2-13-12

Hola familia, 

it was another great week here in minatitlan veracruz. i am learning a lot and seeing the lords hand in everything, both good and bad. it was a week that i was able to really focus on seeing things in another light and staying positive even in dificulties. it was easy to be positive when everything was going great but it was a good experience to feel the lord help me to be motivated and happy even when there were some trials and then see how he blessed us as we obeyed. 

this week we didnt have our baptism of the hna lorena, the mom of josue and erick who were baptized a week ago. it was sad. her husband who had said before how he was going to be baptized with her came back and said he didnt want her to either. we decided we were going to go and visit and see if he would talk to us. we fasted and prayed and that day went and walked to the house. when we got there we talked to josue a little and the dad walked out and i stuck out my hand to say hi and he didnt take it ha. he asked us to leave but wasnt super angry. he is a good guy and i could tell he wasnt accustomed to being mean ha, but he wouldnt listen when we tried to talk. we complimented him on his amazing family and then left. it wasnt the outcome we had fasted and prayed for, but i felt peaceful about it. as i prayed that night i could feel more what the plan is for this family. they will still make it, but they need a few more experiences before they can all be together in the gospel. everything happens in the lords time if we have faith. and lorena, josue and erick have plenty of faith and are progressing really well. 

we found a great family. a week ago we were walking and a car pulled out of the drive way. when they were all the way out about to close the door and drive away, a ball came rolling out of the house and at my feet. i picked up the ball, the lady got out of the car with her two kids inside and then i talked to her a little and she invited us to come back. she said that she and her husband needed help with their kids and their family. they have traveled around the world literally. inside the house they have pictures of france, africa, egypt, and lots of other places. we shared the family a proclamation to the world with them and they loved it. there was a strong spirit there. i know that the gospel unites the family and makes a family eternal, together even after death. that really is the whole purpose of the gospel.

there were transfers tuesday and half the zone left and we have new elders now. the transfers are always good and the missionaries are excited and working hard. hopefully we will have 11 baptisms this next week in the zone so that we are on track for the goal for the month. 

so there were some hard things this week but there were also miracles. one day on the street a lady said hi to us and asked us to come see her husband. turns out her husband has gone to church before and has been reading the book of mormon the last 4 years since the missionaries left. he has a date to be baptized this saturday and came to church yesterday. he is 71 and pretty old and thought the book of mormon was just another version of the bible, but we have been helping him to understand and he is excited for his baptism and is going to be a great new member of the church of jesus christ. 

while we were teaching a lesson outside a house this week an old man rode by on his bike and yelled, "dont let them fool you! dont listen!". it was sad, because he doenst even know what we teach. later on in the lesson i referenced to that man. the family we are teaching is a daughter and her three kids, the dad hasnt wanted to yet. the mom is named rosio and has tons of questions. i bore my testimony of how i know that this is the true church of jesus christ and how everything we teach is true. i know it through prayer. i asked god and he answered me through the holy ghost. i felt something in my heart and in every part of my body that is a joy and peace unlike any other that there is. i have asked more than a few times and everytime i ask, with faith and diligently seeking the answer i have received one. i told her that it doesnt matter what anyother person says, god answered me and i know its true. she is progressing really well, despite some questions and was affected by that testimony. hopefully in a few weeks her family will be able to be baptized. 

i love you all and miss you a ton. time here is flying by and its hard to think too much about what day or month it is, but im trying to enjoy every moment. have a great next week. 

love 

elder smith

2/6/12

hello everybody. it was another great week here in minatitlan, veracruz. we are working hard and learning a lot and able to help a lot of people this week progress. The biggest things that happened this week were that we had our stake conference, and also we had the zone leader counsel. some random things that happened this week. i heard the song bohemian rhapsody in a taxi one day, and saw a commercial for the movie hocus pocus the disney one about the witches and the candle and the talking cat ha. it brought back memories. there was some other stuff too but i dont write much down like that so i dont remember really well.

stake conference was awesome. we had a 70 come and talk to us and he did really great in bringing the sprit and exciting the members to work. there is a really big focus on missionary work here and on missionaries. sometimes i think at home we forget about that part of our calling as members of the church. he said the missionaries are the specialists in teaching, but we (members of the church) are the specialists in finding and telling our friends. it really is the truth. missionary work is thought of by many as tracting (knocking on doors, talking to people in streets) but to be honest that is the least effective use of a missionaries time. we are forced to do a lot of tracting though, because members dont give too many references. usually it is just because they are worried about what their friends will think or do, but it always turns out well. if you explain that you would like to share it with them because you love them and want them to have blessings, the worst thing anyone could say is no. but many will say yes, and many will be able to receive blessings if we all opened our mouths more about the gospel, that is the most important thing we have in this life. 

he shared a cool video of a group of young men in a ward. they started out with 1 youth that moved to the area, and ended with 26 active young men. all because they invited their friends and cousins and brothers. i would recommend watching it and sharing it. its very powerful. https://www.lds.org/youth/video/inviting-all-to-come-unto-christ-sharing-the-gospel?lang=eng 

pres castañeda also came and gave some great talks. we did really well in our arrangment of be still my soul, or in spanish eres tu mi salvador. and overall it was great. about 4 weeks ago we put the goal for the assistence with the stake president of 700 people. we ended with 750 people in the stake which is really great! a lot better than normal. elder medina and i spent a whole day giving out invitations we made, and planned with member to go visit and intive. and it went well..

the zone leader counsel was really powerful. it was great because the mission did well as a whole. our focus is consistence right now. last month our focus was positivity. and now it is be positive and consistence. these are principles that are really important in life. i was reading an old letter i had that talked about being positive. of seeing the good in everything, even common things. a sink of dishes means god blessed you with food to eat. being positive is esential in life. i have developed a phrase that i said to a girl in my ward who was looking sad one day and i have used it a bit since when i said. "happiness is a decision. decide to be happy" life isnt as much what happens to us, but how we react to what happens. 

a cool experience is that this week josue and erick came to church with their mom who hopefully is baptized this week when her husband comes. i found out that josue saved money all week so that he could buy a white shirt, so that he could come to church in a white shirt and tie. it was way cool to hear. and the mom who isnt a member is really interested in paying tithing and living everything. 

the gospel is such a blessing in life. i know that this is the true church of jesus christ and that we have a living prophet today that is guided by christ directly. i love you all and miss you very much and hope that this next week goes amazingly. 

love 

elder smith 

1-30-12

Hello everyone. it sounds like you had a great week. i sure did. we were able to witness a ton of miracles and i am super excited to keep working hard and see what else is in store here in minatitlan. 

all the kids that you see were in our zone. i taught them a week or so ago on exchanges and did the interveiws for them all. some of which were actually kinda hard. they have lots of hardships but it is amazing to see their energy and their spirit. we went all together to the baptism after the interview in the back of a semi truck. there were like 24 ppl in it haha. it was fun though. 

also there are some funny stuff kids have said this week. the bishops daughter who is like 8 said while we were eating to the boy we dont know. "this is elder smith and elder medina." the boy responded "ew! i tried that once but didnt like it." he thought she was saying what the food was. apparently elder smith and elder medina doesnt taste very good haha. also the bishops daughters are in the other ward that shares our building and are lots of fun. they are like 4 and 6 or something. inbetween classes i go and dance with them, which consists of spinning them around and around and around in circles haha. they are a lot of fun and always run up to me and say hi. there are lots of little kids like that, so its lots of fun.

this week was super great in the zone. we finished with 19 baptisms in the zone. that is the best the zone has done in a long time so we´re really excited. we are going to try and keep it up so that the mission can raise the bar and be better. 

josue es amazing really. he tells me everyday that we go over, how excited he is to go on the mission. he says stuff like. "oh i wish i was 15, becasue if i was 15 id only have to wait 3 more years to be a missionary, but thats good i have 5 years so that i can be an even more powerful missionary." also "elder valedo, sounds good huh?". he is super amazing. he said a prayer at the end of the baptism and everyone was super amazed at how much he knew and how spiritual it was. i told them that. he is really cool and super excited to keep learning and progressing. 

the day before the baptism we were on exchanges. i went and had the interviews with them and they all passed. at about 8 at night we got a call that said the pump wasnt working to drain the water in the font. so we went to try and fix that. when we got there it was already working, but we took the opportunity to trade back companions and went and visited the bishop to make sure everything was great for the baptism the next day. the bishop changed the time on us. so we ran around telling everyone a different time and stopped by with lorena josue and erick. arriving there lorena asked us to come in. we didnt have much time but we went in. she told us that her husband called her. he works far away for 2 months and comes back for just like 3 days and is gone again. lorena had told us that before he had told her that if she changed religions he would divorce her. he knew we were teaching her and hopefully everything would work out well. he called which she said he never does, just sends messages normally. he said " what did you all do?!". she said nothing but that the next day they would be baptized. he then went on to relate that he had had dreams all that week where he saw his familiy being baptized by "gringos" haha. he then expressed how he felt and that he felt happy different than before, and that he started to cry on the phone. she told us that that has never happened before. he told her to wait that that if she wanted to be baptized, that they would do it together. I was amazed and felt the spirit very powerfully as she related this experience. here is a man who before wanted a divorce if his wife changed. he felt the spirit, and god showed his path. i had been praying the last two weeks and fasted specifically that the lord would touch his heart and that he would feel the spirit. god answered our prayers.  the spirit has power to soften even the hardest of hearts. 

i love you all and miss you very much. hope all is well and that the picture come through. i go to villahermosa tomorrow for the zone leader conference so that shoud be fun. 

elder smith

1-23-12

pictures: group of niños that we taught when i went on divisions. it was the first lesson we had wih them all and this week 6 of them will get baptized there! the girls wanted one with me too, my little novias haha. we had a ward family night and the game was eat the donut from the string without hands. on the left is josue our investigator that will be baptized this week, hopefully with his family. after i went and my statagy worked but had consequences haha.

Hello everyone. hope you all had an excellent week and are doing well. 

this was a great week here in mexico. it has started to get hot again. i had forgotten what it felt like to be really hot while walking around all day, but today has been the hottest in a while and it'll probably stay around for a while, like until i leave haha. it is pretty crazy that this week i completed 18 months in the mission. it feels really weird to have been out so long and at the same time to only have a little left. hopefully ill be able to get a lot done in the last time i have left. 

from the pictures you can see that i taught some more kids this week. we did divisions a lot this week and i went to an area called paquital with one of our district leaders named elder warren. they had a family come up and say they had some kids that hadnt been baptized. we went by to teach them and there were a ton of little kids with lots of energy and we are best friends haha. it was a lot of fun to teach them and they all now have a date to be baptized this week. it is truly a miracle. the zone had been baptizing only like 6 or 7 people the last few months and was the worst in the mission basically. from what we have lined up for this week we should finish the month with about 22 baptisms which would really be a miracle. the missionaries are excited and it should be really great. though this is a month with 5 weeks but hopefully we'll keep up the hard work. 

the family we've been teaching are named lorena, josue, and erick. they are really great and we have seen a lot of progress in them. we hope that all three will be able to get baptized this week. they have a store next door to some members and we teach them either outside the store or sometimes we go in. we have taught mostly josue, but the mom has also been reading a lot and praying and has an answer but will need help to have the faith to be baptized. that is our goal for this week to help her. pray for her. 

we have been giving "how to get your girlfriend to marry you" tips to one of our investigators who is trying to keep the law of chastity with his girlfriend. they have lived together 6 years and have a kid together but the girlfriend says that she doesnt want to. its a crazy story. he was on his own at 12 years old and then was living with this girl at 13 years old. they now are 19. he is humble and warming up to us, but we´ve been helping him to be better to his wife and coaching him on how to talk to her and take her out on dates and stuff so she´ll see that he does really want to marry her. its pretty funny but good to see that he has the intention to keep the commandments. 

the biggest miracle in the zone this week is that there was an investigator that we had thought had killed someone in his past when he was like 15 he is now like 70 something. he has changed and grown a lot spiritually and got divorced and married this last week which is a miracle in itself. to get baptized with a sin like that you need to write a letter to the prophet. in the interview it came out that he really didnt kill anyone but just pushed a guy and he got hurt. in his prayer at the end of the interview he said to god "help me to follow this path i know that i didnt kill anyone and that this baptism is valid in thy eyes". it was a huge miracle and him and his wife were both baptized. 

the donut pictures were from a ward activity. josue won his turn. i tried to do it fast by putting the whole donut in my mouth. i did that, but i couldnt pull it all off the rope. i ended up slingshotting a piece of donut at the girl who was taking the photos and it hit her in the forehead. it was really funny haha. and we all had a good laugh. 

other events. i ate cow eye, tongue, head, and cheek tacos this week. i didnt know what they were at the time, but it tasted normal. a little soft. 

also we are practicing a choir for the stake conference in two weeks. a 70 is going to come and the temple presidency and mission president. i am in charge of the choir. we are doing be still my soul, but in spanish. it sounds pretty good and im excited for that. i will play piano for it.

i love you all and miss you very much and hope that all is well. have a great next week. 

love 

elder smith. 

1-16-12

Hello everyone,

well today i only have 9 minutes to write so its gonna be cliff notes version.

 

i got to go back to la venta! it was way cool. hna patty who had the dreams about me and getting baptized and stuff got baptized this week and i got permision from president to go and baptize her. i got to see a lot of ppl from la venta and it was crazy to be there again. at times the mission flies by and others it seems like so long ago that i was a new missionary not knowing spanish or how to teach or anything when i got to la venta. it was so great to see the people there and to see some converts. the little boy is a convert of mine named josue and wouldnt stop hugging me the whole time i was there ha. he is great and is going to be an awesome missionary. he had a hard life. could barely read, worked 13 hours a day for 2 dollars and didnt have a good home life. he is now living with members and sang perfectly reading the hymn at the baptism and is at church every week. it is amazing the changes the gospel makes in lives. the hna patty was really excited too and it was really great. the baptism was at like 8 at night though so that was different and COLD! haha

 

we had a lot of miracles this week. we did exchanges with the assistants again and i went with elder barrios. we contacted references and ppl we'd talked to and made appointments with for like 2 and a half hours and nobody was there or would let us in. i kept a positive attitude (that has been the focus for me because of the talk by pres monson in the january liahona) or ensign, and i prayed for guidance. turned my head saw a house looked the other way and felt good about the first house. knocked the door. there were 30 boxes of beer outside, the lady came out and said "isnt it a little late to be out..." but we talked and preached the gospel to her and she let us in. she had two sons of 13 and 18 years and by the end the 18 year old that was playing video games at the start, cried because he knew god had sent us to give this message to his family that really needed it. that also made the mom cry and almost me hah. the spirit was really powerful.

 

also we are teaching another family and a 13 year old boy got and answer about the book of mormon. he said "i read and prayed and felt something really weird right here (pointing to his chest)" my comp said, "thats what it feels like when god answers us. it was a good feeling right? of peace and happiness?" and the boy (josue) said "Wow, god answered me". it was way cool and i felt the spirit.

 

also a daughter of a convert that has about 3 months in the church came to church this week. she had never talked to us before and didnt want to. we had a lesson with her and her and a step daughter of the same convert accepted to be baptized. it was way powerful too and i know something that the hna claudia (convert) has been waiting for, because almost no one in her fam accepts her.

 

okay well i am out of time. i love you all and miss you a ton. my time is running by fast and i am enjoying every minute of it and learning so much. i am thankful for my heavenly father for this opporutnidad and am so happy to be here and share the gospel. i know that this is true what i teach and that this is the true church of jesus christ witha living prophet in these days.

have a great week

 

love

 

elder smith

1-9-12

las fotos: surprise birthday cake on the 2nd. they shove your face into it when you take a bite haha. , we played soccer on this cool turf field and elder watts was there too it was fun, i got another cake and they all sang another night after i cot back from villahermosa and they shoved my face in that one too, but just my nose got in haha

hoooola, 

i hope that you all had a great last week and very eventful. tuesday in the night we went with president castañeda to villahermosa for the zone leader conference. he met us outside burger king at like 9 at night ha. it was funny that there were like 8 missionaries outside burger king,  and then i rode in the back with all the bags and boxes. i chose it because at first i thought it would be more comfortable than squeezed on a bench, but idk i didnt think that it was a 3 hour ride ha. it was fun though i talked to an elder the whole time and got to know him better and he is a lot like me in what he likes and stuff. the conference was really great. we talked a lot about what is happening in the mission and on how we can help all of the missionaries feel more urgency and have more initiative. it is really a principle in life. sometimes we put things off or dont put in our all because we think we can do it tomorrow, but we all know what the scriptures say about that type of attitude ah. we need to be anxiously engaged in a good cause always striving to be better and help one another. 

my birthday was actually the same day as the conference but i sorta forgot, and nobody there really knew so it was pretty much a normal day haha, getting back though some members got me cakes and i got some presents too. a girl in my ward got me a sweater cause she was helping us with a lesson one day and i kept complaining how cold i was, (sorta jokingly, but i was actually cold), but it was nice of her, and the brand name is Vitale, so that was a coincidence ha. 

the week got crazy starting friday. we had a meeting with the stake president about some stake things which was good and then we started working and had some good lessons. in the night we went to help elders in our zone go to an appointment with a family that i found in their area when we were on exchanges a few weeks ago. the family is really great and i was disappointed when they were leaving when we showed up. we taught some lessons though and it went well. when we were leaving the member that was helping us got a call and we left fast. listening in the car i wasnt sure what was happening only that his dad was sick. in the end we went to two houses looking for him and then went to a place outside a grocery store. we showed up and there was a huge group of ppl and an ambulance. someone signaled to the member we were with and my comp leaned over to me and said "he died". we went over and saw his dad in the back of a taxi. he had a heart attack and died right there. there were like 50 ppl around and it was really sad. at one point my comp asked if we could do something and the member asked us to give him a blessing. i annointed and my companion who knew the man from before when he served here gave the blessing. the member was expecting that he would give him a blessing to bring him back, but my comp gave the blessing that he would rest, that he would be able to receive the gospel in the next life. it was something hard for the member, but i felt the spirit powerfully in the blessing and had tears coming down my face as we finished. i have seen a lot of death in a short period of time here, and it always reminds me of how fragile life is. also that everything in life seems to come in groups. a lot of hardship all at once. 

the next day went well but my batteries were about done. we worked hard all day sunday and had a lot of success. we helped elders in another ward and did a bunch of splits. i went out with the bishop and we had two really great lessons and found a family that has a grandson that isnt a member that wants to be baptized. they also have a daughter that is in a wheelchair and doesnt have control of her body. i was able to give 6 blessings in two days. it is an experience where i have learned more aout the power of the priesthood and the power of faith. i have learned more also about being more direct and clear in lessons. inviting ppl to repent and be baptized because i know its the only way they can be happy. 

i feel like this whole letter is rambly, but its hard to express the experiences that i had this week. i am grateful for my mission and the things that the lord has taught me. i am greatful for my caling to be a missionary and to be a zone leader and all the things i am able to learn as i serve. i am amazed to see how the lord is able to work through me. i love you all and miss you very much and hope you all have a great next week. we should have a baptism this week that we are excited about! 

love 

elder smith

1-2-12

okay well i dont have anytime today so i will just give some short points of what happened. 

i got a new comp. he is named elder medina and is from morelos mexico. he is pretty cool and i like him a lot. i am also the senior zone leader now so i dont feel as much like im being trained all over again. he served in an area in the zone at the start of his mission and he lived in the same house we live in now so he knows the area pretty well already so its gone smoothly. 

this week was pretty full and difficult. we had a baptism set for this saturday and president castañeda came and did the inverview for us, but our investigator didnt pass. he still has a few things he needs to sort out in his life. it was kinda sad, but we'll keep working with him and hoping for the best. 

ive had a lot more contact with pres castañeda this week and he has given us some more advise and is helping us, so that is good. 

the mission was putting on a movie in the two stakes in minatitlan and i had to set most of it up with the stake pres. it went really well. it was called 17 miracles about the pioneers. it was really great. we filled the stake center and almost everyone was in tears. 

i had a really cool experience. i got a call from the zone leaders in coatzacoalcos saying that a family in la venta was coming to my ward this week. that it was someone id taught and that they were going to move to my ward to get baptized. they didnt know everything but gave me a number to call. it turned out it was just one sister i had taught in la venta. she was really close to baptism but didnt make it. in the last 4 weeks she had a series of dreams that i was in. they were really cool dreams. but anyway. she was here in mina to see here family for the new year and was going to come to my ward but went to the wrong building but came after and we talked to her and she is hopefully going to get baptized the 14th of january. hopefully ill get to go to la venta and see it. i would be super super happy to be able to do that. but it was a true miracle. 

also a family here got me a cake that we ate sunday night. it was really good. there was the family, the bishop and his family and some of the other ppl from the ward that im close to and they sang happy birthday (in english) haha. and then here you have to do something called the mordida (the bite) and they always shove your face in the cake. so i did it and got my face shoved in the cake, so i got pictures but for some reason they wont load so youll have to wait til next week. the ppl here are very nice and i love them all and am excited to keep being here with them. 

there are some other things but no time. i love you all and miss you very much. hope you had a great new year. 

love 

elder smith