Elder Mitchell Brett Bagley: Francisco passed his interview

Thank you for the emails! The pictures of the hike and the cabin were much appreciated. I really miss nature's beauty more than anything. There isn't enough of it to go around over here. So thanks! I hope you three keep doing your weekly hikes when I get back. I want to tag a long for at least a few.

I'm not super surprised Nana is getting rid of the sheep. They are definitely a hand full and she has been great with them for so long. She's a pretty wonderful lady I'd say. Give her a big hug for me.

I am so happy to hear about Nathan being ordained to the office of a priest! That is so great. Sometimes in the highly populated LDS community we just see ordinations as a "getting older" step of the gospel but it is so much more than that. I wish I would have better understood the divine calling God had for all those he calls to hold his priesthood. Understanding that brings so much more joy than just seeing the priesthood as a "ready or not here I come" kind of principle. Tell him congratulation!

This week was a great one! I am getting pretty tired of our apartment though. This week the shower pan broke and so we have been taking bathes ha-ha it's been a delight. Needless to say I will be happy when we move on the 14th. Elder Worthington keeps talking like he is going to be transferred next week but who knows. This transfer there is a lot of missionaries ending their missions and a bunch of leadership openings. It's gonna be big. Stay tuned.

Still waiting on those iPads. Man I want one so bad.

I had a great exchange with the trio in our district. So I was with two elders in their areas. It was a challenge being able to help both of them with their individual goals for the exchange but I learned that if I can just enjoy myself and listen to the spirit during those small teaching opportunities I can be confident they will learn what the Lord wants. I really had a great time. One of the Elders said that the last exchange we had together changed his mission. That's something every zone leader wants to hear. It felt good to see my personal affect on individuals instead of just "the zone".

OK so now the greatest news yet. Francisco passed his interview and is all set to be baptized on the 10th! It has been so amazing teaching him. I just loved it all. Not that it's over but still he has just soaked up so well the doctrines he needs to know to be baptized. His testimony is so fresh and pure I love it. We printed off some invitations for him and during church he ran around to everyone handing them out. It was so cute! Ha-ha some of the members hadn't even noticed he was investigating the church so it was awesome to see all the love they gave him once he was inviting them to his baptism. Tonight we have a Noche de Hogar (FHE) with him and the Familia Moran. Tomorrow we are going to take him and his family to the LA temple visitor’s center. We are excited to give him a great first impression of the temple. Plus the Hermanas down there do a great job at teaching.

Things are going well! This next week will be nuts. On the menu we have the temple, MLC, ZTM, and the baptism. Lastly, these past couple of days I have been studying at such a higher mental and spiritual level. Daily I feel like I am learning by faith and often times I have strong spiritual impressions about doctrine I have never applied before. I love it all. The book of Mormon has brought me the most powerful lessons in the spirit. It's my own personal window into who God is and how kind he is to bless us with the gospel. I am going to have a hard time giving up my worn Spanish scriptures for an iPad but I think I'll get over it.

Te amo Madre. Mas que pueda imaginarse. Keep up the good fight! I'll talk to you soon.

Elder Mitchell Brett