Rough week...

Hi Mom

This week sucked.

Thank you so, so, so much for the package.  At the start of my mission I thought to myself "There is no way mom is going to keep it up with this level of quality for all the packages she sends."  I was wrong.  My companions were both like "Gosh your mom really loves you."  "I need to tell my mom to step it up."  You should make a missionary mom helpful hints blog…just saying.  Thanks again, I loved it.  The tree is already hanging up ready to be decorated.

SO really quick a few things super fast:

          Woke up on Tuesday to find my companions throwing up.  Later that night I got sick (even though I ate oranges, wore a mask, and bathed in hand-sanitizer). We spent 3 days inside with a stomach bug or something.  We still aren't sure what happened. That sucked big time. Like a lot.
  
      Friday we felt better and got around to going on Elder McKinney's “temple birthday trip”.  It was SO great.  I love the temple.  We watched the new film and it was wonderful.  Lots of personal revelation for me.  We didn’t have time to call a member for a ride so we took the bus.  That was a trip ha-ha.  LA+bus+1 hour ride = memories for life.

 This Thursday we are eating with the Familia Lipe.  Cool story…they are great friends with the Familia Lico who I ate with last year.  AND they are from El Salvador so chances are we get to have Pan de Pavo which is up there on the list of favorite foods.  I am so grateful.  I could sit and make a list of what I am grateful for but at the end of the day I just have a feeling in my heart that just always whispers "thanks" to God for the smallest things.  Like last night during weekly numbers Elder Madore made me some hot cocoa.  It was so kind and just made my life a little lighter.  It’s the little things (also side note--you were so thoughtful to sent the Abuelita hot coco mix, I love that stuff.  You’re the greatest really.  I have a couple past companions who would back me up too.)

     THE GREATEST NEWS YET. Gaudencia passed her interview and will be baptized next week :) yay it was so great.  She is so ready and her whole story is just wonderful I can't fit it all on here.  I'll save it for the Skype call :)

OK I have to go buy some tights and Chachi pants.  Prepare for those sexy pictures.  Love you lots.  Just in case you forget I'll say it again…I love you lots.

Elder Bagley

Service, Visitor Center tour and lots of work

Elder Bagley, Madore, and McKinney eating a member dinner outside on the steps because there isn't a man home. ..the rules are the rules. 

Service at a local Christian church.  It's so fun there.  They even let us take some food home.  

Hi Mom!

So, this week has been nuts. I hope I can write it all down.

I had my first District Meeting.  It went great.  I trained on the District on faith and goal setting.  I challenged them to a new standard for new investigators this week and we hit the number plus one.  Faith is power.  I love our District.

My new District

We took our investigator to the Visitor’s Center. It was spiritual and very impressive. She felt the spirit multiple times testifying of Christ. It was just perfect. She'll be baptized by the end of the month.

Temple trip with Guadencia and her family

The Visitor Center Hermanas were so great and we had a great tour

The blonde woman is Columba, Guadencia's sister.  The one that came from mexico with the sole purpose of bring Guadencia the gospel.

We went to an amazing Mexican restaurant.  It was SO good.  I love spicy food now and I can't eat unless I have a tortilla in my hand.  Honestly, I just love the Latino culture so much.  I also ordered a free recipe book over the phone.  So we will be trying out some sweet new dishes around the house.

Crazy good Mexican restaurant with handmade tortillas.

They just have a little abuelita in the back loosing her mind making thousands of tortillas.  Seriously she was just cranking them out.

An Elder I who came out with went home this week.  He had been fighting some hard medical problems for a while and is now getting the attention he needs.  We had to say goodbye to him and it was bittersweet.  I really consider him a grand friend and we are all going to miss him.  His companion Elder Madore (mah-door) is now joining Elder McKinney and me in a trio.  The two areas will be combined and the work will move on.

Being in a trio has been hard.  This first week we have been managing the two areas and trying to get things under control with Elder Madore moving in and getting settled.  I feel like I am just on one big exchange but that needs to change.  We are here and this is us now ha-ha.  Change happens so often around here it’s hard to be affected by anything because you can wait a couple days and it will all be completely different!  Like the other night I was in the house of a young couple, both my age, with 3 kids and a load of trials.  We were all kneeling on the floor with roaches running around and the neighbor blasting Tupac.  But in it all I felt at home.  I just felt in my place.  My home now isn't just my apartment but it's this whole valley.  Anyplace that will accept me and have me is my home.  It meant a lot when the Lord taught about having no place to rest his head.  That's us in a sense.  I don't know it's a strange thing to try and explain.

I am so pumped about being in a trio because we all love and know each other so well. We just have our work cut out for us.  Right now we have about 7 people preparing for baptism and twice as much area to cover on bike.  We can do it, we just have to be focused and on point with everything.

There is evil all around this valley.  It is so shocking how much filth and sin there really is.  I love my mission and I love the people but there are times when you can really see and understand the dire need for the gospel in people’s lives.  Drugs, gangs, sex, crime, violence are just par for the course.  It's very rare you find family units that aren't in some way affected by one of those things.  The work is needed, oh so needed. Sometimes it's weird how much confidence I have in actually helping these people.  It just shows me how much this is not on me.  It's not my message or my divine help.  I am just the messenger.  Delivering the message, that part is on me.

SO our investigators are so well. I will give you some of their profiles:

Mom and 2 daughters working toward baptism.  They are struggling to keep commitments but have the greatest desire.  They have had a rocky, rocky path and the mom become a mom at such a young age.  That is always hard but they are well.

An 18 year old Salvadorian that is tearing through the book of Mormon but just isn't sure about getting baptized and changing her Catholic heritage.  I have all the confidence that if she keeps reading she'll find her answer.  It could be hard but nothing is more sure than a witness from the Holy Ghost.

Gaudencia!  She is just wonderful.  Her member sister is such a help in teaching and fellow-shipping.  Nothing is going to stop her.  She is on fire.

A young couple who have a kid together but aren't married.  The dad has been clean from a meth addiction for 20 days now and they are turning their lives completely around.  He is 19 years old and want to join the Navy and marry his girlfriend.  After walking home from church he read 19 chapters of Mosiah.  Nothing is better than walking into your investigators home and having them answer the door with a "hand-me-down quad" cracked open in their hands.  I love them.

So, I don't have too much more time but I want to end with this miracle we saw the other night.  We had contacted these two 18 year old girls on the street and one of them said her mom might be interested in our message.  So we gave her our card and went on our way.  We didn't think much of it.  That night I said to my companions "How great would it be if that girl texted us back tonight?"  Low and behold the phone buzzes and it's her.  Sadly, she said she is interested, she's Catholic and honestly just gave us the shaft about the whole thing.  We were pretty bummed but then after church she texted us again and said she needed someone to talk to.  We were a little shocked and cautious but set up to meet her in a nearby park.  So long story, a little less long, we just sat and talked.  She pour out her heart about her family's history with mental illness.  How depression has taken hold of her life and she just doesn't know what to do any more.  We listen and shared stories and testimony until the time felt right to testify of the Book of Mormon.  Throughout the meeting she was having a hard time explaining her feelings and speaking her mind clearly but after I shared a verse in Alma and we all testified of the truthfulness of the book she just said, "I feel good. I feel like you are answering the question I didn't know I had."  I couldn't stop smiling.  She went on to say, "I always have felt like the Catholic Church was missing something and I think this is it."  (pointing to the book of Mormon)

Gosh, it was the greatest moment I've had in a while.  It was so natural and fluid.  That's how the gospel should be shared.  I shouldn't have to chase you down the street and shove the restoration down your throat.  I shouldn't have to be scary and threatening as I knock on your door.  You should feel like you are talking with Christ when you speak to me.  You should forget about the world and have peace for just a moment.  You should feel the spirit and have questions flood into your heart, not doubts without answers, but questions that just feel pure and are designed to be answered.  Gosh, Mom it was textbook.  Just a classic example of what missionary work can be.  In a park, with a stranger, sharing our hearts, and rejoicing in the doctrine of Christ. I'll never forget it.

Firm and faithful

Elder Bagley

Elder McKinney chopping up something tasty.

I am becoming a great chef.

Welcome to Arleta

Mom,

So good to hear from you... This week was wonderful so I have to get straight into it if I want it all to fit.

My new companion is Elder McKinney.  We came out at the same time and we went to the MTC together.  We have just hit the ground running here.  Our area is called Arleta but the city is Panorama City.  Elder Speth was the district leader here before me so it's great to take his spot and carry the torch.  He is serving as a Zone Leader now and did a great job taking care of this area.  I have loved finding little traces of him everywhere I go. I love that elder.

Elder McKinney and I get along great.  He is from Chevy Chase, Maryland.  He is half Japanese but can't speak Japanese.  That's a shame.  He is just the right balance of OCD and ADD and I love it.  We have great chemistry together and have just been having a blast.  He has a heart of gold and a head full of experience.  We are going to do great things together.

Being a district leader so far is like a vacation.  I haven't had a district meeting yet but honestly I have been loving it.  However I do miss not going to MLC or training on ZTM.  My new responsibilities are to give district meetings every week, exchange with the Elders in my district, report to the zone leaders about district efforts, and help support the missionary efforts between the ward and us. Obispo Gomez is an amazing bishop and we are going to see some great success with the ward's support.  I need an iPad to keep up with the man.  My out of date directory and paper planner just aren't gonna cut it with the amount of work here.  We are praying hard that iPads are on the way.

I am living on 8525 Tobias #229 Panorama City California.  The street reminds me of the late Toby the turtle...still breaks my heart a little that Dad sold her but, hey.  We have the best bike area because Food4less, Wal-Mart, the library, the post office, and the mall are all 2 minutes away on bike. Seriously though, this area is the City of Enoch I swear.

Leaving Pacoima was super hard.  November 3 was Paquito's birthday so we went by to say goodbye but he wasn't home.  That sucked but I know he knows I love him.  And the Elder that took my spot is going to do a better job than I ever could.  My old part of the vineyard is in good hands.  I did get to say goodbye to a bunch of members that I love so much.  I am going to visit them when I finish my mission but. I just miss them a little now.

So real quick a few notes. Second day in the area I got nailed in the leg by an unopened beer can that was thrown from a car. So, that hurt a little. Honestly, we just couldn't stop laughing though ha-ha. Missionaries are strange creations I'm telling ya.

We cook all the time around here. We call it chefing though, classy that way I guess. I don't want to toot my own horn but we are killing it over here with the food we eat.  We eat super healthy and super well.  But that's only when we the chefs for ourselves.  With members healthy is a different story.  My goal is to become a health freak this transfer.  See how it makes me feel.  Stay tuned.

I have missed riding a bike a ton. Gosh, I love it so much.  It makes me feel like a new missionary again.  Like, I am just a crazy kid on a bike, in the middle of the day, trying to find some Latino to teach the gospel to.  I am happy the Lord put me here.  I love it a lot.

We met "Satan" the other day on the street.  He was wearing black and had his hair slicked back with a beer in his hand.  Honestly just picture a gangster/pimp and that's him.  So he kindly offered us an array of illegal substances before asking us what Christ has ever done for us.  We looked at each other to make sure we felt safe and then just sat down with him for 10 minutes and listened to the poor guy.  His wife cheated on him and long story short he sold his life to drugs, sex and money.  He has spent so much time in sin and ignorance that lies start to become the truth for him.  He said he is in the "business of making people happy" and that really struck me.  I wonder if Satan has lied to himself enough into believing that vice and sin is really what can make people happy.  In a twisted way it's like he is trying to share with us his lie covered happiness.  What he truly believes is happiness.  It was a great learning experience. Could have backed off the cocaine and cheap cologne but none the less I'm grateful for the lesson.

Our investigators in this area are incredible.  Just to share some stories real quick.  One of them is getting ready for baptism at the end of the month because her sister got a visa with the sole purpose of finding her, giving her a Book of Mormon and helping her get baptized.  Needless to say her efforts and testimony are priceless.  We are going to the temple with them tomorrow.

Another is a family ready to be baptized ASAP.  They have all these outside pressures that might stop them from learning an progressing yet they keep it up and grow closer and closer to the Savior. I love them already.

Another is a member referral from Elder Speth’s recent convert.  She is staying here because El Salvador is too dangerous right now with the corruption and war.  We gave her a book of Mormon and 2 days later she was on 1 Nephi 16 and bore us her testimony of the book.  Beautiful, honestly, I am just sitting back watching the marvelous work unfold.

I am working hard.  I study hard, plan the best I can, I consecrate myself more and more ever day but I can never measure up to the worthiness of the miracles God blesses me with daily, even hourly. I wish I could understand his kindness and mercy better than I do.  I have been use to working and seeing his hand extended in a sliver of light every now and again but here and now I feel like I see him in his glory and completeness every moment.  I love this work and I love that the Lord thinks I deserve to work here in Arleta.  I am so grateful for that.

Love you Mom. Talk to you soon.

Transfer week!

Madre,

Transfer week! It's gonna be a crazy one :) Thanks for the email! I liked the weekly format.

So before I get too ahead of myself I'll start with last week's rundown.

We spent the beginning of this week helping a new missionary run around the valley for different doctor appointments. He came to us from Mexico because of medical problems with his back. He was a professional triathlon runner before the mission so it was cool to hear stories about his training and preparation for Olympics and stuff. He will be staying in our Zone as long as the doctors allow him to serve.

  

Halloween was a great day over here...a lot of trick or treaters!   I actually spent the day on an exchange with Elder Kennard.  He is a great elder and district leader.  He is on bike but we spent the whole day walking around and contacting in the street.  It's nice to just walk sometimes.  You feel like the ancient missionaries when you do.  Dia de los muertos really wasn't a big deal down here.  I don't know why but I didn't hear anything about it. The graveyard was packed with people all week though so some people were celebrating.  We wanted to contact the graveyard with family history cards and tell people about baptisms for the dead but that wouldn't have been very dignified ha-ha.

So we got transfer calls the other day and I have been released as a zone leader to serve as a district leader in a bike area.  BIG changes going on ha-ha. The Lord likes to switch things up but when he does he switches everything...new ward, area, comp, bike, calling, and it's a new season.  I am happy I am biking when it is cold and not hot though.  When I say cold it's like 60-70 don't worry.  I haven't allowed myself to let the move sink in and I am honestly really excited about it all.  I get a lot of new opportunities.  I like when I am in those situations when I have no clue what to do.  NOT A CLUE.  Because it's in those times that I am forced to trust the Lord.  I have to make sure I run everything by him because I just can't do it by myself.  Those prays are the most valuable to me.  The prayers where you just have to say "It's me. What do you need me to do?"  And then you just wait.

We had Stake Conference this weekend. It was great to see some of the other ward members I love and get a chance to talk with them and their families.  All the missionaries in the stake were there to.  It's great to be around people you love.  Elder Speth has been called to be a Zone Leader.  I think I will take his spot in Arleta but we'll see.  Elder Spears is finishing up his trainee's first 12 weeks.  Elder Worthington is getting released from being a Zone Leader as well.  So much changes but two years without change sounds miserable.

Sadly, this week I have been having the hardest time controlling my thoughts.  I have let them slip way too many times into topics like marriage, longboarding, school, art. Things that just do nothing but distract. If there is one thing I would say that is the hardest about the mission it is that--self control.  I need to really master that. Especially with a new change coming up homesickness will want to show up,  Thinking about friends and school we'll find a way in.  But I have to be prepared for a new test of faith.  I can't do it, but I know the Lord can help.  I miss you Mom.  I miss you a lot. I don't think I give myself credit for how well I am handling being away for so long.  Sometimes stopping to smell the roses is a good thing.  I love this work because it's just that, work!  I feel like I am fulfilling my potential here.  I feel like my future family deserves the best me I can give and out here I think I am on my way.

Lots of Love,

Elder Bagley

I am getting really good at making homemade tortillas!