Follow the Path of Happiness

Hola!  :)

Well first I want to say that I know that Heavenly Father answers your prayers. It wont be immediately, maybe you have more to learn first. But if they are prayers that are sincere and with a good purpose, if you ask, he will happily bless you. I have been praying for over two months in my mission to find a family of five. And yes in Caborca they were found! They are GOLDEN! I will write more about them later. They dont officially have baptism dates yet, but I am confident that they will get baptized on July 19th. So I will keep you posted more about them later. (Below is the four children from the family yesterday at church, and then also there is their Dad that we are teaching.) From left to right = Juliana, (Me), Jackilyn, Jade, and Alberto.

I read a super good talk this week, well actually I am obsessed with it, so I read it three times. It is called "Follow the Path of Happiness" By Bishop Gerald Causse (1st Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric). READ IT!  :)

Our Branch is slowly but surely improving. Me and my companion fasted for them this past Saturday and yes, it was a for real fast 24 hours, not the Apostasy Mormon-Utah kind of two meals or whatever the individual wants. Ha. Our Branch Mission Leader is Amazing! And he told me and my compainon "It doesnt matter what the missionaries before you did or didnt do. Your Mission President sent you here for a Revolution!" And that is what we are working for!  :)

Oh and during the World Cup, it doesnt matter who you are Mexican Man, Woman, Child, or Baby, they are watching when Mexico plays! We only spent like twenty minutes in the grocery store today and while we were in there 3 goals were made. People were freaking out! Yeah it is a joke trying to teach people if a game is on. Even if it is a lesson to a less active or a member, sometimes they still leave the tv on with the sound off. This too shall pass. Ha ha.

P.S. I forgot to share a story (well there a plenty of stories I never got the chance to share, but this one came to mind) about when I was in Hermosillo. And during a lesson I looked down on my lap, and there was a cockroach, somehow I kept my cool, and just sweeped it off my lap and continued on with the lesson. Then the next day during a lesson in a different house, there wasnt one, but TWO mice in the corner of the room while we were teaching. No promises will be made that if one of those is on my lap that I will sweep it off calmly.

Love Always,

                    Hermana Smith

6 Month Photo

Well I hit 6 months out on the 18th of June. So I thought it would be most appropriate to write it on a tortilla.

Welcome to Caborca!

Hola,

Here is a picture of me and my companion Hermana Rodriguez, standing in the thirsty dirt of Caborca. Im not sure that I am meant to have a companion taller than 5"3. Ha ha. I think Hermana Rodriguez is about 5 feet.

Today our Zone made Empanadas.

(I inserted a picture of it, but it was too big for the email, opps. Maybe I will send it in a seperate email next week.)

Oh Caborca, it has a lot of Potential. If we stick with it, and our heads held high. This area can have GREAT success. Yesterday was our first Sunday here in Caborca, and we are in Branch 1. I like to think there were less people than usual. There were about 35 people who attended our Branch Sacrement Meeting. I told my companion that I think it is about the size of my Home Ward Primary, and then I thought about it again and replied... actually I think my Home Ward Primary is bigger. Ha.

But we have a great Branch Mission Leader. And there are a ton of people here in Caborca who I am certain are ready for our message. So I am excited to continue in the work here!  :)

And before I was like woof 22, the old woman of the misson. But, in Caborca their are two Hermanas who are 25 and one who is 26. But really it doesnt matter your age to join in Gods work, and it doesnt matter if you have a missionary tag or not. It is time to invite!  :)

Sorry it is so short, I will try to write more next week.

Love Always,

                    Hermana Smith     

Your Point of View, is Up to You! :)

Hola Little Darlings,

Well my next area is... Caborca! My companion was mad at one of the Assistants, "Why would you send her there?!" And he said that they have trust in me, and because I had baptisms. Etc. Because when I first got here to Mexico, Caborca was closed for Hermanas. So me and my new companion, Hermana Rodrigez, are going to open an area there.

Well, Caborca is basically the joke place of the misson. Its like count your blessings, at least you arent going to Caborca. And a member asked me where I was being sent, after I told him, he said "Just remember that the church is true, just remember that the church is true." People always call it "Calor-ca". Which calor is heat, so in Cabora, apparently it is the most hot area in the mission. Which I didnt think hotter than here existed, but it does. It is like the armpit of Mexico, and like walking on fire. Tuesday it was 127° here in Hermosillo. Yet somehow the member still fed us boiling hot soup for lunch. Ha. So I will be heading to Caborca tomorrow with my new companion. So lets walk on fire with a smile then, shall we?!  :)

Because your point of view, is up to you. You determine your outlook and your attitude. I mean its not like I love to prove people wrong. Okay fine, if you know me... I sometimes love to prove people wrong. So I will be greatful to be in that beautifl place, and at least I will not receive frost bite there. I want to help make it the cool place to serve, people should come running for baptisms! I didnt come on a mission thinking "Oh THIS should be EASY. And Ive got a year and a half to burn up some time." I came to WORK. And I would sleep in the dirt if it meant more baptisms.

You cant just BE someone, you have to BECOME someone, it is a process, a life-long journey.

Are you what youve always imagined you could be? Or have you EXCEEDED it?!

Random Photo = These were cards that I put up in my last apartment to help me learn Spanish, okay maybe I am a visual learner. Ha.

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Love You all TONS!!!  :)  And I hope that your week is filled with happiness and success.

Love Always,

                    Hermana Smith    

100° sounds nice to me! :)

Hola,

Well it is getting HOT here! It is sad that we get excited when it is 100°, because today was 115° and tomorrow is suppose to be 120°

Yesterday after sacrament meeting, the Relief Society President told me and my companion that we were giving the lesson. Okay... no time to REALLY prepare. But, it was amazing to me in the fact, that I was able to say everything that I needed to say in Spanish. Me and my companion switched off on ever other point, and I did better than I thought I would to express to these woman the importance of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and how it is intertwined in our lives in every aspect. Which that isnt to pat my own back, that is to say that I know that the Lord helped me, and made up the difference where I falter.

This morning we went on a hike, and it translates to "The Hill of the Bell". You can knock on some rocks there and it sounds like a bell. Some people didnt think it was as cool or as fun as I did. But I was just knocking away, making songs, and having a blast.  :)

Here is one of our current investigators, her name is Yo Hany. Ah I love her SO much! Her life has been FAR FAR from easy, but she is still so sweet.

I Love you all TONS! And I hope that you realize that God is in the details of your life. When you have a doubt or a question, turn to the man who created it all.

Love Always,

                    Hermana Smith     

Vejito Favorito

Here is a picture of me and my companion with our investigator Francisco. But when me and my companion refer to him to each other we say our "Vejito Favorito", which just means favorite oldman. But he buys us coke, and is just the nicest oldman.

Limes are Lemons, Lemons are Limes

Hola,

This week I will just tell you a little bit of random. For example, the title of the e-mail "Limes are Lemons, Lemons are Limes". Here in Mexico, the little green citrus translates to be lemons, and the bigger yellow citrus translates to be limes. When I first got here I was confused by it, now Im like eh, call it what you want. Ha.

I went on exchanges this week with a sister training leader, Hermana Aguirre (she is currently companions with my old companion Hermana Juarez), so Hermana Juarez came back to our area and was on exchanges with my companion Hermana Lopez. I spent the day working with Hermana Aguirre in her area of Cuauhtemoc, I spent the night at her house, and we switched companions back the next morning. 

But when I had lunch with her at a members house from her ward, it was a little old lady. And while I was there the member called her daughter on her phone and said, "Yes, the prophet Joseph Smiths grand daughter is in my house RIGHT now. She looks a lot like him! And she is SOOO tall!" All I could think was, you are talking about me right in front of my face, and yes I do know what you are saying. And in reality, I am just a tall white person, with the last name Smith. Ha ha.

Here is a rock that is outside of the mission home, "Regresa con Honor" = "Return with Honor".

This week we didnt have a ton of lessons, but we still worked hard, and received a ton of nos. But yesterday we found some solid people that we can teach this week. So YES, hard work always pays off, you just need to be faithful and diligent with it. And the hundred nos are okay, because it makes the yes that much more special.

Love you all TONS, and I hope you have a fantastic week!  :)

Love Always,

                    Hermana Smith    

Racist Mosquitos & Gerardos Baptism! :)

Hola!  :)

This week honestly flew by. In the words of Ryan Erwin from his mission "A day feels like a week, and a week feels like a day!"

But it is true, somedays feel forever long, but then looking at the week, I wonder where it went?!

Okay "Racist Mosquitos"! Is because I have several Mosquito Bites, and with my former Mexican companion she didnt have any. And my current Mexican companion, also doesnt really have any. Same apartment, same room, those little, selective, Racist Mosquitos! Ha ha.

Okay this past Saturday was the baptism of Gerardo.

He has three sons who are all members, but me and Hermana Juarez started teaching him in like March. He had to leave for almost a month for work, but we set a baptism date with him before he left. Then when he came back me and my companion Hermana Lopez taught him. And he was baptized this past Saturday. Yay for Baptisms!!!  :)

This is an older photo from like two months ago maybe. I dont know what other photos to send home. Here is just a photo from a night in Mexico, the sky was prettier in person, hopefully it still looks somewhat cool in this picture.

Love you all tons, and I hope you have a fantastic week!  :)

Love Always,

                    Hermana Smith