Week 43 - Blessings

This week has been really great. It's been one of my slowest weeks for a while, but it's been really good.

We've been working with the Cortez family for about a month now. We found them when the came to church back in May, but soon after, the dad got in an accident at work and really injured his back, so we haven't been able to really teach them until a week or two ago. This week we've had the opportunity to meet with them a few times and teach them the lessons, and they've loved it all. They've already committed to baptism, but the only complication is the dad's back. We're not really sure when he would be able to be healed enough to be baptized, but this family is golden, and they want to go to the temple and be sealed together and learn how a normal family following gospel standards and principles should live. This week they were also able to come to church again, and the ward did a great job of greeting them and making them feel welcome. We're super excited with this family, and it feels like everything is just falling into place with them.

We've also been able to find a few former investigators and start teaching them again, but we gave them to the Hermanas. As we've heard about the success that the Hermanas have been have with the people they've been finding and teaching, I feel like we're really going to have the work booming in this ward. Even though there hasn't been a lot of success everywhere we go, the Lord has blessed us with bits of success here and there. It reminds me that the Lord doesn't give us everything right up front, but line upon line, precept upon precept. He gives us small things that accumulate into something bigger and grander as we're patient and as we wait on His timeline. Love you all!!
- Elder Jared Smith

Week 42 - Transfers bring Hermanas

This week has been a long and crazy one. For some reason, transfers made this week drag even though not a whole lot happened.

We tried to stop by people whenever we could, but we didn't find a whole lot of success. On Wednesday, President Leishman wanted Elder Bradley to give his Dying Testimony to all the greenies since it would be his last chance to do so. So Elder Clay and I were stuck up North where there wasn't much to do, but we did what we could under the circumstances.

On Thursday we had weekly planning combined with the new Hermanas. There were two new Hermanas at transfers, and President had Sister Hankins who took 6 years of Spanish in high school to train Hermana Jarvis and Hermana Muller. Things have become pretty interesting with them around since President said he doesn't really know how to incorporate them, so he's left it up to us for now. So during weekly planning, we gave them a few of our main female investigators, and gave them all our Hispanic hot spots. We also did some roleplays with them in Spanish to start helping them understand how to talk to people. That took all afternoon, so we only had the 2 hours after 5-7's left to do what work we could.

As for the rest of the week, we tried to contact more people, we had a meeting with our ward mission leader, and church of course. We've decided that knocking and visiting old potentials hasn't really been doing much for us lately, so we're going to try to go by PMF's and UBC's to see what we can do there.

Love you all!!
-Elder Smith

Elder Clay, Elder Bradley and I emailing at the library.

My first pepper from my own pepper plant. It was actually pretty spicy.

Week 41 - "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others."

This week was pretty good. Not a whole lot happened because it was the end of this transfer and the 4th of July, but we tried to visit people when we could.

This last Tuesday was the departing missionaries temple trip, so Elder Clay and I dropped off Elder Bradley at the office early that morning and then came back to do our studies. We went by a lot of people that day without many people answering. That night we met with some eternigators. They've been taught all the lessons, their son is baptized, and they come to church most weeks. The only problem is that they're married to someone else in another country and they've supposedly been waiting for their divorce papers for a while now.

On Wednesday we met with a member who we go by every week to help her read from the Book of Mormon, so that took up our afternoon. That evening we were able to get into a lesson with someone we found that Sunday night. We taught her the full restoration, but we had to refer her since she wasn't Hispanic.

For the 4th of July, we had weekly planning and then after 5-7's we met up with the zone and went to Panda Express and then played sports at the church. It was a really great day. This entire week has reminded me of Mexico because everyone has been setting off loud fireworks at all hours of the day. It was just like the good old days in the CCM. Also someone in our district had to go the hospital to get stitches because a dog tried to eat him. He had some pretty gnarly cuts on his leg, stomach, throat, and hands. He had to get about 5 stitches in his hand because he had to grab its jaw to prevent it from ripping out his throat. So that was fun.

Each week our mission president sends out a talk for us to look over that week, and this week's was The Divine Gift of Gratitude by President Thomas S. Monson. The part that I really liked was this:
"We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues. Someone has said that 'gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.'"
I really like this because in his talk he says that if learn to be grateful then we can push out the darkness of the world, and right here he talks about how gratitude can be the basis of all other Christ like attributes. President Monson says that it takes conscious effort to do it, and that when we feel grateful we need to express it otherwise it is for naught.

Other than that, not much else happened this week. Maximo was supposed to come back Saturday night, so we went by Sunday and he wasn't home. He's so close to baptism, but he never answers his door. It's a little frustrating. We also got transfer calls this Saturday and we are all staying! Both of our ZL's go home this transfer, and next transfer we'll be getting two more dying ZL's. So many missionaries are going home, especially the leadership. That's all for this week. Love you!
-Elder Smith

Week 40: What happened to this transfer?

This week has gone by soooo fast, and the transfer has gone by even faster. This Saturday we get our transfer calls and the week after is transfers. And then Elder Bradley will be home in four weeks. This is all happening so fast. The mission needs to take a chill pill and slow down!

As for the week. We haven't had too many lessons. We've tried by different people, but no one's been home. Maximo is coming back from Mexico this Saturday, and our appointment with Gloriana fell through. She thought it was going to be a class where other people were going to be there too, so she canceled and told us to schedule another day and have it be the same day we schedule it on. So that was a little frustrating.

Last Sunday we went by Erick and Jessica. They have a small young family, and the Erick had recently broken his back at work a couple weeks ago. We stopped by and gave him a blessing and invited them to read in the BOM. This Sunday we went by again and talked with their entire family and we read out of the BOM with them. We were also able to get the kids English copies since they didn't understand Spanish too well.

Other than that, we didn't have much this week. We had another 9-9, and we had more success this week, and we found some people that we'll be going back to this week. Hopefully things will turn out with them. Love you!!
- Elder Smith

Pictures:
I've been growing some pepper plants for a few months now, and so I transplanted them to a bigger pot. However, I had to smash the glass jar it was in so I could get it out.

Week 39: Something is finally happening!!!

This week has been a really great week. We've had a list of people who are our most solid people. However, this week we were able to get in contact with some of those people, and there are two people on that list that can potentially get baptized whenever. One of those is Gloriana. She is from Italy, and learned Spanish as a second language, and then learned English from Spanish. And now she's teaching those languages, and she does stuff with them in the military as well. She's been to church several times already, and this week we had a lesson with her on Friday. We met up with her at Barnes and Noble, and while we (Elder Clay and I happened to be on exchanges with our district leader Elder Borsky who was one of my past companions) were talking with her there, she said that her friend, who had referred her to us, told her that she could get a blessing of comfort since she's been having a rough time recovering from a divorce. We decided to move to a park close by to give her that blessing, and as we got over there, there just happened to be one of our church buildings right next to the park. It was an amazing tender mercy. So we went inside the church and gave her a blessing, which she cried through, and then we taught her all of lesson 1. She was crying through that too. It was such a good lesson, and we almost put her on date. Her only hold ups is that she doesn't want to disappoint anyone, like her mother, and she didn't want to leave her church that she's attached to. We're pretty sure that we can work things out with her so we can help her be baptized.

Another one of our more solid people is Maximo. He's been to church 4 or 5 times already, and his sisters have been in town taking him to church. The people in the ward who have talked to him say that he is super solid. All he needs is to be taught the lessons so he can be baptized. Apparently the bishop also asked him if he wants to be baptized, and he said "sure." Unfortunately, he just barely went to Mexico, and we don't know how long he'll be down there for.

As for the rest of this week, we had a couple of other lessons with people that will hopefully be solid in the future. We also had interviews with President Leishman on Wednesday, and he talked to us about different things that might happen with the Hermanas that will be coming in this next transfer. We're a little worried as to what might happen, but we're hoping for the best. That's all for this week.

 Love you!!
- Elder Smith

Week 38: Zion's Camp

This week has been pretty great. On Tuesday we had Zion's Camp, which is basically just zone conference, but we went to a ropes course that the church owns and had some activities there. It was really fun. After a couple of trainings and lunch we went outside and split up into teams. A few of the activities were getting your team up and over a wall, balancing on a log while switching places, trust falls, or getting through a tire without touching the sides. There were a bunch of these activities that required team work and at the end of each of them we talked about how it could relate to the mission or the spiritual aspect. Afterwards there was a testimony meeting around a campfire, and a lot of the departing missionaries got up and bore their testimonies. That was probably the highlight of my week.

As for the other days, our zone leaders put a few activities together for each day of the week and called it Spartan week. Some of the things we did were making pump up videos to get us excited for the work/lift our spirits. Another thing that we did was a 9 to 9, which is basically where we knock from 9 am to 9 pm without any breaks in between. Our zone leaders were all out for that because it used to be a thing that our mission did, but it was super ineffective. My companionship didn't find a single person all day.

At the end of this week on Sunday, we were able to find out where someone with real potential for baptism lives. His name is Maximo, and he's been coming to church with his sisters for a few weeks now, because they've just been visiting. Apparently he is pretty interested, and seems like he wants to be baptized. So we're pretty excited to go over this week and meet with him. But that's all for this week. Love you!!
- Elder Smith

The Tacoma South zone at Zion's Camp.

My district at service on Saturday. We made some temporary stairs in somebody's hill

Week 37: Nothing much other than hunger

This week was pretty great. Not a lot has happened this week other than the grind of trying to put together our Tac-10 (basically our top 10 investigators; right now we don't really have anyone solid and we're trying to find more). We have gotten a lot of referrals from the other missionaries in our area, and we've been going through that a lot, and some of them have actually been interested. We've been able to teach them a little bit and get some return appointments set up, so hopefully things will go well with that.

Last night we had a Why I Believe fireside that was really good. We didn't have any investigators come to that unfortunately, but we had some at church. Not a whole lot is happening just yet, but we're working on getting more people to teach.

Also Elder Bradley's MSF card didn't refill, so he hasn't been able to buy groceries. Also the apartment is way empty, so we're slowly refilling the shelves. This last week, we didn't have a whole lot to eat though, so we were pretty hungry by the end, but it's okay now that we went grocery shopping. Also, we've done some praying for some help, and a few members reached out to us on Sunday offering to feed us and give us food, so that was super awesome. Prayer works, and specific prayer works miracles. I love that even though things may not be progressing, it doesn't mean the Lord isn't watching out for us. I've been able to see Him helping us rebuild this area and get things going again.

Love you all!!
- Elder Smith

Weeks 36 - Baptisms and Transfers!!

These last two weeks have been pretty crazy. Last Monday we had a mission BBQ, so I had to drive out to Tacoma for most of the day, and the library was closed so we couldn't use the computers to email. But yeah. The Saturday before, we got our transfer calls, and now I'm in the Tacoma Spanish ward, Buena Vista. It's been way fun being here. However, I'm still not in a normal companionship yet. Instead of being in a foursome, I'm now in a trio. Elder Bradley and Elder Clay are both my companions here, and we've had a blast. Elder Bradley was my trainer back in Lacey, and now he's going to be finishing out his mission with the two of us. Elder Myles Bradley is from Draper, Utah, and Elder Matthew Clay is from Lindon, Utah. They're both way fun to be with, and they both work really hard.

Last Sunday we had two baptisms. Hazel and Tanner Campbell got baptized, and there were around 85 people there. It was very ward involved, and everything went very smoothly. A lot of people also talked with the father of the Campbell family, and that helped him to be a little more open than he has been in the past.

This last week has been soooooo long it seems. For some reason, transfers just made it take so long. Plus I don't really know the area or the people yet, whereas both of my companions know exactly what's going on. Also, I've had to get used to Spanish again. I still struggle with being able to understand what people are saying to us, so I have a hard time being able to pitch in where necessary, but my speaking skills are slowly coming back. I don't know too much about how things are going on in this area, but it seems like we don't really have too many people that we're teaching right now. The ward is also really really small. It's basically a branch, but the leadership seems to be very helpful if not the members. However, that's mostly all that I can remember for this week.
Love you all!!
- Elder Smith

Pictures:
1-2. Elder Larsen and I at the BBQ
3,4,6. At the baptism
5. Zone lunch
7. Just eating lunch at district council sometime ago
8. The other Elder Smith and I

Week 35: Memorial Day

(These are excerpts from our family chat on Monday)

I won't be sending a regular email because of an activity we have today for Memorial Day. We're having a bbq with the central conference of the mission. The mission is split up into three parts, so we're going to be doing games and stuff with a third of the mission.

So we got transfer calls on Saturday,  and I'm leaving BLT. I'm going to the Buena Vista ward in Tacoma. So it's going to be a way big area. I'll be covering about 4 stakes. My companions will be Elder Clay and Elder Bradley. E. Bradley was my trainer my very first transfer in the mission, and now I might send him home. I'll be Spanish speaking. It's going to be way fun. I can read and pronounce Spanish, but after 3 transfers in an English area,my conversational skills have gone down the dump. I'm super stoked. Also I'll have a better car too. Instead of a Toyota Corolla, I'll be in a Nissan Rogue. And instead of 1000 miles per month, I'll have 1500 miles.

Last night we baptized those two UBC's, Tanner and Hazel Campbell. There were over 90 people at the baptism that night. It was pretty incredible. I didn't even get to see the baptism happen because I was stuck behind a piano. Mostly the ward coming to support. Those two kids were very involved in the ward. But that was the first baptism in that area in about 2 years. It was a good note to leave on for me.

Also Lori, who we've been trying to work with, told us that she's moving to Port Angeles because her daughter's dog got stolen and killed, something happened with one if her kids, and she got assaulted by someone at the food bank.

Spending time Sunday evening with Anne Bennion's family

Memorial Day activity

Week 34 - Weekly titles are hard to make

This week has gone by very slow. Not much has changed, and most of the people we're teaching haven't progressed very much. This week we've done a lot of service for different people, but we haven't been able to teach many people. Lori wasn't able to come to church this week. She's been having it rough lately. She got her patches to quit smoking, but she got nicotine poisoning from it, because she never had too many cigarettes and the patches had too much for her. Also her son has threatened her that if she gets baptized then he will stop talking to her. So she's been getting pressured quite a bit as of late, and it's all stressing her out.

As for the Campbell kids, we taught them again last week, and our last lesson with them is tonight. They're still on date for this Sunday, so they'll soon be baptized and the week after that they'll be confirmed. We're all super excited for that. Also transfer calls are this Saturday, so we'll soon see who stays and who leaves the area.

Other than all the service we did and those few lessons, the only things that happened were exchanges with the district leader, and we've done a lot of member lessons to help us improve our teaching skills. We also had interviews with the mission president on Tuesday morning. But that's all for this week. Love you!
-Elder Smith

The beautiful view of Tacoma and the Olympic mountains in the distance.

A late birthday cake from a senior couple.

Me being soaked from the rain.

Elder Larsen posing as we did service on one of the islands.

Interviews with the President

Week 33: Just Happily Working

This week has been really eventful it seems. We've had a lot of success, and our numbers looked good by the end of the week. Of course, numbers aren't the reason we do it, but that's what people see. Throughout this last week we've been working with Lori and we've had our ups and downs with her. On Tuesday afternoon, we did service for her in her yard again, and we were able to answer many more of her questions that she's had. She also committed to go get patches the next day to help with her smoking problem, and we set up a church tour with her for Wednesday.

On Wednesday, she canceled because she wouldn't be back home in time after running errands so we scheduled for the next day. When she did get home, she texted us that someone had broken into her house and ransacked her home. They also stole all her medicine including pain killers. So by the time Thursday rolled around, she had to cancel the church tour because she didn't sleep at all that night. She had been working with insurance and getting her home back in order. Friday morning we had service at the food bank where we talked with her some more, and she surprised us by asking if we could just go to the church right after service, so we were able to finally bring her to the church, show her around, and teach her a little bit. She told us that she was going to come to church this Sunday, and she always talks about baptism as it being a sure thing. She always says "when I get baptized."

The next day on Saturday we volunteered at the food bank again, because they needed help with doing a garage sale. So while we were there, we got to work with Lori some more and she said that if we didn't drink anymore soda, she would stop drinking coffee. So since then we've gotten rid of the soda that we did have back at the apartment, and she hasn't had coffee so far. That night, we dropped by her house and gave her some flowers and a happy mother's day card, and we were able to teach her even more. The next day she came to church early, met and sit with some of the members, and she told us she loved it. Since then she has been texting us about how she has been reading the Book of Mormon, and about how much she's needed these changes in her life. She's also getting her adult kids involved with some of the church programs and she has total faith in it.

This week has really been amazing, and I'm so glad to be able to see the hand of the Lord in this area and how it's changed for the better. But that's all I'll share for this week. Love you!
-Elder Smith

The progress of my pepper plant.

The view at a member's house (they live on Snagg Island)

P - Day playing volleyball at Bonney Lake

Week 32: Zone Conference

This week has been really great, but not a whole lot has happened other than zone conference so I'll just share some of the highlights.

We've been teaching a UBC named Tanner, and on Monday night his mom told us that his sister, Hazel, also wanted to join in on the lessons and be baptized. We were way excited, because we thought that she already was a member, but we came back later that week and taught both kids. They're super excited to be baptized, and they're already really active in the church. The only problem is that their dad has been cold to us. He's a member of another church, and whenever we come he doesn't say a word to us and just goes to another room. We're not sure what his deal is, but we're just glad to be teaching the kids.

On Thursday we had zone conference which was way good, and that night we taught someone named Albert. He's been pretty open with us coming over, and we asked him if we could teach his family too, and he said that he thinks it would be fine, he just has to talk to his girlfriend/wife (we're not sure).

As for Parker who we put on date the week before, he fell off date because he didn't come to church this week. That was a little disappointing. So the odds of him getting baptized this transfer are pretty slim since he needs to come to church 3 times and his dad's birthday is the last Sunday, so he said they're probably doing something for that.

Even though our success has gone down a bit this week, we're still enjoying ourselves as we do the work. And it's hard not to be when the sun's out up here. But anyways, that's all for this week. Love you!!
-Elder Smith

Pulling out the shades for the first time.

Week 31: Someone's On Date!!

Hey everyone!! This week has been fantastic! The beginning of it was a little bit of a struggle (mostly because we were on bike for the first half). However, yesterday Elder Salisbury and I put Parker on date for baptism on May 19th!!! He's a fifteen year old freshman that we've been working with for a couple of weeks now, and he's been steadily progressing through the lessons, and when we were teaching him yesterday, both me and Elder Salisbury got the prompting to invite him to be baptized. It was way awesome!!

Also for this week we've been doing a lot of service. We did some on Tuesday, Wednesday, double on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We were weeding, painting, working at the food bank, hauling rocks, so on and so forth. It was pretty great. And one of the people we did painting randomly brought up the church while we talked and said, "So what would I be called if I joined the church? Would I be called a convert?" It was so out of the blue, but he's really self motivated and he knows that he needs to go to a church at least for some grounding for his twin daughters (he's a single parent). We're way excited for him, and he loves talking with us.

Also, on Wednesday after doing service Elder Larsen had to take some prescribed medication for his terrible migraines that he sometimes gets. He calls them horse tranquilizers because once he takes it, he's out for 4-5 hours. So I stayed in with him while he slept and cleaned out the apartment and organized everything. It didn't stay that way for very long.....

But that's mostly everything for this week. Love you all!
-Elder Smith

Opening my birthday package with awesome socks from another sister and her husband and a nice suit and tie from my parents.

Cookies my sister sent for my birthday

One of the best sunsets we've had overlooking Puyallup, Tacoma, and the Sound

Shopping with one of my new ties that my other sister gave me