Living the celebrity life

Hello everyone!! Wow, is it just me or do the weeks keep going by so fast? Being a missionary and being on a mission is the best thing ever. I am still alive here in India and am loving it so far. On a mission, I am striving to become more Christlike. I am trying to develop better all of his Christlike attributes. One that I guess God want's me to develop during my time here is humility!! I always strive to be really humble in my life. I am starting to think God is preparing my companion and I to be celebrities or famous in the future. I say this because the people here seriously treat us like celebrities. We are famous in their eyes because we are white and especially because I am tall! Like I have said before, people just stare at us. Kids especially love us. Some people will just run up to us to talk to us or just to touch our white skin hahah. If we say hi to some kids on the street who are with their friends, they are just shocked and giggle and whisper to their friends like little fan girls just had Justin Bieber say hi to them. I say fan girls, but this includes the boys too!! They are just as star struck! It is pretty funny every time it happens but sure makes it easy to talk to everyone! Many people want selfies, a lot of selfies so that is always fun. I am usually the one to take them because of my long arms. It is so much fun, I am loving these kids here.

We found this man named Daniel this week and we taught him twice!! The first lesson was pretty bad!! So, here is the back story of this guy... He met the missionaries 5 years ago and has had a Book of Mormon the whole time and has NEVER read a page. Our first lesson we just talked about that and he was just inviting us in to try and bash us. He started laughing at everything we would say and was mocking our testimonies. He started saying how he already has a bible so he doesn't need anything more!! I then shared with him the scripture in 2 Nephi 29 that talks about that same thing. The people are saying, "A bible? A bible? We already have a bible!" I kept reading to him and as I was reading, I forgot how harsh it actually was!! I straight up called him a fool but I was just quoting the scripture!! hahahah well oops, he needed to hear it. We had to leave this lesson because he was being mean but we shared our testimony and set a return appointment! As Elder Tolbert and I were planning and preparing for our next lesson with him, we were preparing to just bear a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and leave him with that. When we got there, we were surprised with a warm welcome into his house. We taught the restoration and answered many questions that he had. As we were teaching more about the Book of Mormon, the spirit was really strong in his house. I felt that it might have finally hit him! We invited him to test out what we have told him and actually read the book that he has had for 5 years. We asked if he would figure out for himself if it is a true book and read it and pray and ask God if it is true. When we asked him, he really thought and then said he would!! After 5 years of having the Book of Mormon and never opening it, he said he will try it out. I really hope that he reads and prays because I know that God will do his part. 

Last night we went to teach a family and they didn't know English very well so we had a translator come with us. It is pretty hard to teach a lesson with a translator because I just want them all to understand what we are sharing with them!! My companion and I were pretty nervous to teach because they didn't understand English. As soon as we started teaching, the spirit entered the room full of a family of about 10 people and I just felt relieved and comforted that they would understand. Turns out, one daughter and her kids know English pretty well so we were able to teach them and have our translator teach the rest of the people including the parents who only spoke Tamil. The kids were so awesome and my companion and I got to show them the pictures in the front of the Book of Mormon and we told them how these are real stories that happened a long time ago and it talks about them in the book! They were so interested and loved the new book we gave them. Afterwards, they obviously wanted some selfies so we took a lot of pictures together! There was two little girls that kept telling my companion and I that we were very pretty. We felt super good about ourselves that night(; 

It has been such a good time so far in India. I love my companion and I am loving the people here. I am learning so much about this area of the world and more importantly I am becoming so much closer to Christ. Until next week, thanks for all the prayers!! I love you all so much.

Love, Elder Baker

Trying to fit in with the locals

  We are on the roof of our new church building

Our branch is getting a new church building that is closer to our area.

 Everyone has been traveling 2 hours to get to church!

My new friend

Neighborhood animals

                                                                     Elder Tolbert

The Indian Rave

Hello everyone! Another week gone in India. It is crazy how fast this week went by. I am loving everything about India so far and I am just so excited to be here. I have pretty much getting eaten alive by mosquitoes but that's alright. My companion says that they just like my American blood and he doesn't get bit anymore because he is full Indian blood now. So, hopefully that will get better over time. The language barrier can be a little tough sometimes but then it can also be fun. Just imagine how shocked these people are when they see two white boys approach them. Okay, now times that by 100 when they hear these two white boys start a conversation in their native language Tamil. Their minds are literally blown, they love it so much!!!

The people here are amazing and so humble. We went finding this week and ended up in the slums. Like these houses were tiny. I was taller than the majority of the houses. But let me tell you, the people were ecstatic to see us white boys walk down their street. They were all so humble and so thoughtful! We made really good friends with this family of 5 and made an appointment to come back and teach them. When we go back to teach them, the father invited us into their home. As we go inside their one and only room of the house, there are about 15 people sitting on the floor squished with two chairs in the front of the room. They insisted we sat in the chairs so we did. This family had invited like 4 neighbor kids and some of their extended family, it was amazing!! We then went on to teach them about the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This family as well as everyone that we have taught so far has never heard about the Book of Mormon or the prophet Joseph Smith. It is amazing to share this message with people for the first time. It is very powerful to share my testimony of this message even if they don't understand much English because I know the Holy Ghost touches them more than I do.

Sooo, The Indian Rave. From our apartment one night, they are blasting music right outside and there is lights and a stage and flags and streamers and everything. They had set up this huge party right outside our apartment. So, we decided to make it a finding activity. We found a lot of people we like to call "hey bro's". These are the people that just want to meet a white guy and also only know how to say "hey bro!" in English. So, we had a ton of guys come up and say hey bro and shake our hand. We made some friends and it was a lot of fun. I wouldn't actually call this a rave it was just the closest thing to help describe it. The people were all just sitting or roaming around but the music was BLARING. They call it a function here, but if I called it that you wouldn't picture it lol. I will send pics!!

Ahhh, wow India sure is different but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now. Every time I see something out of the ordinary, I just have to remember I am in India. Everything I see here is out of the ordinary pretty much. I am getting used to the food and the money system and the traffic. Okay, scratch that... I pray every day that I don't die in this traffic! I am still loving it here and starting to get the hang of everything!! I love you all and hope all is well back in America! Until next week.

Love, Elder Baker

Welcome to India

I finally made it to India!! I can't believe I am finally here, wow. It has been such a crazy week with all the flights and traveling but I am finally here! I flew from Orlando to Atlanta to Amsterdam and then finally to Bengaluru. After a day at the mission home, I was assigned to the Chennai area and got on another flight and went to Chennai. My area is called Tambaram which is in Chennai. I am loving it so far!! There are sooo many people and they are so much fun and so funny. Everyone just likes to stare and stare at the two white guys because I guess we stand out a little(a lot). It is really funny when they are surprised and act kind of shocked when I look at them and smile and wave. It's like they are confused that I caught them staring. Hahahah I dont know why they think I can't see them but it is so fun. The people all speak Tamil which makes it hard to communicate but luckily my companion knows a few phrases in Tamil and he understands their accent a lot better than I do. 

My companions name is Elder Tolbert and he is so awesome. He is from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He also plays basketball and loves sports just like me. We live in a flat with another companionship so there is four of us living there. The flat is super nice for India! Oh, and everything is so cheap!! Like there is a little banana stand next to our street and I can get a banana for 5 rupees which is the equivalent to like 6 cents in America. I don't really know how to explain everything here other than it is completely different. Literally everything is different! I am still trying to get familiar with my area because everything looks the same. There are people everywhere!! Literally, we do finding and contacting all day just while we travel places. It is impossible not to because you can imagine how two white Americans in a white shirt and tie stand out in India. We are literally famous here. I almost feel like a celebrity hahah. The trains are also a really fun thing to ride. They are always packed with people. And there is definitely a different definition of "packed" in India then America. Oh, and the traffic rules in India are close to nothing. I really don't know if there are any. I don't even know why they paint lines on the road because no one even pays attention to them. People, bicycles, motorcycles, mopeds, autos(3 wheeled taxi's), cars, huge trucks,  and vans all share the road and it is chaos!! Somehow it works and everyone drives like within 5 inches of each other, it is insane! 

The food!! Wow, the Indian food is different for sure. I swear every single thing I eat or drink is something I have never tried before. So far, I am liking it and the spice isn't too bad. I am anticipating the meal I get soon where I just start crying and sweating(even more than I already am) because it is so hot. Wish me luck when that happens. 

I taught my first lesson here in India and it is so different than teaching in America. It is so awesome though. While we were teaching, they kept bringing treats and food and drinks and were almost offended if we didn't eat. The couple would interrupt us over and over to say, "Please, eat! Eat! You eat all, we make more. Keep eat. Drink!" They are so thoughtful it is amazing but we finally had to tell them, "Thank you so much, we will eat after we share our message. We know that is important but what we have to say is more important." hahhah oops! It is amazing to teach people something they have NEVER heard of before. We testified of the Book of Mormon and the prophet Joseph Smith and bore our testimony with the spirit that we know it is true. Both which are things they have never ever heard of in their life. 

I love it here!! It is seriously just so much fun to be around these amazing people every day no matter what I am doing. I am excited to learn more about the culture and the people. I love being a missionary, it is seriously the best. Stay tuned for next week, I love you and hope all is well back home!

Love, Elder Baker

                                                             Me in the airport!

                                                          My first meal in Bengaluru

                                           New arrivals with Pres. and Sister Mortensen

                                                          New Missionaries Lunch

                                                     View from my flat (apartment)

                                                                 My roommates and I

                                                                       Walking a street

                                                        Stuffed in an auto(3 wheeled taxi

                                                     Basketball team at SRM university

                       Ballers on the train. Siva and Idk because I couldn't understand haha

General Conference!!!

Wow, what an amazing last week it has been here in Merritt Island, Florida!! And not just Florida, but it’s been my last week in America. I leave for India tomorrow morning and I’ve been feeling a lot of mixed emotions this last week. Out of all these emotions, I am mostly excited! I’ve been looking forward to this day since I opened my mission call 6 months ago on the night of general conference in April. Speaking of general conference, I feel so blessed to have been able to listen to the inspired word of God from His chosen prophets this last weekend. I was in the shower the other morning and it hit me really hard that I was actually leaving for India. I started feeling a lot of feelings of inadequacy and fear. I started fearing for a lot of different things that I might experience throughout the rest of my mission in India. I pondered every morning during my personal study how I might be protected throughout my mission. I decided to write this question down and a few other questions I also wrote down at this time. I brought these questions with me to conference and before the first session on Saturday morning, I knelt down and asked God the questions I had. I knew they would be answered during general conference. I was amazed to see how the Holy Ghost speaks specifically and personally to each and every one of us. During the Saturday morning session, Elder Rasband talked about fear. He talked about how fear is not new and we all fear something. He mentioned specifically how missionaries might fear some things. He then went on to say, “Fear not!! Be of good cheer for the Lord knows we feel fear but he is with us always. He blesses us in ways only he sees.” He quoted the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 6:36 which says, “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.” The spirit hit me so strongly during this moment and so many other moments during general conference! I received a lot of personal revelation throughout this conference and I promise all of you can as well. I strongly encourage and invite you to go back and listen or read the talks given to us and recognize the personal revelation specifically for you. I am so grateful for modern day prophets. We are blessed with a loving Heavenly Father who gives us a prophet on the world today to act as His mouthpiece. I know that President Russell M. Nelson is the prophet of God on earth today. I am very grateful to be able to listen and follow his invitations as he has promised blessings like we have never before seen. 

I had the amazing opportunity this week also to attend the baptism of Shawn!! Shawn is a man I taught once while on exchanges with some elders in Rockledge. He has such a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and that is ultimately what converted him. He has been studying all sorts of religion for a couple of years now and recently started meeting with the missionaries. He shared his personal conversion story after being baptized. He studied the Bible a lot and went to many different churches before meeting with the missionaries. While reading the Bible and visiting other churches, he still often felt confused. Once he got the Book of Mormon from the missionaries, he started reading and read all about Nephi and absolutely loved it. As he continued to read and meet with the missionaries he knew that the Book of Mormon was true. He also realized that the Book of Mormon supports the Bible! I love the fact that what differentiates the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fact that we believe the Bible was written in the eastern hemisphere and the Book of Mormon was written in the Western Hemisphere both by Prophets during similar times. Shawn was able to watch general conference with us and he knows that God loves us and that we are the only religion that has living prophets called of God today. I am so thankful for the Bible supporting the Book of Mormon and the Book of Mormon supporting the Bible! They are both ancient scripture and contain the total and complete word of God. I again am also grateful for a living prophet and 12 apostles set up by Jesus Christ in the same way His church was set up in ancient times. I know, just as Shawn does, that this is the true restored church of Jesus Christ! There was this awesome and really funny moment during his baptism. After he came up out of the water, he asked if he could stay in and swim! Hahah so he kind of rubbed the water on himself and said, “it feels so good!” It was really funny! 

I’m very grateful for my short time here in Florida. I have loved the opportunity to continue the work here in Merritt Island and keep it going. I had the awesome privilege of inviting two people to be baptized this week and set a day for them to be baptized soon. I wish I was here to keep teaching these awesome people and be there when they are baptized but I know that it is time for me to go to India. I trust completely in God’s perfect plan and I know that I am exactly where I’m supposed to be right now. I’m grateful to have been able to serve in the Florida Orlando mission for one transfer but tomorrow starts a completely new chapter in my life. I love you all! Wish me luck on this super long day of travel. I’ll be traveling for about 26 hours straight, let’s go!! I hope everyone has a great week! 

Love, Elder Baker

  Got a sweet new name tag in Hindi!! Can’t even read it yet but I’m pretty sure I know what it says.

                                                   I saw this huge turtle at a park!

This is the Peck family and they are literally awesome!! They would feed us every week and they helped teach Nick Ammons who was baptized. I love this family and will miss them! 

The good ol’ Lamborfeeties

Hello everyone!! (And happy birthday Brinley❤️) I can’t believe it’s been another week. Time has just been flying by so far out in the mission field and I’m loving every second of it. This past week has been very interesting to say the least. There’s been many awesome spiritual moments and also just some crazy moments. Also, I have only been with both my companions one day this whole week because of exchanges. My trainer Elder Sharp is the district leader so he left to go to another area on exchanges on Monday and Tuesday so it was just Elder Wallis and I. On Wednesday, Elder Sharp came back but Elder Wallis left on exchanges and switched with our Zone Leader Elder Thomas. Some things went down and we couldn’t get a ride to switch back to our own companions so we just stayed on exchanges until Friday night hahahah. 

So Elder Thomas, Elder Sharp, and I took on the Merritt Island area this week and it was so awesome! As we were planning for the day, we realized that one of our bikes is broken so Elder Thomas asks, “Sooooo, we hoofing it today?” Hahaha so we just walked the whole day on our good ol’ Lamborfeeties. It was so much fun honestly, I loved walking! We first walked to meet this lady named Jennifer. She was a referral and lived in this apartment complex that literally looked like prison. The doors are all locked from the outside and it was just super ghetto. We had to call her and have her come down and open the door for us just to get into the complex and then walk up to her room. As we were in her apartment, we heard some yelling in the hall. It escalated real fast out there, stuff was going down. We could hear two people yelling at each other some really mean things to say the least and we could hear beating and slapping. One of them yelled, “She’s holding me hostage! Help, I can’t breathe!” We weren’t about to go out in the hall in case they had weapons or anything so we called the cops. We continued the lesson and it was great! As we were leaving, we ran into the cops and they talked to us and as we were talking, Jennifer just interrupts the cop and says, “Yeah, I’m with these guys. I’m trying to join the Mormon church. I know I’m crazy! Hahah” It was so funny because the cop just looked at her and was just so confused and moved on. We had to give a statement and everything. So that’s my prison story of the week! After this, we went to a much nicer apartment complex and just knocked about every single door in the complex for hours. We had no plans so we literally knocked doors for the rest of the day, it was a lot of fun! Elder Thomas and Elder Sharp are such studs and great leaders and examples to me. I loved just being around both of these awesome missionaries. I was grateful to just soak everything in that they said and I learned so much by working with them both. It was a great extended exchange this week.

On Tuesday night, we had a packed schedule starting with dinner with an awesome family in our ward. We called them to confirm and ask what time dinner was and they were freaking out and eventually told us in a round about way that they forgot they were having us over and would have to cancel because something came up. It was all good though, we just rescheduled for the next night! Haha well when we showed up the next day at their house, the father met us outside of the front door and told us what had happened. They had just picked up a friend of theirs the night before named Starla. Starla just left her fiancé because of some really rough situations that she’s been in. She has been having a really hard time and this family was nice enough to go pick her up and let her live with them until she gets back on her feet. We all had dinner together and had a great time talking over dinner. Then we moved in to the living room and had one of the best discussions led by the spirit ever. We read from the Book of Mormon and taught Starla. The spirit touched her so strongly. She was just crying and wiping tears the whole time. She felt strongly the love from her Heavenly Father this night. We testified of the Book of Mormon and how reading it every day can change your life. We then gave Starla her own copy of the Book of Mormon and she graciously accepted. As we prayed and specifically blessed her and her situation, she started bawling again. She thanked us and expressed that this is exactly what she needed to hear. 

We helped Pamela and Laura a lot this week and it was awesome. So back story, let’s rewind a few weeks ago when we first met the sisters Pamela and Laura. They moved into a hotel room because they had absolutely nothing to their name. They are sisters who both came from similar situations. They both left their relationship they were in because they were both being abused. They got together and moved into a hotel because they could not get an apartment anywhere. They didn’t have a lot of food or clothes obviously. They were completely starting a new life together at 60 years old. They started coming to church as Laura is a member but Pamela is not. They also sought out us missionaries and we started teaching them. On the first lesson, Elder Sharp shared with them the scriptures 3 Nephi 13:31-33. It says, “Therefore take no thought, saying What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” He promised them both that if they did this and made coming to church and reading the Book of Mormon a priority in their new life that they will find a place to live and will get the food they need to keep going. Well, they have been to church every time since and we met with them Saturday night and they are quitting smoking and reading the Book of Mormon together. They were happy to tell us that they just found out they got a new apartment and move in Monday!!! They are recognizing the blessings and the path that God is preparing for them! This really strengthened my testimony that God knows every one of his children and loves them SO much. 

I leave for India in 8 days and it still doesn’t seem real! I’ll be so sad to leave the people I’ve met and have grown to love here in Florida. On the other hand, I am very excited to finally go to India and love the people there! It still hasn’t hit me yet that I’ll be on the other side of the world in a week and a half. I am so grateful for this gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful to see how it has blessed me and my family. My family has been so amazing since I left and I can see the blessings because of it. I love every single one of them and want to thank them for all they do for me! My mom and dad are the literal best parents in the whole world, I love them so much! I love my siblings Breanna, Bryson, and Brinley. They are the best. Also, I want to give a special shoutout to my little sister Brinley because it’s her birthday today!! And of course, I’m extremely grateful for my amazing girlfriend Ellie. She is and has always been so good to me and I love her! You all are just the best! Being a missionary is the best, I love it so much! 

Love, Elder Baker 

                                   The most legendary exchange ever with these studs

                                               The sunset from the roof of my house!

                                            This is the complex that we knocked at all day.

                                                 The sunrise at the beach this morning.