week‏

This week has been pretty good i can not complain, we had three great lessons two with our investigators with a Baptismal date. It has been a really spiritual week one being with the Christmas Zone Conference anytime you are focusing on the savior the spirit is going to be strong so that was fun plus narrating was good i hardly looked up though i just focused and reading it loud and clear, also the singing was good i like to listen to the missionaries sing generally. Some of us just can't sing and shouldn't try. But it has been good with had a lesson with a sister that is a friend of some members, we taught half of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it was so spiritual, you could tell the spirit was working on her. She knows its true, she may have not recognized it yet, but the spirit has bore record. She has read the Book of Mormon everyday for the past week and said she feels peaceful when she reads it and it makes sense to her plus she loves church. We are hoping to set a baptismal date with her this week. We are seeing alot of success in this area and i pray that it continues Right now we have three people set up to be baptized and hopefully we can set some more up as well.. SO we arejust trying to work as hard as we can and keep being obediant. This week just flew by it seems like it didn't exisist. so that is it.

Love ya.

Elder Phillips

Small and simple‏

This week has been extremely good the main reason being is that Matt got baptized! It was most definitly the most spiritual baptism i have been to on my mission. That is what really matters it isn't about the numbers it isn't about leadership, it is about bringing souls to Christ. Now Matt has been brought into the fold and is save from the storm of the adversary, he has been given the tools to stay in the fold and on the path. After we have experienced that conversion or that mighty change of heart we feel a deeper concern for the welfare of others. That is what we are doing now is working with him to help his family come unto Christ and be numbered with his sheep. These are the times that you know for a fact that you are doing the Lords will.

That was the most exciting part of the week and also i got to confer the priesthood upon him. Other than that we had a lot of cancelled appointments but what can you expect being the Holiday week, even with so many cancellations it seemed like we were still extremely busy, and that is what i like being busy. It just is to difficult to sit inside.

Thanksgiving was good it gives you some time to ponder what is going on and to really give thanks, I dont think i have thought about thanksgiving as much as i have on the mission. It kind of gives you a new perspective of what you are thankful for being most of it you dont' have at this time, but the things you do have you are more thankful for. So all in all a great week.

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Elder Bradley Joseph Phillips

Unexpected.

This week has been kind of crazy, ups and downs and just the unexpected. The ups are that we found two more investigators that seem like they want to bebaptized and we should be helping them progress for a date this next week so that is always exciting and most of our other investigators are still moving forward. We will be having a baptism on the 26 of November exactly two years from when i got my call.. The only down really is that we had to move the baptism back a week. And the unexpected is that first with faith the unexpected is always good like finding people to baptize. But the major unexpected we ran into this week is..... So Friday morning i get out of bed and step in water. Our whole apartment is flooded.. In the night a pipe broke right next to our apartment. SO no water that morning except the stuff on our floor. So they get that fixed and our carpet is drying and we go out to work. We come home there is more flooding. Our waterheater broke. so they get that fixed and the carpet is drying again. Then the valve starts to leak so they fix that. So i say to the guy. Ya gott'er he says "by george i think we gott'er" then boom! Pipe brakes sending water all over our apartment again.. Wow what a Friday. Then on Saturday we went to A members home for lunch and he is like my hero like how he lives will be how i live when i am older. Golfs like everyother day has deer mounted all over his house, then he just plays the banjo and guitar. Which i have decide i am going to play the banjo, i have already started to learn. So that is about our week.

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Elder Bradley Joseph Phillips

This week has been pretty good, just trying to continue to find people to teach as usual, and the first week of the transfer is always interesting trying to get used to your new companion so that you are unified in you teaching so that has been fun, Elder Armacost is a great missionary and i can really see him helping one of our investigators make it to baptism, i have felt that from the minute i met him.
So that will be great we also found two new investigators this week that we are excited to get to work with. The work is going great i love it we are also hopefully going to recieve three more investigators this week that we have set up appointments with. There are miracles working in our area and it is amazing. Two of our investigators are set to get baptized on the 19 of November which is really exciting. We are just working and working trying to do our best, The hardest part is that if you don't have appointments during the evening you are at a lose because nobody likes you knocking at there door when it is dark.That has basically been the week not to much going on but alot going on at the same time.
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Elder Bradley Joseph Phillips

week‏

This week has been pretty busy and quite fast, i can't even remember half of what happened. first i will be transferred on Tuesday. Also this week we started by getting two new investigators from a partmember family, the lesson went so well we applied everything we learnned at trainning and it was so good. Then we deep cleaned our appartment so that took alot of the day, plus that day we went and helped the Fotheringhams move, they are such a great family, they remind me of lynette and Bailey so much it is crazy. It was also stake conference this week so we went to wilmingtonfor that and it was really good. After we went to sacrement meeting on base where two none member walked in to the chaple wanting to learn more so we taught them the first lesson which was great they are sincerely interested and very prepared. the only thing is one of them is going to pensicola florida so we only will get to continue to teach one of them. It was just a good week.

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Elder Bradley Joseph Phillips

weekly‏

Well this week has been a little disappointing, the work seems to be slowing down, which means we must work harder. Our main investigator, Tiffany the one who had the baptismal date dropped us this week. It was because her husband came home from deployment and said he didn't want her meeting with us any more.
We also met with the The Mohr's this week and taught what we learned at zone conference with the Law of Chastity and the Word of wisdom, it was a great lesson. They are still struggling with smoking, but coming alone. They have came to church twice now in the last three weeks which is a major improvement. Sister Mohr goes in for a major surgery next week and we are hoping this will help her quit smoking, then she will be ready for baptism.
Then we tried getting up with the Boone family this week but he got a new job that has him working 80 hour weeks so that makes for some scheduling conflicts
This week we also taught a lesson to a media referral and it was great she already has a lot of the same values we do and she said she would be baptized when she found out it was true, the problem being she doesn't want to do anything until she reads the entire book of mormon! Hopefully she reads fast.
My study this week has been on Finding and having faith to find. As well as in the book of Alma with the sons of mosiah and Alma. It has been very good, i really noticed this time while reading that alot of people would not listen to The sons of Mosiah.
Love
Elder Bradley Phillips

Week‏

This week has gone by super fast and has been really good, With those first two investigators on monday, we taught them again on wednesday after district meeting, they had a lot of really good questions most referring to the plan of salvation. Then On tuesday we were out biking and we took this dirt trail and it was pretty fun so we decided to do it again and on the way back we cut through a soccer complex, well there was a girl sitting on a picinic table all alone nobody around, she is probable 16. so we went over and talked with her she said that this is what she needed right know, she has been having a hard time, her mother passed away last year due to cancer, so that was really good. Also this week we have taught The Mohr's a partmember family and it was really good she really wants to change her life and be baptized she told us she has repented of all the mistakes she has made and she fells like she has been forgiven and wants to be baptized. Then on friday morning we went and met with Charlene and taught a lesson there and set up a time to come back, but she is one of those that have commitment issues like with coming to church so we will see.. Then on Saturday we got to meet with Richard G. Scott which was pretty amazing, invoked blessings upon our mission and we also got to shake his hand.. Also he talked a ton about marrige.. Like making it our Highest and first priority when we get home, and to start observing the sisters and finding qualities in them that we want in our spouse and write them down. He was not what i expected i thought he would be like 6 foot something. No he was like 5'7 pretty small guy. It was neat.
Then on sunday it was a crazy day, we were supposed to have investigators coming to both wards so we went to the third wards sacrement meeting, well they didnt show.But some guy while bearing his testimony proposed to his girl friend!!! Then we got to go with a Staff Sargent to Camp DevilDog and 306 to do the sacrement for the Marines, that was cool only two marines did it but it was neat. Then Brother Covey who is the staff sargent set his old platoon straight about complaining about stuff like not being able to call home for a week.. He put us up front and told them what we give up and what we do. it was funny to see there reaction. So a good week.

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Elder Bradley Joseph Phillips

Tornado

The pictures are of the Elders appartment from the 3rd ward! Brad is serving in the 2nd ward! They did not recieve any damage and the 3rd ward elders will move in with them until other arrangements can be made! There are more pictures of the damage but i cant get them to upload. He is safe and well!

week‏

well this week has been a not so good week for the work all of our appointments have cancelled so we tracted a lot and had like no success, so the work has been slow, then we have had a crazy week end with conference then finding out i am transferred. we didn't get to watch the priesthood session until sunday morning because the satelite wouldn't work. then we have just been running all over trying to see people. And we went over to the cape and i huged the light house for lynette..

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Elder Bradley Joseph Phillips

i am excited for lynetttes wedding i just wish i could be there.. LIfe on the coast is good.. This week has been real good other than the weather, earlier in the week it was in the 80's and warm then by thursday night it dropped back down into the 40's and has been raining ever sense. We were going to go to the cape today but because of the weather we can't to the captin in our ward decided to take off work next monday so he could take us out. Which nest monday could possibly be my last pday on the island, so that was pretty nice of him and he is going to take us fishing also in the boat, do some salt water ocean fishing.. So today we are going to go paint our decoys we finally got the carving done. As for the work this week it has been pretty good, a few of the members are starting to really realize there importance to the work so both of our lessons this week were set up by members. It was pretty neat Brother Mikey Guthrie calls us and says I got some work for you. HE set up an appointment and brought a less avtive member to the appointment, then invited like everyone to church. So he brought one non member, and two less active families with him to church!! That is amazing..
Also this weekend we had a pretty funny experience in Davis.. Two weeks ago we met a girl about our age that when Elder Malan contacted her she started laughing and cut him off, well this week we were in Davis again and a member of the ward walks out of this house. So we walk over and start talking to him and a nother member walks out this time it is a girl of our ward. We ask what they were doing, they were helping a friend remodel there home. Then walks out this girl that laughed at Elder Malan... They were walking out to move this couch, so we offered to help, she did not waant us to help.. so first off she gets the leg of the couch stuck between the tailgate and the bed so we help lift it out. Elder Malan grabs one corner, and she grabs the one right next to him. Well when we get to the door we had to tilt the couch, so she tried to get Him out of the way by taking the entire end of the couch.. Then she couldn't handle it and dropped it. ha ha
Then Yesterday at church i asked Ashlyn the member that was there if any conversation was sparked, the only thing really said to Ashlyn was that she should go "talk" to one of us because one of us is cute, so she had to explain that we don't date and we leave our families for two year that kind of stuff.. so that was our week on the coast..

what a week‏

This week has been great and it went by so quick, i can hardly believe it is monday again. so toward the first of the week we meet with Bob Ensminger and read the Book of Mormon with him and we were fairly persistent in trying to find out concerns, well we managed to set a baptismal date with him for March 12, the hardest thing will be Word of wisdom with him but with the Lord by his side everything is possible so we are very Excited. Also this week we taught a family of Three, the Hall family, and we had one the best lessons ever it was filled with questions. That family is sincerly seeking truth so we are excited for them as well, they said if they found out it is true the would be baptized, and they would have come to church but they had to sing in the church they are going to now. I have very high hopes for them. It would seem that the work is picking up.
Also there is a woman named Dora Willis who as soon as we told the relief Society that we had seen and she was willing to have us back they jump up into action, it is amazing she has had more visits from the ward than anybody i have every heard of, just the other day we were over there setting up an appointment the President and her 1st councler walked up as we were leaving. So it is great when the ward really gets involved.
So anyway we have had a great busy week, but what is going on with you i know Lynette is getting married, how did baily Propse? Tell me all of it and your week..

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Elder Bradley Joseph Phillips

This week‏

This week has been a really good week, our numbers don't show it very well but it has been good. we have been lacking in the new investigators department, so we have tried to really work with the members and we started with the ward council. So this past week we have met with almost the entire ward council individually and taught the doctrine of Christ and have been getting them to invite there friends, and most them agreed to do it just not very many have yet. Also our main investigator Bob Ensminger has been praying on his own everyday for the past week.. which is a huge step, he hadn't prayed all of his life and he is 80 years old. It is pretty exciting, although we can't figure out why he won't agree to a baptismal date, he wants to be baptized and he wants to go to the temple and be sealed with his wife but he just says he is not ready..
Also this week i am excited for a lesson we set up with a young family that were an old potential Investigators we decided to call them and see if we could set up an appointment and they agreed. The neat thing with this family is that we the missionaries first ran into them and asked if they could come back The wife said i will first pray about it and get back with you. Well a week later they ran into her at the library and she said ya i would like to meet with you, she felt good about it. We also had some training this week which was really good, i always go away from those meetings entirely drained. The spirit is just so strong there. The funny moment of the week also took place at training, when teaching some one the Word of Wisdom some times you take all of there tobacco and alcohol, well this one Elder, who is a real trip! He asks should we take the tobacco cause then we are asking them to give us what we told them not to have? President says they know your are going to throw it away don't they, Then President asks what about alcohol? the Elder says NO thank you i am a minor!! Ha ha President says well have a beer party dump it all down the drain. So that was the highlights of my week!

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Elder Bradley Joseph Phillips

week‏

Well this week has been extremely slow and hard, it is hard to get your selves motivated when everything is falling through this week we dropped half of our investigators, two of them because they wouldn't call back or we could not get a hold of them. then Our main Investigator Brother Ensminger was in the hospital for most of the week, the only lesson we had was with him, he has been having small strokes which has been causing him to fall, Then Jeremy has been working a lot lately. So not to productive but this next week is looking up we set up appointments with all of the ward council and we are going to teach the doctrine of christ and they all have commited them selves to make and invitation before we come over and i know if they do truly seek for that oppurtunity they will be lead to the elect and we should get atleast a few referrals that way. In this area the members are really going to be the entry way to success so that is what we have been trying to do is to work through the members more, it has been great to get to know them a little more and they are more than willing to invite there friends they just needed to be invited to do so. That really was the majority of our week.

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Elder Bradley Joseph Phillips

week‏

This week has been another tough week, it seems like all of our appointments keep cancelling so we haven't been able to teach as much as i would have liked to. Our lesson this week with Bob Ensminger went pretty well, we are reading with him in the Book of Mormon, which is what he wants to do before getting baptized. We just need to help him realize he needs to get baptized first, he can finish the Book of Mormon after he is baptized. At the Rate he is going he will never make it to the end, imean he already knows it is true. Then our Investigator with a baptismal date, we had so troubles this week, she lives with her In-Laws and they are against the church it seems. Because we had jsut talked to Donna not even a week ago and she was excited about the church and keeping all of the commitments, then i call the day before our appointment and her Mother-in-law answers the phone, she says " She is not here, so i say well can you leave a message for he, She says No. Ok so i will call back later she says no you won't, she doesn't live here any more! OH ok do you have here new address, I don't know she says. OK do you have a phone number we can reach her at? she says i don't know what to tell you. Bye. That was frustrating i dislike when peopleare like that because you know they don't even know about the church. so that was the highlights of this week that and the seven inches of snow.
Love ya all

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Elder Bradley Joseph Phillips

Week!!!‏

It has been a crazy week i mean crazy!! I don't have patience for people anymore especially when they start insulting my religion, i can discuss religion with them but when they being aggressive i get a little fired up you know me!! As Sister Guthrie told mom we contacted a Pentecostal Holiness preacher, they are the worst. They are the ones with the speaking in tongues and over taken with the spirit and having a seizure on the floor jumping up and down thinking it is the spirit, most ridiculous religion ever i swear. But this guy was so deceiving he was just like Zeezrom in the Book of Mormon, we knew he was the preacher a lady across the street told us he was, so he was out side and we decided to contact him. He pretended he knew nothing about the bible and religion just that he likes history, that is what made me mad, he says what are the gospels again i know Matthew but what are the others, and acts is a book in the bible as well right? Then he would twist your sentences, like we said when Christ taught his gospel it was pure and true and then man corrupted it. he Goes "see we don't need another testiment of Christ because he taught his word and it was uncorruptible man can't corrupt it so we only need the bible" you said it your self and in Revelations it says you can not add to the bible or you shall be a cursed and the plagues of desolation will be upon you. No you twisted our words and you cut us off! i got fired up and i started throughing bible vesres at him. Then he brings up polygeme, and why should i read a book by a man who had multiple wives it says on the sermon on hte mount not to commit adultery and he is, I said you read the bible right? What about Abraham and Jacob those peole? he says that was Thousands of years ago, i say well that was hundred years ago same point! The best thing was the preacher right before him like he just resigned two months ago was caught running around with plenty of other women. So i got mad i said we are going to find some one who will not question Gods power and is seeking truth and i offered him a card with our number on it and he wouldn't take it so i flicked at him and walked away then he invited us to his church and told us he was a preacher i said we will be praying for you..
Then we found out Elder Billin is getting transferred so i will get a new comp, they pushed back transfer meeting because of the snow storm we got about 3 inches so we went out and played in it being it was our pday and we couldn't go out. That was the highlight of our week.

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Elder Bradley Joseph Phillips

Happy New Years!‏

Happy new Year i can't believe it is here already!! Well this week hasseemed like it has been forever long, i think the main reason isbecause of not having church last week, but it has been a good week.It seems that everyone is getting sick so that has been the struggle,nobody wants to sit there and talk to a missionary while there sickand i don't blame them. With that we still taught quite a bit for notbeing able to meet with two of our investigators. We got two newinvestigators this week but one of them i am really nervous aroundthey are related to half the ward but the ward doesn't want anythingto do with them especially the family. I Guess they just go around toall the churches and try to get everything they can out of it and theythey run so like everyone in the apartments, The members told us thisyear The father put his name into the toys for totes drawing and hisname got pulled and he just asked for cash. They also have twodaughters which i guess are like obsessive something i don't rememberthe condition but they will spread rumors and claim you are in lovewith them and make like false accusations against you, i guess she didit to her cousin last year? so you never know what you will get next.I tell you what nothing stresses you out like the mission does goodnight, people just expect you to be super man and can do anything andbe everywhere it is exhausting yesterday morning as we are heading into pec the Sunday school teacher calls and says can you teach theclass it is on the millennium? Nothing like gong into a lessonunprepared, biggest pet peeve is not being able to prepare.. But thatwas the extent of my week. not to exciting.. Other than a warm NewYEars.. -- Elder Bradley Joseph Phillips