NOVEMBER 9, 2009
Friends and Family!
Hey! It was great to hear from you all! Mom I just got the blanket! You are so amazing!! This week was definitely harder for me! It hit me that tomorrow morning I wouldn't get to make my mom a cake. This has been working on me all week and it’s hard I don’t get to tell her Happy Birthday and I don’t get to tell her how amazing she is and how much I love her! This killed me most of the week! Then I realized that if this was on my mind I’d regret time wasted out here! It sounds cheesy and we have all heard it a thousand times but, love every day! You never get them back! I’ll never get my Mom’s past b-days back but I’ll never get this short two years back either! So please take advantage of everyday! Mom I love you so much! You are amazing and I sent you a present today! Hopefully you get it soon! But please forget me out here and take advantage of everything there! I’m trying hard to do the same thing here because this work is honestly amazing and I don’t want to miss a second! But wow, is it hard!
Yesterday I approached a lady and she was drunk she grabbed my face and said I was cute! This was hard on me! haha I don’t like drunk ladies making moves on me! hahah But it was pretty funny! Oh Payt, draw me a picture of that. haha I’m pretty sad because I haven’t got your pictures yet. And Mom, sorry for my crazy order and writing! Hopefully ur fixen it up alot!! haha
Another funny story.. We did service for the old folks home and they had us serve them coffee or tea haha! It’s fantastic helping the old folks, but I thought that it was kind of ironic!! haha Oh and we have a super nice investigator that had us come over to teach him! He asked why Satan wasn't killed by God and so we taught the whole Plan of Salvation and answered his question perfectly! Everything we said he would nod and say “yes.” After the whole 45 minute lesson, he said, “Ok, next time you answer my question!” haha He was just saying yes but everything we were saying was going right over his head! haha He can speak English pretty good but I guess he really doesn't understand it very well! haha It was sooo painful because he was answering questions and I though he was picking up everything good. Guess not! haha
Language is a hard barrier out here!! We have a member that knows over 20 different languages that translates for us and there are still people with languages that he doesn't know. haha It’s crazy! And get this. . . He knows 20 different languages but he doesn't know the one language his wife speaks! So they talk with a mixture of languages and sign language! It’s amazing!!
A man named Tim has decided to be baptized on Wednesday! He is so ready! He’s been getting taught for about 2 months and he’s already read the Book of Mormon. My comp found him last transfer and he was super “Anti” haha So my comp just said, “Read this and tell us if you want to know more.” He read it and prayed and he gets baptized Wednesday, which is Remembrance Day in Canada! It’s so exciting! Also, a black man named Emanuel has been taking the lessons for 9 months, off and on, and he has finally set a date for the 28th of this month!! The average number of baptisms in our mission is like 4 or something. Like it’s super low, but I get to be a part of 2 in my first month!! It’s so amazing, but I’m getting greedy! haha Me and my comp don’t like taking no for an answer!! Every rejection still hurts and we get a lot!! haha But I’ve been able to teach some of the best lessons!
The other day we were with a family of 6 and they only spoke Chinese and a little English. Their two children Platu, age 8 and Plaset, age 7 are way smart though and they translate for their parents! We’ve been doing a combo of teaching the Gospel and English! We sit on the floor with a Children's Book of Mormon with pictures and the Dad reads it out loud and asks questions about words and we try to describe them or act them out! haha It’s so fun! It feels like teaching preschool with Mom! haha They are so amazing!
We also taught a couple (Robert and Patricia) that are super interested and we had a powerful lesson with them last night. They are so good and I really hope it works out with them! It’s so hard to see amazing people that just aren’t interested! We have a family, the Garcias that are so good, but they just aren’t interested. It’s way hard because a lot of people here just don’t have much backbone or work ethic! We had 12 investigators that we set up rides for church and called them the night before and they said they'd be there and not one showed! We think its because it was in like the 50’s Fahrenheit. haha It’s so nice here its crazy!!
But being a missionary is so fantastic because at first people don’t want to listen to you but if you just smile and keep teaching you can watch them change! They see there is something different and I can tell that they want it! They just don’t want to do the work to get it! Oh, another thing, my comp is the district leader and a stud! haha But because he is a district leader I got to do transfers with the zone leaders! I got to go with Elder Shulte and he is amazing! We were instant best buds and we stayed up late chatting. haha I learned so much from him though! He’s an amazing teacher! Out here it is sooo fun and amazing! But when you’re eating or when you wake up it can be so hard! At nights I’m to tired to think of anything, haha but in the mornings and when I eat I think of the family! It’s so crazy how it’s a constant up and down!! It’s so good but it’s so hard! But please listen to me and love every day together! I’ve already promised myself that when I get home I’m doing everything I can for my family! It was so easy, I don’t know why I wasn't better when I had the chance!! I love you all so much and Mom, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! You are soooo amazing!! I have the best mother and family in the world!!
Oh, and Dad Canada is a lot like the USA but everything costs a ton! haha and the USA and Canada dollar are the same! So a chicken sandwich and large fry are $5 instead of $3 haha, and we only get $5 a day for everything! So, no more fast food! I get a lot of Ramen and things called Sidekicks! I don’t get candy because I don’t have money! haha So we eat straight peanut butter because its cheap! haha love you by!!
Elder Smith
