Sister Erica Brady's Mission to Mesa: February 16, 2015

Me and Sister S*****

Me and Smokey looking at each other

Someone said i looked like a Disney princess in the last one,
so I had to send it :)

Dear Mom,

I am so glad Emmy liked the [birthday] videos!! Yay!! Oh a party! Yeah, so pretty much you only made me follow the "no parties till you are 16" rule . . . Whatever, I did not like socializing anyway. [Emily is pretty much not allowed to go to parties either but she has attended activities that involve boys and girls.] That's why I was not a fan of the church dances (and the school dances). I am getting better at socializing though now. I LOVE when we do stuff as a district or a zone, but my heart still skips a beat or two when I find out we are going to do something with TWO zones.... #ihatebiggroups #socialanxiety #introvertprobs

This is my favorite picture ever.... I love my zone.
CLASSIC

My Zone!

I love all of these people.

They are my favorite.

But seriously, I am getting way better at stepping outside of my comfort zone
Thank you so much mom for helping me with the college applications!! What about the essay parts? Are you going to send me the prompts and have me write those in a few weeks?

Yeah, I'm going to be real, if I don't get into Provo or Hawaii [Erica did not defer her Hawaii schooling so she has to reapply!], I will just go to MHCC for a little while. [I am pretty sure she will get back into BYU Hawaii or even Provo.] I loved it there and I would not mind going back! So its probably better of you don't apply for any other schools... or Idaho. But whatever is fine. :)

Heart attacking!!

Remember that time we did the Sound of Music at the Mt Hood Community College theater?

Hahahahahaha!!! Im glad you and dad are entertaining Emmy's friends! I've decided that all of my friends who thought you and dad were always hilarious and so much fun at girls camp, are the friends who had the best sense of humor and great personalities.

The Beard

I decided to scare Sister S***** (she had pranked us the day before) so
i hid in her bed wearing my new red beard.

The rest ensued.

Whoooo!!! Go Zach!! Will you send me the cast list? [For the High School Musical "Annie Get Your Gun" Cause I know a few of those kids!

Babies!!! When does Kevin graduate? Do you have Kara's email? I kind of want to write her.... But not about babies. About the wedding and the whole, "you married my brother" thing!!

Coolest Car Ever!

Yeah, we cool!

Wow, Emily is going to have a GREAT summer!!! I don't know the song “I speak 6 languages.” I look forward to hearing her sing it!!

Thank you for your prayers. We had a wonderful baptism and confirmation this weekend :D yayyyyyy!!! And we have two baptisms on March 7!!

Oh, I love that spiritual thought. No, I have not been praying to find a good husband, but I will now!! Someone actually brought up that talk earlier this week two! Inspiration! [I sent her a quote from this excellent conference talk: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/parents-the-prime-gospel-teachers-of-their-children?lang=eng.]

Your second question is a hard one. I'm sorry to say i never had a habit of consistent morning prayer until my mission. It would have made middle school, high school, and college a lot easier. I actually never had a habit of consistent evening prayers either, or or daily scripture reading. But this last month, my testimony of the Book of Mormon and Bible, and the importance of reading scriptures daily, has grown exponentially. When I'm really, truly studying the Book of Mormon every day, I have a desire to "do good continually" and I have "no more disposition to do evil". Reading the Book of Mormon really really does help to combat the powers of hell and it gives us spiritual strength. Its amazing!!

I think as a youth, reading the scriptures always seemed like a chore. Getting up early to read the scriptures as a family was a struggle for me. You know. I fought it for years. But I know that prophets have taught that families should read together and that was the only time it worked for our family. I also know that reading it as a family every day was the only time I was consistently reading it, so I'm grateful that you two always stuck to your guns and made it happen. And most importantly, I know that daily family scripture study was one of the things that helped me to gain a testimony after I had my personal struggles with faith.

Keep telling Emily how much you know it is important to pray and read your scriptures daily [I asked Erica to share her thoughts on parents helping children to strengthen their faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ and in our Heavenly Father]. Bare your testimony of it, every day. It is so important for children to know that their parents never doubt it. Invite her to share her testimony of it. If she is reading and praying daily, she will have one. Inviting her will help her to know you are someone she can share her spiritual moments with. If she isn't reading and praying daily, she will probably get annoyed with your testimony and your invitation. If she does bare her testimony, don't leave it at that. Give her frequent opportunities to bare her testimony. (Family Home Evening, etc.) Also, how often does Emma go to the temple? Does the Portland temple have a time that youth can go do baptisms without having to be with their ward? Going to the temple often is another way we can feel the Spirit and strengthen our faith in God.