Life in England... According to Brady

We wanted to give everyone an update about what living in England is all about for Brady. Here is the good, the bad, and everything else!

Weather:

"My favorite part about England is the weather.... NOT! I really hate how the weather changes on an hourly basis."

"I learned after like the first rain storm to carry an umbrella always, and the other day is started down pouring really bad, and I pulled my umbrella out, and Elder Gentry didn't have one, and he got soaked. It was really funny."

"We were doing some work in the city center, and we didn't have umbrellas, and it started to down pour. We walked across the street to get some food, and we got so soaked, and we honestly only took like 10 steps. Then we went in, and bought some umbrellas so it was really nice, and then the rain was just pounding so hard on them, and then like 2 hours later, it was really warm and hot again."

"All day it had looked like it was going to rain, but it hadn't. So we went back to the flat for lunch and it was looking really nice so I told Elder Gentry we didn't need our umbrellas. We got done teaching a lesson to Jean, and it wasn't looking too good. We took 5 steps away from her house and it started to rain. Then 5 steps later, it started to downpour, so we hurried and ran into the first shop we could find. It was a fish and chips restaurant, so we couldn't just leave, so we bought chips for a pound. Then we hurried and ran back to Jean's house, and ate our chips, and then she gave us some umbrellas. After we left her house the second time with our umbrellas, the weather was amazing for the rest of the day, it was kind of funny so I was laughing, and Elder Gentry got kind of mad."

Food:

"We were at a tea appointment, and they were asking me besides family, what do I miss the most about home. I quickly answered Hot Pockets, and they had no idea what I was talking about it. It was pretty funny, and I had to explain it to them, and tell them how amazingly delicious they are, and they are so good."

"The members in Grimsby are really good, and we have meal appointments like everyday but usually I have this rice-a-roni stuff, or roman noodles, or peanut butter sandwiches, sometimes I have ham and salami sandwiches, just a lot of easy stuff to make. But the fish and chips in Grimsby are really good and I am addicted to them."

Dressin' like a stylish Englishman:

Remember Brady, and how you could almost always count on him being in Yankee attire and baller shorts... And how pink was a big no!

Example: From Ashley: "I sure hope that you get some fashion sense while over there..."

From Brady: "I doubt my fashion will get any better while in England."

Boy how have things changed in the short amount of time he has been there!!

"I think my favorite part about England is the ties. I have to admit that so far most of the ties I have bought have a little bit of pink in them. I also got this bright pink tie from one of the other elders in my last flat, and I wore it, and then this girl was trying to buy it from me for only a pound, and I was like no fetching way."

"I did buy pointy shoes, and they are so sweet. It is so much fun to look at them, and to wear them during my study times, I don't wear them out proselyting because I don't want to ruin them, and I want to make them last for a long times."

P-day:

"Some P-days all we do is go shopping a little bit, then we go to subway and get a sandwich, then we go to the church and play table tennis, and watch disney movies."

"My favorite thing to do on P-day is to play sports. The other week, we did a zone p-day with the whole Hull zone, and it was so much fun. We played football (soccer), and I scored a goal, and then we played American football, and I had 3 touchdown catches, and an interception."

"The other week we went bowling. I bowled a 136 and a 179. It was amazing. The lanes in England were really good, and my ball had the best curve on it. I was so proud that I still have my bowling skills, and that I can still dominate in at least one sport."

Elder Gentry:

"I am going to miss laughing and having a good time with Elder Gentry. He is so funny, and has been a blast to serve with, and I cannot believe how flippin' fast the 6 weeks went by."

Elder Gentry and Elder Moore in their companion ties and sunglasses.

Loving Grimsby

Brady's Mission is going really well. He is still in the Grimsby 1 Area.

Baptism:

"Ben Smith's baptism went really well. I love seeing people like Ben get baptized. They just have this amazing glow about them, and it is really neat to watch them, and see how excited they are. I always just look at them and I get this huge smile, because it is so neat to see them get so excited. Then on Sunday, Ben got up and bore a really solid testimony. Elder Gentry and I both had our fingers crossed because we didn't know what he was going to say, and we were hoping it would be good, and it was amazing. It was really funny a little 7 year old kid got up and bore his testimony saying he was glad that Ben got baptized and how he is looking forward to being baptized in a couple of months. Ben then waved to him and as Ben passed him on his way up to bear his testimony, he gave him a huge thumbs up."

Investigators:

"Yesterday we found the most amazing kid named Daniel Smith. We went up to him and shared the Joseph Smith First Vision with him, and he really enjoyed it. Then he was telling us how once he was stabbed 5 times, and how he should have been dead, because of the loss of blood. He used to be a rebel I guess, and now he spends his time helping out disabled kids. He wants to improve his life and make it better. We also gave him a Book of Mormon, and he said he has a lot of questions and is looking forward to finally getting some answers. We are hoping that people don't ruin him and that our next appointment with him will go really well, which I am sure it will."

Another investigator is Matthew and Maria Cartwright. Brady says they are really humble and ready to be baptized but last visit didn't go as planned.

"After our p-day was over, we went and visited Matthew and Maria Cartwright. We found out after we left from the member that went teaching with us, that they aren't married yet. When we first met Matthew we asked him if they were married, and he said they were. When he found out he couldn't get baptized until he was married, he was really crushed, and disappointed. They are planning on getting married next year because she is due anytime and they want the baby to be settled in before they get married. They are both so ready to be baptized, so if you have any advice on how we can maybe help them plan to move up their wedding date, I would really appreciate that."

Neat Experience:

"We were waiting for our bus to go home, and we were talking to a member of the church named Carol O'Rielly. Then this guy named John came up, and gave her a hug, and told us how he use to meet with the missionaries before, and then he just left. Carol then told us he had terminal cancer and was suppose to only live until December, and that he is really good fighter. Then, on Saturday while we were waiting for the Zone Leaders to show up to Ben's baptism interview we went knocking. We ended up knocking on John's door and he was telling us how after we met him the night before he was praying that we would come knocking on his door so we could answer some of his questions he had. It was a really neat experience, and he was wondering what happens after we die. We explained it to him, and we would baptize him I bet, but he is moving to place where he can be better watched over, I guess kind of like a rest home. It was really neat, and he was saying before we left that we brought peace to his soul, and he was feeling a lot better now that we had come over. It was amazing!!!!"