Dan/Don got baptized!

We had a pretty good week this week and we were able to see a lot of miracles. We were able to baptize Matthew Charles brother, Dan and he is amazing! So first off we were told that his name was Don, so that's we called him. That's what everyone called him! Even Matthew! (Crazy Caribbean accent) But then we get to the baptism on saturday and then they tell us that his name is actually Dan. So yeah, that was weird. But anyway the sisters were teaching him and passed him off to us and had told him he could get baptized this week and so it was now our job to get it done. So we went to meet with him and realized he was super prepared but he hadn't been taught much. So over the next couple of days we taught him just about everything. It was so cool to see the spirit work on him as we taught him a ton and he was able to take it all in! We also got to be there when he prayed to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet. That was so neat! The spirit was so strong! The baptism was neat because Matthew baptized him. He was just so prepared! We were able to take him teaching yesterday and he is fantastic and really converted! He is like a quiet version of Matthew! He will make a great missionary someday!

The Members are doing great! They are super supportive and yesterday, President Stewart challenged everyone to give us at least one referral. The members are really catching the Missionary spirit! We are excited!

So yesterday was area conference for the whole Caribbean and we got to hear from President Packer, along with Elder Holland and some others. It was so neat! My favorite part was seeing how in tune they were with what the people need here! Now I don't know when the last time Uncle Boyd came to the Caribbean was but it was really cool to see that through the spirit he was able to deliver a message that was perfect for the needs here! It was also just great to see him. He looks like he is slowing down a little which is sad but it was still great to hear him give a powerful witness of Christ. It's always my favorite part of his talks.

Well I don't have much time but something I have been thinking about a lot is how incredible it is that we have Prophets and Apostles. Men who are called of God to guide us! I sometimes wonder if we sometimes don't fully grasp that! As we told people about the area conference I went around asking people, "Have you heard of Peter, James and John? Well on Sunday you can hear from people just like them!" That is tremendous! I hope we all realize how great that is! I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet and that ever since that time we have had someone on the earth with the keys to guide that church here. But the beauty of it all is that I know that just as in times of old Jesus Christ is at the head of His church. I love you! Please follow the Prophet!

With Love,

Elder Smith

You done know we had a good week!

The work here is great! I am loving life here In Grenada! We had a lot of really neat experiences this week and we felt the spirit an awful lot! So let's get started on the journey of this week!

Oh also "you done know" means " of course you know" or "you must know"!

So we ended up going by our less active lady, Janice and we show up and before we even get to say hi she yells to her neighbor and says, "Hey we're coming over to share the word!" So we go over there and this lady is just sweet! Her name is Kathisa! By the end of the lesson she told Elder Bingham that she wants to fly back to the states with us at the end of our missions as a member of the church! She wants to be baptized asap as possible! She asked if she could be baptized this saturday and we were like hold on! We still have to teach you! Ha but she is really cool! Oh also a couple days later we went by Kathisa and she had us teach her friend! The gospel is a chain reaction! IT's spreading like wildfire and I love it! 

Oh speaking of wildfire! On thursday we had a very powerful meeting with President Stewart to set goals for the year. As we set goals we decided that we wanted to raise the baptism goal but didn't know how high to raise it. We then studied it out in our minds and decided to raise it from 35 to 50. We then all got down on our knees and President prayed to confirm it with the Lord. The spirit was so strong! It was really neat to have the spirit confirm that goal for all of us! Pres Stewart has invited each of the branch council members to find someone for us to teach. So things are really moving forward!

One of the most powerful spiritual moments this week came as we met with one of our investigators named Kemron. Kemron is a really cool 17 year old. We taught him about the atonement and at one point I read him the scripture in  Mosiah 3:7 that says, "And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people":I then told him that because Christ loved him so much He went through all of that. I then asked him "how does that make you feel?" His response was almost heartbreaking. He said in a very quiet tone, "That makes me feel bad, it makes me feel sorry." Now that is what the scriptures talk about when it says, "Broken heart and a contrite spirit!" Our hearts should break when we think about what He went through for us! We should feel sorry! To often we think these sins are already paid for so they don't matter! It makes me so sad to see people who look at sins just like fouls to give! They think I have 5 sins and I am going to use them! That must stop! It makes a mockery of the atonement. So that's why I asked him the next question, and this is what i want each of you to think about. "What are you going to do to pay Him back?" Now we obviously can't fully pay Him back but the beauty of the Atonement is that Christ only asks for our best. So, do your best! I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. He loves us! Never doubt that! I love each of you and I hope you have a great week!

With Love,

Elder Smith

"I testify that the surest, most effective, and shortest path to healing comes through application of the teachings of Jesus Christ in your life. It begins with an understanding of and appreciation for the principles of moral agency and the atonement of Jesus Christ. It leads to faith in Him and obedience to His commandments, and that brings healing.

If you are caught on a plateau of spiritual healing and don’t seem to be making progress, if you seem to be constantly dependent on another mortal for support, look up in faith to Jesus Christ. I know that the Master loves you and will heal you according to your faith in Him."

Richard G Scott

"Yes, Elder Smith and Bingham! It is great to be working with you both! Elder Bingham if Elder Smith ever tries to jump on top of the top bunk... don't let him! :) haha."-Elder Christensen's (New AP and MTC comp) advice to Elder Bingham in our ZL report

 This is when another car side swiped them and took off the mirror!

I guess this is how they decided to fix it!

Grenada

 Grenada Sunset

 Elder Smith and Elder Leaney

 A fort in Grenada

 I love this sign, and especially this face!

 Ha!

 Saying goodbye to Elder Leaney

Holy Smokes! (That's All I Have To Say)

So this week was simply just full of crazy events! So I'm just going to get right to it. So on tuesday we were driving back from Grenville to pick up Elder Pierson and Padilla because they both needed to come down to take Elder Pierson and Elder Leany to the airport early in the morning. So on the way back we were driving on this narrow road and this car passes us way to close and just drills our mirror! It was nuts! I will send a pic of it! But anyway this car that hits us claims that it's our fault so Elder Leany had to pay them and then we went back and saw people but that was about it. Then early morning we took them to the airport at 5 and it was hard saying goodbye to those two. I miss them lots! But we dropped them off, went back to the apartment and got ready then we went to pick up the new missionary in gouyave and we got him at 6:45. His name is Elder Bowen and he will be great in the zone. We are really excited to have him! But anyway we then drive him to Gouyave and it was pouring like crazy! Like there were rivers in the streets crazy! So we had to stay there in Gouyave until that calmed down. Then after waiting there for about an hour we went back to our area and ran some more errands and then taught some people which was great and then we went to pick up Elder Padilla's comp at 9 in the evening and his flight ended getting delayed until 11:30. IT was crazy! So then we come home and get like 6 hours of sleep and we are off again! So we think, our tire had gotten a huge screw in it and we weren't really able to drive to far. So we had to change it and that took forever but we were finally off by about 2 after fixing that and taking Elder Padilla's comp to places he needed to go. So then we got back to our area by about 5 and we were able to work. But yeah our week was crazy! 

So we were also able to get in contact with Abieshur and we are working with her! She is great and is planning on getting baptized soon! I love this work! Things are great with Elder 
Bingham and we are really excited for this transfer! I love you all! Have a great week! 

With Love,

Elder Smith

Transfer call and baptism Saturday!

This week was really great! We had Alana get baptized and she was so excited! She is Vanira's cousin and Alicia's sister. So they are quite the crew! She has made lots of changes in her life and we are really excited! She is like a different person now! When we first brought up baptism with her she wanted nothing to do with it! But then she started reading and coming to church and she had a hole in her lile filled by the gospel! It has been amazing to see! 

So now for the transfer call part. We were at the baptism and we were waiting for those that got baptized to change and Elder Pierson gets a call from President Mehr. Pres then tells him that he is going to go to Guyana and then asks if Elder Bingham happens to be there! So then he hands the phone over to Elder Bingham and he talks to President for a little while and then he walks over to me and says, "Give me a hug companion!" Ha so Elder Bingham is going to be coming down to St. Georges to be a ZL with me! It is going to be great! I love that guy! Even though it is going to be weird because I have learned a lot from Elder Leany and I am going to miss him. He is a good missionary!

Also today we had a zone activity at Hog island! (Small Island just off of Grenada) We crossed a bridge and limed there for a couple of hours! It was great! (See Pics Below)

We are working with some great people here and we have recently started to work with some more less actives. One is named Janice, (I know weird, she has the same name as Grandma) But anyway, It is sad sometimes to see how much they could be blessed if only they would come to church and stuff like that! They are missing out on so much! But the most amazing thing that I have noticed is that no matter what they are doing now or how long they have been away, they are always going to have the Lord there with open arms to welcome them back. All throughout the scriptures we read about how the Lord is willing to let us into His rest as long as we will come. The thing that we need to remember though is that "Come" is an action word. It requires us to do something! But as long as we do our best the Lord is willing to let us in! I love the Lord! I am so grateful for Him and the fact that no matter how dumb or complacent I have been at times in my life, He has always been there to welcome me back! I know that is the same with all of us! That is our plea to the world right now! Come to Him and He will give you rest! I know that! I love each of you and I just pray that you will all do whatever you need to do to Come to Him.

With Love,

Elder Smith

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”

Matthew 11:28

Yes Baptisms!

This week was so great that is going to be really hard to fit it all in here! But I guess that's the best way to have it! So buckle up!

So Vaniria and Alicia (Vaniria's cousin who we have been working with) got baptized. It was great! They are both really shy in front of people but when we just meet with them you can't get them to be quiet! So they were both really quiet and shy at the baptism but it was really good! We are going to be baptising Alicia's sister Alana this saturday and she is really excited for that! I love teaching Member referrals!

So Abieshur wasn't able to get baptized because she was helping with some investigation at the Police Station most of the week so we weren't able to teach her everything she needed. So I can definitely add that to my list of firsts! Ha you gotta love it!

We met a super cool lady named Hazel and we were able to meet with her this week a couple of times and she came to church and loved it. She is working towards the 31st for baptism. She is so prepared!  She has a couple of kids also that seem pretty cool so we are going to be working with them as well!

We also are meeting with a 22 year old girl named Ameena, that lives a ways away but we taught her about baptism the other night and she said that she really wanted to be baptized and to have those mistakes washed away. Then we were like great and asked her when she wanted to and she was just like, "As soon as possible!" So we are going to help her work towards the 7th of February! 

So this morning we were able to have the opportunity to go to town and do some souvenir shopping with the Matthew's. It was great! Ha so to start off we parked in this crappy parking lot next to an Ace hardware store and it's like empty so we're just like "Sweet!" But anyway we go, we shop and it is just a fine and dandy time! I had some people try to rip me off and it was just great! But then we get back to the car after we are done and are car has like 2 cars parked behind it and so there is no way for us to get out! Ha so we were all just like you have got to be kidding me! "Then one of the cars moved so we were just like sweet! One down, one to go! Then Matthew Francis (The one with one leg) walks up and he just gets vexed! Ha He is just freaking out! He goes on this rant about how if he had a key and some rotten eggs he would scratch up the car and smash the eggs all over it! Ha so we're just trying to calm him down and I am just dying! Ha it was great! So after a while the car finally moved and all was well but it was just funny! 

Well that's about it for this week! It was great though! I love this work! Things here in Grenada are going really well! I love it! 

I know that the Lord loves us and He will always welcome us back to Him! That has been something that my mission has really taught me as we have seen so many people change their lives. In all reality that couldn't come without the Lord's love! So I know that it's real! I love you guys! Make yourself a great week!

With Love,

Elder Smith

Remember Lot's Wife

I had a great week this week! It was great being able to skype and talk with you and see you guys again! I am glad to hear that things are going well back home as well! I cannot believe how big everyone is getting! I miss you all. Lots! But I know that I am doing what I am supposed to here!

Things here are going well! Our girl Abieshur is getting baptized this week and she is super excited! Now let me telll you a little bit about her. She is 20 or 21 and she already has 3 kids under the age of 4. It is so sad that she has so much on her plate already. But ever since she started coming to church you can just tell that there is a peace in her and it is amazing! I have loved being able to see the Lord work a Miracle in her life.

Another one that is ready is Vaniria. She is a daughter of a recent convert, Margaret. She is really quiet but she is excited and ready for her baptism. My favorite part was yesterday at church Margaret came up to me and was like, "Elder Smith! All of my family is starting to join the church! Vaniria is getting baptized this saturday!" Her faith is amazing and has been huge in getting her family to follow her example!

Something that has been on my mind alot lately since it is about time to start a new year is the hope that comes from starting a new year! I love it! I hope that each of you really realize how great it is that we can have fresh starts in our lives year round! I know that the Savior suffered and died so that we could all move on from our mistakes. It has been such a blessing! I am going to share a quote that I love at the end but I hope that we all remember Lot's Wife and DON'T LOOK BACK! Whatever mistake we've made it's over and done with! We can start now and have a better future! I know that as we turn to the Savior He will help us become who we need to become! I love you all! 

With Love,

Elder Smith

"There is something in us, at least in too many of us, that particularly fails to forgive and forget earlier mistakes in life—either mistakes we ourselves have made or the mistakes of others. That is not good. It is not Christian. It stands in terrible opposition to the grandeur and majesty of the Atonement of Christ. To be tied to earlier mistakes—our own or other people’s—is the worst kind of wallowing in the past from which we are called to cease and desist...When something is over and done with, when it has been repented of as fully as it can be repented of, when life has moved on as it should and a lot of other wonderfully good things have happened since then, it is not right to go back and open up some ancient wound that the Son of God Himself died trying to heal."

-Jeffrey R Holland

Tis The Season!

Wow I can't believe that it is Christmas already! I am so excited! We are going over to the Senior couples for Christmas dinner today so that is going to be great! 

We had a great week and we met some really cool people! We met this one guy named Lee who has just been through an awful lot! He is originally from England but he lived in San Diego for 26 years and things just kinda took a turn for the worst and now he is kinda stuck here... So we met him and he is super receptive! He came to church yesterday and really enjoyed it! So we'll see where that goes! 

We are working with great people right now and we had 8 investigators at church so the work here is really moving forward! I am so excited about it! We are expecting plenty baptisms coming up so that is going to be fantastic! Time is flying here!

I don't have much else to talk about but we had an amazing week filled with miracles. We met so many amazing people that were put in our path and it's been neat!

This week we have been thinking and teaching about the real meaning of Christmas a lot! It has been really great! Unfortunately we have met some Grinches and a couple people with the last name of "Scrooge" ha but all in all it has been really great to be able to teach about this! It got me thinking about how a lot of the time we exclude the Savior from our lives and most of the time it's not intentional! Now that's sad! So my invitation this week is to focus on Him! Find times in your life that aren't that effective anyway, or it's just down time and fill it with the Savior! I promise that you will see more peace in your life and you will see his hand more often! I know that! I love each one of you and we can all do better and all need to do better with that! I love you and have a Merry Christmas!

With Love,

Elder Smith

"Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus!"

Neal A Maxwell

Here are some Pics from my last day in the bados and some from this week!