Zone Development

So, we had no appointments this week!  But that still didn't stop the work from going!  Let me explain! 

So, no appointments means no investigators, which mean no one at church, which means no baptisms, which mean no one is coming unto Christ!!!  And that’s not a good thing!

But....

I did however set up five potential investigators appointments! That means at least five people want to come unto Christ!!  And that’s a good thing! 

I had a new goal this week!!!!  That goal was to make a new friendship that could change someone’s life!!!  and I did achieve that goal!

We have a member, who’s name is Jonathan, he is 22 and doesn't want to serve a mission!  I really want him to serve a mission!  Not only because it will change his life forever! (like it is doing to mine!) but because the mission field needs him!!!

He is a way creative guy! super organized! he can talk to basically anyone! and he is not afraid to talk to anyone! he would be an awesome missionary!

Basically we went on splits, I was with him! then a few days later he sent me a text asking where can he find missionary clothing! Now, he is very big into fashion, so I told him missionarymall.com then he asked for any other ones!  I told him for missionary approved clothing he could check on LDS.org.  Besides that I don't know of any other ones!  So, my example could have him thinking about serving a mission!!!! 

I hope he does!!!!!

But now the fun part!!!  Yesterday was Zone Development!  It’s a new thing the mission president decided to build zone unity!  It was so much fun and let me tell you why....

So it was from noon until 9:00 p.m.!  During that time we just played the whole day!!!  We had an art contest!  My team lost!  It was good though!!  We played some chair football!  Then we had real fun! we did go-kart racing!!!! and finally a BBQ!  Let me tell you how came to pass!!!! 

Well, there‘s a member who owns like 5 bakeries! He is very well off with his money!  Well, he heard about the Zone Developments and wanted to help because he loves missionaries!  So he paid for it all!!!  It was a great day! 

But I love hearing from you guys and I love you all!!!!

Take care my family!!!!!!!

Elder Smith is signing off!!!!

Elder Smith's Cray Cray Week

So, this week was pretty cray cray!  Last week, Monday, we got a call from our Mission President at like 7:00 at night!  He called to tell us that we will be placed into a TREE-O!!!!  I was so excited for it!  There was a problem though!  Our flat is just two small!  We can barely fit two Elders in there!  So, president told us to switch flats with the other Elders who are in Pollok!  We did not want to do that because we would have to take everything from out of our flat and put it in the other flat!  The other team would have to do the same!  The problem is that we can only travel by bus and there is a lot of stuff to move!  So...

The other team came over the next day to see if the extra bed would fit!  It did! The Zone Leaders came over and said we could stay and didn't have to move! That way it would be less stressful!  And if it got stressful to have three elders in the flat then we would switch!

So we didn't move flats and we got an new Elder!  Elder Griffin! He's a good guy!  We were getting along fine in the flat and everything was good! 

We did a power hour thing with a member!  We have one good potential out of it and we got a return appointment with him!  Well, there was a language barrier and we mixed up our appointment time!  So, Sunday we decided to stop by to see if he was in!  HE WAS THERE! and he let us in!  We taught him the restoration and he didn't argue with it at all!  The only problem he had was about prophets!  He doesn't see why we need a prophet at all!  We didn't do a very good job explaining it really well!

Then yesterday (Monday) the zone leaders called and said President Brown was not happy that we didn't move and to move!  So we did, then the Mission Flat Cleaning lady came to our new flat and ripped us a new one!  Said we needed to clean this flat and keep it clean! Before she left said  "I'm not trying to scare you, I'm just trying to teach you!" 

Well, me being me, I couldn't help but say, "well you are pretty good at both!" She smiled.

That is my week in a nutshell  i love you family and friends! The lesson i learned this week is to OBEY EVERYTHING!!!!!!! 

Shout out is to my wee sister Molly... Happy birthday Again!!!!!!

Cheers,

McKay

Conference was amazing!

Well, Conference was amazing!  Okay, so George hasn't been out to church yet and I don't know how to get him out!  George is the guy who has committed to baptism, if you are just tuning in!  I need to fix it!  If anyone have any suggestions let me know! 

Anyway, all is well here, I'm healthy and still living! The biggest problem isn't the people we are teaching right now, but it is the ward.  I didn't realize how much influence the ward has on missionary work!  We have a resent convert who has been having Husband problems.  She hasn't been coming out to church since I've came out here!  Me and my companion stopped by and visit her whenever we can!  Not one person from the ward has stopped by to see her at all! It's frustrating!  I'm going to change that! 

We have another investigator who is scared to find out if the Book of Mormon is true!  She used to be a Jew. She’s had the discussions and was planning to get baptized when she moved to America, but never moved!  After talking to her, she told us she is just scared to join the church!  Her husband is okay with her joining the church and he doesn't have anything against the church, it’s just that she knows if the Book of Mormon is true then she would have to join.  If she did join she would be all in and a solid Latter-day Saint!  She also knows if she joins her husband wouldn’t have the priesthood!  They can't go to the temple together and she wants him to experience the blessings too!  So I'm going to start working on him now! 

Oh yeah, she asked us if there were any ward activities she could bring her husband too!  Well, sadly we didn't!  I asked Bishop and he said they didn't have anything planned.  I asked if the ward could put one together and all he said was that they didn't have any ideas for one!  So this is where you guys are coming in!  I need you to email me all the ward activities ideas you have or are planning to have!  That way we can have ideas for an ward activity! The winner gets a shout out!  So good luck!

Conference was Awesome!  I loved most of the talks!  My favorite was from Elder M. Russell Ballard!  Following up is very important!  But most important is the follow up on the ward members with their PMG reading!

That is all I have to write about today and My shout out will go to mom! Thanks for sending me that package! I love everything in there!  It made me miss home a wee bit! 

But that is all my happenings over here! I miss you all and I hope you all are doing well! I love you guys!

Cheers,

Elder Smith

Another One Bites the Dust!

So this week was alright!!!

On Tuesday we did exchanges.  My companion and I went to the bus stop and we saw this old man struggling to walk down the street!!! I asked if he needed help and then escorted him to his destination!!!  (His destination was the pub by the way!)  We chatted and he asked if I wanted to join him at the pub!  I cheerfully declined and told him how God gave me this body, I want to respect it and... I'm also to young to drink!!!  He stopped, looked at me and laughed!!!! then said "You can never be to young to drink!!!!!" we had a great laugh. I dropped him off at the pub and started think... I'm suppose to be bringing people closer to Christ not the Bar!!! I felt bad! 

Every Thursday we play football. I wanted to headbutt the ball but somehow my face got in the way!! that hurt!!!  I decided to just keep playing!! The next day one of the players said I have really improved my football skills since I first arrived!  He's promised to start teaching me the terminology now!!!  I'm SO Excited!!!!! #footballforlife

Saturday was the highlight of my week, we have an investigator named George.  I asked him to be baptized....he agreed and if everything all goes well then he'll be a member on the 26th of April!!!   

That’s all going on in my life.  I love hearing from you all!  Even if I don't reply back, I still read all your messages!!!  I love you all and stay clean!!

My shout out for the week goes to Madison!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SISTER!!!! I miss you and sure do love you!!!!

Elder Smith 

mckay.smith@myldsmail.net

From Elder Smith

Okay this week wasn't really that special. Honestly, nothing happened!  It seems like we can't find an investigator with any interest!  I did, however, go on exchanges this week--two of them!!

My first exchange was with Elder Winhausen!!  He's German but not German!! What I mean is he has no German accent and he sounds American!  Honestly, every one we talk to asks him what part of America he is from!!!  Second, he loves to drive around listening to the star spangle banner!!!  IN SCOTLAND!!!! With our windows rolled all the way down!!!! Two for AMERICA!!!! 

My second exchange was with Elder Farnsworth!! He is from Utah!! Exchanges where Friday and Saturday morning!  With him I experienced my first Friday night party in the mission field!  We finished working for the day and bought some sweets, went back to our flat and had movie night!!!  We watched the Prophet of the Restoration!!!!  We stayed up pretty late.... 10:30... Party!!!!  That was pretty fun!!!!

Two miracles happened this week!!!

First, we missed the bus on Sunday for church, so we started walking!!!! My shins started to hurt--I was like "I can't give up.... I can't be late! I need to push through it!!!" Then five minutes later a ward member pulled over and gave us a lift!!! This is proof the Lord always provides a way!!!  Well, as long as you are putting in 100%.

The second miracle!!!  I was on exchanges with Elder Farnsworth, we were going out for a dinner appointment!!!! An excommunicated member called and wanted us to go over there and see him!!!! We couldn't because of our dinner appointment!!!!  Just then Elder Farnsworth was like "oh a new voicemail!!" Our DA was cancelled!!!!  So, we stopped by this ex-member’s house, he was sad and by the time we left he felt a little better!!!  We needed to be there!!!! 

I love hearing from you guys!  I miss you!!! and can you believe it!!!! I'VE BEEN OUT FOR A WHOLE MONTH!!!!! well on the twentieth of course!!!! crazy!!!!! Well I love you all and read your scriptures!!!!! 

Oh yeah, I'm going to do the weekly shout out!!!! 

So shout out to Carrie & Stefani!!!! I sure do miss someone yelling my name!!!!

Love,

Elder Smith 

mckay.smith@myldsmail.net

Hello from Elder Smith

It’s a big change!

So, my P-day has officially changed to Mondays and will stay like that for the rest of my two years!!!  I'm finally out here serving in the field!  My area is the Pollok area and it's in Scotland.  The first day I got here it rained all day ALL DAY!!!!!  It's nothing like dry Idaho. They have green grass here at this time of the year!  If you guys think Idaho has a Bi-polar climate then you’ve never been to Scotland. I woke up one morning and it was sunny, then it was cloudy, then it was snowing, then sunny, then raining, then snowing again, then sunny and then I ate my lunch!!!! 

I play football here (soccer) and have no clue what I am doing. I probably look like a chicken dancing around the field!  However, I did get the last save of the game!  We still lost but as a missionary I can't be competitive.  The final score though was FUN to FUN!! 

I cannot understand people here, they talk really fast and use some funny words! like Chap which means to knock on a door, or even Rubbish meaning Trash!!!! Some how they all can tell I'm American by my accent! I NEVER HAD AN ACCENT BEFORE!!!!  I am proud to support America! AMERICA!!! 

To explain to you about the city I am in, I'm going to tell you a story!!! We were chapping on the flats (apartments) and we came to this door and there was this brown smear on the door... It was POOH!!!! That basically sums up the whole entire city, Pooh on the street, pooh on the door, and pooh in the toilet! I sure do love it!!!!

Now my companion, He’s black and from London. He's been out for 22 months and he decided to extend his mission another transfer! He is pretty cool, but when he is in a hurry he can walk so fast! I can't keep up to him! 

I walk everywhere by the way. The 10 pounds I gained in the MTC, yeah all gone!!!! So upsetting I worked hard for that, oh well what can you do!!!

I love hearing from you guys and I miss you all so keep sending me emails. I read them all.

Cheers,

Elder Smith

Hello From Elder Smith

Hey Y’all,

So, seriously in 1 hour I will be on a bus going to Scotland or Ireland!!! I am so stoked!  I don't have much time to email--about five minutes.  So I'll just have to sum up my ENGLAND MTC EXPERIENCE!!!!

My Compianion - He was a good MTC companion but he hated being here! He decided to live as a missionary seven weeks before he actually came on his mission--just so he wouldn't fall into temptation. So by the time he got here he wanted to go right out to the mission field.  So being here at the MTC, he was useless!!!!

THE FOOD- Amazing!!!!!!!!! (Enough said!)

The place- very well kept and looks brand new! better then Provo...

What I got out of it- much more then anyone will understand! After being here in just the MTC, I learned a lot and grew a stronger testimony.  We were sent here by God and that he is our loving Heavenly Father!  I know without a doubt that Joseph Smith restored the gospel and made it possible so families can be together forever!  

I love you all, but I must get going!!

TTFN

(TA TA FOR NOW)

Elder Smith is OUT!!!!

P.S. I love hearing from you guys keep up the good work!!!!!! mckay.smith@myldsmail.net