Wow, that's great news about Alex, the Bishops nephew, and everything else. I'm happy to hear all the news from home every Monday! Mom that's hilarious that Duck Dynasty is your favorite show. I have heard about it and how it's funny, and see all the ads in the stores for it. I can' wait till I can watch it. It's kind of weird being out of the loop of things, but I enjoy it.
Tell Lexie and Mason that I miss them so much.
We are meeting tonight with our investigators and we hope to set them with a baptismal date. We were talking to them the other day in the office of the apartments and she was telling us how she already knows it's true because of a spiritual experience she had a couple weeks ago. We are so excited for them. Have any of you see the blog of Al Fox? She is a convert of a couple years from New York and she now does inspirational speaking and videos about her conversion. They are so cool, and she reminds me of our investigator. So if you get the chance to look at her blog I would recommend reading her conversion story. It proves that the Gospel is for EVERYONE. We can never assume that somebody won't be interested in the Gospel, because they might be. It doesn't matter what you look like, how many tattoos you have, or what your past is, we are all Heavenly Fathers children. The Lord doesn't look on the outward appearance, so we shouldn't either. I strongly believe that.
Things are going really well in the district. The Elders we live with have had 6 baptisms this transfer already. It is really the ward support. We are still trying the best we can to get our ward more involved with activities. I remembered the dessert contest that we used to do as a ward when I was a youth, so I suggested that to the ward council and we sill be planning that soon. So things are progressing, it just takes time.
Thanks for all you do for me, I love you all and hope you have a great week. Love Elder Smith
Monday, July 29, 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013
Wow! It has been a great week! Thank you so much for the package. I really appreciate it, even though there was only half of everything, cause I'm halfway done haha. It was funny. I am glad that you had a good motorcycle trip Dad. I am looking forward to going to that area, it sounds amazing. Mom that's crazy that there's only 4 sets of missionary's in the stake because in our stake here we have 26 missionary's. Crazy how different things are in some places, but how similar they are as well.
So it has been a very eventful weekend. The South stake put on a pioneer breakfast and 5K on Saturday morning, and we all ran in the 5K. I'm still sore from it!! I finished in 27 minutes so I don't know if that's good or bad haha. Then we had a water balloon fight with the kids and a tug of war with all the missionaries in the stake. It was great. And yes, we found that investigator I told you we were looking for! 2 actually. So there's this lady that works in the front office at the apartment complex that we live at. We talk to her every time we go in. She is super nice and always asked us questions. Well finally we asked if we could teach her and she said yes. So Saturday we taught her and her husband. They have 2 small children. They also came to church yesterday and had a great time. I know the spirit was strong and I know they felt it too. I was so grateful to be able to speak in sacrament as well because they were there. We are teaching them tonight as well. We are soooo excited to see where it goes. So I'll keep you posted! The Lord provides in times of desperation.
There has been some crazy lightening/wind/rain storms for a couple days, we were excited though to see it and recorded a lot of it on my camera. A couple trees fell down in the complex, don't worry we're safe haha. This morning we went and hiked at red rock and that was really fun as well. My new camera has wifi so I can send pictures from the camera straight to email. I love the Elders I'm living with right now. I'll be sad when I have to leave but I know the Lord sends us where we need to be. I hope you all have a great week and I Love You all. Tell Alex he's a trooper and I'm proud of him if you get the chance.
So it has been a very eventful weekend. The South stake put on a pioneer breakfast and 5K on Saturday morning, and we all ran in the 5K. I'm still sore from it!! I finished in 27 minutes so I don't know if that's good or bad haha. Then we had a water balloon fight with the kids and a tug of war with all the missionaries in the stake. It was great. And yes, we found that investigator I told you we were looking for! 2 actually. So there's this lady that works in the front office at the apartment complex that we live at. We talk to her every time we go in. She is super nice and always asked us questions. Well finally we asked if we could teach her and she said yes. So Saturday we taught her and her husband. They have 2 small children. They also came to church yesterday and had a great time. I know the spirit was strong and I know they felt it too. I was so grateful to be able to speak in sacrament as well because they were there. We are teaching them tonight as well. We are soooo excited to see where it goes. So I'll keep you posted! The Lord provides in times of desperation.
There has been some crazy lightening/wind/rain storms for a couple days, we were excited though to see it and recorded a lot of it on my camera. A couple trees fell down in the complex, don't worry we're safe haha. This morning we went and hiked at red rock and that was really fun as well. My new camera has wifi so I can send pictures from the camera straight to email. I love the Elders I'm living with right now. I'll be sad when I have to leave but I know the Lord sends us where we need to be. I hope you all have a great week and I Love You all. Tell Alex he's a trooper and I'm proud of him if you get the chance.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Happy Birthday
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRUCE, AARON, AND DAVID COTTLE!!
All on the same day!! I hope it's a great one for you all!
Wow! So I am officially on the downhill slope since yesterday!! I will go home on the 14th of July next year instead of the 18th because of how transfers work. So yesterday was an exciting day for me!! But I'm excited for the 18th as well. And yes I will be burning a shirt. Shirt is a year, tie is 6 months, pants are 18 months. haha.
Anyways it has been a great week. Some great news of this past Saturday is that Vincent, the Chinese kid we were teaching, was baptized and we got to be there and be witnesses for it. It was so exciting to be there and see him take that step that we had taught him about before. I'm glad he is in the ward he's in now because there's a lot of people to fellowship him, it's the singles ward. We were able to have interviews with President Ahlander this week, he's a great guy, I love him already. But you could tell he was really tired and worn out from all the interviews. It was a short one. So I hop-e he gets the hang of things. It's going well with teaching members, we just need the ward to be a little more enthusiastic about missionary work, so that' what we're working on. And I get to talk in Sacrament on Sunday about missionary work, so I'm grateful for that. Our ward mission leader can't be a better guy than he is, he is so great. So supportive of everything we do and gets us appointments with members. The ward would really be struggling without him. So I'm excited for this week and looking forward to that investigator we have to find soon! The Elders we live with, Leortscher and Jarman are so great, us 4 are already like best friends. And they are doing so well with the work in their area. I had the opportunity to interview two kids for baptism last week, and will interview a family of 4 tomorrow for their baptism on Saturday. All of which were taught by them and their ward. So things are going really good, we just need that blessing in our ward as well. And I know it will come.
The smoke has cleared up and I think the fire is out so no worries there. It hasn't been as hot as it was in the past so we're grateful for that! I miss Lexie and Mason so much and can't wait to see them again, along with Charlie and the boys. I love Charlie's little smile. So cute.
I hope everyone has a great week and continues to stay healthy and safe. I love you all!!
All on the same day!! I hope it's a great one for you all!
Wow! So I am officially on the downhill slope since yesterday!! I will go home on the 14th of July next year instead of the 18th because of how transfers work. So yesterday was an exciting day for me!! But I'm excited for the 18th as well. And yes I will be burning a shirt. Shirt is a year, tie is 6 months, pants are 18 months. haha.
Anyways it has been a great week. Some great news of this past Saturday is that Vincent, the Chinese kid we were teaching, was baptized and we got to be there and be witnesses for it. It was so exciting to be there and see him take that step that we had taught him about before. I'm glad he is in the ward he's in now because there's a lot of people to fellowship him, it's the singles ward. We were able to have interviews with President Ahlander this week, he's a great guy, I love him already. But you could tell he was really tired and worn out from all the interviews. It was a short one. So I hop-e he gets the hang of things. It's going well with teaching members, we just need the ward to be a little more enthusiastic about missionary work, so that' what we're working on. And I get to talk in Sacrament on Sunday about missionary work, so I'm grateful for that. Our ward mission leader can't be a better guy than he is, he is so great. So supportive of everything we do and gets us appointments with members. The ward would really be struggling without him. So I'm excited for this week and looking forward to that investigator we have to find soon! The Elders we live with, Leortscher and Jarman are so great, us 4 are already like best friends. And they are doing so well with the work in their area. I had the opportunity to interview two kids for baptism last week, and will interview a family of 4 tomorrow for their baptism on Saturday. All of which were taught by them and their ward. So things are going really good, we just need that blessing in our ward as well. And I know it will come.
The smoke has cleared up and I think the fire is out so no worries there. It hasn't been as hot as it was in the past so we're grateful for that! I miss Lexie and Mason so much and can't wait to see them again, along with Charlie and the boys. I love Charlie's little smile. So cute.
I hope everyone has a great week and continues to stay healthy and safe. I love you all!!
Monday, July 8, 2013
Family!
It has been a good 4th of July week, and I appreciate the pictures and storied of your week! I'm glad everyone had fun and stayed safe. I did miss watching the fireworks there but we got to see a lot here too. The whole city was just lighting up with the, it was cool. We got invited to a member's house to watch them too. Things are going really well with my new companion Elder Powers, he's great. He's from Vancouver Washington but has moved around a lot cause his dad is military, a Green Beret. he funny thing is that he reminds me so much of Bruce! His voice is similar, and his laugh is the same as Bruce's. It's hilarious haha.
We haven't had any lessons this week, it's been extremely slow. But we're changing that this week and going to teach the members in the ward starting tonight. So I'm excited for that.
I'm sure you might have heard that there has been a fire in the mountains here, and all the smoke has been covering Vegas. It was really bad on the 4th and we had ash all over the car in the morning. It's been pretty crazy to watch the past week, we could see the flames on the night of the 4th. So I hope that clears up soon. But we have had cooler weather compared to what it has been, so we're grateful for that. We are not the only companionship in the district with a car, except for one other companionship that lives further away. So all the others are on bike and I feel so bad for them, we try to give them rides to anything we can. It's been a little difficult but we work it out.
I'm sorry to hear that Alex has been so sick. Another missionary in my apartment named Elder Jarman reminds me so much of Alex, and he's hilarious, so I'm glad to have him here!
I'm grateful to be here and so grateful for my good health. I know the Lord lifts me up at times when I feel down and I know this is His work. And if we listen to the spirit and heed His promptings throughout our lives we will be blessed and lifted up at the last day. Thank you for your prayers again, and I hope you have a great week. I love you.
It has been a good 4th of July week, and I appreciate the pictures and storied of your week! I'm glad everyone had fun and stayed safe. I did miss watching the fireworks there but we got to see a lot here too. The whole city was just lighting up with the, it was cool. We got invited to a member's house to watch them too. Things are going really well with my new companion Elder Powers, he's great. He's from Vancouver Washington but has moved around a lot cause his dad is military, a Green Beret. he funny thing is that he reminds me so much of Bruce! His voice is similar, and his laugh is the same as Bruce's. It's hilarious haha.
We haven't had any lessons this week, it's been extremely slow. But we're changing that this week and going to teach the members in the ward starting tonight. So I'm excited for that.
I'm sure you might have heard that there has been a fire in the mountains here, and all the smoke has been covering Vegas. It was really bad on the 4th and we had ash all over the car in the morning. It's been pretty crazy to watch the past week, we could see the flames on the night of the 4th. So I hope that clears up soon. But we have had cooler weather compared to what it has been, so we're grateful for that. We are not the only companionship in the district with a car, except for one other companionship that lives further away. So all the others are on bike and I feel so bad for them, we try to give them rides to anything we can. It's been a little difficult but we work it out.
I'm sorry to hear that Alex has been so sick. Another missionary in my apartment named Elder Jarman reminds me so much of Alex, and he's hilarious, so I'm glad to have him here!
I'm grateful to be here and so grateful for my good health. I know the Lord lifts me up at times when I feel down and I know this is His work. And if we listen to the spirit and heed His promptings throughout our lives we will be blessed and lifted up at the last day. Thank you for your prayers again, and I hope you have a great week. I love you.
Monday, July 1, 2013
July
Family!
Thank you for the update on home, I'm so sorry to hear about Dad having pneumonia, that's terrible news. I hope and pray that he feels better soon and that any medicine will cooperate and do what it needs to . I'm grateful for the videos of Charlie and Lexie and Mason, they are all so cute and I hope they have a fun 4th of July. It sounds like Mom has a ton of food for everyone so that's good, if only I were there, right?! I'm looking forward to the 4th though to see the fireworks in the area. Apparently the strip puts on a huge show off the top of the hotels, like they do at New Years, so we should be able to see it pretty well from here.
It has been so HOT this week! If you paid attention to the weather here at all you know it was in the 110-120 degree range. They were wondering if Death Valley would set a record. I don't know if it did or not. But our car said 120 a couple days ago. So it'll be a normal thing for the next couple months! This morning we hiked to some caves that are pretty close to our area, so I have some pictures of that I'll send...sorry that they are blurry...it's my camera, not the photographer haha. I'm excited for transfers tonight though, as you know, Elder White will be transferred and my new companion will be Elder Powers. I hope and pray that I will be the best leader I can be this next transfer and magnify my calling. We had the meeting with our new mission president on Thursday, President and Sister Ahlander are so great! I already know they will do great things for this mission. They cracked a lot of jokes during their presentation about themselves and did a great job, so I'm excited to have them lead us as a mission. Mom Thanks so much for the family history stories, I loved them. Especially the one Grandma Birch wrote, that was great, I appreciate all of you and the words of support and encouragement. I hope everyone has a great holiday. Stay safe and have fun together. Take pictures for me! Love Elder Smith, I love you.
Thank you for the update on home, I'm so sorry to hear about Dad having pneumonia, that's terrible news. I hope and pray that he feels better soon and that any medicine will cooperate and do what it needs to . I'm grateful for the videos of Charlie and Lexie and Mason, they are all so cute and I hope they have a fun 4th of July. It sounds like Mom has a ton of food for everyone so that's good, if only I were there, right?! I'm looking forward to the 4th though to see the fireworks in the area. Apparently the strip puts on a huge show off the top of the hotels, like they do at New Years, so we should be able to see it pretty well from here.
It has been so HOT this week! If you paid attention to the weather here at all you know it was in the 110-120 degree range. They were wondering if Death Valley would set a record. I don't know if it did or not. But our car said 120 a couple days ago. So it'll be a normal thing for the next couple months! This morning we hiked to some caves that are pretty close to our area, so I have some pictures of that I'll send...sorry that they are blurry...it's my camera, not the photographer haha. I'm excited for transfers tonight though, as you know, Elder White will be transferred and my new companion will be Elder Powers. I hope and pray that I will be the best leader I can be this next transfer and magnify my calling. We had the meeting with our new mission president on Thursday, President and Sister Ahlander are so great! I already know they will do great things for this mission. They cracked a lot of jokes during their presentation about themselves and did a great job, so I'm excited to have them lead us as a mission. Mom Thanks so much for the family history stories, I loved them. Especially the one Grandma Birch wrote, that was great, I appreciate all of you and the words of support and encouragement. I hope everyone has a great holiday. Stay safe and have fun together. Take pictures for me! Love Elder Smith, I love you.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)