Transfer number four! 3-4-2019

Elder Baird's Compound. (No pictures this week so this is the best that I could do.)

Transfers have come and I will be staying in Ashalley Botwe for another six week! I was so happy because we have now found a few more people who have already told us they are ready to be baptized. :)

Okay so let's talk about some funny stuff that happened this last week. On Tuesday afternoon, I was feeling super sick so I came back to take a nap. That same night I was on the toilet all night long. Let's just say, we ran out of toilet paper very quickly. The next morning I just laid in my bed and died all morning, ha ha. Well after I slept for most of the morning, I felt a bit better to go out again. By the end of Wednesday, I was feeling just fine! But than my companion all of a sudden felt super sick..... SO Thursday morning my companion woke up and was just dying as well, ha ha. So we weren't able to get out until late that afternoon. We did an exchange on Friday. After the exchange, I asked how it went and my companion said that it was good, when he wasn't on the toilet. Apparently he got exactly what I had and he had to go to the bathroom all day, ha ha. So we had a fun week of back and forth sickness!

Well let's talk about some good stuff. On Sunday two weeks ago we had a man named Prince who attended church for his first time. He was told to come to church by his nephew who is a bishop in Florida. He loved the church and asked if we could come and teach him throughout the week. We gave him a pamphlet to read before we went to see him. When we went to teach him he had read the whole thing. The first thing he told us was this, "Elders, I know that Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God. I know he received the proper authority to reestablish the church." So we taught him a little and just reviewed what he read and he just ate it all up. He loves it all so much. We invited him if he would be willing to be baptized by the end of March and he enthusiastically said "Yes of course I would!"

The next thing I want to tell you is about a women named Elizabeth. We taught her for the first time two weeks ago. The lesson was a very simple one. We invited her to come to church and she said she would. I was quite surprised that she was so willing to come the first time I invited her. She actually came to church which surprised me! She said she liked it and she wants us to come and teach her again. So last Saturday, we went and taught her about the BOM and she seemed to really enjoy the lesson. So again we invited her to come to church. At the end of the lesson, we felt impressed to extend to her a baptism invitation. With a little hesitation she said she will accept it but still wants to receive her answer which is totally understandable. The next day at church she was there again for her second time. The whole day I was watching her to see how she was reacting. She was very quiet and just observed everything. At the close of church, she walked up to us and said, "Elders, I am ready to become a member of your church." I was like "WHAAAAAAT????" I was so shocked!!!! I was so stinking excited! I was worried that she was only coming because we were inviting her but I guess she genuinely loves the church! I was so excited! I went over to the bishop and said, "Bishop! That women wants to get baptized!" He just said in response, "Another one?? Ha ha this is awesome!" I am so happy because I will get to be here for both of these baptisms and I can't wait to see them become members of the Lord's church. :)

Yesterday we had the chance to witness,  Samuel be confirmed. Man, after they were done you could just see him smiling from ear to ear. That guy was so stinking happy! After church, they were ordaining him to the office of a priest and giving him the Aaronic priesthood. Just before they were going to give it to him he stopped them and said, "The elders have to be a part of this." So he invited us to come and be a part of the circle and it was such a powerful moment. Once he was done, he stood up and just gave me a huge hug and said thank you.

Being a missionary is just awesome. I love it so much. I love these people and I am so happy that I get to meet all these people and witness them changing and coming closer to our Savior. :)

Sincerely,

Elder Baird

Mom's notes:

1. He called all of the members that he has baptized. He said that, "Every, single, one of them is still coming to church actively!" :) He said that he is, "a very happy missionary!"

2. For his p-day he was having a family home evening with the YSA.

3. He is being very good and calling me after he types his email. :)