Happy Boxing Day!

December 26, 2024

Hello fam and friends!

I am pretty surprised by how few quiet moments I've had over the Christmas "break" to write an email, some of which may or may not be due to my poor time management *gulp* but I've got a second right now to bust out an email. The week has been pretty good.

If you can, read Luke chapter 1! It's super cool!

爱你们！
熊长老

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yBaTy1Mc3BcoogrG6

[Christmas breakfast]

[Christmas fun and games]

[Boxing Day -- hanging out with the family]

[at Bass Pro Shop]

Out of the Frying Pan

[Does the title refer to this Hobbit clip?]

12/16/2024

 大家好！Hello friends!

The pattern of purging my apartment continues! I don't know what the high score is for the mission, but I'd be interested to see how mine would compare by the end of the mission. Elder Kim and I were both exiled from Cardston and sent back to Calgary to our respective language areas. Yay for Mandarin again!

The kicker, though, is that God has a fabulous sense of humor, because he put me back with Elder Bigler, my trainee, for the 3rd transfer or more. This might be an exciting transfer and a very transformative one at that. That said, the past couple days have been going pretty well, and it’s cool because I’ve already seen quite a bit of difference from the experiences last winter with all sorts of criticism and what not. I also got a couple cool encouraging messages, which came in with incredibly inspired timing, and that deserves a huge thank you! You truly capture the charge this season to “Be Someone’s Angel,” and you can count me in as a witness of that! I’ve got the greatest family, the best friends, and the coolest neighbors!

The Mandarin Christmas party was on Friday! It was fun to see some familiar faces there! 

. . . I really don’t have a lot of memories of what happened this week, tho. We said a bunch of goodbyes to people in Cardston. I’ll just list out a few memorable people out there for you to imagine me meeting in Cardston:

• Bishop Nish: very successful, and you would never guess it. We told him we were leaving, and he replied with a text saying, “Well, that’s not good.”
• Marty: used to be an office missionary in the Calgary mission, had a lot of funny space doctrine that he would tell us very seriously.
• Pat: a very old lady that was kind of crazy and intimidating, but also super generous in inviting a homeless native couple to live at her home.
• Dave: an absolute stud, who was super actively working with people on the reserve

I’ve been thinking about the wise men as recorded in the New Testament, who looked for signs of Christ, and after seeing them traveled to give Christ gifts. We too can look for the symbols of Christ in the Christmas season, and we can offer something of ourselves to God and to others this Christmas. As you think of gifts to give one another, think of something you’re willing to offer the Lord! He will give you great blessings for every good thing that you offer him.

That’s it for this week!

Stay warm everyone! Love you all!

Elder Baer 熊长老

照片：

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yBaTy1Mc3BcoogrG6

    'nutha sushi run with the Elders

    Holy Giant Toblerone, Batman!

    Good ol' Cardston sunset

    Marty

    Some random spot on the reserve that reported a skinwalker. never saw it.

    Calgary

    Christmas party food!

Huron Carol

Five years before the birth of our Lord, a Native American named Samuel boldly proclaimed a message of angels to the opposing tribe: 

"And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you." "...then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name." 

Several centuries later, the descendants of Samuel's own tribe learned of the same angelic message from a foreign missionary, adapted to the language of the indigenous people. This message was named the Huron Carol, and is the oldest known Canadian Christmas Carol! But whether from the tongue of Angels, Natives, or Europeans, the message is the same to whole world - from the "true north" to the far eastern orient. 

"The Holy Child of earth and heaven 

Is born today for you. 

Come kneel before the radiant Boy 

Who brings you beauty, peace and joy. 

 

Tishya ton tayeson, ahatonhia! 

Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, 

In excelsis gloria!" 

 

Helaman 14:2-8 #GloriaInExcelsisDeo #huron 

How will you share the message of Christmas this year?

Thanks, Pranks, and "The Fuzz"

 December 9, 2024

大家好！Hello friends!

It’s been forever! [Editor's note:  last week's P-day was supplanted by a mission temple day.]  Does everyone now have an extra two generations added to their family tree? I wouldn’t be surprised.

I’ve been so selfish, and I haven’t even bothered to tell you about our friends here in Cardston. . .mostly because we have a really difficult time meeting with any of them, which is probably an indication that we should move on. But here are some updates:

• Cody has cut off some bad influences in his life and is developing a better relationship with his son & stepson. He is patiently and cheerfully waiting for a group in Standoff, and he calls us when we forget to contact him. We still haven’t taught him in person for a while.
• Chauncey is. . .there. He has a habit of cancelling lessons several days in a row.
• We met a new friend named Sherry! She asked us to come pray with her, because she has one niece to call family, and she’s trying to escape some evil dudes on the reserve. We had a great opportunity to pray with her and her niece at their house (complete with dark red wallpaper, elk skulls, and cthulhu statues). They seemed really excited about the Book of Mormon and coming to church! They weren’t able to come because of health complications, so we’re praying we can see them next week!
• Cara picked up the phone once and listened to a message about the Book of Mormon and the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! When we asked who else could hear this message, she said “Well I think everyone ought to hear this!"

WE WENT TO THE TEMPLE! The Cardston Temple is SOO cool! It really felt a lot like a stark place of worship in ancient civilization, while also having the atmosphere of being in someone's home. Seriously, PLEASE do everything you can to be ready to go to the temple and your life will be so much better!


Other silly and pointless moments from this week

• Saw some really cool native hoop dances at a thanksgiving dinner!
• Elder Kim pointed out that our neighbor very well could be Jack Black…or Karl Marx
• Was stuck at a car dealership for 3 hours 💀
• Saw firsthand a bunch of dogs chase a big black cat right up a telephone pole
• “King Noah was kind of a chubby biscuit” –Cardston Seminary Teacher
• 🚨GOT THE COPS CALLED ON US!?!?🚨

….Alright, this one ^ needs some explanation. So there we were in Glenwood and we thought we’d stop by a non-member family. We walked up to the door seeing that the lights were on and the TV was going, so we knocked, rang, knocked once more and left. When we got in the car Elder Kim asked, “Did you see the little girl at the window that sprinted away? I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s the only one home, and we scared her.” I hadn’t noticed, so we went on our way to visit their relatives down the street. By the time they came to the door, a pickup truck careened into the driveway, steered by a bewildered driver that said “Our granddaughter’s scared half to death! She phoned the police and told them there were two crazy drunk guys trying to break in!” The truck immediately peeled out, and while I stood there probably a little shaky and white as a ghost, the woman at the door just laughed and said, “She can get quite an imagination worked up, alright.” The good news is I don’t think the cops ever really showed up, but I’m sure we sufficiently ruined someone’s date night. *gulp*

I’ve been memorizing a few verses of scripture this week, and it’s been very helpful and strengthening this week, especially now that I'm starting to realize the time I've had here in Cardston has been a more difficult than I've been telling myself. Memorized scriptures have helped a lot! Here’s one I’ve been working on:
“For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.”
This verse [Isaiah 54:10] about God’s everlasting love has been really foundational for me this week! I’d challenge all of you to find a new verse of scripture and memorize it this week! If you do this you will truly gain a new friend that will stand with you in the dark moments of the week! The word of God is powerful!

We'll see where I'll be next week after transfers! Stay warm everyone! Love you all!

Elder Baer 熊长老

照片：

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yBaTy1Mc3BcoogrG6

Thanksgiving with the dissy

Operation Plow

Landscapes & Sunrise

BISON!

Native American performances

Stuck at car dealership [darn, I guess]

 

Meal for the homeless

The Fog x2

Elder Kim gets carried away with hot chocolate

Cardston temple day

"This will be the death of the Hobbits!"

[Title refers to this scene in The Fellowship of the Ring.]

25 November 2024

 大家好！Hey Everyone!

Yup . . . we got slapped in the face by winter. It dropped about 10 inches of snow on Saturday, and as we were on our way to dinner on Sunday, we saw the temperatures were -18 Celsius which is about -3 Fahrenheit. Needless to say, there was a lot of shoveling and a lot of time in the car.

This week did bring a few funny moments:

• We had a lovely dinner with a family of unusual names including Porsha, Rope, and Chevy.

• During a visit on the reserve, two kids came running in front of our car as we parked, and by the time they reached the house, one of them had a severe wardrobe malfunction when their pants suddenly dropped to the ground.

• Had a funny conversation with Elder Kim about Ammon & Spiritual Gaslighting (See Alma 18:21-23)

There were actually a lot of interesting conversations this week! The Zone Leaders came to Cardston and did a sort of exchange with us on Friday, and discussion topics included the eternal destiny of Mars, the malicious plotting of McDonald’s, and more silliness. However, Elder Kim still wins this week for the most thoughtful ideas! Here’s the gist:

An egg hardens under the same pressure that makes a potato soften. People are similar under pressure: it can weaken us or strengthen us. The mission has increasingly appeared to me like a giant pressure cooker—there is so much pressure physically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually. This kind of pressure can bring out character in someone that is extremely difficult to see in normal circumstances. I’ve seen missionaries who were really nice, neat, good kids at home, but when the pressure mounted they started disregarding all sorts of guidelines that would have helped them be happier. I’ve seen missionaries who wasted lots of time and opportunities making dumb decisions in the past, but when the pressure mounted they stepped up and became great examples and people influence. It’s important to realize how we will react to pressure.

If you feel under a lot of pressure, I’d suggest you think about receiving a priesthood blessing! One of the great gifts of the restored gospel is the authority of God through the priesthood that blesses all men and women on the earth! And if you have received a Patriarchal blessing, I’d encourage you to look at that! Elder Kim said he has started to study his blessing every fast Sunday, and I think I’m going to join him in that! Those are just two things you can think about this week. I promise as you frequently study your patriarchal blessing, you’ll make better decisions in your life, and as you seek blessings in time of need, you will feel more of God’s enabling power and strength.

Stay warm everyone! Don’t let the snow come in as early as we did! Love you all!

Elder Baer 熊长老

照片：

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yBaTy1Mc3BcoogrG6

goofy deer

goofy swarm of birds

goofy footpri– …what the!?

video and pic of an epic horse we met on the way to a visit

Believe it or not there is a car a few yards ahead of us in this snowstorm

Other exchange photos

Bangers for Bangerter

18 November 2024

 大家好！Hey Everyone!

This week was Epic! And by that, I mean mostly Thursday was epic, but all the other days were good too!

Highlight of the week was when Elder Bangerter came to the mission! He’s the one that gave an awesome talk in April 2024 General Conference about foreordination. He came to zone conference for this mission and told us all that it would be a day of great revelation, which it was! . . . I just haven’t deciphered some of it yet, haha. He had some fascinating stories about his mission and how rainy it was, and about a motorcycle gang member who made a full 180 after being baptized, and about his ASU religious studies professor who roasted a girl for disrespecting the name of Joseph Smith. It was a really fascinating experience!

Elder Kim and I performed a musical number of “O My Father.”  And there was a looong period of silence before Elder Bangerter finally stood up to the pulpit and said one of the sweetest things ever! “Elders, thank you for making this chapel a temple.”

He also gave some clarification on “working from centers of strength” and how important that is in the church and in the lives of missionaries. . . which basically means we might have to reevaluate our group of people we’re teaching *gulp* but we will get it figured out! [Editor's note: this was counsel to focus "finding" efforts in geographical areas where friends can easily come to church and have member support, not the furthest limits of the area.]

We had some funny times in Glenwood this week. We stopped by a lady who has left the church twice but asked some awesome questions! (I've been waiting so long for good questions!) We also learned that one of the guys we had planned to stop by has declared himself a prophet, so that's exciting. We also got chewed out by a member for being disappointing missionaries after a friend we were meeting with told us they don't want to learn more about the church. There is some truth to that, and also there is some truth that other people's decisions are not always a result of poor performance.

We got to help out with a Christmas festival on Friday (scary, I know) and it was good. There was a parade and some fireworks! They looked super cool through the fog!

Elder Bangerter was really good at immersing everyone in the scriptures—finding the setting, discussing the characters, the sights, the smells, the sounds, etc. It really made for some more personal impressions! So for you reading this email, I'd invite you to try that practice this week. Open the Book of Mormon or the Bible to a chapter and really think about where you are, who the characters are that are involved, how things feel, look, sound, and smell. I promise, you will gain new insights for your life as you study the scriptures in new ways.

Stay cool everyone! Love you all!
Elder Baer 熊长老

照片：
https://photos.app.goo.gl/yBaTy1Mc3BcoogrG6

Christmas festival

Fireworks

Cool Stuff in the Cardston museum

Children's church song. The rhythm reminds me so much of Golliwogg's Cake Walk and other early 20th century “rags.”

Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes?

[Title references a quote from Martin Luther, but also this piano concerto by John Adams.]

Well maybe, but they're only good for a few minutes. More on that later.

11 November 2024

大家好！Hey Everyone!

It has been such an interesting week. Elder Kim came down with a bad flu all week. This ruined our plans to get out of the house, but it gave me a lot of time to think and learn, and here are some things that I learned:

ADDICTIONS ARE OF THE DEVIL

As Elder Kim lay in bed taking intermittent naps, I had a lot of time on my hands. Some of that time was spent on Facebook, reaching out to people about the Book of Mormon, and some of it was spent studying. Too much of it was spent in front of a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle I found in the apartment. I would finish some of my online proselyting time, and then spend a few minutes . . . and I would find after several ignored nudgings that several HOURS had passed! It’s so interesting that something as “harmless” as a jigsaw can lead to a missionary’s destruction! . . . alright maybe I’m being too dramatic, but that’s really what it felt like! I’m really hoping I never fall into a dark rabbit hole like that again that wastes my time, and even worse, wastes God’s time.

As a partial result, I reflected a lot on the past months of the mission, and I kind of wallowed in the mire of discouragement. In falling under the trap of comparison, I 100% felt like I’d failed my mission—I haven’t been finding enough people or teaching enough people, and surely I would fall under some sort of condemnation for being a wicked, slothful, unprofitable servant. Here’s another way I’ve been looking at it:  missionary work is like playing the piano, and I am a performer assigned to bring beautiful music from the Greatest Composer to the world audience. But there's one problem:  I'm just not good at the piano. I hit SO. MANY. WRONG. NOTES. I feel like I study music by Mozart, but what I play sounds like Messiaen. And it’s made me question, “How can God tolerate such a poor pianist sharing His music?”

This is where I started to understand a principle of faith, or the “hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” The truth of the mission is that God does his miraculous work through poor servants. He makes glorious music through broken instruments and amateur musicians. This is the truth, and even though I may not have the eyes to see it, I can put my small seed of hope and trust in the truth that I am not capable of hindering the Almighty from gathering Israel.

I found some more comfort in studying fore-ordination this week. Alma 13 teaches that all who assist in the Lord’s work have been “called and prepared from the foundation of the world.” The Prophets are foreordained to their calling—even prophets like Jonah who willingly rebelled against God. But God worked through Jonah to the salvation of Nineveh from destruction. This story has always been encouraging for me, because surely if God is so merciful to Jonah, who “never really got it,” he will be merciful to all His “broken instruments” and “poor pianists,” who just can’t get the music right.

A story by Elder Baer, you’re welcome. That’s a lot of “me” for one email, so thanks for Baer-ing with me :P

Two things for you to do this week!

    Get rid of whatever addiction you have! Whether it’s the app you spend too much time on looking at everyone else's fictitious lives, or the bottles of soda pop, or the video games, or the 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle—whatever it is that’s wasting your time and preventing smart choices, GET RID OF IT! And don’t go back! I promise you that immediate gratification will never bring long-term happiness, and as you throw out whatever addiction of varying degree that might be teasing you, you will have a better week and experience happiness.

    Keep being awesome! Go forward in faith knowing that even when you feel like a broken, out-of-tune instrument, God can share beautiful music through you. Jesus Christ is the ultimate Luthier, and his delight is in instrument repair!

Stay cool everyone! And Happy Remembrance Day!

Elder Baer 熊长老

照片：

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yBaTy1Mc3BcoogrG6
 

THE FOG!!! :O

Funny things we have found on our driveway. Blessings from heaven!

"Hi Tired, I'm Elder Kim"

This is an all-too typical response from my companion. Classic.

31 October 2024

大家好！Hey Everyone!

How was Halloween! Or Day of the Dead? Or All Saints Day? Or All Souls Day? Our Halloween was among the most boring days of the mission. Elder Kim and I struggled to figure out what to do all day. We knocked on a couple doors and found no one at home, and we also felt like knocking on doors wasn’t the right thing to be doing that day. We eventually found a service project for the cemetery, so we tried that for a bit. We ended the night at home with the lights out as directed by our mission pres., but we did have a bowl of “treats” for any passers by.

It’s funny how effort and results correlate differently in different scenarios. Last week felt a lot like God magnified our efforts a ton! This week felt like he allowed us to struggle a bit. We made extensive plans to bring our friends from the reserve to Stake Conference—setting up rides, calling friends, coordinating routes, double checking with friends, meeting up with the members, triple checking with friends—and still no one made it. Cowabummer! Stake conference was good though. The stake choir was really trying! The visiting authority had a cool backstory with the Community of Christ! He was a big fan of singing hymns loud and fast, to which I said “AMEN, BROTHER!!”

We had a big volleyball activity on Saturday for the youth that was fun . . . not much more to that.

I've been thinking a lot recently about this painting by James C. Christensen, titled "Gerome Spent His Free Time Daydreaming of Being Reincarnated as a Snake."

The artist said he painted this on a goofy left over piece of canvas, but said, “the more I look at Gerome, the more he speaks to me. I think it’s true that the things we devote our time and energy to are what shape us.”

There have been quite a few times recently where I’ve felt a bit like Gerome (often before 9:00 in the morning). I’ve let discouragement or plain laziness get the best of me and get in the way of some happiness that I could have had. After all, Happiness is not something that we enjoy unless we make things Happen in our lives. Being proactive brings joy! Doctrine and Covenants 88:124 has always been a favorite verse of mine, since it blatantly addresses the procrastination and avoiding responsibility. This week I challenge all of you not to procrastinate! Make a plan or a routine for your days and follow through with it, and when you feel like putting something off, remember the words of the Lord and “cease to be idle.” You truly will find more satisfaction and Happiness as you work to be proactive.

Have a great week everyone! Love you all!

爱你们！


Elder Baer 熊长老

照片：

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yBaTy1Mc3BcoogrG6

District Halloween Doppelgangers

-What the Duce?!

Halloween Snacks by Elder Kim!

 

for trick-or-treaters

nutha landscape

Volleyball youth activity

What is this!? Does anyone know??   

[Answer: it's a disc harrower, used to return crop residue to the soil and to prepare fields for planting. Look's scary, doesn't it?!]

Life Really Can Be as Sweet as Potatoes and Molasses

[Title references this song from Over the Garden Wall.]

28 October 2024

大家好！Hey Everyone!

This week made me want to barf until it suddenly made me want to sing. Here are some highlights:

• Our mission president surprised us by coming to Tuesday's district meeting and also interviewing everyone afterward. It seemed SO stressful for both the missionaries and the mission president for no good reason, but this interview was the best I've had with him so far, so that's neat.
• We wrote a big apology for a dinner we missed. This was the 4th time in a row the missionaries hadn’t come for dinner, so we dropped off cookies, since they were not home, on Wednesday. On Thursday when we drove past on our way home, I had an inclination to visit again. My companion and I both rationalized not going, but I got up the guts to tell him to turn the car around. It ended up being a great visit! And now we have two more names for other missionaries to contact!
• We performed at a ward supper on Friday! Everyone said they were really touched, even though most of the night everyone looked like they were everything but a fun time (I was pained a bit when I saw so many blank stares in reaction to a dude pouring his soul into the piano, singing “Great Balls of Fire.”)

…And this is when the Spirit of God came into the area like a flash flood from a monsoon storm….

• We got a chance to meet with Cody again!! He hasn't had a lick of alcohol for a few weeks, and he made a goal with us to be baptized at the end of November!!! Please pray for Cody! He’ll need some rides to church for this to happen!
• On Saturday night we met a new Filipino family that had been to church twice. When we knocked on the door, the first thing they said was, “So you come back every weekend, good?” Crazy!!!
• On Sunday we get a call in the middle of one meeting from a lady saying, “Where are you!? I have a friend at church I need you need to meet!” So we raced over there and arranged to meet with Bro. & Sis. Fox in their home with their new friend Diddy. Absolute mayhem of a lesson:  the first 25 minutes was Sis. Fox reading a random Wikipedia article word for word, and then we introduced Diddy to the Book of Mormon, talked over some questions, and NOW SHE'S ON DATE FOR BAPTISM!!!?!? WHAT!!!

I now have a testimony that Satan really throws opposition in full force when he knows something good is coming. Joseph Smith experienced frightening darkness and power immediately before seeing God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. This week seemed at times like a series of discouraging and exhausting events. After another derailed morning on Saturday, I felt really pressed down and all around just horrible. But we stuck it out; Elder Kim and I continued in the endeavor to do something in the service of God, and He shocked us by letting us witness events that were nothing short of divine miracles!

This Thursday is Halloween! It is the evening before the Hallowed Day, the evening when the spirits from beyond the veil are closer to the earth. It also happens to be transfer day for us :P but that's beside the point. The point is that your family who has passed away will most likely be closer to you this week if you let them. Take some time and think of something you can do to remember your family this week: sharing stories, helping them in the temple, or even spending time with family physically here, etc. etc. As we turn our hearts to [our] fathers, we truly can have a “Happy” Hallowe'en!

Also I say this all the time, if you want a GREAT show for the holidays, check out Over the Garden Wall.  [Editor's note:  For our deeper thinkers, Over the Garden Wall is a modernization of Dante's Inferno.]  I think the themes of family and the conflict of good and evil are pretty sound.

Stay warm everyone! And Happy Samhain!

-Elder Baer (熊长老）

照片：

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yBaTy1Mc3BcoogrG6

Elder Pannell went home for medical treatment! He gave a sweet goodbye to the district.

The chickens did get to the other side!

Cool Landscapes

Dat You Coz?

Honestly what an incredible name