We are Seeing Miracles Every Day

I am sorry about last week. My contacts are all kinds of messed up and I don't know how it happened. I hope everyone is able to read this this week. Mom, post it on the blog and link on facebook if there are problems. 

What a wonderful week! I can't even tell about all the miracles and beautiful things that happened. Because I can not type that fast. But first off, my companion is great. I am learning so much from being a mother in the mission. It makes me excited to learn from my real future children!

She is so happy and so good at talking even when people laugh at her, she brings the spirit. I have learned from her it is more important to open your mouth than to save your pride!

One of the coolest things that happened this week. We read in PMG about finding people. We read a story about how a man in Mexico found the gospel through running into some missionaries unexpectedly. Later that day we went to eat out for lunch. We had no reason really. We just thought maybe we'd go. And when we got there there weren't really seats but a lady said sit here! so we sat by her. After a while we started talking. She said she had been living in New Zealand but couldnt get a visa again after 13 years. So she came back. She was sad to be back and she was lonely. Her husband is gone, and she has a son that she left when he was 3 so he hasn't had real parents his whole life. But as she told us this sad story, here is what came out. She said she had been up in the night thinking she wanted to come about 45 minutes to urdaneta to try to find the movie Heaven is for Real. and when she got here she started walking around and just sat down at that restaurant. then she saw us and just felt like she wanted us with her. She told us she wanted to know God was there today. She said "I've been searching all my life to fill a hole inside me. I've been reading books and the bible and attending all the churches and nothing has met it." but she cried with us and we felt the spirit so strongly. It was no accident. She said she will be listening to the missionaries in her city and can't wait to get a letter from us.

Yesterday I wore my hair down at church to try to look nice and one of the brothers said "Your hair is so ugly. You really should just wear it in a ponytail." Okay, thank you for the honesty. haha.

There is a less active family in our ward that the missionaries were teaching back in march but they never came back and even though their kids wanted to be baptized, they couldn't without the parents. We decided to start teaching them again about a month ago and they have started coming to church. The dad has stopped hiding from us, and we met him last night a changed man. He said he wants to baptize his children. We are seeing miracles every day.

We had a conference with President Ardern the area presidency here in the Philippines. It was amazing. I had a funny embarrassing experience. They had some missionaries come up and share what they read in their scriptures in the few minutes before the conference. Then that missionary would choose the next person to share. I knew I would get picked and I was like...I have nothing. But I got picked and went up and shared Ether 2:7. I talked about how God doesn't want us to just go part of the way, to just be baptized, or just go to the temple. He wants us to go all the way to the Celestial Kingdom. After I shared, Pres. Ardern turned and said, 'Can I shake your hand? That was marvelous.' He turned to everyone and said "I was wondering how this missionary would share something from that verse...I never noticed that before. I stumped a general authority ;) 

The conference was great though. So motivating and inspiring. 

Well, that's all I'll share. If you made it this far, congratulations. Thanks for reading :) 

I love you all and hope you're all walking forward towards Him each day.

Love Sister Smith.

To Mom:

I'm so grateful you're my mom. I miss you all the time. It's weird because sometimes I feel like it's just a dream that I haven't seen you for so long. Can you believe a started my papers almost a year ago? It's crazy how fast and slow time goes. 

I love the infinite atonement!!!

You should try lumpia. it's good. filipino food is good. I will make it all for you in one year.

This week is great with Sis Smith. Sh'es a funny cute person. you can write/email her if you want. and if you send any packages or letters send her something. 

Church sounds good! I'm glad you are able to have spiritual time at church. One thing I liked that pres ardern said, we should be renewing our covenants and remembering sacrament daily as members.

My toe's okay usually. I just am used to it. 

I wish I could really go to the temple with you! Soon!!

I finished the book of mormon for the 4th time on my misison (3rd start to finish.) I Love it. I really liked Moroni 7.

Well I love you a lot. I hope tomorow I get mail! You're awesome!!! Thanks for being the best example I could ask for. I can't wait to hug you but for now enjoy the skies. love your daughter. 

To Dad:

I hate the email. I don't know what happened to my group. I don't know how to fix it and I don't have time to mess with it...

My trainee is so awesome. She struggles with the language but she is learning fast because she's not shy to talk even if she doesn't know how to say it. My brain thinks I have to know a whole sentence before I would talk...so she's awesome. I am learning way more from her than she is learning from me. but I am pretty sure I will want to visit american samoa to visit her. 

I think I stink at tagolog but I am holding my own! I realized I know a lot more than I thought I did since I have HAD to speak it. The Filipinos usually take charge, and filipinos like to talk to filipinos so before I think it just naturally happened that my native companion talked more and kindof yeah. so it's nice to see that I CAN talk, because before I was nervous. 

I wish it would snow here. 

I'm glad the bathrooom really will be finished when I get back. 

I'm doing pretty good. I am realizing more and more how much I llike this. I am happy. I am coming to know Them.

I finished the Bom again. I'm still reading the OT. I am so grateful for my ability to read and understand the scriptures. I never knew how rare that was. 

Thanks for talking to P Seitz. I look forward to seeing everyone again, but for now, this is awesome. 

Well. I am going to try to email Brooke and Michael. In 5 minutes. so I love you. bye.

Oh yeah. My comp is awesome. She is samoan. she's funny. she is 24. she likes to eat. I like that. we laugh a lot. I feel like she's my best friend. It's nice to have a foreigner companion. I miss filipinos sometimes, but I am loving learning about samoan culture. She has a strong testimony and she helps me be so happy and grateful. 

k bye!