I'm running out of time and so this email will have to be pretty fast. Hope that everything that I feel I should write will make it down. Here we go.
Transfers: So Wednesday was the day of transfers. Elder Velarde finished packing up and we headed to the transfer site to send him off. It was a little sad to see him go, but it's for the best. It is crazy how close you get with people when you struggle and work hard right alongside them. After he drove away, I went with Elder Syring (a good friend in the mission), because we had another appointment that I needed to be at. After having that appointment fall through, we tried some other people in the area. Elder Syring came out with me in the field and he served in this branch before I did, so it was cool for him to serve for a short time in one of his old areas. After getting some lunch we headed back and I got my new companion, Elder South. He is from the Dallas, Texas area and has been out for about 6 months. He was previously serving in Salmon, and now he is with me. It's strange to have a new companion again, but it seems that we get along well and that we will be able to work hard in this upcoming week. The rest of the day was great, with some good appointments and Elder South getting to know some people in the wards.
Worrying: So over the past few days I've been worrying a lot about a lot of small things, especially since a lot of people have not kept their commitments and cancelled their appointments and aren't progressing very fast, but then something that someone said to me really struck me. Worry is something that the adversary uses to discourage and to distract, and needs to be dealt with. Just don't worry too much. Pray as if everything depended on the Lord, and work as if everything depended on you.
Shannon: We had an appointment with Shannon and Friday. He is a less-active in one of our wards and we had one appointment with him about a month ago, and it kept getting moved back. We stayed to it and finally had an appointment go through 2 days after Elder South got into the area. He is at a low point and wants to get up. He knows that the church is true and we taught that healing and strength will come because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He needs to quit smoking, but we are going to help him overcome it so that he can be free from that addiction. More on him in the upcoming weeks.
Birthday: Saturday was my birthday, and it felt really weird. The only thing that wasn't super normal about my day was that I opened some presents before we started planning in the morning, and the family of one of the ward mission leaders in the area, the brewers, had us over for dinner and had a cake to celebrate. It was one of the best birthday's that I've ever had. One year ago on my birthday I went through the temple, and know I'm serving a mission with all that I have. It was a little sad, because most of the appointments fell through during the day, but one of the appointments that went through was the one we had with Lucas. He taught more about the Book of Mormon and we also talked about what he feelings were going forward. There will be more on him next week.
Music: So once a month at the Visitors Center in Idaho Falls, there is a music devotional or fireside put on by the full-time missionaries. Sister McIntosh, who is in my district, was put in charge of it and asked Elder Furr and I to put on a number. We found something and practiced and gave the performance for it on Sunday night. It was a very very spiritual experience. It reminded me of one of the scriptures that pushes me to continue singing in the car to hymns, at church, and at every other opportunity that I have. D&C 25:12-12 For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.
Thank you for your emails and all of the birthday wishes.
Love you and I'll have a longer email next week.
-Elder Baker
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