March 11, 2019

Week 61: El Milagro de Caborca

Hey guys! This week alot has been going on. There was a lot of stuff to tell you guys and much has happened. This week we went to a Leadership meeting in Hermosillo and we had everything ready before hand. We packed and we called a taxi and we waited for it to arrive. After a while, we realized that the taxi wasnt arriving and we saw that it was 2:10 and our bus left at 2:15. We panicked and we went to the main road and caught a taxi and hurried over to the bus station. Luckily the Sisters were telling the driver to stay. As we ran on to the bus the door closed and the it started to go. If we would have arrived 1 min late, the bus would have left. We called it "Caborcas miracle"

We had a really great leadership meeting but in the morning I started to feel really sick. I was sick on the way back and the next day, I woke up really sick. I was sick almost the entire day when we finally decided to go to the doctor. They told me that I had a stomach infection. They gave me medication and now I am getting better. We are really excited this week because we are trying to help a woman named Alejandra progress and be baptized so that she can become sealed with her husband in the temple. If possible, I ask if you all could pray for her so that she can be baptized. I would also love it if you all could pray for the special goal we have this transfer as missionaries . We want to have 35 converts and we would ask you if you could pray for our goal with us.

I want to share a thought that I have had this week. I have been thinking that Satan tries to tempt us to forget things we believe in. For example, when we recieve an impression, he tries to get us to forget the impressions we recieve and even tries to tell us that the spirit was just a nice feeling that we had. There is a scripture that I love about this. Jacob 4:13 says: Behold, my brethren, he that prophesieth, let him prophesy to the understanding of men; for the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly, for the salvation of our souls. But behold, we are not witnesses alone in these things; for God also spake them unto prophets of old. I love this scripture. The spirit guides us to all truth. In a world of confusion and technology that is moving so fast it can be hard to find our way. Like a famous poet said "“Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?” James E Faust says: "I suggest a simple solution for selecting the channel to which we attune ourselves: listen to and follow the voice of the Spirit. This is an ancient solution, even eternal, and may not be popular in a society that is always looking for something new. It requires patience in a world that demands instant gratification. This solution is quiet, peaceful, and subtle in a world enamored of that which is loud, incessant, fast paced, garish, and crude." I invite you all to listen to voice of the spirit this week and seek the blessings. I know God wants to guide and help us and he can do it through his Holy Spirit.

I love you all!

Giddy up,

Elder Smith

February 25, 2019

Week 59: Fotos

February 18, 2019

Week 58: Heyyy whatchwa name men

Hey guys! How is everyone! We are great here in Caborca and it is pretty dang cold. This week was pretty good and very interesting. The title of the email has to do what people say here in Sonora. A lot of people see us ride by on our bike and they yell at us in "English." Everyone yells and says "hey men (because man in spanish is pronounced men) whatchya problem men whatchya doin watchya name where from you." Its been a joke in our zone now because we think its so funny. This week was pretty good. Yesterday I was on my bike and a dog bit my shoe jajaja. Now my shoes have teeth marks in them! At church, we have 4 little girls that are going to be baptized (named Priscila, Jessi, Jenni, and Yolanda)
This week they came with us again to church and they brought some friends. At first their friends didnt want to go in because they were embarrassed. We talked them into going and they were not really liking it. We felt pretty bad because they wanted to leave and they were getting a little annoyed. Surprisingly they wanted to go to the second hour/class and after that, they changed their opinions. They were super excited and one of the girls cried because the spirit was so strong. That was definitely a change. Then after that, we received a call from a less active member that he was going to come to church with his wife that isn't a member of our church. We have been teaching them both so that he can become active again but, we are also teaching his wife too because she hasn't been baptized yet. We were able to go to the church service with them and she came! They had not come to church for months and we always invite them to come and they finally came! It was great! We are very excited for this week. I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Giddy up!

Elder Smith

February 11, 2019

Week 57: Conferencia de Zona

Hey guys! We had a great week and I have some things to share with you all. This week, we had our zone conference which was pretty awesome! We had our zone conference in puerto peñasco (Rocky point) so we had to travel about two hours to get there. We went with Presidente and Hermana Myers in their van and they drove fast. Dang it was insane! We were on our way to the conference and there are a lot of dips in the road and there was this one part when we went down the hill really fast and then shot up in the air when the road when up again and I am almost positive that the car flew a couple inches in the air. As soon as we hit the ground again Presidente and Hermana Myers both yelled "woo HOO!" It was hilarious. When we got there we had a great conference! I lead the conference for the first time which was pretty nerve racking. We are still teaching the 4 the four little girls that went to church last Sunday. They also went this week! It was pretty cool. They are progressing well and know a lot. When we were at church yesterday, we were in primary and the girls were answering the teachers questions about Prophets and Priesthood. It was pretty dang cool. It has been pretty cold around here lately! Seriously it gets super cold at night and in the morning. This week is going to be big. We are hoping to commit some more people to be baptized this week but so far the four girls are going to be baptized on the 23rd of Feb! We are really excited. Soon we are going to take pictures with them so that you all can see what they look like. I have some pictures for you all this week! I love you all and I hope you are all doing great!

Giddy up,

Elder Smith

1. Father and Son (Elder Sosa my trainer)

2.Carlos y Alejandra

3. Western belt club

February 4, 2019

Week 56: Que onda viejón

This week was pretty good. We hard some pretty crazy experiences. The work is a little slower here but it is going along. On Tuesday, we were going down the street that we were contacting and we said a prayer to be able to find people. We went by this one house and I felt like we needed to go back and my companion said he felt the same thing. We went by and we met the people that lived there and we realized as we left that there was a roughed up Book of Mormon that was outside on their bench. We didnt see it at first then we realized that it was from someone there in the house. We have an appointment soon with them and we want to know why we received the impression to go back and why there was a Book of Mormon outside on their bench. Then we kept contacting and we found a really good family and we talked about the Restoration and baptism. The next time we go, we are going to invite them to be baptized. The coolest thing that happened this week was when we contacted a bunch of kids on the corner. There was a lot of kids just playing on the corner and we gave them folletos. The next day we taught and we invited all the kids to be baptized and they said yes! It was pretty cool. We told them also to come to church with us to see the church and we arrived at their house and they were all ready to go! They even had permission from their mom. They got ready and they totally paid atention in church and were interested. It is pretty amazing because we were able to find a group of kids that are ready for baptism and how willing they are to go to church. We are excited to teach them this week. I also heard that some investigators from my past areas were baptized. I am so happy that so many are making this decision in their lives. It is hard sometimes to leave people that I love in my past areas but I know they are being taken care of. I know this work is true. I hope all you have a great week!

1. Una Muñeca Vietnamita

2. Nuestros calcetines de Starwars (Un regalo de Elder Starnes)

3. Bautismo de Gisela

4. Una Planta que parece una piña