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