November 5, 2012

BRANDO!!!! OH MY WORD!! WAY TO GO STUD!!! man you are going to do great!! and you don't have that long to wait! haha! haha man that's super cool! He'll love it down there! I'm super pumped for him! it's ridiculous how many missionaries are going to south america. it's like an Idaho party down there :) And he levaes almost exactly a year behind. that's kinda cool! Here in two years he'll be home in time for my birthday party ;)

~ps.....last week you didn't tell me who was going on a mission....cuz they were gonna tell me....but i'm pretty sure I need to know. just saying. It«s been driving me nuts trying to figure out who it is!! haha :)

Way to go syd! I'm super excited to hear that she's doing ok. It's amazing to see how well she's doing. That's such a blessing. I know that everything is gonna be just fine. So mom, how long does the treatment work? What is it like? I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father is taking care of her. I know that everything is gonna be just fine with her. She's a tough girl. I'm still praying for her, and everythings gonna be fine. How have Ian and Owen been? Are they taking everything ok? And little Ava? How's she doing?

CONGRATS LUKE AND KYLEE!! brody is so massive!! haha! Luke's just gonna have to deal with it. Basketball players rock! :) haha man I can't believe that. I showed Elder Bergeron the picture and he about passed out! He couldn't believe the size difference! haha! How's Kylee doing? youre not kidding mom, there's gonna be a whole herd of a new generation that won't even know who I am! sad day. haha it'll be super fun!

Man I'm super pumped!! 12 new misisonaries from the stake! that's so great!! sounds like they kept pres. Christensen pretty occupied! :) That makes me super happy! Especially because we had stake conference yesterday and we only had 1 missionary from the Stake of Porto. How many do we have out right now? a lot. And Katie is going to New York! that will be awesome! and Trevor leaves here in a week or two right? Man this is so sick!! I love missions!!! haha :) Todd's home huh? How's he doing? Is he doing alright? How long has he been out on his mission. A year and a half or something like that right? man that's rough. I really hope he can get back out there! And Nick's papers are in too! man the whole world is going on a mission! Ainda bem!! the Lord needs all the workers there are. Elder Holland and the Brethren are saying that "The Lord is hastening on his work." What a great responsibility we all have to do the very best that we can. I'm so grateful for the Lord, and allowing me to be a part of His work. I feel very honored to be a part of it here in Portugal. I'm so proud of our stake! There are a lot of great warriors hitting the fields!! keep it up Grace Idaho Stake of Zion!!

But just so you know, stake conference was incredible!! Isaías went, and it was amazing! it was exactly what he needed and he loved it so much! We're gonna go by tonight to see how he's doing. We're still waiting on the marriage, but it's been incredible to see the extra time. he was ready and had a date set for his baptism, but he just still wasn't sure he wanted to get married, so we waited. And this last week has been so incredible! His testimony has been strengthened SO much! He started bearing his testimony to his girlfriend Raquel telling her that this was the "restored gospel and restored Church of Jesus Christ"!! it was so cool! and she's been reading the book of mormon and really wants to find out which church is the true church. She's progressing really well too! It's been SO fun to see her start to progress. And stake conference was basically all about service. It was really amazing! This gospel is a living gospel that changes the lives of those around us, and not just their lives, but eternities to come. That goes for those that are already in the Church as well as those who still haven't come to know that gospel. But one of the biggest parts of the gospel, is the fact that when we enter in to the gospel, when we've felt the effects of the atonement in our lives, we feel the desire to follow the Saviors example. And when we enter in to the fold, through the means of baptism, we make a covenant with the Lord that we will serve Him and His children. And in stake conference, they talked about our call to serve in the Church as well. We make a covenant to serve with all our heart might mind and strength, regardless of where we serve in the Church, as a primary teacher, Elders Quorum President, Home Teacher, we are called to help one another get home to the presence of our Heavenly Father. I'm so grateful mom, for your example. You've always understood that and you've always magnified your calling and sincerely served. I'm so grateful for that mom. you really are a wonderful example to me. 

The pipe broke again?? Oh man! that is not good. and they didn't even get out of school! sad day!! haha but how great that jim was just "accidently" at the school that day! wink wink :) Thanks for moving that money over mom! I'm gonna have to show you pictures next week, cuz this week we had interviews with president fluckiger, which were amazing, but I don't have time to go shopping, but I am incredibly offended that you don't think I can pick out a good looking suit. Especially cuz I'm in Europe, and all the suits are good looking :) haha just kidding :)

Well mom, I gotta run, But I love you so much. Thank you for everything. I'm super sorry that my letters are always so random and unorganized. I just have so much to say that it all kinda just comes out! and if I missed something, don't be afraid to ask the question again, I didn't ignore that question, it just got lost in my head :) Haha love you so much!!

Love,

Elder Brady

Ps, if you guys send a package for Christmas, we're having a Christmas conference in Lisbon, so you could just send it there and I'll get it easier. If you could just address it like this it will work better:

A Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Ultimos Dias

A/C Elder Jordan Brady

Apartado 40054

1500 Lisboa

Portugal

And then if you could label it as a gift, it makes it easier to pass through customs or something? Idk for sure....but the office said it's easier for them like that. thanks!! love you!!!

October 30, 2012

Olá mãe!!! Ok, Google Translate is completely blown. It took me like 6 minutes to figure out what you were trying to tell me!| I think I got it. I think it had something to do with the spook alley or something like that. Man, i dont' even know! and one of the problems is, i think google translate tries to use decent grammar, but here in portugal, even the native speakers say they don't use good grammar!! haha that's why the missionaries do so well! :) haha just kidding :)

and sorry I didn't write last week. We got a surprise phone call on Friday saying that we had to go to Lisbon yesterday. My bad.

This week was really great! I love this area so much and I'm so grateful for the way the Lord has blessed us. Clara still wasn't able to come to church, because she got sick and didn't go to work for a couple days. But we're gonna call her tonight to set something up for tomorrow. We're having stake conference this weekend, so we're trying to get a big extra push and get people to church! It's gonna be awesome! And another miracle happened! Isaías brought his girlfriend and 3 year old son to church!!! It was amazing!! we're going over there this afternoon to teach him again. We're still working on the marriage thing. Please pray that he can feel ready and the need to be married, and that we can be inspired to help him. He's super incredible! we just need some extra help. :) 

Babies are super great!! I'm super excited for Baby Ava!! I bet that's just an amazing blessing in their family. And it's incredible how Heavenly Father knows everything. The beginning from the end. And the fact that He loves us, individually and perfectly is so incredible. And youre completely right about the differences. We had a man ask us what was different. He believes that all of the churches are the same and that all of them are good, so what is the difference between the Church and the rest of the world. We told him that the difference was that this was the church that Heavenly Father authorizes, and that we can have the fullness of the doctrine, through the book of mormon. It was really interesting. That was one of the coolest lessons we've had, even though it didn't end the way we wanted it to. We talked to this guy a couple weeks ago at his door, and he said we could come back on sunday, but then the next day he called and rescheduled for the next sunday. So we get there, and he lets us in, and we meet his 2 sons and his wife and his dad. It was super cool! his sons stopped playing on the computer to listen to our message. We started teaching the first lesson, and it was really cool. They were asking questions and being very attentive, and the spirit was there super strong. We were just getting to the part about the book of mormon, and then the grandpa started getting a little frustrated and telling us that all the churches were the same because we believed in the bible and the book of mormon came from the bible. and he was pretty acusing. But it was really cool to see how the Spirit took care of everything. As we testified of the truthfulness of the book of mormon, the spirit took over, and the man calmed down, and we were able to have a really great rest of the lesson. Unfortunately this family didn't want to keep investigating the gospel. It really made us sad. They were super amazing and unbelievably nice! but they just said they didn't want anything. It was SO hard. But we really felt like the Lord had guided the lesson. It was amazing. Just another amazing reminder that there are such great people in the world, who just aren't quite ready for the gospel yet. They just weren't quite there yet.

Thanks for the ideas on the games guys! we can still use all that we can get so keep them coming! literally....we need some help :) This activity has been a super cool thing. The ward is really liking it and that makes me really happy. I just love seeing how the ward is starting to come together. I also love how there is something you learn from every single area. Every ward has something to offer. Every person is a great example of something. The Lord has blessed us all with gifts and talents that make who we are, and we can, if we're looking for it, learn from every single person.

I love the idea of preach my gospel!! I love that book so much! it really was inspired by the Lord. I know that as you us it in your studies, you are going to feel a special spirit. Its amazing. it really is. It doesn't matter how many times I study a section in there, I learn something new! 

Haha everyone is going on missions!!! I love it so much!!! Haha we had to joke around with one of the elders that finished his mission last transfer. He was going to BYU and we told him basically the same thing that Dallen said. don't plan on dating, everyones gonna be in the mission field! :) it was fun! it makes me so happy that everyones going a mission!! Brandi and Natasha are going??? That's so rad!!! They are gonna love it! keep me updated on the mission calls! especially brando's! I'm super pumped for him!

I haven't heard from anybody except for Elder Harrison. He sent me a couple pictures the other day! It was super cool to see him!! he looks like he's doing great! staying thin, which is a great thing!! haha I miss him! but by chance, do you know his address in mexico, and damian and sam's addresses? maybe for the mission office or something like that? that would be sweet if you did. I heard from Will Carver and that made me super happy too! I love it so much! They are such great examples, every single one of them. I miss them all!

Well mom, I gotta run. I'm sorry this is a little bit random and scrambled. Today has been a rush and it's just gonna get funner as the day goes one :) I love you so much and I know that Heavenly Father loves us so much. I know that sometimes, we accidently distance ourselves from Him,  and know that it hurts Him. He wants so very much to be an active part of our lives. We just need to let Him in, and when we do, He rejoices. The gospel makes me happy. Living it is the key to happiness on earth, as well as to our eternal progression.

I love you tons!! please keep me updated on missonaries, mother of all storms, and electoins :) Love you tons!

Love, Elder Brady