Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Week 74

AREA: TucsonMidvale
COMPANION: Elder Blacker

Friends and Family,

Monday: This morning we did laundry at the laundry mat instead of our place because we didnt have money on our laundry card. Did all of our shopping and got that out of the way pretty quick which was nice. After all of that stuff we went to the library to email and stuff. Had dinner with the Olives family and they were awesome as usual. For their family home evening dinners they pick a country or state and cook food they would eat there. Today was Hawaii and they cooked this rice, spam, and seaweed stuff. Not my favorite but hey, at least we were getting fed.

Tuesday: Today was pretty exciting. This morning was pretty normal for a Tuesday. We had foodbank and had some fun doing that. After doing that we went home for lunch. Had an appointment with Sister Cole but she wasn't able to meet with us unfortunately. Contacted some referrals that we had and actually found a new investigator! His name is Robert, he is 13 years old and said him and his family used to meet with the missionaries but stopped. Sister freeman was very kind and made us dinner because we didnt have one. We didnt have a lot of people sign up on Sunday because some lady went crazy and practically told the relief society that they were the worst ward she had ever seen. I dont necessarily see how that is but I guess we have something to work on... After their place we had a lesson with Crystal our neighbor. She is so prepared to be taught and it is wonderful!! She literally has been looking for a church her whole life that felt like she was supposed to go to. Reminds me a lot about Jospeh Smith. We reviewed the restoration with her and invited her to be baptized and she accepted! She has a baptismal date for February 18th! Look forward to helping her get there!

Wednesday: Today for some reason was somewhat stressful. This morning my Book of Mormon fell apart so I had to go get some glue so I can fix it. Thankfully its all good. We had a bunch of appointments that canceled/rescheduled for other days which was kinda lame. Had an appointment with Faith though which I feel like went well:) Finished the last half of the Plan of Salvation lesson. We then rushed over to Chile's for dinner with sister armbruster. She is the coolest old lady I believe I have ever met and she has such a strong testimony of the gospel.

Thursday: Today was more unique for a Thursday. Our zone meeting was moved to today for some reason. Had some really good trainings I felt like. There was a portion of the meeting I was able to share an experience from my mission while reactivating someone and I shared my experience with Tyna and how although she is crazy... she has made my mission experience worth while and that working with her helped me to learn and grow in the gospel. Only was about 2 minutes but still good. After zone meeting we went out with a bunch of missionaries for lunch. Went home to change and visited with sister Cole. Had dinner with Crawford which was pretty nice. After dinner we had an appointment with our new investigators Robert, Ernie, Emilio, and Audrina. Robert is the oldest at 13 and goes down the line to 10, 8, and 6. They're some cool little kids and definitely interested. Taught them the restoration and invited them to be baptized on February 18:) They accepted the invite!

Friday: Awesome temple trip today! Woke up early and headed out for the temple. Got there in time to go to Kianoa's and get some lunch. The temple was wonderful!! It was so beautiful and peaceful inside as always. So grateful that we have temples, I don't even know what I would be like without them. After the temple we headed home. A sister from one of the nearby wards was the one who drove us up and I sat up front and talked with her for a majority of the time. After we got back we rushed over to dinner, ate fast, went to the dedmans to help them out with a few things, and then finally heading over to Gary's. Pretty good day... super exhausting for sure.

Saturday:  Today was pretty good and we were able to get a lot done which was nice. This morning we had interviews with our mission president which went well. After that we went home for studies and then planned till dinner. Got a lot of our planning done which was awesome! Had a ward coordination meeting this evening which went really well! Our new ward mission leader is awesome and had a big dream for our ward:) 

Sunday: This morning we had PEC which went well. Brother Collingwood got the ward auxiliaries attention when he talked about his goal of having 100% home teaching. His goal is very bold and difficult to reach... Although it is possible. He has done it in multiple wards and by doing it, helped the ward receive over 50 convert baptisms in a year. I love his plan and know it is possible. Church was great! Crystal was there and she really enjoyed the services. She looks forward to coming back which is great to hear:) After church we went home for studies and ended up falling asleep on accident. Woke up in time to head out to dinner at Tyna's. Tyna got a dog named Baileyryan... apparently Hannah and Tyna couldn't decide on a name. Spend the rest of the evening at the Rees's home which was pretty good. 

This week I really tried to focus on daring to stand alone. Christ set the perfect EXAMPLE for us. Through all temptation, pain, or opportunity he had in general to sin, he didnt. He stood alone and so can we. Never in this life will we be able to be perfect examples as Christ did... but we can do our best by doing the small and simple things. Think to yourself, "am I the same person behind closed doors as I am in front?" At times it may not always be the most convenient time to stand as an example of what you know is right... but we are promised we will be blessed for our obedience. 


I love you all! Have a great week:) 

Love,

Elder Smith 

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