Protest Monday

Hello Fam!
So turns out today is a special day...aside from Slurpee Day (which I hope you are all taking advantage of since I can´t lol), the reason being that the entire country of the Dominican Republic is protesting the abuse of the government with gas prices and other things. Supposedly by the afternoon every business and public transport will be closed. It will be interesting to see what type of ¨protests¨ come out in the afternoon. Anyways, this week has been pretty normal. Sunshine, sweat, random downporing of rain, and lots of mission work! Although Hna Vera and I did take advantage of the Saturday night rain and ran around like little girls for a few minutes. Sometimes you just have to do things like that. Also had the chance to try out another delicious Dominican fruit called Limoncillo...wow are we missing out in the states! As for the work, we are busy prepping Elix for her baptism and helping our other investigators overcome their impedimientos...can´t remember that word in English! Elix, who has my same name even though it´s spelled different, is amazing! Her aunt Maria was baptized a few weeks before I got here and now she is ready to follow. When we walked out of relief society yesterday she came up to me and asked very earnestly ¨One day can I go out and preach with you guys? For like the entire day?¨ Of course my answer was ABSOLUTELY! :) In sacrament meeting I was again given the ¨privilege¨ of giving a talk on missionary work...although I think it was quickly forgotten as my companion proceeded to give a boche...oh darn I can´t even remember the word for that...reprimand I think?...anyways, her talk was fuerte as she reprimanded the ward for not treating sacred things with reverence. It was great. We also had 3 new investigators show up to church yesterday, so that´s always encouraging. Right now I´m just trying to focus on being as obedient as I can so the Lord can bless us in the work. The longer I´m out here the more I realize that the blessings of heaven really are predicated upon obedience, and even though sometimes it seems like the rules are endless out here, I know that we have them for a reason. Rationalizing disobedience only leads to laziness and dissatisfaction, and neither of the two are conducive to missionary work. I am determined to remain dedicated and focused until my last day, and I refuse to let other people´s disobedience affect my own commitment. I remember in one of the past general conferences one of the apostles explained that it´s easier to be obedient100% of the time rather than just 99%. I am so grateful for this opportunity to preach the gospel and renew my own commitment to living the commandments as I teach these eternal truths to others. Seeing the gospel change lives inspires me to be a better person and overcome my own endless weaknesses. I love the gospel and the power of the atonement in our lives when we truly repent and recommit to following the footsteps of our Savior. Much love!
Hermana Bradley

Happy 4th of July!!!

Hello Family!
I hope you are all having a wonderful toasty 4th of July with BBQ and fireworks. Dont worry...its just raining cats and dogs here in the D.R. Oh well...better rain than scorching sun in my opinion. Anyways, my first week in Villa Carmen has flown by and I can tell from here on out my time in the mission is going to fly. Hermana Vera and I have lots of work to do in this area as we have 3 baptismal dates set for the 16th, Gustavo, Yanell, and Eli. Im really excited to work with them and see progress in this area. One thing different about Villa Carmen is that the majority of the area are apartment buildings, and all of them are basically identical, so I am having a fun time trying to memorize the area. We climb lots of stairs each day, and every house we enter is identical in floor plan, so its a little strange. We are also working right now with a young man named Cesar who has lots of questions and wants to be baptized, but due to some mission rules has to attend church for 3 months first, so we are pushing forward and hoping to help prepare him for baptism next month. Hermana Vera and I are enjoying eachothers company as I teach her English, which she is actually interested in, and is also helping me perfect my grammar, which is in sore need of some improvement. Its always interesting coming to a new area as everyone immediately asks "What happened to the other sister?" and are hesitant to accept a new sister, but Im used to it by now. Basically all is well and I am feeling good. Sorry I dont have any more stories of running into walls to report, but if any new disasters befall me, I will be sure to write them in the next letter. LoL. Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Hermana Bradley

Me Voy!

Hoooola!!!
How is everyone this fine week? Well I´ve got some news to report! Transfer calls came last night and it turns out I´m headed to the other side of the street! Haha. I´m staying in the same district but going to the area of Villa Carmen with Hermana Vera. I am really excited to learn yet another area and serve with Hermana Vera as she is a great missionary and has alot of energy. I think we will have alot of fun together. The new president arrives in just a few days and we are all anxiously awaiting to see the changes that will come. Today we got to spend P Day with the President playing dodgeball and having a barbeque. I somehow managed to make a spectacle of myself as the last person (much less sister missionary) standing in our zone as we battled another zone. Now everyone thinks I have dodgeball skills when really the elders just didn´t want to peg me. Haha. Also, a funny story to relate from the week. Thursday for zone meeting we took pictures and as we were walking out of the chapel I had a bit of an accident. There are columns right outside the doors and instead of paying attention to where I was going I started laughing at my companion who´s shoes say ¨pecadora¨ on the inside because that´s the brand. Well, justice speaks swiftly because as I turned around I ran straight into the sharp corner of a column. I had a bump the size of a small egg on my forehead immediately, but thankfully the swelling went down quickly and my head is back to it´s normal size. Although I´ve learned my lesson not to make fun of people when I´m not paying attention to where I´m going. Haha. As for the work, it´s about the same. We have a baptismal date set with Hamlet and Leidy now, but they failed to make it to church so it will have to be pushed back. Sometimes it´s hard to see people fail to meet with the commitments when you know things would be so much better for them if they would just do it. But I know the area of Los Trinitarios will be in good hands with Hermana Mejia and Hermana Loftus. Anyways, I hope all is well at home and that the house sells quickly. Keep me updated on any new developments and for any of you that see Sara, give her lots of hugs for me! Love and miss you all!
Hermana Bradley

LOTS OF SUNSHINE

Hola!
Well it appears that summer has officially arrived in the DR and I will now be sweating for the duration of my mission. At least I won´t be suffering from seasonal depression right? Sometimes you just have to look for a bright side, a lesson I am reminded of constantly out here. This week was mostly hard. Between fallen through appointments, water and light problems in the house, and just overall personal difficulties, it has been a growing week. However, the Lord blesses us with the strength to overcome whatever trials we confront as long as we confide in Him, and this week strengthened my testimony of that principle. Yesterday I had the stressful privelege of giving a talk in sacrament meeting on the fly about missionary work. I have to admit, even after almost a year in the field and testifying daily, getting up to speak publicly still makes me want to wet my pants. But I survived anyway and hopefully the ward got something spiritual out of my jumbled words. As for the work, right now we are focusing on Hamlet, who lives in the sketchy part of town with his family and is determined to avoid the trouble of the street life. As we´ve begun to share the gospel with him he has made great efforts to keep the word of wisdom and law of chastity, involve himself in activities at the church, and study the material we leave him to read. So, even though he didn´t make it to church yesterday, we have high hopes that he will be baptized next month and continue to grow spiritually. We are also making great efforts to find new people to teach as our pool is constantly being cleaned, which is a good thing. Next week President Antivilo will leave and President Hernandez will arrive, so it should be interesting to see the changes that come as a result. The longer I´m out the more I realize that change means challenge and challenge means growth. Love and miss you all!
Hermana Bradley
P.S. I can´t believe Sara is home! Hope you all take good care of her!

"NO I AM NOT A NUN"

Dear Fam and Friends,
So I just have to start with a little funny story. Today for P'Day my companion and I decided to go eat at a pica pollo that happens to be owned by some chinese people. Well after ordering our food I went to sit down while my companion payed and the chinese girl leans over the glass and asks her if I´m a nun! My companion laughed and said no, that we both are actually missionaries. Afterwards Hermana Mejia told me I should probably stop putting my hair in such a tight bun. Hahaha. Oh how I love the mission! Anyways, things here in Los Trinitarios are moving right along and I´m surprised to find myself halfway through this transfer. The only mark of time passing is the fact that it is getting A LOT hotter and I know that I can only expect more sweat and sun for at least the next 4 months. What a joy. In spite of the heat though, Hermana Mejia and I are working hard as we have lots of progressing investigators and new ones with potential. Right now we are visiting Teresa and Sebestian, the daughter and son in law of our bishop, who show real potential and have come to church the past two weeks in a row along with reading the material we leave them. Sebastian recently found out he has a malignant tumor in his back and both he and Teresa have alot of blessings and comfort to gain from the restored gospel. We hope to put a baptismal date down with them both before the end of this week. We´ve also been blessed to find a promising new investigator in Hamlet, a 22 year old young man who showed up to church last Sunday after weeks and weeks of us passing by and inviting him. Basically, the work is taking off and we are just trying to stay focused and help the ward support the work. Friday night we had a very successful, albeit small, Noche de Amistad where we brought two investigators and shared a message from the New Testament. The big hit of the night however was the activity. I decided to make good use of all the games I learned from my Jeru friends and taught everyone how to play Signs. Everyone loved it and we hope to see even more members and investigators next week. Another funny experience of the week was our visit with the Terrero Dominguez Family. We passed by their house intending to share a brief scripture because the power was out (as always), but when it began pouring rain we stayed longer. After sharing a very spiritual lesson, we knelt down to pray and asked Cesar, the father, to offer it. Of course he started making an excuse and right after he made one there was a HUGE clap of thunder and flash of lightning. So we utilized the moment and said it was a sign that he needed to offer the prayer, and when the heavens speak, men comply, which Cesar willingly did. LoL. Then right before leaving Cesar assured us ¨Don´t worry, it hasn´t rained enough yet for you to get wet.¨ However, the flooded street proved otherwise and after wading knee deep in dirty street water and listening to everyone yell from their porches ¨Don´t get wet!¨ we arrived sopping wet and laughing to our apartment. Experiences that I won´t soon forget. Anywho, hope all is well at home. Love and miss you all! Until next week...and I can´t believe Sara is going home next Tuesday! Ahhh!!!
Love,
Hermana Bradley

Dearest Family and Friends,
The rain doesn´t appear to be leaving anytime soon and I´m starting to understand a little bit of what Sara must feel like in Washington. I´ve only seen the sun a handful of times this week. The only difference between us is that it´s hot and sticky here, so I don´t miss the sun much...at least not yet! My feet seem to be constantly wet, but I just count my blessings that the rain is here to bring down hotter temperatures. In the last week I´ve seen a big change as my first week in the area was rather hard. Following the example of my companion, I´ve begun to ask the Lord daily to help me see a miracle and have a mission experience. And I am here to say that the Lord truly does answer prayers! Not only were we able to see the baptism and confirmation of Jerhemi this week, but we´ve already put down another fecha with Yanci and had 7 investigators in church compared to our 2 from last week. We also had a really neat experience visiting an old contact we made. Almost 2 weeks ago while sitting on a park bench for a minute to rest and strategize, we contacted an man named Medina and invited him to church. He was very amiable, so we exchanged addresses and gave him a pamphlet of the restoration without thinking too much of it. But then Sunday when we had some unplanned extra time in the evening and two members leaving with us, we decided to drop by Medina´s house. After searching for almost 20 minutes and knocking on his door in the dark (because of course the light was out...like always), we were almost scared away by a gruff WHO´S THERE? from the other side of the door. However, when Medina opened and saw it was us, he quickly changed and told us that he had lots of questions and read the pamphlet and wanted to know more! It was a really neat experience, and helped me realize that you never really know what might come of a simple invitation. We also taught the first English class of Los Trinitarios, and were happy to see more than 20 people show up. Turns out English is a pretty popular interest! We hope to see some fruit come out of that service as well. Hermana Mejia and I are also earning reputations for ourself in the ward...me as the ¨peleona¨ and her as ¨la risita¨. We had an especially good laugh on Saturday during the baptism of Jerhemi as we attempted to sing a special musical number as the 4 ward missionaries. Unfortunately the elders had intercambios the last minute and poor Elder Newell just had to wing it when he showed up, which resulted in him accidentally singing in a wrong part, causing Hermana Mejia to laugh so hard she had to hide her face behind the hymnal and leave me singing alone for a moment. Oh well. Hopefully the Spirit was still there! Hope you all have a good week and to finish off here´s a great quote I read from the June Liahona this morning. ¨Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more....To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain.¨ - Elder Richard G. Scott. So here´s to some stretching and discomfort!
Love,
Hermana Bradley

Hello,
So arrived all safe and sound Tuesday afternoon in Los Trinitarios after a fiasco of directions and winding roads. Of all the areas I´ve seen in my mission, this one by far is the most confusing. Half the streets don´t have signs and NONE of them go in a straight line. But at least I have a companion who knows where she´s going, otherwise I would be completely lost! The ward here is really great and I feel right at home among the members. Hermana Mejia and I have done some adjusting, as being together again is a little different considering we both operate differently now, but we are learning. We´ve done a variety of interesting activities to contact and teach people such as rescuing fish from a gutter with a teenage boy to cleaning a filthy kitchen filled with dirty dishes. It was great! I love serving people almost more than teaching! And Hermana Mejia is really great at taking advantage of any opportunity to serve. This weekend however turned out a little difficult as the majority of people left for the campo since everyone likes to go visit their mothers for mother´s day (it´s the last sunday of the month here). Yesterday we spent the entire afternoon walking around with very little lessons, but we did our best. We also had the opportunity to attend the baptism of two youth who´s extended family are members but their parents are not. It was neat to see this brother and sister enter the waters of baptism together. The little girl, Mirta, reminds me SO much of Lia and everytime I see her I just have to give her a hug because it makes me feel better. Next week we already have a baptism planned for Jerhemi, an 18 year old young man who is SO prepared to be a worthy priesthood holder. He´s been investigating for over a year because his girlfriend is a member and now that he´ll be an adult he can be baptized, and he wants to go on a mission. It´s incredible to see the light in his eyes even though he has yet to be baptized. I´m excited to see him progress as I continue to serve in this area. Overall, things are going pretty well. Each day I become more aware of my faults...sometimes it´s a weary process. But like its says in Ether, the Lord gives us weaknesses to make us strong. I am focusing right now on cultivating a spirit of Peace with me in whatever situation I find myself in. Still have lots of patience to learn as well...but hey, baby steps! Hope everyone is doing well at home! I haven´t gotten very many letters lately, so if you were thinking about shooting me a line, do it! I´m in a news drought from home. :) Love and miss you all!
Hermana Bradley

CHANGE IS IN THE AIR

Dear Family,
As most of you may know, these last few weeks have been very hard on me. However, I want to thank ever single one of you for your prayers and support, as I have felt them and seen the change come in just the past few days. I´m beginning to see a pattern emerge as I recognize Satan doubling his efforts on me right before wonderful miracles happen. Despite that, I am happy to tell you all that I have been feeling much better these last few days, and I am confident that the Lord will continue to help guide me through these dark storm clouds of doubt. Saturday was a very special day as Ines was finally baptized. We were all a little worried because she works outside the city during the week and no one had really been able to talk to her since Wednesday since her cell phone died. But when she showed up at the chapel a mere 15 minutes before the service was supposed to start, we were all grinning from ear to ear. Englibert baptized his mother and she was confirmed yesterday. It was the most spiritual and special baptism I have attended yet and I will be forever grateful that the Lord allowed me to be a small part of it.
In other news, transfer calls came last night and it turns out I´m going to be with my trainer Hna Mejia again, but in a new area called Los Trinitarios. I head out tomorrow morning and I´m excited to learn new things and meet new people. Although I will miss alot of people here in Los Frailes, I am looking forward to change and different challenges. I am quickly learning that I thrive best when I´m scrambling to catch up with things rather than plodding along comfortably. Also, had a funny story to share from a visit we made yesterday. Mercedes is an elderly woman we´ve been visiting with for a little over a month, but has yet to visit church. We had decided to drop her for a time to see if that would motivate her, but then we were close to her house yesterday and decided to pass by. She was thrilled we were there and began asking us questions immediately about the plan of salvation pamphlet we left here. After answering her questions and sharing our testimonies, we asked Mercedes to offer the closing prayer. She said the sweetest prayer and even asked the Lord to bless us with a car so that we wouldn´t have to walk so much in the heat and could visit her more often. Hermana Reay and I could hardly stop ourselves from laughing and left the appointment grinning. It´s pretty special when people offer sincere prayers in your behalf after knowing them for only a few short weeks. I hope she continues to progress after I leave. Yesteray Hermana Reay and I were also able to sing a special musical number in sacrament meeting. We chose to sing I Feel My Savior´s Love, and it was wonderful to bear our testimonies through song to the ward. I love the Spirit music can invite when we sing from our hearts...even if our voices are imperfect.
Overall, the work is...well, work. But I know that this gospel is true and that we never have to fear when we are constantly looking to our Savior and striving to do everything in our power to cumplir...(can´t remember the word in English haha) with His commandments. Thanks again to all of you for your support!
Love,
Hermana Bradley