April 7, 2014- Week 13 In Tehuacan and Week 1 with Hermana Gomez!!!!

Buenas Tardes, Mi Familia y Mis Amigos!

So, This week was amazing. I am just gonna start by saying that.

So on Tuesday, we went to Puebla for transfers and there I met my new companion, and hija(!), Hermana Gomez! She is from Chiapas Mexico, is 22 years old and has been a member almost her entire life (her family was baptized when she was 9 years old) She is already an incredible missionary! I'll be honest, I am so glad that I am training someone that only speaks Spanish, because 1) I have NO idea how could have taught spanish to an American and 2) She is helping me a lot with my Spanish :) But, we have also been learning some English together, so that has been fun. She is so eager to work, and I love that she isn't afraid to talk to anyone! This week, we did a lot of contacting, and she just dove right in, following my lead in every moment. That has been pretty scary because I know I'm so far from perfect, but we are working and learning together! We have 11 new investigators this week, and I'm gonna tell you about some of them :)

Elia. We contacted Elia in the calle, and then visited her the next day. As we began to share our message about eternal families, she completely opened up to us. She is the mother of 8 children, and her husband passed away about 3 years ago. She is trying hard to teach her children to do the right things, but she feels so alone without her husband. She doesn't intend on marrying again (she is in her 50's we think) but she feels like God is really watchin over her and her children. As we talked, it was so evident that her family is her whole life, and she would do absolutely anything for them. We testified that she was going to see her husband again, that they could be husband and wife forever, and that the Gospel could help her to teach her children and bind them closer together. The Spirit was SO strong...it has been a really long time since I have felt it like that. As we ended with a prayer, she just had tears rolling down her checks and just thanked Our Heavenly Father for sending us to her. We left her house, and I could still feel the power of the Spirit burning in my heart. God is preparing people to receive the Gospel. We're excited to continue to teach her. :)

Francisca. She is a fireball, haha. She was a reference from a different ward, and she isn't ready to "change completely in one day". She's going to be baptized though. I have a pretty good feeling about it :) She went with her granddaughter to General Conference this weekend, and she loved it :) We will be teaching her again this week with her daughter-in-law, and she said that she is really excited to meet with us again. :)

Mikaela, Manuel and Fernando. They were also a reference from a less-active member. Mikaela is the mom, and Manuel (19) and Fernando (9) are her two sons. Yesterday, we had our first lesson with them. I'm not entirely sure why, but we are also teaching them with Elders Pendleton and Ramirez, so it was a bit rocky at first, trying to balance out 4 very different missionaries. Mikaela is still a bit skeptical about us but Manuel was so receptive to everything we talked about. Mikaela wanted us to come by FOR Manuel because he has some problems with things concerning the Word of Wisdom...but he is so eager to learn more. And I think with time, their whole family will be baptized. Fernando is so cute and so smart, and he can't wait to go to church with us this next Sunday.

This weekend was also GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!!!! Guys, I love General Conference SO MUCH. And it's even better because I got to watch it in ENGLISH!!!! Haha, I was so grateful for the opportunity to understand everything that was said. Wasn't Conference just awesome?! I definitely noticed a few themes...one of them being that we need to defend our faith and be true to what we know. I loved what Elder Holland said: "It is evident that the answer to the bumper sticker question ´What would Jesus do?´ will not always bring the most popular answer." I know that this is so true. Sometimes, we really do have to "endure the crosses of the world and despise the shame of it." I have definitely had to do this more in the last 3 months than I ever have in my life, and I know it is just going to get worse. But I am proud to wear my Savior's name over my heart every moment of every day, and I will gladly defend His church and gospel. I also loved President Monson's talk on love and charity. I especially love what he said about forgiveness. "Forgiveness should go HAND IN HAND with love...Blame keeps wounds open. Only forgiveness heals." I know that this is sometimes hard - to forgive other people. And even more so, to forgive ourselves. But really, when we understand that EVERY soul is great in the sight of God, we can realize that every person deserves our love and forgiveness...including ourselves. If we truly love God, we will love His children and ourselves, flaws and all. 

I love all of you so so much. I love this Gospel, and I love my Savior. In the words of Elder Rasband, I invite you to "Take up the joyful burden of discipleship!" This life isn't easy, it was never meant to be. But we can stand tall and bear all, with the assurance that we are standing shoulder to shoulder with our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, who knows perfectly what it means to live a hard life. Have a fantastic week!!!! Until next time! :)

Love always, Hermana Smith

Photo: With all the new missionaries of this transfer!

March 31, 2014- Week 12 In Tehuacan!

Buenos dias!!!

Okie dokie, this week was fantastic :) On Saturday, Jose was baptized!!!!! I absolutely love that boy, he is such a light in the lives of the members here. It was a beautiful service - his best friends, Alejandro and Samuel gave the talks, and his testimony after the ordinance was so powerful. Yesterday, we kinda had a panic attack because he almost didn't show up for church to be confirmed, but he made it last minute :) It was definitely the highlight of my week.

We had to stop seeing Pilar this week...she hasn't been keeping any of her commitments, and finally on Friday, she told us that she wasn't interested anymore. It was definitely a sad moment for us... But I hope that later in the future, she will accept the Gospel and be baptized. But also on Friday, we ran into Marina! Do you remember her? She was going to be baptized at the beginning of this month, but then she got a new job with crazy hours AND moved (we didn't know where). But we ran into her, and now, her and her two children have dates to be baptized at the end of this month! She is WAY different now than before....definitely more happy. I really think this time, she will stay committed and be baptized. We are still working with the parents of José...they said that they loved the baptism and "felt something really special". They are such wonderful people :) Just like all of the people here, haha! We also have a new investigator - David. He was a referral from a different ward. He is 18 years old, is dating the member who gave us the referral, and is a really good person. We were going to commit him to a baptismal date...but he told us that he wanted to talk to his family about it first (I guess they are super duper Catholic). We're going to meet with him this afternoon and see how it went! 

Well...I kinda have some big news....I'm staying here in Tehuacan!!!! :) YAY!!!! My companion however is not...we have transfers tomorrow. But...this is my funny story for the week and my "big news". Thursday afternoon, we got a call from the zone leaders. When my companion answered, Elder Mendez asked "Has Hermana Smith been feeling sick this week?" Hermana Muñoz got a big smile on her face and said, "Oh yeah, super duper sick. And her stomach is getting bigger and bigger every day!" 

....I had no idea what was going on and truthfully, I was getting a little offended! I haven't been eating THAT much!!!!

Haha but she passed the phone to me and....well....I'm pregnant! Tomorrow...I'm going to start training a new missionary. I'm not gonna lie...I just started crying after I hung up the phone. Let's just take a missionary who hardly knows Spanish, who just finished HER training...and give her a brand new missionary to train. I felt so...incapable. Don't get me wrong, I still feel completely incapable but...I feel better now than before. So on Friday, I had to go to Puebla with Hermana Vasquez (another hermana in the zone who will be training) for training. There are 16 new missionaries coming...3 Elders and 13 Hermanas. (We will have over 100 Hermanas in the mission after tomorrow...so crazy!) And it definitely helped to hear, directly from President Reeves, that the Lord trusts me, and that he does too. And...that's really all that matters right? It has definitely been a humbling experience for me...trying to prepare myself for this. And I know that I am going to learn WAY more than I could ever teach my companion...and I just have to trust in the Lord. But I could defintiely use a few extra prayers this week! I'm absolutely scared to death, but I am so so excited at the same time. And I am so grateful for this opportunity. And I am even more grateful that I can stay here and not have to open a new area, haha!!! Friday after the training meeting...I was reading my scriptures on the bus and I ran into the scripture that my best friend showed me before I left on my mission...I knew the scripture before, but it took on a whole new meeting when I left, and again, now as I start this new experience. Joshua 1:9 - "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: For the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest" And really...that's all I need to know: That the Lord is going to be with me every step of the way. 

I love being a missionary. I love Tehuacan. I love these people. Really...before my mission, I had NO clue what I was getting myself into. And I had absolutely no idea how much I was going to love these people. It is something that is impossible to describe...but sometimes I feel like my heart is going to burst. I cant even begin to imagine then how much God loves each and every one of us. It really is so incredible. I love all of you so much, and thank you for your prayers and letters :) I know the Gospel is true! Have a wonderful week! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOMMA TOMORROW!!! :) Have a great birthday, Mom :)

Love always,

Hermana Smith

March 24, 2014- Week 11 en Tehuacan!

Buenas Tardes!

How are y'all doing?! Well, this week was another great one!!! And this week (Week 6 of this transfer!!!!) is going to be even BETTER! 

Well, José is still progressing beautifully! His baptism is going to be on Saturday, and we couldn't be more thrilled. He has such a strong testimony already, and I have a feeling that he is going to be a real example for the other young men in the ward. All of the young men are fantastic though! We are still working with Pilar...she's having some difficulty keeping her commitments, but we're going to see how we can help her understand the importance of them. Really, the commitments are not with us - they are with the Lord. And that is something that we need to help her understand. We also have another new investigator - Miria. We contacted her in the street Wednesday of last week, and then met with her yesterday. She has cousins who are members in Oaxaca, and I think that she is eventually going to accept. We felt prompted to invite her to be baptized yesterday, but she didn't accept. But she still wants to meet with us and come to church on Sunday. So we're excited about her :)

We worked a lot with the less-actives this week. There is one family in particular that I want to share with y'all. Jaime and Guadalupe with their 4 kids. They lived in the United States for 8 years, and joined the church there. They were super duper active, and were preparing to enter the temple as a family when they returned to Mexico. Then for some reason, they stopped going to church when they came back. They never entered the temple. It has been almost 10 years since they've attended church, and really no one could figure out why. Missionaries have been trying to visit them for years, but really, Jaime doesn't want anything to do with the church. Well, we have been trying to meet with them for the past 4 weeks, and last week, we were finally able to. We were there for almost an hour. Still, we're not entirely sure what happened 10 years ago, but they definitely shared things with us that I'm pretty sure they haven't told anyone else. But the craziest part was how strong the spirit was during that lesson. As we talked about the blessings of having an eternal family with Jaime and Guadalupe...something changed in them. I could see it, Hermana Muñoz could see it...and I know that they want the blessings of the Gospel. But...I think they think that it's too late. Well, I'm here to testify that it is never too late. Our Heavenly Father is waiting oh so patiently for us with arms wide open. We just have to take those first steps and realize that He is never going to stop loving us. I hope that as we continue to visit them, they will start to come back. They are such good people and they deserve to have an eternal family.

Funny story of the week: Ok, this was also one of the weirdest moments of my life. So, there is a group of Americans that are here in Tehuacan teaching English in the school that the stake president owns. Many of them have been attending our ward for about 2 months, and to be honest, most of them don't speak Spanish. Well, yesterday, I got called out of Sunday School to help "translate". One of the girls is trying to apply for BYU, but needed her ecclesiastical endorsement signed like...two weeks ago. Problem was that our bishop had NO clue what to do, and she didn't know how to explain or anything. But good thing I know how that whole thing works haha. But the weird part was when she had to have an interview with the bishop (not like a temple recommend interview, but about the honor code and stuff) and I had to translate the whole thing. I felt so weird! But there was nothing else we could do! Hermana Muñoz has been joking all day about my "moment as a bishop". So weird. No me gusta. And I also realized that I don't know English anymore. There were times when I was trying to explain to her what was going on...but I literally could not form correct sentences or remember some words. Oh my goodness, it was so hard! But...it also helped me to realize that I know a LOT more Spanish than I thought, haha!

All in all, this week was really fantastic. It has been really really really hot (one day was 105 F) but I'm still "looking forward" to the day when it's 115! Woot. But really, I just love it here. And this week, we're going to give everything we have, and more. I know the church is true. I know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers. I know that He is watching over us, and that we are never , ever alone. Keep trusting in Him, and hold on to your faith in Christ and His Atonement. I love all of you so so so so so much, and I hope you all have a great week! Be happy too! :)

Love always, Hermana Smith

March 10, 2014- Week 9 in Tehuacan

Well, hello there!

I am extremely happy to announce that this week...WE WORKED!! Haha, and what a fantastic week it was! I feel so blessed every day to be here and enjoy this great work. We had so many great experiences....I hope I have time to share them all!

Well, Monday night, we met with the family of Jose, the 14 year old who wants to be baptized. Let me give you a little background info on Jose. He is the friend of Alejandro and Samuel, two outstanding young men in the ward. While we were in the hospital for the surgery and after, he started attending seminary with them every single day. One day, Alejandro asked us for a Book of Mormon, which we gave him, and explained to us that he had a friend who wanted to be baptized. He is so ready, and he just loves everything about it. It's been amazing to see his excitement to learn the gospel and he already has the goal to serve a mission. Anywho, we went to meet with his father to ask for permission...and we are now teaching his whole family. Jose is going to be baptized on the 29th, and I'm pretty sure that his family will follow soon after! They all came to church yesterday, and his father is such a humble man. He has experienced a lot in his life, but it's really something to see him acknowledge the example that his son is setting. We love all of them so much, and Jose holds a very dear place in our hearts because of his example and decisions.

We also have another investigator with a baptismal date - Pilar, who is going to be baptized on April 6. We're hoping that we're still here to see it, but if not, teaching her has been a great experience! She is a single mom with two kids, who is really struggling after the death of her mom. But we taught the plan of salvation, and she was so overwhelmed with emotion. And she just kept saying, "thank you for giving me this peace. thank you". I've never had to live my life not knowing what is going to happen after we die. For me, it is a really humbling experience to see that knowledge fill someone else's heart and mind through the Spirit, and give them the peace that they need. God's plan is really so perfect...ahh, I love it!

This week was really cool for me, because this was the first time that I really felt like we were being guided by the Spirit as to where we should go. Tuesday night while we were planning, I had a really strong thought that we needed to visit a member in the ward. She is very active, and really happy all the time, but I couldn't escape the thought. When I told my companion, she said, "that's the spirit, Hermana! Tomorrow, we're going to visit her!" And we did, and we found out that she was really struggling emotionally. She had been praying for someone to come and tell her that everything was going to be ok, and that she was doing exactly what she needs to be doing. It was a really awesome experience to help her and follow the Spirit. 

Another instance was on Saturday. Two weeks ago, President Reeves decided that we were going to count street contacts as a key indicator in the mission. The norma de excelencia for this is 70 street contacts in a week, and we decided that we could do it (and we did: 71! this week is 80!) So obviously, we were contacting in the street, and we had the thought that we should go visit a less active hermana in the ward. Well...we never got there. While we were walking there, we contacted a man...and then proceeded to have a 40 minute lesson in the street about the restoration and Heavenly Father. The man had been contacted by the missionaries about 5 years ago, but they never came to his house for a lesson. This man, Lorenzo, knows SO much about the Bible and it was a bit intimiating...but luckily, I think my companion knows more! (She studied in Catholic schools up until her baptism, haha) But it was really awesome to see the Spirit working on his heart. As we testified of the truths of the gospel, we could see that what we were saying was against everything he had believed in...but that he wanted to believe us. After 40 minutes, he accepted our invitaion to church, and agreed to have us come and teach his family. And he came yesterday :) Heavenly Father knows who is ready for the Gospel, and it is something really special to have the opportunity to help bring them back to Him. 

With all of the street contacts and refernces from this week...we have 9 new investigators, but 15 more addresses to visit. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but that's ok :) It's what we're here for! 

"Unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up andfiguratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service toothers grow and flourish—and in effect save their lives."

President Thomas S. Monson

I have no words for how much I love being a missionary. It is by far the best experience of my life, and I am so blessed to be here, in Puebla Mexico, serving God's children. Continue to pray for missionary experience. Continue to participate in the work of the Lord. I promise that there is no better feeling than seeing someone change through the power of the Atonement. 

I love all of you sooooooooooo much!!!!! This week was so fantastic :) The church is true!

Love always, Hermana Smith

March 3, 2014- Week 8 In Tehuacan!

Hola Familia y Amigos!

First of all, thanks to all of you for the birthday wishes :) It definitely was a different experience for me, being here in Mexico and all, but it was still a good one. 20 years old - AHHH. I´m gettin' old.

Anywho, this week was just another slow one. Don´t worry, no surprise trips to the hospital, so all is well! Haha! But my companion had to take it really easy. Wednesday I went on splits with Hermana Martha, an hermana in the ward. She is magnificant! We were able to contact quite a few references, and visit Rosario, who is still face quite a bit of difficulty right now. It has been amazing to see the members include her and Lupita in the activities, and visit them when they don´t make it to some of them. Members really are SOO important in this work, I can´t even begin to explain how important. But, it was really good for me to go out and be a missionary without my trainer by my side. It was so scary, but I definitely feel more confident in my ability to speak, so that´s good. :)

Thursday and Friday, Hermana Muñoz and I were able to go visit some of the less actives that live around our apartment. We also talked to some of our investigators, and we have a new one! I don´t remember if I mentioned him last week, but we have an investigator named Jose who is the best friend to the bishop´s son. He has been attending seminary every day for the last 2 weeks, went and visited the temple with the ward on Saturday (the temple is 4 hours away) and yesterday, he came to church in actual church clothes! He is seriously an amazing young man. He is 15 years old, and wants to be baptized! We are going to talk to his father tonight and ask for permision...please pray for him! We also found quite a few new investigators, and I have really good feelings about them. I feel bad that we haven´t been able to teach as many people as we need to, but this week, we are ready to work super duper hard! (Well...as hard as my companion can, haha)

Saturday we went to Puebla! But I woke up to my companion singing Happy Birthday to me, and she had bought me a little stuffed elephant for my birthday :) She's pretty much the sweetest. And don´t worry, I bought myself a small piece of cake in Puebla, so my birthday was somewhat normal. But everything at the doctor's was great. They took out the 5 stitches, and now she can work again! We have to go back in 3 weeks, and she still has to be really careful about what she eats, but we're excited. Yesterday, the bishop's family threw a little party for me and Elder Pendleton (his birthday is today), so that was sweet. Overall, it's been a good week and birthday :)

This week I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be a consecrated missionary. My companion gave me a talk given in the MTC about this...and it has really caused me to reevalute myself as a missionary. The speaker shared the scripture in Omni 1:26, which says that we need to offer our whole souls as an offering to him. I have found myself a bit...frustrated (I don´t want to use that word, but that's the best I can think of right now) with not being able to work these first few weeks. But it has definitely made me want to give everything I can when we can. Ït's a lot that the Lord asks - to offer our whole souls, absolutely everything that we have. But that's when we can find ourselves. That's when he can take our weaknesses and make them strong. That's when we can reach our full potential, through the power and grace of the person who knows us so much better than we know ourselves. I know this is like the 100th time I've said this in this letter, but really, we are so excited to work this week! It has been a great blessing that my companion has been able to heal as quickly as she has :)

I love all of you so much, with all my heart! Have a wonderful week, and HAPPY WEDDING DAY TO MY SWEET SISTER ON SATURDAY! :) 

With all my love,

Hermana Smith

February 24, 2014

Hey you all!

So some of you might be wondering why I put Tehuacan and Puebla this week. Well, let me tell you all about it! Because this week, I spent 5 of the past 7 days in Puebla! This was another abnormal week for us, Really abnormal, but all is fine and dandy now :)

Tuesday and Wednesday were normal and great! We taught a lot of lessons, contacted A LOT in the street and overall, the work is moving forward here in Tehuacan. Like I said last Monday, transfers were this past week, and 3 of the missionaries left in our district, and we gained 5 different ones! Yep, we now have a district of 10 (6 of which are Hermanas!) and two of the Hermanas are sister training leaders for our zone. They´re really great, and I´m excited to work with them more this transfer. The new missionary for our ward is really nice too, and I think the four of us will be able to accomplish a lot...after this next week, haha.

Wellll....Thursday, Hermana Muñoz and I traveled to Puebla for some studies, an ultrasound of her stomach and a consultation with the doctor. I should probably explain what exactly went down the past couple of weeks, haha! So on the 8th, we were walking, and all of a sudden, my companion had super intense pain all through her stomach, back and she could barely breathe. All that week, she had been experiencing a tiny bit of pain after eating, but we didn´t think much of it. But we hurried to a member´s house, called President Reeves and we went to the emergency room here in Tehuacan. They put her on an IV and some medicine until about midnight that night, and then we went back home. They told her it was just because of how spicy the food is here, and her body is just adjusting. And we should have learned to always get a second opinion, haha! But oh well. All the next week, even with the pills and injections, she still was experiencing quite a bit of pain on her right side. The mission doctor told us that we needed to go to Puebla and visit with a specialist. So that is when we traveled to Puelba on the 15th. He told her that her vesicula (I´m still not entirely sure what it is, I think her gall bladder) was possibly inflammed and that she needed the studies and ultrasound. He told us we could do them in Tehuacan, but we couldn´t, so we went back on Thursday to Puebla. Ok. So this week...

Thursday night, the specialist took one look at the ultrasound and then told us that my companion needed surgery ASAP to remove her vesicula, because it was a little...grave. Her vesicula was twice the size of normal, and she had a large stone in it as well. We were only prepared to stay the night in Puebla, so it was a bit of a shock for us, but Friday morning, she checked into the hospital and that afternoon, they took out her vesicula! The sister training leaders serving near the hospital are ANGELS. They came that afternoon to be with me while she was in surgery and stayed all day. Later that night, we found out that we could leave the hospital the next day, but Pres. Reeves wanted us to stay in Puebla, near the hospital, until today. So, because we didn´t have clothes or anything, Hermana Rameriz (one of the sister training leaders) and I went BACK to Tehuacan Friday night for clothes and supplies. Hermana Seañales stayed with Hermana Muñoz. Saturday morning around 6, we went BACK to Puebla and stayed in the hospital, then with the sisters in their house until this afternoon! I am happy to report that my companion is recovering beautifully, we are in Tehuacan once again, and hopefully after our appointment with the doctor (in Puebla) this Saturday, we will be able to start working again next week. Whooo. Lots of information, thanks for reading :) 

(Worst part of my week: So every 2 hour bus ride, they play a movie on the bus. Most of the time, the movie is in Spanish and weird, so it´s really easy to ignore it. However...this morning, they played "Les Miserable"...in English...really loud. Satan sure knows how to tempt us to break the rules! Good thing I had my scriptures with me to keep me distracted, haha!)

This next week is definitely going to be a crazy one for me. Because Hermana Muñoz can´t leave the house, I have to go on splits with the members every day in order to keep up with our investigators and the inactives in the ward. I will be honest, I am really scared! But I know that this is going to help me a lot as a missionary. I´ve been needing to get over my fear of talking a lot in lessons...soooo...this is exactly what I need, right?!

Sorry I don´t have much to report this week! This has definitely not been the normal training experience in the field for me! The First 12 Weeks...in the Hospital! But really, I am learning a lot despite all of the medical mishaps. I´m happy to be here :) I just love everything about this place, and I love the people SOOO much. There is definitely a special spirit here, and I feel so blessed every single day to be here, with these people. 

I love all of you so much! You are all amazing, and keep doing great things! :) Til next week!

Love always, 

Ashley

PS - Don´t judge me in the photo! Like I said, we weren´t exactly prepared for our long stay in Puebla haha! And the last photo is of a GORGEOUS sunset in Puebla, with the volcano Popocatepetl :)

February 17, 2014

Helloooooooooooooo Familia!

I can´t believe that tomorrow, I´ll be starting my 2nd transfer in the field. Time is just FLYING by, and I´m not sure how I feel about it! But I´m happy to report that I will be staying with Hermana Muñoz here in Tehuacan for at least another 6 weeks :) We´re really excited for this next transfer, and I know that many people here are ready to hear the Gospel! 3 of the missionaries in our district are being transfered tomorrow! I´m a little sad to see them leave, but I´m excited to meet others!

And today is my bro´s birthday :) Happy Birthday, Kyle!!

Monday night, we had interviews with President Reeves. We have interviews with the mission president every 3 months, so the next one will be right before he is released! Crazy! Tuesday morning, we had a special zone conference with him and Hermana Reeves. They talked about the conference they had with Elder Oaks with all of the Mexico Mission Presidents the week before. And they revealed our mission goals for February, March and April... 100 baptisms this month, 150 in March and 200 in April...450 total! In the history of the Mexico Puebla mission, the most they´ve had in a month is 115. But they also didn´t have 250 missionaries! We had a special fast this weekend, for strength and diligence to reach our goals. I know that we can do it, and I´m excited to do our part in the work! Tomorrow, we are getting 20 new missionaries in the missionary, 15 of which are Hermanas! Watch out, world. The sister missionaries are coming!!!

This week, we spent a lot of time finding new investigators. A lot of street contacts, references, and we also had our grand "casa abierta" on Saturday! (AKA: Open House) So what went down was that for the past 2 weeks, we´ve been contacting members and non-members and inviting everyone possible to this activity. Then Saturday, they started in the chapel with a short video about Christ, then to the baptismal font for a short explanation about baptism, then over to Hermana Muñoz and I, where we asked for references. Then, they went to the cultural hall where all of the presidencies in the ward had displays about each organization. We also had a giant display of materials for them to take home and read. It was a great success :) and the ward is now planning on doing the same thing every 6-8 weeks. Many of the people here have NO idea what our church is like, what we really believe, etc. And all of the people that came through gave us their names to contact, and many also gave us names of friends or family. I think it really helped the people here understand what we´re all about. 

We are starting to work really hard with 3 families. Norma and her daughters we have been teaching for a few weeks. Alicia and Alejandra, her daughter, we contacted in the street on Tuesday and they are realy receptive to our message and both are reading the Book of Mormon. Also, we have a family that is a reference from Carla, the daughter of the bishop - Maria (mom), Diana (the amiga of Carla), and another daughter and son. All of them came to the open house, church yesterday and we are having FHE with them and the family of the bishop tonight! It really makes such a difference with members are involved. We are really excited to work with these families, and I have high hopes for all of them!

All in all, I love this work. This definitely was the best decision that I´ve every made, and I´m grateful for every second that I have here! I love all of you so much! 

Love always, Hermana Smith

#1: The Familia Oropeza. This family has taken care of us through our sicknesses and Hermana Orpeza makes the best tacos, hands down.

#2: Hermanas Eva and Itcialy. They´re pretty fantastic :)

#3: The Elders and the Ward Mission Leader, Hermano Rozines

February 10, 2014

Buenas Tardes! 

Well...I'm gonna start by saying that this week was really hard. But, once again, I just feel like it's those moments that are trying when you can learn the most! So for that, I am really grateful for this week!

So the hard part about this week was that for 4 days, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, every single person that we visited all of a sudden had a really difficult trial in their lives. And trust me when I say really difficult. Emotionally, this week was really taxing. Every night, mi compañera and I would return to our apartment, just really down and discouraged. It was difficult to sleep, think, focus... It was really hard to wake up in the morning, because I just didn't want to know what we were going to have to face that day. But we just keep moving forward. We kept doing the best we could to help these members and investigators believe that through their faith in Jesus Christ, they could keep going. Let me tell you, it really helped my faith as well. I have to trust with my whole heart that there is a purpose to everything. I know that is a true principle. Satan does everything he can to keep us from reaching our potencial, coming unto Christ, and being happy. But more importantly, I know that our Father in Heaven, who loves us more than we can imagine, wants us to grow. 

Friday morning, during personal study, I was reading in Alma 31. It talks about how Alma's heart was extremely sorrowful over the sins of the Zoramites. He was weighed down. He was discouraged. I'm fairly certain that he didn't know what he or his brethren could do for them. They were feeling a lot like Hermana Muñoz and I. Then in verse 5, we learn that "the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them" In that moment, I realized that I had to keep going. I had to keep preaching the word, and inviting others to read the words of God. Later in the chapter, verse 38, it says that "the Lord also gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ." 

I know that all of our affictions, trials, challengles, heart aches, sorrows, sins...all of them can be "swallowed up in the joy of Christ". Christ can give us the strength, endurance, and the ability to press forward, even when we don't know how. I always remember the quote that says, "the grace of Christ is not the light at the end of the tunnel. It is the light that leads you through the tunnel." And I had the honor, the privledge, of teaching this principle this week. In the Atonement of Jeus Christ, we can ALWAYS find hope. We can always endure. We can always be conquerers through Christ. And in teaching this, my love for the Savior and my appreciation for the Atonement has grown tremendously. And I promise that the tunnel does eventually end. It doesn't always put us where we thought we were going, but it's always where we need to be. 

My end of the tunnel came last night, when I was able to witness the miracle of two baptisms, for two hermanas who are extremely dear to my heart. It truly was a miracle. When I watched them come out the water, when I saw the happiness on their faces... words really can't express the joy I felt in that moment. And I realized that it is moments like that that make everything else worth it. I love being a missionary. This really has been the best 12 weeks of my life, and I am so excited for the rest of the journey!

I love all of you so much! Thank you for your emails and words of encouragement! I know that this church is true! 

Love ALWAYS,

Hermana Smith

February 2, 2014 Semana 4 en Tehuacan!

Buenas Tardes, familia!

So, I want to start by saying THANK YOU. Thank you so much for your prayers this week. This week was still a little rough, recovering and all, but I am very pleased to say that since Saturday, I have felt perfect, we have been able to work hard, and I can eat normal food again! No more Jello and chayotes! Really, thank you so much for the prayers. I know that they helped a lot.

Well, this week was another abnormal one! On Wednesday, I had to take another trip to the hospital...no worries! My blood pressure was still just really low, and the combination of the pills I was taking was kinda having a negative effect. So the doctor changed some of them, and that helped a lot. Thursday, we had to go to Puebla for a conference for new missionaries and leaders in the mission. We left Tehuacan at 5 AM (yikes!) and returned to our apartment at 11 that night. Long day, that´s for sure! And I couldn´t go with the new missionaries when we split up because of the infection, but I stayed with Hermana Muñoz in their meetings. I learned a lot about how the mission functions, and just how important every person is. I always realized how important the mission rules are. Exact obedience really does bring miracles, and I´m grateful to have a companion that always strives to be exactly obedient, so that I can be obedient as well. The meeting was also great because I was able to see my MTC district there! And we´re pretty sure that Hermana Bowers got her visa this week, and will be joining us in 2 weeks! :) Happy day!

Friday, we got back to teaching! YAY! I´m sad to say that we did not have the baptisms of Rosario and Lupita this week...but this Saturday for sure! :) Because we were out of comission for almost 2 weeks, we weren´t able to teach them everything that we needed to. They were very understanding (I still feel bad about it), but it worked out better for them this way anywho. We have also been working really hard on Yumico. She is a VERY intellegent, bright young woman, but right now, she is getting a lot of information from religious professors, her friends and she doesn´t see why she needs Jesus Christ in her life. But on Friday, we read with her the beginning of 3 Nephi 11, and I could really see the Spirit working in her heart. I think her heart wants to believe, but her mind and her logic is telling her that it´s impossible that someone could take on all the sins of humanity, and also be resurrected. But, afterwards, she told us that we gave her a lot to think about, and that she honestly wants to learn for herself the truth. And I know that as she prays earnestly, she will receive an answer. We´re excited to visit her again this Friday, and talk about the past week. Also, her two sisters are interested in the church! Irene came to church with us yesterday, and we´re excited to start teaching them as well. :)

Saturday was great as well. We were able to teach quite a few less active members, and Marina as well. She hasn´t been able to attend church with us yet...so her baptisimal date won´t be on March 1. But we´re hoping that she will be able to start attending church this week! One hermana in the ward, Martha Martinez, came with us to our last lesson with her, and we´re starting to introduce her to more members. Hermana Martha has been visiting her since, and I am so grateful for her desire to assist in the work. It really is impossible without the help of the members. Also, on Saturday, we had our coordination meeting with the ward mission leader and the ward missionaries. And on the 15th of February, we are have a HUGE missionary activity for the ward. It´s gonna be crazy, and hopefully really awesome. I´ll tell you all about it after it happens!

Yesterday was wonderful. I really missed attending church last week when I was in the hospital, so yesterday was really great. I also gave my first lesson in Spanish...yikes, haha! The missionaries teach the Gospel Principles class (for investigators and recent converts) and it was on Charity. YIKES. Haha, but really, I think it was ok. Mostly because I didn´t do much! I just asked questions, and everything talked and contributed. I think all of us felt impressions from the Spirit on how we can change and become more charitable. That is a big thing that I have learned this week...that I really don´t do much. The Spirit does EVERYTHING, and when the Spirit is present, I learn just as much, if not more, than the person we are teaching. And I learn so much from that person. This week, I realized just how incredible the people are here, in particular, Rosario and Lupita. They are facing something really challenging right now, but their faith inspires me. Their confidence in Heavenly Father and Christ, to be quite honest, reduced me to tears one night, and I couldn´t help but think about how I wish I could be more like them. The Lord puts people in our lives for a reason, and I know that there is something to learn from every person, every situation, every conversation. 

I love this Gospel. I know that this is the only true church, and I testify that it is a gospel of change. Everything is centered on the oppurtunity to change and become better, become more Christlike, become more like our Father in Heaven. I have seen that in the lives of the people around me, and especially in my life. I love all of you so much, and I hope you all have a great week! You are always in my heart and in my prayers! 

Love always, Hermana Smith

PS - no photos this week! Lo siento! I promise that this week, I will be better and take pictures! Love you all!

January 28, 2014

So...This week. Yes, it is Tuesday and I am just barely writing this. It souns like at least my parents were informed of what was happening this week, but I´ll give you all the run down.

So Tuesday, everything was great! We had a lot of lessons, and we are very excited about the progress of our investigators, especially Rosario and Lupita (Getting baptized this Saturday!) Unfortunately...after eating at a member´s house, I wasn´t feeling too fantastic. All Tuesday night, I was extremely sick. We figured it was just food poisoning though.

Wednesday morning came and I felt even worse! The Elders came and gave me a blessing, then two members in the ward took me to the doctor. The doctor said that it was just food poisoning, gave me some pills and told me I would be fine. However, that evening, I couldn´t breathe very well, and I was having a lot of pain in my chest and head. So, we went back to the doctor, and the amount of fluids I was taking in couldn´t keep up with what I was losing, and I was extremely dehydrated. She perscribed an IV for that night, told me to rest all day Thursday, then I would be fine. 

Thursday. We were in the apartment all day, and I wasn´t getting better. I had more strength than Wednesday, but I was extremely dizzy all the time, even while sitting or laying down, and stil felt a lot of pain. However, Friday, we decided to get back to work, at least a little bit. The mission doctor also told us to go the doctor, because the dizzyness wasn´t normal. So we went back to the doctor (round 3!) and she gave me MORE pills, and suggested that maybe I should get a blood test the next day. We called the mission doctor again, and she told us that the next morning, we needed to go to the emergency room and get all of the tests we could possibly get. 

So Saturday morning, the Bishop took us to the emergency room, and that was when the real fun started! Haha! The doctor of the emergency room said that my body was just "adjusting" to the change of living in Mexico, but she agreed to let us take the tests and check into the hospital. They took 3 different blood tests and others, hooked me up to some IVs and then checked me into a room in the hospital. Around 3 that afternoon, a doctor came in and told me that I had a parasite. Whoo, I am officially an American Missionary in a forgein country! The pills that the first doctor had been perscribing was helping with the vomiting, but didn´t kill any of the bacteria, so it had been getting worse and worse every day. So, he put me on some anti-biotics, more fluids for the dehydration and we proceeded to spend the next 3 days in the hospital with constant IVs and lots and lots of Jello. Around 11 last night, I finally came back home, and I feeling ALMOST completely normal again :) Right now, I just don´t have a ton of energy. We can only have 2 maybe 3 visits a day for the next week, and then I have to keep resting in the apartment. 

Funny Story 1: When I was in the emergency room, they put me on some medicine, but didn´t equalize it with enough fluid, so apparently, I went a little coocoo. But, according to Hermana Muñoz, even when I´m totally drugged up, I can still recite the First Vision, D&C 4, and sing Hymns in Español - multiple times! And apparently, I was REALLY craving ice cream and pizza, and I was really concerned for the Elders, because I didn´t think they had food to eat that day. So concerned, that I made Hma Muñoz call them and double check that they had food. And I couldn´t stop laughing, like ever. I don´t remember any of this, but Hermana Muñoz said it definitely made her day a little brighter!

Funny Story 2: Yesterday, I was in the room with a member (Hermana Muñoz left to eat with another member) and two nuns came in! (By the way, the hospital was a Catholic one...oops!) But they wanted to pray for me, and I really didn´t know what was going on until they started praying. It was the longest prayer ever, and it was very different from how we pray. After they were done, they asked me why I was in Mexico. So I told them that I was a missionary for the church and their faces just fell. They looked at each other, gathered up their flyers, and promptly excused themselves. I love being a missionary!

But in reality...I learned a lot this week. But probably, the biggest thing I learned was patience. I´ll be honest, it was really rough constantly feeling sick for a week, and being stuck in that hospital bed. But God´s timing is perfect. And I know that there were many reasons why I needed to be in that hospital and be sick. Maybe it was because I learned to appreciate and love my companion so much more. Maybe becase I was able to get to know several more of the members. Maybe because we were able to share the gospel with many of the nurses who had questions about our church. Or maybe because I needed that time to really study the gospel, and spanish, and strengthen my own testimony. I love this work, and I am grateful for the trials that we go through. I am grateful for my Heavenly Father, and His ability to heal us - spiritually and physically - through His son, Jesus Christ. 

I love all of you so much, and thank you for your prayers and testimonies! I am excited to get back to work this week, and hopefully, next weeks letter will be a bit better :) Have a great week! I love you!

Love always, Hermana Smith

PS - the pic isn´t great, but it´s all I´ve got! Haha!