8-31-15

What an amazing week!!! I can't possibly fit it all into one email, and I know I say that every week, but it's true. There are miracles happening 24/7.

This week was Elder Clawson's last week as a missionary, so we set some very big goals at the beginning of this week so he could go out with a bang. Mine and Elder Clawson's companionship has been the very definition of hard work. We haven't slowed down once. Haven't looked back. We have put absolute trust in the promise from the Savior that he will go before us to prepare the way, and oh how the way has been prepared. We've found more people than I've ever found before on my mission. And consistently. We teach all the time and have been able to travel all over Denmark to teach alongside with the Elders in our Zone. It's been an incredible experience. I think this transfer I've learned the simplicity of the gospel. If we just do what the Lord asks of us EXACTLY, then he's bound and the blessings just flow naturally. There's no secret passageways of ingredients. We can hold the recipe to happiness in our hands. I love being obedient. 

This week we had some great progress with *J*. We having been working on making his apartment a place where the Spirit can always be. We gave him some Mormon Tabernacle Choir to listen to and some pictures of Christ and the temple to hang up..... and he's completely changing now! We were over there on Friday and in the middle of the lesson he told us he was ready for baptism and asked me if I would baptize him. Well, he still has a long ways to come with the Word of Wisdom, but he has the desire so we set the date with hopes that it will encourage him. As of now, *J* will be getting baptized on the 3rd of October. And all this because we put up some pictures and changed his music!

Sunday was Elder Clawson's last day, so the night before we prayed long and hard about a street that we could knock for his last knocking session on his mission. We haven't yet had the chance to knock together, so we were very excited! We found a street on the map called Høstvej, which being translated means ''Harvest street''!!! Boom!! Time to harvest baby. We were blessed with the Spirit and had an incredible knocking session. Everyone was listening and we were able to pray with a few people at their doorsteps, but the reason that we were lead to that street came with the last house. We met a lady there by the name of *M* from Chile! As soon as I heard that I used what little Spanish I knew to try and impress her, then quickly switched back to my comfortable Danish. (haha I guess I'm not quite at the Elder Kersey state) We found out that she was a member a few years ago but because of offenses, she left the church. We asked her if she still believed. She did. We then told her that God knows that she believes and expects her to act on that faith. She started crying! I thought maybe we had been too bold, but she smiled through the tears and told her that she knew we were right. We prayed with her and are now coming back to do some yard work for her. God leads us to where we're needed!! 

I love this gospel so much. My testimony has grown to the point that I can feel the swelling motions that the Book of Mormon talks about, but ALL THE TIME. I love it. I have never felt closer to my big brother Jesus Christ. I know this is his work and can constantly feel his thankful arms wrapped around me. Although I don't understand why he's so grateful... I should be the one thanking him for what he's done! Oh well. I'll just hug him back even harder.

I love you all!! Have a great week!!

-Ældste Bradshaw

Oh and by the way, my new companion is here. His name is Elder Vance and comes from Texas!

This is *L*. She's an investigator that belongs to another church here in Århus. The girl next to me is *D* who is a member here. She helps us teach Liv because they're both close in age :)

P-Day shopping!!

Streets of Aarhus

8-24-15

Well surprise surprise, my life is still moving at 175,783,983,301 miles a minute. How's this for busy: from Monday to Friday I wasn't even in my area!! Not once! We've just been traveling like crazy because 1.we had a mission conference in Copenhagen and 2. we've been doing splits with every missionary in the zone. 

Mission Conference was incredible though! We got a nice little visit from a General Authority!! Elder Dyches from the quorum of the 70! You might remember him from 2 conferences ago... he gave a talk. Anyway he was here in Copenhagen! So on Wednesday he addressed the entire mission and it was just amazing! It was nice to see so many missionaries together, especially us twelve from my original MTC district. Tons of fun and so spiritually uplifting. 

Then on Thursday Elder Dyches held a more personal training with the Zone leaders. It was so great. Just 8 of us in a small room with a servant of the Lord at our disposal. We asked him tons of questions and he gave phenomenal advice for our mission. He told us how impressed he was with us. He said we are the most obedient mission he has ever seen in Europe and maybe even the world!! I don't know how many missions he's seen though... but it was nice to hear because that's something we work really take pride in. 

But the best part about the Elder Dyches visit was after the Leadership training. He picked ONE companionship out of the entire mission to interview one on one, and what do you know, he chose to interview Elder Clawson and I!!! Haha woah... it was a little nerve racking, but so great! He gave me lots of advice for my mission and for what I should be doing with my life when I come home. He said that he wants me to understand that a mission is only the launching pad that accelerates me into a happy and successful life. I believe him. After the interview we had the blessing of being able to go through the Temple. It was so beautiful and just what I needed to gather all of my thoughts. No matter where I am in the world, I ALWAYS feel at home in the Temple of the Lord.

So... with all of the inspiration and motivation we got from the meetings, we finally got one day in our area to work. Saturday. And oh boy did we work. Elder Clawson and I just taught lesson after lesson after lesson all day long. We didn't have anything but our own hard work to rely on, and we taught 9 lessons that day!! I didn't even realized how much we had taught until at 9:20 at night as we sat on a bus going home, I sat down for the first time that day for more than 5 minutes and just shouted out loud in joy to Elder Clawson as it hit me how much we had taught! I've never taught more than 5 lessons on my mission in one day (without splits) and we taught 9!! Oh man... I love my Heavenly Father. He's blessing us so much and we hardly have time to acknowledge it. 

I love being a missionary. I love the Holy Temple. I love that we have inspired prophets in our church today. I love working hard. And most of all I love the power of the Atonement. 

I love you all!! Have a great week!!

-Elder Bradshaw

8-17-15

What. A. Week. I'm exhausted... yet I've never felt better! We have just been so insanely busy!! Aw man I LOVE this work! Where do I begin?

Monday: Copenhagen. We were on splits with the Assistants and were able to work with them in their area. I've got to say, I'm glad I'm serving in Århus and not Copenhagen, but we still had a great time! We taught a lady from China named *J* and a Danish man named *C*. 

Tuesday: Copenhagen and the train. We finished splits with the assistants and then made the 4 hour trek back to Århus in the train. I absolutely love trains. They're a great place for teaching. We taught a few lessons on the way home with some wonderful people. It's amazing how quickly you can get people to open up to two complete strangers. By the time we got back to our own area, it was already gone 9pm, so the first two days of the week were already gone and we had yet to work in Århus.

Wednesday: Amazing day!! First we taught *J*. When we got there he told us the wonderful news that he had decided to stop smoking because of what we said last time! He had already thrown out his cigarettes. Then we taught *R*. He's a massive Arab man who played on the national Iranian basketball team. Great man. Great heart. Then we taught *A*, a less active man full of knowledge and wisdom. We taught, the Spirit testified, and all were edified. Then we finished the day off with a textbook lesson with *S*, a man from Ghana who has recently decided to be baptized (we just got to get him to church first ;)). 

Thursday: Okay I've gotta start skipping stuff now because I don't have time to fit this all in. On Thursday I was on splits with a brand new missionary, Elder Gardner. We had a great time and taught all day long. That's the thing about Århus. You just never stop teaching. Then that night we had 8 Elders in our apartment because of Zone Training the next day. Needless to say, it was a crazy afternoon.

Friday: my first zone training!!! It went so well. I absolutely love our zone. Every single one of them. We trained on teaching skills, specifically asking inspired questions. Well, that was our given topic. We changed it to asking Christlike questions because he was the best at asking good questions. Then after training we had zone activity where we basically just played a ton of sports and had a blast. 

Saturday: Splits again. Didn't get to work our area. 

Sunday: insane. We had Salam in church which was great. I translated sacrament meeting for all of the visitors and english speakers through a head set. Then I was invited by one of the young men that was getting the priesthood to join in the circle for his ordination after church. I was honored. Then we went back to said young mans home afterwards for lunch. That night we ate dinner with a less active lady named *M*. She made me eat the biggest and thickest cake you've ever seen by myself!! And if you know me, you know that I don't like sweet things. Particularly cake. But I did it. I finished the whole cake by myself. But was so amazing about that night was after we were done eating. *M* has been having a really difficult time lately with some very personal things and asked me to give her a blessing. It was a very spiritual moment. I laid my hands on her head with Elder Clawson and something incredible happened. I felt the voice of the Lord speak through my mouth. I've never had such a strong out of body experience before. I promised her some very specific and bold blessings if she did some very specific things. I never would have said those things on my own... it felt amazing. I can testify that the power of the priesthood is real. I've seen it work time and time again on my mission and I'm so grateful for it. I wish you could have all been there because I can't describe what happened with words. Just know that it was incredible.

I love you all! Have a great week!

.-Elder Bradshaw

8-10-15

Crazy week!!

Things are still just moving 1 billion miles an hour. I feel like I haven't been able to stop and smell the roses in a long time now, but in a really good way if that makes any sense. Every morning we get up and run like crazy! We love running, then plan for about 5 lessons a day during studies, then it's out the door at 10:30 and from then until 9pm that night we are just all over the place. Bus to train to bike and talking to EVERYONE along the way. That's something that I've really developed recently; a love for talking to people. The bus system here is amazing and we just meet so many different people every day as we hop from bus to bus. 

The ward here is great! They're really good at coming out and teaching with the missionaries! We had 11 member present lessons this week, which is huge for Denmark! Our teaching pool is just massive... The city of Århus usually has 4 Elders working it, but they closed down one of the areas so we're working both of them at the moment. We literally have more investigators than we could ever hope to teach. But it's great because that means we can focus all of our attention on the really positive ones. A man was baptized just a few weeks ago in the area and it looks like we will be having another one in another few weeks! His name is Sampson and he's just terrific. 

We've also had tons of great success just by talking to people on the streets. Just yesterday we missed our bus my 2 seconds, so we had to walk home. Good thing too because we crossed paths with this older couple out for a walk. We asked them if they had faith in Jesus Christ. They did. We asked what it meant for them. The man bore his powerful testimony for us right there on the street as he was in tears and we were able to pray with him and his adorable wife right then and there. There was a large group of young Danish teenagers shouting at us from across the street the entire time (trying to make fun of us) so when we finished our conversation with this couple, we crossed the street and had a chat with the kids. Haha you should have seen how surprised they were as we walked over to them. One of the kids was 18 years old and we ended up getting his address and a time to come over to talk. Boom! I ain’t afraid of no teenagers!

Anyway, things are going so well. I'm happy healthy and hip. Time is flying by.

Have a great week!! I love you all!

-Ældste Bradshaw

8-3-15

Århus!!!!!!!!!! Holy cow!!!!!!!!!!

Okay things are just absolutely whirlwind crazy 24 hours a day 7 days a week!!! I absolutely LOVE this place!! I can't even express myself right now! It's just go go go all the time which is just such a massive difference from my previous area. We have so many investigators that we can only meet with about 1 fourth of them because of time restrictions! Which is great because that means that we get to just focus on the really positive ones! Okay I'll just try and walk you through my week because I know I'm going to forget some things.

Monday: first day here. It was crazy getting settled in and buying my bus pass and getting groceries and getting all of my luggage and guitar and bike to the apartment. P-day was over before I knew it and we were out teaching. We were headed over to a guy named *F* who just got baptized a couple of weeks ago when I stopped a man on his bicycle. We ended up teaching him a lesson right there on the street and said a prayer with him, then went over to *F's* place and taught him! *F* is fantastic. Comes from Ghana. Unfortunately going back soon.

Tuesday: I wasn't even with my companion this day. Elder Clawson was preparing for a big convention for the youth that they hold annually in Denmark called Fest i Nord, so I went on splits with Elder Pike and had to work the city all day long based off of what knowledge I had of one afternoon in the area! It was great! We got a new investigator, taught *F* again, then taught *F's* roommate *S*! Oh and then we taught this other new investigator named *B* with a member named *E* and it went great! *B* is a great guy and wants to get baptized! Oh and each night so far we had had tons of other Elders coming and sleeping over in the apartment, so I've just been surrounded by people all the time which, again, is a big adjustment, but I love it! 

Wednesday: Elder Clawson and I were finally together alone this day. We taught a great investigator family called the *Ws*. Love ‘em. Then we had our district meeting with our new district which is always fun. Elder Porter (my MTC companion) is in my district now! Haha he's so funny. Can't wait to go on some exchanges with him.

Thursday: Tons of zone stuff. Zone report and buying train tickets for missionaries and preparing district meeting agendas. It was crazy. I love our zone. Then we had lunch with a guy that we contacted on Wednesday on the bus. His name is *J* and comes from Afghanistan. The Sister missionaries came along and we ate food and taught the first lesson. He loved it all.  

Friday: Elder Clawson went to a city called Randers to do his Fest i Nord presentation for the youth, so I was running the area with my limited knowledge again and was on exchanges with a BRAND NEW missionary called Elder Zeigler from Switzerland! That was fun because he had never taught a lesson or contacted a person or knocked on a door. It was literally his first day in the country, so I was able to help him with all of his firsts. We taught a man named *F* from Iran(less active man) and ate dinner with *B* (the investigator). He made us a traditional Danish meal, meatballs with curry and rice. 

Saturday: we did sport at 11 am. Football (soccer) with the Sisters and their investigator Mike and a few members. SO much fun. It felt good to play some real competitive sport again. It's been a while. Then after lunch we did service for this great investigating family. I cut their grass while Elder Clawson pulled weeds and swept. Their house is absolutely beautiful and must cost them a fortune. It looks like a castle. Not even kidding. Then after the service was done we ate ice cream with them in their back yard as we talked about families. It was lovely. Then we had to rush home and change clothes so we could make it to the local bowling alley! We have this investigator named *I* who is a part of a huge baptist church and they were having a youth activity there, so it was a great chance for us to meet some new people and tell them all about what we do! IT was soooo much fun. I love Africans. They just know how to have a good time. 

Sunday: First day in the new ward!! That's right, ward, not branch :) Aww man they're such great people. I love them all already. I can't remember any of their names, but I'm working on it. I got up to bear my testimony during sacrament and managed to crack a few jokes. They laughed, so I think I'm good. There are so many members here that love to come out and work with us, so that's always a plus. Then after church we contacted 1 million people and went to dinner at a less active members house. She made some delicious food and we had a blast. 

Anyway, that was my week. It honestly felt like one day. Everything is going so fast. We just teach teach teach and hardly have any time to ourselves. I love it! Get lost in the work to find yourself. It's true. I want you all to know that I absolutely love being a missionary. I'm happy all the time. I mean that. I love this great work.  I could do this for the rest of my life.

I hope you all have a great week and I apologize if I don't write to any of you individually this week. You see, we have a lesson right now with a 21 year old gal and she's bringing her best friend and they're super positive. So I honestly only have about 30 minutes to write this week. But I love you all and I hope I get more time next Monday to write you all back personally!! Love you!!!

-Ældste Jed Bradshaw