Four Seasons in One Day... Melbourne Missionary Moments - 6/17/13

Well, this past week has gone by so fast! It's crazy how fast time flies on a mission.

Tuesday night we had a lesson with Craig at a member's home. We finished teaching him the plan of salvation and the spirit was really strong. He has a lot of concerns with the church but he has a real desire to find out answers for himself which is good. As we helped him to work through some of his concerns and bore testimony to him, the spirit was super strong. We extended a baptismal invitation to him and he said yes. So he is preparing to be baptized on the 29th of this month. It was seriously a miracle that he accepted because he has been meeting with missionaries for ages now and has never been willing to commit but now he's finally getting a testimony of his own and willing to start making committments. Blessings.

Bundled up and ready for tracting in the cold

Wednesday we spent most of the day tracting in the rain. It was cold but that's okay. I feel bad for Sister Gonzales though because she only has a very old rain coat that is kind of starting to fall apart. She is so humble and is always trying to help me out and doesn't think of herself but I really want to do something for her. I'd like to help buy her a coat. It's something I really want to do for her. She deserves it. And needs it.

On Thursday we had our Sister's Conference so all of the sisters in the mission went to the mission office. It was a wonderful and very uplifting day. I learned so much and it was so good to be with all of the sisters and get to know them better and develop relationships with them. And President and Sister Lifferth were there which is a HUGE blessing. I absolutely love them. They have so much love for all of the missionaries and every time I see them I learn SO much from them.

Gotta love the rain :)

Friday we also did a lot of tracting, again in the rain. It's crazy how much it has rained here this week. It's weird though because it will rain hard for an hour then it stops and the sun will come out, then it starts raining again, then sun again, etc. Haha everyone always tells me, "It's Melbourne, we have 4 seasons in one day." I would say it's more like 2 or 3 seasons but you get the point. Friday night we got to see the less active family in the ward that has recently started coming back to church. We were able to teach their family about prayer and scripture study and then they expressed desire for us to teach their family and help them to work towards getting sealed in the temple. They also want us to teach their son that is 9 years old so that he can get baptized. Their family is so cute. They have 5 adorable kids and they are so kind. I'm so excited to help in their goal of being sealed as a family in the temple.

Saturday morning we were able to see a Less-Active/Part-member family in our ward. They have a son who is 8 and has not yet been baptized. Also their aunt Julia lives with them and is not a member of the church. We are teaching her now and hopefully extending a baptismal invitation to her this Friday. The son is preparing to be baptized in July. Saturday afternoon we did a lot a tracting and met three Sri Lankan families who we were able to begin teaching. They are all beautiful, humble people. Each family has only had one lesson so far but we have return appointments with all of them and I'm really excited to teach them. Saturday night we went to the ward activity. It was super well organized and a lot of fun! They did a Mad-Hatter Trivia game night. Everyone was wearing hats and the games were a lot of fun. And the members brought some friends with them so it was a good opportunity to contact them and begin to build relationships with them. One family in the ward is having us for dinner on Tuesday and their friends who were at the ward activity are going to be there as well. That's the best way for missionary work to happen! When members are the middle man then we are way more successful. Then the investigators have a friend from the beginning and someone to support them through the whole process. 

At the Mad-Hatter Ward Activity

Yesterday church was wonderful. Craig came and he said that he loves coming because he always "feels warm and happy." It's so great to see the spirit working inside of someone. We are praying really hard for Craig since his baptism is getting so close. 

Saturday night we got transfer calls (this transfer is only 4 weeks and then next transfer is 8 weeks). I was stressing because I really love this area and really didn't want to hear that I was being transferred. Sister Gonzales and I are both staying in our area which is great! Sister Trego is staying in the flat but Sister Wirihana is being transferred. It will be sad to see her go but I'm excited to find out who the new sister in our flat is. Transfer meeting is tomorrow and they are having all of the missionaries go since it will be President Lifferth's last one.

On Thursday we get to go to the temple. I'm so excited to go to the Melbourne temple!

Well, I think that's about it for this week. I love being a missionary. I learn so much every day and I can't imagine doing anything else right now. I know that Heavenly Father loves us and hears our prayers. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. Spend time reading it EVERY DAY. It will help you so much and help you to really come to know the Savior better.

Love y'all HEAPS!

Sister Baker