The work . . .

Well i am super tight on time today..my comp needed a haircut and won't let me give him one in the house because he thinks i will take revenge on him for how he cut the back of my hair haha.

It was a really good week. We had 4 investigators come to church. Ivan who is this 14 year old who came even after we dropped him as an investigate because of his lack of family support but the guy came without so much as a reminder call so he might enter in water soon *fingers crossed*

Another girl came that we found this week that should get baptized with her brother this saturday(thats the plan) and then the son from a big family we are teaching came as well. The son was the one I was most doubtful about going. The mom was the key and was too sick to go apparently. And all her 5 other kids weren't gonna go if she didn't. This sunday I really expect them all to go. 

Gotta go eat now..sorry for the lack of pictures..there just isn't anything to really take a picture of;/

Love to all!

Elder Smith

Summer in Paradise

Well the days finally have gotten and stayed hot. I carry a rag around to wipe my face from the never-ending sweat of the walking and being outside. But sometimes it is kinda breezy and those days are heavenly.

Thursday we found like the greatest opportunity ever in a family of 7 people that listened and accepted a baptismal date. The set back was that Saturday we had an appointment lined up with the President's wife (Sister Morales)....and the family calls and says they have to cancel the appointment and do it Tuesday...which ruled out them going to church Sunday.  BUT the Lord has a plan for our area, and if it is better that we meet Tuesday, I will not be complaining. I am confident 100% that if this family doesn't turn out that we will have baptisms in June regardless. We are working well.

My shoes passed away this week. I forgot pictures but i wore those things into the ground they served me very well. Thanks to mom i have another pair almost the same. Also I learned how to use moleskin this week.

There are these popsicle things here called "bolys" which are like otter pops...but made with better fruit flavors, milk, and are bigger. Anyway they are the BOMB and we bought some to keep in the freezer.

Food from the street is such a temptation. Tacos and burgers - they look so great when we are so hungry but 1) It is dangerous to eat it and 2) We have no money to be buying food that isn't from a grocery store haha. I still just buy fruit and cold cereal. Milk and cereal are like 3 to 4 bucks each here so it's lame but i love it.

In the house, as three Americans and one Hondurian, we sing patriotic songs before companionship study. The neighbors hear our national pride because... well, we sing loud and proud. Long live the RED WHITE and BLUE!!!!

Elder Smith

Part of a miracle . . .

Without a doubt..this week was one of, if not the best week of the mission. 

A lot of things happened but only one of them is really important. That is the story of Antonia Trevino...

So my companion and I about 4-5 weeks ago decide we have to make some changes to improve our work. One of the things we did was improve our planning for the day. We decided to ask God for the guidance to help us plan a day where we could find people who are prepared.  So 3 weeks ago we found like 4 eldery people playing bingo..and a younger woman who kind of chuckled when she saw us. We told them we would come back later.

Like 3 days later we go and meet this elderly lady and the younger woman (her caretaker). We talk and then share a message and invite them to church. The caretaker is like ´´I do not want to pray, or go to church or do that kind of stuff...but if she (Antonia) wants to we go can.´´ And wouldnt you know it..Antonia wants to go!

Now before i continue i want to share how Antonia is. She is EIGHTY FOUR and while she doesn't hear nor see well..she understands things. She also is in a wheel chair. Anyway, she is the sweetest old lady.

Okay, so we get her a ride and pass by at 8:30 in the morning and she comes to church!

Also, allow me to mention that this transfer has been hard because I haven't known the area.  Plus, I am still developing as a missionary and my companion just got here and doesn't really know how to do many things.  AND we haven't baptized all transfer so I have been fervently praying and fasting for the chance to have a baptism in the last transfer. I have also been reading a lot about faith and how to receive blessings.  So our zone made this covenant with specific things we would do and the goal/blessing was 12 baptisms for May. Before this last week we had 9..saturday we had 2, so that made 11...and 1 short.

Excellent..so I start to think..this lady can get baptized if she comes to church this sunday 31 May and it will count for May.  We can baptize and confirm her after she comes to church. We talk to her and lo and behold..she says, "Yes, i want to get baptized."

And that's when problems arrive. She (who can barely talk) tells like everyone she talks to that she is getting baptized so I am psyched thinking everything is gonna pay off. But then we go like the Thursday before the baptism and her 2 daughters are there. We start to talk about baptism and the daughters get mad and are like...yeah you guys can't baptize her...she says yes to all invatations and she is already baptized. Now... we could've given up but the Lord gave us strength to speak.  I pointed out that this wasn't their decision, that she was a grown woman and could do what she wanted. Then they try to explain to me that she isn't sane.  I told them to ask her if she wanted to get baptized and they did and Antonia in her weak voice said, "Yes, i want to do it though it will be difficult."  Boom.. .would that deter the daughters? NO. So I tell them that those are her words and that SHE is going to get baptized if she wants. The daughters have to leave..and so do we, a bit discouraged. 

I come back the next day with a zone leader to do the interview. Luckily we are alone with Antonia and her caretaker...and she passes the interview. We tell her she can come with us to the church and get baptized. She says she doesn't feel well and also that she needs to ask permission from her catholic daughters. 

We ask if we can come by tomorrow to go to church together and then do the ordinace after the services. She says yes, that will work.  I know this won't happen if the daughters are there. So i call Antonia Saturday to verify that we are coming..and the daugher answers and tells me that Anotonia doesn't want to and can't. I tell her she told us something different and that we will pass by going to church and if she doesn't want to come, that's okay.

So we go in the morning, and the caretaker tells me that they can't go to church because the daughter is going to take her to Texas to shop. I ask to talk to Antonia (daughters aren't in the house, another blessing). So I enter the house and explain pretty much the same thing..that she can go to church and go to texas in the afternoon and that it's her choice. She says it would be better to wait for her daughter to come home first. I try one more time to explain that it's her agency...and out of nowhere she just drops all worries and says, "You know what, let's go." Her caretaker asks, "Are you sure?"  And I am thinking, "Yes, she is sure, and she said it, so let's go!"

So we quickly (20 minutes which is fast for her) get into the car and go to church. But then after sacrament meeting, she tells the depressing news that she has to go home for medicine.  So I ask..could we do the ordinance right now during church.  Antonia says yes. WHOOHOO. We talk to the bishop who talks to a counselor, who tells us we can't have an ordinace during church. So we ask Antonia if she could come back at 12 when church ends to do it. She says she can't. So we take her home, and I am feeling defeated a bit. 

We get back to church and at about 11:30 i feel the need to call her just to check if she can't come back. But before i can ask, her caretaker tells me that out of nowhere, Anotonia wants to come back. I ask if it's for baptism and she says, "Yes".  So we race to get white clothes and rides and prayers are in my heart that the daughter isn't there. Because they drained our font and we have no water now. It is hours to fill up BUT in another ward close they were going to have a baptism at 1:00 after their church. We call and ask if we can join them, and they say yes. So we go to pick up Anonia at her house and yesssss she is there. We take her to the other church and she is such a trooper. We have to put a chair sideways in the font to baptize her  And the water is freezing!  She is super old and she gets it..first time. My companion confirmed her afterwards.  I had never seen Anontia happier after the baptism...or myself.

I can't explain every detail although I have tried. The moral of the story is that we were blessed to be part of a miracle. It was nothing less than that. Her desire, with all the opposition...and the timing, and the 12 baptisms for the zone goal achieved was all the hand of the Lord. And my faith was exponentially increased.

Love the mission. I love God. I love you all.

Elder Smith

Real results and blessings

A truly special week we had. From all the things we improved... we were able to see some real results and blessings. Sunday came and we had 3 investigators at church. One was an elderly lady who we actually plan on baptizing this week. We need some serious Godly help to assist us in accomplishing that though. She is quite old and is in a wheel chair. Also her care taker came.

And this kid we met came.  His name is Ivan and he is super great.  His family is great to,  although they couldn't make it Sunday.  But he is begining to know the church and we had a great time sunday. People going to church is like the key to baptizing because they can't get baptized if they don't go to church three times. So it was a real blessing and our hope and faith is surging right now as we look to the nest month of June.

Also Elder Howard moved into our house... an elder I knew well before so the house is fun now too.

All in all a wonderful week... as we approach the summer...

Elder Smith

Stake conference and a hair cut

What a wonderful week. We started off well tuesday and kept it going until the end of the week. My comp and i made various changes in the way that we planned and worked..and we are seeing some significant improvements.

Unfortunately, it was stake conference and while it was a great conference and a 70 was there and it was cool and all...we weren't able to bring anyone to to other side of town to the stake center. This week we have high expectations.

As far as stories..heres one...

So my sister Jamie and her family were kind enough to gift me the thing tat you cut har with(what is that called? haha) and it has been a blessing since i recieved it. 

Now. In our new house there is only one tiny mirror in the bedrooom..without a plug to reach the mirrior. Sooooo i had an interview with prez and my hair was LONG i had to cut it. But, without a mirror i chose to trust in my companion to cut it. He said he had no experience whatsoever but i had no choice. So he does it and i go to the mirror ever so often to check it. We finish and so i tell him to take off the gaurd to edge the neckline..he does obediently. So then i go to the mirror and notice he missed a spot in the back. So i come back to where we are cutting(other room) and tell him where to cut. 

And that was when i heard it...the sound of hair bein cut wayyyyyy louder than it should have been. I realized it before my comp and just knew what he did. They say a picture tells the story..the picture will be attached because he didnt put the #2 gaurd back on and just buzzed my head.  So yeah i am having to explain this story to about everyone and when i walk away from president and others of authority i back up until the door without turning around.

But the truth is its not that bad it was and is quite funny. My companion isnt really the most observant person in the world i should have made sure hahaha 

We got to go to a friend of a member and share the message of the restarationn with their family. It was a great family and lesson...AND they own this seafood restaurant in town and invited us to come back the next day to eat. We did and it was really good. Crab soup with vegetables and fish and salsa and other vegetables. Super cool and then we got to teach them in their business.

Later that day though..a small hurricane came through and it was just nuts. We used coutless plastic bags to protect our scriptures and had to trudge through town to get to appointments. It was cool though, here drainage doesnt really happen so the whole city floods. And there was a TON of water. Super fun for real i actually enjoyed it it was refreshing. Then we got home and in our THRID FLOOR APARTMENT the main room flooded somehow..luckily we had nothing get ruined or even really wet..just a little mopping and pushing water out of the house.

All and all..a wonderful week. All smiles here looking forward to an amazing week and a brighter future!

Elder Smith

A change in me

An interesting week with twists and turns.

Firstly as far as invstigators we are struggling. All the people that were progressing have like left town or have challenges with commandments. AND finding people right now is seemingly difficult. Which just means we work harder and find different things to do.

And the week finished a nice break from work and the blessing of being able to call home. And oh how great it was, that on mothers day i could see and be with my family that loves and supports me, and my own mother who is always there for me.

We have stake conference this week and President Morales is speaking..which should be cool he should give the members a good ole reminder of the missionary work importance.

I got to run for the first time in 7 months this past monday, my legs were super sore from running just a litttttle bit haha how pathetic.

I have been reading a book called the using(or calling) powers of heaven and it talks a lot about the power of collective faith..how when we support each other together we can increase our faith and recieve more of the blessings that we ask for in righteousness. That is something that as a mission we need, a lot of focus on the collective faith..prayers and service from home really does help us i testify that it does.

Well that about wraps up the week. Something super great is my own spirtual and testimonial progression has allowed me to develop a strong sense of faith and firm testimony. I cant begin to describe the importance of the mission, not just to serve others but to help yourself. I cant see how i would have these changes in me if i were home with distractions and other things going on in life. And we always talk about the blessings of missionary service, i am convinced that a larg part of the blessings is the knowledge and development that the missionary experiences that bring eternal blessings in the future. The stroger desire i have and am developing to be righteous is something that will certianly bless my life in the future, and certianly it came only from the mission. 

I suggest all those that can go..to go.

Enjoy your weeks!

Elder Smith

Mayo ha llegado

Firstly, we think we should all learn spanish it's a pretty sweet language and really learning it is not nearly as bad nor hard as i anticipated. Granite i am still a scrub compared to natives.

It seems i haven't written much recently. To fill the reader in..i got swapped to the most downtown part of Reynosa..which has its perks and challenges. The perks being we are super close to the leaders and know what goes on and what is going to happen. The challenges being that its a busy city. And also that our ward and building were made in the early 1980s so expansion is quite difficult as far as the people in the ward. Because everything has originated and spread out from this middle first ward. So the people that wanted to go to the church have, for the most part, been invited or converted.

As far as the first 3 weeks here. My companion is Elder Hernandez. He is from Honduras, likes video games, animate programs, and sandwiches. He is a good missionary though he is a profesional kind of person very easy going. He is never bothered..never haha

We have worked a lot to find people..
and have found people but all have problems getting to church or something happens. Like this one guy we brought to church 2 sundays ago. The guy is suuuuper addicted to smoking and alcohol. Like he hasnt drunk water in years because he hates the taste. We get to talkin to him and he comes to church and loves it and feels good and starts to really feel the desire to change his life. We are like awesome he stops the drugs and goes to church and prepares himself for baptism. Uuuuuuntil this happens. 
Last saturday he tells us that his family(Who he doesnt like) will cut his part of a pension that they recieve from his fathers work(dad is dead) if he gets baptized. And this is an older guy that has NO work and lives in a shack with only his part of the pension to live off of. And he tells us i want to keep going to church and i want you guys to visit me still..but i cant get baptized. UGH well we try explaining all the things to him trust in God do what the holy ghost says all of it. Not sure if he gets it yet but my hopes are still with him. 

Other than that the only real golden opprutunity that we have is this family that watched "meet the mormons" and loved it. They are unlike any other family i have met. 4 kids and they all are great and the parents focus on the family and family time and values..its great i just hope they are prepared for the gospel.

We are moving from our house to live with two other missionaries that share our area. It should be fun to live with 4 people again..but moving shouldnt be too fun. 

Food is really good here. Election campaigns have started here its hilarious you see the face of these candidates that have payed businesses to advertise their face all over the city. What makes me laugh even more is if you ask the average Mexican who they are going to vote for..they just say "Vote? Yeah it doesn't matter what i write the people don't decide the winners".  Be grateful for the partial justice that the politics has in the U.S.

Spring allergies MURDERED me these past weeks. i felt bad splitting the cost of tissues with my comp because yeah i use like 90% of it all. Now i pay for them haha. But it have pretty much gone away for now.

A lot of elders have gotten sick these past weeks..i feel very blessed to have my health..because working and being sick sticks.

That'll be all for now i think..hug your mother this sunday!

Elder Smith