1/23/17 | Things are picking up

 It has been such a crazy week this week!  It's flown by! We've seen so much success in our area this past week, it's been incredible!  We have a new progressing investigator named Wayne.  We got him as a referral from our Zone Leaders from their YSA Bishop.  He is in a rehabilitation center, and we first met with him last week and had such a spiritual lesson.  He said to us, as he started to cry, how he feels like he's been missing something his whole life in his different religions.  We assured him that our message would answer his questions.  That first time we met with him, we answered and clarified a lot of his misconceptions about us.  He said he's been really impressed with how much the Mormons serve others and are always there to help everyone even if there not of our faith.  I thought that was amazing how he noticed this by the example that members had set.  That's why it is so important to be a good example and to magnify what we believe everywhere we go! We never know who could be watching and observing us.  We challenged Wayne to read the introduction to the Book Of Mormon so we could talk about it our next lesson. We met with Wayne two more times this week.  In our second lesson with him, we taught the Restoration.  He kept the commitment and read! We taught, and he understood and was really receptive in everything we taught.  We asked if he would continue read the first chapter of the Book Of Mormon and to pray to know for himself if Jospeh Smith was a true prophet and if the Book Of Mormon was a true book! He accepted and we were so excited for him!  Our third lesson was absolutely incredible! Wayne is kind of forgetful, but he read a lot more than we asked him to, but he forgot to pray.  We talked about what he read, and explained what was going on and where this was taking place.  He said he really loves it so far!  We taught him the Plan of Salvation.  What an experience!  Throughout the whole lesson he didn't say much or ask any questions.  At the end he said "I've felt like I've been enlightened, this makes so much more sense than any other church I've ever been in!"  After he said this, I felt like I should say that he is going to see his parents again.  So I did.  As I testified of this, he started to tear up.  He said that his Dad would probably be disappointed in him because he sold the family farm after he died.  We assured him that his parents would be happy to see him no matter what.  This really brought him comfort.  We then taught him how God has asked us to pray, and invited him to say the closing prayer.  He did willingly, and we asked him again if he would pray to know if these things we have been teaching him are true.  He said he would! I know that we aren't the true teachers, we as missionaries are just the representatives that the Holy Ghost works through.  I know that Wayne has an open heart to receive this message, he has already shown that he wants to learn.   I cannot wait to teach Wayne again, he is so ready to receive this wonderful Gospel, and I'm so excited for him.  We teach him every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  We are planning to put him on date this next lesson!  I'll let you know how that goes. 

          Our other investigator, Chad, wasn't really progressing, and we really didn't know what to do.  We felt like it was good for us to be there for him through these struggles.  He called us this week on Thursday, and he was really struggling.  We talked with him, and a couple days before he asked us who we were teaching.  We told him all about Wayne.  During this call he asked what we had taught Wayne the day before, and we told him the Plan of Salvation.  We told him how it brought comfort and hope to Wayne.  He asked us if we would teach him it.  He didn't have time this past week due to work, but we are going to start teaching him about the Gospel!  A week ago all he wanted to do was just talk, and take us out to eat.  I know the Holy Ghost changed his heart, and has been working on him ever since we first met him.  Sometimes it takes hard trials for people to change, but I know that it is for the best! 

          This past Wednesday we had an awesome Zone Conference.  The AP's asked me to give a recitation training on D&C 4, I focused it on verses 5-6 which mention Christ-like attributes.  In Preach My Gospel Chapter 6 it says this fantastic quote which I used.  "Christlike attributes are gifts from God. They come as you use your agency righteously. Ask your Heavenly Father to bless you with these attributes; you cannot develop them without His help."  I thought it went very well!  Here's a little part of what I said at the end.  "The more we focus on others, and forget ourselves, the more we become like Christ. I know that if we all strive to become more like our Savior, we can become more effective ministers of His Gospel".  I know that if you all focus on the different Christ-like attributes, and truly ask God to help you develop them on a daily basis, you will be blessed and become more like Christ.  We had some amazing trainings by President and Sister McMurray, and the AP's.  President's training was my favorite.  He talked about going through trials on our missions.  How he explained it was amazing! He explained how when we experience hard times and trials, we are experiencing a super small feeling of what the Savior had to go through in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He said how much the Savior loves us, because he has experienced every single difficulty we have and will ever face.  I know that is so true!  I have seen it in my own life many times and on my mission.  I know I always have someone who knows how I'm feeling, and knows how I can be healed.  I love my Savior so much! I can't even express how much I love Him.  President McMurray shared this little quote, "The Lord has His timing, and we are just a part of it.  The little things now is all a part of the big picture." This brought such comfort to me!  

          Overall it's been a great but challenging week!  I know that if we trust in our Heavenly Father, and in His timing and His will, we will be blessed so much and we will be helped through all the struggles we face in life.  I love you all so much!  Hope you all have a great week.

Love,

Elder Bailey

1/16/17 | Happy MLK Day

First off, Happy Birthday Spencer! MLK would be proud to share his day with you!  We had a great week full of so many blessings! The teaching in our ward is finally starting to pick up!  I knew it would if we put forth the effort, and it's wonderful to see the blessings we receive by being such diligent missionaries! 

           This week we had been contacting a lot of less-actives, and the different former/potential investigators we had in our area book, when we had some amazing experiences happen.  I was going down the list, with a lot of people not answering, when I called the Ryan's! It sounded really promising in their description, so I called them, and Brother Ryan answered.  When I said it was the missionaries calling, he got really excited, and told me how he wanted us to teach his child about the gospel, but that he was getting full-custody over him this coming week.  He told us to call him back this Tuesday to schedule when we could visit them.  What a blessing! He's not even a member and he wants us to teach his son, I will definitely find out the whole story and let you know how that goes next week.  After we were done calling people, we got a call from an investigator that we have been trying to contact for weeks now.  He called and asked if we could meet right then!  We dropped everything and went to meet him.  We met Chad, and he was really needing us.  He explained his whole life's story, and about all of his family struggles.  We talked for awhile.  We said to him how we would be there for him through all these struggles, and we bore our testimonies of how much God loves him as well.  The spirit was so strong in his home, it was amazing!  Throughout the rest of the week, we met with Chad two more time, at Chick-fil-a, and a coffee shop.  (We got some hot chocolate there that was amazing! don't worry :). We have been texting him daily to see how he is doing, and he has appreciated it so much! He has really needed the time we've spent with him.  He told us how he knows that we were sent from God to help him.  Being a missionary and helping God's children is the most incredible thing I've ever experienced in my life.  It brings a different kind of joy that I can't explain!

           We had a wonderful time meeting some amazing families in the Ward this week.  My favorite in the Ward now are the Krammers.  They are so awesome!  We became such good friends with the whole family when we had dinner and had our lesson after.  The two youngest brothers both served missions, and one got back a month ago.  I could tell both of them were fantastic missionaries.  After our lesson, we were headed out and Brother Krammer walked us out to our car.  He was so thankful for us, and said that they haven't fed the missionaries in awhile because they didn't like them, but he said that he was very impressed by us.  That made Elder Kimball and I feel so loved!  I honestly love our ward!  

            We had an amazing Zone Meeting this week.  President McMurray and President Goodell were there.  President Goodell gave an inspired training on lying.  He explained how in the Bible it says specifically that God doesn't lie eight different times.  It's the only thing it says God doesn't do, so he explained to us how serious it is to be honest, especially on our missions.  Man he spoke with some power!  I could definitely feel the spirit present.  Our Zone Leaders gave some wonderful trainings about how we can make our planning more effective.  President McMurray told us that there was going to be some changes to our planning and schedule in the missionary broadcast coming up!  I'm excited to find out what that's going to be!  We also had a Windsor Stake Breakfast the next morning.  One of our Stake Presidency members, President Fairbanks,  and his wife had all the missionaries from the Stake over.  We had a great time meeting them, and afterwards we had a little spiritual lesson.  He had Elder Kimball and Sister Hooper give their testimonies.  Then we read from Alma 17-20 about Ammon and his Brethren being some of the best missionaries ever!  He asked us to study these chapters, and apply what made them such good missionaries.  He called it the "missionary standard", which I thought was a very appropriate name for it.  Elder Kimball and I really applied these things in our weekly planning this week.  It was the most spiritual weekly planning session I have ever been in.  The spiritual experiences we had while we were weekly planning really bore testimony to me of how much God wants to help us be better, more effective missionaries.  Every time we prayed sincerely on a specific goal we had, Elder Kimball and I would receive the same answer.  Getting answers this clearly has never happened in my entire life, and it has strengthened my testimony on Prayer Immensely! I know that if you all truly say sincere prayers, every morning and night, with a specific question in mind, God will answer your question.  It may not come quickly, but I know it will come when God sees fit.  I love you all so much and hope you have a fantastic week.

Love,

Elder Bailey

Colorado sunsets 

I had to for only $5...... don't judge, but it fits me perfectly:)

1/9/17 | Cold to Warm

 It has been such an amazing week this week!  We have been so much busier, and getting so many opportunities through our work! First off I just want to say congrats to my best friend Chase on getting his missionary call to the Spain Madrid Mission!  I am so excited for you!  I can't wait until all of my best friends are out with me serving the Lord.  I have been so blessed in my life having such amazing friends!  Love you guys.  

       This past Tuesday was our Trainers Meeting for all the new missionaries.  It was held up in Cheyenne.  It was so amazing!  I got to see Elder McFadden, Elder Ma'ake, and Brother Stark from Riverton!  Brother Stark had to drive the missionaries down because of bad weather.  It was so awesome catching up with them. We had some amazing trainings by President and Sister McMurray, and my the Assistants Elder Jackson and Elder Chan.  I got some really good advice on how to get more teaching opportunities in this brand new area that Elder Kimball and I have been swept into.  I feel like using this will help the work in the Peak View Ward progress so much, but it all has to start with us as missionaries working diligently.  We definitely implemented what we learned this week in our area, and it helped tremendously!   

           We had some amazing experiences this week with visiting Less-Active members in the ward.  It has been -5 to -20 degrees here this weekend!  (Now today it's 52 degrees and everything's melting! So crazy....)  We got snowed in on Thursday morning when it was really cold, so we had to stay in our apartment until 2:30 till the roads were clear. Then we started to visit as many Less-Actives as we could.  We were looking through the list, and a families name stood out to me, the Salazar's.  We went immediately to there home and visited them!  Brother Salazar opened the door and was so happy to see us!  He let us in and we talked for awhile with him and his family. It turns out that only Sister Salazar is a member, but the rest of their family is not! Brother Salazar talked a lot about the Fort Collins Temple and how he wants to go in it.  He said they probably wouldn't let him in, but I reassured him that he could go in, it would just take a lot of work!  He laughed, and said that would be awesome! What an opportunity!  They invited us to dinner in two weeks, and we can't wait!  We are definitely praying to know what to teach them, we will need the Lord's guidance in order to know what will be best for them.  We also visited another less-active family, the Knocks.  We went to visit them, and they said to have us call them on Monday to schedule a return appointment.  Brother Knock is in a band, and is really hilarious!  I'm excited to get to know them and help them come back to church.  

         On Friday we had some growing experiences for Elder Kimball!  We cover three towns, part of Greeley, Eaton, and Ault.  We decided to go and visit all of the Less-Actives in Ault, and go tracting a bit.  We visited a few really old people, and they didn't feel comfortable having anyone in their home, so that was kind of sad....... but we kept trying.  One house we knocked was this man who looked very mean!  I told Elder Kimball this was his door.  The very rough looking man answered, Elder Kimball tried to start talking, but as soon as he started the man said "How about you just tell all ya'll to never come back, ever!"  Then he slammed the door.  When we walked off I just made sure Elder Kimball wasn't traumatized, but he took it awesome!  We were both just laughing about it afterwards and it was great.  Elder Kimball is an awesome missionary!  We wil, do so much good for this area, I just know it! 

         We had a member of the mission presidency visit our ward on Sunday!  President Goodell and his wife texted us Saturday night and asked if they could come, and asked for our building address and what time our church met at.  They came for our Ward Council meeting, and for all of church.  They challenged us to get to know all of the young men in our ward, and call them by name every single Sunday!  He said that being a good example for these young boys could really help them decide to serve a mission or not.  We got a list of all the young men in our ward yesterday so we can learn their names to start implementing this next week.  After Church, President Goodell pulled us aside and told us he heard some amazing things about us in High Priests Quorum, and to keep up the good work.  That made me happy that the ward already likes us and knows we're diligent missionaries!  I know that if we stay hard working and diligent missionaries, then it will open up teaching opportunities with people they know who would love to hear about the gospel.  

          I am so grateful that I am a missionary.  Elder Kimball and I were talking the other night, and he was saying how much happier he is now as a missionary than he was at home.  Isn't that so true!  There is a different kind of joy that is felt when you are on a mission, I can't really explain it, but I know that it is true!  I am so glad that I am striving to bless families with this wonderful Gospel that I know has blessed my family so much!  I love you guys so much, and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love, 

Elder Bailey

1. Snow Day

1/2/17 | Happy New Year!

  I can't believe it's 2017 already!! What a year. It's nice to have a fresh start, in my companionship, in our ward we've been swept into, and in the new year!  It's been an amazing week this week!  Training has been awesome, I think I'm finally starting to get a hang of things!  My new companions name is Elder Kimball, he is from Atlanta, Georgia.  He just graduated way early from high school, and has two semesters of college under his belt.  He just barely turned 18! He's super young but I love him to death!  We have already become really good friends. 

           Tuesday was a long transfer day.  It was way difficult trying to pack all the Christmas presents into my bags along with everything else, but I managed to fit it all in.  Saying bye to Elder Clemence and Elder Miner was pretty hard, they're some of my best friends in the mission, but I was super excited to meet my brand new missionary! We had a long drive down to Windsor, and I finally met Elder Kimball! I could already tell he was going to be a stud from the first time I saw him, that was definitely a relief! While we were at the mission office, they fed us pizza and we just talked with President and Sister McMurray.  It was awesome.  Then President said that a missionary has been talking some smack to everyone about how he's the tallest missionary in our mission, specifically calling me out saying he's 6' 8 or something..... I honestly said no chance!  The missionary happened to come into the building when we were talking about it and President had us stand back to back.  The whole office was watching us, and I was taller by quite a bit.  I kind of felt bad because the other missionary looked shocked, but I guess he should choose his battles a little more wisely next time! Haha, it was pretty funny.  

            Elder Kimball and I went to our apartment that night and it was horrifying! The other Elders before us were super messy, so we spent two hours that night cleaning the place before we even brought our stuff in.  I'm glad Elder Kimball likes to be cleanly like I do.  Cleaning the apartment honestly changed the atmosphere so that the Spirit could be present.  It looks super nice now!  

            We got to meet with our Bishop and Ward Mission Leader this week.  They both said to us as soon as we walked in that they were so happy we were there!  They explained how the missionaries before weren't diligent and obedient, and they could already tell that we wanted to work! I can't wait to get the ward rolling again.  There is so much potential, all we have to do is work!  The Peak View Ward is HUGE!  There are almost 400 active members in the Ward with almost more inactive members, so we'll definitely have some work to do! 

           Our first lesson this week was pretty solid! It was with a contact in our area book, and we were super excited.  We taught them the Restoration, and they were asking questions, then it went a little downhill when they said all they needed was the Bible.  We testified that we knew the Bible and The Book Of Mormon were the words of God, and that the Book Of Mormon contains the fullness of the Gospel.  They didn't really want to hear about it.  I asked them if they would Pray to know if it was a true book and if Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.  They said they didn't want to, but they would give it a try.  Hopefully they will follow through and they will let the Holy Ghost testify to them of its truth.  I know that if they do ask with an open heart, and with real intent, that the Holy Ghost will manifest unto them of its truth.  

            We had some awesome dinner appointments with super cool families.  Our second one we had was awesome!  As soon as Brother Anderson answered the door I knew we were going to have a lot to talk about.  He is so huge!  Like a whopping 7 footer! I felt so small, it was hilarious! His wife was 6' 6" so I fit it pretty well I guess.  We had an awesome dinner, and turns out Brother Anderson played for Florida State from 98-01.  Of course I asked him who was the best player he played against, he said it was Shane Battier on Duke!  It was crazy.  They also told us that all of their kids are supposed to be between 6' 8", and 7' 2".  They will be monsters someday!  It was nice to talk about basketball with him.  

            On Sunday I guess we didn't get the memo it wasn't Fast Sunday.  Bishop asked us if we would introduce ourselves a little, so we were for sure going to bear our testimonies! That was already the plan, but when we got to Sacrament Meeting, we looked at the program and I guess we were both giving talks!  I've never thrown together a talk in les than 25 minutes before, but luckily I had some talks pre-written from some Zone Conferences.  Elder Kimball had to throw something together real quick, but it turned out to be awesome!  Both of our talks were super good, and the ward seemed happy to see us!  This has never happened to me before, but when we passed out our dinner calendar in Relief Society, it was completely filled except for two days.... it was incredible!  The ward here is awesome.  

           This area is going to be awesome, I can just tell!  I have an awesome companion, and awesome Ward, and there is so much work to do.  It was a really slow week this week because the Elders before us left nothing, but that is totally okay!  We have been trying to do a lot of finding, and I know we will see success soon!  Hope you all had some wonderful New Years Celebrations!  Love you guys!

Love,

-Elder Bailey

1. Our New Years Celebration, Thanks Mom :)