Week 5: Vamos a Piura

Hey everyone!

Week 5 is now over. The next time I email I will be in the field. Crazy. I’m not sure when exactly that will be, but it will be from Piura. I can’t believe my stay here at the CCM is almost over. It feels like we were just barely unpacking our suitcases. Anyway, this week was super good with a ton of funny things that happened so I’ll just jump right into it.

Let me just start out by giving my boy Elder Ray a shoutout for downing 25 pieces of toast at breakfast on Monday which is a new CCM record. It took all he had but I didn’t expect anything less from Mr. Ray. I’m sure the record will stand for quite a while. Good times. 

It’s weird that we’re going to be leaving in a few days because the CCM has become our home. I’ve gotten really used to the schedule and all the people here. I’m going to miss so many people but especially my district. Only me and Elder Kirkland are going to Piura out of the eight that makes up our district so I may never see some of them again. I do know that some of them have talked about BYU after their missions so maybe I’ll see them there. That would be fun. I’m really going to miss all the funny pranks and stuff we do here. One of the highlights of my week was running down the halls of the dorms on Sunday night yelling to everyone that Conner McGregor had knocked out Floyd Mayweather. As soon as I did this there was like 60 heads that immediately popped out of all the dorms. I tried to act like I was serious but I couldn’t help myself from laughing after seeing all the chaos I caused. It was the funniest thing ever. It’s so weird how the only source of information here comes in emails from home only once a week. I guess that can be a cool thing though because we are free from the distractions of the world here. It helps us focus on the work. 

On Saturday we had our proselyting activity. To summarize, let me quote the wise words of Elder Ray, “Man that was the worst thing ever, but I want a lot more of it.” For most of us, it was a really tough, yet good experience. We all met in the Stake Center chapel which is right next door to the CCM. There we met a bunch of missionaries from the Lima East Mission and paired up with them. Me and Elder Webb were put with an elder from Chile, who knew no English. We headed out right away and got on a series of buses that were packed like sardines and heading up the mountain into what is nicknamed the “Land of Desolation”. I had never before seen anything like this place. There was garbage everywhere, and most people had just little shacks as houses. It was a super humbling experience as I got my first taste of what my mission will mostly be like. I felt like I had somewhat prepared myself mentally for the poverty I would see here in Peru, but I hadn’t enough. We went around in our little trio to each house to see who would hear our message. I was amazed to see how persistent the Chilean elder was. He would literally do anything he could to get people to answer the door. He would literally find the cracks in the doors and windows and would yell inside the house to get someone to come open the door. It was super funny, but it made me super uncomfortable and made me realize how different the South American culture is. Once we would get someone to open up to us, the Chilean Elder would do most of the work and would share a brief message about Christ and would try to schedule time for us to come back. Then he would turn to me and Elder Webb and told us to bear our testimonies to these strangers. We did the best we could, and then we would say a prayer. 

This was such a crazy experience. I have never felt so dumb and unintelligent in my life. But I know the Lord was with me every second of the way. It’s ironic because even though I have never been so unsure of the grammar and pronunciation of what I was speaking, I have never been so sure of the things that I was bearing testimony of. The Lord works in mysterious ways and we just need to submit to His will and plan, as I have said before. Even though I was a little discouraged with things after this activity, I knew that I had learned a lot, and my own testimony was strengthened. I’m super excited to get out to my mission and change the lives of others. I know it won’t be easy, for nothing of worth EVER comes easy. But I know that it’ll be worth it to bring the joy of the gospel to others.

I hope everyone had a great week and I’ll talk to you soon! Like I said earlier, I’m not exactly sure when I’ll email next, so I’m sorry if it takes some time to respond to your emails. 

Gracias!!

Elder Bailey

Week 4:¿Puedo hablar en Ingles?

Hey Everyone!

I hope everything is going great back home. I can’t believe that it’s already P-Day again. Time is flyin. All is well here in el CCM. All of the new elders have arrived and there are a TON of them. Apparently this is one of the biggest groups that they have ever had. I believe that there are over 50 new gringos and 40 or so Latinos. So, needless to say, things have been pretty crazy. We have to wait quite a while now for meals which isn’t the best, but there are some pretty cool guys in this new group. We got two Latinos in the room across from us: Elder DeLeon from Mexico and Elder Nabarrete from Equador. They are super awesome. Elder DeLeon is the best soccer player I have ever seen. He is going to play professionally in Mexico after his mission. You could say we make quite the dynamic duo on the soccer pitch. ;) One of the best parts of my mission so far has been all of the people I have been able to meet. Everyone is from somewhere different and all bring unique cultures and stories. It’s awesome. The cool part is we all are united with one purpose: to invite others to come unto Christ.

Spanish is really coming along. It’s getting easier each week to speak and to understand. We now teach two mock investigators every day. At first, we started with one lesson a day for about 5-10 minutes but now we are having a hard time fitting in all that we want to say in 20 minutes. Our grammar is still a little shaky, but we can say anything we want. At least when talking about the gospel. So it’s been nice to see improvement in that aspect. We have our proselyting activity on Saturday where we go on splits with the missionaries from the Lima East Mission and go talk to the people on the street and teach lessons. I’m pretty excited yet nervous to get my first taste of the mission field. It’ll be a good experience. 

Well, I don’t have a ton to write about this week so I’ll close with a few quick thoughts from a talk by Elder Bednar. He said that having a testimony of the Gospel is only the first step, and that we need to obtain “true conversion”. And when we obtain true conversion, we will never fall away. He said that we cannot base our conversion on the exterior like people or things, but that it must be a very personal conversion to the Lord. Are we continually exercising our faith every day? Are we trying to know more today than we did yesterday? I promise as we continually show effort to the Lord, we can come closer to true conversion, and we will never fall away.

In this talk, Elder Bednar also issued a challenge. He challenged everyone listening to buy a cheap paperback copy of the Book of Mormon, and to write one question in one of the front blank pages, and to read through the entire book with your question in mind. He also said to mark and highlight the answers you find. I’m going to accept this challenge from Elder Bednar and I invite you to do the same. I know this can be a great way to receive an answer to a question.

I will talk to you all next week! Life is good. The gospel is true. 

Elder Bailey

Week 3: Halfway There!

¿Qué tal?

How is everyone doing? I hope everyone had an awesome week. I am officially halfway done with my stay here at the CCM. It’s weird how time can pass so fast but feel so slow at the same time. I’ll be in the field in no time.

Because it is now week three, the older groups called “avanzados” (or “avocados” as we like to call them) will be heading out to their respective missions tonight. It’s going to be tough saying goodbye to a lot of them because we’ve all gotten pretty close over the last three weeks. I’m especially going to miss Elder Christensen and Elder Goddard. I knew them back home and they’ve helped me out a lot with my first few weeks. They’re studs and will kill it in their missions. I’m also going to miss Elder Cruz and Garzon from the Latino districts. They were like my brothers. I gave them some of my favorite floral ties because all the Latinos want those. So basically, when we wake up in the morning the old “avocados” will be gone and new Elders will be arriving. I remember how much I looked up to the Elders who were already three weeks in and it’s weird that I will be one of those “experienced” Elders. I look forward to meeting the new Elders and hopefully I can help them out and show them the ropes. 

This week I was made a district leader. I’m super excited to have the opportunity to help lead my district for the next three weeks. We have eight Elders in my district and they have been my family here at the CCM. We’ve all grown and learned so much together. They’re all awesome and we do everything together. Needless to say we’ve all been working super hard to learn Spanish and to be the best missionaries possible. 

We have learned, and me especially, that great things take time. Learning and speaking Spanish has been a lot more of a challenge than I thought it would be. I don’t know if I came into the CCM with too much pride or what, but it has been a very humbling experience so far. Everybody talked a lot about the “don do lenguas” which is the gift of tongues, and how amazing it is and how they could see it in their lives. And to be honest, in my first two weeks I didn’t know if it was working for me. I was getting frustrated because I didn’t feel like I was learning fast enough, and we were expected to do things like teach mock investigators even though we hardly knew Spanish. A lot of times it was a big struggle. I thought maybe there was something wrong with me. But looking back, even just a week or two in hindsight, I can see that sometimes we need to struggle and fall. I’ve found that like Moroni says, we don’t receive a witness until AFTER the trial of our faith. When we want something from God, we need to be willing to work hard and struggle to achieve that thing. For me, it was believing in the gift of tongues and having the faith to act, and to do what was necessary to obtain the Gift. We demonstrate our faith in the Lord by acting and doing what He would have us do. As I have worked hard and have been obedient to the work, I have seen the Gift of Tongues begin to be realized. I had several mock lessons this week where I was able to clearly speak what I needed to, and the spirit was there very strongly as well. It was awesome. I know that I still have a long way to go in seeking this gift but if I put my trust in the Lord and continue to do His will, all will be well. I challenge everyone reading this to re-evaluate your relationship with your Heavenly Father and to ask yourself how you can better trust in Him and His plan. And to remember, sometimes we need to struggle. His plan has always required it. 

Well, I hope you all had a great week! I miss and love you all a ton! I’ll talk to y’all next week. Also I’m super sorry if I don’t get back to you with some of your emails. They only give us a little time to write each week. I’m sure I’ll have more time in the mission field. Just know that I appreciate all the support!!

Hasta Luego,

Elder Bailey

Week 2: Small and Simple Things

Hey Everyone!

Another week down here at the CCM. Hope you are all doing well. Everything is going great here in Peru. We didn’t have an incredibly eventful week in terms of variety. Mostly just Spanish classes. So, I thought I would explain a little more about the CCM and what goes on around here, as well as a cool experience I had. 

So the CCM is really nice. A lot nicer than I thought it would be. Maybe I think it is nicer than it actually is, just after seeing what the rest of Lima looks like. Nonetheless it’s nice and it’s starting to feel like home. Anyways, there are three buildings that make up the CCM: one for dorms and classes, one for the cafeteria and chapel, and one for offices. So it is pretty small and simple. Everything here is in Spanish. All the books, lessons, and prayers. The only thing in the entire CCM that is in English are the backboards on the basketball hoops that read: “NO DUNKING”. Now the only reason I can figure out why it’s in English is because nobody needs to worry about the latinos dunking, considering I haven’t met one above 5’6” lol. But where they lack in height, they make up for in their soccer skills. 

The food here is really different but I’ve really come to like it. Lunches and dinners consist of rice and meat, along with a soup. It sounds bland, but it’s much better than you would think. Breakfast however, is usually just an egg or a piece of lunchmeat, but they have a bin where you can get as much bread as you want. So I probably eat about half a loaf of bread each morning. It’s great. 

Spanish classes are in the morning and night, with our physical activity time in the afternoon. Activity time is the best time of the day. I usually play soccer with latinos, even thought I’m terrible compared to them. I swear a few of them could go pro. It’s super fun though and I’m getting better. The latinos are super funny and awesome. They all want me to teach them how to workout and how to play football. They’re some of my best friends already. They’re the best.

I want to share a pretty cool experience that happened on Monday. We had to wake up at 4:30 on Monday morning to go to what is called “Interpol”. Basically you go into downtown Lima and stand in a crowded line for 6 hours to get fingerprinted and to submit information for our visas. As we stood in line, we started to talk to the people around us. Me and two other Elders (who know much more Spanish than me) talked to a younger man from Venezuela. We had a pretty casual conversation for awhile but eventually we started to teach him what we were there for and what we believed. We taught him about the Book of Mormon and the message it contains. We gave him a copy and I was then able to share my testimony of the Book he held in his hands. I hope that somehow through my broken Spanish, that man could feel the power and truthfulness of my message. I know what I said was not perfect nor creative Spanish, but it was small and simple, and from my heart. That is what is important. “Behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass.”

I know that this great gospel is true. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God, as it contains the fulness of His gospel. I’m so grateful for the opportunity I have to share these truths with others.

I love you all and hope you have a great week!!

Con Amor,

Elder Bailey

Week 1: So it Begins...

Hello everyone! 

I made it through my first week here at the MTC (CCM) in Lima. Let me just say that it is a whole different world here in Peru. I dont have that much time to write so I will say what I can.

So after I said my goodbyes from the airport, I went to my terminal only to find one of my best friends, Elder Blake Hansen! We were on the same flight from SLC to Atlanta. We were able to sit and talk about his MTC experience for a little. What a tender mercy that was.

We had about a 3 hour layover in Atlanta where we had our last American meal for two years: Arby`s. I swear it was extra good. After that we had the six hour flight to Lima which felt like a million years. But we finally made it. I'll never forget the experience of driving from the airport to the CCM. It was about an hour drive through the streets of Lima to the CCM. I felt like I was on a different planet. There were rundown buildings just squished together and stacked on top of eachother. So many stores and shops everywhere. Crazy.

We finally got to the CCM and it was about 3:30 AM. We got some sleep and then got to work. That day I found out that my companion was going to be Elder Aaron Webb from Layton! We had the same Calculus class back at ol' Layton High. He is awesome and Im so lucky to have him as my companion (at least one of my companions ;)). The next night a few other Elders that didnt make their flights made it to the CCM. One of which is named Elder McEuen. He was put in a trio with me and Elder Webb. He is a really cool guy as well.

So far I really like the CCM. It feels like a prison at times with the big walls and everything and all the rules, but it is a really spiritual and comforting place. Im really beginning to become brothers with my district. They are all studs. Spanish is coming along, but is pretty tough. I thought that I knew a little bit of Spanish before I left, but boy, was I wrong. It's unbelieveable how fast Peruvians talk. But I know if I trust in the Lord and work hard, he will bless me with an understanding of the language.

I want to share a quick experience that I had with one of my teachers. On my second day, I was getting really frustrated with learning Spanish, and trying to teach a lesson in it. My teacher, Hermano Castillo, noticed I was stressed out and pulled me aside. I explained to him that It would be so much easier if I could just speak and teach in English. He told me something I'll never forget. He said, "Elder Bailey, God remebers your face. He knows you. He has a reason why you are here serving in Peru. You just need to find why." That helped me a ton. I testify that God knows all of us and that he has a plan for everyone. I also though of Proverbs 3:5. "Trust in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding."

Sorry they gave us like no time to email. I have so much that I want to say but I can't. I promise these emails will get better when I get to the field! I am doing well.

This is truth, this is salvation, this is it!

Elder Bailey