Shhsshh ...do you hear that?...

It’s the winds of change....

Well. Kind of. I’m not going anywhere. Except out of my mind. Because our little trio is now a cuatro! Hna Lopez (Honduras) is headed south to Victoria. Hermana França and I will stay here in Cabrero, but with different companions. She and Hermana Goeling (?from AMERICA!!!!!?) will be working in Monte Aguila. Which is actually just the Malad of Chile. It’s going to be great. Hermana SALMERON (Mexico) will be my new companion! woot. We’ll be working mostly here in Cabrero Central. yay.

Thank you for your prayers for Marian. I’m afraid she is dead. In an investigator sense. We went to visit her and found her - answer to your prayers thx - and she said she could no longer accept our visits because she is going to get back with her abusive and homicidal Ex and he doesn’t like it when she has visitors or leaves the house. :)   And we said "cry, cry" but also we’re not giving up on her. You can still pray that she will be safe. And maybe in the future accept the gospel. We planted the seeds as best we could.

In other news Isidora WILL be baptized. What a twist. Her father, after a little bit of yelling and telling us how he was way too busy for the missionaries, for the gospel, or for religion, finally let us come into his house and talk to Isidora. And then he was like, "I don’t want any of that stuff, but I want Isidora to have it. Can she be baptized on the 3rd of February?" and we said...... "yeah, I guess." 
So pray that when Saturday comes no one will be fatally injured or something normal and crazy that happens before a baptism.

Spiritual Thought: If doubt and fear are in opposition to faith, does Satan doubt he’s going to lose? Or does he know and he’s just gonna take as many with him as he can? How can we avoid doubt and fear? Have the faith we’re gonna win so, we can act without fear.
#winningteam

Okay. That’s all the time we’ve got for today.

PHOTOS:
Look! It’s us! I hart this foto from the Adapting to Missionary Life Manual. #themissionisactuallyjustlikethisincaseyouwerewondering #nobags #nodirt #calledtoserveasamodel

I met this dog. I named it Uno. He has crazy eye.

Meet Isi! She’s the little one in the middle.

Space Flowers

eeeehhhh...... I dunno.
We worked our little south american buns off this week.
It was hot. like.... REALLY HOT. see photos.
Oh yeah!! I bought a camera. Now you can look at the some of the things I look at.

We worked our little south american buns off this week.
The good news is that Isidora is a wonderful little girl. The bad news is that she will probably not be baptized. :) Hurray for all things in the Lord's time. Mostly it's just because she stopped attending church and we can't actually find her... not because she hasn't received all the lessons or doesn't want to be baptized. Maybe send your sweet American prayers for her and especially her father.

Maybe I never said anything but we had a Golden investigator, Marian, who stopped smoking and began to whip her life into shape, then fell off the face of the earth for a hot sec, then we found her again, then she was even more interested in the gospel, and then (miracle of miracles) came to church, and then in a sudden turn of events cancelled all our future appointments and won't let us visit her in her home......Soooooo also pray for her. And for us to know what in the fweet happened.

And then we found Maria and Henry. They're a perfect family who really need the gospel. They don't know it yet but we´re going to baptize them. All we need to do is prepare them. or just find them. ...

I guess the phrase that sums our week up pretty well is "where did everybody go??" And the answer is to YUMBEL. it´s like 30 minutes south of Cabrero and also is the Resting Place of Saint Sebastian. So......all of Chile was there. And not in their homes where we could teach them how to be happy for all eternity.

Also the Pope came to Chile. what a cool dude.

But not as cool as our new Prophet. That guy's gonna lead us down the path that rocks.

Ahem. Forgive me.
One thing I studied this week is DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS. Because I finished that whole Book of Mormon thing. Thank goodness that's over. Just kidding. I cried. I hart the BOM. Also, I listened to the talk by Presidente Monson "See Others as they May Become." It's real good. And I learned that when we see others as their potential, who they can become in the church, we are really seeing them as God sees them. That's how He views all of us... Which made me wonder.... How does God see me right now and in the future??


I cough cough love you all.
see you in a hot (or cold depending on where you're from) 13 months.
-Hermanerm Baer


CAMERA = PHOTOS
Churrasco. It's delcious. I bought it because I have survived 5 months in the mission. #butwhoscounting

Also IT'S HOT PEOPLE.

A flower thing. It may be from space.

And from a recent conference:

Well, I must be going now

*references Winnie the Pooh
To be said rather in a rather sticky voice.
Because of that one time when we were visiting with a contact named Carlos. He keeps bees. lots and lots of bees. And he's a little old/crazy/a precious soul in the eyes of God. And he told a long and very confusing story about how one time he was out communing with nature and was about to (I'm so sorry, Mom) take a pee, but God told him instead to be a Beekeeper. So he (sorrysorrysorry) put his pants on and got to work. So there we were. Talking or rather listening to him, and he looks at me and says, "ya know, you remind me a lot of my mother." and I said, "😬" And then he offered us some of their honey on some delicious bread and it's pretty good. But while we were eating a little he said, "No really, you're just like my mom." and then attacked me the most uncomfy hug I've ever not been able to escape. And I said, "mmrrrf!!! eeeep Noooooooo!" And then we all said, rather stickily and in a hurry, "oh my look at the time!" and ran away. But not before we bought some very yummy honey. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But this week we taught some more Isidora, who is NOT going to be baptized this week after all... bummer But she will be baptized on the 27th. So.... next time for sure.

Also, we went to visit the bedridden sister of a recent convert, and here we encountered their brother who is 54 and also "disillusioned with all religion. Everywhere." And so it began. Hna Lopez (from Honduras) is pretty fiery as it is, and she likes to push people a little, and so they were going at it, ya know, like
Incredulous Brother: "Does God save people in their sins?"
Hna Lopez: "No, as we learn from the scriptures God saves people who really repent."
Incredulous Brother: "But if I have faith that really truly God exists, and I worship him in my home, I don't really need a religion." (note irrational subject change)
Hna Lopez: "So why did Jesus Christ establish a church if it weren't important?"
Incredulous Brother: "Which Church did he establish? Nobody can know. there are just too many, and all of them profess to be true."
Us in a maybe loud voice: "HAVE YOU ASKED GOD??"
IB: I'm not ready. also, no one can really know the truth. There are just too many options. Also you can't be sure your religion is true because you don't have enough experience, you're only 20 years old, and in all my life I've not found a true religion.
Hna Lopez: Well look at that, It seems that I've done in 20 years what you couldn't do in 50, I've found the truth.
Hna França and I: THAVAGE!!!
And then we invited him to act and he said: >:[ No thank you. I'm not ready for any commitment.

BUT!! We do have one investigator who is a really, really prepared soul.
Feel free to put Marian in your prayers - She's trying to stop smoking. She's the best.

Well I must be going now!!!

Chau
-Hermanerm Baer

I would, but there's just no time*

*references Captain America HISHE
 
heh. this letter will be brief, but not like underwear, more like shorts. because it's really hot. so sooooo hot. like one hundred degrees. all the days in the street this week i was like.... dang, sun.

pls to forgive the terrible nature of this letter. it's really trying its very best. there is no   in this keyboard. i'd show you but I can't because it doesn't exist. but the words uiet uack, like a duck, and earthuak use this letter. it's like a game. woohoo. so much fun. you can't tell how excited i am because the exlamation point also doesn't function. hurray for this amazing opportunity to look for alternative ways to get people to understand what i'm saying......
hurray for that's actually what i do everyday all day long.

but really. we've been teaching some people. here is the low down and so speed on them

-patricio- a youngish son of a member who, sadly, we won't be teaching him again because one time in our lesson i was like, bruh, what are you gonna do when you know our message is true -uestion mark- and he said, i dunno. probably nothing. i was just hoping to hear your point of view about your religion.

-teresa- a nueva that we found this week. she lives in a teeny house with four kids and said she'd love to come to church with us, but when we called sunday morning she said she was actually in a different church at that moment, so she probably wouldn't be able to assist with us. but we like her and want her salvation, so we'll keep teaching her about the best church we know.

-isidora- she's 9. and she really wants to be baptized. her father is less active and also..... less interested. she's super great and also very shy. but she's gonna be baptized january 20th

we find a lot of people who express interest in the gospel... just not right now. i've been thinking, how often does this happen to us, that we are invited to participate in the reality of the joy of the gospel, acting and serving others, and we say.... tomorrow is when i will be ready. i'd like to invite yall to do something tuday that will help someone else to find the gospel, or maybe just be nice to the missionaries in your ward. ya know, would you like a hot or cold drink or can i visit someone with you guys-i-mean-elders.

how can you serve the saviour through serving others

i'd write or tell you all more but there is just no time. and no other way. tune in next week to find out what the mystery letter was and also probably an even more vague and rapid letter.

----bye bye.
-hermana baer

Joe, you make me tired all over when you talk like that

Hope y’all had a gr8 Holiday season.
A Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year.

In Cabrero, we worked until 7 New year’s eve, then had a nice little dinner with the Recent Converts, then went straight to bed. We’re pooped, people.

New years was P-DAY and I made a delightful Alfredo. AT LAST. Good news is, there are left overs. Anyone who wants some is welcome to join me.

 I finished Jesus the Christ. And there was much rejoicing. It’s good. I give it two enthusiastic thumbs up.

The work continues through the holidays. One of the things that I love about contacting is that we get to hear all sorts of things from people of all sorts of lifestyles. And I do mean ALL sorts. What I love most of all is knowing that the gospel really brings a different light and knowledge to our lives.

One time, we were talking with some menos active members in their home, when their neighbor pipes up and says, "The Mormon church is really very beautiful. I like it a lot. There’s just one problem. You guys don’t get baptized in a River. Jesus Christ was baptized in a river. It´s really the only way one should get baptized. Show me in the Bible where it says you can be baptized in the pool in your church." When the people say, "Show me in the Bible" I just make a pleasant face and think to myself, "Joe, ya make me tired all over when ya talk like that." :]

Hurray for the misinterpretations of men.

But I love that we don’t need to rely on other people, or solely on the Bible or Book of Mormon. We can go directly to the Source. We can pray and really discover the truth for ourselves. We don’t need to depend completely on interpretations, God can help us know for sure.

I dunno. Give it a try.

-Hermana Baer

Photo... good news is, it's a new year and I need to buy a new camera. The old one straight up died. It´s the Completo that we bought because we completed three-ish months in Chile!!! Hurray!

Oy’ve ‘ad an idear

a phot, ya moit say.

If y’all feel like it, you can send me audio recordings of what your life is like in America.

 And then I can listen to them.

Or not.

The choice is yours.

-Mr. Larsen.*
I mean

-Hermana Baer

*[Mr Larsen, Noelle's elementary principal used to end each morning's announcements with: "Have a great day. Or not. The choice is yours."] 



 

I bet you weren't expecting THIS*

26 January 2017

AHA!*  [References Emporer's New Groove]
Surprise. They gave us another day to write to you. Merry Christmas to me! And now to you. Enjoy as many photos as I can cram into one digital letter.

haha. It's two photos. #Godblesschileantechnology #prayfortheinternet

I wanted to upload a video of our apartment before and after in Curanilahue, but it will take more than 6 hours. So you will have to wait a little bit longer than that, and I’ll show them to you all in February of 2019.
Patience is a virtue, people.

But in all truth, I hope you had the merriest Christmas and enjoyed some time to ponder and reflect on the birth of our Savior, the Light of the World. The lights were always my favorite part of Christmas. But in the mission, I have the opportunity of giving to complete strangers the best gift I could give - the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
For one hot second maybe think: What will be your gift to the Saviour this year?

See you all on the other side. #2018it’sgonnabebig

Side note: We won’t be emailing the 1st of January because the internet in Chile will be closed. But another day. The day after 1. 2nd of January. So we’ll see ya then.

toodles!
-Hermana Baer

PHOTOS
Presents! The most important part of Christmas! heh. Just kidding. See above for clarification about the most important part of Christmas. But the drawing was made by a recent convert, Krishna. She's 14 years old. She's fabulous.

COOKIES!! A member made us real life gingerbread cookies for Christmas Eve. She's the best.