Week 27: I Believe

Hey! 

Wow, what a quick week. I really don't have much to report on this week (again), but everything is going well here in Sullana. The heat here is kind of out control right now. I can remember some hot summers back home in Utah, but it's a whole different story when you're out walking in it all day long. I believe I actually got some kind of heat rash this week where I broke out in hives for a few days, so yeah, that was fun hehe. But yeah, the work continues! We like to say out here that this is a man's mission, and not for the faint of heart. I definitely find that to be true. That is exactly what I like about the mission: the challenges and hard things we get to overcome to make us better and stronger. That's the way of life!!

As far as the work, it is going really well. However we have struggled getting people to come to church. We teach a lot of first lessons to people and get them to commit to coming, but it's rare that they actually show up. That's something we are really going to focus on this week. 

We do have a baptism this coming week! We will be baptizing Jefry, the son of our bishop. He's 23, and we have been working with him ever since I came to Sullana. He has been taught for a super long time by missionaries, and now feels like he is finally ready for baptism. I'm super excited for that.

Well I really dont have any more to report on this week, nor time to write in more detail. Im really sorry for the lackluster email. Ill try to do better next week. I know this gospel is true and that this is the work of the Lord! I want to end with the lyrics to How Firm a Foundation that my mom sent me a few weeks back. I absolutely love the message they contain.

1. 1. How firm a foundation, ye Saints of the Lord,
   Is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
   What more can he say than to you he hath said,
   Who unto the Savior, who unto the Savior,
   Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?
2. 2. In ev’ry condition—in sickness, in health,
   In poverty’s vale or abounding in wealth,
   At home or abroad, on the land or the sea—
   As thy days may demand, as thy days may demand,
   As thy days may demand, so thy succor shall be.
3. 3. Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
   For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
   I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
   Upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous,
   Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
4. 4. When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
   The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o’erflow,
   For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
   And sanctify to thee, and sanctify to thee,
   And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
5. 5. When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
   My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.
   The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
   Thy dross to consume, thy dross to consume,
   Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
6. 6. E’en down to old age, all my people shall prove
   My sov’reign, eternal, unchangeable love;
   And then, when gray hair shall their temples adorn,
   Like lambs shall they still, like lambs shall they still,
   Like lambs shall they still in my bosom be borne.
7. 7. The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
   I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
   That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
   I’ll never, no never, I’ll never, no never,
   I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!

Avanza su Verdad!

Elder Bailey

Week 26

Hello friends and fam!! :) 

Another quick week has flown by out here. I honestly dont have much of anything specific to update you on this week, but we are still working pretty hard out here to bring to pass the Lords work here in Peru.

On Tuesday we were able to watch the broadcast from Pres. Nelson as it was announced that he had been called as the new prophet. As I was watching and listening, I felt so strongly that this is the Lords church, and He is leading and directing us today through His servants the prophets. The Spirit spoke to me that President Russell M. Nelson truly is a prophet here in these last days, the same as every church president that preceeded him. Im so grateful for the opportunity I have to be apart of this church that is guided by a living prophet and 12 apostles of the Lord. I think we as members of the church take it for granted sometimes that we have a living prophet and twelve apostles here on the Earth today. They can directly recieve the word and will of the Lord. We should be diligently studying their words and counsels everyday!!

As far as our work goes, we are trying to find new people everyday to teach. Elder Huarcaya and I keep saying that we are looking for our next "Mercedes". I dont know if you remember, but Mercedes is the girl that we baptized about 3 or 4 weeks back. She is so awesome. She has continued to progress and has become an extremely stong member in our ward (something this ward desperately needs). Everytime we visit her, she has lots of questions about her reading in the Book of Mormon, and about the church in general. It has been so cool to see her progress from when we first knocked on her door, to her baptism, to now. She has also shown interest in leaving on a mission in the next year or two which is great. When I left on my mission, I always had this perfect scenario in my mind of finding someone, teaching them the gospel, baptizing them, and then having them progress to serve a full-time mission to teach others. Maybe this dream of mine will come true with Mercedes! ;) Man is she awesome.

Yesterday we started teaching two cousins of Aaron (12 year old that we baptized), and his little brother Josmel. It was so fun to sit with the 4 of them, all young kids, and teach them the message of the restored gospel. They all listened super closely, and had lots of questions. We made sure to teach them in a way that they could understand. We explained to them that the priesthood is kind of like super powers, and with it we can do all things haha. Its always really fun to teach little kids here. They seem to accept and understand things that the adults that we teach cant. Just like it says in the scriptures.

Well thats about it for my week! We are cooking out here everyday in the heat, but we are always trying to keep a smile on our face. Missionary work isnt easy, but it is worth it. When I am struggling to find motivation to face the day, I often think of the words of my grandpa Bailey: "There are 3 keys to success: Work, work, and work!" Those wise words always keep me going. We always need to remember that if we want success in life, it is going to require some work. :)

Tengo mucho amor para todo ustedes! Hasta la proxima semana :)

Elder Bailey

Week 25: Más Bautismos

Hello Everyone!

I hope all is well and that you all had a great week. We had a pretty long, but good week here in Sullana. Lots of walkin and talkin in the hot sun. You really can’t escape the heat out here! I hope you are all enjoying your cold weather back in Utah right now. I really miss it, lol. Everything was worth it though, as we had 3 baptisms this week! Once again, not everything went according to plan, but hey, we had 3 baptisms! :)

On Tuesday, we started teaching a man named Larri. He is a reference from a member and he attended church the week before. Larri is super cool, humble, and he expressed his desires to us to follow the will of God in his life. We shared with him the message of the Restoration, and really focused on the fact that God is our loving Heavenly Father. We shared with him how God has loved us enough to once again bring back his true church and this time in fullness. Larri had a ton of questions, and was really interested in the quorum of the 12 apostles that we have today. As we were sitting there teaching Larri, I saw so much potential in him, I knew that if he continues to look for answers about the church and continue to progress, he will find that these things are true. I really feel like if he gets baptized, he could be a great leader and example in this ward. We will see what happens with him.

On Wednesday we were knocking doors after lunch when we found Norma and her little 10 year old daughter Ariana. When we knocked on their door, little Ariana opened the door and was super excited. She immediately yelled to her mom, “The Mormons are here!” She then said something that really hit me hard. She said “I always see you guys walking by here but you have never knocked on my door.” It made me realize how many people I have passed by without stopping to share what message we have. Obviously we can’t knock on every door, but as missionaries we have to be cautious on how we use our time, and never pass up on any moment to preach the gospel. We never know who has been waiting to hear the message of the restored gospel. In this moment it was little Ariana and her mom that were waiting on us. They gladly accepted everything we taught, and I’m excited to teach them again. One thing that I thought was super funny was that Ariana seriously could not figure out why I had white skin and blue eyes. She kept asking her mom things like “Why does he look like that??” “Why is he so different?” “Why is his hair so white?” Sometimes I forget how much I stick out around here, lol. 

On Saturday we had baptisms! We baptized a lady named Mirna, and her 12 year old daughter Bianca, and also another young 12 year old that we have been teaching named Aaron. Aaron in particular, was a special baptism for me. This kid is so awesome. He is one of my best buddies ever. He is really shy but has such a strong spirit, and a desire to follow Christ. I have really bonded with him and it was so special for me to be able to baptize him. I see a lot of potential in him and I can see him being a great leader and member of the church. I’m super happy for him. 

I also baptized Bianca… 4 times haha. The first time I went to baptize her, she forgot to plug her nose, so when I put her under the water she took in some water and panicked. She flailed all over the place and splashed all the members sitting on the first few benches of the room. I don’t think they realized they were in the splash-zone. She freaked out after that and ran out of the font. She didn’t completely submerse, so we gad to convince her to come back and try it again. After 3 more tries, we finally submersed her. It wasn’t the prettiest baptism or baptismal service, but hey we baptized 3 people. Any day you baptize three souls into the church of Christ it is a good day. :) Baptisms are always special.

Well that was my quick week! I’m sorry I’m not the best at writing and reporting these things that happen. I feel like Moroni in my weakness of writing. Maybe one day I’ll write as good of letters as my brother did on his mission haha. I love and miss you all and hope you have a good week! :) If you ever need anything or have a question for me feel free to shoot me an email! I’ll try to respond as fast as I can.:)

Hasta Luego,

Elder Bailey

Week 24 - Transfers

Hey!

How’s everyone doing? Another really quick week out here. I don’t really have much to report on, but everything is going good! This week was transfers, and I am staying put with Elder Huarcaya for at least another 6 weeks to finish his training. I’m super sad, though, because Elder Bayona is leaving Sullana! We have spent 4 1/2 months together and he has been like my big brother throughout my time in the mission. He is headed for Castilla to be a zone leader. Man, I love that guy! It’s amazing how close we have gotten! He will be great as a ZL.

Everything else here in my area is going great. We have a lot of investigators that are working towards baptism! We were going to have another baptism this week, but Hermana Juan had some personal issues with his family, and had to go to Piura on Friday last minute. It was kind of a bummer, but I’m sure he will get baptized in the next few weeks. :)

Something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately is how lucky I am to be a missionary at this time. It is the coolest feeling in the world to walk down the streets of Peru with the name of Christ on my chest, and his word in my hand. Everyday I feel such a great responsibility to help every single person in this area come unto Christ. It’s a little bit overwhelming at times, but I know that God has prepared the hearts of people to receive His restored Gospel, and the blessings it brings. I’m so grateful for my mission and the blessings and changes it has brought to my life. :)

Sorry I don’t have more time to write! I’ll try to do better next week. I love you all! 

¡Avanza Su Verdad!

Elder Bailey #TakeNote