July 29

Chris's Baptism Day (He's the one I taught in Hondo Pass) Chris, Angela and Tommy

This week has been really great! We had a ton of lessons at the beginning of the week, which is my favorite, but by the end of the week things had slowed down considerably. Even so it was amazing to see that we still had so much we could do even without set appointments with out investigators.

Wednesday we had interviews with President and Sister Miller. I love them so so much! I am so grateful for them and all they do for us. They always make me feel like such a good missionary and they help me see how I can continue to improve!

Thursday after going to the Family History Center we walked to visit a less active girl, Melanie; she was home and invited us in, it was a miracle! Without us even asking she wanted to read in the Book of Mormon and afterwards we had a really good conversation about it. I love the peace that comes from reading the scriptures. It made a tangible difference in her apartment. I have gained such a great love for Melanie, I know she has a testimony and I am so grateful that we get to see her start living the gospel.

Friday we got to go to Alamogordo to visit some Sisters that are out there and go to their district meeting. It was really great to spend time with them! One of the Sisters told us that she wants to go home; she had been having some problems with her stomach that the doctors there couldn't figure out so we had to talk to our mission president and she went home today. I'm glad she can go home to get better which is for the best but we will sure miss her. Now her companion, Sister Hunt, will be spending the week with Sister Stokes and I before she gets a new companion at transfers! I've never been in a tri-panionship (3 person companionship) so it will be a fun new adventure!

This week we also found a girl named Lucia who had been taught by missionaries in the past but hadn't been able to be baptized because she was living with her boyfriend. We talked to her about the importance of the gospel and she told us that they had realized they were missing something in their lives and it is the gospel! We are so excited to get to teach her! We might have to hand her off to the family ward elders if they get married but it is still amazing to see how excited she is about the gospel.

Yesterday we had a really funny experience so I will tell you what happened: A guy in our ward offered to take us to dinner Monday night which was so nice! As we were driving to the restaurant he texted us and said "We are inside waiting". We thought it was going to be him and one of the girls we know but it ended up being him and his cousin and his cousins wife. Weird. Plus we were severely under dress, it was a super fancy restaurant! We looked at the menu and the cheapest thing was $14 so we decided to split it. When it came out there were only 6 pieces of ravioli so we each got 3... It was just really awkward all around. But luckily they didn't seem to mind our awkwardness and so we got to talk to his cousin about his mission (he served in Washington state) while we ate. Anyway it was just super awkward and really funny, hopefully we never go there again but the Green Chili ravioli is really good :)

A scripture I really enjoyed this week is Moisah 4:2-3. In 3 it talks about how the Spirit fills us with joy, remission of sins and peace. That is something I have come to know is so true! I always feel at peace when I have the spirit with me but when I let fear get in the way that is when the peace leaves.

And a quote President Miller shared with us that I thought I would share with you:
"It takes great faith and courage to pray to our Heavenly Father, "Not as I will, but as thou wilt." The faith to believe in the Lord and endure brings great strength. Some may say if we have enough faith, we can sometimes change the circumstances that are causing our trials and tribulations. Is our faith to change circumstances, or is it to endure them? Faithful prayers may be offered to change or moderate events in our life, but we must always remember that when concluding each prayer, there is an understanding: "Thy will be done" (Matt. 26:42). Faith in the Lord includes trust in the Lord. The faith to endure well is faith based upon accepting the Lord's will and the lessons learned in the events that transpire." Elder Robert D. Hales

Love you tons!

Have a great week!

Sister Lexy Smith 

Vanessa's Baptism Day!

July 22

We had another awesome and amazing week!

Wednesday: We had exchanges with the Rio Grande Sisters. I stayed in our area with Sister Haywood. It was the craziest thing, all of our appointments happened! (If you're wondering that NEVER happens) Near the end of the day it started to rain and the freeway got flooded. We had an appointment with a new investigator that the family ward elders had been teaching, his name is Ernest, when we got their there were only two guys where there so we had to wait until everyone else showed up to go inside. The rain got crazy so we were partially soaked from standing under the small front porch. But it was awesome to watch! Ernest is super awesome and wants to be baptized August 2nd. He has already come to church twice with his cousins who where baptized in December and he is completely ready to be baptized so we just have to wait for the big day and help him keep studying the scriptures and meet everyone in the ward.

Thursday: We finally got to do some service! One of our members is moving to Utah for school so we helped her pack up her stuff and fit it into her car so that she would be all ready to go the next day. It is sad to see her go but now when I go home we can be friends :) Thursday we also had a great lesson with Robert. We had given him a Book of Mormon last week so we got to talk to him about it this week. He LOVES it! It was one of the best lessons I have had because he had not only read the chapter we left him with but he had also read several other parts and really felt the Spirit testify to his heart that they were true. It is so amazing to see the people we are teaching come to love the Book of Mormon just as much as we do!

Friday: The Sisters from Hatch had to come in early to get their car fixed so we got to take them to District Meeting with us. Then the Picacho Sisters texted us and told us Sister Molding was sick so we ran to the store and got her so apple juice, power aid and cough drops. We decided to walk and visit a couple of people but as we started a member from another ward saw us and gave us a ride! It was so nice of them. No one was available so we walked back home but it saved us half the trip! Then we went on splits with the Picacho Sisters so they could go to a couple of appointments. I got to go out with Sister Grigg while Sister Stokes stayed in and let Sister Molding sleep. We had a really great time together as we had dinner with a member of their ward, tried a couple of people when lessons fell through and had a lesson with Brittany about tithing.

Saturday: More service! This time we got to help with landscaping (mowing the lawn and rearranging rock) for a girl in our ward who is getting married in August and is having the reception in her parents back yard. It was really fun, who knew I was so good at rock-scape :) The rest of the day we had a lesson with Brittany then went contacting/visited less active members.

Sunday: None of our investigators made it to church so we had dinner with two members of our ward, AJ and Claire, then they took us to go try and visit all of the people who had said they would come. First we saw Irvin and had a really great lesson on the Book of Mormon. AJ was able to show him how to use the LDS gospel library app, which is super awesome! It has everything you would every want to study the gospel. Then we visited Carolyn and left her with a chapter to read for our lesson Monday. Finally we were about to heard in when AJ said we could go visit his friend Gilbert who he had invited to church that week. Gilbert was super nice and apparently thought AJ was going to give him a ride and by the time he realized he wasn't coming he though he would be too late. But he commited to come to FHE monday! It is amazing to see how willing the members are to invite their friends to come to church!

Monday: Another crazy day where all of our appointments happened! The most exciting part was when Beto (Almas cousin who we started teaching last week), Gilbert and Ernest all came to FHE!

I know that the Lord is preparing people here. I LOVE serving Him. There is no greater work than the work of Salvation. In the words of Elder Holland: "I am convinced that missionary work is not easybecause salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy forus when it was never, ever easy for Him?" It may not be easy but is so worth it.

Love ya!
Sister Lexy Smith 

July 15

This week has been a fantastic one! We were able to go on two exchanges this week, the first with the Picacho Sisters and the second with the Hatch Sisters. I was with Sister Molding in the Picacho area Wednesday and we had a great day. All of the set appointments they had planned fell through but we were still able to teach 3 lessons! We even contacted a moving ice cream truck, it was awesome! Then Friday I went to Hatch with Sister Geldmaker. Their area is half Spanish half English so it was a fun mix. They live in an old catholic church that a members own and it was so fun to get to stay there for the night.

This week we found several new investigators we have started teaching. Last week a recent convert in our area, Alma Solis, had told us that her cousin, Beto, had been asking her some questions so she invited him to dinner with us and them last week. Beto wasn't able to make it so afterwards she drove us over there to try and talk to him but he wasn't home. We were finally able to set another dinner with him for yesterday night. When we got to Alma's house he wasn't there but when we called him and he said he was on his way. After Beto got there we drove to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Alma told him he could ask us all of him questions so we were able to have a really great gospel discussion with him. As we waited for our food to come Alma taught him about the restoration using Salt and Pepper shakers and sugar packets, it was so powerful. He recognized the change that has come into her life and he said that he wants that in his life as well. As she shared her testimony of how the gospel had made her life complete she started to cry, which really touched him. We were then able to talk to him about the importance of baptism and church. He said he wants to give this a try and you could tell he was genuine. After dinner they came with us to FHE at the church so we could show him around the building and introduce him to members of the ward. He had a great time and looked so happy. Afterwards we were able to talk with them and get to know him some more. He is a Spanish radio talk show host and he even has the awesome voice for it! We have a return appointment with him tonight and I am so excited to continue to teach him! The Lord truly is preparing people here.

I love being a missionary so much, I know the message we share is true and I see the joy that it brings into my life and the lives of those around us everyday.

Love,
Sister Lexy Smith