Week 30 - MIRACLES

Hello everyone!! 

What a week this has been. Honestly I don't even know where to start. I have been transfered to Los Algarrobos in the city of Piura as a district leader!! But more importantly, my new companion is Elder Mason Randall!! I seriously can't believe it. For those of you who dont know, Elder Randall and I have known each other for a really long time, and he is honestly one of my best friends. It is absolutely amazing that we were able to grow up together, play sports together, go to school together, and now be here in this town in Northern Peru together serving the Lord. I definitely feel like this is not a coincidence. I know that it is a miracle and a blessing from the Lord, and I know we have been put here for a reason. I am so excited for this opportunity to serve with Elder Randall and to carry forth this work of the Lord here in Piura. I am so excited for this next chapter of my mission!!

As exciting as this transfer is, my heart is breaking for the people that I have left behind in Sullana. I'm so grateful for the time I was able to spend with the amazing people that I met there. My life has truly been changed from my time and experiences there. Yesterday was honestly one of the saddest days of my life having to leave some of the friends, members, and converts that I had made in Sullana. Im so grateful to my Heavenly Father for placing me there to start my mission. I was able to learn so much and meet so many amazing people. For all my friends reading this from Sullana, I will be returning soon to visit, no worries! :)

I dont have much time to write today, but I just want to share a quick experience that I had this week. Elder Huarcaya and I had gone to shop for some things for our missionary activity in the center of Sullana, when we were walking back through a park. We were just walking through fairly quickly, when I heard someone in almost perfect English (which caught me by surprise) say "are you guys Christians?" I turned around quickly to find an African-looking guy sitting on a bench. I started to talk to him, and he told us that his name was Jack, and he was from Nigeria. Jack turned out to be one of the coolest guys I have ever met in my life. I always remember my brother Alex saying that met and taught a lot of African people on his mission in Sweden, and that they were the kindest and coolest people ever. He was so right. Jack, like I said, is originally from Nigeria, but he travels the world meeting people and looking for different types of work. Right now, he is here in Peru looking to teach English to kids. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Jack speaks Swahili, English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and a little of Italian. The coolest part about Jack was that he told us he is a member of the church! He said that he had met with the missionaries a few years back, and had been baptized into the church. It was so cool to talk with him about the church and about his life. It was such a cool experience to be there with him and realize that I was standing in a street in Peru, having a half English/half Spanish conversation with a Nigerian and an Argentinian. These are experiences and adventures that I could never get anywhere else. The mission has made me realize that there is so much more of the world to see and explore than your own backyard. It is something indescribable. Im super grateful for my mission and for these experiences I am gaining here. I am truly seeing a different part of the world here. I am also starting to feel so much love for all people.

It also hit me hard while we were talking with Jack that the things of this world do not make us happy. I witnessed that day, someone who only had a backpack-worth amount of stuff, the clothes on his back, and a Book of Mormon in his hand, be completely happy and content with life. In fact, Jack seemed to me to be one of the happiest and friendliest people I have ever met. Sometimes we forget what truly makes us happy in this life. I learned a lot from Jack that day. :) 

Matthew 16:26  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

D&C 6:7 Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich. 

I know that this is the work of the Lord! I am loving this mission and the changes it is making in me. I am truly a better person for serving the Lord.

Have a great week!!

Avanza Su Verdad!

Elder Bailey