And a Happy New Year!

First of all, I hope y'all had a Merry Christmas! This week has been

go, go, go. We've been working hard and we've seen blessings. We are

learning that one of the most important things to do is to talk to

everyone. Although not everyone we talk to will want to hear more, the

Lord will see our efforts and He will trust us with His children that

are ready. On Thursday the sister training leaders in Searcy came down

to Paragould for the day. As we were walking we ran into a member on

the street that we were planning on visiting. He told us that he was

on his way to a friends house. Without thinking about it I said, "can

we come with you?". He said sure, so we followed him. His friends

ended up being really interested in learning more, so we've started to

teach them. On Christmas Eve we went around visiting people. We

stopped by Kathy's for a lesson. As we were getting out of the car I

had this feeling that I should give a package of ritz crackers we had

in the car to her. I thought to myself, "do I just want to bring these

because I'm hungry?". I started to get out of the car without the

crackers. Again I felt prompted to bring the crackers to Kathy. So, I

picked them up and told Sister Hall, "I'm not sure why, but I feel

like we should give these to Kathy". As she came to open the door you

could see it on her face that she was feeling terrible. I immediately

gave her the crackers and her face lit up. She smiled so big and

started laughing uncontrollably. She let us come in and her mood had

completely changed. It was such a testimony builder that GOD LOVES HIS

CHILDREN. He knows and numbers each one. He uses others to lift them.

We can all be instruments in His hands through service. We starting

teaching a woman named Sandra a couple of weeks ago, and we've really

only seen her a couple of times because she lives so far away. On

Christmas Eve she invited us to come have dinner with her family. They

did a gift exchange and Sandra put together a gift for both Sister

Hall and I. It was so sweet of her. The people here in Paragould have

taken such good care of us missionaries. We see people who have very

little, but still give everything they can to others. Our

investigators Billy and Chasity are still doing really well. They've

started reading the Book of Mormon as a family and praying about

certain things we've taught them. Sister Hall and I were a little

devastated when they didn't make it to church yesterday. They've

become like family to us. When you love someone, you want them to know

the same joy and happiness that you know. When Lehi partook of the

fruit of the tree of life his first response was, "And as I partook of

the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy;

wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it

also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit" (1 Nephi

8:12). Just as the fruit represents the pure love of Christ, my joy

comes from living the gospel of Jesus Christ and experiencing that

love as I keep the commandments of God. This week as I pleaded with my

father in heaven to help Billy and Chastity gain a testimony of the

Book of Mormon, I felt something similar to Nephi as he said, "For I

pray continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by

night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know

that he will hear my cry". Much love until next week friends and

family, and a happy new year!!!

Sister Bailey Guthrie

Merry Christmas Y'all 🎄

Merry Christmas y'all!!!

It's been a wonderful week. On Wednesday we got to go to North Little

Rock for our Christmas zone conference. We had a Christmas program and

were able to hear from Elder Bahesti of the seventy. He gave us

missionaries five ways to change the world in 2017. He invited us to

make our beds every single morning, teach repentance, increase our

faith, baptize converts, and endure to the end (or get over the fact

that life isn't fair sometimes). We had our talent show, where we

performed our Filipino dance, and played games with all of the

missionaries on the Arkansas side of the mission. It was such a good

day! I really love big meetings like that because it reminds me that

I'm not alone in this work that can be tough sometimes ("we're all in

this together" from high school musical starts playing in the

background).

This week we had a couple of really good lessons with Billy, Chastity,

and their daughter Hayden (the wonderful family we are teaching). You

can really feel the difference in a lesson when the spirit is strong

and when it's not. It's easy to tell when it's not because you feel

like you're running into a brick wall for 45 minutes. We've taught

Billy and Chastity most of the lessons and they just feel like they

need some time to make sure it's right before they dive into "Mormon".

Hahaha they are so cute. I feel like that is totally a valid concern.

It would be silly to devote your life to something you don't believe.

BUT, I am so confident that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and

RESTORED and that anyone who reads the Book of Mormon will come to

know that for themselves. I know that sooner or later they will figure

it out and I am so looking forward to that day. I've been blessed to

have grown up in the true church of Jesus Christ. I'm so thankful for

my great, great, great grandma who accepted the gospel in Denmark, was

baptized and immigrated to America. I'm so thankful for the other

pioneers in my family who made unimaginable sacrifices to bless the

lives of their posterity. I'm so thankful for goodly parents who

didn't give up on their rebellious teenage daughter!!

This week I started reading in 3 Nephi. In chapter 1 we read about the

righteous people who are waiting for the signs foretold by prophets of

Christ's birth. The wicked threaten the righteous that if the signs

don't come before a certain date, they would be put to death.

The verses following read, "10 Now it came to pass that when Nephi,

the son of Nephi, saw this wickedness of his people, his heart was

exceedingly sorrowful. 11 And it came to pass that he went out and

bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God in

behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed

because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers. 12 And it

came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and

behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying: 13 Lift up your

head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on

this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the

world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have

caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets. 14 Behold, I

come unto my own, to fulfil all things which I have made known unto

the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the

will, both of the Father and of the Son-of the Father because of me,

and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand,

and this night shall the sign be given."

As I read verses 13 and 14 during my studies and as I read them now my

eyes are filled with tears and the Holy Ghost gives me the strongest

feelings of peace, comfort and joy. Our savior Jesus Christ lives. He

loves us. He came into the world to redeem us. He lives and reigns

today. He came two thousand years ago and He will come again. I know

this with all of my heart. I will never doubt it. I will never

question it.

I pray that we will all remember The Reason for the season! 

Merry Christmas y'all and so much love.

Sister Bailey Guthrie

Get asked if we are sisters three times daily on average

Typical Arkansas porch

Cleansing the Inner Vessel

OKAY, let me just say that I love bike week. For two weeks we are lucky enough to have a car to drive and then for one week we walk or bike. I feel like our transportation cycle is kind of like the pride cycle in the Book of Mormon. We start out on bikes and are humble, so the Lord blesses us with a car. Then, we start to take the car for granted and it gets taken away long enough for us to become humble again. I had many more "my mom would die if she saw where I was"

moments this week as Sister Hall and I trekked around Paragould in 30 degree weather.

This week I have been thinking a lot about purification. I was reading in Alma chapter 60 where captain Moroni is writing an epistle to Pahoran (head of the government) asking why he isn't sending help to their armies who are struggling to fight off the Lamanites. In his epistle, Moroni says, "Now I would that ye should remember that God has said that the inward vessel shall be cleansed first, and then shall the outer vessel be cleansed also" (verse 23). Although Moroni is referring to the corruption of the government, I applied this verse personally. "Cleansed" led me to "purification" in the topical guide which references Helaman 3:35. This verse says, "Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their

humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God". So, purification and sanctification come when we yield our hearts to God. Going back to the verse that started this study, "the inward vessel shall be cleansed first". 

We first must focus on our own purification

by yielding our hearts to God, or denying the temptation and influence

of the adversary. Once we have done this, "then shall the outer vessel

be cleansed also". My "outer vessel" at this time is Paragould, AR or

the people within my realm of influence and service. If I want to help

purify souls in Paragould, I have to first purify myself. Why is

purifying ourselves so important, and why does it have to come first?

Helaman 4:24 says, "the spirit of the Lord did not preserve them; yea,

it had withdrawn from them because the spirit of the Lord doth not

dwell in unholy temples". If there is one thing I have learned as a

missionary, it is that I am wasting my time without the constant help

of the Holy Ghost. Preach my gospel says, "As the Lord’s servant, you

are to do His work in His way and by His power". That seems like a no

brainer, but it's amazing how many times I've tried to rely on my own

abilities and understanding to do this work, which is of little to no

use. I have learned that there is no other way to be successful except

to, "trust the Spirit to guide you in every aspect of your work" (or

of your life for that matter). So, to do this work we must have the

companionship of the spirit; “No man can preach the Gospel without the

Holy Ghost" (Jospeh Smith). To have the spirit, we must be pure; "But

purify your hearts before me; and then go ye into all the world, and

preach my gospel unto every creature who has not received it" (D&C

112:28). To be pure, we must rid ourselves of all uncleanliness and

yield our hearts to God and His will; "Real, personal sacrifice never

was placing an animal on the altar. Instead, it is a willingness to

put the animal in us on the altar and letting it be consumed!" (Neal

H. Maxwell). I decided to do another "40 day fast" from anything that

keeps me from having the Holy Spirit as a constant companion.

"Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve

Him with all your heart, might, mind and strength" (D&C 4:2).

This week I've seen the Lord's hand in our work in many ways. On

Saturday morning June and Laina got married!!! Laina was tearing up

during the ceremony and told us that it was because he felt the

spirit. We've been trying to find people to teach over the past couple

of weeks and the Lord has blessed us with people who are prepared to

hear and receive the restored gospel. We are teaching the sweetest

family right now. I love them! Life is good. Paragould is good. God is

good.

Much love,

Sister Guthrie

Free coat tree

Laina and June's wedding (nominated ourselves to be bridesmaids)

Brother Straub

Jay brought us fries to Book of Mormon class

The Blaze Has Begun

It's been another great week in Paragould. "The blaze has begun" -Sis

Hall. First of all, Thanksgiving in the south is no joke y'all. The

people here in Arkansas do a couple of things exceptionally well: cook

and eat. The Mayfield's invited us to their family thanksgiving meal

in Oak Grove on Thursday. They had two big tables full of food and

desserts. Sister Mayfield's daughter made some candied sweet potatoes

and I think it became my new favorite food. It was Kathy's birthday on

Thursday, so after lunch at the Mayfield's we headed over to her

place. We brought her a big plate of food from lunch (because we knew

she didn't have anyone to eat with) and a birthday card. She LOVED it.

We are blessed to have so many opportunities to serve in sweet and

simple ways. I think spending some time with her probably meant more

than the card or food did. After seeing Kathy we went over to a less

active couple's home for dinner. After dinner we had a lesson about

the word of wisdom. It really wasn't going well at first. The wife

just didn't understand that the word of wisdom is a commandment and

that not drinking coffee is a part of it. As we talked I just kept

praying for a miracle and for understanding. Heavenly Father answers

prayers. Suddenly, everything just clicked for her. She said "well

that's a pretty simple thing to do when He has done everything for

us". I felt the spirit so strongly as she testified to us of that

truth. She asked us to throw away all of her coffee and tea. Sister

Hall has been so sick this week. She took some of her cough medicine

before studies on Saturday and she was faded haha. She was looking

down at her watch and tapping it for 20 minutes. Then when our

personal study ended she told me she saw a man in the corner and that

she couldn't lift her pen up off of her notebook because it was a

magnet. I about fell out of my chair from laughing so hard and sent

her to bed. Although this week was crazy with Sister Hall being sick

and other random circumstances we still saw countless miracles. The

highlight of the week had to be Sunday morning when Kathy entered the

waters of baptism and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was such

a good day. After she was baptized she yelled "YAY" (which expressed

mine and Sister Hall's feelings well). We have grown to love Kathy

like a sis and seeing her become the newest member of the Paragould

branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder-Day Saints was a really

special experience. To top it off, we sang "The Spirit of God" in

sacrament meeting. The spirit was SO strong and it was a personal

blessing to me. I had been asking Heavenly Father some questions

through out the week and the answers came as my heart burned. An

overwhelming sense of peace and assurance came as well. "And I will

pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may

abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world

cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye

know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not

leave you comfortless: I will come to you" (John 14:16-18).

Side note, I read a scripture about karma the other day. Alma 41:15,

"For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be

restored".

"This Christmas season, follow the example of Jesus Christ and

#LIGHTtheWORLD. Visit Mormon.org for simple ideas to share His light

through service during the month

Happy Thanksgiving Week Y'all.

Gummow, Green & Guthrie

Happy Thanksgiving week y'all. 

I don't have a lot of time today but I do have a funny story to tell. So, on Sunday morning one of our investigators, Kathy, called us to let us know that she couldn't come to church because her dogs ran away. Kathy is getting ready to be baptized but she needed to come to church for the second time before she could be. So, Sister Hall, Sister Clarke, and I asked the elders if we could take the car before church to help her find her dogs. When we got to her house she had found one of the dogs, baby girl, but her other dog D.O.G. (yes, his name is dee-oh-gee) was still missing. We drove around looking for him and eventually found him. However, he was not having any of it and wouldn't let us get close at all. Looking around for something, anything, in the car that might help, we found a plastic bag full of ribs that the elders had left in the car from the night before (silly elders). So, we used ribs to lure D.O.G. in and eventually we got him back inside Kathy's house safe and sound AND we got Kathy to church (only 20 minutes late haha). "Thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people" (Alma 24:27). 

Sister Clarke is being sent to Otter Creek in Little Rock this transfer and Sister Hall and I will be staying here in Paragould. Our biggest goal is to set p-gold on fire over the next 6 weeks (figuratively not literally probably), so stay tuned. 

Much love y'all,

Sister Guthrie

Frog legs at the Mayfield's 

 

It's finally getting cold

Prettty Random but SO GOOD.

This week has been pretty random, but so good. We have been trying to focus on getting less active members back to church and helping the active members get involved in missionary work, along with the usual finding and teaching we do. 

On Tuesday we visited a less active member in the branch. There was a young man at her house named Jay. From the moment we walked in, he was so interested in learning about the gospel. Sister Hall and Sister Clarke talked to the less active member while I basically taught Jay every lesson. Not really, but close. He asked so many questions and kept wanting to know more and more. He said he wasn't going to be able to remember or pronounce "Guthrie" so he now calls me "Sis Gut". It's so cool to find the people the Lord puts in our path. Tuesday night we went over to Emma's to celebrate her birthday, which was so fun. We talked and ate pizza and coconut cream pie. Wednesday started out pretty rough. No one would answer their doors to us. So, we decided to go to the waffle and pancake house for dinner. That helped solve the "locked door" blues. On Friday during our weekly planning a baby bird flew into our window and fell on our balcony. He was laying on his back for a while and wasn't doing so good. After some time he got on his feet. There he stayed for about 30 minutes. Finally, Sister Hall went out there and nudged him with a leaf. He flew away into a nearby tree. Also on Friday, we met a 94 year old lady named Belle while trying to visit a less active member. Belle asked us if we wanted some "greens". We said "heck yeah" and followed her inside her apartment. She gave us two Walmart bags FULL of leafy mustard greens and another bag full of protein shakes. It was so random, but so awesome because we are on a health kick right now (we decided this post pizza, pie, pancakes, and waffles). That night I made a salad with the mustard greens and man, it was spicy. It tasted like hot honey mustard. Friday we also had another small miracle happen. We found where Nicholas, the Marshallese boy in our branch, lives. He didn't move to Springdale. In fact, he barely moved a couple of miles. 

This week I read Alma chapter 24 during one of my studies. This has become one of my favorite stories in the Book of Mormon for multiple reasons. The Anti-Nephi-Lehis are righteous and have repented of their sins but their brothers, the Lamanites who are still wicked, are preparing to come against them in battle. The Anti-Nephi-Lehis decide that they will not fight against their brothers and commit sin against God. "Now, my best beloved brethren, since God hath taken away our stains, and our swords have become bright, then let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brethren" (v. 12). So, they decide to burry their weapons as a testimony to God that they would rather die than commit sin. "And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace" (v. 19). Now, the wicked Lamanites do still come upon them and begin to kill them, as they refuse to fight back. Over 1000 men were killed before the Lamanites realize their sins. Once they do realize what is going on, many of them repent and join the Anti-Nephi-Lehis. Verse 26 says, "And it came to pass that the people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain; and those who had been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what they were saved". First of all, that is quite the positive outlook to have immediately following the death of a thousand and five of your people. That they are righteous so "it's all good". They were so confident in the plan of salvation that they had no doubt that their brothers were with God. I also love the outward expression of an inner commitment that the Anti-Nephi-Lehis show by burying their swords. They knew that their weapons (sins) had been cleaned and they had no more desire to fight (do evil). I hope that we will always allow the atonement of Christ to cleanse us of our sins so that we can burry them and move forward with faith. 

Yesterday was the best day of my mission so far. It was a day full of miracles. So many of our investigators came to church and Norma was baptized! It was such a special day. The spirit was so strong and my heart was filled with joy. During sacrament meeting Jay leaned over to me and said, "Sis Gut, why are you always smiling all the time?". The only response I could come up with was, "because I'm happy" and that is so true. I'm so happy. I have new life and hope every day through the Savior and His atonement. I'm on the Lord's errand and I have the peace that comes with knowing that I am in line with His will. 

ijela ke mon jar ien emool. ijela ke jisos kraist emor raini. (I know the church is true. I know Jesus Christ lives.)

ij yokwe yuk (I love you),

Sister Bailey Guthrie 

#sisgut

Pics

1-Birthday party at Emma's 

2-Looking like we live in an insane asylum because bed bugs 

3-Texts that save missionary lives 

4-"Why have you not been baptize" -Nacho Libre 

5- Bur

  

  

  

BED BUGS 😮 🐞 🔫

No, the subject line is not a joke. 

We have bed bugs. 

On Wednesday night I head screams from the other room as Sister Hall and Sister        

Clarke found bugs on their mattresses. Luckily, there weren't any on

mine. However, we have had to spend a large part of this week

completely cleaning and de-bed bugging our apartment. We might as well

have just set the apartment and everything in it on fire, which would

have been faster and more effective. On Thursday we had to be in West

Memphis for a doctors appointment so Sister Cook drove us down there

and took us out to lunch. We were reunited with Sister Lange in West

Memphis. After the doctors appointment Sister Cook drove us across the

Mississippi into downtown Memphis so that we could see the city. The

Mississippi River is HUGE. We had a miracle lesson this week. A

preacher in his garage gave us a referral for his neighbor, Billy down

the street. We taught Billy and his family the restoration. The spirit

was so strong. The Lord promises in D&C 11:21, "Seek not to declare my

word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed". I've still been reading in Alma this week and man, oh man, there's a lot of good stuff in that book. In chapter 14 Alma and Amulek are out on their mission among the Lamanites. Many are converted because of the work and sacrifice of Alma and Amulek.

I'm a missionary

However, the remaining wicked people begin burning the believers. In verse 12 Amulek turns to Alma and says, "Behold, perhaps they will burn us also". Alma replies, "Be it according to the will of the Lord. But, behold, our work is not finished; therefore they burn us not". I was stopped right in my tracks while reading that verse. Alma was not only completely willing to die for the Lord (if it be His will), but he was willing to live for the Lord and continue in His work. In this time and world that we live, I wonder sometimes if it is more difficult to live for the Lord than it would be to die for Him. To truly, completely, with no exceptions, LIVE for the Lord. To surrender ourselves and our will to Him. To continue in His work, whatever it may be that He has called us to do. I want to follow the example set

by Alma and Amulek of unflinching faith and follow in their footsteps of devoted discipleship. I love my savior. I am thankful for His sacrifice. I know that all things can and will be made right, because He lives.

I hope y'all have a great week. Don't let the bed bugs bite.

Much love,

Sister Guthrie

LOTS AND LOTS OF PICS

  

Kathy and her porch

Awkward family photo

Glutes and Gospel

Happy Halloween! 

Lots of good stuff this past week. On Monday we went out to Crawley's Ridge State Park with our district for pday. We hung out and enjoyed nature. Arkansas is so pretty. The weather has been perfect again this week. Starting Tuesday we were on bikes. Man, my legs are SORE. Glutes and gospel people, glutes and gospel. I feel like a real, hard-core missionary during bike week. We've been grinding through the hills and ghetto of Paragould. Multiple times this week I thought to myself, "it's a good thing my mom can't see where I am right now". We are still preparing Norma for baptism and she impresses us every day. This week I have been reading in Alma. In chapter 8, Alma the younger is on a mission and tries to teach the people of Ammonihah but is rejected. He starts to leave town when an angel appears to him (the very same angel who appeared to him as a lad and told him to stop trying to destroy the church). So first of all, that's cool. This time the angel tells him to go back to Ammonihah. So, Alma heads back (with some reluctance and worry I'm sure)  and enters into the city. He's been traveling for a while so he's hungry and tired. Alma sees a man and asks the guy to help him out. This guy ends up being Amulek, who already knows that Alma is a prophet because an angel told him so in a vision. So Amulek receives Alma into his home and takes care of him. Reading this story lead make me think of D&C 84:88, "And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up". How applicable is that verse to this story? I've always loved that verse but relating it to Alma being received by Amulek has given it even more meaning. There are people out there prepared to receive you and I. They are ready to hear the gospel and they are ready to join us. That gets me pumped to be a missionary. 

On Thursday night we ate dinner at Brother and Sister Mayfield's home.

They fed us fried catfish, fried cornbread (hush puppies), fried green

beans, fried okra, and french fries. I'm officially a missionary in

the south. On Saturday we had the branch Halloween party which was

really fun. Norma and I dressed up as each other. She wore her best

dress and my name tag and carried around her Book of Mormon and Bible.

I wore a dress from the Marshall Islands and a flower in my hair and

carried around a Bok In Mormon. 

Overall, this week has been a lot like

every other week of my mission so far; full of disappointments,

outweighed by miracles and blessings. God is good. Arkansas is the

bomb. My good friend Brother Les said something yesterday during

gospel principles class that pulled on my heart strings. He said, "you

venture out and you realize there's nothing else out there. So you

come home. You come back to Christ, because He is the only way". I

love that. Shout out to my fellow "prodigal sons" who made it back

home and back to Christ.

MUCH LOVE,

Sister Guthrie

913 S. 22nd St. #6

Paragould, AR 72450