Week 44

Hey! So not too much to report on this week, but here’s a quick update of a few cool experiences:

On Sunday we had a really awesome experience with our second hour Gospel Principles class that we teach. The class consists of recent converts, investigators, and less active members that we currently visit or have taught. Each Sunday we follow the Gospel Principles lesson manual and usually stick closely to the book and teach from it. However, as we started to get further into the topic of the day which was the atonement, everyone began asking some really great questions and the spirit started to lead us a different direction. Where we started on the atonement, we were led into a deep doctrinal discussion on the commandments, the spirit world, and the vicarious work for the dead. The coolest part of it all was that we stopped being the teachers as all those recent converts and investigators were having the discussion and teaching one another. It was so cool to see the spirit guide us down a different path to where everyone could be involved, edified, and all learn something new. Everyone definitely left that classroom spiritually uplifted and with more knowledge. I feel that every class that we have in the Church should be like the one we had on Sunday. Apart from the sacrament, the main reason we meet together on Sundays is to teach one another and be edified. Each Sunday we should always look for opportunities to teach and help one another progress in the gospel. 

"And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom."  - D&C 88:77

"And this he said unto them, having been commanded of God; and they did walk uprightly before God, imparting to one another both temporally and spiritually according to their needs and their wants." - Mosiah18:29 

This week weren’t able to have Pool’s baptism, but we confirmed it for this upcoming Saturday. He has progressed super well, and it has been so awesome to see the changes the gospel has made in his life. Pool has also expressed an interest in serving a mission. On Sunday, we were walking home from church with him when two guys on the street stopped us and started to question us about the church and our beliefs. One of the guys asked the question if we worship or pray through Joseph Smith. Before I could respond, Pool stepped forward and started explaining our beliefs, saying how Joseph Smith was called as a prophet, just like Moses or Noah, to restore the original church of Christ. Me and Elder Silvano just looked at each other and smiled. It was definitely the first time I’ve had an investigator do our work for us. It was honestly so cool. I remember after our first lesson with Pool, me and Elder Randall talked about how we could see him being a missionary. He definitely could make a great one in a year or two. He is the man. (He also started hitting the gym with us in the mornings too, haha.)

Have a good week! The Church is true. The work continues. 

Avanza Su Verdad!

Elder Bailey

“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” - Ernest Hemingway

Week 43

Lately I’ve been saying how fast the weeks have been passing.  Well, I think I might have jinxed myself.  This week was a bit of a long one.  If there’s one thing that’s always though about transfers, it’s the first week.  It always takes a little bit of adjusting time to get used to a new city, area, ward, or companion.  But despite the new companion, this week was just a grind overall.  Each day the majority of our appointments fell through, and it felt like we were walking around aimlessly knocking doors for hours on end without any kind of success or interest from anyone.  It was definitely a test of our faith and patience.  You can only hear the words “estamos ocupados” (we’re busy) a certain amount of times before you start to get irritated (especially because they are almost never busy).  Sometimes I really have to bite my tongue after hearing what some people say when we knock their doors.  When people are rude or make fun of us or something, I’m always really tempted to say something rude back and defend myself or our beliefs, but I always try to think of how the Savior acted when he was laughed at, mocked, spit upon, and rejected.  As the scriptures say, every time he “held his peace”.  I marvel at all the things that Christ put up with leading up to his atonement and crucifixion.  He is the greatest example of patience and humility to ever walk this earth.  Those are definitely two attributes that I lack, and have been put to the test this week and on mission mission in general.  Hopefully I can continue to develop them as time goes on.  As tough as some of the days were this week, i’m grateful for the chance I had to develop those traits a little more. “Mosiah 3:19”

On Tuesday, we had a lesson with Pool.  We’re finishing up the lessons with him to get him ready for his baptism this week.  Pool is honestly the man.  When Elder Randall and I first started teaching him he was super shy and didn’t really talk much, but now he’s really started to open up with us.  He’s really become one of my best buds I’ve made in my mission.  We love to talk about the world cup and/or anything soccer.  He loves to tell me that Portugal is going to win it all this year and I love to tell him he’s crazy.  Obviously Germany is going back to back ;)  He’s just a Ronaldo fan boy . . . lol.  Pool is the man though.  It’s been so cool to see his progress in the gospel and his desire to do what’s right.  Hopefully everything goes as planned with his baptism this week.

On Friday, we had our last interviews with President Rasmussen before they finish their mission.  I’m super grateful for the chance I’ve had to be here in this mission at the same time as President and Sister Rasmussen.  They have made such an impact on me as a missionary and have been such great examples for everyone.  They are some of the most Christlike people I have ever met.  It’s going to be tough to see them go. :(

As most of you know, being on a mission gives you the opportunity to meet some interesting people.  This week we found a guy named Carlos who is quite the interesting fellow.  I want you to think of someone that you know who believes in conspiracy theories, ghosts, aliens, or anything like that and then times the magnitude by about 10.  That would give you Carlos.  I guarantee this guy sits and watches the TV show “Ancient Aliens” for 10 hours a day and eats everything up as absolute fact.  Honestly, I have no idea how he comes up with some of the things he talks about.  He was going off about all sorts of weird things like the illuminati, demons, aliens, and how the United States are secretly trying to take over the world.  He told us with a genuinely concerned look on his face that there are aliens that are living in the US and that they kidnap little kids and take them to Area 51 to eat them.  He also told us that there’s secret unknown powers that you can uncover from reading the Bible like mind control and stuff.  I had to do all I could to keep from laughing right in front of this guy.  It was hilarious.  I just tried to keep a straight face and nod my head listening.  The good thing is, being the type of guy he is, Carlos totally LOVED the story of Joseph Smith and the gold plates.  Everything about Joseph translating ancient plates from reformed  Egyptian to English was right up his alley.  Everything was going good until we started to talk about the two civilizations that make up the Book of Mormon.  We started to explain the Nephites and Lamanites and that’s where we kind of lost him.  When he heard “Nephites”, he got really excited and started telling us that they are some kind of alien race and are 8 feet tall giants or something.  It was super funny.  I’m excited to visit Carlos again to see what else he has in store for us.

On Saturday, we found a girl named Daniela.  When we first knocked her door, we were actually looking for her brother, who we had taught a few weeks back.  After she went looking for him and came back saying he wasn’t there, we started to talk to her and introduce ourselves as missionaries and what we do.  She knew what we were trying to do, and quickly threw up her wall of defense and said she wasn’t interested, and already has her religion.  It wasn’t until I asked her “how is your relationship with God personally?”  that she began to crack a little.  She explained to us that despite attending her Catholic church and reading her Bible, she feels like her faith in God is crumbling a little.  She feels like she doesn’t know which direction to go in life and just feels like something is missing.  When we explained and promised to her that we had a message that could change her life, she finally let us in.  We had an incredible lesson with her about the Book of Mormon. We explained how this book of scripture was written for our day and was translated by a prophet of God.  We shared of the power it has to change our lives, bring us closer to God each day, and can give our lives direction.  It was amazing to see the spirit testify to her of the truthfulness of what we were saying and to see the change it brought to her mood.  While at the beginning she was irritated and somewhat lost with her faith, by the end she was smiling, joking around with us, and feeling the spirit. She accepted to read the book and pray to know if it is true.  What a testimony builder this was for me to see the change the spirit can bring to our lives.

Today for P-day I finally was able to head back to visit my first area in Sullana!  Elder Silvano and I took a bus put to Sullana with mi pata (my boy) Elder Huarcaya and his companion Elder Kilpack.  We spent the whole day visiting the members, our converts, and our friends that live in the Obrero ward.  It was so good to see some of those people again.  I met some of my closest friends during my first 5-6 months of my mission there.  My life was honestly changed for the better for having served there and having met some of the people there.  I love Sullana and the people there so much.  Si estan leyendo esto en Sullana, les quiero mucho!!

Well that’s it for this week.  I’m so grateful for my mission and the man it is making me.  I know that this is the work of the Lord and that we are out here saving souls.  There is nothing more important than that!  The work continues . . . 

Congrats on the wedding this week Alex and Haylee!  I know the wedding wasn’t as fun without me, but I hope you all had a good day! ;)  I love and miss you guys a ton.

Avanza Su Verdad!

Elder Bailey

Week 42 - Transfers

Crazy week! Well, like I said last week, we all knew that this one would probably be our last week together, and it was. :( We received transfers on Saturday night and we got the news that Elder Randall will be heading off to Tumbes! For those that don’t know, Tumbes is basically Ecuador. It’s the northern-most part of the mission and also of Peru. He’s pretty excited to start his new chapter of his mission. As sad as I am that we’re not comps anymore, I’m super grateful for the chance that we had to be partners in the Lord’s work. We made some incredible memories that we’ll never forget. It was honestly the coolest most fun time ever. But as for me, I’m staying here in good ol’ Ignacio Merino for at least another transfer. My new companion is Elder Silvano! He’s from Lima, and seems like a pretty cool guy. Despite our differences, we get along pretty well. I’m excited to work with him It should be a good transfer!

This week we worked a little more with Javier. Since our last visit, he is doing amazing. He’s reading and studying the Book of Mormon again, attended church on Sunday, and has’t had one sip of alcohol. When we had our lesson on the Word of Wisdom the week before, I had invited him to turn to Helaman 5:12 evrytime he felt the temptation to drink. He told us that he did exactly that this week and was able to overcome all his temptations! He said he loved how it talks about putting Christ as our rock in our lives so that when we experience the “storms” and “winds” and “hail” we have the power to stand strong. Javier is a living example of this classic and powerful scripture. What a testimony builder that was for me of the enabling power of the atonement, We can truly do all things through Christ!

On Thursday we had a really great lesson with the Diaz familia. We taught them the entire plan of salvation. They all understood really well and had a ton of really good questions. It was super cool to see their eyes light up when we taught them about new concepts and doctrine. The spirit was strong, and it was just a great lesson all around. It’s been so cool to see the change that the spirit has made on their family in such a short time. Also, this Sunday the entire family showed up at church! It was the coolest sight to see them all walk in. Right now we are working towards a baptismal date for the 16th of June. We’ll see how things go.

In other news, I have officially filled my official Panini Fifa World Cup 2018 sticker album! I know it sounds pretty silly to have been collecting stickers, but these World Cup albums are big news down here. Literally everyone is collecting these things right now. Basically, what it is, is a blank book with a page for every team that qualified for the 2018 World Cup. With each team you have a little place to put each player. The hard part is, the only way to get the individual players is to buy little packs of 5 random stickers. So, after a lots of looking, trading, and sorting, I’m proud to announce that I have filled my album. I probably put way too much time and effort (and money, haha) into it, but me and Elder Randall had a blast doing it. It’s pretty sick to be here in a soccer culture for this World Cup. Especially when Peru hasn’t gone in almost 40 years.

On Friday, we had a special conference with Elder Godoy from the Presidency of the Seventy. It was held in the mission home, and only the district and zone leaders were invited to it. He asked to all us leaders of the mission about the new mission president change in July. He told us how the Peru Piura mission is having a ton of success right now, and that when this mission president change happens, the future of the mission will rest on our (the leaders) shoulders. It was a super cool meeting and I learned a ton. Elder Godoy is the man.

On Saturday, we had a “last supper” with Kevin and Guadalupe. We are turning them over to the missionaries in the Algarrobos ward. We taught and baptized them in our ward because they had been attending church here with their Uncle Jimmy. We finally got to try Cuy! (guinea pig) I had heard a lot before my mission about eating cuy, but until now I had never tried it. It actually wasn’t too bad. It just tasted like some chewier chicken, haha. I don’t really get why they eat it though; it barely has any meat on it. Kinda funny though. Apart from the cuy, Kevin and Guadalupe are THE best. They are some of the coolest converts I’ve had. When me and Elder Randall were leaving, they gave us two sick Peru jerseys as goodbye gifts. They seriously are some of my favorite people I know.

I want to give a mother’s day shoutout to the best and most beautiful mother in the world. Thank you so much mom for all your love, support, and great example for all of us. Thanks for always being my best friend. I can’t wait until the day that I can give you a big hug. I love you so much! 

Hasta la próxima semana,

Elder Bailey

Alanza Su Verdad!

“All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” - Abraham Lincoln