Time Flyin' By! Week 17: Bridgeton NJ

Hey Everyone, WOW good-bye April here we come May. The months are just going by faster and faster! Its pretty darn crazy all the things that are happening and whats going on and how fast everything is flying by!

Well all is going good. Finally i have the allergies under control and so i dotn have to suffer from all this pollen, and the climate has kinda helped because its being weird, its like int eh 70s one day then goes to the 40s the next its pretty weird, luckily i havnt gotten a cold either. But i think from here on out it should be getting nice again. But everything is going great here in Bridgeton i really dont want to leave here, i have grown a great love and respect for the Mexican people here there really give everything up to make their lives economically better and help their families in Mexico, Now the problem is getting them to better their spiritual lives here because some think its all about work but there are a lot of humble people here. Its pretty cool some of these people spanish is no their first language they speak dialuqes like sapoteco, chinanteco, mixteco there are a lot of them, the most common is Sopoteco so i am trying to learn a little bit they love it when i say hi to them in their first language.

Well we have some pretty cool investigators we are working with right now, there is this family that we are focusing on that is soo cool and i see so much potential in them. Their names are Cidura and Celestino they are from oxaca and speak that Sapoteco but speak great spanish too, but we had some great lessons with them this week and really ask a lot of questions and stuff. I am super excited for them and they WILL be babtized one day i know it. Also there are some others that i am really excited about that really have a desire to follow Jesus Christ. I went on an exchange with out district leader Elder Gunter the coolest and best missionary in my eyes but we did work together we taught 7 lessons like 3 new investigators and everything went just great!

Yesterday we had Stake Confrence in Cherry Hill. Vai Seka Hema is the 2nd conselor but we had a 70 come and speak it was i think Cristopher Goulden Jr. he gave a great talk and talked bout the reality of what Joseph Smith saw and did. It was pretty cool we also have the coolest Stake President he is the smartest guy all stake Presidents are the bomb! But it was really good. Well all is good i love being a missionary and i am trying to become better everyday cause i have a long ways to go! I thank you for all your love and support you guys are the best! So i will let you know if i am staying or going next week, pray for me that i stay cause i really want to and work with these people who we have found.  Love you all be safe and have the best week ever!

Elder Smart

Week 15: Bridgeton NJ

well last week we had a birthday party for a member who turned 18 and it was one of a kind. First off this is the coolest family ever and they are all like little kids haha. The one 19 year old just got his mission call to serve in Washington D.C and he is a trouble maker. He showed up and next hing we knew we had call all over us, eggs cracked on our head and buckets of water dumped on us it was so crazy, they were doing all this in the house, i know my mom would freak but they just keep doign in the parents were throwing cake and eggs in the house it was so funy. Here is a pciture or two these are not really as bad as we were.

Week:13 Bridgeton NJ

Hey everyone! Well "We thank thee o God for a Prophet" really stands out to me right now as we all had the opportunity to listen to our beloved Prophet and his Apostles this weekend! What did you learn or re-commit yourselves to do? There were so man things that i really took to hear that really i want to apply to my life as a missionary and to the life after the mish! But really the question i went with was answered for sure! I went with the question how can i apply the things of the mission life to the life after the mission and what can i do right now to do my best to live my purpose? I would have to say the theme that i took from conference was the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to focus everything on that no the church aspect of it! Really that hit me because everything i do as a missionary has to do with that. My purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the Restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. Or in other word the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Everything we do in the church needs to be centered on that not on the whole social and all the stuff part of the church, we do all this and sacrifice all this to live the Gospel and to have the desire to follow him till the end so we can be rewarded for our sacrifice! It put me to think i need to do all i can to get that implemented in my head and to one day teach that to my family! The family is so important as they talked about and one cannot obtain the full state of happiness without living the principles of the gospel in the family. I am so grateful for the family i have and the example they have set for me and the many dumb things that i did and the patience they have had with me, i know they love me and i love them! Also i cant wait for my future family and so grateful for someone who is sacrificing to make that possible one day! There were so many good talks that i just cant talk about with the time, but i am grateful for the things i learned and hopefully you all learned a lot for its such a privilege to be able to listen to those conferences i regret not paying attention before the mission it would have probably helped me in many situations!

 

Well our area is going alright we met some good investigators this week that i hope we can get to progress. It's been hard because none of our babtismal dates are going to make it we like have to find some news that are willing and hopefully want to get to that poitn, i want to have the faith to find these people because i know they are out there. BUt i know right now i am planting many seeds i guess thats really what my misision has been and it is kinda cool to look back and a lot of the people i started teaching have gotten babtized. SO it makes everything worth it, because i ahve that desire to brign people unto Christ or my brothers or sisters can return o live with God one day! I love this work and i know without a doubt that God is the head of this work i know its true. I know Thomas S. Monson is a Prophet of God and he lads and guides the chruch today, I know the Book of Mormon is so true its blue and i love it! I love my family and so grateful for all they do. For my friends who support me and as you all know Ellie what she does for me too. I love you all hope you have a good and safe week. I hope this is a little bit better letter than what they have been in the past!

Dear Elder Smart