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.

BUNYAG!! (baptism in masbateno) -WEEK 23

Here's a short, but awesome email from Elder Baker!  He actually emailed me back real quick and said oops he didn't mean to send it yet and was finishing it up, but then was gone.......and I didn't hear another word!  SO, here's the exciting news from Masbate this week!!  (we did get some cute pictures though!)        Masbateno = a different dialect in the Philippines than Tagalog.    

Hello family and friends!

So this week was a busy week.  We got back from training in Legazpi Thursday morning at 3:00 in the morning!  And then we got up at 6:30 and went to work!!  We only had a short week here in mobo area but we still got a BAPTISM!!  And I got to baptize her!! 

Sad news.  We had 3 baptisms lined up for January 23rd and the 2 girls that had been our investigators for 3 months and have been attending church were finally gonna be baptized... then the mom flipped on me yesterday!   She started yelling at me about how they are born again and she didn't want us there anymore.  So ya, only one baptism now on the 23rd!!  And then we should have 2 part member baptisms coming up!!  So it's really exciting the next couple weeks!! 

LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!

MJ got his mission call!!!  

He's going to the Philippines, Cagyan De Oro Mission

Reporting on January 29, 2015!

We know he will be such a good missionary

and can't wait to hear about his experiences.

The small boat they rode over to Legazpi on! 

 Elder Baker with his new companion and his Mission Presidents

 Another Elder in the apartment bought a sauna suit, haha!

BAPTISM! 

Nothing better! 

future missionaries 

random food in their apartment!

looks like someone like M&M's : )

I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain.

I want to be the BEST I can and live with God again!

2016 A FULL YEAR OF BEING A MISSIONARY! -WEEK 22

Well this is gonna be a crazy good year.  I will be a dedicted missionary for 365 days straight!!    NO OFF DAYS!!  NO SICK DAYS!!  NO PLAY!  JUST WORK!!  (maybe a lil play!)

But for real I'm sooo excited for this year!!  I can see how I'm changing peoples lives for the better!!  And it's the best feeling ever!!  Speaking of people changing their lives, we have one baptism this Wednesday!!  And then we also have this investigator that will be baptised soon, and he's hilarious!  When he talks about the church he says "our" church hahhaha!!

Training update: well training is always difficult and I was thinking this last week about why I got chosen as a trainer and I thought about what my President would say to me if I wanted to quit!  He'd say "well Elder I know this is what the Lord knows you're capable of doing, cause this calling wasn't from me.  It was from God!  But if you don't think you can handle it, you can just give up.."   Maybe not that harsh but that's how I put in my head to push me hahaha!!

I just want everyone to remember the promise in 1 Nephi 3:7!  About how the Lord prepares a way for us to accomplish ALL COMMANDMENTS!!  Then also a couple verses later in verse 15 Nephi says " I won't go down to the tent of my father until I have accomplished the commandment!!  Something like that.  But I apply it to my life, cause I'm not going to return home until I have brought all the people I'm supposed to bring the gospel!! 

LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!

 Elder Baker's new Companion

 Elder Baker with his companion and MJ - MJ is waiting for his call( it's in the mailroom today!)

The two companionships in the house now!

The Lord gives us commandments and asks us to obey.

Sometimes I am temped to choose another way.

When I'm discouraged, and think I cannot try,

I will be courageous, and I will reply:

I WILL GO; I WILL DO

THE THING THE LORD COMMANDS.

I KNOW THE LORD PROVIDES A WAY;

HE WANTS ME TO OBEY.

I WILL GO; I WILL DO

THE THING THE LORD COMMANDS.

I KNOW THE LORD PROVIDES A WAY;

HE WANTS ME TO OBEY.

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!!

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.