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| The Rueles family that we're teaching. I love them so much! |
Hey Everyone!
Man those pictures that you
sent me are so true! They wind/"breeze" is like Satan breathing on
your face! It is blazing hot and it like never cools down! This past week it has
been raining a little bit, so it's been like 100 with clouds. Haha but still
pretty hot and a little humid but I am surviving!
I completely freaked out when I
saw Allison's Senior pictures! I remember like it was yesterday when I got mine
taken! It is so nuts that she will be a senior! But congratulations Allison and
live it up because senior year is the best year of school and it only comes
once!
Mom you are so right about
being a children of God. Many people do not know that and I always love bearing
my testimony about how I know that is true! We actually went over to Felipe's
and I made him some cookies and we dropped it off at his house and said happy
birthday so I hope he liked that!
Haha after the pizza challenge
last week I didn't throw up. Thankfully, our dinner appointment cancelled, so
we didn't have to eat more than we had too!!
Well Monday night Carlos came
with us but no one was really home and he kept saying he was bad luck, but we
taught a good lesson with him to a Less Active Member. Also, before we went
out, he fed us some dinner! You just gotta love Carlos! Everybody does!
Tuesday we taught a 17 year old
girl (Natalie) and it was our second time teaching her and so we taught her the
Plan of Salvation. After, I asked her to be baptized and she said yes, it is
something that she knows she has to do! We set the date for August 10th as well.
So we are praying that she will be ready. Later on our way to the Ruelas
Family, our tire blew out and so I had to get all down and dirty to fix it
because Elder Duff didn't know how. But after the Ruelas Family fed us so much
food and I just love them!
Wednesday night we went to
Felipe's house and dropped off the cookies and said happy birthday. But then he
had to go, so we taught his wife. His wife's mom is the one who was murdered
about 3 weeks ago so we were very blessed to talk to her about the Plan of
Salvation as well. We set up a baptismal date for her and her daughter on
August 10th as well! She started crying, and she said that she really wants to
see her mother again and she will get baptized. Her mother got baptized and was
a member! Blessings (:
Thursday, no one was really
home and we mainly taught Less Active Members that night.
Friday night we went to the
Ruelas Family and taught the Word of Wisdom and they have no problem with it (:
They said that they really want to be baptized but the wife doesn't have
an I.D. for their marriage papers. But we were able to set a goal with
them. Which is to get married on the 16th of August and baptized on the 17th of
August! They are very excited and we hope all will work out for that.
Saturday was transfer news day! I was super nervous because I
really didn't want to leave. Friday, before we left the Ruelas Family's house,
they told us they'd be having family over who aren't members and so we went and
taught them Saturday night! It went really well but they live in Phoenix and so
we'll have missionaries go over and teach them. But when we got home Saturday
night, we got a call about transfers.....I'M STAYING (: (: I am so happy
because I really didn't want to pack and I love my investigators so much. haha
but Elder Duff is staying too. But I'm alright with it because we did really
good this past week. We set up 5 baptismal dates! So he kind of showed me he
can work hard. They're adding sister missionaries into our branch though and
they'll probably take 4 of our baptismal dates that we just set up. (Felipe,
his wife and daughter, and Natalie) but we still don't know yet because they
come in on Wednesday. At least the Ruelas family is still with us...well that's
what we think. But I am way excited and happy (:I am so happy to be here a
little longer in this area before I take off to Peru. I think I will leave here
before the end of this transfer, just because it would have taken too long. but
we shall see. I always try to remember, "I will go where you want me to go
dear lord."
Yesterday, we got a new branch
president and we are so excited for all this change that is happening. Then,
that night we went and taught Jose. If you remember, his wife is a member and
she told us that Jose is not going to allow his daughter to be baptized this Saturday
because he feels 8 years old is too young. His wife is white and so she attends
the English ward and so she had her bishop over to come help us, but he didn't
speak Spanish. So I was able to translate! Which has been a dream of mine to
do! I was able to do it and I felt so blessed because Heavenly Father really
blessed me to be able to do that! ! I am in the same boat as you Mom! haha I
think we are the same at a lot of stuff. Like I can hardly speak it, like it
takes me forever to translate it and to make sure I am following the rules but I
can understand it way better! It went
amazing but Jose still doesn't want her to be baptized just yet and the mom was
quite mad. But he said that maybe, when he gains his testimony, he would like
to get baptized with her. I testified that we all received answers it is true
and that is why we are here. I told him that if he keeps reading and praying to
know it is true, he will receive an answer because he is a son of God and that
Heavenly Father really does love him. So we are praying for his answer to come
soon.
It has been such a miraculous week and I really am happy to be serving here in Arizona and to be able to stay here another change! Who knows when my visa will come. I am trying to not worry about that though! It is all well here! I hope you got my package too with all the things that I sent home!
Dad, That hill must be insane!
I want to see it because I bet that 2 and a half minutes of just straight
pushing would be soo hard! That is sooooo amazing though that you were able to
accomplish it! Dad you seriously look like you have lost a lot of weight and so
congratulations! I bet that it felt so good to accomplish it! Just keep it up
and you are right, you will be able to get it down to like 2 minutes! But you
described exactly how I feel about being out here. The mission is so hard at
first because all this stress just slaps you in the face when you first get in
the field. Like I didn't understand anything that was going on and I just felt I
could never do it. I really felt alone and sometimes I wanted to give up. But I
have always remembered Jeffery R. Holland's quote. "Never turn your back
on this work". I have also remembered your words about when you said to
imagine our family pushing me along and I knew going home was just not an
option!
But Spanish is coming along
easier and I learn more and more everyday and I can understand more. I haven't
really noticed it, exactly like you said, I feel like I have been moving slow.
But my progress is coming along! Thank
you so much for sending me scriptures. They are a real comfort to me!
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| I don't know if you can tell, but that is a dust storm that pounded us |
I love you. He loves you.
Elder Smith
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