Father's Day & Email

 Yesterday was Father's Day and Elder Bradshaw sent our dad a sweet hat from the Bass Pro Shop!  He's such a sweetie!  We decided to do a cute picture to send to Elder Bradshaw since we were all together.

Here's Elder Bradshaw's email from today :)!  Nick will probably be in Pearl, Mississippi until November or even December.  We will just have to see!

"Hey hey hey! Everyone! This week has been good. This week has been the most adversity week it seem's like haha. We have had a few people here in the beautiful state of Mississippi really show their true love toward's us missionaries and the Church...

 

 The first thing to start this adversity off was us meeting a guy who was sitting outside his house on a law chair. So we go up to him and we talk about the church and he just starts bashing with us... So we tell him to read The Book of Mormon and pray and ask God if it is true.. So he accept's the copy and say's he will read it. He also told us that he is going to prove that it is wrong and isn't the word of God....... After we did that we both testified of it and as we did a truck drove by with a bunch of guy's in it and they said out loud a word that start's with an F haha. The guy we were talking to laughed and said you guy's probably get that a lot... hahaha! What we are saying is true and that is why there is so much opposition. Anyway's, he told us to come back in 2 week's after he had read it. So next sunday we will see if he proved the second word of god to be wrong...

 

 The second thing to add to this was on Friday. We were at Fred's (a store) just getting some stuff for the apartment. We go out and walk to our bikes, a car drive's past us and honk's it's horn.  The kid's in the car flip us off while they are driving, I just laugh and wave at them and they do it again. I keep waving at them till they drive away haha. It was so random and its just like uhhh okay? It make's you laugh though, just to see the opposition :). Sorry the gospel is true people!!!!! 

 

The third thing to also add was this past saturday we were at a flea market with our district leaders. We were walking around looking at the different shop's and handing out mormon.org cards when people would accept them. So as we were walking out a lady walks toward's us and kinda flags us down and say's what are you guys up to?  We were like uhh just looking around the market? And she was like "okay, just making sure" It was super weird.. We got the impression that she was the lady over the whole thing and that if we weren't shopping then she would have kicked us out... haha it was awkard!!!

 

We got fed this week by some less active members!!! Fried catfish and hush puppies!! it was so good! Hush puppies is fried corn bread stuff with usually jalepeno's in them. They were pretty good. Catfish wasn't bad either! Finally had some real southern food and it was great! 

 

It hasnt been to hot this week! We had the most epic rain storm I have ever been in, in my life! Holy crap the thunder was so loud, louder then it is in Utah. The lightning is so much bigger and brighter here. Our walk way and street were flooded haha that is how much rain falls... I caught some of it on video!!

 

It has been really fun lately! It seem's to just get better! The people we are teaching are coming a long and almost there we are just helping them overcome some thing's and commit to a date. You start to care for the people when they are going through a hard time. Because you know that the Lord will heal them and that this Gospel is true and will change there lives. You testify constantly of what you know to be true and what you have experienced. Many people have a hard time with doing good because to them when they try to do good thing's don't go there way but when they see people do bad, the bad people have thing's go there way. If you think about it, sometimes this is true but usually when people say that, I share with them my testimony of how the Lord lifted me up and helped me out when I knew I was doing the best that I could do and trying to only do good.  And I tell them that by sincere prayer and scripture reading, they can have the same upliftment!!!

 

I love the people here (even though some don't like us haha) but they are very kind and alway's have open arms even if they aren't LDS.

 

I love the mission!

 

Love Elder Bradshaw"

More Pictures & A New Email!

Elder Tucker's wife put some pictures up of Elder Bradshaw.  So cute!  We also got another wonderful email today from Nick!  He also sent us some pictures :)!  LOVE Mondays! LOVE pictures! LOVE Elder Bradshaw! 

Yummy Lunch From Clinton Relief Society

Jackson Zone 

The road Elder Bradshaw goes down everyday

Elder Bradshaw's Planner

Nick says Black Widows are EVERYWHERE!

Elder Bradshaw and his companion, Elder Milligan

"Haha ohhhh man has this week been crazy or what! But successful too! Staying hydrated and not trying to get hit by cars on a daily basis can be very difficult! But lately here in Mississippi or what me and Elder Milligan like to call the "No sidewalk state" we have been doing really well! Our investigator's are getting closer to baptism. We are trying our best to study and plan our lesson's around what the investigator's need's are. It has been a very good experience to plan this out and think about personal experience's you can help apply to that certain lesson you are teaching. The people down here are great and so kind!  They will talk and talk and they are just great!  Even at night's, we will knock on the door's and they will say come in! Haha I would never say that especially all the fruity weird people here in the U.S.

Haha a funny experience we had the other day. So we were going over to this apartment complex that we usually go to and we were walking around and we met a group of guy's and I go up to them and I say what's up guy's?! They look at me and they're like "You got any green??".... I was like uhhh no but I have a book here that will help you out!   So at first they were all bummed about how two young men in white shirt's didn't have weed with them but eventually we talked about the Gospel with them and handed out about 3 book of mormon's haha.

We alway's run into people that are so nice and friendly and you think they're wanting to know about the church then they pull a good ol' 360 on you and say "I cant single myself out into just one religion because it is taking away from me being able to hear the good word from other's and gain more faith".   I am just thinking in my head..... what??? They think if they just believe in Christ then they are saved.

I went to Bass Pro Shop today (the place rock's) and one of the checker's was looking at my name tag and I went up to her and said are you checking out my name tag?  She's like "yeah" and so I was like well I am a missionary from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint's and I have this card with a website on it and beforeI  finished she's like "I dont want it.  I know Jesus Christ is my savour!  He's coming soon i know it! I am saved and I am fine". I was like yeah I know he is coming soon too!!!   And she just said "you know it!, he is coming real soon'' haha I just walked off after that haha... ohhh I love the people here :)

Something I have noticed while being a missionary is first we stick out like a cow in an elk farm. Second, people really appreciate what we are doing out here. There have been many time's were people reject us but say I think it's awesome that there are young men like you out here teaching the good word and bringing in the lost people. Many people ask us what we did before this and they are amazed we cant do stuff like watch tv or go to movie's etc. I really pondered that this week and I thought to myself how big of a sacrifice it is... But then I read an article from Dallin H Oak's, he say's that we were all ordained missionarie's before we came to earth. We are all missionarie's no matter if you are called or not.  And what really stuck out to me is that Dallin H Oak's say's we choose if we serve a mission. God has given us our free agency but it is up to us to be obedient and obey the commandmen't's and actually do it. That really hit me for some reason. You know it's a choice. There are many people who don't choose... and that's their choice. But I am so glad I chose to serve a mission. Like everyone say's "this is one decision you will never regret" I KNOW that this is true. I love it. Couldn't ask for anything better!!!

So to close I had a really personal prayer answered this week... It was so amazing to feel the spirit answer my prayer. I know what I felt was from the Holy Ghost. I know he answered my prayer and it has been such an amazing thing to add to my testimony. I know the Lord hear's every single prayer you give. I know he will answer them in His due time. Just be patient and have a real intent and I promise you it will come.

Love Elder Bradshaw

P.S.  I am rocking the comb over now!!!! haha"

Funny Stuff!

Love and miss this kid so much!!!

Monday June 4, 2012

"Well hello everyone!

It has been a good week! This week we had zone conference and that was a great experience, I learned a lot about how to be a better missionary and during zone conference we were asked to invite people to be baptized on the first visit haha kinda scary. I guess it really makes a difference when you do and I guess your baptism rates go up! Another thing we also learned about was the STUPID bug's that live here...... spiders, bed bugs, chiggers (they're dumb) and how to take care of them and etc. So the next morning I was getting all fancied up to go out and I threw my pants on the floor to febreze them and a gosh dang spider crawled out of them!!!!! I freaked out (as it ran away) and I got my companion to help me haha..... we couldnt find it but all of a sudden I looked down and saw it crawling up my leg haha so I freaked out again and hurried and took my sock off.... we ended up killing it with our random bat we had in the closet haha...luckily it was just a garden spider.... I was gonna cry haha I hate spiders!! Anyways this week missionary wise has been great! I have been giving many blessing's on people and like alway's I don't get why I said what I said or remember what I said. It is the best experience ever to know that you are being told what to say by the spirit! I love how it is always our constant companion!!! Like i said in the last email we are in a tough area. But our number's are looking way good! a lot of people compliment us for doing so well! New people are coming out of the wood work and it is great cause our hard work is finally paying off! We have 5 people set with a baptismal date!! It always makes things worth it when you are teaching some one and you are prompted to say some thing or you feel the spirit so strongly that it burns! You just think about it at night when your getting ready to go to bed and you say stuff like "I don't know why I said that" or "I felt so strongly to say that, even though I was just teaching someone" People like to talk a lot down here haha. A LOT. We will be teaching a lesson and the person will go on about there life story haha... it is really tough cause sometimes it wont even be about the lesson and you have to swing it back into what you were actually saying!!! So for you girl's who like to talk out there, mississippi is da place for you!! But all in all y'all I love it, its great! Fun and memorable moment's that you will NEVER forget. I love you all and pray for you everynight! Till we meet again.

Love Elder Bradshaw aka Terminator (a member called me that cause i looked like the terminator with my sunglasses on) haha"