January 28, 2013

Howdy ma! 

This week, this transfer, have been SO incredible! Full of just plain old miracles! This week has rained a TON just a ton! and it has been so much fun! I've loved it! Elder Lindsey wakes up every morning and groans, and it just makes me laugh. But then we get out in the rain and we're just laughing the whole time! I've decided that Mr. Mac coat wasn't a complete waste of money after all :) But honestly we've just seen miracle after miracle. These last 2 weeks the Lord has helped us to find some  of the most amazing people. One thing I've learned, is that the Lord wants us to be diligent. He wants us to work hard, and when we do, He blesses us so abundantly. But one thing I've also learned, is that honestly and truly, the Lord wants us to be happy as we work. Elder Lindsey is still really young in the mission. He's only in his 5th transfer. He's been a stud missionary, but he is really young still. So in the first couple days of the transfer, things were a little rough and we did a lot of knocking doors, and things just weren't working out really well. No one was answering, andit was raining and there was nobody in the streets to talk to, so it was just knocking doors. and we just weren't having that much success and we weren't getting in many doors. This really made Elder Lindsey bummed. He had just been called as ZL and was just full of fire! but then things were a little rough for a day or two and he was a little down. I felt SO bad. So I just remembered when we were cleaning the house, that was never very fun, if we had music blasting, it was a lot cooler right? So I decided to become the Mo-Tab of Gaia :) We started singing and singing and just trying our very best to laugh and enjoy the work. And we talked to EVERYONE who would listen :) It was so much fun! all day long we didn't have anything. All of our appointments fell through, but we just went right on to the next one and mom, we were working hard. And we had SO much fun! then right at the end of the night, Heavenly Father guided us to a building that had 3 people right off the bat that opened the door and listened. And the were amazing! it was SO fun! Elder Lindsey was SO happy it just made me laugh :) And then, honestly, I can't remember exactly how this worked, but for some reason, we decided to pass by a family that Elder Bergeron and I had found 2 and a half transfers ago, that we were SUPER excited about! but then for some unknown reason, honestly I have no idea why, we quit passing by. I think they weren't there 2 or 3 times in a row, and then we just lost contact because we didn't have their phone number. And then, about a week and half ago, we were walking down this little shortcut that we found, and we saw a guy from a ways off, and we said, hey, let's contact taht guy. Turn sout it was this same man! Joaquim Silva! He was like, hey, where have you guys been?? We apologized so much and he was like that's ok, come on back to my house! so we set up an appointment. And then this saturday was the first time we were able to meet with him. But as we were teaching him, we found out that his wife was amember but she is in angola. Joaquim and his 8 year old daughter Maria Julieta were never baptized, but know a lot about the church. Me and Elder Bergeron had left a BoM with him, and he'd been reading it! As we were talking the spirit told us both, Elder Lindsey and I that we should invite him to be baptized. We taught him about the gospel, Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End, and Invited him and his daughter to be baptized on the 3rd of February, and he said, I believe this, I feel this is right, and I will!!! it was amazing!!! So we invited him to church that next day, (this is at 8:45 pm) and he said he wanted to, but it would be a lot easier if he had a ride. So we told him we'd get him one. I'm not gonna lie, I was a little bit nervous because it was already so late and there werne't many members that live close. But the Spirit just said, try it. Call them. So we called one member, and he couldn't. But then the other member came to our mind. So we called them, and just by chance, the mom had to work that morning so wouldn't be able to come to church, which left just enough space for Joaquim and Maria Julieta! It was such a miracle! Heavenly Father provided EVERYTHING that he needed!! And church was INCREDILBE!! the spirit was so strong and the ward was SO great! They met Joaquim and were taking care of little Maria Julieta! It was so amazing! It was such a miracle. It really really was. And we taught the Word of Wisdom and he accepted all of it with out question. It was so cool. THe spirit has just prepared this man, and a way for everything. It has been so much fun! please pray mom, that everything goes well :) 

So that's a summary of the crazy miracles that have been happening here in Gaia!! :)

January 21, 2013

Yesterday was Jordan's 20th birthday. I was missing him like crazy all day! We kind of make a big deal about being 20...It's a whole year of being nothing...not an adult, not a teenager, just nothing for a whole year. Anyway, I thought I'd just stick the first paragraph of my letter to him on here cause it's a funny joke on me, and it makes the first paragraph of Jordan's letter make sense...

"Feliz aniversário querido filho

I am so utterly ridiculous! Just so ya know…I’ve been moping around here all day cause it’s your birthday…this is a biggie ya know…you’re 20 on the 20^th…a whole year of nothingness starts today and there’s no celebration and no cake… And I was a little while ago thinking, “Man, last year wasn’t this bad, why is this one so awful?” And then I remembered that you left for the MTC AFTER your birthday last year. Yes, I am just that intelligent…(keep in mind that it’s like 9:00 p.m. when this amazing fact finally dawns on me)...are you laughing out loud right now in public …. Yeah, well, I deserve it! I’m sorta laughing at myself right now! Holy Mackerel!"

Hey mom!! THanks so much!!! Haha i've never been so popular on my birthday. I'm thinking that every January 20th I'm gonna head to Portugal from now on! :) hee hee :) Im a NOTHING!!!! haha I'm SO EXCITED!! I've been waiting since I was like 7 to be able to say that I turned 20 on the 20th! haha made me laugh :) But actually, here in Portugal, I'm not a nothing, cuz here when your 18 your a legal adult. crazy huh? and you know something else crazy. Here in Portugal, you can legally drink and smoke at age 16!!! CRAZY HUH?? Sad day :( But anyways....

hahahaha mom, I literally did laugh in public! It was super funny!! 

So. I stayed in Gaia!!!! I'm super pumped! I'm with a kid named Elder Stephen Lindsey from Kaysville Utah. He's way cool! He's only in his 5th transfer! He's a way good missionary. He speaks portuguese UNBELEIVABLY well. It's crazy! He's super funny though. We get along really well. He's a good worker. He's really excited about the work. and he's really good at making relationships with the ward Leaders and stuff like taht. Randomness....in my first transfer here in Gaia, we did a division cuz he was in my zone. Then he went to a different zone and came back to be my comp! and awesome story!! at the end of last transfer, a lady that we found and started teaaching together on that division was baptized!!! super cool huh?? it's been way fun! This week has been FULL of miracles! The Lord has blessed us to find some absolutely amazing people! ON Friday we had one of the funnest days of my whole mission. Not even kidding. We had weekly planning, and then we got out and got ready to leave, and it was windy and rainy and in aobut 3 minutes, my umbrella broke. Sad day. And I didn't have my big raincoat but I didn't watn to go back to the house to get it. So we walked around all day with just 1 umbrella. We were cool. But then it started raining SO hard! It was the harddest rain storm I've ever seen. Not even exaggerating. It was absolutely ridiculous! we were DRENCHED!!! so drenched. It was unreal. And all day, there was nobody in the streets.No one was letting us in the buildings and all of our appointments fell through. Elder Lindsey was a little bummed out cuz it was like his 2nd day in  Gaia, but I just felt so good! I was laughing so hard and it was super fun. And we kept working. We went from one appointment, which fell, so we knocked doors and talked to everyone that would let us :) and there just wasn't much going on. But then we had one more appointment before the ward activity that night in the church, but we still had about 45 minutes before that appointment, and we were wet. so wet. but we decided that we'd knock the doors in that area. There were a ton of buildings there, and I'd worked there a lot, and knocked a lot of them. But we just kept going. Then as we were walking trying to decided where to go. All of a sudden we just walked in a building. We didn'tknow why, or reallly how we got in, but somebody came out or something at the same time and we were in the building. The very first door we knock, was this amazing lady named Paula, who has 3 kids and her husband! we offered to say a pray with her, and she said we could. We prayed and the spirit was so strong. and we explained who we were and bore testimony, and she said she would love for us to come back and meet her family! It was amazing!! so we were super happy and super grateful for this miracle right? and then we go done to the next floor, knock on the door and these 2 teenage girls answer the door. We tell them who we are and ask them if they believe in God. They said....um...kinda. So we explained a little about prayer, and asked if we could pray with them. They said sure. THen as we prayed the spirit was SO strong again! then just as we were talking to them, we started teaching a little about the plan of Salvation, and who Heavenly Father is and what our purpose is here. We bore our testimonies of the Plan of Salvation, and the Spirit was SOOOO strong! It was AMAZING!! they said they wanted to learn more and we should com eback an dmeet their family!! it was AMAZING!!! Heavenly Father blessed us in a totaly of 20 minutes with 3 of His amazing children prepared for the gospel!! It was SO cool! Elder Lindsey about died with happiness!! it made my day! :) haha we said a prayer of gratitude and went back out into the rain :) It was SO Much fun mom. I just laughed the whole day! I loved it. 

January 13, 2013

OK, I am a huge slacker, I know, but it's all updated now. I just cut and pasted, so there are typos and all kinds of stuff going on, but he's alive and well!

January 7, 2013

Happy First Week of 2013!!! 

That sounds like you guys had the funnest new years eve party ever! haha! What show did you go see? And was I with you when you went to that Pimpernel show? I think I was riding with Laura McGregor maybe? Idk....but that's super cool! Holy cow, -21 is crazy! But that had a good ending for you guys. congrats on that :) Watching basketball games in the marrito center is super fun! gets me super pumped! haha :) That's fun they won. how are they doing overall? How's their season?

I'm SUPER glad dad is doing better! flu is a bad deal! But I actually don't remember having it.....did I have it last year?

Ashleigh is so amazing. I love her so much. She has always just been super in tune with the Spirit. Such a rock star! I love the fact that she didn't question it. Sometimes we have the desire to want to know everything that will happen, or why it's not a good idea or stuff like that before we are willing to act and follow the spirit. But ashleigh has never had that problem. She's just super willing to follow what the Spirit tells her and it always works out great! Just like it always will :) Ryan will be ok. No stress. 

Oh mom!! You're not in the primary anymore! sad day! Heavenly Father's got a reason for everything eh?? ;) Funny story, our stake president's wife has been the primary president in our ward for a long long time. Like 6 or 7 years or something like that. A long time. And she has been telling us that she just doesn't have patience and she just can't do it anymore and stuff like that and everytime they are changing the callings and leadership in the ward she is just waiting for the release to come, but then it never does. And she was like "Why am I so stubborn! why can't I just learn patience already!!" Hahaha super funny. Moral of the story, you've already learned what you need to mom, so now you can move on to bigger and better things :) Sometimes I get frustrated cuz there's something I want to learn or want to develop or something like that, and I just can't seem to get it. And then after a while of me being frustrated and upset, Heavenly Father finally shows me the milk that I need to drink before I can eat the meat. Heavenly Father is the perfect teacher, sometimes we're the ones that aren't very good students :) haha :)

We had the coolest baptism on SATURADY!!! It was amazing! I think I already told you about this amazing brother named Adelino. He has been super anti-mormon....well not anti mormon, but kinda. His wife is a member of about 6 years. She always wanted to talk to the Elders, but they never knocked on her door. So Adelino passed them once in the street and brought them to his house so they could talk to Isabel, his wife. Then she was converted and was a really strong member, and adelino was just like fine whatever go for it, but I don't want to give up smoking or drinking. He was always super friendly with the missionaries but would always just raz them a little bit. He found a lot of Anti mormon stuff on the internet and used that a lot against the missionaries. A lot. Then when their daughter turned 8 he got really mad when Isabel allowed her daughter to be baptized. about 3 years ago. He was still friends with the members, but he said he jsut didn't agree with the teachings of the church and the commandments. Then his wife went a little bit less active, but always had a super strong testimony. Still does. Super strong! And then one day we passed by and she was like, Hey elders, Adelino wants to talk to you. so we went there again, started teaching him, and then step by step the Lord touched his heart. It was amazing to see the changes in him. He quit smoking, he quite drinking, he accepts the law of tithing and is amazing!!! He bore testimony at his baptism and honestly mom, it was the most amazing testimony I've ever heard! he told about how for a long time, his pride wouldn't let him accept the gospel, but then as he humbled himself, and became as a child, he accepted the ordenances of the gospel. It was so amazing. I'm so grateful to have been able to be there for that. It about made me cry! It made me super happy!! 

And Jhenyffer, the little brazilian girl is progressing so well!! she's reading from the book of mormon, coming to church and she feels that the church is true!!! Oh my word she's so cool mom!! you'd really like her. Her sense of humor is almost exactly like yours! haha :) she's going to an FHE with our stake president tonight, it's gonna be amazing! She's only 13 but she has had some of the most honest sincere desires to know and do what's right. She's been studying with the Jehovah's Witnesses a little and it's made her really confused, but she has been super sincere and has been asking such great questions. Heavenly Father has definitely prepared her for the gospel! It's been a fun ride with that whole family! haha :)

so to answer your question, Elder Rodrigues (pronounced Ho dree gus) (portuguese, not spanish mom :) :) :)haha jk) 

yeah he goes home next monday, so we'll see what happens. The Lord knows where I need to be and with whom I should be, so we'll see. I love gaia. A lot. The ward is incredible and has made SO much progress. I'd love to be here one more! we'll just see what the Lord wants i guess :)

Well momk, I gotta run, sorry this isn't the greatest letter, but you're the greatest mom, so that's totally makes up the difference :) Thanks for everything and don't even worry about the package mom, I'm not even a little bit worried about it :) I love you so much!

Tchau tchau!!

Love,

Elder Brady

December 31, 2012

Hey Mom!! 

So something that was really really cool happened this week! We had a goal as a mission, to have 100 baptisms in the month of December as a gift to the Savior. All month long we've been focusing on making this goal! All of our conferences and district meetings and everything were focused on reaching this goal. And yesterday we found out that the total number of recent converts in Portugal in the month of December was 98!! We were SOOO close! It was a really fun month and the focus of the mission was incredible. As a companionship, Elder Rodrigues and I want to keep this focus going through the last 2 weeks of this transfer and rock it here in Porto. This transfer has been amazing up here! We've been so blessed. The misisonaries in our zone are really focused and are very obedient. We haven't had any serious problems. I'm really super grateful for that. Just keep praying for all of us ok? We want to end this transfer super strong! And also we had that 3-zone zone conference with Elder Teixeira, that Area President. It was amazing! He focused on working with the members, especially with the Leadership of the ward and stake, and also we focused a lot on our teaching. He challenged us to start teaching 21 lessons a week to investigators (we are at an average of 11 in the mission) He shared an experience with us about when he was amission president and how the average number of lessons was 6-7 per week per companionship and he challenged his lesson to do it. He talked about how one elder took the initiative on this and lead his companionship, district, zone and finally mission to reach this goal, and in the end, when they were teaching 21 lessons a week, they had 241 baptisms!!!! It was super cool! Elder Rodrigues and I have decided that we're going to focus really on reaching this goal and teaching the gospel more frequently. It's going to be really fun! 

So just a really random side note real quick, I found out the other day at the zone conference that one of the guys that Elder Weiss and I started teaching right at the end of my first transfer was baptized about a month ago!!! I don't know if you remember the Indian family that we were teaching, but his name is Kamal. He was baptized the last week of last transfer, and then Elder Bergeron actually went to Figueira da Foz and was there when he was confirmed! I was SO excited! It was really cool to hear! made my whole day! anyway......

Haha yeah I'm a little bit worried about this whole weight thing. I'm right on track to do the exact same thing that Brother Mickelson did! haha, but that's ok. Um....our running thing hasn't worked out too well.....BUT, Elder Rodrigues has taught me about 6 ways to do pull ups, so that's pretty cool! haha. That's a really cool exercise program that you guys are doing! What are the rules in this whole exercise game? What counts as exercising? and what's the individual prize? Sounds like fun! And I'm really excited about this whole thing, because I don't want you guys to die. So this will be good :)

Man Brandos taking off!! He's gonna rock it! I can just imagine how powerful he will be. I have NO doubt that the Lord has great things in store for him. That's super cool about the gingerbread houses. And actually, last week, I showed Elder Egbert (an elder in my district) that picture of our gingerbread house last year, and he was super impressed. That's how cool we are brando. Those pretzel walls were totally worth it! haha. Yeah I'd love to see some pictures! pictures are my favorite part! 

That's super funny about alyssas apartment! I bet ash just LOVED that! haha :) today was Elder Rodrigues' turn to clean our bathroom actually, and when we got done, he said that we had to go to the Church because he needed to go to the bathroom and didn't want to use ours cuz it was so clean!! hahah made me laugh :)

Here in Gaia (Guy-uh) Things are going super great! we need all of the prayers that you can send our way this week. Adelino is super excited for his baptism on saturday, but he's still holding on to 4 cigarettes per day. We're working really hard with him, and he's working hard too, but we can use some Brady family prayer power to help him out :) We're going to an FHE tonight with our stake president and his family and Adelino and his family so that will be really cool! The Lord has just been doing so much work here in Gaia it's incredible! The other day we found this amazing sister named Ana and her family. We talked to her in the street and she was super nice! she gave us her number and address and invited us to come back another day. We were super pumped! she had 2 amazingly cute little kids and was super cool! then as we got there, we started explaining a little bit about who we are and why we were there, and the spirit was just super strong, in such an edifying way. Then we started talking about the Savior, and that we're here to help people come unto Him and follow His example. And then we talked about baptism and what a blessing that is in our lives and how we accept the Saviors sacrifice through this ordenance. And we invited her to pray about baptism, to know if this was what the Lord wanted for her and her family. Her response was AMAZING! she said "Elders, I don't need to pray about it. I already know!" MIRACLE!!!!!! It was so cool! we told her that absolutely we are here to help her take this step in her life. She told us that she has been going from church to church, just looking for something, but hasn't been able to find it. She's been lead and prepared by the spirit. We're going back tomorrow! I'm learning day after day, that honestly, Heavenly Father is preparing His Children to receive the gospel in their lives. He loves all of them so so much. All of us, and He is pulling strings, working miracles and preparing the way, even though we can't see it. I really love Nephi's testimony in 1 Nephi 9:6. The Lord knows everything from the beginning. He's been preparing the way since the beginning for His children to accept the gospel. It is so fun! I love being a missoinary! :)

One last thing that I want to share. One of the greatest things I've learned since being a missionary, is that trials, completely depending on our attitude and view of them, can be our greatest treasure. Trials come in all shapes and sizes, whether a hard day at work, a little doubt or weak spot in our testimony, or a financial struggle, or maybe even a member at church who did say that in the perfect way. Whatever the trail may be, this are just moments for us to grow. They are moments of learning, trying, failing, and relying on the Lord, and trying again. I have had some of the hardest moments of my life on my mission, but I'm so grateful for every single one. I know that Heavenly Father knows everything. I know that even when we don't know why, or maybe even when we doubt that maybe Heavenly Father doesn't know, He does. That we may hold on to that faith and trust in Him day after day and look forward with an eye of faith is my hope. I know He loves you. I know He knows you. And I know that He is our Father and the Savior is our Brother and Friend. Our best Friend. I leave this testimony with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mom I love you so much!! thank you for everything!! I loved talking to you! You are looking really good with your blonde hair....just sayin :) fiquem bem! boa semana e até logo!!! tchau tchau!

Love,

Elder Brady

Why have you not been baptiiiiized?? (Yes that's a Nacho quote) December 24, 2012

MMMMMMMMMMÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Hey mom.

So I'm probably not gonna write much today, just cuz I don't want to spoil anything for tomorrow eh? :) But we've got stuff set up so  tomorrow at 7:00ish here I'll be calling. Well either me or Elder Rodriques. I'm not real sure.  But it will either be 7 or 8 ish just depending on the situation. so that would be like 12 or 1 ish there I think. Is that gonna work? I'll be checking my email tomorrow right before to get the password and stuff for skype so if there are any problems, you can let me know by email. k? :) thank! :)

So mom, I'm super sorry about the caroling party! and I'm super sad that dad and britt are sick! That makes me super sad! I hope they get better! sickness at christmas is super rough. Christmas traditions are the BOMB! I'm super sad that it didn't work. sorry about that. don't worry, we're going caroling tonight with the ward, so I'll sing extra loud just for you ok? :)

That's super sad about Bryden! I'm praying for him. absolutely. Everything will be 100% fine. Heavenly Father has been watching over our family since the beginning, and I know that He's in charge. The more trust we put in Him, the more peace and tranquility comes to our heart. I know He's watching out for Bryden. Haha I have such amazing memories with that short little hairy man :) Mom, your whole family is incredible. From the oldest sibling right down to the youngest. Everything will be fine. :)

So just one more thing real quick, How is the Holyoak family doing? I've been a complete slacker and haven't written them but I thought about them the other day. If you could do me a favor mom and pass on my love for them with a great big hug and ask them if I can borrow some sweats that would be great! :)

Well mom, I'm gonna run, we still have a bunch to do today. We played soccer this morning, and I got destroyed, but it was fun! It just took up a lot of time....and since we're gonna talk tomorrow, i don't have much more to say. Just MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! love you!!!!

até amanhã!!! 

com amor, 

Elder Jordan Brady

Isaiah 55:9 December 17, 2012

Oi, mãe! agora estou falando como um brasileiro porque o meu colega e de lá! A cara é bem engraçada! 

Snow day snow day! those are the only phone calls I've ever liked at 6:00 in the morning. The ones saying you can sleep in! hahaha :) So how was it? did it happen? man it's crazy that you guys are still in school. This whole week here in portugal every one is out of school. Which is really cool actually because we've been planning a really cool activity with the young men during the week! It's gonna be super fun! I'm gonna get to play the real football for the first time on my mission! crazy little american kid playing with the portuguese rock stars, this could be interesting! :) Everyone here in portugal rocks at soccer, but at least I'll still have a shot at beating them, cuz we're gonna play basketball too, and basketball is a little bit weaker over here ;) 

~That's so great that lys will be home! she's jhust the world wide traveller! It's amazing how the Lord works. He is the perfect teacher. That has been one of the biggest lessons I've learned on my mission, is really the fact that the Lord teaches us. That He knows us and our weaknesses, and knows how to make them our strengths. If we let Him. And that is what alyssa has done. It's been amazing to see her growth. I'm super proud of her! And she's stopping in P-town! yeah Provo! :) 

Choir practice during the week??? Scandalous! teeheehee. haha jim wouldn't go. That's super funny. Which songs are you singing? It'll all turn out 100% fine. Dont even stress! And that's still so wierd to me that Jason is driving, and is probably getting really good a being a home teacher by now. That's so cool! That's one thing that I will do so much better after the mission. I will dedicate more time and attention to being a good hometeacher. I've seen the difference that this can make in the lives of the members, active or less active. I'm so glad to hear that they are doing so well. We're super blessed that way :) 

Thanks SO much for the Christmas eve thing mom! I got super pumped! Elder Rodrigues is pretty excited to try it out to actually. It will be a really fun thing for us too. don't you even worry! and everything got here just fine! thank you so much for that! and the long johns were a good idea too! It's FREEZING! haha and everyone says it's just gonna get worse in January. here we come! I just wish it would snow already! ya know the cold when it doesn't snow, just rain, and it's like freezing to the bones and you don't even have the snow to show for it? that's gaia! haha :)

Thank you so much for the letters too. I was so grateful for Sister Fluckiger and her kindness. I love her so much! the other day i just got some random bumbs that itched like crazy, all over my body, and I called her and she was so cute and helpful! I loved it! She was super worried about me and then when she was here in gaia the other day, we just got to see her for like 2 seconds at out christmas party, and she was like, Hey, how's your itch?? haha made me laugh :)But yeah, we thought maybe I had gotten the chicken pox, but after sending pictures to the misison doctor in Germany, he called me and talked to me, and we're still not sure what exactly it is, but he doesn't think it'«s chicken pox, so that's good! and I don't itch anymore, so it's all good. I just look kinda of goofy and some of the people are like hey, what's on your face? so that's fun. but I'm just grateful it's not chicken pox! :)

OH MAN!! Zumba and Gaston are AMAZING! they were baptized on Friday, and confirmed on Sunday and it was SO amazing! ZUmba asked when she could bear her testimony! haha oh my word they are so amazing. I've never met anyone so humble, so prepared for the gospel in my entire life. When we taught about the word of wisdom, they just had a few little problems. No addictoins, they just drank a little bit of tea and coffee. But when we taught about alcohol, Zumba pointed at Gaston and laughed, cuz he drank a little. Then we said black tea, and Gaston pointed at Zumba cuz she drank tea! haha it was really cute and made us laugh really hard! but they are so amazing and sacrifice so much! they walk an hour every sunday to the church, rain or shine! they are so humble. And Gaston is going to receive the priesthood next sunday! it is really such an amazing experience. And we haven't done anything. THe Lord has honestly and truly done it all. Heavenly Father just prepares the hearts of people to receive HIs word. I've learned so much from Gaston and Zumba.

And the other Elders that work in our ward had 3 baptisms this weekend as well! The Lord has just blessed Gaia 1st ward SO much this weekend! 5 new members in 1 weekend. It was SO much fun! I'm really grateful that the Lord has blessed me enough to be in this ward, in this district, with these Elders. It's been such a fun experience! The mission is SO great!!

Isaías, MIRACLE ALERT! so right before the baptism, we went to buy cake to share with everyone there afterwards, and when we got off the metro, we saw isais getting ready to leave, and we were like HEY! come watch this baptism! he was like um................................................fine ok. ha! so we went there and it was such a great baptism! Isaías was ready to get dressed in white too! it was so cool! and all the members were asking when it was his turn! haha he was like "ask Brady!" haha. he always gives me a hard time cuz he's had a date marked twice, but it's fallen because of this marriage thing. but long story shorter....He loved the baptism and is now a lot more focused on getting married! Heavenly Father works all these little miracles one step at a time. It's all in His timing and in His hands. This much I know. We're still trying to help Raquel. She's not quite as strong right now, but she'll come around. :) We still haven't heard about the paperwork. We went to the Consolate of Guinea, and basically we have to keep calling guinea. We're still working on it, but it's all in the Lord's timing :)

My comp right now is Elder Jason Rodrigues. He's brazilian, but moved to Florida when he was 8 and so he's american. He was an AP for a full year on his mission. He's a great elder! he really wants to do work and is SO funny! he's really helping me out on basically everything! and Elder Bergeron went to Figueira da Foz actually!! haha where I started! :) He is finishing the 2nd half of the training of Elder Smith, and is really liking it! 

Well mom, I love you so very much. Thank you for everything! I'm SO stoked to talk to you guys next week. I'm still not 100% sure when we will be able to yet. We have to confrim that, but next monday I'll let you know. We're still trying to figure out exactly when it's gonna be. But no worries, you'll know :) I love you mom! please keep praying for me so I can be more humble, and have more faith ok? I need all the help I can get!

And if you could also pray for a lady named Linda, she doesn't want her youngest daughter to get baptized, and we're not real sure why yet. We're going there tonight, and her daughter is INCREDIBLE! she's named Sonia. If you could pray for them both that would be awesome. Thanks! Love you!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Love,~

Elder Brady

December 10, 2012

Hey mom! 

Snow huh?? that's crazy! It's ridiculously cold here too, but as far as snow goes, we're still snow-free. Man that's awesome that Maysa and Miranda were in the Nutcracker! I bet it was awesome! But since when did she start driving?? Fogo! that's so scary. Andreas getting old :) And Jason is driving too huh? Grace Idaho is full of new drivers. That's really crazy actually. That's so good that they didn't get hurt in their little fender benders. 

Natashas going to New Mexico?? That's so cool! She's going to do great! I'm super pumped for her!  I met a couple elders from New Mexico, but seeing as I'm really bad at Geography, I have no idea where they are from in New Mexico. And speaking of geography, there was a member girl here the other night that asked me if I knew all of the 50 states. Man that was hard! Me and Elder Rodrigues were struggling with that one. But we got them all so don't even worry about it. 

So quick update on the miracles that are going on here in Gaia. About 2 weeks ago, we were walking through this neighborhood at about 7 at night, and then all of a sudden we heard "Elders! Oh Elders!" We were kind of ignoring just a little bit, because we always here that. The kids here like to call us and stuff. So we were only like half way interested, but then we turned around and there was an older guy running up the stairs behind us. He called us again, waved us over. So we were a little bit confused, but we went and talked to him. His name is Gaston, (yes, like beauty and the beast :) ) and his wife's name is Zumba (yes like that work out dance). He's from Congo!! He told us that he saw us the street a couple times but was never able to talk with us because we were getting in the metro and stuff like that but that he has been wanting to talk to us for a really long time. He asked us where our church was. We were super surprised but more than happy to give the address to the church. He told us that he would love for us to come to his house, but he was living in the house of one of his friends, (who is muslim) and it probably would be better to meet in a different spot to talk to us. But he gave us his number and said he and his wife would love to come to church! We were SOOO stoked!! and so sunday morning, we met them and walked to church together and they just loved it so much! They felt the spirit so strongly and they were singing the Christmas Hymns and everything! It was SO amazing! and then we had an appointment with Gaston in the church this last week, and when we started talking about the Savior and His example, he told us that he had never been baptized, but he wanted to be baptized like the Savior, so he could serve God and receive a remission of his sins. It was absolutely incredible! He was SO prepared! And he was bearing such powerful testimony of the Savior. I was so touched by his testimony and love for the Savior. So we asked him, if he could choose a day to be baptized, any day, what would it be? and he said, "probably on a saturday or a sunday so the people in the church can watch it!" hahaha oh man it was SO fun!! We invited him to be baptized on the 16th and he wanted to. So we prayed and asked Heavenly Father if this was the right thing to do, and we all felt the spirit very strongly! It was so incredible!! and we left him a book of mormon in Portuguese, and French, cuz that's what they speak in Congo! He came to church again yesterday, and loved it one more time! It was so amazing! Please keep praying for Gaston and Zumba! It's been such a testimony builder for me that the Lord prepares His children to receive the gospel. We asked Gaston why he came and talked to us, and he told us, " Ijust felt something in my heart saying that I should talk to you." IT was so amazing. I've never met such a humble man, truly humble with a desire to serve the Lord like Gaston. It was such an amazing experience for me. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father has prepared him and his wife to be baptized and receive the gospel in their lives. 

So here's just a little something for DJ. Feel free to make the words a little more poetic if you would like :)

1. It's ok to laugh. The gospel is a gospel of happiness, and the Spirit makes people feel good. So love, laugh, learn, and lay it all out for the Lord. You only get one chance at it, and so serve with all of your heart mind might and strength, because time flies!

2. Trust in the Lord. Really truly trust in Him. He is the perfect teacher, and He knows you. He knows your weaknesses, He knows your strengths, and He knows your potential. Trust in Him; He trusts you.

3. Also, write in your journal. Every day. Write the funny things that happen during the day. The funny, goofy stories. Write the inspirational thoughts that the Lord gives you day by day. Write the challenges you're going through (It gives you a chance to see how the Lord has changed you after He's helped you through it) and write about the people you meet and love. You will make some of the most amazing friends in the mission field, and the Lord knows who they are. Write it all down. 

4. Let the gospel, the Atonement, and the love of Heavenly Father and the Savior, become real to you. 

5. Alma 5:15-Look forward with an eye of faith.

6. Be careful when you're shaving. Cutting yourself really hurts :) :) 

Well mom, I gotta run. But I love you so much! thank you SOOOO much for the packages!! i'm SO excited for Christmas! Elder Rodrigues and I are gonna buy a Christmas tree today. Yup. It's gonna be sick! :) OH! and I'm not sure what exactly your schedule is like on christmas mom, but we're gonna be at a members on Christmas night. Probably about 7:30 or 8:00 ish at nihgt which is what like 12:30 or 1 ish? I'm not real sure. But the plan is like that for right now. But we'll confirm that this week. Will that work for you guys? Will you be able to skype?

Anyways....I'm out of time. I love you!! thanks for everything!!!

Love,

Elder Jordan Brady 

December 10, 2012

Elder Brady is full of life!! So willing to express his love and to do what is right.  We love him dearly. 
This is just a note we got in a quick email today from Sister Fluckiger, the Mission President's wife. It made my day!

December 3, 2012

Hey mom!!
Mom, I don't have a lot of time this week, or next. I'm in Lisbon this week for Mission Counsel, and then next week is our Christmas Conference, but I just want to say, I love you so much  mom. I'm so grateful for your rock solid testimony.  I join with the Sons of Helaman, "we did not doubt our mothers knew it". I don't doubt that my mother knows it.
Thank you so much for everything mom. I'm so grateful for your insight on the christmas devotional. I'm SUPER excite to watch it! we'll watch it at our Ward Christmas party on the 15th. I'm super pumped!!
So our weekly activities are still going. They're going alright. We lost a little bit of momentum. One week was a little bit weak, and now we're trying to gain momentum again, but it will be really really good.
I Love ryan so much!! I'm praying for him almost everyday. Heavenly Father is inspiring him every step of the way. Keep it up brotha!!!
Mom, i gotta run. This letter is SO lame I know it. But I'm super sorry- so please don't hate me. Today has been a little bit nuts. But know that I'm alive, and well, andloving life. I'm staing in gaia!!! YEAH!!!! everthing is going great! but I'll keep you up dated :)
Love YOU!
Loved, Elder Brady

Hey, Let's wait until Elder Brady's in Portugal, then we'll enjoy getting a Christmas tree. good idea :) November 27, 2012

MOM!!!

hi.

first things first, before I forget, idk if you guys are still planning on coming to portugal to pick me up, but if you are, I have lunch planned for us on the first day :) no I'm not trunky, but my old comp elder faias just wanted me to tell you now cuz he thought I'd forget later. So I told you, Elder Faias wants to take you to his house when/if you and dad come to get me. just saying :)

2nd thing, you should read 1 John Chapter 5 today. It was really interesting to read that chapter. It's just got a really neat and beautiful explanation of the Godhead. I really enjoyed it.

So, I got my new suit. and I think I look classy. The Lady at the store didn't like my tie though....which was really ok because it was ugly tie day in our companionship, so it really was an ugly tie, but i ended up buying a new one which was also ok, because it was really cool looking. 

I'm so happy for syd! I've been praying for her. She has been so blessed. I'm so grateful for her example of faith and trust. You're totally fine on the package mom. We're actually going to be going to Lisbon 2 times in the next 2 weeks, so I'll get it :) next tuesday we have Mission Council, and then the next week, I won't be writing on monday, and I'm actually not sure when I'm gonna be writing that week because on the 11th we're having a misison Christmas Conference which will be SWEET!!! so I'll be getting it no problems :) Voltage adapter, I think i'm ok. I haven't had any problems so far and i don't htink I need anything else. I have a little purple thing that i think is that voltage adapter. It plugs into the wierd European outlets and then my normal American plug plugs into it. So i think we're ok there.

Oooh. dad got the flu huh? That's super rough! dad never gets sick! I'm super sorry! but also super impressed that it was only 2 days. That activity sounds AMAZING!! who won the money?? :) And sounds like Thanksgiving weekend as a whole was great. I'm so glad to hear that! no one wanted to play ball with Matthew? oh yeah....it's cuz everyone is on a mission now! :) haha that's an ok place to be then :)

The FHE went really well! We were really pleased! We talked about the Word of Wisdom, and Isaías's son, Leonardo, loved the little activity that Sister Avelar put together! it was really really cool. and the Stake president is the MAN! He had such an amazing talk with Raquel, and i got to be a little part of it. we talked about the power of the temple and the purpose of families and also how we can know for ourselves if this is really true. It was super cool! Also, with them, I've seen the difference that the book of mormon makes in peoples lives. They stopped reading the book of mormon, just for a little bit, and we could tell immediately. Please please please pray that we can get those documents from Africa. they're starting to get a little discouraged because it's been taking so long. The Lord is taking care of them here, and they're still doing great, but we could just use all the prayer power we can get :) 

We've really been seeing the hand of the Lord here. and I'm starting to understand a little bit better the timing of the Lord. The Lord has got a time and a place for everything. For example, we've been trying to get a hold of this amazing Brazilian family for EVER! but we've had such a hard time. they always have something come up at the last minute and they have to cancel. But then last night, after church, right at the end of the night, we decided to pass them by. and it was amazing!! we were able to have such an awesome lesson! we watched the Restoration, to help them really see and understand who the prophet Joseph Smith really was. And the mom was there!!! it was amazing! we've never been able to teach her before. But then she left halfway through because one of her friends came :( BUT!!! after she left she took the little kids too (3 and 6 year olds) who were kind of distracting a little bit. So we wanted to teach everyone, but it wasn't really working out. So then after she left, we were just with the teenagers, Johnatan, Jenifer, and Jessika. (16, 13, 15 years old... ithink) and because it was just us, they opened up so much. They were asking questions, and were so sincere and they all understood so well! it was AMAZING!! please pray that Heavenly Father will help them receive and recognize an answer from the spirit ok? thanks guys! :)

WEll mom, I've gotta run. I sent a little something for you guys in the mail so keep a look out. I'm planning on sending something a little bit better for a real Christmas Present, but this is a starter :) I love you so much. Thank you for sending all that stuff, and thinking about me, and praying for me. I'm doing the same for you mom! I love you so much. You rock my world!

Love,

Elder Brady

Ps...i love the missionary updates....just saying :) Love ya!!

November 19, 2012

Oí mãe!! como estás?? estou bem, obrigado. :) Como está a vida em Grace Idaho? está tudo tranquilo? provavelmente :) 

Man, that fireside would be amazing!!! I'm super jealous! I love them so much. How's Britten doing as far as health goes? Is he doing alright? That's a really amazing principle that Karla talked about. How sometimes it takes work to overcome the temptations and distractions of the world, and to be closer to the Savior, but its so worth it. That's also been something that has been becoming more and more real all the time, that the adversary is becoming more and more powerful, and the tools that he has are powerful and advanced, but he also likes to use some of the most simple and old tricks in the book. Laziness, procrastination, basically the natural man. and it takes work. But it's worth it. always.

Thanks for that reminder mom, that really repentance is something that brings us closer to our Heavenly Father. That really when we look at it that way, we should jump for joy at the chance to put off the natural man, and become more like our Savior. Repentance sometimes is a hard thing for us to do. This is also a trick that the adversary uses. He doesn't want us to use the atonement, because he doesn't want us to be happy. He wants us to be miserable and have the weight of a guilty conscience. That makes him happy. That's the only pleasure that he can have, is seeing Heavenly Father's children lose their joy and happiness. I'm so grateful, that our Heavenly Father, knew that this was going to happen, and before He created the world, He created a way for us to overcome Satan, and the distractions of the world. He called His Son. He called His Son to be our Savior. I'm so grateful for Heavenly Father's wisdom grace and love.

I'm super glad that you liked the Eagles concert!!! sounds like a blast!! hahaha man they are super old! one of these days their vocal chords are just gonna stop! haha :) that's super great that you liked it so much! And it sounds like the temple was also so great! I miss the temple! One thing that has just been super amazing, is the focus that the ward has been putting on temple attendance. There has been such a huge push on the importance of tithing. I know, that as we pay a full tithing, with the intentions of thanking the Lord, He literally opens the windows of heaven, and pours out blessings. 

Hahaha I always knew my sisters were charitable!! haha hey girls, just so you know, it's easier to win if you just play for the right team :) haha but hey, you're both one step ahead of me, I didn't score for either team, so it's a step in the right direction right? :) and sarah, you're probably a lot faster now that you don't have all that hair weighing you down!   haha just kidding'

 So ash is thinking Dixie huh? Go for it man! you'll do great down there! I love how there's not like a Brady tradition. We basically just do what we want ;) Steph to dixie, alyssa USU, me BYU and then ash back to Dixie. So now Britt just needs to go to USU and sarah to BYU and we're all set. One thing ash that really helps us know what Heavenly Father wants, is just to read the scriptures. As we pray and ask for Heavenly Father's  guidance and direction, and then we read the scriptures, He's promised that they will guide us. So as you pray, and then ask Heavenly Father to help you know what to do, start studying the scriptures, and then pay attention to the thoughts that come into your mind as you read and ponder. That's how Heavenly Father guides us. The Spirit will guide our thoughts. 

Yeah we got to talk to Africa! We're actually gonna call again tomorrow to check up on that. cool thing about Isaías. He really loved going to FHE at the stake presidents house the other day, so yesterday at church, he invited President Ribeiro and his whole family, and us, to their house tonight for FHE!! We're super excited! It's gonna be a lot of fun!

OH MAN! Grace Idaho is just rocking the east coast!! haha that's super cool!! I'm SO pumped for Hadlee and Brandi!! When do they leave?? Man I honestly am just super excited about this whole situation!!! It's gonna rock! and Ryan is going to the exact same mission as Trevor! how cool! 10 € says that they're comps!! :) just kidding, I shouldn't gamble. And thanks for the update on Elder Mathews. I hadn't heard about him for awhile. And how aobut Elder Foster? Have you heard anything about him lately?

As far as we're going, everything is tudo ok here! Elder Bergeron has actually had a few stomach problems lately, but I've been super impressed, even when he's been feeling sick, he doesn't let it get to the work. And he never complains about it. He's really a rock star. I love him a lot. He told me that in his interview with Pres. Fluckiger, President asked him if he thought he could train.....uh oh.....haha we'll see what happens, but it looks like maybe the Lord is preparing something for Elder Bergeron! We're staying warm here, but we have to keep the heater right next to our faces as we sleep. The other day I did a division with Elder Gaertner (An elder that I LOVE from the MTC) in his area up north. Man that place was COLD! they didn't have blankets until like a week ago, and they just have one heater and we about died!!! haha I don't know how they are living up there! Elder Geartner wears long johns under his suit!! hahaha that place is cold! so the little bit of rain that's here doesn't bother me so much anymore :) The zone is doing pretty well. It's been a little rough up here the last little while. The work has been a little bit slow in the zone and so we're fighting disappointment a lot, but we've really seen the hand of the Lord recently. Almost every area has a family that they are focusing on. and there were a lot of people that came to church! we've got 5 baptisms marked in the zone for this weekend and we're working to help even more people accept the invitation. I'm really learning that our attitude has so much to do with our happiness. and it also affects the work. If we're happy, and we face life witha good attitude, our trials, our difficulties, the commandments, if we face it with a good attitude and with the attitude of becoming more like the Savior, we're happy. We're on the earth to become like the Savior, and to become perfect. And Nephi teaches us that we exist so that we might have joy. So really as we repent, and face our trials or temptations, or obey the commandments and become like the Savior, we become happy. That's where true happiness and joy comes from. 

I love you so much  mom. I'm so grateful that you are inspired. There are alot of things in this email that were exactly what i needed to hear. That were literally answers to my prayers. Thanks mom. I love you so much. And don't worry, there's not reallyanything dangerous or sketchy here that I'm not telling you, so rest easy :) Hahaha, love you mom!!

Love, 

Elder Brady

November 12, 2012

Oh my WORD!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!! I literally cried. I am so excited for ryan!!!! He is such an amazing person!! oh man I'm SO excited for him!!!! He is going to be such an amazing missionary. He will literally change the world. Man I love him SO much!! oh my goodness I really can't express the way that I feel right now. Oh MAN!!!! I'm SOOOOO STOKED!!!!!!And he's going to be speaking the language of the angels :)

Kendall Lloyd, where's he going? dad told me but I forgot.Nick's going to Canada huh? That's super cool! maybe he'll get to meet some of Gillian's family huh? Man everyone is taking off!! that's so fun!! I love it to death!!! man here we come baby!!

You have been in primary for a long time mom! 5 primary programs huh? that's crazy! How did it go? Everything run smooth? Sounds like things are changing over there! that's so crazy! Steven will receive the priesthood eh? One more holder of the Lord's power! how cool is that! 

Snow huh? I miss it! but actually, I hear that it might actually snow here in Gaia this year. It's been SUPER cold! haha a member gave me and my comp a pair of his really comfy thick socks! we were super excited! we get home, and our feet are wet, and we take off our shoes and put on those warm comfy socks.....oh a little piece of heaven right there :)

Eagles concert huh? right on right on. Haha last time condie went to an Eagles concert, me and hadlee and jaden and damian were there....that's funny! haha :) 

Í'm so glad that Syd's doing so well! I love her so much, and I'm super proud of her. I pray for her all the time. I'm so glad that she's doing so well!! too bad baby Ava's so rough, but what can you expect from a 2 month old right? :) Yeah I remember the Piano Guys! they just started right as I was leaving i think. That's super cool! did ash like them? It's amazing how John Schmidt is so Mormon Famous! Our stake presidents son plays waterfall all the time! haha :)

Hahaha way to be britt!!! play defense and pass the ball!! way to rock it! be intense, aggressive, but dont reach and foul.....i did that a lot. not very smart. play with your feet, not your hands ok? keep hustling! and ps....offensive rebounds and put backs are super fun. just saying :)

Ok, so Isaías is doing great!! I got to talk to a guy from Guinea, AFrica the other day! we did a division the other day with the Assistants, and I was working with Elder Cá, an elder from Guinea but lived in Cape Verde for a long time, and we went by Isaías, and it turns out, Elder Ca´s brother can help get the documents from Guinea here so that Isaías can get married!! Coincidence?? nope :) Its amazing how the Lord works! and Raquel, his girlfriend, received her own testimony about the Book of Mormon!! it was so amazing!!! the difference in her was like night and day. She prayed, and felt that the book of mormon really was the word of God, and the spirit in that house when we got there was 100% different. It was SO amazing! I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father loves His children enough to answer our prayers :) Now we're just waiting on the papers to get married, and the Lord provided us another miracle with Elder Cá's brother. It was super cool to talk to a guy in Africa too!! and then I gave the phone to Isaías, and he spoke in Creole!! which was ridiculously rad! haha :)

The Lord has just blessed this zone so much lately! Almost every single area in the zone has found families that are progressing, and the Lord is providing miracles everywhere! Last night we found the coolest Brazilian family ever! We had talked to Johnatan, the 16 year old son before, and then met the dad just real quick. Johnatan started reading the book of mormon, and then we went back to talk to him, and he wasn't there, but then the Spirit told us to start teaching the Dad a little bit more. So we talked to him some more and then we left a book of mormon, and then in the meantime, his other daughter and her friend got there, so we left them a book of mormon too and they loved it! Jennifer is 13 and is super intelligent. She's from the Evangelical Church, and is very active, and she was just so attentive and completely understood everything as we explained the Book of Mormon. It was SO cool! she said she was going to read it and pray about it and tomorrow we'll go back to talk to everyone!! it's been so amazing to see the blessings of the Lord in our area and our work. 

And we just starting teaching these amazing Families that basically live together but dont. Liliana and her mom Margarida, and then Rosa and her daughter Ariana. We just passed them in the street once, just talked to them, they gave us their address and said we could come by someother time. So we passed by but Liliana was leaving, and she was like, oh wait, come back on Monday and we'll feed you dinner. OK!! :) So we had dinner with them, left them a book of mormon, and then went back on Saturday, they had read, loved it, an were so attentive as we taught the restoration. And Liliana and Rosa came to Church yesterday!!! it was so amazing!! the Lord has just blessed us so very much this last week, and I'm so grateful! It's been super fun! 

Well mom, I gotta go, but I love you so much!! even if you got old yesterday ;) haha jk :) Thanks for everything! and thanks for finding that cd! haha :) love you so much!! até próximo! tchau tchau! beijinhos! :)

Elder Jordan Brady

PS....next week I'll try to send pictures of my european suit! :)