Elder Braden Baker: "I'm gonna baptize that girl"

What is up everyone!! This week was great, like every other week but I'll talk about that later. This week was packed with lots and lots of stuff that I can talk about so let's get going. We had zone conference, apartment inspections, the free lemonade bucket including two new families, finding, Jude Felix, and "I'm gonna baptize that girl". It was awesome! Stories and pictures to follow so tune in.

So, President and Sister Mortensen finish their mission and leave in like 2 weeks. They had their last zone conference in Chennai and it was awesome. I learned so much from them and I really appreciate their love for us missionaries here as they have served. I learned how important it is to teach that God is our loving Heavenly Father to everyone we teach to make sure they understand who God even is because SO many people here have no idea here in India. It is a blessing to know who you are on Earth as literally the spirit son or daughter of a loving Heavenly Father. Good zone conference.

We had our apartment inspections again this week. This is my 6th transfer(8.5 months) in Tambaram which means this week was the 6th apartment inspection I've had here. Update, I got my 6th W. Tambaram apartment is yet again the cleanest apartment and I'm proud of it. This paragraph is mostly for my mom because I know she will be proud. Love you Mom!

Of course we did the legendary lemonade bucket again this week and it was another great success resulting in lots of smiles, happiness, and two new families! One brother is an auto driver and he saw that we were giving something away and he pulled over and came to see what it was. I started talking to him about why we were giving free lemonade and told him about our church right here and he was excited! He spoke really good English which was shocking. He invited us to his home and we went Sunday! We taught a really good lesson and him and his family loved it and the sprit was strong in their home. We even gave his son a blessing because he just had surgery because his appendix burst. After the blessing, he just lit up smiling so big and was so happy. He truly felt the spirit. It was beautiful!

We we're almost out of lemonade. We had only 2 cups left and usually the last cup we share as the missionaries. So, I see a lady walking towards us about 100 feet away and I say to Elder Singh, "You see that girl? I'm going to baptize that girl." As she walks by, I start talking and offer her our last cup of lemonade. She was walking to pick up her three kids from school. When I told her there is a church right here, she lit up! She lives right nearby and has been looking for a new church recently that her family could go to. We walked with her to pick up her kids and she took us to her home right then and there and we taught her family a lesson. I am so excited to keep teaching this family and see how they progress. I'm grateful I listened to the prompting of the spirit and talked to her because she could've easily walked right by and never known about our Church. Also, the timing could've been a little different and we wouldn't have met her at all but like I always say, God's Plan. God writes this like a book and knows exactly who needs to walk by and drink some lemonade that is also looking for a church to join. Miracles!!

This week was really great. I mean, every single week here in India has been eventful. I've found myself so much happier when I focus on the positive things each week but that doesn't mean it's all straight miracles. I'll be honest, a mission is hard. You work your butt off and put all your effort and love into people just for them to make silly excuses to shut the door in your face, sleep through their alarm for the 4th week in a row for church, or just simply cancel your appointment. India is crazy also, like everything is different here. The culture, the food, the people. It's like I've time traveled into the past. Just living here in India has taught me so much. The church is so young here and I swear it's not like anywhere else in the world. The closest member to my home, my branch president, lives about an hour and a half away by a share auto, bus, another auto and walking. The bottom line is that it's not easy all the time but it is worth it. Not just a mission, but life! Life isn't easy but the prize is worth the price if we live the gospel. I can't explain how worth it is. Serving a mission I feel like is something you can't just explain, you have to experience it! It's amazing!! I feel like I have grown in the last 10 months a lot. I have learned and grown so much already and have grown so much closer to Jesus Christ and I've seen people's lives change because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I'm grateful and I'm happy to be where I am serving in India. I love you all.

Love, Elder Baker