But that was a priceless Steinway!

[Title references this clip from The Pink Panther Strikes Again.] 

 28 July 2025

大家好！Hello friends!

Another funny week gone by, here's the gist:

• The Relief Society had an activity at someone’s house, and we heard Jem was there! Jem is someone that was baptized over a year ago, but she quickly stopped coming to church. The Lord has a great plan!
• Had a wild lesson involving 5 missionaries, 2 YSA ward members and 1 interested friend.
• Peter Pan has now told at least 20 people about our English class. The real miracle is we got to read the scriptures with him and he started praying!
• Hehe is moving to Toronto for a few months before he returns to China. He has struggled with giving up tea and so we had a kind of hard lesson about keeping the Word of Wisdom. We’re praying that he still feels loved.
• Tons of rain up here which is still awesome! Best summer ever.
• Last P-day we got to look at the Steinway piano store, and also a bunch of fancy car dealerships! (Lamborghini & RR, Ferrari & Alpha Romeo, etc.) Oddly enough, the Steinway store was the most fun by far. The staff was very nice there.

While sitting in the mega lesson with the YSA missionaries I heard our friend Leo ask about how we know what the truth is. In hearing Elder Wong explain the events of Joseph Smith’s first vision, I slowly started realizing (or re-realizing) the profound truth, “Ask, and ye shall receive.” If we want to learn more about someone, we ask them questions. If I need help with something, I ask. This made me realize how little I actually ask questions when I offer prayers to Heavenly Father. This week I’d invite you to join me in asking questions in your personal prayers. God will answer in some way at some time, for he “giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not.”

I was reading in the book of Alma this week when I realized how much God’s plan of redemption looks after all of his children. Even Alma’s persecutions of others couldn’t prevent God’s plan for his salvation to be accomplished. I know God’s plan works! Because of Jesus Christ, all of us will be given the capability and the choice to come back to our heavenly home.

Stay cool everyone! Love you all!

Elder Baer 熊长老

照片：

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

Dosirak Korean Food

Steinway

Cars

Rain

The Dissy

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, but You DON'T Go!

[Title refers to "When the Foeman Bares His Steel," from Pirates of Penzance.]

21 July 2025 

大家好！Hello friends!

It's me again. I know, been a long time eh? Not too much to report on in the last few days, here's a quick one for ya:

• Whoever has been praying for rain deserves a Pulitzer prize. The rain here has been AWESOME! We got an epic thunderstorm on camera.
• Our friend Peter Pan (his real name, I kid you not) recruited 5 people to join our English class. He's so funny.
• We had dinner with the Huang family!! Brother Huang is the kind of guy I want to be when I grow up.
• Testifying works! Elder Wong's family called him in the car on our Thursday P-day. I was a little zoned out when suddenly the feeling in the car changed. I caught two phrases “miracles” and “If its meant to happen, it'll happen.” He later explained that they were actually talking about something very casual and trivial, but it still taught me that God's Spirit is present in any instance where His truth is shared.

Share something you know to be true this week! There's a lot of half truths and relative truths and not truths out there. Real truth is powerful, no matter how large or small. It is especially powerful when not done in confrontation, so don't fight! Just share.

Stay cool everyone! Love you all!

Elder Baer 熊长老

照片：

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

From last week: A foto I forgot of the Hele family in the English Ward + big hail storm.

 

From this week: Sonic boom storm + RAD LIGHTNING 

[Sonic boom: look at the clouds, not the sculpture]

Tai Lung Has Returned

[Title references Kung Fu Panda.]

17 July 2025 

大家好！Hello friends!

Super crazy week (and a half)! I don't know how we're going to fit all of it in here so here we go.

• TODAY was our temple P-day, so we got to go to the temple. Our companionship did initiatory work. It was epic.
• We had dinner with our Chilean member friend Franny twice this week. Elder Neff was going home, and they were pretty close.
• I got to drive a ton of missionaries around! We chauffeured departing missionaries to the airport and also drove around the incoming missionaries on their first day.
• I am serving my last transfer in the MANDARIN WARD!!! President really had me sweating on this round of transfers. I'm in a trio with Elder Andrus and the brand new Elder Wong from Hong Kong.
• Hehe met with us online! He is the incredible Chinese man I met in Lethbridge before I got transferred, and he's ON DATE FOR BAPTISM!!!
• A lady named Seavan was baptized in the ward on Saturday!! We're excited for her.
• We have seen a bunch of rain, and the forecast for this week only looks like more. Thus we had an epic time street contacting in the rain downtown.
• Fun fact, I can no longer send friend requests to white people on Facebook. I can only friend Asians now, and Facebook probably thinks I am Asian at this point. New high score!
• Also fun fact, Elder Wong's family is mentioned in Elder Benjamin Tai’s April 2020 conference talk.

I had a weird epiphany this week when I was reading the classic verses in Alma about “No unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven.” But after looking at some footnotes and cross references and Bible Dictionary, it suddenly made sense that the Kingdom of Heaven IS the Church of Jesus Christ. This Church is the group of people preparing themselves to return to God’s presence by making their mortal lives heavenly. When the Lord says the kingdom of heaven is at hand, he means that the church of His power is on Earth now. So the invitation is not “repent or you won’t make it to heaven,” but the invitation is to change in order to join God’s team. This week, think about the change you might need to make to join God’s team or represent Him better. Coming closer to Christ truly brings joy closer to you!

Stay cool everyone! Love you all!

Elder Baer 熊长老

照片：

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

Dinner with Franny!

Elder Pace and I

Elder Roberts and I

 

Calgary

Elder Andrus

Huge crash that happened right by the church but we think everyone is okay 😬🙏

Temple in the rain

Hold My Poodle

 [Title references this iconic line from "White Chicks."]

 7 July 2025 

大家好！Hello friends!

I'm gonna share right off the bat a cool experience that happened this week. Remember Dave, who we met by the buses and came to church? We found out he used to go to the YSA ward so we had a pass-off lesson with him. The setup was sweet! We brought the YSA missionaries and our friend Troy, who is preparing to serve a mission. We thought we were going to read the Book of Mormon with him. Instead we explained God's plan of redemption in answer to questions he had. The most powerful moment was when Dave prayed at the end to qualify for the Celestial Kingdom to be with his “‘Elder’ brothers.” The plan of Salvation is REAL and is made possible because of Jesus Christ.

We had the most WILD time at the bus station! We started a conversation with a guy who basically said “I'm super into history and religions and stuff….no thanks, though, I don't need to read that book.” Mid conversation this woman walks up and says “I'd like to hear what you're sharing today!” Don't know if she had a gnarly speech impediment or was a little autistic (or both?) But she was excited about a Book of Mormon. While we were talking to her another kid says “yo, I got a question,” and a few minutes later he's crossing the street with us saying some typical stuff about Islam when ANOTHER guy pops up and says, “May I join in?” and he starts shutting down his argument in Arabic before the kid hops on the bus. He then told us about some vision he saw that converted him to Christianity, and then started debating with Elder Neff about the belief of becoming like God. 

I read a lot about faith this week from Hebrews 11 and Ether 12 (they both have similar structure), and came across this interesting word in the Mandarin translation: 赋予 (fùyŭ) means entrust or bestow. This changes how we view ourselves when we hear the Lord's statement “I [entrust] unto men weakness that they may be humble.” Perhaps Jesus trusts us with weakness so we can trust Him and overcome them. This week, think of one action you can do to grow your faith, and then do it! Taking actions to grow faith will move the mountains in your life, and trust in Jesus will overcome weakness.

I find out tomorrow whether I am staying in an English ward or going back to the Mandarin one, so I will let you know.  

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

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

[His eye is on the sparrow -- back porch as haven]

 

 

 

 

King Solomon's Mines

30 June 2025 

 大家好！Hello friends!

Been a phat week! I don't even know where to ease into this so we're gonna go right off the bat and list whatever I can remember.

• Met Dave by the bus station, and he's been taught by missionaries before! And he came to Church! Just in time for a very controversial Sunday school lesson! *facepalm*
• Met a guy named Solomon from Ethiopia. He didn’t understand what we were saying until we started talking about the falling away of Christ’s church and the restoration through Joseph Smith. He lit right up! We had the great privilege of giving him a copy of the Book of Mormon in Amharic and he seemed excited to read.
• Met a guy named Danny who seemed like he had genuine questions, until he said a prayer that we would stop going to a false church and realize that he had it right. 
• Went to the temple on Friday!!! It was awesome!! We saw our ward’s recent convert John there as well, and he had a ton of family names he brought with him! He’s the coolest.
• We got lost in the mountains for a minute. My companion was like, “Let’s go to a mine a little out of Calgary.” And it was not a little out of Calgary, it was in Kananaskis Park in the Rockies. And then at the proposal to take a shortcut, we found ourselves on the top of one mountain overlooking a valley that separated us from our goal. After a lot of Hmms and Umms and headscratching and wandering some trails, we turned back. I later found out that the mine was in fact not a mine, but the Canyon Creek Ice Caves that I visited last year. Good trip though.
• Moved a TON of people in one day, and it was hot and exhausting and slightly apostate for that much service but it turned out okay because I just love service as you can tell :]))

God moves in mysterious ways. As I was pulling the sheets over myself and almost about to fall asleep after the long service day, I remembered “I haven’t studied the Book of Mormon at all today.” So I stumbled into the living room and saw that Elder Kim was also still in there and he accepted an invitation to study with me. That turned out to be one of the most incredible studies! I gained a ton of insights about Alma 14, and Elder Kim and I had a small conversation that helped me realize some cool things about myself and in what ways I can build my faith. 

I also had this cool thought: The Savior’s “why” is YOU! I’ve talked a little bit about the “why” behind our actions, but I realized after a difficult day that the reason behind everything Jesus does is for you! He felt whatever pain you are feeling now because he loves you! You are everything to Him. His covenants are the greatest way to feel His love for you and the greatest way to show love for Him. As you make and keep covenants, you will experience the power of God in very real and tangible ways that will make everything better.

Stay cool everyone! Love you all!

Elder Baer 熊长老

照片：

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

Exchanges

 

 

Mountains

[Clouds]

Heritage Park! T’was a good P-day today

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Korean Food