Hey!!!
Thank you soooo much for all of the great emails!! Mom I don’t think you are fat and Akon just thinks your taller hahaha! I was super mad about the t-shirts because we were way late and I couldn't find anything to give you and then when I did, all they had were xxl! haha Hopefully it really is the thought that counts because that was a lame gift and I’m way sorry! haha I promise the gift next year will have more thought and it will be on time! Unless I’m shopping with Dad, and then we will pick it up the day of! But either way it’ll be better than 2 weeks late! Just kidding Dad. I loved our good, last minute, shopping! It’s just because you’re a lot better impulse buyer! I love and miss you all sooo much! Payt, that jeep is beautiful!! Don’t roll it!! Have fun, but please be safe!! The 2 of us are gonna look good sportin’ that on the way to the slopes next year! That is if you’re not gone on the mish! Mom, don’t stress my shoes!! I evaluated them this week and found a hole in the bottom! So I’ve been sportin’ the boots and they are great!! I still have another pair of shoes that are great and should last me.
It’s been snowing like crazy here! Way more then last year at this time which has been good because it’s stayed pretty warm. We’ve had some cold days but nothing too bad! This week was crazy. We drove out to Portage La Prarie for a mini zone meeting. We taught all the outlying areas there and then Wednesday, we taught the rest of the zone. It went well and it was a lot of fun. Our area is doing well. We had a lot of great lessons this week and church went great!! We are teaching a lady named Amie and her son Godwin and they are amazing!! They have a baptismal date for the 18th! We had some great lessons with them this week and they made it to church! The ward is not too great at fellow shipping, but it went sooooo good because Sister Evangilista (a recent convert) knew Amie from work! She sprinted over so excited to see her! Amie loved it and really enjoyed it! Her big struggle was getting work off for church, but after Sunday, she seems super committed! And I love her and Godwin sooo much!
Jamie is still doing well. He snapped all of the rest of his cigarettes in front of us! It was great! If everything works out, he should get baptized on the 18th!
This week we have been really working the rich part of our area and I have been shocked at how accepting people are at the door! We have got a ton of return appointments and phone numbers, but these rich people have not been showing up for the appointments. I was so frustrated because I thought the biggest battle with rich people would be getting them to set up appointments. Turns out they have no problem setting up an appointment and then not being there! It’s funny because after a day of 7 rich people standing us up, I was super frustrated! I was like, “Man! how can people say they will be somewhere to do something and then not show!?! It’s happened a lot on my mission, but this week it really made me think! It made me think about how our family would have a hard time all being available for good ole faithful home teacher Brother Bowen! ha ha I experienced a lot of guilt as I thought back to the times where he’d be there waiting for us or just half of us would be there. I feel way bad! You can tell him, pay back comes 10 fold! Also, tell Brother Bowen that I’m super grateful for his dedication, because if the members here were home teachers like him there would be a lot more less active members coming out to church! Please give me the update on how he is doing and tell him I say hello! Also, tell Bishop that I’m sorry for not coming to more activities! It’s so funny because everyone can make time for the church activities. Now, of course there are exceptions, but man I look at the members here and the busiest ones with work and school and family are the ones that always show up!! I’m super grateful for you Mom and Dad because you are some of those members that are always there for moves and church parties and events and everything else! It’s so funny because if everyone would just do their part, the church would function sooo much better! Even though now it functions so good because of those great members that just always show up!! I’m so committed to never saying I’m busy when there is a way I can help with that kind of stuff, when I get home! haha sorry I’m rambling on! Thank you for the great people and examples that you are Mom and Dad!!
So this week we met with the Bishop and it went well! He still isn’t gonna help much but I can’t blame the guy. He has like 5 kids, a full time job, and he is still in school. He’s in his 30’s and he has a super strong testimony! He does love the missionaries though. He just is a very busy man! We had a great chat though and hopefully some of our ideas will get the ward excited!
So Thanksgiving was interesting! It’s funny because I remember being so depressed last year for Thanksgiving. haha I hated the world! So this year I was super excited for it, to make it a great one! But we weren’t allowed to go to the big party with all of the missionaries because Brother Cresenzi, our ward mission leader, wanted us to come eat with him. So we were a little down, but kept a good attitude. We got there for the fake microwave potatoes and store bought pumpkin pie. haha Then we listened to the ward mission leader talk down on the ward for not helping us and then giving us all of his excuses for why he never can help us! It was hard to not laugh. It was an interesting night, but it really was soooo great! haha I truly am so grateful for all that I have been blessed with! It’s so funny because I really am pretty good at picking out the bad! I sat there thinking bad about the ward mission leader, when he had spent all night trying to give us an American Thanksgiving! It’s so funny how often on my mission I have had these shots of humility were I get to see all of my shortcomings and I get to see how blessed I really am!!
I’m so grateful for my amazing family, my great friends, and my wonderful life! I’m so grateful to be on a mission!! Missions are the best!! And I’m grateful for our good bishop and our great ward mission leader! hahaha It’s so neat to see how, with all of our short comings, life goes on and the work goes forward!! I love and miss you all so much!! And I really am so grateful for all that you have done for me! I have the best family ever!! Stay safe and smart and have a great week!! Love Elder Smith!
