Happiness is a Choice

Hey there!

I have had an amazing week, I really have but lets see if I can remember anything that has happened....

Meet the Mormons, or Conozca a Los Mormones is finally coming to Mexico! The mission president got us all together and we watched it, and can I just say WOW! It was so amazing! I was laughing and crying the whole time. TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO GO SEE IT. That is if they haven't already. I guess they are letting all the missionaries see it first so that we can encourage everyone to go see it when it comes out on the 27th. The kick-boxer from Costa Rica is coming to Mexico.

As we were walking out of the stake center a family from our ward pulled in with their missionary son. He got sent home early. His parents were still crying. That was seriously the most hear-breaking thing! I had no idea what to say to them.

Anyway we have had a rough week. These investigadores that are awesome have still not come to church and we are at the point were we need to drop them. That breaks my heart. Why can't things like this just get easier after a while? It really never is easy.

I've learned to accept challenges, and even embrace them because they are prime opportunities to learn. I have really been able to learn how to recognize my own mistakes. I think the biggest thing that I have learned out here is how to take responsibility for my own errors, without blaming others or the circumstances. Its hard, ITS REALLY HARD, but it has been something very much needed so I guess it's worth it. 

Another thing that I have learned (remembered) is that happiness is a CHOICE. Haha I can still hear Mom's voice saying that, but it's true! I am a missionary in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ! I have the saviors help, and the promise of the gift of the Holy Ghost. I am helping others come unto their Savior. How can I NOT be happy??? What a marvelous opportunity I have! How amazing is my call! I love it! I am so proud of you Erinn and I know that you will find the same joy!

Love you all!
Elder Smalley

Arachnophobia

February 16, 2015

Hello family!

Hope you had a great valentines day! So today are transfers. I am staying in the same area, with the same compañero, for a third transfer. That was a big surprised. I really didn't believe it when the zone leaders told me. I thought they were joking. If I recall correctly I told them that it wasn't funny and to call back when they were going to give the real transfers. Haha. Still working on not being so sassy. oops. well they never called back...

Its not that I wanted to leave or anything like that, but we were just really sure that one of us ws going to go so it was just a big shock. Not sure why, but I know that the Lord does everything he does because he loves his children, so that's enough for me. How great is it that the gospel blesses us with understanding!

Alright well now I'm going to explain the title. Here's what happened. Monday I was washing dishes and i felt something on the back of my hand. I thought it was just water but when I looked at it what do you know, a giant spider on my hand. Okay it wasn't that big but it was big enough and the picture really doesn't do it justice. Well I freaked out and screamed like a sister missionary for a second. I can still feel it on my hand. Spencer, I'm sorry I ever made fun of you!!! I am not officially terrified of spiders. Well since then I have found two more of them. I think it's time to fumigate, or burn the house down. Really quite traumatic. 

Well this week we have spent a lot of time tracting and talking to people, just really trying to find. I LOVE the book of mormon, it has been such a guide for me these past few weeks. 

Please pray that I don't get eaten by spiders.

LOVE YOU ALL

Elder Smalley

"say hello to Joe Smith"

Hey Famila!

This week has been super long, and HOT! Its like a very nice Utah July now, which concerns me, because we are in February.

well Sister Mineve Campbell always starts off all her emails with a quote of the week. Well today I would like to start off with one, except its a "cita de la semana". We did exchanges with the lideres de zona and I was with Elder Giles and as we were walking down the street this man stops and looks at Elder Giles dead in the eye and with the angriest face ever he says "say hello to Joe Smith" in ENGLISH, and then just kept walking. the best part was Elder Giles responded "okay". haha I was laughing so hard.

This week Angello got baptismed! It was a show trying to get ropa bautismal again. I have seriously never seen somebody so excited to get baptized. It's been really fun to teach the whole family and help them gain their own testimonies. I have especially enjoyed seeing the unity they have obtained by reading the libro de mormon as a family. I am so grateful for the way the gospel blesses families.

Also we were able to confirm an investigadora that got baptized but never got confirmed. All week I had been thinking about her and we finally found her Saturday night on the street. I was shocked at how easily she accepted to come to church, when we hadn't been able to get her to come in the past. Just a testimony builder that the lord prepares people in his time. 

The district is doing alright. we really just need to FIND and BAPTIZE at the same time. haha what a concept. The president wants us to contact 12 every day. It has been pretty fun. One problem that we have is that I like to do everything by myself, which is BAD. I need to start to let my companion do his part.

HAPPY VALENTINES day! I LOVE this gospel! and I love you all!!!!

Elder Smalley

shoutout to the Hermana Rich! good to hear from ya!

We taught the restoration again with them, only the power went out

February 2, 2015

Hey there!

Wow I mean time goes by really fast but this week especially. I cannot believe that 2 years ago I was on a scooter because I couldn't walk.

Well this week we went to Jose, Esmeralda and Lupita's. We taught the restoration again with them, only the power went out, so we taught with the light of Esmeralda's smartphone. hahaha we had WAY too much fun with the whole 'I saw a pillar of light' part hahaha you had to be there...

Remember the two ladies I told you about last week that I contacted? We have seriously had some awesome lessons with them. They are seriously going through some hard times. We gave one of them a priesthood blessing and afterwards she said that she couldn't feel the pain anymore. that was pretty cool! after all that, they didn't come to church. 20 minutes before we were going to pass for them, they called and cancelled. gah! if they only knew how much it would help them!!!

I was super tired on Saturday. at 9:30 I decided to lay down on my bed for just a minute. there were books and laundry and letters for my district all over my bed and I still had my tie and my shoes on but I was just so tired and them the next thing I know it was 6:30 the next morning. haha oops. 
well we are going to have a baptism on Wednesday! sorry this is short one again! It's not my fault, the hermanas in my district needed my signature for one of their baptismal records and they were trying to find were we were and I lost a lot of time trying to guide them over the phone. 

LOVE YOU ALL!!!
Elder Smalley

I really have no idea why the Lord blesses us so much

January 26, 2015

Hello!

So I was trying to figure out what to title this post and I realized that in nine months from tomorrow I come home. WHAT! Anyway I just want to point out to Jenn, Shannon, and Mckay that this is your LAST CHANCE to give me more sobrinos before I come home. haha

Oh my goodness this week has flown by so incredibly fast. They say that the first year goes by slow and the 2nd goes by fast. My experience is that the first year went by super fast and I don't even have time to blink for the second one. Seriously. I have been super busy this week. The Hermanas in my district got super sick and can't leave their house and so I have been visiting their investigators as well as visiting my own investigators and trying to find new ones. also we have had very little time this week to proselyte because of all that went on. I had interviews this week. It went really well. We mostly talked about my back haha. Hope Spencer's back is doing better than mine! Take advantage of the US healthcare while you still can haha!

We just have been so blessed it amazes me. We have really found some great new investigators which was much needed. On Wednesday, we went with a family that had been progressing and had gone to church and everything. They told us that they weren't going to get baptized. That just really hurt. I don't know why, I mean, by now I should really be getting used to it, but it just never gets easy. It is so painful to watch people turn away the most valuable thing in the world. BUT, there is an opposition in all things. I have experienced so much joy in finding new people that are humble and ready to learn. I contacted one lady that said that she has been looking for Mormon missionaries for SEVEN YEARS!!! When her husband died a friend told her to listen to them, but that they had never stopped her in the street to talked to her like I had done, and she didn't know that we were Mormons. It amazes me. I really have no idea why the Lord blesses us so much. I feel like there is so much that I am not doing, it overwhelms me to think of the blessings that I could receive if I just work a little bit harder. 

Well on Monday we stopped by a recent convert's house to see if we could find her and we got there just in time to celebrate because the 2nd counselor in the bishopric had just proposed to her! Ha, weird. Anyway someone recorded the whole thing. When we listened to the recording, it was the first time I had heard myself speaking in Spanish. Someone said that I sounded like a chilango, which really isn't a compliment, actually its not considered a compliment at all here, but I was flattered anyway because its better than sounding like a greengo haha.

I am seriously loving teaching this family of the nine year old. It amazes me how much profound doctrine he understands when we read the Libro de Mormon together. It just builds my testimony of what Presidente Ezra Taft Benson said in predicad mi evangelio that even a child can understand the doctrine in the Book of Mormon. 

El Sabado I had to go to Tijuana for a meeting of all the district leaders. We went up Friday night and spent the night in the house of the assistants. It is so much fun to go back to Tijuana. I LOVE that city! We had a really fun night in the assistants house. This week I also did my fist back tuck in like 14 months. I was so scared. I had no idea where I was in the air and I just barely managed to get my heels on the ground before I fell over backwards on my butt from over rotating. Well at least I can still do it! Doing just one took a lot of effort and my abs are sore. I try not to think about the changes that are happening in my body because when I do, it makes me want to cry. Please still love me even if my fat is hanging over. Oh well the food is really good.

I just heard that Camilo got a calling and is a counselor in the hombres hovenes! that is good to hear!

love you so much! happy birthday Jenn!

ELDER SMALLEY!!!