"I really will miss my mission!"

Date: Mon, Feb 17, 2014 at 8:27 AM

I loved the story dad! I will sure be working my best and looking for miracles like the one you had! I have been kind of emotional lately, I really will miss my mission! Thanks for all the support and letters though. You are the best family in the world!

Read this: 3 John 1:13-14

I love you all!

Love,

Elder Smith

"catching the wave"

Date: Mon, Feb 10, 2014 at 9:22 AM

Happy Valentines day to you all too! 

I can't believe that it is snowing there still! I think I will get pnemonia when i get home. I can't believe Sara Rosengren is going on a mission! I always thought she was alot younger than me but i guess two years when you are 17 is alot more than two years when you are 21. I would like to see this movie too! 

Well things are going great here in Natal brasil! This week it looks i will be able to work in my area so that will be nice! I have been traveling pretty everyweek this transfer but i am excited to work with Elder Adams in our area this week. I love being a missionary and we are teaching lots of great people. Last saturday we went to visit a guy who Elder Adams had talked to during the week, Wehn we got to his house he was like, hey i am going to go with you guys to church sunday! We were way excited. He went on sunday with his daughter, we didn't even have to pick him up, they just went! They are awesome. They really liked the church and said they would be going again next week. 

Our ward is having lots of miracles happen. Also, Elder Adams and I talked to a guy in front of the supermarket one night before heading home, and he is a mailman from the south of brasil. He is way awesome. We passed his address to the other missionaries because he lives in their area and sunday he went to church too! He has already accepted to be baptized and he really liked the church. I am way excited for him and I know that the gospel will change his life and the lives of his family members and friends. 

I love doing this work. I love thinking about how important it is that we share the gospel with others. I have been talking alot with the members about sharing the gospel with their friends and alot of members are "catching the wave". People always are so happy when they share the gospel. 

Well I love being a missionary and i love Brasil! 

I miss you all and I hope everything is going well! Have a great week! 

Love, 

Elder Smith

"Everything is going well here on the mish!"

Date: Mon, Feb 3, 2014 at 8:14 AM

Go Hawks!!!

Looks like a sweet super bowl party! Wow they really crushed the Broncos. Even Andrea looks like she got some of that hawk flu! Thanks for the pictures they are great! Laurel sent me about a billion pictures today so i am staying well updated! 

I hope everything is going well at home. It looks like everyone is happy and sounds like you had a great time their at the Badger's cabin. 

Everything is going well here on the mish! I had a great week this week. I got to do a companion exchange with an Elder in my first area Nova Republica! It was so awesome. I felt so happy to see the members strong, to see new members who have been baptized and everyone looks happy! We taught some really great people. There was a recent-convert who we taught. Her brother, sister and cousin are also going to church and they were baptized on saturday. They all are so happy and they were so excited for their baptisms. They are a great inspiration for me and I could see how the gospel has blessed their lives and the lives of their family, even though not all of them have joined the church yet. 

Well things are going well and lots of people are being prepared to join the church! We just need to find them! 

I love you and miss you all lots!

Love,

Elder Smith

Foto: This picture is me with some of the bishops kids in my first area! I was helping them grate coconut to make cocada to sell on the beach! It was fun but a little uncomfortable! We also grabbed some of the coconuts stright from the coceiro and we drank some agua de coco. so good :)

"I love finding new people who are interested in the gospel!"

Date: Mon, Jan 27, 2014 at 5:39 AM

Ola minha família,

That's an awesome story about the pizza! you always have funny stories mom! Well I always liked when we did scavenger hunts in the chapel or I always liked to have food at seminary. sometimes we ate pizza and that was pretty fun. The winter is hard because its so dark in the morning and everyone is tired. also the church has lots of cool videos that could help you guys teach that is fun too. i don't know what you guys are studying but the church is making lots of videos of the new testament that are really cool.

Thats a sweet cake! It doesn't even look real! I am guessing andrea made it, she is so creative!

This last week went pretty well. I was on companion exchanges and i got sick! Being sick as a missionary isn't all that great because you have a lot to do and when your sick you feel like you aren't doing your best. We worked well though. One night we were with a member of the ward teaching a less-active member. While we were sitting outside of his house, a young lady walked by and saw all the cats that this member had. She said that she loved cats and she started slooking at them and we invited her to hear our message! We shared a message about the restoration and it went really well. She said that she always had had curiosity to visit our church. We marked another appointment with her and invited her to church. It was a fun experience. I love finding new people who are interested in the gospel! 

Yesterday at church we saw lots of miracles too! A guy that my companion had found on saturday around 6:30 and invited to church, went to church sunday! Also another lady from São Paulo was visiting and took her brother who isn't a member to church and they both seemed to really like it, We are going to teach them this week and i am really excited for them to join the church!

I love this work and i love being a missionary! Thanks for all your support! You guys are the best!

I love you and miss you all!

-Elder Smith

"I am willing to do my BEST this last transfer to end strong!"

Date: Mon, Jan 20, 2014

Hello family!

That is such an awesome story that Mont told! I love hearing stories like that! The gospel is alot easier to preach when you live it.

Well I hope you got my itinerary by now, our secretary sent it monday to dad's email. 

Sounds like you guys are very busy. I like being busy too! Today starts my last transfer on my mission. Yesterday our mission president was talking to the new missionaries about how at the end of their missions, he wants to hear them say, president, i did the best that i could. and how it is very sad to see a missionary go home with feelings that he didn't do his best.

I have been thinking about that alot and i am willing to do my BEST this last transfer to end strong! 

I know that the Lord stills has lots that He wants me to do these last six weeks that i have left. 

Sunday we had some great investigators at church. I am impressed with the faith of many of the investigators we have. We are teaching two families who have a few dificulties in their relationships. But sunday, even with some of the problems they were having, the two wives took their kids to church and are doing what they can to improve their lives. I admire their example and I feel so grateful for the family I have and for being born in the gospel. It is pretty hard for people ot change thier lives and become members of the church and leave behind them their old traditions, But it is worth it and has lasting effects on future generations.

Well I love you all and I hope you have a great week. 

Love,

Elder Smith