Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Holidays!

So this week was absolutely crazy! We had a ton of stuff going on plus people here love their holidays! They celebrate good Friday more than anyone I have ever even heard of! On Friday Castries was like a Ghost town! Everything was shut down! It was so weird to see St. Lucia like that! Then everything was shut down for Easter Monday too! I had never even heard of Easter Monday! Then we were at institute on Thursday and all of the members were like "Oh everything is going to be closed on Monday!" So apparently Easter Monday is just a huge deal! So that is why I am emailing today!
Granny is doing pretty well but they are thinking about putting her in a nursing home in Vieux Fort... So that means that we would not be able to see her anymore. That would be so hard! I love Granny! So I guess we're hoping that she won't be leaving us. She doesn't want to go either. When we went over on Sunday she was telling us, "If they make me go there I will make so much trouble for them. I will cry and scream and they will not want me there! I am the Village Ram so I have to make trouble!" Ha and yes she does call herself the Village Ram! Ha she is the best! But yeah I will keep you posted on that!
This week was a great week in church though! We had a talk by a recent convert named Silas and he is a boss! He got baptized in January and he just got called as the 2nd counselor in the Branch Presidency! He gave a great talk on the Priesthood and then the Gublers spoke on the Atonement. I loved their talks! I might have started to leak during Sister Gubler's talk. But yeah it was great! I also got to sing! It went really well! They all clapped at the end.... Ha so I guess that means it went pretty well! I was actually pretty grateful that Sister Gubler volunteered me! It was really a neat experience! After the meeting Brother Marquis (1st Counselor in the Branch Presidency) pulled me aside and told me that he was going to manage me. Ha I thought he was joking but he was dead serious! He laid out his entire business plan! Ha Elder Fiame told me that Brother Marquis told him that he could make some serious money off me! Ha oh man! It was funny!
Dorothy is getting baptized this week! She is doing so well! She had been smoking for 50 years and we had tried to help her quit many a time but it finally happened after both of her sons were baptized! They have been such a great strength to her! I love that family! I will send you some pics of that baptism next week! 
Probably my favorite experience this week came from when we had a birthday party with Jeanette! She is a super sweet lady and we were meeting with her and we found out it was her birthday last Sunday. I was super upset that she didn't tell me! So I asked her how it was and she said it wasn't the greatest. I asked if she had a party and she was like, "I've never really had a birthday party.." So I told her we were going to have one for her! Ha so on saturday we made her a cake and bought 38 candles and had a party! It was great! We only had Me and Elder Day, Jeanette, her daughter Lily, and her cousin Sariah but it was great! Jeanette and Sariah both told us that our wives will be lucky because we know how to make a girl feel special! It was great fun!
One thing I have been thinking a lot about is how in life we are always searching for Peace. Even during our times of trouble it is available by living the Gospel. That is the only way. When hard times come always remember that there are good things to come! Our Heavenly Father loves us and He knows what we need! Please trust him. D&C 19:23 says "Learn of me and listen to my words, walk in the meekness of my spirit and you shall have peace in me." That is a promise! Learning and listening is easy, but the blessings only come when we walk! When we follow him and live the gospel we find peace! That is when the blessings come! I love you! Take care!
Love,
Elder Smith

"Don’t give up, Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead.You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come. Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come."
-Jeffrey R Holland


 Jeanette's Birthday
 Look at that awesome cake, made by those awesome Elders
 Elder Smith and Jeanette
Elder Smith and the Monsons (Sr. Couple that was in Trinidad when he was there, and now they got moved to St. Lucia!)

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