February 9

Dear Mom,

Wow! What a week! I finally feel like I am starting to piece together everything, and actually know how to do missionary work now, and it is coming to a close. So sad! We have had many miracles this last week, and they just keep coming!

I don't know if I wrote about this experience or not in the past, but over a year ago, Sister Frampton and I tracted into a home where the cleaning woman answered. She told us that no one was home, but we started talking to her before she could close the door. Once we told her what church we were from she told us, "I have the book!" She went on about how her friend from Columbus had sent her a Book of Mormon with his testimony in it and told her to read the book and to pray about it. He also told her to find the people that could teach her. It was such a miracle!! So we obviously set a return appointment with her to meet her at her own home. We went back to see her, but were chased off by her husband, who is from Ohio, who also threatened us. We tried to get a hold of her over and over again, but she never would answer or call us back. We assumed that he had something to do with the situation, and decided it would be better for her if we gave it some time. Fast forward a year and a few months. Sister Takeuchi and I were going through our area book, and I saw her name. That experience has haunted me almost my whole mission. So we decided to call her just to see. She was so excited to hear from us. She was quick to tell us that her husbands health had changed and that we would be okay to come over. So we did! A is from Honduras, so we brought a sister from the ward who served Spanish speaking, though A speaks great English. We taught her the restoration, and she very humbly told us that she believed it all. She wants to be baptized in two weeks! AH! I know that there are so many reasons why I came back to Alliance, and this is definitely one of them! MIRACLES!

D is doing great! We helped clean out his mother's old clothes with some help from a bunch of people from the ward. It was kind of fun in a weird Youngstown kind of way. He came to church, and wow you can see the difference in him! He told us this week that he received his witness that the Book of Mormon is true and that he knows Joseph Smith is a prophet. What a great lesson! Teaching him is totally unique to anyone I have ever taught on my mission, but it is a lot of fun.

I love my mission so much! I love seeing miracles like these every day. I know that the Lord is in the smallest details of our lives. I feel like I am finally learning how to be an instrument.

I love you all!

Love,
Sister Bakker