Oh It has been such a great week here in Cheyenne! Elder Callahan
and I get along great, and we are both on the same page. I'm really
excited for this upcoming transfer, it should be a good one! On my
first day here, we had to coordinate some of the transfers, and help
out with moving missionaries around. After we had helped out with all
of that, we headed to our Stake Presidents house, President Bailey, to
have a meeting with him. He is such an awesome guy! His whole family
is tall too, and we think that we are related down the line somewhere!
We discussed the missionary work in our Stake here in Cheyenne, and
it was amazing to see the vision he has for Member missionary work.
We are going to focus mainly on that for all the members in the Stake,
and especially in our wards we cover. We have already seen success
this week from this, and I'm excited to see how much more we can have
over the next couple months!
We were really busy this week with visiting less active members
and finding people to teach. We are covering the Prairie View and
Monterary Heights wards, and the work has started to pick up since
this past Monday. The Prairie View Ward is a lot of ranchers out in
the middle of nowhere north of Cheyenne, and the Monterary Heights
Ward is the very wealthiest part of Cheyenne, so we have some pretty
diverse members. While we were visiting some Less-actives out in the
prarie View Ward, we ran into the Stevenson's. The wife is a
non-member, and the husbands the less active. The wife answered the
door, and she was so nice! We were a little shocked at first, but we
talked for a bit, and she said she would love to have us come back
next Wednesday. We found out later that she had been very anti, then
her husband had a heart attack. Their home teacher brought over meals
to them a lot, and through that her heart has been softened! I am
really excited to meet with them and teach them a lesson. I'm hoping
it will lead to somewhere!
We did a lot of service this week. We do service at the
Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Museum, and that is really cool! We
help out with all of these random projects they need help with. I
hadn't ever heard of this, but I guess Cheyenne hosts on of the
biggest rodeo venues in the world each July called Frontier Days, so
I'm probably going to be here for that! A ton of people come into
town for it, so I'm excited to do a lot of finding and contacting
then! We also helped out a member this past Wednesday, in the snow,
dig trenches for his sprinkler system. That was nice and cold and
muddy! Then on Saturday the weather flipped to 80 degrees and we
helped a less active member build a fence, which was really hot and
sweaty! The weather is absolutely crazy here! I just love providing
service for other people, it makes me feel so good when I'm in the
service of others. We will definitely have a lot more service this
upcoming transfer.
We taught a recent convert this week the Plan of Salvation. Her
name is Sasha, and she was baptized a few weeks ago. She is such an
amazing convert! I love hearing the testimonies of those who have
recently joined the church, they are always so powerful. It was a
great lesson, and her testimony is so strong!
We had MLC (Mission Leadership Council) this past Friday, and it
was awesome! I got to see a lot of my really good friends, and we
learned a lot from President and Sister McMurray. We discussed some
of the things our mission is struggling with, and how we can best help
fix those problems. We also focused on Member missionary work. I
love talking about Member missionary work, because I know it works!
Having the members and missionaries on the same page is the way it
should be everywhere. One phrase I loved from this meeting was
"Members should be doing the finding, and missionaries should be doing
the teaching." Members reaching out and inviting their friends to
learn about the gospel, is so much more effective than anything
missionaries can do alone. Having a friend reach out to you and tell
you how much the Gospel would bless their lives means a lot more than
two random guys coming up to you on the street. We are having a huge
push for Member missionary work in our mission, but especially in the
Cheyenne Stake. I know that as we find those members who are willing
to invite others to come unto Christ, the work will continue press
forward more than it already is! Overall it was a fantastic meeting
we had as a mission.
President McMurray asked Elder Callahan and I to attend the
Cheyenne Wyoming East Stake Conference. We aren't in that Stake, but
he wanted us to go. We attended the Saturday night and Sunday
sessions of the conference. Elder Nielson of the Seventy was in
attendance, along with President and Sister McMurray and the Fort
Collins Colorado temple President and his wife. Elder Nielson is one
of the head people over the missionary department, he was the main
person leading the last Worldwide Missionary Broadcast with Elder Oaks
and Elder Bednar. The whole conference was centered on Member
missionary work, and how it is our responsibility as members of the
church to share the Gospel with all the world! As President David O.
McKay said, "Every Member a missionary!" This is such a true
statement! We have all seen the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His
restored church bless our lives, and don't we want all of our friends
to be blessed by it as well? I know that is a huge reason I am out
here serving my Savior, is to help others experience the pure joy I
have experienced with my family in the Gospel. I love this Gospel
with all of my heart! Another thing Elder Nielson shared that I loved
was in 3 Nephi 9:13, when all of the wicked people are destroyed
during all of the destruction. The more righteous part of the people
are saved and gathered together, and Jesus Christ asks them if they
will change and become better. Elder Nielson explained how even the
most righteous ones of God's children need to change, and how the
Savior invites all of us to change and to follow Him. I want to
invite you guys to find something in your life that you can improve
on, and to let Jesus Christ, through His everlasting Atonement, change
you to become better. I know that all of us can change if we have our
focus be in the Savior. Through Him, anything is possible!
That Sunday night, we taught both the Prairie View and
Monterary Heights Mission Preparation classes. It was so awesome to
see such amazing missionaries in training, I loved teaching both
classes! In the Prairie View class, a lot of the youth brought some
of their non-Member friends to practice their teaching on them for
mission prep. First we had a Q&A where the friends asked questions,
and we had the youth answer them. They did an amazing job, and as a
group, we taught these non-member friends the Restoration. One of the
youth explained Joseph's experience in the Sacred Grove, but did not
recite the First Vision. We had them go back and say the First Vision
word for word. As soon as that youth started to speak, the sweetest
Spirit entered the room. I couldn't help but smile, because I knew
everyone in that room was feeling that same Spirit. After this, one
of the non-member friends asked the two youth with their mission
calls, "Why are you going on a mission, and why do you think it will
help you?" One of the young men shared the greatest experience, he
said that when he received his mission call, all of his friends in the
next week or so, made fun of him and were very rude to him about
choosing to serve a mission. He shared that even though all of his
closest friends were going against him, he was still so strong about
serving the Lord. He said that he prayed to know if he should go on a
mission or not, and he received an answer through the Holy Ghost that
it was what he was supposed to be doing. He invited all of the
non-members to read from the Book Of Mormon and to pray to know if it
was true, because he knew that they could receive their own witness
from God. It was the coolest thing to see the youth testify and
invite the Spirit as they did so. I love seeing others prepare to
serve a mission, because I know how much it will bless their lives and
the lives of those they teach!
I love it here in Cheyenne, even though it is kinda windy, it's
still amazing! There is so much work to do here, and I can't wait to
find those people that are ready to receive the Gospel! Elder
Callahan and I set a goal, and fasted about it yesterday, that we are
going to find three people who want to learn more about the Gospel
this week. I know that as we work our hardest, and as we diligently
seek to find those who are prepared, either by our own efforts or
through members, I know that we will find those three people the Lord
needs us to find! I love you guys, and hope you have a fantastic
week!
Love,
Elder Bailey
1. My new friend.
2. MLC, (Elder Callahan is the one kneeling on the bottom right.)
excited for this upcoming transfer, it should be a good one! On my
first day here, we had to coordinate some of the transfers, and help
out with moving missionaries around. After we had helped out with all
of that, we headed to our Stake Presidents house, President Bailey, to
have a meeting with him. He is such an awesome guy! His whole family
is tall too, and we think that we are related down the line somewhere!
We discussed the missionary work in our Stake here in Cheyenne, and
it was amazing to see the vision he has for Member missionary work.
We are going to focus mainly on that for all the members in the Stake,
and especially in our wards we cover. We have already seen success
this week from this, and I'm excited to see how much more we can have
over the next couple months!
We were really busy this week with visiting less active members
and finding people to teach. We are covering the Prairie View and
Monterary Heights wards, and the work has started to pick up since
this past Monday. The Prairie View Ward is a lot of ranchers out in
the middle of nowhere north of Cheyenne, and the Monterary Heights
Ward is the very wealthiest part of Cheyenne, so we have some pretty
diverse members. While we were visiting some Less-actives out in the
prarie View Ward, we ran into the Stevenson's. The wife is a
non-member, and the husbands the less active. The wife answered the
door, and she was so nice! We were a little shocked at first, but we
talked for a bit, and she said she would love to have us come back
next Wednesday. We found out later that she had been very anti, then
her husband had a heart attack. Their home teacher brought over meals
to them a lot, and through that her heart has been softened! I am
really excited to meet with them and teach them a lesson. I'm hoping
it will lead to somewhere!
We did a lot of service this week. We do service at the
Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Museum, and that is really cool! We
help out with all of these random projects they need help with. I
hadn't ever heard of this, but I guess Cheyenne hosts on of the
biggest rodeo venues in the world each July called Frontier Days, so
I'm probably going to be here for that! A ton of people come into
town for it, so I'm excited to do a lot of finding and contacting
then! We also helped out a member this past Wednesday, in the snow,
dig trenches for his sprinkler system. That was nice and cold and
muddy! Then on Saturday the weather flipped to 80 degrees and we
helped a less active member build a fence, which was really hot and
sweaty! The weather is absolutely crazy here! I just love providing
service for other people, it makes me feel so good when I'm in the
service of others. We will definitely have a lot more service this
upcoming transfer.
We taught a recent convert this week the Plan of Salvation. Her
name is Sasha, and she was baptized a few weeks ago. She is such an
amazing convert! I love hearing the testimonies of those who have
recently joined the church, they are always so powerful. It was a
great lesson, and her testimony is so strong!
We had MLC (Mission Leadership Council) this past Friday, and it
was awesome! I got to see a lot of my really good friends, and we
learned a lot from President and Sister McMurray. We discussed some
of the things our mission is struggling with, and how we can best help
fix those problems. We also focused on Member missionary work. I
love talking about Member missionary work, because I know it works!
Having the members and missionaries on the same page is the way it
should be everywhere. One phrase I loved from this meeting was
"Members should be doing the finding, and missionaries should be doing
the teaching." Members reaching out and inviting their friends to
learn about the gospel, is so much more effective than anything
missionaries can do alone. Having a friend reach out to you and tell
you how much the Gospel would bless their lives means a lot more than
two random guys coming up to you on the street. We are having a huge
push for Member missionary work in our mission, but especially in the
Cheyenne Stake. I know that as we find those members who are willing
to invite others to come unto Christ, the work will continue press
forward more than it already is! Overall it was a fantastic meeting
we had as a mission.
President McMurray asked Elder Callahan and I to attend the
Cheyenne Wyoming East Stake Conference. We aren't in that Stake, but
he wanted us to go. We attended the Saturday night and Sunday
sessions of the conference. Elder Nielson of the Seventy was in
attendance, along with President and Sister McMurray and the Fort
Collins Colorado temple President and his wife. Elder Nielson is one
of the head people over the missionary department, he was the main
person leading the last Worldwide Missionary Broadcast with Elder Oaks
and Elder Bednar. The whole conference was centered on Member
missionary work, and how it is our responsibility as members of the
church to share the Gospel with all the world! As President David O.
McKay said, "Every Member a missionary!" This is such a true
statement! We have all seen the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His
restored church bless our lives, and don't we want all of our friends
to be blessed by it as well? I know that is a huge reason I am out
here serving my Savior, is to help others experience the pure joy I
have experienced with my family in the Gospel. I love this Gospel
with all of my heart! Another thing Elder Nielson shared that I loved
was in 3 Nephi 9:13, when all of the wicked people are destroyed
during all of the destruction. The more righteous part of the people
are saved and gathered together, and Jesus Christ asks them if they
will change and become better. Elder Nielson explained how even the
most righteous ones of God's children need to change, and how the
Savior invites all of us to change and to follow Him. I want to
invite you guys to find something in your life that you can improve
on, and to let Jesus Christ, through His everlasting Atonement, change
you to become better. I know that all of us can change if we have our
focus be in the Savior. Through Him, anything is possible!
That Sunday night, we taught both the Prairie View and
Monterary Heights Mission Preparation classes. It was so awesome to
see such amazing missionaries in training, I loved teaching both
classes! In the Prairie View class, a lot of the youth brought some
of their non-Member friends to practice their teaching on them for
mission prep. First we had a Q&A where the friends asked questions,
and we had the youth answer them. They did an amazing job, and as a
group, we taught these non-member friends the Restoration. One of the
youth explained Joseph's experience in the Sacred Grove, but did not
recite the First Vision. We had them go back and say the First Vision
word for word. As soon as that youth started to speak, the sweetest
Spirit entered the room. I couldn't help but smile, because I knew
everyone in that room was feeling that same Spirit. After this, one
of the non-member friends asked the two youth with their mission
calls, "Why are you going on a mission, and why do you think it will
help you?" One of the young men shared the greatest experience, he
said that when he received his mission call, all of his friends in the
next week or so, made fun of him and were very rude to him about
choosing to serve a mission. He shared that even though all of his
closest friends were going against him, he was still so strong about
serving the Lord. He said that he prayed to know if he should go on a
mission or not, and he received an answer through the Holy Ghost that
it was what he was supposed to be doing. He invited all of the
non-members to read from the Book Of Mormon and to pray to know if it
was true, because he knew that they could receive their own witness
from God. It was the coolest thing to see the youth testify and
invite the Spirit as they did so. I love seeing others prepare to
serve a mission, because I know how much it will bless their lives and
the lives of those they teach!
I love it here in Cheyenne, even though it is kinda windy, it's
still amazing! There is so much work to do here, and I can't wait to
find those people that are ready to receive the Gospel! Elder
Callahan and I set a goal, and fasted about it yesterday, that we are
going to find three people who want to learn more about the Gospel
this week. I know that as we work our hardest, and as we diligently
seek to find those who are prepared, either by our own efforts or
through members, I know that we will find those three people the Lord
needs us to find! I love you guys, and hope you have a fantastic
week!
Love,
Elder Bailey
1. My new friend.
2. MLC, (Elder Callahan is the one kneeling on the bottom right.)
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