Dear Everyone,
There's too many emails to write now to all the family! For those of you I may have
missed this week, I apologize and I'll either try to get you a written letter to you or
I'll send you an email next week.
It's great hearing about everything happening back home. That is awesome that Chris is
going back out. I'm excited for him. I can't remember if I already told you this or not
Bryce, but since I got a letter from you about it today, I'll say it again: Congrats on
your diving! That would be so cool if you could get a diving scholarship. Like I said
before I left, I'll have to keep learning how to dive when I get back and maybe we can do
synchronized diving together in the Olympics in a few years. :)
Everything is great out here! Like I said in my previous letter, we don't get to teach
many lessons in Spanish in this area since all the Hispanics are spread out which makes
them hard to find. I'm still trying to improve my Spanish as much as I can while I'm
here though so when I get transferred to an area like Biloxi or Gulf Port I'll be able to
be speaking fluently. Still, we have the privilege of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ
with people whether it is in Spanish or in English and that's the greatest blessing there
is.
There's all kinds of people here. One guy we taught the other day was baptized when he
was about 15, but hasn't been back to church for a couple years and is now in his early
20's. We knocked his door and he came out with a bleached mohawk, gauges in his ears,
and smoking like a chimney. Still, he was an awesome guy and though it may take some
time, he was very friendly with the church and we may get him back to church one of these
weeks.
Another man we were teaching last night with a member. We had tracted into him the day
before and he invited us to come back the next day. His name is Johnny Deaton. He's
retired and has a tube coming out of his chest from where he had a double-bypass surgery
back in April. He's Baptist and had a lot of questions that he said he wanted to ask the
next time we came, but the Spirit was there very strongly while we taught and he showed a
genuine interest in what we had to say.
Another family that I talked about last week were the Hudsbets. We had an appointment
with them last night as well that fell through because something came up for two of their
children. That was a bit of a disappointment because we'd been looking forward to
teaching them all week. They're such an amazing family and really open to hearing about
the church.
I love it out here! Rarely do we have success. People say they either already have a
religion or that they don't need one. Many try to prove to us that we are wrong or that
their Jesus is a different Jesus than that of the Mormon Church. However, after all of
these failures and disappointments it is so amazing to be able to learn and teach with an
honest seeker of truth. The few experiences I've had already since I've been out here
have been some of the sweetest of my life. The Lord lives and he loves us. He prepares
the way for us every day to find the people we need to teach. We found that man Johnny
Deaton because our car battery had died at 8:45 at night and so we decided to do a little
tracting while we were waiting for someone to come give us a jump. Miracles happen every
day and I love having the opportunity to go through the hardships in order to find those
miracles. Thank you for your prayers. I pray for all of you each day as well.
Tu hijo y hermano para siempre,
Elder Bradley Bishop
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Dear Everyone, Only two weeks left! I'm so excited! Our district should be getting our travel plans today, but because because two of our hermanas, Elder Mills, and I are going stateside, we're not sure if we will get them today as well. Those going out of the country usually leave on a Monday and those going stateside usually don't end up leaving til Wednesday so we are a little sad about that. It'll be weird going from a district of 11 to a district of 4. Don't worry Mom, I haven't been suffering from the "big H" as you would say, just yet (No offense. I still love and miss you all), but I really am doing fine out here and loving to learn the gospel and the language. I do love getting letters from home though. They're a good reprieve and then help me get back to work with new enthusiasm. So, thank you. I'm glad to hear Grandma Hair is doing OK. That's crazy that she had to have a stent put in, but I guess it's better now then later when she might actually have a heart attack. Let Grandma Bishop know that I'm impressed she downed 3 of those enchiladas of yours Mom. (I'm sure they were delicious though so there's no surprise Grandma would eat all of that) :) Mom, I hope that you get to teach at Heritage again next year. You sound the happiest about school than I've ever heard before. Tell Aunt Shirley I love her too and that if someone (or her) wants to send me a letter with her address on it then I willl definitely write her. I'm gonna try to send the SD card home today. I sent Bryce a letter about it already, but yes Mom, I will need to send it in more than just an envelope with a few rolls of paper around it...:) The weather up here is amazing and I love seeing the colors change. Whenever we have our temple walks on Sunday I just lay in the grass on the hill above the temple with my district and look at all the leaves changing colors. I took some pictures so that you too can know what it's like to not only see leaves, but see leaves that are yellow and red. :) When I heard about the table you were making for our cabin with Bro. Merkley, Dad, it sounded really cool. You'll have to send a picture of it to me when you're finished with it. Ben told me to buy a whole bunch of materials I'll need for the mission while here in the MTC. I'd been planning on it, but I still have no idea how I'm gonna fit all my new mission materials in my suitcase when it was already so full from before. I'll figure it out though. I'm still waiting on our family photo. I have pictures of lot's of us but it would be nice to have one of the whole family, especially for when I hit the field. We're encouraged to show our investigators our families so they know we aren't just robots constructed in the MTC to preach the gospel. Everything here is going fantastic. We taught the Plan of Salvation and the Word of Wisdom to a man in the TRC on Tuesday. It went really great. We hadn't planned on teaching the Word of Wisdom until closer to the end of the lesson, but when Elder Mills brought up how the commandments can bless us, he wanted to know what kind of commandments there were. We had already gave him an overview of what we would be teaching on a previous visit so he had a lot of questions about the Word of Wisdom and I wasn't sure if we'd be able to finish teaching the Plan of Salvation. However, after explaining about the importance of the Word of Wisdom and that it really was a commandment from God, we were able to tie it back in. It was really good that we were able to as well, because for the teaching record the man's brother had died and so it was really important what we had to teach him about the Plan of Salvation, especially where we are going...he just didn't know how important it was for him until we taught it. Anyway, it went great and the Spirit was there. I really love teaching and I can't wait to get to Mississippi. We didn't get any new districts this week so we were all a little disappointed about that. The district members right above us are all leaving on Monday so then we'll be down to 3 districts in our zone until Wednesday. I love you all so much. Take care! Su Hijo y Hermano, Elder Bradley Bishop
Dear Everyone, I can't believe it's already time to write you again. Time here flies by so fast. Speaking of which...I'm leaving next week! We received our travel plans last Friday. All the Elders and one Hermana in our district who are going to Paraguay are leaving on Monday morning, then the other two of our Hermanas who are going to California are leaving Tuesday morning, and then...Elder Mills and I split up and head our different ways early Wednesday morning. He reports to the travel office at 3 am and I report at 4 am. My flight leaves Salt Lake at 7 am and lands in Atlanta at 12:41 pm. Then I have about an hour lay over and fly over to Jackson arriving at 1:49 pm. I don't know why I fly all the way to Atlanta only to fly back to Jackson, but I guess it's fine. I don't know if you really even care about all this info, but we were told to make sure we send the information home anyway. I'm flying Delta 1586 to Atlanta and then Delta 5410 to Jackson. I'm sure everything will go fine. Tell the Sister Valentino that I checked with my companion and that no, he isn't related to any Mills that live in California. Sorry. However, the story about the Humphrey's talking with the First Presidency at their grandson's sealing is really cool! Speaking of which, for our devotional this Tuesday Elder L. Tom Perry came and spoke to us. It was really good and everyone was really excited. Usually we get to hear an Apostle every 3 or 4 weeks, but we hadn't had one since Elder Holland spoke to us my second week here. I figure it was probably because of General Conference. Well, things are going good here. This whole week is pretty much wrapping up our stay at the MTC. Instead of our instructors teaching us all the time, now we teach them. Basically everything that was our designated "class time" before is now spent teaching our instructors as investigators, teaching other teachers in the TE who act as investigators, or teaching other companionships. Elder Mills and I committed one of our progressing investigators in the TE that we've been working with for a couple weeks to baptism two days ago. It was really awesome and we still want to teach him more, but you have to schedule appointments for the TE and it's tough to find spots. Over the past two weeks we only were able to teach him 4 times. Sorry Ben, I tried getting your "placa" but they said you can only buy them out in your mission unless you've lost yours here. I'll get you one once I'm out there though. As far as the family picture goes Mom, the black and white family picture we took last Christmas would be fine! Also, if you could, please send me some more Coldeeze. I've only had one cold here at the beginning of my stay, but I've taken some on mornings where I felt like I might be getting one. It's no fun to get sick here in the MTC and it spreads really fast. Congratulations Dad on getting released from the Bishopric. I've always been impressed on how faithfully you've served these 5 years and you've been an inspiration for me in diligence and hard work my entire life. Elder Mills and I were released as Zone Leaders this Sunday (I don't know if you would say released or not since we were only asked to do it...our Branch President likes to remind us that those asked to be District or Zone Leaders are never "called." As missionaries we only have one calling and so we are asked to fulfill assignments instead). Anyway, it was a good experience and Elder Mills and I learned a lot. President Estes was really kind to release us when he did because this week we're teaching so much and have to do so many things to get ready to leave that it would've been kinda hectic to do everything else as well. I don't have much time left, but know that I love you all. I always love getting your letters and hearing about home. Mom, everytime you say you and dad are going up to Forest Lakes for the night and abbreviate it with a FL, I always have to pause and remember that it's Forest Lakes you're probably going to...not Florida. Take care and the next letter you'll get from me will be in Mississippi! Tu hijo y hermano, Elder Bradley Bishop P.S. Mom, thanks for your confidence that I can outrun a tsunami.
Dear Everyone, So, I'm finally here in Mississippi! Normally our P-days will be on Wednesdays, but since its transfers they moved it to today. The flight over here went well. Elder Mills left at 3 Wednesday morning and I left at 4, but we both got up at 2 anyway to finish all of our packing. Elder Mills was an awesome companion and I'm gonna miss him a lot. On the flight over here I was with 7 other Elders who were coming here to the Jackson mission, but I was the only Spanish Elder. I found out later that the spanish mission here is actually really new and I'm only the 8th spanish missionary to be here. Two of the Spanish Elders have gone home so we have 6 Elders here out of the 100+ who speak spanish. Actually, one of the Assistants is a spanish Elder and is from Gilbert. His name is Elder Lyman and we got to talk a lot about home and about the mission since the mission here is kinda different for the spanish Elders. We met President and Sister Tucker at the airport with the office Elders and they're amazing. After we all drove back to the mission home, we took our pictures out in front of the house and did a whole bunch of other orientation things. We spent the night in the mission home, so we had dinner and then breakfast this morning at the home. The food here is SO good! Some of the office Elders said the average weight gain on the mission is about 25-30 pounds. Still...not gonna happen to me! :) Last night we had a little testimony meeting and then afterwards received our area and companion assignments. For the Spanish Elders there are really only two areas that are open right now with other areas that open up depending on the time of year. I'm serving in Texarkana and my companion will be Elder Wilson. In the mission home, they really made all the trainers sound like awesome Elders, but even today when I was talking with other Elders and they asked who my trainer was, they would all say how great Elder Wilson is. I'm really excited, but since my area is on the other side of the mission, I don't leave until this afternoon and then I stop in Shreveport for the night. I guess I'll meet up with my companion tomorrow. It's been weird saying everything in English. I'm so used to doing everything in Spanish now, that I feel like I'm missing something when other people are talking. How's everything back home? Thanks for the package Mom. The cookies were great and I was excited to get our family picture. I didn't realize you were sending me such a big one though. It's great! We spent the P-day in one of the ward buildings here since the transfer van is going down south before heading west. A couple of us went late with one of the office Elders down to a Wendys after everyone had come back from lunch. One of the other new Elders and I went up to the counter to order and the woman taking our orders started talking to us and we could barely understand a word she was saying. It was the most heavy black, deep-south accent that I've ever heard in my life. Anyway, we finally got everything taken care of and I decided that maybe I will be learning two languages here after all. Anyway, the transfer van is here, so I need to go get changed and pack everything in there. Sorry I didn't write much this time. I didn't even realize the ward had a library with 8 computers in it. I'll write you next Wednesday though and let you know how everything is when I actually have some exciting things to talk about! I love you all and thanks for your prayers. I pray for you every day too. I hope all is well and that Bryce is feeling better by now. Talk to you next week! Su hijo y hermano, Elder Bradley Bishop
Oh and by the way, you can send me emails now. I don't have unlimited time but I have more than 30 minutes so I have time to read your letters. Love you!
Dear Everyone, So apparently the computers in the church library that we are using are kinda temperamental so mine just shut off as I was about half-way through my letter to you. There isn't any way to save your drafts on this email either. Oh well. I guess I'll just give up and not write you this week. Just kidding, please tell Kaytie and Ryan thank you for the CD's they're the only ones whose email I can't remember so if you also want to send me their address in the next letter that'd be great. Like I said in the last letter, Elder Wilson is going to be my trainer. He's from Burns, Oregon and worked on a ranch before he came out here so he's a big time cowboy. He goes home in two transfers so I'll probably be here in Texarkana with him until the end of his mission. After he goes home, I'll be getting a follow-up trainer and will probably stay here an additional transfer. The area is great. We share an apartment with two other Elders. They have the Arkansas side of Texarkana and we we have the Texas side. We actually both get cars, but we have a limited amount of miles each month. The other Elders get 1100 a month and we get 800. We go visit people out in the boondocks sometimes so its good we have a car. So far, we've only spent one day on the bikes, but we put a lot of miles on that day so by the end, my bike seat definitely was not feeling to good. Our apartment is supposedly one of the nicest in the mission. Everything is stained and beat-up or broken, but we have a working refrigerator and we even have our own washer and dryer. We also have a dishwasher, but we do everything by hand since it's easier. There's some excercise equipment in there that was left by some previous missionaries so all in all we got pretty lucky. I just heard earlier this morning about some Elders that are living in an apartment that has rats and holes in the floor. Sounds like fun. From what it sounds like, my situation is pretty similar to Tysons. The Spanish Elders have only been in Texarkana for about 7 months and that was only because one Hispanic sister was begging for us. There's quite a few Hispanics here, but theyre all spread out and so it's hard to find them. Because of that we end up spending most of our days tracting, meeting with members of the ward, or trying to contact less-actives or part-member families. We have 3 Hispanic investigator families right now, but none of them are really progressing. It's not really that they don't want to, but every time we go over to try to visit with them no one is home. I've actually only met one of the Hispanic investigators so far. My first day here in Texarkana we went to go check out a referral we had received from a sister in the ward. They ended up not being home so we decided to do a little tracting. Elder Wilson had the first door and received a pretty polite refusal. Then it was my turn and nobody came to the first couple doors we knocked. Finally, a man answered the door. He was holding a dog in his arm and he had his kids behind him. He took one look at us, looked down at our badges and said, "Not interested" as he slammed the door shut. Good first experience. :) I love tracting though and we've had a lot of success from it since then. We just had return appointment last night with one family that we tracted on Sunday. It was awesome. They attend a non-denominational church, but they're really into looking at all religions to see what they're about. Two of their kids were there last night and actually had some friends come over too that are in the same church youth group. Unfortunately, the dad wasn't there so we didn't want to teach too much without him, but we answered a lot of their questions about the Book of Mormon and its origin. It was really cool and we set up a return appointment for next Tuesday that we're really excited for. There's also a member in our ward by the name of Bob Taylor. He's a cool old man that lives alone and so we've gone and visited him a couple times. Turns out he's really into geneaolgy and has like a world record with 2 1/2 million names. Anyway, he looked up my name and told me some things about it which was really cool so I told him that the next time we go over there I'd bring him our Family Tree charts that we were told to bring with us so that he can look stuff up. He was really excited to do that. :) I hope everything is going well back home. Congratulations on taking 7th in State Bryce. I'm still waiting on that letter that you keep promising to send me... I can't believe that Sterling is already 1! That's crazy! Speaking of which, you'll need to send me some photos of him and Kiley. I have some of Brooklyn, Davin, and Brennen but I need some of my other favorite niece and nephew. :) As always, thank you for your prayers. I love you all. -Tu hijo y hermano Elder Bradley Bishop
Dear Everyone, I can't believe it's already time to write you again. Time here flies by so fast. Speaking of which...I'm leaving next week! We received our travel plans last Friday. All the Elders and one Hermana in our district who are going to Paraguay are leaving on Monday morning, then the other two of our Hermanas who are going to California are leaving Tuesday morning, and then...Elder Mills and I split up and head our different ways early Wednesday morning. He reports to the travel office at 3 am and I report at 4 am. My flight leaves Salt Lake at 7 am and lands in Atlanta at 12:41 pm. Then I have about an hour lay over and fly over to Jackson arriving at 1:49 pm. I don't know why I fly all the way to Atlanta only to fly back to Jackson, but I guess it's fine. I don't know if you really even care about all this info, but we were told to make sure we send the information home anyway. I'm flying Delta 1586 to Atlanta and then Delta 5410 to Jackson. I'm sure everything will go fine. Tell the Sister Valentino that I checked with my companion and that no, he isn't related to any Mills that live in California. Sorry. However, the story about the Humphrey's talking with the First Presidency at their grandson's sealing is really cool! Speaking of which, for our devotional this Tuesday Elder L. Tom Perry came and spoke to us. It was really good and everyone was really excited. Usually we get to hear an Apostle every 3 or 4 weeks, but we hadn't had one since Elder Holland spoke to us my second week here. I figure it was probably because of General Conference. Well, things are going good here. This whole week is pretty much wrapping up our stay at the MTC. Instead of our instructors teaching us all the time, now we teach them. Basically everything that was our designated "class time" before is now spent teaching our instructors as investigators, teaching other teachers in the TE who act as investigators, or teaching other companionships. Elder Mills and I committed one of our progressing investigators in the TE that we've been working with for a couple weeks to baptism two days ago. It was really awesome and we still want to teach him more, but you have to schedule appointments for the TE and it's tough to find spots. Over the past two weeks we only were able to teach him 4 times. Sorry Ben, I tried getting your "placa" but they said you can only buy them out in your mission unless you've lost yours here. I'll get you one once I'm out there though. As far as the family picture goes Mom, the black and white family picture we took last Christmas would be fine! Also, if you could, please send me some more Coldeeze. I've only had one cold here at the beginning of my stay, but I've taken some on mornings where I felt like I might be getting one. It's no fun to get sick here in the MTC and it spreads really fast. Congratulations Dad on getting released from the Bishopric. I've always been impressed on how faithfully you've served these 5 years and you've been an inspiration for me in diligence and hard work my entire life. Elder Mills and I were released as Zone Leaders this Sunday (I don't know if you would say released or not since we were only asked to do it...our Branch President likes to remind us that those asked to be District or Zone Leaders are never "called." As missionaries we only have one calling and so we are asked to fulfill assignments instead). Anyway, it was a good experience and Elder Mills and I learned a lot. President Estes was really kind to release us when he did because this week we're teaching so much and have to do so many things to get ready to leave that it would've been kinda hectic to do everything else as well. I don't have much time left, but know that I love you all. I always love getting your letters and hearing about home. Mom, everytime you say you and dad are going up to Forest Lakes for the night and abbreviate it with a FL, I always have to pause and remember that it's Forest Lakes you're probably going to...not Florida. Take care and the next letter you'll get from me will be in Mississippi! Tu hijo y hermano, Elder Bradley Bishop P.S. Mom, thanks for your confidence that I can outrun a tsunami.
Dear Everyone, So, I'm finally here in Mississippi! Normally our P-days will be on Wednesdays, but since its transfers they moved it to today. The flight over here went well. Elder Mills left at 3 Wednesday morning and I left at 4, but we both got up at 2 anyway to finish all of our packing. Elder Mills was an awesome companion and I'm gonna miss him a lot. On the flight over here I was with 7 other Elders who were coming here to the Jackson mission, but I was the only Spanish Elder. I found out later that the spanish mission here is actually really new and I'm only the 8th spanish missionary to be here. Two of the Spanish Elders have gone home so we have 6 Elders here out of the 100+ who speak spanish. Actually, one of the Assistants is a spanish Elder and is from Gilbert. His name is Elder Lyman and we got to talk a lot about home and about the mission since the mission here is kinda different for the spanish Elders. We met President and Sister Tucker at the airport with the office Elders and they're amazing. After we all drove back to the mission home, we took our pictures out in front of the house and did a whole bunch of other orientation things. We spent the night in the mission home, so we had dinner and then breakfast this morning at the home. The food here is SO good! Some of the office Elders said the average weight gain on the mission is about 25-30 pounds. Still...not gonna happen to me! :) Last night we had a little testimony meeting and then afterwards received our area and companion assignments. For the Spanish Elders there are really only two areas that are open right now with other areas that open up depending on the time of year. I'm serving in Texarkana and my companion will be Elder Wilson. In the mission home, they really made all the trainers sound like awesome Elders, but even today when I was talking with other Elders and they asked who my trainer was, they would all say how great Elder Wilson is. I'm really excited, but since my area is on the other side of the mission, I don't leave until this afternoon and then I stop in Shreveport for the night. I guess I'll meet up with my companion tomorrow. It's been weird saying everything in English. I'm so used to doing everything in Spanish now, that I feel like I'm missing something when other people are talking. How's everything back home? Thanks for the package Mom. The cookies were great and I was excited to get our family picture. I didn't realize you were sending me such a big one though. It's great! We spent the P-day in one of the ward buildings here since the transfer van is going down south before heading west. A couple of us went late with one of the office Elders down to a Wendys after everyone had come back from lunch. One of the other new Elders and I went up to the counter to order and the woman taking our orders started talking to us and we could barely understand a word she was saying. It was the most heavy black, deep-south accent that I've ever heard in my life. Anyway, we finally got everything taken care of and I decided that maybe I will be learning two languages here after all. Anyway, the transfer van is here, so I need to go get changed and pack everything in there. Sorry I didn't write much this time. I didn't even realize the ward had a library with 8 computers in it. I'll write you next Wednesday though and let you know how everything is when I actually have some exciting things to talk about! I love you all and thanks for your prayers. I pray for you every day too. I hope all is well and that Bryce is feeling better by now. Talk to you next week! Su hijo y hermano, Elder Bradley Bishop
Oh and by the way, you can send me emails now. I don't have unlimited time but I have more than 30 minutes so I have time to read your letters. Love you!
Dear Everyone, So apparently the computers in the church library that we are using are kinda temperamental so mine just shut off as I was about half-way through my letter to you. There isn't any way to save your drafts on this email either. Oh well. I guess I'll just give up and not write you this week. Just kidding, please tell Kaytie and Ryan thank you for the CD's they're the only ones whose email I can't remember so if you also want to send me their address in the next letter that'd be great. Like I said in the last letter, Elder Wilson is going to be my trainer. He's from Burns, Oregon and worked on a ranch before he came out here so he's a big time cowboy. He goes home in two transfers so I'll probably be here in Texarkana with him until the end of his mission. After he goes home, I'll be getting a follow-up trainer and will probably stay here an additional transfer. The area is great. We share an apartment with two other Elders. They have the Arkansas side of Texarkana and we we have the Texas side. We actually both get cars, but we have a limited amount of miles each month. The other Elders get 1100 a month and we get 800. We go visit people out in the boondocks sometimes so its good we have a car. So far, we've only spent one day on the bikes, but we put a lot of miles on that day so by the end, my bike seat definitely was not feeling to good. Our apartment is supposedly one of the nicest in the mission. Everything is stained and beat-up or broken, but we have a working refrigerator and we even have our own washer and dryer. We also have a dishwasher, but we do everything by hand since it's easier. There's some excercise equipment in there that was left by some previous missionaries so all in all we got pretty lucky. I just heard earlier this morning about some Elders that are living in an apartment that has rats and holes in the floor. Sounds like fun. From what it sounds like, my situation is pretty similar to Tysons. The Spanish Elders have only been in Texarkana for about 7 months and that was only because one Hispanic sister was begging for us. There's quite a few Hispanics here, but theyre all spread out and so it's hard to find them. Because of that we end up spending most of our days tracting, meeting with members of the ward, or trying to contact less-actives or part-member families. We have 3 Hispanic investigator families right now, but none of them are really progressing. It's not really that they don't want to, but every time we go over to try to visit with them no one is home. I've actually only met one of the Hispanic investigators so far. My first day here in Texarkana we went to go check out a referral we had received from a sister in the ward. They ended up not being home so we decided to do a little tracting. Elder Wilson had the first door and received a pretty polite refusal. Then it was my turn and nobody came to the first couple doors we knocked. Finally, a man answered the door. He was holding a dog in his arm and he had his kids behind him. He took one look at us, looked down at our badges and said, "Not interested" as he slammed the door shut. Good first experience. :) I love tracting though and we've had a lot of success from it since then. We just had return appointment last night with one family that we tracted on Sunday. It was awesome. They attend a non-denominational church, but they're really into looking at all religions to see what they're about. Two of their kids were there last night and actually had some friends come over too that are in the same church youth group. Unfortunately, the dad wasn't there so we didn't want to teach too much without him, but we answered a lot of their questions about the Book of Mormon and its origin. It was really cool and we set up a return appointment for next Tuesday that we're really excited for. There's also a member in our ward by the name of Bob Taylor. He's a cool old man that lives alone and so we've gone and visited him a couple times. Turns out he's really into geneaolgy and has like a world record with 2 1/2 million names. Anyway, he looked up my name and told me some things about it which was really cool so I told him that the next time we go over there I'd bring him our Family Tree charts that we were told to bring with us so that he can look stuff up. He was really excited to do that. :) I hope everything is going well back home. Congratulations on taking 7th in State Bryce. I'm still waiting on that letter that you keep promising to send me... I can't believe that Sterling is already 1! That's crazy! Speaking of which, you'll need to send me some photos of him and Kiley. I have some of Brooklyn, Davin, and Brennen but I need some of my other favorite niece and nephew. :) As always, thank you for your prayers. I love you all. -Tu hijo y hermano Elder Bradley Bishop
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Because some chicas were getting irritable...
I have recieved a few angry words from my "fans" about not posting Elder Bishop's letters so here they are. enjoy
Thu, Oct 15, 2009
Dear Everyone,
Hopefully I won't have any trouble getting my email off to you this week. There isn't
nearly as much to say this week so I don't think there should be any problem. It sounds
like everyone is having a great time going to Disneyland and to Texas. That's really
cool that Will was able to get you 3 tickets for Disneyland from his friend. It's like
almost $100 per person now isn't it? Still, I'm glad that Ben and Macey were able to go
on some good rides and that Kiley is a Teacups fan.
Thanks for talking to Tyler about dropping off that extra suit. I too have seen the
secret drop-off point. It's a favorite on the Black Market for missionaries who call in
a pizza or maybe a Sonic Blizzard. It's alright though. There were some one-suit Elders
in one of our new Districts who were asking about how to get their suits cleaned while
Elder Mills and I were taking them around the MTC. We told them we'd talk to President
Estes (the zone's Branch President) as soon as we got the chance. He was sick for a
couple days so we didn't get to talk to him for a while. His counselors were a little
stressed with all the things they had to do since it was supposed to be his Sunday to
teach everything. Actually, the second counselor is completely new to the MTC too so
really it was just the first counselor, Brother Cameron, who was taking care of
everything. He asked Elder Mills and I to help him out with Priesthood meeting at the
last minute so we got a lesson together really fast about the Holy Ghost.
Anyway, we finally talked to President Estes and he said that since there was no other
way, we would just have to do one day wearing our white shirts. One-suit Elders get
their stuff cleaned by the next day if you turn it in on certain days so as long as I
don't need to get anything repaired on my suit before I leave I should be fine.
A couple days ago, one of district leaders for our zone had to go to the E.R. and get his
appendix removed. He and one of his companions (he's in a trio companionship) got up in
the middle of the Tuesday night devotional and walked out. The third companion was
sitting in the choir with us so he didn't know what was going on and it was already 9:30
that night when he called the front desk and found out his companions were at the
hospital. We still didn't know what was wrong, but our whole zone was praying for him
that night. The Elder should be back here in a day or two and is still scheduled to
leave in a week and a half with the rest of his district.
I'm glad that I finally got a letter from you Bryce even if your whole letter did sound
like you were talking to me on Gmail chat or facebook. Still, it was good to hear from
you and I hope you had a great time in Texas. Aren't Brooklyn, Davin, and Brennen so
awesome? Anyway, be careful when you're going up against those 900 lb Polynesians. I
was playing futbol one day here and one of the Tongan Elders here was playing tackle
football on the field instead of futbol. I was taking the ball off the line and crossing
it towards the goal and right after I punted it in, I got laid flat by this one Elder.
It was really fun.
The Spanish here is going great and so is everything else. We're teaching all our
lessons in Spanish for both the TRC and the TE and we are up to 3 days a week of SYL for
our district goal. Elder Mills and I also decided to do another day of only SYL as a
companionship. I think I've decided that next week I'm gonna go for all SYL for the
remainder of my time here in the MTC. Obviously I still have to speak English during
interviews with the Branch Presidencies or when orienting the new districts that come in,
but other than that I'm really gonna try to just speak Spanish.
I forgot to tell you last time to tell the Carrolls thank you for bringing that package
for me. I was sad to hear that Brother Hansen is moving to Utah. He was an awesome YM
leader and I learned a ton from him.
There was something else I was going to tell/ask you, but I can't remember it right now.
If I remember later, I'll send it in my letter to Bryce or Ben. Speaking of which, did
Ben never receive my letter to him? It sounds like Bryce got his, but I sent one to Ben
as well. I'll send another one this week though.
Thanks for all your support and love. It helps a lot to get letters from you.
(Especially if they're spaced out between days.)
Su Hijo and Hermano Amoroso,
Elder Bradley Bishop
Thu, Oct 08, 2009
Dear Everyone,
So I just spent a half hour writing to you about all the amazing things that have been
happening here. Unfortunately, I ran out of time and it kicked me off before I could
send it because the mouse was freezing. So...I basically lost all that I had written to
you. One of the other Elders had a couple minutes left on his email time so I'm logged
in on his account. I'll write you a regular letter home, with everything in it but I
just wanted to let you know I'm doing great and that I received your package mom. I hope
you're all doing well! Tengan un buen dia!
-Elder Bradley Bishop
Thu, Oct 01, 2009
Dear Everyone,
Thank you so much for your letters this week. I really enjoyed reading them! It sounds
like everything in Mesa is going well. I can't believe that you put Satellite up at our
cabin. But then again, I'm kinda anti-T.V./Movies right now anyway so I'm sure that I'll
be fine with it up there when I get back in two years. :) Bryce, I'm so jealous of you
getting to play rugby! That would have been such a fun thing to do in high school. I
hope your hand gets better soon.
I don't know if you got my letter about sending me a spanish hymnbook or not, but don't
worry about it anymore. They finally received a shipment of them today after not having
them for 5 months and so my companion and I ran down there to buy some. As for your idea
about sending the two SD cards back and forth, I had already heard other missionaries
doing it here and I was going to buy another one as soon as I got out into the field.
However, if you want to send me another one now that would be great too. You have to
send the SD cards in a special package every time, but I still think that that would be
better than printing up pictures for you and sending them to you all the time. Yes, I'd
still like a music player if you have the chance to get me one so that Ryan can load his
church songs on there when Dad and Bryce go to Texas. I can't use it here in the MTC,
because the Mission President asked us not to do so, but I'll most likely be able to do
so in Mississippi. I'm glad to hear your classes are going well Mom and from the letters
I received from Ben and Macey, it sounds like Kiley is enjoying her classes a lot as
well. Oh, and Macey, congratulations on taking that Spanish class! Tell Grandma I'm
grateful for her letter dictated to you through "Dear Elder." I told some of
my district members that my 92 year-old Grandma had written me on Dear Elder and one of
them couldn't believe that she could type!
Anyway, we don't get to go to any BYU firesides or devotionals, but we always have great
speakers of our own on Sundays and Tuesdays. This last Sunday, we had Mission Conferance
(which we have on Fast Sundays) and we had the whole Mission Presidency and their wives
speak to us. They are all inspired! I love taking notes and then referring back to them
during my personal study time. Yesterday, they instituted the "no touching
rule" for all the missionaries due to the flu season. So, we can't shake hands or
anything anymore. We are allowed to bump knees though when we want to congratulate each
other so I guess that'll have to do. :) Unfortunately, we aren't singing in General
Conference, but I and my whole district have been attending Choir practice every time and
we sing at every Tuesday night devotional.
I saw Elder Barney from the Lyn Rae ward when he arrived yesterday. Him, Elder Merkley,
and I all got to talk for a bit during dinner before we had to go our seperate ways.
Elder Webb is coming up here next week as well so Elder Merkley and I are excited to see
him again since we all hung out a lot before we left.
Elder Mills and I have been teaching lessons to other missionaries in Spanish this week
and we have to teach the full first lesson in spanish for the first time at the TRC this
Tuesday. It will be hard, but I know we'll do fine because we've been studying hard and
practicing with the lesson already. Also, Elder Mills and I were called to be zone
leaders this last Sunday. Right before Sacrament meeting started, one of the Branch
Presidency members pulled us outside and asked us if we would do it. The previous zone
leaders were leaving the next day so we didn't get much time to ask them questions before
they left. So right now we are just doing our best and relying on the Spirit.
Currently, we have 4 districts in our zone that we are responsible for and we most likely
will be getting another one next Wednesday. Our duties aren't too great, but we
definitely lose a portion of our study time each day getting everything done. So far
we've been able to solve any problems within the zone and hopefully we'll be able to
continue doing a good job. I know you're already praying for me, but please pray for
Elder Mills and I to be able to fulfill our duties as zone leaders as well as our
responsibilities as missionaries preparing for the field.
I love you all so much, and I'm so grateful to be out here serving. The time here is
going by so quickly and I can't wait to go to Mississippi!
Love,
Elder Bradley Bishop
Thu, Oct 15, 2009
Dear Everyone,
Hopefully I won't have any trouble getting my email off to you this week. There isn't
nearly as much to say this week so I don't think there should be any problem. It sounds
like everyone is having a great time going to Disneyland and to Texas. That's really
cool that Will was able to get you 3 tickets for Disneyland from his friend. It's like
almost $100 per person now isn't it? Still, I'm glad that Ben and Macey were able to go
on some good rides and that Kiley is a Teacups fan.
Thanks for talking to Tyler about dropping off that extra suit. I too have seen the
secret drop-off point. It's a favorite on the Black Market for missionaries who call in
a pizza or maybe a Sonic Blizzard. It's alright though. There were some one-suit Elders
in one of our new Districts who were asking about how to get their suits cleaned while
Elder Mills and I were taking them around the MTC. We told them we'd talk to President
Estes (the zone's Branch President) as soon as we got the chance. He was sick for a
couple days so we didn't get to talk to him for a while. His counselors were a little
stressed with all the things they had to do since it was supposed to be his Sunday to
teach everything. Actually, the second counselor is completely new to the MTC too so
really it was just the first counselor, Brother Cameron, who was taking care of
everything. He asked Elder Mills and I to help him out with Priesthood meeting at the
last minute so we got a lesson together really fast about the Holy Ghost.
Anyway, we finally talked to President Estes and he said that since there was no other
way, we would just have to do one day wearing our white shirts. One-suit Elders get
their stuff cleaned by the next day if you turn it in on certain days so as long as I
don't need to get anything repaired on my suit before I leave I should be fine.
A couple days ago, one of district leaders for our zone had to go to the E.R. and get his
appendix removed. He and one of his companions (he's in a trio companionship) got up in
the middle of the Tuesday night devotional and walked out. The third companion was
sitting in the choir with us so he didn't know what was going on and it was already 9:30
that night when he called the front desk and found out his companions were at the
hospital. We still didn't know what was wrong, but our whole zone was praying for him
that night. The Elder should be back here in a day or two and is still scheduled to
leave in a week and a half with the rest of his district.
I'm glad that I finally got a letter from you Bryce even if your whole letter did sound
like you were talking to me on Gmail chat or facebook. Still, it was good to hear from
you and I hope you had a great time in Texas. Aren't Brooklyn, Davin, and Brennen so
awesome? Anyway, be careful when you're going up against those 900 lb Polynesians. I
was playing futbol one day here and one of the Tongan Elders here was playing tackle
football on the field instead of futbol. I was taking the ball off the line and crossing
it towards the goal and right after I punted it in, I got laid flat by this one Elder.
It was really fun.
The Spanish here is going great and so is everything else. We're teaching all our
lessons in Spanish for both the TRC and the TE and we are up to 3 days a week of SYL for
our district goal. Elder Mills and I also decided to do another day of only SYL as a
companionship. I think I've decided that next week I'm gonna go for all SYL for the
remainder of my time here in the MTC. Obviously I still have to speak English during
interviews with the Branch Presidencies or when orienting the new districts that come in,
but other than that I'm really gonna try to just speak Spanish.
I forgot to tell you last time to tell the Carrolls thank you for bringing that package
for me. I was sad to hear that Brother Hansen is moving to Utah. He was an awesome YM
leader and I learned a ton from him.
There was something else I was going to tell/ask you, but I can't remember it right now.
If I remember later, I'll send it in my letter to Bryce or Ben. Speaking of which, did
Ben never receive my letter to him? It sounds like Bryce got his, but I sent one to Ben
as well. I'll send another one this week though.
Thanks for all your support and love. It helps a lot to get letters from you.
(Especially if they're spaced out between days.)
Su Hijo and Hermano Amoroso,
Elder Bradley Bishop
Thu, Oct 08, 2009
Dear Everyone,
So I just spent a half hour writing to you about all the amazing things that have been
happening here. Unfortunately, I ran out of time and it kicked me off before I could
send it because the mouse was freezing. So...I basically lost all that I had written to
you. One of the other Elders had a couple minutes left on his email time so I'm logged
in on his account. I'll write you a regular letter home, with everything in it but I
just wanted to let you know I'm doing great and that I received your package mom. I hope
you're all doing well! Tengan un buen dia!
-Elder Bradley Bishop
Thu, Oct 01, 2009
Dear Everyone,
Thank you so much for your letters this week. I really enjoyed reading them! It sounds
like everything in Mesa is going well. I can't believe that you put Satellite up at our
cabin. But then again, I'm kinda anti-T.V./Movies right now anyway so I'm sure that I'll
be fine with it up there when I get back in two years. :) Bryce, I'm so jealous of you
getting to play rugby! That would have been such a fun thing to do in high school. I
hope your hand gets better soon.
I don't know if you got my letter about sending me a spanish hymnbook or not, but don't
worry about it anymore. They finally received a shipment of them today after not having
them for 5 months and so my companion and I ran down there to buy some. As for your idea
about sending the two SD cards back and forth, I had already heard other missionaries
doing it here and I was going to buy another one as soon as I got out into the field.
However, if you want to send me another one now that would be great too. You have to
send the SD cards in a special package every time, but I still think that that would be
better than printing up pictures for you and sending them to you all the time. Yes, I'd
still like a music player if you have the chance to get me one so that Ryan can load his
church songs on there when Dad and Bryce go to Texas. I can't use it here in the MTC,
because the Mission President asked us not to do so, but I'll most likely be able to do
so in Mississippi. I'm glad to hear your classes are going well Mom and from the letters
I received from Ben and Macey, it sounds like Kiley is enjoying her classes a lot as
well. Oh, and Macey, congratulations on taking that Spanish class! Tell Grandma I'm
grateful for her letter dictated to you through "Dear Elder." I told some of
my district members that my 92 year-old Grandma had written me on Dear Elder and one of
them couldn't believe that she could type!
Anyway, we don't get to go to any BYU firesides or devotionals, but we always have great
speakers of our own on Sundays and Tuesdays. This last Sunday, we had Mission Conferance
(which we have on Fast Sundays) and we had the whole Mission Presidency and their wives
speak to us. They are all inspired! I love taking notes and then referring back to them
during my personal study time. Yesterday, they instituted the "no touching
rule" for all the missionaries due to the flu season. So, we can't shake hands or
anything anymore. We are allowed to bump knees though when we want to congratulate each
other so I guess that'll have to do. :) Unfortunately, we aren't singing in General
Conference, but I and my whole district have been attending Choir practice every time and
we sing at every Tuesday night devotional.
I saw Elder Barney from the Lyn Rae ward when he arrived yesterday. Him, Elder Merkley,
and I all got to talk for a bit during dinner before we had to go our seperate ways.
Elder Webb is coming up here next week as well so Elder Merkley and I are excited to see
him again since we all hung out a lot before we left.
Elder Mills and I have been teaching lessons to other missionaries in Spanish this week
and we have to teach the full first lesson in spanish for the first time at the TRC this
Tuesday. It will be hard, but I know we'll do fine because we've been studying hard and
practicing with the lesson already. Also, Elder Mills and I were called to be zone
leaders this last Sunday. Right before Sacrament meeting started, one of the Branch
Presidency members pulled us outside and asked us if we would do it. The previous zone
leaders were leaving the next day so we didn't get much time to ask them questions before
they left. So right now we are just doing our best and relying on the Spirit.
Currently, we have 4 districts in our zone that we are responsible for and we most likely
will be getting another one next Wednesday. Our duties aren't too great, but we
definitely lose a portion of our study time each day getting everything done. So far
we've been able to solve any problems within the zone and hopefully we'll be able to
continue doing a good job. I know you're already praying for me, but please pray for
Elder Mills and I to be able to fulfill our duties as zone leaders as well as our
responsibilities as missionaries preparing for the field.
I love you all so much, and I'm so grateful to be out here serving. The time here is
going by so quickly and I can't wait to go to Mississippi!
Love,
Elder Bradley Bishop
Friday, September 18, 2009
A new letter
Dear Family,
It was good to get your letters. I think I said this in my last letter, but I wasn't able to write until last Thursday so I'm sorry if I left you wondering what had become of me. I actually didn't get most of your letters until I had already sent mine off so let me reply to some of your questions. Yes, there is a choir here and my entire district has been going to the practices. We sing at every Sunday fireside and Tuesday devotional and those always fill up very quickly, but if you're in the choir then you are pretty much guaranteed a saved seat. I feel great about my Spanish. I really have been blessed with the language so far. I learn more and more every day and I've already had a couple SYL's (speak your language) during lunch that I just committed to personally. By next Friday, our instructors have challenged us to have an SYL and everyone promised to do it, even though a few were reluctant. I'm glad that you had a great trip to Oregon and it sounds like Dad had some great hikes lined up. What's the deal with Bryce doing rugby now? I've had a couple letters from you mentioning that, but who is he doing it with? Anyway, I'm doing awesome here. The time has just been flying by and lot's of days you wake up realizing that things you thought weren't for a couple days are right then. The temple here is amazing! We did a session last P-day and I loved it so much. The temple is the one place while you're here at the MTC where you can actually just sit and ponder about all the amazing blessings you have. We also have had some incredible firesides. Among the speakers we've had are, Richard G. Hinckley, a coordinating director for the MTC, Brother Heaton, and then just this Tuesday we had Elder Jeffrey R. Holland speak to us. It was so incredible! I thought that I was able to get a bunch of thoughts from talks before and that they could all apply to me in some way, but out here, when the speakers are actually talking to 2400 missionaries and are teaching messages specifically designed to help us, then you can feel the Spirit testifying to you so strong and as Elder Holland shared with us, receive "a fire burning in the marrow of your bones to teach the word of God." I wish that I could have recorded all the things that Elder Holland and all our other speakers have shared. It really does put a fire in you to go out and preach! One thing that I want to share with you Bryce and any other prospective missionaries who read this is this. Study Preach My Gospel! The lessons and discussions we learn to teach as missionaries are designed to bring people to Christ and be baptized. But PMG was, as Elder Holland put it, "born to convert the missionary." No matter where you go or how many you teach on your mission, you can know that by studying PMG and by working your very hardest, being obedient to the letter and enduring to the end, YOU at least will be fully converted to the Lord and that is something to marvel at. I love you all!
Elder Bradley Bishop
It was good to get your letters. I think I said this in my last letter, but I wasn't able to write until last Thursday so I'm sorry if I left you wondering what had become of me. I actually didn't get most of your letters until I had already sent mine off so let me reply to some of your questions. Yes, there is a choir here and my entire district has been going to the practices. We sing at every Sunday fireside and Tuesday devotional and those always fill up very quickly, but if you're in the choir then you are pretty much guaranteed a saved seat. I feel great about my Spanish. I really have been blessed with the language so far. I learn more and more every day and I've already had a couple SYL's (speak your language) during lunch that I just committed to personally. By next Friday, our instructors have challenged us to have an SYL and everyone promised to do it, even though a few were reluctant. I'm glad that you had a great trip to Oregon and it sounds like Dad had some great hikes lined up. What's the deal with Bryce doing rugby now? I've had a couple letters from you mentioning that, but who is he doing it with? Anyway, I'm doing awesome here. The time has just been flying by and lot's of days you wake up realizing that things you thought weren't for a couple days are right then. The temple here is amazing! We did a session last P-day and I loved it so much. The temple is the one place while you're here at the MTC where you can actually just sit and ponder about all the amazing blessings you have. We also have had some incredible firesides. Among the speakers we've had are, Richard G. Hinckley, a coordinating director for the MTC, Brother Heaton, and then just this Tuesday we had Elder Jeffrey R. Holland speak to us. It was so incredible! I thought that I was able to get a bunch of thoughts from talks before and that they could all apply to me in some way, but out here, when the speakers are actually talking to 2400 missionaries and are teaching messages specifically designed to help us, then you can feel the Spirit testifying to you so strong and as Elder Holland shared with us, receive "a fire burning in the marrow of your bones to teach the word of God." I wish that I could have recorded all the things that Elder Holland and all our other speakers have shared. It really does put a fire in you to go out and preach! One thing that I want to share with you Bryce and any other prospective missionaries who read this is this. Study Preach My Gospel! The lessons and discussions we learn to teach as missionaries are designed to bring people to Christ and be baptized. But PMG was, as Elder Holland put it, "born to convert the missionary." No matter where you go or how many you teach on your mission, you can know that by studying PMG and by working your very hardest, being obedient to the letter and enduring to the end, YOU at least will be fully converted to the Lord and that is something to marvel at. I love you all!
Elder Bradley Bishop
Friday, September 11, 2009
Brad's MTC E-mail
Hey everyone, this is Brad's first e-mail. He's doing grand and would love to hear from you all!
Dear family,
Sorry it took me so long to get a letter out to you. The rules about writing home
changed around the time that I got here and our zone leaders weren't sure what they were
so we didn't get to write home on the day we got here like we normally would. My p-days
are on Thursdays and I get 30 minutes to write an email, but everything else has to be
handwritten. So, if you want to send this on to everyone that would be great. Well, I
don't really know where to get started. I really love it here! My companion's name is
Elder James Mills from Washington. He's a really great guy and we get a long fine. In
fact, we just have a really great district all together. We have 8 Elders in my district
and 4 "Hermanas." We are all really close and do almost everything here
together. If there's one thing I can say about the MTC it's that there's no wasted time.
You study, eat, study, eat, study, eat, study, and then go to sleep. You get 50 minutes
somewhere in the day to go to the gym, but other than that you're either in meetings, the
classroom or the cafeteria. I never thought the day would come that I wouldn't be
hungry, but sitting in classes all day definitely doesn't build up your appetite. They
have good food at every meal though so I always eat a lot still. No wonder they say
missionaries gain so much weight in the MTC. The language is going great for me! I
can't believe how much the Spirit brings to your remembrance from just the two years of
Spanish I took. The concentration here is not to learn the language, but to learn how to
serve your purpose as a missionary...in your language. We practice the language all the
time and go contacting other missionaries in Spanish. So far, I know how to pray, meet
someone, get to know someone, and testify in Spanish. Yesterday, I also memorized The
First Vision in Spanish which was one of my goals for this week. Elder Mills and I have
also already taught the First Discussion (in English), after we met the investigator and
testified to them in Spanish. There are some great teaching programs here like the TRC
where we taught our "investigator", the TE, and the Refferal Center. All of
them are designed to prepare you so you can come out of the MTC already teaching the
lessons effectively in your language. I've met 3 people from home so far here in the
MTC. Elders Ryan Merkley, Scott Guthrie, and I just saw one of the Stuart twins who
arrived here yesterday (I forget which one was coming in this month). Also, I don't know
if you've heard of it, but there is a program called Dear Elder on the internet, which
allows you to write an email to me for free, which they then print out and get to me
either that day or the following day. I think you just need to know my name, departure
date, and mission to get it to me. You don't have to use it if you don't want to, but if
you want to write me a letter other than on the email so I can spend the full 30 minutes
writing to you, then that's how you do it. So, far we've had some great devotionals and
firesides from the MTC mission president, other MTC coordinators, and on tuesday we had a
devotional from Richard G. Hinckley and his wife which was awesome! I hope everyone is
doing well and I'll try to write you another letter today in the old-fashioned way:)
We've been asked to only write letters whether, email or not, on our p-days so I'll try
to get more to you. I love you all so much, but know that I'm learning a lot and that I
can't wait to get out to Mississippi.
Love,
Elder Bradley Bishop
Dear family,
Sorry it took me so long to get a letter out to you. The rules about writing home
changed around the time that I got here and our zone leaders weren't sure what they were
so we didn't get to write home on the day we got here like we normally would. My p-days
are on Thursdays and I get 30 minutes to write an email, but everything else has to be
handwritten. So, if you want to send this on to everyone that would be great. Well, I
don't really know where to get started. I really love it here! My companion's name is
Elder James Mills from Washington. He's a really great guy and we get a long fine. In
fact, we just have a really great district all together. We have 8 Elders in my district
and 4 "Hermanas." We are all really close and do almost everything here
together. If there's one thing I can say about the MTC it's that there's no wasted time.
You study, eat, study, eat, study, eat, study, and then go to sleep. You get 50 minutes
somewhere in the day to go to the gym, but other than that you're either in meetings, the
classroom or the cafeteria. I never thought the day would come that I wouldn't be
hungry, but sitting in classes all day definitely doesn't build up your appetite. They
have good food at every meal though so I always eat a lot still. No wonder they say
missionaries gain so much weight in the MTC. The language is going great for me! I
can't believe how much the Spirit brings to your remembrance from just the two years of
Spanish I took. The concentration here is not to learn the language, but to learn how to
serve your purpose as a missionary...in your language. We practice the language all the
time and go contacting other missionaries in Spanish. So far, I know how to pray, meet
someone, get to know someone, and testify in Spanish. Yesterday, I also memorized The
First Vision in Spanish which was one of my goals for this week. Elder Mills and I have
also already taught the First Discussion (in English), after we met the investigator and
testified to them in Spanish. There are some great teaching programs here like the TRC
where we taught our "investigator", the TE, and the Refferal Center. All of
them are designed to prepare you so you can come out of the MTC already teaching the
lessons effectively in your language. I've met 3 people from home so far here in the
MTC. Elders Ryan Merkley, Scott Guthrie, and I just saw one of the Stuart twins who
arrived here yesterday (I forget which one was coming in this month). Also, I don't know
if you've heard of it, but there is a program called Dear Elder on the internet, which
allows you to write an email to me for free, which they then print out and get to me
either that day or the following day. I think you just need to know my name, departure
date, and mission to get it to me. You don't have to use it if you don't want to, but if
you want to write me a letter other than on the email so I can spend the full 30 minutes
writing to you, then that's how you do it. So, far we've had some great devotionals and
firesides from the MTC mission president, other MTC coordinators, and on tuesday we had a
devotional from Richard G. Hinckley and his wife which was awesome! I hope everyone is
doing well and I'll try to write you another letter today in the old-fashioned way:)
We've been asked to only write letters whether, email or not, on our p-days so I'll try
to get more to you. I love you all so much, but know that I'm learning a lot and that I
can't wait to get out to Mississippi.
Love,
Elder Bradley Bishop
Monday, August 31, 2009
My mission blog
I'm leaving tomorrow for the MTC! I am now converting my old rarely-used blog into my mission blog. I hereby turn all control over to my surviving heir...my brother Bryce. Hopefully he will be posting any letters or pictures I send home. If he doesn't do it on here, then you can always check to see if he did anything on my Facebook account. I now bid you a fond farewell and may "Para siempre Dios este con vos!"
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Pride Rock!
Ok so these pics were actually taken on January 3rd when me and my good buddy Aaron Webb hiked in the Superstitions. I would have posted them a lot sooner but I had already done some big blog stuff recently and I didn't feel like overwhelming whoever reads these blog things with too much information. Keeping that in mind these pictures won't come with too much commentary. After all pictures are supposedly worth a thousand words!
Well that's all of it. Sorry about the terrible pictures but I was taking fast pictures so I could put my hands back in my pockets as soon as possible. Early morning cold + blow-you-off-the-mountainside-winds + me stupidly forgetting a jacket = Really cold hands. Despite the cold, this was one of the best hikes I've ever been on! Anyone who can should totally try it some time!
The Superstitions- our destination
Flat Iron (aka Pride Rock)
Base of Mountain
Flat Iron (aka Pride Rock)...We made it!
I think the wind was trying to push me off the mountain.
Look! Flat Iron is really flat!
Four Peaks!
Well that's all of it. Sorry about the terrible pictures but I was taking fast pictures so I could put my hands back in my pockets as soon as possible. Early morning cold + blow-you-off-the-mountainside-winds + me stupidly forgetting a jacket = Really cold hands. Despite the cold, this was one of the best hikes I've ever been on! Anyone who can should totally try it some time!
Friday, January 2, 2009
Happy 2009!
Ok so I know I posted like 2 days ago, but here's what happened on New Years Eve and New Years Day.
New Years Eve/B-day party at the Johnson's house. Happy Birthday to Calli, Katie, Juliet, and Josh! This was the only pic I got of the party. I guess no one could decide whether to be goofy, smile, or frown, in this picture. Nice poses by Kelson and Josh in the back too. :) The party was way fun and it was great watching Calli try to chug down a whole Martinelli's once it hit midnight.
Then the next day we drove down to Tucson with my sister and her kids to spend the day with my brother's family. We played games all day and even made a trip down to the park to play. Here are my nieces and one of my nephews at the end of the day:
New Years Eve/B-day party at the Johnson's house. Happy Birthday to Calli, Katie, Juliet, and Josh! This was the only pic I got of the party. I guess no one could decide whether to be goofy, smile, or frown, in this picture. Nice poses by Kelson and Josh in the back too. :) The party was way fun and it was great watching Calli try to chug down a whole Martinelli's once it hit midnight.Then the next day we drove down to Tucson with my sister and her kids to spend the day with my brother's family. We played games all day and even made a trip down to the park to play. Here are my nieces and one of my nephews at the end of the day:
Maybe it's just me but I think that they could all be future PJ models. 
This last one's of my bestest, fantabulous, most amazing sister ever who revealed to us for Christmas that she is having yet another fun baby in August! With luck I'll be able to see him/her before I leave for my mission. I can't wait!
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