ELDER DAVID A BEDNAR VISIT!! -WEEK 82

WOAHHH what a week!!! Well the cookie monster came and spoke to us this week! (if you’ve heard the Character of Christ talk you’ll get it haha) 

So this last Wednesday ELDER DAVID A BEDNAR CAME AND VISTED MY MISSION!!

First off I didn’t get to shake his hand so don’t get jealous... hahaha BUT HOLY COW!! THAT MAN IS TRULY AN APOSTLE OF THE LORD!! He has the strongest spirit ever!! And that guy is STRAIGHT UP!! He says exactly what’s on his mind cause that’s what the spirit is telling him!! His face while he’s thinking, is just like you can see the spirit just talking to him! 

So what happened is he didn’t just give us a talk... he had us read 4 of his talks beforehand and then he gave us time to share what we learned and then he would expound upon it more and sometimes he would ask you a follow up question and just makes you think and then BAM.. the spirit teaches YOU something new! And then he would expound more on it and WOAH!! It was nuts!! Then he gave us time to ask him and Elder Haynie questions!! About anything!! It was soo cool some of the things he would get asked and expound on! Most were about teaching skills and stuff we need to get better at, but some were about like our future and it was nuts!! It was like a 4 hour session and I think 1 hour was talking about our future wives and how to be better parents hahaha!! So not just mission tips but life tips! He said, "so don’t get trunky, but I’m gonna talk about your future families!" hahahah 

But other than that visit, we had a pretty good week!! Well Wednesday was the conference with Elder Bednar then Thursday my comp was sick.. ALL DAY! Sooo I pretty much just studied and chilled haha it was awkward cause the owner of our house payed some guys to paint the inside of our house so we just had people painting the whole week!! And they didn’t want any help from me haha sorry I was just bored haha! BUT guess what we found another FAMILY!! So now we have two FAMILIES!! We’re working with one and we have another one we’re working on, but the dad is too busy! But they didn’t come to church this week so give them some prayers!! The RAZAL FAMILY AND CONDES FAMILY AND CAMASES FAMILY! Then last night we found this new nanay that used to live over by the temple in Manila and she says “every time I drove by, everyone there was SOO HAPPY!! Why were they so happy? Sometimes they were clapping and cheering..I was like wow I wanna go in there someday it’s soo bright and beautiful!!"  hahaha soo we taught her what it was and then shared a little lesson. We’re hoping she’ll keep listening to us and maybe PROGRESS!! So give her some prayers too! Rosario Lorica! 

Holy cow I don’t know what else happened.. we’re just finding new people all the time!! 

Well, BEA and FELIPE came to CHURCH AGAIN!! Even tho it was WAYY FAR from their house this week! And their baptism is set for March 18!! YEET!!  Still waiting for the marriage to happen so sister Monilla can get baptzed!! YEET!! Bishop said hopefully in March!! (hopefully before I transfer hehe ;) ) 

Well that’s about it!! Sorry I can’t remember anything funny besides Elder Bednar telling us that we were dumb and saying our prayers wrong!! haha (he literally called us DUMB!) hahaha if you wanna know why, read “Ask In Faith" by David A Bednar!  Next week I promise I’ll have a funny story!! 

Wait I remember one! Elder Abracia drank some gatorade and then laughed and spit it all over Elder Rectos bed haha!! 

Well, I love you guys!! I’ll try to share a little about Bednars talk with you next week if you want to know!! 

Love you mom!! 

(and everyone else...) 

but especially mom! 

LOVE ELDER PANADERO

HAKUNA MATATA!!

I GOT KRISPY KREME!!! my boy Cymond Niebla bringing me a dozen donuts from manila!!… 

this other pic is us carrying some coco lumber while out working! The family we found last week was getting them for a fence so we carried them over to their house haha! 

then the little kids are our investigator family.. they helped us find some guy from the Netherlands we wanted to try teaching….he immediatley rejected us, my comp was kinda confused how rudely he rejected us.. cause there’s none of that here in the ppines! 

APOSTLES... THEY'RE IGHT -WEEK 28

HAHAHAHA KIDDING APOSTLES ARE AMAZING!!! 

We had the very lucky privilege to listen to an apostle of the Lord speak to us yesterday!!  Elder Nelson President of the Quorum of the Twelve!!

So it went like this!  He showed up at the chapel and then we all went outside and took a big group photo on one camera and I don't have the pic yet but later I will!  But after the pic he and his wife and Elder Ardern of the Seventy and his wife waited in a line to greet us at the meeting!  And we all got to shake his hand!!  LET ME JUST TELL YOU SOMETHING!!  I received a stronger witness that he's an Apostle just from shaking his hand!!  THERE WAS POWER IN HIS HANDS!!  Yet, they were still those old man hands!  But it felt like the worlds strongest man was gripping my hand!! 

Well, I only have a lil time to talk about his talk!  And I left my notes at home so next week I'll go more in depth on his talk!  But I just want to tell you a cool experience!!  So he was teaching directly from the spirit, first of all no teleprompters out here in the Ppines!!  But so he was just sharing with us his personal insights!  And he did this like 4 times, he would be sharing and then say.. wait my minds going somewhere... somewhere in D and C... section 136.. verse (sorry I forgot the verse but it's in my notes!) and then he would just read this verse and we got the opportunity to watch an Apostle read a verse!  Break it down!  Expound the verse!  And then LIKEN IT!!  It was the greatest experience to watch a master gospel teacher at work!!  Ten feet in front of my face!! 

Other updates on my area!!  WE HAVE 4 BAPTISMS THIS SATURDAY!!!  MAYBE 6!!  hahaha the family is finally being baptised!!!  All though the dad is not being baptised, because he doesn't have time to attend church because of work, he really has a strong desire to be baptised with his family and their big family goal is to be sealed in the temple!!  Funny story... So one of the kids was messing around during the lesson and the mom goes "listen to the lesson or you're not gonna be able to go to the temple with the family" HAHAHAHAHA how cool is that!!!  They're already starting to become worthy to enter the temple!! 

Well, that has been my last week!!  I hope everyone is having a great time wherever you may be and I encourage you to always pray and read everyday!!  And one thing that was taught in the conference was to really think about your prayers!!  And your relationship with God, and your prayers will become more meaningful!! 

YA HA BIBI!! (arabic for mahal kita or in english I love you)

LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!

IT'S NEW YEARS!! -WEEK 21

WOOOOW WHAT A WEEK!! 

Well me and my new comp are doing work out here in mobo!!  In the next month we should have 7 baptisms in our area.  2 part member families but the rest investigators!!!  And they're like actually progressing and want to be baptised, soo I'm really hoping that it works out good!! 

BUT WHAT'S BETTER THAN BAPTISM WHITES.... TEMPLE WHITES!!! 

So this last December our branch was supposed to do a temple trip for the youth and some members to get endowed but because of the typhoon it didnt work out and they moved it to May... what a bummer right.... NOPE!!!  It's a actually a huge miracle!! Because now we have 2 FAMILIES THAT ARE PREPARING TO ENTER THE TEMPLE AND BE SEALED!!!  Wow I was walking home to my apartment and earlier that day I was teaching about how everything in the world and everything that happens in the world denotes there is a God!!  And I was thinking about how our Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways for real!!!  And everything that happens is for a reason!!! 

  

Well this is my email for the week.  So sorry for the shortness but I've got bigger and better things to do!! hehehe ;) 

LOVE YOU ALL!

LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!