Sick again

I got really sick this week! Yayyy! Haha don't worry it only lasted Monday night and Tuesday. I don`t know what it was that made me vomit all Monday night. I went to the doctor and it said it might be colitis that comes from stress and diet issues. I feel better now so no need to worry.

We ended up traveling to Haujuapan on Friday. It was a good trip and we spent the night making videos of us dancing to EFY songs. It was a good time, and we were able to relieve some stress. 

We have found some more awesome families that we are now visiting a lot. That is something that I want to focus on right now. Helping entire families instead of teaching and baptizing individuals. When you see an entire family learn and progress towards baptism together, it is really something special.

Juana is getting baptized this Saturday! Her conversion has really been a special thing to watch. She texted us last night telling us that she was feeling sad and confused and that she wanted us to visit her today. We were worried that she was having second thoughts about her decision to get baptized. We showed up today and she told us that she felt the desire to fix something that she had done to her sister. Her sister has done some terrible things to her, so she was trying to get back at her. She told us that after this Sunday she felt the need to fix that situation with her Sister before she was baptized. She told us that she felt dirty and unworthy to go back to church or get baptized for what she had done to her sister to get back at her.

We were able to help her realize that was she did shows her sincere repentance and that The Lord forgives us for all of our sins if we sincerely repent. We gave her a blessing of comfort and by the end of the lesson we could see that she was happy again. I felt good because we were able to help a child of God become converted. I know that Juana is a true convert because she has completely changed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This Saturday is going to be a special day for sure.

I sent some pictures of our dinner that Juana made us (Tlayudas) oh man I'm going to miss those things. And a weird fruit that a member gave to us. I don't remember what its called but it tasted super bomb. 

Love you all and enjoy the beginning of June! 

-Elder Smith

Baleadas and Baptisms

This has been an awesome first week with my new companion, Elder Melgar. He is an awesome missionary. He was baptized about 5 years ago when he was 21. He's about to turn 26 years old at the end of the month. He's an old man haha. He's from Honduras and today we made a classic Honduran dish. It's called Baleadas and I fell in love at first bite. DELICIOUS I'm serious, I'm going to make it when I get home. It's pretty much a taco with refried beans, shredded chicken prepared with a type of tomato sauce, avocado, fried plantain, sour cream, and a special cheese. It's amazing, and pretty simple to make. 

We have been working hard and now we have 7 baptismal dates. A couple of the dates are pretty certain but they always seem to fall through. Hermana Juana's baptismal date is coming up soon on June 4th! We taught her the Word of Wisdom the other day, and she learned that she couldn't drink coffee. She drank coffee almost every morning but when she heard that it was a commandment to not drink it she said right away along the lines of, "Oh its not a big deal to stop drinking coffee." I was pretty shocked at her response. She really has a firm testimony and she's definitely ready for her baptism. It's going to be a very special day.

Tomorrow we're traveling to Huajapan for divisions. It's always tiring to travel in this zone but it will be fun :)
 

Love you all! Have a great week.

-Elder Smith

New Companion

This has been a crazy week and Monday. We had transfers and my companion Elder Godoy was changed. I'm now with Elder Melgar. He's from Honduras. He only has 5 weeks left on his mission. He is a really hard worker so I'm excited to work with him, and have a lot of success. It was a week full of emotions. We had the baptism of Eloy on Saturday. He's 94 years old and we had difficulties baptizing him. We actually couldn't get him all the way under the water. The ward mission leader filled the baptismal font only about halfway. Eloy is really physically limited, he can't bend his back at all. We tried everything to get him fully submerged, but after a few tries he was a little scared and he was fighting it. My companion and I afterwards were pretty heartbroken. We are going to visit him and try and talk him into giving it another try. 

Today we traveled to Oaxaca to drop of my companion and pick up Elder Melgar.

There were so many missionaries and members there at the bus station, it was amazing to see so many people that I have grown to love while serving. I got to see Hermana Vicky there and we took a picture together with her daughters.

Elder Erikson and I started teaching Vicky in my first area. She was baptized on Saturday. I was planning on going to her baptism but the complications with Eloy made it so we didnt have enough time to travel. Her two daughters have also been baptized this past year. It was such a joy to see and talk with them. 

I love you all, and I think about you a little too much :)

-Elder Smith

Post Mother's Day Skype

This week we went to the "Remembering Our Culture" dance spectacular. It was awesome! I don't know if it was completely missionary appropriate but I had a really good time. My favorite dances were the Bolivian, Native American Indians, African and Hip Hop dances. And then at the end they did a Mexican song and dance and everybody went crazy! It really was a stress reliever for us missionaries. 

We had the baptism of Eloy planned for this past Saturday but when we went for his interview, he said he was too sick to get baptized this weekend. We rescheduled it for this next Saturday, so hopefully everything is good to go for this Saturday.

Our golden investigator, Juana, keeps progressing everyday. It has been amazing seeing how the gospel has changed her. She was so sad and depressed before, and now every time we see her she jokes around with us and always has a huge smile on her face. 

This past week we took some photos of us doing some street contacting. The people here can really be burros sometimes.. ;)

I loved talking to you all yesterday! It made me miss you all a little too much, but the Work goes on! 

Love, Elder Smith

What We Teach is True

We have a baptism planned for this upcoming Saturday! We are getting ready for the baptism of Eloy. Eloy was born in 1923. He´s going to enter the waters of baptism at 94 years young. He has trouble walking, but he he can still read perfectly without any type of eye wear. He also remembers the things that we have taught him! But really, he is an amazing old man.

We also have another baptism planned for the first weekend of June. Juana is truly a golden investigator. About a week ago we taught her about the Restoration and we watched the Joseph Smith video. It was a good lesson and we invited her to get on her knees that night and ask God if Joseph Smith was truly a prophet. We just had another lesson with her yesterday and she told us of something special that happened to her the night of the last lesson. She prayed that night and asked if what we were teaching was true. She said after her first prayer, she didn't feel anything special and it was just a normal prayer. Later that night she woke up with throbbing pain in her legs. She didn't know why she was feeling so much pain, but she decided to pray. She prayed asking for relief from her pain and again asking if Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. Almost instantly she felt a strange burning sensation that started from her toes and gradually climbed up to her neck. She no longer felt pain, and she felt that her entire body was purified. She was able to fall back asleep with a feeling of peace and comfort. Juana told us that she feels that her prayer was answered. 

I know that what we teach everyday is true. Hearing Juana´s experience has strengthened my own testimony that our Heavenly Father knows each and every one of His children, and He hears and answers our prayers if we pray with real intent.

Skype day is coming up!I can´t wait to talk with the fam! Love you all.

Con Amor,

Elder Smith