A good week

This week was a good week. Nothing happened. The first part of the week was awful because my companion was sick so we had to stay in the house Monday Tuesday and Wednesday. I went crazy. Maybe before the mission I stayed in my house a bit, but now I don’t think i will be able to. I think I walked 7 miles just inside the house. I tried to sleep, couldn’t sleep. I explored the house, every single corner. I memorized. I looked in all the boxes in the corner. I swung on the hammock, I read the book of mormon, Jesus the Christ and the bible (not the whole thing, but a lot) I organized the area book. I went crazy. Please don’t make me stay indoors ever again. I hate it. 

   Ha ha but the rest of the week was good. We got a couple new investigators. A cute newly married couple! They are awesome! It’s suuper great to go to their house and teach them. They are sooo cute and it makes me suuuuper trunky... ha ha. 

   I would like to tell you how important it is to have the help of the members in missionary work. Everyone that we have baptised so far in this ward has been a reference or a friend, or in someway the members helped. It is so much easier and we baptise with a lot more quality when you work with the members. Please help the missionaries!!! This ward is the best ward I have ever seen (other than Mt loafer of course) I loooove this ward. I want to finish my mission here. It’s soo great. 

   This week we got a call on Saturday. It was a member who had a inactive woman in tears on her doorstep and she said that we needed to visit her. We went there to see her and when she saw us she started to cry uncontrollably. She is super young, about 20 years old and she was distraught. We asked her what was wrong and all she could do was cry and hold on to us. she just cried and cried and finally she told us a little bit about what happened. i wont give you all details but it was problems with chasity and a boyfriend that wasnt very nice. but it hurt my heart so much to see how she was hurting. she said over and over again "no one is going to want me. no one wants someone who has been used." and i just thought how incredible it was how satan makes you feel when you arent doing whats right. he makes you feel worthless he makes you feel like no one wants you, like you dont have a way back. that no one can ever forgive you but he only does that because he know the power of the atonement. he knows how much God loves His children and he knows that there is a way back. you can never ever be so far from the path that you cant find a way back. We were able to help this girl a little bit. we talked to her and shared our testimonies and she went to church yesterday and little bit by little bit she is making her way back. but im sooo greatful that Jesus Christ, our savior and redeemer cares about us and he will go out searching for his sheep. He will go out on the dark paths where we are and see what we see and feel what we feel so he can bring us back to where we should be. i love that man. 

(Momma note:  This is in response to the question I asked her "What is the most unusual thing you've seen in Brazil?")  The most unusual thing I have seen in Brasil is a 4 year old nursing. haha. It's normal. They stop nursing at like 3 or 4 years of age. And they nurse in the street like its no big deal! In my area I don’t have favelas. (that what they are called the mud and cardboard) I have seen something similar, but not that drastic. I don’t know. It’s pretty normal. But there are some neighborhoods thats a bit more sketchy than others. ha ha. 

(This is in response to Mark's question what do you eat for breakfast.) Hey you wanna know something suuuper yummy that i learned how to do here? Orange juice, from the fruit and anykind of juice from the fruit. It's suuuuper good. I'll make it for you when i get back and it's not hard at all and it's not how you think too. ha ha. 

For breakfast, usually i make mango juice from the mangoes that we find in the street. Our fridge is full to the top of mangoes. It's mango season. I have never seen so many mangos in my life!!!!!!!! There are soo many yummy fruits here.

   

Well i love you all and i am so grateful that i have this opportunity to serve a mission. I love to see the light in the eyes of the people here. It makes all the difference in the world. My mission is something i will never ever forget. I am a completely different person. I am so grateful for the chance I have to start again. I love you all.  Thanks for your prayers. You are always in mine.

love, sister j. baker