9/29/14

Hey,

 October is this week. That's crazy. I really hope we get to celebrate Halloween in some way out here. Oh wait! We do! We have an investigator Family out here that is holding a Halloween party and we get to go!! That should be fun. I'd rather go trick or treating, but eh, whatever.

     Alrighty. Lets see what I can remember about this week. Well this last P-day we went to a lady named Vibika's house to get haircuts for free! Well not really free, we have to cut her grass, but haircuts cost 250 Crowns out here, so it's a great deal! Anyway her Family has a house FULL of cats. Well not cats, kittens. 15 of them to be exact. I was in absolute heaven. She gave me some kitten treats to hold and they all came flocking over to me! 15 kittens on my lap! Haha I'll send some Pictures of them. Then that night we went knocking and found a man Hot-Boxing in his living room. That's where you just smoke a ton of weed in a room and let the fumes stay in so he gets super high. It was hilarious. He invited us in, but we had to say no.... That was super hard to turn down, not because I wanted to do drugs, but because he was blasting Coldplay in there, which is better than drugs.

   I went on splits on Tuesday and started teaching this lady named Margret. She's from London, and apparently used to be a super model back in her day. She's 75 now and such a sweetheart. We committed her to be baptized, but she has a fear of water, so that should be interesting. That same night we started teaching a Danish family's kids English. We knocked into them and when we found out they weren't interested in the church, we pushed a Little further into other subjects and it was decided that we would teach their kids English every Tuesday night. It went great.

    Things have been going incredibly with the investigators lately. The Hirsea Family finally came to church! They even invited themselves to come back the NEXT week! Unfortunately we have General Conference. Wait no... that last sentence sounded bad. I love Conference. They just couldn't come to that. Ummm Things are going great with Josefine! We went to the Castle this week with her and walked around the gardens for ages! We all had cameras and were trying to take super hipster pictures. We talked and laughed, and it felt like we were all just great friends. At the end we sat down on a bench with the most incredible view you've ever seen, and taught her a lesson. It was so peaceful in that moment. Nothing could take away the joy that I felt in that moment. I just felt like I was in the right place, with the right people, doing the right things. As we taught, she started to cry, and we helped her through tons of personal problems she's been having. I LOOOOVE getting to know people like that. When I'm not just someone there to teach them, but to help them, love them, and just be their friend. Ah it was great. Lots of other stories with investigators, but it would take too long to write them all.

   This Friday we did service for a member Family. We spent 5 hours cutting down the biggest tree you've ever seen (over 100 feet), then cutting it into litle slices with chainsaws, then splitting it with axes. Ah it was so great. Man Work. I felt like if I would have had a thick beard and some flannel plaid shirt it would have been perfect. Just call me Jedidiah the Lumberjack.

  Last night we went to Galevang. It's this little city in the middle of the biggest forest in Denmark, and is famous for being haunted. And I can stand as a witness that it IS haunted. Holy cow. I cant even explain what happened in this one abandoned house we went into. But we spent a good 40 minutes trying to get home that night, cycling through dirt trails in the middle of the thick misty forest. It looked like those scenes from Twilight. Except without all the hormones :) Haha but we got totally lost and thought we would never make it home. It was kinda spooky how we ended up getting home. We eventually came to this road that extended into infinity in both directions. You couldn't see the end due to the fog and absolute darkness. Then out of nowhere, we saw two figures. My Heart skipped a beat when I first saw them, just because there was an eerie mood about the night. But naturally, as missionaries, we decided to go talk to them. We had a great long discussion, told them about our church, and they pointed us in the right direction. We're going back to see them on T

hursday!! Haha the Spirit sure is a strange working GPS.

Anyway, I love you all. So does our Father in Heaven. Always remember that. And also remember this: A couple that runs together, stays together. Unless one is faster than the other. (Cue laughter from Dad and Grandad Bradshaw)

  

-Ældste Bradshaw

9/22/14

Hellllloooooo from Hillerød!

Another great week out here in Denmark!! The rain is really pouring today, but other than that the weather has been superb! You wouldn't believe the moon that we saw last night. Remember that one we saw in Mexico? Yeah it was waaaay more orange than that. It was awesome.

Last P-day we went Down to Copenhagen to do some sight-seeing. Wow. I love that city.  I had been there before but I hadn't really seen it due to the fact that I was always busy with missionary stuff, but we took the whole district Down there and just played tourist for the day. We went to the church that has the Kristus Statue and all of his apostles, including Paul holding the keys. That was a nice place. So peaceful and quiet. We also went to the World’s biggest Lego store while we were there! Haha we were all gathered around a big bin of Legos Building who knows what. It must have been quite the sight because everyone was staring at us. It turned out to be a good thing because a lady working there came and talked to us for a while and had tons of questions about the church! I'll never forget the time I gave the first discussion over a massive Lego bin. After that we went to Newhavn, which is that famous spot in Denmark with all the colorful houses and boats right on the Water. I'll include a Picture. The atmosphere was incredible there! There were people playing accordions and Spanish guitars as you walked alongside the docks, breathing in the brisk sea air. It was just great.

On Tuesday I went on some splits with one of the Zone leaders and we had quite the experience whilst knocking doors. We knocked this door and the man yelled for us to come in. We hesitantly walked through the door and into his living room, where he told us to sit Down. His place was a mess. There were empty vodka bottles on his coffee table and trash everywhere. We sat Down and told him who we were, then he started telling us his life story.... He comes from some Asian country, but has lived in Denmark his Whole life. He speaks about 12 different languages and was very intelligent. Unfortunately, his entire Family had left him when he divorced his wife and he was completely alone. I've never seen a lonelier man in my life. The sad thing is, he has terminal cancer, and only months to live.... So we read from Alma 11 with him and told him that Christ knew EXACTLY how he felt. As he read the scripture, he burst into tears. He sat there sobbing for a good 3 minutes before he could compose himself. We had another appointment so we closed with a prayer and told him we would come back in 2 days. I won’t be the one going back seeing as I was on splits, but I'll never forget that man.

We had my one month mission reunion on Friday! The mission president gathered together all of the 12 missionaries from my MTC Group in Copenhagen and let me tell you, it was soooooooo good to see them all. I honestly consider those kids to be my Family now. We all shared stories and talked about how CRAZY mission life is. It was great to have people to relate to. We all went through the Copenhagen temple after the meeting and let me tell you, and endowment session in Danish is extremely difficult. But it was so nice to be in the Lord's house. Later that night we had an appointment with a couple in Allerød, He comes from England and serves in the Parachute department of the Danish army. She's an ex-bikini model. (she stopped when she found the church) And guess what!! We set a baptism date with her! Thing is we won’t be the ones doing the baptism. He has a Brother on a mission and they want him to do it, so we're turning them over to other missionaries now.

We had a Ward party on Saturday night to which we brought Josefine! It went great! Everyone really made an effort to fellowship her and she had a great time. Apparently the entertainment for the night was supposed to be provided by the missionaries, but the had neglected to tell us!! Haha so the six of us had to entertain a crowd of 100 people for a good hour without ANY preparation. We did some improv comedy and luckily someone had a guitar so I played for a while. It was nuts. But they all loved us and laughed at our efforts. We had a great time. The NeXT day at church we had 6 investigators come! Haha we weren't expecting a single person to show up that week and then SIX of them did!! It was great.

Anyway I won’t continue to bore you with my stories, but it’s all going great out here. We have an appointment tonight with our Golden Family and the Bishop is coming! Should go great.

Have a great week everyone!! The book is blue and the Church is true!

Love you all

-Ældste Bradshaw

9/15/14

Sup everyone?

Guess what? Two months ago from TODAY, I was set apart as a missionary. Woah. They went by pretty quick, huh? It did for me. Kinda. Actually I don't know. I look back and it seems like it's been quick but sometimes I feel like time drags on and on. It's hard to explain. Time isn't really the same out here. You're just constantly in the middle of everything.

Sidenote: Sorry if any of my grammar or spelling is off. These Danish keyboards don't recognize English and try to change everything to Danish.

Anyways, remember that magical Family we found out in the countryside last week? We went back for our appointment this last monday, and you won't believe what we found. The mum, Maria, has already read the ENTIRE Book of Mormon. Crazy right? Turns out she's an accomplished author (she's super rich) and the book she is currently working on is set in Provo Utah!!! Haha it's about this crazy guy that comes from a crazy strict FDLS Family out in rural Utah that becomes a serial killer! Apparently every single one of his killings is somehow related to a line in the Book of Mormon! Super weird that we found her. Anyway, whilst researching our religion, she decided that she really liked what she found. Her youngest son, Gabriel (!!!), is just turning  11 and she said that she wants him to have the same standards that we have because she's worried that he'll get lost otherwise. So she ended up inviting herself to come to church sometime and Things are going great with them!

This last Tuesday was my first Zone Training. Afterwards we played a Futbol match out on this field underneath a train overpass. It was super cool. We had enough people for a full 11 v 11 game. My team lost 5-4, but guess how many goals I scored..... 4 ;) gotta show these Americans what's up. It was hard without good ol Ældste Amos out on the wing with me.

Ummmmm lets see, Mum, I was getting sick of all this nasty missionary food my companion kept making, so I decided to take charge and make a famous Meg Bradshaw dish. I went for your Classic chicken curry. It was hard because we dont have the exact ingredients that I'm used to at home, but I improvised and I gotta say.... you got some competition Mum. It was super good. We're going shopping today and I'm trying to do my best to remember the ingredients for your pavlova. We have a Ward party this saturday and we're having a cake competition! If I could muster up one as good as yours we would win for sure.

Yeah so we've taught lots more lessons, but it's really hard. The Danish people just aren't interested in the Gospel as much as the rest of the World. They seem to have everything they think they need already, so they aren't Humble or prepared. So that's rough. Don't expect tons of miracle baptism stories from me. Maybe á few gems here and there, but not a ton. Also, there's just a ton of old people here in Denmark. Haha is that rude to say? I dont think so. I love em, but there are some really grumpy ones. We met a lady named Hanne by the bus stop on saturday night that missed her bus, so we helped her create a new route home and then invited her to church. She said she would love to come! Haha so we took her to church the very NeXT morning. She smoked about 6 cigarettes on the way there, and as she was about to light another one on the way through the front doors, we had to stop her!! It was super funny. ALso she's very touchy. My companion had to move seats at one point. I laughed so hard at him. But she had a great time in church and was even in tears at one point. Today is her birthday so we're going to go see her for a bit.

But ya, all is well in Denmark. It rains a lot, but I love it. We knocked doors for about 2 hours the other night in the pouring rain. I would give my Little shpeel at the front door as rain dripped off the tip of my nose and my feet sopped around in soggy socks. It was great! We got a few potential investigators, but I think it was only because they felt bad for me. I'm going to keep using that technique I think.

I love you all so much!! Keep writing!

-Ældste Bradshaw

Elder Bradshaw at his first zone conference, role playing with his trainer Elder Hooper - 9/10/14

Hey!

Can you believe it's already been two weeks?? The days sometimes feel like they drag on forever and it's all going so slow, but when you look back on it, it really is going by so fast.

Okay so here's what we did this week. Last monday was an incredible experience. We cycled out into the countryside to visit a less active Family and invite them to have Family night with us sometime. I took about an hour to get all the way out there, and they weren't interested at all. Elder Hooper and I were feeling pretty Down about that. So as we started cycling back to the station to go home, and we came to a fork in the road. We could either go right to get back to the station (which was the quickest way home and made the most sense) or we could go left and cycle all the way home (which would take waaay longer to do). We naturally went right seeing as it was getting dark and we needed to get home, but after a few minutes of cycling, we pulled over. The sun was setting and it looked absolutlely beautiful, so we decided to take a few Pictures. When we were done, I said to Elder Hooper that we should go back the other way and cycle the long way home so we could more fully enjoy the sunset as we rode through the rolling hills. So we headed back from where we came from and started the long trek home. There was nothing out there. You couldnt see houses for miles and miles. Every now and then we would pass one and knock on the door, but nobody was interested. Soon, the sun was completely gone Down, so we decided to stop knocking along the way and just book it home. As we were riding, the super old Nokia brick phone rang. Elder Hooper answered it, but because of the Wind, he couldnt hear the person on the other end, so we pulled over in a driveway that seemed to come out of nowhere. It was Josefina on the other end of the phone, and she called to tell us that her rabbit had died and that she would like us to pray for it, then she hung up. Elder Hooper and I looked at each other in confusion, then looked around us for a second. There was a big house at the end of the road with it's lights on. After a few moments of silence, Elder Hooper said "it's a sign. We have to knock this house". So we did. There was a single mother in that home with two children that were so happy to see us. They wanted to talk to us more, but it was late, so she invited us to come back. We stopped by on thursday to say hello. They're such a positive Family!! They love us and I'm telling you, we were lead to them. The son already told us he wants to be baptized. We're going to teach them the first discussion tonight!! They're such a great Family and I can't wait to go over Again.

  And that was only Monday!!! We've had Things like that happening every day this week! On saturday we had Elder Bednar come and visit our mission! An hour before our meeting he sent us a message telling us to prepare questions for him that we would ask the Saviour Himself if he were here. HOLY COW! Those are some big quesions, right?? So when he showed up for the meeting we were all waiting in the chapel in silence. When he took the stand, he told us that we could not repeat the Things that we were going to discuss in that room because they would be sacred and Deep principles! So I cant tell you exactly what was said in there, but trust me, it was incredible. We did Q&A for about 3 hours. So many crazy questions were asked and he answered them all without hesitation and with such power. What would you ask him? I actually want to know. Email me what you would have asked the Savior himself.

 After Bednar Elder Hooper and I went over to the Temple. We took the Ricks Family through for the first time. It was amazing! They're such great people and it was so good to see them all together in the Lords house. So peaceful.

On Wednesday I went on splits with Elder Lester in Helsingøre. We have an investigator over there called Lars WHO is a crazy fitness teacher at a local gym. He's had a six pack since he was 6 and will probably have one until he's 66. Anyway our deal with him was if we could keep up with one of his fitness classes, he would come with us to church. So we get to the gym and he tells us we're doing intense uphill biking. For an HOUR AND A HALF! Oh my goodness. He said that as long as ONE of us finished and didnt take any breaks, he would come to church, It was the most intense workout I've ever had. My legs were literally on fire and about 10 minutes before the end, ELder Lester got a really bad cramp and had to give up. It was all up to me now! Haha luckily I finished it and his Whole Family is coming to church now. We went home and he fed us that night. I played guitar for his Family. They're great. Oh and they have 15 kittens running around the house!! Haha it was cat heaven. I loved it.

Okay enough blabbering. Have a great week everyone. I know I will. Denmark is amazing. The air is so fresh here you can eat it for lunch breakfast and dinner.

I love you all!

-Ældste Bradshaw

Hello!!!!

   I'm finally in Denmark!! Sorry it's been so long since you've heard from me. The trip over here skipped my P-day. Okay... where do I begin.

We left the MTC very early on monday morning. There was a strange quietness outside that morning. The Temple was the only light we could see as we drove away on the bus. They took us to the TRAX which we took all the way to the SLC Airport. Ahh I loved being in the airport again. They're just great Places. I basically just slept and studied on the first flight to Chicago. Then there was a slight delay getting to Heathrow, so when we finally landed in London, we missed our last flight to Copenhagen. They then booked us onto the NeXT departing flight which was 4 hours away, so we just hung out there in the airport where we met all of the missionaries coming home from Denmark!! Haha that was weird to think how far away that was for me. But the gave us some great advice.

When we finally landed in Copenhagen, they had lost 3 of the Elder's luggage. So that took a long time to figure out, then President Seiderholm was waiting for us outside. He took us to his home where we ate dinner and had a testimony meeting, then straight to bed. That NeXT morning they took us to the chapel in Copenhagen where we met our companions! They lined us up on either side of the room like we were choosing teams in PE.. Haha my Heart was racing. My Companions name is Elder Hooper. He's from SLC and has been out here for about a year now. He's such a nice guy. Very obedient and hard working.... not tons of fun... but that's not what it's about right? He's really good at talking to Danes, so I'm excited to learn his tricks. I probably wouldn't survive without him. I felt like I was soooo good at Danish in the MTC but I was not ready for this. It's so much different when you hear a real Dane speak. I can barely keep up in most conversations.

So Once I got my companion, we took a bus then another bus then a train a bus and another bus to get to our house :) We live in a members basement. Just the two of us. It's a mess.... I can't beleive how messy it was. Like holy cow, mum, if you thought I was messy, you need to see this place. So I'm teaching my companion how to clean up and do dishes and sweep the floor and such. You'd be proud mum. And we have rubbish food. We're going shopping today and I plan on reinventing our stock. I Cook most of the time.

So once we dropped off my luggage at the house, we went straight to my first lesson!!! Guys! I taught a lesson after just a few hours of being in the field!! I Was NOT expecting that. Her name is Josefina. She's 20 years old, loves to party with her friends, smokes, but it quite interested in the church. She's been taking discussions for a few weeks now. I think we could get her to be baptized to be honest. She know's its all true, just isnt ready to give up her óld life. Anyway I couldn't understand anything in that first lesson. Luckily we had a kid from the Ward come teach with us so him and Elder Hooper took the lead. That was good.

Then right after that we went and taugh another lesson!!!! Holy cow I couldnt beleive how quickly we just dove into the Work. This Next guy is called Nozar. He and his Family are from Iran and Things are going really well with him. That was actually the first lesson that they had been taught, so it was cool to be apart of it. We've taught him twice since then and are going to see him again tomorrow. He has a prettty rough life because of a bunch of Iranian political drama. I dunno. I don't speak Danish, remember?

I won't tell you everyone we teach, but all in all we teach about twice a day. We're a lot busier than i expected. When we aren't teaching, we either knock houses or contact on the GO-gale (that translates to go-street, so basically it's just a outdoor walking mall). Just the other night I contacted two Young Guys walking away from the bar laughing their heads off. They didn't seem aproachable at first and my companion said not to do it, but I did anyway and we ended up talking to them for 45 minutes and now we're going to see one of them on Wednesday!! The other lives across the country.

We were taking buses everywhere for the first two days, which was miserable. So I went and bought my bike! Now we cycle everywhere!! Like sooooooo much biking. My legs are killing me. Just yesterday we biked to church which is about an hour ride, then came home and realized the keys were in my suit jacket at the chapel so we had to do it all over again!! It was insane. And we hadn't eaten yet that day and it was about 3PM so we were starving!! So we knew we wouldnt make it to the chapel with the energy we had, so we stopped by a members house and asked for something. She happily gave us what Little chips and Ghram Crakers she had left. We ate in the stairwell of her Apartment Building. Now that is a lunch I will never forget. When we finished eating we continued on our journey to the chapel, and ended up making 3 knew contacts along the way!! It's almost as if the Spirit was guiding me to forget the keys ;) haha jk that's just forgetful old me.

AHHHHH I feel like I'm probably forgetting tons of stuff.... SOOO much has happened this last week. I can't get my head around it. OH! You wouldn't beleive how much it rains here. We were biking the other day and it poured Down!! I honestly looked like I had just jumped in a pool when we got to our appointment. It was awesome! I love rain. I'm going to buy a raincoat today, so that's good. If you have any questions for NeXT week lemme know! I love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Ældste Bradshaw