YOU are part of the Plan!

Hola,

Everyday I feel like I can understand just a little bit more of how much each individual is a part of the great plan that God has for us. 

But I think that there are three types of People:

Those who THINK about doing it.

Those who TALK about doing it.

And those who DO it.

I am a firm believer that ANYTHING is Possible. If your roots are planted in a good purpose.

You can relate that to any aspect of your life.

Do you THINK about serving your neighbor, TALK about serving your neighbor, or DO you actually serve them?

Our potential at times may seem overwhelming, that we are almost caught in fear to utilize it. But if you are willing to put in the work, God is willing to give you the blessings.

"Each of us has more opportunities to do good and to be good than we ever use. These opportunities lie all around us. Whatever the size of our present circle of effective influence, if we were to improve our performance even a little bit, that circle would be enlarged. There are many individuals waiting to be touched and loved if we care enough to improve in our performance." - Spencer W. Kimball

Believe that Miracles still exist, but be willing to play a role in them.

​

Here is a picture from a little store here. And it is called The Mission, so obviously I had to take a picture here.  :)

I Love You all, and I hope that you have a week filled with Success and Happiness! And I will be striving for Success and encountering Happiness here in Caborca also.  :)

Love Always,

                     Hermana Smith    

Slackin on emails

Hola,

Ah sorry I am an awful writer for the group emails lately! But today when I signed in I had 46 unopened emails. Which that is not a complaint, I love the love and support of family and friends. But, I still have a ton more to reply to. But that doesnt mean stop, keep the emails coming!  :)

Next week, the group one will be sent first, eh?

I gave a talk on Sunday about Missionary Work, crazy I know.  ;)

But obviously being a Missionary it is SO much more obvious how important it really is. So... do your part wherever you are, eh?  :)

Our Heavenly Father loves us, more than we can comprehend. He is aware of our needs with a perfect love, PERFECT. Our Savior suffered for us so that we can become better, do better, and reach our potential. The Holy Ghost will guide us on our individual paths if we are worthy of it.

Me and my companion keeping hydrated!  :)  Or shadows arent very cute with 50 pound backpacks on.  ;)

PS...

Happy Birthday Shoutout to my Amazing Father he turned the big 55 today, ooh-ooo!!!  :D

Love you all!

Have a fabulous and productive week.

Love Always,

                    Hermana Smith

Will you help them cross the river?!

Hola,

So as a Mormon, well... we always make examples of things. So since this past week was Pioneer Day (July 24th). I want to talk more symbolically about our work as Members today. We arent asked to walk long distances, with little or close to no food, in life threatening weather. But we are asked to help share the gospel with others. There were Pioneers who had to cross ice filled rivers, and they helped eachother do it. The left all that they had, because they wanted to follow God with his work and will.

Today, lets say the river is life. And as members, we are asked to take nonmembers by the hand and help them get across. But as we cross the river together, we need to help others with their trials. And the river can be crossed with more ease if those people can obtain The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I get it, it can be scary, or WHAT IF they dont want it?! But, the better question is, WHAT IF they do?!  :) 

I dont want to meet people when we leave this life here on earth. And for them to say, you knew it all along, and you DIDNT tell me?!

The more we attempt to work with Members, I have come to learn that Every Member ISNT a Missionary. And that sounds bitter. But to be a Missionary, that is a CHOICE. Oh course you can be a Member Missionary. But without any works, you arent given that title and Privelege. So if you are a "Member Missionary", to that I say, Prove It.

Woah-kay, not really a fan of Selfies, but we were the first ones to our Zone Meeting, so... we took a picture. Ignore the background. And just notice the fact that it is Hermana Smith and Hermana Rodriguez.

P.S. On a random note. I often laugh when I see people who wear shirts here in English, when I am pretty sure they dont know what it really says. For example we saw an older woman who was wearing a shirt that said, "Its Friday Night, Put your Swag on!" Ha ha. First off, it was Saturday mid-day, and I am pretty sure that Swag is one of the last words that this sweet lady would choose in her vocabulary.

Okay, well I love you all. And I hope you have a Beautiful Week! Look for opportunites to serve others this week, sometimes it is the littlest things that count most.

Love Always,

                    Hermana Smith     

Excitement, Hope & Baptisms

Hola,

Me and my companion found it appropriate to put some labels on some juice that we drink. Excitement, Hope, and Baptisms. We said we dont get to enjoy from the Baptism one as much as we would like. But if you arent excited about the work, and it isnt filled with hope, you will never get to the goal.

Transfers were today, but me and my companion Hermana Rodriguez are together still in Caborca. Which is what we both wanted, so that is good. Because we have some baptisms in August that we are STOKED about!  :)

Here is a picture of me and Hermana Rodriguez, because I feel like I havent really sent ones of us together too much. But oops sorry that my hair is blocking my tag.  :S  

I hope that you all have a beautiful week, full of Excitement, Hope, and Baptisms, eh?!  :)

Love You!

Love Always,

                    Hermana Smith     

P.S. Sorry it was so short, hopefully it is longer next week

 

What if He comes tomorrow?

Hola,

​I took this picture when I was serving in Hermosillo, but it was when I was on a bus heading to a Zone Meeting. It says, "Jesus Christ is Coming".

When I was taking the picture there was a young boy in front of the bus who said "What happened?!" He thought I was taking a picture of an accident or something of that nature. Which I thought was ironic. Because there are so many people who dont know that Jesus Christ IS Coming!

I dont want to be completely blindsided by the second coming. I want to be comfortable with my actions. I want to be found attending church, I want to be caught in the act of serving my neighbor. So what if he comes tomorrow. There are still signs that are lacking, so it isnt literally tomorrow. But we dont know exactly when that day will be.

So NOW is the time to prepare. I loved when the Temple President from the Brigham City Temple spoke in the Singles Ward. He said something along the lines of, "I can promise you that when the Savior comes again, your Stake Presidents and Bishops wont be in their offices signing your Temple Reccomend!" So with that being said, are you ready if he came today? Where do you falter?

Something that I have come to appreciate more since I have been on my mission is the sacredness of the sacrament. I am as guilty as the next person when there are times that I would think "Oh-kay, who did the pinch and tear method for the bread?! Nobody likes the overly pinched bread!" "Okay who brought the seedy bread?!" "Why is the cup half full of water, am I suppose to lick it out?!" Fine, maybe I am the only one who cant stay focused.

But the Sacrament is a grand priviledge that we have to Renew, and Remember our Baptisimal Covenants. That we can focus on Jesus Christ. That we can we forgiven for where we falter, and that we can work towards being better tomorrow. That we have a loving Savior who gave his life for us, so that we can one day return to him and his Father, our Loving Father in Heaven.

So... What if he comes tomorrow?! I want to be excited, not ashamed. I want to be rooting, not running.

So... let us all prepare better, TODAY!!!  :D

P.S. Elder Holland is my FAVORITE!!! Whenever I am down in the mission, I read one of his many beautiful talks. It doesnt matter if he was selling tupperwear in his talk, it makes me want to be a better person. And it gets me PUMPED!

Love Always,

                    Hermana Smith      

It rained on my non-existent 4th of July parade

Hola,

Well a lot of you know, that 4th of July is my FAVORITE holiday! And no, they do not celebrate it here in Mexico obviously. But, it rained! Which usually people think that is bad. But do you know what that means?! It means that the sun wasnt out, yay!!! It was just a tiny bit of rain like probably 5-10 minutes if that, but it was a cloudy day!  :)

And I am going to steal this quote that a Sister from my MTC District sent this week,

"Even in a resurrected and otherwise perfected body, Christ chose to retain for the benefit of His disciples the wounds in His hands, feet and side - signs that painful things happen even to the pure and perfect. Pain in this world is not evidence that God doesn't love you. [It is] that problems pass and happiness can be ours." - Jeffrey R Holland

I hope that you all have a fantastic week, if your times are rough, and your luck seems down, it is time to get on your knees and thank your Heavenly Father for every blessing that you do have. I love the challenge that an apostle gave, to have a prayer purely of thanks.

Because there are a lot of times (I am just as guilty as the next person), when we just list all of our wants to God, as if it was a Christmas List to Santa. It is the time to be greatful, even for our trials. That is what gives us strength for our future, and our appreciation for the better that is soon awaiting.

Love Always,

                    Hermana Smith    

P.S. It was exactly one year ago today, that I made the decision to serve a mission. And that very day, I called to make an appointment with my Bishop. And whoo, here I am now in Mexico!  :)  It is hard work, but it is worth it. And it is rewarding to see people change into the better version of themselves that they were always meant to be.

Oh and a funny short story, this week there was this lady that we taught and she asked where I was from, I told her Utah. And she said, "I know someone from Utah, and they are a Mormon, So you probably know them!"

I didnt want to explain that me knowing a random Mormon in Utah was like knowing a Catholic in Rome. Ha ha.  :)

Lalala - June 30, 2014

Hola,

I didnt have a creative title in mind for this email, so if you know me, you know I feel blank space with noises sometimes, so there you have it.

I also dont have time to write a group email this week really. Opps. Sorry, I had to reply to the rush of Birthday and Wedding emails from last week still. But I will repent, and do better next week, eh?

And... I dont konw how to turn pictures on this computer, sorry.

This is in front of the building that is like the most famous in Caborca, and I think it is a Catholic Temple, or something like that. But yeah, I appreciate architect (spelling?).

Love you all, and I hope you have a beautiful week ahead of you!  :)

Love Always,

                    Hermana Smith