The End! Great Job Hermana Baeza 8/21/13

        
At Los Angeles Temple:  E. Brinton, E. Blackham, E. Richards, E. Moore, E. Hsiao, S. Snyder, S. Cho, S. Baeza, E. Depew, E. Boyd, E. Jensen, E. Peters, E. Ye

Dinner and testimony meeting at the Mission Home.  Back row from left: E. Depew, E. Boyd, E. Jensen, E. Richards, E. Moore, E. Hsiao. Middle row: E. Blackham, E. Yeom, E. Brinton, E. Peters. Front row: S. Snyder, S. Cho, S. Baeza.

8/15/2013 Hermana Baeza, 2nd to last email and HOLD YOUR MAIL PRETTY PLEASE FOR SISTER BAEZA

FAMILY!!!!!!! and friends :)

Thank you so much for the letters/packages I got this week: Sister Florian, Grant (thanks for the package!!! :) ), Elder Gilray and mommy :) I loved them! However, this Thursday is the last day for me to receive letters (and then to just pick up what's left next tuesday) so please don't send anymore! xoxoxo Thank you sooooo much for everyone who has supported me and have written me letters throughout my entire mission. You have no idea how that has helped me. Now, write to my brother whose still on his mission! I know he needs those letters as well :)

People I saw: Emilio!!! Haha I love seeing him. I've been so spoiled in seeing him almost every week of this transfer. Mom, I gave him your cell number and he's texted you...I even saw him text you so you better of written back to him! I told him what you said when you typed in his name in FB hahaha so hopefully you two have talked now. I got to see Carmen, Cynthia and Jose again!! They were my last baptism and her son Chris got baptized YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They were at the VC Tuesday night and I asked why they were there and Chris said it was because he was getting baptized. I about freaked out!!! Ohhh I am just soo happy for them. I know Carmen was so, so happy that he decided to get baptized. It was fun because Sister Mellor and her companion were busy getting things ready for the interview and I saw Carmen by herself in the I'm a Mormon room. I walked in and sat close to her on the couch and just rested my head on her shoulder. We just talked and she told me how excited she was for his baptism. I love her so much! I can't wait for her children to go on missions one day. I also met this guy named Bryce DeFigueiredo! He was one of my "tutors" in the MTC! His brother just came home from his mission the day before and they made a trip to the VC! It was such a great tour. He texted my two MTC teachers and wrote them what they wanted to say to me. It was so fun to hear from them!! Lastly, I met the great grandson of Elder David O. Mckay!! There is a ring that he would always wear and all the boys in the family have it and I got to put it on! So cool.

We got a brand new sister to the VC this week! She came early because there are just so many missionaries at the MTC. To be honest, I still don't know her name because it's hard to pronounce lol but she's from some islands and is learning English. She is the only convert in her family and her parents don't know that she is serving a mission!!!!! How crazy is that! They think she is living with her aunt who is super supportive of her for her decision to join the church and to serve a mission. She shared her testimony on Thursday and it really made me realize how much people are willing to sacrifice for the gospel when they are truly converted. I mean, I feel like I sacrificed a lot leaving a family back home who weren't fully active in the church but...when I look at her, it makes me gain a greater understanding of how aware Heavenly Father is of us and how grateful He is for every single sacrifice we make for him.

This week was pretty hard because we literally had NO time in our area. We basically worked every single night and with the very minimal time we had, our numbers didn't show our efforts. I tried so hard to stay positive because I knew that my companion was pretty bummed about it. At church yesterday...guess who walks in? THE GONZALEZ FAMILY! They are a family that we are working with who have been struggling with their testimonies of the church. They haven't gone in months and they actually cancelled on our lesson earlier in the week. They don't have a phone so they had to use some random phone to call us to cancel. So there was no way of us reminding them to go to church. That night in my prayers, I prayed that they would come. I'll be honest, lately I've been horrible in my prayers with focusing on the people we're teaching and just well...staying awake but I prayed for them that night. And they came! Seeing that at church MADE MY WEEK! I was filled with PURE joy when I saw them and they stayed for all three hours. This has been a tough area but I know that when we are staying positive and we are fulfilling our purpose, God WILL make up the difference and He did yesterday.

COOL STORY! So last transfer I went on exchanges with Sister Foster in The Banks. I think that was the first exchange of that new transfer and it was also the last day of the month. They literally only had about...maybe 6-8 miles left to use. So, we walked all...day...long. And it was incredibly hot! However, I chose to be positive and we just talked to EVERYONE on the streets! We had a blast. Well, there was an appointment that we were trying to go to and the girl ended up saying that we couldn't come in a teach her and closed the door on us. Sister Foster was super bummed because that was our only solid lesson for the day. As we were walking away, I saw this cute little girl. Now, let me remind you that I DO NOT talk to children on the street. I don't know why but I just get so nervous to talk to children in fear of their parents thinking they are talking to strangers (well...they basically are lol) and getting mad at us. But, I saw this little girl and as we were walking away from her I turned around and asked her if there was anyone she knew that we could share a message about Jesus Christ with. She then points across the street and says that her friend lives there and wants to learn who Jesus Christ is. We went over and made a return appt with the girls mom and that was it. Well, this week, Sister Foster and her companion came into the VC to find me. She asked me if I remember the little girl that I talked to when we were on exchanges. Obviously I did and she told me that the referral she gave us, well, nothing came out of it BUT....the little girl and her family now have BAPTISM DATES!!! She said how when they were back in that neighborhood she saw the little girl again and asked her if they could come to her home to watch a movie with her family. Because the little girl recognized her, she brought them to her home. They watched the Restoration movie, had another lesson following that and were later brought to the VC where everything just clicked for them. They are a family of five and they all have baptismal dates :)

Brothers and Sisters, I love my mission. I have learned so much throughout these 18 months. The person I was when I started was great! She had a testimony, she loved her Father in Heaven, she worked hard on being an example and she felt ready of what was to come. I can confidently say that now, that same girl, she has an absolute solid testimony of this restored gospel. She knows without a doubt that her Father in Heaven knows her. She has been able to create a real relationship with Jesus Christ which was something she didn't have before. She has been pushed and tried in many ways but has remained in being an example, especially when she held responsibility of the welfare of 26 plus sisters in the mission. She has strengthened her knowledge of the Book of Mormon but knows there is still so much she needs to learn of it. She has learned how to pray with real intent and with a sincere heart and is still working on improving it :) She has a greater love for her family and the significance of what an eternal family means. But most importantly...she knows the big "why" of obedience. She knows that if she wants to receive blessings in her life after her mission, she needs to be obedient. It is only when we are obedient that we can know for a surety that if we had to meet God, face to face tomorrow, that we won't stand in fear. This girl now knows not only what the gospel of Jesus Christ is, but how to live it.

It's weird. I don't feel ready by all means to go home but I feel prepared. I'm not done with missionary work - no way! I know that meeting President Cooper to be released will only be for me being released as a "set apart" missionary. I'm not by all means going to be released as a full-time missionary because that's my title for the rest of my life. I think that's why I feel prepared because I'm not looking at this last week as "oh...this will be the last lessons I'll ever teach" because I know that I will be going out to lessons with missionaries in my future wards. I know that I will be striking up a conversation about the gospel to people while I'm waiting in line at the groceries. I know that I will still be doing the same things that I've been doing for these past 18 months just in a different way. I feel prepared to put to practice everything that I have learned on my mission. I'm ready to show my Heavenly Father what I have learned from this experience. Oh man, I love my mission. But I'll never say I miss being a missionary because I'll never stop. I love you all so much. Jesus is the Christ. Our Heavenly Father loves us. There is a plan for each one of you. Just trust Him and He will show the way.

Love,

Sister Baeza

1. i'm going to my miss my compa

2. cynthia, jose (haha), carmen and her son chris!!!! :)

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Hermana Baeza Returns home and will give a talk at church 8/25/13

Dear Family and Friends,

We are excited to announce our daughters Homecoming talk at our church on August 25th Sunday at 1:00pm. Our daughter Olivia has been serving an 18th month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ  Latter Day Saints in the Los Angeles Mission Field and LA Visiting Center for LDS.

It has been quite the journey both spiritually and emotionally, but in the end it has been one of the most rewarding gifts from our Heavenly Father. I can not begin to share all the Blessings that we have seen in our lives during the last 18 months. We are sincerely full of gratitude towards all of you for your support towards our entire family and for putting up with all our double dose of weekly email ( two missionaries), pleads for letters to my kiddos, care packages, cards, birthday packages, letters, your kind and loving email replies and of course many of you went the extra mile and dropped in to the Visiting Center to say hello to Sister Baeza!!!! Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!

Our family is just filled with so much love towards all of you and we are just so very blessed to have so many loving friends (family) helping us make our missionaries feel loved and remembered. Please join us in welcoming  Hermana Olivia Baeza at church on August 25th Sunday, 1:00pm
She will share a short talk on her experience and tender mercies while she served her 18th month mission.
August 25th at 1:00pm
The address:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
3574 Vineyard Ave
Pleasanton Ca

Attach is her 3rd to last email that you will be receiving from Sister Baeza :D Now I will have just one little missionary out in the mission field of Florida Orlando, Elder Baeza will be approaching his one year mark on August 15th! So one more missionary to go and only one email a week from here on end :D xoxoxoxoxoxox

Love and Gratitude,
Baeza Family

---

From: "Olivia Baeza" <olivia.baeza@myldsmail.net>
To: "Olivia Baeza" <thebaezafamily@comcast.net>
Sent: Monday, August 5, 2013 5:28:00 PM
Subject: ...that one time I cut off President Weidman while driving...

Hey!!

Thank you Sister Florian for my letter last week!! I LOVED the pictures/letters from Gracie girl and Hunter! And I loved your advice, it was much needed. I was able to see some people this week:

Nolan Beatty is someone that attends the ward that Richie started his mission in! He came in and once he found out I was a Baeza he freaked out! Richie always told him that he visited LA that he had to come in and see me. It was fun to hear him say that Richie is hilarious, I'm glad he hasn't completely changed who he is!

I also got to see a Bishop that I gave a tour to almost a year ago! He came in and was really upset (I've mentioned him in my emails in the past every time I see him) and we were able to be his sources of advice. It's been amazing to see him throughout my mission and to see his growth every time. I got to actually meet his family this time!! They are so cute. I invited them to my departing missionary fireside on the 18th so I hope they come.

I also got to see Emilio again :) He was with the other sisters doing a lesson and I got to see him through the glass room teaching their investigators!! It's the best feeling in the world to see someone you taught teaching other people.

This week was amazing!!! We were able to have member present lessons which that in itself is a miracle!! One lesson in particular that we had was with the Gonzalez family. They are struggling with their church attendance and so we go to teach them to help build their testimonies and faith. When we showed up, again they are all just sitting on the couch waiting for us!! We watched Finding Faith in Christ and Brother Gonzalez was telling us his favorite part of the movie. He liked when it talked about the poor people and he related it to himself how they are really, really struggling financially and sometimes don't really have food to feed his children. He then says how the boys call him Superman because they don't know how their daddy does it all! He then said, breaking down into tears, "I'll never let anything happen to you boys, I'll never, I'll never!" It completely broke my heart. He said that although financially they are poor but spiritually they are rich because they have the gospel in their lives. Yes, they aren't really active at the moment but they know what's true and that is worth more to them then a brand new car, ipod, TV, etc. I really learned a lot from that lesson, more then they did I feel like. Sister Gonzalez had surgery last week and we asked if she wanted a  blessing and she accepted. So that night the Chinese elders (yes...we have chinese elders in our ward now!!) came and gave her a blessing. Before walking in, we told them that they were struggling in their testimonies and coming to church and that was all. During the blessing, Elder Kuo mentioned the temple and how they need to follow the commandments so that they can go as a family and be sealed. He had NO idea that they hadn't been to the temple yet as a family! That experience also strengthened my testimony of priesthood blessings and how they are literally blessings from the Lord, not by man.

I had a cool experience in the VC this week. We had a training on how we need to go through our mobile area books to figure out who should be kept and who should be dropped. I was going through my area book and found a kid named Chris. I have been trying to call him since February but then left in March and then when I came back in July, I called him a few more times. He actually called me back once and left me a voice mail but since then I could never get a hold of him. So I got to his teaching record and thought I should drop him because I've tried many attempts but just couldn't seem to get a hold of him again. However, from that same training we received that morning, Elder Shakespear talked about the power of leaving a voice mail that will invite the individual to think about what it is that we share and hopefully will get them to call you back one day. So, I decided to do my "drop" voice mail and guess what happened....CHRIS ANSWERED! We talked on the phone, mostly about his friend who referred him (whose now on a mission in Germany) and guess what? He accepted a BOOK OF MORMON! It was such a tender mercy and strengthened my testimony of following the spirit and how the spirit can truly bring a remembrance of the things we have been taught. I'm looking forward to follow-up with him this week and seeing if he received it yet :)

Yesterday we also gave a really great tour where this kid named David is just soooooo incredibly prepared for the gospel. Like, literally everything that came out of his mouth was true doctrine! It was cool because for him, everything that we shared to him was a confirmation of everything that he hoped to be true. Brothers and Sisters!!! There truly are people prepared ALL AROUND US! Please, pleaseeeeee reach out to them. There are people, just like David, who are either trying to find the truth or don't even realize they are finding the truth but it's only through YOU that they will know what it is that they are searching for. Ahhh man, people like David make me so happy and love my calling. I mean, I guess I'm kind of my own David because for me, everything just clicked and made since but...David is cooler!

Time is going by so fast. I literally feel like Pday was just yesterday. I know that there is a reason why I am here and why I have had the mission that I've had. I just learn new things every single day and one of my goals for the rest of my mission is to do daily repentance. I know, I'm a missionary and that should be something that I already do but I'm really horrible about doing it! I forget to repent of the mistakes I make every single day because, lets be honest, this girl is far from being perfect! But I know that it's through repentance that I can become more like my Savior. I love my mission so much! This week is going to be a crazy week because we get like, no time in our area but I'm excited to see more tender mercies!!! I love this work so much. It's so important! Please go out and fulfill your calling as a missionary!!

Love,
Sister Baeza

1. my compa and i :) she's so cute

2. the bishop i gave a tour to almost a year ago with his fam!

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Sister Missionaries in P3!! Hermana Baeza

Hello everyone! :)

Thank you Grant for the letter I got last week! I loved it. OKAY! I saw so many people this week too: Rogelio (he was someone I found on my first exchange with the Venice sisters and he was my answer to my prayer! He ended up being baptized 3-4 weeks later and he thanked me for finding him that one day on the street!), Sister Davis (my guapa!! she came back to do a fireside), Sister Thompson (my "grandma" on the mission! and she's getting married in a few weeks, crazy!) and Sister Lindo (well, Jessica Lindo, she was my mini missionary when I was companions with Sister Set, I love her!). I also got little notes from the Hogan family, the Bishop family, and the Bean family! I don't find it a coincidence that I only saw people from the mission but didn't see people from home :) thank you for my little notes though, I loved them!

oh yeah...next week is my half birthday...just throwing that out there for everyone... ;)

This week was great! We had interviews with President Weidman and haha my interview was at least a solid 30 minutes. I kept apologizing for taking up so much time but he kept telling me, "Sister Baeza, for you we can take as much time as you want." President Weidman is so awesome! He gave me great advice on how to transition home and how to help our area grow. We also got to meet with Sister Weidman!! The first thing she says to me was, "Sister Baeza, now you know that we don't HAVE to talk about missionary work in this interview" so I took advantage of that and just asked her a few tips on what to do with my life when I get back. She too is so sweet. She's still learning how to be a missionary but she truly is so inspired! She was an answer to one of my prayers that day.

There are still daily miracles and tender mercies in the VC. There was a guy that Sister Merciales and I gave a tour to almost a year ago and apparently he was rude to us lol I have no recollection of it. Well, he came in a week or so ago and said that he wanted to learn more about the church again and now he is taking lessons from the sisters in the LA YSA ward!!! When I saw him last week, he looked SO familiar but I didn't know how or why. Turned out that when we made that eye contact, he had told his missionaries that I was the other sister that gave him a tour that one day he visited. So he remembered me too! It's amazing how the Lord has a time and a place for everyone to receive the restored gospel.

Yesterday I had to give a tour by myself because there were so many people wanting schedule tours! I was so nervous because I still feel a bit inadequate here in the VC because there is new media and what not and I just haven't had the time to check everything out. Her family has been baptized but she's the only one that still haven't made the decision to be baptized. She's 17 and super cool. I was able to relate to her a lot because I was 17 ish when I got baptized. After the tour was done, I asked the other sister (who was from another mission) what I could of done to improve and she really didn't have anything for me. I then felt good because I assumed that meant that I did a pretty good job! Later I had a few minutes to evaluate the tour by myself and to think of something that I could of done better to improve. Things started to come to my mind but then I was reminded of myself at the beginning of my mission. Then, I loved to give tours by myself because I thought it was less awkward and I felt like I did a better job. Now, I don't like taking tours on my own because I have learned, throughout my mission, the power that comes when the truth is proclaimed two by two; when you have a companion with you testifying of the same things. Back then, I didn't understand that and I'm grateful that I've finally learned that now.

We met with a member the other day and she was telling us about a train accident in Spain. She told us how there was a boy who was interviewed and he was wearing black slacks and a short sleeve white shirt. He had bandages all over his head and just looked like he was in pain. He was talking about his experience being in the train and while he was talking, she had this distinct feeling that he was a missionary. Sure, the outfit may of given it away but he wasn't wearing a badge in the interview. After doing some research she found out that the boy was indeed a missionary who was heading over to his mission. But the way she talked about him made me want to be better. She said that by his countenance and the way he talked, she just knew he was not only a Moromon but a missionary. It made me do some self reflecting and it made me ask myself, "Sister Baeza, do people see you and know you are a missionary?" I hope so. But I know that I can do better. That's one of my goals for this week is to have the bright shining countenance of a missionary!

I love this work sooooo much! It's the best! I'm stoked that we have sisters in our ward now because I can go out with them when I get home and still have that missionary fire! I know that God is so mindful of our everyday lives because He loves us so much and wants only the best for s. I know that when we are ready to come to Him, he is ready to come to us. I know that if we are TRULY converted to the gospel...missionary work should be natural for us to do. I hope you all have a wonderful week! I love you all so much!

Love,

Sister Baeza

1. kendal was the other sisters baptism and she got baptize yesterday!! she will be transitioned to us in a few weeks since she lives in our area.

2. some of sister merciales past companions!

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"I love my companion." July 22, 2013

Hello everyone!!

Thank you for the letters I received this week: Sister Vance and Park Williams (BAHHH YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED!). I love getting letters and seeing how much everyone is changing. Okay...also heard that Suz Neal and Katie Hagen are ENGAGED! And getting MARRIED next month!!??!? I talked to Sarah during church after relief society and she gave me the scoop haha. Congrats to you both! 

This week was so, so good. A lot better then last week haha. I think I'm finally adjusted to the VC again and all the tender mercies that occurred for me this week is what definitely helped that transition. First off though...we got a new CAR! Haha! When we realized our car was missing and that we had different keys...we quickly went to see what it was. Best part is?...IT SMELLS LIKE NEW CAR!!!! :) haha we feel like little princesses in our brand new car! So like I mentioned before, I had a lot of tender mercies. I'm going to make a list of them:

1. Dylan and Andrew came to the VC to see me!!!! It was so awesome to see Dylan as a recently brand new member of the church! Andrew is such a great friend and fellow-shipper for Dylan. I truly feel like it made it easier for him to convert to the true gospel because his FRIEND introduced him to the church years prior. Sure, my phone calls helped him to actually start reading the Book of Mormon again but really, it was all because of the support from Andrew. Dylan has already gone to the temple to do baptisms for the dead and is really interested in doing his family history! He's so cool!!

2. I got to see Emilio again!!!!! :) He's still in the process of beginning his mission papers but I know that with time it will come and he'll be leaving soon! It's crazy to think that almost a year ago we found him. Time flies! Mom, I told him to add you on FB and email you...so write him back!!!! :)

3. I SAW ELDER NOEL!!! Now, you may be asking who Elder Noel is but he was an elder that served in our home ward back in...2011! He was companions with Elder Holmes and we took them out to Gay Nineties once! Him and Elder Holmes were the first missionaries that my family invited into our home after a while when they weren't super active with the church. I really feel like it was them that opened my parents hearts again and they tried so hard to help them with their needs. When I saw him, I started to cry haha and I told him how appreciative I was for his service in being a part of helping my family come back to the church. Seeing him (and his WIFE!) was such a tender mercy that day. 

4. We were able to give a tour to Carmen, Cynthia and Jose yesterday!!! The kids brought me a snoopy dog with this HUGE fake flower haha! They are so cute. Carmen invited her boyfriend, her son Chris who we started to teach my last week in the area and then her sister with her husband and children. It was so good to see them and Carmen looked so beautiful! She seriously glows with the spirit and has changed so much since our first day meeting her. 

I could go on and on with all of the little tender mercies that happened to me this week but I'm grateful for every single one I got to experience. I love VC. I always have and always will. It's just...an adjustment to come back. Every sister that leaves the VC and comes back goes through this same feeling and haha I just needed to go through it myself. That was all. 

My companion, Sister Quinonez, is amazing. I love her so much! I couldn't of asked for a more perfect companion for my last transfer. She reminds me a lot of myself when I started but...she reminds me to laugh which is exactly what I need. She truly has a desire to become a successful missionary and I love that she really trusts me in showing her that. I've never had a companion who I could call a "loser" and she takes it as a huge compliment haha! She really is like my little sister. She helps me so much, more then she really knows. Yesterday we had a moment where she said she was going to miss me when I leave. I think it finally hit her as well that by me leaving, that means she will have to take charge of the area. That may of caused some freak outs on her end lol but...I'm ready to help her! It's a blessing that I'm so busy this transfer. Everyone keeps reminding me I'm going home but haha I'm so busy that I just don't have time to even think about it! 

I love this work. So much. What I also love is my family. Thank you mommy and daddy for all of your support. I know that me going on a mission wasn't something you wanted me to do at the time but I know that you wouldn't want me anywhere else but here in Los Angeles. You both have helped me in so many ways and have truly prepared me for this last transfer. I just wanted to let you know how much I love you and how grateful I really am for this work. I love you so much! 

Love,

Hermana Baeza

1. Elder Noel!!

2. our morning hike this morning in malibu!!!!...no big deal.

3. andrew and dylan!!!

this is the new mission blog i guess??

californialosangelesmission.blogspot.com

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Hermana baeza 7/15/13

Wrong Picture :D

Hermana Baeza 7/15/2013

Hello everyone!! :)

Thank you Elder Petersen, Sean Hurley, Elder Reid, mommy and the Williams family (Parker's fam) and Sister Tukuafu for the little notes you left me when you came to the VC! It's weird to be back. I also saw Sara and Anthony on Sunday haha! That's what happens when I come back to the VC...I start to see everyone I know again. Sara is from Danville and she's in my new ward! And also in my area!!! Hopefully I'll go over for at least one dinner appointment ;)

This email is going to be shorter because well...I'm back at the VC so there is less to write about. HOWEVER! Lets start from day one.

Day 1: horrible. absolutely miserable! I didn't think coming back would be so hard. I just didn't know what to do with myself...I forgot everything! i just felt useless. it didn't help that my companion could sense that i didn't want to be there. everyone was so nice to me too...which made it worse quite frankly. everyone asked if i was happy to be back and i would just give them the fakest smile haha! i even cried to sister shakespear at the front desk - what's the point of crying in private, right? oh man, i struggled big time.

Day 2: better. or so i thought. i was just a hot mess again that day to my new companion. i felt really bad because i got the feeling that she felt that i didn't want to be with her. she knew how much i loved being in the field and she just felt like i didn't care to come back to the vc or with her. i felt so bad. that night i decided that i needed to change my attitude and just accept this change. for my companions sake and for the area's sake.

Day 3: better. i learned great things from district meeting and was able to get some referrals.

Day 4: 50 minutes late to our first dinner appointment...no big deal. we mixed up in the time. we did have a lesson with a member present so that was success!

Day 5: such a great day. we gave a tour for some 18 year old boys deciding on when to go on their missions. the spirit was soooo strong! we also visited a former investigator and she told us to come back!! we also met with a family and really got to know them. we tried so hard to teach people but no one was home.

I know that I sound like such a downer but I just really am struggling this week. My tender mercies was finding out that two people that I've taught over the phone have been BAPTIZED! The one that I really taught was Dylan. He was the very last tour I gave at the VC before I went out to the field back in March. I had taught him over the phone a few times and the member who gave me the referral decided to bring him in the VC so I could meet him and teach him in person. It was such a spiritual tour and lesson. My first day back one of the sisters told me he got baptized and I freaked out! I called him and when I told him was me he just gasped super loud haha and was so excited to talk to me! Then I called Andrew, the member who referred him, and he too had the same reaction: gasp and excitement! They are planning on coming tomorrow so I can see them one last time before I leave! Dylan is awesome and already has a calling with the young men!

So, this is how Sister Baeza feels:

I just feel so lost. It's not like I don't know what to do with my time or how to use it, I just don't understand why I would be opening up a new area my last transfer and especially as a VC sister. We average about 2-3 nights in our area a WEEK...we can't teach 15-20 lessons with a schedule like that! I came from having the most success on my mission to an area where we really have no investigators and I'll only go to church 2 or 3 more times just because of our schedule. My companion told me our first night how she was intimidated by me. She told me how amazing I was and how great everyone thinks I am. I just feel stressed living up to others expectations with me and I really what, only have 5 more weeks to do this all? I feel like I have to get everything done and perfect before I leave so I don't leave my companion with still an empty area. It's just so stressful! However, I received personal revelation today as I was attempting to take a nap...

I truly feel like this is Heavenly Father preparing me for when I come home. The feelings that I've been feeling this week are only going to DOUBLE, or even triple when I go home. Heavenly Father doesn't expect me to have "everything done" when I leave this area because it's still going to continue after I leave. I just need to work my hardest, stay focus, follow the spirit, and all will work out. Something that President Weidman said to me in my email from him was, 'I feel that the Lord has a work for you this transfer that only you can do." I just need to keep remembering that.

I love you all so much! I hope you all have a wonderful week!!! I know next week will be better... :)

Love,
Hermana Baeza

the one in the purple is my companion! sister quinonez!!

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July 9th 2013 " opening up a new area with only 6 weeks left!...I'M KIND OF FREAKING OUT!"

Hi Friends,

For some reason Olivia & Richie had their P Day on Tuesday this week. Elder Baeza is doing good but did not have a chance to write an email to everyone. He did say "thank you" to those that had a chance to write to him, he loves and appreciates getting letters mailed to him as often as possible. SO PLEASE KEEP THEM COMING :D

Hermana Baeza wrote her longest email yet! So you may want to read it increments :D

Thank you for all your love and continuous support! Love Baeza Family

Elder Baeza:

24 Andrea Drive #110

Winter Springs, Florida 32708 or ricardo.baeza@myldsmail.net

Hermana Olivia Baeza

1591 E Temple Way

Los Angeles, Ca 90024 or olivia.baeza@myldsmail.net

---

From: "Olivia Baeza" <olivia.baeza@myldsmail.net>
To: "Olivia Baeza" <thebaezafamily@comcast.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 9, 2013 3:41:06 PM
Subject: opening up a new area with only 6 weeks left!...I'M KIND OF FREAKING OUT!

hello everyone!! :)

Thank you Lara and Sister Jan Steed for my letters!! Lara, you look like a BABE in your engagement picture! I'm sooo excited for you and Kyle! I feel like it was just yesterday when I made you two dinner at our good ole' ridge apartment. I don't remember what it was that I made you both haha but it brought you two together! Deep down I always knew you two would get married...just saying.

 

Okay, so I have SO MUCH to tell you! We don't really have a rule anymore of how long we can write, just to be "respectful" to your companion but lol we both have to spend a lot of time on the computer so...get ready for the longest email of your life!

 

Tuesday we had MLC with the Wiedman's for the first time! They are so awesome! I could just feel the trust that President Weidman has for us! He is so, so different then President Baker. Throughout MLC I thought a lot about what President Baker said to us in the departing zone conference a few weeks ago. His council was to figure out what exactly we are to learn from President and Sister Wediman, especially the missionaries who go home tomorrow (weird...my mom dies tomorrow) and those who leave the following few transfers. I was able to receive great revelation from President and Sister Weidman, principles that I want to instil in my children and activities I want to have a part of my future home. Sister Weidman is soooo cute! She really doesn't have a clue what's going on haha but that's what makes her testimony so strong and powerful! You want to know the best part about MLC?...well, they dropped the ball and forgot to tell us to bring our own lunch (Sister Baker used to always make us a meal EVERY MLC and MLT!!) so we went to CAFE RIO for lunch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! People, I have been craving cafe rio my entire mission haha and I finally got it! He paid for all of us. Oh man...Tuesday was so good.

 

Then Thursday was the 4th of July! That was kind of a crazy day. We got a phone call from President Weidman the night before and he invited us to do the training for the new sister training leaders because Sister Weidman doesn't know a lot about our calling. We were pumped! However, President Weidman dropped the ball again and told Sister Mellor (probably thinking the phone wasn't on speaker/he's brand new) that she would be getting a new companion! So since Wednesday night we've known that we weren't going to be companions anymore :( We were so sad! We didn't receive any other phone calls that night which meant that I was not going to be training my last transfer which meant that I went my whole mission without training. I was pretty bummed about it, not going to lie. I just wanted to at least experience the process of training a brand new missionary and teaching her everything I know! However, as I prayed to Heavenly Father that night, I knew that the reason why I wasn't called to train wasn't because I wasn't a good missionary. God just has something better in store for me! So Thursday we did the training and haha I was already starting to cry at the very beginning of it. I love being a sister training leader. I have become such a different person because of this calling. It broke my heart that day to know that I was no longer going to be a sister training leader anymore. So since Thursday we really knew that we weren't going to be companions anymore. We went to soup plantation for dinner since we were told that we needed to be back in our apartments by 7pm and we just took that time to bond and I guess kind of do companionship inventory by telling each other all the things we've learned from each other throughout these two transfers lol. It was so much fun! We then went back to our apartment and began weekly planning but...the dang fireworks were so distracting! We kept looking from our window to see them but couldn't...so we may of left our apartments at like...8ish to try and see some fireworks. It literally felt like we were in war haha because the noises were so loud and the sky was so gray and foggy. Oh yeah! At the training that morning I saw a picture of Emilio all dressed in WHITE baptizing one of our sisters investigators!! It made me so happy to see that picture. It was a great day!

 

Miracle Saturday:

Saturday morning sucked haha! NO ONE WAS HOME! It's funny, afternoons like those always make me think back to the missionary handbook where it talks about how weekends are the BEST time to find people...lies I'm telling you, lies! Okay, it's not a lie because it's in the missionary handbook and general authorities put that in there but lol it sure felt like it! We were just so tired, it was a hot day, and we just kept looking hopelessly at our watches. We eventually decide to visit Adrianna. Actually, she wasn't even someone we planned to visit but I felt like we should just try since it's "Saturday." Welp, turned out she was home! And we had a great lesson with her children! And one of her children gave the opening prayer! That lesson was just what we needed. We then go to find a less active in the ward so see if they still lived there. We find out that they don't and as we are walking out of the little complex, I noticed a door that was open. We walked by it and before we left the complex, I told Sister Mellor that I wanted to go back. We went back and turned out she knew who we were! Her husband is the brother of the family that we were trying to find but had moved! She invited us in and she was baby-sitting this cute little girl named Brooke. She has some sort of mental problem where she sturggles with walking and the doctors have told her parents that she will never be able to speak...NEVER! She's about 5 years old I think and just the cutest thing ever. We are on the couch and we asked if we could sing a hymn. Before we begin, Brooke climbs on me and we place her right in between us. I had to hold her in order for her to sit still and even though it's against mission rules...I felt like it was for a good reason. We sing the hymn to them and after we finish...guess who starts to randomly hum it? BROOKE! We had already begun a conversation and then Brooke starts to hum the hymn!!! We were all so shocked! It was such a tender mercy and her being there is what invited the spirit. We were able to make a return appointment with her and I'm excited for the sisters to visit her tomorrow! THEN! Here's what happened later that day. We went home early because we had things we still needed to work on (being SLT is hard because you literally never get time to get things done!) but then I remembered we had a referral from a member that we still needed to contact. We then left our home and went straight over to the referral. She wasn't home but then Sister Mellor remembered how there was a former that lived a few streets from the referral that we have been trying to visit but haven't had any luck. We drove by and we saw people in their home :) we went to visit her and she LOVED US! I mean...we like totally won her heart. We got along soooo well with her grandchildren and she just loved it. She wants to feed us as well! I'm so sad that I won't be able to see her progress but I have faith that she'll come around!

 

Sunday night was the departing missionary fireside. It was so weird to see Sister Cole standing up there sharing her testimony about how the mission has changed her life. She is my hero! I love her so much. I literally would not be the missionary I am today if it weren't for her being my trainer. I needed her and God knew that! She's so awesome and I'm excited to be able to reunite with her again in the fall. I had talked to her the night before on the phone and I told her that I wasn't training, that I was sorry that I didn't give her a grand-daughter (haha mission lingo...just go along with it). She told me how she was so proud of me and that it didn't matter that I trained or not! She was so proud of the missionary I've become and I feel like hearing that from her made everything better. She really is like my mom...I still to this day look for her approval haha!

 

Yesterday was such a good day with Sister Mellor. We knew it was our last day so we wanted to make it big! So what did we decide to randomly do?...RIDE OUR BIKES ALL DAY LONG! We still had Sister Young's bike at our apartment so we decided that for our last day together we would ditch the car and ride the bikes for the day. It was the first time where I had been on a bike all day. She got so burned haha! I was able to get a pretty good tan ;) But my gosh, our bodies were so sore last night haha I thought I was going to die! We were able to teach a referral from a member and it went soooo good! We also made an area vision of the goals we want to achieve for next transfer and we had an amazing dinner again con la familia Mataalii! They literally feed us a feast every single time. I'm going to miss their dinners! We also didn't have lights on our bikes so haha riding home was an adventure... :) We finally got the call last night for transfers and....I will be opening up a brand new area in the Visitors Center!!!! My new companion is Sister Quionez and it will be an English area (thank goodness!)!! We will be splitting the ward boundaries with another VC companionship. I'm almost positive we won't have any investigators haha only because it's so hard to have success in an area when you are also in the VC. I'm excited to go back but... I loved being in the field. I love just always being with my companion and not having anyone else see how we're doing. It's much more private out in the field is what I'm trying to say. But my new companion is great from what I hear from everyone I've talked to. She just finished being trained so she will be beginning her third transfer! I'm almost certain she will train when I leave so I feel this huge responsibility to make sure the area is perfect and ready to go for her! I'm so happy that President Baker has trust in me to do this my last transfer. It's going to be hard because I'm not really going to have any time to get to know the members or find people to teach but..I have faith that it will be a successful transfer! I am so ready to work my butt off and to come home exhausted every single day! I'm ready to work hard in the teaching center at the VC and to teach as many people as I can over the phone. I'm ready to become an even more consecrated missionary throughout these last 6 weeks. People...I'm kind of freaking out! I can't believe how fast time has gone! Please pray for me...I know that I'm going to be really stressed this week :)

 

I know the church is true! I know that God has a plan for me, even on my mission with which areas I need to be in and with which companions I've needed to have. My misison hasn't been easy to say the least but it has been so rewarding. I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for me this next transfer and what it is that He is expecting my to achieve and accomplish. Wow, tomorrow will be a weird day. I love you all so much!!!

Love, 
Hermana Baeza

 

1. riding our bikes!

2. being dead.

 

 

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July 1st. 2013 "naked babies, two baptisms and rumor that i'm getting married...life is great!"15

hahahahahahahahaha oh man....i love getting emails on Monday!

 

For the record, I am not getting married. I was just joking and thought I was being really funny by pretending like I was planning my own!...yeah, apparently not. This little girl won't even consider it until her brother comes back from his mission so...no one needs to worry about anything :) hahaha oh man, i still got the giggles in me haha!

 

Thank you Scott (aka abby!!) for my letter I got! I can't believe your sister is going on a mission to JAPAN! So cool! Keep writing me letters because I get so distracted during email time. Keep being happy abby! :)

 

Well, I don't have much to report back on since I just emailed you on Wednesday so, here's a list:

 

1. Sister Mellor was sooo funny this week! She struggled speaking english haha she just kept mixing up her words, using gang slang, sooo funny. Yesterday she said, "let's find a song and sing something about Chris...I mean Christ." haha! Okay, that probably didn't make any of you laugh but I lost it when she said that. She also burned her forehead with her curling iron WAY BAD just hours before the baptism! So funny. I know, shouldn't be funny but she's just been strugglin all week so I couldn't help but laugh when I saw her with a frozen chicken slice on her forehead.

 

2. I don't know why but every single day we have seen a butt naked baby! haha! it's just been the theme of the week! i'm telling you...this week I just had the giggles every single day haha

 

3. NO MORE TRACTING! That's right. With the worldwide annoucement, our zone and a few other zone leaders got together to come up with a Zone Goal for July that only we will do together to promote the broadcast and actually apply it into our areas. We are going to be the guinnea pigs (sp? blame sister mellor if it's wrong.) for it and present it to President Weidman tomorrow. I hope he likes it. It was a cool meeting and we were the only sister training leaders there since the other two are in other zones that didn't attend/aren't a part of this little project. As lame as this sounds, I feel like I'm finally "accepted" with the Elders in the mission leadership. I feel like because we're sisters, some Elders look at us as...dumb? I don't know, dumb isn't the best word but they jutst don't see our potential. But during the meeting I had all of these ideas and they were agreeing to them and writing it all down. I feel like I've finally been accepted :) I've always gotten along with the Elders but...it's different with being in leadership. It shouldn't be but, lets be honest, we are the first sisters that these elders have ever had to work with so...it was bound to happen.

 

4. Yesterday was great! I gave my talk and let me just say - the gift of tongues is TRUE! It felt so natural to be up there speaking in Spanish. I loved it! The members came up to me and were so impressed! Usually Sister Mellor does most of the talking because she's way better so the members were shock that I could kind of speak spanish haha. The baptism for Carmen and Cynthia was so beautiful! When Carmen came out of the water, we gave her her towel and asked her how she felt. She told us she felt good and then put her face into her towel. She just started to cry and then looking at us with tears said, "thank you." That right there is what I love about my mission! Seeing peoples lives literally change! Right before the baptism, she asked Hermana Rico (her neighbor and fellowshipper) if people can back out of a baptism. She was really stressed because she doesn't have family support but Hermana Rico, a convert of only 2 years, was able to comfort her and to tell her that it'll all work out. She was able to do something that WE couldn't do. When we got to the baptism, she had 10 people from her family there with their children! It was so a tender mercy and a confirmation to her that she was doing the right thing.

 

Hermana Rico played a huge role in Carmen actually going through with her baptism. That is exactly why members are so important. Sometimes, they'll open up to YOU more then they will to US! You members are sooo important! We need you more then ever. Please, please go up to your missionaries and tell them when you have time to go out with them. Just give an hour of your time, even if it's just once a week! That is all we need in order to have our investigators have friends in church. Think about it, when you take your child to their VERY first day of school, whether it be pre-school or kindergarten, are you just going to drop them off and say bye? I hope not! What I think you would do (I'm clearly not a parent but I know this is what my parents would of done) is walk them into class and find their teacher. Introduce them to their teacher so that they can build a relationship. Then, you leave and come back to get them later.

 

In this example the parent is the missionary, the child is the investigator and the teacher is the member. The parent wants to find the child's teacher so that they can feel like they know someone but that won't happen if the parent can't seem to find the teacher! By the members telling the missionaries that they are willing to help, it'll make it easier for us to find you so that our investigators can too feel like they know someone at church. I hope that made sense? I just thought of it right now.

 

I love this work! It's crazy to think that next pday I'll know where I'll be serving in my last transfer. WEIRD! But I am pumped. I'm stoked to work hard this week and to start setting goals for what I want to achieve in my last transfer. I love you all sooo much! Have a wonderful week!!!!

 

Love,

Hermana Baeza

 1591 E Temple Way

Los angeles, Ca 90024

 

1. carmen y cynthia!!!  

2. the two most perfect girls ever! the one to my left with headband and necklace  got baptized! i'd be the luckiest mom ever to have perfect daughters like them haha but seriously, they are perfect.

 

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Homecoming Talk set for August 25th, P3 Ward /Hermana Baeza, I'm planning a WEDDING!

Dear Friends!
I am so excited to announce Hermana Baeza will be coming home on August 21st and will be giving her homecoming talk on August 25th during Sacrament in P3 at 1:00pm!!!!! I will send out reminders as we get closer. In the meantime, NO she is not getting married quit yet, LOL but she would still love to hear from you! No email from Elder Baeza this week :D But he is doing good and would love to hear for you too xoxo
Thank you kindly,
Love Baeza Family

Okay. Don't freak out. Let me explain :)

This week has been so great! However, I'm so glad it's P-day haha I was having major withdrawals on Monday. Lots of stuff has been going on and well...it wasn't fun to have to wait two extra days to get everything done! But, it was so worth it because we went to the TEMPLE today! And guess what? We got to do some sealings! We were all in the celestial room and I overheard (more like the old temple workers were whispering super loud) them talking about how they need people to do sealings. They were looking for a couple since us missionaries can't be the couple but we can be the children :) It was so great! It was wonderful to be reminded of the covenant we made as a family when we were sealed in the Oakland Temple almost 4 years ago!  Thank you for the letters I also received this week (great transition...): Grant, Elder Baeza, Lara (i wrote you a letter back!), Trevor and Paul.

So, the random/funny things of this week:

1. planning a wedding! Well, now 2 :) the elders have investigators that need to be married before they get baptized and lets be honest...they don't have a clue on how to start planning for weddings! so they called us and we are going to plan it all out for the two couples! sister mellor and i are soo stoked about it haha

2. I ate tuna. If you know me...I do NOT like tuna...due to a certain individual that I know (sarah and emily...you know who i'm talking about). I had it twice this week. yuck.

3. yesterday we were praying in the car before we went into a lesson and we have been stressing on finding someone to give a talk for our baptism this Sunday. sister mellor was saying the prayer and she prayed that we would be able to quickly find someone to give the talk. the second she said that, the phone vibrated. we both open our eyes and all i saw was "cristina libhart" and i had a feeling it was her saying yes. sister mellor had the phone on her lap so she read it and then we both just started to giggle. that was the quickest prayer i've ever seen answered in my life! praying + received text = giggles. love it.

4. so we want to get more in shape and we decided that we are going to run sprints in the morning! we started on friday and my gosh, saturday I was DEAD! i was complaining all day on how much my body hurt haha! but now i'm used to it. we get up at 6 every morning and are out the door by 6:15. sister mellor is so intense, i love it!

Okay, so we got the CUTEST notes from Cynthia and Jose last week! I LOVE THOSE CHILDREN! They are just so cute. Their notes was a reminder for me to be the missionary they think I am. They look up to us a ton and can't wait to serve missions one day, even if it is 10 years from now :) But Carmen and Cynthia are officially being baptized this Sunday!! AH!!! I am so happy! They are great. They have changed so much because of their decision to learn more about the restored gospel. It truly has brought happiness in their life. It's going to be a great day. Not looking forward to my talk still but...it'll go good.

GUESS WHAT I FOUND OUT THIS WEEK!!! So I went on exchanges with the Venice sisters again which meant I got to go back to my first area (kind of). The sisters were telling me about Emilio who got baptized last...September. He said that he should be turning in his MISSION PAPERS in JULY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JULY JULY JULY JULY!!!!!!! Exciting right?! Someone that I have helped receive the restored gospel will be getting his mission call ideally while I'm still on my mission! Ha! How cool is that!? He also BAPTIZED their investigator on Sunday!! And a few Sunday's before, he gave the priesthood to one of their other recent converts. That right there is why I went on my mission. Not to just see people be baptized but to see them making goals and plans to go to the temple. Then I heard about Ernie earlier during the week on exchanges as well and apparently he is doing so great! He has been able to do baptism for the dead at the temple. So fun! It makes me smile to think that he has been inside the temple already. He just gets it now. I love it!

Today is President and Sister Baker's last day as our mission president. It's crazy to think that they are actually leaving. We had a special zone meeting with them and they got to share some things with us. It's so easy to tell how much Sister Baker loves President Baker just by the way she talks about him. It's fun to see them bicker in front of us every once in a while but she truly does love him. She told us that President Baker corrects us because he cares more about our future more then whether we like him or not. People think he's a strict person but I know from first hand experience that the times when he needs to correct me is because he loves me. He really does care about our salvation. They told us how the mission will teach us that we CAN do hard things and that no matter what, we will always be "their missionaries". It made me realize that I never want to do anything to ever disappoint them. Even though we are getting a new Mission President tomorrow, I don't ever want to let them down. Something that President Baker told us was that he encourages us to learn what we need to learn from President Weidman, especially for us who only have a short time with him. He promised us that there is a reason why we are still here when we get to have him as our next mission president.

Lastly, was the world-wide broadcast on Sunday not absolutely amazing! One thing I loved about it was that everything we saw in those videos was MEMBERS testifying of what MEMBERS did, not of what missionaries did. The missionaries only assisted them in the work. It reminded me of one of my favorite quotes by Elder Bednar that says, "We properly pray for the safety and success of the full-time missionaries throughout the world. And a common element in many of our prayers is a request that missionaries will be led to individuals and families who are prepared to receive the message of the Restoration. But ultimately it is my responsibility and your responsibility to find people for the missionaries to teach. Missionaries are full-time teachers; you and I are full-time finders. And you and I as lifelong missionaries should not be praying for the full-time missionaries to do our work!" Brothers and Sisters, we cannot do this work alone. We need the members. It is you that will stay in the wards when we leave. It is you that will help them get to the temple by being a friend to them. We obviously have our part as well to keep the trust of those we teach and to always have contact with them but while we're missionaries, we don't have the time to always be there for them. That's when you come in! So please, PLEASE re-evaluate how you do missionary work. Is it something that is a part of your life? If not, I invite you to make goals with your spouse and your family to make it more a part of your life. This work is too great to only have the full-time missionaries be involved. I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week!!!

Love,

Hermana Baeza
1591 E Temple Way
Los Angeles Ca 90024

1. sister merciales and sister cho! sister cho goes home with me next transfer and then sister merciales. we were the three that came in together :) and we match!

also daddy, can you call the provo temple to see if i can work their on either tuesday's or thursdays before 12pm? i have classes at 1pm i believe but those would be my only two days that i could work there during the week. let me know!

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