I can hardly believe I'm starting my last transfer! Time has gone so fast! - 08/25/14

Melbourne Mission Moments 08/25/14

Wow. Time flies so much! I feel like I was emailing just two days ago! I don't even know what happened this week but I'll try to fill you all in.

At Sister's P-Day

Monday we had our Sister's p-day at the mission office. It was so fun to see all the sisters. We all tie-dyed T shirts and played games and just enjoyed the sisters’ company. It is Sister Maxwell's birthday this week so we had a couple of members in our ward that have a cake business bake a cake and we surprised her with it and everyone sang to her. The cake was amazing and Sister Maxwell was so surprised! We had to drive through the city on the way home and drop off the sisters there. By the time we got back to our area, we just had time to go to our appointment for that night. We went to a young couple’s home who got sealed about 2 years ago. They are so sweet! They LOVE having the missionaries in their home and we love being with them.

Tuesday morning we had our last district meeting of the transfer. After that Sister W and I went to have lunch with a young mum in the ward. After our lunch with her we went to see a less-active man who we found last week named D. D hasn't been to church since he was 14 but we were able to have a really good lesson with him and his daughter. I could really tell that somewhere deep down, he still had a spark of testimony. I'm looking forward to working with him to rekindle that fire!

 

With our District

With our Zone Leaders

Wednesday we had lunch with "Aunty and Uncle K." They are the sweetest couple in the world. After lunch we were talking about Preach My Gospel with them and it was cool to see Aunty K's face light up as we explained that she could study it as well. She had thought it was only for full-time missionaries. I think that a lot of people think that. Preach My Gospel is truly a tool for all of us! There is so much good that we can learn as we study it. If you're not studying Preach My Gospel on a regular basis, please start now!! That afternoon we picked up Sister L and we went out to visit some people. We saw K T and had a lesson about the temple. The spirit was so strong. K expressed her desires to make it to the temple this year to be sealed as a family. As I bore testimony of the sealing power and of eternal families, I got a little choked up. I am so so grateful that my family has been sealed in the temple! And there is nothing that I want more than to marry in the temple myself. That evening we had dinner with another family. Brother K used to be a chef so dinner was amazing! After dinner we had our weekly coordination meeting with Brother S, our ward mission leader. I know I've said it basically every week but he is so awesome!

Thursday morning we had to drive to Deer Park for District Leader Council( DLC) with the Zone Leaders and District Leaders there. Then we came back and had DLC with our zone leaders and district leaders. After our meetings finished, we met Sister N for lunch. After lunch we had to get our weekly planning done. We did some finding before our dinner because we really wanted to find a new investigator that day but we were unsuccessful. After dinner, we only had about 45 minutes. We decided to try a name on the ward list, hoping to find a part-member family. We knocked on the door and a man named P answered. He explained that they had recently moved into the home and the people we were looking for had moved out. We started talking with him and he is really prepared! We were able to have a short lesson at the door and we have a return appointment for this week! It was one of those "last house" stories!

 

Wearing our Tie-Dyed shirts from Sister's P-Day

Because we knew that our weekend would be pretty busy and we didn't want to have to be stressed out to find new investigators on Sunday we decided to make Friday a finding day! We went out in the morning and we saw miracles! We were able to find two new investigators before lunch! One was named F. He's from NZ and right off the bat, he asked if we had a church in the area that he could come to! He is so prepared! As we were talking with him, I could absolutely picture him in white! I'm looking forward to seeing him on Wednesday! We had lunch that afternoon with the H's and then we did service for a few hours for Sister H. She was getting ready for a house inspection so we pulled tons of weeds in her yard. After service, we went out to see if we could find one more new investigator. We did some tracting and we met some good people but no one that could become a new investigator. We left to go back to our car a little discouraged that we hadn't reached our goal. When we got to the car, I noticed a girl at the bus stop across the road. I almost didn't talk to her because we needed to head to our dinner appointment but then the spirit corrected me. I walked over and started talking to her. She is from the Philippines and is so sweet! She has visited the church before with her Aunty in the Philippines who is a member! We were able to have a lesson right there at the bus stop and we will go back to see her this week! Again, one of those "last person" stories!

Saturday morning we were with the youth in our ward doing a service project. That afternoon we had a lesson with P and her daughters. We taught them the restoration and it went so well! The little girls especially loved it! At the end one said, "Can you come over every Saturday?!" It was so cute! And it turns out they are already friends with some members in our ward! Saturday night some members put on a surprise farewell party for Sister W. It was really sweet of them and I think Sister W really really appreciated it!

Sunday morning we had breakfast with our ward mission leader and his family. After that we went to see a part-member family before church. Church was really good! We had several investigators come and a lot of less-actives which was really good! After church, we basically spent the time visiting people so Sister W can say goodbye.

 

With our ward mission leader's family

Me and Sister W 

Sunday Florals

I am really looking forward to this next six weeks! I can hardly believe I'm starting my last transfer! Time has gone so fast! I am so grateful that I get to spend it in Tarneit! I can't wait to find out who my companion is tomorrow! 

I love you all so so much!

Love y'all heaps!

Sister Baker xxx

Enjoy BYU football this weekend!!!! Go cougs!!!

I have so much love for this work and I never want it to end. - 8/18/14

Melbourne Mission Moments - 08/18/14

Man. Can someone please do a Google search for me and figure out how to stop time. I hate how fast the time is going. I have so much love for this work and I never want it to end. Seeing pictures today of Annie at home made it a little bit more real for me how close the end is getting. I don't know why people get trunky. If anything, knowing that my time is running down makes me want to work harder, to really use every second that I have.

Monday was a pretty typical P-day, just getting our emails and shopping and things done. That evening we went to have dinner and family home evening with a part-member family in the ward. The father is a recent convert and his daughters are not yet members. It was a really good night and the Family Home Evening was really good. K is 15 and she has been taught most of the lessons. She came to church yesterday and we are looking at the possibility of her being baptized this weekend before Sister W goes home.

Just a bit of fun with wigs!

Tuesday we went on exchanges. I worked in our area with Sister M (from England). In the morning we had district meeting. After the meeting, our zone leaders asked me how I was doing. I felt a little overwhelmed and they offered to give me a blessing. In the blessing, I was told that the health challenges that I have been facing were of no coincidence. I was also told that Heavenly Father loves me and is proud of me for the way I have served Him. The blessing was perfect. I felt really at peace. After our meetings, we all went to lunch together. It was our last time to see Sister B before she went home. Saying goodbye to her was hard but I know that it is what she needs to do to get well again. After that Sister M and I went to buy some flowers to take to a woman in our ward. When we got there, she just cried. She told us that earlier that day she had been praying that Heavenly Father would help her feel loved. And we were an answer to her prayer. I always feel so grateful for Heavenly Father's trust when he uses me to answer someone else's prayer. After that we went to do some finding. We knocked on a door and a man answered and invited us in. M and S are a young Sri Lankan family who are Muslim. We were able to have a short lesson with them about eternal families and we set a return appointment for the following day. Then we went to go see one of the recent converts, K. After that we went to help the RS President clean the house of a sister who is moving out of the ward. The house was already empty so we were doing all of the heavy duty, get it ready for the new owners, cleaning. I love cleaning. Weird, huh? But honestly, it's kind of therapeutic. When we finished with that, we had to run to our meeting with our Ward Mission Leader. Sister M was amazed at our ward mission leader. He truly is amazing. He does so much good and truly fulfills his calling.

Wednesday morning I woke up with a terrible cold which is always really fun... especially as a missionary...NOT, but we made it a bit of a slow morning and I just pushed through it. We had our lesson with M and S and it went really well. We taught them the restoration and at one point M asked, "Why doesn't everyone believe this?!" Haha good question! After that we had a bit of free time and we decided that we would run in to the store to print a picture for a member. When we went in, we were stopped by B and his mum N. N is our investigator J's cousin and B is actually a member! It was crazy running in to them but it was such a blessing! After that we went and had dinner with a great Maori family in the ward. After that we drove to Deer Park to start exchanges with the sisters there. I got to spend the night there and work Thursday with Sister R. I love Sister R so much! We truly, truly LOVE our time together. She is one of the sisters that I was in the MTC with. And we come home together too!

Me and Sister R

Exchanges in Deer Park

Thursday we had such a good day. We started by going to teach one of their investigators named E. She's is Burmese. We taught her the Restoration and invited her to be baptized. It was such a good lesson and the spirit was strong. After that we had a lesson at the chapel with one of their recent converts and her non-member cousin. When we went to the chapel, Papa Stirling was there! He is the K's grandpa. Seeing him brought back so many memories of the Ks! He asked where I was serving and told me he was going to tell the Ks to come visit me. Cute huh? After lunch we were able to do some tracting. The weather was beautiful and we had some good success. At one door we met a lady from Chile. She didn't speak a lot of English but I told her the name of the church in Spanish and she was really excited. We sang I am a Child of God and she was in tears. It was really tender. After that we met up with the other sisters to exchange back and Sister W and I came back to Tarneit. We had dinner with J and her family and it was so good! After that we went to hear A open his mission call. He is going to the New Zealand Wellington Mission!

Friday was relatively uneventful—just a lot of following up with people and trying to do some finding. That night we drove to Deer Park to do exchanges with the other Sisters there. I was able to work with Sister K all of Saturday. We started the day by doing service for an old lady in their ward who is from Syria. After we got her whole garden weeded, she invited us in and made us pizza for lunch. It was the best pizza I have ever eaten! After that we went back to the flat to change and get ready to go to a baptism. The father of a family got baptized. His wife and kids are all members and he finally decided to be baptized as well. It was a beautiful baptism! J's partner, Henry, came because he is good friends with the brother who got baptized! After the baptism we went to do some finding. Then we switched back and Sister W and I drove to Melton to help the sisters there. They asked us to help them with a musical item for their ward talent show.

Me and Sister K - More exchanges in Deer Park

Love these Sisters! 

Getting my Tongan on!

Sunday morning we had ward council. We only had 3 new investigators so far for the week so we went out to do some finding. We were able to find 1 new investigator before church. After church, we quickly headed out to do some more finding before our dinner appointment. The very last house that we knocked on was a new investigator! It was a miracle! We had dinner with a member and then we went to J and H's! It was a really good night.

Today we have our Sister's P-day which should be really fun! I am feeling a lot better and just loving the work.

I love you all so much!

Love,

Sister Baker xx

Definitely didn't plan on having this experience during the mission... - 8/11/14

Melbourne Mission Moments 08/11/14

Well, it's been a bit of a crazy week--to say the least.

So Monday we went ice skating in the city with our Zone. I love ice skating! It was a lot of fun. The best part was watching all the missionaries who have never done it try to learn how. We were all cracking up laughing. One of the Elders from Zimbabwe was the funniest. We spent a good several hours on the ice and we were just about finished when I was standing talking to some missionaries who were sitting on the wall. Next thing I knew, I was hit by this big guy that was going really fast. I fell straight to the ice and to be honest, it hurt. We ended up leaving right after that. I had a bit of a headache from falling but overall I was alright. After we rode the train back to our area, a bunch of the missionaries in our zone decided that it would be fun to do the gallon challenge... SO GROSS!! Seriously, why anyone would want to drink that much milk to make them vomit, I will never understand. When our P-day ended, we went to see a less-active family who had asked us to come over. They had gone out and bought us so many groceries! It was so nice of them! I couldn't believe how much they got us. Our cupboards and fridge were fully stocked! After that we went to see a recent convert and his non-member daughter. We arranged to have FHE with them tonight which we're really excited about!

Ice Skating for P-Day

Me and Elder D - one of our Zone Leaders

Some in our zone while they were doing the Gallon challenge... SO GROSS! 

Tuesday morning after studies, we picked up a member and went to teach a guy named D. We showed him the Restoration DVD and he really felt the Spirit. We tried to commit him to come to church and he absolutely refused. It was really sad. We ended up having to drop him because he won't make or keep any commitments. Later that afternoon we had a lesson with J. A member came who was perfect fellowship! We taught the Restoration and it went really well! J asked so many good questions! Also, when we got there, she told us that she had started to read the Book of Mormon. We were shocked because we hadn't asked her to or said anything about it. She unfortunately wasn't able to come to church yesterday because her son got hurt in his Rugby game but we will have another lesson with her this week! After that lesson, we went to see a recent convert who is struggling being active because she doesn't have the support from her husband. We had a really good visit with her. After that we went to our dinner appointment. I had been having pain in my stomach all afternoon and I could hardly eat anything. Right after dinner, we went to coordination meeting at our Ward Mission Leader's house. I was in so much pain that I had to just go lay down on the couch. When we got home, I noticed some bleeding and with the pain too, I was concerned. I called Sister Maxwell and we decided that I would get in to see a doctor right after zone conference the next day.

Our zone conference on Wednesday was so good! I wish I could share everything that was shared and everything I learned but I can't. Here are a few highlights:

• Proverbs 29:18- we have to have a vision of what we can accomplish. We have to have goals.
• Don't lower your expectations to meet your performance. Up your performance to meet the expectations.
• Galatians 5:9- just a little bit makes a big difference
• "You have eternity to prepare for your mission and you will have forever to reflect on it but you only have 2 years to live it." -Ezra Taft Benson
• The purpose of the gospel generally and the Atonement specifically is to make bad men good and good men better.
• "Salvation is not a cheap experience." -Jeffrey R. Holland
• "God's opportunity is man's extremity." -Jeffrey R. Holland
• "The road to salvation always goes through Gethsemene and summits at the hill of Calvary." -Jeffry R. Holland
• "My feelings for the Savior have been born in the most desperate hours of my life when I wondered if the sun would ever come up again." -Jeffrey R. Holland
• Repentance in German is "umkher" which literally means to turn around.
• Satan works hardest on those who are trying to do right.

There was so much and it was all so good! I am so grateful for President and Sister Maxwell. They are absolutely incredible! By the time we left our zone conference, we had to go straight to our dinner appointment. We decided to go there first because it is a family we've already had to cancel on before.

 

Elder S, me and Elder C

As soon as we finished dinner, we went right to the doctor. It was about 8:45 pm at this point. The doctor did a little bit of checking and said that he was worried that I could possibly have ruptured my spleen when I fell while ice skating so he sent me straight to the Emergency at Sunshine Hospital. We stopped by our flat long enough to change into trackies and wash off my makeup and then we drove to Sunshine. By the time we got to the hospital it was about 10:30 pm. Holy cow, Australian hospitals are so different. We got there and I checked in and they told us it would be at least a couple of hours wait. The Zone Leaders came to wait with us. I waited in the waiting room for 6 HOURS! We were all so exhausted. Finally, about 4:30 am they called my name and took me back. They did x-rays, an ultrasound and a couple of other tests and I saw the doctor. She said that she would talk it over with the surgeons as to what they would do. And then I waited around for about 4 more hours. Finally I asked the nurse if they had any news. Turns out the doctor I saw had gone home. So then I had to wait again for another doctor. Finally after 8 hours back there, they sent me home saying they didn't know what was wrong but that if it got worse, I should come back in. We were absolutely exhausted so we went home to shower and we both fell asleep. We got up to go to our dinner appointment and then came back home to sleep.

 

Sunshine Hospital - We spent 14 hours here

The Elders were so tired... so nice of them to stay there with us all night.

Everyone was trying to sleep, but I was afraid I'd miss my name being called.

Friday morning Sister Maxwell and I talked and decided I should try to get another referral letter from the doctor to try to go to another hospital. Well, that doctor was not going to be in until Monday so I ended up driving up to where the mission office is to see a doctor there. She is a less-active member and sees a lot of the missionaries. She thought it was important to have a CT scan and she made a call and got me straight in to a radiology place. We went there and I had a CT scan. It took almost two hours and they sent me away. By the time they were finished Dr. Owen had gone home and since they were closed all weekend I couldn't get any results. I called the office this morning to get the results. The pain has pretty much gone away now and the scan results indicated that everything was normal.

I've not been feeling great this past week but I'm pushing through it. On Saturday we got to help with a stake mini-MTC for the youth which was really good! Church on Sunday was really good. The talks in sacrament meeting were all about the Restoration. I am so grateful for Joseph Smith and the role that he played in the restoration of the gospel. I am so grateful to be a missionary and to have this opportunity to share it with everyone. Thank you for all your prayers this week. Heavenly Father is blessing me and I trust that everything is going to be okay.

Love y'all heaps!

Sister Baker

P.S. Remember how we have that goal of getting 5 new investigators every week or else we have to sleep on the floor Sunday night...? Yeah well, let's just say that our floors are not very comfortable.

 

My companion is turning me into a Kiwi... socks and jandals...

I always feel an overwhelming sense of God's love in the temple. - 08/04/14

Melbourne Mission Moments

I can't believe it's August! Man time flies! We had another really busy but really good week this week!

Monday we had a few lessons during our normal p-day time which made it a little crazy but we were still able to get the things done that we needed to. And it was good to get a couple of lessons in early in the week because we were out of our area a lot this week.

Tuesday we had MLC at the mission home. Because we have to travel right through the city and there is crazy morning traffic we had to leave at 7 am to pick up the zone leaders and head in there. The meeting lasted all day but it was so good. I learned so much. A few of my favourite things we talked about:

• John 2:1-11 is Christ's first miracle when he turns water to wine. We talked about how important the servant was in the miracle, trusting Christ enough that he would go and fill the pots with water. We related it to us and how sometimes when we run out of resources, we just need to turn to the Lord in our need. We need to trust and have faith that he gives abundantly to those who ask.
• We live in a society of potential gods and goddesses. You have never met an ordinary individual.
• The Savior not only knows you but likes you.
• The what informs and the why transforms.

There was so much more that I could talk about but there's not time. I feel so blessed to be able to serve around so many wonderful leaders in this mission. As I looked around at the room of about 40 missionaries, I just thought about how wonderful each of them is and how much I respect them. And of course it was good to see the sisters that I love so much (my previous companions--S. Ricks, S. Stevenson, S. Hadfield, etc.) After MLC we had a meeting with Sister Maxwell and all the STLs to plan a Sisters p-day in a couple of weeks. By the time we finally left to go back to our area, we were right back in peak traffic and it took us a long time to get back. We barely got back in time for our coordination meeting with our Ward Mission Leader.

Such great sisters I'm privileged to serve with!

Wednesday morning we had to leave even earlier, about 6:30 am to drive in to go to the temple. I love the temple so much. I am so grateful that we have a temple in our mission and that we get to attend so frequently. I always feel an overwhelming sense of God's love in the temple. There was a sealing that day and it was the brother of one of the members in Mooroolbark so I got to see them which was really good! That afternoon after we got back from the temple we had a lesson with G. The language barrier with him is really hard. He doesn't really understand anything. He ended up dropping us--he was too frustrated with the language. He said that he will take English classes for a couple of months and then call us again.

 

Beautiful Melbourne temple.

Me, my companion and our flatmates at the temple!

Thursday morning we had DLC (District Leader Council). STLs didn't used to go but we decided at MLC that we should be at this meeting so we can better help the Sisters. It was really good. We talked a lot about the Standards of Excellence in MLC and how the leaders need to set the example by achieving them. In DLC we talked about it more and we are really going to focus on helping every companionship achieve at least one standard of excellence each week. After DLC we had a Zone Meeting. It was a really good meeting and the spirit was strong. Sister W and I had to do a 20-minute training on Dignity. I haven't had many opportunities to do trainings thus far on the mission but we're having lots of opportunities as STLs and it's good because it's really stretching me and helping me to grow. I feel like it's helping me more than any of the other missionaries.

After Zone Meeting, we went on 24-hour exchanges with the Melton sisters. I got to work with Sister K in our area. Sister K is from South Korea and she goes home this week. She's such a good missionary and so cute. I loved being able to work with her. Thursday was not the most successful because we had a lot of people that were not home or cancelled on us. Friday morning was looking a lot the same way but then we felt prompted to change our plans and to go contact a referral that we had received the night before. We knocked on J's door and she invited us right in. She has a cousin in Sydney who is a member and her best friend in the neighboring stake is also a member whose family just recently got active. She told us that seeing how happy her friends and family are has made her want to learn more. Her partner H got home a few minutes later and we were able to teach them about God's love and how to pray. H is a bit hesitant but J is all in. I'm so excited to work with her. I KNOW she is going to get baptized.

Exchanges with Sister K

After we switched back and Sister W came back into the area we went to have a lesson with a lady called S and her daughter J. We were able to teach them the plan of salvation and it was really good! S asked some really good questions! We have a return appointment with them this week and plan to set baptismal dates with both of them.

Saturday was really good. We did a lot of finding and we were able to find a lot of potentials and a couple of new investigators! We had a first lesson with a 20-year-old named I. He is Ethiopian but was raised in Australia. He's a youth minister at his church and knows his bible. But he is awesome! He's really interested and is even skipping his church next week so that we can have a lesson with him!

Sunday morning we had ward council. After that we used the time to do some finding. The weather was absolutely BEAUTIFUL so we just parked the car and started to walk. We met a woman named M. She is a mum of six and is so lovely. We have an appointment with her tomorrow which we're really excited for. Church was really good. We had a few investigators come which was good. After church the Elders in our ward had a baptism and a few of the part-member families that we are working with came which was really good!

Right after the baptism we went with the Elders to the H home. Sister H has her grandson A living with her--he has for quite a long time. A's mum has had cancer for a while now and she passed away yesterday morning. When A answered the door, you could see the hurt in his face. I wished so badly that I could just give him a big hug. Sister H gave me a big hug and just started to sob. The spirit was really strong as we sat with them and we all talked about the plan of salvation. A is waiting for his mission call which should arrive any day now. As we were there, I couldn't help but remember how right after I got my call, Grandma Baker died. I am so grateful to have had that experience before the mission because it has made the plan of salvation real for me. I can really teach people about it because I have my own testimony of it. I know that it will be the same for A.

On a bit of a funny note, we forgot to fill the car with petrol Saturday so we were on empty all day yesterday! On the way home, we were getting down to 3Ks to empty, then 2, then 1. We got to the petrol station that's just up the road from our house and parked the car across the road and walked the rest of the way home. This morning we picked it up and filled it up. Man, Heavenly Father blessed us to have barely enough!

I love this area and I love being a missionary! Love you all heaps!

Love,

Sister Baker

P.S. - That's awesome that you're having some success with Family History! It's fun, huh? I really want to start having family tree nights after I get home like Elder Cook talked about in General Conference!

Before the mission I knew what the atonement was, but now I know what it feels like. - 7/28/14

Melbourne Mission Moments 07/28/14

Wow what a week. Tarneit is such a great area and we are constantly so busy! I can't believe how much we get done in one week. I feel like we're literally running from one thing to the next. And I love it! I am so grateful that I will probably end my mission here. I want to be working this hard until the very end.

On Monday after we finished emailing and getting a few things at the store, we just went back to the flat so I could finish unpacking my stuff and then we both took a nap--we were both feeling so exhausted! That night we went to Bishop M's for FHE. They have two little boys that are so cute and SO smart! One of them reminds me so much of McKay. Actually to be honest, tons of boys here remind me of McKay. I guess I just miss him that much or something. Haha. After FHE we stopped by to see a less active named and her non-member husband. We had a short but powerful lesson with them and they invited us over for this coming weekend to have dinner and a lesson with them. We really want to start formally teaching the husband so hopefully we can start that this weekend!

Tuesday afternoon we picked up one of the Laurels in the ward and went to teach the daughter of one of the recent converts. Unfortunately, they weren't home. We had a backup plan but we felt like we should try to contact our referral, M, instead. When we knocked on M's door, she opened and said, "Mormons? Come in." WHAT THE HECK?!?! It was so unexpected that it took us a couple of seconds to react. M is amazing. She told us that just that day she had been emailing Sister T (one of the missionaries that just went home). They went to school together in NZ. She asked us to tell her more about the Book of Mormon which we gladly did. We had a really good lesson and she committed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. I feel like she is as golden as they come. I can't wait to see her again this week! That night we had dinner with the T family. After dinner, we had a lesson and showed the Mormon message, "Earthly Father, Heavenly Father." They both really felt the spirit and it was so good. Our goal is to get them to the temple to be sealed forever! After that we had coordination meeting with our Ward Mission Leader. He is so amazing! I am so grateful for him!

Sister A and found Deloraine Drive.
So fun since we both served in Deloraine.

Me and Sister A

Wednesday morning after we finished our morning studies, we went on exchanges with the Point Cook Sisters. I was able to spend the day in their area with Sister A. Sister A and I were in the MTC together and went to Texas together so it was fun to be together again! We had a really good lesson with L, one of their baptismal dates. She is 17 and is so excited about church. She has a notebook that she takes notes from every lesson. She has read all the way up to Alma in the Book of Mormon too. We had a bit of a funny experience later that afternoon when we went to try to contact a less-active on the ward list that they didn't know. This guy has one of those screen doors that make it impossible to see through it. When he opened the door and was standing behind the screen door, he told us that he wasn't wearing any clothes. Uhhh awkward... But we continued to try to make an appointment to see their family when we hear the door close. Ummm.... excuse me? We knocked on the door again and this time he opened the door, and the screen door—fully clothed may I add. He thought he was going to get rid of us that fast... haha think again. He was really nice though and we were able to make an appointment for them to see him later in the week. Another funny experience from that day--we were walking through the park when we met an Indian man. We started talking with him and shared about the Plan of Salvation and it was really good. Before we left, he pulled Sister A into a big hug and kissed her on the cheek!! Haha it was so funny! Then we continued on our way and we were knocking on some doors when we saw this same Indian man coming up to us. He reached out to shake my hand and then the next thing I knew, he was pulling me into a hug and kissing my cheek. Yuck. Haha it was funny though. I can now say I've been kissed by an Indian hahahaha.

I stayed the night with Sister A and then we had studies together Thursday morning. Being Pioneer day, we had to sing pioneer songs! :) I loved that the quote on the Conference Calendar was about pioneers too! After studies we switched back and Sister W and I headed back to our area. It was a bit of a rough day. We had lots of people cancel and then other people weren't home so it was pretty slow all day. Sometimes you have those days and there's not a lot you can do.

Friday morning we went to visit a less-active named TJ. We read a bit from the Book of Mormon with him and invited him to come to church. He said he'd try to come but we really weren't too sure. After that we visited the H family. A is 19 and waiting for his mission call to arrive. He was so cute asking so many questions about mission rules and things. He is dying to get his call. He's been waiting 3 weeks so it should be here any day now! Thursday afternoon we were able to stop by and see K—a recent convert. She got baptized in December but has been finding it hard to come to church. We were able to really encourage her to come on Sunday. We had dinner Friday night with a family from Tonga. Man, Tongan households are crazy! But so fun! Islanders have so much love to give!

Saturday morning we had zone studies which was really good. We talked a lot about obedience. I was reading in 1 Nephi 17:3 and it's so simple--if we keep the commandments or the mission rules, Heavenly Father will bless us. There's nothing complicated about it. I just wish I could make every missionary understand that. After studies, we went to pick up H and S. H is 19 and just got her mission call to Tonga and S is her 16-year-old sister. They came out with us all day on Saturday and man we saw miracles. I went with H and Sister W went with S. Between the four of us we were able to teach 10 lessons and find 4 new investigators! It was amazing!

 

Me and H with some kids in the ward

Sunday morning we called EVERYONE inviting them to church. We had a goal of having 3 investigators at church and we had been inviting people all week and wanted to do everything we possibly could to achieve that goal. We were pretty sure that at least 3 people would make it. Then we got to church and no one showed up. It's really easy to feel discouraged but I fought those feelings away knowing that we had done everything that we could and in the end it was left to those people's agency. And, we had all the recent converts in the ward and about 6 less-actives that we had invited show up, including TJ! It was great to see so many of them come! The 4 missionaries in our ward were asked to speak in sacrament meeting yesterday. Our topic was "How has my testimony been strengthened while serving the Lord?" I am so grateful for this topic because it gave me opportunity to really reflect on the past 16 months and all that I have learned and the change that has taken place in my life. So many aspects of my testimony have been so strengthened. I have become truly, truly converted to the gospel. I have experienced the atonement. Before the mission I knew what the atonement was but now I know what it feels like. I am so grateful for the gospel and to be a missionary. I love it.

 

With the Elders in our ward

Sister W, Sister L and me - Matchy, matchy Sunday

With some of our wonderful member!

Love you all heaps!!

Sister Baker xxx

P.S. -  Sister W finishes at the end of this transfer. I love her NZ accent. Sister W and I are over 6 companionships. We do exchanges once per transfer. There are 5 companionships of STLs. We have Mission Leadership Council so I will see all the others this week.

I am so grateful for the power of music and the spirit that it brings! - 7/21/14

Melbourne Mission Moments

I think I have been busier this week than any other week of my mission but it has been so good!

Saying goodbye to Sister H at the airport.

Monday was my last day in Deloraine. Sister H and I were so busy packing up all of our stuff and cleaning the flat and getting it all locked up. By about 2 pm we left to drive to Launceston. We had a couple hours in Launceston with the sisters there. We went to a little cafe and had hot chocolate and then finished packing up Sister K's stuff. About 5 pm we had to leave to drive to the airport. We were super blessed at the airport that everyone's bags went through with no problem (even though a couple of them were 2-3 kgs over weight.) Tender mercy. Sister S and Sister H came down to the gate with us to wait until we could board our flight (Australia is super lax on security and anyone can go through security and wait at the gate). When it was time to go, I was so sad to leave Sister H. We both cried. I loved serving with her and it was sad that it was so short lived. There were just three of us flying up from Launceston--me, Sister K, and Elder J. The flight is so short--only about an hour. We landed in Melbourne and found our bags and then some of the Elders picked us up at the airport. Sister K and I stayed the night with some Chinese Sisters that serve close to the mission office.

Tuesday morning we got up and got ready and then the Maroondah zone leaders picked up Sister K and me to take us to transfer meeting. It was so fun to be back on the mainland and see so many people that I haven't seen in a while! My new companion is Sister W. She's Maori from New Zealand. She's such a hard worker and even though in some ways we are so different, we are so similar too! It's been so fun! We are serving in the Tarneit Ward on the west side of the city. The ward has heaps and heaps of Islanders! I love Islanders. They have the biggest hearts and are so accepting of anyone. I have felt so loved here! And the work here is really moving!

Transfer meeting went pretty long because there were so many departing missionaries who were bearing their testimonies. After transfer meeting, we had a leaders meeting. By the time we drove all the way back to our area, it was after 5 pm. We dropped off our stuff at our flat quickly before heading to a dinner appointment. Our flat is great. We share it with the Werribee sisters (Sister M and Sister S). We had dinner that night with a wonderful Samoan family. Sister F is the Relief Society president and is so loving and caring!

Wednesday morning we had a zone meeting. Our zone is great! We have some really awesome missionaries here! Our Zone Leaders are two of my old District Leaders-- Elder H and Elder D. In our zone meeting, the zone leaders committed all of us to go out and set a baptismal date that day. Sister W and I are both quite competitive and we decided we wanted to be the first ones to set a date! We had a lesson with a girl from South Sudan. We were teaching the Plan of Salvation and we got about halfway through it. Then we invited her to be baptized on August 16th and she said yes! It was Sister W and my first lesson together and it went so well! After that we went with Sister F to visit some of the sisters in the ward. Then we went to our dinner appointment. Sister T was sick so she hadn't had time to prepare a meal for us but Islanders love feeding the missionaries (they believe that is how they receive blessings) so she insisted on taking us to get Asian take away. After dinner we went to meet the K family who are wonderful! They have both served missions and we encouraged them to get back out their copies of Preach my Gospel and to study them. After that we had coordination meeting with our Ward Mission Leader, Brother S. He is such a good ward mission leader! You couldn't ask for better! He is so on top of things and I felt so encouraged about the work in this area after meeting with him. 

Thursday morning we were inside a lot of the morning. First we set our transfer goals. We set a goal for the transfer that we will have 5 new investigators every week. We decided that we wanted to have a consequence for if we don't achieve our goal to help us be more accountable to it. We decided that if we didn't achieve it, we would have to sleep on the hard wood floor on Sunday night. You better believe that we were committed to that goal! After that we had to work out an exchange schedule for the transfer. Then we had to do our weekly planning. Later we had a lesson with the M family. They found them last transfer while tracting. The mum and dad are members but have been inactive for a long time! They have 5 kids, four boys and a little girl. All of the boys are baptismal age. We had a lesson with them about God's love and invited them to a family home evening with another family. As we were finishing the lesson, I had a prompting that we should sing a song. We pulled out our hymn books and we asked Sister M if she had a song that she really liked. She asked us to sing I am a Child of God. They used our hymn books and we all sang it together. The spirit was so strong. I am so grateful for the power of music and the spirit that it brings! After that we had a quick dinner with the Ls and then we went to visit a part member family. M has recently returned to church. Her husband O is not a member. He just got his visa and came over from Tonga. They have a 6 month old little baby. O is slowly warming up to the gospel.

Friday morning we had zone studies. I've never done it before but it was really good! Basically the whole zone just does personal and companionship study together. After that we went to pick up Sister L and went to teach a man named D. D is Yugoslavian but was raised in Australia. We had a good lesson and taught the first half of the restoration. He was really feeling the spirit and we helped him recognize that. He was pretty hesitant to commit to anything though. That afternoon we went to contact a referral named M. She wasn't home but her brother was. He was really nice and told us that he had gone to school with lots of members in New Zealand. We have a return appointment with their family this week! 

We were asked to help with the Heidleberg Stake mini-missionary weekend this week so we had to drive to there on Friday night to pick up our mini-missionary. Sister V was with us all weekend. She is Samoan and really sweet! Saturday morning we went back to their stake center to have an "MTC" for the mini-missionaries. After we finished that we drove back to our area. We had a lesson with B but it was crazy because there were about 20 little Sudanese children running all over the place and people coming in and out. We were doing a little bit of tracting after that and we met an Indian family--J and I. They are Seik but invited us to come back next weekend! After that we went to visit a less-active family--the Ts. We sang Love at Home at their doorstep and they invited us in and we had a really good lesson. After that we had dinner with the T family. 

Sunday morning we had Ward Council. After that we didn't have very much time until we needed to be back at the chapel for church. We really needed one more investigator for the week and prayed that Heavenly Father would help us find someone. The first person we talked to was a Sri Lankan man. We were able to have a lesson with him right away in the park and then he came to church! Church was great. I love the ward here! However, the names are so hard to remember! After church we had a baptism. W, a little 9 year old got baptized. The baptism was small but it was perfect. After the baptism we had to drive Sister V back to Heidleberg and went to the testimony meeting there.

It was been such a good week. I love serving here!

I love you all so much!

Love,

Sister Baker xxx

P.S. -  As a STL we basically watch over all the sisters and make sure they are doing well. We also have to go on exchanges with all the sisters on the west side at least once during the transfer.

Sister Baker, you're going back to the mainland... - 7/14/14

The Last Tassie Times

Holy moly this week has gone by so quickly! I feel like I just blinked and BAM it's gone!

Monday we went with our District to Cradle Mountain. I wish we had more time there! It was so beautiful! It was quite cold, especially for the Australians, but it was really fun. Apparently most winters there would be snow there but this winter hasn't been cold enough yet. Who knew that anywhere in Australia would get snow?

 

Me and Sister H at Dove Lake, Cradle Mountain

The sisters in our district on Glacier Rock

Our district

Tuesday morning we had our last district meeting of the transfer. After the meeting, we all went to the Raspberry Farm for lunch. It was so delicious and so fun to spend that time with our district. We've had a really awesome district this transfer. Later that afternoon, we went out to see E, but unfortunately, she wasn't home. We had a lesson with B, or at least tried to. That night we had dinner with our ward mission leader and his wife. We had something called Chicken Merango.  I've never heard of it before but it was really good. You should google a recipe and try it!

 

Waffles at Raspberry Farm - they're amazing!

Wednesday afternoon we visited a less-active woman in the ward who suffers from epilepsy. We sang "Nearer My God to Thee" to her and she was so touched. I love the power that music has to touch hearts. We had a lesson later that day with G. They invited us to stay for dinner. Hopefully they felt our love for them.

Thursday afternoon we got to stop by to see C and her kids and have a short lesson. C brought up church and said that she and J really wanted to come last week, but they didn't end up making it. Man, sometimes it's so hard to get investigators to church. Our dinner appointment Thursday night was with a single sister in the ward. We got there and she explained that she didn't really feel like cooking so she made Nachos for dinner. It was great for a change! During dinner I looked down to see what time it was and saw that it was 6:10. About 20 minutes later, I looked at my watch again and it was still 6:10! My watch battery died. Dang it.

Friday morning we spent several hours doing service for an investigator named C. We helped her tear out this massive honeysuckle bush that had completely taken over her yard. We worked on it for a solid 3 hours and were a complete mess afterwards but we loved it. We are always offering to help people with things and it was nice to finally have someone let us help them!

Saturday morning the phone rang and it was President Maxwell. He asked me to serve as a Sister Training Leader this next transfer and told me that I'd be heading up to the mainland. I was really surprised but I'm excited too! We had to do our weekly planning that morning because we hadn't done it yet, so we spent a lot of time going over the whole area book and ward list so Sister H would know about everything and everyone since I would be leaving. We went out and did some tracting later that day. We met this woman named S. We offered service and she said yes! So we ran home and changed our clothes and we helped her do some weeding for a couple of hours. As we worked, she talked about her life/religious beliefs and we were able to share a lot as well. At one point she was literally in tears. She has had a lot of big trials the past couple of years and they have really prepared her. She NEEDS the gospel.

That night we went to the Ws for dinner. J is such an incredible cook. She made a roast and mashed potatoes and gravy. It tasted like home. I am so grateful for J. I am going to miss them!

Transfer calls always come on Saturday night, but since President Maxwell had called me that morning, we were not nervous and anxious like you usually are Saturday night. We just assumed that since I was leaving, Sister H would stay and get a follow-up trainer. When the message came, we listened and were shocked to hear, "Deloraine will be closed down. Sister Baker, you're going back to the mainland. Sister H, you're getting transferred to Launceston and Sister S will be your new companion." We were absolutely shocked! I have no idea why they are closing the area, but it's true.

The Bishop announced in Sacrament meeting that we were leaving and all the members were really upset that they are not going to have missionaries here anymore. Everyone kept asking why, but we didn't really have any answers for them. Sister H and Sister S are going to continue to teach our investigators that we have here but they won't spend much time in Deloraine and won't attend the ward. It's been crazy and a whirlwind the last 36 hours. After church we spent some time packing. Later we had dinner with the Westbury Ts. I love them. They are some really awesome members here whom we are both sad to leave. However, I know that this is what Heavenly Father wants. And, I'm really excited about going back up to the mainland. I can't wait to find out who my companion will be.

Goodbyes to ward members in Deloraine

We've spent all morning packing and cleaning. We have to have the flat completely cleaned and lock it up. My flight leaves for Melbourne tonight at 6:25. Sister K is flying up as well. I'm assuming we'll probably stay at the mission home tonight and then transfer meeting is tomorrow morning!

 

I love our flat in Deloraine!

I love you all heaps!

Love,

Sister Baker xxx