November 9, 2010

November 9, 2010

Dear fam:

Freak, I feel like a dork this week.  I am sorry dad that I didn’t send an email saying happy birthday and I’m glad you’re my dad.  I also forgot Brooklyn’s.  I am sorry but thank you for being my father here on earth and being a great example of someone I want to be like when I get as old as you.

Thank you for ordering some more warm stuff for me.  Yes, I have a thing to cover my face when it gets cold.  I have lost two bennies and so I got this thing.  I hope I don’t loose this as well.  Can you find some nice gloves that are water proof and that cover the whole finger and also change into a mitten as well.  Something over 90 grams would be nice (what the heck?  90 grams?  What’s that suppose to mean? I don’t do cold weather clothing!) For now I am sleeping warm enough. We hit a few nights in the 20’s and it was a little chilly, but not too bad.

You mentioned something about fasting.  In some class we were talking about receiving help and how God is always there to help us.  An older lady said she likes to think about it a different way.  Instead of Heavenly Father giving us no more than we can handle, he gives us more than we can handle so that we rely on Him for help and also for strength . . . I thought that was pretty cool. 

This week has been a week where I am trying to not take anything for granted. . . food, clothes, warmth, friends, receiving help, a good body and all the little things.  It’s been a really good one for me.  

This week we ran into an evangelical minister . . . freak, those guys are so smart, sooo so smart.  Elder Kinikini and I ran into some in Eagan and they are just so smart.  Anyway we were talking about the Godhead and how they are 3 spirit beings with 1 purpose.  He agreed to a point.  He argued an interesting point – (most of the time there’s always an interesting point).  He went on to say that in the Godhead there is actually 4.  God, Jesus Christ, Holy Ghost and also the Holy Spirit.  I told him I would have to study it out and he gave me some scriptures to read which was a bad idea because they just want to talk and talk.  We were late for our next appointment.  But he said that he found this out because somewhere in the Bible it says something about the Holy Ghost and then God would send another comforter.  The other comforter is the Holy Spirit.  I did my research.  That is incorrect.  After reading the context I learn that the other comforter is Jesus Christ.  That idea was resolved very quickly.

We have a new investigator.  She has investigated for a long time, but we are all scared that she doesn’t understand the commitment.  Her name is Alberta and she wants to be baptized but doesn’t speak English very well and is from Liberia, which is darn near impossible to get a translator!  We got a Book of Mormon for her and hope all goes well.

One other thing that was cool this week.  Yesterday, Monday, was a good day.  We had zone conference all day and that’s why we didn’t have p-day.  Ooo and a heads up, our p-days for the next few months will be all backwards because of all the holidays.  But zone conference was good, the President called us out on a lot of stuff and there is a lot of change that is going to happen in the zone.  The best part about it was the very end.  We are all bearing our testimonies.  Each person has about one minute except those going home between now and the next transfer.  The ones dying get 3 minuets . . . more like 5.  Anyway the spirit was so strong and I learned a lot – one thing – to crush the game and not to be crushed, whatever the game may be – another thing – tough times don’t last, but tough people do – another thing – the church continues to be perfect, but the members are imperfect.

There were some missionaries that became very emotional during this time.  Some of the elders thought that it was funny and pointed and laughed at them.  Very few times have I ever been so upset and angry that I wanted to break their faces.  But the Christ like love said no – those guys just need to grow up.  But  . . . it was great to see that in time missionaries are able to change from “I really want to go home” (and I’m not going to lie, I am still in that category), to “I don’t want to go home.”  It was a super neat experience.  It was like a fast and testimony meeting on steroids!  It was sweet!

love,

Elder Baker