TRANSFER and new companion... Elder Johnson from my home town blocks from my house. President Morales finishes.

President and Sister Morales...
the first time i have seen a picture with prez smiling showing teeth in a photo.
 i think he is happy to be taking a rest hahaha

This week...let us begin with Monday. We, in Rio Bravo, have some pretty great Mondays. All the 24 missionaries get together at like a public park place where there is a much much bigger cement court to play soccer on. And it is so much fun because you actually can like run more than 10 yards before having to stop. Also we enjoyed writing emails in a new cyber-place which was much faster. And Elder Wyatt bought pizza for everyone at night time. 

Picture taken at the american table...wait one guy there is Canadian :-)

This week we were preparing some people for baptism. And we had a visit from the President Wednesday. He basically talked to us about what Rio Bravo needs and such. He also counseled us to do everything correctly, to not take any shortcuts. After that, Thursday night, we got the call for the transfers. Now I did not want to transfer out because we had prepared the baptisms for after the church services Sunday. And I knew that if I got transferred that would mean missing the baptisms. 

With Elder Wyatt and Funk (the goodbye)

So super nervous I pick up the phone...and they tell me that.... I... would... be.... transferred... to... the... Roma hahahahaha.  The Goma means like far away. So I was like...did I get transferred or what? Because what he told me translates to a joke basically. 

With elder Hernandez who i trained and
was with for 4 months last year.
The guy looks way different with his new glasses 

Annnnnd they laugh and tell me no but really you have a transfer., and I was like whaaaaat i have 3 weeks in Condesa whhhhy? And they tell me that I would be changed to the Rio Bravo Zone, the only other zone here in Rio Bravo, and literally like where we live is 10 minutes walking from the house of the other zone. 

Elder Funez and Hernandez
Two past companions and both from honduras.
We call honduranan people here catrachos,
it is like gringo for americans. So i call them my catrachos

AND they told me that I was going to be in a trio with Elder Johnson who is basically my neighbor in Lehi or American fork who knows but he lives behind the Costco and also i was to be with Elder Matheny, from my MTC district. After hearing that, and realizing that I wouldn't miss the baptisms AND hearing that I would be with thiose two guys, I was suuuuper pumped. Like i think this is the only transfer I have been 100% excited for. Matheny and Johnson are like some of my best friends on the mission these past few days have been a blast. 

Elder moreno..good friend in the mission that goes home tomorrow

Friday to have the goodbye get together for the president we all went to Reynosa, everybody which was crazy to see people i hadn't seen for months. 

Elder Lopez an old comapnion that is one of my fav comps

Plus I got to say goodbye to some missionaries going home soon. Pres. Morales talked to us first and that was great.  

Elder Tilton the famous MTC companion haha

And then we went to this pizza place which is like a super sized Cici's hut. We were like 180 people in total.  It.was.packed hahaha. It was so cool.  I had never seen a line that long and I am positive that the restaurant hadn't seen anything like it either. It was great to be able to be with all the missionaries. I have gotten really close with many of them.

My new comps Elder Johnson and Elder Matheney!

Sunday we head on over to Condesa and I had the privilenge of doing a couple of ordinances. 

with a family from Condesa

We all three had to be in the water for Esmeralda, the sister in the wheelchair. 

The Medez family

I can't remember what her disease is called but she is such a sweet spirit. Her disability is mainly physical, because she understood all the lessons and had a true desire to do the right thing and also to be baptized. It took three of us to baptize her.  

Baptism of Norma and the Mendez family.

That is why Elder Forteleza is in white as well.  He helped us out to baptize her. The Mendez family consists of Sister Mendez (mom), Esmeralda (daughter) and Joanna (granddaughter).  They are so much fun to teach they always listen so well and Sister Mendez makes the funniest jokes.  She is hilarious. 

Elder Funez got fuzzed out for the fault of the camera man :/

Norma is the other sister.  She knows so much; it is quite impressive. She will progress rapidly, I believe.

Post baptismal selfies with
Elder Wyatt and Elder Forteleza(my replacement)

So Elder Johnson goes home in like a week but we will enjoy him while we have him. He is just with us until his time arrives. My new area, I do not know, and the three of us are opening this area so we are lost always haha but working hard. 

President Morales finished this Thursday, it is going to be interesting without him. I wonder how the new president is going to meet us. We will find out soon i suppose. 

Our new house is great! We are 8 in the house so we are a bit crowded but I like living with a lot rather than with only my comp. it is more fun that way.  

My (un)offical return date issssssss drumroll the 19th of August!! But...always a but right..the other Elder Smith is going to the U of U and he has like a freshman orientation that day so the president is trying to send us home the 17th of August. We will know soon :D Love you all!

Elder Smith

So we went to work and found a lot of great new investigators.

Okay. Well this week there is good news and bad news. The bad news is I did not take a single photo this week :/

The good news is that a lot of great things happened to write about! 

So we started off the work week and the truth is I was sick of going to the same neighborhoods because this area is a little smaller and there aren't a lot of new neighborhoods, so it is just hard to find people. Fortunatetly for us, Elder Funk, an elder in our branch was previously in the other branch that borders our northern division, and he remembered about a little section where they couldn't go when he was in the other branch.  What happens is that our division was thought to be a railroad track, but there is a section above the railroad tracks that is our area.  So we go and AW YEAH it was a colony that has like a year of existence and they are houses which are small and close by each other and in easier words - a missionary's tracting dream! So we went to work and found a lot of great new investigators. The challenge was getting them to church because the colony isn't all that close to the church building. But we were blessed as missionaries this week in that all of the 3 companionships had a family each in the church services. We had the Mendez family. Which consists of 55-ish year old sister, her daughter, and her 16 year old granddaughter. The husband didn't attend, but we are going to teach them together tomorrow to continue with their progress. Also, in that same colony the other elders are teaching a 23 year old girl named Norma who has been a miracle. We, Elder Wyatt and I, have been in a couple of lessons with her and know her well, too. So it has been special to see it all. She lives alone away from her family and was considering basically abandoning some goals that she had and leaving Rio Bravo. Her world was falling apart, and the missionaries arrived. And they began to teach and she was progressing. Then one morning they go to her house, and she is leaving the house to buy bus tickets to leave town. The whole thing has been crazy but to summarize, she has had some signs that she needs to get to know the Church. So she was consoled and brought to a ward activity and such and also she received a blessing, and she had dreams and such that her deceased father needed her to stay and go to church.  So she decided to stay and give church a try.  It has also been amazing to trust so much in the Spirit that we can basically be assured that if an investigator goes to church, that they will have a great experience. That goes for basically everyone - everyone I have seen and taught anyway. Moving on, Norma goes to church and decides to stay and wants to get baptized ASAP.  AND this morning she got a job that she needed desperately to be able to keep living and such. So seeing her faith has been a testimony builder for sure. The mission has so many experiences to witness. A friend wrote me that the mission has been like 10 years of maturity wrapped in to 2 years. Not sure if I feel like 30 yet haha but there is some truth in the statement.

Also, Elder Wyatt my companion is like getting married the month he gets back, to his high school girlfriend in October when he returns right. But this girl makes some fine cookies and sends him packages out the wazoo haha. So we devised a plan to get even MORE cookies hehehe. One of their favorite songs to sing together is A Whole New World so I printed it out and we recorded a version of that to send to her asking for cookies nonchalantly at the end hahaha. BTW -  Elder Wyatt can sing really well! 

So that was the week. Shout out to my Superdad for turning one year younger this last week! Love to all.

Elder Smith

General Conference...My favorite moment was getting to see the President´s counselor, President Gomez

Well i wish i could write more about this week..but time is short :/

I will share how AWESOME the district conference was though. My favorite moment was getting to see the President´s counselor, President Gomez who was our neighbor in my first area.  I hadn't seen him nor his wife in a long time and President Gomez asked me if I was eating well, because, I think, of the slight weight loss. His talks were sooo powerful though. He talked about sanctifying ourselves in the adult session. That session of conference is always my favorite because the speakers talk about things a bit more mature right. In the general session Pres Gomez shared a 1st hand description of the trials that the pioneer trekkers had in arriving to Utah. And how Brigham Young cancelled the General Conference to go get them. President told the congregation that it didn't matter if we pray every day, and read the scriptures every day, and attend church every week...if we weren't bringing people to church...like the pioneers went to bring those fatigued saints to Utah. Basically it was a call to bring new families to the church and the in-actives. And it is true..Joesph Smith said after everything the missionary work was the most important. And I couldn't be more in agreement. It was a great last conference for President Morales too..he is the presiding authority of the District..and we are gonna miss him and his wife :(

I met a guy that lives in houston and serves in the peanut butter factory!

Anyways that was this week for the most part. Next week is going to be much more eventful I promise!

Elder Smith 

This says that 9 out of 8 fruits and vegetables from these guys has an excellent flavor

TRANSFER - Well I am in Condesa Rio Bravo now. Rosi commits to baptism.

Well I am in Condesa Rio Bravo now. A quick recap for the week...

Cake that Vennessa and her family and Janeth made for us :D

First the Mission Mexico Reynosa finished the month of May with 253 convert baptisms!!  Which was so great that during the leadership meeting the Area presidency called us to congratulate! 

new district

So everyone is super excited and now the goal is 300, which we are hoping to accomplish before August. It has been amazing to see how much the mission has changed from since when I got here, when the mission baptized anywhere from 60 to 90 a month, then 100 to 120 and so on. 

This represents great progress and good goal setting to raise the bar, because once 100 is accomplished, no one saw it as impossible and it became expected instead of a distant dream. i am convinced that what I have seen in this mission can be applied in the life outside of the mission to make someone very successful.

Also, we videochatted with the new mission president. The change is going to be interesting, but he and his wife are super excited, so that is good.

Anyway, so the house I live in is two stories, and it is like one big house divided into two.  My companion Elder Wyatt and I live alone on one side.  Four other missionaries live on the other side. Elder Funez, who is an old companion of mine, Elder Funk, Elder Aguirre and Elder Rivero are the four. It is a fun group, I won't lie. The house is my first with a microwave!  And a bench press!!  Not that I am going to put either of those to very good use..haha!

There is a working gas stove and a gas tank that is ginormous. Upstairs we have another mini split, air conditioning YAYAH, and the bathroom has excellent water pressure. So, I really can't complain there haha. It is nice.

We played soccer today on a big court and that was super fun to run around. It felt good :D and in Rio Bravo I feel like everything is a little more relaxed, a little layed back. It isn't really a big "city".  Fun fact: the Rio Grande is called the Rio Bravo in Mexico, and we aren't even as close to the border as Reynosa is.

The attendance in church was a whopping 75 people. But there are some cool members. the Branch (that's right we are in a district) President is cool and his wife is even cooler. 

There wasn't a pianist sooo I took my spot on the bench. And apparently no member in Rio Bravo here knows how to play because they asked me to play in the district conference for next week (like stake conference).

Rosi

The good news was that when Rosi (daughter of Martha, a convert from February) got news of my changes in Juarez she came to the church at night to say good bye and we talked and at the end she decided to get baptized this Saturday. 

Sadly, I couldn't be there in person but Elder Rodriguez sent me the photo :D

service project

Well, that was the week. I can't think of anything else. It is June and the sun isn't letting us forget either haha :D 

Thanks to all,

Elder Smith

Venessa and her mom María Antonia were baptized and I have to say for various reasons it was my favorite baptismal service thus far in the mission.

Mercedes 

Stake President with his daughters :D

Oh, how to begin? The week was just crazy. We worked hard with some investigators. We found Nancy, and oh boy, did she have some things we had to work out! She is progressing, though. With the 2 girls we are teaching they still need more support from their parents, who we haven't been able to teach. If the parents don't progress, it is hard to help the children :/

Gifts from the Stake presidents wife for the musical number

We had the best experience ever with Venessa, the best friend of Janeth that we started teaching a few weeks ago. She has just been great to teach. i think she is the first investigator that takes notes in the lesson pamphlets, to remember better. 

baptism of Venessa and Maria(her mother)

She also started attending seminary while we were preparing her for baptism. Even before her baptism. Her family is progressing, too. They are great people. I hadn't been in a lesson where the family was all attentive to the message and the Spirit was strongly present. This past Sunday Venessa and her mom María Antonia were baptized and I have to say for various reasons it was my favorite baptismal service thus far in the mission. Janeth bore a powerful testimony for being just 1 month in the Church. The Spirit was strong as we sang The Spirit of God and I couldn't help but smile through it all. It was truly an unforgettable experience.

 Juarez families

We taught Frida, janeth and Venessa this week quite a bit. They are progressing excellently. I can only imagine how much good they are going to do in their futures in the Church and the world. 

With the bishops family and another convert family

All of this made the news I received Saturday night quite difficult. I have been transferred to Rio Bravo Condesa. And I am excited to go and learn more and work hard. But I can't express how much I have loved this ward in Juarez. From the Bishop who has just been our best friend through all of my time here, to the stake president's family (our mamá galleta for those who have served in Mexico), to the converts, to the families I have come to know and love. If I had to live in Reynosa, I would find a house in Juarez :D

As we enter into summer, I am happy with and content with the work we have done in Juarez. When I come back in August to say goodbye for good, the ward will be divided which will be wonderful to see as well.

Thanks for all the prayers. I love you and I love what we are doing! 

Elder Smith 

Ward Juarez

Tallest Elder in the mission with Elder Barrios...the shortest Elder in the mission

What we as missionares struggle the most accomplishing is finding new people to teach.

This week was a busy one.

What we as missionares struggle the most accomplishing is finding new people to teach. That is why we are always asking references haha finding has got to be the most tricky and difficult part in the mission i feel like. it requires effeciency and diligence. But this week we had some great experiences finding.

 btw we bapized Fridas sister! To say that "we" baptized is inaccurate though. it was so awesome. So the bishop interviewed Frida and called her to be a ward missionary and in this ward the bishop is actually awesome. So Frida in a meeting found out that the ward has a trimester goal for baptisms that is 20. the first thing she asks is ´´Did i count for that goal?´´ and i was like ohhhh no she is gonna think we only saw her as a number but i responded, "yes" and she was like ´´Awesome!´´ 
So she talks with her sister that has not wanted to go the church much less be baptized and she starts to talk to her about baptism and such and she did it like a Book of Mormon prophet, haha, she explained to her sister that she was already living the commandments and why not get baptized. And her sister understood and decided that yes she wanted to hahaha.  Frida told us later that she was like oh! well than i will get baptized. So she got baptized yesterday and it was awesome! The condition was that Elder Smith(the other elder Smith came from his area to baptize her mainly because he had taught the family like almost 2 years ago and they really liked him) so it was a great experience for everyone. We ate together afterwards and had hilarious conversations with them.

Also if you remember Janet the young woman convert she invited us to teach her best friend and her family who are about as cool as she is and they came to church. And the investigator signed up for EFY. Working with the new converts works.  A lot of times they share the Gospel more than the older members who have years of stagnant activity in the church.   So the investigators name is Venessa an she wants to get in the water too. Her family is progressing but not as fast..but they will get there.

Nancy..was ready for baptism and the night before she got super sick and had to go to the hospital and was there for a time. We couldn't contact. Her phone wasn't working or on i don't know, but this week we will go again with her because she is one of the most humble, obedient people i have met in Mexico.  She reminded me SO much of someone i had taught before in my mission..and recently i realized that she is almost exactly like Marlene..a convert from my frst ward. They act and talk the same. 

con lopezito i love this guy ;D

Mercedes keeps attending church! And she was our food appointment Friday and made us these big chiles filled with meat and cheese..super authentic and delicious! Right now we are trying to get these converts to the temple. And what is the major barrier? That's right..money. ugh i wish i was made of money i could temporally solve our problems with progression.

Also in the baptismal service my companion and i sang a rendition of Rock of Ages that he LOVES and listens to every single day haha. If anyone has seen face to face with Elder Holland it was like the Rock of Ages that the two guys sing. It turned out pretty well i was surprised the members liked it..and i could tell in wasn't insincere either it turned out great.

Love to all!

Elder Smith

I love you all so very much, and I hope you appreciate always our mothers. They are God´s gift to His children!

THIS week there is a bit more to discuss. The first things we did in the week were visit other areas as usual. We were expecting more convert baptisms in this week, but for the fault of not-so-great verification we will be baptizing in this week instead. But church was great! We have been teaching a sister named Nancy, who is 33 but looks like 23. She told us that sometimes when people know how old she is they call her with the word Señora which implicates that she is, well, older than she would like to be haha. But she is super great! She was introduced to the church when she went to a self sufficiency fair (thank you self sufficiency office :DD) and when we found her she was super excited to receive the lessons. She has been progressing brilliantly. One of her sisters died a year ago, so it was special to be able to share with her the Plan of Salvation and see the rising hope in her personage as we together read scriptures about the after life and even more about the resurrection. When she goes to the Temple, it is going to be really special for her to do that Temple work. Miraculously she lives close to the church, in a neighborhood where we almost never work because it just isn't productive. But it has been a wonderful experience thus far. She came to church and we are putting together a lesson with a recent covert, Frida, to bring it all home and get Nancy in the water. She already wants to be baptized though so the Lord is showering His blessings.

The other family that attended church was the The family of Teresa. Her kids are our focus. They are good young women. The mom can't progress much because she isn't legally married, but she wants her kids in church and the kids love it. And they all can go to church so we will see where that goes this week.

I got to talk to my beloved parents this week! It made me excited that the next call will literally be face to face haha. I love you all so very much, and I hope you appreciate always our mothers. They are God´s gift to His children!

Elder Smith