Hello family!

Well as you have probably figured out by now, my pday is on monday. I am loving all the experiences I have been having out here and Elder Kennard actually have a very busy day today and I only have a couple minutes to write. I printed out all of the emails and I read them tonight! I will get some letters in the mail as soon as I can so you don't have to wait until next monday to hear from me.  We have to teach an investigator at 11:00, so yes in ten minutes... Teaching others about the gospel is the best feeling and the spirit is soo strong everytime we testify and teach about the truthfullness of the restored gospel to those who don't know about it. Absolutely amazing. I love having the bikes and my all my roommates are awesome! We usually go out of our apartment around 10 and don't get back until 9-930 ish everyday, but somehow we never get too tired to keep on pedaling.

I have had some amazing experiences spiritual experiences lately. For instance we taught a lady last week and she felt so strongly about what we were saying and we comitted her to be baptized our first lesson and she was extatic and superly excited! Sadly though, she doesn't have a car and neither do we to pick her up for church so we called the ward and they arranged a young man in the ward to pick her up! But as we were waiting in church yesterday for her to come she and the young man never showed up!! We were very sad.  Come to find out he picked her up and they got in a car crash and went to the hospital but luckly they are both ok.. when we talked to her next, we told her how satan works in mysterious ways and how he did this to stop her from coming to church and she has an even stronger spirit now!! She is an awesome lady. She is scheduled to get baptized August 14th! So we have to teach her everything she needs to know before then! Her name is Amy and is about 30-40yrs... black with a blonde fro, way sweet haha. Mostly everyone we have taught so far is African American! The mission has been an awesome experience and a great start, we are already on our way to our first baptism! Yay!

Well i got to go we are supposed to be teacing right now!!! But i had to write a little something real quick sorrry that it doesn't make alot of sense but yeah. 

Love You!! Talk to you soon!

Letter from the Sister White...

Br. and Sis. Brady,


Your son is in my ward, the El Dorado ward in the Lancaster East Stake.  He is not sure if you got his email or not.  My husband is the bishop and thought when he first saw him, he looked scared at his first ward council, then later on in the meeting he looked more confident.  We spoke to the mission president and he was very impressed with Elder Brady and thus sent him to our ward!  Our ward is known for being a missionary ward and Bishop White  expects hard workers, so the mission president sends his best to us!!   We are in the high desert outside Los Angeles.  Your son is on a bike.  He is having a great time with his comp.  Tonight I saw him at a stake missionary activity and he and 3 other missionaries sang Called To Serve to us!!  You would be proud!!  He looked happy!!  Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you or your son.  I live very close to him, just a couple of blocks if you need me to take anything to him.  Hopefully you will make contact with him this Monday.

Jackie White

First letter in the Mission Field

We recieved a letter from Elder Brady today.  This is the first letter we have gotten since he has arrived in California.  We love him so much!

Hello Family!

So this is my new email that I am going to write on for the rest of the mission!  My companion is sooo awesome, his name is Elder Kennard (pronounced Ken-herd) He is very athletic and he is actually from American Fork! We played each other in football and we know a lot of the same people, such as Kory Sumsion (Lyndsey's friend Kimmie's little bro...)! It's pretty crazy that I have already been out here for almost a week!! It went by really fast! Our days are so busy which makes time fly. We have bikes and I swear we ride 20+ miles everyday. I am currently borrowing Elder Bennett's bike until I get my own because he just got transferred to a car area. 

I have been meeting so many people and making tons of new friends. So far, I bet I have met easily 50+ people a day and become great friends with them.  You know the saying, "learn something new everyday"..? well that saying for me now is, "learn 100 new things a day!" I feel like I am finally getting the hang of things while still trying to process what the heck is going on at the same time! 

Yesterday at church I had to introduce myself like 10 times in front of everyone in several different meetings that it got to the point where I can answer their questions about me before they even ask.  It's great and our bishop is a great guy, his name is Bishop White! I guess that just a great last name for a bishop because there is also another one named Bishop White in the Spanish ward down the street called Tirra Bonita Ward.  My ward is called the El Dorado Ward.  I guess the location of my area is known as southern California, but I don't actually know where I am located geographically yet,but i am in Lancaster. 

Lancaster is an awesome place, a little run down and broken... ha but the people are great.  It feels like this area is made up of 80% black people 15% Hispanic and 5% white from what I have seen so far.  I feel like I am in an area that was filmed in one of those ghetto movies!  It's awesome. When Elder Kennard and I ride down any neighborhood street there is a huddle of black dudes everywhere.  We occasionally stop and talk to most of them and they are so friendly and nice and love us and "have our backs"! Then there are others that are not so friendly which you find out really quickly... haha for instance back on Friday we were riding and two of them were sitting in their garage and i waved, then one spit at us while the other grabbed his gun and started shooting at us... but don't worry it was just a pellet gun Mom!  I felt like James Bond in his prime as we squiggly squidded away while little bee bees were deflecting off of cars around us. It was awesome. We were laughing about it all night telling everyone "we got shot at today."

But anywho, the ward members are awesome! They have a ward schedule and they feed us every night! And Dad, you thought home teaching once a month was bad? Try Home teaching 5-7 different members, each day!! Plus we have meetings with investigators left and right. I feel like I am getting much better at teaching the missionary lessons each time I give one as well as coming up with a spiritual message to share with members. A lot of members are pretty inactive so we have a list of 15 families a month that we need to visit and motivate to become active again. 

Elder Kennard is very organized and is our district's District Leader. He is always on the ball and definitely getting me started out on the right path for sure. He has been out for almost a year. His first name is Koster Kennard if you ever wanted to look him up or anything.  Oh and my last companions name was Lesley Allen Norton if i haven't told you that yet if you want to look him up too?

Alright well i have to go now but i love you guys... Oh! my mission apartment's address is 44230 20th ST. East Apt. #1 Lancaster, California 93535. Best area in the world. Supposedly we are in the dessert area and it is usually in the triple digits but right now they say we are cold phase where it's only low 90's :) ha funny stuff.

In my apartment there is Elder Emery who is from Cache Valley, Ut and Elder Everitt who is from Spring City, UT. They both have been out just over a year and they are hilarious guys. They have a car so we mooch rides off them when we can. We get fed by members all the time and they always hook us up with a lot of snacks so we use those snacks to bribe the other Elders to give us rides places. Love it.

Please send me some pictures or something too! I guess that the best way to always write me is by the mission home and they can always forward it to me but i will for sure be in that apartment for the next six weeks.  Hope i didn't leave anything out, but I gotta go now and do some service by helping a family move! 

LOVE LOVE LOVE ALL YOU!

Elder Brady

Ty is in California!

Elder Brady is officially in California.  Mom, Dad and Abby were able to talk to him this around 10 this morning as he was waiting at the airport.  He sounded great and is so excited for the adventures that await him in California.  

We do not have his address yet, but as soon as we get it we will be sure to share it with you all!

Pictures from the MTC

Elder Brady's turn to teach the class!  So sophisticated ha ha

"Okay class, today we are going to learn about the restoration of the Gospel which is symbolized as this (rubix cube)... now watch closely as I (Joseph Smith) restore it!"

District 39... the whole crew.  We are the most legit district you will ever meet.

"I've got the whole world angel in my hands"

My new favorite shirt... it had my name written all over it!

Me doing a backflip and using the force to make things float!

Everything I need for two years on ten whole hangers!

Elder Shipman and I... we are Missionaries now!

Elder Norton and I... P.S. we are NOT holding hands!

District 39: The best district ever!

(From left to right and front to back in order)
Mcgaughy, Haws, Clawson, Smyth, Norton, Coffin, Howard,
Blake, me, Nielson, Estrada, Gallup

Elder Nielson and I's imaginations are awesome.... and the vending machine products are legit!  Sometimes a little too big which can be a burden sometimes!

We have officially found the fountain of youth... yummmm!

Family!

This is so weird, I am packing up my stuff already!  What just happened?  I felt like I just got here.  The MTC has been such a great experience!  I don't think I have learned so much... Ever! I wanted to answer some of these questions your having.

I figured I should try and do it in here before I got to California and got super busy for the first while! Oh, and thank you for sending Ty's letter! I am super excited to go out to California and teach real people!  I don't feel ready, but I don't think I'll make much more progress staying here!  Elder Norton, Elder Coffin, Elder Smyth, and Elder Howard are all going to San Fernando with me!  Also like 7-8 other sisters/elders are coming and I am assigned as the travel leader and they all have to obey me.  This will be interesting since I have been to an airport like two times and I have never flown in a plane that I didn't jump out of.  I don't know what they were thinking when they picked me.  Also, I am the district leader, not sure if I told you that or not yet.  Anyways I feel like I have been getting picked on in here.

Last sunday they picked 3 random missionaries to stand up and give a talk in front of everyone.  Out of all the missionaries... yes of course, they would randomly select me!  Elder Norton and I even blessed the sacrament two sundays ago so I thought we had our share already!

So, about the airport I'm not sure if you'll get this by them but I think I can call around 9-11ish.  The food is great in the MTC!  Lots of great meals and yes I am remembering my desserts fruits and vegetables!

All of us Alta friends planned to meet by the big map of the world last sunday!  We were planning it all week and everyone showed up right on time just like we planned.  The work really got around because probably 15-20 kids showed up!  It was awesome seeing them all in there together.

About the sandwich game, it has gotten way out of hand.  It has gotten to the point where we have to change our shirts from getting sandwich remains on them and we all own tide-to-go pens.  We retired it and taught the new district that coming in all the fun games we know and they think we are pretty cool.

Well I just got back from playing volleyball with the district.  Gyn time is a blast and goes by way too fast.  We definitely make the best of it though!  Elder Norton and I have gotten super creative with our picture taking skills and I will have to send you some more soon!

Oh, my teachers are awesome!  Brother Smith and Brother Murray.  They rotate teaching sessions.  Brother Murray is actually off of the "District" shows that they show all the missionaries.  Remember the episodes that I watched before I left? Yeah, those!  So everywhere we go around campus it's like walking next to a movie star.

Thank you again for everything and all of your support!  Your letters make me smile hearing about all that is going on.  Well I'll probably be in California when you receive this and I'll try and write as soon as I can.  Love you all!

Love, Elder Brady

Great Quotes

"You can't convert anyone beyond your own conversion"

This quote has hit me hard in here making me learn all I can.  You can't teach something you don't know.

"If the world didn't suck so bad then we would all fall off" - Elder Nielson

Positive outlook on life.

"Believe in yourself, no matter what.  Never let anyone make you second guess who you are or what you believe."

"It takes true intelligence for a man to take a subject that is mysterious and great in itself, and to unfold and simplify it so that a child can understand it."

Teaching the Gospel to those who don't know about it so they can understand it.

Love, Elder Brady

Informational Letter

Well hello!  I recieved your package today and it was awesome!  Thank you so much, except they didn't let me eat the sandwich... I know super depressing, Lamo MTC sticklers! (Mom and Dad sent Ty two of his favorite #24 Training Table sandwiches not knowing you are not allowed to send perishable food items to missionaries) Anywho, I also got another surprise in my box of goodies!  My own letter mailed back to me!  As much as I love reading my own letters it was meant for you guys... ha ha.  Could you please send Tyler ROBINSON'S letter before I leave the MTC or just wait for my address when I get to California.  I will send back my letter for you along with the "bad news" paper.  I will also send my "Hilarious Story." You may think we are retarded, but we turn absolutely nothing into everything making it awesome!  If that makes any sense?  You have to play pranks and jokes/games to keep yourself sane in here and I think we do a mighty fine job with that because we have made this place off the hook with coolness!  Love you ALL!

Love, Elder Brady

Hilarious Story!

So I wanted to tell you about the best story EVER! This story made me cry the hardest out of all stories that have made me cry.  There are many great stories that have happened here but I have to share this one...

So, we make up a lot of games and this particular games is called "The Sandwich Game."  In the sandwich game, the rules consist of:

1. Whoever has a sandwich, you must place some kind of object on top of it ONLY if you have already taken a bite. (Objects such as a fry, piece of lettuce, spoon, etc.)
2. If you haven't taken your first bite or are currently holding the sandwich in your hands, then you are now a victim to getting your sandwich punched... yes, punched!

Ever since this game was introduced everyone has been really cautious... until today!  We were eating lunch together today as a district and out of all the people I remember this game and quickly looked around to find any victims.  Hope filled my eyes as I saw innocent Elder Smyth sitting there enjoying a conversation with a half eated sandwich sitting on his plate free from any objects!  This was it, let the game begin!  I turned to Elder Norton and Elder Estrada and they confirmed that I should do it.  I then immediately stood up and reached across the table and punched the crap out of his sandwich, totally destroying it! Punching it as hard as I could.  Just then, a state of shock glazed the faces of everyone around us.  Then the awesomness of the situation and what had just happened set in and everyone started laughing.  This wasn't even the best part!  While everyone was laughing Elder Smyth reached across and punched Elder Haws' sandwich as he set it down because he was laughing so hard.  This immediately started a chain reaction of punching each others sandwiches while leaving our own sandwiches vulnerable to attack resulting in total chaos! Just as we were in the middle of war an older senior missionary approched us while laughting and said "Elders, Elders, Elders... is this really what you sould be doing?" No one could apologize because we were laughing so hard.  Ahh- good times! I really wish it had been recorded, it was definitely the highlight of the MTC experience so far!

Love you!

Love, Elder Brady

Solved the Rubix Cube Finally!

Today is fast sunday and we just finally came back from dinner and now we are all full and waiting to watchh the Joseph Smith movie that is about to start.  Today has been great! Sundays are the best in the MTC.  Biggest sacrament meeting you have ever seen.  Me and Elder Norton blessed the sacrament today and we were pretty nervous but it went great!  I realized it has been a lont time since I've blessed it and it was so good to do (and we didn't mess up which made it better!)  It is crazy that I only have one more sunday in here... I will miss this place.   So many great experiences and I feel like I've grown so much already and it has only been two weeks.  Can't wait to see what the future has in store!  Okay, well can't see very well... the movie is starting! Love you

Love, Elder Brady

"We are as the Armies of Helamen, we have been taught in our youth. And we will be the Lord's missionaries to bring the world His truth!"