Acontece

12/3/2018

Ola Familia!

This week has been one of ups and downs. We have officially knocked every house in Domingo Lobo except one. We'll get to that one too this week though. We had divisions this week with the sisters in Mosteiros, which was cool, except because of some transportation difficulties we all ended up in the same area together for the day, haha. But hey, we got a weeks worth of new investigators and a date mark in one afternoon: milagres.

Gripe Got You Down

11/26/2018

And another week passes in a flash. I know you're thinking I must've been transferred because I didn't write last week, buuuut, surprise! I'm staying in Covo Figueira! The power was just out in the entire city for some reason so we couldn't exactly email. I'm so excited to spend Christmas here and another transfer with Sister Ashby. I'm the first companion she's ever got to spend two transfers with, isn't that crazy! Unfortunately Covo Figueira is the COLDEST PLACE IN ALL OF AFRICA! Don't get me wrong, it doesn't snow or anything here but it gets pretty darn cold, and literally only in Covo, the rest of the island is still hot so that's a little bit of a rip off. But don't worry, this means I'll just have the rest of my mission to melt.

No Letter This Week!

We did not receive a letter from Lia for the week of 11/19/2018.  A landmark!

Festas, Facas e Milagres

11/12/18

Bom Dia Família, Nós 'sta fixe?

Another week has come and gone. I thought that when I left the MTC, time might slow down a bit and wait for me to catch up, but as this second transfer is drawing to a close it becomes increasingly apparent that I have no hope of ever catching up. I used to think four months was a long time, like a semester of school or the summer, but this past four months have seemingly flashed by. I fear that one these days I'm going to wake up and the mission will already be over. People always ask "Sister, tem saudades para casa?" (“Do you miss home?”) and I always respond "Não, já tenho saudades para Cabo Verde" (“No, I already miss Cape Verde”), because I'll always have home, but when will I ever have another chance to be here, right now with these people? I hope I can stay in Covo Figueira for another transfer but who knows what this next six weeks has in store for me. But I can already tell I'll miss these people terribly and I just don't know when I'll see them again. Who knew the mission was such a trap!? Making me come here to love and serve these people just to send me away! Something tells me leaving the mission is going to be a lot tougher than coming out onto the mission. Lucky for me, even in missionary time, I've got a while.

Three Batches of Brownies and a Kilogram of Salt Later...

11/5/18

Hello Family!

It's been another wild week here in Covo, can't believe the transfer is going to over soon! Sister Ashby and I think I may leave the island next transfer, but it's hard to speculate with President because you really just never know.

The Iron Rod 'Aint Gonna Hold Onto Itself

10/29/18

I can't believe we are already more than half way through the transfer! Time passes so quickly here! Except of course at eight o'clock at night when nobody wants to talk to you, but like, all the rest of the time passes by so quickly! It was another crazy week in Covo Figueira for the La Pinha Sisters. Full of miracles and laughs. We got a free taxi ride back from Tinteira (a part of our area far away) after praying that we could safely walk back in the dark, so literal blessings. We found more people to teach this week than this area has seen in a while and despite a lot, and I mean a lot of walking, Sister Ashby and I find ourselves energized by the spirit and eager to continue. One of the themes from this last was definitely diligence. I've begun learning more than ever before! The reality is that Diligencia=Milagres. Favorite scriptures stories to teach this week were 1 Nephi 3 and Ether 2-3. Our motto from that one especially being to "prepare your stones". Most blessings require effort and diligence on our part so remember to work hard for what you want! I have no more time once again, but I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

No Time Whatsoever!

10/22/2018

Whelp, Once again I have absolutely no time whatsoever! So enjoy these Pictures and my apologies to everyone I didn't write this week!

Pray

10/15/2018

Bom Dia Família!

Turns out I speak Portuguese! Haha, I was is Sao Filipe for the first couple days of this week waiting for my new companion and I got to spend some time proceliting with the sisters there. It was the weirdest thing, I knew what people were saying and I could respond! lol Apparently the people of Covo Figueira just have the thickest most difficult creole in all of Cabo Verde. But it's good because everyone there all thought I had way more time in the mission than I do and kept telling me how good my Portuguese is. I'm still far from being fluent or where I'd like to be but I guess for only having three months in the mission I'm not doing too bad. Milagres!

Cape Verde is Getting a Temple!

Dear Family,

What a week it has been!!! This week was Sister Pendleton's last week in the mission. It's crazy how fast the transfer has come and gone. I was sad to say goodbye, but on the brightside I get to spend the next couple days with my MTC companion Sister Forsyth, and I'll get my new comp. Sister Ashbee this wednesday! I can't believe I've already been here that long and I'm daunted by the idea of having to introduce my new comp. to the area, but I'm sure all will be well and I'm excited for another great transfer here in Covo Figueira!

Two Guys On A Scooter

10/1/2018

Sta'dretu?

The week passed so quickly I'm not quite sure what even happened. I got to go to my first Zone Conference which was really fun and inspiring to see so many other missionaries! I also got to see Sister Forsyth and honestly almost cried, I love her so much. Of course Sao Filipe is hotter than Hades, which really made appreciate the fresco paradise that is Covo Figueira. It was cool though to be around other people speaking in portuguese too.  The Creole makes things tricky and really confusing sometimes but at the very least people understand me and I'm beginning to understand a little bit of the Creole. By the time I come home I should be trilingual, so that's cool.

Cup'a Tang

9/24/2018

Fam, what a week!

So Monday night we had a Family Night, which are like my favorite things ever, even if I never know what anyone is saying. But at the end of the night me and Sister Pendelton were offered a strange orange flavored drink.  We tried to decline, insisting that the water here will make us sick, but they were persistent so we took the drink, said a prayer and downed the questionable liquid inside. Well, Sister Pendelton has a stomach of steel. I, on the other hand, spent the next four days unable to eat anything but baby food. Fortunately, if I was going to be sick and stuck in an apartment with anyone for a week, I’m happy it was Sister Pendleton. She kept me well entertained and was patient with my inability to do anything but vomit and whine. Luckily, I've gotten much better and feel all the more eager to get out and preach. The Lord blesses us in strange and mysterious ways. Yesterday while running down the main road in La Pinha from a small dog, who I'm almost certain is possessed by a demon, I found myself feeling only mildly afraid, unphased by my circumstances and feeling an overwhelming amount gratitude for the fact that I could actually run.

Bigfoot & Green Mashed Potatoes

9/17/2018

Dearest Family, Friends and Miscellaneous Other Citizens

What a week! Time here flies by and I find myself panicking as I realize that this transfer is more than half way through.  Now that's just utterly ridiculous! This week we went on a division with the Sisters in Mosteiros. My temporary comp Sister Rocha was from Brazil and didn't speak english, so that was a bit tricky, but we were able to bond over our mutual love of the strawberry soda here and Bigfoot. It is also EXTREMELY HOT in Mosteiros and it makes me fear the day I leave Covo Figueira. On the other hand, I now have a very nice watch and sandal tan line.

Fruit Bleaching, Zombie Dogs & The Devil's Cabbage

Or, alternatively, Blessings In Disguise

9/11/2018

Dear Family, Friends, miscellaneous others,

I’m a little late with the letter home, as you may have noticed.  I swear it’s at no fault of my own, things have just been a little crazy here in Covo Figueira this past week!  I’m beginning to think I may have blessed the rains here a little too much because it’s been pouring! But nothing we can’t survive.  Unfortunately, there was also this huge windstorm that ended up blowing over a cell tower or something because we’ve been without cell service and wifi since, not even at the library.  So, hopefully that gets fixed and I’ll be able to send emails as normal soon. (Lia took photos of this handwritten letter to be typed up later and posted for you all, so please excuse any mistakes.)  Anyway, the mission is great!  Not always easy- sometimes the wifi is blown away by gale force winds- but it’s always worth it.  When coming out into the field, it seems like your life becomes a series of trials and tender mercies, but the Lord never gives you trials you cannot bear or that won’t ultimately better you as a person.  So upon further reflection, I like to think of those as blessings and blessings in disguise. Here's a list of some of those blessings I’ve seen in my brief time in the field thus far…

A "Make Your Own Sidewalk" Kinda Country

9/3/2018

Oh my goodness, so much has happened and I have so little time!!!

We flew to Cape Verde and it took like 32 hours, I got motion sick for the first time in my life, and I discovered I have the ability to nap in essentially any public place- including the Lisbon Portugal airport. It was kinda awful and the lack of sleep has made the jet lag a billion times worse, but it was so exciting to get here and all things considered we had a really safe and relatively uneventful journey.

She Has Arrived!

On August 30, the family received an email from Lia’s Mission President!

"Dear Family,

Hope this letter finds you well!  Just to inform you, Sister Bradley has arrived safely and has been assigned to a new area on Fogo Island! She is a great Sister! We talked a little and I could feel her determination and strong will to serve the Lord. Thanks for sending and supporting her!

Best regards,

Pres. Amo"

We also received a picture of them together! We're happy she's finally in Cape Verde safe and sound.

Ready or Not

Yesterday, the family got a pretty cool email from Lia.  Today, she called and confirmed at Salt Lake City airport, though only talked to Mom and Dad (much to the sister's disappointment).  Her next phone call will come at Christmas.  Cape Verde, here she comes!

Put It On The Shelf

As of today, I'm officially one week from leaving for Cape Verde! It's so wild how quickly the time has passed, I can't believe we're already leaving! Our current travel plans have us set to leave from the Salt Lake City International Airport on Monday morning, then we fly to Amsterdam to Portugal to Cape Verde. It'll be roughly 32 hours of travel, so that's fun. That's assuming I have my visa and can go immediately to my mission, but unfortunately I won't find out if I have it or if I've been reassigned until later this week. Here's to hoping. We're pretty sure a couple people in our district don't have visas and will be reassigned, so that's rough and a bit stressful but the work is the same no matter where you go.

No Flossing On the Court

Four weeks in the MTC already! I should get my travel plans sometime this week and then I'm set to leave for Africa two weeks from today! With every week that goes by, time seems to run faster and faster. Last Monday I found myself in disbelief it was already Monday, this week I'm incredibly suspicious as to what happened to all the rest of the days of the week and why I've just had two Mondays back to back ;) But seriously, it's insane how fast time has gone by here. But the growing relationship we have as a district is a testament of all the time we've spent together. Although the Elders have been late to meet us or just haven't showed up at all on multiple occasions this week because they take naps without setting alarms, we give them a pass because they're all still eighteen and "young-uns" need there sleep, after all they're all still growing boys (or at least they hope so because they're all still shorter than me).

Sister Forsyth's a Numpty

Dearest Familia,

Right out of the gate it's worth mentioning that I am technically not “Irma” Bradley. I've meant to say something every week but kept forgetting. Often in Portuguese they associate Irma with Nuns, so I'm really just Sister Bradley. I hope that wasn't too confusing.

Hurrah for Israel

Week two-ish!? It has been ten glorious days in the MTC. Time flies, I feel like I just got here yesterday and yet so much has happened. My brain is scrambled! Despite what one may think, Portuguese only gets harder. I feel like I've never struggled too hard with accents or pronunciation, but I cannot pronounce Portuguese words for my life! It doesn't help that I'm so white, but it's also difficult when you want to say everything in either a French or Spanish accent but it's neither, it's something completely different and the letters make other sounds and sometimes it's like kindergarten and I'm having to re-learn the alphabet. I especially am prone to mistakes. This week I was taught the important difference between mattermos and mantermos, after accidentally saying that we can return to God by "killing ourselves clean" instead of "keeping ourselves clean". RIP Sister Bradley's pride. If you are ever learning for ways to keep yourself humble, just try learning a language and you will quickly realize how slow and mortal you are. My companion Sister Forsyth and I are determined still, so this week in an effort to improve our language skills we decided to do a brief dinner to breakfast English fast, and never have I ever felt so rhetorically stifled. Even if it was just about seven hours, we hardcore struggled. Still, we kind of enjoyed it in a weird way. After Sister Forsyth and I began only speaking in Portuguese, slowly almost every other girl in our district decided to do it too. We carried our English to Portuguese dictionaries around with us everywhere and yelled non-sensible mis-conjugated Portuguese terms at each other while flipping through dictionary pages searching for the right words, but it was so exciting when we finally understood one another. We would scream and laugh in excitement repeating obscure things like ambos and foca until the meaning was ingrained into our brains. After that experience I've never before been so grateful for the English language and that I'm surrounded by people I am able to communicate with.

The Bear Necessities

Tudo Bem! Friends, family and miscellaneous blog browsers!

Let me tell you how truly amazing the MTC is! Everyone here looks like they're glowing! The grounds are beautiful and every lesson, devotional and meeting is inspired. I'm so grateful I get to be here! If I'm being completely honest, thus far, I haven't been the least bit homesick. It probably helps that I'm still in Provo and not Africa, but inside these gates it feels like an entirely different world! It's strange to look outside and recognize my mountains and see streets that I've driven down hundreds of times. We live a pretty strict schedule, we go to a lot of class to learn Portuguese and spend the rest of our time studying, exercising, eating, sleeping and obviously living basic rules of sanitation. The gift of tongues is real, but man the work is hard! We try to speak as much Portuguese as is humanly possible, but that's sometimes hard when you don't know how to speak that much. Still, I'm already able to say a prayer, introduce myself as a Representative of Christ, greet people, etc. And let me tell you, I couldn't have done that all on my own. I may be working hard, but the Lord works harder.

Still Alive!

That was fast!  Got an email from Lia that rather speaks for it's self!

Sister Bradley is in the MTC!

Today, Lia went into the MTC at 12:30 pm after a nice family lunch.  Since the sisters got a little emotional during the meal, Lia decided to keep goodbyes at the curb short and sweet (no tears) - just a quick hug for each of us and a few photos:

Lia sitting on the floor of the van on the way into the MTC, since Mom and Dad haven't replaced all the seats yet.

Taking her suitcase out of the trunk when Sara snuck a candid snap shot.

The token photo of Missionary and Suitcase that Mom always insists on.  And she's off, folks!    

She's a Missionary!

Last evening (7/17/2018) around 7:30 pm, Lia was set apart as a full time missionary by her family ward Stake President.  In attendance: Mark Bradley (Lia's Dad) who participated in the setting apart, Laurie Bradley (Mom), Elyse Bradley (older sister), Sara Bradley (older sister), Moriya Porter (older sister), Joshua Porter (brother in law) and several other Church Counselors.

Lia was given advice to throw herself into the work and give it her all, serving to the best of her abilities even when it will get tough, and to speak the Portuguese language as much as possible while still learning it- even though it won't sound good at first.  It should progress much faster this way.

The rest of the evening was spent playing games with her sisters for some much needed quality time and finishing up her packing.  Her single suitcase can only be 44 lbs for her flight to Cape Verde (still  6 weeks away), which was a difficult feat to accomplish.  The nervousness finally hit, but she was still in good spirits!

Photo of Elyse, Sara, Moriya and Lia outside the Church before the setting apart:

How To Write Your Favorite Missionary

The time has come! If you'd like to write me you can always do it the easy way by emailing your girl at amelia.bradley@myldsmail.net or if you're feeling a little extra, my mtc mailing address and mission mailing address are as followed

Sister Amelia Rose Bradley
AUG29 CAP-VDP
2005 N 900 E Unit 86
Provo UT 84602

Sister Amelia Rose Bradley
Cape Verde Praia
Caixa Postal 420
Praia
Sao Tiago
Cape Verde

I hope you're all ready for whatever wild amazing craziness comes next! Please remember to keep me and all the missionaries in your prayers, I'm gonna need it! Much Love -- Sister Bradley