Crazy!!

Hey how is everyone doing? I hope all is good! sounds like everyone is busy and having a good time! I feel the exact same way! Well this weekend might have been the craziest weekend of my life! A lot really happened. Well i will tell a little more about that in a minute but i am glad the cougs won that's good to hear but its good to hear that all is going good for you guys and that everyone is safe at home. Well first off i want to tell you what happened on Friday night, don't worry mom i know you will freak out but we are alright and things are good now. But so to start off we had a big activity Friday night for our branch then had service in the morning, so we got permission for Elder Lindsley and Elder Tryon to stay the night at our house so we didn't waste miles. So we got all situated and me and Elder Lindsley slept on the floor out in the living room which is close to the door. So everything was normal so we went to sleep. Then at like 3 a.m. we heard our neighbors like drinking and partying and what not. Didn't think anything of it so we went back to bed about like 4 a.m. i was woken up to hearing loud moaning noises like some guy got beat up or something, didn't think anything of it because they were drinking so i just thought someone was messing around, so again so just fell back asleep. about 20-30 minutes later me and Elder Lindsley were woken up to the police coming in they were yelling and there was a lot of ruckus going on so we looked at each other like what the heck is going on. The police were talking loud to this guys saying " what did you hit him with?" and in his broken English said i don't know man! so we were like uhh oh doesn't look good. The we hear we got one stabbed! at that point we were freaked out, couldn't go back to sleep so we hear the paramedics get there i was at that point looking out the little peep hole i could see the guy just laying right there, they rolled him over and he had a bunch of stab wounds in his back and side. my stomach started to churn, so i went and laid down again we just layed there in shock basically. So we had service that morning at like 8 and they didn't let us leave till twelve because we had to talk to them and tell them what we heard and all this good stuff. then when we left all the blood and guts were still there it was nasty we had to basically step over a part of his insides when we left. The cops and the crimes investigators were there all day! I guess the guy died i just found that out this morning i asked his friend as he was leaving for work. So ya that's what happened! But other than that it was a good week. We found two new investigators that are really good and we look to give them a baptismal date, we had a really good activity that we set up on Friday that we got a pretty good turnout. I went on an exchange with the zone leaders this week man am i glad to be serving a Spanish speaking mission, white people are really mean and scary it is so much easier talking to Spanish people, they are a lot chiller. Then i went on a exchange with Elder Lindsley we did some work it was really good! We had some sweet contacts and had a good time, although we got lost and separated on our bikes in the middle of Wilmington at 9 p.m. it was really funny but kinda scary! Well i love the mission i am really so happy to be here and wouldn't trade it for anything i am so lucky to have the gospel in my life. Well i love you all hope you all have a good week. I am super excited to get to listen to conference this week i actually pay attention now, man i missed out on a lot of things all of those years. I am so grateful that we have a living prophet in these days to help lead and guide us in every aspect of life! I love Thomas S. Monson and pretty darn lucky to be called as a missionary from him. I know he is a true and living prophet. Listen to General Conference and pay attention to your feeling! Love you all! Elder Smart

Temple ground breaking! Week 21: Newark, Delaware

Hey how is everyone doing? Well i am pretty discouraged with our coug's.  I guess they really are not that good! Looks like we will be waiting till next year fro a Rise up right? Cause it sure ain't going to happen this year.  I heard Heaps just really isn't really the big shot he was supposed to be oh well. T hat's pretty embarrassing to get just ran over against the dang Utes.  I was pretty mad when i found out which was Sunday morning me and Elder Lindsley looked at each other and we were just stunned!  Oh well lets see if they show up next week. Just wanna throw a shout out to Connor though for winning his tournament that's so awesome i wish i was as half as a good as him he will be so much better than i ever was. I am proud of him. Well just want to let you all know i am doing good. This last week was a little frustrating at times and kinda hard but we made it through it. Just we are having a tough time finding some new investigators and what not and get this area moving. Its kinda hard for me to have been out here for almost 10 months and i still don't have a baptism it makes me wonder what am i doing wrong? What can i do better just things like that. But i just try to take it day by day and work hard that's about all you can do. I just gotta take it day by day and invite as many people unto Christ as i can. We did set another baptismal date though this week with a guy named Ramiro we have been teaching him for awhile he knows its all true he just needs to come to church he didn't come this last week but hopefully he comes this up and coming week! Everything is good with my companion we are having a fun time its fun to be learning and talking Spanish all day i am getting so much better. But he doesn't each much cause i guess they don't eat that much in Chile so i am showing him and teaching him how we eat when we are given food he is learning. He doesn't like spicy Mexican food but he will learn ha ha. Well this weekend was really cool and special we had the Temple ground breaking in Philadelphia.  President Eyering was there and Via Seka Hema spoke it was really awesome. Their talks were both so good. IT was amazing the stories they told and the cool thing there was a lot of people there from different faiths and they both threw down the hammer. If you can you need to watch their talks that they gave. It was a really neat experience even though we watched it from the chapel it was still really cool. I know that Temples are really special and cant wait to go there one day with my wife (whoever that might be) ha ha and be sealed for time and all eternity. It's kind of a big deal.  I really want to return when the temple is dedicated and what not. It's going to be such a cool looking temple! I am super excited and is going to help missionary work so much in this mission. Well, I love you all have a fun safe week.


Elder Smart

Week 20: Newark, Delaware

Hey how is everyone doing? Man it is crazy that it has been 10 years since 9/11 its so good to remember the many people who's lives where lost that day. But its good to remember them and the people who fought for other peoples lives. Well everything is good here. We are having a good time and teaching a lot of people, well trying to. This last week was really hard for us but we worked it out. Well this weekend i got to be with Elder Lindsley on an exchange, man its crazy to be here together it was pretty fun we had a lot of good laughs. We did something pretty darn nuts. So this last Saturday we decided to go tract main street at 8 at night. This is right on the campus of Delaware University. ha ha we had some interesting contacts. One guy was like "man you guys look like straight fags!" i looked at him and told him thanks. Then we walked passed these girls and we just did the normal hey how is it going, and their reaction back as they walked passed hey you should go make out with those guys. We had to get out of there. There was music bumpin', people drunk. But on our way back we talked to this super cool bright girl that was a senior we gave her a Book of Mormon and what not it was way cool. She was really interested so hopefully we get a call back. Well there wasn't much that happened this week and i don't have much time i have to go help an less active translate at the hospital today. but i love you all i know this church is true and there is nothing that i could be doing better than to be on a mission even though i am missing out on BYU football. By the way what happened with them i guess they chocked oh well. Well i love you all and please beat the Ute's this week that's all i want ha ha. Love you be safe. 


 Elder Smart

Wow! 9 months now!

Well hey everyone! how is it going, well you are probably wondering why i didn't write yesterday. But it was a holiday yesterday so i wasn't able to write you guys. But how is everything going. Man i heard all about the BYU game ha ha not going to lie it was hard not being able to watch it. I heard BYU's defense is legit and they are just going to get better. Well that's so awesome i found out the moment they won, one of our members called me after the game it was pretty funny! But ya i am super excited to see what they can do this year. Man i hope some of those players don't leave early to the NFL i will be pretty bummed especially if heaps leaves. Well enough of that. Well whoever guessed that i was going to chili the night i got my call i guess they got some part of it right. I know all of you have been wanting to know who my new companion is, But his name is Elder Hidalgo straight from Chili. HE was in the MTC for 9 weeks learning English, just shows how much he knows.(not much) ha ha well at least my Spanish is getting better which is good. I talk it all day basically. We are trying to implement a rule with us. While we are in the house we speak English, and when we are outside we speak Spanish. The ratio definitely goes to Spanish. But he has a really testimony, his mom right now has cancer and it was hard for him to leave. But he knows everything will be fine. HE had family members tell him he was stupid to go on a mission and leave his mom like she is. Shows he really had a desire to serve. I think i have worn him out. Last week we taught 28 lessons the most I have taught in this area. 
We worked really hard. I wore him out he wants to sleep but i don't let him haha. We have to be exactly obedient to receive the blessings and to bring the miracles. Its been fun having Elder Lindsleywe were together all day yesterday, I know he has a tough companion but he really is such a good missionary. We all bore our testimonies this last Sunday, his Spanish really is impressive already. It felt really good, that was really my first time to bear my testimony in sacred meeting where i had the choice. I felt really good, it just feels really good that i get to share my testimony everyday. I love this gospel and i am so privileged to be serving a mission. I love you all. I know the book of Mormon can really bring us happiness, and we have to continue to press on through the hard times in life. The mission really isn't easy, and have thought many times why am i out here, i could be at home watching BYU football, be with my family, be with my girlfriend. But really that would be taking the blessings away from not only me, but you guys and all the people i get to serve out here on the mission, the blessings definitely outweigh the things of the world. I love you all and am so proud of each and everyone of you. I know the Atonement is real and that we can use it each and every day, i have seen it change lives, including my life. I know my savior lives he is there in times of need and i have felt him in tough times out here. I love you all once again have a good week. Kade Tear them up in football, Connor tear them up in golf! all of you tear whatever up ha ha. And go cougs get another W over them longhorns! Elder Smart