Short but Sweet

Hello Read family!
Im doing great. We had the confirmations of our 2 baptisms on sunday, i was able to do one of the confirmations. It was all really cool. My comp is the district leader, hes pretty cool, he reminds me a lot like brandon read. His name is Elder Hardy and hes from Arizona. Well sounds like everything is alright over there. Tell Brandon im not allowed to look at the blog and tell him good luck with the job stuff. Hope yall had a fun trip to vegas and everything! Cant wait to hear from ya! By the way i havent heard from jordan yet.-Elder Bailey

Greetings from Antigua!

Hello everyone, So at transfers i got sent to Antigua! Its a small island and people drive on the left side of the road. I'm speaking English now. (well kind of) But its just incredibly bad grammar. My companion is Elder Hardy from Arizona. He reminds me of Brandon Read. So i have been here a week and it has been amazing. I don't have a car anymore so were walking everywhere. It was so great to hear from y'all. I love the pictures, send more. Doesn't Jordan have my email, tell him to email me. Its been pretty cool this past week, there are tons of rastas here with like dreadlocks and stuff, its been way fun. We see huge cruise ships come in like everyday. We use E.C. money here, (Eastern Caribbean) 3 dollars here is 1 dollar in US. I will most likely be here till May or June. We have a couple baptisms coming up this Sunday so it will be sweet my comps going to baptize them in the ocean. New years was great my comp and i woke up at 12 and went outside to see the fireworks. This was back in Caguas so it was crazy it sounded like a war zone. Puerto Ricans love their holidays. How is Jordan doing? I want to hear from him! Thanks everyone for the pictures and the packages and cards at Christmas time! I love you all so much!-

Elder Bailey

Feliz Navidad!

Merry Christmas!!!Hello everyone, thanks for the emails, i always appreciate them. So on sunday we had the baptism of Fernando, and it was way cool, i was able to do the ordinance. Then today we had the surgery of my companions toe, he had an ingrown toenail. Sounds like Elder Bailey the 2nd is well prepared for the MTC. Please send me some pics of the drop off. He will do great i just know it. Tell Grandpa M. thanks for the $50, will probably go to Marshalls and buy a couple ties. So tomarrow we have our Mission Christmas Party, it should be fun, im hoping my packages are there at the mission office. I will have to check and see if they have a G.P. book but i will let you know what happens.So christmas day i will be calling from a member's home at around 2:00 p.m.(your time) So have everyone at the house at that time, so that i can talk to them. Im so excited to talk to everyone! Well heres some pics hope you enjoy them. I love you all so much, have a great Christmas!

-Elder Bailey the 1st

Jordan's in the MTC!!

Hey everyone!! So today is the day Jordan enters the MTC! Im so excited for him. I seem to tell everyone i meet that my brother is going to the MTC. When does he enter the field? Tell me how the curb-side drop off went, and make sure he has my email. The first couple weeks in the MTC go by slow, but it picks up really fast and before you know it you have 7 months in the mission. Like me. ha ha. And it doesnt slow down, it speeds up every week. Its amazing how much you learn and continue to learn in the mission. I cant wait to write Jordan in spanish!! Make sure that he emails me, every week. He will do awesome, i just know it. Obedience is everything! Preach My Gospel, white handbook, and missionary library. I am so excited for him, i hope i can write him soon. Well, everything is going great here. Our investigator, Fernando, is progressing really well. Pretty much all we have to do is teach him the commandments in lesson 4 and do the baptismal interview. He is 100% prepared, he call it a golden investigator. He has had some cool experiences, 1st he said whenever he prays he recieves an answer that the Book of Mormon is true, 2nd he said that before he has had problems disconnecting from work and had problems sleeping, but now he reads every night and it helps him to sleep at night. 3rd he was having money problems and was praying that he would be able to pay the bills and the next day he recieved a Christmas bonus check. His baptism is this weekend. Well, thats all the secure investigators we have for right now. I hope that all is well, no more heart problems, or hernias. I will keep yall in my prayers. Next week you will be receiving a call on Christmas Day!! So be ready for that i will try and establish a time when i will call, but that will be in the next email. I have not received any packages yet or cards so i hope they come soon or i dont know if they will be coming. Can you send me some scripture mastery cards (bible & bom), the new gospel principles book (spanish or english surprise me). And of course whatever else you want to send me. I found out that i can read books that are written by apostles, prophets, those are the only acceptions. Man, it seems like my english gets worse and worse everyday. Well, i hope all is well and everyone had a great good-bye to Jordan, I mean Elder Bailey. The MTC is so fun he will have a blast. I cant wait to hear from yall, next week i expect a report from each one of you about what's going on in your lives (Mom, Dad, Brandon, Aubrey, etc.) Include pictures if necessary. I promise i will write you back! This will be graded and is 10% of your final grade in the class of, Writing Elder Bailey on His Mission. As of right now the grades dont look good. ha ha. Its a joke but seriously write me. i cant wait to see the BMW, that is awesome, im sure Jordan was stoked. Oh and it was crazy my companion has a nasty ingrown toenail, i actually got one too last transfer but i fixed it using my superior medical knowledge. Well, thats all i can think of to write right now. Its really starting to feel like winter here, people here actually think that like 75 degrees is cold, and thats only at night. I hope all is well, keep writing me!! I know you can do it! I only received one email this week. Well, thats all have a great week!! I love you all so much!-Elder Tyson LeRoy Bailey

All is great over here

Hey Yall!!!All is great over here in La Isla Del Encanto, this week has been great, we have a new baptism coming up!! He is a guy that came to church one sunday, so we arranged a time to meet with him. We taught him the Restoration and we gave him a Book of Mormon and a pamphlet and a movie to watch. After the lesson we asked him if he would give the closing prayer and ask if these things are true. He did and he said after that we felt something inside of him, like a feeling or something. We told him it was the Holy Ghost bearing witness to him of these things. Yesterday we called him to see how he was doing, he is doing wonderful! He read the pamphlet, watched the movie, and is continueing to read the Book of Mormon. He told us that we wants to be baptised and that it is all true, he said, "I know my date is for the 20th, but i will be baptised whenever you think im prepared, but i know this is true and i want to be baptised." We are so excited for him, he will be a great member. All we have to do now is teach him everything. So, thats what has been going on here. It is still like 90 something degrees like everyday. But the night gets down to a ice cold 75 degrees, wow thats freezing! My companion and i are going to buy a small christmas tree today. Getting into the holiday spirit! I was just thinking the other day that i am going to be missing mom's fudge this year:( Maybe yall can send me some, ha ha. Oh and can you check out sending me the new Principles of the Gospel book. I really want it. No did not get the package, maybe it is just extremly slow or it's lost. That is crazy that Kim is getting married! I guess it is about that time for everyone to get married huh. District Leader has turned out to be pretty fun, i am in charge of district meetings and calling the sister missionaries every night to see their progress and help them be successful missionaries, then i report the progress of my district (My companion and I, and the sisters) to the zone leaders and they give me counsel on my district. It is fun though. And i am a lot busier! Wow, that is sweet for Boise State, tell me if they win or not. I have pretty much everything i need here, our fridge is stuffed full of food from members. My companion and i get along really well, i has been so much fun, he has been teaching me a lot about music and how to read it, and he is way good at the guitar by the way. Brandon Bailey would think he was funny. Oh and ask Grandpa M if he knows someone named, Phoebe N Hemmelwright, its my comps great grandma, she was born in Beaver, Utah in 1916. She died a while back but maybe he knows her. That would be really crazy. I am so excited for Jordan he will do so great. Preach My Gospel is everything! Read it, study it, live it. ha ha. I love you all so much! Have fun in the cold and snow, i will always be here in the heat and rain. Keep the letters and stuff coming!-Elder Bailey

Old San Juan Pictures

Here are TONS of pictures of Old San Juan!!!

I'm District Leader!

Yikes! But it looks like Tyson's having fun!

Holy cow pigeons everywhere!

Hey everyone, Thanks for the emails, i appreciate them all! All is well here. Im starting to get used to being District Leader and senior companion. I cannot rely as much on my companion anymore. But it will be a great growing experience for me. My thanksgiving was good, i ate too much and it was a little different than im used to. Basically was just normal Puerto Rican food but with a side of turkey. And NO mashed potatoes and gravy! Its not really a very big holiday here. So it was just like a normal meal with turkey. But it was good. Also last week i went to Old San Juan, yay!! I took some pictures and videos. I hope that yall like them. Oh and my new companion is Elder Bryan from Washington. He is a pretty cool guy, we have had a lot of fun so far. So this past week we have been waking up at like 5:30 or earlier because we have been so busy. My spanish is improving and i learn more and more every day. Sounds like yall had a fun thanksgiving. Oh and i remember that yall said that you sent me a package a couple weeks ago? I havent gotten it yet. But tell Jordan when he gets to the MTC to look for a Elder Rosarrio, and if he is in there until like the middle of january to look for an Elder Negron. Just some guys from the ward that are leaving on missions. When does Jordan enter into the field? How is he feeling now that its getting close? ha ha. He will do great just as long as he is 100% obedient. Oh and yall can send me whatever for Christmas, packages, letters, etc. Well, keep the emails coming, its great to hear from yall. I love you all so much!-Elder Bailey

I'm staying in Caguas

Hello everyone!!!!Well all is going great here. We found out last night what is going to happen with transfers. My companion is leaving and im staying here in Caguas. But im going to be District Leader here, so i have more responsibility. My companion is Elder Bryan and he has 2 transfers in the mission, so President Dewsnup told me i need to teach him how to baptise. Basically this will be my test, one of my companions told me either my 3rd or 4th transfer will be my test. So, it will be my 4th. Now i cant rely on my companion at all, its basically all me. I will do my best and hopefully i will do well. Things are starting to pick back up here, we have a baptismal date and we have some appointments this week. We have a lot of potentials so, i hope it works out well. Last week we had a Thanksgiving Luau. It was pretty sweet, they cooked a pig under the ground like in Hawaii, it was all really cool. This Thanksgiving should be good we have an appointment to eat at a members house and they always cook pretty good. Tell Lexi good job for me, and tell her i have to give a talk on sunday too, but in spanish, ha ha. Well thats pretty much it. I love you all so much! Oh and when does Brandon go to the temple? Thats interesting, i dont know if he knows why, because its for when you are going to get married or go on a mission. Obviously he plans on getting married, but i just think its interesting. Well, i hope all is well over there, keep the emails coming and prayers too! -Elder Bailey

It's another pday!

Hello Everyone!!

Its another pday!! Time seems to be going by faster and faster. One week from now is transfers. Im counting down the days till Jordan enters the MTC!! Im so excited for him. But all is well here, same stuff as usual. I didnt hear about anyone dieing on Halloween so thats good. We have been doing a lot of service the past week and its a lot of fun. Yesterday we cut down a pana tree and we started a coconut tree but we didnt have enough time. We also destroyed a wall at the Mendozas house (the family we baptised) They have been redoing their house and so we have been helping them a lot. But Thanksgiving should be fun, ( it is an american holiday mom, but Puerto Rico is part of the U.S.) Im pretty sure they do the traditional thanksgiving dinner, but probably puertorican style. So there will be a side of arroz y habichuelas and tostones and some other creations. ha ha. And it seems like the whole ward wants us to come to their houses and eat so it should be great. No, i havnt gotten food poisoning yet, but i have gotten used to having diareha, ha ha. So, we have been teaching a few people but they keep falling, so we dont have anything secure right now. Its been really interesting hearing about all the different religions lately. Its pretty funny too. Ive heard a lot about the Jehova's Witnesses, and have talked to a few. Its a really depressing religion. ha ha. We talked to a guy recently that read about the church and wanted to know more so he contacted us and we taught him and gave him a Book of Mormon and then he dissapeared. So that was a drag, we thought he was golden. Oh and a few days ago our house got flooded from the rain one day and our living room and kitchen were full of water, so we spent like an hour sweeping it all out. Its fine now though. But thats pretty much it in my world. Keep the emails and letters and stuff coming, by the way i havent gotten the package yet. Heres some pictures. I love you all so much!!-Elder Bailey

A picture of service, we destroyed that wall, and a really really short video, sorry its the only one i can send but it would be a cool picture if it was one. Hno. Mendoza is in the background cutting down a tree and its basically just me and my companion standing there. ha ha.