i'm pretty tired yall..

  One thing that i will say is more annoying than Hispanics asking me if i voted for Donald Trump (because it happened all the time, every single time we talked to em too) is when people learn that i am from TN and ask where my country accent is. I dont think people understand that you can grow up in the south and not develop a heavy country accent. its like saying every person in Utah is a Mormon, obvi not true. Though i am very proud of being a Tennessean, i just dont have a thick accent😉

Yeah is i am also thoroughly enjoying the Trio life. I have some pretty rocking companions! Elders Paxton and Sanchez are some pretty dope humans. We all have similar senses of humor, so that helps alot. Elder Paxton is from Provo, Utah and he is as i said before a Phenomenal missionary! His spanish is superb, and he really knows how to work hard, which is awesome because i try to work hard lol. He has a really nice voice, he sings really well, and all the time, but i dont mind it because it sounds good haha. i wish i could frackin sing, that would be stellar, not the case however...

Elder Sanchez was born in Costa Rica (No its not an island, yes i made the same ignorant mistake too in the MTC) and migrated over to Los Estados Unidos when he was 6. He lived in Canada tho for a super long time before his fam settled in Lehi, Utah. his spanish is obvi great so i prolly do have the worst spanish in the Trio. However, i would like to toot my own horn and say that Elder Paxton said i have pretty good spanish for only being out for 4 months. i mean i try✌

So i do have picks of us, so thats pretty rad, or should i say B-Rad😂

yeah i need to stop...

Elder PAxton calls me a "Dirty Little Hipster" but id say he is just as bad, or worse tbh, also in the second pic it looks like i have a 5 o clock shadow, idk why.

I am def enjoying having cardigans and longer hair, lets see how long i can grow it out, place predictions below in the comment section. if this blog even has a comment section, and if people other than my family and Bailey reads this, who knows?

Oh and you know i go hard in P-Day Basketball, getting significantly better.

Dueces  

Elder Bailey

yoyoyo

YOYOYO what is up good people of this dispensation.

So today marks the first day of the new transfer. This will be my 4th in the mission, 3rd in the field! also i hit my 4 month mark, which is pretty cray and all, because its gone by decently fast. dont get me wrong there was definitely slow times, but overall, i dont  know where the time went haha! Also, i finished my training this last transfer, and that is pretty sweet.

I got a new companion(s). The reason why i did the weird thing with the word companion(s) is because i have one now, and we will be getting another tomorrow, Yes i will be in a trio...

So my new companion is Elder Paxton, hes been out for about 14-15 months, and he is a phenomenal missionary. i served along side him in our zone because he was one of our zone leaders last transfer. He's crazy good, and his spanish is impeccable. im am going to get so much better at spanish, because he told me we will be speaking spanish most of the time, with few exceptions, so thats something ahaha. he is super intense, maybe as i have mentioned before.  The trainee comes in tomorrow, but we dont know which one we will be getting. 

With a trio, means we needed a bigger apartment, so we switched apartments today, that was a lot of work. i get my own bathroom this transfer tho, thats super exciting!

So yesterday was the Christmas devotional from the First Presidency of the church. it was pretty lit not going to lie. Christmas time is a special time, and i love it mean talks are prepared solely on the coming of Christ, the holy ghost, and other nativity and Christmas themes. My testimony of Christ as my Savior grows each time i hear these men called of God talk.

There is a christmas initiative that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has put out, Called #Lighttheworld. This initiative is about how we can do things Christ did while he was on this earth, because he served wherever he went, and he was our perfect example. We may not be able to heal the blind or cure the sick, but we can do things similar to it. For every day there are multiple ways to serve in our community, in the ways Christ did. its an awesome way to get into the christmas spirit, everyone should try it out!

So i just have to tell you guys, Hispanics can be one of the most loving and friendly people you can ever meet. so this week, Elder patterson and i were going around to some people so he could say good bye, because he is headed to moreno valley. 

So as we went to go by this one woman who is so awesome, loves the church but isnt baptized because she lives with her boyfriend, but all of her children are baptized. anyway, we had to go to her friends house up the street to go see her, because she was there with her and her yard sale. When we got there and as we were talking, Her friend looked at my shoes (which were destroyed) and asked me right then and there what size i wore. i was caught off guard, and i and no clue why she wanted to know that, but i told her i wore anywhere from a 9 1/2 to 10 1/2. Well, she got out of her seat and went inside and brought out these nice dress shoes and told me to try them on. Once she knew that they fit decently well, she told me to give her my shoes, and we would do a trade. LIKE WHAT? i asked her if she wanted me to pay her but she insisted. I got red, because i was kinda uncomfortable taking these nice shoes for my crappy ones. I felt so much love for this woman and the hispanic culture in general, almost every hispanic we meet is so nice. Its such a blessing to serve in a spanish area!

See ya later yall, thats all i gots!

Elder Bailey

What is Life

Hey everyone! i hope yall had a great Thanksgiving! Elder Patterson and i had a pretty good one! Holidays in the mission are the best! Depending on the holiday, we sometimes get the whole day off, Thanksgiving was like that! in the morning, 4 zones of missionaries gathered to play football, how american right? i didnt play tho, my knee/leg has been bothering the heck out of me, and i dont really enjoy it. We ate some good food later on in the day (no tomales tho😣) and a 6 we gathered to watch a movie and play basketball, it was pretty fun. 

          Well unfortunately, our investigators didnt pass their interviews, so we have to continue working with them. it was really sad for us, because we want them to have this in their lives, just coffee is stopping them, and i few minor things too. They are great people, and ive really learned to love them alot. i mean ivee been working with them for almost 3 months now! It will be such a great time when they are ready, ill prolly cry.

          Yesterday ended my Senior Week! I think i did pretty good! E. Patt said so( however i cant ever tell if hes lying or not lol😅). But with thanksgiving in the way, i still think i had a productive week. Hopefully president doesnt think i suck, thats all i worry about lol. It was an eye opening experience to be The Senior Companion for a week. I had to plan everyday, i had to start everything, and pretty much just take over the whole thing. it was hard, but it was definitely a good thing, and i learned alot from it!

        I went on exchanges with one of our Zone leaders, Elder Paxton. He is a Phenomenal missionary! His Spanish, is soooooooooooooo good. Hes been out about 16 months i think, i just hope i can be as good as him at spanish. He definitely gets my " Most likely to go camping award" (because hes so INTENSE😂, you know that one was funny c'mon).             

        Thats one thing that is not always great, is when youre so focused you forget to have fun, intensity is good only to a certain level, you know what i mean?

        Well transfers are next week, and that means i finish training! Finally amiright! Ill probably be getting a new companion, but we wont know till saturday night, and literally, anything can happen, so we cant get hopes up or anything. Elder Patterson has been in this area for almost 6 months, so we think hes about to leave, pero, vamos a ver!

         I do feel like my spanish is getting pretty good, but i cant ever tell how good. I know im no where near super good, but id say decent.

         While getting my hair cut today i talked to the owner in spanish (shes colombian) and she said my pronounciation was good, and i was like, Shoot, stop it lol. However she cut my hair a tad to short( its still pretty long but i was trying to grow it out as much as i could) it doesnt look bad its just shorter, i crie.

           I still got alot to learn, but im pretty sure im growing fast. and its pretty fun too, when you can just speak in spanish the whole time and understand, its the best feeling ever!

Well thats about it, have a great week!

Elder Brad Bailey

Senior Turkey Week!

Hey Yall! hope you guys have been doing good. i wonder how many people actually read this besides my family. i guess ill find out in 19 months when i ask everyone. And ill make them feel guilty for not reading Muhahahaha!

This last week has been pretty good! but it did have its crappy parts...

        Well this week, i received some pretty sad news. One of my friends had committed suicide earlier this week. I Was pretty shocked. It was unexpected and from what i was told no one knows why.  Nothing can really accurately describe the pain i felt when i heard this. Even though we werent the closest, i had alot of love for him. He and i Played Pokemon Showdown together alot, and we had a group message that has been running for a year+, with all of our friends and our Competitive League. He was in my first period my Senior year too. He was such a nice, cool, funny Caring guy. I'm pretty sad that he's gone, its pretty crazy to think about it too😔. I wish there was something i could have done for him. I wont ever forget him, he was an awesome guy. 

        There is always a better way. There is someone that felt the pain you have felt, and he suffered for it, he bled from every pore. You're not alone, and will never be alone. 

         On a brighter note, We had an awesome lesson with one of our investigators, Rony. This guy is awesome, and really smart, but he may be too smart for his own good... . Human Logic is the killer of faith man. As we were in the lesson, Rony started to explain why he believed that we cant have modern day prophets. Elder Patterson, our team up Hermano Cardenas (awesome guy), and i began to explain why modern day prophets are a real thing. We explained how God is the Same yesterday, today, and forever! its right in the bible. And just like there were prophets in the old days, teaching and preaching about Christ, God continues to call them. God is our Loving Father right? Why would he stop talking to us through Prophets? Does he not love us? Do we not need him? No, He loves us so much, and we probably need him now more than ever! Thats what we explained to Rony. Now Rony has his baptismal Interview this Wednesday!!! Super exciting! We are hoping to get his mom interviewed on Wednesday Too! Elder Patterson has been working with them since before i came out, and ive been with them since i got into the field! I have so much love for the 2 of them!

        So this week i went on exchanges with Another set of Elders. I was with Elder Peterson this time. Hes a really cool guy, i like him a lot. They live in a homeshare, which is when a member gives a room to a set of missionaries and they live with the member. The best part of the homeshare is the QUEEN SIZE BED. it was heavenly to sleep in, the best bed ever! Also, because Elder Peterson is one of the Office Elders, we had to go deliver some things outside of our area, AND I GOT TO GO OUTSIDE OF THE CITY. it was so awesome. The rest of the mission is nothing like inner city Riverside. Cali does kind of has some beauty to it. i cant wait to get to get out of The city now lol. We went to Hemet, Moreno Valley, Menifee, one of the coolest days ever!

        So today we had crossfit with our Mission President. Hes kinda old but hes still active lol. We did & rounds of 70 meter sprints, 7 push ups, 8 lunges, 8 brupees, or something like that i cant remember. it did make me sweat, im sooooo out of shape. if i were back in school that would have been a breeze. i miss being skinnier.😥

Anyways i Hope yall had great weeks, talk to ya later!

Elder Bailey

Hellers

Well this week was pretty good. i am a significantly better driver now, just for yall to know, i just had to re-learn how. Driving a 2017 Malibu is soooooo nice. super fun too. I got yelled at by the device that tracks our speed and such for accelerating too fast. It was irresponsible, even if its fun im not doing it anymore. Im classified as a "Yellow Driver". When the box yells "aggressive driving" thats like a tally. i cant get anymore really or i can get the privilege provoked....

Well we know Who "Trumped" in the presidential election. I have no opinion on the whole thing, because im a missionary and all, but i will say im not depressed about the situation. What annoys me tho, because it happens constantly without end, is when the hispanics ask me if im happy that Trump won. OK, JUST BECAUSE IM WHITE, Elder Patterson and i always tell them that we dont care about politics, and that we voted for Jesus. That always makes them happy.

So we went on exchanges this week with the Zone leaders. I was with Elder Haglar, hes a really great guy and missionary. i learned alot with him. One funny thing did happen tho. When we were contacting an investigator, he told me to knock on the door. i thought it was weird that he specifically asked me and that he was standing pretty far away from the door, but i did it anyways. After a minute or 2, and i was about to knock again, he told me to look up. In this light holder thingy( idk what to call it) was a decent sized WASP NEST. No wonder he told me to do it! We booked it out when one of them flew out lol.

Also on that same exchange, almost right after that, we ran into this guy, he was pretty weird...

We met his mom outside, who knew very little english, and since i was the only spanish speaker out of the 2 of us,i had to talk to her. she said she was catholic but brought her son out, who as soon as he got out asked if we were christian and asked to be baptized. Well ok! We taught him the restoration of the gospel, but he always got onto tangents about something. Then at the end, he made us stick around to hear his EP, and he even insisted on playing live for us. Not going to lie, he was straight trash.

Well hope you all are doing well!

Here is a pic from this last week:

id send more but idk how to work with this crappy camera.

Another week down

Well this week has been awesome and also kinda sucky! 

      This month, i was called to be the designated driver, so im the one who gets to drive. One problem with that, i havent driven since last december... You can imagine how this last week was with that, just super stressful! I think i almost got in a crash 3 or 4 times on saturday... Gods been protecting us. however since then no close calls or nothing lol! We have a box called a TEE WEE. its basically something that tracks us and monitors our driving. you can put money that i got a bunch of violations, but only for speeding, nothing serious. I just wanted to tell you guys i suck at driving, im worse then a  woman. horrible right :( .

      Thats why the week was sucky, but other than that its been great. We had a couple of great lessons this week, all for a different reason. 

      Unfortunately, we had to drop, or "pause" a family this week. this means we will not be teaching them anymore. However, if they call us saying they are ready, or if in 6 months pass by, we can go back. But, Elder Patterson and I will probably not be in this area. The lesson was pretty interesting. They dont really like to do anything until we come over, then the Father, who is less active, gathers everyone up and we read with them. well the same thing happened, however we stopped them after 20 verses. Then elder Patterson got real with them. He said " how long did it take to read 20 verses" (of course in spanish) and we went around with that same question, and they all answered that it was super easy and that it took like 5 minutes. We continued to say " then why havent you been doing it?" Things got real silent. Then the dad was going on about it like " Yeah guys, its pretty easy why havent yall been doing it". Ironic, because hes the biggest problem, they could be baptized by now if it wasnt for him. Elder Patterson quickly chastised him for being a member and not doing what he knows he should be doing. He got quiet right quick. I felt sad as we left, but they needed to figure out their priorities, and the Dad needed a change of heart. IT is necessary sometimes to do this, it gives them time and space. 

       the other lesson was completely opposite. we have been meeting with another family for quite a while, and they are pretty ready, but have a weird obsession with wanting to know more and more, really more than they need to know. Elder Patterson and i had a good lesson with them, in which really got them thinking about how ready they are. Elder Patt Asked 3 simple questions, that were perfect in the moment. You just really had to be there lol, the spirit was so strong. They will be baptized, its just a matter of time!

Well thats all for this week!

Elder Bailey

Christmas gifts/packages etc.

From the mission president:

The year is passing quickly and the Christmas season will soon be here. This is a wonderful time to do missionary work.  People’s hearts are turned to the Savior. They are thinking of others and their hearts are softened. A new video will soon be released by the Church, giving members and missionaries alike an opportunity to share with others thoughts about the Savior. Many people are looking for guidance in their lives and your missionary has light to bring to them.

Thank you for supporting Elder Bailey through emails, letters and your prayers. Your love and support mean so much to him. We will write about Christmas phone calls in a future email, but it is time to share some guidelines about sending Christmas gifts to your missionary. Will you please share these with family members and friends who may also be mailing gifts?

Please remember that a mission is a time of consecration for missionaries. Gifts that do not distract them from the work are best: clothing, restaurant gift cards, pens, scripture marking items, personal grooming items, appropriate music or art (that which draws their thoughts to the Savior), family pictures. Two items available through store.lds.orgwould also make good gifts: “The Life of Jesus Christ Bible Videos, 50 scenes from the Gospels,” and “Gospel Art Book” ($5 and $3.50 respectively. These are also available at Distribution Centers). Please do not send: books not in the approved missionary library, dart boards, bow and arrow sets, etc. (think apartment damage), knives (not allowed for missionaries), games that take more than a half hour to play (they can only use them on preparation day), things that will disturb other apartment dwellers (think noise).

Please mail packages to the mission office:  5900 Grand Ave., Riverside, CA 92504 

* This prevents packages being stolen from beneath apartment mailboxes.

* It also prevents packages from getting lost when missionaries must move.

Important:  All packages will be delivered to missionaries as they arrive.  (This is a change from last year!)

Please mark Christmas packages DO NOT OPEN UNTIL CHRSITMAS so that your missionary will know which ones to save for Christmas day.

Packages that arrive after December 20th CANNOT be delivered until after Christmas.

We understand that missions are expensive and that a family’s circumstances can change quickly. It would be our joy to help your missionary receive Christmas gifts if you are unable to send them. Let Sister Just know by calling 951-788-9690. 

With love,

President John Mullen and Sister Jana Mullen

halloween!

Well this week has been pretty great! Speaking and learning Spanish still one step at a time! id like to think that my Spanish is getting a lot better. i can definitely speak it a lot better, and i have amble opportunities to, because like, i do my work in Northern mexico. No, i dont actually serve there, but like everywhere Elder Patterson and i go, there is not one White, Black, or Asian in sight. Its kinda cool when you think about it, i was kinda worried that i wouldn't speak a lot of Spanish out here, i was so wrong haha!

         We kinda had a cool experience this week. while i was in the bathroom, my companion got a call from an old contact that he and Another elder had run into 2 months ago. He asked for us to come visit his mother in the hospital, because shes very sick with cancer, and she had asked him to call us so that we could come and pray and  share a pensamiento espiritual (spiritual thought) with her. 

       So when we got there, we almost couldn't get up to her. Even tho we are Clergy( kinda weird to think of myself like that) she shares a room with another woman, and there was too many people up there at that time. But we did finally get up there, and we shared Alma 7:11. This scripture is about Christ, and how he suffered all for not only the sins of every person that lived, lives or will live on this earth, but he also suffered for every pain, trial, affliction that we would experience in this life. She loved it. We Then gave her a Blessing, and the whole experience was just really cool. being a missionary is one of the greatest experiences because you have the opportunity to bring joy into others lives.

Well, we also had the Ward Trunk o Treat this last Friday! it was pretty fun! We had 3 of our investigators come, and i think they enjoyed it, or at least i hope! Sometimes things can get boring haha...  But there were a a lot of awesome Costumes! But i think i borrowed the best one!

If you think that im not still a goofball, you are sadly mistaken! Also idk how Appropriate it was to have that on, but at least i still had my tag on it LOL.

Also, we had Elder Natress of the Seventy preside at our Stake Conference this last sunday! I even got to met him :) . However, no pics, because i guess thats looked down upon, ok ok :( . He gave really great talks, both at the Adult session and then the general session. One thing that is for certain, if you are a general authority, you are a great story teller, and boy did he have good ones, and tied it in so well with his message.

Well thats all for now, Below are the rest of the pics from the Trunk o Treat.

Love ya all,

Elder Bacon, i mean Bailey

shaking arms and legs

Well another week down in the mission! Also, Today marks the start of my second transfer in the Field, wow, time has flown by real quick!

Im doing really well By the way. Something really strange has been happening. ITS BEEN RAINING FOR 2 DAYS STRAIGHT. what a freaking tender mercy amirght?? i thought id never ever see rain again!

SOOO, we got the new car, or if thisis the first time i am mentioning it, we got a new car. Its a sexy babe. We got a brand new 2017 Malibu. Like HOLY CRAP. its soooo nice. Its so nice, it has a screen in it! and it has WIFI! IPADS ARE TOTALLY CONFIRMED. maybe. probably not... in the next week or 2, when we give her another wash, i plan on taking a bunch of pictures with her. ya Boi is about to be styling on all the other Elders.

Well, yes its true, i have gained a tone of weight. I Blame Hilary Clinton, not because she has anything to do with it, i just dont like her. LOL! ya know, we dont hear anything about the election or whats going on in politics. We dont watch tv or read the news in any way, so im in the dark here.

ANYWAYS, i have probably gained 20 pounds since i left. in all seriousness, the MTC ruined me... All you can eat ice cream come on! how did they know my one weakness... . Also, i haven't been eating to healthily out here. sometimes we have to eat out a lot because we want to conserve our miles, because we only get a certain amount a month. My goal for this transfer is to eat more healthily, and to work out everyday, because i dont now. Its hard ok... i have a pair of pants i havent worn in a while because i cant fit in them :( . but im not obese, i swear! 

Well this week i confirmed Ernestina as a member in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! Its all in front of the congregation, and it was all in spanish! I was SO nervous, During the ordinance, my legs shook so violently, good thing people couldnt really see them, i was standing behind her. The Lord defintietly helped me so much, doing stuff in spanish is super hard when youre still learning it! but everything went really well :) . Always put your faith in the Lord, He helps ALOT!

Thats all, i dont have alot of time today, i hope all of you are doing super well!

Much Love,

 Elder Bailey

Blog number whatever

Man i do enjoy sending blogs out. i don't enjoy writing them every time tho lol. its just a lot of typing tbh

Well, this week has been a great week overall!

Elder Pattersons arm is just fine, he just has to do physical therapy at home to help strengthen it. The doctor said his fracture was 1 on a scale of 1-10... he even played Knockout (which is a basketball game, other names are lightning, gotcha, so on). Even before he went and saw the doctor, he never wore his splint and did anything he thought he could do, which is like everything lol.

A tragedy happened this week. I lost our phone...

I have no clue how it happened, but it did. Actually, that whole day was kinda rough. Gather around children, let me begin.

So it all began because When our Car was having trouble. Our car was overheating all day the day before. Our car had no coolant! We later learned that Cruzes are notorious for leaking coolant, and if it was having this problem, we would probably be without a car for a bit. UGH. So we had to bring the car in the next morning, and Elder cook took it to get looked at.. it also happened that Elder Patt's Orthopedic appointment for his arm was the same day, Predicament numero uno. We were in luck though, because the Office Elder's had free time to get us and take us to his appointment. After his appointment, we decided to have them drop us off at Jersey mikes for lunch.   

this is where everything goes downhill reallllllll fast.

So as we were eating, enjoying our sandwiches and totally not watching the TVs playing the Dortmund vs Berlin game, or so i heard, because as i said, totally not watching it, ANYWAY, Elder Patt. asked for the phone to make a call or 2, and when i reached into my pocket, it wasnt there. There were many things going through my head, but the most prominent was : OH CRAP, ELDER PATTERSON IS GOING TO KILL ME. 

 

We were in Riverside, without a phone or a car.... Predicaments numeros dos y tres. So we decided to walk to a members house to get a phone to call another set of elders to come get us. we probably walked 3 or 4 miles that day RIP. We did finally get to a phone, we tried about 3 members houses before we found one that was home. We had Elders Balls and Page get us. WE LOOKED EVERYWHERE. it wasnt there.... We looked in the OE's truck, because i thought initially that where i left it at. NOPE. Then we went back to Jersey mikes, because maybe i just didnt see it or i left it on the register counter or something. NOPE WASNT THERE. We had to go back and get our car, and i had to cough up 20 bucks for a new one. The worst part about losing it was the videos of old missionaries and the contacts on it. Elder Patterson didnt speak to me for a bit, And rightfully so, i dont blame him one bit. But dont worry, everything is ok between us!

On a happier note, we had one of our investigator get Baptized Yesterday! her name is Ernestina, and shes 68 years old! she is such a nice and sweet lady! it was such a great experience to see her progress, and come unto Christ!

Well thats all for this week, love you all!

Week 10

Well, this last week wraps up week 10, of like 102.

Thanks to all who sent me Birthday wishes! I actually had a decent Birthday. My family sent me all sorts of crap to eat, all my favorite candy and what not. Im honestly so blessed to have a family that loves me so much! All the other missionaries in my Apartment Complex were so amazed. They were like " i wish my family loved me that much" and " Dude, your sisters send the best candy", yeah, I know my family puts yours to shame hahaha!

 I tried to Keep my Birthday on the DL, but Elder Patterson couldnt stop telling people... . We had Trainer/Trainee Training that day, and of course he had to tell everyone, and The mission presidents Wife made me stand up in front of everyone during lunch while they sang Happy birthday to me. the only good thing that came out of that was an extra brownie haha. Also, later that day, we went to Hermana Espinosa's house for dinner. What did Elder Patt do? Tell her it was my birthday. When she heard this, she immediately had her daughter go get me a cake, and of course i had to have her get Tres leches, that crap is so freaking good. We had a tiny little celebration, and i actually enjoyed that part! As ive said before, hispanics are best!

Update on Elder Patt's arm: its Fractured!!! LOL! i laughed so hard when we found out, i couldnt help it. But guess what, the orthopedics havent called us yet. They werte suppose to call us last week. Sister Mullen is about to kill them, she even told us she would bring a big stick if she had to go talk to them in person. He's been in a splint and a sling, but recently hes gotten so annoyed in being in one, so he took both off and only wears them if The president or his wife is around haha. What a goon! When we have the chance to go to the orthopedics, and if he needs surgery, he will have to go home for a bit and come back after he recovers, but i doubt that will happen.

Well, remember when i said i had to take over the area this last week. Well it went not so great....

So, we had to do exchanges last week, which is basically when one of us goes to another area for a day. Elder Patt has to do that because he is Out District leader, and he has to go on exchanges with everyone in our district. It was my first time taking over the area. im pretty new at this stuff, so i kinda expected it to go bad. However, what made it bad was not that i did horrible, or that i just did all the wrong stuff. It was because no one was home, no one wanted the message and so on and so forth. I was worried my spanish was going to hold me back, but it was just my inexperience. Its weird, when youre the only spanish speaking missionary out of the 2, your spanish gets so much better, idk why! and Honestly i didnt do too bad, it just wasnt how i wanted it to go. it put me in a bad mood that night. 

Ive also had to drive this week because of Elder Patts Elbow, so thats been Freaking stressful. i had not drove in 9 months. i was freaking nervous. and yes, i have made traffic mistakes, no, i didnt get in a wreck. But roads out her are hecka confusing tho, and ive almost gone into the wrong lane of traffic. IN MY DEFENSE, the intersections, roads, and everything are like a 10x10 rubics cube.

see yall later! have a good week, y Dios les bendiga! les amo mucho!

Weekie Blog

 


This week has been a good one, same old same old!

Another week down on the mission only like 93 left to go! i know i said like 102 last week, but i did the math and i was so off, lol. That gave me some inspiration! But I'm not just counting the weeks, i Honestly really love this mission. it can be hard, that's a given, but i love the people i serve and the members here are super nice :)

General Conference was this last weekend. For all that Don't know what that is, all of our general leaders of our church get together to talk to us, and give us advice and counsel. Honestly its such a blessing, because this world is a piece of crap nowadays. So much suffering, so many dangers! its good to have Men called of good to give us guidance on how to handle life in this world. Everyone should check it out on LDS.org :)))))). You might get something good out of it.

Well, Ive come to the realization that i will never come back to California. Its DEAD, its BROWN, and its UGLY. Where is all the Green? Good question, i have yet to find the answer to that one. However, the people here are pretty cool. As i said before, Hispanics are super nice, even to a Gringo like me. i guess that kinda makes up for the Crappy geography here....

Funny story: we were playing Basketball today, and my companion pretty much broke or sprung his arm. So we play half court, and we were playing 4 on 4. Elder Patterson was guarding another missionary, and as that elder was going for a shot, Elder P. tried to block it. Nothing inherently dangerous, nope not at all. But that other Elder, Elder Page, faked him out and ducked... Elder P. flipped over him and landed on his forearm. He was out for the rest of games. I feel bad for him, but hes totally hilarious. He Cant extend his arm all the way,nor can he raise it up much at all, so it just hangs there like hes Mentally disabled. Also he still insisted on driving, so he shifted and drove with one arm... . Every time he tried to hit a button on the stereo in the car, he looked like ET! I couldn't stop laughing. Hes tough tho, and he has been doing everything he can do by himself, but honestly that's not a lot. I had to tie his tie for him, and i almost had to help him put his socks and shoes on. He is always groaning in pain, and currently, we are laughing at him tryng to email, its quite the humorous sight sight . Yeah, hes pretty incapacitated lol. He also doesn't want to go to the Mission nurse, which, he honestly needs to. Ill update y'all next week on my cripple of a companion.

last thing. I'm taking over the area this week on Wednesday, because we are going on exchanges with our Zone Leaders, which don't speak Spanish. so Ill be doing all the talking. I'm Nervous, really nervous. I serve basically in Mini Mexico. I still don't know this Language super well, but i can hold my own in conversations. What I'm nervous about is that sometimes, its super duper hard to hear and comprehend them and what they say. Some Speak so fast and super unclear. Pray for me... RIP.

Deuces

Elder Bailey

Blog # whatever

Well, I have kinda had an eventful week. And I've been in the mission for 2 weeks, only 102 to go LOL! Sorry this is super long too.

        To start off, my Prep Day is on Mondays now, if you weren't aware. P-Days here in Riverside are really chill. We usually just go to a Building and play ball or board games or whatever we can do that's fun. we usually email for an 1 1/2 hours or so, then grocery shop and do anything else that's needed before we get back to work at 6pm.

         So ill start with something crazy that happened to me this week, My bike got stolen! it was taken we think on Tuesday, but who really knows. we had it up on our balcony on the second floor, and someone took it. Like really?? I'm actually not that heart broken about it, and i hope whoever stole it needed it more than i did. Being without a bike really inst a problem for me right now, because we are full time car for this area. The bummer though is that i never got to ride good ol Gloria before she was kidnapped. R.I.P (of course I had to name my bike).

          On the brighter side, Elder Patterson and I put 5 people on date for baptism this Week! God is good! 4 of the five, are part of the Penunuri family. The father of that family is a less active, and actually called the missionaries to help him turn his life around to where it was before. So as the rest of his family is preparing to be Baptized, he is preparing to be ready to be able to baptize them! Our other one is a girl named Toni, that we met on accident ( I may have wrote about our meeting last blog, but my memory is horrible haha). Anyways, she and the Penunuri's are set to be baptized this October!

          I am thoroughly enjoying my time as a missionary. It can be so fun and uplifting, but it can also be super difficult, and has already become the hardest time in my life. Adjusting to the mission life was somewhat of a challenge. in the MTC i was never as exhausted as i am right now, so i usually try to get everything done when we get home for the day so i can get to sleep early. Sleep is something that I'm not sure even exists anymore. It feels like you close your eyes, and the next second the alarm is going off. That is the worst felling EVER. I also haven't worked out once since Ive gotten here, but I've been trying to eat real light for breakfast and lunch, because Hispanics give you so much on your plate for dinner, a blessing and a curse... 

      So, as far as my Spanish is concerned, its coming along real well. I still suck, and I'm going to continue to suck for a good while. I;m able to comprehend more now, but i can only really get the message they are trying to put across, and sometimes they speak so fast I'm totally clueless. its especially hard sometimes when I'm talking to someone across their yard, and they speak so softly i can barely even hear what they're saying, Elder Patterson has to help me with those haha. However, last night we were contacting a bit before we went back home. I started to contact a man in English, but he only knew Spanish. it was so dark, id didn't know if he was Mexican or a tan white guy. Anyways, i switched to Spanish and started to talk to him, he turned me down, but when i was finished, Elder Patterson was impressed, he said it was a really good contact. See my Spanish is going somewhere, I guess.

        We also ran into some super High black women last night, it was a really weird experience. We were just walking back to the car and one of them called us out and ran across the street. One of them knew who we were, because some came by her house and she would feed them and make them do her yard work and laundry haha. She said she quit taking discussions because she likes to do the dirty deed (for lack of another word) whenever she likes to, i have no clue why she wanted to tell us that haha. the other one just liked to talk to us, and ask us random questions. Elder Patt gave them our card and number ( i honestly don't know why he did) and we might end up teaching them. if we do, expect an interesting blog.

See ya next week!

Elder Brad Bailey

1st week in!

Well this week has been pretty great so far! I'm finally out of the MTC, and here in Riverside California! This one is a long one to, i dont expect anyone to read it all lolol!

      I Arrived here on last Tuesday. I had to wake up at 3:40am to get ready and get to the airport that day. It was not fun... i didn't go to sleep till 12:50ish lol. I mean come on, it was my last day in the MTC, it would be the last time i would be able see and talk to a lot of people for 2 years. Anyways, at the airport, i was worrying hard about my baggage weight. i don't know how, but i somehow got 10 more pounds on each bag after arriving at the MTC. They weighed in at 50 and 51 pounds at the airport, and i didn't have to pay for any overage fees, phew! Also i got to call family before i left, and i cant believe i was close to crying! I dint really ever fell homesick, but something just gets to you when you get to talk to your mom finally after 6 weeks.

      Many others and i arrived in the Ontario Airport in CA at about 10:40ish. Mission president Mullen was there to receive us. We left and headed to the Mission home building, and i had to endure 5 hours of Orientation, gross i know. i was super bored, and i just spoke Spanish to the Elder beside me, because he was from Mexico. But later that night we had dinner there and after wards i was given a Trainer, Elder Patterson. The funny part about this was, i already knew who he was, because his girlfriend was in my MTC district! She talked about him all the time, and i even email him in from the MTC once, just for S's(ships) and G's. Kinda Crazy huh?

      Well this last week here in Riverside have been kinda rough at times, but not too rough. I had to help give a blessing in Spanish, the night i arrived... . Totally was a great experience tho.

       My first area here is actually right in the heart of Riverside. There are many, many Hispanics here. But i love the people, they are so nice, even when they aren't interested in our message. Side note: we don't go door to door here, we street contact 100%) Anyway, Hispanics are way nicer than white people haha. Everyone else here are just really rude to ya. I don't know why! Also, comprehending Spanish is pretty hard right now. i can put together the message they are saying, but i can only pick out words right now, its like i cant process them fast enough to understand at the moment. Elder Patterson does most of the talking, because sometimes they talk so fast I'm just lost. Yesterday though, we met up with this guy named Geronomi, and he spoke 200MPH. neither of us could understand what he was talking about. He slurred all everything he said, it barely sounded like Spanish... .

     We get feed here really nicely. Every night we have a dinner appointment, and the food is delicious! Authentic Mexican food maybe the death of me. I definitely will gain alot of weight on this mission, but hopefully i can even it out with some exercise, i guess we will see.

     Another cool experience happened yesterday. We were out looking for a Referral and we knocked on the wrong door. However, a young woman named tony opened up (she spoke English) , and absolutely loved our message and video we showed her. It was a video about Jesus Christ and his atonement, and after i said a prayer to end our little meeting she had tears in her eyes. The Spirit Definitely touch her. She invited us to come back this week!

     Last thing, and i know this is super long, but if you made it down here, you loyal, hahaha. Anyways, we attend a baptism yesterday for 2 young girls. Elder Patterson and i had to give a presentation on The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, all in spanish to the ward. I wasnt nervous until i saw our mission president was there. However the presentation went really well! President Mullen and his wife, the Stake president, and the sister missionaries, came up and Told me i did sooooo great, and my spanish was super good to be out for only a week. Elder Pat. just stood there and was like, "Hey what about me! i've come a long way too!" Jelly much? HAHA.

Hope you all are doing well!

Elder Bailey

Letter from the Mission president!

Dear Brother and Sister Bailey,

We are so grateful to have Elder Bradley Homer Bailey join us here in the California Riverside Mission! It was exciting to meet him at the airport. I had the opportunity to interview your missionary and we were able to hear his testimony before having dinner together. We have been impressed with his testimony and desire to serve. It has been a privilege to get to know him.

Elder Bailey is now hard at work in his new area, the MT. RUBIDOUX Zone with his companion Elder Daniel James Patterson.

Preparation day is Monday; most missionaries choose to email their family on that day. We encourage you to write or email weekly as well. Thank you for keeping your letters positive, uplifting and encouraging Elder Bailey to work hard and take advantage of the time spent here in doing the work of the Lord.

As we visited with him, this is what he said about his family: "They are so loving! Some of the coolest people you would ever know.  My father and my mother are some of the greatest examples I have!"  He is most excited about being able to bring others unto Christ in their language.

We look forward to a wonderful experience together with your missionary.  Thank you for preparing one worthy to serve.  May God continue to bless you.

Sincerely,

John H. Mullen, President

Last week in the MTC!

Waddup!!

    I hope everyone is doing well. this week is my last week in the MTC. Finally! However I am a tiny bit sad to leave though. My district and I have grown pretty close, we have become a family. We will be leaving for our missions next Tuesday early in the morning. Since its on a Tuesday, that means i wont get P-day that day, oh well. Hopefully it wont be too long until i get my next one, but why worry now, that's next week's probs.

    Sometimes, it feels like i didn't have a life before this. I forget about how the outside world is! I've been in a classroom all day everyday for 6 weeks! I also probably lost the little bit of tan i got from life guarding, but i cant tell. But on the bright side, I think I can get my farmers tan back in Riverside, since its always sunny and in the 90's F. And when I come back, you might as well call me Jose, because i'll be pretty much Hispanic. well I'm only guessing hahaha! A sister in my district has her boyfriend serving in my exact mission, and he looks pretty tan, so my hopes are up xD.

     I got like the best package in the mail this last week. it had Beef jerky, chips and queso, Cinnamon rolls, and a bunch of candy. I've been really craving junk, and it hit the spot. I've got the best mom in the world for reals. Love you Mom!

     One thing I'm super grateful is that I've got a friend here from TN! One of my best friends, Elder Edgerton, is here, even living on the same floor as me! He's headed to Ghana! I always talk every night, its pretty much necessary for my sanity. Yesterday was his birthday, so I had him over and we ate chips and queso,  t'was lit! I rarely call him Elder Edgerton tho, Its so much more natural to call him Brent, hahaha.

       I cant express it to you how hard they stress not calling your companion or any other missionary by anything other than Elder ______ or Sister______. Its easier for me to just call them by last name, but our teachers will stop, and ask " Quien?"(who?), until we call them Elder or Sister. ITS SO ANNOYING.

     One thing I'm not grateful for, is that I've gained almost 10 pounds here... . its not that the food is super great here, but they have unlimited ice cream. I cant resist ice cream, its my one weakness. I wont give you an exact amount of how much I eat, but I eat a lot lolol. 

     learning a new language is hard, even if you have studied it before. Every time I think I'm doing better and that I'm comprehending a lot, there is always something that proves me wrong haha! I understand a good amount though, and I can teach in Spanish, but it can still be super difficult sometimes. Over my course here in the MTC, I've taught a good amount of native Spanish speakers. during the lessons, I've been able to understand and teach, and others I have not. I have really been humbled by my Spanish experiences here. I'm no where near fluent, but the Lord definitely blesses me with help with this language.

    So every Sunday, we get to watch church films for the last hour before we have to go back to our residences. This last Sunday, my companion and i decided to watch Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration. If anyone wants to know about the restoration, or who Joseph smith was and what he did, that film is a great thing to watch! I had seen it before, but watching it again rejuvenated me, and hyped me up for the work I'm getting ready to do right now! It was so tear jerking at some points. What he, his family and the early church members went through, its so heart breaking.

     Everyone, I know that Joseph smith was called of God to be a prophet. I testify that he did see God, our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and that it was translated through the power of god by Joseph smith. Its all true, I know it!

     So something pretty funny happened this week. The Sister's residence building was infested by Bats! Apparently, one sister woke up with a bat on her neck, like what!? Anyway, they all had to move to a residence building all the way on the other side of campus. Us Elders had to help move their luggage, so we got out of class, which was so awesome. Me and and some other elders were talking about this, and if we found bats, there would be no way we would tell someone about it. It would be pretty dope to live with bats!!!! We could keep them as pets, how freaking cool would that be?!

Alright guys, I hope y'all are doing well! till next time.

Elder Bailey

Elders and Laxitives

So, even though 18-22 year old men are set apart as missionaries, that doesn't necessarily mean they act like it all the time. Don't get me wrong, we are mature and grown up when we need to, but we are all still teenagers here. However, there are some that try to leave their personality behind, and i don't understand them! you don't have to become a robot to be a good missionary, you can still have fun and be yourself!

The weeks now are going by fast, and sometimes it feels like just yesterday I was typing an email to all you guys back home. i think its because we stay busy all the time, I'm just glad they don't go by slow. That would be torture.

Well on to the reason i titled this "Elders and Laxatives". Well it was probably Wednesday or Thursday night of last week, and a bunch of us were just hanging out in another elder's room. Somehow, we got to playing what are the odds.... . for those who don't know about that game, 2 or more people pick a range of numbers,according to a dare,  and then both say a number at the same time. those participating must decide whether they want the consequence if they choose the same number or if the numbers add up to the max of the range. pretty simple and dumb game, but super funny! So, someone had a couple bars of chocolate laxatives. someone suggested playing what are the odds, and if you lost, you had to eat laxatives.... hmmm dumb right? i didn't get in on this, i knew id lose with my rotten luck. So as i watched, the rest of the elders played. 2 elders lost a game 1 out of 50, and it was pretty hilarious tbh. We had a member of the presidency there in the lounge area of our residence, and we were trying to shut them up so we didn't get in trouble, because the weren't happy at all hahaha! they had to eat 2 pieces of the laxatives. the next victims, had to eat 2 as well. And then, a certain elder, Elder Larson, lost in a 1-10. He had to eat 4!!! let me just tell you guys, I was laughing so hard when he lost! the next day, he was not having much fun at all. We were practicing Spanish and all of a sudden he turns to his companion, Elder Leishman, and says  "i gotta go, now!" He quickly asked our teacher if he could leave, and bolted out of the room. Too funny.

So here's my weekly Spanish update:

its going really well! i can see myself improving, and its super exciting! However, i was told its gonna take my 6 weeks in the field to understand most of what anyone says. idk how it will be for me, because i feel like i catch and understand a lot of whats said by the people we teach here in the MTC, however i will say sometimes i don't catch anything at all, so i guess we will see! I had a pretty cool Spanish experience yesterday! So our teacher plays a character, an investigator from his own mission, and we have to teach him as he is that person. Well, me and my companion, elder Honda, went to teach him. As i was teaching him about The Restoration, and the Spanish just flowed right out of my mouth, it was so cool! thats what 4 weeks of Spanish will do for ya. But its definitely not just me though, the Lord helps me with it a lot! Also we got a new TRC investigator(just an investigator that's not an employee). He was supposed to be one of the meanest and rudest guy their. However when we came in, he was just on a laptop watching Hispanic music videos, and he was really friendly towards us for the most part hahaha. We were really able to talk to him and get him to open up a little with us, it was such a great experience. Just after one meeting with him, i already felt love for him. This mission has changed me so much...

Well one of the worst things has happened to me and the other elders in our room that can ever happen in theMTC. We got 2 new room mates... :( . When i found out i was so mad. For the past 3 weeks, I've had 2 closets and extra room under my bed for whatever i want, but they ruined my life of luxury. However, they have proved to be worthy of my presence, so i haven't run them off yet. hehe.

Also, ive gotten pretty ingenious here in the MTC. We have to unwind somehow after our long days of studying, and we only get an hour for exercise, so i bought some roles of masking tape and pushed all the furniture in the lounge to one wall so i could make made a four square court. We get a raquet ball to use and the entire zone participates. its lit.

Well i think that's all for this week, I love and miss everyone of y'all in TN. Feel free to email me! I Need interaction with the outside world! 

See ya!

Elder Bailey