101: Juayua 9

Hello familia!

 

Merry Christmas!

 

So I guess the idea of me not calling tomorrow got kind of shot down.  Haha.  I guess I'll call.

In other news, we've survived the end of the world.

 

So this week has been great in a lot of ways.  All of our work with the members is paying off.  We've gotten some cool referrals.  Last week, one of the young women, M., brought her friend to church, so we contacted her family during the week.  They are way positive.  She, her mom, and her grandparents went to church this Sunday, plus another woman who was a referral from the second counselor in the stake.  So we had 5 people in church yesterday.  We went to visit them after and only the grandparents were there, but they accepted baptismal dates for the 6th of January.  They are way awesome.  The grandma brought a notebook and was taking notes during all the meetings, and after she told us she needed a hymnbook so that she could continue in the Church.   That family is way cool.

 

Also, on Thursday we had the mission Christmas activity.  It was a lot of fun.  We played cool games, had the talent show again (I didn't do anything this time).  But this time, what I liked most was the spiritual part.  I had to get up and share my last testimony.  Man, that was hard.  There were 17 people in all who shared their testimonies, and I was the second to last.  One by one, I saw all my friends pass by and share their testimony.  It was really hard to share my testimony, but it was sincere.  After, they had the musical program, and it was very good.  You could definitely feel the spirit a ton.  I'm not gonna lie, it really hit me that I was going home, and it was pretty rough.  Luckily, I was with all my friends who I started with...Elder Mendenhall, Elder Gealta, Elder Romero, and Elder Zepeda.   It was cool.

 

But don't worry, we're working our butts off, and are finding a lot of people.  We've already got two dates for JANUARY!!!!!  WWWOOOOOT!!!!

 

Well, I love you all, take care, and Merry Christmas.

 

Elder Bailey

100: Juayua 8

Hey there family,

So this week has been another week of hard work. We've been working a ton with members, and have been receiving and contacting a ton of referrals. They've had results, and we had 2 investigators in church who were referrals. They're progressing well.

It's been hard in our area. There are a lot of evangelicals, and they pretty much track us down and visit and attack anyone who we visit. We've lost a lot of positive investigators for that, even when they already have a testimony, but it is helping a ton to work with the members. We're having a lot more success in the area because of that.

This week I got to go to Nahuizalco with Elder Gottchalk and Texical with Elder Cade Larsen. They are both very good missionaries. Elder Larsen is awesome. He's working very well in his area. I was impressed.

Well, we're just getting ready for Christmas here, sharing a lot of messages about Christ and seeing the "Joy to the World" video a lot.

Look, if you really want me to call you, that's fine. But honestly, I don't really see a point. I'm going home in like 3 weeks. Just let me know next Monday.

Well, hope it's all smooooth back home. Love you all and love this work.

Take care,
Elder Bailey

99: Juayua 7

Hey there!

So this week was.....CHANGES WEEK. I received my last companion,
Elder Meza. He's from Cali [California], and his parents are both
from Nicaragua, so he speaks perfect English and Spanish. We've had a
lot of meetings this week, so we haven't had a lot of lessons, but
we've been running around asking for referrals from everyone and have
received a ton. Also, the familia M. is progressing really well.
That's the family where the dad lives in LA and is a member. He
already went back to the states, but his family is progressing. His
daughters are way smart, so we'll probably baptize them at the end of
December.

G. is sweet. He got confirmed on Sunday, and is echadno penca.
Seriously, he is a sweet convert. His family is bugging him a lot,
but he has a good testimony. We saw the video of Joseph Smith in the
gospel principles class this Sunday, and he loved it. Then we went to
priesthood meeting and had a really cool lesson as well. So he is in
con todo.

We are trying really hard to work well with the members. And it's
working. To be completely honest, this ward works more than any other
ward I've had. The bishop is awesome, and works a ton, as well as the
members; everyone is giving referrals right now.

Well, thank you for everything, and I hope all is well.

Merry Christmas.

Elder Bailey

98: Juayua 6

Hola familia!

So, I don't have a lot of time, but this week was cool! We had a baptism. G. We had been teaching him for a very long time, but had been progressing slowly. Once he finished his studies at the university, he started really reading the BOM and started progressing. Then we taught him repentance, and he started really thinking about baptism. That was a cool lesson. One week later (last Wednesday), he accepted a date, then got baptized on Sunday. He's 21, he's really smart, and a really good guy. Definitely a powerful convert.

S M is progressing well. He accepted a date for this Sunday, and said that he wants me to baptize him. So, I'm pretty stoked for that.

We also found a new family that is way sweet. The husband is an inactive member and still has a sweet testimony. The only problem is that he lives in the states and only comes to El Salvador 3 weeks each year, and today he is returning to LA. They aren't married, so she's not going to get baptized anytime soon, but wants to keep going in the church. Her kids are awesome—seriously, they are way smart. So they can get baptized, and they want to.

Well, to be honest, I don't have a lot of time, so I'll see you later.

Elder Bailey