"We have the capacity to help others..."

Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 7:14 AM

Ola Família!

Thanks for the recipes. I am a little short on funds right now but I will try to see if next week I can make some of these things.

Sounds like alot is going on as always! That's cool Nat is involved with sports and stuff. I loved playing sports and keeping busy. Tell Charlotte happy birthday for me! I can't believe she will be one and I haven't even met her yet!

Well this week I was at a return missionary's house eating lunch and I knew he had served a mission around the same time as Abe and in the same mission. I was looking through some mission stuff he had and I saw a chart of all the missionaries and their areas. It was pretty cool when I looked and saw Elder Hudson's name! This missionary never met Abe because hegot on the mission after Abe left I think but he just had this old chart and I saw Abe's name. It was pretty cool.

Well this week turned out to be a good one. We passed by in alot of our investigators almost every day to try and keep them comitted to going to church. It turned out to have worked well. We had 7 investigators at church! It was pretty cool. I was excited to see them all their and it looked like they really liked it. We have a family we are teaching that started the process of marriage this week. I am pretty excited for them as well. 

In Belém yesterday, we were having a class on the scriptures. The teacher asked the class ''what is the doctrine and convenants?'' and one of our investigators who is only 11 years old and has already read the illustrated Book of Mormon and has started the illustrated Doctrine and Covenants said '' it's a collection of modern revelations''. She continued showing great knowledge throughout the class. She is great and has been attending church for awhile but becuaseof family complications has not been baptized. But we received good news this sunday that made us think much more possitively about the chance of her being able to get baptized soon. 

I really noticed and learned that when we focus in on our goals and do the things that really matter most, we receve results that really matter most and we see real progress in our lives. We have the capacity to help others and we can do it in a way more effectively when he have goals and plans. 

One of our invesitgators is showing good progress as he is try to quit smoking.He has stopped drinking coffee and stopped drinking and now we are helping him to stop smoking. I know he can do it and he has been showing a lot of effort on his part. He really is looking to change his life and I know he will be an example to many.

Our little branch seems to becoming closer and closer. I see changes almost everyweek and I love seeing the progress of so many people. I love the gospel and the chance it gives us to grow and learn. The Plan of Salvation is a plan of eternal progression. How great it is to know that we have so much potential and with our Heavenly Father's help we can reach this potential.

Well I love you all and hope you have a great week! Things are going well here in Guarabira. Thanks for all the support you all give me. In about two months I will be skyping you once again! Time sure does fly!

Let me know if you want me to include more things in my letters home and what these things may be. Sometimes I am not sure what to write!

Tchau for now,

Elder Smith