"The Mormons Are Here" 7/28/2014

We are teaching a woman and her daughter the discussions and last Monday when we knocked on her door the first thing we hear is feet coming to the door and then feet scurrying away with a loud "The Mormons are here! The Mormons are here!"

This family is interesting. The mom is such a people pleaser that she doesn't know what she believes. When we talked with her about the Plan of Salvation she would contradict herself about where she thinks we go after this life, probably having to do with her mom and what she was told to believe growing up. Then when her husband comes in from work the mom gets quiet and gets shy again. She doesn't want to "put anything on him" so she doesn't invite him to sit with us. Then when I asked her if she would give a closing prayer, she did so, in her head. Then after we asked her why, she would say, "I don't want to ask for things that everybody else didn't need or want to hear". *sigh*

Her daughter is different. Sophia is an amazing girl; she is actually our focus. The family has had missionaries over before and each time our records say that Sophia was the one contributing the most to the lessons. She's only 10 and her prayer at the end of our second lesson was in tears. She is strong in her thoughts and in feeling the Spirit.  We hope these lessons, if they continue, will help Sophia in the future to draw back on the memories of the Missionaries and how she felt about the things they said. We hope we can at least get her a Book of Mormon to read (she loves to read), and hopefully she can continue in her journey of learning of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in one way or another. Sadly the mom canceled  today's lesson. Hopefully next week.

I love you all! You are always in my prayers and I hope that each and everyone of you know what you believe, if not I know some people that would love to teach the first Discussion to you :)

Loving the Work, Sister Baker

A Lot Of Zeros 7/21/14

This week was a challenging one. One day every single appointment and back-up fell through. It wasn't entirely bad, we got to go on an exchange with the sister trainers and that was a learning experience.

Yesterday, a new Ward Mission Leader was called. I have never been so happy about callings then out on my mission, they are trully a blesssing to those who are given them and to the full time missionaires in the ward as well. His points that he brought up in his talk during sacrament meeting, (which he wasn't aware that he was giving a talk until that day before sacrament meeting) the points that he brought up about Missionary Work for everyone were:

-Proclaiming the gospel
-Perfecting the Saint

-Redeeming the dead

That is exactly what we should strive to focus on every day as a ward and as disciples of Christ along with being examples of Christ.

It is when we are fully converted that we gain that desire to share. Even after growing up in the church for the past 20 years and being a member for 12 of them, I know that its wasn't until I came on my mission that I was fully converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Never be afraid to testify of truth, you don't need to prove its true, just testify that you know its true.

LOVE YOU ALL, seriously I would LOVE to tell you individually but don't have the time, just know I care for and pray for you all everyday.

Loving the work, 

Sister Baker

I LOVE YOU 7/14/2014

Dear Family:

I know I never said this enough, but I love all of you. You have no idea the impacts you all have made on my life. With only my memories and a couple pictures it makes me reflect more on how each and everyone of you have helped me in one way or another. Thank you all for your words of encouragement, they have moved me beyond words I can appreciate.

I LOVED the huge sheet of everyone's words of love, drawings and cupcake spills. Thanks Spencer for the scriptures and thanks Hannah for the chocolate frosting.

I have been thinking about something for a while now and I feel like now is a good time to ask it.

I want you all to individually write down one memory on familysearch.org

I am completely serious in this request.

With having so much exposure to introducing others to FamilySearch.org. I want our memories to be there, the story of how our families were to each of us, but more importantly,how the role the church was to us in our families.

All I ask is that each of you write a story from one of your most cherished/inspiring/humorous/etc memories of your family's with an aspect of the church in it.

Oh and you have until Christmas.

I love you all, good luck I'll talk to you more next week Bye!

Love, Sister Baker

That's all I got this week no time for questions too. Stay Bold Y'all

Taylor Made for Texas 7/7/2014

Last week we got to officially meet our new mission president, President and Sister Taylor. They were such nice people, they really held that sense of duty of being Mission Leaders with them in all that they said and did. They asked us, row by row, to come up and shake their hands and meet with them, every single missionary. Of course Sister Taylor gave us Sisters bear hugs.

Their main message to us was one of love. As we waited our turn to shake their hands they asked us to read in John 15. The message they wanted us to realize was that 'we are one'. As a ward and as a church we need to work together to build up the kingdom. I loved the spirit that was with us in that meeting. It really emphasized the task we had to bring this message now to the members as well as the church leaders in the ward.

Our ward that we serve in here in Texas is as good a any other ward anywhere in the Church. They are still learning to recognize that they have that duty to go out and invite others to come to church and to welcome all who come. I think it's that they don't realize how important it is to be on the lookout for others. They may not know more about how to invite others and work as one to help the less active members as well. Its something we're trying to really inform them of. They all are doing a wonderful work in being proud of being a member, I feel like we could help them expand and grow to want to share it to others.

There are a lot of less active members here, so its been tough to keep up with reaching them, but its a challenge worth facing and is just as important as finding investigators.

Have to go, I love you all, keep strengthening your wards you live in, because we are all a huge family and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.

Love Sister Baker

Oh What A Beautiful Morning 6/30/14

Thank you for all your individual words of encouragement, it has blessed my heart to hear from all of you. I'm glad you are all having such momentous events in your lives!

We had 2 baptisms Saturday! It was an amazing thing to witness and Sister Stumm and I are so overjoyed that we were there to help Jacob and Brian be baptized. I truly feel in awe of these baptisms. Its still sinking in that "did I actually bring joy into someone's life?"

I know its rare to be able to bring others to baptism so quickly. I know that it wasn't just the missionaries and the spirit that helped these baptisms along. I remind myself that its taken an entire ward about 8 years to help Brian be baptized. He was the investigator that agreed to baptism in the first lesson we taught my first week. He has been going to the ward on and off for the past 6-7 years. It was through the examples and the invitations of members along with many missionaries that helped him have a desire to learn and the spirit confirmed this is the fulness of Jesus Christ's Gospel. He was in tears almost all of the Baptism. He had a Mason buddy of his there, glad I was paying attention because he had his phone out about to take a picture of the actual baptism so I told him nicely to not take pictures

Jacob is a 17 year old that through 2 of his friends, one being a convert, invited him to church and he came to see the joy and love of the members for him as he kept coming. He and his brother are first generation Chinese American in his family. His home life is tough, his mom eventually warmed up the his baptism and the one Chinese speaking Elders came and are planning on seeing her. Anyway. He is so strong in the spirit, he has faced a lot of challenges he had to give up a relationship over joining the church. He is a huge inspiration to me in being built on a firm foundation. Though the baptism was not as firm as we were planning on.

It took 2 minutes to baptize him. It felt like an eternity. Alex, the member his same age that invited him to church, was baptizing him and it was his first time. So everything is going fine Alex said the blessing perfect then he dunks Jacob in the water, but because Jacob is a bit bigger then Alex, he doesn't go all the way in and he loses his balance and the both fall. the second time, when he dunks him Alex holds him there and looks up to one of the witnesses which is his dad and his dad shakes his head "didn't fully immerse" so alex pushes him down further and Jacob is flailing because he needs air. Then the 3rd time was the same as the first, got off balanced again and more holding Jacob underwater for long periods of time, which leads to flailing and possibly head a couple time. Finally they get Jacob on his kness and he was fully baptized.

Oh and during all of this, the new Mission President, President Taylor and his Wife were there. Yeah they just got off the plane about 4 hours before coming to the baptism. So of course that was nice.

Got to go I love all of you ALL OF YOU.

Keep moving Forward, Love Sister Baker

1st- Sister Stumm, Brian, Sister Baker

2nd- Sister Baker & Sister Stumm in front of Dallas Temple

3rd- Jacob's mom, Jacob, friend sho almost drowned Jacob, Sister Baker, Sister Stumm

Home Booooy 6/23/14

Some off the people I have met here are just the best. The phrase home boy was used by a sister in her 60's when see was sassing up a storm about how somebody offended her. She's great, honest.

I've been so blessed to witness many miracles this week. A recent convert who wee thought was going to seriously take their records out was at church yesterday and went to all 3 hours. 3 sisters from the ward gave us enough food to last the month, I've never seen so much food! Got to see some less active members we hadn't seen in a while and had great spiritual experiences with them. This week has been great.

Had to say goodbye to President Durrant. I'm going to miss his squirrel analogies. He showed us old clips from when he played basketball for BYU. It was crazy seeing him slam dunk and other basketball shots. President Taylor (soon to be my new president) were in those clips as well. He showed us another clip, he actually gave a talk in a priesthood session a long time ago, and as the choir finished the first verse he thought the choir was done singing and he is starts walking up the stairs. Then the choir starts singing and he's already half way there and James E Faust see him and pats his knee telling him to come sit on his lap! So he does! and he shakes hand with the other elders there to make it seem like he met to do that. OH all the missionaries were dieing laughing it was great.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR LETTERS I may not be able to respond to all of them, just know i do read ALL OF THEM. Thank you.

I love my family, I love my friends, I love being a missionary, and I love My Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Remember you are all examples of the believers. (1 Tim 4:?)

Never be afraid to talk to your fellow brothers and sisters.

Anyway I have to run, got to prepare for the tough week ahead.

-Sister Baker