Porque Ele Vive (Becuase He Lives)

This week we met some funny people and did some fun stuff. For instance to celebrate the birthday of the Relief Society we had a big party thing that our Relief Society president put on. Well, it was complete with skits, and being the sisters we had to be in the skits. So I played a pregnant lady. Who decided it was a good idea to have the sister missionary be a pregnant lady, I don't know, but that will be a joke in this branch for the next few hundred years I am pretty sure.

The mission is still pushing along great! I love it here and I am so happy to be serving the Lord in such a great place! I LOVE MY MISSION!! I hope that you are all stoked for general conference this week! It is going to be amazing! I am so excited!

My weekly advice this week comes from my comp... If you start to have hives, DONT ITCH!!! I LOVE SISTER STEAGALL!! She is great! We also had to go to the hospital this week because she broke out in hives all over her body and has been having a few allergy problems. Poor thing. She’s okay now.

Love you all! Thank you for all that you do for me and all your prayers!

Sister Bakker!

P.S. share this video if you have not already! Porque Ele Vive (becuase he lives). Remember our savior this Easter Sunday and all that he did for all of us. I love my Savior and I know that he did all that He did for every one of us. Let us all do something a little more this Easter to show how much we love Him.

My district p-day today (Elder Bethers, Jones, Sister Steagall and Bakker)

Labor Pains

The new missionaries and their trainers.  Sister Steagall and Sister Bakker are in the middle left both wearing white shirts.

My first week as a mother! After one whole week of anticipation I finally got to welcome my new beautiful baby girl into the world of missionary work! And let me tell you it has been crazy! Last week I had to go to Faro and stay with the sister training leaders for a few days. Then I went to CaixCaix and stayed for a night with the sisters there who happend to be my MTC comp so that was awesome!! love her!!! Then I finally got to pick up the beloved SISTER STEAGALL! She is from Bountiful, UT and she is a swimmer and she is great! I love her!! She also sings like an angel! So that is good she really makes up for my terrible singing voice! We are going to have a great transfer and I am so stoked to be here in Portimão still!! Sister Steagall is so stoked about the work and she is ready to go! This really is going to be great! President has put Portimão in the hands of me and Sister Steagall, and the elders, one of them came in with me and the other is in his 3rd transfer. so uhhh, ya, we are all super super new on the mission! It is awesome! It just means that President has a lot of faith in us and we are going to see some really, really amazing things happen in the next few weeks!

So we had this really amazing thing happen yesterday! We came home after church for lunch and our phone rings. It was a number that we did not know. Which is always exciting becuase we are always hopeful that it is someone calling to tell us that they want to hear more about the gospel (I have never had that be the case but whatever, I am still hopeful!). So I answer the phone and it is a girl with one of the heaviest Brazilian accents I have ever heard and she goes "is this the sisters? You guys stopped me on the road the other day and I got really mad at you and told you I did not want anything to do with your church. But I showed my dad your card and he said that he was a member of this church in Brazil and has been looking for the church since he moved here and wants to come to church next week. What time does it start?" WAHHHHHHH WHAT THE HECK!!! MIRACLES!! It really is moments like this that make you really realize how important it is to talk to everyone! I cannot wait until next Sunday to meet this guy and to find out his story! WOW the Lord really does work in amazing ways! So great!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and all that you all do for me! Love you all so much! Eu sei que esta igreja é verdadera e eu sei que temos um salvador que nos ama! My weekly advise comes from something that I have really learned this week... Be who you are and love it! God puts you where you are for a reason and He expects us to grow and change in the gospel but He does not want us to be someone we are not. TRUST HIM HE KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING!

Fica bem!
com amor!
Sister Bakker!

What to Expect When You Are Expecting

IT IS A GIRL!!!!!! yes folks I am going to be a mom here on the mission! I am getting a brand new missionary this week and I will be training her in the ancient art of missionary work! I am so excited!! And I am finally staying in an area! yay!! I love Portimão so much and I am so excited to have a brand new missionary here with me! This transfer is going to bring SO many miracles I cannot wait. So right now I am in Faro with Sister Jumua from Mozambique. We are waiting to pick up her new comp from the bus and guess who her new comp is... SISTER CULLIMORE! My 2nd trainer! Wahoo! I am so stoked to talk to her and see how things were in Povóa when she left! So ya I will be here with them in a triple for 3 days then Thursday morning like mesmo morning I am going to Lisbon to pick up SISTER STEAGULL! I have no idea anything about her yet just her name so stay tuned next week to find out more!

This week though we had a great week! It was so cool! We are still teaching that family and they are really receiving the gospel well! I love there kids, Ariana and Eddie! They are so awesome Arianan always wants us to play with her and not talk about chruch stuff. She always says "just really quick lets play" haha I love that family! Also we found this way awesome lady named Elidia! She is from Argentina! She is so great and she loves having us over for tea and to talk about the church! She is super great and I think she has lots of potential! I love the people here so much! It like makes my heart hurt even thinking about ever leaving! Good thing I have at least 6 more weeks here and probably more! YAY!!!! I love seeing the miracles on the mission! This week we did a mission fast and prayed for lots of things very specifically. The next day we taught more lessons and had more plans work out then I have had on my mission so far! It was so amazing! I love it so much when we can see the Lords hand in our lives!

My advise from the week comes from the beloved Sister Baugh! Last night in her frantic packing night mare she looked at me, eyes spinning and hands in the air and goes, "WHY MUST I HORD THINGS?" So my dear sweet friends and family please do not keep things that should not be kept. It makes life much easier in the long run! I love Sister Baugh so much! She really did teach me so much about being a missionary. I will miss her and the funny things that she would say all the time!

Fica Bem Y'all!
Love you!
Sister Bakker!

Some awesome sisters serving in the Algarve Zone. Left to right they are sisters Jumua, Lybbert, Brundage, Hillam, Bakker, Baugh, and Sister Jeffers in front.

S Bakker and the Stucki's

Water Polo Balls and Stray Animals

Hey there fam!

I am only going to say this once so listen very close. If you see a water polo ball on the road. LEAVE IT ALONE! Yes, we were walking down my 3rd favorite road in our area, Rua de Capo Verde, when I saw a water polo ball in a car. Well me being me I stopped to look at it just for a minute. Well while stopped looking into this car a cat walked up to us. Meowed a big old meow and then we watched as it threw up who knows what. Ya that was nasty. If only we had not stopped to look at a stupid little water polo ball we would have never seen this sad little balding cat throw up.

This week on the mission was great! We did not have time to work for all of Monday or half of Tuesday cuase we had to go to Lisbon for residency but we decided to set our goals the same as last week and even had some that were higher and we were able to meet almost all of them and we got really close with the rest. It really is so cool to see that when you really put your shoulder to the wheel and give your all the Lord that he will bless you. Even with less time that normal we were able to see great miracles this week!

If there is anything that I have learned this transfer it is that sometimes things get really really hard but in the end it is all worth it. We have trials for a reason. Our Heavenly Father knows what we can handle and He knows what it is that we need to grow and to become better. These last 6 weeks have really taught me a lot! I am so grateful for the things that Sister Baugh has taught me and for this area! I love the mission and I love our Heavenly Father! We really are so blessed! I love you all! Thank you for all the love and support!


Stay away from stray animals please, Good things never come from them. Love always

Sister Bakker

The Aliens are Coming

Missionaries serving in the Algarve Zone

Preparation day at Ponto de Piedade

It's segunda-feira again!

Wow time really does fly when you are having fun! This week on the mission was great! We worked so hard and got a ton of new people to teach including a family!!! yay!!! They are so cool! They are from Capo Verde! After the first lesson we asked them if they would be baptized and the dad looked at us with what I am convinced were tears, the spirit booming through the room, and said, "what do I need to do to prepare?" Man it really is moments like that that make all the hard times and all the crazy moments worth it! That family is such a blessing and I love them so much!

This week I also taught my first gypsy! that was quit the experience. He was a little crazy but he came to church and listened to the first lesson very closely and told us that he would read the Book of Mormon, then today we were on the train coming back to our area from Ponto do Piedade and he called us. and goes "hello missionaries, I read the book and I want to be baptized." he is really funny and I don't think he really understands why he wants to be baptized but none the less we gave him to the elders and who knows maybe he will leave his life behind and really be baptized here in a year.

This week really was another great week on the mission! Everyday that I am here I love it even more and never want to leave. I am so so grateful for this opportunity to be on a mission serving my Heavenly Father. I know with all my heart that the really is the true church restored to the earth today and that Joseph Smith really did see God the Father and His son Jesus Cristo. I love this gospel and I love all of you!

My advise this week comes from a man that we met from Bulgaria, "one day all the aliens will leave the earth and the wars will stop. but until then we all need to be really good people so that they don't have any power over our heads." Well there may not be aliens here but it is true that we all need to be really really good people everyday and always doing what is right so that the devil has no power over us. Love you all!

Love
Sister Bakker!