Sister Samantha Sue: Week 7

We had quite an exciting week!

Because my companion, Hna Bonar, is the STL, every transfer she has to go on exchanges with all the sisters in our zone. Which is fun for me cause that means for one day every week I get different companions! The only downside... We are the only hermanas in the zone, the rest are sisters. SO, when Hna Bonar goes out on exchanges I get an English speaking companion for the day. Basically I'm in charge of the area and all of our investigators, and I don't even speak Spanish!! Our first exchange was this past week, and I was so nervous for it. I had only been in the field for 8 days and already I was expected to lead out the area for the day. I still have no idea what they were thinking. But this is the Lord's work, so everything worked out, just like it always does.

One of the highlights of the week was getting to do service!! A bunch of us missionaries got together with the Houston Food Bank and set up a drive-thru where anyone could come through and for free we would load up their car with tons of groceries. It was HOT, but so worth it. Service is always worth it.

No baptisms this week. Luis was supposed to be baptized but at the last minute said he didn't feel ready. He will get there, though. We had three investigators at church yesterday: Carlos, Geronimo, and Luis. All three are single, Hispanic men in their 40s or 50s. Actually that fits the description of almost all of our investigators. For some reason, older single men are the only ones who will listen to us...

One thing that you quickly pick up on as a Spanish speaking missionary in Texas is how to tell if a person's Hispanic by looking at their porch. In case any of you guys ever need to determine this, here's a few tips: 1. Potted plants. 2. Wind chimes. 3. Figurines of frogs or butterflies or snails. 4. Porch furniture that looks like it's used a lot. 5. Homemade grills. 6. Bricks around their trees. 7. Lots of cars in the driveway. If they have 3 or more of these things, chances are they're Hispanic. If they have 5 or more, they DEFINITELY are Hispanic. Seriously, this technique is golden. By the end of my mission, I will be the master at finding Hispanics.

One night all of our appointments had fallen through and it was only 8:30, so we still had half an hour before we could call it a night. So we stopped by a potential investigators house, and before going in we said a specific prayer that we would find someone to teach or something to do to be productive with our time. Then we went up and knocked. The potential investigator we had hoped to teach wasn't there, but her son was! Hna Bonar said she had tried to teach him before and he wasn't really interested, but when we asked if we could share a message with him about our purpose here on earth, he said yes! Heavenly Father really is in all the details of our lives and He listens to and answers every single prayer.

I love the scripture in Mormon 9:21:

"Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth."

This promise is unto all. Unto me, unto you, unto members of the church, unto missionaries, unto investigators. The only condition is that we have full faith in Christ.

I know that this gospel is the true gospel of Jesus Christ and that it is for everyone. I haven't even been on a mission two months, and I already know it's the best decision I've ever made.

I love you guys!

Love, Hermana Baker