Week 8, Reading

Buenos Dias Amigos!! Como Estan? I hope all is going good! All is good here we are just spreading salvation you know the usual, Man and its fun! It is fun we live with 4 other Elders and its just good to like have people to have fun and talk with! But ya I heard BYU lost oh well its all good maybe I can focus alot more not that i wasnt focused but just saying. But we will have to see where Jimmer is going to end up who knows??

Well this letter might be a little short we really didn't have that many cool things happen this week. The only thing that was tough this week we have 4 people with baptismal dates and we were only able to see one of them this week the others just like never have time or cant get a hold of them it is kinda frustrating. People here just work way to much! But also an experience yesterday so last there was 2 baptisms for kids that were 8 and so like President Guiterez set that up but then when we got there, there was no program no nothing so we ended up having to do the whole thing, then this week in sacrament they almost forgot to confirm the kids in sacrament we had to go up to them after sacrament. So we basically run the ward. That's definitely the hard part of Spanish people and the branches they just don't know what to do.

So we have this investigator named Alex he is like 26 and not to mention looks just like Nate Robinson and is just as short its funny. So we have been teaching him for awhile and he really gets it and has came to church a few times. So we were having a lesson with him this week, We read 2 Nephi 31 with him which is a great chapter. So after we asked him if he would be baptized, but he said his grilfriend will never marry him, Man i was so sad like you really feel a love for someone when you get to know them and you know they want to make the right choice but then something like that happens. We invited him to make the steps necessary to do the things that must be done to be baptized he said he would. So we have been praying a lot for him, so hopefully it happens!

So we started teaching this little 12 year old Luis such a cool kid. We met him last week at the babtism so we gave him our phone number and he has been calling us wanting us to come over and teach him because he really likes out church and wants to read the book of mormon so we gave him one this last week. He is such a cool kid so we are going to work with him cause he is a super smart kid and really wants to learn cant wait to keep working with him and see what choices he will make and the example he will set for his family.

Oh random tangent so we have this kid named Helaman in our ward he is like 21 he is such a cool kid. But we went out teaching with him this week when we got in his car he was like "Man why do you guys always look so happy" i responded Why not? we are bringing true happiness to the world. I thought about that for the past few days, its like ya i have been happy in my life but i don't know if I have been like this, this is a different happy its so good. I am so lucky to shed this happiness throughout the world. Also we were contacting too we met this guy named Twan haha he was this black guy with long dreds he was like hey if you every need anything or anyone is messing with you just come to the barber shop and ask for Twan and ill be there for ya ha ha. Then he also mad a comment was like I like you guys you guys are happy and Reading needs it, Then looked at me was like man i like your smile its good ha ha. Oh good old Twan!

Well hope everything is going good here. I know without a doubt this church is true and the book of mormon is true, I just love reading the Book of Mormon it teaches me something new every time.

Love you all!

Elder Smart

Week 7, Reading

Como Estan? Well this might be a little short there is not much that happened this week. We had a tough and hard working week. There were a lot of appointments that fell through this week and we were stuck with not much to do so we contacted a lot and tried finding new investigators but for some reason people were just not willing this week oh well. I understand a lot of what this mission is starting to do to me. Its not just that we are helping bring people unto Christ, He is moulding us missionaries into better people.

Well man I get updates from members here, everyone back here knows who Jimmer is, its funny there are times where that's how we start up conversations with like teenagers and what not. But I heard they play Florida this Thursday, a rematch from last year hopefully the same result happens and Jimmer and them just hit threes and shoot well. Go cougs!! Its funny we use the word Jimmer here for like everything.

Well just one thing I am so glad we do not have road homes in Utah, they are a pain. We went to do service for a member that needed help moving in. They wanted to move this big old couch up a fire escape and through the tiny door, yupp that didn't work we tried that twice, i don't know how we didn't drop it off that, then we tried moving it through the back with no room, yupp that didn't work. Then 4 hours later we got a ladder got the couch on the roof and took the window off and barely squeezed it through it was a pain for sure. Its all good we found out that 2-pac is alive haha. This guy that saw us and came and helped looked exactly like 2-pac, we asked him if he got that a lot and he said almost everyday. So we got a picture with him. When i send my pictures home you will see. I think I will send my Sd card home after this transfer, so that way at least i will have some pictures i only have like140 pictures on there.

But my new companion is cool, he is pretty short ha ha and he knows it. So far we have had a good time, his Spanish is really good so that helps and he has served in this area before for like 7 months so he loves it here. I think this next month we have like 4 baptisms hopefully that all works out. And last night when we were at a baptism of a 8 year old kid their family brought a friend to Church and to the baptism. He loved it he is only 12 years old and gave him a book of Mormon and we are going to start teaching him this week, It will be good such a cool little kid. He just hung out with us like all day.

But we have this less active that got into a huge car wreck 2 or 3 weeks ago, it ended up killing both his friends that were with him. But somehow he is still alive. We went and saw him this week, he is in a coma basically and randomly wakes up its not a good situation, he has bleeding in his brain and stomach and leg. They said when he kinda recovers it will take like a year and a half to recover its super sad.

Well I love you all have a good week!

The book of Mormon is so true its blue!

Elder Smart

Week 6, Tranfer #2, Reading

Well, How is everyone doing today? Well there was a lot that happened this week! But i will explain some of those events later in the letter. But i heard Jimmer went off in the tournament for 52 against New Mexico. That's impressive. But it hurts not having Davies that's probably why they got beat against San Diego, Oh well we will see what they do with a 3 seed. Well enough of that. Well my companion got transferred today so I have a new companion for at least the next 6 weeks. It's sad i really liked Elder Burnham and usually you get trained for two transfers but i got the short end of the stick, besides i am in like the most successful part in the mission. We just got along really well, but only God knows what's best for us. So ya, have been left to run this area basically, I feel a lot of responsibility on my back and I don't know spanish and the area well enough but oh well this is for the better, hopefully I start picking up the language faster as i get used to these awkward situations.

Well my companion is from Oregon and only has two more transfers left on his mission. He went to BYU before he came out on his mission, he wants to go play golf one P-day so I'm looking forward to that! He seems way cool he is pretty short, he has served in this area before, and ya, i don't know much about him yet i have only been his companion for like 3 hours, but i look forward to this transfer.

Well funny but dumb story, we got in a car accident this week. It was my second day driving in the mission. We were sitting at a red light and right as it turned green we just got slammed from behind! I was so close to drilling my head on the steering wheel! but got some pretty good whiplash, neck and back are a little sore this week. But the back of our car got beat up pretty good! but good thing it was not our fault.

Also we just ate a ton this week on Saturday we ate 4 Times! All huge meals man i was so stuffed! Also some of you might be happy i took some pictures this week! next week i am going to try to figure out how to attach pictures to the email. Well not much to say other than this church is true, and the Book of Mormon is so true it's blue that's all you gotta know ha ha. Also just do the basics and it will protect you from everything else, Read the scriptures EVERY DAY! Pray! and GO TO CHURCH! it's just that simple! well keep on doing the best! love you all!!!!!

Elder Taylor Smart

Como Estan? Reading, week 5

Well i had my first experience at a Barbershop this week. WOW i never want to go anywhere else than a barbershop now. They really know how to cut hair no joke. But plus it was free. We have a member in our ward who is a barber so we just went to him and he just cut our hair. Man they use like a razor and everything just to make things like perfect its so awesome, they just know how to do it.

Then also this week we got one more baptismal date with an investigator named Anderson, we also got fed the best Man goo during that visit it was a good visit. But then he didn’t show up at church this week. Man getting people to church is so hard. Even like members, they just don’t get it here. Us as missionaries were pretty frustrated yesterday, like we didn't start sacrament till like 10 or 15 minutes after the hour, just cause it was raining. Just super hard.

Then we just had some interesting experiences on the street this week. We first ran into this guy who looked pretty "THUG" (if it was you you probably wouldn't talked to him, but since we are missionaries...) but we like talked to him about prayer and where we go after this life. The he randomly went off how his friend beat the (Blank) out of his girlfriend and all this stuff then when she was going to leave she said i am glad i cheated on you then he got mad so he pulled her back and stabbed her twice and the guy said i was like eww her guts are going everywhere( so weird) then said later the guy tried to press charges on the girl for cheating but the cops wouldn't buy it. Man people are so dumb in this world, this world is just getting worse and worse. Well enough of that. Onto another experience that made me and Elder Burnham mad. We were walking down the street and these guys came up to us.(Jehova Witnesses, this is right in front of one of our members houses, and a member that wanted to talk to us standing like 10 feet away) they come up to us and started talking and pulled out scriptures and saying john the babtist was the last prophet and stuff and at that point already i was ignoring them and what not cause it was so dumb. Then we just said what is the truth then walked off and talked to that member. 5 minutes later that Jw's walked back over to us and was like whose your prophet again so we said Thomas S. Monson and he said your making him a rich man by being here on your mission and paying money so you can come out...??? we just walked off and said pretty mad... "remember what we told you never forget it when your standing before Jesus Christ." People just don't get it and want to argue I mean come on its such a joke. But anyways...

Oh then we went and visited a less active member this week. So i was asked to say the closing prayer and while i was praying i almost forgot his name and paused for 3 seconds and the less active was like "FRANKLIN" haha loud we like busted up laughing i felt horrible it was so hard to finish the prayer haha.

Alright now just to finish off the email. This week i just like got soo into the Book Of Mormon, i have never really studied or read the book of Mormon like this. To be honest, i just read it because i was asked to and just read it because, i have only read it once. But like this week i like couldn't put it down. I am reading in Mosiah 22 and like all the Abinadi and everything wow. I love this book, there is no doubt in my heart that it's true. I am so grateful to be a missionary and to teach people the truth, there is no doubt it's not true. Already i have seen peoples lives changing, i am just so grateful to be here. I am so lucky to have the best family ever who are supporting me and letting me be out on a mission, already i have changed soo much, i have realized how much i needed to change my life, i was living good but there is so much more that we can all do to be better. Well, I love this gospel and I know the Book of Mormon to be true and that Joseph Smith was called of god to translate the B.O.M. Well I love you all so much. Have a good week. Sorry the letter is so messy.

Love

Elder Taylor Smart