Free Lemonade, The Pastor, and the Book of Mormon

Hey everyone, seriously so many awesome things happened this week I don't know where to start! Looking back on this week, it went by so fast but somehow some days felt so long when it's 110 degrees and also 110% humidity outside. I actually timed how long it takes to where I'm sweating from every pore on my body when I walk outside in the sun and it's approximately 2 minutes and 43 seconds. It's pretty bad, I hope it cools down soon or rains or something! Anyway, this week was jam packed with great experiences from setting a baptismal date for a pastor and his whole village of believers, to spreading the light of Christ through a free lemonade stand, to knocking the door of a joined family of 45 members who coincidentally already knew our church! I'm really excited for the work here in Tambaram right now. Sorry in advance if you don't have time today because this might be long.

Right now, it is the hottest time of the year in Chennai so there is a lot of juice stands around town and I'll just say that their business is booming around mid day. So, us Elders decided to make some fresh squeezed(literally) lemonade and give it out for free in front of our church! In the morning, we hand squeezed A LOT of lemons and made a lot of lemonade. As we were making it, we were talking about the "legendary tambaram elders that gave out free lemonade to a guy looking for the true Church and was baptized because of it." Well, we kind of laughed it off as we made up the potential stories of this finding activity but I thought, hey why not? I've got faith. Anyway, fast forward through all the craziness of making the lemonade and traveling with like 10 gallons of lemonade in an auto to the church. (That's a story of it's own) We set up a table outside and set up our little lemonade stand and literally within 5 minutes, it was all gone! There was some workers running at us with big water bottles to get filled hahah. One man gets a drink and asks our purpose and if we're with the bank here and we told him there is a church above the bank and that we just want to help others. We started talking with this man and he really wanted to come see our church. So, we finished up and brought him up to give him a tour of the Church. We then sat down and had a really good discussion with him for like an hour. We taught him that he was literally a child of God and he has a divine role and purpose on the earth. At the end of our lesson, I had a strong feeling to sing the hymn I Am a Child of God. So I played the piano and we sang the hymn. The spirit was so strong testifying to him of the reality of this statement. He just sat and read all the words. After, I recognized the spirit present and invited him to come back to church Sunday and feel this again and learn about it! The only problem is he didn't have a phone to stay in contact with us. I knew he would come back though and that he did! Sunday rolls around, and this same man walked all the way to our church and was so happy to be back! I taught him about receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and invited him to be baptized. We are meeting Thursday to talk more about this and I am so excited. 

Remember the story of how miraculously Elder Tolbert's missionary handbook was returned to him as we met a guy on the train after it was pick pocketed. So, 6 months ago, the pastor I talked to on the train that day has been reading the Book of Mormon and has a testimony of it too. He lives about two and a half hours away from the church but has come three times! We finally made a trip to see him in his village and we talked. He kept using the words "us" and "we" hahaha and saying how he's on our team now. He knows our church is true! He really wants to teach the Book of Mormon to his whole village and all of his church believers. He kept saying, "We need to teach all of this to my village believers. They need to know all of the truth that I've learned from this book!" So, the first step to growing the church out there in his village is to have him be the example and be baptized with his family and that's what we invited him to do! He said he will pray about it with his family and get back to us but it was really cool to see and hear this guys testimony of the Book of Mormon and he did it all on his own. The power of the Book of Mormon is true. It's a powerful book because it is true. 

One day, Elder Rajendran and I were finding and we were walking down one street and saw a bunch of little guys playing cricket in the street. So, naturally they all swarmed me like flies on a pile of leftover rice thrown out on the road. I loved it. We started playing with the little kids and talking with them which caused some attention on the street and before we knew it, there was like 50 people out on the street saying, "enna che?" which means what happened?! Haha so we started talking with the dad and he knew our church! He actually made the signs for our church buildings in Chennai. He was the grandpa of this big joined family all staying in one home. Four familes and 45 people in this one home!! I hope we can start teaching them because that would be a full sacrament room on Sunday. 

Well, if you made it this far then you are a real one and you should probably email me and tell me because I love you. Anyway, I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and missionary work. I know there is nothing better than living this gospel. Everything is just so true and my testimony is growing more every day. I have seen families lives change because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is amazing. I love being a missionary. I love you guys, have a great week!🖤

Love, Elder Baker

                                                            Free Lemonade Stand

                                                           Egg Curry and Chapatti's

                                                              This is like 14 of the family!!

                                                                      

                                                                 Elder Singh and Puri

                                                               This little guy and I

The Imported Player

It was another good week here in India. Everything is going great right now for the most part! I can't complain at all. We had a lot of fun this week and saw God's hand directing us in our work a lot. It was awesome. We played cricket and volleyball at the Roman Catholic church right by our apartment with a lot of their members. We made really good friends with all of them and had a good time. We also saw an answer to our prayers and were totally led by the spirit to find an awesome family. Lots of good things to talk about so I'll tell you!

First, the sports finding activity! There is a group of guys that play cricket often right outside our apartment at this church. I've talked with them before and they know us. We were watching them from our apartment window and they saw us and told us to come down and play! Heck yeah, we went and played with them. So, after playing and talking with them I now know a few things about cricket. Cricket is way fun when you finally learn what the heck is going on. I did pretty good too. I hit a 6 (which is the cricket equivalent to a home run in baseball) and my teammates would yell at the other team, "He is our imported foreigner, let's go!!" I don't know who was more shocked honestly that I hit a 6, all of them, or me because I made contact with the ball. It was really fun, I'm totally into cricket now. They invited us to play with them every week and I'm totally down. I am hopefully going to get really good at cricket. I didn't bring my camera with me this time but next time, I'll get some pics and videos!(Luckily, my friend Premkumar snapped a pic) The best part is that they are all Christian and now we are good friends and they know why we're here and what we do!

Okay, we had the most fun day of finding yet. I can't wait to tell you guys! We prayed and totally relied on the spirit to guide us and then went out and worked and guess what, God came through on His side. So, it was Tuesday morning, the first day after P-day and we were planning. We had no appointments and we called everyone and no one answered or was busy. It was looking like a day of finding. We were talking about what we should do and where we should go and we stopped and said, "Let's let the Lord decide."  So, we prayed and thought about it individually then talked and decided we would go to a street in East Tambaram. As we were leaving our apartment, I said to Elder Raiendran, "Hey, what story do you want to tell your family on Monday about this Tuesday night? On Monday, you are going to tell them, 'Mom! Dad! You'll never believe what happened to Elder Baker and I. It was awesome, we did ________'" I asked what do you want to do today? He said he wants to find a family! So, I said let's do it! Why not? With full faith that God would lead us. We went to the area we prayed about and started roaming. We walked and walked and walked around talking to people, smiling at everyone, and helping old ladies carry their water jugs to their home. We went into shops, knocked doors, and everything else to meet people. We had been doing it for hours and we still hadn't found our family. We came to a road where if we turn right, we go out to the main road to go home and if we turn left, it goes to more homes. We low key wanted to turn right and call our efforts good, we tried! But then, I felt a prompting to turn left for one last street. We turned left and walked down and all the houses are Hindu(which we aren't allowed to knock). We kept walking and I see two women filling up their water jugs so I ask them if they want help carrying them to their home. Well the one lady said actually my home is right here. Right at that time, her husband, her son, and grandchildren were just getting home. They saw grandma talking to a white guy so they came over intrigued. We were then talking to a big joined family about who we are and what we do. They invited us in to their home and they made dinner for us.(It was so spicy but that's another story) We ate their food, visited, and then shared the restored truth that family's are ordained of God and He wants them to live together forever and how this is possible because of Jesus Christ!

We found our family! So many things happened that day to guide us to their home at that exact street at that exact time. I know that God loves families and He wants them to live together happily forever. We are so blessed that God is invested in our lives and wants what is best for us and His children. My dad always told me, "Pray like it all depends on God, and work like it all depends on you." Pray hard, work hard. God loves everyone. You are a child of God and He wants to live with his children again. I am so grateful for the Gospel and I'm so grateful to be a missionary right now in India.

I love you all! Have a great week.

Love, Elder Baker

                                                             The Imported Player

Chicken curry and rice

The Suresh Family

The new Tambaram District

Lil cricket guy

Live Transfer Calls and Hindu God's

Hello everyone! I hope everyone had a great week and I hope all you mother's had a great mother's day. HUGE thank you to my mom, she's an incredibly special lady and definitely the best mom ever. Like I said last week, I will update you on what happens with transfers! We also had district conference, visited Mahabalipuram, and taught some people this week which was awesome. Here we go!

We were expecting transfer calls on Friday and then District Conference on Saturday and Sunday. Also, President and Sister Mortensen came to Chennai for district conference. So, Friday felt super long with every phone call resulting in a spike in our heart rate. Out of all the calls, none were from President. Finally we got news that President just flew into Chennai and would do calls on Saturday! Saturday rolls around and still no calls... We go to District Conference and still no calls. After the conference, President called all the missionaries in our zone for interviews but they were actually just live transfer calls! There was a line of all 18 missionaries waiting for their transfer interview. I've never gotten transfer news like this before, it was quite the experience. The reason I was so nervous was because I have been in the same area for so long and I've had the same companion for awhile as well. It also didn't help that everyone else hyped it up with expectations and guesses of where I'll go next. There was even a 1000 rupee bet in my apartment on if I would get transferred or not. Finally, it was our turn for the interview and we sit down. "Elders, this should be quick and easy. You are both staying together in the Tambaram area. Keep up the great work!" Moral of the story, don't worry too much about something out of your control! I know the Lord has a plan and a reason for me to stay 6 transfers here and 4 transfers straight with Elder Rajendran. I am excited to find and teach that reason this transfer. 

We started teaching someone new this week and we weren't sure what to teach for the first lesson. We prayed and decided that we needed to teach her about the Plan of Salvation. Well, it was such a powerful lesson that was led by the spirit. When we taught about eternal families and promised that she would live with her family forever, she about jumped out of her seat! Her dad just died about a year ago and she said she has been depressed ever since. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Is it true? Is this real? Can I hug him again?" I know that along with her and all of us, it is possible to live with loved ones again because of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for this knowledge and the simple truths of the restored gospel.

Last P day was awesome!! We went to visit a famous historical place called Mahabalipuram. There is a famous Hindu Temple there that the Hindu's go to worship. We just went to visit though, I promise. We also played Kabaddi on the beach again and that was fun. The only down side was that it was probably the hottest day of my life. Idk what the temperature was but it felt like hell, probably. I have never been more sweaty in my whole life and I have played some intense dunk ball games with my friends. It was a lot of fun to see and learn more about the culture here. I wish I could send all the pics I took but if you are really interested, ask my mom! I love you guys! Have a great week!

Love, Elder Baker

                                                              The last district picture

Famous Hindu God ;)

Hindu God's for real

After the hot and sweaty day at Mahabalipuram

Bird Week

What up what up! *In the voice of my dad* Another week down, another month down, and another transfer down! It's crazy how fast time is flying by. I just finished my 5th transfer in Tambaram and we are all patiently waiting transfer calls this next week. Transfer calls are usually about a week delayed because of all the traveling stuff that needs to be worked out here. So, each zone is pretty far away from each other in my mission and by pretty far I mean like across the country. If you get transferred, it means you have to go to a nearby internet shop and print your plane ticket and head to the airport. Needless to say, it is pretty nerve-racking... Especially after being in the same area for 7 months. 

We started teaching two new families this week and they are awesome! Both families are just a mom, dad, and one kid. First, we taught Muthu and Abee. They're a young couple just starting a family with a 1 year old baby. We felt to share about The Family: A Proclamation to the World to introduce what we believe in our church about families. We taught them how God feels about families and bore our testimony of the love at our home. They really felt the spirit and really liked us. They agreed and felt like this is great wisdom to learn. We invited them to hang up The Family: A Proclamation to the World paper in their home and they said they would love to! We had a really fun time at their home and I even got to play with their pet chicken! Hahaha you can check out the picture below. Also, half of the reason of my subject title. 

Now, the other lesson with a bird. We met a man on the train and he invited us to his home! They are such an awesome family. They have only one son named Wesley and he is one of the most talented 13 year old kids I've ever seen! He also has so many cool and good hobbies. One of those is rasing birds. He has raised a parrot since birth and is currently teaching the parrot Tamil. You can see my picture with the Tamil speaking parrot below as well. They had about 20-30 more birds at their house as well. Anyway, we taught them about the Plan of Salvation and it went so well. As the mother Amilee was reading 1 Corinthians 15:40-41(which talks about the resurrection and the three kingdoms of glory being celestial, terrestrial, and telestial), everything just clicked in her head! We were just about to help explain but she started going off in Tamil. It all sounded great. When she finished talking, Elder Rajendran turned to me and said, "well I think she just taught us all about the three kingdoms of glory." The spirit was strong in our lesson. I always love teaching families about the Plan of Salvation. It really is such a beautiful plan. If you really really think about it, God's Plan for us truly is perfect. I'm so grateful for the plan of salvation in my life and my family. 

I am having a great time over here in India. I'm assuming next week I will give you all an update on transfers! As of now, I'm still chilling but give me a week and we will see. I really appreciate all the support, love, and prayers from everyone. I love all of you. Have a great week. Love ya, bye!

Love, Elder Baker

The Tamil speaking parrot

Muthu and Abee family

Wesley the bird whisperer

Muthu's pet chicken

Colorful houses on the lake