Friends and Family,
Mom you are the most amazing woman in this world!! Like wow, you are soooooo great. I love and miss you so much!!! You are so thoughtful. I am missing you so bad because everyone here tells me how amazing you are, as if I don’t know!! You are the best!! I am so blessed!!
First off, this week was insane!! Mary, Open’s wife, started breast feeding while we were teaching! Then Steve Green walked out of the room when we were mid-prayer! We looked up and he was gone, so we just left! haha Then we found two completely wasted natives that kept falling on the ice, so we had to call 911 to get them help. We stayed with them for 30 minutes. While we were waiting, one ambulance passed us after only ten minutes. My comp was like, oh that wasn’t too slow. Then it hauled passed us! haha We couldn’t help but laugh. Someone finally showed and we didn’t get a thanks or nothin’ haha They just walked by us and started working on them all calm like. This town is crazy, but sooo amazing!! Missions are so hard, but man do I love my mission!!!!
We broke the “investigators to church” record again this week with 20-something. I don’t even know how many, but the Bishop said we broke it again! 16 were from our area and 11 were 8 years or older! It was amazing and we had another 7 that we were counting on but 6 of them dropped at the last minute. One of them, the member forgot to pick up! He has a date for the 20th of next month so this was really disappointing! President Paulson was mad at the member and he said if he would have known he would have just given us permission to go get him! President is so great and really funny.
The Bishop had us over for supper and told us that we are teaching more Africans than his son who is serving his mission in Africa! hahaha This gave us all a good laugh! We have some dates coming up next month but I’m super sad because I’m worried I won’t be here. One of them is Juliet and she is amazing! Her date is the 20th and she is so solid! I love her to death, but I’m super sad I might not be here for her baptism!! This area is amazing!! I never want to leave!!
Me and my comp are working a lot better together and we are sooo busy! Things are going so good!! I love it here and get this, I talked to Akon’s husband in Texas!! I got permission to call him and I talked to him for about 30 minutes! He is a great man, but he has really strong beliefs.
He believes very strongly that his kids have already been baptized! I tried to teach but he wasn’t gonna have it, so I just talked with him about his amazing family! He said that he loves what the church is doing for his family! He was against the church, but now he thinks its good that his kids are going to church and he likes that we come and teach their family, but he said he doesn’t want the kids to get baptized until they are old enough to decide for themselves! He said, as for Akon, she can make her own choice but he doesn’t think she should get baptized. But he will give her his permission to do it, if she wants to. I was kinda happy, but mostly sad. I thought for sure that if I talked to him, the problem would be solved. But it didn’t go as planned. But Akon said she doesn’t feel right about being baptized when she knows her kids should be baptized too. So we are trying to figure out what to do. Any ideas??
But back to you Mom! You are amazing!! Sister Baronins and Akon love you so much! Akon wore here necklace and earrings you sent her to church and she was showing them to everyone! She wore them at our party too! haha She told Sister Baronins, "Sister Smith is such a beautiful lady, Elder Smith looks so much like her.” haha I wanted to cry!! We came in for the party and her house was spotless and it looked so good! Now on her mantle instead of just her family pictures and the picture of me and Elder Willardson, there is also the picture of our family right at the front. My family is on Akon’s mantle! haha I was sooo happy! The meal she made was amazing!! It was all African food!! It was crazy weird, but crazy good!! All kinds of spicy gravy stuff! One had pork, one had beef, one had chicken. And there was salmon, cooked in this crazy way that was way good!! And there was homemade like crepe things, accept thicker that you put the gravy stuff in. There were salads and homemade bread and a bunch of other stuff!! It was soooo amazing!! The Baronins, the Shroens (ward mission leaders) and me and my comp were all there! And then Akon did like a speach for everyone about how much she loved the missionaries and the families and the friendships she was making and then she started talking about you Mom! haha About how amazing you are and about how she hopes the friendship will last forever and then she and the Baronins just went off about how amazing you are and how lucky I am! Then they talked me up and it was embarrassing, like they just went off!! It made me miss you so much!! When Akon was talking about you and me, Sister Baronins was tearing up and aaahhhh!! IT WAS JUST AMAZING!! I LOVE MY MISSION SOO MUCH!!
It went so good, and then I got my package and I thought you couldn’t make my week any better, but you did! I haven’t even got to look through it!! You’re the best Mom!! Even when I’m in another country, you find a way to make me happy!! It was a great week!! We are teaching Juliet again tonight and she is so good!! She has had a hard life, but if you can get her to smile it’s worth a million bucks! haha So the whole lesson I was just doing anything to get her to laugh. haha She called us!! She is way solid and I hope I’m here for her baptism next month!!
Open’s family and Barnaba’s family are still coming along, slowly but surely!! They will take a while yet until they are ready for baptism because you have to teach so slow!! Their kids are ready though, and they love us and church!! They are great!! We found another couple of families this week that are way good and one of them is white and has a car! haha Which means we need to convert them fast so they can help us get people to church!! As for baptisms, I don’t think there will be any this transfer because we’re out of time but I sure hope I’m here next transfer!!!
Alex Baronins, the bishop’s son, is on a mission in Africa and his mission president is Bill Taylor. His wife is Jenavieve and they were from the Osgood Ward in the Eagle Rock Stake!! haha crazy!! Find the connections and fill me and Sister Baronins in!!
Last thing you have to read "Unleashing the Dormant Spirit" by F. Enzio Bushe!! It is so good!!! Mom and family I love and miss you sooo much! Dad, I am eating good and I’m pumped to come home to a new fly rod! Make some good ones and get Payt out this summer! Payt, tear up the sloops!! I love and miss you all so much!! You are amazing! Thanks for the package! I’m excited to go look and see what’s in it right now!! You are all the best!
Oh and thanks to the Doug and Lisa Moss family for the package!! You guys are great!! And thanks to Nicole for the letter!! It was really good!! You are all the best!! I love you all a ton!! Be safe and smart.
Love Elder Smith
