July 29th letter

Hey family,

So I have a lot of pictures this week, but little to write. This week was slow and VERY COLD. I also got a cold pretty bad, but we were still able to work...like it wasn't so bad that I had to stay at home, just a lot of sneezing.

The good news is that we found...actually, we didn't find anyone, but three people found us...to be baptized. They kind of came out of the woodwork. The mission secretaries called us last week to pass along a referral they received from a member for this guy who attends church in Campinas, but lives here in Paulínia. Weird right? But we talked with him and he told us that he wants to be baptized. Then on Sunday an irmã [sister] came up to us and pointed to a girl and was like "why don't you teach this girl's family?" Elder César got confused because he always thought the girl was her daughter, but she's actually a friend of her daughter who's been going to church here for 3 months and isn't a member! And, this other girl who's a friend of a member went to the Festa Junina [June Festival] the church ward had on Wednesday, and we found out she was almost baptized several months ago but her grandma didn't let her, but now she lives with her mom who is a less-active member! So, we'll get to teach both of them. yeaaahahahah!

In regard to your questions about being Líder de Zona [missionary zone leader], we haven't had to deal a lot with missionaries being disobedient or slacking, but I think this week I'll have some opportunities to give some pointers, because we are going to do interviews and I'm going to do a missionary exchange in an area tomorrow. I think my previous experience as Líder de Distrito [district leader] will help me because I had to deal with a little bit of missionary correction when I was in Campinas. There was one companionship that was struggling a lot in their area, so I did some missionary exchanges with them and gave them suggestions, I made some goals with them, and I wasn't sure if I had done a good job. At the end of the transfer one of the missionaries expressed to me how much he appreciated the service I gave as a LD. It was just proof to me that if I do my best God will do the rest.

Have a week full of miracles!!!! Also send some of that summer warmth over here please!
Elder Bradford

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We had two churrascos [barbecues] this week

When we played basquete last Preparation day

This is called chimarrão ('mate' in English).  It's basically drinking hot water filtered through herbs. To me it just tastes like hot water with a little bit of grass flavor, but it makes me feel healthy and it's popular here too since the weather's getting pretty cold.

First Week in Paulínia

Yo yo yo!

So, I'm in a little city called Paulínia where the public bus is 1 real! (50 cents in the US).  It's just a little North of Campinas. I'm with Elder César who's from Campo Grande in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. He's a good missionary who takes the mission seriously and also knows how to teach the lessons quickly, which is something I've always struggled with, so I'm learning a lot. We're not perfect on the rules right now, but I'm going to give an extra effort to get to bed on the schedule and stuff this week. I'll miss Elder Christiansen. Not that I don't like Elder César, but Elder Chris and I got along really well.

AJ, Elaine, Vivaldo, and Elder César

We had a wedding and baptism this weekend! This couple, Vivaldo and Elaine, have been taught by various missionaries and their three sons had previously been baptized. They just needed to be married and just my luck that I got here to see their wedding and baptism! I feel bad for Elder Hale, whose place I took, as he was transferred out and missed being part of this.

Baptism of Vivaldo & Elaine

The ward here is really good, the members help a lot and are pretty cool. We're going to have a Festa Junina [June Festival] this week which is cool because I already went to a Festa Junina while in West Campinas. Man I'm a lucky guy.

Okay, sorry for the super short email again, today we had to fill out a questionnaire because some church general authorities will be doing a tour of our mission sometime in the coming months.

Thanks for the prayers! I love you guys so much! Please pray for me that I can change myself completely to become the person God wants me to be.

Elder Bradford

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Google Streets shot of Paulínia Ward's church building

Final Week in West Campinas

Alô família!

So, I'm being transferred to another area! Wow that was fast! I didn't see a lot of success here in Campinas 3rd Ward, so I hope the next Elder knows better than I how to get this ward into gear and help have some baptisms! Also Presidente Perrotti called today to tell me that I'll now be Zone Leader in my new area. Uuuuuuhhhhh. So, I'm like, okay here we go! Many things are changing because this transfer three more zones have been added to our mission.

Also, there was this other weird thing that happened. We taught this one lady Lorraine on Quarta [Wednesday], and it was a good 1st lesson and we left a Livro de Mórmon [Book of Mormon]. Then on Quinta [Thursday] we had a multi-zone conference, and President showed inspirational clips from the movies Peaceful Warrior and Coach Carter about focus and fear. I learned about some things I need to do to change myself, and I also got to thinking about how much faith I really have. I was kind of having doubts Sexta [Friday] morning, about my purpose. Then we go over to our meeting with Lorraine. She told us that she did read part of the Livro de Mórmon, but that some weird things happened in their house. Her baby son appeared dead in a photo that she and her husband were looking at. When she was recording her son at one moment appeared like light things whirling around him in the film. There must have been other things that she didn't tell us. So she and her husband got freaked out and spent the night in a hotel. When we met with her on Sexta she was returning home for the first time since Quarta afternoon. So I was like, what the heck. That's weird. But I decided to be faithful and I told her that it was the enemy's way of trying to scare her from getting to know the Livro de Mórmon and the church. We entered the house and I gave a prayer to bless and protect the house. I don't know if I actually performed the ordinance of dedicating their house, because I've never seen it done, but it was a faithful prayer none the less. She told us that she wanted to go to church Sunday. When we went to pick her up on Sunday she wasn't there. She isn't answering her telephone. So it's being a faith-trying experience. I wont even be able to see how the story ends.

But yeah, I'm just excited to know where I'll be going, we'll see what challenges come up. Someone told me the other day that I have only 5 transfers left before my mission is over. I didn't believe it until I counted. Man it's crazy how fast time on a mission passes. I just want time to go a little slower! I have sooo much to learn still!! AAAAAAHHH!!! I appreciate your continued prayers for me!

Elder Bradford

July 9th letter

Hehe, sorry for late letter and not writing until today! We had a meeting yesterday with all the Zone and District leaders and a couple Sisters. Two Sisters were called to be Sister Treinadores [trainers], meaning they will do training and exchanges with the other Sisters in the entire mission. Kind of like the Assistants to the President, but with the focus on Sisters. But yeah the meeting was pretty cool, I learned a lot.

Elder Christiansen and I made a list of things to sacrifice from for 40 days. Can you believe that I still inadvertently hum music? But thankfully it's usually hymns. Well, I put that on the list among other things. I'm trying hard this week to forget my will and do everything by God's will. I was reading this talk, I'll have to send you a copy, it talks about how there are missionaries who change their behavior to obey God's will, and there are few who change who they ARE, their personality and desires, to fulfill God's will. I've changed my behavior for the most part, but I'm looking to change a little of who I am too, so hopefully this week can be a great start to do that. Why would I want to change who I am? Well, because if I can find a way to be exactly who God needs me to be right now, then He will put the people in our path to teach and baptize.

Right after I emailed you guys last week, Juliana called us to say that her work is being really hurried and she'd be unable to meet with us that week. So I was like okay, but thinking that by some means we would meet with her. But we called several times last week and every time was like, sorry but it's not going to work out because they're still working me really hard, but I'll go Sunday. Well, Sunday came and we were anxiously waiting for her, we waited until 10 minutes before sacrament meeting (we have it as the last meeting of our church block) and then we called her. She said that she had to go to work in a few minutes and told us that she'll get in contact with us when her schedule opens up. Soooo, I don't know what to think. Maybe our work was just to find her and God wants another missionary to teach her.

About your questions, Presidente Perrotti told us there are some 20 missionaries in-field or in the MTC called to our mission, but they are stuck in the US because of the visa issue. Also, there have been some CRAZY protests in São Paulo and Rio, and here in Campinas there have been some stuff downtown, but I haven't seen anything in our area. The Presidente just told us to stay clear of the protests.

Have an awesome week!
Elder Bradford

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Batismo! it was of Ruth. She invited a lot of family and some neighbors too! It was a very spiritual service.

Elder Christiansen, Ruth, and AJ

We did some spoof pictures for a multi-zone conference about how not to do personal study :-)

July 1st letter

Hello!

So you're probably a little confused by the subject line of my email: "outdoor (pronounced ouch-door) = billboard" [AJ's subject line each week is a Portuguese-to-English translation of a word or phrase]. Brasilians use some English words as part of their normal vocabulary. But they don't always mean the same thing in English. For example 'shopping' is a word used here which means mall. The word 'show' can mean a show or it can mean a large display of something, or just mean something really exciting. 'Feedback' is also used and means feedback. Car washes are called 'Lava Car'. So that's kind of cool.

The lady that we're teaching right now, Ruth, told us that she has always passed by the church near where we live and intended to make a visit someday to see what it was like. We are also teaching this girl Juliana who told us that, even though she doesn't live very close by, she has always wanted to visit there someday. She is awesome. We taught her the first lesson on Friday and she stayed up until 3am reading 3 Nephi 11 in the Book of Mormon. When we returned on Saturday and asked her what she thought of the book, she said it was incredible, and that she felt part of the multitude when Christ visited the Nephites. When we went to pick her up for church she was already outside waiting for us. Finally! I'm very glad God blessed us with someone who's willing to go the extra mile.

Regarding the English class I mentioned and had pics of last week, we have about 4-8 people attend every week. We teach from a pre-made English course, but we usually end up deviating and responding to the many questions the classmates have. It's pretty fun.

Hey sorry, but it's going to be difficult to send long emails for the time being because I'm also sending stuff to my district and I'm working on a document to organize things as district leader. So, it may be awhile before I have more time to sit down and write epic stories!

Eu AMO vocês! FIRME FORTE!! [I LOVE you! Be STEADFAST and STRONG!]
Elder Bradford

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This is a Brasilian hot dog!!!