Three Month Mark

Elder Andrew C Baker
400 West Apache St.
Farmington, NM 87401


Elder Andrew Baker has been out for three months now. He is serving in Crystle, New Mexico on the Navajo Reservation. He is really enjoying his time working with the Navajo.  He has almost mastered making Navajo Fry Bread. YUM!!  Here are some excerpts from recent letters:

Oct 1st: 

"We were at a member's house, and she asked if we wanted beans. So I said YES!  When she gave us the beans there were whole pig's feet in the bowl . . . it was a pretty good though. I had to spit out the tiny pig bones though. It was funny, because I could name most of the bones I was spitting out.. my anatomy class continues to have its effect on my mission."

"Some Navajo believe in "Skin Walkers", they are coyotes that can transform into Werewolfs. The Navajo have a rule that if a coyote crosses the road in front of you, you have to turn around and drive a different path."

Oct 15th: 

"The past three weeks, Elder Jones and I have changed our approach. We rely on the Lord almost completely. We pray before every lesson and tracting. We fast once per week, and we try to follow the Spirit. The area has begun to explode the last three weeks. We are so busy. People tell us all the time that they want to change. One family of nine wants to be baptized on December 1st. It's so rewarding to see the positive change we make in people's lives.  On Tuesday, we had quite a day. . . we got chastized by two different people. They were strange people, but they got right in our face, yelling at us. I almost yelled back, but the Spirit stopped me. Instead, the spirit guided us to say the right things to calm them down. It was still really strange though. Most of the people here are very kind and accepting. Most peole are very happy with what we do, even if they disagree with our religion. The people here are very humble. Most don't have running water, and if they do, it costs too much for them to use it often."

Oct 26th: 

This excerpt if from his last letter. He is talking about a man they have been teaching since arriving in Cyrstal two months ago.

"I want to tell you about a cool experience I had yesterday morning. As I was studying, I felt I should study in Ephesians. Really strange, but I did it. Later that day, as we taught ** (a very intelligent man that we watched conference with) I felt I needed to share a scripture in Ephesians. He had a very important question that was answered by what I read that morning. I'm glad I listened to the Spirts.
   Also, earlier, while we were watching conference with him, something else happended. Before conference started, I was worried that by watching conferece he would get a strange view of the church. As the opening prayer began, I was worrying. I kept thinking of how I would have to explain everything to him. Just as my worries peaked, I heard a literal voice in my head say "It's in my hands now."  Immediately, a rush of peace came over me and I knew that I just needed to sit down and be quiet. As it turned out, he loved conference. We had a great lesson after conference. I'm learning that when I rely 100% on God, things are just better."