Tuesday, April 21, 2015

My companion and I worked harder than we probably ever had before. But the blessings are flowing! - 4/20/15

20 de Abril 2015

Hey guys! What a week it has been for my companion and me! Thanks for all the love and support! 

First off, the report about my sickness! Well the good news is that I was feeling a whole lot better this last week! I went to the doctor on Monday to do more stool samples. And Tuesday morning I got the results back. This time it didn't say anything about Giardia. So that's good! Hopefully that means that it's gone. But it did say that I have Entamoeba Coli. Supposedly it's not too bad. But I changed my diet. I'm only eating things like wheat bread. No milk products and other things. And this week I was feeling a whole lot better! I was able to go out and work pretty much the entire week with my companion! So I'm super happy about that! Yesterday I woke up with the runs and felt pretty crappy but I'm pretty sure that it's because of something that I ate on Saturday because today I still have the runs but not as bad. So I'm pretty sure that if I just take special care of what I eat, I should be pretty okay!  I'm happy that in only a few months I will be getting home and will be able to see a doctor and really find out what's happening. It's just one of the trials that have been placed in my path! I'm just going to have to endure through it with a smile on my face! 


A beach resort of a member (or investigator) - I don't remember - that he let us use for P-day today!
It was super pretty!

Honestly, this last week was one of the best weeks of the mission. I'm so happy for this last week! My companion and I worked harder than we probably ever had before. But the blessings are flowing! After a long time struggling in my area, we are finally seeing success! First off, my companion and I talked with over 100 new people this last week which was a goal that we had. And we were able to find some new investigators from it! It's not easy talking to people, but it's worth it! And it does get easier with time. I remember the first time I tried to talk with someone here in the mission and I was so scared. But it's actually kind of fun to talk to people! You never know what kind of people you are going to find. You find super nice people, super rude people, people of all kinds of different religions, and the best part, is that you are able to find a few people that are prepared for the gospel in their lives! So my companion and I are going to keep doing that this next week! 

We have 2 investigators with baptismal dates! The first is Junior C. He is J C’s son. He is 21 years old and is super cool! The only problem that we had was that he works Monday through Saturday from 8am until 6pm and he is going to school Monday through Friday from 7pm until 11pm. So he really doesn't have much free time. But we taught him this last week and he is doing super well! He has read until 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon and we had a super special lesson with him! We invited him to be baptized and he said that he would like to be baptized on May 18th, which is his birthday! So I'm super excited about that! 

The other investigator that we have with a baptismal date is C S. C is a reference from H who is a returned missionary. H invited his friend C to come to church a couple months ago and he has come a couple of times and this week we were finally able to teach him! It's kind of hard to teach C as well, because he has a super hard schedule because he is a doctor. He finished high school when he was 14. He started medical school when he was 15 and now he is 25 years old and works in the hospital and a clinic here in Tumbes! So we were able to teach him! He is super smart! And he understands everything that we teach! And, at the end of our first lesson with him we invited him to be baptized and he accepted! So for right now we are planning his baptism for the 9th of May. So we are super excited about them! It was also kind of nice that he is a doctor. And so I asked him about my sickness and he said, "Yeah, there really isn't much that you can do about it for now, but pretty soon you'll be going home and will adjust quickly to your normal diet at home." jaja. So that's what I'm gonna have to do I guess! 

We got a super sweet reference this week from President Rowley! President Rowley was here last week for stake conference. And I guess as they were leaving Monday morning to go back to Piura they went to a gas station to fill up their car with gas. And supposedly he talked to the lady that was filling up his car and he invited her to listen to the missionaries! So he got her name and number written down and then on Tuesday morning he called us with the reference. So one day this week we really didn't know what to do because we had a couple appointments fall through and so we decided to pull out the cell phone and call this reference to see if we could go and visit her. So we called her and said that we could pass by. She has only been in Tumbes for 3 months and really doesn't know her directions but was able to kind of guide us to her house. So after about 20 minutes we finally found her house and she invited us to come in and share something with her and her son! Her name is J and her son is G M and he is 16 years old. They are both super cool though, and they are super prepared for the gospel! That was a huge testimony builder for me that there really are people here in my area that are prepared for the gospel! I've just got to go out and find them! On Wednesday we have an appointment to go back and teach them! I can't wait! I'm super excited for this next week! My companion only has 4 weeks left in the mission but we are going to make the most of the little time that there is!  

Thanks for all the love, prayers, and support! I love you guys! I love being a missionary! I have no doubt that the Church is true! I love my Savior. I know He lives! 

Elder Baker

P.S.
I know what it's like without power. It happens quite frequently here--and living without water. Count your many blessings! Utah weather sure is crazy! You never know what you're gonna get!

I do think I will run some races after the mission. I'm thinking about doing triathlons. They sound kind of fun! I'm so excited to go and visit the Sacred Grove this summer! It's going to be super cool after having been a missionary for 2 years testifying of the sacred event that happened in that place! I can't wait to walk there! Thanks for the prayers! 



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