The 17th Chronicle

Hello Family & Friends!

I love Iowa. You might ask, "How Come?". Welp, I prepared a nice little list to help myself explain, in the event that one might ask... just that. I call it my, "What I love about Iowa" list XD It starts with...

#1 - People wave to each other! Crazy right? Like strangers will just wave to you. Which, for starters, is not common to be waved at (at least as a missionary). Everyone seems to notice each other, whether on the road or out on the street, and they'll always give a little wave.

#2 - Hills. Gotta love that transition from the false sense of security, called "Mountains", for miles and miles of hills. It's one of the most beautiful drives! Nothing like cresting a hill just to see more rolling before you... as far as the eye can see. For the road to flow with the land. It really is something, I'm telling you.

#3 - Humidity. One of my favorites. Nothing like sweat just dripping down you or feeling the real intensity of heat. Sure keeps the skin all moist (R.I.P. lotion)! I don't know what it is but I really do enjoy the humidity. Good stuff.

#4 - Green. No, we're not talking about a little patch of painlessly protected grass in the high desert of the west, but rather an untamed wilderness of trees and foliage rooted in the Earth. That and rows and rows of crops. Hard to beat the best air in the world (thanks corn). Also to have lots of rain to keep everything nice and watered.

#5 - Down to Earth. A lot of people are farmers or tradesmen, not to mention a few other professions, but where we are at ...that's the gist. We've met a lot of good old down-to-earth folks. Be careful now, they might talk your ear off about "Granddaddy John" but besides that, they are good people. Lots of "faith". Always willing to look out for one another. Lots of families in the same town too. Found out the other day we were teaching three generations of the same family just here in Logan, Iowa.

#6 - Fireflies. I find fireflies just fascinating. When you have a field of flashing lights and the faint glow of a sunset peaking over the receding skyline, mhmm, nothing better.

#7 - Thunder Storms. Sure does rain quite a bit more than back home. Loving all the beautiful flashs of lightning and clashs of thunder. It'll be pouring cans of tomatoes one moment and stop the next. Sure can help us out sometimes! Last week we met a kid just before it rained pretty hard. He invited us to take shelter on his porch, and so we gladly took up his offer and then taught him a lesson!

#8 - Small Towns. Nothing like everyone knowing everyone. Really though. Nothing like it ;) Sure does feel good when you know Logan, Iowa better than Logan, Utah. Made me think I should have gotten out more and met the people around me if I lived next to them. How well do we really know those around us?

My favorite quote of the week comes from one of our really good friends, a family we are teaching, Ed and Adrian. Ed shared a story when he was on a cross country trip with his Dad. He (Ed) had fallen asleep during the ride. When he woke up he looked out the window and saw that they were really flying down the road. "Wow!" he said, "How fast are we going Dad?". His Dad responded, "Oh I don't know... there's no needle!" 😄

Lyn was baptized on Saturday! She is amazing. Along with rocking awesome fellowship and reading the Book of Mormon (plus great ward members) she has really come to enjoy the ward and feel the spirit. She told us, "I've found my home". The spirit was truly strong throughout the whole baptismal service. My favorite part was seeing Lyn as she came out of the water, the expression on her face, and the tears in her eyes. #SpiritIsReal #ChurchIsTrue 

Kia Kaha!

Elder Brady