Week 8 (Skipped 7:)) - The Primary Package was so Sweet!!

Hi Mom!

I'm glad you have questions actually, it gives me more of an idea of what's
important to write about ;) Oh my heck, I was DYING reading your letter
about Charley!!!! Hahahaha are you kidding me??? That little punk! Not only
was the story hilarious.. but I can't believe you wrote me a 6 page letter,
of which 5 pages were dedicated only to Charles. I read the whole thing to
Sister Baird and we were both just crying we were laughing so hard. Haha! I love you mom. Sister Baird really hopes she gets to meet you someday.

The Primary package was so sweet!! Tell Liv I have read her note about 20
times because it makes me so happy. I laughed so hard at the part about you
always being on the computer... haha! Leave it to Liv to just tell it like
it is ;) She's the coolest. Ah I love you Louie!! Hearing from my sisters
definitely gives the encouragement I need (daily). Kaylee's note was also
so sweet. And tell grandma Lamb I love the bracelet! So awesome, I love the
"fisher's of men" message. Do you have her email address? I'm also working
on getting a letter to her asap, I finally got her birthday Card!! Tell her
thank you so much for the card and cash! It was so great to hear from my
grandma, even if it was a month later (dang Mission office). Tell her she
paid for lunch today, and it's been the best P day yet.

I GOT MY BIRTHDAY PACKAGES!! Yay!! I'm so happy!

 I LOVE the clothes, thank you so much everyone! They fit perfectly, and totally made my whole month. The scarf is adorable! Wow, I felt so spoiled, seriously I love everything!

Please tell Kathi I got her package too, and cried a little when I saw the
wintergreen mints ;) #blessed. Thanks Kath! (what's their address?? I need
to send them a note) I've read Sally and Jeremy's letters about 20 times
too (they gave me before I left), especially in the MTC. Love them so much!
Oh! And I finally got the last Dear Elder you sent me mom, haha. It was the
best thing ever actually, I totally needed to hear from you, so I'm kinda
glad it was detained for a bit.

Ok so:
1)  I am really great today! Monday's stress me out most of the time, as
I've explained before. But I'm trying really hard to just take it easy and
not worry if I can't get everything out perfectly. I won't lie, missionlife just isn't easy at all, haha. I feel down way more than I'd like to,
and way more than I thought I would. BUT it's not all the time, so I'm
trying to just remember I'm still adjusting and learning. I HATE all the
rules with every fiber of my being ;) (I know that doesn't surprise
anyone). Ex: one missionary has to stand outside of the car
and direct the driver EVERY TIME WE BACK UP. It's actually way more
dangerous. 

I get discouraged and frustrated with my lack of teaching skills
and confidence. I don't feel like I'm able to express what the spirit says in my heart. I am not sleeping very well (worlds most uncomfortable
mattress), and mornings DO NOT get easier with time, haha. I compare myself
to my companion a lot, which is super unhelpful, and leads to 2.
2) I LOVE Sister Baird.. she is one of those idealistic perfectionists,
who has already gained her bachelor degree from BYU Idaho in Recreation
Therapy, worked with at risk youth, was a cheerleader/officer in high
school, and finds satisfaction in being perfectly obedient regardless of
what "rules" go against common sense. I have SO much fun with Sister Baird! She is also one of the goofiest, most kind and patient people I have ever met. She's always looking for ways to serve others, and has many qualities a more confident me would be inspired by...

but because of my general state of mind right now, it's really hard. It doesn't help that she is about to go home at the end of her mission, and will soon be able to do the regular life things I'm craving. 

It's hard to be around someone who is preparing mentally and physically to
leave this place, knowing I still have over 16 months. Ok, all that being
said, it has been a HUGE blessing to be able to talk and laugh with someone
my age. She really is a goof ball, and we get a long great! I will miss her a ton.


3) We have a couple investigators right now. Dai and Mallori (20ish and
15), the sisters I told you about a few weeks ago. They were doing really
well, but then they came to church once and kind of lost interest. We have
become really good friends with them though, and they still want us to come
give discussions! I hope we can find a way to help them understand the
message we bring can't be found anywhere else. Daniel (38) is our trailer
neighbor... the trailer we live in has been split into two apartments, and
he lives in the other half, haha. He's really nice, and has also become a
good friend of ours. He has been through a lot of tough stuff in his life,
and we have seen him really change over the past month of just talking
outside our house. We had one formal lesson with him, but calling it a
lesson freaked him out, so now we just "chat" every so often, and teach as
many Gospel Principals as we can. I introduced him to the Church's 12 step
program, and he watched all the videos (found on Mormon.org), and loved
them. He came to us the other day and said his friends at work asked whyhe's happy lately. He asked if he could refer some of them to us, haha! So
awesome. We need all the referrals we can get in this town! We are trying
so hard to help people, but southern Christianity is really something
else.. I'm trying really hard to understand it, but if I hear "*no thanks,
I'm already saved*" one more time, I might lose it.

4) We have a really tight budget, and pray daily for people to feed us
haha. I have spent way more of my own money than I thought I would have had
to, and have been pretty frustrated with the whole system. But Sister Baird
says this isn't the usual, and that I'll be way less tight on money in the
other areas I serve, so I'm trying not to get too annoyed yet. She said
there are more members to feed us in most other areas. We had to restock
EVERYTHING when we first moved in to the trailer (food and cleaning supplies etc.) so we ran out of money less than half way through the month
and had to use personal funds. The mission office reimbursed for some of
the cleaning supplies, but yeah. We get 150.00 each per month to pay for
everything we need, and it goes fast. I think this month we're doing
better. We're not starving, it's just not exactly comfortable living ;) But
there've been lots of tender mercies! Like birthday card cash showing up on
days when we've needed to buy groceries or lunch! So don't worry, we're
good for now. Like I said, I think we'll be fine this month, and I'm still
just getting the hang of everything.

Also Muscle Shoals is a really sweet town we drive through once a week to
get to Florence for District Meeting. There's a documentary about it on
Netflix that ya'll should watch! It's where the deep south jazz sound came
from. Tell my music loving siblings to watch! Dad, you'll love it too. I
haven't watched it.. obviously (Bishop loves music, he's told me all about
it). But I can't wait to see it when I get home!

So last Monday we carved pumpkins as a district 

Today Sis Baird and I took the Tiffin Motorhome Factory Tour.. 

HAHAHA. It's was awesome. Tiffin basically owns Red Bay. 

Oh and Sunshine, the dog food factory. BTW, the entire city smells like dog food every afternoon. I mean REALLY smells. To the point where you can taste it in the air.

After this, we're going to the COON DOG CEMETARY! So stoked. Expect
pictures next week :D

So I've given ya'll lots of honesty about the struggles today.. I want you
to know there is also a lot of joy to be had. 

JOY is what stood out to me
most in conference and I am confident that joy is what I'm here to learn.
From my conference notes: "Joy is the result of repentance. Jesus Christ
*can* forgive because he paid the price, but he *chooses *to forgive
because it brings *Him **joy.* He loves you!"

I love you all, please let me know what else you want to know! It helps a
lot to know what to write about :) I'll get better at this.

Talk to you soon Xoxo
Sister Smith