Temple day

Elder Bagley swapped P-days on us.  He had P-day today (Tuesday) instead of Monday because he and his companion got to go to the temple.  In their mission they get to go to the temple for their birthdays and it just happened that it is his new companion's birthday.  Anyway here is the latest from the San Fernando Valley.

Hey Mom,

Thanks for the wonderful email. Sorry this week as well I will be sending my email a little late. Hope you haven't been worrying or anything. Also small caution before I start. We have been fasting and attending the temple and so my mind and body are just toast. I am not responsible for any errors or the spaciness in this email.

Sorry the weather is so bad over there. Here it is fine temperature wise but the air quality is not  so good. We don't watch the news so we don't know much but I think there are fires or something going on not to mention all the potheads here. They aren't helping the pollution much ha-ha.

The pollution make for beautiful sunsets!

 Great to hear about Dad's new calling. I know he is going to kill it! I wish I could sit in for a lesson or two. Let me know how it goes. Tim was companions with me for home teaching and now he gets my senior companion! Funny full circle.

My new companion, Elder Spears, is just great. He is huge and his favorite foods are raspberries and honey. I am companions with a bear :) He and I work great together and just as Alma said we too have seen many miracles wrought in this land.

 

Elder Spear doing laundry.

Crazy to hear that I have been out in California 100 days. It feels like nothing...wish it could feel the same for you but I am happy to hear you are keeping busy with your goals! That’s awesome, way to go! You'd be the perfect investigator. But since you are already baptized you'll just have to be the perfect member. I am proud of what you are doing, keep it up :)

It is really great to teaching the Plan of Salvation.  It is such simple doctrine, that we are children of God. When you look and teach from that view point a lot of the "life questions" make more sense. Where are we going, where did we come from, why am I here? When we learn and know that we are children of an all powerful and loving Father in heaven. It starts to click easier.  Be prayerful and you will learn what your class needs to hear.

Sorry if this email is rough, I am struggling to even type and I have to keep looking over your email to see what to write about, what's new and what's going on over here.

FYI I can grow a half beard and a nasty stache in a day. It's awesome that the time when I can't have facial hair is when my body decides it’s down with it. What a drag. 

We have found 5 new investigators this week and we have seen miracles in all the cases that we found people to teach. Our old investigator Juventino is getting baptized on the 11th of Feb. Although he is now out of our area and not "our" investigator I am happy another soul is coming unto Christ because of the seeds I planted. He bore his testimony in class and it was really humble and powerful. I am excited for him.

As you know we went to the temple today. It was wonderful, just as it always was at home. When it was all done though I wanted to leave fast. To get back to my work with the living.

One miracle I want to share is we found his happy, happy, happy man named Iven. We set up an appointment and told him to invite his family when we came by. Turns out he has a lot of family. I was blessed with the opportunity to teach close to 13 people in one house. They were having a birthday party but when we came in everyone cleaned up the cake and grabbed chairs to sit and listen to our message. People can truly recognize us as servants of the Lord. And on top of everything I was able to teach them in English. It was a beautiful lesson and I felt as close as I could get to my version of the Sermon on the Mount. It was such a tender mercy.

I truly see miracles everyday out here. I stand tall next to prophets of old because this is the same work. I gain power and faith from the testimony of those prophets "from the dust." This work is eternal.  It is beautiful and simple. I am so happy that you are a part of it with me.  Love you mother.  Love you so much.

Elder Bagley 

Elder Bagley and Elder Spear...I'm in a car area now!

Our ride is a little bit nicer than the ole Tarus

Got to enjoy a day at the temple.

Welcome to the Zebra apartment!

I have a love/hate relationship with holidays that fall on a Monday.  I love them because in most cases it means that I won't have work but, I hate them because it means the libraries are closed and I won't get an email.  That was the case this past Monday being Martin Luther King Day.  I thought I was prepare and I knew what was coming but I wasn't.  Last Veteran Day we got an email from Mitch about the same time (1:00) as usual on Tuesday so I thought that would be the case this time too.  I kept checking my emails through out the day and nothing.  3:00pm rolled around...nothing.  4:00pm...nothing.  By 5:00pm I was convinced that we weren't getting one.  Finally at 7:00pm we got one.  It's short but it's worth it.

How great it is to get to write you :) I loved the story about the Sharple kid ha ha so funny.(One of my library student loves when we dismiss to checkout books because "It's like being voted off the island".) I don't have a lot of time because we need to get to a cena (dinner) here pretty quick but I just wanted to fill you in on everything!

I am now companions with Elder Spears.  He is wonderful.  I love him already.  He was in my old district so we have seen how each other works and that has really given us an advantage.  He is from a itty bitty town called Craig Colorado.  His ward boundaries are bigger than the mission...so basically its a super small town.  He reminds me at times of Sam.  He likes to hunt and hike,outdoors kinds of stuff.  His heart is two times the size of mine and his love for others is hard to comprehend.  We are going to do a great work here :)

I am moved to a car area now but what really happened is I stayed in the same area just moved apartments.  I am in the same ward and have a lot of the same area just minus some here and there and add some elsewhere.  It's nice to still be in a familiar area where I know the people and the work.  I feel so so blessed.  Our apartment is basically the Garden of Eden to me.  SO nice ha ha.  Dishwasher, CD player, oven, and a sweet zebra painting.  I love it.  Don't worry I packed and transferred everything just fine ;) (I was sure he would leave something because I'm the one who packed for him the first time.  It looks like he's growing up.)

My desk

My kitchen

The Zebra Painting...pretty awesome

Elder Spear on moving day!

I am so happy to hear how excited you get about teaching your class.  Even if its hard sometimes.  There are days here when I feel like I am just casting pearls to the dirt all day because no one will recognize how great our message is.  But at the end of the day I start to notice how truly beautiful the pearls are.  They start to shine differently and mean so much more to me.  My appreciation of them changes and I feel grateful I get to carry a whole bag of them everyday!   Don't lower your expectations for your lessons.  Your pearls are beautiful and important.  Love your class and they will feel the Spirit.  Proud of you :)

Sorry, I don't have much more time.  We are doing great here and I really feel so blessed to have not only worked with Elder Speth but to have this new opportunity to work in the same part of the vineyard just with a different servant.  The Lord truly watches out for his missionaries.  He knows us perfectly.

More to come next week

Verdadero y fiel

Elder Bagley  

San Fernando Valley

Last P-day with Elder Speth. We went hiking well it was more of a walk but the view was incredible.

Transfer coming up...

Mother Darling!

Well without my consent this transfer has come to an end and the "Spirit of the Lord has called me a different way" (Alma 22:4).  I will be leaving North Hollywood area 4 and going to serve in a car area.  Elder Seth has also been called to move which means that our area will be closed or in other words "absorbed" into the areas of other touching boundaries.  It is sad but we can talk about that later!  Tuesday is transfer meeting so that’s when the big meeting to see who my new companion will be!  It's gonna be an exciting change!

This week was pretty hard.  But I have nothing to complain about!  My studies in the morning have gotten to another level of spiritual enlightenment.  When the time comes to stop studying and get on with the day I have the biggest temptation to just read a little more.  I love seeing the change that comes when I treat personal study as my time to sit down and have a lesson with the Spirit.  Having a pen in hand and a question in heart helps too ;)

My revelation book has started to become one of my most precious possessions.  Holding it and rereading the personal communication between God and myself has become a great blessing.

I would encourage you to read through chapter 4 of Preach My Gospel.  It will give you insight and direction on how to teach your class.  I have also learned that knowledge will come from the scriptures but testimony on that knowledge will come from the Holy Ghost.  Revelation is a guide but also a reward for when we show God we truly want to know him and his kingdom.  Nothing will guide and protect us more than the Holy Ghost, but are we showing him that we want his help with? If not we must get better at recognizing his hand in our lives.  That will really help us to see that we need His help now more than ever.

My headaches are a thing of the past.  I prayed and fasted and acted on the instructions of our mission nurse and they have really started to diminish.  I need to continue to work at drinking water and things like that.  I'll have one every now and then but it’s no problem!

Thank you so, so much for the letter you sent about the Godhead.  I was actually reading a shortened version of Pres. Hinckley’s talk in the 2014 Jan Ensign. I was pondering the Godhead and I was wishing I had a little more to chew over and then just like that, I get your letter.  Thank you Mom for thinking about me and acting on your promptings to share the gospel.  As the week has gone on all the topics in church and my personal studies have reverted me back to what you sent.  It has truly helped strengthened my testimony about my Father in Heaven and how I need to understand that.  So thanks :)

This week we saw little to no success in the numbers but rather within ourselves.  We did not pick up any new investigators and had to drop a lot that we had found previously.  It is hard to let go of investigators that you worked so hard to find and teach.  I am new to dropping but it is something that has really blessed me and how I see mission work.  I need to teach those who are willing to receive me and stop throwing pearls at swine just because I am scared I won't find another investigator.  That being said we are planning to drop Olga and Miguel tonight...I am not excited.  We have taught them a bunch but they are just not progressing.  It breaks my heart.  I feel like they are the first family I have loved…truly loved.  And tonight we have to let them go.  It’s a big leap of faith but I have already seen blessing from following the promptings to drop investigators.

One of those blessings is Juventino (the husband of Veronica and investigator we dropped).  He came to church (by himself) at 9:00 (when church changed to 11:00) and sat through the wrong sacrament, but don't worry he stayed for the right one too. 6 hours of church!  Whoa.  He said he wants to be baptized and has seen the Lord's hand in the blessings he has seen.  It was awesome.  I am sad we won't be here to see him make this choice but I am happy he has made this decision.

I am sad that I have to leave this area and the people here…especially Elder Seth, the ward, and my district. There has been so much here that has helped me grow more than I could imagine but I have faith that God has more in store…greater, bigger blessings than I could imagine.  That’s the whole part of faith.  It is knowing the future will always be better, always be brighter when you have faith.  I am confident in handing God the record of this area and saying "I did my best".  And so it continues on.  

Con Amor 

Elder Bagley

My first District...I will miss them

Sophie, our mission approved pet...I'll miss her too.

Final study moments with Elder Speth

Going on exchanges with Elder Bautista

Trying to pack!

Great park for a p-day

District before...

District after the flour/sock fight!

"Keep a Revelation book"

Side street in Califorina--I really miss the  mountains and nature.

Tu eres mi Madre?

HI MOM :) I am glad to hear that your New Year is starting off strong with some great goals.  I know you can complete them all and receive the blessing and growth you want. You sound like how we sound when we weekly plan!  If it's not too much to add I would love to suggest you keep a "revelation book".  It doesn't have to be big or fancy, mine is just moleskin from target that I carry around, but every time you receive guidance, revelation, or see a tender mercy in your life, write it down!  This shows the Lord you treat revelations as sacred and He will trust you in giving more.  I have already seen this in my own work and I can't wait to come home and show you my revelation book!  It is a
goal I want to keep for the rest of my life.


Well, on the topic of Ano Nuevo ours was pretty normal.  We had a curfew to be in by 7 so I got a lot of extra time to study and relax.  Weird that study and relax are in the same sentence.  But, it was not a quite New Years.  Latinos love to party. That's their thing...so all night (I mean the whole 8 hours I was trying to sleep and the early hours in the morning) they had music playing all over the valley.  Side note--I have yet to find Latino music bareable.  All of it is, tubas, trumpets, accordions, and someone trying to sing...Its the dumps.  SO that was a night of little sleep.

New favorite thing--Study time

We have been dropping a lot of our investigators this week.  It has been hard but they are just not progressing.  I wrote a small note in my revelation book about it all.  I said "I taught you how to oar.  I found you floating alone and I taught you.  I showed you the paddles and the direction you needed to go. I stood on the shore shouting and crying "Please come this way there is joy and safety."  I leaped when you said you wanted to come, that you would paddle and try.  But I fell to my knees in sorrow as you just held the paddles and drifted away.  Still yelling back to me "Ya I will try", "I want this",  "Show me the way".  But nevertheless drifting further and further away."

We give our investigators paddles (scriptures, pray) and show them how to use them.  But ultimately we cannot paddle for them.

Nevertheless we have found success in finding new people who will accept our message. One story which was just great happened while we were riding our bikes.  We saw a man with a bunch of tools around his car.  It turns out he had a flat tire.  "If only we knew a missionary who was a certified tire expert...rats. OH WAIT!"  So anyways I changed his tire and he gave us lunch and listened to our message.  It was such a tender mercy to actually use the skills I have from my past to help those who are ready to hear the gospel.

Spanish is really coming along.  I am reading everyday in my Libro de Mormon and can already see the blessing of showing the Lord I am serious about becoming fluent.  I want to master this language and use it as another tool for my work here. Sorry if there are spelling errors and stuff.  The bad thing about learning another language is I now have twice as many words to misspell!

Everything is well here. I honestly wake up every day with so much joy and optimism. I can't wait to have this sense of purpose for the rest of my life. I can't pretend to be a missionary for these 2 years if I don't truly intend to serve as one for the rest of my life. I love this work. I am not perfect at it but I love it. Thanks for the support and love Mom. You mean the world to me.

Con Amor
Elder Bagley

Elder Speth with our landlord's dog.

Old favorite thing...cold ceral and Star Wars

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

 Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!

The "Car Elder's" Apartment has a view

Merry Christmas

 It was great seeing and talking to Mitch on Christmas.  He is doing well.  We got to meet his ward mission leader and his family.  They are great people and seem to really be taking care of Mitch.  The tamale Mitch was eating looked amazing.  Brett broke the news and told Mitch that we sold his turtle, Toby.  He seems to be taking it in stride.  To be safe Elder Speth and Mitch ended up staying at the "Car Elders" apartment for Christmas.  What an adventure.

Mitch and Elder Speth with the "Car Elders"

Madre!

I don't think I have ever read as fast as I do when it comes time to open up emails. I just soak them up so fast and love them even more!

Feliz Ano! (sorry I can't type the accent)  Nothing seems better than to start the New Year off then a Skype call from home!  Seriously that was so awesome and so refreshing. I had no feelings of homesickness just gratitude and laughs! Thanks for being so awesome :)

So, first things first, we have returned back to our original apartment and haven't heard or seen anything with concern to danger.   So thankfully we can get back to work!  Our numbers really tanked because of it but, I have no regrets in how we reacted or handled the situation.  Nevertheless Christmas was spent on a couch at the Car Elders pad. I will never forget it :)

I really wanted to get a lot out of this Christmas because of all I have heard from other Elders and even Return Elders about how life changing Christmas in the field can be.  But to be completely honest with you, it was just another day.  No snow, no temple lights, no Christmas books...just missionary work.  I came to a great realization while we were out on the street about 7 o'clock Christmas night. There were no cars, no people and the night was super quite.  It reminded me of the nights back home when it would snow really hard and people would stay inside (but just minus the snow).  I thought about what made Christmas special in the past: family, Christ, gifts, friends.  Then I realized that everything that makes Christmas so great is what we do as missionaries everyday.  We think of Christ always.  We visit with families and try to offer happiness and eternity.  We find friendships in those we serve with...men and women who are in the same boat as we are. We give gifts that don't come in boxes but rather that come from study, hard work and life experiences.  Christmas was perfect this years.  Truly...so, so perfect.

It was great to hear how Steph's farewell went!  I wish I could have seen it but it sounds just as good as I pictured it would be.  Farewell's are a hard thing but seeing all your friends and family means the world.  I don't think I can remember a time when I have felt more supported and loved!  Thanks for being a part of that for Steph.

Dad said you sold my roommate...bittersweet moment right there.  Kind of hit me in the childhood but, Toby will always have my heart...even if she could care less haha.

We had a double baptism week in our district and it was a really great experience.  It was nice to see that missionary work as a whole continues on even if personally it feels otherwise.  We had 0 investigators at church and had to drop 3 investigators throughout the week.  It is a hard thing to drop an investigator but if you see it as clearing a path to the field that IS white and IS ready to harvest it becomes a smaller pill to swallow.

Our district leader, Elder Norman, was hit by a car yesterday on his way to the baptism. He broke his hand and sprained his knee but all is well.  He made a traffic mistake and unfortunately paid the price.  Also this is his first bike in 14 months...bad luck haha. I am grateful for the blessing of safety Elder Speth and I see everyday being on bikes.

I have made some goals to help manage my headaches and hopefully will start seeing some results. I am drinking more water, packing snacks and watching out for the situations that seem to trigger them.  Sorry I haven't mentioned them before.  They really hurt and put a huge damper on my work but honestly I know I can figure a way to get rid of them.  I'll let you know how it goes!

I am so hopeful and excited to face this new year.  2014 will be a year of growth and faith!  Our President has challenged us to make a goal for this next year (and for the rest of our mission).  And that is to picture the kind of missionary you want to be when you return home.  What do you want to look like, sound like, and say?  What kind of stories will you have and will they be of regret or success?   Will you be eager to become part of the world you left behind or will you become fully converted to living a life full of the gospel and Christ like attributes?  I am excited, oh so excited for the future.  How could I not be?  I have a Father in Heaven who loves me, truly loves me and loves what I am doing.  I have a family who supports and uplifts me. I have the scriptures and a living prophets to guide me and show me the way to eternal happiness.  Whatever 2014 brings it will be embraced :) Love you Mom.  Can't thank you enough!

Con Amor

Elder Bagley

The best hot chocolate ever!

I love packages...thanks for all the love!

Best companion ever!