This week was brutally hot but good! I had another baptism, but I cannot take the credit for this one at all! We were able to have the baptism of the 12 year old girl!!! Her mom gave her permission to be baptized!!! She just started bawling when her mom said yes... I have to admit that I started crying, too. Baptism and the church mean so much to her. I have never seen a little girl with more faith. She was baptized on Wednesday, and the whole ward showed up to her baptism! The room was packed and there was like 5 cakes that were devoured in about 10 seconds. It was great!! Also we reactivated a lady my first week here and have been visiting her a couple times every week. Well, we went to visit her on Wednesday and invited her to church. She said she wasn´t going to be able to come because her only pair of sandals had broken and she couldn´t walk to church barefoot. My heart broke!! My companion and I searched all over the next few days to find someone who had a used pair of flip flops. We finally found someone who had a pretty worn down pair, but we accepted them and took them to this lady. When we brought her the sandals she had this huge smile on her face and just kept saying how beautiful they were. She showed up to church on Sunday with her ´´new´´ sandals, and just kept telling us how grateful she was. This expierence really showed me how blessed I truly am. It is experiences like this that make me so grateful to be serving a mission.
This week I had a really funny experience, too. My companion loves making mango juice from fresh mangos, but we were all out. Well, one day we were walking and there was this huge mango tree with a ton of mangos. My companion tells me to try and throw something at this tree to and get the fruit to fall. The only thing I could find were some rocks haha. So I start chucking these rocks way up high to try and get the mangos. I was completely missing and almost killing my companion and I. We were dying laughing!! I look over and like 5 people were just staring and laughing at us!!! hahahahah!! Luckily they were kind enough to come over and help us and we walked away with a ton of mangos! But the whole experience was hilarious, and I felt so dumb! Also, this week I experienced a Manaus thunderstorm... holy moly!!! It POURS and the thunder and lightening are so loud!! We are continuing to work everyday and have two baptisms scheduled for the 13th of December!! I love this work :) Have a fantastic week. I know the Lord is so aware of you all and your needs. I love yáll!!! Be safe. xoxoxoxox, Sister Bailey
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This week flew by! Tuesday we had a zone meeting and then afterwards, I got to go on splits with Sister Arbuckle. It was really nice to see how other people teach and work. She also helps me understand all the little things a missionary should know (because I actually understand English!! haha). Then the rest of the week we just worked to find new investigators. There is a 12 year-old girl in my ward who was introduced to the church through her Grandma, but she comes to church EVERY Sunday by herself!! She has been coming for two years and wants to be baptized sooo bad, but her mom is against it. This week we have been working with her, and tomorrow we are going to talk to her mom. Hopefully she will give her permission to be baptized. This girl has been such an example to me and has more faith than any girl her age I have ever seen!! Also we have been teaching a 20 year old girl too. She is the first investigator I have had that I actually feel like we are really good friends. I have come to love her so much, and through that love I want her to accept the gospel, because I know how much happiness it can bring her!! I can only imagine how much Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us and want us to just accept and follow the gospel. Even though I am not perfect at Portuguese and she disagrees with a lot of the things we teach, we have really connected and I know we will be friends even after my mission. I really hope that when transfers happen in the next few weeks I am not transferred, because I love the people here soooo much!!!
It is hilarious to hear people try and say my last name here... who knew Bailey was a hard name?! I haven´t met a person yet that can pronounce Bailey right, but I can't really talk because I probably don´t pronounce any Portguese right hahaha!! Also, this week my companion and I found an ice cream shop by our house where you can get a little cup of REALLY good ice cream for only 2 reais (which is like 50 cents)!!! Best thing ever!! So we said that we would treat ourselves once a week :) It is the little things. Also, I am teaching myself piano because I can´t stand that nobody can play during Sacrament. I am just gonna learn like 2 songs and play them over and over again hahaha!! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!! I am so grateful for each of you. I will be thinking about yáll this Thursday. Have a great week! Love, Sister Bailey Scripture of the week: 1 Cor 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God´s. I love this scripture because our body and spirit are temples and gifts from God. Every action and thought we have should only glorify our Father in Heaven :) Boa Tarde!!!
Como vocês estão?? This week I had my first baptism!!!! Wahoo!! The baptism was of a cute 21 year old girl! It is hard to get used to the way everything runs here in Brazil. When they say an activity begins at 12 it is actually 1. The baptism was supposed to begin at 6 pm, but at 5:45 we figure out the font wasn´t filled and no one had been asked to do anything at the baptism. SO with a few quick phone calls and an hour later the baptism began at 7 pm. Even though it was crazy the Spirit was so strong. Quick story: Right before the baptism began my companion and I ran to the font to make sure everything was okay... I look in the font and there is a GIANT cockroach swimming around. My companion screams and runs, so I take off my shoes and have to catch this thing with my bare hands!!! WELCOME TO MANAUS, BRAZIL LADIES AND GENTLEMAN!!! Hahahha. Oh my!! I also sang "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" by myself at the baptism!!! It was terrible hahahah. Also this week we had a huge training with President and Sister Castro and all missionaries that are serving in the actual city of Manaus. We show up to the training and the APs come over and ask me to give a spiritual thought on The Book of Mormom, share my testimony and sing a special musical number with a few other sisters. I had about 10 minutes to prepare and practice all of that... IN PORTUGUESE. My spiritual thought was a wreck!!! But when I bore my testimony I spoke Portuguese more clearly and fluently than I ever have. I was thinking so clearly, and I wasn´t having to translate in my head. I was saying things I had not even prepared. THE HOLY GHOST IS SO REAL!!! This week I felt like I progressed a lot with the language. I am understanding a lot more and speaking way more too. Irmã Valda said I have the gift of tongues haha. I still have a lot to learn. I am no where near fluent, but I am progressing!!! I am so blessed to be here in this mission! I love the people here and I have really come to gain a testimony of member missionary work. We would have nothing if it weren´t for the members that help us. You all are continually in my prayers!!! Thank you for the emails. Love, Sister Bailey This week went by pretty fast!! We have a lot of new investigators and references. Every morning I practice teaching The Restoration and The Plan of Salvation with my companion. It is so hard because I can´t always say what I would like, but I have to keep reminding myself that it is only week 2 and the language will come.
Our baptism for Saturday didn´t work out, but it really showed me that I am not in the CTM anymore and the people I am teaching have real problems and concerns. Not everything is going to go as planned, but she has a date to be baptized this Saturday! I am confident she will be ready!!! I am really excited! It is amazing to watch the gospel transform people as they come to follow the commandments. I don´t know what was wrong with me, but I was soooo clumsy this week. I just straight up fell flat on my back TWICE!!! Once was in a dirty puddle in the middle of the street and the other time was leaving a members house. On Friday I wasn´t having the best day. We had to walk an hour to our lunch appointment in the pouring rain, and the road we had to walk down was a dirt road which had turned into mudslide. I had my little umbrella, and I am just walking along..Then I take a step and I sink up to my ankles in mud!!! My companion and I were crying laughing. I was literally stuck and she had to pull me out, so I walked the rest of the way with feet covered in mud. I got to the members' house and felt terrible because I was so dirty. We ate with them and as I step out of their house to leave, I just fall down the steps stright onto my back AGAIN!!! It didn´t hurt luckily but as soon as I left their house I lost it. I started bawling because I was frusturated!!! My companion probably thought I was crazy! But if a mission has taught me one thing it is that you pull yourself together and keep going. There is a quote by Jeffrey R. Holland that I LOVE!!! He says, ``The road to salvation is not a cheap experience.`` Who ever said life would be easy? Was it easy for Christ? Whenever we feel the day is was just too much or you are just too tired go on or deal with life´s demands... remember our Savior. Remember your purpose and just know that you are feeling just the smallest fraction of what Jesus felt for every person who has ever lived or will ever live. I promise God knows you, BUT that doesn´t mean he doesn´t want to hear from you through prayer every day. A mission is hard but I really would not want to be anywhere else right now :) Also, this Sunday was fast sunday and I bore my testimony!!! The members probably didn´t understand a word, but I was really nervous so I am glad I just got up there and did it! Other than that I am doing really well :) I am understanding more Portuguese and learning so much everyday. You are all in my prayers daily. Love, Sister Bailey P.S. I REALLY wish I knew how to play the piano because no one in my ward knows how, so we have to sing acapella :/ I have no idea where to even begin. Leaving the CTM was the worst :( Most people are so ready to leave, but I was so sad!! We had air conditiong, meals made for us, and a district that spoke English haha!! However, I was really excited to get to Manaus. I was kinda scared to travel as the only Sister, but the Elders from my district protected me like brothers through the airport :) When we arrived in Manaus we ate an amazing lunch at the mission home and then some sisters welcomed me with a cute sign and cookies!!! I felt soo loved. One of the sisters was SISTER ARBUCKLE!!! {Sister Arbuckle and Morgan had a mutual friend at Utah State that connected them via email right after Morgan got her mission call.} She translated for me for a solid 4 hours and explained everything I needed to know in English. She is my Sister Training Leader and we are in the same zone!!! I am sooo grateful for her.
My companion is Sister Romos. She is 27 and from Espirito Santo, Brazil. She is a hard worker and a great teacher, but she doesn´t speak ANY English! Most Brazilians know a little bit, but she doesn´t. That is okay though because I am just going to learn Portuguese faster :) I am serving here in the city of Manaus. I can´t even explain how hard and different this week has been, but the members in our ward are amazing!!! Sister Romos is new to the area so both of us don´t know anything about investigators or anything!!! But the first few days, different members spent hours walking around with us and helping us get to know everybody and how everything works. One of which was a cute, little 73 year old lady. Nothing stops her!!! She walked with us for 4 hours in the heat of the day just so we could meet some less actives and investigators. She is my role model hahahah! We teach soooo much here!! This week we have 17 investigators and a baptism already set for Saturday. We taught this investigator on Saturday, and I was able to bear my testimony! She began to cry when we explained how the spirit feels. She said that she was so happy when we arrived to teach her and that she wants to be baptized. She has already been to church three times with her boyfriend (he is less active)!!!! It was an amazing expirence! I really hope she progresses this week. Funny thing: My companion loves to sing, so we sing a hymn ( in Portuguese) at every lunch and a lot of times I sing a solo!!!! I DON´T SING!!! But missions are for trying new things am I right?? I feel bad for the poor members' ears! Sunday was Stake Conference, and my companion and I had to take a bus to a different chapel. Well, since we are both new we had no idea how the bus system works. We waited for an hour at the bus stop, and I could tell my companion was getting worried. Then a member pulls up out of no where and offers us a ride. IT WAS A MIRACLE!!! It is little things that remind me the Lord is watching out for me! Yesterday was a holiday in Brazil... I forget the name but it is where they pay respect to their ancestors or something! So our zone got to go to downtown Manaus and teach people in the cemetary. (I know.. kinda weird). But afterwards we all went to McDonalds!!! I hate McDonalds in the states but here it is like a luxuary!!! Then Sister Arbuckle and Sister Cidade (our STL´s) spent the night at our house because we went on splits last night! It was s great to talk with Sister Arbuckle in English all day yesterday!!! It was exactly what I needed after a really hard week. My goal for this next week is just try and understand/speak more!!!! It is sooo hard to understand the people here! I can understand mostly if it is about gospel stuff, but if my comp and another Brazilian are having a conversation I CAN NOT understand!!! I am doing well and we have lunch appointments everyday! I am still getting used to not eating dinner, haha. It is extremely hot and I am always dripping sweat but tudo bem :) I love you all so much and pray for you all the time! I cannot wait until Christmas!!!! Read D&C 82:10!!!! Love, Sister Bailey (To see picture captions, hover over the picture with your mouse) |