Yes, You, Could You Come Up Here?

It has been getting colder here, surprisingly. The storms here are amazing! The lightning storms are unlike any I have seen in Utah. Luckily nothing gets in the way of tracting. It's getting darker at night so people are getting put-off with us about knocking on there door. We get some fun reactions :)

This weekend was Stake conference and Elder Todd B Hansen, of the 70, came and spoke. The Saturday session was Spirit filled and inspiring. It was also thrilling because Elder Hansen invited us up to the pulpit in front of the 200+ members! 

So background to this, Sister Aumua and I had been at the church earlier that day preparing for a baptismal interview and some planning. We said a prayer and discussed our plans. Unbeknownst to us he had walked by on his way to a training meeting and had seen us through the door window and I guess the Spirit touched him in seeing this act because he told everyone what he saw and INVITED US UP. The funny part was that we had no idea what he was talking about us. You see missionaries have a long day and its easy to forget what you did in the morning. Then, prayers are so natural now that its easy to lose track of when and where you say them. So in my mind I'm thinking (as he talks about seeing the missionaries praying) "man, those are some great missionaries, I bet it was the Allen 5th sisters, they're awesome". Then he points in our direction and we even look behind us. Then it came back to me that we were in the building earlier and we had said a prayer. So after the members nudged us to go, we went up.  We got to shake hands with him and he asked us a few questions.  He asked us what was one of the most learning experiences of coming out on a mission so far, and for investigators who are in the congregation, what would you share with them?

So no pressure...

I shared what I could with a speeding heart and little time to think. I barley remember what I said, the Spirit was speaking through me the best It could. I shared my experience of something I had learned at the MTC and it tied in with my testimony. I then shared about prayer, of how my life has changed since gaining a testimony of it's glorious importance and how it can change the lives of any who use it. Then once we finished we sat down and the conference continued. I was so nice to meet Elder Hansen and I loved his talks and his love of the Gospel. We weren't the only ones to go up. He asked other 3 times during his talk for a select few to come and share their thoughts on a few subjects. The one I loved the most was: Are you establishing righteous habits in the home?

I'm grateful for my family and my parents for establishing righteous habits in our home while growing up. I definitely did not appreciate them then, but I whole-heartedly appreciate them now.  Thanks Mom and Dad. I see the faith you had in those habits of someday making an impact on me. It took a while but it worked.

 Allen 1st Ward is going above and beyond in their missionary work. We had the privileged to meet Tye Parker who is a friend to two youth in the ward. Yesterday, we had a discussion with him and the Bishop's family about the Plan of Happiness and he said he liked it, that it made sense to him. The crazy part is that his home was on the street we were about to go tract after our lesson. It made me realize the importance of member referrals and how if the family had not invited Tye to meet with us we may have never met him. If we had knocked on his family's door, someone else could have opened it and sent us on our way. And even if he had opened the door would he agree to meet with two strangers? I don't know what would of happened without the devotion of the members in taking action from the call of hastening the work.

As for me and my companion, Sister Aumua is still amazing and helping me strive to be exactly obedient and loving the work. I still love riding a bike and I'm grateful to be serving in the Allen 1st area. My struggles in contacting people are diminishing and my love towards sharing the gospel is getting stronger. I'm still struggling with my planning skills but I'm making it a goal this week to focus on being prepared and early to set appointments. I will update you on how it goes.

Hope this makes up for the past short emails.

Loving the work, Sister Baker.