December 15, 2014 Cerro Navia, Chile

Cerro Navia

Sector: Galvarino 2

Elder Brady y Elder Swan

This past week has been interesting. I ate so much weird stuff. This weak we ate cow stomach, Casuela with chicken feet, rabbit, and fish and shell fish and more shell fish. I had a hard time with the shell fish soup. There with some little things from the sea that i had no idea what i was eating they just told me that it was good for my heart. The shell fish had sand in it and that was really hard to get down! I hate sea food! There was another Elder who was gagging trying to eat the chicken foot soup and someone told him ¨Your an Elder come y cálla¨ -- Your and Elder...just shut up and eat it. One of the members saw that i was having a hard time eating cow stomach and asked how it was and if i liked it.. I tried not to offend her but i didnt want her to make it again so i just told her ¨Esta rico pero no es mi favorito¨. It was a really hard weak trying to eat.

We had cambios! I was called to train a newbie fresh from the CCM but something happened to him and i got a new companion and i am so excited!! I got called to be with Elder Swan, one of my good friends in the mision! We are so excited to work and get stuff done! 

We finally dropped Cecilia. She was apostatizing so much and calling us liars and telling us that she saw us in some area out side of our mission kissing girls and doing all this nasty stuff. She said she saw me and my compainion.. no other missionary it was just weird but sad. She was at the point of her baptism. All she had to do was go to chuch and she would have been baptized a month ago. Then Satan just attacked her. I have been wondering if there was anything more we could have done. Its hard fighting Satan. But I know that we were called in this time to come into the world at its worst to do combat with the devil. The coach saves his best runners for the last leg of the race. Our parents and all of us have been called to face the world and satan at the worst, to be missionaries to raise children and to build up the Kingdom of God right before Jesus comes. But it says in the scriptures that if we put our strength in Christ all things are possible. Pray as if everything depends on God... and then work, as if everything depends on us. 

Another thing that has been hard is that as a missionary there is a whole different look on the church, as missionaries we use numbers EVERY DAY! That has been hard for me.. I have felt like the church logo should be ¨Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Inc. ¨ Like we as missionaries our purpose is to just keep the numbers at least consistent or raise them. This aspect of missionary work has been difficult. I know that numbers are required. They have to be to maintain order in the church. I had an interview with my president about it all and he had me look at a wall that has a photo of every missionary in the mission --209 missionaries. President asked me what i saw. I told him I saw all the missionaries and he said what else. I said there is 209 missionaries. Then he told me to look at every foto individually and asked me again ¨ Now what do you see Elder Brady?¨ I could see all my friends in the mission. My cousin Elder Dirkmaat, and I saw myself. He then told me that I could see it as 209 missionaries but if i look at each one it is more than a missionary or a number. He said he saw families eternal and future church leaders, friends, dads, celestial beings. He then told me that that is how i need to look at those who we are teaching. Our investigators... just everyone member or not we need to see who they are individually. I learned a lot from Presidente Videla esa dia. 

I also recieved a letter from a Returned Missionary named Corbin Stewart. :

Hey elder, how's it going?
You don't know me, but I recently came home from my mission in Argentina and while I traveled home, I found myself sitting beside your dad for 3 hours between Atlanta and Salt Lake City.
We chatted, he bought me lunch, and we got to know each other a bit and he mentioned that you're serving, something that makes him very well pleased and content.

He mentioned that you've been working hard, but don't feel happy with what you've accomplished until now. Let me tell you something that a companion told me when I felt that way. He said, "I think we'll see the results of our work AFTER our missions." Let me tell you elder, that that is true. Don't worry. Just keep working. When you receive letters from, see those you got to know, and connect with those you've left in other areas, you'll realize what you've done. Maybe you've left areas and you feel that you've left it weak or without results. Remember that your mere presence has a grand effect. If you're obedient, work diligently, and work with hope and faith in the future, you will help a GREAT number of people, whether you realize it or not. Don't expect recognition for your work, and just focus on their conversion and the rest will fall into place.
Le quiero mucho. Siga adelante no mas. No piense demasiado, ni se preocupe por lo que ellos piensan. Haga lo que Dios espera de usted. Esfuércese en lo bueno. Cuídese.

Atentamente,
Corbin Stewart

His letter really made me think and ponder on a lot of things. 

I am excited to work with Elder Swan, we are going to work like crazy!!

I love you all. Shout out to Tyson Lund. He has been a huge example to me and best friend. I am thankful for all my family and friends and their example to me. I hope you all enjoy the Chistmas Season and really ponder on what Christ did for us. I have been using the word Sacrifice... I think this word fits in well with the Chistmas season.  Sacrifice means to give up something that we value, for something of greater value. Jesus Christ sacrificed himself for each and every one of us. He truly knew the worth of a human soul and continues to give his love to each and every one of us.  

What is something this Christmas that you are willing to sacrifice for someone else?

- Elder Brady

 

December 01, 2014 Cerro Navia Chile

December 01, 2014 Cerro Navia, Chile

This week was hard. Cecila was going to be baptized this week. All she had to do was show up for church. She had an interview and all the assistance, a strong testimony which she bore in fast and testimony meeting a few weeks ago. All she had to do was show up. Everything was planned. But satan got to her... she didnt show up and when we went to her house later on sunday she was having alot of trouble with her sister and is upset at everyone. She was denying Jesus and his Atonement and just started saying a bunch of things. It has to be one of the worst feelings. Someone so close just goes down. She said she doesnt believe in Joseph or the Book of Mormon or the church. So we are back at ground zero. We are going to go back to her house tomorrow and talk more and try to help her.

This week we had a church attendance of 84. Its a bummer. But we are really working though and with a list of less actives. Some dont want to recieve us and some do but only one day of the week. There is so much pride here in our ward. And the 3 main reasons for the inactivity are that they were offended. They sinned and are unworthy to take the sacrament and dont want to repent, and they are just plain lazy.

We are trying to figure out how to get them past these things. If anyone has any ideas on how to help fix these tell me. We would love new ideas. We have been bringing members and doing family home evenings to try to help them return and inviting them to many activities.

But this is all for this week!

Elder Brady

November 24, 2014, Cerro Navia, Chile

This week was alright. Cecilia didnt show up for her baptism. Its such a bummer when that happens. But si o si this next sunday. We have been working on a list of almost 1,500 less actives that we have in our sector. Our sector is 80% of our ward and we only have 100-115 assisting. We had 3 less actives show up at church this last sunday so we were pretty excited about that. Last week Elder Nelson of the Quorum of the 12 apostles came and spoke to us. Everyone got to shake his hand it was pretty cool. He talked to us about obedience and tithing and church and gave us a huge list of things to study. One quote that i liked from him was that ´Obedience brings blessings, exact obedience brings miracles´. It was a really spiritual time it was super cool. I got to see everyone there.

I love you all

Elder Brady

November 3, 2014, Cerro Navia, Chile

This week we didnt acomplish as much as we wanted t. I got really sick with a fever and a cold. But our investigator Cecilia went to church and will be baptized this next Sunday on the 9th of November! I am so excited. My companion and I have decided to just work with the investigators that we have and focus on less actives.-- Oh Elder Covinos and I have another change together! this is our 3rd cambio together-- but yeah we decided that we are going to work on less actives this change. We have a list of at least 1500 members that should be attending that are not. We are focusing on them and activities to try and fortify the ward. Its hard to bring in investigators when our ward is weak. But thats our goal for this cambio. This week I have started reading alot about how gifts of the Spirit can help us overcome our weaknesses.

I love you all.

Elder Brady

October 27, 2014 Cerro Navia, Chile

This week was awesome! We found 2 new part member families! These families are less active and they both want to return to church. They both have kids from the ages 11 to 23. We are super excited to teach them. We invited them both to church but they did not come, pero esta bien we are going to work for this next sunday. We almost completed our goal of a church assistance of 120.. we were short by 2! We got 118 and thats pretty good we taught almost 37 lessons this week and alot of less actives joined and something so cool happened! After so much praying and fasting and working Cecilia finnally went to church with us!! We have been trying for 3 months and my companion and his were trying even before that and she finally came!! She loved it and everyone was super nice and invited her to all the activities and we went back to talk with her about it and she wants to go to church and go to all the activities. She was so happy I had never seen her so happy. She has a date to be baptized for the 9th of November! I was so happy sunday i just couldnt stop smiling. Just seeing her in the church and that she was happy just was awesome. It makes you feel good inside. Really good. This week went really well with lessons and bringing less actives back to church. We had a huge success this last week. We hope for even bigger this next week. Unfortunately next monday when everything is just getting going ..we will have changes. We will find out this saturday whats going to happen but we both would like to stay. Cecilia has alot of questions and is really interested in the spirit world and family history and temple work so this week we are going to be really focused on that. She has alot of family who are not members and her parents died without the gospel and she wants to know what all is going to happen. But this week went really well.

--Elder Brady

 

 

Thanks for all the Birthday wishes!!

I got to spend an hour at a house! There is a girl named Jackolyn who turned 19 the same day also and so we both celebrated our birthdays the same time! It was pretty fun!

October 20, 2014 Cerro Navia, Chile

 

 Wesley's birthday is October 24!  If you have a minute please write him a quick note!

 

 

This last week my companion and I have were really focusing on trying to get our investigators to go to church but we failed. We did everything we could to get them to come. We showed up at their house.They just cant wake up in the morning. But this week we found a new family. They are a less active family of 3. Well they have a 17 year old daughter who is not a member but is super interested. They have been living in the area for 8 months and they are really cool. They have been inactive for a little over 2 years. We went and taught them Sunday and it was super successful! They have been through a lot of hard things. We asked them what would interrupt them from going to church with us sunday and they simply said that they were lazy and its hard to wake up in the mornings. The dad took the iniciative and said ¨but nothing is impossible, we need to go.¨ It was really cool to hear him say that. While we were talking they recognized all the blesssings that they were missing out on from not attending the temple and church.

So our goal for this week is bring them to the church and start teaching their daughter. They are a super cool family.

So in total we have 3 families of investigators and 2 of them are progressing well. And i am sure si o si that at least those 2 families will assist church with us this sunday.

I heard news from my old Sector. We were teaching a young guy of 25 years named Elias. He is super cool and i have always been asking how he is doing. He got baptized the week after we had changed. I was sad i had to miss it. But i have heard that his family is now going to church. His brothers have a baptism date. His parents are taking the dicussions and believe Joseph Smith was a Prophet. Elias now has a calling in the branch working with the missionaries. He is an awesome example to me and i am really grateful that i got to participate in finding and teaching him and watching him make all the changes in his life.

We have been teaching a family.. well a couple thats living together. Here in Chile almost no one wants to get a divorce because its so expensive. So they just dont get married and are living in sin or they get married and cant afford a divorce and find another partner and ..continue living in sin. This is the case with a couple we are teaching. The guy is a member but is married, cant afford a divorce and is living with another girl who is not a member. It is so hard to help them to progress with out him getting a divorce and them both getting married. We have just continued to teach them and TRYING to bring them to church.

This week we feel very secure with our investigators and our big focus now is the less active members. we need to have a consistent 120 members assisting the church or they are going to drop this ward and combine it with another which means the church is farthur away and that means even more less actives. So our biggest focus this week is the lessactives. The past 4 weeks it has been between 90 and 110. We are shooting for 120+ this Sunday. We have faith that we can do it. We just need to do the work. 

But thats all this week. Sorry I havent been writing a lot. We do a lot of stuff on P-Day and somethings only have 10 minutes to write our families and president.

But I love you all.

-Elder Brady

October 13, 2014 Cerro Navia, Chile

This is Wesley's mom for a minute.  I just had to write in here to all the future missionaries.....WRITE MORE TO YOUR MOTHER THAN JUST....."Hi mom"!!!

Wes sent an email this morning and all it said was, "Hi mom".  And I thought that was it until he sent something more a little over an hour later.  Funny boy.  So here are the few other emails that he sent.  He is looking for creative ideas of how to be a missionary.  He wants to know what you guys are doing that is successful.  If you have any great ideas that have worked for you please send him your ideas!


Here are his letters:

hi mom

Mom if its ohkay for christmas:

Camera

Backpack

Sangria

Socks

Books:

Key to thology (or what ever its called) (The book is called Key to the Science of Theology written by Parley P Pratt.  If you want to learn more about God this will be a wonderful book for you!)

Church history book

Rice crispe recipi

Nonnys monster cookie recipie

Mom what is going on with the war? Everyone hates me this week. No one has been shaking my hand or anything because im from the US and ´I have Ebole´. So many people here talk about the war and say bad stuff about the US.

I love you mom. I hope everything is going well.

I dont have a letter to really write this week.

 Tyson sent me this. I thought it was pretty cool.

And mom. I know Star Wars is coming out soon like end of next year. I just want to tell you not to see it with out me ohkay? Harrison Ford and all the old actors are going to be in this new one. Its going to be pretty cool but i want to watch it with you yeah? just letting you know in advance.

And also the movie meet the mormons came out recently. When it comes out on Dvd can you get me a copy? or as soon as possible please. 

I love you mom

October 6, 2014, Cerro Navia, Chile

I will be able to skype on christmas. So hopefully you guys are all there that day. I am really bummed that I lost the money. I really feel like I let Dad down. I was so mad at myself that I didnt notice it. And all my photos and all that are gone as well. But anyways this week was alright. It was a lot slower. We found a Peruvian family and they are awesome! The couple is not married and they have one son age 5. The guy is a less active and wants to rejoin and the girl doesnt know anything about the church or heard anything about it. We were able to teach her about the Restoration and she accepted it really well, I really felt the Spirit with them. And after we talked about marrige a little and if they had plans to get married and they both really want to get married. So Elder Covinos and I are both really excited for that! But thats about all this week!

Elder Brady

September 29, Cerro Navia, Chile

I am staying here with Elder Covinos! We have been passing by alot of old investigators and part member families trying to get more investigators. Pass me all your ideas of activities and fun ideas!

I dont have alot of time. We had a crazy P-day

Love you!

 Someone just robbed my backback with $ in it. and my camera. while i was sitting here at the computer.

September 15, Cerro Navia, Chile

Hola a todos! 

This week was crazy!!! Monday we had our Activity of Zone and we played footbal for all 7 hours and had asado y todo! It was a blast! Tuesday was pretty normal we just had a noche de hogar (FHE) with the youth at the church and i taught the lesson and we played some weird game afterwards. Wednesday we had our Zone Conference which seemed to never end. Thursday ( 9/11) is also a bad day here in Chile. But here everyone just used this day as a day to do bad stuff. This night everyone was knocking out street lights, throwing rocks at houses and cars and shops. They started bonfires in the streets. We had someone build a fire right in front of our house and they were throwing pipe bombs down the street and stuff and in the fires. There were alot of public buses that blew up and stuff. So many people had guns and were just shooting them in the air our at the street lights and at the cops as they were passing by. We have a gated house so we went outside but stayed in the gate and right when we went out the police came by driving down the streets really fast and shooting cans of tear gas at all the people in the street. We got a big wif of it. My eyes and throat have never hurt so bad holy cow that stuff was nasty! But yeah that was so crazy!!! But it was so cool i mean these guys know how to party! Friday I got to eat lunch with my parents and that was really cool. We got permission from the mission president and we went and ate peruvian food cuz that stuff is the beast yeah. Saturday we went to one of our investigators houses and the son told us pretty much that he hates us and doenst want us to come back to teach his mom. We teach his mom and then she tells her son what we "taught". She tells her son an apostitized version of what we have been teaching her. And we have been teaching very plain and simple. I dont know but we dropped her. We are back at ground Zero.

But that was my week! We have cambios this next monday!

Elder Brady

riots

The police threw out tear gas in the neighborhood where the Elders live

Best Friends

I know this is supposed to be just letters from Wes but I have to include this photo.  The guy in the middle has been Wesley's best friend since we moved to Utah.  Hunter got his mission call to Brazil and reports October 1st.  He went to the temple this past week and we were so excited to join him.  This is a photo of Hunter in the middle, Alexis and DJ.             
                                                            I LOVE THESE KIDS!!!

September 1, Cerro Navia, Chile

Holaaa!

This week we did really well with our less active members! We had 17 lessons with less active and new converts, the highest in the mission this week! We feel pretty good! We had a lot of them show up at church this last sunday also it was so cool!

Everything is going really well. All the missionaries love it when my dad comes down. One Elder said that when he comes down its like the second coming and everyone is excited and feel saved and refreshed for the month haha. When they get a package they share it with all the other missionaries. Everyone just shares everything!

This week we have been talking to our investigator Cecilia. We had a lesson last night with her and that lesson was so difficult. She was just not understanding. She kept talking about the bible and how thats all she needs and how in the bible it doesnt talk about Joseph Smith. I was so upset. She is evangelico- which is like the baptists in our country. I tried bearing my testimony over and over and she just wouldnt understand. then my compainion tried and still not. So I was so frustrated and I raised my voice and was almost yelling at her so she wouldnt interrupt me. I put the book of mormon with the bible and told her that this is one book. I told her that she isnt going to know that it is true if she doesnt read it. Now she understands and promised to read it. But good greif I was so upset! And she told us that si o si she is going to go to church this sunday! Woot!

Its reaining like crazy here but all is well! Love you all!

Elder Brady

 

Elder Farnsworth from AZ and Elder Brady

 

August 25, Cerro Navia, Chile

Hola!

Here we have been teaching like crazy! We have 3 more investigators! We have been working really hard with our less active members also. We have one investigator who we are trying hard to get her to come to the church but she says she is always sick or is lazy. She said that she knows what we are teaching is true. But we just have to get her to come to church. She is old se llama cecilia! She has a son who is baptized but hasnt gone to church forever. Cecilia was baptized in the evangelico church. We are going to work really hard to get her to church this week. 

My companion and I had a really cool experience with giving a blessing. We have been doing many blessings for members. One family had a girl who had a lot of pain in her stomach. She was no older than 4. The family was going to take her to the hospital but wanted a blessing first. The blessing was very hard because she was screaming and squirming in her moms arms. I felt so bad because she was in so much pain. I did the annointing and my companion did the blessing. Right after he finnished she was calm. Just calm and normal. We blessed her that she would be calm and feel her Heavenly Fathers love. It was just amazing, she went from crying and screamin of pain to just nothing.  The family was really emotional. the couple still rushed their daughter to the hostpital and we continued talking with the rest of their families talking about the priesthood and miracles they have seen with it. It was a huge testimony builder for me. We talked with her parents and she was going to be in the hospital for a while but the doctors said she will be alright and its not permanent. 

I live with a cool guy from Peru and he is always making peruvian food for us and oh man it is sooooo good!! Tan rico! My companion and I ran into a group of dunk people. There was 6 or 7 and we were talking to them about what everthing. Before we left i told them that my companion had a bad day and that he was very sad. I told them that he needs a kiss. They all lined up and gave him hugs and kisses on the cheek! It was so funny! One guy started like fondeling the back of his head while hugging him and another guy was dancing with him. My companion was so upset and told me hes going to get even. But it was so funny!!!! 

Saturday we had a pretty big tremor. It lasted at least a minute! We were on the second story of our house on the balchony watching everything move. Car alarms were going off and people running. Then less than a minute after there was a huge green explosion that lit up the sky. We later found out that one of the big electical thing on the telephone pole was short circited or something. Fue tan loco pero super bakan!

Pero esta es mi semana! 

Love you all!

-E Brady

August 11, Cerro Navia Chile

Hello! 

This week we had a lot happen! Elias did not get baptized this week but we are hoping for this coming Sunday. But I gave Elias my facebook info and he found me on Facebook and saw that I had photos with the Ponce family in La Serena! And Elias knows the Family Ponce and is friends with them. He told them that i was teaching him and thy responded to him and said my dad was just there with them and stuff. But what a small world dudes!! Unfortunately I will not be there to see him get baptized.

 Today we had changes. I have a new companion and moved to Cerro Navia!! And whats cooler than that is that I am now a Trainer!! I just completed my training and President told me I would be training!! There are two of us training with little time. An hermana missionary will be trainig but she has 5 months! I have 4! Its so crazy dude! We are the only 2 trainers with less than a year in the mission! We went to a reunion for the trainers and they all have a year or more!! I am so excited but so nervous! I am senior companion now, training, in a new sector, and i still dont speak spanish well! My new ompanion is awesome. He is from California, his parents are peruvian. He has 2 months in the mission. Elder Cavinos is my new companion. We are going to shred this sector! I am so excited! Thats all the new for this week! 

The cookie doe was great! I went on an intercambio with my Zone leader and we stayed up making cookies and got wasted all night. This last sunday i played the Violin in church. It went really well. 

-Elder Brady

Zone Leader

Elias

Mi mama en la mision

 

August 4, Las Colinas Chile

Hola!! Dude that so cool Hunter got his call!!! And to Brazil!!!!! Dude thats sooooooo cool!!! I am so excited for him!

This week went by really fast! I taught elders quorum this last sunday in church. Elias just has to do his baptism interview and he is ready for his baptism this Saturday! I am pretty excited for him. We had dinner with his family and that went really well. His family is very evangelico but they are very nice. We have cambios this next Monday. I have asked for a Latino companion and im sure i will have one this next change. I know I can really progress with a spanish speaking conpanion. I am excited. I was able to go on an intercambio in Batuco with Elder Dirkmaats old companion Elder Perieda from Uruguy! He is super bakan! Today for P-Day we went up into the Andes mountains and sled a little and had some fun. I accidently bought an alcoholic beverage. It said Alcohol free and we were all drinking it and noticed that is smelled and tasted like alcohol. I read more on the back and it contained 0.2%. Not much but it sure wasnt alcohol free!! But we had a blast up there. 

I am excited for everyone getting their calls! 

Elder Brady

July 28, 2014 Las Colinas Chile

Hola!

This week went by well. Ahora tenemos un cambio en nuestros horario! We now have to get up an hour early at 6:30am but now we can eat dinner! We have an hour to eat dinner por fin!! Things are going very well with Elias except a new rule came out and now we have to teach all 5 lessons antes bautismo. Es tan fome porque tenemos un investigador tan cerca bautismal! Pero ahora Elias será mas preparado. Esta noche vamos a ensenarle sobre el Sacerdocio con un miembro.

I am now the piano player for our rama! I only play the top hand but its better than nothing. El presidente de nuestros rama wants me to play. I really love my new mission president. He is a pretty cool guy. He and his wife are converts and were baptized in this mission! Ellos no hablan mucho ingles pero esta bien porque puedo intender mas y hablar mas. Tal vez dad will meet them when he comes down. 

No tengo mucho mas. All is well down here! Tenemos cambios en 2 semanas. 

-E´Brady

 

July 21, 2014 Las Colinas

Hola!

This week has been pretty long! Our classes de ingles are dwindling because its so cold and no one wants to come. A family of menos activos are finally coming to church again!! We have a family home evening tonight with an hermana that is menos activo. Elias is progressing very well! We hope to have him Baptized August 3rd! I am pretty excited! I love my new mission president! This week we have been contacting pretty much everyone we see and we recieved tons of future investigators but half of the addresses were false or did not exist. But that led us to more contacts. We have a new family of investigators. We are going tonight to teach the first lesson. I had a pretty gnarly fall on my bike this week. I was riding and i guess there was a huge hole and my front wheel went straight into the ground and i flipped. I decided to start wearing my helmet after that. But it was pretty radical! I gave my first talk in sacrament meeting the last sunday and this week i am teaching Elders quorum. We have 3 weeks left of this cambio, I asked my president for a spanish speaking companion so that i can be forced to learn spanish. Its so cold down here in Chile. Its cloudy all week. Today we went bowling and it was pretty fun.

I am so excited to be here in Chile and serve the people and teach the Gospel. The Lord has blessed me so much. Missionary work is awesome! It is really the best thing to see the change that the Holy Ghost and this Gospel brings into the lives of these families. It is hard, but it is worth it. I am thankfull to be here in Chile.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOO!!!!!! 

July 7, 2014

My week was good. About 5 weeks ago we were stuggling trying to find a new investigator or future investigator. We prayed and that same night probably 20 minutes later we got a call from a guy who said he wanted us to teach him. He has a friend in the church and has been really interested in it and wanting to be closer to God. His name is Elias and he is 25 years old. He has been coming to church since we started teaching him. He has been to church 5 times! We have a baptism date for him on the 3rd of August. We taught him the word of wisdom last night. He is doing really well. He even came early one morning to clean the chapel. Its soooo cold outside but he is just super dedicated. He is a really great investigator and i have learned much from him.

This place is so full of evangelicos and catholics and they will let us make an appointment with them and when we get there they just attack us and try to destoy our testimonies. So many people here hate us. The people are so friendly when your an American in Chile but as a Missionary in Chile it is sooooo different. People throw things at you, flick their cigarette buds at you, spit on you, call you a liar, drop the f-bomb. 

Some guy yesterday called me sucio. I wanted to stop soo bad and tell  him he was the brown one. I just get so frustrated trying to contact and teach people sometimes. I do control myself and think about more positive things. But it is tan deficil. It is really dicouraging sometimes. 

Right now i am reading in Alma. Amulek and Alma are being questioned by zeezrom. Alma is such an awesome guy.

Last night we were out contacting and while we were talking to a guy and lady was walking up the street and i heard something drop. It was a small sound.. I thought it was a candy wrapper that she threw on the ground and so i was thinking like seriously lady you cant just put it in your pocket and throw it away later?! Then i had the feeling to go look at it, after we finnished talking to the guy I went to check it out and there was about 20,000 pesos on the floor. Thats about $40 US dollars. But i was able to quickly race it back up to her. She didnt want to talk to me at first cause im a mormon. But i showed her the money and she was really pleased that i brought it back to her. I am sure the Spirit influenced me to check it out. Or probably helped me hear it. She was far away from me and i heard it drop and she didnt. I thought that was pretty cool. I really like my new mission President. He is a way cool guy.

Im like right between inglish and spanish. I will be listening to someone speak spanish and respond in inglish thinking i am speaking spanish. Inglish just doesnt make sense the way we say things and when i teach inglish class i am always looking at words and i am always wondering if they are spelled right. They just dont look right. 

But i Love you all  and miss you guys tons!! 

E Brady

 

 

June 16, 2014 Colinas

Today was day of cambios! Everyone got a new companion and many moved to a new sector. Elder Dirkmaat, was moved to a new sector\zone in quilicura! I am still in Colina in Fontt. I still have the same companion Elder Hall. We will be here for 8 more weeks! Not a whole lot happened this week, lots of rain mostly. I was able to go on intercambios with Elder Dirkmaat, my cousin, this last Tuesday and that was a blast! His sector was in Batuco. We taught 6 families and got 1 new investigator and we were able to give someone one of our investigators a blessing. It was really an awesome experience to be able to do that with him. We had a really good time. July is coming up! Nate and I have been talking about how we realllllllllllly want to go to the beach. We are recieving a new mission president next week. He is from Chile and dosnt know much english. But thats ohkay because my spanish is soooooooo much better. I know alot its just so difficult when the people talk super sloppy and bad haha. but things are improving. I miss you guys!

E´Brady

 

Wes and Nate

Wes and Nate on companion exchanges

June 9, 2014 Colinas

This week has been pretty full of stuff! We had a zone conference on Wednesday and our electricity went out! We have had some pretty cool spiritual experiences also. Earlier this week I had lost some super important papers with my passport and bank account numbers. My companion and I searched the whole house for almost an hour. We decided to pray and after the prayer we sat in silence for a little bit and my companion said ¨alright, check the morchillas again but look really well¨. I said that i would check the one upstairs and he would check the two downstairs. We had both already checked them but we spent more time and searched harder. Within seconds we found the papers.

Yesterday we were contacting and no one was listening to us (we are in a rough area) and we prayed that we might find someone to teach. About ten minutes later we recieved a phone call from someone saying that he had a friend in another sector who is a member and that he wants us to teach him. We wnt straight to his house and taught him the restoration and he wanted us to come again. God answers our prayers. It was a really cool experience.

We have recieved lots of rain. I have a friend serving in the Antofagasta mission who said it started to rain there!! And its been 10 years! So this storm from Antofagasta came all the way down Chile. We have had rain the last 3 days. It has been very cold. We have bikes and so its also very messy. I have a picture of dirt all over my legs! Yesterday was pretty crazy! My companion almost got hit in the face with an onion. We were shot at with air guns also. And everynight we have someone drunk come up and talk to us. Last night someone came to us and kissed our hands and started crying. Last night someone was shooting in the streets in the air and the police came! They were everywhere and colsed off streets! It was weird haha. Tomorrow Elder Dirkmaat and I are doing intercambios! Im pretty excited about that.

I think the biggest problems here in my area are the word of wisdom and the law of chastity. And alot of people wont go to church because they always have work. Its pretty hard to know how to help. I dont know what to do or how to help them want to come to church. My spanish is improving greatly. I have been doing alot in lessons now and always bearing testimony.

-Elder Brady

Elder Brady and Elder Dirkmaat (cousins) with mission pres and wife

This is what happens when you ride a bike in the flooded roads

 

May 26, 2014 Colinas, Chile

First area:  Colinas
This week was my first week in the Mission field and oh boy has it been crazy sweet! I have a new companion.. Elder Hall from Utah. He has been here a little over a year. He has been helping me get the routine and the language learned. He is a really cool guy. Our house is pretty sweet. Every saturday and thursday we go to the church to teah english classes for and hour and a half to church members and investigator and and contacts who we invited. I got to participate in a talent show and that was pretty fun. My companion and I did a skit. Was pretty funny. I serve in a branch that should have around 450 members attending but there is less than 25 members that attend church every sunday. Alot of people find it difficult to come to church because of work. It´s a big bummer. But lots of work to do here. I have a calling in the branch! I am the Elders Quorum 2nd counselor. And some wayyyyyyyyy cool news is that Elder Dirkmaat and I are in the SAME DISTRICT!!!!! So i see him for district class every wednesday. And it meens that we can do interchanges so me and nate can be eachothers companions for a day and procilyte and stuff!! There are only 6 people in our district! We have tons of missionaries in our mission and we are put in the same district! Geez thats crazy!! Its pretty sweet!

So we have to contact 140 people every week as a companionship. Everyday i run into at least 3 drunk people. We had one guy come up to me and shook my hand and wouldnt let go and he just started crying and sharing all of his problems with me. Another guy came up to me and asked if i was scared of him. Crazy people on the streets at night. Oh and in my sector we get to ride bikes!! My companion and I almost got hit a couple nights ago. Its very crazy at night when people are driving cars drunk. They drive crazy when they are sober! haha but it has been a blast. There are so many dogs around so we are Always being chased by dogs. Also yesterday afternoon we went to an apartment complex and chained our bikes up and went upstairs to knock on doors and when we came back down I guess someone shoved a piece of cardboard with nails in it right bewteen my tire and my break.. and i didnt notice it at first so when we got going again and i had to use my break i put a hole in my tire. Bunch of punks. We had to walk pretty far back to the house to repair it.

Yesterday I was able to share with a family my testimony. It was a really neat experience. It has been way cool! I love the Mission and I am SOOOO EXCITED FOR CAMERON!! Holy smokes thats soooo Sweet!!!!! Cant wait to hear where he´s going!!! 

Oh and poppy would be proud... I helped make a wall out of concrete!!

Chilean BBQ

Elder Brady chillin

Elder Brady and his cousin, Elder Dirkmaat

Mission pres and his wife, and first companion Elder Hall

Kitchen

study area