Converting a Missionary?

Hello friends and family!

This week was interesting. We had an interesting encounter this week that tried to reverse our roles. There's a lady who seems to think converting missionaries is a smart idea... She's been inviting us to her church and house and shared some interesting videos with us... Anywho, it's always an adventure out here!

We've been teaching about individual worth and charity a lot!  Remember you're divine worth and purpose and help others recognize their own! I have a commitment for you all! Provide an act of service this week and email me the results! Small or big.  You choose! Seeing someone's smile makes it all worthwhile! Also read the article in the Ensign (church magazine) titled, "Faith, Service, and a Loaf of Bread".  It's a really touching story about a young man in Armenia. 

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2015/10/young-adults/faith-service-and-a-loaf-of-bread?lang=eng

Women's conference was amazing! I'm so excited for general conference next week, although sad to hear of the passing of Elder Richard G. Scott.  He was an amazing example and an incredible man. At this the time of his passing, I encourage you to watch the Mormon message "Expressions of Love"

...and remember to always show your love for those around you as he has to his wife. 

Also please watch the general women's conference if you haven't yet, even if you are a male, President Uchtdorf's parable is relatable for all!

Or read it here...

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/a-summer-with-great-aunt-rose?lang=eng

We biked to the stake centre for the general women's conference since we are out of kms on the car, but it was another adventure I suppose! 

We had a new missionaries follow up meeting and our MTC (Missionary Training Centre) house was reunited! So happy I was able to see them all last Friday! Ignore my strange arm, ahaha! That's really my update for this week! Excited to hear from you! (Email: jessica.baker@myldsmail.net)

Love from Sister Baker 

Kneescaps, Rainforests and Police Officers

Hello friends and family!

Wow the week was great! I absolutely adore all of the members in Kingsway YSA! I made cookies from scratch and forgot a whole cup of flour the first batch. My cookies may have boiled. Oops!

Hot chocolate and donuts!

Ahaha... anywayssss, I went to a foot doctor because I've been having problems with my knee since the MTC and I was told my kneecap is slightly off of my knee. Anyways, the doctor was super cool and diagnosed me with patela-femoral syndrome which basically means I've always has this problem and it's just wearing on me now. It basically means my ankles are pressured inward and my feet are flat and its pulling the bottom part of my leg and knee cap inward. But it is fixed by propping my toes up and straightening my ankle, so he offered to give me inserts to correct it for free (they're actually super expensive so his charity is well appreciated)!

While I was there I met a sister Riddely whispered in Ontario a very long time ago and knows the Nabrotzky's from Walkerton and the Jakob's... so woah small world!

While we were on the south side we went to the bookstore which was SOOO cool. I love church bookstores. There's so much cool stuff! We've been getting a lot more dinner appointments so yum yum in my tum! 😄 I extended my first invitation to baptism on Sunday and now we have a baptism scheduled for December 12 hopefully. It's always so great teaching her!

The other night we had dinner with Hugh, a recent convert and a bunch of other YSA. I felt like we should talk about opening our mouths to share the gospel, so after the dinner (of delicious homemade sushi and dumplings) I got all of them to write their testimonies in a Book of Mormon.  We then raced to hand them out to someone in the neighbourhood. They all loved it and had a blast and we handed out one of them! And everyone else knew who they wanted to give it to once they came back unsuccessful. Such a good experience. They realized that inviting their friends was WAY easier than getting doors shut on their faces 😝

We went on exchanges for the first time this week with our sister training leaders but it's funny cuz we're all already in the same 4 man flat so nothing changed all that much. We cleaned out our contacts list and area books and played pool on Friday and ordered tons of pizza from Papa Johns and a giant chocolate chip cookie that was delicious!

 Funny story.... We went to an arena (like we often do) to find people to talk to.  We started talking to one lady and the police all of a sudden were standing right behind us. It was a tad unsettling because when we walked away they followed us for a bit so we just left. It was interesting to say the least. Maybe we should have shared the gospel with them! We found a rainforest in the city when we couldn't find parking by the library and just ended up paying for it. 😒 But it was all fun!

Until next week

Sister Baker

Using a Different Kind of GPS

Hello friends and family!

This week was busy as usual but I've been trying to recognize the simple miracles in life. We had a pretty amazing experience yesterday. We bought a treat and rolled up a short story ("The Room by Joshua Harris... READ IT!) and were planning on dropping it off at a former investigator's house that night. We located her intersection on our map (we aren't blessed with GPS yet) and made our way over there. At 8:45, after over half an hour of desperately looking for her house we were exhausted, exasperated and just grumpy. It was evident that her house was not on the intersection we thought it was. We stopped, turned off the music, and said a prayer for direction. We tried some new tactics and then decided to call another Sister for help. After some rough possible directions, we tried again and found the house with ease. Heavenly Father is always listening. With His help we were able to deliver the treat to her doorstep and break a previous investigator's silence. We are so grateful for all that we have been given.

(Watch the YouTube video telling the story of "The Room" by Joshua Harris set to music. Beautiful!)

Earlier last week I made banana bread for the zone leaders, and succeeded quite well. I have included a photo of my success ;)

We adventured a lot this week. First Sister Bahtishi got us lost in an industrial park after claiming she knew a different way home from the institute! We drove around for an hour before finding our way back.  Our conservation of km's is going quickly... That is why we have been bussing even more this week. But buses are a great way to meet new people though. We've also found that YSA like to congregate at local sports arenas so we've been finding them there as well! Yesterday in particular we set out to take the bus to visit a member who just moved in to the ward. Unfortunately the buses aren't very reliable and we had a late bus that caused us to miss the following one. Smart old me determined we would be less late by walking than by waiting for the next bus. And so walk we did! For about an hour and a half. I had grossly misjudged the distance. I suppose I paid sister Bahtishi back for getting us lost the day before because we must have walked at least 5 or 6 miles, if not more. It's all in the adventure of it I suppose!

I hit my one month mark on Saturday! It feels so weird. Like I should have hit it a long time ago.

We had a conference with Elder Golden on Thursday and that was amazing. He had us all shake his hand and introduce ourselves beforehand. He is a man with an amazing spirit and his wife is such a
sweetheart! We went to the institute BBQ kickoff and I met a fellow from the cast of "My Latter-Day Life". It's a YouTube show that was created in Edmonton. Zachary Ayers from back home is in it and I had been watching the show for months before I even got my call! Speaking of Zach, I ran into him at the YSA world wide devotional (which was also really great). It was strange to run into someone from home, but kind of neat. Brother Nelson (our Kitchener stake clerk) was also visiting his parents with his wife and baby girl this week, so it was neat to see them at church on Sunday.

We told some Elders that we could see them being characters from Toy Story (Ham and Buzz). And they responded by saying that Sister Bahtishi would be Mrs. Potato Head. And I would be Mike Wisowski's crazy girlfriend from Monsters Inc. Do I seem like a crazy girlfriend to you?! Hahaha it was quite funny though. :)

That's really it for my week I think. Sorry I don't have many pictures but, yeah.

Love you all lots.

Sister Baker.


Also. It rained a ton!
Andddd Londonderry sisters sticky attached our mirror.

Don't Tempt the Lion!

Only two weeks? Wow it feels like I've been here for months!

Hellooo friends and family!

Sooo... writing things for this blog is hard! I'm never too sure what to say. I guess I have a few pictures from this week. The elders always change things on our car (mirrors, wipers, etc) so when we saw that their car was dirty we took full advantage!

In other news, it was Elder Song and Elder Nemeth's birthdays this week so we got them a princess cake and ice cream and had a good time at our district meeting. We took some pictures as a branch that are interesting to say the least....

Sister Bahtishi and I got some funky sunglasses and enjoyed our service at the bike shop on Thursday (we clean and prepare bikes for repair and/or do minor repairs on bikes every Thursday). Hmm... we used a lot of km's on our car so we have been adventuring on the buses today.

We went to Soda Jerks this week, an awesome build your own burger place. I included a menu with the options and it's pretty crazy to say the least.... It was delicious though and they have great shakes as well. I will return.

Elder Golden of the 70 and his wife shared some great insights during the north Edmonton stake conference this weekend. He mentioned that faith = personal righteousness. If you desire an increase of faith, increase your personal righteousness.  It's that simple. He also spoke to us about how many of those we plead for who have fallen away will come back in due time, and how the Lord doesn't take their personal agency away and will not force anyone to return because of our prayers, God is still mighty to save. He mentions that those who come in the 11th hour receive the same as those who come in the 1st.

Sister Golden likened the adversity to a lion and warned us not to tempt the lion by getting into sticky situations. I had the chance to speak briefly with her, with President and Sister Manion. Her Spirit is unbelievably strong. All and all, I have learned much and I am excited for the mission tour this Thursday to hear more.

I have been making good use of my umbrella the past week. It poured all weekend! The rain was so needed though, as Edmonton is extremely dry. 

It's always a pleasure to hear from you back home and I'll try to email as many of you back as possible. If you have specific questions it helps me to respond more effectively!

Love you all so much,

Sister Jessica Baker



(Sorry about the pics... there were some technical difficulties this week and the intended pictures never got sent!  That's ok.  She sent a bunch in the past two week!  I will try to insert them here next week if we can get the bugs worked out next week!)

I got a haircut too!! it was free, I forgot to mention! BEFORE...

AFTER... not much of a change!

Edmonton Here I Am - First Week!

I'M IN CANADA! Well, being back on home soil feels nice, even if I had to pull an all-nighter and get on a bus at 2:30am to do so :P At the airport we met up with President and Sister Manion (the two other Canadians and I benefited immensely by not having to go through immigration).  Right after introductions Sister Manion asked me to go talk to a group of tourists from Toronto going to Alaska! Talk about being thrown into it! It was a really good experience though. After that we all went to a chapel and had some workshops on how to contact, things we need to know about driving the mission cars, and interviews with Pres. Manion. He and I have a lot in common! Then we ate a nice big dinner and had a little fireside. Ohhhh Elder Fregene (from Edmonton area, but lived in Toronto for a year) is serving here temporarily, so it was nice to see another friendly face. Elder Chacon Pablon from the Montreal area is also serving in the Edmonton mission. We ran into each other a few times at the MTC. 

The next day we were assigned our areas and trainers! I had to say goodbye to the companion of my heart, Sister Schatmeier. :( Butttt my trainerin the field is Sister Bahtishi. She graduated from film school before coming here and is a really great artist! She's super easy to get along with and is pretty hilarious! She's into pop culture and such and loves "Sailor Moon", which I can relate to very well, if you ever knew me as a child.... 

We serve together in the Kingsway - YSA ward, so it's definitely a starving ward (we don't get fed that often). Soooo if anyone has any easy, fast, minimal ingredient, cheap recipes they'd like to share, please feel free to do so! 

JM Morrison's younger brother is in my ward, so that's neat. Also, a Sister I met in the MTC, Sister Hudson, has a brother in this ward. It was her ward before her mission too! So that's also really cool! I'm looking forward to meeting more members as I serve diligently! 

We are working towards one investigator being baptized on the 12th of September, so that's pretty exciting! Marissa is preparing for baptism with us. It's neat to see her progress. I'm excited to continue working with her and getting to see more people work towards baptism! 

We are having a mission conference next week with Elder Golden from the first quorum of the Seventy and his wife. I'm excited to heed their advice. 

My P-day is now Tuesday, in case you didn't notice.. :P 

I have my iPad set up, so I can email off that and it's fantastic :D 

A scripture that's really inspired me this week is Proverbs 17:22 

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken Spirit drieth the bones."

It's brought us some great stories and insights as we've discussed temporary happiness of the world, versus pure joy and how it only comes through living the commandments of the Lord. Being cheery and smiling and laughing is amazing for our bodies, minds, and spirits. It's no wonder we have the phrase "laughter is the best medicine"! 

Well that's all I have for the day! Love and cherish you and your support daily. 

Sister Baker  

Selfie from the ipad!

All of us newbies

Last roomate photooo :( But Sister Neal is currently in my district (the one with bangs) and it's sooo nice to still see her all the time!

​Ignore our extreme awkwardness.... and my giant mouth. Ran into a familiar face at tranfers meeting! (Andres Bernal served in Edmonton up until a few months ago. He was back visiting) 

Leaving the MTC... Edmonton Here I Come!

Hello friends and family! 

 

Oh man! It's my last day in the MTC!!! How crazy is that! Where did the time go? Also, have I not been here for months? Time is so weird here! (It's only been 2 weeks) So much happens everyday, it's hard to keep track! 

I've stayed my full 12 days here at the MTC and I leave tomorrow at 2:30am for Edmonton! Today and yesterday we said goodbye to all the Elders in our district, it was pretty tough on us all, we had a testimony meeting last night and then awkwardly said goodbye to them after films... they brighten up our days and provide comical relief in every situation! I may or may not have shed more tears saying goodbye... shhhh! Our family is now broken up and it doesn't feel the same without them! They'll all be great missionaries though and I hope to one day see them, again! Side note: they say I have an accent when saying "sorry" and consistently pointed it out and mocked it this week; they even had one of my teachers and the other district in on it :P They also occasionally did "Canadian Calls" to find me, Elder Cherrington is definitely the instigator of the trends. My camera died taking class pics but I'm getting a missionary to send me them!   

 

 

 

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I saw Sister Vesna Kelsey kicking around the cafeteria occasionally before she left last week, and I've seen Elder Spencer Evans all over the place lately, they're both doing really well! I've been eating a ton! Still loving the corn chowder, and the BYU creamery ice cream bar on Sundays and Wednesdays... Mint Chocolate and Graham Canyon are some personal favs, but I've ran/worked out daily and even got together with the district next door who we're uber close to and played sand volleyball! I've made it through the MTC without gaining a pound! WOOO! 

Last Tuesday Elder Echo Hawk of the Seventy came and spoke to us about exact obedience and his conversion. Fun fact: His grandfather was named Echo Hawk because Hawk means "brave warrior" and people heard of his deeds from one side of the village to the other, so he was the hawk who's deeds were echoed. 

This Sunday Brother Allen spoke to us about repentance and how we should stop murmuring and look forward. He had so many insights and I wish I had time to share them all but I'm running low on time!

Read the Book of Mormon! Read it over and over and over!  The Spirit testifies through it, every time!  I'm so grateful to be serving my Lord and Savior and cannot wait to teach others of the gospel! Thank you all so much for your support and love! 

Sister Baker

 

 

Roses...

Beautiful flower gardens...

 

Our district...

Elders candid shot!

Making hawk like shadows on the wall ...

The Provo temple...

A view of the mountains...

Our Branch president, President Gines, and an out-going and new set of STL's (Sister Training Leaders)

 

First Week! From the MTC in Utah

Hello friends and family! 

Wow, I cannot believe that it's only been 5 days since I hopped on a plane to fly out to the MTC (Missionary Training Centre)! It seems like that was a lifetime ago!

I have no idea where to even start, soo much has happened! I have learned so much and have had such an increase in testimony during my time here! I got here a little late on Wednesday because of the flight issues but it gave me the opportunity to meet up with a group of missionaries coming home from Peru while I was in the LAX airport. I had the opportunity to talk to them about their missions and we were all seated together on this tiny plane to Utah.  The sister I had the opportunity to sit beside was incredibly sweet and she loved her family so much.  I walked into the baggage area with her before any other missionaries.  Her family, as well as a ton of others were there to greet the missionaries. It was loud and slightly awkward, since the applause was meant for them!  Hahaha... but they were all so happy and there was sooo much love!! 

My MTC companion, Sister Schatmeier is so amazing! I'm incredibly lucky to have her! She is super outgoing and though we are both pretty headstrong, and sometimes we talk over each other, we complement each other well. She knows exactly what to teach and receives amazing revelation all the time. We have been pretty good about eating, which is hard here (the corn chowder is amazing!), and we run/workout just about everyday, hopefully my weight isn't too threatened! :)  Her and I were made Sister training leaders the second day we got here which was super fun.  The girls in our zone are great and we are very excited for the newbies to come on Wednesday! 

Our district is amazing! All 4 of us sisters are headed to Edmonton, while 4 of the Elders are going to Sydney, Australia, and 2 Elders are going to Micronesia, Guam! We all get along really well and we act like a little family. Saturday night we all went outside after a day of sitting in the classroom and we all goofed around a bit but then we shared our favourite scripture and a bit about why and the Spirit was so so strong! They make fun of me for the way I say "bag" and they've just started saying "they have that in Canada" every time I talk about something, such as babies and Reese's and watches. I guess it's pretty entertaining. 

IT HAS BEEN SO HOT!!! 30 degrees or more EVERY DAY!! It doesn't help that our classroom building doesn't get a/c. Sunday we got to go on a temple walk and took some pictures, which I included.  The Provo Temple wasn't just made to resemble a bunch of Twix bars!  I learned yesterday that it's supposed to represent a cloud and a pillar of fire! There are a bunch of fountains around it too which is awesome! This morning we got to do a session there and it was really, really nice, the inside is gorgeous too! I forgot my temple recommend though, so we missed our session walking all the way back to get it... Oops! 

I decided to sing in the choir yesterday with my comp (she has a very nice voice) and we got stranded in a sea of Elders, so we ended up singing the tenor part... it's all good though because we had the opportunity to sing a few songs with the Nashville Tribute Band, who came to perform for everyone. They created a beautiful atmosphere where the Spirit was so strong... I may or may not have cried... shhh!  Last night we also had the opportunity to see some videos. We watched "The Character of Christ" which is an address Elder Bednar gave in the MTC at Christmas a few years ago.  To my understanding, it's exclusive to the MTC, but if you ever find yourself here... WATCH IT!

They liken the first week here to drinking from a fire hose and I can totally testify of the truth of that! There is so much to absorb and so much to do.  It's almost impossible to get it all done! I'm trying my very best though and I'm super excited for this next week! 

Well, I don't have any time left but just know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect. There are absolutely no flaws! As we follow the steps therein to have faith, repent, be baptized and confirmed, and endure to the end I know that our lives will be blessed so much! 

The "dearelders" messages I received warmed my heart. Feel free to send more! I love you all so much and I'll write again soon!

Sister Baker

Pictures are of me and my comp, us and our house, us and our STL's (sister training leaders),  the temple, our district, and a large part of our zone.