Week 53 - "Sittin' on the dock of the bay..."

Hi Ya'll!

We had zone conference this week! Elder Christensen, of the Quorum of the Seventy, and his wife came and spoke to us. It was such a great day. One of my favorite things he talked to us about was the Holy Ghost. I gained such a better understanding for the third member of the Godhead.

The Holy Ghost shares the perfect love for us that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have. He will never lie to us. He walks with us, as much as we possibly allow, by trying to live in accordance to the laws of heaven. He loves us in our imperfection. He speaks to us personally and uniquely, so our spirits recognize Him. The veil did not effect Him. He remembers who we were before we came to this life. He knows our eternal destiny and potential! He influences us based on that knowledge of us, and those around us. 

I see Him more now as one of my best friends. When we're studying the scriptures or trying to understand things of spiritual nature, He enlightens our minds and quickens our understanding. Have you ever had an experience like that, when thoughts just start pouring in? This happens often while I'm reading the scriptures (now), or when I'm driving (pre-mission). Or when you have those random moments of joy, that just seem to come out of no where. Maybe while you're walking somewhere alone.. That is Him there comforting us, telling us He's there.

Elder Christensen taught us that in order to understand the Holy Ghost you have to learn to connect the thoughts in your head with the feelings in your heart. 

If Moses wouldn't have done that, he wouldn't have had the faith to part the Red Sea. He connected the thought to do so, with the confirming feelings in his heart. Knowing he had the power from God to make it happen, he acted in faith. Often we have thoughts, but we rationalize ourselves out of acting on them. We need to learn to ask the spirit to witness that the thoughts are from Him. Connect the thought with the feelings in our hearts. 

He also taught us that emotions are just a fruit of the spirit.. they are not the spirit. We can be emotional, due to our own strong feelings regarding an experience, without the spirit being present. So it takes discernment, and practice. We have to be patient with ourselves, as we learn to follow the spirit in our lives. 

In the scriptures we get to experience the fruits of the spirit. (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, and temperance) It's so important that we take the prophets counsel to read the Book of Mormon every day, so we become familiar with the way the spirit speaks to us as individuals. This is one way we get to know the spirit, so we can recognize him "out in the world" throughout our day. 

Ah, we had the sweetest experience last night contacting at the river walk!! 

There was this older man and woman sitting on a bench facing the river. They had several lines in the water, huge fishing poles leaned up against the gate. 

The man was really talkative, but I felt prompted to talk more to the woman, and make her feel included. She had a tender spirit about her. I asked her what was something she liked from her childhood, that that brought her joy to remember. She told me that she was athletic when she was young, and played volleyball! She also had the opportunity to learn to snow ski in North Carolina! I told her that I grew up skiing in Utah, and that my sisters play volleyball! This made her happy, and she opened up. Through the conversation she told us she had recently found out from her parents that she had German roots, which brought up family history! As we testified of the sacred nature of families, we explained that the Full Gospel of Jesus Christ had been restored to the earth, which made available the ordinances necessary for families to be sealed together for eternity. She was listening so intently. At one point she turned her head away from us, and the spirit got so strong. We could see the emotion on her face as tears ran down her cheeks. Sister Begay testified that what she was feeling was the spirit, and that the Gospel truly bad been restored. I told her that Heavenly Father has always been aware of her.
Oh, I could just live in that moment forever! Her name if Margaret, and we are meeting with her later this week. If things go well, we will make sure to introduce her to the family ward missionaries. I was so grateful for the focus we have had on family history in our mission recently. I really feel the pull from the other side, in finding those who have been prepared. Oh, my heart. The love I felt for them in that moment was one of the most powerful feelings I've ever had.

As we walked away, a tug boat passed by, with a man singing and playing guitar live to couples eating dinner on the boat. He was playing one of my favorite songs. "Sittin' on the dock of the bay, watchin' the tide roll away..."

I love you guys so much,

love Teirs

Week 52 - Solar Eclipse - ONE YEAR MARK!

Hey all ya'll,

Hope everyone's enjoying the last week of summer! We had a pretty good week, nothing too cray. Oh except I got stung by a bee. Rude.

Also, why is this a thing?? DISGUSTING 

Campus is absolutely beautiful.

Well.. then there's this. #fratlife SMH

We got to spend some time with two really cool women. One is a recent convert in the YSA named Taylor, who has decided to serve a mission! It's so cool, she was trying to figure out how to make it work with school, work, boyfriend, etc. The Lord literally just took care of everything this week, and now she has nothing in her way. The details are crazy intricate.. you know how it goes. But I love seeing Him work in our lives. Especially when it comes to His missionary work. Whether full time missionaries or member missionaries, when we have a desire to serve He works miracles in our lives to help us.

The other girl is named Annalee. She was less active about a year ago, when Sister Begay met her at the start of her mission. Her and Sister Baird (Sis. Begay and I were both trained by Sis Baird!!) helped to reactive Annalee, and now a year later she has chosen to serve a mission as well! Annalee literally doesn't stop smiling when she talks about how different her life is now compared to a year ago. I can totally relate. She knows how precious every soul is in the sight of God now. She wants so bad to give this gift to others, who "know not where to find it." D&C123:12

Oh I hit my 1 YEAR mark!!!!! What the?? So crazy! Sister Begay made me German pancakes.. my fav!

Ok so I have this idea in my head right now, but I'm not sure how to get it out in one cohesive piece, haha. I'll do my best.

Isn't it cool that the sun symbolizes Celestial life? I was thinking about this today, as we watched the Solar Eclipse from the church parking lot. It was such a sweet and beautiful thing to see! But I was grateful for my classy cardboard glasses, without which It would have been too painful and damaging to watch. In our present human state, we can't handle the glory of the sun.

In order to live in the presence of God and Jesus Christ we must be changed into Celestial beings. Otherwise we would not be able to bear it.

That process of being changed is different for everyone, and that's what this life is all about. The Atonement of Jesus Christ makes it possible for each of us to overcome the different challenges we have, and use our experiences to become our best selves. 

Think about being invited to a reunion of all the people you love dearly. Your closest friends and family. A party of sorts. You get there, and realize all the people you love are there, but they look different. There's just something about them. They look more "them" than they ever have. Pure and stunning happiness radiates off of them. While you, on the other hand, look like you've been sleeping in the woods for months, and almost forgot about the party. You show up all disheveled, and covered in dirt. Normally the dirt wouldn't bother you.. you'd become accustomed to the smell of earth and sweat. It was comforting once.. but here. Everyone has been washed clean. The Host spots you, and a bright warm tear-filled smile stretches across His face as he makes His way toward you. Arms open to engulf you in comprehensible love. Remembering the mud on your hands, you take a step back and frantically look around for something to wipe them on. Holding them in front of you as if to say, "wait, you can't... I'm not clean." His eyes crinkle at the edges. "You know I can make you clean.." He waits expectantly, longing in his eyes. You think about how uncomfortable it was the last time you tried to get the dirt out from under your finger nails. The sting of the water, as it washes over calloused skin. You feel hopeless that you could ever truly be as whole as when you left Him last.. But you know that is the only way you'd be comfortable staying at the party. You want to be there.

Would you allow The Savior to help you become clean? The road to self discovery can be very painful but it is also purifying. 

I believe that after we pass from this life, we will remember how much we loved Heavenly Father and our Savior, regardless of how well we knew them while we were on earth. Probably others of our brothers and sisters as well!

I hope somewhere in there the spirit can help you understand what I am trying to say. 

I just want you to know how grateful I am for my Savior. Without Him, I would be hopeless. I do believe that even the darkest and deepest cracks can be healed. And I know that no matter how daunting the process appears, it will always be worth it.

I testify that we are led by living prophets, seers and revelators of God. That is true. Christ visits us in His temples with peace and strength. He visits his anointed in the temples, to instruct them on how to help us prepare for that time when He will come again to reign.

I love you guys! 

Love Teirs

Week 51 - T Town and Temple Trip

Hello!

So, we were driving with the Johnson's to go visit some people and took my camera out to look at some pictures I'd taken. (It's like a "phantom phone" problem all missionaries have. We have to be mindlessly scrolling through something when we're not actively teaching, studying, writing, etc... haha!!) Anywho. I flip my camera over, and see a FREAKING SPIDER crawl across the INSIDE of the flash. W. H. AAAAA. T.????? I screamed and almost threw the camera through the windshield, which of course scared the teeth right out of poor old Elder and Sister Johnson. I told them all what I saw, and Sister Begay was like "Ooook, Sister Smith it's time to go nah night." They all thought I was hallucinating! I honestly was a little afraid I was too.. Luckily, a few hours later it happen again, and I made everyone stare at the camera and wait for the spider to made an appearance. We got a picture of it! WHAT THE CRAP. How on earth in there a spider living in my camera??? Why do these things happen to me??? It's a water proof camera too, so that thing should be air tight. I don't understand how it got in there, but now I just tote a spider friend around with me where ever I go. It's really upsetting. 

So our new Northport district is made of 5 sets of sisters (10 sisters total... ), two senior couples (the Jones and the Johnsons), and then just our district leader and his companion. They call us the Relief Society district. I don't know how we got to lucky. Rather, I don't know how Elder Jesses (DL) got so lucky.. Hah! It's actually been super hilarious, and why fun so far. All of us are super chill, so we have a good time. Lots of laughing. Elders Jessen and his comp. Elder Johnson are hilarious. We surprised Elder Jessen with a big blown up picture of himself "preaching" for his birthday. He was pretty stoked. 

It's been bad weather all week, so Sister Begay and I have resorted to riding around with big plastic "trash bag" ponchos on, which look like big parachutes strapped to our  backs once we get going fast enough. Really exciting.

It's "Rush week" here in T-Town, which means all the sororities are going through the "selection" process. I really don't know what else to call it. It's brutal. We witnessed the craziest things the other day. The sororities all have their own chant "song" thing that they burst into once the front doors open. There's a group of 50 or so baby faced spring chickens standing out front, and the sorority chants their cheer, while one by one these poor baby girls are taken into the house, each greeted by a white teethed, shiny haired, perfectly manicured "big sister," who smiles this creepy, over the top, "I haven't slept in years," wide eyed smile, and says "HI EMILY! WELCOME TO ALPHA PHI!" Woah, talk about great and spacious building.. it's like straight up Stepford Wives all over Tuscaloosa. Secret combinations. It's honestly the scariest thing I've ever seen. Sister Begay and I have been trying to get into the spirit, as you may see in some of this week's pictures.

Anyway, while the rest of the town is busy with that, it's been a great opportunity to find some of the Lord's prepared. We have a lot of really cool girls to follow up with this week, who weren't involved in the rushing. 

I wish I had more time to tell you about some of the happy, but we have to go.

One great thing is LEE GOT BAPTIZED! I don't know if you'll remember, but he was one of our investigators in Corinth. The one that always called us "long haired hippy boys." Haha. I love him! So excited for him. 

We were able to go to the temple this morning, which was so nice and peaceful. I've been really homesick for my family lately. It was so nice to be there and remember the day I went through the temple with so many of the people I love, and all the missionaries who taught me. I miss those days!

I'll try to write more good stuff next week.

I love you all!

Love Sister Smith

Week 50 - Roll Tide!!!!

Hi Ya'll!

So Sister Begay and I are going to stay together in Tuscaloosa for another transfer! I'm way excited.

We were able to take a recent convert we've been working with to the Temple to do Baptisms for the first time on Saturday! Her name is Taylor, and she's amazing. It was a really happy and peaceful experience. The Temple is such an amazing place. Taylor commented after, about how different the world felt, once she was able to spend just a little time "out of the world." It's so true. 

Football season in nearing, and everyone can feel it.. it's like a buzzing energy all around Tuscaloosa. HAHA! These people love their football. It's getting a lot more crowded here, as students start flooding in from all over. Bama does an annual "open practice," where fans can come watch for free, and meet the team and Nick Saban after. We went.. to contact people of course. It was way fun! We actually did get to talk to a lot of people, including some (beautiful) German guys here to do an internship with Mercedes. I asked them how to say "I'm a missionary" in German. "Ich bin ein Missionar." Mostly I just wanted to listen to them speak. 

OOOOOOOOOO and THEN we got to meet Bo Scarbrough!! You'll have to look at the pics.. this guy is massive. Anyway, he asked about our tags, and we told him we were missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We didn't get a lot of time with him, because the crowds were jealous, but I gave him a mormon.org contact card with our number on it before we left! "YOMO!!" (You Only Missionary Once..) Pretty sure he'll be baptized one day. 

Oh, cool thing. We took a little break from emailing a bit ago, to use the Hermanas car to get some groceries. We drove away, but circled back around because we forgot something. Just as we pulled back in a lady I didn't recognize pulled in next to us. Which is weird, because we email at the church, and no one else is ever here. So this lady was from a different church, and was going around to all the other churches to invite them to participate in a monthly community prayer, for some issues in the community. How cool! Because of the nature of the issues, and the way our discussion was going, I felt prompted to share The Family Proclamation to the World with her. I took her inside, and found a copy for her to take home. She was so appreciative, and mentioned that her boys used to come here to play basket ball with the missionaries! 

Holy Smokes, how cool it that. What are the chances that she turns up at a church building, that is usually empty on a Monday afternoon, and that we forgot something, and turned around just as she was pulling up. How does He do that?? The workings of the Spirit are so amazing. 

Well I love you all so much, and hope you have an amazing week. 

Love Sister Smith

Week 49 - Cool Lights and Civil Rights

HI!

We're super short on time, because we had a zone activity today.. but it was totally worth it!



We went to the Civil Right Museum in downtown Birmingham. Wow, definitely something to see if you ever get a chance. Such a heartbreaking and incredible time in history. I'm so grateful to be serving in a place where so many historical miracles have taken place.
The mission used to take missionaries to the museum their first day in Birmingham, so they could understand the history of the people they were serving. It's a humbling and eye opening experience. 
In the pictures you'll see a wall dedicated to 6 black children who lost their lives in the 1963 bombing of the 1st Baptist Church in Birmingham. I taught a woman in Hoover who lived and worked a block from the church at that time. She used to tell me stories of how terrible it was. The museum is right across the street from the church, which was rebuilt. It's hard to imagine living during those times. 



We went and played water balloon sports at a park after, and got soaked! So much fun, and such a relief from the heat. 

I love serving in a bike area! It allows for impromptu photo shoots ;) There are so many cool things in the city, hence the crazy colored light pics.

It was a great week 
 Last night we taught the coolest lesson down by the river walk. 
We almost didn't make it down there, because Sister Begay fell into a River we stopped to take "impromptu" pictures of.. ha! Long story..
But we made it! And it's a good thing.



We met this guy named Taylor, who is our age and has a really similar past to both of us. We were able to connect with him on a lot of levels. It felt so good to be able to testify that the personal beliefs and experiences we had in common can and do agree with the knowledge we have in the restored gospel.
We talked with him for about 45 minutes, and it was one of those powerful moments where the spirit testifies that the Lord's hand is in this mission work. Right people, right place, right time. 
He was super receptive, and there was just that feeling of completely being directed, ya know? He felt it too, just PEACE and a knowing that we were all there at the right time, and there was a reason for it.
The second was a guy our age as well, who was reading a book about Jesus, by himself on the river on a Sunday night. Such a cool thing to see other people our age on a personal search for truth. We struck up conversation with ease, and told him why we are here. He was impressed to have met missionaries while he was reading a book about Christ.

We left with both men's numbers, and plan to meet each of them again soon. 
It was a beautiful night, just at sun set on the river.

I love serving here in the YSA. I'm so grateful to finally feel like what I have to offer is being used as a tool in the Lord's hand. I've wanted this feeling my whole mission. 

I love working with Sister Begay, and have learned so much from her. I need her calm, and her insights as well. She is a powerful teacher, with a perfect balance of love and boldness. I appreciate her maturity so much.

We gotta run! I love you all!

Love Teirs

Week 48 - My Heart

Hey Ya'll!

So this week we had exchanges, and I got to be with Sister Terry in Bessemer again! We had a great time. We were tracting in old town Bessemer (ghetto), and had to find a restroom.

We stopped at the scariest gas station I've ever been to, and asked some guy (not sure if he really worked there) if they had one, but he said they didn't. However, he was kind enough to point us down the alley across the street, and said if we followed the alleyway we'd find a "Churches Chicken" restaurant with a restroom. Ehhhhhmmm.. Okkkiie. Not sketchy at all.

We decided to take the long way around, and eventually found the place. We met a lady there who had actually met with missionaries before, and had a Book of Mormon! So cool! I hope after my mission I still have these type of experiences. Being able to see the Lord work in the tiniest details (like a full bladder in a sketchy town with one working bathroom) is so cool!

In other news, Sisters Begay, Trepanier, Terry and I got to wrestle some goats. That wasn't the initial plan, but it happen. Sisters Trepanier and Begay were dropping Sister Terry and I off at a members house (we were going to visit, then walk from there to go contacting) when suddenly Sister Trepanier was out of the car and running toward the goat den on the property. Back story: Sister Trepanier grew up on a farm, and loves animals more than life itself. She has taken white out to our white handbook (missionary conduct book) and changed the rule from you "must not take pets home" to you "must        take pets home." She once picked up a stray dog and kept it in the apartment overnight.. Just until the owners called back. Anyway, she was climbing the goat fence before we could do anything about it. One of them was friendly, the other left bruises. Hopefully you can see the pictures and video I sent.

Later while Sister Terry and I were walking (forever) we stopped and talked to a young man smoking out on his porch. It was one of those things where we both saw him, didn't say anything, almost walked past, but then both just stopped dead in our tracks. We knew without saying anything that we were supposed to go talk to him. And those moments are never easy, haha. We had walked just far enough that it was going to be awkwardly obvious that we were coming back for him. Not to mention there was a busy road in between us and him, so we had to dodge traffic and cause a scene to get to him, haha. Anyway, none of that mattered once the conversation started flowing. He had just graduated high school, and was the epitome of a young southern gentleman. "Yes ma'am" "No ma'am" "Thank you ma'am." While we were talking, he got a call from a local repair shop he'd applied to work for, and was accepted for a position. It was the most respectful conversation I've ever heard. Man, I will miss that Southern hospitality and character. Dirty fingernails, scuffed up shoes, cigarette smoke, and the most genuine hearts. It became so apparent that Heavenly Father was aware of this guy. He invited us to come sit on the porch with him, and we talked for almost an hour. He had so many questions, and we did our best to answer them. We taught the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and how it was that we had answers to things he didn't know there were answers for. He filled up our water bottles for us, and thanked us for spending time with him. His name was Austin.

Unfortunately Wong won't be getting baptized this weekend :( He leaves for New York in about a week, and just still says he needs some time. I admire him so much, as heartbreaking as it is for Sister Begay and I (and him). He is a man of his word, and he understands the sacredness of the promises and commitments we make at baptism. I admire him for wanting to do it right, and wait until he knows he can commit to the changes he's trying to make. Holy smokes, I could cry just thinking about the spirit that is felt whenever we are with Wong. I know he was meant to come in contact with missionaries at this time in his life, even if Sister Begay and I don't get to witness first hand the things that are going to continue to take place.

Have I told you how much I love being a missionary? I love it. I love riding a bike, sweating through two outfits, and taking multiple showers a day. I love talking to absolute strangers, and wearing the name of Jesus Christ. I love the love I feel for those around me because of Him. I love learning from my companions, and from other members that I would have never met if I didn't come out here. I love learning from strangers with completely different lifestyles, beliefs and backgrounds. I love Alabama and all her history. Her beautiful land and people.

Sister Begay is one of the most incredible people I've ever met, and I know without a doubt that she is one of the reasons I'm here in the ABM at this time. I needed to meet her. It's amazing how much a heart can stretch, when you miss your family and friends like CRAZY, yet you dread the day when you have to say goodbye to people and places you've known for a fraction of the time.

Well, I hope you all have a great week! I love you so much.

Xoxo Love Teirs

Sister Smith