Elder Baker

Hey Family,

It was good to hear from you all! I hope that you are all doing good. I am so much better! I was able to talk to the mission psychologist last week. Her name is Sister C. She is from Salt Lake and was willing to help me the moment that I talked to her. We are supposed to have another talk this week, so we will see. 🙂

I am so sad that I can´t be there for the 4th of July. The birthday of our country, over 242 years ago. I am thankful that the founding fathers cared about us so much that they founded the laws of the land on the principles of God. He made that government to help us to have the Restoration and for the church to grow worldwide. Glory to God in highest!

President Amato and his family are here! We had a multi-zone meeting that we went to on Saturday. We had a meeting, then ate some Brazilian snacks, then we each had a photo with him. After we took the picture, he said to me, Elder Baker, I want you to tell your family on Monday that you have a mission president that has a testimony of Jesus Christ and that you are a good missionary. So, that is from him. He is from Brazil and has a strong accent, but he also lived in Florida for a long time after moving, so his English is very good. All of his family are fluent in English and Porteugise. So, that is cool!

I got the package on Friday! The suit fits great and feels so nice. You have no idea how it felt drowning in my other grey one. I am going to send the grey one to tailor it to my new size. So, we are doing good. The Three Musketeers bars are all gone. I love those. The other ones I have been sharing with people. They really enjoy them.

Fast Sunday was yesterday and it was really good. I usually have a hard time fasting here, but this time I felt strengthened by the promises of fasting. I had asked the Lord to strengthen my body to keep going and He did.

I love you guys so much! I know that your prayers have helped me to persevere. That is one of the reasons that I love you guys so much. Miss you!​

Elder Baker

Hello, family and friends,

So, we are going see a big change in the next week. This is the last week of President and Sister Boswell before they go home after three years of hard work. This will also be the first week of the new mission president, President Amato, and his wife. It is going to be a little hard to adjust, but I know that he has the keys and the authority to help each and every one of the missionaries in the Peru Lima East Mission. I just hope that he isn’t as strict on rules like President Boswell.

So, I had a really hard, but good week. The days in the mission are so similar that it starts to get old. For example, we have our day planned out with two appointments every hour. Out of those 20 or so appointments, we usually have about five or six of them actually be at their house, ready to learn. Most , if not all, of those other 15 appointments are not home, busy, or not interested. So most of our time is spent knocking doors. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. That is proving to be the most ardurous use of our time. My companion doesn’t seem to agree with me.

We had a multi-zone meeting with President and Sister Boswell. This meeting was a big goodbye to the pair. After the meeting we had an hour to talk with one another and to take photos with President Boswell and his wife (see attached). They made us root beer for floats and bought us chifles (fried banana chips). Everyone just took a bowl and started chowing down. I got to see the guys from other areas and from my group. Almost all of my group are training, district, or zone leaders. And me, just a junior companion who cannot say no to his comp or he gets fried by him or his zone leaders.

On Saturday, we had a baptism. His name is F. He’s 55 years old. We found him knocking doors and he was chosen to be found by us. He received an answer, only after one week, that the Book of Mormon is true, just by reading the introduction. So we moved his date to last Saturday so that he could be baptized sooner. It was super stressful, so we had to do it five times. Part of it was me and part was him. The funny thing was that when he was baptized, the water surged through the whole chapel and almost flooded everywhere. I was really glad, though.

Today, for P-day, we did a talent show, we watched “Frozen,” and we ate homemade pizza. A few elders woke up at 4:00 am to start everything … and they were still late to bring them. They made 16 pizzas in total and I am still hungry. I think my metabolism is way higher that it should be. Who knows!

I love you guys so much. Love you lots.​

Elder Baker

Hey Family and Friends!

Happy Father´s Day! If I could I would chat with video again to wish you Father´s Day face to face, but oh well!

This week was a really good one! As can see by the pictures, we went to a wedding! It was for a different area, but we were invited. It was the marriage and baptism of M. and M. T. and the baptism of I. Q. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. These three people were super prepared for their first new steps. That was on Friday.

Something else happened. The whole group of people was silent while the two were signing the wedding papers. I was stretching my back because it ached. I turned to the right and it cracked. But when I turned to the left, I farted. It was the most embarrassing thing I have ever done. My face was tomato red. But afterward, the wedding took the show and everything was fine.

Because my companion is district leader, we have to do the interviews for the investigators of the district. That is very fun because I get some time to do what I want, like read, write my book that I’m writing, take a small nap, or talk with other missionaries in English. That was Thursday, Saturday, and during church Sunday. We went to Tilda, where the Los Angeles and Tilda wards attend church. We ran into Sister W. and her parents. She was ending her mission and she was visiting her past wards and converts. Her mom told me about the Facebook page of Peru Missionary Moms. She took a picture of us for our moms.

Also, today for P-day was very relaxed. We just played board games and cards with our district and ate hamburgers (That were so good with tomatoes, cucumbers, and guacamole). And then, we had a guy in our ward, M., take professional photos of us. That will be in the next email.

I was determining about how much weight I have lost … about 20 kilos or about 44 pounds. It´s a lot, but I´m glad that I have lost it. I now have the ability to grow more muscle and not fat. If you can, I would ask for more protein powder, but like the big tub that you sent me in Huaycan. If there is another powder for soreness or tenseness after working out would be nice, too. I haven’t gotten the other package yet. Probably not till the next week, but we’ll see.

I love you guys so much! What I wouldn’t give to be by your side. I wish that the time would pass faster so that I can see you guys again.

I feel really strongly that I need to study veterneria but focus on larger animals, like horses, cows, bulls, oxen, deer, and maybe zoo animals. It could help me to build the dream I want.​

Elder Baker

Hey fam and friends,

This week was awesome and very productive. We had some really good lessons this whole week. We had a whopping 10 new people with date and a total of 10 people who agreed to be baptized. That is a pretty good ratio of new investigators and those with a baptismal date!

We received our transfers for the nine-week transfer … I am staying in Vitarte II with Elder R. I am super glad, too! This means that I can get to know him better and we can work together more. We had a good comp P-day together today and I hope that it can be a better transfer.

On Friday, we had a last interview with President Boswell. This was the long one, about 15 minutes. It was very tender and spiritual. I cried, not too much, but I cried. During the down time, we had a training by Sister Boswell about different ways to study the scriptures. Very interesting!

I don’t remember most of the other days. Saturday is one that I don’t remember.

Sunday was really good. Church started late because the bishop had a really long meeting, so we didn’t start until 8:30 instead of 8:00. The messages were good. Also, four of our new investigadors attended church, so … awesome!

Our lunch was way better than last Sunday and tasted really good! It was made by a returned missionary and his wife. They are awesome and we talked about some cool stuff like music, Dear John letters, and other missionary stuff.

This P-day was a companionship day, so we went to Plaza Vitarte, which is a mall and I got a new pair of jeans, a sweater, and a new USB speaker. Then, for lunch, we had ceviche de pota y arroz con mariscos (ceviche de pota is octapus ceviche. It is cooked pota with onions, tomatoes, and a lot of lemon juice. Arroz con mariscos is rice with shrimp). It was a good combination! I really want some more because it was so good.

That is all for my email. I love you guys so much! The only thing I would like to ask for is ranch powder and how to make it ranch dressing. I have been buying veggies and eating them raw in the street. It’s good, but ranch would make it better!

If you have any questions about the mission or Peru, just ask!​

Elder Baker

Hey Family and Friends,

I’m glad to hear that everyone is okay and that the week was good. Seeing the pictures of Zions made me miss southern Utah. Where I am now is like a bustling city that never sleeps. There are probably more people that live here than New York City and all of its suburbs. Lima is one of the biggest cities that I have ever been in. It has been great this week and better. I have finally found a Latino who can sing! But the thing is that he was born here in Peru, but has lived in the U.S. for more time, so he is a gringo Latino. So he doesn’t count for one, more like one half Latino.

This week was really good for the week. We didn’t have our district meeting until Thursday. As our district leader, I think that Elder R. is trying to show up the other leaders. He gave us Maracuyá Cheesecake, which is a sweet fruit like a pomegranate. It was good!

We had six new investigators who accepted a baptismal date. That is amazing! It was kind of crazy the way that we found the people. It was like we talked with everyone that we saw and they were willing to talk to us.

Saturday was the only day I can remember. We had a zone attack. That was when our whole zone went contacting in one area. We did this in the area of the sisters. One of the people we talked to said so much false doctrine and apostate words that my comp and I felt unclean by his words. I then had an exchange with Elder L., the Latino from Texas. He was born in Peru and lived there for about 5 years. He then lived in the United States for the rest of his life after. He was in many YSA ward choirs. He and I were walking around and talked half English, half Spanish.

On Sunday, we had a good time in fast Sunday. I didn’t fast becuase I knew that I would be sick. We had lunch and after I felt super bloated and gassy. I went into the bathroom to see if I could get it out. But it came out both ends. So I took it easy for a little while.

But today was a day to remember. We had our zone P-day. We had a competition between the districts. It started with a sack race, egg on a spoon, three-legged race, and water balloon toss. Then we had some really difficult challenges. The one I did was an eating race. We had eight big rolls, a bag of crackers, and a carton of juice. I was the only one who finished. So our district won and will receive a prize for a reward. Then we had sub sandwiches and watched the first 30 minutes of “Despicable Me.” The disc was in bad shape so we didn’t watch anymore.

So now we are here emailing.

To answer your question: Yes I would like you to send my suit. Then I can wear something that fits. The only request this time is more Tums and Gas-X. Both of those are almost gone after all my stomach pain. Apart from that, everything is fine.

I love you guys so much! I wish I was there with you too. Every night, I think of you guys and how much I would like to spend time with you. But I need to finish my mission and then we can do that other stuff. See you next week!

Elder Baker

Hey, Fam and Friends,

I taught a lot of people English this week. Exactly seven of them. The funny thing was that they came to me and contacted us instead of the other way around. The sad thing is that only one of the seven people were in our area. But it was good to teach some people who had a good knowledge of English beforehand. The cool thing was the second day we did it, they filmed it and I basically gave them the first discussion, about the Restoration, in English. It was the weirdest thing to give a lesson in pure English. The thing that was awesome was that the spirit was there and they felt it. We then turned off the video and explained what I said in English. It was cool that they all were interested and we put their names down.

Also, to explain the photos: We have a recent convert named M. He is one of four children who were rejected by their mother. She sent them away. When he found this out, he made a promise to himself that he would not cut his hair till he found his siblings. On Saturday, he fulfilled that promise. He cut off what looked like one or two kilograms of hair.

Everything is good with the weight situation. I don’t think I’ve lost any more weight so far, but I could be wrong.

We had the most fun of all my service projects yet: Setting up a birthday party for a one-year-old baby. We set up chairs, blew up balloons, hung decorations, and got everything ready for the nighttime. I found the creativity from Dad and made a Minnie Mouse out of balloons of different colors. I forgot to bring my camera, so I need to ask if the family has some.

The next day, when we went to pick up my comp’s jacket, the family gave us something new to me: Peruvian Tamales. One odd thing is they put olives inside them to get the flavor. Without the olives, they were awesome!

I got that package with the shirts and stuff. THANK YOU! The belt is working good. Instead of the other belt on the eigth or ninth hole, I’m on the third on this new one. Everything is good!

For P-day, we had some good fun. We played volleyball as a district, played games, and while we ate lunch (causa or tuna cassorole and chicha morada, a drink made from purple corn), we watched “Ice Age 3.” Some of the hermanas and elders had not seen it, so they were surprised. We are 10 in this district. Elder R., me, Elder P., Elder D., Elder L., Elder R., Hermana A., Hermana M., Hermana S., and Hermana W. We had some fun that cheered me up from cleaning the apartment.

Last night, I had a sad dream that there was a natural disaster or a terrorist attack here that made all of the missionaries leave the country if they weren’t Peruvian. I got back and was with you guys for about three months when they gave the all-clear sign and called us back. It was worse leaving the second time. I was crying when I hugged you guys good-bye and I woke up crying at 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning. But I went back to sleep just fine and dreamed better.

Hope you guys are well and healthy! Love you guys so much.

Elder Baker

Hey folks.

This week is cambios (transfers) and I’m … staying in the same place with the same comp. It’s okay. Also, this transfer is a shorter one, only three weeks. This is for the change of the presidents. The next transfer we have will be 9 weeks or 1-1/2 transfers. I just hope that I stay here, because the pension, the room, and our investigadores are awesome!

About the issues with my VISA card, the card was okay, but the machines here shut down after three failed attempts. I had the right password and everything. I just tried too many times. Thank you for opening it because I needed money to buy you gifts!

I haven’t gotten my package yet with the shirts and stuff yet. With transfers on a Tuesday, they usually come before the buses do. So, I will have it tomorrow, hopefully.

​Dad, I did think a lot about what you said. I have been trying to be better with people and their culture. I actually played a little street soccer with some of our district. It was fun to use my head! I have been writing in my journal more and using the tactics that you taught me. The adversary will not win this fight!

We had a baptism this Saturday. It was the sister of M., named L. She is 10 and is super awesome. She wrote Mother’s Day and Father’s Day cards for you guys. Elder R.s baptized her and I confirmed her in Sacrament Meeting. It was the most nervous that I have felt in my whole mission. It was so scary that I was trembling. But it went well.

​I am so jealous that you get to see the Cedar City temple so sooner than me! It looks so pretty lit up like that.

I can’t believe that my suit fit Dad! If it fits Dad, it will fit me. Thank you for letting me know.

Yesterday, we had the good-bye for Elder N. He ended his mission yesterday and already home. He is from Peru so he took a taxi to his house. On the way, we went to the family V. M. They are so good. They are a couple who went inactive and the zone leaders brought them back to activity. We gave them a family home evening last night. They gave us dinner with was Peruvian chicken noodle soup.

​So all in all, it was a great week. See you all next week.​

Elder Baker

Hey family!

It was so good to hear from you guys. I’m glad that we were able to talk. I wish it were longer. As you can see, there were a lot of photos. We had a baptism on Saturday. There is a story with that.

We are teaching two kids. L. is 10 and M. is 8. M. is the one who was baptized, because he “counts” for the ward. But because L. is 10, she “counts” for the mission. In the middle of teaching them, President made another rule that says that he has to set the date for children 14 and under. So, we had to tell her the day of her baptism that she couldn’t be baptized. Plus, we still haven’t gotten word of permission yet. Okay, rant over.

Thank you so much for the music. It helps to listen to something soothing. Especially with three Latinos and only me. It is really hard. They come in every five minutes to ask if it is from the church website. I can’t even find the freaking website.

Today we went to the temple with our mission. We went to the earliest session at 7:30 am. So, my companions woke up at 5:30 am to get ready. I got out of bed, showered, and got ready by 6:25. We left at 6:35 because of my comp kept forgetting stuff. Then we left the temple at about 10:30. We had the plan to play soccer (again!) with our zone. But the zone leaders had to cut their hair for 90 minutes. Then, we waited at the chapel till 1. Then we ate till 3 and until now. So, because Latinos can’t plan, we lost the whole last part of our day.

So, not a great start, but I’m having faith in a better week.

Also, Mom, I totally forgot to say happy Mother’s Day to you the whole call, so happy Mother’s Day now! I love you so much. I found out that I can buy a 750ml Pepsi for 2.20 when a coke is 2.50. So I am turning to Pepsi.

Love you guys. See ya next week!​

Elder Baker

Hey, Family!

This week was a good, but hard week. I will explain why.

Since my last letter a lot of things have happened. Thursday was Star Wars Day, as you all know, and it was really hard. I know that I have a lot of time left in the mission and that I am missing two movies. It isn’t that important to me, but there are some members of our YSA ward who are really mean. There is a brother that has been telling me every detail of the trailer of episode VIII. I almost freaked out on him, but I didn’t.

On Saturday, we started our fast after lunch. I was fine until the next morning before church. Right before the opening hymn, I felt sick to my stomach. I went to the bathroom and threw up. I didn’t have anything in my stomach, which made it worse. I then broke my fast and drank some water. It is really weird: In the mission, I am so used to drinking water during the day that I suffer without it. That is what happens when you fast—everything you eat is gone by the next day. So I had to take it easy the next day. We had lunch with the L. family. They are awesome and made us a feast. We had a big plate of chicken with three potatoes with salsa de huancayina and rice. Then, noodles with potatoes and hot dogs. Then brownies with ice cream for dessert. So awesome.

I haven’t gotten the package from Easter yet, but the delivery people are stupid. They don’t think to bring everything they have, but to wait for another week. But I should have it soon. Thank you for getting that stuff for me. I feel very blessed.

Also, I wanted to let you know that the zone leader took my multi-tool on Friday. I was using it to try and fix the DVD player in our pension and everything was fine. But now they took it to keep it in a box with my name on it until the end of my mission. I hate being in the zone leader’s room. Every time I listen to Inside Out or Vocal Point, they freak out, saying it’s against the freaking rules!😤 Rant over.

Dad and Nate, I am so glad that you didn’t die in the accident. I have seen the driving here and it is worse than Italy was. I wish many times that I was in Utah traffic again. I know the Lord is looking out for you.

I love you guys so much! I can’t wait to talk on Sunday. I wished it was another short week like this one. I hope the entire rest of the mission is like this. Love you so much!

Elder Baker

Hey Folks,

This week was good and very hard at the same time. I will explain, don’t worry!

I had exchanges with our district leader, Elder F., on Wednesday. We had fun! They have a ton of investigators who are super close to be baptized. Their apartment is almost bigger than ours, but for only two elders. While he was doing stuff for district meeting, I experimented with the settings on my camera (sorry for the disturbing photo 🙂 ). We had good lessons and the people are cool, but the pension sucks. She just leaves the food in the fridge so it was really cold and nasty.

I got a few photos with Mamita S., our pensionista. We love her so much and will miss her when we leave. She makes us the best food and with love!

On Tuesday, we had our first lesson with a new investigator named F. We contacted her outside of her house. We found out from her that her life is really hard right now. Her family is far away or is not friendly to her, and her boyfriend is abusing her. She doesn’t know what to do. So we are helping her to fix her life by teaching her the gospel. She and a new convert, M., are very comfortable together, but M. is 28 and she is 20.

Yesterday, I saw a couple and their son from Utah. They are the B’s from Tooele. Sister B. asked me to give your number to her to send a photo to you. I don’t know why, but it was nice. Her son is a returned missionary from this mission. His last area was Vitarte II, MY AREA. He is super cool and is studying computer science at BYU Provo. He said that I look like some Bakers from Toole. Maybe we have family there.

I was super exhausted after every day this week. It has gotten a lot colder, which is awesome! Yesterday and a little bit of today was super cloudy and rainy. I was one of the only ones without a jacket. I wasn’t cold; it felt like a warm day after a long cold spurt. I have access to a hand-me-down sweater from the daughter of Mamita S. It is made from alpaca wool and is super stylish. I will get a pic when I actually get my hands on it.

I love you guys so much! I hope you four have fun in Disneyland! And I hope the ones at home get my blessing, too.

Best wishes,

Elder Baker​