Your boy!

Brought your son to the temple this morning!  It's a beautiful day in SoCal. Even more beautiful inside the temple!

Last week as a full time missionary...

So many emotions!!!  

Thank you so much for all those birthday wishes! Those pictures were priceless! Yesterday was such an awesome birthday day! Everyone was asking me what i was going to do for my birthday and i would just tell them, "i'm going to church!" :) Some people from down in the valley even found out/remembered my birthday and surprised me at church with a cake! haha. Then pretty much everyone found out and i had a fan club with me for the rest of church! It was hard as a missionary haha. Everyone was treating me like i was some celebrity yesterday. It definitely was a fun day and got a ton of birthday wishes that's for sure! It was a real feel good day as our phone was getting blown up by all the missionaries out here texting me happy birthday. Great birthday for sure, i was super spoiled and realized i know a ton of thoughtful people! Even our dinner appointment made Cafe Rio and brought out brownies and ice-cream! Love the Kilgore family. 

This past week was amazing as we received/gave more trainings than i have ever experienced my entire mission. President asked me to give another departing testimony again since it was my last time at Mission Leadership Coucil. Those are always super hard to give and i get very emotional. It's impossible to put 2 years of experiences into a 5 minutes testimony.  

Friday we ended up training the zone for a solid 3 hours, then right after, about 100 youth participated in this weekends youth conference and we talked with them for 4 hours about what we wish we knew before the mission and answered all of their fun questions that they have been thinking about. It was a good time. We slept like a rock that night after 7 hours of trainings! Then the next day all the youth were pairing up with a missionary in the mission and would tract with them for 5 hours! It was awesome! I got a pretty shy kid from our ward who is 17 and after a while i got him to open up and got the "deer in the headlights" look off his face and he ended up knocking his first door! He was so proud after and kept getting better and better! It was so cool to see him do that. His first door, he introduced himself, then the guy said,"not now," and he asked if we could come back another time and the guy said "no," then slammed the door in his face. He turned and looked at me with a disappointed look on his face and i just immediately said...,"Nice! Your first door! That was awesome!! You're going to be such a great missionary! Then i high fived him and he started smiling and we began laughing about the situation. -It's all about attitude- Then he wanted to keep doing more because he said he loved the peoples' reactions! We had a great time together and he was on fire. Then come to find out, pretty much all the youth returned with this missionary fire and now they all want to come out with us more! Complete success! 

I cannot believe that this is my last week. It feels so weird as everyone around here constantly reminds me! 

I will try my best to find a place to store my stuff until we come back. I've got a couple places in mind, but i'll call President Jex first. Thank you for all your help! 

I love grandma Tripp! I only know of her doing that for 2 other missionaries. She is so awesome. You'll probably meet her at Kena's baptism. She supports all the baptisms in the valley. She is so amazing. We like to call her the Grandma of the Valley. :) 

This week we have a lot to look forward to, and at the same time, not to look forward to! We are having our amazing twice a year mission temple trip this Tuesday! Tomorrow! Then Wednesday i am doing my LAST exchange with a set of missionaries.Thursday is the temple trip day for the departing missionaries so we will be going again then! Wooohoo! Then Friday will be my LAST District meeting, LAST Saturday which we'll be having Ari's baptism! LAST baptism as a missionary. Then my LAST Sunday/sacrament meeting... Probably have more opportunities to bear my testimony and cry some more  for the LAST time;) Then to finish the week, i have my departing interview with President Hall at 4:30 on Sunday. 

It's looking like an amazing week and yet, not, with a bunch of LASTS... 

Anyways, I love you all so much!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! Your the best parents ever!!!

Well, i'll talk to you again soon if i make it alive through this emotionally draining week ahead! :)  

Love, Elder Brady

NNNNOOOO RRREEEGGGRRREEETTTTSSS!!!!! 

HERE ARE THE STRIPLING WARRIORS SAMOAN STYLE!

100th Email?!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASON!  

Thank you for all those letters! No worries mom, thank you for the birthday wishes and you have already taken care of my birthday so no need to send me anything! I'm having trouble as it is just starting to think about how i am going to get all of the stuff i've collects over the past 2 years home? I'm thinking that most of it will just have to be donated to my fellow missionaries... i might have to start over with clothes seeing that i have 8 white shirts and 4 slacks... i don't think that will fly everyday as a regular person again back in college. Who knows though? Dress for success right? I feel that i have made a good habit of that lol.  

As for the Hotel situation, i don't know how much i'll be able to help you out with that... i would say that Anaheim/disneyland area would be best just because i have lived in Santa Clarita for about a year now and it doesn't feel like much of a vacation spot and i would probably just want to visit a whole bunch of people i come to know and continue to teach them the gospel all day... but i won't be able to do that anymore ;( 

But i would like to maybe take a day and visit that Sunday or something!  

Also, as far as trying to get some of my stuff home, i don't think everything will be able to fit in 2 suit cases unless i just trashed a lot of things? So i was wondering if i should leave it with a family here for us to pick it up when we come or just send it with President Jex to take back...? Let me know in the next letter your advice then i shall proceed to act upon that.  

As far as Ari's baptism, her grandma, who has been a huge part of helping us teach and part of her conversion process, got hospitalized a day before, so they postponed it to June15th... So it's still happening we just have to apply the christlike attribute of patience and endure this delay with her. But all is well and things are going extremely well still! We had interviews with President  Hall this past week which is always good!  

This week we have a big week ahead of us. Elder Wright and I are attending the monthly Mission Leadership Council on Wednesday all day, then we are training our zone from 10-1 on Friday, then right after, hosting a fireside/youth conference for all the youth in Santa Clarita, from 2-6, teaching them what we wish we knew before our missions. Then Saturday all the missionaries are taking a youth out from 1-5 to go tracting/teaching and showing them the life of a missionary! It's pretty cool stuff! I wish i knew what a missionary did before i became one haha!  

This is all the update for now except for the guy we just barely talked to and asked him what his beliefs were and he answered,"i believe in Mermaids... They're beautiful creatures" Lol 

Love you all!

Love, Elder Brady!

NO REGRETS

Overwhelming Spirit

So some big updates for this week! Ari is getting baptized this Saturday at 5:00! We've been waiting a long time for this! She is so excited! Then we set 2 more baptismal dates with two other girls, Kelly and Tiffany for June 16th! My last Sunday! At the beginning of the transfer we set a goal to get 3 baptisms before i return home and it's looking good so far! :) The spirit has been so incredibly strong this past week it's insane. We have felt that we are 100% instruments in God's hands numerous times! Just to share how well things are going right now i will share with you our numbers from this past week. 

Goals: 3 baptismal dates; 4 at church; 8 member present lessons;4 new investigators 

Actuals:3 baptismal dates; 7! at church; 9! member present lessons;4! NI's!!!

That is just for our area :)

Then for the zone-

Goals:   7 BD's; 10 @ Church; 21 MP's; 10 NI's

Actuals: 7 BD's; 14 @ Church; 24 MP's; 17 NI's!!!!

These Goals at the beginning of the month were making us stretch and now all the missionaries, in this zone, faith has increased significantly! It's so awesome to see! I feel so much joy for each of these missionaries and being involved with each of their successes! (Alma 29:14-17) Is one of my favorite Zone Leader scriptures... :)

Anyways though, big news! A new missionary got advanced early through the MTC, Elder Pisa from Samoa and came to our mission this last week! They needed a place to put him and saw that we had plenty of room for him here in Saugus. So Elder Ballard is Training him in Saugus 3rd and we are helping him since Elder Ballard is being trained himself haha. It's so much fun. Kind of a language barrier but he has a heart of Gold! We have been wearing the lava lavas(Hawaiian formal dress things) around the house! It's awesome! So right when we got settled down, making both of our plans mesh together, and got both wards under control, they mix things up again! Always keeping us on our toes! "The Gospel is meant to comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable!" Haha so true! Happy Always, Content Never!!!

P.s. i got the package this week thank you! And Kena called me this week worried that i wouldn't be able to make it back for the performance of her baptism... I told her "i promise we'll be there",... so we have to be there! July 7th @ 5:00 White Oak Stake Center in Granada Hills,CA! Thank you! As for anything else i am up for whatever we do/ wherever we stay.

Heavenly Father has definitely been blessing us big time! He's spoiling us.

Once you look around you, and take the time to notice his blessings, he blesses you with more. Also if you record them, you'll receive more :) Blessings of having a journal.

"Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your blessings, see what God hath done!"

Love, Elder Brady

---NO REGRETS---

Cali Life in Saugus Wards

Sup Fam! This Past week has gone by way too fast. I am with the 2 most incredible Elders in the mission. We are having such a blast! I am becoming a big fan of Trio companionships! There's NEVER a dull moment! Lately i have been in denial... I don't feel like i am ever going home haha. Like they say, time flies when you're having fun! So, i told Elder Ballard and Wright, guys we need to stop having so much fun... lol. This last transfer is going to go by way too fast! :( 

Sorry for not e-mailing last Monday, but it was awesome talking to you guys last Sunday! It was more of a reality check that slapped me in the face... hearing about all of those updates and knowing that all of my friends are, Married!!! I still can't comprehend it. 

You are on your way to Hawaii!?! Since when? Ha that's awesome. I'm jealous, have fun! I'm glad you liked that picture of the Adams family's tropical backyard. p.s. Is that duac medicine on the way? 

So as far as our investigators that we have, with both wards combined, we have a teaching pool of about 20 investigators! So we are constantly booked bouncing around between areas. We are seeing miracles left and right as we are constantly on the run. We don't know how we are doing it right now, we are just TRUSTING (alma 36:3) in the Lord and it all works out every time! :) This is probably one of the most intense transfers i've had with our very inspired/unexpected Trio we have going on here. It's pretty cool to be back in Saugus 3rd as well, and on Sundays it's pretty awesome to know all the members walking through the building no matter what ward their in. 

I'll quickly share a Miracle of the week. We were able to host 2 companionship exchanges back to back this week. One with the assistants and one with a new missionary! Pretty cool experience to do one right after the other. With the new missionary we had a really cool experience. I went to his area in Canyon Country on bike! It was fun to be back on bike again for a day. Right when the we started the day we set some goals and they were currently struggling to find new investigators. So i asked him if he had the faith that he would find a new investigator that day. He thought about it for a while then said yes i do! So i told him, Great, then we will find one! Right when we went out the door, 10 minutes later we found ourselves at a corner of a stoplight. A guy passed us and we started talking with him. Come to find out, he already had a book of Mormon in his house and has been reading it. He said he decided to convert to Mormon last year and considers himself a mormon but doesn't attend any churches. So we talked to him about it and he is going to start coming to church and we told him about baptism and he hasn't been baptized yet either! He said it's something he definitely wants to do! Miracle! So they are going to start teaching him! Super prepared guy was placed right in our path by the Lord because of our faith! Come to find out, this new missionary was wondering why he was on a mission and thinking about going home. He told me that night, after we had an incredible day talking to everyone we came in contact with, witnessing miracle after miracle, that that experience was a confirmation to his prayers why he is on a mission. Now their companionship has been on fire this past week and got 6 new investigators! Super cool experience!  

Also, a randomly cool side note, i was talking to Kirby Heyborne this past week (main actor from "the best 2 years" movie) and he told me he graduated from Alta! Small world. He is such a funny guy in person too!  

Life is so good right now. Us three are best friends, with a house in California to ourself, two cars, two wards, while being instruments in God's hands everyday all day to change peoples lives for the better! Missions are incredible. Wouldn't give up these experiences for anything! I now know without a doubt that God lives. The Book of Mormon is True. The Gospel of Jesus Christ truly does transform lives, as it has done with mine. Because of my mission, i am now a fully-converted disciple of Christ. Nothing will be able to bring me down as long as i am continually building up my foundation upon Jesus Christ. This Church is soooo True! 

I love you all!

Love, Elder Brady

no regrets.

Your Elders

We're feeding your boys tonight. They all send their love from sunny California!
Have a beautiful day, The Adams Family