Faith isnt a friend of Fear, & Blanquitas Baptism! :)

Hola,

Hmmm... where to even begin?! This week was kind of a blur with a whole bunch of random thrown inbetween. But obviously the best part was Blanquitas Baptism!!! Whoo finalmente! Oh yeah, and Mothers Day was good also, to talk with my family on Skype.

If you remember from emails before, the process for Blanquita wasnt a quick or easy one. Her husband was gone because he is a Solder (that doesnt look right, but I honestly dont remember how to spell it, it is a person in the Army, it is Soldado in Spanish). So first they had to get married, and yadda yadda, a million other details.

But the day finally came for Blanquita! (If you remember her son Aldo was the first baptism I was blessed to be a part of when I came here. And her four other children were baptized before.) Ah the day of the baptism was just one crazy thing after another. And it was a long story but we didnt know if the baptism was going to happen on Saturday due to schedule isses and blah. So my companion said do we fill the font or wait for an official yes or what? And I said fill that puppy up! Faith first, miracles second. A baptism was going down! And then after we made the decision to do all that we could with our part to make the baptism happen that day, then we got the phone call with in minutes that it was happening!

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With other baptisms I was in the crowd, watching in a chair in front of the font with everyone else. But with Blanquita I was waiting at the door at the top of the stairs for when she exited the font with a towel and a hug. And it was such a sweet experience. I gave her a hug when she came out of the font, and she began to cry. She had waited so long for this day. And in that moment, all the sweat, tears, and work was worth it. She said "The best, right?!" She said "Que rico, no?!" People here say que rico when they have a good experience or food that they like, and they say no after alot of things as if for you to agree with them in a form of a question.

And a missionary I am well aware that the baptisms arent about ME. The work isnt about ME. It isnt for Melanie to be completely comfy cosy in all that she does. The work is hard, and the no"s come fast and frequently. But when the yes comes, it makes it worth it. And as I think yay me, look how hard I have worked. God has always been working on their hearts longer and harder. So it is my job to find the people where their will meets Gods will, and that is the miracles.

Okay, love you all tons, keep up your own personal missionary work as well. How long has it been since you shared your testimony with someone? How long has it been since you have invited someone to join you in the happiness of the gospel? What are you waiting for? Push your fears aside, and fill that font!

Love Always,

                    Hermana Smith    

Here is a picture of me, Blanquita, and my current companion Hermana Lopez. It was hard with the baptism clothes because Blanquita is SUPER small, and we only had one dress as an option to use. So I took a white mens church tie, and tied it tight around her waist with a bow in the back, and folded the extra length part of her dress over the tie. So it just ended up being a shorter dress, so she didnt completely drown in all of that extra fabric.

And here is a photo of Adolfo, Aldo, Hermana Juarez, Me, Marta with Gorda, Adolfo and Blanquita. It was a Sunday after church. It is the best when the people you work with make the choice to come to church and learn more of what God has to offer for them in thier lives.

 

Want to be a Smith?! And who are you inviting to your dinner party?

Hola!  :)

So my companion forgot her missionary tag the other day and we werent close to our house and we needed to get to an appointment. I bought an extra one to keep in my backpack incase I forgot mine (thankfully I havent run into that problem yet). So she knew it was better than no tag. But I told her it wasnt going to be the best thing when people met us, like what would we say, "Hello, Im Hermana Smith! And this is my companion Hermana Smith! And we want to tell you about Joseph Smith! You too can be a Smith after you are baptized in our church!  ;) "

So usually we have to make sure our hair isnt blocking our tag, but she had it in a braid, and tried to block the Smith part. We thought we were successful with our day of both being Hermana Smiths. But then the next day our lesson with a brand new investigator, and he asked "Is Smith the last name of everyone in your church?" Because he saw us the day before when he met us and read our tags. Dont worry we explained ourselves.

The second part of my email title is "Who are you inviting to your dinner party?" Because recently I had a dream and I was sitting at the head of a table, I didnt really know whos house I was at, but all I knew was that I must be SUPER important and I was SO excited to be there! So then I looked to my right to see who else was so honored to be with me at this special dinner. And I saw three men with dirty faces, nappy hair, and torn clothes, eager for food. It was like some of the homeless people I have seen here in the streets. And then I woke up. And from this I think it is important for us to recognize that we are just as equal as the person in the street, the person who you dont get along with at work, the family member who said something unkind to, or anyone that you come in contact with. So "Who are you inviting to your dinner party?" Means, do you think you are better than people. Or can we all learn to humble ourselves and be more kind, more patient, and more giving. Because we are all children of God, and you never know what that homeless man has gone through, what the "rude" person at work is dealing with at home, or the background story of anyone that you come in contact with. Everyone has trials, and it is our job to judge less, and love more.

I told my Trainer (Mom) that I would eat a hotdog with her on our last day together (well the last) saturday. Because I never buy meat on my own, or seek it out for a meal. I just eat it with members if they give it to me. But everyone raves about the hotdogs here. It is a hot dog, wrapped in bacon, with really good bread, and you can choose from a ton of toppings. And... I ate it , and I didnt die.

P.s. Happy Cinco de Mayo!!! :) I think it is actually recognized more in the united states than it is in Mexico. Ha ha.

and this Saturday is mothers day in mexico, it is always the 10th of may, no matter what day of the week that is. so i get to Skype home!!!  :D

Love you all!

love always,

                      Hermana Smith     

Fashion with Missionary Work

Here is a photo of me with Isabella and Susanna. And you might faint from shock, but... the shirt that I am wearing in this picture is the only new article of clothing I have bought since I have been in Mexico. But it was soon after I got here, so it was when I was still weak about shopping for clothes. But... I made sure to share the gospel with the people that owned the store while we were there. And me and Hermana Juarez were invited back to teach them many more after in their Boutique. And they invited us to their house for lunch one day. And because of changes they didnt know if we would still be here or not. So they let us each pick out a blouse from their Boutique for FREE!  :)  Eh, who said you cant mix fashion with Missionary Work?!  ;)

A Wedding, A Mouse, & A New Companion

HOLA!  :)

This week has been crazy but good. After our baptisms with Alfonso and Mari Campos we had not the easiest week. But I told my companion that we needed to "Suck it up!" (Not in a mean way, I teach her random English phrases that she doesnt know. So when things get hard or we arent being as Humble as we need to, we tell eachother "Suck it up!")

So I told her "We need to suck it up! Because the bad times prepare you to enjoy the good times. So this week isnt good, because it is preparing us for a Miracle."

Me and Hermana Juarez have really been working hard with Blanquita ever since February for her to get married. But her "husband" is in the Military, so he was gone for a long time. But long story short with out the million crazy details, the miracle came. Blanquita and Adolfo got married this week! YAY!  :)  And when he came back for Military leave, he told us that he had read the whole Book of Mormon! He read it in one month, cover to cover, there are people who have been members their whole lives, and they cant say that they have read it cover to cover. So if that is you... what are you waiting for?! Why do you care where the 116 lost pages are, if you havent read the ones that you have already been given? But honestly with Adolfo you could tell the difference, he seems like a different person, it sounds clique, but it is honesty. The Gospel of Jesus Christ changes people. AND they are both getting baptized in a few weeks. Ooh Ooh, the week of pish posh was worth it!

Here is a picture from their wedding day. They needed four witnesses above the age of 18, so it was me and my companion and two missionaries that helped teach their family earlier. So as I am missing weddings at home that I was suppose to be a bridesmaid at, this is pretty good too.  ;)

Okay quickly about the mouse story. Me and my companion were teaching we had a sister training leader with us also. We were in a small room with the door closed, and the three of us were sitting on a bed, while the investigator was sitting on a chair across from us. And... I saw a shadow from the corner of my eye scurry across the floor, so I just hoped my best and assumed it was a big fast cocroach. But then my companion was freaking out on my left. So I whispered to  her "Suck it up! And be humble!" And she replied "You arent the one who has a mouse by you!" Her feet were lifted off the ground, but she is less than five feet tall, so she scooted back on the bed, and her feet hung above the ground, not a noticable big deal. Then on my right side the other Hermana scooted back to have her feet above the groud. Okay, lets be real, there is no way my feet were going to hang above the ground. Yeah right. So here I am with legs for days compared to them, and I just elivated my feet up, Im sure it looked awkward. The lesson seemed like an eternity. But we survived. Ha.

So with changes, my companion Hermana Juarez left, and she is now a Sister Training Leader. And I stayed here in Hermosillo, Area Modelo B. And I received a new Companion, Hermana Lopez. She is great, I have heard nothing but good things about her. She doesnt know any English... but I think it is a blessing, because it will really push me to speak Spanish ALL the time. Because... it is my only option. Ha ha.

Well I love you all... continue to pray EVERY DAY, know that not just anyone is listening, but your Loving Heavenly Father, who wants nothing but the best for you. And he is willing to help you with anything, but first you need to pray, and apply your part of action as well.

Love Always,

                    Hermana Smith