Jacob - September 26, 2016

Hey family, so I'll probably just say what happened this week to save
a little time. Anyways this week was ok. We taught a good amount, but
none of our investigators are progressing which makes it tough. Also
we have some RCLA's that are hard to work with. They either are all
working Sunday's, have super deep doctrine questions or they just
avoid us.. So it's tough. Also the area is so huge for bike that it
makes planning the day difficult. But anywho this week went by good.
Training is fun, it's trying at times, but I'm enjoying it. Also this
week we had sushi with some members. That was super good and tasty. I
tried to bake those cookies you sent me, I'll show you what happened.

Also I just about got killed, well most likely. There was a car that
swerved towards us unexpectedly, fortunately they hit the curb which
sent them back towards the road, but yeah had they of gotten over it,
I probably wouldn't be writing this. But fortunately God had other
plans for me. Hmm oh and also I shared a little scriptural thought
during a meeting with some members this week. It went well and it lead
to a good discussion of things members can do to help out in
missionary work. I think those were probably the highlights for the
week. I'm super stoked for general conference, I'm eager to hear what
is in store for us. But I love you all and hope you all have a great
week!

Jacob - September 19, 2016

Hey Family, it was good to hear from most of you. This week was good,
a lot better than last. When I arrived here we had next to nothing to
work with, but now are teaching pool is building, slowly but surely.
Also we are getting to know the members pretty well, it's pretty
awesome how often they feed us here. They feed us really good too. The
other day we ate at a family where the cooked us fish and the left the
head on. I tried some of the head and it was tasty. Also this week I
went on an exchange with a Zone Leader, elder Seibold. Not sure if you
remember, probably not, but he was my very first exchange in the
mission. That was ages ago. But this time around we practiced a lot on
how to do contacts, street or doors. I learned a lot from him. Also this week
we had stake conference, that was cool. I actually understood what
they were saying and I took a little bit of notes. I'm not sure what
else to say than that, our investigators are good, but they are so new
that I'm not sure what to say about them. My comp is cool, we get
along well. But that's about it. I love you all and hope you have a
great week!

Jacob - September 12, 2016

Hey Everyone, this P-day has been awfully busy.. I didn't like it.. I
didn't play any B-ball. But this week has been probably the toughest
in my mission. So Tuesday I got my Trainee, Elder Clifford. He's from
Grand Junction, Colorado. It's pretty funny though because people of
course call me Oso or Osito (Spanish for Bear), but now people can
call him Pero Rojo or algo asi. He's a really great guy with lot's of
energy and a really strong desire to serve. I speak a lot of Spanish
with him that has helped me have an increased confidence in myself. As
far as lessons go.. I'm pretty much the lifeline. It reminds me a lot
of back when I was trained with Elder Galleguillos. But this week was
hard. Tuesday and Wednesday night we were bunked with another pair of
missionaries and we had a bunch of meetings that threw everything out
of Wak. We haven't had a lot of opportunities to have a full study
session. Also we had zero AreaBook the entire week so we did a lot of
door contacting, member visits, and street contacting. But the
blessing of living here in Garden Grove where the population is
straight Asian, They know where Latinos live!! I have never seen so
much successes in getting referrals in my life. All we do is ask that
questions and then boom, they point to 2-3 houses which we knock and
schedule return visits or teach. Super cool. But even with that little
success, it's been tough. I think I could just be stressing because I
feel like I didn't give him the best first week in the mission. But
it's tough without bikes, no Areabook, whitewashing, no apartment
first few days, all that stuff. But on the bright side, the rest of
training should be easier than what happened this week. We've
scheduled tons of teaching events these next few days so I'm excited
to get our teaching pool rolling. We'll be starting fresh with this
area, most previous investigators that the previous missionaries
taught didn't seem to be progressing, but Elder Clifford and I will
find them. I'm pretty determined to make this training a great one.
Also the members here in the Ward are awesome. I've hit it off pretty
well with them and I can't wait to start visiting them and getting
them to lessons. I know the only way to get an area on fire is through
the help of members. I have so many high expectations, but I just pray
that I'll be able to carry them out. I love you all so much, you've
all been such a great example to me. I'm glad to hear everything back
home is going well and that the Utes won! Win is a win as far as I see
it. I miss football, every now and then I see those Friday night
lights and think of my kick return for a touchdown a little while
back, but of course my mind gets back on to what it's here for. But
thank you all for writing me and for your patience with these group
emails. I love you and I hope you all have a great week. Also Tayler &
Lexie, ya saben la importancia de los miembros en la obra misional.
Por favor ayuden a tus misioneros, ellos no pueden hacer nada sin tu
ayuda. Y es el mismo con ustedes Madre y Padre, hagan la obra, y les
prometo que sus barios crecerán! También qué sentirán un gozo que no
puedo describir. Les amo mucho!

Elder Baer

Jacob - September 5, 2016

Hey Family, so this email will be pretty short once again. But it was
good to hear from you all and I hopefully everything will go well. It
seems like everyone has different things going on in their lives,
which I guess is good and bad. I know that God gives us times of
hardship or challenge to test us, I'm probably going to have my fair
share of challenges these coming weeks. But first off this week was
good. We taught a bunch of our current investigators and invited them
all to church, but once again, they didn't come. So I'm not sure what
will happen with them.. I'm moving areas, I'm going to GG10N. The town
is called garden grove and it is pretty much little china town of the
mission. There are tons of Vietnamese speaking people which will be
interesting to proselyte in. Also this Transfer I'll be training a new
missionary. I don't even know what his name yet is since he comes
tomorrow. Also something interesting is that as of now we don't have a
place to stay. I've got a lot on my plate to start the transfer, it's
my first leadership call so we'll see how it goes. But I'm excited and
it's pretty much the only thing I can think of to say for this week.
But I love you all and hope everything goes awesome for you all this
week. Take care!

Elder Baer

Jacob - August 29, 2016

Hey mom, sounds like you had a crazy week. Also all of your little
thoughts. I liked how the armor might be uncomfortable, but it does
the job. This week was ok. No one came to church which was hard. I
fear I'm losing my patience a little. But it's tough when my purpose
to help others through the ordinance of baptism, but no one comes to
church to prepare themselves. But we'll find people that are a little
more prepared. I'm not too sure what to report this week. It was
another normal week in the mission. Last night we taught a man that we
think was possessed. Man that was weird. But I can't think of much
else to say. Love you mom, have a great week. Sorry I didn't write
more. But I think you understand.

Elder Baer

Jacob - August 22, 2016

Hey mom, well this week went well. We are teaching a good amount of
people, but no one has came to church so that's tough.. But we are
still finding pretty well so hopefully we'll find those that are ready
to accept our commitments. I really liked your thought though. I think
it applies to many situations. It's something that we share a lot when
we read Moroni's promise in the Book of Mormon. We have to have faith,
true intention and a sincere heart if we are to know the Book of
Mormon is true, but if no one acts well they aren't going to know if
it's true. Anyways.. This week was really good. I had a zone
conference about using the Book of Mormon. I went on an exchange with
Elder Castillo and lastly I was able to shake Elder Oak's hand this
week. That was super cool. He also gave us some great advice for how
we can be better missionaries and members. Also the mission is doing a
really cool study on the Book of Mormon. We are reading 4 pages a day
to finish by Christmas. And some of the things we are looking for are
the names of Christ, when he speaks, his attributes and also times
when it mentions his atonement. But other than that this week was
pretty good. Just a lot of teaching and finding. But I got to go soon.
So thanks for emailing me and I hope you have a great week! Take care
mom.

Elder Baer

Jacob - August 15, 2016

Hey everyone, sorry that I'm writing another group email.. but I got
everyone's emails a little late so I don't have much time to write
individualized emails. plus I just bought a basketball so I'm going to
be shooting around during the time that I do have. Anyways this week
was really good, well pretty good I should say. We have some
investigators that are doing alright and others that we'll probably be
letting go. But this week I was thinking a little and realized that
Elder Pitt and I are blessed with Investigators that lack something
super small that is stopping them from getting baptized. It's tough
because a lot of them have strong testimonies, but just their
situations make it difficult. Will continue to help them out, but as
for other people, we'll see. Also this week we had some really sweet
service for Habitat for Humanity. It was a lot of fun and a lot of
labor. We were throwing sandbags along a fence line to stop water from
going out... Which is strange since there is no water here. Um other
than that this week was pretty normal. Just biking, teaching and
finding. Nothing too crazy worth writing about. This following week
should be really good though. We have zone conferences tomorrow & on
Sunday we will have a special meeting with Elder Oaks & Elder Costa.
I'm pretty excited for those. But I think this is it for this week.
Take care everyone, love ya.

Here's me doing missionary work and from service