Another week of just working!
This past week I have
had 3 flat tires.....
Last week we just worked hard again, but it was definitely difficult!
Our area is struggling to have much progress, but we
are trying our very hardest. We are finding some very good potential people so
we are hoping they will continue to progress and that they want to learn if this
is really the truth.
Here is a pretty funny story for you guys. When we
were coming back for lunch one day, a lady in our compound said "Hey!"
I turned around and was thinking to myself, "Does she want to learn from
us??" I was really excited, ha ha! So we walked back to her and she said,
"Can you help me with something?" SO. me being me, I said "of
course we can!" She then turned around and asked, "Will you undo the
zip on my dress?" Let me just say, I was very let down by this, ha ha ha. So I
helped her and she just left without asking us any other questions. My
companion just looked at me and said, "Well that was a weird thing to ask
for help for..." SO sometimes while on mission, you help people in some of
the most interesting ways!
Another funny story was on Sunday night, when my companion
and I went over to our Bishops house for dinner. They made some rice and a
tomato stew to go on it. As we started eating, we found out that it was extremely
hot... spicy hot... I can honestly tell you guys right now that I have never
eaten anything as spicy as that in my entire life! My companion and I were just
crying and sweating and we just suffered, ha ha ha. Thankfully Bishop was in the
other room so he didn't see the battle we had to go through to finish that food, ha ha ha. It was good! But man, eating the sun doesn't feel the greatest ha ha ha!
So this is what it looks like when you put the sun in your
mouth, ha ha ha ha. That food burned!!!
We had a very interesting lesson with a man named Ali on Friday that I want to share with you. This man is a Muslim who is interested
in the idea of Christ and he is trying to decide if he wants to follow Christianity
or Islam. He asked us three questions that he wanted us to answer for him. He
asked, what is the concept of worship, what is the concept of salvation, and
what is the concept of God. So we went and we studied for a few days and then we came
back to discuss it with him. As we were talking, we discovered that he has a lot of
the same beliefs as we do. He only had one concern, is Jesus Christ really the
only begotten son? He showed us where in the bible it seems like Heavenly Father tells King David that he is a begotten Son of God. Well when you look at
the footnotes, you learn that he is referring to Christ. The only way to know
that was to have people study it out and receive revelation that David was
speaking for Heavenly father and not Heavenly father talking to David. I hope
that makes sense, ha ha. But after that Ali said, "I have been studying this
for years, and no bible has ever explained this and now you guys have truly
answered a question I have been trying to find for years. Thank you."
After that, we had an extremely spiritual discussion about God and why he loves us and what this life is all about. The spirit was truly there and I think
that Ali knows it. I hope that he will continue by asking God if this is
the truth.
My companion just
laid down during lunch and I found him asleep with
all of his stuff on his bed
with him, ha ha. (The thing in his hand is a lamp).
The Holy Ghost is the spirit of truth. As we teach, we can see when the spirit is working on those we are teaching and it is helping them to understand. Being a part of this is amazing. As missionaries we try to bring the spirit to people when we teach. I am so grateful to have this opportunity to bring the spirit of truth to the people we are teaching. Missionary work is hard work, but when I see all the miracles that happen every day, I will never regret coming on a mission. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week. :)
Sincerely,
Elder Baird
Mom's notes:
1. I asked him about his exchange and this was his reply, "The exchange was really fun! I went with Elder Wanjala and he is one of my favorite missionaries out here so it was way fun!"
2. He still hates washing his clothes by hand. He misses the washing machine he won at Christmastime. He had to leave it in Akatsi. He said, ". I am actually pretty good at it now. My shirts are really white, it just takes forever." I told him that it is probably building good arm muscles. He said, "Yeah I am sure it does, ha ha! But I will be very happy when I get home and will never do it again, ha ha. I say, "Never say never..." ;)
3. For p-day they played soccer. He says that he still remembers some moves.
4. I asked him who he is teaching right now and this is his reply, "Our focus right now is a less active named Eunice. She has become my Norkplim in this area, ha ha. She loves us so much, but is just having a hard time coming back to church. We are still trying to figure out why that is. Then we are also working with three Nigerians who all seem to be really interested. That's mainly it."
5. I asked him if he has stopped teaching the ladies that were drinking the vodka. He said, "We lost contact with them. We don't really know what happened to them. They promised they would be at church but never came. We went to there house and someone said they had gone somewhere and she doesn't know if they will come back. So I have been pretty bummed out about that." He hopes that some other missionaries will find them one day.
6. I asked him if he has learned to cook some local foods. He said, "Eh, small, ha ha."
7. I asked him what he has going on this week. He said, "This week we have a zone conference and then on Saturday, I am volunteering to go donate blood. I can't even believe that I am going to do that..." He says that all of his hospital visits have changed him. :)
8. I told him that with all the flat tires he is getting that he could work in a bike shop when he got home. He said, "Oh gosh no, ha ha ha."
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