A Scared Time

This is my last email that I will send as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. 

 

The end seemed so far, but it came faster than I had ever expected it. But it’s not the end; it’s the beginning. 

 

Serving the Lord for a year and a half or two years changes you. Here is what I hope. I hope that, when I return, you all see or sense a change in me. It happens, and it is natural when all you are trying to do is preach, teach, live, and become the message pf Jesus Christ. 

 

I have loved this time of my life, and I really know that it was for Him. 

 

I want to share one more sacred experience with you all before I leave:

 

We had the challenge and the promise by our mission President and by Elder Andersen of the Twelve Apostles saying that we can baptise someone the 5th of july. My collegue and I took this promise very literally.So we have been working on preparing ourselves and those around us to be worthy to partake in this experience. As of last week, we had no one in particular who was ready. 

 

During our planning for the week, my collegue said that we’re supposed to be having a baptism on the 5th, so we fixed goals and made plans to have it happen. And, after, even though we didn’t have anyone, we felt like we should announce it to the Branch President here in Chambery that we will have a baptism on the 5th. 

 

As it came to Sunday morning, my collegue asked me if I had prayed about whether we should announce it, and I hadn’t. So, during the second hour of church, I did. 

 

When I did, I felt so strongly that it was the Savior asking us to do it. He was calling us to do a miracle. It would grow my faith, it would grow my collegue’s faith, and it would grow the branch’s faith. It felt just like in the scriptures. 

 

After the second hour, I turned to my companion and the other sisters and I said, “Let’s create a miracle.” So we told the Branch President to announce it to the branch (the members here) that there will be 2 baptisms (one for us and one for the other sisters). And, as he did, he told everyone, “Let’s exercise our faith. It’s true faith.”

 

I have no doubt in me that we will have a baptism on Saturday. Doubt not. Fear not.  

 

This mission is the mission of Christ. And I want to sincerely thank each and every one of you for supporting me and for helping me to be able to come and accomplish it. I know you are really blessed for it.

 

I will see you all in a week or so. We create our miracles by our faith.

 

I love you,

 

Sister Smith

The Canicule

Hi everyone!!

 

The title means that it has been very hot here in Chambery the last couple of days. But, seriously, this week was an amazing week. 

 

Soeur Nuutinen and I have been planning for miracles each day, and we have been having them! It’s amazing! Even the smallest things we have seen as miracles. The Lord has been blessing us so much. 

 

The greatest miracle was last night, actually. We went over to our friend Odile’s friends’ house, and we met her friend, who is visiting her from Florida!! Florida!! (She is French, but she has been living in the US for 20-something years) I get really excited when I can talk to anyone from America. I love the French people a lot, too. But there is something special about people who know your home country and all the little great details of it. 

 

So, her friend has an LDS friend in Florida! And she has visited the newly- constructed temple there in Florida and loves it. She told us that she loves going to her friend’s house there when she has problems because she really feels peace there. I can testify of the peace that is in an LDS family’s home. It’s tangible. Not that other homes are bad. I love everyone’s home. But there is really a difference. That is the Spirit. 

 

But yes, we read in 1 Nephi 8 (Lehi’s dream) with her and Odile, and we explained the symbolism behind everything. 

 

It was such a wonderful night with the two of them. The Spirit was there so strongly. 

 

And, at the end, before leaving, we asked her if she wanted to keep the Book of Mormon, and she accepted it with pleasure. 🙂 So we wrote a little note in the front and gave it to her. 

 

That Book has changed my life. And I know it will change hers. 

 

I love the Christ! 🙂 He’s the best example for us.

 

Love,

Sister Smith

A Week of Miracles

The conference that we were able to attend to last week in Nice was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. Something deep within me changed after that conference. As soon as he walked in the room, I knew that he was an apostle of the Lord. There is a strong spiritual feeling about him. More than any other person I’ve met thus far. 

 

He talked to us about faith and miracles. We need to have more faith. And miracles are so very possible. We need to pray for them, to search for them, and to plan for them. The best quote that I heard from him was this:

 

Don’t live your life without miracles.

 

If we don’t have miracles, it’s because we’re not exercising enough faith. God is a god of miracles, and it is through our faith that He manifests them. 

 

Life is about seeing the unseen.

 

 

I love you all! Happy Father’s Day to all of the fathers!

 

Love,

Sister Smith

Les jours du soleil‏

Hello all of you wonderful people!

 

I am seriously so happy to be speaking to you! We’re writing on Saturday because monday we’ll be on a bus for 8 hours going to Nice. The nice ol’ Nice. How nice! Like I said last time, we’ll be going to a conference with all the missionaries from our mission (imagine the missionaries in Bayonne taking that bus.. That would take forever, haha!) and Neil L Andersen of the twelve apostles will be there to talk to us. 

 

It is going to be something that is going to change our lives. I know it; I feel it. I have felt a really special Spirit in preparing for this conference. I know that this man is called from the Lord. And I know that what he is going to say to us is going to be inspired from the Lord.:) 

 

With that said, I feel such a joy in my heart. I want to tell you that changing and helping others change and teach them about Christ is one of the most amazing feelings that we can ever feel. I don’t know how much I have changed; but I know that I have an infinite love for the Savior that I didn’t have as strongly before. And that really, sincerely leaves a feeling like none other in my heart. 

 

But yes, I love being on a mission. And, as it comes to a close, I know that I will be sad to leave. However the joy that I and others have changed will be so much stronger. 

 

I love you all so so much. Really. 

 

Love,

Soeur Smith

 

Short week

Hello!

 

I wanted to tell you all that I love you! This week I have run out of time, and I’m not sure if I will have time next week either, but yes. 

 

Next Tuesday, an apostle of the Lord is coming to visit us in France! In Nice! And our whole mission (all 275 missionaries in the south of France) is going down to meet him and listen to his words for this special occasion.

 

His name is Neil L; Andersen, and he is a wonderful man and disciple of Christ!

 

 I love you all!

 

Love,

Sister Smith

Transfer in Chambery

Hello everyone! 

 

So, I’m staying in Chambéry for my last six weeks. And I have a new companion! Her name is sister Nuuntinen! She is a really great missionary and person, and she is from Finland. Like almost all the people from the Scandonavian countries, she has perfect English. It’s really cool. I feel like it’s a blessing to have been with so many people from different cultures. I’ve learned so much from each one of my sisters.

 

I want to share with you a very special miracle that happened last week. We’ve been teaching a man named Manual for the past week. When we met him, he told us that he has been here in Chambery for the past two months and he hadn’t been able to find a job. He said he hadn’t lost hope, but we could tell he was pretty discouraged. 

 

When we met with him again, we told him that we knew he would get a job. We told him to have trust in the Lord, to start reading in the Book of Mormon, and, surtout, not to lose hope. And we had trust in the promise that we felt to communicate to him. 

 

The week after that, we were walking home, and we ran into him. He seemed a little less discouraged, and he told us that he had just left his resume with a restaurant not too far away. And, the next day, he called us and told us he got the job! Sister Obel and I were so so happy, and we knew it was really because of the Lord! 🙂 It was super great! 

 

I know that the Lord loves us (as a people) and wants to see us happy. And I know that Sister Obel and I were put in the path of Manuel to give him more hope and light.

 

This message is one of hope. I know it. We can have hope through Christ. 

 

I love you all!

 

sister Smith

This week

I don’t really have much time. But I wanted to share with you a little bit. This week was full of wonderful experiences of service. Serving others and really feeling my love for them grow and feeling their love for the Savior grow.

I have really worked on changing my prayers to be more sincere and have made it even more that I have real intentions to act upon what I receive. And, I tell you, I feel such a drastic change for the better. I’ve learned a lot about humility this week. And I am excited to be able to change even more.

It’s all for the Savior. I know He lives.

I love you all.

Sister Smith

Here in Chambery

Hello everyone!!

 

This week, what happened this week? It rained a lot; it’s still pretty cold here. But we had so many little great moments!

 

There is this man from Madagascar, Soulimane. We met with him in a parc in Aix-les-bains, and we taught him the message of the Restoration- The fact that we have a living prophet and apostles and that we have continuing revelation from God. And for him, it touched him that we share such a beautiful message. He basically taught us. It was a really good moment that we had with him, and he decided that he’s ready to be baptised. And he really loves the Book of Mormon, too! It was amazing. He’ll be in Madagascar for a month, but then he will come back and meet with us again.

 

I’ve almost finished my journey of reading all the way through the New Testament, and I seriously love it so much. It really has built my love for Christ and His church and the knowledge we have of him. It’s so great. 

 

Something else that I have learned and really loved is that charity manifests itself through our actions, but it consists of mostly the personality of the one who possesses it. 

 

Moroni 7:45 And ^acharity suffereth long, and is ^bkind, and ^cenvieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily ^dprovoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

 

One of my goal for this week is to examine all of these qualities, and make goals to apply each of them to myself. Change is a good thing.

 

Also! Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Mothers out there!!

 

Love,

Sister Smith 

Hello!

We had really a wonderful week last week! We had tons of new friends and old friends that came back and all sorts of things learned. 

 

There are so many interesting people here that I love so much. We’ve been teaching a lot of lessons outside in the park here, and we’ve made friends with this lady named Simonne. She has 98 years (her Birthday was saturday), and she just walks around in the park making friends with people and making them laugh. It’s kind of like what we do.. I love her a lot, haha. 🙂 She’s kind of like our guardian angel. Each time she comes around right at the right moment during our lessons. She’s an inspired lady. 

 

One thing I am learning and coming to realize is how imortant it is to base our life off of the Christ. To center everything on him. If he is the thing upon which we build, we’ll never be let down, never go wrong, and never lose. I’ve learned the principle during this mission; I’ve seen so many good examples. Living the gospel of Jesus Christ has tangible results. You see and you feel the difference that there is in the persons that live it. And I love it. 

 

That’s all for this week. I send you my love and hugs!

 

 

Sister Smith

Great Days

Hello everyone! 

 

What happened in this week? It seemed to go by really fast, actually, and everything blurs together. 

 

We went to Espelette again, and we bought some of the best cheese in the world: brebis cheese (sheep), and brebis cheese with espelette pepper (similar to cheddar jack, but way better). 

 

And we just really focused on loving people and helping those around us, and it really paid off. There are a lot of people going through a hard time though, that’s for sure. We all have trials, but it’s how we respond to those trials that shows who we are. 

 

This past weekend was general conference, where the prophet and apostles and other men and women who have higher callings give talks that they have prayed a lot about, and we listen and try to apply the principles. But yeah, General Conference was really so amazing. Every question that I had about how I could change or what I need to do was answered. It touched me a lot. 🙂 I wish I could talk about it more, but I’m almost out of time!

 

this week, there could be a possibility of me moving. It’s the end of the transfer (six weeks)! and I’lve been here for six months, so I feel like it will be me who goes. But I have put my heart into this place, and I know it will be sad to leave. But it will also be exciting. so we’ll see. 

 

Here are some pictures! The cat is in Espelette, and the others are from Bidart.

 

I love you!! And this place!! and These people!

 

Sister Smith