Monday, December 29, 2014

Dec 28 & Dec 22









Hi Mom,

We had a great Christmas day full of lots of fun and being with families in the ward. We are so well taken care of here! This is a good ward to get to come back to. I loved talking with all of you,
too. We had a lot of really great lessons this week. D is doing well and progressing. He is starting to get more into the Book of Mormon, is seeing the blessings it brings into his life. It is fun
to see him changing a little here and there. The ward is pretty excited to hear about his progress since many of them remember his father from 20 years ago.

The big news of the week is Miss G. G is doing so great! She has such a strong desire to be baptized, and is absorbing everything up like a sponge. I love it! We taught her to keep the Sabbath day
holy, and she said at the end, "why did you wait so long to teach me this? I am so glad I finally know, now!" We also had a surprise trip up to Kirtland with her this Sunday all thanks to the S's. I will
send you a picture. When Elder Ballard came to talk to the Kirtland Stake last year, he told the mission president that we need to get more people to Kirtland. There is definitely a reason why. They
spirit is so strong there, and it is easy for investigators to work through doubts, fears, and concerns that they may have as they listen to all that the people went through here. It is so incredible to have
that place so close. G is not allowed to be baptized until she turns 18, so she set a goal to be baptized the week after her birthday in 2017! We are so excited for her. I can see her serving a mission
one day. She would change lives!

I love this work so much! I love being a missionary, and being able to stay so focused on one purpose. It was sad to hear how soon it will end, but I know that I have enough time to still make a dent here. I love you all! Do missionary work! Seek opportunities to share the gospel every day. I promise you will never regret it.

Love,

Sister Bakker


December 22

Dear Family,

Christmas is going to be great this week. We have a lot of appointments to go caroling, and many families to visit. Sister Takeuchi and I had a great idea to go caroling at the mall, so we are getting together a bunch of missionaries in the stake to go over there tomorrow, and the mall has it all set up for us to come. Hopefully we see some success. This ward still loves having sister missionaries, and we are so spoiled. We came home with many gifts from everyone in the ward yesterday.
D is doing well, and we will be seeing him again this week. One day I will tell you so many stories about Youngstown. It is such a great place! D is a pretty good example of someone who was born and raised here. Sister S was also able to come to church! It was so exciting to see here there. Sister Kirk went with us to see her this last week, and they both found each other and buddied up while President Kirk sat on the stand.
Yesterday was our Christmas program, too. The bishop had the missionaries narrate the program in between each of the musical numbers. One of which we sang in as part of the choir. I am still definitely not a singer, but they still want me to participate... I think it did go pretty well. I just love Christmas time! There is a special spirit and everyone can feel it.

I love you all! I will see you on Christmas!
Love,
Sister Bakker

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