Week #40- Purification Challenge

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Hey Everybody!

How is everything going? We have been staying really busy and we are working hard. Yesterday, we had the opportunity to listen to President Beccera and Sister Beccera in a Zone Conference. It was awesome and I always learn so much from them. As we know, the Lord is hastening his work which means we need to change, be better, and hasten ourselves. We talked a lot about that in the meeting. In order to be better, we talked about how our studies, planning, and inviting need to be better. We are told in Preach My Gospel that we need to invite people to be baptized in the first lesson. I haven't been great at that, but that is going to change. If we don't invite, how can they repent and be baptized? We role-played a lot in the conference on how we can invite better. We also talked about being pure so the Holy Ghost can be with us. They even gave us a purification test and invited us to take it. The test includes us writing a list of things we want to change. An example they used in conference was: I spend too much time thinking about home. If that is a problem, you would write it down. Then you would fast for the strength to stop thinking about home so much. The last step is to take a 40 day fast from doing those things you wrote down. They promised that if we would try, after 40 days we wouldn't think about those things so much, and the Holy Ghost would be with us even more because we were more set on the missionary purpose. I'm starting it and I can't wait to see the difference it makes.

So far this has been a great week. We have found a few families that we have started to teach. Our baptism is still sounding good for next week, and we also have a few more taking the steps towards baptism. This family that we are teaching is awesome. The dad is a less active that has been becoming active. He will be getting the priesthood this week, and then the next week he will be baptizing his wife who we have been teaching. They are awesome and it is so cool to see how they have grown and come closer to our Heavenly Father. It's been a great blessing to serve the Lord.

Love Elder Smith 

Week #39- Learning to Listen

Monday, May 20, 2013

Hey!

It sounds like you are going to have a busy week. I can't believe that school is almost out and Brayden, Paige, and Kylie are graduating. It doesn't feel like school should be out. Time goes by way too fast. When does Jake and Brayden leave for their missions? That means Derek is going to be a senior next year; that is crazy! We have had a good week. Tons of spiritual experiences that I think is impossible to explain in an e-mail. It is amazing the things you are able to feel and see on a mission. I have a strong testimony that our Heavenly Father has his hands in this work. Everything always works out. I know that it's way more than just a coincidence. He helped us with some tough lessons this week that could have turned out really bad, but it ended up turning into one of the best lessons I have ever been a part of. This is one of the first lessons that I've taught that neither of us knew what to teach because the man had so many different needs. For some reason the guy stood up to go get a drink, and I turned to Elder Christensen and said, "What are you thinking?" We both had nothing. We decided to pray real quick and the Elder Holland talk about faith came into our minds. We ended up watching it on youtube and it was a bomb lesson. Our Heavenly Father knows what everyone needs, we just need to be willing to listen. It's harder than it looks, but I am happy to say that I am getting a little better at listening. We ended up setting another baptismal date this week, and the baptism for June 2 still looks like it's going to happen. It's been a really good week. One downside of the week was in our elders quorum. There was a little false doctrine being thrown around in class on Sunday, and they were kind of looking straight at our investigators when doing it. Our investigators were a little afraid and very confused. I was a little upset, but everything was fine. We just needed to explain a few things after class. You always have to be on your toes as a missionary!

Well, got to go. I hope you have a great week.

Love Elder Smith

Week #38- Mother's Day Call!

Monday, May 13, 2013

Hey!

Well, I don't have a lot to say, and I don't have much time because we have been helping missionaries move, and other Elders are waiting for me to get off the computer. It was good talking with you all yesterday, and it looks like you are all doing good. I love my mission and it is going so fast. I am excited to be staying in Fletcher at least one more transfer. This is going to be an awesome transfer.

Love Elder Smith

Week #37- A Tool in the Lord's Hand

Monday, May 6, 2013

Hey! 

We have had a good week. All the families and the people I talked about last week are still going strong, and we were blessed enough to find some more people to get to know and teach. It's super awesome to see the friends and families here change and to see their desire to follow God grow. It is a blessing to be a part of that process and to be a tool in the Lord's hand. On the mission you really do make more life-long friends that you love, and you just want the best for them. That is how I feel about the people that I am coming to know; I just want the best for them and for them to be happy. It's through the Gospel and our obedience that we can gain that happiness. I know that is true, and I am so thankful that I can be that tool in the Lord's hand in sharing it. I don't have much time left. Sorry. I plan on using Skype on Sunday. I will call first to make sure you have it set up, and if not we can just talk on the phone. I will be calling at around 5 here, so I think at 6 in Idaho. I cant wait. Sorry the E-mail is short this week. I will do better next week.

Hope you all have a great week!

Love Elder Smith    

Week #36- Great Investigators and Trusting in God

Monday, April 29, 2013

Hey!

I'm glad to hear that you all had a good week and that you are staying busy. I have had an awesome week. The Lord has blessed me so much. This week we found a ton of new investigators and almost everyone of them is reading. It's so nice when they keep their commitments. We are working with a part member family, and she committed to prepare to be baptized on June 2. Her husband is preparing to get the priesthood on June 2 too. They are an awesome family and they are taking the steps they need to be ready for those dates. They have been a little sick in there house, and we were able to use our priesthood and bless her and her daughter. It was a great testimony to me on how powerful the priesthood is. She told us she immediately felt better and her headache went away. She also has seen the importance of having a priesthood holder in her house and that it will be a great blessing to her family. Hopefully, this experience will be some extra motivation for them and us. We also are teaching this one guy who really wants a second chance. He has a strong desire to be baptized. He actually brought it up in our first lesson with him. He asked us how baptism works, if he would be able to be baptized, and when. 

We have been very busy this week and really blessed. That's one of the greatest things about a mission--that you get to be a part of all these blessings daily, and you get to see the change in people. We are not going to stop here. We are going to keep going and working hard. Something I have thought a lot about is in 1 Nephi 3:7. It's made me think a lot about how if we put our trust in God, God will put His trust in us. If we trust God He will trust us with His other sons and daughters to teach, and I feel like it's the same thing with member work. If we pray and trust in God that He will give us an opportunity to share the gospel, He will trust us with someone to share it with. We just need to open our mouths and do our part of action. I know that this is true because I have seen this principle my entire mission. I always want to live in a way where He doesn't lose His trust in me or in other words I don't lose my trust in Him. This is something I think I'm going to study a little bit more in my free time. Well, I got to go. I hope you all have a great week.

Love Elder Smith

Week #35- Temple Trip and Good Investigators

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Hey!

Sorry the email is a little late. Our P-day was on a Wednesday this week because that was the only day we could make it to the temple. I love going to the temple. I wish I could go more. Since we don't have a temple in our mission, we can only go every six months. This was my first time, and I only have two more times left. I missed out on one of them because I was in the MTC, so I will only have three temple trips to the L.A. temple. It's a massive temple and it's very beautiful. I really liked going and wish I could go more. Everything is great here. I never got hurt, sick or anything. Hermana Becera called and asked if I went to the doctor. I don't know what happened with that info but nothing has happened to me. This has been a good week and a good transfer full of miracles. On Sunday I got to go to the baptism. It was amazing! Fousto looked so happy, and he knows he made the right decision. The baptismal service started a little rough, but it turned out to be really nice! He is now preparing to go to the temple in a year. He is really trying to get his life on track and get married to his wife in the temple. He is on his way. The people we are teaching are awesome and all have a desire to change. Our teaching pool isn't huge yet, but the people we are teaching are reading and praying and taking those first steps into finding if the church is true. There is a part-member family that we are teaching. The husband is a less active member and his wife isn't a member. It's just awesome to see them grow in his support towards her and her finding an answer. Another lady we are teaching has a strong desire to lose all her guilt and be clean. We also picked up a family, and they all want to turn to God more. It's such a blessing to see all of these poeple grow and gain that desire to follow our Savior. On Tuesday we stopped to take a rest on our bikes, and a lady came running outside to us asking if we had a Mormon Bible she could read. After a little bit of talking and her tearing up, we set up an appointment with her family for Thursday. I hope everything goes well, and we can have that lesson. It's the first time on my mission someone has teared up on a street contact. I hope that is a good thing. Well, got to go. Tell Blake to keep working out, Derek to keep his head down, and remind Olivia that she said she would do a back hand spring when I get home. I love you all, and I hope you have a great week.

Love, Elder Smith

Week #34- New Companion and Biking Uphill

Monday, April 15, 2013

Hey!

It's been a good week. Elder Favero left for Spain, and I was given a new companion. His name is Elder Christensen. He is a great missionary. I'm in the same area, and things are starting to really pick up. Since we are opening up a new area, the work started a little slow, but it's starting to pick up little by little. Yesterday, the sister missionaries had a baptism, and their investigator asked me if I would speak on baptism and the holy ghost at the baptism. I hope I did ok. The baptism went really well. I was really happy for the sister missionaries. Next Sunday there is a baptism for someone I taught in Pomona. I hope I can go. He invited me, but it's a long ways a way, and I have to get a member to drive me down. I hope I can find one. I was so happy when I heard the news; he is awesome. He is the dad to the family that is planning on coming to Salmon when I get home. I am hoping I can go. I am really looking forward to this week. We have a lot planned, and we have a lot of potentials to stop by. We are really trying hard to talk to everyone. We are in a car share, and it is our week with the car. I am so happy. We have a pretty big area and it is all hills. I even had to change out my brake pads because we have been using them so much. It will be a nice break from biking up hills all day. Well, got to go. I hope you have a good week, and I hope Derek does well in his golf tourney.

 

Love Elder Smith