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

A WHOLE NEW WORLD! -WEEK 43

Well everything is completely new from last week!!!   First off, I'm not in Masbate anymore!!  Yes it was sad to leave but I'm actually kinda happy to be in a new area!  Second, NEW area!! Me and my new comp are opening this area which means neither of us know this area!!  So we are literally going to just walk around and talk to people until we find people to teach cause we have no idea where anyone is!! And it's not like America where people have house addresses all it is like the general are like saying she's in Mesa in mountain view highschool area! Then you go and find the girl.... we’re PRETTY FREAKIN PUMPED!! 

Also new MY COMP!!  Elder Anselmo!! He came to the mission with my trainee!! So he's kinda new but he's cool!! he's filipino fyi!! 

 Ya so last week we baptized ante cute sooo sweet!! Love that gurl!! she's gonna stay strong!! And then we were kinda just visiting people the rest of the week cause I was pretty sure I would be transferred! But it was fun I got to go over to the other side of mobo to visit old people I taught!!!

Then on Sunday, we slept at the ZL's and I went and saw a couple of people I taught with them! Then yesterday we left at 4 in the morning to head over to Legazpi!! And me and Elder Rupp sat on top of the boat the whole way (the boat was like the one that fits like 20 people and is like bamboo things its weird hahah but we sat on top, took a photoshoot and talked about our lives!! and then I got freakin burnt on the boat!! Then when we landed in Legazpi I spotted one of the office Elders trucks so we jumped in that instead of a jeepney and we had 6 people in the back of a 3 seat truck!! hahahha ya Philippines is sick!! Well then when we got to the office I found out that Elder Downing from the mtc is in the office, he's the supply elder, and then Elder Tonga who was with me in mobo for a bit is the new ap!! so I was just chilling in the office with them!! Because the ac was freakin amazing!! Then they told me I had to go get my license. So I went and got it and yes they're  just like in America... it takes 2 hours to get a license!! BUT HEY I HAVE A DRIVERS LICENSE IN THE PPINES!!!  Then we had to take a 1 hour jeepney ride to our area and then met up with our like house mates! and I found out that one of them lived in Cody Porters area in Boise Idaho!! So we took a pic and I sent over Cody's way hehe!! Then we just got settled in cause it was night time and we hadn't eaten or anything and we didn't know where our area is hahaha!

But now we are on pday... we played basketball with the zone earlier, then like a little game with the whole zone!! then went home washed some clothes by hand.  I still  didn't get put in an area with a washing machine!! In some areas missionaries buy washing machines and then leave them!! Now we have to go buy some groceries and then we're gonna just go walk around later tonight in our area and see who we can find!!  I'm gonna "roll up my sleeves and get to work!" that's what dad wants me to do!! THAT'S WHAT THE LORD WANTS ME TO DO AND I WILL DO IT!! 

 LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!

Ante Cute...Sheila's baptism

dinner out before transfers!

 

gonna miss these guys!!!

Saying goodbye to all the Masbate peeps!

 Some fun YSA's that came to the port to see the missionaries

off on their transfer day!

 Elder Baker and Elder Rupp transferring back from Masbate

talking about LIFE..on top of the boat!

 

 Loved running into one of his MTC buddies:

Elder Downing...."Homies Forever"

 A wig he found in the new apartment.

He's having withdrawals of his long hair!!!  uh oh 

And it shall come to pass that power shall rest upon thee; thou shalt have great faith, and I will be with thee and go before thy face.         --D&C 39:12