January 3, 2011

Hey Brady -
Happy Anniversary! Your one year mark comes up this Thursday !! Then it's all down hill from there :) In some ways it's gone by so fast, and in other ways it seems so long. But it's all good. Do something to celebrate! Or at least take a picture of something you guys are doing that day.
Love you,
Mom

Hey Family,
Yeah, I'll do something great for my one year mark, and get some pics for you.
A lot has happened so I"ll try to recall everything. Monday night started out with exchanges with the Assistants to the President. We went to their area in West Des Moines and stayed the night. It wasn't anything too crazy, we mainly tracted. It was different from the IPM, but all and all a good learning experience. They did tell Elder Curtis and I something that scared us though. In a couple of weeks there will be two MTC directors/researchers that will be touring our mission. There has been some new training and fundamental that has been focused on out of Preach My Gospel with missionaries world wide since July 1. One of these MTC guys is going to be with Elder Curtis and I for 2 nights to get a taste of where the mission is at. Kinda scary...all I can think is that song that goes, "under pressure, pushin' down on you, pushin' down on me....under pressure" You know that song.
In other news J! The investigator that i have been telling you about, the one with the baptismal date and the fiancee who used to be a less-active and is contemplating the whole idea about J being baptized, well we had a lesson with them Saturday and we were teaching the doctrine of Jesus Christ out of 2 Nephi 31 and showed her the importance of baptism and everything. We asked her again about what she thought about the whole idea about J being baptized and she said that this last week she realized that she did have a testimony, but she just didn't want the commitment. But after thinking about it, and talking to J about the whole thing she knows that this will be a good thing for their family and she is now behind J and supporting him. So he prayed about the 15th of January and he feels that it is right, so he is going to be baptized!!
This last week we have been teaching this family of about 7 individuals. The mother J is a less active member that has been looking for the missionaries for some time. They all have lived a rough life, and recently one of J's daughters was in a car accident. She was on life support and J and the other family members totally blamed God for what had happened. Then we tracted into her. We have been teaching their family for the last 2 weeks and 5 of them including J came to church yesterday. We were sitting there during fast and testimony meeting and all at once J, her two daughters, and her son went up to the pulpit all at once. The whole family surrounds the pulpit and J says, "we are new to this but we wanted to come up here as a family and say a few things." They started to bear their testimony individually, on how they came to know that there was a God and how he is now leading their lives together, and thanked us that we had knocked on their door. You know me I'm a bawl baby so I started to get a little watery eyed. It was so simple but it was the most powerful testimony thing I have ever heard. After church J's 3 children and brother were asking to be baptized, it was amazing. God has his arm stretched out here in Ankeny, and it's a blessing to help Him with his work.
I LOVE YOU ALL -Elder Hale

If you'd like to leave a note for Brady for his one year mark, leave a comment here, or e-mail me, or leave a message on my facebook or Brady's facebook. I'll forward all your well wishes on to him. Or you can write or e-mail him directly, his current address is on the sidebar. THANKS!
--Cynthia