Hermana Smith returns from her *mission on Tuesday, November 17th at the Great Falls Airport.
Date - Wednesday, November 18th from 7-8:30 p.m.
Location - LaQuinta Inn & Suites (GTF) in the "Missouri Room"
Please stop on by to welcome Brittany home from her mission. We look forward to seeing you!Hello-
This feels a little weird...many of you may think you have one more chance to write me but actually i will probably not check email next week. I have to be in the mission home by 4:30. i feel a lot of emotions and its just really surreal that i am actually going to be home next week. Im trying to work hard but at the same time preparing to go home...i have to pack someday.
This week has been so long and crazy...but time is flying by. I feel like i just get up and go back to bed a few minutes later.
There is all sorts of goodbyes this week. Friday i will be going to lunch with the Burke's along with all the other sisters that are leaving. Saturday we have our farewell in the VC as well as my interview with President Bassett. Then sunday is my last spanish fireside.
Many of my converts have come to see me at the VC and pleading that i stay (i told them i would have a sad mom and boyfriend)...i just love the people i have met here in mesa and its so surreal that i will be gone...in a cold cold world again. Its still like 90 degrees everyday here.
I am so excited to see everyone i love though...ive missed you all. I hope you are ready to hear my stories, see my pictures, who knows maybe shed a few tears with me.
Let me update you on my investigators...its been really interesting. We are working on finding people because we have big goals for christmas in our mission. We actually dropped a family last night...well they dropped us. Its a shame that they dont recognize the truth...unfortunately they are catholic and dont want to change. But the good news is that we picked up an investigator named israel... he was taught by other sisters but we decided it was best to let him have a “break”...well he decided to meet with us again and we are so excited!!! im sad i wont get to see some of the fruits of my labors but i know that ive been a part of something much bigger then myself.
I mostly feel so grateful to my Heavenly Father for granting me the opportunity to teach the gospel. My testimony has grown and my desires to follow Him have been strengthened. The gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the Earth today. We have a living prophet today. Joseph Smith was a prophet and he restored to the Church of Jesus Christ to the earth by divine revelation. I know that as we follow the Savior there are great blessings that await us and i want to have those blessings. I hope that we are will. I love you all so much!
You could never know how much your letters have meant to me. Many times its been the strength that i needed to get through the week. I have felt your love and your prayers. I look forward to seeing you all soon. Be safe and remember i love you.
Hermana Brittany Smith
HOWDY...
i guess i have to gear up to head back to montucky and trade in my spanish for hillbilly...just kidding. Well it has been a week of miracles thats for sure. We have been fasting and praying a lot as a mission and as a companionship to find new people to teach. The Lord is answering our prayers and we are so grateful. I just want to leave my area better then i found it and so i have to work extra hard this week. I can't believe that it is november...that is just wild!!! where did the time go? The best news of the week is that eveyln franco entered the waters of baptism this week. I am so grateful that i had the chance to be a part of the process. She was beaming all weekend. Its interesting before her baptism she was kind of quiet and not really smiling...i think she was nervous...but after her baptism i asked her how she felt and with a huge smile replied “great, i feel different” i know that she was washed clean of her sins. That is why she felt different. Then on sunday she was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Wow! That is so powerful! She was again beaming. Her blessing was beautiful...her husband is not a member and really not too interested at the moment but in her blessing it said “I bless you Evelyn that you might be an example to your husband, so that one day as a family you can enter the temple and be sealed for time and all eternity.” i know that it will come to pass one day. That is so exciting! I love this aspect of missionary work and would do it for the rest of my life...of course its not possible to be a full-time missionary forever but i sure pray those experiences continue to come. We found a really neat lady this week. Her name is araceli. When we met with her last night we set a baptismal date...of course i wont be there but she will be baptized december 12th...so exciting! She really just absorbs everything like a sponge and wants to know the answers to many questions of the soul. She is incredible and im so excited to see her progress. Life is so good. This sunday of course as you know was fast sunday...i had to get up seeing as its the last fast sunday i will have on the mission. Of course i cried a little but it was so nice to testify to these people i have grown to love for the last 5 months. Its been so great to get to know the members and the people in this area. I just feel a love for each of my areas and Mesa will always have a spot deep within my heart. I hope that all is well in all parts of the world where you might be.
Remember i love you all dearly. I miss you and i hope to see you soon.
Take care this week.
Hermana Brittany Smith
Hello-
my heart is so full today. I just feel blessed to be surrounded by people that love me. Today we went to the temple for the last time on the mission for me. It was a bittersweet experience for me. I have come to love the mesa temple and spent many wonderful moments in its walls. A bunch of us sisters went...most of the ones who are going home with me. I was sitting in the celestial room just thinking about my mission and i just realized how much i love the other missionaries. Especially my sisters from the VC. I really feel as if they are my sisters and i am going to miss them so very much! I have to admit i have become quite the crier here...its ridiculous. But as i was crying there with another sister...i just thought you know what this is what the gospel is all about. I can see them again! We can all be together in the celestial kingdom together and have that great joy again.
I love this gospel...it is so perfect. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father because today i got an email from the Health Center...I HAVE A JOB!!! i dont have to worry because the Lord has provided the way and im so grateful. I love all of you so much and im so grateful for your support.
Last week we had zone conference, which as always, was AWESOME!! that means i had to bear my testimony in front of everyone because it was my last zone conference. I cried...but it was a good cry...half sad half grateful/happy. This week will be my last interviews with pres. Bassett...im not sure im ready for it. It seems all my last things make me cry. We found as few new people this week.
Oh the best news is...EVELYN WILL BE BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!!! im so excited can you tell? She passed her interview and she is ready to go. I love baptisms and so grateful i will have one more. Please keep her in you prayers this week. Yesterday we found an amazing lady named araceli. She had all these questions of the soul. There is some people you run into and they are just prepared...it seems to be the case with her. Im excited to see what will happen.
Can you believe it the other day here it was 94 degrees??? while most of you are freezing im dying of a heat stroke...my body is going to freak out with the temp change ( mom bring me a coat to the airport) anyways.
I just want you all to know that i love you! Please keep me in your prayers this week...i need all the strength i can get.
Have a great week...i look forward to hearing from you next week.
Hermana Brittany Smith
Hola!!
well as you all know the time is flying here in mesa and i cant even believe it. The thing i really cant believe is that it is 90+ degrees today and saturday it was 104...that is ridiculous.
It was an interesting week...not too much success in the area and i think satan is working really hard because the week before was incredible. But no worries we are working hard and being obedient, the Lord will bless us. I had a really neat experience this week. A convert from my first area came in for some information. While i was searching for the info she told me something that really touched me. She said that i was the first sister missionary that talked to her in the VC. I was in the back of the VC explaining to her about the Book of Mormon. She said that when i was teaching her about it she had great desires to know about this book. She said the spirit was so strong and later when the missionaries came she commited to baptism. She has now been a member for almost a year and will be preparing to enter the temple. My eyes filled with tears as she told me because many times i wonder “ have i touched people's hearts? Have i done what i needed to do?” i never knew before that i was part of her conversion process and im so grateful she shared that with me. It just shows me that we have a greater influence on people then we can ever really know. So we need to share our testimonies with people and let them know about this message because we never know who is going to accept.
I actually had to speak on sunday and that is exactly what i spoke about. I hope that you are all having a great week.
Please be sure to email me...i will be home november 17th but will still have access to this email for a month after. Please feel free to write me.
I love you all!!!
Hermana Brittany Smith
Hello all.... I am in the process of trying to get things squared away for when Brittany arrives back home. In the process I have been slacking in getting all of her emails posted on time and I apologize for that.. They are all posted and up to date as of right this minute....
Again, I am sorry for the lull in the postings.... I am just so befuddled when I think that she is coming home in just about 6 WEEKS!!!
Stay tuned for further homecoming updates!
Thank you all for your love and support :0)
Mom
Hey everyone!!
well you're probably DYING to know what is happening with my last transfer...ok maybe transfers are only exciting to me but drum roll......i am TRAINING....again for my last transfer. They are dividing my area and sister guzman will receive a new companion, sister mcbride. She's been out only 2 transfer so its gonna be interesting. The Lord has confidence in them so i do too. Sister decker will be heading to a full-field area and will actually finish her mission full-field. Thats so crazy because well i got 1 transfer full-field and she gets 3...im not jealous. The Lord needs me in the VC to help train these new sisters. There are 5 coming in tomorrow...4 are spanish and 3 are native speakers. Im nervous but not as nervous as last time. I kind of know what to expect and chances are ill get a native speaker again which will mean my spanish can improve.
Also big news..i will be on bike again. Yep i started on bike and ill finish on bike. Though president said that we may be getting a car in a few weeks. I personally love bike so im excited. This week was way too fast. General conference was amazing!!! i will have to read the talks again because actually i didnt get to pay as close attention as usual because i helped with investigators kids and also was watching in spanish so it was hard to understand everything if i wasnt completely focused. But i loved elder scott's talk on the spirit..that was so amazing!! i need to look over my notes again. But it was so great to hear the leaders of the church and feel the power that comes from their words. I hope we can all apply them in our lives.
We had a few miracles this week. We street contacted this lady from colombia the other night and she really didnt have much time so we gave her a VC card so she could go visit there. Well the next day she called and invited us over to teach her...she also came to general conference on sunday. AWESOME!! then on sunday afternoon this family who the night before we had invited to see conference walked in...that was incredible.
I feel so grateful to my Heavenly Father to allow me to do His great work. It is a blessing everyday of my life. I hope that you all have a great week.
Remember i love you!!
Hermana Brittany Smith
Hola hola hola hola we welcome you today....
ok so i saw the primary program on sunday and it reminded me of the song this morning. It was SOOOO cute!!! you know there is always the littlest kids on the front and i think they do it for a reason...they keep a way entertained. One kid was in the front row making faces the whole time and another was not singing and his mom happened to be sitting in front of us and she was mouthing to him “SING” he really didnt understand what she was saying and was just making faces like “WHAT?” oh my goodness. The program was so beautiful and i felt the spirit so strong. It really helped me to remember that i am so blessed to have an eternal family. I actually got teary during the program...my investigator was probably thinking what is going on with this crazy lady....but it was so touching.
Its been a crazy week. Sister decker had to spend part of it with another sister because her comp had her gallbladder removed. So it was just me and sister guzman for one whole day. It went really well actually. She is a really good missionary i just think she relies on us too much. On friday we actually had exchanges and i left the area leaving sister guzman to run it by herself...i think she was really nervous but she did really well. Thats what happens...you think you dont know how to do something and when you have to do it you realize you can.
As for my investigators this week...well some are doing better then others. Juan is still drinking his life away and i really dont know what to do. He just really has to want to change. I cant believe that it is week 6....saturday not only will we get to see general conference this weekend but we will find out about transfers on saturday.
I hope that you are all doing great! I love you all and expect to hear from you all soon.
Hermana smith
ps- enjoy general conference...i expect to hear about your favorite talk next week:)
Hola!!!
i must be getting to the end of my mission because EVERYONE....decided to write me this week. Im not complaining in fact its great but i just think its funny. I love you all!
Well its been another crazy week. Im always surprised when p-day comes around because it just seems like we had it. We had interviews this week. President talked to me a lot about the VC...i guess its something he's worried about just like me. We are just trying to help the sisters feel confident and be the best missionaries they can be. I need to remember what it was like to be new again...it seems like yesterday but at the same time forever ago.
It looks like i will probably be training my last transfer out...im nervous but i know what to expect. We will know for sure in 2 weeks. My investigators are doing ok. Berta came to church on sunday after we pretty much told her if she didnt go we couldnt teach her. We also had a lady named evelyn go...she is SOOOO GOOD!!! she loved the spirit that was at church and is looking forward to going back. She will probably even go to the relief society activity tonight. We are really trying to help her see that she is prepared for a baptismal date. Juan well he has kind of taken a nose dive...it makes me sad. We found him again drinking and then he didnt go to church on sunday. I think he was drinking with his buddies. He says he wasnt.
Until you come on a mission you dont realize how many problems people have. You wouldnt think you could love a perfect stranger so much but these people become like children really. We are guiding them to make important steps and when they don't do what they are suppose to its devastating. But overall i am doing great! I love being a missionary so much. I get teary thinking about leaving it and im afraid ill be a wreck this next 6 weeks but we will make it through.
I love hearing from you all. Remember i love you and have a great week.
Hermana Smith
Hello!!!
well can you believe it we are half way through september...crazy!!! everyone is back in school now and that makes me realize how long i have actually been a missionary. The weirdest thing is you see babies come into the VC like right after they're born and then you see them running around like crazy...or people getting married and then next thing you know they are in the VC pregnant...weird.
Well life is good. We had a bit of a slump this week...it was a difficult week but that just means some miracle is about to happen. We are really trying to get juan back on track. He really wants to change but addictions are hard to break. So we are going to see him as much as possible to give him the support he needs as well as get more members involved. I hope that you all take opportunities to help the missionaries out. When you do just think that someone else in arizona is helping me. I know that can be hard because well some of you are in rexburg...im still trying to figure out how i'll be a missionary when im at school because its 99% LDS...but i know there is a way. In fact i got a member referral for someone in rexburg and guess what he accepted missionaries...SO COOL! Yes ill probably look him up when i get to school and see what happened...a little creepy but really really neat.
We haven't really had any break throughs this week...i guess people are hiding from the gospel. But we are going to find them. I feel the weight of the time for sure. I know that i only have a limited time to do the work i have to do and so it motivates me to do better. I am working on correcting little things so that i can be more and more obedient. I know that through obedience comes the blessings.
The weather is still scorching hot...though the mornings are really really nice. In a month they will start preparing for christmas lights...i cant believe it. That means we will be doing a lot of training at the VC...we have so many new sisters and the burkes are a little worried...but they will have to step up to the plate and take charge because we wont be there the help them.
I must be stressing about the VC because in the last week i have had 2 dreams about the VC...i cant rest!!! awwww. The Lord is blessing me so much because i am learning who i am and how to apply the gospel to my life. It will forever bless my family.
I love you all so much!! have the best week ever and feel free to send goodies and letters my way!
Hermana Brittany Smith
hey everyone!
well this sister missionary is still alive. its been really beautiful the last few days we got a mini monsoon and that cooled things down. im just praying it stays because im so sick of the HEAT!! anyways. i cant lie its been a hard week...
well the weekend let's just say was the straw that broke the camel's back. nobody was home on saturday night because mexico was playing costa rica in soccer so all the lessons we had cancelled...we had a full night but not one kept their appointment. sunday nobody came to church...including our 2 investigators with dates. to make it worse we went over to see juan (who is suppose to get baptized saturday) and he was drinking. i could not believe my eyes i was so disappointed and i just wanted to cry. he felt really bad. satan is working over time and i hate it. when people are trying to do good he just find where he can enter in and gets us when we are weakest. all that caused the onset of a migraine...but its ok because we keep moving. satan can get his few points here and there but he will not win. juan will not get baptized on saturday but he will be baptized. berta our other date is lost in outer space it feels. she wants to get baptized but yet she is not showing that by her actions. so i dont really know what to do.
on the plus side i have had some really neat experiences this week. i know that Heavenly Father answers prayers not only the ones we utter but the ones we keep tucked deep within our hearts. maybe some of you remember my convert julia. well i have just been sick over her. she basically stopped coming to church a month after she was baptized. well the other day we decided to go to the church because they were doing english classes and one of our investigators was suppose to be there. well we went and what do you know there sitting in one of the classroom was julia. she was so excited to see me and ran over to give me a huge hug. i just love her. im gonna get the missionaries to go over and help her get back to church.
the Lord answered a pray i never knew i had and im so grateful. the beautiful thing about this week is i have felt closer to my Heavenly Father then i have ever felt in my life. i know He loves me. my testimony has grown so much this week and im so grateful for the good and the bad. it only helps us to grow. we are working hard and i know the Lord will bless us. i hope you all are enjoying your week and labor day.
i love you all.
Hermana Smith
Hello!!!
well its been quite the exciting week...i sent off a missionary and received a new one as well. Luckily ive got sister decker to keep me sane. Our new companion is sister guzman. She is from washington state and speaks perfect spanish. Its an interesting experience to train. She is a really good missionary but lacks confidence. We kind of have to push her to do things and half the time i think she hates me. I have to go back to my first transfer and remember how hard it was to adjust to life. Poor thing she has 2 ancient missionaries to train her...in fact we go home together. I try not to talk about going home around her because i remember how that was when everyone would talk about going home and i was like oh yeah i have FOREVER!!! its helping me to focus more. I am learning how to be a better teacher and how my trainer probably felt...you really have to teach them how to do everything. But its a good experience.
We are still helping juan to prepare for his baptism and he is so excited!!! he is doing amazing and has gone like 6 weeks without drinking. We continue to pray for him because i know that satan really tempts those who are trying to be righteous. Missionaries included...but he cant win when we are obedient.
The great thing about training is my spanish has to be really up to par because its 2 gringas and a new missionary. So hopefully that will help a lot. We are working really hard to talk to everyone!!! i know thats how blessings come...just when you dont think they will accept they do. The Lord work in miraculous ways. I am alive and well in the 120 degree weather....im so ready for snow...did i just say that? I will be taking that back in a few months im sure.
Well i hope that you all are well. I love you all and hope to hear from you soon.
Love-
hermana Brittany Smith
ps- can you believe its september?? i cant where did august go...
hey all!!!
well its been kinda a rough day...i had to say goodbye to 5 of my bestest friends...its transfers and i cant even believe how fast the time is flying!!! my comp along with 4 others VC sisters left. tomorrow i will recieve a new addition to the VC family along with sister decker. that's right we are going to be in a trio...let the fun begin. sister decker and i were actually in the MTC together so it will be fun. she is a blondie like me so who knows what the mexicans will think...haha.
im nervous about having a greenie but it will be a challenge and help me to keep going strong. for those of you who have served missions you know how demanding it can be on your body. im feeling it but im continuing strong until the end. really this week has been a blur!!! i cant remember much that happened probably because my mind is so blurred with tears but ill figure it out. i hope that everyone is doing well. we are coming to the end of august and i cant believe it though im so glad the cooler season is fast approaching. tonight we have to do some major rearranging in the apartment. its gonna be tight for a little bit...ill have to send pictures.
sister colgan is going to be with me tonight so that will be fun to reminisce about live. she is wanting to extend...basically all the sisters are extending. but dont you worry (Paul and mom and hill) i cant extend because of school.
tonight i have to get everything ready for the new sisters to arrive tomorrow. we decorate their cubbies so they feel welcomed and since my other half sister farr is not here i have to do all the trainer duties. as you can see i am a very busy girl. but im glad it keeps me focused in the work. well i hope that you all have a great week. you are in my thoughts and prayers always. ill let you know how my first week as a momma goes (thats mission terminology for training a new missionary)
i love you all.
hermana brittany smith
Hola!!!!
can you believe it? Its p-day again!!! its a crazy one at that...its sister castillo's last p-day so we ate breakfast with the ogden's (they are one of the senior couples here at the VC). That was fun...they live a little RV that is so SWEET...mom and dad you need one of those when you get old to travel the USA. I feel like ive had no time in my area this week...we've been working at the VC a lot and any free chance i get im working on the slideshow because the farewell will be on saturday. In fact saturday we will find out about transfers...im a little nervous...especially because i will probably be training. I just feel like i have so much to learn still how can i teach another missionary. But i will do what the Lord asks me to do.
They announced me as a trainer at the VC on saturday so im sure elder burke will be putting me to work. Im excited for the opportunity to serve in this way. I know i can help the younger sisters a lot. There are a few that im really worried about...one in particular who really doesnt want to be here. She's been out for 8 ½ months and still doesnt like it. Hopefully i can share some experiences with her and just love her because 18 months is too long to be miserable. I remember so many times ive wanted to give up but i just know if i do i would hate myself and the Lord would be disappointed. When i see my converts i realize...wow! Ive been so blessed. The Lord has put into my hands His children and i cant stop now...we can never stop...but as a full time missionary i have more responsibility to bring souls unto Him.
We have a wonderful investigator named Juan right now. He is doing so great!!! he will be baptized on the 12th and we are so excited. Sister castillo won't be here physically but she will be here with us in spirit. We are finding new people everyday and im just waiting to find my family...i want to baptize a family. Not because of a number or so i can say i baptized a family but because its the whole purpose...to help families be together forever!!! i pray the Lord will bless me with the opportunity. Its been quite nice in Arizona...not as hot.
People always ask me how i like the weather and i tell them if it was winter here all year round i would never leave...lucky for you mom 8 months out of the year its summer. Really thats the only thing i wont miss...nylons+heat=gross and stinky.
But i feel so blessed to be working in the service of my God. I know that it is something i promised to do...there is so much work to be done and i just feel the time is running out quickly. But i will work hard until the end. I love you all so much! You are in my prayers...please keep me in yours. I look forward to hearing from you all in email and letter form:)
Hermana Brittany Smith
Hello-
well can you believe it today starts the last 2 weeks of this transfer...sister Castillo will be off to Guatemala and she is getting a little nervous i think. I'm just trying to keep her motivated because i just don't want her to regret her last 2 weeks on the mission.
We had interviews with president...he told me i would be getting a new comp...big surprise. Though he told me it is likely i will be getting a brand new missionary...i have a feeling this is gonna be a crazy transfer but i know the Lord won't give me anything i cant handle. Only the next few weeks will show.
We had stake conference this weekend. It was so awesome!!! i never remember stake conference being so awesome...but those of you who have served missions know that general conference weekend is like going to Disneyland for a missionary. I'm so excited actually for conference...only 2 more months. We've been really trying to find people this week. We have one investigator named Juan who is really promising. He is from Honduras...in fact a lot of people we know in this area are from there. I'm starting to think I'm living in Honduras... Juan has been coming to church and keeping his appointments...though we tried to set a date with him the other day and he didn't accept it. I think he's mostly scared that he wont completely change. Juan is kind of an alcoholic so that is something we do need to be careful of. But he is doing amazing.
Its been so nice here in mesa. The other morning we woke up and it was like 80 degrees...i couldn't believe it! Of course by 12 it was 104 but that is 20 degrees cooler and we are just enjoying it. I just wish it would stay this way...I'm starting to miss the snow...i know weird! Today we went and took pictures with another companionship downtown...that was fun. There are some really funky ones...i think some of you have seen the pictures of the fat ladies...haha. I'm learning more and more things everyday. In conference a lady gave a talk about the atonement. She used a story from C.S. Lewis to explain it and it was so amazing! I'm so converted to cs lewis. He should've been a member of the church. But it just talk s about how through Jesus Christ we can change our very nature. I feel so weak as a missionary, believe it or not we are imperfect and even sin just like anyone else. But i know that through the Savior we can truly change, i can truly change.
We got to teach a lesson right after conference about that and it was so neat to share that with 2 men that have drinking problems. The atonement has the power to cleanse, refine and change us...if we let it.
My next p-day will again be on Monday so those who wish to write...please feel free id love to hear from you...i mean i know soon enough you'll just be able to call me but still got a few months. :-)
i love you all. Have a great week!!!
Hermana B. Smith
Hey all!!!
another HOT week in Arizona...there's been a few nights i just couldn't handle my stinkiness and had to shower before bed just to wake up and sweat lots on our morning run...life is SO hard...no just kidding life is so good. This sister smith is so happy and so busy...ive been trying to work on the slide show seeing as the time is flying fastly by...i feel like ive got nothing done. I was asked to for a new special assignment this week. Elder Burke asked me to be one of the trainers in the VC. That means me and another sister are in charge of doing trainings at the VC and kinda setting the example for the sisters. If i could relate it to anything its kinda like an assistant to the president but an assistant to the director at the VC. Im nervous and excited for this new responsibility. It really wont start until next transfer because the 3 current trainers are going home this transfer. Its been a pretty normal week. There's been so many nights i can barely keep my eyes open as we're planning at night. Its such a good feeling to know i worked hard. One thing we are trying to implement more is using the Book of Mormon in everything. I know there is power that comes from using the Book of Mormon. We are still working with Berta to get her divorced, married and baptized. Its looking impossible but we are not losing hope. This week we started teaching her step-son Cris. He is so smart and basically knows everything he would need to in order to be baptized...the only problem is the mom is very anti...we will pray for a miracle. There was so many investigators at church this week...and one former investigator. The door kept opening to the sunday school class and more investigators were walking in. i almost cried...it was a good feeling. Now we just have to keep them coming. We started week 4 of the transfer today...that means 2 more to go.
Today i complete 14 months on the mission but strangely i feel like a greenie still...i think ill always feel that way. Im doing well and enduring the heat...i keep telling myself it will start getting cooler in a month...i hope thats true.
I love you all. Be good and remember who you are.
Hermana Brittany Smith
Hey!!!
its another hot week in arizona...the time is flying i just wish the heat would fly away too. We are into week 3 of the transfer that means its half way through after this week. My poor comp everyone is reminding her that her time is running short. At times i even feel like crying because i know it is coming to an end and fast. Ive been keeping really busy with this slideshow i am doing for the sisters who are leaving...im pretty sure ive worked on it for 10 hours this week. Its a big job but it is fun and i know that the sisters will appreciate it. We are working hard trying to find people because we've spent a lot of time this week weeding through the bad ones. For those who went to byu or byu-i you know what DTR means...Define The Relationship...we definitely use the same term here on the mission with our investigators...funny i know. We've found a few new people this week nothing to exciting. I had a really neat experience in the VC the other day. A man came in because he works for sysco which delivers the food to the temple cafeteria and he commented to one of the temple workers that he just loves the way he feels at the temple and that he never wants to leave. So she told him to go over to the VC and take a tour. Thats exactly what he did. I taught him about prophets and showed him a part of Pres. Monson's talk “Joy in the Journey.” after listening to it he said “i just feel a really inspirational feeling when i listen to him.” i was shocked! I asked him why it would be important to him to have a prophet on the earth today and he said “ he is a man and can talk to us today, its better then just reading about it in the Bible.” probably the best answer i've EVER heard in my whole mission. He accepted missionaries really easily and i gave him a BOM which he was so excited to read. I feel so grateful for the opportunity i had to teach this man. He was sooooo prepared! Some missionaries in the tempe mission are gonna be so happy!!! i also had a neat opportunity to translate for a blessing that was given. There was no one who could give her a blessing in spanish so a lady who was with her said she would translate. Right before she said “sister you translate and i will watch the kids.” i was so SCARED! But i was grateful for the sacred privledge to translate the words of a blessing from God to this women. The spirit was strong as i translated the words and it was a feeling i can't describe...maybe its how a priesthood holder feels as he gives a blessing but it was as if i was covered in a warm blanket. I just felt the spirit and it helped me to say the correct words. I remember at one point i couldnt remember a word and i just silently prayed for help and i thought of the word. It was so neat! The Lord has truly blessed me this week with little miracles. I am coming to search for those little miracles each day. The mission is amazing! I am so glad that i made the decision to come. My life would've been fine without a mission but the mission only enhanced my life. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to serve.
Well i hope that you all have an amazing week! It seems like i may not be getting some people's emails. If you dont hear back from me its because i didnt get your email and you can email my mom at smyff@hotmail.com and she will forward it to me.
I love you all.
Hermana brittany smith
Hey!
Well its incredible cool today at 82 degrees....crazy!!! its only because it rained last night. But you know what happened the other day in the heat of the summer...our AC broke. So so so fun!!! not!! but luckily they got it fixed and luckily we have a basement that we could sleep in last night....my crazy life.
Well as you all know i have a new comp sister castillo. She is so awesome!! im lucky that 99% of my companions i have liked. We've seen some miracles already. The area has tons of people...so i speak spanish all the time and i love it! Its an area that they combined a few transfers ago and hopefully next transfer it will be divided. Yesterday when we were out it was so awesome!! we went to contact a referall and when we got out of the car we saw this lady sitting under the tree so we decided to talk to her. Well as we walked up to her i noticed she was reading none other then THE BOOK OF MORMON!!! crazy...so we had the opportunity to teach her right there. It turns out she almost got baptized 2 years ago but because of problems with her sister in law, who is a less active member, she did not...she is going to be baptized this transfer:) we also had a FHE with a family yesterday. Everyone is members but the mom. She wants to be baptized the only problem is that she needs to get divorced from her 1st husband so she and Moises can get married. Well the spirit was so strong and we decided to set a date with her for the 15th of august. So keep berta in your prayers...we need a miracle because her husband doesnt want to sign the papers and is making it really hard for the divorce to go thru. But i know if berta does her part the Lord will permit us to see this miracle. It felt the spirit so strongly telling us we needed to set the date with her. She is willing just a little lazy. I looked forward to serving in this area. Im pretty sure it will be where i die. In mission terms that means i will end my mission here. I just love the people in this area! I cant believe we are going into august next week...time will not slow down. My comp leaves in 5 weeks...she's not trunky yet and im trying to help her stay focused. I hope that everyone is doing well.
Know that i miss and love you all sooooooo much!!! have a great week.
Hermana brittany Smith
HEY!!!
today starts week 1 of transfer #9...just to let you know there are only 11 transfers in my mission which means i have less and less time to do the work...its getting more sad each week. You're probably dying to know what happened with transfers.....well i will be transferred to an area called ellsworth park. Its a little branch right by my first area. Its pretty much like little mexico and im so excited!!! my new comp is sister castillo and she is from guatamala. She's an AMAZING missionary and im way excited to work with her. This is her last transfer...which isnt my favorite but its all good. Im so sad to leave sister avelino because ive had a blast with her. She will be training again so that will be an adventure. I think this transfer my spanish is gonna skyrocket and im so excited for that!!! i feel like i have so much to learn before i go home in november.
Its been kinda a crazy week...we had exchanges on wednesday and i went to sister blades' area to work. It was incredible!!! they have an investigator who read the whole Book of Mormon in 2 weeks...thats incredible. Needless to say she's getting baptized in a few weeks. Its been like 116 everyday or more...im jealous because 2 sisters are getting transferred up north...not fair. It looks like i will not get another full-field area...thats kinda sad to me but i will do what the Lord asks of me always.
Ive had really neat experiences this week in the VC. Yesterday a lady came in just really upset and i got to share with her my testimony of the Savior and the Atonement. The cool thing was just an hour earlier me and another sister were talking about how we came to know the Savior and the Atonement and then i got to share that with a perfect stranger. It helped her a lot. I guess it shows that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us and He can use us as instruments if we allow Him too.
The mission is amazing in that way that really nothing about me matters. I am totally in the service of God. My hands are His hands, my voice is His voice. What a blessing it is everyday to see His hands in my life. Saturday we had a branch party...it was AMAZING!!! each family brought a typical food from their country. So i got to eat lots of latin food and i couldnt be any happier. Im pretty much mexican so dont be surprised if i come back eating chile and lime. I LOVE IT!!!
i cant really think of much else that is happening...its hot and im still loving my mission. I hope that you all are doing well. I miss you all but i know the Lord is watching over you.
Have a great week and dont be afraid to send a letter or email or package my way.
I love you.
Hermana brittany smith
Hola todos!!!
well it is july and HOT! I really dont know how anyone could spend their life in this heat. I feel like im going to catch fire most of the time...i just keep telling myself 1-i asked for the heat 2-only a few more months of the heat and i have to go back to the snow. This week has been kinda long and kinda weird....yesterday started week 6 of the transfer which means saturday we will know transfer news. CRAZY!!! let me tell you about sunday...we were soooo excited because we got someone to church on sunday. Her name is aida. I dont know if ive talked about her yet but...she believes she has the gift of tongues. She has this whole story how an old man appeared to her and she received this gift from God. When she tells the story she speaks in this tongue for a portion of it...it freaked me out the first time i heard it. Well all went well in sunday school she participated and loved the class then we went to relief society...duh duh duh...sister navarro our RS president invited the sisters to share a story when they knew God existed. Guess who was the first to volunteer....AIDA. I was just praying she wouldnt but she did....she told the whole story speaking in tongues and all. You should've seen the faces of these women...their faces were priceless. The funny thing is aida had a really hard speaking in tongues this time and im pretty sure its because we were praying she wouldnt do it. The spirit was fighting with her. As if that wasnt enough in the middle of sacrament meeting her phone rang and yes she answered it!!! it was crazy....im just thankful she didnt get up for fast and testimony meeting and tell the whole branch. It was insane!!! so now we have to figure out how to help her realize this gift is not from God. 4th of july went fine for me. We taught quite a bit on the 4th which we werent expecting...i guess mexicans dont really celebrate. It was weird because usually you see lots of fireworks but i didnt see one!!! fireworks are illegal here and usually the city does some but they didnt have a budget for the fireworks this year so i saw 0 fireworks this year...sad! Well as a missionary holidays dont feel like holidays because we do the same thing everyday. Im enjoying it and only counting down the days until it cools down a bit...unfortunately the heat is here to stay for awhile.
I hope all is well for everyone and that you all had a great 4th.
Remember i love you!!!
hna brittany smith
Hola hola hola!!!
another HOT week in arizona...its offically summer here. We hit 118 the other day and i just wanted to die. Luckily i will only have to deal with it for a few more months before the fall hits and then we will be good to go. Today starts week 5 of transfer #8...crazy. I swear this week just flew by i feel like p-day was yesterday. well not too much has changed in the area...we are just trying to talk to everyone we can because the more we talk to people the more people the Lord will put in my way. We met a really cool guy this week...his name is Hugo and im really excited to see what happens. We actually taught him like 3 months ago and then had the opportunity to go back. He lives with this crazy lady...well she's just really christian and i dont think she likes our religion because we believe in the Book of Mormon. But things have been better since we've been teaching him outside...yes in the HEAT!!! if you've ever tried wearing nylons in the the heat you know how much fun it is. But its all part of the experience. Yesterday was interesting to say the least. As you know we teach the gospel principles class and there was this brother(a gringo) in our class...he was asking just crazy questions and making it really difficult to teach. Then we were asked to speak in church on saturday...the night before...so we did and it went really well actually. The funny thing is that another lady spoke too after us and she wore her sunglasses the whole entire time...it was hard not to laugh. Then that night we went to teach a lesson to a lady who says she has the gift of tongues...yes she did speak it to me...she paints these weird painting that she says are revelations from God...i dunno about that. But our recent convert francisco was with us and he was commenting on the painting and egging on the craziness...when we finally got to teach the lesson the lady told us the story of how she got the gift of tongues and started speaking it. Im pretty sure she has an evil spirit...seriously. I tell you the weird things we come into contact to on the mission. I never knew they really existed. We had our interviews with president this week...it went fine. I almost think he will be keeping me here for another transfer...that would make almost 8 months in this area. But we will see. Im doing well and enjoying life. The mission is speeding by me and i wish i could just take a remote control and pause it for a few extra months. I have a lot to learn still. I had to give a talk on “how do i know if im a successful missionary” it went pretty well. I think i learned more then i shared preparing for the talk. It is really easy to get down on yourself as a missionary because there is so much to do but if we give all we have the Lord will make up for our weaknesses.
I love you all! I hope you are enjoying a wonderful summer...probably less hot then mine but that's great.
Have a good week and remember to share what you know:)
hna brittany smith
Hola!!!
well i survived another week in mesa...its actually not even really hot yet, even though it was 102 degrees yesterday....CRAZY!! today it actually looks like it will rain...i sure hope so. During the summer months we have monsoon season so when it rains it really really rain and theres tons of wind. Its not so good for bikes...so thankfully i have a car. We havent had any monsoons yet but im looking forward to them.
Nothing too too exciting happened this week. We are just really trying to find people who will keep commitments and prepare for baptism. There is a problem in this area i think because ive been here 6 months and really no change. I guess the Lord is preparing some really good people and this area is just going to explode. We are hanging in and working hard because the Lord will bless us as we do our part.
We are still teaching cesear...he's great!!! he is so prepared and i really feel like he'll be baptized. We met his wife yesterday...she's jehovah's witness...and suprisingly she was really really nice. He's gonna be the example and his whole family will be baptized...wouldnt that be great! We've had to drop a few people this week...that's what happens when people lie to you. But i know we will find new investigators that are ready to act.
We had an interesting experience yesterday. We went to knock a door and this little old lady answered the door. I thought she was a member but i soon found out she was not. She started telling us things like “joseph smith wasnt anything like Jesus Christ” and “the book of mormon was written by a man.” in fact she told me to throw my Book of Mormon in the trash. I couldn't believe that she would say such a hurtful thing to me. But i know that its true and thats why i do what i do everyday. She will never have the opportunity to enjoy the blessings i have if she never tries it. I felt sad for her and for the others who reject this message but im not here to force people im here to invite and if they dont except i cant do anymore.
We taught ivan the jehovah's witness the other day. It was funny he came out in his shirt and tie with his little book to teach us a lesson. What he didnt know is we arent here to be taught but to teach. It was interesting. Sis avelino said you could see it on my face that i was frusterated....he wasnt listening to what we were saying. But again we cant force anyone to believe what we teach. Sis avelino wants to go back...me i would rather not waste our time. We will see what happens.
Francisco blessed the sacrament for the first time on sunday...that is so incredible to see!! that is what makes it worth it. Well i hope you are all doing well.
Remember i love you! Share what you know with those around you...you never know who is ready. Have a great week.
Hermana brittany smith
Hola!!
well another week down...can you believe it? This week went really really fast and i am so exhausted! Its always a good feeling when you get home at night and can barely hold your eyes open to plan. Seriously...its been like that all week. I think it has to do with the fact im back at the VC and since there is so much time to just sit instead of running around all day. Well we did find any new families this week and we are still working with our family of 7...i hope it all works out. We both know that Heavenly Father guided us to them for a reason. We think if we can win the father over the family will follow his lead...because they are catholics and actually go to church. That is really really rare. The little girls love us though and everytime we come over they want to show us tricks and talk to us and show us their baby brother. They are precious! We found a really neat man this week named cesar. He is from puerto rico so of course i like him already. His wife is jehova's witness...that is a little hurdle but he doesnt like the church so its all good. He really wants to know what is true and once he does he will be so strong in the church. This week our little guatamalan investigator came to church. She is so cute...kinda like a little child. She cant read at all because she never went to school before but she is a sweetheart. Francisco went over and picked her up from her house for church...he is such a good guy. Tonight he will pass by tonight for her because we are having a branch FHE watching the Joseph Smith movie. It should be really good. I decided that my recent converts francisco and jenny should get married....that would be a great story to tell. We had an interesting street contact last night. We talked to this christian lady...she obviously didnt like us at all. She asked “why do mormons drink and smoke and swear? You don't see christians doing that.” i almost lost it on her but i kept my cool and explained that we have a commandment called the word of wisdom and that some people just choose not to follow the commandments. She didnt really listen to what we had to say and its just sad. People like that will never know the happiness we enjoy or the blessings they can receive through the gospel of Jesus Christ. But i will just keep sharing with people because i know it is true and there are those who will except. On sunday the talks were about temples. I just love the temple! If i could be anywhere in the world it would be in the temple. It is just so important that we are worthy to enter the house of the Lord. Go to the temple and enjoy the spirit that is there. I know it will help us in our lives and give us physical and spiritual protecion.
Well i love you all so much! Have a great week.
Hna brittany smith
kimmie- i just want to congratulate you on the wedding this week...i so wish i could be there for your big day. Kimmie you have no idea how excited i am for you!!! you get to go to the temple this week. It seriously was the most amazing experience of my life to enter the celestial room and see many loved ones waiting for me. Enjoy every single second of not only your wedding but your endowment. Its beautiful!! the Lord has so many blessings for us...dont worry you wont remember hardly anything that was said but you will remember your feelings. I love you kimmie. Your in my thoughts this week and always. Tell kevin to take care of my bestie or else. Again i love you and have an incredible week...send me pictures soon. Muah! Britt-any
Hola mi familia y mis amigos!!!
wow this has been the longest/shortest week of my life. I know that makes no sense but thats how i feel. I am so blessed to have an amazing companion, sister avelino. She is so hilarious and a really really good teacher. It kind of intimidates me a little but im learning so much. We are already on week 2 of the transfer and i know it will just fly. She leaves just a transfer before me so we are very close in mission age. The work is going well in our area. The other day we went running and found a #7 magnet so we decided we would find a family of 7 people. Let's keep in mind ive never baptized a family and either has sister avelino. We we've been praying for this family to find them and seriously this is what happened the next day. We were in an apartment complex contacting people and saw 3 little girls in the window so where there is children there are parents right. Well we knocked the door and there was juan who has 4 daughters and 1 son with his wife...that's right God answers prayers we found a FAMILY OF 7 PEOPLE!!!! only 2 can be baptized but its a complete family. It may take a little bit but this family will be baptized and im so excited!!! this week we are looking for a family of 5...the Lord is going to work miracles in this area with lots of hard work. This week ive gotten home and just been so exhausted and then i wake up the next morning and im still tired. Its a good feeling to know ive worked hard even though my body is tired my spirit is strong. Francisco our recent convert came out with us last night to teach. He did incredible!!! we went to the appointment we had and the man started making up excuses. Well francisco bore his testimony and it was incredible!!! the man's whole appearance changed. I know he felt the spirit testifying of the things francisco was saying. He received the priesthood on sunday...i couldnt be happier. He's like luis's twin...such good men so if any of you are looking for a husband i have 2 guys that are single the only thing is you will have to learn spanish:) haha. Well that is basically my week...the mission is an incredible experience and i wouldnt change my life for the world right now. I know time is flying but im working hard and the Lord has richly blessed me.
I love you all...take care...trust the Lord.
Hermana brittany smith
Here are some recent photos that Brittany has sent home.... I know that what she is doing is HARD WORK however, some of these photos look like they are having a bit of fun and being SPOILED along the way.... :0) However, there are great rewards in serving a mission and quite a few "MIRACLES" along the way as Hermana Smith says!!!
irrigation football...it got drity but so FUN!!! Hola!!!
well can you believe it tomorrow starts transfer #8...im sure you're all dying to know what is happening with me. Well i will be staying in my area...thank goodness...and receiving sister avelino. That's right another latino:) im so excited because i will have to speak more spanish. She's from dominican republic. For any of you whose ever talked to a dominican in spanish well you know its a little different from mexican spanish and really similar to puerto rican spanish. It will be a good transfer. She is a really hard worker and will help me to get back into gear after “killing” a sister. If you dont know when you are the last comp of a missionary its called killing them. No violence involved just a little bit of chocolate and tears.
This week has been ok. We didnt teach nearly as much as we should've but we did have a BAPTISM!!! they make me so happy. On saturday francisco was baptized into the only true church on the Earth. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There were a few bumps along the way but we got there just fine. The branch presidency is already planning on giving him the priesthood next sunday and a calling ASAP. I think they're really excited because he is the first baptism of the branch.
So this is my 4th transfer here and that makes it 6 months here. Im actually quite content to stay. Im determined to have a transfer of miracles. Pretty much every transfer has its miracles but this one will be extra special.
On thursday june 4th i will be celebrating 1-year as a missionary. It is soooooo hard to believe that its been that long. It feels like yesterday i was saying goodbye at the MTC. That means i better work extra hard...this time is so precious and i dont want any regrets. Today is a little sad for me because my comp sister colon will be heading back to puerto rico...i can hardly believe it!!! i dont know what i will do without her laughs and crazy spanish. But the work goes on and i will survive as always.
I forgot to mention i will be back in the VC and Elder Burke couldnt be happier. I talked to him yesterday and the first thing he said was we get you back. I do miss my little VC family but it is nice to have the freedom of doing missionary work all day everyday....i want to be 2 places at once. Anyways...we are still searching for new investigators and its coming slowly but surely.
We talked on sunday which is a little terrifying due to the fact i had to speak in SPANISH...but i did alright. We talked about missionary work so we are hoping little by little the branch will get the fire going and we will just have so much success.
I hope this email finds you well...until next week.
I love you all!
Hna brittany smith
Hey family and friends!!!
its hard to believe but this is my last week of transfer #7...sister bingham is preparing to go home and its just been crazy. Today we are having a party with sister valentino for all the sisters who are going home. It will be way fun!!! we get to eat home-made burgers....YUM!!!
its been kinda a crazy week...the stress of a sister missionary is just unreal. Let me tell you a story...we have an investigator named Francisco..you might remember him because i told you about how he is getting baptized on saturday. Well we had a little scare. Last saturday was suppose to be him interview so they could announce it at church on sunday and everything. Well i was getting ready for the day on saturday morning and there was a phone call. I answered and it was francisco...he said “sister i have something to tell you but i dont know how you will take it. Ive been up all night thinking about what is going to happen tomorrow and i just dont think im ready for baptism yet.” well i didnt really know what to say. The first thing i thought was how am i going to tell sister bingham its her last baptism...i tried to talk to about it and decide whether it was that he's not ready or just satan trying to stop him. Well there was nothing helping he had decided. Well we took him to the Joseph Smith movie that night and he just loved it. After the movie one of the other sisters that had taught him started talking to him about his baptism and that he already knew sufficient that he needs to make a decision and he turned to me and said “ can i still do it?” i wasnt sure if he was kidding or not but the next day at church he asked us if we were setting up his interview. So long story short...tonight is his interview so let's all pray he stays strong and saturday will be his baptism. He is amazing and will be a strong member. He's kinda like Luis Lugo...im so excited for what the future holds.
So saturday we will find out what will happen...who my new comp will be. Im not sure if i will be going back to the VC or not. It depends if i end up training or not....we will see what the Lord has in store for me. We are hoping to find some new people this week and have sister bingham go out strong. We had a cool experience this week. We starting teaching a lady named Rosio. It was pretty normal lesson until the Joseph Smith story. Sister bingham did the account and after we asked how she felt. She basically started crying...its the first time that's ever happened to me. The interesting thing is that at first she was like “no im catholic” but when we explained who we were and what we had to offer she let us come back.
I pray the Lord will guide me because im not super-missionary. Without Him the work would not function with my mediocre espanol and teaching skills. Im ready for a new adventure in transfer #8. its gonna be my transfer of miracles:)
speaking of miracles let me tell you a story...i have many this week. We have a less-active named lucia who has been really sick. She has a tumor growing on her uterus. About 3 weeks ago she went in because she was bleeding a lot and the doctor told her that she had to abort the baby she was carrying because it would put her in danger and basically bed-rest for 8 months. Well they did the abortion and she was on pain pills and medicine to keep flushing the baby out. Sunday morning they took lucia to the hopsital she was bleeding again a lot. In fact she fainted from lose of blood. Now they still havent taken out the tumor because she has no insurance to pay for it. Well on sunday when they took her in the doctor told her she is still pregnant...tell me how that happens? The baby seems to be healthy and everything!!!
God is a god of miracles...he doesnt forget His children ever. Its still really scary because we dont know what will happen but hopefully it goes thru fine. They are so happy because they on have one child and wanted more. WOW!
Well i hope you are all doing well. Thanks for the birthday wishes and all your encouragement. Keep the letters coming:)
i love you all.
Hna brittany smith
hey!!!
well i am doing well. i got to talk to the family on sunday which was GREAT!!! its always nice to hear familiar voices.
im now one year older...im not sure about the wiser part but im definately older. i spent my b-day with sister colgan and parkus on exchanges. it was really fun!! i even got roses from one of their members...so nice. no really crazy stories im sorry to report but...the place they live at is a mansion. that is not an exaggeration...they actually have a slide that goes down to the basement. i wish i wouldve gone down it but i didnt get the chance.
i tried a new fruit called papaya...i dont know if youve ever gotten that chance but it was an experience. it kinda tasted like rotten food...i kinda hated it. but hey i tried it. it was really fun to be with my mtc companion again and see how much she's changed. she is a good missionary...i learned a lot from being with them and i feel like i have so much to improve on. i guess its good i have 6 months left to improve. I need every second of that...im trying to work extra hard because i dont want any regrets.
Today we are celebrating my birthday in the VC. The burkes(the directors of the VC) called and sang happy bday on our phone. Elder burke just loves me...im so lucky to have the VC its like my family i would go crazy if i didnt have it. Also we are going to be eating hamburgers with sis valentino today and she made me a huge cake and we're eating chocolate cake with her. I might just gain like 20 pounds this week...i hope not.
I dont have too much to update on my area because i havent been in it for 2 days. But as far as we know francisco is doing really well. He's coming to volleyball tomorrow...we are starting to play every thursday as a branch....i couldnt be happier!!!! :) so that's the updates for the week.
Im hoping to find new people this week...we really need it. So when you pray for me and my comp pray that we will be able to find those searching for the gospel.
I hope to hear from you all soon. Thanks for all the bday wishes.
I love you all!!!
hna brittany smith
MAY 12th is BRITTANY"S BIRTHDAY!!!!
Just putting a bug in everyone's ear!
She would LOVE to hear from all of you! If you are reading this take a minute and slip her a card, note or even an email.....
Hola!!!!
wow...time is flying like you wouldnt believe. We had our training on monday and tuesday which was pretty fun. We had sis. Epps with us who was companions with sis bingham before. She is a really good missionary and i learned a lot. I hope by the time i get ready to go home the sisters will say that about me.
I know im working as hard as i possibly can. The Lord has always blessed me with a positive attitude and boy has that been important as a missionary. Some days are soooooo hard! This area has been such a challenge but im starting to see the fruits of our labors. I think the Lord is trying to humble me...i guess He does that sometimes.
We have been finding new people to teach which has been great. Sunday we fasted to find a family in this area...we're still looking but i know the Lord is preparing a family in this area. I felt the influence of the Holy Ghost more in my life these last 2 weeks then ever. I know that the Lord is guiding this work.
This week we were able to set a baptismal date with a new investigator named fransico. He is so neat...he's 25 and single. He went to church on sunday and loved it! The best part is a member family invited him to dinner with us on sunday and he came!!! i just keep praying he can continue to grow in the gospel and that he will be prepared for the 30th of may. We have found some other promising people this week and im excited because we have people to teach and less tracking(as much fun as that is).
Im getting along with my comp fine...we have different personalities but it all works out ok. She is nervous about going home so kinda freakin out but ill probably be the same.
Im LOVING full-field as much as i miss th VC...they may have to drag me back. Its just freedom to be out with people all day long...its glorious.
Last night we were talking to this sweet little lady from memphis. We had a really good talk with her and then gave her a hug...she then says in a whisper i have to tell you something... “ i use to be a hooker” wow!!! my first encounter with a hooker..she seemed like a normal person that was the freaky part. People tell missionaries EVERYTHING!!! i just love the gospel.
I hope you all know that. I am the happiest i have ever been and i know its because i am here serving the Lord. He has blessed me richly and everyday i have to opportunity to change people's lives. I know coming home will be an adjustment so im glad i have several months to enjoy paradise:)
well i love you all soosoooooooo much! I hope you have the best week ever and happy mother's day!
Hna brittany smith
how fast the time is flying...it seems like every email im saying "hey can you believe its almost..." MAY!!!!
wow how crazy. when people ask me how long ive been out now i say just under a year. i know it seems like yesterday i left. today i was reading in my journal from the MTC...how time has flown. i miss my little MTC district but it is so cool to hear from them because they are doing amazing!!!! 2 of them have trained and others have leadership positions. the mission is such an experience...there are ups and downs and each day changes.
well i did something ive never done before...TRACTING FOR 3 HOURS. that was fun...i have a beautiful farmer's tan to show for it. as anyone whose served a mission knows tracting is not very effective but it shows your heart. we had like 2 lessons that day but the next day we had like 7. it was incredible how the Lord blesses us. i absolutely LOVE being full-field though i miss my VC sisters. its nice to be able to proselyte full-time.
ive been having a lot of fun with sister bingham. she works really hard and is really bold. we are praying for miracles and to find a family to teach because she's never baptized a family and we want her to go out with a bang. i know there is a family waiting for us we are just trying to find them.
this transfer we are doing something interesting as a mission...its called training blitz. it means that for 2 days we have another missionary proselyte with us and help us to improve. then the next week we go out with a companionship for 2 days. so sister bingham will go out with a companionship and so will i. the idea is to train the whole mission and to improve our ablities. it should be fun. so next monday and tuesday we have someone coming with us and then the following monday and tuesday we leave our area and proselyte with other missionaries. thats means my birthday will consist of tracting with sister parkus and sister colgan...that's who im assigned to. it should be fun. so the next couple p-days will be on wednesday so dont worry about the late emails...just dont forget to write.
im trying to remember if ive had any funny things happen lately...i cant think right now but im doing well.
i hope you all are safe and happy. remember i love you all.
hna brittany smith
I thought I would share just a glimpse of the "tender mercies" Brittany experiences. One of her recent converts, Luis, has consistantly kept in contact with her as she continues to serve in other areas. He was one of her baptisms in her first area. Here is a little glimpse of the bits and pieces we get that I call "golden gems"...
mom and dad-
i forgot to tell you an amazing thing that happened. last night i saw my RC luis and he comes up to me and says "i got my patriarchal blessing tonight im from ephraim." i was like WHAT!!! i seriously almost cried because he is progressing in the gospel. he said that the patriarch said luis's blessing was like none other he's given. he said you have something very special. i know luis was one of the people i promised long ago i would find...and look here we are and he's doing amazing. on the days its hard luis lugo makes my mission worth it. i cant wait for you to meet him one day. when he goes through the temple in a year i plan on coming down for it. i cant wait!!!
i love you both.
brit
im sure you are all dying to hear what is happening with me this transfer....
well i will be recieving a new companion tomorrow named hna bingham. she is from blackfoot idaho and will be going home at the end of this transfer. it was a big suprise because usually president doesnt move people their last transfer but well here we go.
that means that i will be starting my full-field this transfer. im so excited to be immersed in the work everyday and not have to worry about the VC. so AWESOME!! dont get me wrong i love the VC but i also need a break. i meant to bring my address to email so you could sent them directly to my house but the mission will forward them to me so dont worry about it.
this week has been pretty good. we have found some new potential investigators. are investigators we do have right now are kinding having troubles...i dunno what is going on but now we can work extra hard with them. im excited! i am a little nervous that my new comp will be trunky seeing as she has a boyfriend waiting for her in idaho...i understand i will be excited too but i hope we can just work hard.
we met this really interesting man yesterday...sis lopez approached him first and i guess he was like call her to him but she felt like she should just stay where she was...well them i go up to him and he starts yelling "see she's not afraid of me, am i that scary." he was drunk i think because i could smell alcohol on him. he was just odd. well finally i just said have a good day and we walked off...he was yelling "my blood is on your hands, its your fault my soul is lost." all because sister lopez was keeping the rules because if she had gone up to him we wouldnt be able to see each other. i know she was following the spirit and if she had moved further something bad wouldve happened. we have to follow the spirit always!
i had a funny experience or two this week...first of all i went on exchanges with sis collett on friday. it was so fun! we were out contacting people in the morning at this apartment complex. as we were getting out of the car i saw this guy and i was gonna go talk to him. well next thing i know i turn around and he is totally in his undies changing his pants...in the middle of a parking lot. smart?...i think NOT....GROSS...i think so. well i decided that was a good enough excuse not to talk to him. weirdest experience ever.
well to top that off earlier in the week we went to teach this man named lucio(before i tell the story i have to say sorry to Paul...you'll see why) well we taught what i thought was a lousy lesson 1 then he said a prayer which was really great. it was sincere and he really did a great job. well we were on our way out and as always we shook his hand...well sis lopez shook his hand first and next thing i know he is kissing her hand. at this point i know he's gonna do the same thing to me and i was like NOOOOOOOO...so awkard. so anyway i shook his hand and yes he did kiss it. i left just wanting to laugh so hard and at that moment my district leader called...so funny. anyways so sorry Paul my investigator kissed me. it was not a fun experience though.
i tell you the weirdest things happen to missionaries. i mean who else has people yelling at them about their salvation and kissing their hands. i guess im just lucky. well the work will go forth. i am loving life and i just cant believe that time is flying so fast. i hope you all are doing well.
remember i love you and share the gospel. there are people waiting to hear we just need to find them!!!
hna brittany smith
Hola!!!!
well its another week down...i cant believe how fast the time is going. I think time goes like double on the mission. The easter pagent is done...it was way fun but very tiring. As always i ran into a few people i knew...i guess arizona is a popular place. I saw 2 people i use to work with at the health center and tyler morin from home. It was really nice as always to see a familiar face. The protestors were crazy this week. I guess they came from slc after conference. On saturday night we were outside during the pagent and they were screaming during the pagent. HOW RUDE! Well its not a big deal because people just want to know why people are so against us. Opposition in all things right. I didnt have any conflicts with anti this time...which i was glad for they just give me a big headache.
We have had some interesting experiences this week. For example yesterday i was talking to this man who didnt believe in Jesus Christ so i was testifying about him and he says(and i quote) “ i just think my heart is too hard for that right now.” i think thats the most honest answer ive heard in a long time. People's hearts are so hard right now and i dont really know why. It seems to be in our area...its kinda strange. The Lord is trying so hard to humble His people but they will not. I feel like the Savior's second coming is close and we have so much to prepare for still. Ive learned an important lesson this week. That is we need to respect everyone's believes even if we dont believe in them. I think of the article of faith that says we believe in freedom of religion basically. If we respect theirs they will respect ours. We cant help everyone to come unto Christ their hearts are just too hard and we can only do so much.
This is week 6 of the transfer meaning that saturday we will know what changes there will be. I think i will be staying another transfer but who knows with president bassett. I will be starting my 7th transfer!!! wow. Our investigators are doing ok. We are just trying to get them to act. We can teach only so much and then they have to act on the things we teach. They have to pray they have to read.
Its kinda of funny we continue finding people for the english missionaries. Its funny because we will go to church and see the people we talked to days earlier. Its all good we're just waiting for the Lord to open up the windows of heaven and let the miracles overflow. It will happen we just need patience. I am doing well. I hope you all are enjoying spring weather instead of snow...i sure am. I cant wait to hear from more of you next week. Oh my easter was good sister lopez and i sang in the branch with a member who comes out with us a lot. It went pretty well even though sister lopez pretty much had no voice. I havent sang so much in my life. Next week we are singing in another sacrament meeting. Crazy crazy life.
Well have a great week and write back soon.
i love you
hna brit
hey all!!!
what an amazing weekend we have had. conference is like a vacation for missionaries...it recharges our spirits and inspires us to go forth. i cant believe i only have 1 conference left on the mission. we watched all 4 sessions from the VC which was nice it was pretty quite. i absolutly loved elder holland's talk on the atonement...its one i will have to go back and read again and study. as always elder bednar was one of my favorites...he talked about baptism being a step to the temple. you know without the temple covenants baptism doesnt mean a ton. we are just like every other church saying "you need to be baptized" but we know there is more then just baptism we must endure to the end and we must recieve the ordinances only avaliable in the temple. i just love going to the temple it helps me to relax and to feel that peace i need. i hope you go often...those who are endowed. when the temple is close it is easy to make up excuses not to go but we just really be making excuses to go attend the temple. i know when i get home i want to take advantage of the temple i will have so close in rexburg. there is no excuse for not attending the temple when its right down the street. of course i loved L. tom perry's talk about missionary work. it is similar to what he told the ward mission leaders and stake presidents when he came to speak to us. missionaries are "under used teaching tools." i cant wait for the ensign so i can read the priesthood session it is my favorite!!! we really do have a living prophet today on the earth and we are not lost. they talked about the economic hardships that are going on in the world today but we need not worry. the Lord is in charge here. just like one of the speakers said in conference if we are keeping our temple covenants we need not fear the Lord will take care of us. it is evident we are at the bottom of the pride cycle for sure. the Lord is humbling his people and to be quite frank i think it will get worse before it gets better because people who should be humble are not getting the message. its actually been really hard to find people to listen to our message...interesting. but i know the Lord is preparing people for us to teach. i had interviews with pres bassett yesterday. he is a inspired man for sure. i feel like he can look right down thru my soul. he just told me dont get discouraged. im working the hardest i can and i just hope my efforts can help someone. the easter pagent is going on the rest of this week. its a beautiful display. if you get the opportunity one day (after i get home) you need to see it. we've had a great turn out and only expect more this week. there were 2 days in spanish and those two nights the VC was full after the play. spanish people come in but the americans just leave. how rude! the transfer is coming to an end way soon. next week is our last full week...CRAZY!! i may be heading full-field but who knows. it is definatly heating up here in AZ...it will probably hit 90's today. incredible!!! maybe the Lord will have mercy on me and send me north for the summer...i hope so. i havent had any crazy stories that i can think of this week. though the protesters are showing up to the pagent...im sure we'll get some anti in. some of the anti are from a church called "concerned christians" which are ex-members of the church. they dress up like amish girls...weird but i guess i dont look much prettier in my jody dress...ive decided im the most unstylish person on earth but i dont care it keeps more creepy men away. someone just has to have pity on me when i get home and dress me...that's all i ask dont let me be ugly. well i love you all! have a great week and take the counsel we got from the prophets today. conference means nothing if we dont change.
hna brit
hola!!!
well today was really fun we went on a hike as a zone to this place called camelback in phoenix. it was so crazy!!! at some points i felt like a mountain goat...ill attach pictures if it will let me. the email is kinda not working well today. well this week we set a baptismal date with an investigator named omar. he is so excited!!! we are too because its been so long since we've set a date. we've tried but it just hasnt worked out. anyways omar has to give up smoking but i think he will be fine he doesnt smoke a ton. we've had to drop a few people this week because they are just not willing to progress but it will be fine because they will come to the truth someday. we planted the seeds. we have another investigator named gabriel who is so cool. he's 22 and has a ton of questions. we just have to get him to church. he's really interested about general conference so im hoping we'll be able to get him to them. can you believe its conference time again!! i sure can't, but im so excited...missionaries kinda get fired up about conference we just love it. this week we had zone conference...it was AMAZING!! president bassett gave an amazing talk on sacrifice. he read an incredible story about how this man had to sell his violin to go on his mission. he said " i gave up something i love for the God i love more and he has never forgotten me for it." i think i butchered that quote but i just loved that concept. when i think about how hard it was to leave my family and my boyfriend and friends. it was really hard for me and still is but i know that the Lord will bless me. He has called me to teach in Mesa and that is what i am going to do because i love Him and i want to show that love. i could be doing anything in the world right now but i know im where i need to be. we are waiting for the miracles to come...they have because God is a God of miracles and He will not leave us to do this work alone. easter pagent officially starts on wednesday and im so excited!!! there is going to be tons and tons of people...you know me im a talker:) im sure ill have some great stories...for example this guy came into the VC the other night looking for tea tree oil to put in his vial...he has a vial for consecrated oil.. he was a little of the rocker but is a son of God.
well i love you all.
i cant wait to hear from you all.
hna b smith
well its been a crazy week to say the least. i dont know if you've ever been really just physically worn out but man i was out. by the end of the say every day this week i was wiped out and i would fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. i think everyone was on spring break because we had a hard time finding people in their homes. but we had some really interesting tti's(street contacts). for the first time in my mission i got condemned to hell...that was interesting. another lady told me they celebrate easter by sitting around and drinking beers. last night we went to go contact a referal and they were home because we could hear them talking and the tv on...well once we rang the doorbell they thought they could be sneaky and turn off the tv. that wasnt a smart idea. so we just left them a note and told them to call us when they want to hear our message. oh this may be the most ridiculous thing that's happened to me on my mission. we've been teaching a few men who live with a less-active and the other day when i called him he told me that the neighbors didnt want us to come over because we sing and it disturbs them. when we were over last night he told us that management told them they would be kicked out if we came over and sang. i dont care...they can't tell us we cant sing and so im going to keep singing...bring on the police. haha. can you imagine what that would be like sister missionaries getting handcuffed. its really funny because we havent been having a lot of luck in our work but we've been finding people for the other missionaries. the other day we had an appointment cancel and so we were on our way to visit someone else. well as we were driving by we saw a lady going into her house and so we decided to stop and talk to her. well it turns out she had a stroke about 3 months ago and has been wanting to go to a church. they have lots of friends that are LDS and so they are familiar with the church. we got to sing them a song and say a prayer with them and they accepted to have missionaries come over and share more. really neat experience!!! its experiences like that which help me realize this is the Lords work. He guides us where we need to go and to the people he needs us to visit. its incredible. ive been praying to see the Lord's hand in my life daily and so far it has happened He is in everything we do. i know there has been some more funny stories but i can't think of them right now. i am doing well though. the people are so great here and i love teaching in spanish. we are getting really close to the easter pagent and i cant wait!!! we've been watching the rehearsals for the last week and its so neat!!! the real thing i know is just going to be incredible.
i hope that all is well and i cant wait to hear from you soon.
i love you all.
hna brittany smith
