the Last Monday 11/23/15

I'm completing my mission!!!!!!!!!! My home coming talk will be this Sunday November the 29th at 1:00 and it will be at 4176 South Adonis Dr 3950 East SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.

 

As my mission comes to a close I'm continually grateful for the experiences I've gained, the people I've met, and the closer I've come to my Savior Jesus Christ and my Father in Heaven.

This week we had a miraculous event happen. We helped a part-member family have scripture study. That may not sound miraculous to y'all but what makes it exciting is the fact that the husband had never read the Book of Mormon with his family before. 

We were coming back from dinner with Andrea and Victoria and after some conversation we asked if we could read the Book of Mormon with them and Sergio said yes. We each took turns reading 1 Nephi 1.  He said the Book is good. Victoria said that was the first time they read the Book of Mormon all together.

I want to bear my testimony that there is power in the Book of Mormon that when we read it miracles happen. I know that God lives, that Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer and the Holy Ghost really is there to guide us as we have a desire to listen. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the Lord's Kingdom once again established on the earth.

Special thanks to everyone that has helped me grow and supported me during my mission and that is something I am truly grateful for :)  

Loved to serve and will continue to serve,
Sister Baker

Here I am with some of the missionaries in our zone today...

Of Missionaries & Texans 11/16/2015

Hello Everyone!

This last week had a constant theme of missionaries and members working together. We have been making a huge push to have members get to be a part of the missionary work here in Plano and it's been great to see the progress. 

A wonderful experience just yesterday was at our Mission President's Fireside. It's a testimony meeting with speakers who just joined the Church, a select few musical numbers, and President Taylor sharing a message with the congregation. It was an amazing opportunity for people to learn more about what we believe. We had a few investigators come and listen! I also got to see a lot of people I hadn't seen in a long time. All and all it was an amazing experience! I loved getting to hear testimonies from recent converts, it always picks up my spirit.  It was funny when President Taylor was saying "wouldn't we want to have a prophet like Moses on the earth today" and someone yells out "AMEN" and that made everyone laugh.  Sister McBride and I got to be a part of of the fireside too.   We were able to perform a musical number with some other sister missionaries, Sister McBride was playing the piano and I had the opportunity to solo 2 parts during the song "Come unto Christ".

I hope I can continue to live in the blessing of doing the Lord's work and I'm going to give my all this next week because I know I won't regret a single moment as I focus on bringing others closer to Christ.

Loving this gospel,

Sister Baker

Members and Missionaries 11/9/2015

This week we had wonderful opportunities to be able to have more members come with us to lessons. It makes our lives easier to have members with us at lessons because it can make a huge difference to the investigator or the recent convert or the less active because they can relate to that member that comes. Also that member would be able to stay in the area which makes the person being taught feel more comfortable when ever they come over or so they know they have a friend and someone they can rely on.

The highlight of this week and a grand learning experience was helping a member move. We and the other missionaries were able to get together to help with this member move out of the house by certain day we came
over a few times to help her pack and it was a lot of hard work. The most challenging experience of it all was when the moving truck got stuck.

 The member accidentally got the back end caught on the curve of cement behind her house. We tried many different ways to get it unstuck like trying to prop the wheels up and other failed attempts. We finally decided after all the missionaries arrived from our Zone to help to have one last go and just push the truck as hard as we could. Missionaries lifted one side and the others pushed and with one or two tries it came up off the cement and we were able to back it out of there. We felt very blessed and felt that God was watching out for us.

Something else exciting that happened just yesterday was the Regional Conference Broadcast that we got to attend. I loved Elder Robbins talk and Elder Oaks talk especially when he talked about the Ward councils and the missionaries working together.

I have 2 full two weeks to be able to finish my mission and I'm excited to work as hard as I can and be able to follow the Spirit and know how we can best bless the lives of people here in Plano, Texas.

Sister Baker

P.S. I will be returning on November 25th and I will most likely be giving my Homecoming talk on the 29th. I believe it will be at 1:00 

Cooling Off 11/2/2015

Sister McBride and I enjoyed the cooler weather, but it still isn't keeping the mosquitoes away yet, oh well. Our highlight of the week was when we went to a trunk or treat on Saturday Night. Sister McBride and I dressed up as Mary Poppins and a chimney sweep and everyone loved our costumes.

Sunday night our Mission President invited us to bear our testimonies and talk about the upcoming fireside that is meant for members to bring their non member friends to. The first time I went up to bear my testimony, it was hard because I realized that it was my last Fast Sunday on my mission. That was a bittersweet moment for the week.

I'm constantly in awe over how much my mission has helped we grow and develop and has helped others as well. I hope I can keep progressing along side our investigators and the members in participating in  missionary work.

I'm loving Texas and I know I forever will. I'm grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who loves me enough to send people to help.

I love y'all and I hope you've been ponderizing!
Love, Sister Baker

P.S. Next week I will have the information about my Homecoming so stay tuned.
P.s.s BLUEBELL ICE CREAM IS BACK ON THE SHELF

Patience is a Virtue 10/27/2015

I had some difficult times this past week trying to make sure I make every second count on my mission, but it led to a lot of dissatisfaction and stress. By Sunday I was feeling pretty low, but during a Young Women's lesson that we sat in on, the teacher went over the differences between patience and impatience. Everything listed under impatience was exactly what I was feeling. That helped me understand that even with what little time I have left that doesn't mean I have to be rushing everywhere. Which reminded me of something one of my past companions told me. "Jesus didn't run everywhere he went, he walked." I learned the importance of patience and relying on the Savior to fill in the gaps that are impossible for us to fill. Jesus Christ helps when we're trying our best. I'm glad I learned that lesson and learned it during my mission. Better late than never.

Working with the members has been great as well. We invited our new investigator to be baptized and he accepted! The members that are his friends have been very helpful and supportive of him. We're still nailing down the exact information of when his baptism will be but we are looking forward to helping him come unto Christ. Our investigator and his fellow-shippers actually attended the Plano 1st Elder's baptism which was an amazing experience because it was in both Chinese and English. You could feel the Spirit there as testimonies were born
in 2 languages.

I pray that I can use my time as wisely as I can and I know what the Lord would have me do to be a blessing to others and not a burden. I'm grateful for the Gospel and I know that it blesses lives.

Constantly loving to serve,
Sister Baker

Helped out with Activity Days in one of the Wards and it was a lot of
fun. The girls were hilarious.

My desk

Brad and Holly received this:

"Loved having your sweet missionary in our home for dinner"

Wonderful

From time to time wonderful people feed our Sister Baker and sent us a text with a photo of her included.  Here is the most recent...

Last stop- Plano, Texas

I've been called to serve in Plano, Texas for this next 6-5 weeks. I'm going to be back-up training Sister McBride! She is a beautiful new missionary and I get the privilege of finish training her this transfer. We're also going to be covering the missioinary work over 3 wards! AND GUESS WHAT ONE OF MY BISHOPS' NAMES IS.......BAKER! Bishop Baker fully enjoyed getting to announce my name yesterday at Sacrament Meeting. Though he wo'nt replace my favorite Bishop back home :)

We actually gained a new investigator yesterday at a "Sundaes on Sunday" event after church. His name is AJ and he is getting ready to marry a member in the 4th ward. When he came up to us he had a Book of Mormon in his hands and we actually thought he was a member. Thankfully his soon to be mother-in-law told us that he was ready to take the discussions. We were over joyed to see the faith this man has in learning the gospel and having joy in his family and in the future.

Fun story, by happy happenstance I got to see an old Texas Dallas missionary, Sister Carlson. I had the privilege to serve around her back in Allen. She was a huge example for me of being a great missionary when she was on her mission and even after. She's been home for 9 months, so when I saw her walk past me in the church hall way all I could get out was "HEY!" and she turned and we both smiled and hugged and chat about how she was doing. She and her family were visiting Texas and visiting the members that she befriended during her mission and one of the areas she served in was Plano.  I told her I was in my last transfer and I asked if she had any advice and she told me to work hard and enjoy my mission. That was just what I needed to hear.  She also said that it was okay to be happy about going home, which was also something I needed to hear!

God really sends us the opportunities to receive what we pray for and what we need to keep going. It's up to us to seize those opportunities and usually they come when we are "anxiously engaged in a good cause"- Doctrine and Covenants 58:27-28 (my Ponderize scripture for the week)

Remember the invitations given to us in General Conference will help us in whatever we are facing and going through. The promises given come from our loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, so you can always be confident that you will be rewarded for your righteous actions.

Enjoying to serve, 

Sister Baker

Got to go chalking!  Sister McBride chose the quote and I chalked it. It was very therapeutic!

The Last Transfer 10/12/15

I'M GETTING TRANSFERRED. Hard to believe but I'll be going to a new area tomorrow and have no clue where. I know that where ever I go it is where God wants me.

This past week was exciting because we had a baptism for a Spanish speaking investigator, Jose. He is a strong child of God in his understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his willingness to learn more. It was a small turn out for the baptism but that didn't matter. He was smiling the whole time.

All I know is that I'm going to work my hardest this last transfer so I can help as many people as I can to find the thing that leads to eternal happiness in this life and beyond, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I love being a missionary, I've never been happier and I've never been more tired.

I just want to testify that I know at it is worth the struggle to share the gospel and bring out the light in others because it brings ridiculous amounts of peace and happiness to all how accept and live it. I'm glad God sent his helpers to inspire me and invite me to serve a mission.

Serving has been the best choice to change my life for the good, and the lives of countless other people.

Loving to serve always,

 Sister Baker

You can guess who is Jose

 Got to have zone meeting at e stake presidents house which is huge and has gospel art everywhere

Tex Says "Hi!" 10/5/2015

Dear Family And Friends,

General Conference was great we watched it at the church for all 4
sessions and we had an investigator come to two of the sessions! I
loved getting to hear from my first mission president, President
Durrant. I learned about ponderizing at the beginning of my mission
and it's been a while since I've heard it brought back up again :)

So the reason why my email didn;t get sent until the end of the day was because I was at the TEXAS STATE FAIR! I loved getting to go with my district and a few missionaries from my zone and it was fun! I had some deep fried
Oreos and they were actually good. THEY CAN DEEP FRY ANYTHING HERE.

Sister Baker

Tex says Hi!

Fun Times 9/28/2015

I think I'm getting better at understanding Spanish, surely but very slowly.  Sometimes I feel like I'm in the movie Nacho Libre. Its a lot of fun.

Sorry to keep this short my iPad is still not working so we are at the library at the SMU campus right now trying to see if the computer will recognize my iPad it but no luck. 

Anyway i'm going to share the highlights of my week through some pictures because I can finally upload the ones from my handheld camera.

this is Lilly a recent convert. we visited her at where she works

she made some Elote for me, esta rico!

and I still cant get over the sky over here

Seriously Like The Good Old Days 9/21/2015

This past week was slow but good. We were able to do some good missionary work. We now have 3 new investigators and we're sure at least one has real intent to learn about the gospel.

My companions are awesome, They are doing better at speaking Spanish all the time so that I can get integrated in to speaking Español.

Sorry I have to keep this short because I'm not using my iPad and other missionaries need the computer. My iPad froze when I updated the software! Hopefully I don't lose ALL my information in there. I'm hoping that by next week I can use my iPad and even log in past the lock screen :/

love yall a ton!

Love,

Sister Baker

Obedience 9/14/2015

note:
We have received Sister Baker's flight arrangements from Dallas to Salt Lake City.  As of now she arrives on Wednesday, November 25, at 2:15 in the afternoon.

Hola!

I'm not going to lie when I say that Spanish is both easy and
confusing to understand. It's easy to read but hard to hear. THEY
SPEAK SO FAST. My companions are helping me learn to conjugate Estar
and Ser and it has helped quite a lot.

I also learned and experienced some miracles towards obedience. When we
were heading over to a potential appointment there was a group of not
friendly looking guys near the passage we would have to use to get
into our recent convert Ivan's apartment. With it being kinda...
extremely sketchy we turned around. Then we contacted a lady on our
way to our car, like we have been taught to do as missionaries. While in the middle of contacting the lady, I heard the sound of the Ivan's daughter talking very loudly near their apartment.
Ivan had come out of his apartment and was waiting for us and once we
walked back to the apartments the group of guys was gone. If we had
just gone straight back into the car we would have missed our chance to have a
lesson with Ivan. Obedience works.

Something else that was awesome was that we got a new investigator
named Phillip. He had called the mission office and referred himself!
He is awesome. He's done a lot of research about the church and is
very open and understanding especially about the odd things about the
church and the not so nice things others say about us. When we first
got to his house there was a package on his doorstep, we didn't think
much of it until the end of the lesson. At the end he opens it and it
was Mormonism for Dummies.

He came to church yesterday and we know he may have been a little over
whelmed but that he liked it. Everything at church that day was about
trials and spiritual gifts and we know that was just what he needed.

God works in miraculous ways and when I take time to look at my own
work I see His work enveloped completely in it.

Love y'all so much and hope your week goes well.

Love, Sister Baker

¿Hola, como le va? 9/7/2015

Buenos Días!

I am now serving in the Dallas 1st and 9th Bilingual Wards! I have 2
companions, Hermana Cloward y Hermana Stripling! They are the best and
they are helping me learn some Spanish because most of our lessons are
with Spanish speakers. I am loving this new area and the people in it.
It's very diverse in economics and culture.

 Like on Wednesday we visited an English speaking less active member and her place, and I mean this in the nicest way possible needed about 50 gallons of
Frebreze sprayed on everything including the lady. About half way
through the lesson I caught Hermana Cloward staring at my chair and
yes there were bugs on it but I noticed that the moment I sat on it(
no big deal to me I'm so used to bugs at this point of my mission) then
it clicked in my head that maybe these weren't normal bugs, so I
wrapped up the lesson we said a prayer and we left as soon as we could.
As we hurried out Hermana Cloward said that she thought that those
bugs looked a lot like bed bugs.....so we quickly brushed our clothes
like mad men and in doing so my companions found 2 bugs on me!
Aaaaahhhh so we then having no other choice decided to drive back to
our apartment, shower, and wash our clothes, so we hopped into the
car. I FOUND 2 MORE BUGS ON ME IN MY SKIRT. Long story short we took
all precautions to make sure the clothes we wore were taken off
immediate when we got in our apartment (for me even before I got into
the apartment with decency) and we all showered and got ready for our
next appointment. So far we haven't seen any bed bugs so that's a good
sign. *sigh of relief*

Then yesterday we ate with a very well off (wealth) family and they
told us of how they and a few of the families in the Ward chipped in
on a private jet to go to the Nebraska vs. BYU game on Saturday -_-
they said the jet they used had belonged to some Saudi Arabian prince
so the bathroom had gold lining on everything......but luckily the
members were quite humble about it. They also remarked about how the
winning catch was thrown by a player that returned home from his
mission just 3 months previous. They showed a lot of joy and pride in
the example of this great player and even showed us the interview with
him the following day. The player showed absolute love for his mission
and was a perfect example of an R.M. It made me overjoyed to see this
returned missionary show that enthusiasm and gratitude for his mission
for everyone to see :)

Hopefully I can show that love for my mission that I have even after
its done. For me I know the missionary work will ever stop pressing
forward. I'm so grateful I get to keep serving my fellow man and know
that I can keep progressing as a member of God's church with or without
the name tag. I love being here in Texas and I love getting to help
others come closer to Christ.

¡Nos Vemos!

Love, Hermana Baker


Here are some of the potential bed bugs I found crawling on me......ehhhw

On The Move 8/31/2015

I am getting transferred!

I have loved getting to serve in Frisco. It's been an amazing experience to get to know the people here and get to know the missionaries here as well. Love getting to serve with Sister Awerkamp and Sister Klinkowski. They are the best!

I know I grew up a lot here and that I made a lot of friends that I'll continue to be friends with, which if you knew me before you would think it doesn't sound like me. I have learned a lot about why it is important to remain friends with people. I know for a fact and I even have gained a testimony that staying in contact with people you meet
has its blessings. I believe that it becomes easier once you have true intent to gain and keep friends. That's another way we can follow the example of Jesus Christ, he never left anyone out, behind, or forgotten.

My best moments here were:
Teaching and helping baptize Nick, Andrea, Kaitlyn, and Daniel (all my pride and joy came from them)
Getting to know the spontaneous YSA
Meeting some wonderful and some hilarious families in the Frisco Sixth Ward
Learning to discover more of who I am as a missionary and has a daughter of God.

Remember you always are blessed when you follow the example of Jesus Christ :)

I hope y'all have a good day and a good week too.

Love, Sister Baker

P.S. Man I'm gonna miss Frisco.

Full Time missionaries I serve with

Little Miracles 8/24/2015

Hello everyone! This week was filled with lots of little miracles.

On Saturday we got to go to the temple with one of our recent converts in the Frisco 6th ward. It was wonderful to have members there to help her through the process of doing baptisms for the dead. Overall she said she had a wonderful time and that it was a great spiritually uplifting experience for all of us.

I also got to go on exchanges with our Sister Training Leaders and I survived. During it we contacted 9 referrals and also established a stronger bond with Daniel our recent convert and his mom who is taking discussions, and attended one of his marching band practices and it was great!

Another miracle that happened was one of the young single adults brought their little sister who is not a member to church and she brought her friend who's also not a member to church! It was great to see that kind of love that friends have in sharing what they really love with each other.

I'm loving the Frisco area and it will be interesting to see whether or not I get transferred next week. I've been serving here in the Frisco zone since I got to Prosper in February. I look forward to finishing off the rest of my mission wherever the Lord would have me. I know that as long as I stay focused on my purpose and continue to be
obedient to God's commandments and mission standards I will be able to continue to "forget myself and get to work".

I love y'all and I hope y'all have a good week and that you get to see the daily miracles that God gives you!

Love, Sister Baker

When Ye Are In the Service...8/17/2015

This week I came tothe conclusion that service leads to happiness.  Yes
I did know that already but it was something I relearned this week.

About halfway through the week I became unmotivated while we were
planning because we were unsure which way to go with the missionary
efforts in our wards that we cover. My companion being new to the area,
and this also being her second area, was finding it difficult to help
me in my lack of motivation. Later that night, I looked back on all
the other times I ever was going through a hard time on my mission and
I realized that they all had a similar theme of me being in
"poor-me-land" as my mom has put it to me. So I needed to get the
train out of there. But I wasn't sure how? Not just to pick up my mood
but to help me regain my motivation. My companion and I continued the
week and I tried my best to have my thoughts center on the mission but
I still felt like I was missing the mark.

Then on Sunday one of our leaders in one of our Wards gave us a huge list of
Less Actives to find and meet. It was a blessing to receive this list
because it was just what we needed to distract ourselves from our rut
and to get to work. Then in Sacrament meeting right after our Ward
council meeting, someone brought up the fact that Jesus Christ put the
example forward for us to do service for others,  which
everything Jesus Christ did brought true happiness. The spirit then
hit me that that is what I need to focus on this up coming week. That
when you think outside yourself only then do you gain true joy. It
connected in my head, that's how we mere mortals do missionary work.
It's serving with all our heart, might, mind, strength, and soul
because we literally give our all when we don't think of ourselves. We
do the will of the Father when we think and act on the will of
Heavenly Father. Therefore when we are in the service of our fellow
beings we are only in the service of our God! Yes! That finally
clicked in my head! It only took my whole life and a mission to
understand, but I got it none the less!

So that was a good part of my week and I wanted to share that with y'all.

Also we helped some less active young single adults come to sacrament
meeting as week yesterday! We've met with them a few times and the
sister has a thing for animals (she works at Pet-mart). It's funny
when the sister came to church with her brother, she brought with her
one of her dogs....but hey it's still progress.

Loving Frisco and the seeing the little daily miracles and the funny moments.
I love each of you, you have no idea.

Love,

Sister Baker

A Tie or Two 8/10/2015

This week we were able to do a lot. Especially preparing for the two baptisms that we had on Saturday. We had to get everything organized, had to make sure everyone's schedules lined up, and everything was set in place so that nothing was forgotten about or would cause any problems later. Not going to lie it was a really stressful week. Both I and my companion we're doing the most we could but it still felt like we were falling behind. But with prayer and a lot of faith everything worked out. A lot of the members from the ward helped us in the setting up of the baptisms (they helped a ton) and it was great to know that we weren't in it alone. I can definitely testify that God sends his help through other people.

Andrea's baptism went great it was really touching to see how happy she was in getting baptized. Her husband, Ray, isn't a member and definitely isn't interested in becoming one anytime soon, but through meeting with them both a few times before the baptism he warmed up to us and to the church. We know that his heart is beginning to be softened from the love and the sincerity of the members that have and are befriending Andrea.

At Andrea's baptism it was really hot because the temperature outside was maybe around 106 so with the humidity it felt hotter than that. Andrea was sweating a lot mainly because she was nervous but the heat didn't help. After she was baptized she bore her testimony of how much she loves being able to feel the Spirit so much she even wished it upon everyone, non-members, members, families and kids that they get that chance or the opportunity to feel the Spirit so well and to appreciate it as much as she did the moment she stepped foot into the church. She was looking for this joy in her life for a long time and she found it.

I absolutely love the photos that you have sent me! They make me smile and I can't help but giggle when I see the pictures of Maeve and Damian. I LOVE ALL OF MY FAMILY! I'm glad all of you are having a wonderful time. I can't believe there will be 2 more added to the family. It will be exciting to see how Christmas goes this year :D  

Tell everyone I love them and that I think that they are all gorgeous. Even soba.

Love, Sister Baker

P.S. Tell Eli Jack and Alex that Auntie Chloe misses them and can't wait to play Legos with them.

Coming Together 8/3/2015

We have 2 baptisms on the 8th and we are very excited for them. The wards are coming together to help them out. In fact one of the baptisms is for a 16 year old boy named Daniel. He has only one suit and one tie. He is friends with a lot of the Young Men and they have planned to surprise Daniel at the end of the baptism to go up and each give Him the ties they are wearing! I just love the outreach the members have took to help theses baptisms come to be.

For our District meeting, all the missionary companionships had a competition to see who could memorize all of the 42 concepts in order and exact phrasing. And guess who won, Sister Klinkowski and I got the most out of everyone! And the prize was gummy worms :)

So here are all the missionaries in my District:

From left to right: Elder Orme, Elder Casperson, Elder Beus, Elder Fonua, Elder Christensen, and Elder Narviaz. Then there's me and my companion, Sister Christmas and Sister Stewart.

They are a great district and loads of fun. We should be having sports at 2:00 today so I'll send y'all the pictures!

A theme that came up a lot this week was families and how important they are. I just want to tell my family how much they mean to me. They mean more to me than I could ever tell them. I'm grateful for The Family: A Proclamation to the World and for the sure foundation it is to me and for the love I have for God. I'm grateful to be apart of His family and know that He love all of us. 

Have a miraculous week!

With Love! Sister Baker