Timing is Everything

Another week gone by and I almost can't believe it.

This week was a good week. Helped me refocus and get that fire back in me. Two weeks ago it felt like we hit a rut, for many reasons. But thankfully, zone conference was this last week and it came at the perfect time.

Tuesday we were pretty busy and we got a lot done. We figured out that tracting is more effective and inspired if we break it up into 30 minute increments. It all adds up and it's much easier to do quick little spurts of tracting, we're supposed to track how many hours we knock. We had lunch with our ward mission leader, though he wasn't feeling good so it was with his wife. She made a King Crab salad, supposedly that's North West thing, she's from Portland. It was really good! She makes delicious food, but during our lunch she had Elder Bednar's broadcast at Education Week playing, that was cool! It made me excited to continue doing missionary work when I get home. 

Anyway, before we had lunch we did a 30 minute tracting sesh and we contacted these three girls that were extremely open and interested and we got three new investigators! Then, after lunch we had a couple appointments and one of them was with a lady who requested herself on mormon.org. It's the first time we met her, and she really just needed a Bible, but we taught her the first lesson and she said that it all could be possible. We invited her to read, pray and to be baptized and she said yes! We didn't get her on date, but we're meeting with her again this week and she's almost done with 1 Nephi. That's exciting. Then, since we were in that city we went to meet with a less active lady who came to church two weeks ago and she is SO ready to come back to church. She came all by herself. No one was prodding her, no one was reminding her, she just felt like she needed to come back to church. She was attending other churches, but she said she couldn't feel the Spirit there quite as strongly, that's when she knew she needed to come back to the LDS church. She's been reading the Book of Mormon and praying and we're going to reteach her the lessons to help her remember stuff. We're excited to work with her.

Wednesday was zone conference. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see Sister Jones or Sister Andrus, they're both in the same zone together, but this was the first zone conference that our zone combined with theirs  :'(. That's okay, I survived. I got to see one of the Spanish Sisters and that was good! But it really pumped me up because we went over and made a list of the responses that we get while we tract. Like "I'm Baptist," or "I've already found Jesus," or a myriad of others. The funniest was when someone said, "There's no soliciting in this neighborhood," you could hear an audible sigh of frustration emit from all the missionaries. But we discussed that when these people aren't hostile, how should we respond in order for them to feel the Spirit? President talked about how we're hear to proclaim the gospel, their response does not really matter. Just like Christ, He was sent to proclaim the gospel as well, but not everyone responded the way they should. There was an Elder that said he didn't care for sharing the history of the church or anything, but he focused on sharing scripture and baring testimony. I wish I could reiterate what he said because it was extremely powerful, sometimes I get stuck on the history, but really I just need to focus on the Spirit. My favorite was another Elder said, "Don't put down what you know to be true." In all reality, if we know it's true, it doesn't make it any less true if someone else does not know it yet. Anyway, it was really good and pumped me up.

Sadly, I was so ready to work, but we mostly drove the rest of the day. We had exchanges and then we had to get to dinner and we got to that late because of traffic, so once dinner was over we had to go back home. So, couldn't put all the inspiration to the test until the next day. 

I'm also so thankful for the mission I'm serving in. There's a guy in the ward that got back from his mission on Tuesday, and his family had us over for dinner on Friday so we talked about his mission and its rules and stuff. Their rules were really relaxed and it didn't really matter what music they listened to, so long as your companion and you didn't fight over it. And it was just so weird. I think before the mission I would have thought that his mission was cool, but now that I've been in a mission where we focused a lot on consecrating ourselves and just giving fully into the Lord, I understand how important that is. I would not be at the spiritual level that I am at if my mission president didn't expect the best out of us. It was just very interesting for Sister Burgess and I. We talked about it a lot. And I definitely want to marry someone who's mission challenged him in the same where. Where he was able to get to that same spiritual level that our mission has gotten to. Anyway. That's my soapbox. The cool thing is that President Bennion said that we're a good mission on obedience and diligence, so now he wants us to live the higher law and focus on love and unity. And it does not discredit the first part, obedience and diligence, but now we need to build upon it. It's really amazing to have that transition and progression from one to the next. I love the mission, there's no place I'd rather be!

Love you all,

Sister Smith

My bike....One more Mountain to Climb..

Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes. I love and appreciate them. It's nice to know that I'm remembered! ;)

Also, thank you Jared for the awesome gift! Weirdly enough, last week, before my birthday, I was thinking I wanted a HSS keychain, the surfboard specifically and hey! I got it! So thanks, that was genius. Also, it's raining today so I'm wearing the awesome socks you got me! 

Thanks mom for the skirts, they're awesome and so comfy! It's nice to have new skirts, I forgot how old the material was in my old skirts. And thanks for the Trader Joe's food, that's always a comfort. 

This week was kind of interesting. District Meeting was really good on Tuesday. We have a good district, I'm excited to work with the missionaries new to the area. Most of our week consisted of doctor's appointments for Sister Burgess and me just patiently waiting, contacting anyone that sat close to me. 

Wednesday, my birthday :) was fun. We mostly just worked, but it was a good work. We had an appointment with an investigator that day and she dropped us. I was legitimately sad because she was actually super open and sweet and seemed so prepared when we met her, so that was a little pit in my stomach to have her drop us. It's hard when that happens. But then we had dinner at a less active members' home and they have a daughter who shares my birthday so it was like a little birthday bash. They even gave me a gift, it was really sweet of them.

Thursday was a busy day (those are my personal favorite!). We had many lessons. There's a couple who we're reteaching the lessons to and that was our first day teaching them. It went really well. It was more of a discussion on the Restoration. And the Spirit was definitely there. We both felt very satisfied with the result of the visit. We gave them the assignment to watch the Restoration video and read 2 Nephi 2. On Sunday we had a return appointment and they did their assignment! Well, the husband read the wrong chapter but that's because he wrote the assignment down incorrectly. We got a good laugh out of them. I feel like you'd really like them dad. They're hilarious! I don't really know how to describe them, but they are so funny, but they also care about important things too. 

Then we had another lesson with a less active family and committed them to paying their tithing next month. They said they will. I'm excited to see the blessings that will come! And don't worry, we keep reminding them of the fact that they committed. 

Saturday we biked the whole day. Holy wow. So biking is really fun. I actually love it, but a majority of them time, someone will give us a ride home or a ride to our next destination. Well, this week, no such luck. I was fine with it, but man.... There's nothing like them Georgia Hills. Guaranteed I lost 20 lbs. Just kidding I really didn't. It's also quite humbling riding bikes in a skirt, with a helmet on. Let me just say: attractive! Hahaha but seriously. It's fun to ride bikes too because you end up talking to way more people. It's so much easier to see someone and stop your bike. Obviously, if we did that in the car, we'd stop traffic and that would be bad. 

Anyway. All of us in our ward are trying to emphasize working with the members. Tracting here is SO ineffective. It works in the city, but out here in the real country... No. So we're trying to work with less actives and do lessons with members and commit them to inviting someone to learn more. I'm a firm believer that it will never feel pushy if it's done well and with the Spirit. So that's our goal. Reminding members that in all reality, we're the teachers, they're the finders. Simple as that. Hopefully it ends up working well. Wish  us luck!

Love y'all, you're the best!

Sister Smith

Another week in Cleveland GA

This week. Wow. Went by fast. Honestly I don't even know where it went!  We have two new Elders in the ward, one of them came out with me so that's exciting. And then there's a new Elder with our old Elder. Does that make sense? Sorry if it doesn't!   Saturday we helped do service at this less active lady's house and she fed us dinner. She's amazing. Her and her husband are so ready to come back! They're so close! and she came to church yesterday, her husband is in Texas for business this week, but he'll be back today. Hopefully they're both at church next week! I love re sharing the gospel with less actives that are prepared by the Lord. It's so amazing to see their testimony spark again, because obviously it was there before. Great.   We had a lot of appointments with new investigators this week, but we had the hardest time finding team ups. We called everyone we could and we only had one team up say they could come and get this, the investigator cancelled. It was kind of a harder week. We just have been working hard and making appointments and trying to visit as many people as possible and things keep getting changed and cancelled. Which, I should be fine with all this by now because basically that's the story of missionary life, but it just felt off this week.   I did enjoy sacrament meeting this week. I feel like I really felt the Savior's atonement. I don't know how to explain it. But I realized a little more about how much I can change. And obviously in a good way. I kept getting the thought that I need to focus my thoughts more on Christ. My thought are focused, but they're only really focused on the mission, but if I focus on Christ, the Savior, then  I feel like more power will come into my life. Really, he is the why of everything. And when that's stressed, things change. Or at least it changes me. When the atonement and Jesus Christ are taught, I feel the need to change, and I have seen it happen in others' lives. Therefore, I've decided to "try a little harder to be a little better," and focus my thoughts more on the Savior and why.   Anyway, not much to report on.... But we did have a good lesson with a lady last night. She fed us dinner and she's not sure if she belives in God or Jesus Christ or not. However, she knows that because there is darkness and bad things in the world, that there must be something right and true in the world. She just doesn't know where to look. She feels like people just want to tell her what to believe instead of letting her figure it out for herself. So we talked to her about Joseph Smith and personal revelation. It was really cool because in all reality, we're supposed to be Spiritually self sufficient. We can't just be spoon-fed the doctrine, we have to apply it to our own lives and test it out. I love that. We have the choice to learn and grow spiritually all on our own. Who cares what anyone else says. Just "look to God and live" (Alma 37:47). Done with my rants. I am just excited to teach someone and see someone grow personally and spiritually that legitimately cares about figuring out the truth. She's so open-minded and ready. I feel like she's being prepared.  
Love y'all so much! Sister Smith

Happy August #bestmonthever

Another good week in Georgia. I'm gettin' my southern accent down here in the Corn Hole. It's coming along swimmingly. Transfers are here and there's a big change in our ward/district/zone. Hence the reason I'm not be transferred. That's okay though. I can do this! But we're getting a new set of Elders and our old District Leader went home last Friday to go be a missionary in the MTC because he has a terrible knee and can't do any of the physical labor us missionaries do. So that's sad, but the cool thing is that he's serving a mission still! And so we're getting another Elder, he was my zone leader in Roswell so that's exciting. And then another Elder coming in was in my MTC district and he's hilarious. Also, we're getting a new STL and a new zone leader and a new Sister in the other pair in our district. Like I said, the most changes. It's exciting though because all the missionaries coming are awesome!

This week was crazy. We got 10 new investigators. And a new investigator is someone we've made a return appointment with. I can't believe we got that many. The standard in our mission is 5, we doubled a standard! Woo hooo! 

Really I think it's because we're trying to do everything the right way. We biked twice this week to save miles and that just increases the amount of people you meet and talk to. I did not realize how fun biking is. It's so much fun! However, my gear shift broke because my bike fell and I'm stuck on one gear, which is fine, until I go uphill, and there's a lot of hills here in Georgia. 

Sadly, Amber dropped us. I think some people showed her anti stuff because it was kind of out of the blue :/ 

on Tuesday we went to the Bible Study and they just spent 90% of the time asking us questions. It was really cool. They want us to come tomorrow and they'll have more questions. Pray for us! The Spirit is really what's most important to be honest. I think something good will come out of all this though. There's only one who seems like she kind of wants to prove us wrong, but the other ones are just purely curious about our faith. It's really cool. 

Thursday we had a really successful day. We got two new investigators and we met with a lot of less actives and got to everything basically on time. Also, we got to play games with the elderly at the Retreat they have in Habersham county, they're hysterical! They're so sad when we can't make it. 

Friday was cool because a less active family made us dinner and I played "I Am His Daughter" for them and the wife said she got chills. She's a bit of a feminist so she loved how empowering the song was. I felt good about that. Also, they had a family friend over there for dinner and she's was super sweet and nice and we were just talking to her like we would anyone really interesting. Well later, the wife text us and thanked us because the girl comes from a horrible living situation and she said that she hasn't seen that girl smile that much in a while. It felt good to be used as an instrument in the Lord's hands. Also, before dinner we had a few minutes to knock doors and we met the nicest lady and get this, her name was Carolyn. Shout out to mi madre. She was so open to reading the Book of Mormon and researching all of it, she couldn't set up a set appointment, but we're calling her later this week to get one set up and when her schedule is cleared. 

Saturday we had dinner with another less active family and they're just the best. Unfortunately they couldn't come to church yesterday, he works for Delta in Atlanta and so he's always gone. It's sad, but they totally believe in the church, it's just about getting that fire back in them. 

Yesterday we also got another two new investigators (we obviously had more throughout the week, but I just didn't write about them sorry!) and one of them seems really promising. Wish us luck. 

This week was just really good. Hopefully we can keep it up. 

love y'all!

Sister Smith

July 28th 2014

Hello Everyone!

I'll just start straight up talking about the week. 

Tuesday: We had a lesson with Amber, our elect contact, and we had a team up and every thing. Well, she said she had read the Book of Mormon, or at least the intro and the witnesses and Joseph Smith's testimony. She said she really enjoyed Joseph Smith's testimony. She was already talking about being baptized within the lesson. Unfortunately, on Thursday she text us and she said she feels like she needs a lot more time reading and praying. Thankfully, she said that she is reading and praying and seeking for an answer-- that's the most we could ask for-- but she said she's not receiving any answers. We're meeting with her tomorrow and wish to discuss recognizing the Spirit with her. Wish us luck!

Also, Tuesday night we went to a Women Bible Study. Mom you'll like this, they're studying Women in the Bible. We met a girl my age (that's engaged!!! crazy!) and she wanted to learn more from us and she said that we could come to her Bible group and we could teach there. This week we decided to participate in the study, we discussed Rebekah, but tomorrow night we will be teaching more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was really a cool experience, all the girls were so sweet and had such great testimonies in God and Jesus Christ. I love when other faiths can get together and civilly discuss spiritual things, no contention, no hatred, just pure learning and love. It made me want to start a Women Bible Study when I get home, it's really fun. 

Wednesday: We started off the morning just trying to contact less actives on our list. We met with one that was recently pointed out to us. It's so sad going into people's homes when they're not really living the gospel. It's not that their homes are entirely gross or something, but I'm here to tell you that there is a different feeling in a home with the Spirit and without it. She was active for a couple years, but all these hard things started happening and she hasn't come back. She hasn't picked up any bad habits or anything, but she's not progressing. Stagnancy is probably one of the saddest things to see. It's like someone has lost their vigor, there's no gleam in their eye. They're just living. Trying to just get through the days, but not really moving up and forward. It's so strange to see people like that. I swore to myself that I will NEVER get to that point! It's so depressing. One thing I learn a lot from the mission is how not to live, I would say that's very eye opening and beneficial for my future. Hopefully, once we start reteaching her the lessons, the fire will come back and we'll help her improve her living and spirituality. 

Thursday: Interviews with President. That was fun, 1) We got to see all the other missionaries in the zone, love that 2) President and Sister Bennion are awesome 3) I got to show off how great my family is because he wanted us to bring family photos. Hahah just kidding. But for reals though. The zone leaders gave me a song to sing and I made a personal commitment to learn how to play and sing it, so that I would really understand the accompaniment when someone plays for me for next zone meeting and I've actually learned it! It was really hard, any free time that I had during lunch or after planning I used to learn that song. We have a dinky little keyboard in our apartment, it's terrible to play with, but it's better than nothing right? So on August 12 for zone meeting I'll be singing and playing "I Am His Daughter," I really like the song and it's been fun to learn. 

Friday: We did the usual Friday routine. Then we went to see a family that's less active, particularly the wife. I really like her, she's very intelligent and they're both very artsy and they have the coolest house. They decided to make us dinner and wanted me to practice the song in their home because they like music. That was nice, but we really got to know more of their concerns and asked if we could teach them the lessons and they said yes. That was cool. 

Saturday: We biked the whole day. We only had two miles left for the month. Get this, we biked on the hottest day of the week. Great. In humidity. Awesome. Hahaha I actually really like biking. And I didn't look too terrible, my arms got tanner and my legs looks great ;). I kid I kid. But we basically tracted the whole day. Then we went and visited a less active family who's husband came to church yesterday!! YaY! Success. 

That's all for today! Love y'all!