TIYAGA TIYAGA! -WEEK 47

So tiyaga means kind of like patience or like just continue! But it's pronounced like chugga chugga like a train hahaha I thought that was cool!! But really as a missionary and just as normal people that's all we really have to do is chug thru the hard times and just wait for the day when we will be made glorious! I read somewhere in the New Testament this last week about the parable of like the metal and how it has to go thru the refiners fire to become a beautiful piece of metal, and it's just like us how can't we be made into something great if we don't suffer the greatest trials!! 

I RESPECT ALL THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE THE HARDEST TRIALS... you know why... because those are the people with the STRONGEST FAITH!! God knows as their faith builds, he needs to keep testing them with harder trials! but just keep chugging!! And know God loves you! 

This last week was absoulutely crazy!!! SIKE!!! It was actually a completely normal week we just worked and worked hahaha but we got to go to our roommates baptism so like that was funn hahaha!! 

BUT this week we've been working with one of our progressing investigators, her name is Loribell!! She is wayy cool her brother used to get taught, but now he's always busy with school and work. So we've been trying to start her with the lessons and she immediatley progressed!! She read until 1 Nephi chapter 15 in one day haha and she always has a ton of questions it's great!! And then she attended church this last Sunday!! Thank goodness... we've been having a drought with investigators coming to church haha but we're hoping for a lot this next week.  We've got some pretty interested people I'll let you know how they go next week so I'm not too excited haha!! 

But that's about it for this week take a look at some of the photos those are fun! The pic of the rice and noodles just made me laugh how they have to eat rice with EVERYTHING!! Then the other pics just some fun stuff hahaha!! Sunset is for Court haha she was mad I didn't have any sunset pics haha! First time I've seen one my whole mish the trees always blocked them in my last area!! 

LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!

   

And I will bring the third part through the fire 

and will refine them as silver is refined, 

and will try them as gold is tried: 

they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: 

I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, 

The Lord is my God.

                                       -- Zechariah 13:9

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!! -WEEK 46

FIRST OFF HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO THE BEST FATHER THAT A KID COULD EVER ASK FOR!! I will forever be grateful for the endless service that he gave to other people to help me watch and learn how to serve the people of the Philippines and everyone after my mission for the rest of my life!! 

SECOND OF ALL!! How can we ever express our gratitude of our earthly fathers without addressing the greatest father anyone could ever ask for!! The father that will 100 percent always do everything for you to be happy and help you prepare to return to live with Him again!! I AM SOO GRATEFUL FOR OUR HEAVENLY FATHER!! Without Him we would be nothing!! I love the way my mom said it!  "I'm so thankful for Him. For His love for us every day.  Without it, how could we ever make it?  How could we do what we do?  Why would we?  

  I LOVE ABSOLUTELY LOVE how it says how could we do what we do? BUT THE GREATEST PART IS WHY WOULD WE?? 

I asked this question to myself a few times on this mission after having hard times. I would sit down and just ask myself "why am I here??  2 times I had a very sweet experience with this question!! The first time I prayed and was directed to the scripture "love the Lord with all your heart might mind and strength!!" And I realized that's exactly why I'm here!! The second time my answer came thru a letter from a very very wise man!! "You're only there for 24 short months! Make these 24 months what shapes you, what molds you and makes you have a greater desire to come home and do better!"  May not seem like much but I realized this week how much a life changer this mission is!  I have seen some of my BEST FRIENDS might I add little boys... (SHOUTOUT TO THE KR3W!!) change into some of the greatest men ever!! I have also seen the blessings of a mission in many of the great people in my life that have served missions!! I have truly seen a mission make a man out of a boy!! Just like our Heavenly Father discreetly hinted at this in one of my favorite disney movies mulan!! (although I'm not and some of my friends aren't) he has truly made a man out of us!  AND YES THAT MEANS THRU TRIALS!! NOT JUST BY LIVING LIFE EASY!! 

But although we have trials we can take joy from a favorite verse in the BOM!! "his anger is not turned away... BUT HIS ARM IS STRETCHED OUT STILL!!"

WE ALL HAVE THE GREATEST FATHERS WE CAN ASK FOR BUT LETS ALL TAKE THE TIME TO THANK OUR HEAVENLY FATHER FOR ALL THE TRIALS HE GIVES US THAT ARE MAKING US READY FOR OUR ETERNAL GLORY!! 

LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!

 Mayon Volcano

 Service Project in Ligao

We must be swift as the coursing river,

With all the force of a great typhoon,

With all the strength of a raging fire,

Mysterious as the dark side of the moon....

I'll Make A Man Out Of You!

LIGAO UPDATE!! -WEEK 45

HEYYOOO!!  First off shout out to Court for being a freakin trooper and getting stronger and out of that gross hospital!! 

Second off thank you for all the support that everyone is giving my family!! (even if it's just offering, cause my dad doesn't like to accept service as much as he likes to give it hehe!!)  but just keep supporting Court as she gets stronger and the fam!! 

Well mission life: IT'S GREAT!  So this new area is Ligao and our mainlike area is called Binatagan!! Well we're all settled in now! haha  We've even found some cool places out here!!  Like a sketchy bridge in the middle of nowhere that is actually in a really convienent spot for us haha and then a sketchy grave yard that had broken graves and we saw some bones sticking out...( apparently they rent the graves out here and if you dont pay rent they take the skeleton out and re use the grave...) we also found a cool lil "life of Jesus Christ" park thingy haha it was cool and then we found a wannabe adam ondi ahman called "Kawa Kawa" hahaha which was beautiful!!  And there was a cool huge heart thing to take pics on!!  But other than that this area is good for teaching!  

We have kind of alot of investigators haha We are teaching the people the last missionaries taught, but there's only a couple working towards baptism.  We have a projected 5 baptisms for the month of July!!  YEAH YA!!  There is 2 kids that are part members their mom is a member but the dad is wayy against it he wont let them get baptized but this last scripture we shared with them the boy "jigs" said that he felt something tell him he needed to be baptized, so I encouraged him to share with his dad the verse and then how he felt hoping that his dad would feel the spirit and let them be baptized and hopefully realize he needs to be baptized too!! But so in that family there is Angelica and Jigs! 

And then the other family is the Behino family!! Hopefully they can be a family baptism but I don't think it will be because the kids want to be baptized soon and the parents do too, but they aren't married and the problem is they don't have money to get married soo we're trying to just get them ready for baptism and encourage them to get married asap!!  They've been together for 16 years but not married yet hahha!!  But they're excited to be baptized when they can!! 

SOO something that I was thinking about this week is in D & C 82 vs 9  I was studying cause I was talking about promised blessings in vs 10 but vs 9 stuck out alot on me and had a big impression!! I was thinking about it and I love how like it pretty much just like tells you that its up to you to work out your salvation!!  Like he says he has given us all we need now its up to us to work out our salvation!! And he has given us his promised blessings if we choose to follow his plan!!  He also tells us what will happen if we dont!!  Like it says in Mosiah you are free to choose, captivty and death or eternal life!  

O BE WISE MY FRIENDS WHAT CAN I SAY MORE (JACOB 6:12) 

CHOOSE ETERNAL LIFE!! 

I LOVE YOU ALL SOO MUCH KEEP CHUGGING ON IN LIFE!! 

LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!

weird graveyard!

 They found a bridge that connects them a lot faster to one of their areas!

looks a little sketchy!

" Kawa Kawa"

Press on, enduring in the ways of Christ.

His love proclaim thru days of mortal strife.

Thus saith our God:  "Ye have eternal life!"

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

LIGAO 1A -WEEK 44

WELL MY NEW AREA IS LIGAO branch 1a and this branch is a lil bit bigger than my last one!! Going from 50 to 150 hahaha!! And soon to be Ligao WARD!!! Hopefully we can make it there we just have to focus on getting active full tithe melchezidek priesthood holders!! 

BUT ABOUT THIS WEEK!!  So because we are opening an area we just went around to all our areas (our area is HUGE!) and we just met some members and found old investigators where we could.  But the problem was, that the last missionaries didn't have very many investigators. But we really just got to know our area and find members like half the week, because this area is pretty easy to get lost in!! ( FUNNY STORY ABOUT "LIGAO" well the word ligao in English is "LOST" hahaha so ya it's pretty easy to get "lost".  

Well after we figured out the area we started finding and teaching investigators on Thursday! And in our first 2 lessons, we invited 6 people to be baptized for the second week of July hahaha I really like giving people baptismal dates, it's the only way we can see how interested they really are, so I always try to give them right away!! 

What else well not much happened!! Well yesterday we went and worked with the 1st councilor in the district presidency so that was fun!! They have the best desire to work and get the membership bigger here!!

Well I don't really have any other stuff to talk about but just remember who we are "we are members of The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter Day Saints!! If you ever think it's gonna be an easy thing to be a latter day saint you were wrong... the center of our church is JESUS CHRIST, why should we think our life would be easy if it was never easy for him!!" (atonement and missionary work) yes of course everything will be a little bit easier because the center of our church is Jesus Christ and his atonement and we can all be made strong thru his atonement but!! we can only be made strong after we go thru our trials or afflictions!! then will our weak things be made strong!! 

SHOUTOUT TO THE STRONGEST GIRL I KNOW!! COURTNEY IS GOING THRU A HARD TIME RIGHT NOW WITH A SICKNESS!!! 

I would ask everyone to please pray for her!! Not necessarily for her to be healthy right away (cause I know that the priesthood blessings that my dear friends and family gave her will take care of that) but more for her to be made strong thru the atonement of Jesus Christ cause He truly did take upon Him all of our sicknesses!! and thru Him we will be made strong!! 

I LOVE YOU COURT GET BETTER!! FRIENDS AND FAMILY THANK YOU FOR THE HELP YOU HAVE GIVEN MY FAMILY!! 

LOVE ELDER BAKER

DONT FORGET COURTNEY!! HAKUNA MATATA! 

 At Ligao zone conference

God knew the challenges we would face, and He certainly knew how lonely and troubled we would sometimes feel.  He watches over His mortal family constantly, hears our prayers always, He sent prophets (and later apostles) to teach, counsel, and guide us.  But in times of special need, He sends angels, divine messengers, to bless His children, to reassure us that heaven is always very close and that His help is always very near.             --Elder Jeffrey R Holland