Skype is a good thing!

It was a fun day yesterday getting to Skype Joci for Mother's Day!    So here's the scoop about the things she said on our Skype talk.   Right off the bat she told us her news that   Joci and the other 3 sisters in her house all have lice!  An investigator shared!  The whole time Joci was scratching her neck, which made me scratch my neck.  I am sure that I got lice too or at least sympathy lice!  In the letter she says that she complained too much.  She was just a little discouraged because she has been transferred 3 times in the last 4 weeks and lately each time she has an investigator that is ready for baptism she gets transferred the week or day before.  She was sad because she didn't get to hug them or see the light in their eyes as they come out of the water.  Right now she has one investigator, but she has been there for one week!  She really wants everyone to listen to the good news of the gospel, but she is a little frustrated that no one will listen.  She said she has to walk an hour to get to her new area so many days they ride the bus.  The people she is serving now are "very rich".  She absolutely loves her companion and the sisters she is living with.  She gets to live with Sister Brown from Orem!   She thanks everyone again and again for their support and example.  We all tried to cheer her on and even gave a "GO JOCI" cheer which she said was dumb (with tears in her eyes!)  Ha   She was skyping from the Bishop's house.  People kept coming in and telling her goodbye.  It was fun to see and hear her portuguese.  She said she thinks in Portuguese and dreams in Portuguese and can understand everything that everyone says and lead out a discussion in Portuguese.  Right now she is working on not having an american accent when she speaks portuguese.  She definitely has a portuguese accent when she speaks english!  Also the Bishop's wife came in and spoke to us and asked Joci to translate.  When the Bishop's wife was finished talking, Joci turned to us to translate and started talking in Portuguese.  It took her about 10 seconds then she started laughing at the look on our faces because she realized that she was speaking the wrong language to us!  Too cute!  The Bishop's wife said  "thank you for sending her to us, she is a love!"  Saying goodbye is always the hardest part.  It is when we hang up that we think of everything that we wanted to tell her or ask her, but the important things are always shared, the love and support for each other.  Just 7 more months til another Skype but who's counting?    Joci didn't write a big letter to everyone this time just individual letters to each person in our family.  Here's a little bit from a couple of different letters.  ~Momma Baker

Momma!

Thank you soooo much for everything. The skype was perfect. I complained a little bit more than i should and i know that my mind goes blank when i start to talk to you all and i have soo much to say and then i just forget about it all and get overcome with emotions and i forgot to bare my testimony. It's always very important to bare testimony when you talk with people, especially your family. Man it was good. I'm sorry i complained but when i saw you all i just wanted comfort and i knew that you all would be comforting me from there. Sometimes i just am strong for just enough time to receive comfort. Man.  I miss you guys. I miss every single one of you. You all mean sooo much to me. 

I think i got rid of the lice. One of the sisters here has a lot of experience with lice so she will check my head every day to see if i really got rid of them, but it turns out it was just the start. I didnt have the actual lice on my head, just the eggs, but its still gross and I will look every night.

I wont be writing a big letter to everyone about my week because i talked to you all yesterday, but i just want you all to know that i am doing better and i will try even harder. Sometimes you just need to talk with your family and everything is good. 

I was thinking the other day about what kind of a person and what kind of a missionary i was when i was in Alecrim, the first transfer after Currais. And i realized that i am a completely different person. I have grown a lot. I guess i had to be pushed a little bit out of my comfort zone and that made me grow a ton. In alecrim i was scared to talk to a lot of people and i just kind of followed my companion around, but now i am completely independent. I do things the way that i think they need to be done.  I look to God for strength and i have learned how to rely on people for help and not to rely on people to do it all. I have become such a different person. I love that. I guess that i learned something. I was reading in Ether today in chapter 8. When they were all in the boats riding across the ocean. It said that God sent a giant wind and it started to blow them to the promised land. Because of the giant wind they were tossed across the water they suffered through tempasts and storms and they were swallowed in the waves a couple times because of this giant wind but they continued to be blown to the promised land.  I thought to myself how many times does God send a wind in our life and all we see is that we are being swallowed up in the waves and we are passing through storms and tempasts and we dont even see that the wind is blowing us to the promised land. That made me think of my situation. I am being blown to the promised land now and all im seeing is the storm but i need to focus on the wind that is pushing me. They were in the boat for almost a year. When they arrived on the promised land they kissed the ground and gloried God. I will arrive in my promised land and i will recieve success, but i have to be pushed there first. 

Well i love you. Tell each of the kids how much i love them. 

You mean so much to me. 

love, sister baker

Good news dad! I think i got rid of my lice! so turns out it was just the start and i had just the eggs and not the live lice so we went threw almost every strand of hair yesterday and got rid of it all. but we will keep looking every day just to make sure. how gross is that!!! man im glad to get it over with.

I loved to talk to you too. You are so great. Man it felt like time passed soooo freaking fast and i didnt even have time for anything. I didnt get to say things that i wanted and i didnt get to bear my  testimony i just complained. Dont worry about me. I will get over this. I will find someone who is prepared for the gospel and they will listen. I have been thinking about the talent that i have been given to sing  and i realized that i havent even been using it. I haven't hardly at all. I need to start singing for people. It really brings the spirit it. So i am going to try this this week. i might feel like a fool, but its a talent that God gave me and he will take it away if i don't use it for good. So well, im going to sing for people. How embarassing. ha ha. 

Im sorry about the testing. that can be a real goober. You are such a great guy. Thanks for your example.

I love you soo much dad. thank you for everything you do for me. It was soo freaking good to see you.

i love you 10 much

love, sister baker

I think this is tapioca?

Sister Brown and Sister Rodriguez

Sister Brown

We told the McKee's to drop in for a quick Hi!  When she saw them she said in
Portuguese, "My other family!"