No me importa. Jesu Cristo vive.

Hola! 

So today marks my fourth week here in the MTC!  It's weird to think that I've been gone for an entire month! It's hard to say what's new, because every day feels very similar. I eat a lot, sit for 3 hours in a class, study, eat some more, sit some more, and eat again.  That's pretty much the summary. We had two Elders in our district leave yesterday for a transfer to the Columbia MTC, so we were sad to see them go.  It's amazing how close you can get to people, and it was a blessing to have them in our district for a month.  Now we have an all sisters district!  We love being around each other and learning the ropes together.  I will say that I like the other sisters more than I like my companion, but that's probably because I'm with her literally 24/7 (and because she annoys me). 

 Our district has become famous for our gym time activities!  For the most part, we're all pretty athletic, and during gym we hold 'classes' in the living room and kitchen in our apartment.  Sometimes I'll lead in stretching, yoga, or pilates, another sister is into strengthening and muscle toning, and this cute, tiny little gymnast leads the hardest kickboxing class!  I'm sure we look ridiculous going hard core with blue grass hymns pumping in the background, but we love it.  Since we're not in Main campus, we have to get creative.  Yesterday we had to turn other sisters in our zone away because we didn't have enough room.  

The MTC does feel like school in some aspects.  We have grammar lessons, assessments, book work, and online language programs all for Spanish.  During our 'Sunday Walk' time, we decided to watch Mormon Messages in our classroom because who wants to walk around in 5 degree weather?  But one of the videos was in Spanish and was by people living Argentina.  We can understand our teachers' clear, precise Spanish easily, but listening to someone speak 'real' Spanish is like listening to a different language!  Well someone said 'don't read the subtitles, only if you really need to!' And at the end of the video, everyone was either smiling or laughing because we understood the video!!  Parts were a little jumbled, but we understood 'real' Spanish :) Speaking it is a completely different matter...  I know a lot of Spanish, but it's difficult to recall everything, and then I have to talk around myself at times if I don't know a specific word.  As the days go on, though, I'm finding that I don't have to translate as much in my head when I speak and I can just talk.  

Something cool that happened for our Sunday devotional was that the BYU men's Chorus came to preform for us!  They are really excellent, and their CD 'Set Apart' is one we listen to on the computer during study time.  I was thinking about C.J. the whole time and how great he would be in that choir if he decides to go to BYU.  Or any choir, really.  

Last Wednesday we took 'family' pictures as a district!  We can go to Brigham's Landing on P-days and there's a Fed-Ex over there, so being the cute missionaries that we are, we decided to make a Christmas Card :)  I'll be sending one to Nana and Papa, Gram, and Grandpa, and one back home so you can see how adorable we all are.  

C.J. keeps sending me Patriots updates, Giorgi wrote me a 2 sentence letter pertaining to a lotion malfunction, Mom continues to give me updates on topics both serious and silly, I got Christmas cards from the grandparents, a Christmas package and card from the Bird family, and almost daily letters from Manda and Paulo :)  And someone just barely handed me a package slip!!  Thanks to all of you for continuing to take care of me.  I wish I could call you up right after I receive things every night to express my gratitude, but weekly updates and snail mail are all I can do.  But please know how grateful I am to go through mail from you every night.  

Christmas here should be excellent.  Tuesday devo is on Christmas Eve, so we should be getting one of the 12, and Wednesday we're told we should be getting 2 apostles.  It's like the 12 days of Christmas, Mormon style!!  So don't worry about me!  This will probably be the best Christmas I could have.  I'll have about 20 minutes of e-mail time next Wednesday, just because there are so many of us here, but if I don't send out an update for next week, Merry Christmas!!  

I realize that I sort of strayed from  missionary code and you all thought you were clear from a spiritual message from Sister Smith! SORRY!! I can't help it!  I'll just leave you with a brief testimony.  I love the simple, yet fundamental truths of the gospel.  These truths are the foundation of our church and are doctrine revealed to us by prophets and seers.  I know that through the Holy Spirit we can receive revelation from our Heavenly Father.  Something I've been focusing on a lot is my personal relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ.  Of all the things that go wrong in our lives, of all of the sadness, hurt, and evils in the world, it does not change my relationship with my Savior.  I love that we are all promised Salvation. And it in no way means a perfect, easy life.  It means that through enduring to the end, we are promised everything our Father in Heaven has, even eternal life and eternal joy.  A new motto that I've picked up is "No me importa. Jesucristo vive."  Something goes wrong, it doesn't matter.  Jesus Christ lives.  I know that He lives, and I know that through Him our journey though this is SO much better!! We're promised "incomprehensible joy" if we build our foundation on Christ, the Redeemer of the world.  -Alma 28 :8 I love my Savior and this time of year which reminds us to turn outward and think of others, not our selves and to abandon the natural man which is in all of us. 

Love you all! 

Hermana Smith

Elder Nelson Delivers Spiritual Thanksgiving Feast to MTCs

http://www.lds.org/church/news/elder-nelson-delivers-spiritual-thanksgiving-feast-to-mtcs?lang=eng

This is the talk that Elder Russell gave that Madelyn referenced in her last letter.  There is also a photo gallery from the MTC on Thanksgiving Day, and try as I might, I couldn't find Madelyn.  However, she was there, singing in the choir, and helping with the service project.  :)

Letter to Dad, Dad's response, Letter to Mom (this is a long post!)

Hi Dad!!!!

Hope all is going well at work for you this week! I suppose I should have clarified, but our "investigators" are really just MTC teachers, but the lessons seem so real.  I'm doing very well here, and the food isn't bad at all.  I'm in no risk of malnutrition while at the MTC.  It's difficult to summarize the events of the MTC, so I guess I'll just do a re-cap of my week.  Here's the rundown!

-The Holidays are absolutely incredible! On Thanksgiving we were privileged to have Russel M. Nelson as our devotional speaker.  The missionaries also participated in a service project for the children in Utah who go home hungry on the weekends.  Our goal was to compose, seal, and package 350,00 meals to be shipped out by the end of the day.  We were able to reach 350,282 meals!! Something really great from Elder Nelson's talk was a point he brought up about putting away childish ways.  He shared the scripture 1 Corinthians 13:11 and reminded us of our purpose as missionaries.  We are hastening the work of the Lord.  In order to put Christ first, we must out ourselves second.  So after that, I looked in 1 Corinthians 13 and it is the most bomb chapter about service and charity!! (can you say that about the scriptures??) So at the very end of the chapter, Peter tells us to put away childish things, and I think it's pretty perfect, right? In order to fully immerse ourselves in the service of others, we need to forget our childish, selfish way and think about what we need to do to have the work go forth. 

-On December 1st we had a mission Christmas devotional.  I wish I could tell you all about it because it was such a special day centered on Christ.  Seeing as I only have an hour, I'll just tell you my favorite point.  Sister Nally, the wife of our MTC president said, "That very first Christmas, Joseph and Mary were very young, very poor, and very alone.  Today, we have decorations, Christmas programs, presents, and Santa Claus.  But that first Christmas there was just a baby in a manger."  The gifts we have inherited from the Savior's birth bless us each and every day.  His perfect example, His Gospel (the priesthood, prophets, knowledge, love, etc. etc.) and His Atonement.  Sister Nally closed with saying, "May each of us be willing to give unto Him the gifts of our hearts, as He has given us His everything."  Perhaps our family can consider the gifts we can give the Lord.  I'm not sure if I can get to the point in my life when I can say, "I'll give my everything. All I own, all I have, all I am." But the only way any of us can get to that point, I think, is living through Him and by Him.

 -The next really awesome thing (yes, there's more!) happened just last night at our Tuesday night devotional.  There was such an energy going around the MTC as everyone knew we were expecting a general authority!  we  were sitting in the Lorenzo Snow building when an elder came up to the stand to remind everyone of the protocol  for when a G.A. arrives. Stand up when he enters and leaves, etc.  Our eyes were glued to the projections screen  where they show the name of the speaker.  A couple minutes went by and the name appeared!  After about 5 seconds of silence, thousands of missionaries just said, "WHO?". The speaker was Bruce C. Hafen, a very accomplished man who has been in the 70, Dean of BYU law school, and President of BYU-I, said that at 4:30 that afternoon he received a call from DAVID A. BEDNAR asking him to fill in for him as he was unable to attend due to weather (it was barely a blizzard...). I felt so bad for him! Can you imagine having to fill in for Elder BEDNAR as a speaker?! But it was great, Brother Hafen's message was just what I needed to hear.  He talked a lot about why we go to the temple before our missions, the power of the endowments we take out, and also about our trials we are promised to have.  He brought up Alma 28:8 which recalls of Ammon and his brother's "sufferings in the land, their sorrows, and their afflictions, and their incomprehensible joy".  Brother Hafen told us not to "faint in the day of trouble.  Don't blame yourselves, don't blame the area you are in, or the people around you.  There will be joy if your hearts are kept open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit."  I know there is a work to do, Dad. Heavenly Father has told us this, but it is also preceded by "You are my son".  Especially during this very sad, difficult time, I know that we have the incredible opportunity to know our Father on such a deeper, personal level.  And the price we pay to know Him will be a privilege. Thanks to you and mom, I have grown up with the knowledge that living a worthy, righteous life is sometimes all we can do.  I know that it's the best thing we can do right now so we can call upon our Father in Heaven and ask for strength and blessings only He can deliver.  I know some people ask, during times of pain and sorrow, "where is my God? There can be no God if I'm feeling such pain".  I know that it is ONLY through Him and our Savior that we can overcome these hardships.  When we feel as though we can't put one foot in front of the other, that's when we can see the outstretched hand of the Lord, beckoning us to come unto Him for support.  I love you all and think about you, mom, the kiddos, and especially Gram, Grandpa, Les, Mark, and sweet Paige.  Every time I kneel by my bed morning and night and plead with my Father, I feel such comfort.  I know everything will be alright, no matter what happens, and that's one of the beautiful things about the Gospel.  

 Thank you for your "Dear-Elders" I can't express how I love hearing from you! Especially the one where you were just sitting in the airport, waiting for your flight :) Thanks for thinking of me and being the best example to me and my siblings.  

I love you, Dad!!

Great timing.  I just finished a phone interview and was about to eat lunch when your e-mail arrived.  It is great hearing from you.

I am so happy that you are enjoying your MTC experience.  The service aspect is something new (compared to when I was there) and it sounds like a very positive and meaningful activity that will prepare you for continuing compassionate service when you get to CA. 

The MTC is a very special place; probably the only place where someone can be “disappointed” that they didn’t get to hear from your preferred General Authority J.  Service of any type is an aspect of “putting away childish ways”.    One aspect of the Savior’s Plan of Happiness is that most of us get to experience a wide variety of phases and aspects of life.  One fundamental and utterly unique phase of life is childhood; it is the only time when it is OK to focus exclusively on ourselves and when others don’t mind us crying when we don’t get what we want or become frustrated when our needs aren’t being immediately met.  It is special and innocent, but ultimately has to come to an end.  We experience it so we can provide the same to our children; asking a child to grow up too soon and take upon them adult or adolescent cares, worries and responsibilities is a sin.  So, any time we serve we are putting others first and, by definition, putting away childish ways because the way of a child is to put themselves first, foremost and even exclusively.  To render the type of service that you are doing as a Missionary is to further distance yourself from the child phase of life and thoroughly embrace an adult phase.  Many people associate adulthood with self-sufficiency.  I think the Lord would have us define adulthood as being able to care for ourselves so that we can also care for others.  An adult that only cares for themself is no different than a child.  That is why some people who adults by virtue of their age are still children in their attitude; they put themselves first.

I think that Sister Nally’s comments are excellent.   However, don’t allow yourself to doubt or question your ability to live a consecrated life.  You’ve made covenants to do so when called upon but too often people associate that with an event or timeframe that will be announced and defined.  I think what fulfills Sis. Nally’s admonition to give our everything to the Lord is when we fast, tithe, keep the Sabbath and serve.  When we do these things we forego worldly opportunities in exchange for Celestial ones.  Your time spent as a fulltime Missionary is, in essence, a tithe of your life.  You are essentially giving 10% of all your current life and giving it all to the Lord.

I think that a fundamental gospel concept that compliments Elder Hafen’s remarks is that there is most certainly going to be difficulties in life; in the context of a Missionary it is my sincere belief that when you successfully share the gospel with someone and have that message attended and confirmed by the Holy Ghost that is inevitable that Satan will attempt to counteract that experience.  You’ll go from having the most spiritual experience in your life to learning within 24 hours of your visit that your investigator has encountered some profound setback or experience (financial set back that questions his ability to tithe; introduction to an old habit that questions his ability to live the Word of Wisdom, family pressure that questions his ability to join the Church, sexual temptation that questions his ability to live the law of Chastity, etc., etc., etc.).  That is an aspect of what Hafen said will cause people to “faint in the day of trouble”.  However, knowing that this “counter attack” will come allows you to prepare people for it; to strengthen them before they even know they need the assistance.  Just as you pointed out, the remedy is The Lord.  I am not suggesting that you follow up each discussion with a Debbie Downer warning, but teaching people to pray, to anticipate difficulties, to recognize what the Spirit feels like so that they can compare it to other feelings, are ways of preparing them.  The principle Hafen shared is correct and applicable in your direct efforts as a Missionary.  It is great for us to know personally to help us overcome our difficulties, but it is an essential for someone that is just being introduced to the gospel and gospel living.

I love you and I love getting your letters (even if it is address “Dear Mom”).  Keep them coming.  Let us know who you are teaching so that we can pray for them too.  Share with us your concerns so we can provide encouragement.  Tell what you’ve learned so that we can grow with you.

Dad

Hi Momma!!! 

Sooooo I don't have a lot of time left, so this will be quick!  Thank you thank you for your letters and your package!! Really, I'm in no risk of malnutrition while at the MTC!! I love you so much and think about you every day!  I just sent a newsletter of sorts to dad, so ask to see that when he gets home!  It's a bit personal, but it's an update of the incredible week I've had!!  You're more than welcome to share it.  So the record to date is 2 packages and 5 letters in ONE day!!!! hahaha I know what it feels like to get so many goodies from everyone so now when I only get one letter a day I'm just like "aaaaaaw".  Where everyone else just tells me to shut up because they get one letter a week ;) If I had time I would e-mail Gram and Gramps right now, but I'm honestly over my time limit already... Next time you talk to them please express my love for them!! And thank them so much for me for their gift! I'm always praying for them and Les and Paigey!!  (You're sort of my messenger, sorry) And to Nana, I thank her for all of her letters and her card!  Her testimony is a constant source of strength for me!!  Em and Erin are just funny :)  I love love love my letters!!! Kay and Kim also wrote which was very sweet!! Manda and Paulo write me regularly both with dear elder and through e-mail :)  Now who the heck sent me the most adorable little water bottle from shutterfly?!?! I LOOOOOVE it!!! I think it may have been Mimi, but whoever sent it is just the sweetest!!! 

And YOU'RE the sweetest for your packages!! I love you so much, mom!!  

Like I said, check dad's email from me for a full update.  And when I forget things in my e-mail, I just send a regular letter :)

Bye bye!!