September 3, 2013

Hey family! 

well hello transfers!! 

no i´m still in Barrio 6 with hermana stepp. i´m glad and not glad about it, but i know that I apparently need to learn a lesson i didn´t learn last transfer. which i can understand, because last transfer felt too much like a warm up transfer, which i do not like. honestly, the next future missionary i´m going to talk to is to warn them about the transfer after being trained. I´m going to make this transfer a hard one for me (poor steppy) so that it´ll be second nature to be super duper hard working and exactly obedient. i´d rather give up my luxuries now then be a lacking member and mother of the church for the rest of my dying days. no. me. gusta. para. nada. but dad we usually find out saturday nights, like at 10pmish. except if your district leader forgets to call you, then it might be like right before bed (thanks a lot). when we had our last district leader, he knew all the leaks. plus i lived with hermana munden and she knew everything and everyone about the missionaries.

hahaa i would love a picture of you and the coupe with the new plaque.

Thats great advice mom, but its a little different here in Madrid. we´ve asked out ward mission leader to give us service opportunities but nothings come up. i´ll try harder though:) I´ve been trying my hardest to be a nice and cheerful missionary for the ward members so that they´ll feel comfortable around us. next stop-the trust! i´m excited to finally get to work. Like I said before, I felt that last transfer was a warm up one and this one is when I actually know what I´m doing and NOW i can punch right in! I was just thinking of all the ward activities that they have and that we need to be very involved in them. I´m hoping that we´ll see some great success with this! Kyle Lee sounds familiar, but i dont know him :( but thats super sad that he died.  

well, mom, my best remedy for lack of sleep is A) infusion of lavender, B) exercise right before bed, and C) PRAY. but i know what you mean! millions of things runnin through your head! 

We were talking with Elder and Sister Riggs (some american missionaries workingin the employment center) yesterday and he asked us to share our favorite scripture. well we were all flippin through and we had this 20 minute discussion about the scriptures after wards. I just want to tell y´all that I LOVE THE BOOK OF MORMON SO MUCH. if i could, i´d spend all day reading and studying it. i love how Heavenly Father helps us so much to retain what we´ve learned. Of this i´m certain, my love for the scriptures will be with me until my dying day. I´ve already made a scripture plan in my head after the mission. i don´t want to lose that burning fire in me to learn! 

Last night we taught a noche de hogar and we decided to teach the gospel of jesus christ and how the 5 pasos to the gospel (fe, el arrepentimiento, el bautismo, el don del espíritu santo, y preseverar hasta el fin) lead us to the temple. When we were teaching this, I felt so strongly in my heart that this Church is the church of Christ. that this is the perfect church in all the earth. My testimony was stregthened so much in that little noche de hogar (fhe). 

I want you all to know that I am proud to be a member of the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints. I´m proud to wear this chapa (name tag) and to bear testimony of Jesus Christ everyday. I love my Savior so much and I love my Heavenly Father and the plan He has for all of us. I will cherish the day when I can be wrapped in His arms again. I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and I know that it is ONLY through Jesus Christ and our FAITH in Him, that we can return to our Heavenly Father. I can and never ever will deny my testimony. I wear my heart and my testimony on my sleeve and that is waht the rest of us should do. We wear the name tag over our heart and of all the reasons because its there, i know its because as missionaries and as members of His church, we have Him in our hearts. We are His Representatives and i am proud to be chosen as so. I love you all so very much and may God be with you until we meet again :) 

Con besos, abrazos y mucho amor, 

Hermana Smith