"Why didn't you tell me about this Book before?!'

Date: Mon, Jul 15, 2013 at 6:45 AM

Hello family!

Thanks for all the great news! Sounds like you guys will have a few fun weeks ahead. Too bad a few people won't be able to go to the renion. Family reunions are the best! I am excited for Laurel aswell. 

Well Natalie sent me some pictures from EFY. I am feeling a little weird, I feel like I don't even know her anymore! I hardly recognized my own sister! It's a good thing she put a caption saying that it was her and Abby because if not I think I might have doubted! Ha just kidding but really she is way different! She looks like she has lost some weight, congratulations Nat! I am glad she had a great time at EFY. I loved EFY!

Well this week was pretty awesome, like always, some of the highest of highs and lowest of lows! But we had an awesome experience with a recent-convert, we went to teach him about missionary work and how now that he is a member he needed to help out and introduce his friends and family to the gospel. After leaving a little message with him we did what is called '' Noah's Ark '' where we ask people to say the names of people who they would save if they were Noah and only had like a few minutes to choose the people they loved most to be saved. Then we explain that the church is like the Ark and everyone needs to get in to be saved! So then we go and visit these epople. He put down the name of a friend called Flavio and I asked if we could go visit him and he said ok and so we walked to his house and started teaching him. We invited him to be baptized and he accepted our help. He explained to us how his life has changed because of alcohol and ciggarettes and his expressed his desire to change and get his old life back. That same day we passed by his house going to another appointment and he was sitted outside of his house reading the Book of Mormon. The next day we passed by and he had read like 20 chapters and started explaining everything to us with great detail. He really understands the Book well and his very excited to continue.

Also, while on splits, my companion went with a member to teach some family members of a member of the church who aren't members yet. They had just decided to go there and see if they maybe were interested even though we thought that they probably had already heard about the gospel. Well they went there and started explaining about the Book of Mormon to them. This member's mom is really catholic but on sunday I went to talk to the member about her mom like if she was going to go to church or not and she said that her mom will go next week! Her mom said to her, '' why didn't you tell me about this Book before?!'' The member said she had already tried explaining the church to her mom but it is just now that she is interested and has decided to investigate more. I have gained a really strong testimony that all of us have friends or maybe even family that would give the same response, '' why didn't you ever tell me about the Book of Mormon before?!" if we chose to share this message with others who haven't heard it or accepted it yet. There are so many people who are waited to hear about the gospel. If there weren't, Heavenly Father would be calling so many new missionaries like He is doing. We all need to be a little more diligent in sharing the gospel with others.

I am really enjoying the experiences I am having here on my mission. I know I was called to serve here in Sousa for a reason and that as I try hard to find out that reason and am obedient Heavenly Father will be able to use me as an instrument to bring this work to pass.

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

Natalie stop changing so fast! It's scaring me!

Love,

Elder Smith

"I really love my mission."

Date: Mon, Aug 5, 2013 at 7:27 AM

Hello Family!

Well That's exciting that Josh is home now! But is he okay? Is he having problems with his heart? I am very excited for him. He looks like he is doing great! Give him my email please I want to hear from him!

I am glad the reunion went well and all. Looks like it was a pretty good time. When is Mel going ot have her baby? Have they decided on a name yet? If she wants I will let her name him BIZIK. Its a pretty cool name. Here they use a lot of nicknames and so sometimes people ask me what my nick name was at home and they usually think it is pretty weird.

This last week Elder Paul came in to town to replace Elder Staheli. He is an awesome missionary just like Elder Staheli and I am really excited to work with him. We have some great plans and we are excited to get to work. It is a litle wierd because we both know we don't have too much time left on the mission but we really are trying to make the best of it and make every minute count!

Yesterday we had a couple of the students from our english class at church. It was really great to see them getting interested not only  in english but also the church as well. Our meetings were really spiritual. I think I only rememebr a few times that I felt the Spirit so strong in church meetings. I am really grateful to be serving here in Sousa. I just thought to myself yesterday how much I love these people and this culture. I really love my mission.

Well I love you all and hope you have a great week. I am doing well and I miss you guys!

Bye!

Love, 

Elder Smith

"We need to strive to have Christlike attributes"

Date: Wed, Jul 31, 2013 at 7:16 AM

Hello!

I'm glad to hear that everything went well with the graduation and all. I hope the reunion is going good! That's cool that Jeremy and Jonah are getting their eagles! How old are they now? 

Well this last week went pretty well. We had our patience tested alot and it was my last week with Elder Staheli. I really liked Elder Staheli and it was way fun being his companion. He left last night and I am staying with the other elders that live with us. My new companion is Elder Paul. We were in the MTC together so we are already great friends. He is from Washington too. He will probably get here around 11 tonight because Sousa is far from everything!

This last week our english class got even better. People are starting to ask about the church and are very interested in recieving our visits. We contacted a refferal from the english course yesterday. They are a really great family and they said they would go to church sunday with us. We are very excited.

This last week I learned alot about how we need to strive to have Christlike attributes. If we are like Christ,we will be able to live with Him again. ALso, if we are like Christ we will help others feel His love and want to be like Him. I love being a missionary and having this oppurtunity everyday to improve and try harder to be more like Him.

Well today is transfers so things are going to be a little busy but I am excited for the new missionaries to get here. Well I love you all and hope you have a great week! Drink some slurpees for me!

 Love, 

Elder Smith          

pic 1 - The people who make the English class happen!
pic 2 -  A cake we made to welcome the new president and his wife

pic 3 - Doing the helicopter at the talent show

                  

Rexburg is the dream city!

Date: Jul 22, 2013 8:47 AM

Hello!

Everyone is looking great! I am glad you all got to Rexburg safely. Rexburg is the dream city! Nat is still looking super old to me. I hope the graduation goes well.

Well this last week was one of the best on my mission so far. 

First of all, the district president here in Sousa gave us the idea to start an english class. He was an english teacher and has lots of materials and stuff and was willing to help. Well we talked to our branch missin leader and he helped us organize some things and get the word out. We visited some schools to invite students and people signed up through facebook. Well Saturday we had our first class. Until now, all the enlgish classes I have taught have just been like 15 people or less. Well saturday we had around 150 people in the cultural hall wanting to learn english from us! There are all very excited. We are going to divide the classes by their skill levels and it is going to be legit. Next week will be the last chance for people to join. It is a 24 week course and there are some really great people there. I am excited to teach them all english! The members are there as well and will invite the people to church and to learn more about the gospel. We are doing lots of fun activities to find new people and help integrate them with the members. Saturday night we had a talent show. Elder Staheli, a young man and I did the helicopter thing Cort taught me. It was a hit! The members stated shouting, de novo, de novo, de novo! (Again, again, again!) My neck is still hurting but it was definitely worth it.

Also, we have this awesome recent convert who really showed alot of faith. We went to visit him this last week and we noticed a whole new person. His house had a bunch of alcoholic drink bottles and his appearance was a little scragly. This last tuesday when Elder Staheli went to visit him with another missinoary (we were on companion exchanges) he had cleaned his house and cut his hair and shaved and everything! I hardly even recognized him! Where there used to be a bunch of drink bottles, he now has a bible, The Book of Mormon and church pamphlets. It was miraculous. And the great thing of all, is that ever since the first time I went to his house to start teaching him, (we were also on splits that day) he never drank or smoked again. He completely left his old life behind him to follow Christ. It was amazing. He is already well integrated with the ward and the members. Also this week, we taught him about the Sabbath day and taught him that we don't work on sundays. He has been struggling to find work and so we promised him, that he would find a job if he would tell his boss that he can't work sundays and only accept a job that allows him to do that. The very next morning at 8 AM, a man knocked on his dorr and said he had work for him to do. He told him that he would accept but that he can't work on sundays. The boss said that he too doesn't work on sundays and that he wouldn't need to work on sundays. It was a miracle.

I love being a missionary of Jesus Christ. I have lately been trying to lose the habit of saying that I am a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and instead just saying, I am a missionary of Jesus Christ. 

Well I love you all! I will try to send pictures next week!

Love,

Elder Smith

"I love having a name-tag with the Saviors name..."

Date: Mon, Jul 8, 2013 at 7:20 AM

Como é que vocês estão?

Well this week I met our new mission president! He is so great. He was the manager of church maintanence or something here in Brasil and Sister Soares is a psychaiatrist. (wow my spelling skill has taken a turn for the worst) They are super nice people and I can tell they really have a love for us and for missionary work. They both are a little lost because they just got here and hardly know anything about our mission. But I am excited. We now have to do 140 contacts everyweek while reaching the other standard of excellence goals we had. It is exhausting but fun and I love working!

This last week we saw miracles. We have an investigator who literally let go of all the things he was doing wrong and had a strong desire to be better. We taught him the word of wisdom and the law of chastity on monday and that was the last day he had problems with any of those things. I was him becoming happier and happier each day that he was living the gospel of Jesus Christ more fully and I am excited to see the rest of his progress. 

Sadly we had quite a few investigators who got sick this last sunday and so not too many investigators went ot church. Our musicians we are teaching had to play in two shows saturday night and didn't get home until like 7 in the morning and so things didn't work out well. But we are excited for this upcoming week. We can't let distractoins get us down because this is the Lord's work and we need to always be ready to be His instruents here in Sousa! The work of the Lord is truly hastening. I can feel it so much as a missionary. The memebrs are getting more excited and I feel a greater urgency to talk to everyone I see about the restored Gospel I love having a name-tag with the Saviors name and being able to share my testimony that He lives and His church is here on the earth today. I feel like all we have to do as missionaries is be good examples of Christ and speak the truth. Sure people will mock you and say things but that's okay. At least we are doing our part! 

Well I love you all! Have a great week! 

Sorry I ran out of time and didn't even realize!

MIss you all!

-Elder Smith

My new address is:

Missão Brasil Natal

Ave. Interventor Mario Camara No. 2066
Dix-Sept Rosado
Natal, RN
59062-600

Happy fourth of July week!

Date: Mon, Jul 1, 2013 at 7:31 AM

Happy fourth of July week!

Thanks for all the letters. The picture of Kadyn and Mary was really cool. It sounds like they are at the MTC at a pretty exciting time! Our new mission president got here saturday and tommorrow Me and my companion are going to Natal to meet himand his wife! I am way excited. I am sure they are just filled with ''fire in the bones'' after their trainings with the apostles this last week. It is truly a great time to be a missionary.

We have seen some amazing miracles in our area this week. We really didn't get to spend a full day of work in our area until thursday because of companion exchanges and showing new areas to new missionaries but still we were able to get alot of work done. One less-active introduced us to a few of his friends who are really awesome. They are both musicians and they play in a band It was so cool because on sunday, we have a goal to always have at least 3 investigators at sacrament meeting. We were frantically trying to get people to go to  church and it just seemed like no one would go. We walked with a guy named adriano to church and then we contniued to search for people! Well Sacrament meeting started and I was pretty sad. fter I played the sacrament hymn though I looked in the congregation and these two musicians had gotten to church and were there in the congregation. I got so happy! Really I never thought I could feel so happy to see people at church! They are really awesome and we are going to continue working with them and their families.

We are teaching a guy about 28 years old and we went to his house and had a mini-lesson with him. We talked to him about hte Book of Mormon and it was really cool to see his desire to read and learn more. Then my companion asked if he had read and he said yes. Then he asked, did you ask if it was true? and he said yes. Then my companion asked, and what was the answer, and he said, ''the answer was yes''. I felt so good inside. He went to church sunday and has a baptismal date for this sunday.

I am really lovng my area, companion, and everything else about the mission. My companion and I get along really well and it really helps in the work! It1sjust too bad he will be leaving at the end of this month! But I have gained a really strong testimony that everything that happens to us is for our personal growth and well-being.

Our mission is split now! I am no longer a missionary in the João Pessoa mission. I am excited and I know that many great experiences still lie ahead. 

Today for P-Day our district is going to do a fourth of july picnic at the chapel and play some frisbee. I'm sureit won't be as fancy as the picnic's back home but that's alright! The fireworks have already started! although they don't have fireworks specially for the fourth of july, last night Brasil beat Spain 3-0 and the was sure a good number of fireworks going on. It was pretty funny because like right after the sacrament meeting we heard,  ''goooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!'' and a few fireworks went off. It is crazy how when Brasil is playing, there is hardly anyone on the roads. Everyone is at home watching the game! I love the Brazilian culture. 

Well I love you all and miss you lots. Sounds like alot is going back home and I am excited for you all. Natalie will love EFY. I really am happy I went. She is growing up just way too fast!

Well I love you all! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Smith

"I have a strong testimony about the elect."

Date: Jun 25, 2013 10:34 AM

Hello family,

Yes there has been lots of riots lately in Brasil. They thought it would just stay in the big cities but incredibly we see a little here too but it is not nearly as bad as it is in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Here it is just like a few people on the streets with pickit signs. It is pretty sad sometimes to hear about these things, but I hope it will clear up soon. 

I am really liking my new area. We are very very busy but I really like being busy. I feel like many good things are happening and I am glad to be a part of it. Tell Mel Happy Birthday! I can't believe she is 30. It's weird to think I have a sister so old. I feel like time is moving back home but my life isn't changing much! I will be 21 this year though and that is pretty weird to think about as well.

This last week I was working with another Elder in the city and we starting talking to a guy that was sitting in like a park thing. After talking a little I realized he was drunk. He told us about his desire to stop drinking and started crying with us. This actually happens alot with us so it wasn't anything new. But I felt that we should get his address and go to his house when he was sober. So later in the week we went there and he accepted us really well. He hadn't forgotten much from the time we contacted him on the street and we set some goals with him including a baptismal date. He is excited and we are too. Sadly we switched areas this week with the sisters and so I won't continue working with him but I am excited to see him progress and I know he will succeed in trying to overcome his drinking habits. The Lord is preparing His children to hear the message of the Restoration. I have a strong testimony about the elect. I know they exist and they are truly being prepared by our Heavenly Father.

Well I hope you all have an awesome week. Thanks for the letters and everything. Thanks for the video Dad! I miss you all alot and I hope everything is going well.

love,

Elder Smith

P.S. Hey if you want anything from Brasil let me know because my companion is heading back at the beginning of August and so if you want anything (bracelets, rings, brazilian flavored juice packets) i can send them with him in a box and it will be very cheap to send.