Everything Including the Kitchen Sink

Dearest Family and Friends,
Hello Hello. Um, my exclamation mark doesn´t work on this keyboard, so just imagine every sentence with one at the end, because I am so excited to be here in Los Frailes. The work here is AMAZING and I almost feel like I´m on a different mission compared to my last area. Haha. Okay not really, but the area is very different and I am loving every minute of it. We are farther from the city and therefore all the streets are filled with little houses or colmados...which are little corner markets that sell basically a little of everything. It´s funny because they blast music really loud almost all day long and I can´t help but think how much I´ll miss them when I have to go home. Half the streets are unpaved and dirty, and almost everyone burns their trash so I smell like campfire the majority of the time. But I love it. There are so many people to meet and teach. My second day here we taught 10 lessons, which I didn´t even know was possible. Hermana Diaz is amazing and I love her. We get along great and laugh all the time over our memory problems. I can´t ever remember where we are and she can´t ever remember the names of people we meet. We make a good team lol. However, all of this wonderful work isn´t without it´s trials. Gratefully, most of our trials are with material things and not investigators. Yesterday we came home to find the kitchen flooded as the kitchen sink was regurgitating dirty sink water from our neighbors apartments up above. The plumber that was working above us doesn´t want to take responsibility for it and we don´t have money to pay for the repairs, so we´re trying to work that out. Then today when we got back from visiting with other missionaries in the parque del este we discovered that when I shut our bedroom door to keep out the bad smell from the kitchen it locked...so now we have to call a locksmith before we will be able to sleep tonight. Haha. Ah trials, but the work continues to move forward. I am constantly amazed by the Lord and His love for us. I was able to attend two baptisms this week for the elders that we share our ward with. The first was a family of three with a mother and her two young children. The boy and girl were both giggling nonstop as they walked into the font and I couldn´t help but laugh too. The Spirit works in interesting ways sometimes. Then that same evening we got to see another young woman from a less active famlily baptized. After she came out of the water her little 4 year old brother started yelling ME ME ME. LoL. He´ll have to wait another few years. This week I´ve also been enjoying feasting on the words of our prophets and apostles in the conference ensign. What a blessing that is. This morning I read President Uchtdorf´s talk on pride and felt the drive more than ever to conquer my weaknesses and give myself over wholly to this work. Truly we become the hands of the Lord when we forget ourselves, submit our will to Him, and commit to doing whatever it takes to bring about His work. I am imperfect and small, but through Him I know I can do great things. I love this work and despite the trials, both great and small, I know I am where I need to be. I love you guys and I am so grateful the Lord has blessed me throughout my life with such amazing examples, both in my family and with my friends. If it weren´t for all of you, I know I wouldn´t be out here. So thank you for making a difference and impacting my life in such a way that I can be out here helping others.
Love,
Hermana Bradley