Week #3

Holla mis amigos y familia!

Last week after emails my companion and I went and got haircuts. It is super short now... (pic is attached below). I really like it because I save sooo much shampoo! Hahaha but I do like it and think it looks great, it just took some adjusting.

On Sunday nights we always watch some Church movies. This past Sunday we watched the "Only a Stonecutter" one about John Rowe Moyle. IT IS MY FAVORITE!! After, we had a great District discussion with tears and testimonies. I talked about how I want to be like John Rowe Moyle. He was a great example of always doing what the Lord commanded. He served every day of his life. Even after his leg injury, he still made the 22 mile trek from his home to Salt Lake twice a week, there and back, to finish the temple.

For those that don't know, my Grandpa Thacker, my mom's dad, died just a few days before I left on my Mission. I was not able to make the funeral but I received updates in letters from my amazing mom. She also sent her talk. She spoke of a letter her family received. A man recalled the time when he was a boy in Church with my Grandpa. He said that in a meeting they were asking for volunteers for a service for another family. My grandpa stood up and said, "My name is Harry Thacker. I have an automobile, and I will go anywhere, anytime." The man was so impressed by this for his whole life. Now he has his own family and a miniature drone helicopter. He named it the Thacker, because it will go "anywhere, anytime."

I have come to a greater conclusion of the man I want to become. As well as other examples from my awesome father and other great men in my ward at home, I want to become like Harry Thacker and John Rowe Moyle. They spent their whole life in service. I want to serve the Lord all my life, not just as a missionary. I want to always be doing the right thing, the thing that the Lord wants me to do. I want to serve all my life so that when I die, I will die in the service of my Lord.

Yesterday, we saw a great devotional from Elder Holland from Jan. 2013 at the Provo MTC. He spoke about how we need to be great missionaries! All the prophets and missionaries before this generation and dispensation knew that they would fail so that this generation would succeed before the coming of Christ. It was an amazing talk!

Mission life is a little tough though, I am kind of tired because we learn so much and do so much every day!

My companion Elder Crofts and I had a great week! He and I had great unity and were able to teach great lessons to our "Investigators."

Hugo, or our night teacher Hermano Cardenas, is a man that lives with his aunt because he has a bad relationship with his family. He worries that his actions and sins are the cause of his grandpa's sickness. We taught him an amazing lesson on Jesus Christ and the Atonement. He wants to be clean but worries about his grandpa. We talked about the Priesthood and that we have the ability and authority to give his Grandpa a blessing. It was so amazing to see his face light up with a smile and a sense of peace. We then asked him to be baptized. He said no at first but we asked him to pray about it. I felt inspired to comfort him. I told him that he need not worry for his grandpa. If his grandpa is not physically able to be baptized before he dies, that he will have the opportunity to be baptized in the next life. He thought about it then looked peaceful. We will see tomorrow if he prayed.

Our other "investigator" is Ana, or our morning teacher Hermana Vargas. She is separated from her husband and lives with her two sons. We have taught her many lessons. We recently taught her about Jesus Christ, Repentance, and the Atonement. She has been responding well but it wasnt until yesterday that she accepted our invitation to baptism. After she accepted, she immediately asked if her sons could be baptized, one is 9 and the other is 2. We told her the older could but that it was too early for the 2 year old. We taught about the age of accountability. She was fine with that and she was happy that she could be baptized with her oldest son. She just needs to make changes in her life, be clean, and align her life with God and Jesus Christ.

It has been an amazing week of laughs, tears, testimony, bonding, and growth. I will bear a short testimony in Spanish.

Yo sé que La Iglesia es verdadera y tenemos un profeta verdadero hoy, se llama Thomas S Monson. Yo sé que Jesucristo es el Salvador.

I know so much Spanish now and have been teaching all my lessons in Spanish. As a District, we are starting to speak all day in Spanish.

Join us again next week!

Con amor,

Elder Dallin Baker