December 8, 2014 Email

Hey Family! It seems you all had an average week for Montana. The Christmas concerts are fun to have to invite those to feel the Christmas spirit. 

This week again went by super fast. We didn't have many meetings this week but the week didn't last very long either way. We had several people that we tried to see but had little-to-no luck. Most people we tried to see were less-active members and several of our people weren't home or are sick. This Christmas season will be difficult because most of our people could be out at other people's homes for the season and we won't be able to visit with them. 

We had a great miracle this past week with a now potential investigator. We were heading over to an appointment with an investigator who's on date for baptism this Saturday and we were waiting to cross the street when someone walking down the sidewalk came up to us. He said his name was Forrest and told us that he's been trying to get a hold of us for some time. We showed him the new Christmas initiative the church has put out called "He is the Gift". It's a great video to get people ready for the Christmas season and to discover and embrace the gift God has given us. He said that he would be open to hear from us anytime and that he lived in this apartment complex close by where we were. We, unfortunately, did not get his apartment number from him.😑 So we're going to have to do some hunting to find him again. I think the only thing I would need is music and the call home on Christmas Day. 

Well, I hope you all have a great week ahead and wish you all the best. I love you and have you in my prayers always. 

Love,

Elder Smith

December 1, 2014 Email

Hey Fam! It's great to hear you're all doing well. It seems you've been getting some cold but interesting weather up there. The weather down here is wet and cold for several days in a row now. Since that first big rain storm we had, it's been like this non-stop. We need the rain though. Shasta Lake, a lake close to us that usually supplies water, is really low so it's required that it rains a lot here. 

The week went by really fast for us. Early in the week we had some meetings that lasted for most of the day. Wednesday was kind of a slow day for us, so we had to do some finding. Thursday was Thanksgiving, so we cleaned the church building for most of the morning. Elder Briggs and I waited until dinner playing battleship since we can't actively proselyte then took off for dinner at a member's house with several family members. Then we went in early and planned for the week and to finish off the night, we played a game of monopoly where I came in second. 

Saturday we went on exchanges and had a great experience with this one less-active member. We read from the Book of Mormon and we had a great time with him. Sunday was a great Sabbath day. Elder Briggs and I sang an arrangement of "Be Still, My Soul" and we had several people come up to us and say they loved it. I also got your package today and I loved it. It was awesome and I love the hat. 

Well I hope you all have a great time this week and I love you all. 

Love

Elder Smith

1. 1. Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
   With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
   Leave to thy God to order and provide;
   In ev'ry change he faithful will remain.
   Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav'nly Friend
   Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
2. 2. Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake
   To guide the future as he has the past.
   Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
   All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
   Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know
   His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.
3. 3. Be still, my soul: The hour is hast'ning on
   When we shall be forever with the Lord,
   When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
   Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
   Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,
   All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

You're One in a Minion, Elder Smith

Here is a fun little package we sent to Mitchell around Thanksgiving.

Everything in it had to do with minions, my favorite was the twinkies that were all dressed like "minion-aries".

November 27, 2014 Email

The Atonement*

Hey Fam! Sorry for the letter situation. My iPads been glitching out with some things. It's great that Stockton and Parker got academics in cross country. Hopefully Parker keeps working on his sports, he's pretty good at them. And your right, it is important we build self-reliance in our spiritual lives. Several people will go off of others testimonies and not have one of their own. When we don't have a testimony for ourselves, we slowly start to loose that faith that we need in this life. That's why it's so important to build our own rather than on others.

This week was good for us here. Several times we met with our investigator, Gary, and he has been getting closer to baptism. He didn't show up to church yesterday, but he just needs to be at church one more time and he can get baptized. Some of our less-actives seem to be doing well but haven't shown to church yet. 

We've had several exchanges since Elder Briggs became a district leader. One time when we were on exchanges, me and another elder tried contacting a referral that has needed to be contacted for a while. When we got to the address, the owner of the house was outside and said the person we were looking for left a few weeks before. We started to talk to her and found out she recently had a death in the family. We talked with her on the the Atonement and how God is our loving Heavenly Father. She was open to hear what we had to say to the point of excepting a Book of Mormon. We hope to meet with her again and to start teaching her. 

Elder Briggs might be getting his visa here shortly, but some things have occurred that might change his waiting. Some calls gave us both some things to wonder about and to be aware about. 

Thanksgiving is going to odd this year. The whole zone will be cleaning the stake centers till the afternoon and then, instead of active proselytizing, we are going to go to members homes all through the day and turn in between 5-6. We will be doing our weekly planning while we are in for the remainder of the day. We do have some people who welcomed us to their dinners, so we'll be going to their houses for turkey and all other foods there. Yum!

I wish you all a great Thanksgiving and pray for you all the time. Best of wishes. 

Love,

Elder Smith

*As used in the scriptures, to atone is to suffer the penalty for sins, thereby removing the effects of sin from the repentant sinner and allowing him or her to be reconciled to God. Jesus Christ was the only one capable of carrying out the Atonement for all mankind. Because of His Atonement, all people will be resurrected, and those who obey His gospel will receive the gift of eternal life with God.

November 17, 2014 Email

Hey Fam! It's great that you had a great week. It's great that you were able to help the missionaries Mom. It's great to aid In the Lord's work and to see people progress and want to continue to make those steps of faith. Also, way to go on your Honor Band try outs Stockton! You gotta let me know how it goes and what songs your playing. Keep practicing on your basketball skills Parker and always strive for your goals in everything you do. And a big Happy Birthday to you Brigham! It's weird to think how old you're getting cause it means I'm getting old. Haha! 

Since you didn't get my email apparently, we had transfers last week and Elder Briggs and I are staying the same for another transfer. This week went by super fast for us. We had several meetings and people to see all thoughout the week with little time to see them all. Tuesday was Transfer Day and we had to help Elder Zaugg with getting his stuff ready and to load up. Funny thing was that Elder Zaugg and a sister missionary are both going to my last area and are double covering the same wards. They've been following each other all their missions and they find it very weird. Several new missionaries came into the mission and we got to meet them at our zone meeting this last week. We met with several people and have seen great progression with them. We have someone on date who is willing to make his goal and desire of being a member a reality. 

Well, I've gotta get going. So I wish you all the best and hope to hear from you next week. I love you all and have you in my prayers always. 

Love,

Elder Smith

November 4, 2014 Email

Having a little fun at the Oasis Fun Center

Miniature Golf

Laser maze

Go carts

Laser tag

Hey Family! First off, I'd like to say a huge Happy Birthday Mom! I hope you had a great birthday and a great Halloween. Also, big thanks for the package. It was fun and Elder Briggs loves the little sayings and quotes on them. 

This week was kinda slow for us lesson wise. The week started off wih a zone blitz up in another area of the zone we are in. We had the blitz to help out the missionaries there find new investigators and to visit several less-active members there. It was a good experience and was a pretty good experiment for future use in the mission. We then had a rather odd week with the different changes made for the week. On Halloween, we had to set our planning time for the evenings since we were to be in our apartments by 6. This was a mission wide requirement for all missionaries because of incidents in the past involving missionaries or people that dressed like missionaries. So Friday was like a regular day in the afternoon and early evening. Since we got done with planning early, us and the missionaries we live with all got together and played a few intense rounds of Clue while we waited for time to pass. It was actually pretty fun and entertaining for the night. Throughout the week though, we've had a few changes to our schedules. One such change involved moving someone with a huge amount of stuff for such a small home. The move took Elder Briggs and I close to three hours. The other missionaries were there for about six hours. It was crazy moving that family over to their new house. 

We went out to a place called Oasis Fun Center on P-Day yesterday and we didn't get into any internet connections that whole day. It was an awesome day there with a few events set up for us. The people that run the center are members of one of the wards, so we got to do the events without charge. It's kinda like a special deal for missionaries to have fun. We got to choose two out of three events there. There was laser tag, go cart, and mini golf at the center and I chose laser tag and go carts. Both were awesome and fun. I came in second over all in the laser tag round; which is impressive considering I've only laser tagged once before. In go carts I have no idea what place I got. Everyone was getting stuck and jammed into corners and I just lost track of where I was in the race. But I enjoyed it and we all had a blast doing it. After our two events at the fun center, we went to an institute building where a set of senior missionaries let us play some pool table, foosball, ping pong, and air hockey. Everyone had a great time there as well as I. 

Well, sorry I didn't get this email out to you guys earlier. I hope you all have a great week and had a great Halloween. I love you all and have you in my prayers always. 

Love,

Elder Smith

Halloween Package

Here is a photo of what we sent Mitchell for Halloween.  I guess this year he dressed up as a missionary-ha, ha!!!

Mom really gets into putting little messages on each thing and having a scripture to go with it when possible.