MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Oh my goodness Merry Christmas everyone! I can't believe it's already Christmas eve! It felt like the holidays SO much at the beginning of the transfer, but now it totally doesn't...not sure why.

But lucky for us it's been pouring on and off all day even though it is SUPER sunny and bright outside (not sure how that works) and it's been making it feel a little like winter and Christmas-y

So.......this could possibly be my last e-mail to you all........(as a missionary)

THAT'S SO WEIRD!!!!!

............Nope, still in denial. Sorry. It still hasn't hit me.

Well, I guess that just means I need to keep trucking along!

And how do I do that? Well, BY GETTING NINE NEW INVESTIGATORS IN ONE DAY! THAT'S HOW!!! BAM!!!!!!

Granted, 2 are Korean, so they're going to Sister Shin. But still, SEVEN! We got then all on Tram yesterday. It was my LAST tram! I can't believe it! EVERY FAMILY REFERRED! Either they wanted at LEAST a Joy to the World DVD mailed to them and for us to e-mail them. Or they wanted missionaries to stop by and teach them about EVERYTHING! (They'd check all the boxes; Jesus Christ, Prophets, Forever Families, Book of Mormon, etc)

And then after that we went on the Christmas Lagoon at the Polynesian Culture Center and it was fantastic! They did the whole nativity and an "around the world" themed show with traditions from different countries and just all sorts of stuff! (We sit in a canoe and all the performances are on the side)

One of the girls performing in the "Africa" show was in my ward and so we were screaming to her and told her we loved her. And it was hilarious to have all 28 sister missionaries on a canoe because we were just all giggles and screams and every other canoe was just a bunch of families of tourists and stuff. hahaha all the performers and all the canoe pushers were just like "Hi sisters!" "Merry Christmas Sisters!" It was great. They gave us 2 canoe pushers just to make sure we didn't fall in the water, and they had guys with wetsuits on in the lagoon to push the canoes around sharp corners, but I think we had a couple following us the whole way. I felt super loved and taken care of. I love Polynesians. :)

Also, (best news ever), do you remember a LONG time ago, when I had my FIRST lesson EVER,  with this girl and committed her for baptism? Well, SHE GOT BAPTIZED! I'm SO grateful I got to see her before I went home. Such a miracles

She bore her testimony about the Savior and told her conversion story. She sounded JUST like a member. It was FANTASTIC! I was crying. It was embarrassing.....

And afterwards her friends (nonmembers) had come and she was basically teaching them the whole restoration! It was the most adorable and sweetest thing I'd EVER seen! My heart was pounding so heart! The spirit was SO powerful! It was incredible! Her faith and testimony has grown incomparably!

It was definitely an amazing experience to be a part of. I'm so grateful for the many blessings and miracles I've seen on my mission and I hope to live worthily to continue seeing them for the rest of my life!

I hope everyone has an incredible Christmas and New Years and that they do their best to really look to the future BY looking to Christ!

Here's a link to an awesome New Year's mormon message!

http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages#new-years-look-not-behind-thee

MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Work hard! Pray always! Love you all!
Sister Bradley

Pics: Nina's baptism, and my last day on tram on Christmas Adam! (Get it, because Adam came before eve...)

12 Days of Miracles

Ok, so it's probably not exactly 12 days, but we've DEFINITELY seen 12 Miracles!

1.) We went to Pearl Harbor this week and did service and we talked to literally every person we came in contact with. Then this one guy comes over and asks us if he's seen his coworker around (yeah right, he TOTALLY knew exactly who we are) and then we started talking to him and we told him about the VC and he said he comes up to North Shore every weekend to surf. So we invited him to church, but he was like, "eh, not interested." But we gave him our number and told him he should come anyway!

2.) He called us that night to tell us that he figures he's not going to be be doing anything on Sunday anyway, so might as well go to church! Granted, he wasn't able to make it because of work, but it's all good! He called! That's never happened before!

3.) A girl I taught my 1st transfer is getting baptized on Saturday!

4.) The guy I taught online with Sister Ly got baptized on Saturday! 

5.) A guy today paid for some of our groceries at Foodland because he served a mission too and he feels like he needs to give back.

6.) Frederick (the 72 year old from Kentucky who got baptized in April) received the Melchizedek priesthood a couple Sundays ago and is now preparing to go through the temple!

7.) It stormed all day a couple days ago and it felt like Christmas in Okinawa

8.) One of the girls we've been teaching who's 8 just got baptized on Saturday. The service was BEAUTIFUL and her dad is probably the most spiritual guy I've ever met. 

9.) Yesterday we had very few people on our trams, but every single person/family referred. We got 6 New Investigators!! And then afterward Samita gave us panikekes!

10.) We got to pet a sheep last week

11.) We got a new ward mission leader on Sunday and he's SO bomb! He's haole but from Korea and he's SO passionate about the work. It's going to be a bomb last couple of weeks with him!

12.) I got to go to an NEX in Honolulu and use my Military ID for the first time in 3 years. I got to see a commissary and I got to just walk around a place that felt like home

SO many miracles! It was awesome! And there's so many more I didn't have time to mention! I love you all so much and I hope you're having a fantastic week! Work hard! Pray always! Love ya!

Sister Bradley

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

I love the Book of Mormon. Seriously, it is just phenomenal. I love how it makes me feel good and peaceful. I love how I can find a scripture that pertains to every question or problem I have. I love how it applies to not only my life, but MILLIONS and MILLIONS of other lives all around the world and all stages of life, from all walks of life through the centuries. 

The Church if true.

So a couple days ago on Friday I had the coolest experience.

Saturday was the Pearl Harbor Day Parade and SO many bands were visiting the PCC from all over the place on Friday. So that night on shift Sister McKinney and I were going to go back to the TC to send off more e-mails and I saw a HUGE group of band nerds walk in with matching t-shirts and they went straight into the theater to watch a clip about La'ie so I asked Sister McKinney if we could stay so I could give them a tour when they came out and she was like "sure, whatevs."

So I was walking past the theater and one of the sisters asked if I could hand out pamphlets and I didn't know what to to say because I knew I needed to be read to give them a tour and not just stand there handing out pamphlets until they all left. So I was just like, "uh....I can't.....I need......to get Book of Mormons." And she's just like, "uhhhh ok......?" So I went to the cupboard and grabbed a handful of Book of Mormons and just looked at them and was like, "hmmm......4......yeah.....I'll give out 4....band nerds need Book of Mormons!" And so I put 2 in each pocket (yes out muumuu pockets are that big) and I stood by the temple pictures waiting for them to come out. When they did I saw a group of girls (3 of them) and I was like, 

"So where are you guys from?" (as if I didn't know....it said so on their shirt) I was looking at Girl 2

Girl 1 - "Mesa!"

"Actually Mesa, or AROUND Mesa?" (again, looking at girl 2)

Girl 1 - "Actually Mesa!"

"Oh! So did you guys know that there's a brand new temple near you that you can visit?! Right when a temple is built, anyone can go inside and take a tour!"

Girl 4 (next to me that I didn't notice and very obviously a member) - "YEAH! It's in Gilbert! It's like RIGHT next to us!"

"That's awesome! You guys can totally go take a tour! The tickets are free. You can go online and print them off or you have have these girls help you out (gesturing to girl 4 and 5 who were members). So do you guys know a little about temples? (girls 1-3 shake their heads) (I look at girls 4 and 5) Come'on ladies! You're slackin' off! Teach your friends about the temple!" (Girls 1-3 were laughing, girls 4 and 5 were not.....and then they walked away........hahaha)...anyhoo

"Well, here, let me show you what the Hawaii temple looks like inside."

So I showed them the Sealing Room and explained that very special ordinance and they were all aweing and sighing at the end and then I asked them if they had a religious background (girl 3 was baptist, girl 1's dad is a Nazarene pastor...O.o......) and then when I asked girl 2, both girl 1 and 3 were like, "she doesn't talk"......O.o....???? 

"uh, I'm sure she does." I look her square in the eye. "So what do YOU believe in? :)"

Girl 2 - "I'm Christian."

I wanted to be like, "IT'S A MIRACLE! She SPEAKS!" but I didn't......

And that's when this (obviously) Mormon-boy came up with his wish-she-could-be-but-he's-obviously-not-old-enough-yet-girlfriend and pointed out the sealing room of what I just explained and then kind wiggled in between the other girls so that his girl could listen and the missionary (moi) could explain more. (I was dying of laughter inside) ^_^ 

And I started talking about the temple and how just like we had them back in the Biblical times we have them now, and just like we had prophets we have prophets now. I asked them what they thought it would be like to have a prophets just like Moses on Earth today and they were like 

Girl 1 - "Wow, I don't know."

Girl 2 and 3 - "It'd be cool" (she speaks again!) 

and then I taught them about the Book of Mormon and how it's MORE scripture and teaches about the people in the ancient Americas. I asked them what they would think to know that just like people in Jerusalem saw the star that signaled Christ's birth, so did the people in the ancient Americas?

Girlfriend - "Small world..." 

Girl 3 "....after all" 

hahaha, I really did laugh, these are so my people ^_^

Anyhoo, then I taught them how they can feel peace and just feel happy when they read it because it's the word of God. I asked them if they had ever had a time where they felt super loved and remembered and appreciated, 

Girlfriend - "Like warm fuzzies!"

"EXACTLY! If you feel that when you read it, you can know that it's the word of God just like the Bible and you can learn more about Christ and come closer to Him!"

Girlfriend - "I've actually skimmed through one before! I think.....(looks at wanna-be boyfriend) you gave me one? Right? I mean, I'm not Mormon, but I like it!"

It was then that I whipped out the Book of Mormons. 1 for Girl 2, 1 for Girl 3, 1 for the girlfriend, skip the Mormon boy cuz he has one on his phone, and then 1 for Girl 1......that makes 4.....^_^

And I told them to read it and pray about it (they all said they had said a prayer before) and they all said they would read it! 

SOOO COOL! I loved it! Granted, there's more funniness and coolness to the story, but it's hard to type out a 20 minute long conversation with 5 people........But anyhoo, the spirit was so strong and I know I was guided in everything I said and did. I REALLY hope the girls read it and that they feel the peace! I wasn't able to get their information because they're under 18 but I have a lot of faith that Heavenly Father will take care of them. 

Work hard. Pray always! Love ya!

Sister Bradley

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas....

I've decided I'm at a loss of words to say....

This week was pretty good. I can't believe it's December...weird......and because I go home on the 1st, it's like all the "countdown to Christmas" signs, posters, clocks, and everything else are counting down FOR ME til I go home.....weird

Anyhoo........one of the guys I taught on Mormon.org chat got baptized!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!! I'm so stoked! He's so cool! Now we're just working hard with 4 others. :)

We had a busy week with Thanksgiving and the Turkey Bowl and my companion's birthday! She's so awesome! She's now 22! Woohoo! So I realized I forgot to explain a little more about her last week so I'll do better now. 

Sister McKinney is from Provo, UT, born and raised. She has 5 kids in her family and she's very much in the middle because her 2 older siblings and her 2 younger siblings are much older and much younger. She's been acting like she's 30 since she was 12, and she's pretty much the funniest, smartest, most well-rounded person I know. She's the kind to "happen" to make friends with the CEO of Google on a plane and invite them to a dinner at her house, and they would come.....she's the best. ^_^

I'm now in the La'ie 7th ward and neither of us have been there before, so we're white-washing and it's super weird because it's the holidays so no one REALLY wants us around...I mean...they do, they love us, but......it's family time, not missionary time. But we still have hope for the end of the year. :) 

Also, in church on Sunday Sister Polvado shared the coolest thought. She said, "count your buttons." Meaning, in life, we never know how many buttons are on our sweaters, shirts, blouses, bags, etc....until we lose one, or see it missing. But what we SHOULD be doing is appreciating them, counting them, while they're there. Just like blessings. We shouldn't have to wait to lose one to notice it was there. So count your buttons. Notice the blessings in life, family, friends, etc. 

Well, I'm out of things to say because I'm so overwhelmed with menial tasks to do. But I love you all! Work hard! Pray always! Love ya!

Sister Bradley

Say Grace

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!!!!

I hope you all have a fantastic time with family and friends, and if you aren't spending it with anyone, I hope you get to just sleep and sleep and sleep all day! That's what I'm gonna do! I'm so stoked!

So anyhoo, this week's been pretty good. I LOVE being with Sister McKinney. She's just the greatest person of all time. There's so much I can learn from her! 

I can't believe I'm officially on my last transfer, WHERE has the time gone! One thing I've discovered is that it's REALLY difficult to grow close to a ward you're only going to be in for 5 weeks and it's all around the holidays so they really only want to spend time with their families anyway.....lame......

But we're trying.....

So for the past couple weeks this talk has been the theme of my life so I want to send it to y'all. It's called His Grace is Sufficient and it's by a professor at BYU name Brad Wilcox....maybe I've already sent this to you but honestly my e-mails are becoming quite the blur.....so yeah....here it is: 

http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1966&tid=7

I really hope you guys read it and really think about all the ways you can show your thanks for His grace. I know that He loves each and every one of you so much and as you try to apply His atoning sacrifice in your life you really will reach your full potential as a child of God! 

Sorry this is so short but I have no time. Work hard Pray always! Love ya!

Sister Bradley

Photos

Whoops...forgot to send the important part :)

Us putting up the trees :) 

Tis the season...for miracles!

This week we had the coolest chat from mormon.org EVER!!!! I really wish I could just send you the transcript of the chat, but it would take forever to re-type a different name for him seeing as it was an hour long chat......so I'll just summarize :).

This guy, Joshua, comes online, and says that there's this female he really likes that is Mormon, and he wants to know more about it. Because previous to this week, he had known pretty much nothing about Mormons. He had a TON of questions, and was super cute when we explained to him why his girl wanted to be married in the temple, and we asked him what he thought of being able to go to the temple to be married forever. He said ,"Eternity with her sounds amazing :)" haha. Turns out he just finished his service in the army and then was asking how he could go to the temple. He believes in Christ and in God, so we taught him about repentance. He was just SO open and SO good! We invited him to go to church, and long story short, ended up telling him to go with his girlfriend to church. Turns out she actually lives a million miles away from him, in Utah, and they met through an online gaming site. haha, but he was still sooo excited, and we gave him the address of the nearest chapel, as well as the Bishop's phone number.

So like three days later, and we haven't even emailed Joshua at all, but HE emails US! It's this long email describing how he'd gone to Wal-mart to buy dress clothes, showed up to church (feeling like a geek), was a little confused about our "voting system", but felt very welcomed, learned about covenants (like making promises with God through baptism and marriage), and met the sister missionaries! He also told us how his brother was just bashing the Mormons, and he told him off, and how he is really excited to go to church again next week. The thing is, even when we chatted with him, he had said that he wants to look more into this religion not just for this girl, but because of Christ and of God. And he told us in the email that he felt so happy at church, and it just took some girl "light years away" to tell him about it. Ahhhh! SO COOL!!

ALSO, a couple weeks ago Sister Ly and I gave a tour to this member and his friend Christian. He was kinda interested in the gospel and had an appointment set up to meet with them but the friend wanted to bring him to the VC first. So we gave him a tour and by the end he said he'd pray to know if it all was true and then be baptized if he felt like it was! 2 weeks later he now has a baptismal date for December 14th! AAHHHH!!!! So exciting!

We also had stake conference this weekend but it was broadcasted to all the islands of Hawaii from Salt Lake City! Elder Bednar and Uchtdorf and Sister Reeves (RS 2nd counselor) and Elder Rollands....I think that's our area seventy's name...anyhoo, they were SOOOO GOOOD!

Elder Bednar talked all about repentance and VERY bluntly at that! He told everyone that they can NOT put off repentance just because they don't like the Bishop. He said that repentance doesn't just mean stop doing bad. It means turning AWAY from bad and turning TOWARD Christ! It was INCREDIBLE! We're working on getting a copy. And if we do I'll try and send it to you all :)

We also just pulled out the trees and lights for decorating the VC! I'm so excited! I can't wait to see everything put together! I've never been at the VC for both Christmases! I'm so stoked! Well I hope everyone's doing awesome and that you're all praying for missionary opportunities! Work hard! Pray always! Love ya!

Sister Bradley