March 24, 2014 Email

Dear Smith Family,

It's awesome to be hearing from all of you and to know I have a good
support group out there. Things have been going slow here recently. We
have been having troubles with getting our investigators to commit on
their part of assignments we give them. On the good side though, we
had an investigator and his family attend sacrament yesterday. It was
so cool to see the whole family there and to have them all interested
in the church. We have also been getting baptismal acceptance from several
other investigators in the Ward. All we need to do is get them to
attend sacrament a few more times and we can have them baptized.

The Greenie package was awesome. My trainer loved the little notes on all
the little gifts and how Mom comes up with the coolest ideas for those
kinds of things.

It's great to hear that the new store is up and running. It will bring
lots of business out in Miles City. I guess Mom can't get away from
the scouts thing. It's not gonna be easy for her to go through Day
Camp again, I barely survived the first scout camp I helped in. That
media room better be as good as you hope. You always do great in your
projects Mom, just be sure to keep those three slouches helping and
working on anything you need. It's cool how Stockton gets to be the
Priest Quorum Assistant and is able to help the President. It scares
me to think of Prom with Stockton. What was the theme and
how did it all turn out aside from no one dancing? Parker, It's cool that you
were able to go snowboarding, unfortunately you might have a broken
wrist again. You just better hope you weren't going into many throwing
events in track if your throwing arm is broken. Stockton, you better be in
track this year cause they're gonna need all the help they can get in
sports for a while. It's cool to hear your gonna be in a Lego League
Tournament this year, Brigz. Hope it goes well and thanks for the
support you and the family give.

I hope you all have many more blessings and support for what is being
done here. Thank you all for the support and love you give me and the
confidence to continue in my efforts.

Love,

Elder Smith
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Note from editor:  I will post what was in the package a little later.

March 17, 2014 Email from Rio Linda, CA

Dear Family,

It's great to hear everyone is doing well. I hope Stockton does well
in honor band, it's a fun experience that he'll never forget. Briggs, keep
 working hard in Lego League. I know it's something you love
doing and I hope you have fun in it.

Elder Ewell is from Phoenix, Arizona but moved to Utah before his
mission. The Ward is pretty small but has loads of cool people in it.
It's a little louder than Red Lodge cause of all the little kids
there. An average day of biking can probably add up to about 15 to 25
miles a day. When we bike to church, it's about a 30 minute bike ride
out there. I've tried some steak, salad, fettuccine, and several fruits
and vegetables since I've been here. I think the only cool places I've
seen out here is the rice fields and the farms. It's always nice when
ever we go out on bike rides in open areas with the sun out all the
time. What we do on P-days is Frisbee, soccer, rugby, volleyball, and
basketball. This, all after we do our weekly shopping and cleaning in
the mornings. We always meet up with all our district on P-days but
not on any other activities so far. We did, however, have some service
with the sisters on this guys property. He needs it all flat so he can
put a garden in his back yard. I hope the guys are having fun out
there. The address to mail things to me is 432 Q Street Rio Linda,
California 95673-1315. Let all who want to mail me and email me know and I hope
to here from them soon.

There are so many cool people here in Rio Linda and some awesome
families. There are those times though when people offer us some
things that are just not OK with us. The other day, we had someone
offer us some weed while we were biking home and someone asking if we
can take a day off from our mission to go drink. I guess I should
expect more of that stuff here in California. But I stay strong in
knowing that what I'm doing is right and I intend to stick to my mission standards
all through my mission.

I miss you all and love knowing you all support me in my choice to be out here.

Love,

Elder Mitchell Smith

First area. . .

March 10, 2014--Dear Smith Family,

Hey there guys! Things have been great here. I'm in the Dry Creek Ward
and am companions with our district leader, Elder Ewell. Elder Ewell
is an awesome guy and is one of the best companions I have had so far.
We've been doing some service for the guy we are living with and have
been getting along with him really well. I was so stoked to
know that my first area was in a biking area. It's actually the
biggest biking area in the mission field. The bike is awesome and
rides really well on the streets.

The food here is alright and I've been expanding a little on my food
habits and am still working on it. Most of the time we are eating at
members homes and they are very accepting on my eating habits and
don't force me to much. The weather is both good and bad. We have it
mostly warm here with frequent rain showers mostly at night.

Everything is working out here and we have met some awesome families and
investigators. The investigators are all willing to learn but still
need a little push to get them to church and to commit to baptism. I
will keep trying in everything I do and will always remember you in my
prayers.

Love Your Son,

Elder Mitchell Smith

If we were shocked with one. . .

Here is another great letter.  I guess I need to check the mail more often than every couple of weeks!!
February 26, 2014--

An actual hand-written letter!

I do not pick up our mail very often at the Post Office, so I was kind of shocked to see a letter from Mitch in the pile of mail that had been sitting there for a week or two.  Here it is. . .February 22, 2014-

Welcome to California

March 4, 2014-We made it off the plane fine and are now in California. I am currently in Antelope and have been going through some orientation for the field. The people here are great. When we got off the plane and went to get our luggage, the Mission President and his wife were there to meet us all. We are so lucky to have such a great Mission President and to see all the awesome missionaries here. The P-Days are on Mondays so that would be the best time to e-mail. We will be getting the i-pads for this mission so I will be e-mailing from that.

Sacramento Airport

The airport is apparently infested with giant red rabbits.

I'm leaving, on a jet plane. . .

March 3, 2014-I am heading out tomorrow morning so this will be the only time I really get to e-mail for a while. We will be heading out on a plane straight to Sacramento then drive to Roseville. I'm going to get a calling card for the airport and call you guys up when you've got seminary going. If your phone rings during seminary class that would be why. I'd like to see how everyone's doing and tell them to keep going to seminary; I've been able to learn so much easier because of the lessons and scriptures I picked up from that class. I'm packing today and we leave at 4:30 in the morning for the airport. We then arrive in Sacramento around 8:40 California time.

This mission will be a new experience for me and I will enjoy every last minute of it. One teacher here told us something I will never forget, "When you get on that plane home, ask yourself, Was I a Gross Missionary or a Net Missionary?" He is studying in Econ. so that is what he is relating to on this. I am hoping to be the Gross Missionary who put forth the work and Spirit, not a Net Missionary who hopes he did his best.

I love you all and I'll see you when I come home.