First week in Bolivia!!
President and Sister Willard
Family!!! I honestly have no idea where to
start... Okay... so our
mission president and his wife are amazing. I couldn`t be more happy.
I walked out of the airport and he was there waiting for me (because I was
the last one). He said "elder Bailey, I am so glad to see you, You´re
from Utah right? We have been praying for you and we finally got to
meet you" It relieved any stress or pressure I had. We stayed in a
hotel the first night and the next morning we got up really early and
went to do paperwork and get our blood drawn. I didn´t get to meet my
companion until that night but I got so lucky! His name is Elder
Wilkinson and he has only been in the field for 3 months! He is really
good at Spanish and I am so excited to have him as my trainer. We work
really well together. Oh… we also got the area that everyone wants to
serve in! The area is beautiful and the climate is amazing! It isn´t
humid like Santa Cruz is! We are serving in Tarija and I wouldn`t want
to be anywhere else! We are somewhat close to Argentina so I thought
that was pretty cool! I am going to try and send some pictures if I
have time. First let me start by saying how perfect this mission is
for me! We haven’t had much success as of yet but I know it will come!
In the 4 days (I think its 4) that I have been here we have only
taught 3 lessons.. The people here are great they just always say they
are busy and all our backups fall through. It is tough but success
isn’t measured in the number of contacts, but rather in how hard you
work. Let me just say, we work hard! The language is still kicking my
butt! I can understand most of what is being said when I really want
to but speaking is a real weakness for me! I pray all the time that It
will get easier but it all starts with faith! While I am thinking
about it please tell the Dunn family thank you for the book Drawing on
the Powers of Heaven. It has been a lifesaver since I have been here.
I would really suggest that everyone reads it! It is weird to think
that I am actually here... the work has begun. What an awesome work.
There have been a few recent changes that I really like. Rather than
it being called missionary work it is being called the work of
salvation. We work really hard with the member because every member is
a missionary and we want to stress the importance of that. Another
thing that changed only here in our mission to avoid confusion between
the Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz North mission is our president calls our
mission the mission of miracles. I really like that. Missionary work
is full of miracles, I have been here for a few short days but I have
seen so many amazing things! I´ll tell a little bit about our area,
most of the roads are dirt and a lot of people live in really small
houses that don’t have much more than 4 brick walls and a tin roof. It
is extremely humbling. We live in the back of a Baptist pastor’s
house... It is a small little house where the bathroom, main room, and
bedroom are detached. It isn´t anything special but we are living okay
mission president and his wife are amazing. I couldn`t be more happy.
I walked out of the airport and he was there waiting for me (because I was
the last one). He said "elder Bailey, I am so glad to see you, You´re
from Utah right? We have been praying for you and we finally got to
meet you" It relieved any stress or pressure I had. We stayed in a
hotel the first night and the next morning we got up really early and
went to do paperwork and get our blood drawn. I didn´t get to meet my
companion until that night but I got so lucky! His name is Elder
Wilkinson and he has only been in the field for 3 months! He is really
good at Spanish and I am so excited to have him as my trainer. We work
really well together. Oh… we also got the area that everyone wants to
serve in! The area is beautiful and the climate is amazing! It isn´t
humid like Santa Cruz is! We are serving in Tarija and I wouldn`t want
to be anywhere else! We are somewhat close to Argentina so I thought
that was pretty cool! I am going to try and send some pictures if I
have time. First let me start by saying how perfect this mission is
for me! We haven’t had much success as of yet but I know it will come!
In the 4 days (I think its 4) that I have been here we have only
taught 3 lessons.. The people here are great they just always say they
are busy and all our backups fall through. It is tough but success
isn’t measured in the number of contacts, but rather in how hard you
work. Let me just say, we work hard! The language is still kicking my
butt! I can understand most of what is being said when I really want
to but speaking is a real weakness for me! I pray all the time that It
will get easier but it all starts with faith! While I am thinking
about it please tell the Dunn family thank you for the book Drawing on
the Powers of Heaven. It has been a lifesaver since I have been here.
I would really suggest that everyone reads it! It is weird to think
that I am actually here... the work has begun. What an awesome work.
There have been a few recent changes that I really like. Rather than
it being called missionary work it is being called the work of
salvation. We work really hard with the member because every member is
a missionary and we want to stress the importance of that. Another
thing that changed only here in our mission to avoid confusion between
the Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz North mission is our president calls our
mission the mission of miracles. I really like that. Missionary work
is full of miracles, I have been here for a few short days but I have
seen so many amazing things! I´ll tell a little bit about our area,
most of the roads are dirt and a lot of people live in really small
houses that don’t have much more than 4 brick walls and a tin roof. It
is extremely humbling. We live in the back of a Baptist pastor’s
house... It is a small little house where the bathroom, main room, and
bedroom are detached. It isn´t anything special but we are living okay
especially
compared to some. The people we live behind have a cat and
a dog and the basically live with us! They are so cute. The cat is
tiny and is all about letting you hold it and the dog rolls over when
he sees us so we can scratch his belly. I have a pink bed....
anyway... Let’s end with faith. I am just beginning to realize how much
is possible when we have faith. My faith will determine my success
along with my hard work. I am working really hard on growing my faith
and I challenge you all to do the same thing! It is amazing how much
is possible through faith! I am out of time but I want to bear
testimony of this work! We are constantly serving and helping others.
It doesn´t matter what you believe, when you are serving others, you
are serving God. This is so hard but if I only get to help one person
gain a testimony I will consider my mission successful! I love you
guys and pray for you every night! Stay safe!
a dog and the basically live with us! They are so cute. The cat is
tiny and is all about letting you hold it and the dog rolls over when
he sees us so we can scratch his belly. I have a pink bed....
anyway... Let’s end with faith. I am just beginning to realize how much
is possible when we have faith. My faith will determine my success
along with my hard work. I am working really hard on growing my faith
and I challenge you all to do the same thing! It is amazing how much
is possible through faith! I am out of time but I want to bear
testimony of this work! We are constantly serving and helping others.
It doesn´t matter what you believe, when you are serving others, you
are serving God. This is so hard but if I only get to help one person
gain a testimony I will consider my mission successful! I love you
guys and pray for you every night! Stay safe!
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