Mailing Address

Just a reminder that mail sent to Elder Andrew Baker goes through the New Mexico Farmington Mission office first.  
Here is the address again:

Elder Andrew Baker
New Mexico Farmington Mission
400 West Apache St.
Farmington, NM  87401

Saying Goodbye to Navajo & Crystal New Mexico

Andrew has served in Navajo & Crystal New Mexico for the past seven months.  He really loved living there.  He has very fond memories of the people he has met and the people he has taught the gospel of Jesus Christ to.  He loves the Navajo people and wants to bring his family from Montana down there to meet them (looking forward to that) when he completes his mission.  He also has great memories of bonfires, rolling tires down mountains, mud bogging, getting stuck in the snow, turkey attacks, gutting sheep, playing basketball, eating new and interesting food, getting firewood, etc. He will dearly miss you all as he moves on to Flagstaff Arizona.

Gutting a Sheep with "Grandma" and Elder West

Sheep Fat stuffed in sheep intestine. Andrew ate it !!

Like I said above, New and Interesting Food.

Elder Andrew Baker is being transferred to Flagstaff, Arizona today (12 Mar 2013).  It's a beautiful area of the U.S. The Grand Canyon is just north of Flagstaff so we are hoping Andrew gets to see it.  The Flagstaff area is more populated and he will actually be able to shop at a Walmart.  Knowing Andrew though, he will miss the more simple life of Navajo, New Mexico.

Seven Month mark!!

Elder Andrew Baker has been serving the Navajo people in New Mexico for seven months now.  He is really enjoying his mission and the people there.  He has developed some close friendships that he will probably carry throughout his life.  He actually would like to stay in this area for his whole mission.

Andrew has been training a new missionary (Elder West) for the past 12 weeks and enjoys that aspect of being a missionary.  Andrew finds the Crystal and Navajo areas of New Mexico to be beautiful with the mountains and high plains.  The winter has been cold but sunny.  One night it got to -21 F and their pipes froze in their trailer (not fun).  He said he has three blankets on his bed to stay warm.  They drive a Chevy 4x4 Colorado truck and have been stuck in the snow and have also helped a lot of people get unstuck.  The roads there are mostly dirt or no road at all so the truck definitely comes in handy.

Elder Baker and his companion have been teaching a lot of lessons on the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people there and they have several baptisms coming up soon.  According to his emails he seems to average about 25 lessons a week.  Andrew is so happy to see people change as they embrace Christ's gospel.   

PICTURES - Fall 2012

The Missionary Training Center

Andrew and BYUI roommate Josh Soderberg

Elder Andrew Baker and Elder Porter Jones

Funny TURKEY Story

This is one of Andrew's latest adventures from his mission:

"We were at his guys house deep in the woods.  As we were leaving, there was this freaking giant turkey next to the porch.  I decided to reach out and pet it.  It did NOT want to be touched.  As I reached out to touch it, its eyes got real wide.  Inside those dark, black eyes, I saw pure anger.  He had only one desire.  To peck me to death.  He tried to peck my hand, but I dodged him.  He then lunged after me.  I took off running toward the truck.  He chased me the whole way.  I opened the door and leaped inside.  The turkey ran to my door, and started to peck at out truck relentlessly.  I grabbed my coo stick from the truck, opened the door and smacked the stupid turkey with it . . . this just made it more angry.  he let out a squeal of hatred, flew in the air, and tried to bat my head with its wings.  I jumped inside the truck and so did my companion (who the turkey left alone). The turkey was ONLY AFTER ME.  We then drove off before the turkey could do any more damage to our truck.  As we left, the turkey chased our truck all the way down the driveway.  Stupid Turkey. It almost killed me."

"That actually happened.  It was crazy.  I was actually scared it was going to try to scratch my eyes out or something."

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."

Address Update

I'm sorry, I had the wrong address for Andrew's Mail.  Here is the correct one:

Elder Andrew Charles Baker
New Mexico Farmington Mission
400 W. Apache St.
Farmington, NM  87401