An Awesome New Companion! 3/23/15

Hey family! Man it sounds like a good week back home. So many exciting

things happening. I am so happy Janes farewell went soo good. I bet

she did such an amazing job. She is awesome and is going to be such a

great missionary! I am soooo pumped for her! Then that is so awesome

Jaycee has been doing such a great job with the musical and then

singing at Janes farewell. Keep up the great work Jaycee. And man I am

jealous about the tennis match between Jacs and mom and Jane and Dad.

I bet that was so much fun! Hey dad remember our tennis match we had

in Arizona against ry and dan and I kept messing up! Then at the last

second they won.. man I call a rematch!! We will win this time for

sure I am postive about that. Fun memories!

Alright mom I am so proud of you. Great job with completing your first

5K!! I didn't even know you were wanting to do one. I am happy you

went even though it was just you. And man I wish I could have been

there to help you out with your music. I will be there next year and

will run with you and dad the whole way! :) So are you wanting to do

more or go up in milage? maybe a 10K or a half? I know that is a big

jump but hey why not?? I want to do a marathon when I get home and a

triathlon. I think that would be so awesome if our whole family did a

big race together.

Well this week was a very good week! It was transfer week. Elder Gosch

got transferred to Pride Louisiana. He is happy. I now have a new

missionary named Elder Brimhall! He has been out for 17 months. He is

from Snowflake AZ. He knew Elder Willis before the mission. He played

against him in basketball. He is a very sharp kid and a very hard

worker. So something interesting about him is he spent his first 10

months in a different mission. He was serving in the Sierra Leone

mission in West Africa. Crazy huh! So when the whole Ebola outbreak

started the church evacuated his mission. It is a crazy story. He was

checked before he left the country to make sure he didn't have the

virus and then the church pulled some strings to get a plane over

there to get 150 missionaries out of the country. The crazy thing was

the country wasn't allowing any airplanes to land or take off so the

church some how got a plane for all of the missionaries and got them

out. Pretty crazy I must say! He is safe now so no worries! He is a

good kid and we get along really well. I am training him to be a ZL,

but he is already a great kid so it is easy.

(New Companion - Elder Brimhall)

Well this week consisted of a lot of planning. The first week of the

transfer is always crazy especially if you have a new missionary with

you. So we had to plan for exchanges with all of the district leaders

as well as some other missionaries we would like to work with and

provide some training. Then we had to go over all of the people we

have and the people we are working with. So that took a good 5 hours

or so between 3 days. Pretty fun!

This week we made some big progress with J. our investigator. We met

with him on Saturday and the Spirit for sure was there leading the

lesson. We went over tithing and fast offerings. He committed to live

and to do those things. Well at the end of the lesson I had a strong

prompting to bring up eternal families especially with temple

marriages. I asked J. if he wanted to be with his wife forever. He

said he would love that of course, but he never had thought of how to

do that. I used a few analogies to help teach him the principle how we

can be sealed with our families forever. It was the coolest lesson

because it helped him realize that our church is not like any other

church. He knows the Book of Mormon is true. He knows he needs to get

baptized. It is just tough because he is so involved with his church

and so is his wife. We are meeting with him later this week with his

wife to help them both come closer to God and Christ by helping them

recognize the Spirit answering their prayers. Also we have been

working with him with quitting smoking and he is now down to 3 a day

when before he was 10. We set a goal to have him quit completely by

the 31st of this month. I know he can do it especially because his

wife did it 2 years ago. She used to smoke 4 packs a day and then one

day just quit. So a lot of good progress with J.

We also found some new good investigators through tracting and

contacting. We have been working hard trying to set a good example for

this zone. We also are working with some new less active people who

are about to come back to church. It is going to be awesome! We are

working with 2 young men who are in high school to come to church.

They came this past week!! I think it is because we are just their

friends. We haven't pushed them, but by example people will change. I

know that. So that was a really positive thing that happened!

I am loving the D&C challenge! I have been reading it with the study

manual as well. It has been going really good and I have learned a

lot. So this month I am working on Humility for my Christlike

attribute this month and I have already learned so much. This week

also my testimony has grown so strong with knowing my Savior. I feel I

made a huge jump this week with coming closer to him. I think it was

through baring my testimony of him as well as studying about him and

watching the video "because of him" mormon message. If you have a

chance you all need to watch it. I know the Savior Lives. I know he

loves us. I know he knows exactly how we feel so we can have hope. I

also know that if we put our trust in God then everything will work

out. Proverbs 3:5-7. I know this Gospel is true. I know God called the

prophet Joseph Smith to restored the church upon the earth again. And

since he did restore it Christ was able to restore the Priesthood back

to the earth so we can do the ordinances necessary to make it back to

God. I know the temple is the biggest blessing on this earth. I wish I

could have been at Janes Farewell because the temple is the most

amazing thing ever. I know that if we put the temple in our path we

will be able to make it to the end. Well I love you all so much. I

hope you all have a great week! And I am looking forward to next week

already! Love ya!

Elder Smith

I Got To Play Golf and Got Fried! - 3/17/15

What is up family!! First off I am so sorry mom for scaring you. I

guess that did come across a little nerve racking. I am doing great!!

So I will feel you in on what has been happening with me. So for the

past couple of months I have had these random sharp pains deep in my

head. It is not like a headache. I have asked my comp for a blessing

and he has given me one and it really helped, but I felt after the

blessing if it happened again I would ask the mission nurse what she

thought. When the wave comes of sharp pain it lasts for a little bit

and then goes away and then it comes back. When it happens it first

off, really hurts, then second it is hard to focus and is a little

sketchy. So when I asked her she asked me a bunch of questions and she

has an idea of what it might be, but to be sure and to find out a

diagostic she wants to send me to a neurologist. So Sunday when I

wrote home it was because she needed to get the info with my insurance

and I don't have a card out here with me. So she asked me to get it to

her as quick as possible so she could get me cleared and then into a

doctor. So mom I am really sorry if i scared you. Just know I am doing

completely fine! No worries about me I promise. :) I am trying to set

up an appointment for this week so after I go I will let you know

everything about what the doc says.

Well it sounds like you all had a marvelous week! I am pumped for

that! Jacque good job with the tennis. That is such a huge honor and I

am very proud of you. You and Jane are going to be soo good! Jaycee

good job in all of the performances! I wish I could be there to watch.

All the other little ones keep up the good work! That is awesome the

house is moving along really well. They put that up fast! Send me some

pics of how torn up our yard and driveway is. Are you going to have to

put a new driveway in now? Oh yeah I know I already told you that

Elder Gosch is getting transferred! That is pretty crazy. I am sad to

see him go that is for sure. I now have to take over an area that I

barely know since I have been out of it half of the time with

exchanges and all of that. Oh well. Come what may and love it! I think

my new comp is going to be just as hard working. I will fill you in on

who it is next week.

Alright when I read the opportunity David has and how he turned it

down that completely made my day.. But tell him if he wants to go then

go for it! But he is the man. I am so excited for lake powell and

getting burnt!! Speaking of that... I went golfing today for the first

time in about a year and a half and it wasn't too bad except for the

fact I got totally fried..... I played pretty well actually. My timing

was off a little so I was late with my hands on all of my iron shots,

but the driving was great as usual. My putting on the other hand....

That went out the window.. I will have to practice hard when I get

home if I want a chance to play at Weber State. 2 of the coolest

members out here took us and paid for us. Brother Burch and Joe Stock.

Brother Burch's wife is the one who sent the pictures the other day so

you will have to text her and tell her thanks and then Joe Stock is

probably my favorite member out here. He was down in Houma when I was

down there so I knew him when I came up here. It is funny, but he

actually lived in Logan and went to logan high school and knows Jackie

our cousin! Last time we were over at his house we found that out and

I think he either texted her or something and they were just getting

on the plane to go down to AZ. Pretty crazy! Joe is a good golfer so

it is a ton of fun. We are going to try and start going more often.

Well tell Jane good luck this week with her farewell talk. She is

going to do so great. I am so excited for her to get out on her

mission. And hey if she doesn't get her visa right away and gets to go

somewhere else for a little bit then tell her to enjoy it because she

is one of the few who gets to serve in 2 different missions. There

have been a lot of visa waiters here in Louisiana. Remember one of my

kids was a visa waiter. Elder Jenson. Also Elder Gosch my comp right

now was a visa waiter for Brazil, but he decided to stay here in the

states instead of going. He absolutely loves it and where ever Jane

goes she is going to be right where the Lord needs her. I am glad they

had a good time in AZ! Tell that family hello for me.

Well this week was another great week as well! We challenged one of

our investigators to stop smoking. It was really cool. it was like one

of those ensign stories. So we went over to his house and we planned

on teaching the Word of Wisdom to him. Well as we were going and at

the end of the lesson I really felt the Spirit prompt me to ask J. to

completely stop smoking by Sunday and to fast for help and then also

for Elder Gosch and I to fast for him. Well we did it and he did so

good, but fell a little short and had just 1 that day. Which is a huge

improvement! He knows he can do it now. So it was a pretty cool little

story. Then yesterday while we were out tracting on 1000's of doors we

found a new little friend. A little puppy without a leash came running

up to us and just stuck around with us. So we decided to try a new

tracting approach. Knock on someones door and ask if this is their

puppy. If they said no then we said oh well we are missionaries and we

would love to share a little message with you. It actually worked

really well! We named the dog Brooklin. But at the end of the day we

had to end up taking her to the pound. It was a sad day, but it is

alright.

Well this week was pretty much the same as last week. Just pluggin

along staying super busy! This mission has taught me so much about

myself. I am loving the D&C challenge. I have already learned so much

and man it is awesome. Well take care family.  I love you all and lets

just face it... We have the best family around! Thanks for all of your

examples and love. I love you all so much and I hope you all have a

great week! Peace from LA

Love Elder Smith

PS mom.... Those cookies were soooooo goood! And I love the CD! Thanks for it!

Sent from my iPad

It Snowed! 3/9/15

Hey family! So to start off this letter I want you all to know I got

called to Louisiana and they said it was going to be hot.. Well it

snowed this past week.. So both years I have been here in LA it has

snowed!! It was crazy cold this week. I would guess it was colder than

Utah. And the funny thing is when it gets cold here everything shuts

down because no one knows how to drive in the snow or ice. So we were

on LockDown this week as well.

Well Anyway! How the heck are you all? Thanks for the emails and

letting me know what is going on back home. I am glad you had a fun

trip to vegas and I am glad GAT was doing so well this week! That is

some awesome news! I am glad you liked all of the pictures from last

night. Sister Burch is so awesome! The cups is actually a lesson

talking about the restoration and the Apostasy. Then I showed them a

magic trick afterwards. We ate a really good  roast at their house.

Some really good food up here in Pineville. They hook us up!  Good

luck Jaycee this Friday in the opening night of the play. She is going

to kill it! Brake a leg ;) Then Jacs I hope she kills it this week in

Alabama. Good luck! Hey and the D&C challenge is pretty good. I

learned a lot from the 2 chapters we have already read. I started 136

this morning then we had to go help someone with a move. This should

be pretty fun. Well I am glad everyone is happy and healthy back home.

that is all I pray for. I love you all so much!

This week was a great week! It started on Tuesday we went on exchanges

with our District leader. I took him to Pineville. We saw some really

cool things happen. We were able to talk to some new people and also

our investigators and figured out more about their situations and

invited them to be baptized. Our most progressing investigator named

J. has already a testimony of the Book of Mormon, but he will not be

baptized yet. He is a deacon in the baptist church and is an amazing

singer. He likes the other choir. We are going to try and get him to

come and sing at our church pretty soon. He promised us he would come

to church this upcoming week. It has been really cool though because

we have been taking him with us to visit his sister who is in a

nursing home and we have been having him teach her all of the lessons.

It is awesome because that is the best way for you to learn and to

grow your testimony is to share what you know and have the Spirit be

there and testify both to you and also to the person you are speaking

to. So keep him in your prayers. We are seeing him tomorrow, Thursday,

and Saturday. Then we also saw and found a new investigator at another

investigators house. It was a really good lesson. We read alma 32

which talks about Faith and planting it like a seed and if it is a

good seed then it will grow, but if it is not a good seed then it

won't. We talked about how sometimes we have to step into the dark to

plant the seeds, but there will be just enough light for us to know

where to plant. Then it will grow and we will be able to know

something is true. I hope that makes sense because it makes perfect

sense in my head haha! :) Then that night Elder Gosch and I and the

Sister Training leaders met with our stake president to unify our

mission with our stake. It was a really good meeting. We talked about

how the Small and Simple things add up to be really big things. Pretty

awesome meeting.

Then on Wednesday morning Elder Gosch and I left our apartment really

early to head on down to Baton Rouge for our Mission Leader Council.

or MLC. This meeting happens once a month with all of the Zone

Leaders, Assistants and the mission pres and his wife. It is a full

day of meetings and I love it! Mostly because all of my homies from

the mission are in the leadership now. Elder White (elder willis's

cousin) Elder Andrews and a bunch of other cool missionaries. It is

fun because our zone is so far away from the rest of the mission so we

never get to see anyone so when these meetings happen it is a party!

The only bad thing is after the meeting we drive home and plan with

the sisters a meeting for Zone Training Meeting. We only have a day to

prepare for it. So that is what we did for the rest of Wednesday then

on Thursday we received a call from Sister Hansen telling us our zone

was on shut down due to the SNOW! It was barely any, but because of

how humid it is down here the roads and everything just ice over. So

we had to contact our whole zone and let them know that. So we planned

the whole day and then the afternoon the lockdown was lifted so we

were able to go and teach our new investigator and we committed him to

be baptized so it was pretty legit! He just needs to get married and

stop smoking. He is living with a member so it should be pretty easy

to get them married. Hopefully it will all work out.

Friday we had our ZTM and it went Amazing!! The Spirit was there and

everyone really enjoyed the meeting. After ZTM I went on exchanges

with the several Elders. It was one of the best exchanges I have ever

been on. I went with a kid named Elder Sabey from Canada. He hooked me

up with a sweet exchange. We ate so much food... I think I gained 10

pounds. Then the next day we played some Ghetto basketball, went to a

members house who has over 150 guns and he shot a fully auto AR and a

.50 Cal rifle 3 times.. It was the sweetest thing ever!! I will send

some pics. Then Sunday was a nice relaxing day. We didn't have to do

anything this week besides the sacrament and it was so nice! In Elders

Quorum I had a really cool Spiritual experience. We were talking about

work and families. I think I have a better idea of what I want to do

when I get home for work. I will continue to pray about it and think

about it.

This week was such a great week! I loved it! We tracted our butts off

and had so many people slam doors in our face. This one house we went

up and knocked on the door. A lady answered and I said Hi Mam and she

just said not interested and slammed the door... So we walked away and

I remembered something Elder Holland said in a talk addressed to the

missionaries. He said please be a little persistent! So I told Elder

Gosch we needed to go back to the door and try again. He looked at me

funny, but said alright. So right when I knocked again a man opened

the door and said what do you want. I just said can we please say a

prayer with you and for your family? He said Yes you can say your

prayer, Do you all believe in Jesus? And answered yes we do. Then he

said... I don't think so... And Slammed the door again! So even though

nothing happened there and we were rejected twice I felt accomplished

because I followed a prompting. I know we are blessed for following

promptings. So there is my funny tracting story for the week!

Well family I love you all so much! I hope you all have a blessed week

and enjoy every moment of every day. I love you!

Elder Smith