Semana 71: Semana de Milagros: Wall of Salvation: 11/20/17

Hellooooooo!

I´m sorry but I don't know when I´ll have time to write and respond to you all anymore haha.

But this week was crazy!! And I don't have much time to explain it...

This week was the semana de milagros and it was great! We had a carwash, did some service, did some classic door knocking, and also... We had an activity with the WALL of Salvation! It took like all p day to make it, but it was worth it.  It was HUGE and full of Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation.  We were able to find lots of cool people and I´m sure we´ll see lots of success from this activity that we did.  

Also we had a baptism this week!!! Virginia and her daughters (Kimberly y Luz) got baptized on Saturday!  It went really well and they were all happy to be baptized and take this step in their lives.  The Sisters here in Flores also had a wedding and a bapitsm and it was NUTS.  The wedding was supposed to happen at 12pm on Saturday, and then the baptism at 1pm.  But... Mercedes, the lady that got married, had to go to the hospital in the morning and couldn't get to the church until like 4:30.  The Sisters were stressed to say the least haha and it was crazy trying to coordinate everything.  Thankfully, it all turned out good in the end and Mercedes got married on Saturday and then baptized on Sunday!

Also something pretty cool happened this weekend as well.  We had stake conference and they created a new stake!! We were the Heredia Stake, but now we´re the Heredia Stake and the Belen Stake! It was pretty cool and I got to see a lot of familiar faces from Santo Domingo! It was especially great to see Frank, one of my converts from Santo Domingo who was sustained to the office of an Elder! 

Don't have any more time but the Church is true and changes lives.  I´ve seen it first-hand and there´s nothing more important on the face of the Earth!

Love and miss you all and hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Elder Smith

pics: walking and talking, wall of salvation!, dead after finishing the wall, car wash!, not sure what they were doing haha, BAPTISM, working with two gringo young men in our ward!

Semana 70: Zone Conference: 11/13/17

Hello everyone!

Surprise! I don't have that much time to write this week either haha.  I still have the same amount of time to write as before, but not as much time to write you guys.  It´s all good though.  I´ll get good at summarizing my weeks and make it the most interesting that I can!

This week was a great one and I had a lot of great experiences.  First off, I had my first zone conference as zone leader which means I had to train the zone for like 45 minutes with my companion.  I was pretty nervous about it to begin with, but it honestly went really well and I feel like it helped not only us, but the zone as well.

This week was also crazy because my son, Elder Parma, did six baptismal interviews for us here in Flores! Now... This doesn't mean that we will have 6 baptisms this week, but that is the hope! They´re all super great and I´m super excited for them.  If everything goes well we should baptize a lady named Virginia and her two daughters named Kimberly y Luz.  And then we hope to baptize three brothers named Widelban, Harold, y Junior.  Harold and Junior are super great but they still don't have permission to get baptized yet.  Their parents are super great people, but the dad just wants to ensure that his kids are making the right decision.  Please pray for them so that the dad can soften his heart and let Harold and Junior get baptized! While all of this was happening, I was in the area of Belen with my grandson, Elder Muñoz! It was super fun and it was great to get to know him better.  Even though he only has 3 months in his mission, he´s a super great missionary and I´m a proud grandpa! I was able to do a baptismal interview for them as well and it was a really great experience.  

For my spiritual thought, I´d like to mention what our training was about in the zone conference because I think it can apply to all of us! We talked about how all of us here on the earth have a purpose, and how important it is that we use our time wisely to complete it.  What is it that God wants YOU to do here on the earth? Why did He put YOU here? I know and testify that all of us here have a purpose, and that purpose is to return to live with our Father in Heaven.  Now, how is it that we accomplish that? I´ll give you a hint, it´s not just being a good person and believing in God and Jesus Christ.  It´s a lot more than that.  At one point, our time here on the earth is going to come to an end.  And we have no idea when that is going to happen.  BUT, if we know our purpose, and are doing everything that we can to complete it, we know where we´re going.  If you don't know what your purpose is, or where you´re going, I invite you to call the missionaries up and find out! You´ll be glad you did!

Love and miss you all!

Elder Smith

pics: shooting hoops last p day, my son and grandson haha, zone conference!, the temple

Semana 69: Halfway Through Transfer 12: 11/6/17

Hello everyone!

I`m sorry but I don´t have any more time to write today either... I promise I`m going to try harder from now on to write more in these things so you know how I`m doing.  But I`ll give you a break this week haha. 

This week was super great! I had my first leadership council this week which we had to wake up at 3:30 in the morning for haha.  It was honestly super awesome and I learned a ton.  I also had the privelege of receiving my "pin". We receive a pin from our mission president when we complete with the goal for baptisms in the month or baptize a family for the first time.  It took me over a year but I finally received mine! 

We also had 9 investigators at church this week!!! It was awesome and it was super great because every single one of them is progressing.  If everthing goes well, we should have 5 or 6 baptisms on November 18th! 

Sorry I don´t have more time to write, but I promise I`m doing good and learning lots and inviting everyone to come unto Christ. I love and miss you all and hope you have a great week this week and come closer unto Christ!

Elder Smith

pics: Eating pizza at Pricesmart (Costco), when I received my "pin", my old comp Elder Canul goes home this transfer, a river here in Flores, saw some kind of lizard in the river

Semana 68: Wedding Bells: 10/30/17

Hello everyone!

Just going to let you know from the start that I don't have hardly any time and most likely won't be able to respond to the majority of you... Sorry.

But... This week was great!!!

The most exciting news from the week is that we had a wedding and 2 baptisms!  Victor y Liliana got married and baptized this Saturday and it was awesome.  Victor y Liliana seem like they´ve been members for a long time and even though I couldn't be here to teach them much, I´m glad I had the opportunity to participate in their baptism.  It was a great day!

I also had the opportunity to go on exchanges with Elder Parma, my son, this week and it was a great day! Even though we were only together for a day, he has progressed a ton since I was with him a little over 3 months ago.  I´m a proud dad and grandpa! 

We also had a multi-zone conference this week with half the mission and it was crazy but really good.  Elder Rodriguez and I had to give a 10 minute training which went pretty well I think.  I was pretty nervous but should be well prepared for the next time we have to give a training.  My favorite part was the spirit I could feel while I was there.  I know that this gospel is true and that it truly brings joy to our lives when we consecrate ourselves to live it.  It requires discipline and obedience, but it´s truly worth it for the joy and the companionship of the spirit that we receive in return.  I love my Savior and know that He lives and loves us.  

I hope everyone has a great week this week and I´ll try to write more next week!

Elder Smith

Pics: On the bus with my comp :), a pic of part of our area, Presidente y Hermana Laboriel y my son and grandson, the baptism!, we found Satan!, our zone last pday!, some of the gringos from the mission