Week 56 - January 25, 2021 - Tomorrow seems spicy

 STEFANO IS BAPTIZED. I REPEAT STEFANO IS BAPTIZED!!!!! 

Ok you guys so, story time (are you ready for this miracle?)

On Friday, Stefano had his interview for the baptism, but right before it was supposed to happen, he calls us to say that he was exposed to covid.... and let me just say that we were STRESSED. Stefano had already had COVID so we thought "oh there is no way he could have it again" so we moved forward planning the baptism for the next day. 

Saturday morning: Stefano texts us his results... positive. This boy. Tested. Positive. Since we saw him on Thursday we had to go into quarantine because Sister Little hasn't had it yet. I wanted to start crying but I literally couldn't. My body had no idea how to react. So we tried to figure something out so it could happen that day but NOTHING was lining up. And so we waited to hear back from Stefano and my spirits totally deflated. Later that day though, we get another call from Stefano and he says that he took two more rapid covid tests and they came back ... negative! He got a false positive on the first one!!!!! So we started planning the baptism for the next day!!

Sunday, everything went so smooth. We saw Stefano at church and talked to him about the baptism and he said he was excited!! Then at 4pm yesterday, Stefano became the newest member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!! And we are so happy for him!!! Seriously, a miracle happened. We thought we were going to have to push the baptism back two weeks and we didn't ahhhh!!! 

You GUYS. God. Hears. Prayers. We prayed so much on Friday and Saturday. We knew this wouldn't be our choice, but God answered our prayer that day. He heard us and was there for us. I wasn't expecting an immediate answer (and it wasn't exactly my ideal answer) but I am grateful the I noticed He did! I am so grateful for the power of prayer!! Its real yall!! 

I love you guys!!! Enjoy the pics!! 

Love,

Sister Brady

Week 55 - January 18, 2021 - How old do you think I am? "6?"

So yes, I asked a child how old they thought I was and they literally said 6... so happy Monday! (It was actually hilarious and they said companion was 5 hahahah) 

This week was amazing!!! First things first, CHRISTIAN GOT BAPTIZED!!!! IT WAS SO COOL! I genuinely consider him to be one of my dear friends and I am so grateful I got to be here for that! And Christian's testimony is so cool. It all just started with him wanting to be a better person. Like??? Amazing. What a guy! We spoke in his ward yesterday and that was good! 

The other people we are teaching are doing well too!! We have seen miracles happen and we are so blessed for that. God's hand is always there if we are looking for it. Plus this week has just flown by. I'm honestly surprised it is already Monday. 

This work is so much fun. I hate being at the apartment so we get out whenever we can and just contact people! I never thought I would enjoy knocking doors but believe it or not... I do! It's way fun! 

Speaking of apartments, we moved this week!! No more hotel!!!!! YAY! we were super happy about that.

I've been thinking a lot about new years resolutions and all that jazz. I dont like them, but I do like goals because they push us. But I've been thinking about what I want to work on, and what I figured out was that it was my relationship with God. I really want to make it my first priority. 2020 was hard for a lot of people and a lot of reasons, but I go home this year (in like 5 months... ah) and I want to make sure I dont lose this progress I've made. I want to put God first in my life because when I do, everything else falls into place. This year will be better for me if I'm willing to put the effort in my relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I find joy in that. It brings me a lot of peace. I'm just glad I've figured that out! 

Well I love you guys! Thanks for everything! 

Love,

Sister Brady 

Week 54 - January 11, 2021 - let's stop and talk about all the things that make us sad

wow. what a week of miracles. Honestly, I feel like that is every week as a missionary, but it is the best thing so how can I complain??? 

Sister Little and I have just been having a blast together. Like seriously, this girl knows how to have fun and live her best life. Honestly, she is a blast to be around. And she is really easy to talk to. Definitely made a new friendship. 

Things with Stefano and Christian are going well! Christian is getting baptized this week now!! Ahhh so exciting! He is seriously one of my dear friends. what a guy. shout out to Christian (he is probably reading this email tbh)

Alsoooo, we finally met with JOVANY! He has been hardcore avoiding us (not really, he got COVID) but we met with him on Sunday and it went so well. He is an awesome dude!! 

OH AND I MET BRANDON DOMAN. This paragraph is really for my dad. Brandon Doman was a BYU quarterback and also played for the 49rs. Anyways, I asked for a picture and it was pretty cool. Maybe I am a little too star struck... like do I even like football that much??

ooo and we met a new person that we started teaching!! his name is alex and he is so nice! Don't know a ton about him yet, but can't wait to get to know him. 

I gave a talk in sacrament and talked a lot about why it is important for us to share about Jesus Christ. I just have felt so overwhelmed with Savior and have wondered why wouldn't we talk about Jesus Christ and share the goodness and peace He can bring into our lives? LIKE, SERIOUSLY? He has brought me so much peace and understanding to why I experience my trials and bad days. I don't know what I would do without my Savior, but I do know that I would be lost without Him. He truly saves me and helps me become a better person everyday. I love this gospel because it helps me be better and it helps me feel loved. I know the person I was and the person I am, and the ONLY reason I have been able to change is because I allowed Him to change me. 

I love you all. Thanks for everything. Send prayers:)

Love,

Sister Brady

Week 53 - January 4, 2021 - if there is no wind... there is nothing to blow the leaves around...

ah. here we are. another week down. and it is 2021??? HAPPY NEW YEAR! This is exciting! I feel like 2020 was the year of waiting, and 2021 is the year of action. Things are gonna get better!! I can feel it:) 

This week was good! We had transfers which was BIG sad. I love Sister Matthews. I am so so so sad we only got 1 transfer together. I also only got 1 transfer with Sister Vela which is kind of rude if you ask me. I don't get enough time with my companions:( 

BUUUUT, I got Sister Little and she is a RIOT. Holy moly talk about energy, she has got it. Like I seriously don't think this girl gets tired. She always has energy and I am amazed. She is a burst of light all the time. I love her. Should be a fun transfer! 

We have spent a lot of this week in Draper Suncrest (which is the very top of our mission and it is absolutely beautiful! We like to try and go contact people there at night because you can look out at the skyline and see all of the lights and the city. ugh. IT IS SO PRETTY!! One day I will be able to go over the mountain, but until then I will take what I can get! 

New years was fun! We had to be in by 6, so we spent a lot of the time working on social media stuff. I run an account on Instagram called christ.and.me so give it a follow because I am working my butt off on it and could use people boosting it. SO PLEASE GO FOLLOW IT AND SHARE THINGS TO YOUR STORY I AM BEGGING YOU! Anyways, after we did all that we drank lots of Martinellis and made a list of things we wanted to let go of in 2021 and surprisingly, it helped a lot. I feel like I had a lot I needed to get off my chest. 

So here is my rant/testimony for the week: 

I hate new years resolutions. I think they are stupid and we always end up quitting like two weeks late. Why do we wait A WHOLE YEAR to make changes in our lives, when we could use the Atonement of Jesus Christ and try again right now? Just because we fail at our goals one day or one week or month doesn't mean that we have to throw in the towel and pick it up next year. We can start over and make another goal. I love goals. I think they are what motivates us. They give us a destination, but a goal is nothing without a plan, so we MUST have them. So make goals and determine a plan to get there!! MOST IMPORTANTLY: never underestimate the power of Christ's Atonement!!!! It doesn't matter where we have been, He can heal us, He can strengthen us, He is our brother and our friend! And he UNDERSTANDS!! Trust Him. He loves you. 

So here is to 2021! Whatever it brings, just know God is only a prayer away!!

Love,

Sister Brady

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