1 July 2013
Oh family what a week. Super duper hot. I don't think I have
ever sweat soooo much. everything is just sweaty all the time. its super fun.
the up side is that people feel bad and let you in for some water and you can
talk to them that way. So the work is going really good. Sis K. is getting
baptized this week by her husband and it is gonna be ballin'. And we have
another kid on date for the 13 of July. He is a good kid that has made some
really cool changes for a kid his age. He is 15 and wants to change his life in
many different ways. The only problem is that he is 15 and forgets about
appointments and stuff. But that is okay. we are just going to keep working
with him and making sure we keep in touch with him alot. Besides that we dont
have a ton of other investigators. We have been doing alot of work with less
actives, but the ward that we were doing all that work in got taken from us so
now we only cover two wards. Kind of a bummer but its going to be good for the
ward because with conflicting church times they will now be able to get the
missionaries more and have the work they deserve.
We went out scorpion hunting with a member last week and
caught these huge fat scorpions. they are legit. I will send pictures. They are
so big that they eat the lizards. CRAZY. And also last night was the first
Haboob (dust storm). It was pretty cool but wasnt to bad. but EVERYTHING is
dusty now. so that was interesting.
Glad to see everything back home is going good. I hope all
is going well and that you are all looking for missionary oppurtunities. They
are everywhere!!
Love
Elder Smith
24 June 2013
What a good week. Transfers was this week as you know.
I got
a brand new greenie :) His name is Elder B. He is from Cheney!! And he is
AWESOME. We get along great. Its gonna be an awesome transfer. So anyway this
week has been great. Elder B. is a great missionary and is going to do great as he learns the mission life and learns the lessons and everything. So we
had this one lesson with this lady that we taught when I was in a trio. At the
end of the first lesson that happened in April we invited her (Sis K) to be
baptized. She said that she had already been baptized. At three months out I
didn't really know what to say but the other two elders I was with kind of didn't
handle it to great. They told her it wasn't really valid and didn't mean
anything. Well that didn't sit well with Sis K because even a baptism done
without the priesthood is still a big commitment to some people and it really
meant a lot to her when she got baptized. So she didn't have us back for a
while. Well about two weeks ago we were blessed to have another lesson
with her and this time it went wonderfully. When she brought up that she had
been baptized we told her how that must have been a wonderful
experience and how it is still a great commitment to follow the Lord but
explained that the priesthood authority is still necessary. She understood. Her
and her husband (a member) came to the broadcast and at the end her husband
thanked us for our persistence and she asked when she could be
baptized.
This just shows how the Lord is preparing people everyday. Even
if their first experience with missionaries isn't great they still know in their
hearts that something is missing.
So that was my spiritual thought for the week.
Now a funny
thought. So Elder B and I were walking/tracting and we
came upon a little baby lizard. So we proceeded to catch it.
Once we caught it we didn't know what to do with it so I put it in a little
pouch in my backpack to take home and raise and feed and stuff. This was
about 6:30. So we kept tracting and then went to our lesson at 8. We went
in a talked to the family. As they got up to go get their scrips
I reached in my backpack to get mine. Well somehow the lizard had got out
of the little pouch and into the main part. So when I pulled my scrips
out, out came the lizard too. Well the family came back so I just
used my back pack and feet to hide it. We teach our lesson and they commit to
come to church. So I put my scriptures back in my bag and the lizard is still
sitting right between my feet and backpack. The father came over to shake our
hands and walk us out. When i get up i strategically place my feet to continue
hiding it and on my first step i used my foot to shove it under the
couch. And off we went. So now our pet lizard is in this families
house. I hope they dont mind to much :)
Dad that is awesome that you got to go to all the cool
church places and almost meet my boy J R Holland!!! Me and him are tight!! And
mom the room looks nice and girly...
Yes I am still at the Cypress house and it is ballin'!!
Well I love you all so much!!!!
Elder Smith
17 June 2013
Well we got transfer calls last night/ this morning and I
got the call to train again :) and I will be staying in 'Copa. Thank goodness.
I didn't want to whitewash train again. So yeah we will see on Wednesday who the
comp is and everything like that. Um other than that not much news about me.
Some of the people we are working with are going through some hard stuff. The
E. family that just got baptized is definitely being tried. Well now that they have been baptized the advisary is working hard. But she has been super faithful and knows that without the help of our Heavenly
Father she wont be able to make it.
Along with that we have been working with a less active
family named the B's. Within the last few months the parents have
separated and the dad has gone off. For a while it looked like things might get
better but the husband never figured things out and just two days ago said he
was going to start dating other women and didn't believe the church was true. So
far that he said he wants his records removed from the church. The family is
very sad but they continue to read their scripts and pray. We gave Sis B. a
blessing on Saturday and it was really neat to feel the spirit come so strong
because of her faith in the power and authority of the priesthood.
So this week has been hard for the people we have been
working with. All in all I have come to realize that pride is no good. Pride is
what is causing all the contention and heartache. So I am going to make sure
that I am never prideful, which is not always easy especially in the mission
field when you think you know what you are doing and don't want to take any
suggestions. I am going to do my best to learn from my new greenie comp and we
are going to make a powerhouse of a team and baptize all of Maricopa and in a
few months when you don't see it on a map you will know that the whole city got
translated :)
Love you all so much!
Elder Smith
3 June 2013
Oh what a week. The E. family got baptized which was
awesome. They have been the most prepared family I have ever seen. Incredible.
Elder J. got to baptize M. and A., 12 and 10, and I was
privileged to baptize P. The spirit at baptisms is truly amazing. And
then on Sunday I was blessed to confirm M. which was truly amazing. I was
really nervous to do it but when I started talking the words just flowed and
everything went great. It was one of the best weekends on the mission so far.
Aside from that we had a lot of cancellations this week. But
we did have some good street contacts. There were these three little kids
probably around 12 making these dirt jumps and so we went to talk to them. The
whole time we were talking they were taking turns hitting the jumps and so when
one of them told us we should try I couldn't resist. Plus I had to impress these
kids so they would come to church. So I go back to get some speed and as I am
riding up to the jump I can tell I dont have enough speed but I was to close to
do anything about it so I just went for it. There was a gap in between the jump
and the landing and I didnt have enough speed and my back wheel hit the bump
and my butt ate the seat and it hurt super bad and I almost went over the
handle bars. It was scary but the kids thought it was awesome so all is well.
And then they said they would come to church and talk to one of their LDS
friends and ask about mutual and stuff like that so it was totally worth it.
That is really all that happened this week. The J. family moved away and we might start teaching another family of 6 so that would
be awesome. We helped them move and two of their kids have been reading the
BOM. Will tell you more next week.
Well I love you all and hope all is going well. Sorry to
hear about Chris losing to Emma but Im not surprised. Some one needs to destroy
that little girl in ping pong. I wish I could have but it will have to be
someone else.
I love you all!!
Elder Smith
 |
| A screen shot of our Mother's Day Skype. Marshall and his companion. |
26 April 2013
So about everything this week. Well when we started in the
new area Elder J. and I were not super busy. But it has been really neat
to see how through hard work and diligence the area is really starting to move
along. We had some good lessons this week.
So I have mentioned M. before. Super nice lady, Jewish,
and is really developing a lot of faith in Christ. Well she had these two cats
that were like 20 years old and she loved them more than people. Well on
Thursday night one of them died in her arms and she was devastated. She called
us crying and told us our lesson for Friday evening was off. So we were kind
of bummed but knew she would need some time. Well Friday morning she called and
said she wanted to meet in the evening. So we went over there and she was still
super upset. Told us she wouldn't be able to sit through a lesson or
anything so before we left we offered her a blessing. She was also planning on
putting down her other cat the next day because it had cancer and was really
sick. So we gave her the blessing and left. Saturday morning she called
and wanted us to go to the vet with her to put the second cat down. So we met
her there and she was hysterical. I have never seen someone so upset. Ever. She
really loved those cats. So after about an hour and a half at the vets it
was all over and she told us she was to upset to go to church the next day so we
shouldn't be expecting her. Well out of the blue she walked into gospel
principles. She then went on to share what happened to her. She said when
she got home from the vet she was no longer sad. She said she knew what had
happened was supposed to happen and wasn't upset anymore. She said she was fine,
and knew that the only reason she felt that way was because of the blessing and
the comfort the Holy Ghost was providing her. It was so cool to see her
recognize the blessings of the gospel and the peace that is found in it.
That was about all that happened this week. We found some
new investigators and I will tell you how things go with them next week. Also
we have transfers on Wednesday and usually they make calls on Sunday night but
th
ey didn't. President said that this Pday everyone has to stay in their house
from 2-6 and clean and prepare the area books as if they are going to be White
washed so we dont know what is happening. this is the transfer where it is
pretty much determined which mission you will be in. We will see what happens
tonight. As for the call we are allowed to Skype but we don't really know where
we will be so it will be a toss up. if you could send me haydens skype account
information that would be good. I don't really know what will be going on so
just be on your toes. I will probably call around 9:30 so make sure to be home
at that time. haha just kidding. I'll make sure that you guys are home but do
be on your toes and have haydens laptop open on skype and everything.
Well I love
you all and hope for the best. I am excited to talk to you and see you all next
weekend!!
Love
Elder Smith
