Week Ninety-One: 5/18/2015 to 5/24/2015--Smells Like Seattle

Hello Everyone!

But seriously, with all the rain and rice paddies, it's just had that fresh, green, Seattle smell this whole past week. And I'm still not trunky. Take that, Satan!

This week wasn't quite as fantastic as last week. Two of our investigators accepted goals this past week. One was Brother Liao. He's super interesting. Up until last Saturday, I thought he was too mixed up in his philosophical nonsense thoughts to accept the gospel, but when we met with him that day, I just decided to love him. I decided to not try to debate with him, even if I knew what I said to be true, but rather to just bear testimony. I actually don't know if that was a decision or if it just turned out that way, but I distinctly remember deciding to have a more open mind towards him. And then a miracle happened. He accepted a goal to be baptized on June 6. But then he didn't come to church yesterday:(. I really hope he can make it. He's been investigating for a few months now and comes to church every week(yesterday was the first time I haven't seen him come). 

The other was a new guy the sisters tracted into named Junhao. He's a really cool guy and is the middle school classmate of the member we asked to meet him with us so that was cool! However, our next appointment with him isn't until next Sunday(in two weeks). 

We also got to meet with 2 families this week. They aren't that golden, but they are super nice and I really think they have potential. They have such good family values. I really want to be able to help a family be baptized together before I go home! So pray for the Chen family and the Fang family. They're worth it!!

In general, the area still isn't roaring and people aren't flocking to the baptismal font yet, but we're in the process:). I love you guys! I hope you're all doing well. Talk to you next week.

Elder Smith

P.S. This is one of my favorite videos the church has put out so far. Service truly does heal the soul. Lift: http://bcove.me/2qes5f5b

P.P.S. Here is this week's hymn: Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd

Week Eighty-Eight: 4/27/2015 to 5/3/2015--First Week All Over Again

Dear Everyone,

I love this work! This week felt like my first week on island all over again. It felt super slow, but it was jam-packed with stuff. I love my companion, Elder Anderson. I would send a picture, but my camera is a little bit broken at the mo. He's super fun and just easy to get along with. I think we're going to see a lot of success together and we'll be able to help each other out a lot. 

We have some really cool investigators, a few of which have goals to be baptized this month. The ward is pretty cool as well. Lots of awesome members pretty enthused about the work. I'm hoping we can work well with them. It's way bigger than Mingjian which has good and bad. I loved how in Mingjian, everyone in the branch was really close to each other and to the missionaries because it was so small. In bigger wards, it's easier to split off in groups and whatnot. It's too bad. But there are also a lot more really established members who can assist in teaching and fellowshipping investigators. 

Pretty much our entire zone is in training at the current time which is super exciting. We're hoping that will bring tons of faith and miracles! 

More thoughts next week. For now, know that I love you all! Happy early mother's day! 

-Elder Smith

P.S. So due to my added responsibilities, the time I have to do much of anything personal is pretty limited. So until I get better at time management, there may not be as many songs coming your way. I will do my very best, but Monday mornings is when we follow-up with the Assistants and this week we also had to plan for Zone Training Meeting. Cross your fingers that there'll be a song next week! Love you!!

Week Ninety: 5/11/2015 to 5/17/2015--That's More Like it :)

Friends and Family,

This week was just miles better than last week. We found 5 new investigators and they're all pretty solid. I'm super excited to see them keep progressing. One of my favorite experiences we had this week occurred right after we got back from a very inspiring Zone Conference on Tuesday.

We ate dinner then went over to the Family Mart to make calls on the payphone, but when we got there, I realized I forgot the sheet with the numbers of all our contacts at home. Nightmare. We rushed back to our house to get it, then when we got back, the other elders were at the family mart making calls, so we kept going to get to a 7-11 a little ways past the family mart. We stopped at the light and I rode up to the only guy who was contactable. I just said "Ni hao ma?" and he proceeded to tell me his grandfather had just died the previous night and that he wasn't feeling too good. We went with him to the side of the road and had a good conversation. He said he was really grateful that we'd taken the time to talk to him and said he'd be interested in hearing about our beliefs after he had taken care of all the funeral stuff. It was just such a testimony to me that God really knows where we need to be at what time. I was kind of stressed out that we had gotten out of Zone Conference late and then we had to go home and get the calling sheet and then that the other elders had unintentionally taken our place, but God had a plan. 

There have been many other similar experiences this week. Our main investigators at the moment are Zixuan and Travis. Zixuan wants to be a rock star. He's got the look down. He walked in the first time we met him in skinny black pants covered in chains and straps and half of his hair dyed pink. He's not super confident. He's still trying to build his faith in Christ, but he's struggling with putting forth much effort. He really likes to talk when he's with us and he came to church on Sunday, but has yet to do much on his own. I really hope he starts reading the scriptures. He's been struggling with that. 

Travis' family owns a burger shop we eat at quite a bit. He's awesome. Super nice, super funny. He acts like an active member, reading conference on his iphone and whatnot. He's been investigating over a year and finally decided he wants to get baptized in June, so we're helping him get prepped for that. His sister will be baptized shortly following so we're SUPER pumped! 

I hope everything's going well in all the places you all are. Wish you a fantastic week! More adventures and miracles to come! 

-Elder Smith

This week's hymn: Count Your Blessings

Week Eighty-Nine: 5/4/2015 to 5/10/2015--A Humbling Week, Indeed

Hey everyone!

I got to talk to my family today which was awesome. I don't know why, but I don't do very well with real deep human connections. I'm not sure if it's because I moved so many times when I was a kid and just got used to leaving my old friends and picking up new ones or because I'm just a stony Smith, but I have a hard time forging friendships and relationships that sink into my heart and soul. It always seems like I'm holding something back. That being said, that is not how it is with my family. I know that I will immensely enjoy spending eternity with the people I talked with on Skype today. Family is the best! I love them so much. I know that family is ordained of God and that through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, any home can be a heaven on Earth.

This week, as the title suggests was a very humbling week, indeed. I feel like when you use the word humbling, it's a lot less negative than saying things like lame or cruddy, but it gets the same meaning across. We just got stood up so many times and our results at the end of the week weren't too pretty. As most of you know, we keep track of things we do as missionaries like how many lessons you had in a week, how many new investigators, how many people with a baptismal goal. While the purpose of counting these numbers isn't to give you pressure or make you think high numbers=super awesome missionary, it's sometimes easy to look at them that way since things like "following the Spirit" and "doing the right things for the right reasons" are pretty hard to measure. Especially as a leader, you feel pressure to set a good example for the missionaries you're leading so when you're not doing too hot, you feel like you've let down the missionaries you're serving. You just feel like a phony standing up and telling everyone else to work hard, to find and teach, when you yourself are struggling. However, Zone Conference is this week, so I'm expecting some inspiration for how we can become better missionaries and better leaders in the mission. I only have 3 months left and I need to make them count! 

So yeah, pray for us! We will be working hard all the while. I can find solace in the fact that the church is still true and the message I'm sharing is as well. So if people choose not to accept it, I don't have to get down on myself. Not everyone accepted Christ when he came either. Far from it. I have it much easier than He did, but there are still moments where our investigators choose the right and I feel I experience a fragment of the joy He must feel when I or any one of God's children follow Him.  

-Elder Smith

today's song: Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah. 

P.S. Happy Mother's Day!

Week Eighty-Seven: 4/20/2015 to 4/26/2015--A Light at the End of the Tunnel (and then a trap door...)

Hello Everyone!

First the light at the end of the tunnel. This week, we finally started to see all our efforts of the past month and a half pay off. Sister Miao accepted a baptismal goal for the 23rd of May. Then, Brother Jian accepted a date for the 6th of June. It also seemed like we started getting closer to the ward. 

Then, the trap-door. This last Saturday, we got the move-call, but right before it came, President called and asked me to serve as a zone leader in an area in North Taichung. I accepted, but that left us wondering what was going to happen to Elder Gathright, since he's already been in Mingjian for 6 months and President told him he was moving during interviews. When the move-call came, it turned out that both of us were moving out and two new Elders were moving in. Elder Gathright is going down to Tainan 4th ward actually! That was super exciting to hear. When I called Elder Anderson (the elder who replaced me there) to arrange some things for Elder Gathright, he also told me that Vicky and Sister Ding both got baptized. That made me SO HAPPY! Here are some pictures:

Sister Wei(Vicky)

​

Anyway, though there was a trap door, I feel confident that The Lord can do His own work and things will work out in Mingjian despite the circumstances. This work is great! Sometimes it throws you curve balls, but that keeps you on your toes and engaged. I'm excited for my new added responsibility and I'm hoping to be able to be a blessing to those I serve. 

Love you guys! 

-Elder Smith

P.S. This week's song is Where Can I Turn For Peace? I didn't have much time to re-record, so the balance between the guitar and the voice is pretty imbalanced. Hope you can listen past that.