The One and Only Paragould

This past week was equally as "all over the place" as the last. More

of our sweet Marshallese friends have moved. One of our investigators

tried to bible bash us. Many of the people we teach are dealing with

trials and illness that we have no control over which has lead me to

evaluate my testimony and conversation. 

Am I 100% confident that theatonement is real and can heal us? 

Can I look someone in the eyes who is tired of living and being in pain 

and tell them that Jesus Christ has felt it all? 

Do I believe that "the Lord (will) strengthen them that they (can) bear up their burdens 

with ease, and.. submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord"  (Mosiah24:15)?

I can say that I do truly believe in Jesus Christ and the power of His atonement. 

If I didn't, I don't think I would be here.

Being a missionary has opened my eyes in so many ways. After serving

the Lord full-time, even for the short amount of time that I have, I

never want to go back to a life of "when I feel like it" discipleship.

I'm learning that that's just not how it works. We have to ask

ourselves if we truly are converted. Has the gospel of Jesus Christ

"wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more

disposition to do evil, but to do good continually" (Mosiah 5:2)? Can

we say that we "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all

thy soul, and with all thy mind" (Mathew 22:37)? In the talk by

Jeffrey R. Holland titled "The First Great Commandment", I like to say

that Elder Holland throws down. He recounts the story of Christ

visiting His disciples, who have returned to their former lives as

fishermen, after He is resurrected. Jesus asks Peter three times, "do

you love me?" to which Peter replies that he does. Elder Holland

describes in his own words Christ's response. "What I need, Peter, are

disciples-and I need them forever. I need someone to feed my sheep and

save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith.

I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me, and loves what our

Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do". Elder Holland goes on to

say, "We have a life of devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating

our love of the Lord. We can’t quit and we can’t go back. After an

encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again

to be as it was before. The Crucifixion, Atonement, and Resurrection

of Jesus Christ mark the beginning of a Christian life, not the end of

it". I love that. We're either all in or we're not. Don't we owe it to

Jesus Christ to be all in? Our savior who has given everything, even

His own life, that we might live? 

As President Wakolo often quotes from the hymn 

How Firm a Foundation, "I'll never, no never, no never forsake."

The work is still sweet in Paragould and the blessings are

as plentiful as ever. We see miracles from the Lord's hand in our work

every day, every day, every day. The refiners fire is hot but, "there

is no growth in the comfort zone, and there is no comfort in the

growth zone".

Much love,

Sister Bailey Guthrie

913 S. 22nd St. #6

Paragould, AR 72450

You Know Better than I

Me, Greeeeeenie-Sister Hall, Sister Clark

Train the Trainers (our training meeting), went so great this week. Part of me felt like I should've been getting off the transfer bus with all of the greenies on Tuesday. I feel like I was just in their place, because I was. I love President and Sister Wakolo so much. Every time President Wakolo speaks to us he says, "Elders and Sisters I rejoice with you in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We thank you for what you do but mostly we thank you for who you are". On Wednesday he said,

"I am with you. I'm all in. Through and through. I love you."

Man, he gives me strength. We went out and knocked doors twice while we were in North Little Rock. The first time, Sister Clarke and I were together before the new missionaries arrived. We met a Buddhist man who escaped from communist Laos by swimming 5 miles to Thailand with a

couple of shirts in a plastic bag and his papers rolled up in a plastic tube. Man, he was cool. Sister Clarke and I finally got to meet our trainee, Sister Hall from Colorado. She's awesome and has a strong testimony. 

This week has just been kind of all over the place.

There have been extreme highs as well as lows. When we got back to Paragould from training we found out that Ranly, who we baptized, moved away (reluctantly) with his aunt and uncle. My heart broke a little bit. Luckily, they have a Marshallese branch where he moved and we are going to make sure the missionaries in that area find him. Norma is still doing really well and we had the coolest lesson on Saturday. We talked about the restoration and prophets. Her sister in law, who is a member kept showing us pictures of her nephew. It was really random and we were kind of confused at first. Then, she showed us a picture of him and 5 other men in white shirts and ties. As we zoomed in to the right of the picture we saw President Wakolo. Wait for it. As we zoomed in to the left of the picture we saw Tad R. Callister and David A. Bednar. We about died. It was at about that same time that Norma told us that her daughter is 10 and is a member. No wonder she's been getting so stoked about the temple and eternal families. That same night we were able to see a man that we had met a couple of weeks ago through knocking doors. He's just a really great guy with the cutest little kids and we are so excited to start teaching them. Last night we went out with Sister Harmon and met another awesome new investigator. Not long after that we got a text from one of our progressing investigators asking to meet at the church. We had a feeling that something wasn't right. She is going through a really difficult time and will be leaving town. It was really hard to hear her talk about everything she's dealing with and also to say goodbye. It's hard to understand and accept the trials some people face in this life. I think as missionaries we have to be able to see people the way Christ sees them so that we can confidently testify that He is the way. That no matter how dark and lost you feel,there is hope through the savior Jesus Christ. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, "It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines”. I believe that is true because I've felt it in my own life. I've seen the atonement and

Christ's love save countless souls, including my own. "I've let go of

the need to know why, for you know better than I".

Much love,

Sister Bailey Guthrie

Little Rock bridge over the Arkansas river

Coolest picture ever!

Transfer Bus

Another 10/10 week in Paragould. 

Most of my pictures this week are from Monday evening when the Harmon's kidnapped us and drove us out to a massive field of cotton. On Monday nights we do branch FHE and on the way home the elders were driving behind us. Elder Gonzales jumped

out at a red light and flung open my door. I've never screamed so

loud. I was genuinely terrified. 

On Wednesday we had zone meeting in Searcy. The zone leaders had us do something really cool. They passed

around notecards and asked us to write down the things that distracts

us from feeling the spirit and keeps us from progressing. After we

wrote these things down we went outside and burned them while 

singing the Arkansas 

Little Rock Mission song. As we went back inside the Elders explained that we would be doing a 40 day fast of those things we had written and any others we thought of before Sunday. We read a quote by Neal H. Maxwell which says, "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!" Man, I just love that. I don't know if I'll ever stop being amazed at the principle of working to align our will with the Father's. I feel so blessed to have had an undeniable experience in my life where I was able to see the black and white comparison of my plan for myself and God's plan. I have a strong testimony that our Heavenly Father knows us perfectly and that if we follow His plan and keep His commandments,

we will find true joy and peace. Not to mention the countless blessings He has in store for us in this life and the next. There are a lot of ups and downs on a mission (pretty much every day). One

minute I'll start to feel down or get discouraged and then the next minute could be the highlight of the week. I guess that's why we are asked to "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope.." (2 Nephi 31:20). 

Searcy Zone

Life is one big roller coaster, but when we turn to Jesus Christ always, He can and will confirm His presence and hand in our lives. On Saturday I was getting down, feeling like our investigators weren't progressing. I had the

prompting to call a woman named Michelle who we had been trying to contact for the past week. We basically had a lesson over the phone with her and it was so cool. The spirit was present and strong. I know that my Savior never has and never will forget me. "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" (D&C 84:88). There is great comfort in that. 

So, transfers are happening. Also, my first transfer (6 weeks) is already over. Weird. Sister Lange is being transferred to West Memphis and Sister Clarke and I are staying here in Paragould to train our new companion who we will meet

tomorrow. 

I'm going to miss Sister Lange so dang much. She's wonderful. Today Sister Green is staying with us in Paragould until her new companion arrives in Jonesboro. Man, I'm stoked! We get to have a sleep over. Heavenly Father knows I need to see that gal often. Tomorrow Sister Clarke and I get to travel down to North Little Rock to meet our greenie and start training. I'm so excited to spend a couple of days with President and Sister Wakolo. I'm always on a spiritual high after being around them. They are seriously two of the most incredible people I've ever met. This next week should be great just like every other week of my mission so far haha. Sweet is the work. God is good.

"Yeah, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have

graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually

before me" (Isaiah 49:16). I love my savior, Jesus Christ. I know

without a doubt that He loves each of us. He is our master and our

redeemer. He died for our sins. He is our advocate with the Father. He

has given us everything and asks so little in return.

Much love,

Sister Bailey Guthrie

Called to Serve (as a trainer)

This week has been really great. The weather has been so beautiful. We

had exchanges again, but this time with the sisters in Jonesborrow. I

got to see Sister Green twice while we switched Sister Lange and

Sister Thomas. I guess most missionaries don't get to see their MTC

companions as much as I've been able to, so I'm lucky! Hi Sister Green

(if you're reading this), I love you. Norma, the Marshallese woman we

have been teaching is really progressing. When we first began teaching

her she was shy and wasn't very open. Over the past couple of weeks

she has completely opened up. When we see each other we hug and laugh

like school girls. She's so sweet. This week we taught her about the

plan of salvation. She loved it. I kept asking her if she understood

and if she had any questions (slight language barrier) and finally she

exclaimed, "ITS GOOD" hahaha. We talked to her about the temple, and

how inside families can be sealed together forever. Her face lit up.

Baptism is now just a step on her path, with the temple as the goal.

She is set to be baptized in a couple of weeks. This weekend was

General Conference. I loved it. I have been thinking a lot about

progression and the things that I can improve on as a missionary, and

a disciple of Jesus Christ. Isn't it incredible that through out our

entire lives, and in the eternity to come, we are meant to continue to

improve, to grow and to learn ALWAYS. There will never be a day when

we realize we are the best we can be and check it off our list. There

are always opportunities to be better, and to become more like our

savior Jesus Christ. That's the whole plan, the whole purpose of this

life. Our Father in Heaven sent us to Earth and created a way by which

we could return to Him AND eventually, become like Him. I loved what

Elder J. Devn Cornish said in the Saturday morning session of

conference. He said, "The answers to the questions “Am I good enough?”

and “Will I make it?” are “Yes! You are going to be good enough” and

“Yes, you are going to make it as long as you keep repenting and do

not rationalize or rebel.” The God of heaven is not a heartless

referee looking for any excuse to throw us out of the game. He is our

perfectly loving Father, who yearns more than anything else to have

all of His children come back home and live with Him as families

forever. He truly gave His Only Begotten Son that we might not perish

but have everlasting life! Please believe, and please take hope and

comfort from, this eternal truth. Our Heavenly Father intends for us

to make it! That is His work and His glory." I think sometimes in life

we start to feel that the odds are stacked up against us and that we

are being set up for failure. In reality, we are meant to succeed and

we are meant to make it. "For behold, this is my work and my glory--to

bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39).

This is a comforting concept to ponder as this morning President

Wakolo extended to me the call to serve as a trainer. Typically

missionaries are trained for 12 weeks. I'm being asked to train

another missionary at what should have been the half way point of my

own training. Needless to say I felt a bit overwhelmed and unsure.

However, as I continued to ponder the phrase "yes, you are going to be

good enough and yes, you are going to make it" I felt comfort and

reassurance. "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in

Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of

all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word

of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye

shall have eternal life" (2 Nephi 31:20).

I know that there is a Father in Heaven who loves each of us. I know

that He created a plan for us to progress and find joy in this life. I

know that central to that plan is our Savior and Redeemer Jesus

Christ, who atoned for the sins and heartaches of the world. Through

Him I find hope and strength each new day.

With love,

Sister Bailey Guthrie

Feeding ducks

The district

On our exchange (Sister Clarke's eyes are forever closed)

After conference with Norma!

More second coming sunsets

I Didn't Throw Up, So That's Good

Southern America

This week has been so odd (but still so good). The south is a whole other world I swear. I've been pretty sick this week but I'm starting to feel a lot better. We met a great guy on Tuesday named Brian, who lives across the street from Ranly. He really knows his bible and has investigated a lot of different churches. He was verryyyy open minded and told us that he wanted to read the Book of Mormon before we even got the chance to invite him to. Love that. On Wednesday we committed a sweet woman named Norma to be baptized. We are excited about that. I learned a great lesson this week about forgiveness and letting hurtful things go like "water off a ducks back". It reminded me of the talk "The Healing Ointment of Forgiveness" by Elder Kevin R. Duncan from conference in April. Elder Duncan says, "Even though we may be a victim once, we need not be a victim twice by carrying the burden of hate, bitterness, pain, resentment, or even revenge. We can forgive, and we can be free!" I love that it's always our choice to forgive, and it's our choice to be ok. Like he said, we don't have to be the victim twice. 

Back to the weirdness of this week.  On Saturday morning we got a call from President Lamb (branch   president) telling us to meet at the church because of a MAGGOT INFESTATION. I'm not joking.                         We had maggots. Hundreds. All over the church. We got the situation under

control after a significant amount of time searching and vacuuming. I

didn't throw up, so that's good. Our AC also went out on Saturday. Our

apartment was 85 degrees and humid. I'm probably being dramatic but it

felt like a really weird week. Saturday night made up for it all. We

watched women's conference which was the best. 

Get lost, take pictures

The elders call General Conference the super bowl of the mission, which is an accurate

comparison. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf was the last to speak. As he

began his address I had the thought, "I want to feel the spirit

My dear friend, Sister Emma Jane Thompson

stronger" run through my head (selfish, haha). But alas, Heavenly Father was aware of me and the desires of my heart. President Uchtdorf began speaking about God's will. Man, I swear he was talking right to me. The spirit overwhelmed me and every word made my heart swell. President Uchtdorf said, "The purpose of faith is not to change God’s will but to empower us to act on God’s will. Faith is trust. Trust that God sees what we cannot and that He knows what we do not.. Faith means that we trust not only in God’s wisdom but that we trust also in His love. It means trusting that God loves us perfectly, that everything He does, every blessing He gives and every blessing He, for a time, withholds, is for our eternal happiness.. With this kind of faith, though we may not understand why certain things happen or why certain prayers go unanswered, we can know that in the end everything

will make sense". In the gospel principles manual it says, "Jesus Christ was the sublime example of obedience to our Heavenly Father. He of him that sent me” (John 6:38). His whole life was devoted tosaid, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will obeying His Father; yet it was not always easy for him. He was tempted

in all ways as other mortals (see Hebrews 4:15). In the Garden of

Gethsemane He prayed, saying, “O my Father, if it be possible, let

this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39)." I have a strong testimony of aligning our will with God’s. "Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father" (Mosiah 15:7). Until we allow our will to be "swallowed up in the will of the Father" we won't find true peace and joy. I've learned to thank Heavenly Father for my unanswered

prayers and to follow Him blindly. As President Wakolo would say, "I will never doubt Him; I will never question Him".

LOVE YOU MUCH,

Sister Bailey Guthrie

We went to wash the outside of Sister Straubs house..

BLESSINGS ON BLESSINGS!

Bumper Stickers in the South!

Blessings on blessings this week. On Wednesday Sister Lange, Sister Clarke and I went on an exchange with our Sister Training Leaders in Searcy. I got to be with Sister Peterson. She's a great gal. We taught the restoration to a woman named Skylar and her sister, Hayley who was

super interested.  It was refreshing to teach a lesson to someone who doesn't have a language barrier. We read from the Book of Mormon with a woman named Angela. She's a bigger black woman and she's hilarious. She told us that she took a bath at 1 am and woke up in the tub at 4am. She said "the water was freezing and you wouldn't believe how

On our exchange

pruney I was". People in Arkansas are funny. They tell the best stories. That night back in Paragould at Book of Mormon class I smacked my face on a door. I was all disoriented and went into the bathroom and was half crying, half laughing with Sister Lange. So, I've had a big bump on my head and a fat lip all week. Cute. 

On Thursday we drove down to Lonoke for zone conference with the Wakolos.Every day with President and Sister Wakolo is the best day. One thing

President said is that our success through out our mission and the rest of our lives will be measured in our Heavenly Father's eyes. I love that. We've been really busy this week, which is good. I feel like Ive lived in Paragould my whole life and I've known these  

Probably what the second coming will look like

people for years. The more I am here, the more I have seen how desperately everyone needs the gospel in their lives. Life is hard and comes with

real trials. In three weeks I've seen more pain and suffering from divorce, abuse, drugs and alcohol, mental and physical illness, etc. than ever before. One of our mission mottos is that missionary work

isn't hard, it's harder. I think that applies to life as well; it's not hard, it's harder. I will forever love the talk "I Am a Child of God" by Elder Donald L. Hallstrom in which he says "When difficult

things occur in our lives, what is our immediate response? Is it confusion or doubt or spiritual withdrawal? Is it a blow to our faith?

Do we blame God or others for our circumstances? Or is our first response to remember who we are--that we are children of a loving God?

Is that coupled with an absolute trust that He allows some earthly suffering because He knows it will bless us, like a refiner’s fire, to become like Him and to gain our eternal inheritance?" In D&C 122:5,7

the Lord says to the prophet Joseph Smith while in Liberty Jail, "If thou art called to pass through tribulation; if thou art in peril..

know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience,

and shall be for thy good". Alma 26:27 says, "Now when our hearts were

depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted

us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with

patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success." Before

coming on my mission I went through a period of time when my "heart

was depressed" and I was "about to turn back". I was struggling to

accept the path Heavenly Father was asking me to walk. A little over a

month into my mission, I can tell you that I thank God every single

day that I am here. I thank Him for helping me have enough faith to

align my will with His. I thank Him for helping me "bear with

patience" the results of the decisions I had made that were not

according to His will. I have now begun to realize how perfect His

plan for me really is. He knows and loves me. He knows and loves you.

He gives us trials in this life to bless us and strengthen us. "..for

I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be

supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions,

and shall be lifted up at the last day" (Alma 36:3). My favorite scripture has been and continues to be Joshua 1:9, "Have not I

commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." As President Wakolo would say,  
"Don't worry, be happy! We have the Lord on our side."

OUR INVESTIGATOR RANLY WAS

BAPTIZED, AND RECEIVED THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST AND THE PRIESTHOOD

ON SUNDAY. My heart is so full. I met Ranly my first day here. He

didn't say much and kind of hung out in the background of our lessons.

Once I got to know Ranly more, something changed. I think I began to see him the way our Savior sees him. I saw him dressed in white,

entering the waters of baptism. I saw him as a missionary. I saw him in the temple, being sealed to his eternal companion. I had a strong impression after my first week here that Ranly 

was ready to be baptized. As we progressed with him over the next couple of weeks we realized how true that was. He has an incredibly strong and sweet spirit. He will do much goodness in his life. I read D&C 15:6 the other day which says, "And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father. Amen". The gospel changes us. The atonement saves us. In one of my favorite Christian songs it says,  "you gave your life, to give me mine". Because of Him we can be freed from sin and suffering. We can return to our 

Heavenly Father and rest with those we love.

MUCH love,

Sister Guthrie

Not a model

Reunited with Sister Green

Driving to Lonoke

Possum Grape, AR

Ranly's Baptismal interview

Armadillo

The work is sweet here in Paragould. There is a lot to be done. God

answers prayers. Sister Lange has converted me to oreo thins (random, but try them).

We almost ran over an armadillo the other day.

< (This is not the actual armadillo, but this pic will do until I get a replacement from Sister Guthrie.)

picture 1

RANLY IS GETTING DUNKED!  >

We committed him to baptism this week. I love him so much. He turned to me and said "really?! I can be baptized??". Being able to tell him yes and see the look on his face was the highlight of the week by far. He grabbed his chest and said his heart was beating super fast. He's so pumped to be baptized. I wish everyone felt that way about the gospel. 

picture 2 Church with our adopted children Ranly (getting baptized this week)
and Nicholas (already baptized)

Monday night was really cool. We drove

around trying to meet with some of our investigators but no one was

home (we don't set up appointments especially with the Marshallese

because we usually have better luck just showing up). While driving

around Sister Lange found a name "Cassandra" and an address in her

notes. A few days earlier we met a girl at Walmart named Cassandra and

I had been thinking about her ever sense. Hopeful that the info we had

was hers, we set out and were determined to find her. The address we

had took us all the way out in the boon docks and 
we kept getting lost. We were blowing through our miles and started to get a little

worried. We parked the car to decide whether we should keep looking for

the house or turn around and head back into town. We were all quiet

for a minute. I had a strong feeling that we needed to keep looking.

After a few more minutes of driving we finally found the house. We

knocked on the door and a man answered. We asked if there was a

Cassandra that lived there. The man said yes and went into the house

to get her. We were pretty excited at this point. As Cassandra opened

the door we saw that it wasn't "Cassandra from Walmart". However, as

we began talking to her, we understood why we were supposed to meet

her. The lord had really been preparing her. She loved everything we

had to say about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the restoration of His

church through the prophet Joseph Smith and the translation of the

Pretty skies; almost as pretty as AZ 

Book of Mormon. Her only hold up was the word of wisdom because she is an avid soda drinker (we cleared that one up real quick and told her we had dr. pepper in the car lol). We left her with a copy of the Book of Mormon. "But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the

children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words.." (1 Nephi 9:6). It's an amazing thing to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. Miracles happen every day. Over the past month I have thought a lot about conversion. I remember when I was really young I used to envy converts to the church. I used to wish that I could have had a miraculous, life changing conversion. There

are a few things I've learned recently. The first is that you don't have to be a convert to be converted to the gospel! I've learned that "Conversion is a process, not an event. You become converted as a result of your righteous efforts to follow the Savior" (True to the Faith). Conversion is a process. It really is, isn't it? Conversion means change and includes enduring to the end. We are changed and made

Trains are scary and fast

better through our savior, Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice. I've learned that having a testimony alone is not enough. "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (James 2:26). We have to be continuously converted to Christ. Put in the work. Take control of your conversion. Draw near to your Heavenly

Father and savior Jesus Christ. Build yourself a firm foundation in Him. "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the

rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation

whereon if men build they cannot fall" (Heleman 5:12).

I love you all. I know that He is the way. "..there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold he is the word of truth

and righteousness" (Alma 38:9).

Llakwe Lluk (I love you),

Sister Guthrie

Ranly left sticky notes on the porch for us 

SO cute I'm adopting him not kidding

         

Flower that is legitimately bigger than my head

Nathan's face kills me :-)

Visiting the kitties again
(still haven't been able to contact whoever lives there
but we keep coming back for obvious reasons)

Elder Gonzales drinking laxatives..

Some of Faith's kiddos
(Chad, Brenda and Nathan)

Helana, Nicholas (made us sticky notes and reppin' 2pac), and Ranly