January 20th letter

Hello famzam!

So this week was cool demais [as well]. We had a stake activity on Saturday where we invited church members that were former missionaries to meet together at a church and then go out and do street contacts in the region. We fasted the day before to help it be a success. We had just six members show up, so that part wasn't that much of a success. But, as it seems to always happen, our fast didn't go to waste...a family of four came to church as well as two of their friends, so that was awesome. They will be our focus this coming week. I would like so much to be able to baptize another family before my mission ends.

We are going to have a multi-zone missionary conference this week.  They have the tradition of having the missionaries who are going home soon give their 'last testimony' during the meeting. After spending a year and eight months seeing other missionaries do this, I can't believe that I'm going to be doing it this week. It's so weird. I'm trying not to get trunky (tranque in Portuguese).

I'm trying to work my butt off. I can see that I still have a lot of things that I could improve if I had a lot more time on the mission, but I know that as a person I have changed a bit and learned some lessons that I hope I will be able to apply during my life. I want to bare my testimony to you that I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the key to our happiness. If we can understand the Atonement and what charity really means, we will have a happy life.

Thank you for all the prayers! And for your emails! Be strong!
Elder Bradford

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The other two missionaries that board with us

January 13th letter

Hi family,

Well, this week was fair. I'm still liking Elder Papenfuss a lot. His name is German by the way.

So, the situation here is that I am zone leader with Elder Miranda who is in Ouro Verde (another ward that shares the same chapel, and we share the same house). It's a little easier because we are in the same house. I am just now starting to understand the whole responsibility of being a mission zone leader. I think the hardest part of it all is knowing exactly what it is that the zone needs. Like, in what do they need to be trained? It's hard because we can't spend all day, every day in their areas. Which got me thinking...how is it that our Prophet determines what needs to be taught in general conference? I'm curious if any church leaders have made comments about this.

Thank you for looking up my previous questions and please keep me in your prayers! Unfortunately, my time has already ran out on the computer...I spent a bit of time making a ward list. We're gonna visit all the ward member's houses and see about getting some folks back to church! Thank you also for telling me how everyone is doing!

Elder Bradford

January 8th letter

Hello guys!!!!!

AJ and Elder Papenfuss

I am training a missionary again...my little son is Elder Papenfuss. He's from Bountiful, Utah. He has already served 6 months in the Boston mission. He speaks Portuguese real well and is pumped to work. He talks with literally everyone so he can to practice the language. I'm excited to work with him! I'm still here in the Bandeirantes Ward in Southwest Campinas.

So, our bishop here is going to take a trip to... guess where...Washington state!!! So I'm going to send a package with him to take to you! I'll send some English books that I don't want anymore as well as some Guaraná and Paçoca.

And, I was thinking about coming back here to Brasil to work during the World Cup...I'm thinking they'll be begging for people who speak English and Portuguese fluently to help with the tourists...maybe?

I love you guys soooo much! Keep praying for me! Keep reading the Book of Mormon!!
Elder Bradford

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A LOST MAN!

A DANGEROUS CROSSING!

A RANDOM HORSE!!

A LOVELY CLOUD!!

A POWERFUL MISSIONARY ZONE!!!

Christmas 2013 pictures

HELLO,

So today I'm just gonna send pictures! Yeah! Christmas was pretty awesome!

This was taken during our Skype call with AJ on Christmas Day

Mom, my missionary companions and I loved the little Christmas stockings...thank you so much for sending them!

Jesus soda

Christmas lights!

For our Christmas lunch we ate fried chicken with Tabasco - yeah nothing like tradition!

Our Christmas feast

On Christmas, as we went to our appointments, we handed out kites to the kids. Man they get really excited. They were literally on us like wolves to a...dead...thing. We made the mistake of going to a football field in the end and trying to give out only one, but as soon as the other kids saw they came running in and grabbing at the bag and before we knew it we were robbed by a bunch of 9 year olds :-)

Us in front of a little nativity at the rodoviária [bus station]

The bottom row reads "I am proud to be Brazilian"

My missionary companions with some cool church members in the area I'm serving

We nabbed the following two pics from the Campinas Mission Facebook page:

Entire Campinas mission together for a Christmas party.  AJ is four rows back, 7th from the left.
Tanner Nelson (also from our church ward) is four rows behind AJ, just a little to the right.

December 16th letter

Hello family!

Gabrielly and her grandmother Clarice

So this week was kind of like the week before, we weren't able to enter into many new houses, very little productivity and that kinda stuff. I did include a picture of our baptism we had this past week.

We had a ward Christmas activity on Saturday, like this huge barbeque. It was pretty sweet and some church members brought their friends!! That's like the best thing ever, when members bring their friends to a ward activity or to church.

I gave a talk in church yesterday about persevering until the end. I used a story from a church manual, it's like an institute class called Leadership Principles or Principles of Leadership. Man it's an awesome manual...you guys should try to find it and study it. I think I will use it my entire life.

Well, I'm going to have to apologize for this being short [again] but I spent a good deal of time translating Dad's talk he sent me on a mission experience in Zimbabwe. I'm going to share it with my mission zone. Have a great week! I love you guys so much! Thank you so much for the package! I will likely pick it up tomorrow at the mission Christmas activity!

Elder Bradford