All I Gotta say is WOW! I feel so loved! Im so glad everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Not gonna lie, I was a bit trunkie, but who isn't during the holidays? I love hearing about everything happening in your lives. I just love all of you guys so much and I am very grateful to be a part of such a wonderful family! Im also glad I was allowed out of the storage room for the holidays, haha I love that card board cut-out of me. Send pictures please! Im getting ready to send lots of pictures this week or next so get ready! Just to answer your question mom, we have somewhat of a mission gathering for christmas and it is just a Zone Temple trip. Ours is dec. 9th so im way excited. I Love the temple and wish we could go more.
Okie dokie here goes my week. We had a awesome lesson with the S's and watched Elder Scott's talk on celestial marriage and the spirit was very powerful and they loved it. So then i asked them right there if they would get married and they said yes! (Ya go figure, im not only committing people to be baptized but to get married haha) They might get married in December and then get baptized the same day if possible! Its so awesome. I hope its before the transfer so i can be there for sure. Still not sure I'll get transferred but it a big possiblility. But ya that is my good news minute of the week ha. 
So kinda a tangent but I've realized that being a missionary is just amazing. Think about it. 19-21 year old boys are teaching people about salvation and teaching how to read and understand scriptures, we counsel people with their addictions or other problems, we give marriage counseling, people tell us EVERYTHING and trust us to know what to do in every situation, and they take our advice no matter what. and this is just to name a few things. And i think to myself, WOAH im just a kid, how and why is this happening. There is only one explanation- This Church is True. We have a True Prophet. We are Truely called by God to this work. If it wasn't true, There is no way any of this could work. It just amazes me. Im convinced that the mission prepares you for everything and anything that will happen later in life. I love being a missionary!
So Thanksgiving was nice. We woke up and did studies and then had an hour long photo shoot on our deck upstairs with the other elders. It was so much fun and we got some legit pics. Why did we do this, one might ask? well, you see, we are creating a little christmas surprise :) You'll see! Then we had Thanksgiving dinner at about 2pm at the church with a few of the members who got together and it was really really good and i ate a whole bunch. Lots of dessert too. Im turning into dad where i have to eat dessert immediately after each meal. Its a wonderful lifestyle :)
We also visited families like the L family and they invited us to eat with them while we were there but unfortunately, no more room in our bellies. That night we went to the D's and met all of their extended family and had a good time talking to them about the church and what we do and we may or may not have eaten more desserts... plus they gave us tons of their left overs and A made the greatest stuffing in the whole world. Im gonna have to get the recipe cuz it was delicious. Too bad they aren't interested in being baptized, but we still are grateful for the friendship we have created and I'm totally going to keep in contact with them. They are just good people. oh and to end the night we got together as a zone and played basketball and volleyball at the church and that was alot of fun.
Ya nothing much else happened this week. We have continued our work with the members and it has been really good. The time is soon at hand when the member referrals will start flowing. And it will be a glorious day when it happens. We are so close. We taught this couple about the word of wisdom and even tho they did not commit to living it they feel like its true and good. As soon as they come to church and gain a testimony everything else will just fall in place.
Saturday morning we went and played bball with a couple of the dental students and it was a ton of fun. Dad you'd be so proud of my basketball skills haha. Im gonna come back and just school you :) and Ryan.
That about does it for me on my end. I just want to share with you something I learned this week in my personal study that has to do with the member missionary lessons. I was reading in 2Nephi 2:16 i think and it talks about how we are all created to act, but we cannot act unless we are enticed one way or the other. And so like in the first member missionary lessons we learn that we succeed when we INVITE! You gotta give people a chance to choose. How can they make a choice unless they know there is a choice? Does that make sense? Our duty is to invite-give people a choice. that is the only thing in our power. That is why we succeed when we invite, because the rest of what happens all has to do with the other person. So this holiday season, please INVITE. Love others enough to give them a chance to accept the most precious gift that can be given at christmas. Ya there are a million excuses why we don;t do missionary work as members but just do it! I promise you won't regret it :) I love you all! Be good, remember who you are and all that jazz :)
Love,
Elder Brady Johnson
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