Hangin in there

Date: Nov. 8, 2010

Area: Tabuliero, Alagoas

Companion: Elder Villanova

From Southern Brazil

Picture taken today

 Bradley's companion has been having a few problems the past few weeks, But he's hangin in there. 

Hey Family!

Not much new has happened this week here either. But this week was better than the last few.

The 2 Elders went home and our house is finally more calm, clean, and there´s a lot more room. They were both really hard ppl to get a long with, but the other ppl are really cool, my comp and the assistants.
It's weird that I live in pure Portuguese now, but its helping me a lot. They had 6 missionaries sharing one house.

Our house is just crappy and gross, we´re working on getting it cleaned up. the Missionaries have lived there for like 7 years or something but we gotta find a new house before the end of the year.

All 4 of the Missionaries share the same bedroom, and each companionship has a study room.
       Bradley's bed has the brown sheets.

I miss my room, carpet, our toilets, a/c snow etc... lol

The floors are tile or cement

I think this is the view out of his bedroom window, not sure

It's getting so hot here its not even funny. I always feel sticky and hot.

Remember how I hurt my arm playing futbol? well its getting worse, and I'm having a hard time sleeping because of it sometimes. Sister Beynon wants me to go get it X-rayed. so we´ll see.

I have no clue about thanksgiving. I dunno that we´ll do anything.

This week we had at least one good thing happen, this random guy that we don't even know asked to be baptized. I know that the Lord is blessing me because the problems we're having are out of my hands. He knows that I'm trying and so he´s providing the rest.

Hopefully He´ll be baptized in the next week or 2 .

I don't really know the ward really well still. But there´s some cool people, the meetings are horrible. People talk about the most random, pointless things and everyone is hecka crazy during sacrament. Some guy shared is testimony for like 20 min. on Sunday about nothing and after some lady got up to the pulpit and started burning him and said he was breaking commandments for taking too long lol. it was awkward/funny.

Tell Cody good luck!!! I'm excited for him. tell him to just suffer through the MTC and the rest is cake, it flies by. (Cody got called to the Moscow, Russia mission) and tell McKay that I'm thinkin that he´ll go to Canada. That's my guess, or somewhere back east.

I hope Brian had a good time at the 10 yrs concert; that was the best concert I went to. I hope those guys are still at it when I get back! who all went?

Still no package...

We're still having choir practice on p-days, its torturous for me but oh well. I always hated singing. ha ha

I'm doing well!!! I'm having a good time here and staying safe!!!

Love you all so much!!!

Bradley

Elder Oaks was Awesome!!

Date: Nov. 1, 2010

Area: Tabuliero, Alagoas

Companion: Elder Villanova

From Southern Brazil

Hey guys!!!!!

Hows it going? This week was good. Elder Oaks was awesome and it was a cool experience to shake the hand of an Apostle. He gave a really great discussion along with his wife, President and Sister Beynon and 2 Seventies. I really learned a lot and it gave me a really great boost to get out and baptize!! All of the talks were great!! Elder Oaks talked about maintaining ourselves spiritually it was a great talk, and it was good to see Elder Thomas and everyone from Aripiraca, He's zone leader now.

I made 5 months!!!! My mission is already almost a quarter of the way finished!!!!

I was completely broke for the last few days because we literally had lunch like 4 times last month, and so I´ll send in a reimbursement but they only give us 2.50 per day if our lunch falls. It really sucks when we don't have lunch.

My house is still crazy but I like it, 2 Elders are ending this week so it´ll be me, Villanova, and the assistants after this week.

We had Christmas choir practice this morning, then we played soccer. I´m still not good by any means compared to the Brazilians, but I´m getting better. but I fell and landed wrong on my wrist, and it´s really bugging me. ha ha I looked like an idiot when I turfed it and it was pretty embarrassing, but what can I do??? lol then after we went to a Churrascaria and ate(like Rodizio) and it was really good, and definitely a lot cheaper than back home.

I did a few divisions with the assistants this week, one of them is really cool, and he speaks English really well. so we teach each other a lot. he´s learned just on the mission.

That's good the kids are all doing good in school. and getting good grades, hows Brookie liking middle school? she seems to small for the seventh grade. lol, and Brian's a senior!!! weird, Bubba´s got his last year at North Star eh?

That's cool Cody´s going to Russia!!!! I´ll think of him when I´m out sweating and wishing for snow. He´ll do great!!!
And I'm glad Micah´s doing good. I love that kid.

Still no packages, I´m stoked for them!!!! I cant wait for good, American food and stuff. but packages take sometimes 2 months or more. so it still could take a while.

My cases are cool huh? I like them, my scrips were getting hammered.

I love you Mom, your a great example and I´m so greatful for all of the things you do for me, I'm realizing now how much of a pain I was for you, now that I have to clean up all of my crap and do everything. ha ha

We had some good investigators at church. so hopefully we can get some batismos soon.
I love you all!!! be safe!!!!! I'm doing great and having a blast!!!!!!

Elder Ludlow

Hey Guys, I Love you!!!

Date: Oct. 25, 2010

Area: Tabuliero, Alagoas

Companion: Elder Villanova

From Southern Brazil



Elder Villanova and Bradley are on the ends


This week was okay, it was kinda crazy cause we´re having a lot of problems with some missionaries so I did a lot of divisions. I stayed at the zone leaders house for like 3 days with the same clothes, and no money. I even used a towel for a blanket. ha ha But I met some really cool Elders and we found some good investigators and stuff. so yeah I didn´t work in our area at all this week. so I have some pics but not a lot of good ones. I´ll start taking a lot

We had interviews with President this week, and I really liked it, he gave me a lot of great advice and said exactly what I needed to hear! It was a really good boost for me.

Yeah I know Elder Stembridge. I lived with him for the first few days of my mission. He´s cool.

Yeah I got Jill's letters a few days ago I started writing them back, I´ll send it this week. I have a lot of letters to write, its just hard to find the time...

Elder Oaks is coming this week!!! It's gonna be really cool. I´m excited. I just hope that I don´t get called on to do a practice or anything. My zone and another zone are also doing a choir thing. I hate it but I have to do it. lol I´m not really the singing type as you know. but We´ll go around and sing at Catholic churches and stuff, today we had practice and then played soccer. Then I made some tasty french toast.

My scripture cases came I´ll send pics I love them!!!! If You and Dad want some I can order them. I still have to pay the guy btw...

           Bradley's personalized scripture cases

I got an email from Ryan and he sounded really good. He´s killing spiders the size of small plates and yelling funny stuff at people in English, ya know typical Ryan stuff ha ha I love that kid!!!! (Ryan is serving in Guatemala)
That's good Matt´s married, now he can work on getting to the temple.
That's crazy that one of my best friends is married!!!! I'm old lol.

BRIAN!!!!!!!!! nice buck!!!!!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!!! that makes me trunky!!!! That's a huge deer I'm proud buddy. ps yes you can use my gun if you ask nicely you weenie. ha ha man I can't wait to go hunting. that's one of the things I miss most. How wide is that bad boy?
That deer really brightened up my day though, congrats Brian. I hope Bubba gets one now too!!!!

I wish it was snowing here I´m just roasting in unexplainable agony. I can't describe to you how it feels, it's so hot and humid I feel like I always need to shower and my face is always breaking out. but its fun... I just miss Utah lol.

But yeah this week was crazy/ a little stressful!!!!!
Just pray for me.

Love you mom!!!!!!
I´m realizing how much you did for me before the mish.

Be Safe!
I Love you all,
Bradley

PS I liked brooke´s spider cake and stuff!!!!!
All the Brazilians talk about Halloween.
They don´t have it here and think it´s so cool!!!!!

New Area, New Companion

Date: Oct. 18,2010

Area: Tabuliero/Alagoas

Companion: Elder Villanova

From Southern Brazil

Hey!!!!!
How is everything going? Sorry about last week, we went to 2 different LAN houses and they both didn´t have internet. So I had to type it on word and go back that night to send my email. I knew mom would be waiting for my email.

Yeah Elder Dinwiddie is a cool kid. we did a few divisions and hung out on p-days. that´s cool he has a blog too.

I´m in Maceio, my area is called Tabuliero. My comps is Elder Villanova. He´s way cool, he´s from Southern Brazil and has a cool accent. He´s flying straight to SLC to live there after the mission so I´m gonna try and teach him English, but it´s gonna be a challenge.

I´m living with 5 other Brazilians and it´s crazy!!!! 2 are going home in 3 week so their just chillin with us until then.  Our apartment is pretty nasty and crowded, but our ward seems pretty good, the church is really nice and stuff but the area I´m in is a lot more ghetto and dirty, it´s almost all dirt roads and theirs a ton of people in the street. I´m still trying to get used to the area and meet everyone. This area baptizes a lot more than where I was so I´m excited to work.

Right now we just finished playing soccer, it was okay... but I didn´t know we were gonna email so I didn´t bring my camera. :(   but next week I´ll send a ton of pics. sorry.

I had a letter in the office, and some Elders grabbed it for me but they left it at a store....they are going back to get it right now so I hope it isn´t lost... I´ll be bummed I have no idea who it´s from.

I´ll send Ryan a quick email and see how that kid´s doing... I bet it´s pretty sketchy in Guatamala, especially for a 6 ft 8 white kid.

I hope Matt´s wedding and everything is good. where are they gonna live? you should send me an announcement.

Tell Cody that he´s gonna go to the Brazil, Manaus mission, their building a temple there that you have to use a boat to get there. Brasil is the place to be!

I´m glad Mckay is getting ready to go. I got a letter from him this week, so that was cool.
and I got one from Melanie. Sounds like things are good with Kort and Aust and having Kylee away at school!

I can't wait for my packages!!!! I´m excited and I hope that they don´t take too long!!! I´m scared tho living with so many Brazilians that they won´t last too long. I´m gonna have to ration everything out, the minute that we got settled in they started wanting my stuff. one dude offered me 100 reals for that pair of Nike gym shorts. lol

We taught a few lessons this week and I got to know a few people in the ward. I still don´t really know my way around the area, I think we have 1 baptism marked.

We live right next to a church and it´s so annoying!!! they scream and speak in tongues and all that fun stuff... it´s pretty funny to listen to sometimes. theirs so many churches in Brazil it´s a joke.

Well guys... be safe. I hope you have a good time up in Logan. Tell dad to keep his eyes on the road this time ha ha so he doesn´t crash again.

It´s getting so hot here it´s almost unbearable. I was not made for this heat!!! it´s gonna get way hotter too!!!!!

Well guys I love you.
I wanna tell you guys that I know that this church is true. That we are the only people that have the authority to baptize and that has a true prophet. I know that the Book Of Mormon is true, and that it was translated by Joseph Smith, a prophet of god. I know that I am called here to bring people unto Christ through baptism and receiving the gift of the holy ghost. and that my life will be blessed for this sacrifice´.
Elder Ludlow