WORK HARD PLAY HARD! -WEEK 41

Sooo we got pretty lucky this week! We busted out a ton of lessons last week and then this week we ended up having to take a trip to Cataingan ( 2 hours away) and do an interview and then we slept there, so we had a day and a half off which is really nice to rest but still be out kinda working lol! And then that day we came home we stopped at our branch presidents house which is an hour away from us and we dug a 4 foot hole for him to make a baloon!! Wait what a baloon!?!?!? Well baloon in Tagalog is a well.. hehe like the thing that holds water!! Ya so we dug him a well and then he gave us some food and then gave us pacwan or watermelon!! And I ate like a whole thing by myself!! I love watermelon!! It's sooo masarap!! 

Well that was the end to our fun for that week!! But the rest of the week we were really going hard to get our lessons up because we lost 3 days of work!! And we busted out 30 lessons in 4 days soo that was wayyyy sick!! We were just on the grind this week!! And it was sweet because we were really getting aunt cute or Sheila ready for her baptism, which is this Saturday, and we are really excited for that!!  Then guess what!  On Saturday she said that she had a family partyy at the beach on Sunday and her mom really wanted her to attend that instead of church!! And she was gonna go to it because her mom said if she didn't go she couldn't get baptised!!  BUTTT SHE SHOWED UP TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY!!!  LIKE WHAT!!?  NOOO WAYY!! But we haven't heard from her since yesterday so we'll see how her mom felt about her attending church!!

LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!

Digging the Balon (well)

He doesn't mind getting a little dirty and working hard!

The Masbate Zone!

 Workin' on his fitness! 

Where there is a task to do,

Do it with a smile.

Do more than you are asked to do

and go the second mile.

In your work in and in your play,

try it for a while.

You'll find that you'll be happy

when you go the second mile.

BAPTISMS/TRANSFERS/PPINES!!!! -WEEK 37

WELL THIS WEEK WAS PRETTY DANG SWEET!!

Soo last Saturday we had 7 baptisms in one day!!! It was soo cool we had 4 from mobo and then 3 in masbate!!! But it was wayyy cool, cause because 3 of the investigators of the missionaries chose me to baptize them!!  And then I was supposed to baptize our investigator, but the investiagtor that Elder Jardeleza was supposed to baptize bailed.  So then I gave him our investigator.   It was so cool tho cause every missionary in mobo got to baptize someone in one day!!  It was super funny tho cause I was just like chillin in the water waiting for the next person lol!!! But something really cool I realized the other day is I have not in my whole entire life baptized someone in English!! Actually as I was writing that I remembered I did baptize for the dead once with Liv!! So that's not true, I have baptised for the dead in English but... I have yet to baptize an alive person in English!!! 

Next funny thing!! I DIDN'T GET TRANSFERED!!  I've been in this area for 7 months and after this transfer I'll be here for 9 months!!! I think I'm the only one of all my friends still in their first area!!  Yessica will probably go to her second area before me lol!! BUT MY SON GOT TRANSFERED!! My son is my trainee!!! It was sad sending him off on the boat, but it's okay he's gonna be a great missionary!! WELL, MY NEW COMP IS ELDER NONU!!  He's from Australia!!  He's like 5 foot 6 and 225 pounds!! He's a sick guy, he's a rugby player!! But he's a pretty new missionary!! He just came out of training so he has a very limited amount of Tagalog, so it's gonna be fun trying to teach now!! I'm super excited tho I've always wanted like an Australian or Newzealeander comp!! 

Well this last week we were super busy going to different places for interviews and it really screwed up our work we only had a limited amount of time to work!! But we have this really cool inveestigator named Betsey!! She is 16 and she is really interested in reading the Book of Mormon!! We haven't been to her house since we dropped off the BOM but we're going there tomorrow to see how it goes!! We also had a new investigator come to church!! Her real name is Shella, but she just goes by aunty cute!! hahaha she attended church for the first time last week!!

Well I still haven't seen General Conference so if you want to tell me some of your fav talks so I can look out for them that would be nice!! But I was reading in the old conference talks last week and I was reading one of my favs, which is "A Saint Is A Sinner That Just Keeps Trying! by Elder Dale G Renlund.  I would advise you all to go read it, it's super cool!! and inspires you to be better!!

GIHIGUGMA KO KAYO!!!! 

LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/latter-day-saints-keep-on-trying?lang=eng

God cares a lot more about who we are
and about who we are becoming
than about who we once were.
                         --Elder Dale G. Renlund

GAWAIN MISSIONARY! -WEEK 30

My subject this week descibes my whole week!!   In English "missionary work" 

hahahaha Because that's all we've been doing this last week! of course!! 

But really it was just another week out here in the mission field!! 

We have transfers coming up this next week and usually the trainer gets transferred after training!  So I'm kinda expecting to get transfered!! And if I do, I'm gonna be really sad to leave my home here in Mobo!! This is all I've ever known here in the Ppines!! I'm scared to leave!!  Mostly I'm scared to leave my new moms!! hahaha (I'm a mommas boy!) hahahaha what I mean by that, is the two nanays here that feed us all the time!! It's funny, one of my mommas is just brand new! She's the mom of the family we just baptised!! I'm seriously gonna be soo sad to leave them!!  This whole last week we've been joking with each other like we hate each other so that we won't be sad if I leave.  haha  But I think it's just made us closer hahaha!!  Any of my close friends know I joke with the people I love the most!! ;)  And then the other nanay is the Gamba's mom!! She's been my mom since the day I arrived here, she always feeds us hahaha and always makes her sons work with us haha!!  But I don't know if I'm being transferred yet, I will let you know the next time I email if I'm in a new area!!  I will find out Friday and then transfer Monday!

But I just wanted to share a quick lil story!  So a lil background: when I got my call, Ellery Anderson's mom said to me " Don't even worry about the language! One day you'll start speaking and thinking in Tagalog and then even dreaming!!"  Well, she proved to be pretty much correct.  I find myself thinking in Tagalog all the time. And then one night my comp woke up in the night to go to the bathroom and he heard me sleep talking.. IN TAGALOG!! hahaha I guess I was closing a lesson saying something like "well if you don't have anymore questions, that's all and we leave these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen." HAHAHAHA that was pretty cool to hear!  That for me to know my brain is doing all the practice teaching while I sleep, so when I wake up, I'm ready to teach hahaha!! 

Well, that's all I got time for!! Just wanted to let you know I love you all!! 

Oh and I totally forgot I never updated you guys on the Elder Nelson talk.  So I will share one verse he shared and let you guys "ponderize" it!!  The verse is D & C 11:20!!

LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!

 The AWESOME Masbate Zone! 

a new pair of shoes Elder Baker has picked up!

D & C 11:20  Behold, this is your work, to keep my commandments, yea, with all your might, mind and strength.

BI...BI...BINYAG!!! -WEEK 29

WELL THIS WEEK WAS PROBABLY MY FAVORITE WEEK EVER!! IT'S UP THERE WITH THE BAPTISM IN THE OCEAN!! 

Well, binyag I baptism in Tagalog!!  And we had a baptism this week of  MY FAMILY!!  I call them my family cause they literally are my family hahaha!   I love them soo much!  This family is the referral we received back in December!!  Or something!  But we've been working with them for a long time getting them ready for baptism and sadly the dad didn't get baptized because he has work 3 hours away and he's only home 2 days of the whole month!!  But he wants to get baptized!  He heard our lesson about the restoration the first 2 times we taught them and he knew it was true!!  But he can't attend church so he can't be baptised!!  But he wants too!!  The family is already planning a temple trip!!  

So the baptism was great.  There was 4 of them.  3 the Cantoria family and then their niece that lives with them!!  So what we did is I baptized 2 and my companion baptized 2.  I got to baptize the mom and the niece!!  It was sooo great!  But the best part was the testimonies!!  SO, the niece bore her testimony and it was really funny!  She said the missionaries are soo great,  one time even though elder Jardeleza had lbm (loose bowel movements) they still continued to teach us!! hahahha   

But the moms testimony was great.  She talked about the first time she met the elders in the hospital, she could feel something was different about them!!  And her kids would always see us walking by their house when we would have to walk home and the kids would say I want to be like them someday! hahaha   But then she just talked about how in the first lesson we taught her, she knew our message was true!!  When we taught her the true nature of God the father and his Son, she said that it was true and the catholic church teachings were wrong!!   I was soo happy the entire time she spoke I was just smiling the entire time and AHHH IT WAS SOOO AMAZING!! 

LOVE, ELDER BAKER

I LOVE THIS WORK!!  I LOVE THIS PLAN!!  I LOVE THE PPINES!!  I LOVE THE GOSPEL!! 

HAKUNA MATATA!!

Now we know that we must also

Witness faith in Jesus' work,

Be baptized to show obedience,

As was Jesus Christ, our Lord.

6 MONTHS WHA WHA WHA!!! -WEEK 26

SOO CRAZY BUT THIS THURSDAY IS MY 6 MONTH MARK IN THE FIELD!!!  And like my friend, Elder Pothier was saying the language really starts to set like in, in about 6 months... ya well he had a 4.0 gpa in high school I'm just a little bit slower than he is hahaha!!  It's kinda been freakin me out cause all the teachers at the mtc said ya, you'll be fluent in 6 months for sure!!!  I wouldn't say I'm fluent.. but I would say that I'm comfortable.. hahaha  I can teach a lesson and kinda hold a conversation with people, but I can never understand what they're fully saying hahaha!!  Especially when they tell like a 5 minute story.  I'm like uhhh ya, you lost me after the first 30 seconds haha!!  But it's totally fine, cause the reason I'm here is to teach people about the gospel, and I can say pretty much anything I want about the gospel!!  I've got the gospel language down.  Now it's time to become a true pure bred filipino!! 

So quick update on investigators.  Our work out here in mobo a mabate area hehe!! So the family of investigators is AMAZING HAHAHA I love them!! So yesterday at church we had a fifth sunday lesson and watched the Philippines area broadcast and then talked about it!!  But then after we were like done with the lesson, the branch president was like so does anyone have any questions for us or for the branch!?  And the mom stands up and says I have a question... when is our baptism?? hahahahaha!!  Then the whole branch looks at me hahaha I'm like February 20th!  So yeah!!  She's definitely excited to get baptised!!  And with her family... her niece is gonna get baptised to!!  And that same day we have 2 other baptisms!!  So in total, 8 baptisms on one day!!!  What better way to celebrate my 6 month mark, than by having a family of 6 be baptized!!! 

So this whole last week it seems like everything has been about missionary work... but not "MISSIONARY" work MEMBER missionary work!!  And I just remembered one of my favorite songs now.  It's "I Will Not Be Still" by Kenneth Cope!  I encourage all members to go listen to that song and then think about the blessings of the gospel in your life or your family's life... then here's the "hard" part.  Go out and SHARE the gospel!!!  If you're too scared to share by yourself, go out with missionaries!!  Then all you have to do is bear your testimony!!  And just a reminder, it doesn't matter how old you are, anyone can work with the missionaries!!  

mahal na mahal po kayo!! 

LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!

Sister Delgado got transferred to Masbate!!

They met and found out they know some of the 

same people....Dillon's cousin, Caitlin was her roomate at BYU!

 Mom woke up one morning, to friend requests

on FACEBOOK!  And lot's and lot's of

PICTURES of our cute Elder!  We love the 

sweet members in Masbate who love the missionaries❤

How can I keep this gift to myself

When I can lift somebody else.

I'll be a witness of his miracles and his mercy.

I put my future in his hands,

Knowing he's made me all I am.

When I put my faith in him the truth begins to speak,

His power is real it moves me until I will not be STILL.

                                           --Kenneth Cope

LIVIN THE PINOY LIFE!! -WEEK 25

So we had transfers this last week and it was really sad because the two other elders in our apartment got transferred!! The sad part is that they both spoke English!!  And now the 3 other people in my house are pure filipino!  And don't speak English... LIKE AT ALL!!! HAHAHAHHAHA it's wayy cool tho I was thinking about it and I'm like... holy crap I'm in the ppines, living in a house with 3 other filipinos!! And speaking a different language 24/7!! hahahhaha 

I LOVE IT!!!!

So these last 2 weeks have been great with this new family we got!!  They've attended church the last  2 weeks!  And they love the gospel!!  Everything we teach them, like the word of wisdom, and tithing, and law of chastity, they think is great!!  And they're like, why doesn't our religion have that?!! haahhaha they're the best!!!  And not only do they love to listen... THEY LOVE TO SHARE THE GOSPEL!!  They give us referrals and introduce us to their friends around their houses!!  So now we have a ton of investigators by her house!!  And a lot attend church!!  This last week we had 12 investigators attend church!!!  WHAT!?!?  That just doesn't happen out here in the Legazpi mission hahahha!!  But I'm lovin it!!  This branch/ area is PROGRESSING FOR SURE!!!  Maybe when I come back after my mission it will be a ward!!!  (p.s. mom and dad better start saving for me to come back!) 

I LOVE YOU ALL!

LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!

Search, Ponder and Pray
Are the things that I must do.
The spirit will guide, and deep inside,
I'll know the scriptures are true.

FAMILY BAPTISM??? -WEEK 24

SO THIS WEEK WAS A GREAT BLESSING!!  Everyone always says after hard times comes the blessings!!  And that was sooo true with this last week!!  I had one of the worst weeks of my whole mission!!  Everything was just hard with the people rejecting us!!  And then it all turned around when we got a referral for a family!! So we immediately tried contacting them!!  All we had was a name and a general place so we asked around and the lady we asked if she knew them, walked us over there and then stayed and listened to the lesson!!!  Well, it turned out they both were interested in our message!!  So they both wanted us to come back the next day!!  So we did, and the next day we taught both of the people in different lessons but with their whole families!!  And one invited her friend!!!  Well, one of the families is gone every Saturday and Sunday, so they couldn't attend church, but the other family ALLL SHOWED UP!!  It was funny cause they came in late during one of the speakers!! (they were only like 10 minutes late, but we are done with the sacrament 10 minutes in!!) but, so they all came in and the whole branch is like what the heck who is this!?  And then immediately members were getting out of their seats to go sit next to the family members and fellowship them, soo that was great!! 

Another cool thing is this last week I realized how much I think in Tagalog!!  Like it's the weirest thing whenever I'm walking around all my thoughts are in Tagalog!!  And the other day in a lesson an investigator asked me to pray in English... lets just say my biggest fear now is praying in English!!  It's one of the hardest things for me to do!!  I realized when I was praying in English, I think of what I want to say in Tagalog and then say it in English!! 

I LOVE THIS MISSION!!   I think it's crazy how much I've grown up in just a short couple months and I'm so excited to see how much I can grow!!  And I just think it's straight up cool how I think, speak, and dream in a different language!!  

ONE QUICK LAST THING!!  My momma just said to me she said, you have been blessed and now your giving back for those blessings!!  And I was thinking about my experience with the hard times and now the blessings... and I need to remember to be thanklful for all those blessings!! But I just want to give everyone else a helpful reminder to always thank our Heavenly Father for blessings!!  There's a scripture somewhere in D&C that says when you recieve everything with thankfulness you will receive ten fold!!  And I know that to be true!! 

I LOVE YOU ALL AND JUST REMEMBER HAKUNA MATATA!! HEHE ;)

LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!

 I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HE'S RIDING HERE,

JUST GLAD TO KNOW HE GOT OFF ALIVE!

  SLIMY...... YET SATISFYING!

 I THINK ELDER BAKER IS REALLY GOING TO MISS HIS SIDEKICK, MJ

 

  

I thank thee, dear Father in heaven above,

For thy goodness and mercy, thy kindness and love.

I thank thee for home, friends, and parents so dear,

And for ev'ry blessing that I enjoy here.

I HAVE A SON!! -WEEK 20

Hello family and friends!! whom I love soo very much!

Well this week we only worked three days because I just barely got back to Masbate with my new companion!!  His name is Elder Jardeleza and he is from Illoilo which means his native tounge isn't Tagalog!!  So not only do I not know Tagalog, but sometimes it's hard for him too!!!  And in Illoilo they speak wayyy fast soo he's wayy hard to understand sometimes!!  And we also got 2 new missionaries in our apartment!!  So that's coolio.  One is from New Zealand, so he knows English but the other is from the same place as my comp!! 

But ya, it's been a short week of work but it's been wayy fun.  The transition from trainee to trainer is kinda difficult!!  I'm used to my comp knowing what to do all the time and where to go!!!  But now it's all up to me!!  I decided that every time I make a decision I'm gonna pray about it and see if that's what  I should do.  I need all the help from the spirit I can get!!

Well it's Christmas this week and let's just say I don't think a Christmas miracle of snow is gonna go down!!  It's still blazing hot here!!  Not blazing hot, but super hot and really humid!!  I love it cause I can eat all the rice I want!! (and we definitely eat alot) and then I just sweat it all off!! hahahhaha 

Well, in the spirit of Christmas just give give give!!!  No matter what it is, just GIVE!!  Give all the service you can!!!!  And give prayers to those in need!!  And give help to the poor and needy!!  And for all you parents reading this, OF COURSE GIVE TO YOUR KIDS HEHEHHE!!! 

I hope everyone has a great Christmas week this week and have lots of fun for me!!

LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!

Christmas Presents!

SUPER TYPHOON (of emotions and physical) -WEEK 19

A note we received from President and Sister Guanzon through Facebook:   There is a typhoon approaching Legazpi. We want to notify the parents and families so they will not worry. "All missionaries were evacuated specifically those whose apartments that are near the sea. We are all safe." The missionaries in Legazpi will be moved to either the mission home or to the church for a few days. Sister Guanzon is out getting groceries and supplies. If your missionaries are emailing you, be sure to tell them to obey the evacuation and do exactly like they are asked to do.

A private note from Elder Baker to let us know he was safe:  Hello!!  I don't know if you know about the super typhoon that is here right now, but I just want to let you know I'm safe.  I came to Legazpi yesterday.  We got on the last boat for Legazpi cause right after, they shut down the boats because of the storm!  One of the guys on Masbate is supposed to leave to go home too, so he's trying to get here but probably won't for a couple days!!  I'll probably be here until Saturday or Sunday!! 

Sooo right now we are under like signal 5 or something for a danger of a super typhoon!! And it's supposed to be like absolutely crazy strong!!  So if everyone could PLEASE SEND ALL YOUR PRAYERS TO THE PEOPLE HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES!! Well that's the physical super typhoon... the emotional typhoon is that I'm going to be training!!  From trainee to trainer!  I can barely even speak Tagalog!!  It's gonna be a real test of my faith and patience!!  Well Elder Irabon had his last week in the mission field this week!!  And it was a pretty crazy week because he's the branch president we were trying to get the whole ward ready to be handed over to the new guy and we had to throw a christmas party of course!!  And that was really stressful to find enough food for everyone!!  We ended up with like 50 pounds of adobo!!  It still wasn't enough!!  We had 150 people show up to our party and the 4 moms that were dishing out the food didn't get to eat any!!  We were only expecting to have 100 people!!  It was great tho to have sooo many less active members and investigators show up!!  And then our attendance at church the next day jumped up to 95!!  We went from 60 to 95!! in one week!!  Let's hope we can keep it that steady and keep growing and eventually we're gonna have a ward in mobo!!!  Also we're getting 2 more missionaries moving into our apartment this transfer!!  So our area is gonna be split!!  Which will really help the branch grow!! 

PLEASE!!! SEND YOUR PRAYERS TO THE PEOPLE HERE!!  THAT'S WHATS GONNA HELP THEM STAY THE MOST SAFE AND MAYBE THEIR HEARTS WILL BE OPENED TO OUR MESSAGE!!  

LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/melor-to-threaten-philippines/54139705

http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/12/14/philippines-typhoon-sater.cnn

BALUT......WHAT??? -WEEK 18

Well this week I had BALUT for the first time!! And it was actually really delicious!!! lol I sent a pic of me and the egg and if you look closely you can see some black lines... ya that's the chickens hair... lol I just loaded it with salt and had no regrets!! That was while I was in Legazpi for the Mission Christmas Conference!! lol kinda early, but it was soo cool to see all the missionaries in our mish and to see my batch from the mtc!! Also I finally busted out the selfie stick my fam sent me and lets just say I fell in love with it instantly!! lol

"BALUT"

"selfie stick love"

reunited and it feels so good!

Elder Baker and Elder Downing from the MTC with a couple Sister Missionaries too

Well this last week we celebrated my comps birthday which is the same day as my girl Elle!! (HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLERY!!)  Well to celebrate we had a FHE lol that's how we celebrate birthdays here, hahha plus alot of lessons!!Well we also had another baptism!! Oh side note... at the Christmas conference, we found out who the top baptizer is and guess who it was... Elder Irabon "the great" that's his nickname in the mission!! And it's no wonder why!! He has over 70 baptisms in his mish!!

 I hope everyone is having a great Christmas month soo farr!! And always have the Christmas spirit of giving this whole month!! I am able to give the greatest gift of all this Christmas season and that is eternal life! (D and C 14:7 I think lol I'm not perfect ok!) but this month I invite you all to pray for opportunities to give.. whatever you're giving, maybe it's service or maybe it's a dollar to someone in need! But the most important thing to give is your heart to that person, and let them know they are loved by you, and a loving Heavenly Father!!

Well as you guys know by now, I love giving challenges to you guys back home and along with giving the challenge, I want to invite you all to read Moroni 7:45-47.  First just read thru it, don't mark it or anything! Then read thru it again, and think about what you could do to develop better charity and go thru and mark the things you do good, and don't mark the things you don't do. Then work on doing those things better this week!  You can also read 1 Corinthians 13 that's a sobrang maganda chapter! (very beautiful)

Oh k funny story to end! So last night when we were about to eat dinner the members I was with wanted me to pray in English to bless the food... AND IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I'VE PRAYED IN ENGLISH COMPLETELY SINCE THE FIRST DAY IN THE MTC!! And it was really hard!  It kinda made me happy and wierded out at the same time!  Well time to go.  I love you all!

LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!

Teaching wherever he can!

  Grab the biggest leaf around..instant Umbrella!

   

  

45. And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up,

seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil,

and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, 

believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

46. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing,

for charity never faileth.  Wherefore, cleave unto charity,

which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail - 

47. But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever;

and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.