Hi mom,

First off I'm doing alot better this week. Thanks so much for the prayers, I know that they helped. Elder Nelson's visit was great! Except of course the attack and stuff. I did a pretty good job hiding how mozambique really is though right? ha ha This is the worst thing that has happened though so don't worry about it. Ya so basicaly what happened was they were sitting and eating dinner and 4 guys with guns walked in and kicked Elder Nelson in the face. Then Sister Packard tried to run for the door to call for help but one guy grabbed her. He beat her up, broke her arm and while she was on the ground the guy put his gun to the back of her head and told her that he was going to kill her. When the guy turned his back she ran out the door and called for help. She was a real hero. After it all she was so worried that the missionaries would hate the mission and the people. It was really cool to me that even after all that, she still had such love for the people. She is an awesome mission mom for sure. However stuff like that hardly ever happens so don't worry about my safety. We now have a ton of people from the church security place that are going to make everything a lot safer for everyone. Church security is going to look at all the missionaries houses and make sure we are safe.

Another cool thing that happened, well it wasn't so cool to me at the time. But at our district conference with Elder Nelson I was just hanging out looking for our investigators and stuff. Then another missionary came and told me that President Packard was looking for me. So I went and talked to him and he told me that he was putting me in charge of security and I needed to pick 4 other missionaries to help me. He told me he wanted me and another to stand at the door and the other 2 to go to another back entrance. It was pretty freaky that President put me in charge of security for an Apostle!!!!!! I was super nervouse too! cuz when he got up and started speaking he said that the forces of evil were trying to stop him from giving his messiage and I thought "oh crap something is going to happen" but luckily nothing did ha ha! It was really cool though.

It was really a good conference with Elder Nelson. When he walked in the room for the first time you could just feel the spirit and you knew that he was an apostle. Then when he shook my hand I could feel it even more. It was really an amazing experience. I'll look forward to telling you more about it later. In his address to us as missionaries it was really cool. They talked alot about marriage and stuff. Then he gave us an apostolic blessing. In his blessing one thing that really stuck out to me was he said that we would be great missionaries after our missions. It was really cool! While he was giving the blessing you could just feel the power that he had! I was sitting with Elder Spaulding and after we were both just like "did you feel that!" It was a really testimony to me that he really is an apostle of the Lord.

Well these are the highlites from my week. I'll be working with my new comp Elder Depew this week so I'll let you know how it goes with him. He is a way cool kid and I'm sure we will get along great! We couldn't do much teaching because of the conference but it's all good. Anyways I just want you all to know that I'm ok. My health is getting better so there is nothing to worry about. Thanks so much for everything again. I love you and I'm so grateful for you.

Love Brady

Here is what President Packard told us to send to family and friends at home about what happened. Dear Missionary Parents and Friends,

We know our experience of Friday evening has made the news in the US. We’re sorry for the shock and concern that it obviously has caused with so many. We have been particularly concerned about the parents of our missionaries. We want to assure everyone that we are fine, that our missionaries are fine, and that we are moving forward in constructive ways to complete our assignment in the next month.

The news reports from KSL and Deseret News were mostly accurate about the incident. We were just completing dinner in our home when four armed gunmen overpowered our one guard and entered our home. We were threatened verbally and physically. Cindy was roughed up but finally did get away to warn other guards and neighbors who came to our assistance. She suffered a fracture in her left elbow (not the same arm she broke last year). She is sore with other bruises and skinned knees from being accosted. Elder Nelson was accosted as well but he is fine with minimal injury. Throughout the ordeal all commented on how we felt calm and guided in the things that we were prompted to do and not to do. Angels were with us. We are grateful for the unseen help we received. Elder Nelson and his wife, Wendy, are remarkable. At the end of Friday evening, before our guests returned to their hotel, Elder Nelson gathered us for prayer. We knelt in our living room with him as he blessed us all and blessed our mission and all of our missionaries. We continued with a great missionary and district conference weekend. During the meeting with all the missionaries Elder Nelson emphasized that this type of thing happens all over the world. It is not unique to Africa as some might assume. He cited the incident that happened with President Hunter in the Marriot Center with a gunmen many years ago and other incidents in Central and South America. Elder and Sister Nelson left Sunday afternoon on schedule to return to the US. We, and the entire Maputo District and Mozambique Mission, were blessed immensely from their visit, example, and teaching.

Lindy, our 9-year-old daughter, is fine. She and Henriqueta (our home assistant) and her baby boy, Nathan, were all here at the time but were kept safe throughout. Lindy took Nathan and hid in a closet. We have beefed up security at the mission home as a temporary measure and the head of security for our Area arrived in Maputo on Sunday morning and will be here for several days before also traveling to Beira and will evaluate and take steps to further assure the safety of our missionaries and Mission facilities including the Mission home. Petty crime is common here, even burglaries. Home invasions and armed confrontations are not common. We have had one missionary apartment burglarized in recent weeks but have had no other incidents involving missionary apartments in over a year and a half. My feeling is that Elder & Sister Nelson were not specifically targeted or that this was any act against the Church. This was most likely an isolated armed robbery and we happened to be their target this particular night. The fact that we had a rental van parked in front of our house that evening with our guard outside the gate keeping watch may have been a contributing factor. We’re not sure. Our guard that night, Kennedy, although threatened with a gun and roughed up badly and very scared that night, is also fine. Some have speculated whether our guards were involved. They were not. With the Area and Church security personnel we will be reviewing all security and safety procedures and working to make things even more secure and avoid these types of things in the future.

We appreciate your love and concern for us and for your son serving here in Mozambique. We are fine. Thank you for your love and prayers for us and for your missionary son. We have all felt that love and support. With every new missionary who arrived in Mozambique, during orientation and right after talking about health and safety precautions and the need to use common sense in following all these guidelines, we remind them of this promise of the Lord from Doctrine and Covenants 84:88 – “And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.” We are grateful for these blessings. They are real.

With our love from Mozambique,

President & Sister Packard