Learned So Much

Hello Everyone,

Well, this is it, the last full weekly email!  The mission is starting to come up on the end and it has been the best two years I could have ever done for myself.  But to back up, on Wednesday we had the departing missionaries temple trip.  Elder Ellinghaus and Elder Kellerstrass came in the night before from Medford to spend the night with us before the trip.  It was a great and long night catching up with them and seeing how my previous companions have been.  The temple trip was great as well and had a wonderful Spirit as the Lord confirmed several things for me.  I also had the chance to better get to know President Orton along the way.

On Thursday I had the chance to meet with the Cunningham’s and share a last testimony with them.  It was a great lesson and the Spirit was there strongly.  Friday and Saturday were pretty normal proselytizing days as well.  Sunday I said some goodbyes, did a final Tracting session, and got soaked by the Oregonian rain hitting out of no where.  Guess it had to happen at least one more time, haha!  Myles also received the Aaronic Priesthood, was sustained as a ward missionary, and has a temple recommend.  I can’t wait to see how he continues to progress!

Later today I have my final dinner appointment with my ward mission leader and then doing a family home evening with the White’s and their main fellow shippers, the Hoyt’s.  Tomorrow I will stick around the area until 4 when the transfer van comes up and takes us to the mission home for a dinner and final testimony meeting.  I will then spend the night at the AP’s place, and head home the final day.

I have learned so much over the course of the mission.  I have learned about how to work in wards, the importance of sacrifice and obedience, opening my mouth and having it be filled, and so much more.  But for now I would like to share my testimony on Jesus Christ and His Restored Gospel.  And that is that I know that Christ is my Savior and that he suffered for me in order to help me return home.  I know that as I make my daily actions into acts of faith in Him I will be given the power to repent and live His doctrine.  When I do this, I have felt His Spirit and know that despite how crazy life may be, He is there and will help us in any circumstance.  I love Him and I know that I must always invite others to come to know Him as well.  That is how we can bring peace to a crazy world.

Thank you for everyone who has helped me along this journey, both here in Oregon and at home.  See you all soon and thank you for the support!

Elder Baxter

Leavers Temple Trip

50 yard line

With President and Sister Orton

At the Mission Office

This tag picture

Baptism!

Hello Everyone,

This week was a pretty standard missionary week right up to the weekend, then the miracles happened.  To start, on Saturday the stake did a day of service where we got to come by and help pull blackberry weeds out from a park.  That was a bit of a painful experience with all of the thorns and just how deep the roots went, but also fun.  The best part of the day came that night with the baptism though.  Right after service we got washed up and went to the church and to prepare for the baptism.  I had the chance to perform the baptism and it was an amazing experience.  Myles is such a great person and I have been blessed to get to know him, teach him, and befriend him.  Following the baptism his wife did a special violin musical number of the "Spirit of God."  The Spirit was very palpable and it was a great experience.  Elder Daugherty and several other Elders that I have gotten to know were also there which made the experience even better.

On Sunday he received the Gift of the Holy Ghost and has already gotten his first calling as a ward missionary!  Guess he isn’t getting rid of us anytime soon, haha.  Another major miracle happened as well.  Last week I mentioned the hard times that came up with the Cunningham family.  Right before church started they surprised us by the whole family coming to church and wanting to forgive.  They only stayed for sacrament, but that is a huge step in their family demonstrating the spirit of repentance to us.  Then the day ended with us helping out with a move that Myles is going through as he transitions to a new place within the ward.  It was a great week and one I will always remember, especially as the mission gets close to finishing out.  Thank you for all of the support!

Elder Baxter

Myles with the three Elders who taught him

Myles and Elder Carlton Baxter

Look at those smiles!!

Planting Seeds

Hello Everyone,

This week was a bit of a roller coaster of emotions as most missionary weeks are.  It began great last week with being able to play a super complicated Lord of the Rings board game with Myles, who will be baptized this week, for p day and then doing a family home evening following that.  It was a very fun but super nerdy time in the end.  Tuesday was fairly normal outside of being able to teach a new family that we found who is from India.  As we talked we found that they only have a surface level understanding of Christianity which forced us to only teach a couple principles to help them understand.  It was a humbling experience to realize that I had the chance to truly introduce these people for the first time to the idea of Christ.

Wednesday we had another lesson with the Cunningham family.  They were getting closer to their baptismal date and had still not quit smoking, so we did a “choose this day” kind of lesson.  At the end they seemed fairly fired up about everything and had more resolve to keep their commitments, then Thursday happened.  As we went over for a daily follow up on their commitments we found a lot of contention within the home.  Elder Pace tried to step in but they turned their anger on him.  The contention they have for each other led to them not attending church or quit smoking, forcing us to take them off date with a few other side effects.  Not a good time.

Friday I had Zone Conference with Elder and Sister Echo Hawk.  It was a great meeting where they talked about all kinds of subjects.  In the end I somehow got out of having to give the usual talk they have departing missionaries do, probably because a Seventy was present, as well as talk to several of my past companions again.  One thing Elder Echo Hawk talked about that I liked is how planting seeds work.  In the end we can never truly know how many souls we bring to Christ in a similar way to how we can never know how many apples will come from one apple seed.  It was a great final Zone Conference.

We also had several lessons with other less active families who we are trying to help, as well as continue to help Myles towards baptism.  Satan has begun attacking them and they are going through a hard time, but a couple really good experiences happened.  On Sunday we were able to get them help through the ward, but more interesting is after Elder Pace and I shared our testimonies in sacrament meeting Myles got up and shared his!  He has a very solid testimony, and shared that all of the trials he is going through has made him sure that this is Christ’s Church, as well as know that the Book of Mormon is true and that President Nelson is the Lord’s living prophet.  We are very proud with him and I can’t wait to baptize him this Saturday.

I want to end with sharing that I also know that this is Christ’s true church in preparation for His second coming.  I know that the Book of Mormon is true.  I know that Joseph Smith was his prophet to begin the Restoration and that President Nelson is His living prophet.  Let us go out and be valiant in our testimonies, and if we do so we will have eternal life.  Thanks for all of the support!

Elder Baxter

P-day game time

There is beauty all around

Sunny days

Zone Conference