Hey
everyone!! Man, I am so excited that today is P-day and I get to write
to you and read all of your emails! Thank you so much for all of the
emails! I absolutely love them! Mom and dad I am glad y’all are safe out
there in Europe! That sounds like an amazing trip! I am excited to go
on it someday, but not now because I am a Missionary! I love being a
missionary! It is such an amazing experience! I did get one of your
postcards of Spain and it looked awesome! Bridger is a lucky guy for
getting to serve there, but I am even luckier getting to serve in the
Bayous! haha :) It is crazy to think that all of my friends are out
around the world doing the Lords work. Bryson just emailed me and told
me that he is getting his call this week maybe!! And everyone else is
almost to that point! That is so exciting! Sooner than later it is going
to be Jason going on a mission then Boston and Carter and Drayden!!
That is crazy! I am so excited for them. I have had quite the
interesting week. It has been one of the BEST weeks out here though!!
Alright so starting from Monday..
I
went to the Saints vs. Dolphins game with a bunch of the Spanish
missionaries! It was so awesome!! People down here love their football
that is for sure! The stadium was so cool and it was huge! It was cool
being able to go in it after seeing it on TV from Hurricane Katrina. The
people we sat next to were diehard fans! It was super fun! They all
were having a good time! They were very nice and respectful to us! The
game was great! The Saint's just destroyed!! One bad thing that happened
to me though was my camera died right after the kick off... SO I will
have to go to another game when we all come back to take more pictures!
Our mission President told us that we needed to be in my 10:30 so we had
to leave the game before the 4th quarter. It was okay though because
they were dominating! It was really fun! :) Then we got right back to
work.
So
for our contacting game, between my companion and I, I have been
dominating him... Haha! I have contacted almost 40 people in just 2
days! It has been way fun. He has got about 19 :) I really like this
game because it gets me out of my comfort zone. This week we had a fun
opportunity to help out the lady that we want to re-baptize. She needed a
tree cut down in her yard, so we did it. The tree was about 40 feet
tall! It was huge!! It took us awhile. Let’s just say I am getting
pretty good with an axe! ;) We had a really good week. We contacted all
of our referrals and we met with some less active members. My comp and I
are getting along really well again and we are working really hard.
Alright.... so Thursday Elder Andrews, Scarlet, Vaughn and I were over cutting our less active lady’s that we have been working with lawn. After that she fed us some jambalaya and Elder Andrews and I left to go mow another lady's lawn. Right when we finished we heard our cell phone ring. We looked and saw that it was President Wall. We looked at each other and thought Oh no.. What did we do haha! When we answered, he said hey y’all, I am evacuating all of the missionaries in the West Bank and south of them. You are to leave asap! So Elder Andrews and I were so excited! haha It was a rush. We helped the sister put up boards over her windows in case of the storm then we booked it home and started packing. While we were riding home a HUGE storm came up from nowhere and started dumping water on us! We got so wet it was ridiculous! Then we packed really fast and had the West Bank elders come and give us the car. We were only evacuated to downtown, so only 15 minutes away from where we live. President said he just had a bad feeling about the West Bank. So "Hurrication" began! That is what Missionaries call it when we are on lockdown. So we got to the apartment and we ran to Wal-Mart to get some extra food. The lines were crazy! It shows how much we need to be prepared in case of emergency! So I used a lot of my money for the Month. I may need to use a little money out of my home account. Is that alright? So then we were on lockdown where we are not allowed to leave the apartment until the storm passes. Unfortunately, the storm moved directions. It is a good thing, but we all kind of wanted one to happen so we could give a lot of service. Then President called and told us to go back to our areas. This was Saturday morning. So it worked out great! We got back and then ran right to the church to watch Conference.
This Conference was probably one of my favorites. Just like President Monson said, "one of the most inspiring conferences he had ever attended. I loved every talk. I have about 5 pages worth of notes. My favorite talks were in the Priesthood meeting. President Eyering, and Uchtdorf. I loved them so much. I missed watching conference on our couch though and going to Priesthood session with you, Dad. It was a different experience, but I loved it. Conference was so amazing. I am so grateful for all of the words that they spoke. Our church is amazing. I know we have a prophet here on the earth today and that he receives revelation for all of us. My testimony this week has grown so much. I know what I am doing is the right thing for me at this time. It is making me stronger and a better person. I am so thankful for all of you back home for keeping me in your prayers. I know they are helping me out. I LOVE THE WORK. It is so rewarding. It is so hard, but I love it! It is all worth it! Well I have got to run! We are playing a big game of basketball and soccer today! I can't wait! I love you all and every one of you is in my prayers. Like mom always says, "Remember who you are and what you stand for!” I love you all!
Love Elder Smith
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