LAST WEEK IN GUINO!! -WEEK 85

So… I'm getting transfered  to a very FAR AREA!! haha kidding I’m only moving over like one city and I’m still in the same zone.. I’ll be in Daraga next week!

Well, this week we ended pretty great!  The whole week we struggled to teach our old investigators with sickness and other things coming up.. but we did teach some of them and hopefully they will see some of them progress next transfer.  A couple said they would come to church next week so hopefully that goes thru next week! 

But something SWEET happened this week! So most newly returned missionaries probably are familiar with the name “Eric Guevara" well he was one of the investigators on THE DISTRICT 2 and well, he’s filipino and now he’s the newest member in our ward.. he just moved here with his family and now they're in this ward, and GUESS WHAT!? His daughter is our newest investigator as of yesterday! Too bad I won’t be there to see her get baptized, but I’ll hear about it from my companion! 

Well, not much happened this week! Kinda slow week!  We had a service project on Saturday and put a roof on someones house in a sketchy way! But no one was injured don't worry! Well I’ll let you now how things go next week in my new area! Daraga here I come! 

ALSO I WANT TO GIVE A BIG FAT SHOUT OUT TO THE CUTEST 4 YEAR OLD EVER!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY RIGGS!  I HOPE YOU HAVE THE BEST BIRTHDAY!! I LOVE YOU RIGGS!!

peace!

LOVE ELDER PANADERO

HAKUNA MATATA!!

Lots of goodbye's to all the members in Guino!!

MALIGAYANG PASKO AT MANIGONG BAGONG TAON!! -WEEK 74

Subject line translated:  MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  

HELLO FAMILY AND FRIENDS! It’s soo good to be back and to be able to see how all of your Christmas and New Years has been!! I hope everyone had a great time this year!! Cause I definitely had a Christmas that I will never forget!! So I’ll give you guys a quick lil overview of what has happened these last 2 weeks!

So last week we had CHRISTMAS PARTIES EVERYDAY HAHAHA! The only day we didn’t have a party was on Tuesday.  So we had a ton of fun that week and a lot of FOOD HAHAHAHA! We had our group Christmas party on Wednesday up in Lomacao and that was really fun. I think we had more investigators come than we did members haha so we found a lot of new people to teach! But it was just a simple party, we had some presentations and some spiritual lessons and then food and then karaoke! haha FILIPINOS LOVE KARAOKE! HAHAHA they sang karaoke until 2 am! We had left around 7 but they kept going till 2 am hahaha! Then the next day we had our ward Christmas party and it was sooo much fun, something I’ll never forget!  I remember after doing our missionary presentation at the party and going and sitting down and right after that I just felt sooo sad... I was so sad. That that was my last Christmas here in the Philippines!  Last Christmas on the mission... there is just something that makes Christmas soo special while out here on the mission! and I’m gonna miss it! 

So that was the parties then came Christmas day.  Christmas day was soo fun because it was a Sunday and soo spiritual!  I don’t know if this is how it is in America, but out here if Christmas is a Sunday they only have sacrament... so that was weird! But then came Sunday night... the night of TYPHOON NINA! hahaha We had a super typhoon the night of Christmas! It was the strongest typhoon I have been in out here on the mission! It started to get really strong around 9:30 or 10 but we went out at like 9 and it was strong. The wind and rain was coming down hard!! After we went back inside I sat outside on our little balcony and watched the trees outside and I actually watched a coconut tree fall down from the wind! That was crazy! But after it started to die down I went to sleep and then woke up the next morning and the streets were just filled with leaves and branches! Almost every single banana tree out here fell over and alot of coconut trees fell down! That morning...supposed to be p-day, we had a csp at a members house cutting a tree in pieces that fell down on their house, and then that night had dinner at our bishops house. We didn’t really get a p-day that day cause there wasn’t any electricity! So sorry if I didn’t reply to your emails! haha But then we had a brown out this WHOLE entire week! We just barely got power back on Saturday night for New Years and then it died again on Sunday and now it’s back on for now... who knows when it will die again!! haha

This whole entire week has just been service projects in the morning, working a little in the afternoon then studies at night cause there’s no power! Actually earlier this morning we got to build a member a new house!! Her house was completely gone after the storm and alot of the members came out to help us build them a new house!! Love the member support out here!  All I ask is just pray for the people out here to recover quickly from the storm! Thankfully not many people died!  But I’m just thankful I made it thru another storm hahaha! Up next is living thru a volcano eruption!! Hopefully I get to see that before I leave!! 

I LOVE ALL OF YOU SOO MUCH I HOPE YOU ALL HAD A BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR AND I HOPE ALL OF YOU GUYS HAVE A GREAT 2017!! 

Fun quote I found “When you come out of this storm you won’t be the same person you were when you went in…that's what this storms all about" 

I know each and every one of us have our own storms! But don’t forget that God has a plan for each of us! We will all learn something from our individual "storms" and come out stronger and more ready for the next storms that are to come! 

LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!

IT'S SOOOO WORTH IT!! -WEEK 63

HEYOO!! What’s up fam and friends!

So here’s another update on whats been going on out here in GUINOBATAN! Well this week we were able to do the c.s.p we had planned and cleaned up this guys house and it was great cause he gave us some rambutan! I'm sure you have no idea what that is, but it’s delicious!! But this week was great, we were able to go to one of our FAR areas! hahaha We have a group out in one of our areas like 45 minutes away from our area! BUT THE AREA IS GREAT!! People are so open to the gospel and it’s GREAT cause there is one guy out there that’s like 60 yrs old, and him and his wife WILL WORK WITH US ALL DAY EVERYDAY if we were working out there!! Like for real they're awesome, cause like you have to walk A LOT!! haha like A LOT! Sometimes like up to one hour of walking up mountains hahaha cause the area is literally up in the mountains!! But when I asked tatay Orlina how he can do it walking around and still being soo happy! His response was AWESOME!! He said "as you're walking to their house and sweating and breathing really hard as you get closer and closer to their house my heart just gets so happy and I can’t wait to share with them, and when you get to their house you get to rest and talk with some of our brothers and sisters!” It's amazing the sacrifice this guy gives for missionary work and his wife…. who can walk for an hour up a mountain and not even look like she’s walked at all! remember 60 yrs old!! HAHAHA But I was super humbled by my experience to work out there these last 2 times this last week! I love that area! And the members out there love the gospel! Something sad happened this last week tho.. at our sacrament meeting out there a very little people showed up.. then bishop said under his breath if this is all thats gonna come we might shut this group down... and the one tatay that works with us heard and just about died!! he didn’t complain or anything, but looked like you just pulled his heart out of his chest!! Even though he goes to church in the main area too he had no problem but the other people out there that wouldn't be able to attend church in the main area would be the ones to suffer!! BUT as we had the sacrament, bishop had a huge CHANGE of heart and after the sacrament we started setting plans for beautifying the little sacrament area!! And we are gonna be doing a lot out there to help beautify that and then we started planning a 1 day mission to help progress the area out there!! I'm so happy to be here and help them with this area!! Tatay Orlina opened my eyes to missionary work!! Like the scripture that talks about the joy we will have after helping people come unto Christ!! And I know everything that I'm going thru and all other people on missions is SOOO WORTH IT! 

I LOVE THIS WORK!! 

PS. I forgot to say that the guy that works with us looks just like my dad hahaha!! So it makes working with him WAY MORE FUN!!

LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!

 Went to some old ruins called Cagsawa Kanina.  It’s an old church from the 1500’s….. it was Cool!

And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!

                                                   -- D & C 18: 15-16