So this week was another great week

So this week was another great week, not a lot happened though. All we are doing is teaching and teaching 

and more teaching. Our contacting method is making it a little easier and less stressful on our legs now a days. 

All of our lessons are like three streets apart for most of the day, with the occasional long walk to another 

person's house just a few blocks away. Its been pretty dang good, and a lot of them are actually progressing 

and committing to going to church, and are reading praying and following the commandments. 

The first story for today is quite funny. So we found these two people a mom and her daughter. 

They had heard the missionaries before in mexico DF, and had really liked the messages. 

So anyways the missionaries were teaching them and all, but they "weren't progressing" 

like the missionaries wanted them to. They explained more and told us that they had talked for two weeks 

with the missionaries and didn't feel ready to be baptized. There was another girl that had only been talking 

them for like a week or two and got baptized. So the missionaries started to lecture them how they weren't 

going to heaven and stuff like that. Well the story continues and they told them that that's not true, and said 

we will be baptized when we feel ready, when we have received an answer. The missionaries got really mad 

at this and more or less never returned to talk with them, but they continued to go to church and everything. 

Well one day, a Monday, they went to the mall to buy some stuff, and when they entered the mall the 

two missionaries were leaving with the girl that had been baptized, and one of the missionaries and her were 

holding hands and all over each other. And a bunch of other stuff happened during this time and after 

everything had passed they decided to leave the church and not be baptized. So anyways we contacted them 

and started talking to them, and we were trying to gain their confidence back, and boy did they just open 

up one day and went on for like an hour and a half about all of the problems and doubts that they had. 

So anyways we were just talking about this all, and then I popped the baptismal invitation and they said 

that they know if they do everything they are suppose to do they will be ready in three weeks to be baptized, 

so whoop whoop. 

Another thing that happened this week was with the family we had baptized. The mother was raised and 

studied the the iglesia evangelista. So it has been really hard for her to except the BOM, and she told us 

this week that she doesn't know she can go all in with the church if she doesn't find something in the Bible 

that talks about the BOM. And my companion, love him but is more prideful then I have ever been, and 

thinks he's the best missionary, starts talking about a passage in John that talks about Jesus doing a lot 

of other things that it wouldn't all fit in one book, and she cut him off and said well yeah we know that 

but its not saying that there's another book. He starts getting mad and I say, 'Hermana Podemos tener un 

vaso de agua'. This was just an excuse to get us alone. and my companion turns to me and says she's 

gonna go inactive and other stuff like that. And I said, 'Just shut up and don't say anything for the rest of the 

lesson, cuz with that attitude you can't teach correctly and aren't in the right mind set'.  So I share two passages 

in the Bible that clearly talk about the BOM. The one the talks about the Stick of Judah and the Stick of Joseph 

being one in the hands of man, and another that talks about a sealed book that God will unseal in His own 

due time. I've always known about these two passages but my companion just always uses the same one, 

so its just whatever. Afterwards she looks up and tells us that its all true that the Book of Mormon in 

true and the evidence has been right in front of her the whole time. And then said 'I'm now a Super Mormon 

and am never leaving this church'. After the lesson my companion asked me how long I knew about 

these scriptures, and I said 'Ummm like three or four years'.  Then he said, 'Why didn't you ever share them?' 

And I said, 'You'll learn one day on your mission that you can't expect to get results if you use the same 

things every day'. He didn't take that too well but he got the point and every lesson we have been 

shaking it up and using different teaching techniques. 

That's really all I got for this week to be honest. One thing that I learned this week is that Joseph Smith 

restored the church, well obviously. But what a lot of people overlook is his wife Emma. We overlook the 

fact that she really sacrificed her whole entire life to help restore the church as well. She didn't translate 

anything or baptize but she kept care of the family and helped uplift him when he was down. Man if every 

married couple had the dedication and sacrifice willingly for God and for the other that would be a 

great world. 

That's all I got to say this week.  Have a great week.

Love you all. 

Church is true go be awesome (#annebagley)

Oops--forgot to push PUBLISH last week!

This week was a little bit better then the last week so that is great. 

however nothing too great or grand happened this week, so lo siento. Where shall 

we begin?

Story One:

So this week was pretty good cuz we had the opportunity to baptize another person. He has had 

17 years with missionaries, and he finally came around and felt ready to be baptized. Yesterday 

I asked him why he decided to be baptized, and what took him seventeen years to come around? 

He started to tell me that when he first started out he never completed any of the invitations that 

the missionaries had invited. He had never read the Book of Mormon, and he only attended church 

one time the first time around with the missionaries. And this time around he started to take it a 

little more seriously and started to read and started to attend church regularly. Through all of this 

he slowly started to progress and feel more ready to be baptized, and wanting to be baptized. He 

also told us how the first time around his life was going good, he was "Catholic" and he was all 

good cuz there wasn't anything bad about his life. However, life goes on and things change. So 

anyways he told us that life started to get harder. He told me that he told us that he just didn't 

feel God in his life so he started to give it another try with the missionaries. Anyways, he finally 

completed everything, and he had a trial of his faith as well. Before his baptism he had to fulfill 

with his repentance process (which was very difficult), and only Elder Stewart and I know about 

what he had to do to get forgiven. And he had to put all of his faith in God to complete this 

and it took him like three weeks to complete this, but he finally did and oh man his character 

just changed. Everything about him changed. He just looked more light and more full of 

light--it was great to see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNQC-_srxH8

I know that this is a Christmas video, but its all good. Its about service--so its all good and 

perfect year around. And if we always give service we will always see Christ in them, and also 

in our lives. Also when we give service the people that will receive it sees God and Jesus in their lives. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znzx2HXY8fo

I like this video. Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven are sitting and waiting for us. We might not 

feel them, see them, or believe they are there, but they always are. When we take leaps of faith 

we will always fall short, and they will always grab us and pull us all the way up and we will 

overcome and accomplish all of the leaps of faith. Also, when we make mistakes, errors, and 

commit sins, God will always be here for us. He will pick us up and save us from spiritual death. 

We don't deserve it, but we have it because we are all His children and all of Christ's younger siblings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR8qIrJcJh4

I like this video as well. I like how he says that the scriptures and science are two witnesses of 

the creation. And that in the Bible it says by the mouth of two witnesses we will know the truth. 

And that we need to know both the science of the creation and also the spiritual side of it. 

It just makes sense that its all true, cuz God has laws and He can't break those laws or He will 

cease to be God. And one of the laws is the laws of science, and He knows all of it and He 

has to follow it cuz its a law.

That's all I got this week. Have a great day and week. 

Church is true. Go be awesome  (Anne Bagley)

Another week down here south of the border...

This week was another week here down here south of the border. To be honest though 

not much has really happened--so that's a bummer. It was a really boring week, but it 

went be really, really quick. The past three weeks have honestly just been so fast, and 
at the end of the week I am just wondering where the week went. I have started to put 
together a daily plan of contacting. So here in Sotavento its just all apartments--like more 
or less all of the main area is apartments. So anyways, each street has 18-20 apartments. 
Every apartment has 6 doors and 30 stairs. So we contact one street every single day, or 
we contact for two-three days until we have finished the whole entire street.  Then we start 
on the next street. So this is really tiring but its all good. We walk up and down stairs for like 
two hours in 90-114 degree weather--and I love it. Its really hard, but hey--its worth it. We will 
sometimes go two whole hours just sweating like no other and not finding anybody, but hey--its 
all about that next door. Just gotta keep the mindset that this next door is the reason why you're 
here, and if they don't except you (or don't answer) its the next door, and the next, and the next, 
and the next. 

I've also been trying to work on reminding the people here (missionaries) that these people aren't
numbers, but that they are people. So all this week when the DL was verificando with me, he
always would say 'How many dates did you put?'  (which is always bugging me, cuz the missionary
purpose is invite others to come unto Christ.  Its not 'Put numbers to come unto Christ', or that
type of stuff.  So I told I didn't put any baptismal dates; I invited these people who have these
problems, this age, and a little description of the person. Then I'll say,  'And they accepted to be
baptized on this date if they feel that they are ready'. He was getting mad at me more or less every
night for this, but I would nicely remind him that 'You might be teaching numbers and baptizing numbers,
but over here in Aeropuerto we're teaching people and baptizing converts'.  It was all out of love
and he slowly got the message that we clearly didn't have the same mindset about the people WE
were teaching. Also another thing I'm trying to work on is changing the mindset that these people
aren't the missionaries investigators (because in reality they aren't your investigators), they are the Lord's.
They aren't investigating the story of you, your teachings, nothing about you.  And most importantly
they aren't making covenants with you. They are making covenants with the lord. So yeah, I'm trying
to change the mindset that this is their time and their stuff cuz in reality all of this is the Lord's work,
the Lord's time, and God's children--not yours. 

Another thing that I really liked this week was a piece of a talk that George Albert Smith gave back
in 1947, in my juventud. Anyways, he said that a bunch of people have their names on the records
of the church, on the records of Christ, and they think that is all they need to enter into the kingdom of God.
He then went on to say that these people will get to the judgement seat of God expecting to enter into His
kingdom and He is going to tell them that 'Yeah your names are on the records, but you never did anything
after that, and it would have been better to never have written your name on the records'. Its because you
know the commandments of God and His covenants and you disregarded them and broke the
commandments, as if they weren't important. I loved that that part so much. Its because its true. We all
know a bunch of people who have left the church because they don't take their salvation seriously. They
think anyone can enter into heaven, but that's not completely true. The people that have those thoughts
are usually the worst off in the end. Its because they know the covenants of God, but think that they
know more than God and can cheat to get in--but you cant do that silly boy. 

Other than that, this week was good.  Learned a lot.  Progressing a lot.

Still good ol' hilarious Tanner, so don't worry.  And I'm still not mature, so don't you worry.

I'll come back the same, but a lot better, so dont' worry.

Church is true go be awesome (Anne Bagley) 

Well this week was actually a pretty blah week--my first week were I was just 

drained and done with everything. I couldn't feel it all week, but I knew that it 

was taking a toll and a whole lot of stuff.  On top of all of that, this week was just 

a bad week for the numbers--everything (literally every aspect; every key indicator) 

just fell. We started out hoping for a baptism, but nope--that didn't happen. 

That one fell through.  And also just every day we got more and more bad news, 

and bad things happening.

Story one: 

So we have been working with this MA in the ward who was also recently baptized as well. 

But he stopped going to church because he had a fear of closing his business on Sunday, 

or just a small part of Sunday. So he just stopped going but still a great guy, and 

following the commandments and total. So anyways he was taken to the hospital last week for a 

health issue, but returned to his house on Sunday (or Saturday or Friday I don't remember), 

like two weeks ago. So anyways we never got the chance to pass by and see how he was 

doing but we were planning on going and checking on him. So anyways, we first pass by a 

member's house and she tells us that he had passed away that morning at 630. He had drowned 

in his sleep (that's what I understood).  So we spent that day just in a daze (well more like me cuz 

we were just home boys), and just trying to work and do stuff. But I just wasn't focused. So that 

was just really sad and we just tried helping the family as much as we could in that time as well. 

Then every day just followed like that--we had to help a member to the hospital because she 

had a cyst on her ovary and couldn't really move; and just really weird things like that. 

On top of all of that, we were also visiting all of the investigators, and for one thing or another they 

either rejected us completely or just couldn't attend church this Sunday so their baptismal date fell. 

Or they were all ready and prepared to get married and we pass by and nope they got cold feet 

and decided that they no longer wanted to get married and stuff like this. 

So yeah this week was very enjoyable for your beautiful young elder, who surprisingly doesn't 

have a bald spot, or a bad hairline yet. But who's hair is pretty thick and getting a beautiful blonde color, 

like that perfectly golden marshmallow color when you're cooking a s'more. Well anyways, last 

night when I finally took a breath for the first time in the week--I was just drained and sat on 

the kitchen floor for like two hours or more just in deep thinking. Pretty great.

But hey this weeks a new week lets go gets some success. cant change yesterday or last 

week, but we can start molding this week and today. 

Church is true go be awesome,  (anne bagley)