1-18-16

Woah, Slagelse is fantastic!! The members here are just so excited about missionary work. Never before have I seen a ward mission leader as motivated as the one we have here. He is determined that we will have 3 baptisms as a district by the end of this transfer. I believe him. I know we can do it. Elder Dickson and I have set some huge goals together as to how we can get out there and find the one. Our primary objective is to receive referrals from the members here. Slagelse has already seen tons of member referrals get baptized, so I know it can happen again. I just need to build some basic member relations, then show them I mean business. 

Yesterday was my first Sunday in the ward and I was given the wonderful opportunity to give a talk. I was a little intimidated at first seeing as I don't even know the ward yet, but then I saw it as the perfect way for me to introduce myself and win over their trust. It went great, I think :/

We have a great big teaching pool here, but nobody that is particularly positive, so we are going out finding quite a bit. We could teach all day if we wanted, but I don't think that would be too effective with our current investigators. So I'm praying hard that the Lord will lead us to someone that we can put on baptismal date this week. 

We were also in Copenhagen this last week for our monthly leadership conference. It went well enough. We will be training the mission on how to get more progressing investigators. 

OH! I had a great experience this last Saturday! I had the great opportunity to meet my grandfather!! No, I don't mean grandpa Bradshaw or Wilkins, but grandpa Vanderput. The very man that trained my father in his mission in London many many years ago. 

It's been a great week! I'm just excited to put my mark on this place and leave it better than I found it. I hope you all have a great week!! I love you!!

Ældste Bradshaw

1-11-16

Well hey.

I am currently sitting at a computer in a city by the name of Slagelse. Now, please don't say the name wrong. If you're going to pronounce it like an Englishman, then you're going to want to say it as if you are saying ''sleigh-ul-suh''. My new companion is Elder Dickson, who I had 1 and a half years ago in the MTC. We'll be the Zone leaders here for the next little bit.

I'll be honest with you, leaving Århus was not fun. It was easily the most difficult part of my mission thus far. I was there for half a year, and I felt completely at home there. I did not feel like a missionary showing up to church on Sundays. I just felt like another member that had lived there for years and years. There are families in that ward that I am closer to than I am with some of my real family. I absolutely loved my time there and will never forget it. I don't think anything will quite compare.... so many great lifelong friends and memories.

But I'm very optimistic and happy to be serving in Slagelse (sleigh-ul-suh) now. I look forward to getting to know all of the new missionaries here. I'm actually quite familiar with lots of our investigators already because I met many of them while serving down in Nykøbing Falster, so that is nice. 

Well, I think that will do for today. I love you all hope you have a great week.

Ældste Jed Bradshaw

1-4-16

Hey everyone! Godt Nytår!!! (happy new year)

Holy cow, I am just exhausted. The Danish New Year, just like the rest of Europe, is INSANE!! Okay, I'll give you something to compare it to... for those of you in Utah, you know the stadium of fire fireworks?? Yeah, okay, now imagine the equivalent of that for every single street in the city. I kid you not, it feels like a warzone in Århus at 12am on January 1st. It's very wet here in Denmark, so there is no fear of fire. Subsequently, everything is legal. The biggest fireworks possible are lit off by 4 year olds. It's AWESOME!! 

We got to spend New Years Eve with a member family and were allowed to stay out until 11pm this time. Then we just watched the night sky light up from our apartment for the rest of the night. Sleeping was not an option due to the seemingly continuous roll of thunder going on. New Years is the best!! 

This week we have been working lots with Mr. T from Cambodia and his wife *S. They enjoy reading out of the Book of Mormon with us when we come. It's slow rolling with them, but it will come with time. Otherwise we have seen some big steps forward with *S and *H, our friends from the Faroe Islands. She has been reading in the book a ton and is now interested in coming to church this week, so we'll see if she follows through on her word :) 

We've been working with *K and *I a lot over the past few months. She is an inactive member and he is a non-member. They're both in their 80's and their Danish is very difficult to understand at times. We haven't seen *K ever care about what we come and talk about, but this last week as we were over there sharing our testimonies about the Savior, a single tear rolled down his cheek!! He really felt the spirit strong and next week we're going over to extend a baptismal invite! I think he's finally ready. 

Things are going great as always here. Transfers are happening this week, so I really do think it's my time to leave this time. 

Have a great week everyone. Love you!!

Ældste Jed Bradshaw