The 18th Chronicle

Hello Family & Friends!

Training is like parenting. Dear Parents... I feel your joy and your pain now XD. What insights you can receive about life just from a mission! You learn how to become a Father and a spouse. You learn leadership and how to follow. You learn how to serve. You learn the gospel and it's basic principles. You learn how to study and to grow. You for sure learn humility if you let Him break you down to build you up. It's amazing. But yes, training is parenting. Why? You take a "kid" and you teach them. You are there 24/7 from day one. You feel joy when they succeed and you feel sorrow when they fail. You love them enough to correct them. You watch as they choose to obey and as they choose to disobey. You see them try and get away with things, while at the same time, you see them go out of their way to help out. It's crazy seeing all of the parallels. It has been such a cool experience to be training. Something else I've learned is to chastise with love and purpose. Also, make sure they know you love them. Finally, to let them know you have faults too that you are working on. #AdultVibes

Elder Seal is in my ZONE! So I came out with Elder Stokes (who is super lit by the way) and now both of us are training. Elder Stokes is training Elder Seal. We are in the same zone. You have to know that I heard about Elder Seal LONG before the mission. Turns out my Grandma (Carol Brady) and HIS Grandma (Connie Seal) know each other. I even think both Elder Seal and I are the oldest grandkids for these wonderful ladies and the first ones off on missions. Long story short, he just flew in from the MTC a couple weeks ago and it was so fun to meet up and get to talk. He knows how to play ball I'm telling you XD Funny story too. I learned before the mission that the Nebraska Omaha Mission had a fun nickname, NOM. Ya know, that reminds me of Vietnam. A couple days later I learned about another mission acronymm, S.W.A.T. = Smile. Work Hard. And. Testify. Add all that with my man Elder Seal... and you get a wonderful homecoming talk intro. *very old Vet style* "Ya see, back when I was in NOM... I served on the SWAT team with my mate and Navy Seal... Elder Seal." Cheesy, I know. Anyways, that's for one of my wonderful grandparents... Grandma Carol. Love you!

 

 

Jasmine is AMAZING! She is Lyn's daughter and is just rocking it. We gave her Book of Mormon Stories to read and she is already three chapters in. She has been asking tons of questions and loves meeting with us. She has been coming to church and is now set on date to be baptized. I love seeing kids progressing. Probably because I know the HUGE affect it will have on them later in life and the impact it will have on generations. No wonder Christ asked us to be like a child. That is to be humble, meek, full of faith, trusting in the Lord, and willing to submit to all the Father seeth fit to inflict upon him. #RisingGeneration

The pine-wood-fan bird. A member carved a beautiful bird right in front of our eyes within five minutes last night. As he shaped and carved the soft pine he shared how we are all a "block of pine". The CARVER is Heavenly Father. He doesn't see us as a block of wood but as something far more. He sees what we can become. He uses are weaknesses (the softness of the wood) and our strengths (the long fibers in pine) to craft and create something truly beautiful. We take each cut to be painful. We can't see the end in mind. We feel useless and worthless. Yet, all along God sees what we are becoming. He knows that he can't use any other type of wood but us to create what he wants. Only, if we are patient and faithful will we come out of the hands of the CARVER into a magnificent bird... ready to fly.

 

 

 

DuoLingo is amazing. If you want to learn a language I highly recommend. The Pimsleur method is great too. No, I didn't get reassigned to speak Spanish (though it could happen you never know), but I have been learning a little on the side. Mostly because it's always handy, and we have a lot of Latino and Hispanic people in our area up in Denison, Iowa. Super cool though! I'm getting better. Hablo um poco español! 

 

 

Kia Kaha!

Elder Brady