Week 66

Hey everyone! This week went by soooo fast!! We didn't have a whole lot to do the first half of the week because of Christmas and Christmas Eve. For the most part we just played sports at the church, and on Christmas morning we had breakfast with some members.

The other half of the week was pretty good though. We had a church tour last night with Sheila and her husband Armando and they're super solid. We just recently found them and they're interested, but right now the biggest road block is getting them to church. Their work schedules aren't very flexible, so we'll be praying for some miracles there.

Also I love being back in Lacey. Not only is it my very first area, but there's actually Hispanics here unlike in Port Angeles. So I've finally had a chance to use my Spanish a little bit more even though it's pretty rusty from months of not speaking it with anyone. While I've been here I've come across some stumbling blocks that I've needed to help myself with. They've made me humbler and taught me some things that I needed to hear. I know it was definitely inspired for me to come back to Lacey at this point in my mission.

In this area in Lacey we also get to work with a Samoan group that we're trying to turn into a branch. It's been super fun to learn a little bit about their culture and get fed a ton. We also play sports with them on Saturday nights to help fellowship them. We could use the prayers here too for helping us to find more people that have been prepared and are ready for what we have to share.

That's mostly all for this week though. I love you all and hope you have a Happy New Year!

-Elder Smith

Week 65

Hey everyone!! This week has been very busy! After saying goodbye to everyone in Port Angeles, we had transfers on Wednesday where I got my three new companions: Elder Isaac Thacker from Lindon, Utah, Jason Mose from American Samoa, and Nathan Parker from Atlanta Georgia.

The rest of this week has been full of trying to get to know the area. There's also a Samoan group here in Lacey that we get to work with, so we've been getting plenty of food, and it's been a lot of fun. On Saturday the Spanish branch down here had their christmas party which I got invited to, so I was able to say hello to some of the members that I knew from a year ago.

One thing that I've learned just from this first week here is the importance of finishing my mission strong. I've seen missionaries who have lost the motivation to do the work and it makes things hard.

I don't have much time left to write, but I hope everyone has a good Christmas this week and remembers the reason why we celebrate it. Love you all!!

-Elder Smith

New Address: 3600 14th Ave SE Apt 19-102 Olympia WA 98501

Leaving the Port Angeles zone and district

Elder Mose and I in the rain

Hot chocolate stand with my new district

Week 64:I'll be Home for Christmas

Zone Christmas Conference

Hey everyone!! This week has been pretty good. We got transfer calls on Saturday, and I'll be going back to Lacey!! I'm pretty excited to be going back around the same time of year again; it's kind of like going home. It's hard to explain. I'll be with Elder Thacker, Mose, and Parker, and Elder Thacker and Mose will be going home at the end of the transfer. It'll be pretty fun though. Just for some clarification, I'll still be a Zone Leader in the Lacey 2nd ward so I'll still be in an English area and not in Spanish.

We were able to go by a few of our investigators this week and we taught a few people that we haven't talked to in a while. We also had zone conference this week and it was pretty fun since we had a little talent show thing and a christmas gift exchange. However, I also had to give a training which wasn't so great, but oh well.

I don't have a lot to talk about today, but I hope you all have a good week!

-Elder Smith

When people give us food on the doorstep 

Overlooking the Sound

We had a hot chocolate stand for light the world.

Week 63

Hello everyone!! This week was fairly interesting. We were able to meet with a few of our investigators again this week. We haven't met with Alena for a few weeks because she's been pretty busy, but we were able to talk to her and recommit her to reading and praying.

We were also able to meet with Rhiannon which was great since we haven't been able to for a few months now. We had our lesson with her all set up, but the member who we were going to be going to wasn't home, so we had to find some last minute fellowship and go over there. Despite the stress of trying to make things work out, we were able to have a really good lesson, and the members were very supportive of her. She reaffirmed to us that she wanted to be baptized, and one thing that I learned from the members who were helping us is that sometimes we just need to go slow with our investigators and not just teach lessons every time, but build their faith and help them get their own testimony.

On Friday we had MLC and the ward Christmas party, both of which were good. Then on Sunday we were able to go to a wedding of one of our investigators. He's been meeting with the Jehovah's Witnesses as well, and they've been helping him and helped to arrange his wedding. So that was pretty cool. But that was mostly it for this week. Love you all!!

-Elder Smith

Week 62 Thanksgiving

This week was pretty good. We had a good Thanksgiving dinner with a member family, and then I got sick. Again. Then this Saturday a member took us down to Puyallup because someone that Elder Jensen taught got baptized, so we drove 2 1/2 hours to watch them get baptized, and then drove back. It was a long day but pretty good. But other than that not a lot happened. Sorry for the short email this week. I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving!

-Elder Smith

Week 61

Hello everyone!! This week has been pretty long. On Tuesday we had zone conference, and the night before the AP's asked me to play the piano and asked us to put together a musical number for that next day. So that was a bit stressful since I had never taken a look at the music for some of the songs that our mission sings together.

As for the rest of the week, we didn't have a whole lot of progress with our investigators, because we don't have much of a teaching pool anymore. However, we've been putting together a bunch of 8-9's (practice lessons with members), so we've still gotten to teach a little bit this week. We've been doing a lot of tracting though, and this Saturday Elder Jensen and I gave out 8 or 9 copies of the Book of Mormon. It was probably the most I've given out in a few weeks. It was pretty cool. But that's mostly all for this week. Love you all!!
-Elder Smith

Just some things we found while knocking this week

My pepper plant is still somehow growing in winter!!

Zone Conference

Week 60 - Transfers!!

This week has been kind of crazy. We had transfers on Wednesday, and then the rest of the week felt like it was almost a month long. It was a crazy mix of emotions for me mostly because I was trying to figure out how to work with a new companion, I was the only one who knew everything about the area (which was the first time that's happened to me), and we were losing a lot of people in our teaching pool. So I was a bit stressed out and I didn't really know many other people to go by, so we've been doing a lot of knocking.

One thing I really like about my new companion, Elder Canon Jensen, is how diligent and obedient he is. Despite losing work in some areas, we've seen a little bit more progress in other areas. He's really helped to push things forward instead of just letting them happen. So that's been pretty good. He's from Orem, Utah too.

This week, Mike messaged us and told us he didn't want us to come by anymore since he's felt pressured, but he wanted us to message him on Saturday to remind him about church since he still wants to come. We haven't had much opportunity to talk to Alena this week, and Donna told us on Friday that she had developed her own opinion of the Book of Mormon as she just flipped through it so she didn't want to meet with us. So overall it was kind of disappointing and discouraging for me. However, we've started getting more 8-9's (that's where we just have practice lessons in members homes for 20 minutes). That's mostly all for this week. Love you all!!

-Elder Smith

Week 59

This week was pretty good. We met with Alena at the beginning of the week and reviewed the baptismal questions so she could see what she needed to do to be ready. That was super helpful since we weren't sure what to do to help her progress towards baptism. She's going to be working towards building her testimony and trying out the word of wisdom. So hopefully things will get moving with her again soon.

Also this week we went by Mike's mom to see if she's gotten in contact with Mike at all and if we would be able to visit him somehow. To our surprise, Mike answered the door saying he got kicked out of treatment for passing notes to girls haha. So we'll be meeting with him again soon.

This Saturday we got our transfer calls. Elder Borsky is going to be leaving and going to Bremerton, and I'll be staying and getting Elder Jensen. I'm super excited to be working with him this next transfer.

I think those are the main things for this week. Love you all!!
-Elder Smith

MLC

 The Wolfley's invited us all over to their beautiful home for dinner.  They live right across the street from the church. Alena is the sister pictured here in front. Sister Cindy Robinson took this picture and sent it to mom.

Week 58

Hey everyone!! This week has been pretty great. We've been working through a few different lists of members that our Bishop gave us. We've found a few families that we'll be working with in the future. But for the most part it's been a grind to work through those lists and to try and find people and where they live.

On Thursday we had a blast with Halloween. It was also Elder Scott's birthday so he bought us pizza and that night we watched The Other Side of Heaven 2 with the zone. It was an awesome day. Then on Friday night our ward had a Halloween party, but it was a little disappointing since not a lot of people showed up and it was mostly the Trunk or Treat. Also none of the people we had been inviting throughout the week came. But we still had a good time.

Sorry it was a shorter email this week. There wasn't much to talk about, but we've been having a good time serving the Lord and sharing the gospel. Love you all!!

-Elder Smith

Week 57

Hey everyone, this week has been super great!! Starting with Wednesday we were able to talk with Alena some and we brought fellowship with us, and so far it seems like they get along well. Later during the week we were able to talk to her again and show her some of the Book of Mormon videos. It's been cool to see her progressing, and she's shown more interest in being baptized.

Thursday was Elder Borsky's birthday, and his parents ordered us three pizzas and a cake from Safeway. It was a pretty good day. Then on Saturday we met with an older lady named Donna. She rescues parrots and has four right now. She told us that she's been looking for a church, and that she's prayed to God for help. She thought it was so amazing that we just happened to come by and knock on her door. She was telling us that this just might be the one. She agreed with everything we had to say, and she wants to learn. It's super awesome.

On Saturday we had a cool experience. It was 6:59 and we were about to finish up knocking, and so we knocked on the last door (it's super dark at this point and most people were telling us to go home and go to bed). This old woman answers the door and almost shut the door on us, but on second thought she let us in. She told us that she was taught by the sister missionaries about a year ago, and we were able to resolve some of her concerns right then, and we're going to be going back to talk to her some more and answer more questions. Anyways, that's all for this week. Love you all!!

-Elder Smith

Week 56

This week has been pretty great. We had zone conference this last Tuesday, and that was pretty good (even though I started falling asleep during it). President Leishman challenged all of us to start reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning and try to finish before the end of the year. So I've started to do that and it's been pretty good so far. It's helped me to focus my studies a little better so they're a little more effective.

On Wednesday we were able to put Alena back on date. We're not really sure how to help her progress since her baptismal date is more of a goal with her, and she's not sure if she actually wants to be baptized. She likes the support of the ward, and she's been coming to church for a few months now, so we're not exactly sure what her hold up is.

Thursday was pretty rough because literally everything we had fell through. On Friday we had an 8-9 with a member which was super nice, because it's getting dark around 6 to 6:30 so after 5-7's not a whole lot of people want to talk with us since their bedtime is at 7:30. It's a little ridiculous because we stay out until 9. On Saturday we also had an 8-9 and dinner with members. It was pretty awesome since we haven't had member dinners for over a month now. It seems like the stake leadership meeting last week had a positive impact on our ward mission leader since he's been stepping up his game recently.

Well that's mostly it for this week. Love you!
-Elder Smith

We carved pumpkins last Monday as a zone activity so here's my pumpkin and the rest of the zone.

We carved pumpkins last Monday as a zone activity so here's my pumpkin and the rest of the zone.

Week 55

This week has been pretty good, and fortunately we've been pretty busy. On Tuesday we had lunch with Kimberly. She's been taught for a while now, and she is kind of all over the place. So out of nowhere she said "let's get this baptism thing over with." And so when we were with her on Tuesday we went over the baptismal interview questions. We also set a day for her baptism. However, later in the week her husband got on her phone and started texting us and was super upset. We decided to go by to talk to Kimberly and her husband, and it seemed like everything was going to be fine. Then this weekend she texts us again saying that her husband didn't want us to come by anymore and that she was done with "this baptism thing." So that was pretty crazy.

On Wednesday we met a guy named Caden in his early twenties. We were able to teach him most of the restoration. It was pretty cool to talk with him since he doesn't really know if there is a God out there or if it was just a vain hope that people give themselves. We gave him the commitment to read the Book of Mormon and follow Moroni's promise to pray and have your own witness about the truth of it. We were able to meet with him again this Sunday and we read some with him, and we're going to try to give him a church tour this next week.

On Friday we had MLC, so we had to go all the way down to Tacoma and have some trainings and then come all the way back up. It was a pretty long day, but it was good.

Saturday night we had the adult session of stake conference and a stake leadership meeting where President Leishman came and talked about how we're trying to get the ward and the missionaries to work together. The leadership meeting was really good, and I'm hoping that all those that were there will jump into action to try to help move along the work in the stake. On Sunday we had the rest of stake conference, and we were able to teach some investigators that were just visiting the area. It was pretty cool to talk with them and hear about their conversion story. They're getting baptized this weekend and they'll be sealed in the temple after that too.

That's mostly it for this week though. I hope you all have a great week!!
-Elder Smith

The ice cream social with our zone after stake conference.

Elder Borsky and I on our way back up to Port Angeles after MLC.

Week 54

This week has been pretty good. I finally got over my cold so I've been doing better. On Wednesday we had transfers, so we had to take the Forks elders down to Tacoma and also to get some medication for Elder Borsky. Leading up to General Conference we invited a bunch of our investigators to watch. As far as we know, both Mike and Alena watched the last session of General Conference but we're not sure if anyone else did.

In preparation for conference, I prayed about some of the questions I had. As I was watching, I was having a super hard paying attention and staying awake. There were some talks that I felt like I needed to go back and study and ponder, but overall I didn't seem to get much out of it. Then later in the day Sunday night I got an answer to one of my questions. I had asked God what the one thing that I needed to do to help me in the work right now. The one thing that stuck out to me at conference was when Dale G. Renlund was talking about commitment, and he said, "Commit to a lifelong process of discipleship." As I thought about that I had some thoughts come to mind about how I need to recommit myself to the work and give it all my heart, might, mind, and strength. I realized that I got comfortable where I was at to the point where I've found myself basically just going through the motions. It was cool to see how God answered my prayer in this way, and it's strengthened my testimony.

Anyways, that's all for this week!! Love you!
-Elder Smith