Well.. This week started off in ponga (uhm.... like.. when someone is
honestly trying but is failing) but I ended up a lot better :) Im
actually thankful for this week :) Im thankful for the challenges and
blessings that each week brings with them. And now, there is one week
less of the 104 that I signed up for. Doing the best that I can, for
everyone around me, in all the time that I have left :)
Where we left off...
Tuesday- The missionaries from Zone Conference left early that
morning... well... some. 6 missionaries got stranded here, because the
ocean got really high and angry over night, so all the boats only
traveled in one direction. So the Sisters (Ustupu) got stuck, and so
did Ukupa and Irgandi (they dont use boats- other people from their
villages take them, but nobody wanted to leave because the ocean was
angry) SOOOO we all spent another day together.
For those of you who remember... I destroyed my feet playing
basketball yesterday... sooo... today I couldnt walk xD So me and
Wrigley (we were on divisions) hung out with the Elders stuck with no
clean clothing.
Wednesday- Well.. I felt better enough that we left some. There was a
first presidency conference for all the missionaries in the world,
buuuut as usual.. the internet here wouldnt support it. so we wasted
like 2 hours of proselyting time in setting things up and trying to
make it work. so AFTER that, we worked as much as we would :)
The Elders and Sisters STILL couldnt get out :/ So they came to our
family home evening with Timos family (timo is still in the city) and
family just watched us all playing fun games and stuff xD and those
who wanted to play played- but we outnumbered them xD it was a great
time.
Thursday- FINALLY everybody got OFF OUR ISLAND. Not that I dont love
the missionaries in our zone, but they are distracting, and I would
like them all to be able to work in their areas :) So everybody
finally left, and we ended divisions, which meant that I was alone
from 8am until 1pm when my companion showed up finally :) We had a
pretty good day of work though. This dude just came out of nowhere and
said that he was less active nd that we should come visit him :) it
was actually really cool.
Friday- Friday was areally good day :) I felt pretty good about it. We
talked to a few less actives and some investigators, and we set plans
with Ibdi and Eric to go to the temple :) (timos family) this family
has become literally my family away from family, and I care so very
much about their eternal happiness. Ive been helping them a lot- We
can have alot of influence in this family because we live with them.
Saturday- AMAZING day. I dont even know why, but everybody was home
and ready to listen (that like.. never happens. these people dont
understand the word "commitment" or "on-time") But we had lessons like
all day long :) it was amazing. We taught the Less active from the
other day that contacted us, and we were going to see how well he
spoke spanish.. basically nothing. But between me and hoeft, we knew
enough tulegaya to teach a lesson about christ :)
Sunday- well... there was an obligatory cleaning of the airport..
soooooo all the men couldnt go to church, so we started church lter so
everyone could go :) Me and Hoeft spent the morning announcing to
everyone that it would start late so people could go.
it was a little dissapointing again, most lessons fell, or werent
there, but we went back to that less actives house again (his name is
alberto). We taught him the best Restoration lesson that we could in
Tulegaya, which was actually pretty good :) and then at the end, he
pulled out a pot of rice and hot dogs to give us. It was really sweet.
It meant a lot, how poor these people are, that he would provide food
for us. I almost feel bad when people like that give us food, but I
cant say no, because they made that sacrifice for us. and the little
bit of rice his family gave us, filled up our stomachs and our hearts
:) it made the whole day ok.
Monday- today :) well, I woke up at 5 to exercise as normal, and then
at 6 we went to go jog with an investigator :) it was actually really
cool :) and then after breakfast, me and my companion went hiking to
the waterfall :) It took an hour of hiking to get there, and we spent
an hour there hanging out. We actually found some youth from the
island that were swimming there :) It was fun.
ANYWAYS- That was my week :) It was a great week, it just went by way
too fast for my liking. But im living all the time I have to the
fullest! speaking of, Im out of time! But I love you all! Keep
improving and trying to become better! The Atonement of Christ is
there to give us strength and help us- not just for sinners :)
-Elder Bradburn
Machi Senigua
Tule Bander
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
January 19
well.. This has been a little bit of a crazy week. I remember thinking
on monday night that I just wanted a normal day to study, and have a
normal schedule. Sooo of course...
also... as the Zone Leaders.. we have taken roll of the people who
hound the branches and missionaries to get reports in (like the
tithing adjustments for the year) because there are things way over
due out here. So we have been super busy doing all that.
Tuesday- We went to go running on tuesday morning, and when we were on
our way back home, we had to pass by the airport. I know the lady who
works there, so she called us over to let me know that they had... 11
boxes sent to the church. She also told me that it was going to cost
$100. I was super pissed with whoever sent the boxes- they know they
need to pay for those things!!! there isnt enough por supuesto....
uhm.... what is that in English? like.. the branch frunding money for
stuff. So i made phone calls to figure it out and stuff. So we
decieded we would pay for it and the church would pay us back in the
city next month. soooooo..... i later found out the lady was just
teasing. Even though I asked her if that was serious or not like 5
times she told me yes xD that it was serious.
Anyways. We got all the supplies for the year :) new hymn books, etc.
Wednesday- We went to the monte with Ultiminio, which was super fun ad cool :)
We worked as hard as we could. We went out and talked with everyone
that we could :) but as usual, this area is hard.
Thursday- Irgandi showed up in the morning to send some reports to the
cuhrch with their branch president, but upon arriving i told them that
they couldnt- they have to do it on their own machine. so they
basically wasted a day in travel... and distracted us xD
We had a family home evening that night with Ibdi and all the people
who live with us :) and the neithobrs. it went pretty well :) it was
exciting. Their first family home evening :) we taught them how to do
it. It went super well.
Friday- We went on invasions :) I went to Tikantiki, and my companion
went to Carti (carti is further away, you pass tikantiki to get htere)
So I worked the day with Tikantiki. They are doing alright... theyre
great missionaries :) Elder Taylor and Elder Nelson. We worked a good
hard day out there.
Saturday- Well... the ponga was supposed to come and get us, but they
couldnt. SOOO they called another ponga to pass by to get us. but
hoeft didnt have a phone, so when the ponga passed, he didnt get one
it because he thought he was waiting for a specific ponga (One of the
rules of travel here... you NEVER wait for a specific ponga.. get on
whatever passes first) but I got on the ponga anyways.. I wanted to
try and do something in my area.
When I finally got things worked out for a companion to come out with
me, someones house caught fire on the island (quick history lesson...
in the past 5 years my island has burned down twice. the whole island
is close together and the houses are made of very flamable materials)
so I sprinted and helped carry water to put it out. At some point i
got separated from the member companion. So we put the fire out, and I
just walked home to study xD Turns out that someone left their kitchen
and a fire started and caught their roof on fire. The only injury, ws
one of the teenagers who climbed the roof to poor water on it. He fell
and got knocked out. But toher than that, all is well. only like half
of their roof burned down.
Sunday- Well... I went to church alone.. or I thought I did xD turns
out my comp showed up on a ponga literally as I passed the dock to go
to the church. Soooo we went to church. Our branch presidency wasnt
there, soooo the elders quorum president just decided to get the
sacrament done, and then ended church. shortest church ive ever been
too.
We had to get everybody travel to zone conference, and collect
numbers, but there was no phone service. Sooo we prayed hard. We got
phone service back, got the pongas, and then realized that the sisters
ponga wouldnt answer the phone. sooo... we found someone who has
family who lives on the island that the motorist is from. So we got
ahold of them, let everyone know travel, collected and reported
numbers, and then phone service died again :)
Monday- well.. our ponga failed. They didnt leave until 12 (I wish the
elders would have just gotten on a different ponga... they are
supposed to leave at 9) so we didnt get all the missionaries until
4PM.
so while waiting... we got a pick up game of basketball going with us,
the gringos, against the tules. 5 v 5. it got super violent xD it was
fun. 4 of us played without shoes.... so the 4 of us... have blisters
on our feet... and I have it the worst. its huge and i cant walk
anymore xD i dont think Ill be able to do much missionary workl. Also,
while playing, im pretty sure i almost dislocted my shoulder... it
still hurts. I have a doctors appointment set for the next time i go
into the city.
LAter, conference went well. I am really happy with the way that our
meetings turn out :) My favorite part is doing Zone Council. getting
everybody together to talk. Especially because things are different
out here, it helps to get together and hear the opinions of everyone
:)
Tuesday- Well.. today... the sisters, and irgandi and ukupa, didnt get
aride off the island because the ocean is really angry and big right
now. it rose a ton over night...
anyways. thats where we are at! We are up for a week full of divisions
:) This next couple of days im with Elder Wrigley :) I love this kid
xD
anyways. Im doing great :) I just cant exercise xD I woke up at 5am
this morning, realized I couldnt do cardio because of my foot, and
then open getting out of my hammock, I realized that my shoulder
wouldnt let me lift weights either. Hoping to get back to working and
exercising as soon as possible...
I love you all, thank you for following the craziness in my life! I
love being a representative of Jesus Christ and teaching and bringing
other to come unto him. Im so happy to be here- Remember Christ in all
things. He is always there to help :)
Love yall! talk to you next week :)
on monday night that I just wanted a normal day to study, and have a
normal schedule. Sooo of course...
also... as the Zone Leaders.. we have taken roll of the people who
hound the branches and missionaries to get reports in (like the
tithing adjustments for the year) because there are things way over
due out here. So we have been super busy doing all that.
Tuesday- We went to go running on tuesday morning, and when we were on
our way back home, we had to pass by the airport. I know the lady who
works there, so she called us over to let me know that they had... 11
boxes sent to the church. She also told me that it was going to cost
$100. I was super pissed with whoever sent the boxes- they know they
need to pay for those things!!! there isnt enough por supuesto....
uhm.... what is that in English? like.. the branch frunding money for
stuff. So i made phone calls to figure it out and stuff. So we
decieded we would pay for it and the church would pay us back in the
city next month. soooooo..... i later found out the lady was just
teasing. Even though I asked her if that was serious or not like 5
times she told me yes xD that it was serious.
Anyways. We got all the supplies for the year :) new hymn books, etc.
Wednesday- We went to the monte with Ultiminio, which was super fun ad cool :)
We worked as hard as we could. We went out and talked with everyone
that we could :) but as usual, this area is hard.
Thursday- Irgandi showed up in the morning to send some reports to the
cuhrch with their branch president, but upon arriving i told them that
they couldnt- they have to do it on their own machine. so they
basically wasted a day in travel... and distracted us xD
We had a family home evening that night with Ibdi and all the people
who live with us :) and the neithobrs. it went pretty well :) it was
exciting. Their first family home evening :) we taught them how to do
it. It went super well.
Friday- We went on invasions :) I went to Tikantiki, and my companion
went to Carti (carti is further away, you pass tikantiki to get htere)
So I worked the day with Tikantiki. They are doing alright... theyre
great missionaries :) Elder Taylor and Elder Nelson. We worked a good
hard day out there.
Saturday- Well... the ponga was supposed to come and get us, but they
couldnt. SOOO they called another ponga to pass by to get us. but
hoeft didnt have a phone, so when the ponga passed, he didnt get one
it because he thought he was waiting for a specific ponga (One of the
rules of travel here... you NEVER wait for a specific ponga.. get on
whatever passes first) but I got on the ponga anyways.. I wanted to
try and do something in my area.
When I finally got things worked out for a companion to come out with
me, someones house caught fire on the island (quick history lesson...
in the past 5 years my island has burned down twice. the whole island
is close together and the houses are made of very flamable materials)
so I sprinted and helped carry water to put it out. At some point i
got separated from the member companion. So we put the fire out, and I
just walked home to study xD Turns out that someone left their kitchen
and a fire started and caught their roof on fire. The only injury, ws
one of the teenagers who climbed the roof to poor water on it. He fell
and got knocked out. But toher than that, all is well. only like half
of their roof burned down.
Sunday- Well... I went to church alone.. or I thought I did xD turns
out my comp showed up on a ponga literally as I passed the dock to go
to the church. Soooo we went to church. Our branch presidency wasnt
there, soooo the elders quorum president just decided to get the
sacrament done, and then ended church. shortest church ive ever been
too.
We had to get everybody travel to zone conference, and collect
numbers, but there was no phone service. Sooo we prayed hard. We got
phone service back, got the pongas, and then realized that the sisters
ponga wouldnt answer the phone. sooo... we found someone who has
family who lives on the island that the motorist is from. So we got
ahold of them, let everyone know travel, collected and reported
numbers, and then phone service died again :)
Monday- well.. our ponga failed. They didnt leave until 12 (I wish the
elders would have just gotten on a different ponga... they are
supposed to leave at 9) so we didnt get all the missionaries until
4PM.
so while waiting... we got a pick up game of basketball going with us,
the gringos, against the tules. 5 v 5. it got super violent xD it was
fun. 4 of us played without shoes.... so the 4 of us... have blisters
on our feet... and I have it the worst. its huge and i cant walk
anymore xD i dont think Ill be able to do much missionary workl. Also,
while playing, im pretty sure i almost dislocted my shoulder... it
still hurts. I have a doctors appointment set for the next time i go
into the city.
LAter, conference went well. I am really happy with the way that our
meetings turn out :) My favorite part is doing Zone Council. getting
everybody together to talk. Especially because things are different
out here, it helps to get together and hear the opinions of everyone
:)
Tuesday- Well.. today... the sisters, and irgandi and ukupa, didnt get
aride off the island because the ocean is really angry and big right
now. it rose a ton over night...
anyways. thats where we are at! We are up for a week full of divisions
:) This next couple of days im with Elder Wrigley :) I love this kid
xD
anyways. Im doing great :) I just cant exercise xD I woke up at 5am
this morning, realized I couldnt do cardio because of my foot, and
then open getting out of my hammock, I realized that my shoulder
wouldnt let me lift weights either. Hoping to get back to working and
exercising as soon as possible...
I love you all, thank you for following the craziness in my life! I
love being a representative of Jesus Christ and teaching and bringing
other to come unto him. Im so happy to be here- Remember Christ in all
things. He is always there to help :)
Love yall! talk to you next week :)
Monday, January 11, 2016
January 11
Well... the week of infierno. The City Trip. The city trip wasnt all too bad. Just a little stressful and crazy schedule like normal.
Tuesday- We flew out to the city :) Woke up early, went to the plane, and showed up in the city ready to get some work done. Sadly, the money and things werent ready yet, so it was mainly a day to get some personal stuff done (buy a new camera since my last one fell in the ocean). We also got changes, and met up with our new missionaries in the bus terminal. Theyre great missionaries- Elder Senden and Elder Lau... They got to Panama after I came out here to Blas xD
Elder Davis (coming from David to the city) Got on a bus at a bad time, so he was supposed to show up to the bus terminal at 12, and the assistants asked me and Taylor to go pick him up, since he is a newer elder and doesnt know the city. we got there at 1130, and he didnt show up till 230. Several David buses passed, and this last 230 bus we were going to give up and go to bed.. Lucky for him, he was on that bus xD
Wednesday- Wednesday we got some work done. We divided up everyones money, and started the shopping process. We got as much done as we could (pricemart and Super 99). Pricemart was missing some key products (mashed potatoes, fruit snacks, pasta) so we had to find some substitute food. I was up till probably 12 packing stuff and eating dinner
Thursday- Our last day. We had some last minute things to do, Distribution center, do it center, riba smith, and other small last minute things. it was also final preparations for the travel, the next morning at 430. We finished packing everything, and making space for supplies in the bags, at around 2 am. Me and my companion are responsible for the supplies and food and bags of us and 12 other missionaries... so there are 14 huge bags of food that come with us back out, and sometimes they get a little bit full, so we have to break things down into smaller sizes.
Friday- We woke up at 415 to get things ready to leave, and the cars showed up at 5 to take us. All 5 of us knocked out in the car ride. EVERYBODY fell asleep xD crazy. I guess we were a little tired... We all headed out in boat, and I got all the food off to where it needed to go. Elder Sharp and Elder Lau came over to Playon, to buy a few things from out island (they are in irgandi, which is super small and they dont have any stores there) but the motors on the boat broke, so they couldnt get back to their area :/ so we all napped here.
Saturday- They still couldnt get out of here. The boat still wasnt fixed. We took advantage and used the 4 of us to do spring cleaning on our house... I finally got sick of the mess. I dont know when the last time was that that house was cleaned WELL. I normally dont want to go through the work of cleaning a house that nobody before me ever cleaned, and nobody after me will clean, but after a few months I start to feel claustrophobic in the mess xD
Sunday- Church! well... there was a comunity service in the morning, for all the men, so we had church at 1130. me and my companion both gave talks. And then we finally got to work after being in the city :) I want to work super hard this change, but its hard coming back from the city trying to re-jumpstart our area xD
Anyways. That is pretty much my week :) its been crazy and stressful, and full of headaches but the Lord supports me in the calling that he gave me- and im happy to do it as long as he needs me here, filling these roles and responsibilities
anyways. I love yall! take care, work hard, stay motivated, and seek the Lord and his counsel in all things :) He knows better than we do..
Elder Bradburn
Machi Senigua
Tule Bander
Monday, January 4, 2016
January 4, 2016
***Dad preface: we heard from Blake after he sent this email and he was not transferred. He's staying in Playon Chico.***
Tuesday- Well.. Tuesday was a decent day. We started off going to the Monte with Ultiminio. We had a good talk with him while we were out there. Ive seen a lot of progress in that man since I got here. Hes coming back to church and was talking about how important the church is in his life the whole time we were out there.
Later we went on a few visits, but nothing that showed too much interest. My companion wasnt feeling super well so we came home a little bit early.
Wednesday- Consejos!! Consejos were great :) We were actually able to participate again. Thats always nice :) We also downloaded all the existing mormon messages onto my ipod :) They raised the internet speed for consejos so we were able to actually get some stuff done on the computer as well :)
We later worked as hard as we could in the time that we had left. It was a decent day.
Thursday- We could a really solid day of work in :) Celestiano was here so we took him around with his all day. We tried to teach Alsiviades The Restoration (we have been teaching him for a month now... hes an ex catholic father) and he got very very upset during the lesson. I really like him, so I think as long as Im here we are still going to teach him, but we probably wont touch the Restoration again. It was a little upsetting how hostile he got about it, but as soon as we ended he was super friendly again. We are still good friends :)
Friday- NEW YEARS!!!! welll..... Someone died a couple of days ago... soooo... Igua, the profesional grave digger, and our close friend, asked us to help him. So we did. That was the hardest work I have ever done in my life. for 6 hours (starting at 530am and ending at 1130) 4 of us took turns picking the dirt, and then shoveling. shoot. Today is monday and Im STILL sore.
When we came back from digging.... we came back to our find uh... well. Chicha Fuerte. Ive explained about it before, but its a little rough going through it. So many people that Ive come to love and care about were so drunk they couldnt even walk. Just everybody. (well... the majority. none of the active members drank) The evil traditions of their Fathers. For this ceremony, they make their own fermented Sugar Cane. The believe that for every glass the drink, they are adding to the treasure that they will receive in heaven. And they believe that those who dont drink, wont be allowed into heaven after they die.
so we just took a bunch of the members over to the chapel and watched some church movies :)
Saturday- We got a super super solid day of work in :) I loved it. The first time in a while where we have gotten a complete full day of work in :) We talked with Dini, and we have been trying to make progress with him for sooo long. Every time we talk he tells us "ya elders. we are going to church sunday. promise" and doesnt show up. But this time he seemed sincere. He said that he had a dream that the island was sinking (a symbol of the inicuity of our island) and that a boat came, and it came only to save the members. Timo (the branch president) invited him to get on, and to be saved. and Him and has family ran to it, and it started to move away, and he handed his children and wife onto the boat, and was able to jump on at the last second.
He DID Show up on sunday :)
Sunday- We mainly just planned the city trip, finished out food lists, and took it easy taking numbers.
Monday- well... today... we will find out changes. tomorrow we go to the city, and Friday... we? come back. I hope.
Anyyyyways. I love you all. And thank you all for keeping up with me and my life. I hope you can all see through the events taking place in my life as a missionary, that you can see my testimony in this work, and in the Savior Jesus Christ. That you can see, through my eyes, the change that I see in the lives of the people who accept him, and who grow through this knowledge.
Yall take care in this coming week! There could be some major changes this week...
Elder Bradburn
MAchi Senigua
Tule Bander
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