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