Miracles Frosties, and a Baja Freeze

 ITS NOT A TRICK...ITS A TREAT

- we had exchanges with our sister training leaders this week! I was expecting to be the one leaving our area this time since I stayed last transfer but NOOPEE God has other plans and once again I was told I would be staying in our area and Newbill would leave for the day. Oh and also tiny detail I should mention...our STLs are English speaking missionaries now so I didn't get to enjoy the conveniency of having a leader that spoke Spanish and could actually help me with the lessons. So I was kind of scared the day of exchanges because I'm not too confident in my Spanish yet and we had mostly Spanish lessons planned for the day which basically means me teaching by myself. But then I just needed to remember that I don't need to be confident in myself, I just need to have confidence in the Lord. I don't know, I kind of just look at things like ok God loves his children too much-these people that we are teaching- to let ME mess up THEIR eternal progression. He's not going to leave me alone to teach them about this really important stuff because He'd knows I'd fail without his help. So He's going to help me by letting me teach by the spirit. Because that's all we really are as missionaries is tools. Yup I said it I'm a tool. And I'm proud of it. I'm just the tool that the spirit can work through to touch the hearts of these people we are teaching. So reminding myself of that really helped as we went through the day and you know what? Everything actually went really well. I was able to understand the majority of what others were saying to me and it seemed like everyone I taught understood the things I (the spirit) was teaching them. It was really cool. I know God was with me this day helping me constantly and I know I wouldn't have been able to do it without him.

- another "gift of tongues" experience happened this week. So approximately 7 minutes before church president Gonzalez told us that our sacrament meeting speakers hadn't showed up and Newbill immediately said " it's ok we can speak!" *meanwhile I'm  nonchalantly bracing myself against the wall to keep myself from passing out* presidente said great! The topic is home teaching and visiting teaching! *i grasp the wall a little tighter as my face goes white* So yeah we walked up to the stand and sat up there and I had absolutely no idea what I was going to say..,let alone in Spanish. I prayed so hard up there hahah you have no idea. I just had faith though that somehow God was going to let me know what to say! I'm not even quite sure what I ended up really saying but I spoke for ten minutes on something about Moroni 7 and trying to become more like our savior and charity and missionary work and then I bore my testimony and was done! Ah probably the scariest thing of my life but I did it! And I defs know that it was the spirit helping me know what to say because I still have no idea what I said!

-well here's another pretty cool thing that happened. And it's about food. And missionary work. So doubly as cool. So there's this potential investigator named Cecilia that we have been trying to contact for a few months but haven't been able to really get a hold of because she's always working. But the other day we had been planning on getting dinner from a member and when it didn't end up working out we were on our own-- which meant fast food. We had a free frosty coupon so were going to go to Wendy's but were slightly ( ok extremely) disappointed to find out we couldn't use it for another week. So we decided to go to Taco Bell instead! And while we were eating one of the workers comes up to us and says "hey you're the church girls! I've been feeling so bad that I can never call you guys back! This is such a coincidence that I finally get to meet you guys!" It was her! Cecelia! The lady we'd been trying to contact since I got here! She said " let me go get you some Baja freezes and we can talk!" Haha I was like ah yes! Caffeine and the spirit this is gonna be one powerful lesson! So we were able to teach her a lesson about the restoration right then and there in Taco Bell and were able to get more info from her to set up our next appointment. During the lesson when she read the part about Joseph smiths first vision she finished and she was like" wooaah...I felt that, I've got chills all over". Then a little after that I may or may not have knocked over a cup of water all over the table possibly killing the mood a little bit haha but Gods pretty amazing sometimes. Ok No all the time. ..and inspired eating is a real thing!

-well We were supposed to have a baptism this Sunday with Gino, he had been interviewed and everything.  Everything had gone according to plan except right last minute he didn't show up to church, even though we had called 20 minutes before and he said he was on his way. Turns out he had a huge family emergency and his cousin had been shot and killed here in Bradenton right before church so instead of being baptized he was trying to sort all that out and even had a relapse and drank again after not drinking for a month. So that was our hardest thing to have to go through during the week. And obviously for Gino too. It was weird though, we both felt inspired to set a goal of 0 baptisms for this week and something felt kind of off the whole time we were preparing Gino for baptism this week. I just know God really does have a plan and that if he wasn't baptized this weekend it was for a reason and because we need to help him prepare a little more.

- well those were some of the highlights this week. We're getting ready to go on a bike ride to Anna Marie island which is kind of like a touristy place around here right now for our pday so I'm excited for that and will send pictures tomorrow! And we have a sisters conference tomorrow in St Petersburg AT THE BEACH!!!! I REPEAT IM GOING TO THE BEACH AND IM GONNA BE ABLE TO TOUCH SOME SAND. I've never been more excited to touch a bunch of microscopic rocks in my life. Hope everyone has a great week! Love you!
Paz y bendiciones
Hermana Baugh

Daily Life As a Missionary

 

The Branch children passing out pass a long cards.

-Well first item of business is that Gino's baptism didn't work out for this weekend:( We told him at the beginning of the week that Satan was going to work extra hard on him this week to try and keep him from getting baptized and to remember to put God first. We tried to meet with him almost every day but last minute he would call us and say I'm so sorry I'm still at work I have to finish this job! ( he works on cars) he's like I don't know where all these jobs have been coming from but I need to do them so that I can make the money to pay my rent and help my family. Meanwhile I'm like �� I know where they're coming from! This is the adversary at work here! Ah that sly dog. He kept Gino so busy doing something "good" this week to prevent him from doing something way better. And the day that we had planned for him to get his baptismal interview of course his phone wasn't working so we couldn't get a hold of him. So we just had to hope and pray that he would show up that night. We felt so bad though because the elders had to meet us at his house and had gotten a ride from one of their investigators since they don't have a car. We waited out by our car for a while and when he wasn't showing up the elders went over and knocked on his door but they did this before we could warn them about Gino's evil roommate/landlord who threatened to call the cops on us one time while we were waiting for Gino to come home. They actually didn't even make it to the door...they just walked past this guys window but it was enough to wake the beast and he came storming out and started yelling at them in angry Cuban Spanish saying "get off my property! Get off! Who do you church people think you are! This is not a public place get out! Who is your pastor?! Who is your pastor?! Give me his number I'm calling him after I call the cops!" Yeah it got pretty heated. And the poor elders and their investigator are just standing in the middle of this like what the heck is going on?? So yeah that was a fun night! Hopefully this week will go better though and Gino will be able to finish work so we can meet with him and can be baptized this next weekend!

- Marcela is doing good! She actually hated her new job! She said they made her work 14 hours straight with no break for her first day last weekend and she was like Ya no that's not going to happen again she is trying to get out of that now and will hopefully be able to go to church soon. Man I love Marcela. She's kind of like our grandma. She's pretty young but she actually is a grandma and is pretty much raising two of her grand babies right now. They are so cute! The whole not being allowed to hold babies and kids rule is probably one of the hardest rules for me,especially with Marcela. There have been a few times when Marcela will just hand me a crying baby and will be like here take him for a second and I'm like ahh what do I do I just want to comfort you but I can't ...I feel like I'm holding a bomb because Hermana Newbill gives me a look like "put it down! Put it down!" And I'm like "ahh I don't know what to do with it" hahah it's actually pretty funny.

- A cool thing that happened this week was that one of the members came and told us that she wants her granddaughter  to be baptized the same day that we are preparing 3 other 9yr olds to be baptized which is in 2 weeks! We were like yes! Baptism! Our favorite word! Our favorite color! Our favorite food! Our favorite pastime activity! We went to her house this week to teach her granddaughter Sheila and her cousin was there too. I asked her if she had been baptized and she said no but I really really want to! And I want to be baptized on the same day as my cousin! So now we are teaching her too and are preparing FIVE 9/10yr olds to be baptized on the same day in 2 weeks. The Ward is so excited...it's gonna be a fiesta!

- speaking of the Ward, we had our primary program this week and oh my goshhh little kids singing primary songs in Spanish is pretty much the cutest thing ever I was dying. There was one song I've never heard before called "la familia es de dios" that I've been trying to find but its not in the primary book but I love it! I make the primary kids sing it to me every time I see some of them haha

- Everyday is full of different people and different experiences that I learn different things every day. And I love it. I love being a missionary...it's something I can't really describe. Before I left I thought I'd have a problem with being home sick or something but I don't. When you are just so involved in doing missionary work and putting everything you have into it you don't really have time to think about anything else. And I'm not just forcing myself to only think about missionary work- it's all I want to do! It literally makes me so happy! Yeah it's hard sometimes and I'm awkward and mess things up and don't know what to say a lot of the time but I know it's okay because I know Heavenly Father knows I'm trying my best! And I'm just happy because I know this is what I'm supposed to be doing! I've got to go but I'll share more about the area I'm in next week. Love you all!!

Love Hermana baugh 

Trying to See the Sunshine Through the Clouds

Well not gonna lie this week was pretty hard. It started off pretty good though. We had a mini zone conference in port Charlotte and got some training, were told flu shots were mandatory for us (bad thing number uno) and we got to watch Meet the Mormons....with a bunch of

Mormons. Haha all the missionaries looked like they were about to cry when the movie started since a lot of them haven't seen a movie in almost a yr and a half or two years. But I thought it was really good and they did a good job with it! I saw Andrew knowlton there...he's

alive and doing well! Haha president actually told him to stand up during the meeting and was like "alright, raise your hand if you have ever seen this elder not smiling" and everyone was quiet and he's like "everyone needs to be a little happier..people don't want to talk to you if you don't at least look happy!". 

- we had a lot of lessons fall through this week...I guess people have work and family and lives and other things to do besides learn about the gospel or something? One interesting lesson we had was with an old lady named Sandra from Puerto Rico who was a member referral. She is probably the most stubborn, prideful, loud person I've ever met. She let us in to give her a lesson but she probably talked for 95% of it...and not because we didn't know what to say, because every single time we started to say something she would butt in in her loud Puerto Rican Spanish voice and not let us finish our sentence. I was getting so frustrated because if I even paused for half a second for my slow little brain to catch up and try to put my thoughts into semi-comprehensible Spanish she would seize the opportunity and go off again about how there is no way that any church could help her strengthen her relation ship with God because "tengo una fe taaaangrande". Yup not going back there - 

Alright so the two of our new investigators that I have been talking about, Marcela and her sister Maria. We had a really great lesson with Marcela about the law of chastity early in the week because Marcela is living with her boyfriend so in other words no baptism until we can fix that no no. But we had been praying so hard all week that she would have the faith and desire to keep the commandments, specifically this one and she took the lesson really well and said that she and Grant want to get married soon!! We were like yes yes yes marriage baptism combo for the win! Then the next day we found out that both Marcela and Maria both finally the jobs they've been looking for! They kept saying oh it's because of you guys and God that my prayers have finally been answered and we both found jobs the same day that you visited us. And we're like yeah it's because you're doing the things that God wants you to do that he's blessing you so much! So we were on a pretty high high because we're like yeah this is so good, they're getting answers to their prayers, they're recognizing these blessings are from God, we're on a roll  , hallelujah hurrah for Israel. Then of course we find out that BOTH of them have to work Sunday's and aren't able to come to church and all of our hopes and dreams came crashing down. They need to come to church!! Ahhh Newbill and I were so sad because now we're gonna have to tell them that "hey actually remember how we were talking about those miracle jobs you guys finally got after not having work since you left Mexico...yeahh those might have to go...". Man so pray for us and pray for them this week that they will be able to work something out so that they will be able to come to church!

- Gino got a new job this week too so it's been pretty hard to see him. I guess Satans new thing is giving these poor jobless Mexicans who just want to work jobs that don't let them meet with the missionaries or go to church. Because Gino is ready and wants to get baptized this next weekend but he wasn't able to cometo church to get his interview this Sunday and we have only been able to see him like once or twice this week so pray for him too that we will be able to work everything out for his baptism this weekend!!

 

- One of our investigators named Joe was supposed to get baptized this weekend but that fell through since he doesn't feel he's quite ready to make that commitment yet...we are really trying to help him though to gain his own testimony but he needs to do his part and actually read the Book of Mormon and pray and come to church so we are hoping this time it will finally click and he will realize that he needs to act to build his faith and can't just wait around for God to answer him.

- NONE of our investigators were able to come to church this Sunday. So my heart kinda broke but then it was put back together a little bit because all of our recent converts were there and going strong and Hilario got the priesthood so that made things a little better.

- but to put the cherry on top of this week...we had one of our English investigators pass away on Thursday. And it was a really horrible experience that I've been struggling with this week and am not going to talk about very much but yeah so that may have put a little bit of a damper on this week. - but we are just praying that these things happened this week because that just means something really good is going to happen this week. We're GOING to have at least one baptism this week. Gino is ready and also Alfredo is ready....he is still just trying to receive a confirmation for himself that this church is true. It's kind of killing me because he just wants to know the truth soooo sooo bad but I know that God answers prayers in his own way and his own time but I'm hoping that His own way and His own time will be this week so that Alfredo will feel ready to be baptized this weekend. -Spanish update. Score is still currently me:�� Spanish language:��. It's kind of frustrating I thought I'd be way better by now at it than I actually am but guess God is trying to teach me patience and humility. Wish he was trying to teach me intelligence and bilingualism pero, así es. - please pray for the people I mentioned in my letter today...for Marcela and Maria and Gino and Joe and Alfredo. They need the prayers more than I do! Love you guys and hope everyone has a great week! ������ -boo yah thought I'd have to leave these bad boys behind but guess who's got emojis on her iPad ����

Hermana Baugh

Almost got arrested...for being "white" girls.

Well for starters one day we almost got arrested! For being white! We were walking around a neighborhood that I'm just gonna say is prime for contacting Spanish speakers and this cop pulls up to us and gets out and is like "excuse me ladies do you know where you are? What are you guys doing here?" and we're like you know bringing people eternal salvation and never ending happiness so nothing too important ( visiting someone we met here last week)  He says well we have been having a lot of break ins around here and you two match the suspects' descriptions of being "two white females", so I'm going to have to run your IDs. And we're like, yes of course the two white Mormon missionaries walking around THIS neighborhood are the two most likely suspects. I mean it only makes sense. Because I'm gonna rob someone when I have pamphlets and cards about Christ and our church spilling out of my bag as I hand him my ID.  But anyways after about 5 more minutes he finally let us go after feeling convinced we were innocent even though he still insisted on writing down all our information. We invited him to church though so idk maybe we'll see him again haha. 

Marcela, the referral we contacted last week and had the 13 minute silent prayer experience with is doing so well. We saw her a few times this week and she's been reading in the BOM, and praying out loud and a lot shorter *fistpump. She shared what she is learning with her sister who lives in her apt complex and we are actually teaching her too now! They're awesome! -

General conference was this week and I've never been more excited for it in my life. It's like the Super Bowl for missionaries. We went around telling everyone about it this week, inviting everyone to our "super bowl party" at the church. We're like yeah we're gonna have this big screen TV and air conditioning and long cushioned chairs and maybe some old stale sacrament bread it's going to be great you've gotta be there. But really though that's all I could think about this week was how excited I was for conference. Every morning Newbill and I would wake up and say "ONLY 96 HOURS TILL CONFERENCE" "ONLY 37 HOURS TILL CONFERENCE" "ONLY 3 HOURS TILL CONFERENCE" . I remember always thinking that conference was the longest and most boring thing ever and would keep checking the time hoping it was almost over so I could go back to doing what ever unimportant thing I was doing before. Now I kept checking my watch dreading the time when it would be over and wishing it would go on forever. I'm not sure when or how my attitude about conference changed but it's definitely done a 180.Conference is so so much more than a Sunday where we get to stay home from church and eat cinnamon rolls and watch BYU TV in our pajamas instead. It's the time when we get to hear direct revelation from God through his living prophets and apostles that is specifically for us. Its amazing. I think what really was making me so excited for conference this time though was because I knew how many people we are teaching have been praying and trying to know for themselves that this really is Christ's restored church. I feel like we've been doing everything we can to try and help them to receive and recognize their answer but we kind of came to the point this week and we're like ok we've done all we can do it's the prophets turn now. 

I find it really hard to believe that if someone watches conference with an open heart, real intent and sincere desire to know truth that you can't watch the prophet speak and not know that he is a true prophet of God. -Our turnout for conference wasn't as great as we wanted it to be but we did have a few investigators who came. Justin came for the Sunday morning session ( was baptized last week) and it was hilarious sitting next to him. He thinks he knows like everything there is to know about the church now that he's baptized and has been reading and studying his scriptures more. During the talks he'd be like " oh that scriptures in 1 Nephi chapter 10 I know that one" or " psh all this stuff is in The gospel principles". Wish I knew as much as Justin does.- there were so many good talks that I can't even decide which was my favorite. The one that Uchtdorf gave though about gaining a testimony and recognizing spiritual truth was really powerful though. There are so many people I can't wait to show that talk to this week. But my overall testimony was strengthened so much this weekend. I feel like I just got recharged and am ready to go teach every single person in Bradenton that I can. I know that we have a Heavenly Father that loves and knows us individually. I know that he sent his son Jesus Christ so that we would be able to overcome our shortcomings, our trials, our sorrows and our weaknesses so that we can make it back to live with Him again. He wants us to live with him again. but we need to do our part with our time we have right now. I know that He has given us a living prophet to lead and guide us to know those things we need to do to live with Him again.- overall I'm just so thankful to be a missionary. I'm so thankful that I have the opportunity to help God with his work and his glory " to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man". I know that's what he wants for each and every one of His children! I hope everyone has a great week this week and doesn't forget the things we learned this weekend! I'm praying that I don't!

I find it really hard to believe that if someone watches conference with an open heart, real intent and sincere desire to know truth that you can't watch the prophet speak and not know that he is a true prophet of God. -Our turnout for conference wasn't as great as we wanted it to be but we did have a few investigators who came. Justin came for the Sunday morning session ( was baptized last week) and it was hilarious sitting next to him. He thinks he knows like everything there is to know about the church now that he's baptized and has been reading and studying his scriptures more. During the talks he'd be like " oh that scriptures in 1 Nephi chapter 10 I know that one" or " psh all this stuff is in The gospel principles". Wish I knew as much as Justin does.- there were so many good talks that I can't even decide which was my favorite. The one that Uchtdorf gave though about gaining a testimony and recognizing spiritual truth was really powerful though. There are so many people I can't wait to show that talk to this week. But my overall testimony was strengthened so much this weekend. I feel like I just got recharged and am ready to go teach every single person in Bradenton that I can. I know that we have a Heavenly Father that loves and knows us individually. I know that he sent his son Jesus Christ so that we would be able to overcome our shortcomings, our trials, our sorrows and our weaknesses so that we can make it back to live with Him again. He wants us to live with him again. but we need to do our part with our time we have right now. I know that He has given us a living prophet to lead and guide us to know those things we need to do to live with Him again.- overall I'm just so thankful to be a missionary. I'm so thankful that I have the opportunity to help God with his work and his glory " to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man". I know that's what he wants for each and every one of His children! I hope everyone has a great week this week and doesn't forget the things we learned this weekend! I'm praying that I don't! Love you!

Hermana Baugh