Hey Friends and Fam!
Another crazy week!! Thank you so much for the email! Payt congrats (on the Hillcrest Game)!!! Man, your a senior! That’s sooo messed up!!! I feel like I just left, and I’m still getting updates from the junior year football games! It’s soooo scary how fast this last year has gone!! You can’t be a senior and you can’t be more ripped than me!! This is dumb! haha haha Mom and Dad thank you so much for your great emails too!! Sounds like all is well in River City!! haha
So this week was honestly the fastest week of my life!!! It’s sooo crazy how the weeks keep clicken’ by!! So first off, I got to do a baptismal interview and it was so neat!! I interviewed a young man named Kerry. He is in Y.S.A. (Young Special Interest) and he has been taught by Elder Willardson and Elder Ewell! He was so nervous for his interview!! It was such neat experience though!! He was definitely ready!! It’s so amazing that people my age and older look up to me so much, because I am a missionary!! Serving a mission is such a great blessing!! I have gotten to see so many amazing things!! But that was so neat and the rest of the week was pretty crazy!! We are teaching a lady named Belatu and she is so great!! We found her my first week back to Agnes and she has been to church the last 2 weeks with her kids!! She is amazing and she set a baptismal date for the 24th of September!! I love her and her kids so much and get this! She’s from Sudan, too! haha She is amazing though and this Sunday the Baronins had her and us all over for supper!! The Baronins are so great!!
District meeting this week went really good!!! I finally feel comfortable with how I want to teach them and now they are a lot of fun!! I did a neat object lesson and it worked out really good!! I am so tired all the time though. I’m glad I got used to not a ton of sleep back home! Because the district is pretty big and there is a ton of stuff to talk with them on the phone calls at night!! It’s way fun and I really feel like I am helping, but I don’t get off the phone with them and the zone leaders until 10:30 and then I have to get ready for bed and then back up again at 6:30. It’s hard because I don’t have the time to study before bed, that I used to. But, it’s been a great experience to try and help people in the district! I love the way things are and I wish they could just stay that way!!! I love where I am and the people I’m serving around so much!! I wish I could have the same love for everyone that I have for Akon and Belatu and the other great people that I have taught. I’m working on it, but man I love the people here so much!!
So, crazy story this week!! We had an appointment with Gabriel and we went over to his place and he was running across the street looking all scared and he told us to have the bishop call him, fast!! We end up going in with him and he told us what was going on! He had a cousin in Regina in a bind with bad stuff so Gabriel and another member of his tribe borrowed money from another Sudanese tribe so that they could buy out their cousin’s apartment in Regina. Gabriel thought he had enough to pay them off with his upcoming paycheck so he went and paid for repairs on Akon’s van and he paid his rent! Without Gabriel knowing, his tribe and this other tribe have a conflict in Africa and so the tribe went after Gabriel for the money! He didn’t have it, so they get in a little brawl with Gabriel and his uncle. Gabriel’s uncle got his eye pretty bashed up and Gabriel has a bruise on his neck!! While Gabriel was telling us this he was really shaken up, which was super scary because Gabriel is an under cover cop and he has some crazy stories already! But he said he couldn’t go to the cops because he was in the wrong and he owed money, so he called Bishop Baronins and Bishop came and wrote a $475 check on the spot to help get Gabriel out of the hole! So Gabriel gave them the check and all is well! haha But Gabriel couldn’t go to the tribe for money, because he helped the man in Regina against Daniel’s will (Akon’s husband). There meeting about the church was that very night!! So Bishop helped him out and the meeting about the church went through that night until 5 in the morning! Akon in north dakota, Daniel in Texas and Gabriel and part of the tribe in Canada and the rest of the tribe in Africa, were all on the line!! Gabriel said that the meeting went good but Daniel is still against it!! Everyone else is for it, but Daniel, and he is the oldest brother and kind of the head honcho!! It’s all so crazy and it sounds unreal!!
Gabriel gave us a list of the people that want to learn more from his tribe here in canada and there are 25 names!! All of the names are just heads of households!! A lot of them have families!! It’s hard to get one referral in Canada from a member, let alone 25 families! Gabriel is second oldest and he seems kinda like the rebel who doesn’t play by the tribe’s rules because he got baptized and he’s trying to convert all of these other people!! Man it’s insane!!!! haha Like it’s hard to believe all this stuff, but I’ve seen a lot of it happen myself, and it’s so crazy!! Gabriel has been helping us teach a ton of people though!! He’s so great!! But Akon still isn’t home!! She has to get back within the next week because school starts and with Gabriel and her both here I think some crazy stuff is gonna happen!! Because they both are trying really hard to get their tribe on board with the church!! I cant wait to see her and the kids again!! I’m happy, healthy, and safe!! I am just gonna definitely NOT borrow any money from people from Sudan!!
Church was great! Tons of people came again, but I don’t know what to do because we don’t have enough rides to get everyone there! Bishop Baronin’s asked for a downtown branch and his request is going up the ranks. We will see what happens!! Life is so great but so crazy! I love it!! If Daniel cracks, I think we will have a ton of baptisms here!! Oh, and Akon has told the whole tribe that Mom and her are close family friends!! Akon is amazing! Mom, you are amazing!! haha It’s so weird to know that people in Sudan listen in and hear about the missionaries and there family, that are their family friends. haha Crazy stuff! haha But Payt, don’t get your Eagle!! It’s a crazy cult you don’t want to be a part of!!! hahahaha Just kidding! Just get it done so you don’t have to worry about it!! Tell Heather hello and sorry that I haven’t written back for forever! Tell everyone you see I’m sorry I haven’t written. I pushed it back and I don’t know if I wanna try and catchup with everybody. I love and miss you all a ton!! Have a great week!!!
Love Elder Smith!
