Hey Family and Friends!!!
I cannot believe that I am 20 years old now!! Life seems to
go by so fast and I just can't believe it! The work here in Midland is going
well and we are moving forward and progressing. We are really trying to change
ourselves and the way that we view the work. We are striving to overcome
obstacles that seem to keep coming up in the work and we pretty much just keep
on keepin' on! It is funny how everyday in missionary work is the same, but
then everyday is totally different than the other! That is probably going to be
life, at least there is something that will always stay the same in our lives
and that is change. Change is good though because repentance is really just
another word for change. I have definitely seen a lot of changes in my life
which have all been great! It is pretty amazing looking back on the last 6
months and seeing the change that has taken place in my life and how much I
keep wanting to improve and to change. Sometimes it is hard looking at myself
and realizing how imperfect I am, but then it makes me appreciate my Savior so
much more and His atonement. I am always amazed at the plan that Heavenly
Father has for all of us! We are all so blessed to know about the amazing plan
has been created for all of us.
Monday: We email people and spent some time chilling
at the apartment and wrote some letters to some people.
Tuesday: Oh man I lost the phone on Tuesday and I was
freaking out!!!!! I never knew how important a phone was until I didn't have
one! We went back to the place where we knew where it was dropped and it wasn't
there! I was so sad and I felt so bad because we were not able to use that time that we were looking for the phone to be looking for people who need the gospel. We also
taught an investigator named Courtney Stevenson. He read part of the Book of
Mormon and his biggest hold up is Joseph Smith and that there is no proof of
him in the Bible when really there is, but your heart has to be open to it so
we'll see what happens!
Wednesday: We found our phone!!!! A member from the
2nd ward had picked it up and found out that it was a missionaries phone. She
ended up calling a few missionaries and found the elders serving with Sister
Whipple and I. She drove it over to the Elders and they gave it to us at our
zone training. Zone Training is awesome! I have great leaders who really know
how to teach by the spirit. They were inspired!
Thursday: Haha funny story! We went over to Dakota's
house to have a lesson with her and she wasn't there!!! It was pretty funny.
She forgot to text us and tell us that she wouldn't be there. We sadly had to
turn around and head back. Thank goodness for back up plans or life would be a
lot more difficult!
Friday: I was on trade offs with Sister Carlson in
Midland! We had a pretty good day!! A huge plus was that the sun was shining
and it was just so wonderful! We actually met a person who worships Satan which
was a bit different.... We kept talking to him though and he was nice. I just
thought is was so interesting. He told us at age 16 he sold his soul to the
devil which is pretty crazy if you ask me. We asked him what he thinks he will
get from serving the devil and well he didn't really have an answer. Missionary
work is just so interesting. We also had a lesson with Meagan and Lamont! It
went well. They don't have a date yet, but we are hoping to set them soon and
also that they will be able to come to church.
Saturday: We are running out of areas to knock in the
Midland city area so now we are knocking doors in the boonies!!! Some of these
people have like half mile long driveways and the forests are pretty sketchy.
Also we have encountered a lot of massive dogs lately lucky none of them have
eaten us. How blessed are we!!!
Sunday: Something that I have noticed is that when
you are fasting it is so much easier getting through the day without eating. It
is strange how I can eat breakfast and go to all my meetings then church and by
sacrament which starts at 11:30 I am starving, but when I fast all day I am
fine!! I know that is a weird thought, but it makes me think about how much the
Lord really blesses us as we keep the commandment and live the way that we know
we should be living. I love that Heavenly Father is always looking out for us
and knows exactly what it is that we need.
Spiritual Thought: Something that we have been
talking about a lot is trials. It is interesting to me that we are given trials
to help us learn and grow. None of the trails that we have are the same as any
other person so they are specifically for us. Heavenly Father knows us
perfectly and He knows what we need in order for us to return to him. It is
also really crazy how we have total control over how we react to these trials.
We can either learn from them or we can let them take over us. We are so
blessed to have a Heavenly Father who loves us so much that he has given us
agency and a plan! We are so blessed!!!!!!!!
I love you all so much and I hope that you are enjoying the
lovely weather!!!! You are all so wonderful and keep up the amazing work
wherever you live!! There are people everywhere who need the gospel and they
blessings that we have so go and share them!!!!! You all ROCK!!!!
Love Always,
Sister Miranda Smith
