From what seemed like a previously uneventful week turned into a very, very eventful week. Don't react badly because of the subject line, nothing bad happened to me, haha.
Tuesday Night: Right before we arrived at one of our appointments we got a call from the local hospital, calling us to give a blessing to a man. We were asked by his bishop, who was also there, to stay afterwards and talk to him for a little bit. I come to find out that he was the first LDS Chaplain in 10 years many years ago, and that he was also one of the first missionaries to serve in the country of Korea, and served in Pusan, where my mom served her mission. Just listening to his stories helped him a lot and hopefully will help him recover quickly. He was an example of faith for his entire life and following the will of our Heavenly Father. One of the coolest stories was about the effect acting on small promptings can do for you. He had begun teaching this young women in Korea and she wanted to be baptized. The older brother (the father had passed away semi-recently) wouldn't allow her and was against meeting with the missionaries. This was after her mom and other siblings had begun the lessons. One night Elder Campbell gave the girl a card with his name on it and phone number and what not, and she set it on the counter. The next day the oldest brother say the card and agreed to listen to what the missionaries had to teach. On the card was a picture of the Salt Lake Temple. The night before he had a dream of a majestic building with 6 spires. He went up to one of the doors and knocked. Nobody came for quite a while, but once someone did come, he asked if he could come in. They responded that he could not at this time, but that if he prepared and got his life in order he could come in. That dream was followed by seeing the building he had dreamed about on that card. He quit smoking and the whole family accepted the gospel. Just acting on simple promptings can fit into God's plan and best help others come unto the Gospel, in God's will and way.
Exchanges: I had the opportunity to go on two exchanges this past week. One was with Elder Thompson again, and the other was with Elder Davis. Both were great days, but the one to talk about today was Elder Davis. He is from Texas and is an amazing missionary. He has been serving for about a year and is just on fire. One of the amazing experiences we had was following a prompting. He felt we should visit one of their current investigators and when we did she was struggling. She had been off alcohol for 4 weeks and had relapsed and was beating herself up. We had the blessing to pray with her, teach her of the love of our Heavenly Father and our Savior and about Christ's infinite and eternal atonement. We blessed her and she has started to feel better. There is no one outside of the reach of Christ's love. His love heals, it inspires, it lifts and edifies, and makes all the difference.
Saturday: This was another crazy day, and it mainly consisted of 2 baptisms and a devotional at the visitors center. Both of the other companionship in the district had someone be baptized this past Saturday and both were amazing. The Spirit felt at the time of a sacred ordinance is just spectacular, even if one had to be done twice. Because it is a sacred ordinance of the Gospel, if it is done incorrectly, it must be done again. It was another testament that the priesthood authority of God is restored on the earth. That night our district headed over to the VC and sung "Picture a Christmas" as part of the music devotional that night. It is a song from the Children's Songbook and very powerful. It is always amazing to sing and to share that light with other people.
Sabbath Day/Transfers: So Sunday was super good, but the weather caught me by surprise. In the morning it was very nice, in the afternoon it was a little rainy and windy, and then after dinner we look outside the window, and we see about 5 inches of snow, lots of wind, and the visibility is low. So another mini-blizzard, to start off the snow that we will have on the ground until April. That night we learned that neither of us are being transferred, so Elder Wheelock and I will be companions again for another 6 weeks. That will make it about 6 months that I'll get to be in this area, and we're going to have a lot of miracles before we get to the end. I'm super excited.
Studies: Just another invitation for everyone to #LightTheWorld and also watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional from last night. It was pretty good.
Thanks for your emails and prayers. It is the best out here in the mission field and you never stop learning or growing. Jesus is the Christ and this is a great time of year to focus on His life and atonement, along with His perfect example of service and love.
Love,
Elder Baker
Pictures:
Brother Campbell
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