Wherein Sadie Attends her First Missionary Baptismal Service

 April 22, 2023

    Hola todos! Sorry I didn't get this sent out earlier but last week in Uruguay was good. We had some hard times as we watched our friend on date use his agency to turn down a different path, listened to a mom cry as she talked about how drugs are taking away her son's agency, and we felt disappointment as we ran around town inviting everybody we knew to baptisms in the district and everybody chose to not come. But then we saw some miracles too. 

    On Saturday we had the baptism of a little girl named Mia. Not our investigator but of the sisters in our district. On Wednesday I had exchanges in their area and got to meet her. We just reviewed the baptismal interview questions for that lesson before her interview the next day. I promised her I would be at her baptism on Saturday but we have to have a friend with us to go to a different area's baptism. But we had just had to stop teaching one of our friends. And our other progressing friend was sick so she couldn't come. So we said a prayer that we could find one of our other friends to go with us and we got to work. At 5:45 and after trying for more than 13 different people, we didn't have anyone. Then we decided to go to this one friend's house. He hasn't even really had many of the lessons but is super religious and goes to a different church. I may have been a little blunt but we got him to come with us!! We had to wait for him to go change and some crazy guy came up to us and kissed us on the cheek and asked to marry us while we were waiting so that was awkward and we tried to slyly wipe off the nasty wetness on our cheeks but we were just happy to be going to the baptism! It started at 6 and we made it on time! Cuz everything starts late here haha. Sweet Mía thanked "the other misionera that taught me the questions" (interview review) in her testimony after and it was so sweet!! 

     Then on Sunday, there was another baptism in our district and we needed to go but again couldn't find a friend. We prayed so hard and worked hard up until 5:15 (the baptism started at 5) but we had nobody so honestly we just sat on the side of the road to kinda be sad for a minute! Not the greatest thing but we were tired and frustrated. Although I don't think God loves it when we just sit and wine, I do know that He was aware of our efforts to work hard and not give up even right up till the time it started. He knew our hearts and pulled us through with another miracle. We look up and walking down the street towards us is our friend Leandro from the day before coming home from his church. He stopped and talked to us and we mentioned there was another baptism but we missed it and he was confused why we weren't there. We told him we needed a friend with us and we never thought he'd want to go again cuz he had his own religión and had already seen a baptism but he said well what time are you going? I can go!! It was already 5:30 but we hopped in a taxi and went anyway and we made it during the opening song! Everybody was so welcoming to him at both the baptisms and he loved them so much and he is interested in learning more!! Two nights in a row we ended up in a taxi on the way to a baptism with our minds blown that God had helped work it out as long as we just kept working with faith even up until past the time the baptism started. 

     Faith takes action. And God sees our efforts. I don't think I'll ever forget the image of Leandro walking down the street towards us. And those were the first baptisms in the mission that I've been to!! What a special experience and feeling to watch somebody make that decision. Both baptisms were so special to see how Christ and this gospel are changing people's lives at different ages and different circumstances. This gospel is for everyone because we are all children of God who wants us to live with Him again and this is the way back! After a kind of down week after seeing our friend use his agency to choose things of the world, it was a great way to end the week seeing these people choose el camino de Jesucristo!

Also, we got followed by a punto rojo, a crazy guy to church on Sunday but we knew who he was so we were straight up about not messing with us and he ended up leaving once he saw us talking to the bishop about him. Ain't nobody gonna mess with us!

This week we laughed a lot. For some reason, we just can't stop laughing sometimes. We were literally making the bench at church shake with us trying to laugh quietly. 

The intercambios we had were great! Hna Wonnacott is so fun! and I felt kind of grateful for the experience I had with my struggles with my first companion because I was able to understand and have empathy and share things that helped me when I was in a similar situation as she was in right now. Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose"

Also, I had my first English class and that was fun! Also, it's getting cold here!! Yeehaw!

Anyway, hope y'all are well!! Oops for not getting this sent out earlier! We had district pday on Monday and I was just playing Monopoly and volleyball haha!! And then we couldn't go into our church and use the computer because it had just been fumigated for spiders!

Love you all mucho. talk to you pronto!

Hermana Bailey

Spider count: found this nasty thing at the church

Pictures: English class, pretty views, cold, rainy day with comp, Spider, mías baptism, a member wrapped me in their shawl thing at church cuz I was coughing and they thought I was cold-so kind, comp!

Wherein Sadie Has Her First Easter in Uruguay.

 April 10, 2023

 Hi guys!! mba'éichapa reime? That means "how are you?" in Guaraní which is a language in Paraguay. But there's a bunch of missionaries here from Paraguay so we kinda get to learn a little just for fun. 

Anyways, this week in Uruguay was good. Mostly just met more of the members and amigos here and ate wayyyyy too much! Or at least it felt like it! I'm pretty sick of the food already, not gonna lie. It is just like straight carbs like pasta and meat or rice and meat and then to kinda give the meal some pazazz you eat it with bread! Then for dessert sometimes we are lucky and get some fruit but if not it's arroz con leche here, which I have quickly decided I'm not a fan of. The taste is great but rice aint the move after a whole plate full of rice. It is just so heavy. We can hardly move after lunch and we just go home and take a quick nap and try to recuperate. Good thing we walk a decent amount. 

The other day we had a 3 hr lunch and wow its honestly one of the hardest parts of the day sometimes when they just want to talk and talk. First, they stuff you so full you can hardly breathe, then the room suddenly gets nice and hot, and then they sit and ramble on and on and in a different language and it is so beyond difficult to stay awake. I just about threw up the other day at lunch because they kept telling me to eat and eventually I just had to say I couldn't do anymore because I really could not do anymore. there was seriously still a bowl full of probably like 5 chickens' worth if milanessas in front of me and I just couldn't think about even taking one more bite of food. They had made mashed potatoes for me and they were sooo good but I seriously was choking it down by the end. I told them "Thank you so much but I'm full." And they said, "Oh hermana we still have the dessert!"  I said "dame un minuto" and laid my head on the table. They laughed. We've done a lot of laughing this week. I'm not complaining, I am so grateful to be given such good food here! I know there are so many people who would love to get just a little of what we get! It really is such a blessing! Just funny how pregnant we feel after every lunch. (Not as pregnant as my sister though :) )

The weather here has been so nice recently! Feels like fall! However, sometimes it's still pretty hot in the middle of the day and then drops pretty cold in the evening so deciding what to wear is a struggle and I hope I don't get sick again. My voice came back and now I just get a few comments that I sound weird - haha. The mission leader this week said ya we weren't gonna say anything but it was really bad. You sounded bad. Lol. Glad I have my voice back now. 

    I love it here and it has been fun meeting and working with new members and friends. We are like besties with the taxi drivers lol. Also, this week was like a vacation week, called "Semana Turismo" so it was hard to have lessons because nobody was home or they had people over, but this week now we will really hit the ground running! Also this week Hna Heyborne made me mate dulce (you put a bunch of sweetening in the water so it's not so bitter) with an orange-flavored yerba and it was soooo good!! So ojo, cuidado, I may end up with an addiction if I ever have that again.

    One day we were getting out of the taxi at our house and this drunk guy was coming right for us. We ran inside so fast but I had the keys and was trying to unlock it while panicking and it was just a whole chaotic moment. 

     I loved getting to follow along with the Easter study schedule that was on the gospel library app this week. I think Easter may just be my favorite holiday now! Holy week is a really good week. Also, our president let us have an extra hour to study specifically the Resurrection and learn something new yesterday. I loved getting that time to study and feel the peace and joy it brings to know that Christ lives! Something new that stuck out to me in my reading is just the flip perspective kinda, that Yes, He overcame death. Death isn't the end. That brings me such hope, but it is also a good reminder that our actions and choices on this earth do matter. Like a lot. There are eternal consequences. We can't just do whatever we want on this earth and then think that death is like an escape from it - because He lives, so death is not the end and we need to do what we know we should because there are eternal consequences. Our choices now do matter in regard to our life after death. We can be sure we are making good choices when we are following the example of Jesus Christ and living His gospel. I am so grateful for Christ's Atonement, His sacrifice for us, and that He lives so that we too can live. I am grateful that all our pains and sorrows can be swallowed up in Him and His love. I am grateful we too can live again. What a literal superhero for overcoming death.

     Easter was a tranquil day here. I hope you were all able to go to church and focus on Jesus Christ! 

     I was surprised that at church there were only 35-40 people which was sometimes how many we had in our branch in Pan de Azucar, but this is a ward here! Lots of inactive members, but we can work with that! The members here are all so awesome I love them! Our mission leader is still so over the top involved but we will take it - it's better than doing nothing!! He brought us more empanadas this morning! 

Also yesterday after church Hna Heyborne and I took turns hiding the chocolate easter eggs we bought for each other and it was so fun! I love Heyborne. She is so funny and has the most beautiful testimony and is just all around the best! I am learning a ton from her. I think it is so cool what we are able to do as missionaries. The truth is we are really just 2 like 20 yr old girls living on our own together in a foreign country and we just arrived here 4-5 months ago but we are able to communicate with everyone and do everything we need to in Spanish in order to share the gospel! The Lord provides a way. He takes our efforts and makes it enough!

Time is going faster this transfer it feels like but that's because I'm having fun! 

Please pray for our friend Mauro that he can stop smoking 

Just like I was always told, the mission is hard. But it's also such a privilege I would genuinely, sometimes generally, not rather be anywhere else right now.

Life is good here in Uruguay, sharing the Light of Christ! It is so cool to see the Spirit teaching people and seeing the change in people's lives as they come to Christ! 

I would love to hear how your week was or what you did for Easter or something you've learned in your scripture study recently... because I know you've been doing it faithfully every day!

Love you all,

Hermana Bailey

Spider Count: too many but luckily still never in my bed so all is well. Knock on wood.

Pictures: empanadas, Easter eggs, the coolest agricultural supply store sign, laughing trying to slide little pictures of Jesus under people's doors, the sky, happy easter, donuts!!!, my comp and I!!!!!

Wherein Sadie gets transferred to Treinta y Tres!

 April 4, 2023

   Hey yall! Well, this week was crazy but so fun but before I start... my nephew turned 2 this week!! Lil Leo is so big!! One of the great things about having a big family/with lots of siblings is that it's just even more days to call home because there are more birthdays!

Anyways, Tuesday we had a zone conference in Maldonado and then received transfer news Tuesday afternoon. I honestly thought I'd be in Pan de Azúcar for 6 months but we found out my companion and I would be leaving, so we hurried and packed everything up and tried to say bye to some people and early Monday morning we left for Montevideo! 

How we do cambios here: if you are transferring or your companion is, you meet up in Montevideo and then we have a meeting and the president calls your name, your new companion's name, and where you're going! Kinda exciting! A lot of stress in the room with nobody knowing with who and sometimes not where, you're gonna be living for at least 6 wks!

Well, I am now living in Treinta y Tres and my companion is Hermana Heyborne! She is so awesome! And her name is Sadie too so that's fun! This transfer is a lot different than my others; I am out of training, my companion speaks English, we have a ward instead of a branch, our leaders are super involved in the work, our house is super duper cheto (cool/nice) and we are super close to other missionaries!! I loved pan de azúcar and I am grateful for my time there and everything I learned there from the people and from my companion, but I am so so happy to be here! It feels almost like Idaho to me...kinda! Also we are closer to the border of Brazil so things are a little cheaper and they are really cheap in the area of the other district in our zone. Also my mom made a cool little connection today...when Christ died he was 33 years old, how cool to move to 33 just in time to celebrate Him! 

Just a cool experience for me: On the way to Montevideo, I got super carsick which is not normal for me. I barely made it without throwing up and then felt pretty sick the whole time at cambios. then I found out that the bus ride to my new area was like 4-5 hours and they close a door in the front so you can't see out the front. I got so nervous so I asked for a blessing. Some elders quickly helped and they gave me a blessing. The elder didn't really mention anything about being sick but gave a really powerful blessing about more things like having the mental and emotional strength to do what the Lord needs me to and that was really cool to me because it was things that had been on my mind, but not what i had asked for the blessing for. I felt better after the blessing and was very blessed with good health on the way here and did not feel sick! The blessing was very powerful and I am so grateful for Priesthood power.

Also how amazing was conference?!?! This conference was a bit different for me cuz we were not allowed to watch it unless we had an investigator with us, but the Lord always helps provide a way and for some sessions we had a friend and when we didn't for one sesión we did what we were supposed to and just went out to work and we found someone as soon as we left that wanted to talk to us! And after that got a call from the ward mission leader that he had found a friend to watch Conference with so we were able to watch the last part of the sesión! Our mission leader is the goat! For real though. He is so cute he literally dressed up all nice and was waiting at the bus stop for when I arrived here. Then when he found out it was the wrong time and we were already at the house, he came over just to meet me that night and the next morning he showed up in the pouring rain to bring us empanadas! He never got the opportunity to serve a mission when he was younger and he is so eager to work with us!!

Something different here is also that they use vos! So that's gonna fun to learn!

Pray for me to stop being scared of the dark please cuz now it gets dark early and we still have to be out until 9 and there's not a lot of luz haha also my fear of dogs is coming back a lil. But just need to remember D&C 6:36!!

Anyways, I would love to know, what was your favorite thing from conference? I am looking forward to reviewing them and reading the ones we missed! 

I hope you can all remember Christ extra this week! Study about Him. Think of Him. Live like Him. 

Love you all muchísimo!

Hermana Bailey

Spider count: no se 

Pictures: Sadie squared, dog, conference, pday milkshake