Week 2

Well this week has been kinda crazy! We had transfer day on Wednesday so me and Elder Pierson have been all over the place since then! I am losing weight like crazy! Ha six pack here I come! We had a ten year old girl name Krashona get baptized on sauturday so that was cool! Even though I didn't even meet her until the day of her baptism... Ha but anyway the church is really growing here but there is a lot of pressure on missionaries. We teach a ton of the classes in church and such because there are hardly any men in the church here! But we are working on it! 

We have our apartment in the basement of the church and it is falling apart! It also smells pretty bad... Ha plus there is termite damage like crazy! The life of a west indies missionary... Ha it isn't as warm as Trinidad here but it is more humid so I still sweat like Kevin Garnett! I am drinking lots (of water) though! Elder Pierson keeps expecting me to get sick because I drink so much but I am to tough for that! Ha Elder Pierson is pretty cool, not robotic and I don't have to be super dignified when i am with him so I guess you could say that life is pretty good! Ha

This week wasn't super eventful but I guess for a spiritual thought I would like to share something that Elder Bechan said in Zone Meeting. He said, "Our HEavenly Father doesn't give us blessings so we can experience joy, he gives them so we can experience change." I loved that! I thought a lot about the last couple months and as much as I hate to admit it, I changed a lot! So I got thinking about the blessings that came and the change that came because of those blessings and then how I received so much joy! I know that is kind of a complicated chain but I know that Heavenly Father does send blessings so we can change for the better and I am so grateful for that! I have been so blessed the last little bit and I think I am going to keep those things that changed in my life! I love you all! Life is great!

-Elder Smith

I AM HERE!

My new address:
Elder Randon Smith
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
CP 5608
Castries, St. Lucia
West Indies

LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL ISLAND!!!

So I love it here! It has been so much fun serving with Elder Regis and Elder Bingham! I found out on saturday that I will be serving in Castries with Elder Pearson! He is super cool and from Canada so you will have to tell Elder Kuczak that I am serving with a Canadian! Ha but anyway I have been in Vieux Fort and it has been great! It is a walking area so I just got thrust right into it and my knee is holding up! It gets sore but it never really gets to bad! The weather isn't quite as hot and is only about 85 degrees but it is getting a lot warmer! I am excited to start losing my surgery weight! Ha I am super excited to just get to work in an area that is mine though! I am getting my teaching back a lot quicker than I thought I was going to also! I am pretty happy about it! I obviously miss people but I am doing well and I'm just happy to be back out here!

So yesterday I got asked to talk in sacrament meeting! So I just spoke for a couple minutes on the last three months and blessings that came from it! I talked about how the Lord knows what we need and will bring people into our lives to help us! It was really a pretty neat experience! I had lots of people crying as I was talking about different "Angels" in my life! I really have been so blessed the last little while!

Probably my favorite thing is when we taught a lady about how families can be together forever! It was so neat to see someones desire to have that and it made me really thankful that the family I have now will be a forever family as well as the one that I will have later on! It really is such a blessing and a gift that our heavenly Father has given to us!

I love you and miss you but I am so grateful that I am back enjoying the best two years FOR my life! I know that it will bless me now and for many years to come! LUVS!

-Elder Smith

HE IS SO EXCITED TO BE BACK, LOOKIN' A LITTLE SUNBURNED!

IN ST. LUCIA WITH ELDER REGIS AND ELDER BINGHAM!

HE'S HEADING BACK...HERE'S THE SCOOP!

SO, HERE IS A QUICK SUMMARY OF THE LAST 3 1/2 MONTHS:
October 21st, 2013:  We found out Randon was coming home for knee problems.
October 24th, 2013:  Picked Randon up from the airport.
October 25th, 2013:  Randon had an MRI to find out what was wrong with his knee.
October 28th, 2013:  Dr. appt. with Dr. Higgenbotham, found out that Randon needed surgery to remove a "plica band from his knee".
October 30th, 2013:  Surgery date.  Removed plica band and checked ALL ligaments and joints to make sure everything else was ok.  It was.  Estimated recovery 4-6 weeks. Best case scenario. YAY!
November 1st, 2013:  Started physical therapy, continued every week 3 times a week, for the next several weeks.
Fast forward:
We thought he'd be gone around Thanksgiving, but not meant to be, knee still healing.  So, he was home for his birthday on the 26th, and Thanksgiving on the 28th.  There was still a lot of pain and swelling starting into December and no one knew quite why.  He just couldn't get over the hump. The physical therapist was stumped.  They tried many things, stem, rest, ice, rest, anti-inflammatory meds etc.  Dr.  Higgenbotham put him on mobic once a day for inflammation and we just kept waiting.....and waiting..... learning valuable lessons as we waited.....even though we felt frustration and questioned many things.....we finally realized WE WERE NOT IN CHARGE!  Neither was the physical therapist or the doctor.  Heavenly Father was in charge and we had to surrender our will to His.  It was Christmas time and things were still slow.  Dr. Higgenbotham finally determined it to be irritation of the patellar tendon, so he gave him some anti-inflammatory patches to put right on that tendon and.....it helped.  The pain and swelling went away.  He also met a good friend about the end of December that I believed helped him to heal as well.  He would be up and active and it would swell, but the swelling would go down on its own.  Yay, progress.  So throughout January this process continued. FINALLY in the middle of January the physical therapist AND the Dr. cleared him to go back on his mission!  We thought we had made it.  President Ferry, our Stake President got the Dr.'s report and called Salt Lake.  But then came another hurdle.  The mission dept. in Salt Lake said that Randon had to walk 5 miles a day for 4 consecutive days in order to be cleared to go back out. We found this out on Thurs. January 16th, 2014.  We thought he could walk the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, and be cleared on Monday the 20th. He had been mostly working on keeping swelling down and strength training so he was not in the best of shape, but was determined to get those 4 days done immediately.  He jumped on the treadmill as I was leaving to run some errands.  I got a call from him after he had done 2 1/2 miles and he was in tears.  He said, "it's not ready, it hurts."  I came home and we talked and decided he should work up to the 5 miles and not take the chance of hurting anything.  So, on Sat. January 25th he had completed his 4 consecutive days of walking 5 miles!  He told the Stk. Pres. on Sunday the 26th.  He called Salt Lake on Monday the 27th.  On Tues. the 28th we found out he was going back to his same mission and then we were just waiting for travel plans.  On Wed. the 29th, we found out he would be leaving at 7:17 am on Friday January 31st to go back to Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies!  Hallelujah!!!!!  We were so excited and so extremely grateful!!!!!!!  What an amazing journey full of so many blessings, hard times, blessings, hard times, and blessings!  
He's going back!
We all got up at 3:30 a.m. to take him to the airport.  We all said our goodbyes and cried....AGAIN!  I felt like it was worse than the first time we had to say goodbye.  I felt a weird feeling inside, couldn't quite explain it.  That night we received a call from Trinidad and we were so excited that they let him call to tell us he made it safely.  
He was there but...
We put the phone on speaker and this is what we heard, "Mom, this is Randon, I am here in the airport in Trinidad, but they won't let me in the country, so they are sending me back home."  We all thought he was joking.  A senior missionary got on the phone and explained that immigration wouldn't let him in because he didn't have a missionary permit, which the church gets for them.  The church thought he could get in on a 40 day tourist visa while they were getting his permit.  Not so, the police even interrogated him.  The senior missionary said they had to put him on the next flight out and asked us to pick him up the next day at the Salt Lake airport at 4:00 p.m.  He said it should be a quick turn around as soon as they could talk to immigration, but it was Friday and that couldn't happen until Monday.  His MTC comp. was the one that was there in Trinidad to pick him up and as Randon was walking away to fly back home he turned to Elder Beck and said, "I'll tell you who wins the superbowl!"  :)  He's such a goof!  So in 36 hours, he flew from Salt Lake to Houston, to Trinidad, then back to New Jersey, Chicago, and Salt Lake.  He was literally flying or in airports for over 36 hours.
He's back.....home?  
So, we dropped him off, as a family, Friday morning the 31st and then Will and I picked him up Saturday afternoon Feb. 1st.  CRAZY!  As Will and I were standing there waiting to greet him at the airport we couldn't stop laughing (we'd done our share of crying before this trust me) but we had to do something this time as he walked out of the terminal.  So when we saw him we acted like he was coming home after 2 years.  We hugged him and told him how great he looked and said things like, "It's been so long since we saw you." etc.  We had quite an audience and we were all laughing so hard!  Randon thought we were crazy!  He didn't want to go back home and go through the goodbye thing and put people through that again, especially because it was only supposed to be a couple of days.  My oldest sister's son is leaving on his mission in a couple of weeks, so we took him to her house in Layton to stay, and Justin could be his comp.  He stayed there Sunday (the superbowl) and that was difficult!  :)  Then Monday I went down and we went on a long walk to keep his knee in shape.  As we started our walk the feeling was a little "down".  I had called Trinidad on my way down to see Randon and they really didn't have any new news, so we were a little discouraged.  We walked for about an hour and then my phone rang. :)  It was someone from the missionary dept. in Salt Lake and he said, "I understand you have a missionary you can't seem to get rid of."  We laughed and I said, "we are really trying!"  He said that he had received a call from Pres. Mehr (Randon's mission pres.) and he wanted Randon to fly into an island called St. Lucia.  It is easier to get into that island than Trinidad I guess.  He said, "how soon can he travel?"  I said, we are only 20 minutes from the airport!:)  And he called about 30 minutes later with Randon's travel plans!
He's going back.....AGAIN!!!!
This all happened Monday, Feb. 3rd and we found out he was to fly out the next day, Tues. Feb. 4th at 3:55 p.m.  So Will and I took him to the airport and said our 3rd goodbye.  This one was different, I felt a great sense of peace and Will cried more than he ever had!:)  We watched him as far as we could see him and then we left the airport and came home.  He had a long flight going from Salt Lake to Denver where he had a 4 hour layover, then Denver to Miami where he had a 5 hour layover, then Miami to St. Lucia.  So I had to wait 24 hours to find out if he would actually make into the country this time.  At approx. 2:00 p.m. on Wed. Feb 5th I got a call from the same Senior missionary and I was honestly scared to answer the phone! :)  He said Elder Smith was in St. Lucia and was with 2 other elders until transfers, which would be Tues. Feb. 11th.  I think I finally breathed for the first time in a long time!  At first, when he was going through his knee surgery process with the ups and downs, I said I wouldn't breathe until he was actually on the plane going back.  HA!  But that didn't even work, :) so then I said that i would breathe when he was actually in the country! :)    So, check out the next post because it is his first letter from the West Indies after being gone for 3 1/2 months!  What an adventure!  We owe such thanks to the local missionaries for taking him on splits so much and keeping him involved in missionary work and taking him to work out with them to get his knee in shape, for the seminary teachers who invited him to come and sit in on their classes several times a week and even to teach a full lesson one of the days!  And for the many prayers that were offered in Randon's behalf!  We had some amazing experiences while he was home and I truly am grateful for EVERY ONE, good and bad!  We have an amazing Heavenly Father who knows us, and loves us.  He knows what we need and where we need to be, and what we need to learn!  I need to thank all of Randon's great friends too for their continued support of him!  You helped him in so many ways!!!  We love you and consider you part of our family!
So, now.....the West Indies mission experiences continue!  I will post his letters each week, as well as pics!   THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!!!  LUVS TO ALL OF YOU!--Shanna (Randon's mom)  :)
Here is his new address:
Elder Randon Smith
CP3608
Castries, Saint Lucia

Back Home...

So unfortunately I won't be having any "West Indies Adventures" for a little while... I have been forced to come back home for knee surgery and so now I'm going to be on the "Journey back to the West Indies". So we probably won't have very many posts on here for the next little bit. Thanks for all the prayers and support. It means a lot. Love ya all!

-Elder Smith

One Week More! (Parody of Les Miserables "One Day More")‏

So this week was an interesting yet good week. First off guess who the ENTIRE Montoute Family (That's like 8 people so it must be true) said I looked like? Brad Freakin Pitt. So obviously I was very excited about that. Because I currently have a buzzed head and they said that is what has brought the Brad Pitt'ness out. However there is a backstory to all of this. So you know in Love's Labours Lost when it gets all serious at the end because the Princess' Father died. Well I would always tell everyone that that's when I go from bringing out the James Roday'ness to bringing the Brad Pitt'ness. And they all laughed and told me that I could never be like Brad Pitt. (Despite my obvious resemblence to him when it comes to looks.) So to all of those doubters I would like to quote from a Phil Collins song. "Take a look at me now." (Pretty sure that's Phil Collins) Ha so that's about it. It made my week though. :)

So my knee isn't doing the best but I have kept going. I have received a lot of strength and just hope to Keep on Trucking! (That's a great image for someone my size. I like it.) But one of our investigators, Tony, has been super concerned about it. He wants to keep me taken care of. He is an awesome guy. 

The most spiritual experience came from a blessing I received from Elder Hatch. As i have already expressed I have so much respect for him. He is my Hero! He came over on Tuesday night and gave me a blessing. It was one of the most spiritual experiences I have ever had. It was a real blessing of comfort. I know that the Spirit guided that blessing. I don't remember much that he said but I will never forget the way I felt. The Spirit was so strong and brought so much comfort during a hard time. I am so grateful for the Priesthood and all the blessings I have recieved over the years. It really is so powerful. 

Once again I know that our Heavenly Father is mindful of us. And as the Lord told Samuel, He looks upon the heart. So we must all have the desire to go about doing good! I miss you all so much but I am glad that I have been blessed with the opportunity to serve here. Keep it real! Love ya!

-Elder Smith

EARTHQUAKE!!!!!!!

So this week in Trinidad we had an earthquake! It was big enough to notice and be cool but not bring any damage. So that was sweet! Also this week has just been an eventful one. 

I have had my left knee giving me some trouble lately so I had to go and talk to our mission doctor, also  named Elder Smith. (That's why it's important to put Elder Randon Smith on my letters. There are like 8 Elder Smith's here. Ha but anyway...) He told me that he doesn't think there are any tears or anything serious but there is major inflammation so my LCL and MCL are super sore and tender. However being in a walking area it makes it rather tough to just let the inflammation go down. Plus there are hills all over our area. Like monstrous ones! So he basically gave me the Mike Burgraff treatment. "Ice and Ibuprofen!" Ha so that's the plan. I just keep pushing through and hopefully it will start to get better! He also said to keep losing weight. I don't really see that as a problem! :)

Next thing is we started teaching this homeless guy last week. He seemed really interested and yesterday he even came to church! However he left before it started to "go get some water..." He never came back. So we thought... Last night when we were walking home we say that there was a light on in the Chapel. So we were like "Ok, that's kinda weird..." So we went to turn it off and we see this homeless man just passed out on one of the benches! So obviously I was like "Jeepers Creepers! What do we do?!" Also this is a big guy. Like 6'7", 250 lbs. So we basically weigh the same. (Ha due to my West Indies weight loss program) But anyway we called the Bishop and let him take care of him. I am so glad he didn't wake up because with how out of it he was I am pretty sure he was on something. Ha he loved the church so much he didn't want to leave. Ha but yeah it was super crazy!

So to be one hundred percent honest this was kind of a tough week for me. It was just tough with all of the knee issues and some homesickness and things. Also there are just times when you wonder why am I here? Am I just wasting my time? Or am I doing well enough? Just things like that. Then last night I got a call from our zone leader, Elder Hatch. And you have to understand that Elder Hatch is like my hero. I look up to him so much! He basically told me that he was impressed and that I was doing a great job. He asked me how I like my mission and I told him it's super hard yet rewarding. Also that I miss back home a little bit and just some of the thoughts I mentioned earlier. He then told me that he remembers going through that stage and just told me once again that he was super impressed with me and as I continue to work those things will become easier. I really needed that. Then finding out today in my email that Mom was fasting for me to know that Heavenly Father was pleased with my work. Jeepers creepers, I know that Elder Hatch's call was an answer to that fasting and praying. Thank you Mom! It helped me so much.

I know that our Heavenly Father is mindful of us and wants us to pray to him. I am so grateful for all of the comfort that has come from my prayers and others that have been said for me. He answers our prayers. I know it! Thanks once again for all of the support. I couldn't do this without it! Love you all!

-Elder Smith

*MAYBE WE COULD ALL PRAY A LITTLE EXTRA FOR ELDER SMITH THIS WEEK, IT SOUNDS LIKE HE NEEDS IT!  I wish I could hug him, my arms just aren't long enough....

Living to see another transfer

So we got our transfer calls on Saturday just before conference and I found out that me and Elder Jamison are going to be staying for another transfer in the port of spain! I am so happy about that!

Conference this week was great! We watched it at the church and it was so good! I loved how the theme was hastening the work! Especially on Saturday! It was kinda hard at the same time too though. Looking back some of my greatest memories is being able to watch conference with the fam. I really missed that! Especially the Priesthood session with Dad and everybody. Not going to lie, that was tough. I loved conference though! I didn't really have a favorite talk but I loved many of them. Elder Holland's was obviously one of my favorites once again. It was a different topic than I was expecting but I loved how he talked about how one day we would all be made perfect. How great will that day be? I also love Elder Ballard's talk on Saturday. Then Uncle Boyd came through once again with a great talk. Also we had an investigator named Norma come to all four sessions! It was so awesome! She is going to be baptized just now!

So this week my favorite experience came from working with a young girl named Jamalia. She is almost 9. We had been teaching her dad Tony for sometime now and he will be baptized once his divorce goes through. He is such an amazing humble man. But Jamalia has shown the desire to get baptized and should be on saturday. She is the most innocent, adorable, little girl and loves church! So on Friday we were teaching her about prayer and invited her to say a prayer on her own. She had never done this before. So we told her just to talk to her Heavenly Father. And she did! It was so simple yet so powerful. You could tell that she was having a conversation with her Heavenly Father. Tony was just beaming afterwards! That was probably one of my favorite experiences so far.

I know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers. He listens and cares about us individually. Thank you so much for all of the prayers that have been said for me. I truly notice their effects all the time. I could not do this if it wasn't for prayer and the blessings that come from it. 

I love you all and keep it real back home!

-Elder Smith

 Susan's Baptism

 I'm in the same district with Elder Beck here still! I love this kid!

 I was on a tradeoff with Elder Brown and this is him with our food! 

Not nearly as good as Brigham's... But you can't win them all!