"I Can't Put My Arms Down" 11/24/2014

This week was filled with many challenging experiences. I wish I was better in my storytelling but for now I feel prompted to put what I wrote to my Mission President as my letter this week. I hope it will convey my thoughts about the past week:

Dear President Taylor,

This has been the most continually challenging week I think so far of my mission, and yet I feel more motivated to do the work then ever before.

Sister Ricks and I were not able to have any lessons with our investigators or our recent convert this week. Wednesday we had a planned lesson with an investigator and a recent convert, then I crashed on my bike turning a corner too sharp. I spent the following hours getting stitches and canceling the appointments. 

Then I switched from the bike I usually ride to the one  my companion, Sister Ricks, rides after a Sister exchange and found out her bike is harder to pedal!  Previously I thought that her not being able to keep up with me was because I was just a really good biker- that proved me wrong. We then rode through pouring rain for a few miles on Saturday. 

I also never knew what fatigue was until Sunday when we did more then our usual amount of biking through 40 mph winds going, at what seemed, against us every way we rode. Yet I know now,without the shadow of a doubt, what my purpose is as a missionary. The message we share is one that is more valuable than all the worlds wealth and treasures combined. That this is the real truth of Salvation for EVERYONE.

I love Elder Holland's words when he said "Salvation is not a cheap experience.  So as we are the messengers for Jesus Christ, and with Him going through so much pain and sorrow for us to gain salvation, how can we not go through so much when we share it with others?

I can now tell you that I have definitely learned that: "missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him?"

I am grateful I get to understand that fully and irrevocably. I love this work I get to do and I love the experiences I get to gain. I hope that I can continue to share with others this beautiful light of Knowledge that we get to have.

I hope you are all doing well and that with what ever comes my advice would have to be "come what may, and love it."

Loving the work, 

Sister Baker

*mom's note-so she left out a few things...like where and how many stitches to name just a few!  i will update you as soon as I know!

"I Can't Put My Arms Down" 11/17/2014

This week was cold. Very cold.  But the people were warm.

 

I have an awesome new companion Sister Ricks. She is related to THE Ricks that stared Ricks Collage, now BYU-I, her dad is an artist Marty Ricks, and she is also a Potterhead so I get along with her very well :)

 

This week was very inspiring even though the weather was harsh!  We met many people that were at least willing to listen to our message. A teenage girl and her sister stood out in the cold to listen about the Restoration of the Gospel. A middle aged couple LET US IN because they had past experience with the church and we talked about the temple and why Family History is important to us. Then last night a dad and his teen daughter let us in and listened about the Restoration in a positive manner.

 

Life is good, life is so good.

 

To top it all IT SNOWED LAST NIGHT REAL FLUFFY FLAKES! It was very nice. I love snow.

 

Hope to be able to continue in the work! I am excited to find out more mysteries about Texas (Ex: it gets cold) and discover how the Holiday Season makes peoples hearts grow 3 times as large.

 

I love this Gospel and the knowledge I have of being able to find any answer that God needs me to know.

 

Loving the Snow, 

Sister Baker

Up and Down 11/10/2014

Had a busy week filled with many uplifting and some not so lifting things

 

Uplifting: Sisters Conference, service, and cookies.

Had an awesome time at Sisters Conference. Got to hear so many spiritual talks and presentations about self worth and ways to do that. Lots of tears and hugs, very girly stuff, but I pulled through.

Did a service project with all the other missionaries in my zone. We 'painted the town' by painting the fire hydrants in very bright colors I still have paint on my arms and legs :D It's been 3 days. Good thing its cold enough to wear long sleeves.

Made my mom's recipe for cookies with some members and they were delicious :)

 

Not so lifting: Biking in the rain, forgot my camera, and transfers.

We biked to the church in the pouring rain. Buckets of rain. Thank you mom and dad for the rain proof coat. Sister Aumua did not like it, She is used to warmer weather in Hawaii, but we survived.

Forgot my camera in the car of the Missionary Couple that gave us a ride from 'Paint the town' so I wont see that until next Zone Meeting or Zone Conference.

 

TRANSFERS ARE COMING.

 After 6 weeks of being with Sister Aumua I feel like she is going to be transferred to another area. She has been here for a total of 3 transfers now (18 weeks) With any missionary being in an area for 6-12 weeks I'm pretty positive she's going. The hard part is that we don't know until tonight. Usually we get a call Saturday with where we are going and who we will be with, but they changed it now so we get a call Monday night if we are leaving, then on Tuesday we find out who our new companion would be and where we are even going. It's different but I know it's what the Lord wants because I know President Taylor wouldn't do this to experiment, but that he was prompted by the Holy Ghost to make that change. So I completely trust that what ever happens will happen for the good of this area. I hear there will be many changes in the areas missionaries serve they may be combining areas. I will let you know more about the excitement and not so anticipated thrill of transfers.

 

Love y'all, remember Families ARE forever no matter what challenges come. Or in other words OHANA. Ohana means family and family means nobody gets left behind.

 

Love, Sister Baker

Planting Seeds

I'll be keeping it short, but this week was fun!  I don't know if I'll be able to write everything down, including enough about last week.

Had a baptism of a 11 year old boy named Trenton. He is one of a kind. He has a kind heart and a sweet spirit and a brain of a 11 yr old boy so he's pretty good.

Then we attended a baptism of a woman in my last area that had moved away before we could invite her to baptism. Thursday last week, when the Elders that were teaching her called and said she was getting baptized, I seriously let out a yell of joy. Good thing we were outside :)

Doing much better with tracting and contacting, but I'm learning that it's important to plan ahead even with small things like those, because if we want a testimony to grow we have to plant the seed right.

Its getting cold here! I'm happy and sad because I get to wear a jacket but I get a very cold breeze up my skirt so that's the con to biking in a skirt.

Got some great advice from a return missionary about how when she had hard times that reading the words of the apostles and prophets cheered her up.

And if I didn't mention before Meet the Mormons is AMAZING EVERYONE GO WATCH IT!!!!

I love y'all, bye!

 Love, Sister Baker