This week was a blur

Wow. Because it is the only thing that is on the forefront of my mind I have to just start with it. My family is officially in Arizona. Moved in and records in their new ward. Welcome to the West Baird family! 

Alright, I will try to focus and move forward. 

This week, as the subject line says was a blur. We had the incredible blessing of finding 4 NEW INVESTIGATORS. Never in my mission life has that ever happened before. Seriously I went three months without investigators. Now we have so much work. I am so grateful for all the work the Lord is allowing us to have. So quick recap on the investigators.

KRISTI!! For those of you who think that pass along cards never work. WE HAD A SUCCESS! She had a bible study card on her door and actually called wanting a Bible and wanted to be taught. We met her, invited her to be baptized, she said yes, and she came to church ALL THREE HOURS this Sunday. She is amazing. We get to meet with her again this week. 

JOY!! Joy is awesome. She is a former that we met with and we were pretty bold with. We let her know that if she wanted to know if the things we were talking about were true or if this really was the direction she wanted her family to go that she needed to take action. We shared that faith without works in dead and that faith is action. It was amazing and she really does want to find out. Also, it is not just her, but her and her family. 

MARIA AND FELIPA!! Their family speaks a mix of Spanish and English. Sadly, the Hermanas are too far so we are just going to use a member to translate for us. We are working on setting up another appointment with them. 

Sister Koller (my MTC Companion)
 and Sister Baird

Life is amazing, crazy busy, and a bit of a blur, a whole lot of stress, but all led by the Lord. This week I have definitely learned a few lessons. TAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF. Always trust the Lord in everything. Give your whole heart to the Lord because you only get to once in your life. We also had exchanges this week which was amazing. Since Sister Koller is now my STL I got to be around her for the most time I have since the MTC and she wasn't even my companion for exchanges. She is seriously amazing. 

Well, fun little thing from today, we played volley ball. Yes I am still bad. Then we played WATER BALLOON games. It was so much fun!! Everyone got so wet! I loved it. 

Mission life is amazing, but hard. But always worth it. ALWAYS.

Much Love Always,

Sister MJ Baird

Question of the week: If you knew the Bairds, what is your favorite memory of us and you?

I smelled the tree..in California! And had a baptism!!

Hey all!!

This week has been a range of emotions!

So something I forgot to mention about my new area is the fact that we had TWO baptisms that coming Saturday, or the Saturday that just passed. There was a mom of 5+ kids and her daughter who got baptized. Sam and Annie. Their family is seriously amazing. I could not believe the spirit that was there. Sister Rowley and I got to give the missionary moment and there were tears in my eyes. I loved it. Baptisms are the best. I hope to have a few more on date and hopefully another one before the transfer ends. We will see. 

In the news of investigators we have Barbi and a few others. Sadly we have not been able to meet the others, but we have been able to do service for Barbi and set up another return appointment. She is awesome and we are praying that we will be able to help her really progress in the near future. 

Now for the explanation of the title. For those who have heard me talk about the Root beer tree in the MTC, I never found it. We were actually told that it was cut down. Well my AMAZING companion knows her trees and let me know she found it!! IN THE MTC. Oh and the great part? They are here in California!! So I have officially smelled the tree. And yes, it does smell good. I was looking for the wrong tree that's for sure. Google it. Ponderosa trees. Looks like a pine tree of sorts!

Other than that we do not have a lot of big news. I love the work here and I love serving the Lord. It has been weird knowing a lot of people who have finished or finishing their missions soon, but it is such a blessing to know that I still have about 11 months to dedicate my entire heart, might, mind and strength to Him.

Oh, a fun little tid bit! Sister Rowley and I get to see several deer every morning and evening because of where we live and we have made friends with the neighbors two horses down the street. They are adorable. But not as adorable as my little niece Arabella. Nothing beats that, that is for sure!! 

The only other thing I have is that we got to attend church for the first time here and it was awesome. This Ward is amazing and I am so excited to get to know them better. 

Well, hopefully I will have more for you all next week.

Question of the week: What do you love about where you live? If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

Much Love Always,

Sister MJ Baird

Shotgun Training in the Boonies!

Hey all!

Well, I am going to keep this one short and sweet. 

As my subject line states, yes I am once again TRAINING. What! Yes, crazy. Everyone did not believe me at first. I would not have believed it if I hadn't received the call myself. I am so excited though. 

For those of you who do not know what shot gun means. It is where the two Missionaries who were in the Ward leave and two new Missionaries come in. That means my companion and I are brand new to the Ward and yes, I am actually out of Folsom. It is weird that I served 6 months there, but let me tell you. That place definitely has my heart. 

I am now serving in the Cameron Park Ward with Sister Rowley. She is from Utah and such a sweetheart. She is ready to work hard and does not judge me when I got us lost our first night in the area. Shout out to the STL's who saved us. 

In other fun news, my awesome MTC companion Sister Koller, is now my STL! I am so excited to work with her and now Sister Moffet again! It is going to be an awesome transfer. 

Besides that I do not have much. A miracle Sister Wong and I had this week was for the first time in 6 months we had a non-member at our Gospel Principles class on Sunday!! My last Sunday there and I got to finally have an investigator there. I loved it! I also got to sing in Silva so that was fun as well. 

Saying goodbye was hard, but I know that as I trust in the Lord all will work out in the way that it needs to. 

Oh and my new area is totally in the middle of no where, but because of that I got to go to a beautiful hike today and see a waterfall!

Love and miss you all! 

Question this week: How have you seen the Lord bless your life?

Much Love Always,

Sister MJ Baird

Sister Wong! 

Sister Wong...Ketchup?! 

Saying goodbyes! 

Saying goodbyes! 

Saying goodbye! 

Daughter like Mother! Yep...ice cream makes everything better! 

Sister Wong and Sister Baird selfie - have you ever seen one of those? 

Go to the Edge where miracles occur!! 1/3rd of the way!!

Hey all!!

This week was awesome and next week is going to be even better!!

I just want to talk about the highlights, so here it goes. 

Our recent convert Madi is going to the temple this Wednesday for the first time and Sister Wong and I get to go with!! We are so excited for her to do baptisms for the dead for the first time. She has been around the temple multiple times, been on several tours and is thrilled to finally be able to go inside. It is going to be an amazing day. 

Then, with this man named Mike! We have been trying to get him to meet with the Elders for quite some time now, and nothing has been happening. However this week we have made a breakthrough!! We felt prompted to stop by so we did and he happened to mention playing basketball, so this Thursday him, his sons, Madi, the Elders and us will be playing basketball. Yes, it is small, but it is a start and we could not be more excited. 

Note from the sweet little old lady!

Another miracle this week. We were out on our bikes and happened to see the Zone Leaders car in our area. Not too unusual since they cover the YSA Ward in the area. We bike over to see if it is them for sure and then see them walking down the street so we go over and say hello. As we are talking, Elder Galvez sees this older woman and younger man walking down their driveway and says Hello! Sister Wong and I immediately turn around and go talk to her. She turns out to be the sweetest old lady you have ever met. And man she loves her steak. It was cute.

But the BEST part, she said she wanted us to come back and tell her why we were out doing what we were doing and what it was we were doing. We did not get a day to come back, but we got a time. So of course, we went back the next day! Although we did not see her, there was a note from her telling us she was sorry she could not meet today, but to come by in a few days. In the 6 months on my mission, I have only had one person reschedule on their own. She was so sweet!! We are excited to go back and see where things go! Pray for June and Patrick. He was the grandson who lives with her. 

Finally we also had our mission tour this week. It is where the new Mission President goes around the entire mission and meets all of the missionaries. It was neat to have already known them. The talks we heard were so inspiring and truly incredible. We were told all about miracles and how they happen, we simply have to go to the edge where miracles occur. We have to push ourselves and then trust the Lord to pick us up and make us go even further. I obviously cannot say it as well, but it was amazing!! 

Other than that, the only news I have is that we find out transfers on Saturday, so my preparation day will be on Tuesday next week, and maybe not in Folsom!! We shall see!!

Happy 4th of July!

The 4th of July was awesome. We had a Zone training and then Zone unity. This country is awesome and founded on amazing principles, and the restoration of the gospel is inspired and happened when it did for a reason. 

Read the talk by Elder Holland given to New Mission Presidents. Wow. I cried. It was amazing. 

Tomorrow is my 6 month mark, which means I have served a 1/3 of my mission, when did that happen?

I love and miss you all!

Question this week: What is your favorite holiday and why?

Much Love Always,

Sister MJ Baird

What? A week with no Sister Baird and Sister Wong selfie! LOL! Not possible!

Rodeo, Zone Conference and A New Mission President!

Howdy All!

So I have a lot of pictures this week, so I am going to keep the writing a little shorter. 

This week started with an amazing final Zone Conference with President and Sister Jardine. It is crazy to think that they are actually gone. It is hard to say goodbye, but luckily it is only a see you soon. I am so grateful for everything I have learned from them. One of the things that I loved most was the fact that the entire Zone Conference was centered around Jesus Christ. The whole thing! It was so incredible being able to hear about the love He truly has for each of us. President Jardine actually read the last 7 statements of Christ's life to us and it was so powerful. I would encourage each of you to study them out and see how much love He truly does have for us. 

Later Sister Wong and I had the amazing chance of meeting our new Mission President and his wife, while they were still with President and Sister Jardine. Quite the picture to have let me tell you. Yes,  it made the rest of the missionaries in the zone jealous. Perks of serving in the Ward where the new Mission President lives. 

We got to help them the next day by helping them unpack for an hour and a half. It was so cool to be able to hear their story and really just get to know them better. 

Later that day Sister Wong and I got to go to go to a baptism in the zone for some Elders and had the cutest boys there with their grandma with us. I love seeing people enter the waters of Baptism. I know Heavenly Father is so proud of them. 

And then!! Because the new President and Sister are in our Ward, we saw them on Sunday and the members home we went to for lunch, had actually invited Sister Hymas and her sons over as well, so...we saw them there too. This is the first day since they have arrived that Sister Wong and I will have not seen them. Definitely a unique experience. 

Finally we got to volunteer at a RODEO!! I loved it so much!! Our job was just to scan everyone's tickets, but it was so fun. I had my hair in braids and wish I had my hat and boots so badly!! The little bit of music I heard was great. 

Well, that is all for this week. So, question of the week: If you could live in the city or country which would you chose and why?

Much Love Always,

Sister MJ Baird

Had to replace my name tag, wore it out!

Elder Escoton my first zone leader and now he is headed home!

I was cold one day during our planning and Sister Wong took a pic.

Sister Baird and Sister Wong
"We like to take selfies, don't judge!"

I done messed up!

Sister Moffett and Sister Baird

Zone Conference...we had to match! Selfie Time! 

Zone Conference...we had to match! Selfie Time! 

Zone Conference...we had to match! Selfie Time! 

Sister Wong took my tablet!

This is when I didn't know Sister Wong took my tablet!

Elder Foley, my other first zone and leader and he is going home now too!

Post-Rodeo Service! 

Lunch at a members home with Sister Hymas and her boys.

Exchanges, Blitz, and Miracles

Hey all!!

So this week has been amazing!! I will stick with the really big things that happened. 

On Thursday, we had an amazing dinner with a less active family and we also had couple that was active there as well. It was a miracle that it happened because the wife went out of town unexpectedly and was not able to be there. We had tried for an hour, trying to get someone to be able to go with us and 30 minutes before the dinner we called him and let him know we were not going to be able to stay and eat. No sooner than when we hung up, we received a text from this couple saying they could go!!! We were so excited and of course we called him back right away and let him know we'd be there!!

We then had a blitz in our area!!! It is where the entire Zone, and our Sister Training leaders came and worked in our area for 2 hours. We were able to find 3 new investigators and over 10 new potentials!! The Lord was most definitely preparing people for that night. We are so grateful for all the work people were willing to put in.

After the blitz we went straight into exchanges, which were AMAZING!! Sister Beck and Sister Cha are seriously the best. I don't know what I could do without them. Not only did Sister Cha and I have exchanges, but we decided we were doing a full bike day!! We made it all the way to 7pm, but then ended up having to take the car so we were not late to an appointment. We saw so many miracles and were able to talk to so many people!! 

Did I mention that all three of those things were straight in a row? It was a crazy end of the week, but so good!! 

This coming week is going to be crazy, but also so good!! We are getting a new Mission President and we are having Zone Conference!!! I cannot wait!

I also wanted to say congrats to Lee and Samantha who were sealed with Arabella as a forever family this week. The pictures and everything looked so beautiful.

I am so incredible grateful for the blessing of being able to have our families forever. Heavenly Father loves us and only wants us to be happy. 

Question this week: Would you rather be deaf or blind and why?

Much Love Always,

Sister MJ Baird

Sister Baird at the Ward BBQ - location changed and they needed to point people in the right direction! 

Sister Baird and Sister Wong - Selfie Time!

Sister Baird and Sister Wong! Selfie Time again!

IT IS HOT. ALSO HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Well, this email is going to be fairly short because Sister Wong and I have some business to deal with for our Ward we just found out about and that kind of takes priority over group emails. I want to say that I love you all and the Lord loves each and every one of you. He knows you personally and is always willing to help lift you when you are down and struggling.

In news, it is very hot. Not the real temperature, but what the car showed when we started it today be will in one of the pictures. Currently, I believe, it is 107. Woot woot!!

Speaking of hot things, I have some news, I guess I should share about home life. The Baird's are moving!! My family is in the final process of selling the house and will be heading out to Arizona. Hot hot hot!! It is mixed emotions about leaving the place I call home, but I know that it is all in the Lord's plan. Otherwise, it would not have happened. I will always be a mid-west girl that I can tell you! I love my flat land and horizons and fall bonfires! 

In news of the work, after almost two weeks of no contact with Craig, we made contact with him!! It had gotten to the point where we said if we do not make contact, we are releasing him. We pulled up and there he was. Not the time to release yet!! :)

Madi Griffin had an amazing time at girls' camp and made so many friends!! I was seriously a glowing proud Mom at church. She chose to sit with friends over us, and let me tell you, that is a good thing!! 

Other than that, I have just two more things to say.

Congrats to my Brother and Sister-in-law, Lee and Samantha. Tomorrow, they will be sealed in the Temple for all time and eternity. I am so proud of you two and wish I could be there more than anything. I love you both!!

And Happy Father's Day to all of you, who have, are or will dads out there. This also goes out to all the men who have been father figures in my life. Thank you for your great examples. 

Most of all, Happy Father's Day to my Heavenly Father. He knows me better than myself and He will always be there by my side, helping me to become the best version of myself. 

I love you all and the question I have for you this week, what is the most exciting summer plan you have? Even if it is just sleeping, I want to know :)

Much Love Always,

Sister MJ Baird

Sad, but not sure why....

Eating healthy. Proof!

Circa 1995 New Era Cover
Top Left person in picture is our Chinese Group Leader in our Ward.
He's Japanese and Chinese.

Sister Wong and Sister Baird selfie time!

Sister Wong and Sister Baird selfie time! Take 2

Sister Wong and Sister Baird selfie time! Take 3

Sister Wong and Sister Baird selfie time! Take 4

Little girl at a dinner appointment that wanted to take a Selfie! Couldn't resist!

Someone had one of the locks on their house for selling it and she had never seen one before,
SOOO of course we took a picture!

We actually had time to get ready because there was no Ward Council.
Thanks Dads!!

Told you, it was hot!