4.15.13

HIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!

I love hearing all of the fun things from home!! Everything here is going well and Daniealle's baptism went smoothly on saturday. Yesterday we gave a fireside to the young women in the Vale wards. We were asked to talk about how we prepared for our missions/how they can prepare to be missionaries. I talked about the young women theme and how if we live by the words that are recited in the theme each week, we will automatically become missionaries. Especially as we "stand as a witness of God at all times, and in all things, and in all places". 

So, last Wednesday Sister Dickey and I were stuck in the lovely and tiny town of Parma (we usually visit about two towns in a day) so we pretty much exhausted all of our teaching/visiting/tracting pool by about 2:30 or so. We were getting pretty grumpy and complainy about the work in Parma and we were getting pretty frustrated. So we went back to our apartment to work on some teaching records and such and whine a little. I had a letter on my desk from uncle Bryce to all of the family missionaries and it was mostly just a bunch of quotes and such. One of the quotes read "The Lord will direct your steps, but first you must move your feet." I read it out loud and we decided that we wouldn't get anywhere sitting at our desks doing records. We decided to move our feet. Sister Dickey felt that we needed to visit a random less-active widow so we headed out with a prayer of repentance for our murmuring  On our way to visit the widow we found two new investigators, one of which we have already taught again.  After we taught lessons to each of these new people, we finally went to visit the widow who ended up not even being home. Every day we see these miracles that could easily be written off or forgotten about, but I know that the Lord is the Director of this work and that He is listening to our prayers. I also know that you dont have to be on a mission to see little miracles in your life--if you look for them they will be there and the Lord will direct you too as long as you move your feet.

Love,

Sister Baker

P.S. You should frame the cow ear or something, don't throw it away!! I wish I had gotten more pics from the branding because by the end I was doing that by myself instead of with two men helping me hold the calf down. I am so glad that Jared got a job at banana! You should tell him to send me clothes!

Q and A

This week my Mom sent Maddy a bunch of questions. These are her answers. (and FYI "Grandma" is the lady she is living with.)

Q: What are your sleeping and studying arrangements like?

A: We sleep in a bunk bed that looks like the one the boys slept in when they were little, the beds are really comfy though.

    
Q: What is the house like that you live in, do you eat breakfast there?

A: We live in a little studio apartment that was added on to Grandma's house, we eat breakfast and lunch there most days. Some days we go to a town about 35 miles away called vale and sleep there, it is not my favorite.

Q: How is Grandma? Does she have pets?

A: Grandma is great, she is a really sweet old lady, she loves to come chat with us in the mornings while we study and she really takes care of us. We watched conference with her and her family this weekend. She has an evil cat that makes me really sick but he does not come into our part of the house so I am ok unless I go into her family room or something.

 

Q: Who are you teaching? We can pray for them.

A: We are teaching a bunch of people! One of our investigators, Danielle, is getting baptized on Saturday-it is pretty exciting. We also just started teaching Armando. He is really sincere and searching for the truth. He has committed to working towards baptism and praying and reading the BOM. We are teaching several other people but I can hardly keep everyone straight. We work in about 5 towns and have between 1-3 investigators in each. We spend certain days in certain towns, so we kind of have to focus on one town at a time. It is weird and a little stressful sometimes. We think they will be splitting the area soon though.

Q: Have you met anyone related to Delbert and Olive yet? PS I visit teach Gina Cook now (Cheyenne Bramwell mom). Her Grandma lives in Nyssa also. I will need to ask her name.

A: YES! We ate dinner with some petersons last week, I cant remember first names but they said they were related to Delbert. Let me know that lady's name when you remember.

 

Q: How long has your companion been out on her mission?

A: My comp has been out 10 months

Q: How is the weather?

A: The weather is really nice but windy the last few days

Q: Food situation?

A: Food is not bad, I am actually losing weight because I am eating smaller portions and only buy healthy food for eating at home. Not much time to cook though :(

Q: Do you guys drive everywhere?

A: We drive most places, sometimes we walk in Parma when we are close to home.

Q: Are your shoes working ok for the dirt on the farms?

A: Not really, but its ok. I mostly wear the brown sandle-ish shoes and they do ok

Q: Do you need anything that I can send you?

A: I dont know, anything random and fun. 

Q: Are there stores in the small towns that you are living and working in?

A: Not really, they each have like a small market and a few small local businesses. We drive about 40 miles on modays for the WalMart.

Q: Have you milked a cow?

A: I have not milked a cow but have participated in a cattle branding. Way more cool than milking a cow. I sent you a souvenir :)

 

 

Technologically Challenged

I tried to post the pictures and letter together, but to no avail. So here is the quick update for the week!

Hello!
Things are great and Easter was fun! We ate with a family in Nyssa and had chicken legs and baked potatoes wrapped in bacon... I am literally going to die of a heart attack! We have been teaching a ton and I am loving it here! I am learning how to slow down and not be such a tightwad... I miss the city but there is a nice charm out here (it smells a bit like cow poo but is nice anyways). I miss you and love you! I don't really know what else to tell you about, but I will send you my journal when it is full so you can know all about what I have been up to that I can't remember to write.
Love,
Sister Baker

Pictures! 4.1.13

3.28.13

Hello!! 

I am here in Idaho safe and alive! Don't worry, I got here safe and alive two days ago... I am serving in the Nyssa, Oregon area and am living in Parma, Idaho. It is extremely rural and everyone is very kind. My trainer is Sister Dickie from Ohio, she is #8 of 16 children and is a great teacher and companion. We visited a few investigators and less active members yesterday and did A LOT of training/planning stuff today. I am loving it here and trying to get used to the slow, casual, friendly country lifestyle. I am loving the people so far and am excited to meet more! Everyone is very humble-I went into some homes yesterday that were smaller than my apartment in Phoenix. But they all love the missionaries and everyone wants to chat forever. We are living with a member whose name I don't know--we are only allowed to call her Grandma. She is a really sweet old lady. I hope everything is well at home! I am loving the work and am so blessed that the Lord sent me where He did. I love you all and pray for you every day. Keep up the work at home, too.

 

Your Sister,

 

Madison Baker

 

Sister Baker with her new companion, and her Mission President and his wife! 

(It's cute that she thinks weather in the 50's is cold enough for a scarf :)) 

3.21.13

Hello!

 

It is finally P-day! This week and a day has been soooo long but also really fast at the same time. I have been learning and studying like crazy. The MTC is good, but I am ready to get out of the concentration camp, as Jason calls it, and get into the field! I only have 4 more days!!! We have been learning how to teach and learning doctrine and how to present it. We practice on actors and volunteers pretending to be investigators and also on our teachers. This is cool but sometimes a little bit hard. The other day we practiced teaching a lady who really is a less active member ad had a really great experience. I am really excited to get out there and teach real people. The MTC is a pretty cool place, as it was described in the devotional on Tuesday by Elder Scott Whiting of the 70, the MTC is an incubator--a controlled environment with conditions made to be ideal for growth and development. I really do feel like I am a baby chick under a warm light who is just about ready to hatch. I am so exited to be in Boise not just to teach, but to not have to eat the food here any more... It is like disgustinggggggg. I really miss cooking and eating good food. The food is really the only bad part of the MTC though. I have a really great district and an amazing companion. Today we are fasting for an elder in our district who went home early. This was really sad and really hard on us as a district. I has made us all reevaluate how we see our missions and our purpose here as missionaries. I am so grateful that I am a missionary and for all of the love and support that I have. I am really experiencing something that I have never experienced before. I am growing closer and closer to my Savior daily and understanding conversion in a way that I never knew possible. I am so blessed to be a part of this marvelous work! Don't worry, I am still hilarious and send my district into tears laughing at all of the weird things that I say. The term 'struggle bus' has started to catch on in my district and it makes me miss home a bit.  I have been pretty good about not using the batman voice though ;)... I love to get dear elder letters every few days, they seriously keep me going and keep me sane! Meredith, your letters crack me up and keep me happy. I miss you like crazzzzzzzyyyyyzzz. I don't know your Fredline-y email address though, so sorry you are not getting a personalized email... Love you all and I hope to hear from everyone really soon! Please send me more dear elders!!

 

Your Sister,

 

Madison Baker

MTC!!!

This afternoon we dropped Maddy off at the MTC! After a fun lunch at Zupa's, we said our goodbyes. Since they had us kick her to the curb, we didn't have much time for tears until after we drove away. It was probably better that way.

Before the goodbye.

Walking away.

Even though I will miss Maddy, I know she will be doing great things, and we will be blessed for her missionary service!

-Meredith
p.s. keep checking the blog for her weekly letters!