Monday, February 3, 2014

7 Months Already!!!!!????

Hey Family and others who read these massively long emails,
   First off, if you aren't family and read these emails thank you so much, you are so kind and sweet and I hope that what I say helps you! That also goes for the family too!!!
Well this week was a great one!!!!
Monday: Sister Whipple and I went to a place called Baseball Heaven. A less active member owns it and allows us to go there before it opens for free!!!! Isn't that just so kind!! People are so nice to us man! So yeah, we hit some baseballs and threw some pitches. It was actually really fun and I enjoyed it very much and it was decent exercise which is always a benefit!!!
Tuesday: We went door knocking a lot that day and I can't seem to remember too much about what went on so that means we probably didn't find any great potentials or met someone who just really stuck out, but that is okay cause you just keep going right!!
Wednesday: We had a lesson with a less active woman named Tonya. She is so nice and so sweet and I am just so sad that she doesn't come to church. Church is just so important and everyone needs to go because that is where we are going to receive strength to go about the next week. Not to mention we are renewing our baptismal covenants which is so important. If you really think about it the sacrament is pretty much the most important ordinance that we do in church. I know that I did not realize how important that time is during the meeting is. It has really made me think about what it is that I need to do during sacrament meeting and how I can make it a better time in my life.
Thursday: SISTER WHIPPLE AND I FOUND A FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay well the Lord lead us to the family which is just amazing!! It was a miracle!!! We are so blessed. We met the Dice family and they have 4 boys the ages of 20, 18, 11 and 9. So when we were planning the day the night before we felt that we should knock on this street so we put into our plans. The next day we drove to the street. We were driving down the street and Sister Whipple kept thinking, "We need to stop" so she stopped the car just a little bit off to the side of this house. The house is a little run down and it is yellow. We are walking up and someone is outside and we say that we are representatives of Jesus Christ and they start talking to us. After a bit they invite us in and we started to talk more about the restoration. We said the first vision and they were really paying attention, at least the older ones were. We talked about the Book of Mormon and they were interested in learning more about it! We set up a return appointment to meet with them this week!! The Lord truly prepares people we just need to make sure that we are living the way we need to be in order to be lead to them. MIRACLE!!!!
Friday: Sister Whipple and I have been out in the boonies again and this means like out in the woody area so like no where! Guess what happens!!! Our car got stuck!!!!!! Sister Whipple had pulled off the side of the road and there was a ditch.... don't worry the car didn't go in the ditch, but it did start sliding into it. We got stuck and we were on the phone with Elder Derricott our district leader when these young men drove up and asked if we needed help. YES!!! They were really good at getting us out of the snow, it seems as though this had happened to them before... HAHA!! The funny part is that Elder Derricott said, "Did you give them a mormon.org card?!" Oh yeah we're fine don't worry about us elder! Too funny!!! Anyways, it was great oh and I forgot to mention that before they came I was the one pushing the car in my skirt, it was a sight to see I bet!
Saturday: We went door knocking with Sister Toronjo!!! She is a complete natural missionary and I just love her!! She has such a pure testimony of the gospel. Oh also we went back to see these people who we met a week earlier and well they invited us in and got their bibles out. "Oh No!" was all I could think. This was the first time someone had done this to me and I was with a newly active member!! Ahhh! Don't worry though Sister Toronjo is boss!! They tried telling us that we were wrong and that we are saved by grace. Something interesting was that I asked him if he had ever read the Book of Mormon and he said yes 70% of it and I asked if he prayed to know that it is the word of God and he said no he didn't need to because he has the Bible to compare it to. Well how in the world are you gonna know if you don't pray and ask God! I didn't say that, but I thought it. I just bore my testimony of knowing that the Book of Mormon was the word of God and I know that the spirit was there! We all walked away having our testimonies strengthened about the Book of Mormon. The cool thing is that I prayed to have an experience to know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God!!! God answers prayers!!!!
Sunday: Relief Society is inspired of God and that is all I must say!
Spiritual Thought: So in Relief Society we talked about the Light of Christ and how all of God's children have it. The more that we make decisions to follow the Light of Christ the brighter we get and when we choose not to follow the Light of Christ we are dimmed and the Light of Christ can actually diminish which really struck me a lot! (D&C 50:24) Throughout the day we are gaining and losing light with every choice that we make. The brighter our light the easier it is to make a good decision and the dimmer the light the harder it gets. It is amazing to think about light and how even in the darkest of places we can see even the smallest of lights. The world is getting darker and darker so we are getting brighter and brighter! People are aware of us and what we do! We need to act more like our Savior Jesus Christ and do better at following His perfect example. I  know that as we follow the example of our Savior we will grow brighter which will bring more warmth and happiness into our lives. "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matt 5: 16
Jesus Christ is the Light of the World, a light that is endless and can never be darkened.
I recommend watching the Mormon messages about the Light of Christ by Elder Bednar! :D
Love Always,
Sister Miranda Smith

P.S If you actually read the whole thing thank you and sorry for the super long letter! 
Before the Snow...

After the Snow...
Look at the Ice Fisher Men in their little houses :)

Sister Miranda Smith is Freezing... go put a coat on!

My Christmas Hat!!!