Elder Baird's Something About Socks: WEEK 9 MTC: Our memories of yesterday will last a lifetime. We'll take the best, forget the rest, And someday we'll find.............................. but this one is the real email....

Dang, well I guess everyone kind of already knows what I'm going to say here... ugh... I'm a sinner.....

THE BEST OF TIMES!!!

yah, so before anyone starts judging me I started writing this email on Saturday so that I could send it Monday morning. Because I have to turn my phone in Monday morning and won't have a ton time because like I'm going to have to pack and stuff. So I apologize. The stupid phone decided instead of saving my draft it was going to send it (As I'm writing this email I am getting emails from people asking why my email wasn't complete, but I like can't respond to them right now cause it is Saturday, so I guess this is kind of like my retroactive response to them which they won't get for a couple day but is applied to their past selves... so yah)

Well if you haven't already guessed... which I guess now you have had two days to guess... but in just a matter of hours I will be leaving on a jet plane! No I will not be getting drunk on a plane, just leaving on a jet plane. (That's a good music joke right there)

So yes!!! We got our Visas and are leaving on our scheduled departure day! is a miracle in all reality, we're the first group of Taiwan missionaries in quite a while who has left on their assigned dates! Well... except the Canadians... they don't have Visas yet so they have to stay... f in the chat.

So yah, I've decided that I should probably warn everyone now, but I have no clue what my emails are going to look like for the next 1.8 years (Yes I have already been out for two months, it's crazy). But yah, P-days in Taiwan are like amazing and you don't have very much time. So, just be ready for something different! I have no clue how long they will be or anything about anything. Soooooooo, yah. Don't be mad if next week there's like no email or something, it doesn't mean that I've died or anything.

So yah, I don't really know where to start with this. Literally the only thing I can think about is leaving... I just want to leave, but at the same time I am low key terrified. Well, maybe high key terrified... but don't tell anyone. I don't want anyone knowing that I'm scared. So shhhhh.

Yah.... ugh.... I have nothing else to think about...

Well we can't talk about Tuesday, Elder Uchtdorf came to talk to us! That was amazing! Like it was so good and perfect for me as a missionary. I love apostles. They are the best. That's enough for that.

We finished up our TRCs this week. It was really sad to say good bye :( I really grew to love them and the fakeness of it all, but seriously. It was really sad to leave them, but man... In just a few hours I'm on a plane to embark on the greatest adventure of my life.

Saturday was our last day and that was super depressing. No more gym anymore. But packing... man I don't want to pack. I'm kinda putting it off which is an issue... seeing as how I need to leave and stuff like that.

Oh yah, I'm leaving... I still can't believe that.

The plane ride is not gonna be fun, neither is 6 hour layover. But, I'm gonna try to get out of my comfort zone and talk to people while I'm there! Only when I'm not sleeping. Let's just say I got sent some pass out drugs, and that I'm real excited for this flight, and that I love my mom. None of those things are slightly related at all.

So, saying goodbye to TRC people was bad. But. Saying goodbye to my teachers... now that was hard. Like. I've been with then for 2 straight months now. 6 hours a day. And now we will never see them again... that was really hard. But also like not really because I'm about to do way better things. But I'll stay in touch with them cause I'm going back to where they came from.

Also Taiwan is amazing.

I'm like all over today. In case none of y'all can tell I'm kind of not focused. Nor do I really know what to talk about. Literally all I can think about is leaving. And so yah.

Oh, Monday! So we had a Skype TRC, and I learned first hand the power of good questions.

So we asked our TRC person about what she thought of a video we showed her. She then proceeded to talk for 20 minutes straight. Once our time was up we we're like "sorry to interrupt, but we have no time and we'd like to bear our testimonies... and pray..." so yah, she talked for 20 minutes out of our 25 minute lesson. So yah! That's how good of a missionary I am.

Have I told y'all about how excited I am to get out of here? Cause man I am ready to get out. Love everyone in my district to death, and love people in the MTC, but man. Sometimes. Let's just say I won't mind a change of faces :)

So 13 hour plane ride and 6 hour layover. Any hints? I got no gospel library and I gonna try to finish the book of mormon, but I got some time. (This is me asking for suggestions, but in all reality I just want people to send me emails and videos through Google photos because the make me happy, and I don't really care about what your advice is, I mean I do, but more the emails and videos)

Oh, next random thing, we sang Joseph Smith's first prayer in choir and that was amazing.

As well the elder with the collapsed lung is back! I don't know if told y'all, but we had an elder who has been at his house for the past 3 weeks because his lung collapsed, but now he's back and leaves to Taiwan with us on Tuesday! So yah! It's crazy.

Sunday was AMAZING, so our guest speaker was the person who is in charge of all new materials that the church produces. And so he showed us this video that doesn't come out till Nov. 24th, and I don't want to spoil it, but wow. I haven't cried that much in a while. So when that video comes out I invite everyone to watch it. It's going to be the first video of the "Light the World" campaign. It's called "The Christ Child". I'm so excited for everyone to see it :)

Well the district is breaking up. We go our separate ways. I say goodbye to friends I have made. But hello to the ones who I soon will make! I'm so excited to get out there!

Well, next time you hear from me I will be in Taiwan!

Love you all!

Elder Baird

百長老

某事關於襪子

So, the power of personal revelation is real.

So when I got to the MTC I was unsure where I wanted to read in the scriptures. But I knew that I wanted to kind of just start and keep going. So I was praying and felt that I should just start reading in Alma. So at the very beginning of the MTC I started to read in Alma. And that's been amazing. Like straight up amazing. It's all about missionary work and so there has been so much that I have learned a lot. But during personal study on Friday I was reading in 3 Nephi 11 and I was like, wow this is amazing, and then I was like wow I should really share this is my lesson today. And then I was like wow, I really am going to share this.

So then we planned our lesson all about just reading this chapter and man, the lesson went amazing! Like it was exactly what she needed.

Two months before this lesson I was told to start reading in Alma, and because of that I was able to read this chapter on the exact day that we were preparing our lesson.

Someone tell me that's not a miracle. You could try but you'd be wrong :)

(Anyone I roasted, I love you!)

But yah, such a miracle.

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OOOOOOKAY. Apparently some people have issues.

F in the chat is a gaming term. You press the 'F' button on the keyboard to pay respects to someone. So it just means pay respects.

Geez.

Some people.

Now pictures!

No one is allowed to mention my hair. If you do, you will be promptly removed from my email list :)))))))))))))