Mission Log - January 22, 2018 - T11, W6 - Power of Positivity

Dear friends and family,

Whew! What a week!

My companion was called to be a Sister Training Leader for her last transfer!!  It's been an exciting two months, but I am so happy for her!  She'll do great.

​We recently tracted into​ the Finch family and had a chance to brush up on our "Bird" -
"Excuse me, my fine-feathered friend! Tweet-tweet tweet, twitter tweet?" :)

Our mission president has recently been emphasizing positivity.  He shared with us:

"...What I am suggesting is that each of us turn from the negativism that so permeates our society and look for the remarkable good among those with whom we associate, that we speak of one another's virtues more than we speak of one another's faults, that optimism replace pessimism, that our faith exceed our fears.  When I was a young man and was prone to speak critically, my father would say: "Critics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve."

Looking at the dark side of things always leads to a spirit of pessimism which so often leads to defeat.  If ever there was a man who rallied a nation in its time of deepest distress it was Winston Churchill.  The Nazi war machine had overrun Austria, Czechoslovakia, France, Belgium, Holland, Norway, and was moving into Russia.  Most of Europe was in the grasp of tyranny, and England was to be next.  In that dangerous hour, when the hearts of many were failing, Churchill spoke:

"Do not speak of darker days; let us speak rather of sterner days.  These are not dark days: these are great days - the greatest days our country has ever lived; and we must all thank God that we have been allowed, each of us according to our stations, to play a part in making these days memorable in the history of our race."

Following the terrible catastrophe at Dunkirk, many prophets of doom foretold the end of Britain.  But in that dark and solemn hour this remarkable man said, and I heard him say these words as they were broadcast across America: "We shall not flag or fail...we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."

It was this kind of talk, which saw victory distantly through the dark clouds of war, and not the critical faultfinding of cynics, that preserved the people of Britain and saved that nation from catastrophe.

"I have little doubt that many of us are troubled with fears concerning ourselves.  We are in a period of stress across the world.  There are occasionally hard days for each of us.  Do not despair.  Do not give up.  Look for the sunlight through the clouds.  Opportunities will eventually open to you.  Do not let the prophets of gloom endanger your possibilities."
- President Gordon B. Hinckley

Let us all press on in this great work!  There are people praying to find Gospel light.  Others are seeking truth, but they know not where to find it.  Let us be faithful and serve with all of our hearts, mights, minds and strength, that we may be bring salvation to our brothers and sisters!"

I just want to add my testimony of the power of a positive attitude - which stems from faith.  One happy person truly can make a difference in a discouraged group!

Hermana Smurthwaite

Mission Log - January 15, 2018 - T11, W5 - Inspired Leaders - Called of God

Hola, loved ones!!

​
Whew! What a week, what a week!

This week has been inspired, blessed, and guided by the Lord.

We had the opportunity to go do visits with the Stake presidency.  Even though they couldn't all speak Spanish, the visits were all inspired!

Two of the brethren went to visit Lucy, a less- active member who we have hard time visiting because she gets home late.  Not only was she home, she let them in, and even committed to share the Gospel with her boss at work and to read the Book of Mormon every day!

Two of the brethren went to visit the Conway's, an active family whose mother, Norma is a recent convert.  They found out that Hermana Conway, the Relief Society President, has been having problems walking.  They gave her a Priesthood blessing, and expressed their gratitude for her service.

Two of the brethren went to visit Ana Adrianzen, a less-active member whose mother we're working with to go to the temple.  They found out more in that hour than we could in 2 months!  They found out that her main concern is her children, that they won't have the Gospel blessings she does.  She's been separated from her husband for 5 years, and she goes to the Temple session in Spanish every month.  ALSO, her son was there in the visit!  He said he appreciates how the church treats his mother and then the brethren invited him to go to Institute.  He's not a member, but said he would look into it!

The Branch President and the Stake president went together to visit the Andersons.  There had been talk of offering the dad a priesthood blessing, but during the visit, they felt it best to simply talk about baptism and commit them to do family prayer and scriptures every day.

We went with the former branch president, Brother Thomas, to visit Hermana Greaves.  She told us her surgery was postponed until the 14th, and began the usual chat.  Only this time, Brother Thomas boldly invited her to share the Gospel with her children in corrupt Venezuela.  He also promised her she would survive her surgery and testified that her mission in life was to offer her children the Gospel! It was a powerful visit.

I have a firmer and firmer testimony that the men that God calls as leaders are inspired and led by Him personally.  I know that they hold the keys of the priesthood and they have the power to minister to these people at this time.  I know that the Twelve and the First Presidency will be called of God and led by Him the same way.  I trust them completely.

Love,
Hermana Smurthwaite

Mission Log - January 8, 2018 - T11, W4 - Miracles are Real!

Hola, Amigos!

Our Ward Mission Leader's name is Hermano Bianco, so we found this -
​

Miracles, they are real!!  Here's just a few miracles we had this week:

We were able to teach an amazing mom in Coronado.  We had tried by, set an appointment, had to change the appointment, and were SUPER late due to a man we spoke with on the sidewalk in front of her house, but she was still there, waiting for us!  She had even made us empanadas, which are fried pastries stuffed with chicken or beans, depending.  She is so prepared - she believes that what we teach is true!  We invited her to be baptized this week, and she expressed her concern: her husband may not approve.  He's open to us coming over, but he's always working when we go, so we haven't yet been able to teach him so that the Holy Ghost might touch his heart and they all can be baptized together.

We then went to visit a less active member, a woman we'd been trying to get a hold of for weeks.  We were finally able to talk with her!  As we sat in her living room, her cousin came home who was staying with her from Columbia.  We said hello, and she gingerly poked her head out from behind the wall of the kitchen.  We smiled REAL big and waved her over.  At first she was shy, but she gradually became more comfortable and started asking us a bunch of questions.  She was genuinely curious, and we were able to teach her a lot of things.  She went back to Columbia this week, and we will pass her off to the missionaries there soon.  We sent her on her way with love and a Libro de Mormon (Book of Mormon).  She was awesome!

Tuesday we were able to have an awesome lesson with one of our families, the Quezadas.  Some members in our ward, the Mieras, were friends with them from when they were taught before, and the investigators had always been hard to get in with because of their crazy work schedules.  But we were able to set a set time to see them each week, and bring the Mieras with us.  We actually just invited Hermana Miera to go with us, but once we got there, the dad asked, "Where is your husband?" :)  So she called him and we waited for a few minutes for Brother Miera to drive over.  It was such a powerful lesson; we shared the message of the Restoration.  Members make all the difference - I think that the Holy Ghost is more comfortable when there are members around. :)  It is always so cool to see when the Spirit is truly working.  The dad had been a bit more quiet in the past, but that night, we were able to see him open up.  He shared an experience of how he had remembered our first message, Helaman 5:12, and was super worried about losing his job.  So he took it to heart, and prayed.  Not long after, he got a phone call from someone he hadn't talked to in 10 years, who said something that put his mind to ease.  His wife told him later that she felt we were inspired to come, that we were an answer as well, and he agreed.  They are SO awesome.  It was our last appointment of the night - gotta love those 8:30 miracles!

The next night, we were able to teach the husband of another investigator.  Finding the two of them together has bien dificil, but after weeks of trying by, and canceled appointments, we taught them both.  They both work on Sundays, but the husband is trying to find a new job, specifically TO go to church.  It was one of the quickest lessons I have ever taught, but almost because we didn't have time, it was more concise, and powerful!

Then we went out to Coronado for an appointment that we had been a little worried about.  There is a less active family with some problems, and the husband has turned VERY anti.  I honestly thought they would stand us up.  All the members warned us about them, and told us just to love them.  We were able to talk to the wife who was SO friendly.  She isn't allowed to go to church right now, because of her husband, but she still has a strong testimony.  It was so relaxing, to just get to know the family, and to be able to talk with her.  We are hoping to go back and just do simple things with the family, to try to bit by bit work with them.

Late another night, we were rushing, and had only about 20 min before our next appt, but decided to try a former.  She pulled up as we were praying, and we were able to share a short message with her, and set a return time.  Miracle!

We also met with a family who is in another ward, but the husband is the High councilor assigned to the branch, and the wife is bilingual.  They gave us a few referrals, and even set up a dinner for last night with a nonmember friend.  It went pretty well!

Sorrygottagoloveyouall!!!

HS

Mission Log - January 2, 2018 - T11, W3 - Investigators to Love

FELIZ ANO NUEVO! (Happy New Year!)

My companion swiped a quick picture of me on New Year's eve: (yes, I was tired :)

It is a new year, a fresh start!! And what a start it has been.

This morning, we had lunch with a less-active sister that's from Venezuela.  She made us special biscuits as well as beans, cheese, eggs, avocado, and hot chocolate.  And boy, do they know how to do breakfast in Venezuela!!  We sang for her and she told us all about her life.  We hope she comes back to church soon!

We're working with several families right now.  For convenience, here are their names and a little bit about them.

Quezadas - The Quezada family was a member referral from our ward mission leader.  They are super awesome!  They have three kids, Ashely, Estrella, and Uziel.  The dad, Armando, works in construction, and the mom, Dora, works as a nurse.  They both work crazy hours, so it's been quite a trip trying to set appointments with them, but Heavenly Father guided us there at just the right moment to get in to see them!  We taught the lesson "God is you loving Heavenly Father" and committed them to pray as a family every day.  We also gave them a copy of the Book of Mormon, invited them to read it, and promised to explain a little bit more about it's origin the next time we see them, which will be tonight!

Aguilars - The Aguilars were also a member referral.  Leo and Claudia have three kids as well - we weren't able to catch all their names, but they were actually taught by missionaries before!  We asked if they would allow us to come share six discussions with them that would change their lives forever.  They considered it for a moment, and said, "Claro que si," which means, "Of course!" :)  They are so prepared!  They also have busy schedules, but we committed them to take five minutes every night to come together as a family and pray.  The dad, Leo, was hesitant, but offered a beautiful prayer at the end of our short lesson.

Perez - The Perez family is a very special case.  The mom, Erica, was baptized years ago in Mexico, but her records were lost, so she must either find two people that were there to sign their names saying that it really happened, or the ordinance must be repeated.  The rest of the family aren't members - The dad is Luis, and they have two sons and one daughter: Edgar, who's 15, Kevin, who's 13, and Lyna, who's 9 or so.  We shared the Family proclamation to the World last time we saw them, but it's been a while - we hope to get back in contact soon and can invite them to church!

Figueroas - The Figueroa family came to the Christmas activity a week ago, but they are so very busy, we haven't been able to see them since.  The dad is a truck driver and the mom is studying to get her masters degree.  The two daughters, who are 16 and 11, are the absolute cutest!  According to their mom, they say a prayer together every night before going to bed.  They both like flamenco dancing (like buzz lightyear in Toy Story 3) and we hope we can start teaching them soon!

There are more investigators, but those are the focus people right now.  There are so many people to love and serve out here, I feel we can never be bored!  It is invigorating.  I love being a missionary!!!

Love, Love, Love,
Hermana Smurthwaite