''because I said so''

Date: Apr 29, 2013 7:24 AM

Hello Family!

Thanks for the video dad! It's cool to hear your voices and stuff. I am pretty excited for the call next week! That's really cool you got called to the High Council. I bet it's fun serving wit Mike and Pat and Hal and Chris. What a good group!

This week was pretty crazy traveling back and forth from Belém to Guarabira. I think we are actually working more in Belém than Guarabira. I really like Belém and the members there are awesome and really willing to help. How are things going with th refferal you gave? Referrals are awesome! I already have a ton of ideas of friends I will invite to hear the missionaries when I get back. Have there been any new members in the ward lately? Is the ward growing?

Well sadly, our branch in Guarabira isn't progressing as it should. There are many members who weren't there on sunday and I am really worried about them. We found a great family here in Guarabira who is really showing a desire to progress. It is a couple and two children. Sunday, one of the little boys ate a whole tub of ice cream and didn't make it to church because he had to go to the doctor because he was feeling so sick! I thought it was kind of funny. They remind me of Jeremy and Jonah when they were younger. I am excited to keep working with them.

In Belém, there are some truly golden investigators. These people though are the first in their family to join the church and some of the first in the city so there is a lot of opposition and there are facing many challenges. It is great though to see how the truthfulness of the gospel has touched their hearts and is helping them continue forward through these trials. I am grateful to be able to witness such great faith.

I gave a talk in Belém ( I speak almost every sunday ) about obedience. I talked about how we sometimes just have to obey even when we don't know why. I talked about how sometimes mom told me I couldn't do something or that I needed to something and how when I asked why sometimes the answer was simply, ''because I said so''. I have learned alot with this sentence about the importance of being obedient always. Even when we don't know why and we think that we don't need to be obedient in a certain situation. I love reading scriptures that translate the same message. Sometimes God gives a commandment and at the end of the scripture it says something like, and these things are true because the Lord said so.

This is the last week of this transfer so I am really hoping to end well with Elder Cabrera, we might stay together more but I don't think so because I was just training him. It was a great experiece to train and I have learned a whole lot. If I train again it will be good. It always seems like just when you think you are getting good at something you get asked to do something else. I think it is becuase Heavenly Father doesn't want us to think we can do things on our own. We always need His help.

Well I hope you all have a great week. Thanks for the support and everything you all do for me. I love you so much and can't wait to skype you on mother's day!

Papá! Yo estoy aprendiendo español con mi compañero para hablar en español contigo en el dia de las madres! Todavia yo no hablo muy bien pero pienso que tu vai a compreenderme! Te amo! Cuando yo oro a la noche yo pido a mi compañero si él quere que yo hable en inlges, español o portuguese!

Hey are we going to do 3 way skype again? I think maybe it would be better if I skyped Laurel first and then the reast of you if you will all be together because last time we tried 3 way skype I didn't hardly get to see anyone! Just let me know what would be better.

Love you and miss you all!

Love,

Elder Smith