Letter of Sept. 18th

Dear family,

Thank you so much for all of the emails and pictures (especially from you, Sarah)! Jordan Wertz is home! Oh hooray! I'm so sad that Nate passed away last week--the few interactions I have had with him were always positive ones. Nate's a nice young man. So much peace for him as he continues to progress in the spirit world! Please let the Shorts know my appreciation for them and for Nate's friendliness.

We didn't have our preparation day yesterday, which is why I'm emailing today. Elder Shane M. Bowen, of the First Quorum of the Seventy, visited our mission and we had a really incredible Zone Conference with him yesterday morning. Sister Castaneda and I actually met him on Sunday when he and Sister Bowen and President Wirthlin came to our apartment to see what kind of housing the missionaries in the NYUM enjoy. We'd magic erasered the walls and baseboards, vacuumed with deep cleaning powder stuff...Oh, we prepared for this visit. Anyway, it was really really neat to talk with them. They care so much and are so put together--a common phrase you heard all of the time in the MTC is "quiet dignity" to invite and keep the Spirit. That's how I felt they acted, quietly dignified. They served as mission president in the Spain Barcelona mission before and they know a lot about missionary work. Something I didn't realize, and something that Sister Castaneda reiterated this morning in companion study, is that members of the Quorum of the Seventy are ordained missionaries, basically. We're set apart, but they are ordained. Luke 10 talks about the original seventy that Jesus Christ called while He was in His earthly ministry. They were commanded to go and teach and perform works in the Lord's name. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the same organization as the Primitive Church of Jesus Christ! Neat. So yes, Elder Bowen trained us yesterday and he focused on how we need to know who we are and where we come from in order to do what we're supposed to do. He specifically taught about the Abrahamic covenant, and how we are participants in that covenant because we are members of Christ's Church and thereby part of the House of Israel, who inherited the Abrahamic covenant. We also inherit the promises and responsibilities, the privileges of Abraham and his seed (because we are his seed). I don't know if this is confusing, but it was a great training. When we can see clearly the goal, the ultimate goal, then it's easier to stay diligent and faithful in accomplishing that goal. We have the incredible opportunity to take knowledge of our Redeemer and His plan to the world! And we have been given tools to help us do that! We've been given help! So what we need to do is...do it! Hahaha. Really, though. When we place "artificial limitations" (as he called them) on ourselves, then we halt the progress of the Lord's work for us. Elder Bowen emphasized that we are more capable than we think we are. The training has helped me to again refocus and determine to be more diligent. The more people we talk to, the better opportunity we'll have of finding those who are ready to act on the gospel they receive.

It's raining today. :)

We've been meeting with a couple in the ward who haven't come to church in a long while, and they are so wonderful. They love each other and they want to seal their marriage of 17 years in the temple. We've explained that the blessings of the temple are available to those who are valiant and obedient and that they'd need to become active in their church attendance so they can qualify for those blessings, in addition to the blessings of just coming to church! Namely, happiness and the Spirit... :) So last Monday we brought our ward mission leader with us to meet with them and he offered to give them a ride to church that Sunday, and they came to church! People greeted them, they stayed for all of the meetings, and things are awesome. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the endless opportunities to become better.

It was a good last week. I'm using up my NyQuil, but don't worry, I'll get more today. :) I'm going to be like the stripling warriors--"exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity...true at all times in whatsoever thing [I am] entrusted" (Alma 53:19).

I sure love you. I can't believe it's September 18th! Time is flying.

Well, well, I miss you, love you, and can't wait for Dec. 25!

Love for always,

Sister Smith

Letter from September 3, 2012

There have been some great times over the past week!  One was finding a bug crawling through my hair as Sacrament Meeting began and having to flick it out.  That was fun.  Another was in Gospel Principles, the member who taught the class totally showed us that equation in the subject line and went on about the BLESSING of Adam and Eve choosing to eat the forbidden fruit.  Another was meeting a really cool man from Puerto Rico who has been taught by missionaries a LOT before, and is open to us coming back to answer his questions that he has for basically every set of missionaries who come through.  Another is getting a Philippina companion!!  Who is so sweet and soft spoken and faithful!  Oh man, I love her.  Another was watching the Restoration dvd with our favorite 17 year old and making FAJITAS for the first time!  (Yes, you read correctly, I made fajitas).  Another was playing with little baby chihuahuas and eating Lebanese food.  Another was delving into yard work and helping a woman take control of her weeds.  Another was testifying of the Book of Mormon to people we had never met who were grieving.  Another was testifying of the Restoration of Christ's Church to a group of people belonging to different Christian denominations with the primary speaker within this group being extremely religiously educated and quick-speaking.  Another was me driving through an extremely heavy rainstorm without having driven for a month and a half.  Another was helping Burmese people study and prepare for their American Citizenship exams.  Another was driving to Syracuse with an outbound sister who served with my hero, Sister Takapu.  Oh yes, many good things. 

So I just skimmed the surface, but I feel like that is a pretty good overview of what my week was like.  It was very full, very fulfilling, challenging, enlightening, strengthening...Just a week in the life of a NYUM missionary. :)  It's been pretty strange to "take over" this area with Sister Castaneda (the "n" has one of those spanish squigglies over it, called "enyeh" according to Sis Castaneda, but I don't see how to insert the correct letter in this email, sorry.  Anyway, so you pronounce her name Cah-stah-nyay-dah).  I don't think it hit me really until Sunday when Sis Castaneda needed to be introduced to everyone.  She hasn't been to a regular ward for over a year!  She's been in Temple Square, and all of the sisters there go to Sacrament Meeting together and the Guest Services men bless and pass the sacrament, and there aren't any other church meetings, so this is quite different for her in just THAT aspect.  I've been learning a lot about what it's like to be a sister missionary in the Temple Square mission.  It's pretty exciting!

Man, I'm sorry, I just don't know what else to say!  We're emailing in the Mission Office on account of it's being Labor Day...Um...Thanks for the box!!  It was great to get it!  I can't believe I'm past my halfway mark.  Sigh.  I'm pretty sure we just drove to Provo this morning.  Didn't we?  This time is so great, and I'm so thankful for it!  I'm sad to be away from Sis Horne, but I know, once again, that Heavenly Father knows exactly what I need, what Sis Horne needs, what Sis Castaneda needs, what this area needs.  And we move onward and upward!  Oh, more good news--I got a letter from Sister Kamille Shoell--she still lives in Winnepeg. :)

I love you so much!  Keep on keeping on, my lovies!  Life is great!

End of August letter

The news of the week is that I'm staying in Utica!  However, Sister Horne is being forcibly removed to open up an awesome new area (Albany) with Sister Hale (yes, how timely, eh?) and a sister who's been serving at Temple Square (she's from the Phillipines) is coming to Utica with me.  I don't think I know how to handle the change now, quite honestly, except to just keep going like normal.  haha.  Really, though, Sister Horne has been packing like a madwoman and I moved my stuff into her closet so the incoming sister could have the other one (it's in the bedroom, and that is probably the most comfortable, right?).  P-Days are so different in Utica.  I feel like I can accomplish things rather than just been pressured to write unnumbered amounts of letters.  It's a good feeling.  The change isn't the best feeling, but alas, it's the way of things, eh?  It should be a very interesting endeavor.  Oh.  Hahaha!  I got on the email service site between the missionaries and our mission president and noticed a LOT more features than have ever been there.  Most poignantly language study "portals..."  Yeah.  I'm not sure what that's an indication of other than trepidation on my part.  This sister should be able to speak English if she's been in SLC for a year, shouldn't she?  Yeah.  The new features are probably on everyone's.

So, the quote from this week...We went on exchange with the Syracuse (pronounced Saracuse by natives) and Sister Lambert came up here to serve in Utica for a day.  Sis Lambert and I went to a member of the ward's home who had just had the sonic blast on her kidneys and was recovering.  We got there and she was up and moving about with a lot of energy, which was a good sign.  But anyway, she told us a lot of stories (as she is wont to do) and one of them was about her childhood, growing up next to a "crick" (she was hick-ifying "creek") and in their cellar they always had scores of snakes slithering about--even in their laundry baskets.  So, she's nervous to go do laundry in her cellar now because she's living right next to the same crick.  She has PTSD from Snake-nam.  Sis Lambert and I had a pretty great time--she's been in the NYUM for 3 months now and is being transferred up to Lake Placid this Wednesday.  Lots of changes this transfer, too, see?

I had a really unique/terrifying/incredible opportunity last week to help someone repent.  Of course, all we do all day every day is invite people to change and come closer to Christ with those good changes, which is repentance, but this was different and striking.  She did something wrong and she knew it was wrong, felt terrible about it, and first thing the next morning she asked us to come over to help her know how to repent of it.  We didn't need to know details, didn't ask for them, but we counseled with her and helped her understand that Jesus Christ suffered the Atonement that she can become clean.  She's working toward baptism and we reminded her that everything will be washed clean as she's baptized and confirmed by those who hold the authority of God.  Anyway, it was really awesome to gain a firmer testimony that change is absolutely possible because of our Savior.  We were inspired to ask certain questions, share certain scriptures, say the right things at the right points of the conversation.  Heavenly Father loves His children.

We don't have a lot of time today (the preparations for transfers are quite weighty), so I must be off!  I can't believe Rob started high school!!  What?!  Go get 'em.  Learn lots, okay?  Every opportunity we have to learn is such a blessing--we have so much to learn and become!  We need to take advantage of every single one!  Thanks so much for the emails!  Oh, I love you. :)