Birthday And 9 Months to Go!

 First off, thank you for all the birthday wishes! I'm so grateful for your love and support. Wish I could hug every single one of you! And that's another thing, I'm halfway through my mission! 9 months down, 9 more to go. It honestly has past by so quick.

So instead of my regular letter, I thought I would say a bit of what I've learned thus far. 

- I have learned how to not judge others, just simply love them. It makes life a lot easier

- I have learned how to not care so much about what others think of me. What I'm doing is so important and I need not be ashamed of sharing it.

- I have sort of learned how to stand up for myself. I should say that I'm still learning that, and I will be for a long time.

- I have learned how to cope in weird places and circumstances. Covid19 has been hard on all of us, but a huge learning experience. It has also helped me realize what I'm grateful for.

- I have learned the importance of a handwritten letter.

- I am learning how to be kinder to myself.

- I have learned that it is more important to love and get hurt many times, than to let yourself turn jaded. And trust me, it hurts a lot. 

- I have learned it's okay to not know the answers now. They will come.

What have y'all learned in the past nine months? I hope you have learned how important family is and how much God loves you. I would say that is all you could now and you would be okay. 

No matter how many times you fall down, I pray you get back up again and know how much I love you! 

Sister Bailey

Service, Service and More Service!

 If you want to know what missionaries do now that we can't knock doors, I'll solve that for you in one simple word: service. There was only one day this week that we did not do service for someone here in the Gainesville area. I absolutely love it!

- We got transfer news, we're both staying! I could not be more excited! This is my first companion, since my trainer, that I get to be with longer than 6 weeks. 

- We had what we call a zone Conference, where a bunch of missionaries meetup to learn how to be better and help each other. It was so freezing cold, so I wrapped up in a table cloth for the whole 8 hour meeting. There were no blankets.

- Did I tell yall about Hector? He came up to us and basically asked for a Book of Mormon! Coolest experience of my life. This never happens! But since then he has stood us up. We will keep trying. 

- We filmed a funny video for Facebook, that we were then told to maybe not post on our Gainesville page, so it's on my personal. Go check it out. (Shameless self plug)

This week I have learned how much easier life becomes when you give it all to the Lord. I have been struggling a bit on the mission, so the other night I prayed for a long time that I could let Him take it away from me. He didn't take it all away, but I know I'm not carrying it all alone. When your burdens are too much to bear, please know you don't have to carry them alone. He wants to help you, so try letting Him. I promise you, life will get a little more bearable.

I love yall so much. Thank you for your constant prayers and support. You can do it!

Sister Bailey

(Note from Mom: Brennan's birthday is September 22. I know she would be over the moon if you sent her a card!)

309 NW 6th St.

Chiefland, FL 32626-0849