Dec 28~ Dos Mil Dieciseis

QUE TAL? 

It was awesome seeing my fam last week on Skype! Nothing has really changed! Christmas here in Peru is crazy, there are no laws about fireworks, so about every house in Pasco just lit up fireworks for a solid half hour when it was midnight on Christmas. Pretty nuts. 

This week we have the baptism for Steven (planned for this week) so I am praying everything turns out well! Hes a 22 year old that has been listening to the missionaries for like 6 months, he's super prepared so I am excited for that! Love you all! Happy 2016! Crazy how fast this year went by! 

HAPPY 2016

Elder Baca

E.Baca and E.Christensen on Christmas, comps for a day!

Skyping in from Peru... always finding a good laugh!

Red Cerro cheeks

Dec 21~ Feliz Navidad from Cerro!

Merry Christmas! 

Elder Baca, Leonard and Christensen

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas ! Its awesome being here in the mish once again! Of course I miss you all, but its been nice just focusing in on the true meaning of Christmas! I honestly love my Savior Jesus Christ and am so grateful to be representing him during this 2 years! I have felt his love so many times in my life, and have seen him show his everlasting love for so many people I have met in the mission, and that is why I can say I know without a doubt He lives, and loves us. I know He was the greatest gift that was given, and I know all he asks is that we follow him and his gospel so that we can be happy as well. I hope you all have a wonderful week. Love you all so very much!! 

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" John 3:16. 

Share this Christmas video it is so awesome!!

Love you all!! 

Elder Baca

Dec 14~ Trusting in the Lord!

Wow I had such a sweet experience this week! 

Well, so our week started out super bad! But because of that I think I was able to learn such a great lesson this week here in the mission (everything I am about to tell you is ALL tied in).  Well, just about every appointment we had fell through! On Friday morning I remember asking in my prayers, "what do you want us to learn, what can I do better as a missionary" and the thought just came directly to my mind,  "Learn to trust more in me" so we went out to work on Friday and I left the room with that thought in my mind. 

SO we went to the Church to start out the day to visit a Lady that looked super interested, we waited outside the church and while we were waiting for a good 20 mins, we see a truck pass by the church and fall into a giant hole in the street. First I said to my comp, why is there a hole in the street...and then we ran over to help this guy lift his truck out of the hole ( he never got out of the car, was just putting it in reverse) so we didnt even get to talk to the guy in the truck because he drove off but looked really thankful and waved. Anyways, we waited for this lady in the church and she never came, so we started off our day like that and it was about 2 pm. We went to the next appointment, and the next, and the next, and the next, and every single one of our plans failed us (we walked from one part of our area to the other going to almost every person we knew and everything failed, so we ended up in a huge part of our area called Tupac Amaro, that probably has like 1000 houses) at this time it was about 4 pm. I said to my companion as we were standing in this huge part of my area, "there has to be someone in this neighborhood that is ready to listen to us" so we took off and started knocking every door in this giant maze of a neighborhood, for the next 2 hours it was just straight Rejection, doors getting slammed in our faces and people that just wanted NOTHING. So after about 2 hours of contacting we finally contacted this woman that almost let us in, but then changed her mind and shut the door. After this lady, i remember I was almost tearing up just so frustrated and disappointed, and I remember saying a prayer asking God again, "what do you want us to do, why is everything failing us" and the moment I said that prayer I had the thought come to my mind "Remember I want you to trust more in me" and then the scripture Doctrine and Covenants 121:7  "My son, peace be unto thy soul, thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment" and right when the thought and that scripture came to my mind, I looked up from the ground, and SAW the guy we helped out in the morning with his truck standing on the second floor of his house with a giant smile on his face, and he recognized us as the "guys" that helped his get out of the hole. I never have felt so much peace in my entire mission, because I knew it that exact moment that GOD was guiding us to a man that was super prepared to hear our message.  With giant smiles on our faces we asked him, "Can we come in and share a message with you" and he said OF COURSE and let us in! It was such a sweet lesson, turns out he has been married for 14 years with his wife and have 3 beautiful children, and this whole family is just awesome! 

So what I learned this week is first, be humble enough to ask God "what can I do to get better" or "what do you want me to learn in this moment" and I know without a doubt GOD will answer. I know God guided us for 4 hours and allowed us to be completely rejected for hours, allowed us to help this man lift his truck out (if we wouldnt have helped him, he prob wouldnt have let us in). He allowed us to walk miles, and knock a ton of doors, in order to be in the rIght place at the right time, in order to find a family that was being prepared to Hear this Gospel, and personally for me, I was able to learn to TRUST MORE IN HIM, and thats exactly what he wanted me to learn like I asked Him that morning before leaving the room. 

Well, I wanted to share this experience with you because I know without a doubt that God lives and loves us, and is aware of our needs.  I know without a doubt this work that I am doing is true, and I know despite all the adversity we may face in this life, God will never leave us , and it "shall only be for a brief moment".  Well I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Baca

Dec 7~ Bosque de Piedres

Whats up CREW! Well, this week was awesome!! It has snowed here almost everyday here in Cerro, its crazy walking around preaching the Gospel in SNOW, its an awesome experience.

 Last Pday we went to one of the 7 Wonders of Peru, called the BOSQUE DE PIEDRAS, it just looks like a giant forest of super sick rocks! SO that was sweet, there are some pics attached.

Something I learned this past week is the importance of being diligent! I got a new comp, his name is Elder Delgado from Argentina (misiones) and we have just started talking to everyone that we meet, and we have been able to meet some great people by doing that, and even some members that have fallen away! That's a goal I have for the rest of my mish is just to talk to everyone about this super important message we have missionaries! Well I am still loving the mish like always,I am learning everyday! Love you all so much have a great week! 

Elder Baca 

Nov 30~ The Fourth Quarter

What up! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Week! 

I'm hitting 18 months this week in the mish, and I cant believe how fast the time has passed by!  This week was alright for us, it was the anniversary of Cerro de Pasco, so there were just a ton of drunks in the street and a lot of parties all night long. THe good thing is, we changed rooms so we dont live by the "center" anymore. To be honest the mission is super hard at times, I would consider Cerro De Pasco as one of the roughest places to be in just for the food, weather, etc... but an ex missionary told me that while he was in the MTC, an Area Seventy (leader) came and talked to all the missionaries, and in his talk he happened to talk about Cerro de Pasco and how it is just considered a rough city because of everything that goes on. But he said the missionaries have success because of the ATTITUDE they have. To be honest its been rough at times, I really have had to rely on the Lord a ton because Idk what else I would do, and I know he has helped me have a good attitude about my area and this city. I have really learned here that our ATTITUDES can change a lot. I know without a doubt that our attitudes can effect everything we do, I mean it depends on our attitude if we can reach goals and have success or not. SO no matter what happens to you all, just have a good attitude about everything and I know things always seem to work out when we Trust in God! Well, thats something I learned this week! I love you all and am so grateful for all of you, and for the support you are giving me! Have a good week! 

Heres some pics:

Thanksgiving day eating pizza, playing soccer, eating some burgers we made, and saying goodbye to my buddy Elder Horsely 

 

Nov 23~ Gobble Gobble!

Mis Queridos Causas,

Les quiero decir, feliz dia de gracias! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Dang all I have to say is it is COLD here in Cerro now, it snowed for a good 5 hours yesterday! 

The weeks are flying so fast now I cant even believe it. Taking the time to think what I am grateful for over this time I have had in the mish, has really made me realize the love my Heavenly Father has for me. First off, I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ, there have been so many times in the mission where I have felt alone or inadequate or have just had hard times, but I have felt the loving comfort of my Savior so many times. I know without a doubt he is my older Brother, and has become one of my best friends. I am so very grateful for his atoning Sacrifice. I am so grateful for my family as well, being away from them for awhile has really made me realize how much I love them. I know that families are eternal and are super important, more important then any type of iPhone 6 or the new Xbox one! I am so grateful for the gospel as well! I know it blesses lives! I know there is no EARTHLY PROBLEM that cant be solved by the HEAVENS! I love telling that to people because I know the gospel really does bring hope and peace. Being without worldly things for a year and a half and, well even more than that, being in Cerro de Pasco, has really made me focus on the important things. It has made me enjoy the little things even more like ( hot water and a nice 3 dollar chicken with french fries) hahaha   Well I love you all, think about the things you are grateful for! 

Love, Elder Baca 

Nov 16th~ Sweet Week

What up everyone! 

JDS HOME!!!!!!!!! That looks so unreal what the heck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  SO it feels weird to be the only Elder Baca in the family now! I am super happy for my bro! He had a fulfilling mish! This week was a SWEET WEEK. We started out the week in Huanuco which was paradise, and then we found a GOLDEN investigator that was a reference from a member! He's a 35 year old single guy that is looking to change his life, he was actually thinking about taking his life this past week but we were able to help him out. we visited him on Saturday, and he has a Bautismal date for the 19th of December! He showed up to church like 20 mins early yesterday and told me "I cant stop thinking about my Bautismal date, I really want to do this". So that was pretty sweet!

In other news, I finished the Book of Mormon again for the second time in Spanish, it took me 6 months but it was worth it! I know with all my heart its true because I had the opportunity to pray and ask God again, and I got the most peaceful feeling again reassuring me that its true! We also did a service project on Saturday out in the middle of nowhere. we basically took a HUGE pile of DIRT and moved it to the second story of a house with Buckets. It took almost 4 hours to finish, but it was worth it! 

Love you all! Heres some pics ! 

Love Elder Baca

Eating in Huanuco

Service project

Ice cream in Huanuco

Nov 9~ Travel and Costumes

Whats up everyone! Dang all I have to say it is really nice to be back here in Huanuco, the weather is perfect! Yesterday was our multi zone conference here in Huanuco (Juan-uh-co), and today is our PDAY so its good to be back for a couple days! 

My week was pretty solid, but there wasnt that much time to work! We started off the week by dressing up for Halloween and playing games in the church! I rented a mickey mouse costume for 3 bucks so that was sweet! hahaaha We went to Huancayo last Tuesday and Wednesday for the Leadership Council, worked a couple of days and then headed off to Huanuco Sunday night! 

I cant believe my bro is finishing his mission! I cant even imagine how he feels right now, I know the mission isnt easy but its the best thing for our lives! I also can testify that the Gospel changes lives, I know my bro has seen that over these past two years and I see that almost every day out here. Have fun at home! Love you and thanks for your example! well I love you all! PAZ! 

Elder Baca 

Elder Baca as Mickey Mouse

Nov 2~ El Dia de Los Muertos

Hey everyone! 

Another week down here in Cerro! Leslie got baptized on Saturday (Halloween)! It was a pretty sweet service! She just thanked us for being super patient with her because for a long time she didnt believe the things we taught, but finally she just kept reading the BOM and praying, and kept asking, and she felt it was so true! It was awesome to hear her testimony after her baptism. These things Ill never forget! 

Yesterday was the Day of the Dead, its a huge Latin holiday, especially here in Cerro! Everyone just goes to the cemetery and visits their relatives that have passed away, and they bring them things that they liked. SO there was nobody home, but we went to the cemetery yesterday to talk to people about the Plan of Salvation and how they can see their loved ones again thanks to Jesus Christ.  It was a good experience, some were receptive, others were not but it turned out to be a good week! I love you all! have a great week! Shout out to my bro JD, LAST WEEK IN THE MISSION, NO TE PONGAS TRUNKY! 

-ELDER  BACA 

Pics of baptism, and like a tiny part of the cemetery.

Mom! Mom Mom!!!   I bet you are excited right now, Im excited for you! I cant believe JD is already coming home! That is blowing my mind seriously!!!!!!!!! Well hope you guys had a good Halloween. The pics are sweet, and also tell Jenn and Gray Congrats, thats awesome, so happy for them! Well this week flew by and Im looking forward to this week because tomorrow iI am going to Huancayo, and then Sunday afternoon to Wednesday I will be in Huanuco! So expect an email on Tuesday next week!! THE DAY before JD comes home!! SO what are the plans with him? You guys are having get together and then you need to make him some CHICKEN, POTATOES AND RICE so he knows how Peruvian food is hahahah!  Well my scrip this week is 1 Nephi 15:13-14, its a long one but I already got it down this morning!  I'll finish the BOM again in SPANISH this week, Im loving it! Some things I need are ummm a new belt and thats all I can think of! Well I love you MOM! Times flying, Im loving the mish seriously so many great experiences, y btw havent missed a day in my journal since the start of Sept, theres some funny stuff in there! Love u mom! Have a good week! 

ELDER BACA 

Oct 26~ El Frio

Hey everyone! 

I hope you all had a great week! I am staying here in Cerro with my same companion Elder Fernandez from Chile (who happens to be from the same ward as Elder Taskers comp right now) small world hahaha. This week was a solid week, and went by super fast as well! Its been super cold here lately and now I have the "burnt cheeks" as everyone calls it here! THE FRIO BURNS! 

My Comp and I are having a baptism this week!! Her name is L.! She has a pretty neat story I mean her parents are evangelists and super hard core but she met the missionaries through her bff thats leaving on a mission soon! She reads the Book of Mormon like a BEAST and has a super strong testimony about this book and the Gospel. Its been cool to see her progress over these past couple months! 

Also we are teaching a GOLDEN investigator that was a reference from his bro. He was studying to be a Catholic priest for 15 years, but had a ton of problems, is going through a divorce, but a really humble guy. We have taught him about the Restauracion, the Book of Mormon, and the Plan of Salvation, and everything makes perfect sense to him. Its awesome! He told us before we started teaching him that he felt such an "emptiness" in his life and wants to fill it! And as we have taught him about the Plan that God has for him and about the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ, he has been able to fill this emptiness up and understand the love God has for him and his child! Its been sweet teaching him, he has a bautismal date for this month.! I love being here in the Mish, its been amazing so far! Love you all! 

Elder Baca 

Oct 19~ Oye Gringo!

Well the title of my email has to tie in with an experience I had this week! 

Just so you all know, there are 2 white people (from the U.S.) in all of Cerro de Pasco, myself and another sister missionary. SO when the Peruvians see me, they always just start yelling GRINGO!!!! ( it means white man), seeing a white person here is like seeing an alien seriously. So this past week, we were walking in the sketchy part of our area to an appointment we had, and out of no where this guy that looks a lil' tipsy starts yelling at me "OYE GRINGO!" so I looked at him, and went up and started to talk to him. His name is Polo (shirt in Spanish), anyways he seemed like he wasnt too interested in why we were here as missionaries.  I invited him to church and he left. On Sunday, probably the worst feeling a missionary can have is when no one shows up to Church, I was feeling disappointed because with my Comp we worked super hard this week. So I said a little prayer, praying that someone would come to church. Literally like a couple minutes after that prayer, I see Polo walk in all dressed up and sits down in the bench, and then 2 more investigators walk in as well! It was a prayer answered seriously, and they all stayed for the 3 hours of church and had an amazing time!

 SO what I learned this week- inviting is our responsibility, as missionaries, or as members. We just need to invite. I mean the worst that can happen is that our friends or family say No ( if your in the US), or if your in Cerro de Pasco you can tick off an  Evangelist grandma and have her run inside to go call her elderly husband to beat you up ( btw that happened to us yesterday, we took off running hahaha the elderly are sketchy here). The choice is yours! 

We found a sweet fam as well this week along with a couple other sweet investigators, changes are tomorrow so I am looking forward to staying here in Cerro! Love you all! God bless! 

¡Elder Baca! 

That lady's coming back next week!! She left because she works out of town, but in other news we got some solid investigators now!! Im looking forward to telling you more about them! SO happy you got to do the work for your ancestor! Its awesome! Im grateful for Grandpa Tom, Ive showed some peeps my arbol (tree) and the freaked out! -Im about 165 pound now! Yes ive lost about 20...crazy. But its okay i am hittin it hard at the gym! THe weather is rough here. The cold literaly burns!! I love you guys so much! Time is flying seriously. Im like the old guy in the mish now, seriously its scaring me! hahah  
Love you mom!   Elder Baca

Oct 12~ Knocking Doors

This week was super awesome seriously! Ill tell you all a couple experiences.

On Thursday this past week, It was 7 at night and all of our appointments fell through by this time, it was a day of just walking walking and walking ( btw our area is the biggest area in the mish), so I was pretty dead by 7 pm, and we were thinking we were finally going to have an appointment with an investigator..and we got there, and the appointment fell through as well. We were with a member and we decided to try to find some old investigators the old missionaries were teaching, and we went to their houses and nothing. I was getting frustrated not going to lie, but I felt the need to just start knocking doors (not the most effective thing, after five weeks in my area I think i have had one lesson by knocking doors). 

Anyways, we were at the end of a street, and i said to my comp, "we are going to knock the door of every house that has their lights on, until we find that person that wants to listen to us." So we started out and every person on this street rejected us until we got to the last house on the street! This house was blasting music but we knocked it anways. A lady came out and started talking to us about the church, and we told her why we were here, and my comp asked can we come in and share this message with you? She stopped to think for a while, and she said yea come in! I started fist pumping because I was so excited. 

ANYWAYS, to sum up the lesson, about how it went. She started asking us a lot of questions about the church, why we are here, (because this was the first time she talked to missionaries) and she told us she was always curious about our church. Turns out when her first kid was born, she was looking on the internet for a name, and came across the name Joseph Smith.  She was interested by his story because he says that God and Jesus Christ appeared to him as an answer to his simple prayer. She was interested in the fact he asked to know what church was true.  So to sum up the story, after a lot of opposition from her fam, she named her kid Joseph. She then told us she has always believed in God, and that she has a firm testimony that He answers prayers. She told us about a dream she had where an angel came to her and asked her "Are you happy?" and she said no, i am not, and the angel asked, "Why not" and she said, Because I am not with my family. And the angel said, "Well okay, ill come back", and walked away... So I felt prompted to ask her, "Do you know how you can be with your family, not only for this life, but the next as well?"... The Spirit filled the room and she said, Honestly I don't but I would like to know. After that I had the opportunity to bear my testimony about how families can be together forever, and the HOW as well. Anyways we finished the appointment saying that we would come back, and the Hermana offered the last prayer. In her prayer said, "Thanks for sending these two missionaries to my house, i dont know why, I felt like i needed to let them in, thanks for giving me this feeling of peace, thanks to these 2 missionaries."  Just to top everything of as we were leaving I asked the Hermana- Hey where's your kid thats named Joseph? I would like to meet him! So she called her two kids (5 and 3) to come out, and I freaked out and said whats up Joseph!!! And then I looked at the Hermana and asked her, whats your other kid's name..."Oh his name is Hyrum but with a J.." What... and my comp told her.. Uhh hermana, you know that Joseph Smith's brother is named Hyrum right?....and then the Hermana started freaking out! "NOOO I DIDNT KNOW!!" I looked at her with a huge smile and said...yea we will be coming back dont worry hahaha!! Crazy experience of the week.

Also, good news. About a month a go i wrote about Roberto, the investigator we found in Huanuco that had the hernia... well he got baptized last Saturday!!! So happy for him! Yea! Hope you all have a good week!! Something I tell my investigators out here, something I really have learned on the mission is I don't believe in coincidences. Love you all!! 

Here's some pics with my new comp Elder Fernandez from Chile, and with my old comp Elder Garcia who's going home! 

Elder Baca

Garcia

Fernandez (and pancakes!)

Hey dad!! hahah i was just talking about sharing a room with jd with my comp and how that has helped me in the mish! haaha  I am loving Cerro! Its rough but its awesome!! Cerro is why I came on the mish!! Thats what I always said, big area, rough people, bad food, water 2-3 times a week to bathe hhaaha its like camping but awesome!! Im loving it! Thanks dad!! I had the opportunity this past week to get called on by an area seventy Elder Godoy while he was giving his talk to bear my testimony and talk about Ward Councils, it was a sweet experience! I  also had my intervies with Pres Henderson. Went good!! Love you dad! Have a good one!

Oct 5~ Cerrito

Los Brothers and Las Sisters! 

My companion and I call everyone el Brother or La Sister in a super Latin accent hahah. 

Well, another cold, but fulfilling week here in Cerro de Pasco. I know that God has called me to be here, not for what I have done, or the accomplishments I have had so far in my life or in the mission, but it is because he needs to work THROUGH me here in Cerro. Thats something I have learned here in the mission, that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is being preached by the weak.  Many times as missionaries we feel inadequate, I mean we are 18, 19, 20, 21 year olds that have High School experience and little training, I have felt that a ton on my mish. But the miracles I have seen here so far have changed me. Its a cause and an effect reaction our here in the mish.  I know through the Lord, he can make weak things strong. I know if we at least try our best, our efforts will be accompanied by the power of God. I honestly have seen that and bear witness that God blesses his children through the missionaries. I mean, it could be a little hard to grasp the concept that God can bless us through two white guys that look Nerdy and wear bicycle helmets, and walk around in shirts and ties all day, but its the truth. The message we share as Missionaries is so important, that if we take the time to listen to it, ponder about it, and ask God if it is true, HE himself will make us know. As missionaries we arent here to convince, thats Gods job. We are just here to Invite and Share. I am a Missionary, and can honestly tell you all that there are miracles that happen out here everyday in the mission field, confirming that this is Gods Work. I am so happy for this time I have had so far, and I thank you all for the support you are giving me! Love you all so much! Have a great week!

I got to watch Conference in the highest stake center in the world! It was awesome! It was a spiritually party (as my old bishop would say in Huanuco). I learned a ton! Im going to make that a habit now memorizing scrips once a week! It will be sweet to see how many verses I know it 20 years if I start this week! Im going to start with Moroni 7:45, the theme of Pres Monson (charity)!  Something i really have noticed here in the mission- I cant pin point in my life where I knew all of this was true? Where I gained a testimony, I mean i know it was here in the mission, about everything, but I know its been line upon line precept upon precept. Some advice I would give to you all (especially Ethan and Ellie) is to keep reading the book of Mormon over and over! I am finishing up my 3rd time here in the mish, and have learned so much! Sometimes I feel bad, I mean I was the kid that didnt go to Seminary much and had like 1 scripture mastery, but knowledge is really a blessing and Im grateful for what I am learning here! That talk by Elder Bednar blew my mind, it was so amazing, really being seasoned in the gospel is a blessing. Thats something I want to strive for throughout my life. I loved something Pres. Uchtdorf said, the Gospel is so simple a child can understand it, but so profound it takes a lifetime to learn it  -something like that! 

Also something that really impacted me this week hearing the Prophet of our Heavenly Father speak, Pres Monson it was something so simple and powerful, "Keep the commandments." Thats my message to you, if you want to be happy and be blessed temporally and spiritually, do what God says! 

Peace! Elder Baca

Sept 28~ The Lion

Que tal todos? 

Hope you all have a great week! Here's some pics of me with the famous Huanuco Lion, I am sick today so I cant write that much! Sometimes the altitude and the food mixed together cause Double Dragons!  Love you all! Shout out to my mom for running a marathon this Saturday! Good luck! Love you!  

Elder Baca 

Sept 21~ Cerro Beat Boxing

What up what up what up everybody! 
Calling in from 14,000 ft! This week was awesome! We worked super hard! We put a goal of 20 lessons with an investigator with a member present, and at 7:30 last night we were able to get!! 

A crazy experience we had this week. WOW. We are teaching this guy named I. who is a drug addict, and does like gang like stuff with his friends (Saturday he robbed a guys cell phone point blank with a gun, the cops came and beat him up with their batons) , anyways we are helping him try to overcome his addiction. He really wants to, he even came a church a couple times. Well, we had a lesson with him last week, turns out at the end of the lesson he wants to do a freestyle rap with his brother to thank us for coming. Let me just tell you, it was one of the sickest raps, he calls us the Misioneros, los sabios, which translates to the wise Missionaries. He freestyled for about 3 mins, and then his brother started freestyling about us for another 3-4 mins. It was so sick hahaha! Cool experience! 

Something I learned this week, 

Prayer is powerful. It literally is communication with our Heavenly Father. We can Pray for comfort, for answers, for others, for anything. I know that prayer is powerful and our Heavenly Father always listens to us, but answers us in many ways, in his own due time! (Alma 37:37) 

1. I am warm at night, (sleeping bag), have hot water, have everything! My pension is sweet! She owns a soup rest. So lots of soup, and we buy our own breakfast, making lots of scrambled egggs, cereal, protein shakes! 

2. It took me a couple days but now I am perfectly fine! We go lift weights 3 times a week and the other days i do p90x, and I bought some protein powder, and am eating like crazy so I am in good shape! 

3. all the kids have rosy burnt cheeks! We call it the Cerro Cheeks! The people are really cold, the members are good, but I love the people here! So many fun experiences! everyone and there dog works in the mine, 14 days straight and 7 days rest!  

4. Its dog city, super dangerous in parts because they attack in packs, but I have my dog TASER so Im always good!

Im loving the mish, everyday I try working hard, REALLY tired but the mission is satisfying. ONE PURPOSE.

I am loving Cerro! The ward is good! The Bishop is awesome! Older, but pilas (batteries, lots of energy), Im loving it! crazy.... I got 8 months left, time is flying. I love you guys!! We have room checks from Pres today, so we will have Pday tomorrow! Yah! Love you! 

Love you all!  Elder Baca

 

Sept 14~ The Chosen Frozen!!!

Hey Everyone!! SO, I GOT TRANSFERRED to .......CERRO DE PASCO!! One of the highest cities in the ENTIRE WORLD, a little bit more than 14,000 ft above sea level!  I am super happy and excited to be here, its insane!! In my zone we are 18 missionaries, and it is sweet because my zone covers the entire city of Cerro de Pasco and the outskirts as well. I am grateful to lead these missionaries here in Cerro de Pasco, because we are the CHOSEN FROZEN. Cerro is a mining city, so there is a giant mine right in the middle of the city (as deep as the Empire State Building). Sweet! My area is called "La Esperanza" or in English the "Hope", and my Companion is Elder Fernandez from Chile, hes sweet! Last transfer there were 3 separated areas in the Esperanza because it is huge, now they shut down one of the areas and just mixed the 3 areas together into one GIANT area, which we cover. SO needless to say, I will have horse lungs by the time I finish here in Cerro. 

The cold season just started, and it is way funny because i went from sleeping with a sheet in Huanuco last week, to sleeping with about 5-6 blankets now!  I love my missionaries here seriously, I honestly feel like I am in the military or something with these guys! hahaha We get up at 5:45am,  3 times a week and go to a near by gym owned by a member (he closes in down for us), so instead of being the little scrawny guys in Cerro, we are going to be in such good shape! The work is really good here.  Years ago Cerro was an area for the "bad missionaries", but now the zone turned into a baptizing zone! Its sweet seeing the progress here. I am grateful for the Lord, and for putting me here in Cerro! Im supér pumped for the transfers Ill have here!

Something I learned while studying the Book of Mormon this week, is that our Savior Jesus Christ, died and suffered for us so that we can be saved, but also suffered every weakness, temptation, problem, or challenge in this mortal life, so that he can "run to us" when we need Him. I know Jesus Christ is a loving, perfect Savior, that always has his arms open to receive us when we need it. I know that when we decide to follow Him, we decide to change. As missionaries we invite and help people come unto Christ by developing faith in him, repenting, being baptized, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. We invite people to change so that they can receive eternal life.  I know without a doubt this is the truth, I mean the answers are all in the Bible and Book of Mormon, but it is more than just knowing the truth. I sincerely feel it because I have asked God if these things are true, and He has answered me that they are. I am so happy to be a missionary, this is what motivates me to be out here, walking around in the freezing cold all day talking with little Peruvians that live in some mountain city, super far away from home. I do this because I know these things are true, and I know the blessings that come from living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love you all so much! I always keep you all in my prayers! Have a great week! 

Pics of Cerro, everyone has a guard dog but that doesnt stop us! 

HEy mom! Ya, Pres sent out a email to everyone, really stinks, but I'll be obedient! I love you guys so much! Cerro is awesome! Its rainy season right now! Its nice to use my cold weather clothes finally! The ward is nice. Like 130 people, area is huge! Today for Pday Im going to the gym for a couple hours! YAAH!!!!!!! and playing soccer, wow doing cardio here turns you into a horse seriously! We have a nice appt, its insulation is good, but heaters dont exist here, so the sleeping bag and lots of blankets come in handy!  I love you guys so much! Keep it up doing your FHE, scripture study, and 2 family prayers a day! Love you mom!! Until next week! 

Love Elder Baca

Sept 7~ Peru and "Kansas City!"

!Hola! 

This week was a pretty entertaining week! Pday we made cheeseburgers and played some american football which was super fun! We have a member who is awesome! Hes our 2nd counselor and loves gringos so he always invites us to "Brothers".  He always comes up to my comp and I and asks us "Cuando vamos a tomar el Brother?" which means "When are we going to drink the Brother?", and then flips his fingers up like we are going to drink alcohol or something hahahaha. The famous Brother is just a classic Coca~cola. Other phrases this member says everytime he sees me is "Freaking Cowboy! English Course! Kansas City! ALRIGHT!" hahahaha  It cracks me up every time!

With my zone and with some members from the ward we did something called the "mesa misional". We basically just took a bunch of tables and put them around the park with a ton of cards and pamphlets and just talked with everyone! It was a great success! Everyone was super interested about who we are and what we do as missionaries. It was pretty sweet!

My comp and I gave a zone training on Pride last week. I learned a lot about it this week and its something everyone has! Pride is the origin of sin, It means putting our will before God's will. Its root is enmity, or in other terms "hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition" in the words of President Kimball. Its something everyone has, and the only way to cure it is by being humble, which is accepting the will of God. Thats something I feel I have really tried to work on in the mission is not being prideful, its hard at times, but I know being humble and loving others despite the issues we may have with them, only makes us better people and more like Jesus Christ! Have a great week! 

Les quiero! 

Elder Baca

A pic drinking the Brother, and the aftermath of the "mesa misional" with some Elders from my zone!

August 31~ ¿Que Andan?

Hey everyone! Another week down in the mission! 

This week was pretty sweet, we went to a place called Kotosh last Pday that consists of a place where some ancient American Indians lived, there aren't any ruins but there is this one spot where you can stand on, and your voice just echoes super loud. I guess in the ancient times to call like a "meeting" together as a tribe, they stood on this certain rock and their voices echoed throughout the valley. It is pretty weird because just whispering on this spot your voice echoes, but when you stand off, nothing!  Pretty trippy, I have a pic of me below standing on it yelling!

A cool experience I had this week-well I mean everyday something happens- but the highlight experience willing to share this week is about an investigator we have named R. He was a reference from a lady in our ward. He is 45 and is divorced and has gone though a ton of problems. We invited him to be baptized about 2 weeks ago, but last Saturday night (the night before going to church) for the first time he got a super bad hernia and had to get surgery, so that topped off everything!  Yesterday we visited him and he told us the whole time he was in the hospital, he was thinking about getting baptized. It turns out the patient next to him who was also recovering was a member of the church! Sweet! So he was able to hear a ton about the Church and everything! It was awesome though because last night we were able to testify to him that we have challenges in this life to make us better, and to bring us closer to Our Heavenly Father. I know if we have the perspective that this life is an opportunity to be tested and to grow every day. We will look at our challenges and weaknesses as opportunities to become more like our Savior Jesus Christ. Here is a video we showed to our investigator R. as well, it is awesome! Go watch it! Click here. 

I love you all! Have a great week! 

Elder Baca

August 24~ S U D A M E R I C A

Here's some pics of Y.'s baptism, and a pic with my comp Elder Angel, and some of our converts

Recent converts V.(left) and M.(right) 

Que tal mis causas,

Whats up everyone?  I lied. This past week was the fastest week I have had on my mission! It was a crazy week! This past week was the most lessons we've have taught in one week in my entire mission! It was insane, but it is the most rewarding experience. "Y." (23) got baptized last Saturday despite all the opposicion from her fam and friends. It was a sweet baptismal service, but there is always some crazy party going on outside while we have a baptism service. The last baptism I had there was no party... but some crazy lady walked into the baptismal service during the closing prayer and started saying super weird stuff. hahahaa oh Peru. 

Funny experience, as missionaries everyone knows us, especially the drug addicts and the crazy drunks that sleep in the street, and everyone wants our help.  On Wednesday, I was walking through the "hill" part of our area and some old guy starts screaming "Elders come help me!". So we went to help the old man, and we went up to the 4th story of a building where he lived. So he looks at me with a rope and tells me, "I want you to tie this rope around your body and jump off the 4th story and into the 3rd story window and unlock the door because I left my key inside, and I will tie the other end of the rope around my body and everything will be good, I can hold you up (says the 5 foot Peruvian man that is about 75 years old and weighs about 115). So, I did it.

Nah, are you kidding me. I felt bad because I was thinking about it until I realized I would fall 4 stories and land on some really sharp fence spikes, and not only would I die, but the old man would get launched a solid 2 miles in the air and fall to his death as well. I am grateful for the gift of common sense, and the old man learned a great lesson about patience, because eventually the landlord came and unlocked his door a couple hours later. 

Well, something I learned this week is that when my Heavenly Father lets me know something, and expects me to do it, it really motivates me to do it, and to be diligent and tenacious in completing the task. I mean every night as a missionary we plan for the next day, and the Lord really lets us know what we should do. So the next day when we get up and are getting ready to go run around in the streets of Huanuco Peru, we are able to help as many people as we can with life's issues and problems, and really give them the solution to life's problems- the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I always remind myself that My Heavenly Father wants me to be here as a missionary. He wants me to help his children be happy and to return to him, and I am so very grateful for that responsibility I have.  I love you all, I know each one of you have goals and aspirations, but I know without a doubt our Heavenly Father has a purpose for each one of us and that is to become like our Savior Jesus Christ, and I know God gives us the strength and power to do that. 

~Elder Baca