February 24

Yes I LOOOVVVVEEEEEEEEEEE my new area!! I'm technically in San Mateo and it's gorrrgggeeeooouuusss! It is farmland. Ffaarrmmm land haha. I can't get enough of this place. I love living in a place where there's people named Jim Bob and Peggy Sue, where you have to drive into town and EVERYONE is related somehow hahaha. My companion is the sweetest girl in the world! Sis Hurst she's great. There isn't a mean bone in her body. 

The weather has been rainy, but not too cold. Dad is hilarious. Haha. I can't believe march is next week!! That means kass goes to New York soon!!! That's exciting!! I spent the money at Walmart. I had to buy shampoo and what not. I also had to get this fancy brita water bottle, because the water here smells like sulfur... The tap water.. So yeah haha.

We live with a member. I just love her. She's 84 and still super lively. Her husband died at the end of 2012 and so that's when she started to house sisters. She is way too good to us. She always feeds us. I'm afraid of gaining more weight.... Because everything has butter on it or has been cooked in grease... Hahah 

The ward members are amazing and all of them have super super thick accents. True southerners. We have lunch at the ward mission leaders house every Sunday they are SO southern. Guess what we had for lunch? Cat fish! Salmon and crab legs. And rice. It was surprisingly good. They live on a farm and have horses and they are so cute! The two just had babies and they're only 2 weeks old! They have a hunting lodge and they were showing it to us. They have tons of deer heads, they hog hunt! I'll tell y'all the details of that later haha. And they had a gator too! They gator hunt. I love it. 

My first night we picked up a new investigator and he is so amazing! It's amazing how we met him. So Sis Hurst and Sis McCan met him last week. He was as working at Burger King when they went and they struck up a good conversation with him, but it kinda ended at that. But then, we went to go see a recent convert and he was like "Oh, let me introduce you to my friend." And it was him!! What are the odds right?! Just kidding it wasn't coincidence, it was The Lord. It's insane how much he prepares people. I love it. But anywho. We had a really great lesson with him and the next night he came to our scripture study class we have and we gave him a church tour and then invited him to be baptized. We'll see how that actually goes... But he has been SO prepared.

I know The Lord is SO mindful of his servants, I love Him so much. I LOVE the south. And I LOVE the Book of Mormon. And I love you all too(: 

Love,

Sis Bradford 

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More from Jordan that day:

My companion is too great. I love her. And the lady we live with is the best. I know she was definitely lonely before. They had been married for 64 years and had 9 kids. So to be in a completely empty house...I wouldn't be able to handle it. She has kids that live down the road.. But still. And I'll try [to eat smaller amounts and slower]. But it tastes so good!! Haha 

[On getting an accent.] Oh. It's bad. I started to get an accent before, but it's already getting worse. I naturally just kinda mimic people anyway... I do say y'all a lot and sometimes I'll be talking and say something and I'll stop and be like "did I just say it like that?"

We have wifi at the house so I can keep emailing throughout the day. Unless we go into town. My comp is going to cut my hair! She went to hair school and I've been desperately needing a trim haha. I'm so lucky.

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This is the house and yard of where I live:

This is my room:

This was the ice cream run for the day:

Me and Sis. Hurtz enjoying Southern Blackberry Cobbler ice cream. Mmmmmm.....

February 18

Jordan had a crazy day today. She emailed at a few different times. So I'll piece together the important stuff. :)

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So guess what.....

I'M GETTING TRANSFERRED!! WHAT?!! I'm going to Palatka 2nd ward!!! I'm freaking out! So I'll transferred out tomorrow. I'm so excited! I'm going to miss my ward.. But who knows? Maybe I'll serve there again. When they said my name on the transfer call yesterday I was SHOCKED. It was crazy haha. And Palatka is ccouunnnttrryyy. So country. Just what I wanted! haha 

But now I'm in the Jax South zone, which covers St Johns and St Augustine. So I could totally go to St. Augustine on a P day if I wanted. Sis Houtz served in Palatka 1st. So she knows a lot haha. But It's pretty crazy. I'm excited. 

With transfers everyone who is being transferred has to be at the Mandrin building at noon then we all swap. Everyone has cars for the most part so that's mostly how they get there. If not they'll get a ride with other missionaries or some members are super nice and drive them to and from.

My week has been up and down. I've been really trying to be positive.

I did get everything you sent me!! Thank you so much for that!! I loved it! I love mail! So.. I'll make sure to send you my new address as soon as I can! haha

And that's great with Zach and Kass that's so exciting!!! And that weather sounds just like here.... hahaha today is supposed to be warm. It's already 66.. but it's supposed to drop tomorrow. This weather here is NUTS. I can't even handle it anymore hahah. 

I haven't ready your other email yet, so give me a chance to check that. But that is SO funny that of all people grandpa is an exact match with Stephan Colbert! I laughed. hahaha 

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This is what we did for our bishop and his fam on valentines. We surprised them, we had a family friend come watch the kids and we kicked them out and made them go on a date and the decorated haha

I've been trying to buy more fruits and veggies. I eat like crap at members houses... and we got SO much stuff for valentines day... it was ridiculous. So.. No offense.. But all the candy you gave me... I gave to the Heywoods... hahaha when we decorated their house. So.. next package could you send me like.. Cliff bars or something on the healthier side? haha I appreciate it though! At least it went to good use, right?

The view from near the bishop's house.

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Photos just for fun.

This is what happens when you get an iPad in your hands. ;)

February 10

So this week has been super eventful! It was zone conference!!! SO WE GOT IPADS! Whhhaaaa??? They're so awesome. So all of our area book and our scheduling is all online now in this special app. It's great. So now we don't have to lug these huge binders around all the time and write a whole bunch of crap down. It's sssooooooooo nice! We're the 3rd mission in the WORLD to get them!! I guess the 1st presidency just trusts us a lot ;)

But anywho.. This week has been hectic.. We had trade off's which were super fun! I went with Sis McCleary. She was super helpful and gave me a lot of awesome advice about not comparing and there isn't one set way to do things. So that was great.

Something that I've decided while tracting... I HATE BEING MISTAKEN FOR JEHOVAH WITNESSES!!! Always. I went tracting in this neighborhood for the first time ever and this guy was like "Now y'all come by a lot.. like 3 or 4 times a month' (no we don't because the elders don't go there and we've never been there) "Y'all are Jehovah Witnesses right?" NO! I'm not.. I'm not. We're the Mormons. I don't know if that's any better in your eyes.. But whatever. haha. It seriously happens every single day. DO YOU NOT LISTEN TO WHAT CHURCH WE SAY?! Anyway... We correct them.. Always haha

Anyway. Awesome story. So we picked up an old investigator, Jane, a couple weeks ago and she came to church last Sunday and BORE HER TESTIMONY IN FRONT OF EVERYONE IN HER JEANS! Then she was invited to a play group that a bunch of ladies do and they were all so nice and anyway.. haha and then we've had a couple lessons. Anyway.. Our last lesson, I invited her to be baptized and she said yes!! WWWOOOOHHOOO!! My first bap invite and they said yes!! It was so good. I'm so excited for her! She'll probably get baptized 1st week in March. Yaaayyyyyy!!

We also had an awesome lesson with the Wall family at a members house the L fam. They're so great! It was the daughter in the wall family's birthday and so they bought a pie and put candles on it and had ice cream and everything and she just turned 12 so she went to young women's yesterday and loved it! yyyaaayyy! But yeah. I love the L fam. One of their daughters is my freaking favorite. She's hilarious.. and loves Taylor Swift. She's 10.. Almost 11. She was telling me all about her birthday party that she's having and how it's going to be olympics/ taylor swift because it's the 22nd winter olympics? And then T Swifts song 22.. anyway. She's a hoot haha

I just want to say thank you for the packages!! I got both of them! And I also got one from Misty haha. I'm going to be so spoiled. I'm going to expect tons of packages from now on... haha Just kidding.

Also next week is transfers!! WHAT?! I've already been out for that long?! Craaazzzyyy. But that means our P day is on Tuesday.. So I didn't want you to freak out when you don't get an email on Monday haha.

But this week has seriously been so much better! I loovveee reading the Book of Mormon. I seriously can't get enough. I've been in Alma for the past week ish and the past couple days I've been going through Alma 20-36... It's amazing! If you haven't read it lately.. Read it. Now. It's aammaazzinggg. I love love love the scriptures. READ THEM EVERY DAY! It makes your day so much better. I swear. I can't get enough of them. I'm serious. I read them for 40 minutes of my personal study haha.

But I love you all!! I seriously can't ask for a better family(: I love you guys so much! I'm going to be sending pictures... From my ipad(: hahahah So just wait for those! Love you!!

Love,

Sister Bradford

Here are some photos for the week:

There is this neighborhood called sutton lakes that each section has a British name and Bradford is one of them! Whoop whoop!

Confederate flags hanging on the carports.

Zone Conference

The ducks here are hideous! They look and act like the devil! And they follow you around. 

All these were driving to zone conference, which was in Fernandina Beach. It was gorgeous! Looked way more southern than the area I'm in now.. When we got closer the fog was INNSSAANNE. I didn't get a picture, but we do car inspections... So we all pulled into the parking lot and there were 3 rows of cars all lined up... But uh... No other outlet.. So every single car had to be backed out from the parking lot into the street haha. And Zach and maybe dad will know what that means... hahaha. 

February 3

Heeellloooo!

I love all those quotes! Thank you so much. I need to see if I can print them all. I'm sure I can? haha They have a printer here.

Well this week has kinda been slower. Yesterday was good though! The Wall family couldn't all make it to church, just the dad and the son. But they came. And another investigator Sis Houtz and Sis Toledo had been teaching, that they had dropped, who we visited this week... Came to church! And bore her testimony about how she knows that this is where she needs to be and how she knows all of this is true!!!! WHAT? And then she bore her testimony again in Relief Society!

Also this week... A lady we tracted into, she's Muslim but loves learning about religion.. We went and saw her again this week. She had read the first 100 pages of the Book of Mormon!! Golly gee. It was great! We had a good conversation about it. We're going back again this Wednesday. I'm so excited.

I don't know what else to post? I didn't sing this Sunday, I'm singing next Sunday.

How is Grandpa doing?? How's school going for Zach and Kass? How's your website doing? Is dad working for the church studios still?

You can ask me all the questions you want haha. And I'll call UPS.

I love you!!!