...being able to baptize an investigator that you have been teaching for a while is one of the best moments as a missionary! - 5/18/15

18 de Mayo 2015

Hey guys! This last week has gone by so fast! It's almost hard to believe! It's been a great week though! Tons has happened! As you all know, this last week was the last week for Elder M. He is in Piura right now, and then tomorrow he will be traveling back to Chile. I'm super grateful for the opportunity that I had to be his companion! He really taught me a ton! We had to spend a lot of time getting things taken care of so that he was ready to go home. He actually had to go to Piura on Saturday morning because he had his last interview with President that afternoon and after that he was taking an English exam. So that was what's happening with him. After he left I stayed with Elder A and Elder M spending time in both of our areas getting things taken care of--Until today, when my new companion got here!

So since Elder M left, that means that I have a new companion now! I'm super excited about my new companion! It's Elder V! He is a super sweet missionary from Lima. I have known him since he started his mission while I was in Paita! I'm super excited to work with him! He has 18 months in the mission and is a great missionary! It is his first time being a zone leader. So I'm going to help him get used to that, but I'm sure it's going to be a great last transfer! I honestly couldn't ask for a better companion to finish the mission with! I'm super excited for this next transfer! My whole mission it has felt like there is still lots of time left. But today it really hit me how little time I have left! I know that it is going to fly by. So I have to make the most of it!

Probably the best part of this last week was JC!!!! :) JC is sweet! Elder M and I taught him the last 3 lessons that he needed this week for his baptism! He is super intelligent though and understands almost everything! And then on Saturday he had his baptism interview with our district leader! And he passed! So that means that we could go through with his baptism for Sunday afternoon which went super well! He wanted to be baptized before his birthday, which is today. So we had to do it yesterday! He wanted me to baptize him. So that means that I got to put on white clothes and baptize him! So that was super cool! Honestly, being able to baptize an investigator that you have been teaching for a while is one of the best moments as a missionary! There were tons of missionaries and members there to support him! So we are super happy about that!

The rest of the week went by in a blur though! I am really enjoying it though! It was kind of sad for Elder M when he had to go around and say goodbye to the people that we have been teaching. I know that that day is going to be super hard for me. Being here in Peru for these 22 months now hasn't been the easiest thing ever. But it really has been one of the best experiences of my life! I really have learned to love these people. And I have also learned to love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Someone yesterday in church asked me how long I had been in the mission. And when I told them, they asked me what it was that I had learned most in the mission. And to tell you the truth, I honestly had no clue what to respond. I have honestly learned so much. I couldn't name something that I have learned most! I have really been changed! Which is a good thing!

I really am super grateful to be a missionary! I love being able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ! Thanks for always giving me your love and support! Because I wouldn't be able to do it without you!

Elder Phillip Baker

P.S.

I'm glad that it's raining in Utah! It's been raining a little here too. The only problem is that when it rains here, it causes problems. And yes, I'm still going strong health wise! 

I've had more than a week straight feeling super well. So I'm super happy about that! Because being sick was the worst. - 5/11/15

11 de Mayo 2015

Hey guys! 

Happy Mother's Day! Honestly it was so great to talk to you guys yesterday! I can hardly believe that that was the last of 4 phone calls home! It was great! I'm glad that you guys are doing well! I'm doing well as well! I have honestly been feeling so much better. I've had more than a week straight feeling super well. So I'm super happy about that! Because being sick was the worst. I have been taking lots of medicine for the last 2 weeks and it has been helping a ton! 

This letter today might be a little short because we talked about a lot of stuff yesterday. And also because today we went and took a bunch of pictures on the border with Ecuador. And I'm going to try to send a lot of pictures because I haven't been able to send pictures for almost a month now. But today I am here with a good computer and I think I will be able to! 

Pictures today for P-day at the Peru/Ecuador border!

Well, this is the last week for Elder M. Next week he is going to be going back to Chile! Crazy! Time passes by so fast! Seems like yesterday when he got here to Tumbes and he still had 3 months left! But we are excited for our last week together! We are going to be working hard! He is going to be traveling to Piura on Saturday morning. So that means we have like 4 more days together. It's been great working with him. He's a super great missionary! I'm grateful to have been able to work with him! 

It's nice being back here in Tumbes! I missed being able to work with our investigators and the less active members! JC is super excited for his baptism this weekend! Elder M isn't going to be here for it though. So that's kind of a bummer! But he's okay with it. JC is doing great! C couldn't come to church on Sunday because he was in Trujillo. But he did go to the Temple open house there! So we are super happy about that! And JS couldn't come either because she had to travel to Trujillo as well. We gave her an invitation to the open house. So I hope she makes it! But she's doing well too! Progressing a lot! 

We had Leaders Conference in Piura last week which was great. We learned a lot. And then we came back to Tumbes. We had our zone meeting which went well. I enjoyed it a lot! Being a missionary is the best! 

Sorry for the short letter. Time is running short. And my mind is kind of frazzled today. But I'm doing well! Thanks for all the love and support! Love you guys a ton!

Elder Baker! 

Family! It was nice talking to you yesterday! Love you guys more than you can imagine! Have an amazing week! You guys are always in my prayers! And I offer lots of them! For sure more than 50 a day. It's one of the things I love about being a missionary! 

This mission hasn't been easy for me, but I know that it is the only perfect mission for me! - 5/4/15

4 de Mayo 2015

Hey guys! How're y'all doing?? 

This letter might be a little short today. Sorry about that. But there's not much time. We had to spend a while in the clinic today waiting to see the doctor.

Playing ping pong with President & Sister Rowley and others for P-day in Piura

One more week has come and passed by. It has been a very interesting week though. I got to spend it all in Piura! But the good news is that I'm feeling a little bit better this week than last week! 

We spent a lot of time at the doctors this last week. First we went and saw a doctor and he gave me some medicine to be taking. And then for the rest of the week they were doing lots of different kinds of tests. They took my blood and they gave me an ultrasound jajaja. That was kind of funny to check some organs. And they made me do some other tests. And that took about all week long. This morning we went back and talked about all the results with the doctors. And they all came back negative. So that means that I don't have any parasites or dangerous bacteria. So that's a good thing. Looks like the medicine that I have been taking has been helping a lot. This last week I had at least 3 days that I wasn't sick at all. So I'm super happy about that. And there are still some more medicines that I'm going to be taking for the rest of this week to continue to help. So I'm super happy that I'm finally starting to feel better.

I'm excited to go back to Tumbes. I have been in contact with Elder M this last week almost every night. And it sounds like everything there is going well! So I'm super happy about that! He is going to be coming to Piura tomorrow because on Wednesday we have Leaders Council in the mission home. And it looks like on Wednesday we will be going back to Tumbes! I'm super excited! I've missed it! 

This week has been super great though. Don't feel bad for me. I got to do a lot this last week. I got to work with a bunch of missionaries here in Piura. I got to see tons of missionaries that I hadn't seen in forever! I got to work with Elder R, Elder S, Elder C, Elder P, and a few others! I really have enjoyed myself in Piura. Yesterday I passed by Lopez Albujar in a bus and it brought back so many memories since I was in my first area! Time has flown by! I'm so grateful to be a missionary here in this mission! This mission hasn't been easy for me, but I know that it is the only perfect mission for me! It makes me kind of sad thinking about how short of time I have left in the mission! Thanks for everything guys! Love you all more than you can imagine! Keep strong! Be obedient! The church is true. I know it!

One of my days spent with Elder S. It was his birthday, so we had to do the traditional egg and flour on his head--that's what we do here in Peru when it's someones birthday.

Elder Baker

P.S. - The temple in Trujillo is going to be dedicated in June! So I'm going to be here for the dedication! This weekend it's going to be open for the open house! All the members here in Piura are super happy about having a temple just 6 hours away!

I've still been pretty sick for this last week... but other than that this week was pretty cool! ...pretty much all of the people that we are teaching ended up coming to Church! - 4/27/15

27 de Abril 2015

Hey guys! One more week down! Time is flying by way too fast! 

Celebrating Elder M's birthday with the traditional egg on the head and then cake with members

This last week was kind of rough. I'm actually in Piura right now. I actually came here yesterday after church. I am going to a clinic here in Piura to do some tests because I've still been pretty sick for this last week. Pretty much sick the entire week long. But there's not much you can do about it! They decided to have me come down here for a few days to get some things taken care of because medical care is a lot more reliable here in Piura.

But other than that, this last week was pretty cool! Probably the best part about it was going to church yesterday. Because pretty much all of the people that we are teaching ended up coming to Church! C, JC, JS, GM, and pretty much all of the less active members that we are teaching! So that was super great. It was one of those moments that make you feel like you are actually doing something as a missionary! 

C is doing great! It's been a little bit hard to teach him because of his work schedule, but he is super sweet! And he is super excited for his baptism! He is reading the Book of Mormon and is doing great! JC is also doing well! Yesterday he came to church for the first time in a shirt and tie that he just bought! It's been kind of hard teaching him as well because of his work schedule but we are able to teach him a couple times each week! 

JS is doing amazing as well! So I'm super happy about that! We were able to teach her like 3 times this last week. And she came to church yesterday and met a ton of members and is super excited about coming back! We talked about baptism with her and invited her to be baptized and she said that she would love to be baptized! So this week we are going to be setting a baptismal date with her! 

Another highlight about this week was that we had interviews with President Rowley. It was pretty weird thinking about how it was my last interview with President Rowley before my very last one right before I come home. It's kind of cool though that I am going to be coming home the same time as President Rowley! I think he is going to be getting home one day after my group. But anyway, I had the last interview of the day. And normally it is like 10 minutes, but we talked for like 30 minutes. It was super cool. I'm so grateful for President Rowley! He has helped me so much on the mission! I have no doubt that he is the person called of God to help direct this mission in this time! We also talked with him and his wife that day about my health. And that's when they told me that I was going to be traveling to Piura to do some more tests. 

So anyway, yesterday after church I had to go to the bus station to travel to Piura. I actually traveled with Elder H who is also having some troubles with his health. He is from Georgia and is super funny. Our companions stayed back in Tumbes and will be there until we get back. The main reason that we came is just to get better medical care than what is available in Tumbes. And since we have both been struggling for a while with our health we decided to come here to see if there is anything that we can get figured out. Last night we slept in the mission office. And today we went over to the mission home and played ping pong with all the office elders and with President Rowley and his wife. So that was pretty fun! I have lots of pictures to send home, but this computer is super sketchy and I'm almost certain that it has a virus so I don't want to connect my camera to it. I think I'll send pics next week on a computer that is a little more safe. I think we'll be here tomorrow as well and then we will be traveling to Tumbes again Wednesday! There isn't much time to write, but I hope you know I love you guys! Have a great week! 

On the bus headed to Piura with Elder H.

Elder Baker

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!