Wk 57 - It's almost May!!

Area: La Castellana
Companion: Sister Dequina

SERVICE!!

Holy cow!! I can't believe it's almost May, this is going too fast!! So this week... It was a good week :) Weeks go so fast, it's so crazy. It's all of a sudden mondayagain and i'm not sure what to say because i felt like i said it all last week haha but the work is progressing :)

We had miracles last sunday and had some investigators one that Sister Dequina met on our splits show up to church!! It was awesome!! That's what we have been trying to focus is getting investigators to church because it's the biggest problem we are having right now. (funny proglem to have huh) but it's awesome!! I love it!! We have Sister Regina who is so happy she is going to be baptized on may 10th, oh and that baptism is the Elders baptism they just invited us and we got to see their baptism in the river :) it was cool!! so awesome!! But Regina was asking last night about everything what she should wear, where will she be baptized. It was so cool!! She is also not going to move which she was going to!! But ever since she started listening to us miracles started happening in her life! Members are starting to help her and oh goodness!! It's truly amazing!! I love it!! :) 

Then Willa is amazing!! She came to church with her little sister :) Our next step is to help her parents understand because she's 14 but amazing at english and has a little hard time understand ilonggo sometimes, but understands and oh!! i love it!! She's incredible! :) This work here is coming! I'm noticing miracles everyday :) it's amazing!! :) 

This work is incredible!! and about the recital. I decided it was better not to do it. President said it was okay but it ended up on the monday we are suppose to have an Mission Presidents Training and Zone Training the next morning and we wouldn't be able to make it and yeah it was a hard decision but we are missionaries so i'm focusing on that right now :) I miss singing and was grateful and excited for the opportunity but it's definitely a test of what I'm really focused on so I'll focus on the right thing and go to the meeting like I am suppose to. :)

the Elders had a baptism this week

But anyways, it's a good week!! I love this work and the miracles that are happening!! :) Love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!! :) 

OH!! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY AUSTIN AND TALIA ON SATURDAY!! :) (i think that's the 3rd right??) I love you both!! Can't believe it's already been 6 years!! AH!! :) so amazing!! 

Love, Sister Smoot

Wk 56 - Happy Birthday Tayton and Happy Easter!! :)

Area: La Castellana
Companion: Sister Dequina

These are our neighbor kids that the dad of 2 of them asked if they could be taught out on our porch so every morning while studying they come over and we teach them :) (as our practice teaching during companionship study) haha they are so cute and so smart too!! i love it!! 

Elder Ellis is from Pleasant Grove

some more pictues from my past weeks here :)

 haha sorry i forgot what i chose i just went through them 

Elder Eagen :)
when i transfered to la castellana at the mission home.
 This is when i gave him a memory card to bring home to you :)
he went home with the Sinemas

a little snack that ended up being a birthday haha but so cute!! They gave us some food and then we shared with them and so awesome!! The little boy's mom isn't a member but dad and dad's family is :) they were the ones that fixed my dress last night and so amazing :) love it! 

that first picture is for Jade :) hahaha this is one of our recent converts here who is so amazing!! always at church!! I asked him if he knew what a homeboy was and he was like a lalaki sa balay which means a boy at a house hahaha i laughed so hard he's so just innocent. I tried to explain it and he said oh like astig? and i was like yeah haha that means like cool. I didn't know how to explain it. I tried to say it like jade did before but haha i'm not that great at it but he understood :) 

This is who i went on exchanges with last week :) Sister Turtal and I went to San Enrique!! They are super cute!! Sister Dequina was her previous companion and her companion now is sister Turtal who was sister Monson's companion in the MTC. and Sister Dequina was sister Monson's trainer here cool huh?! 

then this is regina :) and her kids... she made us espasol or something but it's really pretty good :) it was fun!! This is how everyone cooks here by the way if you can see it it's a little clay pot thing that they build a fire in :) it's their stove :) and no i haven't gotten the philippino squat down! my ankles can't do it... the other sister and brother and jenny and robert they worked with us :) they are members and robert is a rc in the elders area :) they are amazing!

this is when my dress ripped yesterday on a chair :) haha Sister Silvano is a member and has a son on a mission she fixed my dress for me :) haha
just for temporary and then she said to bring it back and she'll fix it more!!!

So this week... hmmm... where to begin :) First of all!! Since it's still your birthday there, Happy Birthday Tayton!! I love you so much and am so grateful for you!! :) and Happy Easter sa tanan kamo!!! :) I love you all!! I am so grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ! I know he lives and he is truly our Savior and our way back to our Heavenly Father!! :) I am so grateful for Jesus Christ!! 

So this week has been really good!! We've been first teaching Regina who is amazing!! She's a single mom that lives up this little mountain that's a really rocky path.. you're just walking on big rocks all the way up to her house but she has 3 kids and the two older ones ones are 7 and one is 8- they are so grown up and such amazing helpers to their mom. Helping her cook and helping her with everything!! They carry everything up the hill which we did last time while the mom carriedthe little boy who is 1. They are so cute!! Holy cow!! But she's going through a hard time right now and it's amazing because I can see the gospel blessing her life so much!! They have become so happy!! 

We are also teaching Willa who is 14 and is searching still for the truth but the past couple times going to her she hadn't read... but really fast i'll tell you about yesterday because now i sent pictures and am running out of time :) 

but yesterday haha happy easter!! They didn't do much for easter... but at church we had a professional play the piano... It was the loudest most intense hymn i had ever heard!! It was kind of cool!! But he's from here but lives in illo illo right now so that was cool!! Then we split because we had some members that could work with us :) The first one was a less active and he was so funny. I wish i could tell you everything he said over email but not enough time and i wouldn't be able to explain it very well but it was a good lesson and he said he wants to return back to church but not yet.. so we are working on him :) then the next lesson is when my dress ripped on the bench! haha oops!! and sister fixed it for me luckily :) so kind of her!! But it was a wonderful day yesterday!! I love easter and sister made carbanara pasta which was delightful and fruit salad!! (question.. do we have all purpose ceram?) It was so so so good!! I enjoyed it :) but we had a good lunch!! 

I am so grateful for this gospel and for the chance to be able to help people focus on the Savior not just on easter or on Christmas, but everyday :) It's my favorite work!! And sorry i'm just in a little bit of a hurry but I l love you and hope you enjoy the pictures :) Keep being amazing!! I am grateful for each of you!! Happy Easter and Happy Birthday again Tayton!! :) Have a wonderful week! 

Wk 55 - GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!

Area: La Castellana
Companion: Sister Dequina

After the women's conference!

                                     

Sister Smoot with Jeanelyn Lisaca

lunch...

Okay, so first of all, It's sad to think this is my last general conference on my mission... holy cow!!! But it was AMAZING!!! I loved every bit of it!! And yes Saturday we went to La Carlota and watched it in their church. Then Sunday our BML got a DVD of it from the stake and we watched it in a dvd player in our meeting house. yes under a canopy outside :) it was kind of fun! But it was amazing!! I love what they said about sharing what you learned in Preach my Gospel. Things I've been studying lately is the Christ like attributes a lot in the past couple months and I love it!! Something huge I've learned lately is patience and trying to be patient through everything! I've worked on a few and I notice also as you work on certain attributes they are totally tested but it's awesome!! Because that's the only way it'll become stronger. I will look up something specific for next week out of Preach My Gospel because it is amazing!! :)

Anyways, this week has been wonderful!! We had a referral named Regina and she is a single mom who lives up this little mountain thing with her three kids. She doesn't have electricity but she is adorable!! We've taught her a few times and she came to general conference and stayed the whole time!! even the hour in between and the members fed her which is amazing because she's been having a hard time with money because she's getting over chicken pox which all of her kids got, as well as her. She has cried more than not as we come to her house. She was also teary when she came to church. AH!! it was amazing!! 

Friday, We went to our relief society President's house, because she is the only member in her family. That night I found out we are the only mormons they have let in their house.. I don't know why but that's the second time we'd gone there and the first time they fed us and we sang to them. Then the next time we found out that our relief society president's sister is a singer she teaches voice and serves as the chorister in the catholic church for the choir. Anyways, I sang with her a little and she asked me to guest at her recital and I haven't followed up with her but I wasn't sure if it was okay. Sister Dequina got excited and I was like I don't know, but she called President and he said it was okay and said whatever will help our area best. So that's the first week of May if I end up singing at that. It will be a cool opportunity to maybe build the trust of her family and maybe get other investigators too, hopefully! But It was just cool and I miss that soo much, the music and singing!! AH!! That's why I felt a little bad because I didn't know if it was okay, but I guess it is now, so we'll see what happens there. :)

I love this work!!! AH!!! We also have Willa who is still not sure, her family is super strong in their religion, but she is still researching and trying to figure out if it's true but she didn't come to church because she was sick, but her little sister showed up! Which is a miracle!! It was cool!! I love this church!! I know it's true and I love how much this work brings us closer to Christ and how my testimony grows stronger and stronger everyday!!

Jaders!! I am so proud of you for how much you've grown!! Yes mom and dad both bragged about you to me about how you bore your testimony and how Tanner gave an incredible talk! :) Then how well Tayton and Jade are doing in baseball!!! AH!!! One day i'll watch you play again :) Then Talia.. it's turned to mostly her kids and how cute they are and amazing!! I know they are proud of you for how you're raising your kids! but AHH!!! I do love it so much :) I absolutely love our family!! And our parents don't ever really say anything about themselves other then they're good and all they do is talk bout their kids and grandkids and what they're doing!! Dad tells me sometimes about work, but it's amazing! I love how the gospel makes us so happy and blesses us tremendously!! I love the good decisions we are making in our family! I am so grateful for this work and for the true church on earth :) I love you all!!

Love, Sister Smoot

Wk 54- I LOVE THIS CHURCH!! IT's SO TRUE!!!

Area: La Castellana
Companion: Sister Dequina

where they meet for church
while their church is getting worked on!

Sister Smoot & Sister Dequina

Lets just say, i love this work! I feel like I am on a spiritual high just reading emails, which is funny because it wasn't like much difference other than some conference quotes, but I haven't watched yet, but I think it was because of a friend, who's going through a hard time but emailing him and just talking about Christ and how we can all turn to him helps so much. And thinking about our family and how we are so blessed. and Kaycee getting married in the temple!!! and Tanner going to get married in the temple!!! I miss the temple but we are so blessed where we live!! Ah!! I LOVE THIS CHURCH!! IT's SO TRUE!!! I never want to do anything to loose it! Then of course we have trials to make us stronger and to help our faith grow, but we always come out stronger and closer to Christ. I want to just become closer to him. This is just what's on my mind right now. I am so grateful for this Gospel.

I also loved MLC this past week. It was amazing!! Then the training on wednesday was amazing too!! I can't wait for conference!! Even though there's been ups and downs I feel like it's getting to the point where there's a lot more up's then downs. We have more miracles happening to us and things that are coming. Everyday we are going and meeting new people.

Sister Dequina and Sister Smoot

All the Sister Training Leaders with Sister Lopez

The other day we went on splits with 2 members and walking around everyone kept looking at me and I had a hard time teaching them because they were so distracted by my appearance. I was thinking about it and yes i am white but they all said I was different then other American's, or in other words white people, but i realized this morning it's not because of how I look, but it's because I was filled with the spirit and just happy that they saw the countenance of Christ in me. I wish i wasn't so distracted at the time that I could have told them that!! But I love how much Christ helps us!!! If i'm here everyday thinking about the heat and thinking about the baby crying the loud music next door, I'm not focused on my purpose. There is beauty in everything. The heat!! There's people freezing somewhere else!! We have heat!! God's given us a sun!! WOW!!! The baby crying!! There's a gift God gave to someone and he's alive! He can cry! The music... someone is enjoying themselves with the music!! Why not just look at it the good way and the way Christ would look at it!!

 here's a little more detail :) and reply to dad-  sorry not a ton of detail just late today and little time.. but yes we have members just randomly referring people to us and it's happened a few times. We walk down the street OYM people and you can just tell they're amazing. The other day also, when we were on splits, we decided to look for a member on a street and we never found them, but we found someone who has been to church before they started fixing it so we were able to tell them where church was and they showed up!! They were little kids but they still came!! They want to come again also! And I just love it!! That's a couple. but I will be more specific on people next week. Also Willa Marie!! I love her so much!! She's amazing!! She was taught a year ago or so by missionaries and she is so interested!! Had an amazing lesson with her last night that she felt the spirit!! She speaks more english then ilonggo. that's hard for me, but doing okay :) i usually teach in more ilonggo but threw in english too for her :) It's weird speaking english to them, but I love it!! But She is amazing!! She was one that while we were at a members house they said hey she's been taught by missionaries before and she just walked in and came out of no where but she's golden!! She even came to church, but she came yesterday!! We had only taught her once but she said she missed us :) She's adorable!! I love her! She's like 14 or 15 i think :)

I am so grateful for this work and for the many blessings we have in this life!! I love how happy people are and how i have this chance to realize all of this for myself and become closer to my Savior to be able to let him help me through everything!

This week so many things have happened too, God has answered my prayers and he's helping me and Sister Dequina in this work. He's doing his work through us!! It's amazing!! He does it all over the world!! I love this work and I am so grateful for everything God has given us!! I love becoming closer to my Savior and to learn what we really need being here so we can become even happier and learn the true happiness. I never want to leave this place or this work because I love it too much!! It's the best thing ever!! And I know because I have these spiritual highs, Satan will try to pull me down but I know God's more powerful so I'll just turn to him :) 

Thank you for everything you've taught me and for everything you do for me!! :) I love you all!!

Love, Sister Smoot