One more week in Paita. I have almost been here in Paita for a
month now. Crazy right? This last week was a pretty decent week. Not overly
amazing, but not bad at all. And it's definitely starting to warm up. I cannot
wait for January and February. Summer here is going to be a killer! jaja
literally..
Tuesday morning we had our district meeting which went pretty
well. I really love district meetings. My district is really cool. There are 2
other gringos in my district so it is kind of fun. They are super cool. My
whole district is really cool. I really love being here in Paita. After
the district meeting we went and had a practice with our whole zone practicing
what we are going to be doing for the Christmas conference on the 24th in
Piura. I'm so excited for the Christmas Conference. It's going to be sweet! We
are singing this really cool version of Silent Night in English and Spanish.
It's super cool. I love music. Music brings the spirit so strongly into my
life. Thank you so much for the music you sent me. It honestly helps so much.
With everything. When I am sad. When I am homesick. When I am happy. When I am
frustrated. It always helps. Music is the best. Especially music this time of
year about our Savior.
Wednesday was a super duper duper hot day here in the mission. We
went out at 10:00 am and sweated like crazy all the way until lunch. It was
ridiculously hot. Super pretty day though. I am so grateful to be here on the
ocean. It's so pretty. I honestly feel so blessed to be here in this area!
After lunch we went to visit some people in the area called Nueva Esperanza in
our branch. It's in the upper part of Paita and is super far away, so we don't
go there very much, but we ended up going to visit some members there. I'm
grateful that most of my time is in the lower part of Paita. The upper part of
Paita is completely dirt. And TONS of wind. All of the 18 other missionaries in
our zone are in the upper part except us. We're so blessed. Wednesday night we
had a Family Home Evening with a less active family and the leaders of the
branch. It was super great. I really think it helped inspire Hermano L to
prepare to receive the Melchizedek priesthood. He realizes the importance and
knows how much of a blessing he can be to his family! It was a super great
night!
Thursday we went and had a service activity in the morning. We
went and painted Hermana C's house. Hermana C is our pensionista. She is the
coolest lady ever! And her house is super cool overlooking the ocean. The only
problem was that it was a ugly green color. But we ended up painting it
turquoise. It looks pretty cool now. It was kind of hard to paint though,
because part of it is super duper high. We ended up having to tape paint
brushes and paint rollers to the end of these long poles and paint on the top
of a ladder to get it done. We finally got it done though and it looks so much
better! It was a pretty fun morning. After that we went and had a ton of
appointments that afternoon. We were literally running from one appointment to
the next because we didn't have enough time. I was so tired that night. It was
a great day though!
Friday was day 150 of the mission. Can you believe that? 150
amazingly hard and challenging and so worth it days. The mission is the best.
We had weekly planning in the morning then went to teach a lesson to a 15 year
old that lives here in Paita. His whole family was baptized earlier this year,
but he didn´t want to get baptized with them, because he felt like he didn't
have a testimony of the gospel which is a valid reason to not want to be
baptized. He has been coming to church almost every Sunday for a while now with
his family and has now decided that he has gained a testimony and wants to be
baptized. He has had all the missionary lessons before so we went over to
review with him to make sure he remembers everything. He remembered everything!
He knows the lessons better than we do! jaja not really, but he knew almost
everything! He is ready to come with us to visit investigators! He is a super
great kid. He's going to be such a strength to this ward and to his family! I'm
super happy for him!
 |
| Painting our Pensionista's House |
The highlight of Saturday was during personal study when I read
the talk called "Put Your Trust in the Lord" by Elder Ballard from
this past general conference about the importance of spreading the gospel. That
was a super great motivation for me. There is nothing better that I could be
doing right now than sharing the gospel. I know that what he said is true. If
we put our trust in the Lord, He will bless us with all the things we need to
be successful at sharing the gospel. The Lord is hastening the work. This
church truly needs everyone to reach out a hand and help share this gospel with
someone else! I am so grateful to be here on the mission!
Sunday morning we went to church and about 8:45 President Rowley
showed up with his wife. President had some interviews in Paita in the
afternoon so he decided to come visit our branch for the morning. President
loves Puerto Paita. We truly have one of the prettiest areas in the mission. An
ocean front chapel. Not many members of the church have that! All of Sunday
went great. I love being a missionary. It's hard and challenging, but the
blessings are worth more than anything!
Today for P day we didn't do much. We went and hiked to a cool
spot to take pictures this morning, but other than that we just kind of stayed
in our apartment and relaxed. Mainly just because my companion doesn't feel
really well today. It's been a great day though!
Thanks for all of the love and support! Love you guys! I hope you
all have a Merry Christmas!
Love, Elder Baker
P.S.
Sounds like it's pretty cold there. How about I give you about 30
degrees of warmth from Paita. Then it will be better for both of us!
I really think I've gained 15 pounds here. The food is great! And
I love fish! So I love Paita! Cause it's a fishing town!
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