The Week of Miracles

I had a rough week last week, I actually have had a rough four weeks. this transfer has been a whirlwind, and I can' believe that I have a week and a half left!  In less than one week I will have a new mission president. (Side note: HOW COOL WAS THAT MISSION PRESIDENT SEMINAR BROADCAST?! I loved it!) Our mission president was totally inspired to teach us a new way to teach dinner messages just last week, and then General Authorities are asking for members help. We haven't been great at it since it was initiated, but it was still so cool!  I wish I had been in that meeting live, but it was still so amazing to sit in a Wyoming stake center and watch it from there! Technology is awesome! I miss BYU! I hope my friends there got to go to it.

My companion and I have one investigator that is really hard to get a hold of, but she came to church this week! She brought her kids too, which is AMAZING!  The daughter just turned 12 two days, and is so excited about YW!

We moved in to our new apartment on Friday! That means that I no longer have to sleep on a couch! I'm kind of bummed that we didn't get to stay longer... I mean how cool would it have been to say that I slept on a couch for a month?! And I really miss the other sister missionaries. We see them at district things, and they might give us rides to places but it isn't the same as seeing them every night. I would totally sleep on a couch the rest of my mission to live with super-awesome sister missionaries! Now it is just me and my companion. We are more productive this way, since we live in our ward boundaries, but it is still kind of sad.

Saturday we had weekly planning, and it was guided and inspired. Spiritual experiences are great on the mission, but I have realized that I need to look back to figure them out. This planning session was one of them! Weekly planning in the past can take up to four hours, almost five. This was one of those times. We realized that we needed to set really high goals, and we needed to accomplish them. I am an outgoing person, and don't really care what people think. If they don't want to hear about the gospel, oh well they aren't ready yet. My companion is a little more shy around people, so we haven't been super ambitious. But this week, man, she has changed, and I am so excited! "The Week of Miracles" began yesterday, but we started seeing the miracles occur from this planning session on Sunday! Our week of miracles consists of visiting all 69 inactive families in the ward. That's a lot! Our ward boundaries are consist of a large area, so we split the ward members into sections of the town and decided to visit certain sections each day. We have already visited some inactive members, and found they have moved. This will help the Bishop, and since they have moved, new people live there! TRACTING! I basically got a door slammed in my face, but that's ok, I asked for a referral anyway. Part II of our week of miracles: ask everyone for a referral We are trying to get 10 referrals this week. I think we have received maybe four referrals total, so 10 is a huge number!

Part III of our week of miracles: get 10 hours of Just Serve service hours in. We are supposed to do service at our Just Serve project for 10 hours a week, we have yet to get 10 in because scheduling is difficult.  But now we have bikes (thank you Mom and Dad for sending my bike).  Part IV: We are going to teach 21 total lessons. The mission standard or goal is 20, so we want to exceed that! The most total lessons we have taught in a week was 9, so 21 is way high, but I hope we can do it! Part V: we are going to get two new investigators! SO EXCITED! Our goal this week is to gather the wandering sheep, those that have strayed. We want to help them access the Atonement, to feel the Holy Ghost again in their lives! 69 is a lot, but we have already tried to reach a few, and I am so determined to at least knock on all 69 doors, to see if they live there!

Ideas kept coming to mind as to what we should do, and why we are in the ward we are in! It is so cool to be a missionary at this time! I am SO EXCITED for this inspired week, our week of miracles! We have already received a referral, and wow, it is wonderful!

Another miracle: I might have the opportunity to go to girls camp for a few hours! If any of you know me at all, you know that my heart and soul are in love with the YW and the Young Women program of the church! Even though I was assigned by the mission president to a YSA ward, and then was switched, and he didn't even know why, it was inspired. There are many YW that are looking to us now, and single moms or women that couldn't have the elders in their home before, but now they can invite us sister missionaries. I am so grateful to be in a family ward, this family ward in Wyoming! So imagine my excitement (screaming, and jumping out of my seat) when I heard that President Toombs didn't say “no” right off the bat to letting me and my companion go to girls camp for a bit! We would be doing service, and I hope to go so badly!

My companion and I also have an inspired idea brewing... "A Day in the Life of a Sister Missionary." We are excited to run this past our Stake Presdient.  We’d like to have Young Woman come out with us and experience what tracting is like, visiting less actives, and doing service!

It is going to be an awesome week! I love you all, thanks for everything you do!  Thanks for making my life so much better than it could have been! You have touched my life, and I am so grateful for that!

Love,
Sister Kelly Smith