll be fine! He speaks the language better than he understands it, so that has gotten him in a couple of sticky situations! :) His new address will be on the right side of the screen. 
Here is his letter from today:

So yeah, we live right in funchal. right on the coast. and so there are tourists EVERYWHERE! a little ridiculous. and this morning i actually met a man from england who is here to write a book. and he was unbelieveably athiest (get it? UNBELIEVE-ably? tee hee) but yeah...i was talking to him, cuz he doesn't speak portuguese, but it was super interesting. He wouldn't let me start talking about anything religious cuz he said it was stupid and how is it that we could believe something like that. But then it's good if that's what we think, but it's ridiculous and how could we believe that and stuff...and everytime i was trying to bear testimony, or to ask questions about stuff, he changed the subject (we were on a bus btw...just saying) he was incredibly closed minded, didn't like to think about anything. I asked him waht he thought about where we came from and where we're going, and he just asked me who cares and all this stuff. yeah it was interesting. But it really made me so grateful for my testimony. I realized that i know that Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and that he really did translate the Book of Mormon from the gold plates. Even this man, who thought it was ridiculous and child's play, couldn't affect it, because i KNOW it happened. I never saw it, but i know it happened, because the spirit told me it happened. I'm so grateful for that man, who was an unbeliever, because he really fortified my testimony, that i DO know. just food for thought, be grateful for the stubborn people who don't believe you, because the spirit will tell you that you know it's true, and so life's good :)

So i'm gonna get, so i can write ash :) but thanks for everything! I love you so much! and basically the only thing i need is anything that has sugar and is American ;) and peanut butter! but don't stress about that...it can wait til whenever. And prayers too...that would be good too :) but i love you so much mom. Always remember there's a missionary that's on an island in the middle of no where...and he's praying for you.

Love you mom!

Love,

Jordan/Elder Brady

Ps....did you know that Elder is a portuguese name? only it's spelled Helder (H's are silent in portuguese...so it's waste to have it there....anyways) and so everyone and their dog thinks that all mormon's from america are called Elder.....yep kinda funny. Anyways eu amo-te! Tchau!

May 7, 2012

Eu SEI!! eu tenho um cunhado e eu estou bem animado!!! é muito incrível!! e ele é um.....stud....eles não têm uma palavra por "stud"....minha culpa :)

I KNOW! I have a brother and I'm really excited! is very amazing! and he is a stud .... ..... they do not have a word for "stud" .... my fault :)

I love you mom!!!! lots....just saying ;)

President Torgan is incredible. Seriously that man is inspired. My interview wasn't really an interview. I think I said like 8 words to him, but seriously he knew everything that I needed to hear. He said that he could feel a great spirit about me and that I have desires to serve the Lord and the people and that's an incredible thing. He said that I need to make sure that I’m serving people with love, and that my focus is love. The love that Christ has for me, and for all of His children. He challenged me to study the Atonement everyday for at least a little bit in personal studies, and so heck yes I will! And He also said that I need to be careful of pride. He said that it's something that everyone has to deal with, him (pres. Torgan) included. He said that it's something that Satan will really try to work on me with, and honestly, it's exactly what I was struggling with. Pride is a bugger....don't like it. At all. And it turns out that for like 6 days in a row, I’ve been reading about it in the Book of Mormon. Think that's the Lord trying to tell me something? I think yes. Man seriously I am a prideful person and I don’t' like it!!! But I’m working on it. I think I’m starting to get better. I'm listening more to Elder Weiss. I don't always take/apply what he says, because I don't agree, but now I’m starting to listen to find out where he's coming from. It's made things a lot better. I'm still struggling with pride, but I can promise you, when you have pride, the spirit really has a hard time working with you. It's something I'm learning. We need to be willing to listen to everyone. We need to be humble enough to understand that we can learn from everyone, and there are better ways to do things. We don't have to take everyone’s advice, because everyone in the world is different. Heavenly Father created all of His children differently. We have personalities and characteristics that are different and unique, and that’s part of the beauty of being human. And the beauty of it is, as we learn and apply the Principles of the Gospel in our lives (which requires humility which is not pride...just saying) we can change those things that are weak in us. We can apply what we learn from other people, to help us become better, and then to share that with others, and help them become better and progress. That's what it's about. Helping others come unto Christ. We can't be prideful if we want to help others come unto our Savior. But oh how sweet is the joy, when we finally humble ourselves. I promise that the Savior is just waiting for us, and begging us, to humble ourselves, so He can touch us, and heal us. When we finally humble ourselves, and then partake of the sacrament, and renew our covenants, and try and become better, the Savior's love, and peace enters our hearts. And there's no greater feeling in the world. It's incredible.

So long story short......watch out for pride!! It’s a bugger.

So Kamal and Jassy (the Indian family). Kamal was not baptized this weekend :( :( he says he knows he needs to be, he just isn't quite there. I think he needs to read more of the book of Mormon. He's been kind of struggling with that lately. Not good. We're gonna work on that. And his wife, Jassy, hasn't been to church yet. We invited and invited, but she didn't come...I think because Kamal wanted to "check it out" first. But then we introduced him to the Relief Society President, who is incredible, and now I think he'll be more willing to bring his family! Cuz the gospel is for families. That's what it's all about. Pray that Kamal will read the book of Mormon and that Jassy can make it to church....can you do that for me? Thanks guys :)

And Tavares and Sandra....they're still having a hard time finding work. The economy here is really rough. Especially here in Figueira. Not much work. But I know that they'll get work. The Lord will help them find a way to be baptized and receive the blessings of the gospel. We haven't been able to get a hold of them these last couple days, cuz they've been with Sandra’s mom. (Mother's day here is one week ahead of us.) But we'll be going for it this week hard core. I'm pumped!

Apparently, holidays are a big deal here....everything shuts down...especially church. No one wants to go to church on holidays. It’s rough. One of the quirks of Portugal that still weird me out. Easter, no one came. Mother's day...no one came. Man this is NOT good! And the trains shut down, basically you just chill at home on a holiday....I don't even know.

So there's this one sister, she's an incredible lady. Her name is Orlinda. She was pretty religious when she was younger, but she had a really bad experience with a different religion, and so she just totally....afastou...um....this is a word in Portuguese...but not really in English. Basically, she quit going to church and turned away from religion in general. Not God, just religion. But we were walking one day, and her window was open, so we stopped and started talking to her. She told us that the only reason she let us start talking to her is because she saw some other missionaries once, who didn't teach her, but they always said hi and asked how she was. They were just nice and polite. And now she's willing to listen to us, and she's really starting to progress. Don’t' EVER think that a smile and a Hey, how are you? doesn't mean anything. It can make all the difference in the world! haha and funny thing about olinda, we've never actually been inside her house....we always teach her through the window! haha I honestly don't know why, but its fun :) she says she's super impressed because we're not embarrassed to talk about our Savior in the street. That we're willing to share our testimonies about Him anywhere. That helped open her heart. It's super cool! but if you could pray that Olinda will continue to read, and that she'll accept the gospel and the Atonement to heal her heart, that would be amazing! :)

So the wedding sounds incredible!!! Oh man I’m so glad! :) 65 people in the sealing room??? my word!!! that's awesome! super stoked! I know there were people there. Eternal families are so important to the Lord. And it just makes me happy to know that they started their own :) this is definitely something that Taylor and the grandparents would want to see! and so do I....so pictures would be gnarly amazing! ;)

So honestly, I’m super jealous that you can go to the temple...I’m going through withdrawals!!! not cool man...not cool. I never realized how hard it would be. After going every week for 9 weeks in Provo, and then not at all for another 22 months??? oh man...not fun at all. Maybe you should pray that the new mission president will let us go to Madrid once eh? I will too! good plan! I like it. ~

well mother, I love you so much. thanks for everything! And you are 110% fine! your plate has been MORE than full these last couple weeks, and you've still managed to make me feel like I’m the only thing you think about, so I promise your doing just fine! I love you so much, and I'll talk to you Sunday! on your special day oh wise and beautiful queen :):) love you tons!

Love,

Your missionary (yep that's me Elder Jordan Brady :) )