Helllooooo all you people in school! 
How's life?

Last Monday I had the greatest P-day ever. We went to Dolphin Mall as a district and searched for ghetto pants. We found them. Today we are going to the Hialeah/ Opa-locka Flea Market in search of more. It's a party here in the Miami Lakes District. 

This week we continued to work with Lorenzo, who is absolutely amazing and is still planning on being baptized on the 29th. Get this: HE'S A CUBAN THAT DOESN'T DRINK COFFEE. Yes, he was born in Cuba. Yes, he was raised in Cuban. And he hates coffee. He thinks it is gross. It was the single greatest word of wisdom lesson of all time. He came to church this Sunday even though his car broke again and he was sick. 

This area and this transfer have been very different than West Palm but it has been incredible. I love serving with Sister Bradley and the theme of this transfer has been learning that Christ loved. The scripture that says we are nothing without Charity has come into my head over and over again. My companion shared a part of her personal study with me that has forever changed the way I think about Charity. We were asked to study the story of the rich young ruler and think about what more we could give up to be better missionaries. Sister Bradley pointed this out: The rich young ruler was doing everything right. He was following the letter of the law and willing to follow any other "law" put in place. When Christ asked him to give up his riches and follow him, Christ was really asking him to put others in front of himself. To look out, and give up all he had gained to serve others. He was asking the rich young ruler to have charity. After seeing this, Peter asks Christ "Well, if it is that hard to get to the kingdom of heaven, what are we supposed to do?" Christ responds to just keep following him. He tells Peter that he has given things up, he's left his fish, and he has to keep going." In essence, he tells Peter to keep serving. To keep having charity. We talked about how so often we think that the gospel is about giving things up when really it is a lot simpler-just look outside of yourself and have charity. 

Mia was able to receive First Presidency approval to be baptized again this week! She was baptized on Sunday before church and it was very quiet. I am so, so grateful for Mia and her example as well as the opportunity to be there with her the past month. 

I love all of you! Good luck with school and have a good week! 

-Sister Bren Scadden

Heeeyyyyy!
I have to let you all know that my habit of chronic procrastination has not gone away on a mission. I was asked about 2 weeks ago if I would be willing to give a 5 minute "talk" at a ward noche de hogar on Saturday about my favorite memory with my family and my testimony. So I definitely used my lunch on Saturday to look up the Spanish words I didn't know and then just kind of winged it. 

From this experience I learned that there is not verb for "Snowboard" in Spanish. Like it isn't a common thing in Latin America or something. I thought all week about my favorite memories with my family and just kept thinking about all the little things we would do together. Car trips were always a story. haha. And I love the times when we would all just end up in the kitchen or living room, laughing and joking. Those are definitely my favorite memories. I told the ward that and then talked about when Carter tried to teach me how to snowboard last winter and how I ended up just sitting on the bunny hill wet, cold, and ready to go home. Carter came up and sat next to me and told me that he had never seen me give up, and that I just had to try again. Then he stood up and went down the mountain like a pro. Carter, I want you to know how much I think about the short conversation out here and how much your example means to me. I am so grateful that I was able to grow up in a family that supported each other. Also I described snowboarding by saying it was like surfing down a mountain. They got it. I think. So no worries. #gringaspanglish

Also, this week we started teaching Lorenzo. He is a 68 Cuban man. He has survived 7 strokes and 4 open heart surgeries. He spent almost 2 years bed ridden but worked hard in therapy and now lives alone and takes care of himself. It is sooooo fascinating to talk to him. It has also convinced me that if someone is really ready for the gospel, everything clicks into place easily. We taught him the restoration and when we were talking about the apostasy he said "So...the world needed another prophet. I knew I was right to wait until I felt something." We talk about what makes us different from all the other religions that he has talked to and he says "With this one, I just feel it. I have peace." He told us all week he was going to come to church and then Saturday he got a call from the mother of his daughter in Cuba that he hasn't seen in over 30 years. They were talking until 11 at night and then he had to drive back to his home so he didn't get home until 1. Then his car broke down on the way to church...and then his "back up car" wouldn't start. So, understandably, he almost didn't come to church. He walked in his house to call us when he saw the Book of Mormon on his table. Instead of calling us, he called his friend and borrowed a car and came to church. He loved it! He has a date for the 29th. 

Also, the coolest thing happened on Friday. I got a text from Jennifer back in West Palm: "Sister Scadden! I want to tell you that my brother is 21 years old and is getting baptized on the 23rd. I am so happy! Have a good day!" I am SOOOOOOO happy. Jennifer's brother lives in New York. Recent Converts that love missionary work are the bomb! 

My title this week is in honor of my aunt Kristin, who is having twins!!!! It's what she gets! Congrats Kristin and Seth!  I'm so excited for my grandparents who will now have 2 sets of twin grands.

Love you all! Have a good week!

-Sister Bren Scadden

Note from Mom:  I have no idea the story behind some of these pictures.  They were random shots she sent.  The phone is self explanatory but the other two notes are "interesting".  Maybe Hermana Scadden will explain them when she returns home in....12 months!



Heeeelllllooooo my people!
How are you all doing?

This week was pretty boring and I'm searching for things to share. 

Sis. Bradley is still a boss and basically the reason I'm alive.

We made shirts for our P-day activity last week and I realized that is definitely a skill I developed during polo. So many spray paint shirts. 

Honestly, this week was pretty hard. We spent a lot of time knocking and hardly got into houses. The ward we are working with right now has very different struggles than the one in West Palm and so we've been trying to do more member work. Almost every single time it was a heart breaker. We stopped by an older Cuban man, named Bernardo, and he was so happy to see us. He talked for a little bit, but was very conscious that we had to leave...like he was grateful for every minute we were "giving up" for him. He was very calm and almost resigned to it, but he said "It is so good to see you. The family members I live with here don't talk to me. But it was really good. Two weeks ago I got a five minute phone call from Brother Jimenez (a ward member)." My whole life, I have wanted to do humanitarian work and serve. I finally understood during that moment that there is so much we can do just around us. Even small, five minute phone calls make someone's day....someone's two weeks. Being a missionary has made me realize the kind of member and the kind of person I want to be. 

We also went to Mia's house for dinner this week. Sylvia was there with her son, Matthew. This child is the best behaved 2 year old I've EVER met. He is so calm...he sat through all of Sacrament meeting without any problems. Anyway, I was helping him figure out one of his toys before we left and he kept calling me mama (that's what he calls all girls). It hurt really bad to watch this little boy and know his real mom was in the back room making drug deals. I've thought a lot this week about how we really are living in the last days and the attacks come from so many different directions. No one is immune it and everyone faces such deep problems that those around them don't know about. That is why the little acts matter so much. We just have to do the best we can in whatever situation we face. In the end, we answer to God. No one else. 

This week, I am extremely grateful for the knowledge that God knows our individual situations and what he truly cares about is our motivations. 

Also, it is really weird that school is starting up again because I feel like people were talking about the end of school two days ago. I hope you all have an awesome week! And for those of you starting school again... I'm sorry. 

I love you tons and miss you. 

-Sister Bren Scadden

P.S. Also, the title is because of the picture I will send. 

I really don't know how to put this week into words. Every Sunday, we account to our leaders about numbers to keep track of what we are doing from day to day and make sure that we are balanced. Our numbers this week, quite frankly, sucked. Of the 13 numbers we account on, 7 were 0s.  I've never had a better week on my mission. It has been hands down one of the greatest weeks of my life.

On Tuesday we visited Hermana Sanchez, a less active from Nicaragua and probably one of the coolest people I've meet. Her family goes to church, but she doesn't because she smokes every once and a while and feels guilty for it. She taught us how to make bread from El Salvador (where her husband is from) and it is delicious. I wrote down the recipe and will make this bread for the rest of my life. (And improve my skills in separating eggs while doing it. haha.) She talked about "her missionary" and the impact he had on the life of her family, as well as the impact of a member family in our ward that has become so close they are almost like the same family. We almost always see them together. It was really cool to talk to her about her conversion and have an instant connection with someone. Something I really like about this ward is it is full of sarcastic Spanish speakers. ;) haha. She also made us drink like 5 classes of Cacau, which can best be described as chocolate milk, but it's not. It is SUPER good. Look and see if Utah has Abuelita's hot chocolate and make some of it. Cacau is like a cold version of that. Try it. Your life will be changed for the better. 

On Wednesday we spent a lot of time knocking and we also followed up with a Former. When we walked in, she was in a panic because her glass eye was shifted and uncomfortable. So she ushered us into the living room and then fussed over her eye. Then we just hear a shout and she goes "Oh no, Oh no. My eye. My eye is out! Oh my goodness, you have to help me!" So long story short Sis. Bradley put her glass eye back into her socket while the woman's father, who has Alzheimers, wondered around complaining that he couldn't find his shoes (which he isn't allowed to wear by doctor's orders.) So yeah. I was biting my tongue soooo hard because I just wanted to fall on the floor laughing. Any time is a time for missionaries, yeah? 

Thursday was Carter and Taylor's birthday and I thought about them all week! Happy birthday guys! I cannot believe you are 16 now. That is so weird to me. But I hope you are making good choices and know how much I love you!

Also on Thursday we knocked into an Arab who was super cool and talked about how much better the world would be if religions learned that we are actually quite similar and stopper fighting. We said a prayer with him and then he prayed for us in Arabic. Super cool. 

Friday we had some experiences that I can't really put into words or describe, but I learned even deeper lessons about the atonement this week and yeah...guys, I really don't know how to put this in words. 

On Saturday and Sunday we visited more people and knocked a lot more. We knocked about 14 hours in 3 days, and only said 3 prayers that entire time. Of those three prayers, 1 was with someone that has a mental disorder and the other 2 just wanted to fight. We followed up with formers, met with LAs and asked for referrals at every door, met with members and asked for referrals, tried to teach every time we got a chance, and started meeting with part member families. Looking at our numbers, Sister Bradley and I should be upset and disappointed. But I have never, ever, felt more like a representative of Jesus Christ than I have this week. I have never felt the spirit stronger or more consistently than I have this week. I know that Sister Bradley and I were where we needed to be every part of the day this week. We worked hard but smart and loved these people. 

Sorry, this email doesn't begin to explain the week I had this week. But it was so good. I love you guys and hope you have an awesome week! Weird, but my 6 month mark is tomorrow. I'll be home so soon!  

-Sister Bren Scadden