January 25, 2016 Brainwashed! All of ya, completely brainwashed!

Kære Familie,

Ok ok ok. I thought actually a bunch about what I wanted to share this week. The main story was going to be about this funny bus ride where while I was chatting with a friendly Danish girl, Ældste Bishopp was preaching, Book of Mormon in hand, to a group of Muslim guys on the other side of the bus about prophets. Just know that happened haha.

Instead what I think I'll tell is a story about why the church is a blessing and how it doesn't matter what anyone thinks or says because it is a blessing, no matter what.

Church yesterday was fantastic! It was ward conference and I got to see a bunch of great families that I knew from Aalborg who came down for their stake duties. Then after the meetings everyone had lunch together and just had an awesome time. While I was sitting eating food, an adorable 3 year old girl came up to me and started throwing a ball back and forth with me and then ran off to get more of her toys to play with me. It was so cute and sweet! So just a day of smiles, great talks, tons of fun. I love going to church now, I look forward to it a lot!

But...  

While going home from church, not even five minutes after we left the building, we had this guy shout at us from his doorstep, basically just spitting out his words, "Brainwashed, you're completely brainwashed all of you!" Unfortunately, I heard him loud and clear and turned around and said, "What?" Where he then blurted out the same thing. I was fuming, but I held it in and just said, "Ok, good day" and kept walking. That's what he thought about our church and that's not the first time a drunk Danish guy has said I'm brainwashed. Ridiculous right? Brainwashed to do what?

So the lesson is basically this, maybe we are brainwashed, I don't know, everybody is brainwashed in a way to believe something even if that belief is to believe in nothing.  At least, the very least, in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we are "brainwashed" to love our families, love our friends, love God and Jesus Christ, and show up on Sundays with our family and friends on to feel that love and learn how to increase that. I don't think that is so bad. We are so blessed in the church to have the relationships we have with so many other human beings around us! We are so blessed to learn how we should treat the people we care about whether or not they're in the church! In conclusion, go to church, love the people there, and don't care what anybody thinks!

I love you guys so much, I hope you know that :) I thinks it's awesome hearing about your adventures back at home, makes me smile. Cole and Ike going to a salon like a couple sissies haha ;)

Ældste McBride

P.S. I'll try and get a couple copies of the magazine home to y'all! I also have to buy some shoes soon so just know that if you see some money come out of the account! Love ya!

January 18, 2016 Beverly Hills, Thats Where I Want to Be!

Dear family,

I could be a tiny little bit famous...but more on that later. (gotta build that suspense right?)

Unfortunately, no nothing more with the story from last week, but that's just how it is. This week was actually really tough but it ended on a good high note! Elder Bishopp and I looked a lot last week at what our area needs and what it really needs is some people to teach, so we set our goals accordingly with just lots of time to go out and talk to people. Monday and Tuesday started and we're feeling pretty good, doing ok having some solid conversations, even met a South African girl on the bus who seemed really interested! Then Wednesday morning I woke up feeling kinda sick after district meeting and so at lunch I decided to just throw up and get it over with. So I did that and felt a little better. Then after a while I was just feeling way light headed so we went home and I slept all through dinner and then we went and took care of some things we had to and then as soon as we got home I went straight to bed. Luckily by the next day I was feeling better, but that wasn't so fun.

Now for the actually awesome story. Sunday, Sundays are great days. Church just refreshes me and it's even better now because I have so many awesome friends here in Århus now! So we're out it is 8:50 at night which sometimes feels like you're just taking an obedience walk because there is not so many people out, and by then it has been dark for over 4 hours haha but we see this girl and start talking to her. It starts out pretty normal and then she says "Hey I just read about you guys!" really excitedly, so we respond with "Mormons? No way? Where?" and she says, "Ya yesterday I saw that artikel about you *pointing at me*!"...So a few months ago Ældste Vance and I while on splits were approached excitedly by this guy who lived in the states, knows about Mormons, and works for a magazine here in Århus. He brought us to his office where he set us up an interview with one of the journalists! So Ældste Vance and I, a couple weeks later, got interviewed, had pictures of us taken, and even contacted with a photagrapher! The artikel is pretty positive and it's published in a free magazine that is in shops and the train station and stuff every couple months! It's pretty cool I won't lie.

Mom and Dad both your jobs sound pretty fun! I am a very proud son that helped train his father well enough to hit a goalie shot through 5 defenders.  That was a lot of long, rough games through all hours of the night, but I'm happy it all payed off! Mom I don't know what any of the decoration stuff means really, but it sounds like a ton of work based on the help you called in. Wow! Great job!

I love you all!

Med Kærlig Hilsen

Ældste McBride

Max looking pretty amazing in the cool Danish Chapel!

The Cover including the "Mormon" Headline

January 11, 2016 Hello Family!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLE!!!! 13 years old! Wow!! Way to make it that far! It was like 11:00 at night and I was laying in bed on the 9th and then I remembered it was your birthday so I'm not a bad big bro, just a little slow! But "Happy Birthday Cole" was said all the way over here in Denmark on the right day and everything! You're awesome I love you!

Today is transfer day! The only missionary who left Århus was Ældste Bradshaw. It was kinda sad.  Me and him have become awesome friends over the past 5 months and have made so many awesome memories! (Shout out to Papa Bradshaw! He says you read lots of blogs. You have an awesome son!)  He's going to Slagelse on Sjælland.  In his place we got Ældste Curtis and it's been my job to show him around today because Ældste Vance is pretty sick!  He is really tall and from Alpine, UT!  Seems like a really awesome guy, it will be a fun transfer!  I'm really excited to stay in Århus for another one!  That means half a year hear!  It's been a ton of fun especially lately because we've become such good friends with the members here.  That just makes everything way more fun :)

Now for a fun story. Elder McBride gets on a bus. While getting on he makes eye contact with this girl, they both smile, then a look of confusion crosses the girl's face. Elder McBride sits down and the girl keeps glancing at him. Rewind 8 months, May 5th (maybe 4th or 6th but I'm pretty sure 5th) Elder McBride gets on a train with all his suitcases heading to the city of Ålborg. Being a chatty guy, very excited about Denmark, and wanting to practice his MTC Danish on living, breathing people he starts talking to the people around him. They're all very nice and entertained by this American kid trying to speak their language! Fast forward 8 months to the bus in Århus, Elder McBride stands up, walks over by her and says in Danish "You look very familiar, do we know each other?" She responds with "Yes we met one time a long time ago in a train. I think you had barely gotten to Denmark." Woooooaaaaaaahhhh! They start talking, get off at the same stop, exchange phone numbers, and try and plan a time that she can come see the church building. Elder McBride walks away with his companion, Elder Bishopp, and does a subtle fist pump, 8 month contact complete!

I hope you liked my attempt to creatively write that story! It was pretty epic that we recognized each other from that long ago and way more fun that this time it actually went somewhere hahaha good experience! 

Well I love you all a lot, especially you today Cole!!

Med Kærlig Hilsen

Ældste McBride

Oh and one more thing! The Kearsley Family who had us over for Christmas is planning a big trip to the US in 2017 and I volunteered our house as a stop. I'm letting you know because sometimes Danes think Americans say things like "Oh you can visit and stay with us" but that we don't really mean it, but I meant it so I figured I should let Mom know haha :) Love ya!

January 4, 2016 2016!!!

Hey guess what? Ok I can't wait I'll just tell you...Danes go crazy for New Years!  For a certain period of time around New Years its allowed to buy giant fireworks, like real legit ones, and everybody sets them off! From like 10pm til 1 am we could just hear rolling thunder as the fireworks went off forever. It was way sweet! We put all our beds together in the living room so we could look out the glass door and see all of the sweet fireworks! So so so so awesome! Just watching like professional sized fireworks go off literally above your head is a blast!

This week I also got the chance to go on splits with elder Lee in Horsens! We crushed it! it was a ton of fun because now we could both communicate with people and just had soooooo much more experience.  I've been in the land 3 times longer now than when I first showed up in Odense! We had a bomb day and then pretty late at night we met this awesome 20 something year old Dane and had just an awesome conversation with him that led him to being crazy interested and even asking questions like, "If I became a Mormon would..." or "How would I become a missionary?" He is so ready and the best news is that when Ældste Lee texted him the next day he responded immediately by asking where and when they could meet! I think he could go all the way! So awesome to be a part of that! I also got in contact with J___ again, the guy from England, and I still have high hopes for him! Good stuff good stuff! We even got in contact with this less active girl from Azerbajan (google that haha)

Well I hope you all have an awesome New Year! What are your resolutions? Any good ones? Did you get the temple names I sent you? I love you!!

MKH

Ældste McBride

p.s. Mom I don't remember if I told you but I gave the Believe banner you sent to Fam Kearsley for Christmas and when they opened the package and figured out what it was, one of the teenage girls was like awww I want to hang it in my room. So you're international now, Momma, way to go!