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