Week 34: Quite Possibly the Happiest Day of My Entire Life

Well, to get right to it, DANIEL AND MIGUEL WERE BAPTIZED! All of the drama, and the stress, and the sleepless nights were definitely worth it for this moment. And the best part is that the whole family was able to make it! Hermana Bushman, the elders, and I sang a musical number "Hazme Andar en la Luz" and  it brought the Spirit so strongly. During the ordinance, Yohana (pronounced Joanna) started crying and Adriana was glowing with the biggest smile ever. Afterwards Melissa kept saying that she wants to be the next one baptized! This family is so so so so special, and they are going to be such a great addition to the ward. Even though Daniel and Miguel were the only ones ready this week, I have no doubts that the rest of their family will soon follow their examples :)

Yesterday we had a special stake conference where Elder Richard G. Maynes of the presidency of the Seventy spoke to us. He focused his talk on the difference between building the church, and building Zion. To sum up what I learned, building the church has to do more with the size of the wards, the number of chapels, the number of temples. But building Zion has to start in our own personal hearts -- building our testimonies, becoming converted, strengthening our families -- and as we do that, we will be building up Zion.

Another highlight of the week was Zone Conference! The AP's asked me to do a segment, so I taught about the role of the Holy Ghost in conversion. And I was pretty happy with how it went! One thing that was focused on in this conference was centering every lesson and commitment on a baptismal interview question. Hermana Bushman and I have been able to apply that and it has made it so much easier to discover people's needs and where they get stuck. With some people it's on the very first question of knowing our relationship with God, and the importance of His Son, Jesus Christ! It's hard for them to understand anything else we teach them if they don't first understand what the Savior has done for them. Others don't fully understand the importance of the restoration. They're not going to want to live the Word of Wisdom if they don't understand that it came from a latter-day prophet.

There is nothing more satisfying than being able to serve the Lord full-time. It's amazing how He can use us missionaries, who are full of weaknesses, to bring about His work and His glory. love being able to represent and testify of my Savior Jesus Christ every single day. He lives. And He loves us.

Love always,
Hermana Baker

The district