Erica's Missionary Adventures

Erica's Missionary Adventures
Merry Christmas from Mesa!

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

July 7, 2014

July 7, 2014
Letter from Erica


Dear Mom and Dad,


I got your letter!! I'm bummed you didn't get the job, mom! But it sounds like it is way better that you didn't end up getting it. You should just apply to Disneyland. If you got the job you could totally ask for no work on Sunday. Plus Disneyland.


I should apply to be a flight attendant when I get back! Except I'm too short so no one would hire me.


And I'm totally still applying to work for Disneyland in my future. I just won't do the college internship.


Also, I've decided, that when I get back I will go on tour with the BYU-Hawaii Concert choir, and then go to BYU Jerusalem that Fall (If I can earn enough money...).


I love telling people your conversion story mom! But suddenly I realized something. Although I totally know the basics of how it all happened (Kelly and you playing soccer, going to mutual, someone asking you to be baptized and you meeting with the missionaries), what I really want to know now is what happened when the missionaries were teaching you that made you realize that the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored? Essentially I want to know how you gained a testimony and what your testimony was when you decided to be baptized. What were your thoughts on Joseph Smith? The Atonement? The plan of salvation?? What was it like being sealed in the temple to your mom when you were a child? Do you even remember it?


Hahahahahahahahaha I laughed out loud at dad and Emily wearing matching shirts and Emily not being happy about it!! Haaaaaaa. I just love my baby sister so much!


What is Grandpa and Grandma Brady's home address? I've realized this month that there is SO MUCH I want to ask and talk to my Grandpa about!! Like what area was he in in the Military?? How long was he in the military? I want to hear more stories about his teaching days! I don't know if he would actually write me back himself, but somebody needs to tell me these things!


I love working out!! It is so much fun and a great way to start the day! I'm so grateful that on my mission I have been blessed with a love and a desire to exercise. I know how important it is to take care of your body.


Good luck on your job interview tomorrow dad!! I love you! What job is it?


Did you notice in the Ensign the story about "Be like Ammon"? I haven't read it yet (cause I have sooo much I want to read!) but it always makes me laugh when I turn the page and see in this tiny little green column "Amulek can teach us too". haha poor Amulek does not get enough credit. He's a great missionary too!


I started reading "Jesus the Christ". the next day I bought a dictionary.


Haha but seriously, it is a great book! I actually jumped ahead to chapter 40 to read more about the Great Apostasy because I was studying the First Lesson in preach my gospel. The dictionary really helped and I LOVE reading and learning!! One hour for personal study is NOT enough! I don't know how I survived on only 10 minutes a day back home!


Thank you mom and Dad for raising me in the church. I've seen your example and every day as my testimony grows stronger it makes me want to follow your example and have a Christ centered home. I love the gospel!


M**** and J***** are great investigators. We were teaching them the lesson of the restored gospel and before we even were able to finish the lesson, J***** was already reading from the Book of Mormon. We are very excited for them, and they love the lessons! We've taught them twice now and the second time we came into their home we could feel the spirit so strongly in their home. They are keeping the commitments we are teaching them about, and it is really helping them to turn their life around. 



Letter #2 (from Erica)


Sorry! I wanted to say about M*** and J***** that they are also attending church and saying their prayers! Yay for missionary work!


I love you family so very much! I love the gospel! I love my savior Jesus Christ! I love that we have a loving Heavenly Father!


Missionary work is the best!!!


Love,
Sister Brady


p.s. You know who (two) could totally be married by this Christmas and have a baby by the time I get back. Just a thought... :)


Letter #3 (from Erica)


They did the “Iron Rod” at girls camp?!! Yay I love that!! Tell Emily to write me and share her testimony about it to me!!!


Our investigators our:
M***** and J*****
K***** (He is nine and mostly we need his dad's heart to be softened so that he can have permission to be baptized.)
E******* (Also nine and she has permission to be baptized and wants to be baptized yayy :))


I really want to encourage you and the rest of the family to go ask the missionaries who are serving in the ward and ask them who their investigators are. Those are some people you can also pray for. Oh and pray for the missionaries in the ward by their name if you are not already :) But it's super important that you guys are praying for the investigators who are in your ward :)


I love you so much daddy!!


Love,
Sister Brady
Letter #4 (from Erica)


If possible.....
if you ever get the chance to send a package we are allowed to listen to any music that will bring us close to Christ (i.e. MoTab [Mormon Tabernacle Choir], singers with hymn arrangements, instrumental hymn music, other songs that have to do with Jesus Christ/His gospel). If you have the chance (seriously this isn't a need) I would love if you could make copies of CD's and send some my way (I am in a car and the same CD every day can get pretty boring.... but I did buy one CD called "Music for Sister Missionaries" which has beautiful piano arrangements of hymns)


Also, Did you know that Saturday's Warriors has a sequel called STar Child??? We can't watch either of them, but please watch it and tell me if it's good! I want to watch it some day!!!


The best way to send packages according to the Mission President's wife is through Parcel Post. I have no idea what that is or how you would do that... maybe try googeling it? If you still can't find it I will ask her for more information :)


I am obsessed with Saturday's Warriors these days. Sister Henrety (not my companion but she is in my zone) and I will sing the songs every time we see each other haha :)


Okay I love you!!
Love,
Sister Brady


p.s. watch the Mormon message "Wrong Roads" It is so amazing and is my favorite Mormon message right now!!


Saturday, July 5, 2014

June 30, 2014

Letter from Erica
June 30, 2014


Hahaha yay I've forgotten which week this is!! 


First thing's first. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHELLE!! AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!! YAY FOR BIRTHDAYS!! I LOVE YOU BOTH!!


I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK!!! I AM SO HAPPY ALL THE TIME!!


Okay but seriously. Just two days ago I was in companion study and suddenly I realized that I am happier here than I've ever been at Disneyland!! That's huge!! Cause you all know how much I obsess over Disneyland.


Yeah, I'm the worst at writing hand written letters. So if you don't ever get around to it it's really okay :)


Yes the school shooting really is a tragedy as those things always are :(


And that really is a testimony builder to show you that you really were called of God to be in that calling at this time and place.


Ammon is the coolest. Every person I meet here knows about how cool I think Ammon is. So I guess that's a great compliment that you and Dad think I am like him..... but Ammon is about a million light years cooler than I am.


And I love that story about how Ammon fell to the earth!!! Ammon!! Haha yeah I did "fall to the earth," but it wasn't that far of a fall. We always do companion study sitting on the floor.... so I was already half way to lying on the floor.


We were reading in the introduction of the Book of Mormon about how the church is the "Lord's kingdom" here on this earth. And that just really struck me as amazing! I suppose I've always heard that phrase, but then suddenly I just realized how big of a deal that is.


Also: The gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect! The church's organization is perfect! These things are perfect because all of these things are of God. (But man is not perfect and therefore any faults we have in the church are because of man). Any question we have about the church or about modern revelation (i.e. why do we have to follow the word of wisdom?) all comes down to whether or not we believe that Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet of God. Because if we believe in that, we will know that these revelations came from God. And if we don't believe that Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet, then it comes down to whether or not we believe the Book of Mormon is true, cause if it is, then that means that Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet. It's amazing!!


Haha! I will make sure your letters are the longest, Mom :)


I tried the bacon ranch fries at Carl's junior this week. yum.

Action packed, Pee-Wee!! (That's in reference to the fact that you watched an "action packed Tom Cruise movie.")

What's going on in July? Is that the Utah trip? Fun!! :D

One of my first nights on the mission we had dinner with the U*****. She told us about how she and her husband (They are both probably in their late 70's) were married when she was 16 and he was about 17. what?! crazy right? And then! She went on to tell us this crazy story about her parents were married! (I will make up names for the sake of the story) Patty (Sister U******s mom) was about 21 when she was at a dance and a drunk man, Scott (I think he was about 7 or 8 years older), came in and started dancing with everyone. Scott kept pointing to Patty and said, "Someday I'm going to marry her!" But Patty was a goody-two-shoes Mormon girl who was not interested and that was that. But Scott never forgot her. About a year later, Scott was driving through Patty's town and remembered her (Scott was good friends with Patty's cousins). Scott had some frozen steak in the back of his truck and it was a very cold and snowy night. He decided he was going to drive to Patty's house and ask if her parents would like the steak. Patty's parents invited Scott into the house and said they would cook up the steak (haha of course they wanted the steak). So now here is Scott at Patty's home eating dinner with Patty and her little sister Amy. Amy was quite the jokster and said allowed "Patty, I dare you to marry Scott" Patty: "He wouldn't want to marry me."  Scott: "She wouldn't have me." Now you have to understand this day was a holiday and therefore the city hall/courthouses/ anything government related was closed. But Amy said again: "Patty, I dare you to marry Scott." Knowing it was holiday, Patty said: "I will if he will." Scott: "I will if she will"
So all three of them (I've no idea what happened to the parents at this point...) giggling and laughing piled into the car and drove up to the courthouse (or city hall or whatever so they could get a marriage certificate) knowing full well that it would be closed and nothing would come of this. When they got there there was a man who just happened to be opening the doors to the place. Still laughing, Patty, Scott, and Amy walked in and got a marriage certificate. Then the man said, well did you want to see a minister. They are all belly laughing now and decide to see the minister who performs the quick ceremony and they both say "I do." At the end of the ceremony, Patty turns back to her sister Amy and says "This was the best prank you've pulled yet!!" Amy's face is pale and her jaw is dropped. finally she says "I didn't set this up" When they realized what had happened, Scott told Patty, "If you want we can go back in there and get this taken care of (is annulled the right word?)." AND THEN Patty told Scott that she never went back on her promises. She had promised to marry him through better or worse and that was that.

CRAZY STORY RIGHT???!! Haha it makes me laugh. Sorry it was such a long story, it was just so funny to me! 

I love you all and I hope you have a fun time in Utah! I will talk to you next week :)

Love,
Sister Brady