September 25,"Errand Of Angels"

This week has flown by, it's really crazy to see how fast time is going. 

We watched the Restoration movie with Wendy and her daughter Cheyanne, and they loved it! Wendy was crying seeing all that church went through in its beginning years, and it made me very proud to come from a heritage such as that! All of our lessons with them turn into a major question and answer session, but it is cool to see how interested they are in learning more every time we come. We love her and feel like apart of their family! Wendy and Cheyanne came to church and the members were amazing and just linked arms with them and took them where they needed to go. Cheyanne is at the point where she is open to everything but not too sure about God and the whole religion thing so that was a big step for her to be there. 

We met some really amazing people this week: we were out walking and we see a man reading and we go up to him and we met Juan reading a Bible. He sees us approaching and pulls out chairs underneath a tree to talk and he was so excited to meet with us. I remembered that we had a Spanish Book of Mormon in the car (Why? I have no idea) and we were able to give that to him. He seemed very open to the idea of more scripture and was reading that as we left. 

We were driving along and we see that one of our referrals/ a former who previously met with missionaries was home and we knock on her door and she opens and welcomes us right in like she knows us. We soon find out that she is thinking we were someone else and is handing me things like we came to buy something from her shop online, and she keeps talking about us like we talked on the phone. It was awkward because we were in her house, I was holding her thing, but we had no idea what was going on and I finally had to tell her who we were and that we were not here to buy her shoes. She died laughing and we were able to sit down and talk with her. Darlene has been really struggling a lot this past year with her mother being murdered, family disputes, money problems, etc. and I felt very inadequate to give any sort of advice. She has pretty much given up on God and doesn't think a loving God could exist and let all this bad happen in the world. As we mostly listened and she vented, she cried and opened up telling us everything. By the end, she apologized for venting so much but thanked us for listening and invited us to come back. I don't know how but Sister Boyce and I always seems to find those that are in such a need for someone to listen and love them, those that are struggling beyond belief, and although I feel very at a loss for words on where to even begin I know that us being there and trying to bring them the gospel, is God's way of reaching out and telling them that there is hope, that they don't have to be lost and angry, and that He is mindful of them. 

Tristan also has a BCD for November 4th so we are excited to be working with her. She is really progressing and soaking it all in. We love her a whole lot!

Love yall!

Sister Baker

when your companion hands you scissors and asks you to cut her hair 6 inches, you do it!

Sisters conference in Bonifay Florida, some friends I love very much!

Sister Boyce and I wore matching shirts if you couldnt already tell #compunity

September 18,"Come Follow Me, I Will Make Fishers Of Fish"-Brother Pannell

Rickey Alan Caudell is officially a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! It was such a good baptism, probably the most spiritual I have ever been to on my mission. The ward was so amazing and made the baptism so special for Rickey. The Pannell's looked very happy and my little missionary heart was about to burst the entire time.
Remember in Tally when we would teach people the Restoration and they would get sent to the ER. Well it continues. Wendy didn't come to church this past Sunday because she was feeling very bad pains in her stomach, so she went to the ER, and we met her there, and stayed with Cheyanne, her daughter, who hates hospitals. It was so amazing for us to see the bond that we have with Wendy that of all people she could of called and had with her in the ER, she called the sister missionaries. We called some priesthood holders to come and give her a blessing and she LOVED it! Right as they laid their hands on her head, this light filled the room. And right as they finished, the sun went back behind the clouds and the room returned back to normal. After they left, she cried as she told us, "That was the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced. It was like this heat came from my head down through my body. I can definitely testify that that was real. I just have this total peace about me that I didn't feel before, like I know everything is going to be okay. That was even better than the drugs." I am so grateful for that experience, the priesthood power is so real, and that experience really strengthened Wendy's testimony, we are sure. It was neat because the Sunday before, we had a lesson on the priesthood and now Wendy has had an experience with it, and she is feeling better and resting at home.
Tristan is also doing so good! For awhile we weren't sure what she was feeling about the lessons, but then our last lesson with her was such a turn around. We were talking a lot about the Book of Mormon and Sister Boyce asked her, "If the Book of Mormon was true, what would that mean for your life?" Tristan thought a little about that, and said "It would tell me how to act and change how I make decisions with my life." I did not see that answer coming, and the spirit was very strong in that lesson. Sister Perry, her grandmother, bore a very powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon, and we felt very strongly to invite her to baptism. We did and she said yes! 

I have had a lot of experiences this past week that prove to me that God knows His children, and even when I think I know better or think I know what they need more, He truly knows them and their needs. It has really shaped my testimony that in all things, I need to trust that God is in control, and that everything He does is because He loves His children!

Love y'all! 

Sister Baker

P.S. Funny experience this past week: Our bedroom window is right next to our neighbors front door. One night I hear voices, wake up, and see flashlights peering through our window. They couldn't see anything and we weren't sure what was going on. Then we hear someone pounding on the door right next to our window and a voice yelling, "THIS IS THE POLICE, OPEN THE DOOR! THIS IS THE POLICE, WE ARE GOING TO KICK DOWN THE DOOR!" and sure enough, they kicked down the door. Then red lights started flashing and we had no idea what was going on so we fell back asleep. True story! 

Pictures:

Rickey's baptism

i love kittens!

in the ER with Cheyanne

September 11,"Hurricanes And Help"

As I am sure y'all heard, Hurricane Irma is currently hitting Florida. Luckily, Pace is far enough away from the eye of the storm that we are barely getting anything from it. Half of the mission (Tally and Panama Zones) are on lock down and all missionaries are asked to stay inside, because the storm moved a little westward which we weren't expecting but not far enough to affect us in the Pensacola Zone. So we are totally safe! 

The amazing thing is how the hurricane has really brought people together. This afternoon we were able to go to a hotel in Milton and serve some evacuees from the lower half of Florida that left to escape the storm and floods. Some ward members made food and we were able to serve it and meet people from all over FL and to hear from them how their lives were affected. It is crazy to think how I used to hear about storms in other parts of the US on the news but it is another thing to be apart of it and to see THE people that the news are telling you about, it is very humbling. They were very appreciative of the food and help. 

This week was a little difficult, but it ended so well. We had a lesson with Wendy (the lady that walked into sacrament meeting last Sunday) and it was an amazing lesson. Honestly, one of the most prepared people I have ever taught. The Spirit was so strong in that lesson, and it felt like it was all clicking in her head and was all making sense. She told us how she read the Book of Mormon Introduction, the testimonies, and some chapters in the book of Nephi, before our lesson and that she prayed before and after reading to help her understand it all. And then she came to church again and participated in the lessons and is basically this amazing investigator that I LOVE! I think for her it is all coming together and I am so excited to see where she goes. 

On Friday night, at 9:40 PM we got a call from our District Leader telling us that we are having a last minute Zone Conference the next day in Alabama at 10! It was a little crazy but it turned out fine and it was a very edifying meeting! I am very grateful for the recharge that those always are for me.

Also, Rickey is on track to get baptized this Saturday; we have one more lesson to cover with him and he should be all good to go. He is such a prepared little boy and we are so excited for him. He is quiet and shy but so intellectual and loves learning! The church is getting such a special addition when he is baptized a member!

Grateful for y'all! 

Sister Baker

September 4,"Thank You For Walking Into My Life"

So many good things going on in Pace and I am so grateful to be apart of them. Especially with a companion that can just laugh at the insane amount of bugs in the air, not to mention their size, a man yelling at us that Jesus is black after I gave him one of our cards, dirty kids running around in trailer parks with cream corn while their parents pass cigarettes, and the crazy weather that makes it pour one second then sunny blue skies a couple minutes later. Typical South. I love it, every minute of it. 

I will continue to rave on the members because they are amazing! Even in circumstances that make it difficult they still look for ways to bless others lives with the gospel. There is this one amazing family here that have 4 kids and the newest little addition has a tube inserted in his trachea because when he falls asleep, his brain turns off and doesn't keep him breathing. He has to be hooked up to this machine when he sleeps so as you can guess, with a newborn, that makes life a little more complicated. The family has day nurses that come and help with the baby and one is named Lisa. Sister Weingartner has been talking to her about the gospel and Lisa is asking tons of questions. We were able to drop by when she was there and get to talking with her and it is so cool to see how prepared she is! She is loving the things she is hearing about the church so we are looking forward to getting to talk to her more about the church. 

And to not stop there, the ward was also able to help Kristina stay afloat financially. It was amazing how the ward just rallied around her-someone they didn't even know yet- and paid her bills and to see her be handed the envelope with the check, and with hand over mouth and tears rolling down her cheeks to be so at a loss for words was amazing for me to witness. It wasn't about the money but the fact that we were placed in her life at just the right moment. As we were leaving she looked at me and said "Because of you, my kids and I are not going to be homeless. Thank you for walking into my life. Thank you for coming up and talking to me." Wow, powerful! God is oh so good! 

Yesterday, as we are sitting in sacrament, I see this lady and what looks like her daughter walk into the chapel that I have never seen before. We go up to talk to her after and it turns out that she used to be married to a member at this church and was originally planning on going to her Baptist church that morning but then felt like she needed to go to the Mormon church. And she said during Gospel Principles class, crying, "I am so grateful that I came here today. I am Baptist, and it makes me so sad the way they talk about Mormons being a cult. I can tell you that I have felt more love and acceptance at the Mormon church then I have ever felt at my Baptist church." My companion and I were composed on the outside but you better believe we were screaming on the inside. If you are from the south, that is a BIG thing! We were able to set up an appointment with her and she is making us some of her famous enchiladas so I am stoked for that! 

This week really affirmed to me that as you work hard and do the things you are supposed to God will take care of you! We didn't see really any direct results from our labors and contacts and all our efforts but then God just lets a super prepared amazing lady walk into our lives. God is so aware of us here in Pace and this is definitely His work! 

Oh and Rickey, the 11 year old, has a BCD for September 16th (next week) so we are hoping we can help him be prepared for that day. 

Love y'all!

Sister Baker

Pictures:

a "pond" that formed out in the middle of the road, why it is green, I have no idea

a bug we found, what it is, I have no idea

so many signs here

dead armadillo outside our complex, this one was not hit by my companion driving