Wherein Maelynn Sees an Elder Split his Pants

Jan. 27, 2017

            So probably the biggest thing that happened this week is the announcement of the schedule change for missionaries and the change for key indicators. We didn’t think the schedule would really affect us in the ccm but we got new schedules too.  Bed time is now 9:45 and class doesn’t start until 7:15 and P-days are a little longer with less study time, so everyone is pretty pumped about that! The fact that Landen doesn’t have his call yet is kind of driving me crazy so ya'll better let me know as soon as it comes.  Oh, another important thing is that because next week is my last week in the ccm, I repeat, NEXT WEEK IS MY LAST WEEK IN THE CCM! …we have a bunch of tests to take next Friday so our p day will be NEXT WEDNESDAY.  

            Um, some other things that happened this week was I kind of got the calling of leading the music in sacrament meeting which is no big deal. One of our gym times we got a yoga lesson from some latino hermanas and my ribs still hurt really bad, yeah my ribs, I don’t understand it either!  Our teacher, Hermano de Santiago got accepted to BYUI and so we had a fiesta. Literally, one of the elders in our district had a bottle or Martinelli’s that his mom sent him for his birthday so we had our teacher take it outside and shake, shake, shake it up and then popped the cap off.  Haha and we all made a run to the tienda and basically bought everything, it was awesome! He’s just been so worried about it the whole time we’ve been here and it’s kind of been his dream for a really long time so we had to celebrate! I seriously wish you guys could meet him because he is the most adorable genuine little man I have ever met in my entire life! I mean seriously, he served his mission in Honduras and he wants to live there just so he can help the people, he even started going to college in agriculture just so he would know how to help the people better! 

            Oh man the funniest thing that happened this week was our elders were playing swords (it’s a hand game where you try to touch the other person, the kids can explain what it is) and Elder Barlow, one of our zone leaders split his pants WIDE open, and I mean wide open!  Well the next day our elders were playing the same game, because boys never learn, and Elder Barlow started playing again and I said "remember what happened last time you played this game?" and not a minute later you hear this noise and then you hear "NOT AGAIN!" HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAAH yep, he did the exact same thing, split WIDE open! Oh it was too good to be true :) but it was true!

            Also we’ve given 2 of the best lessons we’ve ever given this week. One was one of our investigators told us that he had a strong desire to be baptized but his dad wouldn’t let him and wanted him to stop meeting with the missionaries… literally broke my heart and I just about cried because of that and the spirit that filled the rest of that lesson. If that happens with real people in the field I don’t know how I’m going to handle it. the other lesson was in trc and I didn’t really know what to say and while my comp was talking a thought popped into my head and so I asked the volunteer and she ended up sharing a really personal and spiritual experience and it was a really neat experience and testimony to me of the Holy Ghost!  I could tell you more about how our district is just super goofy like when one of the elders left his water bottle filling up in the hall way and walked away so we had to try to mop up a couple gallons of water with paper towels from the bathroom, aw good times good times! I really do love my district and my companion and the spirit in the ccm is incredible and I have enjoyed my time here, but I’m ready to get out and to actually be in Cuernavaca! ALSO, today marks my one month-aversary of being in the ccm! Wowee how time flies! Only 17 months to go!

     Love you guys and don’t worry about sending packages or anything but can you please just send pictures? I miss seeing your faces! Lots and lots of pictures!

Mucho amor,

     Hermana Bailey

Oh, we are going to the temple at noon today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so I will be getting on to email way earlier. Did I mention that were going to the temple today?

     

  Pics: Week 5 is “solo Espanol” and she is only supposed to speak Spanish, acting like the statue in the foreground, and pointing to her mission on the map at the MTC. 

Wherein Maelynn gets a new MTC President

January 20, 2017

     This week has flown by! Hermana Torgersen and I got called as sister training leaders and then got 7 new hermanas in our zone! It’s insane, they have 7 sisters and only 4 elders in their district! 

      Hey we have a new president too! Presidente Bennet, from Bountiful, UT! Him and His wife and their 18 year old daughter are super great! Some quotes from them that I really liked in their first devotional

"I have a thousand questions but I have NO doubts!" -President Bennet

"Nothing is more thrilling than knowing you are an instrument in the Lord's hand!" -Hermana Bennet

Cool story about the new president:

So Sunday nights we have movie night in the auditorium. we sing a hymn, say a prayer, the pres talks for a couple minutes, then we watch a movie (like the testaments or something like that) well this Sunday after song and prayer, pres was talking and there was a weird noise in one of the front rows so he stopped, the noise stopped, and he went on. Well this happed like 3 times and he was finally like ok what is that, where’s it coming from? Well it ended up being a ‘bop it’ that someone had brought, so one of the counselors took it and we found out later that he literally threw it outside in the bushes. Well anyways after that everyone was a little riled up and laughing, so he called on a couple missionaries to play another hymn for us to sing to bring the Spirit back. Well he didn’t stop there, he called on a couple people to come up and bear their testimonies including his daughter that is here with them for a couple months and some 6 week missionaries and his wife and his counselors’ wife and he did a question and answer thingy. Needless to say, we didn’t end up watching the movie, but it was one of the neatest meetings that I’ve been in since I’ve been here! The spirit was incredible and it just makes me love our president even more!

     These are my wonderful roommates! me, Hna Barton from Evanston, going to Mexico City East, Hna Egbert from Draper going to somewhere in Chile, and Hna Torgersen from Hatch going to Cuernavaca! I love them lots and lots! Also, Hna Egbert when she found out who grandpa is she got super excited. I guess when she was reading one of his books it helped her make her decision to go to BYU Hawaii and she loved it. I don’t know the whole experience but she loves grandpa, as does everyone!

I feel more and more accustomed every day. Yeah don’t expect a normal looking picture, you should have learned that long long ago! 

This picture is our whole district before Elder Wadsworth (black trench coat) went home and our teacher Hermano de Santiago. He is the absolute bessssstttt, and he’s actually applying to BYUI right now and is trying to go this fall!

      I have to go because we actually got on earlier today, but I love you lots mama! And I miss hugs and kisses from the babies more than anything!

Talk to you later!

Love, Hermana Bailey

Wherein Hermana Bailey enters the MTC, or as they call it in Mexico, the CCM.

(Jan 13th, 2017)

“I feel like a lot happened this past week. For starters, last P day was really difficult for my companion and I had a rough day last Saturday, so our district leaders offered to give us both blessings which we took them up on.  Both of our blessings said stuff that were answers to our prayers and it was a really neat experience.  Since then, all has been well. You should send more pictures for me to looks at. Also, my debit card hasn’t been working at all, so I can’t get any money at the atm and it is declined at the tienda, so I have just been living off of the $30 of cash I brought with me, but they give us $5 a week too, so I’ve been ok until now.

I can’t believe you have had two snow days - that is so crazy to think about because it’s so sunny down here. Actually, its really cold here in the mornings and I am super glad that I brought my coat. Some mornings it feels like it has to be about 40 degrees. Spanish is getting better but it is really frustrating some days. Lessons are hard because you’re supposed to focus on your investigator and ask questions but it is really hard to respond when you cant understand what they say and don’t know how to respond. Yesterday we did our first TRC  which was kind of terrifying, but it was with members so it wasn’t too bad (TRC – teaching real people, we start with members that volunteer and eventually actual investigators, but we started teaching our teachers as investigators since day 2).

Last week we did a service project in the kitchen. They have that Tajin stuff here that you always put on your cucumbers and they put it all over their fruit.  Also, can you send me Landen’s address at BYU so I can send him a letter?

I will try to load some pictures of me and my companion. A few funny things that have happened, Hermana Torgersen and I just found out that we have been “washing” our clothes with laundry softener for the last 2 weeks! Also, our district is so rowdy that we’ve been assigned babysitters. Basically we have extra teachers come into our class and sit in the back and follow us around or just check up on us. It’s a little ridiculous really! Also, one of the Elders here ripped a button off his suit jacket and said “Mama Bailey can you fix it?” Haha, so I did. And then just yesterday another Elder asked me to fix something on his tie. I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO SEW but I guess because I am a girl I should be able to fix stuff…I was able to manage with a needle and thread alright.

If the bishop asks what scripture I want on my plaque, I want 2 Nefi 4:34, just the part that says “Oh Lord, I have trusted in Thee and I will trust in Thee forever”.

Sometimes the ice cream here is good, but we only get it like once a week. And the food here sometimes looks like the soup that Nacho Libre made that gave all the priests diarrheas, so me and my comp are surviving off of salad, fruit, and frosted flakes…of, and pizza on Tuesdays and lots of chips and candy from the tienda. Surprisingly I haven’t gained any weight yet. We’re supposed to get to go to the temple two times while we’re here, but we haven’t gone yet. It’s actually closed for a couple weeks so I don’t know when we’ll get to go but I can feel the absence of the temple and I don’t like it at all. My comp loved going to the temple a lot too. She was actually an ordinance worker once a week in the St George temple so we both complain that we won’t get to go at all in Cuernavaca.

Also, if you ever just feel REALLY REALLY generous and want to send me some extra love, there’s a program called missionary package MX or something like that (http://www.missionarypackagemx.com/) where you can order stuff from Costco and they’ll package it up here and send it to me. One of the elders in our district got Dr Pepper yesterday and everyone FREAKED out, they don’t have any caffeine here. You can also send boxes of Krispy Creams, just sayin’…and diet coke.Love you, Maelynn”

Here is the address for her actual mission (where she will receive letters and packages for the rest of her mission, starting after Feb 6^th):

Sister Maelynn Joy Bailey

Mision Mexico Cuernavaca

Avenida Francisco Leyva #109

Colonia Miguel Hidalgo

Cuernavaca 62040 Morelos

Mexico

In Front of the CCM

A Little Sun!

Serving in the Kitchen

Wherein We sent off Hermana Maelynn

December 27, 2016

It was an early and an emotional morning at the Idaho Falls airport when we took Maelynn Hermana Bailey there to drop her off so she could begin her adventures in Mexico. She was called to serve in the Cuernavaca Mexico Mission for a period of 18 months. We love and miss her dearly.

It was mostly happy tight squeezes and fond farewells, not too many tears, because this parting is a sweet and tender one filled with love and hope and excitement for the great things ahead.