COMPANION: Elder Blacker
Friends & Family,
Monday: Not too bad of a Halloween... Didn't really feel like it was
haha. I spent alot of the day packing and getting ready for transfers
tomorrow. Thats pretty much our day. Nothing too special
unfortunately.
Tuesday: Transfer day! This morning I woke up super early to get to
the transfer site. When we got there we were able to say goodbye to
the missionaries who were taking off to go home. After the site we
went to my new apartment which was a disaster... there was junk
everywhere. There was so much junk I couldnt unpack so I spent alot of
the day cleaning & organizing the place. Had a lesson with one of the
investigators in the area named Will. He is one of the construction
guys working on the Temple. His responsibility is the lights which is
super cool.
Wednesday: The place was still a mess so I continued my cleaning until
we had to go to meetings. Cant believe how much junk there was in
here... This was probably the worst I have seen. It wasn't gross from
a sanitary standard, it was just very cluttered. The bedroom was in
the living room and the desks were in the bedroom. Not sure whos idea
it was to do that... switched everything back which was a blast. Had a
baptism this evening for an investigator named John Jose. He has been
meeting with missionaries for about 4 years and just got married to
his girlfriend last week so he could get baptized. The previous week
the drains backed up with sewage which was disgusting. We had to clean
the font & make sure that everything looked good for the baptism. Got
that all done and had an amazing baptism. I take no credit over any of
it... I have never met John before the baptism. It was still a really
great experience still. Travis even came, he even knew John from back
when he lived on the Indian reservation. After that we went home and
crashed for the night.
Thursday: Woke up and again... continued cleaning some more... you
should have seen it. Had foodbank and everything which was fun but not
the same without Travis. Pretty much all we did today besides clean &
organize the apartment.
Friday: Woke up and finished the last thing on the list of things that
needed to be done... cleaning the bathroom. Got the bathroom all
cleaned and then we had to go to a lesson at a recently reactivated
member named Kim. She is a super cool woman that I hope to continue to
tell you more about in the future. After her lesson... I cleaned
more... well... mostly organized. Had dinner and then Travis came by
to say goodbye because he is moving to Utah to work for the foodbank
up there. Super excited for him but I will miss him for sure.
Saturday: Finished up all of the cleaning today so we could actually
do things in our apartment and I wont have anxiety because of how
cluttered and unorganized it is. Finished with a quick vacuuming of
the carpet and vents. Felt a huge relief after finally getting it
done. I feel bad for taking so much time cleaning and organizing but
tonight I felt the blessings from my efforts. This evening a member
named Henry brought us out to dinner and on the way home brought us
over to a friend of his. Went in and ended up talking to him (rick)
about the gospel and how it will give us strength to overcome even the
most difficult of times. The lesson was amazing and we set a baptismal
date for December 17. He does live in the Central Ward boundaries
though so we will have to pass him off. (P.s. Thats how close I am to
the area I was in for 7.5 months) He really seems to be enjoying the
gospel already and its times like this I love being a missionary. Went
back to Henry's to pick up our truck and talked with Henry's neighbor
named Tiger who is kinda crazy. He told us alittle about his life
story which blows my mind. Not sure if its true but for some reason
I'm drawn to him and want to help him get his life back.
Sunday: First Sunday in the Midvale Ward. This ward is alot smaller
than central but it was really good. Rick came to church today with
Henry and he seemed to enjoy it. It was fast and testimony meeting so
I went up and bore my testimony/introduced myself. It is definitely
different having church at 1:00 instead of 9:00. This will take some
getting used to for sure. After church we went and visited Tyna quick
even though she isnt in my ward anymore. Felt like she needed a quick
drop by. After that we went home and ate before leaving to visit with
Bishop Rees's family. Super cool family that I shared my Lego message
with.
There is quote I would like to share with you. It is,
"I encourage our Saints all over the world, wherever possible, to
strive to stand more often in holy places."
- James E. Faust
Something I would like to invite you to ponder about this quote is how
it says "strive to stand more often in holy places." Now in this world
today and how crazy it is. It practically impossible to 100% of the
time be standing in a holy place unless you live in the temple. In our
life now we are told by prophets to be in the world but not of the
world. I have a testimony of this. As I cleaned my new apartment all
week as my companion looked at me crazy... I thought about how this
relates to life. I believe that a dirty, cluttered, and smelly home is
not a holy place that the spirit could dwell very easily. Sometimes
others may not necessarily agree with us with what a "holy place"
is... and that will happen. What we can do about this though is
continue to endure to the end. Show them by example the blessings that
come from standing in holy places. Worry about yourself and how you
can make sure you are standing in holy places and I can promise you
that they will follow your example eventually. Id like to end with
something you have probably all heard before... "cleanliness is next
to Godliness" haha its totally true! Love you all! Have a great week
and thanks for all the love and support you have shown to me:)
Love,
Elder Smith
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| Ryan & Travis |
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