Basketball and Conversion

To keep us from going insane from 4 hours of study every morning, our companionship plays a basketball game on a little nerf hoop in our apartment called "If I make this shot". Pretty much we shoot the ball from various points in the room. Every time you make a shot the other person has to do what you said. For example, the other night I said "If I make this shot Elder Atkinson has to make me pancakes". Long story short, my companions have to make me a full breakfast.

This week we had a super cool experience to hear the conversion story of one of our recent converts. I won’t share his name for security purposes, but its a pretty amazing story.

Some background information: In the country of Iran you are either Muslim or you are Christian. The government of Iran is an Islamic state. That basically means that if you are born into a Muslim home, then you MUST follow the laws and customs of the religion of Islam or be put to death (If you are born into a Christian home, you may join Islam whenever you would like or stay Christian). However, if you ever decide at any point that you want to convert to Christianity if you are a Muslim then you are immediately killed or locked up in jail for a long time.

Well, our investigator found the light of Christ while he was in Iran and sought after the gospel of Jesus Christ. The government found out and left him a small note slid underneath his front door saying “we know you have intentions of becoming Christian even though you have practiced Islam during your life. Stop now or we will have you killed.”

He and his other friends who were in the same situation and had converted to Christianity got together and devised a plan to go into the mountains of Iran by night and escape to Iraq where they would be free to go to church and receive baptism.

Long story short, he made it to Canada after many long years of waiting to receive legal residency in Canada, and one night he got into an elevator with 2 Farsi speaking Mormon missionaries. He saw them, read their name tags, and was overcome with joy.

He was baptized 3 months ago and is one of the most devout Christians and examples of Christ's love and devotion that I have ever seen. This is a man that gave up everything to follow Christ and I got to sit next to him at church yesterday. I feel like we don't realize how good a lot of us have it.

Not much else has happened this week.

Dustet daram!! (I love you!!)

ارشد باکر
Elder Bakker

Winter coat purchased in Canada in preparation for a cold winter.