Una vonga de bonano

Service project: demolition and painting

Week of intense goodness.

First we had the Zone Leaders meeting.  Awesome.  Planned stuff, talked about stuff, reported stuff,  ate stuff, good stuff.

While I was there I saw... Elder O!!!! My Brazilian comp from La Masica!!! Que macizo. He is the ZL in Olanchito, but he finishes his mission in like 2 weeks... and it was so sweet catching up with him. He told me some pretty amazing stuff.

Elder Smart and Elder O

For example, one of my converts (R) from la Masica, completed a year as a member and has just submitted her mission papers to be able to be a missionary as well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is the coolest thing ever. Hermana R is going to be a MISSIONARY! 

Hermana R's baptism last year

Then we had interviews with Presidente Klein!  We got to chill with Big Pres all day.  That means that we didn't get to be in our area, but we interviewed and reviewed the area book of every missionary in our zone... It took all day... But it was awesome.

The next day we did some chopping like every week.  I’m getting good. Then we went on divisions again.

But then! We had our zone service activity. Every Christmas the mission makes a movie about being Christ-like and doing service, with pics and video clips of all the zones doing cool stuff and serving. What we did was we went to  a local school and painted doors, windows and walls, then did some gardening, then broke up some concrete floor so that they can pour a new floor. It was all great stuff. We'll see how the video turns out.

Tearing up a cement floor

Paint on the name tag... looks like Star Wars opening credits

Then the best part. Baptisms.

We baptized Hermana Y (next to Elder Coj). She is the wife of one of the men who were murdered in the past few weeks.  They were going to get married, so that they could be baptized but couldn't take out the last paper to make it final, but then the gangs killed the husband. Hermana Y has been through a ton, and was more than ready to be baptized so that she could fulfill a part of the plan that God has for us.  She misses her husband but knows now that she can do his work for him on this earth through the temple. It was awesome. The other lady we baptized was taught by the Hermanas (sister missionaries). She was baptised as well. The other lady with red hair with the kids is the mom of W, the returned missionary that was killed the same night.  She and Hermana Y always spend time together because of their losses and because they are neighbors.

Week of blessing.

Romans 15:4

4. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

MACIZO+

Elder Smart

Halloween miracles compa

Sent November 2, 2015
* We are sending Elder Smart's Christmas package this week. If anyone would like to send him a note or card, please let us know so we can include it. 

Elder Coj and Elder Smart

This week, just like every week in the life of a ZL, was full of Divisiones, and more divisiones. So there's that.

We also did some Service though.  We moved the floor.  Literally the concrete tablets that you make the floor of houses with here.  They weigh a gung load, but it was super fun at the same time because the hermana put on 80s music.  AWESOME! That made the pain bearable. No, but it was really fun.

Then we did Divisiones again, but this time was different... what happened was Birthday party madness.  We went and visited a hermana that has a baptismal date, but she wasn't there, so we visited the family next to her house because there was another murder this week and he was the son of the family.  But as we were leaving, we walked past a birthday party (minion theme) and all of a sudden a huge lady runs out of the crowd there and start screaming "Elderes Elderes I need you to pray for my son.  He is turning 15 and I want that you give him a birthday prayer."  So heck ya we went and prayed for him in front of like 60 kids. lol.  We even blessed the cake for them.  It was weird though, we were like HEY! We're going to pray, everyone shut up, and every one got all quiet and then listened.  We ended the prayer and everyone said “Amen", and then started to cheer and applaud... it was super funny. But hey they gave us super good food and cake after that!

Ok. Now for the best part of the week!

The Ward Party and baptisms. QUE MACIZO. The ward Party (that we planned) was pretty sweet. We just had a ton of games and candy and piñatas and EFY music blasting. It was super cool.

Oh ya We also baptized Y and E !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I seriously felt like I was on a spiritual high, because it was the happiest I have ever felt in my mission.  I seriously cant explain it.  We have been working with these ladies for so long, and they were so ready to be baptized. Oh man.  Not trying to brag on them, but they are like better members than the members in the ward, they are so pilas.  Just spiritual giants. 

Oh it was so awesome. 

Dang I love this stuff!

D&C 82:10

 10- I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.

-- 

MACIZO+

Elder Smart

Answers to questions: I hang my toothbrush and toothpaste from the ceiling so the ants don't eat them.

Ordeñar

Sent October 26, 2015

This week we had divisions with the assistentes. That was a baja blast.  Working in a trio isn't my favorite thing, but it really makes you stay on your toes.  Elder Hodson is the new assistant and he puts the f in effort. He’s great.

We contacted de meido this week.  Since we are never really in our area because of divisiones activities and meetings, our area falls into disrepair pretty fast.

What we've been working on is setting up a date for baptisms, to see if just inviting people to baptism (not challenging) will get them thinking.  Just ask them and don't care if they say no, because heck, what if they do say no? At least you will know where they stand, and also now you have a starting point.  That’s pretty much all we do now. Even in contacts. We’re not concerned about the answer, we only care about them.

New Companion?

We had our mission Correlacion this week and planned the Activity for the ward that we are going to have on the 31st... Halloween ya. It’s going to be great.  But it’s not going to be Halloween themed.  Lame.  It’s just, everybody believes in witchcraft around here and what not, so if they see that the mormons are throwing a Halloween party they are going to think that we are making human sacrifices and becoming blood-brothers in the chapel. Ya were going to avoid that appearance of apostasy... Its just a ward activity with games and food.  It’s going to be dope.

We also did service this week moving huge cinderblocks with wheelbarrows from the church cancha (field) a couple blocks away. 

Still catching lizards

Well we´ll see what this week throws us!

Juke Box Hero

James 4:7-8

 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

-- 

MACIZO+

Elder Smart