HAPPY APRIL‏

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

its p-day again...crazy!!!‏

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

happy st patricks day!!!‏

hola!!!

another week is gone...im amazed when p-day comes around every week. we are already into week 2 of the transfer and i just know it is going to fly. i wont tell you how many transfer i have left but my time is running lower each day. this week has been AMAZING!!! the Lord is really blessing us for all the struggles we had last transfer.
we found 3 new investigators which is more then we found the whole last transfer. they are really good investigators too. i think we will be having a few baptisms this transfer and im so excited. a less active we found is helping his roommate learn more about the gospel...we are teaching him and he's doing great. he went to church on sunday and even read over a chapter that we read with jose in the Book of Mormon. i was shocked...i guess its been awhile since i found someone who really wanted to act.
we had our first full church services on sunday in our branch...did i mention the branch is called escondido (it means hidden in spanish) way funny!!! well just to give you an idea of how many people are in our branch...sis lopez played the piano and i had to lead the music...ive never lead music in my life until the mission. i figure i just write my name in the air and no on will even know what im doing...haha. we also taught the gospel priciples class. it was fun! there were 8 women not including us in relief society and we meet in a normal classroom and have a keyboard as our piano. the adventures of the mission!
last night we had an awesome stake fireside. sis lopez and i sang "did you think to pray" and she also sang "his hands" then converts in the stake told their conversion stories..including our stake president who joined the church in 1972. it was awesome!!! it made me remember the reason i am serving. i know ive made an impact in someone's life and it makes all the difference. some days are so hard but then i think about my converts...i just love them. i would never change anything about my mission because all the experiences i have are shaping me into a better person.
i definately understand the Savior a lot better because ive walked in His shoes. i know what its like to be laughed at and ridiculed to be lied to and insulted. i know what its like to feel sorrow and i know the joy that comes from someone changing their life. last night at the fireside a thought came to mind "if you want to become like Him you have to know what it was like to be Him." im not saying i even have felt a sliver of His grieve and pain but i have a glimpse of it. I know He lives and He loves us. The gospel is true its real and as we follow it we find the kind of joy that lasts forever.
ive always been a pretty happy person and now i know why. I have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. i love it! i feel like im just beginning the understand what it truly means to be a missionary. i guess its never too late.
i hope this email finds you all well. have a great week. i love you.

Hna Smith

ps- happy birthday to uncle brian, jessica and sister kristie michelsen:) i hope you all have a great b-day! love ya

another transfer begins...‏

well can you believe it transfer #6 here i come. it starts today...it blows my mind everytime we start a new transfer. well sis lopez and i are staying in our area...big suprise. we get one new sister today...her name is sister bird and the funny thing is sister bird is like 6'2" (that's taller then paul) and her trainer sister beazer is 4'11". its gonna be a really funny sight to see. wish you could all be here to enjoy but its better that you're not. i still love you all though.
well on saturday jennie rivera was baptized. it was the least stressful baptism because our ward mission leader is AMAZING. she is really happy and so are we. there is never a homesick missionary at the baptismal font.
well i want to relate a few of the tender mercies God has offered me this week. first of all our branch started on sunday. the spirit was strong and the members were so happy to have a branch in their own language. im excited to be back with my people too:) i really have grown to love the latin culture. i think i tell you this every email but it is true i love them. let me tell you have God answers prayers and knows His children perfectly. saturday night we talked to this man and it went so well. so we set up an appointment for sunday morning to teach him. we were SO excited!!!! well we went by sunday morning with one of the members of the singles ward we cover, john brooks. when we got there we asked for this man, well turns out to be a wrong address...we were bummed but a miracle happened sunday morning. there was a man there named jose eduarte and he happened to be a less-active member. we asked him if we could share a message with him and he agreed. the spirit was strong and you could tell jose knew these things were true still. this is a man who had served as a counselor in the bishopric and a stake seventy(an old calling they use to have). we invited him to the new branch and john said he would come by for him. well he did and it was fast and testimony meeting and jose got up and bore his testimony with us. he said that it had been awhile since he had prayed but that morning he had knelt in his bathroom and offered a prayer to the Lord. only a few hours later we showed up to his apartment.
Heavenly Father anwsers prayers and He loves His children. im so grateful that i got to be an instrument in answering jose's prayers. what a blessing! as if that wasn't enough last night we went to visit one of our less actives. there is a young man that lives with her and her sons and so we asked him to join us. well it didnt take him long to open up and start asking questions. he has genuine questions and really wants to know. his boss gave him a Book of Mormon and he read it once. his sister was just baptized and has been talking to him about the church. he just hadnt really sought it out yet...well we showed up to his apartment. there is no coinscendences...i know the Lord guides this work and we were lead by the spirit to go by for reina and we met gabriel. he's young...only 22 but he is searching and we have exactly what he needs...we are teaching him at 8 tonight and im so excited!!!
ive been talking to sister lopez a lot about how when we do what we are suppose to do and keep his commandments the Lord guides to the people He has prepared. we are learning to trust in that. i hope you know that God loves us that Jesus Christ lives and He will always help us. the gospel of Jesus Christ is here on the Earth today and the only place it is found in its plentitud is in the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-days Saints.
have a great week and be safe. i love you all.

hermana brittany smith

This is Hermanas Smith and Lopez with Jenny on her baptismal day!!!!

hola!!!‏

well can you believe it MARCH!!!
i cant even believe that we are into march=already the time is flying. my hump day is wednesday...i know its hard to believe. i still feel like a greeny most days. well saturday we will find out about transfers...my guess is i will stay where i am with the same companion. the Lord is trying to teach me a lot of things and im just beginning to see that. i know this sounds strange but im just realizing this is not my time. the Lord has a purpose in all things and so i need to work on being patient.
for example we were suppose to be having a baptism on saturday...well she didnt go to church this week. sis lopez and i feel very strongly that we need to postpone her baptism a few weeks when she goes to church consecutively. it makes me sad because jenny was our ray of hope but i would much rather postpone then baptize her into inactivity. so we will see what happens...we are talking to her at 2:00.
but how the Lord has blessed me...my converts who are really strong in the church are my joy. they are like my little kids. luis is doing AMAZING!!! he came in to see me yesterday and told me about his experience at the temple on saturday(he did baptisms for the dead for the first time) he also told me how he's been teaching his roommate from Preach my Gospel...this is his roommate who would never meet with us but luis is doing something amazing and introducing him to the message. its true there are people i had to met on my mission and i feel so blessed to have that opportunity.
im not gonna lie it has been another hard week but yesterday we found 4 new investigators...thats what we call a miracle folks. that is double the number we have found in the last 5 weeks...WOW.
i pray that i can be more faithful and trust more in the Lord. tomorrow are interviews with President...i always enjoy talking to him. he's an inspired man and just so kind.
spring is here in arizona. the temple grounds are perfumed with flowers and citrus. we walk around the temple everyday and its just like heaven. if only it could last forever...because in a month or so its gonna be HOT!!! we are suppose to be into the 90's this week. i dont believe in snow anymore...im pretty sure it doesnt exist because it doesnt exist in Mesa. dont worry im soaking it all in for you all...just be glad you dont have to wear nylons in the heat though...not fun. there is so many exciting things going on right now in everyone's lives. i guess i forgot that people's lives dont stop because i went on a mission. im sad to be missing so many exciting things but i know that it will all be fine.
take care of yourselves...i love you.

hna smith