Prayers in Wyoming

I have gained a testimony of fasting, that's for sure! I fasted this past Sunday for my companion, and it worked!  I also had another cool experience. Nikaela asked me if I had felt the prayers that you have been praying for me. YES!  I know that prayer works and have felt the Spirit witness to me that the prayers of all those back at home are heard by Heavenly Father.

Yesterday was our P-day, and we gave up time to teach a lesson, and it was one of the best lessons ever!  I was so concerned about how it would go because the YW president came with us, and she is very bold. Because she came, we were able to find things out about this less-active saint that I probably would never have known. I love that lady!   After our lesson, we got in touch with our street contact from Kenya!  The one I told you about 3 weeks ago. It was so good! Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven, and we definitely saw that yesterday. Miracles!

Today, I woke up at 6am (yes 30 minutes earlier than we are asked to), to get ready for my interview with President Brown.

The new sisters in my zone are nice, and I get to go on exchanges with Sister H on Saturday! Twenty four hours with Sister H, so excited! She is awesome.

Oh, I reached my 2 month mark, is this for real?! 16 months left? The time is FLYING! Time on my mission is weird! I feel like weeks go by so slowly, some days seem forever (like the day my companion was sick this week), other times it goes by way fast.

The Highs and Lows of Wyoming

This week has been the longest, worst, amazing week of my mission.

Tuesday: I got to meet my new mission president, President Brown. He is so funny, but strict and powerful. There are going to be a lot of changes to the mission.  This was the day that I struggled with why I was here, why I was out serving a mission, and struggled with my testimony. Now, I know that the church is true, and President Murphy warned me about this moment.  I did not know what to do, because my first instinct in that situation would be to call my Mom.  So I called "Grandma". If anyone in town could help me with my testimony, it would be her. So we rode over there and an investigator was sitting in her living room, I couldn't talk about my issues in front of someone we want to join the church. Then another investigator walked in a few minutes later, ready to have a lesson.  Teaching those lessons definitely helped. I had no idea that's what I needed.

Wednesday: I got to go to service, and luckily Sister W was there. She is my best friend in the Fort Collins Mission. Truly an eternal friend, that I only met on earth 6 weeks ago.  Then I got to go to Girl's Camp (only for a few hours), and it was so good! After struggling with my testimony a little, going up to camp was exactly what I needed!  I love this gospel so much!  I LOVE GIRLS CAMP! It was so different as a missionary than when I went as a young woman or stake leader.  We were wearing missionary attire while we were up there, yeah a skirt in the dust, oh well! My companion and I stopped and talked to a different ward that doesn't have sister missionaries, and we commented on their matching outfits, they were cool shirts! Their leader complimented us too, "You guys look good, I love the badges." We just said, "thanks, we are missionaries, we have to wear them, and dress like this." IT WAS HILARIOUS! She thought we were YW who had dressed up as missionaries for a skit! That's where my heart lies, so playing a few games with them was great!

Thursday: the 4th of July! Woke up, got ready, cut studies short to head up to the park, where the entire town gathers for the Fourth of July! I wanted to drop my stuff in the other sisters' car, so we waited for them for a bit.  When they arrived I knew something was up.  My best friend in the mission had received her Visa to Brazil. Sister W was just a Visa waiter here in Wyoming, and only after 6 weeks of waiting in the field she got it (that's super fast)!  Proselyting in the park was hard, but so fun! It was hot (but 90 degrees really isn't that bad compared to the weather back home)! I placed my first Book of Mormon with someone at the park.  All the missionaries in our district (12 of us) were there and had a table out, so that was fun! Then we had district meeting, and then dinner at a members' home.

Friday: one day closer to hearing about transfers! I have literally been on edge all week!

Saturday: Today is the DAY!! Went to service, my last time with Sister W.  Today was also Sister S's birthday so I made her breakfast, and then later we went to a party at the B family! They are a super fun family that loves us, and we love them! We had breakfast for dinner, which is my personal favorite. Then we headed to Grandma's for Sister S's second party, with all the missionaries and some other friends. And the wonderful Transfer Day (where we find out what is happening in this next transfer). So at 8 pm Elder H. (a zone leader) read out what was going down with our zone. Sister W - going to Brazil (no shock there), Sister H - going to another city (WHAT?! Both my favorite sisters are leaving??!!), Elder H. - going to another part of the mission. Two new sisters are coming to our zone, and guess what? Sister S and I are still companions.  I am still on bike, and still in the same apartment.  My companion and I had the best companionship inventory we have ever had that night. We both cried -- she didn't want to stay and I was hopeful that I'd get to train a new missionary. Both of us did not see this coming... and we are together for another 6 weeks.  We will need to make the best of it!  But guess what helped? The amazing package I got from home! I love you Nikaela! I miss your voice so much.   I love that song you sent me, and I listened to it over and over that night. The package actually came Friday, but my companion and I decided not to get it until Saturday. What a tender mercy! It wouldn't have meant us much if I received it the day earlier.

Sunday: The hardest day of my mission so far... I had to say goodbye to two sisters I love. I feel like I have NO ONE to rely on, except my Savior, Jesus Christ. The one person who knows exactly how I am feeling.   I can testify to you that Jesus Christ knows us so well. He was there with me Sunday night comforting me. I did not feel alone! There are angels all around us! I know that I could not have bounced back from that as well as I did without their help!

Moral of the story: you are going to have highs and lows in your life. Literal ones (like the hills of Wyoming, the temperature of Wyoming...) and you are also going to have emotional highs and lows. I never thought a mission would be this hard. I knew being away from my mom, would be hard, to be away from my family, my support. I am not homesick, I just miss hearing your voices and words of wisdom.  I need to learn how to rely on Jesus Christ and His Atonement more so now than ever before. I know that Jesus Christ died for me, but to strengthen and deepen my testimony of the Savior is going to come. I want that connection and personal relationship. Despite my disappointment with the transfer assignments, I am so excited to stay here in this town, and help the youth out in this stake and ward. We got to teach YW on Sunday and that was great!

So many missionary miracles happened on Sunday, as well as in our ward, it was amazing to see!

Love,
Sister Kelly Smith

Wyoming + Boots + Bike

Well, I am in Wyoming, so why not get a pair of boots?! I bought an awesome pair of boots from a thrift store, and they are real! Brand new ones are a minimum of $100 -- yeah, that is not going to happen with this missionary! So Sister W showed us a thrift store in town, and they had a few to select from. Sister W got a pair, she really wanted to get them as a souvenir. So I got a pair too, and I think I might have to wear them for my homecoming talk. Haha, Dad will you allow that?!


This week was interesting. I feel like I say that a lot! We had super high goals, and guess what? We only accomplished one of the goals. But our numbers did improve from the previous week, so that's good. But it is very frustrating to set high goals and then come almost nowhere near to accomplishing them. I have to prepare an hour-long training on goal setting and planning this week. I might have to teach it to the district (the district leader asked all of us to prepare a district meeting training, and then we don't know which one of us will actually give the training till Thursday morning during the meeting, and the stake president will be there...no pressure). I have so many ways I want to improve my goal setting, and then actually planning on how to accomplish them. I think we fell short this week because we didn't plan out as well as we could have, and we didn't have the drive as much throughout the week. My companion was also not feeling well on Saturday, so we stayed in the apartment all day. If I have to be the companion that just sits with the sick missionaries, I will do it, if the Lord wants to me to. I just really like talking to people, so being with one person all day and having almost no interaction with other people is hard! Being at home, in "the world" would have been easier, there are more things to do than missionary approved activities! Although I could have watched The District again if I had wanted to.

Cool experiences from this week:

1. My bike pedal fell off yesterday, twice! The first time I just screwed it back on, while on the side of the road. That lasted for a while, but I needed a wrench. The second time it fell off, we had just finished dinner at a members home, so I asked him to fix it for me, and now it is solidly in! Although it might be warped, but I hope my bike lasts at least for my mission, I like it! I don't want it to fall apart!

2. My companion and I were headed home for lunch after an appointment and instead of crossing the road (to get to the right side to bike on) we decided to walk a block or two to get to the stop light, and then cross the street. Well we were walking with our bikes down the street and passed a guy. We stop and say hi. We had seen him before when biking a few days earlier. We gave him a Plan of Salvation pamphlet (usually we would give The Restoration, that's the first lesson, POS is second), and he said he would be interested in coming to church! He is from Kenya and is AWESOME! But he didn't come to church. Hopefully we will see him again! He was my first street contact, actually sharing about the gospel, not just handing something out! MTC training paying off!

3. GIRLS CAMP TOMORROW: it is official, we get to go for a few hours! SO AMAING!

4. I realized that this stake needs youth activities. They have hardly any! I am so excited to help out with this, and hopefully I get to stay in Wyoming next transfer.

5. TRANSFERS ARE THIS WEEK! What?! I've been in Wyoming for over a month? I am almost done with my first transfer in the field?! Time goes by way fast!

Things to know: Set goals, and then make plans to accomplish them. Put your trust in the Lord, and pray. Angels are with us! I have felt an angel in the room before (last week), and could recognize her -- it was an amazing experience!

I love you all! Thanks for the continued support through letters, prayers, and gifts/pictures!

Love you lots! Oh I get to meet my new mission president in half an hour, AAAHHHH so excited!

Love,
Sister Kelly Smith

Don't worry -- this was P-day, that's why I am in, um, "normal clothes." 

Normal clothes to me now is a skirt/dress and shirt. Jeans = abnormal! 

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

Roadtrips, 88 degree Summer, and cottontail rabbits

Wyoming...is different, but I love it! This week I got to go on a roadtrip twice to Colorado! Colorado is beautiful.  Wyoming is too, but Colorado, I can see why people want to live there. I went for trainer’s meeting, and that was fun. I got to see my MTC friends and go to Target! Our town doesn't have a Target... I felt like a real person when I was there! It was WEIRD.

The second time I got to go to Colorado was for mission conference, as in ALL approx. 270 missionaries were in attendance. It was awesome!  This was the last time the Colorado Denver North Mission will be together before the split! When all the missionaries stood to recite our missionary purpose, wow it was POWERFUL. I will miss President and Sister Toombs, but I am so excited to meet President and Sister Brown! It was so fun to see friends! I said goodbye to my MTC companion, she will be staying in the Denver North mission. She is the only one from our MTC district who is staying in the CDNM; the rest of us are in Ft. Collins. 


Since I am on foot (until tomorrow), I get to talk to a lot of people. This past week I decided to just carry Mormon.org cards in my hand and pass out to people on the street. We wrote on the back of them our name and number and a short message like "Have a great day!" or "We believe in Jesus Christ." I would go up to people and just flat out ask if they wanted a card.  Most people would be like "what is it for?" Then I would proceed to say, “Well, we are missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”  From there, people would either accept or reject the card. So when I started this, I had about 38 or so cards. I passed out a few the first day, and the next day they were GONE!  I passed out about 40 in two days, it was awesome!  We also put some in doors... One time I gave one to someone and he said,  “Oh I have a buddy that just got back from Argentina for two years. I haven't seen him yet, but I want to.”  Then another person we gave one to, quickly turned to another guy and handed it to him,  "Here, you need to shape up your life." Ha, I thought that was great! If someone wants to change their life, the gospel can help.   

There are lots of rabbits here, They just hop around all over the place and are not very afraid. They cross the street within a few feet of a car!  

Love the 88 degree summer here!  It’s so pleasant.

President Toombs came up to Wyoming and we had zone training. I had to give the recitation (a short talk on one of the things we have to memorize as missionaries). I found out I was doing that when I walked into the room!  I was very nervous; it was my first time. I also ended up playing the piano for the opening song, but it was one I didn't know.  I ended up using my right hand only. I need to learn more hymns! 

We started using a new dinner message approach.   It was the first time I attempted to recite the account of Joseph Smith's First Vision word for word (I messed up, but still the Holy Ghost was so strong)!  Afterward the lady said she was thinking about someone to give a Book of Mormon to!  Because of the influx of missionaries, we are trying to get the members help.  

My time is out, and that was only a touch of my week! So many great laughs, and a crazy freak storm:  it basically snowed! Good thing it lasted for only a little bit!

I love you all! I love being a missionary! I say it is hard, because it is, but it is also very fun. The work is slow, but that's OK. I can strengthen the ward. 

Love you ALL!
Sister Kelly Smith

                                               

                                                       I took this picture for my brothers!

Heat Wave in Wyoming

So I'm in a heat wave right now... but that heat wave for this small Wyoming town is not even above 90 degrees!!! I'm used to around 100, or above so this feels great! There is also almost always wind or a breeze, do it doesn't even feel like almost 90 degrees! It's awesome! The wind is still not my friend, but that's ok, it makes it feel pleasant! The walk home last night was BEAUTIFUL! We didn't even have to walk all the way home because the other sister missionaries picked us up :) The evening was just gorgeous!! The sky here is AMAZING!



This is me trying to "push" through the wind!



My companion and I had an, well um, an experience this week. My companion and I went to visit an elderly lady (84) who has known about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for many years now.  So we finished talking with her and singing for her. Well, I played the piano, while my companion sang. Thanks for forcing me to take piano lessons, mom :) We left her house and started walking down the street. We passed by a Christian church and there was a lady outside weeding a planter box. We said hello and she started talking to us. I was getting so excited, here was this wonderfully sweet lady so prepared to hear the message we had to share! She has a strong testimony of Jesus Christ and the ability to be forgiven. She prays, and she prays to God in the name of Jesus Christ, like us! We asked her if we could come back the next day and help her weed (this time in jeans and t-shirts). She said yes! I was so excited to have a return appointment, and to be able to do service! I just love service!! I haven't done yard work in a while so I was excited to do some small weeding, too!

Next day: My companion and I walked to the church, rounded the corner, and there she was, already weeding! I was so excited; she actually came, and didn't stand us up! We start weeding and talking, and boy this conversation went differently than expected. She asked us questions, and was not afraid to tell us what she believed. Actually she told us a lot about what she believes. She ended up talking more than we did. She was Bible bashing us, but not in a loud, mean way. It was interesting. (The day before our district role-played  missionary skills and we focused on testifying in Bible bashing situations.) She talked about how Joseph Smith was a false prophet, and that we were polytheistic. Do you remember how I said I wanted to testify every time I had a lesson or taught someone? Ok, so I wanted to testify to her so badly that I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that through him the Church of Jesus Christ had been restored! She said so many things that I just wanted to stand up and be like, "I KNOW THIS IS TRUE!!" But I couldn't. I just kept weeding and smiling, giving input when I could. The scripture about being constrained by the Spirit IS TRUE! I made that promise to myself, so at the end I was like "I know this is true, and you can too, by reading and praying." It was empty, though. I was just saying words. I realized that the promise is good, but can't be a promise anymore. I only said I knew it was true to fulfill that promise. If we had given her our testimonies, she would probably have bashed those. She was basing her faith off of archeological evidence, which was interesting, and a video that she had seen. A testimony and conversion to the gospel will not come based off of evidence. You have to read, pray, and seek the Holy Ghost to give you the answer that it is true! I love the story of Joseph Smith! I love how he read the scriptures, took them to heart, and prayed! He prayed with such sincere faith that God would answer him. That's what we need to do. We need to go to the basics because they are foundational. We need to read the scriptures, act on what they say, and PRAY! Prayer is huge! I need to rely more on prayer and the power it has. Joseph Smith prayed, not just any prayer, but he PRAYED! He prayed to truly know what to do! We need to do that as well. I know I need to not take prayer as lightly! It can be a huge blessing and comfort in our lives. I love prayer, and need to make it so much more! We get to talk to God when we pray! How amazing is that?! Heavenly Father cares so much about us that He hears and answers our prayers! We just need to act, and pray to Him.

I love you all! Thanks for all the support! I love getting letters!!

Love,
Sister Kelly Smith

Wide Wyoming Sky... and a Pick-Up Truck

So this week has been AWESOME!! Actually I just think the last few days have been spectacular!
I LOVE WYOMING!!!  I seriously love this small town! I'm not a huge fan of the wind, but that's ok!  It's sunny, but with the wind you don't feel the heat as much!

Saturday, was one of my favorite days of the mission so far... During the day my companion was sick, so we just wanted my companion to feel better by 7:00ish because we had a lesson set up with our only investigator at 7:30pm.  I cannot express to you how much of an incredible experience this was!  I wouldn't trade it FOR ANYTHING!!  The ward missionaries (a nice newlywed couple) drove us to our appointment and stayed with us for the lesson; they added great input. Our appointment was outside of the main area of town, a few miles into the country!! I MEAN COUNTRY! We were on a dirt road for a while and ended up coming to the end of the road (there aren't house numbers on the few houses on the street). Brother S rolls down his window to talk to a rancher outside. The rancher used occupations to distinguish his neighbors, "Oh you mean the goat herders, or the horse farmers?" Well we had passed the house we were trying to get to... but as we were leaving the old rancher's house, we saw a cow's head in a tire, near the front entrance of the house! Apparently it was a fresh cow’s head too (horns and all). Yeah I'm in the COUNTRY!

We finally get to our investigator's house, and it is a ranch with about 15 horses on it! We pull up and talk to Sister L. Here is the part that I wouldn't trade for anything! Sister L. doesn't want us to come inside because they were cleaning and getting ready for a landlord inspection. So we have a lesson outside. Brother S pulls his car around to face the back of Sister L's pickup truck. I sat on the back of the car while our investigators (Sister L and her daughter) and Brother S sat on the back of the pick up truck. We taught the Restoration, outside under a beautiful Wyoming sunset! I love the Wyoming sky! Ok, but really being able to teach about the gospel, that Heavenly Father loves us, while surrounded by amazing creations from God, under the direction of Jesus Christ. I just would not trade that for anything! Remember, this is my very first lesson with a real investigator! So my companion nudges me (giving me the cue to invite them to be baptized). I invited Sister L and her daughter to be baptized -- want to know what they said?! YES! haha So excited for them! The H family (from home) came to mind a few times, so I told her about them. It was very cool!

Weird tidbit: seeing the missionary dinner calendar go around Relief Society when it is meant for you... it feels like we are asking for dinner in a way, which we are! We are fed almost every night!

Sunday night at Grandma's: Grandma is this sweet elderly lady in town, and almost everyone calls her Grandma. A lot of young single adults gather at her home on Sunday night to sing hymns. The missionaries get to go too! I loved being surrounded by people my age, who love this old lady, and sing to our God. It was so great! Um, new missionaries have to sing a solo for Grandma! So I sang a solo... haha that was interesting! If you choose a hymn with four verses, you had better be prepared to sing all four verses. Grandma likes that! Which hymn did I pick?! Love One Another! How many verses does it have, one! haha She is so sweet, I want you to meet her so badly!


I LOVE P-DAYS! They are a great change of pace! Even though we still wake up at 6:30am. Well, we woke up and what did we find outside on top of the car of the other sisters we are living with? A mattress and box spring!!!  The zone leaders put it on the car, with a note: "Herd you were sleepin’ on a couch. Please enjoy!" Yes, with that spelling! haha It was so funny! True though, I am still sleeping on a couch because there are only two beds in the apartment.   So we work out, and then study, then do laundry... then P-day really gets started! We got to go shopping for food. Then we had a mini BBQ with shish-ka-bobs, and brats. The zone leaders live in our apartment complex and so we set up the mini grill on their front porch. Our district just hung out and we talked, laughed, and wrote some letters. It was relaxing.  My district has four sister missionaries, and eight elders. There are 12 missionaries in this town! That's so many, but it's great.