6.17.13

Hello Family!

Today is transfer day. I am staying in the Nyssa area, therefore I am officially in the Idaho Nampa mission. I am excited to be training a new sister in Nyssa. I am pretty bummed for Sister Dickey to be leaving to Boise though. It feels a little like saying goodbye to a best friend. We are spending the next few days in Boise before our new missionaries arrive so it will be fun. We visited the state capitol today and toured around downtown Boise. It is a beautiful city and I am a bit sad that I will never have a chance to serve there. 

I am so blessed to continue the work in Nyssa. The area is really thriving! Viola was baptized on Saturday and it was beautiful. Two men had to help her down into the font but when she went down into the water to be baptized her body moved more freely than I have ever seen it. She came up sobbing tears of the spirit. She bore one of the most powerful testimonies I have ever heard. She is one of God's elect. She is a wonderful friend as well. We made tortillas with her after church yesterday. It was delicious and a blast! I am loving the work here and am so excited to continue it with a new missionary! The Lord is really blessing His children as this gathering of Israel continues. Continue to keep up the wonderful member missionary work!!

Your Sister,

Madison Baker

6.10.13

Here is the story of the week!

Over the last month or so, we have been attending the stake lds family services addiction recovery meetings. At these meetings we encountered a man named Glen who is a recovering alcoholic and has been sober for 7 years. He had been previously attending regular AA meetings but was not feeling the support that he needed there. A friend introduced him to the addiction recovery program and he said that ever since the first meeting there it has felt like home for him. We invited him to take the discussions about three weeks ago and he agreed although he was somewhat hesitant. After a few lessons he attended church after which he declared he was "pleasantly impressed" and he has attended again since. In our lesson with him this past week, his change of heart was visible. We were greeted at the door by a clean shaven, humble man with a fresh hair cut and a clean shirt. It was a pretty drastic transformation from the scruffy guy we had been teaching. He shared experiences with us about prayers being answered over the previous week and spiritual experiences he had had. We extended a baptismal invitation and he readily accepted. The only road block was his chewing tobacco addiction. Good thing we met him in recovery class so we had some suggestions for him! We challenged him to stop chewing and although he knew it would be difficult, after receiving a priesthood blessing form our ward mission leader and a ward missionary, he sent all of his chew out the door with us. This was a pretty humbling moment for everyone involved. I have never had to face a situation like this before and I know that my faith was tested a bit in having to ask someone to give up their addiction right then and there. The atonement is a powerful thing. It is also pretty funny when two sister missionaries walk out of a house with about 20 cans of dip. I am daily amazed at how this gospel changes people! Miracles happen every day.

I love you and hope that life continues to be peaceful and happy! I have loved coming to know the Book of Mormon and knowing of its truth. I know that it really is the word of God and the most correct of any scripture. It is amazing to be able to say this now, as before my mission I did not have this firm testimony. I love this gospel! I also love you! Give everyone a hug for me! LOVE YOU

6.3.13

Thank you for the cake! Haha we couldn't figure out who it was from because it passed thru like 4 different members before it got to grandmas house. So that was a fun mystery! I got the package, it was really fun! I love the skirt and wore it yesterday, as well as the earrings and the necklace from marisa! It was so fun! I was so excited to see so many happy birthday emails today! 

It was a really good day yesterday. We had 5 investigators at church, one of which we have been having a bit of a hard time with but he really felt the spirit and said that a lot of his questions were answered. The best birthday present of all was Art's baptism on Saturday night. After he was baptized, he bore his testimony. His tears and accent were so thick that you could hardly understand him but the spirit spoke over it all and testified of the healing power of the atonement. He is truly a converted man. President Cannon was there as well as about half the ward. I was able to sing "Be Still My Soul" and afterwards the spirit was even stronger. Several members bore their own testimony of baptism and the atonement afterwards. It was a beautiful and life changing experience. I am feeling very humbled as I am able to teach so many wonderful people. I am so grateful to have been raised in this gospel. It is the way and Christ is the light. I love you and hope you had tons of fun at camp! Tell everyone I love them and pray for them always. 

I love you!!!