Monday, December 29, 2014

Obituary.....

Today we would like to commemorate the life of Sister Miranda Smith. She passes away on December 31st leaving her old life to embark on a new journey in a world that is unknown to many. 
Sister Smith lived a wonderful life full of door knocking and sharing the gospel to all that she could. She was born in Mt. Pleasant, MI to Melissa Hunt who passed on about 6 months ago. Sister Smith learned how to work and adjusted to being a missionary. She learned very much from her trainer and remembers the sweet love and kindness that was shown to her as she was still getting to know how to be a missionary. 
She was then able to spread her wings and her transfers took her to Midland 1st ward where she spent 6 months of her life. She served with Sister Whipple and endured one of the harshest winters that Michigan has seen in many years. She survived the polar vortex! Together Sister Whipple and her knocked on doors all the day long but never lost hope of finding those that would receive them. 
The time then came for Sister Whipple to move and then Sister Greene came in. Their time together was short but many laughs happened and also a lot of learning about how to work with members! 
After Sister's Smith long stay in Midland she was transferred to Williamston which is outside East Lansing. There she was in a trio and learned more about how she had that desire to bring others to Christ. While serving there she was told that she would be training! Her first daughter's name is Sister Morrison who now resides in Wyoming, MI. Their hard work and effort helped the Williamston area to take root and they saw many miracles take place! 
Her life took an unexpected turn! In July she was told that she would be having another daughter and that she would white wash the area of Bay City. Sister Jordan, her second daughter, came into the field running! Together they too witnessed many miracles in Bay City! the work was definitely hastening there, the flood gates were opening! While there they also go to participate in the River of Time which is where they lived as the Mormon Battalion for a few days. Many memories were made. Sister Jordan still resides in Bay City. 
Once again her time had come to an end and another unexpected twist happened, she would be adopting a daughter! This took Sister Smith back to some of her old roots in Midland but this time being in the 2nd ward! Together Sister Chisholm and Smith built a great relationship and they laughed and taught one another many things. They were saddened by the thought that their time together might come to an end..... but! They received the news that they would would be getting a daughter! Yeah!!! They joy that they had! 
The legend of Sister Smith will live on through her children and grandchildren. She is very pleased with them and happy to have had the opportunity to serve with all of them! 
Sister Smith in her last days has been with Sister Lau and Sister Chisholm in her home away from home, Midland. As she has reflected on her life she is go grateful for the opportunity to live as a missionary and to have served with such wonderful people. Her testimony of the gospel has grown and she wouldn't be who she is today without her mission in the Michigan Lansing Mission. She knows with all her heart that the teachings of Christ are true and that as we all follow them we will receive the greatest amounts of happiness and joy. Because of her mission her life has been forever changed and as well she has been able to see the lives of others change which she is eternally grateful for. She invites all to come unto Christ and partake of His atonement and the peace that comes with it! She loves you all and is thankful for the support and love that has been shown to her the year and a half. Until we meet again! 
Love Always, 

Sister Smith 

3 DAYS!!!!!!!

Hey Family and Friends!!!!! 
So background to the 3 days thing is that well it is 3 days til Christmas but also our mission basically has like a theme CD and basically everyone in the mission knows that songs and if you don't you will soon get to know them because that is basically what everyone in the mission listens to! It is called "Lamb of God" best thing in the world! 
Monday: We went to Santa House!!! It was totally legit because we were able to go when Santa wasn't there and it was supposed to be closed but the lady let us in! Santa House is this house in town that is all decorated and stuff like that and it has moving puppets and it snowed bubbles and crazy awesome things like that!!! It was totally wicked! Also we laughed like crazy!!! It turns out that I'm a lot more funnier then I thought or missionaries just laugh at anything.... either way it was great! 
Tuesday: We had dinner with the Duncans who are some of my favorite members. They fed us steak and sweet potatoes! It was so great! We also got to see this video with David Archuleta in the biggest live nativity ever! I recommend watching that if you haven't seen it! It is wonderful and brings the spirit very strongly! The only thing bad about this whole entire thing is that this was the last time that I would see them! They are going back home for Christmas and won't be back til I'm gone! These are the problems I deal with when I leave so close to the holiday season! It was a great night though! 
Wednesday: We had interviews!!!!!! My interview basically consisted of "why are we even having this interview" haha! Let's just say it was short! Oh, we were able to watch Meet the Mormons again though! That was totally awesome!!!! That movie is top notch for sure! Also that day I went on trade-offs to Mt. Pleasant! It is always strange to go back to where you were trained. I got to see Robert Bronson, the person I first taught! It was awesome! It was also funny to see the growth that has taken place in me and the confidence that I have built up in teaching. Experience really does add a lot! Awww I just love everything about missions! It's the greatest!!! 
Thursday: So we had dinner with a family in our ward and we were invited to play the chimes with them at our Christmas party and so we practiced with them and it was super funny! Bro. Carn is hilarious and kept making us practice over and over again. It was really funny and we had a lot of laughs just trying to practice our song. 
Friday: Oh this was really great! We were door knocking and we were able to talk to this man for a while. He works with a lot of LDS members and they have really impacted him a great way. He asked us a few questions and he told us that he had read half the Book of Mormon which surprisingly happens more then you would think. He also told us that us talking to him will probably have some sort of impact on him in his life, maybe not today or tomorrow but someday it probably will. That was pretty sweet! He really wasn't interested in learning more at this time but hey it was still great! See, members are legit! 
Saturday: Our Christmas party!!!!! It was a lot of fun! There was a TON of ham and cheesy potatoes and lots of green beans...... typical. Haha! We performed our chimes and it actually turned out pretty well! I' d say that it was a success for sure! Oh also a member went door knocking with me and she said that we had guts for doing what we do! Haha it's funny because door knocking has become second nature to me, it's basically part of my daily routine now. Oh also we met this women named Kim, at a different time then with the member, and she told us that she had prayed to have someone come and talk to her and show her what she needed to do. It was awesome! I don't think I've ever really had that on my mission so I am grateful for that! 
Sunday: It's Christmas Sunday!!!!! I learned a lot in gospel principles which was totally great! I loved it! I love being able to learn new things and always growing in the gospel. I think that shows how much Heavenly Father loves us because we can always learn and progress! We also were blessed to have a really great lesson with Penny and Don McCormick! It was on church and I am just so grateful for the spirit and how much it helps me do the things that I need to do! I also love the scriptures and I know that they are the words of Christ and they speak to the soul so much better then I ever could. I love it so much! 
Spiritual Thought: I want to share my testimony about our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that He lives! I know that He was born for a purpose and that He came to earth to do the Father's will because He loves us. I know that His love never changes and that it is always there for us to partake of. We never have to feel alone or forgotten because the Savior has descended lower then us all and we are not greater then He. I know that it was because of our Heavenly Father's love for us that He sent His Only Begotten Son and because of Him we can be forever changed. I know that the Book of Mormon testifies of our Savior and will bring us closer to Him then any other book. Let us all remember the true spirit of Christmas which is the Spirit of Christ! In the name of Jesus the Christ, amen. 
Love Always and have a Very Merry Christmas, 
Sister Smith 


I HATE CHRISTMAS...countdowns

Howdy Everyone!!! 
 I hope that all ya'll are having a grand ole' time counting down to Christmas because let me tell ya it is no fun for me like at all! That is my little rant for the day. 
Anyways, this week we were very blessed with many things... take a glance! 
Monday: We went to the tridge! I've been in Midland 9 months and I had never gone to the tridge and we finally went!!!! Yes!!! The tridge is a 3 way bridge by the way. It was a sweet victory!
Tuesday: We were out door knocking and we met this guy named Shawn and he had the biggest smile ever and he loved that we were talking about Jesus! He loves God a lot and he wants to follow him! He has a really great conversion story about how he came to Christ. He was just so excited and he went to give us handshakes and he was like aww just give me a hug! HaHA!!!! It was super funny cause he hugged me first and I looked over at Sister Lau and Sister Chisholm.... haha! It is seriously the funniest thing when you get randomly hugged and well we're just awkward about all of it. Luckily though he became a potential investigator and gave us a referral! 
Wednesday: Um.. we had a totally awesome lesson with Jason again!!!!!! Like what??? This man needs to be baptized because that is basically the only thing he has left to do! He was talking all about D&C and what he learned! We talked about the Word of Wisdom and he took it very well actually! Keep praying for him! 
Thursday: We got to help out with decorations as a service opportunity! I love helping with those things because it reminds me of home in a good way not a distracting sort of way! Also it is a super fun way to give service! Also we heard an awesome Michigan Christmas song like it talks about Christmas in Michigan and the wind blows at the end oh man it's great!  
Friday: We have been so blessed with really great weather while walking and with finding potential investigators! People have actually been open to talking with us more and it is wonderful! We love it! It is nice to carry on conversations and AND people aren't saying come back after the holidays! What the?? This Christmas season is nothing like last Christmas!!! 
Saturday: We basically had a whole day that consisted of finding and door knocking. It went well and we were able to talk to a lot of people. I think our door approaches are getting better as well! Also we get to share He is the Gift with everyone. Sadly some people still deny the Gift but many accept it! 
Sunday: We taught Relief Society!!! The greatest thing about it was the fact that we got the lesson the night before.... Luckily the spirit totally provides help when you keep praying and praying and asking for help! It went well and luckily we had a lot of comments that were given! #blessed! 
Spiritual Thought: Today in studies I came across a scripture which is great! It is Helaman 3:35 and it talks about how when we fast and pray we will wax stronger and stronger in humility and we will be able to have a firmer faith in Christ! I love how is prayer the helps us to remain humble which ultimately strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ. It also says that as we do this things we will be filled with joy and consolation which means to receive comfort. As we do these things I know that we will be able to come closer to our Savior Jesus Christ and be purified and sanctified which means we'll become consecrated to the Lord. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 
 Love Always, 

Sister Smith 

Not Eternity Week!!!!

Dearest Family and Friends! 
  How is everyone doing?? I hope all is going well wherever you may be! Can you believe that Christmas is only 17 days away! Wow how time flies!! That is seriously so crazy!! I hope that you all have had the chance to watch the He is the Gift video produced by the church! It is so wonderful and I just love it!!!! If you haven't seen it take the 3 minutes to watch it then share it with everyone else!! :D
Monday: Oh man! We have a very crazy P-Day! We were running around like mad people! We did however get to ride in the transfer van which is always the greatest! Also I saw Sister Morrison!!!!!! It was a complete gift to see her!!!! It's funny because I've just been praying to see her before I leave and I got to!!! Heavenly Father sincerely cares about the small and simple things of our lives! 
Tuesday: Alright, I was in a trio on MSU campus with Sister Tate, Sister Chisholm and I and we personal contacted on campus all day long..... lets just say it was a tiring day. Oh funny story we were door knocking apartments and we talked to this guy named Franco and he really was not interested in what we had to say so after talking to him just a bit we said bye and walked down the hall to knock on another door but we realized that they had shouted "Go Away" earlier at us so we walked back towards his apartment. As we knocked on another door we heard Franco say "THey're sisters! That's why they're so religious, they can't find a man!" Sister Tate looks at us and says "We're not nuns!" I about died from laughing! I had to actually leave the hallway so they couldn't hear us laugh! it was a great moment! Memories! 
Wednesday: We got to go to the hospital and take a break from PCing which we were really grateful for! We sang Christmas hymns to people in the hospital which was very sweet but I still find hospitals a little eerie.... that's just me though. 
Thursday: We finally got to pick up our new companion!!!!!! YEAH!!!! Her name is Sister Lau! She is from Buckeye AZ which is awesome! She was born in England which is pretty sweet and her dad is from Hong Kong! Haha her first time door knocking we knocked into this man who totally criticized the Book of Mormon and denied Sister Chisholm's testimony..... now if that doesn't break you in I don't know what will! She is great though! 
Friday: We got to walk through the Midland Nativity Exhibit with our investigator Jason! He loved it which was great! And we loved it as well! It seriously was amazing. I've already seen it and this year it was just great again! I would love to come back to Midland every year to see it! You feel the spirit of Christmas so much it is amazing! It has a special spirit. 
Saturday: I just want to say that the weather in Michigan has been amazing and I'm pretty sure Heavenly Father is giving us all a break because of last year and I am so eternally grateful for this blessing of high 30s! I mean I don't really even have to wear tights! When I come home it's shorts and a short sleeve! We also helped at the Nativity that night as well! 
Sunday: We had a wonderful fast and testimony meeting with both of our wards!!! Awww can I just tell all of you how much I love Midland. It seriously is my home away from home! I love the wards and the people and I don't want to leave it! I just love Midland Stake! I'm pretty sure I'm just going to come back and live here (sorry mom and dad) :D Also I realized that this was my last fast and testimony meeting on my mission...... what the!!! I was fighting so much about getting up but my heart was beating and I couldn't hold it back any longer! I just had to share one last time and it was with everyone that I love so it was a sweet treat that my Heavenly Father gave me. 
Spiritual Thought: I hope that you all enjoyed the Christmas Devotional last night, I know I did! It was so great! I loved the songs the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang! It brought a very sweet spirit into the chapel. I wanted to talk about a thought that came to me while watching. It was "Service heals the wounded Soul" I have learned so much about serving others while on my mission. It is one of the greatest healing balms ever. There is nothing quite like forgetting yourself and helping another one of God's children. We can be the Savior's hands while we are here in mortality. I feel like service is one of the greatest things that our Savior was an exemplar of. He served everywhere he went and as disciples of Christ we are invited to do the same. I know that our hearts will be filled and the cracks that we may feel during this season or anytime of the year can be healed and mended by our loving service towards our fellow brothers and sisters. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 
Love Always, 

Sister Smith 

Grateful in any Circumstances!

Dear Family and Friends! 
  As you feasted this Thanksgiving I hope that we were all able to feast upon the words of Christ. There is a quote that goes "You don't have to read your scriptures everyday just only on the days that you want to eat." We always remember to feed our stomachs now we need to always remember to feed our spirits! 
This week was a little bit of a crazy one but all things are well and in working order! Take a peak into my week! 
Monday: We played volleyball as a district and that was seriously so much fun! We played for a few hours. I'm surprised it didn't get really intense because we have a lot of competitive people but we didn't keep score just like that whitehand book says and I really think that helped us out. Haha we all had the most red arms but we all were laughing! The p-days are so great! 
Tuesday: This day was a little nuts too! We had to get our oil changed and tire rotated for our car in the middle of the day so we were car less for like 4 hours, but luckily we got it back but the late afternoon which is a lot faster then we thought and we were able to continue in full force our missionary efforts in Midland! haha! 
Wednesday: We had our final district meeting of the transfer which is always sad but fun because we get to take pictures and things like that. We had one of the most amazing lessons though! It was seriously so great! It was with Jason! Every single time we teach him I'm pretty sure I get taught more then him! We had a church tour with him and he loved it! He loves the way he felt while he sat in the chapel. We talked about the sacrament and why it's important and we also talked about fasting and how he could fast about how to help his wife understand and accept him being taught by the missionaries. Sister Chisholm and I walked away from the lesson just in aww of Jason and his desire to truly come unto Christ. #soblessed! 
Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving!!!! Alright we went door knocking and my experience was not like last years! We met this super nice woman named Janice, she wasn't interested but she was just so kind and it was just nice not to get yelled at. The actual feast part of Thanksgiving was wonderful! We had it with recent converts in our ward who we are love! Sister Chisholm and I helped make some of the food as well. We also watched The Restoration with them. It really was great! There was so much food! Oh and I only went to one dinner. I don't think I could handle two anyways. But this is not all to our Thanksgiving festivities..... We came home from our dinner appointment to grab bike helmets for the elders and well... we came home to a flooded kitchen and soaking wet carpet! Grateful in any circumstances for sure! Sister Chisholm and I walked through the door and just started to laugh because we didn't know what to do! After laughing and wondering what we should do we called the district leader. We had a full clean up crew! Oh man it was seriously so funny! we did not know anything. We finally called the maintenance people who came and checked it out. They called this water sucker guy and he came and sucked the water out of our carpet at 12:30 in the morning..... it was a long night to say the least and we're still expected to wake up in the morning at 6:30. Lets just say we've been praying for patience and we got it! :D
Friday: Our apartment is a huge mess and we have to weekly plan with people coming in and out of our apartment.... haha! It was kind of hard to focus and on top of it all we had transfer calls which already gets you a little uneasy. Luckily we got our phone call after an agonizing wait we found out that Sister Chisholm and I will be staying together and that we will be training together til I get transfered. We are super excited about it and look forward to the time that we have together! It's going to be great! 
Saturday: We got a new investigator!!!! Yeah!!!! We are so excited! It is a guy named Jared. He has two kids they are 6 and 3. We gave him a chruch tour which went well. He also got to meet members from the ward which was great! Unfortunately... he works on Sundays.... we're glad he has a job but we're going to have to help him find a way to get to church! :D Prayer is a powerful thing! 
Sunday: It was so great to go to church and take the sacrament. I love the testimony that I have been able to build on my mission for the sacrament it truly brings me peace into my heart as I take it and remember my covenants and Savior. We had a really good lesson with our investigator Penny! We really focused on using the scriptures and testifying to what they say and it brought great power to our lesson and it was wonderful. It reminds my of one of my favorite scriptures 2 Nephi 33:10 which talks about the Book of Mormon being the words of Christ! I know the scriptures are true! 
Spiritual Thought: In my studies I have been reading a lot about the wars in the Book of Mormon and what I have been getting from them a lot is that it is so important to be prepared for the things to come! It is so important that we prepare for what is so come. It also helps to listen to the prophet's voice who is the mouth piece of God. I know that it is so important to prepare and that by listening to the prophet we can be more prepared for the things which are to come. Follow the Prophet! In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 
Love Always, 

Sister Smith 

And so it begins.....

Hey Family and Friends!!! 
And so it begins..... hats, boots, gloves, layers, Christmas carols, snow ball fights and.... come back after the holidays..... :D 
The struggle is real during the holiday season! Everyone gets really busy with all this holiday stuff when really all we want to do is share a wonderful message about Jesus Christ! Luckily we are part of this thing that they church is doing called He is the Gift! We get to pass out cards and talk about this which is wonderful because so many people here in Midland love Christ so we are going to try to help them receive the fullness of his gospel in that way!! YEAH!!!!! 
Monday: We had dinner with the Jenkins and that was super fun! They have a ton of little kids and I kind of forgot what it was like to have so many kids running around a house and being well like a family! I love the chance that I get as a missionary to be in a home with families from our ward and learn from them and see how to have a gospel centered family! Members are so wonderful. Remember how much the missionaries look up to you and all that you do! 
Tuesday: Oh man we had an amazing one-third mission event! The spirit was so strong and I just loved it so much!!! I learned a ton too! We learned to practice teach better so that we could improve our finding. We also learned how to plan lessons more effectively. We talked a lot about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and how it is important that we represent our Savior in everything that we do! I am so blessed to be surrounded by great missionaries who desire to serve the Lord and who are doing all that they can to become better people. I love getting together in large groups of missionaries. Oh also we sang the song "Because I have been Given Much" but we added a verse to it that goes....
Because of thy life's mission Lord I too will serve
I'll leave the comfort of my home to teach thy word
I'll seek thy sheep who've gone astray and those who've never known the way
I'll make thy work my work today
It brought the the spirit so strongly and I know that missionary work is part of God's plan to help all of us come unto Christ! 
Wednesday: Oh man a lot of our lessons cancelled on us and that was a bummer because it was kind of cold and snowy... We also went to check on someone in our area book and oh man they think that we are confused and that we are on the wrong path. Not gonna lie when those things happen I love the opportunity I get to testify of the truth and of Joseph Smith as a prophet of God. I know that this gospel is true, this is Christ's church on the earth today. 
Thursday: We helped one of our investigators put of their Christmas lights and boy was it cold!!! The sun was out luckily but that wind went straight to the bone for sure! We have a lot of fun setting up lights and enjoying time getting to know Sister McCormick better. She is so sweet and we just want her to be baptized! 
Friday: We walked into an interesting man.... I'm not exactly sure how to describe him.We were talking and he said that he was too busy to talk to us. I told my that busy meant B: Being U: under S: satan's Y: yield. He laughed at it and said it wasn't true but I think it totally is.  He was kind to us but just kept saying that we were wasting our time talking to him. I've decided that when you're sharing the gospel to someone who is still talking to you your time is never wasted. I just do my best to keep talking to them. People are so funny and great! 
Saturday: I GOT TO WALK IN A PARADE!!!! My mission has given my so many awesome opportunities!!! I love it!!! We got to walk in the Santa Parade and it was super kind of cold but it was so fun! We passed out flyers for the Midland Nativity Exhibit and we passed out candy! It was seriously so fun and we just smiled and waved and well spread Christmas cheer! It was so wonderful! 
Sunday: We met a former investigator and it was great! She wasn't really interested in learning more but she loves the standards that the church has set. We talked to her about the For Strength of Youth and Personal Progress and how it helps us to become better mothers and fathers and that really interested her. We're hoping that that will spike her interest again. Whatever way the gospel helps! ;D 
Spiritual Thought: In Alma 49 in verse 3 it says "Behold, I said that the city of Ammonihah had been rebuilt. I say unto you, yea, that it was in part rebuilt; and because the Lamanites had destroyed it once because of the iniquity of the people, they supposed that it would again become an easy prey for them." This made me think about how when we make mistakes we can be rebuilt through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. That damage that has been made because of our past iniquity or the past iniquity of others can and will be repaired through the Atonement. I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and that we can be forgiven and healed. I know that we can be rebuilt and become a new city that is fortified against the fiery darts of the adversary. The power of the Atonement is real and it can heal even the deepest wounds. Come unto Christ and be healed through His infinite sacrifice which is there for all of us to partake of every single day of our lives. The debt has already been paid, it is our choice to accept it or not.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 
Love Always, 

Sister Smith 

Time is a tickin'

Dear Amigos!!! 
   So we have a new rule in the mission that we can only email for 90 minutes so that is why the subject is that. We also got the rule that we will not be allowed to drive cars on Saturdays... lame but blessings will come from being obedient. Sometimes we don't always understand why but we do it because we know that others know better than us. So this week we great just like every week and well I learned a lot and got spiritually fed a lot as well! 
Monday: We had a totally awesome FHE with a member. She is amazing and is really strong. She's had a lot go on in her life recently and she was just so grateful that we could come over and share that time with her. I also gained a stronger testimony of how important it is to always have FHE!!! When the family gets together after evening work is done we learn to love each other by popping corn and having fun!!! (I think that is the lyrics I could totally be wrong) 
Tuesday: We had a lesson with our potential investigator named Hunter and it was great! He listened intently and the spirit was really there. He said that he had a few questions but that though out the lesson we had answered them. The member that we took with us, Sister Savage, asked what those questions were and he said "Why would I need the Book of Mormon?" and "How could the Book of Mormon help me?" It was amazing! I love finding people who are interested in the Book of Mormon because then you know that they are prepared!!! The elect resonate with the Book of Mormon! We also had dinner with a new couple in our ward and we love them! They are awesome! They actually just moved here from Tacoma Washington and Kelly Muro served in their ward and they had a picture of him on their refrigerator! That world is so small especially if you are a mormon!  
Wednesday: We had dinner with the pierce family and I just want to comment on how polite their boys were. They are 14, 12 and 9! They responded well to questions and they didn't argue with their mom and also they took our plates away after eating. It was just great! I want my kids to be that polite that would just be marvelous. 
Thursday: Alright, this was our first full day on bikes this week and boy was it cold!!!!!! Our toes were about to fall off they were so cold. As we were door knocking we just kept thinking "oh man it is going to get colder and this is only the beginning." I honestly don't know how I made it through last winter. Whenever anyone asks I just say "by the pure grace of God," which is very true. I wouldn't have been able to if I didn't have a testimony of the gospel and angels round about me the entire time! 
Friday: We met with the Woods family and we watched some Mormon messages and holy cow they are amazing! The church is really using technology to make the world a better place and I love it! There is a new video called "You don't Know" and it really is amazing and it brings tears to my eyes just about every time I watch it! The Lord truly knows what we need to do and we are made instruments in his hands more then we think! 
Saturday: We had stake conference adult session and it was amazing. The spirit was so strong and I was spiritually fed so much! I came away with tons of notes and having a greater desire to do better. It was also great because we were able to see Pres. Jacobsen and he called all the missionaries serving in the stake to come up and sing "Called to Serve" it was really powerful and it almost, key word, almost started to cry but I didn't because we have reason to rejoice and no need for tears! 
Sunday: Cool thing. Sister Chisholm and I got to eat lunch with Tilah Parker who is the sister of Jabarie Parker an NBA player who was quoted in last April's General Conference. STAKE CONFERENCE!!!! I think there is a theme going on here or a message that must be received because 2 of the people in the stake presidency talked about following the prophet and let us not forget that 2 General Conference talks were given on the same topic. I think Heavenly Father is trying to tell us something..... FOLLOW THE PROPHET!! In all sincerity though stake conference is wonderful! I loved it and my testimony deepened about the gospel and about how important it is to take notes in a meeting and really how much you put into it is how much you get out of it. I feel like the gospel really is centered on that concept. I know that the effort that we put into listening to talks will not be wasted and that we will be able to know that the Lord wants us to hear through his servants. 
Spiritual Thought: In stake conference our stake president talked about a plane accident that happened I think in the 70s. In this incident the pilots didn't realize that the plane was descending and before they could pull up the plane crashed killing many on the flight. I thought about this and I thought about when we get preoccupied with worldly things we don't recognize that we are slowly descending by degree and when we finally realize this, we crash. I makes me think of a story in the Book of Mormon. An evil captain of the Lamanites, who is compared to Satan, slowly poisons his other captain by degree so that he doesn't even know that he is being poisoned! That is how Satan is attacking us and that is how he has always attacked us. He slowly brings us down to hell. That is a little scary, but luckily we are told that we can avoid that fiery darts of the adversary by reading our scriptures, praying and all those small and simple things that really turn out to be the great deciding factors of our futures. I know that I talk a ton about the small and simple things but I'm telling ya these things are what help us to build our foundations on Jesus Christ. I've been on the other side where Satan was slowly bringing me down, and it wasn't a joyful happy life. I'm now string everyday to do the small and simple things and I've never received  so much happiness in my life! I love every minute of everyday! This is the key to true happiness! It'll save us from slowly decreasing. I know that as we do the small and simple things that the Lord has commanded us to do we will go "onward and upward" and we will find everlasting joy! In the name of Jesus the Christ, amen.
Love Always, 

Sister Smith    

Helaman's Army!

Dearest Family and Friends! 
   This week has been TOTALLY WICKED!!!! I am just loving life and enjoying every second of being a missionary. I love that as a missionary you learn and grow and you are able to be stretched more then you could ever imagine. Sister Chisholm and I have been talking about how much we change in such a short amount of time because of our missions. It would take like 30 years to learn what we learn in about 18 months, as long as we let it! How cool is that! 
This is what my week consisted of! 
Monday: We had a lesson with a recent convert named Heather! I love her so much! She is a huge inspiration to me! She is only 18 and she amazes me every single time I talk to her. The cool part of the story though is that Elder Derricott and Elder Krebs were teaching her while I was in Midland 1st ward and when I left I told her that I was just getting to know her and that I was so sad that I wouldn't get to know her more. She then moved to Midland 2nd ward and well so did I!!! I love how the Lord works!!! Also I've realized that some of the best members are converts and those who haven't been found yet. 
Tuesday: Oh man this was a good day! Sister Chisholm and I were driving and then we saw this older woman carrying bags of leaves our to her curb so we decided to park the car and get out and help her. We got out and asked if she needed our help and she said no. Well... okay so we started talking about our purpose as missionaries. and asked if she needed our help after talking a bit more. No she said again. We talked to her more and then we asked a third time to help her and she finally said yes!!! We were so excited that someone actually wanted our help! It was totally great! 
Wednesday: Oh man we had one of the most spiritual lessons in my entire life!! It was amazing!!! We were all on the same page and we were intune with the spirit and it was just amazing. We were teaching our investigator named Jason! He has been taught for about 4 years now. He opened up to us a lot! It is amazing! I really can't even describe it, it was just like you could feel how much Heavenly Father loved this man and you could just feel the potential that Jason has as he comes unto Christ. I love being a missionary, experiences of a life time! 
Thursday: Alright this is awesome! There is a woman who just moved here from Tennessee and she loved the members there. She came to the building and asked to know if there was anyone who could babysit her kids. Well they put us in charge of talking to her. We met with her and she knows a ton about the church!! It is awesome! She was talking to us and telling us that she was feeling the spirit! She is so prepared but she doesn't really know it. She is a devout Catholic actually.... keep her in your prayers! She's great! Her name is Julia! 
Friday: Let's see.... it started to snow! It was crazy!!! We were racking leaves and it was cold! We had a lot of fun though and I love doing service it really just makes you feel so good inside. I love the scriptures Matthew 25:40 and Mosiah 2:17 which both talk about service and how we serve our fellowman we are serving God. We also went to a member's home and made pizza which was great! We played Catch Phrase and our team totally won! It was great! We were all laughing and really enjoying that time that we had together as a district! 
Saturday: I'd say the miracle of the day/week was the fact that Sister Chisholm and I have been praying for referrals and we got 3 in one day! It was totally amazing! We were like well pray really works! We know that already but is always nice when you have your testimony strengthened because of it! 
Sunday: I learned a lot about how important it is to listen to the spirit and how much the spirit can really help you in lessons. Sister Chisholm and I had a lesson planned for our investigator to watch a movie but unfortunately they didn't have a DVD player that works. Sister Chisholm and I didn't have a back up lesson but we were able to listen to the spirit and have unity with each other and we were able to have a good lesson with them. I am so grateful for the spirit. I know that without him I would not be a good missionary. It is so important that we live our lives in a way that we will be able to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost because he helps us in every aspect of our lives! 
Spiritual Thought: Alright so I have been obsessed with studying about the small and simple things that bring us closer to Christ in our everyday lives! Sister Chisholm loves running and today in studies I made an analogy about running and doing the small and simple things. "When you are running a marathon every step that you take brings you closer to the finish line. It is by those small and simple steps that you are able to make that great distance. The same is with the small and simple things of the gospel. As we read our scriptures and pray everyday, attend church weekly and attend the temple on a regular basis we are getting closer to the end goal which is eternal life. We can't stop doing the small and simple things in the middle of life and think we'll get to the finish line just like you can't stop in the middle of a race and quit. We can't expect to finish a race that we never start either so we must start now to do the small and simple things in life. Remember we've been trained for this. We know what we need to do. We know how to receive eternal life, now we must go and finish our race by taking it one small and simple thing at a time." I know that by small and simple things great things are brought to pass. They will lead you to eternal life. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 
Love Always, 

Sister Smith 

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Everyday I'm Snufflin'

HeY HEY hEY!!!!!! 
   I hope that everyone is doing well and that they are prepping for the holiday season! The winter wonderland has commenced which is pretty exciting and not all at the same time... haha! We are in for a long winter here in Michigan I'm pretty sure but that's okay because well the work of the Lord still moves forward which is always great! So the reason my title is everyday I'm snifflin' is because I've been sick these last few days.... which I've decided is the worst thing that is possible as a missionary because all you want to do it work and when you're sick you're either inside or you are half dying while you are out working... so that's what half of my week has been like. 
Monday: So in the mission we have a new guideline saying that we can only email for 90 minutes which is pretty nice actually. What else is cool is that we can also be with our districts on P-Day as well. We can like go out bowling or do other things as a district which is pretty awesome! We took advantage of that rule and played pool, ping-pong and catch phrase with our district! It was pretty fun! 
Tuesday: I was on trade offs with Sister Mortensen in Midland. It was fun to be with her again. She is so great and it is so cool how we are going to go home together! We taught a less-active member and what was so great is that we planned something completely different then what we actually taught. I love how the spirit can work through both you and your companion to really teach to the needs of those whom you are talking to. 
Wednesday: We had a super great district meeting all about the Book of Mormon and how we could use it to teach with greater power and authority. I absolutely love the Book of Mormon. I never thought that I'd be able to learn so much from one book. It truly is the word of God and brings you closer to Jesus Christ as you read it! We also had a really great dinner with a family in the ward. I learned a lot about how Heavenly Father loves every single one of his children and that he can take our experiences to help other people with theirs. We also had a great lesson with our investigator Jason. Jason is kind of hard to describe because he is so great! His wife is Catholic and he has been talking to her about being more open to exploring different religions. He has a strong testimony of the gospel and I know that he will be baptized, he's still praying on a date. 
Thursday: We weekly planned again!!!! Yeah!! We tried it a different way and Sister Chisholm really liked it which is awesome so we are going to keep it that way. We just changed up how we are using the white boards to plan. We also had a lesson with Valerie going over the baptismal interview questions because her interview was going to be latter that day. Her interview went well and she was set to be baptized!!! Yeah!!! 
Friday: We taught seminary!!!!!!!! We had to wake up at like 5:30 but it was so great! I totally forgot what seminary was like and kind of what high school students are like. You have some who answer every question and then you have some who never really answer. All those who read this and attend seminary pay attention while you are there! You can learn and grow so much in that 50 minutes that you are there and it will bless you for the rest of your life! We also met with a family in the ward and there are amazing! I just love working with the members and being strengthened with them. Members need strength just as much as our investigators and I think I learned that a lot this week. 
Saturday: Valerie was baptized!!! YEAH!!! It was a great service! She was so happy and there were so many people who came to support her. She and a young man from the ward sang "A Child's Prayer" and that was wonderful! That song really touches the heart and helps you to realize that Heavenly Father really is there and is waiting for us to call upon him and ask him our questions! 
Sunday: This was a bit of a struggle because I felt pretty sick, but I went to church and then I went home and took a nap during lunch. After my nap we had studies and then we went out to contact some potential investigators and no one of biting for the gospel so we went door knocking. We met some people... they weren't super interested but that's okay! We invited them to the Midland Nativity Exhibit which they were much more open about! I love the Nativity Exhibit! It opens a lot of doors! 
Spiritual Thought: In Gospel Principles we had a wonderful lesson on prayer! It was a great reminder about how important it is to commune with our Father in Heaven. There are so many different reasons why we pray like to invite the spirit, for forgiveness, to have strength to resist temptation, gratitude, charity, strength to live the gospel and the list can go on and on. Something else that we touched on was the fact that prayer is an opportunity to build a relationship with God. Prayer is designed for us. I love the opportunity to have to kneel down every morning and evening and say a prayer. I've learned that it is important to tell Heavenly Father everything. He wants to listen and help us with the things we are going through. I love that opportunity to pour my soul out to my Father and in return He brings me feelings of peace and of comfort. Prayer is one of the most powerful tools that we have been given. On my mission I've had the chance to really gain a testimony that Heavenly Father truly is our Father. We can go to him for anything and everything. He is just waiting for us to make that connection with him. I know that as we pray sincerely that we will gain a testimony that  our Father in Heaven loves us. We will know that he is aware of us and our situations and I know that he is. In the name of Jesus the Christ, amen. 
Love Always, 

Sister Smith 

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Time is a tickin

Dear Amigos!!! 
   So we have a new rule in the mission that we can only email for 90 minutes so that is why the subject is that. We also got the rule that we will not be allowed to drive cars on Saturdays... lame but blessings will come from being obedient. Sometimes we don't always understand why but we do it because we know that others know better than us. So this week we great just like every week and well I learned a lot and got spiritually fed a lot as well! 
Monday: We had a totally awesome FHE with a member. She is amazing and is really strong. She's had a lot go on in her life recently and she was just so grateful that we could come over and share that time with her. I also gained a stronger testimony of how important it is to always have FHE!!! When the family gets together after evening work is done we learn to love each other by popping corn and having fun!!! (I think that is the lyrics I could totally be wrong) 
Tuesday: We had a lesson with our potential investigator named Hunter and it was great! He listened intently and the spirit was really there. He said that he had a few questions but that though out the lesson we had answered them. The member that we took with us, Sister Savage, asked what those questions were and he said "Why would I need the Book of Mormon?" and "How could the Book of Mormon help me?" It was amazing! I love finding people who are interested in the Book of Mormon because then you know that they are prepared!!! The elect resonate with the Book of Mormon! We also had dinner with a new couple in our ward and we love them! They are awesome! They actually just moved here from Tacoma Washington and Kelly Muro served in their ward and they had a picture of him on their refrigerator! That world is so small especially if you are a mormon!  
Wednesday: We had dinner with the pierce family and I just want to comment on how polite their boys were. They are 14, 12 and 9! They responded well to questions and they didn't argue with their mom and also they took our plates away after eating. It was just great! I want my kids to be that polite that would just be marvelous. 
Thursday: Alright, this was our first full day on bikes this week and boy was it cold!!!!!! Our toes were about to fall off they were so cold. As we were door knocking we just kept thinking "oh man it is going to get colder and this is only the beginning." I honestly don't know how I made it through last winter. Whenever anyone asks I just say "by the pure grace of God," which is very true. I wouldn't have been able to if I didn't have a testimony of the gospel and angels round about me the entire time! 
Friday: We met with the Woods family and we watched some Mormon messages and holy cow they are amazing! The church is really using technology to make the world a better place and I love it! There is a new video called "You don't Know" and it really is amazing and it brings tears to my eyes just about every time I watch it! The Lord truly knows what we need to do and we are made instruments in his hands more then we think! 
Saturday: We had stake conference adult session and it was amazing. The spirit was so strong and I was spiritually fed so much! I came away with tons of notes and having a greater desire to do better. It was also great because we were able to see Pres. Jacobsen and he called all the missionaries serving in the stake to come up and sing "Called to Serve" it was really powerful and it almost, key word, almost started to cry but I didn't because we have reason to rejoice and no need for tears! 
Sunday: Cool thing. Sister Chisholm and I got to eat lunch with Tilah Parker who is the sister of Jabarie Parker an NBA player who was quoted in last April's General Conference. STAKE CONFERENCE!!!! I think there is a theme going on here or a message that must be received because 2 of the people in the stake presidency talked about following the prophet and let us not forget that 2 General Conference talks were given on the same topic. I think Heavenly Father is trying to tell us something..... FOLLOW THE PROPHET!! In all sincerity though stake conference is wonderful! I loved it and my testimony deepened about the gospel and about how important it is to take notes in a meeting and really how much you put into it is how much you get out of it. I feel like the gospel really is centered on that concept. I know that the effort that we put into listening to talks will not be wasted and that we will be able to know that the Lord wants us to hear through his servants. 
Spiritual Thought: In stake conference our stake president talked about a plane accident that happened I think in the 70s. In this incident the pilots didn't realize that the plane was descending and before they could pull up the plane crashed killing many on the flight. I thought about this and I thought about when we get preoccupied with worldly things we don't recognize that we are slowly descending by degree and when we finally realize this, we crash. I makes me think of a story in the Book of Mormon. An evil captain of the Lamanites, who is compared to Satan, slowly poisons his other captain by degree so that he doesn't even know that he is being poisoned! That is how Satan is attacking us and that is how he has always attacked us. He slowly brings us down to hell. That is a little scary, but luckily we are told that we can avoid that fiery darts of the adversary by reading our scriptures, praying and all those small and simple things that really turn out to be the great deciding factors of our futures. I know that I talk a ton about the small and simple things but I'm telling ya these things are what help us to build our foundations on Jesus Christ. I've been on the other side where Satan was slowly bringing me down, and it wasn't a joyful happy life. I'm now string everyday to do the small and simple things and I've never received  so much happiness in my life! I love every minute of everyday! This is the key to true happiness! It'll save us from slowly decreasing. I know that as we do the small and simple things that the Lord has commanded us to do we will go "onward and upward" and we will find everlasting joy! In the name of Jesus the Christ, amen.
Love Always, 

Sister Smith    

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Helaman's Army!

Dearest Family and Friends! 
   This week has been TOTALLY WICKED!!!! I am just loving life and enjoying every second of being a missionary. I love that as a missionary you learn and grow and you are able to be stretched more then you could ever imagine. Sister Chisholm and I have been talking about how much we change in such a short amount of time because of our missions. It would take like 30 years to learn what we learn in about 18 months, as long as we let it! How cool is that! 
This is what my week consisted of! 
Monday: We had a lesson with a recent convert named Heather! I love her so much! She is a huge inspiration to me! She is only 18 and she amazes me every single time I talk to her. The cool part of the story though is that Elder Derricott and Elder Krebs were teaching her while I was in Midland 1st ward and when I left I told her that I was just getting to know her and that I was so sad that I wouldn't get to know her more. She then moved to Midland 2nd ward and well so did I!!! I love how the Lord works!!! Also I've realized that some of the best members are converts and those who haven't been found yet. 
Tuesday: Oh man this was a good day! Sister Chisholm and I were driving and then we saw this older woman carrying bags of leaves our to her curb so we decided to park the car and get out and help her. We got out and asked if she needed our help and she said no. Well... okay so we started talking about our purpose as missionaries. and asked if she needed our help after talking a bit more. No she said again. We talked to her more and then we asked a third time to help her and she finally said yes!!! We were so excited that someone actually wanted our help! It was totally great! 
Wednesday: Oh man we had one of the most spiritual lessons in my entire life!! It was amazing!!! We were all on the same page and we were intune with the spirit and it was just amazing. We were teaching our investigator named Jason! He has been taught for about 4 years now. He opened up to us a lot! It is amazing! I really can't even describe it, it was just like you could feel how much Heavenly Father loved this man and you could just feel the potential that Jason has as he comes unto Christ. I love being a missionary, experiences of a life time! 
Thursday: Alright this is awesome! There is a woman who just moved here from Tennessee and she loved the members there. She came to the building and asked to know if there was anyone who could babysit her kids. Well they put us in charge of talking to her. We met with her and she knows a ton about the church!! It is awesome! She was talking to us and telling us that she was feeling the spirit! She is so prepared but she doesn't really know it. She is a devout Catholic actually.... keep her in your prayers! She's great! Her name is Julia! 
Friday: Let's see.... it started to snow! It was crazy!!! We were racking leaves and it was cold! We had a lot of fun though and I love doing service it really just makes you feel so good inside. I love the scriptures Matthew 25:40 and Mosiah 2:17 which both talk about service and how we serve our fellowman we are serving God. We also went to a member's home and made pizza which was great! We played Catch Phrase and our team totally won! It was great! We were all laughing and really enjoying that time that we had together as a district! 
Saturday: I'd say the miracle of the day/week was the fact that Sister Chisholm and I have been praying for referrals and we got 3 in one day! It was totally amazing! We were like well pray really works! We know that already but is always nice when you have your testimony strengthened because of it! 
Sunday: I learned a lot about how important it is to listen to the spirit and how much the spirit can really help you in lessons. Sister Chisholm and I had a lesson planned for our investigator to watch a movie but unfortunately they didn't have a DVD player that works. Sister Chisholm and I didn't have a back up lesson but we were able to listen to the spirit and have unity with each other and we were able to have a good lesson with them. I am so grateful for the spirit. I know that without him I would not be a good missionary. It is so important that we live our lives in a way that we will be able to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost because he helps us in every aspect of our lives! 
Spiritual Thought: Alright so I have been obsessed with studying about the small and simple things that bring us closer to Christ in our everyday lives! Sister Chisholm loves running and today in studies I made an analogy about running and doing the small and simple things. "When you are running a marathon every step that you take brings you closer to the finish line. It is by those small and simple steps that you are able to make that great distance. The same is with the small and simple things of the gospel. As we read our scriptures and pray everyday, attend church weekly and attend the temple on a regular basis we are getting closer to the end goal which is eternal life. We can't stop doing the small and simple things in the middle of life and think we'll get to the finish line just like you can't stop in the middle of a race and quit. We can't expect to finish a race that we never start either so we must start now to do the small and simple things in life. Remember we've been trained for this. We know what we need to do. We know how to receive eternal life, now we must go and finish our race by taking it one small and simple thing at a time." I know that by small and simple things great things are brought to pass. They will lead you to eternal life. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 
Love Always, 

Sister Smith 

Happy Halloween! From Sister Chisholm and Sister Smith 

Our Super Hero Bay City Zone! 


It is Halloween!

Frightening! 

Service! Raking leaves for Halloween.


and having a pizza party!


Monday, October 27, 2014

Everyday I'm Strugglin'

Hey Hey Hey Everybody!!! 
   Alright this week has been awesome!! Sister Chisholm is great and wonderful! We already are teaching well together and having a great ole' time laughing and getting to know each other. It is a little weird to be in Midland 2nd ward and to have the first ward like right by me but I can tell that I will love this ward just as much I love the first ward. Seriously though I am so excited for this next transfer I think that it is going to be great! Here is a totally random side note: while Sister Chisholm and I were in studies we discovered why missionary time is so weird. The Lord's time is like 1 day to our 1000 days well that is why our 18 months to 2 years feels so short because we are representatives of Jesus Christ therefore our time is going to be off and faster and not seem as long! We answered the million dollars question!!!!! Yeah!!! 
So this week's letter is going to be a little different then other weeks because I forgot my planner. I know that doesn't happen a lot but I did so I'm going to write you about what I studied everyday instead!! 
Monday: I already wrote you about the people of Ammon last week. Just know that I still love that story in The Book of Mormon and those people who changed so much to follow Jesus Christ. 
Tuesday: I was reading in Alma 28 and I got caught on the word light and why Jesus Christ is compared to being the light of the world. I then thought about all the attributes of light. It helps us see more clearly, it is a sense of happiness and warmth, light casts away darkness so light and dark can't occupy the same place. The sun is a great source of light and without it we would all die just like without Christ we would all die as well. Jesus Christ has the attributes of light. He helps us to see the end and helps us get through the darkness. When we have Christ in our lives we are happy and can feel the warm feeling of peace and comfort from the spirit and we follow the example of Christ. Light is a signal of hope and Jesus Christ is our signal of hope and is a beacon for us to follow. 
Wednesday: I ready in Alma 29 and in verse 10 in talks about Christ's merciful arm being extended towards us. I thought about myself and how His arm of mercy has been extended to me many times. I thought more about how I reacted to his arm of mercy. I sometimes turned away because of pride and feelings of unworthiness. I have also found myself latching on to His hand and letting him more fully guide me in my life. I thought more about why is it that we turn away from the Lord and His mercy. I pondered and cam to the realization that it is the small and simple things in life that bring us closer to Christ. I know that as we do those things we shall be guided and have the desire to cling to His hand that is ALWAYS extended out towards us no matter what. 
Thursday: I was reading in Alma 30 in verse 8 and it says "choose ye this day, whom ye will serve." I thought about what leads to the decision to follow Christ and His gospel. I came to the conclusion that it is by experimenting and seeing the fruits of following him. I then thought about why we choose not to follow Christ and the very first thing that came to my mind was pride. Pride keeps us from following Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ which lead me to think about how we can remain humble so that we may follow Christ. I came up with 3 things. 
1) Prayer: when we pray our will aligns with God's will
2) Count your blessings: we have the opportunity to recognize that all things come from the Lord and we are nothing compared to His greatness. 
3) Weaknesses: Ether 12:27- we are given weaknesses that we may be humble. Recognize our weaknesses and turn to the Lord to help them become strengths, they're there for a reason. 
Friday: I was in Alma 30 and I studied about small and simple things and how that helps us discern good from evil. I also studied the Law of Chasity. We talked about how it is one of the hardest commandments to keep because of all the influences that are in the world. We know that to keep the Law of Chastity it starts with our thoughts and how important it is to keep our thoughts pure and clean. It is important to surround ourselves with good uplifting things that help bring the spirit into our lives. Sometimes we have to make the decision to throw something out or to not watch or listen to that any more but there are so many blessing from keeping this law like: 
-Trust and confidence in family relationships
-self-control 
-happiness and peace
-self respect
-you'll be closer to God 
I know that it is so important that we surround ourselves with goodness so that we are being filled with the spirit! 
Saturday: I was in Alma 30 still and that sent me to a scripture in 2 Nephi 28:14 which talks about Satan and how he pacifies us and leads us carefully down to hell. Pacify means to settle or soothe. It also means to disarm. Satan tries to disarm us! We need to fight back by doing that small and simple things in our lives because that is what arms us. We can't think that the path of righteousness is too hard. It's hard I'm not going to lie but there is so much more happiness and joy that comes from following the commandments. It is so important to realize that it is by that small and simple things that great things are brought to pass. I thought of this little saying to help to have a great desire to do the small and simple things "We don't have to do the small and simple things, we GET to do them!" We are so blessed to have these things that protect us from Satan and we get to use them everyday!!! 
Sunday: I was reading in Alma 31 and verse 23 popped out to me. It says that the people worshiped God only at the time there are in their synagogues. How often do we find ourselves not worshiping Christ and Heavenly Father through out the week. Sometimes we go to church never to think about what we learned or what we did that week until we return to church the next week. It made me think about how important it is to treasure up in our hearts continually the words or life. We have to apply the things that we learn in order to repent which helps us to change and better follow Jesus Christ. 
I am so grateful for the chance that I get to study the gospel everyday and be filled with the spirit. It has blessed my life so much and I am so grateful. I invite all of you to "feast upon the words of Christ" In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 
Love you lots, 
Sister Smith 

P.S sorry for the long email. 

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

BLACK OUT!!!!!

Hey Ya'll!!!
  This week has been another good one! We're being blessed and seeing a lot of people open up and have a desire to at least invite us back to hear more about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ! Bay City is ready to explode, hopefully everyone is ready for it!
Monday: I can't really remember exactly what I did this day..... Oh no! I'm getting old! Ahhh! We had dinner with a less active member which is always a great opportunity. She's great and has a few hurdles to overcome but don't we all on this path to eternity.
Tuesday: TRANSFER CALLS!!!! Normally they are on Fridays but Pres. Jacobsen had somewhere to be so we did it on a Tuesday. It kind of threw off the week but that's okay. So the verdict is in that I'm being transferred... hopefully for the last time! I'll be heading over just a 30 minute drive away to Midland!!!!!!! HaHa! Ain't that great! I'll be serving in Midland 2nd ward and I'll be finishing off Sister Chisholm's training!!! It'll be a blast! I get to see everyone from Midland 1st ward! I will have now served in all the sister areas in the Midland Zone so now I have ZONE BLACK OUT!!!!!!!! Let's just say that traveling around to tour my mission shouldn't be to hard because I've spent 14 months in the same zone! Crazy!
Wednesday: This was my last district meeting in the Bay City District which is basically full of elders! Crazy ones at that! They're super funny though and watch out for Sister Jordan and I. We had a great meeting though on Christlike attributes with emphasis on patience. I'm so grateful for Christ and His perfect example.
Thursday: Man, we had like a full day planned with lessons and all but one cancelled. That my friends is why we have back up plans because no matter how much you pray and have faith these people will show you are still dealing with other people's agency. The church is so organized it is amazing!!!! It is only possible through Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The organization, I think, shows how true the church really is!  We also had an awesome lesson with Erin and Richard and their family! It was amazing! A member talked about how a temple is built on a landfill then she talked about how Heavenly Father doesn't care about our past but that we wants us to look forward to the future and build upward. Onward and Upward is what Elder Holland said to us!
Friday: We rode our bikes again.... this time luckily my skirt didn't get caught and my handle bars didn't fall off so all in all I'd say that it was a successful biking experience. Well, actually our tires were flat and that makes for a lot more effort to ride a bike. Heavenly Father is just trying to help me work out more! HaHa! Oh man though there is a story for this day! Sister Jordan and I were door knocking on May street and a woman answered the door. She told us that we were wrong and didn't were lost. She kept saying that the Bible was the only word of God and that we should read it for ourselves. Sister Jordan and I stood there letting her speak and then we just testified about the Book of Mormon and how we know it is the word of God. I bore my testimony and I almost started to cry! I told her that I wouldn't be at her door step if I didn't know for a surety that it is true! I felt the spirit very strongly but it just seemed like the spirit stopped at the door.... she wouldn't let it into her heart. We asked if she had ever read the Book of Mormon and she said no but that she had read a book about it. We invited her to read it and pray for herself, but she wasn't open to it. It's always sad when you bear our testimony and people don't accept it, but I am so grateful for opportunities like that that build my faith and strengthen me. I am blessed!
Saturday: I'm grateful for meals with members! I feel like I learn so much from the members when I eat with them and have a lesson with them. We talked about the Restoration and it is amazing the insights that others have on this significant event! It is amazing and I love it! Members are everything to this work and we would be nothing without them!
Sunday: TRACY CAME TO CHURCH!!!!!!!!! It is a miracle!!!! She was in the hospital the night before and she still came to church!!! I have a huge testimony in the power of prayer and as well in the power of the Book of Mormon. She has been reading it and I know that it is giving her the strength to do what she needs to do! I love love love love it!!!!!!!
Spiritual Thought: While in my scripture reading this morning I learned a lot about the people of Ammon! Let me tell you how much I love those people and their example to me! The people of Ammon were once the Lamanites who killed many people and sought to do evil always. Their fathers had turned away from the Lord. Ammon, a missionary, who had been changed by the atonement wanted to share the gospel with them. He taught the people and they were converted. They were so converted to the Lord that they buried their weapons of war in the ground so that they would never take a life again. They made this covenant with God! They would rather die a most painful death then take a life. They were truly converted to the Lord. I think about how converted I am to the gospel and how much I need to be better at keeping my covenants I've made with the Lord. Are we truly converted to the gospel to stand up for the right in any situation? I want to be like the people of Ammon. They were a zealous people and highly favored of the Lord. "And they were also distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end." Alma 27: 27 They were faithful til the end! I have a quote that says "Conversion is not a one time event, but it is a life long journey to become more like the Savior." I know that when we keep our covenants that the Lord will bless us and we will find great happiness in this life and in the life to come!  I love the scriptures and what I am able to learn from them. They truly are the words of Christ! Every time I read them I am filled with the spirit and have a desire to do good and to be good. The best is that you learn something new even when you've heard the story many times! I love being a missionary and serving the Lord! In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Love Always,
Sister Smith



Missionary work.... stalking 101

Family and Friends and everyone else not sitting on cushions!
   Let's see.... what cleaver thing do I have for you this lovely Monday morning? You know something that Sister Jordan and I realized the other day. She's been on her mission as long and I have left. That was a scary moment for me!!! Also you know you've lived in Michigan for a year when 53 degrees is nice and you're wearing a long sleeve shirt and no tights! That's right! I'm adjusting to the weather except when it's windy.... the wind is terrible. They call it the lazy wind because it just goes right through you. Haha! Anyways... here's a bit of my week!
Monday: Sister Jordan and I finally were able to carve pumpkins!!! They actually turned out a lot better then I expected and I'm pretty excited about that!
Tuesday: We actually had a lesson with our neighbor across the hall. She is this older woman who grew up Lutheran. She is looking for more happiness in her life! Haha well do we have the recipe for happiness for you!!!
Wednesday: Totally awesome amazingness!!!! We were blessed with the opportunity to watch Meet the Mormons! I must say that is was a great movie! The spirit was really there and it was uplifting and inspiring. I would recommend seeing it because it will brighten your day and give you a sense of  gratitude of having the knowledge that we have as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Go see it, you'll love it! Bring tissues especially if you have a missionary out! ;)
Thursday: We had a lesson with our investigator Sister Rogers! She is really making steps forward. She is doing so much better with not smoking and she is really everyday which is wonderful! We are so excited for her and hope that she will be able to continue to move forward and make it to the waters of baptism!
Friday: We went finding more today then usual and I have got to tell you sometimes I miss door knocking. I think it is great to bear your testimony to your brothers and sisters and I think it is a great challenge! I love it! I also have so many fond memories while door knocking so I just love it!
Saturday: Alright this ties in with the title of the message. Sister Jordan and I were out by the bay and it was dark and we were trying to find less active members but unfortunately it was too dark to see the house numbers which also caused us to drive a lot slower then usual. We then decided that  it would been a good idea to get out and try to find them and that still didn't work out either. I'm just saying that on my mission I've felt more like a stalker then ever. I'm pretty sure I'm going to join the FBI when I get home! :D
Sunday: I say this every week but I can't get enough of church!!! I love it with all my heart! I was so grateful to take the sacrament and to be able to renew my covenants! I'm so grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ and how much that has helped me in my life and how wonderful and amazing that gift truly is! Through Christ we have the power to do all things that are align in his will.
Spiritual Thought: I love the scriptures and this is a verse I came across while reading this week. "Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God—" Alma 19:6 I feel like this is what has happened to me as I have embraced the gospel more fully in my life. The darkness has been cast away and it has been replaced with light and consumes me! I love the restored gospel of Jesus Christ! I have been infused with joy and have been carried away in God! I know with all my heart that this is Christ's church. Our Savior lives! We are children of our Heavenly Father who have been divinely designed by our Creator! We have been blessed with the gospel and a rich knowledge. I am grateful for my mission which has strengthened my love for the gospel and my Savior. This really is a gospel of joy and I love, love, love it!!!! I know that as we are
"anxiously engaged in a good cause" (D&C 58:27) we will be "filled with his love, even unto the consuming of [our] flesh." (2 Nephi 4:21) The light of the gospel will come into our lives and the darkness will no longer occupy that space. The power of the atonement is real and it can and will change us as we open our hearts to it and let the light in! In the name of Jesus the Christ, amen.
Love Always,

Sister Smith 





Monday, October 6, 2014

The Church is TRUE!!!!

What's Crack-a-lackin'!!!!
   I hope that everyone enjoyed their Christmas and that you took delight in the spiritual feast that was given to us this conference weekend! We are so blessed to have a loving Heavenly Father who has given us a prophet on the earth today to lead and guide us back into His loving arms! SO BLESSED!!!!
Monday: Down by the bay where the watermelons grow back to my home I dare not go for if I do my mother would say...... That's right my friends, I finally got to see one of the great lakes of Michigan and let me tell you my friends was it great! It's like an ocean but not!!! I highly recommend coming to see one of these wonderful creations because it is LEGIT!
Tuesday: I am grateful for the gospel in my life because without it I don't know that I would do with my life! I can't even express how grateful I am that I was so blessed to grow up in a home where the gospel was taught and that I was able to learn about my Savior from such a young age!
Wednesday: Oh man! One of the struggles of a mission is not having a car. My heart goes out to all of the missionaries who had to walk their entire mission, you my friends are champions! Whenever I walk it always seems like all our lessons fall through and things just don't go as planned. We missed our bus and didn't have a way to get to our appointment so we had to cancel, but we decided to door knock a street and we happened to meet two sweet potentials! If your plans don't go the way you planned remember that the Lord is watching over you and His plans are always better then our plans!
Thursday: Today was a bit of a bummer. We had like 4 lessons planned and 3 canceled on us! They were pretty good reasons to cancel but hey the gospel is wonderful and all I want to do is share the good news with you! We did however have a good lesson with a less active member that we are working with! She has somethings that she is working through but she really wants to do better and improve!
Friday: We had a lesson will the Guiths..... well Misty actually. She is great and she was taking notes and wanting to know all these different things it was great! We are hoping that they're family will start progressing more and getting closer to baptism. We are still taking some baby steps, but baby steps are better then no steps, right!
Saturday: It's the most wonderful time of the year! That's right General Conference baby!!! I'd have to say that all the talks that were given were just wonderful! Nothing I can say can describe how great all of them were! If you weren't able to watch it, I invite you to watch it and then watch it again because you won't be able to get enough of it!
Sunday: Alright, was it just me or were you thinking that President Monson was going to announce something crazy because of all the follow the prophet talks. I was getting myself ready for whatever was to come our way, but then nothing crazy happened. Oh well, the messages about following the prophet were still wonderful and I have a huge testimony of how following the prophet can bring you so much peace and happiness! They really do know the way and are servants of the Lord, Jesus Christ.
Spiritual Thought: Alright, now that we have been blessed with so great a feast "shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren (and sisters); and on, on to the victory" D&C 128:22 The next part of General Conference is applying what we learned into our daily lives. If we don't apply it's like buying a ticket to a movie but then never going to see the movie. I know that this can be hard but we learned that through Christ we can do hard things and that we must make sacrifices to follow our Lord. So, how can we apply what we learned in Conference? We can make a list of things we want to improve on then pick one or two things to start working on in our lives. Don't pick so many things to work on at once because we don't want to get overwhelmed. We can pray about ours lists and I know Heavenly Father will tell us what we can work on to reach our potential. Something that just came to my mind was to read the talks and look at the blessings that are given and if you feel that you need that blessing in your life, do what the speaker invited us to do. There are many ways to apply Conference in our lives and I know that when we do we will see the promised blessings from the Lord and our lives will feel enriched and full. In the name of Jesus the Christ, amen. 
Love Always,

Sister Smith

The Beauty of  Michigan!





















Blister on My Toe!