More Zone Conferences

     I hope everyone had a good week and is enjoying life. Things are going good over here in Virginia. We have been getting a lot of rain lately so everything is always wet but it is super green! It is something else but I think I'm still more of a mountains person. Anyway this week was good and busy.

Front : Elder Severe, Jones, Chan. 
Back : Elder Blanchard, Hall, Me

     Monday morning Elder Hudson came with me to the office to put in some numbers that didn't get reported last night and then we went shopping. We met the other guys back at the apartment then Elder Chan and I went and played sand volleyball with the APs and Ft. Belvoir elders. We played in this sweet place by a lake and totally surrounded by trees, it was pretty cool. There was also a little drizzle of rain so that was super fun to play in, we had a blast. At the beginning we were all trash talking a little bit and diving around all over the place but at the end there was no diving and pretty much no talking, we were tired. After dinner we met with a less-active named Tony and had a lesson with him about the Restoration. It was really good and we are meeting with him again and he is coming to church! Then we went to the office so we could do the Warrior Report.

Happy Birthday surprise to Sister Orr!

Elder Tapusoa, Chan, Hudson, Me, Bunn,

Hardy and Sister Laughbon and Johnson

     Tuesday we had he Oakton Zone Conference and then after that we went and tried to finish cleaning out an apartment they are closing up there. For dinner we met a member who is from Kentucky, named Brother Carr, who took us out to eat at this fancy restaurant. Probably the fanciest place I'll ever eat in my life, it was ridiculous! Plus we were the only ones in the whole place so that was interesting. After dinner Brother Carr worked with us the rest of the night on exchanges and we tried to see some recent converts and less-actives.
     Wednesday was our zone conference, the Springfield zone. After zone conference we went back up to Oakton and finished cleaning out the apartment that we had started yesterday. We had dinner at the Ehler's and then we took some of the stuff we had taken from the apartment in Oakton to an apartment that is reopening. We then tried some potentials and then went to the office and did some work there. When we got back to the apartment Elder Bunn and I got all the missionaries in the complex (us, Braddock elders, Burke elders, Rolling Valley sisters) and surprised Sister Orr because it was her birthday. We all had on party hats and had a half gallon of ice cream with candles in it and Elder Bunn had a big confetti party popper thing. We knocked on the door and when she opened it Elder Bunn shot the popper and we all yelled happy birthday, then we gave her the ice cram and sang happy birthday!

Got to see Barrett when I was up in

Leesburg! It was great to see him again.

     Thursday we went up to Leesburg for the zone conference and right after zone conference I got to see Barrett and talk with him for awhile. We even got to give him a little short tour of the church. He wants me to come listen to him give a sermon before I leave which would be pretty cool. When we were done we went to the office and did some work there and then had dinner. After dinner we went to a lesson we had with a less-active named Brother Hew-Len but he didn't answer so that was a bummer. Then I called everyone in our area book who has a number and most didn't answer but there were a couple who said call back later.
     Friday was the Centreville zone conference and then weekly planning. We planned pretty well for next week and it took us a little bit but it was good. We had dinner with the Lagerberg's and after dinner we shared Alma 13:24 with them and challenged them to give out a Book of Mormon with their testimony in it. We've decided we are going to do this at every member meal, challenge them to give out a Book of Mormon and see what happens because of it. After we went on exchanges with the Braddock elders, Elder Hudson and I spent the whole night shocking on potentials and taught a lesson on the doorstep of one and got in to talk to another so it wasn't a bad night really.
     Saturday President came and borrowed the truck to pick up a new ping pong table so we got President's car! Woo hoo! We went to The mission home when President and Dan got back with the ping pong table and helped them get it out of the truck and then we set it up. We also went to the storage sheds and helped the Torgersen's unload a big china cabinet. When we were done with that we took the old ping ping table to the dump. After dinner Elder Chan and I went to the Weber's (a part member/less-active family) and set up a time to come back and teach their 8 year old son, Will, so that was really good.
     Sunday was a good day, church was good and it was all about the Priesthood because today was the day it was restored to the earth 187 years ago. The Weber's came to church so that was exciting and the dad even came and he isn't a member. We had dinner at the Gillespie's and did the Book of Mormon challenge with them and they agreed to do it. Then we had a lesson with Tony Piro and we talked about studying the scriptures and missionary work, we also did the Book of Mormon challenge with him too so it's going good so far. We are hoping to get more referrals by doing this challenge but it is going to take a couple weeks to really get moving. After the lesson we went to the office to do numbers and half of them just disappeared after we had almost finished so we have to come back in tomorrow, oh well.
     So this week was pretty good and pretty busy and things are starting to turn around and go better so we are pretty excited. This is the scripture we are using for our Book of Mormon challenge with all the members, Alma 13:24

24 For behold, angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory.


     There are angels all around us preparing people to hear the message of the Gospel. God will lead us to them or he will lead them to us, that's a promise we have in Preach my Gospel. We need to trust in the Lord and show our faith by always being ready to share the Gospel. This Gospel is truly great and we have it because God loves us.
      I hope you all have a great week and look to help those around you in any way you can. It will make a difference in their life as well as yours. Keep smiling.      ~Elder Brady

Happy Birthday Surprise to Sister Orr!

Mother's Day!

Missionary Leadership Conference
(All the Zone Leaders, Sister Training Leaders,
Assistants to the President, Elder Chan and I)

     Hey hey everyone, I hope you had a great week and to all the mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day! Yesterday. Anyway I hope y'all are doing good and enjoying life. This week was a pretty busy week, we were in meetings most of the week so, yep lots of fun.

     Monday morning Elder Chan gave me a haircut and then we went into the office and talked to President Lowe about what we needed to have for all the zone conferences and then it was P-day! We did our regular shopping and then went to the stake center and played some basketball, it was pretty fun and there were quite a few people there too. Sometimes the games get pretty serious and some people get mad, but uh oh well. After dinner Elder Chan and I went to the office to do some work there and to do the warrior report. President Huntsman was there, so we talked to him for a little bit and that's always fun, he's a great guy.
     Tuesday we went down to Manassas to the zone conference down there. It's the start of all 9 zone conferences, which basically means 3 weeks of straight meetings for us. Woo hoo! It was good though, this time through President is talking about faith in the Lord and faith in our missionary work. The Assistants are talking about baptismal calendars and the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders are talking about finding and working with members, so it's going to be a lot of good meetings. Lots to learn.
      On Wednesday we went up to McLean for their zone conference which was the same as yesterday's pretty much but still way good. After zone conference Elder Chan and I went to an apartment we are cleaning out and got a load out of there and took it back to the storage sheds. We barely made it to the Jones' for dinner on time and then after dinner we went to the office to get ready for MLC (Missionary Leadership Conference) tomorrow.
      Thursday morning was MLC and that was pretty good. President talked about leadership and what makes us good leaders. (It's always serving others, that's what makes good leaders) Then President talked about the Sabbath Day and how we can keep it holy because it really just feels like another day as a missionary. You do the same things for the most part everyday, except church, so sometimes it doesn't feel any different. He talked about how we can make it special to us and it was really good. The Assistants talked about attitude and the role it plays in all we do, it can make all the difference in the world. After MLC we went to the office and did some work there and then went to the William's for dinner. They are a super sweet young family and it was a lot of fun at their place. Then we had a lesson with a less-active named Brother Hew-Len. It was an interesting lesson, he kept saying he knows he needs to do all these things like come to church and read the scriptures, but since his wife died 10 years ago he just doesn't have the desire to. He said it feels empty. It's really sad, I wish he could see that the Gospel will help, but hopefully soon he will see it. He's a super nice, funny older gentleman and seems to like us coming by, so that's good.
      Friday was the Mt. Vernon zone conference and during this one we had to make a copy of one of the sets of missionaries key so we have a copy. After the conference we went to the office and we were on the phone with Salt Lake for awhile fixing the computers. Not my forte. We picked up our dinner from a member's and went back to the office to eat it so we could do some work there at the same time. Then we tried some potentials, but no one was home and so we knocked doors the rest of the night but got nothing.
      On Saturday we went up to Leesburg to take a desk and a whiteboard to two sets of sisters up there, I always like going up there. It takes awhile and we barely got back in time for dinner, again. We had dinner with the Wadsworth's who are great, they feed us quite a bit. After dinner we spent the evening trying potentials in the area book and doing some tracting. We did have one guy (he's a referral from the Braddock elders) say he was reading the Book of Mormon and to come back in a month, ok dude.
      Sunday was good. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! I hope it was a great day for all the mothers! Elder Chan skyped before church so I got to sit and listen to him speak Chinese with his mom haha that was cool. Church was good, we always have good lessons and the people are great. After church we had an early dinner at the Hodgdon's and it was so good! Roast beef and potatoes and gravy and biscuits and it was just really good. They're an awesome family. After dinner Elder Chan and I made thank you cards for all the families who have fed us and then we went to the office and I skyped my family! Whoop whoop!! It was great to see them and talk to them, they're awesome and I miss them a ton. Well this past week was fun and super busy, lots of meetings and lots of work to do but it's great. Elder Chan and I are really trying to even out the work we are doing in the office and in the area so hopefully that goes pretty well. I hope y'all are doing good and have a great week this week! Life is Good.      ~ Elder Brady

We be driving the truck!

Life is Crazy

P-dayyyyyyy!! Elders Tapusoa, Hudson,
 Me, Hardy, Bunn, Chan

     Hey everyone I hope you're doing good and had an awesome week! Live life, that's what's up. My week was pretty good, there were a couple of days that things got interesting, but it was fun. We did lots of driving around the mission this week which is a really cool part of what we get to do, we get to see the whole mission. It's awesome.

     Anyway on Monday we went down to Ft. Belvoir and played some rugby and soccer with a bunch of elders, it was pretty fun. Soccer is pretty tiring, you run a ton and that's just backyard soccer. It was a pretty warm day too, so everyone was pretty tired at the end. Then we emailed at the Ox Road chapel and then went back to the apartment. We went to the Fleming's and met a recent convert there named Brian Short, talked a bit and had a good spiritual/lesson with them. Then Brian left but the Fleming's little girl, Isla, asked Elder Chan and I to stay for family home evening which she was teaching, so we did. It was good, she taught about daring to choose the right and then we played a little game like chutes and ladders. It was great! After that we went to the office and did the Warrior Report. We messed up twice so we had to send three of them, haha woo hoo!

Tractors at Juan Pine's house,he has a ton of cool stuff

     Tuesday morning we went to the mission home for a District Leader meeting with all the district leaders in the mission. President and the AP's talked about how they can be the best district leaders they can be and gave them some ideas. After that we had to go into the office so we could get Tiwi installed in the van, oh how I hate Tiwi. Tiwi monitors a bunch of things, but basically if you speed or drive "aggressively" and so on you get a violation, after a certain amount of violations you get your driving privileges taken away. It's a real distraction when you're driving at least to me, but I guess it's supposed to help. We had dinner at the Wadsworth's and then went on splits with Dallin Hodgdon who is a priest in our ward. We met with a less-active named Brother Hew-Len and it was good. We are going back next week.
      Wednesday we went to the office and spent most of the afternoon there. Then we took the old van to the shop so it can get all prettied up and ready to sell. We had dinner with the Blaine's and then went on splits with Brother Bold. We went and talked to his next door neighbor, Juan Pine, and talked about temples and families being together forever and then a little bit about the restoration and Joseph Smith. It was good and he said we can come back so that's awesome!
     Today (Thursday) again we spent most of the afternoon in the office setting up iPads for some of the new missionaries. When we finished that we went to the shop and picked up the van and took it back to the office, then met Brother Bold and Brian Short for dinner at a diner. After dinner we went on splits with Brother Johnson and ended up talking with the Weber's who are a less-active/part-member family. She said she wants us to come teach her son and that they are going to start coming to church. Yeahhhhh buddy! Then we had to go back to the office and set up another iPad for a new missionary.
     Friday we went on exchanges with the Braddock elders. Elder Hudson and I went and helped a guy move. It wasn't too bad because it was just from one apartment building to the next one right by each other. The guy's name was Michael and he is pretty cool, he played college football too. We met Elder Bunn and Elder Chan and a couple of members from the YSA ward at Ill Mee for lunch because it was Elder Bunn's birthday so that was fun. Then we went back to the office and set up more iPads for the new missionaries. The Kinard's, a senior couple, took us to dinner and then we went back to the office and finished up some work there.
     Saturday we ran around a lot. We got a call in the morning from the Torgersen's (senior couple), asking for help moving so we went down to Ft. Belvoir and and spent the afternoon doing that. We set up an iPad for a new missionary down there too. While we were finishing that move up, we got a call and some elders had locked their car keys in their car so we had to go to the office, get the spare key, and drive over to Centreville and unlock it for them. At Centreville we set up an iPad for a new missionary and while we were doing that we got a call saying that an apartment was closing today and we needed to have it cleaned out. Great. We booked it up to Herndon and start cleaning out the apartment, some elders helped us and we got it all done. Then we decided to run up to Leesburg and set up an iPad for a new missionary because we were so far up there already.
     Sunday was a good day. We went to church and had an awesome lesson on Temples and family history work, it was great. Then we went to the combined young men and young women testimony meeting they do and that was really good, there are a ton of youth here. Sunday evening we drove up to Arlington to get the last two iPads set up and to the missionaries so they could have them for Mothers Day.
     Well it was a bit of a crazy week there towards the end, but that's life. I've learned God will help us no matter what and when life just seems to get crazy we need to rely on Him all the more, He will make us strong and we will be able to do what we need to do. I hope y'all have a great week and never give up on yourself!
     ~ Elder Brady

Transfers!

Elder Jones and I chowing down
on dinner at the mission home

     Hey everybody I hope y'all are doing good! This past week was pretty good for me and it was transfer week, I'm not getting transferred so no worries there. Anyway transfer week is always the busiest week for us, but I think it's one of my favorite times as an office elder.
     Monday was an okay p-day, we were going to play football, but Elder Chan wasn't feeling the best, so we went to the stake center instead so he could be inside and lay down if he wanted to. The rest of us played a little basketball, but not much because most everyone was playing football. After basketball we went to a couple thrift stores just looking around. After dinner we went into the office to do the warrior report.
     Tuesday morning we started moving furniture to all the apartments opening or to trios, there is only one trio and one apartment opening so it should be easy but nope. Went to move furniture into the new apartment and we couldn't get in because we didn't have a key, we got a key and put our first load in and were coming back to unload a second when Elder Andersen (senior missionary) called us and told us to stop! There was some problems with the complex and opening the new apartment, so we had to take all the stuff back out that we had put in. That was a pain, we did have a lady come up to us and say she wanted missionaries to come back and teach her two daughters. I guess they were being taught about a year ago but stopped. Then we took a bed and a dresser down to Manassas for the trio.
     Wednesday morning we met Elder Andersen at the office and we went to pick up the U-haul we were renting for transfers. Got the Uhaul and went back to the office to help the APs with some last minute transfer work and then headed into Ronald Reagan Airport to pick up the new missionaries! We usually drive around the airport 4-6 times and then President and Sister Huntsman and the AP's come out with the new missionaries, but this time we went around 21 times! Elder Chan was getting sick. We found out their flight had been delayed and no one had told us, so we could go park somewhere -- awesome. Anyways then we took them into DC to see the Lincoln Memorial and at the memorial Elder Jones and I always slide down the side of the stairs on this little ramp like thing, except Elder Jones crashed and burned this time haha it was awesome! There were tons of people there too! It's ok though he laughed it off like a champ. Got back to the Mission Home, ate dinner and got to know the newbies while President interviewed them one at a time, then we took them to the hotel.
     Thursday was transfer day. In the morning we picked up the new missionaries from the hotel and headed to Centreville. We had the trainers and trainees meeting and then got some lunch before transfers. Elder Chan and I are staying together for another transfer and he goes home next transfer, which means this will be the third companion I send home. After transfers Elder Chan and I went to the office and got Sister Huntsman's transfer board cards done for the new missionaries, so she could put them on the board she has at the Mission Home. We had dinner with the departing missionaries and played some volleyball afterwards. Then all the departing missionaries had a chance to bear their testimony, which is one of my favorite parts, and Elder Jones bore his too because he goes home before the next transfer. When everyone was ready we took them to the hotel, Dan (President Huntsman's son) was riding with us again and he's awesome. On the way there we got a call from Elder Blanchard, who was right behind us and we were racing them, saying the back of the U-haul was open. I though he was just messing with us trying to get us to stop, but we decided Elder Chan better jump out and check and sure enough it was open. One of the missionaries had left it open when they were getting some of their stuff out at the mission home, it was hilarious! Nothing fell out though so we were good.

Dulles Airport

     Friday morning we got up early, picked up the departing missionaries, and took them to Dulles Airport to catch their ride home. After that we went to Denny's to have the traditional breakfast with the APs and two other sets of elders showed up. After breakfast we returned the U-haul and then went back to the apartment and took a nap. It was soooo nice! Woke up, grabbed some lunch, and went to the office to do transfer board cards, update contacts and some other things. Tonight Elder Hudson was messing around and lit a ping pong ball on fire which set off our brand new fire alarm. He was standing there covering the fire alarm, yelling help, and trying to blow the smoke away from the fire alarm. It was pretty funny! Then once it started going off he took it off the wall and stuck it under a couch cushion to make it be quiet, haha it was great!

     Saturday we went to the office and did some work there and then we went and blitzed our area with the Braddock elders. Elder Bunn and I got into a guy's house, but it wasn't much of a discussion, it was mostly him just going off on what he believed and he wouldn't let us talk much. On our way back to dinner Elder Chan and I stopped to help an elderly couple who were working on their front yard. They were digging holes to plant two trees, that kind of thing is right up my alley. The digging holes part anyway. We helped them for about an hour and a half, got both the trees planted and then they invited us in for watermelon. They spoke broken English so it was a little hard to understand each other but it was good, felt nice to do some work.
     Sunday was good, church was good like always. During the third hour we got asked to teach a class in 10 minutes for about 10 minutes so we went into a young women's class and taught them a little about the Apostasy and why we needed a restoration. It was pretty good and I don't mind teaching so that's a good thing. After church we had our ward missionary correlation and then ward council. Then we went to dinner at the Fleming's and as soon as that was done we headed back to the church for a musical fireside our ward put on. It was really good and it was a great thing for people to bring non-member friends too. After we talked to some people we went to the office to do some numbersssss.
     Well it was a busy week but it was a good week. Transfer week is always the most hectic, but it's awesome because we get to be with new missionaries and departing missionaries within a couple days of each other. We get to see both sides of the spectrum and how excited both are. Usually there are a lot more tears from the departing missionaries, but I'm beginning to understand that. Anyway I'm excited to be staying in the office, it's pretty fun. Well I hope y'all have a great week! Stay happy and awesome!     ~ Elder Brady

The departing sisters laughing at us with the Uhaul door open

Another Busy Busy Week...

Springfield Zone

     Hey Hey I hope everyone had a great week! My week was pretty good just staying busy doing the work that is given to us. We always seem to have something else to do, but I like being busy it helps to keep me out of trouble a little bit.
     Anyway a on Monday for P-Day we had our Zone Activity. We went to a park and played whiffle ball and kickball with the whole zone and had a BBQ so that was fun. Afterwards we switched vehicles with the APs so we could have the truck to move some stuff. We took a full size bed over to Alexandria to an investigator of some sisters. She had bedbugs and couldn't afford to get a new bed and we were trying to get rid of it anyway so it worked out great. When we were dropping off the bed a lady started yelling at us from a second story window. She was saying how we always come around on our bikes in our shirts and ties getting all up in people's business. It was kind of funny but I don't think she cares for missionaries all the much.
     Tuesday morning Elder Hudson and I were playing "What are the odds" to see what we could get each other to wear to Zone Training today. He got me once so I had to wear boxing gloves but I got him three times, so he had to wear a funny shirt, moccasins, and carry his Ukulele around the whole time. It was hilarious! At Zone Training they talked about the Mission Vision and then seeing yourself achieving your goals, it was pretty good. After lunch Elder Chan and I went to the office and did the baptism pictures for the 300. We went to dinner with Brother Bold and Brian Short (A recent convert) and it was good, they're cool guys. Then we took a desk down to the Mt. Vernon elders.
     Wednesday we went on exchanges with Elder Ma and Elder Thygersen, Elder Thygersen came with me and Elder Chan went with Elder Ma. Elder Thygersen and I went to the office so I could put some people into the concert entry and then we went to the storage sheds to grab some stuff we needed to take to people after dinner. We had dinner with the Steiner's who are a part-member family, he dad is not a member. It was good, but I guess the dad isn't interested at the moment. After dinner we dropped of a bed frame to the Spring Lake elders, a lamp to the Algonkian elders, and then we drove up to Leesburg to drop off a dresser to the Shenandoah sisters. It took all night and was a lot of driving but it was good, Elder Thygersen and I talked a lot and he was asking a bunch of questions and asking for advice, it seemed a little weird to give advice but I hope I helped him out.

AP's and I ...
they were sleeping at Return and Report

     On Thursday we had Return and Report in the morning and we were all set up and ready and then we realized we had forgotten one of the videos, so we had to book it back to the office and get it. For lunch the APs make grilled cheese sandwiches and Elder Jones' grilled cheese making skills have gotten better since the last time he made one for me! Finished lunch and went to the office and got some stuff done there and hen we went to dinner at the Blaine's. After dinner we tried to find a referral but the address doesn't exist and he wouldn't answer the phone....
     Friday morning we had our office staff meeting and then the senior couples had brought us food so we ate lunch. After lunch we went with the APs and President Lowe to Tysons to pick up two brand new cars! I drove one back and Elder Jones rode with me while Elder Blanchard drove the other and Elder Chan rode with him, it was sweet! We met back up at the office and Elder Chan and I went to the storage sheds and met the Ito's and Torgersen's there to clean the sheds out a little. Basically they told us to just go through them both again and get rid of what we don't think the mission will use. So we took a trip to the dump. After dinner Elder Bunn and Elder Hudson came with us down to Mt. Vernon to finish cleaning out an apartment that is closing down there, it was a party.

Cherry Blossoms

      Saturday's morning we took some chairs, that were in good condition and we didn't think he mission would use, to an organization called ACCA. They take donated furniture and give it out to people that can't afford to get their own so that was pretty cool. After that we went to a Korean restaurant called IL MEE and it was really pretty good. It was a buffet but you could also order certain meats and they would cook it on little skillets right at your table! It was pretty cool. When we were done gorging ourselves (dad I used chopsticks the whole time!) we went to Oakton and started cleaning out an apartment that is closing. We didn't finish before we had to leave to go to dinner at the Alplanalp's house and they fed us more Korean! I guess it was a Korean kind of day. After dinner we tried a potential and a referral, both didn't answer. We then tried four less-active members and none of them answered either. I think we more than struck out tonight. Oh well we will keep going and working.

Street named after my Grandpa!
Not really, but hey it's cool.

     Sunday we went to church and it was good, in sacrament they talked about baptismal covenants and why they are so important, it was great! In Gospel Principles we talked about why the church focuses so much on families and marriage and why they are so important, which was also awesome! In third hour Elder Chan and I got to go in and teach the senior primary about the example of Jesus Christ. That was way fun and there were a ton of kids so it wasn't boring at all, they kept it interesting. It was a really good day at church that is for sure. Right after church we met with the ward missionaries and did our correlation then and we had ward council later. We came back to the apartment and Elder Chan went straight to sleep, he wasn't feeling good and pretty much slept the rest of the day. He woke up just long enough to eat some dinner and then went back to sleep again, poor guy.
     Well this week was pretty good, we definitely were able to stay busy busy busy. We had some good meetings this week and learned from all of them, missionary meetings and church are great places to learn something new you can implement into your life. I hope everyone is doing well and starting to get ready for summer, it coming! Thanks for the support y'all show me, it really means a lot. Stay happy and live life!     ~ Elder Brady

Minion Day

     Hey y'all I hope you are doing well and living life to the fullest. The days are starting to warm up out here and I don't know if I'm ready for the heat yet. I'm definitely more of a cold weather kind of guy I guess.
     Anyway on Monday we did our shopping and then went to the stake center to play some ball. We had a couple of good games and then a few of us went to a park and tossed the football and baseball around. It's super nice to be able to go outside now. After dinner we ran to the Ox road building to drop a ball off to the Braddock elders and pick up a bag for another missionary. We then went to the office and did the Warrior Report.
     We had district meeting this morning and we talked about the vine of Christ and how we are a branch of that vine. We reach out to others and help bring them unto Christ. Not only us missionaries but all the members of this church are to reach out to those around us. After lunch we went to the office and ended up trying to fix a printer but it was the outlet that wasn't working so they are having someone come in to fix it. We ate dinner and then went on exchanges with Brother Bold to go to one of the families he home teaches who is a less-active and his wife isn't a member. It went well, Elder Chan and I shared our stories of why we came on a mission.
     Wednesday morning we had an apartment inspection by the Torgersen's and then went to the office to have a meeting with some of the senior couples. The meeting was mainly about moving out the queen size beds and buying new twin size ones but President Huntsman came to our  rescue and said not to do it. It would have been a lot of work for us and taken us away from proselyting even more than we already are. After that we helped President and the APs make some small and simple goal videos. The APs send one out almost everyday and the mission really makes a focus to obtain or do that goal, it's pretty cool. We had dinner with the Buss family and their little daughter said it was Minion Day tomorrow so we had to sign a paper and wear purple or yellow.
     Thursday, Minion Day, I wore a yellow tie and Elder Chan wore a purple tie. It was awesome! We had MLC this morning and President talked a lot about the Mission Vision, and the APs talked about creating model areas. It was pretty good and seemed to excite the missionaries there, which are all the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders so that's a good thing. We went to the office to do some work there before dinner. After dinner we tried some people but no luck so we tracted a little bit. We talked to this lady named Retana and she was really nice and took a Book of Mormon and a Restoration pamphlet so that was sweet!
     Friday we met the Ito's at the storage sheds so Elder Ito could look around again and make some decisions with what to do. He told us he needed a spot leaned out and have a bookshelf set up for him by Monday. Thanks man. After lunch we went to the office and sent a bunch of iPads back to Salt Lake, most of them are from missionaries that have gone home but some are just broken. When we got back to the apartment we did some weekly planning. During dinner we played truth or dare with the other elders and Elder Bunn had to drink an egg raw with ketchup in it, it was gross! After dinner we did a blitz in our area with the Braddock elders and did some tracting but we didn't get many nice answers...oh well.     Saturday morning we took Elder Chan to meet up with some other missionaries so he could go to the temple with a recent convert from one of his previous areas. Elder Bunn, Elder Hudson and I were in a trio the rest of the day so that was fun. We cleaned out one of the storage sheds and took some stuff to Goodwill. We had dinner at our Bishop's house and had breakfast for dinner. After that Elder Bunn and Elder Hudson had a bunch of non-members playing basketball with some of their members so we wet and played with them, it was pretty fun. When the day was over we went and picked up Elder Chan and headed back to the apartment.
     Sunday was fast and testimony meeting which was really good, they are always good. I also got to help pass the sacrament which was cool, I haven't done that in awhile. After church we had Missionary Correlation and then Ward Council. We then went to the Torgersen's (related to the senior missionary Torgersen's) and met and talked to them for a bit. We decided to take some little snack things Elder Chan had to the less-active member we had seen earlier this week with Brother Bold and talked wi him for awhile. So we ended up being short on dinner time so we picked it up from a member's home and ate it at the church. After we are we hustled over to the Mueller's home and we're giving a spiritual message, at the end of it when Elder Chan was about to bear his testimony their puppy started peeing on the floor haha end of that message pretty much. We had to leave anyway though so we could go on exchanges with Brother Bold again and see more of his home teaching families with him.
     Well this week was an alright week, we had some good things happen and some not so good things happen but that's life. Life is a roller coaster and we are here to ride it and have fun. I hope you are all doing well and still thinking about Conference! Don't let it just slide away till you forget about it, remember it and learn from it so you can continue to become better. Have a great week and be awesome!      ~ Elder Brady

Cherry Blossoms/General Conference!!

     Hey y'all I hope you had a great week and an even better weekend! It was General Conference and it was so good! I got asked which was my favorite talk and I really couldn't pick one, there were so many good ones and so many struck me, that it is impossible to really pick a favorite. Anyway I'll tell you a bit about this past week.

     Monday for our P-Day we went into DC to see the cherry blossoms and it was awesome! They were a little better than they were last year, but not the best they could be, we probably missed he peak of it by about a day or so but it was still really good. We were just walking around looking at things and we got a text from our Zone Leaders telling everyone to leave DC as quick as they good, there was a shooting at the Capitol! It was pretty crazy, but nothing happened to any of the missionaries so we are all good.
     Tuesday morning was our district meeting and it was on asking good questions, ones that are inspired. I've come to see that questions can make a huge difference in a lesson and the better and more thoughtful and spiritually inspired they are the more we have God working through us to that specific person. It was really good. Went to the office and printed out some baptism pictures of people baptized to put on our 300 wall. Went to dinner at the Hodgdon's, who are sweet, and spent some time with them. We gave the dad a blessing and shared the Glenn Cunningham story with them, the spirit was really strong. For those of you who don't know who Glenn Cunningham is go look him up, there's a story about him which is really inspiring. It's about him being able to run, you'll know it when you read it!

Endure to the End Group

     Wednesday morning I had my Endure to the End meeting. It's basically a meeting where everyone that goes home in three or four months get together and President talks to us about not just coasting to the end. Not giving up early. It was pretty good and there are so many ways we can coast, but we need to focus and stay chugging till the end. Anywho, after lunch we went to the office and did some work there, took most of the night.
     Thursday we spent most of the day in the office trying to get a lot of things done. I swear there never seems to be an end of stuff we have to do haha it's kind of nice and yet kind of not. Good thing is we are always busy for sure. Funny story: while at the office Sister Alcantara called (she is from Peru and still doesn't get some American phrases) and wanted me to explain to her what "white trash" is. Haha it was super funny but it's really hard to try and explain that to someone who doesn't know any other phrases like hick, hillbilly, and redneck. Sister Alcantara is in a trio and I guess the other two sisters said it and she didn't know what it was and they couldn't explain it so she decided to call me.....I don't know what that means but ok whatever haha. After dinner we went on exchanged with the Braddock elders and I went with Elder Hudson to institute, that was pretty fun and pretty interesting.
     Friday we did our weekly planning which took awhile and then we went to the Burr's house for dinner. Earlier in the day I got to hear from my trainer! Elder Seely called and said they were in town and he wanted to come see me the next day.

Elder Brady & Cole Seely (my trainer visiting)

     Saturday Elder Seely and his family are out here and he came by to see me so I got so talk with him and meet his family. He has been home for six months already it is super weird. After meeting with Seely we went to the office to unlock it so a set of sisters could get some materials they needed for a lesson. We watched General Conference at the Andersen's, a senior couple in the mission, and it was sooo good! We ate dinner at the Payton's house and then went to the Priesthood Session at the stake center and that was also really good!
     Sunday we went back to the Andersen's and watched Conference there again. I was sad when it was over, it was a really good Conference. I had a lot of the talks that I really liked so it's hard for me to choose a favorite. We went to dinner at the Wadsworth's and then went and checked up on a potential but no one was home. Then to the office to do numbers.
     Well this week was really good and I really, really enjoyed General Conference. I've come to appreciate it a lot more since I've been on a mission because of what we can learn and we get to hear from our church leaders. Anyway this one was really good! I hope y'all learned something from Conference that was meant exactly for you and put it into your life to use it. Have a great week and Happy Birthday to my big sis Kayla!!
     ~ Elder Brady

Elder Chan & Elder Brady at Cherry Blossom Festival

Washington DC

Missionaries I will come home with.
Elder Brady, Elder Neyman, Sister Taylor, Elder Frew & Elder Sanders