First off I really dislike the hymn, "Ring out wild bells" we've had to sing it so many times this week because of the new year. It reminds me of when Karl and I used to play it for opening exercises in Priesthood as a joke because Dad didn't like it:) It's crazy how fast this year has flown by! For all of 2014 I've been a missionary, that's weird to think. But it's been one of the best years of my life, I've learned a lot and changed a lot and am very thankful for all the trials and hard things I went through. I'm reminded of a quote by Elder Scott,
"Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more (see Prov. 3:11–12). He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain."
Just thought I'd share that quote:)
It was so fun to talk with you on Christmas! That was the highlight of the week! This week flew by so fast! We had a MBZLC (Miami Beach Zone Leadership Council) on Friday and discussed the needs of the Zone and some problems we need to address. We talked about overcoming complacency and negativity and made plans on how we will eliminate that in January. It went very well and it helped get all the leaders on the same page so now we can help uplift and inspire the rest of the zone. I didn't realize how much thought and effort goes into leading a zone! It's been a very good experience so far. Even with all the crazy scheduling we saw some really amazing miracles.
My favorite miracle that occurred was yesterday. The YSA Branch was cancelled because of the holidays so we went to the Miami Beach Branch. Before Church we rounded-up our investigator, Adrielle, and he was super set on coming to Church. Church started and he didn't show up, (on a brighter note we had 2 LA's come back!) After Sacrament Elder Hutchison felt prompted to go stop by Adrielle's house. When Adrielle opened the door he started by saying, "I know I missed Church, but I was reading from your book and talked with my friend and I've decided to follow the Methodist Church." He was so elect when we visited with him previously so we weren't going to give up on him! We said, "well, we didn't really explain to much about the history of the Church so we'd love to share a little message with you for just 10 minutes." He agreed and let us in. We opened with a prayer and talked about his visit to his Grandma's over the weekend and emphasized how the Gospel blesses families and tied that into the Restoration. We shared the Restoration and the Spirit was so strong! Afterwards we asked him if he believed the message that we just shared and he said he did, so we asked, "What does it mean to you that this is the Church of Jesus Christ?" He thought for a second and said, "Well, it means that this is Jesus Christ's Church so I should follow it and join it." It was such an amazing lesson! We haven't felt the Spirit while teaching like that in a while so we know that the Spirit is the one who helped him come back into investigating. God is good!
Also this upcoming week Elder Zwick is coming to the mission! We'll have a conference with him next friday and all the leaders are having a meeting with him next wednesday. It'll be awesome! Also our i-pads will finally be coming within the next few weeks, we are super excited about that, it will help the work progress so much!
Also on a random note, we got to feed and play with a sugar glider on Saturday, they are the creepiest/coolest little animals ever! Look them up on Google, I don't really know how to describe it, it's like a squirrel. Also later that night we were walking back to our car and there were raccoon's all over it! I had a box of Zours in my pocket so I took it out and starting throwing Zours to them and lured them to come closer to Elder Hutchison and I. We got them to come within 2 feet of us, then we got bored and scared them off and went back to work.
It's been an awesome week and I hope you have an excellent week! I love you!
Elder Spencer Bailey
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