Semana 80: Semana de Milagros: Hawaii Trip: 1/22/18

Hello everyone!

Sorry but I´m not going to write much today because I got behind...

But this week was the semana de milagros and it was one of my favorites so far here in the mission.  We had two zone activities and they both went great! We had a carwash in the church behind the temple! We also had an activity in another church buliding that was called "viaje a Hawaii" or Trip to Hawaii!

We obviously didn't go to Hawaii (wish we could have haha) but we brought Hawaii to Costa Rica.  Basically the idea was that when they entered the church (Hawaii) they had the option to play a game or listen to the missionaries.  If they chose to listen to the missionaries they received a candy, but if they went to play a game, they lost one.  Then... It was time for them to go back to Costa Rica so they had to enter the "plane" to go back.  While "in flight" the plane crashed and everyone aboard died.  We had a missionary dressed up as an angel come and they entered "judgement" basically and we taught them the plan of salvation.  I hope that made sense but it was SUPER fun and spiritual and we found some really awesome people because of it.  

Well we didn't have a baptism last week and we´re not so sure about this week either.  Luis, Josmara, and Belen passed their baptismal interviews but couldn't go to church on Sunday.  We have an appointment with them today so we hope everything is okay.  But to be continued... Pray for them please! 

Love and miss you all! Sorry for the short email this week! 

Elder Smith

pics: zone pic from Hawaii, district breakfast with french toast, made crepes with the bishop and his wife, lunch with E. Jenkins

Semana 79: Week 79...: 1/15/18

Hello everyone!

Hope everyone had a great week this week and are getting adjusted to school and work again!

We had a great week here in Flores, and more than anything was a week of progress.  Not too much, but a step in the right direction.  The highlight of this week is that we had 8 investigators at church on Sunday!! That´s probably one of my favorite things in the mission.  Just watching new people come and get to know the church.  But I think I´m more excited that they´re there than they are that they´re there most times haha.  But Luis, Josmara, and Belen came! I can't remember if I´ve talked much about them yet, but if I haven{t, they are all siblings and are super great.  We finished up teaching them basically everything this week and we hope to have their baptismal interviews this week!  Their baptismal date is for the 20th (this Saturday) but we´re not sure it´ll happen yet or not.  Just a few small doubts here and there with Luis more than anything, but if we can help him out, I know he can get baptized on Saturday.  It´s funny because his only doubt basically is about tithing.  Of all the things that there are, his biggest doubt is about tithing! That´s a first for me here in the mission haha.  He understands it, but he´s never been religious or assisted a church before now, so he has never had that background or habit to pay tithing.  He wouldn't even have to pay tithing yet (he´s not working right now), but he knows it´s a commandment and that if he doesn't accept it, he would be disobedient.  And he doesn't want that.  

We continued helping him out on Sunday in our Gospel Principles class.  We talked about the Plan of Salvation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ and something that really stood out to me that I hadn't considered much before was the definition of repentance in the scriptures.  It says that repentance means "to adopt a new attitude towards God, towards yourself, and towards life in general." I´m not sure that´s 100% correct because i translated it from Spanish but it´s something like that haha.  I really liked it because repentance truly is a change of attitude.  It´s not just "not sinning".  True repentance is having a change of heart, a change of opinion, a change of attitude.  Even though it might be hard and something we´re not used to (like paying tithing), if we truly want to repent, we accept this change of habit and accept God´s will. Because we know it´s right and will help us receive our eternal salvation in the long-run.  

Sorry, nothing else too crazy or exciting happend this week! But I´m doing good and know this gospel is true and changes lives! Let it change yours! Accept God´s will and have this "change of attitude"!

Love and miss you all!

Elder Smith

pics: Pricesmart p-day!, ok this was a crazy story but don{t have time to explain it... But basically we were contacting and came across some house that had this inside... Luckily we saw it before we waited for them to answer the door!, Elder Lake and I with Belen, Josmara, and Fabiola (friend of Josmara that came to church as well), Elder Lake and I with Luis!

Semana 78: Cambios o no cambios?: 1/8/18

Hello everyone!!

Well today was transfers day... And I will not be having transfers! Neither will my companion! So the gringo duo will last one transfer more.  That also means that I will be here in Flores for my 3rd transfer (7 transfers in Heredia) haha.  I´m super excited to work super hard this transfer and hopefully see the fruits of our labors.

Well... To be completely honest, this was one of those really tough weeks in the mission. I´m not gonna lie.  One of those weeks where you feel like you´re doing all that you can so that everything goes well, but everything just goes wrong and you can{t do anything about it.  That was basically our week this week.  Everything was going good/normal in the week, but then we´re returning from our leadership council Friday afternoon and we get a text message from our investigator, Bryan that he isn{t sure he wants to get baptized anymore.  This was the first and only time that Bryan showed any sign of unsurety or doubt about getting baptized.  We figure he´s just nervous, but when we showed up to see what happened, his countenance had changed completely and he didn't even let us come inside to talk to him.  We tried to help him overcome his doubts and help him come to understand what God wanted him to do, but it ended by him telling us that it would be better if we just didn't come by to visit him anymore... I think that was one of the hardest moments of my mission yet.  I understand that in the end, everyone has their free will to make their own decisions, but it was just especially hard for my companion and I because we knew he was ready and prepared, but he chose to act differently.  

Now, I don't like to share negative experiences in these emails, but I share it because of what I learned in our leadership council just hours before this experience took place.  Hermana Laboriel (the wife of our mission president) shared a message with us about Jesus Christ and the invitation He always extends to us, which is to, "Come, Follow Me".  We know that Jesus Christ lived a perfect life and experienced many wonderful things in this earthly life, but we also know He experienced pain and suffering beyond what we can even imagine. Our purpose here in this life is to come and follow this perfect example of Jesus Christ so that we can receive our eternal exaltation.  That means we have to experience the good AND the bad of what Christ experienced here, at least to some degree.  A statement that Jeffrey R. Holland said once that really stood out to me was something like this, "the road to salvation always has to pass by Gethsemane".  Now, I´m not saying I experienced anything close to what Christ experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane, but I know that Christ nows EXACTLY how I felt in this moment that was particularly difficult for me.  I also know that this was an experience that I needed to have for my eternal progression.  We need to be diligent and always have what Hermana Laboriel called a "celestial character".  That means that in spite of the difficulties and challenges that we have, that we endure to the end and stay strong to what we know is true.  

I´m so grateful for revelation and that by way of my leaders, I can receive revelation and comfort through the trials that I face daily.  I didn't know that I was going to have an experience quite like that this week, but the Lord prepared me.  It doesn't mean it wasn't easy to experience, but I know it was for something and that the Lord wants me to progress, be more diligent, and become the disciple of Christ that He needs me to be.  I really loved that thought and I felt prompted to share this experience with all of you this week. I know we all face trials and challenges in our lives, but I invite you all to look at it from this perspective if you haven{t already. The Lord loves us and wants to prepare us to return unto Him.  I´m eternally grateful for Him and this time He has given me to serve His children here in Costa Rica.  

I love and miss you all and hope you have a great week this week!

Elder Smith

pics: our ward mission leader went to Oregon a year ago and still has the shirt to prove it, our cook is the best!, wasn't ready for this pic, forgot to mention that my son in the mission is a zone leader already!, my MTC comp (Elder Millward) is a beast and is the new Assistant to our mission president!

Semana 77: "...Prospero Año y Felicidad!": 1/1/18

Hello everyone and Happy 2018!!!

I´m so grateful for the year of 2017 and for every single one of the experiences that I had this year.  I spent the entire year of 2017 here in the mission and I can say with all of my heart that I would not have traded this time for anything.  It´s weird to be away from friends and family, it´s true.  But, I feel like I´m getting to know new friends and family that I never would have met any other way.  And most importantly, I feel like I´m getting to know better the two most important members of my (and our) family, which is my Father in Heaven and, His son, Jesus Christ.  I couldn't be more grateful for these two perfect beings that have changed my life completely (and that can change anyone´s life if they let them).  I don{t feel like I´m closer to them now just because I´m here in the mission.  But rather, I feel like I´m closer to them now for what the mission has taught me.  It doesn't matter who we are or where we are, the only thing that matters is what we do each and every day to feel closer and draw nearer unto them.  They love us SO much and have done and will do everything and anything for us.  The only thing that stops us from being close to them is ourselves... If we want to be close to them, we can be! They´re always there, but we just don't always do what we should to be there next to them. It´s easier said than done, but no one ever said that the road to salvation would be easy.  In fact, they said it would be the straight and narrow path that leads to the Kingdom of God.  And what is the Kingdom of God? Just the place where God and Jesus Christ live and reside always in a state of perfect peace, love, and joy beyond what we have and can imagine.  And it´s where we can live and reside forever too.  If we choose to.  As we´re starting a new year, I invite all of you to make new year´s resolutions about what you can do to enter and follow this path better.  What can you do to better your and your family´s relationship with your Heavenly Father? And what can you do to better enter and follow this pathway that leads to your eternal salvation? If you need help with ideas, look to the scriptures and/or the counsel of your Father in Heaven.  That´s what I´m going to do and I invite you all to join me! I´m so grateful for every single one of you who reads these things each week and I hope I was able to say at least one thing that helped you during this past year.  If not... well I still have 6 months to go haha! But I love and miss you all and hope you have a fantastic week and a great new year!

Elder Smith

P.s. Bryan will be getting baptized on Saturday!!!

Pics: Reunited with my beloved mac & cheese, still can't take pics with my eyes open in case you were wondering, zone activity that we had today :)