I Love This Place!

Man this week was a good week! We have found a lot of cool people and our members are fantastic here! Probably one of my favorite member families is the Phagu's. (Pronounced Paw-goo) But anyway they are the best. Brother Phagu is one of the funniest people I think I have ever met in my entire life. He is a funny man. He is the Young Mens president and he is really focusing on getting the youth on missions. He is a great leader. He is like the Mark Wilcox of this branch. Sister Phagu is the seminary teacher and the youth really like her too. They are really excited about missionary work and have helped us a lot already. We are teaching Brother Phagu's brother Anil right now. He is here from Guyana so that he can earn some money and take it back home to his family. He is also a very funny guy! But yesterday Anil fasted for the whole 24 hours that his family would be open to the gospel because his wife is Hindu to the bone and so I really hope that works out. We haven't gotten super far with teaching him yet but he came to church yesterday and seemed to like it. But he is just a way cool guy so we'll see what happens!

We also get fed by Sister Armstrong 3 times a week. Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday. She gets us our veggies since me and Elder Bechan hardly ever have any! Ha but she is just a crazy funny old lady who speaks with a really strong Bajan accent so I can hardly ever understand what she is saying! Ha but she is cool and can for real cook food.

Yesterday at the end of the day we went to see the Phagu's and talk to them about the fast and we get there and Branch President Alleyne's car is there and were like, "Oh boy this can't be good." But then we go in and Bro. Phagu,.Anil and Pres. Alleyne are just chilling and having a man's movie night. Ha so we obviously had to interrupt that if we were going to stay and talk so they stopped the movie and we talked about a fireside we're going to have to encourage the youth to go on missions. So we all talked about it for about an hour and 15 minutes, even Anil! Ha but then we came up with a plan for the fireside. Elder Bechan and I are both taking part! He is going to share his conversion story and how he decided to go on a mish and I am going to share some mission stories and how it's blessed me. So that will be sweet! I love this branch!

I know that as members take part in the work there is just so much power! So just always remember to do your part and be an example of the believers! I love you all! 

Love,

Elder Smith

"If we do not … willingly teach others of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith, who will?"

-M. Russell Ballard

 Me and Elder Beck with our Carribean faces

 Me and Elder Beck decided to trap the Sister's car

 The Horse races

 Lunch at Sister Armstrongs

Lunch at Sister Armstrongs

The Bados!

Man I love this place! It is super hot but it is so amazing! I have just grown to love it here! Elder Bechan and I have been working really hard to get things going here and get some progressing investigators. Elder Bechan is a great missionary so it's been great!

This week was also zone conference so I sang a song that I found named, "I have not seen, Yet I believe" It went well and so I was really grateful for that! I also got to have Elder Hatch stay with us the entire time and that was great! I love that guy! He was with us a lot and I got to go on splits with him and so I grew a lot from that. I have been working on sharing my testimony about the Book of Mormon with everyone! There is so much power in that book and I have noticed that when I share about it things go a lot better and the spirit is able to testify a lot more than if I were to just beat around the bush. So that was great to see that and have that experience.

I still don't have a ton to writeabout the Bados yet but I will write about our recent convert, Desmond. He is in his 70's and he is kinda crazy. But I haven't met a more loving person. He is incredible. He literally has nothing but he is so kind and always so happy. He got to meet President Mehr yesterday and it just made him so happy! Ha he was just beaming! But Desmond is just an amazing guy and probably my favorite thing is he calls me Smithy! Ha it makes me laugh! I love that guy! He is going to introduce us to everyone that he knows on tuesday! Ha so that is going to be great!

The Bados is sweet! I love it here. It is hard but as we work hard I know the Lord will bless us! That;s the way He works. If you want something good then make something happen! I love you all! 

Love,

Elder Smith

Barbados

Man this place is the best! It is a lot hotter than St. Lucia but it is good. I am in a driving area and I am the designated driver. So I drive everywhere! It is weird driving on the other side of the road but I am getting used to it. Ha also guess who was the first person to meet me at the Airport, Elder Beck! I also had my first appointment in Barbados with him because I had to go to a baptism interview for someone that he was teaching. So it has been great talking and hanging with him again. Man I love that guy! I love serving with Elder Bechan too. He is a great missionary and I am growing a lot with him. I feel like this is going to be a transfer that we things are just going to take off for me. I am so excited! We went to the beach today and it is beautiful! Oh man i am definitely going to come back here at some point after my mission!

Leaving St. Lucia was kinda tough though. We went to O'Brian's and Sylvia's on tuesday to say goodbye and I cried at O'Brian's. I miss that guy. Then we went to Granny's on wednesday before I flew out. That was another really tough goodbye. But I loved those people. They changed my life and I really hope to see them again.

I don't have a ton to say this week because it is such a new area but Barbados is great! I love it! I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to serve here with Elder Bechan! I love you all and will have more details next week! 

Love,

Elder Smith

I will send some more next week!

 1. It's me and Elder Beck

 2 Me and Elder Bechan party hard on P Day eve.

 3. The Beach

Transfer Calls

So this is the moment you have all been waiting for, Yes transfer calls! Alright I am going to Barbados to be a District Leader with Elder Bechan! I am so pumped! Elder Bechan was the ZL here in St. Lucia for my first transfer back so I know him really well! He is going home in 6 weeks and is a dang good missionary! I am going to learn so much from him! He is from Holland and is just a boss! I couldn't be happier about it! am way excited! I will get to see Elder Beck also so that is going to be sweet! So yup I fly out on Wednesday afternoon! I am excited!

So I don't really know what else to say here other than I am going to miss St. Lucia a lot. This has become my home. I am going to miss so many people! Elder Glade and I are now referred to as the Primary Elders so we got pretty dang tight with those lickle kids. I am going to miss them. I am going to miss Granny an awful lot. It was funny when we told her about how I was leaving and she said, "Is it President Mehr who is sending you away? I hate him!" Ha so I am going to miss her! I am going to miss O'Brian and his family a lot too. They were a little crazy at times but they are amazing! I am going to miss them. I am going to miss so many people it is going to be tough. St. Lucia has really changed my life.

I was also asked to talk on sunday since I was leaving. I decided to just tell about my journey to St. Lucia and how I got there. I almost teared up so many times because I was there because Heavenly Father put me there. All of the things that happened were not just coincidences! I know that this is where I was supposed to be and that I am supposed to be in Barbados for some reason! I know that we are put in places for a reason and that people are put in our life for a reason! I know it! I have seen that so much in my life. It has been a real blessing. I also know that Heavenly Father loves and is always mindful of us! I have loved seeing that in St. Lucia! I am going to miss St. Lucia but Barbados is going to be great. I love you all! Keep smilin'!

Love,

Elder Smith

“Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father [in Heaven] and how familiar his face is to us.”

Ezra Taft Benson

Just Keep Swimming

Ok, so this letter was actually written on June 2nd and I forgot to blog it.  Sorry.  So, this one goes before the last one, "Looking Up"!:)

So i don't even really know what to say about this week. It has been kinda tough! Sylvia has been sick all week so there goes about all of our member work! Oh it has been nuts! But we do have a baptism date set with a lickle girl named Phoebe. She is the Granddaughter of a member and she wants to get baptized so we are excited about that! We watched the restoration movie with her and she picked up on some of the cutest things. We asked her what she got from it and she said, "He saw a light and it was brighter than the sun." It was just one of those adorable, innocent little child and answers. As a missionary I have really come to see why Christ loved the children so much. It's been one of my favorite parts! 

Shannon has basically dropped off the face of the earth... It breaks my heart! She is so prepared but has just really struggled lately and we never can meet with her. What really kills me though is seeing her cousin Maria have to deal with it. You can tell that it is tearing her apart inside. She is one that doesn't show a ton of emotion but we've just noticed that it's hurting her. Maria is a member of about a year who struggles with coming to church regularly because she doesn't really have a way to get there. Shannon was a light of hope for her and she had started coming more with Shannon but now since Shannon has stopped progressing it has hurt her progress too. It's tough.

This week has just been hard. I don't know what else to say. But I had a neat experience this week! I had just been thinking about what I can do better. It has been tough lately and our area has been struggling. So I worked hard at focusing on exact obedience and then I really focused on the finding section in Preach my Gospel. I read the "talk with everyone" part and then I kinda had to check myself a little. I realized I wasn't talking to even close to everyone. I also thought of Elder Hatch. That guy is my hero! If I could be like any missionary it would probably be him. I remembered how Elder Hatch literally talked to EVERYONE. Ha so on saturday we had a tough day and I was just like "I am sick of this! I am talking to everyone!" So I did! It was neat! I don't know exactly how many of those people will progress but I got to bear my testimony on the Book of Mormon to them. It was a great experience for me! Ha and Mom I know you're probably like "I tell you to do that every week!" Ha but I guess I didn't really take that to heart until this week. But I will consider my ways, repent and do better! :)

This week I realized that I just need to do my best to share the gospel. People have their agency but it's just up to us to share the message. I know that this is the Lord's church. I testify that He is at the head of it. I know that it was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith and that we have a Prophet on the earth today. Do all you can to follow them and you will be blessed! I love you all! I'll talk to you next week!

Love,

Elder Smith

"You may wonder if it is worth it to take a courageous moral stand in high school or to go on a mission only to have your most cherished beliefs reviled or to strive against much in society that sometimes ridicules a life of religious devotion. Yes, it is worth it, because the alternative is to have our “houses” left unto us “desolate”—desolate individuals, desolate families, desolate neighborhoods, and desolate nations.

So here we have the burden of those called to bear the messianic message. In addition to teaching, encouraging, and cheering people on (that is the pleasant part of discipleship), from time to time these same messengers are called upon to worry, to warn, and sometimes just to weep (that is the painful part of discipleship). They know full well that the road leading to the promised land “flowing with milk and honey” of necessity runs by way of Mount Sinai, flowing with “thou shalts” and “thou shalt nots.”

-Jeffrey R Holland

Looking Up

Randon said he will be getting transferred next week but he doesn't know where yet.  I will post his new address as soon as I know it.

So this week was crazy but good! We talked to a lot of people and really just had a pretty good week! We found out that Granny might be going up to New York so that she can have better care so that's pretty crazy! I also don't know how much longer I am going to have on ST. Lucia so I am enjoying my time here as much as I can!

So this week I was able to put my seminary experience to use and teach institute! Sylvia is the teacher but since she is still sick I took it upon myself to teach! It was really pretty cool and I had a lot of fun doing it! 

We have been working a lot with O'Brian to get referrals because he literally tells EVERYONE about the church and the Book of Mormon and just bears pure testimony on it! I love him! He is so amazing! But anyway we have been teaching one of his friends named Gavy and he really has been progressing an awful lot. So we are excited about him! 

Another person is Jazzy. Jazzy is Sylvia's son who we have been working with a ton and we jsut haven't really been able to get through with him. So last night we taught him and had a huge breakthrough. We talked about how Heavenly Father has already provided a way for us to return to live with him. The debt has already been paid! All we need to do is our part! So we asked him, "What are some things you need to do to return?" We were just expecting him to say the usual, "Church, read my scriptures.." Type answer but he was just like, "I need to repent and be baptized." So I'm not going to lie, I was caught off guard a little. And by little, I mean lickle. But I was just like, "Yahtzee!" Ha so he nailed it! He is now praying about a baptism date and so I am pumped about that!

We have two baptisms hopefully this week. One is Phoebe, the nine year old girl and then the other is Michael Paul. MP has been meeting with the missionaries for a while but wasn't willing to change to get baptized. But on sunday he came up to Elder Day and said I want to be baptized as soon as I can! So we are going to go make sure he has made those changes and baptize him. We're excited!

This transfer has been one that has forced me to really endure to the end. It has been tough but I have seen many blessings. Thanks so much for your prayers! I feel the influence of those everyday! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Smith

"We are Heavenly Father’s children. He wants to be a part of our lives, to bless us, and to help us. He will heal our wounds, dry our tears, and help us along our path to return to His presence. As we look to Him, He will lead us."

-Carl B Cook

Another Week

So this week was tough. We only had one of our investigators at church and Shannon is just struggling now. We set a date with her and she was super excited. Then we came back the next day and she said she wanted to put it off. We were in shock. We didn't know what to say. Then she didn't come to church and we can't get a hold of her. I am so tired of things like this. Jeepers Creepers! Then we had to just drop Jeanette again yesterday for good. She just doesn't get it! Oh my heavens! This area has been a little bit rough lately...

I don't have much to say this week other than Granny is doing better but she just still isn't Granny. Her health has struggled and so unfortunately we just don't know what is going to happen. O'Brian is doing so good! I am so proud of him! He is almost halfway through Alma and just started reading a couple weeks before he got baptized. And he is not a fast reader at all! That guy is my hero. I am so happy that I got to teach and baptize him! 

We did have a little success with O'Brian's Brother's Girlfriend. Ha that is kind of a long chain. Her name is Evelle and she is super cool and pretty prepared. She was the one that came to church yesterday and really enjoyed it. I wish you could have seen Dorothy escorting her everywhere around the church. You could just tell that she was so happy that she was doing missionary work. I love that family! They tell us all the time that Dave and Evelle will be joining the church just now because they are working on them. I love it!

This week I have been reflecting a lot on Hope. Because to be honest that is what we are holding onto right now. You know in the game of monopoly how there is the free parking space in one of the corners? Well we play that game a lot and Elder Glade lands on that spot every time. So he gets all the money that is in the middle that we have had to pay for fees and such. But Elder Glade will run out of money and be in debt and then he will just be like "Free parking is right there I'll just roll a 7 and land on it and pay you then. That work?" Then he lands on it! Now this isn't necessarily about monopoly but Elder Glade has what Nephi refers to as a "Perfect brightness of hope." He knows that there are better times ahead. No matter what is going on now he knows that free parking is just around the corner. And so whatever it is that you are facing right know just know that there are good things to come. Whether it is a hard time for you or a loved one there is help and happiness ahead. And always remember that free parking is just around the corner.

Love,

Elder Smith

Often the deep valleys of our present will be understood only by looking back on them from the mountains of our future experience. Often we can’t see the Lord’s hand in our lives until long after trials have passed. Often the most difficult times of our lives are essential building blocks that form the foundation of our character and pave the way to future opportunity, understanding, and happiness.

-Dieter F Uchtdorf