It's been awhile....

Ahhh I havent written a blog in forever but I am going to just update on the most important stuff.. First of all, Alejandro got baptized! I am going to attach what i sent to my mission president about Alejandro so you guys can get to know him a little too:

"Hola Presidente Smith,

This week was seriously great. We have an investigator named Alejandro who is 17. We actually found him when we were doing a service project for the semana de la familia. Him and his mom passed by and were asking what organization we were. We talked with them for a bit and then got there info. We kept trying to call and pass by their house to put a appointment, but never could find them, and when we talked to them on the phone they said they were about to leave and didnt know when we could visit them. So one day we finally were able to put an appointment and when we got their they werent there. As we were leaving we found them walking back to their house. We started to talk and they were very straight forward with us and told us that they were evangelicos and that the day they talked to us they had no idea that we were Mormons. They said they were just looking for work for their son, and good friends for him, so thats why they were interested when they saw us. We were with the mission leader of the stake and he started to explain that we would jsut like to visit them and explain who we are and what we believe without any comittment. We also explained mutual and how Alejandro could meet knew friends that have good values. They accepted and we started to visit them. He went to every single mutual since we invited him, but he didnt want to go to church sunday because he went to his other. We were going slowly with him because of what they had told us. Well a couple of saturdays ago we visited him and invited him to church again, and he said yes he wanted to go! We were super excited and that same day at church he met with the Bishop and asked him how he could become an official member of the church. So the next day we visited him and we put a baptism date, and he is getting baptized this thursday!! We are so happy for him. Yesterday we had a missionary activity for all of the young men and women in the stake. It was a talk and then we left with the kids and contacted. When we got back to the church we had a testimony meeting and alejandro bore his testimony in front of everyone. Elder Fuentes was in his group and said that he was super awesome and the kid who was contacting the most people in his group. We are so excited for him and its truly amazing how the Lord prepares people and then uses us as intraments to bring them to the gospel."

So yeah, alejandro is super awesome, and he got baptized this Thursday! The baptism was amazing and the spirit was so strong. He now wants to start getting ready for his mission, so we are super excited for him.

This week we had a super cool experience. There was a lady outside her house cutting flowers and I had this super strong feeling to talk to her.. We kept walking cuz my comp was on the phone but I told her that I really wanted to talk to that lady so when we go back we need to knock on her door. Well when we had finished lunch and were on our way back she was outside still doing yard work. We asked if we could help and we started pulling weeeds with her. After we were able to share something with her and she was super receptive to us. The next appointment she told us that she had a dream that she wanted to share with us. (People here in guate have a serious gift.. There dreams are amazing! Everyone has super religious dreams) She told us that in her dream Jesus came and there were tons of people that were wearing white and rising up to heaven. She was stuck on the ground, she really wanted to start to rise but couldnt. She prayed and prayed and God told her she wasnt prepared. There were then two gringas (white people) who came up to here and started talking and she new in that moment God was giving her another oportunity. It was super cool and we were able to explain to her that it isnt a coincidence that we were there with her--two gringas just like her dream, who were hear to help her come to know God better. She told us she knew it wasnt a coincidence and when she saw us in the street she felt like she needed to talk with us, and was happy when we started talking to her. I love being a missionary, I love guatemala, and I LOVE these people so much!

Much love from Guate,
Hermana Baird                                  new comp

last comp and comp from MTC

                                                              Alejandro

volcano eruption

May 23

Wow I feel like it has been forever since I have written a blog-we have been super super busy! But everything is going just great and I am still enjoying my mission a ton. I am really enjoying my new area and we are working as hard as we can here. It is an area that hasnt had a baptism in almost a year, so we are really searching for those who are prepared and are waiting to receive the blessings of the true gospel! Right now in these last couple of weeks we have found a lot of people who are extremely positive and interested in the gospel. It is so rewarding to see how when these people learn of the gospel, we can see the change in them, and we can see how much happier they are. 

Two weeks ago was "Semana de la familia" it means Family Week. There were various activities throughout the week for all of the community, and Saturday we did a community service project. We went to an area where many people pass by everyday, where there is a ton of trash. Here in Guatemala litering is a huge problem, and its super sad because the country is so beautiful, but there is trash everywhere! So anyways we started at 7am and collected trash until about 11. We filled 100+ big black garbage bags. It was super cool because a lot of people passed by us and asked what program we were with, and we were able to talk a little bit about the church. Some people joined in with us, and others we were able to get their information and are now teaching them. It was an experiencia muy bonita and we are hoping to do something like it again soon! 

I am trying to enjoy every minute of every day here in the mission because time is seriously SO fast! I am basically half way through my mission, and i literally feel like I just got here last week. Its such a priviledge to be able to dedicate all of my time right now to the Lord, and to be able to dedicate all of my time to serving others. There are definiately hard times during these 18 months, but the good times over power every sad, hard, discouraging moment that we have.  I love guatemala and all of these humble, amazing people here. I love that I have this opportunity to be here and bring the life-changing messege to these people: that our Heavenly Father has restored the Church of Jesus Christ here in the tierra, and that Jesus Christ is at the head of this church guiding our beloved prophet and apostoles. I am so greatful for each and everyone of you and the support that I have recieved from you all. 

Con mucho amor de Guatemala,
 Hermana Baird

  Cute little hermanas that we are teaching! They are from a place where they speak a language called Quiche. But luckily they can speak spanish too :) This is the clothing typical here in Guatemala. Its called "Corte". Its superrrr expensive, for the shirt at the skirt it ranges from about 300-700 dollars! 

Pictures from service project

As of June 11, all blogs are entered:)

Early May Photos

View walking each day

Picture outside apartment

After district activity-soccer with Elders

El Baul

El Baul

Wooo I am now in my second area! I am slowly getting adjusted, it feels a little like I am restarting my mission because I don't know anyone and never know where I am, but little by little I'm getting used to it! I am now in Quetzaltenango and am in area that is called Baul because Mt. Baul is right next to us. Its super pretty. Its actually super cold here and has rained everyday since I have gotten here. But I am loving it! 

The members in this ward are superrrr awesome and love missionary work which is great great news for us! There is a family in this ward who the dad was a mission president, the temple President here in Xela, and a 70. And this last general conference one of his sons was just called as a 70! Its awesome to see how strong the members are here in Quetzaltenango. Well yesterday was my first Sunday and my companion told me that I would be sharing my testimony during sacrament. I was fine with that until we were sitting in sacrament before church and a 70 walked in! I got super nervous because I was going to have to talk in front of a 70 haha but it was all good, and I don't think I slaughtered my Spanish too bad. It was a great opportunity to be able to hear from on of the leaders of the church and increase my faith a little more. 

My new comp is awesome! Her name is Hermana Ruiz and she is from Honduras. She reminds me in some ways of my first comp Hermana Rodriguez which is great. :) She has 3 months in the mission, and is already a super awesome missionary. I feel blessed to have her as my companion! 

Love you all so much! And just a reminder, I love hearing from you guys so write me! anastasia.baird@myldsmail.net. 

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Baird

The Best Way to End my Time in Cerrito del Maiz

April 18

Well, tomorrow I will be heading to a new area! I have loved my time here in Cerrito del Maiz, and I am already looking forward to coming back and visiting all of the members and converts here in this awesome area. We had the best weekend to end this change. Faustina got baptized!!!! And one of the niños who I talked about in another email (the ones who are in extreme poverty). It was such an amazing day.  It has been such a priceless experience to see the change in Hermana Faustina.  She shone with brightness after her baptism and we could just see the happiness in her eyes! Saturday we bought Dominos and had a little celebration with her and her two grandkids in the church. I am going to miss them SO MUCH! 

It was a miracle with Faustina from the start. We recieved a reference from other missionaries that had been teaching her for a couple of weeks because she moved to our area. We talked with her daughter over the phone and put an appointment with them, but the day of the appointment we couldnt get ahold of them and we didnt know where they lived, we just knew it was up in the mountains far from our house. So we tried calling a couple of times more but got nothing. So the next week we were contacting in the street, there was a lady with two kids that we stopped to talk with. As we got to talking the little girl said that they are members of the church, but there grandma, who they were with at the time wasnt. We then realized that their grandma was Faustina and that she was the reference we had recieved! We set up another appointment and the next Sunday when we went they were in their house and we taught them. Well, this first day we were able to put a baptismal date with Faustina. It was for the 6th of February. As you can see, this date fell through many times.  There were a lot of times that we thought maybe this isnt her time, maybe we should stop teaching her. There were a lot of times when our leaders asked us the same thing, "Maybe you guys should think about not visiting her for awhile and see if in a few months she is ready..." There were a lot of times we were sad because she told us she would come to church and didnt come, that she was going to pray, and didnt pray. But everytime we had the thought or recieved the advice or felt the disappointment, Hermana Godoy and I both felt the Spirit telling us that we couldnt stop teaching her. That we had to be patient and that we had to keep helping this hermana. After 3 months of teaching her and the last month visiting her almost everyday, we could see the difference and the change that happened in her. She wanted to come to chuch, she understood what we were teaching better, and we could tell that she really had the desire to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized. I have learned so so much from this little lady. Patience, love, and humilty are a few of the things she has taught me. I am so extremely grateful that I had this amazing experience with this hermana. 

I know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. I know the Jesus Christ lives, and that as a missionary, I am only acting as an instrument in his hands. I know that through the gospel of Jesus Christ, one day we will be able to be in His presence, and that we will be able to be in the presence of our families for eternity. 

I love you all so much, and am so thankful for the support that you give me.

xoxoxoxo

Hermana Baird

April 11

Hey Everyone! So I don't have a ton of time to write this week but I am going to attach some pics and write as much as I can. :)

A huge problem in our area is that there isn't water! No one has running water. The only people who actually have water, is those who have wells. So the city passes by every week and gives each house two garbage cans of water. It is seriously a miracle that in our house we have never not had water. Heavenly Father truly looks out for his missionaries! Anyways there is a tank where people can go and fill up containers of water to bring to there house but it is super far from the houses. Well, we wanted to help Faustina, our investigator who is getting baptized Friday!!!!!, bring water to her house. And oh my goodness I just about died of heat and my arms almost fell off! These people live hard lives, we are so blessed to have everything that we have in the states!

We had so many miracles this week! I have been in the same area for all of mission so at times it feels like I know everyone here haha. But this week we found so many new people to teach! We visited a man named Adam last night for the first time and we were able to put a baptismal date with him! We are finding those people who are truly ready to receive the blessing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it is all thanks to the guidance we have everyday from our Heavenly Father! 

I hope everyone has an amazing week! 

Hermana Baird

P.S. the other picture is a cake of our zone that one of the sisters in our stake made for us!

April 4

Weird food of the week... This could be why I am sick a lot. 

My Chilena daughter and I

Huehuetenango, Guatemala

The Sisters in our Zone at General Conference

Staci and Faustina