My thoughts on Feminism, Batman, and Some Other Stuff Too

So, I clearly cannot sleep. Therefore I have been listening to random old General Conference talks... If any of you are wondering what the heck this General Conference is, please continue to the really big 'anyways'. If you're not, ya could probably skip to the next paragraph... Or keep reading to learn about "G.C. According to Me: A Brief Detailed History"... I should write a book **awkward silence** Okay, fine I will spare you. Maybe... AAAAANNNNYYYWWAAAYYYSSSS... General Conference is a meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that occurs worldwide twice a year. It happens in a conference center and is broadcast to many countries throughout the world. At this conference, the leaders of the LDS Church, including the living Prophet and Twelve Apostles--yes, just like in the New Testament--speak to all of the members of the church. Questions yet? Please comment or email me or ask the missionaries or read this article. These addresses are really intended for anyone, LDS or not, and serve as sort of a spiritual highway through current issues and events. Remember, these leaders are addressing people all over the world. They must seek the utmost divine guidance to be able to spiritually reach over 15,000,000 people who speak nearly 200 different languages. This conference is a miracle in itself, but the real miracle is that the talks given ALWAYS hit home. Without a doubt, there will be at least one address that speaks directly to a personal struggle, question, or doubt. I don't care who you are, it works. Every time. Try it, I dare you... But really, from personal experience, I know that the Lord speaks to us through these servants. I know that He knows our needs and uses these messages to meet some of them. So, when I seek comfort, I turn to the words of the prophets--the living word of God.


Okay, we are back to tonight... Well this morning, considering it is nearly 4 A.M... I was randomly scrolling through past conferences on my phone and came across a talk titled "An Elect Lady," The title caught my eye so I decided to give it a listen. Considering all of the recent hullaballoo about feminism and whatnot (I just sounded like an old person) I thought it would be interesting to remind myself of the Lord's perspective on his precious daughters. In this talk, Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, elaborates in great detail on the divine calling of women on earth. To read or listen to his talk, click on the title of the talk. I'm not going to re-hash his whole talk here, so really if you want to know what he said you are going to have to read the talk. My opinion is pretty much all you get from this point forward-- lucky you! Alright, I may throw a few quotes in there but just enough to be a little boring. I can tell that you are so ready to keep reading!!

**Hush child, it's just gettin' good**

So, back to this whole feminism thing and let me preface by saying: contrary to my somewhat negative tone towards 'feminism', I am all about equality. I do not think in any way that one type of people deserve more rights or privileges, just because they happen to be that type of person. I do, however, believe that different types of people--men and women in this particular situation--fill different roles in society, humanity, and in Heavenly Father's plan. Does this mean that one 'deserves' more than the other? No. Does it mean that they 'deserve' exactly the same thing? Once again, no...


 Let me explain myself with a little personal story. Once upon a time, my sister and I were somewhere in the zone of maybe 4 and 5 years old, she being the elder. My sweet sweet mother being the phenomenal woman she is, devised some sort of chore/reward system. Being that we were too poor at the time to earn a weekly allowance, she decided that if we completed small tasks. Some of these included making our beds, picking up our toys, eating all our food (hem hem, our sandwich crust), and whatever other chores 4 and 5 year olds are capable of. If we completed all of these things willingly for a certain amount of time, we would be able to pick out a small prize from TARGET. **swoon**.  So, whatever we did the stuff, earned our keep, did what we needed to do to 'deserve' what we were promised. At this point if our mother were to treat us 'equally' we would have both received the same prize without question and without getting to pick. But... Dun Dun Dun... that is not how it works at our house. My precious older sister wanted a Batman action figure more that life itself and I probably wanted a sparkly Lip-Smackers or something else dumb. The point is that she got the Batman and I got the chapstick. Probably not equal in value, or coolness in each other's eyes. But all I know, is that if I got Batman I would have been PISSED... Or the 4 year old equivalent. And she most likely felt the same way. The moral of the story is this: true American equality is not getting what everyone else gets just because it is the same, but working for what YOU want and being able to enjoy the fruits of your labor. If what you really want is to be the same or better than a man, or another woman for that matter, work hard and be better than them. You can because this is America... At least for now... (Yes, I am aware of the larger global issue, but that is another rant for another day). But seriously, stop asking for whatever someone else has just because they have it and you don't. Someone will always have something better than what you have. You can spend your time wishing you had Batman, but I really would rather enjoy my sparkly chapstick and maybe not even share it.

That was a really long story/rant for me to say that I think the whole feminism uprising is a little on the trite side, but maybe thats just me. But moving forward...

In his talk, Elder Perry quotes Sister Marjorie Pay Hinkley, wife of the 15th Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, President Gordon B. Hinkley. She addresses the women of the church, but in particular mothers saying, “It is the mothers of young children I would like to address first. These are golden years for you. These are years when you will probably do the most important work of your lives. Don’t wish away your years of caring for small children. Life is what happens to you while you are making other plans. This is a time of great opportunity for you to build the kingdom. When you teach children to love their Heavenly Father, you have done one of the greatest things you will ever do. If you can be a full-time homemaker, be grateful. If not, you must do what is best for you. I for one have never felt a need to apologize for my role as a full-time homemaker." 


As a woman, a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, and someone who hopes to be a mother someday, I am specifically referring to 'feminism' as the negativity towards women who chose to raise a family over a career or other worldly luxuries. It is like Batman and lipbalm. Each made a different person happy and brought them satisfaction. And each held value in the eye of the beholder. To some wearing a pantsuit and making buckets of money brings them satisfaction. To me, fulfilling my divine role and serving my Heavenly Father will bring lasting happiness and joy. I admit sometimes I forget that my life won't always be about me, but that I was called, chosen, elected, and ordained to one day bear and raise children. The wife of a man who very literally spoke to God has told us that this is the MOST IMPORTANT thing we can do. Like ever. What good is the other work that we do in life if we cannot pass it on to our own flesh and blood who can take that knowledge and wisdom, improve it, and then pass it on, and so on and it could go forever.... Whoa. that was deep. But in all seriousness, everything I do is for the benefit of my future children. I can't wait to be a mom and get to teach my little darlings all about life and love and Jesus. Yes, that is part of a future that I hope to have. No, it is not happening anytime soon. So?... I am not letting life happen while I make other plans. I am working towards my degree and planning a career and vacations that I will probably never be able to afford. I am living. I am enjoying what I have right now and working hard for what I want in the future. I am trusting in the Lord and the promises He has given me. I am serving and loving and trying to be like Him. For sure not perfect, or probably even very good at it, but I am trying. I am learning to have an attitude of gratitude. I am taking the callings I have been given at this time (daughter, sister, student, friend, leader, etc...) and am being the best at that. Okay fine I am not the actual best, we already established this. But thats not the point. We all have different callings or roles, and it is up to us to do those things better than anyone else. So stop trying to be what the world says you should be. Or what someone on some ranty blog says you should be. But, figure out who the Lord whats you to be, and work like crazy to try and become that version of you. Embrace what you were sent here to do. Live it. Love it. 

This Time

Sometimes I write blog posts all about angry, ugly things, and then delete them and then write a post about something sunshiny and happy and positive and flowery. This is not one of those times. (Although this is a vast improvement on the original, much more hopeful.)

Sometimes life sucks. Sometimes plans change. Sometimes families are messed up. Sometimes awesome kids get cancer. Sometimes people lie. Sometimes your past is your present. Sometimes reality bites. And sometimes you can't do anything about it.

So heres to embracing it this time.

The Best Birthday Gift

So, today is my birthday. I am trying this new thing where I don't even pretend like it is not my birthday. It has actually been kinda fun, too... But this post is not about me being a birthday princess or whatever (I am still not completely sold that making it another year alive in todays world is really cause for celebration) it is about a gift that I was given that cannot be held or touched.

I had been sitting in my religion class this afternoon for maybe 5 minutes when my stomach suddenly felt like it was going to explode. I tried to sit there and let it pass but that definitely was not happening--happy birthday to me. So, I awkwardly get up and walk past the projector screen to get to the door to head to the bathroom. Just when I thought that sweet relief was near... The bathroom door was locked. Who locks a public bathroom on a college campus in the middle of the day? Weird I know. Now I am walk-running all the way to the other side of the building to the other bathroom praying that this one was not also locked. Hallelujah that it wasn't. Well, I took care of things. That was a relief. As I was washing my hands I could hear someone crying. I looked around to find out where it was coming from and spotted someone sitting on the floor in the end stall. I slowly approached not knowing what I was going to do next, but knowing that I could not leave this poor soul all alone on the floor of the bathroom. The door to the stall was closed and I still didn't know what to say so I slowly sunk to the floor and reached my hand underneath the door. It seemed like hours I sat there waiting for her to grab my hand. Eventually a tiny, sweaty, shaky hand grabbed mine and held tight. In that moment I could feel all of her sadness and pain and anxiety flow into my body and I began to cry as well. I knew then that no words were needed. All that was required was for this sweet girl to know that she was not alone.

How many times have we felt utterly isolated? Cried and begged for someone to care just for a moment. I don't know a single person who has not been there, crumpled on the bathroom floor. How many times do we hear or tell ourselves that we are not alone? That Christ has felt what we are feeling, that He is there for us.  In dark moments I try to remind myself of this but if I am being totally honest I don't know if I can always feel it. I am usually too focused on myself.

Today I was given a gift that goes beyond any description. For just a moment I was allowed a tiny glimpse into how the Savior feels about me and about each of his children. As I connected with my new friend in the girls bathroom, I felt nothing but love for her. I wanted with everything in my soul to take her pain away or to at least help her carry it. As I stretched out my hand and waited, I knew that this is what Jesus does for us. He holds out His hand and waits as long as it takes for us to take it. And He will never let go.

This is the greatest gift.

Bananas Help

Well hey there! I suppose it has been a while... Again. Okay, no one is surprised. So here I sit in lovely Rexburg, Idaho about 4 weeks into a new semester. I am back to life. It is probably a miracle or something. I have even declared a major--whoopee! I am studying Family and Consumer Sciences Education, a really awesome title for an even better major. I could not have found something more suited to me to study. It really is a miracle. I spend my days learning interior design, delving into the philosophies of education, and cooking up a storm in the foods lab. It is pretty freaking fantastic. I am also serving as the Relief Society President of my YSA ward (Relief Society is the women's service organization within the LDS Church). It has only been a few weeks but I feel like I have grown insane amounts! Now don't be fooled, this is not just fun and games and baking cookies--this past four weeks have been some of the most difficult I have ever faced, but I am growing. Funny how life and God do that to us. Make us grow. Like when we were kids and got leg cramps because we were just growing like little weeds. Well, I guess now we get life cramps. But half a banana and some prayer always seem to work as well as it used to in the old days. I guess some (or most) of these little life cramps have been brought on by school. It is no secret that school has never been my favorite pass time. Something about sitting still and paying attention... But I am taking a class on the philosophies of education and It has helped me to see school, and myself as a student in a different light. I am learning how to learn. How to develop and how to become. It is so much more than a test score (although my competitive nature makes it about that sometimes). School is about life. It is about knowing and feeling and testing limits. Sometimes it is about just learning how to play the game (still trying to figure that one out without ample sarcasm). I guess what I am saying is that school isn't so bad. Don't tell anyone I said that--I can't afford to lose my tough guy rep. But for reals. I am learning to appreciate where I am now. To not stress too much about tomorrow or yesterday but to just live. Nobody said I was good at it yet, but like I said--I am growing. Just like a pretty little flower. So let yourself grow a little too. Don't be afraid of the life cramps, they are not too bad once they are over. You might be surprised at what you will discover!

Learning How to Use My Words

Hi. It seemed like a good time to share some more of my inner-most thoughts with the internet. So here we find ourselves once again. I suppose it is good that we are keeping in closer touch these days, ever since I shared all of my secrets with you and such... Ya know, we are tight now--or something. Anyways, I guess I am kinda moving on to a new phase in my life--shocking, I know. What?! Madison is moving and starting fresh and trying to be a grown up?... I was surprised too.

So, I am home from my mission (somewhat abruptly, and by somewhat I mean extremely), I am living with my parents and 4 younger siblings, not working, not really doing much of anything. Granted for the first two months of being home I was pretty much stuck in bed having seizures--but that is a story for another time. Remind me to tell it if you are really interested in hearing because there is a 99.99% chance I will forget. But back to this story. So here I am after months of constant progress just kind of floating. It felt pretty nice for about 5 seconds, too. Funny thing about just sitting, when you do it for very long you start to slide backwards. It is like sitting in neutral on a gradual incline. Never a happy ending.

There is a bit of a dizzy/light headed feeling when your vehicle is slowly rolling backwards--well, it was nothing like that. It was more like getting smacked upside the head--if you will. One minute I am going along my merry way and the next I just know that I am not where I am supposed to be/doing what I am supposed to be doing. It was pretty dramatic. Through out my life I have had similar moments. You know, those moments when you know that the Lord is ready to make a change? I am pretty sure he drops smaller hints to begin with, but I tend to be pretty dense. But when I know, I know. And this time I knew. I couldn't keep going in the direction I was headed. So, to my knees I went.

I tend to make decisions this way somewhat frequently. It may seem rash at times, and due to my excellently poor communication skills I feel that I may even hurt others in the process at times. I am deeply apologetic if you have ever felt hurt and/or confused at my quick decisions which usually include no explanation. But, when I have a personal revelation shouldn't everyone else around me automatically know and understand what is going on deep within my soul? No? You are telling me I actually have to use words? Well, here we are.

I have begun a new journey. One that I know I need to be on. I am off to continue figuring out how to be an actual person. One who contributes to society and is kind and happy and educated. I am on my way to school at BYU-Idaho. I am taking the long way round and I am exactly where God wants me. I will not pretend to know exactly what will happen next, but I know that as I include the Lord in this process, He will lead me step by step. For I am His and no one else's. It is not easy, but man is it worth it.

Communication is key. I am working on it. I guess if you can tell the entire internet all about your inner most crap, you should be able to have a simple conversation with the people closest to you... Hmm, maybe someday. For now, I blog.

I know I do not have a huge audience, but I would love your feedback. Is there anything in particular you would like to know more about me/my life/my opinion on random things? Oh, I am being one of those vain blogger types who thinks the whole world wants my opinion? Whoops. Oh well.

Well, Now You Know. Surprise!

It has been awhile, hasn't it? I missed you too. Lets have an intimate little chat and rekindle our friendship, sound good? Great! Now that we have reestablished our endearment to one another, we can talk about our deep dark things, right? Maybe not? Well, we are going to anyways. Lets talk about mental illness. Put your big kid pants on because I guess this could be a conversation that makes some people uncomfortable. Okay, maybe it makes me a little uncomfortable. That is precisely why we are going to talk about it in all of it's ugly glory. Because I am choosing not to let "it" own me anymore. Period.

I know I have talked about feeling different before. About owning who I am and being that person. Well, a huge part of who I am and why I am different--or maybe not so different from more people than most of us think--is that I suffer from mental illness. I am not mental, or crazy, or psycho. I have an illness, it does not have me. From childhood I have suffered from anxiety and depression. Throughout my life it has come and gone, lurking in the shadows behind me occasionally showing its ugly face towering over  me in moments of darkest despair. For years I have tried to outrun this sneaky beast. Pushing it behind me, closing the door on it, and shoving it deep down inside encasing it in chains and concrete and steel bars. I locked "it"  away but with it other precious things became trapped. I held others at arms length as to not allow them to discover my inner dungeon of mystical nasty secret problems. I pasted a lovely smile on my face and taught myself to be pleasant but never attached. I could still enjoy most of life, in fact I did pretty well within the limits I had set for myself. So well that I felt I could probably live my whole life that way and never have to relinquish the prisoner within my mentality. I was in control. There in one simple word, "I", lived the root of all of this evil.

Now, let me take a small break from my dramatic monologue to reassure you that as I refer to "evil" and "darkness" I am referring to my feelings towards my mental illness, not to my feelings toward myself. Is it strange to say that even though I felt that I was hiding something evil within me, that I still knew of my divinity as a daughter of God and my inherent goodness? Like I said, I have mental illness, it does not have me.

Anyways, I discovered this big "I" problem when my life was suddenly no longer about ME. I spent the most important eleven months of my life thus far learning how not to think about myself. I also learned how to let down my barriers. To care deeply about others. To actually LOVE and Feel and Care. I learned to let go of my need to defend myself with sarcasm and biting words. I learned to see others and love others the way that our Savior sees each one of his children. It is a beautiful thing to see another with all of their flaws and scars and ugly pieces and love them all the more for those shortcomings. I learned that if I could feel this way about others, that there are others who could feel this way about me--beginning with my Father in Heaven and my Elder Brother, Jesus Christ. They love me not in spite of my faults, but because of them. I learned that I owe it to Them and to myself to unwrap those chains, and break down that wall and unlock the door that had kept me so safe for so long. I knew that the only way to become who my Heavenly Father knows I can be, I had to face my ugly pet mental illness. I am doing it for Him. I am doing it for me. I am doing it for my family. For my future spouse and children. For anyone who needs to know that they can do it too.

We are all given challenges. It is part of mortal existence. For some it is the challenge of mental illness, or maybe it is an addictive personality, maybe it is cancer, maybe it is a rough family situation, or poor circumstances. Whatever it is that you are suffering with, you are not alone. You don't need to lock it away and pretend like it does not exist. It does. There is help. There is support. Most importantly, there is our Savior, who through His grace suffered each of these challenges for us. "And He shall go forth suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of EVERY KIND." (Alma 7:11). Because He suffered for me, I am not defined by my challenges in life. Are they still hard? Yes. Every single day. But I know that I am not alone. I also know that you are not alone. If you feel alone, I promise that you have a friend.

Why am I sharing all of this? Because I don't know who, but I know that this will help someone. Maybe it will just help me. I am glad we are friends. I am glad that I can open my heart to you now that I am not letting it be all clogged up with icky metaphorical prison-like stuff. I am trying. I know that I can be successful. You can be too. Always hope. Good chat. Goodnight.

Well, I guess I am wearing pants today...

How do you start a post telling everyone that you are no longer a full time missionary? I guess just like that. It has not really been public information until recently that for the last several months of my mission I have been struggling with severe health issues. I will spare you all the ugly details, but it was determined by my doctor and my mission president that I would need to return home for a period of time on medical leave. I am home and I am ok with it. I know that I need to get healthy so that I can continue serving the Lord. Coming home was the most difficult thing that I have ever been asked to do but I know that it will effect the rest of my life in the best way. I know that I will receive the care that I need and that I will be able to make a complete recovery. I know that Heavenly Father knows and loves me and that He is with me every step of the way. This is not easy and I know that it will continue to be difficult but I am surrounded by love and support. I know that God has a plan for me and I know that this is part of it. I love each of you and am grateful for the love and prayers that I can feel on a daily basis. Please continue to keep me in your prayers. I will periodically update you all here on the progress of my health. I don't know how long this will take or if I will be able to return but I know that with faith all things are possible. 

Love,

(Sister) Madison Baker

1.20.14

"The Parable of the Cake"

Once upon a time it was the first birthday of lovely little Taylor Weir (Ali's daughter). This was a very exciting day for her as she got to hang out at day care all day while her mom worked. Since Ali had to work, Sister Breen and I volunteered to make little Taylor a cake. Sister Packer was even kind enough to volunteer a cake mix she had found in her pantry recently. We mixed up that little white cake mix and decided to make it tie dye. Wahoo! It turned out beautifully. I have never made a tie dye cake that looked so good. It was bright and pretty and swirled perfectly. I wish I had taken a picture of it. After it had cooled for a while, we decided to take it out of the pan to decorate it. Seemed like a good idea--we would cover it in icing so the pretty/colorful swirly cake would be a surprise. Well, as soon as we upturned the pan the cake began falling apart. Just a little at first. The corners did not want to come out of the pan which did not seem like too big of a problem. We figured we could just paste it back together with icing and it would all be fine. Not so much the case. As we started pasting our beautiful creation continued crumbling. This cake that we thought would be so great and looked so great had turned out to be not so great. We began brainstorming on how we could still make this work. Cake balls! Yeah, that did not work. We were left with a brownish green pile of cake mush. It was then discovered that the cake mix had expired over a year ago.  After a few minutes of discouragement we decided to start fresh. So, I grabbed the handy dandy Betty Crocker and started mixing.  With a bit of hesitation we slid the new and less colorful cake into the oven, turned the light on and watched it like the Justin Bieber movie. We pulled it out, let it cool, and iced it. No problems. Now just had to wait to slice into that baby and find out how it would taste. The time of the birthday party came and there was joy and relief as the first bite was taken and it was discovered that the cake was indeed delicious! The baby was happy and so was everyone else.

A lot of times life can be like the first cake. Things can be going just fine and even look to be really great. But one bad ingredient (sin,temptation, trials, discouragement, spiritual apathy etc...) is included in the mix and goes ignored, everything is bound to fall apart. But just as the cake falling apart turned out to be a blessing to everyone who would have eaten cake containing expired ingredients, sometimes our lives falling apart turn out to be a blessing as well.
The Savior doesn't just try to glue us back together or smoosh us into something we are not supposed to be. He helps us to identify that bad ingredient and start fresh through his atonement. It takes work, just like making a brand new cake from scratch,  but in the end we turn out to be just what he wants us to be.
I know that the atonement is very real and that our Savior can mend anything that we allow him to. I am learning this now more than ever, but I have hope that I will have a delicious cake in the end with no rotten ingredients. I know that Jesus Christ died for me specifically. He is my best friend. He can be yours too. Don't be afraid to throw that pretty but broken cake out the window and allow him to help you make a new one. I promise it will be the best decision you have ever made.

In other news, Ali was baptized on Saturday! It was beautiful. She had so many ward members there to support her and did not let her smile fade for one second. She is amazing and has been through so much and will continue to push through the refiner's fire, but she has her sights set on the temple and I know that she will not stray. We also began teaching a new investigator named Ashley this week. We are still getting to know her but she has a million and one questions and is excited and willing to learn and keep commitments. We are excited to see her progress towards baptism! I know that she will also be a wonderful kingdom builder!

This gospel is true. In the words of my dear brother, "You're not planting seeds anymore, you're there to harvest the fields." So that is what we will do. 

Love always,

Sister Baker

1.13.14

It has been another lovely week here in Weiser! We did LOTS of contacting and LOTS of being turned away. It was great. Luckily, Ali is still progressing towards baptism! She is currently our only progressing investigator. She is still living in a motel and being ignored by her family. She is amazing! Her baby got a staph infection from the carpet in the nasty motel, so she and her two cute kids will be moving into the Packers! It will be cozy for a while but fun to be living with our investigator will be a fun blessing! She will be baptized this Saturday.

 We had lots of other fun times this week as we traveled to and from Baker City, Oregon for zone meeting. We had a great meeting followed by pizza and shenanigans (see photo illustration). On the way home we may or may not have been pulled over. I may or may not have been driving 90 mph #streetcontacting. We, however, did not receive a ticket.

Sunday we had a great day at church. Church as a missionary is the best ever! Afterward we ate dinner with our ward mission leader and Rex. Sister Ketring set Rex up with the mother-in-law of a lady in 2nd ward and he is really excited to meet her. Guess we are now matchmakers too!

Sunday night we got a call from a brother in the third ward wondering if we could come by to meet his son's girlfriend. Because God is directing this work, the appointment that we were headed to when he called mysteriously ended up not being home. We zipped right over to the Loomis's house to meet Ashley. Da da da da da da... We have a new investigator! She is in her mid 20s and has always had friends who are LDS but her family is super anti. After getting reamed by her boss about having a Mormon (less-active) boyfriend and hearing all sorts of crazy accusations, she decided it was time to find out for her self what this is all about. She is really receptive and excited to learn. She is super funny and a hoot to be around. We are so excited to teach her!

This work never ceases to amaze me. The Lord is so quick to bless us when we are faithful. I love it! I love all of you! Have a fantastic week!

Your Sister,

Maddy Baker

1.6.14

I suppose you all would like an update on this little town of Weiser, Idaho. Well, that is just what you are going to get. We did more missionary work this week. Wahoo. Ali has a baptism date for the 18th of January!!!!  Ali is really excited about the gospel. She is the prefect investigator and already knows so much. She is thrilled to learn and grow. Her family is having a hard time accepting it, but she told us that if she didn't know with her whole heart that it was true, she would just give up and go home. She is amazing. Her kids are 2 and 1. She is getting into some housing this week. Our teaching pool is a little slow right now. We are still teaching Mona, and Virginia. They are both progressing but slowly. Rex is doing great! He is the best new member ever! 

We spent new-year's eve playing prophet trivia and drinking Martineli's and jumping on our little trampoline. We spent new-year's day helping the Packers clean their house, it was a no-proselyting day (guess they didn't want us bothering all of the hungover people...)

 Friday we served at the funeral of Darrin Thomas and Christian Alder. It was a beautiful service and the whole town was there. SO many Weiser-ites felt the spirit as many speakers testified of the Plan of Salvation. Though many were mourning, it was really a happy day. We were able to stay to serve that family dinner and clean up. It was a great day of service. 

Friday night we went to see a true back-hills Idaho medicine man. It was awesome. Really he is a reflexologist, but he is still really cool. He was able to test the muscles in my feet and legs to diagnose some deeper issues. It was amazing. I know it seems weird, but it was totally legit. I am just going to move to Idaho and forget western culture and be all natural and such. I love Idaho!!  You can live in the city and come visit me on my ranch that has a nice little stream and is 50 miles away from other human civilization :)

Saturday we met some new people to teach, which is always exciting and by the end of the day I  had come down with the stomach flu... Awkward. So Sunday was pretty much shot.

So here we are today. It is transfer day here in the Idaho Nampa Mission. Ba ba da da Sister Breen and I are staying together here in Weiser! Well, that's all for now, folks. The church is true, the book is blue!
Love,
Sister Baker

12.30.13

This week has been nice and pretty relaxing. Christmas Eve and Christmas day were spent mostly with the Packers and with Rex and his girlfriend Susann. We had several delicious turkey dinners (never eating turkey again) and LOTS of desserts. We spent Christmas Eve evening with a family named the Kites and had lots of fun and read Christmas stories and opened Jammies. It was fun that they have that tradition too and they were super nice to get us some too! Sister Breen and I read Luke 2 before going to bed by the light of her glowing pillow pet. It was very nice. Christmas day was the best skyping with everyone! We also took a nap and cleaned our apartment. I am beginning to understand Dad's need to clean on holidays... It was great to just have some time where we didn't need to be anywhere or do anything. That was a great Christmas gift! The best gift of all was being able to celebrate the birth of our Savior as his dedicated servant. It really helped me to see the holiday and the season in a whole new light. I love this gospel and I am so grateful for the birth, life, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Anyways, the rest of the week we spent contacting, teaching, and eating leftovers. We started teaching a girl named Ali who was introduced to the gospel through several (male) friends at the gym. Yes, Ali is very cute. Yes the theory of 'flirt to convert' apparently has worked in this situation because Ali came to us this week and asked to be baptized as soon as possible. She has already begun reading the Book of Mormon, prayed about it, and told her family she is Mormon! She is really excited about the gospel. Don't worry, we are not letting these 'gym friends' creep on her too much ;). We are really excited to keep teaching her and are planning her baptism for Jan. 18th. We also found a new investigator named Jim. He is like extra super old and is from Long Beach! I was excited that he knew where Los Al is and he thought it was pretty neat that I am a California girl. He smokes A LOT and chews tobacco, but many have overcome these addictions in the past. I am really excited to be teaching another old guy. I guess it is my M.O.... The work is going well and I am excited to get 2014 off to a good start. I cannot believe I have been serving almost 10 months. I love this work! 

Before I close, I would like to ask each of you to keep the Alder and Thomas families in your prayers. Saturday night Their sons were killed in a head-on collision heading back from the temple. They were both recently returned missionaries who were home for the holidays. These families as well as the entire town of Weiser are mourning their loss. It is a blessing and a comfort to the family to know that their sons are on to their next mission. Prayers would be much appreciated. 

I love you all and pray always for you. 

Love,

Sister Madison Baker

12.23.13

Hello!

It has been count down to Christmas here in the Idaho Nampa Mission this past week. Bah Humbug. Just kidding, I actually like Christmas this year. We had our Christmas zone conference on Wednesday, which was super fun! We had a white elephant gift exchange. I made out with some Richard Simmons work-out DVDs. Hello New-Year's resolution! We have been bringing Christmas cookies and messages about Jesus to EVERYONE. This is why I love it this year I guess. We found a new investigator named Ali who wants to be baptized. Best present ever! 

It snowed Friday. That was lovely. First white Christmas will be fun. Sunday's Christmas programs really made me miss Foothills ward, but they were still nice. 

Anyways, remember our Savior as you give and receive this week. Remember the ultimate gift that He gave to us. He loves us and the best gift that we can give others is that Christlike love. I love you all! Merry Christmas!

Love,

Sister Baker

P.S. I almost forgot to tell you the most exciting part of the week. Rex got baptized!!!!!! It was beautiful. He cried through the whole thing. He has gained such a sincere testimony and has made so many changes in his life. He will be a wonderful servant of the Lord and disciple of Christ. He is such a special, sweet man who has really taken the gospel into his whole heart and soul. Here are some cute pics from the special day!

12.16.13

Hello!

This week has been a happy week! We have both been on the upswing health-wise and have been able to do a whole lot more missionary work. We only took one sick day. Hooray! It is still really cold here but it should be up in the 30s this week. I never thought I would use the word "up" to describe 30 degree weather... But I guess I have to count my blessings when they appear :). 

We have taught some amazing lessons this week and have had some miracles occur. For some reason whenever I get sick as a missionary I get really scared that when I get better there will not be any work to do, but of course that is never the case. We hit the ground running this week finding 2 new investigators, 3 more potentials, and handing out 6 copies of the Book of Mormon. We made like a million cookies and have been bringing them to less-active and part member families which is super fun! We taught Mona and Cynthia an amazing lesson about prophets this week. They could use any extra prayers as they have a WHOLE  lot going against them right now. 

Anyways, we are loving the Christmas cheer and basking in the love everyone feels at this time of year. It is wonderful. As I attended the temple this week, I realized that sometimes Heavenly Father has to allow us to go through hard times so that his plan can be carried out. Just like Adam and Eve had to partake of the fruit. Sometimes when it seems like Heavenly Father has stepped out, he is just patiently watching and waiting to bring even greater blessings into our lives. I know that the Lord has a plan and that he loves us. 

I love you all! Merry Christmas (no more bah humbug from this sister missionary!)

Love,

Sister Baker

12.9.13

Hi!

I am really cold. Also I have a cold. I am pretty much dying and spent most of yesterday and the day before in bed. I really don't have much of anything exciting to report as we have both been misrably sick all week. Bah humbug. We did watch the Christmas devotional last night and it was really nice. I love hearing the prophet and apostles speak. I loved sister Wixom's talk about remembering to be like a little child. It was really touching. Well, the Packers have been taking really good care of us and keeping us warm in this 1 degree weather. I got my hair evened up this morning so no more long side. Virginia set a baptism date for dec. 28th and Rex had his baptismal interview. We taught Mona and Cynthia about having a loving Heavenly Father which really touched them as they have grown up in a home filled with drugs and alcohol and not very much love. They are very touched by the gospel and by the spirit that they can feel when they are at church and around good loving members of the church. I am very excited to keep teaching them. In other exciting news, I get to go to the temple on Wednesday! Yay! We are excited to get better so we can get back to work and keep being missionaries. Life is fun here in the tundra.

Love,

Sister Baker

12.2.13

Dear Everyone,

It has been a lovely week of new missionaries and Thanksgiving festivities! The week started with an all sisters slumber party at the mission home. That was hilarious and awesome.  Tuesday the new missionaries came in and I got Sister Breen as my new companion. She is from Hawaii and is amazing. I feel like she is not even a new missionary which is such a relief/blessing/sweet sweet tender mercy right now. I am still the STL and have 6 companionships to exchange with this transfer. Wahoo... She is so on top of things though. She is also really funny and is teaching me to speak like a Hawaiian. Word of the week: Dakine "We are going to see Dakine, yeah?". Yep. She is really really great. We have been hitting the ground running and are ready to rock the Weiser 1st and 3rd wards! 

For Thanksgiving we started out our day doing some service at the senior center. We helped prepare and serve meals to all  of the old folks of Weiser. It was great. I love doing service during the holidays, it brings back all of the good memories we have created doing service as a family. Afterwards we had dinner numero uno with the Real family in Weiser 2nd ward. It was a delicious and fun meal. Sister Real printed out a bunch of random fun facts and we all passed the jar around and read them as we ate. It was great. After we finished eating all four of us sisters headed down to Nampa for round two at the mission home. There we all shared what we are thankful for and talked about all of our blessings and then shared funny mission stories. It was great to spend the evening with other missionaries and President and Sister Cannon. Thanksgiving is the best holiday ever. SO, then after that we did more missionary work/stuff. That was really exciting. 

And then there was Sunday. Started out like any normal fast sunday would. Went to ward counsel and sacrament meetings and such. But then it was third ward sacrament meeting time. Hanna Packer excitedly announced that her two friends were coming (one of them had come last week to sing with a group). They both showed up and had tears in their eyes throughout all of the testimonies. One of them leaned over to Hannah and asked "Can I go up there and say something" Hannah told her that she could, so she did. And so did her sister. They both proceeded to bear the most sincere and heartfelt testimonies I have ever heard in my life. Both girls who had only ever set foot in an LDS church twice in their lives stood up and professed this to be the true church. That they knew it because there was a feeling there that they had never felt anywhere else. Let me tell you there was not a single dry eye in the entire chapel. They are starting the lessons on Tuesday. We can't wait!! It was a miracle. When people are ready for the gospel they are ready. There are no two ways about it and the Lord will plant them where they need to be to receive it. It is up to us to help them. To help them feel welcomed and loved. To bring the spirit into our homes and into meetings. To love and accept all of Heavenly Father's children so that when they are ready to receive what we have, we are ready to give it to them. God has a plan. This gospel is true and it is for EVERYONE. I love you all!!

Sister Baker

11.25.13

So... This week has been interesting. Well, it has been mostly normal with like one or two interesting happenings. I did normal things like break up a fight at P-day volley ball, go on exchanges, teach Rex about the law of chastity again, help Malinda move back in with her husband, speak at a Young Women in excellence about how much I "loved" personal progress, make really good soup, teach like 32 lessons, and have my purse stolen right out of my car. Yep. Pretty standard week.

Let me begin with Last Monday. We decided to travel to the far away land of Caldwell, Idaho for P-day activities because we were planning on exchanges with some sisters in the Caldwell zone. So why not mix it up? Ohhhhh I will tell you why. So what started out as a few lovely games of volleyball soon shifted into some really disorganized half court basket ball. Which seemed all good and fine albeit a bit chaotic. After a game or two I noticed one of the sisters had decided to sit out and was sitting on the stage writing letters. I jumped out of the game to make sure she was not hurt and before I could even ask another sister had come out of the game, screamed in this sister's face stormed off mad and the stage sitter ran off in tears. Whoa. At which point the Caldwell zone leader prompts me "I am pretty sure that is your job, not mine". Crap. So I start to go after the sweet little abused sister but another sister had already gone to console her, so in a split second decision I beckoned the yeller to come with me into the hall way to talk about what had happened. Very calmly I explained that there are better ways to resolve differences and that shouting at people out of the blue is not conducive to missionary work. She calmly agrees and then out of nowhere begins to verbally attack me. Luckily her companion showed up and was able to jump in front of her right as she was about to deck me. Lovely. By some miracle I stayed calm throughout this entire experience. I was able to talk her down and finally have a conversation and do some problem solving. Man, I was scared pantsless though! She eventually apologized to me and to the sister she was being unkind to on the basketball court and I am pretty sure President is helping them resolve differences. When I was called as the sister training leader, I had no idea what I was in for I guess, but President Cannon assured me that is exactly why I am in this calling. I have a testimony that the Lord qualifies those whom he calls. Sometimes even if we don't realize it until after a situation. Anyways, that was Monday. The rest of the week was pretty smooth sailing. We taught a lot and had a baptism on Saturday for a man who was taught in the Boise mission. It was a little weird, but nice to see someone receiving the ordinance of baptism. We also taught Virginia the plan of salvation, which she loved. Her friend/fellowshipper, Sister Olsen gave her a David Ridges "Book of Mormon Made Easier" which she is devouring. She is really progressing and we are hoping to extend a baptism date for her in our next lesson. We also found a new investigator in the 1st ward. She took the lessons about 20 years ago from some "cute" elders so naturally she remembers nothing. She is genuinely interested in learning though, which is exciting! 

So, to end our week after the baptism on Saturday night we stopped by one of our ward missionary's home to coordinate for the upcoming ward christmas party (I don't really know why we are the party planning committee, but we just are.) After about an hour of him showing us a bunch of old home movies form their wedding and stuff we decided to leave. Well, that didn't happen because as soon as we got in the car we noticed that our purses had been stolen. Lovely. So, we called the Cops and President Cannon and all that jazz. The cops found our purses dumped out on the lawn two doors down. The only thing gone was sister Ketring's camera. Some punk-A kid did a really poor job so they are pretty sure they will be able to recover the camera or at least catch him and collect restitution for it. Pretty lame. Guess I didn't have to go to a third-world country for the true missionary mugging experience. Wahoo. 

Anyways, that was less exciting that it seemed. Things really are good around here. Today is transfers. We are splitting the Weiser area and are both training new sisters. Wahoo. So yeah. Have a great week. The Gospel is true!

Love, 

Sister Baker

11.18.13

 Hi

 So it has been another fantastic week as a missionary! It started out with sister Ketring and I both being sick with the colds directly from Lucifer himself, which is always exciting. I prayed really really hard that I would be better by wednesday so I could make pies, and God worked things out. We spent Tuesday in bed recovering so by Wednesday we were ready to go. Wednesday was quite possibly the most fun day of my entire mission so far. We rode to Nampa with Sister Real (one of our favorite missionary moms) and got lunch at Jimmy Johns (hallelujah for a delicious sandwich!) she is hilarious so that was great. Then we went to the mission home and Sister Cannon took us to WinCo to shop for pie ingredients. WinCo is the best grocery store on the face of the planet. I have probably mentioned that before, but it is just really awesome. Can you say bulk bins of EVERYTHING? It is great. So after almost forgetting the Crisco and running back through the isles while Sis. Cannon waited at the register, we headed back to the mission home to get baking. Apples and pumpkin filling were coming out of our ears! Every once in a while President would pop in to tell us how good it smelled and tell us a story.  About 7 hours an 19 pies later we were all exhausted, covered in flour/shorting, and starving. President took the three of us baking queens out for dinner at Olive Garden, which was extremely nice and delicious. We went back to the mission home and crashed. I just have to tell you haw amazing President and Sister Cannon are. I love them SO much. They really are like replacement parents while I am here in Idaho, and they really would do anything for us. Also, they are hilarious. I feel like we are best friends with them. I guess pie wins over everyone (thanks for teaching me that, President Clason!). Anyways, our zone conference on Thursday was phenomenal. It was a fast and feast (hence all of the pies). The theme was recognizing and understanding the spirit. President told a story about "The Box and the Pearl" and understanding that what we think is importand may just be a decorative box, but the most treasured things are hidden inside. Ie. A fun zone conference would be the box and the spiritual knowledge to be gained would be the pearl. I loved that as I feel it applies to pretty much everything in life. We also played some really fun team building games and had a fantastic training on washing our hands. It was lovely. Afterwards we had a really nice testimony meeting and then broke our fast with a beautiful Thanksgiving feast! It was delicious and everyone loved our pies. That night I went home with Sister Robinson and got to spend the next in night in Emmett. It was really fun, I love exchanges! Saturday was an amazing day as well. Two of my favorite people were baptized! WE headed down to Nyssa first thing for Glen Hunt's baptism. Remember Glen? No? Look back a few months and read my entry about all of the chewing tobacco. He is awesome. He had such a neat spirit about him and was pretty excited to be "water boarded" as he calls it. It was beautiful! It was also fun to see some old familiar faces. It felt like coming home. We sped back to Weiser after his baptism to make it to Malinda's baptism. SHe was absolutely exuberant and filled with the spirit. President and Sister Cannon came to her service and said they have never seen anyone so prepared to enter the waters of baptism. She is amazing! It has truely been one of the most rewarding weeks of my whole mission. This is a great work and I am so privileged to be part of it. I feel like my family is just growing and growing. I love and miss you all  every day but I would die if I weren't here. 
>
> Love you!!
>
> Sister Baker

11.11.13

Hi all,

Things here in Weiser are going well. We had Jamie, Rex, and Malinda at church yesterday which was wonderful. We are so excited for Malinda to be baptized this coming Saturday. She is very strong and has a beautiful testimony of the gospel. Her husband left her this past weekend and she is going through some really rough things at the moment. She has not lost one ounce of her faith through this trial and is more ready than ever to enter the waters of baptism. It is crazy how hard the adversary works on people when they are trying to do whats right. I am always so proud to see investigators withstand his firey darts and continue to stand on the Lord's side of the line. 

In other news, we held a fireside for new members last night, to which only 4 recent converts showed up. Luckily we had representation from each of the bishoprics (except for 1) and all od our ward mission leaders present so it made things look a little more full. We were excited to have Bailey there though. She is a recent convert/recently less-active member whom we have been having a hard time catching up with. She really felt the spirit and was touched by the speakers. Therefore, it was a success!  We are doing our best to increase member involvement and ward activities. We are making progress slowly but surely. Just in time for me to most likely be transferred in two weeks... We will see what the Lord has in store. 

Before I close I would like to give a shoutout to some people who need to be thanked for some unsung good deeds. First I would like to thank the two Elders who served in Roseburg, Oregon around 2001. You left a lasting impression on one of our investigators which helped prepare her to receive the restored gospel. Really this thank you is to all of the missionaries out there who feel like they have not had success with a particular person, or in a particular area, or on their mission at all. Every little thing you do makes a difference. Every person you talk/talked to leaves an impression. You are/were/will be successful. This is the Lord's work and we are His instruments. It matters. You matter. So, THANK YOU! I would also like to thank my mother for teaching me how to keep a house. I know I was a total pill about it growing up, but now I am really glad that I know how to scrub a bathroom and do dishes and vacuum. It is important. So, THANK YOU!! I am so grateful for each of the people who have made even the smallest impact on me-who have helped me to become the person/missionary/child of God that I am trying to become. I love you!

Your Sister,

Madison Baker

11.4.13

Dear Everyone,

This week has been good but not extremely eventful. Everyone is doing well. Malinda and Rex are still progressing towards baptism but Jamie is having a harder time. She did not make it to church this week which made us really sad. We are struggling to find new people to teach right now and are trying to help the ward members get involved. One thing we are trying to get going is an adult institute class once a week. What kinds of things are going on in your stake to help the members get involved in missionary work? 

Sorry I don't have much of anything exciting to report on this week. Most weeks are pretty much the same with subtle changes. This coming week should be interesting though. I will be attending my first Mission Leadership Council meeting tomorrow. I am excited to be involved in this! It is always neat to be involved in those kinds of things. I really love President Cannon and the other Zone Leaders are great, so it should be really fun/productive. We also have a zone training meeting and will be going on exchanges with the Enterprise sisters. We have Zone Conference next week and will be doing a fast and feast for thanksgiving. 

The work continues to progress and we continue to diligently serve (even when things are a little slow). I love serving my Savior and learning more how to be like Him each day. This Gospel is TRUE. 

Love,

Sister Baker

10.28.13

Dear Everyone,

This week has been an extremely rewarding week as a missionary. Sometimes we just keep going and wonder if we are really doing any good and every once in a while we are blessed to see the fruits of our labor. Anyways, I am really grateful to be doing the Lord's work in this part of his vineyard.

Last week started out a bit rough, but by Tuesday or Wednesday things started to look up. We went on Exchanges Wednesday night to Thursday with the Parma sisters. I got to go home for a day :). I was able to see Viola and hear of her continuing conversion. She never ceases to amaze me. I was able to spend the day with sister Dijkwel from the Netherlands. She is amazing! She has been in the field for two weeks and has a beautiful testimony and ability to teach and share the gospel. She is also super positive, which I love since I have been trying to improve my ability to be optimistic. She taught me so much in just 24 hours! 

When I returned to Weiser on Thursday I found that Sister Ketring and Sister Poynter had been able to commit one of the less active sisters we have been working with, Lacy, to come to the Relief Society activity that night. Score! She came and loved it. On Friday we got to go on a fun adventure with President and Sister Cannon. We had a mission leadership training in Baker city (kinda weird that I go to those now) so President offered to pick us up to save on miles. The sunrise/fog that morning was gorgeous so he and sister Cannon kept stopping to take pictures which made me laugh but was pretty cool. We had the meeting on helping other missionaries cope with stress (I wish I had someone to help me with that sometimes...) It was great and I learned a lot. After the meeting, President had to go up to La Grande for an interview, so we got to join him for the beautiful drive. Fall is a magical season! He took us to lunch and told us all kinds of stories. We really got to know He and Sister Cannon on a more personal level. He even told a few off color jokes. It was awesome. When we finally returned form our journey, we met up with Malinda Turner for her baptismal interview. She rocked it. She came out of the room and declared "I am never drinking coffee again!" She updated us on Sunday and had said she forgot and accidentally drank some on Saturday and was absolutely sick the rest of the day and she was done for good. We are so immensely proud of her and how far she has come. 

This weekend we also discovered that Bob Green (See emails from July) one of my favorite recent converts is staying in the rehabilitation center/rest home here in Weiser. He is not very old but suffers from a rare form of gout (hey mom, remember when that nurse asked me if I had gout? Lol it is really no laughing matter). We went to go see him and as soon as we walked into his room he began to cry. He bore his testimony of the Gospel and told me how much I mean to him. He told me that I have no Idea how perfect our timing was when we came to his door and offered to weed his yard. He bore powerful testimony of the Lord's timing. I love him so much. He is frail in body but grows ever stronger in spirit. 

After visiting with Brother Green, we went to see Jamie. Jamie has been wanting to be baptized but has not been able to keep any commitments, including coming to church. When we saw her this weekend her countenance had completely changed. She told us how after praying to be able to feed her family, a ward member showed up at her door with food. She received the witness that she needed to start acting on her faith. She was in church yesterday with her husband and son in  toe. They stayed all three hours and absolutely loved it! Malinda and Rex were also at church yesterday. We are so proud of each of these people who are preparing themselves for baptism. 

A quick update on Ian and Virginia: We have transferred Ian to the YSA elders in Ontario and from what we here he is doing well. Virginia has been out of town for the past week and a half visiting her daughter in Mexico where it is warm. We miss her like crazy! Life is going well. The Lord is ever mindful. I love you.

Love,

Sister Baker