Love Is An Open Door in COLORADO...

Well how to begin? This week was one of the hardest weeks I have EVER worked in my entire mission. Ok maybe it just felt like it... but we killed it!!! I love being able to show our progress record at the end of the week and have 2 pages (no one in this area has ever had that)!! SWEET!! It is all through faith in the Lord and what He wants us to do in this area that MIRACLES are happening!! Ok, so hopefully I remember everything... I forgot my journal, and my planner won't help me because, well, things didn't really go according to the plan we had set each day. I am only giving highlights, we had more lessons than I will talk about. We reached above the mission standard of excellence in total lessons, and it was the most amount of lessons my companion has had on her mission :)

Monday: Got to go out to dinner with sweet elderly ladies in our ward - it was nice!

Tuesday: Lesson with one of our investigators. She is so nice and so sweet! We invited her to the baptism this week and she totally wanted to! Had a lesson with our investigator who is getting baptized. Then we had a dinner appointment and, oh just you know, one of the less actives and one of our investigator at a members home, it was SWEET!!!

Wednesday: Finished the program for our investigator who is getting baptized.. We had a lesson with him and finalized everything :)  Oh, we had zone meeting, and I was asked to give part of the training. So it was me, and the zone leaders who gave the training.  Who drives up as we get out of our car? PRESIDENT BROWN!! Oh, great, now I had to give a training on commitments and specifically setting people with baptismal dates in front of PRESIDENT BROWN, no pressure right?! It went well, by the Spirit, and through Christ all things are possible! I was a little more stiff than usual when giving trainings, but I guess that is to be expected!

Thursday: I love doing service! It’s so great! Then we contacted a referral, who has gone to Mutual a couple of times and it was good to meet him finally! I hope that we can teach him soon :) Breakthrough with one of our less actives! She figured out on her own (through the Spirit) that Jesus Christ is Jehovah! She had been stuck on that for a couple of weeks, on how they are not the same person! SO, SO, SO GLAD that she is good with it now!  Then we had a MIRACLE LESSON, and also really strange. So we had another lesson with an investigator, and her daughter joined us this time, SWEET!!! Well we offered them both a Book of Mormon, then the other daughter (who had been sitting in the room right off of the living room) came in and I asked her if she would like one too; she said yes!! She was listening to the lesson the whole time!!! Well, I like to hope so :) they didn't participate much in the lesson, but the daughter prayed at the end, and it was simple but good!! I like hearing people pray for the first time out loud :)

Friday: Love is truly an open door (ok my companion and I can pretty much relate every song from Frozen to this week, but since it was Valentine's Day this one really applies). NO ONE WAS HOME!!! Somehow we still managed to have 4 lessons that day which was a MIRACLE!!! My favorite was with R. We had set an appointment with him, and I guess he was feeling pretty lonely earlier in the day, and was just praying and the thought came to him. "You won't be lonely tonight because the Sisters are coming and you can feel My love for you! They will bring the Spirit into your home." AAAHHH I love being an answer to someone's prayer! Well, we didn't end up getting anyone to come to the lesson with us, so we had a lesson outside at his picnic table -- it was perfect!! Also on Friday, we spent a lot of time making Valentine's and delivering them. Well, we quickly made one in front of another of our contact's home, and went up to put it in her mailbox, but then what do I see? Her TV was on! So we went up and hand delivered it to her, and had a lesson!! It was another miracle that we got into her house! I have only been 2 times since being here! We found out that she had been attending a different ward in the stake, which was awesome! Love is an open door, I love when people open their door for us :)

Saturday: Oh, you know, just HALF WAY DONE WITH MY MISSION!! Is this real life?!! AND one of our investigators got BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!! I am so excited for him! Such a fun day!! There were 8 sisters there, and we got to meet in the chapel.  President and Sister Brown were there too :)

Sunday: The man who was baptized yesterday was confirmed.  He is just so funny, such a great guy!! President Brown came to church. I saw a lot of President this week, it was great!  We had several lessons that day; what a great way to spend the Sabbath.

Monday: Headed up to Estes Park today :) STOKED!!!!

Have a great week, and just remember to work hard, and play hard! Remember who you are and don't let it get you down!!

Love,
Sister Kelly Smith

Who Needs Super Woman when you have Sista Power?!

Sista Power is AWESOME!! Especially if President Brown has told you that "you have the power." Yup that's right, sister power! But I changed it to sista power, cuz I like the sound of that better!

Monday: A P-day...

Tuesday: TRANSFER DAY!!! Meaning I pretty much just hung out in Loveland all day long. It was so fun to see so many of my friends, and one of my past companions, Sister G. I loved it! Crazy snow storm, but all is good, I am safe!

Wednesday: Well, all I can say is that this transfer will be different than last... but the work is picking up which is great! We were able to have a lesson with a less-active, and her non-member granddaughter was there, SWEETNESS!!! Hopefully the granddaughter will be there this week when we go by. We talked about faith, and it was awesome! Lesson with one of our other investigators went well! I am pumped for his baptism this weekend!!!!!!

Thursday: Well... we finally, after pretty much 6 weeks of trying to get a lesson with a referral, we DID IT!!! We got to teach her about how God loves each and every one of us, no matter what. I am excited to go back this week and see what happens! She has had a rough life it seems like and has two Young Women aged daughters that live with her. Had a nerf war with a family here, it was great! They even let me walk in the door.  They were reading, and it gave my companion a surprise, definitely wasn't expecting that. But oh well. it was good for me! haha Then we road tripped it up to Fort Collins. My companions GPS died, but I am SO, SO, SO grateful I have a sense of direction and I was able to get us to the other sisters house with limited directions from them, and remembered a few of the turns, it was awesome!! I love talents and spiritual gifts! I was driving the Sister Training Leader there down to our meeting the next day.

Friday: Mission Leadership Council!!! LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! It was AMAZING!!! I found out that someone I know in Laramie, and even began to give the discussions to, is GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cried, it was so amazing to hear that! Then during the first part of the meeting I sat hoping and dreaming about how I might have the chance to go to Laramie!! During lunch I asked President if I could go to Laramie, and even take my P-day, to do so... he said no. I CRIED!!!!! I was so sad, it was so hard to hear that!! I figured it would be “no’ since I live over an hour away, but still I wanted to go so badly!! This woman means so much to me, and I am so excited that she and her grandson are getting baptized!!! It will seriously bless their lives so much, and I want to be there on their special day!! I got the Frozen soundtrack (we are allowed to listen to Disney songs...) while getting dinner that night in Fort Collins (dropped off the sister and got my companion back). Ok, Let It Go is my theme song right now! I will so miss being able to see my friends get baptized, and all the amazing people in Laramie, but I just need to let it go.

Saturday: One of our less-actives... well she was full of questions. We found out that she had never prayed to know if the Book of Mormon was true! Well guess what she did when she said the closing prayer?! She prayed to know if the Book of Mormon is true.

Sunday: Another young investigator came to church again! I am racing him in reading the Book of Mormon and two nights this past week he sent us texts asking us questions, it was AWESOME!! Well, we were at the same chapter on Sunday morning... I think he is going to beat me. He told us that reading the Book of Mormon for 30 minutes a day is "prep-fo-life." haha yes, “fo,” not for. I thought it was so funny I just laughed! At our lesson with yet another investigator, we determined her official baptism date is March 22, a week after transfers... well I might want to move that up.  She says she felt peace yesterday and that is what I live to hear!!! THE SPIRIT IS REAL AND TRUE!!!! We had a lesson with two more investigators at President C's home (ok lesson with a member of the stake presidency is kind of intense, but he is really nice)! I love the Cs! We talked about keeping the Sabbath day holy and especially going to Sacrament Meeting.

Well, this week will be awesome! We have a super busy schedule planned, which is the best thing ever as a missionary! I would rather be too busy than not having enough to do :) I don't really want to go tracting, so this is good!! I love you all!! Thanks for everything you do!

So... since my birthday is coming up... the best birthday present you could give to me would be invite one of your friends to church, or invite them to an activity, better yet, invite them to hear the first missionary lesson! Invite them to act!! It will bless your life, and theirs!!

This church is TRUE!! I know that Heavenly Father loves each of us, and that He cares for YOU! Your Savior Jesus Christ is there for you as well! They love you tons, and so do I! Listen to the Holy Ghost, he is the real teacher and can comfort you!

Love,
Sister Kelly Smith

“Do you like Polar Bears?” “I don’t know, I have never talked to one before.” 90 Year Old Man in Colorado

Monday: Well, what happens when you feel super sick and members are totally willing to help you out? You take a nap during your dinner appointment by the fire... no joke it really happened!  The P family was so nice, and our investigator was there... He pulled up the armchair and put it by the fire, and while they had dinner, I slept. I felt a little better, but still not great. Being sick on a mission is no bueno!! But it is a part of life. Getting a priesthood blessing is very comforting, and I love them!!

Tuesday: Well, I slept in and was going to take a chill day to get better (and just go to the lessons we had scheduled)... well Heavenly Father had a different path in mind. I got out of the shower and my companion handed me the phone with two unopened texts on it from one of the sets of Sisters I am over. Oh no... well, all I can say is that I did not have a relaxing day! It went something like this.
Me talking to one sister, then calling the zone leaders that are over the set of sisters, trying to contact my co-sister training leader, and then getting my things together and meeting up with Hna. S, and then road tripping it up to visit these sisters to let them "hash it out." haha Well that's pretty much what we planned, in a way. So we get there, pick them up and then go to the stake center, and we all talk it out. Communication is SO KEY to missionary work, and LIFE!!! If that is the only thing I learn from my mission, well I guess I can go home now because I TRULY, TRULY understand that! haha But nope, Heavenly Father still wants me to learn things because I have 9 months left :) They pretty much worked things out, but I could still tell that they were not happy with us,nor did they want to be together. I really needed to let one of the sisters trust me, because she really wasn't... and pretty much didn't want anything to do with us. So it is life I guess... well since we were in one town we visited another set of sisters! SISTER K!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love that girl so much! After we visited these awesome sisters, we went to the mission office to get some things and got to talk to President and Sister Brown for a bit. It was so fun!!! I love that man! I have grown to love him, which is good I was talking to him about transfers and telling him that transfers were inspired, but I mentioned Laramie and he usually jokes around with me when I talk about Laramie because he knows that I love it and miss it so much!!  He brought out a bat, because "I can't bring a gun" (on the mission). HAHAHA   Ok, the gun thing sounds pretty serious, but it was just a joke and he had a smile on his face! He is great! Got home just in time to have a lesson with one of our investigators and taught the 10 Commandments with the hand signals which was fun! Her one month old son is so cute!

Wednesday: Had a lesson with our progressing investigator and I asked him if he would be going to Fort Benning. Well guess what? HE IS!!! Guess what? My dad is there RIGHT NOW, for work. He leaves on February 4th and I am so excited that they could possibly MEET, and maybe possibly my dad could baptize him!! Dad, please find him!!!!!! We then had to rush off to our next lesson with two new investigators!! A member of the Spanish group had two referrals for us and met us at the appointment and pretty much led lead the discussion, which was fine, but we watched one of the most cheesiest church movies I have EVER seen!!! So funny, but we taught the Plan of Salvation! I am excited to see them this week :) Then we had a lesson that night with another investigator, and we narrowed down his baptism. February 15th (my 9 month mark) he is getting BAPTIZED!!!! I am so excited!!! We read Mosiah 5, love that chapter! The Book of Mormon is just incredible!!

Thursday: Interviews with President Brown. Ok, so interviews scare me... I wasn't too worried about this one, but oh well. they are over! haha I am fine with me initiating a conversation or if I just want to talk to him or something, but interviews are a different story! I just feel like a horrible missionary every time, and that I have so many things to improve on, but I have noticed the difference between the first interview I had with him and now... He wants to help us get better and improve, and I am really grateful for that!! He truly is incredible and he prayed for me which was really nice and comforting! We received another referral which is great! We have been receiving a lot of referrals recently which has been wonderful!!

Friday: Well, long story short it snowed a lot and we weren't able to drive. so what do we do?  Oh, you know, just walk 6 miles on a country road, shoveled some snow, and luckily got a ride home (since we live in the country, it isn't safe for us to walk home, and it take us HOURS to get places). We didn't have much success that day.

Saturday: Another no-drive day and we got rides into town, so that was nice! Right before we had a lesson, President Brown called us. He asked companion if she would finish the training of a sister. Sister P started crying and to me was like, "I don't want to leave you." So sad, and yet I felt so good. It is nice to know that your companion loves you. We had a lesson with a less-active elderly lady and 2 laurels came with us. They are helping her with Personal Progress and are on the first one! She told us that she didn't really have much faith and asked us some crazy questions. It comes down to the basics. Believe that Heavenly Father loves you. Believe that Jesus is the Christ and YOUR Savior. Dinner was so fun, but full of dairy... luckily Sister M had some essential oil that worked! I felt way better afterward! Met with the Relief Society President, and while we were at her house transfer calls came in... I am staying in the same ward, and my new companion has been out for 3 transfers... I am also the ONLY Sister Training Leader in my zone. Oh and I think my new companion might have a slight case of autism. If you have any conference talks on patience, love, how to communicate with people with disabilities in a close relationship (since I will be with her 24/7) please send them my way!! I have never worked closely with someone who has autism, so I would love some advice and help! I am grateful for the chance to serve with this sister, and it will be a time for me to stretch and grow. Me and Heavenly Father will be pretty close this transfer! I am grateful to know that my Savior is right beside me!! He can be with me constantly!

Sunday: Oh yeah it was the Superbowl... the Denver Broncos lost. haha I am really not into football, but since the Broncos were playing it was pretty big here! It didn't really mess with our schedule which was nice. My companion and I went around saying goodbye to people (because she is leaving).

Well, this week has been kind of crazy, more crazy than I think I can even begin to write about. I know that transfers are inspired, and I know that 90 year old deaf men are really fun to talk to! haha  The man we live with (and his wife) is 90 years old, and as we were having family prayer sometime this week I asked him if he likes Polar Bears because he had a blanket with Polar Bears on it. His response, "I don't know I have never talked to one before."   It was pretty funny! Then he asked me if I liked polar bears, my response, "I don't know, I have never talked to one before." He is a funny guy, and I love him! It is fun and also weird to yell at him so he can hear me. Oh we live with Nancy and Charles... weird because my Grandma and Grandpa are Nancy and Charles! Meant to be :) haha

I love missionary work and I am excited and nervous to see what this transfer brings :)

Love you all,
Sister Kelly Smith