#BLESSED -WEEK 76

SO I’m soo excited to tell you guys about this week!! This has been the BEST week I have had out here in Guinobatan since the first week I got here! So in our weekly planning last week me and my comp made some HUGE goals for new investigators this week and other goals to help our investigators to progress and well IT WORKED!! It wouldn't have worked without a little change of heart in me and my comp! My companion doesn't really have motivation to tract out here cause he’s been here for a long time now and hasn't had any success really in tracting out here, but we had faith we would have success this week! 

So on Tuesday we went out and started tracting immediately  We found and taught 3 new investigators right when we started! Then as we went to go and try to teach one lady we had met on the street the other week we took a detour down a road and as soon as we turned the road I saw a guy outside his house and he looked at me and smiled and I said to my comp “ we're gonna teach him!"  Well as we got to his front gate he was already opening the gate and he said "hey elders”.  I was like wait, you know the missionaries?? He’s like ya I’m a member hahaha!  Well, turns out he goes to church in the other ward, because thats where his friends are haha so I didn’t know him but then he says "come in elders I have someone I want you to teach!" HAHAHAHA WHOAH!!! #blessed!!  Well we get inside and turns out his cousin has been coming to church with him the last 2 weeks and wants to get baptised!! Well the elders in the other ward didn’t know where he lived so they never went to him luckily we found him this week and finally got to teach him and gave him a baptismal date for FEB 11!! he’s really excited for his baptism and he’s also gonna be baptized with his nephew who is 8 yrs old!! 

Well our prayer was answered!! We found our GOLDEN INVESTIGATOR!!  

But that’s not the only miracle that happened this week…………..So remember that house I told you about that we built again for that family after it got taken out by the typhoon! Well he’s a part member and he’s been really hard hearted back in the day and didn’t want to listen to missionaries! BUTT!!! We softened his heart THRU service!! He wants to be taught now and he’s already started changing his life! He has had a problem with the word of wisdom his whole life but now… IT'S GONE!!  He completely changed! WOAHH! #blessed!! We also set a baptismal date for him on Feb 26 which is the baptism of Sister Monellia! The lady who is waiting to get married to get baptized SOO WE ARE EXCITED FOR NEXT MONTH!! To see all these baptisms go thru! Elder Ayson is a little sad cause he probably won’t be here next transfer but he’s happy he was the one who found these baptisms!! 

Well that’s about it besides me losing 8 pounds in 2 days... what.. #PrayForPanadero! hehe kidding just a little stomach problem! 

I LOVE ALL OF YOU AND AM SOO THANKFUL FOR YOUR PRAYERS TO HELP MISSIONARY WORK THROUGHOUT THE WORLD! KEEP IT COMING! 

"preach the gospel at all times if necessary use words" just wanted to share one of my favorite quotes with you guys!

LOVE ELDER BAKER

HAKUNA MATATA!!

 Guinobatan 2nd Ward Christmas Party 🎄

 Is this what they mean by...."fishers of men"?

 part of Elder Baker's Christmas package!!  

 RAIN...... 🌩 the typhoon is coming!!!

 Service Project after Typhoon Nina

Rebuilding this house!!

And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, 

if ye have experienced a change of heart, 

and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, 

I would ask, can ye feel so now?

                                        --Alma 5:26

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!!