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!

Pumpkin oreos, guavas, exachanges and Spanish Sign Language

HEY MOM! 

Gosh this week was amazing.  I am glad Nana enjoyed her party!   She deserves the best. 

So this email is going to be nuts and I'm just gonna pound through it all.   It could be a little intense but there was just too much going on. 

First off 3 weeks ago we prayed as a companionship and decided on 4 baptisms and 170 new investigators for our zone goals.  We were pushing ourselves but really felt that's what we needed to set.  So far we have reached the baptism goal and have 4 more scheduled still.  As well as a really hopeful push on new investigators.  As a zone we found 63 this week...that's crazy nuts.  Starting 5 weeks ago it was 11, 25, 28, 39, 63.  We are showing such great growth and I am humbled to be where I am, when I am.  My zone is great. We are working and the Lord is blessing. 

Quick side note: I was afraid I would miss out on one of the 13 days of Halloween things SOOO I opened it all at once.  I only made it to the dia de los murteo stress ball before I had to rip through it all. Those Pumpkin Oreos are AMAZING.  Gosh, I love them so much.  Everyone needs to have one of those in their life.  If you are feeling charitable and still have some unused missionary love you need to send Stephanie a pack of those.  She would love them. 

Okay back to my week:  On an exchange with Elder Reynolds we got really creative with contacting and decided to go around and knock houses that had Guava Trees (they are a really tasty fruit, I don't know if I am spelling that right.).  So as a break we spent 30 minutes going around on bike hunting out houses we could mooch from.  Latinos love giving us food.  Honestly on a weekend we can leave the house and never come back to eat and somehow not be hungry.  BBQ bouncing is a blessing here in Pacoima.  Anyways that was a fun way to spice up to my life.  Elder Reynolds really looks up to me and I am glad we could have a good time together. 

On that same exchange I was part of the coolest miracle.  So for my time here in Pacoima I have ran into this skinny, homeless man that speaks only ASL (more like Spanish SL but hey).   Anyways I am always concerned for him and try and wave and greet him whenever I can.  He is a great man. It had been about 2 months since I had seen him last and then on this exchange I saw him but he was in dress clothes, showered, shaved and looking great!  We talk (kind of) and I understood that he had fallen asleep and missed his bus.  He was asking from some directions.  I thought it was cool to see him again but didn't think much about it.  Later, that night as we were biking home for the day we ran into him again, not but 30 seconds away from home.  I had the BIGGEST feeling to talk to him again.  I prayed to God to help me and then tried my hardest to listen and understand what he was signing.  Long story short we had a 45 minute conversation.  He signed and I understood him, and I signed back and he understood.  I learned so much about him and we became great friends!  Elder Reynolds did not understand anything.  I had called the ASL sisters we have here at the beginning of our chat and by the end they called back.  I told them all about my friend and they were so shocked about what I was saying.  They asked his name and were so excited to hear it was their recent convert from about 2 months ago.  He had an appointment with them but he missed his bus to get there.  The gift of tongues is real, oh so real.  I never felt so grateful to understand and love someone like I loved him. 

We had a unforgettable sacrament meeting.  The sacrament itself was so great.  The deacons did a great job. We were fasting because next week is stake conference.  Long story short the noise and disruption during the sacrament can be relentless.  So much distractions and tension.  Pretty bad right?  Then during each and every testimony a spirit of endurance and love was felt.  You could just feel the burden of the ward being shared on each others  backs.  Everyone struggles and we are so far from perfect, but to just sit there, wait on the Lord's supper and bare with each other the desire to be better.  That is priceless.  That is the atonement at work in the souls of burdened, tested and novice members of the church. 

We also finally got an Elders Quorum President with a first counselor!  This whole time we haven't had one. We are so excited about it.  It will bring so much more joy and strength to the priesthood holders in the ward. You can't build up a ward when you are missing the operation of vital keys. 

So one more thing before I leave.  This one pulls on the heart strings a little.  The investigator family we are teaching are doing great.  We had a great lesson with them and the Mom shared something with me that I want to share with you.  She was talking with a friend about missionaries.  A little about what we do and how she was feeling taking the lessons.  The friend was so astounded  to learn that we dedicate our lives for two years to this work.  She thought it a trial to give everything up.  She was even touched by the sacrifices of missionary mothers.  My investigator didn't understand how hard it was for her friend to understand us.  She was getting a little frustrate with how emotionally invested her friend was until her friend said to her "Would you give your son up to pay for the sins of the world?  Is that something you could do?  Have him leave your care and pay the sins for others."  My investigator was listening now, and she answered with "No, I probably couldn't do that."  Her friend said "Well the mothers of these boys can. That's what they are doing. It the same thing."  At this point in the story I couldn't help but weep for a moment.  This work is true.  It's his work and we are doing it in his way.  At times we receive the same results He did, in both senses.  We find hard ears, and blind hearts.  But we also find humble children and prepared families.  I love this work.  Thanks for letting me serve Mom. I love you.

Elder Bagley 

Making tortillas--I taught mysealf

On exchanges--Hump day shirts and mustaches

I love In-n-out.  Maybe I am looking a little to Johnny Bravo.

Dude and dog on motorcycle.   Dad don't try this with Rogan.

Teaching is the greatest thing...

Hi Mom! 

Gosh, first off the mini family vacation to St. George looked like a blast!  I can't wait to get home and do all those fun things again. I was having a hard time occupying my thoughts with missionary related things so I decided that every time I think or hear about something that I want to do when I am off my mission I just right it down in my little notebook.  I am calling it my “bucket list” but some of the things I don't think I'll get done for a long, long time. 

Tell the family I wish I could have been there.  I also wish you could have been here but I guess we are both winning in different ways.  That's so great you got to see “Meet the Mormons”.  It really is a great film.  I felt proud to be a member after I watched it.  It made me feel like we don't have anything to hide, but rather a lot to share. 

This week I think was the fastest of all the weeks I have had.  Gosh, it seems like I was just here writing emails yesterday.  We are doing really great down here in the great Pacoima city!  Ha-ha I am excited for Halloween in Pacoima.  Stuff is always going down on normal days, a crazy holiday like Halloween should be just nuts. Good thing we have a curfew.  Also thanks so much for the package.  My comp saw it and said, "Wow your mom loves you a lot."  I have to agree with him.  It was so creative and thoughtful, can't wait to go through all thirteen days. Thanks!

I have been working on perfecting some my lesson plans.  I have liked looking back at past teaching experiences.  I have been able to see the changes in my teaching abilities. I am using more scriptures; I am able to express my thoughts clear about doctrine and encourage bolder commitments from investigators.  I love it all.  Teaching is the greatest thing you can do as a missionary.  I think that's because Christ did it the most.  But, I don't remember reading anything about him knocking doors, but then again I haven't read the whole New Testament…working on it though. 

Spanish has been going great.  I have a growing desire to go to Spain.  I think that would be really, really awesome. I would like to just go around and study the culture, see a bull fight and try and pick up the accent.  Bucket Listing it...

Our investigators are great!  Also Paquito came to church yesterday!  Finally…but I am sad to report he took a member’s daughter and our investigator’s daughter down to the liquor story to by Cheetos when he should have been in primary.  I am very disappointed with him for that.  But we are finally teaching his mother with his sister.  Slowly, we are weeding out the tension in that house and replacing it with the light of Christ and the Book of Mormon.  I probably won't see the fruits of my labors but I am blessed to have the vision of what the future may hold.  It's all a work in progress and as long as you’re moving forward its good...No matter how long it takes. 

We have baptized 4 people so far as a zone and have 4 more in line.  That will be the highest baptism rate in a long time.  We are excited and happy to see others come unto Christ…especially when I feel we have done a lot of work as a zone leadership to help.  We are happy campers. 

We also have a lot of other great investigators progressing: A family who is preparing to be baptized in November, two teenage girls who are best friends and fighting against poverty and social pressures to find a better future, as well as a sister of our recent convert family who wants to hear the gospel.  She came to church too…so great…all so great. 

I was reading my patriarchal blessing the other day and I feel really good about where I am in my life.  There is nothing found in my blessing that I am not fulfilling or preparing to fulfill.  A little is said about my Spanish opportunities so I think I am going to have to keep pushing hard with that. 

I miss you mom.  I hope you know that I pray for you every night.  I ask God to bless you so you can find help in your calling as my Mother.  I am so grateful that calling never has a release. 

Con carino

Elder Bagley 

AWESOME old Book of Mormon I found in the library.

Leaf proselyting

Being a little artsy while doing my laundry

The religious section at the library

The view from our balcony

Lots of stuff going on

Que Tal?

Hi Mom.  Sounds like you are doing great!  Thanks again for the emails.  It'd be weird having a Mom that didn't write every week.  I hope no one has to go through that.

This week was a crazy one!  Lots of stuff going on.  But that's about the same as the last year of my life so what's new?

SO this week was full of exchanges. We had 3 exchanges, 1 blitz and companion study with another companionships. I like exchanges because I get to teach and learn at the same time.  But three in a week is just nuts.  I got ran into the ground pretty quick.  Elder Stark and I have spent more time apart than together.  On the exchanges I was focusing really hard on controlling revelation, especially revelation that is personal or sacred.  I feel blessed to have the mind that I do and my ability to learn is often times quicker than others, if I put my will to it.  But my self control is just garbage.  So if you put two and two together it can get kind of messy and I can be a little overbearing.  Before my mission the lesson of "time and place for everything" was never learned. Ha-ha in my schooling, dating, play, and work I just never really learned that.  Even now I struggle with it.  So I had all the other missionaries help me with it.  They taught me and all gave me great suggestions on our exchanges.  It was a humbling experience hearing about your mistakes all week long.  I love it but it was heavy too.

We did some really great teaching and finding this week as well.  “Finding” has been really pressing on my mind lately and I have gained a new testimony in my desire to “find” as well.  I am more calm, confident and powerful when I contact people in the street.  I care about how they are doing and have an easier time seeing their point of view.  I love it a lot but, I really think planning needs to have a bigger role in my work.  We are working super hard we just need to start working inspired.  We need to find the time to “find” ha-ha.

Yesterday, was a tough one. We got a call from our investigator during the day and she asked us to come to the hospital--her son had tried to kill himself and she wanted us to be there for him.  After we hung up the phone we immediately knelt down, prayed and asked what it was we should do, say, and feel in order to help this family.  I was really humbled at the trust this mom had in two 20 year old kids to say the least.  Her son almost took his life but, she had full confidence that we could help him.  Where else is that kind of trust put in youth like us?  This work is not only true but, it inspires those around us to test it.  Call us!  See if what we've been given and know is true, can't bless your family.  We didn't give it a second thought.  There was no doubt in my mind that we could help. It was more how and when.  I am grateful the Lords trust me as his servant, because it’s a great feeling to truly represent him, stand in his place, and say what he would say. I like that a lot.

I was reading the other day and found this in 2 Nephi 1:15 (by the way Nephi and Isaiah are my favorite prophets. I love them both) “But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love."  I love the contrast between "hell" and "arms of his love". It was inspired that you mentioned hugging and Christ’s arms in your letter because I have been very much affected by this verse.  I can't wait for that day to hug you and tell you the stories and experiences I have had.  But I also have even greater desire for that finally day.  When I will get to hug and then talk to him.  Just to enjoy his love and share my life with him.  Hopefully we will have a lot in common. Hopefully it we be more "I am glad that" and fewer "I wish that" moments.

I love you Mom. I'm quite lucky to be your son…quite lucky in deed.

Elder Bagley

Showing my artist side

Huge passole--Before

--After

Drying clothes

Playing croquet on p-day

Definitely loved Conference!

Yup, I definitely loved conference as well.  My mind is just stirred and stirred with new and direct revelation. Conference is better than Christmas. This week was a wonderful one; I went to the temple, held a ZTM and watched conference. All in a week! Oh how great it was!

This week was a crazy one but I loved it. My body has never been this tired but my mind is running a thousand miles per hour. Unfortunately my hand does write that fast. I am having a hard time capturing all that I am experiencing…If you can find a cheap digital recorder that would be a greatly appreciated gift. I don't know if it's reasonable. I really want to record my own testimony of Jose Smith and listen to it in my own voice. It might add a new level to my work. Let me know.

The temple was stunning. It was the most revealing and powerful session yet.  I came with stirrings in my heart and left with questions abounding.  I love how I can go there thinking I know what I need to learn or what would be just so perfect for this or that problem--and then the Lord teaches me in such a different, better direction.  I am stimulated by visuals but in the temple learning environment I just take off.  I could not soak it up enough.  I even received a lot of great direction for my future decisions and potential.  I love to see the temple--but I love going in it even more.

ZTM was wonderful…one of the best yet.  We had an amazing abundance of the spirit and I really felt the truthfulness of the words.  I feel so lucky to be in higher authority position as a missionary.  Often times the questions and concerns of the people under my stewardship really carry me to the places I need to be.  I can't talk too much about it all without using up all my time so on to the next.

Conference was incredible.  It really had a solemn, serious feel to it.  Pres. Monson was direct and precise in the priesthood session.  A lot of themes were repeated between sessions.  I feel the Lord just needs us to be a little bit more of a tighter ship.  Less lose screws and planks and stronger sails and ropes.  I know I have been feeling that call before now.  Conference just put my thoughts into beautiful testimony and doctrine.  I loved it.

OK Now the saddest note of the day. This is from President Hall.

“…On a separate note, I have some disappointing news.  I received a call from the Missionary Department that they have decided to postpone the rollout of iPads to our mission.  It appears that there were some missionaries in another mission who decided not to follow the rules for the use of the mobile devices and used them inappropriately.  The Missionary Department has decided to hold off on providing additional missions with mobile devices until they can review the situation and determine an appropriate path forward.  Like you, Sister Hall and I are quite disappointed.  May I just say like Alma did to his son Corianton in Alma 41:10, “Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness.”  Especially when someone else’s wickedness impacts my happiness!  Elders and Sisters, “O be wise; what can I say more?” (Jacob 6:12).”

WOOF!  I am bummed but I know we'll get them when we need them. When the Lord knows we need them.

I feel like this week was the week that I needed to get going faithfully for the rest of my mission.  We have been having a lot of new lessons and have found 5 new investigators this past week.  Our work is increasing--we just need to keep the quality of teaching on the same line of progression.  I love you Mom.  I am grateful for the kind of “home teacher” you were to me.  I feel like growing up in our home I found a lot more support and guidance then I could have anywhere else.  I love you.

Elder Bagley

Until next week!

Early morning skyline view from the temple

Outside the temple

This is Damien, he's a HOOT!

I got pooped on my a bird!

FHE at the Bishop's house