Possum Hunters!

This week was a really good week and I have a lot to talk about! I hope that I can get it all out! 

So this week we went over to Angies one night and as we are walking up her crazy steep hill that kills me every time, we see her husband Conroy just chucking rocks up in the air as his family is watching him. So I'm sitting there just thinking, "Conroy has officially lost it!" Ha but as we got closer we see that he is throwing these rocks at these possums that are climbing around on the electrical wires between the poles! Ha we obviously wanted in! So we went and killed some possums! It was kinda scary but we got the job done! Ha it was sweet though!

Also we were able to get Yuandia to church again and she brought her sister and she is pretty cool as well! We are really excited about their potential! We are still working though! She has some things to overcome.

We were able to teach Eve's friend Bernadette and we had an amazing lesson with her. It was crazy! We got talking with her about her family and we found out that her and her husband have been married for 24 years! It was crazy and to be honest it caught me off guard! People here really struggle with getting married! Let alone staying married! So we were able to share a little with her about forever families and she really liked it. We are working to meet with the whole fam so that we can teach them all about it. The doctrine of forever families is such a great teaching and it just makes sense and answers so many questions. I know that through temple marriage we can be with family for time and all eternity. That has brought so much peace to me to know that. I love my family and I know that no matter what happens, as long as we are faithful we will always be together! I love you all! I hope you have a great week!

With Love, 

Elder Smith

Oh Danny Boi!

So this week was a pretty crazy week! On thursday we got a call from the senior couple and Elder Horne told us to be ready because tropical storm Danny was heading our way. So we were like "Holy cow! This is crazy!" And the lucians were obviously the same way! So we are just bracing for the worst! Then later on in the day it was pouring! It was nuts! So we're thinking how this thing is for real! That storm will come into play later on. But anyway friday was nice weather, saturday was the same, and sunday was burning hot! So we are still waiting on Danny right now! But I don't think it will be coming because it is burning hot right now!

This week was good though! Even though we had so many appointments fall through! It was unreal! So we were just finding the entire week! But we got out and worked and we found some cool people! One of them was Eve. She is a Lucian but she has been in New York for 8 years and just moved back last month. But we were just walking down this crazy steep hill and we had a lot of doors slammed in our face but then Elder Dixon wanted to keep heading down! So we went down this road and talked to a lady who was pretty cool and was fairly interested. Then we start walking down the road some more and I see Eve making a run for her door! So I used the Elder Smith waving trick. What that is, is you wave super obnoxiously and say hello loud so the people can''t possibly act like they didn't see or hear you! So Eve is opening her door to go inside and I do the trick. She starts laughing and waves back and comes and talks to us. Turns out she thought we were salesman and just didn't want to talk to us. We joked with her quite a bit about how she was running from us but we found out that she recently stopped going to church because she just didn't feel lke her church was giving her the whole truth. She was really interested in the book of Mormon and also the restoration. She felt like it answered a lot of questions! It's amazing how the Lord works sometimes! We are really excited to work with her because she is super smart and really searching with real intent! But after this lesson is when it started pouring and so we took cover for a little bit but then decided we just needed to go for it! "Rainy Days!" Right? So we got so soaked as we ran up this hill back to our car! It was crazy but it was a super cool experience! 

Well elder Dixon is still killing me in the workouts! I have now vowed to eat healthier so I don't die everytime! Ha he is a great missionary and we have a ton of fun! He is growing a lot as well! 

Well fam things are going well here! We are going to keep finding, teaching and baptizing! I hope all is well back home! I love you guys!

With Love,

Elder Smith 

1 Goodbye picture with Odellia. Just in case I get transferred before she gets back from her trip!

2. Me and Colby Smith and his parents. They came to pick him up and came to visit our district meeting! I sure do love that guy!

3-6 I stepped on something funny and it ripped my already struggling shoes up. Mom i do not need another pair! I repeat: I do not need another pair. They are super glued beautifully! :)

7=8 Ocean

9 Me and Angie at her shop!

10-11 P day eve!

Out with the old, and in with the new!

Well Elder Beck rode off into the sunset this last week and is home and to be honest it was weird saying goodbye since I have been around him a lot of my mission! However he is very happy at home and doing well! I miss him though! 

My trainee came late wednesday night and he is a great missionary! i am loving serving with Elder Dixon! He is from Mapleton, Utah and he played football and Basketball. So we get along great! He works super hard and is kicking my butt in the morning workouts! I am still sore from my friday  ab workout! Ha and mom I went running! Like I ran! Ha I never do that but Elder Dixon is going to get me into shape! Ha training is going really well though! I am enjoying it!

Also Yuandia came to church! We have been trying to get her to church for so long! Ha so I decided to break out my art of negotiation! I told her that if she didn't come she would owe me and Elder Dixon a candy bar! (I can hear elder Beck in my head saying "NIce diet!") But anyway it worked she came! Now we owe her a candy bar but we did it! She enjoyed it and said she would come again! 

We are also going to be saying goodbye to Odellia tonight because she is going to be going to New York for a month! But guess what she is going with... A temple recommend! She is going to be going to do baptisms for the dead! She is really excited and so that is going to be really cool! She also has referred us to her neighbor named ALMA! Yeah how about that! Ha so she is doing great!

My favorite part about this week and training though has been seeing Elder Dixon come in and notice so many things that I as an old missionary, don't pick up on. He sees things that really are pretty incredible that I don't simply because I am used to them and so they aren't that wonderful to me anymore. This happens a lot in missionary work but it also happens a lot in the gospel as well. To often as seasoned members we get used to things and they don't mean as much as they once did. So my challenge to each of you is to ask yourself, is this still wonderful to me? And then pay attention to the little things and try to notice them! The gospel is always wonderful and amazing. Think about it! I know that as we remember things we will be blessed and will love the gospel even more! I know that it is true and that blessings are waiting for us! I love you all! Have a great week!

With Love,

Elder Smith

"To marvel at the wonders of the gospel is a sign of faith. It is to recognize the hand of the Lord in our lives and in everything around us. Our amazement also produces spiritual strength. It gives us the energy to remain anchored in our faith and to engage ourselves in the work of salvation."

Gérald Caussé

 Here is the last time I saw Gavin and Colby

 Me and Elder Dixon

 I tried on my suit and this is a pic of our role play for elder Dixon! Gotta give him as close to the real thing as possible! ;)

Empty Chairs at Empty Tables (Transfer Week)

Well it has come to an end. The Beck and Smith team is breaking up in St. Lucia since Elder Beck will be announcing his retirement on wednesday! I can't believe it! I would never admit it to him but I am going to miss that guy! Ha he has become one of my very best friends and I am really glad that I was able to get to know him! I can't wait for our adventures and rooftop limes when we are home!

So I know that you are now wondering what is going to happen to Elder Smith. Well I am going to be training my last two transfers! President is making sure that I finish strong! His name is Elder Dixon! That's all I know about him right now! But stay tuned for next week! I'll have more! I am also now the lone zone leader on the island so I am the big dog! Ha I am excited though! 

I don't have much to say this week other than Odellia's talk was really good! It was on enduring to the end and she prepared it all by her self and it was great! She is doing really well!

Well that is about it for this week! Have a great week and I will talk to you all next week!

With Love,

Elder Smith

 Beautiful!  Oh and the handsome missionary there too!:)

 The celebration before the parting!

 Ok, this seriously makes me cry!  Good bye Elder Beck, it's obvious you will be greatly missed!

Carnival!

I'm not sure how I forgot to post this one, but sorry!  Silly mom!  This is from 7/22/15

So this week was a really good one and we were able to see some success! We also were able to have a good lime for carnival! It was fun! So let me tell you a little bit about carnival! So in ST. Lucia each year they have this Celebration and they dress up in things that aren't appropriate and party for a couple of days... So in other words we can't be out. So we all get together and we lime! (Hang out) And so that's what we did! We had movie nights (approved movies of course), domino and phase 10 tourneys, Elder Tupou's birthday party and lots of snacks! So it was a lot of fun and some good bonding! 

We had a good week of missionary work though! We are working with a girl named Yuandia and she is really starting to like the Book of Mormon and is doing great! We are excited about that!

We also met a guy named Shalan and when we met him he was just there, (possibly high)... But when we went back he was really cool! WE have taught him about 3 times now and he is reading and doing really well! That just proves that you never know who the Lord is preparing!

Odellia is still doing great! She loves the gospel and she loves the Lord! It has been really cool to see how so many of her questions have been answered by restored truth! It's amazing! One of the coolest things though is how she describes taking the sacrament and her experience with that. Now keep in mind that this is just an eighteen year old but I remember when we went by her the day after she came to church for the first time and we asked her how she felt when she took the sacrament. She told us about how she felt a huge burden lifted off her shoulders and how she felt the spirit so strong. She doesn't even have covenants to renew yet and it still is a super spiritual experience for her! The coolest part though is that when we went by last week and asked about the sacrament and she still had the same feelings! She said it is a jump start to her week! She loves it! Odellia is super prepared and is really excited for her baptism on the first!

This experience really got me thinking though. If I had a dollar for every time I just went through the motions as I took the sacrament I would be very rich. I have missed out on so many spiritual opportunities! So many sanctifying experiences simply because I forgot how important it was and it wasn't wonderful to me anymore. I have changed that now and if you want a boost I want to challenge you to as well! I know that as we take the sacrament and we prepare for it we can have our burdens lifted off and we can receive a "Jump start to our week". I love you all! Have a great week!

With Love,

Elder Smith

"Prepare to have a spiritual experience when partaking of the sacrament.  Focus needs to begin a long time before we walk into the building and before the Priests start preparing the sacrament.  Remember it is an ordinance, a very personal ordinance, the only one that we repeat for ourselves."

Jeffrey R Holland

Here are some pics of the carnival lime since we were stuck in for a couple of days and also some pics after a teaching appointment with Odellia. She is the one in the white and Brittany is in pink and Silas is the Lucian in the Shirt and tie!

Catch the wave!

What a week! There was so much going on this week and it was just great! I loved it! I hope that I will have enough time to write it all! Well here it goes!

We have been focusing a lot of our finding efforts in a new area and we have seen a ton of success! About a week and a half ago Elder Beck and I set a goal to find some cool families and future Priesthood holders and this area has been an answer to our prayers! We have met a lot of cool people and the Lord has blessed us richly! We just started there so I don't have a ton of stories yet but I will hopefully have some next week!

So this week we had a sweet branch activity down in Vieux Fort and we ended up having the baptism down there! It was really cool! There were a ton of people there and it was a great saturday! We played a lot of games and were able to have some good food and it was just great! However it was super hot! Like it was crazy! And it was the day before fast sunday... So I will let you do the math on that one... Ha so we got home at about 8 and so we ate and drank as much water as we could during that short period of time and then started our fast at about 8:30. Let's just say the next day was miserable! I mean terrible! Church was great! It was really spiritual but it was rough physically! I usually go and help in the primary room and when I got in there the AC wasn't working. Ha so I was sweating a ton and was just dying and then after that we went home and finished studying and I was getting a bad headache but you know, I'm fasting so you just have to handle it! But anyway I kept going and finally 8:30 comes around and I am just dying and so I break my fast, drink some water and take some meds with a kit-kat (it was the only thing i could just grab and eat. Plus I was craving it!) And at about 8:33 I was throwing it all back up! It was like my first scout camp experience all over again! I was thinking of brother Lott the entire time! Ha so then i ate some mac and cheese (our dinner) and I had some more water and I threw that all up a couple minutes later! It was a rough night! Gotta love fasting in the Barbados Mission! Ha i ended up getting better and I am now more hydrated but it was crazy! So yeah that is why I didn't have a picture on the rooftop this week! I was to sick! I am already seeing blessings from that fast though! ;)

Alright it's time to talk about Odellia's baptism! We had it on Saturday and it was so cool! She was so excited! Oh also before I forget! Brittany got her mission call on the same day as the baptism! She is going to New Jersey! So yeah that was cool! But anyway the water was super rough because we did it in the Atlantic ocean and it's crazy! So we are walking out there and the water was really gross because it is just full of seaweed! So as we're walking out Elder Beck is just like, "The water is rough today!" and then said jokingly, "Odellia you know how to swim right?" And she just looks at him with fear in her eyes and tells him that she doesn't. So she was terrified! We got out deep enough to do the baptism and we are getting mashed by waves and we tried to do the baptism but her dress came up! So we get ready to do it again and a HUGE wave comes and nails us! I got taken out and ended up swimming a little! Ha it was crazy! We went to do it again and she still didn't make it but then the third time was the charm! We made it out safely and despite all of the craziness it was still a great experience! Odellia was so happy and she is actually giving a talk on sunday! We are excited for that! She is going to be a great member!

Well I am about out of time but I know that this church is true. This is the Lord's work. He loves us! I know that as we turn to He makes our lives much better than we could make it on our own. I love you all and I hope that you have a great week! 

With Love,

Elder Smith
Here are some pics of the baptism and the activity on Saturday! Also the kid with the dominos is named miguel and he is a boss! Mom you would love to have him in tavaci! Him and his mom are recent converts and are really cool! It was his birthday and so we had a little party with him!

Odellia's Baptism

 I'm assuming this wave is the one that knocked them down!:)

 I love this one!

THE BOYS!