It has been a pretty crazy week! First off, I just wanted to wish Grandpa Burr and happy birthday yesterday! I hope you had a great birthday, thanks for your example to me of what a true Priesthood man looks like. I hope you had a wonderful day with the family at the little reunion you guys had! Love you and Grandma so much! I’m grateful for both my Grandpa’s and their service in the military! I was thinking a lot about them and all of our other veterans yesterday during Memorial Day, and I just wanted to say how grateful I am for those who have served and are serving our country! We wouldn’t be here without their sacrifice! Thank you!
We had trainers meeting last Thursday down in Laramie, and it was another long drive! It was a really good meeting! One thing that we have been asked to do is carry around our missions Book Of Mormon challenge books we have been marking up since April. We have been marking the names and titles of our Savior Jesus Christ, and it has definitely strengthened my testimony that The Book Of Mormon truly is Another Testament Of Jesus Christ! They invited us to carry them around so that we can show and testify to people that The Book Of Mormon truly does testify of Christ, and that this is His gospel and His church! We haven’t had any miraculous experiences yet, but a couple of weeks ago down in Wellington my last companion, Elder Gordon, and I were able to show and testify to our investigator Paul that it does indeed testify of Christ! It was amazing! So I know we will have more experiences up here in Casper like that one! After all of the trainings, we had lunch then interviews with President McMurray. Again, I must say that he is literally the greatest mission president on plant earth, I love him! Our interview went amazing as usual, and we had some great discussion about some gospel questions I have. He knows the gospel very very well, so it is always great to ask him questions. At the end of our interview I asked him “How can I become a better missionary?” We had a great talk about it. Then he told me this statement that struck me. He said “The best missionaries are the best repenters!” He stressed Daily Repentance and utilizing the Atonement each and every day! This was such great advice! I know it will help me become a better missionary. Daily Repentance is not just for missionaries, it is for all of God’s children, each and every one of us! I would invite you guys to think how you can utilize Daily Repentance in your lives. I’m still learning how to apply the Atonement daily, but I know it will bless your life as you become a great repenter! Honestly, you don’t only have to apply the Atonement when you make huge mistakes or commit serious sins, we can and should apply it for every minor mistake we make! The Atonement encompasses all things, to where I can’t even comprehend it! But I do know that we can be forgiven if our sins as we sincerely repent and make a change. Just something to think about I guess! Oh! I was also able to have a temple recommend Interview with President McMurray as well. My recommend was going to expire before my next interview with him, so we were able to have it then. As soon as President started to recite each question by memory, the spirit filled the room! It was amazing! I love temple recommend interviews, they are so incredible! It was so cool to have my mission president interview me for my recommend, what a cool opportunity! I’m so grateful for Temples and Covenants that we can make in our lives! What a blessing from our Heavenly Father!
Last Wednesday night, right before we were about to go Tracting, Elder Trumbo turned to me and told me that he was really discouraged. He said he was discouraged because we haven’t really been able to teach anybody yet (believe me, we’ve been scheduling appointments and doing our best to meet with investigators, but every lesson has fallen through so far.......), we haven’t found anyone super solid to teach in our area, and the other missionaries who we are living with right now have had a ton of success! (They are a training companionship too, and their second day they invited someone in their area to be baptized next month..... that didn’t help Elder Trumbo’s hopes too much.....). FYI, if you didn’t know already, discouragement is one of satan’s biggest tools in his toolbox of lies! These feelings are not from Heavenly Father! Honestly, us not seeing “success” in our area yet hasn’t bothered me too much, because I’ve seen this a lot! But it makes total sense why it would bother a new missionary. As I thought about how to respond to this, I remembered when I was newer to my mission, and how I had these same feelings of discouragement! When I approached President McMurray about this same discouragement, he referred me to Ch. 1 of Preach My Gospel, on pg. 10-11, the section title is “A Successful Missionary.” This helped me so much! So of course we pulled off to the side of the road, and pulled our Preach My Gospel. Elder Trumbo and I read this little section of Preach My Gospel together, and I was able to help him through the same concern I had early on in my mission. That section really sets forth what true success is as a missionary. (I’d invite you guys to take a look at it, it is amazing!) I testified to him that if we put forth the effort and trusted in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, we would feel successful, know we are successful, and see success! As many of your know, I’m all about a little hype and pump up all the time! So we went forth, all pumped up, and tracted for the rest of the night until 9:00. I was a little nervous about us seeing success, but I was comforted as I remembered who I put my trust in. Within that hour and a half, we each handed our three copies of The Book Of Mormon each, and found seven potential investigators! After we got back into the car, Elder Trumbo was smiling and said that he wasn’t discouraged anymore! What a huge blessing and miracle we saw that night! Heavenly Father provided us to see that success that night to comfort one of his missionaries, and strengthen another missionaries testimony. I’m grateful for our Eternal Father and His son Jesus Christ, they are always watching out for us. :)
Last Wednesday night, right before we were about to go Tracting, Elder Trumbo turned to me and told me that he was really discouraged. He said he was discouraged because we haven’t really been able to teach anybody yet (believe me, we’ve been scheduling appointments and doing our best to meet with investigators, but every lesson has fallen through so far.......), we haven’t found anyone super solid to teach in our area, and the other missionaries who we are living with right now have had a ton of success! (They are a training companionship too, and their second day they invited someone in their area to be baptized next month..... that didn’t help Elder Trumbo’s hopes too much.....). FYI, if you didn’t know already, discouragement is one of satan’s biggest tools in his toolbox of lies! These feelings are not from Heavenly Father! Honestly, us not seeing “success” in our area yet hasn’t bothered me too much, because I’ve seen this a lot! But it makes total sense why it would bother a new missionary. As I thought about how to respond to this, I remembered when I was newer to my mission, and how I had these same feelings of discouragement! When I approached President McMurray about this same discouragement, he referred me to Ch. 1 of Preach My Gospel, on pg. 10-11, the section title is “A Successful Missionary.” This helped me so much! So of course we pulled off to the side of the road, and pulled our Preach My Gospel. Elder Trumbo and I read this little section of Preach My Gospel together, and I was able to help him through the same concern I had early on in my mission. That section really sets forth what true success is as a missionary. (I’d invite you guys to take a look at it, it is amazing!) I testified to him that if we put forth the effort and trusted in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, we would feel successful, know we are successful, and see success! As many of your know, I’m all about a little hype and pump up all the time! So we went forth, all pumped up, and tracted for the rest of the night until 9:00. I was a little nervous about us seeing success, but I was comforted as I remembered who I put my trust in. Within that hour and a half, we each handed our three copies of The Book Of Mormon each, and found seven potential investigators! After we got back into the car, Elder Trumbo was smiling and said that he wasn’t discouraged anymore! What a huge blessing and miracle we saw that night! Heavenly Father provided us to see that success that night to comfort one of his missionaries, and strengthen another missionaries testimony. I’m grateful for our Eternal Father and His son Jesus Christ, they are always watching out for us. :)
Okay, honestly just barely, we had our sliding door open to our little deck in our apartment, and a fat ol squirrel came into our apartment! I thought I was hallucinating at first, but it was a real squirrel! We quickly scared him out! Haha. I guess the last missionaries would feed him and let him in, but we didn’t want a dirty squirrel in our apartment.
One of the elders we live with, Elder Clark, and I got sick this past week. It was a miserable three or four days, but I know Heavenly Father helped us get through the sickness we got! We still have lingering effects, but now Elder Trumbo and Elder Clark’s companion, Elder Williamson, are getting the same sickness....... I guess it is going around Casper, but hopefully we all get better soon!!
We were Tracting another night, and an older lady started to talk to us. We told her who we were and she immediately rejected us, but she asked us if we could help her put up her flag for Memorial Day, so we did. We had about an hour long conversation, (she was mostly talking and we were listening), but the whole time we were testifying to her about The Book Of Mormon and Jesus Christ. She kept rejecting us, so we just patiently listened, and near the end she told us she was sorry for talking to us and ranting to us, but she hadn’t talked to anyone this much the whole winter. That kinda shocked us. At the end we offered her a copy of The Book Of Mormon again, and she accepted it. It was cool to see the Spirit soften her heart over that period of time! We showed her Christlike love, and she definitely felt it! How amazing!
Last Sunday we were able to finally meet the members of the ward! We have a pretty sweet ward, so we are excited! Our bishop is super missionary minded, and they are excited that we are serving in their ward! Our bishop has asked us to meet every member of the ward, so yesterday we started to call the members and set up appointments to get to know them and share a message with them. We are going to be super busy this week, so it should be a great week! Also on Sunday, we had the most intense and incredible rain and hail storm I have ever been in happen! We were going to give the other elders a ride since it was raining a little, then the craziness hit! All the streets in Casper were flooding (seriously rivers on every street!), with the windshield wipers full blast you still couldn’t see, and the noise of the hail hitting the car was so loud we couldn’t hear each other talk without yelling! It was so intense! We saw a manhole/storm drain/sewer cover that was shooting up like a small geyser, it was absolutely nuts! I’m grateful we had a car, because if we would have been walking in that weather, we would have been 100% soaked and bruised from all of the hail! Haha. I’ll send some pics of the baby geyser!
We were Tracting another night, and an older lady started to talk to us. We told her who we were and she immediately rejected us, but she asked us if we could help her put up her flag for Memorial Day, so we did. We had about an hour long conversation, (she was mostly talking and we were listening), but the whole time we were testifying to her about The Book Of Mormon and Jesus Christ. She kept rejecting us, so we just patiently listened, and near the end she told us she was sorry for talking to us and ranting to us, but she hadn’t talked to anyone this much the whole winter. That kinda shocked us. At the end we offered her a copy of The Book Of Mormon again, and she accepted it. It was cool to see the Spirit soften her heart over that period of time! We showed her Christlike love, and she definitely felt it! How amazing!
Last Sunday we were able to finally meet the members of the ward! We have a pretty sweet ward, so we are excited! Our bishop is super missionary minded, and they are excited that we are serving in their ward! Our bishop has asked us to meet every member of the ward, so yesterday we started to call the members and set up appointments to get to know them and share a message with them. We are going to be super busy this week, so it should be a great week! Also on Sunday, we had the most intense and incredible rain and hail storm I have ever been in happen! We were going to give the other elders a ride since it was raining a little, then the craziness hit! All the streets in Casper were flooding (seriously rivers on every street!), with the windshield wipers full blast you still couldn’t see, and the noise of the hail hitting the car was so loud we couldn’t hear each other talk without yelling! It was so intense! We saw a manhole/storm drain/sewer cover that was shooting up like a small geyser, it was absolutely nuts! I’m grateful we had a car, because if we would have been walking in that weather, we would have been 100% soaked and bruised from all of the hail! Haha. I’ll send some pics of the baby geyser!
In my studies this past week, Alma 15:18 stood out to me. It reminded me of how we are to focus more on ministering to our fellow brothers and sisters. It states,
18 Now as I said, Alma having seen all these things, therefore he took Amulek and came over to the land of Zarahemla, and took him to his own house, and did administer unto him in his tribulations, and strengthened him in the Lord.
Alma is a perfect example of a true minister, and how we can minister! He saw that Amulek was going through a lot of hardships, that he had lost his family, his friends, and his possessions in his service and dedication to the Lord. Alma nurtured him, ministered to him, and helped him get through his trials! What an amazing example of how members and missionaries can minister more fully to all of Heavenly Fathers children! I would invite each of you to think of how you can minister more fully to help all of Heavenly Father children feel His love and their Savior, Jesus Christ’s love for them! I know that it will not only help them feel loved, but it will strengthen your testimony of this true Restored Gospel Of Jesus Christ! I hope you all have a wonderful week! Love you!
Love,
Elder Bailey
Pics:
Pics:
1-2. Trainers Meeting w/ Elder Trumbo, saw Elder Judd and Elder Campbell as well!
3. Mission Tour pic from last week!
4. Squirrel that came in our apartment this morning.......
5. Baby geyser in the street.
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