Merry Christmas for real!!!

Merry Christmas everyone and for real this time!! I hope everyone has had a great week getting ready for Christmas. Shout out to one of my best friends Jed for choosing to be baptized and confirmed this week. I think that was the highlight of my week was seeing pictures and hearing all about it. I am super proud of you Jed and love you a lot!!

Well, It is finally (almost) Christmas day and I have loved this Christmas season so much. I've said it before but this time of year is the best as a missionary. This week we did some good stuff to prepare for Christmas day and our special sacrament meeting as well as our branch Christmas party!! We also had some really good finding activities as well as teaching appointments with some amazing people and families. Like always, everyone stares at me no matter where I am or what I am doing so that is always fun. I can feel the love of the people here taking me in as family this Christmas season. So, don't worry mom(even tho I know you still are), I am being taken care of by so many families here. Everyone we meet with has invited us to come to their home and eat biryani with them on the 25th, I honestly feel bad that we have to tell them we already have plans. One member, Brother and Sister Bains already invited us to their home on the 25th like a month ago!! They are serious about their biryani here and want to share as much as possible with the missionaries. Seriously as much as possible. 

We celebrated Christmas together as a branch family this week and it was a really good turnout!! There was so many members and friends there. We watched a video about what our branch did to #LIGHTtheWORLD and then the members performed a skit and it was hilarious! I was actually in it as well so I guess you can say I have a future in Bollywood. And of course the most important part for any function in india is the food. We all had mutton biryani, one of the favorites here in India. How they eat at functions here is a bit different. The tables are lined up and everyone sits in a row. You have your leaf on the table in front of you and then the people come by and just slap a huge mountain of rice on your leaf, then some one else comes and slaps a big scoop of curry or some sort of gravy and meat and then someone else puts on the raita. You can see my picture below to try and understand what it looks like! hahha

This week, I truly felt like Elder "Baker" and I also have never heard more of the "Baker" jokes from people. It was so funny hahhaa. So, I baked some super good chocolate chip cookies and we went and delivered them to some of the people that we are teaching and they loved them so much and then they asked if I made them and I said yes and they say, "ohhhhhh Elder 'Baker'!! I get it. No wonder they are so good!" ahhhh every time! Anyway, they were a good treat and that was one thing I did this week. 

We went roaming around one night looking for stars hanging in front of some houses for Christmas because that means they are Christian and they are celebrating Christmas! Awesome, so I figured it would be super easy to share a message about christmas to these people because they are already celebrating but I was wrong!! Many people didn't want to hear from us, here are a few responses we got one night: 

• "Oh, we are already celebrating Christmas! Thanks though."
• "uhhhhh my husband isn't home so I don't think so."
• "We won't come any closer because of safety reasons, leave your card in the milk box!" *As the couple stands 10 feet away behind two locked gates*
• "Po Po!! Inkiruntu veliyeravum! Po!" Which means get the heck out of here in Tamil.
• and the best one, nice and simple. "hindu!"

Not everyone was like this though!! In fact, we met many people and families that were more than welcome to invite us into their home and share a message. i just thought it was funny some of the responses we got. And apparently we look like real threats... 

I seriously love being a missionary and I am not kidding when I say I am the happiest I have ever been. I know that Jesus Christ is lives today and is our Savior. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church and is ran by Jesus Christ himself today. Though I am away from my family and friends and my beautiful Ellie, I know that I am in the right place and doing the right thing. My testimony has grown so much just in these short 5 months. Thank you so much to everyone that has thought of me and thanks always for the prayers and support. I hope all is well at your home and I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas!! 

Love, Elder Baker

Pastor Raja and his crazy kid

Priya

Elder Baker bakes

Cute kid on the train