"This week we faced many trials"

Date: Mon, Mar 25, 2013 at 7:08 AM

Hello Family!

The easter festivities have already started?! I really haven't even thought much about easter yet sadly. Holidays really aren't celebrated much here but it is a good oppurtunity to talk more about the life of Christ in our lessons with investigators and I am sure that next week at church we will be talking about it more. It will be cool to have easter and then General Conference the next week. I am pretty excited for conference!

Well ya the rules about email are different for each mission. In my mission, we can only receieve email from immediate family and send email to immediate family. If anyone else, cousins, friends, aunts, uncles, bishops, or anyone else wants to send us email they have to send it through someone in our immediate family. So people can send me email but they have to send it to you guys first and then you can send it to me. At least for now these are our rules on email. 

Well this week was super busy! I am pretty darn tired but I'm excited for the upcoming week because I think it will be just as busy! I remember when I started my mission and I saw that things were really busy I worried that if we got to busy in the work we wouldn't be able to be led by the Spirit or not have time to try and seek the Spirit. But I have learned that as put put ourself in the work, stay busy, and work as hard as we can, we become tired and dependent on the Spirit. At least for me, I feel like I seek more for the Spirit when I am tired because I know that with my own forces that I have, it is not sufficient to be successful in such a great work. 

This week we faced many trials. A few of our investigators faced lots of big problems and through lots of prayer and work, we were able to overcome them and help our investigators progress. I really saw how Heavenly Father loves these children and that even when there are lots of trials, he always gives us a way to get past these trials and to grow. 

I really learned alot about the Spirit this week and how he works to help us as missionaries to know the needs of our investigators. There were many times this week when I felt an impression or a thought came into my minds that gave me an idea of how to help our investigators. I have to admit a few times I ignored the thoughts ands ended up finding out that if I would have acted on them, I would have better helped my investigators. Sometimes I felt that I should talk about a certain thing and I didn't, then the investigator spoke of his concern and it turned out to match the impressions I had. Maybe that's a little confusing to understand, sorry! My english may be getting worse.

The sisters in our district had an awesome baptim this week. He was a 10 year old who has been going to church for a while and finally his mom got back from traveling or living in anohter place to give permission for him to be baptized. Sadly his parents weren't baptized with him but I learned alot from him. It is awesome to see how such a young boy can have courage to do something different and do what he knows to be right. His knowledge of the gospel is really great and his testimony as well. He already has plans to serve a mission and asked me if he could visit investigators with us. I am excited to teach with him and I know others will feel of his spirit as well and it will help them to become converted to the gospel as well. 

Well sorry I don't have many stories this week. My mind is kind of running a blank! Usually I sit down and my hands just starting typing away. I will have to start looking in my journal to see the things that happened during the week that I can tell you guys. 

My package got here in João Pessoa! I was at the mission office monday and tuesday, I left tuesday at around noon and my package got there later that day! So I will have to wait a little to actually get t but thank you mom! I might be going there on sunday so if I do that will be awesome.

Thanks for all the support! I have the best family in the world. I have really had my eyes opened here on my mission and I am so grateful for everything that I have, especially my family. I love you guys and miss you all so much! Only like 6-7 weeks until we skype again!

Have a great week. I love you all!

-Elder Smith

I hope you like the picture!

1: Our district!
2: Our humble chapel in Belém! Its really a school classroom!
3: We went to that huge Frei Damião statue and there was an awesome view! Luckily I had some binoculars that a missionary gave me!