Week 52 - December 28, 2020 - "jOsEY dOg"

helloooooo my good people. my dear friends and loved ones. those who read my emails and the ones who have it go directly to spam.... the transfer calls have arrived... and SISTER MATTHEWS IS LEAVING ME. Kind of rude if you ask me:/

But i am staying and getting a new companion. I was terrified that i would be training, but be not alarmed. I am not! But my new companion will be Sister Little and she looks super sweet! 

This week has been an amazing week to end on! First of all, MERRY CHRISTMAS OR HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL! It was definitely a treat to be able to see and talk to my family! It was maybe a little bit chaotic but its fine! I am so grateful to everyone that has supported me on this journey. Best christmas gift a girl could ask for is yall! 

We had a lot of good lessons this week! And I guess the biggest and coolest thing that happened is that Christian agreed to be baptized!!! Like... what???? It was seriously a miracle and the spirit was so strong! So he will be getting baptized on the 17th of January! We are so so happy for him:) 

Me and my companion spoke in church yesterday and that was pretty fun! We spoke on goals and that's been taking up a lot of my thoughts the past few days. I personally hate new years resolutions because I think that goals can be made ALL year round. They arent just a one and done thing. And for that matter, neither is the Atonement of Jesus Christ! We can change and improve every single day. That is a promise from God to us. So this isn't me saying "goals arent important" because they TOTALLY are!!! Goals see where we could be and plans help us get there. And God sets goals so shouldn't we? I just think everyday is a fresh start, so let's repent and use the Atonement of Jesus Christ cause it's awesome! 

Well thank you for coming to my TedTalk! Love you all! Thanks for everything! 

Love,

Sister Brady

Week 51 - December 21, 2020 - Sophomoric tendencies

Wow what a week. We got out of quarantine Wednesday which was awesome!! The work is going but everyone is getting sick which is so so sad! 

We had a lot of good meetings though with Stefano and guess what!!!! HE IS ON DATE TO BE BAPTIZED ON JANUARY!!!! WE ARE SO SO SO EXCITED FOE HIM!!! OH MY GOSH HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK!!! He is so ready, he just needed that confirmation for himself. He reads the Book of Mormon and prays everyday. Ugh. I'm so proud of him! He is a dear friend.

There were lots of Christmas parties this week (covid friendly don't worry!) And it was SO wonderful to finally meet the people in the area. I have felt so out of touch with the whole being quarantine thing so I love being out and about and doing missionary work again! 

This week has been a little hard, but all is well. As always I appreciate your prayers and good vibes. I love you guys so much!!! Have a very merry Christmas (or holiday if you don't celebrate Christmas)!!! Stay positive and remember you have a Savior who understands perfectly! 

Love, 

Sister Brady!

Ps. I hit 1 year! What???? 6 more months:)

Week 50 - December 14, 2020 - my life is a bad snl skit

 sooooo, out of EVERYTHING that could have happened this week, sister matthews and I got thrown back into quarentine and tested for covid (well her not me). Basically, our mission President's wife thought she might be contagious since other people were starting to get sick. She didnt have any symptoms but here we are. 

Sis Brady & Matthews: 0

Covid: 2

We arent exactly sure what this means quarentine wise because she doesnt have symptoms (but she is tired so I guess that's a symptom) but yeah, looks like we will just have to wait this one out. SO PLEASE PRAY FOR US!!! 

The hotel we live at has been super nice and they even left dr. Pepper and snacks and toilet paper outside our door today??? Like what??? We love our hotel staff. 

My sanity is slightly going, but it's fine, we're fine, I'm fine. 

Anyways, other than being extremely sad and stuck inside once again, we had a great week before our quarentine started!! We had some awesome lessons with Christian and Stefano and Skylar and I have so much love for each of them!!! We also had some good teaching lessons over video this week with Kevin and Jovany (who we just picked up!!) We are so absolutely excited to continue in the work that's been happening so hurrah for Israel! God is so good. He truly is a God of miracles. 

Forgiveness has been on my mind a lot lately. Sometimes it is really hard to forgive others for hurting us or to even forgive ourselves for doing something stupid. I feel like it is SO easy to put the blame on one person (which is usually ourselves) and direct every emotion at them. I've felt that a lot this week. Every minor inconvenience, every bad day, every bad contact, I have felt responsible for. And I'm embarrassed that I take on that responsibility. It's this huge mind game that Satan plays with you, making you feel like you HAVE to do EVERYTHING ALONE. but that is just not true. If you're going to put it on one person, put it on Christ because He understands. He gets the feeling of shame, guilt, not being good enough, falling short of expectations because He felt it all for us. It's okay if you don't heal from your actions or the actions of others right away. You know why? Because God never asked you to and He definitely never asked you to do it alone. So if you're struggling today, turn to Christ. Know that there wont be judgement from Him or your Heavenly Father. Start forgiving today. Take your time and trust God. I can promise that you will be healed. 

I love you guys. Thank you for everything. 

Love, 

Sister Brady

Week 49 - December 7, 2020 - but like for real Mary... did you know??

Another day, another dollar. And we FINALLY got out of the house yall!!! YAYAY! And this week has been a week of miracles for real. I am so grateful that we are back out and working. 

First things first, I forgot what it was like to breathe fresh air and talk to actual real life people. Amazing. And the first night we were out of quarantine, we met with a friend and her family/friends for a game night/lesson. AHHH it went so well!!! We are meeting with the family and just sharing messages right now, but so far so good! We also met someone named Aycee and she is super awesome! We met with her family and shared a Christmas message (The Christ Child video... go watch it!!!!) and they said they have questions so we are starting to teach Aycee! We will meet with her separately and then with her family on weekends:) THINGS ARE GOING WELL. I AM SO HAPPY. THE LORD TRULY DOES PROVIDE. 

THEN, last night, we were contacting an address we had for someone that somebody used to teach, and they did not live there anymore (we were bummed because contacts haven't been the best this week). Come to find out, his name is Christian and it was actually somebody we were trying to get in contact with!!! Some missionaries from Ohio were teaching him and were going to pass him off to us, but couldn't get in touch with them!!!! BUT HERE WE ARE AND WE ARE MEETING WITH HIM TUESDAY!!! MIRACLE!!!

Also, one of the highlights of the week was going and sharing a message with the homies, Ivan and Colton!!! I served in Ivan's family's area in Saratoga Springs a year ago, so it was so great to see some familiar faces. God knew I needed that. 

Nothing too crazy happened this week. I had a pride battle with one of the elders I served with on who could stand out in the cold longer. So basically, I am a child. 

You GUYS! Christmas is the best. I have felt so focused on my Savior and the miracle of His birth. Last night, as we shared the Christmas message, I got to testify of who my Savior is. He truly is my best friend. He knows everything about. And not only that. He understands everything I have been through, am going through, and will go through. My heart has been heavy this week. I have had a lot on my mind and I have just struggled to see hope for me and for some of the people I love. But, I have never felt alone. I have always felt like I can turn to my Father in Heaven and Jesus. I know that I am loved, even if sometimes I don't feel like I should be or that I am. My negative thoughts are the worst, but with my Savior by my side, I know that all will work out. 

I love you guys!!! Stay safe! Wash your hands! Wear your masks PLEASE HAVING COVID IS NOT FUN. TAKE IT FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS LITERALLY HAD IT!!!! please listen to science and help a sister missionary out! 

Love,

Sister Brady<3