I wouldn't trade this opportunity for anything in the world. - 2/10/14

Melbourne Mission Moments

What even happened this week? I don't even know what to tell you because I feel like it's only been about three days.

Last Monday evening we had dinner with a wonderful family in our ward--the one whose kids and the relationship they have reminds me of my relationship with Phillip and McKay. I really do love the members in this ward. It has a very different dynamic than my last ward but I love it just the same. It's a smaller ward than Churchill Park which makes it easier for us to get to know more of the members.

Flatmates

On Tuesday we had a district meeting. Our district is so different from last transfer. Everyone is so young! But it's good! Tuesday night we visited a part member family in the ward. As we were visiting with them Brother L asked if I would play some primary songs on the piano. His wife who isn't a member knows and loves many of them so we were all around the piano singing songs. It was really cool to see how much music can touch hearts. After that we went to have a quick meeting with the Elders and Bishop to discuss our plans for an upcoming program we are doing in the ward. When we were first in the area, I suggested the idea of doing a 40 day fast with the ward. Everyone loved the idea so we are starting it at the end of this month. Basically every day for 40 days, a different family will be fasting to know who it is that they need to invite to learn more about the gospel. At the end of their fast, either us or the elders will go and discuss the experiences they had that day. I am really excited about doing this with the ward. I think it will be really good and that we will see lots of miracles happen as a result!

My District

 On Wednesday we spent a lot of the day with less-active members. We are really trying to help several people in the ward to strengthen their faith and help them to feel the spirit and eventually to come back to church. It breaks my heart when people have stopped coming for whatever reason, but I have seen the joy that comes when they decide to come back. We are making some really good progress with a few people. Wednesday night we had dinner with a family in the ward. His parents are here from Scotland/England so it was fun to talk with them and get to know them. I love their Scottish accents! I was telling them that I have Scottish ancestry on Grandma Baker's line and they were asking where. We got on Family Search and found that we both have ancestors with the last name of Milne who were living in Aberdeenshire at the same time. So who knows, maybe we're related! Haha I also learned that Thomas E. Ricks (my ancestor) had 5 wives and 43 children! That's crazy!

On Thursday we decided that we would spend the day fasting because we are really struggling to have people to teach. We meet lots of people and they will meet with us maybe once, but no one is progressing much. That day we were able to teach a few lessons to some Burmese people but they didn't really understand much because their English is really poor. We had Ward Council at the end of the night and as we were heading home, I was feeling kind of bummed. We fasted all day and I really wanted to see some sort of huge miracle but we hadn't. But after we finished planning, our district leader called and said some of the elders had set a date with a girl that day who they found out lives in our area! We didn't know if they were going to pass her over to us or to the Elders but I had a feeling that this was our miracle. All week I've been praying for this girl. Yesterday we saw the Elders who set a date with her. They told us that they feel like we are the ones who need to teach her! I am so excited! We haven't met her yet but I have such a good feeling about this!!

All week we've been trying to get a hold of an investigator but haven't been able to. So, Saturday morning we just popped around to her house. She was home and invited us in. We just listened to her. She is terrified of making the wrong decision of which church to join and hasn't felt like she is getting an answer. We don't know exactly how to help her right now but we are praying hard and I know Heavenly Father will help us to know.

We had a lesson with another investigator on Saturday afternoon as well. It went well. He is hesitant to make any big commitments or to come to church because of his family. But he told us that he turns 18 in a few weeks and that he wants to take bigger steps after that. So we just have to wait it out for a few weeks now.

Yesterday I had to give a talk in Sacrament meeting about the 40 day fast to tell the ward about it. I also talked about the power of prayer and fasting. We ended up having our ward plus another ward there because they couldn't meet in their building because of fire dangers. So I was like, great—more people to talk in front of. But it went pretty well and I didn't even get overly emotional or weepy which was good!

Last night we went to the Pacific Area Presidency Leadership Broadcast. It was really good. I felt strongly, yet again, that the second coming is quickly approaching! The Lord really is hastening His work. I am so grateful that I get to be a part of it! I love being a missionary. I wouldn't trade this opportunity for anything in the world.

I love you all heaps!

Love,

Sister Baker xxx

I love the license plates!

Phillip- Keep working hard. I know how you feel having a hard time finding investigators. I'm in the same boat. But Heavenly Father is preparing hearts! We will find them! Also, awesome about finishing the BofM in Spanish. Sounds like you have gotten really good at the Spanish!

If I could have one wish I would make time slow down! - 02/03/14

Melbourne Mission Moments

Happy New Year! Haha this week was Chinese New Year so we had a little celebration with the sisters in our flat. I can't believe it's February! January passed us by so quickly! If I could have one wish I would make time slow down!

Monday night after our P-day we had dinner with a Hungarian couple in the ward. They are so fun. After our dinner we went to visit a part-member family that we have been trying to meet since we got here. The sister who is a member answered the door and she invited us to sit on the back patio and talk. Anyway, so we sat outside for about 30 minutes and got to know her and had a short lesson before it was time to go home. When we went home, I had about 6 mozzie (mosquito) bites, but my poor companion--she had 47! Yes, we counted them. Poor thing.

Tuesday morning was transfer meeting but since neither of us is being moved we were able to just finish our studies and get out to work. Tuesday was quite a hot day and my poor companion's mozzie bites were getting really painful and itchy. They were all swollen huge and red/bruised looking. It honestly looked like a disease. So we went to a wonderful member's house who had some antihistamine and spray for her to use. Those poor bites lasted 4 days and looked just terrible. I felt so bad.

Tuesday night we had dinner with a cute couple who are expecting their first baby in June. They are so cute. That morning while we were planning, we felt like we should talk about prayer with them. We had a good lesson and the spirit was definitely there. But as we left, I wasn't sure that was what they needed. But yesterday this cute sister bore her testimony in sacrament meeting and talked about how she really needed to hear that when we came because she was facing a quite difficult situation at work and prayer was the only thing that got her through it. It was so good to know that we had taught by the spirit and according to their needs. It's hard sometimes when you're planning lessons to be able to tell what people need. Sometimes I don't know how to distinguish between my thoughts and what the spirit tells us but time and time again, I've seen how we end up teaching or saying exactly what the person needs. It is such a blessing to be able to have the spirit as a third companion in this work. I know that we would not have any success without it.

Another note about transfers--now our district is the youngest in the entire mission. Literally. Every single companionship has a golden (someone who is being trained). But as President Maxwell says, "Goldens bring miracles!" I know there are going to be some mighty miracles in our district this transfer!

Wednesday it was hot again but we were blessed to be in appointments most of the day. We were able to visit a less active member in the morning and then we went to see a sister who we felt might need some uplifting. She was expressing to us how since she is not working, she is bored a lot of the day. I had a thought, she should do indexing. It was so random because I haven't thought about indexing in ages so it was definitely from the spirit. Anyway, we helped her get all logged in and set up and showed her how it works. Yesterday at church she told us that she has done something like 5 hours of it! How awesome is that?

Wednesday night we were able to have dinner and a lesson with a member family and their two Chinese exchange students. They are so cute! They have little to no knowledge about Jesus Christ or anything related to the church so we are having to start at the very very basics but they are eating up the information that we give them!

Thursday morning we had zone meeting. Our zone leaders are seriously the BEST! That afternoon we were doing some GQing at the train station and it was so successful! We found 6 people that day in under two hours!

Friday we were able to visit a lot of less-active members which was really successful. That night we got a call from our sister training leaders about going on exchanges. We were not sure who the STLs are because we weren't at transfer meeting. I was overjoyed to hear that they are Sister F and... Sister R! I have been with Sister F on exchanges the past two transfers so more than likely I will be with Sister R (my companion from the MTC). That thought just makes me overjoyed. I love her so so much!

Saturday we spent a lot of the day GQing. While we were talking to people outside some shops, this random guy just came and gave us cold water. It was such a blessing because it was hot and we had both run out of water! He didn't know us, just thought we looked hot and wanted to do something nice. I love experiences like that--they give me hope in the goodness of people.

We were also able to see some wonderful members on Saturday night. We are really trying to work with the members to do this work because we know that is how we will be most successful.

Sunday at church we had 3 investigators come to church which was a huge blessing! After church, we had some time to go and do some finding. It was 43̊C so it was piping hot but we were able to meet 4 more people and reach our weekly goal which was awesome! We had dinner with a Filipino family which was so yummy! Sister Gonzales made me love Filipino food.

I hate it when it's so hot your chapstick melts!

After dinner we went to the mission president fireside with a recent convert in the ward. It was a really good fireside. I got to see Sis. Stevenson there which brought joy to my soul. And she was able to give me an update on some people in my previous area. One sister is progressing toward baptism. Another young girl is getting baptized on the 15th of this month! And the sister from Peru that we started teaching in December is getting baptized! I saw her there last night and was able to talk to her. She is so happy, she was just glowing.

A small miracle that happened yesterday: Saturday night we forgot to get petrol on the way home. Around 12:00 yesterday our empty light went on. We had to drive to our appointments and to the mission president fireside so we said a prayer that we would not run out of petrol. And we didn't! We had just enough to make it home last night. We went to fill it up this morning. Our car has a 50 liter tank and we put 49.29 liters in it.

This week I have spent a lot of time studying the life of the Savior. One thing in particular really stuck out to me this week. I was reading in Matthew 14 about when He feeds the 5000. Truly it was a miracle that He was able to feed the 5000 but it was the circumstances before the miracle occurred that really touched me. Right before this happened, His cousin, John the Baptist had just been unjustly beheaded. He was no doubt, feeling some sorrow at his death and went away to have a bit of time on his own. But people followed him and wanted to be taught. He could have turned around and told them to leave him alone, that He needed  some time to himself. But He didn't, He taught and blessed the people. As it got later, He could have sent them away, explaining that there wasn't food--surely spending his time with them would have been enough. But He didn't. I was really touched by this. No matter what the circumstance, Christ was always willing to help. I am here as a missionary, wearing His name on my tag. I am to emulate Him. I thought to myself--do I reflect this attitude in my work? Am I willing to help, no matter how tired I am, no matter what personal trials I might be having that day? The Savior never thought of Himself. He always put others first. That is something I am really trying to implement in my life.

The study area in our flat.

I am so grateful for this time that I have to be a missionary. I am learning every day what it means to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the atonement that allows me to change, to overcome my weaknesses and become more like Him.

I love you all so much!

Love y'all heaps!

Sister Baker xxx

I am so grateful for the blessing that prayer is... - 01/27/14

Melbourne Mission Moments 

Whoa. Look at that date! I can't believe that I've been out for 10 months! Time goes by so quickly on the mission! I can't believe it's already Monday again and I'm emailing home.

Monday last week we had a busy p-day just getting our groceries and running errands but we did have time to go back to the flat and take a little nap which was so great! I haven't taken a nap in forever but it felt glorious! That night we had dinner with a family in our ward. The mum and kids are all active but the dad is less-active. He wasn't there because he had to work and the whole time we were eating I was sitting there thinking how we can help him. After dinner this dear sister asked if I wanted to play the piano for a few minutes. Naturally I said yes, because I miss playing. I sat down and started playing around a little bit and then I had a thought to ask if this sister wanted to do a musical number because I know she sings. She was so excited about it. In a couple of weeks I'm going to accompany her in Sacrament meeting. The best part about it is that it gives us opportunity to get back in to their home and hopefully build a good relationship with the dad so we can help him come back to church.

Monday night right before bed I felt so strongly while I was sitting there, how grateful I am to have such an amazing family. Seriously, I have been so blessed. Our family is so tight-knit and everyone is strong in the gospel and I don't have the worries that others have. I have been so blessed. I think I have kind of taken it for granted most of my life because that's all I knew. As I've been here and realized how different some people's family situations are, my appreciation and love for my own family has grown immensely.

Tuesday morning we went to district meeting and our district leader was training about prayer. The training was perfect. I have been so impressed with our leaders here. Without fail, every time we have a meeting they train or testify about the exact thing that we need. You can tell that they really follow the spirit to know how to help us. How grateful I am for the priesthood and that my whole life I have been surrounded by worthy priesthood leaders!

After our meeting we went to see a lady. We tried to teach a lesson but she just kept talking about the Amish people. Seriously, the whole time. It was really difficult. So even though she's a really sweet lady, we probably won't be going back because she doesn't really have a desire to learn anything or listen to us. Tuesday night we had dinner with two newly-wed couples in our ward. They were so cute! Both got married just in December so they are in the love-birds stage which just makes me smile. But the best thing about them is that they are really keen about doing missionary work and want to be really involved which is awesome!

Wednesday morning after studies we were at the mission office for interviews with President Maxwell. While we were waiting Sister Maxwell was showing us how to use Family Search. We got on and I found out that I love it! I really want to do more family history work when I get home! And also, Sister Maxwell worked it out and found out that we are 2nd cousins once removed. Pretty cool, huh? My interview with President Maxwell was so perfect! He is such an amazing person. He was able to tell me exactly what I needed to hear and I just felt so good afterwards. One thing he told me was that he has asked me to train again because he trusts me. Which was so good to hear.

Wednesday night we were able to have another lesson with a young investigator that has high-functioning Autism. He is so smart. Literally anything we tell him, he remembers it. Which is amazing. We were able to teach him the Restoration and it went really well. I think it won't be super fast coming but he will get baptized probably sometime in the coming months.

Thursday morning while we were doing weekly planning we felt like we needed to call the Elders and get the phone number for one of their investigators. Her son just got baptized a few weeks ago and she is still working towards baptism. But the Elders kind of feel like there is not much more they can do for her so we are kind of taking over. We called her and were able to go over and spend several hours helping her in her house and then we talked about her concerns in relation to the gospel. She still doesn't feel like she has a testimony of the Book of Mormon so we are going to go over every day and read a chapter with her and help her try to get that testimony. Our visit with her was so good. I think she has needed the love that we can show her as Sisters. The Elders are great but hopefully we can show her a different kind of love, a love she really needs.

Friday we woke up to rain and grey weather. We had two lessons that fell through so we were feeling a bit down. We were in the car when our district leader called, just to see how we were doing. Again, I am amazed at how perfectly they follow the spirit. He gave us the encouragement we needed and then sent a message that was perfect. We hit the ground running after that and decided that we were going to have a good day. And we did! We had some good hours of finding and then we went to visit a less-active family that has recently moved up from Tassie. They had some friends over and they told their friends who we are/what we do. And then we were able to teach a lesson about faith and invite these friends to learn more. It was an amazing lesson. One guy in particular seems particularly keen. He messaged us later that night just to say he was looking forward to learning more and seeing life from a new perspective. It was such a miracle that we went to their home just at the right time.

Saturday we were able to see the sisters we have been teaching again. They were getting ready to leave but it seemed more positive than last week and they seem more open to learning more still which is really good. Saturday night we got transfer news. My companion and I are both staying in this area! :) But we are losing our amazing district leader which is really sad. I am looking forward to the new transfer though! We really have big goals for this transfer and a vision of what can happen and I know that we are going to see miracles!

Sunday morning unfortunately none of our investigators came to church which was a bummer. I feel like getting them to come to church is the hardest part. In the afternoon we had a lesson with an investigator which was really good. We finished teaching him the Plan of Salvation and then we were able to talk about his concerns. He said that he had read some things on the internet about the church which were not good but that he still wanted to meet with us because he feels different when we talk with him. We were able to resolve some of his concerns and he is still really keen to learn more.

This morning we went to 1000 Steps to climb up the mountain which was fun. It has 1000 stone steps. Hot and sweaty though. [The 1000 Steps Kokoda Track Memorial Walk is located in the Dandenong Ranges National Park. Plaques along the trail depict the lives of the Australian soldiers who fought and died on the real Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea, during World War II. The climb is about 2.8 km and takes about one hour to reach the top.]  The rest of the day we're just going to hang out and write letters.

One thing I've really been focusing on this week is prayer--why we pray, how we should pray, how I can improve my prayers, how I can help investigators recognize answers to their prayers, etc. I learned so much. I love studying by topic.It is truly amazing that we can have such a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father. And that we can pray at anytime, anywhere and He will hear us. And I truly know that He does answer our prayers. I love being able to pray and tell my Heavenly Father exactly how I feel. Especially on the mission I have learned to cherish that. At home, I always had mom to talk to about everything, but here I don't have that. But I think it's been a blessing in disguise because it's allowed me to improve my relationship with my Heavenly Father.

I am so grateful to be a missionary and get to share this gospel with everyone!

Love y'all heaps!

Sister Baker xxx

P.S.

Phillip - Keep working hard, even in the hard times. It will be worth it. Just remember to PUSH-- Pray Until Something Happens.

This week was basically just HOT! Seriously. So stinking hot. - 1/20/14

Melbourne Mission Moments

Well this week was basically just HOT! Seriously. So stinking hot. I thought I was literally going to melt. But it was a really good week too!

Birthday cake at Bishop's

Monday, on my birthday we had our zone p-day. We went laser tagging which was so fun! And pretty cheap too. After that we came home to get changed and get ready to go to Bishop's for dinner. They made a delicious dinner including cauliflower because I told them that I love it. Then we had a chocolate ripple cake for dessert. They even did birthday candles which was so nice of them. After we got home we were sitting planning when there was a knock at the door. I opened the door to find a cake sitting on the door step with a lighted candle in it. The Elders had made it and dropped it off which was so nice. It was a really good birthday!

My birthday dinner

Birthday cake #2 from the Elders

 Tuesday morning we had district meeting. It was a really good meeting. At the end of the meeting the Zone Leaders were talking to us and Elder C shared an experience and then they gave promised blessings that each of us can call down miracles and we can baptize monthly. As they were talking, I started to cry. I didn't realize it but I was still feeling really overwhelmed. After the meeting Elder C gave us a really nice note saying that he had given that promised blessing specifically for me and Sister B and told us that D&C 111 was written for us. Our District Leader came up to me after the meeting and asked if I was okay. I told him that I was but got teared up as I said it and he could tell that I wasn't. I had him and the Zone Leaders give me a blessing and it was exactly what I needed. I instantly felt so much peace and felt Heavenly Father's love for me so strongly. Sister B and I were able to go back to the flat for lunch and we studied D&C 111 together. That section has changed my mission. There was literally something that stood out to me in every single verse. I don't have time to go into the details of what I learned and gained from it, but to summarize, I felt really strongly that there are treasures (people to teach) in this city for me and Sister B and as we rely on the Lord, He will help us to find those people. And I love the promise at the end. Heavenly Father basically promises to give us blessings as fast as we can receive them. I am so grateful for the amazing leaders I have, especially our inspired Zone Leaders who knew exactly how to help us, even when they didn't know I was struggling. The rest of the week I feel like I've been able to act with so much faith and confidence in knowing that Heavenly Father is going to bless us. I know He will.

Chalk Plan of Salvation
(haha ignore the ad on the wall behind it.
I didn't realize it was there)

Tuesday afternoon it was so HOT! 41 C which is like 105 F! We decided to get creative in our finding so we drew the Plan of Salvation on the sidewalk outside of the grocery store and talked to people about it as they walked by. It was so successful! It was awesome. After a few hours in the stinking hot sun, we were both out of water so we stopped by a member's home to get some. While we were there her foreign exchange student from China came home. She is 15 and is so cute! As we explained that we were missionaries, she asked us to teach her more about Jesus Christ. It was so awesome! That night we had dinner with an awesome couple in the ward. Since it was so hot, Sister A hadn't really felt like cooking so she made sushi. At first I was thinking, "Oh no. The last time I had sushi was in like 8th grade when J.J. Tsukamoto's mom made it for us." But I couldn't be rude so I ate it anyway and guess what... I liked it! It was so yummy. Granted, it was chicken and not fish, but still. I was so surprised that I liked it!

Wednesday it was super hot yet again. This time 43 C. That's 109! We didn't have appointments or anything in the morning/early afternoon so we had to go finding. It was so hot. We talked to people at the station for a few hours and then we tracted for about an hour or so. I like to think that we are going to get extra blessings because it was so hot ;) While we were tracting we wrote a song:

Australia Melbourne Mission

We're going to do some tracting

The sun is brightly shining at 43 degrees

And in the sun we're melting, melting, melting

In the sun we're melting but we'll get through with ease.

 

So hot!

I love my companion!

In the afternoon we went to visit the sweetest woman in the ward. He husband died about 15 years ago from cancer so she lives all by herself but she is so sweet. You could tell she was so happy to have us there. We had dinner with a family that night (wraps because yet again it was too hot to cook) and then we were able to teach our 9-year old again. He basically changes his mind every day as to whether he is going to get baptized, but I know as we teach him more he will be more confident in his decision.

Thursday morning we had Golden Review at the mission office for all of the Goldens and their trainers. It was a good meeting and they gave us lunch after which was so nice. I got to see Sister Stevenson there which was awesome. She told me that a young girl in my previous area is getting baptized on February 15th! Hopefully I get to go back for it! It's a good thing that we were inside for a lot of the morning because Thursday was the hottest day. At one point around 3:00 it was 47 C! That's 116 F!!! SO STINKING HOT! We saw our sisters that afternoon and they have no AC so it was so hot! We were able to teach them more about church and what goes on there. We weren't able to stay very long because they had family coming over so we set an appointment for Friday. When we got up to leave, literally all four of us had wet spots on our bums because it was so hot. Haha. The one girl was like, "It looks like I peed my pants!" That night we had Ward Council at Bishop's house. They had everyone's families there and did a barbeque and then people started getting in the pool and swimming. Ah man, I wanted to swim so badly. It looked so nice because we were melting.

Friday was still really hot, 43 C again. It's hard to be very successful when it is so hot because no one is home or out and about. Everyone is at the pool because that is the only possible way to stay cool. We went to our appointment with the sisters and they were gone at the pool. That evening we were able to have dinner at the H's house and then have a lesson with Brother and Sister H. Brother H is not a member. We were able to talk about Heavenly Father and how He is our literal Father and we talked a lot about prayer. Brother agreed to take baby steps in learning more about the gospel and actually asked us to give him a Book of Mormon reading assignment which was really cool. I really feel strongly that he is going to get baptized some day. I can picture him in white and serving a mission with his wife. Friday night it started to rain a little bit and there was a lot of thunder and lighting. The rain really cooled things off which was a welcome change! Apparently there's a bunch of fires because it's been so hot!

Saturday we had a meeting with the ward mission leader and the Elders which was really good. Our ward mission leader really wants to help us which is great. After that we did some finding and follow up in the afternoon. Then we were able to have another lesson with the young man from Burma. He asks really good questions and is really keen! We were able to teach him the first half of the Plan of Salvation and commit him to baptism on February 22. The main concern is getting him to come to church. He feels like it's too much of a commitment to come so this week we are going to explain to him better about church so that he feels more confident in coming. After our lesson with him we went to try to catch the sisters we are teaching but were unsuccessful. Hopefully we can still go back and have another lesson and help them to progress!

Sunday morning we had a meeting at 7:00 am which meant we had to get up quite early. Gotta love early mornings. Our 9-year old was our only investigator to come to church but we were happy to see him there. After church we went to ward choir practice. We had a little bit of time in the afternoon and we were doing a little bit of finding. We met this woman and her little girl. As we were talking to her she stopped us and explained that her daughter had recently started asking about God and about church. She said that she has never been to church except for a wedding and that she wants to go visit one. AH!!! So awesome. She is so prepared! We were able to get all of her details and we are seeing her later this week. After that we went to the chapel for a baptism of a little boy in the ward. They had a lot of non-member family there which was awesome! After the baptism we had plans to go try to meet a few of the less-active families in the ward but we felt like we should we go to the train station instead. So glad we followed that prompting because we met 6 people who we were able to set return appointments with! It was amazing!

I love being a missionary. I know I say it every week but I truly do. Heavenly Father is so good to us and we see miracles every day! I am so grateful for the people I get to meet and the things that I learn here. I know the church is true.

Love y'all heaps!

Sister Baker xxx

P.S.

Also, everyone in Australia is obsessed with AFL (Australian Football League). The team I chose is the Hawks because their colors are Brown and Gold (go Davis High). Anyway, it seems like a really cool sport and I think you'd like learning about it. Go to YouTube and watch a video a member told me about. It's called something like AFL Explained or something.

BIRTHDAYS AND KANGAROOS! - 1/13/14

Melbourne Mission Moments 

21! Woohoo! Can you believe it? I can't really. That's because it doesn't feel like my birthday at all. Usually it's snowy and freezing and yucky weather on my birthday-- well today the sun is shining and it is BEAUTIFUL! I think I like birthdays in Australia a lot better, except for the fact that I can't be with all of you.

This past week just flew by. Time goes so fast. I hate it. I wish I could just put the brakes on. I have been serving for nearly 10 months now which is just crazy.

Kangaroos!

Monday we got to go to the Melbourne Zoo which was so fun! It was a good zoo! We got to see a lot of animals and take lots of pictures and it was fun to spend time with the other sisters. The best part of the Zoo was the Australian animals. I have seen them before but not so up close. It was awesome. And, I GOT TO PET A KANGAROO! It was so cool! The Kangaroos are not fenced in so they can just roam and they are not afraid of people so they will just let you touch them. It was amazing. I feel like I've truly experienced Australia now! Haha.  And it turns out that kangaroos are super soft. After the zoo we had dinner with an awesome family that actually kind of remind me of home because they have a daughter and 2 sons living at home and the way they act with each other is a lot how my relationship with Phillip and McKay is. They are an awesome family who really make us feel loved. And mum, you will die at this--Sister D never makes a recipe more than once! For 6 years they have had something different for dinner every single night! She just buys cook books and cooking magazines and makes her way through them. Cool huh?! Way too much work though. Haha. I could never do that.

Tuesday morning in our district meeting our district leader gave training about why it is that we choose to serve missions. It got me thinking a lot about why it is that I am here. I think my reasons for serving have been added upon and grown as I have been here. There are so many reasons why I am here. Before I came I think my main motivation was because I knew that Heavenly Father wanted me to and I loved the gospel and wanted to share it with others. While those are still reasons that I am here, there are so many more. I am here to grow, to change, to become the person that I want to be and that I know my Heavenly Father wants me to be. I am here to prepare for my future responsibilities as a wife and a mother. Let's pause for a second on that. There have been so many times on the mission that I have felt that so overwhelmingly. I was reading my patriarchal blessing this week and it hit me stronger than ever that I am going to be blessed to be a mother and the way the world is, my children are going to need me to be strong. I feel like this time as a missionary has helped me strengthen and solidify my foundation so that I can be that strong mother that my children need. I am on a mission to experience the atonement in a way that I haven't before. I am so blessed to be able to see the atonement work every single day in my life here. I am on a mission to meet wonderful people who I can help and who can help me in return. I am on a mission because I love the Lord. I am so grateful for this opportunity. While there are hard times and times when it's not necessarily fun or enjoyable, I LOVE being a missionary. I love Australia and its people.

After our district meeting we went out to do some finding together as a district. It was really cool to all focus on finding for one hour, together. I think it really helped to build the unity in our district. And we saw miracles in that hour. We met 4 people who live in our area who were willing to have us come back! Tuesday night we had dinner with such a wonderful family! They haven't been in the ward for very long and Brother A was a bishop in the ward they came from. If anyone is clicked on about member missionary work, it's them. I am excited to work with them to bring others unto Christ. Working with members is the best!

Wednesday we spent a lot of the afternoon finding. While we were talking to people in the park we met a guy. We ended up being able to teach him a lesson right there in the park. It went perfectly and the spirit was so strong. I honestly haven't felt the spirit that strong in a lesson in a long time. The spirit definitely guided my words as we taught him and we were able to invite him to be baptized and he said yes! We asked him when we could meet again and he asked if we could meet Thursday. He is so prepared.

We had everything all worked out to meet with him on Thursday at Bishop's house but unfortunately he never showed up. :( We haven't been able to contact him at all which really stinks. But I know that we will be able to see him. He is so prepared. Heavenly Father will help us to be able to get in contact with him. Satan works hard on people who are so prepared so we just have to work harder.

Friday morning we had a lesson with a recent convert at another member's home which was really good. We were also able to drop off cupcakes to the Elders in our ward because it was Elder H's birthday. That afternoon we tracted for a couple of hours. It was a really warm day and I was LOVING it. I love the sun and it hasn't been overly warm yet so I was rejoicing in the sun! My companion however, thought she was going to die. She has never really been in hot weather so she didn't handle it too well. This week is supposed to be really hot, like 40̊ C+ (104-108̊ F), so we'll see how she goes with it. I will probably just love it.

Making cupcakes--just call me Sister BAKER!

 Saturday we had exchanges with the Sister Training leaders. I was with Sister F in their area which was fun because I was back at the flat that seems like home to me. She took me out to lunch for my birthday which was really awesome. We had some good lessons that day. Sister Foster and I were able to talk a lot and it was good to be able to just talk things out. I've been a little bit overwhelmed lately with feeling like I have to know exactly what is going on, where we are going, who we have/haven't met in the ward, etc., all while trying my best to train my companion and help her. It was nice to be able to just talk about it. Don’t read in to this too much and think that I'm struggling. I am doing great and I love my area. Just have felt a little stressed. But honestly, I have the best leaders ever so I don't even have to worry about it. Our district leader is the best ever. And our zone leaders and sister training leaders are great too!

Yesterday at church we had a miracle of a less active father coming to church with his family and we also had a woman's non-member husband come so he could sit with his wife! We had dinner last night a young couple in the ward who are so awesome! :)

This week I've been trying to remember to pray for opportunities to serve each morning and we have been blessed with many opportunities. On Thurday we were in a parking lot at the grocery store and we saw a lady with her arm in a brace struggling to get her groceries into the car and we were able to help her. Then on Saturday while I was with Sister F, a man's car broke down in middle of the road. We were able to get out and help him push it through the intersection over to the side of the road. Opportunities to serve are everywhere, we just have to look for them.

Thank you so much for the birthday package! It got here on Wednesday last week. I waited to open it until this morning. I LOVE everything. Thank you so much! My family is the best! I got Grandpa Baker's birthday card in the mail last week which was so sweet of him. This morning I got birthday cards from the Elders in our district, Lexie, and Sister Ricks. I am feeling loved today! We are having our zone p-day today so we are going to have a barbeque and then going laser-tagging! It should be a lot of fun! Tonight we are going to Bishop's house for dinner. Sister B told them that it's my birthday so they said they are going to do a birthday cake. :)

One thing that I've been working on this week is practicing smiling more. Haha, apparently sometimes I don't look very happy even though I am. So I'm strengthening my cheek muscles and smiling more! Haha

I love HP :)

I love you all so much! Celebrate for my birthday!

Love ya HEAPS!

Sister Baker xxx

...here I am experiencing true conversion. And I love it. - 01/06/14

Melbourne Mission Moments 01/06/14

Happy New Year!! I can't believe it's 2014! I'm pretty sure 2013 was the fastest year of my entire life. The fastest and one of the best. I am so looking forward to this year and the miracles that are going to happen! We had a really good week this past week.

At the state library in the city.

Monday we went in to the city with our district and did some sight seeing and shopping at souvenir shops. That night we had dinner with the Bell family in our ward. They are so fun and really make us feel loved when we are in their home.

Tuesday we spent a lot of the day finding because we are still trying to build a teaching pool. It's been kind of hard because everyone is so busy with Christmas and New Years but now that those are past it should start getting a bit better. That night we had dinner with ward members. The wife and kids have been members for 25 years and the husband knows basically everything there is to know about the church but for some reason he has yet to join. He is such a kind hearted man though! I really felt strongly while we were there that he is one of the reasons we are serving in this area right now. I pray we can really touch his heart and hopefully find that missing piece that he needs to finally decide to get baptized.

 

We love smoothies on hot days!

Wednesday morning we had a zone meeting which was a perfect way to start off the new year. Our zone leaders are really wonderful. We talked a lot about how we can be more obedient and how we can more fully submit our will to the Lord. I felt really motivated as we left to work harder and do more. Up until this point, I have always been looking forward to Christmas, knowing that was my half way mark. Now all of the sudden Christmas is gone and the next mark is when I go home. Not that I am looking forward to going home at all, it's just the way my mind works. I always have some sort of finish line in my head that I work towards. After our meeting Wednesday morning I feel so determined to make the next 9 months even better than the past 9 months and to really consecrate my efforts here in Australia.

Enjoying the beautiful sunset!

Thursday Sister Burton and I decided to fast. We were fasting specifically that we would be able to find people to teach. We did a lot of finding in the morning/early afternoon but didn't really find anyone which was kind of disappointing. That afternoon we got to go and teach S and D which was really good! We taught them The Gospel of Jesus Christ and it went really well and we were able to help solidify their baptismal date. After the lesson with them, we had a little bit of time before our dinner appointment so we decided to visit a few members, since we are still trying to meet everyone in the ward. We picked a name from the ward list of a single woman. We drove up to the house and there was a guy sitting on the porch smoking. At first I thought, "Let's just go to another house. I don't like approaching people when they are smoking and this is supposed to be a single woman's house. She has probably moved and that guy won't want to talk to us."  But then I had the strongest prompting that we needed to go and talk to him. Honestly, I was nervous as we walked up the driveway, which is weird because it usually doesn't make me nervous to talk to people. Well, I am so glad that we did go talk to him. He and his family have just moved up from Tasmania and moved in with his mom. Sister Hadfield and her companion have been working with them in Tasmania. Brother N is a member but his wife is not. But she is really open to the church and the sisters in Tassie have been helping her get ready for baptism. It was an answer to our prayers and fasting! I know it was no coincidence that we chose that house, of all the names on the ward list that we have yet to meet. Heavenly Father definitely was hearing our prayers!

Friday we had dinner with the Lloyd's. They are a cute couple in the ward who joined the church about 30 years ago. And they are such good member misisonaries! They literally have been talking with every single person in their court about the church. I wish all members of the church were like them. They are so awesome! We visited a less active woman right before we went home on Friday night. She opened the door and nearly started to cry. She told us that she had been having a really hard day and had prayed that someone would come by. I love being able to help Heavenly Father answer someone's prayers. It is the best feeling ever!

Saturday we headed out first thing and did some tracting. We met the sweetest lady who let us in. She is so cute! We showed her a Mormon message on her iphone and she was so amazed that we could pull up the video. She kept saying, "I can't believe I'm seeing this!" Haha it was so funny. Saturday afternoon we went to a baptism of a 12-year-old boy named that the Elders in our ward have been teaching. It was a really good baptism! After that we went to the library to have a lesson with a boy who was a referral from the sisters. C is from Burma. He has been here for 10 years so his English is really good! He was so receptive and loved learning about the Book of Mormon! We invited him to be baptized on January 25th and he said yes!

Yesterday S and D came to church! It is the most nerve wracking thing ever when you're waiting for church to start and it's getting closer and closer to starting and you are still waiting for your investigators to show up. But they came! And they really enjoyed it! The members were so awesome! They were all introducing themselves and doing exactly what you hope they will do.

I hate all the disgusting spiders here!

I've been studying a lot about Jesus Christ and Christ-like attributes. I am so grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ and the ability it gives us to CHANGE. I truly can change and be who I want to be and who Heavenly Father wants me to be. Another thing that I have really learned this week is about testimony and conversion. Before the mission I had a testimony. But here I am experiencing true conversion. And I love it. The gospel is becoming more and more a part of me. It affects who I am, the way I act, the way I think. I am so grateful for the gospel and to be a missionary. I am grateful for Jesus Christ and his atonement. I know that he can help us to CHANGE.

Love you all HEAPS!!

Sister Baker xxx

This has been the fastest year of my entire life! - 12/30/13

Melbourne Mission Moments 

I can't believe that it's nearly 2014! This has been the fastest year of my entire life.

Happy 9 months! - Can't believe I'm halfway done with my mission!

On Monday after our p-day we had dinner with a family in our ward. Four of their five married kids and their grandchildren are all in our ward so everyone was there. It was fun. They are a really fun family. After dinner they had a little Christmas Devotional that they do every year. It was reading the Christmas story from the scriptures and singing songs, a lot like we do on Christmas Eve, except they don't act it out. Some of my favourite Christmas memories come from getting dressed up to act out the nativity.

Tuesday morning we had our district meeting. I love our new district here. There are some really awesome missionaries. I am especially impressed with our District Leader. He is such an exemplary leader and you can feel his genuine love for every member of our district. He really cares about how we are doing and the work that is going on in our area. I love that he calls several times a week just to see how things are going and to ask about our investigators. Seriously, they could make a District Leader Training Video just by following him around. Anyway, after our district meeting we had a lunch together as a district which was fun. After that we went and did some finding and then visited members in the ward. We had dinner with another family in the ward. It was a big Christmas feast which was fun. They have 2 little boys who got to open their presents from their grandparents while we were there and oh my, it was so cute. The three year old just kept saying, "Wow! Cool!" Haha it reminded me exactly of Luke Tanner when he was playing with the marbles.

My Christmas tree with notes from family & friends from home!

Christmas Day. I still can hardly believe that it was Christmas. It really didn't feel like Christmas much at all because it was warm. So weird. Thank you again for the Christmas package. I love it! The best part of the day, and the week really, was getting to Skype home. I miss you guys so much and it was so good to see you and hear your voices. Best gift I could have asked for. After I finished skyping, we went to a family’s for breakfast. It was French Toast with Strawberries and melted Cadbury chocolate on top. So yummy!! After spending the morning with them we went over to Bishop's to spend the rest of the day. We really just relaxed, played games, etc. The members of the ward have been really great and have given us lots of gifts. We have been given fun Australian souvenir type things but other than that it is a lot of food. We seriously have so much chocolate and heaps of fruit mince pies. I don't know if they even have them at home. Also, everyone here eats fruit cake. Sounds like Peru and Australia are similar in that.

So much Christmas LOVE! :)

Thursday was relatively uneventful. The day after Christmas here is called Boxing Day (I have no idea where the name comes from). Nothing really happens here on Boxing Day except apparently everyone here goes crazy shopping. It sounds like it's their equivalent of Black Friday except on a smaller scale and not so crazy.

Friday morning we got to go to the temple which was such a blessing. I love the temple so much. As I was sitting in the Celestial room, I just felt so overwhelmingly loved by my Heavenly Father. It was so obvious that he is very aware of me. I just cried. Weird how that happens. I'm such a sook. It was a bit hard for Christmas to be in a brand new place and I needed to feel that love and I am so grateful for it.

With my companion from the MTC! Love her!

Saturday we were supposed to teach the three investigators we currently have, but they are with family in West Melbourne so that was a bummer. Hopefully we will be able to see them this week.

Sunday was really good. During the 3rd hour, they had a combined RS, priesthood and youth lesson. Bishop taught and he had the 4 missionaries sit at the front. He talked a lot about missionary work and about how it is not coincidence that we are serving in the ward. He explained that he actually called President Maxwell and asked for a set of sister missionaries. He got a little emotional as he testified that there are people prepared in this area, people the members know, who WE specifically need to teach. It was really good to feel so appreciated and needed and I am glad that Bishop is so interested in missionary work because I really think that the ward will follow. Miracles are going to start happening soon.

Sunday night we had dinner with a sister in the ward. Her oldest son is 9 and he wants to get baptized so we are going to start teaching him and help him get ready. His dad is not a member but is okay with him being baptized as long as he understands what he is doing. I think it's funny that I am going to be teaching yet another 9 year old boy. I love teaching kids. Seriously, there is such an innocence and love from them.

This week we are going to be really focusing on finding because WE NEED PEOPLE TO TEACH! I know that people are prepared and that Heavenly Father will help us find those people. I can't wait for miracles to start happening.

Phillip- I hope you had a good Christmas in Peru. I am sad that I didn't get to talk to you but next Christmas I will. Man you have so many baptisms. The people there must be wonderful and humble.

I love you all! Can't wait for 2014 and the miracles it is going to bring.

Love y'all heaps!

Sister Baker xxx