Saturday is a special day

It's the day Jörg Klebingat returns with some friends. More on that later.
What a week! It makes up for all those weeks where you ask "What just happened?*" Please fasten your seatbelts as things get pretty crazy.

Monday: P-day; we drove 2 hours to a different chapel (John Young, if you must know) so we could have a sleep over with the Buena Ventura Hermanas (Hermana Swan and Hermana Robbins -- That's right! You DO know her! See pictures from Mexico in earliest posts). We had Zone Conference the next morning at 8am, and we couldn't be late because:

Tuesday: We got Smartphones! Wut. () I looked hard for the Second Coming but, no luck. It was a good meeting and I got to see all the peeps from Windy Ridge. But I didn't actually get to go home because we went on:

Wednesday: Exchanges! I went with Sister Padgett and we got to see the ocean, a rare sighting for Hermanas! What a time! I met a lady who's best friend/the missionary that baptised her lived in Smithfield. (Name is John Harold Heaton for anyone who lives in Smithfield) and I also sang in the Spanish choir. Oh Spanish choirs... But I finally got to go home and sleep in my bed, only to wake up to:

Thursday: Ma' 6 month mark! We celebrated by having a day full of knocking! And also, we went for Ice cream and had Gluten free brownies!

Friday: All I remember from Fri is having to wait super restlessly for:

Saturday: A VISIT BY ELDER DOUGLAS B. CARTER, BISHOP GERÁLD CAUSSÉ, ELDER JÖRG KLEBINGAT, AND ELDER GARY E. STEVENSON!!!!!!! [It's over 9000!] I got to shake Elder Stevenson's hand, and true, he definitely said "Elder Bayer?" And I said yes, so, I may or may not have lied to an apostle... But it's OK because Elder Klebingat started his 30 min. By saying "Where did Nephi say liars go? That's right, they are Thrust down to Hell" *smiles!* Wow I love Elder Klebingat. :) I may or may not have had to spend the rest of the day in a car with 4 English sisters, but wow was I spiritually fat from all that feasting.

Sunday: We got torn apart by our investigator in front of the Ward mission leader for a misunderstanding that happened last week. But on the bright side, he's going to get baptised on March 4! Yay! Bringing souls unto God, even if it destroys all of my credibility and dignity!! But we really are super proud of Roger, and we love seeing his super intense love for God. So plz pray for his making it into the font!

Quick spiritual note: Brother of Jared said "God, we need light." God said "Yep. Why don't you devise a means." Brother of Jared thinks for a bit, then comes back with a bunch of rocks. "Now behold, O Lord, and do not be angry with thy servant because of his weakness before thee." Lord, I know you want light and I brought you rocks, but it's the best I got. I know it isn't enough, but please, help.
God: I will make your efforts enough. *touches rocks* Bring God your best. Even if it's salty or burned or lop-sided or the wrong color or too small; bring him your best. And He will make it enough.

Ok bYYYYEE!!!

Pics.
Cuban Mexican food with the Hermanas

You Can see the Waves!

I'm slowly getting Hna Andrus hooked on pixy stix

First ocean sighting! What a sunset!

Triple Chocolate for achieving the first 3rd of mission.

Holy English sisters, Batman!

BEACH P-DAY HOY! bet you didn't see that coming!

Pink Elephants

"... oh hi!" (Name that Reference!)

This week. Happened. I think... Sis. Andrus doesn't remember it either... "that's not a good sound..." (NtR!)

We did missionary work. I think. Our Zone is focusing more unity so we made the goal to "Come Together" and memorize the Living Christ. When they first called with the proposition and said "Its alright It's alright It's alright It's OK!" We know this is a lot but "Stay Calm and  Carry On, my Wayward son!" And we were like "As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ two millennia ago, we offer our testimony of the reality of his matchless life and the infinite virtue of his great Atoning sacrifice." Yup. Sis. Andrus already knew it. ("I knew it!")

Other great moments for this week:

-- I had my first catfish ("at the codfish ball!")

-- I had a moment where The Impossible Dream came on and Sis. Andrus commented on it being from the Man of La Mancha. I immediately busted a gut as the quote "Look it was my dream and it was impossible, OK!" Clicked in my head.

-- And I got to meet the members down here. We had stake conference last week so I this week was really the first time. They have so much heart, and I even managed to not say Hallelujah at the end of Sis. Gloria's soulful testimony. That was fun! (She definitely testified over the pulpit "This church is the most awesomest church in the universe." I love her!)

To try and save this email from its worldly ways, I'll mention Pamela. She asked for a Book of Mormon online; previous attempts to contact her had not come to fruition, but this time when we dropped by, she was there! ("Rumors of my death have been Highly Exaggerated.") She invited us right in and started talking to us, even though all of her grandkids were there for the 1-year-olds birthday. Her brother moved to Utah and has been a Mormon for 35 years. She got interested and asked him to bring her one, but he said no, she wasn't going to get one that easy. He gave her a link and said she had to go through the system ("We're just tryin' ta break the system!"). He had 2 kids serve missions so he made sure she met with those serving here. Aka ME! She loves God and has a lot of faith. We're super excited to talk to her more, and I hope she can hear God's answer when she prays! ("Pray for her Penny. She's gonna need it!") Also, she's all about respect. ("Find out what it means to me!") Something that's losing value in this world. You could probably say she's "something Amazing, I guess."

Ok, things are going downhill here ("And trip, and trip and trip andtripandtripit!") with all the quotes and worldly references. Good thing I studied Matthew 6:24. Oops. (Mental image of Indiana Jones and the golden boots in Cerebro!! Wheeeee! #mnemonics!)
So, I'm going to "take the trigger off ol' Betsie" and "back-it-up back-it-up back-it-up" now. "See you, on the other side." "For Science. You monster." ("Drive into the river, Bob, oh Drive into the River, BOB!") *insert the Dumbo pink elephants train wreck*

Ciao!

I guess it's not Strawberry Fields forever...

Did you know, that when it snows, my eyes become large.

All the nerdy references are going mad! *bonk*

Don't look now, but I think he's the avatar!  [note the Airbender sticker on the laptop]

Here's a picture of us sitting in Fast and testimony meeting. I'm in sweater town, and Hna. Andrus is hiding in her bed. I love it! (I keep getting this great hold music!)

0 __, o ...ok

Wow. What a week. We're gonna bulletpoint this one.

-- Did you know: There are cows in Florida? Here's a picture of a field. I didn't know I missed grass so much! (I forgot to find a field with a cow in it.)

-- Sis. Andrus is the bomb.com. We're both kinda awkward and laugh when we don't know what to do. Needless to say, there's a lot of laughing going on.

-- Sugar ants die when you spray bleach right on them. And it may or may not be super fun!

-- our District leader got a smart phone this week. We're next. The second coming is near.

-- We had a fabulous week when I met LITERALLY none of our investigators. So, that was cool.

-- Turns out having a lesson at Golden Corral was the most awkward thing of my life. The most cringey part is, we think he has some real intent. We'll see him next week. :) So excited.

-- no alligators, but a lot of dogs. In fact, I'm contemplating learning dog so I can preach to all creatures the word of God. One time, we knocked on a door, and 12 dogs answered. #animalfarm

-- Trailer parks are fun!

-- I made cookies using a 2/3 cup measure. Turns out our apartment is only 1 generation from Elders. Sis. Andrus being that 1 generation. 👍

-- Chicken comes in a can. ... And so does dog food.

-- Sis. Andrus has an Achilles heel: she's gluten intolerant. Other than that, she's perfect! (Which probably makes me the lousy companion. Oh well. *munches on bread*(JK!))

-- I managed to lose all of my missionary skills in the move down here. BUT, I'm excited to learn all over again! Also, I've been going through the Book of Mormon and marking all the promised blessings from the Lord for everyone and also for missionaries, specifically. I kinda forgot there are promised blessings for missionaries, and they are cool, if not as numerous as the promised blessings open to everyone if they just repent and keep God's commandments. So do it! Both reading the Book of Mormon looking for blessings and keeping the commandments!

Ok, I'm done. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, quandaries, or extra bags of Cheetos, please mail them to: 300 Treasure Day Dr. Apt #107 Fort Pierce, FL 34947.
Thank you.


My first Trailer park! The sun shone brightly upon us that day.

Ice cream is gluten free. And delicious.

Bird. Point. (Oh please oh please oh PLEASE be my prisoner!)

A cow-less field. Sorry everyone. But also... take that Orlando!!

And it is an abomination unto me.

Did I really do that bad of a job?

29 February 2018 

"Yes." -- Jeremy Brett.  [references Sherlock Holmes and the Solitary Cyclist]

Don't ask me why I still remember that. And also, please don't ask me where "Good cheer, no fear" is in the scriptures.

TRANSFERS: now that Hermana Wade has a decent grasp on Windy Ridge (like a python:), they decided to send me to exile. AKA Fort Pierce.
Here's a picture.  First of all, here's my current area (give or take). It's about an hour to get from corner to corner.

Ok, now here's the mission.  My current area is pretty small, huh.

Ok, now here's Fort Pierce.

Basically, I just get the Gromit pat every time I tell someone where I'm going. :)
I'm excited.

All I remember from this week is a bunch of sight reading music. I sight-read some baptism songs for a member's 8-year-old daughter at her baptism Friday, then we headed to Sis. Wades last zone as the three sons of her recent converts decided to get baptized too. That was way cool! They're an amazing family! Here's a picture of Downtown Orlando. (That was a jump that made way more sense in my head:)

Check out this cool scripture!
D&C 78:17 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;
18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.

Wow. Sounds like a lot. (Sounds sticky!) I'm excited. I guess I'll keep working hard here on Earth and hoping I'm doing something good. But it’s kinda cool to know that anything great on this Earth is pitiable in the world to come. A little motivation.

Ok, I gotta go pack!
CIAOOO!
Hermana Baer

Pics:
The prettiest Florida has ever been!

Sis. Wade getting her dream fulfilled: dinner at Waffle House! What an experience!

Oh yeah…

I'm getting transferred to Fort Pierce! (AKA exile)

Here's a picture of the Orlando mission with where I am now and where I will be tomorrow marked.

Mom: Oh. My. Goodness. Being near the ocean is super-fabulous in hot weather. Do you know your new companion yet? 

Her name is Hermana Andrus. There's a 95% chance I'll 'kill' her. I'm excited to be close to the ocean; heck I'm even excited to be in the boonies! Just wait, my next email will be a lot of me realizing just what I've gotten myself into. 😄

Sweet Li’l Chocolate Surprises

Sis. Wade and I have discovered French toast sandwiches, with fruit and chocolate on the inside. Mmm. So good! So fat! (We'll be having Bologna sandwiches, but... No bread.) 

The best part of my week was by far painting a member's "house". Our regularly scheduled service fell through, but then one of the Elders got a phone call from a brother in his ward. Now, the quotation marks should have alerted you to the fact that this wasn't any ol' paint job. We were definitely unprepared for emergency service that day, so some kind elders brought work clothes for us. This kind brother had been renting out his... house to a blind veteran with 5 dogs. Also, this house is in a sketchy part of town. Usually you'd be pretty worried about getting... "in trouble"... but he worked at the jail for a long time, so no one touches his property; they all know not to. But the best part of this service was when I got to squat on the rickety handrail leaning precariously far trying to hammer a tin roof back out of a tree while 4 other missionaries tried not to drop said roof and all its accompanying dirt on their heads. So Fun! Blurry (and unattractive) evidence following. But the owner was really appreciative as he was an older gentleman with cerebral palsy. He's been working on this house for a long time, poor guy. It was really nice just to feel like anything I do will be better than if I hadn't done it. Sure I might have done a terrible paint job and sure I may have painted a couple ladybugs in... but at least it got painted. Sometimes I feel pressure in missionary work not to mess up; I feel like I should give more, like my best isn't good enough. To go somewhere where your good is heaven-sent... yeah, that felt good. Also, the Elders were there to make it fun. So that was a plus.

We also met with a super golden family but they have crazy work schedules. We were really hoping the daughter could make it to church - we got a ride for her and everything - but Sunday morning she canceled with us :( So Prayers for Jean Paul and his beautiful family!!

Thanks for all yinz do! I 'preciate it! I hope y'all enjoyed the 1st presidency meeting; I know we sure did! Prayers for you and for our new presidency!

Hermana Baer

Finally a house my size.

Ogre hunting. (In the swamps.)

If you could only take 3 things with you . . .

Hm, this week. I know! Story time.

So there I was. Sleeping like a log in my bed. The time? Midnight. The sugar plum fairies are dancing, and so are the Lamanite daughters. (Wow what fun in my brain!) Suddenly, a really loud sound jolts me from my death-like slumber. It takes sister Wade and I a good 3 min. To put together the sound with its name: the fire alarm. We evacuate, like slugs in peanut butter. There's probably about 20 people outside, and there's a guy on his balcony on the 3rd floor. After about 20 min, the fire truck and a cop car come, lights cutting through the dark mists of night. A out this time, Im thinking clearly enough to realize what I grabbed to save from the fire: a pony-tail holder and a jacket that's been left here from missionaries long dead. The tablet didn't make it out, neither did my watch, or heck, even the keys. (Luckily, Sis. Wade grabbed those.) After about 10 more min, they tell us we can go back in; someone on the fourth floor pulled the alarm. We slink back in, and put things away, and return to the blessed sleep.

3 hours later.
I wake to blood running from my ears as the fire alarm pays a personal visit to my pillow. Not really but, wowsers, that's loud! This time, about 7 people evacuate, the fire truck comes alone with sirens off, obviously disgusted with our complex. We party it up outside by the fountains. Us and a lady with her dog. BUT! This time, I take my tablet and watch, and I even get my missionary tag on my jacket! I was so ready to preach the gospel! Woo! When we finally get back in, we both just collapse in bed nothing gets put away or even taken off.

The End.
Pictures following.

We had a week of people not answering and "te aviso!"-ing us. (I'll let you know) There was quite a bit of door knocking.
:)
Um...
The End.

PS I may or may not be addicted to veggie straws now.

I guess I'll add a spiritual thought to my letter.
While I was waiting to fall back asleep at midnight, I felt so bad that I didn't thank the firemen who came at a ridiculous time at night to turn off the world's most annoying alarm clock. I promised the Lord that if I ever got another experience like this, I'd go out of my way to thank them. Right before I fell asleep, I heard a little angel laughing. 3 hours later, they gave me that chance. I made Sis Wade wait while I found someone and thanked them. All those guilty thoughts of 10 lepers faded way, and I felt great! Maybe because it was 3 am, and I was super tired, but I choose to think the Lord taught me a great lesson in a moment I would listen the most. That was cool to see. And then I got to sleep!
Ok, now:
THE END!

I Love Firemen! They're super cool! But really. Take a moment to thank them. And that does mean you! Yes you!

Meet me at the drop spot tonight at 8:30 and I'll give ya' the goods!

 

Hermana Wade being cautious at English class.

 

Back in Black

Here's a picture to sum this week:

Also this one:

It was cold. Yes, yes, laugh it up fuzzball! I realize you could take my temperature and divide it by 4.5 and it still wouldn't quite be yours.

But, you could also take my humidity and divide it by 9000 and it would still be more than yours! ,':]

Uuuuuummmmmm..... things happened? But only sometimes?? We had a day or two where all of our scheduled plans fell through, but then God was like "Here have this super prepared family. They even speak a dialect of Spanish you can understand." So that was pretty cool. Except we didn't ever catch the name of the family. And then they fell off the face of the earth. So don't tell, but we lost God's elect. 😁

One of our investigators (we'll call her Carol) recently lost their dad. Mom is visiting, but dad was still in Venezuela, so it must've been sudden. We took her flowers, chocolate, and a note, but haven't seen her since. We hope she can find solace in the Book of Mormon. I can't help but feel like this is the final straw between her and joining the church though. If she can look to God and draw close to Him by reading and praying, she'll feel His love and know for herself that the BoM is true. Or she will collapse on the inside and we won't keep visiting her. I hope she's ok.

Our other investigator's (we'll call her Sharol) brother is currently in the hospital with a brain tumor. She said she'd read the Book of Mormon while sitting with him. Again, if she can feel of God's love in this hard time, she's going to pull through and be fine. We know this family will come to the gospel, as they're just so great, but when... We don't know. We're just hoping she's reading.

Everyone else in Florida is sick due to the cold. We've had so many cute Spanish ladies, barely visible through a mostly closed door, explain in detail how cold it is outside and how they couldn't possibly talk any longer and how sick they are and how sick all their friends are and how we must be positively freezing and oh how cold it is. Then they repeat themselves at least once or twice more then close the door, letting us run back to our car. Cute! Also, So grateful for a car. BLESSINGS!!

That's about all that happened this week. So... see you next week?

Same Bat-time,
Same Bat-channel.

P.S. This is a dessert called Plátanos. And oh! It's so good! It's just sliced and fried plantains. They were served at Zone Conference, and all the Hermanas had doubles because the English missionaries didn't realize what they're missing put on. Silly English missionaries!

Other photo: brigaderos. Sweet and condensed milk mixed with chocolate and butter. |:》

Leg Prisons*

This week, I wore pants*. And not even just once. 3 days in a row. It was weird. It felt like one big, eternal wedgie. I miss home and all, but I don't actually miss the part where it's socially expected to wear pants. I bet you all are dying to ask me "Sister Baer, (at which point I'd correct you, pointing out the whole Hermana thing; you'd probably then say in a slightly less patient and caring tone "Hermana Baer," at which point I'd correct you and tell you the H is silent, at which point you'd probably just walk away;) what is a sister (/Hermana) of your stellar caliber doing wearing pants?" Here I say "The Lord is good." We ran out of Miles this week. Twice. Do you know what that means--BIKES!!! IT MEANS BIKES!!! Wow! Such fun! So joy! I have been waiting since day 2 of the MTC to ride my bike. We got to go 2 whole miles to knock some doors! Wheeee! I was so sore the next day! How embarrassing!! 😄 Mostly I just don't ever want to drive the car again! And I want a slightly thicker toothpick for a seat. But New Years Eve, we parked the car with 2.4 allotted miles left in the month, 15 left in the gas tank, and -30 minutes to get home on time. Oops. Oh well. Maybe the mission office will start realizing how terrible of a driver I am and release me from the burning confines of designated driver. /:"

 Um... ever since Sis. Bond went home, we haven't taken at least 2 selfies a day, so... I don't really remember what else happened this week...

> Christmas was food! (I tried to type good, but I missed and food just kinda happened. Thinking back, Christmas really was food. So I'm leaving it.)

> We accidentally stayed out until ... a really late hour caroling with the Relief Society. We had to get a member ride (‘cuz we ran out of Miles -- see above) and it was the same member who we were stuck with when we locked our keys and phone in the car. I'm going to keep this part a little vague in case President Clark finds and reads my blog. :) So... Sh!

 > Sis. Wade had a baptism in her old area, so we went on a road trip. Downtown Orlando is pretty cool! I took some really terrible pictures of it, which I will now share with you. Almost every Hermana in the mission was there. We were only missing Hermanas Kent and Robbins. I didn't want them to feel left out, so I drew them in.

Ok, I'm tired of typing/texting. You can make up your own great story and pretend like it happened to me. At this point, it probably either will or has happened.

Ok, BYYEEEEE!

I've decided to call our bike rack Jerry. Because it's rigged. If you look really hard, you might see the prayers and angels holding it on.

Cool story: I took this picture by my self. Look Mom, No Hands!!

Caroling 5 days after Christmas at a super late hour.

Bad pictures of D-T Orlando. You're welcome.

Hermanas at the baptism.

Hermana-land (you can't even tell Hna. Kent y Robbins WEREN'T there. Bob Ross would be proud)

What the Gladsome Tidings?!

25 December 2017 

Murry Chursmus! You did it. You made it through the crazy holiday season. I guess, not really. There's still new years. So... I guess not... this is awkward... :/

But Christmas! You got it all wrapped and presents under the tree and stocking filled and everything!! I'm so pa-roood!

We started out the week with transfers. Same area but a new companion. I'm now with Hermana Wade: 6 foot 2 with bright red hair. She's been out only one transfer more than I have, so we've had a couple moments of shaky Spanish, but... the Lord's got it. But she's great! She loves being a missionary and is super loving the area. I hope she's here for a long time! I think the members will really love her. :)

How to describe this week: Um... Phenomenal? We had a baptism on Saturday, a super cute and spiritually strong Peruvian couple. He's been searching for God for years, and in our first lesson (in which we said about 10 words) he told us that something about this church just feels right, that we've got something other churches don't. Already God was preparing him. But we planned out everything carefully for the baptism, so I was surprised when everything seemed to fail and fall through. I did my very best (in prep, on the piano, with technology, in Spanish, behind the scenes in the font, and with the food afterwards) but I just felt like I wasn't good enough. In the last prayer, I had a secret prayer of my own where I just begged God to accept my failure of a baptism, just asking for it to be enough for this couple. In that moment, He shared with me a lot about Grace. It was a really cool moment for me, and in the end, it was enough. The wonderful couple had so much joy! Mmm, God is good, and not just to me.

 I hope Christmas is going/ went well, and I hope you have a simply Marvelous New Year!


Picture time!

Florida's version of a white Christmas

Someone's mom got a little excited with wrapping paper.

Sis Robbins and I played (sang? performed? shared?) a musical number at the Christmas devo this week. Let's just say, she did really good, and His grace is sufficient.

I'm grateful I could hold the door open to God in their life. I really did nothing to help them; they practically jumped into the font! I just handed them a pamphlet on their way down.

Man, I miss the snow