12-28-15

This last week has been awesome! Christmas week is always the best. To be honest it hasn't been so busy on the missionary work side of things as far as teaching and finding is concerned. We spent an enormous amount of time with members and the work has been subsequently low, however, we have seen 'real progress' with our ward. About two months ago Elder Vance and I came up with a plan of how we could best help the ward in which we are serving. We saw a big hole in the youth with low attendance at mutual and church, so we made them our focus. We went especially out of our way to make the youth of this ward feel like missionaries are awesome (which we are ;)) and that the gospel is exciting. We have been teaching lessons at mutual activities and on Sundays during Young Mens/Womens and have been spending time at the members houses and building friendships with them. And I can tell you, IT IS WORKING! Attendance has almost doubled and the ward is so excited about it. The Christmas season was just the thing we needed to get it going. 

One thing I think I have realized is the importance of families as the fundamental unit of the church. If it were not for families, our church would not work. We simply could not do it with millions of single people. As Missionaries, we should be looking for and re-activating those that can build the kingdom, or in other words, those that can bring in families. God knew what he was doing when he gave us Mummy and Daddy and there is a reason we learn their names as our first words ;) 

I especially loved celebrating the birth of a savior this last week. I have learned so much about and come closer to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is all around us all the time. 

Quick shout out to the Kearsley, Trap, and Rosenkilde families for the great Christmas they gave us Missionaries. I have made lifelong friends with you and your children. Tak for en hyggeligt juletid!

I wish you all a happy new year!! Have a great week and I'll talk to you in 2016!

MKH,

Ældste Bradshaw

12-21-15

Dear everyone,

HEEEY!!!!! It's Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!! Haha I'm so excited for this week!!! First of all, thank you to everyone for your kind emails and letters! I loved them :) Sounds like there are so many great things happening at home, but lucky for me I get to be in the DENMARK COPENHAGEN MISSION!!!!! I can't think of a better way to spend this special time of year! Okay I also should probably start with another little confession... at zone conference two days ago they gave us all of our Christmas packages, and everyone just opened theirs there on the spot, so I couldn't hold back and I opened all of mine!! So sorry!! But SOOO grateful for the love and support! Thank you so much to each and every one of you that sent things. You don't know how much it means. I seriously love my family so much. 

This week has been fantastic! We've been caroling a lot lately because... well because we can! It's Christmas! So we've been visiting all of the less active members in the ward and singing songs for them and reading from the Bible story of Christ's birth. They've been loving it. Great way to spread the Christmas cheer. We also had a big Christmas concert this week. There has been a group of traveling missionaries that have been performing for all of the different wards in Denmark. Well, they finally made it to Århus this week and I was the one in charge of finding things for them to do while they were here. We had about a 4 hour block before the concert began, so we decided to spread the word. We set up a hot cocoa stand in front of the church and then went marching down the streets. I led the group at the front with my guitar playing whatever Christmas songs I knew and then 16 missionaries followed behind me singing their hearts out and holding up signs to advertise free hot cocoa and the concert. It was soooo much fun! Everyone seemed to smile as we marched by singing all of the Danish carols that they know so well. 

Then at the concert TONS of people showed up! It was a full house! Investigators, members, less actives, complete strangers! Then in the middle of the concert Elder Vance and I got a call from a member that was on her way to the concert with her family but her tire had exploded!! So we biked over to her as fast as we could and switched her tire out with the spare, then barely made it back right as the concert ended. It was a crazy night. 

Our zone conference was also great. Just imagine 50+ missionaries gathered together all day to celebrate the life of Christ. It was awesome! Then at the very end they surprised us by putting on the new Disney movie ''Inside Out''!! Such a good day.

I hope you all have a great Christmas week and remember the Savior during this special time of year. He was born. And that is of great importance. He, a god, was born into the flesh. He condescended to the most lowly of circumstances so that he could experience mortality. So that he could understand US perfectly. He has been through it all. There is ALWAYS someone who understands what you are going through. How awesome is that?!?

I love you all!!! Happy Christmas!🎄🎄🎄🎄

Ældste Bradshaw 

Video of Jed receiving presents at Zone Conference https://www.facebook.com/janna.obryant/videos/10205269028475770/

12-14-15

This week’s epistle comes from Denmark’s slowest computer!!! The wifi has been down in the church for a while now, so I'm using this awfully slow machine in a random library. Sorry if I don't reply to your personal emails. 

But last week I promised miracle stories and this week you're gonna get 'em!!

First I would like to tell you all about the ARMENIAN (yeah listen up Yerets Ethan Bradshaw) that we met last Monday. We had been emailing in this huge library in downtown Århus that day and as we were walking through the revolving doors something awesome happened! I went into the doors from my side and as I walked through there was a man that I could see through the glass that had come in on the other side. He was waving at me excitedly... As I exited the revolving doors into the sharp Århus winter air, I waited. He soon came out after us and hobbled quickly over to us. He was a short little man with a tweed suit and heavy winter jacket and hat. The first thing he asked was ''Mormons?''. We nodded and smiled :) He then told us in his broken English that he had hitchhiked his way from Armenia to Denmark over the past couple of weeks and was living here on the streets. He had met with missionaries before in Armenia and therefore knew quite a bit about us. 

His name is *N*. He didn't have any phone or address or any other way for us to contact him, so we gave him the time and place for our Sunday services and told him we would meet him at the bus stop just outside of the church. He held the little piece of paper with the church's address tightly to his chest and gave us a huge smile and a handshake. 

Sunday morning: we waited for him at the bus stop for 40 minutes in the harsh cold. He didn't show. So we went into sacrament meeting and as we were finishing the Sacrament Hymn, he walked in the back door!! Oh what a glorious little man he was. He loved church and was just so humble and kind to everyone. We are going to start teaching him again outside wherever we can find a warm spot, then his plan is to continue traveling around Denmark, so maybe we'll get him taught by other Elders as he goes. He wants to get baptized, but I think finding a home is the first step for him. 

We also picked up a new investigator named *K*. She was a long miracle story as well...but long story short, she lived in Arizona for a year with a Mormon family and is now back in Denmark. She's 20 years old and plays Handball (the Danish national sport) and will be teaching us how to play on Saturday!! She's great.

Some sad news: Elder Ericksen (one of the Elders I live with) had to go home this last week due to an emergency surgery, so it's been crazy in Århus for the last couple of days trying to get someone new here. But we now have Elder Bishopp with Elder McBride and we're just having a blast! 

We taught a man named *J* yesterday. We showed him the new Christmas video that the church has come out with. When it was done, I turned to him and he had tears in his eyes. Elder Vance and I both bore testimony to him about the reality of a Savior. There was a very special spirit in that room. Those are my favorite moments on my mission. I call them Spirit bubbles. You feel like you're in this little bubble that nothing else can get inside, completely separate from the world. 'Tis fantastic. 

That's all for now folks!! I love you all and hope you have a great week full of Christmas cheer!!

Ældste Jed Bradshaw

Castle in Skive

This place is called 'Den Gammle By' meaning the old city. 

Elder Vance and I working on transfer number 3 together!

12-7-15

Hello Everyone!!

So sorry, you'll just have to live off of pictures this week. Other things seem to have sucked up my writing time this week! I'm doing great though! We're ushering in Christmas and it's bringing miracles! I'll write about them all next week I promise!

I love you all!!

Elder Bradshaw