Mom's Birthday/Halloween

Happy Birthday Momma Brady!

I have a surprise coming your way in the mail mom so get excited!!!

This email is going to be a little bit shorter because we are going to carve pumpkins as a zone in a half hour...

But to answer a couple of questions, Elder Johnson is from Spokane, Washington and goes home one month before me in May! Crazy! Time is flying!

Our zone is called the Granada Hills Zone which consists of Hollywood, Van Nuys, Encino, Sherman Oaks, Mission Hills, Granada Hills, and even the Northridge area... We only have 12 missionaries down here, in our zone, and all of them except for the Sherman Oak Elders have a car. So it's a lot different from good ol' Valencia with 23 missionaries! haha. We have the most diverse missionaries in the mission down here in many diverse areas. We have an Arabic Elder, a Korean Sister and Elder, and 3 Polynesian sisters; one from new Zealand with an awesome accent, one from Hawaii, and another from Tonga! The Van Nuys ward is probably 60% Filipino, 30% Latino, and 10% white haha... So we don't know how we managed to get placed here but it's definitely a fun experience!

Our ward had a "trunk or treat" Halloween Party last Saturday and so Elder Johnson and I took advantage of the situation since we have a car and joined in! We threw NBA Jerseys on over our Proselyting clothes and passed out pictures of Jesus, Pass-a-long cards along with a bag of candy! Everyone seemed to get a kick out of it and wanted pictures with us and our trunk set up. I thought the best part is when we would get the kids all excited to get a picture of Jesus in their basket and they run off and tell their friends, "Hey you guys! I got a picture of Jesus!" "NO way! I did too!" "Yes! WOW!" haha

So we are looking forward to Halloween on Wednesday and Elder Johnson's birthday tomorrow! Party week whoohoo!

I am also thinking to get a GPS... i bought a map a couple days ago but this Valley is super nuts! We have actually been getting a lot of questions that have been arising from the combination of Romney running for President and the new "Book of Mormon Play" on Broadway showing in L.A. (not sure if you have heard about that but it's super popular here with signs everywhere!) But as President Hinckley said,"Any publicity is good publicity!"

Well this is the major updates for now!

Love you all! Have a great week!

Love, Elder Brady

Van Nuys 1st Ward

Hello Family!

So I got my transfer call and it was exactly what I hoped would happen! I am now serving in the legendary Valley that I have heard so much about my entire mission! The San Fernando Valley, which is what our mission is actually named after so I am stoked! Come to find out, its even more ghetto than East Lancaster! I didn't think that was possible!

They also put me with an awesome missionary whom I am already really great friends with! Elder Scottie Johnson! He has been out one month longer than me so we have seen/hung out with each other a lot in the past year and a half. Right before the transfer meeting we were talking to each other how awesome it would be to serve together and we had our fingers crossed, and it actually happened! Elder Johnson has only been in the valley for one transfer and so we are both getting thrown into the "pit" together. They have a lot of different nicknames for places down here that we are coming to find out. They also say that Van Nuys is the Heart of the Valley, so we will get the full effect really quickly :) The first night I was here, there was a car chase where a cop slammed a car into a barrier and 12 cop cars showed up to the scene where the victim started shooting at the cops so they all unloaded back, destroying this poor car... The missionaries in the ward next to us witnessed it and they had to bear testimony of what happened and couldn't leave the area until the cops were done "cleaning up"...

It's interesting how I feel total peace and comfort with where I am at serving Heavenly Father at this time, even though it's a super sketchy place, I know nothing can harm us when we are doing the work of the lord. It'll all work out as we walk down the streets in our little spirit bubble ;)

Elder Johnson and I just got called as the new Zone leaders in the Granada Hills Stake. One of the last zone leaders down here just went home and the other one got transferred so they just changed the zone leader area from the Sherman Oaks ward to the Van Nuys ward now. We have both served as ZL's for 6+ months now so we feel that we are going to do great together. He was a ZL up in Ridgecrest area (bishop/mammoth)!

Well, I feel like I am going to get some crazy stories and experiences serving down here in the Valley... I can't wait to show you guys these areas where I'm serving... It'll blow your mind. My mind is currently in shock. I feel like I am seriously in a movie at times, being in the world but not of it!

Oh! Yesterday we had our usual 7 AM meeting with the stake presidency and this one was so much better! President Jex is the stake president that we get to work with! We had a lot to talk about its funny odds that I am actually here like we envisioned before the mission started! President Jex is such a cool guy. Also, after I bore my testimony in my new ward, people came up to me and like half of them had some kind of connection to draper! One even asked if I was related to an Andy Brady? I was like heck yes I am! I am still a learning the names of the 200 people I met yesterday, but I am sure they will become "extended family" to me as well, just like in previous areas...

Things are going really well! I love you all! Hope you have a great week!

P.s. Touchdown Jesus and First down Moses was hilarious! Thanks for that.

Love, Elder Brady

---NO REGRETS---

Transfer 12 calls

HAPPY BIRTHDAY B-HOUSE!

So this week has been super interesting to say the least. We got transfer calls and I guess it is finally my time for me to leave after spending 1/4 of my mission the Newhall 2nd ward! :( well it's kind of expected after being here for six months! Serving as a zone leader here has been a huge learning experience and a delightful treat that's for sure! Elder Kunz and I were hoping that we would stay together for his last six weeks next transfer so we're pretty bummed about that. So I have no idea what to expect this next transfer or what's in store... We'll find out this Thursday and I'll let you know where I'm at and who my new companion is! (Probably another best friend from how all my past comps have been! :) 

Last night we had some of the missionaries that are going home tomorrow stay with us down here in Newhall since we live right by the office and they had to be there early this morning. It was fun to spend some time with them and hear all their "exciting plans" for when they get home and feel the energy they have after serving for 2 years! haha so we didn't get too good of sleep last night to say the least.  

Anyways an update on this past week: first we had another zone conference and besides the trainings, I had the opportunity to conduct it for my first time! Elder Kunz and I had a good time running the show last Thursday. It was probably one of the longest meetings we have had yet! 8-5! Now there is a full day of meetings for ya! That's definitely one thing I am not going to miss about the zone leader calling...billions of meetings!

WE HAD A MIRACLE THIS WEEK!!!

When I first got to this area we were visiting less active members and we came across a lady named Jen Peterson. Over time she has been coming back to church and she is living with her boyfriend, and her boyfriend's son who are both non-members. Over time we have taught them all the lessons and their son, Bryan Tavelli, got baptized about 2 months ago. Brett has always claimed to have his own beliefs but totally believes everything we teach. So they have been coming to church as a family for the past 4-5 months every week and we teach them every week at a member’s home. Then yesterday during church, Brett came up to us and told us he needed to talk to us right away. So we went over to their house right after church and he proceeded to tell us that he got his answer and is finally ready to commit and join the Mormon Church! We were so shocked and when Jen heard his announcement she started crying and the spirit was so strong! We are so stoked and he said he knows that I am leaving but wants me to come back to baptize him! So now they are going to talk to the bishop and get married as soon as possible so he can get baptized! So Jen is coming back to church and her family is all coming together and becoming members! The less active work is true! :)

So this is the big news for this week! Very exciting!

Well I have to get going! We have an appointment we have to get going to.

Talk to you soon!

Love, Elder Brady

NO REGRETS

General Conference

Hey Fam!

What an awesome General Conference weekend eh!?! We got to watch the Saturday sessions at the Sirias's home, and then went to Priesthood at the stake center with the Whitmore/Dunn family! All the missionaries in our zone were there, of course, but it just made me realize how much different these Priesthood sessions are here then they were at home. I don't even remember ever seeing missionaries more than 3 times in my LIFE! So it was just different to see 22 missionaries they’re having a good time together... This is something that I have definitely grown attached to, having missionaries everywhere! Anyways, we then watched the Sunday sessions at the Ramirez's home! This ward is so awesome, we had multiple families invite us over to watch it with them, but like I said before, we can only be so many places at once! So we just ended up hanging out with the Ramirez family. I have been thinking that each General Conference has been getting better and better! This one seemed to talk A LOT about missionary work. It's also interesting to see (depending on what stage of life you're in) what message the spirit brings to you, and what overall theme sticks out to you personally from listening to the same talks as everyone else! The theme that stuck out to me this time was: becoming a more FULLY CONVERTED disciple of Jesus Christ, and once you are, to strengthen those around you.

My mission has definitely converted me. I have come to find out that I was kind of wishy washy before the mission... I would follow Jesus Christ because I was supposed to... Now I follow Jesus Christ because I WANT to! Just doing "missionary things" can get you only so far... Like President Uchtdorf has said," The what informs while the WHY transforms." That has been my focus lately. Not just doing missionary things, but also actually BEING a missionary. Not just knowing what to do, but WHY you're doing it in your heart. Overall thesis: BECAUSE WE LOVE HIM! Not because we "have to" or are obligated to. Because WE LOVE HIM! Taking his words to heart, not just memorizing/reciting them all day long, but taking them to heart. We can talk about things until we are blue in the face but that still won't get us anywhere. We need to understand them and apply them with REAL INTENT or it profiteth us nothing! (Moroni 7)

Sorry, I just realized that I am sounding kind of preachy... this mission stuff is really getting to me :)

So a couple of updates before I run out of time. First off, it's kind of hard to write about our investigators right now because they are taking us on one heck of a roller coaster!  We have approximately 5 investigators who are progressing towards baptism right now so the work in our area is still doing really good! All of which we have found by knocking on doors/contacting on the street. And all of which have a problem with the word of wisdom commandment and have the desire to get baptized but can't because of these addictions that Satan has them bound with. It truly is the most frustrating thing to witness, and I bet, Super annoying to actually deal with! So we have been exercising some faith that some miracles will happen with these people as they take action and attend addiction recovery classes through the church. Because of my mission, I now fully know why they say, "Say No to drugs"! Because seeing that once they start, their life goes basically goes straight down the drain with limited/no happiness along the way.

Oh before I forget! Last Tuesday when we had one of the missionary department visitors from Salt Lake come out with us for the day, we got the coolest evaluator you could ask for! And we basically knew each other from the pre-existence (aka. before the mission)! He knows Braden Hansen and come to find out he was his young men's leader or something! His name is Mark Pendleton and he was the stake president that named the Hidden Valley Stake in Draper! And raised his family there! So we had a great time with him and clicked right off the bat so it was actually an enjoyable day instead of stressful! We were just ourselves and had a really good time with him. Then last Thursday we had Leadership Training where like half the mission attended and he trained us all by the mistakes that he noticed while being out with us ha-ha. He said, "none of it was our fault, it's just how our mission's culture is". The AP's got a real stickler evaluator that tore them up, they said it was a rough day... and come to find out the other ZL's with the evaluator had "a huge learning experience as well" ;) ha-ha I guess all the missionaries here are just training each other wrong! Nah jk. There were only a couple things that needed to be fixed such as how our mission sets goals and plans for the day. So that was an awesome learning experience! He did tell us how enjoyable we were to be out with and that we were definitely not "Robot missionaries" (which is always good to hear ha-ha). He also told us that he can tell that we are honest, truly love the people that we work with, have great relationships with the missionaries in our zone, and are doing really well to help meet each of their needs.

Well this e-mail is really long! We didn't have time to e-mail yesterday (as you probably know) because we had too many activities! Basketball, volleyball, then even football this time too! We're crazy!

Well love you all!

Love, Elder Brady

Meetings/Trainings

Thanks for all the amazing letters and that good thoughts letter with some extra "support"! :) I definitely was not expecting that one! Thanks again!

So to answer some questions real quick, transfers are on the week of the October 15th. Elder Kunz goes home after next transfer (8weeks) (59 days) "but who's counting really?" haha he's hilarious. And Elder Otis goes home in 2 weeks! Crazy. Everyone is starting to leave me! Jackson goes home in 2 weeks as well... and even Kennard goes home with Kunz! Kennard is a ZL in the valley right next to me now! Father like son! So we see each other more often now.

Anyways, I can't believe Ty Robinson is home now! That is insane! I'm sad i missed his homecoming. I got a e-mail from zach petersen too and it has been good to catch up with him as well.

So we had another Marshmallow war today out in Castaic! Everyone is getting really good and it's becoming very intense like a real war!! haha people sniping from roof tops, buried in leaves, building turtle shells for cover and moving them into their base to steal the enemies flag... etc. It's so dang fun. We are doing one more for the last P-day of this transfer.

This past week has been insane again and this week is looking like it will be just the same as last week. Last week we had all our meetings ZLC, Stake Presidency MTG, and even our "Member MTC Training" to the relief society/priesthood combined for the 3rd hour at church! This week we have a leadership training from 8-4 again on Thursday, ZTM (Zone Training Meeting) from 10-1 where we train the our zones on Friday, Oh and Tomorrow 3 Missionary department evaluators are coming from Salt Lake to evaluate our mission and see how it is doing... so they have selected 3 areas through prayer to tag along for a day and what do you know, they selected the AP's, Santa Clarita ZL's, and last but not least, VALENCIA ZL's! Yup that's us... bummer. Tomorrow is going to be interesting. We have just been calling up everyone and setting up appointments for every hour so it will go by fast. So stressful! haha jk, it'll be good.

Oh we can't forget the main event of the week though! GENERAL CONFERENCE! A missionaries living water! We are so excited, we are not sure where we will be watching it this time, all i know is that we definitely are not going to miss it that's for sure!

Elder Kunz and i have been having a blast together. It's at that point where you are with someone for a solid 3 months and start to think the same again. We are known as the "fun" zone leaders because there are some out there that are super strict and party poopers. So we have a great time with the many relationships that we have and we have come to find out that the better the friend you are, the more likely they are to trust you anyways. So it's a win win situation IF you make obedience fun! For our last ZLC, Elder Kunz and i totally rocked the perfect missionary come-over look. We got up there all serious-like to represent our zone and give a report and everyone laughed because they know that that's just not how we are. It's great. We are definitely making the most of these boring missionary meetings. haha.

Sorry if this letter is all over the place, but i have so many thoughts and so little time! Hopefully it makes sense!

Well there's the update for this week! Love ya all! PeAcE!

Love, Elder Brady

N O  R E G R E T S

Birthday Celebrations

This week was definitely full of activities! To start off, Elder Kunz's birthday was last Tuesday and I have been making under the radar plans for the whole week prior! It turned out to be "the best birthday ever" with approximately 6 surprise parties!!! ha-ha. To start off the day, we did some service and then I took him to the park where our whole zone was waiting and surprised him and we blind folded him and had a piñata for him to smash and ate pizza. Then we went to a members where they were waiting with some other missionaries and surprised him again! Then we "stopped by some other missionaries apartment" where they got him again. Then for dinner, the whole office staff came together that night and threw him a little party as well! That was even all! We had another later set appointment after dinner with Brett, Jen, and Bryan (recent convert/PM family) and we had the lesson at another members house where they were prepared with more surprises!!! It was such a crazy day! He made like 5 wishes by blowing out 5 different sets of candles! We don't even have enough room in our kitchen for all our cakes/cupcakes we received! It was straight up madness! The best part was that he NEVER even suspected ONE of these several surprise parties! He couldn't believe how everyone found out and how they just kept coming!

So besides this awesome day I also had the opportunity to go on exchanges with the APs on Wednesday. They sure do have a busy life and have very little time to do missionary work. I thought zone leader was bad, assistant to the president is definitely a hand full! We helped a couple missionaries pack up their stuff and get ET'd (emergency transferred)  to another area because of certain issues... We also had a set of elders sleep with us that night as well because something was wrong with their apartment... It was a great learning experience but I don't ever wish to do that full time. ha-ha.

Anyways, Elder Kunz and I spoke in Sacrament meeting again because some "high councilman" bailed.., but this time was a big land mark for me! I gave a 15 minute talk without writing anything down! I never thought I would be able to get to that point. ha-ha. So I'm pretty stoked about that :) And I guess we did a pretty good job because we got quiet a few compliments from some individuals saying that was exactly what they needed to hear. We keep telling them it's 100% the spirit and we are just spoiled to be his instrument. Man, It's tough having him get all the credit as the 3rd member of our companionship I tell you ;)

Besides all this fun stuff we have a crazy ton of meeting this week and the first of the month is approaching which means CHAOS! So brace yourselves...

We have also been getting a ton of requests to do the marshmallow war activity again so Elder Kunz and I are getting ready to do that again one of these P-day's before the transfer ends. This is our first "normal" p-day where we actually have time to e-mail this month!;) 

Well I got to get going! I'll talk to you again extremely soon!

Love, Elder Brady

---NO REGRETS---

Marshmallow War

Hello family!

We just got done with all our p-day activities and now we are waiting for our laundry to finish at the Sirias's. It's been a crazy day today! We had our zone activity earlier today out in Castaic and did our paintball style marshmallow war! It was sooo Epic! By far the best zone activity we have participated in! It was definitely a hit! We are probably going to do it again at the end of this transfer and let people make their upgrades and prepare for better for our next war! It was amazing to see how much fun everyone was having! They all got so into it, all decked out in their war outfits, snipers, and other guns running from one cover to the next trying to capture the enemies flag. I could talk about how ridiculously fun it was for this whole e-mail, but I shall move on because it's getting late. 

Tomorrow is Elder Kunz's birthday and I have set up a couple surprise parties for him that he has no idea about. So this is going to be good! It's going to be a special day! 

I have heard about the BYU game a couple times now and that is a serious bummer... we are actually taking some investigators  to our elders quorum party this Thursday night so we will have to be there with them of course, and they might be watching the game :) so we'll see how that goes! 

This past week we had interviews with President Hall and all the missionaries and it has been incredibly busy! Our zone is tons of fun with a lot of hilarious personalities to contribute.

We also attended a baptism last Sunday and took one of our investigators (who should be getting baptized on the 30th of this month) to the baptism and he brought his son with him to show him what he will be doing at the end of the month. His 10 year old son then asks, "Dad, can I get baptized with you?" Music to a missionary’s ear I tell you. :)

So we are witnessing some miracles with some souls coming closer to Christ in the Newhall 2nd area!

Things are going really well and time is flying here as well... We are just trying to make the most of every day!  Well, speaking of time we have to get back home before it gets any later, so here's this weeks update and I’ll talk to you again soon!

Love, Elder Brady

-no regrets-