Elder Braden Baker: Saving People's Lives

Wow, this week was crazy. I mean like this was the craziest week ever!! It's amazing to see what we can do when guided by the spirit. I know that letting the spirit guide is the most important thing to do as a missionary and also in life. The holy spirit can testify to you what is true, it can comfort us, and can tell us what to do and in some instances what to say. The Holy Ghost can even warn you when your life is in danger. This week was a good example of the importance of having the spirit with me. So, this week I also got a new companion for a week! It's just temporary and I'll be getting a new companion this week so stay tuned for who it is.

Madhu Shalini was baptized this week!! It was so nice and it made me so happy to see how happy she was as well as her whole family! They all came and even her dad and brother aren't members but they came and loved it. We have been teaching them about the temple so we hope to also have them baptized soon. They are such a good family, I'm grateful I have grown so close to them. I also got to confirm her a member in sacrament meeting and it made me so happy to do that sacred ordinance. Well, she is really loving the church and has some good friends too.

At the beginning of the week I was out finding with my companion and it felt like we just were walking forever and talking to nobody. It was hot and we were sweaty and tired. Because of some complaining, you could just feel that the spirit was not there. We didn't have the spirit to guide us at all. We kept walking but with no success. I knew the only way to do it was to go by the spirit. After all, this is God's plan, not Elder Baker's plan. So, I told my companion that we should stop and pray. He was hesitant but we stopped and on the side of the road, I said a prayer. We walked a different way down a street that looked good to us. We waved to some ladies but nothing really. After some walking, I stopped at a small side shop to get water. I started talking to this lady but she only knew telugu. So, I looked around and there was a school nearby. A BUNCH of kids came over to say hi to me! I asked one of the boys if he knew English to translate for me. He knew english so I told him what we do and he told her. It was good! She then invited us to her home on Sunday and she offered to give us lunch. It was cool that I met the lady that works at the shop but who turned out to be better and more interested was the guy that translated for me! He is just a good kid! We taught him about the Plan of Salvation because his dad died one year ago. He loved the answers and hope he received because his father died one year ago. He is a really good kid. He is about 15 years old and every sunday morning, he gets up at 5 AM and goes and plants trees in the city. He has planted 55 trees in the last two months. So, basically it is so important to be in tune with the spirit! God wanted us to go to that shop but it couldn't happen until we prayed and invited the spirit.

While we were teaching this young man at the church, another guy just walked into the church and looked a little bit confused. We invited him inside to sit with us as we teach. He sat down and just patiently waited until we were done. He told us his name was Sandeep and he had been wanting to come to this church. He said that he was feeling really good here. We asked how he found the church and he pulled out a really old, crumpled, worn, and torn pass along card in his pocket that had our church address on it that the missionaries gave to him over eight years ago!! The missionaries EIGHT years ago gave an 11 year old boy a card and the Book of Mormon. Those missionaries planted a seed with this boy. Fast forward to this week when we met him. We felt we should go to his home so he walked us to his home where we met his dad and brother. Sandeep said that he found this card and wanted to come to our church and see. He said he has been searching for the true church and has been to every church in Kakinada and hasn't found it but he felt different in our church. We taught them the message of the restoration of the gospel and it helped answer their questions!! When we introduced the Book of Mormon and pulled it out of our bag, Sandeep's face just lit up!! He said that the missionaries gave him the Book of Mormon eight years ago and he found it on his shelf two months ago and started reading and comparing it with the Bible. He kept telling us what he learned and how he liked it. He was saying so many things about the Mormon, we were shocked! So we asked him where he is in reading the Book of Mormon and he said 3 Nephi!!!

What a miracle it was to meet Sandeep. He had a seed planted with him when he was just an 11 year old boy and it was being watered for the last eight years until the time was correct. The next day, Sandeep came to our baptism service and also church the next day!! He really loved the baptism and we expect him to also get baptized soon. Some things happened the days leading up to meeting Sandeep. The main difference the day we met Sandeep was that we missionaries had the spirit with us. I believe that's why we were blessed to meet him. I fully believe that if we are doing what we should be doing and trust in God, He will pull through on His side! (D&C 82:10)

This week I was moving around a lot traveling from Kakinada to Rajahmundry(2 1/2 hour bus ride) and then back to Kakinada a few times because of my companion leaving and me getting my temporary companion. So, I'm excited to get settled again this week with my new companion, I'm just a coonchum nervous though. I wonder who will be my new companion. DM me your guesses.

Well, I really love you all and appreciate the love and support. I am especially grateful this week for all of you.

Love, Elder Baker