June 29th, 2026
| Alrighty there folks... here it is, my very last email as a missionary! |
First off I want to say sorry to my mother Viki and to my future self for not keeping a better journal or writing consistant emails throughout my mission. I have indeed had some of the most amazing experiences here in Perú, and if not in this life, I hope to some day have a perfect rememberance of all things! This mission truly has been a great one.
Let's see here, some stuff that has happened recently is that our friend Angela got baptized on June 14th! It was such an amazing experienxe to be able to reach and help Angela prepare to make such an important covenant with God. Satan got in his fair share of jabs in this fight, but in the end God is good and Angela's desire stayed strong. This is also the first convert baptism the ward has had THIS YEAR!! I think the ward and us the missionaries as well as Angela and especially Jesus were all happy that day!! She is an amazing convert and already has been participating in activities, has friends, and really wants to go the the temple to be baptized for her mother!!
Then on the 20th out amazing little friend Kendall got baptized. She is family of some members here in the ward. She has a pretty rough home sittuation, but she had a STRONG desire to be baptized. Her family bore testimony in her baptism of Kendalls desire to be baptised and how she was always mentioning it to her family even when the misionaries weren't there. I am so excited that Kendall ill be able to grow up in the church with the companionship of the Holy Ghost!
Then on the 25th another friend Luciana got baptized. The Lord truly had his hand in this process. Luciana has been coming to church all year now and hasn't missed one sunday or activity for months. But her mom never wanted to give her permission because she wanted Luciana to be "prepared". We always invited Luciana to keep praying and always talking with her mom about it, and one day when visiting her her mom said she wanted to support Luciana in with her desire. It was amazing to see Luciana finally be baptized and confirmed.
The Savior has truly blessed Santiago and I know he will continue to do so. From no baptisms all year, to 3 in less than two weeks (and more people already on date[the kent rock]). I am truly grateful for my time here in Santiago.
Another blessing I had is that this last monday I got to travel to the ancient ciudad of Mchu Picchu!! Visiting one of the 7 wonders of the world, especially one that I have constantly heard and dreamed about for the last 2 years, was quite literally a dream come true! It is such a beautiful site and one feels quite mystical being there.
I also got to see the President of Peru, and Miss Perú Cusco on the same day.
On saturday we got transfer news and obviously i knew i was leaving, but also my companion is gettingtransfered and they are throwing in 2 new missionaries here in Santiago. I hope they take good care of the friends we left.
Also me and my comp got to give our testimonies and it was a good sacrament meeting. And then the membersfed us a lot after.
Also today was my last pday and we started the morning going tourist shopping and then going to a service project with the ward. Honestly couldnt have picked a better last Pday activity. I love service so much as a missionary and it was a good feeling to finish strong serving the members. It was just a lot of physical labor and the sun was hot, so i'm pretty tired. Also it was awesome because Angela (convert) came and participated and she already has a lot of friends in the ward.
Then with very little time left of Pday we snuck by Saqsaywaman (the Ican fortress). It was a good experience to finish strong with my companion and have fun together. And now we are heading to presidents house for my last interview as I am writing this.
Well, this has been a crazy last little while, I feel like everyone just keeps talking about how I am going home and how my mision is alredy over. My mom, friends, other missionaries, members, and everyone else just keeps reminding me that this wonderful time of my lif is coming to an end. I am not honestly super excited, but I know that its a part of the plan. I am petty sad about leaving these amazing people!! I ready do have a place in my peruvian heart for them!!! And I know that thanks to God's perfect plan I will be able to see my peruvian friends once again in the next life.(and on facebook)
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Spiritual section: One thing I especially had been struggling with while getting to the end of my mission is feeling like I didn't do enough. I wasn't nor could I've been a perfect missionary, and I did have had a few times where frankly I probaby didn't put forth my best self for the work. There have been times where dissobedience, laziness, pride, or others of my "non-christlike" attributes didn't make me to be the best instrument in God's work.
Then there was a point in my mission, where I had a change of heart. I'm not sure exactly what is was that brought about the change, a mix of motivation from other missionaries, my mission leaders, friends at home, my own desire to be a good person, and definitely the holy spirit of repentace, but now that I am nearing the end of my mission I have been able to see and I know God has brought about a great change in my heart and in my chracter.
I had been struggling to not feel as though I had "wasted" parts of my sacred time as a missionary, I tried reading countless pasages of repentance, and listening to talks and reading the scriptures, but what really helped me the most actually was reading a chapter of my grandpa Groberg's book that he precisely sent me when I needed it, in which he wrote about feeling similarly at the end of his mission. He recorded,
"How could God be happy with me? How could I be happy with myself?"
But after a time of self reflection and revelation he continued, "Then, quietly, a soft covering of peace began to enter my heart [...] I was satisfied. While I know that much more will be required of all of us, I am confident one of the greatest feelings we can experience in this life is to know that God is pleased with our efforts. Nothing can compare to that [...] I also learned another great lesson. I knew I could have done better and was painfully aware of my faults. But a kind Father in Heaven allowed me to leave with good memories and a feeling of approbation for the things I had accomplished rather than a feeling of self-incrimination for the things I had not [...] I understood that as I dealt with others, especially family and friends, I needed to give much less criticism for failures and much more praise for accomplishments. It is God’s way. I knew that."
I know I could have been a better missionary. But thanks to the attonment of my Savior, I am also at peace with and so very grateful for the service I was able to acomplish on my mission. And I know this has just been the start of great things to come in a life of service to the Lord.
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Well thats all folks, thank so much for reading. Sorry it was kinda long. Really crazy that my last transfer here in Perú is done.
I get home the 1st of July, and my homecoming talk will be on the 12th of July here at 450 N 200 W in Ephraim. (The church south of Walmart). I have no idea what time my church is at tho... sorry. (Mom here - its at 9 am!)
If you want more details shoot me an email or better yet, ask my mom! I'm excited to see yall
Sincerely,
Élder Bailey 
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