December

Hi!

 

I know it's December.. but it still feels and looks like October here. It's just weird. I miss "real" December! We're supposed to hopefully get a little snow this week, but it won't stay long. Time on the mission is already weird, and then when the seasons don't match up with the time of year..?? I may be just a little homesick this Christmas.

Good thing Alabama is so gorgeous.

 

This week we were able to do some service with a member, at the old Tuscaloosa Regional Airport! It's no longer a full functioning airport, just for those with private planes, and apparently an occasional Air Force One visit. Oh, and family history! They have a bunch of old court records from the 1800's that were made available to our member, through a series of miracles! She has been voluntarily working on scanning these documents for family history work for 15 years now.. amazing. We were able to help out one day last week, and will do it again this week. It's pretty awesome. I love history, my family knows I kinda have a thing for old stuff (junk....) so it was pretty neat for me to read some of these 150 year old hand written documents, describing different people's lives. And such a blessing to be able to do some family history work for other people's families! It was made even sweeter when Sister Tunuufi and I had the opportunity to go to the temple twice this week! The YSA temple trip was this week, and we were able to join them because Sister Tunuufi had a family name she needed to do the work for before taking it through for Endowment during our mission temple trip today! So we were able to do everything from baptism to endowment this week. What a sweet thing to experience all of these saving ordinances so close together. It really brought great understanding of Heavenly Father's love for us. It's such a privilege to be able to participate in the work on both sides of the veil right now. I know not every missionary in the world get to do that! I'm very grateful.

 

We made a stop in to the University of Alabama Natural History Museum this week while contacting on campus. Remember how I'm afraid of fish? Have you heard of a Basilosaurus? I'ma have a few questions when I get to the other side. WHY IS THIS NECESSARY.

 

We had the annual YSA Christmas white elephant gift exchange.. classic. Lot's of fun. We were also able to go on a Blitz with Sister Begay and Boyack, because we were over scheduled for a few things, so we had to divide and conquer. It was fun, and nice to have the gang all together again!

 

You see the funniest things driving around Tuscaloosa. Perks of living in da ghetto. Some of my fav license plates I've seen: MR.SLAY, IMTRYN, GODSFAV...

Also, what happen to Skeet? Where he at??

 










I'm so grateful to have spent the morning in the Temple with so many people that I love. I love the missionaries I get to serve with so much. I know I needed their examples and light in my life. I'm so grateful to be serving here with President and Sister Sainsbury at this time in my life. I learned so much in the Temple today. One thing that really stood out to me was my Heavenly Father's love. As I pondered on how wonderful the creation of the earth was, and how happy they were were with the work they did, the spirit seemed to tell me that their greatest joy came from the excitement of giving it to US. This incredible, perfect, beautiful place was created to be our home, so that we could come here and find joy in the life experiences we would have. I thought of this Christmas season, and the matchless joy of giving gifts of love to those we love.

I love you all so much, have a great week!
Love Sister Smith

Christmas Cheer

Hi!

We had such a great week! We're kind of starting from scratch here, because when our phone broke we lost all our contacts.. a bit stressful. But that's ok, it's been a great opportunity to exercise faith that Heavenly Father will help us get back in contact with those who are truly ready. 

Campus was a ghost town, with everyone home for Thanksgiving, or at Auburn for the big game. We lost.. the whole town is in mourning. Rhiannon, from the branch, invited us to a Nepalese cultural night at the University, which was super fun! We got to eat delicious Nepalese food, and watch music and dance performances. I was hoping to see one of our former investigators there, but we did end up talking to a guy who has Mormon friends and lived in SLC for a while! And we talked to his friend too, whose brother and sister live there. "Little divine appointments," as I like to call them. 

It's freezing out lately, so we try to spend as much time as possible in buildings. Thaws out our hands in between biking. We went to the mall to contact, and donate blood this week and BONUS: SANTA WAS THERE. So we got to sing Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer with Santa, and then we donated blood to show our gratitude for healthy bodies. It felt good to give! 

I'm really excited about this years #Light the World 25 ways in 25 days. Have you seen the Christmas Initiative yet?? It's so beautiful. Please go watch it, and then watch the daily videos too. They're really short and sweet. This time of year is so sacred to me for many reasons. If you want to experience something great through your holidays, look for a way to serve someone. Look for a way to be sincere. 

https://www.mormon.org/?cid=HP_FR_24-11-2017_dMIS_fMORG_xLIDyL1-A_

We spent Thanksgiving with the students who didn't go home, and the branch presidency. The food was delicious, and th company was sweet. Then we had exchanges with Sisters Begay and Boyack... 24 hours of non stop laughter . So needed. All four of us are UA YSA "alumni" ;) so we took a group photo in front of the stadium. 

"Got a turkey on my head, but don't call me a turkey head"

And then today we had a CHRISTMAS PARTY!! :D Complete with a visit from Santa (Elder Johnson Jr) and tree decorating and everything. We had a cereal pot luck and hot cocoa for breakfast, while we watched Mr. Kruger's Christmas in our ugly Christmas sweaters and jammies. 

I hope you are all enjoying the start of your Christmas season. Look after each other. I love you!

Love Sister Smith

Favorite thing about Christmas in the South? Black Santa.

Seasons Changing

Hey ya'll!

My favorite sign in Tuscaloosa ;) Thanks for the dress Mom!

Hmm.. I wish I had something great to say, but honestly it was a pretty rough week! Hhaa.

We had this crazy situation with an investigator, who wasn't really an investigator. This guy reached out to us via phone to learn more about the church. He had this whole elaborate story, and we ended up teaching him quite a bit over the course of three days. Well, our phone stopped working all of the sudden mid week, so we barrowed the Hermanas phone for our 4th lesson with this guy. When we started typing in his number, it came up as a saved contact in their phone. Same last name, different first name. Long story short, we found out that this guy calls different missionaries every few months and comes up with a new story, and totally puts on this act (like tears and everything) while we teach him the Restored Gospel. 

Ugh. So horrible. 

Here's the cool thing about this. We had interviews this week, and during our time with Sister Saisbury she trained us on some technology that our mission is expected to receive soon. During the training she shared Elder Boyd K. Packer's quote: "you will not make a major mistake without first being warned by the promptings of the Spirit."

Like I mentioned, our phone had stopped working. We had several messages we needed to check, but couldn't get to them because the touch screen went out. Which is why we had to borrow the Hermanas phone for our appointment with this guy. It's honestly a good thing he didn't answer this time, because in the mean time we had discovered his fraud. That would not have been a pretty conversation. 

Well, once we had been "warned" our phone started working again!! Haha.. just long enough for us to check the messages we needed to!

It was pretty amazing. I'm so grateful for Heavenly Father's love and care for us. He knows how much of ourselves we put into loving and teaching people about the Gospel. He was not going to let this guy and his ill-intentions take up any more of our time. I know the spirit is with us in this work. We couldn't do it without Him!

We needed a little retail therapy after our disappointment. We bought this puzzle I've had my eye on in one of the boutiques downtown, and did the whole thing that night. Livin' on the wild side ya'll. 

Nothing a little Oscar Wilde can't fix.

It seems like everything is changing too fast now! The leaves, the students, the YSA branch. 

President and Sister Sally (Branch pres.) announced yesterday that they will be moving back to UT. I'll miss them! They've become family over these past (almost) 6 months. The students all seem to be super busy with the end of the semester coming up, and everyone going home for the Holidays. The changing of the season seems to be bringing in the last chapter of my mission. 

We had a sweet lesson with some of Sis. Tunuufi's relatives, the Lavatai's. They are the sweetest people ever. They moved here from Hawaii about 5 years ago. Brother Lavatai is the only one not baptized. We have a feeling that is why Sister T is here for her last transfer. The Lavatai's have a daughter out on a mission, and they really want to be sealed as a family when she gets home. We're going to see what we can do to help them prepare, and help Brother Lavatai make the changes he needs in order to enter the waters of baptism. Oh, I love this sweet family. Brother Lavatai has a beautiful Samoan accent, but is a pretty reserved guy. He doesn't speak too much. We were taking a picture with them, and Elder Johnson was like "I don't want to be in it, pictures make me look old." And all of the sudden we hear Brother Lavatai pipe in "You ARE old..." Hahaha, we were all dying. 

Polynesians are the most loving and humble people I've ever met. And they LOVE to laugh. I love their beautiful culture! Back when the SUV choir was here, Sis. B and I found ourselves backstage listening to a group of Polynesian men singing some traditional Samoan songs, and it was so incredible. Music truly is a gift of the spirit. 

Well I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!! I love you and am so thankful for the gift of laughter and happiness we find in our families and friends.

Love Sister Smith

Ollie got Baptized!+Planes, Trains &... Bikes

Hello my dears,

Hope you're enjoying fall as much as I am.

Great news!

You remember Ollie and Keith? Well, the Sisters in Demopolis filled me in on the rest of their story the other day: Ollie has been an absolute miracle. When she first started working with the missionaries, she had several things that would have to change before she got baptized. She knew that if she came to know for herself the truthfulness of the the Gospel and Church, and decided to be baptized, she would have to give up coffee, smoking and drinking, and get married to her long time live-in boyfriend (not Keith). This would be no small feat.

Fast forward a few months, many prayers and tears (from both Ollie and us missionaries), and a whole lot of sacrifices later, and Ollie was able to enter the waters of baptism just last weekend!

Not only was she finally able to give up her addictions, but the Demopolis Sisters also helped arrange a small and sweet wedding ceremony for Ollie and her now husband, just a couple weeks ago.

When it came time to finally take that step and be baptized the last stumbling block to overcome was how she would get in and out of the font. She has very little use of her legs, and is wheelchair bound. The practice run the day before her scheduled baptism left Ollie in tears, and later that night she called the Sisters and said maybe it'd be best to wait. However, the Sisters assured her of the words of Nephi 3:7 "for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." The Lord truly had provided a way for Ollie to accomplish so much thus far, surely he would not leave her in this final and pivotal moment. They prayed and asked for direction.

Sisters Wilkinson and Denny somehow thought of using a watering trough as a font, to eliminate the stairs, and quickly went to Home Depot to purchase one. Sister Wilkinson was a volunteer fire fighter before her mission, so she had the idea to enlist the help of the local fire department! When they went in the next morning to ask, Sister Wilkinson said something like "I'm sure this is one of the most bizarre requests you've had," to which they replied "Oh no ma'am, we do these types of things all the time. We're happy to help." Haha! Go figure.

There's no way I can adequately express all the tiny and big miracles that took place, or how special that baptism was.. suffice it to say Ollie is now a happy member of the true and only Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Keith, her dear friend, and my sweet connection to Ollie, was able to make it to witness that special day, and even sang for her at the service. So beautiful.

I wish so badly I could have been there, but hearing about it was just as well.

The Jones' (senior couple), who had come to mean so much to Ollie, ended their mission and left for home a week before Ollie committed to be baptized.. they decided to road trip to FL and swing back through AL the day of the baptism, if she went through with it. Everything worked out perfectly, and Elder Jones was able to Baptize Ollie.

Good thing too, because filling the trough was another feat. They thought they were going to have to use buckets to fill it with warm water from the church, but when Elder Jones arrived he told everyone that there was a warm water spigot on the outside of the building that no on else knew about hahaha.

ALSO, when they started filling the trough they discovered a leak! Luckily one of the members happen to have a roll of duck tape on them, which held up long enough for the baptism to take place. And BONUS, they were able to get a full refund for the trough from Home Depot.

Holy smokes, literally so many miracles.

We had Zone conference this week, which was amazing. I'll have to give some details on that later. One of my favorite things as a missionary, is being able to hear the testimonies of the departing missionaries at each Zone Conference. This time I got to hear from four of my best friends out here, who will be leaving for home at the end of this transfer. Sisters Terry, Begay and Tunuufi, and Elder Lewis. Lets just say I was an absolute wreck. So bitter sweet, because obviously I am going to miss this sacred time we've been able to serve together more than words, but sweet because hearing their powerful testimonies as seasoned missionaries is so special. Half of my notes from each Zone Conference come from the departing missionaries testimonies. They've learned obedience, diligence, and how a life can change when it's filled with the love of God. They've learned to be true disciples of Jesus Christ, and to trust His ability to change them into something they didn't think was possible. Their testimonies have become unshaken. I look up to these dear friends so much.

The Bessemer Stake conference was also this week. Talk about a week of divine direction. I'm constantly amazed by the strength of the Saints in the South. I don't think I've attended a single church meeting where missionary work was not brought up. They truly sacrifice so much to do their

part. Whether it be traveling hours just to do a few ancestors work in the temple, or putting their fears aside to share the Gospel with their friends. They amaze me. I will have to give you some detailed stories of members I know out here when I can.

Alright, well I love you all so much. Hope you have a great week!

Love Sister Smith