Elder Baird's Something About Socks: WEEK 28 XIZHI: AN INTER-MISSION *almost*

Hellooooooooooooooo everybody!!!!!

It's Elder Baird and I just got off the crazzzzzziiiieeeeesssst roller coaster of my life!

Let's start this one off with an apology, I'm aware that I didn't finish my email last week, I apologize for that. I'm sure it was kind of confusing and kind of rushed.

So, I will apologize by making this email exxxttrrraaaa long.

And don't worry Roman. I was only scared for half an hour. Then we ate some ice cream and all was well. Skull kid would definitely make a good addition though... A very good one indeed.

Wow it has been a week. A whole entire 7 days. Full of things. That I'm about to write down. Unless I don't want to. Then I won't.

Anyways the week started off pretty normally. Elder Brady and I bought some flowers and pretty soon we were growing a mango tree. So that's pretty nifty!

Also, we have a recent convert who works at a vegetarian restaurant. And he asked us for help translating his menu into English. And so for two meals we've gone there and eaten realllly good food while we make up English names for these dishes.

Nutty Pesto Pasta has got to be my favorite.

It's been way fun. Maybe I will do it as a profession...

After a good Pday Tuesday happened.

After Tuesday followed Wednesday.

And then Thursday! Crazy how that works.

And then it was Friday! And on Friday I started really focusing on learning how to write Chinese Characters. So my language study is way fun now! I'm just squiggling at a paper for an hour just cause that's how this language works.

So fun.

Then we went home for some lunch and then I almost threw up.

No because of my lunch. It was good. I'm loving chicken everyday! I feel great!

But yah.

No, not because of food, but because my life turned upside down.

We were sitting there and then all of the sudden we got a voice message from our Mission President.

So of course we start to listen.

"Well Elders and sisters, I'm sitting here with the new missionaries and I had a meeting with the Area Presidency and I figure I should let you know what's going on. The USA just raised the threat level of the virus to a level 4 which means they are telling all citizens abroad to return. There is a HUGE possibility in the next few days all Americans will be returning home. So everyone tonight needs to back your bags and throw away everything you will not be taking home with you."

This was why I was almost throwing up.

I was going back to America, to sit in my room for 2 weeks. To then be sent to somewhere else in America to sit in that room for forever until this whole thing blows over.

To be honest I was devastated.

And so the whole day we were just like, welp. We going home. And since everyone I live with is already going home soon they were like, whatever, here we go!

So the day was quite a waste. I have never been more anxious in my life, like I could not stop fidgeting and I was just on edge just waiting for the news that we were going home.

That night though I came to terms with the fact that the real reason I'm here is to serve God. And so that's what I was going to do. So I was ready to go. If that's what God wanted that's what I would do.

So I woke up the next morning just feeling awful and having absolutely 0 motivation to do anything. So I didn't.

Lol.

Then as I was getting ready for the day we got another message from President, "Elders and Sisters. The Area Presidency has decided that they will start systematically sending home all missionaries effective immediately...

This however does not include Taiwan.

We will be staying and continuing as normal until further notice."

And then all the sudden I was staying again. I was shocked.

So was the whole mission.

Like Elder Ray had literally thrown away everything he owned. And now he has another 5 weeks. Lol.

But I was so confused. I wasn't going home. I had prepared myself a little too well to go home XD and now I wasn't.

Obviously I was happy in staying but I just didn't understand at all. My mind was a wreck. Like the coaster had done backflips and corkscrews and then it just ran straight into a wall and blew up.

But I'm staying!

Woo!

*golf clap*

I'm so excited that I'm still here. Obviously we could still go home any day, but for the time being we won't. And so now everyday that I'm out is a miracle. It's another day I didn't think I would have.

I heard something from an Elder recently who was talking about why he was on his mission and what his purpose was in being here, and why he was happy.

And what he said was fascinating. He talked about the scripture "look unto me in every thought, doubt not, fear not."

Such a great motto to live by.

But not only that he talked about how we are representatives of Christ. We are literally here for him. And he said that the people we meet, this may be the only time in their entire LIFE that they will be able to feel Christ reaching out to them. And so we have to be the part. We have to be happy for them. Because Christ would be. We are literally the only chance that they may ever get to be reached out to.

And I loved that. It hit me so hard. We really have to be examples.

But not just the missionaries.

We all have to be examples of the Love of God.

So that's kind of my invitation for this week. Figure out how you can be a better example. So that others can see you and feel that.

Missionary work is for everyone. It's Member work.

I love you all!

Have a good week! Stay inside! And use your toilet paper sparingly!

Love,

Elder Baird

Something about socks.

We had such a cool miracle just because of an example.

(I don't remember if I already told this so... Yah)

We were sitting in a Starbuck and all the sudden this lady walks up to us and in perfect English says "can I discuss something with you?"

We were shocked, but obviously said yes.

She then told us that her brother had just been baptized into our church and she had some questions.

So we talked with here and set her up to meet on Sunday.

So yesterday we met with her and it was the most amazing lesson that I have ever had in my life. The spirit was sooooooo strong. She was so prepared and she just talked about how much she had seen her brother change and that she wanted that and that happiness too.

And so she wants to keep learning. All because of the example of her brother.

Her brother didn't invite her.

She saw his example and though some miracle saw us at a Starbucks.

So be an example!

Pictures! Woooot!