Week # 61 (Sept. 28, 2015) More tender mercies. They just never end! )

Holapo

Hello everyone. I feel like time is just slipping between my hands i don´t know what to do about it. BUT for the time being, as always, on with the work.  (First part of February will come soon)

This week we worked mainly with Marianela (ok, so embarassing, we found out her name is marianel and not maria elena. She just thought we were "gringas" and couldn´t say it right. Ug. que vergüenza) But She is doing well. She has had SO much happen to her in her life and i think doesnt really understand the healing power of the atonement. She just feels so much pain in her heart. She knows that he book of mormon is true and that this is the truth, but baptism is just so important to her that she doesn´t feel prepared. We are praying and studying hard that she can find her answers and faith in the book of mormon and make her decision. She is serisouly so specail though. I honestly do not feel worthy to teach her. She is one of the most humble, loving people i know and I know that this gospel will help her so much to heal and leave her past behind. Pray for her.

We also worked a lot with P who is a reactivating less active who has a secret plot to get her husbad baptized. haha. She just got married and her husband isnt...the best...human ever. He´s probably really great but he just doesn´t want anything to do with us, or the gospel and drinks and smokes...a lot. But P is the kindest human and she just wants to set the example and start reading and going to church and show him the happiness that gospel brings. We are praying that his heart will be touched at some point.

The COOLEST part of the week was yesterday. I SAW THE SANTANA FAMILY. The family that is amazing and got baptized in Pto Montt. The dad, Marcelo is from here and we were talking to someone the street and their white truck came up and slowed down. And then i was like, "why do i know that truck" and then i saw Hno M
arcelo and i flipped out and Hermana Karina gets out of the car and I screamed and ran up to her we hugged. (meanwhile my companion and this contact were like, What is going on?) but we got out and they told me they were doing great and Hno Marcelo has the Melquesidic preisthood (how do you spell that in english) And hna Karina had her BABY five days after my birthday and is about to recieve her first calling in the primary. The joy in my heart can literally not be described. It was such a miracle that my heavenly father gave me in a time when i really needed to be reminded why I´m here and what i´m doing. :)

I love this gospel so much. I know sometimes it´s not easy. But as they say " the best things in life are never the easeist. I know that this church is true and that God loves us in a way that is indescribable. Reach out to him, becuase is "hands are outstretched still." no matter what. 

Have the most beautiful week :)

LOVE,

Hermana Smoot

ps

I´ll try to send pictures next week. This USB port is broken. (It´s always when i make an extra effort to take them too. Boo. ) haha

Zone PHOTO from a few weeks ago

Week # 60 (Sept. 21, 2015) Hay SOL

Area: Puerto Varas, Chile/ Pto Montte stake

Companion: Sister Braithwaite

Yo y mi compañera. The sun is finally coming out!

This is chile....Sopaipilla for the activity (fried bread)

My compy with some awesome people in the ward. Marcos y su esposa:)

The family that lives across the street. They make yummy food. .) He is the brother of the guy that owns the famous fruit store here. :)

Hola Todos

This week was lovely and so patriotic. We celebrate the 18th of september which is independence day here and pretty much as big is Christmas. And if i thought i ate a lot normally....well I ate MUCH more. But really so many empanadas. This year our president wanted us to work normally even though last year he didn't want us to go out and prosylite becuase everyone drinks. A lot. But he told us to be wise. So us, being in Pto Varas, just didn´t work after it got dark, becuase its safe, but not super safe at night...but don't worry mom. My comp grew up on a farm and has a whole bunch of brothers and could probably scare any chilean. Hahaha. I love her so much.

We have (real) transfers this week but thankfully we are staying here so I get to keep my lovely hilarious compañera and keep working her in Pto Varas. I'm beginning to think that I will spend almost my entire mission here in the Pto Montt stake. :) 

Maria Elena is doing SUPER well. We thought we had lost her for a minute becuase she started to work and for almost the entire week she wasn{t home and wouldn't answer our calls and we thought that maybe she thought we were too persistent or something. And she didn't come to church yesterday when she said she would So we were a little sad. But we went and knocked on her door last night without much faith and she answered! She said that she had just been working a ton with her new job and she was called into work on Sunday morning. But she has started to stop smoking and said she is doing really well. She doesnt feel worthy right now to be baptized keeps saying its such an important decision. But she really wants to do it. I don't feel worthy to teach her honestly. She is such a humble person that has gone through so much and has found the gospel as the light at the end of her tunnel. Pray that she can make it :)

I love you all so much and I'm so grateful for your prayers. Be grateful for this wonderful gospel and feel the joy that it brings and the healing that it gives! Have the most beautiful week ever!

Love, 

Hermana Smoot

Yo y mi compañera. The sun is finally coming out!

This is chile....Sopaipilla for the activity (fried bread)

Week # 59 (Sept. 14, 2015) Puerto Varas: Take 2

Hello lovelies!

This week has been a lot of change, but as always really good change. I´m back in Pto. Varas which is actually in the same stake as my first area in pto Montt (where i was for 7 months) So it´s been really fun connecting with old members. I'm in one ward over but we live with the Hermanas that are in my old Area here. I was actually able to go on splits with one of them for a day becuase on of them is having hip problems. It was the weirdest/coolest thing ever. It felt like a giant day of Deja Vu. Like, literally that sensation all day long. But I was able to see a lot of members and go see the family that owns the Fruit store that gives fruit to all the missionaries.They are fabulous.So it was a good day.

My companion´s name is Hna Braithwaite. She is the coolest ever. She was actually Hna Kogianes´companion in the MTC. So her trainer went to my companion and i´m finishing the training of Hna Braithwaite. (Hna B´s trainer had knee problems so we switched sectors. This one is huge and san pablo is flat and tiny.)

ANYWAY, my companion is awesome, my area is HUGE. Like, SO big and life is good. The first day here my comp said, ya, see the houses over there? that´s our area. Oh, and those over there. and those. And it reminded me of lion king where he says to Simba "Everything that the light touches is ours" Basically the same thing.

We have an INCREDIBLE investigator that has a baptismal date for October 10th. She had been super depressed for a long time becuase of a divorce and lack of work and a lot of really sad things that were happening in her life. One day she was watching movies and came across the Emma Smith movie. She felt the spirit so strong and called one of her friends that was a member of the church and asked her how she could get more. The sisters before had visited her about 2 times and the first time her house was dark and sad and she had´nt showered for days. But the next time, my comp said that she had done a 360. She got ready and her house was clean and she had a light. The lesson we had with her we talked about baptism and invited her for the 10th and even though she doesn´t feel ready right now, she is willing to learn and wants to do it. We bore testimony of how much the gospel has blessed us and she said "Oh, it´s blessed me so much too" I was dying. I have never met anyone like that on my mission. I think it is so amazing how much God really does prepare his children. And sometimes it´s so hard to believe it when there are so many people that just don´t want anything, hear our name and run away or simply slam the door. But as we are diligent and do what we can, however far it is from perfection, god lets us know how much he loves us through the spirit and through his abundand miracles. 

Thank you so much for everything you do. I love you all so much. And i hope that you look for all the miracles that god has put in your lives. However small and insignificant they may seem! ;) Love you!!!

Love,

Hermana Smoot

The lovely Hna Braithwaite. 

The owner of our house. The adorable Hermana Maria. :)

Saying goodbye to president and his wife in San Pablo.

Old members from Pto. Montt (she told me that a couple that we found with hna McClary got married and are ready to get baptized. SO cool.

Week # 58 (Sept. 7, 2015) early transfer

It was super sunny this week and we were definitely happy about it. :)

We found a street that we had never been on. Turns out there weren´t any houses...but there was a gorgeous view. :)

Dear Family, 

So I´d like to start out with the fact that I´m ok, and my dog bite is pretty much better. I have one more doctor´s appointment. But I am walking and normal now. Thank you for all the prayers!

ALSO, our zone leaders just called us and I¨M GOING BACK TO PUERTO MONTT. It´s actually Pto. Varas, but in that zone. I´m literally on the verge of tears right now becuase transfers aren´t for another 2 weeks and I can´t finish being a trainer, and I have to pack and leave today. Which means I won´t be able to say goodbye to anyone or do anything. Basically crying and trying to just swallow and take a leap of faith forward. 

This week was awesome though. We don´t really have many investigators thanks to my small medical problems, but we´ve both been trying really hard to just follow the spirit and talk to every possible person we can. It´s so funny because even as a missionary for more than a year and as a really social person in general, it is so hard to talk to everyone about the gospel. But as i just try to remember how much everone needs this gospel and the reason behind all goals and rules, it helps me a lot to just DO. :)

We had one of the coolest lessons of my mission yesterday and I don´t have the capacity to give all the details, but it was amazing. We taught Veronica, who said the first time we talked to her that she was athiest and was probably never going to change her mind. But after a few attempts she let us in her house and we had only taught her a few times since then with a lot of talking and only a little scripture thought. So i was kind of feeling like it wasn´t worth our time and she wasn´t going to progress, but we had a really good feeling about her. So we went yesterday and were able to start with a song and a prayer and we taught her the basics of the plan of salvation with our little picture drawings. And she just kept saying, well i think differently. And then she started saying that she didn´t know what she thought. And kept just saying, "I don´t know....I don´t know" At one point it got really quiet and she was just looking at the picture of Christ in gethsemene that we put out. She then just said quietly, "It´s just not that easy to change. You just cant" and she started crying and crying. And i grabbed her hand and we bore our testimonies of christ and the atonement. And that change is possible. That there is a god and he loves her more than we can begin to understand. We started tearing up as well and just bore powerful testimony. The spirit was seriously so strong. She promised after that, that she would pray, for the first time in years and years. And then to end, we forgot our book of mormon so Hermana Kogianes gave hers to Veronica to read Enos. The whole thing was just so powerful. Pray that she can feel something when she prays and reads. Even if she doesn´t become a convert and just starts believing in god, it will be such a miracle. 

God is so present in our lives. Although he rairly gives us what we want, nor when we want it. I kept silently complaining why we couldn´t find some incredibly prepared family or why people didn´t want to listen. But like with Maria Elena and our lesson with Veronica, there are so many ways that her works through us to bless his children. His ways are MUCH higher than our ways. We just have to trust him and accept his will.

I´m going to try to take my own adivice this week as a get my new companion and sector and start finding. I love you all so much. And god loves you even more. The atonement is real and changes us everyday as we accept it and keep becoming better. Have a beautifully spiritual week.

Love,

Hermana Smoot 

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Dog bite is not infected anymore...(mom hopes!)

Happy Birthday Mother,

MOM! I love you so much. I"m glad you got my letter on time. I wanted to do something special like a video or something. Sorry. Just know that i love you so much and i am so happy that you are my mother. Have some fro yo or baskin robbins peanut butter icecream. Haha. I love you so much seriously. Thank you for always being there for me. 

My cut is fine and not infected anymore. ill be walking i think tomorrow or Wednesday. Thanks for caring. The vitamins are great and so are the powders. i still have more than half left so i should be fine for a while. feel free to send stuff though. haha. :) I really do love you and I hope you have the BEST DAY EVER!!!

Week # 57 (Aug. 31, 2015) Life in a wooden box 2

Well this week was....fun.

As I failed to mention last week, my leg that was bitten by a dog got infected and the doctor told me that i had to rest for 7 days. Then the doctors said yesterday that it was still bad and gave me another few days....so my week has been life in a little wooden box without ANYTHING to do. Many of you will recieve letters soon though.....

But apart from going a little crazy, and eating my weight every day (am i eating becuase i'm bored? -grinch. yes)  I actually have learned a ton. Without much to do, I was given a lot of time for self reflection and study of the scriptures that i would like to share. :)

First of all I was able to finish the book of mormon and was able to pray about it and I love it so much. The book of mormon is the most powerful book in the world. I feel the love of our heavenly father so much as I read. I invite all of you to read in your moments of distress or if your testimony is lacking. A big dose does wonders.

All week i was praying to know what i could learn from this experience and I'm not sure if i figured it all out, but I do know that from every single thing we go through, heavenly father allows us to learn. There is an article in the liahona about a girl who, with three months left in her mission was sick in bed. And learned a great lesson of patience. She said that she realized that even though she wanted to teach so bad, what the servant learns is just as important as the task at hand. It's hard for me to understand sometimes why things happen when it seems like it won't help his children, but he has plans that are a lot bigger than my plans. HIs will is so hard to accept sometimes. But I know that the frustration that I have felt and the revelation I have recieved will help me for the rest of my mission. I need to remember that the One that calmed the storm was also the One that makes it. And all of it will eventually be for our learning and our good. 

I really love all of you so much. I'm grateful for this oportunity to serve the Lord. Im grateful for my companion who is such and incredible example to me of putting her whole heart in everything. And Im grateful for my MOTHER today who turns thirty-forever (as they say here) who has led and helped me in everything that i do. Mom, you are one of the greatest examples ever. Thank you for your endless service and love. KEEP GOING and loving. 

Sorry this was slightly scatterbrained. I'm excited to leave this week and find all those chosen and prepared people. PRAY that we can find them. :) 

Much much love,

Hermana Smoot

Our sister training leaders brought us,"the other side of heaven" and my COMP totally was in charge for a couple hours during splits. ANd sshe did wonderfully.

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