4th of July Email

"Hello everyone it is Nick! I am doing very well. These past couple weeks have been really amazing and have really opened up my eyes to different things I need to work on as a person and also enduring through tough times.

We had the special opportunity to go to a funeral with our bishop. It was a great experience. Me and Elder Milligan said the prayers. As I was at the funeral I pondered a lot about the plan of salvation and that knowing this is not the end just another step forward. There were many non members at the funeral and I wondered if they knew if there was life after this one. Many people down here do but I just thought how grateful I am to know the plan of salvation and all the key elements in it and what I need to do to get to the top of the celestial kingdom. I was also reading in Teachings of the Prophets (like usual) and I read the chapter on lifer after this and in the eternities. It really made me understand it better. Especially outer darkness. Many people down here believe hell is a place of fire and brimstone as it says in the Bible. Well Joseph Smith has said that its not actual fire and brimstone but it is in your minds. When you are in outer darkness you will have so much regret and sorrow for not listening and following the gospel. I mean I hate when my mind is guilty and always worried over something, it drives you insane. You try to explain that to people down here and they dont get it hahah.

I had the amazing opportunity to give an elder lady a blessing. She found out she has cancer, her second time having it. We set up an appointment and we first off, prayed with her then I just felt so strongly to give her a blessing. I was able to preform the blessing and it was very powerful. Not remembering what I said of course and we closed and everyone in the room felt so peaceful. Very powerful.

Another amazing opportunity I had was to be able to bless the home of an kinda older lady taking care of her sick mother. We taught her the restoration last week and also the plan of salvation. This time we wanted to bless her home. I had the great privelage of doing so. It was a very powerful blessing on the home. I felt the spirit so strongly. After I closed you could just tell the whole mood of everyone changed and also the feeling of the home just changed in an instant. Haha nobody felt like talking when we left because we felt the spirit so strongly. It just goes to show that this work is true and the priesthood is very powerful and can change one's feelings in an instant.

We had a great time on the 4th we got fed twice that day. Really yummy food! That night around 5 we had a water fight at a members home haha and I got my "Coffin sized" haha it was a funny experience. We had to be in by 6 P.M. that night so that nothing bad could happen to us! All in all a good 4th of July!

Our new Mission President came in this past week. He is a very kind man. I had the opportunity to meet him and get to know him. Amazing guy. He cares so much about us. His wife is the same way too. Just incredible. They are going to be great mission presidents!!  I am very excited to work with them.

Some of the people in Pearl are coming a long. Yesterday we got rejected hardcore by a guy that was progessing.  It was just random. We are hoping by the end of the month we can get at least one baptism.

Haha it is so fun to just saddle up on your bike and take off. Ride past the people and talk to them and either see them run back into their homes or tell us to keep riding. I love just singing songs as I am riding. You hear many songs down here that bring back the good ol' memories. This week I just started singing Adele randomly as I am biking or 3 doors down haha very entertaining.

Coming on to my 3rd month almost has been great I am really enjoying it and it gets better. Rough at first but then it gets WAY better!   Just got to endure! Mhhmmmmmm :)

Well yall I am fixin to leave have a good week and be good!

Love Elder Bradshaw

This past week Justin & I have been in Virginia.  I got together a little "Virginia" package for Nick. Not too exciting, but it's all there was haha.