R I P

*Along with other short phrases, that basically has been our motto for the entire transfer. It seemed appropriate to end on such a note.

MOSTLY BECAUSE FORT PIERCE IS DYING!!!!! RIP. Our area is getting absorbed into the Elders' area, Hna Andrus is going home in 36 hours, and I'm getting transferred to the north! What's even up there??? NOT Ft. Lauderdale, I'll tell you that much. I'm just a wee bit skressd as: North (aka no friends), Spanish ward, and [I’ll be] Senior Comp. 😖🤤😨😓👻💀 But it's fine. I can always find consolation in the fact that Elder Larson got called to be a Zone Leader (or, to quote him, "Zone Lord! I'm already abusing my power!!"). Oh, and also in the fact that Christ can help me overcome all things. Which I think I better understood this week. And which I am about to put to the test en la semana que viene. (Gotta practice now ':D)

I'm headed to Semoran. My new companion is Hna Stowell, and she hasn't moved areas since she hit Florida. She's also only 1 transfer behind me. So at least we have the least chance of dying (Spanish-wise) as possible! It'll probably be fine... 0__,o I'm about to have the faith that God will help me with everything! Yay! 

This week was kinda just a lot of goodbyes, both to members and also to investigators, most of which didn't even realize we were leaving. They were just done investigating. :[

Um..... Bullet point time!

-- We served so many people: I cleaned the Pointons floor and Ellen's oven.

-- Tirso lunch/date??? (We may have 4 wheeled a date?? A member from Okeechobee drove 40 min to take just the sisters out to lunch. And a member from our ward. But not the other Elders or the Elders from Okeechobee so...)

-- Josefina hates pictures. (Graven images apparently equal any paintings or photos of Christ)

-- Spinning rims! (I was driving at the time so no pictures. Sorry!)

So to all of you, pls pray for:
Elder Ward: who's starting his 4th transfer in Ft Pierce (pobrecito!) AND he's the only one of us who's staying, AND he's absorbing our area.

Pablo: our bestest dollar bill/ investigator. We Skype him cuz he speaks Spanish but his elder don't. But now, we're leaving and also his elders are leaving. So pray that he can still be baptized on his baptismal date and not forgotten by his ward.

And Hermana Baer. Los dos. Porque necesitamoslo.

Ok, see y'all on the north side!!

Packing!!

Cowboys!! (So good! So expensive)

Our best investigator. Mostly because he lets us talk.

On the Road Again

We drove so much. So much.

Hna Andrus had her departing temple trip, so we drove up Thursday night to sleep over with Windy Ridge sisters! Ah that good ol' 'partment. I knew it well.

We "slept" that night, then went to the temple early the next day. Again, I was not allowed to join them (as I am not going home) so I got to enjoy the good ol' FOMO [fear of missing out]. THEN, we drove all day to exchanges. It was a long day. Then exchanges. Again, a long day. Many things happened. None of which I'll share right now. :) Then I drove home the next day. Oof. Driving.

But on a better note, Josefina agreed to be baptized! She didn't say when, but she DID come to church on Sunday, AND she brought a friend! Wowzer! I'm so proud!

We kinda dropped everyone else and spent a lot of time finding old, lost members. That was... slightly depressing, but, just like in every other aspect of missionary work, every now and again, there was a cool moment! Like last Sunday (with the husband that shouted at us when we parked on his grass). But I told that story last Monday... so...

This week in church, though, all 4 of us Ft. Pierce missionaries spoke. It was pretty cool! Then Hna Andrus got her final interview, so I spent 30 min companionless in a Spanish Sunday school. THEN, we went into Priest Quorum to see Roger get the Aaronic Priesthood. That was initially awkward, then pert cool! So, very spiritual, but slightly odd. Just like the rest of the church. :)

Well, not to spill the beans, but, please don't send any Porsches to my current address this week. A little birdie suggested the current goodness may not last...


Exchanges! Me, Schwendinger, Knapp, Andrus

District Meeting w/ Zone Leaders: Sweet, Duffin, Larson behind Keith, Ward, Gibson, Andrus, I'm not affiliated.

I forgot to mention the weather celebrated my 8 month Mark by raining REALLY HARD while I was driving, and then lightning-ing the power box. We went lights out. My "Christian Bale" church treasure hunt getting finished by candlelight.

Our Zone leaders: Sweet, Pottle, & Duffin on top.

The Bald Strawberry: Gluten-free waffle Pizzas. The closest to Settebello I've ever gotten.

Week of Tongues

This week we had 3 lessons in Spanish (an unprecedented amount for Fort Pierce!) Along with both Sunday school and Relief Society this last Sunday, a lesson and a half in Portuguese (of which there's a shockingly high amount of in Orlando Florida), a marriage counseling session in Hatian Creole (also many Haitians), and a testimony in fast and testimony meeting in Russian.   O_o    And I went to Florida. Now I can say I speak English, Falo Portugués, hablo español, mwe pa palo Creole, Ich spreche Deutsch, & Я говорю русский язык. 🤤

We also got cussed out after church on Sunday. We tried to drop by an unknown member and we parked on his lawn. He didn't like that. After we moved, he realized that we were sister missionaries so he invited us in. Turns out him and his wife still not only like the Gospel, but have a pretty strong testimony of it. They just don't live it. We had a super awesome lesson. We kinda just bore testimony that God still loves him, and the Spirit was super strong. It was really good. I learned to be a little more persistent with people who swear at you. They could still love God and the Book of Mormon:) What a week!

That's about it. I hope yinz had an enjoyable spring break! Keep reading your scriptures and going to church, even if it's tough or boring or slightly apostate. That's when you know something good is going to happen. You'll get that witness that you need. So Stay Active!!

Love Hna Baer

Do pelicans have tongues? I saw Nemo...

Our investigator that refuses to be baptised, but always talks about when she'll be a member of the church. And Sis Armsby. She da best!

 I love it!! (Keep Ft. Pierce beautiful!)

I've got friends on the other side*

(*References this song from Princess and the Frog which, ironically, seems to convey exactly the opposite message as is intended.)

Hh-Wowsers. I feel so fat spiritually-wise. One might even say husky.

This week was awesome. We had Zone Conference on Tuesday, so the southern half of the mission all gathered together to be spiritually edified. And for the first time, I WAS spiritually edified. There was a lot of good things happening. One such being waking up at 5 am to make the 2-hour drive:) The roads are a lot easier to drive when no one’s on them. But we talked about how your thoughts, words, and actions define who you are. And some good things happened but I just really want to get to the rest of the week. So....

We'll skip over the days of sleep deprivation down to Friday: TEMPLE TRIP!! We had to get a member ride, but a recently returned missionary was willing. Our session starts at 7:30am, but President, knowing missionaries, asked us all to be there by 7. You know what that means: Another 2-hour trip! We're up by 4:15 and out the door ready at 5. We text her at 5:15. No answer. We call at 5:20; she's on her way, but she'll be a hot sec. At 5:45, we text our District Leader. No answer. At 5:50, we call the Zone leaders and they tell us to just jump in the car and go. ("We'll figure it out *weak smile*" I believe was the direct quote.) Luckily, she shows up 3 min. Later and we're off. Ok, 6 am with a 2-hour drive and a session that starts at 7:30. Miracle time! Kinda. We arrive at 7:45 - we've totally missed the Missionary session, but Just Barely slide into the 8. (Heart attack moment when I couldn't find my temple recommend 😰) The entire session was really good, but I also just felt terrible that I had missed the session with all my friends. And it wasn't even my fault! But I realized half-way through that there might still be a few of them waiting on the other side. For the rest of the session, I had to not focus on willing it to go faster (In the words of my companion, "They're all on the other side and I'm still stuck in here!"), but on enjoying it.  Finally, we made it to the other side, and I almost cried at the sight of more than 30 missionaries still there, 90% of which I knew. The relief of making it to where I could be with everyone else was overwhelming!! I realized that as a missionary, I'm not only helping others come to the temple and feel this, but I'm also opening the door for all of their ancestors to have their work done so they can make it to the other side and be with their friends and family. I love the temple and I exhort ALL OF YOU to do your family history work RIGHT NOW!! Don't let them get stuck on the other side. It stinks a lot! (Like dirty socks on Monster feet! [Family, you do not have to include that reference to Backyardigans for the world; it was mostly just for the orphans' amusement:) #prioritiesarestillstraight!!]

Then just 8 hours of spiritual buffet pitted with mind-blowing revelation! And 1 investigator! She even speaks Spanish!! Wowsers. Blessings.

I hope all of you still are picking up pieces from your mind (after it having been blown and all that) and hopefully you find all the pieces and they fit together a little better this time. Maybe you'll even get some revelation. Who knows. If you do, please share:) I love knowledge <33* and Ice cream.

Ok, gotta run!! Best of luck y'all!

Fun fact: Elders can't eat with sisters, but this member still took us out. We sat at our own table. It was still fun.

I Larfed. Gravity Falls reference :)

5:30am and still hopeful.

Our Zone picture at Zone Conference. There we are. Please don't look too hard.

Our Zone at the temple. 20 bucks to whoever can find me and my companion.

Yep, That's right. Zone unity out the window.