7.8.13

Hello friends and family!

So, this week was the 4 of July and the world famous Vale 4th of July Rodeo. We didn't get to go, but it was a big freaking deal. There was loads of drama about the rodeo queen who was not even from Malheur County... believe me, that is all I heard about at church yesterday. But because of the holiday and the rodeo, NO ONE was home this week. On the 4th we spent the great majority of our day visiting people at the old folks home (captive audience). It was great. Our curfew was at 7 so we cooked a good dinner for our selves. I made cilantro lime chicken tacos. They were pretty tasty. SO thats what sister missionaries do on 4th of july. Also I made an apple pie. It turned out great.

We are currently teaching this 16 year old girl named Kea. She is awesome. Last night we went to visit her and she asked us some amazing questions. She wanted to know how our religion was similar and different from the Jewish religion (she is not Jewish, just curious.) and also how the priesthood was established and restored, which brought up the topic of resurrected beings. It was a pretty cool lesson. She is so hungry for the gospel and for knowledge about the gospel. She wants to be baptized but her parents will not let her until she is 18. It amazes me that she is so convicted and becoming so converted with so much opposition. The Lord really does bless those who seek him. 

This past Saturday we had another baptism for a man named Bill Ussing. He has special needs so his parents did not have him baptized when he was 8. He asked to be baptized about a year ago and has been working with the bishop and stake president. We got to teach him the lessons and it was a really neat experience. He cannot speak well but as we taught we could see the understanding in his eyes. It was amazing to be allowed to work with one of the Lord's special spirits. The baptism was really sweet. It was more like a primary baptism which was just perfect. 

It is halfway through the transfer/there are two weeks left because it is a short one. I think I may be training another new sister next transfer because we are getting another big group of them and I am one of the oldest sisters (yeah, at 4 months out I am one of the old ones. It is like the blind leading the blind out here.) but I may end up staying together with Sister Aamodt for another transfer. Guess we will see what the Lord has in store.

Parma and the surrounding areas have been pretty warm and a little muggy because all of the crops hold the moisture. It is really beautiful here with all of the grain turning a golden color and the corn growing really tall. It is neat to experience rural life and appreciate a different type of beauty. We have AC in our house, but most people do not have central air or any AC at all. It is pretty uncomfortable. I have not been to the new mission home yet, but hope I will get to soon. We had a conference with about half the mission and got to learn all about the new President and Sister Cannon including his love for basketball! We had interviews with him last Wednesday where I learned that Stephen Hopper had been his MTC tutor and had told him all about me. He said that he had hoped and prayed that I would be in his mission and was so glad that I was. It is a small world and the Lord knows exactly who and what we need. We have become fast friends. He is not immediately related to the previous President Cannon but they both hail from George Q. 

It is so fun to hear all about the Tempe West sisters receiving mission calls! The work is hastening! 

The work continues to move forward here in the Nyssa Stake. I love this calling and am so privileged to be serving the Lord here in Oregon (and a little bit of Idaho). It is hard, but it is so worth it. Life is good. Blessings are abundant as long as I remember to trust in my Savior. 

I love you and pray for you daily. Have a wonderful week!!

7.1.13

Brother Green's baptism was this week. It was awesome. He is such a changed man. We got to the church about 30 minutes early to find that the font filler had forgotten to fill the font. That was funny. We turned the water on and ushered the members into a different room for the opening and talks. It, by some miracle was full by the time we were ready for the actual baptism. It was a really special service despite the stress at the beginning though. Sister Dickey came to give a talk and we even happened to be matching. It was great to see her and hear about her experiences. I sang after he was dunked and the RSP gave a talk on the holy ghost. He bore a neat testimony at the end. It really has been a good week, albeit a long one! 
Love you! 

Sister Baker and her new mission presidents

 

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!!!

5.28.13

Hello!

It sounds like life is pretty good at the home front lately! I love hearing the reports on all of the returning and departing missionaries from you each week. Things here have been pretty rad as well. We get to go to the temple tomorrow so that will be fun. Sister Dickey and I have taken to matching for district meetings and such, it annoys the elders so it is pretty funny. Last week we went on leadership exchanges (where you trade companions for 24 hours) and then we met back for a big meeting the next day. We wore pretty much the exact same outfit but convinced everyone that it was on accident because we spent the night apart. It is the little things that entertain as missionaries...

We are teaching a new investigator named Dotty. She is 79 and has lived all over the world. She is super funny and sweet. Yesterday in our first lesson she told us that the Mormon bible is the true one because people cant change it and make different religions like with the regular Bible. We taught her that she was right but that the Book of Mormon was another testament of Christ and did not replace the Bible. She liked that because she loves the Bible too. I am really excited to keep teaching her and to also learn more about her interesting life. In other news, Brother Green, Viola, and Art all have baptisimal dates! I don't know if I told you about Art, but he has been waiting for 15 months for 1st Presidency approval to be baptized. Sister Dickey and I were filled with joy when we recieved the call from President Cannon letting us know that he is now able to be baptized. His service will be held this Saturday and I know that it will be a wonderful occasion. This work is an amazing blessing in my life. I have finally found happiness and I know that I can never let this feeling go. 

I love you all!

Sister Baker

 

5.20.13

Hi Everyone!

Things here are pretty good. We had Brother Toombs and Frankie's baptism on Saturday. It was really beautiful. There were so many  people who came from the ward to support them. I sang Lead Kindly Light as a special musical number. It wasn't too bad I guess. Frankie and Bob were both so sweet and so excited. Bob had to take his hearing aids out for his baptism so he couldn't hear the prayer. He just stood in the font and plugged his nose the whole time so he would be ready to get dunked. It was pretty cute. When he came up he looked at the little kids sitting in front of the font and asked "did that make ya smile?" Frankie was so sweet too. He came with a fresh hair cut and the biggest smile i have ever seen on anyone's face. I love watching the joy that the gospel brings to people!
In other news, Viola has a baptismal date! She will be getting baptized on June 15th. She came to the baptism on Saturday to see how everything happens and she loved it. We have been helping her plant flowers in her yard over the past few weeks. We have been having the best conversations and are really getting to know her. She is truly an amazing person and is very in tune with the spirit. I really love her! She is going to teach us how to make tortillas. I am really excited! Life here is great! I love the gospel and I love this calling. I am learning and growing everyday. Love you and I am glad that everything at home is good!!

Have a happy summer!