So this week wasn't like I would of hoped. It was hard, but missions
are hard. I think the biggest reason it was hard for me is because I
am still trying to remember that as a sister training leader the
sisters are my number one priority, no matter what if they call in the
middle of a lesson we need to take it. The only way that this work can
go forward is if all the missionaries doing it aren't weighed down by
other things. I love these sisters. We had three meetings this week
plus exchanges which took us out of our area for a couple days.
Exchanges were fun I got to go to Chalmette and work with a sister
that is in her first half training. She's from Smithfield, and so we
talked a lot about Cache Valley, because we all know that I just love
it up there.
We had an awesome miracle this week. Our investigators Nancy and Katy
are progressing. We watched Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration
with them. The entire time I was watching to see their reactions to
some of the things. At one point Katy asked us if that stuff really
did happen. We told her ya they did. They had so many questions after
words, which they asked us over dinner (they made us roast beef
po-boys, ohh they are so good.) One thing that really hit me was that
they cleaned up for us to be there. The table that normally is
overflowing with stuff was clean. The living room that usually has
stuff piled up on the floor was clear. It was amazing. All while we
were answering the questions they threw at us I noticed a change.
Nancy even asked us what time our church is and we told them that it
was from 10 to 1. They were really shocked but we explained that it
was broken up into three meetings and explained the importance of
each. It was really good because we really got to explain the
importance of the sacrament. Sis Allen explained it like dealing with
trash during the week; through out the week we pick up trash on our
house and throw it away (repenting daily) but then once a week we take
and put it on the street for it to be collected with everyone else's
trash (taking the Sacrament). It is really cool because you could
think of Christ as the garbage man. He comes and picks up our sins,
and God (our land lord) doesn't remember that we ever had that trash.
It was just so awesome it's hard to put it into words.
Well I hope that y'all have a good week
Love y'all
Sister Brady
So when we went to Baton Rouge this week we stopped at McDonalds on
our way home to get a smoothie to hold us over until dinner. Well we
were in the drive thru when we saw this duck randomly walking up to
the cars. Then we looked again and saw a whole bunch of Nutria the
R.O.U.S's Louisiana. (if you look at them carefully you can see were
they got the idea from.
So just to fill you in at first, our investigator who was suppose to
be baptized this weekend postponed her date. We don't know why or what
happened. It was hard because I didn't find out until after we had
done our exchanges with the Metairie Sisters.
Exchanges were fun I got to ride on my bike around Metairie for a
little over a day. I always like doing exchanges in Metairie...even
though at first the thought of going there made me anxious. It's a lot
better now because I love it there (there are actually sidewalks to
bike on here!)
Anyways so this week was an awesome week despite some of the
challenges that we had. We were able to actually go see our
investigators Nancy and Katy when they weren't drunk (apparently they
aren't drunk until after lunch). President and Sister Hansen came and
had interviews with the elders (we had our at the beginning of the
month after MLC) We had our ward coordination meeting and the
assistants and Sister Hansen sat in. After words the ward mission
leader and Sister Hansen went over what the needs for this area
missionary wise are, and we may be getting sisters in Thibodaux! This
is good because it means that Hermana Allen and I won't have to cover
the entire ward! We would cover down the bayou and Houma, while the
other sisters would cover everything North of Houma! It would be crazy
because then we would be the biggest district in the mission...we
actually would be big enough to have two districts.
So ya things are going a lot smoother now. It has been hard since
Sister Wheeler went home, but I am figuring out how this area works,
just like I had to do in Covington.
Well I love y'all and hope that you have a good week!
Love
Sister Brady
Picture 1 This is how I spent my year mark, Blue Bell icecream,
chocolate covered cinnamon bears, circus peanuts, a letter from dad,
studying Spanish, music, and the rest of the package that mom sent.
Picture 2....the blow up missionary version of a spreadsheet. So our
ward mission leader has us assigned to try certain people each week
and has it on a spread sheet. Well these are some of the people we are
assigned to see and so if we do see them they get a green yes, if we
try but no visit made we get a yellow tried, and if we don't we get a
red no. It's actually a really cool system.
So this week has been all sorts of crazy. We went on exchanges with
the West Bank sisters. I was here in Houma for it, but during it our
investigator Cynthia had her baptismal interview. Well she came out
and said that she passed and that it was on. Well later that night the
district leader calls me and tells me that she needs to be interviewed
by President Hansen, but he won't be able to come down until next week
(so this week) when he comes to do interviews with the elders. Which
means we had to push back her baptism another week again. It was crazy
and I was a bit upset to the point that I just told the sister I was
with that we were going to stay in and I was going to do something
that would take my mind off of the news. After that things got pretty
rough because we are at the end of the month and low on miles. I would
bike but here there is no place to really bike except for in the
streets, which is dangerous and I'm not going to put my companion's or
my life at stake.
Anyways, other than that things have been pretty slow. We haven't had
as many lessons as we would like but I just have to remember that
right now my focus as a Sister Training Leader is not on helping the
people it is on helping the sisters be able to help the people. In
this case our ward has to suffer a bit through us not doing much
teaching because we aren't there most days. I just know that I am
helping the work move forward in a different way then a lot of
missionaries right now.
Well this is short but not much has happened that I can report
on...well besides I am able to understand a lot of the Spanish that I
read, I am now working on speaking. One of the elders here and an
elder in West Bank are more excited about me learning Spanish then I
am....but that is most likely because that will be one more sister who
could help with Spanish work.
Well y'all love ya and hope you each have a good week.
Sister Brady
So this week has been crazy. We had a meeting Wednesday in Baton
Rouge, Friday we went to West Bank for a meeting, and then we went to
the temple on Saturday with the ward. Also we had to move our
investigators baptism back a week because she was sick and our
schedules were conflicting with being able to see her. So hopefully it
will happen this week.
Other than that things have been going pretty well. We have been super
busy and trying to balance all the assignments that we have been
given, the dinner appointments, and the sisters that we are over. But
that is the life of a sister training leader.
Oh we are also hoping that I can start learning Spanish soon so that I
can help with the Spanish work. My district leader really wants me to
so that way we can have all Spanish weekly call ins that I can
participate in. But for now I am learning by listening, which I have
come to find out has been helping a lot. For example as Sister Allen
prays or says something I try and translate/figure it out as much as I
can. It is a slow process but it is all that we can do for now.
Anyways I hope y'all have a good week.
Sister Brady
P.S. You should read Helaman 5, it shows just how powerful our names
our if we do something good with them.
So ya I am still a Sister Training Leader. My companion is awesome!
Her name is Hermana Allen...yep I am with a Spanish sister! It was my
dream to be put in a Salt & Pepper/Zebra companionship, so I was a
little upset when President Wall got rid of that. But hey mission
dreams really do come true. It has been really cool because the more
Spanish work that we have done the more that I understand and catch
onto....at this point I know how to start a prayer, which I had no
idea how to do that before.
Things have been crazy this week, because we have to finish teaching
one of our investigators the lessons and get her interviewed before
her baptism on Saturday...ya stressing a little on that. Plus we have
exchagnes and have to figure some stuff out.
We also got another set of elders put in the area, so it is going to
be crazy, but it will be good. The elders here are awesome and so is
the ward. It will be good.
Anyways here is a few pics for y'all
1. We helped the elders move from the Thibodaux elder's apartment to
the Spanish elder's apartment and this is what transporting the bed
looked like.
2.We may or may not have been dangerously close to the dash...I know
dad not safe, but I am blaming the elders for that.
3. This is just how close we were.
4.It rained on Friday and this was just how much it rained in front of
a member family's apartment. (we were there helping them back because
they are moving back to Brazil)
5.This is how high the water was on me. Yes I had to take my shoes off
just so that they wouldn't get soaked and my feet could be as dry as
possible for our next appointment.
Well love y'all and hope you have a good week
Love
Sister Brady
New companion and legs after an ant attack and rain.
So this week I started my 9th transfer.....which is crazy considering
sisters only have 13 transfers. Anyways this week has been crazy with
saying goodbye to people with Sister Wheeler. The last six weeks have
been hard but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have come to know
and experience things I never would have before if I wasn't with
Sister Wheeler and if I had never been here.
With some stuff that happened this last week I have a challenge for
you. So I may or may not have told you that my motto for this transfer
is let it go. Well I invite y'all to do the same. Just let go of
everything holding you back, everything that is bottling up inside
you. Let it go. With that I also invite you to start letting go of me.
With this I mean as the time gets closer for me to come home let me be
the one to make the choices of what happens next. It's hard because I
have come to find out that it's hard to understand what I feel and say
when you haven't experienced it yourselves in the same way. Not even
Jess would understand some of it because she hasn't had to go through
the same things. I am grateful though that you have let me make my own
choices and that you get excited when I start a new chapter in my
life.
I have come to find out that there are somethings that I need to let
go of, my pride being one of them. But I know that I can't be the best
that I can until I let those things go. I don't know what all this
next transfer has in store for me, but I know that it will be what the
Lord needs me to do in order to become the person that He knows that I
can become and that I need to be.
Some stuff that happened this week: Well I found out that I am not
allergic to poison ivy. We did a service project at a member who
passed away's house (we are teaching her niece.) We helped do some
yard work...Sis Wheeler may or may not have sat in a garbage can I may
or may not have taken a few pictures. The elders did help and we had
frosty's. Oh and Sister Wheeler and I had chicken nugget kids meals.
Oh and a member heart attacked us. She's so sweet. She's possibly
moving to Logan. (Yeah!) and apparently her mom is buying a condo in
Saratoga Springs.
Well that is all for this week. I hope to hear from ALL of you soon!
Sister Brady
So P-day this week is on Friday because we got to meet President
Hansen yesterday and so I am emailing today because yesterday we had
no time and the library will be closed on Friday.
Anyways this next week and a half is going to be a lot of adapting.
Like I said we got to meet President Hansen yesterday. It was hard
because I have spent the last 11 months with President Wall and I am
use to the way he does things, so with this change things were a
little difficult. It's so hard to rewire my brain to accept something
totally different then what I am use to. What makes it hard is that
Sister Wall told us to let go of any loyalties that we have with them.
I guess that has been the theme of this transfer...let it go. Let go
of the past, let go of all that is holding you back, just let it all
go. I guess that is the only way to let the mission go through you is
letting go.
In other news we helped the Thibodaux elders plan a wedding....can I
just say that I am happy that I don't have to worry about that anytime
soon...and that I will have Joseph there to help me with decorations
because it was super stressful....then again Sister Wheeler and I were
only together three days last week and so it was beyond crazy. I am
grateful because one of the elders while we were decorating was doing
quirky things that just made me laugh which helped release a lot of
the stress.
Other than those things this week has been pretty chill. So next week
is transfer week BUT because we know that I am staying let the letters
flow....SERIOUSLY.
Love y'all tons and hope you have a good week.
Sister Brady
Me with President and Sister Wall
So Sis Wheeler leaves in two and a half weeks, and I have been
stressing because I know that I will be running the area and I don't
feel ready. Last time I led the area I didn't find out I was until
three days before transfer calls. Well on exchanges this last week I
realized just how hard it is going to be. There were a couple times
that I just wanted to cry I was so stressed, and I DON"T CRY WHEN I AM
STRESSED! But it will be good because I will have at least one member
that I can rely on....until August when they move back to
Provo.....The husband is doing summer sales, he sales security
systems, they are awesome though! They are ones that I definitely
want to keep in contact with. But ya it is super hot here, and I am
trying to drink enough water and hopefully the humidity doesn't get to
me too hard. The bayou is a lot more humid then Covington or
Prairieville.
Anyways things are going good, we have investigator who has a date to
be baptized on July 19th.....but there is a lot going on that day so
we'll see what happens. We have two exchanges planned for this week,
the first one I am leading for 24hrs not 2 days. Oh and we have our
farewell to President Wall on Wednesday and meeting President Hansen
next week. It is going to be a crazy last two weeks between meetings
and me learning the last bit of this huge area. (To give you an idea
of how big it is we cover two parishes. So it would be like covering
Cache County and Box Elder County, because there isn't a lot out in
some of the area)
Well y'all I hope that you have an awesome week and that you are
learning something new each day!
Love
Sister Brady
So this week has been crazy! So much has happened and I have learned
so much. Here is just a piece of what I have learned. Two big miracles
that we have seen this week, involving family history and referrals.
So first family history. After district meeting last week we decided
to change our plans and go to the library. While we were there Sister
Wheeler came up with the idea to put mormon.org cards down by the main
entrance, but we decided against it because there wasn't any other
religious stuff there. We then walked up to the computer lab, and one
of the first things I saw when coming up the steps was the Genealogy
room. I then turned to Sis Wheeler and asked "what if we put the
family search cards in the Genealogy room?" She then went and asked
the librarian if we could do that, he told her yes and that they have
people go there all the time. He also told us that he had actually
been on the phone the other day with Salt Lake talking about it. Also
there was a lady that Sis Wheeler and seen at the library every time
she has come (both now and before) that she wanted to talk to, and
just as she got done talking to the librarian she walks by. Sis
Wheeler asks her what she is doing and she tells her indexing. Sis
Wheeler then asks her if she could teach us how she does it. She was
able to contact someone using family history!
The next miracle with referrals ties into what I learned this week in
my scripture reading and something that you talked about at the New
Orleans Stake Conference. Last week while we were with the New Orleans
South Zone Leaders preparing for ZTM we got a media referral. I just
shrugged it off and didn't have much faith in and and Sis Wheeler had
the same reaction. We didn't think much about it until this last week
when we actually had time to contact it. Boy was I chastised for that.
When we contacted her we found out that she referred herself. She had
been working with some sisters in Jacksonville Florida and had no idea
where to look for the church here. The sisters tried sending a
referral but that didn't work and so she just went on mormon.org and
referred herself. She told us that she had been there for the last two
weeks and those last two weeks had been pretty dark and rough. I felt
so bad because we had got the referral a week before, we could have
given her some light in that time. I came to the understanding that
media referrals and referrals in general are promptings!
With the thought of promptings as I read this week in Alma I noticed
two instances where if someone had postponed their action on a
prompting we wouldn't have all that we do in the Book of Mormon. It's
the story of Alma and Amulek meeting (Alma 10:6-11 and Alma 8:14-21)
If Alma decided that he was going to wait a week before he went back
Amulek wouldn't have been there, and if Amulek hadn't gone home when
he did he wouldn't have met Alma and been able to testify to what he
told the people of Ammonihah. We never know who is waiting for us when
we get a prompting and how ready they are to listen to us. I really
was hit hard with that at stake conference when you told the story of
why one elder came on a mission, and it also led me to think of a
quote from President Monson "Never never never postpone a prompting!"
Sister Brady
