"I like trains . . ."

 10 March 2025

大家好！Hello Friends!

This week did indeed feel like getting hit by a freightliner. I started to say, “Wow, I think this is getting better,” and then life said, “...I can fix that!” 

So, I now have moved out of the Mandarin [ward in Calgary] to Lethbridge, Alberta, which is just an hour away from Cardston. It is an old train hub, so that adds to the fun. I don't know how long I'll be here, and I just hope that I get to go back to the Mandarin ward before I leave Southern Alberta f o r e v e r. . . There are a lot of people from Africa in Lethbridge, for some reason, so I may have to learn Swahili and Kinyarwanda during language study as well!

 

Elder Ferrin is my new companion. He is so Cool! He is very energetic, and he knows how to do a lot of cool random things. (He made a blow-dart last week out of a curtain rod.)

We met some sweet kids this week, who came to church! One kid has a dad who is a member, but his cousin Bentley is not a member, and he was excited to hear about what church was. We were actually at the dad's apartment for dinner on Thursday, and it was surprisingly wholesome for the amount of Monster trucks that were all over the room and playing on the Xbox.

Met a guy named Stephan from Brit-land, who said he works with the richest guys in the world. He's a well-read Bible enthusiast, who didn't even bash us over the head with scriptures or anything. I wish I had a picture with him.

A youth leader said some stuff that was really profound, and here's my best to quote it:
“Adam and Eve knew what the forbidden fruit was and still chose to eat it. They chose to leave the Garden for a life that was difficult. Some people out there are angry about that choice, but they don't understand that we were never meant to stay in the Garden. We were built for this.”

This is a common pattern I notice in all inspiring stories. Bilbo leaves the Hobbit hole for the Blue Mountain. My companion leaves his bed every morning for the doors he knocks. Jesus left his friends for Gethsemane. We always leave Eden and pass through Calvary in order to get to Zion. Go do something good but uncomfortable this week! You will find great reward for yourself if you do this.

Stay Warm Everyone! Love you all!
Elder Baer 熊长老

照片：
 

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

Elder Ferrin & I

THE Lethbridge

Porcupine in a tree! Can you spot it?

Gift from the dad mentioned earlier

"Get [into] my church!"

 [Title may reference this clip from Robin Hood.]

 大家好！Hello Friends!

Our church meeting yesterday was miraculous! Here's a few background details for reference

Yunxin agreed to hear a short message after some individual English Practice we've been doing with another member (blessings for Les 🙌). We were trying to answer a question about Prophets and authority by mentioning how Jesus needed authority to heal the sick and raise the dead….and her expression changed instantly. Her usual “company manners” smile was replaced by a jaw-drop look of shock and bewilderment, “He Did that!?” We were delighted to see her later at church sitting next to our English translator Kato.

Cyrus has started meeting with us more frequently as of last week. When we shared about Keeping the Sabbath day holy by coming to church, he explained “I would love to take my wife to church, but she often has to take her car to her work on Sunday.” We promised to get him a ride, and we were surprised to see that Brother Britten managed to help him get to church!

Sean is a member who moved from Fort McMurray (Way up in the tundra). He's actually from Cambodia but he speaks mandarin well and English fluently. He said he's had some trouble with his employer not paying Him, So we planned to help him meet Kato who had a similar experience last year. Instead Kato was occupied (see above) and Sean sat next to Brother Britten. Immediately after the meeting Brother Britten says “So I’m the Stake Employment specialist and so what I do…” and he helped out Sean the rest of the day

Miracles truly happen even in this “Telestial world” we are in right now that sometimes seems extremely far from the Glory of God. Yet based on our Prophets recent messages, we don't world in which we live. By going to the Lord's House and preparing for His coming, we can learn to live a Celestial life like the Lord himself Lived. Through our covenant relationships with God we can learn how to turn our world from Telestial to Celestial, no matter what our circumstances may be. (As we learn from Brigham H. Roberts description of Liberty Jail as a “prison-temple,” even the most miserable experiences of our lives can exalt us when we choose to “Think Celestial”) Think of something you can do this week to help your world become more Celestial, and as you put in the effort to do so you will see more glorious light come into your life!

Stay Warm Everyone! Love you all!
Elder Baer 熊长老

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

Hot pot with a member

Sticky rice dumplings w pork

Calgary at night

“A thief in the night”

 

 

 

 

"IT'S RAAAWW!"

[Title references chef Gordon Ramsay's famed rants.]

大家好！Hello Friends

I think I’ve been out here for about 18 months now, and it just feels . . . weird. A church member told me a while ago that I was entering my prime, and I felt like saying “I think you mean I should still be in training!” I honestly still don’t have a clue what I’m doing most of the time, but that’s okay because God really knows what he is doing, so I hope I can just “Let the Lord prevail,” or as some might say, “Let Him cook.” I also thought that by now the mission would feel easier, aaaaand it doesn’t. BUT I feel like we always become better even if things aren’t easy.

This week was filled with miracles of biblical proportions! Wednesday gave us an exchange, and I went with Elder Wells, and we had some great interactions with people! Elder Wells said it was one of the most spirit-led days he had experienced, which is impressive considering most of the revelation we received stemmed from a complain-fest that happened the night before.

On Saturday we tried to invite everyone to come to church, and it went really well! I also had a cool conversation with a guy named Wulf. He’s a Jewish guy from Israel who was in a wheelchair, but he said he was really trying to learn more about Jesus Christ, and I said “Wait a minute ... I can help with that!” It was nice to give him a copy of the Book of Mormon and see how happy he was! I haven't seen that a lot before.

I also ate jellyfish last Monday. It was somewhere in between crunchy and chewy. Definitely would try again though.

If anyone wants to read some great stories read Helaman 7-11. I think Nephi has got to be one of my new favorite people in all of scripture. It’s amazing how he can display so much love and righteousness and sass all at the same time (Helaman 9:27). I’d invite you to check it out next time you get bored reading the “dead see scroll” on your favorite social media.

Stay Warm Everyone! Love you all!

Elder Baer 熊长老

照片：

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

my best parking job yet

Calgary actually has cool interior design (I don't always step inside for a bathroom break, but when I do...")

super good food from the Huang family! They're the coolest people ever

Biblical flood

 

 

 

 

 

Story time!

17 February 2025

大家好！Hello Friends

Story time!

One of the most surprising lessons I've experienced happened on Wednesday evening. We were surprised to see someone unexpected on our phone screen, and it turns out that during the 10 minutes prior, I wasn’t texting the person I thought I was. I was surprised again when in the middle of testifying of God’s blessings in my life, the woman we were teaching blurted out, “That's great…but you don't look all that happy about it."

And that really got me thinking. A lot of times I approach people here saying that I am “sharing a message of joy and happiness” in their area, but there are some days when I really don’t feel it as much. But I think the gospel of Jesus Christ offers something else constant and deep:

Love

It's real cheeky of me to write about that this week, I know. But after all is said and done, after the box of chocolates is mostly empty and your stomach ache has passed, the pure love of Christ is really one of the biggest blessings that we can receive! The Love of God can bring joy, and it is what will endure all hardships. I can't confidently say I've felt joy every day in this mission, but make no mistake, I really have felt God's love every day out here. Your Heavenly Father loves you so much! If you're not sure, then ask Him! He won't hesitate to show His love for you, I can promise you that.

A story by Elder Baer. You're welcome!

Other miracles from this week include:

• I found my winter coat! I had lost it at the church a week prior, and then some members helped me find it!

• Our friend prayed about her daughter obtaining a student permit, and she got a response back that said she was definitely eligible! She said she was so grateful for prayer.

• “This Little Light of Mine” is included in the Hymnbook! Truly, the restoration continues!

Stay Warm Everyone! Love you all!!

Elder Baer 熊长老

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

First time having Chick-fil, Eh in Canada

Met a friend at the grocery store

Cool rainbow ring around the sun…perks of sub-arctic temperatures  

[technical term: sun dog (or parhelion)]

Snorkling in the Nile, 3 square meals a day. . .

 [Title references this scene from Veggie Tales' "Josh and the Big Wall."]

10 February 2025

 大家好！Hello Friends

I don't think anything went according to plan this week. It was Epic!
We woke up to a few surprises several days this week including, but not limited to
- Sudden schedule of interviews with the mission president
- Someone trying to meet us online to join our English class at 8:30
… that's actually about it, I suppose it is pretty limited. Weird that our schedule changed 2 days in a row before we even got to planning.

I'm continually impressed with God's mercy and miraculous work, even when His children don't see it! Here's the story: We got a call from some sister missionaries expressing that they needed to do a pass off lesson with us. All of us met with a lady named Xiuyan for the very first time. Xiuyan had been going to a Chinese Baptist church for a long time, but she has experienced some family troubles and was looking for guidance, so she actually walked in to a chapel in Calgary and said she felt overwhelmed by peace. There also JUST HAPPENED to be a Mandarin Book of Mormon in the foyer that she took with her! Our pass-off lesson happened 6 days after that on Saturday, and she seemed eager to make a goal for baptism! …and then she texted the Sisters the next day and said she "researched” the Book of Mormon and said she should stick to reading the Bible and go back to the Baptist church. *yet another facepalm* The good news is that if God is able to pull miracles like that, He won't stop anytime soon. I now have a lot more sympathy for Moses and the Israelites who were very quick to forget God and very quick to remember Egypt.

We also got to help push some cars up a freeway exit! It was a fun time. Calgary's negligence regarding road conditions makes for great service opportunities!

After 19 years of my life I finally understood the first sentence of Ether 12:27 "And if men come unto me, I will show unto them their weakness." That is to say the more we follow God the more pain we may experience from our imperfections. This is especially evident in the exchange between Jesus Christ and the "rich young ruler." We may experience more pain as we see how slowly our weaknesses become strong, but the process is real and it does happen! If you feel crippled by many weaknesses, don't stress! Ask God to help you strengthen one of them this week (I'm focusing on being more clean and organized with my belongings). If you don't know where to start, ask God! Like the young ruler he will show you your weakness, but he will also help in healing.


Stay Warm Everyone! Love you all!
Elder Baer 熊长老

照片：
https://photos.app.goo.gl/yBaTy1Mgc3BcoogrG6
Freeway line up

Old bummy mall, poor finding, 10/10 view tho

Celestial(?) Tiwi   [Editor confusion: isn't 3 green lights a perfect driving day? how is 3 red lights celestial?]

Good Hair day *brought to you by Dapper Dan*

Snake in the Eagles Shadow

[Title refers to this old Jackie Chan movie.]

3 February 2025

 大家好！Hello Friends!

新年快乐！恭喜发财！How has the Year of the Snake treated everyone? We woke up this morning to a nice -26°C/-15°F, so we definitely know more what it's like to be cold blooded. Hope everyone's temperatures are warmer, but let me know if you reach a new high score!

Some of our friends seemed really agitated in our meetings with them, which was strange and difficult. After reading Joseph Smith's account of his vision, Cancan erupted into saying she didn't care about the visions or what scriptures were true since all of the religions are similar anyway…, and then Wong Lei brought up a question about who picks the Prophet, which was really a way to express that he now thinks the Church is evil because we believe in living prophets. We did meet with a couple other friends that are doing alright!

Our Chinese New Year party was on Saturday! The turnout was really good this year and they had a live Kung Fu demonstration! We also saw a friend named Yan show up! We met him on Wednesday at while handing out fliers, and we got to talk to him for a few minutes after he asked why we don't drink coffee. He was thrilled to hear we had a New Year activity.

I had a kind of epiphany phrase come to mind this week during my personal study, and I'm sure it's come from some other podcast or talk, but I was thinking about the application of the atonement, and realized, “applying Christ's Atonement in our lives allows us to practice ‘At-one-ment’ with other people.”
Think about some ways you can be better “At one” with other people or with God this week! The unity made possible by Jesus Christ can truly bring lasting joy!

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

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

New years set up

Rice balls, (made by Elder Tang)

"Tricky like that, Jesus"

[Title references this strange sermon from Hunt for the Wilderpeople.]

27 January, 2025

 大家好！Hello Friends!

There's always more than one way to look at a situation or an experience. Some ways are better than others. Here’s an example of a poor way that I’ve been viewing this week:

• I was told by a friend that if our goal was to help them be baptized, then we are wasting our time.
• I got chewed out for every mistake and character flaw I've had in the last six weeks.
• I prayed and fasted for Wong Lei to be baptized, and in return received a sudden response that under no circumstance would he be baptized this month.
• I completely botched an attempt to teach the restoration of the gospel to a new friend.

But there's always a better way to see things, which I'm working on doing:

• Some lessons brought an opportunity to put faith in God’s ability to change people’s hearts. We saw a glimpse of this as our friend came to church on Sunday and then told us with a kind of dazed look, “I need to think about a lot of things; I no longer know what religions are true or not.”
• I learned how my happiness really does depend on my focus, no matter what the circumstances are or what has been said.
• Agency is key in God’s work, and we pray more to align our will with God’s instead of just the things we want.
• I learned the importance of teaching simply, something that I can practice now that I understand it.

I think this is part of what our Prophet meant by his phrase “Think Celestial.” As we have a higher perspective on our lives, we will notice many beautiful things that we wouldn’t notice otherwise. We can have the perspective that enables us to “make those doors easier to get through” that may stump us in our path. If you have a chance, review the words of the Prophet, and find an issue that you could “Think Celestial” about.

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

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

Found a cool conference center after taking the wrong train

LIGHT! (more evidence of God’s love)

What a Coinci-dance!

[Title references this video.]

20 January 2024

 大家好！Hello Friends!

I’m gonna be a little bold and straight up for a minute. Do you want to see power beyond all earthly comprehension? Serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I gained a testimony this week of the reality that God is in relentless pursuit of his children. We met with our friend Jing two weeks ago, and he was in awe of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then he stopped communicating with us, and we were worrying. On Tuesday another companionship in our district met him downtown and told him about the opposition to the church that he’d discovered. Jing said that interaction was directed by God. We later heard from the one member he knew that he met Jing on Saturday!

Our other friends are doing well! We had a few people come to church for the first time! One lady said she had actually been to church once near BYU Hawaii several years ago, and another guy said he had attended a hike with the ward a year and a half ago!

Everyone go read the Sacrament entry on the church’s “Topics and Questions”! I looked at this yesterday and I was impacted by the clarity with which this article explained the ordinance of the sacrament, what it means, and why it is important. The ideas of preparing for the sacrament especially left an impression on me. I don’t know if I’ve ever thought about what I should do to prepare for the sacrament, I’ve just showed up to church and been there. I’ve tried to focus my thoughts on the Savior, but I can see that good preparation will help that go even smoother.

Also, please pray for Wong Lei! He’s on date for baptism this Sunday, and his life has been CRAZY! We’re really hoping he can meet with us this week to prepare things in time for his baptism.

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

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

Super good sunset!

The Zone Leaders helping us start our car on Sunday

Me trying to learn Chinese characters since trying to speak it isn’t discouraging enough ;P

"Don't question the king's grammar!"

[Title references this line from "King George and the Ducky."]

1/13/2025

大家好！Hello Friends!

Great news! The cold ceased this week and we got back up to freezing point!

Greater news! God is doing a “marvelous work and a wonder!” Here are a few wonderful moments this week, when I marveled at the things that God was doing.

• Wong Lei met previously with missionaries and would always bring up some weird concern right before his baptism date. We have him on date for the end of January, and when we reviewed the baptismal questions, he didn’t have any problems! Plus, his 10-year-old son has been telling him that they should be going to church more. What a big miracle!
• Cancan has been keeping commitments! When we followed up with her on Friday about her prayers, she told us, “It was exactly like you said! I asked God for something, and he didn’t give it to me, but later he gave me something that was even better!” She also surprised us by reading several chapters in the Book of Mormon -- another big miracle!
• I went on an exchange with Elder Wells in an English area, and he managed to get the numbers of 5-6 interested people within 25 minutes! They were also all about 15 years old, which made me marvel as well lol.

Side notes: I had a cool realization in bridging English and Chinese writing. An online Chinese dictionary that I use has an entry about an influential Tang dynasty poet named Du Fu (杜甫) and includes some samples of his writing. In these samples, there was a very common pattern of 5 syllable phrases, or 7 syllable phrases. Then I later recited the Chinese translation of Joseph Smith’s first vision, and realized the syntax patterns were very similar:

我看见一道光柱   [I saw a beam of light]

正在我头上   [on my head]

比太阳的光还亮    [brighter than the sun's light]

缓缓降下来    [lower slowly]

直到落在我身上    [until it falls on me.]

光停在我身上时    [When the light stops on me]

我看见两位人物    [I saw two people]

Anyway ... I don’t know what you’ll do with that info, but I think it’s interesting.

Speaking of language, this week I’d invite you all to give three intentional compliments. I’m trying to focus on giving more compliments this week, since I feel like there’s often some good stuff I think about other people, but I’m not always that articulate about it. So I figure I’m going to rope you all into this as well. Words do matter.  They have a “more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else” (Alma 31:5). As we use our words to see others the way that God sees them, and see the potential that God sees, we will feel a divine love that will bless us and our neighbors plentifully.

Stay warm everyone! Love you all!

Elder Baer 熊长老

照片：

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

[Bao & sausage. Dim sum literally translates to "touch the heart" -- the small portions are meant to "touch the heart" rather than fill the stomach]

    Literally, I don’t have any pictures other than some pics we took at the zoo earlier today, so enjoy!

 

 

Punctual as Usual (Not)

新年快乐

We have P-day on New Year's Day apparently, and it's been a phat minute since I've given you any sort of sneak peak into Calgary. So here's some highlights from the last few weeks:

Concert!!!
On the 21st we had the most epic opportunity for all of the missionaries in Calgary to go to see Jenny Oaks Baker perform! They had a great singer from Ireland named Alex Sharpe perform as well! It turned out to be a really uplifting experience and some great messages about Christ's ministry. Man…I've really missed being in a concert hall.

Christmas
Christmas was surprisingly busy. Elder Bigler and I went street contacting on Christmas Eve, and I learned that the Christmas holidays are perhaps, somehow, the most difficult days to share the gospel. Everyone is WAY too busy celebrating Christ’s birth to hear about his enabling power. I think this kind of irony is common, though. I mean, even the Jews were celebrating the feast of Christ’s Atonement on the very evening He was crucified.
Anywho. We had some cool meals with families in our ward that took up most of Christmas day, and then we had a district finding activity on Boxing Day ... finding the best deal at the mall! I got a good scarf out of it.

Friends:
The friends we’ve started teaching are SO AWESOME! Lemme tell you about them!

•  Shawn - I met Shawn on an exchange with Elder Pace, and he didn’t want to talk until I asked the classic “你会讲中文吗,” [Do you speak Chinese?] and then we’ve had a lesson and a chapel tour, and he’s got a ton of copies of the Book of Mormon that he’s studying! Super epic.

• Quinn was referred also by Elder Pace, but he’s been going to Christian churches for 20 years, and he said he had a good experience in the Mandarin Ward (also a miracle), and said he’s thinking about being baptized somewhere.

• Cancan - This girl has got to be one of my favorite people I’ve ever taught on the mission. She’s going to school for her master’s in science right now. We found Cancan near the mall, and she was really enthralled by whatever Elder Bigler and I were saying. So she took a Book of Mormon on the spot, set up a church tour, and came to church. She asks the most profound, deep questions and isn’t afraid to challenge an idea we teach for a few moments, but so far things have been going well.

Church was so awesome this Sunday! We strayed from the 5th-Sunday lesson about seminary and got all of the new friends in the district together in a classroom to teach about the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ! It was a super good discussion.

I heard this great idea for New Years that I want to pass on! Goals can be exhausting and frustrating at times, but consider writing down 10 things you already do well and think about how you can do a little better at each of those! This can be much less daunting than finding new goals entirely.

That’s it for this week!
Stay warm everyone! Love you all!
Elder Baer 熊长老

照片：(photos Might be mixed up a little)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/yBaTy1Mc3BcoogrG6

Jenny Oaks Baker Concert!

Christmas Mahjong (Shout out to district 04-H for getting me hooked, miss you boys)

Service at the mall

[Member meal]

[Looking for a new fur coat?]