July 16, 2014 Letter

It's amazing what they learn when out on their own!!!

July 9, 2014 Letter

It is always a struggle to be away from home when there is a holiday.

Happy Birthday, Elder Smith

Elder Smith turned 20 on July 9, 2014!!!!!!

I was in Butte a few days before Mitchell's 20th birthday, so I mailed him a package with all kinds of goodies (ties, cookies, microwave brownies, candy, etc.).

July 1, 2014 Letter

Mitchell ended up having problems with is ipad, so we got actual hand-written letters.

June 23, 2014 Email

Hey there! How are things there? I hope everything has been settling
down after scout camp. This week was another hectic, busy week with
our area here. We've been going all over trying to pick up more
investigators. We went out to our further areas and did some tracting
and found some potentials that we can go visit later on. We have been
talking with a lot of people and have found some new investigators, so
we've been way busy.

Things have been going good for me here and I have been improving in
everything. My eating habits have changed, I have a better attitude,
and I feel happier about myself. I know a mission is for the people we
teach, but it is also a place where we personally change for the
better. It has helped me grow personal, emotionally, and spiritually
in ways that I couldn't imagine.

I love you all and hope to hear from you soon.

Love,
Elder Smith

**Mitchell was not getting our emails, that is why he sounds a little bummed that we hadn't emailed.**

June 17, 2014 Email

Happy Father's Day! Sorry for the late e-mail, things got hectic yesterday and I started typing late. How has the week been for all of ya? I hope everything is starting to calm down and settle now that cub scout day camp is over with. Those always fry the nerves to no end. This week was pretty crazy here. We were over at a less actives house and almost got the cops called on us cause this landlord thought that we were trespassing when we had a return appointment. We can't go over there anymore, but will still be meeting with him in other places. We've also been biking in some, what I like to call "death heat", and have biked around 90 miles total this week. Most of the week has been cool with this Delta Breeze, so it makes up for the first few days of burning sun. 

We've been meeting with lots of less actives and trying to contact potentials so we can have a good area to work with. Several people aren't too interested and we are going to have to start tracting here soon. Let's just hope and pray that we can find new investigators so we can have something to do here. We always look for opportunities to find new people and have seen some progress. Elder Larsen is really pushing me out of my shell and has helped me to grow as a missionary and a person. I'm greatful for his support of me and for helping me succeed while I am out here.

I love you all and pray for you everyday. I hope you had a good Father's Day and hope to hear from ya next week.

Love,

Elder Smith

June 9, 2014 Email

Hey there!

Things seem to be pretty crazy up there with schedules. Parker seems to be the one that has most of the events planned for the week between the three of them. Keep working hard in baseball Brigham, it's a good sport and a great opportunity. Hopefully Stockton is keeping up on the running. He needs to be at his best when he gets into Cross Country again for the last time in high school. It sounds like Mom is working the scout camp again. This is what, her fourth or fifth year doing it. I would go crazy before I even started a second year. It all calms down for a while after camp, so she'll get some off time with the guys now able to do the work outside.

The weather here is insane. Last week, we were out biking in 106 and hotter. It's been like that for most of the week and it is killing me. I hear it's suppose to start cooling down into the mid to high 80's this week, thankfully. The biking wouldn't be bad so long as there is cloud cover, but there isn't. I've seen these enormous cloud groups all throughout the week but haven't had any fly over us, so that's a downer.

As for the baptism, we've been running into some stumbling blocks all this week. The investigator is a guy who wanders from home to home and we need to find out where he claims residence and who his guardian is in order for him to even keep the date. It wouldn't be a big deal, but he's this big high school star and is going to Florida for a football camp this week. He still has a few lessons to go through and he hasn't been able to meet with us for a while. This is one of the most difficult people I have had so far and it's getting crazy. But I know that if he isn't able to get baptized on the date we have, he will still get it later on. He is strong in his decision to be baptized and is eager to get any complications out of the way. We are excited and supportive of him and are working hard.

This last week was a busy week for us. Elder Larsen has been helping to clean up the area book and find out who are actual investigators. We have a lot of potentials and formers that we have gone through and made clear if they're still interested or not. We've been getting along well and have been making good progress with our people. We work hard and always talk to everyone we see. He is helping me to get out of my shell and start building leadership skills that are helpful in the mission. For all those who haven't decided to go on missions yet, I strongly encourage that you do so. It has helped me grow as an individual and as a leader for the rest of my life yet to come. You learn so much and meet amazing people that want to draw closer to God. For those who have received their callings, it's great to here you are committed to serving the Lord and to help him hasten the work.

Everyone, keep going and always look at the blessing you have in your lives rather then the struggles. I love you all and I hope to hear from you next week.

Love,

Elder Smith