Wherein Maelynn Finds a Man Down!

April 24, 2017

jajajaja... They had this photo thing set up for Semana Santa for all the vacationers and we definitely took advantage of it! lol We didn't even have to pay :)

I know that we always have pics with puppies, but it's just that they're everywhere and they're soo cute!

(This is us contacting real investigators. not acting.  Ok actually we are acting, but they are investigators. jaja basically members just not baptized yet, well Fernando is!)...

And a taste of how Semana Santa was like here in Tepoz...

My comp hit 9 months (this is 1/2 way through the mission)...

Our water was FILLED with parasites, but don't worry, we have mostly clean water now! yeah yeah yeah.

I'm sending you pictures of this little guy, because he's soooooooo cute.  Quite possibly one of the cutest babies I've ever seen. Not lying ...the absolute hardest mission rule is that we can't hold babies and little kids. 

Warning, this is pretty long, but it's a pretty cool story.

This week was NUTS!

        So Tuesday we went to visit a menos activo Miguel Flores who's like 60 years old and can't walk very well and we try to visit him every week just to share a little message and a hymn and help him make these colored crayon thingys that he sells. Anyways we didn't have an appointment, but we just showed up to visit him and his friend Antonio was there.  So we start talking with him, and end up teaching the restoration and desafiamos (ask him to be baptized) and he accepts and we set up an appointment to visit him, with Miguel, on Thursday!

      Then Wednesday another investigator, Melchor, had his baptism interview with our mission president and passed, woo hoo! (he'll hopefully be baptized this week, but we'll see because a little over a year ago he was going to be baptized, had his interview, white clothes on, the font was full, and he got scared, ugh, so hopefully this time he'll follow through) (that doesnt have anything to do with the story about Antonio, just wanted to let you know)

     Also, starting on Monday, Sammy started to progress A LOT towards baptism.  We had him watch the talk from conference by Elder Costa, and that helped him a TON and he told us that he said a really long prayer and felt SUPER padre (really cool) and told us he wanted to be baptized! yeah yeah yeah! So we set up an appointment for the district leader to come on Thursday to interview him.  The DL wanted to do it at 11, but that's when our appointment was with Antonio, so we ended up doing it at 10 even though it's a good 2 hour trip on buses from the Elder's area.

      So Thursday we went to Sammy's and he had his interview and passed! Woohoo! but then we're all sitting at the table, me, Hermana Shook, Elder Stevens (DL), Elder Fernando, Sammy, and Sammy's dad Samuel. I hand Elder Stevens the form to sign, and Samuel is kind of looking at it, so Elder Stevens explains that before someone gets baptized they have to have an interview and this paper/permit of sorts. and Samuel is like "oh do you guys have someone getting baptized?" and Eder Stevens is like "yeah actually the same day as him" (pointing to Sammy) and then Samuel looks at Sammy "you're getting baptized?" and Sammy said "I'd like to" and his dad "hmm" entonces...Sammy didnt tell his dad!!! Super awkward, and when we left me and hermana shook both just felt super sick!  (just so you know, Sammy ended up calling us and saying that his dad was super mad and that he doesnt think he should get baptized this month. He's 19 and so he doesn't need permission, but wants to be on good terms with his dad.  It's just weird because the whole time his dad has been cool with it, like "its up to Sammy".  So we're pretty devastated. Especially because there are changes on May 1 and who knows if we'll still be here after that or not...)      

   But we went to our appointment with Antonio.  

     We found his house and were knocking knocking knocking but no answer.  So I looked through a gap to the side of the door and didnt see anything, then I looked again, and I saw Antonio face down on the ground, remember this guy is 86. This made me pretty nervous, old people on the ground is never a good thing.  So I shouted his name and he moved a little but couldn't get up, so me and Hna Shook tried reaching our arm through the gap to open the door but we couldn't, so we started looking for something to open the door.  By some miracle, I found a metal looking thing that worked perfectly to get the door open - so we ran in!  He lives alone by the way.  And I start asking him questions like "does anything hurt?" "did you hit your head?" "how long have you been here?" "what happened?" and  I can get kind of yes and no answers, but he can't really talk.   

       So we get him rolled onto his back so we can help him up and into a chair. and at this point it is very apparent that he had a stroke - his face is super droopy, his leg is kind of twisted back from when we lifted him up, he can't sit up straight, his arm is just limp, he can't open his eyes.  I mean it was very obvious.  Well he can't even sit in this chair, he's falling all over the place, so we try to lift him to take him to his bed, but he can't hold any weight, and we couldn't do it on our own, so Hna Shook runs out to the street and finds someone and asks for help and he says, 'sorry I'm busy', and shes like 'are you kidding me?'  So she finds someone else, and actually the 2 of them end up coming to help us and just lift him up and into his bed and then leave.  So I take his shoes off and we get a cool rag on his neck and forehead and luckily theres a bunch of numbers of who we assumed to be his kids on the wall, so I start calling. NO ONE answers.  So Hna shook takes the phone and just calls 911.  So an ambulance is on the way and finally one of the numbers we called called back - but the weird thing is that she was more concerned with who we were and why we were in her dad's house than the fact that her dad had a stroke and needed some help. (Hna Shook was a little nervous that we would get in trouble for entering the house, but I'm sorry, I don't feel bad at all) but she says she'll send someone over. 

        So one of his kids in on his way.  Also by this time, Miguel, the member, shows up and sweet little thing, just starts giving his friend a foot massage.  While this is going down, I'm just trying to talk to Antonio, "Can you open your eyes?" "Can you lift your arm? no? The other arm? your leg?" No movement, poor guy.   Ao his son and the paramedics finally show up and take his vitals and start asking questions "Does anything hurt?" "Can you open your eyes?" "Can you lift your arm?" (not gonna lie, I felt pretty cool that they were asking all the same things I had asked him).  

        Anyways, they took him to the hospital and we told his son to call us and let us know what happened, but we still don't know anything.   At the end of all this, Miguel just looks at us and says "It's a miracle you guys were here! This is the work of God!"   And Oh, we know that this is definitely the work of God. His hand is Everywhere! It's just crazy to look back at all the things leading up to this experience and seeing how much the Lord was preparing, and how far in advance.  The fact that I worked in a nursing home with people that had strokes, the fact that we decided to visit Miguel without an appointment and happened to find him.  The fact that we set the appointment for Thursday morning when we could have done it on any day.  The fact that we convinced the district leaders to come an hour earlier so we could make it to this appointment.  The fact that we happened to find some metal loop to open the door.  The fact that 2 men happened to be walking in the street to help us lift him.  SOOOO many things that just all came together in one giant MILAGRO! 

       The Lord knows sooo much more than we do.  He knows Everything. and He is preparing the way for us in ways that we don't even realize.  Miracles are happening all around us, and they're easy to see if we just look.  And if we're living worthily and if we're ready to act, the Lord will use us to perform those miracles, I know it. I've seen it. This is TOTALLY the work of the Lord!

Hermana Bailey 

Wherein Maelynn Makes Brownies!

April 17, 2017

 Hola,

      I finish my training in 2 weeks! wowza

Our cool new Earings!

(Pig Faces - because pork-k no?)

      Easter was good, but actually it was kind of an all week thing.  Semana Santa is what the Catholics celebrate, which means all of Mexico celebrates it.  Like friday they had a parade of sorts and they sing these songs and carry huge statues of Christ carrying His cross.  Then saturday they don't really do anything special, but then Sunday is obviously the day of resureccion.  I am not sure what they did on Sunday, but they all have 2 weeks of vacation from school and work, and so everyone comes to tepoz obvi, and well it was more nuts than carnaval!      

     But we also had our most successful week!  We had divisions in our area which was super stressful to plan for because we had to plan 2 different schedules and it meant that I would have to speak purely in Spanish and take control in the lessons, which is difficult when you don't totally understand the people you're teaching, but honestly it actually turned out super well!  I can understand alot and I can speak more than when I started, its a slow process, but its coming!  Then we had our actividad de rescate in our area, so all the missionaries in our district came to Tepoz to visit less actives and contact people.   And I think because of those 2 things, and just because we worked hard in our area (didn't have to go to Cuernavaca like we normally do), we had the most successful Sunday we've ever had by far! 6 investigators in church, plus a few menos activos that hadn't been to church in years! Milagros I'm telling you!  The rama was pretty packed! (so probably like 45 or 50 people lol) and we had to speak. which was a little stressful, but it ended up working out.   Then we taught our gospel principles class about Satan- haha I know a little weird, but we both read a talk in the liahona that we loved so we talked about it with them.  (Look it up-  it's called "The War Continues" by someone in the 70.  Super interesting!)

     Something super sad, Hermana Rosales, one of the Hermanas in Cuernavaca that we stay with every Monday, has been having knee problems, they got so bad that she went to the hospital and they gave her a huge brace and told her she needs to stay home for 2 or 3 weeks.  Well it's like a mission rule that if you have to be in house for more than 10 days or something, you have to go home, so Presidente gave her a week to heal up or she has to go home.  So we've been praying for her.  It is super sad, but this actually happens to a ton of missionaries!

     Our branch president made us hamburgers on Saturday, and they were sublime,  I think that is a good word, actually I don't know what that word means exactly, but they were delicious!

     So on Saturday I visited Sammy (on splits with a member) and invited him to a Baptism in Cuerna, and he straight up said that he didn't want to, which made me sad.  Then he started talking about how he's never had a religion and he doesnt want to change so fast, and then he started talking about how he's been reading the Book of Mormon and praying and isn't feeling anything, which made me even sadder.  Basically, it was a sad lesson.   But he ended up coming to church the next day, and we gave him some homework to watch the conference talk by Elder Costa and to call us when he did.   Well, he called us this morning and said he really liked it and asked when was the next date for a baptism, and we could not believe it! He said he's still not totally sure....but oh he's getting so close I can feel it!

    This morning our district got together to make french toast - super yummy!  We ate them with ice cream and strawberries. thats my kind of breakfast!  Honestly don't be surprised if I come back looking a little different. the food here is just SOOO good!

     I can't believe that the open house of the temple is soo soon!   I cannot wait to be able to go through! I miss the temple just about as much as I thought I would, which is a lot!

Sounds like Boise was fun! 

Can't wait to talk to you guys soon!

Lovvveee you!

("My favorite color is light tan, my favorite animal is poopies. I like serving the Lord,...")

P.S. Emerson, Guess what? I got to speak in church yesterday about Easter too!  We are the same :) 

(but legit gave like a 10 minute talk in sacrament meeting about the resurrection in Spanish, ba bam)

Haha we really wanted brownies and one day Sammy texted us and said  "I bought brownies, when are we gonna make them?"  Yeah, I know we're dorks!

Wherein Maelynn Makes a Dress!

April 10, 2017

      Well this week was actually kind of hard. just frustrating because I eel like after 3 months of living in Mexico I should be able to speak Spanish but alas, it is not so. The weather is getting mas fuerte. and this week is Semana Santa, which means everyone is on vacation, which means everyone is in Tepoztlán which means the streets are going to be wild, and we arent going to be able to find anyone in their houses. yayyay!  You know, every area has its difficulties, if ours is that - well its just such a cool place that everyone wants to be there, you know I think I can handle it :) 

     I keep forgetting that it's still cold in Idaho, because it's pretty dang hot here.  My fan broke, so it's kind of hard to sleep through the night - even just on top of my sheets and with no blanket.  The sun is getting stronger and stronger everyday as we make our way into the hot season here which is like April, May and June and July and, well it's pretty hot all the time!  Tepoztlán is probably one of the coolest places in the mission (in the mountains and such) and we're still over here dying of heat and getting fried and turning blonde. 

      We are trying to teach our class of niños "I am a child of God" haha. I think we are having more fun that they are :) 

    Proooof that I actually created something. Bam.  We made these dresses with only a little help from a member.  You should all be very very impressed!

     I'm learning to treat everyday in the mission as the great gift that it is because it honestly just goes so fast and I don't want to look back and regret a single thing. 

Love you and I'll see all of you in just a couple weeks!

 Hermana Bailey

Wherein Maelynn Ate Cow's Feet Tostadas!

April 3, 2017

     Clases de Ingles. Our classes have turned into puro niños, but its super fun!  And also, LOOK HOW BLONDE MY HAIR IS GETTING!  All the missionaries here think that my hair is blonde and I don't believe them, but actually I'm starting to believe them...

     Mom, about General Conference ... we definitely watched it in English! do you realize how much better it is to hear their actual voices and emotion rather than someone translating?  I can understand what they're talking about (in Spanish), but not well enough to really take notes and get a lot out of it, so yeah, English it is!  Also I love that you call me hijita :) 

     This conference was better than any conference that has ever been given, ever!  I just kept thinking, "Wow why is this one so much better than all the others? Why are they all talking directly to Hermana Bailey in Tepoztlán?  Then I realized that it's probably not the apostles talks that are changing but my...for lack of better words, awareness.

...watching General Conference

     The mission is kind of the funnest, most frustrating, exhausting thing that I've ever done.  It honestly doesn't make any sense to me, but I love it! I love that conference has such a huge emphasis on joy and love and faith and hope. Happy things!  Even Holland gave a happy talk, he usually planches everyone! But it's becuase this gospel is one of pure hope and love and all we need is faith, que facil!  I especially loved the talk about replacing fear with faith.  Fear is of the devil.  There is no point in being scared, ever...because if we're doing what we're suppossed to be doing, we know exactly where we're going to go.  Maybe if we're not doing what we're suppossed to be doing I would be a little scared, but just change what you're doing!  Hello, its so simple... Follow the Savior and bam, salvation! basically. 

     This week was actually super sad because we had several investigators commit to come to conference Sunday morning and the morning of we went to one's house and she was sick, and another one called us and said he had been fighting with his dad so he couldn't come, and another one just didn't show up.  It was sooo sad!  Especially when Elder Costa started talking directly to investigators. It was a perfect talk for Sammy, so we texted him that his homework was to watch it.  Aw man, conference was so tight! 

     Landen's joke was LAME and I showed my comp the pics and she just said "his hair"....yeah he needs to chop it off!  I was SOOO pumped to hear about Poky getting a temple, how nuts though! Go Idaho!  Haha all the missionaries here tease me about being from Idaho. "Are there even any people in Idaho?"  Even some of the Mexicans say "Idaho, isn't that where all the potatoes are?" yeah, thats us, muy ricos papas :) haha

     Keep on truckin' through school, less than a year right? Thats nothing!  I seriously don't understand where the time goes.

     LO MAS IMPORTANTE COSAS ESTE SEMANA...we had interviews with presidente this last week, and at the end I told him about how Landen is leaving May 3 and we're suppossed to skype on like the 10, so I asked him if I could skype a little early, and he said that'd be fine, just to let him know. So I was thinking maybe the Sunday before he leaves? I don't really know, but let me know what you think because its coming up super quick!

     That might be it for this week, maybe not, I don't really know,

byyye 

Con Amor,

 Hermana Bailey

P.S. We found this adorable puppy, and it accidentally folllowed us half way to the church. its not like we were calling it or picking it up or anything. ;)

Dad,

That's super exciting about Jill!  I love trips to Price.  Grandma said that was her first time up 9 mile canyon.  I don't understand how grandpa has so much energy, its not scientifically correct! 

Oh... Brick Oven - yummy! I'm turning into a little Mexican, because now everytime I eat pizza, I put hot sauce and ketchup on it.  Don't hate it until you try it or until your taste buds are more accustomed to food in Mexico.  I also ate cow feet tostadas yesterday, just about as gross as it sounds, but I could choke it down ok.  I'm still on a spiritual high right now from conference, it was just SOOOO powerful and full of hope! Love those guys!

sending love from méxico,

Maelynn