Sister Baker's Edmonton Mission Journal: Llamas Don't Like Horses!

Hello friends and family!

I've had a crazy fantastic week! As per usual on the mission!

Last week on Tuesday we did WORK! We helped out a less active member by moving truck loads of sand and rocks to his grandma's front yard. We created a little rock garden thingy in a corner of the yard to even out the ground because it had been collecting water. It was tough work, but way fun! Then we went to a dance restraint with some potential investigators. We had fancy food and drinks, we sat outside because it was so nice out, but as it got darker, the icy wind from off the frozen lake was strong, so we went inside to eat dessert. :)

Panoramic Lake shot

On Wednesday we volunteered at the food bank after teaching seminary. Then we went with a senior couple out to Loon Lake, a Native American reserve in Saskatchewan. It felt like a whole different country. The culture there is just so different from what I'm used to in Canada. These people were living in poverty, many had addictions. It was such a culture shock, but we had a great lesson with a lady there, hopefully she remembers it.... I'm very excited to see the Lamanites "blossom as a rose" as promised in the Book of Mormon.

On Thursday we volunteered at the second hand store. Then we had lunch with a non member at Tim Hortons. She is a great story teller, so we enjoyed it. We visited a man in the hospital from the Philippines who had been in a bad car crash. When he was in Edmonton we found some elders to give him a blessing and now that he's up here we are trying to visit him and his wife more! He's missing part of his skull right now, so he needs to wear a bike helmet like an exoskeleton to protect his brain. It looks pretty sweet. He took off his helmet and showed us. We'd all look a little strange without pieces of our skull...!

We got to chase horses around today who got out of their pen when they added in llamas. Who woulda thought that horses don't like llamas?

Saw my first real live moose in Alberta!

On Friday we got to go and organize some shelving at the parent link centre. Service has really helped out so much in this area. We get ourselves out in the community and even if people aren't interested, they're feeling the Spirit.

On Saturday we helped prepare a daycare for inspection, scrubbing cupboards and walls from kiddie goop. Then we went to clean someone's house in Saskatchewan... preteen boys are MESSY! But we brought the relief society president and she had fun with us. We've really been trying to help out the auxiliaries as much as possible. When we work in unity with the wards we serve in, we get infinitely more accomplished, and we see lasting results. :) Then we watched a new Mormon Message with a
family, "Life's Drama." I found it pretty entertaining.

Mormon Message - Life's Drama

Also you know you're out there in the boonies when the solution for an overpopulation of cats is kitty hunting. Not that we participated..... But it was interesting to hear about.

On Sunday we had stake conference. It was powerfully spiritual. So many big men cried at the pulpit. Elder Allan Packer was the visiting member of the Seventy and as prompted, he pulled up members at random to bear their testimonies. The temple president also spoke. He said that despite the beauty of the temple structure, it's the people who come through the doors who truly make it beautiful. The patriarch was asked to share his testimony. Aside from talking about patriarchal blessings he said (something like), "we're not as worthless as we think. There is not one of us whom He doesn't desire to save. We may seem insignificant in our own eyes but the truth of the matter is, Heavenly Father loves us. Angels are watching over us."

We also met with a man who was once Islamic but is now Atheist. It was difficult to teach him because he didn't trust in any form of Higher Power, so telling him that we had a loving Father in Heaven was very hard for him to accept. He was quite the challenge, but he agreed to read the Book of Mormon and you could see by the end that he started to doubt his unbelief. I really hope that the Spirit touches him as he reads!

Yesterday we cleaned a little girls room. It was a blast and not nearly as bad as the boys from last week! We left a note from the cleaning fairy. It was pretty fun! We also had a very spiritual lesson
with an investigator and two members. I was so moved by the Spirit as I shared my testimony of the love of God that I don't even remember what I said! But testimony is such a powerful tool. I invite you to reflect on your own and to share that knowledge with someone.