One more DOOR!!!!

Hey Family/ Everyone,

How is everyone? How is the ward? How are the missionaries doing in Gilbert? Working hard I hope! It sounds like everyone has been having a pretty good week which is wonderful!!! I am so happy to hear that!

So onto the good stuff- haha kidding! :D So this week has been full of door knocking and eating! Sis. Hunt and I have been working hard on trying to find new investigators. We are finding that there are many different churches here and Mt. Pleasant which is great, but the people aren't too open about talking with us. We actually have made up a song to door knocking. It is called One Door More and it is to the tune of One Day More from Les Mis which is pretty awesome! We've actually made multiple songs! So we've actually had so great experiences this week.

We contacted a man named Ola and he is from Nigeria. One thing awesome about contacting on a campus you meet people from everywhere!! Okay so we actually had a lesson with him on Friday it started really well, until we got to the BoM. He is very faithful to the Bible. He is gone for 2 weeks which will take a tool but we encouraged him to read just a verse a day from the BoM and pray about it. Now it is up to him and his agency and up to us to pray!

Next story! Sis. Hunt and I have set aside like 5 hours of door knocking and we had picked out roads to work on. We started knocking and it didn't feel right so we went back to the car and prayed. We felt like we should go to  another street called Broadway! On Broadway we meet Alison who is 19 and very faithful to her church but actually did a paper on Mormons in high school. She had so many questions it was great. After meeting Alison we felt like we shouldn't be on Broadway so we went back and prayed again, but we then felt we needed to go the different direction on Broadway. We listened and at this point the spirit was really guiding us. We walked all the way down Broadway and then there was a man working on a old fashioned car. This car is 86 years old and it is totally awesome. He has been working on it since he was 11. Okay so we started talking to him and getting to know him a bit. He just stopped drinking and he doesn't know why he is still here in Mt. Pleasant. He has been asking himself lately what is his purpose and all this stuff. We talked to him for about an hour and a half! We taught him about prayer and we gave him the plan of salvation pamphlet to read. Also crazy he lived in Utah for 5 years and attended church all 5 years but was never baptized. He says LDS people are the nicest people he has known. We felt like he is just so prepared and we are so excited to teach him more and answer his questions. We have an appointment on Wednesday so we're getting ready for that.

Well that's the really exciting stuff that happened this week. We are looking forward to this week and meeting more people and finding those people who God has prepared! I love missionary work it is so amazing and such a blessing. I have learned so much and I learn more everyday. I am so grateful to have been called on a mission! I know this will strengthen my future family and my future self. So I'm going to leave you with another challenge! :D Read your scriptures, just a verse a day will make a huge difference! The BoM is great and can answer all your questions. I love studying the scriptures and studying with Sis. Hunt. It is so great to learn from one another. I love you all so much! Keep working hard and remember every member is a missionary!!!!

Love Always,

Sister Smith

I'M A MICHIGANARY....

Sister Hess, Sister Miranda Smith & President Hess

 Sister Miranda Smith and Sister Hunt

President & Sister Hess with some of the Lansing Mission Missionaries 

Hey Everyone!

So I am serving in Mount Pleasant! It is a little town and it is just so cute and so country looking! The ward here is awesome and are so willing to help us out! Sis. Hunt is my trainer and she has been out for 6 months and I'm like her 3rd trainee. She is so nice, but wants to work hard which is fantastic cause I want to work hard too!! So we were actually white washed! This area hasn't been open to sisters for 6 months to a year so I feel very privileged to be here! My apartment is nice and we actually live across the street from the Zone Leaders so we feel really safe and looked after! So the plane ride was great we had lots of fun flying with almost all my district! We then went to the mission home and we met Pres. Hess and Sis. Hess. They are the sweetest people ever!! I have a very exact obedient mission president which is actually what I wanted so I'm very excited about that! The mission home is so cute and homey! So the first day we got there we went contacting on MSU campus which I loved!! I like that better than door knocking for sure! I hope I can serve on a campus at some point! The next day we went and I met my trainer Sis. Hunt! Everyone said she is a great missionary and it is true she really is! The assistants said we'd be a great companionship! On the first day in Mt. Pleasant we visited less actives well none were home so we went door knocking! We came across Marsha who is awesome! We love her so much! She is our investigator now! Umm... I don't have too much time so I have to finish soon! We have been door knocking everyday which I actually really enjoy you meet tons of people and your faith totally grows! We really hope we can get investigators from this. Them members have already given us referrals which is great!!!! We love referrals! Also there is a lady in the ward who lives on a farm and she grows her own food and everything is fresh! She feeds the missionaries once a week!!!! She also gave um homemade jam and syrup and other homemade goods!!! Yummy!!!

I seriously love it here!!!! There is no place I would rather be than here serving the Lord!! I know this is what I supposed to do! I have already learned so many amazing things and the Lord truly knows each of us! Also I have a challenge for you all! Say family prayer! Prayer is the first step to coming closer to God! He wants to hear us so bad because He loves us so much! I pray like 20 times a day and you really need it! He has done so much for us! Please try and I promise you will notice a difference in your life!!! Okay so my address is Sis. Miranda Smith 1617 Flynn Ln Mt. Pleasant 48858!!! Send Letters!!! I love you all so much!!! Keep working hard and coming closer to Christ!!!

Love Always,

Sis. Smith

Sister Smith & Sister Hunt

Miranda's Last Email in the MTC Before She Leaves for Michigan

Dear Family,

Well I am about to leave for Michigan so I was able to write you fellas!!! So these last few days have been awesome just like every other day!!!! Last night was especially amazing! We had the Elders in our district give us sister missionaries blessings!! I think it was almost all of their first blessings so it was fantastic! So asked Elder Taylor to give me my blessing and it was his first blessing!!!! I was Elder Taylor's first blessing, how cool is that! Okay well all the blessings were short and just the sweetest! These young missionaries are so strong and you know that the Lord has prepared them for this time! I have learned so much from them and I'd like to think they are doing the same. Don't worry I wrote my blessing down in a journal so I won't forget it. That was probably the highlight of my MTC experience. So the other sisters in my district are gone, they left this morning for Boston so it is just me and Sister Mortensen with all the elders!! Haha! They're great so we don't really have too many problems. It is crazy how your district can become like a little family and how much you learn and support one another. It truly is amazing. I have loved seeing everyone grow and I hope that I will be able to see them out in the field and see the progress and growth they have made.

Oh also guess what Sister Mortensen and I got locked out of our room twice!!!! It was so funny until it happened a second time! So the second time we said a companion prayer to have Heavenly Father unlock the door and I really thought and believed that it would be unlocked, but it wasn't. A few seconds latter a worker came by and unlocked out door!!! Heavenly Father really does answer our prayers through other people!!! I just feel so blessed to have all these experiences!! I am just loving being a missionary. Don't get me wrong it is tough work and it takes so much out of you but I have learned and grown so much already!! Oh also I was chosen out of our whole zone to give a talk on Sunday. It was random, but I mean seriously out of everyone!!! It was on enduring to the end by the way. Also while we were on our temple walk Sunday there were protesters at the temple! It was weird! Well I am sorry but I have to go!! Sorry it is so short! I love you all and wish you a great week!

Love Always,

Sis. Smith

Miranda's Addresses so far:

October 7, 2013 for the next six weeks!
New Address In Midland Michigan 
5220 Hedgewood #804 
 Midland, MI 48640

Michigan Address: In Mount Pleasant
1617 Flynn Ln. Apt. B
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858

MTC
Sister Miranda Smith
2013 N. 900 E. Unit#343
Jul17MI-LAN
Provo, Utah 84604

*MTC Letters must arrive by Tuesday, July 16th.

Email Address:

miranda.smith@myldsmail.net

*She can email on her Pdays-  
(preparation day= Pday)
Miranda's Pday is Monday 

Mission Office Address:

Michigan Lansing Mission
1400 Abbott Road, Suite 310
East Lansing, MI 48823-1900

Mail should be sent directly to her missionary apartment address: I will post it as soon as I receive it. This is the quickest and most reliable way to get mail to her. You may send it to the Mission Office pending notification of her new address or when anticipation a transfer. All mail received in the Mission Office will be forwarded to her apartment the day they receive it if it is sent via U.S. Postal Service First Class or Priority Mail.

*When sending a Letter please put her full Name not just her last name: Sister Miranda Smith
**The best thing to do is send all Letters and Packages by First Class or Priority Mail via the U.S. Postal Service. These can be forwarded should she no longer be at the address. Also, the U.S. Postal Service leaves a notice for pick up mail at the Post Office if she is not home rather then leaving it on the doorstep.
Fed-ex and UPS cannot be forwarded on to her and these carriers leave the packages at the doorstep where they could be stolen. Also, Packages sent Standard or Parcel Post through the U.S. Postal Service cannot be forwarded. 
If you send a package to the Michigan Lansing Mission Office that cannot be forwarded they will remain in the Mission Office until a Zone Conference or until someone from the office is going her way. (This could be several weeks).

Miranda Leaves the MTC on Wednesday, July 17th for Lansing Michigan

She does not want to miss any of your letters so try to get them to the MTC by Tuesday :)

July 11, 2013 - The First Email From Miranda in the MTC!

July 3, 2013

Miranda on her way to the airport to fly to SLC where her Uncle Scott and Aunt Brandee's Family picked her up and took her to lunch, the Provo Temple and then on to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah.

Dear Family!

       Hey how is everyone doing??? I am doing awesome!! I love it here at the MTC, it is such a great place! Sorry it has taken me so long to email, my P-Day is on Thursday and I can only write letters on P-Day. So while in the MTC for a week I have learned so much and I have had the opportunity to feel the spirit every day which is amazing! I hope you guys aren't too sad that I'm here because I am enjoying every minute. My companion's name is Sis. Mortensen and she is from a small town in Nevada 90 miles north of Las Vegas! She is so sweet and so much fun. I have had the opportunity to learn from her so much. In my district we also have another set of sister missionaries and they are great! All four of us get along so well! The other sisters are Sis. Blair and Sis. Platt. So the Elders in my district are almost all 18 years old who just graduated! It is crazy to think they are out here serving missions already and their comments suprise me everyday. They are all strong in the gospel and I learn so much from everyone. So my teacher's names are Sis. Butters and Bro. Anderson! They are both pretty great people! I love to learn from them. We are in a classroom 6 hours a day learning and we also have other meetings to attend too! The MTC is awesome, but I was tired of it after like the 3rd day. It takes so much energy from you, but I love it nontheless. The only time you really get to stop and think is when you are eating! HAHA! The food here isn't too bad but I've had better and they always feed us desert, the cookies are delicious! :) So I have been able to teach 3 different investigators. The one I teach most often is Katherine. She is 18 and her brother joined the church a few months ago. I love teaching her she is amazing! So the first day we taught was on the first Friday! It was insane but totally amazing. I also had the chance to teach Barbra and she is just the sweetest lady from Jersey! Her friend refered us to her! Okay and lastly I got the chance to teach Lawanna! This was the best teaching experience I have ever had. So we went to there and we got to know her. The we had the feeling we should teach her God is Our Loving Heavenly Father. It was crazy the spirit was so strong!! Also we found out that her cousin was murded and she was so sad and it was just so sad. During this lesson I felt so much love for this woman it was amazing. I could honestly feel Chirst's love for her and how much He wanted her back! I bore my testimony of the love of Christ and I started to get teary eyed! I will never forget that feeling I felt while I was teaching her. The thing is though these aren't even real investigators. It is crazy that H.F helps us to learn from these experiences. He knows what these people need to hear even if they are already members. I just love it!! I have learned so much on teaching and helping others and I can't wait to learn more.

    So the fourth of July we did get to watch the fireworks, but Sis. Mortensen and I were so tired we went to bed actually! HaHa! They drain you while you are here!!! A teacher said that the MTC is like drinking from a firehose, which is so true! I am so happy that H.F called me on a mission and that I have the opportunity to share the gospel with so many people! I love it!!! My testimony has grown so much here and especially on how H.F knows each of us! H.F is just waiting for us to ask for help! while here we have talked about the story of Peter walking on water and how Christ was there right as Peter called his name while sinking into the ocean. Christ is there just waiting ready to give you his hand you just need to call for Him! Isn't that just amazing, I love it!!! Also I love Jospeh Smith he is amazing! I am so grateful for him!

     Well I am going to write you guys today! Hillary I am going to finish your letter up also! And I worte a family letter and sent it earlier this week I think... I hope you got it! Well I only have a few minutes left so I must be going! I love you all and I will write a letter!!!!!

Love Always,

Sis. Smith 

I received my call for Lansing, Michigan on Saturday March 23, 2013. I report to the Provo MTC on July 3rd.

This is me in front of the Nashville Tennessee Temple. I was unable to do a session, but it was a great visit nonetheless. I love to see the temple!