Blessings from on High

My dearest family and friends,

    This week flew by! I'm already in the 2nd week of my new transfer and I can tell that this is going to be a quick one! My mission is picking up speed and I have no idea what I'm gonna do! Oh guess what I actually have 5 transfers left and not 4! I don't know how excited mom and dad are to hear that, but I feel a bit releaved to know that I have more time to teach the gospel and become a better servent of the Lord. This week was really great! We had rain, sunshine and humidity it was just a blessed week for us!

Monday: Sister Morrison and I had to pick up Sister Greene who stayed with us over night because of transfers. It was fun to be with Sister Greene again! She and I were together in Midland for 6 weeks then I was transfered out. It was a bit of a crazy P-Day thoguh because no one told us Sister Greene was going to stay with us so the Assistants called us and asked if we would do them a favor by picking her up at the mission office.... haha! Sorry Sister Green!

Tuesday: Sister Morrison and I took a trip out to this small one stop light town to go door knocking and we met this girl named Jordan! She is amazing and I just already have so much love for her. She is a firefighter and EMT! She attends church but not super often. She was so reponsive to us and I feel like she is so prepared to recieve the gospel! We are planning on following up with her this week!

Wednesday: Okay this is an awesome story! Sister Morrison and I gave up the car and we had a lesson to go to at a park about a mile away. We walked to the park and waited to have our lesson with Andrew. Andrew arrived and we started talking with him and then after a few minutes these dark clouds started to come in. It is amazing how swiftly the clouds move in. All 3 of  us just sat there waiting for what we knew was going to be a down pour of rain. Now Andrew can't give us a ride cause well that's against the white handbook, but he didn't want to leave us so when it started to rain we all rain for the bathrooms because there is a roof and we stood under that with our bodies pretty much against the wall of the building. It was so funny! We waited a bit but it just kept coming. Andrew said, "Why is it that something bad always happens when I'm around you two?" Well when you try to do good there will be opposition. Luckily Sister Morrison and I were able to find a ride home and we were able to avoid the thunder and lightening. :D

Thursday: Sister Morrison and I waited for a bus for 70 minutes..... it was the worst! It's hard to be an effective missionary when you are waiting at a bus stop with no one there. I thought about talking to the people with their windows rolled down as they were waiting at the stop light but I didn't.... I think that might be a little creepy.

Friday: Oh my it rained!!! Sister Morrison and I always don't dress according to the weather. We were dressed for a hot humid day not a 70 degree rainy day! It was just super funny cause it seems to happen a lot, but we're blessed! It was funny because we sang "How Great Thou Art" and "Come, Come Ye Saints" as we were walking to our place. It really helps to remember that people are always looking at us and we are always representatives of Jesus Christ and that we always need to look that way so singing hymns is a great way to keep smiling even in the rain!

Saturday: We got in contact with a potential investigator we met about a week or two ago and we were able to talk with him a bit and we set up a time that we could come and meet with him this week! I'm super excited and I'm praying that his heart will be softened to receive the message that we have to share!

Sunday: We saw President and Sister Hess! This is their last week here. They leave for Utah on Saturday and President Jacobsen and his wife come on Friday! I am so sad to see President and Sister Hess leave, but I am so grateful for the things that they taught me and I look forward to learning from the Jacobsens. I knew this day would come but I didn't know it would come this fast!

Spiritual Thought: "Take up the cross, and follow me" Mark 10:21 This morning I studied about taking up the cross and what that means. I learned that it means to follow God's commandments and following our Savior. I thought about this and I thought how hard and long the road to perfection really is, but then the thought came about how lucky we are to have a Savior who has already gone through all that we have and will go through in our lives. When Elder Holland came to the mission he said life is hard work because "Salvation is not a cheap experience." He also talked about when we follow Christ we have trials because we said we'd follow him through everything and "the road to Salvation always goes through Gethsemane". There isn't any other way. We must feel what Christ felt in order to become instraments in the Lord's hands. I know that the pathway to discipleship is hard but I know that the reward is that much greater then the sacrifices we are asked to make. I love being a missionary no matter what it is that I am asked to go through. The Lord brings down blessings as we "Take us the cross, and follow him." In the name of Jesus the Christ, amen.

Love Always,

Sister Smith

BREAD!!!!!

The Bathroom Where we took cover From the Rain!

Wildlife! Outside our apartment :)

Slurpee!!!!   

Mine was Blue....

Sun burn of the century!!! 

What a crazy, fast week!

Hello all those who are still actually reading these emails after a year!!!

    Keep holding on those who are still reading! Just think you have less than about 26 emails from me so hey! That's actually really weird to think about. I only have like 26 more Sundays on my mission.... well lets just get off this topic and move on to the things that happened this week!

Monday- Sister Morrison and I spent some time in a little town that is in our area and we went to some of the shops there and it was really fun actually. We enjoyed it very much. We got to go to this little candy store. Also there is this store that has a I survived the Polar Vortex shirt like how sweet is that!

Tuesday- We had a lesson with our investigator, but they had forgotten that we had a lesson.... We had Sister Chaffin with us and she looked at us and said I have a friend who just had a baby and I was going to take a gift over maybe you could share a message about forever families. Ummm... of course we can and we did! They didn't accept the gospel, but it was so great to be with a member who had someone we could go visit with them. This is the hastening of the work!!! :D

Wednesday- Oh man Sister Morrison and I had the opportunity to teach our scripture study class and it was amazing! We decided to teach on how the Book of Mormon teach of Jesus Christ and his life, mission and power. It was one of the most spiritual lessons that I have ever given on my mission. The spirit was so thinck I pretty sure you could have cut it. It was amazing and I can't even descirbe the feelings that were there. After the lesson Sister Morrison and I just looked at each other and smiled. We knew that the spirit guided us as we were teaching and planning this lesson! Oh man I forgot! This was my one year mark! Haha we baked a cake and ate it!!! Yummy!!! Happy one year to me!

Thursday- Oh man what a crazy day! We had 3 lessons that day and I'm pretty sure the last time I had 3 lessons with investigators was like never.... so it was a pretty crazy day! I never knew how much lessons just took your energy away. Our lessons went pretty well. They could have gone better, but we are working on that as well. Just so many things to get better at, thank goodness I have a Savior who can help me in my weaknesses!

Friday- 4th of July!!! Holidays are strange on a mission no matter what time of year it is. People don't really desire to talk with you so they kind of sort of just kick you off their porch or everyone is gone and up north. We did however get the opportunity to see the fireworks which was great! We almost weren't going to go, but we decided to go with some members in the ward and man it was a good fireworks show!

Saturday- We checked on a potenital investigator and we were able to set up a time to meet with her and we are super excited to meet with her!!! We were also our door knocking that evening and we met a man named Tom and we talked about prophets and he said he believed that there could be prophets on the earth today. We talked more about the Book of Mormon and he asked if he could have one. He said he'd start reading it and we are planning on following up with him in about 2 weeks! We've been really blessed to meet a lot of people who are willing to talk with us.

Sunday- We met with one of our investigators Jaszzameen and it was a good lesson. We found out one of her concerns which is great because now we can help her solve it!! I love when we find out those concerns. Unfortunately we door knocked into a lot of people who weren't really having the best day or they just don't really like missionaries but there was a lady who slammed the door, but when she did she shut her dress in the door.... not gonna lie Sister Morrison and I walked down the driveway giggling just a bit.

Spiritual Thought- So this morning while in studies I was just having a bit of a hard time cause sometimes that happens so as I was praying to open studies I asked what I should do and the thought read the Book of Mormon came to my mind. I ended my prayer and did just that. I opened up to Mosiah 27 and started reading at verse 24 and I read til the end of the chapter. These scriptures are about the sons of Mosiah and their change from destroying the church to becoming instraments in the Lord's hands. After reading I sat there and thought about what I had just read. The Book of Mormon truly teaches about the atonement of Jesus Christ. Throughout the book you read stroies of people who are able to change because the sacrifice that Christ has made for every single one of us. It is only through Jesus Christ that people who are destroying Christ's church can repent and have their hearts changed and become missionaries who lead many to their Savior, Jesus Christ. "And they were instraments in teh hands of God in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to the knowledge of their Redeemer." -Mosiah 27:36. I know that through the atonement of Jesus Christ we can change no matter what we have done, what has been done to us or the circumstances we have been through! The Lord loves us and he will help us. I know the Book of Mormon teaches clearly the atonement and the power it has to change us. I know the power of the atonement and it's power to change not only our behavior but our nature meaning, who we are and what we stand for. I invite you all to read the Book of Mormon and let it's testimony of our Savior and His atonement work within you. I promise if you do it will start to change you. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love Always,

Sister Smith

Happy One Year to Me!!!

Eating it with our hands, what a treat!

Happy 4th of July!

Sister.. Smith, Hunt and Morrison!

Sister... Hunt, Smith and Morrison

Sister Hunts last Day as A Missionary or Michiganary!