Unto vs Into

I just realized that I have been in Kakinada for almost 2 months and I swear it feels like maybe 2 weeks. When I first got here, I was determined to make a difference and really help this ward grow and change and improve. I have just been working hard and doing my part as best as I can and leaving the rest to God. My dad always told me one quote, "Pray like it all depends on God and work like it all depends on you." Well, I have learned while on my mission that I can truly truly speak with my Heavenly Father through prayer and ask for His help. I think I've learned even more that after I pray and I get up off my knees, it's time to get on my feet and get to work!! Just like it says in Doctrine and Covenants 123:17, "...let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed." 

I am definitely seeing His arm being revealed in my work as a missionary here in India. This Wednesday and Thursday were super slow and we had no appointments during the day time which was hard because it's kind of hard to go finding when you dont speak the same language hahah. We still met most of the people we are teaching and had some really spiritual lessons. We also had Zone Conference on Saturday which I loved. I totally love President and Sister Thomas, they are amazing. President Thomas just amazes me with his scriptural knowledge and wisdom and makes me die laughing with his sense of humor. Sister Thomas is just like the picture perfect mission mom.(Mission president's wife) I really admire both of their testimonies also and the story of how they got here. 

What was awesome is after zone conference, President and Sister Thomas got to meet with Bashira!! So, she is still just absolutely loving the gospel. I can't share her whole story here because it's just too good and I can't do it justice. Basically, she has allowed the gospel into her life and is letting it change her into a better person and she has felt the joy and happiness. She has been reading the Book of Mormon and during some of her personal study, she came across Mosiah 2:17 which says, "...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." And she immediately messaged me and said, "Elder, I need to be a missionary" This was just one of the moments on my mission where I felt the spirit so strong and I felt so happy. That is the same scripture that I chose to put on my missionary plaque back home. There's not a doubt in my mind that everything happens for a reason. I came to Kakinada with an emergency transfer and little did I know that at the same time Bashira also came to Kakinada and she was only staying for about 10 days for a training. It's not a coincidence that my 10 days and her 10 days just happened to overlap in the exact same place in the world so that we could meet and I could introduce her the restored gospel. That is not just a lucky plan, that is  God's PLAN!

We had a really awesome, spiritual lesson with Kamalaker this week. It was also God's plan for him to meet us. Three weeks back, he was walking to his church and it started to rain right as he was walking by our church. He said he didn't want his clothes to get soaking wet so he just came inside our church to stay dry. Well, that's when he stayed for our whole church service and a brief introduction lesson of the book of mormon. (Because of course, if a brand new person walks into the church for the first time ever, the Sunday school teacher that day just spits out book of mormon verses left and right. I mean this guy was asking me to find Alma in his orange bible) Anyway, we taught him that week and he was hesitant about the new doctrine. He is a professor and lawyer and has been his whole life. He is an older man. He knows quite a bit of things and he told us he didn't like younger people trying to tell him what is right at first. But, he came again to church because of how he felt there. This time, he heard a speaker at church speak on baptisms for the dead so he let us go teach him again to answer his questions about that. He was just blown away that we actually lived this doctrine. This week though, we taught him the Plan of Salvation and his walls tumbled down and he allowed the spirit INTO his heart. He literally jumped up and grabbed paper and started taking notes and writing down scripture references. He was asking us, "Why haven't I known this doctrine my whole life?? You young men are coming into my home and teaching me new doctrine each time and it finally makes sense." He called his daughter in Bangalore and his son in Hyderabad and we gave the Elders referrals there in each area. He has so many questions and now he is just interested to study and find out for himself. He read 1 Nephi chapters 1-5 and watched the new Book of Mormon videos along with it in one night. He asked when we could come back because he is craving more. 

Well, one of the hardest things as a missionary is the difference of one letter in a promise from Nephi. In 2 Nephi 33:1, it says, "...when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men." The one word that sometimes is hard for missionaries is the word unto. Notice it doesn't say into. We dont have the power to force it into their hearts but we can bring the spirit right up unto their hearts. In the case of Bashira and Kamalaker, the Holy Ghost was carried right up unto their hearts and they have chosen to let it in and they can feel the blessings. 

I love you all so much!! Choose to let the spirit into your heart. Well, that is my week included with my pondering. There are lots more people I'm teaching and more rice I'm eating that I could talk about but this email is already too long which means half of you will open it, see the length, and scroll right down to these pictures, LOL.

I still love you all!

Love, Elder Baker

                                                 Selfie with a light up Hindu god

                                                   Harshitha's birthday party

                                                      At the birthday party

                                                        Rajahmundry zone

Eating some WAY GOOD chicken biryani, they spoiled us tonight for sure. He works at a restaurant and said he sells one plate for 300 rupees...($4.50 ish)

                                                My mission plaque. Mosiah 2:17

                                     Lunch in some side supply closet looking place.

                            I honestly forgot the name of this but it was really good.

                                                             Street food guy

A really cool street market. Cars, autos, bikes, cycles, people, carts, cows, dogs, pigs and anything else just goes through here. No traffic rules. 

                                    A member climbing trees to pick some guava.

Follow the spirit the first time or God will take over

Okay everyone, I've said it before and I will say it again. This is God's Plan!! I am constantly reminded every week that I am directed by the spirit in my work to do what God wants me to do and meet who God wants me to meet. This week we had a lot of appointments and a lot of progress! This was our first week in Kakinada with just me and my companion Elder Susaidass and we are getting the hang of it. I'm jealous because my companion is learning telugu super quick and can understand already but he is Indian so he has an advantage.

So one day, we had three good appointments planned in the evening. We were all set to have a great night. I had a feeling and really felt like I should call one lady that walked into our church on Sunday but I didn't call her because we were too busy and wouldn't have time to visit her anyway. Also, we didnt even know where she lived yet. So, we went out to our appointments and we showed up to the first house and the family legit saw us turn the corner and shut the door and hid inside!!! They sent a kid outside to tell us that no one was in their home... that was pretty disappointing. I guess they're not interested? Hmmm hahah so we were just about to go to our next appointment but that family called and cancelled because it was raining and it rained through the roof of their house and got inside their home wet and they were embarrassed to have us over. We tried to tell them it was no problem, but they said don't come. Would you look at that, God cleared us some time. So, I called Ruthamma, the lady that walked into out church! We had never been to her home before and we didn't even know where she lives but we called her. She answered so excited and said she was hoping we would call. We asked if we could come to her home and she said yes, please come! Turns out we were less than 5 minutes from her home so we went over and taught a good lesson about the restoration of the priesthood because she requested a blessing. She had two daughters that were super shocked and happy to see us. They told us that her mom hasn't stopped talking about our church. They said, "my mom keeps telling us that it is the best church and she loved it so much so we are all going to come on Sunday." Woo hoo!!! What a blessing it is that we have a Heavenly Father who knows more than we do.

During the week, it can be hard to get some appointments during the day time because everyone is at school and work. But, when it comes to Saturday and Sunday, everyone wants us to come over!! Saturday we were crazy busy, it was awesome! We had so many appointments. We had one appointment in the afternoon that was kind of far away so while scheduling, we left some time to travel. After our first appointment finished, the brother called us and cancelled!! So, we had some open time in our schedule and thought of who we can go teach. We made one call and they invited us over to teach them. Second call, they also told us to come at the exact time we were available. It was like perfect, haha. One appointment falls through and two more pop up! One step back, two steps forward. So that was blessing.

One of the appointments we had this week was with one brother who has been coming to church for a long time. Apparently, his friend who is a church member invited him to come to church about 3 years ago. He's been coming on and off since then and now he even pays tithing!! He's not a member but he said he loves the church and wants to help so he pays tithing. I don't know what the missionaries have been doing in the past or if his heart was just softened as soon as we taught him. Our first lesson with him, we taught what tithing is and why we pay and where the money goes and what it is used for. We also explained fasting and fast offerings. He understood how God uses used tithes and fast offerings. The tithing funds are used to build and maintain church buildings and temples and other materials to help build the kingdom of God on earth. The fast offering money goes to help the poor and needy all around the world. We explained that tithing and fast offerings have always been a part of Jesus Christ's true church. When he understood the reason he likes this church so much and he is drawn to this church is because it is Jesus Christ's church, we invited him to be baptized and he agreed. We set a goal for him to be baptized next month. He then asked us to pray for the rest of his family to also be baptized.

I absolutely love being a missionary and love working hard every week. There is not a better feeling than seeing someone's life change because of the gospel you brought to them. The second best feeling as a missionary is Sunday night when you get to your apartment and just lay in bed and you can finally rest after a good week of hard work and you can just go to sleep with P-day coming in the morning.

I am really blessed and really grateful to be a part of Jesus Christ's church. I know that The Church  of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the one true church. Jesus Christ himself explains how His church is ran many times in the bible which is "upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone" as it says in Ephesians 2:20. God has called those Apostles and Prophets today. We are blessed to listen to them at General Conference which is coming up soon, and I'm pumped. 

Also, shootout to my brother Bryson. He earned his Eagle Scout award today and that is a huge accomplishment. I'm so so proud of him and his sweet heart. He is a great example to me. I love him. 

నేను మీ అందరినీ ప్రేమిస్తున్నాను!

Challa prema, Elder Baker

                                                             Elder Susaidass and I

                                Getting dinner from India's village version of a "food truck"

Selfie with a Hindu god. (I asked the temple dude and he said it was okay to take a selfie so it's

                                                              not disrespectful) 

                                             New family we started teaching this week!

                                                          Another family we visited 

                                              Me throwing my boy Ishwar!! I love him

                                                                 I ♡ KAKINADA

Transfers, mosquito hospital, and a baptism!!

Well, I guess the first big news is the transfer is over! Elder Trainor will be transferring to Hyderabad and I am staying in Kakinada and training Elder Susaidass. This is my second time training. I'm excited, I loved training the first time so I'm sure this time will also be awesome!! Elder Susaidass is ready to work just like me. 

This week, Durga Prasad was baptized!! I saw the biggest smile I've ever seen on his face right after the confirmation on Sunday. I know he was so happy and so relieved to finally be baptized! This is something that he really wanted to do. His story is pretty awesome. He wanted to go to church and follow Christ so he started going to different churches looking for the best one. During his search for the truth, he found our church! After coming, he told us that this is the place. This is the place where he said he found the most truth, more than anywhere else in the world. He soaks up everything we taught him since then and yesterday he was finally baptized. It was amazing to be with him and help him through that journey!

Well, unfortunately this week we only had about 1 day to really proselyte because of my companion and some other things. First, on Tuesday and Wednesday, there were some restrictions where we couldn't go outside because it was Ganesh festival and it wasn't safe for us foreigners to go outside during the celebrations. Then, my companion Elder Trainor got super sick. So we had to stay inside with him and then actually he decided to go to the hospital one night. That was the worst night ever. We were in this awful emergency room for 6 hours!!! And they didn't have any waiting chairs for half of the time so Elder Susaidass and I just had to stand or pace around and go crazy. It also didn't help we were there until 4 AM. Also, the hospital was not nice at all. There were tons of mosquitoes I actually just ended up putting my arms and head inside my shirt to hide from the mosquitoes. So we didn't get any sleep that night... 

We were invited to a birthday party this week and at first, we were the only ones so we were expecting a little cake and this and that and call it a night. Then, all of the sudden like 50 people came and it was a big function! They were cutting cake and dumping rice on the little girls head which means they are giving blessings to her. It was actually a super fun party. We met a lot of really awesome people and I even learned some telugu from this guy we met named Hebel. There was a family we met there who pulled us into a back room and asked us to pray for them. They have been searching for a good church but don't like all the pastors around here. We were so excited to meet them and this week we are planning to start teaching them. I know God put them in our path for sure! We were definitely meant to be at the party and God planned us to meet.

So even though we had only Sunday to proselyte, it was awesome!! One brother just walked into our church and said he was lead by the spirit to come here. That was awesome to hear. What great faith from this guy, we will meet him this week for sure. After church, we had about 7 appointments scheduled and because of lack of time teaching people, we couldn't even make it to all of our appointments )): I was so sad for all the people we missed this week because of my companion. We had some awesome appointments Sunday and had some great lessons. We taught a family that is just so prepared to hear the gospel. They NEED the restored gospel in their life and in their family. I know that it will help their family and I cant wait to share it this week with them. 

I learned a lot this week! I realized I've gained a LOT of patience on my mission especially with a week like this. I also learned that we are blessed based on our desires and efforts. Elder Susaidass and I really wanted to go out and meet our people this week and teach them and help them progress but unfortunately we had to stay inside with our companion. Finally, on Sunday when we could work, we freaking worked!! We were so blessed because of it! AH, BIG things are coming for this Kakinada area. I cant wait.

I love you guys!

Love, Elder Baker 

                                               Selfie at Durga Prasad's baptism

                                                            Durga Prasad's baptism

     Henna on the birthday girls arms is super sick! I asked her to give me some like it but she                                                                                  wouldn't.

                         Me at 3 AM at the worst hospital ever hiding from the mosquitoes.

                                                           Durga Prasad and Ishwar

 Every time I leave their house, he walks me and holds my hand!! I came this time and he drew a                                                        picture of us holding hands!!! SO CUTE

13 months ipoyindi!

Pretty good week this week! I can see the hand of the Lord in my work each and every day guiding me where to go and who to talk to. It's really amazing how we are just like the tools for God. This is His plan and His work. Anyway, we went to this far out village called Uppada, One brother is preparing for his baptism next week, and I even taught a lesson with Elder Hugie this week. 13 months in the making and it was awesome!! 

We have been teaching a brother for awhile now and he wants to be baptized. It's been a little hard to understand him perfectly because we have to communicate through a translator. We taught him the word of wisdom this week and we weren't really sure how it was going. Then as we were teaching, we understood one sentence he said in telugu. He basically said okay, tea is finished! He was drinking 15 cups of tea every day and after he learned about the word of wisdom, he said okay forget it! He created a plan for himself to never drink anymore before his baptism. Now, one week before his baptism, he has cut it down to 3 cups a day. That is repentance!! Change! Still not perfect, but who really is perfect? He is improving and it's awesome to see that because of his desire to be baptized and be a better follower of Christ. This is what Presidet Nelson has invited us to do when he says to do better and be better every day. Daily repentance is so important!! Needless to say, his baptism is on saturday. 

Okay, this guy's nephew is named Ishwar and he is the cutest!! We are pretty much best friends. Every time we come to teach, we all sit down on the floor and he comes and sits right in front of my lap. He likes to wear my backpack even though it is his same size. He clips the buckles up and everything. Then, every time we leave his house, he walks me to the main road so I get there safe. This week, my companion tried to walk with him and he ran away to me and grabbed my hand and walked with me. SO CUTE. I love kids. (Naku pillalu kavali)  

One day this week, we traveled to a village right on the beach and it was SO cool. I'm sure it was the first time missionaries have been here before and definitely the first time foreigners have been here. Hahah oh it was pretty fun to be a celebrity for the day. We would walk down the street and people eating would drop their plate and like jump up to see us! Kids started following us wherever we went. We took like so many selfies, said hello to everyone, and heard "hi brrro!" Like 100 times. We got to Ram Babu's home and he had invited his whole family! We had like 30 in one room ready to learn. So we taught them all about the restoration of the gospel. We taught about Joseph Smith and his first vision. We taught them that Jesus Christ's church had been restored and brought back. They loved it! We asked if they believed it was true right then and there and they all said yes!! And elaborated about it. It was such an awesome feeling. They understood that this is the same church Jesus Christ established. So, we invited them to come to church with us on Sunday and they said, "Well, we have our church nearby." .... dangit. We thought they understood so clearly. Hahahah next time, I guess we will have to answer a few more questions and teach a little better to explain. We'll see how it goes.

This week, we went to Rajahmundry for district Council and I stayed for an exchange because our district leader needed to come do a baptism interview for us in Kakinada. So, I stayed in Rajahmundry with the other Elders. The best thing was that Elder Hugie and I taught a lesson together one night and it was awesome. It was our dream to be companions since the MTC together 13 months ago and it  came true. We finally were companions and I guess you can say we killed it!! I guess if you look at the number game then we are 1 for 1 together, 100%, batting 1000, or whatever you want to call it. Our teaching record is one person taught, and one person on date to be baptized. We just flowed together as we taught, and we even taught some of the lesson in telugu. It was awesome, the sprit was strong. Definitely a night on my mission I'll never forget. 

Overall it was a good week. Right now is a big holiday in India. Everyone is celebrating Ganesh festival and it is pretty crazy!! Just google Ganesh Festival and I'm sure you will see what it is. Anyway, have a great week everyone! I love you guys!

Love, Elder Baker

                                   Our trio. Elder Baker, Elder Trainor, and Elder Susaidass

                                                         My little best friend Ishwar

                                             I promise he wanted to wear my backpack!!

                                                          The big family in Upadda

                                                                Elder Hugie and I

                                                         Walking through the village

                                                                 A big fruit stand

Causing car accidents and addictions

Oh wow, what a great week!!! Quite a bit happened. We are keeping ourselves crazy busy each and every day and because of it, the weeks are going by stupid fast. This week was my birthday on Tuesday the 27th, and my dad's birthday on the 28th!! Other things that happened were me being the cause of a car and motorcycle accident, causing people to get addicted, finding and teaching 26 new people, and OH I got blessed by an elephant!

Olay, let's start with last P-day! We went with the zone to meet Mahalakshmi. Mahalakshmi is a special Hindu elephant that will give you a blessing for 10 rupees. Even though she is Hindu, she still practiced the laying on of hands, or the laying on of her trunk to be more accurate. Just so you know about the equivalent in US dollars. I paid about 13 cents to meet this special elephant and it was SO COOL. Just check the pictures below. Definitely a bucket list item checked off.

The next day was my birthday!! Woo hoo, it was a grind. We went and had some fun by talking to people and blowing their mind by speaking telugu in the streets and in their homes. Nothing better than going finding on your birthday. We had some success too!(more on that later) After some appointments, we went to the church for a planning meeting with bishop to end the day. Nothing really special, I honestly forgot it was my birthday a few times throughout the day. After our meeting with bishop tho, I walked out and the ward members surprised me with a birthday cake and an Indian traditional cake cutting. That includes me cutting a piece of cake and feeding it to everyone there and then they feed me also and shove the cake in my face. It's really a lot of fun!! Definitely a tradition I'll take home. We took the cake home and also celebrated the next day for my dad's birthday. Shout out to my dad real quick. Literally, he is the best dad ever. He's my role model. When I was a child, my nickname was velcro because I wouldn't leave his side. I miss that and can't wait to celebrate our birthday next year together. I love you dad.

Hahah okay! If you read my subject title and you're scrolling through the email looking for the description, it's this paragraph! First, we caused a car accident this week which is really sad but honestly pretty funny.(Because no one was seriously hurt) Here is what happened. We were walking down the street like usual. And of course, like usual, everyone is staring at the tall white guy! Including this guy driving a motorcycle. We were crossing through this intersection and the shocked driver of a motorcycle locked eyes with the tall white guy instead of stopping for the car which he obviously didn't see and BAM!! T-boned. Hahahah it was awful but soooooo funny. Luckily they were totally okay. He pretty much got right up and was just a little embarrassed. 

And next, how I caused an addiction. Bashira is totally awesome. I've never seen someone desire to follow our Savior Jesus Christ more than her. She LOVES learning as much as she can. She finished 1 Nephi this week and is loving it. We also taught her some commandments this week including the word of wisdom. The word of wisdom is a commandment to refrain from certain substances that cause us to become addicted and are unhealthy for our body. So, after we taught, we invited her to study more about it and read the pamphlet we gave her. We texted her the following day and asked what she understood and I was shocked by her answer. She said, "I understood one thing from that. That we should get only get addicted to our Savior.. Not to other things which distract us from Him.. And which spoils our body." What a great answer. I absolutely loved it.

So, a few weeks back we walked down a street and a family was sitting out on their front steps. I waved and smiled and said hello... but kept walking. The spirit said to stop but we were in a hurry to another appointment and had no time. Now, this week we were finding one evening and again we walked down the same street. Once again I smiled, and again I said hello, and again I waved...unfortunately, I also once again kept walking. After about 25-30 steps, the spirit causes me to stop and I felt the spirit telling me, "you missed this once, don't miss it again." So, I said to my companions and the member with us for exchange, "Hey!! Why didn't we stop?? We need to turn around and go back and talk to them." So, I turned around and walked back to the family and they were SO excited we came back. They invited us inside their home before we could even say hi again. It's like they were already expecting us and I totally believe that was the case. We set an appointment with them to come teach their whole family on Sunday. We came and taught all 10 of them on Sunday. They loved it.

I can feel God directing us in this work. This truly is His plan and His one and only true church on the whole face of the earth. What a blessing it is to be a member of Jesus Christ's church. There is nothing better than to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you aren't a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or you are but have stopped attending, let me invite you to change that as soon as possible. This is the greatest news on earth that the gospel of Jesus Jesus Christ has been restored in full and you deserve to receive those blessings. 

I love you all! Until next week.

Love, Elder Baker 

                                         Big Hindu Temple with Elder Yadav and I inside

                                                          Me hugging an elephant!!

                                                    The elephant giving me a blessing! 

                 My nice birthday cake that was all over my face minutes after this pic was taken.

                                                         My birthday celebration