January 7, 2013
From: Candace Smith
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2013 14:08:44 -0500
First Transfers!
I'm staying in Marietta!!!!! I'm so excited!!!! Sister Young, who I have been on exchange with, will be my companion. Sister Lovell is, of course, going home :( To be with her eternal companion who is waiting for her...:D And Sister Worthington is going to Suwanee with Sister Nielsen (who I was in the MTC with :)
We have transfers on Wednesday, so the next couple days are work work work :) I love it!
Mom: The new calling is soooooooo exciting! You will do great, because you know the most important part of Geneological work is praying to be helped and guided. Ask for the help of those who have gone on before. I am gaining a whole new appreciation for those who want to be found and have their ordinances done.
This week we were privileged to go on exchanges with Suwannee. Sister Nielsen came and Sister Lovell went. It was really fun. It was a little interesting to see Sister Nielsen, because she has progressed in leaps and bounds since the last time I saw her. I... have struggled a little bit. I just didn't know what was going to happen. To see more about this, look at the very bottom, in the spiritual experience part :)
While Sister Nielsen was here, she proposed an idea for journaling. It called the Three apps. Everyday, you should identify at least one thing that fits into each of the three apps, which are 1) Joy App (something that fills you with joy and you can get excited about); 2) Pride App (something that you can be proud of yourself for doing in a good way. For me, getting out of bed is regularly in this category); 3) Wisdom/Tender Mercy (something during the day that you can identify as giving you more wisdom or being a tender mercy from the Lord.
So I'm doing this now in my Journal, and it really helps me to stay positive. It's really cool.
Now, I copied all of the questions I saw in the 15 emails I had in my inbox and answered them below. Some were repeats, so I answered them once.
Please update us on your investigators? (not a question!)
McKenzie let us start teaching her 14 year old daughter, Taylor. We've taught her two short lessons. She is awesome. In the first lesson we had with her, we invited her to read daily with her mom. The next day, she waited up until 1am to tell her mom that they hadn't read yet. She is so cool! McKenzie is helping a little in the lessons, and really making sure Taylor is thinking for herself.
Wen-Wen is praying about being baptized. This week was amazing though because we were able to have two lessons with her, and she shared a cool experience. She likes to choose where she will read next in the Book of Mormon, so she was reading in 3 Nephi 9 and read verse 22. She thought of the time she had wasted that week and immediately knelt down and asked to be forgiven. She is sooooooo amazing! She is coming to church regularly and meeting a ton of new people who are so nice!
Laura had moved to Buford, but now is back closer. We gave her one of the Spanish Book of Mormons that you sent me Dad (Thank you! Thank you! Thankyou!!!!!) and she is working on not getting overwhelmed. She has a lot going on, so the peace that comes through prayer and the scriptures is really important right now.
We kind of have a new investigator. We don't know how much he will continue to try to learn. We had knocked on his door like 3 or 4 times and talked to him each time, and this time Sister Worthington testified of temple work and how our ancestors need us. He made an appointment on the spot and we were able to teach him. We are hoping we can teach his whole family. Oh, his name is Darryl.
----What New Years resolutions have you made?
I'm going to be more positive, even when it is raining outside. Never underestimate how much Sister Smith HATES the rain ;)
---How are they celebrating New Years where you are?
Gunshots and fireworks. Definitely no comment...
---Where did you spend Christmas?
Sista Perry's!!!!! And The Kindt's house, where I called you from. We went to the Kindt's house for breakfast and games, and then Sister Perrys for dinner and a little singing. We had a short nap in between while Sister Lovell called home.
---What is your favorite thing about your mission so far??
What you are able to learn from each and every person you meet, including your companions. You just have to be open to learning :)
--I thought it interesting that the church had an activity that lasted all night on new year's, I assume that is to give them something to do so they don't go elsewhere and get in trouble?
It's to give them a place to go where they won't feel uncomfortable and where they can meet someone who they could marry...People actually date and get married from Singles wards here...it's awesome!
--Do you set your mission goals Monthly or weekly?
Both. You have daily, weekly, monthly, and sometimes transfer goals.
--When do you set personal Goals?
Every single second of the day, I swear.
--Do you have Companion evaluations?
Never heard of them, but we evaluate ourselves all the time and make weekly goals for the companionship
--When is your next transfers or change?
Six weeks from Wednesday
--How many investigators made it to Church?
TWO!!!! It was cool. Both Laura and Wen-Wen were there. McKenzie and Taylor were going to be, both McKenzie's boyfriend (a member) got really sick and went to the hospital. He got a priesthood blessing, so it will all be okay.
--What was your most spiritual experience this week?
I got a blessing this week because the weather got even crazier after Christmas. It was good to hear that I am for sure supposed to stay in this mission at this time and that I am doing well. I just need to develop more faith. I was promised that if I had faith in this and other blessings, and continued to pray and study my scriptures, that I would make a full recovery!
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Monday, December 24, 2012
December 17, 2012
From Candace Smith
First of all, all the libraries are closed next monday, so no letter for you! You'll get to see me Tuesday Morning though. We will be skyping from the Paper Mill Ward Mission Leader's house. Long description there :) Anyway, I wrote down both your Skype addresses, so we should be okay. I'm not sure what time...probably anywhere from 11-2pm. I'll try to call you to let you know when I'm on.
First of all, I chopped off my hair. Okay, not all of it. But it's shoulder length now and I can completely do my hair in 5 minutes flat. SOOOOO EASY!!! I love it.
Honestly, it was a bit of a hard week, so we got a lot of lessons done, but there was also a lot of driving. We are seriously hurting for miles.
Oh, and the Mission Christmas party is the 19th, this Wednesday sillies!
----Tell us about your investigators.
McKenzie was able to talk to her mom about getting baptized. Her mom told her that she wants McKenzie to look up a few specific things, learn more about them, and when she can tell her mother about them, she will be fine with the baptism. We were so excited to hear that! So now she just needs to study up on the questions. We pointed out she has many resources. Bible, Book of Mormon, footnotes, Topical guide, Bible dictionary, Index, lds.org, mormon.org... We told her if she needs help, feel free to text or call, which she already does anyway.
Shirell and Talif came to the Festival of the Nativity, and then we were able to share the Living Christ with them this week. They like to feed us, and then us to teach them. Talif really opened up this week and asked questions that we knew he was wondering. It was great to see that. This family has 4 girls!
Laura is going through a hard time, but luckily she is leaning on Ward members for support. She is an awesome girl who really wants to know how to be closer to God.
don't have time!
---How long do you get for your phone call?
30-45 minutes. Please don't ask me to disobey rules. We are blessed as we listen to our leaders. I might not want to get off, but I'll need to.
---What is the weather like? this week?
VERY RAINY!!! It has been drizzling since yesterday morning. It's so gross! I had to back Sister Lovell out yesterday, and she reversed into a puddle cause she didn't watch me close enough, and I had to step in our friendly parking lot lake! I was so wearing tights, so I was wet for the next 2 hours. Blegh!
----What was your most spiritual experience this week?
We got to teach Wen-Wen the Plan of Salvation. We were on exchange, because Sister Worthington will be training again soon, so we had Sister Young from Hamilton Mill with us. Sister Lovell has this great puzzle for the P of S that has all the parts centered around the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It's amazing!
Anyway, so we started the lesson with Jesus Christ in the center and related everything to that. As we went through the lesson, i could just feel how she was believing pretty much everything that we said. Everything else, she asked about. Favorite question of the lesson, so if we were so happy and perfect with Heavenly Father, why did we choose to come to earth where things usually aren't happy? She said this in her awesome Chinese accent. It was so cool to see how much she already understood. We were running out of time, so we were going to stop at Our life on Earth, then she asked, well what goes here? and pointed to the next space of the puzzle. We just HAD to briefly finish it and told her that we would explain more later. It was sooooooo awesome! She seems to understand the scriptures pretty well too. She is reading about faith this week, which leads perfectly to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She is so amazing!
First of all, all the libraries are closed next monday, so no letter for you! You'll get to see me Tuesday Morning though. We will be skyping from the Paper Mill Ward Mission Leader's house. Long description there :) Anyway, I wrote down both your Skype addresses, so we should be okay. I'm not sure what time...probably anywhere from 11-2pm. I'll try to call you to let you know when I'm on.
First of all, I chopped off my hair. Okay, not all of it. But it's shoulder length now and I can completely do my hair in 5 minutes flat. SOOOOO EASY!!! I love it.
Honestly, it was a bit of a hard week, so we got a lot of lessons done, but there was also a lot of driving. We are seriously hurting for miles.
Oh, and the Mission Christmas party is the 19th, this Wednesday sillies!
----Tell us about your investigators.
McKenzie was able to talk to her mom about getting baptized. Her mom told her that she wants McKenzie to look up a few specific things, learn more about them, and when she can tell her mother about them, she will be fine with the baptism. We were so excited to hear that! So now she just needs to study up on the questions. We pointed out she has many resources. Bible, Book of Mormon, footnotes, Topical guide, Bible dictionary, Index, lds.org, mormon.org... We told her if she needs help, feel free to text or call, which she already does anyway.
Shirell and Talif came to the Festival of the Nativity, and then we were able to share the Living Christ with them this week. They like to feed us, and then us to teach them. Talif really opened up this week and asked questions that we knew he was wondering. It was great to see that. This family has 4 girls!
Laura is going through a hard time, but luckily she is leaning on Ward members for support. She is an awesome girl who really wants to know how to be closer to God.
don't have time!
---How long do you get for your phone call?
30-45 minutes. Please don't ask me to disobey rules. We are blessed as we listen to our leaders. I might not want to get off, but I'll need to.
---What is the weather like? this week?
VERY RAINY!!! It has been drizzling since yesterday morning. It's so gross! I had to back Sister Lovell out yesterday, and she reversed into a puddle cause she didn't watch me close enough, and I had to step in our friendly parking lot lake! I was so wearing tights, so I was wet for the next 2 hours. Blegh!
----What was your most spiritual experience this week?
We got to teach Wen-Wen the Plan of Salvation. We were on exchange, because Sister Worthington will be training again soon, so we had Sister Young from Hamilton Mill with us. Sister Lovell has this great puzzle for the P of S that has all the parts centered around the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It's amazing!
Anyway, so we started the lesson with Jesus Christ in the center and related everything to that. As we went through the lesson, i could just feel how she was believing pretty much everything that we said. Everything else, she asked about. Favorite question of the lesson, so if we were so happy and perfect with Heavenly Father, why did we choose to come to earth where things usually aren't happy? She said this in her awesome Chinese accent. It was so cool to see how much she already understood. We were running out of time, so we were going to stop at Our life on Earth, then she asked, well what goes here? and pointed to the next space of the puzzle. We just HAD to briefly finish it and told her that we would explain more later. It was sooooooo awesome! She seems to understand the scriptures pretty well too. She is reading about faith this week, which leads perfectly to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She is so amazing!
December 10, 2012
Pictures!
 |
| Atlanta Georgia Temple |
 |
| Atlanta Georgia Temple Stained Glass |
 |
My heritage: My Great-Grandma (Sis Lovell),
My G-ma(Sis Lapin), my mom and me! I love it!
 |
| Sister Lovell, one of the best people ever! |
 |
| Mission Sisters Luncheon |
December 10, 2012
To start off this wonderful email, I would like to address ALL of the skyping emails. I cannot skype on Sunday. I get about 30-45 minutes, and I'm not quite sure what time of the day. We are still working on it, but we are focusing on all the missionary stuff that has been happening this week, so not much progress yet.
So, I haven't got a haircut yet. When I do, I'll try to take pictures. There is a cute young couple in our ward who are great ward missionaries. The wife is going to cut our hair tomorrow because that is the only time we can.
This week has been super busy! It has been nice to be able to handle all of the work that we have had the pleasure of enjoying :)
We had a wonderful lunch this week with all the sister's in the mission. The number of sisters will probably double by March. It was nice to meet everyone and go to Macaroni Grill together.
This week was so busy that while weekly planning, I was not able to set the phone down for 1.5 hours! There were continuous phone calls and texts to be made and answered. It was VERY tiring. I remember when I thought I would mostly escape a cell phone by going on a mission. Yeah right...
This week we picked up 4 new investigators! The work is really hopping now. There are two for each ward.
Wen-wen is Chinese from mainland China. She is not very good with English, but I guess she is doing much better now. We taught her about Christ and how to pray. The next day we were texting her, and she said that she would totally like to learn more. We are having a team up who knows mandarin so that we have a back up when it is really hard to teach simply. She has no religious background, so we are literally starting from ground zero here.
Laura is showed up at North Point with a friend several weeks ago. We took her to the Festival of the Nativity, where they had TONS of Nativities from all over the world. Her family is from Mexico and we kept an eye out for one from Mexico when we cam across one which was the size of at least half our dinner table (The conference one at home). It included greenery, elephants, a stream, and even a pond with two real goldfish in it! It was incredible. We declared her country the winner. We prayed with her before she left the festival and that was a super spiritual experience. We are definitely taking this one slow because she has been pushed so much by so many other churches to convert right away. We told her how we pray and find truth and told her the Book of Mormon would help in her search.
McKenzie received a priesthood blessing this week because things have been crazy at work and she just got back from Ohio. We don't know if she told her mom that she is getting baptized, but she was given a lot of peace and strength in the blessing, so it will all be okay.
We didn't see Hollee this week :( I definitely got to text her though. We are focusing on unconditional love.
Shirrell and her family...I forgot the husband's name. Oops! They also came to the festival of the nativity. We went on splits on Thursday. I taught Connie while the other sisters dropped by Shirrell's house, who they knew from when they were companions in July/August. They caught her and she seems ready to be taught :) She seems awesome :)
Hey, did you know that there is a video on lds.org about Same sex attraction? It looks cool...Random thought :)
Mom, you asked what my companions would like for Christmas. First of all, they already LOVE the ornaments you sent in my package.
-Sister Lovell would like a big hug, another Sister Smith angel for the top of her tree, and a cool Arizona Souvenir, but we want to
send it to her home address, which I will give you later. I'll give her a coupon for it :)
-Sister Worthington would like a cool Arizona souvenir, and a HUGE hug! And pictures of the puppies sent to my email.
Or, I could just take both my companions to lunch at Panera, and that is the best present we could all get :)
---------Where do you think Tyler and Andrew go? Where do you think McKenna will go? Georgia or Peru would both be fun.
McKenna, come to Georgia! I'll train you! Tyler will go to New York :) Andrew will go to Alaska
-----Have either of you received any packages? They have been in the mail for awhile. Well they should be there.
I got a package this week. It was completely squished on one side, so the tree stand is kind of broken and so was the etched glass thing. I got to see what it should look like though because they had one just like at the Festival of the Nativity!
Mission party is on the 19th. That's next week.
-------What is the weirdest thing you have eaten on your mission?
Not vegetarian, not vegan, but microorganic or something like that. My body hated it! Not happy :) Ate more chocolate :)
-------How many of your investigators got to Church this week?
None :( It was stake conference, which was like 45 minutes away in Cumming, GA
--------What was your most spiritual experience this week?
Probably with Wen-Wen. It was awesome to see her willingness to learn. She can feel the spirit so well because the words are not as distracting to her I think. She is so full of faith already.
December 3, 2012
Sister Candace Smith
Sister Lovell is awesome! Being in a trio has made things much easier, because if we can see and hear one companion, we are good. Lots of "triangulation" :)
I'm going to a chiropractor this week! A member called in a favor and got us free service, I think. So, could you have Paul fax my records to Dr. Hortman? He is in the Sandy Springs Area. I wish I had more info for you, but we took his card home.
I'm having my first mission haircut tonight. I'm super excited! If it wasn't so cold in the mornings, I would chop most of it off. I think I will be cutting a good section off anyway, since it hits my lower back at the moment. When I have it in a high ponytail, it still gets caught in my jacket and scarf. BTW I will want my rain coat. The one I have is definitely too big for the summer here. Or probably even the spring. More on this later when it becomes more important.
I got dad's package. The map is really super helpful in this area, because our North Point people are from a ton of different places in Georgia.
Because of the coming influx of sisters, the mission is now putting more emphasis on keeping the sisters strong. We are now doing exchanges regularly, which we just did one on Tuesday. Sister Worthington went to Suwanee with Sister Nielsen (she came out with me) and Sister Berrett came here with Sister Lovell and I. It was really cool. I guess they planned it to boost the greenie confidence.
Sister Berrett came out with Sister Lovell, so this was pretty much the only time that I could have served with her. It was so fun! She is an awesome missionary.
We also have a Sister's Lunch coming up on Friday Afternoon. All the sisters from the mission are coming and Sister Wolfert is paying! We are renting out a room at a restaurant (I don't know which one yet) and having a fantabulous time together. I'm super excited for this.
Anyway, there is TONS happpening, and I can't write about all of it. May I just add on a final note before the questions that I do not like decorating? It turns out that our apartment has a 6.5" Tree. I don't want it, but that just means my companions get to decorate more. I'm so glad they want to decorate and they are fine with me just sitting and laughing with them.
-- Tell us about your investigators? (not a question; that's a command)
Sadly, not much has changed since last week. We don't know how it went with McKenzie's family because the school she works at is being audited...She doesn't think they'll pass. We hope it went well though. We want her to come to church with her daughter.
Hollee is still trying to believe that we can even know truth. She doesn't like relying on her emotions, so she has a hard time giving credit to Spiritual experiences. We are going on splits this week to teach her before institute.
We are definitely in finding mode.
--How is your weather there?
It starts out at about 40 degrees at 7 in the morning, then goes to 70 by the middle of the day, then the humidity rises and the temperature drops to about 50. It's really weird. It hasn't snowed though...YAY!!!!
If it did snow, we have a fireplace :)
--What is your favorite Christmas Memory?
Definitely the food storage christmas and going to waffle house in the morning. All the missionaries (except me) seem to call it Awful house here. I guess they are known for their terrible service and disgusting food...weird. I'll have to try it.
--What was your most spiritual experience this week?
Teaching the Plan of Salvation to Connie (Inactive, converted as a 13 year old, but stopped coming to church soon after). It was so cool! The Spirit was so strong and we were able to invite her to come to church with us on Sunday. She has been very afraid to come to church because she has been gone for so long (she is now 47), but the spirit was so strong. We told her her home teacher would love to pick her up, and since she has been able to keep in contact with him monthly for years, she said that'd be fine. We met at her house early Sunday morning and reassured her that she looked great, especially with her awesome pocketbook (aka purse :) ) Then it was off to church. By the end of it, she turned to me and said she wanted to come back next week. I'm so excited for her!
Sister Lovell is awesome! Being in a trio has made things much easier, because if we can see and hear one companion, we are good. Lots of "triangulation" :)
I'm going to a chiropractor this week! A member called in a favor and got us free service, I think. So, could you have Paul fax my records to Dr. Hortman? He is in the Sandy Springs Area. I wish I had more info for you, but we took his card home.
I'm having my first mission haircut tonight. I'm super excited! If it wasn't so cold in the mornings, I would chop most of it off. I think I will be cutting a good section off anyway, since it hits my lower back at the moment. When I have it in a high ponytail, it still gets caught in my jacket and scarf. BTW I will want my rain coat. The one I have is definitely too big for the summer here. Or probably even the spring. More on this later when it becomes more important.
I got dad's package. The map is really super helpful in this area, because our North Point people are from a ton of different places in Georgia.
Because of the coming influx of sisters, the mission is now putting more emphasis on keeping the sisters strong. We are now doing exchanges regularly, which we just did one on Tuesday. Sister Worthington went to Suwanee with Sister Nielsen (she came out with me) and Sister Berrett came here with Sister Lovell and I. It was really cool. I guess they planned it to boost the greenie confidence.
Sister Berrett came out with Sister Lovell, so this was pretty much the only time that I could have served with her. It was so fun! She is an awesome missionary.
We also have a Sister's Lunch coming up on Friday Afternoon. All the sisters from the mission are coming and Sister Wolfert is paying! We are renting out a room at a restaurant (I don't know which one yet) and having a fantabulous time together. I'm super excited for this.
Anyway, there is TONS happpening, and I can't write about all of it. May I just add on a final note before the questions that I do not like decorating? It turns out that our apartment has a 6.5" Tree. I don't want it, but that just means my companions get to decorate more. I'm so glad they want to decorate and they are fine with me just sitting and laughing with them.
-- Tell us about your investigators? (not a question; that's a command)
Sadly, not much has changed since last week. We don't know how it went with McKenzie's family because the school she works at is being audited...She doesn't think they'll pass. We hope it went well though. We want her to come to church with her daughter.
Hollee is still trying to believe that we can even know truth. She doesn't like relying on her emotions, so she has a hard time giving credit to Spiritual experiences. We are going on splits this week to teach her before institute.
We are definitely in finding mode.
--How is your weather there?
It starts out at about 40 degrees at 7 in the morning, then goes to 70 by the middle of the day, then the humidity rises and the temperature drops to about 50. It's really weird. It hasn't snowed though...YAY!!!!
If it did snow, we have a fireplace :)
--What is your favorite Christmas Memory?
Definitely the food storage christmas and going to waffle house in the morning. All the missionaries (except me) seem to call it Awful house here. I guess they are known for their terrible service and disgusting food...weird. I'll have to try it.
--What was your most spiritual experience this week?
Teaching the Plan of Salvation to Connie (Inactive, converted as a 13 year old, but stopped coming to church soon after). It was so cool! The Spirit was so strong and we were able to invite her to come to church with us on Sunday. She has been very afraid to come to church because she has been gone for so long (she is now 47), but the spirit was so strong. We told her her home teacher would love to pick her up, and since she has been able to keep in contact with him monthly for years, she said that'd be fine. We met at her house early Sunday morning and reassured her that she looked great, especially with her awesome pocketbook (aka purse :) ) Then it was off to church. By the end of it, she turned to me and said she wanted to come back next week. I'm so excited for her!
November 26, 2012
Sorry, but it was a CRAZY week! First transfers, and guess what?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! We got a new companion! The third in our WONDERFUL trio is Sister Lovell, who was formerly in a trio training Sister Merback. We have decided to kill her in January, so stay tuned for announcements! Just kidding. She just hit her 17 month mark this past week, and this transfer is 7 weeks long, so we get her until January 9th or something like that. We also got another Brazilian Elder! So we now have 9 people in our district. It's huge! I hope someone else knows how to play piano, but alas, I believe I'm the only one! They put Elder Fritas and Elder Gomes on bikes, and they only stay in our area now (the other companionship covers pretty much all of Georgia, from what I hear).
I'm going to see a Chiropractor! And I don't have to pay for it. A ward member has some connections, which leads to free work on my back! Good thing :)
So, there have been so many changes going on. It is almost for sure that I will train in January. We are supposed to double our sisters then, so literally, they think everyone will be. We'll see. I've been told by my companions that I could easily train now, even with my knees. So, life changes! Funny fact, I know! Chocolate is maybe eaten once a day in my life and I don't eat eggs. I avoid dairy. Weird!
Oh, so the knees! My chondromalacia is painful, but nothing to worry over! So stop! I know you love me, but I was told by a very wise christian woman that you either worry or you pray, you don't do both. So please just pray for me, and then everyone will be happy :) Seriously though, I don't have to drive anymore, and I am working on stretching the muscles. It is an obstacle, but not a roadblock. I know the Lord will help me. This week has been strange because on top of all these changes, one of our investigators was in Ohio telling her mother that she is getting baptized, and everyone else has been busy with Thanksgiving and family. It was really hard to get much done. Walking is not my knees favorite thing in the world, although talking to people is still. I love talking to people, even when they reject us. It can be painful, but just being able to talk to so many of God's children is such a blessing in my life.
Questions:
1. Candace, what did you do for Thanksgiving?
We went to the Walkenhorsts along with three other families and ate a traditional meal, then had the kids help us make hand turkeys. We then taped these hand turkeys to people's doors and handed them to random people on the street. The Elders helped us with that part. :)
2. What was your most spiritual experience this week?
4. How are your knees doing Candace?I described it above. It's painful, but I am so stubbornly hanging on to staying out here that I am taking any measure I can to help them feel better now AND in the long run. Lots for my new companion to learn about it though.
2. What was your most spiritual experience this week?
Teaching the Plan of Salvation in a role play. That seriously sounds so weird, but I have not taught the Plan of Salvation all out like that. It took like 45 minutes, but it was so powerful, and of course I had no pain during it. The Spirit led every word, and I had my personality in there the whole time, but the spirit guided it so that every single transition was so smooth and personally relevant that I think both I and my investigator (Sister Worthington) cried the entire time.
3. Chris wants to know, "What is the answer to life, the universe and everything?"
I heard 42. I like the answer,"Christ" or "The Atonement" better though :)
4. How are your knees doing Candace?I described it above. It's painful, but I am so stubbornly hanging on to staying out here that I am taking any measure I can to help them feel better now AND in the long run. Lots for my new companion to learn about it though.
 |
| Awesome Picture for our Candie PI |
Friday, November 16, 2012
November 12, 2012 and PICTURES!!!!
 |
| Me (Candace) and Sister Worthington |
11/12/12
Hello all you wonderful people!
I am extremely sorry for the weird and lame letter last week. I will attempt to have a much more entertaining, uplifting, and informational letter this week :)
I'm excited for the new youth program. We haven't been able to learn about it yet.
Second time I've written this letter. Computers stopped working at our complex :(
On Monday, we picked up a Coke for a less active member that we were on our way to teach. When we got to the register, the cashier said to me, "You're going to give me that book, right?" I sputtered out yes and then started to explain what he was about. He told me he already knew what it was about, had a testimony of it, and was in Kenya when the church was brought there in the 70's. It turns out he didn't know where a church was, but he has been baptized, so we set him up with the Elders in his area. Andrew is excited to go back to church :)
We have a Brother/Elder in Paper Mill Ward who has the same knee condition as me. He taught me how to properly do some exercises to build up the muscles in my knee, because that is how you get the pain
to stop I guess. He is really looking out for us. I think he is a psychiatrist or doctor or chiroprator, or all of the above actually wouldn't surpise me. :)
We had Zone conference this week. It was so cool! We combined two zones and so had over 40 Elders there, and then me and Sister Worthington :) It was kind of funny. Elder Gibbons, our area seventy, spoke to us about how missionary work is realated to the Abrahamic Covenant. It was an amazing talk that I need to go over again so I'll understand. :) President Wolfert told us how the lowered ages is affecting our mission. First of all, by this time next year, our mission will have 80-100 more missionaries than we do now, and lots of them will be sisters. This is where he turned to me from the pulpit and said, "Sister Smith, are you ready to train?" PANIC ATTACK MOMENT!!!! I haven't been out a full transfer! But I'm working on it. There is a good chance that I will train as soon as I am done with 12 weeks, so in January. He also told us that everyone will be on bikes! I'm so excited to be on bikes, but a little scared for the pain. My knee is not being nice! Thanks for all the prayers by the way. I've really felt them!
Because my knee has been hurting so bad lately, I had another Priesthood blessing this week. I almost couldn't drive to get there. This helped with an idea Sister Worthington got by inspiration. We are using my knee to help the ward get more blessings! We basically told the ward that we were sorry that we haven't been involving them more and that we wanted to use this to bring our efforts closer together, like when the Soviets and the US worked together to free a couple trapped whales in 1987 during election time. We are asking for rides and team ups for every single day and sometimes several times a day. I can't wait to see the miracles that this will bring :)
We had a movie night this week with Linnette, Marilyn and her kids and friends (Erica and Candace!). We watched Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration at the church with snacks. The Spirit was so strong! The
kids and friends were asking for clarification and asking about what we believed. It was cool, especially when Marilyn, a convert that was baptized in September, answered most of the questions. It was so cool.
My knee was a blessing right after I got that blessing! We were out contacting (talking to literally everyone we see and tracting doors if we feel drawn to them) and we had to walk up this huge sloped driveway to get to some workers. This guy, Kurt was only going to take a second to talk to us, but then he noticed that I had my crutch and was having trouble on the hill. He said he would listed to whatever we had to say. He accepted a Book of Mormon and we also gave him our number, a mormon.org card, and where and when church is. It was awesome.
Movie Night! sooo cool!
 |
| Linnette's Baptism |
-- Tell a funny experience.
Telling everyone I'm the lame companion...and waiting for them to get it :)
Probably actually Kurt. That was cool.
-- Tell about your investigators.
We don't have a lot right now. We are in finding mode, which is hard because I can't go for long on hills.
Hollee is doing good. She is trying to quit smoking and hasn't really been taught full lessons yet. We have to teach her at the church, so we don't get to see her alot :(
McKenzie is simply amazing. She came to church for the second time this week. :) She is doing great and only needs to finish being taught the commandments and talk to her mom. Then she'll be baptized!
--What is one thing that helped your testimony grow when you were growing up?
Learning to pray and know things for myself. I remember kneeling down when I was almost 8 and asking if the Book of Mormon was true. That is why I was always able to bear my testimony and feel like coming to
church. I knew for myself and I knew that if I ever had any questions, I could always ask God in prayer and He could answer me in many different ways.
Also reading the scriptures, but now I'm breaking the rule of only one thing that helped my testimony :)
I love you all so much! I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is God's church on earth. I know that we can come closer to God by going to church, reading our scriptures and praying to Him. I know that the Priesthood is truly the power of God given to man to act in his name, and that worthy men who hold it can make a huge change in the lives of others, simply by being good examples and willing to help when there is any need. I know that the Power of Kindness opens the hardest of hearts and truly brings us closer to Christ. Never forget that you bear Christ's name as a disciple and that you have the knowledge to change people's eternities. I love you all. Be safe. "Be of good cheer and do not fear".
Love you!
Sister Candace M Smith Christ
 |
| View of the Atlanta Temple from our Single's Ward Building |
Monday, November 5, 2012
November 5, 2012 My companion saves my butt, then tries to murdelize me!
11:14 AM
I am too lazy and tired to write this all again, so I copied and pasted from the email to my Mission President, taking out anything you don't really need to know. "So, I'm doing pretty good. I just got out of my doctor's appointment, and I found out some fun things. First of all, I'm cleared to drive! We even double checked with the doctor! Second, I have a Lateral Hamstring Strain, which basically means I went a little too far a little too fast on the hills. It takes 3-6 weeks to heal, which means in 4 weeks I could be good as new! I just have to use crutches when going up and down hills so that I don't hurt it anymore. Third, I have Chondro Malacia Patella in both knees, which I guess means that it hurts to move my knees. The doctor said to google it, which isn't likely to happen in the next year and about 4 months. I have so little time to work here, and I plan to use it fully!
Anyway, so I got a priesthood blessing from the Ward Mission Leader in Paper Mill yesterday. In it, he stated that my knee would be a hinderance and an obstacle, but not a roadblock in the work. God also blessed him to say that this is a great opportunity to come close to Christ. I was so grateful for this blessing and the many other wonderful things that were said in it. Now I just have to remember them and keep a positive attitude.
I'm really sorry if this email is really jumbled. The doctor was really tugging on my knee, so I'm kind of hurting, so I don't really make sense to myself. Just ask any questions if you are confused about anything.
McKenzie is doing well. She is anticipating telling her mom, and I think that she is feeling a lot more sure about herself, because she realized that she is so much closer to God now, and that is what her mother is always telling her to do. We are praying about a baptismal date.
Hollee didn't come to church yesterday, and we think something is wrong, but since we haven't been able to see her, we don't know. She definitely at least has people in the ward looking over her as legitimate friends though. We are super grateful for that and are hoping to see her as soon as possible." So, could you wonderful people at home do some research for me and figure out what it means that I have this "condition"? I really want to know. The doctor told me to take 2-3 Ibuprofen with every meal, or I can take about as much Aleve. This scares me alittle bit. that is alot of drugs to pump your body full with. Okay, so Mom, I met a very special lady this week. I met Sarah Jean. I don't know her last name, but she wants to be taught, and she knows Wiltbanks! We were led to her door, much like with Adelaide's door (spiritual experience below). So, on Tuesday, we have to be locked in our apartments by 6pm because they don't want anyone to take out any anger on us. That is good. I don't like being hurt :) I'm so glad that we don't have to be political while we are out here. The five minute newscast that we heard was bad enough and I wasn't even trying to listen. Pretty dirty run, huh? Thank you, wonderful women, who sent me a package! The clothing and food items are much appreciated. I have one question... How was the wrapper still on the wafer stick thingies (Pirouettes) but there were stickers stashed inside?!?!?! Which Houdini did that! :) Love you. The clothing is super cute and came the day I had to start using crutches, so it was perfect timing. Sad day for our Paper Mill ward, but both of their new converts just moved out of the ward. :( The sad thing is they are soooo good at supporting new members! They have felt sooooo loved! We'll have to keep in contact. --What did you do for Halloween? Our missionaries dressed up as............missionaries. They pulled it off really well. There were a LOT of people to talk to. LAME!!!!! I was Elder Poole from District Cool for Halloween! And my companion was Elder Thorne. We had a dinner appointment and switched name tags with the English speaking Elders. I was District Leader for over an hour! Then they found a screw in our tire. We had to go inside by 6pm and stay. We played games and didn't do weekly planning like we probably should have...:)
--Everyone is trying to be like Arizona and turn their clocks back. Is daylight savings time only in the US or does Peru do it too? SO LAME!!! We were supposed to change our clocks Saturday night, but I assumed that our phone was smart enough. It wasn't. We showed up at the church at "8:15am" for Ward Council, and the Relief Society President told us we were an hour early. Oh well, more study time :D
--what was your funniest experience this week? MY COMPANION TRIED TO KILL ME!!! IT WAS TOTALLY PREMEDITATED!!!! Voice of reason here (a.k.a. Sister Worthington): it was not premeditated and in my defense, I love bread! *Sister Smith steals the keyboard back from her crazy, killer companion* She tried to kill me! We were in the kitchen, and I was eating a honey bun, because the portuguese branch loves us and gives us food every week :) So I was eating a honey bun that Sister Crazy over here had tried and NOT LIKED. I'm telling you, she is a fruit loop :) So I'm happily eating this wonderful delicious pastry of amazingness, and she turns to me while in the middle of a sentence and gasps SUPER loud while she looks at me with a "I'm going to eat you smile" (Keisha Lyn, I only know this smile because of you :)) I was so suprised and laughing that I big piece of honey bun lodged in my throat. Once I realized it wasn't coming out very easily and she realized I couldn't breath, she started pounding on my back. I am glad to say, I survived, although my throat hurt really bad afterwards. :)
--Candace how did your training go with President Wolfert?
Anyway, the trainer/trainee meeting went great, besides me being in pain. It was awesome, and we were all fired up to go afterwards. They almost didn't let me leave with the ability to drive, but I worked it out.
--What was your most spiritual experience this week? Adelaide, oh Adelaide. We were trying to get gas and then go contacting, and for some reason, our GPS took us outside our area to go get gas. We knew we were supposed to go there, though. Then, we just followed the spirit. Earlier that day, we had both kind of figured out that I need to learn how to take the lead, so I was doing that. I just kind of went where I was led. We went into this nursing community that was literally dead feeling, except for this one area. We went over there. We ended up at someone's garage and what we thought was a back door. I thought, that's creepy. We decided to do it anyway, because as missionaries, we do awkward and rock it! Anyway, so we went up to the door, and a nurse answered. I felt that we should ask for a male resident. She said he had died...awkward. I asked for the living resident. She said that she was dressed for bed and couldn't come to the door...awkward. I asked if we could come back another time to talk to the resident. She said sure! Then my companion saved my sorry butt. She asked the lady if she had ever heard of our church. She said YES! The lady, Adelaide, had talked to the Elders quite a bit and had a BoM. She is a great lady and has such a spiritual strength about her. She isn't in our area, but she is in our mission. We are calling her today, then will probably pass her on to the other missionaries if she is okay with that. We later found out we almost left our mission, which we don't like to do. We knew the spirit was leading us, otherwise, we wouldn't have done it.
I am too lazy and tired to write this all again, so I copied and pasted from the email to my Mission President, taking out anything you don't really need to know. "So, I'm doing pretty good. I just got out of my doctor's appointment, and I found out some fun things. First of all, I'm cleared to drive! We even double checked with the doctor! Second, I have a Lateral Hamstring Strain, which basically means I went a little too far a little too fast on the hills. It takes 3-6 weeks to heal, which means in 4 weeks I could be good as new! I just have to use crutches when going up and down hills so that I don't hurt it anymore. Third, I have Chondro Malacia Patella in both knees, which I guess means that it hurts to move my knees. The doctor said to google it, which isn't likely to happen in the next year and about 4 months. I have so little time to work here, and I plan to use it fully!
Anyway, so I got a priesthood blessing from the Ward Mission Leader in Paper Mill yesterday. In it, he stated that my knee would be a hinderance and an obstacle, but not a roadblock in the work. God also blessed him to say that this is a great opportunity to come close to Christ. I was so grateful for this blessing and the many other wonderful things that were said in it. Now I just have to remember them and keep a positive attitude.
I'm really sorry if this email is really jumbled. The doctor was really tugging on my knee, so I'm kind of hurting, so I don't really make sense to myself. Just ask any questions if you are confused about anything.
McKenzie is doing well. She is anticipating telling her mom, and I think that she is feeling a lot more sure about herself, because she realized that she is so much closer to God now, and that is what her mother is always telling her to do. We are praying about a baptismal date.
Hollee didn't come to church yesterday, and we think something is wrong, but since we haven't been able to see her, we don't know. She definitely at least has people in the ward looking over her as legitimate friends though. We are super grateful for that and are hoping to see her as soon as possible." So, could you wonderful people at home do some research for me and figure out what it means that I have this "condition"? I really want to know. The doctor told me to take 2-3 Ibuprofen with every meal, or I can take about as much Aleve. This scares me alittle bit. that is alot of drugs to pump your body full with. Okay, so Mom, I met a very special lady this week. I met Sarah Jean. I don't know her last name, but she wants to be taught, and she knows Wiltbanks! We were led to her door, much like with Adelaide's door (spiritual experience below). So, on Tuesday, we have to be locked in our apartments by 6pm because they don't want anyone to take out any anger on us. That is good. I don't like being hurt :) I'm so glad that we don't have to be political while we are out here. The five minute newscast that we heard was bad enough and I wasn't even trying to listen. Pretty dirty run, huh? Thank you, wonderful women, who sent me a package! The clothing and food items are much appreciated. I have one question... How was the wrapper still on the wafer stick thingies (Pirouettes) but there were stickers stashed inside?!?!?! Which Houdini did that! :) Love you. The clothing is super cute and came the day I had to start using crutches, so it was perfect timing. Sad day for our Paper Mill ward, but both of their new converts just moved out of the ward. :( The sad thing is they are soooo good at supporting new members! They have felt sooooo loved! We'll have to keep in contact. --What did you do for Halloween? Our missionaries dressed up as............missionaries. They pulled it off really well. There were a LOT of people to talk to. LAME!!!!! I was Elder Poole from District Cool for Halloween! And my companion was Elder Thorne. We had a dinner appointment and switched name tags with the English speaking Elders. I was District Leader for over an hour! Then they found a screw in our tire. We had to go inside by 6pm and stay. We played games and didn't do weekly planning like we probably should have...:)
--Everyone is trying to be like Arizona and turn their clocks back. Is daylight savings time only in the US or does Peru do it too? SO LAME!!! We were supposed to change our clocks Saturday night, but I assumed that our phone was smart enough. It wasn't. We showed up at the church at "8:15am" for Ward Council, and the Relief Society President told us we were an hour early. Oh well, more study time :D
--what was your funniest experience this week? MY COMPANION TRIED TO KILL ME!!! IT WAS TOTALLY PREMEDITATED!!!! Voice of reason here (a.k.a. Sister Worthington): it was not premeditated and in my defense, I love bread! *Sister Smith steals the keyboard back from her crazy, killer companion* She tried to kill me! We were in the kitchen, and I was eating a honey bun, because the portuguese branch loves us and gives us food every week :) So I was eating a honey bun that Sister Crazy over here had tried and NOT LIKED. I'm telling you, she is a fruit loop :) So I'm happily eating this wonderful delicious pastry of amazingness, and she turns to me while in the middle of a sentence and gasps SUPER loud while she looks at me with a "I'm going to eat you smile" (Keisha Lyn, I only know this smile because of you :)) I was so suprised and laughing that I big piece of honey bun lodged in my throat. Once I realized it wasn't coming out very easily and she realized I couldn't breath, she started pounding on my back. I am glad to say, I survived, although my throat hurt really bad afterwards. :)
--Candace how did your training go with President Wolfert?
Anyway, the trainer/trainee meeting went great, besides me being in pain. It was awesome, and we were all fired up to go afterwards. They almost didn't let me leave with the ability to drive, but I worked it out.
--What was your most spiritual experience this week? Adelaide, oh Adelaide. We were trying to get gas and then go contacting, and for some reason, our GPS took us outside our area to go get gas. We knew we were supposed to go there, though. Then, we just followed the spirit. Earlier that day, we had both kind of figured out that I need to learn how to take the lead, so I was doing that. I just kind of went where I was led. We went into this nursing community that was literally dead feeling, except for this one area. We went over there. We ended up at someone's garage and what we thought was a back door. I thought, that's creepy. We decided to do it anyway, because as missionaries, we do awkward and rock it! Anyway, so we went up to the door, and a nurse answered. I felt that we should ask for a male resident. She said he had died...awkward. I asked for the living resident. She said that she was dressed for bed and couldn't come to the door...awkward. I asked if we could come back another time to talk to the resident. She said sure! Then my companion saved my sorry butt. She asked the lady if she had ever heard of our church. She said YES! The lady, Adelaide, had talked to the Elders quite a bit and had a BoM. She is a great lady and has such a spiritual strength about her. She isn't in our area, but she is in our mission. We are calling her today, then will probably pass her on to the other missionaries if she is okay with that. We later found out we almost left our mission, which we don't like to do. We knew the spirit was leading us, otherwise, we wouldn't have done it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)