It has been a pretty crazy week this past week! I got a call from President McMurray yesterday informing me of the passing of my beloved Grandpa Bailey. I was not too shocked because he has been sick for some time and slowly getting worse and worse, but it still hit me pretty hard. When I heard, I thought of my sweet Grandma Rose, who so lovingly has taken care of Grandpa for a long time. Grandma, I LOVE YOU! You are such an incredible woman, thanks for loving and taking care of Grandpa so well. You are a huge example of Christlike love and service to everyone who knows you, especially me. Thank you, you have no idea how much you are appreciated! I actually found out the morning of our mission tour, so I had a lot of very good friends there to support me during this tough day. What a miracle it is to have loving friends to help us out when we are down! My heart is saddened, but the knowledge of The Plan of Salvation has brought me great joy to know the Grandpa Bailey is in the Spirit World, resting from all the pains and trouble he experienced here on earth. What a joy that brings me!! I love this Gospel with all of my heart, and it brings joy even through the rough times! I am praying for you guys, especially Grandma Rose, Dad, Aunt Natalie, and Uncle Stu. Love you guys so much :)
Last Tuesday night I was able to meet my new companion, who is fresh out of the MTC! His name is Elder Trumbo, and he is so awesome! He is from Placencia, California, and he has a great desire to be a good missionary. We’ve gotten along great so far, and we are looking forward to our transfer together! It was sad to leave Elder Gordon and Wellington with all the work we had going on there, but that’s okay! That is just how missions work! Elder Trumbo and I got here to Casper on Wednesday, after a long drive from Colorado up to here. On the way I was able to see a bunch of my best friends from my mission! Elder Tippetts, Elder Judd, Elder Hatch, Elder Kimball, Elder Halladay, Elder Bennett, etc. all such great friends, I love them! Anyways, we made it to Casper, and turns out we didn’t have a place to live...... we were trying to figure things out and finally found some elders, Elder Williamson and Elder Clark, who would let us live with them, that was a huge headache but it was a great miracle that we have a place to sleep! We are now in the process of finding a new apartment to stay in, so that should be good! We will find one soon hopefully that is closer to our area!
The second day we got here we went to Walmart to get some essentials. As we were at the checkout, a man approached us. He said, “are ya’ll Mormons?” We replied to him yes, then he asked “okay, well I just got one question for you. If Joseph Smith lost the gold plates, why wasn’t anyone mad at him?” This sparked up an amazing conversation! We explained to this man that Joseph Smith did not lose the plates, but he returned them to Angel Moroni, the same angel that guided him to where they were deposited, after he was done translating them. After we said this the man said, “oh, well that makes more sense.” We testified to him that through reading and praying to know The Book Of Mormon is true is how we find out if the gold plates were real and if Joseph Smith is a Prophet Of God. He then looked deep in thought, and then pulled out his business card and said “here’s my card, give us a call and we’d love to have you over for dinner sometime!” We told them we would, and they left. Wow! They told us that they had met missionaries in Fort Morgan, Colorado. I have had a lot of these “random encounters” on my mission, but they are not random at all! Heavenly Father placed them in our path to help them feel the Spirit, and we know through us testifying that him and his wife felt something, and wanted us to come over to their house, how amazing!! Later that same day, we saw a man out in his driveway, so we immediately went and spoke with him. Turns out half of his family is Mormon! We asked if we could come by and share a message sometime, and he said we could! We got his information and tried to visit him a few days ago, but they weren’t home. We will try both of these people this week! How amazing!
I had the opportunity and privilege to conduct a Baptismal Interview with a lady who was scheduled to be baptized this Saturday. Her name was Rana. It was the most Spiritual Baptismal Interview I’ve ever performed! As we had our interview, she told me her conversion story, and it was amazing! As she testified to me and shared her testimony, I couldn’t help but feel the Spirit! It was so so strong! We talked about eternal families, and I was able to testify to her how I’ve seen the gospel bless my families life! I welled up with tears many times because of the powerful spirit that was within the room. At the end of the interview, we both were in tears, so I went to grab the box of tissues that were in the high council room. I gave her one, then I grabbed one and they were the only two tissues left in the box! Miracle! I told her how that is definitely a tender mercy from Heavenly Father, and we both laughed because of how randomly amazing that was! We were able to attend her baptism the next day, and it was a really sweet. She is one of the most solid converts I’ve ever met! I can’t wait to find more Rana’s within our area! We know they are out there!! It gave us hope to find people like her!
On the way home from the Adult Session Of Stake Conference last Saturday night, we felt impressed to go and visit an investigator who we haven’t met yet. It was 8:45 p.m. and she has a couple of little kids, but we followed what the Spirit prompted us to do and went to visit her. Her husband answered and was very nice to us! We asked if we could come back and they said we could! We got their last name and phone number so we can contact them! It was amazing to be able to follow the subtle prompting of the Spirit, and know that it was what Heavenly Father wanted us to do! I’m grateful that we have the Spirit with us to guide us each and every single day! Amazing miracle!
We had Elder Rawson Of the 6th Quorum of the Seventy attend our Stake Conference. He is such an inspired man! One thing he testified to us during Stake Conference that we need to turn to Christ! He said that we can find joy and we turn to Him, and that Jesus Christ and His Atonement are the biggest miracles of all! Man it was so inspiring to hear from him.
We had our Mission Tour with Elder Wilford W. Anderson of the Seventy just yesterday, and it was absolutely amazing! We drove down to Cheyenne Sunday night where it was being held, and stayed with Elder Hatch. It was fun to catch up with Elder Hatch! We came down for a choir practice Sunday night, and Elder Judd and I sang in the choir together! It reminded me of in the MTC. Elder Judd and I would sing in the MTC choir together, so it was awesome to sing with him again! We practiced one more time Mondaymorning (singing our mission song) and then had an amazing meeting with instruction from President and Sister McMurray, and Elder Wilford W. Anderson and his wife Cathleen. What an inspiring meeting! I wish I could explain what was taught, but there was too much it would probably double what my long emails are already like! Haha. I personally learned so much! Elder Anderson invited us to focus on convert Baptisms more! He said to find, find, find, teach with confidence, and find the elect!! During the second portion of the meeting, we had both Cheyenne Stake presidents, President Bailey and President Brown, for a Q/A with both them, President McMurray, and Elder Anderson. It was so amazing! We discussed how we can work with members more effectively! Man it was amazing! So much information I wish I could share..... one quote I would like to share is this. Elder Anderson stated, “We don’t serve because of our callings, we serve because of our Covenants! We are never released from our Covenants.” Amazing! Remember that each of us, calling or no calling, has a duty and a promise that we’ve made at baptism, and in the temple. We need to live up to those promises we’ve made with our Heavenly Father, so amazing!
We had a great lunch between the instruction and Q/A, and I was able to see a few old members of the wards that I served in here in Cheyenne! And the lunch was amazing as always! After the meetings, we said our byes to friends, and we had scheduled dinner with Jan, a recent convert member I got to know really well in Cheyenne. Between then and dinner, we were able to go and say hi to the Weber’s, honestly one of my favorite member families I’ve met on my mission! It was so fun to see them again! They are incredible, and make me feel like their own child. I love them! We had a wonderful dinner with Jan and her non member son Lucas. She is struggling a little bit, and we were able to talk with her. She is amazing! It was fun to catch up with Lucas as well. After dinner we headed back up to Casper. A lot of driving in the past couple of days, sheesh!!
One thing I studied this past week was in Alma 9:26-28 which states,
26 And not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers.
27 And behold, he cometh to redeem those who will be baptized unto repentance, through faith on his name.
28 Therefore, prepare ye the way of the Lord, for the time is at hand that all men shall reap a reward of their works, according to that which they have been--if they have been righteous they shall reap the salvation of their souls, according to the power and deliverance of Jesus Christ; and if they have been evil they shall reap the damnation of their souls, according to the power and captivation of the devil.
Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, has prepared the way for each of us to gain Faith, Repent, be Baptized, receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, Endure to the End, and live forever with Him and our Heavenly Father again! I love Him tremendously for this! He is absolutely the greatest miracle in my life, and in all of our lives! It reminds me of the hymn, “I Stand All Amazed.” I truly am amazed at what He has done for me. I’d just invite each of you to think of how the Savior has impacted you in your life, and always remember what He has done for you. And to truly thank Heavenly Father for the gift he has given to us of eternal life! I know that I will see my sweet Grandpa Bailey again! The Plan of Salvation is absolutely true! It brings closure to the wounded heart, comfort to the weak, and reassures us that we WILL see our loved ones once again! Grandpa Bailey will be missed, he has been such a blessing in my life and in the lives of all who he has met. I love you Grandpa, and I know I will see you again! I hope you all have a great week! Love you!
Love,
Elder Bailey
Pics:
Last Tuesday night I was able to meet my new companion, who is fresh out of the MTC! His name is Elder Trumbo, and he is so awesome! He is from Placencia, California, and he has a great desire to be a good missionary. We’ve gotten along great so far, and we are looking forward to our transfer together! It was sad to leave Elder Gordon and Wellington with all the work we had going on there, but that’s okay! That is just how missions work! Elder Trumbo and I got here to Casper on Wednesday, after a long drive from Colorado up to here. On the way I was able to see a bunch of my best friends from my mission! Elder Tippetts, Elder Judd, Elder Hatch, Elder Kimball, Elder Halladay, Elder Bennett, etc. all such great friends, I love them! Anyways, we made it to Casper, and turns out we didn’t have a place to live...... we were trying to figure things out and finally found some elders, Elder Williamson and Elder Clark, who would let us live with them, that was a huge headache but it was a great miracle that we have a place to sleep! We are now in the process of finding a new apartment to stay in, so that should be good! We will find one soon hopefully that is closer to our area!
The second day we got here we went to Walmart to get some essentials. As we were at the checkout, a man approached us. He said, “are ya’ll Mormons?” We replied to him yes, then he asked “okay, well I just got one question for you. If Joseph Smith lost the gold plates, why wasn’t anyone mad at him?” This sparked up an amazing conversation! We explained to this man that Joseph Smith did not lose the plates, but he returned them to Angel Moroni, the same angel that guided him to where they were deposited, after he was done translating them. After we said this the man said, “oh, well that makes more sense.” We testified to him that through reading and praying to know The Book Of Mormon is true is how we find out if the gold plates were real and if Joseph Smith is a Prophet Of God. He then looked deep in thought, and then pulled out his business card and said “here’s my card, give us a call and we’d love to have you over for dinner sometime!” We told them we would, and they left. Wow! They told us that they had met missionaries in Fort Morgan, Colorado. I have had a lot of these “random encounters” on my mission, but they are not random at all! Heavenly Father placed them in our path to help them feel the Spirit, and we know through us testifying that him and his wife felt something, and wanted us to come over to their house, how amazing!! Later that same day, we saw a man out in his driveway, so we immediately went and spoke with him. Turns out half of his family is Mormon! We asked if we could come by and share a message sometime, and he said we could! We got his information and tried to visit him a few days ago, but they weren’t home. We will try both of these people this week! How amazing!
I had the opportunity and privilege to conduct a Baptismal Interview with a lady who was scheduled to be baptized this Saturday. Her name was Rana. It was the most Spiritual Baptismal Interview I’ve ever performed! As we had our interview, she told me her conversion story, and it was amazing! As she testified to me and shared her testimony, I couldn’t help but feel the Spirit! It was so so strong! We talked about eternal families, and I was able to testify to her how I’ve seen the gospel bless my families life! I welled up with tears many times because of the powerful spirit that was within the room. At the end of the interview, we both were in tears, so I went to grab the box of tissues that were in the high council room. I gave her one, then I grabbed one and they were the only two tissues left in the box! Miracle! I told her how that is definitely a tender mercy from Heavenly Father, and we both laughed because of how randomly amazing that was! We were able to attend her baptism the next day, and it was a really sweet. She is one of the most solid converts I’ve ever met! I can’t wait to find more Rana’s within our area! We know they are out there!! It gave us hope to find people like her!
On the way home from the Adult Session Of Stake Conference last Saturday night, we felt impressed to go and visit an investigator who we haven’t met yet. It was 8:45 p.m. and she has a couple of little kids, but we followed what the Spirit prompted us to do and went to visit her. Her husband answered and was very nice to us! We asked if we could come back and they said we could! We got their last name and phone number so we can contact them! It was amazing to be able to follow the subtle prompting of the Spirit, and know that it was what Heavenly Father wanted us to do! I’m grateful that we have the Spirit with us to guide us each and every single day! Amazing miracle!
We had Elder Rawson Of the 6th Quorum of the Seventy attend our Stake Conference. He is such an inspired man! One thing he testified to us during Stake Conference that we need to turn to Christ! He said that we can find joy and we turn to Him, and that Jesus Christ and His Atonement are the biggest miracles of all! Man it was so inspiring to hear from him.
We had our Mission Tour with Elder Wilford W. Anderson of the Seventy just yesterday, and it was absolutely amazing! We drove down to Cheyenne Sunday night where it was being held, and stayed with Elder Hatch. It was fun to catch up with Elder Hatch! We came down for a choir practice Sunday night, and Elder Judd and I sang in the choir together! It reminded me of in the MTC. Elder Judd and I would sing in the MTC choir together, so it was awesome to sing with him again! We practiced one more time Mondaymorning (singing our mission song) and then had an amazing meeting with instruction from President and Sister McMurray, and Elder Wilford W. Anderson and his wife Cathleen. What an inspiring meeting! I wish I could explain what was taught, but there was too much it would probably double what my long emails are already like! Haha. I personally learned so much! Elder Anderson invited us to focus on convert Baptisms more! He said to find, find, find, teach with confidence, and find the elect!! During the second portion of the meeting, we had both Cheyenne Stake presidents, President Bailey and President Brown, for a Q/A with both them, President McMurray, and Elder Anderson. It was so amazing! We discussed how we can work with members more effectively! Man it was amazing! So much information I wish I could share..... one quote I would like to share is this. Elder Anderson stated, “We don’t serve because of our callings, we serve because of our Covenants! We are never released from our Covenants.” Amazing! Remember that each of us, calling or no calling, has a duty and a promise that we’ve made at baptism, and in the temple. We need to live up to those promises we’ve made with our Heavenly Father, so amazing!
We had a great lunch between the instruction and Q/A, and I was able to see a few old members of the wards that I served in here in Cheyenne! And the lunch was amazing as always! After the meetings, we said our byes to friends, and we had scheduled dinner with Jan, a recent convert member I got to know really well in Cheyenne. Between then and dinner, we were able to go and say hi to the Weber’s, honestly one of my favorite member families I’ve met on my mission! It was so fun to see them again! They are incredible, and make me feel like their own child. I love them! We had a wonderful dinner with Jan and her non member son Lucas. She is struggling a little bit, and we were able to talk with her. She is amazing! It was fun to catch up with Lucas as well. After dinner we headed back up to Casper. A lot of driving in the past couple of days, sheesh!!
One thing I studied this past week was in Alma 9:26-28 which states,
26 And not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers.
27 And behold, he cometh to redeem those who will be baptized unto repentance, through faith on his name.
28 Therefore, prepare ye the way of the Lord, for the time is at hand that all men shall reap a reward of their works, according to that which they have been--if they have been righteous they shall reap the salvation of their souls, according to the power and deliverance of Jesus Christ; and if they have been evil they shall reap the damnation of their souls, according to the power and captivation of the devil.
Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, has prepared the way for each of us to gain Faith, Repent, be Baptized, receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, Endure to the End, and live forever with Him and our Heavenly Father again! I love Him tremendously for this! He is absolutely the greatest miracle in my life, and in all of our lives! It reminds me of the hymn, “I Stand All Amazed.” I truly am amazed at what He has done for me. I’d just invite each of you to think of how the Savior has impacted you in your life, and always remember what He has done for you. And to truly thank Heavenly Father for the gift he has given to us of eternal life! I know that I will see my sweet Grandpa Bailey again! The Plan of Salvation is absolutely true! It brings closure to the wounded heart, comfort to the weak, and reassures us that we WILL see our loved ones once again! Grandpa Bailey will be missed, he has been such a blessing in my life and in the lives of all who he has met. I love you Grandpa, and I know I will see you again! I hope you all have a great week! Love you!
Love,
Elder Bailey
Pics:
1: Meeting Elder Trumbo for the first time! He’s such a stud!
2-4: Saying bye to Elder Gordon, Elder Bennett, and Elder Halladay & Elder Kimball! (Three generations :)
No comments:
Post a Comment