Photos of CCM District

#1 and  #2 - CCM District at temple

#3-  Tall Building on right where CCM and Mission Presidents live
      (White building on left is CCM)

"A Month gone by" - Week 4

On Jul 31, 2014, at 1:31 PM, Spencer Brady wrote:

Hello everyone!

All is well here! we just got rid of a bunch of missionaries to Puerto Rico, and today we got a whole lot more! We went from 30 missionaries to about 75! We're way packed in here! But it's great! The other day, when we only had about 30 of us, all the teachers and everybody had a big Baseball game in the parking-lot! So much fun! The entire CCM playing dominican ball! Even our President came and watched for a bit! I love my district, love my companion, love my room-mates, love the teachers, I love everything!

We went to the Temple here for the second time today! It was great cause its been closed the past three weeks! Very interesting going through in Spanish! I though things were a bit confusing in English! Ha ha, kidding. Interesting though. I've come to realize, that my experience in the MTC is  a bit different than many others, being so small, and having a temple so close. Its wonderful!

Lats friday, we went contacting at the University again, great experience! Some of the areas look really nice, and some look like it's straight off the set of "The Walking Dead". Dogs with tiny puppies following their mother, walking the street, no biggie... This place rocks! Anyway, Our first contact acted very interested until she found out we had no money, then she just kind of walked away without saying anything... Feeling a bit discouraged, and very confused, we trudged on. Our second contact we ended up talking with for almost an hour and a half! The only reason we stopped is because we all had to go back to the CCM! It was Awesome! We basically just taught them the first lesson, and more! One was really interested, the other knew the Bible well, and didnt even take a pamphlet at the end of the discussion. But they were both SO nice! It was hard, stressful, and also very funny trying to explain things to them in Spanish. During our talk, another missionary from some other church came up, and in his very fast Dominican Spanish, started going off talking about Mormons, and ended up asking me for money. All I could say was "No tengo dinero!" But he kept pressing us. Luckily our new found friends got rid of him for us. Then one of them used my dictionary to look up the word "deceitful" and told us that he doesnt want the money for good reasons, ha ha! But they both saw something in US that made them take over an hour out of their day, and talk to two complete strangers. They just had so many questions! I got a taste of what its like to be in the field. I really hope with all my heart that he calls the number to talk with missionaries that have better spanish. I just hope his friend doesnt influence him not to do so. But we left him with a Book of Mormon, and all we can do is pray for the miracle that he picks the good book up, reads a bit, prays a bit, and calls the number on the back of the pamphlet. But we may have planted a seed that can grow.

Anyway, Things are great! I love you all! And i apologize if my letters are incoherent. We dont have time to proof read ;) But i love reading all your letters, even though i dont have time to reply to them all! Lots of of Love,

Elder Brady

#1- We have way too much fun to be Missionaries!

 #2- One of our teachers, Hermano Martinez, and I. Im a freak. ha ha!

"Week 3"

On Jul 24, 2014, at 1:31 PM, Spencer Brady wrote:

Hey everyone!

Life is great here! Lots of learning, and no time for anything else! ha ha! its great! so hot... i think im just accepting that i will be always sweating for the next two years here. 

We went contacting at the university last Friday, and will do so again tomorrow. It was so much fun! And so scary. Never known what its like to go up to a total stranger who speaks a language you know very little of, and try to share a very important message about Christ. Scary. But so fun! The people here are awesome! so friendly.

My teachers are great. Hermao Ramirez, one of our teachers always says the funniest things. And his answer to everything, especially when we complain about spanish, is "Eso es mental!" He says it all the time, and we say it back. Es Mental!

Yesterday, another one of our Maestros, Hermana Escobores, who is known as the Espanol nazi, because she never speaks english with us, and wont let us speak it in her presence, though always very kind, anyway, she started speaking to us in English, which was weird, cause we had always thought she didnt know any, but only heard rumors of her ability to speak it. Her English is better than mine I swear! No accent, even though she's native Dominican, it was a mind blower for sure! She shared with us her conversion story and her testimony for about an hour because she wanted us to know why we are here to learn spanish. It was an awakening, enlightening, and humbling experience. She told of how her mother prayed and fasted for 9 years that someone would come and be able to teach her daughter the way she needed so that she could come to Christ. And that she and her mother now do the same for the rest of their family, who will need to be taught by someone who can communicate their message in Spanish. Miracles do happen everyday. I have never appreciated the gospel so much. and the blessing of growing up where i did. We meet people that come from all around the Caribbean to receive the blessing of the Santo Domingo Temple. 

The devotionals here are amazing. Usually we watch one from the Apostles at the provo MTC, and they are great, but this week the area president of the Caribbean, elder cornish, gave the devotional and it was so cool! The people who are called to be mission, MTC and Area presidents are truly called by God, and they are so wise. Its awesome! He, his wife, and his 30 yr old down-syndrome son live in the same building as my mission president. His name is reed and he plays Frisbee with us every day. He's so awesome! That building they live in, we call the Great and Spacious Building. Ha ha! Just because its so tall. 

Things are great here! My companion and i are like a super duo! Our whole district gets along very well. Its great! Love you all!

Elder Brady

"Week Two"

On Jul 17, 2014, at 1:21 PM, Spencer Brady wrote:

Dear all,

Wow, it does not seem like it's only been two weeks. Its great here, but it feels like ive been here for two months. However, it also feels like i just left yesterday. Time is an illusion here.

The CCM is great, but in many ways, it's like a minimum security mental institution. The compund is surrounded by a wall, and everything in or out of the gate is sensored and filtered. The workers wear white shirts and a name tag. we're allowed one our of gym time everyday. And we are fed something that calms 35 19 yr old boys while changing our digestion at the same time. Its great though!

We got to go out of the gate for the first time this week. Went shopping! its awesome! the streets are so colorful! and such a contrast between things that are nice and modern, with huge potholes and trash everywhaere. Its wierd. That was the first time i felt like i was in another country. Evrything is so controlled and familiar here in the CCM. Everything but the spanish.

My spanish is coming ok. Its hard, but im learning a ton! Very fun here.

Love my companion! And our room, our foursome and district, is great! we're way close already, and have a lot of fun together.

The teachers are great here! all dominican! All very funny!

Tell Brother Rawson thankyou for the scriptures and thoughts. They were particularly helpful with an investigator that loves to use bilble verses to contradict our message.

Its very fun here. I did a drawing for one of our teachers, and the next day he wrote a poem in english about how great it was he almost cried! ha ha! hes awesome. We play ultimate every day. So hot! We're drenched every time. Love you all! Thanks for your support!

Love,

 Elder Brady

"Halla atcha boyz from the D.R.!" - Week 1

On Jul 10, 2014, at 1:15 PM, Spencer Brady wrote:

Dear all,

Wow. I think my first day here had to have the longest day of my entire life. And it doesnt feel like its only been a week here. Time is strange in the CCM (MTC). It feels like a month has passed since I left. We are sooooo BUSY! I love it though. I really do. Please forward this to anyone and everyone.

 Theres only about 40 missionaries here. My companion is great! Smallish wrestler from Las Vegas with latin blood. Nice kid. His mom is Mexican, so his spanich is so much better than mine. Which is nice, cause he's always willing to teach me. I share a room with Elder Breshears, our district leader, and the biggest gringo from Idaho you'll ever meet. Way funny. His spanish is so terrible, poor guy. He'll come along though. Very funny guy. We keep a list of tthings he'll say we call "breshisms" in our room. Things like; Mucho Lucko! Conjuhardo! and Buenski!. Elder Austil is his companion. Smart kid. real nice too. My companion's name is Elder Orchard. I'm really startin to love these guys! Theres a polynesian fella with us, Elder Kini Kini, I call him Johny Lingo, and he calls me Brady Bunch.

During gym we play Yltimate! the games get serious! no, we just have a lot of fun. And when were done, were drenched with sweat. SO HOT HERE! And ive never experienced humidity like this. My towel is perpetually wet. The staff is great! theyre all dominican, and they are all so darn funny. Hermano Nunez, one of the teachers, plays Ultimate with us and when we're losing, he "Opens the Gate" so he calls it. Im convinced its some kind of access to an astril place of power from on high, cause when he opens the first gate, he goes crazy with the frisby!

Whent to the temple today. So beautiful. The outside is a lot more reddish than any picture you see. It's so unique. There's a little guy about 12 or so, super black, son of our cook shirley, he is so funny! and mean! What a little twerp sometimes, but we love him! Met a bossy little girl while walking around the temple who didnt want us to leave, so she gave us some of her "snow" which was just bits of styrofoam she was playing with. She was So cute!

The food here is great! they feed us well. People werent kidding though... Rice and beans with some kind of meat EVERYDAY! Not bad though, its good food. They decorated the cafateria with a ton of red, white and blue for the Fourth of July! so awesome of them.

The language is coming well. Theyve crammed so much stuff into my head, its crazy. Last night we tought our progressive invesatigator (Hermano Ramirez) for 50 minutes. EN ESPANOL!!!! it went really well too... were learning very fast, and are certainly blessed with the gift of tongues.

Sometimes it gets really hard, but the next moment after you're discouraged, the Lord answers your prayer with great encouragement. This is one of the hardest things ive ever done, and i know it will only get harder. But im glad im here. And i know it will be worth it.

With Love,

Elder Brady

First Note after arrival in D.R.

Well, its like 2 something, and we got here at 1:30. The flights were good. Long, but good. 20 of us came together, but at first it was only 5. Met a guy leaving for home in texas from his mission in SLC. It was nice to talk with him and get some advice. These kids here are great. I can really tell that we're all going to get along. Anyway, Im alive! Got to get up at 6:30. Love you all

Elder Brady

Spencer's M.T.C. District

Elder Brady finally in the D.R.





Spencer and Brother and Sister Freestone, M.T.C. President and wife

"Get ready Santo Domingo...here he comes!"

July 2nd, 2014

     The departure day has arrived! The whole family headed to the airport bright and early to see Spencer off. He will be going directly to the Santo Domingo CCM (MTC), in the D.R.!
     This day has come waaay too fast, and saying good-bye for 2 years was much harder than we thought it would be! So proud of him today, and so very grateful he has this opportunity! He will be GREATLY missed, but there is no better place for him to be!

This crazy bunch sure will miss this kid!

Elder Brady "in uniform"!

Final good-byes! :(