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!

I'm staying in Williamston!!!!

Howdy Family!!!!

     I'm struggling to think about what happened this last week because the weeks just start to blend and then the months and the transfers and you don't know which way is up or which way is down. You pretty much are stuck in what I like to call the mission time warp. Speaking of time warp, last night Sister Morrison and I were talking and we realized that I only have 4 transfers left!!! Can you believe it!! The crazy part is that I already know where I'm going to be for this one. Another crazy thing to think about is that I spent that long in one area before and that time flew by! This is crazy! Anyways..... now that I've talked to you about mission time I'll get to the week.

Monday- I decorated mine and Sister Morrison's planers and let me tell you they look pretty great! Decorated planners just make me a bit happier! Oh while I was doing that Sister Morrison was writing letters.

Tuesday- We had a lesson with our investigator Bro. Rusch. It was pretty good. We had a member there and she returned from her mission in Korea almost a year ago so it was really neat having her there to teach the lesson with us. She said that she has a ton of visuals and that we should talk to her about getting some of them. Ummm don't mind if we do! Visuals are the best!

Wednesday- We had our last district meeting and it was Sister Hunt's last district meeting like ever! It was pretty sad. I'm going to miss seeing her around all the time. It is crazy to think that through my entire mission I have seen her at least once a transfer which is crazy and doesn't really happen all the time so that is super neat! Haha funny side story I saw her on Saturday and we were talking and she went to her ward and a member asked who Sister Morrison and I were and he told sister Hunt, "It seems like you have a really good relationship with the one in the white shirt (me)." Even after being done training for almost a year people still are recognizing the relationship we have together!

Thursday- We spent 3 hours at an open house and only one person came, but it was someone we door knocked into so that was pretty cool! Also I played the piano for about an hour which was pretty exciting!

Friday- We had transfer calls!! Well I'm staying and I still get to be with Sister Morrison which is only like the best thing in the entire world!!!!!!!! Williamston isn't going to know what hit them! Well they might because we stick out and we share restored truths with anyone and everyone but hey then they'll know who to call when they have questions.

Saturday- We had like a full day of service! The stake got together and we helped our around the community because the Book of Mormon play is here and they want to show how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints is truly about. It was fun! I worked in a cemetary and pulled up about a total of like 200 flags with my group and we raked leaves. Only in Michigan will you rake leaves in the spring.....

Sunday- I gave a talk in church! So far I've given a talk in every ward I've been in and I also gave one in the MTC. It is crazy! I gave a talk on Charity and I based it off of Pres Monson's past conference talk. People said that I have good public speaking skills which is a very sweet compliment. It's because of my story telling class and I'm prety sure public speaking runs in my genes. Also it might just be a talent that Heavenly Father has so graciously given me., its probably the last one. I give the credit to him.

Spiritual Thought: I just want to quickly talk about charity. In Moroni 7:48 it says that we can obtain charity by praying for it with all the energy of heart. In Pres. Monson's talk it says that some of the greatest opportunities to show charity and love is in our own homes. I love the Hymn "Love at Home". Mom would sing it whenever there was contention and I am so grateful for that example to me and I've gained a testimony about how much singing hymns can bring the spirit. There is a line in that hymn that I love "There is One who smiles on high when there's love at home" I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are so pleased with us when we show love towards our families and I know that we can obtain that love by praying and asking for it. "Ask and ye shall receive" I love my family and I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ strengthens families more than anything else as we live what we are taught! In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love Always,

Sister Miranda Smith  

Lansing Sisters!

Elder Williams face is the best!!! 

Service Project - cleaning up the city :)

this is the crew that picked up the flags

 Elder Tu'ua is serving in another ward.

Elder Williams face is actually smiling now! 

Sister Smith and Sister Morrison

Miracles!!!!!!

Hola Familia!

    This week we have been able to see the hand of the Lord and the love that Heavenly Father has for each of His children! This week was pretty much the bomb!

Monday: Sister Morrison and I got creative and started to play tennis in our apartment because it was raining outside. We got a video of it. It's pretty awesome. Don't worry nothing broke or even got close to breaking. We were super careful.

Tuesday: We walked a ton! It was super nice outside though so it was all good! Also we had a lesson with our investigator Angie and it was a good lesson. The member that we brought was wonderful! I am so grateful that we were able to have her come because she bore such a strong testimony of the gospel and the importance of reading the scriptures and praying! Members are the best!

Wednesday: We were about to go door knocking on a street that we had picked the night before, but we both didn't feel right about it so we prayed to see where else we should go. Durring the prayer a street came to our minds that we had selected to door knock later in the day. We decided to go door knock there and while door knocking we met a man named Andrew! So Andrews opened his door saying "Mormons!" haha! The best part is that he said he wasn't going to talk to us too long, but we ended up talking for about 45 minutes to an hour! We asked if he would want to meet with us and he said yes, but we can't be super professional and that we needed to be casuel and not read from the pamphlets.... We agreed. Andrew doesn't even know how prepared he is to receive the Restored Gospel! I really am praying that the Lord will continue to soften his heart and prepare us to be instraments in His hands to help Andrew!

Thursday: HALF MISSION P-DAY!!!!!!! It was totally wicked! We all had a ton of fun! We got to drive up to Mt. Pleasant with President and Sister Hess which is always a treat! We got to play games like ultimate frisbee and kickball and we did relays and races and it was just the best! We all got sun burned though for sure but is was great and I'm pretty sure a ton of us were sore after words as well! Also it was like the last time we'd have a big gathering with President and Sister Hess which was pretty sad. President almost cried while shouting "Hurrah for Israel"

Friday: Another super neat experience! While planning the night before Sis. Morrison and I felt that we needed to go to our investigator Sandy's house at a specific time. We weren't even there for 5 minutes and there is a knock at the door. It is one of Sandy's friends that she hasn't seen in like 3 years. Her friend stopped by because she was having a hard time because her father is dying. She was so thankful that we were there and she opened up and talked with us. She is leaving for Arizona this week to be with her father. We invited her to read the Book of Mormon before she said yes she asked us to just say in a few words why The Book of Mormon was important. Instantly thethought Moroni 10: 3-5 came to my mind. After we read that scripture she said that that was exactly what she needed. It was so powerful to be there and the spirit was so strong! God knows his children.

Saturday: Another super amazing experience. The night before in planning we prayed to know which street we needed to door knock at 1:00 to 2:00 and right away a street came to my mind. Ethel. While door knocking there no one was answering their doors or they weren't responsive, but the thought keep going came to my mind. As we were walking up the next drive way a man comes out his front door and says "You're an answer to our prayers!" He and his wife are members in AZ who are visiting their family in Michigan. They had been talking with their family and he said that she would be interested in reading the Book of Mormon. He asked us if we had a copy and we did. He said they'd been trying to find a way to contact the missionaries and well we just came to them! Two days in a row we had experiences where the Lord lead us to where we needed to be exactly at the time we needed to be there.

Sunday: Elder Dunagan of he area 70 came to sacrament and gave a talk about the Book of Mormon and it was wonderful! The spirit was there and you knew that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It was an incredible meeting. I know the Book of Mormon is true!

Spiritual Thought: I think just from this week I really have gained a testimony of how important it is to plan as well as how important it is to follow the promptings of the spirit. The Lord knows who is prepared and where we need to be and at what time we need to be there. Heavenly Father is aware of all of His children and the things that they need and I feel so blessed to have been an instrament in the hands of God this week to help my brothers and sisters know that Heavenly Father loves them and knows them. I know that is true and that the Lord is here to help us through anything that we are going through. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love Always,

Sister Miranda Smith

Half mission P-Day!!!!  15 Sisters in Mnt. Pleasent!

Elder Patterson is in the middle. He goes home in like a week and he is from Boise, Idaho!!!! 

Elder Glendhill

More... Mosquito bites! 

Sister Murri

Potholes in Michigan

President and Sister Hess

The Elders!

I Found a Blue Balloon!!! Happy Day!

Mosquitoes, tans, and the gospel!!

Hey Hey Hey!!!!

   We are alive and well and enjoying the sunny muggy days in Michigan! Oh man I thought Arizona had a lot of mosquitos but let me tell you there are none in Arizona NONE!!! Michigan is full of the blood sucking insects and it is the worst thing ever!!!!!! They pretty much swarm you and try to kill you! We were door knocking yesterday and we got attacked by them!! It made missionary work just that much more complicated, but hey I love the gospel I promised that I would share it in any condition. We got through -33 degrees what's only about 100 mosquitoes around you compared to that?? Well here is my crazy week!!

Monday- We went to a going away/ Memorial day party for the Ruggieris. It was a lot of fun and a lot of people came out to the party which was great! They had invited a lot of their friends and members and it was a great missionary opportunity!

Tuesday- We had a Zone Conference!! We learned a lot about having the spirit with us so that we can become better teachers and better at finding those who are prepared to receive the restored gospel. I love Zone Conferences I feel like they are always exactly what we need and it is just the best thing ever! I love how inspired our leaders are and how willing they are to help us in the work!

Wednesday- We taught a scripture study class and it went really well!! The spirit was really there and it was amazing just to feel it so strongly when talking about the restoration of the gospel! In the class we used both the Book of Mormon and the Bible to support one another about the restoration and that is was prophesied in both of them!

Thursday- We had a good time door knocking and we meet some sweet people!

Friday- I was at MSU campus with Sister Brems! She is my sister training leader! She is great! MSU was fun but pretty empty! Lucky for us though we had 3 lessons scheduled so we weren't out finding for a lot of the time. It was really fun to be with her!

Saturday- Oh super neat experience! Sister Morrison and I had like a 3 mile walk to get to our destination where we were going to door knock and we wanted to make sure that we used that walking time to the best of our abilities! Well we decided to pray that the Lord would provide people for us to talk to while we were walking and well of course he did!!!! We were able to talk to like 10 people on the way to our neighborhood and the crazy part is that we talked to more people on the way there than we actually did while we were door knocking so it was really cool to know that the Lord is involved in everything!!!!

Sunday- Once again I just really love church and I am so grateful that I get that time to think of Christ while taking the sacrament!

Spiritual Thought- This week while in studies Sister Morrison and I were talking and we were talking about charity and how important it is to have charity. We talked about how it is because of the love that Heavenly Father has for us that he sent his son Jesus Christ to die for us and it is because of the love Christ has for not only us but for his Father that the Atonement was able to take place. It was the ultimate sign of love from both our Heavenly Father and our Savior. It made me think how all that we do is out of love for our Heavenly Father, our Savior and others. I just sat in studies for a moment and thought how much we all need to have charity for one another and it almost made me cry because I pondered about how much love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have love for one another and how much love they have for me and all of God's children. I know that charity drives us to do righteous things for others and I know that we are so deeply loved by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love Always,

Sister Smith  

Baking Cookies

Mosquito Bites!

Happy Memorial Day!!!!

Hey Hey Hey!!!!!

   I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their 3 day weekend!! I feel like this week has been a pretty long week which is not usual. The weeks on the mission usually go pretty fast, but for some reason this week just seemed a bit longer than the others.

Monday- We accomplished everything that we needed to do and I still had time to play with a tennis ball in the apartment which is quite relaxing if you ask me.

Tuesday- Elder Holland, Hallstrom and Dunagan came to our mission to speak to us!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know crazy right! It was actually really neat! Elder Holland  is a funny man. We all got to shake their hands and it was amazing! You could feel the power of the spirit as you walked up to them and then they look into your eyes and pretty much stare into your soul. They said that all of us are doing great! I think like the best thing that happened was that Elder Holland like yelled, but not... just like how he gets a stern voice in conference and points a finger, yeah he did that to us! It was amazing though because I felt so much peace and was just so happy and excited! Nothing could bring us down that day!

Wednesday- We had dinner with a professional basketball player! She is the daughter of someone in the mission presidency! Her last name is Rasmussen and she played for Phoenix Mercury! How cool is that!!!!

Thursday- While on my mission I have learned a lot about family history and I am so excited to go home and to do it for my own family and take family names to the temple.

Friday- The ward had a picnic!! I love picnics!!! I love the Williamston ward as well! I really have learned that wherever you go you will always have a family there to love you and watch over you! It is such a blessing to know that!

Saturday- We went door knocking and that is about it.... We love door knocking!!!!!

Sunday- I love the sacrament and that is all I have to say about that!

Spiritual Thought- Today in studies I was reading in 2 Nephi 4 and two scriptures really stuck out to me, verses 20-21. I will tell you about verse 21. It states "He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh." When I first read that I thought of the definition "to absorb the attention of", but as I looked a bit deeper into it something else caught to my eye. The word "flesh" stuck out to me. It could have been something else like soul but Nephi chose flesh. It made me think of Mosiah 3:19 "the natural man is an enemy to God" The natural man is flesh or our body. Another definition for consume is "to do away completely". I then thought of how the love of God can and will help us to "do away with completely" our natural man that we may not be subject to the flesh! I know that the love of God can help us overcome the natural man and that our spirits may have power over our bodies. I love this gospel and I know that it is true! In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love Always,

Sister Smith 

P.S quote from Elder Holland "I've got one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel!"

I think spring is finally here!!

Hi Ya'll!!!!

    I'm trying to think of what happened this week and things come to my mind, but then I am like hummm.... is that really that important or do I have the desire to write out that entire story. I think it is interesting the long I am on my mission the less I want to write long emails.... don't worry though I will still write them I will just make sure that the stories I write will be like the bomb! You know what I'm saying'? Okay anyways I'm a little tired so don't make fun of me for my strange comments!

Monday: It was raining like crazy here, but it made for a greener week which is nice!

Tuesday: We met with one of our investigators named Bob or Bro. Rusch! He is a pretty neat guy. He is having like a Job moment in his life though which is a bummer but he is willing to read and pray which is great. I know that the gospel would truly help him through his trials more than anything else.

Wednesday: Sister Morrison and I taught our scripture study class! We broke down Mosiah 4 and we found how we could find more peace and happiness in this life. It was actually a pretty good lesson. It is amazing how much you learn when you break down the scriptures and you have a question in mind.

Thursday: We had invited a woman a while ago to the family history center and we were finally able to meet with her there. The best part about this is that she was interested in why we are so involved in family history work and she wants to meet with us and learn more about it! This is one of the goals that we have this transfer which is to baptize someone through the efforts of family history!

Friday: We did a ton of service for our investigator Angie! The Elders were there to help which was great because it was some hard work. We had to dig up rocks then we have to take them to her back yard and empty the container out then go back and do it again. It wouldn't be so bad but we did it for like 2 hours and your arms start to get really tired. Elder Williams said "I'm going to have a heart attack!" and he was a wrestler in high school so the rest of us were beat.

Saturday: We contacted a ton of referrals because we finally had a car! We also ate with the Ruggieris and I just love that family! They also invited their neighbors over which is always great!

Sunday: We actually door knocked into this woman who is so prepared she just doesn't know it!! She was asking all these great questions that the gospel would answer but she wasn't willing to meet with us, but she did say that she might come to church and if she likes it she would meet with us!! We are hoping and praying that she comes to church!

Well I don't have much time left sorry!!!!!

I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful week!!!!!!

RETURN WITH HONOR!!!!!!

Love Always,

Sister Smith