Stolen bike seats, and lights

We sent a November survival package to Mitch.  It didn't contain a turkey dinner but it did have a few things to get him through.  Including the sweaters he didn't think he would need.  I will have to take pictures next time.  I am getting pretty good at cramming everything into those flat rate mail boxes.  That is one thing I am thankful for...the US postal service.  In my last email to Mitch I shared an experience I had trying to share the gospel.  I felt very inadequate.  And amazed that he is doing it 24-7.  I also asked him a lot of questions about an up-coming lesson I am teaching in Young Woman.

Mother

I am getting close to ending my 1st full transfer in the mission field.  Where has the time gone?  Everyday passes in a moment and I can't help but understand what returning missionaries mean when they say "it flew by".  I already feel that way.

I had such a crazy week with some crazy stories.  For example, we lock our bikes the best we can but low and behold our seats and lights got stolen today.  Actually in the last 20 minutes ha ha. California is crazy.  I wonder what they plan to do with my seat?  But anyways that sets the stage up nicely for the rest of the email :)

It has actually been getting really cold out here.  At night it is close to 45 degrees.  I thought it was suppose to be sunny and hot?  Also the lyric that states it never rains in Southern Cali is a lie.  It rained.  Not a lot but I am counting it.  Elder Speth says if you knock doors in the rain the hotter your wife will be.  I'm not buying it but here's hoping.

I got your package this morning!  I loved it so much.  The scriptures were awesome and I could really see the work you put into it.  Thank you so much!  How grateful I am to have a Mom like you.  I love the framed quote the most.  That was so thoughtful and personal I put it on my desk and it looks great.

I loved reading about your missionary experiences!  How awesome it is that God trusts you enough to place situations in your life where you can share the gospel.  I know you might have felt doubtful or overcritical but God gave you that opportunity because he knew something you and only you could say.  Mom missionary work is hard.  Our testimonies are tested everyday and it is easy to give into doubt.  But don't worry about what you say or know.  God loves you.  He will present the opportunities to make it possible for others to hear what they needs to hear.  This week study the atonement and prayerfully search for answers. The Atonement contains deep and powerful doctrine but simple put, it is a demonstration of Christ's love through his sacrifice so we can overcome sin and death. Because Christ was perfect and emulated the will of the father he gained power over sin and death and paid the price for all of our imperfections.  Both parts of the atonement, the garden and cross, are part of the same sacrifice. 

I am so proud of you Mom for trying to share the gospel. Don't give up and always remember people have agency. They might not listen or agree but they can't forget our message if we share it with love. You're amazing.

This week in church I wrote a list of things I was grateful for.  I was able to see just how much God has blessed me even in times when I feel I have been forgotten by him.  At first it was hard to come up with things to write down but as I started to I recognized more and more how much I really have been blessed. Things like Family, Prophets and Scriptures were first on the list.  But then items like Sunsets, Covenants, and Temples began to come to mind.  All are blessings that I will have forever, that I can look towards in times of weakness.  What a great time of year this is.  Its a bummer I can't be home to share it with you but I still feel ever so grateful.

Standing as a witness definitely means being able to share and speak of the gospel when the time comes but more importantly it is about being an example and having your own personal conversion.  As members of the church what are we witnesses of?  It is scriptures, doctrine and covenants.  Yes.  Completely yes.  But the thing we can all personally witness comes from our own personal conversion. 

Also things with investigators are slow.  Juventino came to church though and is on track to be baptized on the 8th of December.  Hopefully we can make some more progress this week.

I love and miss you everyday. I was sent a scripture last week that really sunk into my heart.  Philipeans 1:3.  Please read it and know how true it is for me.  I can't tell you how much your support and the support of my friends means.  I can feel your prays every day.

Con amor

Elder Bagley

Riding a bike can be hard

Just to give you a little background...this is how I ended Mitchell's letter this week.  Remember, "God is preparing people to receive YOUR TESTIMONY of restored truth.  He requires your faith and then your action to share fearlessly what has become so precious to you and those you love."--Elder Henry B. Erying.   Don't worry to much about the bad days.  Seek for the tender mercies.  You'll find them all around.  And remember what Alexander (from Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day) said, " My bath was to hot, I got soap in my eyes, my marble went down the drain, and I had to wear my railroad-train pajamas.  I hate my railroad-train pajamas. When I went to bed Nick took back the pillow he said I could keep and the Mickey Mouse night light burned out and I bit my tongue.  The cat wants to sleep with Anthony, not me.  It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  My mom says some days are like that...Even in California."  Here's Mitch's letter...

Es used mi madre?

Hi Mom :) I just love hearing from you and the love you have for me.  I am a ways away but I can feel you with me all the time.  Thanks for always seeing the best in me, I am sad I never could.  But I am grateful for the opportunity my mission has given me to see myself becoming better everyday.  I love how well you can quote libros de ninos (children's books)!  Alexander and I have a lot in common when it comes to having bad days but it seems so silly to let them get you down, they will past.

Thank you so much for the package with the Ensign! I have been waiting and waiting for the mission to get a shipment.  So thanks, that was an awesome spiritual pick me up!  The CD is great too.  It's hard to judge mission approved music sometimes but I don't think there is anything wrong with some Cannon in D.

This week I had a couple problems with my bike tires.  First on Wednesday I had my front one blow out.  Which wasn't good but we weren't too far from home.  So we called around and I got a patch kit.  I patched it up perfectly thanks to my Discount Tire experience and boom we were good to go.  Next morning, we are riding around and hiss, there is a thorn sicking in the same tire I just barely patched.  Woof.  So we called the "car elders" and I dropped 20 bucks on heavy duty tubes, here's hoping they hold up better.

So I am coming to the realization that movie stars and movie shootings happen all around here.  I found out that last transfer my companion tried to give a BOM to Jay Leno while he was in his Ferrari.  Leno responded "Please don't leave that book in my car."  So that's chill.  Also they were shooting an episode of Teen Wolf outside the "car elder's" apartment.  They tried to get in the shot and spread the good word but security was tight.  And even more, they blocked off the street next to ours for a "Disney production".  Lots of lights, semi trucks, and crew members just showed up over night.  So that was cool.  Hopefully over the next 2 years I will be able to sneak into a shoot...one day.

I have been learning to budget very well out here and honestly Mom I don't go without anything that I need.  At least twice a week we have dinner at the Lico's and Veronica our recent convert has been feeding us some too!  You would be so proud though.  I buy all this healthy food and what not when I shop. Yesterday I made firjoles negro in the crock pot we found hidden in our kitchen.  They taste so good.   Straight pisano.  I'll send you a list of things I might need for Christmas though.

Things here have been going pretty well.  I am starting to build some good relationships with the ward members in hopes of aiding them in missionary work.  I feel so grateful to even have a ward I can work with because the members can truly be the difference in a lasting conversion.  On Sunday we were asked to bless the pan y agua (bread and water) last minute.  I have never done that in Spanish but I was so grateful for the learning opportunity it was.  Sitting behind the table listening to the hymn being sung I couldn't help but be engulfed in the spirit.  My body was on fire and my mind was clear as the spirit showed me how important the sacrament is for all members of the church around the world.  I started to see members of the my home ward sitting in the congregation. Browns, Lewis, Lloyds, Willsons, and more.  Sitting and smiling at me as I waited to bless the tokens of our Savior for the members of the North Hollywood 4th ward.  I will never forget how I felt during that meeting. I truly came to know the love God has for all of his children no matter where we are.

Olga is progressing very well and we have really high hopes for her and her family. They both work on Sundays though so that is a bummer and a obstacle we are going to have to overcome.  Juventino (el esposo de Veronica--Veronica's husband) hasn't come to church for the last two weeks but during our lessons he is progressing a lot.  We need to get him to church though.  He has a baptisimal fecha por Dec 8th. Yay!

Love you Mom to the moon and back.  Reading your emails give me strength and power! Give the girls and dad my love.

Con amor.

Elder Bagley

Better later then never

Monday was Veteran's Day and after checking my email all day it finally hit me that libraries are closed on Veteran day.  What is up with that?  Don't Veteran's go to libraries?  Anyway I woke up to a wonderful surprise this morning...an email.  I guess because of the holiday they let them write on the next day.  He sounds good and so grown up.  I am ever amazed at how much he is growing.  He went through a physical grown spurt when he was 15 were he grew 6 inches in a year.  He was always tired and he said his body hurt.  Well, he is definitely going through a spiritual growth spurt now.  I can hear the pain and discomfort in his words but I can also hear the joy.  He is amazing!

Mother,

Sorry about not responding yesterday. It was a holiday so the library was closed.

Things here just keep...moving.  Everyday I struggle to find time to just slow down and enjoy the amazing work that is going on all around me.  The work that I am a part of.  It's crazy to think how grand and powerful what we are doing as missionaries really is.

I am sorry about how spacey and scattered these emails always are.  My brain is so use to flying by that when I have time to slow down and compose my thoughts, it often comes out forgetful.

The weather here is fine.  Nothing unbearable.  It gets a little cold at night but I finally got around to buying a blanket so I don't have to bundle up at night.  Also as you know I got a new bike that has really been a blessing in my life.  Things with the camera are still at a standstill.  I don't have time on the means to get to a store that sells good cameras. I may just need you to buy one for me and just send it.  Use my card or whatever and then I'll just get it when it gets here.  I'd love to do that camera challenge.  I feel bad you can't see some of what's going on.  

Side-note...I had my first dream in Spanish. It was nuts.

I can't tell you all about what happens with my investigators because honestly its so much.  There are lessons, and visits and phone calls, and commitments and miracles and a whole list of divine things.  But I do want to tell you that I am keeping a very detailed journal (two actually) of everything that is happening.  These experiences will never escape me, I won't let them.

One story I do have though, about one of my investigators, her name is Olga.  She is a young mother and her family is just kind of getting use to life.  Getting use to being a family and searching for some direction.  Elder Speth and I had been trying and trying to get a cita con ellos but it is hard because they both work.  After finally praying and praying we were rewarded with a visit.

We taught the first lesson which contains the story of Joesph smith and the restoration. As we taught I gave the parts I had practiced and timidly tired to explain and teach in the best Spanish I could.  Olga was trying her best to be present and attentive but Miguel (her husband) was often getting distracted.  I noticed this and prayed that the Lord would help me as a teacher portray the power I had in my heart that wasn't coming from my mouth.

 As the lesson progressed we came to the story of the First Vision. I started to teach and testify of the truthfulness of this event hoping that Olga or Miguel would pick something out of what I was saying.  I then came to the actual describing of what Joesph saw and then what happened next was truly a miracle.  Word for word I recited the entire First Vision.  Both Olga and Miguel couldn't take their eyes off me.  I knew that what they were feeling was the same sensation I was feeling.  The spirit truly was present in that lesson and really did allow me to become the teacher that God wanted me to be.

Things out in the field are...uncomfortable.  You are constantly being pushed pass your limit and things are just, different.  I am still learning a lot and I am coming to the realization that the phrase "Con tiempo" will never cease to be relevant. The language will come with time.  The comp unity will come with time.  The baptisms will come with time.  Con tiempo, cada dia.

I love you Mom.  Saying goodbye to you at the airport is probably the closest I will ever get to remembering what it was like in the pre-earth life.  Neither of us knowing what laid ahead. Pain, disappointment, mistakes, guilt,happiness, growth, faith, love all would be part of the experience.  But one thing we knew then and we know now is that everything will be ok.  Everything will be for our good and for our eternal growth.  Thanks for letting me be your son.

Con amor

Elder Bagley 

Brett received this email too.  It gives a glimpse into Mitchell's everyday life.  If he would have study as hard in high school as he is now he would have gotten full ride scholarships anywhere he wanted to go.  Oh well, I am glad he knows when hard work and study really counts.

 

Como esta Padre?

Sorry, I never talk much about my situational circumstances.  Things like my house and the weather just take a backseat to what I really think about.  But I would love to let you know about my life!

I first start the day at 6:30 every morning. I exercise, eat breakfast and shower until 8:00.  At which point I have personal study.  I study Predicad Mi Evangelio and topics for my investigators.  Its a time of personal revelation and growth.  Next at 9:00 is companion study. Elder Speth and I read the white bible and practice our lessons we have for the day.  Doing role plays and refine what we want to teach.  Next at 10:00 is an hour of Idioma study, where I work on my Spanish.  We usually eat tortillas covered in hot sause till our tongues turn numb.  This really is painful but helps with the pronunciation of some of the words.  Then we have lunch for an hour and leave the house at about 1:00.

Then we are in the street heading to appointments and what not...we talk with every person we see.  Giving out tarjetas and folletos.  Sometimes even el libro de mormon, if the spirit prompts us.  During this time of the day it is usually the meat of missionary work where we have our lessons and visits of various sorts. There is a lot of "fall through" but a lot of miracles too.  Also a lot of yappy dogs and gates.   Everyone here has a gate. Its the worst. We do this until about 5:00 at which point we have dinner back at home. We'll make mac and cheese or whatever and then head out again to keep working until 9 o clock.  Sometimes we will have dinner at the Licos, usually twice a week and that is awesome.  Hermano Lico is our ward mission leader, his mom is from Salvador and is a great cook.  I love the food there.

But, anyways we come home and plan for the next day.  This usually takes 30 minutes and then we get ready for bed.  Write in our journals, clean the house, read the Liahona. Stuff like that.  Night time is the only real time I have to myself.  The only time to relax and savor what happened in the day.  I love it.  Then its bed by 10:30, rinse and repeat.

Our house is kind of a connected guest house.  A member lives in the other half.  We have a kitchen with a microwave, stove and fridge. No dishwasher or oven. Also it comes complete with a army of ants.  We have a bathroom and two other rooms.  One is the bedroom and the other is the study.  Its not big or nice by any means but its home. Can't complain.

One funny feature of the house though, (you can choose whether to tell mom this or not) every other morning about 8 or 9 these two high school kids do drugs right outside our study window.  The Sun Valley High School is 3 houses down the street so they come from there and light up.  Its really funny because we have a big picture of Jesus tapped to the window. Hopefully one day they will see it and change their ways.  One of these days Elder Speth and I are just gonna pretend like they aren't there and go read are scriptures on the porch.  The hood around here is pretty hoodish.  Not a lot of nice houses or nice people but it isn't dangerous or anything.  A lot of homeless people and the occasional alien abduction victim.  All is well though...todos bien.

I have a missionary debt card that is funded with 140 dollars a month for food and supplies.  I use this at the store when I need something.  The rest of your 400 a month goes to rent and other things.  Our rent is about 1200 a month and so somewhere in the mix of tithing and church funds it all gets paid.  Sometimes I need things that I can't afford to budget with the mission card so I will use my personal debt card...like office supplies or my new blanket.  Don't worry though, the church is really on top of money issues.

Love you Dad.  I think about you and the girls all the time.  I can't wait to get home and share all the amazing things I am seeing out here.  Thanks for your constant example even when you didn't know I was watching.  Keep being the hero I always saw you as.  Le quiero.

Con amor

Elder Bagley

Two weeks in the "field"

We recieved a letter from Mitchell's mission president through snail mail last week.  The letter included these pictures of Mitch.

Elder Bagley with his trainer Elder Speth

Elder Bagley with President and Sister Hall

Now for this weeks email...

Time here is flying by. I honestly feel like it was just yesterday that I was in this stinky library writing these emails.

 

Well, I have officially been in the field for two whole weeks now. That is so crazy but I love the progression I am seeing:  in the work, in myself and in the language.  Granted I am not a perfect teacher or missionary but I know that with constant obedience I can get closer.

 

This week we saw so much success in the work we are doing. We found 4 new investigators and had lessons to teach all through the week. Our hard work is truly being rewarded.  Which is comforting because it is hard to do.  Not everyone is prepared to hear our message but we continue to talk with everyone we see.  One skill we have picked up is to discern if the houses we see will have Pisanos (country men, its what Mexicans call each other) in them or not. Three sure signs are, no lawn, beat-up truck, and Christmas lights.  Latinos never take down there Christmas lights!  It's the closest thing to a game we have out here. 

 

I am getting into the hang of things physically around here. We jog every morning and I cook myself really great food.  I don't feel too drained in the day but at the end of the night I am grateful to get into bed.  My bike still is a piece of work.  Hopefully I will figure out that situation but until then I will just have to stick it out.  Maybe the bike will get rid of my chicken legs.  Who knows.

 

We had another baptism this week for an investigator the Hermanas (Sisters) were teaching named Miguel.  It was an awesome service and two of our investigators came to watch.  Hopefully they were able to feel the spirit and gain a stronger testimony that baptism is the right path to take.

 

Church this week was great cause I was able to fast and meet more of the members. I also confirmed Veronica a member of the church, in Spanish, in front of the whole ward, with only 20 minutes notice.  But at the end of the day I couldn't help but be saddened because of what happened.  Here are all these amazing members who truly have a desire to help and aid the missionaries and I just can't clearly express my gratitude to them.  It is such a humbling experience.  I love people.  I love to visit and get to know people and I truly feel blessed with the personable talents God has blessed me with.  But once again Spanish gets in the way.  I feel like I have a sea of love and testimony and it is just getting drained though a small hole.  I can not wait for the day that my hard work and studying will be rewarded with the ability to truly express what the spirit dictates...one day.

 

Mom, thank you for your constant support and love.  I can't imagine doing this without you standing behind me.  I had an amazing dream the other night where I came down the escalator in the SLC airport after my mission was over.  I was tried and happy. In the dream I saw you, Dad, Alexis and Lauren standing at the foot of the stairs and all I could do was fall to the ground and cry.  I can't wait for this dream to become a reality. Where I will be able to return home after knowing I did all I could to be the best missionary I could be and finally return home to the greatest reward and blessing I could ever have, my family.  I love you all so much.  All the trials and afflictions we face will be but for a moment.

 

Con amor

Elder Bagley