Brady's Blog

I just got your letter from the 13th. Here are the answers to some of you questions: - I am learning a small amount of Navajo but it is not required. - Weather is hot. About 20 degrees cooler than Phoenix so about 100 degrees. We had a huge thunder and rainstorm Saturday. - Nathan Bedonie is progressing slowly but surely. His mom is now listening to the lessons. Love hearing about life. Keep writing. Got to go. Elder Brady Parkin P.S. Invite your missionaries to dinner.

What a week I have had. Basically it has been non stop appointments. A good amount of these appointments fall through so we have to go to a back up. Looking at our schedule for this week we are packed again. There is so much work that needs to be done but there is only one companionship. I guess it is a good thing that there is so much work because if we didn't have work, we would have no purpose. This Wednesday marks my 6th birthday or my 6th week of my mission. People always say it goes by so fast but right now it seems so slow. Are there any funny stories from you? Here's one from me. Last week sometime around 4:00 am, I was awake for some reason and all of a sudden Elder Soderling sits straight up in his bed and says,"Let's start with a prayer . . . Heavenly Father" and goes back to sleep. He woke up when he said "Heavenly Father" and wondered why he was praying so he went back to sleep. It was so funny. I still tease him about it a little. I think t...

The mission is great!!! I am loving it so much even when I am dead exhausted. Like I said previously, I am in Chinle which is said to be the heart of the reservation. It is absolutely gorgeous. It's like that perfect place to ponder the meaning of life. My companion, Elder Soderling, and I are getting along very well. he is quiet but has a great work ethic. Too bad he goes home on December. There is a good scripture in Jacob. I believe Chapter 2,3,or 4 in verse 2 that says "feast on the love of God." When I read that, i had to stop and think about what it meant. You can find your own thoughts but my thoughts were that we should always recognize the Lord's hand in all that we do and to always be thankful for our blessings. Elder Brady Parkin

Here is a picture that my parents received from Brady's mission president, President Beck. Doesn't he look good with that short haircut?

I AM IN ARIZONA!!!!! Well, my first area is Chinle. AZ on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Only two elders are being trained on the Rez and this is the first any have been trained for 6 years at least. This is a beautiful place. The weather is hot because it is desert but cooler than Phoenix because of latitude and altitude. Saturday was my first two baptisms. Two young girls: Jamie and Danielle ages 16 & 14. It was neat and I'm counting it even though I didn't really teach them. The trailer I live in is in the church parking lot. Got to go. Elder Brady Parkin

My mom received a call from Brady's mission president tonight. He wanted to let her know that Brady had arrived in Arizona safely and that the first area they were sending him to was Chinle, AZ. Chinle is located on a Navajo Indian Reservation and the people there are very poor. He told her that they only send their best missionaries out there and they hardly ever send the new ones there. This will be such a good learning and humbling experience for our missionary!

. . . I have been in the MTC now for 2 weeks and I leave for Arizona next Tuesday, July 29. The MTC is crazy cool and there are a lot of good stories. On Saturday, there was a practice teaching appointment and Elder Shill and I had a lady that was a member and a gentleman that wasn't. I didn't know this until after we taught. It was really cool, they had lots of questions about the Book of Mormon and somehow I knew where to find the answers. I was just rattling them off. It was so cool and the spirit was so strong. It really helped my testimony of the Book of Mormon grow. We got the July Ensign and I highly recommend reading about Pres. Henery B. Eyring and Deiter F Uchtdorf . They are such amazing men. I want to know more about Pres. Monson . . . Hope everything continues going well. Elder Brady Blair Parkin D&C 84:88