Wk 49: wow!! what a week!!

Area: San Carlos
Companion: Sister Lara

our District!

us at our BML's house :) he's on the right side!
He's awesome!! (BML=branch mission leader)

Ok, so first i want to start off, sorry I'm on early today because I am going to MLC so i'm heading to bacolod for the meeting tomorrow. So we study tonight instead of in the morning :)

Second, i forgot somethings last week that happened that were kind of funny. Sister Lara and I broke a bench but it's ok because they fixed it :) but i sat down first and im bigger then sister lara and then she sat down and went straight through. hahaha it was funny. It just came out but it was funny, right before a lesson at someones house. We also taught a brother, that was asking questions as if he was a priest, found out later from our BML that he is the founder of a church... wow!! He wants to prove us wrong a little, but i've never met a founder of a church before!! AH!!! and i think that was it... haha

we went to people's park last monday :)
it was very pretty and nice

This week has been amazing!!! Our miracle that happened with brother Carlos practically just asking us if he could learn about Jesus Christ while we walked by has now come to church. He also invited a few of his friends to listen or are also so ready to hear the gospel. They came to church yesterday and they loved the feeling there. It was cool to see how excited they were to go to church!! I absolutely loved it!!! :) It made me so happy!! :) One of them also loves Bob Marley and he has his hair! haha I haven't taken a picture with them yet though. We are going back to them on Wednesday. But they are always asking questions and it was a miracle God gave to us!! They have kept all commitments we have given to them. Read all the pamphlets and started the Book of Mormon and stopped their word of wisdom in a day. I have never seen such a miracle happen!! This work is truly God's work. To be honest, if we didn't receive all the rejections we did, we wouldn't have found them because we wouldn't have even been close to that area. Sister Lara just decided we should go search for members there and we hadn't been going on that road before, but it was truly an inspiration from God and he took us there. :) I LOVE THIS WORK!!! IT'S AMAZING!! :)

I am so excited for MLC this week and for the chance to give a training on Wednesday also. I love how happy this work makes you and how much it lives you up from being so far down. It's incredible!!! :) I am so excited to work this week and to help people progress. Yes, I've had a few downs this week, but that always happens!! Just look at the things that happen that are incredible and the downs are so worth it!! They make those times even better!! :)

I love you family!! Thank you for everything you are doing and for your examples to me!! :) Keep being amazing!! I am so grateful for the family that I have!!! :) Have a wonderful week!!

those are all the sisters in our zone :) and our district! it's sister Legaspi and sister Tampos.
I was in my first area with sister Legaspi and sister tampos i knew her before but can't fully remember where... :)

Love, Sister Smoot :)

(I asked Jenna her thoughts on the atonement- because I teach Sunday School and that is the theme for the month):

the best way is to read preach my gospel. Look in chapter 3 lesson 2 principle 5 if it's numbered or just under the atonement there. and how old of people are you teaching? There is about his suffering in the garden of Gethsemane and about his crusifiction also. It depends on the person on how you teach it. Sometimes it is very simple and sometimes you go in a little bit more and sometimes just a lesson is on the atonement alone. But look in preach my gospel there may be another place also to find it but not off the top of my head. But I am so grateful for his atonement. It's something we use everyday for our mistakes and also for our trails as well. We can overcome anything if we become closer to Jesus Christ because of his atonement by reading the scriptures praying and doing the simple things and following the commandments.

oh... I am in a bit of a rush for time and the atonement is huge, but i'll write a little, but I am so grateful for the Atonement. I really do use it everyday to become better. The Atonement is something I have a hard time grasping, but I grasp a little everyday. It's what I turn to when I have hard times. The closer we are to Christ the more we can use it for overcoming our hard times in life, like being far away from family and home. Homesickness is real and so are trials and guilt and mistakes we make, but I know that through the Atonement we can overcome that. We can receive forgiveness and become happier in our lives. The Savior is my best friend and my life and my way to return home again in the end. I am so grateful for him and his atonement. I have a hard time thinking of dying for one persons mistakes and trials and yet he died for the whole worlds mistakes and trials. I am so enormously grateful for his Atonement, I wish i could express it in word and over email its even harder, but I love my Savior Jesus Christ and am incredible grateful for what he did for us. Thank you to my parents to teach me and help me learn how to use the atonement. And now I get to figure it out and experience it here everyday. :)