Sept 9

Hey Mom!

I know it is crazy that time keeps on rolling!  Time has started to go faster this week.  I finally am starting to find my feet and feeling success.  I really appreciate you sending me everyone's letters each week, and getting letters from everyone.  Always fun to get letters in the mail!  Tell the kids I would almost rather them write me hand written letters.  I have more time to do that anyway. 

 So this week we have had a lot of fun and success!  Sister Frampton and I went out to follow up on some old referrals and less-actives right after I email last week.  Nothing went through, and we had a lot of negative mean responses that day.  So we went to the last house, and after being rejected again we noticed a construction worker sitting and waiting for his concrete guy to come up.  We went over and found out his name is Craig.  Craig doesn't believe in church.  That is great because neither do we!  Ha!  I told him that, and he immediately dropped his guard.  We told him how we believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that it doesn't matter what building you attend, you always find the same teachings there.  He liked that.  He told us that our church was the best he had ever heard of.  So we taught him the whole restoration right then and there!  He was eating it up like candy!  His eyes were glowing and you could tell he was feeling the spirit.  After we shared the first vision, he said "I believe everything you are saying."  He asked if we would keep teaching him right there! Ha!  We didn't want to overwhelm him so we are trying to set up a good time to meet back up with him.  He accepted to be baptized and everything!  The church is true!  If that was the only good thing I do for the next 18 months, it was worth it!  I love being a missionary! 

On Thursday we went out tracting, and kept being rejected.  People here are mostly Catholic because of tradition.  We knocked on our last door for the night, and a big dog came rolling out barking and growling.  We heard a laugh from a man inside, who put the dog in another room.  He came out and said, "sorry, the dog is a Lutheran."  Ha!  Never heard that before!  The man's name is Tom, and he is a journalist and a recently graduated lawyer.  He made the joke that he is Tom, which means by nature he is Thomas the Doubter.  He is super smart, and was fascinated by us.  We were the first missionaries he ever met, and kept pushing us to argue.  When we didn't he decided he wasn't interested and left.  Before he did, we shoved a mormon.org card in his hand with our number on it.  He scoffed and left.  On Friday much to our astonishment we got a call from Tom with the Lutheran dog!  He said he wanted to hear our message.  We met with him Saturday.  The lesson was a bit wild with questions.  He has read a lot of literature, just none that has been sanctioned by the church.  The best thing we walked away with though, was establishing what he wants.  He told us he was envious of our faith and surety of what we believe.  He said he wanted that in his life, and has been seeking the truth.  He says he can't have the truth without us being able to answer all of his weird Joseph Smith questions first though.  We will see how that goes, but I feel like if we can help him establish and understanding that God loves him, and that the Book of Mormon is from our Father in Heaven, the questions won't matter.  It is just about getting him to that point. 

Well, I love being a missionary, I love Ohio, and I love working.  I am starting to understand doctrine more and more, and hopefully I will be at the place as some of these other folks!  Thank you for all you do for me! 

Love, 

Dani

Labor Day

Hi,

Sister Frampton is from Highland, Utah.  She graduated in 2011 and attended BYUI.  She actually went to Disneyworld at the same time as Erin and may know her.  We have a couple of friends in common too.  She is really nice, and is a hard worker.   We have a lot of similarities and really push each other. 

This week has been interesting.  We ran out of miles last week, which is the first time that has ever happened to S. Frampton.  So we ended up doing a lot of walking!  We found quite a few potential investigators which was cool.  I am learning to open my mouth more.  A member also took us to the Canfield County Fair on Saturday.  It was HUGE!!!!!!!  It was crazy trying to find people to talk to there because it was so packed with all sorts of things.  To give you an idea of how big this fair really is, Train was one headline band and the other was Sheryl Crow.  Some people say it is one of the biggest county fairs in the country.  It was cool to go see what The Boss was singing about. 

We have been doing a lot of service this week as well.  We went to the Ki's home, who have an orchard, to help.  We spent the afternoon picking raspberries.  We were scraped up pretty good, but it was a lot of fun.  We also went to the Youngstown Rescue Mission to serve food there.  It was an eye opening experience to see the security and things.  There was a lady named Edith there who sang about Jesus to everyone for lunch, and people were brought to tears.  I loved it.  Serving God's children is a huge blessing we, as missionaries, get to do all the time! 

We have been teaching a lot, and have been rejected a lot.  Our focus right now is on the ward.  Helping to establish a ward plan, as well as getting the members involved in the work.  We are putting our focus on cottage meetings right now.  These are like mini firesides or large FHEs at members home, where we share the message and let everyone socialize and bring their friends and families who would benefit.  Right now we just need to start the flame.

We have also been working with the A family.  They are all less active members with the exception of Jennifer, the mom, who is not a member.  We went to their home for a labor day cook out and met the whole big family.  Many of them don't know anything about the church, so we had a great opportunity to talk to people about our missions and teach them a bit.  Jennifer has been progressing a lot.  She used to not want to hear the messages, but Sunday she invited us to share a message with everyone before we left.  She made the initiative!  We are hoping that this is a sign of her progressing towards the desire to be baptized. 

I love you all.  We don't have a lot of time today, so tell the kids I will write them next week. 

Love,

Danil

Aug 26

Hey!

So everything is fine and I am alive!  I am in the Alliance North area here in Ohio.  My companion is named Sister Frampton.  She is really awesome!  She works hard, and really wants to be here. 

So after I called you last week, I had an uneventful flight to Minneapolis, but had a great flight into Cleveland.  We got on a tiny, tiny plane that was barely big enough for three seats across and an aisle.  On the way over, I sat next to a lady named Francine.  In the MTC they challenge us to contact in the airport and share our values and beliefs and things.  Francine and I discussed religion the WHOLE WAY!  So we talked about the restoration of the church and the plan of salvation and what the church does for families.  She seemed genuinely interested in everything.  She has a lot of her own beliefs, but I think it was enough to give her a desire to question.  I did not have anything on me except for one mormon.org card.  I gave it to her.  She seemed glad to take it.  She also gave me her phone number incase I missed my family or anything, she told me to call.  She was so nice and it was a great way for me to get pumped up!  President and his wife greeted us.  Vellinga is a Dutch name, so you pronounce the G in the back of your throat.  That is the proper pronunciation.  Everyone out here just goes with how we thought you said it, but he told me I can pronounce it the Dutch way since I know how to say it right.

Our first day was tiring.  We slept and then headed over to Kirtland the next morning.  It is incredible there!  Did you know over 2/3 of D&C was received in Kirtland, and that Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father appeared there multiple times!  I have been in rooms where they both have stood.  The Spirit is incredible there!  Especially in the school of the prophets room.  If you do a bit of digging in the scrips and church history, you will see that there was a scourge placed on Kirtland, and that it was lifted in either the late '70's or early '80's.  Before Joseph Smith died, one of the final questions he had for the Lord was what would happen to Kirtland.  He was told that Kirtland would be built up again.  He knew it would be well into the future.  I am building up Kirtland!!!!! 

 Sister Frampton and I have been working hard.  We teach a lot of people who are Catholic.  Also, for anyone wondering what it is like for Sisters serving a mission, you still do tract!!!  It is not my favorite, but it must be done.  Sister Frampton opened the area right before I got here.  So the area is still pretty new, and we have no referrals or previous investigators to go off of.  The ward loves us though.  I am the third sister missionary the area has seen in 8 years!  We cover a huge area: Youngstown, Canfield, Boardman, Austintown, North Jackson, Lake Milton, and Diamond.  We drive a brand new Jeep 2014, so that is pretty tough....  ;)  Our church building is an hour away in Alliance.  The ward is small, but I love everyone there!  I really love the people of Ohio.  Everyone is just real about life, and have no need to show off.  Also, everyone in Ohio will talk your ear off.  I have yet to meet an introvert!  You shake someone's hand and ask something about the weather, and boom, they tell you their whole life story!  It is pretty funny, and a challenge to focus conversations back to the gospel.  I love the landscape out here too!  There are just beautiful fields everywhere with forests around them!  It is all so gorgeous!  The weather isn't too bad either. 

 We went and visited a less-active member named April S the other day.  Sister Frampton told me that the ward has been unable to track her down for a long time, and that the previous missionaries couldn't get ahold of her at all.  So when we stopped by and she was just outside, we were a little surprised.  When we got to talking with her, she just really opened up about her family and the struggles she is facing.  She really takes upon herself everyone else's problems and just seems like she carries a lot of weight with her.  She did not seem happy we were there at first.  By the time we had both born testimony of the atonement, and expressed our desire to help her in anyway we could, her perspective had changed.  It looked like we had taken 10 pounds off her back.  It was a cool experience to talk with her and get to know her better.  I can't wait to go back and talk some more. 

 All is well here! 

 I love you all!

 Dani

My new address is: 

Sister Bakker

189 Surrey Lane

Canfield, OH 44406

Share the address since I am two hours away from the mission office, and go up there very rarely. 

Kristen (Pres & Sis Vellinga's 17 year old daughter), Dani, S Frampton, S Vellinga

S Greenwood (S Frampton's last companion), S Frampton, Dani

Arriving Missionaries visiting Kirtland, Dani is the only proselyting sister, all the other sisters will be working at the visitors center

Kirtland Temple

Dani in the MTC

Hey!

Yup I can email!  I actually ran into Cade about 20 seconds ago, and watched Abby Hall walk in.  Really cool.  Cade is down on the West Campus (he is living in Raintree), so I don't see him.  

 Everything is fine here for me.  My companion is Sister Harward.  She is from Taylorsville.  She is about 20 years old.  I feel pretty old here actually.  Most of the elders here are 18.   There are four sisters total in our zone.  The other three, including my companion are headed to Independence, Missouri.  I am the only sister to my knowledge going to Cleveland.  I think there are some sisters here who are going to the visitors center, but that is a different mission.  My companion and I are complete night and day opposites. She is very shy, and usually does not speak up in lessons so we are learning how to best work with each other since I talk a lot.  Having a companion is new for me, and definitely good for me to learn how to be more Christ like.  

Last night was the first ever MTC live broadcast, and Elder Richard G. Scott came to speak.  He is so loving, you could just feel the love oozing out of him! Super incredible talk on prayer, and how prayer will be the key to keeping our heads up while we are out there.  I loved it!  Feeling the spirit like this is new for me.  To clarify though, everyone says the MTC is a spiritual high.  It is, but the spirit doesn't feel any stronger inside of me.  I can feel the spirit very softly speaking to me, I am just listening for it more here.  That is what has been cool.  I always thought as a missionary I would be over come or just feel it telling me all of the right things to say all of the time.  It works exactly the same way it always has.  I love being more in tune though.  

I will email pics in the mission field.  

Last but not least...  I would love to hear from you all!  If lyssa and Jack want to write me on dearelder, that would be sweet! Love to hear from you all!  

Church is true.  Cleveland will be sweet.  Rock on.

D. 

MTC

Dani made it to the MTC.  She will be there until August 20th.  Her address at the MTC is:

Sister Danielle Kay Bakker
AUG20 OH-CLE
2009 N 900 E Unit 181
Provo, UT 84602

Jack, Dani and Alyssa at Rubio's before the MTC

Jack, Mom, Dani, Dad and Alyssa outside Rubio's before taking Dani to the MTC

The MTC curbside drop off point

Dani and her first companion

Dani on her second day at the MTC