Week 5 - One Month Down!

Helllloooooo!

I've been out more than a month now...I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! Enumclaw is the BEST area to be in, God has truly blessed me. I'm just amazed everyday by how green and beautiful this place is and the people are so cool. Sister Morris and I have been crazy busy this week running from appointment to appointment. We also have had some really neat experiences in the past couple of days. Friends, let me tell you....revelation is a REAL THING. We have a zone goal of inviting at least one person to be baptized each day. It was Saturday night and we were running out of time to invite someone. We also had been knocking on doors all day and hadn't had much success. We pulled over again and offered a mighty prayer. After we just looked at each other and said the exact same name. We knew this person was out of town, but we followed the prompting anyway. When we got there, their neighbors were outside and we walked up to them and invited them to be baptized right there. The kids all jumped up and down saying "Yes!!" and the mom said "not in the Mormon church" but the dad was very touched. I could just see this look of astonishment on his face and I knew he had felt the Spirit. The same thing happened to us Sunday when we were looking through our contacts and a name just stood out. We went to her house and sang "I Am a Child of God." The woman didn't let us come in but she praised us for being bold enough to share the gospel.

We also met Donna this week and she wants to get to the temple. She's agreed to be baptized on September 13th so cross your fingers that she follows through! We found Donna at a rehab center and she's been reading the Book of Mormon (a friend gave her a copy). She wanted to know more so she sent for the missionaries to come find her. She's the sweetest lady and just wants the best for her family. She knows so little, but has so much faith that the gospel will help her. I can already feel my own testimony growing as I find people like Donna who really just need a message of hope. The gospel of Jesus Christ is just that: a message of hope and happiness. I'm so thankful to be a missionary. 

This week I found out I LOVE going on exchanges! I got to spend a whole day with Sister Hardy in the Maple Valley area (little towns outside of Bellevue) and I loved every second of it. Exchanges happen once a month and you get paired up with someone who isn't your companion and you spend 24 hours just learning and teaching with them. Sister Hardy is the most down to earth person I've ever met and I hope we can be companions for real one day. We tried bike contacting and it was interesting....we found one person and tried to share a scripture with him but he wasn't having it. Also biking in Washington is hard because there are SO MANY hills. Sister Morris and I are going to try to bike sometime and hopefully I'll have a better experience.

Church members are the greatest. They just love missionaries and are willing to do anything for them. This morning we hiked Mount Peak and the view was amazing. We came back super tired and as we tried to leave, our car got stuck in a literal ditch. Missionaries have this rule where one of them has to stand outside while the other puts the car into reverse. It's meant to help us avoid backing into anything and prevent accidents. Because we are lazy, we usually try to just do a U-turn instead of backing up. That didn't work in our favor today... We called the elders to come pull us out, but there were too far away. We called other members, but they were all at work. We finally called Brother Bard (we call him our grandpa) and he came rushing over. Another member came with a tow rope and they worked together for several hours trying to get the car out. We didn't have much success so grandpa offered to call the tow truck and wait with the car so we could email. He is my new favorite human being. 

Well that's all for now! I love Washington and I love being a missionary. Also blackberries are starting to grow and we just pick them off and eat them everyday. SO GOOD! Also it still hasn't rained but I'm mentally preparing myself for when it does. 

Love you all and thanks for your emails! 

-Sister Smith

Sister Morris and I helping someone move

Cute Sister Hardy at lunch

Studying at the church

Sunsets are cool

Danielle (recent convert) made us sack lunches

our view from Mount Peak

Yep, our car got pretty stuck!

Week 4 - Enumclaw is NOT Seattle

Hey friends!

I made it safely to Washington and am already a week into it! Honestly time just flies on the mission. My first area is a tiny town in the legit middle of nowhere called Enumclaw. It's as far south from Seattle as you can get in the mission boundaries and I absolutely love it! We have Mount Rainier in our region so we get to go on some pretty amazing hikes here. One word to describe Washington: GREEN. There are trees every where you look. I have yet to experience the rain; it's actually been quite hot here and the sun has been out every day. 

My trainer is Sister Morris and I love her dearly. We watercolor at night and take turns citing scriptures in different accents. She has been out a year so I feel very inexperienced next to her, but she has honestly been a trooper in training a newbie like me. :) Our apartment is among the craziest of crazies and it smells like smoke. Also it's falling apart, but we are working on that. We just stuff toilet paper in the holes and tape quotes we print out over them. It works....sorta. 

This week we've been doing a lot of teaching and door-knocking. I got to invite one of our friends (we call them friends here, not investigators) to be baptized. He didn't say no, but he didn't say yes either. Hopefully, he'll come around! Yesterday was probably the best day. We haven't been having much success with our friends so we decided to just knock on some doors. Nothing. We knocked a couple of other areas and still nothing. It was 8 pm and we had just one more hour before we had to turn in. My companion and I decided to say a prayer. We both felt strongly to visit this one area we were by earlier in the week. We drove over and found a lady watering her grass with a hose. We went over to talk to her and she told us how she's been having a rough life lately. Her son ran away with her grandson and she doesn't know where either of them are. We showed her a video and she started crying. We promised her if she listened to our message, everything in her life would be made right. She told us we could come back another day and teach her more. Little miracles do exist friends! 

I didn't take a single picture this week.... I know, I'M THE WORST! I promise next week I'll try harder. I know that God wants me out here for a reason and these people are my everything. They are all so different and unique, but they have one common thing: they are children of God. I hope to continue finding more lost sheep and help bring them home. Life is SO GOOD as a missionary. You just serve and learn and teach and it brings me so much JOY! I can't wait to see what's in store for me.

-sister smith

Week 3 - Goodbye MTC, Hello Seattle!

Wow my time at the mtc is already over! I'm so grateful for the people, they made the mtc 10000000x better! This week was all kinds of crazy with trying to get ready to leave. Old district C left us last Tuesday and they are already a week into the mission field. GOOD LUCK TO THEM ALL. On Wednesday, the new district came and they are great! We made the beds for the new sisters and threw a bunch of candy on their desks. We had SO MUCH CANDY!

Brother Abadillo is the wisest teacher I've ever met. If he begins with "Class, I want you to have an experience" you better be mentally preparing for what's to come. Last Thursday, we were asked to invite our companion to be baptized, but we had to do it as if we were Christ. He had us take a minute to pray and ponder. He told us not to invite our companions until we feel the same unconditional love that Christ has for them. When I was praying, I just started to bawl. My companion and I had a rough week and there had been some contention between us. This was exactly what I needed to remind me to love my companion as Christ does. 

On Sunday the mission president came to teach us. We were discussing the Book of Mormon and he referred to Laman and Lemuel as Lemon and Limeul, the Sour Brothers. It was so random. Sister Cowley and I just looked at each other and laughed. 

I love my district. End of story. I'm not ready to leave them because they are seriously amazing. We are all so unique but we mesh well together. I have learned so much from them. We are already planning a district reunion in Australia with Sis. Watts. I can't wait! 

Even though I know it's impossible to ever feel ready after leaving the mtc, I am confident in knowing the Lord is on my side. I'm excited to put the skills I've learned to the test. I know it will be hard, but that's the only way God can mold me into the person He needs me to be. He loves us so much and I can already see little miracles forming in my everyday life. I love you all and will keep you guys in my prayers!

Week 2 - District C ya later!

Hello!

WOW another week has come and gone! In just a week from today I leave for Seattle and that's so crazy to me. I feel like I just got here! Our district has been doing this Book of Mormon study group before dinner everyday. One person reads a verse and the next shares some insight on what they learned. We try to stay focused but our group gets distracted so easily! We have a lot of fun though. I'm not ready to say goodbye to them yet. 

Happy 4th of July even though it was a week ago! The missionaries got to watch the fireworks from our building so that was cool. We also had to say goodbye to District A that day which was rough. I will sincerely miss my twin (the other sister smith) and Sister Leavitt. 

Teaching has been SO GOOD this week. Our first investigator Kyujin was the cutest. During one lesson, my comp and I felt prompted to ask her to say the closing prayer. She prayed for us in Korean and it was the coolest thing ever. I had no idea what she was saying but I could feel God's love for her so strong. I must admit that my eyes got a little teary. My comp and I also got to teach relief Society this past Sunday. I was nervous but it went so well! I actually love teaching so much! 

This week I learned something kinda crazy. Our other teacher Brother Abadio was having us practice good study skills. We were in small groups reading and discussing 1 Nephi 11. I kid you not, I thought it had only been 15 minutes but when I looked at the clock A WHOLE HOUR HAD PASSED BY! Brother Abadio then went on to explain that the closer you feel to Heaven, the faster time goes by because time in Heaven doesn't exist. It's infinite. It kinda blew my mind a little. Our teachers are the coolest people. They know how to answer your questions before you even ask them. 

District C, aka my favorite people EVER, leave tomorrow so that's gonna be depressing. Everyone is leaving and I'm just waiting for my turn to go. SISTER JENKINS AND SISTER GANOE ARE MY HEROS. I love my zone sisters and our "late" night talks. I wish them the best!   

Anyways I'm done typing. Thank you guys for the emails and letters! I love you all and so does God! 

-sis smith

Week 1 is Done!

Hi friends!

Let me just start out by saying that time at the MTC is a weird thing. Each day seems like an eternity but then you look back and it feels like you arrived yesterday instead of a week ago! The feeling here is honestly amazing. Everyone is so committed and happy to be here. My companion's name is Sister Baxter and she is so sweet. She's from Mississippi so she has a Southern accent and it's the greatest. She puts up with my moodiness in the morning and my crazy sleep-deprived side at night. I love her a lot. Sister Cowley and Sister Watts are my roomies and I LOVE THEM WITH ALL MY HEART! Sister Watts is from Australia and she loves America more than anyone I've ever met. She talks about the 4th of July and how excited  she is almost all the time. We also get Australian words of the day from her. Like yesterday she called a drinking fountain a bubbler and we had no idea what she was talking about haha. My district is literally the best and we have so much fun together. There's a rule about no clapping or singing in the cafeteria, but we break that rule probably every meal. We are just a bunch of oddballs. A third of us are going to Seattle, one third is going to Rochester, New York and the other third is going to India. We play sand volleyball and spikeball on the fields everyday even though we are all terrible at it. We make each other laugh 24/7 but we also make each other cry. Let me tell you that fast Sunday is way better here. When we had testimony meeting on Sunday many of the elders went up and Sister Cowley and I were bawling like babies. They all have such strong testimonies and I've learned so much from them. My zone sisters are the best ever. I love being with them because we are all going through the same stuff and it's cool to have people to talk to. We share candy every night and have random dance parties to primary music. It's super great. Half of them are leaving this Wednesday and I don't want them to go yet. I've only known them for less than a week but they already feel like family. They are the sweetest and I'm excited for them to be in the mission field. 

It's honestly CRAZY how much you grow in less than a week. My teachers are amazing, especially Sister Martin. She has so much energy and it makes my day a million times better. Sister Baxter and I have already started teaching our first real investigator. Her name is Kyujin and she is from Korea. She is the cutest ever and I love teaching her. On Sunday, we got to watch "Character of Christ" by David A. Bednar and it changed my whole view as a missionary. I realize that I'm not here for me, I'm here to help others come unto Christ. Our Savior always turned outwards even when it was hard and I need to learn to do the same. Focusing in class can be rough and waking up at 6:30 can be rough but that's what the Atonement is for. We can make mistakes, learn, and try again. I know why I'm here and i wouldn't change it for anything. How often do you get to spend 18 months with God and constantly feel His love? I realize that I don't get this opportunity again and although the journey seems long, I want to make the most of it all. Our Heavenly Father is aware of everything we go through and He will NOT abandon us. GOD IS SO GOOD TO US. I joined the mtc choir and it's amazing. Singing in general is amazing here because when hundreds of missionaries are singing together, the Spirit is so strong. We sang "The Spirit of God" at mission conference this past Sunday and it was POWERFUL. We really are an army of God. 

I've loved my first week here and I can't wait to learn more. It's crazy that I'm a missionary because I still feel far away from that title. It probably won't even hit me until I'm out in the field. It's the hardest thing ever to call people "elders" and "sisters" because I'm so used to saying "guys". I know that I have a long way to go before I'll ever be ready but I know my loving Father in Heaven will help me every step of the way.

The gospel is true, the book is blue, and God loves you.  

sis smith

ps sorry the quality of these photos sucks, i'm still learning how to use this mission phone :)