¡Mordida!

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for all the birthday love! Thank you

family for the package!

Monday: As a zone we had a BBQ! We were at a park and got to play

sports outside! Then we had a nice lesson about the Plan of Salvation

with a family. The kids had a lot of questions, not all were on

topic...

El Bautismo de Penelope

Hope you all had a good first week of November! Starting now, so it
will be in the next email, I will pick something I am grateful for
each day and talk about how I expressed gratitude for that thing.

This week was pretty awesome!

Penelope, Halloween, Approaching Birthday

Hope you all had a great week! Don't eat all the Halloween candy at once!

Just so you guys know, I turn 20 on NOV 11th!!!!

939 W Chapala Drive

Tucson AZ 85706

I left this out in last week's email. On Sunday we had some Stake primary leaders and they didn't speak Spanish so I sat behind them and translated the meeting for them. It went pretty well! It was my first time and when I heard a word in Spanish I had to put extra effort to say it inn English because I don't have to translate in my head anymore, I understand it. Iglesia is Iglesia, I don't have to translate it to church to understand.

Sunday Translation

This week was really good!

Monday: A fun Pday followed by a few visits. (Sorry, can't remember much)

Tuesday: We had service at the food bank then studies. Then, we
grabbed the bikes, put them on the car, and drove to an area for
finding. We rode around doing visits. After dinner, we were able to
visit the Ching family! Usually we see them once a week but we were
inspired to go and visit them! We had a great little lesson! They are
learning so much and loving it but aren't really up for commitments...

Groundbreakings and BBQs

This week was really good!

Monday: We had a good pday! We got all the necessaries taken care of
then we went to play sports. It was really nice because I got to throw
the frisbee around with another missionary for a while. Later, we did
some more visits to finish up the directory. we finished the night
with a visit to a recent convert that doesn't think its important to
go to church ever Sunday, WRONG! Christ wants us to go to church!
Thats the only way we can partake of the sacrament!

Final Week of the Transfer #10

Great week! We received transfer calls and I am STAYING for another 6
weeks! It will be awesome!

Monday: So today, to celebrate a missionary finishing his mission, we
went to an indoor trampoline park! It was so much fun! There is an
Elder from Ecuador and it was his first time jumping on a trampoline.
It was like watching a little child jump for the first time, only it
was a 20 year old young man that is a bit larger than a small child.
It made my day! Oh and earlier in the morning we did a great hike! It
was a really easy one because it was just a paved straight way. But it
was beautiful! Later, we visited people from the branch directory
list. We met a young man that hasn't been to church in a while and we
set an appointment with him.

Status Update from God and Jesus Christ

So on Saturday and Sunday we had General Conference. A semiannual meeting of talks by leaders of the church. The topics are not assigned but are by personal revelation, or guidance and direction from God. As in the Bible, Amos 3:7 "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." Or in Doctrine and Covenants 1:38 "...whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same." It is God telling us what we need to know and do for the next six months; hence, a status update.

Please Send Letters!

Also, please send letter! It has been a long time since I have received a letter!

Sorry about last week and the lack of an email! My iPad had some errors and had to be reset.

Week of 9/14-9/20

Monday: Today was pretty fun! We played volleyball and chair soccer. We had a great dinner then a good lesson about prayer and scripture study.

Jose & Sunny Days

Hey guys!

So this week has been hectic but awesome! Opening an area is tough and it just got a little better, but also maybe a little harder. One of the missionaries serving in the branch had to go home and his comp has been in the branch for about 7 months. He is now being sent to a different branch. So now the branch is back to 4 missionaries. It is me, Elder Wilstead, and the sisters. So now we are changing the proselyting area boundaries to adjust to the change. So we will now have a car but we can't use it everyday so we will also use bikes as much as we can.

Tucson and Elder Wilstead!

So I am in Tucson again! I am with a young guy named Elder Wilstead. We opened up a former area in the Los Reales branch. It shares a building with the Sahuaro branch, my first area. We are in a car share and on bikes.

Week 5: Blessing, Zone Conference, Bike Day, Exchanges, Interview, Duck Races, Sick Day

This week was insane! We did so much this week! So much stuff happened but we really need to find more people to teach... If you guys could, please pray that we will be able to find people ready to accept and act on our message. That would be amazing!

Monday: Pday and we did our studies then got a call from Hno Baca, Hno Martinez' son-in-law. We needed to go over and give a blessing. Hno Martinez is 91 and getting pretty close to, you know, "tirar la pata." So we got ready. We felt like firemen suiting up to go to the scene, only no fire, no firetruck, no pole to slide down, but the emergency was still there. It was not a time to fight a fire, but to use the Priesthood to give a blessing. I was asked to give the blessing to Hno Martinez. It was a very special experience that I will hold very dear to my heart. I said what I felt I was inspired and directed to say, I did so as tears filled my eyes. We then gave blessings of comfort to Hno and Hna Baca. It was a special time as the Spirit of God was present and filled the room, blending with the emotion of love for Hno Martinez and the urgent circumstances surrounding our reason for coming. We then returned to our plans and after dinner with a member we visited Christian and Alex, young adults and brother from the branch.

Week 4 Done, Now Week 5

Sorry about my last subject title, it was a mistake! 

Monday: Pday was good. We played volleyball then we went and chilled with the other elders. It was a relaxing pday. So we went to talk to a man named Hno. Rodriguez. Elder Elton contacted him and this is our second visit with him. He was not  interested though. After, we went to Presidente Rico's house for a branch family home evening and dinner. We had a good lesson then were able to mingle and talk. 

Blah

This week was pretty good! We had a lot of good lessons. So since I am a Spanish missionary and I spent 6 weeks in the MTC, I follow exactly on transfers. So the transfer day is on Aug 2 and I will be going home Aug 3, 2016. So that willl be before my actual 2-year mark of Aug 20th, 2016. So from now on, so there is no confusion, my "anniversary" is on the 3rd of every month. So I hit my year mark on Monday Aug 3!

Illness & Travels but Never Combined

So this week was a struggle. As you read, you will find that we were both sick at different times. And that we had to do a lot of traveling. We are both doing better now!

Monday: We had a nice Pday and we were able to get haircuts. We then played volleyball. Later, we had a great dinner with a member. We had to drive across town to get to our next appointment with a member family. Only, we got the cancelation text right when we arrived. We went back home because Elder Elton had been feeling sick all day.

Pioneer Day & First Talk

Hey so this week was pretty good! We did a lot of work around the evening hours and have plenty of mosquito bites to show for it!

Monday: We had Pday and played volleyball, six square(like 4 square), and were ambushed by water balloons. We went to thrift stores to find things to wear for the pioneer day activity this Saturday. Elder Elton had some good finds. We had a great dinner and then were able to see Teresa for a moment. We then went knocking and met Joe. He is very cool! He served in Vietnam and is interesting in our message!

Transfer Update!

Hey guys! No more Tuesday Pdays for transfers. Alway will be on Monday now. I am staying in Deming, NM with Elder Elton!

Monday: So today we took care of everything then we went to the City of Rocks to play capture the flag! We played one round then came back to Deming to play Ultimate Frisbee. It was a ton of fun! Then we had a nice dinner with a member. Also, in the morning we made a cake for a challenge we did we the Chavez family. They completed their charity and service challenge but we had to postpone the little party. Then we went contacting. We met some very interesting people and finished the night with a nice old hispanic Jehovah's Witness lady.

Week 5. Entering Week 6. Final week of the Transfer

I have had a great time this transfer! Elder Elton is the best! One of my favorite transfers!

Monday: So we went to the dentist this morning. Elder Elton was having some pain in his mouth. Everything was good. We then did studies, laundry, email, and shopping. We had lunch at our apartment then went to the church building to play sports. We played volleyball! We then had dinner with the Chavez family. A tradition that they have involves these Extremely Hot Pickles. They are super hot and the tradition is for new missionaries in the area to eat at least one. Elder Elton and Sister Hubert both ate one or two. Elder Tyler and I hold the record for eating 8 each! Then Sister Hubert challenged me. She said, "Elder Baker, if you eat 5 pickle slices at once, I will buy you a big bag of Swedish Fish." So I then began to pick the pickles I would eat. They made sure they were the biggest. I will include the video. So it wasn't very hot. I think its worse when you eat them one by one. So I will be getting some Swedish Fish very soon. After dinner, we shared a message about charity and service. Their challenge is to do a chain of charity. For every act of service, they get another link on the chain. This follows the scripture Mosiah 18:21 in the Book of Mormon. As we serve one another, we will have our hearts knit together. We then had a less active on our list that lives very far away. So we took a nice long drive only to find that the house doesn't exist. That took up the rest of our night.

Bees and Blessings!

Monday: So Monday we did a sunrise hike in Spring Canyon of the Florida Mountains. We woke up at like 3:45 to start at 4. It was beautiful! Pictures will be included! It was really cool to be above the world and see the beauty. Then we did studies and laundry. We then went to Miguel's house and made cookies with him. He wanted to just buy cookie dough from the store but we made them from scratch. We then went to the church and played volleyball with other missionaries and Miguel's friends. A member took us to Subway for dinner and it was so good. We then visited a less active family that I had never met before. We will be working with them very closely as they have a lot potential to return to activity in the church. Its more than coming to church  it is following Christ and progressing in the gospel. We had a nice talk with the bee guy from Sunday as he sat on his porch. I was getting a little frustrated though. He seems pretty interested and has a good religious foundation. No bees at this lesson. 

It Hurts to be White

Sorry, this one is a bit shorter. 

Tuesday: Today was Pday and we did all the usual. Then, as a district of 8 missionaries, we went and played mini-golf! It was a ton of fun! We then had a great dinner and message with a member family. I translated the hymn, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" from English to Spanish. It turned out pretty well! We went to the building to help out with the little Deming Institute class. Then we drove towards Silver City to do and exchange. 

Choirs of Angels & the Scraped Up Knee

Monday: Shopping, laundry, studies, and a haircut! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, today is PDay! I got a nice haircut from a young man in the branch for free! Instead of what I did last time, pay $20 at the salon place at Walmart only to have her cut my neck and not tell me. Yes, now I have a blood stain on my collar. Anyway, today we played sand volleyball on some really hot and rough sand! I dove and scraped up my knee, nothing new. After volleyball we had dinner with some members. It was their son's birthday and the had family over. We got started late and had to leave fairly quickly to make our next appointment, only for it to fall through. We grabbed Andrew, a young man that just put in his mission papers, and tried to see Daniel and Maneli but they weren't home. We then went to see Oscar, the less active young man, and we read from the Book of Mormon with him. I am very proud that I can read really well in Spanish! Then the members that we had dinner with invited us over for some cake :)

First week with Elder Elton

So this week was awesome!

Tuesday: Left Silver City to go to Lordsburg to pick up Elder Elton. We then shopped, took care of emailing, and unpacked some of his stuff. We ran some errands then went on splits with the Elders Quorum to visit some less actives. It went really well then we were taken out for ice cream. We went to bed a little later because we started planning for our zone meeting tomorrow. Elder Elton is super cool! He is from New Jersey and went to a little of BYU-I before coming out. He and I entered the field at the same time. He is really energetic and is a really good missionary.

Tucson, There and Back Again: A Tale of the Death of Elder Tyler

So by the time you read this I will have a new companion and Elder Tyler will be going through the temple with all the other departing missionaries. Then on Wednesday morning he will be hugging his family! Crazy how time flies and I am grateful that he trained me so well, 2 times. It was such a pleasure to spend, in total, 4 1/2 months together as companions. 

Silver City and the Free Dr. Pepper

So this week has been pretty exciting! Our mission was selected to receive iPads! So i am typing this on an iPad!

Monday: So after dinner our appointment canceled so we decided to go find some more people to teach. As we were walking around, we started talking to a man as he was fixing up part of his truck. So in talking with this man we come to find out that he was baptized years ago and is now less active. We started to talk to him and his wife and we were able to set an appointment to return! It was so great!

Animal Encounter Week

Wow, I had so many crazy experiences with animal this week! They are all pretty funny!

We also got to see our main investigator family a ton this week! They haven’t come to church these past couple weeks but they are working through things plus the mom is super pregnant.

Tuesday: Pday then interviews with President Passey! It was super good to talk to President and we talked about leadership and how I am progressing as a missionary.

Hello Everyone!

So this week was intense!

Monday: we did splits and Elder Tyler went with a member to teach a family about their current job and how they cant do that if they want to be baptized. He said they accepted it very well so we will see how we can help them find a better job. Oh and the merry-go-round after playing mini golf as a district. (Pic below)

Week 2 in Deming, New Mexico

Deming!

It has been so cool to experience the whole "small-town" thing! I'm not really the small town type though...

Anyway, we had a pretty good week!

Tuesday: we met with Daniel and Maneli. They are the parents of this super awesome family we are teaching! They are super close to baptism! Later, we went to the border village of Columbus! All our appointments fell through and we had to start driving back but not without first getting a pic with the US/Mexico Border Fence! We were also taken out to Denny's for dinner! I tried to do All-you-can-eat pancakes but only got 5 done with...

Last Week! 4/20 - 4/27 - This Week 4/28 - 5/3

Hey! Sorry! I was on the transfer van all last emailing day!

So last Monday: I got a haircut!

Tuesday: I did a baptismal interview for a woman named Nery. She is so cool! She met the Sister Missionaries in Subway! They started talking because the sisters gave up their table for her to sit down. She started taking the lessons and she was super prepared! She is getting baptized this Saturday.

NEW AREA!

Short email today! I have been on the transfer van for most of the day because now I am in DEMING, NEW MEXICO!

I am now a Zone Leader and my companion is my trainer Elder Tyler! He trained me in the beginning! This is his last transfer so I get to "kill him" after he trains me how to be Zone Leader.

I am super excited! Still in a Spanish Branch out here!  Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Dallin Baker

Carne Asada and Crazy Driving!

Monday: We had pday! We did sand volleyball at a volleyball pit in the Sister's apartment complex. It was so much fun! 2 Elders in my district stopped by and left their phone... Also, one of the sets of Elders in the zone are on bikes and needed a ride to the dinner appointment we were all going to. We gave them a ride to our apartment to change then to dinner. We then gave them a ride to their apartment, which was way west! 

Sushi X2

Pretty cool week here on the Mish!

Wednesday: District meeting about the Book of Mormon. After, we all went out to a restaurant to take part in their Sushi lunch buffet. It was my first time having sushi! It was really good!

Thursday: We had an exchange! I was with Elder Acosta, he is from Ecuador. He is super cool and funny! That night, we taught Lupita and Juaquina! It was so much fun because we talked about the 10 Commandments and did the hand method to remember them. It was tough when we got to #5, Honor your father and mother. Lupita said that her neighbor said this to Juaquina, "You are breaking the 5th commandment because your father is not there and he is not part of your life so how can you honor him. You are breaking the commandments!" So Juaquina was in tears. It was really tough. I want to say that we are not punished for the actions of others! What about an orphan? It was her fathers choice to leave. She is doing well honoring her mother! We moved their date for baptism to the 2nd of May.

READ THE PART: "DINNER MESSAGE"

Ok pretty awesome week!

Monday: Andres! So he is a friend of Ovaldo and Alex. He is from Cuba. We met with him and opened with a prayer. He then went to bear his testimony on his escape from Cuba and how faith has played a major role in his life! It was so awesome! We would share scriptures with him as he spoke and he loved all the scriptures! Elder Chinas then asked him if he wanted to be baptized. He immediately said yes! I asked him why, he said that he has faith in God and Jesus Christ and wants to follow Christ's example! For some reason, May 25th sounded right in my mind. I asked if he wanted to be baptized on May 25th, he said that sounds like the perfect day to be baptized. Basically we were all on Spiritual Cloud 9 after that! He is so awesome and should be baptized very soon! Except, upon further inspection, May 25th is a Monday... We will set a new date for May 9th.

Week of Stuff

So here is my week. Sorry I dont have another amazing spiritual insight.

Tuesday: We taught this nice old lady named Ramona! Basically all her kids are members of the church so she is super prepared! Then we stopped by to see Olvaldo and Alex. They were really tired and a little distraught at the job search. We had a nice experience giving them blessings of comfort.

"It's going to get worse before it gets better"

"It is going to get worse before it gets better."

A quote from Levi the Exterminator. We have had a cockroach problem that in the apartment. (Long before I got there). That I decided it was time to get it fixed. So he came and did some work and soon we will be roach free! But he said this about the process that he was doing. He said that he is flushing them out with this spray so they can eat this poison that will make their kids infertile. Then he did a spray to kill the ones that were alive.

Car Wash Miracle

I will just go day by day again, it makes things easier to explain.

Monday: P-Day!! We played sports and it rained and I got soaked but it was so much fun! Later that night, after a shower and dinner, we taught Ernesto and his family. Mainly him and his wife though, the daughters were preoccupied. They are super interested and are looking for truth and peace for their family! They are super cool! We are seeing them again tonight!! I am so happy we found a family!

Return of the J

SO this week was really crazy! I will go day by day.

Monday: P-day! I was really tired so I relaxed instead of playing sports.

Tuesday: Viki! So we found Viki because she is friends with a member named Veronica! Veronica introduced us and sat in on the lesson! It went really well! Veronica told us later in the week that Viki said, "I want to get baptized." HOLY FREAKIN' COW!!!!

Dr. Elder Baker

So to address the subject line, I am Dr. Elder Baker. My companions have both been sick and other missionaries in my district have been sick. When I was with other companions they would get sick too. I have only been sick once. But I have kind of been a doctor recently and now my mission president's wife probably thinks of me as a field assistant. On Saturday, Elder Chinas was very sick. We had to stay home all day. I called Sister Passey, MPW, to get advice and update her on the situation. She thanked me for holding down the fort in my area and being a good doctor. I just like to use experience, Boy Scout Training, Knowledge from Anatomy class, and logic. That is my basis of my medical practice. I basically give out Ibuprofen and Tums. Occasionally, like with Elder Teio, I wrap wounds. If you are lost on that comment look at the email about the home operation we did a while ago.

Sorry this is late, ran out of time...

So this week on Thursday I was asked to give a talk in my new branch! I was super excited and prepared a great talk! But then on Saturday they canceled on me because they wanted to give the opportunity for members to give their testimonies. Many families went to the Temple and were seled for time and all eternity. I was more than willing to give them that opportunity to share their wonderful spiritual experiences!

The Daily Drive

So in this area I am the only "Green Dot" missionary. So that means I do all the driving. I love driving! But sometimes I need to take a little break.

So last night we were coming out of our dinner and we needed to give something from the trunk to the Sisters in our branch. I then put my bag in the trunk and closed it. I then screamed and yelled. My companions asked why. I had left the keys in the pocket of my bag. Which was now in the trunk. Of the locked car. Crap. So we tried calling a bunch of people and President was so kind and loving to drive to the Mission Office to get the spare key and come and unlock the car for us! We did, in the meantime, get to enjoy the beautiful sunset!

Area #2! Sonora Branch! And a baby! Training!

So the big news! I got transferred!

I am now in the Sonora Branch in the Tucson Stake.

Also, I have a new companion situation.

I AM TRAINING!!!! I am in a trio again. My companions are Elder Ryum (Silent R), he is from South Korea but grew up in the US and is from Maryland, and the very new missionary, Elder Chiñas, he is from Virginia, he was born in Mexico and was raised state-side.

Sorry no fancy or clever name

So this week was pretty quiet.

We had a great lesson with a less active family with a nonmember daughter. The daughter, Hilda, teaches Sunday school at a different church but she loves learning about the gospel! As a companionship we taught in perfect unity and taught with the Spirit. To use a quote: "I love it when a plan comes together!" -Hannibal Smith (Liam Neeson) A-Team.

"I'm not crazy, I'm fun!"

First, quote of the week. Santitos, the 5 year old son of our Elders Quorum President, The Urias family. His dad likes to say, in english, that he is crazy. So one day we asked Santitos if he was crazy, this is what we got. "I'm not crazy, I'm fun!"

"I'm the Doctor" - Elder C

So this was a very exciting week!

So an update on my diet thing...

I broke a couple days so it will be continued until the 8th of February.

So the biggest day was Thursday. We went to the Gila Valley Arizona Temple! I drove there and back (not again, only once, so no "There and back again"). It was about 310 miles! I stayed awake and alert the whole time! It was wonderful being in the Temple and being able to feel the Spirit so strong!

Snow, MUD, Lava, Diet, and the Return

So this week was pretty awesome!

First we worked in a member's yard like 3 days in a row doing service. We were shoveling rocks. I got a great workout! We also have been teaching this member English and it is going really well! He is so funny with his accent and the English Slang he knows!

So Snow, on New Years Day there was snow! Not to mention a ton of frost on our windshield!